Butts

Day 96. Mill River to Summerside. 45 miles. 5806 TTD. 1700 ft elevation. Weather perfect.

Look closely at Miss Chloe. You’ll see that the bicycle seat is not being used. She’s decided to ride sitting on the bag, which is strapped to the luggage rack. This wasn’t a choice of fun but rather survival. Day two of the long-distance bike ride separates the men from the boys and the women from the girls, but it isn’t so much their strength; it’s their butts.

This was another technique frequently used today. The rider stands, pretending to want to power forward, but in fact, they’re simply dying because their butt hurts so badly.. I would like to be more sympathetic if it weren’t for the fact that I have a hand-sized callus on each butt cheek. It’s callous that I wished I’d known to develop in my elementary school years so as to avoid the wrath of my then principal, Tex Urlab, when the paddle was still permissible. If he struck me now, I would laugh.

The day started with the usual chaos at the Mill River resort. We enjoyed swimming, the hot tub, golf, basketball, and, I think, even some pickleball. But it was time to get on the trail with 45 miles to go before reaching Summerside. It’s always interesting how the kids have no idea where their helmets went. Somehow, we managed to find them all and start down the road.

It’s a curious thing. For some reason, my own children don’t trust me with distance predictions on the ride. Accordingly, they all pulled up their own programs, maps, and apps. It resulted in an occasional hilarious discussion, which some might consider a heated argument if they didn’t know our family. There were also the expected meltdowns as people realized kilometer markings on the trail weren’t the same as the kilometer estimates and that miles weren’t the same as kilometers. It was all fun.

The trail was beautiful. The riding was extremely comfortable on crushed rock and some dirt. Even when the trail broke out into open pasture, it just made the views that much better. Often, the trail ran through beautiful forests or, on either side, along rows of trees that served as wonderful windbreaks.

Everyone was amazing. Kids raced ahead, and I thought they would eventually tire, but most of them pushed on at the front of the pack for the full 45 miles. The real champion, Sawyer, who at 6 years of age, pretty much rode the entire 45 miles. In addition to him, Calvin, Cohen, and Zeke crashed but kept up and never complained. Aurora and Chloe were no less amazing as they powered through 45 miles on their own without complaint. At the front of the pack, as usual, were Ridge, Caleb, and Walker. If we let them go, they would probably have arrived an hour ahead of us. And not to be forgotten, the littles Izzy, Blair, and Eloise soldiered through on the Weehoos, smiling and cheerful. It is an amazing group of people I’m blessed to ride with this week and who will always be my family.

Some of us found a restaurant for lunch. Others ate lunch on the side of the trail after finding food in my favorite restaurant, the local gas station. After lunch, it seemed everyone was more revived and ready to head the rest of the way to Summerside.

Summerside, as previously noted, is likely a misnomer. We enjoyed being at the water’s edge. There was a wonderful place for ice cream. We also had some good lobster-and-bacon sandwiches. However, the waitress let us know that the night we were there was the last night they were open. They were closing for the season. It’s September 2nd. Doesn’t that seem a bit terrifying to be closing two days into September? 🙂

Tomorrow, we will head to Charlottetown on another 45-mile adventure. Hopefully, some of the rear ends will have healed by then or at least partially calloused.