April 13th Drum Canyon or the day Kelsey exploded

93.03km
Bike time 3:49
Total Time 4:17
Average Cadence 73
Average Speed 24.43
Max Speed 70.21
Average HR 158

Well now I know what heat exhaustion feels like. The day started with a leisurely 50 min run through the vineyards with Jamie and Kimble. When I say with I mean we started together and then they waited for me at the end. They enjoyed asking me questions and torturing me as we ran through the vineyards. After breakfast and showers I was suddenly exhausted. We decided on a 60-70 km rides through the vineyards along Chalk Hill through Ballard Canyon up Highway 246 to Los Alamos up through Drum Canyon Road. We took a wrong turn and added 12km off the start (I would have been upset but it was such a beautiful ride) At 11:30am it was 36 degrees. We lost Andrew at Los Olivos, he turned back do to heat and suddenly I was left alone with the fast boys! We would stick together until we hit a hill and I lost them. We finally hit Alisos Canyon and a very sweet piece of pavement and I worked off my frustration of getting dropped. I was averaging 40km/hour with my cadence never dropping below 90. We pulled into Los Alamos for more H20 (badly needed) and a break from the sun. We only had one hill left and the guys next to me shouts the temp has hit 44 degrees! Over 1000 ft elevation in 4 miles on some of the worst road I’ve ever seen and my lunch hit the retasting zone. It was brutal, my stomach was feeling seriously unhappy and the heat is only getting worse. I was sure I was going to see my lunch again but finally the hill was over! A painfully slow downhill on rough roads and my head felt like it was going to explode. I was pouring my water bottle on top of my head and it only felt slightly better. I was starting to feel a bit better when we got moving again until we crossed the highway for our last 25km. The boys took off on the hill again and I realized I was in serious trouble. I had to pull over and as I got off my bike I was feeling woozy and fell off the bike trying to get off. In case your wondering a Cliff Bar looks pretty much the same coming up as they do going down. It was unpleasant. I pounded back my Nuun and try to shake my head back into clarity. I put my game face on an threw it into drive and headed back to the hotel.

As soon as I hit the hotel I had just enough energy to rip off my jersey and collapse into the ice cold shower. Some V8 and a cold compress and I was feeling much better. Brutal. Lessons learned
1. Drink water
2. Take food breaks even if it means the boys have to wait longer
3. Speak up when your not feeling well, boys don’t listen well.