May 16 – Wind and Clouds and Rain

Last night a front moved through Indiana and Ohio. Temperatures dropped into the 60’s and the roads were wet in the morning. Conditions changed dramatically. We had some good winds today but we also had threatening skies and more than a few drops of rain. I got left behind at the start and was by myself for the entire day. This was not too bad, but it meant that I arrived at the hotel about one and a half hours after the first people to finish today’s ride. Today we rode on some of the nicest rural roads we have been on so far. It has been amazing how once we left Kansas we have been able to find roads that go through hamlets where as in the West roads only went to towns, large or small, and we had to ride through the towns. In one respect this reflects the larger number roads in the East and the fact that there are good roads to all the smaller farms. The West may have the most spectacular scenery but I really think that there are nicer roads to ride in the East.

Let’s take stock of how I am doing. I have been loosing weight, primarily because I can’t eat enough to replace the calories I burn each day. This will not be a great problem once I reach the end of the ride. Some of the pains I had in my shoulders before the ride and in the early days are much better. I have been trying very hard to improve my riding posture and I think it is working. At the start of the ride I had a lot of numbness in the fingers of my left hand, there is still some in the tips of the fingers, but it is much better since I increased the padding on my handlebars by taping a sponge onto the bars. I fell on the first day as I was cycling to the start of the ride. My knee is fine and the only reminders of the fall are a few holes in my knicker-riding shorts. When I fell last week I lost some skin from my left elbow, it is healing and causing me no pain. I have been taping my left ankle and it has helped quite a bit. Lastly, I have a sore butt. It is not so bad that I can’t ride but it can be a reminder that I have ridden over 2000 miles since I started. All in all I am doing OK for an older guy and even most of the younger riders will, when confronted, admit that they have about the same number and type of problems that I have admitted to.

I am also trying to determine how to evaluate my performance. I think the best way is to grade my ride as if I were a student at MIT. (Fortunately, I am not.) I will calculate what fraction of the total miles in my trip I have ridden. At MIT As are worth 5 points, Bs 4 points, and so on. If I ride 100% of the distance I should receive a grade of 5.0, for 90% I should get a 4.0 and so on. I am working on math and will let you know where I stand tomorrow.