Distance = 20.7 miles
Time = 1.44.57
Avg speed = 11.8 mph
Max speed = 22.5 mph
Odometer = 2925.5 miles
At church today my team was rolled our bikes up to the front before the offering was given. We are the recipients of 2 months worth of DUO (do unto others) fund offerings. This should help complete my fundraising! As we stood up there with our bikes, one of the board members who is also doing the ride said a few words about us and the ride. The congregation gave us a standing ovation. It was much more emotional than I expected. We all stood up there, our eyes tearing, just looking at each other like, "What do we do now." So we just stood and took in the energy. It was awesome!
After the service, we hosted an official training ride. The plan was 30 miles. We started with 17 riders. We rolled through Minneapolis, down the same trail we rode several weeks ago that I can't remember the name of, into St. Paul and around the state capitol. Somewhere toward the beginning we lost a couple riders. One was a ride leader who was the caboose as no rider gets left behind. The other was a woman who I don't think had ridden yet this year and was having some bike trouble and riding trouble. So we were at 15 riders. In St. Paul around the capitol, there was a short steep hill near the capitol. My favorite kind! One of the guys got a flat at the bottom so we had to wait at the top for them. I turned around and went about halfway back down and rode it up again. Really. I love those kind of hills! And I definitely need the work! Took awhile but they finally got things under control. Something is going on with his spokes because that was his second flat during that ride. Once we were reunited, we all headed off again.
We got into a neighborhood around the capitol and, from the front of the pack, we heard, "Biker down!" Not what any of us ever want to hear. Our other ride leader had fallen at the bottom of a short hill when he was trying to turn. I was sure he had broken his collarbone. He was in shock and had possibly lost consciousness for a very short time. We called an ambulance. The incredible thing was the people in the neighborhood. SO many of them came out and asked if we needed help. It was really incredible! We happened to have 2, maybe 3, nurses riding with us. So they basically took over until the ambulance got there. The rest of us stayed out of the way, directed traffic, accepted wet cloths from neighbors and checked on each other. Joe was laying in the middle of the road so we were definitely in the way of traffic and very visible. Ambulance didn't take long getting there. They assessed him and decided he should get to the hospital. He was out later that night and went to one of the other rider's home to recuperate. Very scary! And definitely a reminder that anything can happen. He wasn't goofing around or being careless. His tires just slipped out from under him on a turn. It happens. Lorrie was a little freaked out. She's never seen a cycling accident before. There was no blood or anything like that. And he'll be fine. But she was still shaken. Side note... Joe, miraculously, did not break any bones!
We decided as a group, 14 now, that we should turn around and go back. People were shaken up and our minds weren't on the ride. So it was best to get home. No further issues after that point.
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