Hopkins 4K for Cancer

June 2, 2006

Cleveland, OH
June 2

After yesterday’s century, today’s 67 mile ride sounded like a breeze. But, of course, things are never as easy as they seem. Because of the rain I took a small tumble off of my bike. I got up fast and it didn’t hurt much, but I managed to scrape my knee. Derick decided to clean it with alcohol and I entertained everyone by running away from him screaming. Somehow, I thought I was preparing myself for the pain I knew was coming to me.

Following that short delay early in the day, my group ended up missing a turn and riding down a state road covered in lots of bumps and holes. The best part about taking this longer, alternate route was finding ourselves in Mesopotamia, OH. We ended up at a gas station right next to an adorable General Store filled with all sorts of bulk food. It made my day to find some great bags of trail mix and dried fruit to re-stock my bag with. I didn’t realize how quaint the area was until we came out of the store and I saw a gazebo and monument encompassed by a park.

Aside from our visit to Mesopotamia, finding the water van in an interesting position after lunch was the next most entertaining part of the day. Shortly after we left lunch James passed us in the lunch van, which seemed odd considering other groups still needed to eat. As we rounded a corner we saw the water van, which seemed to have half fallen into a ditch. Katie Ross stood right beside it with a huge smile on her face. Later on we found out that after she pulled off the road the ground gave out. It took a tow truck and two cop cars to get it back on the road, and no damage was done.

Today was the first day that we encountered some pretty major rain. It didn’t start until after lunch, but it got pretty heavy and soaked us fast. Once we were soaked through, each pedal stroke felt like walking through a huge puddle of water.

I enjoyed today’s ride because of the people I spent it with. It was nice to talk with a variety of riders throughout the day. I’m looking forward to having similar conversations with everyone else during the rest of our journey. Small surprises in the towns and fields we passed helped keep me going even when the rain was pouring down.

-Erin C