Asheville supplement

We got into Asheville pretty early since it was a "short day" of only 65 miles. In any case, I rode in the van all day to stay off my bum knee. That didn't keep me from walking around this really cute city.  Lots of granola people here, art galleries, etc.

I found a couple of book stores and stocked up a little on books in English (not readily available in Montevideo where I live, after all), including Fly Me to the Moon by Edward Belbruno, A House for Mr. Biswas by V.S. Naipaul.  One of the stores was a wine/beer/champagne bar with thousands of used books.  There I found some old bound volumes of the Royal Magazine from 1903, one with the great article on physical fitness (see photo).

There is a great rock venue in Asheville called the Orange Peel Social Aid and Pleasure Club. Blues Traveler was playing, but I opted out remembering that I had to get up at 5am. This turned out to be a bad decision and a little life lesson.  I ended up waking up at 2:30am and not being able to go back to sleep, so only got a short night's sleep anyway.  I should have gotten the same amount of sleep after a fun evening of great live music!

Day 37, Mile 3043: Union, South Carolina

Today: 104 miles, 9000 feet of climbing.

Hurray, I won South Carolina!


It really was a great day.  I've had a really crappy time lately because of the knee problems and haven't been riding much, typically only 45-70 miles/day, with some days less or not at all.  But today was the first day that I felt really great in a long time and...I rode the entire course for the day, I was the first to arrive at the trip's last state line, South Carolina, and even the first to arrive at the hotel tonight, even ahead of the fastpack peletón.  It was like my legs belonged to someone else--I just couldn't seem to get them to go less than 20 mph. Obviously it helped that I took 4 Aleve tablets this morning (i.e., 880mg of naproxen sodium, an NSAID like aspirin or tylenol), only double the recommended maximum dosage and a lot of caffeine.  But I also had a few helping hints on my knee problems: Berkas adjusted my right cleat and Tara suggested I ride with my knees more inward.  If nothing else, these helped by stressing the knees slightly differently, but we'll see how I feel tomorrow. If I'm in intense pain, I'll get off the bike tomorrow and still should be ok for the final day the day after into Charleston.

My Sony T77 camera is broken.  I guess it got wet and hot and then wet and frozen after slipping out of the little ziplock I usually carry it in my bike jersey pocket as we encountered snow and sub-freezing weather in the Smokey Mountains day before yesterday. So I only got that lame shot of the state border sign with my iphone.

The ride today was gorgeous, as well.  We left Asheville (a great town, by the way), went along the Blue Ridge Parkway briefly, then along US 74 up to the Eastern Continental Divide at Hickory Nut Gap.  Then it was down a screaming 10 mile descent, where I was forced to draft a line of cars because I couldn't pass them on the winding road, past Chimney Rock and along beautiful Lake Lure.  We had lunch right before the SC border and then through rural rolling hills into Union.

Chris works with Lance Armstrong on LiveStrong.  Through this connection he knows George Hincapie who happens to live in Spartanburg, SC, a half hour from where we are staying tonight, so a bunch of us are going to shuttle over there in the van to say hi after dinner. I don't really follow bike racing much, but this should be pretty cool.

Only two more biking days left!

Day 29, Mile 2423: Union City, Tennessee

Today I biked: 103 miles, 1510 feet of climbing, saddle time 6:37, 15.5 mph.
Cumulative: 24 biking days, 1794 miles, 85000 feet.

Well, at least every other day is great.  And today was fabulous. Poplar Bluffs sits on the edge of the really flat Mississippi flood plain and today our route took us over that, across the Mississippi River on a ferry, through about 10 miles of Kentucky and then into Union City, Tennessee.

We started out at about 7:15 at sunrise, like normal. We had a photo shoot from some local characters--a long but funny story about Greg and our trip being discovered on the internet by some 91-year-old guy from Poplar Bluff who has Greg's same (unusual) last name and is friends with the mayor. Then we were off and after some hills in town, were out among the big flat fields of cotton, rice, and soybeans. It was a bit cold and rainy, and there was a hint of a headwind, but basically delightful.  I was riding with Ray who is fun and a good match for my riding speed and style and off and on with a few others, mostly Val, Ray's wife (Pikes on Bikes), and Nadie, as well as Berkas, Mike, and others.  We made great speed across the flat, despite the minor headwind and even held back, doing a good job of pacing ourselves.  The 15.5 mph average was perfect.

