Day 15_July 19-->Amarillo

This just may have been one of the most eventful days of the Tour to date. Nothing momentous, but just lots of little things that when woven into the fabric of the day makes for a very colorful tapestry.

For starters it is Day 15, the half-way point of the Tour, in terms of days. In terms of miles, we've completed 52% and in terms of climbing we've completed 57%. Raw numbers you ask? As we shut our eyes tonight for the 15th time, we have biked 1,819 miles and climbed 53,400'

For seconds, as I mentioned yesterday, two more riders, Brian and Anne, will be leaving the Tour at the end of today. Barb, Phil, and Zoe Bohaty (crew) will also be leaving and John Lake and Jon Jahant will be joining as crew.

For thirds, we left New Mexico and entered Texas with all its massive expanse of blazing hot, flat ranch lands with severe cross winds.

Melissa, Brian, Ellie, and Franz at the border

And then there was the doe we passed only about 10 miles out of Clayton, NM that had been mortally wounded by a motor vehicle, but was still alive. She would raise her head with those deer-in-the-headlights big eyes and look at each of us as we passed. Where in the hell was one of thousands of Texans with a gun when you need them? I kept hoping I would hear a report (gun) signifying that someone had put her out of her pain; but alas there was only silence. As I write this I realize now why much of this day has been colored with such waves of emotional vulnerability. That visual is hard to set aside.

And then there was the unstoppable wind that laid the prairie grass low as either a head or cross wind, depending upon whether we were heading east or south. And it just never let up. At the same time, the temperature kept heating up to a final resting place of 100. Seven of us worked together in pace line or echelon formation to create some protection from the wind. That worked well till lunch.

Lunch was at mile 85 in Channing, a near ghost town of 500 people. Although we were under a large shade tree, the grass was as sharp as hay and felt like it could spontaneously combust with the least provocation. Although I couldn't smell it, the word was that there were feedlots near by. Hence the flies were swarming like the birds in Hitchcock's movie by the same title. They were so many, and so "tame" they would not even leave their resting place on our food when shooed. I'm sure some of us ate some thinking they were walnuts in our orange salad.

A ghosted building in Channing that once sold candles.

In our 20 minute lunch break I couldn't cool down fast enough to ride out with the 7-person train so opted to SAG down the road in the air conditioning until I thermoregulated. Out of the van at mile 104. Next rest stop was mile 128. The temperature must have gone up another 5-7 degrees since before lunch and the wind was just as evil.

I knew I was hot when I pulled into the rest stop, but just how hot I didn't know till I got off the bike. Riders who had never SAGGED on the Tour were in the van. They said I was delirious, staggering, and really not able to think well at all. What I remember is pouring ice water down my throat as fast as I could swallow it, in my shoes to cool my feet that felt like they were on fire, down my jersey in both the front and the back, and stuffing ice under my skull cap. When I finally stopped pouring water all over me crew had loaded my bike in the van and told me which seat in the van was mine. I had my heart set on riding those last 18 miles, but it was probably a wise and safe thing to have SAGGED.

Tonight we are at the legendary Big Texan. Best you read about it for yourself. http://www.bigtexan.com/ I mention this because there is a happy ending to an animal story that happened in the parking lot of the Big Texan. AT mile 66 the lunch truck passed through Hartley, TX, population 427. They found a 10 week old Jack Russell terrier. Hartely, the name given the little guy by Zoe, age 8, was given water from the truck and a ride on into Amarillo and the Big Texan. Queries were made in the parking lot if anyone wanted a puppy. And the good new is a waitress at The Big Texan wanted to give Hartley a home on her ranch with other dogs and horses.


Hartley

Melissa, Russell, Ellie, Tom, and Franz waiting for dinner at The Big Texan

This family of cowboys, two young adults and two father figure types sat at the end of our table. When their food came they all removed their hats, held hands, prayed, and then put their hats back on.

And finally, we entered a new time zone today. We are now on in the Central time zone, my home zone.

Day 14_July 18-->Clayton, NM

Route from Walsenburg, CO-->Clayton, NM--our 6th of 12 states, but not a new state for me in terms of having ridden there.

Once again I'm struck with the different moods of the group, day to day. Tomorrow will mark the half-way point, day-wise, for this Tour. We started this Tour with 22 paying riders and about 10 crew. (Crew ride every-other day). By the end of tomorrow we will have lost 5 paying riders and 3 crew, so the group dynamic will surely be different.

