Spencer vs. Parmer Lane

With Luke and I in full fund raising and training mode, we got together with Andrew on Saturday to get some miles in. It was a simple proposition: a sub-50 mile ride straight up Parmer Lane and back, starting in Northwest Austin.
We struck out through the tree-lined neighborhood on an idyllic April afternoon. As we meandered out to the roadway, we chatted casually. Luke has just completed training for a half marathon and Andrew is active in two soccer teams. I... ride my bike to work sometimes. It was clear from the very beginning that I would be having a very different day.

We made it to Parmer Lane, with Luke starting out strong, holding down an average pace of 24 miles an hour. Andrew and I were clocking in at 21 miles an hour on average.

Very soon into the ride, it became apparent that casually riding around Austin averaging 15 miles an hour on neighborhood streets is no way to "totally dominate the open road." Clearly I have lost a bit of fitness over the winter. But, I was still enjoying the rolling countryside, the wind at my back, and the sunshine. Little did I know these things would conspire against me in the end.

Okay, at this point I thought the sunshine has become a bit more oppressive, and perhaps I'd get my second wind to catch them at the next light.

Then, there was this hill at about mile 20 where I realized I may not have enough gas in the tank to make it to Andice, Texas - our original destination. When I finally caught up to Luke and Andrew at a T in the road, they were nice enough to turn around a bit before Andice. I thought this would give me a fighting chance. After all, we had hit our turnaround at only about an hour in.

After the turnaround, the temperature had risen to over 91 degrees, and the nice tailwind I was enjoying on the way out was now destroying my dreams, aspirations, and pace. I found myself in my lowest gear, facing the wind and averaging 8 miles an hour with over 15 miles to go. I'm not a math genius, and I had very little oxygen in my brain at the time, but I figured it would take me at least 2 more hours to make it back. I was officially "toast," "hit the wall," and was fearful that my tongue would become sunburned from hanging out of my mouth for 2 hours. There was really only one option for me -the SAG wagon. I called Andrew, who was able to dispatch his roommate to come sweep me off the course.

Having a friend drive 15 miles out in the middle of nowhere to pluck me off the course was not exactly what I had in mind for the ride. Having to choose between sucking up the pride or becoming a human raisin, I had no other option.

With the bike in the back of the trunk, I caught up to Luke and Andrew, dropped off some additional sports drink for them, and headed back to the house.


The course bested me this time. Time to double down on the hard work that makes weekend tours of the Texas Hill Country and raising funds for great causes possible.

A huge thanks to everyone that has contributed and those that have encouraged me to keep working to raise funds to help others.

We have 20 days left and 9% of the goal raised. Make your contribution here.

The Hill Country Ride for AIDS is an annual event to raise funds to support people with HIV/AIDS in the Austin area. Ten organizations are are benefiting from this year's ride that takes place April 30.