Thursday, August 7, 2008

Day 46: Final Exam...A++

Its done! At least it mine as well be done. When you are on a cross country bike trip and finished what is referred to as the final exam, you are done. Especially when you only have two days left, both of which are 50. In all honesty today wasnt even all that challenging of a ride. Yes there were hills, but they werent all that steep and werent as long as I was expecting. After Mt. Davis the other day though, with climbs that were 19% grade, anything was going to be easy.

The hardest part of the ride was the length. I dont really remember feeling fatigued until about the last 30 miles. That was probably due to the fact that me and Chuck somehow got ahead of sag and didnt have water for the last 50 miles. Not fun. Maybe that was just the extra credit section of the final exam. "Make it the last 50 miles without passing out from dehydration and you get 25 points extra!" Fucking ridiculous! Luckily we found a convenience store and were able to get some much needed water for the last 5 mile stretch.

Part of the day was really beautiful for a change. Then again after the last couple of days with the majority on Highway 30, anything was going to seem beautiful. Anyways, we got to bike through a state park for about 20 miles of today. It was a great break from crappy roads and obnoxious semis. Nice shade cover, beautiful forest on either side and mostly flat road.

Looking back at the ride I only have one complaint. Chappy! He was a friend of Patty, a fellow big rider, that was invited to join us for the rest of the trip. I met him the night before and he seemed nice enough. But once we hit the road this morning, his true colors started to show. Now if I were in his position, I would have been riding with Patty the entire day. After all, she invited him to ride with HER. But he did no such thing. Not only did he ride out front with me the entire day, without Patty, but he continuously tried to show us up. He would sprint up every hill, pass us every time we would try to go by him. All in all he was one of the most obnoxious people I have ever ridden with. A word of wisdom to all of you: if you join a group of riders that have been working their asses of for 45 days, DONT TRY TO SHOW THEM UP. It really got to me when he dusted us with 15 miles left, riding by himself into camp! What the HELL! Oh well. Instead of coming here, riding with us and becoming our friends, he has just made 36 enemies.

Thats it everybody. Im off for my last rest day! Hooray!

Until then,
Ride Hard

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