Today we biked from Bedford, PA to Gettysburg, PA… a mere 101ish miles, the final LONG bike ride of the trip to DC. They call this ride “The Final Exam”. If I don’t pass I am really going to be P-Oed, here’s why…
No one gave us a study guide AND there was barely a syllabus for this class, because they insisted on keeping us on a need to know basis. Did we know there was going to be a Final Exam when we signed up for this trip? NOOOOOOOO.
What about every other cycling day. Don’t those count? What about the days when we got flat tires? Were we being watched then? Did we change them correctly? What kind of grade were we given then, huh?
What if you got more than one flat? Hey, I had TEN! Did I get any EXTRA CREDIT POINTS for that? NOOOOOO.
So today, when I had some trouble climbing the 1,000,000,000th hill of the day, did they take that into consideration? One would hope, right? Maybe a write in campaign would help – because I am telling you this, I am NOT DOING this ride again… I have other mountains to climb 
…
To avoid a repeat of today’s route, in search of a passing grade, I was looking for clues all day… take this morning, for example. We were just about to climb one of the VERY steep, winding, rolling hills. At the base of the hill, in the driveway of a house located on the side of the road were two youngsters, probably about 12 or 13 years old, staring at us with awe, or was it wonderment or just plain bewilderment – it was hard to read them… I was trying to figure out if this was one of those exam “trick questions”… hey, I’m no dummy!
So when I passed them, I started a dialogue that went something like this:
ME: ”What do you recommend?”
Them: “Recommend for what?”
Me: “For climbing the hill.”
Them, after rolling their eyes: “WALK”.
Obviously, FINAL EXAM auditors. Don’t worry, I didn’t fall for it, I stayed on my bike. As I rounded the corner I understood why they recommended walking… Lightweights! THEN, I saw 2 bikes, on the side of the road, with a FOR SALE sign on them. They must be broken! OR, maybe they don’t have a GRANNY gear, or maybe they just moved on to another sport. Think I’m kidding? Take a look…
I think those kids were jealous of my climbing ability. I’d better be careful, I still have 2 cycling days left…
I’d better lock my bike up tonight!
