The Hardest Eight Minutes of Cycling I Have Ever Done

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Ride for the Cure 2010 - Calgary

 

We showed up in boxing robes and gloves to ride bike #47 out of 50 teams competing in our 1-hour block. The boxing gear was because we have some competition going among the various offices of our company and our office has won the last two years in a row (at least, that's what I hear -- I just started here a month ago). Major bragging rights were on the line.

 

The race is set for eight minutes, and you ride a stationary exercise bike as far as you can go in that time. You say to yourself, "Eight minutes isn't very long to ride a bike, especially with no resistance." Well, it's a pretty long time to be sprinting faster than your legs think they should be able to go.

 

I was set to be the last of five riders, and the first four guys really churned it out. I came out fast and then barely held it together for the middle few minutes, boosting back up over 70 km/h for the last minute to finish with 8.5 km. I recall doing a lot of screaming in the last 30 seconds. After that, I went out of the event tent and knelt on the ground with my face buried in a wire mesh bench to try to keep from puking. That got the attention of the reporters, who came along and interviewed me. Sadly for them, no on-camera vomit.

 

In the end, we won the heat for team distance, and team fundraising, with two of our guys taking the gold and silver individual distance medals (9.7 km and 8.9 km). Now I can't wait for next year, to see if I can get to 9 km.