I know I should not question God but after our 12am to 6am shift this morning I cannot help doing it. As I mentioned in an earlier post this shift is my favorite shift but it is my hardest shift. The terrian is easy, sleep is not an issue even though we have had very little, our pace was nice and steady and my body felt really good. The reason this ride is difficult is because of the emotions I go through. This is the shift when we ride in honor of and in memory of our friends and family. Our team lines up two by two and sometimes 3 by 3 and we call out the names of the people we want to memorialize. Keith, our medic, who is a cancer survivor (brain and testicular) himself, got out of the bus and rode with us for this part of the ride. We put Jeni, also a cancer survior (melanoma) even though its a continuous battle for her (160 surgeries and more to come) and Keith in the front to start our ride out. Keith called out a name on the radio and we rode in silence for that person for a little while then Jeni would call out a name and we would ride for that person then they would rotate to the back then it was Scotts turn, Martha Laura’s turn, my turn, Ashley’s turn, Dawn’s turn who was driving the team vehicle in front of us then Jeff’s turn who was driving the bus behind us. After we all called out a name and rotated around we would start over and do it again and again and again and again. This went on for over 4 hours. I struggled keeping my emotions in check as I called out my dad, mom, grandfather, uncles, aunts, cousins and friends. I have 43 names on my In Memory arm warmer alone. I have 39 names on my In Honor arm warmer. The hardest part of this mornings ride is when Dawn did her list. She is an oncology nurse at the Cleveland Clinic on the childrens floor. She is an angel in my eyes. She read names of children who she has cared for and told us their name, age and type of cancer. Her list went on and on until Jeni and I asked her to stop because we were so over taken with emotions that we could not ride safely. We had to pull over and I just lost it. All I could think about is what if she called one of my boys names or an neice or nephew or a neighbors child. How could I deal with that? Why does God do that to a child? She read the names and ages of children younger than 2 years old. Why? Why? Why?

Jeni’s husband, Tom and Justina from Purple Power who transiton with our team started their shift an hour or so early so Tom and Jeni could do their family and friends together and ended with their list with their daughter Nicole and Jeni herself. It was sweet seeing them riding ahead of us holding hands.

We also did a memory sprint for our friend Perry Lyles. Perry did the Challenge to Conquer Cancer in 2009 and was a wonderful human being and one of those guys who you immediately became good friends with. Perry passed away 19 months ago of an enlarged heart. Jeni led the sprint out then I took over and Scott finished it up. I am not so happy with Perry right now though because my legs are paying for that sprint right now.

I have enjoyed the time with my team. We are all having a good time and getting along great. I was able to talk to all my boys yesterday before they went to bed. As he has done everytime I talk to him, Reed ask about every team and how they are doing. “How is mommy’s and Brandons team doing, who are they again Polka Dots? How are Miss Donna and Miss Beth and the rest of the Yellow Bonkers? Is Miss Justina and the Purple Power team doing well? Where is Miss Kerrie’s team, Livelong, what does that mean? I thought it was LiveStrong.”

Wait…I take back what I said about us all getting along. I am now mad at Scott for making fun of me again on how long it takes me to write on our blog. I do recall he did the same to me last year so this may be the end for us. So taken me 1-1/2 hours to write this post is that really a big deal. All we are doing is driving to Crokett, TX and doing Mad Libs.

I guess I will pass the computer to Scott so he can finally write on this blog since all he has done in the car is play with his new I-phone 4 with a high definition screen.

Thanks everyone for your support and following us on our journey. Next shift, 6am – 12 noon. We may see some sunshine.

So. Day 3 already. Third shift done. There is a bicycling expression that relates to riding so hard that you are in the ‘pain cave.’ it is usually reserved for times in which your legs hurt so much, you can’t go on. Well, today was the first time on the bike ( after 11 years of riding ) , that I entered the pain cave.

Our event is well ahead of schedule, thanks to excellent rides by all teams involved. So, we began the day by meeting the LiveStrong team just 10 minutes from our hotel. Easy, until I remembered that I left my bike computer in the hotel. #*+£# it… Hate when i do dumb stuff like that. But thanks to Beth, Maribel, and Donna for their selflessness and fetching it for me. HURRAH !

