Sal Rides With the CCPL Cyclers in RideUNITED

Today was a big day for Sal and me!  We participated in RideUNITED, which is an annual event to raise money for United Way.  We rode with the CCPL Cyclers -- a group of Cuyahoga County Public Library staffers (with a couple of friends and relatives added to the mix).

Here are the CCPL Cyclers waiting to begin riding.  Sal can't be seen because she's in her case (which is attached to my bike) -- and there was no time to get her out before we had to take off.  I know I'm breaking my own rule of not using Sal-less pictures, but I really wanted to show off my awesome team!

Riders can choose to take routes of various lengths -- starting at 12 miles and going all the way to a Century.  The first year I rode 12 miles, last year I rode 24, and this year my intention was to tackle the 40-mile route.  Unfortunately, I did not get to train as much as I needed to, and realized that there was no way I could do the 40 miles -- especially since it was soooo hot today!  The biggest indicator of this -- in addition to extreme sweating (blech) -- was the many times I had to refill my water bottle during the course of the ride! 

Every year RideUNITED begins at Cleveland State University and travels through downtown before going onto the towpath.  This year's downtown route was a really neat one, and I wanted to stop and get some Sal pictures showing big groups of cyclists passing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, etc.  I didn't want to get separated from the team members I was riding with, though, so I decided to keep going.  As we were riding around the back of Tower City I couldn't resist the temptation to stop any more, so I did.  By the time I took some pictures and got back on my bike, I had to ride like crazy to catch up with anybody I knew.  Phew!

Here is the photo that caused me to fall behind.  Very cool view of the river and bridges.  Too bad that red car is in the shot.  Grrr.

At the first rest stop, I met one of my son's Seeds of Literacy coworkers -- who just happens to be a ukulele player himself!

Some of the helpful folks at the second rest stop.  There were volunteers at each stop handing out fruit and granola bars -- all donated by Dave's Markets.  There were also big containers of water from which I refilled my water bottle many times.  (A delicious lunch at the end of the ride was also donated by Dave's.  Many thanks to them for their generosity!)

After a piece of fruit and a drink of water, it was time to turn around and go back.

There were many photo temptations on the return trip.  I had to stop and take some shots of the new inner belt bridge under construction.

This is the traditional "we made it" shot at the top of the bridge.  Usually there is a picture of sweaty people posing here, but this year Sal had to get into the act.  It was a bit windy and I was afraid Sal might be blown off the edge of the railing, so I didn't spend much time on this!  (The railing is very wide, but you never know when a big gust might blow by.)

In the end, I have to say it was a successful day for the CCPL Cyclers!  A couple of team members rode 12 miles, some of us did the 24-mile route, and several riders continued on even farther.  On the way back I was disappointed that I was not able to make it up the super-giant hill at Steelyard Commons -- which I did last year.  Bummer.  (On the positive fitness side, however, the change in the route through downtown made the 24-mile route longer, so I ended up riding 26.9 miles.)  Then I went home and took a shower!  Felt great!