We wound our way down to the ferry after lunch riding along river levees and on great country roads, though one nasty stretch was gravel, but only for a few miles.  The ferry was awesome.  You call it up and ask it to come over from the Kentucky side and pick you up.  It reminds me a lot of the little ferry over to San Gregorio in Uruguay from Ruta 6. Once in Kentucky, we had a minor climb out of the river valley and some rolling hills until the Tennessee border.  I was with Ray and Mike at this point and I won the Tennessee border, though it wasn't really a race (we didn't even think there was going to be a state-line marker).  Then we high-tailed it into Union City and the hotel.  Here Val passed us and it was all I could do to keep up with her to the hotel (she claimed she was thinking about getting in early to do the laundry...).

We saw some great pot-bellied pigs along the way.  This old woman, Rose, greeted us as though she saw dozens of funny-looking bikers every day passing by and, though friendly enough, just couldn't be bothered.  She said it was fine to take photos of her pigs, though the chihuahuas and aggressive geese weren't as easily convinced.

We also saw lots of scary farm machinery that took up most of the road.  One tractor was the biggest thing I had ever seen on a regular road so I pulled out the camera and took a shot of it while riding.

Only nine more biking days until Charleston and the end!  I'm a little panic stricken--I've gotten used to this lifestyle of daily torture and what will I do with myself now!  But seriously, I'll be really, really glad to get back home to Uruguay and my sweetheart and, before that I get to see my son, Ariel, and his family up in Boston.

Day 28, Mile 2321: Poplar Bluff, Missouri

Today:  I don't want to talk about it...

You make one little mistake putting on the new pedals, which I did way back in Ponca City and you get a week of on and off knee recovery! Probably not the best idea to change equipment in the middle of a 3200 mile trip.  With the exception of a few days, I did all my training and riding so far with my Candy pedals and my mountain biking shoes (Mavic's).  But I got the Speed Play road pedals and some really spiffy (fashionably speaking) new road shoes.  So I really wanted to use the new stuff--bad idea.

Anyway, I changed back to my tried and true Candy/Mavic combo after a day and half, but the knee problems have been off and on ever since.  Today was knee pain: on.  It didn't help that the day started with a monster hill--short, Missouri-style--but straight up (some folks said it was like 16% grade).

So after six and half miles I threw in the towel and jumped in the van.  It was my grouchiest day so far.  And, to boot, riding in the van all day wasn't so great for the knee, either!  Lots of ice and some great message work by Tara and there is hope for tomorrow...

Day 27, Mile 2212: West Plains, Missouri

Today: 103 miles (the whole way!), 9265 feet of climbing! saddle time 7:39, 13.3 mph, 8000 kcal
Cumulative: 23 biking days, 1685 miles, 83000 feet.

Today we continued on from Branson through the Ozarks.  It was a beautiful day, but it was hill after hill after hill.  So we did over 9000 feet of climbing, a similar amount of descending for a total elevation gain of only 49 feet!  But I like the short hills and now I'm quite a bit faster on them.  I'm very pleased with my 13 mph.  But my legs are jelly.  And tomorrow is another century in similar hilly terrain.  (In fact, the next three days are 109, 102, and 98 miles.)  Well, I hope I can make it.  My knee was feeling much better today, better than the two previous biking days and so I didn't have any trouble finishing the whole day (aside from the usual exhaustion, etc.).

Branson was a trip.  They call it the Las Vegas of the east, but that's gotta be a joke. The place is really tacky. They do have a half size replica of the Titanic including a fake iceberg (not kidding) with tidy-bowl-blue water spraying up the bow to mimic a wake. Oh, and there are no casinos, not even a cheesy floating one which I was expecting.  You have to go back to Indian lands in Oklahoma for any gambling. Our group also brought the average age of the people in Branson down a few years and the average weight down dramatically.  Tim is planning on opening a bike shop back in New York when he returns so has been visiting bike shops across America.  Needless to say, the one in Branson wasn't doing so well.

It was freezing cold and pouring rain on the rest day.  This gave me the excuse to stay in the hotel all day and watch movies--actually pretty pleasant aside from the hangover.  On Thursday when we arrived, I started drinking early.  I haven't had anything to drink except an occasional glass of wine for a month now, so I thought it was high time.  Bet gave me a beer from the cooler to start, then I went searching out a decent martini, then I had to have a margarita at the Mexican dinner and of course sample some of Chris' excellent private label wine that he has made for himself, and a couple of Irish whiskeys with Mike and a few others, and...  At least I didn't do anything foolish except fall asleep without calling my girlfriend because I was too drunk to figure out how to charge my phone.  Now she's not talking to me...

