2013 Elite Pactour final thoughts

As I rode the last few days of this trip, my mind began to turn toward all the people that helped me get to the start line and then provided encouragement along the way. I was amazed at just how many people were involved in helping me cross the country on two wheels. I reflected on the fact that accomplishments that we think of as solo events, like swimming the English Channel or sailing solo around the world, are not solo events. They all have huge amounts of help in planning and support before and during the event. This event was no different. There are many people that helped me in numerous ways to make this trip a success.

The first thanks goes to Michele and Kate. They have always supported and encouraged my crazy adventures and made sure that I had the training time I needed to get ready for this one. They were right there at the beach yesterday on Tybee Island as they should have been, as they are part of the team. Thanks to both of you for "getting" me and helping me to succeed.

The next thanks goes to my mom and dad. I was always "a little different from the other kids" and instead of trying to change me, they encouraged me to be different and pursue what I wanted, and not necessarily what others expected of me. So instead of fitting the mold, I've always been comfortable doing unusual and challenging things and I give them great credit for instilling that spirit in me. It has led to an incredibly happy and fulfilled life.

Thanks go to my brother Greg, wife Andrea, and niece Sophie and nephew Luke. They were kind enough to call me in Socorro, New Mexico and what a great pick up that was. Knowing you guys were following me and pulling for me meant the world to me. Greg, the only thing that could have made the trip better would have been to have had you riding beside me across the country. Maybe someday it can happen.

To my Aunt Ann, thank you for following me across the country. I appreciate the kind comments on the blog and it was great to know you were pulling for me.

Uncle Dave, I thought about you a lot the day we rode from Socorro to Roswell. I knew you were stationed in the area back in the day with the military and I knew I was in places you had been years before. Thanks for following me across the country.

David Hayes, thanks for your nice comments on the photos and blog as I went coast to coast. As you are a fellow adventurer, you could relate to the many challenges facing me on my ride. Thanks for the encouragement and I look forward to doing the same for you on your next adventure.

To my roommate, Steve Reed, it was a great pleasure getting to know you and room with you. You had a tough time early on and I want to congratulate you on your perseverance in finishing the trip strong. A lesser person would have bagged the trip. I look forward to seeing you again in a few weeks when you come through Indiana while crewing for Race Across America. That team is lucky to have you on their side.

And, Ethan Thorman, my former Pactour roommate, you saved me from the heat my friend. The tips you gave me to deal with the heat allowed me to survive the Mojave Desert and live to fight another day. I'm eagerly awaiting the day we are on another Pactour together.

Thanks to Tim and Julie Perkins for their thoughts and prayers along the way. Knowing you were pulling for me meant the world to me. You are ready to finish a journey of your own in about a week and I'm proud of you. I'm looking forward to seeing you up there on that stage.

Thanks to my fellow 2013 Elite riders. What a great bunch of people. I don't think I've ever seen so many type A personality/hyper achieving people in one place. I loved the friendly competition and the camaraderie across the country. I expect and hope to ride with many of you again.

I would certainly be remiss in not thanking the Pactour crew, Lon, Susan, Doug, Dave, Bill, Tracey, Debbie, Lynn Anne, Brad, and Paul. I would not have ridden across the country without them. There are so many logistical parts of a trip like this that they take care of. It is not an exaggeration to say that all I needed to do was ride my bike and they did the rest. They were all so positive and so helpful every day that you couldn't help wanting to ride better and succeed. Thank you guys for a wonderful trip. Let's do it again soon.

I've had several people ask me if I would do this trip again. My answer is ask me again in a month. I don't know that I would do this route again but there is another Elite route that starts in San Diego and then goes across the country further north, through southern Colorado and Kansas, finishing in Virginia. That would be too tempting to pass up I think. The Ridge of the Rockies from Kalispell, Montana to Albuquerque, New Mexico is on my to-do list as is the Pacific Crest from Washington State to Reno, Nevada. So when those trips happen, I'll be back here blogging again. Hope you've enjoyed the trip as it happened through my eyes as much as I enjoyed telling the story.

Day 17 - Dublin Georgia to Tybee Island

The final day is done and we arrived on Tybee Island about 4 this afternoon. It was both a relief and exciting at the same time. The riding today was flat and windy and the traffic was bad as we got close to Savannah. The road from Savannah to Tybee Island was also busy so it was nice to get off the roads today. We all met a few miles from the hotel this afternoon and rode in all together and then walked down to the water for pictures. What an exciting accomplishment!

