6 May 2011 Fast America Day 13

Liberal, KS to Dodge City, KS

Mileage:                     84.56 miles

Riding Time:              4:02     Riding Speed 20.9 mph

Total Time:                 4:30

Climbing:                    1060 ft.

Flats:                           0

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/83894891

http://app.strava.com/rides/522555

I uploaded a few pictures:

https://picasaweb.google.com/hoeberc/FastAmericaDays812?authkey=Gv1sRgCPTNyors_7Tocw#

Today was different. It was only 84 miles, and the wind was at our backs most of the time (it was from the SSW and when we turned E for about 20 miles, it was pretty much a crosswind). There was no climbing whatsoever. Couple of observations: the grass on the side of the roads in Kansas ripples gracefully in the breeze, while the grass in Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico simply sits there. Also telephone poles in California are installed eight or ten to the mile, while they are twenty to the mile in Kansas (I’m trying to pay attention to my surroundings and not just the patch of road in front of my nose).

There was only one SAG stop, for lunch, at the Dalton Gang Hideout in Meade, KS. Apparently the Dalton brothers terrorized the west for two years in the early 1990s, while operating out of the home of their sister Eva in Meade. When Eva moved out and the boys were killed/jailed, authorities came in and found a tunnel under the house where they hid whenever Eva had visitors.

So I was in to Dodge City by about 12:30, with time to sit in the Jacuzzi, take a swim, and walk downtown and visit the Boot Hill Museum. Many of the readers of this blog grew up on Gunsmoke; what is amazing is that the period of time captured by that show was only about five years. Then there was another five years during which 60 MILLION Buffalo were slaughtered, and the nomadic Indians were carted off to reservations. Five more years of cattle drives (Texas confederate soldiers returned home after the civil war to find that their longhorn cattle had multiplied like bunnies in their absence, and they had to do something with them). The cattle drives ended with an epidemic that required the cattle to be quarantined. Thinking about that pace of change makes current immigration issues sound trivial, and provides lots of food for thought as we address the possibility of mass human migrations due to climate change in the next hundred years.

It was a fun and contemplative day, but it also made me glad that I was doing such an aggressive ride; I don’t think that I would enjoy these half day rides every day!

But there is another one tomorrow: only 84 miles to Great Bend. Depending on winds, however, it could be much more difficult than today. There are a number of people with aches pains and swollen body parts, but I am doing fine.

5 May 2011 Fast America Day 12

Dalhart, TX to Liberal, KS


Mileage:        113.46 miles
Riding Time: 7:52                Riding Speed 14.4 mph
Total Time:    8:55
Climbing:       1821 ft.
Flats:              0

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/83703667
http://app.strava.com/rides/518565

I forgot to mention yesterday’s slide show.

Since we got to Dalhart early, Mike set up a slide show from the first ten days. He is an excellent photographer, and he took shot that we, on bikes, could not. All his shots will be available on a CD to me after the ride.

As a reminder, here is a link to Mike’s Blog, you will get the tour leader’s perspective:
http://www.bamacyclist.com/BAMA/Fast/Fast.html

Today, I was a parasite. We rode due NE, and the 15 mph+ wind was coming from the N, at about a heading of about 10:30 or 11:00. To ride efficiently in these conditions cyclists form an echelon. Since the wind was coming from the left; think of an echelon as the right half of a flock of geese. Of course, this takes road width, and most of the time we had a very large shoulder that could easily take three riders in an echelon. 99% of the time the lead rider was Tom, the second oldest rider (61) on the trip. And I was a remora, glued to his right hip. This took great strength on Tom’s part, as well as generosity. (in biology, one learns that successful parasites form a symbiotic relationship with the host, who also gets something from the deal). In this case, Tom likes to talk, and I am a willing listener. We both had fun as a result. I promised him a steak dinner, but he opted for pizza in his motel room and took a rain check for tomorrow. But even with Tom’s generous help, today was no picnic; probably the third hardest day after the two climbing days.

By the way, there are conditions like this sometimes in California but never for 113 miles. The entire day, covering New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas, we did not see a single tree until we reached Liberal. We would pray for the suction created by a passing semi, and dread the shock wave of a semi coming the other direction (on the other side of the road, of course).

