50K Zin Spin Ride Report

Ok, the Zin Spin 50K Bike ride was perfect. Good thing it was a ride and not a race because I was running a little late. The weather was just amazing, sunny, but not hot and you could smell the alfalfa in the lush green fields, the vineyards were greening up, I could smell honeysuckles on the last 4 mile stretch. The finish was at an amazing at an Arts & Crafts style house on the beautiful Bare Ranch, owned by Michael David. I ate a light lunch afterward and enjoyed the scent of orange blossoms from the trees. Please note the lovely picture to the right, it is the official image on the 2010 Zin Spin Tee Shirts. Wish I could credit the artist, but there is no info about this picture on the facebook page I took the image from.

There was a rest stop at mile 12.5 where I enjoyed a slice of wheat bread with peanut butter, it took me 49 minutes to get there. Usually this is my pre-run/race breakfast, but I was in a rush this morning and only had a strawberry and a Red Delicious apple...I definitely needed the protein. About 8 miles later there was another rest stop (a winery) where I enjoyed a half of an orange, this segment took me 32 minutes. I wished it wasn't so early, I would have loved to wine taste just, but could justify alcohol at 10AM. The last 10.1 miles were a little harder than expected, I was out of the saddle alot. I need to ride more often, it took me 41 minutes to finish. More good news is that I took a little jog after the ride to loosen up my legs and get them used to the TRI transition. Can I just say Wow! It didn't take much before my legs really felt good. I wouldn't call this a brick since it was less than a mile, but I felt pretty confident about hitting a decent stride in less than 1/2 a mile. It usually takes me longer to loosen up. This is the longest ride I have ever been on and I really enjoyed it. I think one thing that was a little tough was starting and stopping. The first mile after each rest stop seemed like a bit of a challenge. One thing that was amazing is the functionality of gears on a road bike vs. mountain bike. I had an a-ha moment getting over the second overpass and the concept of gears magically made sense. Pretty cool stuff this road bike thing is.

Sorry no pics, there were a bunch of Delta Tri Club folks riding too, but I didn't wait for them to finish, had a hungry 5 month old waiting for her mama at home, duty called. Thanks for reading & stay tuned for a post later today where I sign up for the 3 Changes Challenge.