TDK Day 3: Extended Version

On the third day I met up with Mary Jean and Bonnie to tackle the hills to Highmore. I did eat the pancakes and eggs sold at the camp. We started off at like 6:30 a.m. or so. I'm not going to lie, the first hill is a doozie. But we all got up it. I don't know how slowly I was going. I didn't bother to look. It wasn't quick. Oh well. I stopped at the top to take some photos. Will share later too.

The weather was sunny and the wind was out of the southeast. Not quite a tailwind, but not enough of a crosswind to make the descents really scary. Though my eyes did water a time or two.

At mile 15 there was a chuckwagon food stop. I was glad that I ate before I left, those hills do take some energy to get up. But, I was bummed that I wasn't hungry for the eggs, potatos, bacon scramble and cornbread. Don't worry, I ate a slice of cornbread. :D Though, by the looks of Bonnie's breakfast, they ran out of the thoroughly done food and hers wasn't as crisp and cooked as one might like. It was still one of the most interesting side stops along the way.

The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful, in that it was pretty ideal. We were very glad that we saved our legs the day before. Oh, Mary Jean's rear tire did blow out on a downhill. She heard it and was able to pull over safely. I started working on her tire. I got the wheel off and the tire too. I was just collecting my thoughts to actually change the tube when a kind gentleman pulled off to help. I'm pretty certain that I could've accomplished the change, but I was glad to hand it over to someone more efficient than myself. A second guy stopped to also make quick work of it. It'd have taken me FOREVER! Mary Jean's tire was shot, so she got that fixed at the next place.

Riding by the windfarm was neat. A passing cyclist said we had enough wind, they should turn the farm off. :D

To the lady handing out the popcicles at the edge of Highmore: Thank you. I was tempted to not stop because I just wanted to get to camp, but a person feels like a kid attempting to eat an icy treat and ride a bike. I got juice on my handlebars, but it doesn't matter. It was rinsed off the next day.

In Highmore I had time to set up camp and walk down town to do laundary. Plus have a piece of pie. Yummy, yummy pie. I had peanut butter silk pie. It was really really rich.

At camp I discovered that my tent was nearly collapsing on itself. I recruited help to help me secure it, including Biking Brady. Cycling Cathy, I owe you a clothesline. I didn't use it to hang clothes, but it did help my tent to not fly away that night. You rock!

Highmore prepped a good dinner, stuffed potatos and fixins'. Their music was fun too. That group of guys said they'd only practiced together maybe once, but they had fun and it showed.

The ladies and I made plans for the next day. We knew that it would include east winds (direction that we were heading) and possibly rain. We also knew that the wind was *supposed* to shift. We decided to sleep in a bit and see if the wind would change. So, I didn't even set my alarm to go off until 6ish. THough, I assumed that I wouldn't want to get out of my tent until later due to yucky rain. I went to bed not suring if Highmore's emergency crew would be waking me up to head to the auditorium... Or if it'd be worth leaving the tent in the morning at all.