Pensacola. One of the few places with a school more strict than Bob Jones. And we’re going to be arriving there. In spandex. I hope they’re ready!
That morning we went through our usual breakfast routine (we got to eat PANCAKES and eggs!!) and route meeting. Then, as we are getting ready to leave, Curious Claire challenges Hairy Hannah to a competition of who can hold one of those drink fizzies in their mouth the longest. Hannah won, just so you know. It was also slightly disturbing.
I was rolling with Jolly JB and Excellent Elle and today was a big deal because it’s our first century day! A century day, for you bicycle newbs, is one where we bike +100 miles. I was a little nervous because my knee pain had only been getting worse, and today was supposed to be hilly. But, the plan was to bike as long as possible.
So off we went! We heard there was a lake (it naturally formed into a circle which I think makes it unique), so we decided to do a quick lap around it.
Shortly after we got back on our route, my knee not-so-kindly informed me that today would not be my first century day, and I called Claire to come rescue me in the van. So, I got to ride with Claire and Jubilant Jamie for the remainder of the ride.
Since the ride was over 90 miles, there were 2 lunches for everyone that day. Before we even reached first lunch, we got two distress calls. One was from Elle whose hip was acting up and she also needed to be rescued. The other was from Creeper Colleen who ran over a piece of debris and messed up her rear derailleur ( amazingly enough, Dashing Dan was able to zip tie it back together and have it be able to shift gears still).
Once everyone got back on the road after first lunch, we went in search of a spot for second lunch. Around mile 70ish, we were informed of an old abandoned gas station that would make a good spot. So we parked and unloaded and waited for everyone to come and eat.
There was a gnarly headwind that day, so everyone was exhausted by the time they got there. There was definitely some serious bonking going on, as well as many people taking naps.
Once sweep finished with lunch, we set off to reach our final destination. The 15-20 miles were mostly beach riding, and we decided to take that opportunity to get out and hang at the beach for a few minutes. The sand was amazing white and the water felt FANTASTIC.
Once we finally arrived, we immediately left (again) to take some bikes to the local bike shop. While we waited for Claire to come back once we finished, we walked around and took in the local hotspots. Granted, we had our bikes with us, so going in anywhere required a little more effort since we had to lock up our bikes.
When we got to the church, everyone was gathered to listen to affordable housing presentations. At around 10, we finished those up and went off in search of places to unroll our thermarests. Laura and I crashed on a couch/ottoman combo mainly so we wouldn’t have to get out the thermarests (because when you find out you have to wake up at 430 the next morning, you’ll do anything to save some time. Including sleeping in your jersey and chamois). We had a 95 mile ride the next day, so everyone kept the inflatable pillow talk to a minimum and rested up for another long day.
Life Behind Bars 