I made it!! I rode with some trepidation today, waiting for some last disaster to befall me, but this easiest of all days on the tour went smoothly. Even the oppressive heat was less of a problem, as we had the bulk of our ride completed by noon. We rode in groups at a leisurely pace, chatting about our adventures over the last month. We stopped for ice cream. We lingered at the rest stops. We waited for the slowest rider to catch up just 2 miles from Yorktown beach, then rode together to the finish line. Some dipped their bikes in Chesapeake Bay.
We passed more farming country today.....corn and soybeans mixed with elegant looking horse farms. Much of the ride was on tree lined roads that were quite pleasant. As we progressed towards Williamsburg, there were an increasing number of historical sites. We skirted the edge of Williamsburg, then continued on another 15 miles to the Yorktown beach.
I immediately rode back to Williamsburg, because I had an appointment with a Harvard College classmate named Kevin Rafferty, who is an independent film maker. He is making a documentary of the 1968 Harvard-Yale football game, in which I played. He is doing film interviews with 30 Harvard and Yale players, including a few luminaries like Tommy Lee Jones and Calvin Hill. That year both Harvard and Yale were both undefeated for the first time since 1904, but Yale had superior talent, including 4 players that would be drafted by the NFL (very unusual for an Ivy League team). Yale dominated most of the game, and with less than a minute left, led 29-13. Then miraculously, Harvard scored 16 points in the last 42 seconds of the game to earn a tie. Sports Illustrated called this game one of the 10 greatest games in college football history. It was a fun interview to do, as I was able to catch up on what some of my old teammates are up to.
We had a banquet tonight to celebrate our accomplishment. A good time was had by all. Suzanne has just arrived, having flown in from Seattle. This is the longest that we have been apart in our long wonderful marriage so it is fantastic to see her. We plan to see Jefferson's home, Monticello, tomorrow, and then spend the night at a luxurious resort, The Inn at Little Washington, then fly home to Seattle on Saturday. I plan to sleep in tomorrow, and, no, I won't be going for a bike ride......
I'm astounded by some of the people on this tour. They want to do this sort of thing again and again. This was a hard tour, and I'm glad I did it, EFI. But do I want to do more transcontinental bike rides? I don't think so.
97 miles. 1600 vertical feet.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Day 25: Harrisonburg VA to Ashland VA
Mother Nature gave one more big try today to shrink the EFI group. By numbers, this should have been a relatively easy day: 123 miles and 4500' of climbing. I switched on The Weather Channel first thing this a.m., and heard several stories about heat stroke. They then predicted that the record high for August 8 for this part of Virginia, set in 1935, would likely be broken today. It was unbelievably hot. The heat index was 115. I'm not sure what the final high was....probably around 107. We had lunch by a fire station in a little town, and one of the firemen came over to chat. He looked at our group with some amazement, and said "You folks shouldn't be out here exercising on a day like this. You should be inside in the air conditioning." And he was absolutely right. At times I felt like the Wicked Witch of the West, about to melt into a little puddle on the road. If you kept moving on your bike, the full intensity of the heat didn't hit. But if you stopped in the sun for any reason, every pore gushed forth with an ocean of sweat. I drank over 15 liters of fluid today and it wasn't enough. I'm glad the ride was only 123 miles, because I don't think I could have gone much further.
Fortunately, our major challenge today came early on, when it was a mere 85 degrees. We climbed 2000' from Harrisonburg to Skyline Drive, which is an extension of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Shenandoah National Park, an extremely beautiful area. It was one last chance for the mountain goats to strut their stuff. The grades, unlike West Virginia, were a more reasonable 5 to 7%. The day was also made slightly more tolerable by trees; we rode on many tree lined country roads, past some very fancy looking estates. The soybeans here looked very scrawny and sickly; instead of the robust dark green of the soybeans in Minnesota and Illinois, these were only about 9" high and had an unhealthy gray-green appearance, doubtlessly due to the drought. Today certainly didn't help them any.
Our motel tonight is next to I-95, the last north-south interstate we will cross. We crossed I-5 just minutes into our first day leaving Everett, and we've crossed numerous other interstates as we've made our way across the country.
