Monday, April 30, 2012

Day 9. Albuquerque to Las Vegas, NM. 136.58 miles (whew!) Arlene said goodbye at our 0600 breakfast and headed back to home in Fairview Heights, IL. I definitely felt bad in that almost all of our time together was with me being ill via food poisoning. I ate a bland breakfast wondered if my post illness condition would allow me to finish today. Physically, I felt tired from limited sleep and my stomach was still feeling uncomfortable. I decided I'd ride as far as my health would allow me and ride in the van for the rest. We left Albuquerque with a chill in the air, about 52 degrees under a cloudless sky. All 12 of us (Bruce, Lee, Jason ended at Albuquerque; Jason #2 taking time off for saddle bruises . . . may return, may not) meandered through the quiet Monday morning streets of Albuquerque. First smile of the day occurred when I saw my first Hummer with a "Hybrid" sticker on it! We started climbing and would log almost 8000 feet of vertical by the end of the day. The second most interesting thing along the way was a 5ft snake sunning on the side of the road. I was later told he was dead, but either way I decided to keep my distance. We climbed over the Pecos Mountains and rode through the spectacular Pecos wilderness. Fantastic vistas, mountain ranges and valleys. At the second rest stop, Barb asked me how I was feeling. My stomach was still bothering me and I was concerned that because I'd had such minimal nutrition in the last 24 hours, my energy level would eventually hit me in the forehead. Barb offered a "Dr. Oz" method of restoring my electrolytes: 1 cup Coconut water, 1/4 cup orange juice and a pinch of salt. After downing this potion, my stomach felt much, much better, although I still had not eat much and really didn't have a desire to eat. The rest of the ride, my stomach felt great except when I got off the bike at the rest stop and water stop. I never did "bonk" so I guess my body is more than happy with the food I did eat and the body fat I'm carrying. I'll try to eat more bland things this evening and I've already downed a second helping of Barb's secret potion. After drinking Barb's elixir, I made my way out of the rest stop, climbed the hill and headed for the last leg on the interstate. However, as I was smoking down the hill that would lead me to the interstate, I decided to keep accelerating on a great down hill, and reached 51 mph, although I did miss my "official" turn. Fortunately, the road I was riding intersected same interstate just another mile up the way. We spent about 40 miles total on Interstate 25 today and according to Mike, this should be our last interstate experience. Hurrrrray! And I'm proud to report that I've now ridden almost 280 miles without a flat tire. You've got to cheer the small victories! Although the hills into Las Vegas were many and significant, a strong tail wind helped when I needed it most. As I was driving through Las Vegas, I decided to treat myself to a large Dairy Queen shake that I tucked into the back of my jersey to enjoy in the cool and quiet of my room that lay 2 miles away. All in all, the day turned out a lot better than I anticipated. With God's help and Barb's secret sauce, I finished this leg and will now hit the rack to be ready for tomorrow's ride. Stay healthy, Steve
Day 8 Day off in Albuquerque. While I'd hoped to show Arlene the beauty of the local culture and environment, instead, it was definitely a post food poisoning recovery day. Since Arlene rented a car, she kindly drove 4 of us (Terry, Jonielle, Martin, me) to a wonderful massage place. Although I was still feeling "peeked", it was great to have someone work on my legs for about an hour. It definitely felt nice to be off the bike and in "the real world" for a few hours. I just wish my stomach was in the real world at that time too. After we all raved about our provider (Martin had Helga, the giant woman; Terry had David the Hunter; and I had Erica, the small but extremely strong massause). We departing the massage center and hit Walgreens to pick up a few supplies to keep us healthy along the way. The rest of the day, I camped out on the hotel bed and Arlene did IPAD things as I tried to recover. The only other highlight of my day was the bland Subway turkey sandwich and chicken noodle soup, topped off by a McDonalds milkshape just before we hit the sack about ten o'clock. Sure hope this evening is less exciting than the last one! Stay healthy and eat more beef! Steve
