Day 20: 5th State Line Crossing, Land of Oz, Yellow Brick Road

The ride today was "only" 40 miles, so the group left 2 hours later than usual....I guess that would be a 9:15 departure from Guymon, OK. The wind was with them and they arrived in Liberal, KS by noon. They stopped near the midway point of the ride for some ice cream and took some video in wheat fields (or did he say he took video "of wheat fields"?). Since the wind was being so helpful, they averaged 18 mph today.

During the afternoon they visited the "yellow brick road" in the Land of Oz. While there they were told to hurry back to the Days Inn because they were in a Tornado Alert area. A tornado hit 40 miles to the southwest of Liberal, near where they started their ride today. They watched the black clouds and were told by the Inn management that if they heard the tornado warning siren they were to go to the hallways (at least I think he said "hallways"...I didn't write it down because there are no tornados here in Northern Virginia so I didn't retain whatever he said...sorry).

Gil thought he emailed a more detailed description of the day, but we can't find it anywhere, so this is all we have for today's entry.

Day 20: Addendum

[Added Friday/Day 21] Dad's a bit disappointed that we don't have more info on today's ride (or rather, yesterday's ride since I'm editing this in on Friday). The days are all pretty blurred for him after the fact (hence a big part of the reason for this blog), but he had a few notes after giving me the rundown on Friday's ride:

It was an easy 40 mile day, largely considered a rest day. Had a tailwind and averaged over 18 mph. They stopped in a little town that was actually called Hooker - see the third picture in the original post (above) of the nondescript building labeled Hooker Chamber of Commerce. Had a nice middle-aged woman working there, and there were T-shirts urging readers to "Support Your Hookers!" He got a $12 belt buckle that says "Hooker" on it. Goody. They got into the hotel by noon, even with starting after 9 am and stopping for ice cream. Most exciting thing about the ride was, again, seeing a couple of trains. He's compiling quite a collection of random railroad photographs.

He found the Land of Oz/Yellow Brick Road kind of boring. He didn't do the museum tour, since it didn't look like much from the outside. He somehow missed the "yellow brick road" with various (incredibly cheap looking) characters when they rode past it, but he ran back out yesterday to try to get a picture. He said "it's not the best" and that they ordinarily would have stayed and posed there for pictures, but they could see the storm coming in. They ran into someone from the restaurant who told them they had to get back to the hotel, that a tornado had been observed in Skymont (?) and was coming their direction. So of course they CONTINUED on their way out to get that picture (hey, they did also mention they "only" had 40 min or so...), THEN hurried back to shelter. (It's really all my fault, I asked him to make sure he got a picture of the yellow brick road. I somehow thought it would be much cooler-looking.) You know the rest of the story from Mom's post last night.

Photo Album Added

DVD #4 (May 25-27/Days 14-16/Santa Fe - Las Vegas, NM) has been uploaded for your viewing pleasure.

Their Route from LA to Liberal, KS [Today's Destination]

This is their approximate route so far, from LA to Liberal, Kansas. (Since they're not always taking interstates, their route from, say, Santa Fe to Las Vegas and Tucumcari, NM may be more direct than the directions google offers.) Still a neat visual, at least for me, and inspires insights such as "well it makes sense that Guymon, OK reminds him of eastern CO - it's almost IN eastern CO!" Because my midwestern geography isn't always so hot. Google figures that their route so far, as google's mapped it, would take 22.5 hours if one drove non-stop.

Day 19: 4th State Line Crossing, Oklahoma Panhandle

Alrighty. No cliff notes from Gil tonight since the hotel doesn't have a computer, so you're stuck with what he gave me over the phone! (Sadly, that also means no pictures yet. [edit: pictures added mid-Thursday])

Today's ride was 72 miles, after going 108(.7) on Monday and 96 yesterday. They left an hour later (to them) than usual due to the time change; it felt like 8 am. I kept clarifying that they didn't REALLY leave an hour later, it was still 7 am, that THEY had just gained an hour, but the point is they enjoyed the extra sleep. Today was quite flat, but they had a very stiff wind coming from the north that was blowing in their faces all day (fun; we all know by now that tailwinds = very good and headwinds = very bad). The road's surface was also rough, so today's average speed was a paltry 10.8 miles.

He described the landscape they left (in Tucumcari, NM, which is kind of fun to say out loud) as "scab land," which he defined as desert-y scab land. Aren't you not supposed to use the word you're defining when defining it? Anyway, I didn't get the impression that it was a compliment to the landscape. The landscape changed throughout the day to "greener stuff" as they moved further north. They came across some irrigation systems - well water and circular sprinklers - and he said the area looked a lot like eastern Colorado except that there were even fewer dwellings. The landscape turned quite green and they could see wheat and new corn growing (I hope OUR wheat and corn are growing...), and there were "nice little white clouds in the big blue sky." He also noted that the sky came right down to the horizon. As I suppose the sky often does. I think the point was that there weren't a multitude of buildings between the sky and horizon. "We were in Big Sky country!"

As they rolled along, pedaling their little hearts out, they could see the grain elevators for each town from 12-15 miles away. Which was really kind of depressing, because they were pedaling furiously into the wind, not going all that fast, and those dang grain elevators weren't really getting any bigger. I think grain elevators lost a bit of their charm for him today. He sounded bitter.

The first SAG stop (30 miles in) had, of course, a Dairy Queen. He went into the tour looking forward to the DQs, and they're really coming through for him. At this point he was considering getting in the van and taking a break - his arm, elbow, and hand on one side were really hurting him. But after he had "the biggest sandwich they had to offer" (essentially a quadruple burger) and a big cup of coffee his arm felt much better, so he decided that he would at least ride the next 20 miles to the Oklahoma state line.

So he made it to the state line. At that point he was riding by himself because his fellow Pile Drivers were going a bit faster than him today. He was taking it easy with his arm pain, and told them to go on ahead since he wasn't sure whether or not he would end up hopping a ride in the van later. When he got to the next SAG stop, he had some more food. (because hey, why not? No one's gaining weight on this trip! We don't want Gil wasting away.) At that point he figured it was only another 20 miles to Guymon, OK, so he rode on. He caught up with another rider (Harry, "a pretty good friend") and they rode together for the last 20 miles. Or 19 miles, because...

As they came into town, just a mile from the hotel, he saw a pawn shop and an antique store! Sitting right next to each other! It was clearly destiny. Meant to be. So he just had to go in. He wound up buying a black powder cowboy pistol. It's about/at least 50 years old, and doesn't work without black powder and a bullet. (I feel I could have figured out that the gun doesn't work without a bullet without Dad telling me, but there you have it.) He says it was very reasonably priced (I didn't ask him to define "reasonable"), and has a wooden handle and brass trigger-guard. Even came with a cool Old West holster! (Great. My father has a holster and a complicated-to-use gun. This bodes well.) "A great old western gun" and a great memento of the west. It's his treat to himself. His brother-in-law "Ted will just love it!" The guy he bought it from said that it would operate if he got powder, but he's not so sure. In any event, it looks real nice. The dealer said that registration rules don't apply to black powder weapons, but he'll check on that before shipping it home - it's about 5 lbs, and he's really exceeding his 30 lb luggage limit with it. Mom is of course thrilled to have another gun in the house. She got home while we were on the phone and I went, "guess what Dad bought?" and he kind of interjected from the phone "uh, I'm kinda worried about how she'll feel about this..." But she's a champ and had no objections (so long as he figures out the legalities and keeps any black powder really far away from the gun itself) and told him he deserved to treat himself. She seems to have fewer objections to things when they're already a done deal. He seemed a bit relieved. The last time he was that concerned about her reaction to a new toy it was a kitten that he'd already brought home. See Mom, you shoulda let him get another cat!

