Gil's Big Trip

Landscape Videos From Trip

2007-08-18T22:37:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure if anyone's even still checking this (though we'll probably email some of the people we know read it religiously), but one of the other riders on the trip (the other "document it all!" guy) has started putting together landscape pictures from the tour. Dad said he got copies of most everyone's pictures from their cameras as they went, so he has quite a library of photos to utilize the best ones. Anyway, his name is Scott (youtube handle whozwhoz), and three of what will probably be at least five videos are currently available online:

#1 - CA to NM
http://www.amquix.info/video/crossroads_2007_landscape_1.wmv [download; right click and select "save target as"]
http://youtube.com/watch?v=kDm5FzyRCJk [youtube]

#2 - NM into KS
http://www.amquix.info/video/crossroads_2007_landscape_2.wmv [download]
http://www.youtube.com/v/zOKEXoWvWWw [youtube]

#3 - KS through IL
http://www.amquix.info/video/crossroads_2007_landscape_3.wmv [download]
http://www.youtube.com/v/Mt0Vaej5nGE [youtube]

If you have trouble viewing downloaded files (or the colors include more green and stripes than they should), you need to download better codecs for your computer. If you comment and include your email address (or just email me if you have my address), I can email you my codec bundles; past that you're on your own. (Or just view on youtube with, I'd guess, lower resolution but without downloading the large files.)

There should also be some news soon on the video (high definition, at that!) of the tour - Dad's got 6-7 hours of raw footage to edit down into what will probably become a 45-60 minute film. It won't be done anytime soon, but it's his next big project (with some help from his brother, who has edited with the required software before and has a computer that can actually handle the massive amount of data).

Cliff Notes: Ride to Beach

2007-06-29T23:59:00.000-04:00

[Written from home Sun, 6/1, pm]

Not a regular day. No packing bags and carrying to truck. No 80 + mile ride. No hills - all downhill to sea level. Everyone excited and sad that we wouldn't be with 30 good friends after the day was over. I was happy that this adventure was coming to a close and that I'd be going home to family. I was also very pleased with how well I did and that I'd met objectives of: 1) Making it safely across, 2) Having fun, 3) Making new friends and 4) Riding almost every mile.

We got underway at 7:05 am. I pedaled hard and stayed with the lead group of about 8 people as we rode through neighborhoods and boroughs of Boston. In no time at all we stopped at mile 13.5 at a library to wait for all riders to gather to finish the ride together. At this point we assembled in a line, 2 by 2 with a lead van and a tail van and rode the remaining miles to the beach. Pretty emotional. Hard to describe but I was excited and thrilled and found it hard to believe that we'd a started in Los Angeles - this seemed like another lifetime ago. As we approached the beach we stopped for a few minutes to allow time for families to gather at the road going down to the beach. Then we proceeded and there was cheering as we rode into view. It was just hard to believe that this moment had arrived.

Stopped at pavilion on road by the beach. Everyone dismounted, took off bike shoes and carried their bike down to the beach and dipped the front wheel into the ocean. After pictures a group of us had decided beforehand that we'd dive into the ocean and that is what we did. I took my bike flag with me. A joyful and satisfying moment.

celebratory charge into the ocean

Tomorrow, or soon, I'll post some reflections on this adventure.

Day 49: He Made It!

2007-06-29T23:11:00.001-04:00

The Atlantic Ocean at Revere Beach in Boston, MA

(In case any of you were in doubt that he could handle the last 18 miles. A rough day. Around mile 11, one rider turned around to another and yelled, "Hey So and So [because I was and am on so many migraine meds and the name is lost to me], you'll be happy to know the day's half-over!")

Edited Sat am to change the word "Pacific" to "Atlantic" a few times, because the Pacific Ocean and Massachusetts are not, in fact, along the same coast. Hey, I said I was medicated! (Oops.)

[Photo B: Gil coming into the first main stretch headed straight for the beach; that red car really mucked up my shot.] Our family, being anal and warned from local family (yay Amy and Mark!) about the traffic if we didn't leave early, left about the same time the riders did this morning. (Basically the deal was that if we left then, we'd be very early; if we left later, we'd be stuck in traffic. Some of us - particularly the drivers - being fairly anal, we left early.) Which would up being a very good thing - we did alright with the CrossRoads-provided directions until they had us turn left onto Hutchenson towards the end. Well, none of us noticed the left turn because you couldn't go left - there was a raised median, grass, and guardrail in the way of that left turn. Then the road that sounded Revere-Beach-like (Revere St), which happened to be right after Hutchenson, was detoured. If one turned around and found Hutchenson, they came across a closed bridge due to construction (at least I believe that's what happened; it was our other car. The police there, being Boston police and appreciating my aunt's Red Sox cap, stopped traffic and let them cross in the wrong direction). Both of our cars made it to the correct spot at the same time, from opposite directions on the street, both having stopped to ask several people for insights along the way. We were a bit concerned about being in the wrong place - we were the only people there and it was 8:20; we'd been told they'd ride in at 9 am. But eventually other people trickled in, and we saw their Ryder van - carrying all their bikes back - and a CrossRoads employee.

[Photo C: The second main drag, parallel to the beach, where they crossed what the guys in front deemed to be their finish line - a cross-walk - and headed towards the beach. Gil's in there about the 5th from the right in the blue helmet.] They stopped all the riders at mile 13 to wait and ride in as a group. They rode in about 10-15 minutes early (8:40ish), and not a lot of family members seemed to be there for the initial ride-in. We know from talking to at least one group that part of their party was also having serious issues finding the place, some due to several rotaries along the route and some likely due to the "left turn" and detour/construction. (Combined with their early ride-in; leaving at 7:30, we couldn't imagine it would really take them an hour and a half to ride 18 miles given the weather and route.) I'm not sure how many families missed the initial ride-up, but the family support seemed more complete later at the beach. Bob, the Pile Driver who had to leave the tour mid-way (to avoid giving himself permanent issues with his pre-existing injuries), was able to come out and meet everyone in Boston. Was great to get a chance to meet him.

[Photo D] As they came down the last stretch towards the beach (perpendicular to the coast), the CrossRoads van stopped and held them all up until the group was complete again to ride in together (see photo B - I did have a reason for labeling them!). Got some great video and photos of Gil, since we'd nicely agreed he would be at the back of the pack and therefore easy to find (RJ had the video camera today, but Dad was still taking some pictures of the group). Plus he has a distinctive gorgeous blue helmet (gorgeous blue, not gorgeous helmet) and some feathers in his cap, much like Yankee Doodle. That's my dad! Was a great moment as they all rode up and around the curve to round the block and circle back to the beach.

As they rode in the final drag, parallel to the coast, there appeared to be a lot more family members and friends than had been across the block to watch their initial entrance a few moments before. (This could have been because those walking to the beach from the parking lot may not have been there when we were alerted to cross the street to see them, but were there waiting where they made their second appearance.) They all stopped and ditched their shoes (photo C), then made their way down the beach with their bikes. (We were fairly disappointed that no one rode down the stairs to the beach on their bikes; we were ready for that with the video camera.)

[Photo D: Dad and Tony, his almost-constant riding companion.] They all made it down to the beach and got in with their bikes - wheels dipped in the Pacific back on May 12th and the Atlantic today (first picture on page, top and center). Then Dad led a small group into the actual water (so that's why they took off their shoes...). He claimed to not be cold about 20 minutes later, after posing for various pictures, but mentioned that could also be denial (and adrenaline). (We were all in long pants and light jackets - or heavier jackets and hats in some cases. So I imagine it was fairly chilly for him.) The family has quite a mess of digital pictures (from...three cameras? Possibly four) and video. I've only seen the obnoxious number from my camera (I just set it to take pictures every second or two, figuring everyone would look good in at least one of each "scene"), but we have some definite winners.

Gil came home in the car with us (the directions home worked fine, and it was uneventful) - we stopped at the McDonalds by the hotel, where I believe he consumed about three meals plus an apple pie or two. It may have only been two meals plus the pies, but he went back up to re-order twice. Lunch at a somewhat nicer establishment a few hours later with the family plus his roommate Richard - he, Mom, and Dad are on their way to retrieve his significant other from the airport as we speak. [Edit: They are now hopelessly lost on the way home, after being mildly lost on the way there. Detours and darkness don't go well together.] Apparently Boston Logan had some serious delay issues tonight as well (we heard from several riders waiting for calls from arriving family), and she couldn't get a cab out.

[Photo E] The banquet and "awards" ceremony for the riders and their families tonight was very nice - the CrossRoads leader encouraged all of the riders to go easy on us buffet-newbie guests and maybe NOT eat all the food before we got any. She also encouraged family members to listen to tour stories and expect a readjustment period (possibly with periods of sobbing for the days of the tour) at home after they leave their CrossRoads family and little cocoon that doesn't resemble real life in the least. She mentioned to the riders that they should perhaps start consuming under 8,000 calories a day. All of the riders got some recognition or story of sorts; Dad was the guy who made the trip fun even in inclement weather and brought some truly questionable items home to the hotel with him. (Could she be referring to the maggot-infested raccoon tail? We are SO happy not to be taking that home on the plane with us. So, so happy.) She spoke very flatteringly of him last night (which he may not tell you but I will) about, among other things, learning a lot about enjoying the experience from him. Jerry, the 80 year old (apparently repeat) rider on tour w/ his grandson, was gifted the CrossRoads map with their route filled in (as they went) and everyone's signature along the line. (Unfortunately, BEFORE I got a 5 megapixel picture of it...) Then after the dinner and making the rounds to the other riders with their families, our group and several other riders and their companions went into a room off the lobby set aside for the group (where all the bikes were packed up earlier to return to their homes) to watch some raw video footage. (Five men, at least two with some excellent A/V knowledge, and it took the 24 year old female - yours truly - to suggest changing the input to AUX.) Everyone really seemed to enjoy it, and we've been hearing some excellent things about Dad from other riders. (He, in turn, has only flattering things to say about his fellow riders - there's a story for almost everyone we've met, and most of them we'd already heard something good about during the tour. In particular, he's said that the women on the tour made up a lot of the strongest riders; the several we met tonight were mostly consistent front-of-the-pack riders.) Seems like a very well-gelled little family.

[Photo F: Dad and Richard, his wonderful roommate] I'm sure Dad will have his own account to add, but we wanted to give a run-down of the day and assure everyone that he made that last ride! (Today would so not have been the time to be hit by cars - not that there's ever a good time for that - or suffer a debilitating injury.) Several people asked tonight how long this blog will be up; as far as I'm concerned, indefinitely or until Dad wants to take it down, which I can't imagine much reason for. We certainly have no present plans to delete it, though I think we'll save it to disk for him. I don't see anything in the blogger account info about blogs being removed due to inactivity; it would have to delete his entire google account (and possibly mine, which won't be happening since the account is quite active, and Mom's as well) to do so. So I think it'll remain here, safe and sound!

Their TOTAL elevation gain, entirely self-propelled: 90,043 feet. Damn. (How tired does that make you feel?)

This may be my last post (WOOHOO! Not that it hasn't, uh, been fun.), but I'm guessing you can expect an account of today/this weekend from Dad either tomorrow or once we're back home. So expect at least one more post in the next few days!

CrossRoads 2007: The Atlantic Ocean
Gil's first on the left in the second "row" - blue helmet, feathers and all, in hand
Look how much hair he has!!

Day 48: In Boston, MA!

2007-06-28T23:09:00.000-04:00

I just realized that we didn't bring the itinerary with us, so I don't know what today was "billed" as. (Ok, the condensed itinerary on their webpage informs me that today was 88 miles and the "14th state line into 15th state.")

Dad said he's so in the habit of sending his cliff notes and pictures that he did so today without realizing, "Oh, I'll see them in a few hours." (Or a few more hours, as the case may be; weather from DC to Boston wasn't exactly ideal, and - after other dramatic "will we make the flight?" adventures - we spent an hour on the tarmac before taking off at the same time as Gil's brother and sister-in-law, also from Dulles (after an hour delay at their gate THEN an hour delay on the tarmac). Gil's sister had quite a wait in Boston (from NY) for someone with a rental car to arrive. So we all left with our rented cars and arrived at the hotel within minutes of one another, albeit an hour or so later than planned. (At which point, some of us were super-ready for, oh, lunch. Fortunately the box of cookies I stuffed in my carry-on (thinking "what the heck, I have the room and it's a free snack") sustained us until we ate at 8 or 8:30 pm.) And I'm pleased to report that Mom DID get down to a carry-on! Which I had faith she could do. We're both very proud. (Really, we're seeing family - whose impressions of us probably won't change due to a weekend without a specific liquid toiletry - and people who've been sweating for eight hours a day and washing their three pairs of clothes in the sink for two months. Dad emphasized that our appearance should be "VERY casual.") She also ran like heck at Dulles - not even putting her shoes on after security until we boarded the plane three minutes before the door shut (and three minutes after we should have taken off - so yes, the running was necessary). The several people who boarded even LATER than us - one group to cheers from their companions in the back - didn't look nearly as disheveled and sweaty as we did. We're not sure they really ran, or so we choose to tell ourselves.

Dad's looking good! 10 or 11 pounds lighter than when we last saw him, so he's quite thin, but he's got a bit more hair so there's at least some color up there. (As far as I'm concerned, that's a good thing.) Planning on keeping it short at least through the summer, but enjoyed how "cool" the "fuzz" length felt. (We enjoy there being a bit more hair than "fuzz.")

Gil's Cliff Notes (sent at 4:43 pm):
Last day of tour other than the 18 mile jaunt to the ocean tomorrow. Mixed emotions. Unbelievable, but we are here on the edge of Boston. It was a warm day. Left Brattleboro, VT at 7:15. Skies threatening [hence all the trouble getting out of Dulles]. Entered NH soon after leaving. Lots of climbing today and crossed the White Mountains [apparently yesterday's 2nd mountain range was....something other than the White Mountains? *shrugs*]. One grade was particularly challenging but I felt strong today and just kept pedaling in a lower gear until I got to the top. We also crossed into Massachusetts as we rolled along towards Boston. 87 hilly miles today. A great sense of relief and accomplishment when we reached the Hilton Hotel. Many hugs and damp eyes. I will miss the many nice people that have became part of my extended family the last 7 weeks. We went through a lot together and had many great moments. Tomorrow we cap it all of with a ride to the beach and a banquet in the evening.

We had a nice little family reunion over dinner - both of his siblings and his sister-in-law were able to come, and my cousin Amy and her husband Mark live in Boston and joined us for dinner. (Uncle Carl, you were missed!) We talked more about the tour (and video-editing logistics) in general than today's ride; when he called us after arriving in Boston, we were busy at Hertz and then finding our exit out of the tunnel, so not too much of substance was said. ("Hi! We're getting the car! We're in the car driving. You're at the hotel. We'll be there soon! Shoot, that's our exit, gotta go!") He said that the tour exceeded his expectations, though it was also more physically demanding than he had expected with the day-in, day-out routine. Also less free time for goofing off and seeing the towns they were staying in than expected. Discussed some of his ideas for the video footage - he mentioned a few days ago that they recommend riders get another project or hobby after finishing, since it's such a change of pace from the days of training then riding. Video editing will be Gil's new project! (After he does a few things around the house, not the least of which is making my bedroom inhabitable again. I'm SO excited to have a real bed here at the hotel. It's a king, to compensate for the fact that I've been sleeping on couch cushions half the width of a twin.) We also learned that his computer is woefully inadequate for the high-def editing task. (Shocking, considering picasa crashed it several times.) It ain't no 3 gigahertz. So it appears he'll be spending a lot of time at RJ and Chris' to edit the sucker! RJ said he'd be pleased to join editing forces once it's down to the fun part - ie once the good stuff is pulled out from the six or seven hours of raw footage. One tentative idea is to burn interested riders copies of the raw footage on DVD (downgrading from the HD quality of the camera, but still very good), then following up when an edited compilation is available.

We also enjoyed meeting a few other riders, including his roommate Richard and regular riding partner/fellow Pile Driver Tony. I'm sure we'll meet lots more tomorrow!

Photo Albums

2007-06-28T02:27:00.000-04:00

Four (yes, his albums have now more than doubled) new photo albums uploaded:

May 28 - June 2 [Days 17-22]
mostly June 2 [Day 22] - video camera captures of the storms in Great Bend, KS (and a few other things)
June 4 - 11 [Days 24-31] - ENTIRELY out of order. Which I can't emphasize enough. This disaster in ordering (in addition to the hand surgery) is why I haven't uploaded pictures earlier. The idea of dealing with it - comparing his notes and daily photo-sends to the order the photos came in - was mind-boggling. And frankly made me and my sore hand very cranky. So here you have it, exactly has his camera/DVD burn ordered them, but I wouldn't put much faith in the shots displaying the date and location.
June 12 - 21 [Days 32-41] - mostly dated and in order, to the best I can tell

Sorry for the horrific delay in uploading - it was painful to realize I had from day 17 on to do! None of these got to the house before I had hand surgery, which put off any inclination to go through and upload them (Mom similarly had zero desire to do so), and then I just really didn't want to deal with DVD #7 (or #3 on the above list). As it is, even without attempting to order them his computer shut down on me three times and picasa quit twice. Each time I lost everything I'd done for the current DVD. Then I tend to get mouthy and say unkind things (particularly about his camera, which may not be at fault) and no one wins. Regardless, it's two and a half hours of my life I'll never get back. (And you're right: it absolutely should not have taken two and a half hours.) But the important thing is that we're all caught up!! And I can go meet Dad in Boston without feeling like a failure.

No photo corrections this time unless it was a) absolutely necessary (think lighting so you can see people's faces) AND b) a picture I felt was worth fixing. Hopefully I at least managed to rotate everything necessary so that they're all right-side up.

Links Added

2007-06-28T00:03:00.000-04:00

Thanks to the article in the Erie paper, we came across a few other riders' blogs. (Mom got the fun task of sifting through links while I a) freaked and b) did that day's post and copied the article.) On the left you'll now see links for five more blogs that riders are maintaining from the tour.

