5/19/2013 Long Ride

I had a lot of personal issues at home last night and didn't even think I was going to be able to make this ride today.  Riding many miles with very little training and not a lot of sleep takes a lot out of you physically and emotionally.  So this ride today was as much of a surprise to me as it was to everyone else.

My ride started at 11:57 a.m.  I had my husband take me to the trail head today  because I wasn't sure how far I was going to ride, ( if I did ride far I surely was not going to feel like driving home)  I knew that I needed to really try and push my miles.  I wanted to as well since all of last week I was stuck in doors on the stationary bike.  Honestly who wants to do that all week staring at the same wall?  Anyways, my ride today was very uneventful for the most part.   There were alot of chipmunks that felt the need to dart out in front of me, but of course I slow down or stop and swerve so that I don't hit them.  Unfortunately I seen two of them on the trail yesterday who weren't as fortunate with other bikers and lost there little lives.  :(

My pace was beautiful starting out, I was averaging about 14.7 mph, everything just seemed to be going really well.  It was hot, but there was a slight breeze that made the temperature just right for riding. Of course when I hit the observing deck there were geese waiting for me to hiss and do there little wing flapping dance at me.  I don't know why but those things are vicious and scary to me.  I had intentions of stopping in Orwell, at the gas station as  I usually do, but there was another biker who came up and asked how far I was going today and where I had rode from.   Then from then it was like this game on mode.  Of course I told him I didn't know how far I was going because at that point I still hadn't decided.  My legs were doing great and no pain.  But anyways,  I ride ahead of him for a bit then all of the sudden with his fancy bike and biker attire he takes off like the wind and is gone.  I thought in the back of my head game on.  Now it's not like I knew I could beat him, because his bike of course is 20 times lighter then mine with those super thin tires and of course he was obviously way more of a professional then I am, but I knew I could go as far as, if not farther then him and besides I already had 18 miles under my belt and he was just starting.  So none the least I didn't stop and I kept going and going and going. As I was riding the trail I had a lot of memories of when Kaylee and I had taken this trail and went to Geneva a few years back. Good times, Good times. OF course back then we only did 5 mph.. lol but hey we made it.  I enjoyed a lot of the beauty and the wind in my hair as I was riding, everything is so beautiful and it's just so refreshing to see the beauty God gave us.  Once I got to Roaming shores I passed that  professional biking guy and he waved and I chuckled and kept on chucking along then of course he passes me again.  This game continued almost all the way to Austinburg. I had to stop when I hit roaming shores or maybe it was Rock Creek because I noticed my mileage speedometer tracker quit working, so I had to mess with that for 5 minutes or so to get it back on track.  Then I jumped back on the trail and  passed that guy a few more times taking a break and I just have to laugh because he exerts so much energy riding so fast only to stop and break where I am riding a decent pace, no breaks and just going.  and I just found it hilarious..  and kept thinking to myself they always say the turtle wins the race.  None the least I kept on after that and headed into Austinburg while he stopped at the rest stop and must of headed back to Orwell.

Once I got to Austinburg, I stopped at the store, i had been dying for something cold to drink and an ice cold Pepsi was calling my name. (mind you I don't drink pop)  I grabbed a Gatorade as well and a popsicle and then headed outside on the bench to call my husband and let him know I was turning around.  I was not going to be able to make it all the way to Ashtabula because was a sign on the trail saying the trail was closed in 1.9 miles for construction.  So I sat on the bench for my very first break and enjoyed not peddling for a few minutes.

The ride back was rough, it seemed to be more of an incline on the way back and my speeds were much slower for a good while, the wind was going against me and I was starting to become pretty tired.  When I got to mile 51 I had my first encounter with a bug flying in my mouth.  Let me tell you that is the most disgusting thing to have a wad of bug in your mouth and then worse to adjust your mouth to spit it out.  Then about two more miles in I got another bug in my mouth.  YUCK!  My ride seemed to drag on, I was getting more tired by the minute, my legs weren't to horribly bad, but something in both of my quads started hurting pretty bad.  It felt as though it was bruising like someone had punched me in the legs a few days ago.  I don't know why, or what it was.

