Day Twenty-five

There's helmet head and then there's Freddy head...the man knows style!

Still looking for amber waves of grain??

Dust in the Wind

I think for Kansas it doesn’t get any better than this.

Mid-sixties leaving Dodge with another cloudless sky and no wind. I felt good this morning but decided that I needed to ride totally within myself so when Robb offered to start a paceline I told him he could suck my wheel until he got tired of my pace and then go play with the big dogs (I try not to say big boys anymore because Joy, Judy, and Pam absolutely kick ass and depending on the day, so do GLORIA and Nancy).

This was really a “normal” day for us with 85 miles so we had two SAG stops. The first one was at 36 miles and I kept a steady 18-20 mph pace for about 25 miles and as I started to dial it back a bit I watched Robb and Lester continue ahead and I was on my own for the rest of the day. We see each other at the SAGs but I pretend to be offended and they treat me like I have smallpox. Lester’s even becoming a decent trash talker! I don’t think his wife is gonna recognize him when she comes to St. Joseph for a visit. I bet when the tour is over he’ll be sleeping outside until she can housebreak him again.

The first SAG was in Kinsley which claims to be exactly halfway between SF and NYC. Our halfway point won’t happen until Friday when we roll into Abilene. The rest stop had one of those kitschy hometown museums where everyone from town empties out their cellar and attic when they move or someone dies. Needless to say there was lots of “valuable and historic” STUFF on display including a recreated sod house.

Can’t say we got a real tailwind but definitely a helper wind between the SAGs and I was happy happy happy to be on my own clicking away the miles and contemplating World Peace. At the second SAG (fresh cantaloupe mmmm…) in Larned we met some riders who were crossing East to West raising money for MS. They do about 65 miles a day and are sleeping in gyms and claim they’ve only had two days of headwinds.

The final 25 miles to Great Bend were totally uneventful. Temps probably around 90 but you don’t notice it when you’re moving well on the bike. Baum’s Ice Cream, a chain out of Oklahoma, proved to be a very popular stop just 1/2 mile before the hotel.

Hey thanks to a number of you who reached out to me through comments or via e-mail after my public whining on Day 23. I appreciate your words of encouragement. It’s important for me to be honest with you about what’s going on but I really know how lucky I am to be able to do this. The occasional bad day on the bike doesn’t compare to being shot at in Afghanistan or even putting up with the BS the average person is exposed to every day. I’ll try to keep things in perspective.

Today’s ratings: (higher is better or easier)
Scenery: 5
Road conditions: 8
Grunt factor: 8

Day Twenty-four

Vending machines at the rest stop on US 50. So are they worried people will actually steal them or are these just "bad" machines in rehab?

Riding by these feedlots is creepy like riding by the condemned. Larry even got nasty today and said "See you at McDonald's". Robb just kinda speeds-up and looks ahead. By the time we get out of Kansas I'm wondering if the 111 Chophouse will be renamed the 111 Veggiehouse?

Michelle said this should be a $100 bill.

Wyatt woulda looked very cool on a carbon Trek and Gerry H. could have fit him.

18 year old Wade really hopes his mother doesn't see this.

Had your Phil yet?

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe...ALL ABOARD!...We're gettin' the heck outta Dodge.

I Shot the Sheriff

So the answer is “yes”.

Inevitably we talk to non-riders about long distance riders they say something like “doesn’t your butt hurt?”…usually in more graphic terms but you get my drift. In fact our butts do hurt but so do our legs, our backs, our eyes from the sweat dripping into them, our necks, our lungs, etc, etc, etc. Some people tolerate pain better than others I guess but yes our butts do hurt.

Easy 50 mile day to Dodge City with a couple fun stops. The first was in Cimarron at a soda fountain where Oprah stopped and they have an “Oprah Smoothie”. Imagine being so desperate for tourists that you have to promote something like that. What the heck does Oprah know about ice cream? From now on I expect they’ll promote Clark’s in Cimarron as the place Scott stopped.

Second stop was to look at the wagon tracks where they cut into the mud on the Santa Fe Trail. Are you serious!! They expect us to believe that these are actually ruts from the late 1800’s. Weird Al Yankovich couldn’t make this stuff up.

It gets better, if you ever get to Dodge City you’ll learn that no one is buried at Boot Hill anymore, in fact, Boot Hill hardly exists. But they do have a bunch of fake store fronts and every night they “shoot” a guy and have a can-can show in the “saloon” where you can order sasparilla in a souvenir bottle and Bud or Bud Lite in a plastic cup (except they were out of Bud tonight). There is a lot of cool history but you can save yourself a lot of time and money and just read it on-line.

