Adventures in San Antonio (LONG)

Greg and Melissa were at it again. If anyone told them they were not athletes in their former lives, they were wrong. So now both have completed a marathon and a 1/2 marathon in five months in two states. Incredible. Greg told me Melissa could be strong willed but this is will of mythical proportions.

Yeah, I'm proud of them both.

Ok, so Anne and I trekked up to San Antonio on Saturday afternoon, arriving in time to check in and meet the families and running stars for a pasta dinner. Melissa and Greg had ten family members (counting Anne and me) show up for cheering. Bobby Jo, Melissa's friend also came along to run the race with Greg and Melissa.

So I had this adventurous idea that Anne and I should ride bicycles to follow the race. I knew bicycles would have worked very well at Lisa's Houston marathon and Greg and Melissa's Alaska Marathon. For reasons you'll see, we should have left the bicycles at home.

Ok, so we drug 'em from Houston and by golly we were going to ride them! Anne and I went out to drive the route I had so carefully laid out on Google maps. This was a good idea. I discovered that I had routed us through some pretty rough looking parts of town. I think Rotweiler guard dogs and triple burgler bars are not a good sign, especially on a residence. We drove into town and carefully followed the map and our eyes to trace out an entirely different route through decent neighborhoods with no traffic. It was kind of neat - rolling hills and streets named Hickory and Michigan and Aganier and Buckeye.

So there, we had a perfectly safe route that avoided traffic and would be FUN!

We carefully prepared and discussed clothing. It was supposed to be cool in the morning. Errrrr, well, I tried to say cool, but the forecast 37 degrees made me silently say other things. I did not want Anne to worry that I was thinking WE MIGHT FREEZE TO DEATH. There is nothing like a fast road bike zipping along at 20 mph to make it feel like sub-zero temps.

Greg and Melissa stopped by our rooms to say good night. That was neat. They seemed energized and had a good attitude. We were all excited.

Ok, so next morning we put on our finest silk long johns (super stuff!). Anne put on her special "firewall" tights which I bought for her last year. I wore my lighter tights. I guess I wanted to think that I could have been warmer if I had worn my firewall tights (weird logic, I know). We all went down to grab some continental breakfast and coffee. Anne sneaked a smoothie and an orange juice to stow in her backpack. This would prove to be nice later on in the day.

We took crazy pictures of Melissa and Greg and Bobby Jo (see Melissa's pictures and blog). Then we went up, suited up and came down the elevators with our bikes. We got some stares as we walked through the lobby. Our bikes were doing the fancy clicking sound from the rear wheel ratchets. So it was impossible to go out in stealth mode. I just pretended I was a competitor at Tour de France and these people were cycling groupies. I got so into it that I almost held up my hand in a big victory V.

Once we got outside and began rolling, I just knew we would be blocks of ice in the next two minutes. It was COLD. But the thrill of setting out on bicycles to ride into downtown in unknown neighborhoods was just too exciting. We were moving so fast and it was mostly downhill. YIPPEEE! My directions, attached to my handlebars were spot on and I was feeling confident in my route.

The first "incident" occurred as we stopped to cross over the only busy street along the route. Anne put her foot out to support herself on the curb and missed. She fell over in a heap. It was more humliating than damaging, but it was a bit of a downer. After getting her back together, we headed off again.

Now the cold started to work. Anne had forgotten to bring glove liners and her hands were starting to hurt. I asked her if she wanted to stop. I thought it would be a natural thing to stop and put her hands in her armpits to give some quick relief. Well she said "No". I did not realize she just did not finish her sentence. What she meant was "NO, MY HANDS ARE ABOUT TO FALL OFF AND I NEED TO GET INDOORS TO SOME HEAT WHERE I MIGHT POSSIBLY SAVE MY HANDS". Well, so much for how well a couple communicates after 36 years of marriage. Eventually we came to a small bakery. I asked if she wanted to stop here, thinking she might use the restroom. She said yes and we went inside. Anne wasted no time asking if they had a heater or a place where she could warm her poor hands. They said the only thing they had was the pot full of coffee sitting on the warmer. Anne walked over, pulled off both gloves, and grabbed that hot coffee pot with both hands and held them there. I looked around to see who was looking, hoping there wasn't a crowd. It was just after sun-up on Sunday morning. Nobody was sitting there. After a few minutes I encouraged Anne to go in the restroom and run warm water over her hands. She did and came out about an hour later. She said her hands were kind of functional now and did not believe there was any damage. I looked at them. They looked kind of red and prune-like.

Did I mention we started this ride before sun-up with lights? Actually it was not dark - just that kind of eerie orange glow before the sun shows up. Now, the sun was up and we sensed things might be warming up. At least it felt that way psychologically. We mounted up and rode off again. Getting into downtown was neat because we could enjoy it without having to maneuver a car. We rode in on a street where no cars were allowed and could see lots of runners. We stopped at the edge of the route and talked to a woman. We were afraid that we had already missed Greg and Melissa. The woman told us her husband ran 8 1/2 minute miles and she had not seen him yet. Greg and Melissa were targetting 11 1/2 and 13 minute miles respectively so we were relieved.

