A long day and a lot of fun

Yesterday, as I mentioned, was a 120 miles day, which is tied for our longest day of the trip. This one felt a lot longer though because it was hilly with up to 13 percent grade at points. You know what though? It was a really fun day. Dan and I rode together for the first half of the day. We got to 70 miles, for lunch around 1:00, and Stuart was about 20 miles behind. He had been riding with Fiona who had 3 flat tires. She was brought up to the front with the van, but Stuart wanted to ride all the miles, which, I can completely understand. Dan suggested that he and I wait for Stuart to catch up and ride the last 50 miles with him. So we talked to Bryan and did that. With about 30 miles to go, my chain started to fall apart. So we took 30 minutes to take a second link out of my basically brand new chain. But it's still working…

The three of use ended up not getting into Newcomb until 7:25. It was definitely a great opportunity to ride with the guys and really neat to ride that late into the evening, when the sun was starting to set and the air was cooler.

Through the situation with my chain, though, we found some great application for Ecclesiastes 4:12. Although an assailant may overpower one person, two can withstand him. Moreover, a three-stranded cord is not quickly broken.

When I realized my chain was having trouble I had stopped to take a picture and was a bit behind Stuart and Dan. I set my bike down and looked at it thinking I'd be able to just push the rivet back into the link. But, I found that wasn't going to work. So, I flagged down a vehicle and asked the gentleman to drive up and have the guys come back to help me. Between the three of us, we had the tools and the knowledge that was necessary to get the job done.

Tomorrow, the team will be leaving NY, headed to Rochester, VT. Until then we are enjoying our day of rest, watching the Olympics, napping, cleaning bikes and enjoying the company of our hosts.