Today’s ride was dedicated to Brad’s grandmother, Alice. Alice passed away from ovarian cancer when Brad was very young, and he did not really have a chance to meet her. We proudly biked for Alice and for Brad, who is celebrating his birthday today.
Today was the last remaining long ride of the whole trip, clocking in at 91 miles. And it was a LONG day, we got into our stayover at Willits High School at 8pm. Thankfully, Steven’s parents offered to get the team dinner and we all got to eat Chinese food together at a team! We were so thankful especially after such a long day. The team had over 10 flats and ride in some pretty intense heat, and we did it with our morale still high :)
Nathan is such a one-of-a-kind person that we are BEYOND lucky to have on this ride. He does so much for the team that he should not and does not have to do, but he gladly does it to ensure that we all can have a safe and enjoyable ride each and every day. What he does is look at our route, go through literally every mile on Google Street view to check for gravel, construction, etc., and then will change our route to avoid such hazards. Sometimes, he cuts our routes down by MILES and/or cuts our climbing down by a significant amount. It is a huge deal and we all appreciate it beyond words. Nathan is also a huge adventurer and will always find something to climb, some road to bike down, or a sunrise to photograph. I’m especially thankful for the day we spend surfing in the Pacific Ocean! I think that will be one of the things I remember most about this whole entire trip.