Day 9I told my wife and friends that if I make it through the desert heat I can complete this tour without taking a ride in the sag wagon. I am an idiot!
A few posts ago I used the word cruel to describe cycling. Today was cruel.
Brad Haslam crashed out very close to the halfway point today. Brad met every time cut and his RAAM qualifer status was good. Through no fault of his own he ran over a rider who had crashed in front of him. Brad fractured his knee cap so he is out of the ride. All that time and effort...poof! We will miss you.
I was on riding on empty today at 40 miles, too bad because I still had 166 miles to go. Phil Ligget talks about cyclists reaching into their suit case of courage when they are having a tough day. All I had was a little hand purse of courage and it only had a few candy wrappers in it.
Better than courage I have friends here and I am embarrased at how many times Ed P. pulled me back up to the group, or that Dan F. sat up and waited, or Jeff L. looked over his shoulder and paused. However I'm looking on the bright side and the average age of these three guys is 57, so maybe I will get better when I grow up.
Tough day but after 206 miles today the RAAM qualifer status is still good.
See you tommorrow at the end of 11,000 feet of climbing!
5 comments:
George,
Saw the weather forecast for yesterday in your area, said a prayer! Still praying today! Sorry to hear that you lost another rider. Hope today was a better day, & that the climbs went well. Were pulling for you!
Eric....
George-
Keep on goin' - You can do it! At least that is what I kept telling myself when you took me riding at Muddy Run! I survived and so will you. Now I remeber why I like motorcycles so much! Keep it safe. We are all enjoying your posts. Just keep thinking how great the East coast will look and feel! Our prayers are with you.
The Esh gang!
You are absolutely my hero!
As the famous cyclist Winston Churchill said "Never, never, never quit!"
Every day I look forward to your postings.
Love the dumpster photo
George,
Mike Ridgeway is scheduled to come thru Georgetown this morning. I had hoped to see him, but that work thing got in the way. And "George rides on"!! You go George.
Ivan Umble
George,
You are doing a great job. It must be hard for you to see riders go down but keep looking up and I am glad to hear you are safe.
Thanks for keeping us updated
Erwin
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