Fast Forward - I Finished, I'm Done

Well, I'm back, I finished, I'm done. Sorry I could not keep the blog up to date but my computer broke down and there was no way to communicate except by cell phone. If you go out to the PAC Tour web page you will find plenty of photos and blogs the other riders kept that far surpassed anything I could do with the equipment I had.

To sum it succinctly, all I can say it was hard as hell. Probably the hardest thing I've ever done. I think it was the combination of lack of training, altitude, persistent headwinds and just shear distance of the trip made it so hard. The first day my lips cracked and bled so bad I could hardly eat, despite putting on massive amounts of chap stick, sun block and neosporin to get through the day. The bottom of my left foot is still numb from pressing down on a pedal. I had a persistent pain between the shoulder blades everyday which came on after about 20 miles and which took taking 3 Ibuprofen at every rest stop to keep it at bay. The massages Jon gave helped, but were of temporary relief. I tried lowering the saddle and that helped too, but I could never eliminate it all together. I managed to complete all the miles except for 40 on the longest and toughest day, from Evanston to Vernal, UT. I think that day several people took SAGS and I could tell from the start I was not going to go all the way as I could only push about 14-15 on the flats into a pretty stiff breeze - but I had 152 miles and over 8,000 feet of climbing to go!

All but 7 of us were PAC tour veterans so the group was very experienced and very strong. There were about 6 guys who were very fast, looked liked they just left the Tour de France and always came in far ahead of everyone else. Lean and mean, 2-3% body fat type. They could push all day at 25 mph, headwinds or no, up and down mountains, didn't matter. Several in the group just got better and better as the trip progressed. A couple of guys had done RAAM and one of the women was the 2005 RAAM winner. I managed to finish in the first half just about everyday but often it took everything I had and all the tricks I could employ to hang on to a paceline or get in before the usual afternoon thunderstorm hit. I did not lose any weight, despite the fact I didn't eat anymore than I do at home. Body fat percentage did decline, according to the scale I have, from about 14% to 7%. Quite often I rode solo, as I couldn't keep up with the bunch ahead of me and I didn't want to go as slow as the folks behind me. I was in no man's land, not a good place to be with strong headwinds. My thanks to Rich "The Rock" Ruge for giving me a wheel to suck from time to time. Average age for the riders was 50 years old, the median about 51, not including the staff. There was only one bad crash, Diane was hit by a car just leaving the parking lot at the start of the Grand Junction to Montrose day. She suffered a cracked vertebra and had to have surgery in Grand Junction. Jerry Sorensen had some scrapes from falling after his handle bar broke from hitting a railroad track but was able to get back on and ride. One other guy I know of was not able to finish, Dan Kelliher from Alaska had a severely swollen knee after the first few days and also Andrew, our Aussie, had a family emergency that cut his trip short.

Beautiful scenery greeted us almost everyday, however rolling through some of those towns like Espanola, Truth or Consequences NM and places like that made Madison look pretty good. To tell the truth, I was working too hard a lot of the time to enjoy the scenery. Most of the time the roads really sucked as far as bicycling goes. Rough, gravel strewn shoulders on busy highways made for a good bit of the trip. We often had nothing but a narrow shoulder while numerous RV's would squeeze by us, cutting you no slack whatsoever. I can remember a few nice sections, like the day we rode to Jackson through a recreation area and I spotted a black bear cub cross the road in front of me. The last couple of days were nice too, riding through pecan groves in New Mexico. Please keep in mind this is by no means a reflection on PAC Tour, it's just a fact of life if you are trying to ride from hotel to hotel out west. There just aren't that many roads to choose from.

The hotels we stayed were generally pretty good, but I strongly recommend that if you sign up for a trip like this spend the money to get your own room as it really helps when you can spread out and relax.

The meals PAC Tour served were excellent. We had a lot of variety of food like burgers, grilled chicken strips, hot dogs, chicken salad and my favorite, grilled cheese sandwiches at the lunch stops.

We really lucked out as far as weather goes, except for persistent nagging southwest winds. It starts out cool in the morning, enough to wear gloves and perhaps arm warmers but would quickly warm up, but if you stayed out there long enough you might get caught in a strong thunderstorm. At the high mountain passes I would get cold but I wouldn't be up there long enough to do harm. Only one time did I get rained on, although I did have to ride on wet pavement several times.

