Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Day 2: "and on the 8th day god created speed"

Today started with a ride awakening. Imagine what a choking rooster would sound like...now imagine that blasting through a megaphone at 5 in the morning. Not a great thing.

Breakfast consisted of tea, oatmeal, and bananas. Delicious! After breakfast we had a few short announcements from our trip leader - did I mention he only has one leg and bikes with us everyday - and then we hit the road. 1 mile in my ride partner blew a flat. We had to stop on the side of the interstate - yes we are biking on the interstate - to change it. We finally got going and 3 pedal strokes in he blew his second flat...good start to the morning. Now we were in a bad mood and 30 minutes behind the lead pack. For the next 40 miles we were playing a game of catch up. It wasn't until the 2nd stop that we were able to catch back up. Luckily we successfully wore our selves out before the real fun began...a 15 mile climb followed by an 11 mile descent! Oh yeah!

Nothing to exciting about the climb, just that it was long. But at the top was a wind farm. By far the coolest sight of the day. Then the real fun began. You know that part of the rollercoaster ride when you reach the top of the drop, and get a huge rush? Imagine that for 11 miles straight. I can't really describe the sensation of pulling inbetween 45 and 60mph on a bike. Its just fucking fun! That's pretty much it for the day. Hope everyone is doing well.

-ride hard

4 comments:

David said...

Wow...what an adventure! You've got guts, kiddo! This is great inspiration for Ron's and my upcoming bike trip in Holland. Of course, Holland is flat. Still, never having toured anywhere on a bike, it gives me confidence to see you taking on something far more daunting than flat old Holland! Keep up the good work!

MKLJ said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
MKLJ said...

Whoops. I deleted that one.
It said: Legs like a horse!

Barbra Wiener said...

OMG Rueben!!! What an incredible adventure! Just reading about 11 miles down hill is a rush! It's going to be so fun to hear about what you notice, what strikes you (not literally), and what stories emerge.
I am so proud of you for your dedication to the RIDE
and for doing your dream.
Drink water, stretch, HAVE FUN!
I love you,
Barbra