A Ferocious Day Four

Getting up at 4am was a shock to my system. I didn't actually feel right until we got moving on the bikes early this morning (which was later than we had wanted). On top of that, the ride to Mansfield turned out to be full of long, rolling hills. There were a good 15 or so miles that were flat where the path followed along the river, but the rest of the ride was mountainous. The original 87 mile route gained a difficult, hilly extra 8 miles due to a bridge detour. If you add in my group's mistake of getting lost (which cost us about another 10 miles), I rode my first century. Also, one of my team members calculated our ascent and descent: 7,000 and 6,000 feet, respectively.

That explains why I can barely feel my legs right about now. Everything is sore, my whole body is tired, but I did it, I completed the day. This wouldn't have happened without the amazing support of the team. I am impressed with them more and more every day. We ALL struggled, but we all finished the day, met the host, and enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment that comes with cycling 100 miles.

The day was not without its usual incidences. Besides getting lost, I knocked the chain off my bike while shifting about 3 times, and had to walk up (along with most of the team) a few hills that were either too steep, too long, or just too grand for my weary self to handle. Abe and  Callie helped me to quickly regain miles as we sought to make up for the gap that had been created by us getting lost. We drafted, with me riding between them, covering a lot of (hilly) ground quickly, eventually catching up to the others.

Looking back on the day, it was fun and worthwhile, but also a challenge that may have come too soon for a team still in their first week riding. I'm glad that I got to have a taste of some mountainous terrain (the Rockies will be MUCH worse) and completing my first century. and I learned a very important cycling rule: All hills that go up must go down, and  descending on a hill is awesome. For instance, we descended today toward Mansfield on a 3 mile stretch. It was fantastic and gave me the strength I needed to plow through the last 10 or so miles to the host location.

Tomorrow's ride to Ithaca is nearly half of what we rode today (59ish) and less hilly. The general consensus is that tomorrow will be an easier, more enjoyable ride for our sore quads and calves. As a plus, we don't have to get up until 7:15 tomorrow so I have some much needed extra sleeping hours.

I will never forget today, the challenges it posed, and the fact that with support we saw it through safely and successfully. You have more strength than you know.

Stay Safe,

James

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Today, the most difficult one thus far, is dedicated to my grandmother, Kay Schwabacher.

P.S. I apologize in advance for any mistypes, I can barely keep my eyes focused at this point in time.