It was a hot and humid July morning when Sara took to the Great Guernsey Trail for a 14-mile bike ride. In town for the holiday weekend and with a race just eleven days away, a training ride couldn’t be missed. She accessed the trail on the western end just east of Cambridge, unfortunately, having to walk her bike the first quarter of a mile due to a construction vehicle backing its way to the parking lot.
Once she cleared the work zone, she mounted her bike, clipped into her pedals and was off. It was a beautiful ride through the wooded countryside. She appreciated the shade the trees provided and was grateful for the bench at the turnaround where she sat just long enough to capture a photo and drink some water. Seeing some wildlife, a couple other bikers, and numerous runners and walkers, it was a busy trail, but not too congested that it slowed her down. After less than an hour she returned to her car and loaded up to go retrieve her training partner for the second sport of the day.
Although Lilianna incessantly tried to invite herself along on Sara’s ride, the answer was no. She was quite frustrated that she wasn’t allowed to ride her bike alongside Sara especially given the fact she knew she would be riding on the trail as opposed to a road. In a plea bargain, it was decided that Sara would ride first and then return to pick up Lilianna and together they would go to the city park where Lilianna would ride her bike while Sara did a training run.
At first everything went well. Lilianna rode down the trail while Sara ran alongside. They pointed out things they noticed along the way - flowers, a couple of turtles, a few guys riding lawn mowers off in the distance. They enjoyed the warm sunshine high above them and each other’s company. Lilianna made it to the end of the trail which was actually further than Sara anticipated, but as they made the turn to head back, things took a turn for the worse. It began when Lilianna asked for water. Apparently, in the excitement of picking up Lilianna and getting her bike in the car, they forgot to bring along any water. Thankfully, Lilianna, now more interested in water than the bike ride, said it would be okay to just ride and run back to the car and head home.
As they made their way back, Lilianna kept her little legs pedaling, but about halfway back, it was clear she was growing impatient with the distance between her and the car and so she kept trying to pedal faster. As they neared the end, she pedaled as fast as she could and she began to pull ahead. Sara just couldn’t seem to keep up and she watched Lilianna move further and further away from her and closer and closer to the final destination. Lilianna didn’t stop until her bike came back to the spot where they began and as Sara finally brought her run to a stop and joined her near the car, Lilianna immediately said, “You would have been able to keep up if you were on your bike.”