Day 7 Gallup to Albuquerque--138 miles. This is the second longest day and the “hardest day on paper” according to our ride leader, Mike. With a ride of this distance, it doesn’t pay to look too far down the road. I kept telling myself, “get to the next rest/water stop” and all will take care of itself. The first 40 miles was essentially up hill to the continental divide. Fortunately, we had a nice tail wind most of the way. This climb up the continental divide is not steep, but we climbed the better part of 2 hours. The sign for our photo op showed it was 7275 feet. What is most amazing here is that we have now been pedaling “at altitude” for several days in a row. I’ve not heard anyone even mention the challenge that this usually creates with extended exertion. This is just one of many indicators that this is a determined, tough bunch of folks. The GREAT news was twofold on this day: ZERO flats despite almost 100 miles of freeway shoulder riding; and most of the remaining 65 miles was slightly downhill and with the wind. We rode together in groups of 6-7 most of the time, and even when we separated around the 100 mile point, three of us, Martin, Jonielle, and I put our heads down and caught the “gang of five” that was about a mile in front of us. We were rolling at about 27-28 mph and it was really a thrill for all three of us to catch the group. The last rest stop was at the bottom of a 4 mile hill that would lead us into Albuquerque. Bruce, Lee and Jason and I chugged up the hill at about 11 mph and by now we were all feeling the 110 miles we’d already completed. Near the top, Bruce accelerated ahead (only Bruce to accelerate ahead on a monster hill after 110 miles!) to take photos of the rest of us coming up the hill with the NM landscape in the background. After I cleared the apex of the hill, I was feeling it and just leaned on my aero bars for about 5 miles and hauled downhill with the wind, staying near 29-30 mph the entire way. I thought there was someone leaning in my draft as I could see a shadow near my rear wheel. After we finished, I discovered it was Peter enjoying the roll we were both on. As we approached the Albuquerque city limits, I kept pushing and my teammate dropped back. After crossing over I-25, we rode down Central Avenue at about 30 mph, knowing that today’s journey was only about 15 miles away. The ride cue sheet had us bob and weave through Albuquerque, to include Old Town, a place I love to visit, but not after having ridden 125 miles on a bicycle. Of course I took a few wrong turns and generated 2-3 “bonus miles”, but fortunately, on one of my wrong turns, the rest of the lead group was coming down the same street I was on in the opposite direction. Thank you God for the assist when I needed it the most! The rest of the ride in was uneventful, and I was definitely happy to see my smiling bride, Arlene, as I rolled into the parking lot. We made some introductions to all my new cycling friends and then we checked into the Fairfield Inn. We cleaned up and headed to the Stockman’s Restaurant, the anchor restaurant in the hotel next door. The food was great and the wait staff did a wonderful job getting us in and out of a nice steak restaurant in less than one hour. Unfortunately, what happened next was less than pleasant. We headed to rap to discuss the next days events and say good bye to Lee, Bruce and Jason. We took some team pictures, introduced Arlene and then headed back to the room. About an hour later, I experienced food poisoning for the third time in my life. Since I’ve had it before, I knew the sequence of events and the results. From about 10 pm to 4 am I was really ill and I don’t think I slept at all. I will let you know how this “life happens” experience turns out. Stay healthy, Steve
Day 6 Winslow to Gallup--120 miles. I'm catching up after falling behind. I was genuinely "beat" after this leg and couldn't muster the energy to sit and write. By the time we check in, eat, have our daily rap/have your bike adjusted, and then prepare your gear for the next day, the energy levels are down. Nevertheless, here are a few highlights from Friday's ride. When we left Winslow, despite a clear and a million day, almost every rider was either wearing a rain/light jacket or packing warmer protective gear. It only takes one 4 hour journey in horrible conditions (yesterday traveling through Flagstaff)to get us all to err on the side of caution. The ride had lots of interstate riding because that is the only way to move from place to place in the wide open western US. As I've mentioned before, the interstate shoulders are littered with LOTS of steel belted radial pieces and on this day, I picked up lots of them in my tires. After having 5, repeat 5 flat tires, I succumbed and had our ride leader put