Today's route was up and down along the and across the ridges of the gorgeous mountains here.  There were lots of cows and general bucolic bliss with cold, cold fog in the morning, but with the sun breaking out by afternoon.  We lunched in a beautiful spot in Theodosia by the Bull Shoals Lake (dammed up White River).  My only real complaint was the scary plethora of 'full gospel' churches and gun shops along the route.  The hills were incredible.  I swear I must have shifted gears more times today than across the entire state of Oklahoma.

Oh, by the way, a cheery note: Dave "Big Wave" is doing much better.  He's hobbling around with only a single crutch and looking quite chipper--very little pain.  Says he'll be back on a bike by Nashville.  Bicyclists are such bad patients...

Oh, and I am buying my wonderful bike.  It's a Madone 6.5, red/white, and was brand new at the beginning of this trip.  I'm getting a great deal.  They aren't offering the regular Madone 5s that most everyone else is using, but something about not being many 6.5s and the dealers not caring...I didn't quite follow Dan's logic but am happy to be bringing home this fast little treasure.  Hope I don't crash it before Charleston :).

Happy biking!

Day 25, Mile 2112: Branson, Missouri

Today: 35 miles (of 90).

Cumulative: 22 days, 1582 miles, 74000 feet.

And my knee was still killing me today.  I did the first 35 miles and then decided to get off the knee.  The last time I kept biking on a knee that felt like this my training was set back by two and a half weeks.  Not something I want to repeat here.  And it turned out to be a good decision as we encountered some stormy weather (akin to a hurricane, actually).

Tomorrow is a rest day!

Day 24, Mile 2022: Neosho, Missouri

Today: 55 miles (of 112 mile course), 2500 feet climbing.
Cumulative: 21 biking days, 1547 miles, 73000 feet.

Missouri! 


One should never make public decisions like "I am going to bike every mile from here on out." I was determined to do so, but my knee started hurting badly and I decided it was better to break that pledge than continue and incur an injury.  I had to make the f..ing Missouri border though after days and days and days in Oklahoma.  (Don't worry, I didn't even come close to winning the state line dash!  Tim did.  Those guys are incredible.  I want to be like them when I grow up.)

By the way, the LiquiGas kit is my favorite, especially with the arm warmers.

Day 23, Mile 1910: Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Today: 73 miles (of 73!), 1421 feet of climbing, strong cross winds, 15.3 mph.

Cumulative: 20 biking days, 1492 miles, 70000 climbing feet.

So I made a decision. I'm going to bike every mile from here, Ponca City, to the end in Charleston. Then I won't have to make the horrible decision every day of when/if to get in the van. Hopefully, I'll be less discouraged. And...

Today was a great day! First off, it was short--one of those 'rolling recovery' days. In 2007, the first year Trek Travel did this trip, it was much more arduous. Larry and Kelli did it the first year, as did Dave, the head guide, and Tara the message therapist, so I've gotten plenty of opportunity to quiz them all on the differences between 2007 and 2009. It was a much harder trip in 2007. At the suggestion of those bikers, they added five days to the trip, including a rest day at Grand Canyon instead of Parker and an additional rest day in Branson, Missouri. Also, four of the longest and hardest days they each split into two rolling recovery days: Parker to Kingman (now is Parker to Lake Havasu, then Kingman), Cortez to Pagosa Springs (now is Cortez to Durango, then Pagosa), Enid to Bartlesville (now Enid to Ponca, then Bartlesville), and Townsend, Tenn. to Asheville (now Townsend to Cherokee, then Asheville). Really, I can't begin to imagine finishing the 2007 version! Larry and Kelli did every mile, though. But they told me it took them months to recover from the trip and Kelli even had some over-use injuries by the end. My goal is to finish the trip stronger and happier than when I started!

Not only was it a short day, but the wind wasn't a head wind, I ended up riding with various groups and by myself at times, and the scenery and road were wonderful, especially in the afternoon. And the sun even came out!

