Stage 3 – 165km Done
It was a boiling hot day today for the 165km (was supposed to be 150km) stage. The terrain was flat so there was nothing too exciting to report. Everybody on our team finished in their respective packs.
I did manage to survive my first real bike crash today. A rider crashed in front of me in a construction zone and unfortunately when I went to miss him I jumped up a uneven amount of pavement and landed square on my hip (must protect the bike). I managed to get back up and despite being dizzy (from the heat and the crash) I managed to get back on my bike and start pedaling like crazy to try to catch the pack. I was fortunate that it was not a ‘fast time’ and I was able to catch up to the group after the crash. After expending so much energy trying to catch them, I was digging in my pocket to get a power gel only to realize that when I crashed I lost my phone/pump/all my food and gels. So here I was sitting in the peleton happily again however with no food and 80km to go I would never survive. I started a charity drive for gels and quickly rounded up enough energy to finish the day. I have a couple patches of road rash to remind me of this crash.
The nice people who organized the tour found my pump/phone and money and returned them to me at the end of the day. It was a killer day.
Tomorrow is the 150km hill stage…..should be fun. Legs tired and hurting.
Date: May 4, 2010
Categories: Tour of Friendship 2010