new, beefer tires on the front and back. I rode almost the whole way with Bruce, a cattle rancher from VA, who is definitely our most talented rider. I think he "pulled" twice as much as I did, but we did work well together and covered a lot of ground quickly despite my 5 flats and his 2 flats. I worked hard to keep my sense of humor through the flats, but as Bruce observed, "Steve, you were close to losing it on number 5." At about the halfway point, we shuttled all the riders and their bikes through a construction area that we were not allowed to ride (7 miles). Using both the vans and their respective bike racks, we transported all the riders forward. Lee, Bruce, Jason and I volunteered to be on the last shuttle, putting us 25 minutes behind the others, but with 60+ miles to go, we knew we would make up the stagger. Bruce and I ended up finishing near the front, catching, Ron, one of our riders who was having a great day. The 3 of us rolled into the La Quinta Inn and in short order we all walked to Denny's to order just about everything on the menu. And about 3 hours later, my roommate, Greg, invited me to a late night milk shake. The waitress and hostess both did a double take, saying, ". . . didn't we see you earlier?" Take care one and all and thanks for enjoying this adventure with me. Stay healthy, Steve

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Day 5 on our trip across America was filled, let me repeat that, FILLED with excitement over 106.9 miles (plus the extra 1.5 I got in my attempt to find the hotel). When we left Cottonwood it was 65 degrees and we knew that we may face some thundershowers on the way to Flagstaff, AZ. Most of us had on a couple shirts and our rain jackets. We rode a casual 15 miles to Sedona where we all marveled at God's handiwork. The cliffs are a spectacular rust color and engulf this humble little town from end to end. We were sliding along at 25-30 mph for about 30 minutes and slowing down to gaze at this natural beauty. As soon as we left Sedona, the rain started and increased steadily over the next hour. About 8:30 it began to hail for about 15 minutes and we could hear thunder over the mountains, although we never saw any lightening. Meanwhile, we continued our climb up to Flagstaff which was at 6906 feet above sea level. The road up through the canyons is a narrow 2 lane road and there were lots of cars headed in the same direction we were going. As we ascended the temperatures began to drop while the rain remained steady and we all were getting colder and colder. By the time we arrived at Flagstaff for our rest stop "next to the Chevron Station", it was 39 degrees and many of us were on the verge of hypothermia. One of the support vans picked up about 5 of our riders and brought them in off the course because of the extreme conditions. When I rolled into the rest stop, Karen Bauer, one of our ride leaders told me to go into the Hampton Inn next door to warm up. I stumbled in and found two ladies sitting on comfortable sofas, reading their IPADS by the warm fire. Since I saw no riders anywhere in sight, I kind of stumbled to the far left side of the foyer, and attempted to take off my helmet and gloves. Since my fingers and brain were both operating at about 20 percent, I'm sure this looked amusing. After getting that equipment off, I asked the front desk attendant, Morgan, if I could use their restroom to clean up. She pointed me down the hall and I walked shaking violently and to my great pleasure, found the large rest room unoccupied. I yanked off my nearly frozen rain jacket and two shirts and turned on the hot water in the sink. I was really in a tough place having been rain soaked for over 2 hours while pedaling at speeds over 30 mph at 6900 feet. I haven't checked to see what the wind chill factor is, but I can assure you I was REALLY cold! After getting rid of my upper garments, I put on a lesser soaked shirt I had been carrying and I decided I'd ask the maid for a couple towels. She kindly assisted and I continued the drying process. The next step was to get my bag out of the travel trailer (usually prohibited during the day) and get my warm clothes on. I continued warming but my core took almost a full 2 hours to warm back up. As soon as I got my dry clothes on, I asked Morgan if we could have some of their hot water to make some tea to warm our folks as they arrived. The entire hotel staff was incredibly gracious to us and we were not even staying at their hotel. We all put tea and coffee in the hands of the shivering and weary, and even used emergency blankets and human hugs to get our folks back to health. And