I finished it! Yay! Long Post

[Scarlet]

Hi Hammer
ab fab and thanks so much for taking the time and effort to write a report on your ride.

I love reading these longer rides as they give inspiration to us all

It is soooooooo hard to cycle into the wind and at every turn the wind seems to be in "your face"

well congrats from me

Scarlet xx

[Mr. Bloom]

I stand in awe and SALUTE!

[Tuckervill]

I am glad to read your report because I had a not so great ride today. Supposed to do 50 miles, but only made it 40, and I was almost dead last, and almost DEAD. I went swimming for 40 minutes yesterday (playing in the pool really, not swimming), and I think that took it out of my legs.

So I read your report and the way I feel today was creeping in and I kept thinking how CRAZY you were to ride that far! I feel like a total noob all of a sudden. Maybe my attitude will change before too long, but right now I'm freakin' impressed with your ride!

Karen

[BabyBlueNTulsa]

That was a great blog about your tour! Sounded like someone talking about Oklahoma's Freewheel (going on this week - ending the 15th).

I did a ride like yours ONCE and didn't last but 4 days. I'm a weenie camper.... too many storms in every town we overnighted in. I actually called my MOM to come get me. LMAO. I was a 28yr old... I called my mom. ROFL

You DO rock!!!

[Hammer]

Really the hardest part, especially the last day was just getting on the bike. And I think that everyone really inspired each other to keep going. A person gets into a 'We're all in this together' kind of mode. Everyone looks after each other. It was nice.

It is important to keep in mind how your own body is feeling. But, on the hard days we just set small goals and then re-evaluated the situation to see if we should continue. Fortunately on the rain day the wind shifted and the rain stopped. And on the really bad windy day that was ALL headwind, I'm glad that I could see that everyone was having trouble and sometimes it is okay to quit. In fact it's sometimes stupid not to.

There's a fine line between stuborness and stupidity, I find.

I did walk over several railroad tracks this year. There were a few that were angled like the ones that I crashed on last year.

Tuckerville: Good for you for making the 40 miles! Playing in the water exhausts me too. There's a 16 year old kid/guy that bikes with our group on organized rides. He's into triathalons. We did a 70 mile day Monday and he's like, "I should go swimming or running or something." It was about enough to make me puke. Good for him though.

[short cut sally]

WOW...i read your post and thought, if only I could do that.. I am not sure I could do more than 2 days in a row. YOU DO ROCK...

[Tuckervill]

At one point, about 5 miles from the finish, I said, "If I have pedal one more stroke, I'll kill myself." And I'd been pedaling hard for miles and miles without stopping, keeping up a 14 mph average, and I never stopped pedaling. It's amazing how disconnected your conscious mind can be from your body. (Or maybe my conscious and subconscious minds were disconnected and my subconscious mind was controlling my legs.)

Karen

[rebran]

wow...thanks for taking the time write a report on your ride. . .I am inspired. . .I rode the Highmore to Huron route (my first time participating in an organized ride) and had a blast despite the terrible weather. . .

I agree. . . youROCK!

Becca