White Line Fever

Brown County MTB

2011-10-26T19:52:00.000-07:00

Fall is my favorite time to trade the road bike for fat tires and fun in the woods. Last weekend me and my freinds Jim and Eric drove down to mid-southern Indiana to ride some of the best designed and maintained trails in the midwest at Brown County State Park. This has now become an annual tradition, this past weekend being the 4th consecutive year of our pilgramage.
This was peak season, with leaves in near full color, and nary a hotel room to be found with a lot of tourist activity happening in the area. No trail passes are required in the State park so you can ride all day for a mere $7 parking fee.

The area saw nearly 2 inches of rain on Wednesday and Thursday so there was some concern about the trails being too wet to ride Saturday morning. We arrivfed at about 11:00 am local time and condtions were perfect. Sunny and 50 degees with temps climbing to low 60s in the afternoon. Trails were dry.

This is the second year I rented a bike to take down with us. While I like my hardtail, a full suspension bike really takes the edge off of two days of riding, and I aint getting any younger. Last year I tried out the Specialized Cambr. This year I went with the Stump Jumper which has a beefier suspension yet. Jim also picked up an Epic to bring down in addition to his own ride. Both were Specialized "test bikes" which we rented from Pedal & Spoke in North Aurora. They set us up real nice! This was great cause we were able to switch bikes on day 2 to make comparisons on likes and dislikes. Eric already owns a Stump Jumper,also built by Pedal & Spoke, but his is an XL so no sharing, cause Eric is like 7 feet tall! All the bikes were niners, so this was also a new experience for both Jim and I.

Sweet Ride

This year, we all agreed to take it slow, since some of us have not done a lot of trail riding this year (me), and some of us were not in top physical shape (me), and some of us broke bones the last time we came (no comment).

Eric

Jim

Hesitation Point

We rode all day and were beat by the time we got off the trails at about 5:30. Great day for sure. Only a few crashes, no game stoppers. The full suspension bike took the bumps very well. I was very impressed with the Stump Jumper. Gonna have to start saving up for one.

Sunday we rode some more remote, rustic trails at Valley Branch Retreat which is only a few miles from the State Park. The trails here were very different compared to the fast and heavily ridden trails at Brown County. This place is spread over 500 acres and has some very scenic heavily forested terrain. Most of the riding was over leaf covered trails and up and down very steep hills. A great workout. A great place to get lost. We checked out some really cool ziplines they just set up this summer. You can spend up to 4 hours traveling through the vast canopy without doing the same line twice.

I got to ride the Epic today which is a bit lighter than the Stump Jumper and stiffer and better for climbing. This came in handy on the steep climbs. I probably rode the ideal bike each respective day based on the type of terrain and trails. Thus I love them both, Cannot decide which one to get!

Eric gives Shadow a drink from his CamelBak

End of another great day

A Couple of Videos from my helmet-cam

GLR 600K

2011-06-07T19:11:00.000-07:00

Click below for route and ride stats:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/90471846

The weekend of June 4th marked the 4th brevet weekend organized by the Great Lakes Randonneurs in 2011. Many riders seeking to ride Paris Brest Paris, the big daddy of all 1200K brevets in August, had the opportunity this weekend to complete the series of 200, 300, 400 and 600 kilometer brevets needed to qualify for Paris.

My goal was to complete the 600K, my first since 2007. Originally, I would have liked to complete the full brevet series as well, but following my mechanical DNF on the 300K four weeks prior, I elected to regroup and shoot to complete the 600K. I skipped out on the 400K as I was having a new set of wheels built which were more of the randonneur style (easily serviceable in the field). The last thing I wanted was to have one of my current low spoke Ksyrium wheels break and become stranded yet again.

Weather forecasts for the day included temps in the mid 80s and 40% chance of thunderstorms. So as you can see from the pic below, I loaded the bike up with WAY more than I needed by adding a seat post pack, which pretty much converted my 17 pound titanium/carbon ride into a 40+ pound "Mack-trike". As I found, the added weight in back really impacted handling, especially when climbing out of the saddle. The new wheels came out real nice, with reflective rims to boot!

Loaded up with all of the conveniences.

The ride rolled out promptly at 6 am under hazy skies and 70 degree temps. If I had to guess, the total number of riders were at about 20, with most electing the longer distances of 400 or 600K. The route consisted of a clockwise 400K loop which returned to the start point in Delavan, followed by a 200K out and back route through East Troy, Whitewater and Jefferson. As this was going to be a long day and night ... and next day ride, nobody flew out of the gates too quickly. I was still undecided at this point whether I was going to attempt to ride straight through the night or to take a sleep break in Delavan after 400K.

Within the first couple of miles, groups started spreading out across the road. I found myself caught in no man's land with the lead group out about a quarter mile or more ahead of me. I resisted trying to catch them as there was no sense in burning up too much energy so soon in the day. Instead, I settled into a moderate pace which felt comfortable. As each mile clicked by, the lead group slowly disappeared into the distance, and by mile 20, they were no longer in sight.

Quiet morning roads of northern Illinois.

Crossing over I-90 Tollway

Today's first control stop was in the town of Kirkland, IL at mile 48. I figured if I was able to maintain my current pace, I would likely see some of the lead group riders still at the control. I was in good spirits as the roads were very familiar to me from brevets of old, so the early miles rolled by very quickly ... until the winds started to kick up. This first leg was primarily to the south, but as we came within 15 miles or so of Kirkland, we stepped more to the west. Winds were hardly noticeable until shortly after I crossed over I-90 and turned to the west and wham ... instant wind. No huge deal, at least this time it was as forecast. By the time I reached Kirkland at just before 9:00, many of the lead group had already moved on, but there were still some hanging out at the control. I ran into Rick Cosaro who was up with the lead group. We wound up riding together for the rest of the day. It was 30 miles to the next control in Oregon, now mostly to the west and into the wind. It was great to have Rick as company and to share the work pushing into the wind.

As we left, I was not terribly looking forward to this leg because of the wind and the general lack of scenery to look at. I was however looking forward to arriving in Oregon in about 2 hours where we would turn back to the north and hopefully some favorable winds to push us along. As we moved along, the temps were on the rise and I could feel myself start to cook. After 15 miles or so, we slacked back the pace quite a bit to recover some. A few miles out of Oregon, we see another guy Mike at the side of the road. We pull over to see if there was anything we could do to help. He holds up his front wheel which has 3-4 spokes which were sliced in half. The wheel was toast. Apparently he clipped the rider's rear wheel in front of him and got his spokes caught in the rear skewer. I can only imagine how badly this could have turned out, but thankfully Mike pulled out of it without injury, no doubt due to some quick reflexes and good balancing skills. Mike had flagged down a good samaritan who offered him a ride into town. In a few more miles we were crossing the Rock River into Oregon.

Rock River in Oregon, IL

When Rick and I rolled into the Oregon stop, Mike was there along with a number of others, including Jim, our organizer. Jim was the guy who saved my butt when I was stranded 80 miles from the finish with a broken crank four weeks prior. Jim was busy seeing what he could do to help Mike get back on the road. Surprising to me, Oregon had no local bike shop, so a new wheel would have to be found in another nearby town. I have not heard whether Mike ever did get rolling again, but I hope he did.

By this time, it was still only 11:30 or so, but it was down right hot out. The rain which was forecast earlier in the day never materialized, and because of that, it was much warmer than originally forecast, probably into the low 90s. I switched from hot, sticky Gatorade in both bottles to one ice water to dowse myself with. Problem was, without insulated bottles, ice water was hot water in the course of 20 minutes or so.

We left Oregon back across the Rock River and then turned to the north. Oh, I forgot to mention, as we came into town, winds switched to the north. Such is life! There were some fairly nice climbs out of town and good views of the Byron nuke plant we were heading toward.

Nice climb out of Oregon

Onward to Byron

They say it's safe?

As we passed the Byron power plant, I started feeling intermittent rain drops. It would have been a great time of day for a brief cooling shower, but as I looked up at the skies, it was clear those raindrops were not coming from the clouds above. This was precipitate from the steam clouds belched out by the twin 500 foot towers. I do hope that was not a radioactive shower because I really have no use for a third testicle.

It was a long stretch until the next official control stop back up in Brodhead, WI, at about 60 miles from Oregon. With these temps and the rate I was consuming fluids, we would definitely need to take an unofficial stop between controls. Rick and I pulled off in the small town of Pecatonica, IL to refuel. We first stopped at a small restaurant and each got a slushy to cool down a bit and then head up the street to a combo grocery/Subway for more fluids. I was definitely faltering in the heat and felt I needed to increase my intake of calories from solid food, rather than just sticking with a straight liquid diet of Gatorade and Perpetuem. I was also gobbling up 5-6 Enduralyte capsules every 2 hours at a minimum to keep the electrolyte balances in check. Felt like a junky popping all those pills! I scarfed down a sub sandwich before Rick and I head back out on the road to Brodhead.

Since leaving Oregon, it had become noticeably hillier, especially after leaving Pecatonica. The roads remained pretty straight, but they rolled up and down over and over again. This was pretty taxing to say the least, so we took our time climbing up one side so we could coast down the back side ... and repeat. This stretch was probably the low point of the ride for me. I was hot, had a difficult time finding rhythm, the feet were starting to blow up, and my back was aching with all of the additional baggage I was carrying on the back of the bike (most of which I didn't need or use). As we approached Brodhead, we were routed onto some pretty lonely farm roads which were pretty cool. We rolled into the BP station at 4:30 feeling pretty tired with the heat of the day probably at its highest, mid 90s I would guess.

There was another rider there when we arrived. We got our cards stamped, got some food and drink and head back outside to take a short break. This other guy Glenn, came down from Minnesota to ride with the GLR crowd. Sounded like he was pretty new to this stuff, but obviously was doing quite well. Our duo now became a trio as we headed out for a short 15 mile jaunt to our next control in Evansville to the north. From this point forward, all of the controls were spaced more reasonably together, pretty much in the 20-25 mile range which felt good as we would likely be needing more frequent breaks as the hours of riding took more out of us. Although only 15 miles, this was also a tough leg for me, again due to the heat. It took us nearly an hour and a half from the time we stopped in Brodhead and took a 15 minute break or so and then to ride the 15 miles to Evansville. Thus, our average speed was likely below 15 miles per hour.

We took another extended break in Evansville where I got a hot dog to try to get more salt in me. I laid down on the pavement and called my wife just to chat before night fell. I didn't feel like getting up or riding anymore and started thinking that it was still had 100 miles to go before we got back to Delavan, the 400K mark. At this point, I was definitely planning on taking sleep at the hotel (actually in the back of my van). When everyone was ready, we set out to the west to hit New Glarus, and one of the hillier sections of the ride.

Rick out in front on the way to New Glarus.

Note the shadows starting to get long.

As we cleared out of Evansville at between 6:15 and 6:30, almost immediately the three of us began riding at a faster, yet seemingly easy pace. In fact we all seemed to be feeling a bit better, primarily because the temperatures were finally starting to come down. This in fact, was quite and enjoyable spin, even the steeper hills we were riding into were not as challenging as I was expecting. There is also one really fun downhill on this leg as we turned onto Exeter Crossing road which I remember from the 300K and years past which lasts for more than a mile. That provided a lot of cooling as well as a fun filled descent.

We entered New Glarus at about 7:45 as it was starting to get dark. Good timing as we needed to stop to install lights and don reflective vests and ankle bands. We met up with a tandem which had been riding in front of us all day which we never seemed to catch, just at the rest stops and they would leave and we wouldn't see them until the next rest stop. New Glarus is a pretty cool looking town. Seems like a cool place to hang out when not riding your bike all day. At the gas station stop, there was a stretch limo there with a bunch of women who piled out, squeezed into dresses which didn't flatter most of them. They looked to be out on the prowl. My initial guess was bachelorette party. Or perhaps they were the entertainment? Oh well, I should just mind my own business, shouldn't I?

We left New Glarus the way we came in, with one little exception. The route card as well as the morning instructions from our organizer Jim, were very explicit that we needed to go straight after the traffic light, instead of turn right back the way we came. Apparently Jim wanted to show us something up this road. What he showed us was a short, but very steep climb out of town, probably at least a 15% grade. This one, certainly got our attention, so thanks Jim for that!

RBAs have a sick sense of humor - painted on 15% grade climb

At the top of the climb. My tongue was out at least that far!

As the sun set, temps, although still warm were becoming quite pleasant, especially with an open jersey. We had only 2 more control stops until arriving back in Delavan at the 400K mark. Next was Oregon (WI) followed by Edgerton.

Nice sunset somewhere between New Glarus and Oregon

We continued to ride with good speed and energy into the early evening. Once the sun dipped below the horizon, darkness came very quickly. There is not a whole lot to report on while riding in the dark. You do need to use some additional caution and space out distance between riders a bit more to allow for added reaction time to poor road conditions or traffic. If riding in front, its harder to pick out cars in your mirrors with the lights of other riders shining behind you so it is important for everyone to be as alert as possible.

This is what darkness looks like. Floating signs.

1 mile from control stop in Oregon at 9:30 pm.

As we left the Oregon control I was actually starting to feel a bit cold, like I might need to stop to put on my arm warmers. By the time we climbed the first hill, I was warm again. It's interesting that there are noticeable thermal pockets of cool and warm air as you are riding in the early evening. On some climbs and descents, I would guess that there might be as much as 8-10 degrees of temperature difference between the bottom and top of any given hill.

The other thing which we were reminded of at night time is that Wisconsin-ites love to party. We saw at least a couple of 20 foot high bon fires as well as parties with cars parked all over lawns. The good part was that it seemed that everyone was in their spot for the night and traffic was very light, and we were mostly on back roads. I would hate to be around when one of those little soirees broke up. This also sealed my decision to take a sleep break at Delavan. If the bars let out at 2 or 3 in the morning, I wouldn't want to be back out until at least after 4 to make sure the maximum amount of drunks were off the roads.

It was a relief to reach the final control stop of the night in Edgerton, with just under 30 miles to go to the hotel in Delavan. I was starving and was looking to really fill up to replace some calories so I bought these two burritos from the Taco Johns attached to the gas station. The first one went down real well but I couldn't finish the other so I stuck it in the back of my jersey. As I got out of the burrito place, Rick was talking with this guy who wondered what we were doing riding our bikes at midnight. Turns out he used to do 24 hour mountain bike races so we had a good time swapping stories. The return to Delavan was uneventful, I would up scarfing that other burrito down within 5 minutes of leaving Edgerton, and regretting it another 5 miles down the road.

The early morning streets of Delavan were understandably quiet. Just as we turned onto local streets, we spotted a cop who looked as if he was looking for something to do. We made sure to make full stops at the stop sign as to not be the subject of his attention and further delay the awaiting sleep break. We rolled into the Super 8 at 1:45, got our cards stamped and exchanged morning riding plans. My original inclinations were to head out while still dark after a few hours of sleep and finish the remaining 200K. Rick was planning perhaps a few hours more of sleep. In any event, we all wished each other a good night and we would see what tomorrow would bring.

I did not reserve a room this time around, so it was out to the van to get some sleep. After fumbling with my bike and trying to get everything loaded, I popped off the shoes, set the alarm, threw down the pillow and was out quickly. I awoke before the alarm. As I looked up I could see that the sky was beginning to change over from night to pre-dawn. It must have been about 4:45. Realizing I wasn't going to be able to fall back asleep, I got up, changed and got ready to roll out. For this leg, I decided to travel light so I unbolted my rack/pack, and stuffed some tubes and levers in my jersey. After double checking to make sure I had all the essentials, I got back on the road by about 5:15, still before sun-up.

The sleep really helped out in terms of recovery, I wasn't feeling great, but wasn't feeling crappy either. I started things off slow and put my mind into focus that this was a new day and a new ride, not a continuation of yesterdays ride. It was a cool and beautiful morning. I watched the sun come up as the route turned to the east toward East Troy. I was back in my happy place again. I remembered these roads from the PAC Tour Brevet Week in 2007 which brought up good memories. As I came up upon Alpine Valley, I remembered the seemingly countless times we dragged our butts out of that deep hole. You get a screaming descent, immediately followed by a steep trudge out on the other side. I got to East Troy by 6:45 and ran into Scott as he was leaving the Mc Donalds.

Crossing under I-43 on a beautiful Sunday morning

The next leg to Whitewater was a fun trek (mostly). As I am leaving East Troy, probably not much after 7:00, I see another rider approaching from the distance. At first I thought it was probably a local out for a Sunday ride but as he came closer, it turned out to be Bryce, who apparently rode all night. Gave him the big thumbs up as he passed, followed by a bit of jealously, wishing I were in his shoes at this moment.

This leg wound up being fairly hilly. When you get routed onto roads with names like "Bluff Road", it's kind of a giveaway as to what is in store. The pavement was good and there were a lot of rolling hills through the back woods which was pretty cool. I recognized some of the trail markers for Kettle Moraine where I have been mountain biking before. After a while, Bluff Road took me out of the hills and woods and onto lower ground, where it turned into a crappy chip and seal road which took much of the fun out of the remaining trip to Whitewater. This was destroying my hands which were practically bruised by now due to the long day in the saddle. Got to Whitewater by 8:20.

Onward to Jefferson. A short trip at only 16 miles. I was getting tired and eager to reach the far point of the ride and the turnaround to home. It was also starting to get warm again although it did not feel as though it would get as hot as it did yesterday. Met up with Scott again in Jefferson where he left just before me. As we began the trip back to Whitewater, I tried to keep pace with Scott by marking him on the horizon but he was pulling away ever so slightly. I noticed he missed a turn and yelled out but he didn't hear me. I missed the same turn coming into town. As I found out later, he took the next turn up the road which put him back on track so no worries.

The rest of the return trip to Delavan was pretty much the same as the out leg, except warmer. I ran into Rick on the way out of Whitewater on his way to Jefferson. He was looking good. I warned him to watch out for the turn I missed on the way up and wished him well.