When I got to Orwell I was so happy, I knew that it meant I only had about 18 miles left.  So I stopped at the stop sign and called my husband it was about 4:15pm and I told him to meet me at the end of the trail at about 5:30pm.  I knew it was asking myself a lot to ride 18 miles in an hour and 15 minutes with excruciating pain in my quads, but I also know my husband is a procrastinator and is never or time.  so  I figured that it was pretty safe for me to tell him to be there by then.

I really started putting my foot to the pedal after making it to Orwell, I knew I was in the home stretch and there was nothing I wanted more then to be done with this ride.  Don't get me wrong, I was happy and I felt my time was pretty good, but when you ride for hours with bearly any break, you just want to get done and go home eat and relax.  I just kept thinking how hard our ride was last year, and this year is going to be harder because we are doing a lot more miles per day then last year.  Honestly if you haven't noticed, I am pretty nervous about that!  anyways, those last 18 miles no matter how fast I peddled I just felt as though I was going no where, that the trail was never ending.  When I had 8 miles left, I stopped for that good ol porta potty break and to dig in my bag and look for some GU because my body was running on fumes.  I just had no energy left it had been hours since I ate and although I had a pop and a Popsicle in Austinburg, it just wasn't enough to carry me home.  So down went the GU, washed it down with some water and then it was back on my bike.  I was practically in tears the rest of my ride, the pain and bruising feeling in my quads was killing me, and I even called my husband at one point and told him I just didn't know if I could make it by 5:30, but I pushed and pushed. Low and behold I made it to the end of the trail by 5:31pm and my husband and Ray were just getting out of the car!  I was so thankful, and blessed.  When I got off my bike my whole body started shaking, guess from the lack of food and total exhaustion.  But I made it and pretty good time to boot.  Now home to rest and re coop for a day before my next ride.

My ride started at 11:57am and ended at 5:31pm
Saddle time 5 hours 11 minutes 8 sec
Total break time 23 minutes

May 7th, 2013 Training ride

Today I started at TCTC in Champion, Ohio and caught the Western Reserve Green-way.  My goal today was to hit 40 miles, Boy what was I thinking?

My husband was trying to persuade me not to go so far today, because we had a chance of rain.  LOL I looked at him and said I have a poncho you know!  With only 73 days left of training  I need to get with it rain or shine!  I mean honestly our goal is 80 miles a day for four days, and I am not going to lie, I am a bit skeptical at this point!

Riding on the WRG to me is a bit scary, especially riding solo, with very little cell phone reception, so if I were to get injured or something, I would be screwed.  None the least I put on my big girl panties and ventured out.  I popped in my earphones and headed out on the trail.  The first seven miles for me were rough.  My IT band is still bothering me and my legs were still a bit sore from Mondays ride and the squat challenge that I have decided to partake in as well.

The ride was quiet and very scenic, I did get concerned when I hit the dock because usually there always seems to be a herd of geese there just waiting to attack me, but I managed to escape that aspect.  Lucky me!  There were quiet a few passerby s on the trail this morning, I did my best to say good morning to each and everyone of them!  It's always nice to acknowledge other people and my good morning could of made someones day!  (I highly doubt it, but the thought is there).

I got really famished about an hour into my ride, guess the waffles I scarfed down for breakfast weren't enough.  Thank goodness for that peanut butter sandwich I put in my pack.  I took that out and ate that while I was riding, and honestly, it never tasted so good!  I figured that would hold me over for a while, but of course I was wrong.  I made it into Orwell and had to stop off to the gas station and grab some more liquids and some beef jerky.  Craving that protein!  HA.

I was at about 17 miles and so after I left the gas station I continued on towards Ashtabula.  I told myself that I would only ride to the next stop sign, then that came, and I told myself that again, and then again and before i knew it I was at 22 miles.  I really wanted to keep going, but knew my legs were already tired and my desire to push myself further needed to stop because that is why I had to give up running.  So I stopped and called my husband and my friend Ed to let them know I was at my halfway point and turning around!  I always try to do that because you never know.  There are a lot of crazy people out there or I could just kill over from pushing myself to much (highly unlikely).