Out of 32 riders who started, the EFI count is down to a mere 13. Williamsburg is only about 65 miles from here, but we ride beyond it to Yorktown beach, where we will ceremonially dip our bikes in the Atlantic Ocean. I'm ready to be done. I need to return to work so I can rest up.....
123 miles. 4500 vertical feet.
Fortunately, our major challenge today came early on, when it was a mere 85 degrees. We climbed 2000' from Harrisonburg to Skyline Drive, which is an extension of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Shenandoah National Park, an extremely beautiful area. It was one last chance for the mountain goats to strut their stuff. The grades, unlike West Virginia, were a more reasonable 5 to 7%. The day was also made slightly more tolerable by trees; we rode on many tree lined country roads, past some very fancy looking estates. The soybeans here looked very scrawny and sickly; instead of the robust dark green of the soybeans in Minnesota and Illinois, these were only about 9" high and had an unhealthy gray-green appearance, doubtlessly due to the drought. Today certainly didn't help them any.
Our motel tonight is next to I-95, the last north-south interstate we will cross. We crossed I-5 just minutes into our first day leaving Everett, and we've crossed numerous other interstates as we've made our way across the country.
Out of 32 riders who started, the EFI count is down to a mere 13. Williamsburg is only about 65 miles from here, but we ride beyond it to Yorktown beach, where we will ceremonially dip our bikes in the Atlantic Ocean. I'm ready to be done. I need to return to work so I can rest up.....
123 miles. 4500 vertical feet.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Day 24: Elkins WV to Harrisonburg VA
The cycling gods were benevolent today. No rain. No flat tires. Beautiful pavement to ride on for almost the entire day. The day started shrouded in fog, and by the afternoon the temperature was up to its usual 95 muggy degrees. Compared to yesterday, I was thrilled. We only had to do 108 miles, and got into the motel in Harrisonburg at a reasonable hour.
There was, however, the minor matter of climbing 10,500 vertical feet.......
The climbing started off with a bang, with 5 big passes, totalling 4000', before the first rest stop at the 29 mile mark. Roads in West Virginia don't mess around.......they go straight over the top of ridges. No switchbacks. As a consequence, there are frequent 9% pitches that go on for a while. At about the 40 mile mark, we turned off on a small sideroad called the German Valley road. It wound steadily uphill for many miles, before suddenly plunging downhill in a dizzying descent. I didn't see a single car on this entire 20 mile stretch. Another steep climb followed, and by the time we got to the lunch stop, we had done about 7200'. The last pass was a doozer, climbing a 9% grade for an agonizing 6 miles, before ending at the Virginia border. Another rapid descent followed, and then I hit a perfect cycling road: brand new tarmac had just been put down by the road department the day before......the yellow center strip hadn't been painted yet. This glorious surface went on for 10 miles, through some gorgeous woods. Another 20 miles of rollers brought me to Harrisonburg, legs a little rubbery after all that climbing but not too bad.
This was a day for the mountain goats........those 140 lb. riders who can soar up the hills seemingly without much difficulty. It was especially awesome to watch Marc and Caterina, our 2 superstars, attack the hills.
For the first part of the day, I couldn't see much of West Virginia because of the fog. When the sun shined through, spectacular vistas were revealed. Multiple green ridges extending as far as one could see. Some of the homes we passed appeared beat up, but then we would also see an occasional well tended horse farm or other well groomed property. Route 33, which we basically took all day, is remarkable for how rural it is......the only towns we came to were quite small. The German Valley was especially beautiful. Just a few miles into Virginia, an increase in socioeconomic status became obvious. It looks like the Harrisonburg area has lots of Civil War history.
Yesterday I had serious doubts about my EFI status. About the time of the 6th flat, I was about ready to be sagged to the motel. Now I think I'm going to make it after all. Tomorrow we ride through Virginia to Ashland, with some climbing but nothing like today. Then on Thursday we have a ceremonial ride into Paris (Williamsburg). Unfortunately, the predictions are for temperatures in the low 100's with a heat index of 110. I'm getting used to the heat. I'll freeze when I go back to Seattle.....
