It was a dreary, muggy morning. Overcast skies were threatening rain. We were told that the rain was south of us and moving north, that we could probably stay ahead of it. Ahead of it? After the extreme heat the past two days, I was hoping to ride right in the middle of it!
Pit Stop One - Farmington, MN (15.5 miles)
Riding into pit one, we encountered characters from the Broadway musical hit Annie. The mean Miss Hannigan kept her orphans in line as Daddy Warbucks handed out ice and money (just stickers, unfortunately).
As we continued down the road, our journey turned sour for many riders. Apparently, some nasty carpenter staples were found scattered all along the road between pits one and two. Nearly 60 flats occurred because of this mishap. Erik's bike techs stepped up to the plate by quickly fixing as many as they could handle. In true dedicated spirit, many riders helped fix a number of flats as well. It was rumored that the staples were purposefully scattered upon the road by someone trying to sabotage the ride. But no one seemed to know for sure if this was true or if a box simply fell off the back of a truck. Fortunately, I did not get any flats. In fact, I never even noticed the staples on the road and was quite surprised to hear about this incident. I was either really lucky, or my puncture resistant tires were doing their job.
It had been cloud covered and threatening rain most of the morning, though we had yet to be rained on. Even though it was another hot day, the cloud cover seemed to make it bearable. There was one point at which the sun poked through the clouds and I felt that kryptonite feeling again. Immediately, I felt zapped of all my strength and energy, and thought "I'm not going to make it in again today." But as soon as the sun disappeared behind the clouds, I felt my power return.
Riding into pit two felt like we were almost home. We were now back in the 'burbs of the Twin Cities and the end seemed so close. Pit two had chosen a theme which honored the death of former crew member Anastasia J. Hood. They would work all day in silence... as mimes. With old silent film movie scores playing the background, these crew members served the riders with all the same enthusiasm and hospitality as usual, but in complete and total silence.
As I approached Bloomington and crossed the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Recreational Area on the 494 bridge, it began to lightly rain. Did that ever feel nice. It was not the kind of heavy rain that gets into your eyes and makes it difficult to see. It was just enough to cool you down and make riding more pleasant. The flipside, though, was that as I approached pit three it would stop raining. And now I was simply soaked through to my skin in the stifling hot, muggy, uncomfortably sticky weather... BUT I MADE IT!
Pit Stop Three/Lunch - Private Holding Area at Richfield High School (40.5 miles)
I don't remember now what I had for lunch. I just remember feeling sad that it would soon be over; and yet glad that I didn't have to ride any further. My butt was sore, my joints hurt, my knees were red with heat rash, my clothes were soaked through and would not likely dry in this humidity...
approximately 215 miles over four days.