Jen's Journey to 40: Bike Out Hunger

I'm not the best when it comes to counting the cost. I'm not sure I would have committed to participate in Bike Out Hunger if I had really realized how difficult and painful it would be. But I thought it sounded like fun and a good cause and I jumped right in. And truth be told, even after all the pain and difficulty I'm glad I did it. I just had no concept of how difficult all the hills in East Texas would be.

I joined almost 30 others who were crazy enough to commit to riding our bikes from Beaumont to Texarkana to raise awareness and money to help those who are hungry. Over the course of the 6 days I rode over 400 miles, saw some beautiful scenery, met amazing people (some who were part of the ride and some I met along the way), and burned a bunch of calories.

DAY 1 - BEAUMONT to WOODVILLE (~~65 miles~~78 miles)
I'd been preparing for and anticipating the ride for a couple of months now. It was hard to believe it was finally time to begin. We started from Buckner. The day before the ride, I had the chance to meet some of the other riders. I was very intrigued by Morgan and Ryan who had participated in last years ride after giving their cars up for lent. Here's their story

Early in the ride, we took a wrong turn that added 13 miles to our ride - heck of a way to start. It was a long, hot day. The ride ended at the America's Best Value Inn in Woodville, TX. I could see our hotel, but was forced to stop at a stop light one block before it. As I stood waiting for the light to change I could feel darkness coming on and told Brandon (the guy riding beside me) that I thought I was about to pass out. But there was nothing we could do since we were in the middle of the road and the light had just turned green. So, I sucked it up, started pedaling, pulled into the hotel, and laid on the ground to rest. I eventually got up to take a shower, ice my legs, and go to dinner. The first day was complete. The heat and the hills made it harder than I expected. But I made it.

DAY 2 - WOODVILLE to NACOGDOCHES (67 miles)

My legs were sore from the first day. But as I pedaled on, my muscles stretched out and I settled into the rhythm of riding again. It was a beautiful day. I loved picking up speed as we raced down the hills; I dreaded pedaling back up them. I've often complained about living in Texas and the lack of trees. But there is no lack of trees in East Texas. The roads were lined with gorgeous pine trees. I rode with a guy named Steve for a long portion of the day and had some great conversations. The last 10 miles seemed longer than they should have been and were rough, but I made it.

DAY 3 - NACOGDOCHES to TYLER (80 miles)
I expected this to be the toughest day. I told myself, if I could get through day 3 I could make it all the way. There were lots of hills and it was the second longest ride of the week. Of course the scenery was beautiful and the hills were even bigger than the previous days. But amazingly, I felt wonderful throughout the ride. I really enjoyed the country roads we were riding on and was mesmerized by all the different types of fences and how each one was beautiful in its own way. It was a rough day for some of the other riders in our group and there were lots of flat tires in the beginning of the ride. As a result I saw some of the faster riders during the ride and at the first rest stop. When I finally made it into Tyler, I was encouraged by a fellow rider to take an ice bath. Apparently, it helps with muscle recovery. So, I got 4 buckets of ice from the hotel ice machine and piled it in the front of the tub. I turned on the cold water and waited for the freezing water to rise and cover my legs.

DAY 4 - TYLER to MARSHALL (62.11 mils)
This was initially a longer day. But because of safety concerns we loaded our bikes on the trailer and drove miles out of town to start our ride. Because of the low mileage and the pride I had in having accomplished the previous three days rides, I thought that today would be easy. But it was still 62 miles! It ended up being my most difficult day.I can't even begin to tell you how happy I was to reach Marshall. I was wiped out. The hills were even bigger than the previous days. But still I made it.

