Alzheimer's Breakthrough Ride Journal: Segment 6, Day 4

Grants, NM to Albuquerque, NM



Today was the last day of segment 6. We left at about 7 in the morning, aiming to arrive in Albuquerque at around 1. The different thing about today than the other three days was that the Pony was not with us. It had gone ahead to the signing event at the Civic Plaza in Albuquerque. Also Celeste was driving the caboose instead of Kyle. The first 20 miles of the ride was mostly downhill, so we quickly reached the first rest stop. It was a Mustang gas station where we were met by two large, cautious long-haired dogs. My dad and I quickly left the gas station hoping to reach the next rest stop by 9 AM. We wanted to listen to a program about Alzheimer's disease on National Public Radio. We ended up calling into the show and my Dad (Bruce Lamb) was able to talk a little about the Breakthrough Ride! At thirty miles, we had to travel in the cars for a while as the only way to travel was on the Interstate (I-40), which was not safe for us to bike on.

After the car ride, we were dropped at the bottom of a very large hill. Unfortunately, Lee had stiffened up during the rest stop and car and decided that the stopping and starting was too much for her, so she rode in the car for a little while. The hill was very difficult (5% grade), but Cathy, my Dad and I finally made it to the top (I thought it was never going to end...)! After that, it was all downhill into Albuquerque. But, right at the top of the hill my front tire went flat and I had to repair it. As it was only a couple of miles to the next rest stop, we decided to put my bike on the back of Melanie's car and ride into town. We stopped in a parking lot outside a K-Mart to eat lunch and rest a bit, as we were ahead of schedule. We also put our bikes on the cars for a short transport, as the next mile of road was very busy and had no bike lanes.

When we were driving to the drop point, we saw a photographer from the Albuquerque Journal, who was waiting to take our picture as we biked by. Sadly he was disappointed because we were in the cars and we had a good laugh that the photographer would see us riding in the cars after traveling over 225 miles on our bikes. Finally, we reached the Civic Plaza where the Signing Event was taking place and everybody was cheering and clapping as we arrived. I almost felt like a celebrity! Water bottles were rushed to us, our bikes were hustled away and we began talking to the volunteers, supporters and reporters (particularly my Dad and Lee). I felt like everyone knew me, even though I had never met them. A number of people with Alzheimer's disease attended the event as well and participated in the Signing Event. We met them and spent some time talking to them and we all found it very inspiring. We also took a picture with all of them. Overall, I thought it was a very successful day and segment of the ride.

-Raza Lamb is Bruce Lamb's son, and rode segment six of the Alzheimer's Breakthrough Ride