My ride back seemed like an endless night mare for a while, My It band, hip and quad (old running injuries) were flaring horrifically!  So my speed declined quite a bit!  When I got to mile 30 the fun things started.. I was bent over on my handle bars, because that helps me to accelerate when I ride and takes some pressure off of my hip and all of a sudden I look down and I yell and almost fell off my bike because there is a snake and he is looking up hissing at me, but it was to late, I was going about 15-16 mph at that point and  I ran him over. I hate hate hate snakes, they scare the tar out of me.

So after getting my heart calmed down,I get back to the observation deck and there before me were the geese... OH crap is all i could think, i put the pedal to the medal and only got hissed at and not chased... ( thank goodness)

Then a few more miles later I see these two bird looking things and as I get closer I notice they were wild Turkeys.  Now mind you, I don't like geese and geese don't like me.  So i was figuring that these turkeys could be like the geese and come after me, So i am clenching my handlebars and trying to pedal as fast as i can because I am scared... But to no avail the turkeys could of cared less about me they were to busy pecking around and minding there own business.  My kind of bird right there!

So I continue on my journey at a slower pace again, my legs hurting more and more and my pace becoming slower reminding me of the days on last years trip with Ashley when it just felt like you couldn't go anymore.  But I kept plucking away.  I hit a big cloud of pollen, it was so thick it looked like little snow or maybe even fairy dust falling all over the place and then as I look up there is this humungous vulture flying in the air and there are flower pedals all over the ground and for a brief moment as I am riding behind this ginormous vulture, I felt like I was in the Hairy Potter movie, or some fairy tale land.. It was so beautiful and amazing. ( I know I need to come back to reality) but seriously it truly felt like a story book moment!  I was rather disappointed that I couldn't capture these moments on camera because my phone camera is broken.  But it was truly amazing.

Nothing else out of the ordinary really happened except for the creeper guy in the car wigged me out a little bit.  But we won't go into that.. all i can say is I kept looking in my rear view mirror waiting for him to drive his car onto the trail and come to get me!  ( yes I am overly paranoid)

Other then that, my ride was long, and one mile felt like 5 because of my injury flare ups.

I sure hope the rest of our group is training, because honestly, I am just not so sure if they understand that 80 miles a day is a lot!  Riding a bike may be easy, but it's  not something you can just hop on your bike and expect to do 320 miles either!

2013 - This years Cleveland to Cincinnatti, Oh Challenge - Riding for Autism

This year we will be biking from Cleveland to Cincinnati, OH in effort to raise money for the Potential Development Program in Youngstown, Ohio.  It's approximately 320 miles and we are hoping to do it 4 days.That means 80 miles a day! We will start our journey Friday July 19th, 2013.

This year not only will be riding our bikes, but also for every goal we hit in our fundraising efforts for the Potential Development Program we will complete one of the task listed below. Most of the tasks will be completed on our bike trip!

1) The first $100 we hit, we will volunteer in our community for 1 hour.  This may include going to our local park and picking up trash, assisting someone, volunteering at a local agency. Etc.
2) $200 Wear a t-shirt for a day on the trip and see how many names we can collect on our shirt
3) $300 we will ride into town find a complete stranger and let them throw a pie in our face.
4) $400 Wear our clothes inside out and backwards for a day
5) $500 the person who puts us at this mark will receive a $50 dollar gift card from restaraunt.com
6) $600 Wear underwear on our head for one mile of our trip
7) $700 Interview a stranger while wearing a red nose
8) $800 Kiss a frog
9) $900 Find a stranger and convince them to let one of us try on their shirt.
10) Once we reach $1000 dollars we will die our hair blue!
11) Any amount raised over a thousand dollars, we will do random acts of kindness on our bike trip. We will not disclose what we will do until we do it!

Jon also decided that in addition to participating in our encouragement rewards, if people donate $250 on his behalf that he will ride at least one entire day wearing fairy wings (unless they break). If you donate $500 on his behalf he will obtain a riding outfit of a color most voted on based on a subsequent Facebook post and wear it for at least half of the entire ride.

