Stage 20!

90.72 miles in 4:51:08 for an average speed of 18.7 mph. I was challenged till the end since the wind was pretty strong for the last 30 miles, but I just kept powering through it (17.5 mph into the headwind with a heart rate of 145). Slept in and started at first light at 5:16 am. It was 69 degrees at the start and 79 at the finish. I drank 1.25 gallons and ate 1300 calories. Lost 2 lbs.

When I stopped for water at Chad's home, he came out and rode a mile or two with me (he has started riding for 35 minutes every day.).

4 miles from the end I caught up with another biker and rode back to town with him. I had not met him before. His name is John Coil (sp?) and is a nice guy that does quite a bit of biking.

Wildlife: 4 rabbits and 2 deer.

I almost can't believe that I have finished the tour a second time. I think that it was easier this year mostly since I had prepared better by doing 7 centuries every other day before it started. The only day that was really tough was stage 11 when I almost abandoned. My average speed increased from last years 18.22 to 18.56 mph.

I do think that doing the tour is far harder than any other athletic event that I have done. Running marathons, ultra marathons, and triathlons (I have not done an Ironman triathlon) is not nearly as hard. The fact that it is a multistage event over 3 weeks is what makes it difficult.

The "Tour de France diet" works pretty well. I lost 5 lbs over 3 weeks by forcing myself to eat as much food as I could take in (between 6,000 and 7,000 calories per day).

Now I have to add running back into my routine. Last year it took 3 to 4 weeks of gradually increasing back to 6 miles per day before my body could adapt to the stress of running. I'm hoping that it does not take as long this year.

Acknowledgments:

Special thanks to Marlene Slough for the idea of having a blog about this version of the tour.

Thanks to Chad and Mary Mattingly for providing water out on the course. It was quite useful to not have to go back into town to get water when I had run out.

Thanks to Bike and Hike for getting me such a great bike (Trek Madone 5.2), keeping me supplied with tires, tubes, etc., and dropping everything to fix my rear shift cable in the middle of stage 6.

Thanks to Bill Slough and Andrew Mertz for riding a lot of miles together, both during training and during the tour.

Thanks to Bill and Andrew for giving me their spare water on various occasions which saved me a refill stop later.

Thanks to my wife Ellen for taking such good care of me during the tour. She provided excellent nutritious food so that I would recover and wake up ready to go each day. The pasta salads, pasta and vegetables, spinach salads, and a continuous supply of "gunk" (a mix of oatmeal, plain yogurt, and pineapple) kept me fueled for 3 weeks.

Stage 19

34.49 miles in 1:37:05 for an average speed of 21.32 mph. I felt pretty strong today. Sleeping in till 5:30 was really nice and I was well rested. Bill and Andrew helped by letting me chase them. They started 5 minutes ahead of me and it motivated and focused me to push hard. I first caught sight of them at Chad's home which is about 3/4ths of the way around the 18 mile loop. At that time I was still 2 minutes back. They got to the end of the loop first by something around a minute before me (maybe they know exactly how long?- Bill timed that I was 1.5 minutes behind and that they had averaged 20.5 mph). They stopped and I continued on a second loop. I had averaged 22 mph on the first lap, but I was weakening by then and the wind was stronger the second time around so I could not hold the pace.

I drank 1 quart and ate 600 calories. Lost 5 lbs. which is probably why I was totally spent at the finish. It was a warm 70 degrees out which is also why I lost so much water. Average heart rate 152 bpm. Except for the downhills I kept my heart rate at 158 bpm.

Wildlife: 1 rabbit and 1 deer.

Stage 20 (the final stage) tomorrow is 90.72 miles.

Stage 18

131.11 miles in 7:04:25 for an average speed of 18.54 mph. Despite warmer temperatures, high humidity, wind the whole time, and rain the last 20 miles, it went really well. I was worried that I was worn out and that it was going to be a difficult ride so I tried to keep my pace slow at the beginning. Bill then helped by setting a nice moderate pace (no surging or racing today). When Bill left, I had 38 miles to go. I started thinking that I didn't have to save any energy for tomorrow since it is just 34 miles, so I pushed hard for the last 38 miles and lifted my average speed from 18.3 to 18.5.

73 degrees at the start and 74 at the finish. Started at 2:43 AM. Drank 2 gallons and ate 2300 calories. Lost 4 lbs. Average heart rate 116 bpm.

Wildlife: 2 rabbits and 3 deer.

People: During the 2 and 1/2 hours of darkness that I have often ridden, I don't usually see anyone except the guy delivering newspapers from 3:00 to 4:00 and 2 or 3 cars. This morning there were also 7 different people walking in the road. Most of them walked down the middle of the road and I had to be careful I did not run anyone down.

