Sunday, June 3

Quote of the Day:  “Kindness causes us to learn, and to forget, many things.”  Madame Swetchine

Sometime in February, I signed up for an 80 mile bike race.  It’s one of those things, your friends are doing it, it’s very popular and if you don’t sign up the first few hours of registration, it’s too late.  So there I was, picturing myself preparing for this bike ride, taking ample time perfecting my biking skills, especially since June was so far away.  But, here’s the funny thing, as unsure as I was before the ride, it turned out to be such a great accomplishment.  A few years ago, I participated in this same race, Little Red Riding Hood in Logan, Utah.  It’s amazing rural scenery and like I said, very popular.  It’s a race, I guess but I like to think of it as a ride.  Years ago, when I did it, I rode my hybrid, no clips, just running shoes with virtually no training.  I did 60 miles and was amazed that I was able to finish it without too much pain.  I got a lot of comments as people came riding by like “Good Job” or “You can do it!”  Comments that were at the same time meant to be encouraging but also patronizing.  Shortly after, I switched to a road bike with clips.  

This year, I had done about the same amount of training as the first time, but felt more confident about my riding and my bike.  I would be going 80 miles.  That is a long distance, I don’t even want to drive in my car that far.  But Sue O. was going to be doing it also and she would be riding a hybrid without clips.   As she rode beside me, she noticed that she had to pedal all the time while I kept being able to take breaks and coast.  I picked Sue up at 6:00 A.M. and there was the most amazing red sky in every direction- gorgeous clouds in shades of soft red and pink lighted the sky.  If you are sleeping in past sunrise, you are missing the most incredible morning sights!  With our bikes secured behind us, we drove to Lewiston, about 20 miles past Logan.  We followed a trail of cars carrying bikes of all sorts and sizes.  We parked in a grassy field and carried our bikes to the road.  

So, I have to mention that I had an uneasy feeling when we started riding.  I attributed it to apprehension about riding among a lot of really accomplished bikers or maybe nervous about finishing 80 miles but it continued until mile 2 when my back tire started to make a thumping sound.  I pulled over, looked at my back tire and sure enough it was loosing air.  Immediately, a white truck saw us and pulled over and the nicest man proceeded to change my flat tire, willing to even give me a tube, if I didn’t have one, and explained to me just what he was doing while he fixed it.  His name was Phillip Noble and I totally am grateful for his kind service.  He got the job done and away we went.  After more miles, Sue’s back started hurting and so when we got to a reststop, we made a plan.  Sue could do the 50 mile route and meet me for lunch, I would continue to do 80.  

When I got to the lunch spot, there were so many bikers laying on the grass, or sitting at the tables, I scanned the area for Sue.  I called her phone but no answer.  After grabbing lunch, I called Sue again and was so happy to hear her answer.  It’s true that when your friends are there, everything’s all right!  We ate lunch, started on our way again, looking at a looming hill in the distance, when my back tire started to make that same thumping sound.  Examining the tire, we discovered that it had a huge protruding bump.  We headed back to the lunch station where this really awesome bike mechanic took one look at my tire and pronounced it toast.  I would need a new one and it would take just a minute for him to put it on, at no cost.  Here’s my favorite part, he mentioned that I could return this tire to his bike store.  They would use it again to help someone with a flat.  

I went on to finish the bike ride, extremely happy to get to the finish line.  Sue and I filled up on  an ice-cream sundae and then headed to the Maverick for the biggest diet coke possible.  We were tired but satisfied at what we had accomplished on that Saturday!

The beginning of the ride!