This Saturday is the first, of a hopefully annual event, the Le Tour De Femme. This event is an all women’s cycling event that consists of a half-metric and full-metric century. The tour was put together by my friend Ron as a fundraising effort to raise funds for both the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the Angel Fund of Rex Hospital. As of now he has over 50 riders registered to participate in the tour and has raised over $4000 so far. This is an amazing turnout in both participants and fundraising for the first time Ron has organized an event and the first time the event has taken place. When the 24 Hours of Booty began in Charlotte it consisted of one lone rider and has grown considerably year to year. Here’s hoping the Le Tour De Femme follows that precedent.

I’ve volunteered to help with the rest stops during the ride and have been put up as team lead on the first rest stop. Since Ron and I have done four different events together he feels that I know what a stop needs and how to set it up. It should be a fun morning even though it means being there at eight in the morning. It’ll be good practice for the 10K the next day which starts at 7:45 in the morning, a mythical time that I rarely encounter. After my rest stop closes Ill probably move on to help with the next stop and then back to the start/finish to help there as well since my afternoon unexpectedly opened up. Might as well put the free time to use and help out so that some good comes out of it.

With Austin behind me and the cool weather settling in here in NC the running races have picked up. Ive decided, reluctantly, to do the Inside-Out Sports Classic 10K. I had no plans to do this race until today but what I wanted/planned to do this weekend was shot down, so to speak. Id rather have missed it for the plans I had already made and not had the option of doing it, but I want to keep out of the house.

Hence I havent really done any training for the 10K since I was expecting my next race to be a 5K in three weeks. I do however know that Ill be running, cycling, and probably hitting the gym this week to keep myself busy and essentially wear myself out for a little while. With that mentality running 6.2 miles as fast as I can go sounds extremely appealing. A little self-abuse never hurt anyone right? Ill still lay off pushing myself biking since my knee still obviously has issues but it hasnt acted up running yet so its time to put it through the ringer on pavement.

This race is part of the Second Empire Grand Prix, a series of five races in the RTP area that give awards based on points earned by participating in three of the five races. I have already done the Second Empire 5K and planned to do two more so that I would qualify for the point total. Now it looks like Ill be doing four out of the five which means that Ill be in line with all the other participants since the lowest race is dropped and I missed one which gave me 0 points. Right now Im not even in the top 20 of my age group and have 594 points and the top 20 ends at 620, the top 20 males overall end at 799. So Im pretty much out of the running of having a top 20 finish unless I pick up my pace and other racers miss out on doing the required three.

Im thinking that Ill run at least six miles first thing tomorrow morning, of course that depends on how many beers I end up drinking tonight. Keeping up my trend today we lost our soccer game, among other more important things, so im having some Shiner Bocks on the couch before crashing for the night.

Waking up at 5 is not an experience id wish on anyone, its an ungodly hour that is best left to itself. We woke up and cycled through the showers and grabbed our bikes and gear to head down to pick up our minivan from the valet. When we got down there about 6, there were bikers everywhere loading up their bikes and heading out to the Livestrong Challenge. We got our names in line with the valets as Ron ran back to the room to grab some things. While waiting I talked to a cyclist who borrowed our pump. He had done the Southern California Livestrong Challenge and said while it was a good ride there were a lot of stops and starts with lights and turns. I assured him he wouldnt have the same scenario in Austin but there would be hills everywhere which would be challenging.

We got out to the Expo Center where the Challenge was starting a little after 7:00, with the cyclists set to start at 7:45. We ended up parking next to the same Trek representative who had told us about Six at the Livestrong Challenge. We snapped a couple pictures and headed up to the start/finish line and grabbed a quick snack and water before the race was set to begin. We found out that Lance was there and had given an opening speech that we had missed unfortunately. He set out with the 5K runners as we formed into our lines and waited the five minutes for our race to start.

Ron and I had talked over the weekend and he said that he was shooting for a nice easy ride at an average of 18-20mph. This seemed fairly in line with what I felt I could handle so we decided to try to ride together. We got out cleanly and stayed together for about 10 miles. We ended up picking up the Trek representative in one of the groups we passed and he and Ron started chatting it up while i hung behind. As we were riding we past a guy whose crank arm had broken off and was still going with one leg pumping. Dont know how far he made it but he was definitely in for a long day. As we moved pack to pack Ron was picking up speed which put me back into my big gear which I hadnt planned on using because of my knee issues in the MS 150. When we were pulling about 26mph I decided to bag the idea of staying with Ron as I was already able to feel the effort and my knee was slightly stiff. So after 30 minutes I was on my own again like last year. I made it into the first rest stop and decided to stop and see if Ron had possibly waited but he hadnt. I ate a Power Shot and took an Endurox tablet, a routine that I kept up every hour as well as drinking one water bottle and one Cytomax/Powerade bottle. I got back on the bike after a five minute break and headed out solo to the next stop.

