Team 5 – More Cowbell….

Last night we started our midnight ride in Mobile, Alabama. After a late start again, we attempted to leave Mobile. Transitioning in a church parking lot in a seedy area of town, we finally saw Team 4 coming over the bridge, their headlights glowing through the darkness. The route took us all around railroad tracks and through a shift yard right by the docks of Mobile Bay. The steam coming off the boxcars and the glow of the streetlights lent a surreal quality to the scene. We got turned around in this forbidding place and Joe’s masterful 17-point-turn with the bus and trailer gave us pause as we all prayed he would be successful and not jackknife the bus. We got out of Mobile in a roundabout way, missing a turn but catching up with the cue sheet later. As we got out of town we picked up speed and got into the groove of our riding routine, admiring the beautiful plantation homes lining the road like so many wedding cakes on a shelf.

As we got into the countryside we decided to perfect our drafting skills, with Kerrie “Powerhouse” Sijon leading the way. The girl has legs of steel! And to think she used to be resistant to the idea of having someone three inches off her wheel. Way to go Kerrie! We used our new cold-weather shoe covers and hardly felt the cold (yeah, sure). In between potty breaks (behind the trailer, in the bushes, behind a tree, but NEVER in a bathroom) we admired the shooting stars and beautiful moon.

A special highlight was crossing into Mississippi at 3:20 in the morning. Never thought we’d ever do that! We all jumped off our bikes for a quick picture at the “Welcome to Mississippi” sign and then proceeded on the route.

As we came into Mississippi, things started to go sour. Even with Tom ringing his cowbell for us like a farmer calling his heifers (we all decided that we needed some more cowbell!), we began to get tired of rolling hills, major fog, bumpy roads, darkness, and cold.

About 4:30 am the first issue occurred: Susannah bonked and had to get on the bus, medic’s orders. Crystal, Kerrie, and Laurens pedalled on, but soon hit a surprise: a impassable gravel road. On the bus they went for about a quarter of a mile until the road became ridable again. Soon after that, Crystal’s frustration reached a new high as she lost concentration and fell off her bike — bruised palm, bruised hip, bruised ego. Soon after THAT, Kerrie followed suit (she really just wanted Crystal to not feel left out, and became the only blood injury of the day).

You would think that once we reached the suggested transition area, even if it was 15 minutes early, we would want to quit. But no. The Fab Three (at that point) wanted to go on to get in all six of their allotted hours, cold, darkness, and injuries be damned. We ended up making great time and finishing ahead of the game, further up the road than what had been planned.

After yet another Waffle House visit, Rene Killian-Zieger gave us GREAT massages (in the parking lot, no less) to flush out the lactic acid and get us going again. We stopped one more time at McDonald’s for FREE iced coffees (thanks to Joe’s connections) and beer-for-lunch at a Chili’s, where we used the last of Anna from Atlanta’s gift certificates and once again had great service.

We are looking forward to our first DAYLIGHT ride and touring Louisiana and Texas by bike.

Pedal on!

Susannah, Crystal, Kerrie, and Laurens