Hopkins 4K for Cancer

July 24, 2003

Coolest Mobil Station Ever!
Day 54

Benton to Lee Vining



Today was an interesting day to say the least. We were told by Rajeev and Travis that leaving Benton was not a fun time, and I have to agree. We went through some of the steepest climbing of the trip, although it was all very short. The funniest thing that happened to me, although I didn't think it was funny at the time, was that as I was riding, my chain started to give me
problem for a while. Eventually I got annoyed and tried concentrating on other things, so of course, as a "Team Photog" member, I pulled out my
camera to start taking photos. As I was taking photos, I heard a clinking sound but thought nothing of it, until I tried to pedal some more. About 10 feet behind me, my chain lay, a broken silvery snake lying by the side of the road. I was worried for a while, until I saw Weijie ride up about 5 minutes later. Being accustomed to performing chain repairs, he fixed mine in no more than five minutes.



The rest of the day went smoothly, and in Lee Vining, we were treated to the most amazing thing I had ever seen. Gourmet food at a Mobile station! I couldn't believe
it. This was the second year they donated food for us, gourmet pizza's the likes of which I had never had before. They serve lobster and anything else fancy you can imagine, at a very reasonable price.



After the snack, we went to Mono Lake where we saw tufas and all types of interesting birds (and of course Travis had to go for a swim).
Finally, we had a great dinner at the local church, and then treated ourselves to shakes at the local shop. All in all, it was a great day.



Sumeet Vadera