I only saw a couple of other riders before I finished the trip back to East Troy where I arrived at 12:15. The East Troy outbound control closed at 11:16 so riders who I saw within the last hour were pressed to meet cut-off times or be DNF'd on time.

The final 25 miles from East Troy to Delavan went quickly, partly because I found those oh-so illusive tail winds, plus I found that extra energy to get the ride over with. It was exhilarating to see the water towers of Delavan on the horizon, so I really started pushing it. Misjudging how far out I actually was, I ran out of gas about 2 miles from the finish. I rolled in at 1:45, nearly 32 hours after the start. Whew, great to be done!

Got changed, threw everything into the back of the van, cranked up the A/C, a trip to McDonalds drive through for some fat and calories and drove home. I had no problem staying awake for the hour and a half drive as I was still on adrenaline. But by the time I did make it home, I pretty much left everything in the car, took a much needed shower, and settled in for a well-deserved Sunday afternoon nap.

Completed brevet card

GLR 300K (DNF)

2011-05-08T16:13:00.000-07:00

Click below for route and ride stats:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/84300685

What was proving to be a great day of riding ended with a dissapointing unresolvable mechanical breakdown just shy of 2/3 of the way through today's course.

As with the 200K two weeks ago, throughout the past week, forecasts called for scattered thunderstorms and rain during the day. It was 48 degrees at the start of the ride with winds from the east at about 10 mph at the start. We once again headed west for the first 45 miles to the first control in Brodhead, except this time, we would have a decent tail wind rather than the 20+ mph headwind we had two weeks prior.

Western skies were dark and ominois looking but my earlier glance at the radar indicated that it only appeared to be one initial line of thunderstorms and scattered after that. Rain, as it turned out was fairly light and uneventful, not even enough to bother with putting on a rain jacket.

Got to the first control in Brodhead in just over 2 hours compared to nearly 3 two weeks ago. The route then turned more to the northwest and became a bit hillier from this point forward. The climbs went a bit more smoothly than 2 weeks prior but were still slow going on some of the steeper pitches. Nothing terribly long but a few kicked up to 12 to 14%.

Lots of rollers on the way to New Glarus

After a secret control at the top of a hill I was still about 10 minutes behind the RAAM boys, but not chasing, just trying to ride a comfortable pace for me. Never saw them again ... except from the SAG wagon later on. Next, onto New Glarus, a cool little artsy town tucked back in the hills.

New Glarus

I think its now a hot dog stand.

Couple of lawn ornaments got loose.

Winds from the east were picking up as I stair stepped to the northwest toward Barneveld. This was ticking me off because I was drawing an annoying cross wind and already knew it was going to be a tough 90 miles back to Delavan after the turnaround which was still a ways away.

Got into Barneveld at the century mark and up until the last 10-15 miles before this I was feeling pretty good, but was starting to melt as I overdressed for the anticipated rain and some tough climbs in these last sections. Got ticked off again as I stood in line at the BP control for over 10 minutes waiting for everyone to buy thier cigarrettes beer and lottery tickets. Left Barneveld to the east, happy to begin the return trip back to Delevan but was not feeling good. Was probably low on calories and the wind was no longer a help. It was about a 9 mile slog east to Mt. Horeb on a pretty straight and smooth road but still somewhat hilly. Speed came way down at this point and I was still going OK but knew it was too early to start counting the miles left to the finish.

It was during this stretch that I started hearing a sort of pinging sound coming from my crank. Almost like a bearing was loose and rolling around inside. This became aggrevating as I have had the bike in the shop a couple of times following the Elite Tour last year and I hate these types of unexplained noises. Not terribly fun shelling out a lot of coin for a nice bike to not have it sound tight.

I made it into Mt. Horeb OK but as I was leaving, as I shifted, the chain began derailling. I knew something was not right and was hopeful I could nurse the bike through the next 80 miles to the finish. And then in another mile, wham ... my left leg completely collapsed as the crank arm bolt sheered off on a downstroke. I knew right away I was skrewed.

Called Jim our RBA to report I was likely out of action for the duration of the ride. Jim reminded me that there was a bike shop in Mt. Horeb and I remembered passing one as I went through. Jim was still in the control at New Glarus, probably 30 miles away. I needed to backtrack about 4 miles to get back into town. The drive side of the crank was sort of working so I pedaled with my right leg only which helped build momentum down hills. Up hills were a different story, they were walkers all the way. The guy at the bike shop was great, although we quickly realized he didnt stock the parts I needed so I was pretty much out of luck there. Another call to Jim to tell him I was out of commission.

Even though the concept of randonneuring is predicated upon self-support, it is clear there remains a great amount of effort which goes into planning the event and providing support in situations such as mine today. A big thanks to Jim for saving my butt out there today.

My new no gear bike, not a "fixie", a "nixie"

GLR 200K

2011-04-25T17:08:00.000-07:00

Click below for route and ride stats:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/81070396

Today was the first in the 2011 brevet series on the Great Lakes Randonneurs calendar. I didn't come into this ride expecting much, having spent the last 5+ months with hardly any physical activity at all, including a broken pelvis last November, followed by my wife breaking her foot just at about the time I started feeling better. Since she was unable to drive, my early morning bike commutes were replaced with getting kids to and from school. So for this first long ride of the year, I would be thankful just to survive.

What I found was that it is pretty difficult to fake it. While I was certainly excited about spending a long day riding around southern Wisconsin, it is very difficult to feel good without adequate preparation or conditioning beforehand.

We were treated to a pretty nice day overall. All week, until a day or two before the ride, forecasts were calling for rain. Rains fortunately left the area the night before, so at ride time conditions were damp roads, low-mid 40s and mostly cloudy with winds at about 20 from the west south west. This was good news as our first leg of today's ride was due west. With any luck, those winds would build a bit more and blow us home in the latter part of the day.

Rick is already booked for Paris-Brest-Paris in August

I overheard that there were about 70 riders at the start line at 7 am which is pretty typical for the 200K, but I thought there might be more given this was a PBP year. Within the first couple of miles we were already on the outskirts of town headed west toward Brodhead, our first control stop at about 45 miles. I knew this would be the hardest part of the ride given the strong winds and pretty long distance to the first control so I planned mentally on spending close to 3 hours of fighting the wind. By the time we got to about 10 miles out, most riders were now spread out into small groups taking turns in the wind. I found myself in a group of about 5 which soon became 3.

One of the better paved roads today

While I got into a fairly decent rhythm early on, I could tell my legs did not have it just yet. Me and 2 other guys spent another 10 - 15 miles swapping turns in the wind and when I fell back after a pull, I could not hold the pace and had to drop back. Even the short climbs were a struggle. I would have to slowly lumber up and coast on the way down. Shouldn't have put those extra 20 pounds on! I was able to keep the two others ahead of me in sight until Brodhead, but didn't want to blow myself up trying to play catch with 100 miles still to go in the ride.

I took a quick stop in Brodhead, after which the route turned to the north for the next leg to Evansville. This was only a short hop of about 15 miles and there were some nice sections with a tail wind so it went by quickly. Since I was now riding solo, I kept the stop times to a minimum to keep things moving along. After Evansville, it was another short trip of 13-14 miles to Oregon. This section was tougher than the last as the route kicked back into the wind in more of a NNW direction.

By the time I hit Oregon, I was tired but not overly wiped out. This was a bit more than half way into the ride at 75 miles but the best part was that it was the turnaround point ... to the tailwind home!

After a mile or more jog to the south, the route turned to the east on County A. Wahoo! Nice descent and huge tailwind. Pedaling became instantly effortless and it was hard not to go fast. I was able to maintain upper 20s with minimal effort. Unfortunately, the route sort of stair stepped between easterly and southerly as it turned back toward Delavan. So every right turn to the south was greeted by a ripping cross wind which slowed things back down considerably. No worries though, the easterly tailwind sections were much longer than the southerly steps.

Hardly saw more than a handful of cars in 125 miles.

It was about another 25 miles from Oregon to the last stop in Edgerton before the final leg back to Delavan. I finished this leg in about an hour and ten minutes before rolling into the infamous Carl's Shell. I can't count the number of times I have been through this gas station over the years ... or the number of cheddar filled sausages consumed. Mmmmm, just one more perhaps.

The final 26 mile stretch back to Delavan was uneventful. There is about a 12 mile stretch of County Hwy M which is straight as an arrow (a/k/a/ boring) and some of the worst pavement on the planet. This, coupled with many memories of strong head and cross winds from prior years and you can tell, this was not my favorite. But not today. I still had a fairly favorable cross/tail wind which made this section pass by fairly painlessly this time around.

One last downhill to the approach to the finish.

I was glad to have had the opportunity to have come out today, despite my trepidations about my fitness for long rides given my long hiatus and recovery. Overall things worked out as well as could be expected. I am wanting to come back in another 2 weeks to ride the 300K. Hopefully I can build on my stamina a bit more before then. That will be a better test to see if I can complete some of the longer rides later on.

Can smell the barn now.

Elite Tour Epilogue

2010-06-30T05:30:00.000-07:00

It has now been about a month since we landed on Yorktown Beach, the conclusion to an amazing trek across America. Normal life has taken over quickly, both at work and at home and I have had little time to put together any final thoughts on this adventure.

Pretty much all of the "wounds" from being on the road every day for nearly 3 weeks have healed. Yes, the bum is feeling quite fine now! Although I was certainly glad to take a day or two off from riding after the final day on PAC Tour, I can't say that there was any reason phycically that I could not have kept rolling along. The body is an amzing machine that is incredibly adaptable. During the last week or so, it became quite easy to modify my intensity level to the point that recovery became easier during the off-bike hours. I was surprised how fresh the legs felt just a few days after the final riding day. All that aside, it was time to take a break mentally from the the daily riding routine.

It is also interesting to me that in the last week of PAC Tour, most of my nightly dreams were about home and being back with family, and oddly now that I am home, for nearly two weeks, most nightly REM sleep has been filled with thoughts of being on a long bike ride. Go figure! While these were certainly not nightmares, I did regularly awake feeling tired, as if I was laboring away on a ride that never seemed to end. Pretty wierd.

I just picked up my road bike from the shop in Crystal Lake where I had it totally gutted and reassembled. Found out I trashed quite a few things while out on the road. Bob fixed it up good as new and it rides silky smooth once again. I am longing to get back out on the road with the Saturday group to once again enjoy the cool quiet mornings spinning away. I got back to commuting to work on the mountain bike pretty quickly and I must say the 15 mile commute seems like nothing these days.

I DO NOT MISS the 3 a.m. training rides in 30 and 40 degree weather which preceeded the months before PAC Tour. For me, this was the hardest part of the year, riding in freezing weather, in the spring winds, alone, and in the dark. Not terribly fun, but necessary to prepare adequately for a demanding cross country trip such as this. Looking back, I would say that the training I did prepared me well for this ride. While I only logged about 3,500 miles from January 1 to the middle of May (I had hoped to get in 5,000 and I know there are riders who had logged a lot more than I did), I think I wound up doing a pretty good mix of varying distances and intensities to build up to this event. Now that I know the trip went well, I can admit I was only able to get in one double century, about 10 rides in the 110 to 150 mile range, and a whole mess of rides at about 70 to 85 miles. I think the most important factor which prepared me was riding as many back to back days as possible. There were a few weeks where I would strive to ride 70 to 75 miles every morning before work. Trying as best as possible to mimic PAC Tour conditions was the most helpful. Waking up tired and sore and getting accustomed to it was the key for me!

After looking at all of the data I was able to compile from my bike computer, here are some interesting (or not so interesting) ride statistics:

Total miles logged: 3,027
Total time elapsed (includig rest stops): 204.25 hours (avg. 10 hrs 45 min. per day)
Average speed (including rest stops): 14.8 mph
Total riding time: 175.00 hours (avg. 9 hrs 13 min. per day) 7 days, 7 hours, 0 min.
Average riding speed: 17.3 mph
Total vertical feet of climbing: 113,504 (21.5 miles) 5,974 feet per day
Total calories burned: 189,710 (9,985 per day)

Top 10 sights in chronological order (there are many many more than 10, the whole trip was eye candy)

Decending into the Yuha Desert off of Interstate 8 in California. Amazing lunar landscapes and how hot it gets so quickly as you descend to the desert floor.
Sunrise over the Glamis sand dunes to the east of El Centro.
The climb up Mt. Mingus and descent into Jerome and valley below.
The red rocks of Sedona, AZ
Climbing out of Oak Creek Canyon up to Flagstaff.
Sunrise in Monument Valley, UT
The climb up Wolf Creek Pass and the snow capped summit, scarfing down hot dogs and hot chocolate at the top.
The climb and descent of La Veta Pass. Unlikely I will ever ascend a mountain at over 25 mph and descend at less than 15 mph. The winds were extremely dangerous but getting down safely was a thrill.
The big skies of eastern Colorado as we left the western mountains behind.
Kansas gets honorable mention for its vast rolling wheat fields (but not 400 miles worth!)
The hills of Missouri, riding through Jefferson City next to the State Capitol, and the KATY bike trail along the Missouri River basin.
Riding through St. Louis, the Gateway Arch and the crossing the Mississippi on the Chain of Rocks Bridge.
Riding the backroads through small towns of rural Illinois, Indiana and western Ohio.
Ohio's Hocking Hills .
Meathouse Fork Road in West Virginia.
Riding through the Shennandoah National Park and George Washington National Forest.
The last few miles of the ride down the Colonial Parkway to the beach at Yorktown.

Other Highlights:

Lon, Susan, and Crew - Our PAC Tour organizers have taken every worry, want or need away from thier riders to the point that all one needs to concern themself with is moving thier bike down the road. From routes, to nutrition, to bike maintenance, to coaching and moral support, Lon, Susan and the dedicated crew make every effort imaginable to accomodate their customers. While there are other touring companies out there, if you are ever considering a cross country bike trip, Lon and Susan are the ones to get you there becasue they do it right, and have a great time doing it.

Riding Companions - Our group was small enough that I pretty much had the oppotunity and good fortune to ride with everybody on the tour at one point or another. Sure it is natural to settle in and regularly ride with others who best complement one's riding style and pace but everyone was there for one another along the way, willing to help with mechanicals and moral support. I look forward to the hope of once again meeting up with many of these firiends down the road on other tours and events.

Friends - I am grateful to my local riding friends and others who followed along on the blog and dropped notes of encouragement along the way. My friend E also rode his BMW motorcycle down to Greenville, OH from Fenton, MI to meet up with me, catch up with old friends and to share dinner and many laughs. E is the "most interesting man in the world" (from the Dos Equis beer commercials).

Food - Eating whatever you want, and as much of it, anytime you want. I still lost 10 pounds on the trip.

Day 19: 6/3/10 Orange, VA to Williamsburg, VA

2010-06-03T14:39:00.000-07:00

Click below for today's route and ride stats:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/35581743

Awoke this morning with mixed feelings.

On one hand, it's hard to believe its been just under three weeks since we have been on the road and that in 9 hours or so we will run out of road and hit the Atlantic Ocean. We have become so accustomed to the daily routine (wake up, get dressed, pump tires, fill bottles, eat breakfast in the parking lot, ride for 10 to 12 hours, clean and fix bile, take shower, eat dinner, sleep ... repeat), the prospect of reintegrating the real world seems oddly unsettling. This has been a great escape for me, a place where no one can find me, where there are no emails, voicemails and all that surrounds you is peace and the beauty of the countryside ... and a few snarling pit bulls which were fortunately chained in some one's yard. Our biggest responsibility for three weeks was simply to pedal the bicycle down the road and try not to get too lost. Ahh, here's to simplicity!

On the other hand, I miss my family terribly and all of the comforts of home. I became a new uncle 2 days before the start of this trip and I can't wait to see my new niece. My dad turned 70 so we will need to have a belated celebration. Yes, although this has been a great adventure, it is time to get to the beach, celebrate for a moment and get back to reality.

While yesterday's ride was the Mont Ventoux, today is the Champs-Élysées, traditionally an easy-paced, ceremonial ride to the finish.

We began the morning in the parking lot with Lon providing some last minute ride instructions. Traditionally, the last day of PAC Tour crossings have concluded with the whole group riding to the beach together, all wearing their tour jerseys. Although our ride today was a flat 140 miles or so, we would continue to start in staggered small groups (as not to get too bunched together on the road - like a pee wee soccer game) and within the last several miles of the route, we would wait for all riders to assemble so we could do the group ride to the finish. At 6:00 a.m., Lon asked the first group (these are usually the fast riders) to go ahead and depart. While I don't really know Lon well at all, he strikes me as someone who's on the more reserved and understated side of things, which made his next comment pretty hilarious. After a few minutes had passed, "OK, the mediocre group can leave now". Everyone busted up.

We were on our way, and after a few miles of moving through the early morning quiet streets of Orange, VA, we were routed onto some even more tranquil, lesser traveled Virginia back roads, most of which were moderately winding, usually flanked on either side by tall tree cover and the smell of pine. In the morning, we rode in larger pace lines, where we moved along at a swift, but not labored pace. By the time we hit the 40 mile mark and our first refueling stop of the day, we found ourselves in my favorite town of the trip thus far, that being the town of Bumpass. How fitting!

Lunch was served in a quiet park along the way which we had entirely to ourselves. We could tell we were getting close to the ocean because the soil was becoming predominantly sandy. After a nice big lunch, we continued in fairly large groups but slowed our pace considerably, with less than 50 miles to go and it being still fairly early in the day, there was no need to rush. The tenor of the group seemed to be to savor these last few miles, enjoy one an other's company and reach the beach by 3:30 to 4:00. As we arrived at the last SAG stop of the trip about 20 miles from the ocean, we got some news that one of our riders was back about 30 minutes due to some nagging flats and such. So we basically took a very long SAG at which point I killed the better part of a 2 liter bottle of cream soda. Yum!

