Cinderella 2009

Saturday, April 4

Mighty Me materialized today to make a guest appearance at her first Cinderella, a women only bike tour. Wearing a costume (fairy, Cinderella, tutus, boa feathers, wings, flowers, ribbons) is part of the fun; so, I did my part by decorating my helmet - clearly not a second career for me.




The tour began at the Pleasanton Fairgrounds. Our group shot off at 7:30am in 40 degree weather. Ooh, that was fun.... We were fortunate though to have only mild winds the entire time. The route included Livermore/Diablo/San Ramon/Danville/Amador Valleys.

Above is near the area where one decides to do the Classic or the Challenge. Mighty Me decided to join 3 other women to do the 85 mile route that includes Patterson Pass, Altamont Pass and 3665 feet of climbing.






Thanks to P for the photo of me before we descended Patterson Pass, the highlight of the tour.





The descent was fantastic and breathtaking. Biking 85 miles was a first for me.

Driving forces that kept me going:

1. My encouraging and funny cycling buddies
2. An overwhelming desire to sink my teeth into something meaty (never happened)
3. The shirtless runner at mile 72. A damn fine looking man
4. 4 gels, 8 bottles of water, and nibbles at the rest stops

Towards the end, I was with a bunch of strangers and they were nervous about having to bike past an on ramp to 580 so I took charge like Mother Goose protecting her young ones and ordered them into a single file and made traffic take notice of my little flock as we made our way.... one of the chickies said I was so brave. I kid you not. Sweet, eh.

Statistics:

85 miles
6 hrs. 38 min.
12.8 mph avg.

Good to Know

A day without rain! As I approached "The Wall," I ran into Team in Training members. So I told them that I was in training, too -- training to be lazy.

Please, please I said to them, no photos.

One man needed encouragement as he climbed so I told him to watch my tushy wiggle as I sang to him, "Cause I'm TNT, I'm dynamite...." (AC/DC). The Boyfriend, who is on a business trip, is, no doubt, shaking his head ....

A sign on Calaveras. Good to know.

Lookey what came in the mail today! It's official. I'm going to the ball! I've never done this tour and I'm looking forward to it, hoping to ride with P, perhaps. Of course I need to practice more of my lazy training if I'm going to attempt the 95 mile route.