Epilogue and Finale

I have been home for over a week and I am at a loss as how to end the story of Fast America South 2008. The ride has to be broken down into individual stories and the group story. Some of the individual stories I really don't know. They are woven into the group story. Then there is my story which you have read. The thing about my story is it colored by my perspective. Everyday I wrote about the day from my point of view. From my point of view the ride was about how I rode, what I saw and a little about how I felt. The whole story is about all the people on the ride and our collective experience. The days when we would leave Rap together and go to dinner as a group of twenty or more. Some of the time that would be my only interaction with some of the others. Except to say "hello" and "on your left" as I would pass them. The thing which you feel and can't convey is how quickly we became one unit and that every joy and horror that happened to one of us happened to all of us. We all had our individual motives for wanting to ride across America. We all said things that Mike got to record in heard on the road today. I'm sure many of us said things that were not fit to put down in print. Towards the end of the ride there were a few times when I was just ready for the ride to be over. I am proud to say that I rode "every fantastic inch". In Ft Smith I saw a helmet mounted camera, now I wish I had that little gem when the tour started. Having everyone's photos from the tour kind of makes up for not being with them. Some have asked me if I would do a tour like this again and the answer is yes and no. While I liked the over all experience, being away from all the things that are so familiar and taken for granted everyday but are so missed when they aren't part the fabric of life. To all the blog junkies I'm sorry you went through withdrawal at the end of the trip. All your kind words were as important to me as I would check twice a day to see what others comments would be. It is also amazing to me how many people think that I have writing talent. My impression of my writing is it's just a rambling narrative. Some times it just seemed to meander all over the place. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Next time I do something that needs blogging I will bring a laptop. I spent hours every evening thumbing the blog on my blackberry. I never looked at it like a chore but I sure think I could have made quicker work of it with a real keyboard. So to close all I have to say is thank you for following my story.

Wheels In The Atlantic

Vidalia to Savannah GA. 106 miles 900' climbing. Temp at load 56f. We have been on a routine for weeks. Today is the last day and we are breaking the routine almost at the start. Of course there is breakfast in the motel. At load things start to change. Our bags have been limited to 35 pounds for the duration. Today with all my spares and tools and a large Endurox in my bag it is 50 pounds. The Endurox comes from Eric and Kirstin M along with an invite to Hawaii. The load will be by going to the hotel or being picked up at the beach. Sign in is still the same. Every one still must be accounted for. The early loaders have left. We are not supposed to load today until 6:50 every one is out and pumping tires and last minute checks with Jim well before. So at 7:00 we are released to ride. It looks like we will immediately fall into the usual groups. Exiting the parking lot James says nice and steady boys. Minutes later James, Pat and Eric K are disappearing down the road. Frank, Tom, Conrad and I are going to keep a much more reasonable 20 mph. We are really enjoying the ride going at a speed that even in a single file pace line we can still all talk. Except Conrad whose hearing is worse than mine. One day some one put a cow bell on his seat bag. This drove us crazy while on the chip seal, Conrad didn't even hear it. We get to the first SAG the fast boys are already gone. We have a timetable to meet today as we will go to Ft Pulaski before Tybee Island and ride to the beach as a group. Everyone is well ahead of schedule. Today the winds are light. We are hitting a lot of small towns. We roll up on some slower riders and encourage them to get in with us. Eric M says we to fast and I tell him we are going easy and I'm sure he and Dr Scott can keep up. The original four are keeping the pace. The others are sitting in the back. I pull off one time and Eric says I want to take a pull. Then all of us are taking a turn. On the last day some are still finding out what they are capable of. We are still early and stop with about 8 of us to eat again. We all assemble at the entrance to the fort. James has used his British accent to charm free admission to the fort for Pat, Eric and himself. Now of course we are there and they are sightseeing. We gather for a picture. The staff each have 5 or 6 of our cameras to take our personal photos. As we roll down to the beach for one last time Will and Sandra go the wrong way and this time take me with them. The beach at last. We are all down at the water and the celebration begins. This is a fun time and yet there is a moment for Darrell. Mike takes one of the black ribbons we have had on the bikes and puts it in the water. Sandra has been given the honor of pouring the bottle of Pacific Ocean water into the Atlantic. The ride is over but we are not quite finished. We still have to ride back to the vans for transport to either a bike shop or to the hotel. The hotel is in the heart of old Savannah on Bay St. It is where all the history of this very old port city can be found. Again there is not enough time to explore. By the time I pack the bike and shower it is almost time for the banquet. The staff all get up to talk to us and we then all get to make a statement. Paul has written "A Typical Day On The Tour". It takes as long to read as it did to ride. Everyone got barbed. I got mine for writing in my time on the sign in sheet. I am honored. I played What A Wonderful World. My statement was about how our ride mirrored life but was compressed into our time frame. We raised nearly a $1000 for bikes for kids for Darrell's bike club. In the next few weeks I have the state time trial and I am doing The Assault On Mount Mitchell. So to my fans you can check back. Plus I think I need to wait a few days to write an afterward to the ride. Those of you who wrote comments I must say they really lifted me up. Everyday I would check for comments before I would write the new blog. I must say a special THANK YOU to Amy for all her support and encouragement.

Welcome To The Onion

Perry to Vidalia GA. Temp at load 68f. 104 miles and 2500' climbing. I realized leaving the motel this morning today is the second day that I didn't have to wear arm and knee warmers or more. Today again we will luck out with the weather. The forecast for our last day is good too. So for the whole trip it rained on us for 1% of the distance. The usual morning routine. Breakfast, early loaders off and then the rest of us about 25 minutes later. Today it is the gang of six as Eric is taking it easy. We just roll along through the GA country side. At the first break we have a treat(punishment) RC cola and moonpies. Mike tells us that he is going to outlaw the pace line because we are not seeing anything but each others backsides. I say there is plenty of time to look around. Dr Scott is determined to stay in front of us today and leaves break just as we get there. Shortly after break Conrad must make an emergency pit stop. We blame this on moonpies. Then about 5 miles down the road Conrad gets a flat. We blame this on moonpies. We get to a spot where we are to turn off the state road on to a county road. Mike is there and says if we stay on the state road we will beat Scott to lunch. This turns out to be a double blessing. One we get to have a bit of fun with Scott. Two we will learn later that we traded some extra climbing for some really bad chip seal road. I'll take that any day. The only negative of the day came near the end of the ride. Some neanderthal threw water balloons at us. I guess even jerks can drive caddys. No one was hurt but it's not southern hospitality either. We arrive at the motel and there is no place to get post ride recovery chocolate milk and snickers. We opt for Ruby Tuesday and we are happy campers. I got a email from Andrew and read it to the group at rap. I can cry much better than Hillary. We went over a lot of the details for tomorrow. I addition to riding over 100 miles. We have a ceremony at the beach. A banquet. Packing bikes for return home. After the meeting some went back to RT for dinner. This might have been the best meal of the trip. On the first day way back in Apr at the beach as a joke I played The Star Spangled Banner. So I was trying to figure out a song to play at the beach tomorrow. Of course I turned to my music expert Amy. She recommended a song. I don't have the version she said to use. I do have a version with Tony Bennett and K D Lang. I hope I get to play it, for What A Wonderful World it is.

Navigationaly Challenged

Columbus to Perry GA. 97 miles and 3550' of climbing. We have breakfast at the motel. Nothing to write home about. Rap at 7:45 and load at 8:00. The first navigation error is both in the instruction and the interpretation. The second is in the correction. By not going back far enough to over come the first error some of the riders end up back in Alabama. No, not I. I have other mistakes to make. I will end up covering 107 on a 97 mile day. Then we are going to ride on a bike trail along the river. I can't find the beginning of the bike path. This is great. I ride on the road that parallels the river till I can see the path down close to the river. I finally find a ramp down to where I am supposed to be. This is a truly beautiful ride. There is always a catch. I come to a place where repairs are being made and it is fenced off. As I get there workmen are taking down a section of fence on the far side of the missing path. I find a place on my side where I can skirt the fence and walk across the muck to the other side. Riding again Pat catches up and we cross onto the bike path on Ft Benning. Looking for 1st Division Rd we end up on 10th Division Rd. Not the same. Back up try again. We finally get on the right road. All along this road are sections dedicated to Congressional Medal of Honor winners. We go past the Ranger Training School and the Sniper School. At least we are finished with the questionable navigation. In order to leave post we have to lift our bikes over a barricade and get on a road parallel to the one we were on. The road from here to the SAG is one big roller after another. When we leave the break we are back to the gang of 7. About half way between the first break and lunch James' rear wheel bearings die. We call Jim in the mechanics van and wait for him to bring James a spare wheel. After lunch we only have 22 not as hilly miles to the motel. The thunder storms we were supposed to have never arrive. Must be the payback for riding around in circles. I get to spend 20 minutes in the luke warm spa before rap. Small pleasures. Cracker Barrel is the only choice for dinner. Two riding days left.

Eight States Down

Prattville to Columbus GA. The route today is officially listed at 115 miles and 2300' of climbing. I'll end with 118 miles and just shy of 3600'. Just a minor discrepancy. Breakfast is open in the motel at 6 but there is no need to hurry. We are having rap at 7:45 and load at 8:00. We will lose an hour when we cross the state line. Most have brought their bags and bikes out to rap. I am last to load and then go back to the room for my bike. When I come back out I am the only one left. I stop at the mechanics van Mike is there with Kirstin who is vanning to some point up the road because of a knee issue. We talk for a few minutes and I finally leave. The cue sheet today is 4 full columns and 60 turns. One way to look at it is there is a turn about every 2 miles all day. The chip seal roads are many and make riding the road in the Everglades NP look smooth. I have a dry skin crack in my thumb that I'm treating aggressively but everyday on the rough roads it opens up again. So I am riding and turning towards GA. First the mechanics van and then the lunch/luggage van passes. Now I am truly last on the road. I've never been last in almost 4 weeks, something new. By the time I get to the first break I am no longer at the back. I don't spend much time there a few apple slices, a banana into my jersey pocket and I am off. Yesterday when I thought I was signing the lunch register I was actually signing today's break one. So every one thought that I had already been there. Soon after the break I catch up to Tom, Eric, Frank and Conrad. "What are you doing behind us we thought you were up the road". A few miles later we catch James and Pat. "We thought you snuck off without us". At 53 miles we stop for refills at a store. Lunch won't be till another 25 miles. We pass through Tuskegee. Home of Booker T Washington and the Tuskegee airmen of WW11 fame. At lunch there are some ABB alums with pecan pie and fruit popsicles. What a treat. By the time we get in we are ready for chocolate milk. We have to settle for milk shakes at McD instead. We are near old downtown Columbus and there are some great places to eat. We go to a micro brewery called Cannons. Good food 2 nights in a row. We are living large. Onward to the sea. Three riding days left.

We Don't Love Chip Seal

Tuscaloosa to Prattville AL. Temp low 50's at load. 118 miles and 6000' of climbing Breakfast at the motel. After putting two slices of toaster french toast through the toaster twice and have it come out just like it went in. I ate it the way it was, almost warm. Then it was on to cereal. I'm trying to remember the last time I bought honey nut Cheereos. Yeah now I remember, never. We load at 6:45 am. The cue sheet is once again looking like a navigational nightmare. It is 3 1/2 columns of instructions. Plus we find out that a new road has been put in so just follow the painted arrows in the road put down last night. I lead the way out motel lot and stay at the front of the group until almost 13 miles, to the bottom of the first column of instructions. At 15 miles we turn and the next turn is in 0.3 miles. All of a sudden I realize we have been going to long and haven't turned. So I say something about going to far and we all u-turn and march back up the hill and turn the right way. Our next road segment is fairly long for today any way. There is a nice downhill with a few hard cranks I open a gap. Next thing I am sailing down the road by myself. I start passing the slower riders who have left early. I catch Steve on the recumbent bike at the top of a climb. Near the bottom of the next downhill he comes around me. As we start up again I have to go around him for the second time. Next I pass Barbara and I know that there should be no other riders in front of me. The SAG is setup at 42 miles. I pull in and sign the sheet and the one for lunch. I tell Karen what I'm doing and she says OK then we won't worry about you. See you at the motel. At about 57 miles there is a small grocery I stop and get enough supplies to last me all the way in. Now we have been having chip seal road off and on. Chip seal is made by laying down tar and putting crushed rock on top of it. It is bone jarring to ride on. As I leave the small store I turn on to a county road. Very soon I am into where they are resurfacing the chip seal with new chip seal. Not only is it rough it feels unstable. Luckily there is less than six miles of this. Most of the ride is in second growth pine forrest. The area is dotted with homes. Every once in a while a dog will chase me. I usually try to discourage this with a sharp no. At one house two little terrier cross types come after me. I let them chase me as they are not getting to close. I want to see how far they will go before turning back. The answer is not very far. Comming through old downtown Prattville I see a restaurant I would like to try. Usually this wouldn't be possible but members of Mike's cycling club are comming to ferry us around. I arrive at the motel at 1:50 pm. When I sign in I put the time down. Later some one will change this to 4:50 pm. Oh well. Next I go to McD for some eats and a shake. Then into the motel office for some popcorn. Some riders come in and it's back to McD for another shake. By the time the luggage arrives there are plenty of riders in and the unloading only takes a few minutes. John from the bike club takes two to do laundry and four to dinner. Another member bringing in four more. The food is quite good and a welcome change from fast food and chain restaurant food. Every body is now in countdown mode. Four riding days left.

Seven States Down

Aberdeen to Tuscaloosa AL. 110 miles and 5300' of climbing. Mid 50's at load. We had breakfast at the motel and nobody was impressed with it. The day will be spent going up and down. The navigation will be intense as there are 3 1/2 columns of instructions. We never go more than 10.8 miles without a turn. For the most part the segments are much shorter. As an added bonus there are a few mistakes on the cue sheet at the end. At the AL state line Mike has made his own welcome sign. We have a rather large group rolling down the road today. The pace is fairly easy and for me that is a welcome change. The rural roads are just beautiful. Lots of trees and everything is green. There are a lot of loose dogs about and all want to play chase the new thing. After the first SAG the group is down to 7 and we will ride together till Northport just before the river into Tuscaloosa. A few need to go to the bike shop and some are looking for a milk shake. When we determine that there are no milk shakes in Northport we cross the river and go by the campus of U of AL. Others will stop later and determine that the football stadium is the most interesting building on campus. Back out on the road Will has broken his chain. Sandra comes in with grease up to her elbows and Will is clean as a whistle. With all that Mike still had to replace Will's chain on the road. Sandra's dad and aunt have come to meet her. The dinner situation is better tonight there is a Chiles in walking distance. Tomorrow is going to be a lot like today except we end in Mike and Barbara's home town.

Food???

Senatobia to Aberdeen MS. 138 miles and close to 5000' of climbing. We start the day at the Huddle House across the street from the motel. I think it's OK. Some elect to just eat cereal at the motel. After last nights culinary hell some are not taking any chances. Load the luggage at 6:45 am. With the distance and the climbing it will be a real long day for some. The good thing is the favorable winds. The cue sheet's second instruction R at Yellow Dog Rd and Don't Miss in bold. The next instruction should of had some warning about not missing that turn. When we get there I see 2 riders have gone straight I call out to them twice but I'm not going down the hill after them. At least 4 others went the same wrong way. James needs to take a nature break. I'm rolling along slowly waiting for him. A group of 5 comes along and every one of them gleefully says on your left Norman. Two riders trailing them come by and one of them says what a bunch of smart asses. I didn't say so but I couldn't agree more. James, Pat and I roll up behind them and just tag along at the back for a while. We cruise up on Perry, Eric and Kirsten. Kirsten looks green. Shortly after Pat flats. Just as we are getting under way again. Kirsten, her dad and Perry roll up. I fall in beside Kirsten and she thinks she is a Huddle House victim. Pat and James are getting smaller. All Kirsten wants is Jim in the mechanics van to pick her up. I try calling him. No luck. I pace her to the first break. James and Pat are still there. James fills my bottles and gets me a few cookies so I don't waste a bunch of time removing my gloves and sanitizing my hands. Five of us start out together. There are many ups and down Pat is really pushing the pace on the climbs. Now there is a gap and getting bigger. Tom and I try to chase but Pat keeps pulling away. The two of us go into time trial mode. We were getting closer at one point but then the climbs got longer and steeper. Then I saw why Jim wasn't available he's parked in a ravine. No cell phone service in that spot I'm sure. Then the road starts to flatten out. Tom and I are slowly but surely eating into Pat's lead. It takes awhile but we finally close the gap. Pat is still hammering us on the climbs. All I'm trying to do is recover from the chase. All Tom wants to know is do we ride like this all the time? Miles and miles of nice road and some nice farms and ranches. We had a small bicycle induced cattle stampede. At one spot there was a bull on our side of the fence. There is a drainage gully between us. The bull runs out of room to run. It starts to make a u-turn and it looked like it got snagged by the barbed wire fence. Ouch. James catches up at the lunch SAG. We get cleared to miss the third SAG of the day as we will beat the van there. Aberdeen has no restaurants other than fast food. We stop on our way to the motel at McD and later have dinner at Subway. Both of which are about 2 miles away. Sonic is 1/2 mile in another direction and Wendy's a mile and 1/2 past that. Not having good wholesome food is taking a toll. Mostly mentally but I wouldn't eat this way at home. We are in a city tomorrow. A shorter ride and the promise of better food.