He's real pleased that he made the whole ride today. His arm and hands felt fine the moment he got off the bike; he thinks the lousy road surface yesterday plus some of the same today plus gripping the bike much harder with the strong headwind just put too much pressure and vibration on his arms. He explained that you have to grip and hang onto the bike much harder when the wind's blowing so hard (makes sense to me), and then to top it off big cattle trucks would come along from the opposite direction - their pressure wave runs ahead of the truck, and would hit them at the same time they already had a headwind. "Sometimes it was a bit much." Everybody struggled today and a lot of people took hops in the van. "But not your dad! He just kept his head down and kept pedaling." Until he lashed out by purchasing a firearm, at least.

A/V news: He of course got a picture at the Oklahoma state line, which was around the 50ish mile mark. He also videotaped an interview with a rancher and his son at DQ. Everybody at the DQ was real interested in what the heck was going on with these riders. They were in the little town of somewhere phonetically similar to Stockton, TX (which isn't quite right, because google maps doesn't know what I'm talking about, and google knows all things), in real cattle/ranching/farm country, then all these (I would assume disheveled and a little smelly) cyclists in weird clothes showed up. "We were really out of place." So they all got to talking, and everybody was "most friendly and nice." He handed out the blog site (no pressure there) - hey, if any of you are reading, what town was he in? Stratford, as my map suggests? Seriously, comment and let me know. - and they had a nice time exchanging stories. He overheard some of a local group talking about ranching, and kind of got into talking about that then asked one of the ranchers and his son if they'd mind him whipping out his (RJ's) trusty video camera. He asked about their ranch; they're growing about 1,000 acres of wheat and have 20,000 other acres for cattle. The rancher came into the land through his father, who inherited it from his father before him. The son wasn't in school because they had a day off (Memorial Day Week?). So he enjoyed that diversion. I make friends in airports, Dad makes friends in local establishments while traveling.

Guymon, OK (where they're staying tonight) is fairly nice. They have a Radio Shack and Walmart, and the nice hotel has an outdoor pool with some set-up shade and snacks, so keep these important criteria in mind next time Gil tells you somewhere is "nice." His impression may or may not be based on any more than these factors. Certainly beats Dalhart, though! They had their Road RAP in the shade with the snacks, then moved to the hotel restaurant, which was very nice - a huge buffet with good food, which Gil had three plates of.

Tomorrow they get into Kansas, "which will be kinda cool." There's a fair amount of anxiety among the group in terms of the fact that they're moving into bad weather (ie tornado country). They've all been given directions in terms of what to do during lightening, etc, and CrossRoads can cancel a day's ride if they think it's too dangerous. Their concern is mostly more generalized than worrying about specific weather phenomena - Kansas has been hit with a lot of bad weather recently, and they're spending quite a bit of time there. They're in Kansas until they move into Missouri next Thursday, so they'll spend 7.5 days going across it. He thinks they have more miles in Kansas than any other state. Looking at the map, the only state with comparable mileage (based on me looking at the line, not adding numbers - what do you want from me, it's after 1 am) is New York. The good news is that tomorrow is a VERY easy day - just 40 miles and virtually no elevation change. (Hopefully they won't have another headwind.) They get to start two hours later than usual, at 9 am, and it's viewed as kind of a recovery day for everybody. Been a hard week so far, and they don't have another rest day until next Tuesday in Abilene, KS (nine days after their last rest day in Santa Fe, which I still love to type).

Pictures for today will be added when I get them [added mid-Thursday]. He also promised to send along pictures of the endless cattle from yesterday, and apologized for ripping me off yesterday. [Edit: It appears that I'm an idiot and he DID send a picture of endless cattle. It's with that paragraph of yesterday's post, and appears to just be bland land until you enlarge it (click on it) - that darker "grass" on the left is nonstop cattle, standing room only. But hey, none of you noticed either - or if you did, you didn't speak up - so I won't feel too badly about it.]

Their Route Through Kansas

I just really amused myself with this. A nice visual of their (approximate) route from Dalhart, TX through Kansas to Missouri. (And my love affair with google continues.)

Day 18: 3rd State Line Crossing, Texas Feed Lots, Central Time Zone

Gil's emailed cliff notes:
The name of the game today was survival after yesterday's long ride. Covered 96 miles through nondescript land that was gently rolling and hot. The most exciting thing was seeing two trains that I captured on video. I know you can't wait to see these trains!! The other high point (other than the two SAG stops) was crossing into Texas 56 miles into the ride. Took some pictures of the shot-up monument (not a total surprise). Rode with Tony and off and on with Terry who joined us. Randy and my roommate both sat out today's ride - yesterday took a toll. We enjoyed a good tail wind the first 75 miles and averaged over 18 miles an hour. Often we clicked along in the 20 - 26 range for extended periods of time. At 75 miles the road surface tuned rough and the bike vibrated. Just what my butt needed. The wind also shifted and our speed was reduced to the 13 - 15 range. Made the motel 1:22 PM. Not bad given we covered nearly a hundred miles. Gil

He first called my cell at 4 pm to let me know they made the motel and that he was a big fan of it. The town he'd least want to live in so far, but the best motel yet. Fridge, microwave, and a working AC in the room, which he was plopped down in front of when he called. He gave me "quick notes" before calling back tonight with FULL notes (which I know you all cannot wait to read), but his computer crashed soon thereafter so they're gone. (I save the full notes right away, because losing those before typing them up would just really suck.)

Alrighty. Heeeere we go with the details. (Because what he types is just clearly not detailed enough, we have to have the fast typist do the blow-by-blow in case anyone's just that interested. Which I know you all are.) I'll continue to bold occasionally for your skimming pleasure.

They started today's 96 mile ride from Tucumcari, NM to Dalhart, TX at 7:10 am. It was nice and crisp out, with a fair amount of wind at their backs. (This is good. Tailwind is good. Keep paying attention to these things, there may be a quiz somewhere down the line.) They rolled along at an average speed of 19.6 mph to the first SAG stop, which was almost 30 miles in. There were a few times that they were rolling along at 20-24 mph for long stretches - really moving along. (Though those of us who use, oh, CARS may disagree.) That 96 mile ride might just be a real easy day after all!

Around mile 55 they arrived at the Texas state line. The sign at the border was shaped like Texas, but it was all shot-up - there were pock-marks in it from people shooting at the sign. A couple of riders said they weren't surprised - "this is Texas, after all."