108 miles. 10,500 vertical feet.
There was, however, the minor matter of climbing 10,500 vertical feet.......
The climbing started off with a bang, with 5 big passes, totalling 4000', before the first rest stop at the 29 mile mark. Roads in West Virginia don't mess around.......they go straight over the top of ridges. No switchbacks. As a consequence, there are frequent 9% pitches that go on for a while. At about the 40 mile mark, we turned off on a small sideroad called the German Valley road. It wound steadily uphill for many miles, before suddenly plunging downhill in a dizzying descent. I didn't see a single car on this entire 20 mile stretch. Another steep climb followed, and by the time we got to the lunch stop, we had done about 7200'. The last pass was a doozer, climbing a 9% grade for an agonizing 6 miles, before ending at the Virginia border. Another rapid descent followed, and then I hit a perfect cycling road: brand new tarmac had just been put down by the road department the day before......the yellow center strip hadn't been painted yet. This glorious surface went on for 10 miles, through some gorgeous woods. Another 20 miles of rollers brought me to Harrisonburg, legs a little rubbery after all that climbing but not too bad.
This was a day for the mountain goats........those 140 lb. riders who can soar up the hills seemingly without much difficulty. It was especially awesome to watch Marc and Caterina, our 2 superstars, attack the hills.
For the first part of the day, I couldn't see much of West Virginia because of the fog. When the sun shined through, spectacular vistas were revealed. Multiple green ridges extending as far as one could see. Some of the homes we passed appeared beat up, but then we would also see an occasional well tended horse farm or other well groomed property. Route 33, which we basically took all day, is remarkable for how rural it is......the only towns we came to were quite small. The German Valley was especially beautiful. Just a few miles into Virginia, an increase in socioeconomic status became obvious. It looks like the Harrisonburg area has lots of Civil War history.
Yesterday I had serious doubts about my EFI status. About the time of the 6th flat, I was about ready to be sagged to the motel. Now I think I'm going to make it after all. Tomorrow we ride through Virginia to Ashland, with some climbing but nothing like today. Then on Thursday we have a ceremonial ride into Paris (Williamsburg). Unfortunately, the predictions are for temperatures in the low 100's with a heat index of 110. I'm getting used to the heat. I'll freeze when I go back to Seattle.....
108 miles. 10,500 vertical feet.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Day 23: Athens OH to Elkins WV
Today wasn't the hardest day physically, but it was easily the hardest day emotionally. The rain yesterday was no fun.....we got thoroughly soaked before lunch. It was a bad day to do an extra 10 miles. Athens is where Ohio University is.....we passed a large football stadium. They play division one, but are smart enough not to schedule Ohio State.
The rain had ended by the time we arrived last night, so I assumed that would be the end of it. But when I awakened this morning, it was raining hard. We huddled under a small tent eating our breakfast at 6 a.m., knowing we had 160 miles and 6500 feet of climbing ahead. There are no days off for bad weather on this tour; the show must move on. So off we went, into the driving rain. Within minutes, I looked, and felt, like a drowned sewer rat. I started to think of a hot shower in the first 10 miles rather than the last 10 miles. Riding in the rain is dangerous......the road is slippery and it is difficult to see. Debris on the side of the road sticks to your tires, so the odds of a flat tire go way up. The majority of the riders had at least one flat today. I won the prize. I had SIX!!
6 flat tires!! Did I forget to pray to the cycling god this morning? The first was due to a small wire, the second from a deteriorating rim strip, the third from a sidewall gash caused by debris. I installed new rim tape and a brand new tire on the rear. Next the front tire went flat. Twice. Then, with 15 miles to go, the brand new rear tire got a flat. After the 4th flat, for some reason my speedometer and odometer both totally went dead, which meant following the cue sheet was a big problem. My chain came off about 8 times. I was not a happy camper by the time I crawled into the motel parking lot at 6 p.m.
Much of the problem, besides the rain, was the fact that we had to ride 2 very long stretches on the shoulder of busy 4 lane roads. Much of this was very rough, like chip and seal at best and a continual rumble strip at worst. The rain slowed down after 30 miles and finally stopped, but soon thereafter we had muggy heat, up to the 90's again, to contend with. All in all, not a great day.