Six States Down

Brinkley to Senatobia MS. Still in the 50's in the morning. Arm and knee warmers again to start. Overcast. First order of business today is the memorial for Darrell. We are outside at 6:00 am. We form up in a circle with a space for the "missing man". Eric Kloor has written a poem that paints a vivid picture of Darrell. This will also be read at the funeral. Rev Scott closes with some very comforting words. We are going to ride to breakfast at Gene's a little place about a mile away. Mike tells us not to expect much in the way of service. I don't think they do too bad getting out 30 breakfasts. Will and Sandra are running like thieves in the night. Leaving before some have been served. James, Pat and I are in no particular hurry. When we do get on the road we ride with Pete and Russ. So we are 3 Brits and a pair of bicoastal Yanks. You wouldn't think we were a organized group with someone stopping to water the weeds on the side of the road every few minutes. Pete and Russ stop and wave us on. So we are back to our usual 3 man, 1 mile pull per man group. Just before the first SAG we get on the Mississippi River Trail(MRT). This is a designated road that runs on both sides of the river from the delta to almost the start of the river. We turn and head to cross the river the road is narrow with no shoulder. The bridge itself is fairly high with all the ship traffic though as I cross I see only one barge upstream. The water is so muddy. It kind of looks like flowing clay. We stop to take pictures on the MS side. There is a welcome to Arkansas sign on the bridge for the west bound traffic. I don't know how the picture will turn out the only safe place to stop is pretty far away from the bridge. At least I got a shot of the welcome to MS sign. Now the road is concrete slabs and every two bike lengths is a little jolt as I go over the joint. We come to the lunch SAG and soon after we arrive Will and Sandra leave. Sandra tells us before they leave Will is pushing hard to stay in front of us. We eat and just as we about to leave James discovers a cut side wall on his tire. He sticks a dollar bill in the tire. This will get him in for the day but the tire is shot. We get to a small town called Crenshaw. Will, Sandra and her husband are there. The story later is Sandra's husband wanted to stop for bar b que. That's fine he has a car. We keep riding and now we are into the days climbing and it will be up and down to the finish. Nothing really steep or long but 2 or 3 short climbs a mile. Into Senatobia we a turn but end up going straight to Main St our destination. We stop just before the motel for chocolate milk and snickers. We have rap at 6:00 pm. A large group of us go to Pizza Hut for dinner. It's a disaster. They run out of every thing. I end up giving part of my family size order to Tom and Conrad because they ran out of pasta. They ran out of personal pizzas. If they wanted a med pizza the would have to wait a 1/2 hour. The salad bar was dismal. At the end they couldn't figure out the check for the other table. Paul came late to this party because he went to mechanic's time to discover he has a cracked rear rim. No bike shop till Monday. His equipment is Campagnolo and the spares in the truck are Shimano. Needless to say they can be used together but not very well. As I write this a storm is moving in. Tailwinds tomorrow.

Won' Get Caught Again

Conway to Brinkley AR. 100 miles, 1900' climbing and air thick enough to breathe. Temp at the start 56f. During breakfast it has been raining though not very hard. It will be one of those sloppy rides that slings muddy water off the wheel in front of you. The bike will need a through cleaning at the end of the day. There is confusion at the 3rd turn just 0.7 of a mile into the ride, no street sign. We don't get confirmation that we are on the right street for a mile. James, Pat and I are rolling along at an easy pace. For the first time in the trip I hear "On your left, Norman" meaning someone is going to pass me. Tom, Frank, Conrad and MIKE!!! come by. This is the first time I have seen Mike on the road so far. Now there are 7 riders in a nice smooth working pace line. I notice Mike is doing some nice hard pulls. We make a turn and a short while later Frank gets a flat. James, Pat and I roll to a stop and start to go back when Mike waves us on to continue the ride. He probably didn't think it took 7 to fix a flat. When the flat was fixed Frank wanted to try to catch us. Mike told him that there was no way that we would let that happen. James made sure of it by keeping the pace brisk to the SAG stop. Though we were first to the SAG we didn't leave first. We got under way with Sandra right in front of us. She was rearing to go as her husband was comming to meet her. We came up to a turn as James got a flat. I didn't hear him and kept going. These soft spoken English boys must learn to project. I pass Scott, then I pass Will. I'm rolling along easy and look back every once and a while. Thinking I know they're comming. Finally I see some riders. Though I am surprised when it's Will, Sandra, James and Pat. James, Pat and I are setting a pretty hard pace. Soon Will is dropped but Sandra hangs with us all the way to lunch. Leaving lunch Will and Sandra are out first. Sandra does have incentive. We don't seem to be in any hurry to get going. Finally under way we cross the White River, it is above flood stage. There is this house on a spit of land with a pickup parked on the north side and no visible road around just water. We eventually catch Will and Sandra but we must have beat up on them enough as they don't jump in with us. The requisite stop is made for chocolate milk and snickers. A reporter from a local paper comes in and we give her a general outline of the trip. James went to call home, time difference to the UK. The reporter has to leave but wants a picture. Eric has arrived during this time and we snag him for the photo. He wants to tell the reporter his name is Stephen Colbert. We talk him out of it. I don't think they even get the comedy channel around here. We have a rather long meeting tonight. What to expect for the next few days. Warnings not to get off the road in any kudzu or you will never be found. Watch for fire ants. Our end banquet. Tomorrow is Darrell's funeral and we will have our own service in the morning. Conrad will be making a sculpture to send to the family commemorating Darrell's Ride. Crossing the mighty Mississippi tomorrow.

Climbing The Tailwind

Ft Smith to Conway AR. Temp at the start 59. Climbing 3100' plus some extra. Mileage 125. We are now in our last ten days of riding. No more rest days just pushing to Savannah. Breakfast is at the motel at 6. Load at 7. We already know that at load we will be getting a revised route sheet. We have to compensate for being at a different motel. Mike doesn't want us to ride on Rt 22 until we get out of town. That road is very busy with no shoulder, high curbs and no sidewalk. We are leaving just about last except the couple on the tandem. Their tandem is at a bike shop in Ft Smith awaiting a part. They don't appear all that stressed about it. They are taking this better than I would. We have some very hard short climbs right out of the start. We get to a really steep one at about 5 miles. Mike has spray painted something in the road that is supposed to be encouragement. I just may have to call one of those numbers to report graffiti violators. It is the smilely face that gets me ;-). At the top Mike is taking photos and Kirsten is walking back to the van. I ask her if she is OK. She replys she doesn't feel well. Her dad is riding away. James, Pat and I go into motor mode. It seems that every time we see a rider or a group of them our pace goes up a notch. There are two new riders on tour, they are friends of Tom. All of them are from Indiana. One of them is riding a recumbent with a plexiglass wind screen and lycra cowling. A third friend is riding only to the first SAG and then returning Ft Smith and then to home. This is one hard core rider for he has done Pac Tour's elite ride crossing the country in 17 days. Wow. One of the highlights today is going to Paris. I looked all over for the Eiffel Tower but I couldn't see it anywhere. Immediatly after the lunch SAG we cross the Arkansas River. The photo op of the day is a painting of a razorback "Hog on a Hill". It is so far away that the picture would look like a white rectangle with a brown dot on it. So we keep on rolling gentle up and downs. It's green everywhere. A rat terrier checks us out and looks like he is about take off after us in full pursuit. He who hesitates is lost and we are gone. About 15 miles from the end we stop at a light. It turns green and pulling away I go over a rough bump in the road and catch the rear derailluer cable with the cleat of my shoe and the cable housing at the back is destroyed. Now I have only two gears high and higher. Luckily my legs do not feel like they did going into Ft Smith. Luckily there are no hard climbs either. Into Conway and chocolate milk and snickers. The desk clerk directs me to a bike shop a 1/2 mile away. The employees there are quite impressed with the tour we are doing. The one who worked on my bike liked the way mine was set up although there were plenty of high end bikes there. A little pasta for dinner. A little time getting ready for tomorrow. Only a hundred miles, seems like an easy day.

