I truly can’t believe Day 6 is done already! I am relieved but sad at the same time! Day 6 was epic in many ways. My goal for the day was to stay on top of nutrition and ensure I ate a gu every 30min. I set this goal up because I knew the first hour of our ride would feel very easy. It was a net downhill to Captain Cook. If I wasn’t careful, I knew I would get depleted before our climb out of Captain Cook, and I wanted to ensure I had energy for our QOM up King Kam III. (I really love that climb).
Unfortunately, things went downhill (pardon the pun) as we were heading downhill back into Captain Cook on the main highway. Maya and I came upon Lisa in the middle of the road who had just been hit by a car. Needless to say, it was a scary site to come across. Given the situation, it really turned into a best case scenario: Lisa is not seriously injured. She has 7 stitches in her knee and is banged up on her right hand side. She will be our support crew for the rest of camp- which I know will be challenging for her. Last night, Lisa was already scheming to peddle one legged for the rest of camp! She truly is an Epic Woman!
Maya was also an Epic Woman. She was composed (although she would argue she wasn’t composed), supported her mom, and did everything she could to make her mom comfortable as we waited for the ambulance to arrive.
At the scene of the accident, I took on the role of bossing people around:) I made sure the witnesses and driver stuck around, and I told someone to hold Lisa’s head. I did this in a frenzy, and looking back on it, I am sure that the driver and witnesses weren’t going anywhere!
Speaking of best case scenario: the ambulance station was literally 200m up the road and the hospital was 2 miles down the road. So, Lisa got medical attention very quickly.
Maya joined her mom in the ambulance, and I waited for Etienne to meet me in the van and pick up the bikes. Etienne is the perfect person to chat with at a time like this. Naturally, I was a bit rattled after the accident and wasn’t sure if I was going to get back on the bike. Etienne was supportive, encouraging, and I realized that continuing to spin would be the best way of addressing my fears. So, I finished 90km at a very moderate pace. As I pedaled, I felt gratitude and appreciation for being on my bike. I knew Lisa would want us to to continue doing what we were doing. So, it became a zen bike ride. No high HR. No max watts. No bombing down hills or pinning it up hills. Just spinning by myself, enjoying the views, and being thankful to be able to ride 90km today.