We will be post videos and pictures of each task we do as we reach our fundraising goals! The tasks above will be completed by atleast one member of our biking crew!
Everyone who donates will recieve a postcard from us on our trip!  So please be sure to include your name and address so that we can make sure that you receive your postcard!  Thank you so much for your generosity!
We have included some information about the Potential Development program below!
The Potential Development program provides education to children with Autism or challenging behaviors.
Their mission is to provide children with autism and special needs a safe, structured and educational environment with caring, supportive services that give their students the necessary skills and independence to lead a productive life.
Company Overview
The Potential Development Program serves preschool and school-aged children with developmental delays, challenging behaviors and Autism Spectrum Disorder at three locations in Mahoning and Trumbull Counties.
Description
At the Potential Development Program, children are provided the opportunity to learn in a structured environment with individualized educational plans. The extended school year begins in September, running through the end of July and offers onsite access to speech, physical and occupational therapy services.

We believe in developmentally appropriate educational, social and self-help skills that lead to a childs' overall development as well as forming a strong partnership between our parents, caregivers and staff. Our staff is specially trained in the Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication-handicapped Children (TEACCH) and offers a low staff - children ratio in the classrooms.

The agency has a dedicated team of long-term employees and Board members and is recognized as the local leader in helping children and families with Autism and other developmental delays.
General Information
Our Locations:

School of Autism
880 E. Indianola Ave.
Youngstown, Ohio 44502
330-788-0588

Potential Development Preschool
209 W. Woodland Ave.
Youngstown, Ohio 44502
330-746-7641

PD's Place
885 Howland-Wilson Rd.
Howland, Ohio 44484
330-856-2107


Please take the time and go to our website and donate or share our link for this great cause!

http://www.crowdrise.com/RidingforAustism/fundraiser/TabithaMann

Lots of pics and videos

http://s241.photobucket.com/albums/ff319/tlmacdonald79/Biking%20for%20the%20American%20Cancer%20Society/


there may be duplicates and there are still more to come but hope you enjoy!

Day 6 7/21/2012 Final day

I didn't sleep well once again, my muscles and knees are just spent. I am so excited to be done with this trip but at the same time I dread the thought of having to sit on my bicycle for one more day.  I really wish I could just take a rest day. 

I once again get up at 6am, with bearly 6 hours of sleep.  But figured it was better to get up and get moving to get this trip done. I hopped in the shower to try once again to relieve the pain in my body, but once again it didn't help, all it did was help to relieve a bit of stiffness.  So I reached for the Tiger Balm which has been our friend for the last 6 days and I caked it on.  My son wasn't to happy with me because it made the hotel room reak, but there was just nothing I could do. I had no choice if I wanted to make it through this day. 

The hotel only had cereal and danishes for breakfast and I surely didn't want none of that.  All I wanted was a banana, but I guess that wasn't going to happen.  In the mist of trying to pack the car and get only what we were going to need today.  Ashley walked down to the gas station and got herself some breakfast and then called and asked if I wanted anything and of course the answer was banana, so she grabbed 3.

After eating 1 banana we packed the other two in the bag for later, and then finished loading up and getting what we needed for the day.  Jim was going to be carrying most of our stuff in the car, so it is going to be nice for either of us not to have 50lbs on our bikes.  We were hoping since he was doing that that we would be able to push out the miles faster and get home, even though we were in such a great deal of pain.


After loading up, I had Jim stop at mcdonalds to grab a frappe for the caffiene and an egg mcmuffin sandwich. Who knows how today was going to go and when we would get to eat again. Then we stopped at the dollar store and grabbed some sunglasses, I seem to have lost mine between last night and this morning, and Ashley lost hers 3 days ago in the porta pot, you can guess where they fell!  and out there in the wilderness you definately need a pair because they are like windshields for your eyes, they protect them from unwanted bug entry and dirt in your eyes. 

It was 10 am before we even got to the trail head and unloaded our bikes and gear we needed for the day.  It was our latest start yet, which we knew would make our finish today very late.

