Todays route was a tribute to fixed gear bikes, urban cycling, and
Rapha City Cycling Apparel. Of all my bikes, my fixed gear is my favorite. I love the simplistic nature of riding fixed and what it does for the soul. When you remove the gears, freewheel, and brakes of a bike, you've broken it down to cycling's essence, the act of turning the pedal. I was introduced to fixed gear riding by my teammates of
Chico Corsa Cycling Team Chico, CA, USA. It's a
Chico tradition to pull out the fixies in the winter for long steady distance rides in effort to build up for the next race season. I quickly learned how difficult fixed gear riding is, and how good it is for building up leg strength and muscle memory. Anytime I want to increased the difficulty of a ride that has gotten uninteresting, I do it fixed. My motto for fixed gear riding is "No matter how fast you go, it's the same amount of pedal strokes home."
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| Downtown Sacramento |
Fixed gear riding is also a lifestyle. Go to any big city in the United States and you'll see the urban fixed gear lifestyle in full action. Messenger bags, rolled up pant legs, coffee shops, cycling caps.. It's in full effect, and it's real! Just like the fixed gear bike, the fixed gear lifestyle is simple, it's practical, it's functional. There is something to be said for having the few items you need in a bag, on your back, and the mobility of a bicycle to smash through the hazards of the city on. In this increasingly and unnecessarily complex world we live in today, the fixed gear lifestyle feeds the soul, it's keeps you real, it keeps you grounded to the earth you're spinning on!
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| Me and My Fixed Gear |
Rapha City Cycling Apparel pays homage to the romantic nature of city riding. With it's soul embedded in urban cycling, Rapha City Cycling Apparel is durable, functional, classy, and fashionable only as Rapha could do it. It is the uniform of the urban cycling warrior, where his ranks are displayed like no other as he dodges and weaves through the concrete jungle. Unlike any other company, Rapha has captured the essence of urban cycling, weaving it directly in to it's fibers.
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| Meat Market? |
The route I chose to feature for today's fixed gear ride was from Granite Bay to Downtown Sacramento, CA via the beautiful American River Bike Trail. Setting out on the ride, I had no idea it would turn in to a near death situation, but then again, the Rapha Festive 500 would not be complete without one.. Right as I headed out, a storm front hit and rain began to fall. Against my better judgement I broke my number one rule about riding in the rain; "I only ride in the rain if I can complete the first half of the ride before rain begins to fall." I am a Critical Care Nurse and have this rule for good reason; being cold is one thing, being wet is another, but when you get cold and wet you die. In my mind I said "No, I've made the commitment to myself to complete the Rapha Festive 500, I need to put in the miles, I WILL do this ride."
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| Route Map |
Initially the the rain was very subtle, and I was primarily up against a 15mph head wind, it was unpleasant but tolerable. At mile 10 I found myself to be comfortable on the bike and ready to complete the ride. At mile 15, things began to deteriorate, the rain got heavier and heavier.. The first thing I noticed was when my knickers and chamois became saturated with water and that distinct sensation when the water begins to drip down your butt crack. At mile 18 my booties became saturated and I could feel the water reaching my inner shoes. Within ten minutes, my shoes were entirely soaked, and it felt as if my shoes were a swamp inside, creating that splashing feeling every time I turned the pedal. At mile 25 I should have turned around.. This is where my outer layer become completely saturated with water down to my skin.. Just a bad situation!
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| Lollipop Section Downtown Sac |
At this point, I looked at my
Garmin Edge 500 and said to myself, "5 more miles to Sacramento, 10 more miles round trip, you can do this!"As I began to see the Downtown landmarks ahead, (while secretly I knew I needed to turn around) I was motivated to push through. At mile 32 I hit the split on the bike trail in to Downtown, I was grateful to see the turnaround! I stopped to look at my iPhone for directions on how to complete the downtown lollipop section as this was a new route for me. As I hit it downtown I snapped the photo at the top of the blog . While my body was still warm, I was soaked and knew I might be in trouble getting back home. I kicked in high gear and headed back.
