Hot Time

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The weather man warned excessive heat Saturday and this time the weather was accurate.

7:30 My husband and I left the house to man a 100 mile bike rest stop. We stopped for two large bags of ice to fill the water cooler. Fortunately, our location was a pavilion that had electricity. We brought a heavy duty fan just so we could keep some air circulating. The temperature was 82, but with humidity at 65%, it felt like 85. I know that doesn’t sound too hot, but it didn’t take much to break a sweat.

By the time they reached us, riders pedaled thirty-three miles. They would need some snacks. We had lots of options:

• bananas
• black grapes
• cookies
• cheese sticks
• dates
• pb & j crustables
• watermelon cubes
• sliced pickles

Our first rider rolled in about 9:00. At first it was a trickle of riders, but soon the dam burst and they swarmed the table of snacks. It was a challenge to keep the food stocked. Watermelon cups with a pickle chaser seemed to hit the spot. (Personally that sounds disgusting.)

It looks like I have a sunburn, but that is not the case. This is just redness from being hot.

By 10:00 the air is heating up, it feels like 90 degrees. At 12:30 it feels like 96 degrees.

Now, there are fewer riders, these riders won’t be completing the 89 or 100 route.

Water bottles are filled, but also dumped on top of their heads.

By 2:00 the last rider has passed through our rest stop. We pack up to return our leftover supplies.

It’s been an interesting day. Riders were not just from our state. There was a couple from Michigan on a tandem bike. It surprised me that there weren’t very many women riding. One of the riders was our dentist. He was surprised to see us. Another rider was a local meteorologist with a local TV station. He did not have good news for the future temperatures cooling off. However, it was amazing to see how many riders were over sixty-five! They are hard-core bikers who ride a lot. The heat didn’t seem to matter to them. Kudos to those who are so fit!

Even though it was a blistering hot day, it was a lot of fun.