Day 66 - Shredding with Austin

As I pedaled strongly into the cool Idaho morning, I knew my legs were feeling great. There are some days on Bike and Build when your muscles are so torn up from biking everyday that even when they're "fresh" in the morning, they still feel like you've just ridden a century on them. Today was not one of those days for me. I felt the power in my legs as they churned the pedals, eating up the pavement and spitting it back down behind me. 

I rode with Austin and we chatted about our high school days and our childhoods. He was particularly excited because our route passed through Boise today, his hometown. As we drew nearer to the city, his face lit up as he recognized the roads that he had driven on for years. However with familiarity came anxiety. He was on the verge of breaking the Bike and Build "bubble" and his two worlds were about to mix together. I could not imagine what it would feel like to ride through my hometown during Bike and Build. It would be overwhelming. 

As we pulled into town, Austin gave me the grand tour of his college campus, Boise State University. We even snuck into the stadium and got some pictures d the smurf turf before we were asked to leave. 

Standing on the field!

Then we met up with some of his family and friends who had come out to greet him and the rest of the riders. It was really fun to meet some new people and to tell them stories about the trip. It must have been pretty surreal to see them!

Mandy, Alex, and Austin reunited!

Austin spent a lot of time catching up and soon time had grown short. We needed to continue the ride before it got too late. The weather had heated up considerably and we still had almost 40 miles to go. We went to a bike shop to pick up a couple tires because his had blown out yesterday. Unfortunately, we ran into some issues when he went to change his flat. The new tube exploded with a noise like a gunshot less than a mile after it was installed. The next tube he used had a hole in it. Finally, after three tries, the last tube remained inflated and we picked up Dan, Rae, Kevin, and Laini and continued our journey.

We burned through the last 40 miles like nothing. Even with a slight headwind, we were able to average about 20 mph for the duration of the ride. Our legs felt amazing and it was great to be able to cover so much difference in a short period of time!

Tonight, some of us went to a bar nearby to watch Austin's parents' band play a gig. Us underaged kids went to a local fair and had a great time screaming our lungs out on some rides. It was a great time! I haven't been to the carnival for years and years. It definitely brought me back to my junior high days!

We managed to DM a ride back to the church because a kind woman picked us up and drove us. To avoid the two mile walk back in the dark, we wandered around parking lots looking for friendly people who might give us a lift. We talked all about Bike and Build to this woman and her daughter and they both were intrigued! There are so many kind people out there!

Tomorrow is an easy 42 mile day. Most everyone wants to take it as fast as possible so they can get in and relax! I am thinking that I will do the same thing! Hopefully my legs will feel as good tomorrow as they did today!