Well this week was full of bike events and so I thought I would combine all into a little tale.
Tuesday - was out mini-team fundraiser at the Sign of the Whale. We had a happy hour, silent auction, food and drink specials. It was an intimate affair and full of good spirits. My neighbor brought a dear friend from LA who brought some co-workers; they are all from the LBC and Redondo Beach. It was so nice to talk about home and local hangout spots. They all donated and asked about the event and my job. It was a grand time. At the end of the night we raised $700 and gave a majority of the earnings to two members of our team who had a larger goal. I appreciate all those who came out and the warm atmosphere, I will be visiting the WHALE again.
Wednesday - last "buddy ride" before the big ride. I met up with Stephanie and Mark at our Georgetown spot. We decided to take a new route - we went up the Custis Trail, hopped over to the W & OD trail, cruised onto the 4 mile trail, than merged onto Mt. Vernon. Once on Mt. Vernon we went through Old Town and onto the Woodrow Wilson bridge. Due to time and sunlight we went half way over took a pause and turned back to the city.
On our way back, I asked Marc to lead because we were on surface streets and it was still rush hour. I was getting ready to move positions. Coming toward us was a "sloppy" walker, he couldn't make up his mind which side we was going to walk on so in a little maneuvering in hopes to stay out of his way I rode up a grassy spot a smack into a TREE. It happened so quickly I bounced right off my bike and fell back and bummed an iron rod fence. I sat for about 15 seconds and was 100% fine. My mates paniced but since I was going so slow I did no damage. I was more concerned about my bike...fearful it was damaged, luckily it was fine. The "sloppy" walker apologized for being unsure where to walk. We got back on our bikes and I just started to chuckle about hitting a tree on my last ride. We took our ride up Mt. Vernon, crossed over 14th Street bridge, cruised by Jefferson and Washington Monuments and finished along the harbor in Georgetown. We made it just before it was dark. I was thankful for my helmet and my cushioned body. Fun times.
Thursday - I had to drop off my bike at the semi-truck. I took the pedals off and removed all my CO2 cartridges from my kit. All the bikes are shipped out to Tahoe via freight truck. It was a bitter sweet day; I have not been SEPARATED from my bike since I started training. It has been in the back of my Jeep for the last 4 1/2 months. It also makes me realize the ride is less than 10 days out. Now, I have to workout in the gym and rest.
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