Milestones: Reached and Unreached

Act I



Time really flies. This past Saturday, Chloe lost her 1st tooth. The week prior, there wasn't a mintue that went by and asked anyone that she saw, "Do you want to feel my tooth?" She was so excited to have a loose tooth, she could hardly contain herself. Until, that is, it was ready to come out. When her tooth was finally hanging by a nerve, we told her that we were going to pull it. Her face literally turned white. After Dawn merely tapped it, it fell out. My newly-turned 100% white kid looked terrified, especially after spitting blood out. After rinsing, the color returned to her face and all was well.

Act II



Later that evening, Dawn and I met our friends at Trio in Palos Heights. Good Times were had by all. However, several Blue Moons later, Dawny-girl wasn't exactly feeling too well. Spinning ensued and the night ended with a garbage can lying next to the bed. Fortunately for all of us at home, said garbarge can was empty :) I wasn't a saint either. But after a few drinks, I stopped. SOMEONE had to get us home in one piece!

This is all well and good if you don't have to get up in the morning. Unfortunately, we, along with Dawn's parents, were scheduled to ride our bikes on the soon-to-be opened I-355...

Act III



7:15AM came soon...Real soon. That is the time I woke up to get ready for Roll The Tollway, a 20+ mile bike ride on I-355, which was opening the following morning. Parched, I chugged down a bottle of water. I then tried to wake Dawn up, who wasn't too enthusiastic about getting up, but she finally did. I, on the other hand, started to feel pretty good, ready to take on the task at hand. Before leaving for the ride, I ate a banana, because that's what I thought people did before a workout.

I'm not a biker. In fact, I can honestly say that I haven't ridden on a bike over a mile since I got my driver's license in 1990. Yes, I've done stationary bikes in the past, but as far as "road time" is concerned, i'm pretty much at nil. My bike is a brand new bike, but a few years old. There was still plastic wrapping around the pedals. (I'm pathetic). On the other hand, Tim, my father-in-law, and Sandy, my mother-in-law, are riding with us. Tim is a maniac on the bike. He rides 30 miles every day and, this summer, completed Ragbrai, the 500 mile ride across the state of Iowa. Seasoned veteran of biking, indeed.

So, off we go! We unloaded our bikes and started riding from our cars to the starting line, which is 1-2 miles away. I knew immediately that I was in trouble. We parked our cars in Lemont. For those of you who know Lemont, you know that it's pretty hilly. Fat boy and hills don't mix. As soon as we arrived at the starting line, I was spent. Tim barely broke a sweat, Sandy was doing fine, and Dawn, although she looked hungover, was going at a good pace.

We finally get there and the official ride begins. I didn't do too badly at first, mainly because the pavement had a slight decline. "Perfect! This won't be too bad!", I thought to myself. I felt pretty good. The scenery was great, especially on the bridge that spanned over Lemont. But after that, it all went downhill for me as the pavement went uphill. It was awful. About 3 miles into the ride, Tim looked back and switched bikes with me, thinking that a better road bike would make it easier for me. It didn't, as I fell further and further behind the pack. I was laboring. At about mile 4, I felt my right calf, then my right quad begin to tighten, then tighten some more. A few moments later, I was having a full blown leg cramp. I felt sick. I couldn't move my leg at all. I immediately got off the bike, stood there for awhile and started walking towards the 1st rest stop, which happened to be the finish line. Once I got there, I decided to call it a day. I couldn't continue. My leg was still cramping. Bike ride: over. 8-10 miles into a 20 mile ride. Yipee! Hooray for me! :(

I sat there, watching rider after rider complete their ride: men, women, old people, young kids...everyone except me (or at least that's how it felt). An hour later, Dawn and her parents complete their ride. It's quite and accomplishment, especially for Dawn, who is not a biker, and finished the ride going into a stiff 20MPH wind going southbound while hungover!

We began riding back to our cars. Even though I only rode a little bit, my ass was hurting, along with my leg. About 1/2 mile down the road, BOTH of my legs began cramping, the calves and quads! This cramping was worse than my previous one. I jumped off the bike and felt sick. The worst cramping I have ever felt. Both legs felt locked. I couldn't move them. After a few minutes, I continued by foot, walking up the hills and riding down, until I met up with Tim, who drove the truck to pick me up.

What a demoralizing day for me.

Lesson of the Day: 1) Must start exercising again and 2) Bananas alone don't prevent cramps.