Wind, sun, wind, hail, wind, rain, and then some wind. I had an excellent time and I loved the route. Hit a new all-time high mph on the first big downhill, but a nasty little cross-wind brought me to my senses and reminded me that brakes should sometimes be applied! I was a lot less brave on the next big downhill, but I lived to ride another day, and that counts for something.

One of my friends had a cross-wind pitch her into some gravel and she ended up in a small ditch when she lost control of her bike. I was probably about a mile ahead of her at the time, so I didn't see it. She did some damage to her bike, but was able to finish the last 20 miles with the gears that were still functioning.

I heard there was a 12-woman wreck somewhere after the lunch stop. Some broken hands and gashes that needed stitches.

Dinner on Friday night was fun. I rode ever so briefly with Yellow today. She is amazing. I could see her red jersey up ahead on the biggest climb of the day just blowing by everyone else like they were standing still!

Alex