This is one of those days when I do not feel making the effort to write. That is in part because I am so tired, and also because there is little to write about, which leads me to thinking about the very nature of the journey itself.
If, by some small chance, you are reading this blog, not because you know me, but because you are planning or contemplating your own coast to coast bicycle tour, then be forewarned: it is not an undertaking to be considered lightly. It is not a vacation or a holiday; it is a LOT of VERY hard work! Now in all fairness, the tone of my statement could be altered based on a few factors.
The two biggest considerations are time, and your determination to pedal every inch of the way. Another is the time of year that you'll be traveling, while your age is another factor to be considered. Let me get the age factor out of the way quickly. When I was about 30, I toured in New England and Nova Scotia. For the last 12 or more days of that tour, I had to average 100 miles per day just to get back to Boston in order to catch my flight back home. Granted, Nova Scotia in mid-September is not Colorado/Kansas in late June, but now, at age 54, my body does not easily work so hard for so long or recover as quickly. I was thinking that once we got to Kansas we would be able to up our daily mileage to about 80 without killing ourselves, but it's proving tougher than I anticipated.
If you are determined to pedal every inch of the way, then you will be having a lot of days like the one we had today. The standard time that all of the self-contained riders get up in the morning is about an hour before first light - some time between 4:30 and 5:00. How's that sound for a nice vacation? The reason for this is to try to beat some of the heat and winds. Pack up, and hit the road at first light. There is an satisfaction that comes with riding a loaded bike 80 or 90 miles in a day, but that satisfaction comes at the end of the day as you're lying down to sleep. It doesn't come as fun in the middle of the day when you're grinding up yet another hill, trying to hustle to your day's only sensible destination because it's the only town on the route, and has only 150 residents, so the little store is likely to close no later than 5:00, but really maybe only 4:00, in which case you'll be stuck with only water and the food that you have with you, which ain't much.
If you're doing the Trans-Am or the Western Express/Trans-Am, then you really should leave yourself 3 months, and that's just to get it done. 4 months will allow for enough shorter days or rest days to meet some of the people along the way. Or you could decide that for you, riding every inch is not really the main objective, then you are free to have a day like the one we had yesterday. We were still scrambling, but met some great people along the way. Even still, I think that 3 months is minimum and 4 would be even better.
Hey, you might say, I'm going on an organized, supported tour. Or, I'm part of a group that will have a sag wagon (support vehicle). Good, I say. Riding from coast to coast is still no small accomplishment, but at least 60% of the challenge and 50% of the physical effort will be gone for you. I'm not saying that one is better than the other or trying to dissuade anyone from taking the ride that they want to, the way that they want to, just giving a few of my thoughts.
As for today, we set out from Nickerson with a destination of Cassoday Kansas, about 90 miles away. Kim left first but we caught up with her in the little town of Hesston, at about the 35 mile mark. Newton was the last town before Cassoday, but there were still more than 40 miles between the two. I got to Cassoday at about 4:45 and Riley rolled in about 20 minutes behind me. We ate, set up camp and still no Kim. She finally called as I was beginning this entry. She had been taken in for lunch by a nice family in Newton and ended up staying over. We may or may not connect again along the way.
It's now way past bedtime, and as I suspected this park is rife with fireflies. Time to turn in.
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