I started the Tour at about 7:20am. I was an official member of the United We Ride team, but mostly rode by myself (they were all much faster). I told myself I would try to get to the first rest stop. The first mile I kept thinking, whoa... I'm actually doing this... I'm doing this. I think I finally got nervous at this point. I stopped, got off the bike, and checked the map. OK... so the first rest stop is 7.1 miles away. You can do that Cari... A volunteer saw me and said, "You've still got a long way to go hon." Funny guy. Anyway, I hopped back on. Was feeling good. Not coughing. Very chilly & windy (I know what you're thinking Scott(macaco), don't say it!). I'm riding through the streets, other cyclists are passing me by... I'm just keeping my pace. I kept a close eye on my HR. I made it to the first rest stop. Whew! I was so happy. I felt like I could go a little further. While at the rest stop, I got some air in my tires, drank some fluids, ate another half-banana. Hopped back on and kept going. I felt my confidence creeping back. My lungs were open and clear for the moment. HR was good, and if it got too high I slowed my pace. For the next 6.9 miles, I felt good. I made it to the next rest stop! God that felt really, really good. I took my time, drank some more fluids, had another half banana, refilled my water bottles, stretched... and decided to keep going. So I took off thinking this next stretch would be doable. About 2.5 miles into it, I hit a wall of wind. Holy fuck! We were in the Redlands by now, which is mostly farms, and no tall buildings. This really slowed me down. I had the bike in a lower gear for practically the next 4 miles. I got tired really fast. I kept checking the odometer and was counting the miles until the next stop. While nearly there, I had to stop and rest for a minute. Drank some gatorade hoping for a little energy. A support vehicle checked on me. But I told 'em I was getting myself to the next rest stop. And I made it! That was hard. While there, I saw a friend and we chatted for a bit. But all the talking got me a little out of breath, & coughing. I felt my chest slowly closing up. But the self talk stayed positive about my ability to keep going. I drank some more fluids, had a chewy granola bar (the other food choices all seemed yucky...) and decided to keep going. Alas, about 2 miles into the next stretch I decided to stop. The wind was still very strong, and I just didn't have the energy to keep going. I waved down a support vehicle, and spent most of the rest of the morning traveling from rest stop to rest stop via the support vehicle. Along the way, we picked up another rider who was unable to continue. I couldn't help feeling bad watching all of the riders still on the road, still struggling w/ every mile in the god-awful wind. I felt more dejected with each passing mile. And it only got worse after lunch while on the fucking Card Sound road. Its a two lane road, with the same scenery for what seemed like an unending number of miles. And I can't forget to mention the passing vehicles. It was just an awful stretch. I couldn't help feeling like a lazy ass for having stopping so early. While on the way to the 3rd to the last rest stop, after having passed my fellow riders struggling w/ the very steep bridge in a really strong cross-wind... I decided I would try again. I rode the next 12 miles (w/ one rest stop) w/out a hitch. Kept my pace, although it was a bit faster than earlier that morning. It was a damn good feeling riding through that finish line. I accomplished 34+ miles! Not the 50 I had trained for, and not straight-through, but considering my hacking cough, I'll take 'em. I felt so high from my finish that I wanted to attempt 25 miles on day two. Didn't happen. The next morning it was chillier than day one, much windier (duh... you're in the keys now), and woke up extremely congested, very nauseous... and upon arriving at the park from the hotel shuttle ride, I puked what little was in my stomach. OK... so my body had other plans. There's always next year.

PS. The entire event was extremely well organized. Except for the major wind, the weather was gorgeous. I couldn't have had a better time. There was a nice little beach party, w/ music and dancing. My friend Amy reached her goal of riding the 75 miles on day one, and another 25 on day two to boot. All in all, a very nice weekend.

Pray a couple of holy rosaries that I wouldn't get sick right before an event.

Stretched out. Got some fluids. Went to my hotel & took a nice shower. My friend and I told each other our stories, and then took a powernap.


I had a fucking chest cold.


I can't say enough about how awesome this event was. This is the 19th year the South Florida chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society has produced the Breakaway to Key Largo. It was extremely well organized, considering the massive logistics involved. Over 1650 riders participated. The volunteers worked their asses off! I made sure to tell the two ladies I know that are on the staff what a terrific job they were doing. I see myself doing this year after year, just like the many people I met who have done just that.