Southeastern Ohio is quite lovely. The Hocking Hills that we passed through yesterday afternoon are very pretty, with thick hardwood forests and rolling hills. One thing that struck me was the relative lack of fruit trees. I understand about the large corn and soybean fields, but I expected an occasional apple tree in the yard of the farmhouses. Didn't Johnny Appleseed hang out around here?
At mid morning we crossed the Ohio River and entered West Virginia at the town of Parkersburg, which is a large lower middle class tough looking town. We then climbed a series of long, one to three mile grades, with a nice descent after each one on route 50. We were reminded every 15 miles or so that we were on the Robert C. Bird Appalachian road network. Late in the morning, we took a great sideroad with little traffic through the rural countryside. This was the highlight of the day, if today had a highlight. West Virginia, like Wisconsin, looks geologically old. There are lots of hills but nothing very high, and the hardwood forests are beautiful. We passed through the town of Weston, which, like Parkersburg, has a working class appearance. I can't say I saw anybody all day that would qualify as a "hillbilly".
These back to back 160 mile days, with the rain and the flat tires, have been brutal. Tomorrow we have our first "short" day (108 miles) since Wyoming, but we climb over 10,000 feet, as we go from Elkins to Harrisonburg, Virginia.
160 miles. 6500 vertical feet
The rain had ended by the time we arrived last night, so I assumed that would be the end of it. But when I awakened this morning, it was raining hard. We huddled under a small tent eating our breakfast at 6 a.m., knowing we had 160 miles and 6500 feet of climbing ahead. There are no days off for bad weather on this tour; the show must move on. So off we went, into the driving rain. Within minutes, I looked, and felt, like a drowned sewer rat. I started to think of a hot shower in the first 10 miles rather than the last 10 miles. Riding in the rain is dangerous......the road is slippery and it is difficult to see. Debris on the side of the road sticks to your tires, so the odds of a flat tire go way up. The majority of the riders had at least one flat today. I won the prize. I had SIX!!
6 flat tires!! Did I forget to pray to the cycling god this morning? The first was due to a small wire, the second from a deteriorating rim strip, the third from a sidewall gash caused by debris. I installed new rim tape and a brand new tire on the rear. Next the front tire went flat. Twice. Then, with 15 miles to go, the brand new rear tire got a flat. After the 4th flat, for some reason my speedometer and odometer both totally went dead, which meant following the cue sheet was a big problem. My chain came off about 8 times. I was not a happy camper by the time I crawled into the motel parking lot at 6 p.m.
Much of the problem, besides the rain, was the fact that we had to ride 2 very long stretches on the shoulder of busy 4 lane roads. Much of this was very rough, like chip and seal at best and a continual rumble strip at worst. The rain slowed down after 30 miles and finally stopped, but soon thereafter we had muggy heat, up to the 90's again, to contend with. All in all, not a great day.
Southeastern Ohio is quite lovely. The Hocking Hills that we passed through yesterday afternoon are very pretty, with thick hardwood forests and rolling hills. One thing that struck me was the relative lack of fruit trees. I understand about the large corn and soybean fields, but I expected an occasional apple tree in the yard of the farmhouses. Didn't Johnny Appleseed hang out around here?
At mid morning we crossed the Ohio River and entered West Virginia at the town of Parkersburg, which is a large lower middle class tough looking town. We then climbed a series of long, one to three mile grades, with a nice descent after each one on route 50. We were reminded every 15 miles or so that we were on the Robert C. Bird Appalachian road network. Late in the morning, we took a great sideroad with little traffic through the rural countryside. This was the highlight of the day, if today had a highlight. West Virginia, like Wisconsin, looks geologically old. There are lots of hills but nothing very high, and the hardwood forests are beautiful. We passed through the town of Weston, which, like Parkersburg, has a working class appearance. I can't say I saw anybody all day that would qualify as a "hillbilly".
These back to back 160 mile days, with the rain and the flat tires, have been brutal. Tomorrow we have our first "short" day (108 miles) since Wyoming, but we climb over 10,000 feet, as we go from Elkins to Harrisonburg, Virginia.
