Day 42: Wooster to Youngstown, OH

When I was riding with Chris today on the 92 mile ride northeast to Youngstown I asked him, "So - what Youngstown about?" He is from Columbus, OH, I figured he should know. He grimaces and looks at me and says, "Corruption. Mafia." OK ... I guess Youngstown has a bad reputation.

So, here we are. If it is the case that there is a corruption and mafia problem here, I'd say it's extremely likely they've been skimming out of the transportation budget. The roads we were riding through Northeast Ohio were collectively the worst I've ever been on. Like almost unridable in many parts except near the center line. Like break a car axle. Like layer upon layer of asphalt filling potholes and then trying again. Like long vertical tire catching ruts that went hundreds of feet near the white line. Like loose gravel over the shoulder. Chris apologized for the condition of his state's roads here ... we told him the first two beautiful days and good roads made up for it.

Today's ride was fine. Very cool today - felt like a fall day. Seemed like a long riding day - in part because the roads really beat you up and required constant attention to keep from crashing and in part because we've been putting in back to back high mileage days for a week. Tomorrow we have another long one - 97 miles into Erie where we get a rest day. (yeah!)

There has been an interesting change in the group dynamic the last couple of days. Lots of folks are talking about going home. They are making plans and talking about being ready for the riding and the trip to end. I hope everyone can stay positive as the trip closes ...

But for me the part of the trip I've been most interested in is still coming - upper state New York, Vermont and New Hampshire. I've never been there, and can't wait.

I am, however starting to get weary of the daily regimented routine and starting to think about home. I am thinking that my deck with a quality glass of Washington wine and some salmon on the grill and friends over is going to be welcome. And my comfy bed. And not packing every day for 52 days. And never, ever going to Bob Evans or Sizzler or Perkins again.

So what is the routine? Someone asked early on and I don't think I ever described what exactly we do everyday - we actually have a pretty regimented in a set schedule. In fact, Chris and I were talking about how hard it would be to think for ourselves when we get back after adhering to a schedule for so long. So here it is:

5:30 ish: Wake up
6:00 ish: Breakfast - often at the hotel, sometimes at a nearby Dennys or Bob Evans type restaurant if the hotel breakfast is too light
7:00 ish: Load the vans. Load the van basically means they open the trailer and everyone hands off their bag and signs in that they've loaded their luggage. (We sign in for everything - their way of herding us and making sure we show up and are accounted for)
7:05: Pump up tires, Riding out. On long days or big climb days we often left earlier - always after it was light.
Between mile 30 and 40 ish: First SAG stop. The SAG van is parked somewhere visible - a park, a convenience store parking lot, a church, a turnout in the road with a cooler of water, Gatorade packets for those who partake in that nasty stuff, food table and basic mechanical support. Everyone has to sign in so they can make sure you aren't dead on the road somewhere, whether or not you take any food or stay for a break. May or may not have bathrooms there. SAG usually has cookies, fruit, salty chips or mix, trail mix, granola bars. They are always low on proteins, which I think is weird since that's pretty key for endurance riding. Some weird reluctance to put out peanut butter ... So I carry my own proteins on the bike. There is a strict sanitation routine at SAG that I think is really smart. Gloves off. Everyone has to use a wipe on their hands and then sanitizer before touching anything on the food table or water cooler. Good idea ... one virus could wipe out half the cyclists and spread quickly. I guess this happened a couple of years ago where van loads of riders were so sick they just were driven from hotel to hotel until they recovered.
Between mile 60 and 70 ish: Second SAG stop. Rides shorter than 70 often only get 1 SAG. Many riders also stop for lunch along the way at a cafe. I usually don't ... I prefer to eat a little constantly than sit down too long and have a big meal in my stomach. But I'm not above a milkshake around mile 70 ... that will get you in for sure.
Anytime after 1:00: Hotel time. The time you get to the hotel in the afternoon depends on how fast you are riding and how much site seeing/lollygagging you do. Afternoon is the easiest time to do laundry, ice bath, shower, blog time, sit by the pool, go to the bar. Sometimes you jump in the shower and go straight to dinner. Often the fastest riders don't have luggage ... the support van with the trailer stays on the road as needed to make sure everyone on the road is safe. This is the right call, but it means that lots of cyclists who dash in quickly sit around in wet bike shorts for a couple of hours ... which begs the question of why rush in ...
4:00 pm ish: Mechanics Hour: Our mechanic has office hours every day and it's first come first served to get your bike worked on. Popular guys, the mechanics.
5:00 pm ish: Route Rap: This is where we get our cue sheets for the next day and review the route for tomorrow. Construction. Stuff to see. Dangerous ride areas. etc. Usually just takes 15 minutes.
5:30 PM ish Dinner: Usually a high volume, modest quality place near the hotel. They try to be done with dinner by 7:00 so some of our more senior riders can make their 7:30 bedtimes.
7:00 pm ish: Post Dinner: Prime blog time. Tour de France if we are lucky is on and we can catch the replay. Many folks sit together in a common area to do their blog where the Wifi is strongest and chat. Others disappear into their rooms till the next morning. This is also when you get all your gear ready for the ride tomorrow. Clean and disinfect water bottles and refill them with electrolytes (for me NUUN) and water. Refill the Bento box (my favorite ride fuel is currently peanut butter filled salted pretzel nuggets and peanut M&Ms ... can go miles on that). Pull out clothes for the next day. Set up your cue sheet. Recharge the Garmin and the Mobile. Pre-pack to enable sleep fogged brain to get you out the door by 6 AM the next day without out forgetting stuff.

Speaking of, I need to go get my bike ready for tomorrow ...