The Rally Officially Begins...

Saturday morning arrived looking like rain was going to be the order of the day… the sky was dark and gloomy, a light rain was falling and the roads were wet. I wondered whether we’d even have much of a ride, perhaps opting for one of the shorter routes so we wouldn’t have to ride in the drizzle for any longer than we had to. (The people in the photo are getting ready for the start of the rally; notice the wet pavement in the parking lot!)

But as we pedaled toward the hotel to join up with the other riders for the start, the rain stopped. The road started drying out bit by bit, and there was a hint of blue sky peeking through the clouds every now and then. They were saying that the rain was probably over for the day… so we decided to go ahead and take the 62 mile loop and go for the gusto. After all, today is Valerie’s birthday and what could possibly say “I Love You” more than pedaling as far as possible?

As seems to be the norm, we started off with everyone but after 15 miles found ourselves very much alone… bringing up the rear once again. I never thought that riding at an average of about 15mph was slow, but I suppose I need to reevaluate that assessment being that we never seem to be able to keep up with the pack…

One of our highlights today was having a black bear cross the road in front of us when we were riding through the most rural portion of today’s course. We tried to stop and get the camera out, but the noise we created caused the bear to run for the cover of the dense plant life growing very close to the edge of the road. We pedaled past the point where he crossed the road but couldn’t see any sign of him.

We were surprised when the rest stops that were mentioned on our cue sheets turned into nothing more that convenience stores along the route… and the owner of one apparently wasn’t too warmed up to the idea of people just waltzing in to use the bathroom without making a purchase of some kind (not that I blame him, really). It was time for a Snickers bar anyway…

Lunch was served at a community center that was about 10 miles prior to the end of the route, and we surprised ourselves by making it there in time to have the box lunch that was prepared by Arby’s, surprisingly. And the sandwich that was part of the meal (walnut chicken salad, I believe) was actually very well made.

Lunch was over, and we fought 10 miles of a headwind back to the start/finish point (just to say we rode the whole course, and then pedaled back “home”… hitting the 70 mile mark as we rolled into the driveway.

Tonight is the banquet for the tandem riders, and it’s being held (conveniently) at a center about a quarter of a mile from where we’re staying. Sweet! We could actually walk there if we want to… depending on how the legs are feeling by then!