Boy. Today was… I don’t even know. Tough, exhausting, hilarious, fun, expensive, wet, problematic. You name it. My phone is dead and it’s one in the morning right now so I’m going to skip pictures for today and keep this brief. Sorry! Don’t worry though, I’ll make sure to upload the pictures tomorrow.
We rode 103 miles today and it took us almost 13 hours. Here’s the GPS route: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/529793802. We had a total of 36 flat tires today. I’m not lying. 36. We counted. I’m surprised we had enough tubes! Luckily we were able to get 20 free tubes donated from a bike shop. I also broke a spoke nipple due to hitting train tracks at a weird angle, and both Kenny and my Mom fell off their bikes due to the said train tracks. They are okay though.
Speaking of my Mom, my parents did really well today! They definitely got the entire 4k experience. This was a day with a little bit of everything. My mom rode the first 29 miles with us before she switched with my dad. It was a little rainy, but once we got out of the city, we were on a bike path. 29 miles is the longest she’s ever ridden and she kept up and had no problems. I told my mom beforehand how she’ll notice the change in rider’s attitudes around mile 70 or so and it was funny to watch her attitude change around mile 25. She even realized what she had done after hopping in the car and driving to the next water stop. My dad also did really well. He planned on riding the next 40 or 50 miles, but then due to flat tires and rain and time constraints, he finished out at 74 miles! Welcome to the 4k, where we almost always end up adding unexpected miles!
The day went pretty smoothly up until we crossed the Mississippi river. There was a big bridge and almost everyone got a flat because of the huge joints in the bridge that allow the bridge to flex. We had a party changing flats in the middle of the bridge and then rode our brakes the whole way down. I have a great video, but it’s on my dead phone so I’ll have to post it tomorrow. The roads after that were absolutely awful and each team had to stop a ton of time to change flats. This was really draining on our morale. But not many people got angry or frustrated because you really can’t when it is happening to so many people. You can’t get mad at anyone. It just ends up being hilarious. I think a lot of people learned today that you just have to accept the bad things and move on instead of getting upset at them.
The day was pretty humid, but cool, and it drizzled intermittently. After most of our flats had occurred, it started to downpour! The wind was so strong it was literally blowing our bikes sideways. We had to stop and wait out the storm, then ride in the cold rain until it finally let up. I’m really proud of my team though because we didn’t quit and we made it the entire ride before dark. Some teams had so many problems that they had to get in the van and shuttle the rest of the way there.
We finished the ride around 8:30pm. We don’t have dinner provided at our host, First United Methodist Church, but luckily the mother of a Team FIGHT employee, Alex, was able to get us a $500 gift card to a local restaurant because she lives in the area. We stuffed our faces and then returned to the host to crash.
I apologize for the short post with no pictures! It’s really terrible and I’m not proud of it, but I have to wake up in about 3.5 hours. Which means I’ve already been awake for 21.5 hours! I did take two naps today and even got some pictures, but that wasn’t enough. Comment on what you can and I hope to be more thorough tomorrow!
Maggie Dunleavy said:
Hope you are ready for a great day today. You are all due for it after yesterday’s trial by tracks,bridge and rain! So glad you had the strength to blog!
Jenna Coleman said:
Talk about a rough day! Hopefully today is a little bit better than that. Can’t wait to see pics and the video you mentioned! Have a great ride today!
kidsafeonline said:
Tough day guys! The flats are really bad so sorry. Great job Mom and Dad Stocksdale. Did you ever think you were the topic of the blog ha ha. The rain has been a big bummer too! Be careful no brakes on wet wheels but I’m sure you already know that!!!!
Happy you can all find funny things is crazy days! Thats what this is all about. Finding peace where there is none. Good job guys!!!
Tooler we love your blogs but write when you can. No expectations here. Get your much needed rest. Hugs to all!
Gayle
Marsha Dyjack said:
Thank you for taking the time to post…. Wow!!! All are again impressed with Team San Diego!!! What a day you all had…hats off to your Mom and Dad!!! You all show your true strength every day…and all of us are never surprised!!! I say all the time…you are truly a team and what an experience this is for all. Hello to Matt and Dan…Matts Mom,Marsha
Bonnie Barsa said:
WOW what a day! Glad your parents hung tough…. I knew they would! Tell them I said hi!!! : ) Sure hope today goes a lot smoother for you all!
Bob and Nanette Emanuelson said:
Tyler; Great posts. Thanks for taking the time to journal it all out for us. Say, have you ever tried a nice coating of talc on those tubes? My heart and hands cringe over all the flats you guys are having. Not that I haven’t had my lion’s share as well, but I find that coating my tubes with talc powder helps the pinch flats. Hydration, inflation and talc. Your hands have a nice smell of baby powder too when done. Press on you guys and girls. See after you cross the big state of Texas….and climb up 7,000 ft here to where it’s cool. Vaya Con Dios, Bob and Nanette
stoc4ksdale said:
Thanks! And the roads were really bad. I don’t think many were pinch flats but thanks for the tip!
Mama Stocksdale said:
Well sharing the last couple days with these “kids” has been enlightening, educational (on our part), and so much fun. Each and every one of them are great! They work together in organized kaos, each having and bringing their own strengths to the team. What a treat to be able to ride with them. They were all very gracious. I rode for my Opa (grandfather).
We tried to help out where we could and were told it wasn’t necessary. We wanted the experience and they all followed with many thank yous. I was hoping to finish the end of the leg, however Taylor, Aaron and I were running around town in traffic and rain to get more donated tubes. I would have purchased if we could find any…..no such luck. I quickly realized how time consuming and frustrating the van days are. It just kills them to not be able to finish a days ride, especially to mechanical issues.
While I’m on the subject of mechanical issues….the roads were horrible this day!! Except for the bike trail part, but even then we ran into gravel. There is a lot of communication while riding…”gravel, mud, car back, bump, cracks, slowing, stopping, rolling” and hand signals. The leader begins and every rider repeats down the line. While I’ve done some riding we’ve never been this diligent. I was very impressed and proud (as a parent). To all you parents – they’re doing what they should!
The girls are really impressive to me, especially since I have a husband who takes total care of my bike and it’s maintenance. All I have to do is ride and help load and unload. These girls are changing their flats and oiling their chains. Don’t get me wrong, they get just as frustrated as the boys, but then someone comes to the rescue, albeit a girl or “gentleman”.
Now about my fall, or shall I say “crash”. Fall doesn’t seem as exciting as crash. Kenny “crashed” in front of me on railroad tracks, so being the concerned parent, while slowing down and going around him (not paying attention to how I’m crossing the tracks) I ask if he’s okay….my tire gets caught in a rail and I’m slowly going down. Knowing what’s coming I raise my hands, head and chest and slide on the nice slick, nongravel, tracks on my stomach. For a crash, I faired well. Oil in my nails and on my hands and a slight knee boo boo. I’m now a real bike rider!! As you heard Kenny is fine as well. Just had to share my excitement and idiotness – my boy gets it so very honestly.
I can see him now shaking his head thinking “please mom shut up now”. OK Tyler. Can you tell how much I enjoyed surprising you and spending time with you and the team? I’m even prouder of all of you after seeing you in action! More love, hugs and kisses than I could ever show you!!!! Your, mama