When we finally started on the trail, we weren't even two miles in and once again it started raining, I felt like we just never got a break on this trail.  I remember the previous day when it started pouring, I yelled up to the sky and said " can we get a break here?" I mean really 4 days of 100 degrees drinking 2-3 gallons of water a day, hill after hill, and now two days of rain, saddle sores like you wouldn't believe, the pain in our body was to the point it was unbearable and we just didn't feel we could go on.  I was so ready for this trip to be over, but in the back of my mind I knew people fighting cancer must feel the same way if not worse and it helped us to keep fighting, to keep pushing.

At 3 miles in I had to stop, my running injury was flaring up and bad.  I thought there is no way I can pedal through this for 50 something more miles.  It was bad.. So I got off my bike and hit some of the trigger points that I remember my massage therapist did,  and stretched really good I did that for about 10 minutes or so and then hopped back on the bike and by the time i got 2 more miles in the pain was gone.

It took us 3 hours to reach the next town, we had only gone 25 miles. we had to stop and walk alot because the pain in our body from pedaling got to be extreme and walking although it hurt relieved the pain from saddle sores, and used slightly different muscles because we were walking.  None the least we stopped and took a bit of a break at the rail road station in West Newton.  Our next goal was to make it to Boston.  We decided we would eat lunch there and rest for an hour and half or so. 

It was funny because it got to the point we were stopping at every port a john, because I am assuming the water weight was starting to come off.  It was so funny but yet annoying. We could not understand why today we were doing that, when we realized duh all the water we had been drinking days prior was finally trying to make it's way out. 

5 miles into the trip towards Boston, I got a terrible calf cramp, the pain was bad I just couldn't pedal any more. I thought for sure that, this was it that I was not going to be able to finish the trip, so once again we had to stop.  I tried massaging it out, then stretching, but nothing nothing was giving.  I put on the rest of the Tiger balm I had and rubbed some more.  in the mist of this, my sister had left me a message saying how proud she was of me, I had tears in my eyes and knew I could not give up.. Not yet, I am stronger then the pain.  So after 15 minute rest we got on our bike and we just went.  We got into Boston around 2, and caught some lunch at an Italian restaurant. Salad and pasta... just what we needed lots of carbs and a meatball bigger then your fist was our protein.. yum yum.  My leg cramp still wasn't budging but the outpouring of support we were getting from our friends on Facebook, and family was fantastic.  They truly don't realized how much they helped us pull through the rough spots.  After lunch we caught some icecream at the shop around the corner. Well atleast I did.  Even though I was not hungry I just kept eating, because I assumed this cramp was not only from my body not catching a break, but probably the lack of nutrients we needed. I mean we were bearly eating out there. I am sure no where near what we should of been, especially since we were riding so much. we were lucky to eat 1 square meal a day the first few days.  But these last 2 were much better.

While we were eating my husband ran down to the bike shop to get oil for my chain, it was on the verge of snapping from all the dirt,sand ect from the past week. so he cleaned out the grime and oiled up both our bikes.

After ice cream we headed out, once we reached Mkeesport, the trail was all paved, no gravel, no crushed limestone just pavement. That was so nice to ride on.  It was funny though because we actually had to go through town. the way the trail was set up was wierd, but they had some kind of little festival going on and there was a live band playing and an audience sitting in chairs and the trail went right in front of them.. Felt so bad for it, but there was nothing we could do.  The trail took us through the projects, which i ws a little concerned about because the Mace was with JIm.  None the least we did really good once we hit the pavement.  We expected to reach pittsburgh about 9pm.

We crossed many bridges, and still had a lot of hills to battle.  When we got to homestead the trail ended and we had to bust out the google maps and navigate our way to Pittsburgh and now that was scary because we were on the Freeway and well those people don't care, they just have no compassion for bikers. I thought for sure a few times one of us were going to get hit.  It was funny though because we just kept riding and riding and then boom we were in Pittsburgh, it was over.  Although relieved, and a sense of accomplishment, it was sad because that was it our pain, the challenges we faced, the ups and downs, they were all gone, we were done.

Although we faced many challenges, faced some fears, endured a lot of pain, it is no comparison to what many cancer patients have to go through.  Our ride was not about us, it was about helping the American Cancer Society to raise money to help people with Cancer to celebrate more birthdays. 

So I ask you all to please continue helping us to raise money to find a cure, even if you can only give $1 every little bit helps.

