Day of the Tour de Cure

The day finally came. We had some trouble meeting up, people running late, but we all started around 9:30 am. Ana did the 7 mile paved, while the rest of us (Matt, Nicki and I) did the 8 mile off-road trail. Turns out they made us do the yellow trail which is just over 6 miles, but the ride from the registration booth to the trail head is about 2 miles, hence 8 miles.

Nicki and I did much, much better than the first time we tried the yellow trail. Matt, on the other hand, did very well. He led our group, stopping occasionally to let us catch up. I didn't crash at all this time. My new bike is phenomenal. The breaks allowed me to stop or to slowdown, giving me precious extra seconds to make decisions, which in turn kept me on the trail. I did have one mechanical failure. My handle bars, much like Nicki's, got loose from the impact and spun around. I was able to keep going, and when we met up with Matt, I was able to use the multi-tool to tighten them back up.

I'm not sure how long it took us to finish the trail, but we all finished. It was a great ride, even though some of the pro riders passed us up. One of these days we'll be like them and we'll be to ones passing the newbies sooner or later ;) When we finished the race we had a chance to take a team photo. I gave the guy my email address, but he still hasn't emailed me as to where I can get my hands on the photo. We also had some free lunch, which was deliscious. The Tour de Cure folks were also giving away free massages, which were only 8 minutes long, but felt great after the ride.

The financial situation worked out beyond my wildest dreams. All of this time I was worried that I'd end up owing a lot of cash, but everyone on my team was able to meet the $125 minimum, and our total team goal of $500 was exceeded by $15. This is only through the web donations. I'm not sure when they'll have the results from cash and check donations, but as soon as they make those available I will edit this post.

Will we do this again? At first I didn't think I was going to. I didn't feel to happy about those $125 minimums, but it did work out in the end. Also, now that I know what to expect, I can tell my team this upfront. Then they can decide if they want to join. I will defiantly do the event, and I will be the captain again. Hopefully I can raise more cash next time around, knowing what to expect and also knowing how to approach my company about this sort of thing. It all came down to timing. We didn't have much time to get everything prepared as should be. Next time around I think it'll be a much better experience, not that this wasn't, but it felt very chaotic. Links and pics to come as soon as I get them.

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt