Day 2 Red Oak - Atlantic

    I popped out of bed as Lionel squirmed around a bit. I allowed him five minutes of beauty rest as the day’s route was not very demanding (comparatively). Once we unzipped the tent, we headed to a breakfast table set up by a local church. Sticking to our health plan, much like Will Ferrell’s in Elf, we enjoyed glazed donuts with chocolate frosting. I joked with Brian about whether Pork Belly had a dentist tent.

     Soon, we were on the road. The conditions were perfect, the road flat, and we were soaring. We quickly reached our first town, Elliott. Despite Lionel’s visual impairment, he easily spotted an American flag hung by two gigantic cranes and could probably even count the stars. While wandering through town, someone looped a lei over Lionel's helmet, giving him a tropical vibe. Before leaving, Brian convinced Lionel to walk under a sprinkler to fill up his water bottle.

     Between Elliott and Griswold, the hills were manageable. In Griswold, we met Brenda for some fruit snacks and enjoyed the town's theme, which celebrated National Lampoon’s Vacation. Making good time, we relaxed on the grass with smoothies, people-watching.

     Lewis was Lionel’s favorite town of the day. We tried to take a picture with a reluctant goat and stopped at a dunk tank where Lionel, on his first throw, dunked the person sitting on the ledge. He might blow through his college fund stopping at every dunk tank he sees.

     As the sun reached its zenith, we pedaled into Atlantic. Instead of heading to our campsite, we went to the local post office to meet Greg Schuler from the Lion’s Atlantic Club, who presented us with a check from the Curing Retinal Blindness Foundation.

     After spending Monday at our charter campsite, it was nice to be in the heart of downtown. Brian and I thought a Chinese restaurant would be a nice change, but a sign on the door said the bathroom wasn’t available to the public, so we moved on.

      Despite the early afternoon, the band on stage was rocking out. Across from the stage was a foam bubble pit. Lionel hopped in for what was supposed to be ten minutes, but it turned into two hours. As kids came and went, Lionel played continuously with an exuberant smile until I finally pulled him out, saying it was time to go. I washed him off with a hose that felt like it was connected to the Antarctic Sea. Despite the 80-degree weather, Lionel began to shiver.

      Next to the foam pit was Santa’s summer cabin. Lionel popped in to whisper his Christmas wish to Santa. When we asked him what he wished for, he said, “Santa knows, but if I tell you, the wish won’t come true.” We left with two ice pops, but Lionel, still cold from his rinse off, declined his, a historic event.

    Back at the campsite, I tried to call my wife to let her know we were safe and to get an update on my mother. Unfortunately, we were in a T-Mobile dead zone. To find out where T-Mobile doesn’t work, just look at a political map: any red area highlights where you can’t get reception. Using Brian’s phone, I quickly told her we were alright (leaving out my internal worries... for now). I passed the phone to Lionel, smiling as people watched wide-eyed as he seamlessly switched to his native Chinese to tell his mother about the day.

      That night at the tents, I heard Zenmaster Ken say, “Tomorrow, the schooling begins.” Ken always provided mantras to think about during the ride, like “Nobody can ride 424 miles at once, but we can all ride 1 mile 424 times.” My favorite was, “Sometimes you need to feel like death to feel alive.” Ken was always calm, but he knew Day 3 would be a monster, as did everyone else murmuring about it as they grabbed their toiletries. To have a chance, Lionel and I needed an early start, so I tucked Lionel in and tried to sleep by 8:45, even though the sun was still up.

     That night was the worst sleep of the trip. Usually, our tent was pitched on a perfect plot, but that night we were on a slope. Lionel kept sliding down and had to climb back up—a prelude to the eight hours of biking we would face the next day.