Day 1 – check!

First off I will say that I am a Ride From Reno newbie and probably wasn’t exactly sure what I was signing up for with this ride.  Today was a tough day – and it sure would have been a lot tougher were it not for the very strong guys who are also riding.  There was an awful lot of very hard work done by everyone in the group, including some extra work done by some to help others who needed a shield from the wind or a pull back into the group.  When I consider these men and their strength, I feel somewhat at a loss as to what I can contribute to this effort – what I can do to help in return. I have watched as they pull out of the line to make sure everyone is together – watched them turn around and ride back over distance they have just covered to help pull other group members along.  I am learning so much about how this group rallies together to help each other .

As far as bike riding days go, today was perfect. Cool when we left Reno, with beautiful scenery as we climbed up the Geiger Grade, then down to Virginia City for a quick trip to Jeff’s dad’s house.  Then, onto Fallon where we had a wonderful lunch at Lattin Farms.  After lunch we headed into The Desert, which looks in person just like it does on TV and movies  Beauty in its own right.  We ended the ride in a location today where there are no hotels – well, we actually ended the ride today in a location where there was really nothing at all, so we drove back the way we came, to stay in Fallon.  That was when I was able to truly take in the magnitude of how far we rode today.

Our support crew has been wonderful!!  They are encouraging and supportive and frankly I don’t think it would be possible for us to do this ride without their help.  So thank you to all the support drivers!!  Thank you for putting up with driving behind us at 20 mph to make sure we are safe.

Thanks so much for all the words and txt’s of encouragement from my friends!  I’ve been touched by how many people are following us, on the blog and who have called or txt’d to see how things are going.  Part of what keeps me riding strong is my desire to txt you back and say that I am doing great.

More to come tomorrow  More great weather and long roads await us.