My stomach consisted of the three Gu packs that I had along the ride, and the two or three bottles of water that I had drank. I was finally mentally tough, but I was physically running on fumes. This goes back to the very first MS150 post…luckily, these types of endeavors are 98% mental. I certainly did not have the 2% physical at this point.
I stopped off at the rest stop in Fayetteville. The stop was well organized, with a man on a mega phone determined to keep the entrance of the rest area from piling up with riders hopping off of their bikes and stopping instead of dispersing into the rest area. I set my bike down, and saw a snack bar. It was like a thirsty person in the dessert seeing water that isn’t there. I imagined a hot dog, or a giant pretzel or some nachos. Thankfully, I found none of these, who knows how sick this would have made me. Instead, I found little leaguers selling cookies for a dollar to raise money for a sprinkler system for their baseball field. This made me smile. I got three delicious cookies from a polite little kid for a buck.
Never has a chocolate chip cookie been so tasty. I was tempted to go back with another dollar for more, but I knew it would make me sick. Instead, I headed over to the bike repair tent to have my clips looked at. The chic knew what she was doing. Her and fellow crew members worked well together. She oiled my clips and tightened them up. I was missing a screw from one of my shoes. They didn’t have a replacement screw, so I simply had to go without it and hope for the best.
I left my watch running when I was at the stop, and I noticed as I pulled back on to the road on my bike that I had been their for almost an hour. It had taken awhile to get my clips back in working order. This gave me a good amount of rest.
As I rode out of Fayetteville the streets were lined with hospitable people cheering us on. I can not say enough about how welcomed and encouraged I felt as I rode through the town streets. Fayetteville is such a beautiful little town, and the residents’ enthusiasm was inspiring. Cute little kids were dancing and waving. Signs of encouragement were every where. Bubble machines were blowing, and a young man played the trumpet for us. This little place was without a doubt the highlight of my day 1 ride. With three delicious cookies and the kindness of the small town of Fayetteville, I felt recharged and ready to ride the rest of the way to our over night stop in La Grange.