Final Training Ride: Pedal Power Wildflower Ride
By April on Apr 12 Filed In Activities, Austin, Texas, Sweet Bikes 7 Comments
if you know me then you know that I’m not an early morning person, so training season is pretty hard on me no matter how early I go to bed the night before. I was able to get up when my alarm went off at 6:30AM Saturday morning because my body and mind were in mutual agreement that if they could just get going this time, I wouldn’t be asking much more of them after next weekend. Todd came by the house to pick me up and we were off to Johnson City, home of LBJ State Park and the Pedal Power Wildflower Ride.
We did this ride a couple of years ago and we went away wondering why they had the nerve to put the words, “wildflower ride” in the title when there was not 1 flower on the whole ride. This year was thankfully, VERY different. Remember the scene in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy walks into the field of poppies? It was sort of like that, but more vibrant than even Technicolor could have made possible. Breathtaking.
We started the ride late (that’s just how we roll) and finally caught up to our buddy Allison at the first rest stop, about 13 miles or so in on our 62 mile journey. I love the Pedal Power rest stops because they are the only rides I’ve been on that have smoked sausage wraps, cheese slices and crackers. Sure, they have plenty of horrible, chemical-laden cookies and such too, but can you really beat a slice of cheddar cheese, a sausage wrap and a couple of orange slices while riding 60+ miles? In the immortal words of LL Cool J, “hmm, I don’t think so.”
Allison and her friend. (L-R)
As the road kept winding around and around, the views became even more spectacular. I have these moments sometimes where I see something so beautiful and awe-inspiring that I stare at it a little longer, to insure that the “picture” will forever be ingrained in my memory. I have this theory that we have flashes that go through our brains when we die, and what I saw Saturday will be one of those flashes. I have cried on bike rides before, but usually it’s because of how heinous the ride was, but this time, there were almost tears from being so overwhelmed by the beauty that exists in nature, if we just take a moment (or 60 or so miles) to sit back and really enjoy it. As we rode down this one massive hill at about 43 mph, I couldn’t help but stare at the massive hills and the cliffs in the background. It never once occurred to me that if you go that far down into a valley, that you will eventually have to go back up. Ugh. We started climbing back up and out of the valley, but due to the amount of cars and motorcycles (all checking out the flowers) I had a hard time getting back on my bike, so I pushed it uphill..and up, and up some more, while taking the time out to check out how the view was changing. Someone drove past me and mentioned how awesome it must be to be on a bike in such a beautiful area. I agreed and then stopped to look at the view and to marvel at how high up I was. From this vantage point I could see just how far down we had been. DANG! I hopped back on my bike only to realize that I was still no where near the top. A person at the rest stop right before this area warned us that it was a long, long hill and that it was more than a mile long. I’m willing to bet it was close to 3 miles up. Geez, it was hard to walk up, so you can imagine how difficult it must have been to ride up it. Todd-I salute you my brother in all things saddle!!
Me climbing one of many hills.
Todd B. and Me. (L-R)
Todd and I finally crossed the finish line around 4PM. It was a long and somewhat painful ride, but I’m glad that we did it, if only for the incredible view. I am ready for the MS 150 and hope that the rest of Tea’m Sweet Leaf Tea is ready too! Want to donate to our Tea’m? There’s still time!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by April Riggs, Sweet Leaf Tea Co.. Sweet Leaf Tea Co. said: Wanna see how the Pedal Power Wildflower Ride went? It's was the LAST training ride b4 embarking on the @BPMS150: http://bit.ly/cJj7XU [...]
sweet blog, april….sounded like a badass ride. we’re gonna smoke the MS150!!! looking forward to it!!!
April rocks!
Zach-I can’t wait to get out there and ride w/you Saturday and Sunday!! Thanks for commenting man!
Maureen-Thanks Mom, I love you too!
Hey April,
I had a ton of beer at the hockey game in Cedar Park the night before and I woke up not wanting to do this ride but I did and it was something special!!!! I lived in in Oregon for 3 years and thought the rides out there would never top any ride in any other state but I am here to say that this ride topped it all!!!!!!! This was absolutely the most beautiful ride I have ever been on and it was also the most challenging ride!!! Thanks for the blog and I will see you this weekend!!!
Kelly! I can’t wait to ride with you this weekend momma!
I love hearing your thoughts on the Pedal Power ride, especially when you’ve been blessed to have ridden in a place like Oregon. (On my bucket list FOR SURE!) Girl, it was plenty challenging wasn’t it?
See you Friday!!
[...] and I decided to embark on some organized rides as a group. A few of us did the 23 mi route on the Pedal Power Wildflower Ride (no flowers on the WHOLE ride that year), and a few months later we embarked on the Real Ale Ride. [...]