Solo Today: 113 Miles

I adopted a new strategy today:  I rode by myself.  I just felt tired and had dead legs when I climbed, so I let Denis, Jim, Lorie, and Peter leave me behind.  I paid close attention to the turns and didn't get lost and caught up with the gang at 66 miles for lunch.  I quickly made and ate a peanut butter and banna sandwich and got out about 5 minutes ahead of them.  The last 10 miles were uphill, but I finished strong, two minutes ahead of my friends and in a better mood.

I can relate to a story my brother, Don, passed along.  A friend's son went out for high school track.  After the first day of practice, his dad asked him how it went.  The son replied, "Well, there was a lot of running."  That's how I feel..there's a lot of cycling.  So far, we've ridden 2,150 miles, or about 2/3 of the way.  I think we have 15 days left, which means 13 actual cycling days...not that I'm counting down or anything.

OK was oil country.  I saw gas for $3.06 a gallon at a truck stop by the interstate.  

I mentioned feeling a bit down and tired today, so I ate my first Gu for the trip.  I have to admit, I felt better.  I've been eatting lots of Cliff and Mojo bars.  The Mojos have nuts and honey.  Honey is normally one of the food groups banned by my lymphoma, but I figure I'm burning enough calories to prevent an insulin spike, which causes tumor growth.  I think I mentioned this already in the blog, but I had saw my oncologist for blood work right before the trip and have an appointment a couple days after I get back to measure the affects of 'excessive exercise' on my body.

Pictures:  Below is a calf shot, which shows a little more muscle definition.  We passed through cattle country...the horses are included for my business partner, Gayle.  We finally crossed the border into MO, where I saw a business advertising that they spread chicken litter (not actually sure why one would want that much chicken litter).  Finally, we celebrated Paul's 70th birthday today.  Yes, he's ridden every single mile.  The stickers on the cake were copies of old postcards from Santa Barbara, Grand Canyon, Taos, etc.  His wife, Ann, flew out to celebrate with him...very nice people.