On The Way

I'm at the Seattle/Tacoma Airport with my bike, bike clothes, tent, two sleeping bags, traveling gear  and Margie's pillow. Thanks to Brandon for driving me to the airport.

Forty pounds of bike, racks, etc in the box and 110 pounds of other baggage consisting of two 26 inch suitcases plus my carry-on bag and knapsack.

I'm taking a red-eye thru Minneapolis on the way to Tampa. Margie will be coming to Florida from Los Angeles on Thursday.

There are still a few things left to do before we are ready to go.

I need to get a 2 inch hitch put on the SUV for the bike rack carrier. I ordered a Yakima Swingdaddy 4 Bike Carrier via Amazon. It should arrive by UPS on Wednesday by close of day. It attaches via the 2 inch hitch and is able to swing the bikes out of the way of the rear door for easy entry into the back of the SUV. I also ordered two sleeping pads via Amazon and they should show up on Friday. That will complete our camping gear and bike carrying needs.

I will be taking Brett's bike in case he joins us along the way, Margie's bike, my Specialized S-Works road bike and the Trek 520 touring bike. This should give me plenty of spare bikes in case of problems. No need to stop and repair a flat, just hop on one of the spare bikes and I'm back on the road quickly. Also, in case anyone wants to join the adventure for a few miles we have some extra gear available.

Michelle called while I was at the airport and said I had left this on top of the washing machine. This little bag goes behind the saddle and is designed to carry spare tubes, patches, CO2 cartridges, tools and tire levers. Basically, an emergency kit. It is the bag I had on my Sequoia road bike that I left in Poulsbo. Not sure how it got on top the washing machine but I probably don't need it. She opened it and showed me what was inside:

Looks like a road bike tube, a CO2 cartridge tool, two bike tire levers, a patch kit and a dollar bill. The dollar bill is not for "candy" along the way but can be used as a "boot" to fix a tire puncture in an emergency. Each of the bikes I take will have a similar kit for emergency repair situations. Hopefully, this is the only thing I left behind.

Bike in a Box

Here's a picture of my bike all boxed up. Have decided to take it with me to Florida as a Bicycle on Delta Airlines. We take the red-eye on April 28th back to Clearwater. The charge should be $150 for the bike. Will use our AMEX card to get reimbursed for the $150, so net cost is zero. Fed Ex would charge $289 for 3 day express guaranteed delivery. They have a 5 day service for $100 but no guarantee. Looks like Sam photo bombed my pic.

Back in School

I was invited by Drew and Abby's school to talk a little about my ride across America. The presentation took place in the gym and was given to the 3rd and 4th graders first and then the kindergarteners thru 2nd graders.

Lots of great questions and interest about the ride. Here are some of the questions:

Why are you doing this?
Are you going to raise money?
Where are you starting?
How long will it take?
How far is it?
How many miles will you ride each day?
Where will you sleep?
What will you eat?
Won't it cost a lot of money?
What's that bump in the route?
Where will you go to the bathroom?
What's in your bag?
Tell me about your bike?
What training did you do?
What if you run into a tornado?
What if you're chased by a grizzly bear?
Why are you going east to west against the wind?

What a fun way to think about the ride and get some inspiration from kids who may start dreaming about their own big adventure.

Drew, Me, Abby

Last Training Ride in Poulsbo

Made my last training ride in Poulsbo today. Got off around 9:30 am, partly cloudy and cool. I didn't wear any of my rain gear and just my biking bibs and jersey with an Under Armor shell underneath. Was pretty cold going to Silverdale with a slight wind out of the South. It warmed up a little on the way back on Big Valley Road. Got a nice hot latte in Port Gamble and headed back on the old Port Gamble Road. It has some nice steep hills (17% for bit). I even stood and pumped up one section. That got my heart rate up to 161. Was pretty pleased with the ride: 42.6 miles in 3hr 37min., average speed 11.8 with 2,632 feet of elevation gain. This would be equivalent to over 200 miles in Florida. My total training mileage is now 420 miles. I should be able to meet my goal of 500 miles with a few rides in Florida.

