Final day to Abilene, KS

I really enjoyed this ride. After a few problems with sore knees during the first week, everything went smoothly. I was the most relaxed of any ride (5) that I have done. The Crossroads Cycling staff was tremendous as usual. All of the riders were very complimentary of the staff. From left to right in the photo, Adam (Tracy's nephew), Tracy, me, Margaret, and Mack. This was Margaret's tenth tour and Mack's fifth tour as staff. They make everything seamless for the riders. Thanks also to Tracy's parents, Red and Sally, who helped out through Santa Fe. I also enjoyed my part-time role on the staff.

I rode the last day with my XC05 riding partner, Jim Heller. It was great to team up with him again. We are only one state apart and should do this more often, as with Jim and Deb Whitfill. The wind was out of the south again today. We had 22 miles heading due east and averaged 16.9 mph through that point. By the SAG at 30 miles, the average was up to 17.9 mph. By the end of the day at 62 miles, the average speed was 19.3 mph and could have been 20+ had we chosen to push the pace. We love the Kansas south wind!

While I enjoy the scenery and marvel at how expansive and varied that America is, the best part of the rides is meeting other people who share my passion for cycling. This year's group was fantastic. It was smaller than the typical group and enabled us to connect with each other to a greater extent. Thank all of you for making it a great tour.

I ended the ride by calling Robin from the Abilene town limit. She was just leaving the Eisenhower museum. Three minutes later we were hugging and kissing. It seems hard to believe that it had been 26 days since we had been together. Thank you again, Robin, for being so patient during my absence and letting me go on another trip.

We left Abilene the next morning and spent the day driving to the Mt. Rushmore area, a drive of some 700 miles. We will spend 3 days here seeing the sights. The drive here was terrific, seeing more of America. It was back to life in the fast lane, after 3 weeks in the slow lane. Still, Robin and I had lots of time to marvel at more of America and catch up on everything.

Thanks for following along on my latest adventure. Hope that you lived it vicariously through me. Until the next time...

Tom