Day 41 (6/7/22): Finally! An Easy Day
Start: Daleville, VA
End: Lexington, VA
Mileage: 50 miles
Elevation: 2,776 feet
How ‘bout me getting done with my riding by 11:00 a.m.?
Today was the easiest day I’ve had in weeks. I pulled out of Daleville at about 6:30 to beat the rain that was expected later in the afternoon, got to Lexington, and had the afternoon to spend in this delightful, historic town. The ride was nice, but nothing new, so no real highlights. There was one positive though. Unlike yesterday, when all of the many deer seemed to be sleeping by the side of the road, today they were scampering all over the place.
Thought I’d provide some facts about how a day plays out in lieu of any ride highlights. I won’t be offended if this is of no interest to you.
Food: I start with a protein-heavy breakfast (cottage cheese, milk, protein bar, and/or whey-laden oatmeal) and then eat power bars, stroopwafel, GU (cake frosting…rocket fuel), and cashews most of the day. I sometimes grab a treat along the way typically with another 16 ounces of milk. The picture in the gallery shows what’s been on the menu the last 7 weeks. Prior to the trip and since we started, we’ve purchased over 400 individual snacks. I’m not tired of them yet but am getting close.
Fluids: I have 3 large bottles on each bike. Two have water, while the third is Gatorade. I also carry 3-4 additional bottles of water to ensure I never run out.
Navigation: I’ve mentioned the Adventure Cycling Association maps previously (see gallery for an example). I’m using them mostly to see where elevation gains will take place and rely almost exclusively on GPS files from the maps and an app on my phone that tells me when I’m on or off course. The TransAmerica route has pretty good—although not perfect—signage. The picture accompanying the text is an example. Miraculously, I’ve only made one material mistake (cost me 6 miles a few weeks back) which, given my lack of direction, should be investigated as a potential miracle.
Sleep: Many people have said I must collapse at night. That’s true most nights, but not all. I’ve found I have to stop route planning an hour before going to bed or my brain will just keep going. Also, if I’ve had a particularly long day, the adrenaline tends to keep me up until all hours. I’m trying to get 8-9 hours of sleep a night, but have gotten as few as 5.
Planning: This biggest surprise of the trip. Staging for the next day’s ride takes a minimum of an hour each night (assembling food, cleaning and refilling bottles, evaluating route). We also have to review our plans for the following 2-3 days based on changes in the weather, how I’m feeling, and route difficulty. And then there’s this blog which takes some time as well. Minimum evening planning is 3 hours. I brought a book on the trip expecting to have lots of time to actually read something. I’m 14 pages in after 7 weeks.
Setting Up and Packing Down: A lot of this falls to Tish, but there’s also a lot of time getting in and out of the hotels (and of course campsites when we’re rouging it). I still LOVE the riding. The planning is fun as well. The new city/new hotel thing is getting old though. We know the end is in sight and also know we could never be rock stars.
What am I Grateful for Today?
It’s my big brother Don’s birthday today. I wrote about my siblings in an earlier post but figured this would be a good excuse to mention some of the other qualities I appreciate in him. Just some stream of consciousness musings:
Don has a full life. He works hard in the defense industry, but also finds time to participate in his church choir, travels often to see his two daughters, be on top of what’s happening in every major sport that’s out there, and constantly has a book going on his kindle.
He and his wife Jill have raised two intelligent women who are following in their parent’s footsteps and pursuing interesting and very important careers. Natalie is at seminary in Minnesota aiming to become a pastor. We’re looking forward to seeing her and her boyfriend Jake when we head back west in July. Katie works at the Mother and Child Education Center in Portland and recently was featured in articles about the real impact of the baby formula shortage.
As much as we love our kids, Jill, Don, Tish, and I really started to get together more often once the kids flew the coop—until Covid hit. I want to get back to that.
In the earlier post, I mentioned Don and I were competitive as kids, but I never saw it as something negative. Instead, he set the bar high, and I wanted to do just as well as he did. That’s healthy competition. I appreciated the bar being set high.
While I certainly don’t agree with his allegiance, I appreciate how devoted Don is to his Fighting Irish. Referring to my last point though, let’s not forget Penn State was 3-1 against Notre Dame while I was in school.
As with my parents, I came up big with my big brother.