Today started with a nice early 4:30 AM wake up call to get us up for our 100+ mile ride. We had the option of going 125 miles, which I had decided I would do to try to push myself. I pacelined with Matt Calardo (GWU), Matt Reisen (TCU), and Cory Carson (Michigan State). The first part of the ride went well--I had ridden with Matt & Matt before, and they're really good at making jokes along the way and keeping your mind off of the ride ahead of you. However, once the weather got hotter and the day went on, we all got a little more tired and started cycling slower. Matt Calardo did an awesome job of pushing us through the day, maintaining good conversation and asking random questions to keep our mind off of the heat. Hours later, we hit the rack point at 98 miles and had to finish our ride up. While we were happy to have pushed through the day, I was a little upset that I didn't get to do the whole 125 mile-ride that I had set my mind on in the beginning of the day.
Our lodging was at a local Lutheran church in Needles, CA, a very small town in the middle of the desert nearby the California-Arizona border. We dropped our stuff off at the church and went to go shower at the bathroom by a nearby Marina/trailer park. We hung out in the lagoon for a bit to get our feet wet (it was scorching hot) while waiting for everyone else to get ready. Dinner that night was back at the church, where we had an awesome spaghetti dinner prepared for us. We went to McDonalds later on to get some WiFi and check up on what was happening in the world. Because I don't have a iPhone or any sort of Smart phone, it can be easy to get out of touch with whats going on the world. There isn't really enough time in the day to glance headlines, let alone read a full newspaper, so I take every opportunity I can to get Internet and update myself on what's going on. When we got back to lodging, we all crammed into the little room where we had eaten dinner to set up our sleeping bags and air mattresses. We did a quick practice for Kids On the Block (KOB), a puppet show we're doing throughout the summer that features puppets with disabilities to spread disability awareness to little kids. I play Mark Riley, a red-headed puppet with cerebral palsy. When we had practiced enough, I went to bed to get enough sleep in my last night in California before heading into Arizona.
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