Moving time...

So with the bike pretty much a wreck (the rider too but you already knew that) this is my new vehicle of choice. Don't have to worry about rain, has enough power to neutralize those persistent headwinds, and it sure does get you there in time for dinner. The folks at Medi Flight sent this to me so I thought I'd better get a photo in while I can.

They moved me out of the hospital yesterday and into a rehab hospital in Columbus. And, much as I really want to go home it was the right decision. I don't think I would have survived fifty miles in a car - actually I'm not at all sure I could get into a car. I met my the therapist today and she suggested I think in terms of at least a week. I don't have anything but praise and gratitude for the doctors at OSU but I have learned a few things about our healthcare system. Part of the job is to treat the immediate problem and then get you moving on as quickly as possible. Tuesday when they were telling me I could expect to go home on Thursday, I think what they really meant was that we are finished here and it is time to move on.

In any event the rehab center is terrrific so far. I compare it with what Susan had (when she had her knee replaced) and I think I have landed in the right place. The job now is to get mobile, get in and out of bed,, to master the walker and crutches. It does seem a little bit strange - last week at this time I was anticipating our last couple of centuries...wow.

I did go through a couple of the blogs today and it sounds like I missed a couple of tough days: lots of rain and more of those ugly headwinds. But the end is in sight guys-I wish each of you a safe and fun ride through New York, Vermont and on to Boston.....

A final note: Susan brought me my helmet today. I had graphic testimony of what I already knew. The helmet was not bad when looking at the outside. It had a few dents and scrapes but flipping it over was another story. There were four severe cracks in the liner and who knows how many that were not visible. Again that relatively minor investment was worth more to me than the few thousands I put into the bike - quite simply that helmet saved my life. I may have it framed and hung in a place of honor (maybe over the fireplace, although I suspect Susan might have some thoughts on that).

I don't think I'm through with this blog yet although I do not plan to document all my aches and pains over the next few weeks - maybe just a few progess reports..But I do need to say how much I have been affected by the supportive comments on both the blog and a few e-mails. You are people I know and people I don't know but I can hardly say how much your kind words and good wishes have meant to me - thank you all.

Ohio...a surprising state ...Part II

Today's title is a major understatement. For those who may not have heard my ride came to a dramatic and sudden end in the little town of Delaware. About 20 miles into the ride on Monday - scheduled at 97 miles to Wooster -I was preparing to make a left turn and somehow collided with a Harley Davidson coming from my rear - as you might guess a thousand pound motorcycles versus a 20 pound bike does not make for real good odds for the cyclist. I have virtually no memory of the accident so what I know now is based a couple of bits and pieces I've picked up from others. The first thing I remember was perhaps ten minutes after the crash when I looked up from the ground and saw a police officer crouched in front of me and one of my water bottles just beyond his foot. The next thing I knew they were strapping me to a board and loading me on a helicopter for a trip to the Ohio State University Med Center . Believe it or not one of my thoughts on the helicopter was that maybe I was banged up a little and if the bike was OK maybe I could be back on the road for Wednesday's ride....boy, was that ever naive. The bottom line is that the bike is history, cracked in several places, my helmet was broken in three different places, and I am more than just a little banged up. And by the way the helmet did it's job - there is no question that it saved my life. Relatively small investment with a huge return. I have not even had a headache since the accident. (And that may be the only place that is not hurting at this point.) Along with numerous aches and pains I have a broken left ankle (and was very grateful to avoid surgery), broken left leg in the non weight bearing bone (fibula), a crack in one of the thoracic vertebrae - again, fortunately just a crack, no structural damage. Beyong that some road rash and one cut that required stitches in the elbow. All in all it sure could have been a lot worse. My first meeting yesterday with the physical therapist was total disaster. My system is so messed up that I could not expand the effort required by the walker without fianlly passing out. We tried again today and things went much better - even with IVs I managed to climb a few stairs and get in a walk across the room with the walker, albeit laboriously and with help. And speaking of help....my brother Dick and Nancy came down from Detroit on Tuesday and left a couple of hours ago. Susan drove from L'vile with daughter Katherine (and Carolyn - all full of life and bounce at 18 months) Katherine also flew back today but Susan will hopefully be driving us home tomorrow.I told her a litttle while ago that while professional medical and nursing care is wonderful (and it is) a little TLC is absolutely priceless. I did enjoy doing this blog and loved the comments - thank you. And I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. In spite of some hard days and difficult weather at times the ride was about adventure and challenge and I truly had fun most of the time. I am pleased I did 2/3s of America on a bike and am indescibably disappointed that I am not doing the final segment. I saw this country and it's people in ways that you can only imagine from a car. I will be re-living this in my head for a long time. I also met an incredible group of people, the folks who did the ride with me. All of us of varying ages and abilities but united in a common purpose; it was truly like discovering a new family. I miss not seeing you in the morning for breakfast, not seeing you on the road, and certainly will miss not riding in formation to the Atlantic Ocean. I may still have a couple of things to say and may add another post or two. I need to do the math and tally uo the mileage as well as a few other thoughts that did not get into the daily blog. And I need to start shopping for a new bike...maybe that will be the next photo.

Ohio - a surprising state....

I have driven back and forth from New Jersey to Detroit via the Ohio Turnpike any number of times over the years. And the impression I have always had is of a long, straight, flat road with virtually nothing to see for miles and miles. Well, today we saw Ohio from a whole different perspective. The border was exactly 2.7 miles from our hotel and from the beginning it was great ride. We were on a series of state roads that curved and dipped and twisted and led us into quaint little old towns and through Ohio farm land - a scene that was totally unexpected for me.

The day started out overcast, and even a bit threatening as a couple of the pictures indicate. We did pick up a few drops but for the most part it was the sun peeking out from behind the clouds and considering that it was a 105 mile day the clouds were just enough to keep it from getting really hot.

