Ride 2 Recovery Day 3: BIG!

Peter Gabriel once sang about the Big time. He probably did not have Big Sur in mind when he wrote that song, but it sure came to mind today as we set off from Carmel on our way to San Simeon. The 92-mile ride featured more than 7000 feet of climbing. The riders were in great spirits after the great event at Carmel Mission Ranch the night before.

In the song Gabriel talks about Big Boys, Big City, Big Adventure, and Big Heaven. Well, that pretty much sums up the day today: Big Hills, Big Scenery, Big Adventure and Big Heaven-on-Earth views.

The groups left in the early morning calm that led way to a Big Tailwind, especially the last 20 miles. The riders were almost giddy when they pulled into San Simeon with most saying that this was the best day of the ride. The riders worked hard to ride together to save energy and the inspiring site of Nate Hunt on the R2R USO handcycle along with the constant site of the beautiful landscape kept everyone going. The local NBC station was there to greet Nate as he pulled into the hotel and they also are doing a feature on Sgt. Anthony Brooks from Ft. Eustice. Tony is perhaps the tallest R2R participant, which is saying something. The Ft. Eustice group traveled the furthest to get to California and Sgt. Brooks is their leader here.

Many of the general public riders who have raised money in order to participate supported the warriors as they went up and over the constant undulations of the California coast. One of those couple was former Mercury cycling team member John Peters and his wife Brenda. They are participating in the ride and have never enjoyed riding a bike so much. It was great to see them with Scott and Lisa (also former Mercury staff) chatting about the good old days.

The Biggest difference was that they had more time to prepare coming into the ride. The clinics that were set up at the LA area VAs and Camp Pendleton really seemed to pay off. This program is something that R2R hopes to expand as more funding comes in.

The day was capped off with a dinner next to the ocean that was sponsored by kids from the local high school. Just as they did last year, the kids created their own placemats and posters and put them out throughout the room. They baked dessert and gave the warriors a sense of support that is only going to grow as the riders head off south tomorrow towards Pismo Beach.