A Day in the Life of Biking Across America

First let me start by saying we had a terrific day.  60 miles from Kan-Nee-Ta, OR to Prineville, OR.  The ride had two pretty big uphills and THREE serious downhills.  I did it all.  I still can't believe it but sometimes you just have to go for it.  The views were amazing.  We went from the desert to lush greenery with tons of farms and animals.  I rewarded myself with a cherry slush from DQ.  It was delicious.  I have never seen so many DQ's - there seems to be one at every turn around here. 

I thought it would be fun to share our daily routine with all of you - it's a lot more than just biking.  I'll start with what happens after in the afternoon, after we finish a ride.  I think this way it will make the most sense.

We all get in at different times - obviously fast riders get in the earliest.  Many times before our rooms are even ready at our next stop over.  Our luggage is transported from stop to stop so in the afternoon, whoever is here for luggage unload gets roped in - I am typically not here for this given my pace of riding.  Once we get in we are on our own for a bit - giving people time for laundry, catching up with home, eating, swimming, etc.  The very first thing we all do when we get in is shower!!  Sometimes we have been in areas with stores - like today we went to Starbucks - other times there is nothing around.  The mechanic team is amazing and every night we have a chance to bring our bikes down for repair or maintenance.  Then we typically have dinner and RAP.  RAP is when we go over the schedule for the next day - what time is luggage load, breakfast, mechanic time, and we review the route sheet.  The route sheet has step by step directions to our next stop and we also discuss what the hills look like and where there might be places along the way to stop for lunch.  During RAP, Barbara, one of our leaders, the mom to everyone, has a "Barbara tip time" - which I think I will save for another post.

By the time dinner and RAP are over, we are all exhausted.  I go back to my room and get all of my stuff out for the next day for me and my bike and then I repack my bags so they are ready to go in the morning.  I have been leaving about 45 minutes to 1 hour before the group so that I can get a head start - So I've been on the bike around 6:30 AM everyday.  In the morning we load our luggage in the van, have breakfast and head out.  Along the way we have SAG stops, which I just learned today stands for "support and gear" or "shit and go". Our mileage for the day dictates how many SAG stops we have.  Today we had 1, tomorrow we will have 3 for 117 miles.  At the SAG stops we eat (fruit, nuts, chips, etc.) and load up our waters and just take a break to chat before heading off to ride.  Then we do it all over again!!  It's a little bit like "Groundhog's Day" - And I wouldn't want to be doing anything else!