The newspaper guy has been very nice. He waves when he gets out of his car to deliver a paper and he seems to watch out for me as I go by (as opposed to the Sunday paper delivery person last week that was backing out of driveways quickly, driving all over the street on the wrong side, and not using any turn signals).

Last week a car pulled up beside my bike as I rode and the man asked me how far I was going. When I told him 143 miles he looked at me like I was crazy so I had to explain that I was riding the tour de France. This morning he was walking and as I passed in the dark he said "Are you that tour de France guy?" When I said yes, he said "Take it easy, tour de France, you just have a couple more days.".

It reminds me that last year a paper delivery person out on the country roads who saw me every day, pulled over and waved me down, about half way through the tour, to ask me how much I was riding. I explained to him what I was doing and he always waved after that and on days that I started late he would yell out his window that I was running late today.

Stage 19 tomorrow is a 34.49 mile time trial. After today's hard effort I should just take it easy tomorrow, but I never seem to be able to do that and will probably go as hard as I can. In any case, the tour is virtually over since the last two stages are just 34 and 90 miles.

Stage 17

117.13 miles in 6:25:34 for an average speed of 18.23 mph. Another good ride today with perfect weather. Started at 3:00 AM in 65 degree clear skies. Still no moon (it has not been out for any of my early starts). 75 degrees at the finish. Drank 1.25 gallons and ate 2400 calories. Lost 3 lbs. Average heart rate 114 bpm.

Bill, Andrew, and I had a fun ride, each surging throughout the ride. By the time we got to the little hill, Bill was the only one that could go up with speed. That's two days in a row that Bill has won the little hill race.

Wildlife: 4 rabbits and 2 deer. I had to brake for one rabbit that nearly ran under my wheels.

Stage 18 tomorrow is 131.11 miles. I'm getting close to the end!

Sad news for the real tour

Yesterday it was sad to find out that Alexander Vinokourov had blood doped (he had someone else's blood injected into him. Why he would cheat in a way that is easy to catch is hard to fathom.) and to lose the entire Astana team from the tour.

Now Rasmussen and his team are out. He lied that he was in Mexico when in fact he was in Italy when he missed a drug test last May/June.

Stage 16

135.77 miles in 7:17:36 for an average speed of 18.62 mph. Very nice ride.

Started at 2:57 AM with a temperature of 62 degrees. 83 degrees at the finish. Drank 1.5 gallons and ate 1900 calories. Lost 3.5 lbs. Average heart rate 120 bpm.

The weather was perfect again. No wind for 80 miles and then only a little.

Bill and Andrew met me at mile 68 (half way). Bill took off at a fast pace up the first hill. Andrew responded with amazing acceleration and passed him as I could only watch from behind. Then we held a strong pace for the 20-25 mile loop with each of us taking turns at the lead (I did the least and got some rest). At the end we had a number of surges (mostly by Bill). Just before the little hill that we race up, I took off since I knew that my legs were not going to be fast up the hill and that my only chance was to get a lead before the hill. Bill still caught me and flew by on the way up the hill and Andrew just about caught me.

Wildlife: Very strangely, none. No rabbits, no deer. The birds have been interesting early in the morning. Sunrise is at 5:40 and all is quiet from 3:00 to 4:00. At 4:00 a few birds start singing and by 4:30 they are quite loud. It also starts getting a little bit light out at right around 4:00. Not much, but just noticeable. By 4:40 it is still dark, but very noticeably lighter. By 5:10 it is quite light.

Tomorrow stage 17 is 117.13 miles.

Rest Day #2

I have had a nice day off today, but ran 3 miles with Ellen.

Stage 15

121.79 miles in 6:43:41 for an average speed of 18.1 mph. Not as easy as yesterday, but not too hard. The fact that Bill pulled me through the last 50 miles was a very big help and probably kept it from being a tough ride.

The weather was perfect again today. It was 57 degrees at the start and 76 at the finish. Drank 1 gallon and ate 2000 calories. Lost 2 lbs. Average heart rate 110 bpm. I started at 2:48 AM and had 75 miles by the time Bill joined me. It had gone very well to that point, but I could tell that I was starting to weaken a little and was not as strong as yesterday. There was no wind until Bill arrived and then, even though it was a little stronger than yesterday, was not too bad. As I indicated above, Bill pulled me through the rest of the ride which sure made it go well. On the hills, Bill was like Michael Rasmussen and I was like Levi Leipheimer. I could not stay with him, but unlike Rasmussen, he would slow down at the top and I would catch back up.

The aggressive dog was not out today!

Wildlife: 2 rabbits and 5 deer and Bill saw a red fox. I forgot that yesterday I helped another box turtle across the road.