Five States Down

McAlester to Ft Smith AR. 1900' of climbing. Temp in the mid 50's. We have a 8:00 am leaving time after the shock of the previous days news. Since we are leaving so late and we are into the established routine almost everybody is ready to go early. A small catch is the weather. It's raining and worse weather is comming. Even though it is way after sunrise it is dark and gloomy out. Pat, James and I head out on to the rain soaked streets. We are to exit the road we start on to Rt 270 East and we all do except one. Who is now headed to Canada. Luckily he knew something was a miss when he didn't come to the first town on the cue sheet. One of the vans goes to pick him up. Others are having flat trouble early on. The morning will be a mess from any way you look at it. James gets a flat just as the thunderstorms hit. We take shelter in a car port type structure next to a mobile home. In and around the car port are 2 tractors and 2 wrecked cars. Pat and James are expecting someone to come out of the trailer any minute with a shotgun. I think in this weather no one is going outside unless they have to. We are there about thirty minutes. The storm has been moving fast and is pulling off to the east. Back on the road and we start to warm up. Pat gets 2 flats at once. Cold again. At the Sag it stops raining but I am still cold. Karen is kind enough the open the back of the trailer with the luggage and my duffle is right there as I was one of the last to load. I get my jacket out. As we are leaving Chris rides up and we stop to talk for a minute. We exchange flat stories and Chris says you better get moving Norman's freezing. On the road James gets another flat. Then a while later I get my turn. With a piece of glass finally getting through. The thorn proof tube I am using is so thick I can't put it in my seat bag and have to wear it. I give the tube to Karen to hold onto till we get in. She finds a piece of wire in the tube but at a later inspection this is not through the tube. Before we leave Barbara tells us of another change to the end of the route getting into the motel extending the days ride even further. A navigational error then adds another 2 miles to the day. Some where about 80 miles my climbing legs disappear. I'm OK on the flat but every time we head up a hill I'm just FLAT. Pat and James nurse me along till the last 10 miles when I have to go to the front being as I had the only viable copy of the cue sheet left. The route from the original motel to the replacement was torture for me as today's ride couldn't end soon enough. We had route rap at 7:00 pm for Thursday's ride. The last four riders came in just as we were finishing up. A tough day all around. Tomorrow we get 2 new riders to go to Savannah. We just keep rolling along.

Flying Solo

Chickasha to McAlester OK. 5100' climbing. Temp at the start 40f. Winds light out of the SE. Mike said today was our signature day and by that I think he meant longest, 145 miles. About three miles after the start I just got into my aero bars and put the hammer down. So as I'm rolling along I start passing riders that have started out before me. There is good shoulder to ride on so it makes the ride more pleasant. It is really a beautiful day and it is starting to warm up. When I get to the first SAG there are a few riders there. I go through the routine of sanitizing my hands and signing in. While I'm there some of the riders I passed come in. I continue with striping off my arm and knee warmers. Everybody seems content to stand around and yak it up. I refill my bottles then grab a handful apple slices and a banana stuff them in my jersey pocket and off I go. Three riders took the SAG to the first stop and are some where up the road ahead of me. So now I have some thing to chase. I'm just motoring along having a good old time enjoying the small farms some with cattle others with horses. At one point I'm on a fairly long climb and there they are three of them waiting on the side of the road. Now they have some thing to chase. They let me pass and here they come yapping all the way. So in my best command voice I give them a firm no, one stops and the other two are after me still. Though one is tiring. The littlest one about a twenty pounder just full of itself keeps comming. So I finally reach down and get the water bottle out and give a squirt in it's direction and the chase is over. Next there is a couple sitting in beach chairs in the shade on the side of the road clapping. Now it feels like I'm more important, I've got spectators. I learn when I meet them later at the lunch SAG that he has done the ride before. So I roll along and I finally catch Perry who is moving right along, not bad for a 70 year old. Perry is like me and lives in a flat part of Florida and doesn't venture into the hills that much. A little while later I meet up with Eric. He and his daughter Kirsten are from Hawaii. She is the youngest rider at 20 and the only one I haven't seen today. About a half mile from the lunch break I see her ahead of me and she is making a right turn and going into the parking lot for a small casino where the lunch SAG is going to be. Barbara tells me I can't go into the casino unless I check my guns at the door. Well I guess they just won't be getting my business. Lunch and off again in almost a flash as Barbara tells me there is a route change. I get the changes and when and she says go 2.7 miles down and unpaved road and I think oh #@*$ that's all I need. It turns out to be an unmarked road not an unpaved one. Later James will turn too soon and will turn the day into a 155 miler, you go James. I know that I will out run the SAG so I stop about 6 miles short at a little store??? They don't have any gatorade ??store??? Are they kidding? A bottle of water, thanks. A guy in the "store" said he passed me a few minutes ago and he liked my light. Thirty miles later another store a real one this time. Got my gatorade and all is well with the world. When I get to the motel it is not where it is supposed to be and is on the other side of a major road. Mike claims 2 years ago it was on the side of the road we were routed onto, ok somebody moved it during the night. I sign in putting down the time by my name and circling it. Yes, I know that it's obnoxious. I don't care I'm chocolate milk and snickers deprived. Tomorrow will come soon enough.

In Memorium

Chickahsa to McAlester OK. We had rap for tomorrow this evening. At that time we were told about the untimely passing of one of our own. Darrell Keefer did not come to breakfast. He was found in his room by our ride leader Mike after our departure today. His son, daughter in law and grandson had been to the motel to visit with him last night. He was so proud of them. We are saddened.

Half Way And Nowhere

Elk City to Chickasha OK. 5000' climbing 128 .miles and a temp of 40f at the start. We had cross winds right out of the start. With a group of 7 we were a rather unruly bunch. We did have a shoulder at first so it wasn't as obvious how bad we were. The navigation today was going to be really complicated. Our cue sheet was 2 columns on the first page and finished on the back of a second page. In order to show the whole route it took breaking the map into three segments. The course profile was on the last page and looked like a down hill roller coaster ride. So we are out on the road with the idea that we would keep the group together. The pace was steady though we had to keep reminding some of the to watch their speed when they came to the front of the echelon. An echelon is when each rider is to the side of but just slightly behind the rider closer to the wind. Since there were 7 we had to have two rows in the echelon to stay on the shoulder. Now comes the part where we pushed the envelop on what is prudent. We turned off the road with the shoulder to a two lane with no shoulder. We were riding 3 abreast, this is against the law in every state but we do it all the time when we can get away with it. We get to the first SAG and all is fine it has warmed up and every one is putting extra items in the "lost and found" bin. So much that at the end of the day we had a large garbage bag plus the bin. Sorting it all out at the motel on a day like today can be quite a challenge. We leave the SAG and now we are 9. We form up into three rows of three on a diagonal. Now it gets a little sticky. In order for this mass to move down the road we are doing a 9 person zig zag echelon. This is like a 9 person volleyball rotation. Except the front right person doesn't drop straight back. They go from the from front right to the rear left. Everybody else advances one position towards the front. Like a segmented snake. We are doing this switch every mile. So this happens about every 2 minutes and 30 seconds. There are ONE or two in the group that are having a little trouble with the concept and on each rotation have to be told where to move to next. Even after 2 complete cycles. Just past 50 miles we turn off the two lane on to a single lane road. We are moving along nicely. We are so far over the line on what is prudent behavior it isn't funny. Yet we roll right along. Lucky for us no cars are on this road. Then we are busted by Mike. We come over a narrow bridge followed by a right hand turn and there he is in the van. Well you know there is going to be hell to pay for this. We single it out and very soon after we come to the spot painted in the road to mark the half way of our trip. Yipee. The lecture we get for our bad behavior isn't to bad. So photos are taken with every camera available by Mike who is standing on the bike rack on top of the van. Great shot. We continue on to our lunch SAG single file. We have lunch at a turn in the road. We are really in a rural spot. It is just beautiful. All day everything around us is green. A far cry from the dried out scrub of the high desert. After lunch we had a manageable group of 5. The winds have dropped and we are rolling along at a comfortable pace. We made a 2 mile detour because a sign we were looking for was missing. No big deal. At 82 miles we ride over Ft Cobb Lake Dam. Very inviting but we don't stop. A few miles later we pass a storage tank on the side of the road that says NOWHERE, OKLA. Now Mike claims it says Now Here but I don't think so. We make it to the motel. At rap Mike asks that the peleton stay after all the rest have been dismissed. This is to show us pictures of what we looked like on the road today and a friendly reminder of how dangerous it can be. Dinner then get ready for tomorrow. Our signature day according to Mike. By signature I think he means the longest.

