We woke at 0500 today. I was going to ride with Emma today, but a medical problem prevented her from riding today. Instead, I rode fast with Lenny and Oliver along good old Route 66. As the FP60 wheels are now "surplus", I'm lending them to people. Oliver rode with them for the first half of today.
I saw a dog get killed on the road today. It was a little dog, running at about 25-30 MPH on the left hand side of the road. It repeatedly tried to cross the road, successfully avoiding the cars several times. At an underpass, it didn't see a car coming in the opposite direction. The car's front right tire hit the animal. It yelped, flew into the air, and hit the ground hard. It was still somewhat alive, though paralyzed, when we rode past it. There was nothing we could do.
After a few miles of fast riding, I decided to take it easy. I rode along 66 slowly, waiting for people to catch up. I stopped at Pops, a huge gas station with an impressive cantilevered roof and a convenience store full of soda bottles. That delay was long enough for Kyle Rudzinski to catch me; we rode together to "lunch" at IHOP, which generously gave our group a 50% discount.
Lenny, Kyle, and myself decided to ignore the cue sheet for the second half of the day, instead detouring to visit the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial. This didn't add any mileage, but did take us far from the other riders. We explored the memorial solemnly and respectfully, as this was a place where almost 200 people died some 13 years ago.
Our elevation is slowly increasing, putting us to 1350 feet today and 1600 feet tomorrow. Getting in early allowed me to take a much needed nap.
We had a mail drop today. My mother's package of cookies, beef jerky, sardines, cashews, my favorite cereal, and $20 was well received - thanks, Mom! Dave Miller of Crummy Crunchies, Inc. sent our group delicious cookies. Oliver's triple crank arrived, but without the correct derailleur, we're stuck until Zane's ships us the correct part.
We had another excellent dinner, courtesy of the church, consisting of pasta and marinara sauce. I never get tired of the pasta, since it is delicious. I'm starting to get worried about the weight; I'll have some making up to do at the end of the trip. Staying hydrated is also getting difficult, since it takes conscious effort.
Today was Erin Rice's 24th birthday. We bought her a pinata, which we hung from the basketball hoop for everyone's amusement. We watched "Cars" and "Dumb and Dumber" in separate rooms. We're looking forward to the new Batman movie tomorrow.
It is now time for sleep. I never sleep through the night; I usually wake up because I'm cold, or I have to pee, or I've managed to soak the sleeping bag in sweat. Grumble grumble.
I saw a dog get killed on the road today. It was a little dog, running at about 25-30 MPH on the left hand side of the road. It repeatedly tried to cross the road, successfully avoiding the cars several times. At an underpass, it didn't see a car coming in the opposite direction. The car's front right tire hit the animal. It yelped, flew into the air, and hit the ground hard. It was still somewhat alive, though paralyzed, when we rode past it. There was nothing we could do.
After a few miles of fast riding, I decided to take it easy. I rode along 66 slowly, waiting for people to catch up. I stopped at Pops, a huge gas station with an impressive cantilevered roof and a convenience store full of soda bottles. That delay was long enough for Kyle Rudzinski to catch me; we rode together to "lunch" at IHOP, which generously gave our group a 50% discount.
Lenny, Kyle, and myself decided to ignore the cue sheet for the second half of the day, instead detouring to visit the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial. This didn't add any mileage, but did take us far from the other riders. We explored the memorial solemnly and respectfully, as this was a place where almost 200 people died some 13 years ago.
Our elevation is slowly increasing, putting us to 1350 feet today and 1600 feet tomorrow. Getting in early allowed me to take a much needed nap.
We had a mail drop today. My mother's package of cookies, beef jerky, sardines, cashews, my favorite cereal, and $20 was well received - thanks, Mom! Dave Miller of Crummy Crunchies, Inc. sent our group delicious cookies. Oliver's triple crank arrived, but without the correct derailleur, we're stuck until Zane's ships us the correct part.
We had another excellent dinner, courtesy of the church, consisting of pasta and marinara sauce. I never get tired of the pasta, since it is delicious. I'm starting to get worried about the weight; I'll have some making up to do at the end of the trip. Staying hydrated is also getting difficult, since it takes conscious effort.
Today was Erin Rice's 24th birthday. We bought her a pinata, which we hung from the basketball hoop for everyone's amusement. We watched "Cars" and "Dumb and Dumber" in separate rooms. We're looking forward to the new Batman movie tomorrow.
It is now time for sleep. I never sleep through the night; I usually wake up because I'm cold, or I have to pee, or I've managed to soak the sleeping bag in sweat. Grumble grumble.
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