They had the SAG stop at mile 65 under some nice big cottonwood (he thinks) trees, so they had some nice shade and a picnic table. Railroad tracks ran nearby, and a train came through. That was the most exciting thing that happened all day. He got a video of this momentous occasion, the train roaring by. You take your kicks where you can get them. When they headed out on the highway again, there were no service areas for 30 miles. About 15 miles after the SAG stop, the road surface changed and became much rougher - the whole bike would vibrate. It was bad news for the butt. (Everybody was complaining about their butts back at the hotel, between that stretch of road and the 110 mile ride yesterday. Everybody except Richard, of course, who doesn't discuss his butt. He sounds a bit classier than the "average Joe" riders.) Around the same time the surface changed, the wind also shifted and became a bit unfavorable; their speed dropped from 17-20 mph to a 13 mph crawl. Everybody agreed that the last 15 miles into town were pretty difficult. The temperature also rose to near 90 degrees, which I can't imagine helped morale. The countryside was incredibly boring and people were still tired from yesterday's ride.

Before getting into town and the hotel, they passed some (by "some" I mean two) feed-lots. Which he of COURSE took pictures of. And of course didn't email me. I get a picture of the empty road and nothingness, that incredibly bland countryside he was so bored by, but not 160,000 cows in two lots? I think I was ripped off. Because the word on the street in Dalhart is that there are, in fact, 160,000 cows in those two feed-lots. I know; my dad talked to those townfolk. He's a friendly guy. He probably didn't share with them that of all the places they've been so far, Dalhart is the place he'd LEAST like to live. (He's real impressed by the hotel, though, mentioned that several times. I think his dream lodging would be this hotel and the computer from that Econo lodge a few days back.) Anyway, there were cows going off forever, as far as the eye could see. (See the picture I was ripped off with to the upper right. Wouldn't a shot full of a billion cows been more interesting, while albeitly making you feel sorry for the poor cows in crappy living conditions packed like sardines? Which also smell lousy, so that's kind of an appropriate simile.) He learned that the cows live here (there) and get fed for about 30 days, moving to different pens and up in feed-stock before being...processed. Poor cows probably think they're moving up in the world, then suddenly, not so much. There were also lots of little flea-like bugs that got all over our intrepid bikers over on the road. They knew where those little bugs had been. And "pictures couldn't capture the smell that was there." Which was presumably not good. Not that I'd know if the picture could have truly said a thousand words and included that bit of information, since I haven't seen any pictures. But Dalhart is a real cow-town, and there's a subtle (or not so subtle) aroma throughout town from the feed stock. "Like in Yuma." It's clear that the only industry there is cattle processing. Good news Mom: One less tiny town in the middle of nowhere (ie nowhere near a book store) that Dad dreams of retiring to!

Edit: It appears that I'm an idiot, and if you enlarge (click on) the picture above, the darker "grass" on the left side of the picture IS cattle going off as far as the eye can see.

Got to the hotel at 1:10 pm (or 1:22 as his email said; whatever, they were fast), much relieved and pleased to be there (and inside away from the stench). He really likes that hotel. They're also now only an hour behind us here on the east coast! Fewer midnight phone calls! (Not that typing this up every night at 1 or 2 am wasn't fun, mind you.) Immediately went to Dairy Queen with three other riders. Had three tacos, a large coke, and an ice cream sundae. (Yes, there's apparently food now at DQ. I had no idea.) They came back for a Road RAP that lasted all of 20 minutes, then went right to The Sands Restaurant for an all you could eat buffet dinner. Everybody agreed that the food was great. Then several of them went to the food store (what, they needed MORE food?) and found "a weight machine" (or...a scale? One of those newfangled devices?) that you could use for 25 cents. Is that some tactic to fight the obesity epidemic? Make kids pay to weigh themselves at the store instead of letting them sit on their butts and ride on some contraption? That doesn't sound like a very exciting attraction to me, or one that's likely to make people spend more on food at the store. Unless they have it after the check out, so you can spend all your money then weigh yourself and go "aw crap." How thoughtful. Anyway. Dad's lost somewhere between five and seven pounds, as have several of his friends. Richard's lost eight. Seems clear everybody's lost some significant weight, even while putting on muscle mass (which I'm sure you all know weighs more than fat). He said they're eating as much as they can. I said that Mom may not be too amused by this story. (She wasn't all that amused when he made the mistake of pondering how he'd lost weight on our first cruise either, despite the midnight buffet.) But they're (rather masochistically) engaging in intense exercise for 6-8 hours a day, which is raising their baseline metabolism even while they're at rest. He figures they're probably burning between 5,000 and 7,000 calories a day, which...can't possibly be healthy. Some people have said that the hardest part of the tour in terms of adjusting afterwards is having to stop eating all the darn time. "The body is clearly still adjusting in terms of what's happening to it." Because, much like running a marathon, I suspect that this tour constitutes chronic physical abuse on your body.

On that uplifting note...

See post below; photo album of DVD #3 uploaded.

Photo Album Added

DVD #3 (May 20-24/Days 9-13/Flagstaff, AZ - Albuquerque, NM) has been uploaded to Gil's photo album site. http://picasaweb.google.com/gilsbigbiketrip (or the handy link on the left). A big shout-out to Picasa's super-fast straightening and lightening features, which...would have taken way too long for me to have bothered in photoshop.

Day 17: 1,000 Mile Mark! NM Desert, Picnic Lunch

Gil's emailed cliff notes (5:30 pm local time):
An awesome ride. Open range land first 34 miles. Big sky country. Beautiful. Then crested a small rise and saw a sign indicating a steep 9 percent down-grade for 3 miles. Like, what's happening here? We rolled through some low trees (?) and then saw the road fall off the Canadian Escarpment. 2000 ft that we'd been climbing for some time. It opened up a grand view of the plain below. Just really took your breath away. We could see forever across this desert plain that was punctuated with other geological features. I video taped it! Rolled into hotel at at 4:10 PM. 109 miles total. But is sore. Knees at tad sore. Now get ready for tomorrows long ride. Cross into Texas tomorrow. Gil

That's Gil (on the right) and (I think) Tony (on the left) with a woman I assume is CR support staff. Her hair looks too good to be a rider.

The Canadian Escarpment is an actual thing. You can read more about it here, or LOTS more about it here. (I'd stick with the first link, quite frankly.)

Re ages of the riders: Someone told Dad that the average age on their tour is 56. There's one guy who's 80 (!) and only slightly slower than Dad. His grandson is traveling with him. No one has dropped out yet. (I wonder what the normal drop-out number is?)

Dad said before today's ride started that it would be an interesting day - more desert and long distance. They were told yesterday that today would arguably be the second-hardest day of the tour (the only harder day being that 116 mile ride through the desert in week one). The plan was to ride steadily and not fool around too much with photography.

Today was a long day - his bike computer showed 109.x miles, and the official day's mileage was 108.7 (not 108, as the itinerary suggests - the official list ripped them off!). We're counting every mile here. They crossed the 1,000 mile point today! (Dad's personal 1,000 miles occurred today as well, though slightly later due to a few short hops in the van. The point is, tge 1K line was crossed.)

The first part of the ride: As they left the "other" Vegas, they rode over gently rolling range-land (you can tell that this vocabulary is not my strong suit, so I'm just using the words he uses) with a general gain in elevation. Was simply beautiful; could see forever. They would occasionally see a little farm house or "something" - it was very open and blank country, much more so than Otis, CO. (This will mean more to our family and the Kuntzs than anyone else, unless they're up on obscure towns in the great plains.) It reminded him of pictures he's seen of Montana. Everybody was just awed by the natural beauty of it. They were off of the interstates all day today, which was nice - very little traffic. (Yay, no trucks to run them over!) "So that was good."

