At the lunch stop today, somebody asked Rich (The Brit), whether his step-daughter, Rose was having fun on this trip. He said; "Well, I'm not really sure she's having fun, but rather feeling a sense of accomplishment". For those of us who finished the day on the bike and not the van, today was the ultimate test of mind over matter and a real accomplishment. It was the antithesis of "fun". Our track was an unwavering northeasterly slant to Dalhart, TX. The wind was blowing 20-30 knots, with gusts, at 45 degrees to our port (from the North), so there was a headwind between our left ear and nose. Our average speed was 12.9 mph. To put that in perspective, I averaged faster than that when I pulled my two grandsons in a cart behind my mountain bike on the rail-to-trail. I averaged faster than that when I rode over three Colorado Mt. passes, including the 12,000' + Continental Divide. Jere and I both agree that this was likely the hardest day of riding we ever had. Adding to the misery, the route was a two lane major trucking route. Trucks would literally blow by. If they were heading our direction, we would get blown to the right by their bow wave, only to sucked to the left by the vacuum created by their passing. When trucks passed us in the opposite direction, we'd get slammed by a wall of air that would almost stop any forward monmentum. Adding to the misery was the inability to communicate because you couldn't hear anything above the howl of the wind. Consequently everybody rode in their own silence for the 8+ hours it took to finish. You couldn't even enjoy the scenery because a) your head was down, into the wind, and b) there's nothing to see in East N.M. and West Texas.
Jere became a little un-social today. The Pennsylvania boys, as we're now referred to (including Frieder), had a rhythm going of rotating front-to-back in echelon formation (like geese flying) so no one person bore the brunt of the wind for too long. We had some other strong riders mix in after a SAG/rest stop, which messed up the whole thing. Jere got annoyed and expressed his dipleasure. On a good note, he didn't use the "F" word when telling the interlopers to get out of our formation. With 50+ miles of mind numbing riding to go after the event, I doubt anybody will remember the event. (Except I did an now memorialized in the blog forever).
Tomorrow's ride heads in a south-easterly direction to Pampa, TX (northeast of Amarillo). The wind may be our friend tomorrow. At some point, I presume we will stop zig-zagging across the US, and will head east.
I've been taking pictures, which I'll upload our next rest day. I'll post on the blog when they're up.
Till tomorrow ....
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Day 10, April 29, 2014
Today was pretty uneventful. Frieder set the record with only 2.5 miles logged from the hotel before he got a flat tire. Once again, the Pa. boys were last to start out, and further delayed by the flat. I logged my 2nd flat of the trip later in the ride. The wind was sometimes our friend and sometimes our enemy, but nothing dangerous. The scenery was beautiful and wide open, you could see for country miles. There isn't much civilization between Las Vegas and Tucumcari, NM so the traffic was minimal; a nice change of pace from riding on the interstate. We logged 110 miles and averaged 18 mph. One of the other riders of the group, Gerry felt ill, but logged 30 miles before succumbing to the van for the duration. We think there is an intestinal bug that only affects Jerre/Gerry. Simon got back to the hotel last night and we saw him at breakfast all "cleaned-up", no real damage, a few stitches and a face and hands that look like he got his ass kicked in an MMA title fight. He'll be back on the bike in a few days.
Tomorrow's ride is one of the shorter mileage days at 98 miles to Dalhart, TX. Our route will take us on a north easterly track. Unfortunately, the winds are forecast out of the north (supposedly a rare occurrence), so we'll have a tough headwind all day, making for a long, long day. But on the bright side, we'll be able to notch another state and time zone down after we cross into Texas at about the halfway point.
Tomorrow's ride is one of the shorter mileage days at 98 miles to Dalhart, TX. Our route will take us on a north easterly track. Unfortunately, the winds are forecast out of the north (supposedly a rare occurrence), so we'll have a tough headwind all day, making for a long, long day. But on the bright side, we'll be able to notch another state and time zone down after we cross into Texas at about the halfway point.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Day 9, April 28, 2014
Why wife says that before criticizing, sandwich the criticisim with positives. Ok, I didn't get hurt today, I wasn't at work today, I rode my bike 102 miles today, all positives. Now for the bad things, let me count the ways;
(It's not a good omen when the day's words of inspiration posted to the daily briefing bulletin board, quotes George Armstrong Custer; didn't he get killed because he was stupid?)
