27 days-25 behind bars

Here is still the link to Bama Cyclistand Mike's stuff on the trip. Here is the initial page containing everyone's photos. Please note that it does not yet contain all of Sandra and Ken's photos or any of Eric Kloors, the rest should be set. Once it's set I'll have a link off of this page. Here is the day in the life of the tour that I gave, please pardon the miss spellings and all, any differences from what I said are purely because I prefer running off script.

Day	date		Location	Miles	total	Actual Miles	Actual Total	Speed	Time	Ascent (ft)	Decent (ft)	Weight
0	Sun	April 20	Costa Mesa, CA	0	0	0	0	0	0:00.00	0	0	193
1	Mon	April 21	Thousand Palms, CA	122	122	122.65	122.65	14.95	8:12.56	4950	4813
2	Tues	April 22	Blythe, CA	118	240	120.78	243.43	16.88	7:12.20	2953	2927
3	Wed	April 23	Wickenburg, AZ	117	357	116.64	360.07	18.84	6:11.59	3942	2095
4	Thur	April 24	Cottonwood, AZ	103	460	105.95	466.02	13.73	7:42.35	8951	7584
5	Fri	April 25	Winslow, AZ	107	567	108.66	574.68	15.25	7:03.30	6741	5017
6	Sat	April 26	Gallup, NM	127	694	134.91	709.59	15.96	8:28.05	5130	3271
7	Sun	April 27	Albuquerque, NM	145	839	137.26	846.85	16.25	8:09.00	3858	5645
8	Mon	April 28	Albuquerque, NM	0	839	0	846.85	0	0	0	0
9	Tues	April 29	Las Vegas, NM	135	974	135.52	982.37	16.52	8:09.44	8816	7421
10	Wed	April 30	Tucumcari, NM	110	1084	111.52	1093.89	22.43	4:55.37	5436	8532
11	Thur	May 1	Dalhart, TX	96	1180	97.63	1191.52	24.57	3:57.51	2881	2874
12	Fri	May 2	Pampa, TX	112	1292	110.77	1302.29	20.16	5:28.07	3200	4000
13	Sat	May 3	Elk City, OK	97	1389	97.64	1399.95	16.84	5:45.15	3575	4944
14	Sun	May 4	Chickasha, OK	125	1514	129.61	1529.54	16.45	7:45.40	4824	5726
15	Mon	May 5	McAlester, OK	145	1659	145.22	1674.76	16.04	9:02.51	6181	6511
16	Tues	May 6	Ft. Smith, AR	108	1767	110.08	1784.84	17.03	6:27.43	3495	3908
17	Wed	May 7	Ft. Smith, AR	0	1767	0	1784.84	0	0	0	0
18	Thur	May 8	Conway, AR	122	1889	126.43	1911.27	19.72	6:24.43	3517	3561
19	Fri	May 9	Brinkley, AR	100	1989	101.00	2012.27	17.08	5:54.44	1577	1765
20	Sat	May 10	Senatobia, MS	113	2102	114.28	2126.55	17.71	6:27.10	1734	1695
21	Sun	May 11	Aberdeen, MS	138	2240	138.93	2265.48	17.08	8:07.56	5834	5811
22	Mon	May 12	Tuscaloosa, AL	110	2350	113.75	2379.23	15.56	7:18.26	5888	5816
23	Tues	May 13	Prattville, AL	117	2467	117.77	2497	14.73	7:59.25	6614	6369
24	Wed	May 14	Columbus, GA	105	2572	116.90	2613.90	15.38	7:35.38	4637	4491
25	Thur	May 15	Perry, GA	97	2669	96.71	2710.61	16.86	5:44.04	3254	3161
26	Fri	May 16	Vidalia, GA	103	2772	103.49	2814.10	18.12	5:42.35	3311	3474
27	Sat	May 17	Savannah, GA	129	2901	107.25	2921.35	16.66	6:26.10	1711	1992
			Averages			116.85		16.90	6:55	4520.4	4536.12
			Totals				2921.35		7d4h49m	113,010	113,403
28	Sun	May 18	Leaving

Day 0-April 20 Costa Mesa, CA
-Pictures
Got in to CA after two flights delayed because of mechanical problems, gave me real confidence. Took a quick trip down to the ocean and had my first flat, I'm sure there are many more to come.
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Day 1-April 21 Thousand Palms, CA
-Pictures
I achieved my goal and finished last, though it took some work. Spent the day riding with Eric and his daughter Kirstin who seemed willing to put up with me.