Although the scenery is at first desolate, road kill implies that there are lots of coyotes, badgers and hawks in the area. And the meadowlarks were out singing.

Motorists continue to give us a wide berth, and we got a number of friendly toots from cars and trucks. The train tracks parallel the road most of the time, and most of the passing trains acknowledge us with a whistle.

Our motel in Liberal is right next door to Dorothy’s house. Really! It is a 1907 farmhouse moved to its present location at the county museum. The Governor declared it the official home of Dorothy Gale in 1981.

BTW, if you are interested (as I was) in how Liberal got its name: the motel receptionist tells me that back in the days of the Santa Fe Trail, a man drilled the only well for miles around. But he welcomed anyone to take the water and he became famous to everyone passing through as being “Liberal” with his water. She also assured me that “we’re all Republicans” and assuredly not liberal.

4 May 2011 Fast America Day 11

Tucumcari, NM to Dalhart, TX

Mileage:                     101.00 miles

Riding Time:              4:39     Riding Speed 21.7 mph

Total Time:                 5:00

Climbing:                    1828 ft.

Flats:                           0

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/83527103

http://app.strava.com/rides/513323

When U.S. 54 was built, someone must have taken a 200 mile string and stretched it from Tucumcari to Liberal, KS, where I will lay my head tomorrow night. Then the road was laid along that string. It is that straight, except where the string must have hit a snag crossing the Canadian River. The river gorge is a gash in the earth which is otherwise almost flat – we crossed on a high bridge, but I had visions of trying to get the covered wagons down the gorge to cross the river (probably a herd of cattle is a more accurate vision; this is where the big cattle drives to Dodge City took place. Today had small rollers, tomorrow loses about 1,200 feet of elevation (about 10 feet per mile) but doesn’t even have small rollers.

Aided by today’s 25 mph tailwind, I set my second century PR in 4 days, at 4:34. Actually, the scheduled ride was only 95 miles so I made a little detour around the Dalhart residential area to get my century in; the last five miles did not help my average speed. It took two laps of little Dalhart to get the extra five miles. I rode virtually the whole way by myself, but with no hills, I was again near the front of the group. Note: The century run will end day after tomorrow, the two rides after that are only 83 and 85 miles.

We’re now in Central Time. Tomorrow’s ride is due NE like today, but the wind has changed 180 degrees, and we should see 15 mph headwinds the whole way. I guess today qualifies as an almost rest day, and I feel well prepared for a miserable long day tomorrow. My problem left foot was fine today.

Yesterday, I remarked on the importance of habit and how some daily tasks had become a ritual for me. Well, one thing that broke the ritual is that the last two days I wore cold weather long fingered gloves. So I panicked 10 minutes before I was due with my luggage when I couldn’t find my regular cycling gloves. After looking everywhere else, I looked in my shoes, where I had placed them because I could not possibly not find them there when I tried to put on my shoes.

3 May 2011 Fast America Day 10

Santa Fe, NM to Tucumcari, NM


Mileage: 110.78 miles
Riding Time: 7:09 Riding Speed 15.5 mph
Total Time: 8:00
Climbing: 3698 ft.
Flats: 0

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/83350618
http://app.strava.com/rides/509428


Today we cashed in some of the Potential Energy that we had stored up with all of the climbing over the past few days. Tucumcari is more than 2,000 feet below Las Vegas, and the wind was a gentle crosswind most of the day; so the ride was much easier than yesterdays. It did, however, start with 20 miles of climbing and it did feature the first climb that could be called a “Wall”, a cycling term that is easily understandable by non cyclists. The Wall came at mile 68 and featured 0.7 miles of 10% climbing. Note: where I live, it is virtually impossible to put in a long ride without encountering ~15% stretches. But there have just been a half dozen times when the cross country ride has flirted with double digits.

Hard to get lost on today’s ride: Turn left on State Route 104 and take it to Tucumcari, where we turned left into the hotel. It was a beautiful 2 lane road and we saw less than 100 motor vehicles all day. Everyone gave me a wide berth when passing.

I know that I am not performing at the level of the first couple of days, but I feel OK. I just have to get used to being one of the last finishers; I am definitely fatigued. But one of the other riders spent the day in the SAG Wagon, suffering from a swollen Achilles tendon, and another was limping with an aching shin tonight.

