Slender Fungus Cycling Association : Trans Iowa V10, 2014 Part 2

G.T and I returned to the barn and I was freezing. We were dead tired since we had pulled another allnighter. Old guys are not that good in pulling allnighters anymore but this was a good excuse to do so. I sat in the truck and was glad to crank up the heat. I kept staring up towards the hill in case I would spot a rider. After a while we spotted Gleason that came blazing down the hill like he had just started the race. A very long time after that we spotted La Cava then another rider the the two pack of Troy Krause and my fellow Slender Fungus friend Derek Weider. I was so happy to see him roll in. He looked so strong on the bike. I greeted him and patted him on the back many a times. He dismounted off his bike and his legs were still going in circles. I helped him walk up towards the bike. He seemed like a robot with poor coordination. A beer brought him back to life. Some ramen noodles gave him warmth. But he still had that raw look on his face, the blood shot eyes. We sent him over to the hotel for shower and rest.
I remained at the barn to wait for the others. L. Perfecto, Jakey la Cruz and Cookie, (Gravel Jesus) were still out there. I worried intensely over them since the minutes dripped along like molasses. I kept walking from the barn to the road and back. I kept stretching my neck towards the hill. Giggles and I caught up. I spoke some more to Rob. People had come to the barn to hang out, the fire was rekindled. There was coffee, there was food. The vibe was full of energy and suddenly Guitar Ted and I were not tired again. We had ridden Trans Iowa in a different way.
Around 12:30 p.m. I started to panic in a bad way since it struck me that my crew had only an hour and a half to finish. I couldn't get any info as to where they were. 1 pm came around and I was in sweat mode. I started to hav bad thoughts. I wondered how they would handle a bad puncture, a broken chain. I wished that Agatha was not alone. I thought about broken derailleurs. What if cookie snapped his chain really bad.
Within a few minutes I glanced up the hill and I spotted a red top. The rider was very tall and I instantly knew it was Jakey. I then spotted the green crosscheck and I knew Agatha was there, then another green bike behind and sure it was Cookie. I then proceeded to lose my mind. My chest tightened as I felt any enourmous pressure build in my head. The tears poured out as my crew made the last turn towards the barn. I ran to hug them and congratulate them. They had accomplished the impossible. Agatha had finished together with Sarah Cooper to tie for 1st place. Jakey had finished as rookie and Cookie had accomplished his goal of being the first to finish V8 on geared, V9 singlespeed and V10 fixed.
I cried as I embraced each one of them. I was so proud of them and kept being in disbelief as to what had just happened. It was one of the greatest moments of my life.
I thanked everyone of them for doing what they had done. I thanked everyone of them for being who they are. All that work had paid off in such an inmense way. I was and still am on the highest of all cloud 9s out there.
more,
Ari