Tomorrow (Thursday) I'll go to Drew and Abby's school for a little talk on my bike ride for all the kids. Not sure what they'll ask but it should be interesting. Here's a map I made which traces the route across America. Click to enlarge.

After the school visit I'll take my bike to Classic Cycle in Bainbridge and leave it to be tuned up and then boxed for shipment to Florida. On Friday I'll pick up the bike and drop it off at FedEx for 3 day shipping to FedEx location in Dunedin, Florida. I'll pick it up on next Wednesday and then take it to my local bike shop to be set up and checked out. I should be able to ride on Thursday next week (April 30).

Not Open On Monday

Great day for a bike ride. Temps expected to be in the 60's with sun. Decided to head down to the Bainbridge bike shop where I bought the Trek 520. Wanted to check on the time required to pack up my box. Just went down Hwy 305 all the way. Then left at the stop light just before the ferry terminal. Made pretty good time, and thought I even had a little headwind but not sure. Got to the bike shop door and tried to open it. Whoops. Locked. Sign says "Not Open on Mondays". Oh well.

Headed over to the other bike shop in Bainbridge and looked around for a few minutes before getting back on my bike to make the return journey. Stopped by the FedEx office to see what the options would be to send my bike to Clearwater. The lady says I need to be sure the box is no more than 51x30x8. Otherwise there will be a $60 charge for "bigness". Also they have 5 day ground service but there is no guarantee with it. If you want a guaranteed arrival you need to use the 3-DAY option. Get the box in by 3pm and you'll make the outgoing truck.

The sun felt good on the way back but thought I had a little headwind when I was expected a tail wind. A headwind both ways, not fair. Anyway headed out and thought I made pretty good time on the way back. However, got my Garmin results and not so fast. Averaged 12.7mph, a little slower than the 13.5 on the way to Bainbridge. Good news though, the Brooks saddle felt pretty good. Only about 20 miles but I'll take it. Click to enlarge.

Clear Creek Ride

Another foggy morning with low temperatures. Stayed around the house until about 10am. Then headed out to Silverdale via the Clear Creek Road. Took a nice climb out of Poulsbo to get to the Clear Creek Road, the a left turn and up some more incline until finally you reach the top some 5 miles or so down the road. Then it's downhill at 3% or so to Silverdale. Stopped by the bike shop in Silverdale to get some chain oil. Went to lube the chain before the ride and I was out of my supply. I also switched my saddle again. I picked up a Brooks B17 saddle at REI. Supposed to be the most comfortable saddle made. Got to admit it felt pretty good. May need to adjust the height just a little though. I'll do some tinkering on the next ride.

To Ride or Not to Ride

Ok. This morning it was cold and foggy around 8 am with the weatherman saying it was going to rain about noon. Well, then the sun started to come out and there were only a few clouds in the sky. Perhaps I could get a ride in, but it would have to be short and I'd need to stay close by. So I started out on the back roads and the farther I got the better the weather seemed to be. So I kept going to Port Gamble and the turned back toward home. I took the old Port Gamble Road back which has some nasty 15%-17% grades along the way.  I dropped to my "hill climbing" gear (some call it a "granny gear") and never had to stop. Guess it would be a "grandpa gear" for me.

Got about 27 miles in and 1,700 ft of elevation gain. Here are the the stats and a picture of the Trek 520: (Click to enlarge)

The Truck 520

Trek 520 Test Drive

Took a short test drive this morning on the Trek 520. I was very pleased with the new bike. It was just over 5 miles, really not much, but I was able to test it on the hills around here. I road into Poulsbo and stopped by the Pharmacy to say hi to Margie. Then I climbed up Hostmark Street all the way to Noll Road.  As you leave the Pharmacy Hostmark turns quickly into a 15% grade and the bike handled it well. The grade then relaxes a bit before you get to Highway 3, maybe one-half mile. Then it takes off again going back to 15% for about another one half mile before it settles back to 5%-7% as it  approaches Noll Road. From Noll Road it's downhill to home. So, hopefully we won't have too many grades of 15% or higher. To make the climb I basically put the bike in "hill climb" mode and peddled away at 3.3 mph.