Their first SAG stop was 28 miles in. There was no service area or restrooms for over 75 miles today. (He doesn't know if anybody had to dig a hole, but the women were advised at yesterday's Road RAP to bring some toilet paper with them. A female rider told them at supper that she just convinced herself before the ride started that she wouldn't need to go for 75 miles. Said it worked just fine for her. When she got to the end of that 75 miles, she needed to go. (Wouldn't it suck to be off by a mile or so as you're counting that down for yourself?) ) Dad and his group did ok as well.

After the first SAG stop, they got to about mile 33 and saw a sign warning vehicles (and silly riders) about a steep down-grade for three miles. "We couldn't believe it!" They were going through range and prairie land ("grass and stuff"), but sure enough the road took a bend around a knoll (I sure hope you guys are more clear on what a knoll is than I am. Do I care to look it up? No.) and went DOWN almost immediately. They were going off the face of the Canadian Escarpment and dropped about 2,000 feet. It was a stunning view as they came off of it because the land just opened up, and they could see across the countryside and all of the other geological features were jutting up in the distance. They could see for 50-100 miles (or "an amazing distance") - it was stunning. He stopped to take some video of other riders going down the Escarpment "and also got a bit on the roll" going down. (Was he holding the video camera while speeding down a 9% grade? I bet a certain sister-in-law will need a dramamine to watch that footage. It also doesn't sound particularly safe.) Anyway.

Then they were into more continuous range-land "stuff," but had a few other climbs. At the 67 mile point they came to what they were told was "The Wall." They climbed up onto a plateau and there was "this huge hill" - the road just went straight up through the mesa at about a 9% grade and went on and on. So that took a bit of effort. (You're kidding.) The support staff had written encouraging words (and riders' names) on the road in chalk - "take a deep breath" at the bottom, "keep pedaling!" further up, and other cute things all the way up. One of the support staff came partially down the hill and cheered the riders on.

They escaped all of the thunderstorms today. It was "fairly warm" - his bike computer read 100 degrees, but he doesn't think the ambient air temperature was quite that hot. Richard says that it read 93 degrees on a billboard as they came into town (Tucumcari, NM). They drank lots of fluid/nutritional supplement mix today, and used the camel backs. There was nowhere to eat lunch today, so the staff provided peanut butter sandwiches (what, no jelly? I'll assume there was also jelly) at one of the SAG stops. (Not much of a picnic, I have to say. I pictured a leisurely group bonding lunch.)

A number of people took the van before the day was over and hopped up the road to the hotel. Dad's pleased to report that he made the complete ride today, which included a total of 4,100 feet of elevation gain. So that was satisfying on a personal level. His butt does not feel super (in fact it's quite sore), and he's a bit aware of his knees. Almost everybody is having butt "issues" today - there's just no way to sit on a bike from 7:15 am till 4 pm without seeing some adverse effects. (At this point Dad went, "isn't that right, Richard?" But Richard would prefer not to talk about his butt, feeling that's kind of personal. What, he doesn't want it out there for the world in cyberspace? He is having cadence (?) trouble, which was not spelled out for me because spelling isn't our strong suit. It was described as being problems with the legs and having to do with the number of revolutions of the pedal per minute. Whatever it is, it isn't comfortable. He may take tomorrow off as a rest day.)

Today was clearly the longest ride Dad's ever had on his bike, and he reports that this record will STAND. No 109 mile rides for him in the future! (Fortunately, the tour itinerary is working with him; only day longer than today was the 116 mile day.) The Pile Drivers split up today; Dad and Tony rode ahead of the rest of the group. The group discussed it and it was ok with everybody. They were "frankly concerned about just accomplishing today's ride" and felt they had to ride at their own pace. There was also some concern that other members may end up taking a van jump later in the day, and they didn't want to hold themselves back to ride with the group but then end up further behind the other riders if group members did take a jump.

Tomorrow's 96 miles with a bit less net elevation gain; it'll be a little bit more rolling territory. They'll cross into Texas tomorrow. I told Dad that they'd be crossing three state lines in the next three days, and he went "wow!" (The Oklahoma panhandle? Not so big.)

Itinerary For May 26-June 1 [Week 3]

The teeny tiny red dot in the middle of that yellow state is where they started week three from. There's a "3" in the dot, but it's a lot tinier (read: faster) than last week's "2," so you don't have to humor me and view it full-size.

Better late than never. They are just flying across the state lines this week.

Still don't know why blogger insists on inserting a huge break whenever I use actual HTML.
Day	Destination	Miles	Points of Interest
Sa 5/26	Santa Fe, NM	0	Second rest day, Old Town Santa Fe
Su 5/27	Las Vegas, NM	72	The "other" Vegas, Highest point on tour at 7570', Pecos ruins
M 5/28	Tucumcari, NM	108	1,000 miles! Third century, NM desert, Picnic lunch
Tu 5/29	Dalhart, TX	96	3rd state line! Texas feed lots, CST
W 5/30	Guymon, OK	72	4th state line! Oklahoma panhandle
Th 5/31	Liberal, KS	40	5th state line! Land of Oz, Yellow brick road
F 6/1	Dodge City, KS	83	Dalton gang hideout, Boot hill museum

Day 16: Highest Point on Tour - Glorieta Pass at 7570' & Pecos Native American Ruins

Email/cliff notes from Dad at 5 pm (local time)

Hi Jean,

Notes on today's ride:

Departed 7:25 AM. First 50 miles a glorious ride. Mountains, blue sky and crisp white clouds. Beautiful scenery. Took video and still pics.

At 25 miles into it stopped in Pecos. Met a movie star (at least she was in several films) and taped her.

At 45 miles had first SAG stop at a decrepit bar. Beyond description. This is one of pics I sent you. [There's a picture of it further down.] Went inside thru back door.

At 50 miles ran into thunderstorms. Stopped at van and got in to wait weather out. It rained a little and some thunder. After 20 min in van decided to get back on road even though it was very threatening. Tony and Bob joined me and off we went. Unfortunately there were now heavy head winds, some rain and lots of steep hills each about a mile to two miles in length. After awhile Bob decided to catch van. Tony and I forged on - slowly. Finally made store at 65 mile point. Got inside as wind and rain picked up. Had a sub and some coffee while we waited for weather to get better. When we finally left the winds were very bad and there were several hills waiting for us on the remaining 12 miles. Finally made a turn to north and winds were behind us. Rolled into Comfort Inn at 3:30. 73 miles. Happy to be here. [that's Gil in the first picture of the post]

Thanks for all your help. Love, dad

Then he called and I just got so much more information!

Today's ride can be divided into two parts - the first part was gorgeous and absolutely beautiful, and then the last 23 miles were quite difficult and hard. (Today was a 72 mile day.)

