[Upon opening the Well of the Souls and peering down]

Sallah: Indy, why does the floor move?

Indiana: Give me your torch.

[Indy takes the torch and drops it in]

Indiana: Snakes. Why’d it have to be snakes?

Sallah: Asps… very dangerous. You go first. Raiders of the Lost Ark

This was supposed to be a very easy day…  famous last words. It was cold and windy in the morning so most of us bundled up for the ride. I could tell very early that this day would be like the day that I got in the van. Almost no energy and everyone was passing me by. This was the opposite of the prior day. The strong headwinds complicated the washboards, sand and steepness of the climbs. I was going slow when Ari came up on me and asked if I’d like some coffee. Sounded like a good idea to me.

So, I sat there with Ari and drank some of his thermos coffee that he brings every morning. Ari is a strong rider but typically hangs near the back and helps the slower riders. Kate, Petra and Paul all came along and we were in effect the caboose of the riders.

At lunch, almost all the other riders had come and gone. I was feeling better thanks to the coffee and lunch but still wasn’t moving that fast. Headwinds persisted throughout the day but we ended with a 10-mile 3000-foot descent into Salida. I decided to get a hotel room to better recoup for the next day.

In retro spect, I took iot easy when I knew that I was zapped and I think that got me through the day even though it was only 55 miles. It was much tougher for everyone but most got in later than expected.

Thanks for reading

Tailwinds

Chuck Hardesty – riding for The Backstoppers.org