Day 3 is in the bag!

Hi there everyone! Some technical difficulties prevented me from posting, and from my location being automatically updating. I know you've been worried.

So three days and about 275 miles of the PPRAC are behind me! It has been quite the challenge. Here is the recap:

Monday-Elkins to Morgantown,WV It was awesome to have my family send me off! Tracy met and thanked our new friend Deena for watching out for me. I cockily said that I hoped not to see her again until the end of the day, since she rode in the trailling vehicle. (Foreshadowing) But after that, well, things did not go smoothly. First, I got on the road as early as I planned.I headed out with the last people, who also happen to be the fastest. I hung with them while we left town, then was promptly dropped. No biggie, I rode alone. I was humming along, and finally started catching up to people. Then about five miles from lunch, I attempted to adjust a cadence sensor with my foot.while I was moving. Yup, I pushed it into the spokes. The wheel was irreparable. So now I have new wheel. They fixed it during lunch, so I got out late once again... And immediately took a wrong turn. I figured that out 2 miles later. I turned around and passed the lunch spot and saw that I was now dead last. I rode on. About half an hour later, on a hot, bumpy steep climb, I realized I'd eaten too much for lunch and it felt like a brick in my belly. I stopped and walked, and guess who finds me within seconds-Deena! Yup, I got SAG'd. They shuttled me forward to the 12 mile remaining point, and I rode the rest of the way.

Oh yeah, my gps battery went dead, my internet access wouldn't work.

And I got stuck in an elevator.

Tuesday-Morgantown to Cumberland,MD
No real stories for this day. I rode 95 miles, and went two speeds: 40 mph or 4. Up and down, then up, then down.

The route took us into PA and then to MD.

I ate less for lunch, but still too much. On a very long climb in full sun, I almost gave up. I started talking to my mom and dad, asking for help. 5 seconds later, a cool tailwind came up and made me feel better. Hmmmm. It's a nice thought.

I got stung by a bee.

So I kept going. It was TOUGH! Finally I got to the top of a climb and someone had written in chalk "ready for a nine mile descent?" It was awesome and took me to the finish. Wow.

Wednesday-Cumberland to Hagerstown,MD

Interestingly, today's route took us from MD to WV and back to MD! We crossed the Potomac twice.

We woke up and it was raining. It rained most of the day. But I realized that I'll take the rain over the heat. I felt great! 90 miles today were no problem. There was climbing but not like yesterday. Nothing really bad today. Just very wet. We're staying in a church, and there are two showers for 73 riders. We had to sign a list and wait our turns. Fortunately, I got in relatively early, so I didn't wait long.

So now I am clean and I realize that no one is around. Where is everyone... The beer truck! I had time to enjoy 1 or 2 before dinner. Very nice!

So that's it for today. I hope you have enjoyed catching up.