Hello, Everyone!! I'm loving the emails -- you guys are great! Hearing from you guys that you can't wait to see the blog everyday just adds to the love. THANK YOU!!
I can't believe we began the day in Philadelphia, it seems so long ago. We drove a little bit out of Philadelphia to the Delaware/Philadelphia border to start the ride. New Castle Delware PD and EMS gave us a huge welcome and escort. As we drove past the New Castle PD station, we had a huge group of fans cheering us on! My chain kept slipping as we were rolling through some of the downtown area and unfortunately had to hitch a ride. New Castle EMS hosted our first rest stop, about 25 miles into the ride. Mark and Dr. Ted (an ER director in Maine and a part-time bike mechanic -- can you believe it?!) were able to fix my bike issues and we were all on the road again. We were warned that today's 108 mile ride was hard and that the hills only get harder. And, it was all true. Delaware was beautiful and full of hills. Maryland was also beautiful and full of even bigger hills, high rollers, if you will. Long twisty, high rollers.
Did I mention big hills?
Our 108 mile ride unfortunately turned into about a 65 mile ride (whose counting miles with all these hills? 70 miles today is like 150 back home). The hills slowed us all down. Mark even mentioned to me that today was the hardest ride he has ever done, so I guess you guys can get a good idea of what day today was like. After 65 miles which was at 5pm, all the riders were forced to get into the vehicles. We travelled to two more rest stops hosted by FD companies. Around 9pm tonight we finally made it to the hotel. The team was exhausted but they really kicked it today. I got on and off the bike frequently today either from extreme fatigue or bike issues but my spirit isn't broken. You do what you can and you do it to the best of your ability. I saw an ad from Reebok on the NY subway that said (for running), "a 10 minute mile is the same distance as a 6 minute mile." There's a lot of truth to that statement!
So, the hills are bad in New York. Then worse in New Jersey. Then worse than that in Pennsylvania. Then worse in Maryland. Then, Virginia is the big whopper. There was a sign today that said "Scenic Route: Atlantic to Applachians." Can we take the non-scenic route to avoid the mountain range?
The challenge of the ride only makes the end and our purpose that more special. When you climb a hill on your bike, your upper body swings back and forth. I wear a necklace that Rita gave me and as I swing, the necklace gently hits my neck. Feeling the necklace hit my body diverts my attention from the physical pain of the hills to the Hansons and how much people back home are pushing for us.
I heard some unfortunately news tonight that Vaughn was involved in an MVA with his daughter. Rita mentioned in an email that he just needs the Doc's blessing to head to Roanoke -- our thoughts are with you!! Get well and we hope to see you Thursday! Everyone, be safe, life is precious, we love you!
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