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Day 2-April 22 Blythe, CA
-Pictures
Rode the entire day then had two flats in the last 30 miles. Started the day getting pulled by the racer Brits and Frank, averaging over 20 until the first SAG of the day. First time I've ever sat up to wait for someone to catch up and still been doing 19. After the SAG raced to catch up to roommate Eric, paster Scott, and Bill. Almost caught them when I jumped my chain and had to do it again. Almost got whipped out by the heat at the end of the day. Kirstin passed out at route rap.

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Day 3-April 23 Wickenburg, AZ
-Pictures
A nice 3 flat day, all flats caused by wires from busted tires on the side of the freeway. Pacelined most all of the day and had a great tail wind that accounts for the speed. Rode with roomate Eric, Mark, and Ben for most of the day. After the last SAG stop we added Frank for the pull into Wickenburg.

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Day 4-April 24 Cottonwood, AZ
-Pictures
Road with Chris. A little over 9000 feet of climbing. Took it easy to try to conserve my knees.

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Day 5-April 25 Winslow, AZ
-Pictures
The day started with an amazing climb out of Sadona and finishing with a great view of what had just been climbed, see the pictures. Then the rest of the day was spent with long fast pulls down a couple of highways to get to the hotel.Spent the morning riding with Chris before grabbing a ride with ride leaders Mike and Karen. The long fast ride in was with Will, Sandra and eventually Chris.

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Day 6-April 26 Gallup, NM
-Pictures
A mostly flat day. Road with Chris again. As the day went on the wind got worse, evetually finishing with a ~45 mile pull into a head wind. I got tired of it and pulled Chris in. Frank tried to keep up but didn't have the legs for it. We ended up coming in about fifth from then end of riders who did the entire ride.

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Day 7-April 27 Albuquerque, NM
-Pictures
A long day that started out really cold. They held us up for an hour until the temperature got above freezing. Then the first group I left the hotel with didn't go fast enough for my knees to warm up so I jumped off and ended up riding the next 10+ miles to the first SAG alone and ended up getting there first. I then left that SAG behind a group and didn't realize it was 7 guys pace lining and tried to catch them. I eventually did 30 miles later when they stopped at a Dairy Queen. By this leg the constant head wind that started about 5 miles into the ride was in full swing. I road with this group until lunch and then after. 10 miles out of lunch they decided to stretch and I realized that stretching would just cause my body to tighten so I took off ahead. They eventually caught me at the next stop to fill water bottles but as they again were taking their time I took off. By this time the grinding sound out of my bottom braket was extremely load so I was just pushing to get in. I ended up first to the final SAG and was again caught by the group there and again left first as they were taking their time. The upshot is that I was first into the hotel, not bad shifting from last in on day 1 to first in on day 7, probably won't happen again. Also probably with have to replace the bottom bracket and cranks.

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Day 8-April 28 Albuquerque, NM
Rest day. Took my bike in and had the crank replaced. My one thought, Tune is shite, SHITE!
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Day 9-April 29 Las Vegas, NM
-Pictures
Rode all day with Chris. Lots of rolling hills at altitude. My body didn't want to get back into riding after the day of rest but no real choice. One of the most magnificent rides I've ever taken. Managed to pull off a decent ride even so. I'm starting to look forward to the next couple of days as they'll be shorter, be good to get off the bike before hitting 8 hours in the saddle. New crank functioned as promised, I'm relieved.

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Day 10-April 30 Tucumcari, NM
-Pictures
An amazing day. Almost twice as much down hill as up hill and 20 mile an hour winds that gusted up to 50 that were mostly tail winds all day. Occasionally they came from the side we had to lean seriously into them to stay up right and not get pushed off the road. Only occasionally did they become head winds. I pulled off my first sub 5 hour century (sub 5 hour ride time) pulling the ride in at 4 hours and 20 minutes. I finished the entire ride in under 5 hours. I also achieved my fastest speed ever at 57.79 mph on one of the down hills. All told one of the most fun rides I've ever had. I rode most of hte day with Chris, and waited while he got a double spoke brake fixed and watched as Mike, in horror, saw just how much gravel was in his shifters. Apparently Mike believe that shifters should shift when pressed and not just when bashed.

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Day 11-May 1 Dalhart, TX
-Pictures
A nice day with little climbing and a strong tail wind that was directly behind us for most of the day. Road with Kirstin and averaged 24.57 mph. If there had been a way to easily add another 2.5 miles I would have to make it a clean century but as there wasn't finished just that much short of a full century, faster then that of yesturday. A very easy ride all told thanks to the tail wind.

