Countdown to Triathlon – 191 Days, 27.25 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 56 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY -

For those of us who are as old as dirt or older, Valentine's Day at school was very special.  We'd get a list from school a week before our class party and we would busy ourselves writing the names from the list on the valentines that our mother's bought us.  We'd decorate a shoe box and cut a slit in the top.  I remember using white shelf paper and decorating the box with red hearts of different sizes cut from red construction paper. I'm thinking this was about second grade and how great I felt when I learned how to fold the paper in half and cut out a heart.  

 On Valentine's Day, we could hardly contain ourselves until the afternoon when we'd have the Valentine's party.  It's too long ago so I can't remember if we had cupcakes or anything to eat because I am only remembering the parties at my children's school.  Then we stand up with all our valentines in our hands and go up and down the rows putting the cards in each person's decorated box.  There was a prize for the prettiest box and of course most of the boys didn't really want to participate and their boxes were usually ugly.    I do remember that the party was the very last thing of the day and I couldn't wait to get on the school bus to go through my valentines.  What do some of you remember doing on Valentine's Day?  Please comment below.  Pea, if you're still following the blog, what did you do in Canada or did you celebrate it?

  

The Journey - Installment Fifty-Six

     After meeting the lady in front of her house and getting directions, blessed that she would be praying for me, I set off to finish the ride toward Knight’s Ferry.  After a few miles I realized that I needed to use a restroom.   There was absolutely nowhere I could go in privacy.  I had no option but to go out in the open, hoping that a car wouldn’t come by about that time.  Those tight-fitting biking pants are very difficult to pull back up when one has been perspiring from the exertion of riding.  It’s like woman having to pull on a wet bathing suit.  I can tell you, I hurried as fast as I could because I would have been mortified to have a car or truck come around the curve and see me going to the bathroom alongside the road.  I’m very private about bathroom things and so this situation was really upsetting to me. The amazing thing to me is that in all the miles I rode to this point, this was the first I every had to go to the bathroom while riding. 

    

         Back on the bike and feeling much relieved, I passed dairy’s and fenced pasture land as the terrain got more hilly.  I finally came to Highway 108 where I got off the bike and crossed the highway.  Cars were driving at 65-75 miles per hour so I had to wait for a big space between vehicles before running with my bike across the road.  Immediately I had to ride up a fairly steep hill to get to the main road, Orange Blossom Road,  that led into Knight’s Ferry, about five miles away.   When my odometer read “30 miles”, I stopped, drank water, ate an energy bar and turned around for the trip back.  I crossed Highway 108 again, this time heading home.  I rode for some distance realizing that my knees might not allow me to finish the trip that day.  I prayed so hard that God would help me bear up under the pain or better yet, take the pain away.  I needed to be able to ice my knees and there was absolutely nothing out there but barbed wire fences and cows. I was still probably fifteen or twenty miles from home at that point.

Have a great weekend everybody.  I'll post again Monday morning.