And let's not forget the picture of the supportive wife in front of all the bikes
So I'll try to mix in a few different ones this year ;) We used the alternate start this year from my friend John's home, about a mile from the official start. While the party atmosphere of the official start, which starts getting crowded around 6am, is nice... our "gentlemen's start" is also pretty sweet
This year Maggie went all out for our start and created this ballon arch... so Carrie and I finally got that prom picture we never had
And we're off!
The big news this year is that I had a sweet new ride that I picked up just a few weeks before the PMC. A Cannondale Synapse Ultegra... super nice, and super light. Good thing because the guys I ride with are pretty fast as it turns out!
The PMC also had RFID chips in our bike tags, the idea being that you could track your rider along their route and also get a sense of how fast they were going. Although my new bike is quite fast...I think they have a few bugs to work out in their software...
Smokin...
But that was also the second day, which was fueled by the BBQ at Bourne the day before and may have given me some extra power. Harpoon is a very popular vendor at the party
And this year they had some legit BBQ, modeled here by my friend Daniel.
My other friend Fred also got one
Our Pedal partner Dmitri was also there at one of the water stops to meet the team. What a great kid he is. Having been through so much in his young life already, he's super friendly, positive and full of energy!
The last 20 miles are tough! You're so close, the sun is getting hot, and you're tired! There's a long stretch with a strong headwind that makes it feel like you're crawling, plus an optional (which we always take) detour through the dunes that is beautiful but hilly!
Eventually you get to the end, and it's time to celebrate! Carrie and Abby took the ferry over from Boston to meet me which is just a fantastic thing to look forward to at the end of a ride.
Thanks again to all of you who have donated, supported and read this far! I'll be back next year, hoping for good weather and good friends to help me on this journey.
Oh and also a mermaid... that would help too
