The Girls of 3 Ring go 30miles for Best Buddies!

For those of you who checked out my recent "Girls Riding Weekend" album of pics of my super~cycling favorite girl Sidney and myself having a great weekend cycling, it WAS an amazing weekend in so many ways. We started the weekend on Friday heading to Half Moon Bay...literally...my GPS lady had us in the middle of the bay ~ just a small detour! We continued down Hwy 1(despite Brad telling me to turn around), and enjoyed great views. A short stop in Monterey to refuel car and bodies, then off to Carmel to check in for our next day's ride! We arrived at the Quail Lodge Resort which should have given me my first clue as to what kind of upscale event we were getting into. 10 Audi A8's passed us on the way in complete with Best Buddies logos ~ obviously event cars. The resort was setup with a full stage and tents greeting riders signing in(also the start of the 100 mile ride). About 15 more A8's were parked around this venue. Music was pumping and there was a definite buzz. We registered, got our schwag bags(the first ones), then hopped back in the car to do the 2 hour drive down hwy 1 to San Simeon, the start of our ride. As we drove I realized that I forgotten just how hilly and steep hwy 1 was...my nerves were in for a real shock when we got to the 30 mile marker where our ride was to start...all uphill...for miles...it wasn't until a ways into the 15mile that things flattened out a bit. I asked Sidney if she wanted to switch to the 15...nope. We arrived in San Simeon about 7:30pm and headed out for some grub. Found a cute Mexican joint that came complete with live entertainment...bats. Surprisingly neither of us landed in our burritos during a fly by. Back at the hotel I got the bikes prepped and set out to get Sidney trained on clipless(a daunting thing for mom to be doing in the dark knowing what kind of terrain was ahead in the a.m.). The gods were with me as I realized that whoops, I put the wrong cleats on her shoes!! A disappointed Sid, a VERY relieved me. I had the forethought to bring a spare set of flat pedals just in case(intuition?!)BUT do you think I could get the other pedals off?? Nope!(Daddy is a fair bit stronger than I!). Knowing mechanics were on course next day I gave up before I broke anything. Needless to say I got no sleep(the 5 star Days Inn bed/slab o something didn't help I'm sure. A few times more I asked if we should do the 15...Nope. ugh. Alarm off at 6:30am and we are up and out, bikes loaded, gear packed, hydrated and petrified(still just me worrying how we're going to do those hills). Oh and btw I'm on a brand new shiny Bianchi Infinito that has literally only been riding around the block in flip flops. We drove to the Hearst Castle parking lot where shuttles take our bikes and selves 30 miles back north to start our ride...me thinking "I'm already at the finish line, can't I just stay here??". Nope. We met up with some fellow teammates and I was somewhat relieved to see the caliber of some other bikes and riders...it just made me feel a whole lot better to see crappy hybrids, flat pedals and very non-bike looking folks climbing aboard(the non-judgemental angel on my right shoulder slapped me a few times for that). The bus was eerily quiet as we drove the 45 minute trek to the start...I did my best to be chatty and witty but just wasn't feeling it. Arrival: 9:35am. Bikes unloaded, team gathered, geared up and ready to ride. I got a bit star struck when I saw Lauren Potter who plays Becky in Glee(coincidentally my favorite show). I had Sidney pose with her and chatted with her mom...Lauren, 21 who has Down's Syndrome, was very upset though as her Dad was riding the 62 miles and she was really worried about him and almost in tears. Her Mom was awesome and was so gracious to even talk to us. I have to admit that although this ride is devoted to raising money specifically for kids with Intellectual Disabilities this was one of my first encounters(of many that day as well), speaking to someone like this. I quickly put my sunglasses on to hide my own human reaction watching Lauren's stress at her father's absence. As the ride group gathered several speakers got up on another fully decked out stage setup. Maria Shriver glowed as she addressed the crowd, followed by 3 amazing young men with ILD ~ all incredibly charismatic and unbelievebaly funny. In my panic of our impending doom I neglected to commit their names to memory but one fellow sang a bang up version of the Star Spangle Banner like I've never heard ~ vibrato et al! Amazing! These kids are quickly capturing hearts! Gavin Newsom was highlighted in the crowd of lycra sporting a ride that someone should have known better than to put him on(he was one of the crappy hybrid, non-bike looking folk...right shoulder angel slap ~ ouch!). Only a few moments later would he come careening into me as the group