So instead of trying to keep up and using photos and all that.. I am going to try something different. All of my photos can still be found at http://www.gramfeed.com/kmarrinerjr and my ride data at http://connect.garmin.com/explore?owner=kmarrinerjr or http://app.strava.com/athletes/108997.
Heres what I am going to do.. a bit of a narrative that will be boring. We will see how long I last at this.
The alarm goes off, I wake up super groggy and check my phone. 0530. We got to sleep in today, there are 17 emails and a text waiting for me, but I can't look at them yet.
The church fills with the sound of air escaping from thermarests, this sound has become routine for me now, I find the energy to stumble to the bathroom to brush my teeth and put on my bibs.
Then its back to the room where I slept, my bin is packed in the next 3 minutes everything in its place and out to the trailer it goes.
Today they are cooking breakfast for us, so I am in no rush to get the essentials out and lined up on the table. I take this time to check my phone before heading out to the garage where the bikes are. I grab my equipment and air up the tires, then it's back inside for breakfast, a large spread of pancakes, bacon, fruit, cereal, and eggs. They have set out two gallons of chocolate milk which are demolished.
After breakfast we sit outside waiting for the cleaning crew to finish, then there is a route meeting. We learn about the town we are heading into, and get the cue sheets. As everyone finished preparing their bikes a few people take off. Then we leave; Gordy, Ambrose, and I. I stop to chalk the first turn and a lady asks if I am alright from her car as she is at the stop sign. I tell her yes, and explain our trip to her, she offers to donate $5 to the group. I head off to find the others.
We start the ride slow, slowly warming our legs for the day ahead, 65 miles.
The day slowly progresses as we pick up speed and cruise along at a decent pace. We turn onto a road that will take us most of the way in, 10 miles later we see the trailer. Lunch. I take Manny the lunch mascot to the road as a signal to the other riders. Then we feast, it's a short day so mostly I drink fluids with some doughnuts and fruit. Then it's back to the road after a quick chat and spray of sunscreen.
We decide to take a break after 10 more miles, it's getting hot. Ambrose takes a 10 mile pull and we reach the end of the long road and take a stop for bathroom use. Only 7.9 miles to go, I lead my energy sapped by the sun, we roll along slowly and make it in.
We are the first in and eat a snack in the church basement before unpacking the trailer as more arrive. Then we head off to the malt shop and a bar, along the way we learn of another group of cyclists in the town, cycle america, they are going east. I get back to the church and head to the post office to mail a box, then it's time for a shower. But the water isn't working so we wait a bit for it to come on.
I walk back to the church, and take the time to upload my ride data and spend some time reading the news before dinner.
The word is given dinner is served, we swarm the table containing a variety of lasagna with salad and bread in a way that can only be described as locusts. After dinner is devoured and dessert is decimated we listen to an affordable housing presentation on rent control and then assemble for a town hall. where everyone shares their highs and lows of the week and adds a bit of information about what they feel we can do better as a group, then we break and some of us decided to head off to the bar while others paint the trailer and still others prepare for bed, it is going to be an 0430 wakeup after all.
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