Today was a bit of a write-off. We set out just after sunrise with huge humidity and the promise of rain. After about 15 miles, it started coming down. And down it came! We got soaked, our shoes got soggy, our glasses got fogged, and the traffic kept coming. It was fine for a while, but the rain just got heavier and heavier, and we got less and less happy. After about 40 miles, we gave up, along with half of the group, and clambered into the warmth of the van until we got just past the state lines into Missouri. On a good note, it gave us a recovery ride after yesterday and we'll have fresher legs tomorrow... except that it's supposed to rain again...
We also had our second dangerous redneck experience today. Some losers yelled and tossed trash, including a beer can, out of their car at some of our riders on the road. The van was able to follow them and get their licence plate, and we pulled up to them at a liquor store (they were up for a refill, I guess). Our guide, Dave, said, "You guys throwing stuff at cyclists?" and the losers soon drove off, giving us the finger and going back over the state lines into Oklahoma. Our guide called the cops, and hopefully someone gave them a hard time. No one was hurt, just annoyed at obnoxious dumbasses.
Happily, we're out of Oklahoma, and hope the winds will stay behind us.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Day 20: Enid, OK to Bartlesville, OK
132 miles, 7005 feet of climbing
Big day! Nancy and I had fresh legs this morning, thanks to our self-imposed rest day yesterday. As we prepared our bikes, we were the most chipper couple around. Yep, everyone is beginning to hate us :-)
The last few days have been very windy, but today was fairly nice. The wind was sort of gentle, and the cloudy sky kept things cool. We started out on a great country road (cue the John Denver song, again). About 10 miles into the ride, we saw this little guy trying to cross the road:
He (or she?) wasn't that little, either; a bit bigger than a softball. When we zoomed by he quickly pulled his head into his shell. I was worried that he may soon become much flatter, so we turned around, took his picture, and then carried him into the grass. I hope I put him on the side of the road he was aiming for.
A few miles later, we passed through a small town, and a few of the riders in our group met a new friend:
This very energetic doggie ran with them for about three miles! He wouldn't give up! He didn't have a collar on, but he looked way too healthy to be a stray. I hope he finds his way back home. Maybe everyone in town knows him. "Hey, there's the crazy dog that chases everything."
A number of other dogs chased us briefly, and none of them were as nice as the first guy. I growled at each of them and chased them away from my woman.
At the end of our first lunch stop, Nancy was ready to go before I was (like always) so she took off and let me try to chase her down. When I finally hit the road, I was chasing for something like three hours before I saw her again! She was a rocket today! She rode in a paceline with a few guys for a little while, but they were slowing her down, so she dropped the hammer and left them in the dust! Now everyone thinks Nancy is a hardcore racer who's just been holding back.
One last photo. Apparently they're been having problems with people, umm, abusing, the railroad cars:
Big day! Nancy and I had fresh legs this morning, thanks to our self-imposed rest day yesterday. As we prepared our bikes, we were the most chipper couple around. Yep, everyone is beginning to hate us :-)
The last few days have been very windy, but today was fairly nice. The wind was sort of gentle, and the cloudy sky kept things cool. We started out on a great country road (cue the John Denver song, again). About 10 miles into the ride, we saw this little guy trying to cross the road:
He (or she?) wasn't that little, either; a bit bigger than a softball. When we zoomed by he quickly pulled his head into his shell. I was worried that he may soon become much flatter, so we turned around, took his picture, and then carried him into the grass. I hope I put him on the side of the road he was aiming for.
A few miles later, we passed through a small town, and a few of the riders in our group met a new friend:
This very energetic doggie ran with them for about three miles! He wouldn't give up! He didn't have a collar on, but he looked way too healthy to be a stray. I hope he finds his way back home. Maybe everyone in town knows him. "Hey, there's the crazy dog that chases everything."
A number of other dogs chased us briefly, and none of them were as nice as the first guy. I growled at each of them and chased them away from my woman.
At the end of our first lunch stop, Nancy was ready to go before I was (like always) so she took off and let me try to chase her down. When I finally hit the road, I was chasing for something like three hours before I saw her again! She was a rocket today! She rode in a paceline with a few guys for a little while, but they were slowing her down, so she dropped the hammer and left them in the dust! Now everyone thinks Nancy is a hardcore racer who's just been holding back.
One last photo. Apparently they're been having problems with people, umm, abusing, the railroad cars:
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Day 18: Guymon OK to Woodward OK
125 miles, 5400 feet of climbing.
Today we got our asses kicked by Oklahoma.
