Chapter Three
Perfection.
That word described the ride after lunch better than anything else. The clear, blue water along the coastline shimmered in the afternoon sunlight. Jason wished he’d stayed back at the beach for a while longer to enjoy the weather and Ben’s company.
Instead, he clocked miles and stayed in close proximity to his teammates. The terrain was mildly hilly, but the four of them handled it with no problems. He wondered how the afternoon was for Ben and regretted that he hadn’t pushed harder for Ben to leave with the team so he’d have a group.
When the four pulled into the last rest stop, after riding nearly eighty-seven miles for the day, they were tired. The next place they got off their bikes would be at the hotel. That meant showers, dinner, and relaxing. As Jason filled up his water bottles, he spotted Ben. The redhead looked haggard as he dismounted his bike.
A volunteer took Ben’s bike and pointed the way to the porta-potties before also taking his water bottles for filling. The crew always knew exactly what to do when weary riders arrived. As Ben removed his helmet, Jason noticed that even his hair looked tired, as the spikiness from earlier was now plastered to Ben’s skull.
“You holding up okay?” Jason asked as he trotted over and fell in step next to Ben.
“That was the most difficult sixteen miles ever. I thought it would never end.”
“It’s okay. We’re almost home for the day.” Jason put his arm around Ben and gave him a squeeze as they walked.
“Five minutes until this rest stop closes.” The ride’s logistics manager called through a bullhorn so everyone could hear. “You need to be on the road by then or you and your bike will need to get in a van.”
“Shit. Really, five minutes?” Ben sounded defeated.
“It’s okay.” Jason remained chipper. “We can get you back on the road in five. You hit the bathroom, and I’ll grab some food. What do you want?”
Ben sighed. “At this point I’ll take anything.”
He left Ben in the restroom line and went to the food table and gathered up a couple options—a power bar and peanut butter crackers.
“You ready to roll?” Kyle stepped up next to Jason. Diane and Drew were on their bikes already.
“I want to hang back and ride with Ben. He’s running on empty, and I think he could use the support.”
“Then we’ll wait.” Drew was matter-of-fact. “I hated that we left him at lunch.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to hold up everyone from getting in. We’ll make it to the hotel and we can meet up at dinner.”
Kyle shook his head and smiled. “No one left behind. I’ll let them know.” He gestured to Diane and Drew.
Jason nodded and clapped Kyle on the back. “We’ll be ready in a minute.”
Ben wasn’t hard to find. Most people scrambled to ride out while he sat on one of the park benches drinking down Gatorade.
“Hey man, I grabbed a couple of things so you could pick.”
“Thanks, Jay.” Ben took the packet of crackers and ripped into it. “You should get out of here with them. I think I’m going to take the van option. I’m spent.”
He popped two crackers in his mouth and crunched.
“We’re so close. We’ll be at the hotel in no time.” In reality it’d be at least an hour, but Jason didn’t want to make the trip sound daunting. “It really is pretty flat from here.”
“I don’t know if I’ve got it in me. My legs are screaming. Can’t you hear them?” Ben managed a slight grin. “All the miles and hills have slammed into me with a vengeance.”
“You’ve made it this far. And you’ve got us too.” Ben pointed where the rest of the team waited, chatting amongst themselves.
Ben munched and thought.
“The miles go by faster together. Trust me on that.” Jason paused for a moment before making his last comment. He didn’t want to guilt Ben into going, but he also knew the mind game of not keeping to your goal. He wanted to offer options. “I really think you can make your goal to finish.”
“Helping me out twice in one day. I’m going to owe you more than a glass of water.”
“Come on,” Jason nudged Ben in the shoulder. “Finish up and we’ll head out. We’ll meet you by your bike.”
“All right. I’ll do my best to not let you all down.”
“You won’t. No matter what happens. We’ll ride until we’re at the hotel or until we’re picked up because the route closed.”
“Okay. Thanks. I’ll just be a minute.”
Jason left Ben with the power bar and went to gather his bike.
“How’s he doing?” Kyle asked when Jason joined the team.
“Exhausted, but he seemed relieved that he’d keep going.”
“I keep saying, team matters,” Diane chimed in.
By the time helmets and gloves were on, Ben arrived already on his bike and ready. Jason caught the spark of energy in his eyes that hadn’t been there just moments before.
The team fell into their normal positions as they departed the rest stop—Diane and Kyle in front, then Drew.
“Fall in behind Drew and I’ll bring up the rear.” Jason gave Ben the instruction so he wouldn’t have to guess where to put himself in the lineup. Plus, Jason wanted to be in a position to offer encouragement if it was needed.
As they hit the road, the final closing announcement came. There were still some riders getting on their bikes and Jason liked that they weren’t going to be at the very end of the line.
By the time they were halfway to the hotel, they’d passed a half-dozen riders. Jason knew Ben would feel better that there were even more cyclists between them and the rider who served as the caboose for the ride. That meant even less chance they’d end up in a van.
“Okay, this isn’t so bad.” Ben drank while they were stopped at a signal light.
“Right? At this pace, we’ll be done in a half hour or so.”
Drew and Diane kept the pace at the front. Ben got closer to Kyle as the ride continued and Jason stayed near enough to Ben that they could talk if they wanted to.
As they approached their destination, riders who’d come in earlier and crew members were on the roadside pointing the way. With it getting dark, this helped ensure no one missed turns.
“Whoo-hoo! Yay Diane! You made it,” called Michele from one of the corners. “Take the next right and you’re in the hotel driveway.”
“Next stop, a hot shower.” Kyle was loud enough Jason heard him.
Jason smiled and blew a kiss at Michele as he’d passed. They’d made it, and it had taken them only about seventy-five minutes to cover the miles. A huge crowd of riders stood outside the hotel, cheering the arrivals. Jason usually stood in this crowd since the team tended to move faster, but today it felt good to be one of the welcomed at the end of the longest day of the ride. Members of the crew greeted them to whisk their bikes away to the storage area for the evening.
“See, we made it,” Jason said as he and Ben went into the hotel to get their room keys.
“Yes, we did.” Ben put his arm around Jason’s shoulders. Diane, Drew and Kyle fell in step with them. “Thanks. I couldn’t have finished without you guys.”
“You’re more than welcome.” Jason enjoyed Ben’s arm on him. “You’ve got a spot with us at dinner, if you want it.”
“I’d like that. I do owe you a drink after all.” Ben smiled and Jason loved that it was directed at him.
Fun fact: This chapter is taken right out of day two from the first time I did the Northeast AIDS Ride. The ride was so tough. I hadn’t come close to training right for it, but I was slogging through. Still at the last stop before the hotel, I was all kinds of done. Kip and Joey, two of my teammates from The Flying Goats (yes, I was on a team for my first year although I rode much slower than all of them), talked me into going on to finish. The rode with me, generally keeping me between them. We made it to the hotel just before it got dark enough for the route to close and they started pulling riders over to put them into the vans in order to keep them safe. A couple of years later, when I was serving as the caboose for the ride (that’s the designated rider at the end—it’s important to have that so the crew knows where the actual last rider is), I helped another rider get through the day and to the hotel. It’s a profound feeling knowing you’ve helped someone keep the goal that’s important to them. Meanwhile, Kip, Joey and I rode a couple more years together and then did a couple of turns at crew together as well. They are some of my very favorite people that I met in my years on the ride.
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