The last 6 days have been a challenge because once I got to Mena Arkansas I knew I was going to finish. It's hard to explain but I lost some of my motivation at that point. Once you know you can do it, you have nothing to prove. So the last few days have been going through the motions except for today, when I was excited to be on the bike again.

At the finish I was as happy for many of the other riders as I was for myself. People like Brad Haslam of New Mexico are an example. Brad started the Elite in 2007, was involved in an accident during the trip and could not finish. Six years later he came back to try to finish and today he got it done. He was so happy and relieved and I was happy and relieved for him. It's really neat to see people accomplish huge goals in the face of adversity. There are many other stories of riders overcoming large odds to finish this trip.

I have a few final thoughts that I will compile and post tomorrow. I have a lot of thank you's and kudos to those that helped make this possible. I'll make that post to the blog tomorrow evening.

After 17 days of riding across America, we are finally at the Atlantic Ocean

Following the van down the homestretch to the beach

The turtle welcomes us to Tybee Island

Now we're almost there

Looking north off one of the bridges getting close to Tybee Island

One of the many bridges to cross between Savannah and Tybee Island

Steve, Clay and Rob heading for saltwater

Rob clicking off the miles to the ocean

The last Pactour sunrise of this trip

Day 16 - Eufaula Alabama to Dublin Georgia

Today was an uneventful 160 mile ride across part of southern Georgia. The first 40 miles were hilly followed by slightly rolling hills. Maybe it was the fact that it was Memorial Day, but there was very little traffic anywhere. Except for the fact that it got a little hot, it was pleasant riding. It was odd thinking that this is the last time we'll be checking in to a hotel on the road before we get to Tybee Island.

To me, the last sixteen days have felt like at least that many days because it has been such a challenge. So while the days have been incredibly busy, they have not flown by. But I have loved the challenge and a challenge it has been.

Tomorrow we ride the final 140 miles to the Atlantic Ocean. Wow, the prospect of finally finishing is overwhelming right now. The finality of it is starting to hit me now and will really settle in starting with breakfast in the morning. I think tomorrow will be one of very mixed emotions - we shall see.

It was so hot today in Georgia that Pactour rented a sprinkler and set it up to spray us as we rode by

Scott, Brett and John are loving today's riding

Lots of smooth roads in southern Georgia

Stewart County Courthouse in Lumpkin Georgia

Typical small town Georgia

Sunrise over Walter George Reservoir

Walter George Reservoir which is the border between Alabama and Georgia at Eufaula

Welcome to Georgia!

Day 15 - Camden Alabama to Eufaula Alabama

We've reached the point where 154 mile days like today are almost easy. Notice I said almost. It's still a lot of riding but compared to the days at or near 200 miles, it's much more manageable. I find 150 miles to be the most I can do with ease. Anything over that distance is too much time on the bike and on a multi-day trip like this, an 11 or 12 hour day doesn't allow enough recovery time for the next day.

I really like it here in Alabama. It's a more rural version of southern Indiana. There is certainly poverty here as in any other place but many of the small towns are quite nice. The town of Pine Apple in particular is very nice. It's hillier here than I had anticipated. I've not seen big hills but lots and lots of gentle rolling hills. The people here are nice as well with several of them asking us where we had come from and where we are going.

With only two days to go, I think the consensus is most of us are ready to wrap up the trip. Two weeks is a long time to eat breakfast in hotel parking lots and dinner in whatever restaurant you can find within walking distance each evening. It's time to return to normal life.

We start the first of two days crossing Georgia tomorrow. The day is 160 miles with some rolling hills early and then flattening out in the afternoon.

Eufaula Lake on the outskirts of Eufaula

A field of gold about 20 miles from Eufaula

I wonder what happened to the old waitress and cook? File this under "signs that raise more questions than they answer"

Riding down smooth Alabama roads in the cool morning

An old abandoned house along the roadside

Another old house in Pine Apple

A neat old house in Pine Apple Alabama

Day 14 -

Today was the second longest mileage day of the whole trip at 196. It was a long day but I really felt pretty good. The first 50 miles were tough but by around 80 or 90 miles I started feeling good and by mile 130 I felt the best I have the whole trip. I'm not really sure why I recovered throughout the day but the more I rode, the stronger I got. I rode the whole day with Mark, Brett and Scott. Our abilities are pretty evenly matched so we make a good team. Anything though beats riding by yourself all day, although there are people here who do ride alone. The people who ride alone do so for a variety of reasons. Some of the riders are afraid of getting in to an accident with other riders(it does happen) and some want to test themselves to see if they can do the trip solo. For me, what we are attempting to do is hard enough without doing things to make it tougher. If riding with others makes my odds of finishing higher, that's what I'm going to do. But, everyone has their own goals and methods and that's what makes it interesting.

