You are amazing. You blow me away. I don't think we tell each other that often enough, but it's true. Our little, home-grown fundraiser raised over $11,000! And you guys personally contributed almost 20% of that! So congratulations to you all for being such a huge part of the success of this event.
And now on to a description of the ride...
It was a gorgeous morning. Woke up too early for a Saturday, but I was excited and looking forward to riding! Craig picked me up at Starbucks (thank god for Starbucks) and we set out to the starting point: Agrodolce, our sponsor. Cruisin' down the highway at 6 in the morning, listening to classic 80's songs; what a better way to start the day?
We arrive and there are a good number of people milling around. We sign in, pick up queue sheets and receive T-shirts commemorating this first Season of Love. After a safety speech, we roll out of the parking lot together at 8a.
The first part of the ride was great - mostly rolling hills, beautiful scenery, strong legs. Then we hit the "Wall": an infamous hill, noted for its steepness. But it's still early and the heat of the day hadn't set in so we managed to make it up with a minimum of complaining! After the Wall was lunch and it couldn't have come at a better time. Fantastic sandwiches, pasta salad, chips, cookies, brownies (yea to our bakers!). It was heaven. Plus, taking off the shoes to let our toes breathe and cooling off with ice packs didn't hurt.
It was tough to get going again, but we pressed on. After lunch was the hardest - the county was in the process of repaving the roads, so the had torn up a good 2-3 mile stretch of the road we were riding on and after 60+ miles, those bumps really hurt our hands and tushes. We were very happy to see the next pit stop and subsequently turn off the bad roads.
The next 20 miles stretch was also very difficult because of the heat and the hills. Not that they were that steep, but they were consistent and our legs started to tire out. That last pit stop was wonderful; we lied down in the shade, iced off our overheated bits, and partook in gummy roadkill - a nod to the massive amounts of dead animals we saw on the road. The sweeps arrived to provide a little pick me up by way of cookies and we were off to finish the last 8 miles.
I have never been so happy to be done. At the last light, the group I was riding with managed to make it through the yellow, but I got stuck at the light. We were all hot and tired and excited to be done so you can imagine my surprise when I turned and saw them waiting for me to ride in to the parking lot together. That is what this ride and this community is about to me! Thank you Bruno, Michelle, and Corey for doing that - it really meant the world to me.
As we rode in, the riders who had finished before us stood and cheered. It was really great to hear that. Everyone hung out until the last rider came in (go Karen!) and we all cheered extra hard for her when she arrived. The best part was everyone hanging out afterwards - we had an impromptu tailgate party, with beer and everything! It was fun. A special thanks to Jim for the footrub - I know it was a ploy to make me take off my shoes and I was really grateful.
Driving home, listening again to 80's, was great. I was tired and happy. Thanks so much to Glenn & Jim for all the hard work you put in to this event. Thank you to all the riders who rode for this cause. Thank you to all the sweeps and support vehicles - knowing you were there if we needed you made me feel taken care of. Seeing you pass by or cheer as we came up a hill always gave me a little extra umph. And again - thanks to YOU. Glenn says something along the lines of: I give because I can, and will do so until I can't give anymore, in the hopes that if I ever need the help, there are people like me out there, willing to give too. It makes me so proud to be able to tell him that there are...
Lots of love,
Rachael
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