Four States Down

Pampa to Elk City OK. Elevation 1919' todays climbing 2100'. Temp at start 35f. Wind NNW at 20 gusting higher. Eric, Frank, James and I settled into a small group fighting the cross winds. We were passing the riders that had started in front of us at a fairly steady rate. Though in the end it took a long time to reel in Conrad and Tom, the front runners at that point. The terrain in this area is what we in Miami would call rolling but if there were any cyclists in this area they would call it fairly flat. We were supposed to be descending all day but it just didn't seam that way with the cross winds. There isn't much to see. There were some wind generators. Then there were oil pumps scattered around with none of them pumping. Cattle feed lots which I might have mentioned stink to high heaven. There were some range cattle that started a minor stampede as we passed. Or they were running in boredom. You decide. The usual assortment of road kill and dead bungee cords. At the first SAG the only place out of the wind is in the lee of the van. Conrad and Tom leave before the group of four and I think that they have a big enough lead that we won't see them till the OK state line. Soon though we are gaining on them and Chris is just behind us. Jim passes us in the other van and stops to take pictures as we pass him. At the state line James and Chris sprint for the oh so dubious new state/old state honors. I don't see who wins this great event. All I know is as we cross the line we lose the nice smooth shoulder we had. Jim drives up at just the right moment to take some group shots under the Oklahoma sign. At lunch by the time we are ready to leave there is a large group eating lunch on the slab of some store that used to be there. Chris has snuck off by himself and we won't see him until we have checked in at the motel with our chocolate milk and snickers. I go to my room and call Amy to get the run down on the rescheduled Springsteen concert. Sounds like a great time was had. The dinner choices are fast food or Western Slizzler, a slightly better fast food. I may be becoming pasta deprived. One of the things about working so hard at a repetative task is losing track of the details so quickly. I think we may cross the half way point tomorrow. Totally amazing.

Riding The Pampa

Dalhart to Pampa TX. The bar b que place provided breakfast this morning. Quite good. After eating we had route rap and Mike made the announcement about Andrew leaving the tour. There were some really shocked people. I think some didn't know how much he had been struggling the last few days. America by Bicycle has an attrition rate of about 10%. Mike says that since we have reached that the rest of us have to make Savannah. Todays route is ever so slightly downhill till just before lunch then up and down to the finish. It is in the 30's when we leave and I didn't realize it would be so cold. I have finger less gloves, light sox on and nothing on under my helmet. My hands, feet and head are like blocks of ice. I am afraid to even try to take my water bottle out of the cage because I'm sure I would just drop it. Mike is driving the mechanics van talking pictures. At the SAG he tells me today was the first day he was able to get in front of me to get some photos of me riding. I am so glad to be at the SAG so I can eat and drink something. James and I ride out together. We are finally on some roads that I can get into my aero bars and really hammer. I push James to his limit but he will return the favor after lunch when we are in the uphill downhill phase. At lunch there was a veggie platter and I got tunnel vision. My whole lunch centered on that platter. Probably not the best thing to ride on but I felt fresh veggie deprived. Mike was out taking pictures and says he got some great shots of James and I together. We had route rap at 5 instead of at breakfast. I did some preventive maintenance on the bike. Had dinner next door with James, one of the two Scotts and one of the three Bills. We also have two Erics, how can this be in such a small group? We have a short cold ride for tomorrow. Yes, I will dress properly.

Three States Down

Tucumcari to Dalhart NM 96 miles. Wind SW 20 to 30 mph gusting higher. The navigation today is very simple Rt 54E 95 miles later a few turns and into the motel. As we start to ride it's James, Daryll, Frank, Andrew and I are going to ride as a group today. At the first hill Andrew is in trouble and drops from the group. We arrive at the first SAG and others come in. Andrew comes in signs the check in sheet and leaves. When our little group sets out again we are passing those who have started out before us. As we are getting close to the Texas state line we are comming up behind Will and Sandra they are pushing very hard. We finally catch them and I thought they dropped off behind us. James is at the front and from the back Sandra winds up a monster sprint to the line. James reacts to this but there is no chance for him. When Sandra turns around to go back to the Texas marker but with the headwind her bike is hardly moving. Just as we are ready to take our photos Jim drives up in the mechanic's van and we all give him our cameras and each gets a great group shot. Now we are only 11 miles from lunch. Lunch is difficult because the wind is trying to blow everything away. After lunch Tom and Greg are out first with Sandra and Will close behind then me. T and G are off like a shot not to be seen till Dairy Queen. I ride with S and W for a while. Just before we get to a huge cattle feed lot I ride off and the stench is just awful. At what looks like the end of the lot there is a huge plume of dust blowing across the road. I try to get by without getting sand in my eyes. There is a gathering of riders at DQ. Though in not sure which was the most interesting group there. The motor cyclists from Denver going to Austin, the first graders or the people in the funny looking spandex outfits. Dalhart has one real grocery store which I hiked to. A near by bar b que place seemed to be the cyclist's place to be. Pat and Andrew both went to the ER after their arrival. Pat for gastric distress and came back after getting some IV fluids. Andrew was diagnosed as having had a heart attack. Since Dalhart has no cardiologist he was transferred to Amarillo. Everybody will miss him and his very dry good humor.

Ruined the Post

Sorry about todays post. I wrote it then deleted it by mistake. I will try to do two today.

Tailwind To Tucumcari

Las Vegas to Tucumcari NM. Elevation 4085' temp 58f wind SW 22 gusting to 30 and beyond. Luggage load today is at 5:45 am. I sign in and return to my room to mix up a gatorade and get the bike to ride to breakfast. I had all the lights going visibility being so important to me. For those of you who don't ride I have lights on the bike that will burn your retinas if you stare at them too long. We go to a place called Charlie's. They were very organized about taking the orders but when the food came out they auctioned it off. Talk about confusion. When I was done eating I ran out of there like a thief. My plan today was two fold. One was to beat the SAG van to the second stop so I could play through so to speak(not have to stop). Two was to out run the Brits. The navigation for today was quite simple go from breakfast to Rt 104 go 110 miles turn into the motel. The wind direction meant that this was going to be a good day to play. For the most part we were going to have a tailwind. Also for the most part we were going to be descending in altitude. A few riders were out from breakfast in front of me. So I got to play chase the rabbit at first. Karen was driving the SAG van and keep leap frogging me and then stopping to take pictures. I came to one place in the road were there was a really long downhill with the really good tailwind. So as I crested the hill I gave few pedal strokes and just went into a nice aero tuck. Soon I was doing 52 mph fast enough. Others told me they were getting up close to 60 mph. They must have been pedaling all the way down. Next up the road drops off the top of a mesa into a box canyon. This is a steep technical descent with lots of turns and cattle guards across the road. The speed limit is 25 and I swear officer I never went more than 13 over the limit. At the first cattle guard I pulled over to get some photos of the box canyon. Again at the bottom out with the camera for some shots looking back up the road. I am first to the SAG and off with arm and knee warmers, into the "lost and found bin" to be picked up later at the motel. Next it's gloves off and sanitize hands before touching anything else. Refill water and gatorade. Just as I'm putting the gloves on a few riders pull in and want to know if I've been there an hour. Comedians everywhere. As I leave I say to Karen if I get to the next SAG before the van I'm going to straight through to the finish. Later James tells me he saw my light as he was getting to the stop. At 68 miles the cue sheet reads start steep climb for 0.7. Now while it was steep it was no Sugarloaf Mtn. As I was getting closer to the SAG every time I heard a vehicle come up behind me "please don't be our van". I pass the point where the SAG is supposed to be and I'm pretty sure the Brits won't catch me. Once in town and headed south the cross winds are really strong. I pull up to the motel and get to sign the sign in sheet first. Now I can go eat. First to McD then to Circle K for more calories. I get to the room and the front desk calls to say they have treats set up in the hospitality suite. I'm walking over and here come James and Andrew with the requisite chocolate milk and snickers under their jerseys. When the van comes the luggage is unloaded in minutes. We have route rap at 5. We learn that we are being booted from our rest day hotel by FEMA, doesn't that just figure. We will stay at a sister property very close by. More tailwinds tomorrow, sounds good.

