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I've Got Something to Say
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| Ride Stats |
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Time: 06:12:44
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Distance:
104.80 miles
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Max Speed:
34.70 mph
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Avg Speed:
16.80 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: Hills
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Bike: Fuji Newest Road
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| Club: Commuter Cycling Century |
| Weather Conditions: |
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I spent most of the day today riding with Steve & Bruce (who turned 50 today) from Connecticut. They passed me at about mile 11 as we were turning north. I knew the wind was blowing out of the NW, and if I could stay with them, then I could get in their draft and not expend as much effort. It was to my advantage that Steve is recovering from being hit by a car a little over a month ago, so his left leg gets tight and so they were keep a speed that I could maintain without overexerting myself. We ended up staying together the rest of the day – all the way into Blythe.
Some time during the day, as the two of them were planning their activities this evening, including upload their pictures to the internet, I mentioned my hindrance of doing the same last night due to the lack of high-speed access. They proceeded to tell me that our hotel last night actually had high-speed wireless access. There was no inclination in the rooms of such access, so they went to the front desk an inquired about high-speed access and were told about the wireless network. Needless to say – shame on me for not inquiring. Upon arriving at our hotel in Blythe this afternoon, after cleaning my bike and getting settled into my room and seeing nothing about internet access, I walked over to the front desk and inquired about such a perk. The manager told me he does not offer it, but the hotel across the street (were a handful of rooms are being used as overflow for our group) does, and that he is good friends with the manager over there, so I can go into one of the occupied rooms or even into the lobby area and make use of their network. If your received this before late afternoon Tuesday, then I did follow the manager’s advice.
Before I continue, I meant to share some stats about Sunday’s ride in yesterday’s blurb – most of these stats I track for every ride I do in a log book (Excel spreadsheet actually).
Got on the bike starting at 6:50 A.M.
Got to the hotel in El Centro at 4:40 P.M.
Total travel time: 9 hours 30 minutes
Distance traveled: 128.4 miles
Amount of climbing: 7400 ft (thanks to my roommate Howard’s computer)
Actual time on the bike 8 hours 7 minutes and 45 seconds
Average speed (on bike): 15.7 mph
Max speed attained: 52.6 mph
Now, before I forget, today’s stats:
Got on the bike starting at 6:40 A.M.
Got to the hotel in Blythe at 3:00 P.M.
Total travel time: 8 hours 20 minutes
Distance traveled: 104.8 miles
Amount of climbing: 1780 ft
Actual time on the bike: 6 hours 12 minutes and 44 seconds
Average speed: 16.8 mph
Max speed attained: 34.7 mph (no big climbs, means there’s no big descents)
So, aside from the stats, what was today’s ride like?
The heat was mild – I’m not sure if the temperature got into the 100’s. Plus, PAC Tour promotes an interesting way to help stay cool. Every one was issued an ordinary white sock – yes, a tube sock – over-the-calf or crew style. It is suggested that at each stop the sock gets filled up with ice, close off the top with the provided rubber band, and then drape the sock-of-ice around our neck, under the collar of the jersey (see the picture in Day 2’s photo album of me wearing mine, taken as I prepare to leave the lunch stop). As the ice melts, it wets your jersey, or runs down your body – feeling nice and cool.
Also from the pictures, you should be able to tell that the terrain is dry, mostly sand and very sparse in vegetation, but for the most part the roads were good (smooth & ride able) with very light traffic. Riding with Steve & Bruce made some of the riding easier (drafting off each other) and the conversations helped pass the time.
Well its time to go get a message, get some dinner and see if I can get to the hotel across the street to upload yesterday’s & today’s pictures, and get this emailed off (that’s the easy part).
Until next time, when I’ll be reporting from Wickenburg, AZ.
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