Saturday Evening

We stopped at this barn today!

Hey! It's a Saturday evening post! Sorry. This is going to be quick. Today Bill, Rand, Tim S., my cousin Brent, and I rode the brutal Round Barn Ride. It was supposed to be 86 miles, but the Lord mercifully shortened it to 77+ miles. There was a detour that took 9 miles off.

Let's state the obvious: IT WAS HOT, HOT, HOT! When I left the ride and was driving to Dairy Queen, I saw a time and temperature sign that read:

1:11 111

It was 11 minutes past 1 and 111 degrees. I'm not sure it was quite that hot, but it was very close. The ride, unfortunately, was not well-supported. One crucial SAG stop was not there, so we kept riding. We about ran out of water, and I was flirting with trouble. My black shorts were turning white with salt crystals. We finally came upon a little convenient store. There we were saved.

There were 2 really long, hard hills, very steep in places. Wow, I thought my heart was going to explode a couple of times. Yes, I know we are crazy. Oh well...

Bill got in trouble at the end. He, like me, struggles with heat. He made it in, and we all were glad that it was over. We had $5 vouchers for Dairy Queen, so that was a nice place to get revived.

I am now packed and ready to leave for Honduras at 2 a.m. Yikes! I appreciate the well-wishes and promises of prayers I have received. I hope to post here on a regular basis.