Here's Part I, Part II, and Part III.
I was surprised how long the swim to T-1 path was but took my time and decided not to run it. Entered the transition area to get my bike bag and the volunteer asked if the sunglasses on the top of my bag were mine. They looked it, so I grabbed my bag and headed into the changing tent.
The tent (and all) volunteers rocked! Ended up sharing my towel with a fellow athlete and he also discovered that he thought he put his sunglasses in his run bag. He left and I got dressed. Turns out the shades I thought were mine were his but there was no way to find him.
T-1 time was about 15 minutes and headed out to my bike after completely changing for comfort. As I clipped in and got going, I saw both Ken and Jessica.
I took my time down River Rd as I knew from prior experience that being an idiot on that part of the course leads to big problems later. Got to the first aid station and grabbed a water and a Perform. I had already filled my aero bottle with water and brought 1 bottle each of Perform and Perpetuem. So I now had plenty of fuel on board.
I also began eating a Pro Bar as I approached the corner of 42/River where I saw Tommy and Dave from the Louisville Bicycle Club directing traffic. So begins the first "climb" of the course on 42. Not sure how it came to be called a climb but no biggie.
Now begins the first real test of the IMKY bike course: the 1694 out and back. You go screaming down over the creek, knowing the whole time you will have to climb back out. I hit 40 mph+ on the descents and probably 8 mph on the climbs back out. But once it's complete, you know it's done for the day. We were also seeing a wind issue and my race wheels were feeling unstable, especially in a crosswind.
On to the 2 loop part of the course but I also know I'll get to see Jessica and Sarah soon. The section of 146 through downtown La Grange has to be one of the coolest things I've ever done. I felt like a rock star. There were thousands of people cheering and I got a high five from Sarah as I rode through.
This is when my nutrition began to go sideways. I had trouble stomaching more Pro Bars. Not that I was having cramping or stomach upset issues, but just couldn't bear to eat another. So I started to take on more bananas at the aid stations, ate some Clif Shot Blocks and upped my consumption of Perpetuem.
Finished the first loop and know again that I'll be seeing the ladies soon. This time I stopped for a moment to get a couple hugs and kisses. It was worth the few seconds. My last bike hurdle came at about mile 80 (of 112). I went zero for three picking up bottles from volunteers so ended up riding about 25 miles without anything but 1/2 bottle of water.
I made it to an aid station at about mile 107 and was able to get a decent amount of fuel in my system before reaching transition. One of the nice benefits of doing a well supported event is that I just had to hand off my bike to a volunteer instead of re-racking it. Heading off the bike I saw Doug Brent from the LBC and into the changing tent for another full change.
To be continued...
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