I look forward to seeing you all at Ripley-Grier Studios this Summer!
Visit www.farmigo.com/ripleygrier to create your free account and place your personalized order by June 15.
I'm so happy to bring this amazing food to the Midtown community. Feel free to share this information with friends and family in order to get more people involved. A minimum of 10 people need to place orders each week for the deliveries to take place. So if you are someone that wants to see this happen for your community, you must help spread the word.
I look forward to seeing you all at Ripley-Grier Studios this Summer! Visit www.farmigo.com/ripleygrier to create your free account and place your personalized order by June 15.
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For several years now, my husband's love for cycling has been growing like a weed. I used to think he was a bit crazy, but somehow along the way, he managed to evaporate all of my fears, inspire me, and...voila! My own desire to accomplish crazy feats of athleticism took on a life of it's own.
Last year, I rode in my first century (109 miles to be exact). Looking back, I recall it being incredibly challenging and needing several days to recover. However, even through all the pain, a few months later we decided we could go even longer and harder if we trained properly and put our minds to it. So what did we do... we signed up for a 150 mile ride from Penn Station to Montauk. But that's not all! The craziest part, is that we recruited a few other brave souls to join us on the journey. The Team: Me - Jackie Batruch Christo Batruch Amanda Scala Melissa Erikson Fernando Flores Solis It was a long, cold winter. My team of five, spent many months training on spin bikes and conquering some insane weight training specifically for cyclists. By the time warmer weather creeped in, we got our butts on our saddles and trained fiercely outdoors with many, many loops in Prospect Park, rides out to Rockaway Beach and of course, the infamous 9W. We were ready. When I awoke yesterday at 3am, I could not believe the day of the ride was actually in front of me. I was nervous, but at the same time ready to conquer. It was not in my mind that I wouldn't finish. I was not about to allow any negative thoughts to enter my life. As it turned out... this mindset was truly the only thing that got me through to the end - well, that and my strong core, triceps and legs that I worked so hard to develop! The day started out a bit slow. We first rode ourselves, our bikes and our backpacks with a change of dry clothes from Brooklyn to Penn Station at 4:00 in the morning. Once we arrived, we threw our backpacks on a truck, were handed the cue sheets, and headed for Long Island. Within the first hour of being on the road, Fernando was struck with a flat tire. Thankfully, he quickly changed it and we were all back on the road in no time. As time went on, we discovered that the wind had really picked up. For me personally, the wind is my enemy. I find it incredibly difficult to keep solid control of my bike when the wind is slapping me in the face and forcing me to grip my handlebars in order to not lose my bike. After a rest stop or two, the team began to drift apart. The boys were slightly ahead of us girls and I found myself riding alone for many miles. Riding alone can be very therapeutic for me. It makes me think about how far I've come, how strong the human body is, and how focused my mind can be. Sometimes I am astonished. We continued to ride and eventually grouped back up minus Amanda, who had made a slightly wrong turn somewhere but ended up being ahead of us. Then, it started pouring rain. We found a giant tree to shield us for a bit, but once it started to slow down we jumped back out. Now we were hungry, tired and wet. Good times! We quickly regrouped at the next rest stop, ate some fruit and peanut butter sandwiches... and back out. At this point, we were praying for the sun to return. I was definitely cold, and all my clothes were pretty wet. Thankfully, over the course of the next hour I did begin to warm up as we picked up the pace and watched the clouds part. Suddenly, I found myself hitting a long stretch of mileage where it was just me and my husband. BLISS. I love riding with the captain. We had a nice chat, reminisced from our ride last year... and eventually drifted apart again. A second wind came over me, I covered some serious distance, blasted over a bridge and felt my body come alive. I thought, "I'm golden till the end! Bring it on!" Suddenly we were at the 125 mile mark and I was elated to know we only had about 25 to 30 miles left. I was feeling good. Sadly, I couldn't say the same for Fernando. His knee was killing him and he made the rough decision to call it quits. I was sad for him... but we all knew that the pain was pretty bad and it was smart for him to end it. After filling up on more water and pineapple chunks, we headed out once again for the last long stretch. Going into it, I was prepared for what was ahead of me. I was about to tap into some territory that I'd never experienced (the long mileage), as well as dealing with almost 18mph winds and some of the craziest hills. By now, my husband was somewhere far away (he made a wrong turn), Fernando was out, Amanda was in front of me (I think), and Melissa was behind me with a flat tire. I decided to just keep climbing on my own to the finish line because I sincerely just wanted to be finished. It was never ending from this point on. I'm about to describe something that not very many people can relate too or understand: -I was alone. -I was cold. -I was exhausted. -I was very hungry. -I was dehydrated. -I was in pain. -I was seriously angry at the wind. -I was frustrated with the hills ahead of me. As a result... -I was cursing out loud. -I was laughing because I didn't know what else to do. -I was asking myself how I was in this situation. -I was crying. -I was thinking deeply about my life. -I was focusing on the road like never before. -I was worried about my team. -I was shivering cold. -I was more determined than ever to not quit. The very, very long last haul was seriously the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. The wind had really taken over and I could barely hold up the bike underneath my incredibly exhausted body. I was in the smallest crank and the smallest gear and was barley moving at an 8mph speed. I cruised into an area which felt like the finish line... and suddenly my husband popped up behind me. We had a quick conversation and he was gone with the wind. Little did I know there was another giant hill to climb. Ahhhhhhhhh! I'm not joking when I say that I have no idea how I got up it or how I survived to the end. It's kind of a blur. My hands were numb. My feet were numb, my neck was killing me. My triceps were barely holding me up. My legs were moving, but I really have no connection as to how that was happening. I had dirt in my teeth, on my lips, in my eyes, and on every part of my exposed body. I was literally shivering cold. Then out of nowhere, suddenly... the finish line was truly in sight. I couldn't believe it. People were so nice with their cheering and their joyous remarks. I was so happy to be alive. Actually getting off the bike was painful. I could barely stand up. All I wanted to do was find my husband. Eventually I found him and the rest of my team. I was so relieved. And before I knew it, I was being rushed to load my bike onto a truck, find my backpack, try and get food, and organize my ride home. My body had no time to register what had just occurred. I found myself with a plate of food in front of me, water and a beer on the table and a towel on my shoulders. With no control, I felt my body begin to shiver uncontrollably. I literally turned purple and my body was shaking so bad that I couldn't even hold my fork. My husband was a little worried. We eventually climbed on a bus back to Manhattan. I was wrapped in a hoodie, sweat pants, two towels, and had socks on my hands. It took me over an hour to stop shivering. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep at some point. Soon we were back at Penn Station and I was so very excited to find a cab and get home to a hot shower. It was the best shower of my entire life. I'm not exaggerating! After that, I remember nothing. Sleeping never felt so good. I can honestly say, every bit of this experience was worth it... but I have no desire to do a ride that long ever again. I can check it off my list and be ok with riding a simple 100 miles any day of the week. My team was awesome and together we kicked some serious ass. I couldn't be more proud and I'm so happy we had the experience together. I'll never forget this Ride To Montauk! |
Jackie Batruch
My Rooted Balance is a blog about how I make things work in my own life in Brooklyn, NY. No matter where you are, life can be fun, active, healthy and truly balanced. Live life to the fullest and always remember to inspire others along the way! Archives
January 2018
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