Day 47: 12th State Line Crossing, Vermont's Green Mountains and New Hampshire's (?) White Mountains

2007-06-27T23:43:00.000-04:00

Gil's Cliff Notes:
Only a 76 mile ride but hard. Tons of climbing as crossed Green mountains. Very hot. Understand it got to 99 degrees here in Brattleboro, VT, an all-time record. There were numerous serious hills then at 35 miles a 7.5 mile climb with 2.5 of those miles being very steep. With the heat and humidity this really taxed my system. Then after a major down-hill there was a second climb that went on and on and on up Hogback Mountain. Very hard. Too hot. I was sweating like a dog but did not stop. Over 7100 ft. of climbing today! Drank a tremendous amount of water and gator today. We crossed into Vermont. Got to hotel just after 3 PM. Showered and went into town and the Riverside Cafe. I had 5 root beers - one of them being a float for desert after my black angus burger. Doesn't get much better. Brattleboro is something of an artist/hippie community. Lots of young people with piercings. Lots of young people stoned. Made mistake of trying to converse with some of these people about where to eat. In two cases just incomprehensible. Don't they know the counter-culture ended in the late 60's? They should find their own identity!

Pictures added to yesterday's post.

The trip's almost over! (After six weeks of making sure her cell is always on her somewhere that she'll notice the vibration - even though she often misses the step of turning the phone ON *ahem* - she went out back to read and water the lawn today without taking the portable house phone with her. When Dad called and I went to get her, she went, "oh! I forgot about that! We're seeing him tomorrow, so I feel like his trip is done now.")

We're not sure exactly what part of the schedule is mucked up, but Dad said that they crossed the Green Mountains (listed as being in Vermont today) and the White Mountains (listed as being in New Hampshire and tomorrow). Yet they're definitely staying in Brattleboro, VT, so the best I can figure are that the White Mountains aren't quite in NH after all. Today was a very hard day despite the reasonable mileage, given the mountain ranges, elevation gain, heat, and humidity. It reminded him of a bit of the temperature back home (near DC) - the sky was a bit wiped out, there was a lot of humidity and it was hazy. In that weather I stay indoors with a strong air conditioner; forget going outside unless absolutely necessary, let alone EXERCISING for six-eight hours (!) outside. He was "so busy pedaling" that he didn't stop to take many pictures today. The haze didn't make for great photography conditions anyway. Like he said, everybody drank a tremendous amount of fluid today, and they all needed it. Said he could have drank even more than those five root beers he had at the cafe.

He gave me the details on a "monument-like picture," but it's not among the ones he sent me. I'll give you a little story anyway. It was somewhere he believes was called Binnington (spelling may be quite off, since I was hearing his pronunciation over a cell network), there's a monument similar in shape to the Washington Monument. It has to do with the revolutionary war, and it's where (he thinks) the US forces defeated the French in "some battle" that was "apparently an important turning point in the war." Anyway, it was very impressive, at least 200 feet tall or more, and just sitting out in the countryside in a very pretty little town. (Edited to add: You can see a picture of this monument on Peg & Don's blog, which is also linked to on the left. I don't know these people, but I did notice the picture when I was confirming the links.)

Another little story: A few days ago we got a message on the house machine that was a bit cryptic, but referenced receiving our payment and shipping the raccoon. Mom came to me one night and asked somewhat suspiciously and skeptically, "Jean? Did you...order a raccoon?" "Nooooo...?" "Maybe they made some kind of mistake and it wasn't your father." We finally remembered to ask him about it tonight, and it was definitely my father. At some point he apparently saw fit to order a raccoon skin. (A step up from maggot-infested tail carcass, at least.) "Where are you planning on keeping this, honey?" "On the dresser." "I'm really glad we don't share dressers."

Anyway. He said it's nice to be down to the last day - one more "real" ride tomorrow, 87 miles and lots of hills. Suspects that he won't get in until between 3 and 4 pm, by which time most of his family will be at various airports (or even in the air in Susan's case) on the way to meet him in Boston. We'll probably be able to blog on tomorrow's ride and Friday's grand, 20 mile finale, since I'll hopefully have room in my carry-on for the laptop and the hotel has wireless. (She requested that I not ask you all to join me in harassing her if she couldn't manage carry-on only; she says she's very sensitive.)

Day 46: Shaker Furniture Builders

2007-06-26T23:26:00.000-04:00

Today's trip from Little Falls to Albany, NY was 69 miles. I talked to Gil for awhile.....his 'posterior' was doing "ok" today, considering he has an abscess. They have the Green Mountains in Vermont and the White Mountains in New Hampshire to cross in the next two days, as well as the 12th and 13th state line crossings. That's all I have to pass on. Fortunately, he sent his cliff notes with some more detail of his ride today.

Gil's Cliff Notes (sent 3:25 pm today) Off at 8 AM. Warm but clear blue sky. Beautiful ride up Mohawk Valley. Route paralleled river most of the way with many scenic overlooks. A pretty, lightly rolling ride with less than 1500 ft elevation gain. A piece of cake! Took a number of pictures and some video. Upper New York State impressive. Roads continued to the the best we've encountered. Smooth with wide shoulders. It certainly makes it easier. Ate lunch at a little town near the 54 mile mark. Nice shady deck. Good burgers. Helped Randy repair 2 flat tires - my good deed for the day. His rear tire blew out just before lunch. Then no more than 20 yards down the road his front tire went. Then while eating lunch we hard this "bang". Randy moaned and sure enough it was his bike and his front tire. The tire had a cut in the side and the tube had done an aneurysm and blown. Got into Albany, Quality Inn at 2:20 PM. Nice hotel. Business office with computers, fridge in room as well. My laundry is out back on a picnic table with other cyclists' clothing drying in the sun. Shouldn't take long. It is in the nineties and we were happy to arrive at the hotel.

Day 45: Fort Klock Homestead, Little Falls Museum

2007-06-25T23:55:00.000-04:00

Today our somewhat-less intrepid, tired, sore but still in good spirits riders rode from Syracuse to Little Falls, NY - 78 miles.

Gil's Cliff Notes:
78 miles. Into Best Western at 1:12 PM. Pretty countryside and rolling terrain with only a few hills on note. A tad warmer today. High point was SAG at 32 miles. There was a pond and some rocks so a contest quickly evolved to see who could make the most skips. My butt gave me some trouble so I had one of our doctors check out the sore spot. Abscess over the sit bone. Got some corn pads. After Dr. consult toured Little Falls, a pretty town on 6000 people. Very nice. A group of us found an ice cream place and had root beer floats. Also found Subway store and had some late lunch.

Okie dokie. As mentioned, Dad's now sporting a corn pad on his tailbone in an attempt to protect the abscess. Fun! Fairly certain it's not infected at this point. It gave him some sharp pains toward the end of today's ride on a couple of occasions, thus leading him to consult another rider who just so happened to be a physician. (I wonder how many butts those touring doctors have checked out so far?) He's hopeful that the corn pad will provide enough cushioning to alleviate the problem - at least he's at the end of the tour, but this week still packs some serious miles. He had to buy another mirror - he'd tossed his "rear view mirror" thinking that he was over "those issues." So he's just hoping he can put up with the redness, swelling, etc and it won't be too bad. Another rider felt that a corn pad may help their own situation as well, and is using one of Dad's corn pads. He's also using "bag balm" (?), which is used on the udders of cows. He thinks it has some medication in it as well, but it helps soften his bike shorts, prevent infections, etc. He's wary of using neosporin on it, since another rider had a bad reaction to it, but he's used it before without incident. He just needs to keep as much pressure as he can "off of this thing," which I'm sure riding 69, 76, then 87 miles this week will really help. The doctor said he should tip the nose of his seat up some to take the pressure off of it, but unfortunately that transfers the pressure to another unfortunate area. As his muscles are pretty well adapted to his current seat configuration, he's wary of messing with that and shifting some of the muscle burden at this point in the ride. After all this butt talk, I leave you on this happy note: he's optimistic that he can finish the tour without too much trouble.

Other than that it was a beautiful day out there. Little Falls is a beautiful town built into the mountain/hillside; reminds him a bit of Harper's Ferry. A very scenic, nice town. During the civil war, they produced union uniforms there, and they used to have a big bike shop put together by cyclists. They also manufactured some well-known brand of bat that was very nice, and Dad and RJ used to have, but neither of us had any hope of spelling it so instead I'm giving you this cryptic sentence because maybe you won't care that much about the details. It was neat to Dad, so let's leave it at that. It has a "long, kind of industrial history." You can buy quite a nice house there for under $100,000, and houses in general for as cheap as $50,000. Current population is 6,000 people, down from 20,000 50 years ago.

From Dad via Mom:
(He had to call her at work after talking to me, because he's been missing her when calling for three days now.)
A gentleman who owns a Laundromat in town met some of the riders at their hotel, and asked if anyone wanted to play some golf. There were no takers, but he noticed 3 of them walking outside and offered to give them a tour of the town. He drove them around town and and outside of town to an overlook over the Mohawk Valley. Great view, great town spirit and pride.

Relatively easy day tomorrow - only 69 miles and not "that much" elevation gain. They get to start an hour late, so probably in a few minutes from when I'm typing this. Should be into the hotel by 2 pm. Then the last two days are rough.

Day 44: Women's Rights Hall of Fame, Birthplace of Memorial Day, Erie Canal Park and Ferry

2007-06-24T23:55:00.001-04:00

Goodness - only four real days of riding left! (Plus Friday's 20 miles, which I consider real but Dad doesn't.)

Today: Canadaigua, NY to Saracuse, NY - 68 miles. A nice change of pace from yesterday's near-century.

Gil's Cliff Notes (written at 4 pm):
A beautiful day of bike riding. Got to start an hour later due to the shorter mileage (67 miles). Some hills. Tail wind and marvelous weather. Crisp, blue sky. Fields of green, trees, pasture land and finger lakes. Starting to definitely feel like New England in the small towns we pass through. They are sooooo nice. Stopped in this one small town where there were some gentlemen standing outside a gift shop and struck up a conversation. Video taped. One of these men led us around to the back of this building where there was a huge mural of the women's rights movement and the town's history. It must have been 20 x 100 ft!! Just amazing. Enjoyed a short stop at the Erie Canal where we crossed over it, about 15 miles out of Syracuse. Felt very good today. Just pushed up the hills and ran flat out on the downhills and straight aways. Arrived at Hampton Inn 1:30 PM. Hey, it is a great hotel. Microwave, fridge, computer, etc. and a great eating place just down the street (Tulles). A group of us went there immediately before showering. [I bet the other patrons appreciated that.] The Fire Burger, apple pie (a huge impressive thing) and root beer were the best!

First - Thanks for letting us know that the extra 30-60 minutes doing this every night isn't just for ourselves! (Again, this blog is largely just for Dad's records, but...if not for people reading it in real-time, we could always get behind and put together our notes, his notes, and his pictures when it's more convenient - ie not at bedtime every night.) So it's nice to know we're losing some sleep for a good cause! (Also, thanks to Dad for honestly not minding when I got a day behind. "Oh, that's ok! You've been involved in a lot of weddings this month, haven't you?")

He said that today was a great day - a very good ride and quite enjoyable. "All went well." Enjoyed that extra hour of sleep. He thought that everybody felt a little more at ease and less stressed today knowing that it was a short ride without a lot of elevation gain - there were "certainly some hills, but not anything everyone hasn't easily done before." Took a fair number of pictures today, but not too much video - "I'll probably take more as we get into Vermont and New England."

A number of people - "or at least a couple of people" - have said that at this point in the tour, they're just putting in the miles to get it done. Everybody's anxious to "get to the barn" (like the cows coming home; apparently Boston is the barn, a metaphor I'm sure Boston would appreciate); the novelty has, in large part, worn off. His dream at this point is kind of to get back home and enjoy sitting out on the porch, reading, and napping. Since he's apparently getting home on the first but not going back to work until the NINTH (that's news to Mom and I, and since I forgot to mention it to her tonight she'll probably learn of it while reading this from work tomorrow), he'll have plenty of time to do all that porching and reading and napping! (And since his computer room is currently my TV room and bedroom, he'll have some real incentive to get up on that ladder and make my room inhabitable again if he's going to be home and wanting to use his computer all week.) But he "thinks" people are still looking forward to riding, and he's looking forward to seeing Vermont, New Hampshire, and New England in general. (He even admitted that, while it's close, he likes New England even more than out west. Yay!) While they still have a mountain range to get over, it's at least supposed to be very pretty. (Well gee, that makes the mountain range no big deal. Sign me up!)

He said that the last two "real" days of riding - Wednesday and Thursday - will be quite difficult: a "ton" of climbing to do, including a seven-mile climb on the "Vermont day" (either Wed or Thurs) and something like 7,000' or more of elevation gain. Someone on a previous tour said that it was one of the trip's hardest days, and "there are two of those days in a row." On the upside, it should be very scenic, and "certainly being near the end should help us pull it off."

Today really brought a sense of "that New England feel," especially as they rode through farms and saw steeple churches. "There are an awful lot of really neat little towns in America, kind of like out of a storybook." Tomorrow's a relatively easy day; 78 miles after today's 68.

Day 43: 3,000 Miles, Finger Lakes Region, Beachfront Attractions

2007-06-23T22:11:00.000-04:00

Susan, Gil, and Carl

Yesterday's post added, along with an article about our riders printed in Erie, PA (with Gil quoted, though apparently not exactly the ones attributed to him) and an email exchange re the physical hardships of the tour (everybody likes fungus stories, right?). One's below the day's post, one is above. -Jean

Gil's Cliff Notes:
Long day. Two missed cues added 5 miles to the 93 miles of rolling (?) hills. Some of the hills were fairly steep and some were fairly long and they were pretty continuous after mile 23 and grew more serious as the day wore on. However, the weather couldn't have been better. 43 degrees at start and then warmed up into the 60's. Had a flat tire that added about 15 minutes to today's ride.

Beautiful countryside. Also nicest roads we've encountered. Smooth surfaces and wide shoulders. Rode most of day alone and that was okay. Stopped at mile 60 and had lunch at a restaurant. Arrived at hotel 3:22 PM. Not bad for 98 miles of hills. Butt and muscles did good. Walked down to lake Canandaigua (one of the finger lakes.....see picture [above/right]) with a couple of riders then returned to hotel and met up with sister, Susan, and [brother-in-law] Carl. We went to a very nice place on the lake and had a wonderful meal and then to an ice cream parlor for more nutritious food. Walked down to lake and took pictures.

Thanks much Susan & Carl!!

Today they rode from Hamburg to Canadaigua, NY. We missed Gil's call tonight, we were at a wedding (Congratulations, Ryan and Niki!!). He left a short message on the machine. Fortunately, he also sent his Cliff Notes!! A 93-mile ride is not a good time to add 5 more miles due to missed turns...too bad. Fortunately, it didn't seem to affect him negatively. He said he really enjoyed dinner with Susan and Carl tonight.

PS from Jean - Anyone still out there, or has the trip gotten long enough that we're finally typing to ourselves? That's ok too, just wondering!

Trials of the Tour

2007-06-22T23:56:00.000-04:00

[To the So and Sos involved: Dad said I could post this with names, etc removed. We REALLY hope this is ok! He felt that it wouldn't be identifiable to anyone other than those on the tour, who already received the email themselves. Please comment if you'd like this removed; it's largely here to incorporate into Gil's personal log of the trip.]

Jean,

So and So [because we remove names on this blog] is a physician who is riding on the tour. (S)he wrote this to Bob, who was riding with us (a Pile Driver). Bob had to drop out due to fatigue and neck problems (having surgery). He had written to say he was having a hard time accepting his decision and So and So wrote him this note. (S)he has been struggling with the tour regime but has hung in there.

So and So B (the Second, if you will), another rider, also dropped out today due to butt problems - soreness, fungus infection and possibly a staph infection. (S)he's had a string of bad luck including stepping through a cattle guard and damaging his/her knee and having to have a root canal. [I'm not certain if this is the same person, as they're all having butt issues, but one rider confided in Dad that they were a little concerned about their situation and he urged them to go to one of the many physicians they have riding on the tour, to get reassurance or advice if their concern was warranted.]

Dear Bob,
It was nice to hear from you. I just wanted to tell you that I think you made the right decision in leaving. I wish I had had the strength to leave myself because the trip has proven way above my fitness and ability level. I simply did not realize what a tremendous undertaking it was and I have suffered physically and mentally on at least half of the trip days. I have enjoyed some of it but I am presently just completing over 2000 miles compared to everyone else's mileage (2800 or so I guess). It was not very satisfying and it was frustrating. I just wanted to tell you that so you would feel good about your decision.
- So and So

Day 42: 11th State Line Crossing, Nearby Niagara Falls

2007-06-22T23:55:00.000-04:00

(That's right, I didn't feel like straightening. Pretend Jane took it. She said it, not me.)

Alrighty. Sorry for the delay - been occupied with another wedding (I'm in this one, so more time involved) most of this week. (Congratulations, Niki and Ryan!! That means something to at least one person reading this. And Dad, a lot of people at the wedding now know about your insane little trip - they all think it's awesome and impressive and all that! No, I didn't whip out the blog address. No one had paper. Yes, my tenses are screwed up because I'm writing this late Saturday night.) While patience isn't this family's favorite virtue, I'm sure YOU all are patient!

Today's journey: Erie, PA to Hamburg, NY; 78 miles.

Gil's Cliff Notes:
Beautiful crisp fall like day. 53 degrees at 7:00 am start. Dark blue sky and nice white puffy clouds. Rolled through lightly rolling hills with vineyards for most of the day. Lake Erie was on our left side as we pedaled east on RT 5, reached NY state line at 19 mile mark and stopped and took pictures. There was a SAG stop at a light house and a park at mile 41 - this is where Tony took a picture of me and the boats. [Hopefully Dad sent me a picture of him with the boats, or this sentence won't wind up meaning all that much. Oh good, there it is! (You think that I look at the pictures he sends before posting, but I don't. That ended around Kansas.) -Jean]

At 61 miles there was a restaurant and ice cream place and several of us stopped and enjoyed sitting on the deck and eating. [Gil has never NOT enjoyed sitting on the deck and eating. -Jean] I had two cheeseburgers with the works, a bean burrito and large coke. After lunch encountered a few more hills but the wind was more behind us and we made good time the last 20 miles. Arrived at the Comfort Inn in Hamburg at 2:20 PM. A great ride through beautiful countryside.