We went through probably fifteen to twenty small towns all with their main streets and little business sections and older, well kept houses for the most part. The older houses are a delight to pass. Lots of wrap-around porches with swings and in most cases nicely landscaped with flowers and neatly cut lawns - almost picture perfect middle America. In all honesty there are a few towns that also show decay and problems but not many - and even those usually have signs that some one does care and is trying.

And I continue to be amazed at the farmhouses - the one house picture I put up tonight is one of the prettiest I saw today. And behind it was the barn and a couple of sheds with all the farm machinery neatly stowed away - and, of course, the whole thing was surrounded by hundreds of acres of growing corn and soy beans. These folks were also the owners of the cattle across the street - I thought it was pretty funny to find a longhorn in Ohio and he posed so nicely for me too.

We also had a few more glimpses of the Amish today. We saw a couple of buggys with the occupents dressed in their Sunday best and probably headed to services somewhere. More interesting, we came across a couple, man and wife presumably, riding a tandem bicycle in the same direction as we were heading. She had on the traditional long dress and he the beard and straw hat. They were just ahead of us on the road and they were moving. (For those not familiar with the Amish they do not drive cars - or have electricity or even tractors).

One of our SAG was in the little town of Covington in the police station parking lot...the picture is downtown Covington on Flag Day about noon - not much was happening besides the bike riders getting their rest stop.

I've had a long run without a flat - I think since New Mexico and that was only my second - but today my luck ran out. The unmistakeable and sudden hisssssssss had me to the side of the road very quickly. I had taken a good look at the front tire last night but somehow got distracted and did not move to the rear - big mistake. Anyway the back tire was pretty much shot so I replaced both tire and tube and we were back on the road. And was a good thing I had the new tire because within a mile we ran into a series of new chip and seal (very gravelly and tough on tires) and I felt much better with the new one.

And last little note on the ride...Somewhere around mile 87 we ran into a series of up and down hills and expected that we would have a kind of laborious process of finishing a long ride climbing. Well, Tom grabbed an energy jel and attacked one of the hills with a stand up in the pedals energy that caught me by surprise. I watched him for a second and then decided to respond and we were both off and running and for the next six or seven miles we litterally raced up and down the rolling hills like two ten year-olds on our first bikes. I have no idea where we found the strenth after 85/90 miles but we kept it up for about five or six miles hitting 20 and 22 mph and just having a ball. We finally came into a little town with a light and stopped to catch and then rolled on into Marysville for a DQ root beer float before checking into the hotel.

Tracy really outdid herself planning the route today - it was a long day but one of the best days of riding we have had. Now the only question is whether the legs will be there again tomorrow for a virtual century - 97 miles. Stay tuned....and good night.

Goodby Indiana...almost

Tonight we are in Richmond Indiana and a little less than 3 miles from the Ohio state line. I looked at the map after we got in and we are almost due south of Detroit which, of course, is where I grew up. If Michigan didn't have those two big lakes on either side our route could just as easily have taken us a bit north and I would be on a real nostalgia trip. As it is going through Indianapolis last night and then again when we left this morning still provides such a strong midwestern feeling I'm certainly feeling my roots. Many of the names on stores e.g., Krogers, Speedway, Marathon and some of the signs, e.g. a store advertising the price for a "six-pack of pop". I may have to order a Vernors when we go to dinner later tonight.

It took a bit of time to get out of Indianapolis this morning and I was glad it is a Saturday and we didn't have to contend with commute traffic. And once outside the city guess what we saw? Surprise: corn and more corn for as far we could see...again. It really seems like we have seen nothing but corn for weeks now. Although, to be completely honest, we do see soy beans occasionally and the infrequent horses and cows.

Sounds boring and in a way it lacks the drama of some of our western states but it is not too bad. We had another beautiful day for a ride: cloudy and cool for a couple of hours and then the sun and lots of blue sky. The roads were good, not much traffic and mostly flat and winding with only a bit of climbing. The small towns we almost flew through - most have maybe one traffic light and some only a four-way stop. In one town we saw Amish for the first time. We tend to think of the Amish only in Pennsylvania but many have emigrated to the midwest in the last few years. We passed a couple of horse and buggies and got a shy wave from the driver in his straw hat and plain blue shirt.

I rode most of today with Tom, Hank and Champ with whom I've ridden quite a bit over the weeks. Today we were joined by our newest rider, Sue who joined us in Champaign. Her claim to fame is that she rides a recumbent. She had an auto accident a couple years ago that resulted in a whiplash injury and she can no longer ride a conventional bike. I've seen recumbents many times but usually in passing and my prejudice has always been that they look heavy and clumsy. Sue puts those notions to rest...she stayed with us all day and handled the hills with ease. I took the picture at the SAG where she was demonstrating for a couple of fellow skeptics.

Somewhere around mile 70 we pulled in Centerville - how many Centervilles might there be in this United States - three traffic lights large and home of a great little lunch place. I had my usual root beer float (real ice cream) and a cheeseburger that was like something I might have made myself on the grill at home. And we met Jason who is five years old and has a red bike with training wheels that he says will come off soon. Jason allowed Champ to test ride his bike and then Jason himself posed for me before heading off down the sidewalk with his mom. One of the real highlights of this journey is meeting some very friendly people - America is filled with really good people.

And finally the car picture...There were several restored antiques around the hotel this morning and that one really caught my eye. The saying on the back and the fact that it is a 1938 Chevrolet which is one of the earliest cars I can remember - my dad had a '39 when I was young and my Aunt Mary had a '38. The owner came out just after I took the picture and he was indeed a grampa - bent over and at least 80 he was very proud of his toy.

Today was 83 miles and about 5 1/2 hours on the bike...Tomorrow we head into Ohio and are looking at 104 miles (followed by 97 the next day). They keep telling us that Ohio is surprisingly hilly - I guess we are about to find out.

"For want of a screw the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the bike was lost..."

