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Back to Ride Itinerary Meet the Riders Bamacyclist Home Day 39
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Back to Ride Itinerary Meet the Riders Bamacyclist Home Day 39
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| ROUTE: Indianapolis to Richmond IN | DISTANCE: 73 Miles | WINDS: SW 10 |
| WEATHER: Rain showers | TERRAIN: Flat to gently rolling | TOTAL CLIMBING: 900 feet |
DAILY DOINGS: What a
nice city to have a day off in...only problem with yesterday was it poured rain
several times during the day but we were close enough to downtown things to do
that I don't think anyone minded much. It was a good day not to be riding
if you ask me. The staff had a great day off...we got one new rider,
George Jordy, who checked in the day before and will ride with us the rest of
the way. Since we didn't have to orientate anyone on our off day, we
actually got a day off ourselves. Karen and I went back to Roark and got
our bikes buffed and redecaled and then I took the staff for a movie and dinner.
Now, it's back to the grind for another couple weeks...yikes...that's right, we
only have 2 more weeks before this ride will be history.
The bad news this morning was Mary left the ride with a broken bone in her shoulder. She left yesterday...sorry to see her go and we wish her a speedy recovery. We arranged for her bike to be shipped when we got to Richmond. The good news is we picked up 3 new riders by day's end. We picked up George Jordy in Indy, Jay Butler, and Greg Marx in Richmond. Check them out at the bottom in the Riders section.
Today
it was sleep in and enjoy a leisurely morning before going out for a rainy
departure. Our luck with the weather finally ran out today as it started
to shower just as we were starting to roll. The rain lasted for about 10
miles, but then the roads were pretty soggy which just made the bikes a mess by
the first SAG. By then, the rain stopped and by about half way the roads
were dry. I was scheduled to ride today but I just got my bike all spiffed
up so I wasn't took keen on splashing road grime on the frame. Besides, I
need to be available in the van when the conditions get tricky. As it
worked out, everyone did a great job staying safe while the streets were slick
and visibility was less than optimum.
With
about 20 miles to go we ran into some construction which required us to make a
detour...no problem. The Ride Across INdiana (RAIN) comes through here on
Saturday and they've marked the roads to include the detour around the
construction. When we got to the Road Closed sign, we just followed the
RAIN Detour road markings and didn't miss a beat. That's funny, I can put
arrows down anywhere on our route and they will go unnoticed, but a group of
directional arrows by someone else that says "Rain" gets our attention...I don't
get it. I thought it ironic that their markings were "RAIN," I thought we
were trying to avoid rain?
Everyone
got in pretty early today with only 72 miles and everyone hustling to get in
before the skies opened up again. We got to the motel well before our
rooms were ready so folks cleaned bikes, shared rooms for showers, and just
relaxed until their rooms were ready. I got in just in time to get the
site mostly done before maintenance. Dinner was at Ryans...a super buffet
to get us ready for tomorrow's long mileage. Our next 3 days are about 300
miles so we'll need that nourishment...hopefully, the rain will hold off.
Tomorrow's ride will be out in the country in Ohio...the navigationally
challenged will have a hard time getting to Marysville without some bonus miles.
Tune in and see how we do. M
Can't close today's entry without mentioning the great support we've had from loved ones...they are sending cookies and goodies for our SAG. Jenny's sister, Debbie, who visited on our day off made distinguishing cookies (flags for military, Florida Girl cookies, and others)...WOW. Emily Robb, Larry's wife, sent zucchini bread which was also a hit. Hope I didn't leave out anyone...thanks folks!
| DAILY DISCERNING DIALOGUE:
"Hey, did you hear the staff talking about who
would drive the van today?" "Karen, can I ride your bike instead of mine today?" She wouldn't have wanted me to get mine all ucky in this weather...at least I didn't think so, but I was wrong. "I was uncool before uncool was cool." "Can we stay in Indianapolis another day?" "I'm sure glad I cleaned my bike
yesterday...I used all the rags and little cue tips...it was really
shining last night." "You talk like Redneck is a bad thing."
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DAILY DUH: George Jordy, our new rider, didn't get off to a great start on his first day. First, this is the first day we've had rain the whole trip during the hours of riding time...guess who got blamed for bringing in bad weather? Second, he had a flat about 25 miles into the ride. There's hope for Scott and Darryl who are leading the flat race with 15...they feel that if George can keep this pace (one every day from here on in) he can overtake them by a nose by the end of the ride...that's assuming they can keep the same air they have in their tires right now...I'm betting George is safe. |
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DAILY DIGITAL DELIGHTS |
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 Joe wanted to ride today, but he got cold feet. |
 David was selected to check the weather this morning...unfortunately he checked about 43 seconds too early. |
 New meaning to the term "helmet hair." |
 We always do a helmet and bike check before we let riders ride with us. We also give everyone an ABB jersey. His bearly fit. |
 Larry, Scott, David, and Bill...The Clydesdales! Complete with their newly acquired headgear. Pretty soon they'll all have to waive the weight requirement to belong. |
 From left to right, the three stages of curing the dreaded scandal suntan pox. |
Copyright © 2006 by Bamacyclist
All rights reserved.
