The last 24 hours have been a wild ride. Last night I learned several things: camping in a cold rain is no fun, a bigger tent would allow me to keep my luggage dry, and 900 people make a lot of noise, even when most of them are sleeping.
But I got through without getting too wet (unfortunately, without getting much sleep, either). I crawled out of the tent at 6:00 this morning, and some how managed to take two and a half hours to get ready to go. I even missed the mass start, but that was actually a good thing. Part of the reason that I did not sleep well was anxiety about this unusual beginning to the ride. Apparently the ride officials were concerned about the safety of letting us all ride the first 15 miles or so at our own individual paces, so they decided to have everyone start off as a pack, in order to control our speed. Huh?
It turns out that Banner Elk is in some serious mountains. We climbed a bit for the first four or five miles, then began a very steep, twisty decent that went on nearly ten miles on narrow, slick, wet, switchback roads. Even the strongest riders I know, big risk takers, were complaining this evening of how sore their hands were from gripping the brakes for so long. It was a scary ride. Gorgeous, but I was really glad to get to a flat stretch.
After that, it was just a really beautiful day. I felt pretty good for about fifty miles, but we really climbed a lot – 4,000 feet, apparently, and a while it began to take a toll on me, both physically and mentally. I had to really work to keep myself going. I tried to get plenty of snacks to keep my energy up, and I focused only on where I was, and the bit of road that I was on. If I thought about how far I had still had to go, it was just too far. And I was very careful not to think about how I will feel getting on the bike tomorrow, after seventy hilly miles today.
I went with some friends out to dinner this evening, but I was so tired I could not really eat as much as I should have, so I will have to get a good breakfast in the morning. And then a bluegrass band from here in Wilkesboro played at camp, and I hung out and listened until I got sleepy.
I am off to bed now. Hopefully it will not rain tonight!