Here
it was my turn for a massage. While waiting my turn, we inhaled
the best fried rice I have ever had in my entire life. In retrospect,
it was probably not spectacular, but after umpteen bottles of
Ensure with occasional bites of lasagna or pasta, it was heavenly.
We spent a fair amount of time here, talking with riders and checkpoint
personnel, as well as getting the massage and food.
We restocked our supplies, grabbed some fresh clothing and
headed across the state line where a waterbed was reserved for
our tired bodies. We bragged to those that would listen about
the waterbed that was waiting for us just across the Connecticut
River.
That's why is came as such a surprise to hear that the Crone's
had been told we had headed in. Apparently they were taking
a sleep break at the checkpoint motel. Neil awoke shortly after
we left and asked about us. Upon hearing we had left, he disturbed
Eileen from her sound sleep, and decided to chase us down. Rumor
has it that at least one rider when questioned implied we had
passed him at great speed. It wasn't until they reached the
checkpoint in North New Salem that they discovered they were
ahead of us. But even then, they thought we were nearby and
they hammered all the way to the finish line. Because of this,
I feel like we can take a little credit for the phenomenal pace
and record they set. Meanwhile blissfully unaware of the competition
taking place, we slept soundly - although not on the
waterbed that I had been dreaming of.
When
we reached our motel, I almost committed a murder. When I made
our reservations I was very explicit that our arrival time could
be at anytime, and I guaranteed our reservation with a credit
card. This meant they should charge my card and save a room
for us, whether we showed up or not. Apparently they didn't
understand this normal protocol, and when we did not show up
by 11 P.M., they gave our room away. Just as I was about to
reach for her neck, the clerk offered us the "spare"
room. This place was in pretty bad shape, but it had a bed and
a bathroom, and that's all we needed. I probably could have
slept on anything at this point - and had we not gotten this
room, we might have ended up sleeping in the lumberyard a few
miles down the road. Anyway, we showered, checked the weather
channel, and discovered that rain was predicted for Sunday.
We talked briefly about sacrificing sleep to avoid the rain,
but decided to stay anyway, and get up an hour earlier than
originally planned.
Sunday morning was cloudy, but dry. We both felt pretty good
as we headed up Route 9 and over Mount Pisgah. A few miles before
the checkpoint in North New Salem, we were caught by a gaggle
of fresh riders who were doing the twin centuries. Our sense
of competitiveness was fired up, and we hammered along with
them toward the checkpoint, until better judgment took over
and we decided to cool down before stopping a the control. They
were quite impressed by our spunkiness with so many miles in
our legs. We were a bit surprised ourselves.
We left the checkpoint with a good sized group and picked the
pace up as if we were out on a 60 mile ride. We could feel how
close we were and it felt great. A lot of folks look pretty
ragged by the end of this ride, because of lack of sleep or
pushing really hard. At the end, the stories they tell include
so much pain and suffering that both they and their audience
wonder, "Why?".
Sure
we suffered some pain, with my stomach problems and John's tendonitis,
but we really had a great time on this ride. The first day in
the rain was really pretty fun for us, especially with our fenders
! We knew that the mountains are real, and we brought appropriate
gearing. Apparently many riders believed that Jennifer Wise,
the ride director, had exaggerated about the long steep climbs,
and they didn't bring adequate gearing. We could have made some
serious money selling freewheels at the base of Middlebury Gap.
(Gee, maybe we could finance RAAM this way ! ) They won't make
the same mistake twice.
We also know how fickle New England weather can be, so we came
fully prepared, and took full advantage of the drop bag service,
with fresh clothes awaiting us all along the way. We knew that
Thursdays rain would end, and the rest of the trip would be
under more pleasant conditions, so we simply enjoyed the rain,
and pressed on until it stopped. Then we rode into the spectacularly
moonlit evening .
Despite
riding these roads many times throughout the year, we always
find something new to see along the way. Once the rain stopped,
and we could see, we took in all the scenery along the way,
especially those parts illuminated by that magical full moon.
This really is a beautiful course and Charlie Lamb and Hauke
Kite-Powell, who originally conceived this ride and laid out
the route can be commended for a job well done.
As we got closer to home, on the roads we knew all too well,
we really just started to have a blast. The temperature was
starting to rise, and the rain that had been predicted was nowhere
in sight. The sky was clear, and the sun was shining down on
us. As we approached Sudbury, about 15-20 miles from the finish,
we decided we needed water. Despite all the congestion, there
are very few places to stop as the route approaches the end.
As we were passing by a church, I noticed the doors were open,
so I suggested we could look for water there. We found a wonderfully
cold water fountain, and restrooms. We refilled camelbaks and
cooled down a bit with head dousings, and prepared for the final
assault.
I had joked earlier
in the trip, that I wanted to arrive just as the picnic started,
and our timing looked perfect. We were right on target to pull
in just before 3 P.M. We were still riding with the three riders
we had had joined at the final checkpoint, and our group was
greeted with cheering and applause when we reached the final
control. And we joined to crowd to cheer on all the riders arriving
after us. Being one of the first riders to finish simply can't
be any fun, since there are only a couple of folks around to
celebrate. Definitely coming in just before the picnic is perfect
timing for maximum cheering.
I remember going into this ride, saying that three was enough,
and I would retire, but by the end, I couldn't come up with
a reason not to come back.
We met quite a few other riders along the way - although given
the different behaviors of tandems and singles, we couldn't
always stay with groups. We really met some great folks, and
I'll never forget how Mark and Charlie kept us laughing when
we were feeling so bad. But we were never alone. We always had
each other to support, to talk to, and to stay awake with. And
to celebrate with ! We completed this ride as a team, working
together toward a common goal. Many of the other participants
had spouses or significant others who tolerated their riding,
some who supported it from afar, some supporting them with a
PSV, and a few came along for the ride. I felt so lucky to be
able to share every part of this ride with John. Shared pains
are lessened, shared joys are magnified !