Today’s ratings: (the higher the better or easier)

Scenery: 5

Road conditions: 8

Grunt factor: 9

Day Twenty-three

Joy, Kiwi Rick, Lester, Robb, Scott, Nancy, John H, George, GLORIA

Robb offered to treat everyone to lunch at the alumni club.

Thought I'd share with you why you won't be seeing a lot of beautiful scenic photos the next few days.

We’re off to see the wizard

New state, new time zone, and the second double century ride of the tour. Not a bad day considering that the last 30 miles were a total mindgame for me. Don’t know why but sometimes it works like that.

We were having a good ride with a nice group similar to yesterday with everyone taking turns up front. About 5 miles before the second SAG at 75 miles I started to wonder why I agreed to do this in the first place. I was struggling to keep up and all the little things were bugging me. I told everyone at the SAG that I was just going to spin in the last 25 miles and forget the paceline.

About 5 miles out of the SAG Lester noticed that my rear tire was soft. Hey maybe that’s why riding's been so difficult. I decided to just pump it up the best I could and take my chances that I could get in and fix it then. It did hold but mentally I was done. There wasn’t much to see except the shift change at the Tyson plant outside Garden City. I got to the hotel a few minutes after the rest of the group and with a gourmet dinner at the Golden Corral and a good night’s rest I should be ready to roll tomorrow but if you ask me tonight, I'm never getting back on my bike again!

Dodge City sounds like fun.

Today’s ratings: (the higher the better or easier)

Scenery: 3 (hey it’s Kansas on US 50)

Road conditions: 6 (please leave the chip seal off the breakdown lane!)

Grunt factor: 3 (don't let the Garmin profile fool you...it's NOT a downhill run)

Day Twenty-two

It was great seeing my brother Lee and niece Caitlin.

Everyone makes fun of my low-tech cue sheet holders....

...but they sure come in handy when riding by a feed lot!

The fastest post office in Colorado.

The Massachusetts boys are real happy we adopted Kiwi Rick today.

Our room at the Cow Palace overlooks the pool and atrium.

Water babies Lauren, Wild-thing Rob, and Lester.

Back in the Saddle

Probably wouldn’t have chosen a day-off in Pueblo but we understand that America By Bike has carefully tweaked this route over the years and trust that they know what’s best. There was a huge hotrod show going on at the state fairgrounds but we all passed on it because it was 95 degrees. I really appreciate my brother and niece coming all the way from Denver to join us for lunch (and ice cream of course…it’s a family tradition!). I’ll miss them when they’re back in Massachusetts for the annual family gathering in Westport.

Today’s virtual rider is my son, Adam, who turned 26 yesterday. These days he prefers to ride fixies without brakes and a helmet (clearly I failed as a parent) but I remember some great rides with him including a ride to Silver Lake with a rescue by mom when the thundershowers arrived, a long ride to Auntie Jan’s house in Northborough, and a great ride with the Nicholsons on the bike path along Narragansett Bay in RI. Hope your birthday was great!

One hundred and twenty-one miles (a new record for both of us) is a long way and the tenor of the trip can change quickly depending on lots of variables. The keys to success include:

• Get out early
• Get organized
• Get disciplined
• Have good weather (think reasonable temps and a tailwind)
• Hope there are no mechanicals (flat tires, etc.)

We did get out early (6am). We were well organized (everyone pulled for a mile). In my usually obnoxious way I made sure we were disciplined (no one gets dropped and the lead guy never jack rabbits). The weather was good with temps in the 80’s and no wind factor until the final 45 miles and even then it was a bearable head wind. So that leaves the mechanicals piece…not too bad…only two flats…one front and one rear for John Hurley and it struck me that’s where we went wrong. We asked him to join us for dinner last night instead of making sure he went to church! We won’t make that mistake again.

Not a real pretty ride but at one point I thought I’d somehow ridden into a Laura Ashley store. Robb pointed out that we were riding through fields of lavender. That contrasted with the feed lots we rode by earlier in the day…whew!

I was nervous when we approached our motel for the evening, Best Western Cow Palace, and noticed that “Best Western” was covered-up. It’s never a good sign when a motel can’t even keep the Best Western designation but this place is fine (for one night) with a decidedly early sixties flavor. Dinner tonight was interesting; pasta and green beans.

Today’s ratings: (higher is better or easier)

Scenery: 3

Road conditions: 8

Grunt factor: 6

Day Twenty

Hard to believe that this will eventually become a huge river in Little Rock.