Tomorrow we start the first of the last three days of the trip, which are characterized by shorter mileage days. At a mere 154 miles, tomorrow's ride to Eufaula Alabama should be relatively easy as far as Pactour Elite goes.

Crossing the Alabama River about 10 miles before Camden

Lunch is settled and Mark is part of our foursome headed for Camden

Brett is following Scott heading for Camden

Now in Alabama, the roads are smooth and the cycling is good

Scott enjoying the afternoon ride

Leaving an old country store by the railroad tracks in Mississippi just about 7 miles from the Alabama state line

Empty, smooth roads, a cyclists dream

Sun slowly rising over the Mississippi countryside

Nice tree lined roads to ride on

Sunrise leaving Kosciusko this morning

Day 13 - Monticello Arkansas to Kosciusko Mississippi

What a difference a day makes. While today's 188 miles was very difficult, compared to yesterday being by myself almost all day and having the two flat tires, it was much easier. We crossed a major milestone in any trip across America, the Mississippi River. Not long after crossing the river, we passed the 2,000 mile mark of the trip as well. So it was a day of important milestones in our journey. I rode with Mark, John, Scott, and Brett all day. The five of us working together made a really long day manageable by working together. Several of us in this group of five commented today that riding 2000 miles in 13 days has led to a level of fatigue that is constantly with us and probably will be until we reach Tybee Island. I've even noticed that my toes are getting numb from being in tight cycling shoes and constantly being slammed against the toe of the shoe every time I go over a bump. I've also noticed my fingertips are starting to go numb from the constant vibration of the handlebars for 10-12 hours per day. The only way to fix this stuff is to stop riding and we aren't ready to do that quite yet.

Pactour had a nice surprise for us today, milkshakes at lunch. Wow, did those taste good on a hot day. Susan and the rest of the crew are good at coming up with things to make the day better.

Tomorrow is another really long day of 196 miles to Camden Alabama. It is the last of the really long days. From there on out, the days are more in the 150 mile range.

And it keeps going and right about here we are now in Mississippi

Very long bridge with massive approaches at each end

Paul hitchhiked up here so he could take a picture of each of us crossing

And here comes the Pactour van making its own river crossing

Taking my picture as I take their picture

Looking south toward New Orleans downriver

We followed this huge lake for miles

A major landmark on any coast to coast trip

Huge lake in Arkansas right before we got to the Mississippi River

Looks a lot like Indiana

Making good time on smooth roads

Leaving Monticello at dawn this morning

Day 12 - Mena Arkansas to Monticello Arkansas

Ever feel like someone knocked you to the floor and then kicked you hard about ten times? Ever felt that way and then been told you have to ride a bike 184 miles? That's kind of how today was. The morning started off badly when I got two flat tires in the first 30 miles. Finally figured out there was a very small, very sharp piece of flint embedded in the tire that was causing the punctures. So I wasted an hour on that fiasco. Then just the cumulative beating to the body of the last 11 days added to that made for a tough day. In talking to some of the other riders, others are having fatigue issues as well. Part of it is lack of recovery time. If you have a 12 hour day on the road, by the time you shower, eat, blog and lay stuff out for the next day, you barely have eight hours for sleep, and that's assuming you can get right to sleep. I had a couple of nights early in the trip with just 3 or 4 hours because I couldn't get to sleep and that may be having a cumulative effect. I rode most of the day on my own today because I wanted to just ride my own pace so I'm hoping tomorrow goes better. The next five days could be really long days.

Tomorrow is 189 miles, pretty flat, but that's still easily a 12 hour day again. In another sign of eastward progress, we will be crossing the Mississippi River. That sounds like a good photo opportunity.

Not as hilly as yesterday but still plenty of climbing

It's an Army Corps reservoir and here is the area below the dam

This is called Degray Lake and it is in the middle of nowhere

I'm not sure if this is a Christmas tree farm gone to seed or if the trees just naturally grow like this up on this ridgetop