Crusty Cassette

Hi Everyone,

First of all thank you for keeping me in your prayers and sending good thoughts my way. I feel like I have a guardian Angel watching over me. Time and again things just work out.

I spent 40 min. on an email yesterday and the guy at the 'cafe' shut my computer down when the lady I was with left!

We crossed the Transylanian Alps!!

They looked just like I was in Alaska. About 7 to 8 ,000 ft high. we climbed for about 6,000 ft in 30 K Wow! It took me 3 1/2 hours. I think the last 6 k must have taken an hr in it's self!! wildflowers, waterfalls, streams, and people taking pictures of us kept us some what distracted.

At the top there was a tunnel through the last bit that was 1k long. The night before they put lights on our bikes so the cars could see us. There were supposed to be lights in the tunnel but they weren't working. So it was pitch black when we entered this tunnel and I must have terrible depth perception because I couldn't really tell where the lights were in relation to one another,

Then amid alot of screaming, one light went to the right ( I knew they fell) and the lady in front of me went left to miss her so I went left even harder left and was totally disoriented!! I couldn't tell what was up and down. I fell and Robin behind me had to help me get untangled from my bike and get my feet under me! I can't ever remember being so scared!! (Not Hurt)

Then we had to get back on our bikes and keep going! Of the 4 oldest people on this trip 3 fell. interesting.

I made it down the other side and then we got into rollers with lots of potholes. My knees (which had done fine on the climb) were starting to hurt and a brilliant idea came to me - I'm on vacation! So I had a guide call the van. :-)

I rode 71/2 hours and got 104k. The fastest riders ( Rod and Bob) rode 71/2 K and did the whole 170k!! The next day was the first day I took a ride in the van for the whole day, I needed it.

Most everyone has some aches and pains but they just keep going! Two guys have no feeling in at least 3 fingers. Thanks to my gloves and areo bars my hands are hodling up.

Now we are in Bulgaria. I'm missing breakfast ( there's a real concern that it will be all gone) so got to go.

Love Mom/ Helen

Elaine joined us for her first road ride on the Palouse a couple of Sundays ago. We were skeptical when she said she was planning on doing STP. It Appears she was undaunted by her Palouse experience. And she includes a link to an article about Floyd Landis from the New York Times.

Hi Corrie,

I hope your training for RAPSody is going well. I just wanted to drop a short note to let you know that I finished STP with my friend last weekend.

The ride was superbly organized and the weather couldn't have been better.

It looks like Landis might be out of the running in the Tour, but this was a jaw dropping article for me: What He's Been Pedaling

Elaine

Apparently John didn't get the word that everyone was supposed to let up on me this week. Last week everyone who had a shot at sneaking in a century without me, did so.

So, John gets into the act by doing STP in one day with an ext

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