1. Unfortunately, for Jere the "Gathering of Nations" also included Montezuma's Aztec warriors. They struck Jere (likely food poisoning) in the middle of the night leaving him with gastric issues from both ends. By morning he could barely get out of bed. Jere was relegated to riding the back seat of the van, with a stolen hotel pillow, and his bike on the roof rack (Jere would ride through hell and back before surrendering his bike to the roof rack, but Montezuma's revenge was stronger medicine than Jere's bull head)
2. I had a flat 6 miles out of the hotel, which put our three person group of myself, Dave and Frieder playing catch-up all morning.
3. We climbed most of the morning with the wind gusting in our face and side, the temperature dropped from the balmy mid 40s to the upper 30s (I had no idea what the wind chill was, but with 23-35 knot winds, it was freezing). We experienced a little hail and snow, nothing of significance, but just enough to remind us it was cold!
4. We had lunch at a fire station outside of Santa Fe. The fire station was gracious enough to open their doors and allow us to eat inside out of the wind and cold. One of our two New Zealand riders, Simon is a Fire Chief back home. He presented the two EMTs and one volunteer fireman on duty with a T-Shirt with his fire station insignia as a gift and the first responders chatted each other up. We left the fire station a little after the two Kiwis, but caught up to them about 2 miles down the road and passed them. About 10 miles down the road, we had to cross a cattle grate in the road before crossing under Interstate 25 and entering the interstate. After we crossed over, our group stopped for a nature call before getting on the interstate. By happenstance, Dave looked back and saw that one of the Kiwis had crashed when crossing the cattle grate. We rode back and assisted, calling 911, the ABB staff etc. Simon's wheel caught in a gap in the grate and he face planted. As it turns out the EMTs he presented the T-Shirt to were his first responders. He was taken to the Santa Fe hospital for evaluation. He seemed to be responding at the scene and we are all hopeful he'll be back on the bike after a day's recovery and finding a new helmet and sunglasses.
5. After entering the Interstate the hi-way turned southeast and downhill, so the 35 knot wind and grade had us cruising at 30+ mph and making up some time and easy miles. With about 10 miles to our final SAG/rest stop, Freider got a flat. Just he when he had it fixed and ready to pump, the support van pulled over. We thought what perfect timing, we can use a floor pump rather than a mini pump to pump up his tire. Unfortunately, the signal was given for a second time in as many ride days that staff is pulling riders from the road because the wind gusts were increasing and too dangerous to ride. We had 102 miles and lost the last 32 miles of the ride into Las Vegas, NM.
Now for something positive; we've ridden the last of the interstates for the duration of the trip.
Tomorrow we turn right out of our hotel onto Rt. 104 and the next turn we make is into our hotel, 102 miles later in Tucumcari, NM. The direction of travel is SE and the wind is forecast out of the NW, the road is flat, so we may have a much needed easy, fast day. I hope tomorrow nights blog entry will be unremarkable. Till then ...
(It's not a good omen when the day's words of inspiration posted to the daily briefing bulletin board, quotes George Armstrong Custer; didn't he get killed because he was stupid?)
1. Unfortunately, for Jere the "Gathering of Nations" also included Montezuma's Aztec warriors. They struck Jere (likely food poisoning) in the middle of the night leaving him with gastric issues from both ends. By morning he could barely get out of bed. Jere was relegated to riding the back seat of the van, with a stolen hotel pillow, and his bike on the roof rack (Jere would ride through hell and back before surrendering his bike to the roof rack, but Montezuma's revenge was stronger medicine than Jere's bull head)
2. I had a flat 6 miles out of the hotel, which put our three person group of myself, Dave and Frieder playing catch-up all morning.