I was surprised at how comfortable the bike felt with the bigger tires and new saddle. It shifted smoothly and without noise. I would have to say it was a successful test drive. When I reached the top of Noll Road I realized I had forgotten my cell phone and money clip, so I headed home and cut my ride short as it had also begun to rain. I'll wait to ride more miles in the sun or at least cloudy without rain.

Better Climbing Gears and a New Touring Bike

My thinking about better climbing gears turned into looking for better climbing gears. I found I had a a couple options (1) I could modify the gear set on my existing Sequoia or SWorks and use one of those bikes, or (2) I could get a touring bike which is normally geared for loads and climbing. I decided to go with Option 2. First, my Sequoia is a trusty bike but would require an extensive overhaul to change the gearing. It would need a new long cage derailleur, new and bigger rear cassette and also a new front three-ring crankset. Not sure of the exact costs but probably $400-$500 at least. My SWorks would require a similar makeover but that makeover would be even more expensive and completely change the character of the bike. Sort of like changing a sports car into an SUV. Didn't want to go that route.

To get an idea of the gearing I wanted on my new touring bike I found some research on gearing options for touring bikes written by John Shultz. He says it comes down to "gear inches". That's the ratio of the number of teeth on the chainring divided by the  number of teeth on the cassette times the diameter of the wheel. On a 700cm wheel the diameter is about 27 inches. If you multiply the gear inches by pi (3.14) you get the distance you move with one revolution of the crank. So here's what Shultz suggests for a touring bike:

For my situation I'm looking at the low gear inches. Lowest suggested with No Load is 30". Considering my "clydesdale physique" I think I'm more like a Heavy Load. If I was 160lbs I'd be carrying a 100lb  load, so that would be 18" or 22". Here's a chart that shows what my existing gearing on the Sworks and Sequoia looks like compared to the Trek 520.

Here's how to read this chart. My current Sworks is now set up with 50/34 chainrings up front and an 11/28 back cassette. So the Gear inches are 122.7" for the flats and 32.8" for hills. Just to get going I need 30" for the hills (lower is better). So the Sworks configuration might work provided my legs could provide a little more power than expected and there's no wind, rain or very steep hills. My existing Sequoia is set up with a triple 50/39/30 front chainring and an 11/28 in the back. The gear inches are 122.7" for the flats and 28.9" for the hills. This looks like it might work for the light load scenario, however I already know from experience that this gearing made for a harder than expected RedSpoke ride from Seattle to Spokane in 2009. I do remember getting off the bike on the 7 mile 7% grade out of Wenatchee and also on the climb out of Grand Coulee dam. It was not fun.

Now look at the Trek 520. It has a 48/36/26 front chainring and an 11/32 rear cassette. The gear inches drop to 118.0" for the flats and 21.9" for the hills. It looks about right. If I was carrying extra gear I would even consider going lower but this should work. Now, as far as how much speed I'll be losing on the flats, there's another chart below.

This chart is from Bicycle Bike Gear Ratio Speed and Cadence Calculator which allows you to generate a chart based on the specific gears you have on your bike. My top speed on the flats would probably be about 26.3mph (that's the 48x11 gear at 75rpm). My hill climbing speed is probably about 3.3mph (the 26x32 gearing at 50rpm). This compares with 26.7mph on the flats for the Sworks and 5.0mph on the hills. So, I'm not giving up much speed but I'm getting 33% plus improvement on the hills. I'll take that. Just for the record I'll be slower on inclines greater than 7% but I probably won't have to stop and I'll be able to keep up on the flats.

