The Middle 70 of the 230...

The 2nd Ride, the rather infamous Tour Of The Unknown Coast! This year the ride fell on May 11th, my little Talin's 2nd birthday. We made it home by the afternoon but most of his day was spent with me pedaling and Talin doing some serious play time with his super wonderful Dad and brother ;-) I figured that T and I swapped days this year, I spent May 11th riding my bike as my Mother's Day treat and he got his ice cream party on Mother's Day Sunday. Well, whatever the date was, this was a GREAT ride! This is our hometown ride, starting in Ferndale which is 20 miles south of Eureka.
This year I was lucky enough to do it with my Dad and his good Eugene, OR friend Rob.

My Dad, in front, and Rob, enjoying the first 10 miles

Cresting the first of three "sisters" or hills. Short but steep!

 We did the metric century through the beautiful redwoods, along the Eel River, and even added on a few miles to make it an even 70.

 

Those two pieces of wire are NOT supposed to be there....

During the "extra" miles I even decided to make it a bit more exciting and break two spokes during some massive potholes which shook my frame pump loose, throwing it into my front wheel, and causing the entire thing to make a loud crack and shatter over the road. A bit dramatic for the middle of nowhere which is where we were and needless to say my Dad was a bit surprised I was still sitting on the bike and hadn't been thrown off of it! (Thank goodness!)

Dad, making it all better :-)

So, shortly there after, my McGiver Dad expertly fixed my wheel, even with two broken spokes, and got the big bend out of it, at least so I could make it home. We were lucky enough to have a tandem biker loan us his spoke wrench as well.
This ride includes amazing scenery through my home town "area" which is awesome to show off to friends and family.
Equally as amazing was the fact that I got to share it with my own father. We had a great time riding fast, with me drafting off of him, (he is FAST!) through the tallest trees you could imagine.
Very incredible.
We all made it home through a pretty good headwind to a great meal with the other finishers. It's always so satisfying to chow down and share stories with other riders about what they exactly went through during the day. It really is all an adventure. Looking forward to more great rides with my dear 'ol Dad, (and dear FAST Dad!)