It started with a 3am wake-up call. It was going to be a long, long day. The bikes and bags with all relevant goodies were packed in and on the car. The boys snuggled on the backseat with pillows and blankets and I wondered if I would be able to get a couple of hours of sleep on the way to Sun City - it was not going to be. LOL We made it there in good time and the road was busy with other cyclists heading in the same direction :-) We found a good parking spot and waited patiently in the car for the sun to come up. It was fre-fre-freezing!!
The boys ended up doing the kiddies race at 8am and my 12km was moved to 9am. Here's me waiting for the boys to finish up and making sure I've got everything ready for my ride.
Thankfully it warmed up some. It was hard parting with the various layers of clothing I had on. LOL If you had told me that by the end of the day that I would have sunburn I would never have believed but YIKES I did. Not from the race but from the time we spent at the Valley of the Waves - I was lounging on the beach, drinking cocktails and apparently forgot how harsh the sun can be. 
The ride began with a long steep uphill. I hate hills and it is definitely a 'mind over matter' thing for me and something I work on everyday. I need to learn to embrace hills. I managed to cycle up about 600 meters but couldn't find a steady pace. Lot's of people stopping and buses and other vehicles coming up from behind had me climbing off my bik and walking up the rest of the hill toward the Entertainment Centre. From there back on the bike and we made our way towards the golf course. I was really having fun and that's when I knew the cycling bug had definitely bitten. I love this!! Some confusion reigned on the course and a bunch of us were directed to the finish sooner that we should have been and sadly I only ended up doing just under 10km's instead of the 12 km's. First thing hubby said to me is that I looked 'too fresh' and I agreed. I could have quite happily done it again. :-)) Hill and all.
I finished in the time I had hoped - under 1 hour and then we packed the car - got our swim goodies and headed up to the Valley of the ways. Lots of fun and for me - too much sun. Ouch!!
I'm already planning my next 'proper' race. A 40km route taking place in Pretorial, much closer to home and in a months time. I cannot wait :-))
Hope you had a fabulous weekend. Here's to another super week!!
Michelle
2 comments:
Well done for meeting you goals in this race! That is what it's all about... and of course the fact that you enjoyed it!
Fabulous news... so proud you did well. I used to hate hills... but the good thing about hills is that you get to come DOWN too... in flat areas like where I live now... you never get a break... you must peddle always.... Your pictures look so good.. it is obvious you had fun.
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