We were in a parking lot when he called the cell after his ride, but that's not why he gave us fairly brief additional notes. (I think he probably got a bit tired of reporting on the day in 20-mile increments, perhaps also around Kansas. Was also kind of time consuming (for everyone involved). Now we actually have conversations when he calls! Everybody wins, except perhaps those of you who may have liked the mile-by-mile breakdown.)

Today's ride went pretty well, and it was a "spectacularly pretty fall day." About 2,000' of elevation gain. "Otherwise not too much to add to what I sent." Everybody's very excited that they're so close to Boston and seeing the trip through to its conclusion. They were featured in the paper in Erie, which I should really try to find online; on their rest day there (yesterday) a journalist was in the hotel lobby at the same time that he and two others happened to be there. The quotes were accurate, but he laughed that most were attributed incorrectly (well if they all shaved their heads, it would be harder to tell them apart, now wouldn't it?). Tony's picture was printed. [Ok. Mom's looked it up, and Dad apparently got this blog address posted IN THE ARTICLE. I promptly hyperventilated. Thanks, Dad. You have to register or log in with the site to read the article; it's reproduced sans-registration in the post below this one.]

Tomorrow will have a bit more elevation gain - more than 3000'. Also a longer ride - 93 miles. They'll be riding through the finger-lake region of NY, with long, skinny lakes (you may have known what that meant, but I needed more than "finger-lakes"). He'll also be meeting up with his sister Susan and her husband Carl at the hotel tomorrow, as they'll be staying about 45-60 minutes (by CAR, of course) away from their home in Rochester.

To the right: a picture of them at the hotel they either departed or arrived at. Perhaps departed?

Article in the Erie Times-News

2007-06-22T23:54:00.000-04:00

[last names removed]

Cyclists Take Breather After 2,842 Miles

Published: June 22. 2007 7:00AM

They rode into Erie with agile limbs and farmers' tans, eager to plunk their weary behinds on Avalon Hotel beds.

The finish line isn't far. The tired travelers have been riding for 43 days and covered 2,842 miles. They have just eight days and 573 miles left on a journey that spans 15 states, four mountain ranges and more than 3,400 miles.

"For most of us, this is just fun," said Gil, a 64-year-old cyclist from Fairfax, Va.

[Pictured: Tony, 59 of Connecticut, has been riding with a group of cyclists for the past 5 weeks, starting in Los Angeles and making their way across the country. The group took a day of rest in Erie today. Tony spent part of the afternoon cleaning his bicycle to prepare for leaving in the morning to finish final leg of the trip which will end in Boston, MA. (Vivian Johnson / Erie Times-News) (It appears that Tony also shaved his head. Joy, how'd you feel about that? -Jean]

On Thursday, the 35 cross-country cyclists kicked off their cycling shoes and relaxed in the lobby of Avalon, 16 West 10th Street. It was the last of five scheduled rest days on their 50-day tour. Nearby stops included Presque Isle State Park and the Conneaut, Ohio, White Turkey Drive-In.

"The cab drivers here are really friendly, and there are so many cyclists here," Gil said.

When they stop next week, the cyclists on this year's CrossRoads cross-country cycling tour will dip the front wheels of their bikes into the Atlantic Ocean at Boston's Revere Beach.

Most will cry. Some will rip off their helmets and jump into the water. Some will think back to May 13, the day they christened their bikes in the Pacific Ocean and then set out to realize their dream.

"I have no desire for this to end," said Cheris, 39, a cyclist from Tampa, Fla. "They tell us to find a goal after it's done, because people can get depressed."

Like many bikers on the CrossRoads tour, years of triathlons got Cheris thinking about trying a cross-country cycling trip. She had always wanted to drive across the country, but cycling provided a glimpse of America that can't be seen from behind four wheels, she said.

For Cheris, the trip is a milestone in a midlife career change. Going back to graduate school allowed her to train and make the trip.

Most of her comrades, though, are retirees, people with the physical and financial condition to devote 50 days to a $8,500 quest. The cost covers hotel stays, catering and support services, including four full-time staffers and two vans that follow the cyclists.

"You ride with your new friends, you eat with your friends, and you hang out with your friends -- and you get very close when you all hurt together," Cheris said.

AMANDA PALLESCHI can be reached at 870-1855 or by e-mail.

BREAKOUT:
To follow the last leg of the cyclists' journey, go to www.erieblogs.com and view the links to cyclists' blogs in the "News and Events" section. Gil, who blogs at http://gilsbigtrip.blogspot.com/, is also documenting the trip via video camera.

Day 40: 10th State Line Crossing, Presque Isle on Lake Erie, White Turkey Root Beer Stand

2007-06-20T21:49:00.000-04:00

Gil's cliff notes, pictures, and random comments from Jean added 7 pm Friday, 6/22]

The riders left Niles, OH and rode 89 miles to Erie, PA...... their 10th state line crossing. Tomorrow is the 5th REST DAY!! (Yippee!!) [Described to me as being "much needed." -Jean] Started out this morning in clear, crisp weather and it was nice and cool the entire day, due to the cold front that reached them last evening. Very low humidity and moderate crosswinds. They were riding primarily north and a bit east today, and arrived at the Avalon Hotel at 3 pm. This group has ridden 603 miles in the past week since their last rest day in Champaign, IL.....plus additional miles to "correct" mistakes in reading the cue sheets or forgetting to LOOK AT the cue sheets. [Men and directions... -Jean]

30 miles outside of Erie about 12 of the riders stopped at an old A&W Root Beer stand, now called the White Turkey Root Beer Stand. Gil got a cheeseburger and root beer.....forgetting that the place was known for it's turkey sandwiches. Good meal. Gil tries to eat a meal about 30 miles from their destination each day. Can sort of mentally say to himself..."only 30 more miles to go today". He made a stop at a farmers stand and again at the Pennsylvania state line (at about mile 63). Passed a vineyard and took some pictures there.

The Avalon Hotel is an old hotel in downtown Erie...very nice and convenient to everything. There may be a ferry going to Presque Isle on Lake Erie and he may take a ferry ride tomorrow. The first order of business this evening was to do his laundry. They had dinner at The Market Grill near the water, and then some of the riders went back to Richard and Gil's room to watch the latest portion of the video tape.

I asked Gil if the group of riders related well to each other, and he said everyone is serious about cycling and doing the best they can, and everyone gets along very well.

Gil hopes to have access to a computer tomorrow and will send his cliff notes and some pictures then.

Gil's Cliff Notes (written 6/21, on the rest day; posted 6/22)
Beautiful day. Crisp, cool, dry air. 89 miles. No problem. Fairly strong cross winds much of the day but we (Tony, Richard and I) did great. Stopped small restaurant at mile 38 and had a bite to eat. This was near Orwell, OH and on a road Ted [his brother-in-law] and I used to pick up antique hit miss engine [a gas engine] in Orwell last year. Also stopped a fantastic old A&W root beer stand that is now a White Turkey stand. Memories of childhood. Red stools, outdoor seating. Mugs of Root Beer. Just wonderful. Interviewed and taped this All American Girl behind the counter. What a good time. Saw some grape vinyards as approached Erie and took some pictures. Arrived at hotel, downtown Erie 3 pm. Looking forward to day off tomorrow.

Day 39: Amish Bakeries and Ice Cream Shops

2007-06-19T21:27:00.000-04:00

The 92 mile ride to Niles, OH today became a bit longer due to some missed and wrong turns. Gil said it took him about an hour to "get it together" due to being tired from the past few days' rides and then they were following some other cyclists and weren't watching the cue sheets themselves. The whole group missed a turn and ended up having to climb a long hill to get back to the correct route. It was a very warm day and they were watching out for thunderstorms most of the day and were rained on several times. At about the 45 mile point they stopped at a nice restaurant which was in a converted barn. As they were going to leave it started to rain. The group considered waiting awhile and the owner of the restaurant checked the weather for them on his computer. A much larger thunderstorm was heading their way, so the riders decided to leave immediately in the rain and try to beat the larger storm. They reached the hotel right before the larger storm hit.

Gil stopped at one point to take some pictures of about a dozen foals in a fenced area near the road. He stopped at a Dairy Queen a few miles out from Niles, OH to eat and arrived at the hotel in Niles around 4 pm. Supper was at a Country Buffet and was very good.

Gil's Cliff Notes [added by Jean; Dad doesn't think he'll be able to send pictures tonight, but they will be added if and when he's able to]
A frustrating day. Started by following group out of hotel that made an error in directions. This immediately added 4 miles to today's ride and a rather large hill. Later in the day we missed another turn and added more miles. As a result rode just over a hundred miles. But hey, I'm here and I did it. Also got rained on today. First 40 miles had quite a few hills before the route flattened out a bit. High point was coming across a number of ponies about 25 miles into the ride. Another high point was stopping at fudge shop in Canal Fulton (a small town). Had an apple fritter and coffee, which lifted my spirits and helped power me over a couple of hills. Arrived at hotel at 4 pm just as a severe thunderstorm broke loose. Barely in the door when it cut loose. Looking forward to the rest day after tomorrow's ride to Erie, PA.

Day 38: Amish Homesteads, Home of Rubbermaid Brand Products

2007-06-18T23:55:00.000-04:00

Gil's Cliff Notes:
Quite a day! Off at 7:05 am. Slightly cool at start but quickly warmed up - too much. Made first SAG at mile 38 before 10 am. Averaging over 15 mph. Pretty rolling country side - barns, silos, fields, trees, horses, etc. Nice. After SAG hills became larger and more numerous. Still very scenic. At mile 67 we were on a small country road that paralleled a sizable stream. Tom spied a rope dangling from a big tree on the opposite bank and decided to try it out. Terry also decided to take a swim and Tony and I decided just to take pictures and video tape. Quite a scene. By this time it was more than a little warm and they reported the water was cold. Made small store at mile 70 where we got some pizza. Then made last SAG stop at mile 73. After SAG the dreaded hill that we'd been warned about started. Large steep hills. I could barely crank my way to the tops of some of them. Exhausting work and with temp now in 90s. There were a number of these big hills between us and the hotel in Wooster at mile 98. Tony and I stuck together and took breaks at the top of the hills. We ended up getting to hotel ahead of most riders. On the last hill in Wooster a mile short of hotel I heard this car honk and someone yelled "Gil!" It was Adeel and his family. I couldn't believe it! It just astounded me. What a great thing for them to do. We visited briefly at the hotel and took pictures before they left for Chicago. Hey, I still can't believe it happened. When they honked and started waving I was a little disoriented from the ride and just couldn't put it all together.

Today's ride was one of the hardest of the tour in that it was long and very hilly and followed a couple of difficult days. I'm very pleased my body allowed me to complete it and feel good my body functioned so well. The body is truly an amazing machine.

Wow, day 38 already??

Dad reports that the countryside through Ohio is very pretty, though Ohio is most definitely NOT flat. But rural and Americana (in the good ways). He especially enjoys the scenery and old buildings, which "a lot of the time are fairly neat" - such as courthouses, etc.

He enjoyed the stream/rope diversion today, but feels it's just as well he didn't partake. (Given everyone's "butt issues" and the interesting organisms in streams, I agreed, though it did sound kind of fun and certainly a good way to cool off.) He said that Tom's new nickname is "Tom Sawyer." On a related note, "Roadkill Gil" thankfully seems to be dying out. Not that we weren't proud or anything.

Some of today's hills were VERY steep - he was very pleased to make the entire ride. Some riders took the SAG van part of the way today; there were medium hills mid-way through the ride, then the last 25 miles were made up of very large, very steep hills. He said he could barely leverage his bike up one of the hills, and thought a few times that if there was another hill immediately after the one he was on he may not have enough time to recover. Fortunately he didn't have to walk his bike up any of them. (Not that we'd have cared, sounds quite reasonable to us. I'd have walked the whole darn way. But he was proud of being able to push through.) At a low point near the end of the ride, he was down to 2.9 mph. They had 3500' feet of elevation gain today. (Just typing that makes me tired.) Said that virtually everyone is exhausted, and that it was a hard but satisfying day.

Running into Adeel was "just incredible." Adeel called the house last week to confirm which hotel Dad would be at in Wooster, OH today - he and his family were driving to Chicago, and wanted to stop for a few minutes to surprise Dad on the way. I know they were planning to look for him at the hotel, so it was a real coincidence that they ran across him on the road! Dad said that he was on a very large hill and it was "really very hot" out (it got to 96 today). So he was exhausted at the end of the ride, just a mile short of the hotel, and his mind was wrapped up in his own little world. (I wonder what they think about riding all day?) Then he hears "Gil! Gil!" and sees a car with Wajeha (? - Adeel's wife, though I'm sure I've not done justice to her name), some kids, and someone filming him. "I was wrapped up in my own little world and not too sharp" - he said that it "frankly took a few minutes to figure out what was going on." But he was just thrilled to have surprise visitors (Adeel and his family were great neighbors) once he figured out what was going on (no Gil, not a hallucination...). Described it as just delightful, and an incredible thing for them to do. So they had a nice, albeit brief, visit before Adeel and family continued on their way to Chicago.

Dad and Tony came in ahead of most of the other riders today - he said he "doesn't know what happened." (Apparently quite a fluke, and while a pleasant surprise for them there's no bragging here.) About 10 miles out of Wooster they asked one of the support staff how many people were still behind them; the "tour lady" said that actually they were doing very well, and ahead of most of the other riders. They finished ahead of 1/2 - 2/3 of the other riders - again he said he "doesn't know what happened!" But it was a most gratifying surprise. I'm sure there were a lot of breaks today at the top (or middle) of hills, particularly since they did 80 and 103 miles over the weekend and have three more long days ahead of them - 92 miles (almost another century, with the various readings riders' computers are giving them of the exact routes; today essentially was another century, though yesterday's was billed as the last official one) and 89 miles over the next two days before another rest day. Smart of people not to push themselves too hard, since they're going to need their energy for a few more days. (Even if I consider this entire tour "pushing oneself too hard"!)

Tomorrow's ride to Niles, OH "may be a little easier" than today - 92 miles vs 98, a little less elevation gain, and the hills should be less steep. Hope the wind continues to either not factor in at all or be helpful!

Pictures & Cliff Notes Added

2007-06-18T02:43:00.001-04:00

I finally got my act together - been a busy (but very fun) weekend! (Happy birthdays to Pam, Drew, and Jason, and congratulations to both Paul & Joyce and Mack! Paul and Joyce being together; as if you care, you don't know these people.)

Day 35/Friday, 6/15: Pictures and comments (mine, not Dad's; his remain eaten by webmail) added
Day 36/Saturday, 6/16: Pictures, comments (mine), and cliff notes (Dad's) added
Day 37/Sunday, 6/17: Pictures, comments (mine), and cliff notes (Dad's) added

These were all scrounged up from my inbox, Dad's inbox (when he sends them to himself to check their arrival), and his sent box. Because sometimes things go to jeam instead of jean or there's an extra "l" somewhere, which...doesn't get to me. Apparently trying to be speedy so webmail doesn't log him out/erase what he's done doesn't help mundane, repetitive typing's accuracy! But anyway, it wasn't totally that I was slacking; haven't been home much since Thursday and it did take a little time.

We may start trading off on the blog again; we'll see how my wrist does and maybe let Mom get to bed a little earlier some nights. (She's watched me and decided she'll put hers off till November or perhaps spring, thankyouverymuch. What, you like being able to hold your own blowdryer? Details details.)

Day 37: 9th State Line Crossing, 6th and Final Century, Eastern Time Zone (Again?), Father's Day Celebration

2007-06-17T21:54:00.000-04:00

Funny...Gil thought he was already in Eastern Time Zone, as did we [since he told us he was and all. -Jean]. Look how wrong we can be! [Wow. Now we're going to start getting cliff notes even LATER at night, which...we thought had already started. -Jean] 103 miles today but they made excellent time across Ohio, some hills, excellent wind. After 70 miles they hit some "serious" hills. Gil road with other CrossRoads people most of the day. He said that a fair number of people rode the SAG vehicles today due to the length (today) and difficulty of tomorrow's ride. They've been warned that there are steep and continuous hills the last 25 miles tomorrow. Oh joy, joy, joy.

Check out his new aerodynamic handlebars in the first picture! -Jean

Gil sent his cliff notes to Jean, so she'll add them to the blog later.

Happy Father's Day, Dad! Also, they got into Marysville, OH today, if anyone's still keeping track; perhaps I'll catch up on the itinerary-table-making tomorrow. [Jean]

Gil's Cliff Notes [added late Sunday night; around 2:30 Monday morning, in fact. Written 5:08 pm and not eaten by webmail!]
The ride was long. 105 miles. We made one wrong turn which added to the official 103 miles. Yeah, there were a lot of turns and I wasn't focused like a laser after 70 miles. The first 40 miles flew by. We had a gentle tail wind and 6 of us just raced through the Ohio countryside with our orange flags fluttering. The first SAG stop was at 47 miles in a nice little town that I can't remember the name of. After that we encounter rolling hills. The temperature climbed too. Then at 70 miles (when the thrill of it was gone) there were more serious hills requiring the granny gear. By this time the temp had climbed into the low 90's but I felt good and just kept pedaling. Reached hotel just before 3 PM. 15.4 average speed for the 105 miles. Not bad! Went directly to Bob Evans near hotel (before showering) to get food in me to start repairing cells and preparing for tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a real challenge. Another long ride with serious, steep hills the last 25 miles. Hey, I can do it! Now it is time to get more food.

Day 36: All American Rose Garden (2,000 roses)

2007-06-16T21:09:00.000-04:00

Gil's cliff notes will be added tonight or tomorrow by Jean. [Added late Sunday night, technically 6/18.] For now, the group left this morning a little after 7 am for their 80 or 83 mile ride to Richmond, IN. The temperature was a cool 65/70 F in the morning, but by the time they arrived in Richmond it was in the low 90's. [Ick. -Jean] The first 20 miles were over rolling hills, and then it flattened out for the next 20 miles. At the SAG stop around mile 40 they were met by some members of a cycling club....one of whose members knew someone riding with the CrossRoads group. The cycling club members brought some donuts to add to their SAG stop food, which I'm sure were greatly enjoyed. The last 40 miles were again over rolling hills and along corn fields and pasture land. They passed through several small towns, and at mile 70 they chanced upon another wonderful Dairy Queen. [If they had Dairy Queens in our area, I'd have a great idea for Dad's Christmas gift this year - gift cards! Unless he may actually get DQed out by the end of the tour. -Jean] Gil enjoyed a burger, coke and ice cream and then interviewed a young family enjoying an outdoor meal. [The family pictured to the right -Jean]

At about 1:30 they arrived at the Best Western in Richmond. The winds today were either neutral or a tail wind, so Gil's average speed for the day was 15 mph. They had dinner at Ruby Tuesday's. [A favorite of Dad's! -Jean] People are still having problems with their "posteriors"...Gil said his wasn't any worse today. (I know there must be a few people who are really anxious to hear this little detail.)

