Livestrong Challenge Davis 2011

I participated in the Livestrong Challenge in Davis yesterday, and it was a well-run event. I did the 70-mile bike ride.

As you can see, it was a pretty flat ride, compared with the previous two years in San Jose. It was also much nicer weather, with the San Jose rides being very, very hot. This year was very pleasant, only getting into the 80s around noon. We finished much faster as a result; I finished with an 18.4 MPH average speed compared with around 13 in previous years.

I rode with Shane this year, and this kind of ride is definitely his strength. He kept our pace high, and we made excellent time through the first half of the course. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to eat breakfast before the ride, and I started to bonk a bit about then. I ate everything in sight at the 35-mile “power station”, filled my pockets with food and kept eating on the bike. I couldn’t keep pace with Shane after a few more miles, so I settled into a pace that I was sure would get me to the finish line. One more power station and food about 55 miles in, and I started feeling better. I managed to hook up with a couple of riders who were keeping a better pace than I’d been doing on my own, and one I could contribute to. We rode into the finish about noon.

Shane did really well, coming in second of all the 70-mile participants and a fast average speed of 19.5 MPH. Very nice!

"I Ride For Karen Newhouse"

Thanks a ton to the people who sponsored me this year. The year since the last Challenge has been a bad one for our family regarding cancer; Val’s mom was diagnosed with a recurrence, and has been fighting it hard. Hopefully the donations that events like this one raise will turn into real cures someday.


Home