Day 26, 26 Days to Go, McPherson, KS, 62 miles

Kansas is starting to green up a little, trees are a regular part of the landscape, and there is enough humidity to produce a faint glistening on my arm. The oil rigs (see picture) dot the landscape every mile or so. There are usually one or two 50 gallon drums next to the rig, so they can’t be pumping much oil. But at $100/barrel, it has to be worth it for the farmer.

A day in the life: In the absence of anything exciting today, here’s a small glimpse into my daily routine - and it has become pretty much of a routine. The early morning can go either way, breakfast than load, or load and than breakfast. I like breakfast first because it gives me more of a chance to remember anything I need from my luggage. If we load first and I remember something I need, I’m s.o.l. Breakfast varies. Holiday Inn Express puts out a pretty nice spread of scrambled eggs, bacon, biscuits with gravy, pastry, cold cereal, hot oatmeal, juices and fresh fruit. On the other end, some generic budget hotels (which remain nameless to avoid litigation) put out a carton of milk, a box of cereal, some day old bread, and a toaster. In this case, ABB provides other options like Denny’s, Perkins, or Patio Pancake Palace (referred to earlier). Take out the bike first, or take out the luggage first? That’s another variable. I always take out the bike first, again because it give me one last chance to take something from the luggage. “Load.” That’s why we call it “load.” We load the luggage into the trailer, sign in on the roster (so no one gets lost behind), pump up our tires to 110 or 120 psi, and ride away. Note that we pack and unpack 47 times during the trip. I’ve gotten pretty good at it.

Riders sort themselves out in the first few miles, by ability, by friendship, by complimentary jersey colors, or whatever. We ride. Recently the navigation has been so simple that not even I can get lost. Cue sheet:” turn out of hotel onto US 50E, ride XX miles, get off US 50E and turn into hotel”. Little towns that have food or facilities, warnings to cross rail road tracks, and the location of SAG stops are noted.

SAG stops occur once or twice a day, depending on the length of the ride. The big ABB van is at a state rest stop, a gas station “with facilities” or just pulled off on the side of the road where there are a few bushes. We sign in on the roster, take off our gloves, sanitize our hands, fill our water bottles and nosh on bananas, oranges, peanut butter cracker sandwiches, granola bars, fig newtons, salty snacks like chips of cheetos, or sometime special treats like rice crispy treats, cookies from home, or fresh shrimp cocktail (just kidding). There’s also a chance camaraderie and discuss how really strong we’re riding (when the wind is at our back) or how the ________ (fill in the blank: wind, hills, bad roads, heat) are horrible and make me wonder why I paid good money to do this. Then it’s more riding.

The next big question is “To lunch or not too lunch?” Early in the trip we’d find some nice local café and chow down on a mega-burger, jumbo mocha late shake, and a brownie. It takes lots of fuel to run this engine! It didn’t take me long to figure out that such a meal diverts blood away from my legs and to my stomach. I cut back to a shake or a sandwich, but our resident triathelete ultra cyclist convinced us that we should stick to food from the SAG wagon during the ride and pig out later. Now a coke or a slushie whose sugar is rapidly adsorbed is my ride meal of choice.

Once I get to the hotel, I either sign in the roster, s my luggage, and find my room, or if the room isn’t ready, ride on to get lunch (a mega-burger, jumbo mocha late shake, and a brownie). That’s the ride part of the day.

Post- ride usually consist of a shower and a rest. If I’m smart, a long rest. If I’m not, it’s off to find the laundry, clean and lube the bike, go shopping at WalMart, etc. Most of the time, it’s best to rest, even if it means washing the shorts and jersey in the sink and wearing them the third day in a row. (Many people do this, as shown by our laundry line in the picture.)

Dinner is always fun. I love to walk up to the wait staff and say, “Table for 40, separate checks please.” In the good restaurants, the managers have told the wait staff, there is a table for forty waiting and every thing runs smoothly. Good management (dare I say leadership) can have a profound effect. At our first Sizzler, we were treated like real customers. Each of us went to the counter, placed our order, asked for our drink, and ring up one very large tab. We were tired and hungry, the regular customers were not amused, and it took the waitress forever to take our orders. At the second Sizzler, the Manager came out, and had everyone follow him. Show of hands, chicken, steak, fist, or pasta? Show of hands, ice tea, lemon aid, coke, diet coke? He accomplished in 5 minutes what Sizzler 1 took 45 minutes to do. Similar things have happened in Golden Corrals. Then there are the managers who simply never bother telling the staff what they know is coming. Do you know a boss like that? Buffets seem to work best. The first casino one in Nevada was memorable. Some local Mexican and Chinese places have been good. Pizza Huts never seen to have their act together, but that seems to be true in NJ too. Is poor service part of their mission statement? The last two nights have been at Montana Mikes; you’d think they’d do a better job with steaks. There have also been some “catered” meals in hotel function rooms or in the hotel restaurant itself. All and all, ABA has done a magnificent job of lining up all theses restaurants in advance and making sure that the food is good and plentiful. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, America by Bicycle does a great job in all aspects of producing this ride.

After dinner, I retire to my room, lay out my clothes for tomorrow (so that I can get up and out in 15 minutes), blog and go to sleep. I usually go to bed between 9 and 10, but sometimes as early as 8:00.