Total mileage: 180
Today was the day we were all excited for: Dave Fox was driving up to meet us and carry our gear up the mountain by Lake Arrowhead. The only sad part of all this was that it also meant losing Rosemary, as she had to return to work the next day.
I was feeling pretty crummy before the ride even started (read: vomited 3 times at the hotel). My bike gears were a mess, cranking and clanking every time I shifted. But we got going. Wesley soon left me and Alpine in his dust, so Alpine decided to ask some "reliable" guys on the street for the nearest bike shop so I could get a tune up before starting up the mountain. The search for the bike shop led us on a wild goose chase through a questionable (read: sketchy) part of town. Finally we found the elusive bike shop, where the fellow fixed me up for a mere $4.
Less than two miles later, I was a goner. The nausea returned and I was quite sure I wouldn't make it up the mountain in one day. As I lay dying, I found what I'm claiming is an arrowhead (how appropriate at Lake Arrowhead!) and some strange berries that tasted okay but I wisely decided against swallowing.
Luckily for me, Fox and Rosemary came to my rescue and endured my moans and groans of car-sickness as they carried me and my bike up the mountain.
Wesley powered up the mountain like the champion that he is, and Alpine Dave followed. We had a nice lunch in Crestline (by this time I was keeping down both fluids and solids).
Fox and Rosemary drove me and my stuff down the other side of the mountain to Hesperia (or Hysteria, as Fox aptly dubbed it) where I checked into the hotel and rested up. I bought some medicine, because by this time I had a full-blown hwad cold, and waited for the boys.
I was bummed to have skipped out on the third day of the trip, but I was lucky that it happened on a day when the generous help of good friends was available.
Thanks to Dave and Rosemary for taking such good care of me, and a job well done to Alpine and Wesley for conquering a truly brutal ride up the mountain.
2 comments:
Sounds great but your're still two days behind, we're dying for the next installment!!
Fox
Great to hear you're still alive! Not hearing from you since Monday had me wondering what had happened to you. Sorry you were throwing up...what's that from? Hope your cold is gone. Glad to hear your friends arrived just in time to take you over the top and spare you death! Take care, keep going! Keep hydrated!!!
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