DAY 2 Ride — The Kevin Who Dropped Me 🚴‍♂️ Day two started at 79 degrees, which almost felt cool after yesterday.

My legs did not agree. Today was 64 miles — my first full day of the tour and, if I’m honest, my longest ride ever. Before this trip, I had never ridden more than 20 miles in training. So yes, I was doing math in the parking lot and none of it helped. The morning went fine. Good pace, good legs, everybody loose. Then lunch happened, we got back on the bikes, and Little Kevin decided to remind me that young legs are dangerous. Same name, different engine. That kid played soccer before cycling, and it shows. He climbs like the hill owes him money. I tucked in behind him, trying to draft and save what little pride I had left. Somewhere on those endless rolling hills, he came around me, grinned, and asked, “You good, Kevin?” Coming from a teenager I helped teach to shift gears, that landed different. But in a GOOD way. 😄 Not long after, my legs started cramping and negotiations were over. Little Kevin rolled on at about 27 mph. I settled into what I call “still technically riding.” By the time I got to camp, I was done. Not tired. Done. But we crossed from Alabama into Mississippi today. The Natchez Trace is 444 miles end to end, and that state line picture felt earned. Camp brought its own entertainment: two guys trying to set up a ten-person tent might as well had been NASA dropping off a rocket ship and asking them to assemble it. We helped, which mostly meant giving questionable advice-advice built on experience, mind you. Later, bikers rolled through for the Fourth, and we learned cyclists and motorcyclists complain about weather about the same. That’s the tour. Miles, heat, strangers, stories, and young people showing you what your support built. If you’ve given to Triangle Bikeworks, congratulations — you helped build the kid who dropped me on a Mississippi hill. Help us keep crossing state lines: trianglebikeworks.org 🚴‍♂️❤️