Tomorrow is a rest day. I am ready for the day off. Three long days of 136, 117, and 131 miles follow, then the time trial of 34 miles, and just 90 miles for the final stage on Sunday.

Stage 14

122.41 miles in 6:46:31 for an average speed of 18.07 mph. That was the easiest ride of that distance that I have ever done! It was easier no doubt because I went at a pretty easy pace, but also since it was nice and cool and there was very little wind.

I started at 2:50 AM. I thought that it was going to be a pretty tough ride so I decided to get an early start. It was 60 degrees at the start, but Ellen says that by 6:00 AM it was 56 degrees. It was 75 at the finish. I drank .75 gallons and ate 2200 calories. Lost 1 lb. Average heart rate was 116 bpm. There was no wind until about 80 miles and then it didn't get very strong.

Bill is back from his conference and joined me for miles 67 through 107. The miles just flew by. We had a bit of fun with our aggressive dog. He chased me like usual and I put a few ounces of gaterade into his face. Bill slowed a bit and said that it was entertaining to watch. The dog then stopped chasing me and turned back to Bill. I turned back and Bill slowed and yelled at the dog which scared it off. It also saw me coming back fast toward it and it was running off into the field by then. On our second lap it was not out. On my last lap it was there, but it just watched me go by.

Wildlife: 5 rabbits and 8 deer. Bill and I saw three deer close together, but not together. The last one ran very fast across the road in front of us 15 or 20 meters ahead. The speed was impressive.

Stage 15 tomorrow is 121.79 miles. I plan to start early again. The second rest day is on Tuesday.

Stage 13

33.56 miles in 1:35:42 for an average speed of 21.04 mph. Great ride! There was only a little wind which was especially nice (I could not do a time trial around town; traffic and corners would keep the pace slow). 10 miles into the ride I had an average speed of 21, but thought that I was probably going too hard and that it could sabotage the rest of the tour. Thus I eased up a bit and at 20 miles had an average of 20.7 mph. Then I got a little exuberant and pushed the pace to the finish. 53 degrees at the start and 62 at the finish. The cool temperatures made this an easier ride. Ate 200 calories before I started and drank 8 oz during the ride. Lost 1 lb. Average heart rate 138 bpm (I had thought that I would be in the 150's, but that was too hard and I was only in the 140's up the hills).

Wildlife: 2 rabbits (I was not exactly looking for wildlife today, but the rabbits ran in from of me).

Stage 14 tomorrow is 122.41 miles.

Stage 12

110.92 miles in 6:02:34 for an average speed of 18.36 mph. Great ride! I felt good throughout. I think that I have bounced back from the last three hard days. For three days I've been telling myself that if I could just pull through that I would get stronger and have some fun stages. Today was one!

I started at 5:06 this morning and it was a nice cool 57 degrees. 70 degrees at the finish. Drank 1.2 gallons and ate 1600 calories. Lost 1 lb. Average heart rate 111 bpm. The wind was pretty strong the whole way, but I stayed in town again.

I think that the reason that I had nothing left in my legs yesterday is that I have not been able to eat enough. Since the start of the tour I have already lost 5 lbs which is too much (I only lost 3 lbs for the whole tour last year). Yesterday I worked hard to keep eating all afternoon and evening and I think that it might have made the difference today. Eating 6,000 to 7,000 calories each day is hard work and you have to be sure that most of those calories are low in fat and not just sugar.

Wildlife: 5 rabbits.

Stage 13 tomorrow is a 33.56 mile time trial. I won't race it straight out, but will just put my heart rate somewhere around 150 and see how it goes.

Stage 11

113.4 miles in 6:12:04 for an average speed of 18.29 mph. Started at 4:55. 77 degrees at the start and 80 at the finish. Drank 3 gallons and ate 2600 calories. Lost 2.5 lbs. Average heart rate 122.

My rule for the tour is that I do the same mileage that the Tour de France riders do on the same day. I do stop, during the ride, but I don't like to, but must to refill my gatorade or water. Today it did not work out that way. After 20 miles I was suffering. The wind was strong from the start and my legs just did not seem to have anything left in them. I gutted out 43 miles and was out of liquid (earlier than usual since it was so hot). When I stopped at home to refill I felt so bad that I could not start right away. So I ate some more food and slept for an hour in an attempt to recover enough to be able to finish today's ride. I still had 70 miles to go and went out and did 30 miles in town on the residential roads. Staying in town allowed me to avoid the wind (it's still windy in town, but probably half as much). I think this is almost cheating, but I was in a desperate survival mode and I either had to abandon or just try to do a few more miles and hope that I would feel better. I refilled my bottles and went out for the last 40 miles. Again I circled around town to avoid the wind. I really didn't think that I was going to be able to complete today's ride. Even when I had 4 miles to go it seemed like I might not make it. But I have survived the toughest stage so far this year which was harder than any of the stages last year (last year I did not have so many days in a row with challenging wind which has not allowed me to recover enough).