Las Vegas, No Not That Las Vegas

Albuquerque to Las Vegas NM, Temp 38 feels warmer. 135 miles and 7000+ feet of climbing. Breakfast 5:45 am next door at the Village Inn. Load at 6:45 don't forget to sign in. Gatorade powder, put the unused portion of the powder in the zipper baggie open in your jersey packet. Luckily I won't sweat enough today to make a real mess, only a minor one. People are getting last minute repairs with Jim. Lots of activity. I am out on the road and soon catch up to Will and Sandra and ride with them until the first real good climb. I slowly pull away from them and I am riding much better then Sunday when I was really suffering. Four miles or so from the First SAG of the day James, Eric and Pat catch me from behind. James goes to the front and sets a pace that is a little fast but since it is a short way to the stop I hang in. I learn the Andrew is really suffering with altitude issues. When I am ready to leave I just set off for Madrid. Mike has told us that we shouldn't miss the MADrid HATTER as great pastries are to be had there. I set off from the break as soon as I am ready and stop for my goodies. James is in next telling me that he was chasing the light. Soon there is quite the crowd at the counter getting sticky buns, cookies and drinks. I opt for the bear claw made with apples and raisins and it came warmed up, delicious. A I get ready to leave Eric is away in front of me as I pass him all he says is "the light". I reach down and fire the little red power house up. As I come out of a couple of real fast twisty downhill sections I look back for Eric and he is not in sight. For me this is a day when I think I will be best off riding alone. The riders who do not stop for goodies in Madrid will be a half a step ahead of me the rest of the day including Andrew. I think if he gets into any trouble I won't be that far behind him. After lunch the sky clouds up for the first time the whole trip. Just keeping it from getting too hot. At the last SAG it is Karen sitting on a picnic table at a rest stop with no facilities. I talk to her as I go through refilling bottles and have a bite to eat. She says when I get off the interstate at Las Vegas we will be done with interstates for the rest of the trip. I-25 is a lot more difficult to negotiate, the on and off ramps are very short. It's only saving grace is the shoulders were in much better condition than both I-10 and I-40. Just after getting into town James catches up with me. He wants to stop at some dingy looking gas station for calories. I suggest Diary Queen, we turn in and soon there are six of us talking about what a good day this has been. Scott rides by going the other way to find the towns only bike shop because he has a broken water bottle cage. He comes back a short time later, the shop is closed till Thur. Ten of us go across the street from the motel to a local restaurant that features Mexican. I order chicken enchiladas because I am told the sauce is mild. On the first bite I get the hiccups. I tell the waitress that the dish is too hot and I settle for Bar b que beef sandwich and mashed potatoes. Bland but I'll live. I know that I have not been posting any pictures. there have been issues. So when I get back I'll do something about it. Besides I'm sure you only want to see the good ones. Looking forward to tomorrow.

Dinner And The Rest Day

The first thing you realize when you are in a place that considers Mexican fast food fine dinning is that you are in culinary hell. Then there is the transportation problem because we don't ride after dark. So we call a cab and get ready to wait 20 to 40 minutes for transport. We pick an Italian restaurant based on name and actually don't do too bad. Now the fun starts as we are ready to return to the motel. A call to the same cab company gets us "the driver will be there shortly". Thirty-five minutes later I call the cab company and get "no I can't tell how long it will be but he is on his way". An hour has passed and I'm the phone again "he is on the way". Fifteen minutes pass, an empty cab from that company goes by and disappears. A short time later a Yellow cab stops at the light and I get there in a flash. I get the drivers attention and explain the situation. He is most happy to take us. As we get under way the driver says we should call the other company. I do and tell them that another company has picked us up. The dispatcher offers nothing other than an OK and hangs up. This driver is real nice and takes us to Walmart for a brief late night quest for Visine, Saline spray and for Andrew electrolyte solution. We are beat up and dried out. The rest day is just what we need. When I had talked to Amy a few days before she told me that she had repacked my care package into a different box. Now by her saying this I know that there is going to be a surprise in the box. The thing is if I was to ask what is in the box I would get an obscure clue would just leave me baffled. So you can imagine my disappointment when I check in and it has not arrived. Monday morning I call Amy at work and she has things well in hand, has the package tracked down and makes sure that it is going to be delivered today. So I have the mundane things to take care of, laundry and bike cleaning and lube. There are two locals that have done tours with America by Bicycle, they shuttle some of us to bike shops. I go for the ride and to spectate. From there I taxi over to the local school for massage to get my poor body worked on. The student who gives me the massage is close to graduation and is very good. I feel pretty good after and walk back to the motel stopping to eat lunch on the way. Now comes the care package. The box is 4 times the size of the one I packed. Along with my Gu, Cliff Bars and Endurox, is the surprise. Wrapped in cardboard and bubble wrap there it is. So I go about setting up a party, as many of our people I can find to come to Bill and my room for a Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie Party. What a hit. Amy, Thank you so much. There was a card addressed to His Majesty the King of Pain, now I don't know what that means but the card sure was funny. I am still laughing about it. Looking forward to tomorrow, 8000' an ant hill.

Galluping In The Cold

Gallup to Albuquerque NM 5000 feet, temp at breakfast 21f. Mike tells us at breakfast that this will be the first time he has delayed the morning start due to cold. We will load luggage at 7:45 on a day when we will be riding 136 miles. We start on Route 66 and then get on to I-40. The route has ups and down but we are gaining altitude slowly but surely to the Continental Divide. Our first SAG of the day is at the CD and Karen is taking pictures of everyone in front of the sign which indicates we are at 7200+ feet. After the break 7 of us form a nice pace line. The wind is 15 mph from the SE and oscillating. Between the road bending and the wind we keep changing the echelon from going from the left to the right and of course the times when it just head on. We meet up with Karen in the van and get the good news that lunch has been moved 15 miles sooner. We won't stop at the original SAG. About 3miles from lunch I get dropped while we are doing 18 mph. This is mentally painful to me. When I roll up to the van I just rest my head on my aero bars for a minute. The wind, cold and altitude have taken their toll. Especially the altitude, any real exertion causes me to be really out of breath even if my heart rate is not that high. I don't take of my goretex jacket and wind pants until the 76 mile mark. Just before getting on the interstate yet again we stop for fluid refills. The shoulder is in good condition and the trucks are not buffeting us around today. At the point that I feel I can get back in the rotation of the pace line I'm asked to stay in the back with my killer flashing light. Which can be seen for about two miles during the day. When we get off I-40 for the last time we have a really hard series of climbs to the point where we cross over I-40 and start descending into Albuquerque. Mike has told us that we could hit 55 mph going into town. With the wind I get up to 38 at one point. When we cross the Rio Grande I think that we are going to be at the motel only to find out that there is a second page in the cue sheet(s) and 4 more miles to go. Just at the motel it is in to Circle K for the requisite chocolate milk and Snickers. Must have that 1000 calories. Then off to the room to hide. Next post dinner exploits and the rest day.

Two States Down

Winslow AZ 4500' to Gallup NM 6500' Temp 30f Today's official distance 133 miles. As we enter the room in the motel where we are supposed to have breakfast Barbara is handing out the que sheet. This is a deviation from the routine. Mike tells us that the people hired to make breakfast just didn't show. We go over the route for the day. Our choices for breakfast are McD or Dennys yet again. James and I share a booth at Dennys as most of the group is there. At luggage load Mike shows me the route map and says that if I want to I can leave interstate at Holbrook and come up through the Petrified Forest NP including the Painted Desert adding 30 miles to todays ride getting in that 160 mile day. Yeah, that's it. At the first SAG Frank and I decide the we will leave I-40 at the Painted Desert go up a couple of miles and come back to the interstate. It was spectacular worth the time and effort. We are headed east on the I once again the wind is from the N at 15 gusting higher. The semi's blow you to the right then suck you towards them then one last push away as the tail end passes. Kirsten is knocked down by one as she is taken by surprise once. Lots of flats and cut tires. Frank and I encounter a section of shoulder that the random pattern of raised cracks in the asphalt is just maddening. At lunch I call a massage school in Albuquerque to arrange a massage on our rest day. I opt for a student keeping the price down. The wind on the long miles in after lunch and the last SAG is just brutal. Even Andrew our strongest rider is feeling beat up. I am feeling better than yesterday. Four of us stop at DQ on the way in. Dennys for dinner, It's the only choice. I end the day with 144.4 miles. Still in good spirits.

Standing On A Corner in...

