Bennett & Superfish

benitosan:Clocked in 90miles today en route to Raleigh, North Carolina… HORRIBLE routing by the management team, they lead us on a crazy, alleycat-style route while all we wanted to do was to get to our destination hotel & out of the heat. BAD day, I feel like shit right now, and there are still slot of other riders out there lost, hungry, and most importantly, hot & tired. I will definitely be yelling at whoever routed us today into the middle of nowhere, I only got lucky to find the end cuz I treat every stage like an alleycat/treasure hunt & I know how to navigate & I luckily have an iPhone… without one, people are going to be vulnerable & frustrated. DISAPPOINTED at our staff today. To top it all off, I am getting saddlesore, OH JOY

benitosan:ANneight: Crystal & Allison are doing fab! Allison’s a little sick right now due to our hectic schedule. We wake up at 5am, ride at 6am, and get to bed around 11pm, so people are getting tired. I keep recommending RedBull ps Crystal has the SEXIEST bike on the tour = LOOK 585 with Campy11 carbon gruppo & Ultra Shamals, SAY WHAT! :heartsabove:

Anyways, to recap today: the most amazing day EVER! We left our ghetto DC hotel at 6am, did an 85mile ride to Bowling Green, Virginia. Good weather, fast pace! Got here in about 5hrs. Today we are at the coolest campsite ever! They have: a swimming pool, hot tub, mini golf, skee ball, basketball, volleyball, horseshoes, tetherball, pingpong, billiards, a playground, ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME! :crazy: this place is like an amusement park/resort! It’s just missing a petting zoo & dancefloor. Gonna camp & campfire tonite & bond with the riders… did I mention that there are alot of cute girls on this tour? Haha :devil:

YelliCinelliJohn: I actually think that we may be passing thru Alabama. I know that tomorrow we go to Richmond, VA for another vodka party :peace:

So we’re getting further South & it’s getting hotter & more humid. The bugs are also getting bigger Thus far, this has been the most amazing experience: seeing the country via bicycle, getting supported (and paid!) by really cool/generous people, riding with AMAZING people from all over the USA & world, and of course, drinking! :partytilyoudrop:

More tomorrow…

pps. Didn’t weigh myself, will prolly sweat off 20lbs, as well as work off another 20, I might even rock the superskinny jeans back in SF?

benitosan:Today: easy ride from Bowling Green to Richmond, VA = Marlboro Country!!! :cheer: it’s really starting to warm up now & the humidity, Mosquitos, Ticks, Chiggers (WTF?) are making things uncomfortable. Anyways, the ride was easy, only 40miles/2hrs… Another stay at the Holiday Inn, and another party with food/vodka at some swank restaurant/bar on a lake, felt like a country-club too as everyone was wearing topsiders, khakis, and polos (but not the Dolores Park version, the real kind, hehe).

AND NOW, the real work & pain start… We have 4 consecutive 80mile days before we get to HOTlanta, Georgia on the 8th of July. Weather is forecast to be hotter & more humid! I really don’t know how people live in these conditions. I really miss the Bay Area weather anyways, we are definitely being taken care of by the 42below company, our responsibilty is just to ride, drink, eat, and be seen at parties… TOUGH summer job, I know! :tooth:

I’ll let y’all know how life in the Dirty South treats us, maybe I’ll even come back with a drawal or Wranglers!

benitosan:rode 85miles to South Hill, Virginia today. It is HOT. Ate Subway again, oh joy the pleasures of eating on the road in the middle of nowhere! (just had to sidestep a CrackerBarrel to get there… NOT ready to pull that trigger… YET?). Kinda uneventful today, just blasting down lonely highways looking at grassland & barns, but at least the miles go by really quickly when you’re not twisting around inside the big city. Anyways, now it’s time for beer, more food, a nap, and SWIMMING HOLE TIME! Talk later…

benitosan:Day 1 ride: pretty hard!

Had to wake up at 3am! to be at Colombus Circle for promo & CBS early show (anyone see us?) finally got to ride today, did around 75miles from NYC to Sommerset/NJ? hot, humid & our route felt alot like an alleycat (too many twists & turns). I know it’s not a race but I joined the breakaway group of 2other riders cuz we were thinking it’d take all day to get 42people to finish 75miles together. tough ride for the 3 of us, but we finished first & got to soak in hottubs & swimming pools while others rolled in. doing a beer/food run now, update later…

benitosan:Rode New Jersey to Philadelphia today, nice ride, weather was decent yet humid… tomorrow’s a real test: Philly to Baltimore = 100miles… at least we get to sleep in a hotel that has a hot-tub! tonight we have another 42below vodka party to attend… I’ll stick to drinking beer, thanks, not a vodka fan :angry:

benitosan:So, part of our obligations to this tour is to not only ride the USA, but apparently get drunk courtesy of Bacardi/42below Co. at every major town along the route. Thanks this far for letting me ride NY and Philly, I’ll try to forget about Jersey, that place is a pit! Next up: a 106 mile ride to Baltimore followed by an easy ride to DC… both rewarded with hotel stays… yes! :clap: feels like the rockstar life, except the lack of cocaine & groupies, oh well maybe I’ll get some in Texas? :boogie: btw, Katio did great today, rode faster & stronger than alot of the boys… impressive! :thumbup:

benitosan:today: rode 105miles from Philly to Baltimore.

it was long.
rolling hills.
10 hours.

now I’m gonna eat Pho & drink beer. tired.
oh yeah, we had another party at some Bro Bar.
the girls here in B’more look kinds trashy, cool! :thumbup:

tomorrow is DC! and another party! 38-mile ride, easy! :peace:

benitosan:Today was a recovery day = we rode 40miles from Baltimore to DC via some sketch roads. Normally I’d never ride anything similar to the El Camino to get anywhere via bicycle, but that’s how they routed us to DC. They’re putting us up at some janky HoJo in the NW odlf DC, but I’m not complainig about having a bed, a shower, and A/C. Went downtown to Colombia Heights for yet another 42below party. Thistime they fed us some much needed good food = scampi, pasta, salad, sweet potato fries! Tomorrow is our 1st day of camping on this trip. We are riding 83miles from DC to Bowling Green then camping, should be fun for the unlucky young girl who gets to sleep next to the Bearpedosan, but at least no one here knows about my rep (yet, haha). Katie is doing fabulous, she’s finished every ride super-strong & with a big smile on her face! I’m feeling pretty strong too, but I’m dreading the impending heat, humidity, bugs, and brahs in the South. Oh well, at least I hear that the cigarettes, liquor, and steaks are cheap down there!

This ride is going to be filmed and put together for the Bicycle Film Festival. Who is going to hate who? Fall in love? Be Jealous? Who is going to…well you know the rest. All I know is, Bennett is coming back with that movie star glam for sure. Check back for updates as they progress through their epic journey.
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Northern Route

Southern Route

Pics: Johnny Hsu:Superfish