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I've Got Something to Say
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| Ride Stats |
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Time: 05:47:26
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Distance:
98.77 miles
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Max Speed:
29.60 mph
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Avg Speed:
17.00 mph
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Route:
PAC Tour Central Transcontinental
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Weight:
0
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Category: training: general -
solo
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Terrain: Road: Flat
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Bike: Fuji Newest Road
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| Club: Commuter Cycling Century |
| Weather Conditions: overcast most of the time, the last 10 miles in the rain |
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The movie "Miracle" depicts how the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team was organized, how they practiced, and what they went through to get ready for the Olympic Games, held in Lake Placid, NY. It goes on to highlight how well they performed during the round robin play, and then depicts the battle against the highly favored team from the USSR in the first game of medal round games. In the third period of that game, Team USA scored a goal to give them their first lead of the game. Several minutes later, as the game clock was ticking away the final seconds of the game, the crowd began the countdown, "10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5…" It was about that time that Al Michaels uttered what are now some of the most memorable words in US sports history, "Do you believe in miracles?"
Back in the middle of August, as I arrived home from a training ride, Jacque was in the midst of bar-b-queuing some dinner for our family, and the TV was turned onto premium movie channel that was in the middle of airing this movie. I had seen it several times before, but after I had put most of my stuff away I sat down to watch the rest of the movie. As I sat there and got goose-bumps, again, as Al Michaels spoke those words, I thought ahead to this day, October 5th, and how applicable those words would be to the PAC Tour Central Transcontinental Tour arriving on the beach in Charleston, SC. Do you believe in miracles? I knew at that time, that this would be the title and the theme of this entry. Here are some of the miracles I have observed, that culminate in the miracle of our arrival in Charleston.
Just the other day while munching on breakfast I was chatting with another cyclist, Janeen, and found out that it was a miracle that she even made it to the beginning of the tour, let alone was able to ride a significant amount of the tour. Back in May, while out on a bike ride, she was hit by a car, and her list of injuries included a broken bone in her back. She went on to say that, "Message, medicine & prayer" has helped her get through and enjoy the tour as much as she had. I had found out earlier in the tour, that another cyclist named Steve was hit by a car while riding his bike, on August 11 – one month prior to the start of the tour. His injuries were soft tissue damage (no broken bones) and road rash. His training was limited the few weeks leading up to the tour, but he was able to complete it.
There have been a few cuts & scrapes encountered along the way, but almost everyone has been able to finish the tour unscathed. One cyclist had to abandon the tour, due to fatigue related injury (partially torn tendons in one foot). I told you about the cyclist that was clipped by the car as we were leaving Springfield, MO last week. Then one day late last week, a cyclist was standing as he pedaled up a hill, and one of his pedals broke. His right foot went to the ground, causing him to fall and roll over his right shoulder (kind of a somersault) while his bike was still attached to his left foot. He suffered some minor scrapes and bruises, and with a borrowed pedal & shoe was able to continue the days ride, and was able to continue & complete the rest of the tour.
If you want to talk about the weather throughout the tour, there have been a few miracles there, too. One of the most dreaded weather conditions on a tour is rain. An average PAC Tour event like this would encounter 4-5 days of rain or other detrimental weather. Other than a day of tough winds in Kansas, and encountering rain just 10 miles from our ultimate destination – we rode the last 10 miles, out of 3100 totals, in the rain – our weather all along the way has been fairly miraculous! Another weather miracle would be the temperatures we experienced while we made our way through the Imperial Valley in southern California and as we made our way across the desert land of AZ. The temperature we experienced was as much as 10 degrees cooler than the days just preceding our passage.
To me, though, the biggest miracle is the fact that I completed the tour. So, I didn’t ride all 3,100 miles – coming into the tour I anticipated that, although I could not realistically set a goal as to how much I would ride. As it turns out, I did ride more that 81% of them, and I am satisfied with that accomplishment. I was also able to maintain an overall bike speed of 15 mph – that was a goal I was hoping to achieve. During the 2500+ miles I did ride, I spent a lot of the time closely following the wheel of fellow Team Turtle members Dan Aaron & Anne Marie McSweeney. Though there were a few close calls, I’d say it was a miracle that we didn’t bump wheels or do anything else that would cause one of us to stumble.
Do I believe in miracles? Yes, I do! As the movie Miracle closes, a memorial is displayed in honor of Herb Brooks, who coached that hockey team, referring to his untimely death an auto accident between the completion of filming the movie and before it was released in the theaters. The screen displays a picture of Herb, the year he was born and the year he died, followed by the statement, "He never saw it (the movie). He lived it." I’m not sure what you saw as I tried to relate to you what has transpired over the last 25 days, but I can say, without a doubt, that I lived it – and that is a miracle.
Got on the bike starting at 7:05 A.M. EDT
Got off the bike at the hotel in Charleston at 2:00 P.M. EDT
Total travel time: 6 hours 55 minutes
Distance traveled: 98.77 miles (my computer got turned off at one of the rest stops, so it didn’t register about 8.5 miles – should have been 106 miles)
Amount of climbing: 500 feet – mostly downhill today, to the ocean, although there were a couple steep bridges over some waterways
Actual time on the bike 5 hours 47 minutes and 26 seconds
Average speed (on bike): 17.0
Max speed attained: 29.6 mph
Total Time on the bike: 168 hours 41 minutes 40 seconds
Total distance traveled on the bike: 2551.75 miles
Total overall average speed: 15.13 mph
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