What is Broasted?

Went to a Bob Evans for dinner last night. I was hungry (Big surprise there, hmmm?) I ordered the half chicken plate, with baked sweet potato, and corn. Since we've been eating at chain restaurants, my expectations were on the low side as to how well I'd like the meal. It was the most succulent chicken I've ever had in my life. I don't know what "Broasted" means but whatever it is I have to tell you it must mean crispy outside and juicy and succulent inside - even the breast piece. It  was absolutely incredible.

We were a group of anxious souls this morning. Weather had 60% chance of rain and we had a long 103 miles to travel in hot and humid conditions. Somehow, despite the sweltering humidity, the sun stayed behind high clouds until about noon, when it decided to poke through. Luckily, the wind was at our backs, and despite the temps (I was reading between 92 and 96 degrees) the ride was less of a monster than it could have been.

We crossed into Ohio within just a couple miles from our departure time. After sprinkling our Pacific sand at the base of the state line sign and taking some quick snaps, we were on our way. Had a great time hanging with the "New Italians" for a spell. We picked up two new (strong) riders in Champaign, IL. They were in a group with some of the original Italians who defected to an earlier departure time. Because we had the wind at our backs, we traveled a good couple dozen miles at rather zippy pace (19 + mph).

After a spell we ran into a former riding buddy who had chain issues similar to my issue yesterday. We stopped to give a hand and steady the bike. The chain was eventually wrestled free but we ended up flagging down the SAG van for additional help as we had loosened the front dérailleur.

At that point I continued on paired with anothe rider and we cruised at a good but comfortable clip to the next SAG stop and on to a local ice cream shop just 6 miles from tonight's hotel. What was feared to be a grueling day, turned only to be a hard but satisfying ride. I had an awesome day. Glad it's over - another Century on the books - but tomorrow will probably be the zinger of the week. It's another 98 miler but with a lot of sharp hills in the last 20 miles.. Hot and humid weather will continue. There had better be ice cream or Broasted Chicken.

Bikes lined up before ride. They don't look very antsy to get out there today. 

Sprinkle sand, take the glamor shot, and move it along. Another 100 miles still to go.

What a perfect hang out on a hot and muggy day like today. 

Back on the chain gang.....

There's a guy on a lawn mower mowing this massive lawn.

I believe this is downtown Saint Paris. Stopped here to grab a V8. Great fuel on a day like today..

My two constant companions. My bike and my ice cream.

Life in slow motion.

The day began like most others: Up with the chickens, bring bike to lobby, chow down at breakfast buffet (usual oatmeal, eggs, sausage, banana, yogurt, and toasted bagel with pb&j), run back upstairs to dress and bring bags down to load onto truck. Same old same old. Ah, but today, we had to take a left hand turn immediately out of the hotel onto a busy thoroughfare so we were assigned to smaller squadrons with staggered departure times to help keep us from bunching up along the highway.

Five of us left first. Cool. Headstart! Being another ghastly humid day with temps expected to hit near 90, I was glad to get out there just a little before 7:00. Within the first couple of miles we had two sharp descents/ascents (@ 10% grade) that crossed intersections at the trough. First one negotiated without a problem. Had a green light at bottom so we just sailed through. Problem developed at second hill.

We had to stop for a red light at the bottom of that second hill. We then had to start climbing from that stop up another jaunty 10 per-center. About mid way up the hill I realized I could use just a little more gear, so I decided to shift my front dérailleur from the middle ring to the small ring. I didn't lighten up on the tension, so when I shifted the chain jumped off the small ring and jammed in between the crank and frame. Uh, oh.

My pedals we're going nowhere. In the next few seconds time expanded into an eternity. I knew I was going to get acquainted with the pavement real soon. I had time to think about whether I would fall to the left, traffic side, or to the right, on my dérailleur. I surely didn't want to fall and possibly damage my shifting mechanism by falling on the left, but falling on the other side was equally unappealing.

