By Tex
This is my first blog post because, quite candidly, I’m still recovering from one of the climbs up a mountain in the Cascades two states ago. I have discovered more about biking in the last two weeks than I learned in 30 or 40 years of biking. I am by far, the least experienced of the three cyclists. I don’t know why I thought training on a Peloton would prepare me to bike across the country. It has certainly helped but I quickly discovered that the open road has many things you won’t find on a spinner. For example, “rumble strips,” which are supposed to warn you if you swerve off the road, can literally knock you right off your bike, but if you’re lucky only shake up your internal organs. Cute little friendly dogs? No such thing on the open road. They’re big, fast and meaner than “The Beast” in the movie Sandlot. I learned that the old joke that you don’t have to be faster than the dog, you just have to be faster than one of the cyclists you’re with is very true. Problem for me is that I will never be faster than Cathy or Robbo. We have pepper spray, whistles and we’ve already heard Robbo bark louder than the German Shepherd chasing him. Practically speaking, who has time to unclip their cycling shoes from the pedal, pull out the pepper spray and not shoot yourself in the face. A whistle? These dogs eat whistles for breakfast.
Another critical part of long distance cycling is staying hydrated. I have two water bottles and a Camelback. My other big discovery is that about the time I’m really thirsty, both of my hands have gone completely numb.
Stay tuned, more later ...
Funny post, Tex! Well...funnier for me than you. How many times those rumble strips knocked my wind out....and how about hose tar bumps between the slabs of concrete? Oy. All that being said, you're riding one bad ass looking bike. Ride on!