as we sat warming ourselves and eating our lunch inside the hotel breakfast nook, we watched it snow for over 30 minutes and about a 1/2 inc accumulation. Fortunately, no one was injured and most of us continued the ride around 2 pm after the storm had passed and the temps rose to a dry 50 degrees. The next 60 miles were a blur as we all pedaled to Winslow, AZ with a 40 knot tailwind. We were zooming along I-40 for almost 2 hours at speeds will over 30 mph. Except for yet another flat tire, I was having a wonderful time flying at speeds I'd seldom experienced even though we were pedaling at about 5000 feet most of the time. We are all settled into the Econolodge tonight, and dined on some of Safeways finest take out cuisine. My room mate, Greg Lehr, and our lone female rider, Jonielle, enjoyed a picnic on our coffee table. We then called the front office to inquire about a cab, but instead, we were given the hotel shuttle to take us to the Eagles famous "standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, such a fine sight to see . . ." Tomorrow we head out for Gallop, NM and then it's on to Albuquerque. We've now completed about 600 miles in 5 days, distances that none of us had accomplished before. Most of us are feeling pretty good and excited about the adventures ahead. Stay tuned my friends. Take care and stay healthy! Steve

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Day 4 of this adventure was 85 miles of uphill and then a 20 mile glide to the finish line. But before I digress, let me tell you about Joel Wormer. Yesterday during our ride a tandem pulled into our rest stop piloted by a Dad and his 8 year old son, Joel. We talked a little and found out that Joel and his Dad were pedaling their tandem from St. Augustine, FL to San Diego, CA over about 55 days. And after talking for about 5 minutes, Joel's Mom and 14 year old sister rode up on another tandem. They were packing all of their own gear even though they too were staying mostly in hotels. And after 50 days, they looked surprising fresh. I asked Joel for his name because I told him I wanted to make sure I remembered the name of someone who will undoubtedly do some great things in this world after riding across the US the long, hard way at 8 years old! Now back to today's ride. I rode with my some three buddies today from Wickenberg to Cottonwood, AZ. Our start was delayed (group left at 6:45) because Bruce had a "hotel flat" that occurred while he was sleeping. If you don't check your tires as soon as you awake, you may be surprised and rushed by the unexpected need to change a tire right after you get your bags loaded. We all took a deep breath and still got rolling down the quiet roads just a little behind our buddies. There were three major climbs today that took us from 2000 feet above sea level to 5000, 6000 and 7000 feet respectively. We had an overcast sky most of the way and the Saguaro cactus were beautiful in many places. As we climbed up into Prescott, we enjoyed a tailwind and a smooth rode, nirvana for a cyclist. The rest stop was pretty far down the road today, at 42.7 miles in the small town of Wilhoit. After pedaling up hill for most of the morning, a good turkey sandwich, pickles, raisins, and a Fanta Orange recharged me for the remaining uphill ride to mile 85. No really scary events with cars today, and I hope to keep that string running. Our progress along the route was steady with all of us pulling (riding in front to provide a draft for the riders following us) for part of the ride. The last 10 mile stretch was really a challenge as we were already tired from the earlier climbs and this remaining portion was the steepest--the climb up Mingus Mountain from 5000 to 7000. I have 21 speeds on my Trek 5200 and I used all but 3 gears to get to the top. As we crested the hill our speeds increased up to 42 mph as we enjoyed the spectacular views and winding roads into Jerome, AZ. I felt like Annikan Skywalker driving my pod racer as I zigged and zagged at 35-40 mph for about 8 miles. And just like the Geico pig, I was hollering, "Weeeeee, Weeee, Weeee!" When we got to Jerome, we had a widely renowned Haunted House Hamburger that was to die for. This old mining town is literally on the side of a mountain and has a feel of an Italian city as it winds along switchbacks that are almost 180 degree turns. I'd love to come back here and explore this great piece of America. When the burger binge ended, we glided more than 90 percent of the way to our hotel in Cottonwood. After we helped offload all the bags, I hit the laundry about 10 minutes away to get my gear ready for the next 4 days. Our rap session laid out the plan for tomorrow's ride to Winslow, AZ (yes you Eagles fans, the "standin on the corner in Winslow, AZ, such a fine sight to see . . . "). Could be some thunderstorms and rain for a large portion of the route. We will be prepared! Our ride leader noted that our group just set a record for the most stuff left at the last hotel: 4 cell phones, 2 chargers, a wallet and only God knows what else. I'm fading away so I'm calling it a night. Thanks for following along on the road to Savannah. Steve

