ALS Fact: Eventually, people with ALS become unable to stand or walk, get in or out of bed on their own, use their hands and arms, or breathe on their own. Because they usually remain able to reason, remember, and understand, they are aware of their progressive loss of function. This can cause anxiety and depression in the person with ALS and their loved ones.
After a somewhat leisurely start to the day with wonderful coffee and breakfast, the group that stayed with the Leightons made their way around the lake back to David and Claire’s house. With a cold wind blowing, clouds increasing and showers threatening, we began to fill our bike tires with air, our water bottles with hydration of various sorts and debated about how many layers to keep on or take off. This is common for cyclists!
At 9:30 am, Katie Delaney, a reporter for the morning news with Maine News Central, channel 6 showed up to interview us and to film our start. I’m not sure if we will ever see a clip although Doug said that Katie told him it should be aired tomorrow morning. Media coverage certainly helps us meet one of our goals of increasing awareness of this disease so thank you Katie!
We eventually jumped into the saddles and were on our way around 10:20am. The two private dirt roads leading from the Behren’s home to the main road were not at all difficult to navigate and we soon settled into a comfortable pace. Sixteen riders total and 5 support vehicles packed to the gills with luggage, snacks, bike supplies etc. It was a beautiful morning with certainly some hefty climbs but it seemed like we made it to the first water stop in short order. The first oops occurred during one of the more steep climbs when I dropped my chain. I pulled over and fixed it in short order and was back to climbing in no time albeit a bit greasy on the fingers.
The next oops happened a few miles more down the road as Barb had a flat tire. Her pit crew kicked into gear and had the tire back on the bike fairly quickly. She reached into her back pocket for her pump only to realize she was carrying a banana not her portable pump! To our knowledge, a banana has never been too helpful in pumping up a flat tire. Although many of us had portable pumps that would have worked, Bruce soon arrived with a floor pump and once again, we were back in business.
The LG’s, true to form, made it to the first water stop before us and had set up a wonderful rest stop, complete with signs made by ALS One, our banner hanging proudly and a shady picnic table with food and drinks. All seemed right with the world until the last of the riders pulled in and we realized we were missing Weezie. This was our next oops of the day! Bruce, Weezie’s husband, was the sweeper for the day, bringing up the rear in the final support vehicle. Although he did not have Weezie in sight, he had spoken to her and thought he would reach her within 3-5 minutes. He did not… As the minutes ticked by, and we still had no idea where she was, a few of us began to worry. Again, Bruce, who continued to be able to talk to Weezie via phone wasn’t worried and eventually deduced that she must have taken a wrong turn and was already well beyond the 2nd planned rest stop traveling along route 26. Clearly, this was not ideal but at least we knew she was safe. When she realized she was significantly ahead of us, she stopped at a little yard sale along the way and waited for us to find her.
Heading out of the first water stop, we had our last oops of the day. Kevin and I, Dolly, were slowly gathering our bikes when we heard a pop. Kevin looked down and realized he had broken a spoke. Unbeknownst to me, I guess you can tape a broken spoke and still ride. Ben happened to have some blue painters tape and with a quick patch job, we were back on the route and on a mission to find Weezie!
The second rest stop was at a small convenience store just outside of Gray, Maine. The LG’s set up another wonderful spread and the saga of “Where’s Weezie” continued. Bruce, now fairly certain of her location, grabbed a sandwich and some munchies for her and headed out in his support vehicle determined to track her down. He was successful! The rest of us, after pulling a multitude of ticks off us at the water stop, decided it was time to hit the road once again.
Kevin and Tiernan, being more familiar with the Portland area, called a bit of an audible and rerouted us to a more coastal scenic route. We did come upon Weezie and Bruce a few more miles down the road and the crew was once again reunited as we made our way to the Black Elephant Hostel.
The Black Elephant Hostel is a unique and funky little place right in downtown Portland. The 4 married couples shared a pretty small room with 4 full size bunk beds. The rest of the crew ended up on the second floor in a couple of larger rooms. It will be interesting to see who is able to sleep tonight. There is a bottle of free ear plugs at the front desk. Excellent customer service. We were able to park our bikes in the courtyard which serves as the cannabis patio - no tobacco products allowed. Steve was able to double lock the gates in an effort to provide greater protection for our bikes. There is a lot of money parked in this back cannabis garden and we are just hoping that the hosts' assurances that the bikes will be fine will be accurate!
We had an early reservation at Flatbread which was a short walk from the Hostel. Dinner was delicious and the friendship was fabulous. Shannon had left the crew earlier in the day as she was being honored at Fenway Park as a part of the MBA’s honoring of Lou Gehrig. Ashley Corbin was so kind to Facetime us so that we could all see Shannon and her family on the field. Although we could not hear the audio at all, Ashley told us that Shannon had written about our ride in her bio that was read over the loud speaker when she was introduced. How fun for Shannon and her family!
It will most likely be an early bedtime for most of us as we gear up for a 55 mile day tomorrow.
Thanks for checking in on us and supporting our efforts!
With hope and gratitude,
Dolly