Two riders have left because of injury, one half-tour rider left early for work-related reasons, one rider will leave for personal reasons, and one will leave because she could only get time off work to ride half the tour. Our massage therapist, her husband who crewed, and their 8 y.o. daughter will be leaving tomorrow also, a planned leave-taking. Four weeks is a long time for a family to be on tour. A PAC veteran massage therapist will join us in Amarillo tomorrow to support our aching muscles for the eastern half of the ride.

So, I'm sure all of the above factored in to the out-of-sorts-ness of the day. That Larry was injured yesterday didn't help either. That this was a 156 mile day was certainly a factor. The fact that we were on I-25 for about 25 miles, and then a frontage road that didn't deserve the title of road contributed. The unsavory roads contributed to many of us having tire issues, not something you want to deal with on a 156 mile day. An then there was the wind that swirled from all directions with gusts up to 35 mph along with temps that reached nearly 100 before the front came through that was preceded by a scary, black sky streaked with lightning.

These parts seem to have different clouds than I'm used to in the Midwest. Don't think this pix does them justice, but maybe you can get a sense of them.

I had a flat again today, the result of one of those tiny wires from truck retreads being sprayed along the road. I found the wire at the first SAG stop on the Interstate, got it out, but the tire went down 3 miles later. It helped that we were off the Interstate by then.

Jonathan, Ellie, Melissa, and I were riding together to the 2nd SAG at mile 55. Ellie wasn't feeling well so SAGGED the rest of the day. The three of us took off together, but I couldn't hang on to them so I was on my own for the next 30 miles of hot, windy road that was steadily ascending through 6,200' elevation. By the time I got to lunch at mile 87 I was breathless. It's no fun to be the last rider riding. All the other back-riders were SAGGING today, and Jonathan was pulling Melissa. I needed more than the 20 minutes it takes to swallow lunch to catch my breath so decided to SAG from lunch to mile 129.

The lines mark the 42 miles I SAGGED.

Branson, home of today's lunch, seems like a lost, deserted, windswept town. Here's what gave me a clue:

Farm in ruins and abandoned

In real-life it hardly looks like a going concern

The old Branson jail. That's Zoe, our 8 year old crew member, trying out the accommodations. :)

Saw a couple of these signs along the way that were quite curious to me. Any ideas?

Tomorrow is 146 miles to Amarillo. From there to the finish will be nearly the same route I rode three years ago on the Southern Transcon. I'm actually very much looking forward to being "back again."

Day 13_July 17-->Walsenburg, CO

131 miles today. Left Buena Vista at 6:30 a.m. and 7,900' elevation to enjoy a glorious descent into Big Horn Sheep Canyon and 6,200' elevation. Breathing was easier and my kidneys began to release all the fluid retained from the high elevation of the day before.

So much for the descent and breathing easy as we began climbing again to 8,600'--2,400' in 15 miles. But, there were few cars and Franz, Ellie, Melissa and I worked together so it wasn't that bad. We were joined from time to time by Bob, Neal, Greg, and Larry.

The afternoon was hot and the winds picked up BIG time. They couldn't decide where they wanted to come from so they came from all 4 quadrants at one time or another.

Had my first flat 2 miles from the hotel. I knew my luck would run out at some point.

The sad news of the day is that at the last SAG stop, about 17 miles from the motel, Larry slipped in the gravel turning into the SAG and went down. His hip is broken (may be the acetabulum, could be the head of the femor, conflicting stories at this time). He's on his way by ambulance to Denver as I write. His wife is flying in from Las Vegas tomorrow. It was Larry's Titanium bike that cracked on Day 2, and now...

Didn't take many pictures today as the views were all these panoramic vistas that just don't show up well in my little point and shoot.

Dinner was a high point. The PAC vans shuttled us 3 miles into town to The Iron Horse restaurant which was totally unprepared for 30 hungry riders on a Friday night. As we were paying our bill a train whizzed by, the tracks no more than 30 feet from the restaurant, whistle blaring. I thought I was in My Cousin Vinny. Only Bob and I could appreciate the humor of it all. "Vinny" had not made the list for the Canadians and Australians who were with us.

The dinner bunch:

The motel is noteworthy, though. Brilliant mustard yellow, the exterior. The interior is vintage 1950. It has been upgraded to offer a wall-mounted TV which is sure to amputate some part of you in the middle of the night.