So did I have fun you ask me? No, sorry, I can't say that I did. It was just too darn hard for me. I knew going in it would be hard but I was surprised that everyday would be a gut check. I can remember only a handful of times when we didn't have a headwind, and that was coming out of Missoula, into Anaconda and the last day, the last 6 miles only, coming into El Paso. Take note, if you want to do this ride, wait for when they ride it south to north, it's got to be a lot easier.

To be realistic, preparing for something like this is quite difficult. By mid May the heat here precludes those 200 or 150 mile training rides they recommend, well, for me at least. As far as getting used to the 5,000 ft and up altitude, I don't think there's an answer for that, except to go out there and train, and if you're going to do that, why sign up anyway? Ruth, one of the slim and fast women, might have a better answer and that is to get out there and jam with the racers. That's what she told me she did, practice crits twice a week, and a longer ride on the weekend, and she did o.k. Her longest ride was only 100 miles or so going in. She's 48. I think in the coulda woulda shoulda department I would have put in more consecutive long rides, perhaps three century rides in a row in preparation instead of my once a week 100-120 mile rides followed by a 60-80 miler. I think I could have done that even in Alabama heat prior to the ride.

If I do another one it will be the Wisconsin camp, so I can have some time to goof off and enjoy!

Day 9 – Vernal, UT to Rangely, CO 52 Miles

Rain in the desert? It does happen, we got a little sprinkle heading out of town. Busy road, lots of traffic on hwy 40 and nothing much to see as we biked up a long gentle climb about halfway out and a similar descent into the oil drilling town of Rangely. I think I will safely scratch Vernal and Rangely off my list of retirement communities to live in. Ugly dirty dusty towns.

Everybody took the opportunity to rest up for the next few challenging days.

52 miles
17 mph avg rolling speed
42 mph max speed

Day 8 – Evanston, WY to Vernal, UT 152 Miles

The fun meter went into big time negative territory today, so much so that I opted for a ride in the van after lunch. Just could not get the speed I wanted and working way too much to be fun, despite the beautiful scenery winding through the Flaming Gorge and Ashley National Forrest. Glad I did because there was a stupifying long steep climb at the 95 mile mark. I got out at the last rest stop and wheeled it on in finishing with about 115 miles. A lot of people did rather well, though they were really beat when they finished. I had been having some intestinal issues and that coupled with the cumulative fatigue and altitude I think did me in. I was not alone as Craig and Marlene joined me. I believe some other folks behind us sagged on in too. It was just a damn tough day.

Noteworthy today, for me, was the remarkable contrast between complete desolate sage brush desert on one side of a mountain and verdant green rangeland on the other side. This is free range too, so it is quite common to have cattle crossing the road in front of you. At the higher elevations are forests similar to what I have seen on the way up to Mt Mitchell in North Carolina.

115 miles
17 mph average
43 mph max speed
6:48 ride time

Day 7 – Montpelier, ID to Evanston, WY 94 Miles

“Easy” day to set up for tomorrow's killer ride. It was pretty boring, except for the section around Bear Lake and the climb after leaving Laketown on hwy 30. The winds were calm, thankfully, until the last stretch into town. The towns around Bear Lake are resort type communities with some really nice houses on a hillside overlooking the lake. Real estate pretty pricey I would expect. After the fairly challenging 4-5 mile climb we took a right on to hwy 16 heading due south. This is where it was really boring flat desert sagebrush country and I was glad to have Chip, David, and John to paceline with. Lunch was about 13 miles outside of Evanston and I was glad to see it. After lunch I toodled on in as I did not expect the rooms would be ready by the time I got there.

94 miles
about 6 hours overall
18.2 mph rolling average
29 mph max speed
5:11 ride time
2,680 feet climbing

Day 6 – Jackson, WY to Montpelier, ID 117 Miles

Today we head south on hwy 89, following the Snake River. The road is smooth with a wide shoulder plus NO WIND so we make swift progress. They must do a lot of Elk hunting here, there is an arch over hwy 89 in the small town of Afton made completely of antlers. After lunch, at mile 86, we reach the summit of the first big climb of the day, Salt River Pass, 7,617 feet. I have some pictures but having problems emailing them from my phone. Will try to get that straightened out later.

