It's Monday night, and my body still feels like I just did a full triathlon without training! lol My goodness the 51 mile ride back to Folsom from Grass Valley was a bun buster! In any 1 of my 4 days riding from Portland to Seattle it wasn't this tough. It wasn't until I was well into the route that I realized the meaning of +3146/-5417; in order to descend 5,417 feet I had to climb 3,146 feet! And certainly I coasted merrily down many a hill, but it seemed I had to climb way back up at the bottom of each. The day started out at about 55 degrees at 8:30am when we pushed off, but then got to 80+ degrees by 11-ish. At the lunch half-way point Susan was there with the truck and I dived into the sweet coolness of the A/C for a few minutes. Lovely!

With about 20 miles to go and sitting about in the middle of the pack, another 65 year old and I (I'll be 65 on the 30th) paused at the top of a hill, looked at each other and pondered out loud, "What ARE we doing here?!". He asserted and I agreed that there's not enough money to pay us to do this. We decided the answer was love and caring. Love for these FAers and caring that they should not have to live a downward spiral. Research can change that.

During the last 10 miles 2 thoughts kept me (barely) going. All of you, my sponsors, cared enough to support me in this so more money can be aimed at FA research possibilities, and I didn't want to let you down. And second, I thought of the FA'ers facing their never ending (until a premature death) hills in life threatening their Quality of Life, and them struggling up each one just to see another beyond. From walking to walker to manual wc to joystick power wc to having someone wc for them. From keyboard typing 100 wpm to 5 wpm to using a pencil or knuckle to poke each key. And so I rode until I couldn't, and I walked until I couldn't, and then I flexed until I could again. And I made it! All 51+ miles!

3 hours and 58 minutes riding time, about 5 hours elapsed time, and an average of 13mph. And for any lesser a reason I'da been long since been in that air conditioned SAG wagon being given a lift to the finish line.



So here I am just after getting off my bike at the finish line. As I swung my leg over the seat the world's biggest cramp grabbed my rear thigh muscle. You can almost see me saying ow! ow! ow! The ladies then started poking bananas at me, shouting potassium, potassium, potassium! It woulda been pretty funny if it didn't hurt so much. lol


Here's a video clip of me at the finish. ;-)



I was so beat last night I tried to blog but couldn't think straight. We stayed at the campgrounds which was an excellent idea since neither of us would have done well breaking camp. This morning was slow so we left about 12:30pm after changing a bulging trailer tire and breaking camp.

I so appreciate the support I and Brianne have received in sponsorships! There are so many good causes and such pressure on our finances these days; who and what to support and how much to help with have become difficult questions. Whether or not you chose to sponsor us we understand and we value your prayers and good thoughts. The door by the way has not closed on helping. If you might still want to help go to
https://app.etapestry.com/fundraiser/FriedreichsAtaxiaResearchA/norcal/search.do
and click on B or P.

If you are interested in our excellent Outback lunch fundraiser on July 25th (Parents' Day) let me know!

Have a wonderful week, month and year! Exercise, eat well and for sure smile, laugh and have fun!