Share the Road - On the road - Day #25

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DAY 25

Vandalia, IL to Terra Haute, IN - 94 miles

Today was about teamwork. The four riders, Geoff, Gary, Raul and myself, pulled together on the first two rides and rode in formation for the entire shift. Wow. It was very powerful. We each took five minute leads in the front, effectively breaking the wind (and occasionally, breaking wind) for the group behind. This drafting thing is pretty amazing. At the end of the third leg (25 miles each time), the group had spread a little bit as the pace we set was a bit hot for Gary (we were averaging over 20 and the humidity was a mutha).

For me it was plus/minus. On the plus side: teamwork. Freaking beautiful. Having everyone together -- beautiful. Being part of a unit -- beautiful. Our pace (when we got into camp) was excellent). Our SAG stops were short and measured (not too much cooling down).

On the minus side: Not stopping to take pictures of things that were interesting; feeling more mechanical than adventurous; sometimes not paying attention to the road as the point in drafting is to watch the pedals of the person in front of you (trusting they’re watching the road).

So we’ll see how to work some of the kinks out. It is a good thing, overall, but perhaps for one or two of our legs each day we’ll have a breakout session where everyone rides at their own pace. Maybe...we’ll see.

By the by -- two more flats for me today. We changed my tire with the hopes that maybe that would cure my flat-itis.

LATER...

Miserable hot today. I sat outside and worked on the internet for about two hours in a shady spot (wireless internet in RV parks -- oh yeah!). I drank about 60 ounces of water and had no need to pee. There’s all the info you never wanted on my bodily functions.

We ate at another Texas Roadhouse restaurant and they liked our story so much they gave out bands and commitment cards to every customer that came through the door over the 90 minutes we were there. In addition, Raul got a free t-shirt.

I’m sleeping outside tonight again. The tent is great and, with the air mattress, it should be a nice night.

You can be in the documentary this blog is based 

on! Click here to tell us your definition of health.

Share The Road - On the road - Day 14

DAY 14 Dalhart, TX to Liberal, KS 113 total miles, 992 climb After careful consideration, I have come to the conclusion that the roads in Texas along the 54 suck. 50 miles of that is a hell of a good vibrating morning, let me tell you. This is our longest scheduled trip of the tour (though I did 120+ the other day in AZ because of my sidetrip to the Biosphere II). The cloud cover today has been beautiful -- it helps me shoot much better pictures and it keeps some of the heat off us. The heat and the humidity have both been tolerable to say the least and the ride, overall, has been quite enjoyable. Gary let loose this morning and was really flying down the road -- I had to work to catch up to him! I am very impressed to see where he has come from and where he is now. He’s really grown and it’s inspirational to be around. Chris joined us on a bike for a while today -- that was cool. The kid is a freaking brick. I’m feeling emotionally tired still from yesterday, but much better. There has been much release from the angst I was holding. Part of that release came from going bowling last night -- good silly fun. Don’t get me wrong -- Chris and I competed and were really battling. We played five games each and he won the series 3-2 with a 158 - 152 finish in the last game. Damn. I simply don't like to lose. We have 33 miles to go and we will be in Liberal, KS. We’ll stop once more at the state line and then be on our way to Dorothy’s house. LATER... Made it! We got our laundry in and have checked into a Super 8 motel (with the high-speed internet access -- give it up, one time). We are taking our scheduled day off tomorrow -- give it up, two times! We talked about rolling on ahead of schedule, but I think we all realize there’s no need for that. New pictures going up today and maybe I’ll finally get on that video trailer I’ve been talking about.... Tomorrow we should visit Dorothy. Gary has been working on an assessment of her and her cohorts health conditions (I believe he's most concerned about the Lollypop Twins/Kids).