Hopkins 4K for Cancer

June 26, 2003

Half way across the country...
Today was one of the longest days of this leg, 107 mi. It also was the midpoint of the trip in terms of miles, but most people did not make it to the exact halfway spot. We figured out that there was a turn that signified the middle of the trip, but the road leading there was under construction. We were told there was a bridge out and we had to take the detour, missing the halfway point. Rich, Pat, Sumeet and I asked around and were told that it was possible for bikes but not cars and if we followed our original route we could save 5 miles. It sounded like a better idea so the four of us ignored the detour. To our surprise the problem was not the bridge but the road. The bridge was under construction but possible. The road however was dirt and gravel for 10 miles. Since we thought we could save time we continued on the dirt road. We finally made it to the turn, reaching the halfway point. In the end we did not save much time since we had to go so slowly on the dirt road and the wear and tear on the bikes led to Sumeet’s 3 flat tires and 2 for Pat but it was worth it to get to the halfway turn.