Staying at Daytona Beach Alliance Church
81 miles today, average pace 13.3 mph
Mostly flat again
Our ride this morning started out very muggy, as we left before sunrise again. Emmalilly and I started the day sweeping; Alyssa and I finished the second 40 miles sweeping. We stopped about mile 16 or so to take pictures of us with the ocean as a backdrop. That very pleasant stop provided a chance to reflect before attacking the rest of the day. We had a good, relaxing day as sweeps, riding slowly along the coastline, checking out the new and old houses as we pedaled, one stroke at a time.
After we were into the third leg of riding I started talking with Carmen about her riding technique, to try to help her to smooth out her cadence and the speed she rides. She has consistently been riding at the back of the pack, and I’ve been thinking she could be doing much better. She said the bike fit has ended her knee pain, she’s feeling much better on the bike, and is performing much better. We ended up with her riding about 35 miles at a 14 mph pace. She has not had a bike computer, so has had no idea how fast she’s been riding. I got in front of her and set the pace, and she did great following and keeping up. I think Alyssa has helped her get a computer on her bike, so I’m anxious to see how she does next week.
We have done only two builds for the East Coast ride, but we continue to ride and talk to whomever we come in contact with, trying to meet our $200,000 goal for 2012. Everything we do seems to have a purpose, even if we don’t realize what the purpose is at the time.
Joining us today are Karen (Toolie), and a tandem couple, Heidi and Scott. One or two more riders will join us before we take off Monday morning. We have a day off tomorrow to rest before the last week of the East Coast ride; 6 straight days of riding to hit Key West. It seems to be ending too soon, even before it has ended. Five weeks of riding and 2,000 miles doesn’t seem as intense as last year’s ride, and I rode only one more week last year than this year. I think the emotion involved with the van accident last year made that ride very meaningful to me, and the bonding more significant. I’ll have to reevaluate that at the end of the ride.
We ended today’s ride with lunch provided by the church, and all went out for pizza tonight for dinner. It’s been another beautiful day of riding, all for the purpose of helping people. We’re now watching a documentary DVD on The Race Across America before bedtime.
Peace ...
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