On Sunday morning I biked 25 miles in the L.A.T.E. Ride. It was quite an experience. It was the longest bike ride ever for me. Or at least that I can remember. I can finally cross it off this list. Yay!! We rode mostly on the street (shown on map as straight green line) whereas the last couple of miles were on the bike path along the lakefront (shown as green dots).
I did this ride with my friends, XB and OG. They picked me up at 11:30 pm and quickly found parking downtown. We had to pick up our packets which was a long line but luckily it moved fast. However, “the packet” was a bib and a shirt. I’m used to giving my name to the volunteers and they checking a list to confirm I’m registered. Nope. Nobody did that. Just a shirt and a bib.
We lined up with the others with the same bib color (we were orange). The first wave went off a little after 1 a.m. and then every 6-8 minutes another wave took off. I was nervous and scared. I did not want to fall or have any kind of accident.
The first few miles were congested and since we were on the street, we had to follow the rules of the road. For the most part the route was fine. I was a little bit terrified of the hills. No problem going up but coming down I thought for sure I would fall. I had to brake a few times to slow down but I did not want to do it too hard or risk the bike making a complete stop and then me falling over the handlebars.
There were some streets that were completely closed for car drivers (nice) and others only one way. I felt bad for the drivers because the one way streets were taken over by us so there was no way they could make a left turn into another street. Also, in some areas it was really dark but at least I could see the bikes because they all had lights but I could not see the pavement. I rode carefully and slowly there.
The crowd was friendly. Some of them were giving us high fives. I refused to take off one hand from the handlebar. There were a few times that my nose itched and I had to very quickly scratch my nose. I was happy to get to the rest stop. I reunited with XB and OG since we got separated a few miles back when I stopped at a red light.
The rest stop was AWESOME. There were bottles of Zico, bananas, and Cliff Bars. I tried the dark chocolate flavored Zico and was not too impressed with it. I think I’ll stick with the regular kind. About 10 minutes later we took off again.
The rest of the ride was very smooth. There were a few cars and red lights on Montrose Avenue. The best part was the lakefront. By then we were more than halfway done. I will admit that I was TIRED. My arms, back, and bottom were hurting. My bottom hurt the most. I would ride for a bit then move/adjust my bottom to ease up the pain. The bike was not properly adjusted for me/my height. Yep, lesson learned.
But overall it was still a FUN ride. I had been wanting to do this ride for years and am so glad I finally did it. Would I do it again?
There is another similar event that takes place Memorial Day weekend. However, it is during the day and takes place solely on Lake Shore Drive. The whole drive is closed so no chance of getting hit by a car.
Once we were done, we stayed for a little bit and then went to eat breakfast. I got home at 6 a.m. I don’t remember ever coming home at 6 a.m. Or have it? If I did I must have blocked it.