The temperature and thus the wind has picked up now so from here to Montpelier is a slow slog. The tour aggregates in small groups and the second climb comes about 10 miles out from the finish. It is similar to the first, about a 5 mile long moderate grade push into the wind. Shortly before reaching town we encounter a construction zone down to one lane loose gravel. Some guys try to ride through it but get covered in dust kicked up by cars. I and two other guys flag a kindly driver in a pick up to give us a ride through the mess. Thank you! The day ends with these statistics:

117 miles
8 hours overall
17.6 mph rolling average
40 mph max speed
6:36 ride time
4,040 feet cumulative climbing

Day 5 - West Yellowstone to Jackson, 137 Miles

Another hard day but with less wind. Hooray! The first climb is shortly out of West Yellowstone, Targee Pass:

We take a turn left off of Rt 20 on to Rt 47 a beautiful empty road winding up through a national forrest to Mesa Falls:

Today I see my first wildlife experience, a black bear cub trots across the road in front of me a little after I took these pictures. I was riding solo and I didn't hang around too long. Mama was close by I'm sure. Later the route took us up and down some what I would call Middle Tennesse Rollers, exhausting for sure. That set me up for some exhausting, into the headwinds again, session before the final climb, Teton Pass, elevation 8,670 feet. I remember this climb from the ABB North ride but this time I climbed it after riding 120 miles, much, much harder this time. I had to stop twice on the way up, panting like a dog. I was sure glad to get to the hotel in Jackson, throughly whipped.

Stats:
9 hours overall
135 miles
5,600 feet climbing
Average rolling speed 17.7 mph
53.1 mph max speed
ride time 7:40

Day 4 - Bozeman to West Yellowstone 90.5 Miles

Ugh! What a day. A very hard day. After leaving Bozeman we made our way over to hwy 191, a very busy narrow shoulder road heading south to West Yellowstone. The highway follows the Gallatin river, one of three Lewis and Clark discovered made the headwaters of the Missouri river. It cuts a pathway through the mountains and also, much to my misery, funnels air northward through the mountains. The scenery was beautiful, but I was working much too hard to enjoy it. The wind blew hard enough to stop you if you stopped pedaling and the route was uphill all the way. Both water and air were flowing the opposite direction you were. I did not want to look at my speedometer, it was too depressing.

That's not Sasquatch emerging from the forest, it's me trying to relieve my tired legs in the ice cold waters of a stream flowing into the Gallatin river:



Here's another view of the Gallatin:


We had a tasty lunch consisting of grilled brachwurst, chips and soft drinks. Mark serenades us with some guitar tunes:



I was so glad to get to the hotel:



I talked to the locals later. They said it has been blowing like this all summer. Not uncommon to have 30 knot gusts straight out of the south after the sun comes up lasting all day. It's not just the summer either, but all year long. This has made my decision about the optional unsupported ride through Yellowstone to Jackson easy. Nope, I'm sticking with the support vehicles for tomorrow's 135 mile journey. This was a day that was mentally and physically very difficult for me. I will be going south down hwy 20, rt 32 south via Marysville, Drummond, Felt, Driggs then eastward on rt 22 to Jackson.

Statistics:
Total miles 90.5
Cumulative climbing: 3,350 feet
Overall time aproximately 7 hours
Rolling average a pathetic 15.1 mph
Ride time 6 hours
Max speed 30 mph
I think I finish about 12th overall but who cares. I was just glad I finished.

Day 3 - Butte to Bozeman 101 Miles

We started off quite cool this morning, down in the 40's but it quickly warmed. The highlights for today were a beautiful climb through Pipestone Pass, 6,415 feet, and a great lunch alongside the Madison river. The climb started shortly after leaving Butte following Route 2, just south of Butte, and surprisingly little traffic on it. After about a 5 mile climb, with magnificent rock formations on both sides, we started a long gradual descent into the town of Whitehall, which lies along I90. Noticeably drier countryside in on the eastern side of this mountain range, with brown grass covering the hillsides and a few smaller conifers dotting the hilltops. After turning south on hwy 287 the headwinds began again, slowing my progress to a 12-14 mph struggle. I prefer climbing any day over facing this! The route had a ton of hills on it too, making it tougher still. Fortunately we turned east off 287 on to hwy 84 after about 12 miles of battling winds. Lon Haldeman was riding today and his fast moving train of about 8 riders caught me some 3 miles before the lunch stop, so I climbed on the pace line and we sped down the road. For lunch we were treated with grilled chicken strips, pita bread, fresh tomatoes, pickles, baked beans, chips and soft drinks alongside the river.