We lunched in this lovely little town, Pawhuska, home of the first Boy Scout troop in the US. (Photo is the oldest building in Pawhuska, dating from 1871, which is old for the west, that was built by the Osage Indians to lure a blacksmith/farrier from Kansas to live and work there.) Greg, great sport that he is, went and recruited a mom and her two home-schooled kids to come over and give us an 'interview' and tell us about the town. They were really nice and she told us all about the boy scout troop, the Indians, etc. The kids were thrilled to see all of us bikers, even though the mom wouldn't allow them to accept cookies or sodas from us.

After lunch, we got off the main highway US 60 and meandered along on county roads, primarily Okesa Road. There was a group of seven leaving lunch together and we combined and split up, racing and chatting, in such an enjoyable way. The rural scenery was gorgeous, even the cows looked up as we rolled by delightedly. The road was well-paved, devoid of traffic, and full of little hills and turns and even an old one-lane bridge. This was exactly what we all had fantasized that the trip would be like every day, every mile. Wonderful.

I had a great burst of energy going up the last big rollers (hills) before Bartlesville and blasted, virtually standing up in my biggest gear all the way of the last five or six miles into the hotel. Unfortunately, I was having such a good time that I forgot to look out for Frank Lloyd Wright's only skyscraper, Price Tower, which is here in Bartlesville. Maybe I can convince a few to make the trek over in the van to look at it after dinner.

Tomorrow is our last day in Oklahoma--112 miles to Neosho, Missouri. What an endless state.

Day 22, Mile 1837: Ponca City, Oklahoma

Today I biked: 11 miles (of 72), flat, rain, wind (this is Oklahoma--I suspect there is always wind).

Cumulative: 19 biking days, 1419 miles, 69000 climbing feet.

Wow. I am so discouraged. Why did I want to do this?! After 11 miles I couldn't keep up with even the slow pack. Wind, more wind. I'm so tired and so slow... I give up.

Today we end up in Ponca City, home of Conoco Oil and the 101 Ranch where E. W. Marland found oil in 1911.

From the van, I shot some photos of the Conoco oil refinery, one of the largest in the US. One of our bikers, Chris, was harassed by the police when he took photos of it while someone in their pack was fixing a flat. Guess they are worried about homeland security and all. Tim, another of the group and a retired New York State Trooper, almost had to pull out his trump card (his badge) to save Chris from arrest. You gotta read his own hilarious account. Geez.

Day 21, Mile 1765: Enid, Oklahoma

Today I biked: 105 miles (of 116 mile course), some rolling hills, rain, strong headwind.

Cumulative: 18 biking days, 1408 miles, 69000 feet.

Dave, our head guide, crashed hard today in the rain and broke a chip off his femur. His bike just slipped out from under him on a wet curve as he started to chase Larry and I up some hills. He's going to be okay, but won't be able to walk for few days and will be in a lot of pain for some time. Luckily no surgery or intervention is needed for the recovery. Dave is planning on staying with the trip, though, of course, he won't be doing any more riding. How terrible. You never want to see anybody injured, especially a great guy like Dave. And it gives you pause, if he can get go down, being one of the most experienced and well-conditioned riders I've ever met. Get well soon!

Today I biked the entire day in pacelines, mostly the peletón. There was no other reasonable choice. I actually felt good and with fresh legs after yesterday's rest, and didn't feel like it was a particularly difficult day, despite the rain and wind. (Nonetheless, once I put in over 100 miles, I decided that was enough.) The scenery was pretty today and less monotonous, but between watching the wheel in front of me and not wanting to pull out the camera in the rain, I didn't do much in the way of photos.

Tomorrow is a rolling recovery day, only 72 miles to Ponca City. Though the forecast is for more rain.

Day 20, Mile 1653: Woodward, Oklahoma

Today: Zero miles (of 125 mile course).

I was feeling really crappy and my cold had come back and I didn't sleep well, so I decided to take the van to lunch and ride from there. At lunch, looking at the bikers, I decided it was a good idea to stay in the van. This was the hardest day so far (much harder than Taos) because of the howling headwinds. I was happy with my choice, especially when I saw everyone stumble in at 6 or 7 pm after a grueling day. Even the strongest riders were exhausted, grumpy, and nearly dead. I still felt bad and went right to bed, even skipping the dinner.

Today was the half way point across the country.

Lunch was at a really cool collapsed old motel with dogs on the roof. The kachina in the van was watching me watch the huge windfarms in the distance (no surprise here!).