We rode our bikes to the spot exactly where we told Greg and Melissa we would be. Fortunately we found a spot with plenty of room where we could turn our bikes sideways in full view of the runners. It was exciting. Eventually Greg rounded the corner and saw us immediately. He slowed down and turned around so Anne could get his picture. He was smiling big and looked good. Greg was launched out of coral 19. I think Melissa was in Corral 28, so she started subtantially behind Greg. Sure enough, 25 minutes later here came Melissa. She was talking and focused on other runners. She didn't even see these two cyclists in full broad view. I hollered at her and she looked up and immediately smiled.

I had printed out detailed maps and forgot one very important thing. I forgot to put milemarkers on the route! So i could not calculate where to meet them next. I guessed and we headed out. It was cool riding our bikes downtown. We could get from one place to the next so easily and fluidly. We saw a Starbucks with a big parking lot. We decided to stop in and use their restroom. I looked at the map and decided I had no idea how or where to find Greg. Brian was supposed to meet us along the course, so I decided we would ride along the course near where we thought he was and call him. Again, it was still exhilarating to ride around on bicycles and get places so quickly and easily.

We stopped at a point on the course and called Brian. He was about 1/2 mile fom our location and started working his way toward us. Anne and I watched, hoping to see Greg or Melissa, but it was so crowded. For 30,000 runners, the course was too narrow forcing the runners to run close to each other. Anne said she was going to ride to another point in the course and see about finding him. I stayed and waited for Brian. Suddenly I heard a loud hoarse voice yelling "Bob Davis, Bob Davis". It was Greg! He was frantically waving his hands and running backwards, trying to get my attention as he had already passed me. He looked great and happy. I grinned and yelled "Go Greg!".

Brian eventually found me and we half heatedly watched for Melissa. It was like the needle in the haystack. Brian said he was on foot and needed to get going if he was going to meet us at the finish line. I said I would take off, find Anne and meet him there.

Ok, so Anne was supposed to be exactly at the intersection we agreed upon. Right? wrong! She had wandered off and I could not find her. I was frustrated and she did not answer her cell phone. Then I heard "Uncle Bob, Anne's over here". It was Brian. He had seen her standing under a tree. I walked over and started into my fuss about meeting where we had agreed. Poor Anne looked like a kicked dog. She looked up at me and said "I've got a bigger problem. I can't walk". My heart sank and I felt like a mud puddle.

Anne had inadvertanly ridden along the street and discovered she was in the roadway with the runners. She tried to get out of the road using a side driveway. Unfortunately, it had a sharp ledge and her tire got caught and she fell over - hard on her hip. Her bike was ok but she was really in agony. Brian and Anne urged me to ride to tinish line to cheer Greg and Melissa. Brian said he would get Anne out, as his car was not too far away.

So ok; Off I went riding like the wind into the sea of spectators that was swarming toward the finish line. I actually got in the road with the runners and stayed to the side being careful not to get in their way. Then I maneuvered over to the side that looked like the route to the finish line. That's when I discovered that the idiots who designed this route did not make provisions for the spectators to get the finish line from the downtown area. It was a zoo. The final part of the run was a steep, cruel hill. The designers of this course are just plain sick. I had to give up and ride back into town. I decided since I was the only one on a bike now, I better get moving to make it back to the hotel on time.

Along the way, I hit a bump and my cellphone hopped out of the carrier on my bike. I pulled off and retrieved it, then tried to tuck it into the back pocket of my jersey. I couldn't seem to get it in the pocket. A guy came up to me offered to put the phone in my pocket for me. Obviously a cyclist, he asked me how I liked the frame on my bike. I told him it was a gorgeous frame. Then he said "How about those minimal spoke wheels? Do they give you any trouble?" Without thinking I said these wheels are tough. I hit a 400 lb wild boar and it didn't even phase them. He got this really weird look on his face, like I was some kind of crazy to be avoided. I said "its true, it really happened!". By this time he was slowly shuffling off while facing me, making sure that I wasn't slobbering and getting ready to attack him.

I rode back along the same route we came that morning. I was back at the hotel in about 25 minutes without incident. When I got there, everyone else was still out. I called Bryan and he said he had Anne and they were on the way back to the hotel. I called Greg and they were standing in line to catch a shuttle to the parking garage where they had parked for the race. What a bummer. The logistics for travel/parking for this race were horrible.

Brian and Anne made it back to the hotel. Anne was having a hard time getting around. I helped her and she managed to get cleaned up and dressed in regular clothes. We went to the hotel restaurant and had lunch with Brian. It was great to have some time with him. After lunch, Brian needed to get back to studies and left. Unfortunately Greg and Melissa were still trying to get back to the hotel. They showed up a few minutes after Brian left. I had arranged to keep our hotel room for late check out. Greg, Melissa, and Bobby Jo had put their luggage in our room, so they came up to get cleaned up. Melissa was kind of green around the gills. She seemed better after she lay down for a few minutes.

We all were tired and some of us were hurting. We all agreed that getting packed and back to Houston as quickly as possible was the best plan. Anne and I got ready and headed out. Melissa's father, Larry, had stayed to drive them all back. Along the way, we ran into a major traffic stall near Sealy. Apparently there was some kind of traffic accident and everything was backed up for miles. We pulled into a truck stop. Greg called and they were right behind us. Eventually, Larry pulled up in the truck stop as well. We hung out there and got some gas. Eventually the traffic jam cleared up and we got out of there.

We all got home that evening, much later than planned. We had plenty to reflect on. It was an eventful, colorful weekend. The best part is that were all together as a family and we will remember and laugh about it in the future.