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Day 51
Pant, pant, pant!

ROUTE: Brattleboro VT to Manchester NH DISTANCE: 86 Miles WINDS: Light all day
WEATHER: Sunny, 82 degrees...foggy at departure TERRAIN: Hilly to mountainous TOTAL CLIMBING: 6100 feet

DAILY DOINGS: 

The theme of the day was, "Going up?"  If the riders liked the climbing yesterday, they'll love today.  It was only 1 mile from the motel when the road started to go up right at the New Hampshire state line.  It's hard to believe we are only a couple days from our journey's end.  It seems just like yesterday we left San Francisco as a group of strangers and now we are about to finish.  Some people think it's a long way from California to New Hampshire...actually, it's only a bike ride.  

When we woke for departure, there was a sinister fog lurking in the hill tops surrounding the motel.  As the riders were eating breakfast, I took a quick jaunt down route in the van to see if it was safe to leave as early as we needed to.  With all the climbing and the long distance, it would have been tough to make it to Manchester in time for dinner if we had to delay our departure much.  As it turned out, the fog was only spotty and not too dense...sunny skies and comfortable temperatures greeted the riders as they rode in our last state.

 We dodged the weather bullet, but we did have another concern today.  We had a total of 6,000+ feet of climbing (one of our biggest climb days of the ride)...not bad for only an 87 mile day.  While the terrain was hardly ever flat around here, most of the climbing was on three challenging hills...two before the first SAG and the last one, Joe English hill, about 10 miles from the finish.  Oh, I forgot about Pitcher's Mountain right after the first SAG which took us to the highest point on the day...1,880 feet.  The term "mountain" in the name should be enough to give you an idea that the road probably went up somewhere,  but I've been accused of "forgetting" lots of significant climbs when I do route rap...or merely passing them off as mere "rollers."  The riders have a different definition of a hill than mine, so I stand guilty as accused I guess.  Even though it was a strenuous day overall, the route was beautiful when it was out in the country.  At the top of the second climb, we rode along a tree lined road that provided much needed shade on a warm morning.  Here in the east, it is a stark contrast from what we had out west where you could see for 30 miles in any direction and the climbs were usually graded to 7% or below.  Here, you can't see farther than 50 yards in any direction for all the trees and the climbs go straight up sometimes 10-15%...this country's amazing.

My day started out busy pretty quickly as 2 miles from the motel, Steve's rear wheel failed again.  I set him up with our spare and he was back in form in no time.  My second hustle challenge was finding Greg who had a flat just after the first SAG...but I was all the way to the front about 13 miles from him.  I finally found him and got him back in the fold before lunch.  And finally, I was just getting to the second SAG when I kept getting voice mails...I kept getting the beep that I had another message, but I had no service to call and hear them.  Anytime I'm getting voice mails out here, it can't be good so I started moving up through the group.  But first I looked up the number that was calling and found it to be Scott.  When I went by the SAG I asked how long he had been gone...about a half hour.  He should be about 8 miles ahead so I pressed forward.  When I found him, he was with Bill and standing over a dead bike.  He had dropped his chain and bent his derailleur hanger into a pretzel.  I had to untangle his derailleur out of his spokes and bend it back to something useable.  It took me about 10 minutes to get it straight, get his limits set, and back to shifting smooth as silk...like new.  I personally don't know what I'm going to do with the hour a day I'm usually working on his broken stuff.  I may take up knitting.

Being in the van, I set up about half way up the second climb to encourage the riders as they struggled up the pitch.  It was a tough climb but I think everyone felt a great sense of accomplishment when they got to the top...whether they rode up or walked.  The people who decided to walk were having as much trouble pushing their heavy bikes up the slope as they did riding.  There was an awful lot of heavy breathing going on as I watched them ride by.  At one point, I was standing at the top taking photos when I heard a steady "Huh, huh, huh, huh" at the familiar cadence of about 34 a minute.  It was Bill (right) coming up the steepest part of the slope panting so hard that I could hear him a hundred yards away.  I told the rest of the riders they may want to stagger their arrival to the top because they were breathing so hard if they all got there at the same time, there wouldn't be enough oxygen in their immediate vicinity for them all to breathe.

I am always amazed at how much stronger everybody has become since we left the west coast.  I would say that most of these people wouldn't have been able to climb the second major climb today when we started this ride.  Now they have legs of steel and lungs to match.  It's been fun to watch them get stronger throughout the ride. 

