Journal entry for July 20th

I was in charge of writing the trip journal entry for yesterday...read it here first.

The ride today was not good for anyone. There was a strong headwind, a constant 2% uphill climb over 80 miles, and rough roads. People got in exhausted and looking forward to a build day the next day and to something even better that night.

One of our own, Jorge de la Garza was brave enough to attempt the Big Texan's 72 oz steak challenge. The challenge involves eating 72 oz (4 1/2 lbs!!) of steak along with a baked potato, a roll, 3 fiery shrimp, and a side salad in under one hour. Kyle Magida mentioned someone on his past trip attempting this feat the first week and Jorge stepped up to do it for us.

All 31 of us headed off to the Big Texan after dinner to support Jorge in his quest. The Big Texan was as gaudy as you'd expect it to be. Everything really is bigger in Texas. While we waited for them to get our tables ready we could entertain ourselves with slot machines, a gift shop, and a virtual shooting range. Finally, after a 30 minute wait or so we got our seats. After about another 15 minutes the challenge started.

Jorge entered the arena to a slow clap from the crowd. The task was explained to him as Bike and Builders and random strangers crowded the table in the center of the room to take pictures of the man who'd attempt such a challenge. One family even came back after going to Wal-mart to see how Jorge fared and to cheer him on. After tasting the steak and finding it to his liking the clock started and Jorge began. He kept a steady pace despite being distracted by the well wishers and interested parties. Several cheers were started by the spectators (us) as we enjoyed the food and the company. By half an hour in half the steak was finished. Jorge even kept eating while another challenger entered the arena and set to the task. That guy was struggling about 10 minutes in making Jorge look like a champ. When the clock hit 0, 63 oz of the steak was gone. Jorge did not win the challenge, but he made Bike and Build B2SB proud to call him one of our own.

It was the perfect end to a tough day.