Now, back to the story. Because of being ahead of schedule, and to be sure all teams get a chance to do all their shifts, we decided to ride BACKWARDS, heading north on the Nachez Trace Trail. Against a nasty, blowy, strong headwind… For almost 20 miles. Draining our legs. We finally turned around and headed south, and even with a tailwind, the wind was blustery. Upon reaching our original starting point, we stopped to enjoy some p.b.& j sandwiches. Then, we decided to try to reach 100 miles on the bikes, sort of the biker’s equivalent of a marathon.

We headed out with fresh intent, and team Polka Dot came alive. We began an awesome pace line, reaching steady speeds of up to 25 – 30 mph. We worked together, taking turns up front, and really started putting the miles behind us … Now, despite a LOT of training, my legs still began to tire. We hit 85 miles, and I felt my thighs burn. 15 miles to go to get our 100. And only 30 minutes left in our shift. And the road had a steady uphill grade. My legs were getting worse. Ed’s legs were tiring, too. Then, a great inspirational sentence came out of one our team rookies: Brandon yelled out, ” this is better than chemotherapy!”.

That jelled our team even more, and my now burning legs no longer were an issue , as I dug very deep and literally used mind over matter. As I turned those pedals, the last few miles passed in a blur. FINALLY ! 101 miles. 5 hours, 59 minutes, 30 seconds, our team finishing our century bike ride by 30 seconds. I was totally in the pain cave, my legs, back, and arms totally numbed from the effort. This is why I did this ride.

Emotional for me, as I recalled my dad having to endure chemotherapy for his colon cancer. Dad, this ride was for you. I love you and miss you. I still hear your voice and used your voice to help me finish this ride.

Hello all, Tom from the purple team with a quick check in. Last 36-48 hours has been very excited and LONG. Started Monday with a quick visit to Nashville after our first 3 HR ride. Traveled to transition area late in evening to catch a quick nap (45 min) then onto Natchez trace to transition with dream team.
Beautiful night on trace with almost full moon to light the way. I was really struggling thru the first 3 hrs, legs hurt and energy was gone. Wad really concerned about finishing, then I started to look at those names on my sleeves and why I was here. That got me motivated to push on.
About 4.5 hrs in we stopped to fuel, I grabbed some GU energy gel (expresso, 2x caffeine). Then Mimms, our fab support, I grabbed a handful, one bite, “what is that” I ask. “chocolate covered expresso beans!”. Holy Cow!!! Grab my wheel Justina we are rolling now. Lead the pace line most of the way home!
We missed kelly and crew at transtion, but she tracked us down on Mussels Shoals AL for our massages. Where you ask, why in the parking lot of a Shoney restraurant (while it was open) in the rain! Needless to say we had some funny looks!!
Next it was off to Jackson MS to stage for next leg. Once there it was a hot tub visit then off fora full hour if massage to prep for tomorrow.

Now getting ready for bed as I am getting up extra early to go ride one HR with dream team as they are dedicating it to our family. Should be an emotional ride.

Until next time, over and out zzzzzzzzz.

What’s that re ally mean? well, it goes back to how far ahead of our planned schedule that the C3 team has become. With so many strong cyclists in the group, we tend to ride more miles than expected. As we were sitting at IHOP this morning, and Flat stanley was about to knock down a stuffed french toast breakfast, we were talking about how we should deal with this situation. Between bites of cream-filled, strawberry and whipped cream topped french toast, Stanley whispered to me “Go back to the future”.

Of course, what this meant, was that if the Dots just rode the distance that we are capable of riding, we would go from a half shift ahead, to a full shift ahead. So, it was decided (with buy-in from Team Boss Ron) that the Dots would help slow down the overall forward progress of the C3 team with an unconventional ride along the Natchez trace.

So, What is the Natchez Trace. Lots of historical stuff surrounds this road, and we get so busy on this ride in our travels that we sometimes don’t take enough time to appreciate the significance of the countryside through which we ride. Part of this history is about keeping the Nation together in the early days. It was a pony express route that connected the towns together and kept that sense of togetherness that people feel when they are part of a nation.

