day 5

(side note: i wrote this entry a couple days ago and i'm just now getting around to posting it.)

Five days down. It feels like I have been doing this far longer than that. I’ve said a good amount of profanities these last five days. No regrets though. I’m still so glad that I’m doing this.

Yesterday was the hardest day by far. But I guess that’s not saying much because it was only day 4. It was over 4500 feet of climbing with a 15 mile climb. So, the mountain was brutal, but I crushed it. Plus, the ride down it was amazing. It was a 10 minute ride going completely downhill. My hands started hurting because I was holding the breaks the entire time because there were so many twists and turns. You don’t get the sweet rides going down the mountain without the brutal rides up it. Or the views.

Also yesterday, we visited the “cookie lady.” She is this cute little old lady who used to bake cookies for all the TransAm riders. She doesn’t bake cookies anymore because she has gotten so old, but she does let you tour her house and talk to her. Her house is like a museum. Riders will leave her shirts, stickers, toys, etc. They also send her postcards and as you can see from the pictures, I’m pretty sure she has kept every single postcard she has received. She was the nicest lady and was so excited to get visitors. She’ll talk your ear off.

Today was a pretty exhausting ride. It wasn’t even that hard of a ride, we were all just so sore and exhausted from the climb up the mountain yesterday. With only 20 miles left to go, we saw a little river and decided to take a swim. It was refreshing, to say the least.

Then with only 4 miles left of the ride, we stopped for ice cream! It was only $1.60 which is ridiculous because they packed those cups up! Anywhere in San Antonio, it would have cost a good $8, if not more. That ice cream got me through the last 4 miles

It’s amazing how many other riders we have met that are riding across the country. A lot of those people are doing it completely unsupported and loading up their bikes with all their clothes and gear. They have an extra 45 pounds on their bikes going up those hills. I can’t even imagine. We have met 2 guys, riding the TransAm separately, that have basically become part of our group. We just met them riding on the trail and now they stop whenever we stop. One of the guys is in a punk rock band and drinks PBR, saying it’s the “punk rock beer.” So... of course I love him.