I struggled to disengage from my pedals but no dice. I couldn't get either leg down to clip out. As the bike slowly rolled to a complete stop I was getting impatient to get the event over with. Of course it would be embarrassing and I'd be sure to hear about it from my good friends at dinner or at the next SAG. Ah, here it comes. I'm falling traffic side. Good. No damage to dérailleurs...

Alright. It wasn't a bad slam. Noggin is OK, elbow seems OK. But there I was on my side in the traffic lane and I was still clipped into my pedals. Hmmm. Not a good outcome after all. My buddy up ahead told me later he was wondering if he should take a picture before any car hit me so he could explain the preceding events to the coroner. I like his quick thinking. It made me laugh.

Lying there, I felt like I had just been in a skiing tumble and had to figure out how to extricate myself
from my skis and the snow bank. Again, time expanded. Realizing I just had to get out of the situation, I tried to scoot over to the side of the road but my butt could find no purchase being still attached to the bike by my feet.  "OK adrenaline.  You're up". I somehow willed my feet to twist in an unnatural manner and "click, click" I was set free. I scrambled up and pulled the bike to the side of the road just in time to wave on the next few squadrons of bikers flying by trying to hide my embarrassment.

My photojournalist friend came over and helped me steady my bike while I wrestled the chain free and got it back onto the gears. The whole incident from "Houston, we have a problem" to "All cleared for takeoff" was maybe a 12 minute adventure.

Very lucky man am I.

The remainder of day was hot, hot, hot, humid, humid, humid, useful for picture taking, snack shack visits, and oh, yeah, another DQ. The final couple miles into Richmond were tree lined streets, with stately homes, and a local college.

The next two days we will be crossing into Ohio and riding 200 miles. The elevation is also going to pick up considerably. We'll get our last rest day before the final push to the Atlantic on Thursday.  I can't quite articulate yet what knowing that there's 13 more cycling days means to me. I'll save that for later as I need to concentrate on the immediate days ahead.

Good bag placement at start of ride today...

Barn with no sides

Fresh hay...

Vitamins...

Some Old Timers

The Road to Indy

Each day usually starts about 4:45. After morning shave, and setting out gear for the day, I usually bring bike down to lobby around 6:00, pump up tires and then have breakfast at the hotel buffet.

Breakfast usually consists of oatmeal with raisins and nuts, a banana, some scrambled eggs and sausage, yogurt, and some juice. I usually toast a bagel and spread it with peanut butter and jelly, then pack it for a snack later in the day. After breakfast, I head back upstairs and get dressed in biking wear and bring my bags down to the truck.

Once bags are loaded onto truck and we sign out on the log, we're ready to head out on the ride for the day. There's usually one our two tour supported stops to refill Gatorade or water in our bottles or hydration packs.  We're also provided with fruit or sandwiches and a selection of energy bars, power gels, and chews.  

Today is the start of the tractor and Strawberry festival in Crawfordsville, IN. 

Random shots along road to Indianapolis. 

We managed to escape big downpour by about 5 minutes. Three of us had stopped for a sub after it started to sprinkle about 6 miles out. While we ate, the sprinkles stopped but the skies got darker. We flew the remaining distance back to the hotel just to see the clouds dump the rain as we checked in.

Once checked in, it's time to clean bike, wash clothes, shower, write blog, and rest (?) before the Route Rap review of tomorrow's ride. Then it's off to dinner with the group. Tonight it's going to be Thai food. 

Indiana. Like Illinois. Corn Hot Humid.

Today was decorate your helmet day.  We started the day with usual breakfast then as we got ready to set out, the big reveal of the helmets unfolded. A lot of laughs. Some very clever renditions, many colorful creations, and some open to interpretation. But a good time before we headed out on what was to be a quite hot and humid 80 mile ride.

Although the the scenery was more of the same from previous days, keeping hydrated and cool meant we took many stops for V8, chocolate milk, Ice Cream, and a visit to Subway to soak up some AC and sandwiches.  95 degrees is manageable if you do it smart.

