Life is full of tough decisions
Hey y’all, this is Brent. A lot has happened since our last post so
it’s time to get you caught up. I’m
going to start today off with some awesome news, follow that up with some not
so exciting news and then close the post out telling you about some awesome
people we have met along the way.
To kick it off with the awesome
news, we summited our 3rd high point today when we reached the top
of Brasstown Bald, Georgia. It was a
great ride. The ten mile ride to the
summit was steep like the others, but much shorter than Sassafras or
Clingmans. It still got our hearts
pumpin and there was one short spot we had to walk. Once we reached the summit parking lot we
still had 6/10th’s of a mile to hike to the summit and just like
Clingmans it was super cloudy. Check out
this pic where you could hardly see the observation tower a stone’s throw
away. We chatted with the volunteer
rangers and they showed us the geological marker for the high point, which was
hidden behind a door. (Not sure why they
put it there, maybe to keep it from being stolen. Once we got to the observation tower, the
skies cleared a bit, so we got some decent pics. Even through the clouds it was a beautiful
sight.
Now come’s the not so exciting
news. If you follow our Facebook and
Twitter, you know that my achilles have been bothering me. Well, even after our rest days, they were
still sore, particularly shooting pains when going down stairs. So, after Brasstown Bald, I took a trip to
the local Orthopedic Group. I had done a
good deal of research. But wanted to get a professionals opinion. Sure enough, I have achilles tendonitis due
to overuse. The doctor said he would
like to see a week off minimum and would rather see two weeks to a month and
rest and rehabilitation. He said
continuing to ride at the pace we have been going could result in some long
term issues.
This is not what I wanted to
hear…but it is what I expected to hear.
I tried to convince myself we are riding into easier terrain and I could
just not pedal as hard. Then once we
make it to Missouri, I could rest a bit more.
(Getting to Missouri on time for homecoming has been my driving force) Then I came to my senses. After a long chat with Michael about my
options, I have decided to take the next few weeks off to rest, rehab and
strengthen my achilles for the rest of the expedition.
This was an extremely difficult
decision for me to come to, because of my pride and desire to finish what I set
out to do. Once I thought deeper I
remembered that my lifelong health would be more important and that I could
still serve the ultimate purpose, which is fundraising for Big City
Mountaineers. So in summary, I am taking
the next few weeks off, Michael will continue on, I will meet up with him and
continue riding from Columbia, Missouri.
Cycle for the Summit will continue and still be successful, I will just
have to find my way to the high points of Alabama and Mississippi another time
in my life.
Now this is getting long, but I
wanted to end on a positive note and tell you about the great people we have
met over the past week. The day after
Clingmans Dome, we used as a workday in Cherokee, NC. We hung out in Tribal Grounds Coffee, where
we really clicked with the barista Emelie.
She was a blast to chat with while we were working and ended up treating
us to lunch (she had a really good day in tips) at Marco Polo’s a super
eclectic sandwich shop with something like 113 sandwiches. She was a blast to hang out with and a cool
girl. Good luck to her in all of her
airsoft endeavors.
That evening we were looking for a
place to stay in Bryson City, NC, and while riding down the street I noticed a
rotary sign so we stopped in to see if they would have somewhere to let us
pitch a tent. It turned out the place we
stopped was a bed and breakfast. Luke
the owner didn’t want us to camp out in the rain, but he didn’t have any rooms
available. He ended up calling his buddy
Mr. Watkins and got us a room at the River Bend Motel. We have been so fortunate to cross paths with
wonderful people like Luke and Mr. Watkins.
Another great example is when we
rolled into Murphy, NC the next evening.
We stopped at a local coffee shop to ask about the best place to camp,
and to our luck one of the gentleman owned the local outfitter and said we
could pitch our tent in his parking lot.
Finally I am writing you this from the house of Jim and Dianne
Watkins. They are members of the Couch
Surfing community and that is how we got in touch with them. They have been cooking us some amazing meals
and supplementing them with wonderful stories.
(Not to mention many ice bags for me)
If the trip continues at this pace we will be happy guys. Thanks to everyone who has helped us out, we truly
appreciate al the support!
Adios,
Brent and Michael
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