June 23, Day 23

June 23, Day 23
Lamar, CO to Garden City, KS
Mileage – 104.5
Temperature: HOT

Dear All,

Well, if we thought yesterday's 122 miles was the toughest so far, we were wrong. Really wrong. Today was clearly the hardest day of the tour for us. But, it was a day in which John has never been more proud of Amy. He's proud of her every day, of course, but today was really special. More on that later.

The day started early with breakfast at 6:00 and we were on the road by 6:30. Initially, the wind was not much of a factor with even a slight tailwind at times and as a result we rolled along with a pretty good pace by working with Audrey, a very strong young rider. At about the 15 mile mark, Amy had a rear tire flat and it took about 10 minutes to fix. We then proceeded to the first SAG without much to see.

We were among the last at the SAG due to Amy's flat, and since the wind was favorable we didn't linger too long. After leaving we rode a very short time before we found ourselves in KS, our fifth state. Amazing. We've ridden across four states and are now working on our fifth. A little while later, we found ourselves changing our watches since we were leaving mountain time and entering central time. Darn, that means one less hour of sleep tonight.

In Syracuse (CO not NY), we stopped for a coke and met a guy who was pedaling from NJ to WA. We chatted about the weather, the road surfaces, the climbs and bike equipment. It is what one does when one is on a bike all day and meets someone who is similarly engaged.

By the 78 mile mark the wind was coming from the east and getting stronger by the minute (we learned later that it was gusting to 28 mph). John had always believed that the prevailing winds were from the SW and that it was unusual for them to blow from the east. However, we are guessing that it blows from the SW at 100,000 feet, not necessarily at ground level. The word from some of the riders, who seem pretty knowledgeable, is that as the day progresses, particularly when it's hot, the winds will frequently come from the east in earnest. Today must have been one of those days.

The temperature was up in the mid 90's making the pedaling difficult and the wind was clearly making the day tough, particularly for Amy. No matter where she rode off of John's wheel she couldn't get out of the wind and given the fact that she's so small it was blowing her all over the place. It was, as we said, heating up as well. You know it's hot when Amy has to sit down by the side of the road and take her riding shoes off because her feet are burning up. Note that she is wearing red socks (that's not blood on her feet).

Despite the riding conditions, we did see some interesting stuff as the day progressed. Longhorn sheep and ruts from the pioneers trek along the Santa Fe Trail.

In addition we were told that eating beef keeps you slim. Somehow we believe that the latter piece of news might be contradicted by those who are not red meat fans, but at least in some parts of KS we suspect beef is king.

In any event, the last 10 miles were the toughest Amy has ever experienced. She had real trouble. She thought about quiting, but in the end she just put her head down and pedaled. She could have simply said “the hell with it” and waited for the SAG to pick her up. There would have been no shame is doing so. Over the course of the trip many may do so and it will be understood by everyone. Some days you just aren't as stong as others. Who knows, maybe we will as well some day. But, on this particularly day, Amy would not give in. She just wouldn't quit. As indicated at the beginning of this report, John has never been prouder of her.

Take care everyone. Thanks for reading and keep up the good vibes.

Comments, as always, are welcome.

John and Amy