Carol: So, the ride is over. But, maybe we didn’t reveal absolutely everything about our adventure.
Becky: Well, not because we didn’t want to tell the truth, but because we had relatives and friends that we didn’t want to worry.
Carol: Exactly, like when you didn’t want me to mention that you were sick at the beginning of the ride because you didin’t want your mom to worry.
Becky: Or my kids! That wasn’t quite the beginning I expected for this ride.
Carol: Right, you were so sick with that horrific stomach virus that just wouldn’t let you go. We were concerned that you might not be able to stick with the ride, let alone finish it.
Becky: Yeah, I don’t even remember Idaho. Thank God I brought Steve along. He was supposed to help the team, but it turned out he mostly took care of his wife!
Carol: We were all thankful that Steve was there to deal with you, too. Ahem, I mean, take care of you. Did you know he took this picture of you?
Becky: Not a good day. I had no idea Steve was carrying Mylar in his bike bag (what a good Boy Scout) and it sure came in handy! Fortunately, we had both Don and Kathy Saul driving two SAG trucks during that time. Despite being quite worried that I might have Covid (I didn’t but wasn’t sure then) she donned a mask and took care of me as I slept in the back of her extended cab for two days. That was an act of courage and certainly one of kindness, and I will always be thankful to her for that.
Mary Jo: Then we can’t forget the very first day of the ride, when Carol ordered the gluten free pizza that wasn’t.
Carol: Oh, yeah, that was unpleasant. I was so angry. It wasn’t a good omen, and it was definitely unpleasant riding with stomach cramps that day, for sure. I was glad it wasn’t a 100 mile day.
Mary Jo: Remember the altitude sickness as we cycled into Montana? We were all affected by altitude, but Carol hit a wall with this in Jackson.
Becky: Yeah, Steve was at the restaurant when Carol slumped over and started shaking. He asked me to run to see if there was an EMT in this town of 38 people. Not only was there no EMT, but the closest health clinic was 50 miles away.
Carol: I was not going to the hospital if I could help it. But it was scary when it was happening and not knowing what was going on.
Mary Jo: Well, we were above 8000 feet.
Carol: I had Steve watching over me, making sure I was encased in blankets and drinking lots of tea, and then Kathleen slept with me that night to keep an eye on me. And MK sacrificed her single room (one of her only single rooms of the entire trip!), so that I didn’t have to be carted upstairs in the bunkhouse by the team. Everyone checked on me. A lot. Steve said I had an electrolyte imbalance combined with altitude sickness. He later told me that he heard of this happening to a friend on a different ride, and that person had been med-evacked. So I dodged a bullet, and I only missed one day of riding while I recovered, per my doctor’s recommendation.
Mary Jo: Well, then we got to Yellowstone, and the wind was so strong that Laura was blown over at the top of Sylvan Pass.
Carol: Oh my gosh, that’s right. The wind was so strong those few days! There were gusts above 20 miles an hour. Getting blown over is no small thing!
Becky: And then, just a couple days later, we were all in a pace line out of Greybull enjoying the scenery, and there was a piece of wood on the shoulder. I heard something, looked back and saw Carol on the ground, not moving.
Carol: I never saw the wood. I was just suddenly in the air and had no control over my bike, with no idea what had happened. The next thing I knew, my head was hitting the pavement. I was dizzy and nauseous but otherwise coherent.
Becky: Well, no less coherent than normal.
Carol: Whatever.
Mary Jo: Well, I was really scared. I screamed.
Becky: My heart stopped, honestly. It was so terrible.
Carol: I was lucky. I was banged up and had some whiplash that took a few days to clear up, but I was relieved my bike wasn’t overly damaged in the fall. I got back on the bike in the afternoon to keep my muscles loose, and I think that helped. But I didn’t ride if my neck hurt too much or when the headaches were bad. And, then I got a new helmet a few days later when we got to a bike shop.
Becky: Well, you may have been glad your bike was OK, but we were just relieved that YOU weren’t overly damaged!
Mary Jo: How is it that your bike was fine in that accident but when bumped on the carpet in the hotel room, your hanger gets bent?!
Carol: Carpet is brutal. It just LOOKS soft. Hahaha! I guess I fell on the opposite side of the hanger. The only issues after the fall were my handlebars and seat being bent out of position. At this point, I announced that I was done with the drama on this trip. In particular, drama related to mishaps related to ME! I was super glad to see Web a few days later to help finish putting my bike to rights.
Becky: And you were right, there was no more drama until we got to Deadwood, and we both got heat exhaustion. But we only hopped in the car for the 5 miles to Lead, SD.
Carol, Yeah, and we both got UP the mountain, so we did the hardest part of the ride. The temps on the asphalt that day were well over 100 degrees.
Mary Jo: I think, after that, there weren’t any unreported issues.
Carol: None that I’m aware of. We regularly talked about the sand and gravel, the highways, the potholes, heat, and headwinds in our blog posts.
Becky: We feel so fortunate that we faced no problem that we couldn’t overcome, whether it was sickness, accidents, or mechanical issues.
Mary Jo: And, we’re so grateful for our wonderful camaraderie! It was really a group that was cohesive and supportive of each other.
Carol: The group really gelled, but we weren’t too surprised by that…such good, strong and interesting women!
Mary Jo: And, I’m so grateful to both of you for doing the blog.
Carol and Becky: Well, we’re so grateful to you for doing the laundry!!
Note: The above conversation actually occurred on the way back to Cincinnati from St. Louis.
