Cramping is my usual downfall in long rides, but they typically start closer to mile 70. I wasn’t all that close to mile 70. I needed to get off the bike and walk; Philly Jen stayed with me. I ended up needing to get off and walk a tremendous amount of hills; previous to this, in all the organized rides I’ve done before I’ve never needed to walk (aside from once in Honolulu on a steep climb when the rider in front of me decided to get off and walk without giving me a foot of notice).

In the meantime we ran into other cyclists in similar situations. We befriended one named Nate who was having some serious cramping. On the climb before one of the last rest stops I ended up dropping both of them; not wanting to stop on a hill, I kept looking for hill tops or at least plateaus that made sense at which to stop, and found none. Finally I came across an intersection with a bunch of ride personnel:

“How far until the next rest stop?”

“At the bottom of the hill.”

The bottom of the hill ended up being miles away.

I waited at that rest stop for quite some time. Turns out our new friend Nate needed to be taken care of by a sag wagon and possibly medical personnel; following that, Jen had a flat. But we rode for awhile again and I took in one more rest stop–Jen raced off to the finish.

I rode alone–often walking alone–the rest of the way. My cramps improved (they weren’t fantastic but they were better). I was just a few miles from the end. I was passed by a guy who encouraged me to not get taken off the course.

And then I threw my chain into the spokes.

I tried to dislodge it; it got worse. The sag wagon was right behind me and ended up taking me off.

So disappointed. I got so close.

All in all, I will say these things:

Livestrong Philly was awesome. So inspiring yet heartbreaking at the same time. My team–particularly my roommate Tommy, my captain Jen, and my I-wish-you-lived-down-the-street-from-me teammate Maggi are indescribably incredibly great. And that course killed me. I do not like having a do not finish on my record.

I will get back. Somehow.
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