Knowing our missing rider would be along shortly, we soft pedaled into busier streets and finally crossed into the corporate limits of Williamsburg. Within a few more miles we merged onto the Colonial National Historic Parkway for the last 10 miles or so of our expedition. This was a very scenic and green stretch of road, unfortunately, the roadway surface was very rough, not quite as bad as cobblestone, but just annoying enough to think that someone wanted one last shot at my aching hands and butt! But alas, I win!

We rode the last mile to the beach very slowly in two lines. Spirits were most definitely soaring to see the open waters of Chesapeake Bay and the vast ocean which lay beyond. Susan and the rest of the crew were waiting for us with a finish line tape stretched across the road as we rolled onto Yorktown beach.

For me, it was shoes off and roll the bike through the sand as I carried it into the Atlantic to commemorate the completion of this fantastic journey. The cool waters of the ocean and sand between my toes were heaven on earth. Randy opted for a bit more celebration as he completely submerged himself. We took pause for some photo ops, savored our accomplishment a moment longer and it was time to board up for the trek to our hotel for the night. We actually rode past our hotel on the way to the Parkway, which was 15 miles from the beach. Susan and Lon welcomed any riders who wished to ride their bikes back to the hotel but offered a shuttle option in the van. Wouldn't you know it, there was not a soul who wished to backtrack on their bike an additional 15 miles!

As thrilling as it was to reach the ocean, it did not take long for things to get back to business, reminders that the real world was calling us again. Back at the hotel, riders were busy breaking down their bikes, packing them and arranging for them to be shipped back home, plans for airport shuttles were being made, we were settling up on our tabs for all of the inner tubes, tires and bike parts we needed along the way to keep us rolling. Good thing there was a Dairy Queen 50 feet from the hotel parking lot so I could de-stress from this flurry of activity.

An hour or more later, we all met across from the hotel at Pizza Uno for a wrap party. A number of spouses and friends of riders were on hand who met up with us at the beach. Following that, we all went back to the hotel meeting room for ice cream and cake (it was also Patrick's birthday). Susan made a slide show set to music which reviewed hundreds of pictures of our journey across the country. This was way cool.

Susan and Lon presented plaques to all of the riders and crew as commemoratives of our trip together and those riders who completed all of the miles each day also received a certificate which qualified them to participate in the solo division of the Race Across AMerica (RAAM). This qualification is valid for a period of three years. I think somewhere in the neighborhood of 11 of the 19 or so riders completed qualification. I consider myself to be fortunate to be among these qualifiers. While training, endurance, desire and sacrifice have much to do with this, I am mindful that there are a number of factors beyond our immediate control which are equally important, like avoiding illness and accidents which unfortunately sidelined some of our very strong riders at some point during the trip.

This is the point at which I hope my dear wife has discontinued reading this blog as I now begin to ponder what one might do with a RAAM qualification. This of course is no small undertaking. To sucessfully complete RAAM as an official finisher, I would need to shave 7 days off of the trip we just completed, a daunting prospect for most endurance athletes. We'll see ... have lots of free time to play with this question.

Here are some pics I took (or stole from others) of our final day on PAC Tour.

Lon giving morning instructions. "OK, the mediocre group can go."

Quiet back roads of Virginia

Bumpass, VA (fitting indeed!)

Don't go there!

After 3,000 miles, we felt entitled to travel this road.

All dressed up, and no GO.

This looks like the right way.

Onto the Colonial (bumpy) Parkway

Lots of cool bridges like this.

Getting close. Somebody check if that water's salty.

Made it. YES!

Rob and Randy

Randy opted for a swim.

Lynn

Group shot.

Pizza party.

The CREW. They took exceptional care of us.

The EFM group. Qualified for solo RAAM.

Day 18: 6/2/10 Elkins, WV to Orange, VA

2010-06-02T14:38:00.000-07:00

Click below to review today's route and ride profile:

(the Garmin understated actual climbing which was about 15,500 ft today)

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/35497587

OUCH!!!

Today was one of the toughest I have spent on a bike and certainly the hardest in my book on this expedition. The eastern mountains are way more tough than the Rockies because of much harsher grades and one tough climb after another.

We began at daybreak in Elkins to mild temperatures and fog. Susan reminded us in the parking lot that some of the mountain descents can be pretty chilly so I quickly rifled through my bag and grabbed a wind shell. This proved to be great advice.

Climbing began immediately as we departed Elkins. Because of the fog, everyone had thier red flashing tail lights on. There was heavy industrial truck traffic leaving town so we made sure we were seen. As we cleared the city, we continued climbing in the Monongahela National Forest which was lush and green and kind of spooky looking through the fog. As we reached the first rest stop at mile 19 the sun was out on top of the mountain and as soon as we began to descend, it was right back into fog.

As the sun rose and burned off the fog, it was time to ditch the wind breaker as things were starting to get steamy. We had four major climbs today, each had about 2,000 ft of elevation gain with lots of intermediate climbs in between. Some of these climbs were in the neighborhood of 2.5 to 4 miles in length. So what do you do when you are half way up the mountain and are feeling tired? Keep pedaling or you stop quickly!

We maintained a slow, but steady pace throughout the day. I was amazed at how beat up I felt just after 50 miles, with 110 still to go! Too early to start thinking about the finish. Lunch has always been a high point of PAC Tour days, and today, we finished a beast of a climb and took a quiclk descent into the George Washington National Forest. There was a really cool stretch of straight tree-lined roadway which fell at a gentle slope, with a river following one side and dozens of small cut-outs along the road for picnicing or hiking. We had lunch along the roadway with the sounds of flowing water and birds chirping in the background. Very cool.

After lunch, we had some rolling terrain for the next 30 miles or so which was welcome rest for tired legs, and then it was on to the last big climb of the day, up to Skyline road and the Shennandoah National Park.

By the time we rolled in, it was nearly 13 hours from the start, just before 7 pm. Fantastic day, but needless to say, I'm beat so I must take my leave and get some rest. Tomorrow will be an exciting day as we finally reach our destination of Williamsburg. I believe we will be landing on Yorktown beach. See you then!

Here are a few photos I took today:

Foggy this morning.

Top of first climb this morning.

On top of ol smokey.

Speedy descents.

Seneca Rock

Entering Virginia on top of a booger of a climb!

Pedaling through George Washington National Forest. Nice!

Day 17: 6/1/10 Athens, OH to Elkins, WV

2010-06-01T14:38:00.000-07:00

Click below for today's route and ride stats:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/35381756

West Virginia - Wild and Wonderful

Before we logged 40 miles this morning, we were already crossing the Ohio river into West Virginia, Wild and Wonderful as the sign said.

The day was not as difficult as I had previously played up in my head. Sure there were a lot of hills, but the temperatures were not overly oppressive, the humidity was down some from what we experienced yesterday in the Hocking Hills, and we spent much of the day on 4 lane divided state routes with 12 foot shoulders. In this situation, the grades do not generally get much steeper than 5 to 6 percent. It's usually the back roads you have to worry about where the grades go as high as 15% on some of those puppies. We had some of that as well, so there was a good mix thorughout the day.

As we left Athens this morning, we got on a fantastic small county road which meandered next to a river (and through the woods) which had lots of gentle, short and twisty climing and descending grades. At about mile 22, we joined up with Route 50 which was 4 lane divided. The shoulder was junk to start with and I had 2 back to back flats about 6 miles out from the first support stop. This was a bit of a pain as I lost touch with the riding group I started the morning with. I would eventually see most of them at some time or another throughout the day.

After a bit, the shoulder improved considerably which was welcome relief to my poor tires. This was a fairly long stretch of road with lots of hill repeats at 5% to 6% grade. These types of hills were not the rollers I am used to riding in Wisconsin. My roomate Gene told me he was measuring the distance of some of these climb/descents. One of the longer ones was at about 1.5 miles. I would guess that most of these hills were in the neighborhood of 1/2 mile to 3/4 mile in length. At thes grades, these hills were not too much worry. Most of this sectoin was chanraterized by climbing at 10 to 11 mph, with descents in the 28 to 30 mph range. Average it all out and we were in the 17 to 19 mph range for most of the day.

After lunch we were treated to some real backwoods riding, mostly on a road called, get this, "Meathouse Fork Road". No disrespect to the fine people of West Virginia, but c'mon, how do you get the names of some of these streets? Some of my other favorites were Dry Fork Road, Red Lick Road, and Beech Lick Road.

We finished the day on Route 33 east with some very long climbs and lots of traffic by now. Lots of logging trucks and garbage trucks going past us. One of the final climbs of the day was nearly 2 miles long which never seemed to end. As with most good climbs, come great views and fantastic descents which is what we were treated to as we entered Elkins. A great end to a great day. The scenery in this part of the country is just superb.

Oh yes, I nearly forgot, I completed about 7 "bonus miles" again today as I was paying too close attention to my cue sheet to pick up on the updated pavement markings telling us that our lunch destination had been moved because of road construction and a bridge out. I eventually found out for myself that the bridge was indeed out and I had to backtrack to get to lunch. After two miscues on our St. Louis day, I may very well be the leading milage guy on this 2010 edition of the Elite Tour! Not to worry, Susan assures me that PAC Tour does not assess any excess milage fees, so riders are free to accumulate as many as they like!

Here are some of the pics I shot today:

Entering West Virginia

Barge on the Ohio River

Slow upills, fast downhills!

Scenic vistas

My favorite road today: quiet and winding Meathouse Fork Road.

Remember, your meathouse fork always goes on the right! Salad fork on the left.

John finishing up the last big climb of the day

and still looking strong.

Riding down into Elkins.

Day 16: 5/31/10 Greenville, OH to Athens, OH

2010-05-31T14:37:00.000-07:00

Click below to review today's route and ride stats:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/35265552

Hacking Hills

We have officially left behind the flats of Indiana and western Ohio and have moved into some remarkable hilly country in southeastern Ohio. It probably goes without saying but, I am finding the better the scenery, the more difficult the riding. The lower milage and easier pace rides over the past few days have paid dividends to the point that I feel ready to take on the eastern mountains over the next few days. Today was not terribly difficult other than the latter half of the day when temps climbed as did the topography.

The morning was picture perfect. We started a bit earlier than normal to stay out of the heat as much as possible early on. From the start, it was incredibly humid and overcast as isolated showers were expected during the day. The big orange sun rose low in the sky, illuminating a thick morning haze. Even though the temps were in the mid to upper 60s, within a half hour my face, arms and legs were dripping with condenstate. The roads were quiet and peaceful, all I could hear was the woosh of my tires spinning down the road. We even had a breif tailwind, something that has been remarkably illusive from the start of this journey. This made the pedaling effortless and quite comfortable. Like clockwork, however, within a few hours the wind had shifted to the south again. As we proceeded in a southeasterly direction for most of the day, we were once again fighing the wind for more than 8 hours today.

I have been having difficulty as of late finding a good positon on the bike as most points of contact are sore or numb. My feet are constantly tingly (even off the bike), my palms, which take most of the road shock, are numb as well and my behind is still causing me grief every time I get on and off the bike. For the past week or more I have been wearing two pairs of cycling shorts to increase the padding and reduce friction to the contact points with the saddle. This was advice provided by PAC Tour veterans and has provided me great relief.

By mid-morning, overcast skies prevailed and broght what appeared to be some threatening weather. This never did materialize however. The roads were damp with rain which had moved through the area before we arrived. Following lunch, the skies became sunny again and the humidity really began to soar by mid afternoon.

As we completed our first post-lunch rest stop at about mile 130, we were entering the Hocking Hills region. This was a fabulously beautiful stretch of rolling hills, quiet roads and state parks. This section was by far the highlight of the day, which was more like an amusement park ride with all of the climbs, twists and fast descents. Somewhere along this section, I must have breathed in some sort of tree fluff or something because I broke into a rather annoying coughing spell trying to free whatever became trapped, hence my earlier reference to the Hacking Hills.

So overall, things turned out quite well today. We managed to yet again dodge storms which were skirting the area, and outside of some heat and humidity, it was another great day on the bike.

Since we were under threat of rain, I bagged my camera for the most scenic portion of the day. Here are a few shots I took in the morning. Check the PAC Tour web site out if you haven't yet. They take a lot of cool pictures each day.

Just leaving Greenville

Peaceful morning

Thick humidity and haze

Pleasant Hill, OH

Rob leading out the Memorial Day Parade in Troy, OH

Day 15: 5/30/10 Crawfordsville, IN to Greenville, OH

2010-05-30T14:37:00.000-07:00

Click below to review today's route and ride stats:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/35126110

Slow Turnin

Today's Sunday ride was the last of potential "recovery" rides until some of the real work begins as we press on for the finish in Williamsburg on Thursday. I took this opportunity today to ride at an easy pace and enjoyed the day immensely. From the start this morning, I found myself in a pace line of about 10 whcih was rocketing down the road like it was the Indy 500 or something. I came to the front for one turn of pace setting and then dropped to the back and watched the group dissapear into the distance.

Given today's milage was only 140 from Crawfordsville, IN to Greenville, OH, we had the opportunity to ride at a very slow pace and have no problem making it to the finish before evening. Since I have been having trouble finding my legs these past few days, a nice and easy pace was hopefully just what I needed. Lynn and later on, John dropped back having the same idea.

Since we were traveling just north of Indiannapolis, we were on some lightly traveled local roads whcih had very good riding surfaces. We saw a number of other cyclists out for thier Sunday rides as well. A couple of them stopped at our second SAG stop after seeing all of the bicycles and trailers and were curious as to what we were doing. We put a good plug in for PAC Tour and made sure they left with a post card so perhaps we may see them on a tour on down the road.

Late in the day, we departed Indiana (thanks, you were great!) and entered Ohio where we will be spending two nights, the first, just over the boarder in Greenville, and tomorrow night in Athens, about 176 miles from Greenville. I have not looked at the route profile for tomorrow, but the amount of climbing is advertised at 5,800 feet, which should be a good warm up for what appears to be two brutal days in West Virginia and Virginia. I am imagining that we will begin tomorrow with much of the flat profile we saw in Indiana but start to see some climbs later in the day as we approach Athens. Anyway, looking forward to tomorrow and having a good ride. The forecast calls for rain, so it may be a bit of a nasty slog. We shall see!

Also had a visit from my friend E who hangs out in Fenton MI. A PAC Tour veteran many times over, E has traded his road bike in for a real machine, the BMW motorcycle pictured below. I suppose he did need to do more speed work. We had a great visit and he was able to catch up with other PAC Tour friends from rides past. PBP in 2011 - will we see a return of the Taveirnimator?

Here are a few pics I snapped today:

Beautiful, quiet, winding country roads in Indiana.

What's cookin' Wayne?

Hello Ohio!

E left his Titan Flex at home and brought out the real muscle

- the Bavarian Mud Wagon

PAC Tour Vehicle 1

Pac Tour Vehicle 2

Day 14: 5/29/10 Effingham, IL to Crawfordsville, IN

2010-05-29T14:36:00.000-07:00

Click below for today's route and ride stats:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/34993743

Little Pink Houses

Great day of riding today. Much improved over my rather worrysome trek yesterday, all better now! We rode into Indiana about mid-ride today, Crossroads of America and home of Mr. Mellencamp, so naturally had some of his tunes running through my head throughout the day.

These last few days through Illinois and Indiana have been planned on less traveled roads and have taken us through much of small town America. It is sad to see that many of these towns are clearly struggling, lots of vacant storefronts, dilapidated buildings and homes and such. Yet, some of the people we have come into contact with couldn't be more friendly and interested in what we are doing. It makes me think about how truly fortunate most of us are.

Headwinds again all day today to about 15 mph. No no, not complaining. Today I worked in several pace lines which help to minimize the amount of effort required to push into the wind. As a result of these efforts, we completed our 159 mile day on the early side at just after 4 pm, 5pm local time as we switched into eastern time after crossing into Indiana.

Warm again today. PAC Tour goes through a great deal of ice each day. After 10:00 or so each morning, most riders start by filling thier water bottles with ice and then add water or Gatorade to them to provide cooling relief until the next rest stop. Rest stops are generally spaced between 25 and 30 miles apart, which translates into short breaks about every hour and a half to two hours or so. I forgot to get insulated bottles, so my ice typically is melted about 20 minutes or so after leaving a rest stop. By the time I get to the next stop, any leftover water or Gatorade is typically hot, and very unappetizing, especially if it is mixed with some of the protien powder I usually add to provide additional calories. Mixed with purple Gatorade, it usually has the consistency and look of dirty bath water. Yuck!

Now here's something I am embarrassed to confess. In the afternoons, I usually slack back a bit on calories during the hotter portion of the day and go with one bottle of Gatorade and one bottle of straight ice water. I will sip on the ice water and occasionally squirt some on my back and legs to provide some evaporative cooling. Well, wouldnt you know it, I got my bottles mixed up and wound up dowsing myself with Gatorade. Got real sticky of course, so I essentially became human flypaper. Didnt catch any flys but plenty of gnats. Especially good to get back to a nice shower this afternoon.

Hoping for another "easier" day tomorrow, again lower milage and predominatly flat as we pull into the western edge of Ohio in Greenville where I hope to meet up with a friend. Hard to believe there are only five riding days ahead until we reach our destination in Williamsburg. After tomorrow, we have some really tough days ahead. Hopefully the legs can make the final push!

Here are a few pics I snapped today.

Ice Ice Baby. The happening spot at everey rest stop.

Ducking the wind in a pace line.

A good place to be on a day like today.

Hey kids, they even have a Medieval Times out here.

Actually, it's Eastern Illinois University.

Susan out for a spin this afternoon.

Crossing the Vermillion River

Day 13: 5/28/10 St. Louis, MO to Effingham, IL

2010-05-28T14:35:00.000-07:00

Click below to review today's route and ride stats:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/34876183

PAC Tour - When Even Your Easy Days Can be Tough

Today was a day we were all eagerly awaiting, entering much flatter Illinois, and a relatively low milage day at 145, a true recovery opportunity. We started out from St. Louis a half an hour earlier than normal, presumably to avoid traffic in downtown St. Louis. We stayed somewhere on the outskirts south of town and moved to the northeast toward downtown past the Gateway Arch and north along the river to cross on a pedestrian/bike only bridge.

