Video: Lindsay Wraps up the LA Bike Tour

ThinkCure! Supporter Lindsay Evans Shares her Wrap Up and Video of the LA Bike Tour

Race: LA Bike Tour!
When: May 25th, 5am
Course: 22 Miles through the streets of LA
Time: 1 hour 15 minutes!
Weather: Chilly at the start, cool and cloudy at the finish - perfect!

Total amount Chad & I raised for ThinkCure: $542!!
Total amount EVERYONE raised for ThinkCure: $50,581!!!!!!

Wow wow wow. What a wonderful experience, on so many levels. I don't even really know where to start!

I guess I'll start at 3:26am, which is when I got up in order to make it to the start line in time. I woke up surprisingly alert and ready to go - which was very nice as I was fully expecting to drag my sleep deprived rear out of bed, feeling icky and headache-y. Instead I happily threw a cup of coffee in my belly, tossed my bike in the car and drove on down to Exposition Park with plenty of time to spare.

The sheer number of cyclists really astounded to me, and I'm sure I didn't even get a good perspective on the actual size of our group - 10,000 strong! That's 20,000 wheels! Well, give or take - I did see a few tandems out there. :)

Once the ride started and I got past the first few sketchy miles where everyone jockeys for position I got this huge smile on my face and thought very clearly to myself:

"This is really cool."

I know, sounds a little lame, but that's exactly what I thought - because that's exactly what it was! I have never been in a situation where I was riding alongside so many other cyclists, with absolutely nothing to stop us - no lights, cars, pedestrians...Just whirring tires, dinging bells, and open, quiet air. For a short 22 shining miles I saw what it would be like if everyone lived on a bike instead of in a car. And it was...well, really cool.

You may be wondering where Chad was in all this. He was supposed to do the ride as well, and has been fundraising right along with me, but at the last minute he was booked on a commercial that conflicted directly with the ride. The whole time I was wishing he was there, and I know he would have loved every minute of it, but I'm also so happy he was cast in a nice, big, paying commercial!

I won't give you a play by play of the whole ride, but I would like to give you some snapshots that have stayed with me:

The teamwork within this enormous group - total strangers working together to maneuver the course, calling out left turn, right turn, debris... I love that.
The announcer at the start line - he kept us all awake and entertained, particularly when he put a call out for the owner of a found bike seat "If you sit down and find something missing, please come see me up front."
The spectators along the route! I did NOT expect anyone to be awake and cheering us on at 5 in the morning, but there they were, and they were very sweet.
A big floofy orange cat sitting on the sidewalk who meowed at me just as I went by. I imagine he was cheering me on too. :)
I did not get a flat tire!! Many riders did, as LA is notorious for its unrepaired potholes. Phew!
The finish line hospitality tent! The wonderful folks from ThinkCure had a great breakfast for their riders, and free massages as well! Ahhhh. :)
Meeting Rich Cordova! I had not had the pleasure before, and it was lovely to have a little chat with him whilst waiting in line for aforementioned free massage.
And last but not least, thinking of our Aunt Paula during the ride, and knowing that this ride was inspired by and in solidarity with her as she is fighting cancer. It made the ride very personal and meaningful to me.

After the ride I decided to go up and watch some of the LA Marathon, which was inspirational all on its own! I LOVED getting to watch and cheer for those 17,000 strangers at the start of a really incredible journey. I am now even more excited to make that journey myself in October!

Other wonderful marathon moments:

The Achilles folks, particularly the young blind man and his guide who ran the marathon together. I think that is the most amazing organization.
The handcrank/wheelchair racers!! I can barely stand the thought of running 26.2 miles with my legs, let alone with my arms. I think seeing them was especially touching to me as many of them were veterans, and I was imagining what it might mean to them to be racing on Memorial Day.
The man who was talking on his Blue Tooth while running the marathon, followed by a kid talking on his Blackberry while running the marathon. Talk about multi-tasking!
The juggling marathon runner.
The barefoot marathon runner.
The runners who congratulated ME for finishing the bike tour as they ran by! Twist!

All in all, a wonderful morning, a breathtaking (literally!) ride, all for a fantastic cause. Thank you, thank you a million times over, to everyone who donated to both Chad and I, and helped us be a small part of a huge endeavor. Here's to you, and here's to Paula, and to an end for cancer!