The storm story: (Crap. We're reaching the lengths where I'm making "chapters." If you like the reading, super! If you don't, I'm just relaying everything I'm given, since this will also serve as Gil's "diary" of his trip after the fact. Please, skim.) They stopped 23 miles out of Las Vegas, NM (not Las Vegas, Nevada, which was a real disappointment to me; I wanted him to play some slots on my behalf, since I taught him how on the cruise a few years back), not 20 miles out as the email may have said, because they saw thunderstorms and lightening up ahead. The van just happened to be there, so their group took shelter in the van to see what was going to happen with the weather. It rained some then "kinda stopped" and three of them (Gil, Tony, and Bob) figured they were just wasting time in the van. The weather didn't look too threatening, so they headed out and rode through it. Got caught in some rain and hail, then a little further down Bob decided to ride in the van after all. (What, he didn't want to get struck by lightening or bonked in the head with hail?) Gil and Tony forged ahead and finally made it to a general store/sub stop/gas station (quite multifunctional, this shelter) about 12 miles out of town and sat out another storm there. When they headed back out to ride again they saw a "big mess of rain" in the direction they were headed, so they went back inside and had some more coffee. When they came back out the wind had changed directions; it was blowing quite hard and blew them (and their expensive bikes) around quite a bit. Had to hold on tight to control things (and not drift into passing trucks, no doubt). They crawled around at 5 mph for parts of this phase, and still had some hills which were quite difficult with the wind and weather. About four miles out the road took a turn to the north, which put the wind at their backs. They really enjoyed that, and sailed along at 19-20 mph into town (at which point it was no longer raining, the storm had passed to their south). Embedded in this paragraph is a totally unrelated picture of people riding in the cars' lane.

The actress in Pecos: Tera Hahn (Tara Hahn?). She was in a couple of films (including Ghost Times, which a quick google/IMDB search didn't turn up for me as an exact title but what do I know), and they googled her at the hotel and she turned up as having been in that and a couple of other stand-in positions. So it's possible that I'm just not finding her because the spelling of her name got jumbled in passing it onto me over the phone. Anyway, from what they found it appeared that she'd given them accurate information about herself. Dad videotaped a little interview with her.

The decrepit bar: Came across it at the 50 mile SAG stop. A REAL decrepit bar-slash-gas station. (Because seriously, what's one without the other? It's all flammable, really. They clearly belong at the same establishment.) "More than a little bit past the point of no return. Really something." There was no gas hooked up to those gas pumps (not that it matters for our environmentally-friendly bikers), and they had to go around to the back of the building to get inside. It was a real dive. He got a few pictures inside after asking the bartender, who was quite a character himself.

The whistles: They purchased some little plastic whistles at Target. (On their rest day in Santa Fe? Which I love typing, it's so melodious. There's a word I'm proud to have spelled correctly on the first try.) They used them for the first time today - tried out some rhythms, where certain riders would play quarter notes in unison and then someone else would improvise a little melody. It worked out pretty well; a musical bunch of guys! They initially thought that the whistles would be useful in terms of signaling, but "they're not really at the ready when you'd need to do that." They ended up being fun and games instead. Which is much more important than signaling "big truck heading for us!" Far better that they be musical prodigies with the whistles. (I can see it now; Dad's going to supplement his guitar and saxophone playing at home with learning to make music on the whistle.)

Today's climbing: Today's ride had lots of climbing, which you may have surmised by there being a section title about it. You bright reader you! Lots of hills, particularly on the last, unpleasant, wet and windy and hail-filled part of the ride. Some were fairly steep, and it got "kind of discouraging" - they would get up one hill and immediately see another looming in front of them. And they didn't get to go downhill nearly as much as they went uphill. Me, I really prefer downhill. Dad and I rode 20-some miles (or 40? I think 20) down a mountain in Alaska a few years back, and I was kind of irate that the last mile or so was flat, going from the base of the mountain to where we deposited our bikes in "town." It felt like false advertising; I signed up for DOWN, thank you. I told Dad as much; he kept kind of looking back from his position to make sure I was still with them and not lost in a random Alaskan town, and I managed to avoid ever being the LAST rider in the group, so - good enough. Dad said those hills today were really kind of a struggle; he was a little sore tonight. I can't imagine why one would be sore after riding for 72 miles. He must be out of shape.

The Pile Drivers: I'm filled with pride every time I type that. Sigh. Their group is apparently developing quite a reputation as being a fun group to ride with. Sometimes other riders tag along with them, particularly if they need a slower day to recover from a previous ride. My father, the class clown! The "cool guy"! One of my cousins refers to him as "the cool uncle." It may have taken 50 or 60 years, but hey, Gil's the big man on campus! And Video Guy to boot! Go Gil!

That's Gil's bike (the empty one in front, with the red water bottles) being held up by I think Tony.

Got quite a bit of video and stills today during the first part of the ride (the pretty part). Has downloaded another full set to DVD (the 4th) and is sending it homeward. Number three will probably arrive Tuesday. Hopefully I can get both DVDs in-hand and uploaded before having carpel tunnel surgery, or Jane's going to be learning more than she wants to! (If you find it a bit negligent of Gil to have Carpal Tunnel Kid typing up his blog every night, it's really not; I've just got it in my left (non-dominant/mouse-using) hand from a previous trauma. Mom's got it in both hands, so I am the more appropriate family member to hand this thing off to. Gil goes on an adventure, we get outpatient surgery (surgeries, in Jane's case). Somehow doesn't seem quite fair.)

Tomorrow's ride: Promises to be very difficult - 109 miles (108 according to the itinerary), and they'll be back in the desert. Goody. They'll hit the 1,000 mile mark tomorrow! (I just now realized that I'm overdue to put up the week's itinerary. Crap. Will do it tomorrow - I'm sure you'll all make it through the suspense of wondering what's next - since a) I'm tired and b) I have a kitten that I'm neglecting who REALLY wants to play fetch. Yes, my kitten plays fetch. Yes, it's as adorable as it sounds.) Their destination tomorrow is Tucumcari, NM, which I for one have never heard of. They're also having a picnic lunch (in the desert? Lovely.), which...do they hold some lunch for the Pile Drivers, who are taking a more Zen approach to riding, I wonder? (Good for them, I say; may as well enjoy the journey with good friends. Why spend all that money (and lost income) to stress yourself out about each day? Competition is for suckers! (Kidding, kidding. But their approach does sound more enjoyable, and you don't care about not being the fastest if you're not trying for it. This is getting him a lot more enjoyment, photos, and video footage, which he's really going to enjoy long after the tour is over.) Anyway. Moving on.) For one stretch in the desert (the bulk of it, really) there won't be any service stops (ie: restrooms) for 75 miles. Hope no one has to crap in a hole. Go before you leave, fellas! (If they're going to call themselves the Pile Drivers, I'm allowed to make potty references.) The weather is supposed to be 100 degrees, but at least the wind is forecast to be at a favorable direction. Gil's going to play the whole thing by ear in terms of taking the van partway; if he feels like he's struggling or anything, he'll take a hop down the road in the van and save energy since Tuesday is also 96 miles. There'll be some serious climbing around the 80 mile mark tomorrow. It will be more of a "work day" and he probably won't take as many photos or video. He suspects the scenery won't be as pretty tomorrow anyway.

In sum: "It's all one big, huge adventure." Also, there are now links on the left side of the blog - the second goes to Gil's near-complete photo albums of the trip thus far. If there are other trip blogs, please feel free to share the links!