DAY 5 - MARSHALL to TEXARKANA (84.69 miles)

I had 4 days under my belt. My body ached. And it was time for the longest ride of the week. Really? We headed out from the dorm at East Texas Baptist University and immediately came upon a hill. My legs ached. Then we had a nice stretch of beautiful relatively flat road. And then the hills came. I hate to sound like a broken record, but these hills were bigger than the previous days! In addition, there was a headwind. Ugh. I struggled up the hills. For a few of the hills Steve came alongside me and put his hand on my back to give me an extra push up. But the hills kept coming and getting bigger. Even worst, I felt like we were always going up and not getting the thrill of racing down the hills. We were less than 20 miles into the ride and I was beginning to bargain with myself about getting to the rest stop and taking a break to ride in the truck to the next rest stop. A couple of my fellow riders had already called it quits and were riding in the sag wagon. And then my chain came off. It would have been easy enough to put it back on and I did. But I also decided that this was the perfect time to take a break. So, we loaded my bike in the trailer and I took a break in the air-conditioned truck watching the hills continue to get bigger and bigger. I had told myself not to give up and that I would only be disappointed if I got in the sag wagon. But I must admit as I watched the hills get larger and larger, I had no regrets in taking a break. At the rest stop, I and a couple of the guys who had also taken a break decided to get back on our bikes and give it another try. I'm so glad we did. I had a great time for the rest of the ride. We rode along a mile long bridge crossing a beautiful river. And the group I was riding with seemed to be working together so well. We rode in a group calling out warnings from behind like "car back" and warnings from ahead like "hole" The weather was perfect and we were happy on our bikes. We just kept pedaling and covered the rest of the miles. Texarkana came quicker than I expected. And unlike the other days, I had a rush of adrenaline and plenty of extra energy at the end of this ride. I had made it from Beaumont to Texarkana! It had taken us all day and we were arriving around 5:00 so traffic was busy. Fortunately for us, we had a van in front of us guiding us to our hotel and a truck behind us protecting us form traffic. We made it!

DAY 6 - ASHDOWN, AR, Ride for the Cure (30 miles)
We had one more ride before heading back home. We were participating in a local ride in Ashdown, AR. The distance options were 12, 30, 40, or 65. I was pretty tired and didn't really feel like going far so I decided to ride the 30 mile route. There was a group of 5 of us that rode this distance and took this opportunity to practice riding in a paceline. We rode in a line with our wheels as close to each other as possible taking turns being in front. The person in front breaks the wind and essentially pulls the other riders along. By riding in a paceline, cyclists are able to go faster while expending approximately 20% less energy. We flew past the first rest stop - we were going faster then we had previous days and feeling good. We stopped at the second rest stop, which consisted of two older women sitting in a front yard working on crosswords near the table with homemade cookies, snickers bars, and a cooler with water and orange juice. The woman informed us that they are also part of the volunteer fire fighters for their community. I loved the small town hospitality. But we still had just over 13 miles to go so we got back on our bikes and in our paceline to finish. We finished the race putting my total at 404 miles for the week!

A FEW LESSONS I LEARNED ALONG:
1. It was critical to have a good supply of water and gatorade on my bike and drink it regularly. The more water I drank the better I felt. And it is not just the amount of water you drink, it is important to drink the water consistently through out the ride. Keeping plenty of water on the bike and drinking it consistently is far better than drinking a couple of bottles at each rest stop 2 miles apart. This experience gives me deeper meaning to the fact that Jesus is our Living Water and that I need to be spending time with him in a consistent manner.

2. Hunger ministries provide help and hope. One day I was struggling to get in the miles. I was hungry and thirsty and anxious for the next rest stop (well, let me be honest, I was always anxious for the rest stops). And then I saw one of the ride support staff who told me that the rest stop was five mies ahead. Just knowing that the rest stop was coming in five miles gave me the hope that I needed to press on. There are thousands of people in Texas and even more around the world who need to know there is someone who cares and will direct them to their next meal.

3. Suffering is tough, but its worth it. It was not easy to ride 404 miles. And there were many times that I wondered what I was thinking when I signed up for the ride. But I can't begin to explain the feeling of riding into Texarkana and knowing that I rode my bike from Beaumont! It is never fun to suffer, but in the end it is often worth it.