The shower is really special, especially the stone mosaic flooring. Everyone would quest after this look, for sure.

Gotta hit the hay as breakfast is at 5:30 with ride out at 6:00. Tomorrow is a 156 mile day to Clayton, NM.

Day 12_July 16-->Buena Vista, CO

Bikes are primed and ready for ride-out.

You can read the energy in the air and know what the riders are thinking and feeling about the day's ride that lies ahead. Today the charge is 106 miles up and over Independence Pass, a Pass that is usually open only two months a year--too high, too narrow, too much snow to be open more than that. Riders were quiet, focused, and rallying their physical, mental, and spiritual mettle to climb 8,000' at an altitude of greater than 12,000 feet.

The first 40 miles were sort of a tease--a mostly paved bike path from Glenwood Springs to Aspen.

A little too much traffic for peeing along the road, but we did find this conveniently located church with 21st century outdoor plumbing.

I knew I don't do well at an altitude greater than 9,000' so planned to jump in the SAG wagon at about that level, and ride up and over the summit and get dropped off at about 9,000' on the other side.

Here's a pix of the profile of the ride--worth a click on the pix to see the elevation gain. The line markers indicate where I climbed to and where I was dropped off.

A function of the aging process is that we lose about 1% of our lung capacity per year beginning at age 25 and about 2% of our overall fitness every year from age 50 forward. I consider myself only an average, everyday "athlete", even in my "youth". The gap between me and the front runners on days like today make it very apparent to me that I am clearly aging, I hope with grace and gratitude.

The views on the up and the down were nothing short of breathtaking. Here are a few to whet your appetite to visit sometime soon.

Independence Pass Summit

Up

and upper up

Sure beat riding on the interstate :)

Day 11_July 15-->Glenwood Springs, CO

Over 4,000' of climbing reaching a max elevation of 7,483'

Today was back to work with a strong headwind till the second Rest Stop. Then we were on this curious stretch of road for 40 miles with verdant mountains on the left and scary-sized gravel pits, Exon-Mobil drilling/refinery plants, and cement factories. The juxtapositioning of the two was somewhat disorienting, although you couldn't let your head go there as there was a never-ending trail of trucks coming at us and passing us for a very long time. Road was narrow, too, with no shoulder. Even had a couple of oversized vehicles for which we had to get off the road or...

Finally caught up with Bob at a rest stop today. He was sporting a new hair cut.

Chicago has a lot to offer, but I've never seen a sign like this in our neck of the woods.

Gregg and Melissa riding the 40 mile stretch in between 18 wheelers.


The beauty of the countryside was spectacular. Only wish my little point and shoot could capture its magnitude. This will give you a glimpse.

One of our Rest Stops was in Rifle. Interesting that there is a prison in Rifle, hmmm. The Cubs play in Rifle, too. The way the Chicago Cubs have been playing maybe they should be farmed out to Rifle.

There's a chain of mini marts in these western parts with a most unfortunate name.

Glenwood Springs is a real town with a sportin' history of notables back in the 1920's. Hotel Colorado, 1899, was the hub of much of that activity.

Finished off the day with ice cream and brownies, compliments of NY Greg's mom.

Click on the pix to zoom in.

Day 10_July 14-->Rangely, CO

The troops were absolutely giddy about getting to "sleep in" today with ride-out being 8:30 a.m. instead of the usual 6:30. Only 50 miles and 1,000' of climbing today compared to 150 miles and 7,500' of climbing yesterday. Today was like a real vacation with everyone's spirits being light, chattering all down the highway, bunched up at the rest stops rather than the usual grab and go to grind some more miles.

Greg, Christopher, and Rebecca at b'fast in a real restaurant with real cutlery--not a parking lot with a spork.

You gotta click on this pix to zoom in to see the motley crew the morning after the 150 mile ride. Ann and Jonathan in the front, Bob, Karl, and Walt in the back.

Melissa, Jonathan and I even had time for a stop at the espresso shop in Vernal, UT before leaving for Rangely.

There really is a town called Dinosaur, CO. This dino found his way to Vernal, however.

Some fun notes from the past few days for which there wasn't time to mention what for long days and tired bods.

These goats were actually mating on top this car, but got embarrassed when we rode by and paused.

Greg, our 16 y.o. rider, enjoying some ice cream along the way.