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Day 3. Hello Sports Fans from the lively city of Wickenberg, AZ! Today's 115 mile ride had some work, plenty of play and even a little excitement. We departed Blythe at 6:30 am in order to take advantage of low/mid 70 degree temps until about 8:30 am. The first couple of hours involved about 2000 feet of climbing over 40 miles with light cross winds most of the way. We meandered out of Blythe and got back onto I-10 East and entered Arizona about 5 minutes after we left. While I had nothing but nasty things to say about I-10 yesterday, today I am proud to report that the taxpayers of Arizona are doing a MUCH better job of maintaining their portion of Interstate 10. The shoulder was relatively clean and the surface was three times smoother than the cobblestones used in California. Nevertheless, I still had a flat tire (my second so far)! I rode with three great folks today: Lee (chiropractor from southwest VA), Bruce (cattle farmer from southwest VA), and Jason (valet/student from CA), Kari (IT professional from Finland), David (IT professional from San Diego). All are good riders and work hard to support one another. We rode in a pace line about 50% of the time as the winds shifted to head winds and the temps rose to 90+. Although everyone is a little leg weary by now, having pedaled 365 miles over 3 days, spirits are high for most of the group. We do have one gentleman with a sore neck that bothered him enough that he had to finish the day in the van. At this point, everyone has a sore (pick one or more)--knee, hip, leg, okole (google it!), shoulder, hand, etc. However, I've seen these same kind of folks before and they will surprise you day after day with their determination. They do not give up easily. After riding about 40 miles on the freeway, we rode AZ Highway 60 for the next 74.6 miles. This road was a two lane, county road with a good shoulder and rumble strips that will jar your grandparents teeth. Here is the "excitement" I mentioned at the start of today's blog. I was riding about 20 feet behind Jason. He was on the shoulder of the road and I was on the white line in the right lane. Looking ahead I could tell Jason was pushing hard and had his head looking almost straight down. I hollered to him because he was about to run into the side of a bush that was protruding across the shoulder. About the time I got the words out of my mouth, a truck heading west (I was pedaling east) passed a car in the west bound lane and went past me well over 100 mph. This guy had to be within 6 feet of me and he was blazing. It all happened so fast that I didn't have time to be scared. As I said at the start of this ride, you have to pay attention all the time. While I was "paying attention" to one thing, it obviously wasn't the most important thing. In golfing parlance, I am taking a "Mulligan" on paying attention this time. I will do better! Funniest event of the day: Our group of 4 (Bruce, Lee, and Jason) stopped when Jason trashed a tire, not a tube, and needed a new tire. In a pinch, we all could have fixed the tire to get us to the hotel, but instead we got out Bruce's cell phone and had him call "Jim" in the repair van. Bruce hit "Jim" on his cell phone and said excitedly, "Jim, we need you to come help Jason with his blown out tire. We are about 3 miles from the rest stop and we are going to need a new tire." Only problem with the process was that the "Jim" that Bruce called was not the "Jim" supporting the bike ride. The guy at the other end of the phone said, "Who the hell is this and what are you talking about?!" Bruce abruptly hung up, called the correct Jim, and the tire situation was resolved post haste. The ride ended with a downhill 10 miles into Wickenberg, a quaint town in the middle of nowhere. After checking in about 2:45pm, we unloaded the luggage van, hit McDonald's for a quarter pounder with cheese, a shake and fries, and then back to our rooms to get organized for tomorrow. I had my bike checked by Jim since it was clicking near the bottom bracket. Problem cured. And then around 6:15 pm, 3 of us headed to the Hog Trough restaurant, had some wonderful barbecue and now we are winding down. In just 5 days we'll be in Albuquerque and I'm excited that Arlene will be visiting. The temps will be lower tomorrow but the hills will be steeper. Should be fun! Thanks for your CAC support and encouragement. Stay healthy, Steve

