Day 4, Long day in the Saddle

Tuesday: I awoke this morning feeling a bit chipper. I wasn't fully recovered from the 114 miles but I had a solid night of sleep. After a breakfast of scrabbled eggs, bagel, fruit and a waffle I was pretty sure the tank was topped off.

I headed down to drop off my bags and check in with Kristine before taking off. There was Gilberto one of the many challenged athletes riding this with us. He is a strong dud. If he can make it...I can too.

The wind seemed to be in our favor this morning as I looked up to see it waving in a southern direction. But I also knew that our route would take us east at times today. At points we were being hit side ways from that wind which slowed the group pace from 23 plus MPH down to 15 if we were lucky.

There was flat early on near a cow paster. Some of the guys were making cow noises which attracted a few of beasts. They came right up to the fence line and continued to mew at us while we fixed the flat.

I decided early on that today would be a day to reflect on my own so at about mile 20 or so I dropped off the group to ride within my limits. I knew it would be a long day and pushing hard early on would only make it that much more difficult later. In the end I was about number 10 across the finish which surprised me.

As I rode along admiring the view I passed fields and wineries on some beautiful back roads. It was peaceful and had very little traffic. I reflected on how I got to this event, the radio contest and all the new people I have met along the way. What a lucky life I have. I also took a moment to think about my father who passed away last year. He and my mom have instilled in myself and my brother and sister the values we have. That is the greatest gift parents can give their children.

I pulled into our lunch stop at....what else a winery. What a beautiful location to have a bite to eat. White table cloth, fancy sandwiches and a mechanic to ensure my bike was running right. (mine needed a little oil on the chain) I took my fill of food and water and then hit the road again. It was only mile 60 and I had 60 more to go.

The rest of the day I hooked up with groups on and off but again I didn't make any hard efforts to hang on. I passed thru Solvang and in an instant it was gone. Not a very big town.

We had to get onto the 101 for a fair amount of miles but there was plenty of room for cycling. At one point JJ and a Garmin guy passed me on the down hill putting in some serious speed.

The last 20 miles seemed to go on for ever but were flat and fast with the tail wind. I kept looking down counting off the 10th of mile markers. Once I rolled in all I could think of was getting to my room. Unfortunately my room key didn't work and I had to head back out to get a new one.

Once I had some food into me my spirit and attitude changed. It's hard to put enough calories into yourself in order to ride these types of distances. But in reality I'm having the time of my life. Would I do it all again...in a heart beat. I need to thank my wife Crystal, CAF, Scott Kaplan of the Scott and BR show and so many others.