On Sunday, climbing to Evanston, WY, way up at 9,000' the butterflies were as prevalent as moths around lights at night in the summer time. They'd fly right into me and then flutter off. Never seen so many in "the wild" before.

Here's proof we were at 9,000'

The descent that day was possibly even more remarkable, at least for Jonathan and Neil. That was the 15 mile descent from 9,000' to 4,500' so they had up quite a head of steam. A pick-up truck passed them, paused to hold up as they rode beside the riders giving the two female passengers sufficient time to fully flash their bare chests. Good technical riding on the riders' part to keep their wheels on the road.

Now, back to today--Vernal-->Rangely.

Doug celebrating the CO border

Greg is now licensed in CO :)

Katie, on the table, looks like she's in a cabana in the Caribbean instead of at a scenic view in CO.

Melissa and me at the same rest stop as above where Katie is in the cabana

Lunch in the park in Rangely

Even time for coffee at Rangely's Espresso bar before our rooms were ready. L-R, Jonathan, Russell, Eleonor, Doug, Ann, and Melissa in the back.

Rangely humor. Bad.

Laundry in Rangely.

Vernal, UT Con't.

This day was full of beauty, lots of rigors, and some performance surprises, at least for me.

The beauty is captured in the previous post. The rigors included 7,500' of climbing, an elevation of 8,031', 148 miles, and 90+ degree temps.

This is the route profile for the first 123 miles. Click on the pic to see the feet of elevation gain.

Performance surprise for me was about my inability to ride but about half the route. My legs just couldn't do that kind of climbing back to back. My best understanding at the moment is my aging factor (described in the "Who's On Tour" post) and my nutritional disadvantage. My carbo loading options are minimal (no pasta, no breads, no desserts, no ice creams, no beer). In the non-tour world my way of eating is a quite healthy way of living. But on-tour there is just not enough fuel going in to turn the cranks. Chips, olives, avocados, chicken or tuna salad without dressing, and unsweetened iced tea can carry me only so far. Consequently I spent a number of miles today in the SAG truck. Again, sobering.

Day 9_July 13-->Vernal, UT

Our route from Evanston, WY-->Vernal, UT

We have had glorious scenery every day, but this day had to be right up there near the top. Our country is phenomenally beautiful and diverse.

Who's On Tour

Including crew, this Transcon is half the size of the Southern that I rode in 2006. Makes for some interesting differences.

Here's the breakdown by numbers:

Males by Age	Number on Tour	Females by Age	Number on Tour
16	1	20-25	1
20-25	2	30-35	1
30-35	1	36-40	2
36-40	2	41-45	4
41-45	2	51-55	2
46-50	5	63	1--Me
51-55	7
56-60	2
61-65	1
66	1
Totals	24		11

The major difference is that this is a much more "elite" group in terms of riding credentials/pedigree. Several (men and women) have done Team RAAM (Race Across America), PBP (Paris-Brest-Paris, a 750 mile event that must be completed in 90 hours, and Furnace Creek 508 (a premiere 508 mile event in the Nevada desert that many will race as a qualifier for other premiere events such as RAAM.

That this Tour is half the size has made for a fast front pack and the caboose. In the 2006 Transcon I came in solidly in the middle or upper middle of the pack every day. This tour I am in the caboose, along with 4-5 others. Quite demoralizing actually.

The last difference, at least for me, is that I am now 63 3/4. Although I think in many ways I am a better rider now thanI was 3 years ago, I do seem to need more recovery time after either extra-long rides (>116 miles) or rides with greater than 4,500' of climbing. We've had many of those "more than" days so far.

Somewhat sobering to stare the consequence of aging so squarely in the eye.

Inside PAC Tour

Thought you might like to see some pictures of the support vehicles that leap frog the riders down the road providing SAG support. Riders want for nothing--snacks, ice, HAMMER products, tubes, tires, master mechanics for the big stuff, and bumps up the road when/if a rider falls too far behind.

Inside the Motel Truck--ice chests full of cola, barrels of ice water and Gatorade.

Susan in her "kitchen"

Shelves in the "kitchen"

Christopher "manning" the bagel station for breakfast

The caravan waiting for riders at a SAG stop marked by the yellow flag. Notice how windy it is that the flag is sticking straight out.

Inside the back of the caravan full of supplies

Message board for dinner possibilities, route changes for the next day and times for breakfast, trailer loading with gear bags, and ride out.


Laundry PAC style