Can you go without that Mcdonalds today, or that pack of gum? Can you give up just one luxury today to help someone else to enjoy life longer?

Thank you to everyone who helped get us through this, with your support, your words of encouragement, and donations to the American Cancer Society we were able to successfully complete this trip. 

Day 5 7/20/2012 Say what?

Day 5

I didn't sleep well last night with the muscle cramps, but awoke at 6:15am, Ashley was going to be here in 45 minutes and I wanted to get a quick hot shower to see if that would calm down the aches and pains I had, my knees were spent, and the pain was getting pretty bad. As I was taking a shower I was thinking there is no way we are going to get 134 miles done today.  I am in no shape to, I didn't know how Ashley felt, but I know there was no way I could. 

Ashley got there at about a quarter after 7 she brought me a banana, i was so thankful, my body definately needed the potassium. we still had to load up, we switched up loads today because one load is about 10-15 lbs heavier then the other load and then jim called and he wanted us to make it to 110 marker and he said he would meet us and get us a room.  Wow he wants us to knock out 100 miles, say what? Is he crazy?  We are in to much pain, Ashley said we will get as far as we can dad. 

We headed out at about 7:45 which was already later then we planned once again.  We had to finish climbing this gigantic mountain, which was still 10 miles more before we reached the highest peak.  Our guess was it was going to take us a good deal.  Which of course it was.  It took us almost 4 hours to do.  We were both in pain and the incline was never ending.

Then it started to rain, we had to get the ponchos out and cover up one of the bags.  We got to a little town and grabbed some lunch and of course charged our phones. We had turkey sandwiches and a cup of hot home made tomato soup with basil and boy was it good especially since we were sop and wet from the rain... after that we climbed the hill and called Jim and told him at best we could make it to Connellsville today. 

We reached the Continental divide and it was supposed to be all down hill from there, ha! Yeah right who ever made that map, must of been taken drugs because we would still have hills to climb. I just feel this whole trip was nothing but uphill. There was just no break for us! 

We ran into rain twice today,  it was pouring rain, we were in excruciating pain, and every mile felt like 20 miles.   We crossed alot of bridges, and bonded alot this day.  We helped get each other through each mile. we completed 77 miles today.  When we got to Connellsville we both had to laugh at how we thought we would make it all the way home today.  Jim met us in downtown, and we were excited because he was supposed to have a room for us.. Yeah well that bad news is he said it's 20 miles from here.  My poor poor husband heard about that the whole 20 miles away I was furious.  You know being used to biking you think 20 miles? that's two hours away if we have good time, 3 hours if it's bad.  lol yeah biking starts making you crazy.. literally.

We were covered in mud, the bags covered in mud, and the look on my husbands face was priceless, he didn't even want to touch the stuff. lol and we were like really? we have been dealing with this stuff all week.. lol oh my that's how you know you are spoiled by reality.  We got to the hotel and got ourselves cleaned up and the bags... I didn't get to bed until after midnight, ash was asleep probably by 10:30.  Another short night... blah.

7/19/2012 Day 4 alone

This morning we woke up about 4:30 am with the intentions to be on the road by 6 am, especially since we had to make up yesterdays miles of only doing 40. Ashley went downstairs to see if her bike had come back from repairs, they were fixing it on credit because we were running out of money, so when we got back home we had to mail them a check. I was a little nervous about how much the bill was going to be since they had to come out at night, pick up the bike which was 15 miles away, repair it and then bring it back.  Ashley found a bill and a note that read this:

adjust r brakes 9.00
overhaul RH 1.80 and 18.00
shuttle (60.00 X 2 trips) 120.00
( regular shuttle cost- no extra for after hours)

wow that's a big bill then the note attached to it said:

If you make it to Pittsburgh with no problems, please send a check for $25 dollars we will cover the rest.

Good luck on your adventure for a great cause. We look forward to hearing about your success!

Dennis and Judy Hudson
C&O Bicycle

My heart just melted, they volunteered their time to help us out because we were raising money for the American Cancer Society. What wonderful people! I will be forever greatful that their are such good people out there who actually still care.  Thank you so much Dennis and Judy Hudson!