The weather improved dramatically, starting out at about 40, but reaching a high in the 80s.

Tomorrow we enter Texas and the Central Time Zone. Looks like a strong tailwind and it is flat, so records may fall. Mike’s anticipating that anyway, as the start is not until 8:00 and he has scheduled a slide show from the ride at 2:00 PM.

Ritual: In the introductory meeting, we were all told that we would end each day brain dead and that it was important to establish habits that are followed when brain dead (especially safety habits). I’m having to extend this to the morning: put on butt cream before putting on shorts (duh!). BTW, my butt has calluses, but is doing OK. Put on sun screen before shorts and jerseys (because the shorts and sleeves ride up, exposing more skin). Put on foot cream before socks. All this cream and clothing is a 10 minute process, but so far I haven’t forgotten anything.

Mortality: We pass a roadside Memorial about once a day, including today. Sometimes in places where it is hard to imagine how an accident could occur. We also passed a Ghost Bicycle the other day, I forgot to mention it in the blog.

Drive and ride safely, everyone.

2 May 2011 Fast America Day 9

Albuquerque, NM to Santa Fe, NM

Mileage:                     106.93 miles

Riding Time:              9:13     Riding Speed 11.6 mph

Total Time:                 11:42

Climbing:                    6716 ft.

Flats:                           0

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/83151394

http://app.strava.com/rides/505657

I promised people that I wouldn’t do anything stupid, so I accepted a ride in the SAG Wagon for about 25 miles in the middle of today’s ride. I apologize if some of you lost bets as a result. The threatened thunderstorm did not come, but I think that I must have offended the wind gods with my gloating on Day 6, so they reversed the wind. We had an 8-10 mph headwind all day, gusting to about 15 at times. The day started with a 20 mile climb and it simply took the power out of my legs. By the first SAG stop I was dead last and realized that if I did not do something, I would not finish in daylight. By accepting the ride at that time, it allowed the staff to keep the SAG stop/lunch schedule.

We hit the high point of the tour – about 7,500 feet, and it was snowing. Because of the wind, it was coming down in our faces, and it stung, but for those of you used to living in snow, it was surely no big deal. But it took me nearly two hours to thaw out when we got to the motel. The motel is the first one without some other stores/restaurants near by, so everyone ordered Domino’s Pizza delivered, and I got water from the vending machine.

I have not experienced what I am going through before in my life: I don’t feel completely done in, like I would after a hard race, for example, but there is just no power there. I can only get my HR to 125 bps, instead of the normal 160. I am told that this is normal, and I will return to a new plateau about two weeks after the end of the tour. Knowing that it is normal doesn’t make it less frustrating, however.

Mike just called, moving tomorrow’s rider’s meeting from 6:45 AM to 7:45. I think he is rewarding us for our efforts today. Tomorrow has little climbing, and instead of gaining 1400 feet, we lose 2400 feet. It will be the first of ten consecutive days where we lose net elevation.

1 May 2011 Fast America Day 8 Update

Rest Day UPDATE


Flats: 2

What an afternoon. How can anyone have 2 flats on a day off, you ask? (note: I had been tied for the lead with 8, but I think I just took a commanding lead).

I rode 2 miles to the bike store to restock on tubes and CO2 cartridges, replace a water bottle cage (bottle was not being held snugly) and get new sunglasses. But it was uphill into a 25 mph headwind. Most of the time I was doing 8 mph and it felt like climbing a 15% grade.

When I mounted up I realized that I had a dreaded Hotel Flat. So I patiently and carefully changed it and rode off. Got my stuff (a Trek Superstore – largest shop that I have ever seen, and they were knowledgeable on top of that. Gave me a discount because “I respect what you are doing.” Then I went to the Subway next door for lunch; came out and discovered that the tire was soft. First I tried reinflating the tube – it blew up. Changed it again and this time saw the problem: a huge slit in the tire sidewall, with the tube poking through. I had carefully inspected the tire, but when it was not inflated the cut was almost invisible, even though I knew what I was looking for. Fortunately, I was at the bike store, so I bought a new tire.