Cottonwood to Winslow AZ. The day starts with essentially 40 miles of climbing. This is mostly through the beautiful Red Rock Canyon. I start with Russ and his Dad Pete from the UK. At the first informal SAG they go inside of the Church where there are snacks laid out for us. I just top off my water and Gatorade and continue on by myself. The red in the sediment that gives the canyon it's name makes the Redlands in Miami look pale in comparison. The climb out of the end of the canyon is fairly steep in two miles there are six switch backs. So as you go you can look down on the road section or sections that you have already done. It is cool enough that while climbing I'm still zipped up. After the canyon it is mostly gentle downs and ups to Flagstaff. This is where the lunch SAG is to be. When I arrive Darrell, Andrew and James are waiting. I grab a quick snack and we are ready to head out. We cut through the campus of the Northern Arizona University. Lots of people walking around in T-shirts. I think it's way to cold for that, it's all what you get used to. As son as we leave campus we swing onto the bike path along side Route 66. Pictures must be taken under the Rt 66 sign. The pace is fast and soon my heart rate is through the roof. I ask for the others to back off a notch and we do while on Old 66 going to I-40. Once on I-40 the pace is up again I just can't cope with the charging up the hills. I tell them not wait for me and I watch them ride away and get smaller mile after mile. Soon they are out of sight and I try to keep the pace as high as I can. Being at even 6900 feet of altitude can put you in a deficit fast. You have to pay close attention as the amount of debris on the shoulder is enormous. Tire treads off trucks with the dreaded tire puncturing bits of wire, bits of wood up to 4x4's, bungee cords by the dozen and road kill. Not to mention the condition of the shoulder itself. When I get into Winslow I don't even have the energy to go to the corner made famous by the Eagles. I am told there is a flatbed Ford and Eagles music blaring from speakers. I go to the motel directly and the only way I can describe the way I feel is crisp. I muster up some energy and go across the street to Safeway for the requisite chocolate milk and snickers supplemented today with a sandwich. I hope this will tide me over till dinner. After lots of wandering around the local area and rejecting the fast food places we take a cab to a real restaurant in the downtown area. Apparently this is the only one in Winslow. The food is excellent, just what I needed. My energy level is back up and I am looking forward to tomorrow. I go back to the room and just go to sleep. I am sorry I am running a day behind with my posts, but life happens. I am hoping to catch up on the rest day. I do so much enjoy the comments of support that you are leaving for me.

Climbing, Climbing and Screaming Descent

Wickenberg to Cottonwood AZ. Today we had route rap at breakfast. Luggage load is at 6:30. The wind is going to be fairly light today but in the mountain passes it still gets compressed and accelerated. It is in the 40's and will stay cool in the higher elevations. The cue sheet has instructions 18.4 miles climb to 24.4 miles. So there is going to be up and down all day with 4 major climbs. The first climb is a optical illusion as it looks like you are descending early on but are going really slow. When you look behind you you can tell just how much you have come up. I am riding with Conrad and Tom they are fairly strong riders but as the road kicks up a notch they start to fall behind. Next I pass the couple on the tandem. They loaded their luggage before breakfast in order to get an early start as the tandems do not climb as well as a single bike. I'm sweating like a pig and have my jersey and wind vest unzipped. With my arm warmers pulled down. Just after the summit the van is having an unofficial SAG. As I go by Barbara asks if I'm OK, I give her the hand signal that let's her know I'm fine. She signals back. Now I'm full into the descent doing about 30 mph. Now I'm cold and damp. So I'm zipping up my jersey, zipping up my wind vest and pulling up the arm warmers. Just a beautiful day rolling along. I'm at a point where if I went off the road I would tumble down the hill forever, there is no guard rail. I look out over this valley and I see a really big hawk or a golden eagle. As I get closer to the first official SAG which is lunch at 10 am, I keep thinking the Brits will be overtaking me any minute now. I'm first to lunch Pat is next and others arrive singly and in small groups including the Brits. After everyone left this morning they went for an espresso. Sounds like Sat at Larios. As I am leaving the SAG Barbara stops me and says that she can't make the next SAG before I'll get there so get my refills on my own and go all the way to the motel. She said it was nice to see some one climbing so well. I'm climbing again and stop for pics and soon after Pat catches me. We ride through Prescott stopping for gatorade. While there I think Andrew passes us. We are now headed for the last climb of the day. This is going to take us to 7000'. I see a sign no trucks over 50'. Above 6500' there is an 18 wheeler jammed up against the guard rail in a hair pin turn blocking traffic. We are able to get up to the truck and walk our bikes around. This is definitely a photo op. Some cars finally start passing us near the summit. We see James on the road below us and as we stop for a picture at the top James catches up. We start down and Pat just disappears as I slow down to zip up. James and I stay together keeping our speed down(under 35) on this highly technical and bumpy descent. Andrew later tells us he was doing 50, Pat's speedo shows a max of 45. The views are awesome but brief. Finally a scenic overlook to stop at for pics. We come into Jerome an old mining town now an artist village. Pat finds a place to take a break there but we miss his bike. James stops for more photos. I go rocketing down to Cottonwood by myself. Even with stopping to flip over my cue sheet and check the directions I arrive at the motel alone. Bill my roommate has gotten in the van after lunch. The van arrives much earlier than I expected. The second van must have taken the last SAG stop. We all pitch in to unload the luggage and make short work of it. Then off to some nice hot showers. Some of the slower riders are over 3 hours behind the early finishers. Since there are so many choices for dinner we go off in small groups. I have an enjoyable evening with the Brits. Then dashing off the blog and now to much deserved sleep.

One State Down

Blythe CA to Wickenberg AZ, 115 miles 2600' of climbing. The group split on breakfast 1/2 staying at the motel the rest of us to Dennys. I am trying to eat more before we start out each day. The luggage load was at 6:45 and on the road as soon as you are ready. We are back on I-10 in less than 5 miles. Then stopping at the AZ state line for a pic. Our tandem team goes right on by since the stoker can take all the photos she wants not having to worry about steering. I take my one quick photo and I'm off. I soon catch the tandem and settle in with them. This is not to last as Andrew and James soon come rocketing along. It's off to the races. James needs to make an adjustment to his bike. We leave the Interstate and I go to get some all important gatorade. They are waiting for me and back on I-10 we go passing riders in ones and twos. At 35 miles we exit I-10 to Rt 60 for the rest of the day. The road is arrow straight till the last ten miles then 10 miles of easy downhill twisties. After the first SAG we realize we are going to out run the van to the lunch stop. We stop several times for photos. As we are getting on the road we fall in with Wil and Sandra. Andrew and Sandra get into a sprint comming into the small town where lunch will be. We are early and have to wait about 10 minutes for the van. Kristen the rider who had the sugar/dehydration episode at rap yesterday is pressed into KP duty. She will be back on her bike tomorrow. Lunch is set up quickly. While we eat other riders are comming in. Andrew, James and I are first to leave. The wind is oscillating all the time from almost a tail wind to almost a head wind at on point a dust devil popped up just ahead of us and blew James and I onto the shoulder. We stop to regroup and the backside of the devil blows 180 degrees opposite and is breaking branches on a dead tree across the road. Just as we arrive for the next SAG stop the van pulls in behind us. The plan is to leave Jim and Mike go back in support of the other riders. We refill our bottles and are off. A short time later several cop cars and an ambulance go by the other way. When we get into Wickenberg we go to Safeway for our 1000 calorie snack. Andrew calls the van and two of our riders have gone down. We later learn that Jack hit the rumble strip on the shoulder. His wife Karen couldn't avoid him. She has some scrapes, he has a concussion and is probably going home. We wish him the best. When the luggage came I was off to the laundry. I got back in time for mechanics time to lube my bike. Sandra needed some zip ties to re mount her GPS. Jim only had some thin ones but I had some heavier ones, problem solved. Looking forward to tomorrow.

Hot and Windy

Today we loaded at 6:45 am. The wind was 23 gusting to 30 out of the NW. Our first SAG was at Mecca. Time to take off the arm and knee warmers as it is warm. As we leave we are in farm country and soon enter an area called Box Canyon with some very interesting geology. The road is narrow with no real safe place to pull off to take any pics. The climbing is gentle all the way to I-10 which we are on for 63 miles. It's just plain hot now, 90 and sunny. The wind just keeps moving around the compass with no real pattern to it. We get to Chiriaco Summit (1700') the high point. Here we find the General Patton Museum. Even though this is not an official SAG the van is there for water bottle refills. The lunch SAG is a deserted small burger stand complete with bags of outdated chips inside. At two rest stops I pull tiny pieces of wire from my tires. These are from the tire carcasses we pass endlessly on the interstate. Luckily the one that goes flat holds air till we reach the motel. Others are not so lucky. There is a trophy at the end to the person with the most flats, some have had 6 already. The two Brits Andrew and James, and Frank from Sarasota and I are out in front again. Passed by the next strongest group while... you guessed it fixing a flat. Just before getting to the motel we stop at Kmart for a 1000 calorie snack knowing that we can't make up the 8000+ calories we burned. Our youngest rider had to go to the ER because she was woozy from not eating anything near or at the end of the ride today. We won't know her status till morning. Hoping for the best.

