Day 14 Forest,MS to Camden, MS

What is it like to ride an average of 170 miles everyday for 17 days? I don't know because I only ride from one sag stop to the next. About every 20 to 35 miles we get to stop and get treats. So I never start out the day thinking that I'm going to ride 170 miles. I just look at my Que sheet and look for an asterisk next to a mileage number, that means goodies for George!

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Each day we leave in three waves. Fastest first and slowest last, separated by only a minute for each group. I have spent all day with each group of riders so I have a pretty good overall view of what the Elite Pac Tour looks like from each vantage point.

I think that the fastest group and the slowest group have the strongest identities.

The slowest group is lead by Andrew Puddy from Australia, I also saw good leadership from Franz Neuert. These two riders are very strong. Andrew does an excellent job of setting a tempo which allows everyone in the group to finish within the time limits each day. He doesn't ask for help as he grinds out the most efficient pace each day. When your hurting (like I was on day 11) every acceleration or surge over a rolling hill saps your strength and a strong leader enforces a pace which doesn't hurt the weakest rider. (If your really down Andrew will give you snakes to eat, they work)

The fast group goes out most mornings and trys to make itself smaller. This is accomplished by riding just fast enough to hurt your weaker brother at a speed you can endure. Recently I hear that the pace has been fairly friendly until the first rest stop. At this point it is all about who is strong enough to give Mark Pattinson a run for it. Mark is a powerful and remarkably consistent ultra distance racer. My friend Peter Beeson, Charles Breer, Scott Macintosh, Vernon Smith, Scott Luikhart, Eric Hallam, Ed Pabst are consistently there at the finish. A real wild card is the very strong and independent Wayne Riley who motors along solo 95% of the time. He surely has the best power to weight ratio of any rider here but because he rarely drafts for any length of time he usually doesn't finish the day first.

The middle group is the most independent set of rides. Two cyclists, Harold Trease and Phil Holcomb are riding this qualifier for RAAM without drafting. They are strong so if you are riding in a middle group you will see them throughout the day as you pass and arepas sed by them. Many of the "middle" riders are there by choice and some days they will go play with the big dogs but most of the time they are following their own program. The word that best describes the middle is smart. I think of riders like Charles Combs, Kevin Kaiser, and Dan Fuoco, they are riding this tour on their terms.

I have only mentioned a few names and their are 40 riders still going which means I've left most people out. Sorry!

As for me I had great day on the bike. I did not ask Lon to wrap my ankle this morning because it felt fine, and guess what after a 172 miles it still feels great! The hands however have continued to deteriorate. I'm now typing the blog using two fingers on each hand. But I can still shift gears on the bike and in three days let the healing begin!

My friend Eric posted a really cool passage from Isiah in the comments section for yesterdays blog. I was going to type the verse tonight but now I don't have to, just check it out in the COMMENTS section. My sentiments exactly!

Day 13 Batesville, MS to Forest, MS

175 Miles today.

Lon taped up my ankle again this morning and I was good to go all day. The tape takes all the stress away from the achillies tendon. I can't walk very well but I sure can ride again.

We are in the heart of the South now,and I am amazed at how courteous most of the drivers have been. Almost all the trucks and cars give us the entire lane as they pass us and more than once the vehicles overtaking us seem perfectly willing to run the oncoming traffic right off the road. A big thumbs up to Arkansas and Mississippi drivers. Oklahoma drivers on the other hand confirmed most of my prejudices...

I saw a motorcycle and ATV dealership today and talked to the owner. He was happy to take my picture as I try to make this blog interesting for you all. His name is Jimmy Henry and if you want a 4-wheeler or cycle you should check out his dealership. He is getting in to riding bicycles and he owns a Trek. Boy that ATV seat felt comfortable but I guess their is no way to qualify for RAAM on a 4-wheeler.

Excellent support again from the PAC Tour staff and crew members as we deal with the heat and humidity.

So far so good. See you all tomorrow.

Day 12 Mena, AR to Batesville, MS

This morning was tough because I was afraid I might have to quit the ride. Overnight the Achilles tendon really began to hurt and this morning I looked ridiculous hobbling around. I could barely walk.

Pac Tour owner, Lon Haldeman, can fix anything. Before today's ride he taped up my ankle so that the tendon would not receive any pressure while pedaling. So today I focused on recovery. I sat in a very steady paceline and took it easy.

Today we rode the flattest terrain of the tour. The fields on each side of the river were very green. Soybeans looked good close to the river but no so good 30 miles east. The fields were wet but the plants didn't look so great.

