It took me 3 days to be able to sit down properly.....

"The Ride" was absolutely amazing!!!  240 kms of beautiful scenery, warm weather and great support along the way....not to mention a nice bottle of wine that went straight to my head after day one!!  Hey!...to be expected after burning 2,500 or so calories!  It was really nice of the organizers to throw in the hills on the last part of the second day!!  Still....managed to peddle up them!

With pit stops every 25 - 30 kms and a chance to hydrate and fuel up, there was no shortage of Gatorade, water and food.....oh and plentiful portable potties along the way!!  I will say however, that with only 6 kms to go on the first day.....I was really wanting it to be over.  "Hoochie Mama's" should not have to endure that kind of punishment for that long!!  The evening was full of ceremonies, marriage proposals, great food and lots and lots of good laughs...this after a nice hot shower in which I said to my teammate..."Did that much salt really just come off my face or was the shower water salty?"  Slept like I haven't slept in years...only to wake to a train going by at 4:30 am....but that was okay....half the riders were already out for the second day of grueling, rear punishing torture.

Sadly, there was a tragedy on the ride.....a young rider (16) was cycling for his uncle (a cancer survivor), his mother was also in the ride.  He went to pass a group of riders, clipped his wheel with another, lost his balance and fell.  Tragically a woman (going well below the speed limit because of the many cyclists) did not have a chance to stop and ran over the boy.  Our group of riders came upon the scene just as the emergency response was attempting cpr....the uncle was off to the side sobbing.  Very very sad turn of events for sure.  I'm glad that the organization is taking care of the family and any riders that need any kind of support.

On a lighter note.....got to the finish line by 2:30....couldn't see my beloved husband or daughter.  As we stood in line to get this photo taken, I called said beloved husband...."Where are you guys?"...."We just got here....parking the car".....what?!?!?!?....they missed seeing me finish by 5 minutes!!!!

The ride back in the car really made me appreciate the distance we rode on bikes....all 2,640 of us!!

Until next year......I'll keep pedaling for a great cause!!