We had the final banquet on Thursday night. We shuttled to dinner in downtown Red Wing. We had a choice of several menu items. I got lasagna for the umpteenth time on this trip. Once again I could not finish it, partly due to average taste, partly due to being full. If it was good lasagna I would have eaten all of it. We received the traditional finishing certificate and had a chance to say a few words. I thought that the staff was terrific, particularly the trip leaders Jeff and Sondra. They met cycling in the Twin Cities area and got married on a cross-country bike trip. Their honeymoon cruise was a boat trip across Lake Michigan! Debbie, a current member of this trip, was on that 2007 trip. Jeff is off to staff another ride leaving in about 2 weeks while Sondra holds down the fort here in the Twin Cities. Gerard, our mechanic, and Pam will staff another cross country trip leaving next week from San Francisco.
I woke at various times during the night hearing rain outside the motel. A look out the window at 6 revealed a clearing sky. The road was wet at departure and I think that my bike accumulated more dirt and grime in a single day today than it had during the previous 22 days of riding. Although the sky looked as if it could open up on a couple of occasions, the day stayed rain free. So we had about 10 minutes of very light drizzle during 23 days of riding. Pretty amazing considering that a check of all the major cities showed an average of 4.5 to 5 inches of rain in May.
Most of us took it easy today. I think that is pretty typical for the last day of riding. You want it to end and you do not want it to end. One of our riders, John W., stayed in Red Wing today. He is going to continue his ride to Lake Itasca in N. Minnesota over the next week as a self-supported rider. Nathan left early and was planning to meet his wife and then drive immediately to Madison, WI. John, Fred, and I smelled some good burgers about 4 miles from the finish and stopped for lunch. They had a beer, but I abstained until later tonight. I did see an interesting painting on the road at mile 11 and took a picture (displayed, although the arrow is in the wrong direction). We left Red Wing and re-entered Wisconsin for about 22 more miles. It gave me a chance at a second sna (sorry, my key for the letter after o just quit working; sell check cannot correct all of them).
The last few miles were on bike trails. We had to really ay attention. Sondra laid down markers for us to follow.
I enjoyed the ride especially the last few days as the juxtaposition of bluffs and the river was stunning. I really enjoy the friendships made on the ride and renewing a friendship with John Hicks. He said that this may be his last US ride so I will have to get over to Northern Ireland to visit.
John, Jordan, Rosy, Kathleen and I will be going out for a real dinner tonight.
What are my lnext ride ans? Several riders from previous CR XC rides and I will be doing a ride from Astoria to Carmel in September. I am the ride leader and will be doing as much driving as riding. I have done this twice before. I consider it to be the preeminent ride in the US for scenery and we are all excited about it. Stay tuned in September for more blogging.
Thanks for following along with me for another chater in "Life in the slow lane."
Day's statistics: 60.3 miles, 14.3 average, 2540 feet climbing.
Highlight of the day: Finishing another ride.
Tom - I'm sorry to see your ride come to an end, I've truly enjoyed your blog and have ridden the entire route vicariously right along with you...
ReplyDeleteI'm back up to every other day, 60 to 80 miles and hope to be joining CR in Champaign next year to complete the adventure...would be great if we were to meet up again but in the meantime take good care and ride safe. Bob
Tom,
ReplyDeleteCongrats on completing the ride. I always learned something each time I read your blog. If you make it down to LA, please let me know and we can get together.
How do we get back to the real world? I can't wait to get back on my bike.
ReplyDeletePost Mortem.
ReplyDeleteWhy I thought the Mississippi Ride would be a push over, I'll never know. Perhaps because I read the average distances per day would be under 80 miles. What I did not consider was the possibility of temperatures in the 90's F and ultra high humidity. After all it was still spring in the Deep South. In the event the conditions were a real test for even the stronger riders. The toughest and most experienced rider- Jerry Griswold who has clocked up nearly 60,000 miles world-wide- collapsed in a shop through de-hydration. Two other guys had to be treated for de-hydration and heat exhaustion. A last minute decision to take along my 2 litre Camelbak was lucky. As with Tom they proved invaluable. Some days we gulped our way through 6 plus litres of water plus a couple of litres of Gatorade. Needless to say cycling with these Hs (heat and humidity) would have been almost unbearable with a few other Hs such as Headwinds and Hills!! Few 'civilians' understand why we cyclists inflict so much pain on ourselves. But I have to admit the pain/pleasure sorely tests the old adage 'the worst day in the saddle is better than the best day at the office'.
The Hounds of Hell: That's something the cycle companies don't brag about in their brochures. But ironically the frequent dog attacks through Lousianna, Mississippi and Tennessee produced the funniest stories. We all devised differnt strategies to handle this hazzard. Tom's was the quirkiest. "Get off the couch" he yelled as the dogs tore along baring their yellow fangs within inches of his juicy butt. I'm not sure it really worked. I reckoned few of these feral fiends came from homes with such comfy furniture. My philosophy was to think DOG and become a hound of the Baskervilles- barking and howling back at the snarling animals. To be honest only a couple of dogs aborted their attacks leaving me a heart rate going through the roof and a sore throat.
One of the big plus sides to the ride was the friendliness of all the cyclists, slow, moderate or quick. Getting to know the characters who throw themselves into a melting pot of cyclists for a month is always a large part of the fun. Naturally one has more time to chat to those who keep to a similar pace but everyone took time out to chat to all the riders. And I also think the warm generous personalities of the staff, Jeff and Sondra Lazer, helper Pam and mechanic Gerard helped set the tone.
I counted myself the luckiest rider sharing a room and most of the 1800 miles with Tom Dunn from Littleton, Colorado. His easy going nature and tolerance made the journey a joy. And his navigational skills (I clung to his rear wheel like a clam through all areas where the route map indicated more than one turning !!) were phenomenal. I was embarrassed at the number of times I congratulated him. Especially after weaving our way through the winding streets of Memphis and St Louis. If I had been left to my own devices I would have ended up in a swampy cul-de-sac somewhere.
As Tom knows this was my final long distance ride in the USA. After two coast-to-coast rides and the West Coast ride, the only one left was the East Coast ride from Maine to Florida. But because of the huge amount of traffic I have opted to give that one a miss.
Where next? That's the question my pals keep asking. After mooching about for a month at home in Northern Ireland a few ideas are forming. After all there's a cliche to sum it up. You don't stop moving when you get old....you get old when you stop moving.