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Curvy Cyclist Takes On Beautiful Tulsa, OK

Post author By admin
Post date June 22, 2021
No Comments on Curvy Cyclist Takes On Beautiful Tulsa, OK

Good day folks. What a weekend! This weekend I was blessed to be part of a great event for a great cause. Some of the Tulsa residents thought it would be a good idea to incorporate a bike ride alongside their Juneteenth Festival held in the Greenwood district of Tulsa, OK

The Ride

So, a group of bike folks that I ride with here in St. Louis decided to rally together and travel to Tulsa to be a part of this experience. Most of us opted for the 50K route and a few decided that the 25K was more their speed.

Tusla 2021 — All of us at the starting line

What we did not anticipate is how difficult the 50K route would be. I thought Tulsa would be flat! That have tornadoes there, right? Farms? Prairies? Yes, they have all of that and HILLS! Yes, nice climbing hills. Between the hills and the intense heat it made for a very difficult ride. The most difficult 36 mile ride I have ever experienced.

I’m told that there were at least 400 cyclists who attended this first time event. We were even invited by the ride coordinator to a welcome party at the Fulton Street Books and Coffee a day before the event. What’s so great about this bookstore on Fulton Street? At least 70% of their books are written by or featuring BBIPOC (Black, Brown, Indengendious and People of Color) and/or marginalized communities (Fulton Street website).

Fulton Books and Coffee — A few of us with Tusla locals at the Fulton Street Books and Coffee

The start/finish of the ride was located at the corner of Archer and Greenwood in the heart of the Black Wall Street district. We were met with local cyclists and those from out of State. They were several Major Taylor Clubs and of course I had to represent with my own Major Taylor Cincinnati kit!

Before I continue with the rest of my story, I want to leave a few takeaways from this event that I hope will help you along your cycling journey.

Fuel Fuel Fuel

Yeah…so I did not fuel my body enough to endure 30+ miles in 100+ degree weather while fighting the sun and the wind!

Hydrate

I screwed up on this one. While I am usually hydrating the day before a ride, this time I did not. I was traveling by car 6hrs the day before and I have a nervous bladder so I did not drink nearly as much as I would/should have. No amount of water, Gatorade or coconut water the day of would have helped me hydrate any better.

During the ride snacks

While I did take my Nature Valley Protein Bars, I am used to eating just a bite every so often for fear that eating more in one sitting will bother my stomach. I should thought of other snacks to pack in my jersey pockets to eat during the 3 stops along the route.

During the last 7 miles of this ride, I had the shakes. I had no more fuel. I had burned off all of the calories that I had consumed and some I had not consumed.

There is still so much I need to learn and research about fueling and hydrating, So, I will be spending all week sharing what I have learned on my YouTube channel. Tune in!

The History

The Hubs was especially helpful during this weekend. He was gracious enough to join me on this weekend even though he did not participate in the bike event. He spend the morning bourbon hunting. It was still great to have him around and he made sure I stayed on track.

We will have to take a return trip to Tulsa when we have more time to explore. So much history is there and we made every attempt to absorb as much as we could. The Tulsa Massacre was heartbreaking. What it did to the Greenwood residents in 1921, and their children and children’s children is heartbreaking. Its definately a story that needs to be told.

We were able to visit the Greenwood Cultural Center. Their mission: “promoting, preserving, and celebrating African American culture and heritage.” Within the walls of this beautiful space are photos and stories of the lives ruined during the Tulsa Massacre and their resilience. What a humbling experience.

I am so very glad that I decided to take this trip. I wanted to prove to myself that I can do things without my social anxiety, general anxiety and my introvert-ness causing havoc. And while all of these ‘ailments’ did rear their ugly heads at times during the weekend, I was still able to meet some new faces, have conversations with other cyclists and visit new places.

Until next time…

Curvy Cyclist Out

The Curvy Cyclist tackles her first triathlon relay

Post author By admin
Post date May 23, 2021

The Curvy Cyclist First Triathlon Relay

So today I was able to try a new thing. St Louis had a triathlon today. The first one of its kind here in the city. It was called the 370 Lakeside Triathlon. My friend Doc, who I met in a bicycle group on Facebook asked in the group if someone wanted to accompany her for a relay. That post is how all of this started.

When I first met Doc, whose first name is Heidi (she is also from New Orleans and not a St. Louis native (which is an important fact for my readers going forward), she mentioned that she was a triathlete and filled me in on the deets about triathlons, particularly about relay style triathlons (which I didn’t know existed before this conversation).

Anyho, as I read the post that Doc posted in one of our many shared FB cyclist and runners groups, I perked up because I can definitely take the bike portion of a triathlon. I told her that I was interested in taking the bike portion of the relay race. Now we were off to find the runner to complete our team. Doc was able to find another Black woman, Jenine, that wanted to join us and so we became The Ohio Players relay team (both Doc and I were born in Ohio).

And so today, we had to be there before 6:30am in order to be counted for the race. It was quite an experience. Yesterday, I actually had to drop my bike off at the location so I was very fearful because my bike is just gonna be sitting out in the elements on the bike rack. Of course I questioned, “ who’s gonna be watching my bike all night?” Now, please know that there were MANY bikes there that were THOUSANDS of dollars more than my lowly unknown aged Cannondale Synapse running on a Shimano 105 groupset (which I recently upgraded from a Sora a month ago) and new Bontrager Paradigm wheels. Regardless, I was very worried for Baby.

There’s Baby. Literally the smallest bike on the scene

And so we went yesterday: I dropped the bike off, we picked up our packets and our numbers and our stickers and our little RFID ankle bracelet thingie. This morning I woke up to a phone call from Doc who needed a ride to the event. After days waiting for her car to be repaired, it was still waiting on a part. Actually, picking her up was what God had intended. I was so nervous about everything with this race so it was really good to walk in with Doc and her experience.

We met and chatted it up with some cool people, some of them this was their first triathlon first relay. I watched all of the swimmers start their races. Even Doc. I was simply in awe.

Doc went first. She did a 750 meters swim in open water, which I thought was amazing. Swimming? 750M? In a lake? She started off with the backstroke only to find out that they would not allow her to do that, and so she completed the race with a side stroke, which again is very difficult to do. When Doc finished her swim, she runs back into what they call the “transition area” which was where the bikes were stored. And she puts the little RFID bracelet thingy on my left ankle, and I take off. I have no idea where I’m going. All I know is I’m following the other bikes out of the park. T

Thank goodness that the route was marked just so that I could understand. Now, I was a little worried because they had green, blue and yellow arrows (am I supposed to be following the blue, or the green??) It’s good to know that I’m listening to folks even when I’m not tuned in! I briefly remember talking to another relay participant in the transition area who told me that the blue markers were for us. Yes!

And so I’m off, and I was a little nervous because I have a team now rooting for me and I don’t want to let them down. I want to make sure that I get good time and that I’m on the right route. They did not close the streets although they did have police stationed and the different intersections, but otherwise you were kind of on your own, making your own ride.

I need to work on my breathing. Definitely need to work on my breathing.

I really tried to push myself throughout this entire ride and again I only did 20k which equated to about 11 to 12 miles. The route was an out and back. I came back, took the thing off my leg and wrapped it around Jenine’s leg and she was off on her 5k run (just about 3.1 miles.) So overall, we did well. I am excited that I was able to do it with some phenomenal women, but here are my few takeaways.

I need to ride more, my breathing was not very good.
I couldn’t keep a fast pace for very long, I really need to work on that.
I need to shed some of this anxiety. Get control of it.
It’s always fun to do things with other people who share your same hobbies and interests.

I was so nervous about everything. I know I don’t want to be that way. I want cycling to be a sport that I love and that I enjoy that doesn’t cause me anxiety.

I think I will take some swim lessons. (I was taught how to swim at a young age, but that’s a story for another day)

I am a little disappointed with myself; just a little down because I’m tired. And after a 12 mile bike ride, I shouldn’t be tired. My left knee hurt and that’s causing me some frustration, and my left thigh kind of seized up on me and so I don’t know if that’s because I need to get the bike refitted or there’s something else going on. Needless to say, I really need to get these things dealt with quickly, otherwise, it’s going to make cycling not as happy as it usually makes me.

So that’s all I got for today guys and gals.

Keep cycling guys just keep cycling.

Curvy Cyclist OUT!

Tags cycling, relay, triathlon

My Ride on July 12 2011

Preface:

So, I think that’s important that we take this back all the way to the beginning. When I decided to blog about my cycling experience I came across an old blog account and what did I find…a blog post that I created some 10 years ago. I guess its safe to say that this was always meant to be.

In order to know where I’m going I have to know where I’ve come, and this short blog post tells a very telling tale. Picture this: Its summer. I’m back living with my mom at the age of 34. I’m a single mom. I am coming off the heels of a very heated and stressful marriage. I am working part-time as an accountant making a 1/4 of the salary I was making just a year before. I’ve recently enrolled back into college to finish a 4-year degree that I started 10 years prior. Let’s just say that I was a mess. And then along comes biking. Now, when I was a kid I used to bike all over my neighborhood all day long. When I got my driver’s license I left my biking days behind me. Now, all of a sudden, its the only thing that helps me deal with my anxiety, my frustration, my depression.

Back then I was out of shape and riding 7 miles was a difficult for me especially riding through the hills of Cincinnati. When I read this post, I see my growth both physically, mentally, emotionally. I’m not in the same place I was now back then, and thank God for that.

So, the weather today was a hot 92 degrees. I decided regardless to go and ride my bike from home to the church. I filled one of my bottles with water and I filled my camelbak with water. I decided to use the other water bottle for Gatarade (that is if I felt like stopping to pick some up during the ride. I took a different route today. Last week I rode down Reading Rd. to Victory Parkway all the way to Gilpin Street to Woodburn, down Madison Rd to Clayton to Wm. Howard Taft, down Collings and onto Eastern Avenue. Note that I did not ride down Collins last week. The hill is extremely steep and I wasn’t in the adventurous mood. Today however I decided on a different route. I am still a novice at riding and my endurance sucks. Even the smallest inclines take the breath right out of me.

So, today I rode down Tennessee to Montgomery Rd and took that all the way down to Woodburn. From Woodburn I took Madison Rd to Clayton and continued as I did last week. The first part of the ride was okay. I had to make several water break stops which disappointed me just a bit. I wanted to finish the ride without stopping. I guess I had to understand that it was over 92 degrees outside. Needless to say that by the time I got to Woodburn and Montgomery Rd I was worn out! After I hit Wm. Howard Taft I got a burst of energy and was able to ride the rest of the way. I even rode down Collins. Of course I rode the brakes all the way down! I’m sure eventually I’ll have to get some more break pads. Oh well. The total distance that I traveled today was 7 miles. Not too bad.

I have to learn how to use my camelbak though. I had the hardest time trying to sip water out of it. I guess I should have did a test run before using it for the first time. I love it though. I really thought that it would be heavy and bulky especially while holding 50 oz of water. Not the case. It felt so light on my back and it felt as if I didn’t have anything on at all.

Regardless it was a decent ride. I hope that I can continue to do this more often. Perhaps it will help clear my head as well as help me get in shape (which I surely need) and to lose weight (which is becoming a burden)

Next time I’ll post pics and the map. (I’m having the hardest time getting the url from mapmyride.com