Hopkins 4K for Cancer

May 27, 2007

by Jennifer Breads
We had an early wake up call this morning when Tom Petty’s “Life is a Highway” came blasting on the speakers at 5:30 am to get us pumped up for our first full days on the Appalachians. After a wonderful breakfast provided by Waynesboro Otterbein Brethren Church we said goodbye to Pastor Bill and headed out on our 63 mile ride.

The course took us through Buchanan’s Birthplace State Park where we pedaled to elevations of 2,195 feet in weather that hit 92 degrees! We faced a 3.5 mile hill about 22 miles into the day. This was followed by another 7 mile climb along an 8 percent grade (that means very, very steep!). Even though the climbs upward were grueling, the rides downhill helped make up for all of the hard work. H4K’ers could be seen zipping down mountainsides at speeds of nearly 45 mph! We had barely enough time to notice all of the road kill and caterpillars along the sides of the streets. We were fortunate enough to receive donations from McDonald’s and Bilo supermarket for lunch. Alice and Kara did a wonderful job keeping our riders hydrated and fed all day for a safe arrival at Bedford Presbyterian Church. (There was only one minor collision with a traffic cone that left this rider unharmed). Members of the congregation prepared us a wonderful dinner with homemade dishes that helped us recuperate from our long day and get us ready for more mountains tomorrow!