Colon Cancer Challenge

Lexington Medical Center’s Colon Cancer Challenge kicked off bright and early on a cold and cloudy Spring morning. Fortunately, despite a few drops and menacing clouds throughout the day, the showers stayed away until after the ride. The temperature remained in the low 50s, so this was the first ride in awhile where I needed to remain bundled up.

My goal for this ride was to push it. I had a mountain challenge under my belt and the legs felt strong, so I wanted to see what they could do. I hoped for between 18-19 miles per hour. I started with the lead pack and tried to hang on as long as possible. That took me as far as Wash Lever Road, about 10-12 miles in, where a few of the climbs caught up with me and I was separated from the pack. Fortunately I found a slightly slower pack riding shortly behind. This was a group of strong riders and good people. They were closer to my intended pace, so I stuck with them for the remainder of the ride.

After the first stop I started cramping a little bit, so I was careful to keep drinking and they passed eventually. Towards the end I started to get tired and almost could not keep up with the group, but I gave it a little extra and finished up with a 19.2 mph average. That is a tremendous speed for me.  I was very pleased with my performance and can see that the training is paying off.

The ride was extremely well organized with great support throughout. There seemed to be rest stops at every corner, although we only stopped at two for refueling. We saw a number of support vehicles and felt very comfortable on the course. Very nice job, LMC!

Garmin Link