Breathless Agony
Definitely Breathless.. Definitely painful..
May 3rd 2008
Was really looking forward the 114 mile challenge of 4 steep long climbs collectively called Breathless Agony, what I did not bargain for was……
“NOOOOO!” I shouted as I went down to greet the asphalt which I have to say HURT!!
BOOM! As my tailbone or as I call it Coxia made contact!
It literally knocked me breathless!!
And I was definitely in agony!
More so on finding out this was the end of my day and the climb, as my beautiful Cannondale bike lay wounded like a boxer in the ring! The rear derailleur detached from the frame drop out into my Spinergy spokes. One minute I was climbing and the next a frozen wheel and on the ground. This was definitely not what I expected when I was given the okay to race this famous century ride last week!!
It all started last Sunday when I had the chance to do a late registration for Breathless Agony (BA), as I had already completed the Mulholland century challenge with12,500ft of climbing and BA was next in line on the way to completing 3 difficult century rides in one calendar year for the exclusive bragging rights of King Of the Mountain .. For the ladies out there Queen of the Mountains!!
I was excited and arrived with my friend Amber at 6am, in time to pick up the route sheets and set off at 6.31am!! I decided it was too dangerous to ride with my ipod even in one ear was jeopardizing my concentration of other riders and traffic on the road, so after a mile it was out of commission. The first 27miles are rolling and false flats we were going at a good speed as we paced line up and down the course! At mile 17 I hit the infamous Jack Rabbit trail this was like day and night as I left the smooth road for a 4.5 mile rough potholed road we all had been warned to have good tires on this stretch of the course which was more favorable to a mountain bike.
On leaving the trail there is 6miles to the first watering hole in Beaumont it was leaving the trail that I realized there was something wrong with my bike.. It would not shift into ANY gear with out a clacking sound! I tried large ring then the small ring every rear cog I had and none seemed to want to register, I gingerly made my way through the 4 miles as the course flattened out the gears began co operating and by the time I made the rest stop the noise had seemed to stop…
I saw Chuck the race director and asked if there was a mechanic as I was having issues with shifting, I saw Robert and he quickly went through the gear changing sequence It seemed fine I felt foolish as my bike was now being a picture perfect bike.. Happy I set off for the long 8 mile climb as soon as the grade began the clacking noise returned on my shifting. I told my friends Amber and Chuck I would take it easy to the crest and see if I could sort out the noise as it was not sounding good and something was definitely wrong. I tried soft pedaling pretty difficult on a long climb then the unthinkable happened a loud popping noise followed by my pedals totally locking up I had no where to go but down and down I went! Geez I had hit my tail bone an EMT had stopped but I did not want an ambulance just to get a new derailleur and get back to climbing. Then the news was given sorry your beautiful new Cannondale Synapse will have to come back next year as it broke at the drop out and the derailleur was jammed nice and tight into my rear Spinergy wheel, the force had even bent the bike skewer in the wheel! Reluctantly I allowed a volunteer called PAUL to put my bike into the sag wagon.. I felt awful I could not finish and sad I had a broken bike but on the bright side I could have had a broken collar bone! At least I will get to race again!
I was taken to the second rest stop I put ice on my quickly bruising lower back, sprayed it with Kool n Fit, and socialized with other cyclists while waiting for a lift home from Chad. I have to say my bike was the center of attention as cyclists took photos and even made comments like I thought I was hurting when I flatted!! But this makes me feel grateful I can still continue.
After my husband looked at the bike he found the halo drop out missing a screw something the ordinary cyclist is not looking for, so as I began climbing the derailleur was hanging by one screw and the halo was rocking, as I changed the gear into the 25cog the rear derailleur went into the wheel thank goodness the wheel was strong enough to absorb the shock!
Chuck Bramwell and Robert Kahler are a HUGE reason why this race sells out in 5 days in January. They are at ever aid station, smiles are a perquisite all the staff where extremely cheerful they even have a Grim Reaper taking photos of the cyclists as they suffer up the climbs!
My day may have ended unexpected but I still managed to raise $798 for Breast Cancer as I am sure AVON will credit the lost miles, and I thank Hammer Nutrition, Profile Design, Rudy Project USA,Spinergy Wheels, Serfas Tires, Hawaiian Tropic, Polar Heart Rate Monitors, Fuel Belt, Kool n Fit and my husband who spent the afternoon making sure I was relaxed and my bike was taken care of!!
Next time I will be sure to check that little screw that attaches the halo to the frame that it does not come loose while going up jack Rabbit trail!
