So the first three days are down and I am finally getting a chance to bring everyone up to speed. So much has happened from our 4 rookie riders in our group, my knee that has responded well, fun but tough riding and just a great time. And we cannot leave out great food, which is always important, so here we go….
Toughing it Out
Going into this ride I was more than a bit concerned. Typically I would ride at least 300 miles in the spring and as many as 800. This year I had barely 100 miles and my knee has been simply a mess. Lots of swelling and a lack of response to the things that normally work. So, going into Sunday I was simply not sure what I was capable of. Add to that a pretty challenging Sunday ride and you had a recipe for concern.
Well, three days later I can tell you I am simply fine. I rode by myself on Sunday and my teammates gave me a bunch of crap for not riding with them since they never gained ground on me all day. Monday and today (Tuesday) I rode strong with the team but I can tell you for sure that my legs are tired today. Despite that, I am confident I will crush the rest of the week. So, all is good!!
When I get back it will be time to drop 15 pounds and go on a major workout regime to strengthen the muscles supporting the knee. I am pretty confident with the right regime that I can avoid knee replacement so that is the next step.
Cooper Pest is a Big Topic of Conversation
So, as always on the ride we have so many clients and bugs are always a topic. This year, the acquisition of Cooper by Terminix has been a hot topic. It has been awesome to be able to tell the story to our clients on the ride, of why Nik Varty’s team was so interested in us and the awesome challenge my team has been given. Explaining that nothing is changing with our service, our people, our green and our special WOW sauce has been fun. Then when we talk about the faith Nik and his team has put in the Cooper team to help in the transformation of Terminix is even better. Talking about how we will take the Cooper special sauce and inject it into Terminix and watch the outcome is a great story. What I can say is that we have a whole bunch of people who are excited about what the future holds and are happy for the members of the Cooper team.
The HILL
So I have ridden many difficult rides and many difficult hills. Well on Tuesday I met my match and so did 80% of the riders on the ride. I got off my bike 1/3 of the way up the hill, there was no way with the lack of training and my knee that I stood a chance. Good news, of our six riders four also got off their bikes and that never happens. George Rosa, one of our rookies, but no rookie to riding made it all the way to the top with Steve Preville right behind him. As the rest of us struggled to walk up this insane ascent we determined that everyone would remember George getting to the top and Steve would just be an afterthought. We asked ourselves, who stepped on the moon second after Neil Armstrong. Well, with some difficulty we determined it was Buzz Aldrin. So, for here after, George is Neil and poor Steve is Buzz. This is what happens when you ride 80 miles a day!!!
Food
Yes, we are several days into finding great eats. Tonight we went to the Garryowen Irish Pub in Gettysburg and more good eats lined up the rest of the week. So far our food adventures have gone well. Coming in off the 90 degree heat today I walked over to the Friendlies next to our hotel and grabbed a coffee Fribble and a hamburger melt for a snack. If you know me this is why god put us on this earth for snacks like this!! Tomorrow we are going to the Mason Dixon Distillery for my birthday dinner so it should rock.
Gettysburg
So the end of today’s ride went through the Gettysburg battlefield. It has been so many years since my parents took me and it was incredibly the first time as an adult that I have been through. We stopped at Little Round Top overlooking the battlefield and the immensity of the site and the numbers of soldiers lost in the battle is mind boggling. The place oozes with history, monuments and stories. You could spend days here and probably not see everything.
The Team
Our rookies are George Rosa, Bob Nicastro, Jim McKnight and Kathy Billman, who are banging out this ride. George and Bob came to the team through Steve, Jim raised Niall into the nice young man he has become (Jim is the older brother!!) and Kathy comes to us through Jill who we acquired last year. Chris Murphy had to go to Alaska so he is living vicariously through text messages and Beth Caruso needed to man her amazing restaurant in Lambertville, Cafe Galleria (a most go to when you are in Lambertville) so that is our team of seven this year.
The Rest of the Week
Tomorrow we do a loop as we are staying two nights in Gettysburg. Then we ride to Lancaster on Thursday and to Lansdale on Friday. Saturday is the ride from Lansdale back to Quarkerbridge Mall where we arrive on Saturday at 3p to amazing hoopla. If you are in the Lawrenceville area it is worth taking a trip over to the mall to see us come in.
