After we saw Fuzzy exit the swim, we headed to the other side of Monona Terrace so that we could see Fuzzy start the bike. We stopped for a second to pet a pup, and when we got to the exit, we only had to wait a moment before we saw him coming down the ramp!
Then the adventure truly began. The event organized a shuttle service to take people to the town of Verona, where there would be a festival set up for the bike course. Jeremy and Jan, however, offered to drive over there so we could try to find him as much as we could. I am SO grateful to the two of them, cause they took on all the driving, navigating, and math of Fuzzy’s pace time to try to maximize the amount of times we saw him, while I focused on updating friends and family and also figuring out the course. There were cars parked all over the sides of the roads in the country rolling hills, so it would be easy to pick a spot, pull over and cheer. The first time we stopped, we realized that he had already passed us, but we knew he wasn’t far. We drove along the road until we spotted his blue jersey. Jeremy advised that we not call his name so as not to startle him, so we drove a bit past him and popped out the window. Fuzzy graciously acknowledged the spectators in the car, then saw it was us and got a huge grin. Lucky for us, the course was about to go to a place where the road was closed, so we saw him just in time. The volunteer there told us we couldn’t continue, and I said “That’s ok, we just found who we were looking for.” and he said “yes, go Fuzzy.” Hilarious. We decided that it was time for some lunch, so we headed to the festival for a delicious lunch of brats and chips and sodas.
From there, we decided to track him at about mile 75. Traffic was nutty cause the bikers had the right-of-way on every intersection and so many roads were closed, but the race volunteers let us drive the route. Jeremy was a rockstar in giving the athletes some distance and being very careful on the narrow, curvy, hilly roads. Finally, we found a spot atop a hill with corn on either side, and got out of the car to cheer on the people who needed a boost. After a few minutes, there was Fuzzy!
He was tired, but doing great.
We chatted for a second, I gave him a few kisses, and he was off yet again!
We headed back to Verona to catch him one last time on the bike. Jeremy and Jan had an unsuccessful experience with some chewable fruit-flavored fish oil.
But then, after a little bit, he zoomed on through!
Then we headed back to the city to prepare for the start of the marathon.
This is fascinating! I love this! Keep going!