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The Journals from the Road
February 12: A ride for the lungs and the legs - Teresa's home - Tres Marias - and back, Mexico Well, what fun Teresa and I had putting PeaceForce One back together. We finally finished at about 11:30. For those of you who are coming on board, Teresa is a friend of mine due to grace and a wonderful set of connections. She taught in Washington State about twenty odd years ago with my highschool Spanish teacher. My Spanish teacher, Kathy, emailed her when she found out about PeaceBike and asked if I could come stay with Teresa in Mexico City. Teresa just so happened to be an avid cyclist and welcoming person and decided to host PeaceBiker Tad. So anywho, today I was invited to ride with Teresa, her trainer, and the other trainees to Tres Marias, south of the city. I soon figured out this was not a simple leisure ride. We climbed mile after mile (or kilometer after kilometer which seems a little bit more encouraging when going uphill) heading south out of Mexico City (or D.F. for Districto Federal). Well, with a combination of the high altitude, my lack of sleep, and lack of conditioning I was pooped after the first half, which was about 35 miles, uphill most of the way. It became clear that I needed to quit when all of the other riders were becoming blurs in the distance ahead of me and the sag team kept asking me if I needed help. Another trainee's bike rim broke at the beginning of the ride and so he had to ride in our sag vehicle. I was quite happy when the trainee who was riding in the sag vehicle asked me if I wanted him to ride my bike back. It was a great win-win because within minutes he was cruisin' up the hill and I was fast asleep in the passenger's seat. On the way back through the city I got a few tips from Teresa's trainer, Palomo, and his wife, Sonja, both national champion racers. They taught me how to ride between lanes and when to cross intersections and when to wait. Even though I received good instructions I decided to always let them go first. But I can honestly say that I learned to ride clipless pedals (the shoes click onto the pedals) in the traffic of Mexico City! Wowweeee! Lots of horns, lots of dust, lots of "excitement" as Sonja put it!! Indeed, it was and I was glad to finish the day with a shower! I am getting reaquainted with every muscle and tendon in my legs, aahh! Peace(Bike), TAD |