160 miles. 6500 vertical feet
Sunday, August 5, 2007
day 22 troy to Athens oh
No Internet here so I'm doing this on my blackberry. Long hard day today. It rained all day, sometimes very hard. I missed 2 turns and did an extra 10 miles. Ended the day in a beautiful area called the hocking hills. More tomorrow. 162 miles. 4000 vertical feet
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Day 21: Wabash IN to Troy OH
Today was thoroughly delightful. Even though I pedaled 131 miles, I felt like I didnt work very hard. I have a "final exam" coming up in a couple of days, when we go over the appalachians in West Virginia, so I was happy to rest my legs. Wabash is in the eastern time zone, so we lost an hour last night, but started off in 55 degree temperatures. It stayed cool until lunch, and even though the temperature once again hit over 90, some cloud cover kept it less than that for part of the afternoon.
We got to the Ohio state line by mid morning and had lunch in the town of Coldwater. Two of the guys on this tour, Dan and Doug, live in this area and their friends and relatives came to the lunch spot to greet us. Tonight they are hosting a cookout at the home of a relative near Troy, which should be fun. Dan raises poultry on an industrial scale and Doug is an expert at repair of farming equipment. Both are great guys. Neither had seen any of the west prior to this trip. My life path had not previously crossed with a combine mechanic or a turkey farmer, but now it has.
Ohio is remarkable for a couple of things. The roads are superb, very smooth and in great repair. The crops are obviously suffering from a drought. The cornstalks are only 4 feet or so tall here, compared to more robust 6 to 7 feet farther west in the farm belt. The soybeans in Iowa and Minnesota were 3 feet tall, but are only 1 foot tall here. There is no irrigation here so the farmers totally rely on rainfall.
The internet connection here is very shaky, so I am going to publish this post before I get signed off involuntarily. Tomorrow we angle east and a little south to the town of Athens, then head into West Virginia on Monday.
131 miles. 1500 vertical feet
We got to the Ohio state line by mid morning and had lunch in the town of Coldwater. Two of the guys on this tour, Dan and Doug, live in this area and their friends and relatives came to the lunch spot to greet us. Tonight they are hosting a cookout at the home of a relative near Troy, which should be fun. Dan raises poultry on an industrial scale and Doug is an expert at repair of farming equipment. Both are great guys. Neither had seen any of the west prior to this trip. My life path had not previously crossed with a combine mechanic or a turkey farmer, but now it has.
Ohio is remarkable for a couple of things. The roads are superb, very smooth and in great repair. The crops are obviously suffering from a drought. The cornstalks are only 4 feet or so tall here, compared to more robust 6 to 7 feet farther west in the farm belt. The soybeans in Iowa and Minnesota were 3 feet tall, but are only 1 foot tall here. There is no irrigation here so the farmers totally rely on rainfall.
The internet connection here is very shaky, so I am going to publish this post before I get signed off involuntarily. Tomorrow we angle east and a little south to the town of Athens, then head into West Virginia on Monday.
131 miles. 1500 vertical feet
Friday, August 3, 2007
Day 20: Dwight IL to Wabash IN
The PacTour express is really starting to rumble now, as we all smell the finish line in less than a week. We're seeing a new state virtually every day, as today we roared into Indiana at mid-morning. We're doing big chunks of miles every day....over 1000 in the last week alone. During the cycling season in the summertime at home, if I am riding a lot I will do about 1000 miles in a month. I did 168 miles today, and it went remarkably smoothly.
We started out at dawn, heading toward a large angry appearing blood red Mr. Sun through the mist on the low east horizon, looking like he was warning us that he was about to dish out some serious muggy heat once again. It was Franz's day to ride (crew members get free room, board, and tuition, and get to ride every other day) so I left with him and the clydesdale, and we made Karen the chemistry teacher an honorary member of the hammerhead society for the first 30 miles, then she dropped back. After the first rest stop, the clydesdale did one of his time trial routines. When I finally caught up with him and reminded him that we had a long day ahead, he said that when certain songs come on his IPOD he needs to accelerate. I don't know what he was listening to, but it probably wasn't Beethoven. Eventually he slowed down, and he and Franz and I maintained a steady fast tempo, and finished the long ride in a little over 8 hours in the saddle, just under 20 mph average.
