Ride from Reno – Day 2
Oh, how good the hot shower felt after today’s ride!  And what a day it has been.  The best, in a way, was the beginning because, Judy, my wife, started the day with us.  This was an enormous accomplishment for her.  For her to do this would have been unheard of a year ago, but there she was peddling her bike up the road.  I say up, because that’s what long with a stiff head wind is what we faced leaving the Shoe Tree.  This makes Judy’s efforts even more admirable.  She had never faced as steep and a wind so strong before.  She didn’t go a long way, but she did do it.  This is not unlike the spirit of those cancer victims whose names we ride for.  They have determination, spirit, commitment, and they just get out and face the tough road ahead and go do it.  What an example and inspiration for us.

It was a long day in the saddle.  I count six summits we crested; the highest was Austin Summit at 7484.  Add to that winds that were almost never coming from a favorable direction and rain the last 20 miles into Eureka and it became a long day.  To add a little salt to the wound, I got a flat less than 4 miles from Eureka.  It was cold, we were wet, there was a menacing cloud burst just to the north and I struggled to get the tire off the rim.  Wet cold hands just wouldn’t work as expected.  But, as Jeff said “What a fun day.  It was a good day to be alive.”

How true this is.  One of the persons whose name I carry lost her battle with cancer just last Thursday evening.  I now ride in her remembrances.  Even though we are having ‘fun’ according to Jeff, this is very serious business we are about.

Today’s Stats:
Miles: 134  [not bad for a day]
Time: 8 hrs, 21 mins [a bit long in the saddle]
Avg Speed: 16 mph [oh, my that’s no better than yesterday]
Avg Heart Rate: 110 [did I do any work at all today]
Climbing: 6280 ft  [six summits today and 1100 ft more than yesterday - not bad guys]
Except for the elevation, this is almost a mirror image of yesterday.