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Day 32
Mapleton, PA to Hummelstown, PA - 90 Miles
6600 foot climb
The ups and downs...
Last night, I felt so down, so sad because of missing my family. At this point in the tour, especially knowing how everyone is looking forward to Ocean City and their reunions with their families, I feel a bit empty. There is a touch of dread, actually, in the moment where everyone hugs, greets and reunites with their families because my reunion with Annamaria won’t happen until a few days later.
This morning we had breakfast at a great little cafe and I interviewed Chris’ mom (Christina). She had gastroplasty (sp?) surgery a few years back to try to deal with her obesity. She developed a blood clot in her leg that moved to her heart not long after the surgery. She also suffered a stroke from a fall in her back yard where she damaged a piece of her lower brain cord. She is still overweight today, though she has lost about 80 pounds. Through all her difficulties, people have asked her if what she has gone through has been worth it -- not having lost the weight she hoped to and suffering as she has. She says she doesn’t think she’d even be here today if she didn’t have the surgery. Chris, an only child, is a major influence and inspiration in her life. She speaks very frankly of the difficulties she has in accepting his advice, then says a few days after hearing what he says, she often reconsiders her resistance and is ready to try.
Just the time since the tour has begun she has lost 15 pounds.
LATER...
The first crash. Raul went down. It happened very quickly. We were past the halfway point for the day and in a nearly exuberant place as we had defeated two of our toughest hills on the tour, back to back 1000 foot climbs at a 10% grade. These are our last real hills of the tour and this made the end feel closer than ever. “We did it:” my mind rang out over and over again. We also narrowly avoided a thunderstorm -- literally outriding it. Everything seemed to be breaking our way.
We were sharing the lead, pulling the group along and doing a good job of keeping together. Raul had mentioned how tired he was at our last SAG stop. He apparently said to Geoff (in jest) “that’s it. We don’t need to ride any more after those hills.”
Bernie and I were heading to the front. It was my turn to pull. Raul had just finished a typically strong effort. Not more than 5 seconds after I passed him, I heard some shouts behind me. I looked back just in time to see Raul start to flip over his handle bars. Actually, I didn’t know it was him at first. For some reason, my first thought was that it was Gary. Raul actually seemed to be the least likely candidate because of his experience. I got back to him in a hurry and cars and neighbors lined up all around him. He was face down on the pavement. He responded, but not coherently.
“Do you want me to call an ambulance?” one man asked.
I told him to give us a moment to assess the situation. A neighbor went ahead and called anyway. It was a good move. After about two minutes, Raul slowly turned over to sit on his butt. He wanted to get up, but we kept him down for a minute, making sure the basics were all there. The police, fire department and ambulances showed up. They were excellent.
As it turned out, Raul’s helmet probably saved his life. Geoff and Gary, both of whom were behind him, saw him skid on his helmet for about 10 feet as he went down. He had road rash on his hip and shoulder and some minor cuts on his face and arm. We went to the hospital in an ambulance and by then the situation had been calmed. The medics had a good sense of humor. Geoff and I rode with Raul. I filmed it.
It’s a strange place to be as a journalist and some would say my position is cold or uncaring. It is not my job to judge a situation, only to capture it. Often people are uncomfortable with a camera being present in difficult situations. If I only filmed the happy times, it wouldn’t make for much of a movie. Why? Because life isn’t just happy. There are crashes. There is pain. There are tears. There is anger. It all goes in. Not good or bad -- just as it is.
Truth be told, I sometimes have a hard time filming these situations. I didn’t get out on the street yesterday like I should have when Gary was riding on his own through the storm and Geoff tried to stop him. I think I was afraid of another blowup like Gary threw at me in Arizona. At any rate, I was kicking myself a bit for not being brave enough to brave that and capture what needed to be captured. It’s hard to walk into the dragon’s lair -- especially when he’s blowing smoke already.
Raul was treated with three staples in his head and given a tetnis shot. We scrapped the rest of today’s ride. Geoff told Raul he could have just said he didn’t want to ride anymore today -- no need for the theatrics.
We’re off to a hotel in Hershey where we will meet another friend of Gary’s who will be with us for the last two ride days. I don’t know how much he’s going to ride. After today’s accident, I’m going to recommend not much as Gary has said he’s not very experiienced. The last thing we need is another accident. Though we feel very good about what we’ve accomplished, the road is still the road -- dangerous if you do not pay it complete respect.
LATER...
I did get a small taste of home tonight and it made me very happy: we ate at Fuddruckers, a hamburger joint that I worked at for my first job. It’s a place I go to almost every time I head back to the Bay Area and have never had a bad meal at. I had a veggie burger, a delicious salad and splurged on some fudd fries (a true rarity for me).
We’re on to our 2nd to last ride tomorrow. Again...amazing just to look at. Though I thought we had completed the worst of it, there’s still a pretty good climb, not to mention 92 miles to knock down tomorrow. It is what it is. The worst thing going for me right now is my groing. The rash is nearly unbearable. The only thing that will take care of it? Time (though I am ready to give the Atlantic Ocean a shot when we arrive on Saturday. SATURDAY!!!).
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