And with apologies to William Shakespeare "for want of a shoe the ride was (almost) lost" That is the way my day began today. I pulled out of the hotel onto the highway and after successfully crossing began to clip into the pedals. The right shoe went in smoothly but the left just kept slipping around on the pedal. I pulled out of the pack of riders and into a driveway to check the problem and found I was missing a screw in the cleat on that left shoe. The cleat had twisted itself sideways and no way was it going to work. And for those who don't cycle, you could probably pedal without "clicking in" but it wouldn't be fun and you wouldn't want to do it for long. So I made a quick u-turn and headed back to the hotel where Tracy was just getting ready to shut the door on the truck and head out for whatever would have been her first stop on today's route. She said "no problem" and went immediately into her super-organized supply cabinets and came up with three different sizes of cleat screw. The second one was the winner and within fifteen minutes I was back out on the road. Of course by this time the group I was going to ride with was long gone and my thought was to catch up at either the first store they stopped for or at the SAG stop. By this time I was most definitely the last person out of the hotel by a good twenty minutes or so.

By the same token it was a nice cycling day - a bit of a cloud cover (but not the rainy kind) and just cool enough to be comfortable - so I really didn't mind heading out alone. Once we got out of town the country was much like what we saw yesterday - family farms, most corn, some hay and today for the first time I saw soy beans. Interesting that the corn in the fields varies from just barely coming out of the ground to some fields where it is already waist high. I'm guessing that they have had so much rain that the farmers' schedules were way off - some of the crop got planted early but for a lot they had to wait for the rain to stop before they could go out with their tractors.

Somewhere around the 20 mile point I did catch up with another group and jumped in with them for awhile. We had to wait a bit for a very long train to go through a little town whose name completely escapes me. We were then back out on the road and again, riding through the corn fields and farm houses. Knowing we were only doing 65 miles today made it fairly easy even as the wind picked up again and, of course, turned into a somewhat annoying headwind.

Our only SAG of the day was a fun stop. It was at the Gentry family farm and apparently has been a SAG stop for something like 10 or 12 years. It is run now by two brothers, Tom and Bob, and Tom was out to greet us. He had lawn chairs out for us (all with names taken from their cows - I had to take the picture of 'Beth") and eventually we did a group shot of the cycling folks who were there and Tom in the middle. I got talking with Tom and learned that he has about 800 acres in corn and soybeans. They were originally a dairy farm but couldn't make a living with it and finally sold off almost all the cows. I told him my son-in-law was in the same business and he was somewhat surprised to learn that we have farms in New Jersey - I'm sure his image of New Jersey was crowded developments, turnpikes and refineries, and cities like Newark. Even as we left he was still shaking his head over this idea of New Jersey farms.

Before I left the SAG I had a quick phone conversation with Susan. She called me yesterday to tell me that a neighbor's tree had fallen on our garage, front porch roof and her car - and of course took down all the electric and phone wires as well. Very scary and very traumatic for her and one of those "of all things to happen while I'm gone" kind of things. I'm happy to report that she was feeling much better today and also that she handled the whole thing with grace and intelligence - bravo...Fortunately nobody was hurt and the house itself was not harmed - it is now in the hands of the insurance company.

Indianapolis is probably the biggest city we have visited and we really took the back way in. Our cue sheets had us going through residential neighborhoods primarily, past homes and golf courses and making left and right turns every mile or so for the last 10 miles. It was a bit of a pain to keep referring to the cue sheet but on the other hand, it was very interesting to see the neighborhoods of the city.

One of my thoughts as I covered so much of the day's journey alone was how dependant I was on that cue sheet. At one point, out there among the corn fields I missed a turn and went maybe a mile and a half before I discovered my mistake and retraced my course and found the right corner. It occurred to me that all I really knew was that I was in Indiana and headed for Indianapolis but if anyone asked me where I was I had not a clue. It's not like being in the middle of the Sahara without a compass but it does give you a feeling of really being on your own in a strange land for awhile.

And one last thing for tonight...I discovered another great beer tonight. It is Leinenkugel - a great German sounding name that almost demands it be a great beer. It is a wheat beer but with a definite malty taste and a glass with a steak is a wonderful way to end a day of cycling.

And tomorrow we have one more day in Indiana...83 miles to Richmond. We are hoping for clear skies and a tail wind. We shall see...(and Go Red Wings!!!)

Funny helmets and smooth roads...

After 34 dys and some 2500 miles people start getting a little nutso... probably something akin to prisoners who get 'stir crazy'. So today was designated "decorate your helmet day" and the idea was to use the day off to come up with something a bit wacky and show it off this morning before getting on the bikes. Tom took all the photos (I wasn't thinking - mine was encased in plastic because of a forecast of rain) and there are too many for the blog. I have included Tom who had balloons with the number 7 for the seventh week when it will be party time. Mine was the Superman logo and the little corkscrew with the saying I thought appropriate for the 2nd oldest guy on the ride. There were some pretty outlandish outfits including the Englishman in the group (actually from Liverpool) who decorated not only his helmet but a good part of his body and bike as well - mostly in red, white and blue. And in case anyone wonders I did pull the corkscrew out before I hit the road but I kept the Superman logo on all day.

It was another day that started out looking very doubtful. We had thunder and lightning through much of the night and the clouds were dark and heavy this morning with a forecast of showers through the morning. So again, we left on wet roads but no rain and with our fingers crossed. The good news was that there was no wind - hooray. We headed out right through downtown Champaign and wound our way back to University Ave and then right through the university itself so we did get a chance to see the raison d'etre for Champaign. Almost immediately upon leaving the city we were on a state road and, not too surprising, back into farm country and more cornfields. One of our group is from this area and made the comment that the farmers here are expecting one of their best crops ever. They have had an abundance of rain and the predictions are very positive. I just look at the soil and we go by and it looks so dark and rich it just seems like the ideal farm land.