We set out at 8:00 am (the change to Central time made it so sunrise was an hour later than we'd gotten used to), and right away, the crosswinds hit us. And they were relentless, all day long over the flat plains. We heard the wind was at 15 knots with gusts up to 20 knots, but it felt more like 30. I (Nancy) couldn't reach for my water bottle at times because the wind was so strong, I needed both hands to hang on to my handlebars. The roads were really crappy-- the worst so far, and over the whole 125 miles, so that it felt like we were actually getting our butts (and other regions) kicked with every pedal stroke. It took us 6 hours to do the same distance we did yesterday in 3 hours before lunch (70 miles)-- and we still had another 55 to go!
Ed at sunrise
The worst for me was that because the roads and shoulders were so bad, Ed and I couldn't safely draft off each other (or rather, me off of him). I don't say this often, but today I wished I was big and fat. Even another 40 or 50 lbs would do, just enough to give me more mass to battle the wind with. Because I couldn't hide behind Ed, and because I'm lighter, I got tossed around by the wind like a rag doll all day. I feel like I'm about 75 tonight. We skipped dinner and ordered pizza instead, just to avoid having to walk anywhere.
We're sick of Oklahoma. Are we there yet?
We forgot to mention that we unfortunately lost 2 guests earlier this week. A doctor from Madison hurt her knee in the first week, and she and her husband decided that it was best to go back home and get it checked out rather than try to force it. Our group is now down to 21 guests.
Today we got our asses kicked by Oklahoma.
We set out at 8:00 am (the change to Central time made it so sunrise was an hour later than we'd gotten used to), and right away, the crosswinds hit us. And they were relentless, all day long over the flat plains. We heard the wind was at 15 knots with gusts up to 20 knots, but it felt more like 30. I (Nancy) couldn't reach for my water bottle at times because the wind was so strong, I needed both hands to hang on to my handlebars. The roads were really crappy-- the worst so far, and over the whole 125 miles, so that it felt like we were actually getting our butts (and other regions) kicked with every pedal stroke. It took us 6 hours to do the same distance we did yesterday in 3 hours before lunch (70 miles)-- and we still had another 55 to go!
Ed at sunriseThe worst for me was that because the roads and shoulders were so bad, Ed and I couldn't safely draft off each other (or rather, me off of him). I don't say this often, but today I wished I was big and fat. Even another 40 or 50 lbs would do, just enough to give me more mass to battle the wind with. Because I couldn't hide behind Ed, and because I'm lighter, I got tossed around by the wind like a rag doll all day. I feel like I'm about 75 tonight. We skipped dinner and ordered pizza instead, just to avoid having to walk anywhere.
We're sick of Oklahoma. Are we there yet?
We forgot to mention that we unfortunately lost 2 guests earlier this week. A doctor from Madison hurt her knee in the first week, and she and her husband decided that it was best to go back home and get it checked out rather than try to force it. Our group is now down to 21 guests.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Day 17: Clayton, NM to Guymon, OK
108 miles, 2400 feet of climbing.
Welcome to Oklahoma! We cut a corner of Texas today, then sailed into Oklahoma with a sweet tailwind. We covered the 72 miles to lunch in 3 1/2 hours! After that the road surface was really rough and the tailwind turned into a crosswind, so the rest of the ride was a bit slower. In the crosswinds Nancy tucked into my draft, but once we got a little too close and I actually bumped her handlebars with my knee! We managed to stay upright, but just barely.
Let me tell you about chamois cream. The chamois is the padding part of bicycle shorts. On most rides, that padding is enough to keep your bum happy. On longer rides, you need a little help, and that's when chamois cream becomes your best friend. It's a goop that you spread either on the chamois of your shorts, or directly on your bum, under the sit-bones, or anywhere that may chafe. Nancy and I have tried a number of different brands of chamois cream, including Assos, Butt Butt'r, and Beljum Budder. Assos is a little creepy because it kind of tingles, but it does work well. My favorite is Beljum Budder, because I'm convinced that when I use it I become Tom Boonen, Belgian world champion bike racer. Nancy and I brought lots of all three on the trip. After five or six hours in the saddle, we really appreciate our chamois cream.
Welcome to Oklahoma! We cut a corner of Texas today, then sailed into Oklahoma with a sweet tailwind. We covered the 72 miles to lunch in 3 1/2 hours! After that the road surface was really rough and the tailwind turned into a crosswind, so the rest of the ride was a bit slower. In the crosswinds Nancy tucked into my draft, but once we got a little too close and I actually bumped her handlebars with my knee! We managed to stay upright, but just barely.