3. We climbed most of the morning with the wind gusting in our face and side, the temperature dropped from the balmy mid 40s to the upper 30s (I had no idea what the wind chill was, but with 23-35 knot winds, it was freezing). We experienced a little hail and snow, nothing of significance, but just enough to remind us it was cold!
4. We had lunch at a fire station outside of Santa Fe. The fire station was gracious enough to open their doors and allow us to eat inside out of the wind and cold. One of our two New Zealand riders, Simon is a Fire Chief back home. He presented the two EMTs and one volunteer fireman on duty with a T-Shirt with his fire station insignia as a gift and the first responders chatted each other up. We left the fire station a little after the two Kiwis, but caught up to them about 2 miles down the road and passed them. About 10 miles down the road, we had to cross a cattle grate in the road before crossing under Interstate 25 and entering the interstate. After we crossed over, our group stopped for a nature call before getting on the interstate. By happenstance, Dave looked back and saw that one of the Kiwis had crashed when crossing the cattle grate. We rode back and assisted, calling 911, the ABB staff etc. Simon's wheel caught in a gap in the grate and he face planted. As it turns out the EMTs he presented the T-Shirt to were his first responders. He was taken to the Santa Fe hospital for evaluation. He seemed to be responding at the scene and we are all hopeful he'll be back on the bike after a day's recovery and finding a new helmet and sunglasses.
5. After entering the Interstate the hi-way turned southeast and downhill, so the 35 knot wind and grade had us cruising at 30+ mph and making up some time and easy miles. With about 10 miles to our final SAG/rest stop, Freider got a flat. Just he when he had it fixed and ready to pump, the support van pulled over. We thought what perfect timing, we can use a floor pump rather than a mini pump to pump up his tire. Unfortunately, the signal was given for a second time in as many ride days that staff is pulling riders from the road because the wind gusts were increasing and too dangerous to ride. We had 102 miles and lost the last 32 miles of the ride into Las Vegas, NM.
Now for something positive; we've ridden the last of the interstates for the duration of the trip.
Tomorrow we turn right out of our hotel onto Rt. 104 and the next turn we make is into our hotel, 102 miles later in Tucumcari, NM. The direction of travel is SE and the wind is forecast out of the NW, the road is flat, so we may have a much needed easy, fast day. I hope tomorrow nights blog entry will be unremarkable. Till then ...
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Day 7, April 27, 2014
Day 7 proved the axiom, "Adjust and Adapt". Part of the planned 134 mile route to Albuquerque involved the shoulder of Interstate 40 in two sections. About 8 miles out of Gallup, I-40 was under construction and reduced to one lane. The shoulder along that stretch had been deteriorating, and the staff made the right decision that the shoulder was too broken up to safely ride along. The decision was made to portage riders in 3 waves. The slower riders were loaded into the vans, with bikes on the roof, and shuttled about 14 miles from the hotel and deposited down road from the bad shoulder. The 2nd wave of riders left the hotel and rode 7 miles and waited to be picked up by the van and shuttled 7 miles around the bad shoulder. Dave, Jere, me, Freider, and Kai were the rear guard and left the hotel in the 3rd wave 40 minutes after the first group. We rode the 7 miles to the pick-up point. After being picked-up the decision was made to transport us to the first SAG (support/rest stop), situated at the Continental Divide, to keep the 3 groups closer together for support purposes. Not only did we miss the bad section of interstate, we also missed the climb, into the wind up to the Continental Divide. :( We passed the 2nd group of riders in the van, they looked beat, fighting the wind, uphill. After getting on the bikes again, we rode two lane highways until the 89 mile point before re-entering Interstate 40 for what was supposed to be the final 30 miles to Albuquerque. The winds were blowing hard all day. Initially, the winds were in our face, then moved to our side and then to our rear. We were either crawling along or soaring along, at the wind's pleasure. We easily caught up and passed the slower riders, only to find they had all been picked-up by the van and transported to the 2nd SAG/lunch stop because the head and side winds proved too difficult for them. The staff was concerned with the forecasted afternoon winds, blowing at 35 knots, with gusts to 50 knots. Ultimately, after the 3rd SAG stop and right before entering the interstate the decision was made to allow us to enter the interstate because it was believed the winds would be blowing from our right rear quarter. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way, the roaring winds were a direct cross wind, blowing us toward the highway. Jere was riding with a 20 degree lean into the wind. If the wind gusted or let up, we all had to fight to keep upright. Again, I got broadsided by a tumble weed, which could have been disastrous. Unlike the last broadside, which disintegrated on impact, this tumbleweed just stuck to the side of my bike. I yelled to the guys that I was stopping to dislodge it. As I was slowing, my front wheel suddenly locked up. Had I not slowed before the wheel locked up, I likely would have been thrown over the handlebars. It turned out, the tumble weed also consisted of nylon rope that got caught in and wrapped around my spokes and front brake. One of the riders, who is also an American By Bicycle staffer on other tours, called the staff and advised its too unsafe to continue. The vans drove ahead of everyone and parked at an underpass, and as riders got to the point they were loaded up and driven the last 30 miles to the hotel. Unfortunately, for Jere, Dave, Frieder and another rider, there wasn't enough room in the vans, so they had to wait under the underpass until a van could make the round trip to rescue them. As our van drove away, leaving the boys under the underpass, I said I feel like the women and children in the lifeboat, leaving the men on the sinking Titanic. All told we logged 95 miles of the projected 134 mile day, still not a bad effort. But, already we can't brag that we rode the whole way across the USA. Mike, the head staffer said in his 18 years of doing these tours, this was only the 3rd time they had to pick-up riders due to weather conditions. He made the right call, because it was dangerous!
Sunday, April 27, Day 8 was a much needed rest day. New pictures are loaded, as promised. Tomorrow's ride to Las Vegas, NM takes us on a north east track turning to a northerly track toward the end of the day, with the 2nd most feet of climbing of the tour. The forecast is projecting sustained winds of 20-30 knots out of the north-west, which puts the wind on our front left the last part of the ride; I'm sure some of our fellow riders will again throw in the towel and opt for the van ride to the hotel.
Time to get out of Albuquerque while we can; the city is hosting the 30th annual "Gathering of Nations", a Native American festival; not a good place for a white man in Spandex.
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Day 7, April 26, 2014
Just got a call from Jere. For safety sake, they were pulled off the rode due to high winds (50+mph). Everyone is fine, they will have to ride the last 30 miles in the Van. I'm sure Sam will have some "windy" comments later.
Tim
Tim
Day 6, April 25, 2014
134 MILES and another state and time zone in the books. The forecast held true and we had prevailing SouthWesterly winds blowing us eastward. The forecast for tomorrow is similar, should be able to make good time. Sat. we cross the Continental Divide early, then all down hill to Albuquerque (5,280').
Today, Jere got his first flat of the day, about 25 miles from the finish line. I developed a slow leak, but was able to pump up the tire at rest stops, and Jere replaced the tube at the hotel, in a more civilized environment. Between the three of us, we've replaced 3 tubes in 5 days. One of the riders replaced 4 flats just today!
For the first time in 46 years I peed along an interstate. When nature calls (and it does a lot in 134 miles), you do what you have to do. I still don't know what the female riders in the group do, there are too many miles between rest stops to be civilized, and the landscape doesn't offer much opportunity to hide what you're doing (no car doors to hide behind either). The Sheila from Australia rode the support van today; I'm not sure why, but if I had to guess, I would guess saddle sore issues. The day before, another person rode the van due to a sore ass. The chief complaint among the group is the saddle sore issues. While the 3 of us are having our issues, so far we've been able to avoid the "ride of shame" aka the support van. Speaking of which, tomorrow brings a unique problem. A section of the interstate is reduced to one lane for construction, and the berm is virtually, non-existent. Some of the riders are being transported about 11 miles from the hotel to beyond the bad section and dropped off. Some of the riders, including the Pennsylvania contingent, are to ride 7 miles from the hotel and wait to be picked up and transported the approximately 4 miles beyond the bad section of interstate. I will leave my Garmin on so my milage will be accurate and I can follow the cue sheet and turns at designated milage. As a result if you notice the speed on the live feed being high, its likely the result of van ride and not a 50 knot tailwind.