30 miles to go and feelin' fine at Col Leo Sydney Boston War Memorial Park. Col. Boston (USAF) disappeared over North Vietnam on April 29,1966 during a rescue mission. His body was never recovered.

Rollin’ on a river

We opened Patio Pancake in Salida at 6am for breakfast with the locals so by 7am the sun was just getting high enough to get the temps into the 50’s. Now imagine the perfect bike route…we’re on a quiet, twisting gentle downhill with a whisper of a tailwind through a steep canyon alongside the headwaters of the Arkansas River…in and out of the shadows just tapping at the pedals easily running 18-20 mph…FOR FORTY-FIVE MILES! If I stopped to take all the photos I really wanted we’d never have made it to Pueblo.

Sometimes during the day I think about our rides at home where we loop out and back so things like climbs and winds even out. On this ride we just keep working our way east so the wind particularly plays a huge factor in how the day goes. Today it just built steadily from the rear pushing us along so that despite 100 degree temperatures when we arrived everyone was feeling pretty frisky after 90+ miles and my average speed for the day was 19.1 before we slowed on the local roads. If you check the elevation from the Garmin information below you’ll also see that we did very little climbing today.

So the first half of the ride was like something out of a dream and we are so lucky to have been able to experience it. The middle part of the ride was fun because we had a pretty good line of riders together and we chased down some people. I was pacing the pack (otherwise Robb makes us ride too hard!) and had another rider in site thinking I would catch him/her before a downhill that I knew was coming. I couldn’t quite pull it off but went flying into the downhill confident that they were mine but not knowing that it was long and steep. After about ½ a mile I realized that I was no longer closing the gap…who is that up there?? Girard, Pam, and eventually Robb came flying around me to make the chase more interesting. They all caught the elusive rider and I eventually caught her too at the bottom of the run…our friend, Lauren, who is a fearless downhiller!

After the second SAG we had 30 miles to go. Larry Frederick had been in front of us all day so his daughter, Adella, left to chase him. Robb never discusses his strategy with me but he apparently decided to chase Adella and Lester just kind of hung back trying to decide what to do. The road was super straight so I had a front row seat watching the action unfold. Shortly after Adella caught Larry Robb caught them both. By then Lester had made his move and left me in the dust. He blasted by the three which, of course, Robb wasn’t going to allow. That’s the last I saw of Robb and Lester.

I passed the father/daughter team and didn’t mind riding solo because the wind was my buddy today. Eventually I caught GLORIA and Nancy about 6 miles out and we stayed together until DAIRY QUEEN just 1.5 miles from the hotel. Of course Robb and Lester were already there and, even better, Robb was treating!

Not sure what we’re going to be doing in Pueblo on our day off tomorrow but if it’s interesting I’ll let you know otherwise you’ll hear from me after our ride on Sunday.

Today’s ratings: (higher the better or easier)

Scenery: 6 (first 45 miles was probably a 10 but we all know there are no tens!)

Road conditions: 9

Grunt factor: 9

Day Nineteen

Don't try this if you think sitting on a bicycle seat hurts.

Don Fair spinning to the top.

Larry and Adella after the climb.

Is this an awesome way to end the day or what! She told me that he's not her brother and DEFINITELY NOT her boyfriend.

Greeted by one of the local celebrities in Salida.

Phil and Larry enjoying smoothies at The Simmering Cup.

Rocky Mountain High

Great start from Gunnison with optional breakfast at The Bean where they make delicious crepes and way-better-than-hotel-blend coffee!!

Still on US 50 East with a nice 30 mile spin to the SAG at the bottom of climb to Monarch Pass (11,312 ft.). It was just the two of us and we remarked how nice it was to hear the gurgling water and birds. Virtually no highway noise due to low traffic (people don’t commute to work around here…they get-up and go to work on the farm). Picture perfect sky with temps in the 40’s quickly rising to the 60’s.

Everyone was shedding the extra clothing at the SAG as they prepared for the 10 mile climb to Monarch. We were joined by Sooner Rick and Joy and I was climbing on my own pretty quickly as the others motored away (glad Joy is feeling better but I miss her jokes). These long climbs are really not difficult because the grade is pretty consistent at 5-6% so the key is to find a comfortable gear and spin away occasionally shifting up to stand and get the blood flowing into other areas of the legs…drink…and think good thoughts. The temperature was perfect…not too hot or cold and eventually the summit was there.

I passed a few people on the way up including my 74 year old buddy Larry Johnson who was right behind me at the end so we took the optional scenic gondola to the tippy top of Monarch at 12,000 feet with excellent views of Pikes Peak, Mt. Baldy, and the San Juan Mtns. that we left a few days ago.