Let me tell you about chamois cream. The chamois is the padding part of bicycle shorts. On most rides, that padding is enough to keep your bum happy. On longer rides, you need a little help, and that's when chamois cream becomes your best friend. It's a goop that you spread either on the chamois of your shorts, or directly on your bum, under the sit-bones, or anywhere that may chafe. Nancy and I have tried a number of different brands of chamois cream, including Assos, Butt Butt'r, and Beljum Budder. Assos is a little creepy because it kind of tingles, but it does work well. My favorite is Beljum Budder, because I'm convinced that when I use it I become Tom Boonen, Belgian world champion bike racer. Nancy and I brought lots of all three on the trip. After five or six hours in the saddle, we really appreciate our chamois cream.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Day 16: Raton, NM to Clayton, NM
92 Miles, 5400 feet of climbing.
Not much to write about today. We started with a surprisingly hard climb, then gentle hills for the rest of the day. First a tailwind, then a headwind.
Hobo condo complex
Not much to write about today. We started with a surprisingly hard climb, then gentle hills for the rest of the day. First a tailwind, then a headwind.
Hobo condo complex
Monday, October 1, 2007
Day 15: Taos NM to Raton NM
95 miles, 6400 feet of climbing.
Today was a nice, easy day to ease us back into the daily grind after our very lazy day off in Taos. It started with our guides telling us they had changed our route to make it take an alternate road, thereby saving us 20 miles of riding and one nasty climb where the weather at the top of the pass was uncertain. Good start to the day! We rode out of Taos in about 41F temps --have we mentioned the past few days have been frigid and we've been wearing all our warm clothes almost all day long?-- and began climbing a nice road lined with trees and hills on both sides.
After lunch, we began descending-- and we descended right out of the Rockies and into the plains. (See the photo of Ed waving so long to the mountains. They won't be missed!)
The rest of the day was gradual descending, flats, and really small rollers. All very pleasant, and well earned. The temperature rose enough for us to be riding in just shorts and jerseys for the first time in about a week. We even saw buffalo on the plains! That's when I started serenading Ed with "Home on the Range," except all I knew was the part about the buffalo roaming, so the song was short.
It was one of those rare days when you get to the hotel and say "We're here already?" We might be having more of those, since the big mountains are behind us and the plains and straight roads are stretching out in front of us. Hopefully, the shorter riding days will also give the guides a chance to recupe-- I am SO glad I'm not guiding this trip, because it's hard to imagine doing twice as much work as I'm doing every day, and that's exactly what Katie, Dave, Matt, and Nate are doing. They're also getting sick just like everyone else, but they still show up smiling, with everything dialed and ready to go each morning. Give these people a raise!!!
Sadly, we haven't seen any UFOs in New Mexico yet. But we're looking...
Today was a nice, easy day to ease us back into the daily grind after our very lazy day off in Taos. It started with our guides telling us they had changed our route to make it take an alternate road, thereby saving us 20 miles of riding and one nasty climb where the weather at the top of the pass was uncertain. Good start to the day! We rode out of Taos in about 41F temps --have we mentioned the past few days have been frigid and we've been wearing all our warm clothes almost all day long?-- and began climbing a nice road lined with trees and hills on both sides.
After lunch, we began descending-- and we descended right out of the Rockies and into the plains. (See the photo of Ed waving so long to the mountains. They won't be missed!)
The rest of the day was gradual descending, flats, and really small rollers. All very pleasant, and well earned. The temperature rose enough for us to be riding in just shorts and jerseys for the first time in about a week. We even saw buffalo on the plains! That's when I started serenading Ed with "Home on the Range," except all I knew was the part about the buffalo roaming, so the song was short.
It was one of those rare days when you get to the hotel and say "We're here already?" We might be having more of those, since the big mountains are behind us and the plains and straight roads are stretching out in front of us. Hopefully, the shorter riding days will also give the guides a chance to recupe-- I am SO glad I'm not guiding this trip, because it's hard to imagine doing twice as much work as I'm doing every day, and that's exactly what Katie, Dave, Matt, and Nate are doing. They're also getting sick just like everyone else, but they still show up smiling, with everything dialed and ready to go each morning. Give these people a raise!!! 
Sadly, we haven't seen any UFOs in New Mexico yet. But we're looking...
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Day 13: Pagosa Springs CO to Taos NM
My rear derailleur cable snapped early on, and that combined with a hacking cough made me (Nancy) take it all as a sign and pull off the road for the day. Ed made it to 80 miles and to the top of the major climb before hail and thunderstorms forced him to pull off. A few fellow guests were able to avoid the patrolling guides and got through the hail, wind, and lightening flashes all the way through to Taos. A cold and miserable day-- luckily, an official rest day awaits in Taos!
140 miles, 11,000 feet of climbing.
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