Working out the Kinks

8/18/08
Grand Rapids to Lainsburg
Stats for the Day: 81 miles Avg Speed. 18.6mph. # of Gatorades James drank 7.
Quote of the day: “Would you do the coast to coast ride again?”…….”Well it is kind of like having a baby……..lots of anticipation, but intense moments of pain” from Joy

Our day started from home biking from our house to Calvin leaving at 6:00am. It is a little dark that time in the AM, and were glad to see the sun rise. We then ate breakfast at Calvin and were introduced to the mass feeding process. Interesting fact is that they make everyone wash with Purell hand sanitizer before going through the line. Something for my healthcare friends to think about We rode to a church in Lowell, that fed and hydrated us very well. As we rode we got many compliments on the tandem, and people saying, “Wow you are really fast” “Nice to meet you, we are going to call you tandem”. Of course it helped that we had an awesome tailwind. The riders who started in Seattle said that this was the best day of riding yet, and that they had not experienced a tailwind like this before. What a great way to start. The group is very welcoming and interested in getting to know everyone. We are staying at a State Campground called Sleepy Hollow. We rolled in at about 1:30pm and set up camp. We waited for the semi trucks to roll in with our gear. We helped others set up their tents and then took a nap. For dinner we had a killer stew, salad, and Ice Cream. Some large group meetings and then some small group gatherings. In the tent by 9:00pm. The media truck never came tonight, so I am writing this up tonight with the goal of posting later. First day was great!