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I realize this post is way late. Been a hectic week at home and haven’t had the chanc to sit an write since the WAM300 ended.

Sunday was a much better day than Saturday. Still sore from my previous knee troubles, I adjusted my saddle position back slighly and started off a little later than I had planned to. I rode mostly with another Team Alex member, Jeremy. Shortly after the first rest stop, a sprinkling of rain began under some dark clouds. We pulled off so I could put my phone into a bag and don my jacket. My knees were still hurting, but the pain wasn’t getting any worse so I battle on, pushing our pace faster and faster. Early on, we were consistently above 20mph when I was pulling and 18-20mph when he took his turns. The rain came and went very unpredicatbly, when it was gone the sun would be baking hot, when it came it was bitter cold. 20 miles into the day the winds shifted and blew harder, unfortunately it was either a heavy headwind or a perpendicular crosswind and little else. The wind and rain smatterings kept on until the lunch rest stop near mile 45. At lunch, the sun shined brightly and the curbside was lined with wet shoes, insoles, socks, and jackets. I laid my gear out as well hoping for a dry ride after lunch.

During the lunch break, myself and the man behind the @TeamLivingWater Twitter name were interviewed by Make-A-Wish (@MakeAWishMI) as part of the WAM300 documentation on our experience with using Social Media before an during the ride. Check the video out here: http://tinyurl.com/md3de4

Bummer when we left the lunch break I had somehow lost my HeadSweats skull cap and ended up losing my ridig partner when I went looking for it. I thought he had left without me, so I rode hard trying to catch him. Out of steam from the powering through the windy hills 15 miles later I saw him ride past me, skipping the rest stop I was at (whoops!).

The next chunk was rather uneventful, not much for scenary, few riders in sight, lots of singing to myself. When I was at the second to last rest stop and was preparing to saddle back up, I heard a SAG van ask another volunteer if there was anyone needing a ride. I mounted my bike, clipped in and started to get rained on. I rode the stones throw over to the SAG van and asked for a ride, I didn’t feel like riding in the rain and my knees were hurting pretty fiercely by that point. They drove me up to the final rest stop where a group of Team Alex people were congregating to finish the ride together. I opted for a massage on my legs and knees so they left without me.

Back on the bike, I rode full tilt to try and catch them. Hitting top speeds of 28mph in some the flat areas (which is pretty good, especially for going solo and after 70 miles of riding already). I did pass a crash that happened on the very thought provoking Silent Mile. The Silent Mile is 2 miles from the finish where all riders are asked to observe a mile of silent riding as they pass markings of stars, pictures, notes and Teddy Bears of Wish Kids that have passed on but were touched by this wonderful organization. (The crash was a domino of three riders when remounting their bikes after stopping by one of the stars. There were about 15 riders in the group, so I kept riding). I caught the Tram Alex group just as they hit the one mile to go mark and regrouped again. My wife was on her way up to the finish, so I called to see if she was there yet. Unfortunately, the freeway was closed and she was stuck about 45 minutes away. At first I planned to wait for her but I was ready to be done and she OK’d me finishing before she arrived.

The finish line for the WAM300 is incredible. Dubbed the “Hero’s Hurrah” it consists of the hundreds of riders, their families, wish families and wish kids, as well as local observers all cheering you in. Live music, a stage from Radio Disney (which I’m sure te kids love but I could go without), free cotton candy and dinner catered by Caraba’s. Best of all is the “Wish Barn” named because it is a barn at the Chelsea Fairgrounds converted into sections and stages where many of the Wish Kids whose wishes were granted by our ride were at to give the riders medals and hugs for our efforts. The place reeked of cyclist sweat but everyone was smiling. It’s hard to describe the look of appreciation from the Wish Families. They just seem stunned that so many people would go through so much effort in order to help their child. It’s a good feeling to know that I helped. One that I plan to feel over and over as the years go by and I attnd future WAM events.

Ride stats:
Time 4:52:50, avg 16.1mph, max 34.4mph, distance 78.92 mi, climbing 2,585ft, max grade 11% (probably biggest hill I have ever done)