The Last Two Days of McBRAAM

I flew to Atlanta last Wednesday to be reunited with my cycling husband!  Twenty six days apart is the longest we have ever gone in our marriage.  To say that I missed him would be a gross understatement, but I'm so glad that Les, Lance, and Pops had this amazing trip of a lifetime together!

It was dinner time by the time I made it to Perry, Georgia.  I made a quick stop at the hotel then met them at Rusty's in the middle of their dinner.  I spent Thursday and Friday playing SAG - Support and Gear - with Mr. SAGMan.  Here's a sampling of how the days played out:

6:00-6:30 a.m. - Up and at 'em! (this hurt, because it was 3:00 a.m. California time.) 
Breakfast time at the hotel.  Les and Lance fueled up with oatmeal, waffles, eggs, coffee, juice, milk, yogurt and fruit.  SAGMan headed to the ice machine to fill the ice chest that had accompanied them on the journey.  Water bottles were filled and the van was reloaded.

7:00 a.m - Final pre-ride check-in.
Short devotion and prayer led by SAGMan.  This was an important part of each day.  It lasted about five minutes, but each day the three of them focused on thanks for safety so far and continued safety for that day.

7:30 a.m. - Roll out!
Les and Lance would start riding.  SAGMan would drive 15-20 miles down the road to a predetermined location.  I followed in my rental car on Thursday and led the way on Friday.  We would ride and wait, ride and wait.  Surprisingly, we really didn't wait that long.  We all have Life360 on our phones - Les' phone was in the SAGWagon, Lance had his phone in his jersey and I had mine with me.  I had watched their progress from afar for 26 stages and it was cool to see them so close.  Les and Lance would get more water for their water bottles, eat a snack, take off jackets, tell us our next stop, and roll out again.

2:00 - Final check-in
When the guys had about 15 miles of riding left they would have one final check-in with Pops.  At that point Pops would head to the chosen hotel for the night (typically Days Inn or something similar.)  He would get checked in and bring in the bags they would all need for the evening/next day.

3:00-4:00 p.m. - Roll in
As soon as the guys got to the hotel they would do three things:  start re-fueling, shower, and upload their data.

5:30 p.m. - Dinner
Les was very consistent with what he ate most nights - chicken, pasta, pizza.  They stayed away from fried foods and heavy meat.  They needed a good balance of protein to recover and carbs to fuel the next day.

7:30 p.m. - Nightly Prep
Bikes were checked, tires pumped, water bottles cleaned.  Les would write his nightly blog.  Bedtime snack.

9:30-10:00 p.m. - Lights Out

They did this for 28 days.  Some days the miles were longer than others, but they rode every single day for 28 days.  Remarkably, they didn't have any mechanical issues and they didn't get rained on a single time!

Friday afternoon was so exciting.  Les and I had plans to stay on Tybee Island for a couple of nights while Lance and Pops were going to drive back to Cookeville, Tennessee.  I checked in to the Admiral's Inn, then Pops and I wandered around waiting for the triumphant entry.  I'll write a separate post about Tybee Island - it's a cool place!

Right about 3:00 p.m. on Friday, October 27th, Les and Lance made their final left turn from Butler Avenue on to 16th Street.  They rode the Strand Avenue traffic circle where Pops and I had a small group waiting.  (I attracted a bit of attention standing on a bench, hollering, with two phones in my hand - one for pictures and one for video!)

Les took his shoes and socks off and walked right on to the beach and into the ocean carrying his bike!  It was such a cool moment - I am SO glad I was there!  So much happiness with these three.

After several more minutes of savoring the accomplishment we headed to the hotel.  Lance took a quick shower and Les unloaded his things from the van.  We borrowed one of Pops' suitcases to bring home with us - Les had put some supplies in the rental van in boxes and we needed a way to get things home.

The final moments before Lance and Pops drove away were so sweet.  We stood by the van and gave thanks to God for such an amazing journey.  I listened as these three men shared final words after 28 days of constant contact.  It's pretty cool when you love your family as much as these three do.