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Day 12-May 2 Pampa, TX
-Pictures
One last day of a nice tail wind. We had a nice long not to hilly day, road with Chris and chatted most of it. Saw lots of Texas, it was flat. The morning started out cold but eventually warmed up. We were all sorta wishing that the day had started an hour later so it would have been warmer. Tomorrow one last shorter day before real milage starts again.

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Day 13-May 3 Elk City, OK
-Pictures
Day started out at about 37 degrees but eventually warmed up. Road all day with Kirstin. Saw almost nothing but open spaces. The nice shoulders ended at the Oklahoma border for a while but eventually came back. Kirstin and I sprinted towards the hotel for the last mile to try to catch a group including her father but were foiled by traffic lights and missing the hotel turn, oh well. At least the day was one by Chris who beat the fly boys in.

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Day 14-May 4 Chickasha, OK
-Pictures
The day started out cool then got HOT. It wasn't bad until the 90 mile mark or so when Chris and I did 4 bonus miles by way of finding the right turn. For some reason neither a guy from England or New England could do well in ~85 degree heat with humidity. Really exhasting day. Just want to make it through tomorrow. Here is a video of a section of our ride in the middle of nowhere.

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Day 15-May 5 McAlester, OK
-Pictures
One very long day. Chris and I started out early to try to avoid a little of the heat. It was kind of a slugg fest to make it through the entire thing. Both of us were really feeling yesturday. It was more of a survival then anything else. Have to agree with Mike that it was a signature day. Hope not to have to sign anything for the next while, my leg won't be able to take it.

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Day 16-May 6 Ft. Smith, AR
-Pictures
Today we were all still in shock from having learned last night that Darrell had passed away the previous morning in his sleep. None of it had really sunk in. A couple of us then spent the morning waiting in the hotel for the rain, thunder, and lightening to stop before getting on the road. The rideing wasn't to back durning the day except for really bad road conditions. Before the roads dried I managed a puncture that killed my back tire then 10 miles later another that killed it's brand new replacement tire as well. All told the day ended with 3 flats on my behalf. I spent the day riding with Kirstin, Ben, and Mark and we had a great time considering the weather and other adverse conditions.

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Day 17-May 7 Ft. Smith, AR
A good day off. Went by a couple of bike shops and managed to find an Arkansas jersey, got it back to the room later and found out it says "Thank you Jesus" across the collar, welcome to Arkansas. I put a picture up on the next days pictures. Rested most of the day, spent some time in the pool/hot tub and ate, a lot.
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Day 18-May 8 Conway, AR
-Pictures
Beautiful day, extremely level (except for the 18% climb 3 miles into the ride) and with a little tail wind. I spent most of the day pacelining with Roomie Eric, Rev. Scott, Tom, Conrad, and Frank. The day just blew by and we averaged just under 20. They probably averaged 20 on the day but as I started the day at the end of team Budweiser (Pete and Russel) then jumped on as they came by I didn't manage 20. Just a nice day in the saddle.

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Day 19-May 9 Brinkley, AR
-Pictures
A long slow recovery day except for the 10 miles into lunch and a head wind. Rode with Chris and Kirstin. Not a bad day, but still took some out of me.

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Day 20-May 10 Senatobia, MS
-Pictures
A fairly flat day that took us to Mississippi. Started the day pacelining with the paceline crew (Frank, Tom, Conrad) and the 3 stooges Larry, Moisha, and Curly (Chris, Kirstin, and Me). After the first SAG we added Eric roomie, Russel, and Pete then dropped Russel, Pete, Chris, and Kirstin. Frank, Tom, Conrad, Eric, and I finished out the day with long pulls. Not a bad day over all considering that we had a head wind for most of the day. We got in and I realized just how much the heat had done me in since I'm now ready to fall over.
Addendum, apparently I cracked by rear rim with 40+ miles to go today... Apparently it could have gone at any time. This means that the next two days I get to ride my campy bike with a shimano rear wheel until we can get to a real bike shop. Fun fun, the frames still sound though. Pictures of the rim and my sad bike will be up tomorrow.

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Day 21-May 11 Aberdeen, MS
-Pictures
A surprisingly easy day in hte saddle. There was a slight tail wind but the main thing was that Chris and I biked with paster Scott, Bill, and Martin. We basicaly just road all day at a ground eating pace that put the miles away. Lots of rolling hills, the only real problem today was that Shimano cassettes on shimano wheels deal rather badly with campy components. The only other part of the day that was a little hard was that Mike and Karen rode past at one point and Scott, Chris, and I tried to chase them down. Or more correctly, after they were 300 yards past we started chacing and Scott took 5 pedal strokes and stopped, Chris did 2 minutes and stopped and I almost kiled myself to catch them. It left me feeling kinda nocious.