Wildlife: 2 rabbits and 11 deer.

Stage 12 tomorrow is 110.92 miles. I can only hope that the wind will ease and that I have a good day.

Dog today

I forgot to mention the type 3 dog experience today. I was past the house and around the final corner and he totally surprised me by coming out of the soybean field. Since I didn't have any more corners to go around I was able to get up to 26 mph which he easily matched. He did not try to get quite as close as I squirt gatorade in his face so I think that he may be getting used to me. That is the first time that I have felt that maybe he just wanted to run along.

Stage 10

142.61 miles in 7:46:03 for an average speed of 18.36 mph. Started at 5:05. 69 degrees at the start and 84 at the finish. Drank 2.7 gallons and ate 3700 calories. Lost 4.5 lbs. Average heart rate 122 bpm.

The front tire went flat at mile 19. I hit some good sized gravel that had been washed onto the road by the rain yesterday (the rain was so heavy yesterday that there were 9 places along the loop that had water flowing over the road, but only 1 to 3 inches deep). I haven't checked the tube yet but I think it was probably pinched.

The first 90 miles were very easy and I did them at 18.8 mph. The wind was not very strong, but then picked up and made the last 52 miles a lot harder. During the last 20 miles it briefly crossed my mind to abandon, but I gutted it out. Today was certainly the toughest day that I have had, but that's how it goes sometimes and I am sure that I will have some easy days too.

Wildlife: 6 rabbits and 2 red foxes.

Stage 11 tomorrow is 113.4 miles.

Stage 9

99.11 miles in 5:21:22 for an average speed of 18.5 mph. The wind and thunderstorm were brutal. I started two hours late because of a thunderstorm, but another storm came through from 60 miles through 95 miles. The storm cooled it off about 10 degrees, which was nice, but the wind throughout made the ride quite tough. It was 62 degrees at the start and it must have gotten into the mid 70's until the storm came through and cooled it down to the low 60's. I drank just 1 gallon and ate 2300 calories. Lost 3 lbs. Average heart rate was 124 bpm.

I had a flat tire 2 miles into the ride and fixed it in a light rain. This evening I put a new tire on since the small cut in it looked like an invitation for another piece of glass or a stone to get caught in.

In the middle of the thunderstorm, the mailman pulled up beside me and yelled out the window "Is it wet enough for you?" I yelled back "It sure is."

Wildlife: No rabbits and 5 deer. With 5 miles to go I had only seen one deer right at the start. I then saw a buck and then a mile later a doe with two fauns. The doe and one faun crossed the road about 60 meters ahead and ran along the road with the other faun running on the other side of the road. The doe and faun then crossed the road over to the other faun and she herded them both across the street. The three then continued running along the road. I had slowed down so that I didn't gain on them (about 40 meters ahead). Then one faun bolted across the road and ran back towards me and by me while the doe and other faun continued ahead until they reached the end of the corn field and they disappeared into the corn. I watched behind me, but I could not see if they got back together.

Stage 10 tomorrow is 142.61 miles. If the weather tomorrow is like today's weather, I think I will have a very tough time completing the stage. The same weather is predicted, but I hope to get lucky.

Rest Day and dog report

I ran 3 miles with Ellen this morning. I am hoping to not entirely lose my running form during the tour. With the day off, my legs feel pretty good and I am ready to go tomorrow. Just 99.11 miles.

Dogs

It seems like a high percentage of people have a dog. Most of the time the dogs are indoors, but when you ride by multiple times they are out some of the time. From a bikers point of few there are three types of dogs. The first type either ignores you or doesn't leave their yard and just watches you go by. The second type likes to run along with you along the road, but does not try to run in front of the bike or to move closer than about 1 meter on the side. The third type comes right at you and may run in front of the bike but always chases and seems to really want to take a bite out of your leg.

The first type is of course no problem and there are several such dogs on my routes (at the end of Hays, at the house opposite the 5 horses and burrow, and past Chads at the farm with the two horses).

