The Scott & BR Cycling Challenge final 10 gathered early today in the Flower Hill Promenade for an immunity challenge. Arrive at 6:15 and wear your thinking caps... I did not know
what to expect...and there was no way I would have guessed what the challenge really was. Mike and Vikki pull out a 2 gallon jar chocked full of ACCELGEL packets. We had 5 minutes to guess how many calories were inside. I took the engineers approach and came up with what I though was a solid number, 6480 calories over 72 packets. I was about 20% short. Pat Thomas was closest to the approx 8,000 Calories.
Today was an incredible day. The weather could not have been any more perfect for this course. The climb to Ramona is long and steady and typically hot. The same can be said of the area around Ramona, hot, exposed, and dirty. Today we were blessed with a decent cloud cover in the morning and temps only climbing into the mid 80's.
Group 2 started out at a comfortable and organized pace. The pace allowed for some conversations along the 56 bike path. We then reached the decent down Black Mountain Road to the climb up Mercy/Scripps Poway Parkway. On the way down, Don Ankeny had a peculiar mechanical problem. I stopped with Dan, Dean, and Scott to help out. It was really diffiult to crank it over. The derailers were fine, so it was assumed the bottom bracket was the culprit. We took the rear wheel off and discovered the nut that holds the cassette on the rear weel was off, and looked stripped. Don's day was over and was calling for a ride...
So the small group rode out. We had already been passed by group 3, so there was no point in hammering it to catch up to group 2. It will be an easier pace today. We passed Mike Henderson on the side of the road with another flat. He had some assistance, se we kept rolling.
At the top of Scripps Poway Parkway we had caught up with the tail end of group 2. I was having a conversation about the radio interviews last week with Scott Kaplan, xx1090's Scott & BR Show, when Vikki pulled up followed by a Highway patrol car. (Sorry for calling you out, Vikki) Whatever she did, she was able to get out of, because the officer thought he knew someone in the SAG Group (but turns out he did not). He graciously accepted a Fruit Kabob from the incredible SAG stop. Fruit Kabobs, water service, the works. Well done team!
The ride was very comfortable. I enjoyed the group I was with tremendously. I meet new people every week and they are all simply good people. Everyone I meet is someone that it is a pleasure to know.
I had the opportunity to chat with Dean Roeper and Scott Rhodes, the event chairs. They both stated what a great job The Scott & BR Cycling Challenge riders are doing raising funds and getting the word out about the Qualcomm Million Dollar Challenge and the Challenged Athletes Foundation. Thanks for the company guys. Our small group absorbed a few riders along the way. We shared the load and rolled back into the starting point around noon.
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