The Adventure Begins

The day after Cover Indiana Kristina and I left to head for Orlando, FL, to meet fellow rider Stephanie. She had offered a few months prior for any of us to come down if we needed a place to stay, so we took her up on it since she lives only a couple hours from Jacksonville.

Getting there is easier said than done. I woke up at 5:30 on Sunday and frantically searched my apartment for anything that I was forgetting. I finally got out of my place at 8:30 or so and drove to Terre Haute to pick up Kristina. We packed up the bikes and headed to Birmingham to stay with at my sister's for the night and get a couple meals. I slept most of the way. I got really sick during Cover Indiana (against my better judgement, I continued to bike), and Kristina offered to let me sleep (or really, offered to let herself drive my Mustang), which I kindly obliged.

I got up and played Lego's with my nephew the next morning. I think he had fun for the limited time we had. My sister made us breakfast and sandwiches for the road. Once again, I slept for most of the way to Orlando. Kristina did me a huge favor, so I worked on her bike and got her some access to the Internet in return (so far).

Stephanie is on the triathlon team at the University of Central Florida. She even went to national's this year. She introduced us to many of her teammates and we went out for pizza, courtesy of the tri club (thanks, guys!). The next day we planned to go for a bike ride because 4000 miles isn't enough for this summer. Haha. We went to Clermont, FL, and it was very warm out. I haven't exercised in the heat for a while. The real heat. I thought I would be used to it being raised in Louisiana, but Indiana has ruined me. I am no longer acclimated to the heat, and I still can't stand the cold. I was having a hard time moving the pedals as I normally would. My heart rate was really elevated. 

There was a decent climb along our route. It didn't seem any more difficult than some of the hills back at Purdue, but halfway up the hill I noticed my heart rate was at 197. Whoah! "This hill isn't that difficult," I thought to myself. I found myself at the top of the hill feeling terrible. I regurgitated a bit and felt light headed for a moment, but my friends we right behind me, so no worries. I felt a lot better after a few minutes rest, and I was on my way again careful to not work too hard for the rest of the ride. We got in about 41 miles, which puts me at about 1641 miles for this season. 

Later in the ride we met Harry. He is a retired Air Force fighter pilot. He puts out water everyday in his driveway for cyclists and runners, alike. He was very kind and let us fill and refill our water bottles,  Thanks, Harry! Some of the best tasting water I've had. From left to right is Allison (another Bike & Builder), Stephanie, myself, and Harry.

That evening we met with other riders and had a BBQ. It was great to get to hang out a bit and get to know each other. The next morning we left for Jacksonville for the official adventure to begin.