The second type are fun to have around. There are 3 places with such dogs on my routes. The first is at Drake's construction. There is a large German Shepard and a larger tan dog. They like to run along and mostly ahead on the right side in the grass. There is a wooden fence separating Drake's construction from their house just beyond. They have cut a hole in the bottom of the fence so that the dogs can go through. The last three times that I have been by it has been quite funny since the tan dog has a large cone attached to his neck extending out over his head (I assume it is to keep him from licking some wound). When he gets to the opening in the fence his cone just crashes into it. He then thrashes around trying to force his way through and he finally gets through, but it takes him several attempts. Last year there was a different German Shepard that lived there and he was really fun because instead of running ahead before I got there, he would wait for me at an earlier point and then we would both take off at full speed. He would usually get a little ahead (since he could accelerate faster than me) and I would catch up to him as he went through the fence and then we would finish together at the end of the yard at full speed. I have clocked him at 32 mph.

The second dog of type 2 is a medium sized dog and he runs out from his yard and follows just behind to the right or left. Last year he could regularly go 24 mph, but over the winter he gained a bit of weight and he has only gotten up to 16-18 this year so far.

The third dog of type 2 used to be type 3 earlier this year (on the left just before Lerna road at the farmhouse that has a sign that says "Farm machinery crossing"). I have found that sometimes you can get them trained to behave. I used to squirt gaterade in his face to keep him from getting so close that he could bite, but now I just talk to him and tell him that he is running well and he just runs along side, but keeps about a meter away.

I face a type 3 dog almost every day (at the house with the swimming pool in the back and two horses). There are actually three dogs at the house. Only one is type three. He will run in front of me if he sees me coming, but I can get by him, without losing much speed, by squirting gatorade at him. I find it best to approach fast and I often get the jump on him so that he is playing catchup. After I get past, he chases and will run right next to me as if he wants to bite. I squirt gatorade right in his face and instead of slowing a bit like other dogs he speeds up and looks like he wants to cut in front of me. So far I have always been able to increase the pace enough (24 mph or so) so that he can't cut me off. The situation is complicated by the fact that there is a corner just before the house and another corner just after the house. Slowing down to make the final corner sometimes allows him to catch up to me when I have previously lost him. I am trying to get him trained to be a type 2 dog, but he may just like the gatorade in his face and I'll have to try some other tactic.

Stage 8

102.53 miles in 5:19:44 for an average speed of 19.24 mph. That was a really fun ride! 69 degrees at the start and 77 at the finish. Drank 1.75 gallons and ate 2200 calories. Lost 3 lbs. Average heart rate 122 bpm.

I felt good today. My legs were less sore so I pushed the pace since tomorrow is a day off. The wind was not quite as strong as it has been the last two days which made it a bit easier. The first 10 miles were into a headwind at an average pace of 16.5 mph so I thought that it was going to be a long slow day, but I then woke up and started to work harder. By the half way point I was at 18.7 mph and just kept increasing the average.

Wildlife: 5 rabbits , 4 deer, and two quail (I don't usually mention birds, but I don't see many quail. Crows and killdeer are common along with quite a few turkey vultures and an occasional wild turkey and red tailed hawk.). A doe and faun were about to cross the road 100 meters ahead as I came around a corner and surprised them. The doe bolted across the road and the faun ran the other way across a field and into some woods.

Note: I realized that I should have known that something was up with my shifter cable before it broke the other day. For about two weeks I was having to adjust it. That was because it was partially broken and thus its length was changing a little at a time as the strands broke.

The real tour was exciting today. Rasmussen is amazing. He can be really tough and he has the guts to just go for it.

Tomorrow is a rest day. I am pleased to have finished 960 miles in the first 8 stages and to get this far feeling pretty good. As happened last year, I have gotten stronger as time goes on, but this time I have gotten stronger earlier which I think is due to the better preparation that I did this time. I am looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. (Steve- I would run with you tomorrow, but I don't want to set a time and just want to run when I wake up.)

Stage 7

122.72 miles in 6:41:24 for an average speed of 18.34 mph. 60 degrees at the start and 79 at the finish. Drank 1.75 gallons. Ate 2100 calories. Lost 4 lbs. Average heart rate 116 bpm.

I didn't feel strong like that last two days, but not weak either. It was a pretty straight forward ride except that for the last half the wind got rather strong and even though I pushed quite a bit harder, I could not hold the 18.5 pace that I had for the first half. I consumed fewer calories and was very hungry at the finish. The reason is that it was so cool at the start that I needed less water and decided not to go back home to refill the gatorade. I just stopped once at Chad and Mary's to get more water, but didn't get the gatorade calories.

Bill and Andrew could not ride today. Andrew is ill and they are both working very hard preparing for a conference talk and workshop. Bill is also finishing up teaching a summer class. They will be gone at the conference until next Saturday.

Wildlife: 3 rabbits and 5 deer. Three of the deer ran along a corn field for .75 miles about 100 meters ahead of me. They slowly pulled away from my 18 mph and then disappeared into some trees. In the past they would usually go into the corn, but now that it is 7 to 8 feet tall and pretty dense, so I think they don't like to go in.

