It was a beautiful day. I made sure - after the second running with Bob and Scotty - to check on wind directions so that we would not get murdered by the wind all day. The wind was out the south-southwest and a sea breeze kicked up during the day. The run up the coast wasn't super fast but wasn't as punishing as the Bob/Scott iteration.
At one point on 1A in New Hampshire, Andrew was really gassing it. I rolled next to him and cautioned him to save some gas for later. We eased off the pace because there was still 50-ish miles to ride. And, the climbing starts at about mile 85, so if you are fried leaving Portsmouth, which is usually the case, you are in for a miserable 50 miles finish.
We cruised up Maine Route 103. It was still a cross wind but wasn't a hinderance or a help.
We didn't stop at the Daily Grind in York, instead we stopped at the food market in Ogunquit.
Brent and Andrew split a roast beef sub. It looked really tasty but I know I can't eat heavy things like that mid-ride, so I stuck to my bag of Oreos.
As we rolled out, the boys were talking about how they had never thrown up because of exercising. I said, "There's always a first time."
For the people that know the ride route or this neck of the woods from other rides, you all know that as you come out of Shore Road, you are on Route 1 for about 100 meters before you turn up left and ascend Berwick Road.
Since they had just eaten and were talking about not vomiting, I decided that it was my personal charge to make them regret eating roast beef subs.
I didn't even give my self time to get settled in and re-warmed up after our stop.
I just went to the front and started hammering. I tried to recover on the down-hill sections of the rollers of this section of the ride.
At every rise I punched it, surging up the hills as hard as I could.
I was descending deeper into the Pain Cave but I was determined to hear partially-digest roast beef sub hit the pavement.
Brent was riding really strongly and I couldn't crack him.
Andrew was a hurting puppy though.
He did maintain his honor and didn't blow chunks.
At one point, Brent pulled around me and I looked back and Andrew was dropping pretty far back. When I saw him I decided that I couldn't continue with my plan.
He was hurting, and at that point, with my effort up those rollers, I was hurting too.
Right about then, Andrew fully channeled the pain and misery of the ride.
It was at the same point, during the first ride with Carney and R.Kelly, that I told them, "If I fall into a snow bank, just leave me for dead."
Andrew got to that same point. As we crested a small rise, we saw a dump truck coming toward us in the other direction.
"AAHH!!! I want to steer into it," he yelled.
The only way I can summarize the ride is to adapt an Ice Cube song title, "[Yesterday] was a good day".
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