To put that in perspective, when we left Lexington our first stop to refill water bottles was 26 miles out in Cynthiana. And at that point I had only downed one of them. To down two full water bottles in eight miles and to still be suffering like that was something I was just not prepared to deal with.
The hills were another problem. Fresh legs pull hills pretty well. None of us had fresh legs anymore. Our pace on the hills slipped from about 15 miles per hour or so to about 8 miles per hour by the time we'd reach Alexandria. It was tough going. I'm sure a lot of that was the heat, too, but the hills between Cynthiana and Falmouth took a lot out of us and from Falmouth on I think they may have been worse.
While biking I didn't have a great perspective on this. I was just riding, digging in, keeping my head down, and pushing through. When we drove back I got to see what we had ridden through and it floored me. I can't believe that we were able to get as far as we did, especially in that heat.
And let me tell you it was hot. When I ride I'm always hot, even in winter. That I felt hot wasn't that big of a deal to me. I knew during the ride that it was hot but I really couldn't tell how hot it was. Again, I'm always hot when riding. But after we got in the van and got the AC cranked up I cooled down. I felt pretty good. And then we stopped for food on the way back and I got out of the van. The heat, just standing there, was bad enough to almost knock you over. The heat index was over 100 degrees. It was stupidly hot. As soon as I got out of that van I understood why no one was in favor of me trying to gut out those last twelve miles.
We were biking to Northern Kentucky. Technically Alexandria is in Northern Kentucky. Would we have liked to get to Newport or the Convention Center in Covington? Sure. But it didn't work that way. We did bike 75 miles on a day that set record temperatures. That was accomplishment enough. Even if my pride would have liked me to have "finished" the ride.
Now, as for accomplishments: The ride has raised $4800 for the garden so far. I have heard of a few other donations that are planned in support of this vital hunger ministry. While the $4800 is less than our goal it is far more than what I thought we could raise. I am overwhelmed by the response and support we received. Everyone who prayed for us, trust me when I tell you that we felt the power of those prayers. We wouldn't have made it as far as we did without them.
And to all who have donated trust me when I tell you that your donations will have a huge impact. We have raised enough to be able to add water and irrigation equipment to a larger field. This will enable us to grown thousands of pounds more fresh produce than we have been able to previously. All of that will go directly to feeding the hungry in our community.
We have already started planning the ride for next year. We will have several different mileages to hope to encourage more riders. It is a lot to ask someone to ride 100 miles with us (my goal for next year). It is far less to ask for 20 or 50. We will also never again do this in June. We liked the idea of tying it to Annual Conference but there's no reason it has to be and I have no interest in riding that far in near triple digit temps ever again. April seems like a good time to do it. Sure, it might rain then but riding in the rain is a lot more fun than riding in the heat. Trust me. I've done both. There is no comparison.
Next year we'll be better planned and more organized. But I would say that this year was a success, too. We didn't go as far as we'd planned and we didn't raise as much as we'd hoped but we went a long ways and we raised enough to do a lot of good. Many, many more people will be able to be fed by this ministry. And it is all thanks to the support that we received for this ride. That is a success, even if my pride wants me to head to Alexandria today and finish what I started.
No, I'm not going to do that. I'm not crazy. Well... Okay... I'm not that crazy.
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For those who don't travel a lot, I'm really aware of just how hilly and steep Northern KY is. You guys did great to go as far as ou did. You definately pushed through the worst hills, the rest of the ride would have been easier EXCEPT for the fact that you were headed into more and more pavement, less trees and grass, and higher temps. Tip from my friend who ran the triatholon - you need to pound the water and calories earlier.
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