In Guymon, the hotel had Christian propaganda everywhere and in the room, the ubiquitous Gideon bible was actually laid out open to Psalms. Offended by this intrusive evangelism, I stole the bible and spent my time in the van ripping out the pages, folding them into strips and constructing a "bible belt" from the strips. (Hope this doesn't offend any of my readers.)

Day 19, Mile 1528: Guymon, Oklahoma

Today: 107 miles (of 107 mile course), climbing elevation only 761 feet!

Cumulative: 17 biking days, 1303 miles, 67000 feet.

Oklahoma!

I'm writing this three days after the fact, a combination of poor internet and exhaustion. Already Oklahoma is a blur--and five more days to go to Missouri.

Let's see... I remember entering Oklahoma, and riding with the peletón for a good distance for the first time, but geez, that's about it. I can't remember the hotel, and hardly remember Guymon or the dinner or anything. Wow. Let's look at the photos, hold on...

Ha ha ha, not much help there, either. I'm sure it was an enjoyable day! I'll tell you about the peletón in any case, that was exciting for me. I rode the first 37 miles with them, almost as far as lunch. Dave 'The Wave' (head guide) had mentioned yesterday that, hey, we were getting into flat land and that was what I was good at and had trained on and, well, Oklahoma sucked because of the constant wind and I would find it a really really good idea to ride with the peletón and you know, you can't count on a tailwind everyday, etc. So I said I would give it another try.

Turned out we did have yet another day of tailwinds, though only very slight and it was all quite flat and gently, imperceptibly descending, with flat smooth roads, all making for very easy going. But, nonetheless, I was very pleased to see that I could keep up and even take my turns pulling. The routine is that at every mile marker, the head of the paceline peels off, goes to the back of the line and the next rider in line takes the lead (and the work) for the next mile. In this way, every rider pulls for a mile every seven miles, say, when there are seven people in the paceline. In reality, it's never quite so organized as this for too long and there are disadvantages, too, like seeing only the wheel in front of you for mile after mile instead of the scenery, not being able to set your own pace, and other hazards, as you will see.

When you are not in the lead, you try to ride directly behind the guy in front of you, your front wheel a few inches behind his back wheel. You don't generally want to overlap wheels, as this is dangerous, since the guy in front of you first of all can't really see you and second might have to veer one way or the other to avoid some debris or rough spot or to follow the guy in front of him, etc. If he veers and hits your wheel, he'll typically crash: not good. We have already had one of these crashes where Chris on the first day out of Santa Barbara caught an overlapped wheel behind him in this way and went flying headfirst over his handlebars into the (luckily) deep sand off the side of the shoulder. There are other items of etiquette for the paceline, like pointing out road hazards, such as gravel, holes, roadkill, cars coming from behind ("car back") or in front ("car up") on non-busy roads, yelling out when your going to stop or turn, etc.

Certain behavior is considered in poor form, such as speeding up/slowing down tremendously when you start pulling, overlapping wheels, as I mentioned, spitting or doing the one-handed nose blow when you're not in the rear, that sort of thing. Sneakily riding up to a roadkill without pointing it out, then bunny-hopping it, and hoping that your buddy behind you runs over it and crashes might be really funny, but it's not particularly safe. Similarly, echelon riding may be really tempting (and we've done it) but it's not particularly safe. The Trek Travel guides are keen on rider safety and have drilled these tips into our brains during various group dinner discussions.

So it turns out that, at speed, you are spending most of your energy fighting the wind, either what Mother Nature is sending towards you gratis, or the wind you are generating yourself by biking so darn fast. With these pacelines you can cut the amount of wind the trailing riders are pushing tremendously and even the guy riding behind you (if you are not the end of the line) helps streamline your path through the air. In this way the pack run as a paceline can move much more efficiently and thus faster than if everyone is riding solo. This is why I've been so disappointed to be riding alone almost all the time up until now. But there hasn't been much choice since I wasn't able to keep up on the climbs.

So today, I managed to keep up--for 37 miles, almost until lunch! The Oklahoma border was at mile 11 out of Clayton, and being a sucker for a race, even participated in the traditional sprint for the state line. I actually initiated it. This is only because I'm a real inexperienced rider and broke out way to early, i.e., there was no way I could keep up the attack pace all the way to the far off state line marker. But I did manage to pull out a bunch of contenders with me, who likewise couldn't maintain the pace and thus gave Larry the opportunity to come in and wipe us all out and take the win. (And then he didn't even pose in the photo!)

