It has been a long great week, and I definitely need a day of rest. This week we rode over 625 miles, passed 2000 total miles, and we are now in Illinois, and almost to Indiana. See the map above for where I have been and where I currently am located. The last point of interest in orange is me in Champaign, IL for today’s rest day.
This week has been filled with a lot of visitors, last rest day Lynn had come to see me for 2 days in Abilene, KS, and then Scotty H. Came for 2 days in MO. And then Dave T. Came for a day to ride. All of those visitors was awesome, and great to see family and friends, but it took a toll on me, and I was beat by the end of the week. I went to an early dinner last night and went to bed by 9:00. I knew I was tired when I went to brush my teeth last night, and I put toothpaste on my toothbrush, BUT the toothpaste wasn’t blue like my toothpaste is, but it was white! I looked at the tube in my hand, and it said “ Jock Itch medicine”. I threw away that toothbrush, and luckily I had another in my bag. Several have asked when I realized it, and it was before it when in my mouth, when I looked at it!! LOL
Yesterday, I took care of my bike wash, and also got my laundry done in the evening, so today I can just relax, which I am looking forward to.
Below is a picture of me and Emil going up a hill several days ago, entering Illinois. The picture was taken by his wife, Eve, they are from Switzerland.
I have a funny story to tell you about a trick that we played on my friend Barry, but first a little back story. Barry is a great cyclists and former marathoner and he doesn’t dilly dally, or waste a lot of time. He did this ride 4 years ago, and he has seen a lot of the scenery and points of interest, so he doesn’t stop a lot for pictures, etc, and he is in and out of the SAG’s. Stopping less also keeps you out of the heat, and gets you into A/C a lot faster than the others that are stopping. So there are some days that I ride with Barry, and others when I want to stop at Dairy Queen with others for a mid morning milkshake or cone, or to take pictures. So a couple of days ago when we all got rained on, Barry did NOT, he was ahead of the rain. When we all got to the hotel, and he was showered and dressed, he saw us and we asked him if he got wet, he said from what? We were not happy that he didn’t also get rained on. So hence this joke that we played on him.
Barry went inside to go to the bathroom real quick before our route rap the next morning. Route Rap is when Paula goes over the days route and what to look out for, where a hard to see turn may be, points of interest, etc. When he went inside, we all hid around the side of the building, and we had the staff tell Barry that we had all already left, as we didn’t want to get rained on today, and that he could catch us. He was like, “OK”, he gets on his bike, and starts to ride off and we all come from the side of the building laughing, and he was laughing as well. Just a few cyclist Int having some fun.
Another email that I received was from my primary physician. I was surprised to receive an email from him, but was glad to hear from him and his medical thoughts. Read his email below. ( his name is being left out for privacy )
Bruce,
I have been following you on a daily basis. I am very impressed and proud (and a little jealous) of your endeavor. I am glad that you are holding up well. The 5 pound loss is actually not surprising; it probably suggests that you are eating and drinking sufficiently. More weight loss would imply dehydration and muscle breakdown.
I wish you well and hope the rest of the trip is “easy”. Don’t be afraid to take more rest/drink/eat time.
So the weight loss is right on target, good to know! And I clearly figured out the hydration issues, as a matter of fact, I have been overhydrating in the am during and after breakfast, which is putting me in a good position to start off the day, as opposed to being in a deficit.
(L-R) Pete from Scotland, Mark from England, Me, my friend Dave from Chicago, Cathy from San Francisco, and Emil from Switzerland.
Thank you for following along with me on this journey, and if you can please make a donation to the Children's Hospital below. 100% of your funds go to the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital.
https://vanderbilt.ejoinme.org/bikeacrosstheusa
As a non-profit institution, the Children's Hospital provides care to the children who come through its' doors regardless of the family's ability to pay. Caring support from the community allows this level of service to continue.
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