Final Riding Day 7 - Ryan
Posted by ajmoreland | Filed under Uncategorized
I cannot believe it is the very last day of the 2009 National EMS Memorial Bike Ride. This has definitely been a long adventure with injury setbacks, followed by bicycle adjustments and 435 miles so far. Only 95 miles stood in between me and successfully arriving in Roanoke. Today’s riding format was mostly touring style, my favorite! Although I didn’t feel entirely pumped to ride close to 100 miles, it only took me about 5 miles for that to change. All it took was for a local Fire chief yelling at all us riders to “spread out” over his vehicle PA system. Those of you that know me well know that I hate being yelled at. My natural reaction is to rapidly increase distance between myself and the annoyance. So in this particular situation, that is exactly what I did! I pedaled and pedaled as hard as I could to get out in front of the pack where the guy with the PA system could not ruin the serenity of the ride.
After about 20 miles we happened upon the first rest stop. I had pretty much passed everyone so I figured I’d stop and let some riders go by so I could chase them down again later. After enjoying a vegan energy bar, bag of Lays potato chips, and some Gatorade, I hit the road again! Just as intended, within the next 40 miles I arrived at the mandatory touring stop an hour and a half ahead of schedule, #2 overall in the pack of riders. I was quite proud of this accomplishment! To make things better, there was a huge spread of pineapple chunks, strawberries, grapes, carrots, cucumbers, and tomatoes laid out on a picnic table for all riders to enjoy. It was like vegan heaven so you know I loved it and chowed down, for sure! Once all the riders had funneled in, we conducted a short memorial service and got back en route to Roanoke.
We had one last stop where we met up with the 2 rider still en route from Kentucky. From there, we pedaled in parade formation straight to the Hotel Roanoke! This was an amazing experience! Close to 150 riders and wingmen (that have come from all over the nation, Ireland, and Canada, to ride together and commemorate our fallen EMS heroes) received the warmest of all welcome parties as we rode into the Roanoke! A huge gathering of rider families and honoree families was there to meet, congratulate, and thank us for all that we had committed to and been through over the course of the last week. It was very special and really meant a lot to me and the rest of the Muddy Angels!