4:30 a.m.
People’s phone alarms start going off…and they actually pay attention to them and get up. So weird.
4:45 a.m.
Someone says, “I may as well just turn on the lights.” I put my head under the covers!
Sometime later…
Janet takes a photo of me refusing to get out of bed. I figure I might actually need to consider getting up. Then MV comes and pulls the plug on the air mattress. Bye-bye nice bed!
6 a.m. -ish
The team is off. We still have to finish locking up the truck, but no problems this time – we know right where to go.
6:30 a.m.
We are off. Yeah, my butt hurts. But less than I expected. I am pretty much not awake yet and haven’t felt like eating yet. So I have a cup of oatmeal from breakfast stashed in the saddlebag. And lots of fruit rolls.
I have no times for the rest since MV has the computer, but some highlights:
We stop at the first rest stop and I eat a bit of the oatmeal. It is a congealed glop, but covered in melted brown sugar. Best idea ever! No, I am not being sarcastic - this was awesome biking food. I wake enough to decide that I might want to stop at every rest stop and eat the oatmeal. I propose this to MV who says that if that is what it takes… Also of note: the first ret stop is by the egg producers building and there is a giant chicken! (Statue that is, not a real giant chicken although that would have been really cool.)
A large part of the ride today is where the road is cut into hilly areas so we are riding where there are large rock walls next to us. Cool! I think it had more climbing than day one, but it was mostly of the roller variety.
Animals we see: Cows, horses, llamas with babies (so cute), cats, dogs including a guy walking two tiny little mini dogs, an angora rabbit, a giant wild rabbit and a field of chickens.
About mile 50, my butt really hurts. So we go with a “coasting anytime there is a downhill” plan so I can get off my seat. We also keep up the stopping at all rest stops plan. I try to not dawdle. MV makes sure I don’t. One of these days, he really is going to ride off without me.
One city we pass through, MV remarks that there seem to be a large amount of bail bond places. Right after that we pass the county courthouse. Then we pass the jail. Then we pass a girl standing on the sidewalk with messy clothes, ratty hair, a huge backpack and a pierced nose. She calls out, “I hope someone throws a stick at you.” MV replies quietly so only I hear, “I hope some day you can find happiness.”
At the final rest stop (187-ish), some of our team is also there. I mention that my butt hurts (which is dominating my thoughts) and Maureen gives me some cream she loves (I need to find out the name from her). Anyway, she says she thinks it numbs. Not sure if it did or not, but it had peppermint oil in it, so my butt kind of tingled and I’m sure it smelled very refreshed. MV says time is up, and off we go.
Since it is almost the end, we say no more stopping. At maybe 6 miles from the end, my foot cramps. I was so thinking I might make it the whole way without it being a problem. But the day had really warmed up and that seems to be what does it. I was trying to ignore it, but then it got really bad and we had to pull over. Luckily the magic cream works really fast. I can still feel the nerves being pinched, but it no longer hurts as much. We jump back on the bike. Darn annoying feet!!!
The (rerouted due to construction) finish winds through part of the city and crosses a bridge then you are there. As we go through the finish shoot, I realize that I can do the hands in the air thing since I am not steering. The crowd goes wild.
We hop off for the final time (YES!) and wind our way through the splash pad (YES!) to the truck. S&J are there to greet us. We shower and MV goes to the truck to get stuff for a few other people. My phone rings. There is a loud cheering noise. And I hear through this, “Are you back yet?” Oops!!! It is Coach Craig and we completely forgot to check in at the TNT table. You know, the thing that they drill into our heads to not forget to do. Oops!
Then I hang around at the finish and see the rest of the team come in. Yeah! Go team!
Coach Steve crosses the finish line with the final TNT MI people. I go up and hug him. He has lost his voice - we all expect that due to his "Go Teams" throughout the day. But he is also shaking. And possibly all the wet on his face is not sweat. I am struck so deeply by how fabulous he is as a person. I spend quite a lot of time teasing him or complaining about training or otherwise being (slightly) obnoxious. I don't know that I ever tell him that he is really also very cool. I mean, damn, this guy was responsible for getting over 40 of us safely across that finish line. And he did it with style and with so much heart - I don't know that he realizes just how amazing he is either.
So there you have it - 204+ miles in two days. My butt hurts.
Now I will eat. A lot.
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