I woke up Saturday morning at 5:00AM with my back still tight. I was so thankful Whitney's husband, Dustin had come over and pumped up my tires and put the bike rack on my truck the night before all I had to do is load the bikes, the pump, the helmets, and the shoes while Julie fixed the water bottles. We got everything loaded and ate breakfast and headed over to Barfield Crescent Park. We arrived a little early and my team mates Fred & Wes were already there. We got all ready to go making the last minute adjustments to our gear and our bikes. After some pictures of team red and all the red riders like myself we made our way to the starting line and there were over 500 riders.
The first group to leave were the 100 mile folks, then the 62 milers the n our group the 30 milers then the family fun ride folks. They asked all of the red riders to come to the front which meant I was at the start of the pack and the rest of my team was in the bike. After we started the next time I saw my team mates were 8 miles later. Wes was the first to reach me it is so much more fun to ride with people than ride by yourself. The rest of the ride was the four of us. When we got to the first rest stop after 12 miles. Fred and Wes had to help me off my bike. I walked over to the water and saw it was ice cold and took two bottles one to drink and one to use to numb my low back. After a little stretching were were off.
It was a beautiful Middle Tennessee morning and a great course, the four of us were enjoying each other so much that the time flew by so fast that the next thing I knew we were at the next rest stop. My back was really starting to tighten up so we didn't stop for long but with 22 miles done and just 8 and half to go I knew I could do this. We took off strong after a few miles we turned on a stretch of road that Julie and I ride all the time, so I knew where the turns and hills were. With the wind to our backs we were riding hard. The last 3 miles we rode single file because we were in the most traffic we had been in all day. It had been 5 years since I had ridden in an event ride and boy I had missed it. While I was on the bike I had forgotten about my back but as we turned into the park to head across the finish line my low back started barking. When I crossed the finish line the DJ called my name. It was a great feeling I had done it push back and all. I rode straight to where the chair massage folks were set up and got a massage. After checking out all the after the ride stuff we headed back to the truck to start load up.
It was a wonderful ride, a wonderful day and I was not going to let anything stop me from riding. I want to thank everyone who prayed, everyone who gave ad especially all the folks who rode with me. Next year I hope all my kidmin cyclist buddies come ride with me.
The first group to leave were the 100 mile folks, then the 62 milers the n our group the 30 milers then the family fun ride folks. They asked all of the red riders to come to the front which meant I was at the start of the pack and the rest of my team was in the bike. After we started the next time I saw my team mates were 8 miles later. Wes was the first to reach me it is so much more fun to ride with people than ride by yourself. The rest of the ride was the four of us. When we got to the first rest stop after 12 miles. Fred and Wes had to help me off my bike. I walked over to the water and saw it was ice cold and took two bottles one to drink and one to use to numb my low back. After a little stretching were were off.
It was a beautiful Middle Tennessee morning and a great course, the four of us were enjoying each other so much that the time flew by so fast that the next thing I knew we were at the next rest stop. My back was really starting to tighten up so we didn't stop for long but with 22 miles done and just 8 and half to go I knew I could do this. We took off strong after a few miles we turned on a stretch of road that Julie and I ride all the time, so I knew where the turns and hills were. With the wind to our backs we were riding hard. The last 3 miles we rode single file because we were in the most traffic we had been in all day. It had been 5 years since I had ridden in an event ride and boy I had missed it. While I was on the bike I had forgotten about my back but as we turned into the park to head across the finish line my low back started barking. When I crossed the finish line the DJ called my name. It was a great feeling I had done it push back and all. I rode straight to where the chair massage folks were set up and got a massage. After checking out all the after the ride stuff we headed back to the truck to start load up.
It was a wonderful ride, a wonderful day and I was not going to let anything stop me from riding. I want to thank everyone who prayed, everyone who gave ad especially all the folks who rode with me. Next year I hope all my kidmin cyclist buddies come ride with me.
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