Pros:
The first 2/3rds of the water stops were packed full of good stuff. Tons of food, sports drinks, gels, fruit, it was amazing. And let me just say Thank you so much to whoever it was that sponsored the 50odd mile stop, Margarittaville was wonderful, they had sausages and more food than all the other stops afterward combined. I stayed there for probably 30 minutes. Had it not been there I would have given up.
The atmosphere was so cool. I've never had a ride where at every moment you are surrounded by people. At no time are you alone. There is always someone within sight.
Cons:
Last 1/3 of the water stops were not good. Either they were poorly stocked to begin with or it was all gone by the time we got there. That last stretch is where I really could have used some food and it was all gone.
Shirt is kinda lame, wishing I'd sprung for the jersey.
Some people I know had trouble with the timing chips.
Amy, me, and Alice waiting for the 6 AM start.
Personal:
I have to admit that was so much harder than I thought it would be. I hauled following a guy from San Antonio for the first 30 miles. He said his goal time was 5 hours, I knew I couldn't hang with him the whole time, but I thought I'd try. After I lost him, I found my friend Corey (yes, the one that ditched me when I crashed a few weeks ago). We rode most of the rest of the course together. In fact the whole crew I went with hopped, skipped and jumped each other after the 50ish mile stop. Corey moved on when I stopped for lunch, I had left my friends in the dust at the start. When I passed Hell's Gate just 30 minutes before they were to close it I was worried my friends weren't going to make it through. Imagine my surprise when not 10 more miles down the road I discover they'd passed me while I was hanging out at margarittaville. We all ended up finishing within 30 minutes of each other. My garmin shut itself off again so I don't know what my ride time was, but oh well. I'm proud that I finished. I heard someone say it may have been the hottest one yet, don't know about that, but I do know my cell phone battery in my jersey pocket got fried. So it was plenty hot.
I saw people crash. I saw people puking. I even saw a truck with trailer packed full of people giving up with only 10 miles to go!! I am incredibly proud I finished this. It's a must do on a recreational cyclist's bucket list.
