Riverton City Parade and the Tour de Riverton

The Fourth of July is a fun holiday, and for the past two years since we've had the shop, we've been involved in local festivities.

We (Infinite Cycles) do the Riverton City parade the night of the 3rd, and do the Tour de Riverton on the morning of the 4th. The parade was fun as usual and we had a bunch of people with us this time. It was hot and fun. This time we felt like we were a part of the community rather than the new kid on the block (like last year). I saw a bunch of our customers and they recognized us.

Cameron and I worked all night (until 2:30) after the parade getting ready for the next morning's Tour de Riverton. This was the 8th annual ride, but this was the first time we hosted it. The Tour started at 7:30 and we got everything together in just enough time. Things went smoothly enough for our first major event. We had way more people come than we expected, which was nice. It was the biggest turnout ever. We still haven't counted the number that actually came, but it was a lot. We advertised the event in some key places and it worked!

So here's the hard part... the actual riding. The course was 22 miles long. 12.5 miles uphill all at once, then back down. I started late so I sprinted through probably 3/4 of the peloton (that's what you call a group of riders in a pack) to catch up with Drew (my brother in law). I would have been fine doing that, no big deal. Here's the problem. One of my employees was taking his Explorer from the start to the water station. I met him at a stop light, and raced him for a long time. Of course he beat me, even in a Ford. I passed a bunch of other people again until I had to stop... and puke. Given the conditions of no sleep, no food that night and day, and an early start, it was inevitable. I got to the water station and helped a few people with technical problems then started again. I was feeling good after resting for a few minutes.
The brutal climb began after that. On the back leg of the course, it is always windy and there are two hills, a long steep one,followed by a shorter much steeper one. I started cramping up in my legs so I started pushing harder and faster in hopes that I would get to the top ready for the downhill before the cramps set in. I barely made it. It is just like when you know a Charlie Horse is coming in your leg and you try to prevent it from hitting. You rarely win that battle. The downhill went really fast. I finished and it seemed like everyone had a good time. Next year it will be bigger and better than this year!

View my GPS file of the ride in Google Earth!

I came home and took a few naps for the rest of the day since the shop was closed for the rest of the day. Those were some good naps. I was pretty sore, but I'm fine now (two days later).

Cheers!
Brad

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