Hopkins 4K for Cancer

June 3, 2007

by Peter Dewey
Today was our first century (100+ miles) and it brought with it a myriad of riding conditions. The team awoke in Sandusky to a nice hot breakfast consisting of egg and cheese sandwiches before heading out on the long day. The temperature was relatively cool compared to the blistering heat and humidity we had been riding through during the first week of the trip.

It was a pretty slow morning for everyone. The first 20 miles before the water stop were taken at a nice relaxing pace. The flat roads of Ohio are quite helpful in accommodating this pace unlike the mountains that we just saw. Once everyone warmed up a bit the pace quickly increased. Many of the groups riding today were able to average between 23-25 mph for the middle 60 miles of the ride. This may have been due to the slight tailwind that we had for a while, but we’d like to believe it was our strong legs that the mountains gave us.

Today’s lunch was quite unlike any that we have had thus far on the trip. The Troy Township Volunteer Fire Department in Luckey, OH actually hosted a sit down meal for the team as we biked through the area. We were greeted at mile 45 with a BBQ consisting of hot dogs and hamburgers, pasta salads, baked beans, and DELICIOUS pie!! The fire department really went out of their way to spoil the team and we can’t thank them enough for their gracious efforts. We took a picture with the members of the fire department before heading out with full stomachs and a smile on our face.

Biking in the afternoon was quite interesting. The wind picked up as storm clouds overhead threatened rain. Unfortunately the wind was no long a consistent tailwind but seemed to be blowing randomly in every direction. Shortly after mile 60 some of the riders got their first dose of rain which fortunately didn’t last long. At the next water stop at mile 85 we were warned of a huge storm in the town we were biking to so we decided to hurry and rush into town. However, these efforts were quickly diminished as we got nailed with a 20-30mph head wind that forced us into our mountain climbing gear on completely flat ground. To make matters worse the skies opened up again with lots of rain and some hail. This made the last 10 miles into town some of the most difficult biking we had seen yet.

But life was good again when we arrived at our host, the Fayette Christian Church. The town of Fayette is quite small, approximately 1300 people, but the town came out in full force to greet us. Throughout the course of the night there were over 40 community members with us that made an amazing potluck dinner for us. My favorite part was the pecan pie cookies that were to die for!! The team gave the community our cancer presentation before nodding off to sleep.

This was a special evening as we were joined by two family members of 4K riders who are cancer survivors-- Jen's aunt, and Devin's dad. It was especially meaningful that we got to meet the people that our fellow riders dedicate their rides to everyday.

As we went to sleep, we dreamed of the pancake and egg breakfast that would be awaiting us in the morning. Thanks again to the Fayette Christian Church for being an amazing host!!!