Day Two: July 13th, 2010 (Route: Coyville, KS to Wichita, KS)

Day Two: July 13th, 2010 (Route: Coyville, KS to Wichita, KS)

Technical Data

Distance: 106.97 miles
Time: 6:48:19
Work, KJ: 4203
Average Power, watts: 170
Normalized Power, watts: 191
Average Speed: 15:54 mph

Almost an identical ride to yesterday but a few miles shorter, and I'm glad as the heat index was 104-110 when I rolled into Wichita this afternoon. As for the data - I burned a little less calories today b/c of the shorter distance however, if I were to have continued on I think I would have burned over 5K as today's ride was a little bit more difficult, the Flint Hills worked me today.

To the good stuff - after rolling up camp, which was a luxery having stayed in the Community Center I hit the road at 6:00AM sharp this morning as I new it was going to be hot! Picture this - so close your eyes! Are they closed, hell if they were you wouldn't be able to read this so don't close them, just keep reading! ;P Rolling out at 6AM, the sky is perfect, partly cloudy and the sun is just coming up, the temperatures are mid 60's, the air is crisp with lots of humidity and the first thing you see while riding down the middle of the road (hwy 105), two white tails just standing in the middle of the road! I thought this was a perfect start to a yet another perfect day! The 10-15 mile stretch out of Coyville to hwy 54 were good, lots of time to spend in thought as the farmers where up working on there farms and the city folk were probably still sleeping as I had all the roads to myself! I did see another coyote on this section and they are always such a site to see, sneaky little guys/gals for sure! Out of all the roads today this first section was by far the best!

I had a game plan today to adjust the nutrition as yesterday I hit a few walls, not serious walls b/c the mental capacity was always in tact, the power just dropped off so I'm not sure if it was hydration or caloric. So I put myself on a schedule like I do when I'm racing and planned on sticking to the plan as much as possible to see if this would fix the problem. Breakfast was good, a treat too this morning! Quaker Oats flavored with some hot chocolate mix they had at the community center, when I travel alone I eat pretty bland food as the extra weight of spices I don't like to bother with, I figure I'll have a milk shake later in the day if I really need something that taste good! Plus I could use the dairy fat as I'll lean out on this trip to close to 2-3% body fat which I can handle, but don't like to see for very long of a time so I will be eathing lots of fat on this trip! I figure I'm burning the following per day - My Resting Metobolic Rate (RMR) is close to 2040 last time I checked, and given I'm highly active I estimate I'm buring close to 3500 a day without exercise maybe a more, top on another 4500-5000 and I'm burning close to 8-9K a day so I have to eat as much as I can when I can...Not sure what's tougher, riding the bike or eating! I enjoy riding more I can contest to that...

Once I hit hwy 54 things were great, the weather was good for riding but not too safe for travel by bike on a highway with a 2.5 foot shoulder! The fog was thick this morning which made it nice and cool but again the visibility was not very good. I was thankful it was early, because on this section the traffic was low on my scale (low, medium, high) For the next hour the riding was going as planned, I was hitting my nutrition and water on schedule and the traffic levels where low, the thoughts were in full force b/c I couldn't really see anything and to be honest I really didn't want to see the Flint Hills of Kansas as the legs were struggling this morning with Bob pulling me down on the climbs, I was working this morning in this section, long roller after roller. I really wanted Bob to ride this section as I was tired of having to push 250+ watts for this section, this wattage really isn't that bad however day in and day out I don't want to have to push that type of wattage as I know what lies ahead. I ventured into some thoughts on this section that made me think of my last post, they were as follows:

I know that life has its talons on all of us and some cannot get away to do what they want, and this I completely understand! Living with my brother and watching my sister-n-law raise those two precious little girls has opened my eyes to a lot of what it means to be a family! Missy works her tail off day in and day out raising those little girls as does my brother, I can see the tired faces and hear the exhaustion in their voices when I pop in and out of the house and know that the next journey of mine is going to be just that a journey! I'm talking about a family. I'm out here on the road and enjoying life, but I failed to take in some of the moments of life over the last decade. When I reflect on some of the selfish things I have done it makes me feel so guilty for missing out on those moments as they truly are precious!

Okay - I took a break in my writing a few minutes ago to partake on this journey and a lot of people have mentioned that its the journey that matters! So as I fatten myself up with this milk and cookies I'll fill ya in. I was blessed to see my little Sister Lacey this evening and share some much needed quality time. I love my her so much and I don't think she truly knows how much - I guess I would have to challege all those people out there that I have shared her music with to speak up and let her know! She has been a blessing in my life for a long time, even when we have had our bad times however, those times never broke nor will they break the unconditional love I have for her! There are things in my life that are reminded of her all the time, the music I listen to, the sports I watch, the plays I have scene, I could go on and on!!! If I could invent a machine to let people know that you are thinking of them I think that would be what I would like to invent, a tool that does the sharing for you. I mean think about it, our minds are filled with a million thoughts in a second for some and others less or more depending how you look at it. We all work with different processors I like to call it, and I wasn't blessed with a Intel Core 7 processor, I like to think I'm still running on a Commador 64 - okay how many of you remember those? The games were very simple but fun!!!