This was all great fun and the paceline kept up a steady pace of 20 to 22 mph. Once I was dropped, I could only go around 18 or 19 mph, so you can see the difference (and how easy the riding was today). Well, and I biked the whole distance today, too. Yippee.

Day 18, Mile 1421: Clayton, New Mexico

Today: 91 miles (of 91 miles--hurray!), 2929 feet climbing

Cumulative: 16 biking days, 1196 miles, 66000 feet.

Today was cold and windy. I swore I was never going to be as cold as I was on the Pagosa Springs morning, so this time I was prepared, but I was still cold! I left the hotel in Raton around 7 am. The folks there were incredibly friendly and all curious to know where we were going and talking about the route, the area, etc. I was wearing two layers of bike shorts with bib tops, one that went down over the knee, my ever-popular Brazil soccer knee-socks over a second pair of socks, a long-sleeve undershirt, a biking jersey, a windbreaker, and full-fingered biking gloves. I was still cold. The first hour the sun was stuck behind a bluff as we wound up New Mexico Route 72 through a little canyon going up to Johnson's Mesa (where they found the Folsom Man--among the oldest human remains in the Americas). When the sun finally reached the road, I duly saluted it. But even with the sun, it never warmed up. In the canyon, there were tons of deer, including a posse of young bucks that crossed in front of me. There was also another little flock of wild turkeys. (Later in the day were hundreds more pronghorns, too.)

We did what I think will be our last real climb until we get to the Ozarks in Missouri in a week or so. It was really steep, but only about 2 or 3 miles. On top of the mesa, we were in prairie land--all God-forsaken windswept and forlorn with the occasional group of cattle. There was an icy, icy wind from the north (i.e., our left side). On the mesa the road was a little, bumpy, hilly thing with nary a car or truck every 15 minutes, though at one point a group of horsemen drove a herd of cattle across and along the road for a ways. We passed a little stone church from the 19th century with the tiny graveyard across the road and the obligatory two outhouses in back. It looked so tiny, cold, and insignificant in this vast landscape. One can imagine it being a welcome salvation in a snowstorm or something, especially back in those olden days. I was too cold to stop for photos, which would have involved taking off gloves and pawing through all my layers.

Then I got a flat. Why does this always happen in the most inappropriate places. The vans and all but a few riders had passed me by. I fixed the flat, but in my haste didn't notice the thorn still stuck in the tire and the replacement tube flatted instantly once I had it all back in place. Luckily Hassan, one of the group, passed by and had an extra tube so I wouldn't have to use a patch and helped me out, neither of our frozen fingers much able to manipulate the tire and wheel back in place. I had no cell signal to call the van, but I knew it would be back eventually, anyway, and sure enough, it came by a half hour later, urged on by the other riders that knew of my plight. By this time, of course, I was back up and riding, but I availed myself of the good pump in the van and got two fresh tubes. A few minutes in the heated van was a welcome respite, and I pulled out my rubberized black jacket to add a fourth layer on top.

Now I was far, far behind everyone else. I hate that, even though I usually end up in that position by afternoon anyway. But I plugged on. I always stop at all the historic markers and plaques along the way. In Folsom, where I expected one about the Folsom Man, there was one instead dedicated to a telephone operator. In 1908, she died in a flash flood, having spent the last hour of her life calling everyone and warning them of the wall of water rushing down the Cimarron Dry Canyon towards the little town. Operators from across the country raised money through a campaign of dimes to erect the memorial to her and her heroism. Amazing.

By now I was down off the mesa all the way down to 6500 feet of elevation where the air is palpably thicker and its easier to breath. I couldn't remember the last time I got a good satisfying lungful of oxygen! Clayton, our destination today, is at 5000 feet--oxygen!!

From Des Moines on into lunch and all the 50 miles remaining into Clayton, there was a tremendous tailwind! Two days in a row! But it wasn't fun like yesterday. I was grouchy, in a bad mood with the flats, the cold, fighting with my girlfriend long-distance... But the afternoon was over in a snap. Even though the road into Clayton was a big divided highway like an interstate, it was pretty smooth, safe, and easy.

When I got to my room and showered, I laid on the bed, started to read and fell fast asleep. The alarm for dinner awoke me nearly three hours later from some incredible dream. I dreamed there was some kind of spirit angel soothing me and telling me that this was a very special place of total relaxation and recuperation, providing exactly what was necessary to a weary wayfaring soul seeking refuge and rest. Nice!

