Trying to Outride the Rain; we didn't...

Lower body symptoms of ALS (Lumbar) • Frequent tripping • Difficulty on stairs • Weak feet

Today started out with much internal debate about will it rain and what to wear. Charlie decided to take another day of rest so the riders were Dave, Steve, Rod, Gio, Frank and I. I knew I was iffy due to the issues with my hip but decided to give it a go, especially after Rick made an early morning run to the pharmacy to get me Aspercreme with lidocaine. For those who are worried about my health, I do want you to know that I have consulted with my doctor and he confirmed what Rick and I knew, specifically that the pain medication regime I am on is fine but the activity may exacerbate the pain. He did not however, tell me to stop, but rather stated it will heal when I am off the bike - "after the accomplishment of finishing the ride". I feel I know my limits and even though I'm stubborn, need to make the decision that is right for me at the time. Each day may be different.

We were driven to our start point by the Luggage Guys with overcast skies, were overcast and it high humidity, but no rain. The country road we were traveling on was beautiful and there was a tailwind pushing us along at a very good clip. We soon made our way onto the Empire State Trail - back onto stone dust but because of the earlier rain, it wasn't too dusty. Our biggest obstacles were the myriad families of Canadian geese that were not happy we were pedaling past their babies.

We stopped for a quick break on the trail and met a man who used to live in MA and was friends with one of Doug's old hockey teammates. It is a small world! As we pedaled out of the stop, the rain quickly caught up to us and within minutes we were soaked. It was a bit tough following the signs for the bike path, particularly as we got closer to Syracuse. When we did hit Syracuse, we were all impressed with how lovely a city it was, but our biking was a bit treacherous with stops and starts, detours and traffic. The bike paths were built to go down the middle of the two way traffic but at each intersection, you needed to pedal up an incline and stop for a green light. The stops and starts, especially on an incline were a killer for my hip and eventually as we neared our lunch stop, one did me in. I managed to pedal the next few miles to lunch but knew without a doubt that it was time to get off the bike and get some ice on my hip. I was the lucky one as I was able to go to the Air Bnb and get a warm shower but I also had FOMO (fear of missing out)

When the guys arrived, I was told I missed a special roadside visit by Steve's daughter and her family as they are traveling to Ohio and were able to track Steve down using his phone! Another surprise visit! The crew also had a lovely respite at a pub in Wampsville while they were waiting to get picked up. Gio had the line of the day as he was walking in still soggy and wet from riding in the rain as he said, "I feel like an Italian Water Buffalo all soggy and plodding along". We then proceeded to get an interesting lesson on the fact that real Italian mozzarella cheese is made from the milk of water buffalo. Who knew?

For dinner, Scott whipped up another spectacular meal using all of the left overs from last night to make delicious chicken burritos which we ate outside at our lovely Air BnB. Charlie dried out some wood so we could also enjoy a firepit with beautiful views before it was time to retire for the night.

Tomorrow is our rest day and many of us plan to head out to Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame. I'm hoping we don't have yet another debate about whether or not Pete Rose should be in the Hall of Fame!!!

Just a couple of footnotes, we are now at $86,320 in our fundraising efforts with several checks that have not yet posted!! We truly think we will hit $100,000. Also, I don't think I have posted this before but here is a link to a nice article written by Lindsey Byman for the IpswichLocal: https://thelocalnews.news/2023/06/21/bikers-cruise-through-first-third-of-oxford-to-boxford-ride-for-hope/

Feeling blessed but moving a bit slowly,

Dolly