Last evening during pelaton we were told that it was going to be a very, very hot day….high 90-100+ F. Our goal was to leave bright and early. It is quite wonderful packing up a tent that is dry (no humidity or dew in the morning). Today I’m biking with Pete, Barb, John, and Gerry K from Washington. Marti joined us 1/2 thru the ride. Andy is on sweep duty so he’ll be a late comer today. 
Pictured above are: Marti De Plessis, Cynthia, Barb Mellema
John likes us to warm up a bit before the actual ride, hence the climb up the WRONG hill right at the beginning of the day. I will admit that we all missed the US-30 sign but we like to blame these things on John, after all, he is the one reading the map.
Today’s ride was a breeze, everyone should make it in with out a problem. In fact, as I’m typing this up Andy came in, so that means everyone was in by 3:30ish. Once you were over the 450-500ft climb it was all downhill from there. You didn’t even have to pedal. Barb did have a soft front tire, but we managed to catch Cory on the way to his sag stop and after we, (John, that is) added air we were all set to go. Our We projects at home are defined as...I think of the idea and Ralph does all the work. I operate on the same mentality here at camp….We should pump up my front tire and either John or Pete does it. We have a flat….you get the idea.
First sag was Walter in his humble camper. He greeted us with a smile, told us where the facilities were….girls behind the first bale of straw, guys behind the second bale of straw. Walter even has toilet paper available along with a steady supply of hand disinfectant for us to use. After topping up our water bottles and a photo op of John pretending to be Lance Armstrong, we were off.
Second sag was Julie. She has no shade again today. It’s a long day for these sag drivers and we sooooo appreciate everything that they do for us.
It was a tad dicey on the interstate. We usually do not travel on the interstate but apparently when the valley narrows this was our only route. There was construction and I was grateful to get thru this one lane section with barely any shoulder before the traffic picked up. Andy said when they came to this section the construction workers told him to navigate thru the construction because they’d never get thru otherwise. Again, we appreciate all your prayers for our safety, we need them.
Imagine our surprise when we entered Huntington and some one had made a home-made sign welcoming our group to their town.
We arrived shortly after 10 am and since the gear truck doesn’t usually arrive on site till after noon we found the local bookstore, grabbed a coffee and got to know the locals. What a riot. The women where invited to sit by the MAFIA table, which stand for Mature, Affectionate, Feminine, Intelligent, Articulate women.
This is a photo of the local women we sat with: Margie, Beverly, Mabel, Rhonda, Millie, Bev R and Sue.
I also joined some men for a bit and chatted about their lives. We found out that Huntington has a population of around 500 people, and that is counting the dogs and cats! 60% are either retired or on disability. They were grateful that we were staying at the local elementary/high school because that would generate funds so that textbooks could be purchased for the fall.
We also found out that there was a washing machine at the school, so Barb and I put dibs on the first load. Right now I’ve got the first load hanging on the back of the bleachers waiting for it dry so I can hang up the second load. We usually combine clothing so we have a full load. The wind is strong so it shouldn’t take long to dry.
The next two days will be relatively easy but sooner or later we have to get out of this valley and do some serious climbing. I haven’t looked ahead in the devotional book because it will just freak me out and as my son said, ‘Mom, it doesn’t matter what the elevation is….you still have to climb it. So don’t worry about it. Just do it.’ Wise word.
On my to do list for this evening is…shower (but at least today I will not have to stand in the shower with all my biking clothes on, spread soap all over, take off the cycling clothes, soap them down once more before actually washing myself…it really is a time consuming job but hey, if it’s the only way to get clean clothes you do it). I fear when I’m home that I’ll hop out of bed with my jammies on and just in the shower fully clothed. You can bet I’ll only do this once. Continuing with my to do list….hang up the second load, find internet service to post this blog, eat supper, pelaton meeting and get ready for tomorrow (which means, washing out the water bottles and refilling them and laying out my cycling clothes for tomorrow so that I’m ready to go. I should probably clean my bike chain as well….on that note, maybe we should clean my bike chain!
