Monday, July 1st, 2013 @ 9:29PM

Total Time: 4:12.49(About 5.5 hours total)
Miles: 50.37
Avg Speed: 11.9 mph
Max Speed: 42.1 mph
6 days without a flat tire
11 flat tires in
Status: Completed
Rode with: Jeremy and Austin (4 miles)

I haven’t seen stars in the sky since childhood. I think they haven???t been in Medford since the late 90???s. Such a beautiful thing.

Looking back at today???s ride was another easy ride but had its fair share of problems early on. It was an exciting feeling seeing many people who were riding along with our team and I really had a sense of pride because we were all a team. Everybody, the team, the crew really wanted to be perfect.

Going into the ride there were some hiccups. One crew van pointed in a wrong direction and some cyclists wandered in the wrong direction, and another crew van accidentally put the cyclists down a bike path. Luckily, those problems were not terrible and everything turned out smooth.

My personal struggle occurred as I approached Loveland Pass. The route was a 3000 foot climb over the course of 8 miles and the elevation would peak at about 12,000 feet. Going that high up can really take out a lot of energy and that worried me from the start. I was riding with Jeremy again. I enjoyed my experiences with him when we cycled since training day and Kirkwood. Those times I was the one who was able to push him but the tables really turned this time. Not even a half mile going up the incline, I was really exhausted and panted on every push. The feeling was really scary and I was having trouble breathing because the air was thin. Occasionally the lower back caused some problems but it was nothing too severe. There were a few times I was going as slow as 3 mph. My muscles were fine but the air really got to me.

This was possibly the first time I thought my asthma was a problem and I felt foolish for not getting an inhaler just in case. I have never pushed myself as hard as I did on JOH and there were times where I really felt I really pushed those limits. Today???s ride was turning into one of those tougher challenges. Mile 4 on the climb was a crew van. My project manager was there and saw me really gasping for air. He did not know I had asthma until today. Again I was foolish for not telling him (I sensed some frustration in him when I told him I had no inhaler and it was very understandable looking back now) , because I did not think Asthma will be a problem. I try not to make it a factor or place a barrier on myself but at times like this, it really shows up and kicks my ass.

Nick then made me and Jeremy a sweep and had Austin join the pace line. Nick also made me pull to ensure that I dictate the pace, guarantee that a van sees that I was fine, and if I were unable to continue, Jeremy had another member with him to finish the ride. I fid not want to quit since I knew what was going to be on the top, and the rest of the ride was a spectacular downhill. There were many things that kept me motivated on the ride and it really kept me going. I???m normally impatient but JOH truly taught me how to become patient for my climb for 4 miles. As my paceline made it to the top, I started surging and the whole team was cheering us on as well as people on Build America. I was really happy to be done and it was a beautiful feeling to have everybody cheer is on the hard work. We were finally done with climbing hard passes for a long time.

After taking photos on Lovelands Pass, the rest of the ride was a chilly downhill ride. It was also a very fun downhill. As we finished, we lodged at a cabin with does many events for people with disabilities as well as see what the BAM guys were going to do for the week. The team will be spending another day over there and dress up as zombies. Its gonna be fun.

Posted by Reggie Quaye
Categories: Journey of Hope, Philanthropy