5:30 AM Notes from Gil Before Starting Day 16

Good Morning Jean & Jane,

Got computer this AM. The Econo Lodge has the best computer of all the hotels we've stayed at. The fastest and even a USB port! A real joy. I'm telling the higher class hotels we stay at that they should get a computer like the one at the Econo Lodge!

Looking forward to today's ride. Hope wind is in favorable direction. It makes or breaks each day. Doesn't matter how long or how much climbing, it is all dependent on the wind. So far we've been pretty lucky. Today is the last day on the interstates! Yea! This will greatly reduce the number of flats. So far I've only had one. Richard, my roommate, and Tom, my buddy from Laurel, have had 8. Someone asked, Adeel I think, about where I'm riding in pack and what time fastest riders are getting to hotel. The "Pile Drivers" are the last group to get in - usually, which is about 2 hours after the fastest riders. However, we do lunch, we stop and smell the roses, we take pictures and we take breaks. In terms of riding strength I'd say I'm near top of the bottom third of riders. While it is stressed that "This is not a race" it is clear that a number of participants like to see who can tour the fastest. Yesterday I bought whistles for each of the "Pile Drivers." We will see how they work for signaling stops, car back, etc. May also set up a rhythm thing for rolling into SAG Stops. What fun.

Have a great day. Happy birthday, Ginny! Love ya, dad, gil, me

Day 15: Rest Day in Santa Fe

From Gil:
Here's some pictures hot off the press. Had a great visit to old town Santa Fe this am after first going to bike store and foodstore.

First picture = street front of hotel. Mt = Santo de Cristo Range

other pictures of downtown Santa Fe

Pictures added to Day 14/Friday (to Santa Fe)'s post.

Photo Albums Online

I've finally been a good daughter and put most of the photos from the first two DVDs Dad's burned and sent home online. They're on google (not kodak like I mentioned a few days ago), because I remembered that google does photo albums. And who doesn't love google? Someday, google will own all of our souls and I'm totally ok with that. Pictures from May 11-19 are available at http://picasaweb.google.com/gilsbigbiketrip . (Sorry that I had to confuse things and add the word "bike." Somehow, "gilsbigtrip" was taken. Just bookmark it and never attempt to manually type it in and you'll be fine. *cough* You know who I'm talking to. DON'T THINK ABOUT THE URL! JUST BOOKMARK IT! *cough*)

Most of these are uploading at the full resolution; I selected the optimized uploading rate, which uploads at up to 1600 pixels. Almost all of the pictures have been shot at 1600 or less. (My goal is to not hit the 1 GB limit and have to link to two separate photo accounts; it'd be nice if they all stayed together in one place.) Some of the dates may be a little fuzzy in the first album, but you get the gist.

If you or one of "your" riders (hi Joy!) are in any of the pictures posted here or in the full albums, please feel free to comment and label them if you want! I'm usually not posting other riders' names with their photos (even on the off chance that I have a name to attach to the face, which isn't too often) in case they'd rather not be identified online.

Dad says that the third DVD is on its way. At the moment we have four extra people in the house so my tivo is set up in the same room as his computer, which may facilitate prompter uploading.

Day 14: Mining Town of Madrid & Into Santa Fe

Dad just called (8:15 EST/6:15 MST): "Guess where I am?" "Santa Fe!" "Guess what restaurant?" "Olive Garden!" "Yes!" (We like our Olive Garden.) Apparently there's one right by their hotel.

Pictures added to yesterday's post (from Destination: Albuquerque). Gil's emailed cliff notes (sent this morning) also added.

Gil's cliff notes (written Sat am; added 4 pm Saturday)
Ride to Santa Fe underway at 7:20 am. 52 degrees as left Santa Fe headed due east. Due east into hard headwind and on a mild grade. All uphill the first 19 miles. Difficult. Crawled along at 9 miles an hour out of town and up the mountain situated on this side of town. Finally our route made a turn to the north and we suddenly had a tailwind. The mountains seem to generate their own weather. A simply beautiful day now that wind was favorable. Dark blue western sky with white clouds. Magnificent vistas. Still much climbing as we worked our way towards Santa Fe and a rest day. Rode through old mining town on side of mountain (Madrid) and had a nice lunch at an old saloon. Then resumed riding with 30 miles left to cover. Several large hills that went on and on at a good grade but yea a rest day is in sight. 10 miles out of Santa Fe weather turned threatening. Dark clouds and storms could be seen in all directions. We pedaled hard and reached hotel just before a heavy storm let loose with much hail. Oh, theres snow on the mountain near town. We are at nearly 7000 feet here in Santa Fe. Look forward to going to Old Town Santa Fe this AM. [on Sat, their rest day]

Anyway. They had a 67 mile ride from Albuquerque to Santa Fe today. When they left this morning it was very windy; they had a headwind for the first 15 miles as they rode uphill out of Albuquerque. Was very hard with the wind in their face and very slow going - they were crawling along at about 8 mph. Almost immediately upon leaving town they entered a mountain range and started gaining elevation (as one does in the mountains) for 5-8 miles. Then the road finally took a turn more northward and the wind fell behind them, which was good. (Hopefully, all of you smart readers knew that was good, but he made sure to clarify for me so I'm clarifying for you.)

The scenery today was stunning - it may be one of the best days on the tour in that respect. They had great views of the mountains as they rode long stretches downhill then long stretches uphill. Just beautiful scenery with blue sky and white clouds. He got a number of photos and some video.

Stopped in "a little town called Madrid" for lunch. It's an old mining town that's been converted into a touristy area, with lots of arts and crafts people, etc. He (and presumably "they," though I'm not sure if it's Pile Drivers "they" or all of them "they") ate at Bill's Mining Saloon for lunch. He had a burger and fries. My guess is that it was a cheeseburger with a variety of fixins, and obviously lots of ketchup. I know you care about these details. The gentleman pictured with Dad is a local he chatted with at the Saloon. "A real character." (Think Dad left his helmet on through all of lunch?)

They spent most of the day climbing to get into Santa Fe, with a net gain of about 4500'. He got in at 3 pm. They're now in Santa Fe and at an elevation of 7200-7500' (the internet tells me that it's more like 7000 ft, but the point is they're high and cool). There's snow on some nearby mountains. They just had a rainstorm with "massive hail," and there are "severe thunderstorm and even tornado alerts and warnings in nearby towns." They're real glad to be in Santa Fe and have a day off tomorrow; today was quite hard but rewarding at the same time. Again, the clouds in the sky and mountains were just wonderful.

Dad'll be going to the bike shop and picking up more ButterButt tomorrow. ButterButt is apparently a very important tour staple. I suspected as much.

In other very important news ("Jane will be pleased to hear this") Gil has switched from diet coke to regular classic coke! He figured he "can afford to do that while on tour" - biking 60-100 miles a day I should think so, and since he just advertised that he's 143 pounds I'd think maybe he could "safely" drink regular coke anyway. He reports that "it's pretty good!" (Big newsflash there.) He may even stick with it after the tour! Mom thinks it's better for him than that "diet crap" anyway, since he drinks a lot of it. Note that "crap" isn't the word she actually used; she insisted that I edit her as to not offend anyone, since at this point we have no idea who might be reading. Given that I really believed that "diet" and "fat free" were bad words up until grade school (what can I say, I believed what my mommy told me; "diet," "exercise" and "fat free" are bad words, Mommy's perfect, etc - Mom wouldn't lie to me!), I think she'd be thrilled to not have to purchase "fake coke" for him anymore.