Maximum speed 60.8km Average speed 28.2 Bike time 2:40
Till later, Cynthia
Pictured above are: Marti De Plessis, Cynthia, Barb MellemaJohn likes us to warm up a bit before the actual ride, hence the climb up the WRONG hill right at the beginning of the day. I will admit that we all missed the US-30 sign but we like to blame these things on John, after all, he is the one reading the map.
Today’s ride was a breeze, everyone should make it in with out a problem. In fact, as I’m typing this up Andy came in, so that means everyone was in by 3:30ish. Once you were over the 450-500ft climb it was all downhill from there. You didn’t even have to pedal. Barb did have a soft front tire, but we managed to catch Cory on the way to his sag stop and after we, (John, that is) added air we were all set to go. Our We projects at home are defined as...I think of the idea and Ralph does all the work. I operate on the same mentality here at camp….We should pump up my front tire and either John or Pete does it. We have a flat….you get the idea.
First sag was Walter in his humble camper. He greeted us with a smile, told us where the facilities were….girls behind the first bale of straw, guys behind the second bale of straw. Walter even has toilet paper available along with a steady supply of hand disinfectant for us to use. After topping up our water bottles and a photo op of John pretending to be Lance Armstrong, we were off.
Second sag was Julie. She has no shade again today. It’s a long day for these sag drivers and we sooooo appreciate everything that they do for us.
It was a tad dicey on the interstate. We usually do not travel on the interstate but apparently when the valley narrows this was our only route. There was construction and I was grateful to get thru this one lane section with barely any shoulder before the traffic picked up. Andy said when they came to this section the construction workers told him to navigate thru the construction because they’d never get thru otherwise. Again, we appreciate all your prayers for our safety, we need them.
Imagine our surprise when we entered Huntington and some one had made a home-made sign welcoming our group to their town.
We arrived shortly after 10 am and since the gear truck doesn’t usually arrive on site till after noon we found the local bookstore, grabbed a coffee and got to know the locals. What a riot. The women where invited to sit by the MAFIA table, which stand for Mature, Affectionate, Feminine, Intelligent, Articulate women.This is a photo of the local women we sat with: Margie, Beverly, Mabel, Rhonda, Millie, Bev R and Sue.
I also joined some men for a bit and chatted about their lives. We found out that Huntington has a population of around 500 people, and that is counting the dogs and cats! 60% are either retired or on disability. They were grateful that we were staying at the local elementary/high school because that would generate funds so that textbooks could be purchased for the fall.
We also found out that there was a washing machine at the school, so Barb and I put dibs on the first load. Right now I’ve got the first load hanging on the back of the bleachers waiting for it dry so I can hang up the second load. We usually combine clothing so we have a full load. The wind is strong so it shouldn’t take long to dry.
The next two days will be relatively easy but sooner or later we have to get out of this valley and do some serious climbing. I haven’t looked ahead in the devotional book because it will just freak me out and as my son said, ‘Mom, it doesn’t matter what the elevation is….you still have to climb it. So don’t worry about it. Just do it.’ Wise word.
On my to do list for this evening is…shower (but at least today I will not have to stand in the shower with all my biking clothes on, spread soap all over, take off the cycling clothes, soap them down once more before actually washing myself…it really is a time consuming job but hey, if it’s the only way to get clean clothes you do it). I fear when I’m home that I’ll hop out of bed with my jammies on and just in the shower fully clothed. You can bet I’ll only do this once. Continuing with my to do list….hang up the second load, find internet service to post this blog, eat supper, pelaton meeting and get ready for tomorrow (which means, washing out the water bottles and refilling them and laying out my cycling clothes for tomorrow so that I’m ready to go. I should probably clean my bike chain as well….on that note, maybe we should clean my bike chain!
Maximum speed 60.8km Average speed 28.2 Bike time 2:40
Till later, Cynthia
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