After my research on the internet, I narrowed down the choices to a Surly Long Haul Trucker, the Trek 520 and a custom bike from Co-Motion in Oregon. I quickly eliminated the Co-Motion due to the time-frame required and the higher cost. My search then narrowed to finding a local shop in Tampa or nearby with either of the Surly or 520 bikes. I found a shop in Gainesville which carried the Surly but it would need to be special ordered after an extensive sizing requirement. Looked in the Northwest for the Surly and 520 but most shops don't stock either the Surly or the 520. Margie found that the Classic Bicycle shop in Bainbridge had a floor model of the 520 on sale so I decided to take a look.

The 520 in Bainbridge was a floor model on sale for $1249 ($170 off MSRP). It had a 57cm frame which was just on the bubble for sizing but I tried it out and decided to keep it rather than ordering a new bike just 3cm larger (one week delivery promised but who knows). I added two water bottle cages, a carrying bag for the back, a new computer, got some new SPD shoes and charged it to AMEX. That was on Saturday. On Sunday I went back in to get properly fitted. I was impressed by the fitting as the tech took the time to get it right. Saddle height, for and aft positioning, a little larger stem for a more upright riding position and that was it. Brought the bike home and if it hadn't been raining I would have given it a test drive.

No need to take the Sworks in Florida on the ride. Just need to gather some spare tubes and maybe tires for the Trek 520 and I'm set. One last thing. The shop will box up the bike and I'll send it to my shop in Florida to be assembled prior to taking off for Yorktown on May 10th.

Less Traffic and a New Saddle

While waiting to get my break pad replaced at the bike shop in Bainbridge I looked around the shop and found a saddle I thought I'd try. Guess my five hours in the saddle the other day got me to thinking that something might be more comfortable than the saddle I have. The new saddle is one of those body geometry saddles that's supposed to give comfort to the "soft tissue" areas.

So I put the new saddle on my trusty Sequoia and headed out on a new route with hopefully less traffic. Weather was cool but dry. The route took me out of Poulsbo toward Port Gamble on the Big Valley Road. This turned out to be a great way to avoid the traffic on Highway 104. Only had one pickup pass me in the 10 miles before the road finally joined up with Hwy 104. Then only about a couple miles on Hwy 104 before it turned toward Port Gamble at the Hood Canal Bridge.

Had a latte at the General Store in Port Gamble and then headed toward Kingston via more back roads. Took the Old Port Gamble road to Gunderson, Gunderson to Miller Bay Road, Miller Bay Road to Indianola Road, Indianola Road to Kingston Road and into Kingston. Had some clam chowder and an Irish Death beer in Kingston before heading south back toward home.

Perhaps it was the clam chowder or the Irish Death but I definitely sucked on the Gunderson hill climb coming off Miller Bay Road. Had originally thought I'd take Miller Bay Road south through Suquamish ending up at the Clearwater Casino to get a few more miles in. But the wind had come up pretty strong in my face on the way back so I decided to call it a day and take the shorter route back. Gunderson has an 11% grade and I had to stop about 1/2 way to let my heart rate go down. Then while going up the Old Port Gamble climb I also had to stop part way. This road has a 14% grade at one point but I've done it without stopping multiple times. Perhaps it was the combination of wind, grade and Irish Death that put jello in my legs.

Back home while soaking in the Hot Tub I got to thinking I might need some better climbing gears than what I have planned for the ride across America. Perhaps a touring gear set. Perhaps a new touring bike. A gear set that lets me ride up the steepest hill after the longest day with the most tired legs. Just thinking.

Don't Leave Home Without These

Weather was foggy this AM but weatherman has promised no rain today and temps 41-64. Planned another 50 mile plus ride in North Kitsap county and then south to Bainbridge Island and back. I'll be taking back roads most of the day. Yesterday's ride had too many BIG vehicles especially as I crossed the Hood Canal bridge over to the Olympic Peninsula. Lots of logging trucks, 18-wheel freighters, smaller RVs and several 40 foot Greyhound bus type RVs. The shoulder was very wide, about 15 feet or so but still not nice being passed at 50-60 MPH by such large vehicles.

