Tour de Tonka

Besides a half iron, completing a century ride was on my list of things to do this summer. The Tour de Tonka (TdT) is a multi-distance bicycle ride, with distances ranging from 17 to 100 miles. Previous years we’ve been out of town the first weekend in August when the ride takes place, so we had never done it before. This year I was determined to do it so I put it on my calendar this spring and made sure to schedule everything else around it. I figured that the bike training for the half iron would be enough to prepare, particularly since the tour is a ride and not a race. The weekend after the half iron my legs were feeling fine and Mike and I rode 55 miles at a pretty good clip. All week leading up to the tour, I was really excited about it. Mike speculated that I was excited about because I have never sat on a bike seat for 6 hours before. He may have had a point.

Lining up for the TdT was really fun because there are riders of all ages and abilities. With 2,500 people, there was plenty of bikes to gawk at and admire. Once again we saw lots of faces we knew from running and triathlons, but also people we knew from our everyday life. It was nice to be part of an event that appeals to so many people. We were able to ride with some friends to the first water stop at mile 15, after which the courses for the various distances started to split off and they followed the 70 mile course. We hit the 30 mile water stop feeling fine and were greeted with quite a spread of food, once again proving my point that the fun in biking is the movable smorgasbord.

Mike biked ahead a little bit while I biked with my trusty training partner, Deb. When we got to the water stop at mile 49, Mike told us that they were out of water. What?! This was really surprising because every other aspect of this event was amazing. The course was fantastic, well marked, and had volunteers at every corner. There was plenty of food, places to sit and lots of shade at each of the stops. Between the three of us, we decided that we had enough water to make it to mile 70, the next stop.

When we rolled into the next stop, Mike warned us to hurry up because they were running out of water quickly. Both Deb and I were able to fill up one bottle and then they were completely out. This was not a good situation. I felt sorry for the organizers because everything else about this ride was first rate. Even so, I was irritated to say the least. Running out of water is inexcusable. We had looked for a gas station or somewhere to buy fluids along the way, but there was absolutely nothing. The course it out in the middle of rolling farmland. It makes for a beautiful ride but it’s not so great if you are really, really thirsty. Other riders were saying that the next section of the course had some gas stations along the way, so we assessed our situation and decided to head out for the next stop at mile 88.

Did we see any gas stations? No. Corn fields? Yes. Barns? Yes. Wells, hoses, sprinklers, or a retail establishment of any kind? No. Rolling into the stop at mile 88, I was cranky. Luckily, this rest stop had running water so there was plenty of ice cold water and Gatorade. It’s amazing what a little hydration will do for a person’s attitude. I sat in the shelter for 10 minutes and ate, drank, re-applied sunscreen, and re-adjusted my attitude. Back on the bike, I felt ready to go and finish the last 12 miles. We rolled into the finish area at exactly 100 miles in 5 hours and 50 minutes of actual ride time. I was thrilled to be done and chowed down a couple pieces of cheese pizza and felt pretty good. Even with the water crisis, it was a great ride.

With the half iron and the century ride over, it’s time to concentrate on marathon training. So far everything is going well. While visiting St. Louis last week, I met up with Team Flash for a beautiful evening run along the levy by their house. I also ran 14 miles at Forest Park, one of my favorite places to run. The five and a half mile loop around the zoo, science center, and museum is always bustling with interesting people doing all kinds of things. I lucked out and had a beautiful, cool morning to run and then met up with my brother that lives nearby for breakfast. Perfect! This week’s schedule says 15 miles, so I’ll run a couple before the start of my half marathon on Sunday, 13.1 Minneapolis. I’m using it as a training run but will try to keep a decent pace, especially since the weather forecast looks like it’s going to be good for running. Between the weather and knowing that it was such a nice race last year, I’m super excited about it. I’m hoping that they have chocolate cake again!