Today was a great day. Yes, I am still in a large amount of pain from the crash. Yes, I had to modify the amount I was able to ride. But I was able to ride. That was all I wanted. We decided to give me a good test but not push things too hard in case I wasn't strong enough to push very far. We started at what would have been my lunch stop on the Timber Creek Bridge in Sayre, OK and pushed on from there. It was mostly up hill but not too steep so I just lowered my gears and pushed on.
It took a couple hours to reach the first stop in Erick, OK where we paused for a couple pictures of a now closed antique store. While walking around we met a couple women who were driving from Missouri to Albuquerque, NM for the hot air balloon festival this weekend. I began talking to them about the ride after they asked about the car and one of the ladies told us about her son who was in the Army and struggled with PTSD. He went into a counseling program and was able to make great strides but she understood why the mission was so important to me and decided to make a $25 donation for the charities. I got a picture with her and wished her well, fighting back grateful tears as we all said our goodbyes.
We moved on, riding on a frontage road along the side of the highway and I had to face the first large hill since my crash. I was nervous but I forced myself to go down it and ride like I normally would, aware of my speed and the road but I didn't let myself crawl down it. I wanted the momentum because I knew I had a steep climb on the opposite side. We had to stop along the side for some water and a quick rest because I was starting to hurt but we were less than 10 miles from the end so I kept going.
We had looked up where our hotel was and where the stopping point was located and it happened that I rode past the hotel we are staying at to go a block further to the Blarney Inn. We checked in and the hotel manager gave us a huge room so we could fit all of our bikes and gear in which we are extremely grateful they did. Tomorrow we will be heading to Amarillo and I am aching but looking forward to continuing my journey and my healing. I am also excited that my husband will be flying into Amarillo so he will be joining the ride tomorrow and will be able to help with getting even more amazing pictures and videos, being a support morally, and also enjoying the trip with us!
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