Started this morning off with almost the whole team taking a detour to a local donut/coffee shop. We bonded over our shares lack of nutritional and desperate measures taken to get enough calories in a day.
After leaving donuts, we attempted to leave town, but followed our cue sheets across the wrong bridge and briefly rode through Kentucky. We quickly turned around and got to celebrate the state line again on a cool bridge. Naturally, I pulled 6ish ft out of the way so I could document the momentous occasion.
I stuck with a big group for less than a half mile before Pope and I decided to pull off and check out a mural on the flood walls right next to the river. I didn't ever think I would appreciate Portsmouth OH quite like I do now that I've looked at mural depicting the history of the city and state. I got kind of stuck staring at one mural of the 1937 flood. It's weird how much more I can relate to a city when floods are a part of their history, and every time these stories come up I remember how thankful I am/was for Nahville's response to our floods 4ish years ago. (I took a lot of pictures. They aren't great but whatever.)
It was a long tough ride with an added 8 miles (woo bonus miles!) because a bridge was out. My leg started locking up right before lunch, and I lied about it at lunch because I wanted to finish the day. Note to self: lying is for fools. Walking is currently hard. Sometimes, pushing through is stupid.
Even though today was fairly hard, it was extremely rewarding. In the first few miles, we conquered a 22% grade uphill, at on point I went 38 miles down a hill trying to chase Mike Pope, and most importantly, we all made it to the host safely and right in time for a tasty lasagna dinner. Bright light at the end of the tunnel: we got to swim in the middle of the day. After the first detour sign, we pulled up to the rest of our team already waist deep in some frigid creek water. One of our teammates, Andrew, has found tons of swimming spots, however this one was my first. 'Twas a blast, and I was pumped to check this off my B&B bucket list.
Tonight we had town hall, where we all meet, talk about our highs and lows, talk business, and read from our anonymous "snaps box" where we shout out people who were awesome throughout the week. It's a blast every time. We took a town hall selfie to make a leader-friend from another route jealous, because bike & build is totally a race (sarcasm).
No comments:
Post a Comment