Started out on my ride this AM but heard some strange sounds in the rear as I used the breaks coming down a small incline 4-5 miles into the ride. I pulled over to check and found I had a missing break pad on the rear wheel. Not sure how I lost it but it would not be safe to continue without the rear breaks and plenty of hills to ride down. So I hobbled back to the Starbucks in Poulsbo and called my support van (Margie). Luckily she was just a few blocks away at the new Safeway store. So I grabbed a hot latte which was nice and waited for a ride back to home. The nearest cycle shop is in Bainbridge about 10 miles away. Looks like I'll be making a trip. I'll also add an set of extra pads to my list of things to take along.

More Miles and Saddle Time in Poulsbo

Finally had a nice day to ride around here. I'm not much into riding in the rain and cold and it seems like that's what we have around here most of the time during the spring of the year. Normal temps have been 39 to 55. Today, I think it was projected to be 45-63 so I decided to go for it. No rain predicted till 3pm. So last night I mapped out a new course for me: head North and East toward Kingston taking some back roads, then go West to Port Gamble (stop for coffee), head West across the Hood Canal bridge to Port Ludlow on the Olympic Peninsula. Projected miles 56.6, projected time 4 hrs 58 min. Here's the route produced by biketoaster.com. (Click to enlarge)

This is my first ride around here with any real miles and saddle time. And I must confess my bum was a little tired after the ride. I also wanted to get some idea of the average speed I might expect for the Ride Across America. My results indicate I rode at 11.6 MPH, not real fast but probably not too far off from my expectations and blogs I have read from others doing the ride. I plugged in my estimated Flat Speed of 14 MPH and Climbing Speed of 36 FT/MIN. The toaster then calculates the estimated time based on miles and elevation gain along the way. So now the toaster is calibrated for me and can be used to estimate my expected riding times for each segment of the ride.

Port Gamble General Store 1853

Hill Training in Poulsbo

This a a recent picture of me doing the Horsefarm One-Hundred near Ocala, Florida. I remember the ride very well. The ride had a bout 500 riders of varying capabilities. Many were University of Florida students 40 years younger than me. Needless to say I got caught up in the excitement of the ride and took out too fast. No slow pace for me I thought. Well I got swept along with a group of about 20-30 riders for about 25 miles. The pace was fast and the riding seemed easy. Then it changed. We had one small hill I think and it was over. My legs were like rubber for the next 75 miles. I eventually was joined by Brett and some other riders I knew and rode along with them at a slower pace for the rest of the ride. So when I think about the trip across America I don't want to emulate that ride. I plan to pace myself each day and enjoy the ride. Hopefully there will be someone who rides at my pace but maybe not. In that case it may be me alone as in the picture  to the left. We'll see.

I'm back in Poulsbo now and took a short cold ride today. Would have gone further but I didn't dress warm enough and the wind chill was just a little too much(45 degrees and 15mph wind). What a change from Florida. Only went about 14 miles but as you can see got about 1100 feet of elevation gain, more than what I got in 60 miles in Florida. I understand that the Appalachian mountains are more difficult than the Rockies so hopefully the hills around here will get my legs in shape. Will add a layer tomorrow and get some more miles in with the elevation gain.

By the way the chart below is from alltrails.com. The charts are created from my Garmin data but are supposed to be more accurate than the Garmin or iphone data as far as elevation information is concerned. I'll be checking the site out as well as another site that works well for creating biking maps called biketoatser.com

Saddle Time Training in Florida

One of my training rides while back in Florida. It's a 60 mile ride and was pretty warm as I remember. Not much elevation gain but I was just trying to get some saddle time in preparation for the Yorktown to Seaside adventure. Not really much stoppage time for the 4 hours, perhaps 30 minutes or so for traffic lights and such. Actually, I started out with a group of about 10 riders but got dropped after 25 miles near the entry of the Starkey Park wilderness trail. It's a six mile trail (the green area, upper right) that goes through an undeveloped park and connects with some other biking and hiking trails. I finished the ride in good shape as I slowed down and enjoyed the scenery for the next 35 miles.

