“The Damned Loop”-What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!

Today I awoke to my cell phone ringing at 7:40am. I was supposed to meet another rider from Bicycle Sport Shop this morning at 7:30am. Unfortunately my alarm clock did not function properly. However, after a quick phone call to Brandt…he rolled back over to pick me up for the “Fast Group ATC Ride”. The loop was named “the Dam loop” because it meandered out to a Dam about 2 hours away, around a lake and back (about 60 miles round trip). We started the day with the lofty intentions of doing two loops. I quickly shoveled in some oatmeal, threw back some coffee like it was a shot Jaeger and we were on our way.

As we rode to the meeting point of the ride, a few things were on my mind:
1. I did not have a pre-ride BM- a sure recipe for disaster!
2. I did not know any of the roads or routes, which always causes a bit of cautionary apprehension.
3. It was only 40 degrees and rainy and I was way underdressed.

As we arrived at the start of the ride, Brandt quickly informed me that there were comparatively very few riders out today due to the inclement weather (only about 10 or so). He also instructed me to be very careful on the turns because due to the extreme lack of rain in this region the roads become treacherously slippery with oil…he was right, it was like ice.

I am usually never one to throw in the towel due to conditions but as we got 2 hours into the ride the temperature dropped about 6 degrees, the rain became torrential, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I could no longer feel my fingers, toes, and had the shivers so bad that I would shake the top tube of my bike causing my handlebars to flutter. Most of the guys had ditched the ride already, stating that today was only for the hardest of core.

Just after a long arduous climb, I turned to Brandt and said uncle. He seemed to be suffering too so we headed to the nearest coffee shop and planned out a strategy to get home in one piece. After a failed attempt to plea for someone to come pick us up, our saving factor was found in the local newspaper. We shoved as many newspapers as we could under our jerseys for added warmth, tried to mentally go to a happy place, and headed back on our 1.5 hour trek to downtown Austin. The sites were amazing but were dampened by the downpour and pour visibility due to fog.


After much mental digging, we finally made it back to the shop in one piece and chalked the day up to one that will go in the storybooks. Just before we took our last turn, Brandt looked at me and asked sarcastically asked if I was sure I didn’t want to do another loop. We ended the ride by both agreeing that every rider has to feel pain to experience pleasure. Bike racing is all about learning how to suffer, today we got a lot of practice in and probably built a little more character as well.

The miserable post-ride/pre-shower Finkelstein










The post-shower/pre-nap Finkelstein








Tomorrow is the Austin Marathon. I will be cheering on some of our Michigan native talent, The Hansen’s Team. Lets hope for better weather and longer miles…if not, oh well…a horrible day in the saddle always trumps a day at work.