Cornerbrook, NF to Grand Falls, NF

 

Those of us riding the whole distance got up about 30 minutes before the rest of the group, had an early breakfast and got ready to ride. Bruce gathered us together for prayer and to send us off. Just as we were going to ride, I discovered that I had a flat, as did Joanna. Warren quickly set to work helping us out (thanks bro) and we were on the ride about 15 minutes behind the others.

 

Thankfully, the morning was dry, although it promised to be a wet day at some point again. Riding out of Cornerbrook was a steep uphill and I was about ready to pack it in immediately! But, as Lance Armstrong said at some point, you can give up as many times as want you, as long as you don’t stop riding. So I just kept riding. My body warmed up eventually and I didn’t feel all that bad.

 

There was a stiff, stiff headwind - Jack and I averaged 28.3 km/h for the first 90 k’s, at which point we ate out lunch at the side of the road, in a little gully (trying to get out of the wind to prevent getting toooo cold). Dustan and Vincent met us just as we were finishing lunch and we suggested that we tackle the headwind together - giving them more rest from the wind and us some more company to ride with.

 

Apparently there was a big turn in the road at the 150 km mark and so we looked forward to a break from the wind at that point. Jack and I took longer turns up front, while Dustan and Vincent pulled their own weight as well. It was really enjoyable to have a couple of others riding with us. Carol was the roadie in charge of our group today, and she would get to the front of the group, provide food and liquids and then wait at that spot for the entire group to roll by...and then repeat. So, we after having only 4 bottles of water yesterday, I think I had closer to 8 or 9 bottles of gatorade throughout the day today.

 

At the 100 km mark, there was a turn in the road and we were flying along in the 40’s, a very welcome break from the constant wind. There were many shouts of jubilation as we sped along. However, the road soon turned back into the wind and the grind began again. At the 150 mark, there was no major break in the road and I kept waiting anxiously for this ‘big turn’ to happen...it finally came around the 170 mark and lasted until about 250 km into the ride. Our average speed went from 27.7 km/h to 30.0 km/h.

 

After 9 hours in the saddle and 10 and a half hours out on the ride, we arrived at the Pentecostal church at about 5:30 pm (half hour before our supposed cut-off time). A delicious dinner was ready almost right away. Jack and I also managed to find a very generous gentleman willing to do our laundry and bring it back before breakfast.

 

The night was not all easy. A couple of people who were upset about how things had been going with the group and those riding the whole distance spoke to me soon after I got off the bike. It was really difficult for me that people did not understand that this was not about ego, and that they strongly disagreed with our riding the whole province. After getting really upset, a few riders took me aside and reassured me that they knew this was for the team as a whole, and that our riding was an inspiration to the others, especially as they saw Jack and I helping Dustan and Vincent achieve something they couldn’t have on their own.

 

We also had a time of sharing tonight - a lot of it ended up being public apology and asking for forgiveness, which was good. Bill, our sweep driver, led the evening and did a wonderful job. It was to bed ASAP. My achilles was starting to hurt and Advil was once again my best friend...