will dehne

Day nineteen, Friday, May 9, 2008
Conway AR to Brinkley AR

This 66 year old is holding up. The wind was mostly against us and I biked solo most of the day. The average was exactly 18 MPH for 100 miles. This is what I trained for in FL also against the wind. I cannot do that without food supplements.
I was dropped by a pace line of 4 bikers in the end. They averaged over 20 MPH.

While this was going on I was thinking about someone question in this thread why anyone would push so hard. I came up with an answer. Not very profound but true: Because you can do it. The joy of being alive.
This part of AR is scenic. The tour leader is doing a good job in finding low traffic routes. This is compensation for the grueling first week.

BTW, we now have a biker with a Recumbent with us. He is fast but not as fast as the top bikers (which includes little me). He looks interesting because he has this big yellow windbreaker wrapped around with just his head sticking out. He is very fast downhill, so-so on the flats and slower uphill. Steve is a tall and strong guy. A lawyer from IN.
More tomorrow.

BengeBoy 

Will, thanks for the update. 18mph for 100 miles -- looks like all the training you did is paying off!

Nycycle

Will, my hats off to ya,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

will dehne

Yep, I do not recommend for anyone to do this tour without lots of training. We have a few bikers who did not train enough and they are more in the SAG van then on the bike. To me that is not acceptable.

Yen

Iron Will: Does the group leader find the route for the next days on a daily basis, checking ahead for traffic and road conditions etc? Or is the route planned ahead with flexibility to change as traffic/road conditions arise?

PirateJim

Will, when I set out for my ride tomorrow morning I’ll be thinking about your 18 mph against the wind for 100+ miles and the twelve years seniority you have on me. I likely won’t average 18 mph tomorrow (very likely) but I will go a bit faster and a bit farther than last Saturday. Accounts such as yours are inspirational to at least some of us.

To Karen: My deep condolences, I’ve been watching this thread with great interest and have gotten a sense of the passion that it must take to undertake such an adventure.

will dehne

This is a very complex job which amazes me. The motels are a moving target. They change owners and deteriorate. The roads need to be scouted out. Routes redone based on changing conditions. Safety hazard pointed out.
For instance: There was an underpass under some Xpw somewhere. The tour leader said that there is an iron cover for a drain in the right lane in the dark under that underpass. We get there and dear God, a skinny bike tire would have fallen right in and could have caused a deathly accident. How the road caring department get away with this is beyond me. Perhaps we still do not have enough lawyers.

will dehne

The strength and poise of Karen Keefer amazes me. I want her to know that there is a little controversy within the tour group about discussing things like her (our?) tragedy in this open forum.
I believe we are serving a good purpose in showing compassion and interest.
We will have a memorial service tomorrow morning 6:00 AM in honor of Darrel and for Karen. Other tangible things are being done.
Americans do NOT lack compassion. Total silence may not be a good way to handle this. I wish I had the answers.
We have a trained Minister on our tour. I must admit that that helped in this tragic case. That is from a guy who rarely goes to church (My wife makes up for my deficiency).

JoeyBike

Outstanding! Especially this many days into the Tour de Grueling.

will dehne

Day twenty, Saturday, May 10, 2008
Brinkley AR to Senatobia, MS
This day started with a memorial service for Darrell and to honor Karen Keefer. Our Tour leader is X-Air-force and we did a circle for a fallen Soldier. Eric Kloor presented a moving poem and Conrad, the Metal Sculpture Artist, will produce a Memorial Artistic Creation. I will post a picture of it as it will be available.
Scott the Minister conducted a brief sermon.

This is the day we cross the Mississippi. As in 2006 I set the goal to cross it first but I kept quiet about my intentions (I am not that fast). Sandra and I got going with speeds never below 20 MPH and often 25 MPH. Wind was not favorable. We both crossed the bridge perhaps 5 minutes ahead of the hammerheads. A small victory but very inspiring. Sandra's Husband joined her for the weekend and therefore was there to make pictures of the event.
We were exhausted after that and pedaled to Senatobia at more modest speeds. regardless that, we were with the fast group arriving at the motel.
Doing 113 miles against the wind is work.

BTW, there are some towns around here which look like third world. Go look at Crenshaw. I think this country needs to work a little at this. It is getting to a critical stage IMHO.
More tomorrow.

Kurt Erlenbach

Whoa, wait a second. What'd he say?

Kurt Erlenbach

I think discussing the tragedy here is exactly the right thing to do.

megaman

Will, I'm in awe over what you are going, I am dreaming about doing a trip such as yours, but I know I would need a lot more training. Keep on pedaling!

Karen, Life throws us curves all the time. I wish strength for you and your family in this very sad time. May the memories of Darrell sustain you. My deepest condolences to you and your family.

fthomas

Welcome to the real south. I found Memphis to be in worse condition than Tijuana with just about the same crime rate. It is 100 years of tradition unhampered by progress. MS is 200 years. It speaks volumes to the destruction of the family, drugs and the single parent home on Aid for Dependent Children and Welfare. Additionally, there is little to no industry left in the smaller communities and the small family business in the small towns has been destroyed by Wal Mart.

