Yesterday J and his buddies started out long before the sun rose on one big ol' long bike ride - 204 miles to be exact. They started pedaling
around 4:15am and arrived smiling at the halfway point just before noon. After a quick stop for some much needed fuel, rest and some
lovin' from their Girls (J's friends each have a daughter - no sons in this bunch) they hit the pavement again. As we neared the next pit stop that we were meeting them at (about 60 miles down the road) they called to inform us that one of the guys had blown a tire. Thus our crazy goose chase ensued. We drove past the pit stop to the nearest town and after having no luck at Big 5 we headed out for an
obscure sporting goods store in search of a new tire and some tubes. Thank goodness for GPS!! We eventually met up with them at the pit stop and after a quick tire change they headed back out. They crossed the finish line sometime after eight o'clock despite the time lost due to the popped tire. They figured the 204 miles took them just over eleven hours of actual riding time. Sixteen hours after they began,
they were definitely eager to get off of those bicycles!
And we were happy to see them! Last year we learned a hard lesson when we drove back home immediately after the race. The Girl who
has always been able to sleep in the car did ok, but the other two (Baby Sister and Miss A)...not so much. It proved to be a long, exhausting drive. So with that hindsight, this year we arranged to stay with friends after the race. Friends that we hadn't seen in over a year and who have since added a new member to their family. At two months, Mr. L was so adorable and the Girl wanted to hold him right away this morning. Baby
Sister was much more cautious around him and kept him at arm's length. You can see her hand touching his shoulder in the picture. After breakfast our friends took us to one of their favorite nearby parks. It had a great playground and an enormous, beautiful rose garden and fountain. The three Girls had fun running around together through the maze-like meticulously manicured hedge walls that
protected the innumerable rose bushes from getting trampled on. I don't know what kind of trees these were but we all agreed that
they were the coolest. Here is the Girl flashing me a smile while running to catch up with her little friend, Miss C.
Yesterday J and his buddies started out long before the sun rose on one big ol' long bike ride - 204 miles to be exact. They started pedaling
around 4:15am and arrived smiling at the halfway point just before noon. After a quick stop for some much needed fuel, rest and some
lovin' from their Girls (J's friends each have a daughter - no sons in this bunch) they hit the pavement again. As we neared the next pit stop that we were meeting them at (about 60 miles down the road) they called to inform us that one of the guys had blown a tire. Thus our crazy goose chase ensued. We drove past the pit stop to the nearest town and after having no luck at Big 5 we headed out for an
obscure sporting goods store in search of a new tire and some tubes. Thank goodness for GPS!! We eventually met up with them at the pit stop and after a quick tire change they headed back out. They crossed the finish line sometime after eight o'clock despite the time lost due to the popped tire. They figured the 204 miles took them just over eleven hours of actual riding time. Sixteen hours after they began,
they were definitely eager to get off of those bicycles!
And we were happy to see them! Last year we learned a hard lesson when we drove back home immediately after the race. The Girl who
has always been able to sleep in the car did ok, but the other two (Baby Sister and Miss A)...not so much. It proved to be a long, exhausting drive. So with that hindsight, this year we arranged to stay with friends after the race. Friends that we hadn't seen in over a year and who have since added a new member to their family. At two months, Mr. L was so adorable and the Girl wanted to hold him right away this morning. Baby
Sister was much more cautious around him and kept him at arm's length. You can see her hand touching his shoulder in the picture. After breakfast our friends took us to one of their favorite nearby parks. It had a great playground and an enormous, beautiful rose garden and fountain. The three Girls had fun running around together through the maze-like meticulously manicured hedge walls that
protected the innumerable rose bushes from getting trampled on. I don't know what kind of trees these were but we all agreed that
they were the coolest. Here is the Girl flashing me a smile while running to catch up with her little friend, Miss C.
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