Installment 98 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below

I've had to call off the triathlon, at least for me.  My doctor and the physical therapist think that it is not a good idea for me to think about it at this time.  I will however, continue to do the exercises given to me by the physical therapist and will still walk the dog and work on my stationary bike.  My arm still causes me a lot of pain and is affecting my sleep and Bob's as well as he says I cry out in the night when I move my arm.  This is only a temporary setback, but a triathlon in August of this year is out of the question.

The Journey - Installment Ninety-Eight

        I have no idea where we were exactly when we were  riding up horrible hills again.  It took all I had to get up those monsters.  One time, a couple who were volunteers and riding a tandem bike were alongside and encouraging me.  I gave 110 per cent to get up a particular hill.  With their encouragement I did arrive at the top but I had given all I had to reach that goal.  I had no more to give.   However, once at the top of the hill and at the intersection of another street, I looked and just across the intersection, was another hill to climb, equally as steep.  I just couldn’t do another hill  seconds after the first.  I got off the bike and walked up that hill, pushing my bike beside me.  There was just no more energy to expend.   Sometime in the middle of the afternoon, we came into the quaint little town of Larkspur in the Marin Hills.  Since it was a Sunday and Father’s Day, the town was all decorated on the lamp posts and there was a very festive air about the town. We saw evidence of a street faire as we passed.  For the first time on this three-day ride, we actually had the wind at our backs as we headed down toward San Francisco.  We rode so fast with the wind assisting us and we saw, after a few miles, San Quentin Prison on our left.   We had the use of several bike trails during this last part of our long journey.  One trail was called “Top of the Hill Bike Trail” and it was murder getting up there.  Again, the encouragement from the volunteers really made a difference for me and all of the riders.

       As we finished one bike trail and were about to head up another hill, the vans were pulled over and asked us to stop.  They said, “Ladies, you’ve done a great job but you are still ten miles from the Golden Gate Bridge.  The other riders are already there waiting and there are guests waiting across the bridge for us.  We ask that you allow us to load your bikes and take you the ten miles to the bridge.”  At that point, I was definitely agreeable.  There were still ten miles of hills ahead and who know how long that would have taken us.  I was getting exhausted by this time.  On the first day when the vans wanted to take us back to the hotel, I had a definite feeling that it would be wrong for me to allow it.  At this time, however, I felt no such feeling against finishing the rest of the ride in the vans especially since just a few of us would be holding up everyone else.  We loaded the bikes and I found myself saying a little prayer of thanks that there would be no more hills.  But, that was not to be!