Note: Be sure to check out Berkas' (one of the guides) photos of the trip.

Day 17, Mile 1330: Raton, New Mexico

Today I biked 82 miles (of 93 mile course), 7000 feet of climbing, nature: mother deer with two babies (x2), wild turkeys, prong horn antelope herds, awesome double rainbows in the trees.

Cumulative: 15 biking days, 1105 miles, 63000 feet.

After a day of rest in Taos, we set out again. The group is down three riders, two had elected the only-to-Taos option and one had a business emergency. So now we are 14 (plus 2 guides, massage therapist, and assistant).

The day started with a gradual 17-mile climb through Taos Canyon, a lovely descent to Angel Fire ski area, then up to Eagle Nest. There we were hit by a brief windy rain squall, which I chose to ride out in the van. There were huge cross gusts of wind. I was scared and I don't like biking in the rain. I got back on the bike at the top of the Cimarron Canyon. It was the most beautiful ride with the trees at peak color, the cliffs awesome, and the descending, recently resurfaced road a delight, despite the few lingering raindrops in the sun. We lunched in Philmont, the huge Boy Scout tract.

All this land around Cimarron used to be part of the Maxwell Land Grant, supposedly the largest private land-holding in the world in the late 19th century. From Eagle Nest all the way to Raton there was a tremendous tail wind (hurrah!!)--probably around 25 mph with larger gusts coming directly from behind. What fun to zip across the high prairie at 30 and 35 mph with so little effort, looking out for pronghorn, bison, and elk. The last few miles into Raton were along Interstate 25, featuring treacherous gusts of cross wind and giant grasshoppers the size of small frogs. At the off ramp, I just jumped the fence with my bike (a bit of a feat in bike cleats) and crossed to the hotel rather than fight the whipping wind to go around the end in the usual way.

Goodbye Rocky Mountains! On to the Great Plains!

Day 15, Mile 1236: Taos, New Mexico

Today I biked: 70 miles (all the hardest parts of 140 mile course), 8000+ climbing.

Cumulative I've biked: 14 biking days, 1023 miles, 56000 feet.

This is probably the hardest day of the entire trip. Everyone was very nervous. At least the weather was good, though really cold to start. In the two previous years that the trip has run, both times the Taos day was horrible rainy weather. In 2007 there was even hail! Naturally, we left the breakfast place in Pagosa Springs at the crack of dawn around 7 (Trek Travel had arranged to get them to open up early at 6 am). The temp was below freezing and we were all under-dressed. I have plenty of warm kit, but failed to put it on. I had my regular fingerless gloves, only a single layer of shorts and jersey, with leg warmers and a windbreaker. I thought I was going to die from the cold. The route starts out winding up through a mountain valley, so we didn't really see the sun for over an hour and I wasn't warm until my trip timer read 1 hour 41 minutes (in fact, the LCD display was dead due to the cold for the first hour). There was frost in the fields. It was one of the only times I was thankful for climbing. The few downhill segments were tortuously cold! Going up is less wind and you're working hard.

At the end of the first long gentle climb of about 20 miles we crossed into New Mexico. There was no state line sprinting competition this time! Within the first few miles of New Mexico, I was in my accustomed position of dead last. Another 15 miles in I jumped in the van and shuttled up first to a lightning fast lunch and then to the bottom of the day's big climb. This is a section of Highway 64 leading up and around the Brazos Cliffs. The climb is 9 miles apparently straight up peaking at a little unnamed saddle at 10481 feet.

The climb took me over and hour and a half with lots of sections under 5 mph. Pathetic, but at least fast enough not to fall over :-). Right before the very last hairpin turn is a scenic pullout. The view was incredible. No, I mean the most incredible view I have ever seen. I took pictures but they just don't even begin to give it justice. As I pulled into the turn off, I was actually crying like a baby. I guess the beauty of the view, the music in my headphones, and the incredibly arduous journey up the wall of the mountain was just emotionally overwhelming. I sat down on the edge of the precipice in a meditative pose and gazed out over the infinite waves of multi-colored forest and distant mountains and cried and soaked it all up, embarrassed by my gushing so I didn't look as other bikers passed me on their way to the final summit (and the waiting van with lunch #2). I must of sat there for 15 minutes until I was back to something like normal.