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| My Fixie in the Rain Taken on a Different Day |
Pedal stroke by pedal stroke, I inched my way back towards Granite Bay.. The ride from the previous day was becoming apparent, as my legs felt shredded to pieces. At mile 40 it was becoming clear to me that my core temperature was beginning to drop. I had a sense of panic realizing I had 30 miles with 500 feet of climbing to go to get back to my car. I was realizing this was not possible. None the less I refocused my energy on each pedal stroke, one by one, I counted the mile markers back home. I began to bargain with myself about how far I could go; would I need to call for help, would I need to call an ambulance? I decided that I would try to get to a 24 hour gas station in Folsom which I prayed would be open on Christmas Day.
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| Taken From Google Earth, Headed Up Hazel Ave, Tough Grinder |
At mile 45 I was simply exhausted, I was could, I began to not care and honestly wanted to just lay on the ground and go to sleep. I knew if I did so I would certainly die of hypothermia, I kept pushing on. The familiar land marks came and went, I knew I was getting closer, all along fighting my mind which really just wanted to quit. At mile 52 I hit Hazel Avenue, Nimbus Dam, and the bridge which crosses the river. The bridge gains about 100 feet elevation making it a grinder. My legs were pissed, they couldn't do it, I stopped to stretch them. I wiped the rain from my face, my mind was foggy, my fingers were not working.. This was bad! I pushed on and settled in to a 15mph pace for the remainder of the route. I was scared, lonely, and cold. I prayed, "Lord, please allow that gas station to be open." I knew if it wasn't open I would need to call 911.
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| The Gas Station I Was Grateful to See |
Once I reached Folsom, I had one more grinder to kick to the top and the gas station. As I came around the last turn I peered around the corner to see a red and blue "OPEN" sign flashing, "Thank God" I said to myself. I pulled up to the door, set my bike against the building and stumbled in. I approached the counter and asked the man if I could get warm, he said "yes." I went to the door and stripped off my coat, helmet, and gloves in an attempt to remove as much wet clothing as possible. I drew my arms as close to my body as possible, holding myself in hopes of conserving heat. "Fuel, I need fuel" I said to myself. I raided the snack rack grabbing cookies and chocolate covered pretzels. I purchased these items and began to eat.. I asked the man if he had a blanket I could use, he said no. I quickly realized I needed hot liquids if I was going to make it. I stumbled to the coffee counter, I could hardly think, shaking, I filled a coffee cup. "Cream, I need Cream" I thought.
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| Some of my beautiful Rapha City Apparel |
I stumbled around the counter bouncing off a chip rack to the cream dispenser, I nearly feel to the ground. Two men in the store saw me, "are you OK" one of them asked. Like a little child, "I'm cold" I answered. One of the men said "You look ghost white son, you need to get warmed up, would you like to get in my truck and warm up?" "Yes Sir, I would be grateful for that" I replied. He helped me to his truck, gave me a warm jacket and sat with me as I warmed up. The fog in my mind began to clear and I began regain my thoughts. It dawned on me, "holy crap, I could have died.." The man reminded me of this once or twice and also that there are still good people out there in the world. I think that was the true moral to be drawn from this story.. The man then asked me if he could give me a ride somewhere? I explained to him where my vehicle was and he was kind enough to take me there. It was such a blessing to have come across a person who was willing to help me in that way. I was very grateful for the experience, plus I got my Festive 500 miles in for the day!
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| Route Profile |
Here is the route profile for the day, ended up being 98.3km (61miles) with 322m (1056ft). You can tell it was a fixed gear based on the consistent speed during the ride. I was extremely grateful that I made it home in one piece today, grateful to be able to spend Christmas night warm and dry with my family.
Thank you for reading today's blog, please join me on day 3 of the Rapha Festive 500!
Happy Riding!