With no wind and pretty decent roads we made good time and actually rode with a group of 8 or 9 riders for probably 30 miles or so until half of them and decided to stop at a store and four of us kept up the same pace through the little towns and cornfields. After a quick stop at the only SAG of the day we came to the Indiana state line...if there had not been a couple of folks stopped there I could easily have missed it because at this point we were moving. In any case we took our pictures, did our little ritual with the Pacific sand (I occasionally wonder whether in this day and age we might not be violating some state law that prohibits bringing foreign matter into the state) and crossed into another state in our "epic journey" across America.

By this time the sun had made it's appearance and it was turning into a great day. I am easily satisfied with blue skys, puffy white clouds and a nice road - no wind is a bonus. And so a perfect day for a bike ride and we continued to the little town of Veedersburg (pop probably about 796). At the four way stop in the center of town there was a restaurant called the Bus Stop on the corner that looked perfect for lunch - first because it was the only place in town, and second because it was filled with customers. So the five of us went in to all the stares of the locals and a few of the usual questions - "You started where? Going to Boston?" There was a very cute baby with her mom at the table next to us and Hank, Mr Personality always, went over and asked the mother if she would allow the baby to be in a photo with him - and both the baby and Hank were delighted with the affirmative response. It was a great little place with homemade pies and filled with friendly people. And the kind of place most people in cars would simply fly by and never even see.

And so we left after continuing a couple of conversations on the little deck and headed back out into our perfect day. One of the little towns had the bike garden on the wall of the building. They were all lined up and filled with flowers - and the photo does not show it but at the corner was an ice cream store - bikes and ice cream, perfect together.

And finally, the little town of Hillsboro: their sign made us all smile. And all we saw were the happy people - they must keep the soreheads under cover. So we have now changed to the eastern time zone and are sitting in Crawfordsville and looking to a short, i.e 65 miles, ride to Indianapolis tomorrow. We did 80 miles today and had 5 hours and 20 minutes of riding time but it didn't seem like that much. The day off was good for us and tomorrow's short day almost seems like a recovery day too.

And just a bit of trivia to finish off the day...Crawfordsville was home to Gen. Lew Wallace who was the author of Ben-Hur (among other things) and I do not think we will make it to the Lew Wallace museum. But I thought I'd pass along that bit of information just in case Jeopardy comes calling....And on that note, good night.

Time for a nap

Chillin' in Champaign on a much needed rest day.

We did 620 miles over the last 7 days including 2 centuries. We had rain and wind as well as a couple of beautiful days. We have now done 5 true centuries since the ride began - and in my previous cycling life I had done exactly 3 (and one of those was disputed...99.1 the quibbler said is not a century).

The map is posted every night in the lobby of the hotel we are staying in. It started with just a light blue line representing our intended journey. Each night they add a black overlay for that day's ride for a graphic look at our progress. It is incredible to see it and realize how far we have come. Tomorrow we cross into Indiana for another state crossing - and we come into the Eastern time zone, that is another big step toward Boston.

Coming into Champaign last night took us along University Ave which was somewhat reminiscent of some of the streets of Princeton around the University. Nice street with lots of leafy trees, nice homes, some even elegant. However, we turned before we got to the main campus.

And by the way, we also saw our first Canada geese last night - a sure sign we are transitioning into the eastern U.S. One of our California riders was waxing enthusiastic over his sighting of a mama goose and her newly hatched siblings and a couple of folks who see them all the time immediately jumped in with their comments on what pests they are - me being one of those folks.

We started the trip with 25 riders in Los Angeles but have lost a few along the way. Some who started had job committments that permitted them only a few weeks and several rode only as far as Albuquerque or Santa Fe. Another left in Abilene and one more will stop in Indianapolis (his home). At the same time we picked up two more people here in Champaign for the final push to Boston - and one is riding a recumbant, should be interesting - although the worst of the climbing was in the mountains there is still some formidable climbing ahead. Even Ohio has hills I'm told and I know from experience about the climbing in New York and Vermont. So we are now 18 strong and on our way to the final 1/3 or so.... One of the other riders made a comment that we become like family and it is true. We have a very fine group of people on the ride and in lots of ways we have become siblings over the past 2000 or so miles.

I slept in to about 8 this morning - a delicious luxury - and then went down for a leisurely breakfast. Came up and caught up on a few computer things, little bit of news (Red Wings lost last night-I was too tired to stay up), and then did some laundry. Am going to go out and read a bit and maybe close the eyes for awhile. Tomorrow we have a mere 79 miles to Crawfordsville, Indiana - I must admit some relief that we are not coming off a rest day into a century. And if the weather is anything like what we have had today it will be a good ride....

What a difference a day makes...

I went to bed last night with a feeling bordering on dread thinking of today's ride. My legs were toast and my body was tired and the prospect of 87 miles was not something I wanted to deal with. We woke up this morning and at least we had no thunder and lightning and no rain. (Furthermore, I was just a bit disappointed that our day off was not in Springfield which is home to Lincoln museums, his home and so on).

What I did discover this morning and throughout the day was that over the past four weeks and 2,000 miles on the bike I have worked myself into pretty good shape, number one, and number two the body has some amazing recuperative powers. Today turned out to be a marvelous ride in just about every way. It started out with a cloud cover that kept things cool for the first twenty miles or so and just a bit of a headwind - enough to feel the breeze but the grasses on the side of the road were not bent back like yesterday. We had to move through Springfield's morning rush to get out to the country and I do believe we hit every red light from the hotel to the city limits. But I guess all the starting and stopping was good warm-up because once we got to the open road, we felt good and took off. We had a few rollers and then the road started following a railroad track about 50 yards to our left. Railroad tracks are always good because you know the railroad surveyors plan for level roads for the trains with only very gradual climbs and descents. More to the point, all the tiredness and sore thighs from yesterday were gone and I was really blown away by the ease of the ride. The sun came out, we had blue skys with just the right amount of puffy white clouds and it was just a beautiful day for a ride. The miles started to fly by and it turned into one of those days where you feel like the little boy on your first Schwinn and you can just ride forever...A wonderful feeling.

