Ididaride Weekend

I participated in IDIDARIDE XV on Jan 31st, 2009. My quest to participate in this event began over a year ago when I stumbled upon the SBA website and found the link for IDIDARIDE. I didn't even know what it was but the name itself spiked my curiosity. After reading the description of the ride I decided that I wanted to give it a shot. Unfortunately my registration for IDIDARIDE XIII was a little late. All the spots had already been filled. I made it a point to find out when registration for IDIDARIDE XV was to open. When the time came I sent my application and registration fee overnight and secured a spot.

The weekend began on Friday when Kevin, Luis and I loaded up the bikes and gear and headed out of town. We made a stop along the way at San Felasco for a pre-IDIDARIDE ride. We met up with Scott (Anthem1) and hit the trails. We rode 21.5 miles of some pretty sweet single track. It was a bit more than I had anticipated but I figured that it would be good training for the upcoming SSSAR. After loading the bikes back up we headed out for White Springs, Fl and the SBA head quarters for pre-registration.

Karlos (Naked Indian) invited us over to the KOA for a bond fire and some good company. The stories were plentiful and the fire was inviting. It was a great end to the day. Afterwards we headed back to the hotel to get some rest.

The Temperature was a scorching 31 degrees at the start of the ride. I had all my cold weather riding gear on and was still freezing. My fingers and toes were numb within minutes. I didn't regain feeling in my fingers for about another hour and half. My toes remained numb for a total of about 3 hours. Despite the cold start the weather did warm up to about 60 degrees.

Somewhere between the first and second sags I had an issue with my blood sugar. I had to stop and eat something and I had to do it fast. I was getting very shaky, light headed, and somewhat disoriented. I always Carry a lot of food for this very reason. I reached in my jersey pocket and pulled out a Cliff bar. Once that issue was resolved I started pedaling again.

Aside from the initial temperature and my blood sugar issue everything went smooth. I didn't fall, crash, get cramps, or get lost. All in all, I'd say is was a successful ride. The new Superly performed flawlessly and everyone seemed to really like it.

I finished the ride in approximately 6 hrs with an actual ride time of 5:07:25.

The after ride party was a blast. A huge bond fire, great people, good stories, and a few brewskis proved to be a perfect end to a great weekend.