Day 1: Louisville or Bust (No Robin, you don’t have to choose)

The essentials:

• 4 cyclists
• 7 bikes
• 28 wheels
• 1 pound of gummy bears
• 1 pound of sweet tarts
• 2 gallons of water
• 2 pounds of bananas
• Unlimited phone minutes
• United States Atlas circa 1999
• Garmin (aka “Jack”)
• Full bellies (thanks to Pancakes by Jason™)

8:15am – Chef Jason, anticipates the arrival of 4 hungry cyclists. He skips the 7am and begins to prepare coffee and a helluva lot of pancakes.

9:00am – Everything but the kitchen sink outside one car. Within 20 minutes, all is packed and we’re ready…9 hours to go.

9:45am – On the road, Vehicle #1 [Leslie and Wendy] leads the pack. Vehicle #2 [Andy and Robin] scopes out the competition.

10:12am – First bathroom stop. Thanks LJ. Make that 9 hours and 7 minutes.

11:30am – Second bathroom stop. Nothing but high class for bike racers in “Wild and Wonderful Virginia.”

1:00pm – Lunch Stop at Panera – Andy makes tactical error of ordering salad to go…. His car is a stick-shift. Eat fast.

3:45pm – While LJ and Andy fill up the gas guzzlers, Robin and Wendy decide to check out the local movie store. Wendy stopped here. Wait. Where’s Robin going? Oh. Wendy misunderstood.

7:10pm – ARRIVAL !! Andy conveniently learns that his Priceline booking for the Hyatt starts on Sunday. He’s homeless Sat night. After he unloads both cars, the girls finally give in. Yes, you can stay in one of the extra bedrooms—just tonight.

8:10pm – Robin, Andy & Wendy go for a quick spin in Louisville, KY. The route is scenic and reminiscent of River Road in Potomac MD. After an hour, the three return home. Tired. Hungry. Mentally and physically exhausted. But feeling really punchy. Leslie is inside watching TV and chillin’. She sees the three walking into the back yard with gardening tools. Leslie is accustomed to random photo ops, so she (wisely) stays inside.

Stay tuned for more adventures on Day 2…