I keep looking for a Case International tractor, but this is Deere country...Sorry Don G. Anyway enough about agriculture.

So I'm doing pretty well. The ride today convinced me that it will be possible to ride through this tendon thing. This evening Lon drilled out my shows and moved the cleats back about an inch. So I have been given some tools to deal with this problem.

I really appreciate all the help I have received. Pac Tour riders and staff have been great. The RAAM Qualifier dream continues.

Thanks again for checking the blog.

Day 11 Mena, AR to Pine Bluff, AR

Day 11 is complete and my RAAM qualifier status remains alive for another day.

Statistically today was an easy day. The trees sheltered us from the winds. The sky was overcast so we didn't get the full blast from the sun. The climbing was mostly rollers. No long sustained grinds. And the distance was only 175 miles.

For George however it was not an easy day. I feel great about getting on the bike and working but I am struggling with 2 out of three points of contact between my body and the bike. Numbness in my hands makes me clumsy (I'm dropping everything) and now my Achilles tendon in my right leg is causing all sorts of problems.

I'm not taking as many pictures right now because I'm afraid I will drop the camera. There were some great photo ops today... Anyway by the end of the day I figured out away to hold my camera and use my thumb to snap the picture. We will see how well that works tomorrow.

The cool thing about this trip is how hard we are rooting for each other to succeed. I was humbled today repeatedly by the number of acts of kindness that I received. It really made me think, am I this aware of other people's needs? I guess I better start working on this one right away.

Thanks also to those of you who send emails or leave comments on the blog it is appreciated.

I said good by to Tom Rosenbaurer this morning. Tom had ridden every inch of the tour until the 206 mile day 9 when he didn't make the time cut at the last sag stop (mile 188) He rode one more day but his heart was not in it. Work needs and a desire to be with his family became much more intense once the dream was gone.

This bike ride would be very hard to continue for me if I don't complete one of the days, so I can understand Tom's decision (especially since he has already crossed the country twice on a bike) Good luck Tom and I will see you on a Brevet ride this fall.

Also I would like to hear an update on Brad Haslam. I think about him and how he is doing after the accident. Please email me at george@rittenhousebuilders.com

*****for a video of the rain we road through on day 9 check out Vernon Smith's elite tour blog. It was impressive!

Day 10 Ada, OK to Mena, AR

Day 10

We are safe and sound after a challenging day. We rode a 120 mile warm up and then finished off with a 54 mile climbing fest on the Talemina parkway. Total mileage 174 miles.

The humidity was close to 100% all day with temps in the 90s. We were cooled off by an awesome thunderstorm that lasted about an hour. I was never on top of a mountian for a thunderstorm, what a rush! The temps dropped from 91 degrees to 63 degrees in about 15 minutes. Some of the riders reported hail but I think it was just a really hard rain. I experienced a severe loss of breaking power on the 15% descents but otherwise it was okay.

New sensation today. I have a numbness in my hands from riding bike all day. This morning I lost the ability to upshift my gears because I didn't have the strength in my fingers. I dropped out of the group and rode by myself in the aerobars for a while so that I didn't have to work the brakes. Other than that I am holding up pretty well.

Day 10 and the RAAM qualifier dream is alive.

No Internet at the hotel this evening. This blog brought to you by mcdonalds.

Day 9 Sayre, OK to Ada, OK

Day 9

I told my wife and friends that if I make it through the desert heat I can complete this tour without taking a ride in the sag wagon. I am an idiot!

A few posts ago I used the word cruel to describe cycling. Today was cruel.

Brad Haslam crashed out very close to the halfway point today. Brad met every time cut and his RAAM qualifer status was good. Through no fault of his own he ran over a rider who had crashed in front of him. Brad fractured his knee cap so he is out of the ride. All that time and effort...poof! We will miss you.

I was on riding on empty today at 40 miles, too bad because I still had 166 miles to go. Phil Ligget talks about cyclists reaching into their suit case of courage when they are having a tough day. All I had was a little hand purse of courage and it only had a few candy wrappers in it.

Better than courage I have friends here and I am embarrased at how many times Ed P. pulled me back up to the group, or that Dan F. sat up and waited, or Jeff L. looked over his shoulder and paused. However I'm looking on the bright side and the average age of these three guys is 57, so maybe I will get better when I grow up.

Tough day but after 206 miles today the RAAM qualifer status is still good.

See you tommorrow at the end of 11,000 feet of climbing!