POST BRAN: Day 6, Part 1

Day 6 was just under 70 miles, FLAT, and sunny. We started in Fullerton and finished in Brainard.

I decided to do things a bit differently on Friday. I slept in late, woke up, got dressed in normal clothes (not spandex), and walked around camp for a while. I also walked into town while everyone was hitting the road. The plan was to relax and I did just that. At around 9:00 I met Tim and Dan, from Bike Masters, at the local bar and grill for breakfast. We took our time and after breakfast I headed back to camp to pack and get ready to ride.

Tim also got changed and we hit the road at around 10:30. Some of the other riders were probably already pulling into Brainard by this time. Tim and I were the last two riders to leave Fullerton, and we had the road all to ourselves for the first half of the ride.

This had to be one of my favorite days. The pace was comfortable, the weather awesome, the roads were flat, and the company and conversation were top notch. If you haven't met Tim (one of the mechanics at Bike Masters) then you need to stop by and say hello. He is one of those truly genuine and unique folks that are so fun to talk to, and he's the only person I know that can say "I need to stop and take a wee wee." with a strait face. We spent a good portion of our ride talking about relationships, priorities, self evaluation, and other deep topics. The second half of the ride we just rode in silence and enjoyed the ride.

A couple memorable moments on this ride were:

• Catching up to Dale pulling his loaded BOB trailer. Dale rode unsupported just to see if he could.
• The sun-warmed apple at SAG 3. That was unexpected and delicious. Who would have thought a warm apple could taste so good.
• The cookies in Shelby (I think it was Shelby).
• Running into the Bike Masters team (all showered and well fed) at the Big Red Bar right as we pulled into town.
• The AMAZING burger and and fries I had at the Big Red Bar (I think that's the name) when Tim and I got to Brainard.
• The applause I got from Kim, Mark, Phil, and Tony when I was the last person to roll into camp. They were all showered by the time I got there.
• The amazing steak sandwich a few hours later.
• The awards ceremony and hanging out with a few people that Mark introduced us to.
• Just walking around town on my own, and saying hello to other people on BRAN that I had met during the week.

Brainard did a great job of organizing all the events and help that they provided for us on Friday. They even had live music for us to enjoy along with transportation into town, and free swimming pool access. The food they cooked up for us was top notch (notch... like the notch I had to loosen up on my belt after eating way too much).

Tim... Did I mention Tim doesn't even own a car? Any guesses on how he gets to work YEAR ROUND?

Some of the Bike Masters team Me making excuses for getting into town so late
Dale and Family... Dale did 6 days of the ride pulling a trailer and with no SAG support