The Bike I'll Ride

In August 2009, I was lucky enough to find a new bike, replacing my workhorse, the Specialized Sequoia. I found my new bike on sale at Chainwheel Drive. It's a 2006 model that for some reason they couldn't sell. I got it at about 50% off retail so I was very happy. I kept my Sequoia as a rainy day bike and for visitors to ride. In 2010, Margie and I helped Michelle and Brandon move out to Seattle and I took my trusty Sequoia to Poulsbo, WA where it is today. So my training is now on the Sequoia while in Pouslbo and on my Sworks when we go back to Florida. The Sworks is about 10 pounds lighter than the Sequoia which should help in the hills (more on that later).


On my last trip back to Florida last week I began preparations for the long-awaited ride across America. This included getting my Sworks into shape for the trip. As previously mentioned in my reflections on the RedSpoke ride, one of my main concerns was being able to grind up the expected hills in reasonable fashion so as to not hold up any of the lighter riders. Hill climbing is all about Power to Weight. It's just more difficult to climb the more you weigh. So I'm now down to about 260 but that's still a lot to pull up a hill. In order to get my Sworks prepared I looked at how to improve the gearing ratios to make it a better hill climbing bike. One does this by changing the number of teeth on the two front chain rings and the number of teeth on the 10-speed rear cassette. On the front I had a 53-39 double, which I purchased for the flat Florida roads. On the back I had the original 10-speed cassette 12-27. This set-up worked great for Florida but could prove difficult for hillier areas. The solution was a 50-34 on the front and a new 11-28 on the back. This would give me almost the same speed on the flats and a 20% improvement on the climbs. In addition, I had a major tune-up done and all the cables and break pads checked and replaced if needed, added a new chain and new tubes and puncture resistance Armadillo tires. I also obtained some new 23/25 tires which are just a little bit wider than the normal 23mm tires. If I need these for gravel I'll be prepared.


I also bought a set of SPD pedals to match the new Shimano biking sandals I bought in Poulsbo. On one of my Poulsbo training rides I ran into a biker, Bill Abbey and his wife, at a coffee stop. Turns out they have a planned self-supported ride following the Lewis and Clark route from St Louis to Seattle starting on April 19. He recommended the sandals as a nice way to go when the weather is good or even when it's raining since they dry quickly. He says you just put on some wool socks (like those I have from Peru) if it's too cold or rainy. Anyway I'll probably start out with my regular biking shoes and cleats but am prepared to switch to sandals when ready.


The Chainwheel Drive bike shop recommended I take extra wheels in case a spoke breaks. Turns out on my last training ride before I took my bike in for the tune-up I broke a spoke (at 40 miles into the ride). I haven't broken a spoke since 2006 when I had my original Sequoia wheels replaced with Velocity rims. On the Sworks, never. But they said wheels like the ones I have on my Sworks (light, fewer spokes) need to be replaced every three to five years. Guess I could be living on the edge since my bike has the original 2006 rims. I'll probably take an extra front wheel (off Brett's Florida bike) with me just in case. Will just have to get the spoke replaced if it's on the back wheel.

Six Years Later Reflections

Well, it's six years later and much time has passed since my last post. Over ten years since I started this blog. For those interested, Brett and I completed the RedSpoke Ride Across Washington State successfully in 2009. Somehow, after that event my attention turned to other things. For details on that ride see my other blog and look for posts from July 22, 2009 at http://saddleowies.blogspot.com/ . For those not interested I'll re-post my reflections from that the RedSpoke ride:

