The day was a little broken up because we had to ensure that everyone got to the beach on time. That meant holding up at a place a few miles from the beach as the group collected. Everything went like clockwork though, we made it to the beach around 4pm per Mike's plan. We had to wait a bit for the last six riders -- Ken and Pam, because Pam had taken a wrong turn and put in 16 "bonus miles" -- Bill and Dan who rode together, and A.J. and Dave D. bringing up the rear -- but everyone did really well -- earlier in the trip a day like today would have had some people arriving around 6pm -- it shows how strong the group is.
There was a lot of climbing again today -- around 7000 feet -- with some very steep sections to boot. 120 or so miles to the beach combined with 7000 feet of climbing -- that is not a slouch day !! That one section that averaged 13% was a killer -- but everyone made it.
I felt good today, good recovery from yesterday, no problems with the climbing -- perhaps the anticipation of getting the job done. I don't have the rolling time stats handy because the bike is still in the car, but I'll update this blog later tonight with pictures from the day, from the beach and from the banquet tonight.
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Rolling time was 8:05 yesterday -- lots of climbing and waiting.
The banquet was a good time. Everyone got a chance to stand up and say something -- a couple got emotional -- everyone was sincere and the audience was as patient as any audience that I have ever, ever seen. We did not finish until just before 11pm and you can imagine 30 people standing up, each taking a few minutes -- you'd think that people would get twitchy, but no. There is an unbelieveable sense of comaraderie in this group -- this group that will never be together again.
The bike is unbelieveably dirty. We went through a 10-15 mile section of relatively new tarred pavement with dirt constantly hitting you and the drivetrain. I'm going to wipe the bike down in my room and then dismantle and give a thorough cleaning when we get up north.
I decided to only post one picture -- it says it all -- the adventure is over -- the memories will live on.
1 comment:
Congratulations on a fabulous accomplishment! Hope you have fun getting back to the everyday routine. It'll probably be interesting to get behind the wheel of the car for the first time in a month!
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