departed...I think he should stick to politics?! Countdown on and we're off...my first thought taking off on my new bike is "I really should have looked at what gearing is on this thing...dang my lowest gear is REALLy hard...oh wait, it's Shimano...I'm used to SRAM...levers go THAT way...whew, that was a bit frightening!" Ok NOW we're off...Gavin, get the hell outta my way! Climbing, Climbing and more Climbing...oh look we get to climb some more! Sidney is already showing her stuff and we are passing lots of people. I do remind her that we still have 29 miles to go! Surprisingly, and pleasantly so, the climbs are long but not as steep as appear by car. We set a good pace and spin comfortably as I discuss with her the importance of cadence and pace...a very attentive student I must say. Finally a descent which she takes off handles like a pro. I catch up to her(finally) after noticing a wobble in her bike as she stands. A quick lesson in descending corrects that and she's off even faster(and no wobble). As we ride pretty much everyone comments on her age and ability ~ another quick lesson in gratitude and she's responding with "thanks" instead of keeping head down! I have to remind her that what she is doing is pretty amazing(I'm still wondering if we are really going to do this...bad mommy, I should have more faith in my determined and talented child. My favorite ascending moment occurred on THE steepest hill of the climb, about mile 10 into the ride...we are on Hwy 1 and I look over an opposite curve to see a large group of very fast riders coming up followed by very flashy cars...that can only mean one thing...the pros are approaching. I race to the top of our ascent in preparation for the moment they overtake Sid for a great photo op. I get that and much more. The pack all addressed Sidney as they climbed by with lots of encouragement and are obviously impressed. Great timing as it really pushed her harder to try to hang onto them...hmm a sign of a future racer?! We continued on with a few wardrobe adjustments, nutrition stops, potential pee breaks(not much hiding happening on those mountains!)and finally the 15 mile stop is in our site! 1/2 way there!! We arrive to find a few of our team UBS mates there finishing up. Our friend, Karyn, driving the route has graciously held back to see if Sid is in need of a ride. Nope! Sidney asks me if she can have a Mountain Dew to which I replied "Sweetheart ~ today is the one day that you can drink Mountain dew and say Jesus"(as she did when a car passed a bit close for comfort!). A quick pitstop to refuel and we are off again, knowing that the worst is over, just a bit more climbing then just flat and cruisey! Yeehaw!!! Well flat and cruisey at mile 10 left to go turns into a scenic, butterfly chasing, chatty, unfocused venture that I quickly realize is fun but getting us nowhere fast! If only we had riding tunes...wait we do!! It won't be loud enough but in a pinch the iPhone turns into our motivational beat box and we pull out more moves than Jagger will ever have:) Smelly coastal sea lions and roadkill(including a cow on the wrong side of his fence:( )are also motivating to move out of that area quickly! The end in sight we sing our way towards the finish. Sidney of course cranks it as to arrive first and make me look bad:) ok by me! We are greeted by a red carpet and a crowd cheering us/her on and the announcer shouts out a "Wow ~ check out this 10 year old, Sidney McKenzie who just completed 30 MILES!!!" A huge cheer from the crowd. Why are my eyes watering?? Someone is asking me something but I can't hear what they are saying. All I can do is go over and hug my little girl and hope all the pride and admiration I'm feeling will seep into her soul. We have already signed up for next year's event...this time for the 62 miles...I'd better get training so I can keep up to her! Back to the event itself, at the finish we are treated to a glorious 15 minute massage, showers(if we wanted but we were too busy), an incredible spread of food that was enjoyed sitting beside the ocean. Turns out the event is sponsored by Patron Tequila...I earned a good margherita didn't I ~ turns out it was the best one I've ever had! We didn't have much time to hang around as we had to get cleaned up back at the hotel and get on a shuttle headed for the Hearst Ranch(this was on a "lower" section of the property). We did get to see Teri Hatcher(Desperate Housewives) pull in having done the 100 mile! Impressive! Poor girl, I think she was exhausted but all the men wanted pics with her! On to the Ranch, a shuttle picked up the clean up version of us from in front of our hotel. As we drove the windy road to the ranch I realized not a lot of people get to do this. An avenue of international flags graced the last mile of road to the ranch where an awesome sight greeted us. An even bigger version of all the