The next two days will be hilly with miles of 103 and 98. Sounds like fun, doesn't it???

Gil's Cliff Notes [posted late Sunday night, technically 6/18; you can tell he's afraid of today's getting eaten again by webmail!]
83 mile ride over flat and rolling hills. Cool at start with temp rapidly rising. Pretty warm by time reached hotel at 1:30 PM. Yes, as you can see we made good time. Rode with Tony, my main riding buddy. Wind zero to small tail wind. Saw more corn and pasture. Some trees too and rode through a couple of small towns. A fun ride and nice to be at hotel a bit earlier than usual. Butt did okay today.

Day 35: Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Velodrome

2007-06-15T23:40:00.000-04:00

Pictures and comments added by Jean late Sunday night [technically 6/18].

It was a 62 mile ride from Crawfordsville to Indianapolis (or 67 miles, depending on whether one goes by the Crossroads itinerary or Gil etc's calculation). They started out at 8:05 and rode on numerous small country roads. It was a day for careful watching of the cue sheet, since there were 40 difficult turns.........only one wrong turn by Gil's group, which added a mile to their trip. [Dad, what were the average number of wrong turns? -Jean] The temperature was in the mid-90's with neutral winds. About 40 miles into the ride there was a SAG stop in the driveway of a dairy farm owned by Donna and Bob. [see picture to the right; Gil's email labels them as Bob and Ginny, which...may be correct, or may be him thinking of Jane's siblings -Jean] They have 130 dairy cows which are milked twice a day. They were asked if they used BAG BALM on the cows' udders to clean and medicate them. The riders informed the farmers that they also are familiar with the "balm" for their sore butts.....which got a laugh from the farmers. [Charming. -Jean]

Some of the riders took a side trip to the Velodrome (a bike race track with curved sides), but the rest of them decided that the additional 3 miles to their day wasn't needed. Gil arrived at the motel around 1:45, and after cleaning up sat in the shade at the pool and visited with other riders. Had a problem sending his "cliff notes" and pictures tonight.....I think one picture made it to Jean's laptop. [Jean has since compiled five pictures, some sent the next day, from her inbox, Gil's inbox, and Gil's sent files. Because an extra "l" in one's last name means some other gmail user is getting random pictures from Gil, which doesn't help Jean much. Cliff notes seem to have been lost; the error message indicated he was logged out due to idleness while composing them. -Jean, who is tired of talking about herself in the third person]

Tomorrow's ride is about 80 miles with the possibility of a TAILWIND (yippee!!!) followed by four additional days with rides even longer. The CrossRoads people said that the current group of riders were unusually well prepared and there is less use of the CrossRoads vehicles by the riders than previous groups. Good training, guys and gals!!!

The picture to the left is a tad blurry, but of some "cool office buildings near the hotel in Indianapolis." -Jean

Day 34: 8th State Line Crossing, Old Jail Museum

2007-06-14T22:22:00.000-04:00

Gil's Cliff Notes: (sent 6/14, 8:16 pm)
Today was helmet decoration day. I added some "enhancements" to my helmet - namely a tail [Enlarge/click on picture above to view; he is now bald with a ponytail. -Jean]. Not a real tail. Most riders participated in this event and some were very creative. My favorite was Jim's. He'd fastened his old bike seat on top of his helmet. Pretty cool. We made it into Indiana and a new time zone. Ride was somewhat boring and the temperature rose into the mid 90's. The wind still isn't blowing the way it is supposed to but at least today it wasn't as bad as yesterday. The aero-bars worked very well. Clearly increased speed about a mile an hour, hands didn't tingle, fairly comfortable position to ride in, didn't have any soreness in arms, didn't take any Aleve and most importantly, I look like a real bike rider. Had lunch at a nice little restaurant at mile 58 in a little town after Covington. A great little all American place. Interviewed a couple tables of local folk. What fun. Arrived at Holiday Inn at 2:45 PM. On way to room across courtyard passed by pool and other riders and decided since I'd sent swimsuit home to just immediately jump in. [He really did send the swimsuit home. With the gun, I believe. I guess they were just taking up too much room and weight in his luggage. Nylon (?) shorts are heavy! -Jean] It just looked so good. After emptying my jersey pockets I did. Eliminated the need to shower and wash clothes. This could become standard operating procedure. Sat in chair by pool to dry off. Butt still tender but better today. Tomorrow's ride is only 67 miles, but it is supposed to be hot.

Jean's just happy that he jumped in fully clothed instead of getting around the swimsuit issue some other way. Since he called late tonight - we were out and he's no longer behind us time-wise, which helps us but not him - he said not to take any notes and just to use his emailed cliff notes.

Day 33: Fourth Rest Day, University of Illinois, CR Helmet Decorating Day

2007-06-13T22:48:00.000-04:00

Today was a rest day. Gil and Tony spent the morning at Dale and Linda's home in Bloomington and returned to the Drury Inn around 3 in the afternoon. Cleaned bikes and Gil tried out the Aero-Bars added to his handlebars and is glad he purchased them. He's wondering how many riders will decorate their helmets for the competition. I mentioned that he already had his decorated, since he added the feathers days ago. I was informed that he has "enhanced" the look of his helmet after visiting a craft shop. We should see some pictures of the helmet decorations tomorrow, if we're lucky.

Day 32: Home of Speed Skater Bonnie Blair; One Month Trip Anniversary

2007-06-12T23:07:00.000-04:00

Gil will post or send his cliff notes tomorrow morning. Until then, you have my notes from our conversation this evening. The group left Springfield, IL for an 87 mile ride to Champaign, IL. Things were basically OK until the first SAG stop at 45 miles into the ride. Then the wind became a very strong headwind and they CRAWLED at 8 mph for the rest of the day. Gil arrived at the hotel around 5, after a stop at a bike shop to have aero-bars attached to his handlebars. If I remember correctly, aero-bars extend in front of the handlebars and the rider becomes more aerodynamic....you riders know what I mean, right??? The rest of you can ask your friendly neighborhood rider.

Gil and Tony went to spend the night and tomorrow's rest day with Dale and Linda in Bloomington, IL. They are enjoying the good company, being in a HOME again, and access to a computer and a washer/dryer. They had a good dinner at an Italian restaurant.

Adeel - email Gil please...he asked us for your email address and we can't find it anywhere to send to him. THANKS. [Dad - if there's somewhere other than your outlook or brown address book to look, please let us know! -Jean]

[Jean's comments (1 am): Wow, Dad's been gone for a month? Gil's cliff-notes arrived before Mom had finished the first paragraph of this post; due to having a houseguest, my tv/tivo are in the computer room. She found fourth-season Friends very entertaining! (Who wouldn't?) Since neither of us can lift heavy objects anymore, it seems the tv will stay with the computer - surely improving her productivity - and I'll stay on the floor since the room has no couch. But we didn't feel very productive when Dad called my cell phone at almost 11 pm (for him) to have me check my email! (He stayed up late!)

He also sent us the following link (
http://youtube.com/watch?v=gsLxotvK6Jk ) to youtube - it's a three-minute slideshow/music video that one of the riders (Tom) created and uploaded. I don't think I saw Dad, but I did see lots of things Dad's taken pictures with! Good to know that "riding" that big gray bunny (photo album 3?) wasn't just him! Dad did say that tomorrow would be a "much needed" rest day.]

Gil's Cliff Notes (11:45 pm)
Cumulative effects of the last week caught up with me today. A sunny but bad somewhat windy day. 87 mile ride. Wind directly in our face. Not to bad until after first SAG at 45 miles. Then wind increased. Our pace dropped from the 13 to 14 range to 8 to 10 miles an hour. Not good with 43 miles left to go. ETA suddenly slipped from 2:30 pm to sometime after 4 PM. Especially hard ride after this last week which saw the tour cover over 600 miles, with hills, rain and yesterday's ride of 107 miles. My butt is pretty sore. My legs are pretty sore, but proud I was able to complete today's ride. I felt as tired as I've felt the entire tour at the end of ride. Very thankful to have a rest day tomorrow. After the ride went to bike store to have aero-bars installed. This should help particularly with riding into the wind. These bars enable you to rest your elbows on the handlebar and position your hands in front of the bar. It gives you another position to ride in and most riders find it a restful position as well as one that is much more aerodynamic.

After ride Tony and I drove over to Bloomington to Dale and Linda's house. Ate at a nice Italian restaurant and played some of ride video on Dale's high definition TV. Great time! Thursday's ride will be only 57 miles and hopefully the wind will blow in the direction it is supposed to - west to east.

Day 31: 5th Century, Abraham Lincoln's Boyhood Home

2007-06-11T22:13:00.000-04:00

Gil's Cliff Notes (sent Mon. 8:50 pm):
Long day. 108 miles. Stopped at every SAG stop and every country store (with Dale). [see picture of Dale below -Jean] Off from hotel at 7:08 am. Gentle headwind. Crisp temperature. Fairly major hills first 30 miles then flattened out - especially after crossing Illinois River at mile 49. Had a good time but due to headwind and cross wind it was slower than would have liked given its distance. Felt pretty beat up at 57 miles where we stopped at a small country store at noon. Shoulder hurt. Ate a breakfast burrito and some ice cream and a huge coke and took 2 Advil. When left store felt much better. Down the road we went. Mostly small country roads with little traffic. Country very beautiful. Great expansive blue sky and green fields. Lots of corn. Good looking corn. What a country! By 3:00 pm and 85 miles into it had seen enough of pretty countryside. Arrived Springfield hotel 5:18 pm. Showered and off to Maverick Steakhouse where group had supper. I had a massive amount of food. Really outdid myself. Steak, Chicken, 2 salad bars, ice cream, baked potato - you get the picture.

Well, Gil sent a pretty comprehensive cliff note for today's ride. I'll see if I can add anything from our conversation which wasn't already covered in his paragraph above. He mentioned that several of the hills in the morning were 1/2 to 1 mile in length......that's a lot of uphill pedaling. Gil and Dale rode together all day and took videos. Beautiful country, could see from horizon to horizon, just like further west, but the fields and countryside were all green, with beautiful cornfields. They passed through small towns about every 10 miles. The towns are closer together than those further west, and that helps the riders. They rode through Jacksonville, IL (pop: 10,000) and stopped at the Dairy Queen. Apparently someone from the town newspaper saw a group of cyclists and sent a photographer to check out what was going on. Dale and Gil's pictures were taken and a short article was in the Jacksonville Journal-Courier newspaper this evening. [NOTE: Jean will post the article in a new post below this summary.] A lady who was in the Dairy Queen overheard them and when they left, she asked to take their picture. (Turn-abouts fair play......the tour photographers are being photographed themselves.)

Gil said his knees and shoulders are fairly sore after today's ride, but Dale did great. Tomorrow's ride will be 87 miles to Champaign, IL and their fourth rest day. Here's hoping that the terrain will be flatter. Gil plans to spend the rest day visiting Dale and Linda Arbour's home in Bloomington. There are 15 riding days left on the tour. The countryside is so nice, as are the people they have met. The people along the route are interested in the tour and seem to enjoy talking to the cyclists.

Journal-Courier Article - Kings of the Road Stop for Queen: Cross-Country Cyclists Stop in Jacksonville

2007-06-11T22:12:00.000-04:00

The following article can be viewed here, but there was so much javascript in various ads that it crashed Mom's web browser. (Mine did ok, since I have all javascript blocked unless I specifically say otherwise, but saving it was a similar disaster.) Feel free to view the original, but it may make your system buggy until you restart. And I've reproduced the whole thing below, so....why? (Though I have removed last names from the article, since I think we've fairly consistently done so in the blog so far.)

Also: MANY thanks to Mom for taking this thing over temporarily, so I don't continue to tug at my stitches by using my fingers and thumb any more than necessary. A picture of my lovely wrap is included to justify my lack of blogging lately. (Hey, for all you know it's all a ruse because I felt like getting more sleep each night!)

Kings of the road stop for Queen: Cross-country cyclists stop in Jacksonville

BY STEVE WARMOWSKI

Dale, of Bloomington, and Gil, of Fairfax, Va., join Jim, of West Chester, Penn., (not pictured) in a rest stop at the Dairy Queen in Jacksonville Monday afternoon. They were part of a group of 40 bicyclists on a 7-week trek from Los Angeles to Boston. The group went 107 miles from Quincy to Springfield Monday, and [Gil] said the route proved false the notion that Illinois is flat. He joked that his nickname was "Chief Four Feathers" for the items he's picked up along the way and stuck into his helmet. They also call him "Roadkill Gil" because he almost added a nice raccoon tail for his collection, but abandoned the idea because the 'coon was a little far gone.

[Jim] said he and a group of friends biked cross-country when he was 18. Now 51, he's making the same trip with his wife, Carol, but in the opposite direction. A fond memory of his first trip was having newspapers do stories on his travels. Last time he had to get papers mailed to him. This time, he can get the fact that he drank four lemonades in Jacksonville from the Internet.

Day 30: 2,000 miles! 7th State Line Crossing, Mississippi River, Historic Mansions, Walking Tours

2007-06-10T21:05:00.000-04:00

Pictures added by Jean at...3 am. Ugh. (Resume/cover letter/Bailey won out. As anyone who knows me knows that kitties always will!)

Gil's cliff notes (Sent Sun 7:33 pm):
Weather was threatening from the start. Overcast with black clouds. 5 miles out saw a bank of clouds on our right that were interesting (see picture [but probably not pictured here - Jean]). Wavy, swirly clouds. Looked like we might outflank them. Not the case. Soon were in a heavy downpour and soaked. Water in shoes. I did have my rain jacket and it kept me warm. Saw a group of riders taking shelter at a little country store but decided to press on. Dale now some distance ahead of Tony and I. We rode for about a half hour in some bad rain. When a car or truck went by we were enveloped in mist and water. Fortunately we were on a country road with no 18 wheelers. Road was also freshly paved and smooth which made going easier. The wind however wasn't with us and we were only averaging 13 miles an hour. Then it stopped. An hour into ride we saw Cross Roads support along the road and they had a sign reading 2000 miles. Yippee!. Lifted our spirits and we took pictures. Afterwards got caught in another downpour. Pressed on and at mile 54 stopped at small store and had some fried chicken and coffee and ice cream. Good!! Made Mississippi River around 1:30 PM. An emotional moment. More pictures. Then once across the bridge took pictures at IL state line. [see Gil to the right, in the center of the picture - Jean]

Quincy is a pretty city with nice mansions along Central Ave., where our hotel is located.

Dale handled video and beat everyone to the bridge. Did a great job of taping and rode very strong.

Ate Supper at Kelly's, an Irish place. Nice ribs and salad bar. Ice cream was good too.

A lot of what Gil sent above is in the material he told us about during our phone conversation, so my input will be even less than usual. Their ride from Kirksville, MO to Quincy, IL was 74 miles (a lot of which was in several heavy downpours....such fun). However, he said it was a "pretty good ride," so I guess in comparison to some of their days it would have been "pretty good," but riding all day in the rain doesn't sound "pretty good" to me. They were happy to see the "2,000 mile" sign. During one of the downpours a small group of cyclists took refuge for awhile under the Knox City Post Office awning [see second picture of post - Jean]. The high-point of today's ride was crossing the Mississippi River and entering their 7th State of the tour. Dale was manning the video camera today and was ahead of most of the riders, so he managed to get pictures of many of the riders crossing the Mississippi River. A number of riders rode the SAG wagons today, some due to the past 2 days of hard rides and some due to the rain. Tomorrow will be a harder ride...107 miles to Springfield, IL.

Pictures Added For Past Few Days

2007-06-10T02:22:00.001-04:00

*pecking away at keys, which takes forever* Evening rituals around here are becoming real fun - Sandy's smart and goes to bed, and Mom and I get to entice kitty to eat, swallow various drugs, and then keep a needle in him for several minutes. Then there's the blog! (Thanks to Mom for covering this thing, since pecking this out kind of hurts. Yet I keep typing...) And pictures! (We place healing the kitty's kidneys slightly above the blog at the moment, because we'd like Gil to return to just as many of his pets as he left. And frankly we're kind of fond of him.) And now Mom gets to hold the blow dryer so I can dry my hair! It's such fun around here!

I finally did a more substantive check of my email for the past few days and downloaded the pictures Dad's been sending. Pictures have been added to the following posts:

Day 26
Day 26: Addendum
Day 27
Day 28
Day 29 (it looks real easy to get carsick in MO...)

Or I should have listed them in reverse order, since they appear in descending order on the blog. Whatever. You're all intelligent and can figure it out! There will be a new itinerary...someday.

Day 29: Thousand Hills State Park, 148 "Roller Coaster" Hills, Picnic Lunch

2007-06-09T23:29:00.000-04:00

Gil's cliff notes for Day 27 were added this evening.

Additional cliff notes/story from Gil for Day 25 added at the end of that day's post.

Pictures added to this post by Jean at 2:15 am.

Gil's cliff notes for Day 29 (written 6:45 pm Saturday)
Beautiful day of riding. The 148 hills that were passed off as "roller coaster hill" at road rap were misrepresented. Unlike a roller coaster where you could coast to the top of the next hill, you had to pedal your little heart out, sweat some blood, and stand on the pedals while in your lowest gear. These hills started at mile 25 and went on relentlessly until we reached the hotel. My legs - calves and knees are sore - I wonder why. Total cumulative climbing today was 4800 ft. according to a couple of cyclists' Garmin's (satellite GPS device). [See Dale to the right. -Jean]

MO is a beautiful state. The roads are not the best but the people are very nice. I've included a couple of pics of the hills [to be added later....too late at night for me to be learning 'photo insertion' -Jane]. Note the riders on the hills as they give some scale to these hills. Arrived hotel around 2 PM. Dale did great riding. He carried video camera today and will carry and tape while on tour.

