Today’s Ride
The Stats
76 miles
4,688 ft. climbing (much more than the 3,142 the RidewithGPS pre-loaded route promised)
Challenges: More heat, more humidity, and more hills (with a few headwinds thrown in between!)
Miles Completed: 1,965
Miles to Go: 1,431
States Visited: 7 of 15
Total Climbed: 69,061 ft.
Milestones: Hottest temp so far (102 degrees!) -- with two more milestones tomorrow!
The Ride
Today was Ben's 60th birthday. It was very strange not being together for such a "milestone" day. I almost didn't go on this trip because of it. But I love him more than ever for knowing me well enough to not want me to be with him celebrating his birthday, and wishing, implicitly or explicitly, that I was on this trip. So here I am. We dedicated a Route Rap Rapper rendition of Happy Birthday to him this morning, complete with our guest artist, Dave Hosley, one of our tour mates.
While I was hopeful for an easier day today, both the route rap and the RidewithGPS route lied -- once again, rollers do not top out at 13% grades or average between 8-10%. These were real climbs.
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| What goes down around here must come up! |
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| These almost look like real rollers -- trust me, they weren't! |
And the temperature did the same (climb, that is!). While the day started at a comfortable 64 degrees or so, within an hour or two it was in the low 90's and my Garmin registered over 102 at the highest point during the last 20 miles of the ride. We once again resorted to ice socks (they really are brilliant, and this time were created in cut-off "stockings" so you didn't even have a full cotton sock stuck in your back once the ice melted).
The scenery remained scenic, quintessentially midwestern farmland, with almost every house adjacent to a lake, or at least a pond. We weren't chased by any dogs, and I didn't see any live or dead snakes (though various turtles, frogs, birds, and deer had met an unfortunate fate). There were miniature horses and baby cows. The vistas were reminiscent of golf courses that needed a bit of a lawn trimming, without the plaids or golf carts. So generally scenic, but not remarkable in the photographic sense of things.
I do enjoy glimpsing colorful butterflies and listening to chattering birds. The horses also seem to stare me down, which makes me want to talk to them (think, "A horse is a horse, of course, of course, and no one can talk to a horse, of course, that is, of course, unless the horse, is the famous Mr. Ed!"). So far, they haven't talked back.
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| One of many bucolic lakes or ponds, depending on your perspective. |
We had two SAGs today, each about 25 miles apart. The first was at a non-descript convenience store, albeit with suitable toilets. That has become a prime criteria in rating SAGS (compared to those with the Women's Tree and Men's Tree!)
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| Convenience store collective SAG lean |
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| Family farm SAG lean |
The Power of the Soundtrack
(or the Audiobook, as the case may be)
If you haven't gotten the hint by now, today was a challenging day -- all the more so because I hadn't expected it to be. Just goes to show how mental this journey is, in addition to the obvious physical demands. So it seemed apt that as I was pushing through the last 10 miles, I was listening to Jenny Graham recount the last few hundred miles of her 18,000 mile self-supported journey around the world, breaking the women's world record for the feat. On one level, it trivialized my "mere" 3400 mile trek across just one country, with full SAG support and guaranteed hotels each night. But on another level, the mental challenges of such a journey spoke to me, recognizing that there were times you question the mission, times you feel incapable of finishing, and times that you know you must. To date, I've met my goal of E-F-I (every f#@*'in inch), and without wanting to put the cart in front of the horse, somehow I finally feel like the ultimate goal of completing this is within reach. It may have something to do with getting past the halfway point -- as on any ride, once you do that, you're no longer traveling away from someplace, but you're on the way home! I think I'll go with that!
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| Take a chill pill -- you'll get through this! |
Employee(s) of the Day
I realize it has been a few days since I called out anyone special. But I have come to appreciate the pride and dedication of the "breakfast managers" at the various hotels that offer free breakfasts. These are employees who are not directly earning tips for their service, and according to Indeed, the average "Breakfast Manager" at a Comfort Inn in the US earns just over $15.00 per hour (still more than twice the federal minimum wage, but not much for any manager). But in my experience, these managers (predominantly women) take great pride in their work and are willing to go the extra mile to make sure the buffet is stocked with what we need and clear our plates on top of it all. So kudos to all of them -- who somehow know that we bikers, and many other travelers and workers, count on them to start our days the right way!
Yesterday's Comfort Inn in Chillicothe even had REAL SILVERWARE, a rare treat from the typical (and ecologically irresponsible) plastic on offer most places.
And for the record, bartenders work really hard -- especially the good ones. Whenever I travel alone (and even though I'm with a group on this trip, I still am "alone" in many respects), I opt to sit at the bar -- not only to drink, but to eat, and more importantly to connect and get an insider's perspective on wherever I am. But I am always struck by the focus and diligence of bartenders and the demands on them from so many directions. I'm witnessing the hard work of the Colton Steak House & Grill bartenders in Kirksville, MO (a hoppin' spot on a Saturday night!) as I write (including Lacey, who has been my server). So kudos to them all!
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