Day 14 Chickasah OK (123 miles)

I just wanted to let you know about the calibre of the cyclists participating in this year's event.  There are two riders that I haven't really mentioned.  Nico is originally from Chile, but now lives in northern California.  He is using the ride to train him for his third FULL Ironman Triathlon.  That is: swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run 26.2 miles. It is quite an achievement just to qualify.  The other cyclist I wanted to mention is Reem from NY.  She is the only woman on the trip this year.  Not only is she an accomplished triathlete, but she also co-owns a company that trains other triathletes.  Reem was also a professional road cyclist; she was paid to race a bike.  She's the one that keeps us in line with those complicated pacelines. 

Yesterday's average speed was almost 22mph.  Last night, my thighs were screaming in rebellion for these past few days of hanging with the big guys.  It was hard to sleep, but I managed by elevating my legs.

Today, Dick and Pacific Mike got the early start.  The rest of us pulled out as a group and soon separated into smaller groups... but all within sight of each other.  Today's route was through back country roads, with lots of turns.  I joined up with Rick, David, Scott and Russ to form a paceline.  Not a killer pace (thank goodness), but enough to keep us moving along at a good clip.  Russ peeled off to wait for Reem and pace her back to the front pack.

The weather was cool and overcast.  We were hit with intermittent rain... nothing like is going on in Arkansas and Tennessee.  We are chasing that huge weather system that is moving east and throwing off dozens of tornados.  The scenery was just country roads through beautiful farmland.  It was just the picture of what biking across America should be like.  Except, it was overcast and cool.  And, could you lop off about 100 miles?

We continued with that four man paceline through the first SAG and lunch SAG.  I can't explain how enjoyable it is to work with these three other guys in such an organized fashion for hour after hour.  The first man sets the pace... and that is just as important as the draft he is creating.  Biking on your own, you will inevitably lose focus and slow down from time to time.  In the paceline, it is the job of the guy up front to keep to a steady pace.  Each time he peeled off and went to the back of the line, it was always a round of thanks.  "Good job." "Great pull."  We each took turns at the front working in the same order.  Scott, David, me and Rick.

The big news of the day is that we hit the official half-way spot before the lunch SAG.  We were not spread out too far apart ... all the riders made it there within about 15 minutes of each other.  That was a major accomplishment; not sure that we've ever all been that close together after 3 hours of biking.  Lots of photos were taken by Mike (Team Leader Mike) that will show up in the DVD after the trip.  I can't believe we've reached the half-way point of our trip, and it was great to have all of the riders together for that occassion.

Shortly after lunch, we lost Scott.  I turned around and he was nowhere in sight.  Word was that he had a tight hamstring and had to drop out of our paceline (he made it to the motel with Dick and Pacific Mike).  The remaining three continued onto the third SAG, which was set up at a "fast food" shop in the middle of nowhere.  Seriously.  We were about three miles outside of Nowhere OK.  It was a Dairy Bar.  We all picked up a milk shake,even though we were all cold.  The place couldn't have been more of a dive... and we were all happy to be there.

The three of us left the Dairy Bar together and continued to work as a team.  About 15 miles from our final destination, we came up on Randy.  He had been dropped from the team he was with and was bonking.  David stopped to give him a gel pack with caffeine, and that perked him up.  Rick and I had slowed to a chatting pace to wait for David and Randy.  They soon joined us and we all paced into Chickasha together.  I am never happier on this trip than when we're about 5 miles from the motel - especially if I'm coming in with other riders.  The day is almost over; there is an incredible sense of accomplishment; and a shower is just around the corner.  My energy levels pick up, and I could practically sprint to the motel.

I've said it before.  If today was the only lengthy bike ride I took all year, I'd be talking about it for months and remember it clearly for years.  It was a great experience working with the other riders - they're tremendous.  Over seven hours in the saddle.  However, I'm sitting here at 8pm and can't remember large sections of the ride.  The days are running together at an alarming pace.

Tomorrow is our biggest mileage day - 145 miles.  Today was "only" 123 miles; I could have gone another 22 miles, ... but I was so glad I didn't have to.