Ironman Arizona

Frank Cardia Rides His Bike Home From Atlantic City

Frank Cardia Rides His Bike 130 Miles.

Ironman Arizona is a little over a month away and up until now I have only done 3 or 4 really long bike rides (75+ miles). And you really should get at least 1 or 2 100+ mile bike rides in before Ironman. Fortunately my wife got comped a free room at the Tropicana and free tickets to see the play Footloose, so I figured it would be a great way to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. I could get a night out with the Mrs. and then the next day get in my long ride.

So her and I got down there Wed @ 6pm, checked in really fast and then hit a nice dinner. We were at the show ( which sucked ) by 8pm and out of there by 10pm. We did some gambling, won a few bucks, and then headed to bed.

Thursday morning, ate breakfast and then headed out for my trip. The weather was perfect, except for the terrible wind. There must have been 25 mph gusts and at some points ( as I rode close to the ocean ) I nearly was pushed off the bike. It seemed like I had headwinds the whole way home.

I got up into South Toms River and realized that I had a flat tire. I look up and I’m staring at the Beachwood Bike Shop – The timing could not have been more perfect. So rather then use my 1 spare, I figured let me have these guys do it. I still had 90 miles or so back to my house and didn’t want to waste my spare if I didn’t have to. In 2 minutes these guys had me all ready to go ( Big Thanks To The Beachwood Bike Shop )

I then hoped onto 37 East and crossed over the bridge to RT 35 in Seaside Park. Once on RT 35, you literally are riding parallel to the ocean and the wind was beyond vicious. It was like that all the way up till Long Branch, which is about 25 miles or so.

I have done several 100+ mile bike rides and I gotta be honest, EVERY single time I do… I find myself saying to myself “Frank Cardia, are you crazy ?” – You know what I realized this trip ? ” YES ” and not just me.. ANYONE who does 100+ mile bike rides is crazy. Its amazing the difference in pain doing a 60-80 mile bike ride compared to a 115-130 mile bike ride. It’s a whole different kind of pain.

All ended up well and the trip was a success -

And I live to ride another day

Frank Cardia

About the Author

Frank Cardia

Ironman Arizona Nov. 2008

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