We were once again in farm country from beginning to end and virtually all of it was corn for as far as the eye could see. One of the things that struck me today was the appearance and upkeep of Illinois farms. Almost all the farms appear to be family owned (as opposed to the big agri-business farms we saw further west) but they are so well kept and neat they almost could be featured in House Beautiful. The houses are landscaped, lawns neatly cut, and the barnyards (for the most part) are clean and uncluttered. I took a couple of pictures and one is above. It is more modern than most of the farmhouses but the appearance is the same. And just behind it was the barn and a couple of equipment sheds and that area was just as neat as the front yard of the house.

Taking the state roads as we do we go through a ton of tiny little towns that may have populations of 239, 123 - saw one today that showed exactly 500. I wonder how they came up with such a round number? Most of them have no traffic lights, maybe one stop sign but all have a grain elevator - one of our group has termed them "America's castles". One of these towns we saw today with no traffic light or stop sign was named Cornland. And I thought how I would have loved to be present at the town council meeting that decided on that creative name. Another town was named Mt. Pulaski. Mt??? In the middle of this incredibly flat land of corn? Somebody either had a sense of humor or a very active imagination.

About 11 AM we pulled into a (what else?) a Dairy Queen for lunch - amazing how good a simple cheeseburger and Dr Pepper can taste after 50 miles or so (mind you, I had a more than ample breakfast but that was hours earlier). When we walked in there were 4 or 5 octogenarian ladies coming out, all laughing and giggling. It turns out that our own Senior Rider(almost 74) had been come in, taken his food and sat down with the ladies and started telling them of going across the country and how much fun it was etc, etc...and they just loved it. We are now referring to Hank as the Illinois boy toy.

Tom and I pulled in about 2 and of course it was time for lunch - of course, we had done another 35 miles since the cheeseburger. So to Chili's for a quesidilla. The manager actually seated us (still in our bike shorts and jersey) and asked us about the ride and were we doing it for a charity. We told him of Anchor House and to our great surprise when the bill came the only charge was for the beer that each of had and said please put the cost of your lunch toward the Anchor House collection - good feeling for both us.

And by the way half a dozen of us went to a steak house for dinner and we both realized that this was actually our fourth meal of the day...will make up for some of the 5,000 calories the computer says we consumed today.

All in all a really great day but I'm still looking forward to a day off the bike...and a sleep in tomorrow morning.

A lonnggg day in the heartland....

Sitting at dinner tonight with our mechanic who is also one of the best riders in the group and (in his wonderful Texas drawl) he said "Anyone who says this wasn't one tough ride didn't ride the roads that I did". And I said thanks, I needed to hear that from a rider like him. We knew it would be long - 107 miles and our second century in the past six days and nothing under 75 in the days in between. What really made this one a killer was the wind - again.

We started the day with another delay as we woke up to the rumble of thunder again and at 6:00 AM a pretty steady rain. Our normal 7:15 start was delayed to 8:15, not a great way to start a 107 mile day. Again we were expecting lots of rolling up and down hills for at least the first half or so of the ride. When we did finally get underway the clouds were still black and heavy but the rain was pretty much over and the only reminder was the wet roads. Our first hill was right out of the hotel, a great little wake-up call after sitting around the lobby waiting to get started.

A couple of miles outside of town the winds started to come up but were mostly crosswinds and while that presents its own kind of challenge it was not a direct force in our faces. Somewhere around mile 10 the wind shifted - or the road curved, I cannot remember - and the headwinds started in earnest. It was another of those days where no matter what gear I was in I was never going faster than 11 or 12 mph - and my legs were telling me that this was going to be a tough day. We had a SAG somewhere around mile 30 and it was almost a mistake to stop. Starting up after a 15 minute break was like trying to start the car on a sub-zero day - the engine groans and tries to catch but you know it really doesn't want to move. We moved down the road trying to get into a rhythm but that wind just keeps coming at you. And so we continued. The sun finally started peeking out from the clouds and we were moving through Illinois farm country that just went on and on. Every now and then I would glance to the side of the road watch the grasses being bent double by the same wind that was beating up on us. Somewhere around mile 55 we stopped at a gas station/convenience store for a chocolate milk and candy bar - quick energy food. One of the other riders gave me this kind of dejected look and said this stuff (the wind) is getting to my head...I don't know if I can make it...P.S. he did.

The country side we covered was almost all farm land and the one picture I have is kind of typical of what we saw all day. The fields were mostly corn with an occasional field of wheat or hay. The grove of trees conceals a farm house and barn and also a real one room school house. I took just a couple of pictures today - was simply working too hard to stop most of the time.

At mile 70 we made a couple of quick turns into the little town of Jacksonville and stopped at a Dairy Queen - we hardly ever do not stop at a DQ if we can find one. Anyhow, a grilled cheese sandwich, a root beer float and then a couple of energy bars and we were back on the road for the last 37 miles. And then - wonder of wonders - we took a turn and suddenly we had a marvelous tail wind. From 12 miles an hour we were now moving at 19 - 21 mph and flying. When I say this was a real life saver I am not kidding. The change of direction carried us all the way into Springfield and I truly wonder if I might still be out on the road, perhaps sleeping under a tree, were it not for that blessed tail wind.

Truly the last 30 miles was fun but there was no doubt that we were one very tired group tonight. Most nights we would go out somewhere nearby for dinner but tonight the plan was to call out for pizza and it was perfect. All of us were quite content to sit in the hotel lobby and breakfast area with a beer or glass of wine (courtesy of the hotel) and then back up to our rooms.

So for the day: 107 miles, 7 hours and 10 minutes of riding time (8 1/2 hours total on the road), and a 14.9 mph average (only because of that last 30 miles). And tomorrow it's an 87 mile trip to Champaign followed by a much anticipated day off. I think I can probably go off to sleep without checking the weather reports.