Crossed into Indiana and our final time zone change to Eastern Time. It's been a little awkward for me trying to figure out TV schedules or what day of the week it is. Now that I'm on my Home Time Zone, it should be easier to feel connected to the world. But that's just me.

Really looking forward to getting to NY state and traveling through New England. It should be beautiful. Not just because it will feel like home (and it will), but I'm looking forward to tree lined roads and more challenging rides. I can't believe I'm thinking that.

How many states? Eight state line crossings. Nine states including California. 

Don't see planes parked on front lawns in my home town. But this is Indiana.

Just a couple old pictures from tour so far

Corn, Corn, Soybeans, and Corn

Number one state for corn? Iowa. Number four state is Illinois. But number one state producer for Soybeans? Illinois. I believe it.  Riding along with a buddy today we thought a Jim Morrison theme for our blogs would be something on the lines of Riders on the Storm

Riding through the Corn
Riding through the Corn
Into this ride we're born
Into this ride were thrown
Riding through the Corn...

Endless fields across the horizon of nothing but corn and occasionally soybeans. Phone's camera just doesn't capture scale of the agricultural enterprise.  
Although a solid 87 miles of relatively flat terraine it was horribly hot and humid. 
To get through the day, I kept my stops fairly short and didn't take many snaps other than at the SAG areas. Knowing that tomorrow is a rest day, each mile seemed hard won.  

Mary Jo, one of our riders who signed on for a short stage, will end her ride here in Champaign. She arraigned for her husband, Don, to meet us at the hotel with a couple dozen pints of ice cream. What a generous gesture.  Still another surprise, a rider who did the tour in 2001 showed up to meet us with a cooler full of beer. After the heat along the road today, this couldn't have been a better way to top off the day.


Tomorrow is decorate your helmet day.  Need to figure out something tasteful then go shopping for supplies. 

SAG stop at the Chestnut Grain Elevator.

Bob and Peter arrive at SAG Stop.

Others stopping for water / Gels

Oingo Boingo "Nothing Lasts Forever"

Interesting how the social interactions morph over time in a group of people thrown together and traveling overland by bike. Our days are fairly rigid with preparing for riding, packing bags, eating, loading bags onto truck, hitting the road for between 6 and 10 hours depending on weather, mechanical issues and miles covered each day.

Post ride, it's about getting recovery nutrition, cleaning/maintaining bike, showering, laundering bike clothes, calling home, attending nightly meeting to review next day's ride followed by dinner, updating blog and lights out.

What's interesting is how our group ride pairings are evolving. As we spend more time riding, many of us are improving our skills, some are getting stronger, others are changing riding priorities (more stops for pictures, local interactions). As a result there are slight changes in who rides with whom. But it's not that rigid as day to day, depending on an individual's fondness for hills or flats or ability to handle heat and humidity vs wind conditions, all these can alter one's enthusiasm or preferred riding preference i.e. with group or going solo for part or all of a given day.

I find my energy levels pretty much dictate who I ride with on a given day. What's nice about the group here is that it's big enough to shift from one group to another or just hang solo for part of a day and pick up with another set of riders later in the day.

Today's ride (107 miles to Springfield, Il from Quincy) was another special day. Lots and lots of cornfields. Sign for "Tractor Cruise"... Conjures up a strange mental picture...

After the wicked hot day yesterday, the violent storms that blew threw overnight really brought down the humidity and the hot winds were replaced by cool tail winds most of the day. We covered the Century ride in remarkable time arriving at the hotel around 2:30 despite two scheduled SAG stops, an unscheduled break for cheeseburgers, and several small stops to greet some folks who came out to cheer on on of the riders who is local to Springfield, Il. The tail winds made traveling slick. The perceived effort was about 12-14 MPH, but the actual speed was more like 19-22 MPH. My kind of day.

Ted, Beth (mark's wife) Bob, Peter, Joanne, Robin, Cynthia, Craig at 2nd SAG this afternoon

 Peter, Cynthia, and JoAnn. 

The big truck and one of two support van's