Day 2 - RAGBRAI - 72.6 miles

Now that you see me post, you know I'm still alive. The day started out strong. I was doing great on the Trek. I climbed the first hill with ease thanks to the lightweight bike. Let's just say I almost fell off the bike a couple of times getting off because I'd accidentally lift the bike up while swinging my leg over. The downhills scared me a bit, but by the second downhill, I didn't bother hitting the brakes. The first 10 miles were great. The gearshifts were fantastic. So simple. But the roads were really bumpy and I wasn't used to the bike. I was really tense riding, so my rear and other parts in the region, along with my shoulders and hands were so sore by the 20th mile, I didn't think I would make the midway point to meet with Rick to ride the remaining 35 miles with Rick on the tandem. In fact, I was looking for a SAG wagon, but it never came. So, I persevered. I made it to the town of Corning in one piece, but really sore. My husband's friend, Tash, was a good sport and made sure that I was okay all during the trip. He stopped whenever I needed to. I only walked once up the final hill to Corning, the rest of the time I was just spinning slowly. Even then, I only walked part of the hill and then got back on the bike to ride the rest. Why you may ask? Because it's faster to ride than walk and I really wanted to get into town.

The remaining 35 miles were much easier on the tandem. I took it easy as stoker while Rick did most of the pulling. I should mention that Rick drove the first half, so his legs were fresh. Although, I did have a minor breakdown around the 50th mile. My eyes started tearing because the pain in between my legs was so bad. I swear, it was easier to give birth to 3 kids than riding the bike. The pain of giving birth is shorter than sitting on a saddle for 9 hours. Yes, 9 freaking hours! I started at 7am and ended around 4pm.

We met a lot of interesting people along the way and the food was fantastic. No Mr. Pork Chop today. We had a little reggae-themed Pastafari.

I may feel like I need to replace parts of my body, but today, I was so happy just to finish. I had a lot of self doubt going into today, but I told myself to just do it, and I did. The longest distance I've biked by myself was 12 miles. Today, I tripled that. The longest distance I've ever gone in total is 53. Today, I cleared 72.6. Cumulative elevation 5,096 ft.

Tomorrow is another 70+ days. I'm not sure how my body is going to handle it, but the guys I'm with say I'll be stronger when I wake up tomorrow. I hope they are right.

Time for dinner.