Day 6-6/21 Updates
John's Day 6 Journal: Kansas City, Here We Come!
06/21/08 23:35
Route:
Manhatan, KS, to Kansas
City, KS
Total Miles: 125
Miles I Road: 101.5
To Date Total: 626
Weather: 60 degrees in the morning 85 degrees at end of ride; the amount of great weather is starting to become the story of the trip with perfect riding conditions every day
Highlights
The ride went quickly today. As usual, we started late. After getting lost we finally got started at just before 5 am. Jonathon, Mark, and I began the ride this morning to give the other riders an extra hour sleep. We did the first hour at over 21 miles an hour and the team didn’t let up all day. We ended the ride 45 minutes early and averaged just under 20 miles an hour for the entire day.
To speed things up, we have made two adjustments to to our riding. First, we now do “rolling stops,” where riders who want to stop just leave the pack and are picked up by the van. They rest, eat, and refill the water bottles while the ride continues. When they want back in the pack, the van shuttles them ahead and they wait for the other riders to arrive. In the past, we would generally make short stops a couple of times during the day.
Second, when we ride, the person in front only leads for two minutes and then moves to the back. Everyone behind the rider is usually drafting. In cycling, drafting is used to keep riders rested as they ride. This keeps the speed going in the front without tiring the lead rider out. During the day we mostly have four to six members of the team riding at a time. The more riders we have, the longer a rider can rest between leads.
The story of the day was the visit to a children’s hospital in Kansas City. It was very uplifting to meet these kids. They are, without a doubt, the heroes in this story. After ten days we will go home, but for many of these kids they will be fighting for their lives for some time. Some will be lucky, others will miss out on the lives we all have gotten to enjoy. I walked away from this visit more determined than ever to finish this ride on behalf of them.
As I write this, we have been traveling for over four hours in the van to get to Hannibal, MO. It is now 9 pm. After getting in, taking a shower, organizing for tomorrow’s ride, and hopefully sending out this journal entry, it will be 11:00 before we sleep. Then we’ll be back to it again at 3 am.
Whoops! Let’s make the estimate to get to bed a little later … the bridge we were going to cross is closed so we have to find another away across the GREAT Mississippi.
“The road goes on forever / But the party never ends.” ~Robert Earl Keen
Note: The Ride To Reach The Day blog has some incredible pictures of our Day 6 ride. Check 'em out here.
Total Miles: 125
Miles I Road: 101.5
To Date Total: 626
Weather: 60 degrees in the morning 85 degrees at end of ride; the amount of great weather is starting to become the story of the trip with perfect riding conditions every day
Highlights
The ride went quickly today. As usual, we started late. After getting lost we finally got started at just before 5 am. Jonathon, Mark, and I began the ride this morning to give the other riders an extra hour sleep. We did the first hour at over 21 miles an hour and the team didn’t let up all day. We ended the ride 45 minutes early and averaged just under 20 miles an hour for the entire day.
To speed things up, we have made two adjustments to to our riding. First, we now do “rolling stops,” where riders who want to stop just leave the pack and are picked up by the van. They rest, eat, and refill the water bottles while the ride continues. When they want back in the pack, the van shuttles them ahead and they wait for the other riders to arrive. In the past, we would generally make short stops a couple of times during the day.
Second, when we ride, the person in front only leads for two minutes and then moves to the back. Everyone behind the rider is usually drafting. In cycling, drafting is used to keep riders rested as they ride. This keeps the speed going in the front without tiring the lead rider out. During the day we mostly have four to six members of the team riding at a time. The more riders we have, the longer a rider can rest between leads.
The story of the day was the visit to a children’s hospital in Kansas City. It was very uplifting to meet these kids. They are, without a doubt, the heroes in this story. After ten days we will go home, but for many of these kids they will be fighting for their lives for some time. Some will be lucky, others will miss out on the lives we all have gotten to enjoy. I walked away from this visit more determined than ever to finish this ride on behalf of them.
As I write this, we have been traveling for over four hours in the van to get to Hannibal, MO. It is now 9 pm. After getting in, taking a shower, organizing for tomorrow’s ride, and hopefully sending out this journal entry, it will be 11:00 before we sleep. Then we’ll be back to it again at 3 am.
Whoops! Let’s make the estimate to get to bed a little later … the bridge we were going to cross is closed so we have to find another away across the GREAT Mississippi.
“The road goes on forever / But the party never ends.” ~Robert Earl Keen
Note: The Ride To Reach The Day blog has some incredible pictures of our Day 6 ride. Check 'em out here.
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