During our phone conversation this evening, Gil told me it was great having Dale on the ride today.....he did very well and did the video taping for the day. The ride started out with the bikers riding through rolling countryside for the first 25 miles. Then they reached the hills-----continuous hills, NO FLAT areas------for 50 relentless miles. (Darn, doesn't that sound like lots of fun?) By the time they reached the first SAG stop at 50 miles, they were all tired of HILLS.

Beautiful day, beautiful countryside....with cattle and horses and rolling terrain. It was a tremendous workout, but they all made it. Very friendly people, reminds Gil of Mayberry, RFD (The Andy Griffith Show on TV for you younger readers). Tomorrow's ride should be a little gentler, with less hills.....Gil hopes so because the day after tomorrow is a 107 mile ride to Champaign, IL.

Pictures

2007-06-09T22:42:00.001-04:00

I'll try to get some back-pictures up tomorrow - I've been busy being knocked out on vicodin or out having a life, and Mom and I were gone running errands for 12 (her) and 10 (me) hours today. Blame the weddings I'm attending/in the next two weekends. Or the bandage wrap immobilizing my left hand, making pill-bottle opening and any task requiring an opposable thumb super-fun. Still pecking away at keys and pulling at the same stitch repeatedly (which doesn't hurt at all), so I'm making no promises on the next DVD's photo album. And we have a house-guest and the cat's still getting 3 meds 2x/day plus sub-q fluids, which he just loves. So. That and my own job applications and stitches may take priority for a few more days. But I will sort and post pictures Dad's emailed from the past few days.

Day 28: Special SAG stop at Maysville Historical Society - Home of Long Distance Cycling, Dinner picnic

2007-06-08T22:28:00.001-04:00

Another hilly day was in the cards for our riders today. They left St. Josephs, MO at 7:10 am under clear skies with a crisp temperature and some wind. The wind was pretty neutral today (I bet they were all thankful for that !). Very hilly country. They rode 30 miles to Maysville, and the first arrivals waited outside of town for the entire group to meet up. They were all wearing their team shirts and rode into town in formation. Each year the ladies of the Historical Society provide pastries and food for the cyclists. Some kids were allowed to leave classes and come down the hill to have journals signed. They were in Maysville until approx. 10 am, and definitely enjoyed the time spent there.

The route today consisted of 86 miles of unrelenting hills.....a good workout, I hear. Gil said he "did well.".The weather was beautiful and Missouri is very pretty...reminds him some of Virginia.

They saw some buffalo and Gil made some noises and three came to the side of the road, giving him an opportunity for some good video shots. Gil's nickname of "Chief Gil" (due to the feathers he has glued to his helmet) changed today.....going downhill quickly, I'm sad to say. The story goes that he "obtained" a raccoon tail, thinking it would look cool trailing behind him if attached to his helmet. The tail was put in a Ziplock bag (fortunately, since it was also maggot-infested). He tried to clean it up at the hotel, but it fell apart under the hose. (Thank you, God.) For the moment his nickname is "Roadkill Gil". I truly hope that doesn't last too long, it doesn't bring a very nice picture to mind, does it?

In Chillicothe, Gil's friend Dale Arbour joined the group for the next 4 days of the tour. Dale's wife drove him there over some of the route they will be riding tomorrow, and I hear there were some comments like "Oh no, this hill is gonna kill me" and "what was I thinking?" Apparently someone on a previous ride counted the hills they'll encounter tomorrow.....148 hills. Hope they have fun and I'm REALLY glad I'm not there.

Some of the riders met this evening to watch the last 3 days' taping on the video.

Day 27: 6th State Line Crossing, Pony Express Museum, Lewis and Clark Trail

2007-06-07T22:34:00.001-04:00

Gil's Cliff Notes (written 5 pm Thurs; added 11:20 pm Sat)
Underway shortly after 7 AM. Fully fueled with hotcakes, eggs, cereal, bacon and sausage, Coffee too and yes, some orange juice. Sky heavily overcast with wind. But, unlike yesterday wind was at our back and not nearly as hard. Made excellent time right from the start and raced through the rolling country side at 18 to 24 miles an hour for sustained periods. Reached first SAG stop at 32 mile mark around 9 AM. Ate, drank gator and water, bought a banana at the store that was there and took off. Reached MO river and Dairy Queen at 60 mile point around 10:45 am and joined other cyclist for coke and ice cream (to keep fueled). Then across the river (a narrow old one) into MO (I can't spell it) and pictures at state sign. No fooling around. Dark clouds and thunderstorm can be seen. Raced with the wind the remaining 26 miles into St. Josephs and reached Drury Inn before 1 PM. A very nice hotel. Happy camper. After showering went immediately to nice barbecue restaurant near hotel to get some chicken and beans and salad. What a difference between yesterday and today!!

Jean's carpel tunnel surgery went fine today, but it looks like I'll be writing the blog for a few days. Hopefully she'll be able to continue adding the photos or willing to "talk me thru the process" AGAIN.

Today's 85 mile ride proved to be "easy" (Gil's description not mine).....a tail wind pushed them to a 1:00 arrival time. Everyone was glad it wasn't a repeat of yesterday's ride. At mile 52 they crossed the river into Missouri and found another Dairy Queen. After an ice cream and coke were consumed, the tour followed the river valley to St. Josephs. There was a BBQ place next door and Gil enjoyed some chicken BBQ.

Tomorrow it's on to Chillicothe where they meet up with a good riding buddy of Gil's--Dale. Dale lives in Bloomington, IL and is joining the tour for 4 days......until they reach Champaign, IL, the next REST day.

I realize this is shorter than most of the entries, but I've entered everything he mentioned to me this evening....REALLY !!!

Day 26: Addendum

2007-06-06T23:56:00.000-04:00

Jean couldn't read my chicken-scratch? How strange. Gil did mention to me that they shut down part of the interstate to large trucks for part of the day. He informed me that Kansas is NOT flat.....there is about 2,500' elevation at the Flint Hill area, and for some reason he didn't like going only 4 mph at some places due to the WIND. Rick, one of the mechanics, said it was the worst crosswind he's seen on the tour. Gil now has a temporary "stylized cyclist" tattoo on his calf, much less hair and bird feathers attached to his bike helmet. [See picture on left. -Jean] Does anyone think he's been on tour too long?

The wind was really howling on occasion, and once it picked up Gil's whistle on the string around his neck, blew it to his side and actually blew his whistle. The wind was really something. He took some pictures of cows with their butts into the wind while others were facing the wind and the grass was blowing like "you know what," [see picture below. -Jean] and they were all glad to get to Topeka.

The van stopped in an "itty bitty" little town called Bogart (between the 75 mile SAG stop and Topeka), and Gil talked to and videotaped some old timers at the general store. He's found that the video camera is a great social tool for meeting and talking to local people - "hey, I'm riding across the country and like to interview people. Would you mind talking to me about your town?" The people in Kansas are extremely friendly....even hotels are more accommodating. All the biking books report that the people in Kansas are the friendliest, and so far on the tour that has proven to be true.....not that other people haven't been, but folks in Kansas really stand out in that department.

Day 26: Half-Way Point: 1,702 Miles! 4th Century, Capitol of Kansas

2007-06-06T23:55:00.000-04:00

Gil at a SAG stop (White City, Kansas - "very small town") to the right.

Alrighty. Well I have to leave in 5 1/2 hours to have carpal tunnel surgery (didn't talk to Dad until I was about to go out for the evening, then when I got home I was busy sub-qing the kitty, eating while I still could, and showering) and while I have a bunch of notes from my conversation with Dad, I can't really read Mom's from talking to him later. So maybe I'll peck this out with one hand tomorrow (or over the weekend) or maybe she'll write it up. Suffice it to say:

Everybody agreed that today was a very ugly day. Gusts of up to 53 mph, some of which pushed Dad and Tony right across the road. Fortunately they were in a very rural area without much traffic; could have been quite bad. Many of them repeatedly unclipped their shoes from the bike pedals because they feared they were losing control of the situation. Dad rode 75 miles and then decided at the SAG stop that it was just too dangerous to justify finishing out the last 30 miles; he and Tony took the van the rest of the way to Topeka. "Safety is the number one priority on this trip, fun is number two. We weren't doing too well in either department today." A little more than half the group took the van at some point today, and some of the strongest riders who rode through admitted at the hotel that yes, it was dangerous and they probably shouldn't have ridden. One of the women walked her bike for half a mile after the SAG stop Dad and Tony called it quits at due to the danger imposed by the wind. A couple of times the wind shifted and they went from 8 mph to 30+ mph as the wind suddenly became a tailwind; unfortunately that only lasted for a mile or so, resulting in four miles of easy going before they were fighting for control again.

The one upside is that he thinks he captured the wind pretty well with the video camera. He's disappointed that he didn't do the entire 105 miles, but with the danger and an 85 mile ride tomorrow it was "clearly the thing to do." Unfortunately strong winds are predicted again for tomorrow, but they should be in a more favorable direction.

I MAY peck more details out tomorrow (while coming off of twilight IV meds and on vicodin; could be fun reading!), may not do so until the weekend. Expect tomorrow's post (at least) to be from Jane, since I indicated to Dad that she was the one to give notes to. She's much happier about taking over blog duties than she is about possibly having to sub-q the kitty's fluids (a drip from an IV bag, not an injection). Dad's DVDs of pictures (and stills from the video camera from Kansas) arrived today, but not real sure when uploading those will happen either. Maybe over the weekend?

Day 25: Third Rest Day in Abilene

2007-06-05T22:31:00.000-04:00

We're officially on the second (and final!) page of the itinerary! (And I've finally learned to spell "itinerary" correctly on the first try!)

Gil's Cliff Notes [written 6 am Wed; added 1 pm Wed]
Great day off. Hiked into town. Mailed stuff home. Visited Eisenhower Museum. Nice. Toured his small house. Amazing he and 6 brothers could live in it. Went to antique stores. Bought a nice glass bottle for $7.00. Then ran into other cyclist and we took car over to a country restaurant. Good. Real good. Dropped off at hotel after eating and got a hair cut. [Jean: IT'S NOT A HAIRCUT.] Roommate videotaped it. Local reporter for newspaper arrived as I was finishing hair cut. A group of us filled her in on what the tour was about. Then off to dinner at Kerby House, an old Victorian place with high ceilings. Pretty neat. Dinner excellent.

News of the day: Dad shipped his gun "and some other stuff" home via UPS. We got a package (via FedEx) today of some spare clothes he's done lugging around. Now expect to see Gil in even MORE repetitive outfits in photos!

Visited the Eisenhower Museum and took pictures (one is at the bottom of this post) . Wandered out and about in Abilene and did some antiquing, then ran into a CrossRoads group with a rented car and headed out to a farm-house restaurant with them for lunch. (Where the picture to the left was taken.) Then he went back to the hotel and "goofed off" and did some email. He sent home some pictures. So I opened my email, all unsuspecting, and there's a thumbnail picture of Gil. With no hair.

He also visited the "Kerby house," circa 1883. A banker (named Kirby?) used to own the house, and it's now being used as a restaurant. They had "a very nice supper there." Then I talked to him around 8 (local time), at which point he thought he would probably go to bed early since tomorrow's a long day.

Oh, what? You want to hear more about why Gil has no hair? Yeah, he evidently shaved his head. He claims that he didn't shave it; "I got a haircut!" Meanwhile there's about a millimeter of fuzz left; closest setting on the razor. He shaved his head. One of the program coordinators was trying to convince riders to shave their heads to write "CrossRoads" in their hair (either shaved or with dye, it sounds like), and Gil decided to "be supportive" and at least get the haircut. Meanwhile I think that he should include some warning or explanation with such photos, rather than having me all innocently go to download the day's pictures to upload here and seeing my dad, bald. He's never been bald before. At least not in the last 24.5 years. Or ever, Mom says. It's been long before, but not nonexistent. Other riders are telling him that "he looks 30 years younger!" He said they may be humoring him. He thinks he'll ride with the little hat (used on desert days to keep the water they squirted through their helmets close to the head) on under his helmet rather than slathering his head with sunscreen to protect the parts exposed by the helmet's slits. Anyway, the point is that he's kind of off being a frat boy, but without the women and booze (which we appreciate!). He is, in his words, "having fun!" Which we're also happy to hear. (Though I think he was having plenty of fun while still having hair, which shouldn't be underestimated.) Hey, his kitten has shaved "arms" for all his IVs over the weekend - maybe it was a show of solidarity with Bailey! Thinking he'll maaaaaaybe have half an inch of hair when we see him in Boston? How fast does hair grow?

Tomorrow will be a hard day. It's a 105 mile ride to Topeka, and it's forecasted to be very windy. Like, 20-40 mph winds windy, with gusts up to 50 mph. They're hoping the winds will be in the right direction (heading east, giving them an incredibly strong tailwind); it looks like they may be. (Otherwise it's going to be a really crappy day.) Strong winds sound inevitable tomorrow, so cross your fingers for a favorable direction!

Pictures: Gil in Abilene just above (or to the left, depending on your screen size), Eisenhower museum below.

More From Gil (written Sat, June 9; added same day)
In Abilene, KS I visited an antique shop and spotted this old car rear view mirror. Just what I needed. Only $4.50! I take it to the counter where the owner and his wife are. They say and a surprised manner, "You're buying the rear view mirror!" I say, "Yes Indeed, I'm getting the REAR VIEW mirror. They say, "Are you going to put it on your handle bar?" I say, "No, I'm getting it as a REAR VIEW mirror - literally." They don't quite get it so I say, "After sitting on the bike seat for seven hours a day things happen to your butt but you don't know quite what. You need additional information about what has happened to make good decisions - so I got a REAR VIEW mirror." They laughed.

Day 24: Eisenhower Library, Museum and Boyhood Home; Greyhound Racing Hall of Fame

2007-06-04T23:55:00.000-04:00

Gil's Cliff Notes
Departed 8:10 am, an hour later than usual due to the shorter distance. Hey, it may have been shorter ride than usual but at mile 22 we made a left turn onto Rt. 15 N and the wind blew directly into our faces. Next 40 miles crawled along over rolling terrain at 10 miles an hour gaining 1100 ft. of elevation. Hard work. I hate the wind when it is in my face. Would much rather do hills. It was hard for everyone and when I arrived at Holiday Express Inn in Abilene I felt beat up. Knees a tad sore and butt a tad sore and general whooped. Fortunately, a Dairy Queen was right next to the hotel and a group of us made a bee-line for it. A giant coke (Classic [ie not Diet]) a giant burger and an ice cream sundae help me recover!!!

Today our riders headed from McPherson to Abilene, KS - a 62 mile ride. As you may have read above, they got some extra sleep since it was a "short" ride. But everyone agreed that today was "not the easy day it was billed to be." It makes everybody a bit weary of their next ride - after their rest day tomorrow (yay!) they have a 105 mile ride to Topeka. They're all hoping that they won't be up against the wind again for that ride, since with that distance it would make for a really hard day. They'll turn due-east to get to Topeka, so apparently "the chances of the wind coming and blowing to the west will be pretty small." They may have some crosswinds out of the north or south, but chances are actually pretty good that they'll get lucky with a tailwind.

The first 20ish miles today were quick and easy going, then they turned into the wind. Their average speed for the last 40 miles was 10 mph - some periods were as slow as 7 mph. The hills today were odd for him - he would ride uphill and naturally expect to see a view at the top, but there would just be a very small downhill stretch and then they'd be going uphill again. No view. It was disconcerting.

At this point in the ride (in terms of conditioning and geography?), they've ranked the factors that make a day's ride a breeze or very difficult in order of importance (from the most important to the least):
1. wind direction (tailwind, crosswind, or headwind)
2. the road surface
3. how much climbing
4. the day's mileage
Everybody is in agreement that this is the order of importance in terms of how difficult each day will be.

Dad's still enjoying himself immensely - "some days are good, some days are tough." But a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. (Unless one has the time and money and desire for pain to get sucked into doing a variety of cross-country routes...) They'll reach the official halfway point on their next ride (day after tomorrow) - 1,702 miles! (Damn.) He thinks there will be an line on the road, and they will have a sign for it which he'll hopefully pose with. And we're now done with the first half of days to be blogged! You're halfway there too! (Isn't it nice that we could all participate in this while sitting down?) Still really liking Kansas - "pretty scenery and really nice people." (That's Dad in a wheat field today.)

He says that Abilene looks like it's a pretty neat town. Looking forward to seeing a bit of it tomorrow and RESTING. He's also going to mail the gun home tomorrow! Woohoo. We'll now own two (I think) guns, both old or weird enough to not require registration.

The Pile Drivers have split up a little in terms of riding as a group. One of their members had to leave the tour to await surgery. (His back and neck issues were apparently pre-existing, not due to the tour, and he knew it was a gamble to try the tour before having surgery. But like Dad was before his back surgery, he was concerned about his ability to do the tour afterwards in terms of recovery speed and conditioning.) A real shame he had to go - a hard decision, but you can't really go wrong when you try to avoid doing permanent damage to your body. The remaining members have kind of naturally had to split apart some as they've adapted and gotten stronger; their riding speeds now vary more than they did early on. Dad's still riding with Tony fairly regularly (the gentleman with a mustache in a variety of pictures here), and everyone on the tour still sees everyone else regularly in terms of SAG stops, dinner outings, Road RAP, and their infrequent leisure time.

There's a "santa-red" van parked outside their motel - it has lots of antennae and the words "STORM CHASER" painted on the back. They're wondering if the storm chasers know something that they don't about Abilene today. He'll try to get a picture in the morning if it's still there. (Hey, they have a day off; maybe some riders can tag along with storm chasers after all!)

Gil's obviously still missed at home - especially tonight when we (I, but with support!) had to give the kitty a sub-cutaneous fluid drip. Fun was had by all. One day down, nine to go! (If anyone's interested, his bladder control is much better (ie problem free!) when I spread his narcotic and muscle relaxer out a bit more.) But it would have been nice to pass the job involving the 2" needle off to Dad tonight!

Day 23: 1,500 Miles!

2007-06-03T23:55:00.000-04:00

Day 23 already? Is it intimidating to anyone else that we're still just BARELY under the halfway point in terms of days I'm blogging?