Over the course between the second and third rest stops I began to feel my knee twinging and occasionally hurting. I was still pulling an average of 20mph but I was definitely slowing as time passed. I ended up finally latching onto a group that was pulling 18mph which was tough for me to keep up with especially on the hills. I had to stand on any hills to keep my pace high enough to not get popped off the back. It was these times that my knee would hurt, if i was sitting it tended only to feel stiff but not hurt as much. We pulled into the third rest stop 35 miles in under two hours and I stopped to decide what to do. This rest stop was the split between the 70 mile and 100 mile course and once i decided there was no turning back. It also didnt help that my knee didnt hurt standing or walking, it only hurt pedaling. The rest stop was still being setup so I mixed some Powerade and wandered around going back and forth on which course to take. Logic said to do the 70 but I really didnt like giving up on the 100 and I kept remembering an Armstrong quote I read in the Livestrong Village that said basically you forget pain but not quitting.

I was heading back to the bike still debating when i glanced up and realized i had walked into the path of a cyclist. I jumped back and said “Sorry trying to get out of the way” and put my hand on his back and guided him past me while he said “No Problem” or something similar. I took another step, froze and realized who it was then said no it couldnt be. I turned to the corner about 20 feet away and Lance Armstrong had stopped and his friend College pulled up behind him. I had almost knocked Lance down and then guided him past. How freaking cool is that one? He stayed on the corner for a minute as the whispers started through the bikers “There’s Lance” and they started inching forward. He looked over at College and said “Guys we need to go ahead and get out of here” and headed out on the 70 mile route. I realized if there was a sign of what to do that was going to be the best I got so I turned onto the 70 as well.

The 70 turned out to be exactly what I should’ve done as there was a hill right after the turn that burned my knee up as it had stiffened up during the break. As usual I was on my own and wouldnt be able to catch a group the rest of the ride. At what would have been about the 80 mile mark I hit one of the hills I had been dreading. I have a triple on my bike and I had been told that basically it was looked down upon to have one and even moreso to use one so I never went under my middle gear. This hill was killer on my knee as I ended up slowing down so much that I was positive I was going to fall over. I passed a mother and daughter that were pushing their bikes up it. I would’ve used the “granny” gear if I felt I could stop and put it in. I managed to make it up but I was spent and my heart rate was through the roof. Over the next mile the fastest 100 mile riders began to pass me.

My biggest fear and one of the factors in choosing the 70 mile route was a hill that was on the end of last years course which it seemed we were riding again. That hill was twice as long and just as steep as the hill that hurt so bad above. I guess they got complaints about that hill because this year the route was moved to leave it out. I can honestly say if they had asked me I would’ve said to toss it too. It was a cruel and punishing climb that I almost didnt make the year before and that was on a good knee. There were a series of short long climbs that were difficult but I made it over each of them, though each was slower than the one before. I pulled into the start/finish line and rode no handed with my arms in the air celebrating. A definite switch from the year before when I was about to collapse and worried about crashing into the barriers. I even had practiced riding without hands on the way into the finish since I had never been able to successfully do it for any length of time.

In the end my mileage was 75 miles at an average speed of 17.4 mph and a saddle time of 4:18:22.  My average speed was up .7 from the year before.  I parked beside the finish line to wait for Ron who I figured should be about 45 minutes to an hour after I was done.   As I waited I started to regret not doing the 100 mile course because I had finished in relatively good condition and as usual while I was standing my knee wasnt hurting at all.  As time passed though, especially in the evening, both my knees stiffened to the point where it hurt to get up and sit down so by then I was satisfied with the 70 and not doing any more damage than I already had.  After an hour and a half passed I saw two riders from the group that I had latched onto before the third rest stop cross the line.  That worried me a little because they were with me which meant they were slower than Ron and had finished the course before he had.  So either something had happened mechanically, Ron had bonked, or he had finished without me realizing.  Fifteen minutes later he crossed the line and told me that 10 miles from the finish he had seriously cramped up and dropped to a crawl.  A fellow rider had done a Mr. Miyagi on his leg to loosen it up and he rode with her the rest of the way and when she bonked he pulled her to the finish.  He agreed that I made the right decision on doing the 70.  We snapped some photos and headed to the van to change and pack up.

