He's Back!

Three years later, after swearing I would not again Ride the Rockies, I have signed up for a ride in the Rockies, but this one, in its own way, even tougher. Along with three good friends, I have signed up for the Triple Bypass Ride in early July. This is, in my opinion the hardest organized ride there is. It is a one day ride (and of course RTR has its own toughness in being six days long), and the length is bad enough (120 miles), but what really sets it apart is that you are, in one day, climbing three mountain passes, for a total climb of 10,000 feet! I hate climbing and am not very good at it, so why on earth did I sign up for this crazy ride which is basically 12 hours of climbing? Because of the shirt! Really. Many riders in Colorado wear rides from various rides they have done, from charity rides to centuries to Ride the Rockies. There is a definite hierarchy of rides, with RTR near the top. When I wear my RTR shirt it makes a statement. That is fine, except at the top of the heap is the Triple Bypass shirt. When you see someone with that shirt, you know they have done a ride that is crazy hard. So, of course, I want to be able to wear one. Many of the people I have told about my signing up have asked why I don't just buy a shirt (which you can do). I just could not wear that shirt unless I did the ride. So, that is why I want to do the ride, and I figure if I don't do it this year, I will never do it. So, in six months I will being riding about 12 hours and probably hating the whole thing. There is a reasonable chance I won't finish, but I plan to. I need to put a lot of hours in the saddle (as I did for RTR), but also do a lot more climbing. One of the big things I need to focus on, besides the bike training, is to lose weight. It makes a huge difference how much you and your bike weigh, and while my bike is reasonably light, I am not. Most good climbers weigh under 150. I am over 50 pounds over that weight right now. Not sure how low I can go, but I plan to aim for something like 180 (which I haven't been since I was in college). Anyway, I found out I was in the ride five days ago and have trained almost every day, doing two rides this weekend. My back is sore, but I did ok, and if I work hard for six months, I should be able to do this. We'll see...