The First Day

After breakfast it all starts with the loading of the trailer with everyones luggage. This is also the time to pump up tires and get some gatorade mix for the day. Once you have loaded your luggage and signed in you are free to start riding. Today we all went in mass to the beach for a dip your wheels in the Pacific Ocean ceremony. Then off to the Santa Ana River(canal) Trail. We followed the trail criss crossing from one side to the other on some rickety wooden bridges with loose boards for about 30 miles. After the Sag stop I was off with 2 of the 5 Brits on the tour. Next point of interest was climbing up Cajalco Road described in the route sheet as narrow, rough and busy. This took us up to about 1700 feet. The 3 of us managed to get to the lunch SAG a minute in front of the van. The 3 of us left lunch first. We were soon climbing up an 8 mile climb in the San Bernadino Mtns. The summit around 2600 feet. After this there is lots of downhill with 2 one mile sections of I-10. The downhills are screaming and even on the fairly flat sections we are close to 40 mph. Both of the other riders I was with got flats today, I was the lucky one today. Palm Springs is very upscale with lots of outdoor dining available. Too bad it is too far away to have diner there. We had to be at the motel at 7 pm to get our route sheet for tomorrow. Todays ride is over and looking forward to tomorrow.

Zero Day

Today is Zero Day. With people arriving all day. Bike reassembly and inspection going on pretty much constantly. In the picture below Jim the official mechanic and Frank who works in a bike shop confer on a bike's set up. Scott, Bill, Frank and I went on a ride of about 30 miles on the Pacific Coast Highway. We had our introduction meeting this afternoon with all aspects of the ride being discussed. I feel we got a good sense of what to expect and what was expected of us. All the safety issues we will face. The routines for loading up in the morning. We got the route sheet for tomorrow and there is going to be a lot of careful navigating to be done. Everybody got to introduce themselves to the group. There will be 30 doing the full ride, 2 going part of the way and 4 staff. In the morning we will be off in earnest to see the US from the seat of a bicycle.

Travel Day

Today Amy dropped me off at Miami's airport before 6:00 am. I tried to check my bike box at the curb but I guess that's been tried before. Inside I get to wait in line move a few feet wait. Luckily the bike box is sturdy enough to sit on with room for my duffle also. Just hoping to keep the legs fresh. Finally get to the front of the line and pay the $80 for the bike. I turn my stuff over to TSA and as I go for my screening I think will I ever see the bike or the duffle again.
I arrive at Dallas with enough time to dash from my gate to another concourse. When I get to the gate there is nobody waiting to board and I am one of the last to embark. I am sitting on the side of the plane that they load the bags on. I never see my things get loaded only reinforcing that baggage victim feeling.
Arrival at John Wayne airport a few minutes late but John is there to meet me. See picture below. He is bigger and sturdier than I imagined. What a relief when I see my duffle come on to the carousel. The bike box is at the special over size area, more relief. The shuttle from the hotel takes only a few minutes and I meet the first of my fellow riders Bill. After checking in as I go to my room I see a titianium Seven tandem($$$$$) negotiating the parking lot. The riders are really tall and the frame is huge, much bigger than our tandem.
I have a contact here in Costa Mesa, Joe is going to store my bike box untill it is time to ship it to Savannah. When he comes to pick up the box he takes me to a local bike shop to get some CO2 cartridges(no CO2 on planes).
I do get a 20 mile ride in with Bill and his friend Scott. They have already checked in with America by Bicycle and Scott is sporting the very nice A by B long sleeve jersey. I'll get mine tomorrow.
I briefly met Mike the tour leader, his wife Barbara, and Karen the co-leader. Things are shaping up.
One thing about doing the posts to the blog from the Blackberry is you can't put the pictures where you want them. The editing is very limited. So the pics either are at the top or at the bottom.
Tomorrow is zero day.... Check in and meet and greet.

The Last Training Ride

Today was the last training ride before I leave. I have done one of those infamous tapers that triathletes are so wild about that I just don't believe in. I ended up with 8670 so far this year. This is far more mileage than I put on my Ford Escape. If you are out riding your bike you can't be burning up any dead dinosaurs.

I would like to give a thumbs up to Katie and Heather at Purely Custom for getting me some specialty items that I ordered. They were both so helpful. It is is nice to have such good service.

The top cap and handle bar plugs are called venom. Very cool. This afternoon I spent some time disassembling the bike and packing it into the shipping box.

T minus one day and counting....

It is about the bike

Lance Armstrong said it is not about the bike. Well if yours is a pile of carbon dust it quickly becomes about the bike. With two days to spare I have managed to pull together a bike that is almost identical to the victims(me). The biggest difference is the paint scheme of the new frame. The other is going back to a sadddle that is on all my other bikes. I like the sound of that... all my other bikes. The time trial, the track and the tandem.


There are some people that I would like to thank for helping me get this rig together so quickly. Allan at Look Cycle USA for the frame. Jeremy at American Classic for the wheels and then another new rear wheel when Fedex destroyed the first one. Nick at Full Speed Ahead for the bars and stem and for shipping some necessary bits and pieces in one package saving me a little $. Fred at Profile Design for getting things sorted out and letting me know that the aerobars were the most damaged ever returned to them. Special kudos to Christian at Zero Gravity(brakes) for also telling me that I have a record for the most damaged piece of equipment ever returned and replacing them under warranty. Niterider Technical Lighting for also fixing the headlamps under warranty. Now a big fat thumbs down to DiNotte Lighting for never returning my call. I bought another of their lights only because it is the brightest one out there and some one picked it up at the crash and I didn't get it back, but service after the sale is so important especially in a niche market like cycling. So without further ado here is the new ride.

Countdown...

T minus two days and counting.

Disaster Strikes

On March 30 while riding the Snowbird Century in S Miami-Dade County disaster struck. I rode from home to the start of the ride at the Fruit and Spice Park. The plan was to ride the full century and ride home again afterwards. This would give me about 114 miles for the day. I left the start about a minute early to stay out of the confusion of 700 riders starting at once. Some others I knew also had the same idea and about 10 of us were just riding along easy when the first fast group caught us. Now the ride begins in earnest. Soon we are joined by another large group. The pace is fast and the wind is maybe 2 mph, nice riding. At the point that the metric century and full century separate I am the only rider heading west on the Everglades Park road. At the turn around point at Payhaokee I refill my water bottles and grab a snack. Now the fun starts with the wind out of the NE and almost all of the rest of the ride heading north or east back to the start. As I am heading east I pass going the other way little groups on their way out.

Now out of the park with about 15 miles back to the start. I am setup to make a left turn and as I turn my head to check traffic a pickup passes within inches of me, Now this would have been OK except the truck was hauling a boat that was considerably wider than the truck. I was struck on the back of my left shoulder knocking me off the bike away from the trailer. The bike did not fare so well.

The bike was caught up between the wheels of the trailer and dragged across the intersection. Yes, the driver stopped. Every major component of the bike suffered catastrophic failure with the exception of the seat post and the cranks. My injuries were limited to road rash of my right knee, hip, and shoulder. So I am lucky and not so lucky. I am less than two weeks away from my departure date and riding my time trial bike. The good thing is that I have no real injury and have not missed any training days. Every vehicle that passes now is too close, in my opinion.

Training for Coast to Coast Ride

Since the beginning of the year I have logged about 8000 miles training for the "Fast America South" bike ride with America by Bicycle. I have trained in all conditions including days that were wet and cold that I would not have ordinarily ridden. I quickly got to the point that my base ride was 100 miles or more. Some of the rides were large fast group rides on weekends. During the week I would meet up with some of the riders living in S Dade County at Blackpoint Marina and continue riding another 50 to 70 miles solo after finishing with them back at the marina. I have also logged many days going to Key Largo via Card Sound Road this ride I almost always do by myself. One thing you get to do while riding these long rides is to be very keen on what is going on on the sides of the road. Like the Saturday morning a small group of us were rocketing along at about 28 mph(with tailwind) and I was pointing out the otters playing on the side of the canal next to the road. Then there was the morning a crocodile was getting its picture taken by a Miami-Dade Officer who said that being called out for the crocodile meant he was going to miss his bike ride that day. Then there are the birds. The great herons, wood storks, belted kingfishers, and of course the F-16s. I'm looking forward to seeing some different terrain and wildlife as I cross the country.
Since there is so much climbing involved in going cross country, and Miami is so flat I have gone to Clermont in central Florida many times. While there I have ridden the course of the Horrible Hundred century ride three days in a row each time. This ride is famous for hitting every steep hill in central Florida including the 16% of Sugarloaf Mountain, which comes about 85 miles into the ride. While some of the people I ride with regularly think I am going to be just fine on the crossing, the thought in the back of my mind is, am I ready?

The first post

Welcome to Norman's Cycling. This is the first post in a series that will take us through my preparation for and hopefully the completion of my ride across America. The ride will begin in Costa Mesa CA on Apr 21st and end in Savannah GA on May 17th.