The Ride for Alzheimer's is On!

Tuesday, July 4, 2000

Day 1 of ride, 91 miles today. 2600ft of climbing.

Wake up call at 4:30, weather predicted to be 95 and quite humid, we need an early start, but it is raining right now.

note: I did my first e-mail back home last night. I wrote my journal entry in word, found a local AOL access number so didn't need the AOL 800 number, and copied the digital camera pics into the laptop. Pasted the journal into e-mail, attached pics and sent it back home to go onto the website.

Thank you Ed for teaching me and for Donna's patience! I was up until 11:30 PM doing all that!

Back to today: Finished breakfast, still raining, some riders are leaving, many are waiting including me

Waiting in the Drury Inn for the rain to stop. It didn't.

Still waiting in the Drury Inn for better weather.

Now it is 8AM, and I can't wait any longer. It is raining harder, with thunder and lightning around.

I left with 3 others. We pass hundreds of acres of corn and soybean fields, more rain going vertical/diagonal/horizontal. I had a raincoat on and a shower cap over my helmet. This helped a little but after we had traveled only 1 mile I was absolutely totally soaking wet everywhere. The rain persisted all day.

Reached our SAG stop in Jamesport, a delightful little town.

SAG at Jamesport MO, a very quaint small town.

Amish farmers ride through town in their horse-drawn buggies. Torrential downpour here for half an hour. Puddles and ponding on road, no breakdown lanes, a bit scary.

Continued on, more rain/thunder/lightning. Stopped for lunch at a supermarket deli.

Riding with 2 other cyclists, 3 miles from destination hotel it rained so hard that we were riding through road puddles 2 inches deep!

Arrived at our hotel at 3PM. Cleaned and lubricated bike, cleaned up and went to dinner at Golden Corral. Nice buffet, I ate enough for 3 people! Back to hotel for route rap and then another hotel reception in room 354.

Tomorrow we cycle 82 miles to Kirksville, MO. At 2PM I will meet Teressa Pate and 1450 KIRX, we are going to dinner at 5:30.

a. before this ride?
b. during this ride?
c. after this ride?