I ate too much! I still had about 25 miles to go before turning into the hotel in Bozeman and it wasn't much fun riding on a full stomach, but I don't think I was alone with this problem. Everybody was pretty slow on this final leg. My legs are still tired and sore despite the shorter day, but I feel if the wind would ever give us a break it would help a lot.

Here are today's statistics:
101 miles
Around 7 hours overall time
Average speed 17.4 mph
5:49 ride time
Max speed 36 mph
4,200 feet cumulative climbing

Day 2 - Missoula to Butte 138 Miles

Ponderosa country. Hoss, Little Joe, and Ben work the ranch around here somewhere.

Better day today. Actually had a tail wind for a change. Blew out of Missoula, literally, around 6:45 , and, after some interstate riding, followed a side road that was absolutely gorgeous. This road followed a clear running stream that begged to be fly fished. We had to get back on the interstate later but the strong westerly wind made quick passage. Later, we headed south after the second rest stop and had to deal with the strong cross winds and a very long subtle climb. I am still suffering the effects from the hard day yesterday and just couldn't make the legs go like I wanted. I struggled up to the lunch stop at Phillipsburg, a neat little western town way out in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately, I found my riding partners from early in the morning, Ruth Sherman, Ned Nicolai and another PAC crew member, John, who helped me tremendously climbing up the Pintlar Scenic Route. At the summit of the climb, which I think is over 6,000 feet, is Georgetown lake, a surprisingly large lake that supplies a falls that tumbles down the mountain side in spectacular fashion. After cresting the summit we flew down to the town of Anaconda, an old copper mining town. Ruth and I were the survivors of our original group as Ned had to stop because of some mechanical problems and John stopped to help out at a rest stop. Didn't take the camera as I am still in survival mode but took a few with the cell phone.
Tomorrow is more climbing but less mileage, and I am really glad for that!

Lon Haldeman sets up the bike racks at a stop:



Surrounding mountains of Butte, MT across from the hotel. The small white object on top of the mountain is a 90 foot statue of the Virgin Mary:


Statistics:
Total time about 8.5 hours
Average rolling speed: 18.1 mph
Ride time: 7:37
Miles: 138
Total climbing: 5,400 feet
I think Ruth and I finished in the first third of the group.

1 Down, 18 To Go

Headed out this morning about 6:45 after breakfast in the hotel parking lot for the mostly flat 148 mile ride to Missoula. PAC does a really good job with the meals on this ride. Fresh strawberries, all kinds of pastries, bagels, cereal and hot chocolate and coffee is the presentation this morning. It was cool enough for gloves starting out but later became quite warm and sunny but still very low humidity. My game plan was to ride very conservatively and hopefully make it to the finish without getting too beat up to ride the next day. Everything went according to plan but when we started heading due west on the final leg is when the headwinds did their worst damage. It really sucks when I have to work hard going downhill just to keep a decent pace. We had been battling headwinds all day but fortunately the leg south down hwy 83 was protected by heavily forested areas on either side. I shamefully wheel sucked a lot of the time, grabbing the last wheel on two or three man pacelines then slowly worked my way up the food chain to faster groups. By the end of the ride I was with "Cat", the 2005 RAAM winner and her 3 man entourage swapping pulls for the last 25 miles into the strong headwind until they starting attacking each other for the town limit signs. Couldn't believe these people still had the energy to do that! I believe this group was second to finish, as two riders were checking in ahead of us at the rest stops, which were about every 25 miles. She told me later she was not in the best shape and was trying to "ride into shape" for the first few days. She told me I should feel a lot stronger 10 days down the road. I hope she's right.

All in all, the ride wasn't very pleasant except for the magnificent mountain scenery, lakes, and fast moving streams along the way. The roads were busy with fast moving log trucks and RV's making close passes. The shoulders were decent, but pretty gravelly. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

Here are some final statistics:
Riding time: 8 hours 8 minutes
Overall time: around 9 hours
Average speed: 18.3 mph
Max speed: 36 mph

No pictures today, I was traveling light. I wanted to walk around and see some of nearby University of Montana but was just too damn tired. Better rest up for the long ride with some climbs tomorrow.