Pictures added 4 pm Saturday.

Day 13: The Rio Grande & Old Town Albuquerque

Not too much to report today - our intrepid riders traveled from Grant to Albuquerque, NM - a 76 mile day. They left at the usual time (7:15); it was "about" 31 degrees and a bright, crisp, beautiful morning. Dad took the van the first ten miles to get ahead of the front-runners of the tour - there were some people consistently ahead of him and the other Pile Drivers whom he hadn't gotten on video yet. (If that's the incorrect usage of "whom," feel free to correct Mom - whom(?) I consulted - and I. Thanks!)

Today's ride went extremely well - they rode through beautiful, open range land. Had lunch at a big truck stop, which also featured a Dairy Queen. After lunch they had a five mile ride up a REAL big hill; at the top, they were overlooking Albuquerque. Then they had an approximately 10 mile descent into town. Got in at 3 pm (5 pm EST). The whole day was just beautiful, a nice change from yesterday. Tomorrow they ride 67 miles (a light day!) into Santa Fe, where they'll have their second rest day on Saturday.

DVD #2 with pictures arrived at the house yesterday. We decided to upload the majority to a photo sharing site (probably kodak), and I'll post the links to the album(s) here when I get more than a day's worth uploaded. (Life will presumably cooperate with that soon.) Dad reports that a third DVD is on its way.

In injury news, one of the riders had an incident with a dog today. A dog somehow got in front of their bike and they ran into the dog - don't worry, the dog is a-ok! The rider wasn't quite as fortunate. Fell off their bike and got hurt. Nothing's broken, but they did take the van the rest of the way to Albuquerque today. Hopefully the injuries were minor enough that they'll be up for tomorrow's ride, and then there's a well-timed rest day.

No pictures arrived tonight, so I give you this lovely picture of Dad drying his clothes that I've been saving for just such an occasion. I especially like the sock folded over a branch on the right (without so much as a clothes pin, like its friends on the left got)! I bet it makes "normal" travelers feel really good about the motel when they come into the parking lot (featured behind the tree) to see random shirts, spandex shorts, and socks hanging off of the foliage. You do what you gotta do! (And at least there aren't any strangers' underwear in this laundry picture, which I appreciated.) So there you have it - Gil doing his laundry. Fortunately he's not too used to modern conveniences such as dryers, since this is the only time in their marriage Mom can think of him washing his own clothes. To him, this must just be how its done!

Santa Fe pictures added 8 pm Friday.

Gil's emailed cliff notes (written 7 am Friday; added 4:45 pm)
Yesterdays ride to Albuquerque was an almost perfect ride. Temp at start a crisp 31 degrees as we departed Grant, NM but after the first couple miles and hills it was great and warmed up quickly. I took a 10 mile hop up the road in the van to get ahead of the fastest riders since I didn't have them on my video (everyone wants a video). Took parts of highway 66. Very photogenic. Also we were on interstate I 40 for about 20 miles. Soon we will be off interstates and the flats they cause (wires from blown truck tires). One fantastic hill 5 miles long about 15 miles out of Albuquerque. It just keep going and going. Then a rewarding 10 mile descent into Albuquerque.

Today we ride to Santa Fe and a rest day. Much climbing today. I'm ready. Told it will be an impressive ride - like lots of photos.

Day 12: Continental Divide at 7,275'

Gil and friends left Gallup this morning for their 67 mile ride to Grants, New Mexico. The temperature was cold with freezing rain for the first 1/2 hour. Gil and his roommate rode with shower caps over their helmets to keep their heads dry. I can't wait to see the pictures he sent Jean....I gave him two girlie-flowered shower caps I found here before he left so he could keep his bike seat dry on rainy days. I sure never expected to see one on his head! Here Gil and Richard are in their shower caps. [Jean would like you to know that of all the pictures, emailed and burned to disc, that Gil's sent home, THIS is the one he chose to take at the highest resolution. We can't blow up the pictures we want to to poster size, but we could blow this baby up as much as we want. Fantastic.]

The first 30 miles consisted of climbing with a strong wind in their faces, and then they crossed the Continental Divide at 7,275 feet above sea level (the highest point of the tour). [See photo of Gil at the Continental Divide. We can't blow this one up into a poster. Not that Jean's dwelling or anything.] All that climbing earned them a 45-minute-long gradual downhill ride at 25 - 26 mph with the wind at their backs. They passed a mesa with rock formations under blue skies and scattered clouds. About 52 miles into the ride they stopped for hamburgers at a Dairy Queen and enjoyed all the Indian objects displayed there. His group of riders arrived at Grants, NM around 1:45, and today Gil had NO flat tires. Others in the group did, but they helped each other repair the tires. Another CrossRoads rider, Randy, joined their group today.

Tomorrow they ride 76 miles to Albuquerque, NM. They were told that the first 30 miles between Grants and Albuquerque will be through some of the prettiest country they'll see on this trip. He should be sending us some good pictures of this area in the near future. There will be a fair amount of climbing tomorrow. The temperature is expected to drop to 31 degrees tonight, so at 7:15 in the morning it could be a bit raw. He's hoping that the 35 mph winds tonight die down by morning.

[Dad also told Mom that he may ride the van the first 30 miles tomorrow to get ahead of everyone, thereby getting pictures of the group that's always in front of him and absent from the video/pictures up until now. He's become their unofficial videographer; a lot of riders have been asking about getting a copy of his final product.]

[edited at 12:30 am by Jean, who is anal. Pictures and bracketed comments added.]

Late night update

This is Jane......just talked to Gil. 41 degrees and they are cold. Expecting rain and cold tomorrow.....hopes to stay somewhat warm and really hopes for no wind. He mentioned that one of the riders hurt his knee while crossing a cattle guard. (If I understood the explanation he gave me correctly, there are metal rails about 4 inches apart over ditches. The cattle see the opening below the rails and won't cross over the ditch. Since this is open-range country, it is a way to keep the cattle from crossing the road or leaving an area.) Hopefully, the injured rider will make a full recovery and Gil said he was lucky to not have broken his leg.

Day 11: Into NM, Painted Desert, Petrified Forest, Mountain Time Zone

Pictures from the ride to Holbrook (Monday) added to yesterday's post at 8:45 pm Tues.

Disclaimer: I'm typing this on large amounts of migraine meds. I'll try to let spellcheck catch the typos and otherwise proofread, but in case other things slip through the cracks. I'm on drugs. Not my fault.

They left this morning at 7:15 am, their normal start time. They had an 86 mile ride to Gallup, NM today with 2,700' of elevation gain. It was a bright, clear day - just a little bit chilly, but he decided not to wear his jacket. (These are the kinds of details I know you're all logging on to read. "Gil passed on the jacket...tsk tsk...") Perfect biking weather. They immediately went back into wide open ranges, with some rock formations near the highway. He got a flat tire at mile five; he was with Tony and Bob (fellow Pile Drivers) and they helped him change it. The SAG van stopped and Clark (a support staff member) also helped with the tire. There were some sculptures of dinosaurs up on some of the ledges in a number of places (this is where I started to think the drugs were affecting my comprehension, but he confirmed when I read it back to him); he got pictures. None that he sent me tonight, of course. Lots of "really huge vistas where you could look across vast expanses of land."

