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.