We walked around the post-ride party after changing and each had a couple burgers and a coke.  I was feeling extremely satisfied so I had a Shiner Bock, Ron passed as he felt like even one would put him in a condition he couldnt drive.  We tried to get a massage at the massage tent but they shut down right when we headed over.  After wandering around we headed back to the hotel where we took naps and cleaned up for the afternoon.  We went out to the same restaurant we went to the year before, Texas Land and Cattle I believe was the name, and had steak quesadillas and ribeyes for the each of us.  Afterwards we packed up the bikes, with me actually boxing mine myself as I watched Ron do his and copied everything he did.  To end the night and pretty much the weekend we headed up to the rooftop at Six where I had two margaritas and a Jack and Diet and Ron had three seven and sevens.  We felt it was well deserved and even moreso necessary.  It was a fitting ending to the weekend, the flight back isnt worth mentioning.

Im out of town for the weekend but will post an overall wrapup when I get back.

Even though we tried to sleep in we were unsuccessful and were up and showering about 8 in the morning. By the time Paul, Ron, and I had rotated through the showers it was past 9:30 and we headed out to find a Starbucks so that they could get some coffee. I on the other hand loathe coffee so planned on getting a Chai Tea. Since we had no idea where one was we headed over to Sixth Street and headed downtown. If there’s one law of a downtown area its that you’ll find a Starbucks if you go down the busiest streets. If we had been smarter we would’ve read the sign in our hotel that said there was one there. Afterwards we swung by the convention center and realized that the Livestrong Village wouldnt open till noon so we grabbed Paul’s car to head over to the Austin Bicycle Sport Shop to get some supplies for the ride.

If you go to Austin I highly recommend the Austin Bicycle Sport Shop as its one of the nicest bike shops ive been in. We went there last year and I imagine it will stay a necessity every time we go to Austin. They’re also one of the sponsors of the Livestrong Challenge and last years Ride For The Roses, probably more than those but since i was only there for them can only say those for sure. Since my knees have been giving me problems since the MS 150 in New Bern we looked at some Speedplay pedals which Ill probably move to soon. Ill be getting the stainless steel X2’s before I attempt another distance ride such as the Livestrong Challenge. I also decided to get some Buzzkills, these are a special kind of endcaps that you put into your handlebars which will dampen road vibration. I remembered several sections of rough road from last years Ride For The Roses and decided it would be a good investment for as little as they cost. I can attest now that they were well worth the money and you should get some if you havent yet. Other than that we just picked up some CO2 cartridges for our flat kits since we couldnt take ours with us on the plane and Ron continued to try to talk his friend Paul into buying a bike and riding with us next year.

By that time it was time for lunch so we hit Chuy’s for some burritos. If you dont know about Chuy’s you probably havent read Lance Armstrong’s books. He loves the place and eats there often so last year for the Ride For The Roses we had to check it out. The foods good and the place is decorated with sculpted fish, elvis decor, and a psychedelic paintjob. Its a quintessential Austin experience that one should take in when in town. This year Ron and I decided to do a warm up run so we headed by a local running store so Paul could pick up some running shoes before heading back to the hotel.

By the time we got back to the hotel the Livestrong Village was open and we headed over so that Paul could see what the ride was about and get a sense of what was going on. Ron and I also wanted to head over to see if things had picked up since it was so slow and small the day before, in the end it hadnt. Our views on the village may have been tainted by the Roses ride last year since it was so large and over the top. If we hadnt been the year before the village this year might not have been below our expectations.

We changed into our running clothes and headed up Congress Street to the Capital building and past that onto the University of Texas at Austin. Ron had a request from a friend for a flex fit Longhorns hat so we figured around campus would be the best area. In the end we ended up in a shop called Tyler’s directly across from campus which turned out to be a great find. Inside we found a box of Nike 10//2 Lance apparel all marked down for clearance. Anyone whose bought these shirts know they run about $30-$40 dollars and we got several for half price. In the end Ron never found the right kind of hat but we did get some cool clothes.

We all took another round of showers and headed up to the Spaghetti Warehouse to carb load for the ride the next day. Basically we were following our footsteps from the year before when we had also eaten there. Its a pretty good restaurant with tons of pasta obviously and which is needed before undertaking a ride as long as the Livestrong Challenge. Apparently we werent the only ones with the idea as we had a 45 minute wait so headed over to Six next door while we waited for a table to open up. The day before a Trek representative had told us about Six. Its a restaurant that Lance opened after his sixth tour win and apparently his friend College sometimes works the bar. It just happened to be attached to the Spaghetti Warehouse so we headed up to the open air rooftop to get some drinks. It helped me come to the conclusion that I love rooftop bars and every city needs them.