concert stage setups we've seen that day, a gorgeously simple ranch buidling and a spread of food and cheer as I've never seen. Oh yes and the field of ALL the Audi's that we'd seen that day...I'm guessing close to 100??!! Not to be outdone by Audi, Patron was an ominous presence at the upper venue complete with a margherita bar where you "make your own" then get an engraved lime press. Of course that was my first stop. As we are in line a gentleman with obvious ILD approaches us and introduces himself. He's from Columbia so a bit hard to understand with the accent, but is very gentile and seems genuinely appreciative that we are there. Sidney has a chat with him and talks to him much more casually and openly than with any adult I've seen her talk to that day. I really need to get my eyes checked, this watering thing is really getting annoying...drat I left my sunglasses at the hotel! Onto get a bite to eat(though neither of us have much appetite after all the shot blox and gels consumed over the day!). I guess we looked official(or officially lost)as a hostess told us to sit at a table reserved for Government...well no one was sitting there so why not! It was front row after all and next to the Shriver's table! As we picked away a nice looking couple where ushered to sit next to us...ugh it was that guy who tried to run me off the road this morning. Ok Mr. Newsom, you can sit here but I'm NOT talking to you...I'll talk to your wife though, she seems nice. Turns out they've just had a second child so we have lots to talk about...funny I'm wonderiing if she might be enjoying talking to someone who has NO clue what is going on in their life. The speeches begin and Anthony Shriver, a founder of the event, takes the stage. He educates us all on the importance of what we have just done and why we have done it. Then Maria takes the stage. I think many of us thought in light of her past year's events she would step out of the public eye and hide...she did just the opposite. She came out in force, looking as striking as ever(perhaps moreso), and delivered a speech that I'm sure I'm not the only one it touched. She did address her year's events in a way that she was especially touched by a young man with ILD who spoke to her on a comforting raw human level that someone who didn't have ILD could never understand. She ended her talk on a VERY humorous note making light of her past year that left everyone laughing. I have such a new respect for her and all that she has done and will continue to do. The next speaker was a young fellow named Charles. Charles has ILD and is a beneficiary of the Best Buddies program. Wow if anything is ever going to prove the worthiness of the program, he's it. He spoke of his life struggling and dealing with the "R" word, which he also made us all pledge never to use. He spoke with conviction and eloquence that commanded a silence in the audience as no other speaker had done. Later that evening I had the opportunity to share a dance cube with Charles and he's just as good a dancer as he is a speaker. Smashmouth(a rock band from a few years ago for the older and much younger crowd)then came on to perform and brought things up considerably. They were awesome, fun and got all the "Buddies" up on stage to have the time of their lives. Finishing up with Allstar, the party was brought to a close and we wearily climbed aboard a shuttle to head back to the hotel. Sidney wasn't tired though and stayed up watching infomercials until I told her she HAD to go to sleep! Several months ago when my friend, and then UBS employee, Doug told me about this event I didn't think much of it. I offered to do the kits for the team, slap our shop logo on it and call it a day. When he said I should do the ride and raved(not enough!) about the workings of the event I lightly entertained it then set that thought aside. As we got closer I thought a girls weekend would be fun and Sidney was very open to the idea. We really didn't train much if at all so I wasn't feeling very prepared...in fact I even sold my road bike 2 weeks before the event! We pulled it together though and had an unforgettable weekend. I felt the need to write this in detail A. ~ so I don't forget! and B. ~ to impress upon others the world of ILD that is often forgotten but is a world of remarkable people who need a chance to be normal and accepted as anyone should be and C. ~ that this event in and of itself is a phenomal event to truly challenge yourself and be rewarded in ways that you never thought possible. I'm sure I haven't done it justice in words here so you'll just have to sign up for 2012 and find out for yourself:)...rumor has it I might even have a 3 Ring Cycles group signing up so join our team and get ready for the time of your life!!! To get more information go to: http://www.hcchallenge2011.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=437651