Rumble Yell: Discovering America's Biggest Bike Ride by Bruns Brian David
Author:Bruns, Brian David [Bruns, Brian David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: RAGBRAI
Publisher: World Waters Publications
Published: 2013-05-16T00:00:00+00:00
CHAPTER SEVEN
Twister Hill Confessions
The sky was dark when we rose. Our pre-biking rituals were performed quietly, partly due to fatigue that eight hour’s rest had been unable to remedy, and partly because the ambiance demanded it. Far to the east, a strip of sunrise burned brilliant red. We pumped up tires by flashlight, silent, contemplative. Or were those just excuses to stall? Probably.
Aaron and I attached our usual bottle of Gatorade and one of water onto our bikes, then watched with amusement as Cheek wrestled with his poor, abused CamelBak. The holes had enlarged badly, torn during his struggles to remove the thing over sore, thick arms. Were it not for the sipping tube, the bladder would have fallen out entirely. Alas, we didn’t have three bottles of the same Gatorade flavor left, so into the bladder he mixed up a bizarre cocktail of orange, watermelon, and some blue stuff called Glacier Freeze.
“So what’s the plan for today?” I asked, munching on a fat cowboy cookie, provided with love by Aaron’s mom Barbara. Such had been my secret weapon breakfast for the last two days.
“Haul ass,” asserted Cheek.
“It’s going to be longer than the last two days,” Aaron said, squinting at the RAGBRAI guide with his flashlight. “But only 1,787 feet gain. That’s less than half the hills from each of the previous days. But today’s the second longest distance.”
“How long?”
“Seventy-one miles,” he said, nodding to the answering chorus of groans. “It’s also going to be hotter today than before. Dad said yesterday’s warnings were explicit about today being really bad.”
“Home sweet home,” I joked.
“Oh, I should tell, I should tell you I’ve heard there’s a big hill at the end. They say it’s huge.”
“Twister Hill,” Cheek said with a sharp, knowing nod.
“You’ve done it in the past?”
“No,” he said. “Route’s different every year. But I’ve talked to people who’ve done it. It’ll be tough, but we’re tough, too.”
“I don’t know how tough I’ll be at the end of seventy miles cycling on the sun,” Aaron said ominously.
We finally declared war on the road, and Cheek took off like a bullet. Aaron and I rode more or less quietly, soaking up the tranquility of early morning. The air puffed fresh and damp, the clouds purred pinkish-red. Most riders respected the lingering, hushed atmosphere. The dominant sound was the soft whirring of gears. The hour was fairly small, so perhaps most people hadn’t yet fully awakened. Certainly our bodies were slow to do so. After a while they expressed concern over such constant use. Concern we could handle. Rebellion was our worry. A general fatigue had settled into our bones, but our performance was buoyed by expectation of an easier day—barring the cringe-worthy end at Twister Hill, that is. That’s where body rebellion threatened ambush.
In the first town we found Cheek easily. So small was Lidderdale that it took nearly all 186 residents to serve breakfast croissants and fruit at the fire station. Cheek hopped on the road, muffin in mouth, so that Aaron and I need not even slow down.
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