Roastin’, toastin’, movin’, and shakin’

The Wife and I spent a lovely anniversary weekend in beautiful Madera. The plan had been a hers-n-his racing weekend, but I was the party pooper. The doctors had advised against racing, and if there was any doubt a quick loop of the TT course told me that the shaking, rattletrap roads were no place to ride without a good grip with both hands. I hear that the fabled ‘Roubaix’ section of the road race would have been worse, but I will have to take everyone’s word for it since I was not going to get the pleasure of experiencing it. I got to enjoy the festivities from the sidelines, yelling encouragement, heckling occasionally, and providing support. The Wife will be reporting on her own trials and tribulations. She did a better job than she gives herself credit for, and I am sure she will take the lessons from this weekend and carry them forward. She is a tough cookie! A few notes and observations:

• Lots o’equipment needed, including lots o’tools and spares. That course and the weather is brutal on equipment as well as the riders.
• Check everything nightly: after pre-riding the TT course on Friday I did not inspect the tires. At the TT course on Saturday, just before sending The Wife off to her start, I found some glass embedded in the front tire and a slash in the sidewall of the same tire. Good thing I had spare wheels! I had a spare tubular tire and some Tufo tape with me, too, so if I had found the problems on Friday night The Wife could have ridden on the high zoot Nimble wheel rather than my old road bike front wheel.
• Lots o’riders seem clueless on feed zone protocol. Lots o’folks not taking feed were riding along the right edge and blocking those who wanted feed from getting over. If you are not taking feed, move left; if you are, move right. Darned tough to do the water bottle transfer across three rows of moving cyclists! There was way to much frustration and angst from folks not able to get bottles on Sunday.
• When the weatherman says hot, take twice as much fluids with you as you think you will need. Saturday it was clear we would run short so we made a quick dash to the store to pick up a few more gallons.
• Always check with past participants for restaurant recommendations. Shot in the dark picks are more often miss than hit.

Perhaps next year I can give a first-hand account of the racin’.