Monday, April 23, 2012

Day 2 of this great adventure had plenty of work and excitement. The leg was from Palm Springs to Blythe, CA and was 135+ miles. Because all 17 of us had some level of heat issue yesterday, the ABB staff put together a plan to have us all prepared for the longer and hotter today we expected and received today. While most of us were fully hydrated yesterday, many of us did a poor job of keeping our core temps in check in the blazing sun. Today we all dealt with the heat issue, cooling ourselves at every rest stop and many of us bought bandanas that we filled with us, and then wrapped around our necks. This simple approach gave us the ability to withstand 100+ degree temps while pedaling 17-25 mph across the desert. It really was a case of "adapt now" or sit in the van and watch your friends figure it out! My roommate, Greg Lehr, was pedaling really well until we hit the second rest stop at about 66 miles. Shortly thereafter, he and a huge piece of truck tire collided and he went down on the shoulder of I-10, the only connecting road between Palm Springs and Blythe. Greg got 5 stitches in his left arm, but had no other injuries and will be back in the fight tomorrow. The shoulder on I-10 was really a mess with an unbelievable amount of tire pieces, wires from dismembered steel-belted radial tires and assorted nuts, bolts and junk. And the road itself was buckling and anything but smooth for over 30 miles. Imagine this: the temps are 100+, you are traveling at 20 mph, watching your buddies around you, dodging tire chunks and wires that will flat your tires, and don't forget the occasional dust storm that sand blasted your skin, bike and embedded itself on your second layer of sunscreen! And despite these "irritants," we all had a complete blast! As they say in Hawaii, "go figga"! The real highlight of today's ride was driving up Chiraco Canyon, a magnificent creation of rock that only God himself could create. I rode about 30 miles of this segment by myself and really enjoyed seeing rock outcroppings that reminded me of the old west. I'm calling it quits here since my energy level is dropping precipitously. Tomorrow we are leaving a little early (6:30 am) to take advantage of the cooler temps (70s through 11 am) as we travel to Wickenberg, AZ. And thanks to Keith Hammond for the call tonight. My phone obviously didn't like the cold water I was pouring over my head most of the day. While it helped me a lot, it did not help my aging palm phone. Stay healthy my friends, Steve. PS Your generosity is amazing! As of today, we have raised over $4200 for the CAC kids. Thanks and thanks again for assisting some of America's greatest kids. Photos below are (left to right) Martin, Steve, Greg; Start of trip at Huntington Beach on 22 April 12

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Day 1 was a great start, but predictably, with a few challenges over 116 miles. We hit the road after a hearty breakfast in the hotel restaurant and headed for the beach for the traditional dipping of the rear wheel in the Pacific. Most of the folks did this although a few "non-traditionalists" didn't want to get their feet sandy in the 200 yard walk to the water. Whatever melts your butter! Since there was a damp marine layer hanging over us most of the morning, I wore my Greg Norman long sleeve shirt under my jersey for a little additional body heat. The temps were about 55 degrees when we started with a little mist every so often. Our team of 17 ebbed and flowed as we followed the Santa Anna River on the aptly named Santa Anna River Trail for about 40 miles. It was rolling and lovely, but also well-used by many Sunday morning cyclists, walkers, joggers and later in the morning, kidsters on little bikes. I'd recommend this well maintained trail to one and all! However, since the trail was busy and narrow, there wasn't a lot of time to look around or sightsee. Eventually cool turned to warm and warm turned to hot and hot turned to darned hot! Watching all the new folks to ABB scurry around the rest stops was amusing. Barb Munk runs a tough rest stop, ensuring all riders ditch their gloves and wash their hands with an antibiotic before grazing at the snack table filled with fruit, nuts, granola bars, cookies and water/gatorade. They also have everyone "sign in please" to keep good accounting of the riders. That way, if Steve King takes a wrong turn and doesn't show up at the rest stop, they know they need to start providing a DF steer (aviation talk for "go this way") to the lost soul. I'm just sayin'! From the first rest stop to lunch at about 65 miles, we climbed about 3600 feet, but it was a gentle 1% climb most of the way, and yes, we had a tail wind. ABB now provides a "full lunch" instead of taking all the riders to dinner each night. Makes sense from a financial point of view I guess. We sat under shade trees in fold out chairs and enjoyed turkey and cheese sandwiches on wheat, rye, pita, tortias or straight up, if that's your persuasion. Lots of fruit, nuts, trail mix and of course, the ubiquitous container of granola bars and peanut butter and crackers. Good nourishment and 15 minutes later, we were onto the hot portion of the ride into and through the town of Beaumont. About 20 minutes after I left the rest stop, I pulled away from a group I was riding with and was feeling pretty good. After cresting a hill I was rolling along, enjoying the smell of the orange grove across the street when my eye catches a guy wearing a bike helmet crawling on all fours in the lane opposite me. I pulled over and tried to get him to come my way but he hollered back that ". . . my nose is broken and (undecipherable after this)"! He stands up and walks back to the 2 x 6 inch fence post that had fallen in the road and tossed it into the orange grove, forever banishing it from hitting another defenseless cyclist. He then walked my way and it was obvious that he had landed face first. His lip looked somebody had used a chain saw on it and yet he repeated that he thought he'd broken his nose and wanted to know if his teeth were broken. I told him his teeth looked okay, but decided there was no good way to explain his lip situation so I ended our conversation with, "your teeth look great!" We tried to call his brother using the injured man's cell phone, but that was impossible sit it too had taken a major hit and would not "swipe" to get the lock off. I eventually got him to give me his brother's number and I called him, but of course, I instead spoke to his trusty voice mail account. About this time, as my fellow cyclists arrived, a guy in a truck stopped, offered to assist and Mr. Broken Nose hopped in the back of the truck and headed for 1) his house (as he directed) or 2) to a hospital to sew up that chain saw cut lip. While I enjoyed lending a hand, I later realized the extra 30 minutes in the sun didn't do me any favors. As I pedaled the next 20 miles, I drank plenty, but I'm sure my core body temperature kept rising. Although I didn't feel aerobically winded, I was having a harder time taking a deep breath so I decided I'd pull into Burger King for a shake and some cool down time. The shake and the cooler temps helpd after about 20 minutes and when I pulled out I joined up with 4-5 folks that were just driving by from my ABB team. The next 30 miles were phenomenal on many levels. Fast (3-35 mph most of the way on a downhill incline all the way to Palm Springs with a 30 mph tailwind. The two mitigating circumstances here were 105 degree heat and a road that was like riding on a washboard for over an hour. And while the tail wind was wonderful for sailing along, it provides little help in cooling my already toasty body. In honor of St. Louis, I decided to tell anyone who asked how I was feeling that I felt like a St. Louis toasted ravioli! After crashing in the hotel room for 30 minutes until the bags arrived, taking a couple Motrin, and drinking some cold water, I felt human again, walked to dinner at Lulu's a sheik Palm Springs eatery and had a delicious meal of lasagna topped off with some chocolate cake to kill for. We finished the evening with our "Rap" where we discuss the day's events and then talk of the ride tomorrow. With a 133 mile ride to Blythe tomorrow, we have a team plan to battle the heat. Starting about 6:45am and we'll have rest stops at 40, 60, 80, 100, and 120 miles. We had one heat stress casualty that went to the hospital today and our goal is to avoid more tomorrow. Always great to have a plan. My motto for today stems from Mr. Broken Nose: You absolutely have to pay attention ALL the time. Even 1 second of not paying attention can dramatically change everything. Stay healthy! Steve

