May 6 – My Risk Reward Ratio

Today was not a good day. Our group rode in the rain all day with winds from the east considered the norm. The problem was avoiding about ten thunderstorms in the area of our ride. They had a general tendency to catch us from behind or block our intended route. The thunderstorms were the last straw for me, I rode in the van while most of the others endured for over 10 hours to ride 124 miles. In one place we had to make a major detour to avoid a flooded hwy and two towns we passed through today are under water this evening. Judging from the size of some of the creeks we passed today I expect them to be over their banks tomorrow. As we will be downstream, we may have trouble with our route. Today’s other major problem was flats there must have been over 30 today several riders had three or four and one rider stopped for 13 times for the flats of his riding partners. Wet roads and small sharp stones from recently flooded roads do not make for flat free rides. At one point I just gave my front wheel to a rider who had flatted for another time. Without knowing who’s wheel he had he described my 20 year old 36 spoke wheel with a rusted Phill Wood hub and 15,000 miles as a ‘piece of crap’, but that wheel got him home without any more flats. It will also get me to the Atlantic and be ridden when I get back to Berkeley.

I am not really happy about not riding but I do question people who choose to ride in these conditions. I think that there are a lot of people who want to do the ride no matter what. This combined with the time table of hotel reservations at fixed dates, means that people have to ride under the conditions that exist. The leader is well aware of how he felt when he first rode across the country, he wanted to finish no matter what and he knows that that is how many of the riders on this trip feel.

I have talked to several of the riders who struggled to complete the ride. The consensus is that many would have been happier if Mike, our leader, had called the day unridable and prevented every one from riding. At several times during the day saying that there was no shame in taking the sag if you were hurting, would have let several riders step over the line and get in the van. However, pride and ego would not let most riders take a sag. Mike has a strong military background and not persevering through the tough times is not how an effective military runs. Having been in the van with Mike, I would never question Mike’s commitment to the safety of his troops/riders. The leadership skills come with a price. While the military ethic of individual sacrifice for the group is not present, neither is neither is the ability to help riders when they have to make decisions about the level of pain they wish to endure. Lastly, and to Mike’s everlasting credit, once someone makes the decision to abandon a day’s ride there is no questioning of that decision.

Ultimately everyone got to Independence, although Dave who fell several days ago went over the handle bars again today when a large dog attacked his front wheel less than a mile from the motel. He was checked out in the hospital and rode the next day, although with a new helmet as his old one suffered five cracks in the fall; better one’s helmet than head.

The best choice for dinner was a Pizza Hut across the street. Four of us went there to eat. Our waitress lacked something; we were not quite sure what until after giving three of us our drinks she seemed to have problems figuring out who got the fourth drink. I saw a good tee shirt for her. It had a picture of the scarecrow and said “About that new brain did the Wizard ever get back to you”. As there were literally sheets of water coming down when we paid for out meals, the manager had one of the delivery boys take us to the motel. It was a very nice thing to do, but the passenger seat flour and the flour in the back seat were ankle deep or greater in discarded fast food containers, about which the driver showed absolutely no shame.