Day 17 Dublin, GA to Tybee Island

San Diego to Tybee Island and every mile in between. George is qualified for solo RAAM!

I don't have the ability to convey the emotions I felt as we completed the last few miles.

The idea of this trip for me began in March of '06. I signed up as soon as it was offered and I have been actively thinking about or training for it for 7 months. What I am saying is, this cross country adventure was very important to me. I wanted the RAAM qualification and I wanted to find out if I was a good cyclist.

This adventure answered some questions and provoked a few more. The last few miles brought a sense of accomplishment and sadness. Now What?

I will post an epilouge next week.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

George completed his ride today. He arrived at his final destination point safely and is returning home on Wednesday. He will catch us all up to speed on the last leg of his journey from the comfort of home.

Way To Go, George!

Day 16 Eufaulo, AL to Dublin, GA

What a vacation! For 16 days the real world has been held at bay. I haven't been to work, seen my family, or went to Church. My biggest responsibility each day is to get my bag packed and loaded into the Pac Tour trailer within a 10 minute time slot.

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I'm looking forward to returning to the real world again because I miss my family. I was talking to Lon this evening and he mentioned that many cyclists will experience a bit of depression once they go home, because of the loss of focus. (Our time is very regimented on tour) I think I will be so busy when I go home that this will not be a problem for me but we will see. I'm very excited because we have special guests visiting our family in just a few weeks.

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So yes we rode bike today. The rolling hills of western Georgia gave way to flat terrain. Today we kept moving if at all possible. Not because we where feeling sporty but because the gnats here will eat you alive. I had two flats today and I spent as much time trying to beat the gnats away as changing the flat. Thanks to Scott on flat #2 he found the problem and made the change for me.

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It was a great day to be on the bike, good riding buddies, no rain, and no crashes.

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Tomorrow's blog. I will post a short note at the end of the day and then post a wrap up over the upcoming weekend. Thank you for your comments and encouragement. Day 16 ends and the RAAM qualifier dream remains alive!

Day 15 Camden, AL to Eufaulo, AL

Wow! Day 15 is in the can, and we have just two days to go. It is hard to believe that just two weeks ago we were in San Diego, CA. At that time I knew about three people on this ride. After an intense two weeks we recognize each other in the distance solely by how we pedal the bike.

I know who is a masher and who is a spinner. Some guys ride a little lopsided. We know who we can ride with comfortably and who will drive us nuts.

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Me...I love to ride stupid. I'm happy to charge up a hill and sprint over the top regardless of the consequences for later in the day. Fortunately I have curtailed that habit pretty well (I know some would disagree!) for this trip. But this is how a lot of bigger guys ride. I know I will have a good day if I can ride with Charlie Combs at least till lunch. Charlie is an excellent rider who always rides within himself and this helps me behave so that I can ride stupid at the end of the day.

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I have definitely learned a lot from the other cyclists on this trip.

The three H's sum up Day 15 for me. Hazy, Hot, and Humid but what did we expect riding through Alabama in June? It was weary 152 miles today mostly due to the three H's.

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Dr. Lon definitely knows how to fix stuff. Day 2 without taping the ankle and the Achilles tendon is fine. I need to post pictures in the next day or so on the moving of the cleats. Moving the cleats is the long term solution to the Achilles problem (i think)

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See you tomorrow