To get to Illinois go to Maine and turn left....

One of the major events to the day was our entry into Illinois leaving Missouri behind. We crossed over the Mississippi river which was an exciting event for a couple reasons. First simply because it is such a famous and impressive river. It was running fast and muddy when we crossed but there was no shoulder on the bridge roadway so I was not able to get any pictures. And the bridge itself made the crossing exciting. We had a two-lane road and with no shoulder. We had to maneuver into the right hand lane and take a position in the middle of the road and pedal assuming that the cars will respect our right to be there...I'm here writing about it so apparently it worked. I did continuously glance down and to my right while crossing so I did get a pretty good view, probably better than if I had driven across in a car. At the end of the bridge is the "Welcome to Illinois" sign but it is situated so that you can get at it from the rear but no way can you go back out in traffic and get a picture. So in lieu of my usual state sign at border crossings I took a picture of a someone's license plate when we stopped for lunch - definitely second choice but better than nothing. And the bridge picture is actually the bridge for the westbound traffic which I saw from the Missouri side - I just liked the architecture even though we took the older eastbound bridge.

And as we exited the bridge we were put immediately into downtown Quincy and, since the city is right on the river, we also had to climb the river bank - we had a short but rather steep hill for the first two blocks. And when I caught my breath and looked up I noticed we were on Maine street - hence the title for tonight's piece. We continued down Maine for a couple of miles and the photo of the Cathedral is right in the middle of the business/downtown area. For such a old town the design of the church and its spire seemed particularly striking and was quite beautiful in the afternoon sun. Further on we came to a residential section lined on both sides by lovely old homes that I would guess are late 19th century origin. I included one photo but I could have taken 75 if I had the time...wrap-around porches, observation decks on the roof, beautifully landscaped - a most impressive neighborhood and an unexpected treat for our entry to Quincy.

When the day actually began I thought I would be watching the men's finals of the French Open. We had a bit of thunder and lightning at about 4:00 AM and when we finally went for breakfast about 6 it was raining and very dark. Again 20 or so folks huddled around watching the weather channel and wondering what to do. At 7 the decision was made: the lightning had passed and we had light rain and we can go in that -and go we did. I went out in a group of about 10 and it was kind of cool to look up a curving road and see this procession of fluorescent green and yellow jackets moving carefully through the wet streets. Fortunately on an early Sunday morning you don't expect much traffic so it was easy to just take it easy and concentrate on the road. There is not a big deal to riding in the rain really. Cover your wallet and camera, watch for the obvious puddles, stay off the painted lines (when wet they can be like ice) and just take it easy and muddle through. We rode like this for a couple of hours until , first, the rain let up and then the roads started to dry a bit and finally we got sun again. Of course with the sun we also got some wind and naturally it was in our face - that's an old story now, don't need to belabor that point. No matter what the forecasters say my experience is that if there is a wind it will be in your face - kind of Bob's first rule of cycling.We did kind of want to pace ourselves today knowing that we have a 100 plus day tomorrow so we basically rode in and out of all these little crossroads towns without stopping for much of anything. Along the way, however, we did have one more little highlight worth talking about - we passed the 2,000 mile point today. I had dinner with another 4 guys tonight and we all felt the same way - unbelievable. We are also at the four week point as of today and that is hard to believe too. On one level it seems like just a few days ago that we set out from Los Angeles and on another it feels like we have been doing this forever...ask me about Flagstaff and the mountains of Arizona and New Mexico and I really have to stop and think. Another reason for the photos and the blog...in addition to the communication aspect it will serve as a personal history.

One little town that was kind of cute was LaBelle (pop 233) where we spotted a kind of bike junkyard. In addition to the 100 or so bikes outside (photo below) the inside was literally crammed to the walls with bikes of every possible description. We looked to see if there were any old decrepit cyclists in there but saw only our reflection in the window...

And on that note I do believe it is time to cash it in - I think we are looking at 105 miles tomorrow and a little sleep will be a good thing.

Rain,rain go away....

Our dinner last night was a catered barbecue at the hotel (outdoor) pool chicken, hamburgs, potato salad...the works - the perfect ending to a beautiful summer day in Missouri. This morning, however, we woke up to dark skies, black clouds and a strong wind from the north. After breakfast we all stood around the computer in the lobby watching the radar screen fill with the yellow/green blobs that mean the rain is coming. But first the distant rumble of thunder and finally the lightning cutting through those dark clouds. Imagine 2o or so people counting the seconds between the lightning and the thunder...and there were a few where there was no time gap at all. And while we do ride in rain we do not ever ride in a thunderstorm...it is not good to be moving down the highway as a kind of mobile lightning rod. I grabbed a cup of coffee and went back to the room to watch the French Open (which by the way did not bother Tom at all - he was quite content to sleep until the storm moved through). Finally about 10 AM it appeared that the electrical portion of the storm was over and we left in a light rain on very wet roads. I've got a pretty good rain jacket but the rain water spinning off the rear wheel onto my bike shorts is a real wake-up call. The rain diminished and finally stopped but with a strong headwind and the wet road the first hour or so was not the most fun we have had this week.

The wind did have one redeeming feature...it dried off the roads and as we continued the sky started the clear, the sun started peeking out from the clouds and eventually we could shed our rain jackets and actually break out the sunscreen (not enough in my case but that's another story.

Today was actually a continuation of what we saw yesterday - beautriful green countryside and the roller coaster hills - up and down. Someone actually counted the number of climbs we had today and it was 148. I've tossed in a couple of pictures that give a rough idea of the country and the up and down road but they don't really do it justice. There were a few hilltops where we just paused for a few minutes to stare before dropping down the slope and pedalling like crazy to develop the momentum to hit the uphill at max speed. On most hills you can get enough of a running start to get at least halfway up before the hill takes charge and you find yourself grinding away at 7/8 mph to get to the top - as a kind of point of pride - some might say stubborness - I did not resort to the granny either today or yesterday. At the same time I must admit that the hills do wear on you and heading into the last 15 miles or so I was that the last hill - the 148th - would have a label telling us the climbing was over for the day...Actually the last 1 mile or so was downhill so we did kind of coast into the motel.