Things were humming along just wonderfully, we all rode in a group at an easy pace, down to the Arch, took a group photo, and proceeded north along a bike trail along the levies. Along the trail I flatted along some railroad tracks, having two spare tubes, I waved everyone on and proceeded to fix the flat. The first replacement tube I loaded and just as I started to inflate it, the valve stem popped out and ruined the tube. Bugger! As I loaded my second and last tube I pumped it up just shy of normal pressure and as I released the pump, pssssssssst, the second valve stem blew out. Now I am stuck.

I called Lon who we just saw about a mile ago and he explained that he was having troubles of his own, the support minivan he was driving also had a flat. That, and he could'nt get to me on the bike path anyway with a vehicle. I told him I would ride the flat back to him and pick up some new tubes. As I backtracked along the bike trail, Lon rode his bike to meet me, gave me three spare tubes and went back on his way. I quickly fixed up, and got back on my way. With all of that messing around, the group was already a half an hour ahead of me and I hadn't even gotten to the first SAG stop.

Gratefully, Susan was waiting for me at the SAG, so I could quickly fill bottles grab a bite for my pockets and we both needed to quickly get on our way. Susan has to support other riders up the road and get lunch rolling, so there is not a lot of spare time to be waiting on lagging riders, like me. She was great. Without food and fluids, I would not have made it to the next stop, another 25 miles up the road. Thanks Susan!

I proceeded toward the Chain of Rocks Bridge, which I believe is the old Route 66 bridge, which is closed to vehicular traffic. On the bridge, I found Lynn who had heard of my misfortune and waited up for me. What a fantastic gesture! I was happy to have her company on what I thought otherwise might have been a solo day on the bike as I certainly would not have caught up to anyone else in our group. Thanks Lynn!

Shortly after crossing the bridge into Illinois, we made another tactical error, that is, we got lost. We missed a turn which was not labeled at the intersection and my milage on my bike computer no longer matched the route cards due to my earlier backtracking. Even by adjusting the math, it didn't come out that we were due to turn yet. In any event, we went several miles out of our way before we realized something was not right and had to back track along the route. More lost time!

We rode a nicely paved bike trail to the second stop in Edwardsville, where we met up with Mike, who also found himself off course. The three of us set out from the SAG together, and wouldn't you know it, we missed another turn and went yet another several miles out of our way before realizing things were not right.

Lost another half hour. Lynn and I were getting a bit panicky to say the least, as neither of us wanted to be forced to be driven (sagged) up the road to keep pace with the rest of the group. We both were fearful that we would miss the lunch trailer which was the fourth stop on the day at just over 100 miles. With a low milage day, getting this far off track was not a hugh problem, as there was still plenty of daylight available to finish the ride before dark. Nonetheless, it is no fun to be playing catch-up all day on what was supposed to be a slow recovery day.

Lynn and I rode with great purpose in trying to get to lunch before it closed. Not to sound whiny, but I will be, we were also heading into, you guessed it, a steady headwind. We made it to the lunch stop just after 2 pm. Whew. John N. also hung back at the lunch stop to help us get to the finish. John is a veteran PAC Tour rider and his kind gesture and assistance to us was greatly appreciated.

With all of the misfortunes we encountered today, we wound up rolling into Effingham as the last group off the road, only about 10 minutes after the previous group to arrive. As with the completion of every day on PAC Tour, you quickly erase the bumps and mishaps along the way and are thankful to be off the bike to get ready for another day tomorrow.

Here are a few pics I took along the way today:

This cleat, which is attached to bottom of shoe, was spanking new 10 days ago.

Now is useless having come 2,000 miles already.

Rolling out to St. Louis in early morning.

Entering downtown St. Louis.

Some local art along the levy.

Gateway Arch, "Gateway to the East"

Partial Arch.

Smaller arches

Crossing Mississippi on Chain of Rocks Bridge (old Route 66)

On the bridge with St. Louis in backgroud. Do gnomes live in that house?

Bicycle gate in small Illinois town. New meaning to "chain" link fence!

Super bedspread at the Motel 6.

Honey, I ordered the queen size, it ships tomorrow!

Day 12: 5/27/10 Osage Beach, MO to St. Louis, MO

2010-05-27T14:35:00.000-07:00

Click below to review today's route and ride stats:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/34795054

More roller coasters today.

Today's ride was another tough day, the last of three sucessive high milage days with a good amount of climbing to boot. Felt much stronger today than yesterday, probably because I am aclimating better to the high humidity and heat.

We have now reached the Mississippi River (just about, we roll over it tomorrow morning) which represents about the 2/3rds point of our journey. We headed out again this morning on Route 54 (I think we have been on this since Kansas) and had some early morning climbing along the highway, although it was at very gentle grades, much welcome relief from the steep rollers we experienced on the second half of yesterday. We rode though Jefferson City, directly past the Capitol building before getting off the highway to a much calmer route 94 which headed east along the Missouri River valley. As you might expect, this section was relatively flat, however, just before lunch at the 93 mile mark, Route 94 kicked us up into the hills for four steep climbs at grades of 10 percent or more. The KATY trail, which is 225 miles long, followed most of route 94 for our trip today. We rode portions of this trail today to avoid some heavy traffic areas. This ran right along the banks of the Missori much of the way.

As we moved closer to St. Louis, there was a great deal of traffic congestion in the mid afternoon hours. We saw some roller coasters other than the hills we were climbing as we passed by Six Flags. Just as we were thinking our last 20 miles would be relatively uneventful, Lon routed us on a six mile section into the hills with some grades as high as 15%. Ouch! Not what we were hoping for after 160 miles in the saddle. We trudged up these hills at about 4 mph, basically a nice steady walking pace. Very scenic in the hills, lots of woods and meandering turns. Each time we turned a corner thinking a descent was on the way, the road kicked up again. Difficult, but lots of fun.

The next several days should be shorter and flatter as we head into Illinois and Indiana. We start riding a half hour earlier than usual, so hopefully we will have more time to unwind at the end of the day.

Here are a few pics I took today:

Leaving Osage Beach in the cool morning.

Capitol Building in Jefferson, MO

Crossing the Missouri

One of many rollers today (picture does not do it justice)

On the Katy Trail

PAC Tour is Six Flags Fun!

Day 11: 5/26/10 Yates Center, KS to Osage Beach, MO

2010-05-26T14:34:00.000-07:00

Click below to review today's route and ride stats:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/34688338

Holy Rollers! I Don't Think we're in Kansas Anymore

Today was a brutally difficult day. 185 miles in 90+ degree heat and humidity of Missouri. We rode from Yates Center about 60 miles to the Missouri boarder. It was a good feeling to finally get windy Kansas behind us. With the exception of a few turns along the way, I don't believe we got any favorable winds out of Kansas. Missouri was not much different thus far. Winds still blowing out of the northeast during most of the morning.

We rode the first 60 miles to the Missouri border, and just at about that time, the terrain began to make a significant change. Kansas from west to east is pretty much dead flat, with some rolling terrain beginning in the eastern section of the state. Missouri, on the other hand is incredibly hilly most the way across thus far. We spent most of the afternoon yo-yo-ing up and down this hill and that. These "rollers" are a bit different than the ones I have riden frequently in south-central Wisconsin. Missouri rollers are much longer in their duration, making the rider slog up one side at 8 mph, and down the back side at 25 mph. Repeat about 100 times, and well, you've made a day of it. Add to that humidity and temps in the mid 90's and you've got a very long day.

Me and Lynn somewhere between points A and B

Today I rode with Lynn from start to finish. Lynn is an incredibly strong rider who kept me in the game throughout the day. The legs did not seem to have the get-up-and-go which I have had thoughout most of the tour thus far, so Lynn and I decided to take it "easy" today. We didnt smash any records, but we got in at about 6:45 this evening, just over 12 hours of riding for the day. The countryside was very pretty to look at but apparently very hazzardous for wildlife.

Our roadkill survey this day puts turtles at the top of the mortality list, followed by armadillos, snakes and frogs. I was amazed at the number of turtles Missouri has. Lynn and I did do our part to save as many as we could as we rode. We took one young lad who was traveling with traffic to the side, gave him a good talking to, and released him to his watering hole.

Sorry I do have to run. I am really beat and need to get to sleep! Tomorrow's journey to St. Louis will be very scenic, but as difficult, if not moreso than today. After St. Louis, we will get some "shorter" and "flatter" days as we enter Illinois and Indiana.

Here are a few pics I took today:

Camera shy - Perhaps because we scolded him for walking on the roadway.

So long Kansas, welcome Missura

Susan cooking up a favorite, grilled cheese and tomato.

Lunch is a favorite time of the day!

You can find Nemo about 5 miles to the south.

Y? Sometimes I ask myself the same question. ... because it's PAC Tour!

Me and Lynn, happy to have made it through a very tough day.

Day 10: 5/25/10 Pratt, KS to Yates Center, KS

2010-05-25T14:33:00.000-07:00

Click below to review today's route and ride stats:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/34590344

We awoke today in Pratt under the threat of rain. Got up and poked my head out of the room, and all was dry. Got dressed and went out 15 minutes later and there was a pretty steady rain. Went back in and got my rain gear. And by the time we left the rain had essentially stopped.

Ready for rain - just before setting out from Pratt.

When you sign up for this sort of thing, you realize that you will be riding in a variety of weather conditions. You dont have to like it, but you do need to accept it. We were geared up for a pretty miserable day slogging away in the rain. As it turned out, today was quite pleasant the whole day.

The morning part of the ride was wet with lots of road splash but as afternoon arrived, the sun came out and it was a beautiful day. We did have one rider crash on some wet railroad tracks, but she appears to be OK which is a relief. The rides are hard enough already without having to nurse injuries.

John (right) was popular to follow today. He went with the fenders today.

There is not much more I can say about Kansas except for that it is a very long state and the terrain is pretty much the same ... flat. As we are moving toward the eastern edge of the state, we are starting to encounter more rolling terrain which leads us into a pretty tough day tomorrow as we enter Missouri.

Perhaps the biggest reason today was such a long day was a preponderance of mechanical issues with bicycles, mostly flat tires. Of the roughly 18 riders on the road today, there were more than 30 flats. I was fortunate to have only one. The record goes to the one tandem on the trip, which I believe had more than 5. The tandem also broke a bottom bracket (the thingy the crank arms go into). Lon and the crew worked flawlessly to keep everyone rolling down the road.

My only flat today.

Things warmed/dried up nicely toward the end of the day.

But ... the next set of thuderstorms brewing in the distance.

Tomorrow we move into Missouri which I am told gets to be very hilly, and at 185 miles will be another long hard day. Looking forward to leaving Kansas and into a new state.

Eureka! We are half way there.

Finally, today we crossed the half way point on our journey with only nine days to go untill we arrive at the Atlantic Ocean. In many respects, this trip is long and difficult, but in others, you are already starting to realize it wont be that much longer until this adventure will come to an end. Thus far, it has been a wonderful experience. I have met many wonderful new people and have seen some amazing countryside and I am truly coming to grips with just how large this country is.

Old-Time Motel Tonight - The Townsman

We are staying at the Townsman Motel tonight. Wow, what a throwback to the olden days! Complete with dark brown shag carpeting, dark wood paneling, and linoleum tile and lamenate countertops in the bathroom, this is the most rustic of our accomodations thus far. Has Wi-Fi ... go figure!

Any way, its getting late, big day tomorrow.

I had the camera bagged up most of the day, I will try to post a few pics tomorrow.

Day 9: 5/24/10 Ulysses, KS to Pratt, KS

2010-05-24T14:33:00.000-07:00

Click below to review today's route and ride stats:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/34461650

Still Windy

Boy oh boy, does Kansas have wind! Another 151 miles today pushing into very strong and continuous head and cross winds, between 25 and 30 mph from start to finish. For those of you from Chicago who think the winds are always blowing out of the west in the spring and summer, think again. This was a very tough day.

Wind going the wrong way!

The Stars and Stripes say it all!

My ears are still ringing from the constant pounding of wind. Along the route, you could see birds flying into it and basically standing still. Not a whole lot in terms of scenery on the ride today. Endless fields of green wheat crops looked like rough rolling seas which was pretty cool.

Waves of grain

And here's something exciting ... lots of cattle yards to go by. Peee youuu! And with them, come lots of cattle trucks, whith thier leaking loads. So, one redeeming factor related to our strong SSE winds today was the fact that the contents of the trucks blew to the left, and not on us. Not pretty.

Our beautiful weather streak ended today with predominantly cloudy skies and a half dozen or so light rain showers throughout the day. Temps were warm, into the mid 80s, so the rain kept us cool. By the end of the day, everything was caked with road grime, bikes and riders alike. All got a good washdown once we rolled into Pratt.

Politial lawn ornaments outside of Mullinville, KS

Nowhere to duck the wind.

Good spot for these puppies.

Rain coats back on after lunch.

Great day to share the work with friends.

The forecast for tomorrow calls for continued headwinds, however at greatly reduced speeds so things should be much more manageable than they were today.

I took no pictures today because of the rain ... so I stole a bunch Susan and the crew took!

Day 8: 5/23/10 Trinidad, CO to Ulysses, KS

2010-05-23T14:32:00.000-07:00

Click below for today's route and ride stats:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/34336156

I'll Get by With a Little Help From My Friends

Today we moved across eastern Colorado and into Kansas. The high winds we were experiencing the previous day in the mountains and in Trinidad were expected to hit us again as we entered the plains. Today's 193 mile ride from Trinidad to Ulysses KS brought us very gently down in altitude from about 6,000 to 3,000 feet.

Because of the long day ahead and the fact that we were on the eastern edge of the mountain time zone, we rolled out at 5:30 am. The start of the ride was at a very brisk pace as winds were expected to be unfavorable and the general attitude seemed to be to get as many miles banked before the winds grew throughout the day.

I don't know why, but you can never believe the forecast for winds in these areas of the country. What we anticipated to be a southwest morning breeze, building to a high southerly wind by noon, turned out to be a morning wind from the northeast, changing to due east, then to south east. Since our route basically went due east, we were fighting head winds and cross winds the whole day. This was definitely a good day to hang in groups to share the workload of pushing the bikes forward against the wind,.

We flew out of Trinidad way too fast. I would guess our lead group was about 10, and after the first 10 miles or so, a rider would drop off due to the brisk pace. By mile 27, there were just three other guys and myself. One of them was a RAAM guy who was an incredibly strong athlete. At this point I felt myself starting to cook with still a very long day ahead so I laned over to one of my riding partners from the last several days (Randy), and told him I was going to jump off. He had the same idea as myself, so we thanked the other two and watched them fade away on the horizon.

Randy and I rode together for about the next 40 miles to the second SAG stop taking turns in the wind. We hooked up with another couple of riders to help each other to the lunch stop at mile 107. We had lunch in Pritchett, Colorado, a real tiny farming town, where we met Wyatt, an 7 year old boy (he reminded us that he will be 8 on September 14th) who was demonstrating the tricks he could do on his bicycle. Wyatt rode with us out of Pritchett as we finished our lunch. What a cool kid.

The scenery changed dramatically as we left the mountians behind and hit the plains of eastern Colorado and Kansas. Flat and green as far as the eye could see.

By mid afternoon the winds were shifting predominantly to the southeast and were building. By the time we reached Ulysses, they were probably at a steady 25+ mph. We were all elated to be done with this long and tiring day, again best shared in the company of others.

Here are a few pics I shot today:

Pre-dawn breakfast. Brad is bagel man today.

Rode with Randy the whole day. Great guy.

Randy and I swaping turns most of the morning.

Kim, Colorado. For sale. Has central air.

Flat and green as far as the eye can see.

Wyatt showing us his stuff in Pritchett, CO

Working in an echelon to duck the wind.

4 Down, 7 to go!

Daily bike wash ritual

Day 7: 5/22/10 Monte Vista, CO to Trinidad, CO

2010-05-22T14:31:00.000-07:00

Click below to review today's route and ride stats:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/34159160

WIND!!!

As we came into Monte Vista last night, we were greeted by strong crosswinds. These sustained throught the night and grew as the morning progressed. The route this morning was relatively flat for the first 50 miles. We had two notable climbs on today's ride, a 5 mile assent to the summit of LaVeta Pass at 9,400 feet and the other at Chucharas Pass at almost 10,000 feet.

As we rolled out of the second SAG stop this morning, our route turned more to the northeast and we bagan picking up some strong tailwinds. The climb up LaVeta Pass was a breeze with many sections at over 20 mph. The grades were a bit more shallow on this pass than Wolf Creek the day before. I got up to more than 28 mph on some sections before tiring and slacking back a bit. As I neared the top, I cut back to catch my breath and downshifted into an easy spinning gear to finish the climb. As I rested, I could actually feel the wind pushing me up the grade without any pedaling effort. Making the final turn toward the summit, I was sidestruck be flying dust and gravel from the roadway.

As I crested the hill, one of the crew was standing at the roadside cautioning riders of the high wind conditions for the 10 mile decent. I took it real slow and rode the brakes the whole way down. In fact, my decent was slower than my ascent. I followed another rider down and kept my eye on what he was experiencing so I could react more quickly to sudden wind gusts. Had to unclip from the pedals several times to brace for the possibility of being blown off the bike. By the time I got to the next SAG stop at the end of the decent, riders were being put into trailers to get out of the wind. Susan was suspending support up the road at least until they could get all of the riders behind us off this pass.

I learned at this time, our RAAM hopeful, Mark Pattinson, who is always the first guy down the road, was blown off his bike which went over a guard rail. His bike frame wound up being cracked and was no longer ridable. Thankfully, Mark was not injured seriously.