Riding Interstate 40 was as boring as I had predicted, but the terrain did vary and offered something to look at. Often truckers, if they could, would move to the left lane and give us a courteous wide birth. Drivers so far on the trip have been very nice. The New Zealanders are amazed at how nice the American drivers are to cyclists. (They clearly haven't been to York County). Yesterday, we did get yelled at by a fat, leather and bandanna clad, "biker" on a a Harley, leading a group of 3 others, something to the effect; "Get off the Fuc*ing road you faggots". In a pole of the others in our group, the guy yelled the same phrase to everyone. If you're going to be an asshole, you should at least not be a dumb asshole; have a different vile statement for everyone you pass.
Well past my bedtime, lost an hour, now Mt. time, gotta go. Forgive the typos, spelling, etc., no time nor inclination to proof read before posting.
Today, Jere got his first flat of the day, about 25 miles from the finish line. I developed a slow leak, but was able to pump up the tire at rest stops, and Jere replaced the tube at the hotel, in a more civilized environment. Between the three of us, we've replaced 3 tubes in 5 days. One of the riders replaced 4 flats just today!
For the first time in 46 years I peed along an interstate. When nature calls (and it does a lot in 134 miles), you do what you have to do. I still don't know what the female riders in the group do, there are too many miles between rest stops to be civilized, and the landscape doesn't offer much opportunity to hide what you're doing (no car doors to hide behind either). The Sheila from Australia rode the support van today; I'm not sure why, but if I had to guess, I would guess saddle sore issues. The day before, another person rode the van due to a sore ass. The chief complaint among the group is the saddle sore issues. While the 3 of us are having our issues, so far we've been able to avoid the "ride of shame" aka the support van. Speaking of which, tomorrow brings a unique problem. A section of the interstate is reduced to one lane for construction, and the berm is virtually, non-existent. Some of the riders are being transported about 11 miles from the hotel to beyond the bad section and dropped off. Some of the riders, including the Pennsylvania contingent, are to ride 7 miles from the hotel and wait to be picked up and transported the approximately 4 miles beyond the bad section of interstate. I will leave my Garmin on so my milage will be accurate and I can follow the cue sheet and turns at designated milage. As a result if you notice the speed on the live feed being high, its likely the result of van ride and not a 50 knot tailwind.
Riding Interstate 40 was as boring as I had predicted, but the terrain did vary and offered something to look at. Often truckers, if they could, would move to the left lane and give us a courteous wide birth. Drivers so far on the trip have been very nice. The New Zealanders are amazed at how nice the American drivers are to cyclists. (They clearly haven't been to York County). Yesterday, we did get yelled at by a fat, leather and bandanna clad, "biker" on a a Harley, leading a group of 3 others, something to the effect; "Get off the Fuc*ing road you faggots". In a pole of the others in our group, the guy yelled the same phrase to everyone. If you're going to be an asshole, you should at least not be a dumb asshole; have a different vile statement for everyone you pass.
Well past my bedtime, lost an hour, now Mt. time, gotta go. Forgive the typos, spelling, etc., no time nor inclination to proof read before posting.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Day 5, April 24, 2014
Due to a late dinner at a historic restaurant in Winslow, and the effects of 5 days of riding, I'm going to forego writing today and will try to do a double entry tomorrow.
We had success downloading pictures from my camera (I'm the more prolific photographer) to Dave's computer. We're one step closer to getting pictures uploaded to the Blog, stay tuned.
Day 6 out of Winslow will be a long one, over 130 miles, mostly riding on the berm of Interstate 40, BORING!! The only good news is winds are forecast to be blowing from the West/SW at 25 knots; if that holds true, we should be able to make good time.
We had success downloading pictures from my camera (I'm the more prolific photographer) to Dave's computer. We're one step closer to getting pictures uploaded to the Blog, stay tuned.
