"You Are Such a Little Girl!" Love, Nathan

This weekend we went with our friends Sam and Emily (our first English friends) and Rob (who wears flip flops in April) to the Lake District. Sam and Rob did a 112 mile bike race up and down the 12 highest peaks in Cumbria. It was absolutely insane. 

Nathan, Emily, and I were in the support car. We waved British and American flags, held up signs that said things like, "Dig in, bear down, press on!" and "You are such a little girl! Love, Nathan" and fed them lots and lots of carbs throughout the day. 

We could not have asked for better weather, which as you know, is a true miracle. It was perfect! The views in the lakes were gorgeous, and we loved being with our friends for such a long time. We stayed with friends of Sam's family, and we ate amazing food and had great conversations. We are so blessed!

Unfortunately, the camera battery light came on first thing in the morning, so I hardly took any pictures except at the beginning and end of the race. We took loads of pictures with Rob's fancy camera, so hopefully he'll pass some on for me to pass on to you. 

Here we are at 4:30 a.m., getting ready for the start!

We arrived at the start a little after 6 a.m.

Same and Rob took the little chips on the lanyards and beeped them on the side of this wall at the gas station. They beeped in and out of several locations, and it kept track of their time.

Here we are on our way to the first stop. The view was breathtaking, so we had to pull over and take some pictures.

See?

Yay.

Here's our car in the clean, fresh air of the Lake District.

Here's Nathan, waiting to see if he can scout the boys climbing the biggest ascent.

What a view!

Here's Emily, running toward the boys to cheer them on.

Here they come... up a 30% grade!

Almost there, Sam!

Here are the boys at the finish, which is where we started. They did 112 miles in 8 hours and 43 minutes and about 20 peanut butter and honey sandwiches and a pan of brownies. They did not stop or walk at all, which was truly inspiring, but not inspiring enough for me to try next year. 

Nathan, on the other hand...