Day two of the 2009 Tour to Tanglewood is over and the event is complete for this year.

I arrived at the Volvo Headquarters prior to 6:30 AM to catch the shuttle back to Tanglewood to get my bike and begin the ride back. We sat on the bus for a long time before beginning the drive, and I think perhaps there was a little confusion about when the bus was to depart. But eventually we made the trip. There was also some confusion about how he was to bring us to the start. We did eventually make it, but many of the other riders had already departed by the time I was getting to my bike. Maybe that’s a small detail for the organizers to take a closer look at next year. Still, they did get me to the start, and it’s not a race after all.

I had continuing problems with my brakes rubbing right at the start. Another rider at the start line commented as I rode past, “gotta love that sound, right?” He was being sarcastic. Someone did some quick loosening of the cables and I rode with my rear calipers open again, but I was able to do the ride without the brakes rubbing, at least not too badly.

For the first segment I rode along with one of my co-workers and team-mates Jim. We both decided to take it fairly easy getting out of the park and to the first rest stop. Plus the roads were still wet, although it wasn’t really raining anymore, perhaps a light mist. Still, the time went pretty quickly to the first stop. At the stop I loaded up on some fig newtons and gatorade and did a little stretching that I had neglected to do prior to beginning, and I could tell that I was a little tight from yesterday’s ride. Jim and I had a little chat at the rest area about our individual plans for the rest of the ride and I took a photo of a few of the participants and volunteers dressed as pirates, which you can see over at flickr, and then I proceeded on my way.

After the stretch I was feeling a little more ready to cruise so I just set my own pace and did my own thing and made pretty good time. I didn’t stop at any of the subsequent rest stops, although I was tempted at one when a group of enthusiasts began hollering to each other when I rode past, “check it out…he’s got the Polo…hey, he’s wearing the Polo!” I gave them a thumbs up and kept going.

I started hearing the spokes on my rear wheel creak at around mile 35. I don’t know what it is. I just can’t get this wheel to keep true anymore. Maybe it is time to get new wheels, but I’d kind of like to get a whole new bike. Anyway, that’s another matter. The bike and wheel held together and I made it to the finish line where, like yesterday, there were people cheering and clapping and yelling, “good job, well done!” And it feels really good and really nice. There’s a very satisfying sense of accomplishment, even more than on a regular ride of the same mileage, where’s there’s a sense of accomplishment about the mileage, but in this case there’s also the knowledge that you’ve raised money for a good cause.

Along the way I saw a few of my team-mates wearing their Polo jerseys. I think we made an impression during the ride, and were certainly more visible than last year. Also, and more importantly from a fundraising standpoint, we raised quite a bit more money for the cause of fighting MS. So I feel very good about that, and I’m glad that we were able to contribute more this year than in the past.

There was lunch at the end of the ride. I took a few moments to put my bike away and went and had a nice sandwich and chips and mac & cheese. I chatted with a few of my Polo team-mates and then headed back home where I got myself cleaned up, had a cup of coffee and then feel asleep. I was very tired.

Oh, stats: a little over 42 miles with an average speed of 16.9 mph. According to my Garmin we ascended 1683 feet, which means the return trip had a lot more climbing overall than the outgoing trip…interesting.