We waited at the trailers for nearly an hour as remaining riders came down off the mountain. By this time, winds were sustained at well over 45 miles per hour with gusts over 60. At this point the tour organizers cancelled the remainder of the ride, saying conditions were too dangerous to continue with the second pass ahead. They even indicated, as did many other riders, that they had never seen such strong winds in this area before.

So we wound up getting in only about 76 of our 145 miles in. Lon indicated that this would not be counted against those attempting to qualify for RAAM.

Tomorrow may be as windy as today, but we are now moving out of the mountains and into the plains. So it is highly unlikely we will have a repeat of what happened today. It will be a long one at nearly 200 miles. Good that we got some additional time to rest up.

Only had time for a few snapshots today. Here is what I got:

The morning packing ritual - walk of the dead.

Ready to roll.

14,000 ft peaks

Blown away!

Cram everything in ... we're outa here!

Day 6: 5/21/10 Durango, CO to Monte Vista, CO

2010-05-21T14:31:00.000-07:00

Click below to view today's route and ride stats:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/34058933

I have died and gone to cycling heaven. Today was one of those days you rarely get on a bike.

The big attraction on todays 145 mile ride from Durango to Monte Vista was the climb up Wolf Creek pass at almost 11,000 feet above sea level. I recall the last time I was up at these types of altitudes, we were at Rocky Mountain National Park (in the car) which I believe gets up to about 12,000 feet. I remember a short hike to a monument at the top and gasping for air after only a short walk. So I have been a bit nervous about how I would react to climbing in this environment.

We rolled out at our usual time at 6:30 to cool mountain temperatures. Although the sun was up, Durango is in a valley, so we didn't actually see it for more than an hour. At this point in the tour, most participants have fallen into the daily routines and have found other riders of similar abilities to ride with. We began with many familiar faces from previous days and as we got rolling toward the first rest stop, we were a group of six. We maintained a reasonable but not breakneck pace and fell into a nice conversational rhytym which made the first several hours fly by.

The big climb up Wolf Creek Pass began at about mile 90. We climbed for a ways just to get to the start of the real climb. Fortunately, there was a SAG stop at the base of the pass and the lunch trailer was waiting at the top 8 miles up.

We took a brief stop at the base of the climb to fill bottles. To this point, our group of six had stayed pretty much together the whole morning, but since climbing is sort of a personal thing where each person needs to find there own rhythym, we all pretty much wished each other well and got on our way. This was an amazing stretch of road which twisted its way up the mountain top. Grades averaged between 6 to 8 percent with some less steep stretches somewhere in the middle.

I managed to make it to the top in just shy of an hour and was greeted by the lunch wagon staff. Had 2 hot dogs. Because you lose a lot of salt while riding in these conditions, I dressed the hot dogs with mustard, dill relish, and 5-6 green olives each. It was fantastic! I think I'll need to order dogs this way from now on. There is only one logistical problem with the olives, they tend to roll off the bun easily. We will try to perfect that in the future.

Susan had hot chocolate waiting for us at the top. It was extremely windy on top of the pass and the still snow covered peak was in the 50s. So, you cool off pretty quickly after coming in off the climb covered in sweat. I got to sit in one of those lazy boy type folding chairs with my feet up on the cooler and a blanket over my legs. PAC Tour takes excellent care of its riders!

The rest of the day I rode with Tim ("Foon" as he is called) where we decended for more than 10 miles off the pass and down into the town of South Fork. The last sag stop was at mile 123 and as we made our way the grades leveled off but the wind was screaming from the west. With very little effort, me and Foon

and I were able to hold 25 mph. And when we got our legs back, we were well into the low 30s.

As we made our final 10 miles into Monte Vista we picked up Max whom we had been riding with most of the day prior to the pass, the winds swithched to our right, spoiling what would have been a perfect day in the saddle. The last 30 miles were on a 10 foot shoulder with brand new blacktop. Add the strong tail wind and we were totally spoiled.

The hotel we are staying at tonight is fairly unique. It doubles as a drive-in movie theatre. Each guest room has a huge picture window which looks out to the screen and has a volume knob on the wall. I don't know what's playing tonight, but I sure hope it's not Breaking Away.

Here are some of the pics I took today:

When you see he orange cone with the yellow flag, stop for food and drink.

We are headed to the right into a stiff breeze.

Self portrait of my swollen butt!

My riding mates today, John, Rob, Max, Randy, and Tim (Foon)

Wolf Creek Pass awaits in the distance.

Let the fun begin!

About 1 mile into the climb.

See the two specks (cyclists) entering the turn below.

Can you tell I am having fun?

The next big craze. Hot dogs with olives.

Just gotta find a way to keep em from rolling off!

Breathtaking views. Literally

On the way down

Tunnel

Tunnel Vision

Movie theatre right in our hotel room

Day 5: 5/20/10 Kayenta, AZ to Durango, CO

2010-05-20T14:30:00.000-07:00

Click below for today's route and ride stats:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/33975362

Today was a tough day at 178 miles. We racked up about 9,400 feet of vertical ascent during the day, most of which was in the last 80 miles.

The day began in the low 40s leaving Kayenta at sunrise as we headed north toward the Utah boarder which was about 20 miles away and the gateway to very scenic Monument Valley. The only way I can describe it is that is looks just like those Road Runner cartoons.

I spent most of the day with five other riders as we kept good pace up to the lunch stop at mile 83. Things slowed down a bit from there as I think we all ate a bit too much (PAC Tour feeds thier riders incredibly well. They even take requests). That, coupled with increased heat and climbing took its toll on many of us, present company included. We ran into some rough roads as we entered what I would describe as high plains areas where we saw many cattle and horses in the open range. As we continued to climb, we could see the snow capped mountains in the distance where we will be heading tomorrow.

As we continued to climb into Cortez, the pavement improved and we also stopped at a Dairy Queen which was a life saver. We picked up a few other riders there to begin the last push to Durango where we are staying this evening. The day concluded on a very high note with a 10 mile screaming decent into town.

Tomorrow is going to be another challenging day as we climb Wolf Creek Pass at about 11,000 feet. Now that we have five days and about 825 miles under our belts, things are starting to settle into a normal state .. soar. Hands, feet and bum have all taken a beating but surprisingly the legs are strong and want to keep going.

Here are a few pics I took today:

Entering Monument Valley

Monument Valley

Brad, Me (head), Tim, Randy, Rob, John

Thars oil in dar hills!

We hit the big stuff in the distance tomorrow.

Final descent into Durango

Day 4: 5/19/10 Flagstaff, AZ to Kayenta, AZ

2010-05-19T14:28:00.000-07:00

Click below to review the day's route and ride stats:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/33863905

Today was a "recovery day", the same dustance as yesterday at 150 miles but far less climbing at only about 4,600 feet. We began after sun up in freezing temperatures in Flagstaff. Following a 500 foot climb in the first 20 miles of the day, we quickly warmed up. The next 40 miles were all decending, by about 3,000 feet. Within the first 2 hours, everyone shed thier jackets, hats and other winter gear and we were all in short sleeve jerseys again.

As soon as we turned east on Route 160, we began climbing again into Tuba City. Terrain again today was spectacular and weather has been perfect every day thusfar with the exception of the 98 degree heat on Day 1. For the most part, today was a recovery day for me. I rode mostly in small groups, of no more than four others, sometimes just me plus one. Since the day was predominantly downhill, we were able to move along failry quickly and arrived in our hotel in Kayenta with plenty of time to relax.

Much of today's route lead us through Navajo Indian Reservation. There were many roadside shops and antique stores where you could purchase items distincly "southwest".

One thing I have learned thus far on PAC Tour is not to rely on forecasts on wind direction. Today was a mix of everything. We had headwinds followed by cross winds, then tailwinds, then no wind. We would stand at a SAG stop and in five minutes time see the wind direction change. There were number of really cool decents which were ruined by stiff cross breezes or headwinds.

We only rode on 2 roadways today so it was pretty easy not to get lost. Turn out of the hotel, turn right onto highway 160 at the 68 mile mark and turn right at mile 150 into the hotel. We did have some pretty nasty road surfaces within the last 50 mile of finishing. This combined with crosswinds made for a pretty tough afternoon. We were all feeling pretty beat up by the last SAG stop with 20 mile to go for the day. Although we were feeling pretty discoraged about finishing the last 20 miles, shortly after pulling out, we were greeted with smooth roads, a whole lot of decending, more scenic peaks and valleys, AND that elusive tail wind. We totally smoked our way back to the hotel in no time flat and were riding high from such a great day in the saddle.

Here are a few picks from today's ride.

Climbing up to Tuba City

At our 83 mile lunch stop. Snowcapped mountain in the

distance is Flagstaff where we started this morning

Lunch stop. Grilled cheese and tomato. Yum!

Lynn at the lunch stop.

One of the three PAC Tour vehicles used to support riders.

More than 100 Harleys thundered by with Police escort.

The PAC van.

Two of my very strong riding partners the last 2 days.

A wild dog sleeping by our hotel.

We thought he was dead till I walked up.

Our progress after 4 days.

Day 3: 5/18/10 Wickenburg, AZ to Flagstaff, AZ

2010-05-18T14:20:00.000-07:00

Click below to review the day's route and ride stats:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/33863929

Although appreciably shorter than yesterday at 151 miles, today's ride from Wickenburg to Flagstaff was much more difficult, as we racked up more than 13,000 feet of net elevation gain over four major climbs. Thus far, the toughest day of the tour for sure.

Today was a perfect cycling day from start to finish with sunny blue skies. This morning, temps were chilly so most of us started the day with wind vests and/or arm warmers. We left Wickenburg at daybreak and began climbing immediately. At this time I realized the long descent into town yesterday came at a price, we had to climb back out! It was also a bit unusual as the first leg of our route had us heading to the northwest. Hey, are we not supposed to be going the other way? Once we hit the town of Congress, we would proceed in a more northeasterly direction to Flagstaff.

By the time we reached Congress, we had already climbed 1,000 ft over the first 16 miles. Because the grades were so gradual, it was difficult to tell just by looking at the horizon that we were actually climbing. All that was needed to confirm that we were indeed going up was monitoring our speed. By exerting the same effort needed to move the bike forward at 19-20 mph on a flat grade, we were only able to sustain speeds of 14-15 mph at grades of 2 to 3 percent.

As we departed Congress, the route turned to the northeast and we could now clearly see the obstruction in the road ahead of us, ... that being the mountain we needed to ride over. Although we have done a fair share of hills and climbing on the trip thus far, these were generally short in nature or sustained shallow grades which did not give the impression of serious work. This was our first real taste of sustained grades at more than 5 percent.

Approaching the first major climb of the tour. Up Yarnell grade.

As we approached the hill, you could trace the faint route of the road as it pitched up along the side of the mountain. It was thrilling to know that in a few moments, hey, we'll be going up that! As we reached the base, the highway divided and the grades now increased from 2 to 5-6 percent for the next 7 miles. It did not take long to feel the heart rate begin to soar and the sweat begin to flow under the effort. I quickly ditched my arm warmers to cool off. It was amazing to see the benefits of the effort as I looked over my right shoulder over the guard rail to see the vast low desert we just came from moments before.

Climbing Yarnell grade.

By the time I got to the top, it was time for a much needed break to catch my breath. PAC Tour knows just the right place to park the SAG wagon for periodic rest stops! The 7 mile climb netted 2,000 feet of altitude as we were now close to 5,000 ft above sea level. From the break, it was a fast and straight descent into Peeples Valley for the next 10 miles or so before our second major climb of the day in the Prescott National Forest near, you guessed it, Prescott. This would be a longer ascent covering about 20 miles, but at a slightly more gentle grade than Yarnell.

Entering Prescott National Forest

Climbing up into pine forest

Lon, Me, Lynn and Rob at SAG #2 before descending into Prescott

The roads leading to Prescott were winding and had very light traffic which made for an excellent climb. I hung with Rob, Lynn and Randy most of the day again today. As we neared the second SAG for the day at mile 55, the smell of pine forest filled the air. From the SAG we had another thrilling descent (yes, they ALL are thrilling!) into the busy town of Prescott which had lots of traffic. Rob gets the bike handling skills award today for averting a car which turned right into him as it entered a gas station on our right. He managed to "ride" the car into the turn while staying on his bike before the motorist realized they cut him off. Thank goodness Rob was unscathed.

It took us about 10 miles of city riding before we were positioned for the toughest climb of the day (so far), a 9 mile slog up Mingus Mountain. As everyone generally has their own approach to taking on the hills, our small riding groups often dissipated as the grades pitched up. In most cases, whether you are a fast climber or not so fast, riders of similar ability will invariably meet up again somewhere down the road. Today, our lunch stop was at the top of Mingus Mountain so it provided ample opportunity for regrouping.

This was indeed a tough climb which offered a number of cool switchbacks and pitched up to 8 percent or more in some sections. The road surface was not the best but that was not of great concern when going all of 8 mph up the hill.

Up Mingus Mt. Note 4 cyclists below

Me and Lon on top of Mingus. Cheeseburgers today!

Favorite sign. White knuckle curvy descent.

After lunch we were treated to an exhilarating descent down into the old mining town of Jerome which was mid-way down the mountain. This was a real trendy artsy-fartsy sort of town, and it would have been a great place to spend the afternoon browsing, but alas, we have our own agenda today!

We began at 7,000 feet and eventually dropped to about 3,400 feet over the course of the next 15 miles. While many, including myself, would generally believe that riding your bike DOWN a hill has got to be an effortless endeavor, this was quite to the contrary. The roads were not in the best shape and there were twists and turns the whole way down. I rode the breaks almost continuously, and by the time we leveled off, my hands and palms ached from being locked for so long. Traffic was also a little heavier in this area so we needed to be extremely alert moving around corners and controlling speed into turns. I always try to avoid riding in the center of the lane, but this was necessary to pick the proper line though curves. Looking back, vehicular traffic had to do about the same so I certainly wasn't holding anyone up.

The scenery in this section was truly amazing. As we banked back and forth down the initial portions of the descent, pretty much all we could see were the curves in the road ahead, the forest above us and the sheer rocky/sandy walls channeling us down the road. After a couple more turns, the horizon revealed itself, and we could now see the vast valley that lay thousands of feet below. Absolutely gorgeous! I was struck with some sort of vertigo, as if I didn't slow down, I would fly off the end of the road and never reach the ground below. The emotions were very strange. Excitement, exhilaration and near terror as we moved down the mountain.

Nearing Jerome, AZ from the top of Mingus Mt.

Once we hit the valley floor, we entered the town of Cottonwood. We had about 100 miles down and 50 to go for the day. It also felt good that we had by now completed 3 of the 4 major climbs of the day. What I neglected to recognize was that our final destination of Flagstaff was at 7,000 feet, about the same as at the top of Mingus Mt. So basically we had to go back up what we just came down.

As we left Cottonwood, the route began climbing again, albeit now gradually, over the next 20 miles as we approached Sedona. The scenery changed again to numerous rock formations which had a reddish hue to them. We rode through downtown Sedona which again looked to be a thriving and happening spot. Lots of people out and about shopping and taking in the beautiful day.

Road to Sedona

Red Rocks

Afternoon Posse. Rob, Randy, Lynn, Me, John

From Sodona, our route turned to the north as we followed Oak Creek for a ways. We were now tucked away into a pretty heavily forested area with the sound of running water and more frequent tree cover overhead. We had one major climb coming up out of Oak Creek Canyon before the final push to Flagstaff for the night. We were all getting pretty tired by now and the shadows were now being cast into the canyon telling us that the day was waning. Rob, Randy, and John spotted a DQ along the roadside and elected to stop for refreshment. Lynn and I were pretty much determined to get to the finish so we plodded on.

I started to get chilled from the more frequent lack of direct sunlight, but this changed quickly as the climb out of Oak Creek Canyon began. This one lasted for just over 6 miles at an average gradient of 7.9 percent. This one was real tough, especially after the long day yesterday and all the climbing we had already logged earlier today. We limped into the last SAG stop at the top of the climb with not much left in the tank. Lynn and I were both hoping that the final 13 miles to the hotel would be similar to the nice downhill finish yesterday, but we got rollers instead. No worries. We reached Flagstaff nearly 12 hours before starting off that morning with nearly 2 hours of idle time eating and taking breaks. A slow day overall due to the net elevation gain and all the climbing.

Entering Flagstaff

Today was the best day yet. It's hard to say that because they have all been terrific thus far. Weather has been great, the legs feel good, but the bum, hands and feet are starting to bother me from all of the wear and tear these last few days. I am told you continue to ride yourself into better shape as the tour progresses. I hope that is correct, otherwise I sense some challenging days ahead. Tomorrow's ride to Kayenta is booked as a recovery day at similar mileage as today but the first 50 miles are predominantly down hill and a net elevation loss for the day. Here's to recovery days!

Day 2: 5/17/10 El Centro, CA to Wickenburg, AZ

2010-05-17T14:26:00.000-07:00

Click below to view the day's route and ride stats:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/33691570

LONG DAY. Spent 14.5 hours on the bike today (including stops), covering 220 miles from ElCentro to Wickenburg. Despite the tough day yesterday, I still did not sleep well last night - I rarely do when I start to think ahead about what is in store for the next day. I did a lot of tossing and turning last night and could not get myself calmed down to get any type of restful sleep.

We awoke at about 2:30 to begin preparations for a night time departure through the desert before things really heated up. After getting dressed and packed, I moved the bike out to the parking lot to find other riders busy installing their lights for what would be at least 2 plus hours of riding in darkness before sun up. I was fortunate as I already had my lights installed and ready to go during the day yesterday so as to avoid having to rush to get this done in darkness. Today, I also brought my CamelBak along which would have come in handy in yesterday's heat. The plan was to wear it empty at the start and then begin filling it with ice as the temps rose.