They got through the toughest part of the route with flying colors today.  We've come across the country and ridden on just about all kinds of terrain and conditions...flat open spaces, tough mountain passes, headwinds, tailwinds, rain, shine, humidity, and through construction.  Today is the type of day they will remember when they talk to their friends when they get home.  They won't remember where they were when they were on flat ground with nice conditions.  They will remember the tough days as the ones that developed the character of the ride and gave them the most sense of accomplishment.  I know the days I remember from my crossings are the ones that made me uncomfortable or made me dig deep to finish the day.  It takes all kinds of days to make a trip, but the "character building" days are the ones that make the person and make you remember the journey.

Tonight's activities included our final dinner together as a group.  After dinner, we gave everyone time to express their feelings about the ride and what they got from their experiences.  As the riders began to speak, emotions were high as some used humor while others were more introspective to express their feelings for each other and how they felt about their accomplishment.  Each thanked the staff in their own way for the support during the last 51 days and stories were revealed to the group concerning friendships, roommate idiosyncrasies, and little items of interest that made us laugh as we tried to put them into context.  The Clydesdales had a skit about their new names and sponsor (Flomax) which was enjoyed by all and the staff presented a couple recognitions to include the flat king and runner up plus the progress map to Joe.  It was a fun evening.

Everyone had a different reason for doing this ride and I'm sure there were times they all questioned their sanity for even thinking about doing such a thing.  But now that it is nearing an end, they all can be proud of their accomplishment.  I told them on day 1 they would stretch their comfort zone beyond their imagination and they did that.  They endured heat, cold, rain, traffic, and headwinds all across the nation.  They rode in conditions, that if they were at home, they wouldn't even think about getting on their bike.  It's amazing what we'll do when we have to ride to our next meal. They have joined the elite fraternity of riders that have crossed the US on a bicycle...I salute them all for their grit, good nature, and final success.

My final thoughts of the evening were for Mary and Herb who were unable to finish with us after their injuries.  I've heard from them both and they are doing well and are on the mend.  Even though they could not be with us in person, they surely were with us in spirit and I'm sure they will finish their dream of crossing the US on a bicycle on another occasion.  But for us, tomorrow we press on to the finish.  I reminded everyone we were not through with our journey yet and to stay focused for another day.  I also reminded them to savor the day and to take their time to enjoy the the last miles of their incredible journey.  After tomorrow, they will be getting back to their "regular" lives and this adventure will be over, but tonight we rest for our last assault on our destination.  Check back and share in our jubilation.   See you then.    

DAILY DISCERNING DIALOGUE:

"I'm glad I live in the flat part of NH."

"That was a bit of a bump, wasn't it?"   David as he topped the brutal second climb.

"Mike, I thought you said there were hills around here...where are they?"  Scott climbing the same hill.  But he was so glad to still have the same air in his tires that he started with this morning, he didn't even notice the terrain.

"When I got to the top, the riders before me had already sucked in all the oxygen in the area...I could hardly breathe!"

"I thought I'd go in my lowest gear...darn, I was already in it!"     

"Anyone see a yard sale?  I have a bike that would go cheap."      

"I scraped my nose on that hill before I fell over backwards." 

"I'd like to ride another week."

"Next time I ride across a country, I'm selecting Liechtenstein."

 "If that Joe English guy isn't dead, I'd like to kill him!" (Someone while climbing Joe English hill near the end of the day)

DAILY DUH: Alan was getting close to the motel and when he saw Barb, he decided to lighten his bike for the remaining hills.  He gave Barbara his tool pack that contained his cell phone and his extra tube.  "I haven't had a flat in weeks," He thought.  Guess what, between there and the motel, he had 2. 

Clarence and Johnny are both from Alabama...and both have a great sense of humor.  Clarence has been wearing Auburn jerseys the entire ride and today Johnny wore an Auburn jersey for the first time that he bought just to pimp Clarence.  Clarence passed Johnny on the hills leading to the first SAG and at the SAG, Johnny strutted around for several minutes making sure to pass by Clarence several times.  Finally, Johnny said he'd better get down the road...Clarence followed shortly and passed him again.  By this writing, I don't think Clarence has noticed yet.  So much for a pimp...if the pimpee isn't paying attention.

DAILY DIGITAL DELIGHTS

"Give me a high five," said Linda.  "I didn't walk up that 15% hill."

Larry used a straw and a giant gulp glass to describe drafting behind Clarence.

Darryl and Scott fought a hard race for the "Most Flats" title. Scott edged Darryl 22-20.  Had it been a tie, I think the two broken wheels and 5 broken spokes would have put Scott over the edge.  Did I mention a bent derailleur hanger...oh, that has nothing to do with flats.

I never see Mike when he's taking photos.
   

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