Shalom from Fort Walton Beach Florida, and despite previously writing about never giving up, today I was forced to. The morning started out with the fast group departing thirty minutes after the others, but catching up within an hour. Then the rains came. As you will see in my Day 2 Video, it started as a drizzle, became a downpour, and ended with strong gusts of wind that made each drop sting our bodies as they hit. Road grit kicked up by the rider ahead, further compounded my misery, by finding its way around my glasses and into my eyes. There were times I could barely see. What would you do in this situation? What do our nations veterans do when miserable?
Up until the dreaded decision, you will hear laughing and testosterone filled grunts. The veterans in Project Hero who become overcomers know that what we encounter while exercising, and how we deal with it, dictates how life will fair for us. Many of us had this drilled in our head during military training, and since first cycling with Project Hero in 2012, I have never dropped back from Group 1, nor had to ride any miles in the support vehicles. I was able to keep my internal fight song playing in my head until I heard the sound of a flatted front tire. Ugh. Based on our schedule and my wheel type, the decision was made for me to hop in a truck till the next rest stop.
So I was forced to quit briefly, but the silver lining is I got to share quality time with a friendly staff person. Fair trade, but this time only.