Today, the Natchez trace is a National scenic road that is frequently travelled by folks who are on vacation and by many bicyclists. It really is a beautiful road and we always enjoy riding along this road. The C3 team rides for over 400 miles along this road, and each team will get at least one shift on this road. Some teams – Purple Power I think, will get two shifts on this road.

As we rode today, Lisa, Kelly and Taylor caught up with us. Lisa took many photos as we rode along in our little formation. Then, Taylor slowed down the van (I happened to be on the front of our peloton) and she told me that she wanted to do a short interview with each rider. The question she wanted answered was “Why are you doing the ride?”

One by one, we each pulled up next to the van and Lisa was hanging out the window with her video camera. I was not able to hear what my team-mates said, but my response to that question was along these lines:
I am riding for my many friends, family and loved ones who have suffered from the effects of cancer and for those who have lost the battle with cancer. And, because I can.

This occurred many miles into today’s shift. By this time, we were feeling the effects of our efforts. This means our legs were feeling a bit sore, and mentally we had to work hard to maintain our efforts. To help the team stay motivated, Brandon told a motivational story, then a little later, I had one of my own. These stories were based on our own personal experiences and certainly could help with motivation, however, a little while later, Ed gave us the best motivation – “This hurts a lot less than Chemo”.
As a cyclist, there are a lot of really cool aspects to this ride that I could write about, but that would be missing the point of our mission out here on the road. One very cool aspect that translates to both the cyclist in me, and the guy who is working to help find a cure for cancer was the teamwork.

The Dots really came together today, even more than we did yesterday. Everyone did their share of the work for today’s ride, just the same as we all worked hard to raise money to fight this disease. With teamwork like this, I am sure we can make a big difference.

A quick note, this was written on Monday but I did not get a chance to post it, so take that into account when you read it.

After last night’s dinner at one of the last restaurants on Hwy 76 in SC, the Dots decided to travel to Cleveland Tn for some rest. We arrived at the Jameson Inn where the night Manager Jackie took really good care of us. As with many people we meet, she has also been affected by cancer. She has lost several of her close family members and her sister had been recently diagnosed with breast cancer. We had her create several magnets that we have now added to the van.

We finally climbed in bed around 1230 with alarms set for 4am. Wouldn’t you know it, I couldn’t sleep. Too many thoughts of all the people for whom we ride. I think I finally dozed off around 2am. The phone woke me at 345am – it was team Momma Jen – The Dream Team was already outside the hotel!

It turns out that Team Purple Power really rocked their shift and put us ahead of schedule by quite a few miles. Doing some quick calculations, Team Livelong would be doing the first of the big climbs that in the past two years have been the exclusive domain of the Polka Dots.

Thanks again to Jackie, she opened up the breakfast service and we had breakfast around 430 after turning the rooms over to the dream team. We rolled out and headed for Dayton, Tn, where we had heard Team Livelong was headed for after crossing the Tennessee River around 430am.

At 510am, we got the word that they were in Dayton, and we knew for sure they would be doing the first climb. We passed them around 540am and they had rocked the climb! We pulled a short distance ahead of them, and pulled over to get ready for our first 6 hour shift.

Compared to the past two years, The C3 team was about 15-20 miles ahead of the planned schedule. Knowing this, the Dots decided to enjoy a great ride through this VERY beautiful country. Of course, picking up the baton from Team Livelong, we still had plenty of climbing to do, they had done the first 3ish miles of climbing. The rest was up to us.

The route is gorgeous. Rolling terrain that I have been referring to as the Tennessee Walking Horse country. I say this only because of the massive open fields where I imagine beautiful horses frolicking. Actually, we saw only a few horses and lots of cows.

In fact, we travelled the ‘Trail of Tears’. I know very little of the actual story behind this, but this was the route travelled by the Native Americans as they were displaced from North Carolina.

Our climbing route took us up two excellent climbs, and three descents (Team Livelong stole the first climb, but we got the reward of the descent). After that last descent, the route remained rolling. Being so far ahead of the planned route, we took our time, relaxing with a number of quite long breaks.

