Day 3, Redding to Weed (72 miles)

The phrase "third time is the charm" had no application whatsoever to today's trek.

The third day started off fairly early around 8? and after a little continental breakfast the guys took off as I hit up Extreme Fitness to make full use of the 24 hour pass. All was going well until the end of my workout when my phone rang. My dad's tire had popped and he needed me to come so that he could get the supplies out of the car to fix it. Luckily they were only about 8 to 10 miles out so I got there pretty quickly. After hooking them up with the supplies I drove back to check out of the hotel and then catch back up with them. During the packing of the car my phone rang AGAIN and none other than dear old dad was on the phone telling me that one of Zach's tires had popped. So I quickly checked out then caught up and saved the day once again. I then sat in the car for a little bit (read some good stuff) at the off-ramp where we fixed the second tire and then caught up with them at a Subway not too far away. After a delicious sandwich the guys decided to put on their rain gear (see pic) because it started to sprinkle. Wise choice, the sprinkling was just the tip of the iceberg. I then drove ahead and stopped at an off-ramp not too far away from them in case the rain caused some complications. The rain gods did not disappoint. Just as I was getting into some wonderful Descartes (reading for school) my phone rang AGAIN. It was dad again telling me that Zach had called the flat tire and raised it one with a broken derail-er which was not fixable on the spot (luckily it broke right at the off-ramp that I was parked at). I think this is about when it started to rain Forrest Gump style in the mountains. "Little bitty stingin` rain... and big ol` fat rain. Rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath." So, Zach took the spare bike and they went on in the rain as I drove back to Redding to get the bike fixed at Sports LTD. Side note- [While the bike was getting fixed I almost went to the Best Buy nearby to buy a couple of CD's because I realized I was in great need of new music as I caught myself singing along to Ruben Studdard's "Sorry 2004" on the freeway.] The bike was ready to go so I raced (of course going under the speed limit, don't worry mom) back to the guys who were biking through mountains in the rain. We eventually met up in Dunsmuir (See pic) for some much needed Pizza, garlic with pepperoni, it was awesome. Afterward I went ahead to a city called Weed and checked us into the hotel. They are finishing up the last leg of the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Luckily no one was hurt so I am thankful for that. Tomorrow should be similar to today in regards to weather and terrain (hopefully not bike issues) so pray for the guys as they push through the mountains in the rain.