day five

When we woke in the morning, the room was very humid. Droplets covered the inside of the window. Unfortunately, not a single thing was dry, although some items were close. Putting on wet clothes was nothing new by this time. At least the clothes were clean! We shared a cab back to camp with some other riders in time for breakfast.

This was the hilliest day and we finally got to ride through some of the 500 year-old villages that the French countryside is famous for. While the locals had no idea why all these cyclists were rolling through their streets, they cheered us on. One local farmer ran up to cyclists as they rode by and gave them jars of honey from his bees.

Did I mention that the sun came out? It was fabulous. Finally, after days of rain, we had sun! It even warmed up enough in the middle of the day that I could take my jacket off and just ride in my short sleeved cycling jersey. Since it was July, this is how I thought the whole ride was going to be.

I had passed Sha early in the day, but waited for her at the first rest stop. My shoulders and back were sore and I needed to keep my own pace for the day. She had made a new friend, Chris, who had the same pace she had. They kept each other company as they rode and passed the time making dirty jokes and singing bawdy songs, 80’s hits, and show tunes. This made Sha ever so much happier to be on the road.

It was also the first day that I took it easy a bit, stopping occasionally in a small town to sample the delights at a local patisserie. The pastries that are available on any street corner in France are on par with those of the finest restaurants in the States. Now, whenever I pass a Starbucks or a Dunkin’ Donuts, I think about the fruit tarts and chocolate croissants from France and wish we had them so good and so plentiful here. It’s amazing that the French are so thin given the desserts they eat! I also stopped to see an exquisite church in another small town, complete with intricate reliefs and other carvings, and again at an outdoor cafe where a number of riders had congregated.

It had been a beautiful day and I had taken my time. I also needed to stop and stretch my back quite a bit, as it was very painful. By the time I left the last rest stop, it was almost closing. If I didn’t finish soon, the route would be closed and I would be picked up. I quickly rode the last 10 miles or so to camp.

When I got there, I looked around for Sha. It was so late. I figured that she would have beaten me in, either by passing me on the road or via the bus. Her knee was still in a lot of pain, although the day off helped, and I didn’t know if she would be able to finish the riding for the day. I checked out tent spot, but it wasn’t set up. I looked in the dining tents, the medical tents, and physical therapy. I found lots of our friends and asked them if they had seen her, but no one had. I started to get a little worried, but I knew she would be all right.

While I was setting up the tent, Sha staggered over with one of the biggest smiles I have ever seen. I don’t think I’ve seen her that happy since our wedding. She and Chris had ridden the whole route, and even spent the last 20 miles at a sprint so that they wouldn’t get picked up. She was so proud of herself, and so was I.
Many of our teammates considered Sharona to be a big inspiration. While many riders had not ridden much before training for this ride, they recognized how hard it was for her to overcome the additional burden of the bursitis in her hip and the pain in her knees.

That night was also special in a number of other ways. It was the 4th of July, for one, and there was a wedding in camp. A rider and a crewmember had decided that they wanted to get married on the ride. That night there was a makeshift wedding. One of the Pallotta VP’s officiated, and many riders and crew made up the wedding party. They made costumes out of the shiny Mylar and wore whatever other kooky clothes they had. Initially, some people were very upset about having a straight wedding on the ride. It was viewed as a slap in the face to those gay couples who could not legally do the same. It was handled well. In the ceremony, the Pallotta VP said he hoped and prayed that what were celebrating today for a straight couple would soon be available to everyone.