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Day 0 of the Cycle for CAC Kids. America by Bicycle calls today "Day 0" because it is a "no mileage" day. It is the day that many folks have ABB assemble their bikes and the check in process is initiated. We have a total of 17 riders with 13 of those folks going coast to coast. The other 4 will finish at Albuquerque and then fly to their homes from there. After checking in and getting my helmet and bike inspected, I went to Starbucks with "Kari", our participant from Finland. Kari is about my age but has two, repeat two titanium knees, the result of zealous efforts at soccer and marathons. He's had his mechanical advantage about two years and seems to be completely comfortable and mobile with his new additions. Kari is also unique in that he is using "tubular tires". Tubulars are tires with the tube sealed inside the tire and then glued to the frame of the wheel. While they are commonly used by cycling racers, these are definitely not recommended for long distance riding over unfamiliar roads. This could be very interesting! The afternoon included safety briefings and route briefings and advice to sloooooooooooow doooooooooown. Since the ride is a full 27 days, Mike Munk, our ride leader wants to give us all the best chance of making it through the next 3-4 days with temps in the Palm Springs and Blythe, CA areas well over 100 degrees. My roommate, Greg, is from San Diego and is doing his ride for the Wounded Warrior Project. He has raised almost $12,000 for this important charity. He and I went out to dinner at a vegetarian restaurant and we each had "faux" range chicken that was really quite tasty. Fog Horn Leghorn would be proud indeed! And for our dessert, we polished off the leftover grapes, strawberries, blue berries, and peanuts I bought yesterday. My Day 0 motto is: Leave no healthy food behind. I've definitely noticed that there is spotty/no news coverage of the Rams, Blues or Cardinals in these parts, but I'm sure they are respectively 1) on the verge of winning the Super Bowl 2) about to win the Stanley Cup or 3) still in first place hoping Albert goes 162 games without hitting a home run. Looking forward to the adventure starting tomorrow, and "making a memory" as my friend Larry Fariss always says. Stay healthy, Steve

Friday, April 20, 2012

Travel to Costa Mesa to Cycle for CAC Kids

Hello Friends and Followers of Cycle for CAC Kids. I arrived in Costa Mesa, CA after a relaxing flight from St. Louis. Arlene had the tough job today, driving me to the airport after a 3:45 am wake-up alarm. After the smooth ride to Denver and onward to John Wayne Orange County Airport, I caught a quick shuttle to the Ramada Inn in Costa Mesa, about a mile from the Pacific Ocean and lovely Huntington Beach. Got settled in and soon thereafter saw the Team "America By Bicycle" ride leaders: Mike and Barbara Munk, Karen, and Jim. They were readying the welcome room for arrival of 13 coast to coast riders, and helped me get my bike that I shipped here via UPS. I reassembled the bike in my room and our mechanic, Jim, helped me tighten up the pedals and stem (part that attaches handlebars to frame). With the bike reassembled, I joined Mike and Karen, along with a visiting rider from San Diego, Bud Stratton, for a short ride along the bike path that runs along Newport Beach and Huntington Beach. Mike gave me some idea of what to expect on the ride ahead and cautioned me of riding too quickly too soon. In a nutshell, he advised me to keep it comfortable and "pace yourself." Sage advice that I will heed. We rode about 24 miles, talking and catching up as the marine layer kind of sat upon us and kept the temperature around 65 degrees. In just an hour of riding I glimpsed the melting pot we call California: runners, walkers, fat tire cyclists, dog walkers (with pooper bags in hand of course!), surfers (long boarders, wet suits, boogie boards,etc), in-line skaters, sunbathers, volleyball players, outdoor racquetball players, and the world famous "Dukes"(please note: I am not making any references to bikinis, short shorts, halter tops, thongs, full body tats or gratuitous piercings). We ended up at an exotic restaurant known around America as . . . yes, we had lunch at Panera Bread Company. More great conversation and then I headed down the street to the bike shop to pick up a couple of things. The kids running the shop asked me where I was biking and when I told them Savannah, GA, they clearly thought I said "to the moon." I finished up the afternoon with a 200 yard walk to a Home Grown market to get some fresh apples, blue berries, strawberries, and the staple that holds me together, peanuts (no peanut butter available). Thanks for keeping those encouragements and donations coming in! Your generosity has pushed us above $3500 for the CAC kids. Stay healthy! Steve