*2 hours later, I ended up writing a novel instead of a 'ride report,' so for those of you that have the time to read...
The 2010 Audi Best Buddies Challenge, a 100-mile ride down the coast from Carmel to San Simeon, hosted by Anthony Shriver (and well know sister, first lady of Caleefourrnyaa, the Govenator's wife Marie Shriver) kicked off last weekend, Friday, September 10th through Saturday, September 11th. Kurt, Stephen and I met at the visitors center to Heart Castle in San Simeon, CA to begin the first leg of the trip in David and Dede Leece's trusty, but noisy minivan ;)
The drive up the coast on HWY 1 provided some spectacular views, punctuated by a bit of coastal fog, and nausea (apparently my car sick days are not over, luckily the smell of Kurt's sushi platter from Trader Joe's kept me in check). We arrived in Carmel that afternoon for the VIP ride, little did we know we were the VIP's...or maybe it was Brooke Miller and the Garmin Transitions guys, but I would like to think otherwise. After a nice hour spin, we looked forward to spending the rest of our evening in our hotel room...But that wouldn't be very much fun, so we took a tour of the Hyatt Monterey's Athletic Club Showers (if you remember my FB status...), visited downtown Monterey for the Wild Cherry Classic Car Cruise, and spent an eventful evening in announcer Richard Fries hotel room getting ready for our big day.
Chamois time began at 6:15 am Saturday morning, as we left our dark hotel room to find some breakfast and coffee (a new staple in my life thanks to a 2 month long road trip with Julia LaFranchise). After we prepared ourselves for the long ride ahead, we made our way to the start line with 600 other cyclists, to be greeted by a star studded line up including Miss California, a winning contestant from So You Think You Can Dance, Kenny G (stoked! that was my first CD), Vern Troyer (aka 'Mini Me' from Austin Powers), and the former Baywatch star and German singing sensation, David 'The Hoff' Hasselhoff. Thanks to Kurt, Stephen and I established ourselves at the front of all the riders, alongside Pro cyclists and other noteworthy riders from Jelly Belly, Garmin Transitions, Tibco, Vera Bradley, Cal Giant and Specialized's CEO Mike Senor. Announcer Richard Fries, began call-ups of the who's who, when I heard over the loud speaker "former downhiller turned podium finishing road racer, Jenna Kowalski"...with a big smile and flushed cheeks I rolled to the start.
The first leg of the ride began rather slow, comfortable but slow, and I wondered how we were ever going to finish in time...I soon found out, as the small but powerful group of Pro riders settled themselves at the front. We kept a good tempo pace throughout the undulating ride...which I could only feel and not see, because unlike the gorgeous day before, the fog was content to blanket the coast for the entire ride. About 1 hour in, riders began to drop like flies as rest stops and demanding terrain claimed the many souls who could not keep the pace set by Team Tibco's riders. I even found myself clawing my way back onto the peleton after getting dropped on two of the harder climbs (one of which I passed Brooke Miller, a first and a last for that, as she recently announced her retirement), with help from Kurt as he came bombing past me on the downhills. I likened Kurt to drafting behind an SUV, thanks Kurt :)
5 hours 10 minutes, two bottles, 1 PB&J Bonk Breaker, 1 package of GU Chomps and not one stop later we finished the 100-mile ride (or race, apparently, there were prizes for the first male and female riders to finish...I think I was the third female). We dropped off our bikes and made way to the Porto Klean shower trucks, washed up and proceeded to food line for some much need calories and recovery drinks aka chocolate chip cookies and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. After an hours rest, the days activities continued with the Friendship Criterium, where athletes and celebrities raced around a Hearst guest house with buddies on tandem bikes. This was probably the most nerve racking entertainment I have had in a while, as cyclists, including our own Kurt Stockton and Phil Keoghan, came bombing dowhill into a u-turn to the finish line with a foot out, back tire screeching, and wide-eyed buddy hanging on with one hand...let's just say there were some close calls.
The day wrapped up with the after-after-party at the Hearst Dairy Barn. Nothing short of spectacular, the party venue consisted of a stadium sized concert stage, dance floor and DJ for the evenings Natasha Bedingfield concert, the biggest, fanciest open bar I have ever seen, and 5 different buffet lines to satisfy appetites for Mexican food, country fare, BBQ, steakhouse and California cuisines. Not to mention, a Make Your Own Patron Margarita station complete with blonde barbie hosts from LA - I came prepared with my ID to prove my 24 years of age, and was surprised? flattered? that it was not checked, even though I looked about 16 with my wet hair, un-make-uped face, and cozy brown fleece. As it was my turn to concoct my margarita, I made my way behind the Patron bar, on my tip toes because at 5'1" tall, I forgot to bring my 5 in wedge high heels to see over 65in bar...and to add insult to injury (not really, but sounds like the thing to say), Jelly Belly, Bernard van Ulden calls out from the back of the line 'Hey! who let the minor behind the bar!' needless to say my cheeks flushed again.
After a round at the dessert table, the night wound down for Stephen and I, as the others got ready to party the night away with Natasha Bedingfield. I picked up my engraved juice squeezer (a complimentary engraved Patron juice squeezer came with the creation of your own Patron margarita), and we made our way back to the van, only to find it locked (was supposed to be left unlocked so we could get our stuff). We found the owner of the van, whom had given his keys to a friend of a friend of a friend or so it seemed - which was fine with me, as it gave me an opportunity to dance around the dance floor perimeter looking for the guy. Needless to say, we got the keys and made our way back to our own cars for a final drive back home, for Stephen and I, only a half hour drive to SLO, for Kurt...well, wherever he made it to!
Overall, the weekend was a great adventure! Thanks to Kurt, Phil and sponsors Specialized and Sierra Nevada for providing such an awesome experience! I hope to be able to partake in the Best Buddies Challenge again!
Thanks for reading :)
Jenna 'Jammer' Kowalski
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