Day 6 out of Winslow will be a long one, over 130 miles, mostly riding on the berm of Interstate 40, BORING!! The only good news is winds are forecast to be blowing from the West/SW at 25 knots; if that holds true, we should be able to make good time.
Day 4, April 23, 2014
Since the three Amigos and the two Germans (henceforth, Freider (62) and Kai (52) arrived first yesterday, we left the parking lot dead last this morning. (The staff wanted the faster riders to go out later, so that there support would not be as strung out along the road). We started picking off the slower riders before Jere had to take his 2nd pee of the morning (today, Jere had a good day, we only had to stop for him to pee 10 times; in all fairness, at least 2 of the group of 5 also par took - the Arizona high country will bloom with flowers with the watering it got). About two hours into the ride, we passed Monique, one of two women on the trip (she's the Sheila from Australia). On a down hill, Jere and Dave decided to pee, but not far enough ahead of Monique rolling down the hill. As she passed, I told her to her to look away (it was obvious what the boys were doing), her quick, witty response in an Aussie accent was; "there's nothing to see".
By lunch we were back toward the front of the pack.
Today had the most climbing of the trip. The climbing, while long and challenging, offered frequent opportunities to get out of the saddle and give the behind a break. The rewards for the slow grinds were long, twisting descents. About halfway through the long decent into Cottonwood we stopped in a town built into the side of the mountain (reminded us of a Swiss town), called Jerome and ate in a cliff hanging establishment called The Haunted Hamburger. Since the reminder of the ride was all down the mountain (reached my max speed of about 48 mph), and no peddling required, we all ate giant burgers which increased the mass for the rapid decent. We rode the least amount today at about 106 and the slowest, but considering the amount of climbing, it was as challenging as any so far.
Tomorrow's ride is advertised at about 106 miles into Winslow, AZ. We'll get pictures of "standing on the corner of Winslow Arizona" and we'll look for the girl in the flat bed Ford.
Till tomorrow ...
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Blog Additions
I'll try to make this the last time I hijack Sam's Blog, but here are the latest additions:
1. Added "Where in the USA are Sam and the Boys": under Other Links. This is a cool real time tracker of where they are during the ride... technology is great. You can use the (+/-) in the upper left of the screen to Zoom in and out. I will try to update this link each day with the current day's ride.
2. Added "Pictures" under Other Links. I have so far only received these 3 pictures. Sam is having difficulty interfacing his Apple and non Apple (cameras) products with the Internet. When available, more Picture entries will be added.
3. Added "Bama Cyclist Blog" under Other Links. This Blog is maintained by one of the Support members from the America By Bike organization. (By the way, when you see ABB abbreviation, this is what we are referring to). This will give you another (unbiased) angle of the trip. Note: Sam and Jere have already been mentioned in this Blog.
4. At the bottom of the Blog, I added "GPS Maps and Ride Statistics". After the ride is complete, Sam can upload this interesting data. I will add these links each day as they are available.
Tim Rohrbaugh
(Remote Tech Support)
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Day 3, April 22
I spent 45 minutes writing todays Blog, only to lose it all. I can't stay awake and re-create, Dave & Jere are sleeping, I need to do the same. I'll try again tomorrow and capture today and Day 4 in one Blog posting.
Never mine, I found it, see below (I'm getting punchy)
Never mine, I found it, see below (I'm getting punchy)
Day 3 - April 22, 2014
Today, the boys form Pa. joined up with two ex-patriot Germans (One has lived in Pa., near Allentown since 1981 and is an authentic Pennsylvania Dutchman, the other lives in Houston). We rode as a group of 5 from hotel to hotel, arriving ahead of everyone by at least an hour. I told the tour staff they should have a new rule that only allows one German per pace-line, and not because of a communication barrier, but because the two worked with the efficiency of a well oil machine and gave at least me everything I could handle (and the most stronger of the two is 62; the Pa. Dutchman). Post Script, his college buddy and lifelong friend is the one that crashed. He's flying home tonight from Phoenix. He has a concussion and a hairline fracture of his femur.