Check In Day

Today I see the PAC trailers are in the parking lot so now things will get down to business. We had our kickoff meeting this afternoon which gave me a chance to meet some folks. I find out only seven of us are "newbies" so the vast majority have been on previous PAC tours before. One of the girls on the crew from Washington state was the winner of the 2005 RAAM and a couple of others have been on the "elite" PAC tour, which simulate a Race Across America. The itinerary for the day is similar to the America By Bicycle tour day schedule so that part was familiar, as I had worked as mechanic for a couple of summers previously with ABB.

My training for this tour has been sorely lacking in mileage and I can only hope the intensity and the riding in Alabama summer heat will make up for that shortfall. Tomorrow I will find out. The weather today reminds me of our early fall days. I can almost hear Eli Gold on the radio doing play by play for the Crimson Tide. I rode about 25 miles around town and didn't sweat a drop! The people from Washington and Canada think it is really hot however. They tell me it has been unusually cold where they are and they worry that the heat will give them problems.

I had some time on my hands so I had a chance to take some pictures. Here is the veteran's memorial adjacent to the train depot in Kalispell:



Kalispell is the county seat and here is their courthouse:


A lovely little art museum:



Hmmm... A town where I don't sweat? I think I could live here.

"E" Ticket Ride into Kalispell

I'm beginning to feel everyday on this trip will be a "Good News - Bad News" story, so let's begin. After a very longer than 4 hour flight from Houston to Seattle I hopped on the prop job for the final leg into Kalispell and oh what a ride it was! Ever been on the "Hotel Hell" ride at Disneyworld? The one that rides on the elevator from the Twilight Zone that suddenly drops about 50 feet? Well, they moved it to Horizon Airlines and it happens over the mountains between Seattle and Kalispell. I get the seat at the very back to get the full effect. I thought the lady from Long Island sitting next to me was going to spill her drink in my lap but she was more skilled than me. Anyway, when I do get to Kalispell I find out they have lost my luggage. I started to ask if maybe it bounced out the cargo bay on one of those thrill drops but I didn't want to push my bad luck. I catch a taxi to the motel and have the good news my bike made it safe:

Pardon the fuzzy pictures but all I have to work with is the cell phone camera, which is like the Mars Rover having to use its backup camera. While waiting to hear about my luggage I've put the bike together using the all purpose tool I had in the seat pack.

There's a really good restaurant around the corner right on the main drag:


It's pretty warm here in Kalispell and windy, but a lot dryer. I see a lot of PAC riders are here but I've been too busy trying to round up my luggage to introduce myself. I compare notes about gas prices with the taxi driver. Oh, gotta go, I think Horizon has found my luggage.

Love that FedEx Tracking System

Just go to Fedex.com, key in the tracking number and boom - you know where it's at:

Tracking number 045737510071536 Ship date Jul 18, 2008 Estimated delivery Jul 24, 2008		Destination KALISPELL, MT Service type Ground-Direct Signature Required-Domestic Weight 53.0 lbs.
	Status In transit

Date/Time

Activity

Location

Details

Jul 24, 2008

1:28 AM

In transit

BUTTE, MT

Jul 23, 2008

9:24 PM

Departed FedEx location

BILLINGS, MT

7:40 PM

Arrived at FedEx location

BILLINGS, MT

Jul 22, 2008

11:40 AM

Departed FedEx location

CHICAGO, IL

Jul 21, 2008

8:39 PM

Arrived at FedEx location

CHICAGO, IL

Jul 19, 2008

10:17 AM

Departed FedEx location

NASHVILLE, TN

2:08 AM

Arrived at FedEx location

NASHVILLE, TN

Jul 18, 2008

6:56 PM

Left FedEx origin facility

MADISON, AL

6:37 PM

Arrived at FedEx location

MADISON, AL

Jul 17, 2008

5:10 PM

In FedEx possession

MADISON, AL

Tendered at FedEx location

5:10 PM

Package data transmitted to FedEx

Training:
Rode about 55 miles yesterday, average about 19 on the Merckx, out on the windy plains of Mooresville. Might do a few hill repeats in the neighborhood today. Starting to have some hip issues so won't push it too much.