After dinner, where i had a 15 layer lasagna and chicken pasta combination, Paul packed up and headed back to Houston while Ron tried to conk out for the ride.  I used the time to knock out my accounting homework problems since I had finished the reading.  It all balanced out because Paul ended up forgetting his laptop bag after he had driven an hour and came back to get it so we had to wait up for him to get there and grab it before crashing for the night.

So Im back from Austin having completed the Austin Livestrong Challenge. Ive decided to post a day-by-day summary of the event so keep an eye out for the updates.

So Friday morning I woke up at 7 to get my shower and all the rest of my stuff together to head over to my friend Ron’s so we could load up the bikes and head to the airport. This year we flew out Friday instead of Thursday mainly because I wanted to see the NC State vs Florida State game, which State won and made me extremely happy I stayed to see it. I got over to Ron’s and got the bikes loaded up and headed out into the normal I-40 traffic snarl. Ron boxed my bike up because I still fairly mechanically inept and he can do it in his sleep.

When we got to the self-check in machines we got to deal with an extremely helpful American Airlines clerk, and I say that with dripping sarcasm. He came over the counter to tell us that we had to come to the desk and pay seperately for our bike boxes and didnt believe us when we said our travel agent the LAF hooked us up with had already taken care of everything. He went back to check his computer while we ignored him and finished our check in. He never admitted we were right but when another agent took our bikes he said that we still had to “make weight”. That agent must’ve realized he was a prick too and ignored him.

The flights were uneventful. We had one stopover in Dallas before going on to Austin. I was able to do all my accounting reading for my MBA while I was on the plane. I was hoping to have it finished so I wouldnt have to deal with it on the trip but wasnt able to. When we got into Austin we were happy to find that our bikes had made it on our flight. Last year we had to wait two hours for our bikes to show up. Here’s a tip when traveling with bikes, never use the curbside check-in just to be safe. However, the rule for us it seems is that we can never leave the Austin airport easily. This time our minivan wasnt ready so we were stuck waiting another hour before we could get into town.

When we got to our hotel downtown, the Courtyard Marriot, and it was outstanding. We were on the opposite corner from the convention center where the Livestrong village was and in walking distance to everything downtown. We got our stuff to our room and headed to the village to pick up our registration packets. When we walked in we were suprised to find it about half the size of last years village if not smaller. There werent as many people or vendors as were in the Ride For The Roses last year. Our first stop was the Livestrong store which had a lot of Livestrong Challenge gear as well as the normal Livestrong apparel. I picked up a Livestrong Challenge jersey, a dri-fit shirt, some socks, and a shirt over the course of the weekend. We wandered around the booths and Ron and I picked up some sunglasses since i had cracked mine at the layover in Dallas and it was 2 for $20.

We got our packets and we both qualified for a free Livestrong bag, which was a backpack with tons of packets and the Challenge logo on it. Ill have to admit I prefer the sling bag from the Ride For The Roses last year but this will be an ideal overnight bag for short trips. Afterwards we stopped by the Livestrong wall to put up cards for my grandfather, mother, two aunts, and my girlfriend Nikki’s cousin who was diagnosed last week with liver cancer and sadly she found out today that he passed away. I also carried cards on my jersey over the course of the ride for all of the above and gave Nikki the card as well as pictures of me wearing it at the start and finish line to give his family. Hopefully it will help somehow for them to know his name was carried in his honor.

We headed back to the hotel to wait for Ron’s friend Paul to arrive from Houston to hang out with us for the night. While we were waiting we broke open the bike boxes and got them put back together and in one piece so they’d be ready to go on Sunday. Afterwards we headed down to Champions in the hotel to eat when Paul showed up and joined us. We had heard that there was a professional criterium, crit for short, downtown so once we finished eating we walked downtown to check it out.

If you dont know what a criterium is, its a short course of either a certain number of laps or time limit that is run over several blocks over and over. When we got there it was the 3 and 4 riders running which are classifications of amateur riders. Even with their skill level they were still going at a good clip. After that the women and men over 30 were up for a 45 minute run and were followed by the professionals. The pros are something special to watch as they’re moving at about 30+ miles an hour and when they cut the corners you feel a rush of wind blowing by. It was fun to watch and moreso since Paul hadnt seen one. I had never seen one before last year and i had the same disbelief at the speeds they were running. Unfortunately during the last lap there was a wreck involving several riders but they all appeared to be ok afterwards. The ending may have been a tie as two teammates from the San Jose team crossed holding giving each other high fives. It was too close to call but it was definitely the San Jose team’s crit.

Afterwards it was running close to midnight and since we were still on east coast time it felt like one so we packed it in for the night.   Day 2 is up tomorrow.