In contrast to yesterday, today was a very nice Sunday
ride. Winds were light and variable for
most of the 65 mile, relatively straight, flat ride from Great Bend to
McPherson (pronounced Mack-fir-sun…not Mack-feer-son). After yesterday’s epic struggle, today there
was a reemergence of the saddle sore issue, but it seems somewhat under control
tonight. Tomorrow is another65 mile
ride. Winds are supposed to be out of
the south so the first half of the ridewill have a crosswind from the right as
we head east, and then a tailwind (Hooray!) going north to Abilene…birthplace
of President Eisenhower.
Today the camera never came out of my handlebar bag, and
there was really just typical Kansas scenery—farms, fields and pretty straight
US56 rolling up and down the minor hills.
So let me instead of making another attempt at a daily
travelog, let me use today’s blog to give a brief description of what the
typical day is like on the tour.
Departure for the slower riders is at 7 a.m., with the faster riders 30
minutes later. That means the day
usually starts around 5-5:30 to get dressed for the day, pack the two bags (gym
bag size) that the tour operator limits each rider to having (I find it very
difficult to live within those confines, but that’s the way it is. By departure time everyone has their bags
downstairs, their bike ready (the tour operator has several pumps so everyone
can put air in their tires before heading out).
At a few minutes to 7 the tour leader goes through a quick discussion of
the route for that day, and then we leave.
There are about 30 riders on the tour with about half in the
early group, half in the late group.
Within each group the riders just naturally split into smaller groups
based on speed, who each one wants to ride with, and just how the day is
going. Just because a person rides with
one person at the start doesn’t mean they’ll stay together all day. There have been plenty of days where I’ll
head out with a small group (especially the windy days where I want to ride
with others in a “pace line” to deal with the , wind), but after awhile either
fall behind, go ahead, etc.
Depending on the distance for that day, Crossroads sets up
one, two or three SAG stops where riders must stop, even if only briefly, so
everyone’s progress can be noted. At the
SAG’s you can get water, Gatorade, snacks, fruit, and other things to snack on
to keep you going. When possible the SAG’s
are set up in the parking lot of a store or restaurant so that riders can use
the restrooms. Riders must report in and
out so that staff can write down arrival and departure times for everyone so
that they always have a rough idea of where everyone is. The daily cue sheet given to each rider, in addition
to the SAG stops, also tells riders where there are convenience stores or other
places that might be useful for stopping.
The tour operator has several staff in vehicles and they
circulate up and down the roads we are traveling on so that we can reach out if
we need something, and so that they can get an idea of where everyone is. Their idea of having the staggered starts is
to try and have the riders stretched out over as short of an area as possible
during the day’s riding. The staff is in
constant touch with each other via radio.
All of the riders have the cellphone numbers of the staff members, and
there is a signal that a rider can give a passing staff vehicle to let them
know that help is needed.
Depending on how long of a ride the day is, some riders may
make a stop for lunch during the day (breakfast and dinner is included….lunch is now). On a shorter ride like today, when the hotel
rooms are usually not available yet on our arrival, there are usually places to
go eat lunch nearby. Today many riders
ended up having lunch at the nearby Braum’s which is well known for their ice
cream and their grill.
One of Crossroads’ features is that before they give out
hotel room keys they deliver the riders’ bags to their rooms. Dinner is via one
or another arrangement—sometimes we eat at 6:00 p.m.as a group when dinner is
brought into the hotel. Otherwise, when
we go to a restaurant adjacent to the hotel and order from the menu, we have a
window—usually 5:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m—to go eat.
Every couple of days people try to use the guest laundry facilities
during the afternoon or evening. Most
people tend to go to bed a bit earlier than normal since ours days start
early.
So the next day it’s “go to the top of this post and repeat.”
Here’s the data from today’s ride.
After tomorrow’s ride, Tuesday is a rest day in Abilene,
Kansas. Depending on what the Capitals
do in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs tomorrow night, Tuesday may be my day
to head home so that Marci and I can go to the Game 5 game watch at the Capital
One Arena on Thursday night when the Caps could win the Cup. The game itself is in Las Vegas. If you don’t understand why I might end my
tour early, go back to the May post entitled “Do bicycling and the Stanley Cup
really mix?” for the full rationale.
Thanks for reading.
Bruce
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