Bike the Drive Part 1

4:50 a.m. - My alarm goes off. What jackass set my alarm for this early!? I'm going back to bed. Oh, wait... I did... crap. I drag myself out of bed and get ready for my day. I wear my tri shorts and my nice moisture wicking top and head out the door.

5:20 a.m. (roughly) - CRAP! I forgot my water bottle! I turn around and go back home and grab it. It would have been a long morning without it.

5:45 a.m. - I find myself at the Orange Line. Did you know there is basically no one on the road at 5:30 in the morning on a Sunday? I try and shake off how creepy the parking lot is. There's one other car and a load of empty beer containers. I suck it up and drag my bike out of the car, load up my saddle bag (the little bag that is strapped under my seat) and pay for parking. Thankfully there's a elevator at the Pulaski stop and I happily ride up to the platform.

6:15 a.m. - I get off at the Harold Washington Library stop and realize that there isn't a elevator here. Damn. I pull up my bike and jog down the very narrow stairs hoping the momentum of the bike down the stairs doesn't catch me off balance. I have this vivid flash of me lying in a heap at the bottom of the stairs as the other bikers from the train walk over me. I get down the stairs no problem though and I start to walk the 3 blocks to Lake Shore Drive.

6:25 a.m. - I ask a nice volunteer to put on my wristband. She looks flustered that someone actually asked her for help. She puts it on a bit too tight but I thank her anyway and make my way towards the Start/Finish which is at Columbus and Jackson. I had a small powerbar and half an Amp on my way so I bypass the table of breakfasty stuff and hop on my bike. You have the option of doing the North loop or the South loop. I choose the South loop because the turn around is the Museum of Science and Industry and I love it there.

I get an amazing view of the lake as the sun rises and I feel like I could bike forever. The weather is warm but the breeze off the lake is wonderful, plus it's overcast so it's bright but not blindingly so. Plus I'm wearing my sweet Ironman sunglasses Kait got me. I pass The Field Museum, McCormick Place, Soldier Field. I'm feeling great and pretty soon I see volunteers holding signs saying the turnaround is 1 mile away. Hell yeah! I'm almost at the turnaround!

7:00 a.m. I stop in front of the museum and grab a banana and fill my water bottle. I take 5 minutes and enjoy the idea that I am refueling my body for the ride back to the start finish. There are so many people it's just crazy but the good kind. I find myself smiling constantly. I feel good and strong and I head out. I biked 7.5 miles in 35 minutes. Not bad for a leisurely pace... not quite 5 minutes a mile.

As I head back to the start/finish I start to get serious jersey envy. Some people are wearing their Bike the Drive shirts but many people are wearing colorful bike jerseys. Some are supporting their cycle club, tri club, charitable foundation. Others are wearing what I can only assume to be their favorites. I saw a South Park one, an Incredible Hulk, a Cookie Monster, and a bunch of Tour de France ones. I also was passed by a couple guys on hand bikes. The coolest thing I saw was an EliptiGo, which is basically a moving elliptical. The woman looked like she was having a blast on it too.

7:40 a.m. - I'm back at the Start/Finish. Hell yeah. I biked 15 miles in 70 minutes. I'm surprised at how consistent my pace was. At this point I'm not that tired so instead of stopping I ride past the optional rest area and find myself immediately confronted with the Link Bridge over the Chicago River. It's a nice lone uphill push and I find I'm a bit weary as I speed down the other side. Damn, maybe I should have stopped. I take my time going North because there are a bunch of hills and a serious lack of shade. The view of the lake is amazing and fortifies me as a pass the optional 4 mile turnaround and barrel on towards the North side rest stop at Hollywood.

8:30 a.m. - I make it to the North side rest stop and I realize I'm pretty tired and it's a small hill filled, sunny 7.5 mile ride back to the festival. Crap. I grab another banana and a small Clif bar and fill my water bottle twice. I take almost 20 minutes to gather up my courage for the ride back to the start/finish. My pace slowed as it took me almost 50 minutes to ride the 3rd 7.5 mile distance so it took me about 7 minutes a mile. I was a little disappointed but it's not a race and I remind myself I've just biked 22.5 miles and I need to give myself a bit more credit.

8:50 a.m. - I gather up what's left of my energy and hope the banana and Clif bar
 will give me the energy to make the next 7.5 miles. As my pace slows I'm getting pretty tired, but I notice the other riders around me and realize there are a lot of families doing the ride. I see a dad and his daughter riding along and she's on half a little bike attached to the back of his, kind of like a tiny version of a tandem bike. We are going up the first little hill and he calls to her, "Come on little motor pump those legs! We got this!" It was just about the damn cutest thing I've seen.

It gets to be about 20 after nine and I start to consider how hot it's getting and how slow I feel like I've become. The muscles above my knees (which I have never really considered before) start to cramp up and for the first time I hop off my bike and walk up an upcoming incline. I stretch out my legs and grab some water before hopping back on my bike for the decline. I have to get off my bike and walk up once more before I am finally back to the Link Bridge. There's no damn way I'm biking up that so I hop off and enjoy the feeling of my muscles stretching out. Almost there. The start/finish is just past the bridge and I feel a renewed sense of purpose and pedal my ass off back to the festival.

9:45 a.m. - I make it to the festival. It took me 55 minutes to finish the last 7.5 miles. I'm honestly surprised. With the walking I was sure it was gonna take me well over an hour to finish. I am happily exhausted as I search for water. There were a lot of booths and people handing out free stuff and I made a very slow lap around but I didn't have the energy to push through loads of people. I found the water and make the slow trudge back to the train.

I realize walking down the stairs with the bike was so much easier then walking up, after a 30 mile ride. I finally get into the air conditioned train car around 10:15 and I think I stopped sweating right around the Kedzie stop on the Orange Line only to have to go back into the heat to get to my car. I set the A/C on blast and considered how to get my bike back into the car. My arms are basically useless, but it takes me long enough that by the time a drop into the drivers seat the air is freezing. I love it. I finally get home around 11a.m. and I feel overwhelmed. I JUST BIKED THIRTY FREAKING MILES TODAY! It was amazing and empowering and I can't wait til next year. Maybe every couple weekends I'll drag my bike up north and ride the Lakefront Trail. For now, it'll be a few days before I get back on the bike. I'm surprised that the only part of me that's really sore is where I met the bike seat. All and all, it was a great experience.