by Eric Chen
Jun 02, 2009
Friends,
It's 11:30pm and I've finally had the opportunity to settle in, wash my dirty laundry, shower, rehydrate, and blog! These past two days, we've been on the road quite a bit. Yesterday we logged nearly a hundred miles biking down to Black's BBQ in Lockhart Texas and back (Lockhart is the BBQ capital of TX). The road was relatively flat with little to no wind, and we as a team breezed through it! I was amazed to see how far my teammates had come since the beginning of the year. Riders from the "slower" groups were leading the fastest group. Certain individuals have made HUGE improvements, and I am so proud of them. Coming home yesterday, we were all pretty tired and beat (it was our first time riding during the hottest part of the day during the hottest time of the year). Nevertheless, we made it through together and were feeling confident for our “75-mile” ride the next day. Today rolls around, and I am more tired than I ever expected. We kicked off the morning taking some team pictures then rolled out towards the Pedernales Falls state park. My ride group (Bryn & Kathryn) expressed a similar sentiment of being worn down, but we kept pace and rode on. Before we knew it, we had descended 3 giant hills, been in the heat for 40+ miles and still hadn’t hit the halfway point. As it turns out, the route was unexpectedly longer, and we ended up riding 50 miles out. Upon arriving at the turnaround point for lunch and a brief swim, much of our team was in good spirit but just as many were beat, tired, and a bit demoralized. I know personally, I had mentally prepared myself for a shorter route and never imagined the impact less sleep would have on me riding. Before heading out, I got to take some time to pray and ready my mind for the then daunting 50 miles ahead. Right as we headed out of the state park, we needed to climb this long hill we had descended on the way in. I don’t remember much, but I do remember making it to the top with my teammates, and I was surprised that we had already climbed it. Strangely, my demeanor changed for the rest of the day. I was able to encourage my teammates as we faced the tough hills to come—and I really don’t know how I made it through. If you asked me how I felt now, I would say that I’m exhausted, but I’m really glad I got to ride today. I’m so proud of a few of my teammates who were so drained coming out of the 50 miles, but eventually pushed themselves and fought their instincts to finished the ride. All in all, I’m glad I rode grew ever closer to my teammates; tomorrow we get to take a nice easy 30 mile ride to make up for our unexpected double century, and then tie some logistical loose ends before we head out. Until next time, enjoy these pictures from our rides these past two days!
sincerely,
Eric Chen
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