Day two is done! We rode a little over 58 miles today. The front pack averaged about 16.2 mph today. So far on the trip, I have seen the fastest speed I have ever been on my bike. I hit 41.7 mph going downhill trying to keep up with the hand cyclists. Those guys can leave us on a long downhill. They hit some speeds over 50mph! We can always catch them on the uphills as they have to work very hard using their arms to climb the hills. Today flattened out considerably from yesterday. I have come to notice that Rod, the oldest one in out group at 71 starts looking for me if I am not close to him during the ride. We worked it out yesterday that I would push him on the hills to help him out. He usually doesn't need very much, just a little bit to close the gap and he is good again. I have found that it is a delicate operation to meet up and reach over to get the push stick attached to his bike. Today, I finally seemed to get the hang of it and could easily get the stick to help him get going. This has been the most incredible sporting event I have ever been involved with. There is a great deal of mutual respect between all the riders, able body and those with disabilities. It really shows that attitude has a great deal to do with the way we live our lives. I have discovered that we have (sometimes) affectionately been designated as the AB riders (able bodied). There are a lot of new AB riders this year and most of the time it has been the AB's holding up the packs.
We have one more day left, I am looking forward to pulling into Myrtle Beach and seeing all of the supporters waiting for us, but I will miss a lot of these guys. It has been really neat to see the wide range of disabilities and how they have overcome whatever has been thrown at them.
Thank you for your continued prayers for safety and for the weather to hold off.
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