We stopped at a small motorcycle repair shop to allow traffic to pass, and ended up with another extended stop. At this point, we were about 5 hours into the shift and had covered about 62 miles. The Lemon Bonkers were rolling up behind us, and met us there for a few minutes. We asked them to go about 15 miles up the road and we’d transition with them there.

Again, the roads we travelled were just awesome. More rolling hills through farmland. Many very cool barns and silos and really just outstanding beauty. We arrived at the transition at exactly noon – The lemon bonkers were ready to roll, and we cheered them on after some quick hugs.

And what about Flat Stanley? Stanley was a big help today. He helped us with Transition by helping Cara do a little driving. After the ride, he met with the Dream Team for a quick introduction before we all headed to lunch.

After lunch, Stanley helped Siddens navigate, he even climbed up on a cotton stalk when we stopped for a break. I believe he’s enjoying his little adventure out here on the road. Most importantly, I think he is beginning to appreciate what the efforts of this little band of cyclists and team managers are trying to accomplish. We’re trying to make a difference in a horrible disease by helping as many people as possible.

Tonight, Tupelo, Ms, and tomorrow, we rock the Natchez Trace.

Team Livelong had a great evening in Columbia, TN highlighted by Applebee’s, shopping at the Columbia (dis)Mall, Applebee’s again, and DAVE BENHAM’S BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!  A good night’s sleep for all, with the team having relegated the snorers to a separate room.  (Odd that a 3:45 wake up call seems like a good night sleep… Unless you’re Jeff, who got a wake up call at 1:45.  Sorry.)  We were the beneficiaries of yet another kindness from our hotel staff, who had breakfast ready for us early.  Thank you, Allison and crew!  The teams riding overnight continued to burn up the pavement, putting us nearly 3 hours ahead of schedule, even with an extra loop west of Nashville.  Way to go Purple Power and Dream Team!!!  Six a.m. on the Natchez Trace saw Purple Power finish with a long descent to cheers from Livelong, who rolled out intent on getting in a full six hours of pastoral America on the Trace.  The cool morning air and the full moon made for a great ride.  As dawn approached we were once again privileged to see the moon over the Tennessee River, this time with a fantastic moonset.  Clouds kept us from seeing the sun rise over the rolling Alabama farmland, but Lisa Carpenter (our photographer extrordinaire and accomplished high school chili-eater) told us the the soft light made us look great.  After our first break, whereupon it was decided that a pub crawl bicycle ride in Austin would be a good idea, the rain rolled in.  It was a soft cool rain, and, even as it picked up, it only added to the day.  Spirits were high as we began to realize we were going to make Tupelo.  Reaching Tupelo, we were greeted by cheers from above, with Polka Dot having chosen an Overlook as our transition spot.

The Polka Dots gave Keith and the bus a break by riding the wrong way on the Trace for a bit to try to get the group back on pace.  Livelong enjoyed massages and fellowship with Keith, Kelly, Lisa and Taylor, followed by lunch and coffee.  Thanks guys!  See you again soon!  Next stop, Natchez and nothing to do until noon tomorrow.  I think we’ll all enjoy a late start, but maybe we can find some live music tonight…

After missing the Purple People transition on the Trace itself, we re-route to Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Again, the tidal pull aligning menstrual cycles and changing radio dials shifts the musical theme upon crossing the line. This time it’s hip hop. All I’m sayin’ is is better than country.

Has anyone read the Alabama state map? State fathers were, let’s just say, creative when naming towns back in the day. Or they were sleepy after being on a road trip for days with their 6 other historical buddies in an 8-passenger horse carriage, plus bags and sweaty bike gear. Ok, so probably not accurate, but you get the idea. One is called “Hatchechubbee.” And that’s not even the best one.

Meanwhile, Lisa is jonesing for a Starbucks, and although Muscle Whatever is a college town, they are proverbially dry. Unlucky Lisa.

We find the Purple Peeps at a Shoney’s. I set up my table in the parking lot and knock out the teammates despite a small batch of onlookers at the window inside. Jerry overhears the manager telling a customer that he has no idea what that girl is doing outside, but “all of a sudden she opened up her “Mee-ssage table and started doing “Mee-ssages (emphasis is heavily on on the first syllables in both variations). It’s drizzling during my Mee-ssages in Muscle town and on Team LiveLong further down the Trace. So, our botched transition redeemed, we keep coming, through ‘Bama and into Mississippi.

