Day 7: And now the end is near… (but just after that hill)
This post is coming late. I know. Our apologies. Yesterday moved way too fast for anyone in the blogBRAI team to really catch up too. We were moving, organizing, and finishing our ride… then preparing on how each of us was to get back to the east coast. Never-the-less, our last day on the road went something like this: Emily and Amy woke up with the rest of team Conehead but quickly made it out on the road for fear of not making it to Dubuque, IA on time. We all knew it, but their fears were unfounded! Both the blogBRAI girls had whipped up into excellent bicycling shape by Day 7. Emily and Kevin switched after 21 miles of riding leaving Amy, Kevin, and Greg to finish out the week. Emily would await at the finish line to join in the Conehead cheer!
Day 7 was hilly. We all knew it was coming and were anxiously approaching the ride. Much of the downhills and uphills were tractable. Amy proudly announced that her fear of not braking while screaming down a hill was a thing of the past. There was, however, one monumental hill that burned a look of fear into even the most experienced riders eyes: Potter’s Hill. This was a mile plus at a 19% grade. Greg couldn’t make it in his single speed, that was a given. Amy made it part of the way only to stumble and fall fractions of a mile from the top. As for Kevin? It is still unclear; all we know is that he made it up part and walked the rest.
After many-a-more hills we made it to Dubuque with time to spare. The Conehead team congregated at a park just before our ride into town where we practiced the team song and planned our riding formations for the final stretch down to the muddy Mississippi. Emily and our bus driver, Gary, were down by the water to cheer us all in!
Post dip we grabbed some walking tacos (if you don’t know what that is, just use your imagination) and a handful of crispy egg rolls to go. Our parting shot will be one for the ages; Henkes hands in the middle for a “pound” and a shared appreciation for a week spent sleeping in the same bus, supporting each other on the route, and reflecting all of the wonderful personal accomplishments achieved along the way!
The last time from the field…
blogBRAI