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Day 22-May 12 Tuscaloosa, AL
-Pictures
Today was another day of small climbs, each more fun then the next as I lost more and more gears on the shimano rear cassette. Eventually it was as if I was riding a 7 speed with my largest cog being a 23. I felt like a pro rider on hte 18% grades, except that they make it look easy and I wined a lot. I rode with Chris and Kirstin for most of the day and we just sort of chatted and passed the time. The day did being though with Chris getting a rather explosive flat that gave him his 14th flat of the trip putting him most definitely in the lead. Barbra didn't like the fact that he booted it with his insurance card and made him switch it at the first SAG, Mike just laughed. While he was changing the flat Mike was talking on the phone with one of his cycling buddies, setting stuff up for Pratville and he mentioned that he had to go help fix a flat that was being made a mess of, the guy on the phone replied, "Oh, it must be Christopher" and Mike lost it laughing. We've come to believe that Chris is just viewed as a comic figure. I also managed to get a new rear wheel though it required buying a new wheel set, I guess I now have a set of equipe's too. Also interesting, when I took a look at my rear wheel in greater detail it now appears as if there may have been 4 seperate cracks in the rim. When I thrash equipment, I really thresh equipment.

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Day 23-May 13 Prattville, AL
-Pictures
Another day of short steep climbs in which we became more and more convinced that Mike was trying to put us on every busted road and up every hill. 50 miles in we managed to break Kirstin and had to call to get her picked up, then Chris and I went on our way rejoining Martin. One of those days where we were completely on empty but kept going. Plus we had a lot of fun when Chris managed to drop his camera on the one highway of the day, and being Chris, it worked just as well after the fall as before. Mike obviously enjoyed bringing us into his home town.

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Day 24-May 14 Columbus, GA
-Pictures
This was a day that started out being a little over a 100 miles and was right up until Mike told us how he'd changed the route to add 10 more miles, but at no extra charge. To say the roads were abismal would be to describe the roads as being better then they were. I'm uncertain that any of the day was spent riding on anything other then chip seal which is kind of like having velcro on the road and your wheels. Let's just say that the day was best described as one of those that builds character. I spent most of the day riding with Chris and Kirstin. It was hot, it was chip seal, it was Georgia, nuff said.

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Day 25-May 15 Perry, GA
-Pictures
A really good day on the bike even with rain threatening all day. I started riding with Kirstin and Chris but decided to go a little faster part way into the day and left them as we went through the army base. After that road primarily on my own until lunch. On the way to lunch I road past a flat snake on the side of the road only to discover it was sunning itself. I was fortunately on the upstroke of my pedal stroke when it lunged at me. There's this distinct sound when a snakes jaws clap shut... After that saw the fly boys and the paceliners on the side of the road because of James rear wheel went and stopped to say hi before continuing. They informed me that I was first on hte road and I pushed it a little to the SAG. At the SAG I found out that Dr. Scott was far ahead of me. After lunch I ran into Dr. Scott immeediately due to his taking wrong turns and finished the day riding with him, giving him his first stage victory.

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Day 26-May 16 Vidalia, GA
-Pictures
A good day with very little chip seal. Rode with Kirstin, Chris, Pete, and Russell. We got the southern experience of Moon Pies and RC cola at the first SAG and the picture of Chris' face says it all. A little tail wind made today the slightly easier second to last day we needed though by knee is beginning to hurt just that little bit more (I blame it on the chip seal).

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Day 27-May 17 Savannah, GA
-Pictures
A good final day of riding. Rode with Kirstin and Chris. We started the day by stopping so that I could pick up a hard drive at walmart then riding the next 30 miles with it dangling off my handle bars until the SAG. The palstic bag just made it. Nota back ride after that, closing each SAG until we got to the Fort for the final ride down to the beach. Much fun at the beach, much swimming then back to a bike shop to ship the bike and back to the hotel for hte banquet. We'll see if anything gets added to it.

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Day 28-May 18 Savannah, GA-Leaving
-Pictures
The day after the ride heading home. Mostly worth mentioning since I went to the airport with Mark, Pat, and Chris, and as always Chris had bike troubles. His bike box was both over size and over weight causing a $200 cost, only Chris. By comparison the airline Pat was on couldn't figure out how to charge him and so sent his bike for free.
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*Please note that all elevation and grade graphs come from a Garmin Edge 305 with smoothing turned on, this lowers the more extreme grade values which is why none of the 18% grades we saw are present.