We started out on our first ride on Friday morning. I had ridden this a year ago and thought it was a great 40 mile ride. I remembered a small pioneer town at the end right after the Gunlock Reservoir. Off the ten of us went--several with brand new bikes. We spread out on the road and everything was great right up until mile 20-something where there was no town, only a few houses and a church. (See post: "A Long Time") We (I) had planned to eat lunch at the small town, so we only brought water bottles and they were empty. Everyone was hungry and tired. A lady let us fill up our bottles from her hose and we turned around. Melanie was having trouble with leg cramps and we caught her on the way back and told her we would send Mark and Steve (the fast ones) ahead to get the truck and come back to pick her up.
It was a lovely day and a lovely ride through the Shivwits Indian Reservation and along the Virgin River. There was a restaurant about three miles from home where we had reservations for dinner that night. A few of us thought it might be good to stop there to have our long awaited lunch. Without cell phones to communicate, we wondered how to let everyone know. Stacy and I were riding together ahead of everyone except Mark and Steve (the rescue party). We waited at the turn to inform about lunch. Liz passed us before we decided to have lunch. She was the Everready bunny, the proverbial tortoise, slow but very steady. We saw Ann and Karl and after sending them on to lunch, we decided to go ourselves. As we arrived at the restaurant, we see Mark and Steve and Liz riding up on their bikes. "What in the world?" As it turns out the rescue party got sick--Steve leg cramps and Mark dire hunger and thirst. Mark had stopped to get a drink and Steve passed him without knowing and then stopped by the side of the road to rest. Mark rides up with an ice cold cup of lemonade and he and Steve decide to go back to the restaurant to refresh before continuing on home to get the truck. I loved what Steve said when he looked up and saw Liz riding towards his resting place along the side of the road, "And up comes Liz".
(Side note: Many years ago Liz got lost in an open air market in Jamaica with the same group. As we were all looking for her a native old man who I am sure was high on ganja, said "Liz no lost, no one lost here" in his thick accent. We quote it all the time, especially me and Steve.) By the way, I would not recommend going to Jamaica at all, anytime. But that is a different story for a different day.
Meanwhile, just as the rescue party rides up to the restaurant, we all look down the road to see Melanie and Scott riding quickly up to the lunch spot. They didn't need to be rescued after all. We had a wonderful lunch, all rode home together and came back a few hours later for dinner.
We had so much fun in the big hot tub or spool as we call it, making whirlpools, telling secrets and playing 20 questions. What a fun/funny group of friends we have!
The next day we did a ride up Snow Canyon (5 miles uphill) and then 15 miles downhill which is my favorite ride. My friends were all tired and should not have trusted me after Friday's debacle, but surprisingly, they all followed me again. And it was wonderful! Liz made my day when she said she would follow me anywhere. We sure have had a lot of adventures together.
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