We got all our gear packed up and took it downstairs.  Steve was in the kitchen making us breakfast and we were really excited about that, we are lucky to eat once a day, so breakfast was going to be a wonderful start to our day! Steve made home made bread and that home made bread is what he used to make french toast and we had bacon and and a glass of orange juice and tea.  I am not normally a big breakfast type of gal, but it was delicious and exciting because we never know when our next meal will be.  With all the great things happening we knew today was going to be a good day! Finally!

 This is Steve with Ashley and I

After talking with Steve we didn't get a chance to get on the road till 8am and we had a long way to go, our goal was to head into Cumberland and catch some lunch then start tackling the mountain.  Which we knew was going to be hard.

We started our adventure and it was nothing but spider webs every 30 seconds, it was disgusting and frusterating and it just makes you feel gross.  About 3 miles into the trip Ashley ran into a big one and tried to get it off lost control of her bike and fell off.  She got a nice gouge in her knee and we had to bust out the first aid kit and tweezers so she could pull the rocks out of her knee.  Guess we weren't going to have good luck after all. 

Ashleys knee

We got her all set and then we were back into the spider webs again, she was not to happy about it and neither was I but there is just not much you can do about things like that. Except just deal with it.

We rode for what seemed like miles upon miles with absolutely nothing but spider webs and trees, there was really no scenery at this point, and we wanted nothing more then to get out of it.  Then the heat once again started to pick up and with the soreness, we were already dealing with it was making our trip pretty difficult.  There came a point that I didn't think we were going to make it as far as we wanted.  I was riding a bit a head of Ashley but enough to where I could see her in my rearview mirror, sometimes we just did that, one of us would lag and then one would be ahead it's just how things worked out.  Well by this point it was one of those times when I was ahead, I heard her say something in the back ground so when I got just past the stop sign I stopped, I figured she needed a break because her knees had been bothering her big time.  So I sat there and waited and decided while she was resting back a bit that I would take a video, because it was a nice little spot.

None the least Ashley didn't need a break, she had been stung in the eye by a bee and she was not happy one bit, she said we were going to finish this trip tomorrow which meant todays mileage plus 134 tomorrow.  She rode on past me and kept going, she was about 2 miles ahead of me, which honestly ticked me off, because we always stayed together and kept each other in sight at all times. after all we are alone in the woods on the path and two girls to boot.  So after I finally caught up with her I was a bit sarcastic and said if you want to ride solo that's fine! I filled my water bottles at the pump and then got my cooling towel wet, because it was blistering hot and then ventured off.  lets just say she had a few choice words for me and then went on ahead of me again.  So that was that.  After about 5 miles she had the trail blocked with her bike, she wanted her things so I gave them to her and grabbed a few snacks and then said I guess I'll see you in Pittsburgh and then I left.  at that time she apparantly called her dad and a few other people and told them I left her. So with very little cell phone power my phone was going off and I talked to my husband and he was furious wanting to come get both of us telling us we can't do it alone.  And I said I was finishing this one way or another, there is nothing I can do.  I knew Ashley was upset about getting stung, but I felt she shouldn't have left me the way she did, we have been there for each other thus far.  So what maybe riding solo wasn't a bad thing, I mean we were around each other 24 hours a day and sometimes peeps just need there space. 

The ride to get to Cumberland was miserable there was alot of openness and very little shade and the temperatures just kept getting worse. I stopped several times and drank water and slowed down to see if Ashley was coming.  Eventually she caught up to me then once again rode past me without one word.  Which was ok, atleast I knew she was ok.  So from that point on she stayed ahead of me, until we got about 5 miles or so from Cumberland then I past her. I got to mile 184 and texted her and told her there was food just past it and we could grab a bite to eat.  She didn't respond.  But I sat there and waited a good 10 minutes before I finally seen her. In the mean time some bikers came up to me and wanted to take my picture and asked where I was heading.  They rode their bikes from Minnesota and were heading towards D.C. guess they were with 20, 000 other people doing a tour.  Wow!