Then I went and ate lunch #2 and continued on. It's amazing the calories you have to ingest to do all these miles day after day. We calculated that today's 140 mile, 10000 feet, 10 hour day required close to 10000 kcal of food input. Compare that to a very active man's diet of maybe 4000 kcal/day. Eating enough has become a real chore, believe it or not. We are eating constantly, constantly.

There were yet more climbs which I finished, but then I was just exhausted and caught the van into the hotel, covering on the bike just half of the total route mileage. Amazingly, there were only two dropouts for the day. Everyone else made it in before dusk (barely).

Taos is beautiful, as is the 5-star resort hotel, as is the fact that we have a whole entire rest day tomorrow!!!

Happy biking!

Day 14, Mile 1096: Pagosa Springs, Colorado

Today: 60 miles, 3146 feet climbing.

Cumulative: 13 biking days, 953 miles, 48000 feet climbing.

'Nother easy day. Woohoo! More beautiful mountains. And we stay at a hot springs resort. Nice!

The bird is the Colorado state bird, the magpie. There are a lot of them and they have a very distinct look when perched and when flying.

The cool rock formation is Chimney Rock. The namers saw it from the east where you don't see the second rock sticking up like that, but the better view is from the west as we approached it. There are Anasazi Indian ruins near the peak, though they only inhabited it for about 50 years from 1075 AD to 1125 or something like that. Weird, huh?

Day 13, Mile 1036: Durango, Colorado

Today: 43 miles, 2877 feet climbing, nature: bald eagle, beaver dams and lodges, horses, biting horse flies, beautiful mountains, streams, glens.

Cumulative: 12 biking days, 893 miles, about 45000 feet climbing

Elevation: current 6500 feet, highest today 8150

Lovely short route today, albeit with a few hefty climbs, skirting the southwestern edge of the San Juan Mountains, one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in the world. Tonight we stay in the lovely historic Strater Hotel in Durango (1893) and tomorrow we continue through the San Juans to Pagosa Springs, another 60 miles. The original cross country trip in 2007 covered both these segments in one day.

Believe me, the current two-day version is far superior. Two of my fellow travelers, Larry and Kelli Oaks, took the 2007 trip, too (the only repeats so far on this trip...until I do it again next year with my brother Dan) and they said it was killer. Keep in mind, too, that the day after Pagosa Springs into Taos is 140 miles with 10000 feet of climbing. Larry and Kelli are in fantastic shape and completed every mile in 2007 and for sure will do so this year, too.

I did the whole route today no problem. I'm feeling fine and strong and feel like I'm even getting the hang of climbing, too. Interesting that I seem to be actually gaining weight at the same time my belly fat is disappearing. I guess that the muscle I've grown outweighs the fat I've lost. I never would have predicted that!

Day 12, Mile 993: Cortez, Colorado

Today I biked: 32 miles (of 101 mile course), about 2000 feet of climbing.

Cumulative: 11 days, 850 miles, 42000 feet

Elevation here in Cortez is 6000 feet, and we have covered 30% of our route across the continent.

Well, I rode in the van a lot today, as promised. And...I feel fantastic--ready to be back full-time.

I took the van out to mile 25, at Navajo Twins rock formation, where the San Juan River comes in from the east. I set out here and rode to the Colorado border. I rode at a high cadence and went pretty fast, which felt great. My goal was a zero-effort day, but better than spending the entire day in the van.

Turned out that one of the guides, Berkis, this young sweet and very strong rider, was mopping up the rear and caught up with me about 5 miles from the border and I went all out racing him. Now, of course, I have no illusions that I could ever beat him or even challenge him, for that matter, but I went all out for those last hilly miles and I like to think he had to work a bit to keep up with me.

Then we made a sprint for the border where I managed to psych him out, yelling out to him as he passed me, "I have nothing left!" then, in fact, had a wee bit in reserve and dashed past him to cross the cattle guard into Colorado just in front. It was all good fun and very exhilarating. I was at a heart rate of 188 (I know exactly what this feels like thanks to my trainer in London who got me there routinely) and my legs were shaking when I dismounted. But what a kick! I forgot I could go so fast and have so much fun on a bike. Then, of course, we got in the van. Just as well, the last 20 miles into Cortez were relatively ugly and, you guessed it, against a head wind.

It was great getting in early, too. I had time for a swim, did the laundry, and even got in a little upper body workout in the hotel gym. The next two days are short as we head into Durango then Pagosa Springs, but after that we have a 140 mile 10000 feet climbing day into Taos.