Ride Little Red 2015

Last Saturday I got to spend the day riding my bike through Cache Valley with a few thousand friends.  I first rode Little Red Riding Hood in 2009 with Kristina, Susan and Aislinn, it was our version of a bachelorette party. I was hooked and in between weddings and babies, I have been back to ride a few more times.  I had been super excited about the ride, but really had very little time on my bike because we have had so much rain.  I knew that I could definitely make it through the ride, but was a little nervous of how I might feel after.  This year was fun because we had a bigger group.  my mom planned to ride the 50 route, and the rest of us, Jami, Gina, Adrianne, Kami, and Jordan, planned to ride the full 100 route.

The ride has a complete party atmosphere, starting with the night before.  We showed up early to the park to shop and watch the entertainment.  This year we decided to eat dinner at the event, a chuckwagon dinner to go along with the theme.  It was no bueno, the one flaw in the event.  Next year we will make the trek back to town for something a little more race appropriate.  Otherwise, the night was really fun, plenty of music and great people watching.

We spent the night in a cabin that overlooked the valley, then headed out early to get our bikes ready and everything organized.  Before a running race I am always super nervous and antsy.  Biking tours have such a different vibe, it was fun to be with everyone and I was just excited to get going.

We started off smoothly - no one fell which is always the biggest worry when you start with a large group.  The only real complication in the day came a few miles into the ride when one of my bike chaps (yes, I did stick chaps on my bike to go with the theme) came unstuck and got caught in my spokes. Unfortunately it caught the magnet receiver to my computer  and it ended up in pieces on the road, leaving me without a way to see my speed, mileage, etc.  I was a little worried that it might be a bad omen, but really the ride could not have been better.  We rode as a group and really worked well together, everyone took turns pulling from the front.  The real money spot though was riding behind Gina since she was riding with her sweet speaker.  Every time Pandora kicked in it was like a little magic boost.   That and the aid stations/lunch.  We all decided that we probably consumed more calories than we burned with all the food they had available.

It was a little bonus to see my cousin Suzi at lunch.

The miles really flew by and there were only a few times where it felt really tough - killer hill at mile 88, I'm looking at you.  We avoided the rain and all made it back injury free and smiling.  We met up with my mom who did much better than expected and had a great time on her ride.  Really, the day was practically perfect.  Giddy up and ride on!