But on the real:
We started out with a long climb, and about an hour later we had finally made it to the top where Em and I met up with Blake and Albrecht. After a giant uphill there is, of course, a giant downhill. The van was passing just as we decided to start riding, so obviously Blake tried to draft the van. It wasn't long before the turns were too sharp and I started slowing down, but then we turned a corner to see a cluster of our friends on the side of the road. It was kind of scary as one of our stronger riders took a bit of a spill around the turn. We stopped, checked out her road rash, double/triple checked for concussion, hugged, checked her bike, hugged again, and headed on down the hill knowing it would be a long day and knowing Jay had everything under control. Jay waited for the rest of the team to make that turn before leaving because cell reception was spotty and everyone was flying down the hill.
About halfway down the hill a ton of folks ended up in the same stretch, and when we started climbing again the road was windy enough that you could see everyone from a long way away. Just little tiny safety triangles in the distance. Em and I had some fun screaming random things out to everyone.
We made it to lunch in a town of about 50 people where a small cafe had been opened only 3 days ago. I talked with the owner for a really long time and it was great to hear her talk about how excited she was for the cafe's future and how proud she was of it. Seldom am I super pumped about the fact that I studied entrepreneurship, but listening to her talk about her brand new project I felt a small bond with her that I wouldn't have appreciated if I didn't understand all that goes into starting a new business and the pride that goes with following through on a plan. Whatever. Thoughts. Feelings.
We still had one more major climb after lunch, but when we finished I was skeptical that it was over because we had expected it to be much longer and harder.
Dan joined us at te top of the climb and finished out the rest of the ride with us. Toward the end of the ride there was a super curvy downhill that lasted about 3 miles. It was awesome, but there was a lot of gravel. At one point I realized Dan wasn't behind us anymore and got a tad freaked out. Luckily, a motorcyclist rode past and told us that Dan was fixing a flat, so we were clear to bomb down the rest of the hill with no worries.
Met at the bottom, climbed one final hill to host. Host had root beer floats and te best pasta dinner yet. Then cobbler. The pastor wore a cutoff shirt and cowboy hat. 'twas glorious.
After dinner, we looked at and talked about all the grants. It was cool to hear/participate in a conversation with our whole team being super invested in what happens with our grant money. And, we pretty much finished in one night (to be finalized in Carlton).
Hung out/stayed up pretty late. Went to sleep. Portland tomorrow.
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