Thursday, July 23, 2009

RedSpoke Reflections

It's now Wednesday, July 22nd, 3 days after the RedSpoke ride ended and time to reflect a little on my experience. First, I think the ride was great. The soreness has left my thighs finally, three days after the ride ended. On the way back to Seattle from Loon Lake I was too tired to drive more than 40 miles. With the warm car, sun in my eyes and tired body I found myself nodding off and turned the driving over to Margie. My arms, legs and hands were all swollen from loading up onGatoraid, Incite, Gui and other high potassium compounds for five days in a row. With the accompanying water retention I gained 6 pounds over five days although I burned over 33,000 calories which is almost 10 pounds. After getting off the plane in Tampa it felt like I was walking on stumps. Thankfully, the weight gain is now gone and I'm feeling more normal. Yes, it was many times more difficult than I thought it would be. The pace was not that difficult for me but the climbs were. The hills and grades were much steeper than I am accustomed. I could stay with Brett, Scott, Deb, Juan, and Ron on anything flat and up to 3% grade. Beyond that I was droppped like a hot potato. I have much more respect for the people who climb hills and especially for big people that climb hills. There was a rider namedMongo (I don't know his real name) who was 6' 6" and probably weighed 360 or more. I have the utmost respect for him.

Support was the Best
The support provided by RedSpoke was the best. From the SAG support team and stops every hour or so to the superb mechanic from R&E everything was top notch. They loaded our bags into the van at the start of each day and unloaded everything for us at the next camping spot. Debbie even put up our tent at Davenport which was extra nice and she isn't even a Rotariat or part of the SAG team. The food was plenty and varied and for the most part delicious. Scott, the mechanic accommodated everyone's request for help as near as I can tell. The first evening in Skykomish I asked him to check out my bike and I told him the strange noises it was making. He pulled the rear wheel off and gave it a spin. In less than two seconds he had diagnosed the problem; a bad rear hub bearing. At first he wasn't sure he could fix it since he did not have the exact replacement parts for my Velocity wheel. Like McGiver would do, he used a hub off anEaston wheel. However, this hub was one millimeter too short causing the bushing to stick out one millimeter too far. That did not stop him. He fashioned a 1 millimeter washer out of a bottle cap to fix the problem and handed me my bike back. Later in the ride he adjusted my front derailleur as I had crossed over some "wake-up" bumps and this had caused me to be unable to hold my big ring. Can't say enough for Scott's support.

Implications for a Ride Across America
The RedSpoke ride has given me much to think about and ideas on how to better plan for a ride across America. I now know that it's not just miles to be considered in determining how far to ride each day. The terrain, weather and support conditions play varying roles in setting mileage goals for each day. Perhaps one way to estimate mileage is to consider and calculate calories burned. I would guess my limit would be about 15,000 for one day with 10,000 being a very good ride and 5,000 being a fairly easy ride for a day. Considering elevation gain, 5000 feet is a pretty good achievement. I know what that feels like now. In Florida, my rides are averaging 40 plus miles and 700 feet elevation gain. On RedSpoke, the average mileage was nearly 70 and the elevation gain averaged 3,600 feet. On both counts RedSpoke was tougher than my daily rides. But the significant difference is five times my normal elevation gain. I'd have to ride 200 miles in Florida to get the same gain. How to carry enough water for a long ride without support is a good question. I'm not sure theRedSpoke could be done (including the Century) without carrying additional water. Perhaps a 100 ounce camelback plus two 24 ounce bottles would work. Another unknown is bike support. If you follow the Adventure Cycling routes that might not be a problem as there are lots of bikers along the way and bike shops too. But on ourRedSpoke ride it was nice to have support nearby and every evening to attend to problems that crop up. Ideally, I like to ride with only a credit card and with my own support vehicle. Getting a nice shower every evening would be great. There is a web site atwww.warmshowers.org that matches cyclists with folks that have offered to provide lodging and warm showers for a night. I'm not sure how it works but if you were traveling unsupported it may be a way to get a good night's sleep and a warm shower. Finally, it would be good to have someone to ride and chat with on a long ride. Although I was dropped numerous times on RedSpoke as we climbed up the hills, there always seemed to be someone at the top or at a turn to help me along and get me back to the others. Finding a rider who rides a similar pace would be perfect as you could help each other maintain a good pace and take turns pulling.