Little Red Riding Hood 2009

After Joe's parents left on Friday, we headed north ourselves to spend the night in Logan so I could go participate in the Little Red Riding Hood Ride with my sisters the next day.

I planned on doing the 100 mile ride and I actually did it! I completed my first ever century bike ride! Saturday I rode a total of 103 miles in 6 hours 26 minutes, with an average speed of 16 miles/hour.

Sometimes when I think about how far 100 miles actually is, I am still amazed that I did it and I am pretty proud of myself. Especially considering the fact that in the end I basically did it all by myself!

Joe and I got up early, packed up the boys and went to the start of the ride in Wellsville. I started out at about 7:30 am with the group of girls that talked me into doing the century ride with them. We were rolling right along, and I was having a great time even though the weather was a bit cloudy and we were in our warmer gear. Here I am with one of the ladies in my group (and a SAG car in the background, that's Support, Assist and Gear for those of you who don't know!).

I was amazed by the number of cyclists who were participating in the ride. There were around 2600 ladies out on the road that day!

So I was rolling right along with my group, when I noticed around mile 10 that my rear tire didn't feel quite right. I asked one of my riding buddies, and she said it looked fine to her. I told her that I was pretty sure I was going flat and that I needed to stop and check it.

At the next intersection I stopped and my rear tire was completely flat. Unfortunately, none of my group stopped with me! I was a bit annoyed, but determined to continue with my ride. Since I am not that great at changing my own flats, I called Joe and he turned around and headed in my direction even though he was headed back to the beginning to take pictures of my sisters as they started their ride.

I got my tube replaced with the help of one of the support cars, and Joe showed up just as we were getting it back on. I gave him my flat tube and a kiss and headed out on my own. He met me at the next rest stop with the boys to cheer me on. Here I am with Ephraim at my first rest stop.

After the rest stop Joe let the boys play for a while because they were being so good! Here they are on the merry-go-round (Joe says it's the only thing that wasn't wet!).

Then Joe headed back to Jeanette's house for a while to resupply and see if the boys would rather stay with Grandma and their cousins at the house.

But then at mile 26 I got another flat on my rear tire! At this point I was really annoyed. I didn't see a support car in sight, and I had already used my spare tube so I called Joe. He turned around even though he had two tired boys in the car with him. A nice rider stopped and gave me a spare tube and I started to replace my rear tire again.

Two other cyclists stopped to help me with my tire as well as a highway patrolman. Then Joe arrived and helped me get the tire back on (thanks, Love!). At this point I had probably lost almost an hour with flat tires... so I knew there was no way I would ever catch up with my group. But I kept on rolling.

Joe finally got to go to Jeanette's house for a while, but then spent most of the afternoon following me around. So even though my riding group left me, I was never really alone. Joe and the boys were there at many of the rest stops to cheer me on. Often they would pass me in the car and Jacob would yell out the window, "Go, Mommy, Go!".

It was fun to see them stop on the roadside in front of me to take my picture too. They are definitely part of what kept me going through two flat tires, miles and miles of farmland, some huge hills, and a 20 minute downpour in Preston. Joe even came and spent my lunch rest stop with me while the boys napped in the car. They were all awesome and I was glad to have them there.

Honey Daddy took some pretty great pictures of me too! Here are some of my favorites:



Yep! I was out in the middle of farm country in Cache County.


Then just before mile 80 I stopped in Benson at one of the last rest stops. I was getting tired, but doing pretty well. It was fun to ride up to the rest stop and see Joe and the boys out playing on the ball field. Both of the boys were happy to see mommy, so I stopped there for a bit.


Then just after the rest stop I was coming down the road to find my mom, my sisters, Joe and the boys all there cheering me on. It was awesome and made me feel so good!


With such a great crew, it is no wonder that I was able to finish. I didn't roll into the finish until just before 5 pm, but I did it! My family was there to cheer me on at the finish line and it was great.


Surprisingly my muscles are doing really well following my epic ride. I actually haven't been that sore! The worst part has been the wicked sunburn that I got on my knees and upper calves because the sun finally did come out towards the end of the ride and I forgot about sunscreen.

Next year I will be sure to remember the sunscreen! That's right... I think I will be doing this ride again next year. Maybe I can beat my time and average speed... and hopefully get less flat tires!