So far we have not missed one transition. Well technically. Dreamies opted out of their 1 am massages after their first 3-hour stint, and after beginning the LiveLong 3-hour massages, my crew decided to leave in favor of capturing the sunset…. So, in my book, we’re looking at a 10/10.

The Dots have hatched a plan to backtrack down the Trace 30ish miles and then come again down the route, putting our transitions back on track. Every team has ended ahead of schedule thus far. Not a bad thing, given our stellar weather and strong riders. A wee bit of time is spent strategerizing whether to ride 30.28 or 30.32 miles back. This is important because it might change the number of Gu(s) that Brandon will take with him.

“Proper Planning Prevents P— Poor Performance,” he says. How can you argue with that?

And now we head back to the Nasty Trace to check on the Dots’ quest for a Century (bicycle slang for a 100 mile ride). Must go. Need hands to work the Garmin. Need to know exactly how long it will take us to get there so we can bring the appropriate number of Starbucks with us (yes, we found one, and Lisa is finally satisfied).

The Garmin must be obeyed. It is, after all, more powerful than even God Tweets.

-this message brought to you by Midol.

My daughter, Mimms, and I have the extreme pleasure of doin’ support this year for the Purple Power Team.  Mimms (23) is a C3 rookie.  I did support on the inaugural C3 ride in ’08 for Team Five, the all ladies team, with young Joe Julian. Mimms and I are Georgians from Atlanta.  I came to Greenville in ’08 to watch the USPRO race with my sons, Thomas Jr. (10) and Charlie (5), volunteered with them to help on the Stars and Stripes Challenge, and gave my email address to Kevin Dunn.  The next thing I knew I was driving in a minivan with 4 good lookin’ strange women and Joe driving to Texas all in the name of cancer research and advocacy.
Cancer has unfortunately made it’s mark in my family.  I lost my mother, Mary Mimms, to liver cancer in 1986 when I was 29.  In ’08, I rode in her memory and in honor of Mimms’ mother Linda, (my ex-wife) who was fighting breast cancer.  She lost that battle about one month after we finished the inaugural ride to Austin.  So this year Mimms and I ride in memory of our mothers, who were both taken from us way way too early by the dreaded disease called cancer.  
We also ride this year in honor of my good friend and bike riding buddy, Al Pless, who was diagnosed with brain cancer this past May.  Al is one of our Warriors and we send all forms of healing thoughts, energy, prayers and well wishes his way.  He is currently participating in a clinical trial at Duke.  After two surgeries and six weeks of chemo and radiation this summer, he registered a clear scan on his followup checkup at Duke.  Al is easing back into his job with the US Dept of Energy promoting off shore wind energy and hopes to be driving his car and riding his bike soon.  He sends his regrets for not making the Austin trip, however, he probably had the best excuse out there.  Oct. 15 is his mother’s birthday, and in Al’s words, “if I travel anywhere that weekend, it will be to see my mother on her 95th birthday”.  Happy Birthday Mrs. Pless and we are happy your son will be with you on your birthday.
So you see, there is no shortage of reasons for answering “yes” when Ron Jerina calls and says he needs someone to help with support. I am blessed to be accompanied this year by my daughter Mimms.  We each know a thing or two about sleep deprivation, which makes us well qualified to do support.  Our team, the beautful purple blob called Purple Power (not Barney), drew the first two night shift gigs.  On Sunday night we did our shakedown ride from 9 PM – 12 AM through the hills of South Carolina, north Georgia, and North Carolina.  The team had  Monday off and we rested and recovered in NashVegas, aka Music City.  This morning, Tuesday, we rode from 12 -6 AM, all on the Natchez Trace,  heading south from Franklin, TN to just shy of the Alabama border.  After riding and driving all morning we are now driving towards Jackson, MS where we will transition for our 3rd ride, a rare daytime first shift starting 6 AM Wed.  
We ride and drive together as a team in our collective fight against the “C” word.  When the team is riding, Mimms drives the advance vehicle, keeping us on course and clearing a path.  The five riders ride, sometimes in a rotating paceline, sharing the wind breaking duties.  They look out for each other on the road, calling out road dangers as they surface.  I follow, driving the big bus, with Keith Houston, medic extraordinare.  We finish each leg of our journey only when the last rider has pulled in safely.  Along the way we laugh, cry and everything in between.  We are joined together in the hope that cancer will be conquered.  It will be a challenge like this ride but working together as a team it can be done.  Thanks for riding, supporting, volunteering and donating.      