My wife Ellen who supports me so well for this ride says that I should do a dog report since I am always telling her about them. There are always quite a few dogs and I had some interesting encounters again today. When I get the chance, I'll do a separate post about dogs.

Stage 8 tomorrow is 102.53 miles. That seems short in comparison to the past stages so I look forward to it. With my heart rate so low it is just the fatigue in my legs from doing 857 miles in the last 7 days that is slowing me down. If my legs could recover just a little more, I think that I could really go and give my heart a better workout. The interesting thing about doing this 20 stage ride is that you never know what to expect each day. You don't know if you will feel euphoric or if you will suffer and some days you get a bit of both. And some days you don't know that you are suffering because you are focusing and pushing to the finish, but then you feel wiped out for a couple of hours and you realize just how hard you were pushing.

Stage 6

I'm finally done. 123.96 miles in 6:40:49 for an average speed of 18.56 mph. I am just finishing at 1:40 PM since I had a bit of mechanical trouble which made things rather interesting and included my first ride on a UPS truck. Started at 5:10. 65 degrees at the start and 80 at the finish. Average heart rate 123. Drank 2 gallons and lost 4.5 lbs, thus I need to drink a bit more. Ate 2700 calories.

I felt really strong at the start and did the first 35 miles at 18.5 mph. Bill joined me and said he was tired and would not be going too fast. But he took off and led through the head wind section. At the end of the 20 miles with Bill the average was up to 18.8 mph. Thank you Bill. I pushed hard for the next two laps and still had an average of 18.8 mph when I finished the headwind section of the second time around since riding with Bill. At that point my rear derailer cable broke. With no cable holding it in position it popped to the highest gear in the back. I could still switch chain rings in the front, but 53-11 is only good for very strong tailwinds or big downhills. Thus I rode the next 6 miles in my 39-11. Even with the tailwind this was too high of a gear to push since my cadence was only about 70-75 rather than my more normal 95 rpms. Once I turned north back into the headwind I stopped since I could not push that gear. A UPS truck came by and offered me a ride as far as he was going. I was about 7 miles from home and he took me 2 miles. But then he gave me the idea of tying the cable to the bike frame to hold it in a lower gear. He kindly helped me do this and then I could ride in either 39-21 or 53-21. This got me home, but I lost a lot of speed with the average dropping to 18.5 mph. I still had 32 miles to go.

I took the bike to the bike shop (Bike and Hike) where Jim was very helpful. He got a new cable installed and adjusted the gears and I was ready to go. Thank you Jim and tell your manager Keith Cox to give you a raise. I had lost almost 2 hours, but was back on the road. I managed to push hard enough to hold onto the 18.5 mph average speed, but it was a bit of an effort. In retrospect, I was too dehydrated which probably made the last bit harder than it should have been.

Wildlife: 5 rabbits and 3 deer. One deer had a small rack and stood in a clearing about 100 meters away watching me pass by.

Stage 7 tomorrow is 122.72 miles. Right now I feel worn out so I may have to take it slower tomorrow. Andrew and Bill will be with the team which is always fun.

Stage 5

Wow, that was a breakthrough ride. I felt really good. 113.4 miles in 6:09:12 for an average speed of 18.43 mph. I started at 4:35. At the start it was 61 degrees and 77 at the finish. It was quite windy again for the entire ride. Average heart rate was 113 for the first 68 miles and 125 for the last 45 miles. Drank 1.25 gallons and ate 2300 calories. Lost 2 lbs.

At 43 miles when I met Bill my average was 17.8 and I was a little discouraged because of the wind making it so tough. Bill took off immediately and led through the headwind section at an amazing 18 to 20 mph. When we turned the corner and got the tailwind Bill pushed the pace to 24-25 mph. After 25 miles following Bill, my average was up to 18.2. Thanks Bill. I went back to town with Bill, refilled my gatorade, and headed out for the last 45 miles. At this point I felt really good and decided that the breakaway that Bill had started needed to continue and I set a goal of maintaining the 18.2 average speed. I had to do 2 of the standard 18 mile loops that we do, plus the to and from town to get the 45 miles. Thus I had to fight the headwind for 35 minutes twice. I was not able to do the 18-20 mph that Bill did, but I did hold 16-18 and then 24 mph on the tailwind section. It went well and I was faster the second time around.

Wildlife: 3 rabbits, 1 groundhog, and 1 deer. The deer just stood and watched, about 10 meters from the road, as I climbed Hays hill to the finish line.