When Ashley arrived I asked her if she was done with her attitude yet and she says me?  Your the one with the attitude and then says I am only here to get my lock and my charger so I grabbed them out of my bag and in the mist of that the bag fell over and all the stuff tipped out and she just left.  I couldn't believe it.  So I picked all the stuff up put it in the bag, my body was trembling from not eating since 6 this morning and we were 40 miles into the trip and it was a bit after one.  I felt so sick like I was going to pass out, I was dizzy, nauseous and trembling.  I hurried up grabbed the stuff and followed her.  she parked next to the train station. I told her there was a pizza joint right around the corner and then it started raining she reached for her poncho and I said I have some already open so you don't have to use yours, she ignored me and continued on so I grabbed my things and went to the pizza place to sit down for lunch.  I was sick, I thought I was going to have to have the waitress call 911, I knew the heat was getting the best of me.  I sat there for about an hour and charged my phone a bit then headed back to the station to see if Ash was still there, it appeared she was so I went down the street and then into the train station to see if I could find her. but I didn't.  So I headed down stairs to wait for her and low and behold the bike I thought was her wasn't she already left.  So now I was alone and so was she. I figured I better get to the gas station quickly and get some ice for us.  I filled up what I could with my bags and then the rest I would carry until I catch up with her to give it to her.  I was hoping she wasn't to far ahead of me.

The ride up the mountain was horrid, especially carrying ice, my tire was loosing air from all the weight on my bike. I couldn't go more then 6mph.. I tried calling Jim to see if he could get a hold of Ashley so that I could get some air, she had the air pump the sleeping gear and the food. I had all the other things. lol so more or less neither one of us could make it without the other.   My phone died right after that.  Which made me break down.  I had tears in my eyes and I will still 10 miles away from any form of city climbing a never ending mountain.  I had to walk alot of it because of my bike and the tire,  I begin to get lightheaded and dizzy again, I had no way to call 911, the sun was just blistering down on me, I knew at this point there was no way I was catching up to Ashley because I hadn't seen her at all for miles.  I was scared being alone, I kept seeing deer and feared I would run into a bear and that was going to be it.  At about mile marker 10 and 6 miles to go I could here thunder in the distance, which made my fears grow even more.  I wanted to give up, I wanted to quit and all I could here was Constantine in my head telling me I could do it, not to give up.  So I kept walking, then I tried  riding my bike some more, only going 4-6mph the mountain just kept getting steeper.  I was so happy when I got to mile 12 and 13 I got back on my bike and kept saying it's only 4 more miles, half hour later 3 more miles.  You can do this, you have people counting on you.  That is the only way I got through the rest of that.  By the time I got to the 14 mile mark it started drizzling which i didn't care, I was so hot, and felt weak and faint, by 15 it started to get a bit worse, when i hit the town it started pouring and thunder was closer and closer, I asked some bikers where the closest motel was and they pointed up to this steep hill that was out of this world.  but then showed me this path to get there which was almost as bad, so I walked my bike to the top, found the place got a room, soak and wet.  As soon as I got checked in the first thing I did was take a shower.  I really wanted to take a bath, but the room did not have one.  I was disappointed but new either way the hot heat on my muscles would feel so good.  after that, I went down to the cafe to get a bite to eat.  It took me almost 2 hours to eat a turkey sandwhich and fries.  I was so sick, but after eating, I started getting my strength back.

Once I finished that I sat and talked to some other bikers who were telling me how they had a run in with a bear.. oh my, My heart was beating.. I got to do this alone with a chance of running into a bear. With that, I texted ashley and told her and hoped she was safe. Which she was, she had gotten a room at the Days Inn, in the same town as me about 2 miles from me. Ironic huh? None the least we decided we were going to meet back up and finish together.  Which was great neither one of us needed to be alone anymore.. Especially with the chance of running into a bear like the other bikers did.

I just think after 4 days in 100 degree heat, and all the challenges and pain we were in that it just made us both cranky and irritated. No big deal, sometimes people just need their space.

With everything ok, I cranked up the air and went to bed.  I once again woke up in excruciating pain, muscle cramps are not fun.  It had been this way for 3 nights now.  I just didn't know if my body could keep this up.

Well regardless tomorrow we are going to attempt to finish out 134 miles because we need to get home!

What a nice end to a horrible day!