Day 3 - Ride for the Roses, Preparation for Monday

Ride for the Roses

Today was the annual Ride for the Roses, an organized ride with over 8,000 participants. They staged the riders in waves  based on the distance they were riding and the anticipated time of completion to help organize and streamline the start. We were in the 70 mile, 4-5 hour completion line and much like the start of a marathon, it took us about 20 minutes to get to the starting point.

Lance himself kicked off the event, as he did all the other events, with a short thank you and show of appreciation for everyone who showed up to raise money and promote survivorship. Along with him were Mari Holden (Silver Medalist mentioned yesterday) and Robin Williams (the comedian/actor). There were also other former Olympic cyclists including Eric Heiden. There were also other pro cyclists and teams that were the first to leave the starting line. They planned to do 100 miles in less than 4 hours, averaging around 25 mph.

Quattro Assi

Sean, Paul, John, and I started off thinking we were going to take our time and have a nice ride. We did have a great ride, but decided to kick the speed up during the ride. Being used to the hillier terrain in Southern Ohio, the flatter gently rolling terrain allowed us to find our groove and kick it into overdrive. We ended averaging over 19 mph, a good 2-3 mph faster than we originally planned. The large crowd made it easy to do this. It is very motivating to always have somebody to pass. With 8,000 cyclists there were people on the road at all times. Our ride was very smooth, except for one incident. Sean's bike had a part break on his rear rack that will be used starting with our travels tomorrow. Luckily it didn't break under stress tomorrow.
 

Excellent Ride

The ride was also very well supported. The best part of the ride were the volunteers and policemen at every turn. They had someone stationed at every intersection and turn to direct traffic and ensure that both the riders and vehicle traffic were kept in line. Subway was a major sponsor and donated sandwiches, chips, and other foods to keep everyone from going hungry. There were hundreds of volunteers that took care of everything from food to sag vehicles. There were bands playing all day on a large stage at the Austin Expo Center and helped keep the party going. We all hung out at the post ride party, though Lance was quickly on his way to prepare to fly back to Europe.

All of us in the group had each done many organized rides on a local and national basis, but this was one of the best organized and most special rides we have ever done. One reasons is the fantastic support and organization of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, but mostly because every person there is doing it for a reason. They are there to support or remember someone who has or had cancer. They are there to share in the hope that some day there will be a way to control and overcome cancer without taking life. To tame the beast that has touched all of us in one way or another.

Excellent Dinner

After the ride John, Sean, and I were treated to an excellent dinner at the home of Rick and Leslie Spencer west of Austin on Lake Travis. We all had a great time and enjoyed the time with all of the kids. "Corky" was especially happy after a wonderful dinner, though I think John may have been the happiest camper of all. Our deepest gratitude to Rick and Leslie for sharing with us and for helping take care of the van during the week we are traveling to Houston and back to Austin. 

Riding Update

Today's riding was a lot of fun. There were a lot of people to talk to and ride with throughout. You were never on the road alone, which provides a lot of entertainment along the way. Tomorrow is the first day in our travels to Houston. We will be riding south west to San Antonio through San Marcos and New Braunfels. Look for another update from the road very soon.

Miles: 75.5
Average Speed: 19.24
Total Trip: 81.1 Miles

Weather

Today was overcast with a light breeze. We never really hit a head wind for more than a couple of minutes. After we finished the ride the sun came out and the temperature came up quite a bit. High temperature for the day was 86*.