Gil's cliff notes of yesterday added to that post Sunday afternoon.

So tonight I've given a very sick kitty three meds (small pill, large pill, liquid narcotic), gotten him to eat some, then cleaned out the (fabric) chair he accidentally relieved himself on. (Totally not his fault; it was 45 minutes after he got a muscle relaxer for the urinary tract. Good to know about that particular side effect.) When I went to throw out the roll and a half of paper towels I used to soak it through three times, a big juicy hopping bug came in from the shop and I had to kill it. Cleaning the chair caused less anxiety, though it was considerably more time consuming and harder on the wrists. And I remembered this thing at 12:30 am. So I'm totally in the mood to blog! (Repeat to self: earning rent, being useful, earning rent...)

Alrighty. Today they headed from Great Bend to McPherson, KS - 63 miles. "A short ride today," he said. Whatever. He reports that Kansas is "extensively green" and is full of wheat, grass, and "whatever else they have - maybe corn?" They've had too much rain in Kansas, and it's just beautiful. (When there aren't tornadoes and the like, I assume.) There's some ponding in the fields and streams are overflowing from the excess precipitation. (Speaking of excess precipitation, I've gotten up three times so far to check on the kitty trying desperately to rid himself of a few days' worth of constant IV fluids. I know you needed the status update.)

Dad said it was a very pleasant day and ride; for the most part they rolled along at a pretty good clip. He's really enjoying the country out there ("marvelous country"), particularly the mid-size towns (defined as "bigger than Akron [CO, I'm pretty sure], more the size of Yuma [AZ]." He enjoys the feel of the towns, with "very nice courthouses," old buildings, and old named streets. "Really kinda cool." Plus, there are nice parks, which is kind of a generic compliment but still quite pleasant!

Examples of these mid-sized towns he enjoys: they had a SAG stop in a town called Lions - "most pleasant town, just beautiful." McPherson's "kinda that way too, a very nice town." A (the?) courthouse in Lions is pictured here.

They got into McPherson by 1/1:15 - good time! Their motel rooms weren't ready yet, so they killed an hour at a Sonic Drive Thru "like back in the 50's." They settled in outside on an island in the lot and placed their orders at a central machine. You apparently push buttons to order your food; at the drive thru, you place your order that way out where your car is and then they bring your order out to your car. They put away huge burgers, fries, sundaes - "it was REAL good." The video camera was out and about during the meal. He otherwise didn't get too much on video today; "pretty much the same scenery as yesterday."

They did laundry yesterday, so he didn't have to do that this evening, he can wait till tomorrow. If you're curious about how they do laundry: When I spoke to him yesterday, he mentioned that they had just left a laundromat. I didn't question it, but thought to myself, "wow, his clothes are finally getting REALLY, ACTUALLY clean!" Silly daughter. They (I'm assuming Dad's not alone here, because you can hardly find and pay for a laundromat every 2-3 days) still did their laundry in the sink (hotel handsoap? shampoo?), but they got tired of waiting for it to dry. Apparently I was right and the Kansas weather didn't lend itself to hanging it outside the hotel. Or it was a classier joint and it would have been frowned upon. So they just went and DRIED their clothes at the laundromat. Bonus: a sub shop was right next door, so they could eat.

TWO more DVDs on the way; one of more recent pictures through Great Bend, one of stills from the video camera of the storms and storm clouds in Kansas, which the video camera captured much better than the regular camera.

Day 22: Santa Fe Trail's Historic Pawnee Rock, Offerle Cafe Cinnamon Rolls

2007-06-02T20:58:00.000-04:00

The riders left Dodge City at 7:20 am....temperature was 60 degrees in the morning and the wind was behind them, so for the first 20 miles they were flying along at 18 mph. Then there was a shift in direction and the wind was either in their faces or from the side and slowed them down considerably. Very pretty scenery---lots of wheat fields, blue skies and white clouds. They stopped at a crossroads where there was a farm museum with an old Steam Engine and a sign indicating "San Francisco -- 1500+ miles in one direction and New York -- 1500+ miles in the opposite direction". The wind changed and was again at their backs for the last 20 miles, and they made very good time and Gil's group arrived in Great Bend, KS at 2:20. Today's ride was "relatively" easy with a total of 89 miles. This included a few extra miles to see Pawnee Rock, which is a rock outcropping from where they could see the Santa Fe Trail. Early settlers viewed this rock formation as the midpoint in their crossing of the continent.

Gil took some nice video segments and a few pictures today. No hotel computer tonight, but he hopes to send a few pictures from a borrowed laptop. That will require Jean's input once the pictures arrive.....I have had the process of adding pictures to the blog "explained" to me, but probably won't attempt doing it myself unless I "have to" and she's sitting next to me. Upon their arrival the riders showered, did laundry, visited a sub shop, participated in the road rap for tomorrow's ride and ate again. I'm told the Best Western has a great all-you-can eat buffet. Gil told me that the ride is a lot of work with not much spare time, but the people and the scenery make all the work worthwhile.

Gil's Recap [emailed Sun am; posted Sun afternoon]
Got the heck out of Dodge 7:20 am under clear skies. 60 degrees. Perfect for riding. Rode with the wind. Yeah! Rode with about 6 other faster riders at 20+ miles an hour, flags waving for first half hour, then let them forge ahead. About 30 miles into ride wind shifted and speed slowed. Visited Pawnee Rock, a rock out cropping where those brave souls going west would mark their progress. A great view but added extra miles to today's ride. Last 20 miles into Great Bends the wind and our direction were together and we again rolled at high speeds the last hour. Made hotel just after 2 PM. 89 miles! We are really making speed across this country. It is beautiful from a bike.

[Jean's impression upon editing this in: I bet this country might be almost as beautiful from a car. Without all that sweat in your eyes obstructing the view. But that's just me.]

Tomorrow's ride is 63 miles and should be "easy" (this is Gil's description and in comparison to some of the other days which were over 100 miles or over mountains). I wouldn't call traveling 63 miles "easy" in anything slower than a car with air conditioning, which is why I stayed home for this adventure. Tomorrow they pass the 1500 mile point on their ride, and it will be the first of 2 "easy" days in a row. They will be able to leave an hour later tomorrow morning. Then on Tuesday, in Abilene, they have their third "well-earned" rest day.

Gil's Cliff Notes Added

2007-06-02T18:20:00.000-04:00

To yesterday/day 21's post (about halfway down).

Itinerary For June 2-8 [Week 4]

2007-06-02T02:25:00.000-04:00

The red circle (with a handy "4" in it) is where they are at the start of week four.

Day	Destination	Miles	Points of Interest
Sa 6/2	Great Bend, KS	86	Santa Fe Trail's historic Pawnee Rock
Su 6/3	McPherson, KS	63	1,500 Miles! Historic Opera House
M 6/4	Abilene, KS	62	Eisenhower library, museum and boyhood home, Greyhound racing hall of fame
Tu 6/5	Abilene, KS	0	Third rest day, Old Town Abilene, Victorian mansions
W 6/6	Topeka, KS	105	Half-Way Point: 1,702 Miles! 4th century, Capitol of Kansas
Th 6/7	St. Joseph's, MO	85	6th state line, Pony Express Museum, Lewis & Clark Trail
F 6/8	Chillicothe, MO	86	Maysville Historical Society - Home of Long Distance Cycling

Their approximate route this week. I'm guessing that their route from Topeka to St. Josephs, MO is a tad more direct than the major interstates (as outlined on the map), but I could be wrong.

Day 21: Dalton Gang Hideout, Boot Hill Museum, Can Can Show and Gun Fight

2007-06-01T19:45:00.000-04:00

Gotta pound this sucker out before I head out for the night. (Mom got out of it; she's already gone.) Everything about today's is rushed; Dad also had his recap squeezed by his time frame (waiting for a shuttle to get dinner) and the fact that there was actually stuff WE had to tell HIM. Imagine that! Dad, I totally forgot to mention that the second plumber finally fixed things; we can now wash dishes and clothes again! This may be the first place he learns that, but I'm happy to not tote my dirty laundry to my friend's tonight. ("I come bearing cupcakes, wine, catch-phrase, and my dirty clothes!") The house really missed Dad; lots of things that were "his department" started breaking all at once.

First: Addendum added to Thursday/Day 20's post right below the original.

They headed out at 7:15 this morning under "very threatening skies." An 83 mile ride today. They had heavy crosswinds for the first 40 miles and a black bank of clouds to their left the entire time. They were able to maintain a 13 mph average for the first 30 miles. Then the road turned and they went into a town called Meade, where the Dalton gang set up their hideout in one of the local houses. Took some video there; "somehow" forgot to take pictures, but stills can be extracted from the video later. I think I may be too young to fully appreciate this paragraph...hmm.

The road turned again at mile 40 and they headed directly into the wind and the black clouds. Rode through that the entire second half of the ride. Got rained on and there was some hail; he emphasized that 10 miles were through VERY cold, heavy rain and hail. (Meanwhile, Gil didn't take his rain jacket; "I somehow figured it wouldn't rain till later." The good news is he picked up a garbage bag at an earlier SAG stop. Classy! So he had some protection, but still got soaking wet - "even the inside of my shoes.") At some point they made it to a little general store, where they stopped and took shelter. Other cyclists were there, and they had a good time once they were inside. Everybody was soaked. Got some pictures out the window of the storm. (Picture above taken in Meade, KS, where the Dalton Gang had their hideout.)

At that point a number of people took the van into Dodge City. Dad rode alone from the general store into Dodge, getting to the hotel at 3 pm (after stopping at the all-important Dairy Queen just down the street to get their biggest sandwich to take to the hotel). "The warm shower never felt so good" after getting out of his wet clothes. (I guess there won't be much hanging of laundry outside the hotels in Kansas...)

He reports that it was a hard day, but it gives him even more confidence that he can do this thing and if necessary ride alone through bad weather under adverse circumstances. Felt strong all day, and his butt did "quite well."

Gil's emailed cliff notes (sent Sat am, posted Sat afternoon)
A challenging day. Off at 7:20 am. Cool and largely overcast. My dawdling has cost me time and other riders are already out on the road head towards Dodge. Catch a few riders after a half hour of pedaling. Dark could bank to the left of the road. At forty mile point reach Mead, KS, the Dalton Gangs hide out. The 45 mile speed limit sign near the Dalton Gang road sigh is shot up. Take video. Soon after leaving Meade the road turns to the left. Not good. Rain and some hail along with strong head winds. 8 miles of hard pedaling in cold rain and some hail before reach a little general store and shelter. Other cyclist already there and holding up. Get coffee and beef sandwich. Only $3.25. Delicious. Take video of wet riders. Much joking and fun. Some decide to catch van for remaining 44 miles to Dodge. Rain lets up and I'm off - alone. Road makes left at route 283N. for remaining 10 miles to Dodge. More head wind and slow speed. Just keep head down, find comfortable gear and pedal. Butt doing great. 5 miles out of Dodge it starts raining again. No hail. But it is a cold and hard rain. I'm soaked and very dirty with road debris. Reach the Dairy Queen next to the Comfort Inn in Dodge and tell the waitress "I'll take the biggest sandwich you have" She just had to ask what the heck I was doing and when I told her she took pity on me and did and extra special job with the sandwich. The hot shower at hotel was just wonderful. So was the triple deck burger with cheese and bacon and everything else.

He's really enjoying having the video camera (shout out to RJ!) Took lots of video today of the weird clouds that they were seeing and of people clowning around. There were some storm chasers staying at their hotel yesterday, and some riders were joking that they were going to go with the chasers. The video's doing a better job than the camera with the storm clouds. Also having a lot of fun capturing "stuff" on video - it's helped to make his trip worthwhile having the video and shooting America. ("Shooting his way across America" shouldn't be taken out of context, given his recent purchase.) Interviewed a couple more people in the general store today.

Attrition news (or dropout news, if you want to be all pessimistic about it): Bob, one of their fellow Pile Drivers (pictured numerous times here, though often/usually un-labeled), is having to leave the tour. He's having some back and neck issues, and flies out tomorrow. Two other people dropped out today, a woman who was "SAGging" (it just sounds rude to say she was "sagging," if you know what I mean) and her boyfriend who was riding. He guesses they just weren't getting enough enjoyment out of it. While the tour is "a great adventure and great fun, it's also a tremendous amount of work. It's something of a grind where you're getting up early each morning and start fresh, but you have to ride a long ways under not-good conditions. Then you complete the day and you have to do all these other things; there's not a lot of time for goofing off and socializing." Apparently "getting across the country is not an easy thing to do." (Really? Riding 3,400 miles over seven weeks, constantly traveling, isn't no big thing? Shocking!) But Dad says it has been rewarding, and he's really pleased that he can feel himself getting stronger. Which may be a total waste if he just returns to mainly running and using different muscle groups as soon as he gets home!

Tomorrow they have an 86 mile ride into Great Bend, Kansas. It apparently has "Santa Fe Trail's historic Pawnee Rock," whatever that means. An old riding/hiking/general adventure buddy, Darren, called the house this morning. From what I remember Mom telling me (which I fuzzily passed along to Dad over the phone tonight), his mother's house is literally RIGHT ON one of the roads they're riding through tomorrow "between the highway and the river." So Daren will be there on the left side of the road sometime looking for him. I wonder what the odds of them catching one another are?

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

2007-05-31T22:03:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-31T22:02:00.001-04:00

[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

2007-05-31T16:48:00.001-04:00

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]

2007-05-31T16:11:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-30T23:55:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-30T23:54:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-29T22:34:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-29T18:57:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-28T23:00:00.000-04:00

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]

2007-05-28T10:03:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-27T20:33:00.001-04:00

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

2007-05-27T09:16:00.001-04:00

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

2007-05-26T22:41:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-26T16:10:00.000-04:00

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

Photo Albums Online

2007-05-26T01:24:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-25T20:24:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-24T23:55:00.000-04:00

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'

2007-05-23T23:02:00.001-04:00

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

2007-05-22T23:59:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-22T20:45:00.000-04:00

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..."

2007-05-21T23:55:00.000-04:00

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!)

Sidenotes

2007-05-21T15:16:00.001-04:00

Photos were added to the day eight post sometime on Sunday afternoon, in case anyone read before then and is interested.

I also forgot to mention that Dad found out after the fact that at least three people on the tour got sick in the desert by the halfway point of those days, and had to drop out of the tour for a day or more. They're fine now, but it was serious enough to be debilitating and take more than 15 hours of recovery (when the next day's ride would have started). He's not sure whether they were all people who didn't "van it" at all (until becoming ill) or not, but it reinforces the hazards of desert riding. (Frankly, I'm not so sure that most of us who aren't inclined to bike 3,500 miles in early summer are surprised to hear that riding for 100+ miles through the California desert in May might not actually be good for your health.) There are about 35 people on the tour, and 15 took the van as suggested the first desert day, so if they weren't van-folks that's at least 3/20 who had significant enough problems to cost them other days of the tour. Everyone sounds ok now, but he has no regrets about taking the van part-way as recommended for some that first day.

Re Chris's comment: The Pile Drivers, as listed off to me a few days ago, are Gil, Tony, Richard (his roommate), Bob, Tom H (from MD and pictured in the "training" part of this blog), and Jose (pictured more recently). I'm sure Dad'll email me if the numbers have shifted since then, but basically there are about six of them. [edit: Dad's since amended the number to five of them, so just pick one of the names on that list to ignore. // edit #2: He said all those names are correct, so he counted wrong (maybe forgot himself) and there are in fact six of them.] I think he said that about four or five different riding sub-groups have emerged, which also sounds about right based on the number of total riders.

Day 8: Red Rocks of Sedona & Oak Creek Canyon

2007-05-19T23:55:00.000-04:00

The red dot is where they start week two from.

(If you view it full-size, you can see the number 2 inside the dot, for week two. It was a pain to do, so feel free to click on it and make the last 15 minutes of my life worthwhile.)

Gil's emailed cliff-notes from Flagstaff:
Yesterday was a real high point of this adventure. Magnificent country as we rode from Cottonwood to Flagstaff. The first part of the ride was composed of long rolling hills. The hills were shorter on the down side than the up side and we gained elevation as we rode toward the looming rock encapment ahead of us where we knew Sedona and the serious climb up Oak Creek Canyon waited patiently for us. It was cool and partly cloudy as we steadily plugged away at it in a lower gear, stopping to take pictures of the rock formation the sun was shining on. Just the right temperature for the physical effort. No wind!!! Reached Sedona about 15 miles into it. Stopped at an art and Native American craft show, at the Starbucks coffee shop and at a Dairy Queen. What FUN! Had plenty of time today to make Flagstaff so dawdled and enjoyed things. After leaving Sedona we headed up Oak Creek Canyon (with other Pile Drivers - a somewhat slower group that doesn't see who can tour the fastest). Took lots of pictures and video. The climb soon became very serious as the road switchbacked any number of times up the mountain. It didn't help that after several 9% grades we'd round a corner and see several levels of road on the rock face ahead. I heard several expletives that I won't repeat here. My roommate Richard commented that he now knows that short mileage days mean death. Everyone kept their sense of humor. This is a very positive bunch of people. Much rejoicing when reached the top. A very intense effort. Support staff gathered on a rock face overlooking the road and cheered us on. Rolled into Flagstaff at 2 PM. Sunday a rest day. Wonderful. Okay by me! Thanks all for the support. Gil

The more detailed version he gave over the phone to be posted:
Today's mileage was a measly 46 miles. As they rolled out of Cottonwood, they encountered a series of big, rolling hills for the first 15-16 miles. Unfortunately, the hills didn't go down for as long as they went up, so they gradually increased their elevation all day. (At least this brought with it nicer biking weather.) The rocks of Sedona would loom larger and larger; by the time they reached Sedona, they'd gained 1,000-2,000 feet in elevation. They stopped at a coffee place and fooled around (again in the G-rated sense) with other cyclists and took pictures of the rock formations. Dad also did some shopping at the Native American arts and crafts tables/shops along the road - I can expect a gift by mail in about three weeks! Woohoo. (Until he said it was being shipped, I wondered how on earth he had fit it into his "no more than 30 lbs" luggage for six weeks. Given that ButterButt and sunscreen were sacrificed, I can't imagine "gifts for Jean" would be worthy of luggage-allowance.) They also stopped at a Dairy Queen for about half an hour and had some ice cream cones.