Good morning from Tupelo,MS! Team dots arrived last night and we enjoyed a great team dinner and a visit to the laundromat before a good night’s sleep.

I should probably back up and fill you in on my thoughts on our first two shifts and our travels through SC, GA, NC, TN, AL, and now MS. I was overwhelmed at the support st our send of on Sunday. It was so fun to see so many people excited about our journey and it was sad to see so many dear friends who are not making the journey with us this year. Not a minute has gone by that I don’t think about all of you!

You have read from others about our first shift and our tip to eat some Humble Pie. We had a long dark drive Sunday night to Cleveland TN and I kept thinking what. Huge responsibility I had volunteered for, I had to get my six teammates safely to our next transition spot, and not only that, I had to remember that their bikes were strapped somewhat precariously to the top or our van! Yikes! We did fine and made it to transition with the LiveLong team at 6 yesterday morning. What a beautiful ride we had for our first six hour shift! Our cyclists had some tough climbs but they were amazing and conquered the climbs with tenacity. They were rewarded with some breathtaking descents. I was surprised a couple of times when I looked in my rear view to find some of the team on my rear bumper. After that, I got to practice my road racing skills. Note to my students: don’t speed down switchbacks- it is scary and will make your mothers and your teacher worry!

We were blessed with beautiful weather and transitioned with the Yellow Bonkers right on time. After transition, we headed to lunch with the Dream Teamers and the Party Rockers for some suspect Mexican food and then got on the road for Tupelo MS. All of my sweet teammates took much deserved naps after lunch and for a few minutes I was worried that I was going to drift off as well, but we stopped for gas, picked some cotton in a field, and all was well. John Siddens had been my navigator up to this point, but Brandon needed volunteered to sit up front and bear my barrage of constant questions. Along with giving directions, he also assumed the role of DJ and team dots was treated to special dedications with no harsh stops for the rest of the ride.

After a good sleep, I feel like a new girl and am ready to discover this Trace that I have heard so much about. We have heard from other teams that we are ahead of our transition schedule so we had a meeting of the minds at the Tupelo IHOP this morning to discuss how our team wants to attack the day and our shift. We are all looking for a challenge and have decided that creativity is our strong point!

I am having so much fun on this journey. My teammates have become my friends after multiple hours stuffed in the party van together. I am so honored and humbled to be able to make this trek and to be in the company of these six people. We have challenged each other to think differently and we have laughed, a lot.

To my students at GTCHS: I hope you are all enjoying Fall Break. I miss seeing you and knowing what is going on at school. Please be your wonderful amazing selves for your guest teacher. Know that you are the reason I am making this trip and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t SO important. Know that I love you all. Go and be great!

Til next time!

oWith this being my forth year doing this ride I feel like I have seen it all and know what to expect. We all raise our Monet and train very hard to be prepared for riding 6 hours a day with little sleep. But even being a veteran every day I am experiencing new things.

As it has been every year the send off was incredible. I wish I had more time to meet everyone and thank them for coming out and supporting the 39 people who are participating in the ride but that does not happen so I want to say now thank you. I was not prepared this year for all the emotions that would over take me during the send off. Seeing our warriors there and the prayers that Mother Roxanne did got me to focus again on why I do this ride which I lost some of my focus last week as the ride approached. This year was the hardest year leaving my family. RJ, Reed and Ridge, your dad misses you and loves you. I can’t wait for the day when you are older and we can all do this ride together. It was also hard leaving some of my past teammates behind this year. Tedd, Anne , Robin and Laurens, I miss you guys.

