Kansas
I got started off a day late, as I needed more time then I thought to get ready, so I decided to get dropped off about 20 north of the Oklahoma/Kansas border instead of the Texas/Oklahoma border. I got started at 11 am and rode north until 6:30. I had about 2 hours of breaks in there, mostly trying to fix various equipment problems and getting my saddlepack to stop rubbing against my back tire. So, in 5 1/2 hours of riding, I made it 80 miles through Kansas, which was great. I was tired at the end of it, but not dead exhausted. Oh, and when I got into Great Bend at 6:30, the sign at the bank said it was exactly 100 degrees.
I camped out at the side of the road a bit north of Great Bend. The first day, my saddlepack (the thing that is on the back of the bike to hold my stuff) got a hole in it from rubbing against my back tire. This also caused two of my shirts to get holes in them, as they were on the inside of the pack where it was rubbing against the tire. After a nice long night's sleep, I got up at 6, repacked everything a bit better, and stopped by a close store for some ductape to do some repair work. By 8, I was back on the road, riding north. I rode from 8 am until 5:30. I took 1 1/2 hours of breaks. So, in 8 hours of riding, I made it 40 miles... hmmmm... Day 1: 14.5 miles per hour, Day 2: 5 miles per hour.
Day 2 was horrible. Apparently, my plan of riding north on the great plains had one very significant flaw. The wind. Sometime during the night a 30 mph southwardly wind had risen up, and it blowed all day. I never realized just how much of a problem riding against the wind would be. It's basically the same as riding directly up a hill, except you never get the advantage of a hill, which is the going downhill part. Unless, of course, you turn around and ride the other direction.
That night I found a decent place to sleep by the side of the road, and this night, I was exhausted. Riding against the wind all day was quite a chore. Day 3 started at 6 am and a look at my map to see about going west for a while before going north again, to avoid the wind. Basically, my options were to go north for about 50 miles... another day of riding, or to go south about 40 miles... back to Great Bend. I decided that south was probably my best option. So I rode back the way I'd came. This time, the 40 miles, with the wind at my back instead of at my front, took 2 hours. What a difference the wind makes.
In Great Bend, which I got to at 9:30 am, I went to a convenience store and got some juice and talked to the lady at the counter (most everyone asked the pink-haired, bright yellow-shirted bike rider what the hell I was doing ;) about my trip. The trucker who was also hanging out at the counter chimed in to let me know that if I wanted to avoid the wind, all I had to do was wait a month or ride west until I hit the Rockies.
Great. So, I did some math and it was fairly obvious that there was no way in hell I was making it to Seattle in time for my airline flight to Europe. My options at this point were to either go west over the hardest section of the Rockies and then go north through California and Oregon. Not very flat regions. Or, I could go north against the wind, which was supposed to extend all the way up to Canada. So, fuck it. I'll come back when I have more time and hopefully when the wind is going the opposite direction.
So I rode back all the distance that I'd ridden on days 1 & 2 on day 3 and got picked up. I started at 7:30 and finished at 7:30, with about two hours of breaks. Riding with the wind was great. 120 miles in 10 hours.
So, I'll be flying back to Seattle, either next week or the week after, depending on how my plans pan out. We'll see. I'm rather frustrated right now. I know that I could have made the trip in time if the wind had been on my side. I really had wanted to do this bike trip. The days that I was out there were fun and good. Having hours alone where I couldn't do anything but thing were interesting. Math. I found myself mainly doing math. Lots of schedules, timetables, percentages, etc. I think the fact that I found that fun probably is more indicative of my insanity then the usual indications that come from stretches of solitude (such as talking to oneself, imaginary people, etc).
I know quitting was the right plan, but it still feels frustrating. It was very relaxing, and having 3-4 weeks instead of just 3 days sounds very nice. Perhaps I'll go backpacking for a few days when I get back to Seattle. Anyone up for a bit of camping? 2-3 days, perhaps? Sometime in the next couple of weeks? I have not yet purchased my plane tickets, so I can plan around whatever.
Well, that's about it. I'll be back to Seattle sometime soon. Thanks all! *HUGS*
I camped out at the side of the road a bit north of Great Bend. The first day, my saddlepack (the thing that is on the back of the bike to hold my stuff) got a hole in it from rubbing against my back tire. This also caused two of my shirts to get holes in them, as they were on the inside of the pack where it was rubbing against the tire. After a nice long night's sleep, I got up at 6, repacked everything a bit better, and stopped by a close store for some ductape to do some repair work. By 8, I was back on the road, riding north. I rode from 8 am until 5:30. I took 1 1/2 hours of breaks. So, in 8 hours of riding, I made it 40 miles... hmmmm... Day 1: 14.5 miles per hour, Day 2: 5 miles per hour.
Day 2 was horrible. Apparently, my plan of riding north on the great plains had one very significant flaw. The wind. Sometime during the night a 30 mph southwardly wind had risen up, and it blowed all day. I never realized just how much of a problem riding against the wind would be. It's basically the same as riding directly up a hill, except you never get the advantage of a hill, which is the going downhill part. Unless, of course, you turn around and ride the other direction.
That night I found a decent place to sleep by the side of the road, and this night, I was exhausted. Riding against the wind all day was quite a chore. Day 3 started at 6 am and a look at my map to see about going west for a while before going north again, to avoid the wind. Basically, my options were to go north for about 50 miles... another day of riding, or to go south about 40 miles... back to Great Bend. I decided that south was probably my best option. So I rode back the way I'd came. This time, the 40 miles, with the wind at my back instead of at my front, took 2 hours. What a difference the wind makes.
In Great Bend, which I got to at 9:30 am, I went to a convenience store and got some juice and talked to the lady at the counter (most everyone asked the pink-haired, bright yellow-shirted bike rider what the hell I was doing ;) about my trip. The trucker who was also hanging out at the counter chimed in to let me know that if I wanted to avoid the wind, all I had to do was wait a month or ride west until I hit the Rockies.
Great. So, I did some math and it was fairly obvious that there was no way in hell I was making it to Seattle in time for my airline flight to Europe. My options at this point were to either go west over the hardest section of the Rockies and then go north through California and Oregon. Not very flat regions. Or, I could go north against the wind, which was supposed to extend all the way up to Canada. So, fuck it. I'll come back when I have more time and hopefully when the wind is going the opposite direction.
So I rode back all the distance that I'd ridden on days 1 & 2 on day 3 and got picked up. I started at 7:30 and finished at 7:30, with about two hours of breaks. Riding with the wind was great. 120 miles in 10 hours.
So, I'll be flying back to Seattle, either next week or the week after, depending on how my plans pan out. We'll see. I'm rather frustrated right now. I know that I could have made the trip in time if the wind had been on my side. I really had wanted to do this bike trip. The days that I was out there were fun and good. Having hours alone where I couldn't do anything but thing were interesting. Math. I found myself mainly doing math. Lots of schedules, timetables, percentages, etc. I think the fact that I found that fun probably is more indicative of my insanity then the usual indications that come from stretches of solitude (such as talking to oneself, imaginary people, etc).
I know quitting was the right plan, but it still feels frustrating. It was very relaxing, and having 3-4 weeks instead of just 3 days sounds very nice. Perhaps I'll go backpacking for a few days when I get back to Seattle. Anyone up for a bit of camping? 2-3 days, perhaps? Sometime in the next couple of weeks? I have not yet purchased my plane tickets, so I can plan around whatever.
Well, that's about it. I'll be back to Seattle sometime soon. Thanks all! *HUGS*