We
finished up the ride to the beach today with three days of great weather. While
it was windy, there was no rain. Planning an event ahead of time like CTTS
means you gamble with the weather, but it was great this year.
I think
that day three is actually the hardest day. We are tired from the first two
days and with a mostly flat route, there is little rest time. On the first two days, with the hills, you at
least get to rest on the down hills.
Also, day three has longer legs to the rest stops. The first leg is 23
miles, then the next leg is another 23 miles to lunch. That leaves a short ride of just over 10 miles
after lunch to finish up.
During
the ride today, we had a group of motorcycles pass us that seemed like they
would never end. There was no harm and
they did nothing out of the way, it just seemed like they kept coming forever. Their loud pipes right beside you on the
bicycle were deafening. About 5 miles out from lunch, Greg had a flat tire on
his bike. Luckily, it was a back tire so
we didn't have to deal with the chain and derailleur this time, but our luck
was not much better with the tube. This
time, we got it up to 120psi on the first try and right as I was standing up
from taking the pump off the stem, the tube popped. It was deafening in my
right ear this time. We got it right
again on the second try and was back on the road.
We
finally figured out how to get Micah up out of the seat more so he was not so
sore. When we got to lunch I asked Micah
if he was ready to get his bike out and he was.
I but the Beast on the van and got our standard bikes out. Micah rode great on the last 10 mile stretch
with the front pack. I think that he is ready to try more next year on his
bike.
It would
be a great disservice not to take this opportunity to thank some of the people
who make this happen. This event would not be possible without them. First to
Jennifer Moore and all of her staff, I will not try to name all of them as I
would leave someone out. I could not
begin to thank you for the tireless hours put into organizing every part of
this event and other ASAP programs. To
all of our support crew, lead and SAG vehicle drivers, food prep team, and many
others. To all the riders, you make it enjoyable while we are out on the road. To the Rolling Thunder and all of our motorcyclist that are a part of our safety net on the ride, this ride simply could not take place without you. Last, but certainly not least to all of our donors and sponsors, you make this happen, you give opportunities to those who may do things a little differently than you, but still want to remain active.
This ride really is about the friendships among the ASAP family as much as it is about riding 180 miles together. We ride together as packs, when one member of the pack needs help, we all stop and see what we can do. We work hard together and we enjoy each others company over some great meals the Chef Jeff makes on the grill in the parking lot. There are so many encouraging words spoken between the riders and you take an extremely diverse group of people that become family. When Micah was a little tired on the last day, I reminded him that we had rode 160 miles together, and that was exactly how we were going to finish the ride. Sometimes we need a little push or a word of encouragement to keep going, that is always there for you with this group. You really can accomplish anything when you set your mind to it. CTTS will always be my favorite ride of the year, can't wait until 2014!
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| Getting in the shade at lunch |
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