Early Start - 3:00 am

After a quick breakfast, we were off. Today, I decided to take off with the first group, which is usually the fast group, with the idea of getting some quick miles under the belt early. I could then drop back before getting too burned out and still be able to manage the rest of the day more easily. As we left the dark streets of ElCentro, a group of 9-10 riders were proceeding in a fast pace line. This was a bit unnerving, not just because of the darkness, but the local roads were not in great shape so there were regular yells of "hole"! Fortunately nobody fell in one!

Just as we entered ElCentro yesterday, there is a point at which the irrigation and farms end, and everything that lay beyond is dried up and barren. This morning it took probably 25 miles of riding until we reached that point on the outskirts of town. As the roads improved, the pace increased to breakneck speed. While it was easy hanging in the group tucked in the draft, when it came time to pull off the front, I was definitely exerting more energy than I wanted to maintain the pace. We were even working so hard we blew right past the first rest stop of the day. The next would be at mile 40. At our pace, we would be there in and hour and a half.

As we turned back to the east, the glow of the soon to be rising sun could be seen over the mountains which lay ahead. As daylight broke, we reached the Glamis sand dunes. It was absolutely breathtaking watching the sun come up over the dunes. Nothing but sand as far as the eye could see, not even some of the scrub brush we were seeing up to this point. Since everyone was enjoying the sunrise and scenery, and we were about 5 miles from the 40 mile rest stop, our pace line pretty much disintegrated.

Sun coming up over the Glamis Sand Dunes - Awesome!

After the 40 mile break, which included a second breakfast, I left in a smaller group, with Rob (Minnesota) and Randy (Virginia). We rode the rest of the day together and picked up some others along the way. It was about 60 more miles to Blythe, where we would cross the Colorado River into Arizona. After we left the dunes behind, the terrain got a bit more mountainous again and the grade eased up ever so gently until it descended again just as gently into Blythe. More agriculture again as we entered town.

Rob and Randy - a couple a fungis

Before 10:00 we entered Blythe with about 100 miles done for the day. Whew! Just 120 to go! It was back on interstate again for a ways, this time I-10 as we crossed over the Colorado.

Crossing the Colorado River

Hello Arizona! One State down, 10 to go.

While it was warm, in the upper 80s, the direct sun was blocked out by high clouds for most of the day, so it kept riding quite pleasant.

Flat fixing party on I-10

We rode for about 30 miles on interstate before exiting on Highway 60 which we would be on for the rest of the day into Wickenburg. Must have been feeling some tailwind on this section because our group was kicking it up to near 30 in some sections of the interstate. So, for relative reference, those semis only seemed like they were passing us at 50 mph!

Shortly after our exit on Hwy 60, we had our lunch stop for the day at mile 144. Boy were we ready for a break! Brats and chicken wings for lunch today totally hit the spot. Also had the better part of a 2 liter bottle of Big Red, my favorite new pop!

Kickin back at lunch with only 80 mi to go for the day.

A local uses our bike pump to fill his tire - worked well.

We picked up Lynn (North Carolina) coming out of lunch. I think most of us stayed too long and overate because we all agreed to head out slow to see if we could once again regain our mojo for the final push into Wickenburg.

Looking all business after lunch coma wore off.

Randy posing beyond Hope, AZ

I believe "Yer" would have been more grammatically correct.

Later in the day, we rode past a gentleman from Chicago who was on his way back home. Not before riding out to Oregon and down the coast to Mexico. He had been on the road for 6 months and judging by how much stuff he had strapped to his bike, he must have been camping the whole time.

By late afternoon, our ride to Wickenburg seemed to be like it would never end. The road was pretty much a straight shot the whole way, and while the scenery was great, there was not a lot of change in it, so it almost felt like we were going nowhere. By the time we hit the last SAG stop 18 miles from the hotel, everyone was ready for the long day to be over.

Closing moments of a very long day. Whew!

We were treated to a surprise 10 mile downhill into Wickenburg which lifted everyone's spirits. It was easy coasting into town and a real cool hotel which was all "southwestern" looking. Had great Mexican food at a local place across the street.

Tomorrow will be another big day as we head up several mountain passes to the north. Onward to Flagstaff!

Day 1: 5/16/10 San Diego, CA to El Centro, CA

2010-05-16T13:44:00.000-07:00

Click below for today's route and ride stats:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/33554149

Great day today! This was the shortest day of the tour but was challenging nonetheless. We departed San Diego at 6:30 am under cloudy skies with a gentle mist falling. Temps were just right at about 60 degrees. The whole group headed out together.

See ya San Diego!

Lots of otherwise busy streets traveled this morning heading out of San Diego. The fact that it was Sunday morning meant we had all the roads to ourselves.

A small group of six of us leaving town early morning.

By mile 20, the climbing began in earnest, from near sea level to about 4,000 feet over the next 20 miles. Once on top, the views were spectacular. We rode on Old Highway 80 which flanked Interstate 8 for a good part of the day. At times, we would ride for short stretches on the Interstate because there were no other roads available. While I dont belive this would be advisable, let alone legal in the area where I live, this was not too big a deal. The shoulder was wide and the pavement was in excellent shape and free of debris.

Looking back toward SanDiego from 4,000 ft.

Our elevation profile for the day plateaued at 4,000 feet by mile 40. We would have some intermediate climbs and descents at this altitude until about mile 80, at which point we would drop again to below sea level for the last 40 miles or so of the day. Once in the Laguna Mountains, our route turned to the south as we enjoyed a fast descent into the town of Jacumba which sits right on the Mexican boarder. At mile 75, this was our lunch stop for the day, so we took a break in the shade at a roadside park.

Rode old US80 south following the boarder a ways.

The cool morning temps from sea level were now a thing of the past. By the time we took our lunch break in Jacumba, I would say temps were warm but still pleasant in the mid 80s. A dry heat, so no worries, right?! Proper hydration is critically important when riding in this type of climate. As it is very dry, you hardly even perspire even though your heart rate is in the 140s or higher. The proof of electrolyte loss comes in the crusty layer of salt that forms on your skin and leeches through your clothes. Don't know if you can make it out in the pic below, but my forehead and eyes are caked with salt after several hours of riding.

Mr. Pretzel a/k/a "Salty Dog" at lunch in Jacumba

Following lunch, I pretty much stuck with just one other rider for the rest of the day. Tim ("Foon"), as he is nicknamed, hails from Colorado and is an incredibly strong and experienced cyclist. I found myself gasping for breath chasing him up and down the hills leading up to lunch. We pedaled out back onto Old Hwy 80 flanking the boarder fence for another 7 miles or so and then back onto Interstate 8 for a thrilling 3,000 ft descent to the desert floor. This was an amazing experience! Having never been in this area of the country before the scenery was simply breathtaking. It was incredibly barren and rocky, almost lunar in appearance, with barely any vegetation to be found.

Descending 3,000 ft. to below sea level. A total scream!

As Tim and I descended, I took a look at my route card looking for the location of our turnoff (don't want to miss those exits, especially off of the Interstate!) and noticed the words "dangerous cross winds ... increasing heat". Sure enough, even though the 10 mile descent was fast and effortless, as we twisted and turned down off the mountain, we needed to stay on our toes to keep control of the bikes. I was also amazed at how quickly the temperatures began to rise as we reached the desert floor. Hard to estimate, but it seemed like over the course of 3 to 5 miles, the temps increased from mid 80s to 100 degrees.

Shortly after we exited the Interstate onto Rte 98 (the Yuha Cutoff) we had another SAG stop at mile 93. It was interesting that there was another scheduled break less than 20 miles after our lunch stop, considering there were 10 miles of descending included in that. The reason for this stop was very evident however, the heat was already getting to me. We pulled off, filled our bottles with plenty of ice and threw a bunch more ice water over ourselves to cool down. Our crew had "ice socks" for any interested takers (tube socks filled with ice and tied off at the end). I went with the ice-water dowsed towel instead and slung it over my shoulder as we pulled out for the balance of the ride through the Yuha Desert.

How you feeling? HOT! HOT! HOT!

Entering the Yuha Desert. It's a dry heat. :)

As someone who regularly enjoys riding in hot weather, and even boasts about it, I was quickly beginning to wilt. Only a few miles after our stop, my ice towel was now a hot towel and provided no cooling relief. I was starting to lose power to the pedals rapidly and even at a moderate pace, Tim was pulling away from me.

I had now begun to realize that although I was probably OK on fluids, my electorlytes were way too low. It was too late. I started to bonk seriously and my pace slowed to 10-11 mph. I popped 5-6 electroylte tablets and kept sipping my gatorade which was by now hot, and extremely unpleasant to force down. I implored Tim to go on without me as it would take me some time to recover. He would have none of it and hung in there with me, leading the way. He tried to keep me on his wheel but I would invariably fall back and he would slow up and wait for me. We yo-yoed like this for about 10 miles, which, based on how I was feeling, might as well have been 100. Fortunately, there was one final stop planned for the day at mile 115, about 11 miles from the hotel in ElCentro.

Tim and I took an extended break at the next stop, where I topped off my fluids and took a breather in the shade for a moment. By the time we got back on the road again, I was starting to feel a bit better as I could tell I was getting some power back in the legs. As we rode into the outskirts of ElCentro, there was a distinct demarcation line where the desert ended and irrigated farmland began. Like night and day, we went from dust bowl to green fields. Wasn't sure what they were growing but in certain sections you could distinctly smell onions in the ground. We rode along some of the irrigation channels which I had never seen before. These were pretty cool, you could see water moving quickly through these cement troughs which parallelled the road. It was moving our way so I was half tempted to see if I could "luge" my way to the hotel.

As we rolled into the hotel, spirits were once again high. I felt pretty much fully recovered from my earlier melt-down in the desert. A big thank-you to Tim for gettinng me through today! It felt great to get a cool shower in and go back outside to clean-up the bike and dip the toes in the hotel pool before dinner at Dennys.

Tomorrow is our longest day of the tour at 220 miles and is all desert. We will be up at 2:30 and on the road by 3:30 am to avoid some of the heat. I hope I have aclimatized suffucuently to the heat by now because I can't afford a repeat of today on such a long trek tomorrow. So it's off to bed to get some more recovery rest!

ELITE TOUR - Prologue

2010-05-16T05:16:00.000-07:00

I arrived in San Diego Friday afternoon for the Sunday start of the PAC Tour Elite transcontinental ride. By the time I got to the hotel, a number of riders and crew were already busy in the parking lot assembing bikes and getting things set up. I am fortunate to live within an hour or so from the hometown of the PAC Tour owners, who offered to drive my bike out to San Diego on thier trailers, sparing me the hassle of breaking down my bike, shipping it and reassembling it at the start.

(Everything you need for the next 3 weeks in one bag.

That's a lot of spandex! ... and who picked out those drapes?)

After getting checked in, Lon and Susan (PAC Tour owners and both cycling legends) led an informal group of a dozen or so crew and riders to dinner at a local mexican spot. Thus far, many of the other riders I met all appear to be previous PAC Tour veterans with one or more transcontinental rides to thier credit. Was also glad to meet a couple other newbies like myself who aren't quite sure just yet what they signed themselves up for!

Saturday morning at about 6:00, a group of riders set out for an early spin to the ocean and breakfast. I favored a bit more rest and opted to sleep in until 8:00 and had a Red Bull from the parking lot vending machine instead. Cloudy and overcast this morning. Thought I'd wait it out and try to pick up a trip to the beach a bit later in the day. Was able to hook up with a half dozen other riders just after noon when the sun finally came out and temps moved into the mid 60s.

(OK, now just ride east and keep going until you hit something that looks like this)

PAC Tour legends get thier names immortalized on the side of thier trialer.

Who is this "E" character?)

(Here is the route card - 19 days Pacific to Atlantic)

(Check the rider board every day for improtant info and updates.)

Late Saturday afternoon Lon and Susan held a rider meeting to go over expectaitons, schedules and the daily routine ... and by the way, don't do anything stupid out there! I thought it was a bit amusing that we were politely reminded not to pee on the trailer which only tells me, yeah, they've probably seen it all over the many years they have been doing this. No problem!

We finished off the day with a group dinner and a surprise visit from Pete and Jim Penseyres, both Race Accross America legends, who shared some great stories from the early ultra racing days.

Off to bed. Tommorrow the fun begins!

GLR 300K - Delavan, WI

2010-05-02T16:04:00.000-07:00

Click the link below for the route and ride stats:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/31902568

May 1st was the first event on the Great Lakes Randonneurs calendar for 2010. This year, because of possible field limit restrictions on the 2011 edition of Paris-Brest-Paris the GLR is offering an expanded brevet series to permit those interested in PBP a number of opportuities for expanded brevet participation. I dont know all the specifics, but the more and longer the brevets one rides, the better the chances of making it to Paris in 2011.

The typical brevet series offers distances of 200K, 300K, 400K and 600K, with a few ultra distance rides of 1,000K and 1,200K held in other areas of the US. Today, the GLR was offering a 200K as well as a 300K which incorporated an extension of the 200K route. Since I am currently training to begin a PAC Tour transcontinental ride in about 2 weeks I felt I needed to ride the 300K route today. One of the minimum training guidelines for this tour is to complete a double century in less than 12 hours and I wanted to make sure I was able to pass this test today.

There were approximately 60-70 riders signed up for the 7 am start. Contrary to many of the past GLR brevets I had riden (foul, cold, rainy, windy, tornadoes), today was an exceptional weather day with starting temps in the low 60's with mid-day temps approaching the low 70's. Since this was the first event of the year most riders chose the 200K option. I could not find any others doing the 300K but was later told that I was one of five who wanted to check out the longer course.

The first section of the route headed west for about 45 miles to the town of Brodhead. Everyone rode this leg together and after Brodhead, the 200K route went to the north to Oregon and the 300K route headed to the northwest to New Glarus, Mt. Horeb, and Barneveld, and then back to Oregon where it rejoined the 200K route.

It was great fun rolling out together and catching up briefly with some familiar friends from brevets of years past. As we headed west, we picked up a fairly stiff cross wind from the southwest so the pack dissipated and spread out rather quickly over the first 15-20 miles. I was joking with my friend David about how we got stuck at the front of the group and how we should head to the back to take it easy this early in the ride. For better or worse, we were caught up with some of the faster riders at the front and were rotating though some of the windy spots pretty well. Unfortunately, after a while our group pretty much fell apart and we were down to a group of six by the time we reached Brodhead.

At this point, without any other 300K riders in sight, this was a solo ride for me for the rest of the day. As you begin to leave Brodhead to the north and west, you begin to get into more of the hilly sections of the route. Knowing I would not likely see any riders for the rest of the day, I relaxed and tried to settle into a comfortable rythym. As I headed to the north and west, there were many sections where I was able to enjoy a strong tail wind so the pedaling was fairly easy and brisk. I was hoping that the winds would continue to grow and shift to the WSW as originally forecasted which would make the trip back to Delevan a "breeze".

With scheduled stops at New Glarus and Mt. Horeb at much shorter intervals than the first 45 mile ride to Brodhead, I was able to refuel at shorter intervals keeping me feeling fresh. Aside from the very hilly terrain, probably the toughest part of the day was the 9 mile slog from Mt. Horeb to Barneveld, the farthest point on the course. The wind was shifting to more of a SSW and by this point of the day (noon) was realy starting to howl, probably in the 20-25 mph range with some gusts at over 40. It took me about 45 minutes to get to Barneveld. The return trip back to Mt. Horeb took about 20 minutes.

With 110 miles in and still 75 to go, it was good to fianlly be heading back toward the start again. While I was hoping for a good tailwind most of the way home, the winds seemed to be predominanlty from the south at this point so every time I turned to the right, the wind would abruptly take away any momentum and pretty much put you in a defensive mode. As I turned to the east, you could still get a moderate benefit of a push, albeit you were constantly needing to correct the bike from frequent gusts.

As I rolled into the Oregon stop, and back onto the 200K route, the clerk at the gas station said the last riders she had come through from our group left about 40 minnutes ago. I was feeling a bit beat up at this point and was thankful there was only one more rest stop at Edgerton before being done for the day. As I came within 5 miles of Edgerton I began picking up some of the 200K riders. I made a quick stop in Edgerton, but not so quick as to miss out on one of those famous Wisconsin cheddar filled sausages (how do they do that?).

At this point, I just wanted to be done and was already thinking about more food at the finish. The road back to Delevan has probably one of the most boring stretches of county highway imaginable (that would be County M). It's long and straight, bumpy, and never seems to end. On the final stretch, I was able to get one last piece of tailwind and was able to cruise into town and the finish a few minutes after 6 pm.

So, all in all, a fun and hard day of riding, would have enjoyed more company but was at least able to meet my goal for the day. We'll see if it's enough to meet the rigors of PAC Tour in a few more weeks!

National 24 Challenge - 2009

2009-06-21T17:54:00.000-07:00

This 24 hour event is held each year on Father's Day weekend in Middleville, MI, about 15 miles south of Grand Rapids. The 27th edition of this ride was held on Saturday and Sunday, June 20-21. Participants hailed from 24 states, including some international riders from Canada, Poland and Switzerland. The objective, see how many miles you can ride from 8:00 am Saturday to 8:00 am Sunday. This was my second year at this event, having logged 374.5 miles in 2008.

Results

Total Riders: 306
Average Milage, All Riders: 216.4

Overall Rank: 3
Total Miles Completed: 427.6
First Place, Mens age 40-45

Time on Bike: 22 hours, 24 minites
Time off Bike: 1 hour, 36 minutes (25 minutes early end of ride, 1 hour, 11 min. refueling)
Total average speed: 17.8 mph
Total average road speed (excluding stops): 19.1 mph

Diet

Total Calories Consumed: 10,100
Total Liquids Consumed: 4.8 gallons (pee'd only 3 times!)