I rode a total of 6.53 miles and it completely wore me out. The wind was from the east; its direction is going to change constantly as the storm moves through, but if we had been riding through Albuquerque today at noon, it would have been impossible.

I am beginning to appreciate Mike’s ABC rules:

Air:        Check tires and then recheck
Brakes:  Check action and pads
Cables:  Check all connections

Dinner: I had dinner with my friend Marcia Jarvis and her husband Ron Tinsley, whom I had not met before. I think that Marcia and I had been looking forward to reconnecting for a long time. As I said in a previous blog, her first husband Greg and I rode our first centuries together. I always gave Jerry credit for getting me into cycling, but in retrospect, we all inspired the others. When Greg moved to California, he wanted to try everything (hot air ballooning, cycling, etc.) and I think that gave both Marcia and myself the desire to set goals and do things. Marcia and I are the only people that I know who commuted by bicycle through the Sepulveda Ave. Tunnel under the LAX runway. We’ve both been back there and said “We did that? We must have been nuts”. There is a road that allows a cyclist to bypass it now. She now lives with Ron and her mules and horses (and dog) in Pagosa Springs, CO. Greg died on the Challenger in 1986 living a dream that he had set for himself; we both miss him very much.

1 May 2011Fast America Day 8

Rest Day

I’ve posted a few pictures:

https://picasaweb.google.com/hoeberc/FastAmericaDays07?authkey=Gv1sRgCKWe7qHOufPURA#

Well, I caught up with some work stuff that I had to do on my computer. In a little while I will ride to a bike shop to pick up some miscellany.

I am eagerly looking forward to meeting my friend Marcia Jarvis this evening. She is driving down with her husband Ron from Pagosa Springs, CO, just to see me. I feel so honored; I did my first century with her husband Greg in 1972 or 3. And I did my first two day ride with her, Greg and Jerry Dutcher round trip from Manhattan Beach, CA to Hemet, CA, a ride that closely paralleled our Day 1. But I moved from LA in 1975 and we have kept in contact by cards and now e-mail over the years.

The riding has gone about as expected. But I am amazed at where the time goes when off the bike. I appreciate the words I got from Liz, who did a similar ride a few years ago: “All I remember is riding and sleeping”. Between that and laundry, taking care of the day’s wear and tear on the bike and dinner, there is not much time for anything else. Maybe on the 80 mile days in Kansas there will be.

Tomorrow; fear is not a good emotion to be feeling: Tomorrow’s ride is 135 miles, with 8,000 ft. + of climbing, between 5,000 and 7,750 ft. elevation, from Albuquerque to Las Vegas, NM. Tough enough, but it will also be about 26 F when we set out tomorrow morning and the weather reports are full of snow and high wind warnings. Normally, I set about a challenge with realistic concerns and not fear, and I am writing about it to help drive the fear out. I just said goodbye to Gregg in the hotel hallway and told him my fears. He certainly had the right response: “I’ve seen you ride; if anyone makes it, it is going to be you.” I’m feeling better already.

Some thoughts on the first week:

Traffic: It helps to know how to ride and to follow Mike’s safety rules, but it has not been a problem. I’ve seen a few drivers do stupid things, but nothing really dangerous yet. The closest calls have been school buses; the drivers don’t seem to know how wide they are (or maybe they do and that is why they think it is OK to pass you with 6 inches of clearance).

Luck: I know of at least 4 people, myself included, who have taken minor tumbles. But I cannot imagine doing this ride unsupported. Replacing a tube in a 40 mph gale is one thing, but sitting there and patching it would be something else. And what do you do if you have a nail go through your rim? Beside’s Gregg’s rim, the other casualty is Shelley’s bike. It blew over at the rest stop day before yesterday (lending credibility my theory that my sun glasses blew away) and smashed into a log. The verdict is not clear but it chipped a seat stay and we aren’t sure of the remaining integrity. She rode SAG yesterday and is getting a new bike built up (new frame, her existing components) at the Trek store 2 miles away from our hotel today.

Brenda: In our first day in Arizona, we had lunch in the town of Brenda, on S.R. 60. I wonder who Brenda is or was, and how the town got its name, but the town seemed to consist of three trailer parks, a gas station and café, and 12 trees. The town colors are gray and gray.