After Sedona they went about five more miles, then biked a very steep section of, again, STEEP switchbacks for about 2.5 miles. Very nice video opportunity at the top. It was about 6.5 miles more into Flagstaff - more rolling hills that went up more than they went down. He got in at what I think is a record so far (for him) - at about 2 pm. Did a total of 7,000 feet of climbing today. Richard commented that he now knows "short mileage equals death" - a hard day of endless climbing.

They've now climbed a total of 18,650 feet over the past week. I get tired just typing that. If anyone (potentially on the nerdy or anal side) is interested in calculating the number of calories expended on climbing so far, Dad offered that he weighs 146 lbs. Mom gets disgusted just hearing that.

He's quite pleased with the weather in Flagstaff - they're at almost 7,000 ft, so it's nice and cool in the evening. He'd already done laundry - in an actual machine! Not in the shower! With real detergent! - by the time he called home. They'd also hooked up his (brother RJ's) video camera to the tv in the hotel - people enjoyed watching various footage from the last week. He's had quite a few requests for copies of his final cut, so that should be incentive to actually edit the footage together. Had Indian food for dinner (not sure if that's Native American food or actual Indian food), then went next door for apple pie and ice cream - Dad's personal favorites.

He's feeling quite confident about the tour at this point and his ability to "pull this thing off." Not that we at home watching him ride for eight hours straight indoors (during the spell of lousy riding weather this winter when everything was iced over outside) and ridiculous "trains" outside had any doubts. The reference to the "Pile Drivers" in his email is the name he and the others in his riding group have come up with for themselves. There is an explanation, but even I find it too distasteful to post under my name. So you're not getting it from me here. Yay for editorial discretion! I wield such power. (Yes, I will post air-pump-to-butt stories, but not this. Which may tell you something.) If you're really THAT curious, ask Gil sometime after he gets home. While not in mixed company. (Meanwhile, don't get all curious by my refusal to post it; it isn't that interesting or amusing - unless you're a middle-aged or adolescent male, I suppose.) But they have a "group name" and team spirit, so good for them. Yay bonding!

Tomorrow is their first rest day, so they'll be in Flagstaff, AZ until Monday morning. He's looking forward to it; will visit some bike shops (because he's just not biked-out enough) and maybe see a movie. He said he definitely WON'T be getting on his bike. Looking forward to next week's ride - they should have flatter ground and cooler temperatures.

Itinerary For May 19-25 [Week 2]

2007-05-19T02:26:00.001-04:00

A false-flat (an incline that doesn't optically look like one) on the way to Mingus Mountain

Day	Destination	Miles	Points of Interest
Sa 5/19	Flagstaff, AZ	46	Red Rocks of Sedona, Oak Creek Canyon
Su 5/20	Flagstaff, AZ	0	First rest day, Old Town Flagstaff, nearby Grand Canyon
M 5/21	Holbrook, AZ	94	Eagles' "Standin' on the corner of Winslow, AZ..."
Tu 5/22	Gallup, NM	86	2nd state line! Painted Desert, Petrified Forest
W 5/23	Grants, NM	68	Continental Divide at 7,275' above sea level
Th 5/24	Albuquerque, NM	76	The Rio Grande, Old Town Albuquerque
F 5/25	Santa Fe, NM	67	Historic mining town of Madrid, Santa Fe Plaza

Day 7: Mingus Mountain at 7023', Mining Town, Yavapai Indian Ruins

2007-05-18T23:55:00.000-04:00

Heard from Dad around 5 pm local time. Today was 46 miles (43 by the schedule?) with a 5,000+ foot elevation gain. A shorter ride than most so far, but intense.

Gil's cliff-notes version email: "Short but intense day. 46 miles. 5000+ ft. elevation gain total for today. First 8 miles rolling, next 12.5 false flats and then 5 miles of steep climbing on switchbacks. Coasted last 20 miles into Cottonwood, AZ. What fun. Stopped on way down in Jerome, an old mining town for burgers and lounged around a long time on the resturant deck. It overlooked the valley where Cottonwood is located."

He has a pretty steady riding group at this point, about six of them (Gil included) who ride at about the same pace. (His roommate, Richard, and Tom and Jose (both pictured elsewhere in blog) are part of the group.) For the first 7.5 miles they rolled up and down through a large basin towards Mingus mountain. Then 12.5 miles uphill on false-flats. The last five miles were quite steep - one sign showed a 9% grade for that stretch. Most everyone took short breaks during that stretch; Dad's group set a pattern of stopping for a few minutes every mile to rest and drink some water. That's Gil in the charming picture to the right, playing dead on a railing at one of those stops. (Doesn't his butt appear well-padded in the full-size version?) Someone else has a picture of Tony (another member of their group) pretending to use an air pump on Gil's butt. He explained that the joke was that he was a limp doll needing blown-up. I'm including that clarification in case anyone else is as sketched out as I was by the mental image. It's all perfectly G-rated fun.

Anyway, the top of Mingus was at 7,023 feet and 26.6 miles, then it was all downhill. Rode five-six miles to Jerome, an old mining town (now boutiques, etc) - had a good restaurant there. I'm pretty sure Dad's judging towns across the country based on the quality of the restaurants along the bike route. It also had nice weather going for it, since it's at about 5,000 ft in elevation. Then it was just another ten miles into Cottonwood, with the temperature getting progressively warmer as they descended.

The ride was tiring - he's not quite as peppy as he was after yesterday's ride, but he's fine. Just not feeling real energetic.

Tomorrow they ride to Flagstaff, AZ (a 46 mile ride). Jim H, who's done the tour before, mapped it out on his handheld GPS - he can tell the elevation gain for the day, how the bike will be inclined, etc. Tomorrow will include 7,000+ feet of climbing through Sedona, where the red rocks are. (Family: Did we go there on the four corners trip when Jase and I were little? I remember really big, grand walls of red rock. And it being hot.) Then they'll go up Oak Creek Canyon. They'll have their first rest day in Flagstaff on Sunday.

Day 6: First Mountain Pass

2007-05-17T23:55:00.000-04:00

[I'm getting these up pretty quickly, but don't get confused by the timestamps; if I post the next day, I'm post-dating it so it's listed as the correct tour-day. That's Dad in the first picture and at center in the second. He's in the last individual picture, though I took the liberty of lightening the upper half of his body so there's SOME shot at telling that it's him when at full-size (click all photos to enlarge). The wide shots aren't doing their light meters any favors.]

First heard from Dad just before seven our time (4 pm for him) - he got into Prescott, AZ just after three today. It was physically a hard day, but it went well - he did well with the ride, and it was very scenic with great photo ops. They were climbing out of the desert, so they had "a lot of fantastic vistas and hopefully some great pictures." His cliff-notes version of the day is below the last two pictures at the end of the post.

They started the day by climbing out of Wickenburg - most of their stops are on rivers, so they coast in at the end of the day (which is nice) then climb out in the morning (not as nice). They were on a lot of "false flats" today - it optically looks like you're going downhill or on level ground, but when you look back you can see the incline and go (and I quote) "holy moly." The fact that you're pedaling your little heart out and only going 8 mph is also a tip off. They've had these before on the tour (in all of its four previous riding days), but there were quite a few today. Also multiple switchbacks. They had a five-mile climb and an eight-mile climb that were of note; basically they went uphill all day, going downhill for several miles a few times. 7,000 ft elevation gain total, 5,000 in one stretch. The last range was "spectacular" - the vegetation was changing and they had amazing views. Their last three to four miles in Prescott were downhill; they went 40-50 mph (so maybe they were "very downhill"). His roommate Richard went at 50+ mph, at "warp speed" - he'd had two flats earlier in the day, and was trying to make up some time. Dad didn't push it and went a tad slower. (Which we appreciate - head injuries are bad.)

Feels good about today - handled it well, and it's more representative of what most tour days will be like than the first few were. As a bonus, his butt is also feeling better - he rode today with a patch and two pairs of biking shorts. I bet you're all really appreciating the butt updates, by the way. We always make sure to ask about it, so it's on my little legal pad full of notes from the day to post. When he looks back on these posts as his log of the trip, I'm sure he'll enjoy following his butt's status and be so glad that I kept the public up-to-date.

Tomorrow's only 43 miles into Cottonwood, AZ - they get to sleep in an extra hour! Saturday into Flagstaff is 46 miles, then they have a rest day there Sunday. So they're easing out of this first week.

(Adeel - Dad tried to email you a response to your comment yesterday, but doesn't have your email address from the road, and I can't find it saved here at home. So I'm just posting his response, since it's the "cliff notes" version of today and doesn't look too personal. "Thanks Much Adeel. This is great. 60 miles today as we climbed out of the desert to Prescott, AZ. Short mileage but much climbing with spectacular views. Over 7000 ft. of elevation gain today. Did well. Confident can do this. Have a number of good riding buddies at this point. Ate big steak at Cattleman Resturant this evening. A shorter easier day tomorrow as we ride to Cottonwood, AZ, going through Jerome (old mining town) on the way. Get to sleeep in an extra hour. Red rock of Sedona will come into view on mountain before Cottonwood. Should be a great day. Thanks for support say hi to your wife (whose name I can't spell) and kids. Bye for now. Gil")

Day 5: More Desert and Into Arizona

2007-05-16T21:53:00.000-04:00

Dad just called. Today was a real hard day for everyone - "everybody agreed it sucked." It was clearly the hardest day of the entire tour. (The tour does seem to be front-heavy, with the first week being the roughest). The day was supposed to be 115 miles through the desert, but they ran into a fresh oil spill and had to turn back The van gave everyone a ride over the affected area (34 miles). Upside is that the van ride resulted in some good pictures. He held up well - there were very long stretches of NOTHING, several long, difficult climbs of 9-10+ miles each, and it was 103 degrees with ambient air - in the shade. They crossed their first state line today, and are now in Arizona.

After three climbs, around mile 45 and off of I-10 to Rt 60 to Wickenburg, the road was fairly bumpy, slightly uphill, and they had a strong cross-wind. They came across a junction called Hope, which had a convenience store - he got a $6 t-shirt reading "You're beyond HOPE."

He reports that Wickenburg is very picturesque and VERY western. Has a very nice restaurant (which is always important).

His butt is pretty sore - most of them are having butt issues. Even those who are retired don't train by riding 70-100 miles every single day. A friend suggested doubling up on the biking shorts, which he'll try tomorrow. Tomorrow should be nicer than today, though still no picnic - they'll be climbing all day, with a 7,000 ft total elevation gain, 5,000 in a single climb (it's their first mountain pass). The upside is that it's only a 59 mile day.

You can see Gil's long-john-esque outfit in the first picture. Thinking that his legs are faring better (sunburn wise) than some of those wearing shorts through the desert. Wouldn't he look cool in his long-johns and doubled bike shorts?!

Pictures added to this post and yesterday's late Wednesday night. Chris posted yesterday asking how many people are on the tour - we asked him that last night too! (We realized we "felt" like it was in the 30-50 range, but that really we were guessing and had no actual idea.) He said there are about 35 of them, which I think is before CrossRoads staff.

Day 4: The Mojave

2007-05-15T22:58:00.000-04:00

Heard from Dad earlier this evening. Reports that today was hard but went very well. About 15 of them took the van either for the first 32 miles (as discussed the day before) or for some other stretch of today's 100-mile desert crossing. (Dad and friends did the first 32 in the van.) There are about 35 people doing the ride, so that's almost half of them. Dad reported that he physically felt just fine; thinks that he probably could have done the whole ride, but that he thinks he made the right call and that there was no point in risking it or the next day's ride (115 miles). One of the other riders who took the van is quite a strong rider, but, as he put it, "how many of us have done two century+ rides back to back? Let alone in the desert, in California?" A decent chunk of them got past the "EVERY F****** MILE" mantra/mentality when it came down to the tough call.

At one point they rode for 30 miles and there was literally nothing - including nowhere to refill their water. They were advised to put plain water in their water bottle(s), and use it to squirt through their helmets and onto their clothing - in Dad's case, white things that look like and he calls long-johns. Mom claims that they're breathable-things-that-protect-from-sunburn that aren't actual long-johns. He had a hat-thingie (the technical term, of course) under his helmet that helped hold the water - said the whole evaporative cooling thing actually worked quite well, the water felt hot when squirted but as it hit the wind while moving it was an effective cooler. Their camel-backs held 65 oz, a 50/50 nutrient/water mixture. He drank two camel-backs during the 30 mile stretch of nothing, and probably drank about a gallon total at the two rest stops.

The last eight miles to Blythe, CA were very nice - it was largely downhill, and they caught a tailwind. They were averaging about 20 mph during that last stretch, which sounds like a nice way to end the desert ride. After taking the van for 32 miles, he and the others with him rode 68 miles today through the Mojave. His roommate Richard said that the Blythe newspaper ran a piece two days ago about their tour coming through (Sunday? I'd think anywhere in the Fri-Sun range) - I couldn't find it online, but if anyone does please pass the link along!

The other thing he said was neat was that the truck drivers out there are familiar with the tour, and would talk on their CB radios about where the group was - when trucks passed them, they'd honk their horns hello!

In terms of their daily schedule, it goes about like this:
- get up around 4:45; shower
- eat breakfast w/ group at 6
- get underway at 7:15; they can't leave before then at this point due to the angle of the sun until that time making it difficult for drivers to see the riders. Since I encouraged Dad to "not get hit by cars" before he left, this sounds like a good plan to us.
- ride till 3-4 pm
- get into the hotel. Eat lots so the muscles can absorb nutrients as efficiently as possible.
- shower/wash clothes in the shower
- fix up whatever needs done on the bike
- Road RAP - daily briefing on the next day's route, any problems with the route, dangers, etc
- eat dinner
- personal time - call home, use the internet, kick back
- most are in bed by 9 or 9:30 pm

Day 3: To Indio, CA; San Andreas Fault

2007-05-14T22:00:00.000-04:00

Gil's quick comments (after the computer at the motel ate the version he spent 15 minutes on): "Very hard day. Hot, hot, hot. Started at 7:15 am. Cool for about 5 min. There was a 5 mile hill that was steep to start the day. Then temp climbed. At 26 mile crossed a mountain. Another 5 mile hill."

The man pictured in the second shot (holding Dad's bike) is Jose, a physician from Guatemala.

Dad said today was very hard - on a scale of 1-10, he'd give it an 8.5. It was hot (113 degrees on bike temperature gauge) and there were two major climbs, each one over five miles long - one took over an hour to make. He rode with the group he had planned to ride with on the first day of riding, which was nice. They overshot a critical turn and went a total of five miles out of the way (2.5 in each direction), and then they (and many other riders) overshot the motel due to a new building being built in front of it. Added three more miles to the day. A total of 92 miles as a result of the two over-shoots; 7:15-4:00 total trip time. His sun"burn" from the first day isn't a burn after all, so that's good.

When he got in, he showered and drank a lot, then they had their group RAP on desert crossing. They stressed the danger of the desert; it would be hotter and more intense than today was. Much of the ride will be on the interstate, and there's one stretch of about 19 miles where there's no place to find shade or a stop. If they need to rest, they're to leave their bikes on the road, climb UNDER the road, and watch for snakes. (Fun.) "They made it clear that it would be no picnic." They suggested that anyone who arrived after 3 pm today take the van for the first 32 miles tomorrow - Dad, Tom, probably Richard, and at least 12 others have decided to "do the adult thing" and ride the van part-way tomorrow, bringing the day's desert ride to 68 miles instead of 100. Making the decision now has removed some of his stress about tomorrow, and he's pleased that the ride in the van will give him more opportunities to get desert footage for the video than he would be able to do while riding - says that it's real easy to get left behind if you stop to film for a minute, and the desert isn't the place to do that. He also didn't want to risk making the full desert ride but setting himself up for future problems due to it so early in the trip - it looks like their first week is the hardest from the schedule.

He was tired, but in good spirits. (Some of that may have to do with having showered, some desert stress off his shoulders, and being about to go out to dinner with friends.)

Day 2: First Day of Riding

2007-05-13T22:38:00.000-04:00

(click to enlarge. Gil is in the 3rd row, 2nd from the left - the cool guy in the sunglasses.)

Dad's emailed comments: "Quite a day. Amazing! The tour has actually started! Really exciting this morning. Less exciting as got into hills and temperature rose."

He called Mom and I around 4 pm local time (7 pm for those of us on the east coast), soon after getting into the hotel, showering, and taking in lots of food and liquids. Said it was really exciting to start this morning (see photo of him and his bike on/in the Pacific Ocean). He sees the benefits to doing a supported ride already - about half a mile from the beach, the cable to the bike's derailer (his words/terms; don't ask me) broke at the top of a steep little hill. The hired "sweeper" at the tail of the group radioed the van with the bike mechanic, and they got it fixed in about half an hour - much faster than he could have on his own. His friend Tom H (who did a training ride w/ Dad on 4/23) waited with him (voluntarily - the sweeper and van were w/ him as well). By that time everyone else was about six miles ahead of them. Rode through Animame (sp) and some hills at the 50 mile point, where he and Tom caught up with some other riders. Today's ride was 78 miles. Temp on bike thermometer rose to 97F at one point. Arrived at the Comfort Inn (nice pool, nice palm trees) at 3 pm.

He reports that he didn't do a great job of keeping up with the sunscreen on his face, so in the other pictures he sent us he's kind of red. "Naturally, to make things better I had to go out to the pool and lounge around with folks at the hotel. Arms and legs ok. Will do a better job tomorrow." (I'm thinking that the sunscreen issue is pretty self-punishing, so he'll learn pretty quickly to remember to reapply. Hopefully he won't be starting out too burnt - right before the days riding through the desert, where the sand will reflect - since he doesn't generally tend to burn. He'll probably tan over pretty quickly.) They'll ride through Palm Springs about halfway through tomorrow's ride, then into the desert for two days. Tomorrow is 85 miles, with the first half being generally uphill. Temp expected to reach almost 100. He and Tom are looking forward to riding with the group of people they planned to ride with today. He reports that everyone is psyched and a little anxious; then there's the really big day of 116 miles across the desert. Fun!