Other bikers: 2 in red. We said Hi and I got the impression that they knew me, but with helmets and sunglasses, I haven't been able to place them. Who are you???

Sunrise: I have been able to time my laps so that I turn and face the sun as it rises. It has been spectacular every day.

Traffic: I only had to slow a little once for a car.

Interesting side effects (or I'm going a bit crazy): When I used to white water kayak, I would feel the boat rocking for some hours after being on the water. I am having two similar types of sensations. I occasionally, feel the motion of the bike as if I am banking around a corner fast. Also, for an hour or so after the ride, if I look at something that is not to close to me, it looks like it is receding away from me. I can only guess that this is because I have spent so much time with everything moving towards me that the brain starts to think that is normal and when it stops moving toward me the brain thinks it is moving away.

Today's ride was so easy that I hope that the effort does not cost me tomorrow. Stage 6 is 123.96 miles, and then not as long on Saturday and Sunday. Monday is a rest day. I am pretty confident that I will make it through the tough first 8 stages before the rest day. The only question is if I will arrive at the rest day stronger or worn down. It is important that I don't push too hard even when I am feeling strong. Last year I paid the price for that a couple of times.

Stage 4 update

Traffic: I must have been unlucky with traffic today since I had to stop 5 or 6 times to wait for cars. Usually I don't have to wait on cars at all or maybe once or twice briefly.

Roads: Earlier in the week gravel was put down on the road home from Paradise (lake Paradise and the town of Paradise are about 20 miles west) so I have been returning the way that I go. Today, fresh gravel was on the road just west of Mattoon on the way to Paradise so I turned around and never made it to Paradise. I'll have to look for a new route to Paradise. The lake is quite nice and fun to ride around.

Stage 4

119.93 miles in 6:46:40 for an average speed of 17.69 mph. 67 degrees at the start and 75 at the finish. I slept in and started at 4:50. Drank 1.8 gallons and consumed 2600 calories. Lost no weight.

The lower temperatures helped, but the wind was strong from start to finish which made it pretty tough today and is the reason that the average speed is down. The good news is that even though the wind made it tough, I seemed to be able to just keep going and I still felt fine at the finish. My average heart rate was just 113 bpm. This surprised me since I felt like I was working hard.

Wildlife: 1 rabbit and 4 deer.

Stage 5 tomorrow is 113.4 miles. The wind is predicted to ease up a bit which will be much appreciated.

Stage 3

146.95 miles in 8:07:32 for an average pace of 18.08 mph. I woke up early so I started at 4:10. It was 73 degrees at the start and 86 at the finish. I drank 2.75 gallons and lost 2 pounds. Ate 3200 calories counting 500 just before starting. During each of the last two stages I ate 2600 calories.

No rain and almost no cloud cover so it was quite hot. The wind made the last 50 miles very challenging. I could only go 13-15 against the headwind and the loops that I was taking had me doing that for 35 to 40 minutes each time. Just when I would think that I was not going to make it I would turn downwind and get a much needed rest. My average pulse for the first 75 miles was 119 and 125 for the second half.

Bill and Andrew rode 20 or so miles and really pushed the pace. I think Bill said that we did that lap at 19.5 mph average. They both took turns doing all the work and pulled me along. That really helped me get some fast easy miles done and get me closer to the finish line.

With 20 miles to go I stopped at Chad and Mary's and doused my head in the cold water and refilled a bottle to get me to the finish.

Wildlife: 5 rabbits, 2 deer, and 1 box turtle which I turned around and helped across the road (I have seen too many smashed box turtles).

This morning had one of the most beautiful sunrises that I have seen. The sun was mostly covered by wispy clouds, but the bottoms of the wisps were brightly lit and looked a little like many drops of light that could fall down to earth.

Stage 4 tomorrow is 119.93 miles which should seem short compared to today (which is the longest ride that I have ever done). How it goes will be some indication of whether I am recovering quickly enough and getting stronger, or if I am overdoing it and breaking down.

Stage 2

Stage 2 is done. 104.7 miles in 5:49:21 for a 17.98 mph average. Ate 8 gel packs. Drank 2.1 gallons. Lost 3 lbs.

No problems today. I kept a steady even average pace close to 18 throughout. Andrew rode about 25 miles of it and helped keep a nice pace. At the end of our 25 mile loop we always race up what we call the little hill. It is not long, but very steep. I knew that I would not have a chance of beating Andrew today (he is definitely the king of the hill since I have only managed to beat him twice this year, Bill beat him once, and he has beaten us all of the other times) so I took off on the previous downhill and attempted to get a lead going into the hill. Unfortunately I was only a bike length or two ahead and Andrew blew by on the uphill.

