Home from the Hills

Hey friends, I'm back home a champion after completing one of my first cycling events, the dreaded ride in Gainesville! I just got back to my home sweet home after 5 hours on the high way glued to a car seat. I'm not sure whats more burnt out, my legs from the hills or my head from sleepiness. I'm going to give you guys a quick taste of my journey and I'll be back later on in the week with a more in depth view of how our scenic 45 mile ride went. That's right, I said 45 miler, and this is where the explaining comes in. 

My dad became sick with the flu at the beginning of this week and has been battling a fever for the majority of the time. Of course this is no condition to be riding in, so him participating in the massive century ride was in major question. On top of that we've had some rough weather due to a tropical storm that bombarded us named Sandy. Sandy convinced school officials to close down school for us kids on Friday, but left us with raging winds and a rainy weekend. It wasn't raining at all in Gainesville, but it was chilly and windy! These factors plus the difficulty of the rides course made us abandon our goal of the century ride, and switch to the next option, the 45 miler. I was a bit surprised, but deep down I wanted to make sure I could handle an event that I could finish happily. Riding the hundred miler without dad wouldn't have been the same too, so we've pushed the big goal back for now.

Just to give you the big picture, the ride went terrific, and dad was still feeling funny, but was able to complete a 25 miler solo, while Jim, Jim's friend, Nick, Johanna, Alex, and I did the 45 mile tour of hills! I'm really excited to share with you the pictures my dad snapped of us throughout the day of the ride, so look forward to checking those out a little later on in the week. My emotions from the event are positive, and the best part of all was that I actually had fun! You know, that feeling that rushes through your body, gets that adrenaline pumping, and pushes your mouth into a smile?! Well I got plenty of that today, and I'm proud that I can say, I didn't let those hills get the best of me; I deserve a polka dot jersey after this Sunday! For those of you who don't watch the Tour de France, that's the type of jersey the best climber of the race receives. Well I've gotta leave you guys with a cliff hanger tonight unfortunately, but stay tuned for my next story, "Conquering Gainesville", and pictures as soon as I'm recovered from the hustle of the event.