I just got back from Philly last night. The LiveStrong ride was great! It was a very hard ride. The hills were endless. Anyone who knows me and how I like to ride knows I hate hills! In the end when I was very sore I would see a survivor of cancer riding along and that really made it hard to complain!
Since I've been doing Crossfit and USC I have seen lots of changes. Yet I wondered how it would effect my cycling. Before the ride I felt like a stronger rider overall. The true test is when you are fatigued and trying to push threw. The last 20 miles were the hardest for me. My lower back was screaming and the outside or my quads were very sore. My upper body which used to be my weakest link only started to give out in the last 15 miles or so. That being said I still felt strong. Like if I had to I could keep going. I've not felt that in the past. In the past my breaking point was my breaking point. So many of the rides I've done in the past I've had to call it a day at and earlier point. So in a very non-scientific way I'm stronger.

The most fun I had on the ride was drafting off people. I got in to a peloton of very strong riders. It's such a rush riding inches off other people and giving signals to eachother. In this peloton we were going about 25 miles an hour for 10 to 15 miles before I lost them at a rest stop. I loved it! It was fast and scary! On one very long hill I tuck it and got going about 40 miles an hour. Damn that's fun. Going fast on a bike is something that I love. I'm a slow rider overall, but still speed is awesome.
I hope to do it again next year with a group from around here. It really makes a difference if you have a group and are committed to stay together and work for each other. The miles really become less on the legs. Team work is the way to go.
Word to the wise...Don't drink beer as soon as you roll into the finish line. It will hit you like a brick in the face! But yummy it was good! After one beer I sat on the grass for about 45 mins to and hour just looking and feeling stoned!
It's a great cause worth doing again. I will continue to help raise money for LiveStrong it's a smart foundation! Thanks for your support!!