Day 1: Orientation & Bike Inspection

2007-05-12T22:45:00.000-04:00

Email from Dad: Up early (5:30 am). Orientation and bike inspection today. A more relaxed day. Probably a little ride at some point. May go to store and get multi-vitamins. [later] Back from walk. Great group of people. Ate with two physicians that are into infectious disease in Guatemala and a research scientist in electronics. Nice walk together after breakfast as fog broke up. Then met roommate, Richard, from Trinidad. Seems like a great match - very nice and a professional photographer! Now off to orientation. Have a great day. I am!

Photo is from yesterday's ride. Click to enlarge - it's a Hang-Glider Xing sign. Ah, LA.

Itinerary For May 12-18 [Week 1]

2007-05-12T22:40:00.000-04:00

Their route is the blue line weaving from southern CA to New England.

Gil and Co's itinerary for the next week (days 1-6):

Blogger insists on putting in a huge break when I make a table. I don't know why.
Day	Destination	Miles	Points of Interest
Sa 5/12	Los Angeles, CA	0	Registration, Orientation, bike inspection
Su 5/13	Riverside, CA	78	Pacific Ocean wheel dip! First day of riding
M 5/14	Indio, CA	85	San Andreas fault, Indio elevation: 14' below sea level
Tu 5/15	Blythe, CA	100	First desert crossing: The Mojave! First century!
W 5/16	Wickenburg, AZ	115	First state line! Second century
Th 5/17	Prescott, AZ	59	First mountain pass: Yarnell!
F 5/18	Cottonwood, AZ	43	Mingus mountain summit: 7023', Yavapai Indian ruins

Day -1: First Day in CA; "Short" Ride

2007-05-11T20:46:00.000-04:00

Great day. 30 mile ride with 10 other participants in this adventure. Rode over to the beach and took bike path to Manhattan Beach and then up north to the channel. Wonderful ride. Very colorful with everyone in their bright cycling jackets and red bike flags (a safety feature). Palm trees and blue sky. Many photo opportunities. Also took 5 min. of video. A very nice group of people. Ate lunch together at a "wrap place" before returning to hotel.

[Added by Jean] I didn't post quickly enough. (Silly, useless daughter throwing bridal showers and finding a bridesmaid dress instead of UPDATING THE BLOG!) Obviously, his bike survived the flight and got put back together properly on Thursday night. (Sounds like the bike shop people did let the air out of the tires when packing it up, which we weren't sure of when they asked about it at Dulles.) Other notes from Dad about the first day in LA are that it was a gorgeous day, mid 60s (which sounds perfect to me) and from those he had met so far, it seemed like a really nice, great group of people. They all had an enjoyable "light" (30 mile...) ride, and stopped to eat lunch together at a restaurant on the way back. Photos added to post per request.

What does cycling across the country feel like??

2007-05-10T08:19:00.000-04:00

Dad's off - no problems at Dulles this morning, got checked in early and we went with him till security. Taking off at 9:07 am, has an hour and a half in Atlanta, and lands at LAX at 2:20 pm local time. The program starts with registration and orientation on Saturday, and they start to ride Sunday.

Gil: All is well. Thrilled to see my luggage and bike. Thrilled to be at hotel. Bike is put together and ready for test ride to beach tomorrow with Jim. Stress of earlier today and yesterday is gone. Attempt to import picture using USB port messed up hotel computer. Will try again tomorrow. Chilly here.

Jean: He forwarded me the following email to post this morning, written by a the friend of a companion of a friend (got that?) on the friend's first cross country ride.

Subject: What does cycling across the country feel like??

As many of you know I cycled coast to coast in 2000. As time passes a person forgets the hard parts and tends to remember the good parts of the trip. I remember what it was REALLY like after reading this epilogue from a friends website...........

Step 1.

Get a spaghetti-strainer and several small sponges. Soak the sponges in salt-water and paste them to the inside of the spaghetti-strainer. Place the strainer on your head. Find a busy road. Standby the side of the road and do deep knee-bends for 8 hours. This will acclimatize you to a days ride.

Step 2.

Take some sandpaper and rub your rear-end and the insides of your legs for about 20 minutes. Rinse with salt-water. Repeat. Then, sit on a softball for 8 hours. Do this daily.

Step 3.

Each day, take two twenty-dollar bills and tear them into small pieces. Place the pieces on a dinner-plate, douse them with lighter fluid and burn them. Inhale the smoke (simulating car-fumes). Rub the ashes on your face. Then go to a local motel and ask them for a room.

Step 4.

Take a 1-quart plastic bottle. Fill it from the utility sink of a local gas-station (where the mechanics wash their hands). Let the bottle sit in the sun for 2 or 3 hours until it is good and tepid. Seal the bottle up (kinda, sorta) and drag it through a ditch or swamp. Walk to a busy road. Place your spaghetti-strainer on your head and drink the swill-water from the bottle while doing deep-knee bends along the side of the road.

Step 5.

Get some of those Dutch wooden-shoes. Coat the bottoms with gear-oil. Go to the local supermarket (preferably one with tile floors). Put the oil-coated shoes on your feet and go shopping.

Step 6.

Think of a song from the 1980's you really hated. Buy the CD and play 20 seconds of that song over and over and over for about 6 hours. Do more deep knee-bends.

Step 7.

Hill Training: Do your deep knee-bends for about 4 hours with the salt-soaked spaghetti-strainer on your head, while you drink the warm swill-water and listen to the 80's song over and over (I would recommend "I'm a cowboy/On a STEEL horse I ride!" by Bon Jovi). At the end of 4 hours, climb onto the hood of a friend's car and have him drive like a lunatic down the twistiest road in the area while you hang on for dear life.

Step 8.

Humiliation Training: Wash your car and wipe it down with a chamois-cloth. Make sure you get a healthy amount of residual soap and road-grit embedded in the chamois. Put the chamois on your body like a loin-cloth, then wrap your thighs and middle-section with cellophane. Make sure it's really snug. Paint yourself from the waist down with black latex paint. Cut an onion in half and rub it into your arm-pits. Put on a brightly-colored shirt and your Dutch oil-coated wooden shoes and go shopping at a crowded local mall.

Step 9.

Foul weather training: Take everything that is IMPORTANT to you, pack it in a nylon bag and place it in the shower. Get in the shower with it. Run the water from hot to cold. Get out and without drying off, go to a local convenience store. Leave the wet, important stuff on the sidewalk. Go inside and buy $10 worth of Gatorade and Fig Newtons.

Step 10.

Headwinds training: Buy a huge map of the entire country. Spread it in front of you. Have a friend hold a hair-dryer in your face. Stick your feet in toffee and try to pull your knees to your chest while your friend tries to shove you into a ditch or into traffic with his free hand. Every 20 minutes or so, look at the huge map and marvel at the fact that you have gone nowhere after so much hard work and suffering. Fold the map in front a window-fan set to "high."

Gil's Flight Out

2007-05-09T23:07:00.000-04:00

(Posted by Jean; it's way past Gil's bedtime.)

Dad leaves tomorrow; he's spent a lot of the past few days going through a full page list of things "to do" before leaving for a month and a half. (As I got back from CO yesterday, he was mowing the lawn. Today he's spent a lot of time weighing various packing configurations, since he's limited to 30 lbs of luggage. He may have to squeeze out some more ButterButt; I felt that sunscreen was better to ditch, since that's easier to buy smaller amounts of on the road. Plus, ButterButt sounds fun to have and also kind of important.)

Today he mentioned that his layover in Atlanta is about 35 minutes long. (Somehow this never came up before today, under the reasonable logic that if travelocity or the airline would market that itinerary, it must be feasible.) His brother RJ and I were a bit more dubious. We went to see them this evening, and on the way home it came up that it would probably be well worth the fee to change his flights if possible. Instead of leaving for the airport at the ungodly hour of 4:30 am (at latest), he's now flying out at 9:07 with an hour and a half layover - and he's in business class. He now fully appreciates the fare changes that happen 12 hours before departure! He considers this a good omen for the trip, and is very excited to have a first class kind of counter agent taking his luggage and to be sitting with first class kinds of people. (It's a far better omen than dealing with standby while stranded in Atlanta, I think.) His original ticket was pretty cheap - I suppose you get great fares when you book months in advance, fly out before 7 am and have to runrunRUN for your connection - so it's a reasonable total cost even with the rate difference and fee taken into account. And three phone calls and 60 minutes later (over 40 on hold with various places, because AirTran staffs way better than Travelocity at 10 pm), I've earned my room and board for the month. He REALLY happily "good daughter!"ed me, much in the same way one would praise their pet.

He's in bed now, relieved about his new layover and tickled pink about flying in class, and seems excited about the trip. He chose Domino's pizza for his "last meal." I think the deal is that he'll post from various motels and internet cafes along the way as he's able, and Mom and I will post when it's not convenient for him to do so. He should have pictures available to post pretty quickly, but even if there's a problem getting pictures from the card or burned DVD on a computer on the road Mom and I should have copies of his pictures within about a week to put up.

So, all in all we're off to a good start for the adventure. Though Mom is a little worried that after flying business, he won't want to ride in coach with her/us on the way home from Boston at the end of the trip...

May 7: Last Training Ride

2007-05-07T21:15:00.000-04:00

Distance 40 miles
Hill Repeats
Temp 43 degrees at start

Underway at 7:30 am. Rode rt. 28 to Clark's Gap on W&OD. Then did 11 x 800 meter hill repeats on large hill (Meadow Lark). Went well. Met John Benz who was also doing hill repeats. He was training for an Iron Man event at Lake Placid (Swim 2 miles, ride bike 100 miles and run 26.2 miles). Rode together after getting our fill of hill back to rt. 28.

Took bike to shop to be boxed. Bike gets to taper too!

May 1 Training Ride

2007-05-01T15:32:00.000-04:00

101 miles
14.0 average speed
Beautiful day

Underway at dawn - 6:02 am. 52 degrees. Reston, Leesburg, Waterford, Taylors Town, Lovettesville, Hillsboro and Purcellville. Breakfast (#2) in Purcellville at 10:45 and 60 miles into ride. Also stopped briefly in Waterford at corner store and to take pictures of some lambs in a yard. Between Lovettsville and Hillboro I spotted baby goats. Actually, they spotted me and cried out as I rode by. I turned around and went back to check them out and get some pictures. There were 9 of them. Cute. See pictures. They seems starved for attention. Maybe they were just starved period and though I was going to feed them. Nice goat. As nice of goats as I've ever encountered. I wished them well. Ride went extremely well. Felt strong though out and had energy at end of ride. Could have ridden futher, but enough is enough! Home at 2:30 pm. Knees a little sore but okay.

Training Ride April 28

2007-04-28T22:03:00.000-04:00

71 miles
14.8 average
48 degrees rising to 60

Departed 6:01 am. Rt. 7100 to Reston. W&OD Trail to Purcellville and beyond. Took Dry Mill Road and big hill. Saw Al, running friend, just past Rt 28. Turn around point near Hillsboro at 8:35 am (35miles). Stopped at Trails End Bike Store in Purcellville and chatted with another cyclist while refueling. Home at 11:30. Felt strong entire ride. Recovery food: peanut butter sandwhich, banana, slice of ham steak, handful of peanuts, bottle gatoraid, coke, and 2 advils. After shower drove to Pittsburgh for Jean's graduation ceremony (MSW).

April 23 Training Ride Notes

2007-04-23T21:34:00.000-04:00

70 miles. Temp. 83. Average speed 13.8.

Tom H (pictured here), who lives in Laurel MD and is going on the tour, rode with me. We departed from Rt. 28 at W&OD Trail head 11 am. Did Lovettsville circuit. Great having company on ride. It got pretty warm today and a headwind on the 15 mile leg from Lovettsville to Purcellville made it a challenge. Plus having ridden 70 and 50 miles the previous days made it a good workout. We observed a number of Virginia Tech banners in the "horsey" country - see photos below. This ride follows by a week the sad events that occurred there.

Got some sunburn despite using sun screen. Tom's computer showed a half more mile of distance than mine and a consequently a higher average speed -14.2. I'd like to believe his computer is correct and that I've been going closer to the speed of light than my faulty computer indicates. Note: Click photos to enlarge them!

More Pictures

2007-04-23T21:23:00.000-04:00

April 21/22 Training Rides

2007-04-22T15:29:00.000-04:00

Saturday: 70 miles. Reston to Clarksgap, Waterford, Taylorstown, Lovettsville, Hillsboro & Purcellville. Chilly at start and warm at end. 13.8 average speed. Stops in Lovettsville, Purcellville at Trials End Bike Shop and at Parlows store in Sterling, VA for icecream.

Sunday: 51 miles: Adverage speed 14.2. Spectacular day. Reston to Purcellville via Dry Mill road and Hill. 3 miles into ride a bike rider yelled to me , "Watch the Sword." Looking down the trail (a little more attentively) I see this Asian lady standing in the the middle of the bike path waving a sword and going through slow motion movements with it. It gave me pause - literally (this fool is ruining my average speed). I braked and stopped about a hundred feet from her. She's middle aged and she keeps on with her sword movements even though I've clearly stopped because of her. At 7:30 AM not many other people are out on the path and I debated making a detour but decided to press ahead. I passed her at close quarters and she didn't say anything and more importantly she didn't cut my head off. Five minutes down the trail I remembered I had my camera with me and regretted that I didn't get a picture of her. I've seen a lot of things on the W&OD Bike trial but this really raised the bar. Before this bizarre sighting honors went to a lady on roller blades that was pushing a double baby carriage (two abreast) with two infants. A 70 or 80 mile ride planned for tomorrow with Tom H from Laurel, MD who is also going on the big tour.

April 14: Training Ride

2007-04-14T17:29:00.000-04:00

80 miles. Hilly ride. Started in Reston, 7 am. Took W&OD Trail to Clark's Gap west of Leesburg, VA. 39 degrees. Then Rt. 9 to Clarks Gap Road and on to Waterford, Taylors Town, and Lovettisville. A yard sale sign on Clark's Gap road grabbed my attention and I took detour up Harley Drive to check it out. Big hill. Yard sale not just right around the corner. Kept on pedaling up this steep narrow road with no houses in sight. Thought about abandoning my quest but the lure of it was too strong and hey I'm out here for exercise, pant, pant, pant. About a mile up hill came to large estate and sign "yard sale here." Owners surprised to see me as I came huffing into their driveway. Nice people. Ask how far I was riding and were a little surprised when told them "about 80 miles." Even more surprised when I told them I was training to ride from LA to Boston. Yard sale a bust but nice people (they offered to refill my water bottle). After yard sale rode to Waterford and took some video of town that was established in 1733 and is on the National Historic Register. Stopped briefly at Lovettsville 7/11 store before continuing to Hillsboro and Purcellville. Winds light and out of Southwest. Then pressed on down W&OD to Reston. Winds seemed to shift and be more in my face as I left Leesburg. No lunch this ride. Just power bars and gator. Fatigued towards end - in fact I was whooped and it was starting to rain. Had a peanut butter and pickle sandwhich and a massive amount of cookies and cream ice cream to aid recovery. A hot shower and nap also helped.

Rider Comments

2007-04-12T16:30:00.000-04:00

From: Ray S.

Here are my top ten reasons for wanting to go cross country on a bike.

10) I couldn't afford a round trip airfare to LA

9) I wanted to go further but the Atlantic Ocean gets in the way

8) I want to be able to drink unlimited quantities of beer without gaining weight

7) I need fifty days to wear each of my bike jerseys

6) I want to stay in a Super 8 motel in each state from coast to coast

5) It is too expensive to drive

4) My friends are running a pool on which state I will blow my knee out in

3) I'm sick of riding in circles

2) I want to meet 40 people who are as crazy as I am

And the top reason for wanting to go cross country on a bike is:

1) I had 8 grand to blow and said "what the hell!"

Looking forward to meeting everyone in LA.

April 9/Post Via Email Test

2007-04-09T16:36:00.000-04:00

April 9

60 miles bike ride. 24 in neighborhood to test patched inter tube then 36 miles to Vienna. Stopped Washington Bike store Fair Lakes. No tubes right size. Rode to Vienna to Spokes bike shop. Bought tubes. Returned home. Tired. Wind always seemed to be in my face. 30 degrees at start. Gray. Cold. Unpleasant ride. Tube with patches I put on bike last night held.

Talked to Michael, a running friend, who is also cycling across the country in June and July but by a northern route. Talked about bike bags, tires, training and adverse weather.

James H. email re: Previous Tour

2007-04-08T21:44:00.000-04:00

Gil,

The one thing I can guarantee you is that the tour will totally exceed your expectations. You will have the time of your life. I went last year for the complete tour and I am just as excited about this year. One of the reasons I am so excited is that I do not have the anxiety that you are now feeling. There is nothing I can say to remove your worry other than you will not have any trouble with the tour. I was one that wanted to do EFI (every fantastic inch or every f__king inch). The tour leaders admitted that our crossing was the most difficult they had encountered. We had HEADWINDS 80% of the tour. One of the days we crossed the desert we had 20 – 45 MPH headwinds and record heat (115 degrees). They actually closed the interstate due to high winds and dust. That was the only day I did not finish. Only 2 people finished that day and one had to go to the hospital that night and did not ride for the next day and a half. A gust of wind actually pick one of the smaller women and her bike and slammed her to the ground. She did not ride for the next 2 weeks. I am not telling you this to discourage you but to let you know we had some extraordinary circumstances. If you are riding centuries already this year you will not have any problems. Just take your time and remember this is not a race. Enjoy the country. The #1 problem people had on the our trip was saddle sores. The 2 recommendations I have are to make sure you are comfortable with your saddle and that your bike is geared low enough. I put a triple chain ring on my bike and was glad I did. I lot of the guys did not use triples but had compacts and did just fine.

I believe our group bonded very well. About 10 of us went to Texas and rode in the hill country for a week. Hopefully we will continue this each year and include some new friends from this trip. I do not believe EFI hindered us in any way. It may be because everyone blew the EFI due to the desert crossing the 1^st week.

The first week is tough but not impossible by any means. You will get stronger every week. One tip – do not try to lose weight on the tour. I found out quickly that you need to keep your energy up and not worry about the weight. I bonked one day and made sure it did not happen again. I did finish that day but was miserable.

YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE. YOU ARE GOING TO DO JUST FINE.

Jim H