Great reading your reports an I thank you for so openly sharing the whole story.

will dehne

Day twenty-one, Sunday, May 11, 2008
Senatobia, MS to Aberdeen, MS
We had a very big storm system passing through here and close by last night. Blue sky in the morning and favorable winds. We need a little luck after the bad luck we had.
The Tour leader routed us through roads less traveled. It was a real pleasure and road biking at its best.
We did 140 miles and that is a lot of miles no matter what. There also was about 5,000 feet of climbing involved. Most of us were happy to see the motel.
Aberdeen offers fast food only. I was lucky to be biking with Sandra. her husband Ken was visiting with a car. We were able to go to Columbus, MS which has good restaurants.
More tomorrow. We need to get up at 5:30 AM. That means go to bed early.

Kurt Erlenbach

Yen has it right. You are Iron Will.

Yen

Iron Will, do your legs ever feel sore at the end of the day on this tour? Or were they already conditioned for this? Do you feel any amount of soreness, and do you stretch every night?

will dehne

The truth is that this tour has many strong bikers. I am upper mid field. Where I excel is on the flats. I can outrun the fastest on the flats such as the Mississippi valley. On steep hills I am only so-so. The 195#are holding me back. We have bikers with 150# who can drop me any time. Sandra can drop me on a hill but not on flats and not against wind.
I do no stretching at all and never have. I do use recovery drinks such as Endurex or Chocolate milkshake.

We went up some hill today which was steeper then anything I have ever done by bike. My Chain broke. The mechanic came and had it fixed in less than 30 Minutes.

Soreness is never a problem. Proper nutrition is a big problem. Keeping energy level high all day is a real problem.

Without training I would not recommend this tour.

will dehne

Day twenty-two, Monday, May 12, 2008
Aberdeen, MS to Tuscaloosa, AL
Alabama is very nice. The roads are better and it is very scenic. The tour leader routes us over roads with very low traffic. This means that we climb some very steep hills. The one today was the steepest I ever climbed. My chain broke. It took 30 minutes to fix but there was some excitement because we did not know when the mechanic may be available. Thank God for Cell phones. how did we ever live without them?
There is a fair amount of mechanical problems. Wheel problems mostly.
Tuscaloosa is a nice change. Finally there are some good restaurants. University town. It shows.

Having over 30 bikers go through such a busy town is a challenge. We made it without incidents.

I made a mistake today I like to share. I rely on a bar mounted rear view mirror. That is a good thing but I misjudged the speed of a Truck coming from behind. he was doing probably 70 MPH and we were doing only 20 MPH. I made a left turn and he had to brake hard not to hit me. I regret that and I was lucky. I should have turned my head and looked behind. A mirror view is not a good way to judge speed.

George

To late to get reckless now Will, hand in there and play it safe. You'll be smelling salt water pretty soon. good luck.

Bacco

Enjoy your last week of riding, Will. You are an inspiration to those of us who can only dream of being as strong and strong-willed as you are.

My question is - how long of break of are you going to take from cycling when you finish this epic ride or do you intend to turn around and ride back to the start (which wouldn't surprise me)?

Yen

Your story about the truck made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Only a few more days to go, Iron Will!

will dehne

Day twenty-three, Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Tuscaloosa, AL to Prattville, AL
We were routed over secondary Alabama roads. This means Chip Seal. For those of you who do not know it: It is basically Gravel sealed with some tar. Bike tires with 23 mm and 120 PSI do not handle well on that stuff. Older guys like me get fatigued from the rattling for hours and to make it worse we had grades up to 18%. Lots of flats. Sandra and I had none. My Continentals are doing a good job and so do the Continentals for others.
Interesting was that one guy had 4 flats on one day. We looked for cause and effect. No puncture flats. He used the nut to tighten the valve stem. On a ridiculously rough road that seems not to work. He got leaks on the valve stem and did not relate it to the problem. He is a medical doctor. The consensus of our veteran bikers identified this likely cause. Rough road makes the valve stem wanting to move a bit. Tighten the nut will create a stress point.
Nutrition: This was a grueling day and I needed all the help I could get. Sandra did much better than I. Her MTB background showed and I think she is getting stronger. I used 4 servings of GU Gel in addition to solid food and used frequent cookies. I still struggled but did not bonk.
The weather was perfect.
Lots and lots of dogs. Some were out to get us. Some were just funny.
Four more days to D-Day.
More tomorrow.

will dehne

I deeply regret this mistake and want to make amends. Letting others know that this can happen to experienced biker is one way to make amends.
I have only one excuse and that is fatigue. Dumb things happen if you get tired.

will dehne

My wife and I will make a Car and Bike trip soon to:
Northern Idaho's Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes bike path. That is a 75 mile paved trail and arguable one of the nicer trails in the USA. We will vacation there and ride our Tandem as well as my Road bike.
On the way there we will bike the Black Hills and other scenic areas.

We will leave in July, 2008.