Bananas - 4
Gartorade - 10 20oz bottles
Water - 18 20oz bottles
Hammer Perpeptuem - 24 270 calorie servings
Hammer Gel - 8 2oz packets
Ensure - 3 8oz bottles
Monster Energy - 1 16oz can

Friday, June 19, 2009

Most riders arrive at the Thornapple-Kellogg Middle School on Friday afternoon and evening before the Saturday morning start. I was fortunate again to have my crew (mom and dad) accompany me this year to the event so that they could haul my remains back to Batavia on Sunday afternoon. Last year dad came out and hung out at the middle school for the whole event. Although I am sure he kept himself occupied, I couldn't imagine anything more boring than watching cyclists riding around in circles for 24 hours, so this year I convinced mom to come along and told them to go enjoy themselves in Grand Rapids during the ride and to meet me afterward.

(This must be the place)

(Thornapple-Kellog Middle School)

We arrived in Middleville at about 3:00 pm Friday afternoon following a few hours of steady rain. The middle school grounds had already begun their transformation into a tent city with bikes and their riders completing last minute tune-ups for the big ride the next day. Fortunately the rain let up for the afternoon which allowed us to get my tent set up close to the rider check point. The tent would essentially serve as my fueling station and house my gear and supplies. At this point, I had no idea that I wouldn't be sleeping in it that night.

(Tent city)

(Base camp)

After setting up and picking up my rider packet and numbers, we met up with a work colleague of mine (Larry) and his wife Allison. Allison is a very accomplished cyclist who has ridden this event with her dad Algie for many years. She has placed numerous times in her division and she and her dad have also won the family division. Accompanying them were several other members of the family, some riding and some crewing. It made for a very festive atmosphere.

Larry graciously agreed to help me refuel at the first two checkpoints along the first loop which is 121.6 miles. One lesson I learned real quickly last year is that if you want to stay with the lead group, you have to refuel at the checkpoints nearly instantly or you will be left behind. Those riders who have crew meet them are in and out in half the time of an Indy pit stop.

After getting settled in, my folks and I headed to Grand Rapids to check into their hotel and head out for dinner. I don't get too particular about what is best to eat before a big ride, but the better part of a BBQ chicken pizza sounded like a good idea to me.

My folks dropped me back in Middleville by 8:30 or so and then headed back to their hotel as the forecast was calling for more rain and the skies were already starting to turn dark to the north (toward Grand Rapids). I still had a lot of unpacking and setting up to do and wanted to get this done while there was still some daylight and before it started to rain again. I was able to get this done pretty quickly and finally had some down time to kick back and relax a bit before turning in. I sat outside my tent with my feet up in my collapsible lazy boy and watched as the skies to the north continued to grow more ominous.

The temps were warm and the wind fairly calm. The storm to the north was pretty impressive to watch. There were a lot of visible lightning strikes and the rumbling of thunder in the distance. By visually tracking the direction of the clouds, it appeared that the system may actually skirt our area and that all of the carnage would be to the north. I sat for nearly half an hour watching this awesome display and was beginning to think if it hasn't hit us by now, perhaps we would be spared.

Being the owner of one of the cheapest cell phones on the planet, I cannot check the weather on it. So I called my wife Joleen and asked her to punch up weather.com to take a look at the radar so I could know what to expect over the next couple of hours. As she pulled up the radar and was looking for Middleville, our casual banter quickly turned more serious. I don't recall her exact words, but they were along the lines of "Get inside, NOW"! At that very same moment, the Sheriff's department got on the PA and announced the severe storm warning that Joleen had just seen on the radar seconds earlier. Apparently, Middleville was the epicenter of the system which was to hit within the next 10 minutes or so. The Sheriff was strongly urging everyone to take cover inside the middle school while the storm hit. I reassured Joleen that I would head inside and wait out the storm.

Of course, never being one to exercise poor judgment, as soon as I hung up with Joleen I began to think (this is where trouble usually begins), where am I going to sleep? Surely I would not sleep well on the gym floor in the school ... and the storms were supposed to clear out by 12:30 or so. Maybe this storm won't be that big of a deal after all. So rather than taking my bike, gear, and sleeping bag inside with me, I thought that I would stroll inside the school, see what all the hullabaloo was about, wait for it to blow over, and then go back to the tent to get some sleep.

I got into the main registration area inside the school and they had a TV on tuned to the weather station. There was a radar image which showed a long line of solid red just to the west of Middleville. There was also a listing of towns in its path, with times adjacent to each town. It indicated "Middleville - 11 min". Sure enough, as I watched the news bulletins over the next 10 minutes or so, all I had to do was turn around and look out the large glass windows to see the winds pick up and all hell begin to break loose.

It had to have been about 10:00 at this point, so it was already completely dark outside. The only time you could see what was happening was when a bolt of lightning flashed, and then you caught a very brief glimpse of what was going on. There were a lot of tents which were completely blown away and many of those portable picnic shelters which became totally mangled from the strong winds which came with the storm. Being the "Boy Scout" I was, I was not too concerned about my tent as we staked it down pretty good earlier that afternoon.

For the next hour or so, I did what most of the other riders were doing, just kind of hanging out, waiting to see what was going to happen next. The smart ones had already staked out a place in the gym or the hallway and were already banking some sleep. Naturally, I had left all my crap in the tent. During a lull in the storm, I ran out to check on the tent. Everything looked normal from the outside so I ran back into the school, thinking that I would still be able to get to the tent in an hour or so and get some sleep.

By now it was getting close to midnight and I was getting concerned about getting in some quality sleep, not to mention I had already been up since 6:00 that morning. It was looking as thought the worst of the storm had past (wind and lightning) and by all reports, things would be breaking up within the next few hours. So I decided to retreat to the tent to get settled in. Still raining pretty heavily, I ran to the tent, fumbled with the zipper, and finally opened the fly and stepped in ... to about 3 inches of water! Most everything was pretty well wet, including sleeping bag. I did a quick damage assessment, moved a few things to the one high and dry spot in the tent and then took my bike, wet gym bag with my clothes (which were fortunately still dry), and a 1/2 inch foam pad back into the school to find a place to sleep.

I was lucky to find a "cozy" little nook in a classroom doorway, laid out my stuff and tried to get some sleep. The lights were all full-on so I threw a jersey over my face to block it out. I have not done a lot of these types of rides, so I still tend to get some anxiety about the start. This, combined with being damp, and laying on a hard floor in an unfamiliar place, did not make for the best conditions for blissful slumber. The last time I looked at my phone before getting to sleep, it was about 3:00. My best guess, I got about an hour to an hour and a half because I was already stirring again at 5:15 and up for good by 5:30.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

The Start

Although I hardly got any sleep, I was glad it was time to get down to business. The organizers coordinated a tasty pancake breakfast which would pretty much be the last solid food I would eat in the next 24 hours.

The weather had improved, roads were still damp but drying, skies were still clouded and overcast but were expected to clear, and the wind was out of the west, my guess at about 10 mph and reports were that it would build to 15-20 mph by the afternoon. So we would have a tailwind for the first portion of the 121.6 mile loop and a head wind on the return trip. Temps at 8:00 were close to 70 degrees and the forecast was for a high of 83 and sunny. We had a pretty nice day of riding ahead of us.

My mileage goal this year was to hit 400. I was pretty happy with the 375 I turned in last year, but I thought 400 was attainable by meeting 2 goals:

Stay with the big dogs throughout the first 121.6 mile loop. Last year, I was dropperd about 5 miles shy of Checkpoint #2 at the 71.5 mile mark. I was not prepared for how quickly the supported riders moved through the checkpoints last year. I was carrying my own food and had to fill bottles at Checkpoint #1, so I burt myself to a crisp chasing them down. This year, I had Larry standing by with fresh bottles at Checkpoints #1 and #2 which should help me stay with the lead group.
Manage time off the bike better. Last year, I spent a total of 2.75 hours off the bike, most of which was dead time hanging around the middle school licking my wounds. This year I was telling myself to stay on the bike, just keep moving it forward and take any needed recovery by easing the pace a bit.

Shortly before the start, I ran into Rick Cosaro from Naperville. Rick and I rode to hell and back on the GLR 400K last summer (that's the weekend Lake Delton, just to the north of the northernmost portion of our route, emptied into the Wisconsin river due to the severety of the weather that weekend). There's something special about spending 23 hours on the bike, 18 of them soaking wet and dodging tornadoes (in the middle of the night no less) with people like Rick who share your passion for long distance cycling. It either confirms that I have not in fact gone completely insane or that at least I am in good company riding alongside a select group of loonatics. Rick is tough as nails. This was his first time at this event.

(Me and Rick at the start)

My folks also came down for the start before beginning their day exploring Grand Rapids.

(Crew Chief - Dad)

(First assistant Crew Chief - Mom)

Another cool thing about this event is that about a half hour before the start, a bagpipe corps marches the grounds playing various bagpipe classics. It's really quite a nice touch and gets your blood pumping for the impending start. If bagpipes are not your thing, at least you won't oversleep.

(Pipers crankin out a wicked cover of "War Pigs")

Following several national anthems for all of the contries represented at the event and a 10 second coundown over the PA, we were underway. The sound of more than 300 cyclists clicking into their pedals is absolute music. Strike up the bagpipes again and I nearly forgot I had hardly slept in the past 24 hours. Pure adrenaline.

On the way down the 1/2 mile twisting drive leading out of the middle school, I hung pretty close to the head of the pack, trying to stay out of traffic and avoid any trouble with other riders trying to find a position. From the gun, the pace was already pretty brisk. I don't recall the exact speed, but I'd say we were in the 23 to 25 mph range. There is only one traffic signal on the whole of this event, and it is at highway M37 which is equidistant between the middle school and downtown Middleville.

The organizers start the route with about a 10 mile looping jog on some country roads before bringing the riders past the middle school again and then across M37 and into downtown. I imagine this is done to help thin out the riders so that 300 people are not looking to cross a busy intersection at the same time.

(Workin it on a hill)

The few cyclists who I am fortunate enough to ride with on a regular basis know there are two things I cannot resist, a good piece of asphalt and a tailwind. As the lead group made its final turn onto Green Lake Road, which began a 2.75 mile straightaway toward the middle school, I got both.

Within the first quarter mile, I found myself at the front. While frying oneself 20 minutes into a 24 hour event is not particularly a wise move, I was feeling warmed up by now and, well, just a bit "frisky". So I got down on the aero bars and began to slowly kick up the pace. A couple of riders came with as we pushed the pace to over 30 mph. After the next mile or so it was just me and another guy. I think I topped out at about 33 mph before I felt myself starting to cook and eased back a bit. By this time I was alone and had built a gap of 200 yards or more on the main field as I approached the middle school.

Each year, family, support crews, volunteers and other interested passers-by line the side of the road in front of the middle school to greet and cheer for the cyclists as they pass by. Granted, none of this means a damn thing or counts for squat, but I gotta say it was a pretty cool feeling being the first rider to pass through the cheering crowd. And hell, my parents drove my ass all the way here to come and see me ride, so I thought I'd give them something to look at! Not to mention, I am always a sucker for a photo op. It doesn't matter what you can do on the bike, it's how good you look doing it, right? This is where it gets funny.

As I rode past the crowd, I was scanning for my parents who were nowhere to be found. Finally, I spotted my dad, standing at the side of the road at the very end of the crowd. And was he looking at the approaching cyclists? Noooo, he was messing around with his camera. As I passed, I called out to him. No response. ... "Hmmm, honey, what apperature setting do you think I should use?" To quote the immortal works of Homer ... "D'oh!". It wasn't until the next day, after the ride had ended, I learned that they saw me coming and surmised I must have been the guy who won the event each year so they paid me no mind. We all had a pretty good laugh about that one.

After I passed the middle school, I sat up and waited for the pack as there was no point in continuing to go alone, not to mention I needed to recover. We crossed M37, with the assistance of the Sheriff's department, and began a short decent into downtown Middleville and crossed Thrornapple River, another classic photo op at this event. As we approached the river, I was joined by Chris Ragsdale, the guy who has posted the highest mileage total in each of the last 3 years, including smashing the 500 mile barrier in 2007. All you have to do is take a look at this guys legs and you can see why.

OK, in 2008 there were hundreds of pictures posted by volunter event photographers. Thus far, I have been scouring the internet looking for any of these coveted photo ops for 2009 and alas, none to be found, which makes my whole opening yarn, one ginormous fish story!

Checkpoint #1 - 34.4 mi

After all my goofing around and as we departed fair Middleville, I settled down a bit and reintegrated the pack to recover for a time. The lead group was comprised of 50 or so riders so there was a lot of opportunity sit back and enjoy the ride. This was the tailwind section of the route as we headed east, so the pace was brisk (in the 25 to 27 mph range) but not overly labored. The ride included a pace car which escorted riders over the entire first 121.6 mile loop. There was hardly any traffic on the route which made for pretty care-free pedaling.

As we approached the first checkpoint, the pace quickened as many of the riders were wanting to get in front to meet their support crews. I stopped to get my bib punched, and then rolled up to Larry who was already waiting with fresh bottles. I quickly reloaded and got right back on the road.

This was a huge improvement from last year, where, without support, I had to fill my empty bottles with powder and make my way to the water coolers to fill up. By the time I had done this, the train had already left the station. I expended way too much energy chasing the pack down, which I finally caught, but the price for this effort was being dropped just before reaching checkpoint #2.

Checkpoint #2 - 71.5 mi

After leaving checkpoint #1, most of the main group remained intact (perhaps about 40 riders at this point) as the route now turned to the south toward checkpoint #2. We now rode with a pretty strong cross-wind (from the right)of 15+ mph so the real work was now beginning. The pace slowed to 22-24 mph as the pack proceeded in an echelon to duck the wind.

I'd like to tend to think that I am a bit more on the cautious side of most roadies. When I ride solo, I generally hug the white line on the right side of the road and I really want to have nothing to do with traffic. I never assume that passing motorists see me or will adjust thier speed to avoid me, especially when there is also oncoing traffic.

With the winds from the right, just like the geese do, the echelon spreads from the right side of the traffic lane to the left. With 40 riders in the lead group, this can get to be a bit of a problem as most are trying to duck the wind, and in some unfortunate situations on other rides, I have seen riders extending into the oncoming traffic lane which is not a good situation for anyone, especially when the terrain is rolling to hilly. Fortunately, this group was well mannered and riding was contained within our lane, but only about the lead 10-12 riders were able to enjoy a wind break from the echelon. Remaining riders pretty much fell in line near the center line. Wanting to stay out of the wind as much as possible, I tried to keep my rotation within the lead 10-12 positions. The consequence to this was that I had more frequent pulls at the front which I didn't mind.

By the time we hit checkpoint #2, you could notice that the cool of the morning was fading, the humidity was building and the temps were on the rise. The overcast skies were now clearing and conditions were predominantly sunny. This was by no means going to be an overly opressive weather day, outside of some wind conditions, but as I stopped at the checkpoint, I could definitley feel the engine was running warm. Without the road breeze, sweat was quickly flowing, clouding my glasses and stinging my eyes. I had also gone through a full two bottles since the last checkpoint.

I quickly got my bib punched and proceeded to look for Larry to refuel. Like clockwork, he was waiting a short distance up the road. I took on two fresh bottles as well as a Camelbak filled with Gatorade. This would be it for support as Larry was primarily providing support for his wife and other family members. We had figured that he would not be able to make it to checkpoint #3 by the time the rest of his clan was refueled. So this would need to last me for the next 50 miles or so back to the middle school. I thanked Larry and pushed on up the road.

(Checkpoint #2 - 71.5 mi)

(Checkpoint #2 - 71.5 mi)

Checkpoint #3 - 96.2 mi

As the lead group departed checkpoint #2, we became a bit disorganized and the pace slowed a bit. We were now heading back west toward our third stop in Delton and into headwinds. Because the terrain was rolling to hilly and many sections were forested, the wind did not seem nearly as bad as I was expecting, given the reports were that they ranged from 11-22 with gusts to nearly 30.

Within the next 5 minutes or so, everyone was pretty well back together by now but the group was shrinking. We were down to 25-30 at this point.

We all worked pretty well together in terms of everyone rotating to take turns pulling at the front. By this time, we have completed about our average Saturday morning group ride distance of 70-75 miles, but at a much faster pace. Although I was generally feeling pretty good overall, you tend to start feeling the impact of the ride at this point. This I believe is where the mental part of endurance activities can either help you or do you in. If you start telling yourself you are starting to feel fatigued 3.5 hours into the event and then come to the conclustion that there are still more than 20 hours to go, you can defeat yourself pretty quickly. Best not to think about that now. Keep your head in the game.

Perhaps the highlight of the 3rd leg was when Chris Ragsdale unexpectedly peeled off the front and turned around. I later learned he spotted a turtle crossing the road and went back to help it to safety. Pretty cool. Although I didn't see that one, I did see a large snapper crossing the road earlier in the ride and boy, those things are slow, and big! I'd bet running over that wouldn't tickle. In a game of bike vs snapper, I would imagine that snapper would take honors. Snapper vs car however would have not such a favorable outcome.

We rolled into checkpoint #3 at the Delton Public Library at mile 96.2. This stop, like the others before it was hurried. Upon arrival, I had already finished the entire contents of my Camelbak and one full bottle, with only one remaining which was supposed to last me the remaining 25 miles back to the middle school. Based on my fluid consumption, this would not do, so I quicly filled one with water so that I could stay well hydrated for the last leg of the day loop. I grabbed a couple of bananas as well and was also carrying Hammer gel to provide supplemental calories.

I noticed a number of riders who had support crews picked up musettes (a frenchy term for feed bag) and were already stocked and on their way. This is the point at which most of the lead group had now dissipated. I passed a number of riders trying to hook back onto the lead group, which was down to just 5 at this point and after a few minutes of pretty strenous effort, I finally latched back on. After I swallowed back down most of my internal organs which had jettisoned, I looked down at my computer because I realized we had just turned the 100 mile mark. Total elapesed time was 4.5 hours. This was by far the fastest century I'd ever ridden at an average speed of 22.2 mph.

