Ok.... um lets see what I can remember. Day 3 was Quadbuster Day! I met 3 other Velo Girls (see photo) at 7am for a Velo Girls photo shoot.... there were four of us all together: Michelle, Tati, Me and Winnie. Michael waited while we took photos, then together we rode out toward the rolling warm up hills of Quadbuster- he of course dropped me so I hooked up with Makoto and rode the warm up hills with he and Doreen. Soon I was rolling into rest stop one, which is just before the actual climb to the 'buster, directing people to the shorter porta pottie lines and soothing over peoples nerves.... I remember my first time on Quadbuster- I burst into tears at the top of the hill, so relieved that it was over. I think a few people did that this time around as well.
After climbing to the top, I put my bike down and cheered others on and took pictures of riders expressions as they reached the top. (you can see them here )
Donald and Chris decided this was the year they would do Quadbuster twice- and they did- and said that "no it is not any easier than the first time..."LOL!
The hill after Quadbuster is a nice descent, so the three of us road for awhile toward rest stop 2 where we had ice cream (popsicles) then continued on in the heat of the day toward the next rest stop and eventually lunch in Bradley. Before Rest stop 3 we found a post office/ market in a 2 building town (I can't even remember the name of it!) where we ate hawaiian potato chips, sunflower seeds and diet coke! After a brief stop there, it was on to rest stop 3 and more ice cream.... it was the hottest day yet.
In Bradley, we were late enough that they had already run out of burgers, but also late enough that they had already made the next run for food and were re-stocked by the time we arrived.
After stuffing ourselves, we rode on in the heat onto highway 101 (yes, it freaks me out every year!) and to the last rest stop at the Mission whatchamacallit. Sorry, but my now I was so hot and tired that I can't even remember the name of the place, except that RS 4 was the "After prom party" with pregnant homecoming queen and all. :-)
On to Paso Robles... the last stretch is a short climb then on to rolling hills toward the fairgrounds. At one point in the road, there was orange spray paint, pointing out a gnarly pothole that was like a moon crater and we needed to avoid. I found out later that day the pothole was not marked, until after Michael crashed into it.... OW OW OW.
I rolled into bike parking, parked and headed toward the tent where I was so happy that Michael had made it in before me and had set up the tent. That was when he walked up (limped up) and told me that he had crashed.
His right arm was bandaged after getting 2 stitches, and his right hip was swelled up so badly, I thought that it had been bandaged too because it was soooo huge compared to the other side.
I had decided that I would not Princess in Paso Robles, but it turned out that Yoichi was princessing and invited Michael to stay in the hotel room to be a bit more comfortable. Michael took him up on the offer, and I called trusty Ken Gaskins (SAG driver extraordinaire) to please give him a lift.
It's no fun staying in a tent by yourself overnight. Even though I had Charlie and Mark to keep me company next door- it took awhile to fall asleep...
On day 3 I actually was on the road for 10 hours! However only 5 hours and 20 minutes of that was actually cycling! The rest of the time it was socializing and eating!
Day 4: Paso Robles to Santa Maria. Evil Twins Day. Cartman Jersey Day.
I awoke early to get coffee, breakfast and take down the tent. Michael came back from his hotel stay and I helped him pack up his bag and dragged it to the gear trucks for him. He was obviously going to SAG today, as he was put on medical hold by the Medical Team because of his injuries.
About 2 months ago, I sent out an email and posted a message on the forum to invite people to wear the Cartman jersey. The back of the jersey says "Man, You Guys Suck!" which is about what you're thinking as you climb the Evil Twins on this day. I think about 40 people wore the jersey that day, and I got pictures of a few of them here
The road over the Evil Twins also takes you to the Halfway to LA point. Here, 7 of us got together to pose in our evil twin Cartman Jerseys:
<------Charlie, John, Lorenzo, Julie, Carl, Bill and Wayne looking evil.
It-was soo much fun- people kept asking us where we got the jerseys, and all I could say was "didn't you get the memo?"
So onward down toward Hwy 1 we rolled, and on to Rest Stop 2 which is right along the ocean. After a short break there, we continued on to Cayucos where we stopped for coffee and a danish... then of course lunch and RS 3. Afterwards it was a nice ride to Pismo Beach where we stopped for our traditional coffee and fresh baked cinnamon rolls with icing. yum!
That was just enough sugar and caffeine to get us over the last big hill and through the cross winds as we made our way toward RS 4. As we approached RS 4, Chris and I decided to skip it and ride on, since it seemed as if the winds were getting stronger. One quick turn and the wind was at our backs, blowing us along toward camp. WOO HOO! Day 4 was a Princess Night, Michael and I stayed at the Holiday Inn Santa Maria. SAG driver Ken was rewarded with a stay on the roll out sofa and a bathroom of porcelain for helping us out the night before.
The next day was Red Dress Day. You can imagine what that was like!