And a quick little aside for the day...Several days back Tom and I met the octogenarian beekeeper and he gave us a bottle of honey. We decided to share so we gave it to our support people with the suggestion they use it for the group. So today at the first SAG we had peanut butter and honey sandwiches courtesy of Watson Nichols - and honey is a lot better than the usual jelly.

And what does a cyclist do after a ride in the rain? Of course, clean the bike. So here is a shot of Ira diligently working on bike - clean and oil the chain and then clean the frame and wheels and be ready for tomorrow. Ira has had an incredible run of bad luck with his bike including some shifting problems that sometimes leave him with just a couple of usable gears. He told me that maybe the problem is that the bike is not accustomed to being cleaned like this - he lives in Los Angeles (and we know it never rains in Southern California) and so never cleans his bike. Interesting theory I guess...

And so tomorrow we are off to Quincy, Illinois - crossing the Mississippi and another state crossing. Hopefully with the sun AND the wind at our backs. For the day it was 74 miles and 5 hours and change on the bike for a 14 mph avg.....and now to bed.

A near perfect day...

I have so many photos from today it took me ten minutes to decide which to include and which to file away...obviously I opted to go with more than usual. We did have a great start from St. Joseph - the sun was up but it was cool and the terrain, again, was beautiful. The first photo is of Hank (who is our senior member - almost five years older than me) riding down a long easy descent that eventually turns to the left. This was probably about 7:45 or so...you can see the long shadow from the rising sun.

The highlight of the day came at about mile 30 when we rolled into the little farm town of Maysville. For the past dozen or so years the town historical society has made the arrival of the Crossroads bikes a kind of town holiday. The first thing we saw, maybe three blocks short of downtown, was all of the pre-k and kindergarten (and half a dozen 1st and 2nd graders) all lined up on the sidewalk in front of their school and as each rider rode in (singly or in groups - singly in my case) they started cheering and clapping. I really had no idea what to expect and when the cheering started it just brought an immediate smile to my face...the kids were so cute and enthusiastic. So we all kind of congregated there until the entire group had arrived and meanwhile the teachers lined the kids up and marched them down the street to the downtown area - the steps of the town hall actually. All of us riders then lined up two by two and rode into town where they had yellow tape blocking off a part of the side of the street for our little procession. And there, in front of the Historical Society was a table with home made cinnamon buns, fruit, peanut butter sandwiches, and lemonade and ice water - and, even more, some of the nicest people you would ever want to meet. They all wanted to know where we were from, how we liked the ride, and, of course, how we liked Missouri and Maysville. We heard all about the town, visited the little museum of the Society - all neatly laid out and artifacts going back to the civil war - and, of course, thoroughly enjoyed their hospitality. Just an incredible experience. We took one final group shot of all of us with the school kids on the steps and very reluctantly got back on our bikes (do click on that picture...those kids were so darned cute).

Fortified with cinnamon buns (Mack, one of our support folks accused me of eating 8 of them but that is a false and slanderous rumor with no basis in fact) we waved our goodbys and shouted our thank-yous and headed on to Chillcothe - it would have been very easy to forget that we still had another 55 miles to go.

The route generally was rolling with an almost continuous up and down but the saving grace was a very nice tail wind and almost perfect cycling weather - the big puffy clouds that do so much to enhance the landscape and a warm but not too hot day. Again, we were passing farms and cattle operations, smaller than what we saw in Kansas but still pretty sizeable for the most part. The photo of the house was an abandoned farm that I saw along the road...I just like the scene of the old house atop the tree with the old dead trees kind of framing it. We had been climbing and descending for a long time but somewhere around mile 70 the hills starting getting really serious. We had long descents (I hit my high speed for the trip at 41`mph on one downhill) and equally long and much steeper climbs, i.e. climbs at 11, 12, and 13 % grade. You can get a bit of a slingshot effect on the downhills but it only lasts for a short time and your speed quickly drops back down to 9 and 7 and occasionally 6 mph. We had done somewhere over 70 miles for the day at this point but for some reason I felt more exhilerated than tired and I had a ball running up and down the hills. There are moments on some of the climbs where you finally get to the top and it's like a roller coaster when the car gets to the top and you know you are on the verge of thrilling descent...not quite so fast on a bike but you move over the crest and start shifting and down you go...fun stuff for sure. One of the last photos is again Hank on one of the earlier hills in this 10/12 mile stretch as he is heading down with the climb ahead.

And finally we went through the tiny little town of Lock Springs - population 69, a dozen or so houses and more boarded up business than live ones. But they did have this monument to a native son, a man who had apparently been a congressman who died at the young age of 39. I know nothing of his story but was so taken by the plaque "Happy are those who dream...." that I had to include the photo.

We rode through the thriving little town of Chillicothe and straight to the Dairy Queen - a root beer float at the end of a day like today is just about as good as it gets.

Tomorrow we have 75 miles to Kirksville and have been promised a lot more of the hills and climbing we had today...will find out if I still have any legs left - and I promise to let you know.

The "Show me" state

Weather underground let us down this morning. After yesterday's battle with the headwinds for 108 miles I was looking for something a little more in our favor. And when I last checked Wunderground they forecast southerly winds of 5-10 mph. Something happened overnight and for the most part we had winds in our face again today for most of today's 86 miles. They were, however, not as strong as yesterday so I guess we should be grateful for small favors.