Our first shift was the midnight to 3am shift. In the past this shift has always been the coldest. Two years ago it was 30 degrees, last year it was in mid 40′s this year was so nice. The temps were in the upper 50′s. The almost full moon gave us perfect mood lighting for riding. We were all very excited to ride and I thoroughly enjoyed our 3 hour shift. As I always do when I ride, I thought of my dad and wish he was still with us so I could just give him a hug and tell him I love him. This was the only the second time our whole team has been able to all ride together. It was a great ride with great people. After the ride we took over the rooms of the Polka Dots who were coming on to ride at 6am. I was very excited about this because I was able to see my beautiful side for a few seconds before I went to sleep. I did not expect to see her until Thursday when we arrived in Austin. We got a few hours sleep and had breakfast before taking off to our next transition. The nice folks at the Jamison Inn kept breakfast open longer for us and we really appreciated that.

We have had a lot of fun in our tiny team vehicle. We have laughed until our stomachs hurt. Watching Martha Laura and Ashley peel themselves out of the back seat is a sight everyone should see. I dont know how their bodies bend like that. Scott keeps us laughing and Jeni has kept the world informed of our doings with pictures and texts. Dawn and Jeff have got us everywhere we need to be safely. Jeff is the crossword puzzle king and Dawn has gone 1-1/2 days without hitting a deer which is good for her from what I understand. She did come close this morning though but her panther like reflexs avoided the one who had a death wish this morning. We caught up with the Polka Dots after their first 6 hour shift and we all had lunch together. We were also blessed with having Kelly, our massage therapist, Lisa, our photographer and Taylor, our mechanic join us for lunch. It was another special treat to see Jennifer again. We all had our fill of Mexican food and parted ways so we could make our way to transition.

We transitioned with the Lemon Bankers who had a good ride got our hugs and kisses and we were off on our first 6 hour shift. It was nice riding in day light for a couple of hours. We had an interesting ride and met all sorts of interesting people. Not far into our ride we rode part the Hilltop Memories Bar and were invited in. We didn’t want to be rude so Jeni and I rode our bikes in and made ourselves at home. There were 3 people inside included the bartender. They were amazed the sight of us and were asking all sorts of questions about our ride. They took pictures of the aliens inside their bar and said they would post us on Facebook. They were impressed with our journey and told us to stop by next year on our ride and he will have our picture on the wall. It was another warm evening so it was nice riding. Our next stop was in who knows where TN. We pulled into a gas station and immediately had people asking about our ride. The gas station was next to a McDonald’s. And Scott had the great idea of getting a cheesesburger so I jumped on that bandwagon. So he did not have to get off his bike he went thru the drivethru which again drew a lot of attention to our cause. Jeff also changed a tire for an older couple while we were there. We continued our ride and made it to the beginning of the Natchez Trace with an hour to go. Lisa our photographer along with Kelly and Taylor met us there and Loss got some great pictures before we took off to finish our shift. The last hour was peaceful and it was a great way to finish a great ride with a great group of people. Purple Power was waiting for us with open arms. It was so nice to see them. We got our hugs and kisses and sent them on their way. Kelly did an awesome job taking care of us as Taylor worked on the bikes that needed some tlc. We loaded up t our vehicle as we waited for Kelly to finish working on everyone. Once the car was loaded, Scott and I relaxed by laying over the warm hood of the car and listened to the engine hum. I haven’t been that relaxed in a long time. I was close to sleeping and drooling until cool, laid back Dawn decided to honk the horn. I must have jumped 3 feet in the air and spilled water all over me and the car. Thanks Dawn. My heart started beating again and we were off to take over Purples hotel room in Nashville for a few good hours of sleep.

Woke up this morning excited about doing my favorite shift, the midnight to 6am shift. It is my favorite because it is the ride where we will honor and ride in memory of our friends and loved ones. It is an emotional ride hearing all those names. It’s the hardest ride of all our shifts but my favorite.

We are off to do laundry and get something to eat. Can’t wait to ride with my awesome team again tonight.

Ps – please excuse any misprints and misspelled words. I did this post on my phone and the screen fits about 3 words in it.