Day 2-My Longest Ride EVER

Lampasas, TX to Coleman, TX
Distance: 130.90 miles
Time: 8:56:09
Max Speed: 34.1 mph
Average Speed: 14.6 mph

I cannot think of a time I was ever this exhausted. 130 miles on a bike is a lot of riding. But I did it. We did it. It really wasn't that bad, but now my shoulders hurt like crazy and it is uncomfortable to sit. Getting in the saddle tomorrow will be very interesting. Not looking forward to that one.
Today we rode from Lampasas to Coleman, parting ways with the Rockies route this morning. We had a ride dedication as an entire team for Carson, the little boy who Jordan and Claire visited in Memphis this past week. Following the dedication, we had a huge group hug followed by everyone exchanging hugs and goodbyes to the riders of the other route. It was a very heartfelt moment and many tears were shed. I was rather surprised of some of the people I saw crying, but it was good to know I am not the only one on the team who really loves everyone else on the team. Not that I thought that, but it was still good to know. This is the most dedicated, passionate, and fun group of people I have ever been a part of. I might even cry at the end of the summer when we all leave Alaska.

The ride went well, it was a good route, if there is such a thing as a good 120+ mile route that is. It started off a little rocky with some people having bike issues and others getting dropped or left behind. I ended up backtracking about 3.5 miles to find my buddy, Mike who had stayed behind to help Eric with some shoe issues. I then ended up sweeping for a portion of the ride as a couple of people had been dropped by their group/buddy. It was really nice to just ride easy for a while, keeping my heart rate nice and low. I was the very last person to leave the second (of 5) rest stop, and between the second and third, I stopped my sweeping duties. I caught up to the lead group at rest stop 4 but waited until after they had left to continue on. At rest stop five I met up with them again, but this time Jordan convinced me to ride with them for the final stretch, about 20 miles or so. By this time we were all exhausted and our rear ends had been rubbed raw. This was at mile 100, mind you. Actually, I did about 7 extra miles because I went back for my buddy, so I was past the 100 mile point at rest stop 5. But anyway, I did the last stretch with the first group. Jordan and I pulled a double paceline for a while, and then I pulled alone for a while before Jordan took over. We could see a storm approaching and lightning in the distance so we picked up the pace to try and finish before the storm got to us. There was a large flash of lightning right above us, so we decided to pull over to take some shelter. Of all places, the first place we came upon was a welding shop where everything was metal. An interesting choice in a lightning storm, but it was shelter nonetheless. The mosquitoes were also awful there, but no matter.

At this point, we thought we were about 5 miles out and really did not want to have to get a ride back in. We wanted to complete the ride; we were so close. One of our awesome hosts for the night came and found us in his truck and told us the school we are currently staying at was only 2 miles up the road. Hearing that, we waited for the rain to stop and rode in. It was a wonderful feeling, minus a little wipeout on some slick pavement in front of Sonic. Not only was today my longest ride ever, but it was also my longest ride to go without a flat!

Our hosts are amazing. We are in a junior high school, sleeping in the gym, with showers and laundry machines for us to use. It's like a 5-star hotel to us. After not having showered for 3 days, being clean feels awesome. Our hosts cooked us an awesome pasta and salad dinner and had really good tea. In the morning, they are providing us with breakfast too. We are living like royalty, here in Coleman, Texas.

Peace and Love,
Tubular Tito