Leaving Topeka this morning was a bit hairy but also kind of fun. Topeka is surprisingly hilly and we had to go from the western edge of town to the east and so we were riding right through the center of the city in the middle of the morning rush. And I say "rush" advisedly - there was some traffic but it certainly bore no resemblance to Rt 1 through the Princeton corridor...far from it. In any case I went out with a group of about 12 cyclists and we headed straight downtown, up and down the hills, past the state capitol and government buildings, following our cue sheets and sticking together as a group for visibility and protection. I'm sure more than a few Topeka citizens wondered just what the heck was going on with this little unannounced little parade.

Once out in the country it was really very similar to yesterday: farms, cattle ranches, and the ever looming grain elevators. And again too it was a beautiful morning with the sun out and lots of big puffy clouds - a cyclist's ideal day. At about mile 50 we hit the Missouri river and after the longest stay we have had in any one state we said good by to Kansas. As I've said before, it is truly a beautiful state and seeing it as we did shattered all my pre-conceived notions.

We had a moment of excitement crossing into Missouri. The bridge was very old and had a horrible surface with several open grates - not too great for a bike. The big thing, however, was that it was only two lanes and so the trick was for us to get into traffic, take a position in the easterly lane and act as a vehicle all the way to the other side. We did in fact jump into the lane, being careful to get in front of a car and not an eighteen wheeler, and just rode like as hard as we could to get quickly across and back into our own strip of shoulder at the side of the highway.

And its funny how everything can change going from one state to the other. For one thing the highway immediately deteriorated and shoulder had more cracks and loose gravel than was comfortable for a bike (this did improve some miles down the highway). And the land flattened out almost immediately and stayed that way for maybe 20 miles before we picked a kind of rolling pattern but without the hills of Kansas. The couple of countyside pictures give you kind of an idea of what we were seeing - the planted field is corn, not yet "knee-high" but then it's a month to the 4th of July too.

We pulled into St Joseph's and had a treat...Someone knew the owner of the Grand Slam, an ice cream store about 5 miles short of our hotel and there was a sign out front advertising free ice cream to any Crossroads (our group) rider who stopped. Needless to say we didn't to be asked twice a free ice cream after 80 miles or so of riding...thank you very much.

And I know I've talked about food and ice cream but another beverage I've enjoyed along the way is some of the local beers. A beer with dinner after a day of riding - I might even take that over ice cream. I know I had a couple in Arizona and NM that I thought were good but they have faded from memory at this point...In the last couple of days though there are a couple that I thought really good. One is Fat Tire (and it comes with a picture of a bike on the label) that is (in my opinion) really exceptional - has a pronounced but not overpowering malt taste and is hoppy as well - the kind of beer you can "chew". And the other is Boulevard Wheat - just a really good wheat beer (better than Blue Moon). I wonder if Wegman's carries them???

So tomorrow is another big day...85 miles again and I hear a rumor we will see some hills...so what's new. Tom is already sound asleep - time for me to do the same.

Halfway home....

The day of rest was over, it was business as usual - up at 5:30, get the gear to the truck, and get the bikes ready to go again. It was cold this morning (about 55) for June and we had a Northern wind blowing at 15-25 mph. And mind you we were headed East and Northeast so you can guess what we all thought of that little breeze. I went out in a long sleeved jersey but a couple of minutes of standing around told me to dig out the jacket - and as it turned out there was no sun until about 11 and it was a very chilly start. On the other hand, last night weather underground was showing rain and there was none of that nasty stuff.

The wind at the hotel turned out not to be limited to Abilene...it stayed with us and stayed in our faces for the entire106 miles blowing steadily and occasionally gusting to 25/30. And the terrain was kind of a surprise too. We started with the flat wide open fields of wheat much as we have seen over the past few days but somewhere around mile 20 we took a left turn onto a new road and started heading NE to Topeka. And gradually the country changed and we saw a landscape that I never expected to see in Kansas. We left the wheat farms behind and moved into cattle country. There were still the Big Country kind of feel but it was mostly cattle ranches, some horses, and occasional corn (feed I would guess). And the flat land changed to rolling hills with trees and a lush green cover everywhere. Of course, those beautiful hills translated into some challenging riding for us. Tom was behind me at one point yelling "Moosic" which is one of the more challenging climbs on the AH ride. This was similar except a little longer and after a brief dip (note, I say dip, not a real descent) it was followed by another Moosic - in both instances a couple of miles of climbing where you just find your gear and keep pedalling. We spent probably the last 75 miles admiring this pleasant change in scenery but at the same time on a continuous up and down on the road.

And among other highlights of the day...We came upon a couple of bull elk who had apparently become trapped in ranchers corral - the rest of the herd was out side the fence but these two were running back and forth at the fence line, obviously stressed, trying to figure out how to get out - quite a sight to see.

I have now forgotten the name of the town where I took the photo of main street but it is so typical of some of the towns we go through that I had to include it. Buildings that look as if they date to early 20th century , it almost looks like a Hollywood set for a movie. And obviously there is not much happening on an early afternoon in June.

Finally, we stopped at a cafe in the little crossroads town of Dover that has a reputation for home made pie. By the time we got there we had done 91 miles, sun was out and the day had turned hot and the prospect of stopping here had been my motivation for at least the last 20 miles. My choice was the peach pie with ice cream (of course) with ice water and a great cup of coffee (pie and coffee just seem to go together even on a hot day). The pie was terrific, lived up to all expectations...and the bonus was that Norma who does all the baking came out when she heard all these crazy cyclists were there. She was at least 80 and just a delight...and the locals who were there for the same things were also just as friendly and nice as she was...I had my Navy jersey on (long sleeves for the cool day) and one farmer grabbed my hand and asked my ship and home port and it turned out he was in about the same as I was but on a carrier...by the time I left we were the best of buddies.

And Jake, note the benches on the front porch of the cafe...one for the John Deere fans and one for the Intl Harvester folks...I guess they can sit out on the porch and argue over which one is best.

And the last little bit of the day...we passed the halfway point today. We have now done something better than 1700 miles and so are halfway to Boston. I'm still pinching myself once in while to convince myself I'm really biking to Boston and somehow we are halfway there..amazing.