Ali's Day 1

My day started out just like everyone else.  As David mentioned, we were a little sleep deprived so the morning came really early.  We didn't get to enjoy the start as we did last year and I felt a little rushed.  I had that nervous/excited feeling you get before the start of something big - will I be able to keep up?  Will I be able to function afterwards?  What if I get lost while riding by myself?  What if I get attacked by wolves?  Yep, that's how my brain functions on adrenaline...scary.

Fillin' the camel back....

Just a little pre ride hysteria.  I knew I'd be fine.  And it was great to finally get to ride with the rest of the team.  I had a really confident start until I realized about 500 feet later that when David put my wheel back on he didn't reconnect my front brake - yikes!  (Husband note: may not have been an accident...) Minor setback, and really the only one for me for the rest of the day.

Getting ready to start.  David in the subtle jersey in the middle.

David ended up taking it easy with me while the rest of the team charged ahead.  We spent the first 20 miles side by side as much as possible.  It's so inspiring to watch him do this and whenever I hit a tough spot in my ride later, that's what I thought of to keep me going.  If David can do 90, I can do 40 miles.  

At the mid point where we split forces.

And I did.  David hooked me up with a group of women who were also doing the shorter ride and we headed off together.  Since I hadn't had time to eat before they wanted to leave the rest stop I ended up stopping at the next one to eat while they headed on.  What I hadn't expected was that they would wait for me at the finish and cheer me in.  Apparently the fact that I was doing this for David as well as having an 8 month old son was impressive and we both had people coming up to us all weekend and congratulating us.

It felt good to ride, and now I know why David was so jazzed to do this ride.  It is a really fun experience - everyone you meet is so nice, the volunteers are amazing, and I love the camaraderie of the whole experience.  Looking forward to next year - hopefully Connor will let me do the full ride!