Hi blog! The first half of our ride today was pretty chill—Matthew drove the van and everyone else rode their bicycles. Sasha took a little fall and scraped her knee, and I did first aid for her when we stopped for lunch. Fun fact: Sasha has trypophobia and doesn’t enjoy the sight of blood. My next patient was Adam who also took a fall and scraped his elbow. We had turkey sandwiches and mango nectar for lunch, and then Nancy, Daniel, Matty, and I began climbing towards Pollock Pines.
The initial climbs (including a 12%) were fully in the sun so we got toasty pretty fast and stopped at a gas station to get ice water. They had free slushie Friday as well. We also stopped for frozen yogurt where Matthew tried to sample the chocolate but it came out really fast and he didn’t know how to close the valve so a large amount escaped. At the froyo stop, I collected my airpods from the van which made climbing much more enjoyable. Along the way we stumbled across a bike park where Nancy almost died on a treacherous BMX course. Jk, she seemed like a pro except for the "I’m scared… come pick me up 🥺.”
5000 feet later, we arrived at a gorgeous campsite in the redwoods where Sasha was cooking up a scrumptious dinner of chicken sausage and tomato pasta. Adam and I climbed on top of the van so he could show me how to secure the overhead bins with ratchets and how to use net for the cargo bag that carries all of our sleeping stuff (and the meat log). I shared a tent with Sasha and Nancy and we yapped about Nancy’s love life, being sore from biking, and ferrets.
Bonus material: here are my first impressions of our team from week one!
Sasha: full of life, she is super fun to be around and always there for me when I crash out :)
Daniel: millennial energy but very, very kind (ty for always letting me draft you <3)
Nancy: strong af on the bike (but also just a girl), lowk carries our team in terms of bike maintenance 🫶
Adam: route goat, very poetic, super considerate, and makes sure we get out the door in the mornings
Fenet: she has quite the talent for lighting up the room and bringing us joy, even when we are super tired!
Matthew: the giant, an absolute machine on climbs and flats, TDF doesn’t know what’s coming…