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The following are excerpts from my journal on Day Three.

6/26/99, 6:00 am

Lots more activity in camp this morning. I think people are pretty worried about today. I am! My wrists and ankles top my list of concerns. Today's motto: "spin to win!"

6/26/99, 9:00 pm

I made it. Everyone on our team but Jackie made it today. Today's ride was tough, tough! This was clearly the hardest, most hilly day. It felt like 60 of today's 97 miles were uphill. I went out extremely slow this morning because of my heel, 10 mph. I made myself stay in the middle chainring until Pit 2. At that pit, I asked the Medical Tent for athletic tape and taped my achille's heel; what a difference! I went strong until Pit 5, passing lost of people and taking my average speed from 12 to 15 mph. At lunch, I had to tape my left foot as well and when I got to Pit 5 a Med person noticed my hack job and had me stop and do it the right way. It might have saved me, too.

I ran out of gas halfway to Pit 6, but Carolyn and I rode into camp together to much cheering. I had dinner with the volleyball folks from last night and will exchange numbers tomorrow and hopefully play some ball in the near future. I have very little strength in my right hand and am hoping it's just from gripping too hard and that full functioning comes back soon. I'm wearing "healing" magnets on both my ankles, courtesy of Robert, the Senior Protocol Advisor to President Clinton.

This has been a wonderful, confidence building experience. I had no idea my body could ride 290 miles in 3 days in heat and up hills. I feel strong. I'm really glad to have done this, but I don't think I will do it again.

I am sooooo proud of Kate! I'm proud of all of us, actually, and am happy, too, that Ken found a community. He has "recycled" already (signed up for next year's ride). He also seemed to find a community in the massage tent. I saw him there last night, happy as a clam, handing out and kibitzing with the staff.

This has been a very positive event all around, well-organized, centered on kindness and the motto: "if everyone stopped trying to get ahead, maybe no one would get left behind." That's a great motto for this ride. When it was announced that the last rider was coming into camp tonight, a crowd of a hundred weary riders walked all the way across camp to cheer him in. His chain had broken and he WALKED the last four miles to camp!

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