Instant Photo Blog!

High: tumblr.com

Low: 4 miles of Gravel roads today...

So! Thanks to Mary Ellen Hitt, one of the awesome riders on this trip, she's helped me set up a tumblr.com account. Using this account I can instantly send texts & photos to my blog from my phone... but the catch is its a different URL: http://stephaniemcbride.tumblr.com/. BUT it's going to be awesome, because you'll be able to get instant photos and updates on what I'm doing, even if I don't have internet!!! It's going to be more of a photo blog with captions, and I'll keep this one for longer entries that let you know more about what I'm doing and seeing.

Century

High: 115 Miles, & with a good friend from home!

Low: 90 degrees & more...

Since Paris, KY was the last time we talked, I've got a lot of catching up to do! The ride from Flatwoods, KY to Paris, KY was absolutely amazing. 115 miles! Ryan, my friend from Cincinnati, you know who you are, joined us for the day. Even though he dropped me after the first half hour, we got to catch up at the lunches and chat. I learned all about how their graduation went and what everyone back at UC is up to!

Back to the 115... it was easy! Sort of... it was definitely overwhelming at first, but I rode with the meatballs and Connor and Robbie joined along too! We all did a great job of keeping conversation and focusing on small goals to get the 115 under our belt. The first goal was first lunch, then 1,000 mile mark (for the entire trip), then second lunch, then 100 miles (for the day) then the host! (which was a YMCA & pool) Once we were in, many of the riders also worked a lot of donation magic to score some pretty awesome dinner additions, pizza & ham sandwiches! It was delicious and a great end to the day. Everyone's spirits were up because of the great success with donations and the mileage, it's great to have the century under our belts, especially since everyone did it! I'm so proud of all the riders, especially considering the next day was an 85 miler... (my legs were in no good shape...crampy, but it happens!) Oh! And another high for this day, MAIL DROP! I got my camera, and some wonderful surprises from my family and friends :-) thank you guys!!

After Paris, we went to Louisville KY!! This was the 85 miler, very hard day... it was relatively hot and since our legs had done a hundred plus the day before, it was pretty hard to get the 85 done. I had some great motivation though, the following day was a day off! That night the B&B crew did a "Bambi Walk" (pub crawl) down Bardstown Rd and eventually found a karaoke bar! The highlight was probably Shania Twain, "Man I feel like a woman", not sung by the ladies, but the men of the group! Absolutely hilarious. Meatballs pulls a great rendition of Kings of Leon and Kristie, Megan and I did Queen some justice with Bohemian Rhapsody. Excellent night. My mom, dad, sister & Josh all came down to visit with me the next day, after a good sleep in until 11:00 of course. (Which was amazing, especially when I think about tomorrow's 4:30am wake up.....) We went to Za's for some delicious pizza and then the Coco Cafe for amazing ice cream. Another plus to the Louisville overnight, is that it is home to 3 of our riders, so Laura's family hosted an amazing pot luck dinner the night we got in & Chris's family created a wonderful cook out the next night, complete with home made ice cream! Delicious. Props to ya'lls family's for putting on some great meals. (For that matter, thank you to all the hosts!!)

The day from Louisville to Bedford, INDIANA (I can't believe it...) was relatively uneventful for myself (I was in the van) The riders visited Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby! It was also Kristie's birthday too... It's unfortunate that it was so hot though. The riders all took it in stride though, like real champs. That's one cool thing about riding in the van... I think I've mentioned it before (when I watched everyone climb Leadmine Mountain), it's very inspiring to see others bike 80 some miles in 90 some degree heat. Great job you guys! It always makes me excited to tackle the bike the next day.

Speaking of which... today was an amazing day! 45 miles!!!! We had some riders make it into the host before lunch. It was definitely a relaxing day, good weather, not too hot & good company (as always). This afternoon was wonderful too, since we had so much time to ourselves, a lot of the riders, including myself, were able to catch up on miscellaneous chores. Dinner tonight was also a highlight! The Habitat chapter here hosted us at a nearby farmhouse & made us something other than hotdogs and hamburgers! They baked ham in the ground for 24 hours & also served up some delicious pork, noodles & tasty cherry crumble for dessert. We had lots of vegetables (mom!) which were marinated in a korean sauce and basically ate until we couldn't move. The farmhouse was equipped with a pool, which many of the riders took full advantage of as well as hay bales for sitting and football for fun! It was great to see how much pride the host took in his home and his family when he was introducing himself to the riders. He also said some very nice words about the impact that B&B has upon towns, and reminded me (and hopefully some of the riders) why we're doing what we're doing. I'm sure those kind words will get me through tomorrow's ride. Although, I'll also be sweeping with Kevin "Angel Hair" so it should be a great ride anyways.

Bananas: 14 & counting

PB&J: still avoiding these things....

Red Pudding Dessert stuff: 1.5 pounds