The hardest part of today's ride was the heat and the wind. At the start it was 70 and 86 at the finish. Yesterday and today the wind picked up quite a bit for the second half of the ride. Today I could only manage 14- 16 mph in the headwind and then 22-23 the other way. In the headwind my pulse would be in the 140's whereas my average pulse for the first 70 miles was a very comfortable 116 and then up to 127 for the last 35 miles.

Wildlife: Only one red fox. He was walking along the road by the edge of the cornfield in the same direction I was going. He did not see or hear me, until I pulled up beside him. He then very quickly disappeared into the cornfield.

Stage 3 tomorrow is the longest stage of the tour at 146.95 miles. That's more than 2 hours longer than today's stage. I'm a little worried about handling the heat for that long, but I may get lucky since thunderstorms are predicted. I would much rather ride through rain than have to endure the heat (today I did not need water at the Mattingly's home, but on my last lap I was so hot that I stopped and stuck my head under the pump faucet. It was very nice and cool!).

Stage 1

Stage 1 went quite well. 126.14 miles in 6:57:45 for an average speed of 18.12 mph. That's a little faster than I wanted to go, but I was feeling fine so I went with it. Bill was with me for about 35 miles and he led with a strong pace of about 19 mph for quite a few miles. That was very nice since I was able to get a lot of miles in with little effort (Bill is 6 foot 4 so drafting behind him is like being just pulled along).

The temperature at the start was 69 and 85 at the finish. I am not quite used to the heat yet since it has been cooler the last several weeks.

I should explain that my team is called team Mattingly after my primary sponsor. Friends Chad and Mary Mattingly with son Ross have graciously allowed me to refill my water bottles at their outdoor pump. They live along 6 or 7 different loops that I ride so it is very nice to be able to easily get extra water. I typically carry 4 water bottles of gatorade which is nearly 1 gallon. After 60 or 70 miles I head home and refill. The second group of 4 bottles only last 40 or so miles since it is hotter by then. Thus being able to get another bottle or two or more at Chad and Mary's saves me from having to go back into town again to my home. Today I stopped for an extra bottle and a half to get me through the last 20 miles and talked a bit with Ross who has some interest in biking. Today I drank 2.25 gallons of gatorade and water and ate 800 calories of gel packs. I lost 3 lbs so I was only a little dehydrated.

6 rabbits ran across the road in front of me and 2 deer (one crossed twice). The deer crossed about 60 meters ahead of me, then ran along side of me (15 meters away a little ahead) for about 100 meters along a corn field. I thought she was going to turn into the corn and disappear, but instead she darted across the road right in front of me. We still had 8 or 10 meters between us, so there was no worry about hitting her, but it was still quite a surprise.

Stage 2 tomorrow is 104.7 miles. It will be important for me not to push the pace too much so that I arrive at stage 3 fresh and ready for the 147 miles.

Prologue

The prologue went ok. I wanted to ride a fairly flat section with about equal headwind and tailwind. I thought that there was going to be a slight tailwind on the last 3/4ths of the course so I started on a section where there was a long upgrade with the idea that that disadvantage would equalize with the tailwind advantage later on. It turned out that it was a very slight headwind. Anyway, I averaged 22.66 mph for the 4.91 miles and felt pretty strong throughout. The two friends that I ride with (Bill and Andrew) took off ahead of me before I started the time trial. That made it fun because I could then try to catch them which I did after about 2.5 miles. My heart rate was between 168 and 175 for the distance.

I put a new rear tire on and a new chain so I shouldn't have to change them again until after the tour ends (barring hitting glass on the road).

Stage 1 tomorrow is 126.14 miles which I hope to do at 17.5 to 18 mph. I want to be sure that I take it fairly easy at the beginning. I will start at about 4:50 am which is 42 minutes before sunrise so it will be getting light and I will have to fight the heat less by starting early. It is predicted to be sunny with a high of 94 degrees and a SW wind of 3 to 10 mph.

On the eve of the the Tour de France prologue, I look forward to the challenge of riding 2,218 miles over the next 23 days. Last year I averaged 18.22 mph for the tour and I hope to do a little better this year. My preparation has included riding 2,925 miles this year to date including just finishing up 100 miles every other day seven times with about 30 miles on the off days. Last year I prepared with about the same number of miles, but only had three century rides. This year, after the first three centuries, they became fairly easy with one at 18.6 mph average. I hope that this will give me a good start to the tour and make the tough first 8 stages consisting of 960 miles go smoothly. Last year, the first week was difficult and only got easier as I adapted and got stronger for the second and third week.

The prologue tomorrow is a short time trial of 4.9 miles. Last year I averaged 23.24 mph for the 4.4 mile prologue. Tomorrow will be some indication of how fit I am.