beats, rides, and life

So everyone has been asking me about that bike ride I did in June. It's been almost two months with no news. Up until the week before it, I was pretty good about contributing a regular biweekly post about my experience preparing for America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride around Lake Tahoe. Truth be told, I wrote mostly to create a compelling reason compelling reason for people to visit the site and donate money to Team In Training. Writing was my way to acknowledge all of you wonderful people. Then I did the ride (more on that in a sec) and I got super busy doing other stuff (way more on that later).

Part of the past 6-plus has been spent thinking about how I spend my time. With all of my interests and passions and whatnot, it's a struggle to fit it all in. But here's the deal: there's at least one way design, bikes, music, and writing can all intersect and that's if I make them. So I'm gonna make them. Right here and as often as I feel like it.

: : The Ride : :

The ride was spectacular! Spectacular spectacular SPECTACULAR! I slept very little (90 minutes) the night before (DJing) and was so lucky to have my dad drop me off for the ride (yes, in Tahoe). We arrived in South Lake Tahoe at 4:18am. I checked into my hotel, ate a little breakfast, changed into my gear at 5:15am, and was downstairs for 5:30am roll call.

My teammate Antonio rolled up with my registration packet since I'd missed the previous day's pre-ride and rider check-in. It was 40 degrees out and Antonio was wearing lycra shorts for the first time ever. That and a jersey was all he had. No jacket, no tights, no gloves. Nothing. Dude is an animal. I was shivery and my eyes were dry and stinging. Antonio was all smiles. I decided to leech some attitude off him.

I honestly don't remember most of the first twenty or so miles. Teammates would ask how I felt and all I could muster was, "Fine, lil' sleepy." Mostly my eyes burned from the dehydration of being at a dry 6,000' elevation and the lack of rest my eyes had enjoyed the previous night.