We had a 25 mile DOWNHILL run into Salida. The luggage trailer was way behind us today because the SAG vans are providing extra support as some of our riders are having intestinal problems. Robb had passed on the gondola ride so he was nowhere to be seen when I arrived but Kevin just needed to hear the word ice cream and he was ready to follow me into town. We stuck gold at “That’s A Wrap” where they make their own ice cream from the mother’s original recipes. Later we hooked-up with Phil and another local told us we should really try the small batch Boulder Ice Cream at “The Simmering Cup”. Kevin and I agreed that it would be a shame to leave Colorado without testing the Boulder product so we moseyed over for a second helping.

Tonight we followed the suggestion of my baby brother, Lee, who recommended that we dine on pizza and microbrew at Amicas. Lee is a mountain biker so he’s obviously a bit odd but he does know pizza and beer and we topped off a perfect day with a perfect meal.

Larry Frederick is making his fourth cross country bike trip and this time he’s joined by his beautiful, talented daughter Adella. The amazing thing about their trip is that they are using the opportunity to promote blood donation. My nickname for Larry is “Chief” to differentiate him from our other Larry. “Chief” Larry of the Oakland, CA PD was hit by a drunk driver during a routine traffic stop. He should have died. He didn’t. It’s a miracle. He required over 100 pints of blood. Back then we didn’t know about or screen for AIDS. He should have died. He didn’t. It’s a miracle. Adella was born. It’s a miracle. In addition to organizing blood drives DURING our bike tour, they will spend a month AFTER the tour driving back across the country promoting more blood drives. You can read about their inspiring story at: http://www.lifeacrossamerica.com/

Tomorrow we have an exciting run to Pueblo and then we have our second lay day.

Thank you for following our progress. We appreciate the comments and wish you all a wonderful weekend.

Today’s ratings: (the higher the better or easier)

Scenery: 9.5

Road conditions: 9

Grunt factor: 5

Day Eighteen

Joy at the first summit.

George paces the silver van to the summit.

Could we see them on Shrewsbury St. in 2011?

Robb thinks a new rack would be an appropriate birthday present.

Happy Birthday

To Robb who turned 60 today and decided to celebrate by riding US 50 from Montrose to Gunnison with 2-1/2 climbs in what has to be one of the most scenic rides he’s ever taken. He was sent off with a rousing chorus at breakfast.

It didn’t start pretty at 6:30. The same road we took to the motel yesterday for 1.2 miles with a screaming tailwind now showed us a screaming headwind just a few hours later for about 8 miles to the first climb of the day over Cerro Pass (7950 ft). So instead of being nice and fresh for the climb we arrived with legs that felt like they’d been hit with bats and my feet were starting to freeze. Lester and Robb took off leaving Joy and me in the dust. Joy is a physical education instructor from Georgia and she can easily out climb me on a good day but she’s less than 100% so was happy to have someone to pace. Classic, super polite southerner who loves to chat including telling jokes as we ground our way up the 4-mile hill. Before you know it we’re there and the wind has completely gone!

We waited for George (high-spinning rabbi from Santa Rosa, CA) and then descended to Cimarron together. I expected the town to be a postcard kind of place but it was like a postcard out of Freddy Kreuger so we just continued to the next climb which George says was “harder”. Turns out it was longer but not harder so with the day’s hard work out of the way and the temperature warming we relaxed at the SAG and just hoped that the wind would cooperate for the final 35 miles.

Well it was like being in a Disney IMAX nature movie. This big-time topped the run from Provo to Price. Mostly down hill with incredible vistas around Blue Mesa Reservoir and the Gunnison River. People saw eagles, elk, hawks. Traffic was light. The bike makes this trip special because first you do the work and then you get the reward. Someday I’ll probably come back and drive this. It’ll still be beautiful but it won’t be as spectacular. Phil (just a youngster in his fifties) who has done extensive riding and touring claims this was the most beautiful ride of his life.

Today’s virtual rider is our good buddy, Peter Kallin (ret USN) who now lives in the Belgrade Lakes Region of Maine. Many years ago we all rode together with some of our kids in Brunswick, ME to the huge show at the airbase. Peter probably would have passed on today’s climbing but he would have loved the sweep into Gunnison along the river because it’s fly fishing heaven. I don’t know what they were catching but I guess to real fishermen like Pete it really doesn’t matter.

So tomorrow we make our way to Monarch Pass and the Continental Divide. We don’t want to be cocky but we’re feeling really confident and, hey, it’s all downhill from there right??

Today’s ratings: (the higher the better or easier)

Scenery: 9.5

Road conditions: 9

Grunt factor: 5