Checkpoint #4 - 121.6 Mi (Thornapple Middle School)

The next 25 miles was pretty uneventful. Our group of six, proceeded to the north to finish the final leg of the day loop. About the last half of this fourth leg was also the final portion of the 23.7 mile intermediate loop we would be riding next. So midway into the leg, the terrain became quite familiar as I had ridden the intermediate loop four times in 2008.

I always find it more reassuring to be riding a familiar route as you are generally better prepared to measure your effort, know what to expect in terms of terrain and can better guage your progress to your destination.

Our lead group of six rolled into checkpoint #4 at the middle school at 1:30 in the afternoon, completing 121.6 miles in 5.5 hours at an average speed of 22.1 mph. My first goal of staying with the big dogs for the first loop was accomplished. These guys were good.

I had no intention of attempting to stay with this group for the intermediate loops. By the time I had gotten my bib punched and rolled to my tent to begin to refuel, they were already back on their way out again. I quickly mixed a few bolltles, dunked a towel in my cooler and wiped all the crusted sweat/salt off of my face and rolled back out on the course, trying to stay true to my second goal of keeping the bike moving as much as possible without stopping. At this point, and throughout the remainder of the event, this was a solo ride with no drafting.

Intermediate Loop (23.7 mi)

The next portion of the event invloved a 23.7 mile loop around Yankee Springs Recreation Area and Gun Lake. It's quite a scenic ride, but with a fair amount of climbing and hills. You are supposed to complete this loop as many times as possible before the mid-loop check point closes at 8:00 pm. Last year I completed 4 of these loops before the cut-off so I was shooting for 5 this year.

The first portion of this loop followed a stretch of state route M37 which was a fairly high traffic road. A very wide shoulder provided a good buffer between traffic and the riders. After this section, the route continues to veer to the south to a less busy and fairly wooded Yankee Spring Road. The road has a gently decending slope as it takes you south into the Yankee Springs Recreation Area. On my first loop, I was surprised at how difficult this stretch seemed to be, even with the winds out of the west, a fair amount of break from roadside trees and brush, and the gentle decending slope, I struggled to maintain a decent road speed. I didn't seem to be passing many other riders and was generally uncomfortable throughout this section for most of the afternoon.

Checkpoint #5 was at the southern end of Yankee Spring Road, just before you turned to the west to enter the Recreation Area. It was situated at what appeared to be a private residence with a semi-circular gravel driveway. You really needed to work to keep from wiping out if you came in too fast. The volunteers throughout this event are simply fantastic. They provide a lot of encouragement to the riders and genuinely enjoy themselves, and I would say especially so at this check point. Many would ask how you were feeling, whether you needed water, oranges or bananas, and they even had someone standing at the side of the road checking traffic for you as you exited.

After another mile or so to the south, a right turn put you at the entrance of the Recreation Area. This was definately the most scenic portion of the route. The terrain was fairly hilly and heavily forested with a good mix of deciduous and tall pine forest. There are a couple of nice decents which bring you down to Gun Lake, the lowest section on the route. It was realy cool seeing the sun sparkling on the lake as you watched it through the pine trees. Because of the low terrain and forest, there was hardly any noticable head wind during this section, even though wind speeds were probably 15-20 mph at this point of the day.

The road through the park jogged you to the north, and after another short jaunt to the west, you are routed onto Patterson Road, which is a 3.5 straight away to the north, almost all being a gentle uphill climb with a couple of ball busters thrown in to make it interesting. Most of this leg is fairly exposed, so there was a fairly strong cross wind from the left. In 2008, the winds were more out of the south, and I recall really enjoying this section quite a bit because the pavement was pretty smooth and I was able to carry a pretty good pace, despite the uphill slope. For whatever reason, I felt pretty strong again on this portion of the course and looked forward to this section on each lap. I rode most of it down on the aero bars and because of the decent pavement, I was able to maintain a smooth pedaling rythym and good speed.

The last major turn on this loop was on Green Lake Road to the east, which is the same one I fried myself on at the start of the day. The breeze was still blowing from the west so road speeds were easily 25 to 27 mph tucked down on the aero bars.

(Getting "punched" at the middle school check point)

My first 2 laps on this circuit, from about 2:00 to 5:00 pm were without doubt my lowest point of the ride. The fast pace of the long morning loop really tapped me out more than I realized. I periodically suffer from knee problems and hot foot and both were beginning to set in at this point. Despite the onset of some physical discomfort, it was my mindset which had really taken a dive. I began thinking to myself that I was only 6, 7, 8 hours into this thing with still so many yet to come. I was thinking about how nice it would be to take a shower and settle in for a nice long nap. I was questioning what the heck I was trying to accomplish. I even entertained just packing it in and waiting for my parents to pick me up the following morning.

Ulitmately I realized that I was there because I enjoy riding my bike ... a lot, and that I thought it would be foolish to give up after asking my parents to sacrifice thier weekend to support me. I have also found that the memories of particular rides, the sights, sounds and smells, last way longer than any discomfort or pain. It never takes long to block out how cold it was, or how rainiy it was, or how you blew your knee out. But the memories, the experience ... priceless!

Another thing that helped to bring me out of my funk were memories of some of the randonneuring rides I have enjoyed over the past several years. Randonneuring is essentially long, unsupported rides, not for competition but for fun and fellowship. These rides generally vary in length from 200K (124 mi.) all the way to 1200K (746 mi.) and follow a specified route with regular control stops along the way. In these types of events, its generally more important to focus on the journey rather than it's endpoint. During these types of rides, I have learned from others that you should never focus on how many miles left to the end. Why concern yourself with such worthless pursuits! It doesn't get you there any sooner. Instead, I tend to think in terms of how long until the next rest stop. If you are able to break the ride into managable pieces, its amazing how the miles become less important, and before you know it, your are getting close to the finish.

So with all of this thinking, I decided it would be a good idea to start following my own advice. Although I was struggling during the heat of the day, I began thinking of things to look forward to within the next hour or two. Things like finishing a lap, coming up to a favorite part of the course, or dowsing myself with a cold wet towel were all little things, but they all were enourmously helpful in keeping my mind off of another 15 to 18 hours on the bike.

This proved very helpful in the long run and by 5:00 to 6:00 my mind was much more focused on enjoying the moment and looking forward to the next part of the ride. By 7:00 I had completed my 4th intermediate loop and was feeling pretty good that it appeared that I would have no problem completing a 5th. All I had to do was get to checkpoint 5 again by 8:00 before it closed. As this was only 7 to 8 miles away, there would be no problem getting this done.

Each intermediate loop took about and hour and 15 minutes or so to complete, so during my 5th loop, I knew I would be crossing the mid-point of the ride at 8:00 pm. This was encouraging in a couple of ways: 1) this would be the last time I would be riding this particular loop so enjoy it, 2) there would be fewer hours remaining than already expended, 3) darkness would be coming soon which offered a new and welcomed change in the ride, and 4) I would begin riding the night loop, which offered yet another change.

In the waning miles of my 5th loop, 8:00 finally came. To this point, I had not paid any attention to my bike computer other than monitoring speed. By now, I was beginning to focus more on milage and progress toward the overall goal of 400 miles and by the mid-point, I had logged 230.

Night Loop (7.5 mi)

The night loop is not particularly interesting. It's basically a rectangle with the middle school located at the mid-point of one of the long legs and is pretty much flat with the exception of a pretty nice downhill on about half of one of the short legs followed by an equally unpleasant climb on the finishing leg. The road is open to traffic on this loop however, there are hardly any cars on the roads with the exception of local traffic. The sheriff's department had officers stationed at all four corners as well as 2 more at the road which bisects the rectangular course to stop traffic for the riders.

Being on the edge of the eastern time zone, it doesn't get completely dark until shortly after 10:00 pm, especially because we were riding on the second longest day of the year. By the time I had completed the intermediate course, it was about 8:15. Althought there was still plenty of daylight, the sun had moved below the tree line and the onset of darkness was becoming apparent. As a result, the staff at the middle school were requesting riders to begin using thier lights. I had mounted mine earlier that morning because I did not want to be wasting time fumbling around with this activity at night when I was already tired. Just a few days earlier I purchased a Light and Motion Stella 200 lithium ion light which puts out a great beam of light and has a 10 hour run time in the medium setting. This worked perfectly for this event because it lasted until daylight without needing a charge.

Although the entirety of the remaining portion of the ride would be spent riding around in circles all night on a short course, I was glad to have been done with the hilly intermediate loop and on to a loop with a generally flat profile. I was done with looking at scenery and being in tune with my surroundings and was hoping to get myself numbed into a zone of concentration where I could dull out time and discomfort.

It was a beutiful night for riding. Temperatures were coming down as expected, although I don't think we ever made it below 60 degrees, winds were still noticable from the west but definitely died down as the evening progressed. Skies were clear.

Early on, I figured my biggest challenge on this portion of the ride was to resist the temptation to make unnecessary stops. Given that I was turning laps every 22 to 24 minutes, it became easy to stop by my tent to refuel or to find something to do other than stay on the bike. I was hoping to limit stops to refueling only, which, with 2 bottles, should be about every 4-5 laps or so.

Most of what kept me going on the second half of the ride was the initial goal I had set and crunching the numbers needed to attain that goal. With 230 miles down at the mid-point, I told myself that I wanted to get to 300 miles by midnight, and if I were able to achieve this, all I had to do was complete a "simple" century in 8 hours to meet my objective. While an 8 hour century is a cake walk for any seasoned roadie, I have not frequently been faced with this task immediately following the completion of 3 centuries, so I didn't want to leave anything to chance. In fact, based on my physical condition at the start of the night loop, I was seriously concerned about getting to 300 by midnight (17.5 mph pace for 4 hours, more including any stops).

After the first few laps on the night loop, I was able to settle in and find a good rythym. Surprisingly, I was very focused, again, only fixing my attention on the next several hours and reaching my midnight objective. I was fatigued, but not yet feeling tired from the previous night's lack of sleep. I found myself passing other riders at pretty regular intervals and not being passed by others. I think my mysteriously fresh legs were driven by some sense of urgency about getting to task. As midnight fell, almost to the minute, I turned 300 miles.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

While I was feeling pretty good about hitting this milestone, I was expecting that I would settle down a bit, knowing that barring any unforseen disaster, I would reach 400 miles by 8:00 am. Another 100 miles was again too daunting a task to comprehend with 8 hours remainaing so I got to doing some math again. 100 miles on a 7.5 mile loop boils down to about 13 laps. So I basically finished the next 100 miles with a countdown. With the completion of each lap, the magic number decreased by one. Before long, I was counting down from 10, then I reached single digits, and before too long, 8, then 7.

By 3:00 am, I was finally starting to feel sleepy. This became evident following a couple of close calls, one on a corner and anouther where I started to run off the road for no good reason. One of the things that was really starting to get to me was the blinking of other riders' tail lights. These were required in addition to headlights however, normally, group night riding ettiquite would dictate that tail lights be fixed and not flashing. On the other hand, the rules indicate that tail lights may, but are not required to be flashing. I would have to say that most riders opted for flashers that night and some of these things are crazy bright, and some also had a strobe effect. So I became a bit entranced wathching all the pretty dancing lights to the point it was becoming hypnotic. There was even a guy that had spokes which were illumineted and flashed a variety of different colors which was totally cool to watch. I thought for a moment that I had really gone off the deep end but I remembered seeing this same guy during the 2008 event.

(This is what things looked like to me at 3 am)

Due to impending body shut-down, I determined that it was time to implement my emergency plan. At the completion of my next lap I mixed fresh bottles, and then reached into my now nearly ice-less cooler where, bobbing on the top was a still frosty-cold can of Monster Energy. I slugged down half of it in the next several seconds, put it on top of my cooler and pushed back out onto the course. Talk about rocket fuel, this thing really lit me up, nearly instantly. I was alert again and the legs really took off. I finished the second half a few laps later and hoped that I was not going to crash in the next hour or two after the sugar/caffiene high wore off. I didn't feel drowsy for the remaining 5 hours of the ride.

As the early morning approached pre-dawn, the temps were getting a bit chilly so I donned some arm warmers to retain some body heat. On the one downhill portion of the loop you could see a layer of fog beginning to form and there was at least a 10 degree temperature drop as you plunged down to the fourth corner of the loop. As uninviting as climbing was after so many hours in the saddle, it was refreshing to climb back out of that hole where temps increased again almost as fast as they dipped on the downhill portion.

My 100 mile lap counting game was working well for me and soon 7 went to 5, and then 3. I was getting pretty excited that I would have a good opportunity to exceed my original 400 mile goal by a pretty good margin. This I found to be very motivating and helped me stay focused and retain a good pace. I would have some very fast laps at 20+ mph, and then slack it back a bit for one and then go hard again. I reached 400 miles just before 6:00 am as daylight began taking over night. With just over 2 hours to go, I figured I would be able to get in at least another 4 laps if I maintained my pace or even a bit slower. Moving into daylight was also a welcomed change as there was hope that my suffering would finally end soon.

On my second to final lap, I ran into (not literally, but it sure could of happened that way) a young guy named Keegan from Indianapolis who joined me for a couple of laps. This guy had the build of a pro tour rider and I recall seeing him earlier during the night mixing it up with the fast group. I think this was his first time at this event and was on pace to win his age group (as it turns out, he finished first in his class, a mere 75 miles ahead of the 2nd place finisher!).

I am not, by any stretch a very talkative guy (except for those voices in my head), but was surprised that this seemed to be more of the norm at this event. I suppose many, like me, prefer to suffer in silence, and conserve as much energy as possible. It was great having the opportunity for some light banter in the final moments of the ride. Keegan and I completed a full lap together, and as we approached the school checkpoint, I think the event clock read shortly after 7:00 am. We both decided that the next lap would be our last, that it would be difficult to complete 2 more in less than an hour. We both took our own sweet time, doing a lot of soft pedaling and rolling, enoying the fact that this would be the last time we had to see this part of the course (hell, I had already seen it 25 times, that was enough!). I even joked that we'd better slow down even more, so we made sure we didn't get back with time remaining for an additional lap. And wouldn't you know it, we did finish that final lap with just under a half hour to spare and would have had the opportunity to go one more. I didn't take either of us long to determine that was just not going to happen, so I thanked him for his company and headed off to my tent to assess the damage.

Aftermath

After spending 24 hours riding your bike, on one hour of sleep in the last 50, there are, as can be expected, some subtle impacts to body and mind. These became pretty pronounced, even before darkness fell the previous night. Things such as the inability to walk in a straight line (I clipped a doorway walking into the middle school; I did apologize however, as it was my fault), difficulty in re-mounting your steed after a stop (if you can't swing your leg over your bike, better to swing your bike under your leg), and by far the worst was the stooping and squatting motion required to enter the tent, a real "I've fallen, and can't get up" moment.

I turned my bib card into the officials in the middle school who totaled my final mileage at 427.6. My bike computer read just over 430 (did I get lost?). And then it was right to the showers to wash off the stink!

The local McDonalds sponsors the post ride breakfast. It was real difficult returning to solid food after what was a mostly liquid diet over the previous day. I choked down an egg McMuffin, minus the sorry escuse for an egg they put tween those muffins, which just sort of dried up in the back of my throat. Shortly after breakfast, they gave away some door prizes and then had an awards ceremony. Based on my third place finish in my division last year with 374 miles, there was a pretty good chance of making the podium again. Interestingly, they actually made a podium this year. It was quite humorous watching people try to step on and off of that thing based on how everyone was hurting.

It's pretty neat because when they announce the top riders in each group, they also say what town and state they came from. All the more cool because when they announced the winner of the mens 50-54 category they called another guy from Batavia, IL, Paul Carpenter, who put up a whopping 443 miles!

As the award ceremony was wrapping up, Paul came over and introduced himself to me. Very nice guy, who from the sound of it, may have previously hailed from England. I had never met Paul before, even though we live in the same town and both share a passion for long distance cycling. As it turns out, on many of my early morning training rides, I frequently crossed a lone cyclist heading west out of Batavia, almost at the same point each morning. Each day, we'd extend the cordial wave and continue on about our ride. Well as it turns out, that was Paul, who I learned rides his bike to Northern Illinois University each morning, practically every day of the year. Paul, I also learned, is a real glutton for punishment, and appears to be committed to riding solo RAAM next year.

So Batavia, had a pretty good showing the Naional 24 this year with Paul and myself ranking 2nd and 3rd respectively. The overall mens winner, Chris Ragsdale, has done this decisively in each of the last 4 years, posting an amazing 480 miles. A true machine.

The drive home was quite relaxing as I stretched out in the back seat and enjoyed some much needed sleep. My parents and I took a pit stop at a rest station shortly after entering Indiana. Starting to feel hungry for solid food again, I downed a bag of licorice and all NEW jalepeno Cheetos. Good to be back on my normal diet again.

After getting home and checking in, I checked out again for several hours with some quality mattress time. Somewhere between Indiana and my livingroom floor, every muscle in my body siezed up in some way, to the point it took what seemed an eternity just to get up off the floor, with lots of intermittant grunts and groans in between. Needless to say, Monday morning was not a bike commute day. I hobbled around for a bit throughout the day, but by Tuesday, I was pretty much back to normal activity. The only post-ride effects which endured, was some light numbness in my toes, which lasted for weeks following the event.

While I enjoyed this experience tremendously, I have still not decided whether I would consider putting this one on my event calendar for next year. Without 24 hour crew support to maximize every minute on the bike, I am not sure there would be the potential for significant improvement over this year. On top of that, I really aspire to do Paris-Brest-Paris in 2011 and would like to get a full brevet series in during 2010 as I hear the entrance standards will likely be increased and all I can determine now is that the more ACP rides I do, the better my chances.

Finally, I cannot say enough about the quality of this event in terms of its organizers and countless volunteers who work tirelessly to support all of the paricipants. They execute this event flawlessly and are true ambassadors for cycling and down right good living!