The most accurate descriptor of Illinois and Indiana is FLAT. I don't think I saw a 3% grade all day, and I stayed in my big chainring the entire time. More cornfields and soybeans today.....it sounds like these will continue all the way to West Virginia. We cruised through a bunch of towns with names like Morocco, Mexico, and Peru, but none of them was the least bit exotic. The temperature got up to the low 90's. Occasionally a cloud would pass by and block the sun, and it seemed like the temperature would briefly drop by about 10 degrees. Evaporative cooling doesn't happen much in this muggy heat; beads of sweat appear on your arms and legs and just sit there, until rivulets form. It was dead calm for the first half of the day, then we had a gentle tailwind at the end, our first tailwind since Montana. So much for the supposed "prevailing winds" that are meant to blow from west to east....
I've experienced an additional unanticipated problem in the last few days: being chased by dogs. Even in the rural areas of Snohomish County where I train, most dogs are restrained or fenced. Not in the midwest. Several times dogs have come charging after us. The first 2 times I happened to be going fast, so I could outrun them. The third time the dog was a golden retriever, and he really didn't have his heart in it, and gave up quickly. I saw a coyote today, a remarkable site in an Indiana cornfield.....
The group is shrinking.......a bunch of folks have left the tour for planned and unplanned reasons. The EFI group is dwindling also.......probably now only about a dozen or so. Hard to believe that tomorrow I will complete 3 weeks on the road. It has gone by quickly.
Tomorrow we finish off Indiana and head into Ohio, ending up in the town of Troy.
168 miles. 1100 vertical feet
We started out at dawn, heading toward a large angry appearing blood red Mr. Sun through the mist on the low east horizon, looking like he was warning us that he was about to dish out some serious muggy heat once again. It was Franz's day to ride (crew members get free room, board, and tuition, and get to ride every other day) so I left with him and the clydesdale, and we made Karen the chemistry teacher an honorary member of the hammerhead society for the first 30 miles, then she dropped back. After the first rest stop, the clydesdale did one of his time trial routines. When I finally caught up with him and reminded him that we had a long day ahead, he said that when certain songs come on his IPOD he needs to accelerate. I don't know what he was listening to, but it probably wasn't Beethoven. Eventually he slowed down, and he and Franz and I maintained a steady fast tempo, and finished the long ride in a little over 8 hours in the saddle, just under 20 mph average.
The most accurate descriptor of Illinois and Indiana is FLAT. I don't think I saw a 3% grade all day, and I stayed in my big chainring the entire time. More cornfields and soybeans today.....it sounds like these will continue all the way to West Virginia. We cruised through a bunch of towns with names like Morocco, Mexico, and Peru, but none of them was the least bit exotic. The temperature got up to the low 90's. Occasionally a cloud would pass by and block the sun, and it seemed like the temperature would briefly drop by about 10 degrees. Evaporative cooling doesn't happen much in this muggy heat; beads of sweat appear on your arms and legs and just sit there, until rivulets form. It was dead calm for the first half of the day, then we had a gentle tailwind at the end, our first tailwind since Montana. So much for the supposed "prevailing winds" that are meant to blow from west to east....
I've experienced an additional unanticipated problem in the last few days: being chased by dogs. Even in the rural areas of Snohomish County where I train, most dogs are restrained or fenced. Not in the midwest. Several times dogs have come charging after us. The first 2 times I happened to be going fast, so I could outrun them. The third time the dog was a golden retriever, and he really didn't have his heart in it, and gave up quickly. I saw a coyote today, a remarkable site in an Indiana cornfield.....
The group is shrinking.......a bunch of folks have left the tour for planned and unplanned reasons. The EFI group is dwindling also.......probably now only about a dozen or so. Hard to believe that tomorrow I will complete 3 weeks on the road. It has gone by quickly.
Tomorrow we finish off Indiana and head into Ohio, ending up in the town of Troy.
168 miles. 1100 vertical feet
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)