I am too tired right now to add anything to the blog besides numerical input... it is as follows:
74.76 miles
6:19.47 hrs
43.0 mph Max
11.8 mph Avg
Let it be stated that the ride time is the actual time I spent peddling on my bike. My computer has an automatic setting that stops recording if the bike stops. So, when it says that I rode for 3 hours or so... I was probably on the road for 5 hours as it does not include breaks and such. Today was a long, hard day. A ton of climbing and a long distance. I look forward to the next couple days since the mountain stages are done until the Rockies!!! It is dissapointing to leave them all behind, as they give great scenery, but they are a pain in the ass sometimes, that you can take literally!
As I was on my bike today I thought a lot about cancer and what it must be like to fight against it. I then related it to the bike trip in the sense that this trip is my cancer... I must conquor it! There are no excuses... I do not get a break. I will bike every day no matter what the elements throw at me. I may try and dodge them but I must fight through this. I was granted the opportunity to do this amazing trip and I am going to make the most of it! This is the moment in my life where I define who I am, what I have and where I am going... it is my opportunity, my challenge and my choice in life. I MUST make the most of it and do it to the fullest. This is the only way! NO EXCUSES!
Now that I may have said something that I will regret down the line I must go to sleep... my eyes are droopy and I need to replenish for tomorrow... a day of projected heavy rain!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Day 7 - Wednesday August 19th
58.2 miles
4.49.05 hrs
47.4 mph Max
12 mph Avg
Today I passed the 400 mile marker and have set that as my minimum for travel each week. I want to travel at least 400 miles a week. I will shoot for 500 but will be happy with 400. Hopefully this means that I can make it to the Californian coast before it gets too cold.
I am sad to have this be the last day of riding in a group, but hopefully this means that I will be able to ride farther each day. I look forward to the possibility of meeting more people like the three I met yesterday and hope that it happens again shortly!
This night will be spent in luxury for I will not have the opportunity to stay in a real bed for $25 again, for a long time. I must head out now and make it through the Adirondack Mountains before it gets too late and starts raining! It could be a long day and night! Peace and love to all, I look forward to what adventures lie ahead!
4.49.05 hrs
47.4 mph Max
12 mph Avg
Today I passed the 400 mile marker and have set that as my minimum for travel each week. I want to travel at least 400 miles a week. I will shoot for 500 but will be happy with 400. Hopefully this means that I can make it to the Californian coast before it gets too cold.
I am sad to have this be the last day of riding in a group, but hopefully this means that I will be able to ride farther each day. I look forward to the possibility of meeting more people like the three I met yesterday and hope that it happens again shortly!
This night will be spent in luxury for I will not have the opportunity to stay in a real bed for $25 again, for a long time. I must head out now and make it through the Adirondack Mountains before it gets too late and starts raining! It could be a long day and night! Peace and love to all, I look forward to what adventures lie ahead!
Day 6 - Tuesday August 18th
45 miles
3:45.53 hours
37 mph Max
11 mph Avg
Today was a light day. I ended up spending the morning at the local library in Lyme printing off little cards to hand out to people with all my information on them so that I did not need to stop and write it all down every time. Since I had to purchase a roll of packaging tape when I mailed my computer home I decided to laminate these cards as well. This took me a lot longer than expected, it is the perfectionist in me, and I didn't get riding until around 3:00 pm. I was shooting for 40 miles and ended up being motivated to do more due to meeting three cyclist along the way.
I met these three cyclists on a large hill just over the boarder in VT. They are 26,28 and 32. It is an interesting group of guys that I fit in very well with. I was mid climb when one of them flew by me on the hill/mountain. He said a couple words, something about can't stop to talk, I had no idea what he was talking about. When the second one caught up with me he was not short of breath and talked to me a little on the way up. As I got to the top, I talked to these two guys for a couple min before the third showed up. They were doing a 400 mile loop of VT and NH, a route they got off of AdventureCyclist.com, the same site I was basing my route off of. Lucky for me, they were all heading towards Ticonderoga, NY and loved company. This meant that the next two days I had people to ride with and converse with!
There were a few setbacks in riding in a group: they convinced me (I allowed them) to spend more money than I normally would have on lodging and food, it prevented me from getting an early start every morning, it made it difficult at times to stop and take pictures while enjoying the scenery, I was not able to bike as far as I wanted and go at my own pace (if that be faster or slower). Along with the setbacks there were some advantages to riding in a group; it was never boring during the ride, we could travel faster than I could solo, I did not have to worry so much about planning my route because they had detailed directions from adventurecycling.com, they provided extra motivation that made travel easier.
Overall, I am very glad that I got to meet these three riders. This experience is more than just riding across the country to raise money for great organizations but it is also to get out in the world and hear different peoples stories. In each and every story there is wisdom to be shared and a moral to be gained. It is great to experience a wide range of perspectives by people within diverse cultures/areas/lifestyles.
3:45.53 hours
37 mph Max
11 mph Avg
Today was a light day. I ended up spending the morning at the local library in Lyme printing off little cards to hand out to people with all my information on them so that I did not need to stop and write it all down every time. Since I had to purchase a roll of packaging tape when I mailed my computer home I decided to laminate these cards as well. This took me a lot longer than expected, it is the perfectionist in me, and I didn't get riding until around 3:00 pm. I was shooting for 40 miles and ended up being motivated to do more due to meeting three cyclist along the way.
I met these three cyclists on a large hill just over the boarder in VT. They are 26,28 and 32. It is an interesting group of guys that I fit in very well with. I was mid climb when one of them flew by me on the hill/mountain. He said a couple words, something about can't stop to talk, I had no idea what he was talking about. When the second one caught up with me he was not short of breath and talked to me a little on the way up. As I got to the top, I talked to these two guys for a couple min before the third showed up. They were doing a 400 mile loop of VT and NH, a route they got off of AdventureCyclist.com, the same site I was basing my route off of. Lucky for me, they were all heading towards Ticonderoga, NY and loved company. This meant that the next two days I had people to ride with and converse with!
There were a few setbacks in riding in a group: they convinced me (I allowed them) to spend more money than I normally would have on lodging and food, it prevented me from getting an early start every morning, it made it difficult at times to stop and take pictures while enjoying the scenery, I was not able to bike as far as I wanted and go at my own pace (if that be faster or slower). Along with the setbacks there were some advantages to riding in a group; it was never boring during the ride, we could travel faster than I could solo, I did not have to worry so much about planning my route because they had detailed directions from adventurecycling.com, they provided extra motivation that made travel easier.
Overall, I am very glad that I got to meet these three riders. This experience is more than just riding across the country to raise money for great organizations but it is also to get out in the world and hear different peoples stories. In each and every story there is wisdom to be shared and a moral to be gained. It is great to experience a wide range of perspectives by people within diverse cultures/areas/lifestyles.
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