Bryan Brosious: Spokefest 50 Miler

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Spokefest 50 Miler

If someone were to ask me what I thought athletism or fitness meant, I would tell them that I think that being athletic and being fit is having the ability to be diverse and do a wide range of things. It's about having a body that will not only do athletic things, but also be conditioned to do every day things like help your friend move, do yard work, or wash a car. We often times take for granted having a fit body that does so many things.

I have been doing a lot of new and different things this year, and one of "things" I wanted to do was the Spokefest 50 mile bike ride. This is a huge charity bike ride with over 2,000 riders, almost 1,000 of which were in the 50 mile ride. The ride has great aid stations and provided us with amazing weather.

*Ayla and I at the start. Thanks to Ayla's Aunt, Debra, for coming to support us and take pictures. She is always fun to be around and we always appreciate her pictures.

I was able to talk Ayla into riding the 50 mile which was her longest ride ever. Our friend Sarah also graced us with her presence and rode the 21 mile route. She was in the final stages of her figure show preparation so we had somewhat of a diva on our hands. :)

The day before the ride I did some triathlon training which included a visit to Taylor's lake cabin. It was so much fun spending time with Ayla, Taylor, Taylor's family, and eating delicious food. Ayla and Taylor were also nice enough to escort me via kayak while I swam. It was great to spend time with all of them at the float house.

*Friends catching up

As for the bike ride, there were times when it was bliss, and times when it was not so much. 50 miles is a long ways for anyone's bum to sit on a seat. The first pit stop was sweet, it had drinks and treats. However, the remaining pit stops were lack luster to say the least and most of them we just passed by. The middle miles of the ride were challenging at times because the landscape opened up and the wind started to whip. Despite having nearly 1,000 people riding Ayla and I were alone for some sections of the ride, which led me to handle the wind. "Don't worry, I got this."

*I was happy to help Ayla, and a few others, when the wind picked up. I am good at taking care of people on bike rides.

It took just over 3 hours including the pit stops for us to finish. Aunt Debra was at the finish line waiting, and Sarah was already back at the house measuring her food portions. lol. Thanks to Ayla, Taylor and her family, Aunt Debra, and Sarah for sharing in the fun. I had a blast.