Had their first SAG stop 30 miles in, and at 52 miles stopped at a store where Native Americans were selling "stuff" and got some food there as well. Then they "just basically hauled ass to Gallup, NM" for the remaining 34 miles. (There was one other brief SAG stop, but basically they rode quite steadily.) It got a bit cooler as they got towards Gallup, which is at an elevation of 6,000+ feet. The vegetation also tended to get greener over the last 20 miles, and there were large rock mesas sculpted by the wind. My notes say "red rock kinda stuff." Take from that what you will. It was all very scenic - blue sky, white clouds, etc. Around mile 70 they stopped at the New Mexico state line and had fun taking pictures. (That's Gil in the photo to the left, being The Strongest Man in the World.)

They got into Gallup at 1:30 pm (I think that's a new personal best), which was extremely good given that it was an 86 mile ride with substantial elevation gain. They had a strong tailwind all the way, which was extremely favorable (or, as my notes say, "favirabke" - goodness). They averaged roughly 17.4 mph (not bad given the hills), and often rode at 24-25 mph for significant periods of time. Beautiful countryside today. They're now in Mountain Time, so two hours behind us east-coast folks.

Day 10: Eagle's "Standin' on the corner of Winslow, AZ..."

Gil enjoyed his day off in Flagstaff on Sunday. Took a walk to and from a bike shop in old town Flagstaff. Purchased a cycling vest, energy bars and an innertube. Took pics of old buildings. Not sure what he did with the rest of his day. Was considering seeing a movie.

Jane's comments from Gil about 2/3 of the way through today's ride:

Noon his time, currently in Winslow, AZ, after riding 60 miles today. 34 more miles to go to Holbrook AZ, expects to arrive around 4. Favorable tail winds, relatively easy ride. Bright, sunny day, not a cloud in the sky. Still at about 5,000 - 6,000 ft. elevation, but more elevation lost than gained today. Open cattle range, no trees. Rolling country....long mild climbs and then long mild downhills.

Having a good day, will call again tonight.

Email from Dad (ie your cliff notes):
Tour is going great. 94 miles today from Flagstaff to Holbrook, AZ. Tail wind all the way. Averaged over 17 mph. Had lunch in Winslow, AZ. This is the town that Eagle's wrote song about "Standing on the Corner." There's a sign and plaque so everyone stopped and took pictures. It is clear that I'm getting stronger rather than breaking down. Butt much better but saddle still gets harder after 60 miles. Tomorrow cross into New Mexico and there is more climbing than today. Today's ride started off quite chilly and in mountain environment - pine trees, mountains. After 15 miles we were in wide open range land where you could see for many miles in any direction. Got into Holbrook at 2:45 PM. It is on the edge of town - what constitutes town - and range land is across parking lot and by george you can see forever. Everyone hung their bike clothes they washed on he barbed wire fence. Kinda cool and colorful. I took pics.

A great group of people on the tour. [picture to the right is not from today] Much clowning around. Having a good time with the video camera. This morning Richard, my roommate, wore white gloves and pretended to be a bike inspector before departure at hotel. We targeted a couple of women's bikes for him to inspect and I video taped as he rubbed his white glove along their bikes and found fault. Richard, I learned yesterday, has sailed his sailboat single handedly 3000 miles across the ocean from Trinidad to Florida. Quite an amazing group of people on this tour.

Now onto what he gave me over the phone. (Why am I writing, you ask, if he emails about the day himself? That's an excellent question.)

They left Flagstaff at 7:20 this morning for the day's 94 mile haul. It was actually fairly cool (!) when they started - some people had on light jackets. The first 10-15 miles were rolling hills with pine trees and other such mountain-environment surroundings. Another surprise was that they started going down those rolling hills farther than they went up - they gradually lost elevation today. They also had a favorable tailwind, which made a huge difference. From mile 15 until the end of the day they were on an open range with wide open land and cattle; they could see rock outcroppings in the distance. They were on routes 40 and 66 virtually all day, and the Santa Fe railroad tracks ran parallel to them much of the time. They saw lots of trains; one was mostly or all military equipment: tanks, Humvees, tanker trucks, and other military-type vehicles. They speculated that they were on their way out to a base in California. (I want to say he guessed San Diego, but I really know nothing about west coast bases. Handwriting your notes sucks - you should see some of my abbreviations as he gives me the rundown - and I apparently decided to let that detail go. But you should know that they felt informed enough to take a stab at where the equipment was going, so that counts for something, right?)

Their first "SAG stop" (SAG = Service and Gear + food + water) was about 40 miles in, then they stopped in Winslow, AZ around mile 60. Took pictures and ate at "a local, nondescript restaurant" and had huge burgers that were very good. (Those details I wrote down, because I know that food is and always has been important to Gil.) Then there were just 34 miles left to Holbrook. With the tail wind they averaged over 17 mph for the day as a whole; at times they would go 20-25 mph with the tailwind, which was wonderful. Even with the tailwinds, 94 miles is still a long ride and he was happy to get to Holbrook at 2:45 (a bit earlier than he projected at lunch; go Gil!). Temp probably got to 86F today; was a beautiful sunny day, no clouds. Reports that the bike seat gets a bit harder after the first 60 miles. Butt still doing quite well. They're at an air-conditioned hotel tonight on the edge of town, where you can see for miles in all directions. When he called he was looking forward to dinner at Denny's. The computer at the hotel is "antiquated"; he gave up on sending pictures. Having a ball with his roommate, who has a great sense of humor.

Tomorrow they cross the New Mexico state line. There will be more climbing and heading north than there was today; if the favorable wind holds, it will be very good. An 86 mile day.

His first DVD of pictures (228 of them) came in the mail today, which is where two of the pictures in this post came from (joking around w/ bikes and the church in the desert below). Will have to think about whether to upload a majority to a photo-sharing site or whether to post more selected photos here. (Thoughts?) There's one great photo of some other gentleman with his presumably clean underwear laid out on a lawn chair. That one's a real keeper. Mom and I like to believe that it's clean underwear, just washed in the shower with shampoo. Because if there was a washing machine, surely there was a dryer better than a public lawn chair. There were also interesting revelations such as "his helmet has blue? I thought it was yellow!" The flags on their bikes have their names written on them, which is a nice touch. And there some shots of them biking or posing remarkably close to where the trucks are trying to drive by. (The shoulders on most of those shots are actually pretty wide (except where they're not, and riders are kind of sharing with the sane people using gasoline and motors to get themselves around), and where we assume they're riding until we find pictures of riders posing...with their feet in the truck's lane, and the truck looming a bit closer down the road with each shot. He has a handy review mirror with his helmet, so I'm sure he's being careful! When not posing, at least. Keep yourself on the good side of the rumble strips, Gil!) And there's quite a bit of nothing else in sight in those desert pictures. Like the poor church to the right, without so much as a parking lot to her name. (The bulk, of course, are great records of the first week of the tour, lots of people/activities/scenery shots. Kinda wish we had him home to label all the people in the pictures for us, though. They should just carry their bike flags with their names around with them all the time!)