Another One Off the Bucket List

     Over the weekend, I did my first - drum roll please..........100 mile bike ride aka a century ride!!!!!!! We headed to Delaware to do the Amish Country Bike Tour on Friday night, and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express. Our hotel was next to a Mcdonalds, so we just relaxed for the night, and got soft serves.

     The next morning, we woke up at 5:40 to get ready for the ride, and arrived at the starting line pretty early, so it was not too packed. 

Getting ready for the long ride

It was an incredibly hot and humid ride, and all of us were sweating like pigs. Throughout the ride, we spotted a lot of animals, including: 3 turkeys that laughed like old ladies, Cohorses (horses with black and white spots like cows), a rooster (we also heard 2 other roosters going cock-a-doodle-doo), some goats, and numerous dead birds and other road kill. 

     At about mile 50, we took a break at the popular pie stop. This is the only bike ride that we've been on where they have delicious homemade apple, peach, shoofly, and pumpkin pies. I got a slice of apple pie, and it was absolutely heavenly!  If you look closely at the pie stop section of the video link below, you can spot my dad holding Doggy.

     By about mile 84, it was getting hotter than bacon in a frying pan. We were running out of water, riding at a slight uphill, and the wind was blowing directly against us! Mommy and I went way ahead of my dad, because he was slowing down a lot. This stretch seemed to go on forever and ever. Finally, we saw a man loading his bike into a support van, so we asked the driver how far was it until the next rest stop. You can't imagine how relieved we looked when she said, "one mile". After filling up on water and taking a quick break at the rest stop, we headed out again, hurrying to finish before 4PM. 

     We started out averaging 15mph but eventually slowed down to less than 10 mph due to the extreme heat. Our actual riding time was 7 hrs. and 45 min. Of course Doggy slept through the entire ride in daddy's bike trunk. Well, except at the pie stop.

Yummy!

      When we finally arrived at the finish line, we were pretty pooped. I immediately dropped my bike and sped towards the food tent.  Pulled pork never tasted so good. While we were eating our lunch, Daddy gave me 5 prizes, and Mommy gave me two. (When I do well on really hard tests, swim meets, races, or other special things, I earn prizes, which are basically rain checks that I can use to redeem for things I want later on. One prize is worth up to $5 in value.) My mom said that Daddy was probably suffering from heat exhaustion which is why he gave me so many prizes. Maybe I should go turn the heater on and ask for a puppy! 

   Below is a link to the video of the ride my dad's co-worker's wife, Mary created using her Gopro camera. The Speedy Gonzales in the video is her husband, Mike. Thank you Mike & Mary for sharing your video.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152661539954266&l=6315161068928363385

Also, you can check out Mary's blog at: http://www.venividivelo.com

     After that, we headed back to the hotel to relax. We wanted to call the grandparents to tell them about the ride, but the phone was way over on the other side of the bed, and we were nice and comfy in bed, so we just stayed put.

     After a great night's rest, we woke up early the next morning to enjoy the breakfast bar at the hotel. Doggy & I had bacon, sausage, eggs, juice, and even a donut! Then, we went right back to bed.

    When 12:00 came, and we had to check out of the hotel, we decided not to leave Delaware just yet, and set out to take advantage of the no tax policy. We stopped at this outdoor store called Cabela's. They had amazing displays of stuffed animals, and aquariums. When I say stuffed animals, I don't mean the cute cuddly ones like Doggy, I mean real animals that were stuffed by a taxidermist. After Cabela's, we headed to Buffalo Wild Wings for linner and also to watch the Eagles game. Everyone screamed so loudly when the Eagles won, that I had to cover my ears! 

Doggy not happy to be near the stuffed animal display at Cabela's

     When we got home, I was very surprised to find a new pair of headphone waiting for me in my bed. Attached was a note from my Uncle Vin and Aunt Katie congratulating me for finishing the bike ride. Thanks Jeero Vin & Katie, I could really use a new pair too!

     Also, thank you Mommy and Daddy for a fun and unusual weekend. I guess I can cross that one off my bucket list now! http://activegirlcc.blogspot.com/p/my-bucket-list.html