The first 30 miles of today's ride was along interstate 10. We crossed into Arizona and crossed the Colorado River 5 miles out of the hotel. After we got off the interstate we heading east by north east on Highway 60, very straight and very boring. We had wind either out of the SW or S, so we had help making good time. The temperature rose briefly to 103, before settling back into the 90s. After our last rest stop, 25 miles from town, the wind really picked-up, directly from our left. For a couple of miles we were dodging tumbleweeds; Jere was up front with one of the Germans, giddy with the challenge of dodging them. It reminded him of the 80s video game Alien Invaders. I was broadsided by a giant one, that disintegrated upon impact with my bike.
Dave had the first flat tire, about 20 miles into the ride; he couldn't avoid interstate road junk. He limped to an underpass to change the tire in the shade. Fortunately, one of the staff support vans was on the off ramp and saw us changing the tire and offered Dave a pump and new tube (the "new" tube Dave tried to install, also had a hole in it, so technically, he had two flats).
The Jere-ism of the day. After three days of over 100 mile days, everybody is experiencing saddle / backside issues. After Jere's shower, he self medicated by accidentally applying toothpaste to his nether region instead of Cortazone cream; his now minty fresh for tomorrow's ride.
Tomorrow is the climbing day, with the most elevation to be gained in the trip. We've been losing more and more people to the van for either a ride all the way in or a hop scotch further up the road; the climbing may spread out the field even more. Jere, the 140lb waif, said he'll stay with me, the 197lb tubby; Dave is the guy I have to reign in, he wants to go-go-go. I have to be his self-control, so he doesn't wear himself and me out.
I think we figured away to get the daily digital Garmin map/ride summary into the Blog. I'll e-mail time the http: address and each morning after the ride, he'll add it as a link.
The first 30 miles of today's ride was along interstate 10. We crossed into Arizona and crossed the Colorado River 5 miles out of the hotel. After we got off the interstate we heading east by north east on Highway 60, very straight and very boring. We had wind either out of the SW or S, so we had help making good time. The temperature rose briefly to 103, before settling back into the 90s. After our last rest stop, 25 miles from town, the wind really picked-up, directly from our left. For a couple of miles we were dodging tumbleweeds; Jere was up front with one of the Germans, giddy with the challenge of dodging them. It reminded him of the 80s video game Alien Invaders. I was broadsided by a giant one, that disintegrated upon impact with my bike.
Dave had the first flat tire, about 20 miles into the ride; he couldn't avoid interstate road junk. He limped to an underpass to change the tire in the shade. Fortunately, one of the staff support vans was on the off ramp and saw us changing the tire and offered Dave a pump and new tube (the "new" tube Dave tried to install, also had a hole in it, so technically, he had two flats).
The Jere-ism of the day. After three days of over 100 mile days, everybody is experiencing saddle / backside issues. After Jere's shower, he self medicated by accidentally applying toothpaste to his nether region instead of Cortazone cream; his now minty fresh for tomorrow's ride.
Tomorrow is the climbing day, with the most elevation to be gained in the trip. We've been losing more and more people to the van for either a ride all the way in or a hop scotch further up the road; the climbing may spread out the field even more. Jere, the 140lb waif, said he'll stay with me, the 197lb tubby; Dave is the guy I have to reign in, he wants to go-go-go. I have to be his self-control, so he doesn't wear himself and me out.
I think we figured away to get the daily digital Garmin map/ride summary into the Blog. I'll e-mail time the http: address and each morning after the ride, he'll add it as a link.
Hi all,
I have added a link to the America by Bike web site. Click on "Ride Details" under the "Other Links" at the right of the screen. Also, once you get to this web site, you can see a detailed Itinerary if you click near the bottom but just before the Map of America, where it says: Click Here for More Detailed Info.
Enjoy the Journey,
Tim
PS: The easiest way to post Comments, choose the Anonymous option and enter you name in the text area.
