Today was a wonderful day. Not because we didn't have problems, not because we rode fast, but because we had so much fun as a group. We rode in a large group of seven, Max, Helen, Ashley, Emily Lake, Patricia, and Taylor. The morning was a bit slower because of headwinds, but nothing particularly difficult. We actually stopped at a gas station after lunch, where someone had been kind enough to donate enough money at the register for each member of the team to buy a small snack or drink. I never met who was so generous to us, but if you ever read this, I'd like to thank you.
Unfortunately we spent a little bit too much time in the gas station cooling off and eating candy (a common feature of 4K). We ended up being quite behind the other teams... which would probably have been just fine, had we not had a number of bike problems afterwards. In addition to two flats and a broken spoke, a spoke broke off, caught on the chain, and bent Ashley's rear derailleur. Her bike was definitely out of commission. Of course this happened about two miles outside the host, and while for a moment we thought we wouldn't be able to finish the day, the water van really came through and brought a loaned bike for Ashley to ride. We finished, late, a bike broken, but finished nonetheless. Despite the difficulties, I have to say it was one of my favorite days. I think we became a bit collectively delirious about how slowly we were moving, but none of that really mattered compared to how much fun we had.
Thank you to our host for the night, the First United Methodist Church in Franklin. They had an amazing dinner for us and spent time talking to us and encouraging us in our ride. We really enjoy spending at least a few minutes with our hosts.
PS - today was actually a 99.22 mile day, but of course we couldn't miss out on the century, so ended up riding around the neighborhood for just a bit to bring it up to 100 miles!
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