I have added a link to the America by Bike web site. Click on "Ride Details" under the "Other Links" at the right of the screen. Also, once you get to this web site, you can see a detailed Itinerary if you click near the bottom but just before the Map of America, where it says: Click Here for More Detailed Info.
Enjoy the Journey,
Tim
PS: The easiest way to post Comments, choose the Anonymous option and enter you name in the text area.
Day 2, April 21
Epic Day. 135 miles through the desert. We left Palm Springs at dawn and a temperature of 60 degrees. The temperature climbed to a blistering 109 degrees. If that wasn't bad enough, we traveled on the shoulder of Interstate 10 for at least 50 miles; having to dodge the rumble strips, and the shredded truck tire debris and all manor of road trash. Unfortunately, we lost a rider to a fall today. The rider was from Germany (63 years of age), he was riding with a group of other riders (we had been riding with him all morning, and had just passed him) and he overlapped his front wheel on the person in front of him (another German, living in Houston). He went down hard. Definitely has a concussion and perhaps a broken leg or pelvis. That was a wake-up call, to always be vigilant.
Between hydrating, eating, showering, get bike packed for next day, etc., not much time to blog. From hotel to hotel, we were on the road for over 9 hours (a little over 7 hours ride time). I've solicited Tim Rohrbaugh (who rode with Jere and I in 2009, but couldn't make this trip) to be my IT guy and spruce up the blog with some pictures, and downloads. I'll have to forward him stuff to add, bear with me. In the meantime, check out the blog of the America By Bicycle; hopefully, Tim will be able to add the address to this blog posting.
Tomorrow, 5.5 miles to the Calif. / Arizona boarder, total milage 116 miles (30 + on interstate 10 again, then a lot of boring miles along highway 60), projected temperatures, only in the 90s.
Between hydrating, eating, showering, get bike packed for next day, etc., not much time to blog. From hotel to hotel, we were on the road for over 9 hours (a little over 7 hours ride time). I've solicited Tim Rohrbaugh (who rode with Jere and I in 2009, but couldn't make this trip) to be my IT guy and spruce up the blog with some pictures, and downloads. I'll have to forward him stuff to add, bear with me. In the meantime, check out the blog of the America By Bicycle; hopefully, Tim will be able to add the address to this blog posting.
Tomorrow, 5.5 miles to the Calif. / Arizona boarder, total milage 116 miles (30 + on interstate 10 again, then a lot of boring miles along highway 60), projected temperatures, only in the 90s.
Monday, April 21, 2014
Day 1, Easter Sunday, April 20, 2014
Jere, Dave and I spent Easter Sunday riding from the Pacific to Palm Springs, Calif. When dipping the wheels in the Pacific (Jere and I didn't, since we're not neophytes), we saw the Easter Bunny on the Beach (The day before we saw a Unicorn in Long Beach ... only in California; I have pictures to prove it. We rode 117 miles up hill into the desert. We spent a lot of time riding on bike paths and rode on interstate 10 briefly. Tomorrow's ride is advertised at 136 miles, all desert. I doubt I'll be writing anything after tomorrow's ride.
Jere was sociable for the first 100 miles. We had a headwind into Palm Springs and the three of us were taking turns drafting. We passed two riders in the group and they jumped on the back. When they didn't rotate to the front to take their turn in the wind, Jere didn't say anything, but his actions were louder than words. He accelerated to shake them from our tails. Dave later ran into the guys in the laundry room and had to them, Jere really is a nice guy.
Gotta go, time to go to bed for the day tomorrow. I have a learning curve on the blog; as we go along, I'll try to add more stuff ie. links and pictures.
Jere was sociable for the first 100 miles. We had a headwind into Palm Springs and the three of us were taking turns drafting. We passed two riders in the group and they jumped on the back. When they didn't rotate to the front to take their turn in the wind, Jere didn't say anything, but his actions were louder than words. He accelerated to shake them from our tails. Dave later ran into the guys in the laundry room and had to them, Jere really is a nice guy.
Gotta go, time to go to bed for the day tomorrow. I have a learning curve on the blog; as we go along, I'll try to add more stuff ie. links and pictures.
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