What I'm trying to ellude to is that we think of people all the time and fail to share, when we fail to share the expression is lost as fast as the thought came into your mind. So I say, when you think of someone - let them know! Let 'em know how precious they are to you, how much they mean to you, and how much you love them! It will make a world of difference in your life, in theirs, and all the people you come into contact with on a daily basis! I know this girl with a killer smile and everytime I think of her, I let her know! Why becuase she's worth it - this girl is "Captain" for all those readers that read the last post. Thinking it is one thing though, you have to feel it before you can express it and that's how I like to live my life! (Feelings with Logic)

So back to the visit with my sister which was worth staying up late and leaving later in the morning if I have to, I plan on leaving at 6AM becuase of the 110+ indexed heat I will be battling tomorrow! And the Floridians thought it was hot there, at least they have a breeze coming off the Gulf - where's my breeze - its there just as hot as can be! We shared thoughts and feelings and both cried a little which I feel was much needed, the emotions and logic wrapped up together is well worth it! After chatting and catching up a little, we haven't been very close for those who don't know us too well. After chatting she sang me a couple of songs which was well worth my trip, if I were to call it a trip tomorrow and return to Joplin or Tulsa to start working I would say the trip was a success! Reconnecting with loved ones is well worth it, another challenge for all you readers out there! If you need to reconnect with someone, do it now becuase you don't know when the good man upstairs is going to take you and there is no knot that cannot be untied!

I notice I use a "!" alot - just out of habit I think - I may have to go back to grammer school after this trip...

The song she sang for me after telling me she thought of me when she heard it the other day was Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i18nSZBgOfs) - she thought the courus sounded like me! I could see why right now, becuase I'm falling! You ever play the game growing up in school or church where someone stands behind you fall into there arms to help build or teach the concept of trust? Do this right now if you have someone there, fall into their arms, close your eyes when you do it and don't think! (DON'T THINK) Just experience the feelings you get when you fall, I'm falling right now! Little sis, if your reading this "Thank You" as I really think you hit the nail on the head with sharing your thoughts! The second song she shared was her song "Just a Girl" (http://www.youtube.com/user/laceycruse#p/u/6/cP1GKhqesPU) which is a very touching song! Little sis - remember you always have me too, not just the guitar! Love ya!!! This was a good thought after she played the song, reminded me how logically we can be and how we escaped to our God given talents, her music and me sports! We all have our sanctuaries...

Just remember little sis' - I'll love you no matter what! Thanks for visiting!!! And for those that have not heard her - check her out on YouTube - this one's my favorite!!!! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsJCigdPYS4) Lets help her make it big, lets face it everyone needs help in this world! Name one person that has stood on a stage or a podium and never said "Thank You" to someone - we can't! It's because we need each other - that's the way God intended to be!

So since I'm a YouTube kick and this would be a good segway back to my ride - I was singing this song all day on the bike! lol (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30p0PJrHrgE&feature=related) ENJOY!

The ride today in the Flint Hills was a tough one! I just kept pedaling down hwy 54 and hoping and praying I didn't get clipped by a truck as they were pretty thick later in the morning! The draft those things put out are great when going up hill as it kinda pushes me up the climbs, however the pull into there line is not fun and pulling Bob isn't helping. This is where I had a hard time mentally with the ride, all I kept thinking was get to unincorporated Rosealia (sp) and head North to Cassoday to get out of the traffic - I was thinking about how many riders have been killed over the last few years by vehicles and it truly sucks when it affects you! Last year I lost a good friend in Tulsa to a drunk driver and it hurts to even think about it, a couple of the guys in Tulsa went out for her first ride one night and she fell in love with it - she even stopped running to ride! Eventually over the years she started racing she loved the bike so much and when I saw pictures of her Bianchi plastered all over the web I was devestated. Chista you will always be an inspiration to me and you will always be remembered! Love you!!!

Okay - I need to switch topics...

By now I was heading out of Eureka and thinking about what to do, head to Cassoday or stay on 54 and head into Wichita. Well, I made a logistical change and headed to Wichita. Who wouldn't have, hot meal, pool to cool the body off, air conditioning, and a nice warm bed to sleep in vs. camping out in the heat with mosquitoes, eating rice out of a cookstove that's hot, sweating as if I'm in an oven all night! I like to rough it but I know that there are plenty of those days ahead of me and it gave me a chance to see the Nance's, my lil' sis, and a few other friends! For the hundreds others in Wichita that I didn't get to see that are reading this, I didn't forget you just running on little time!

So I stopped at a rest stop on the otherside of the junction to Cassoday and collected my thoughts and just needed to break up the continuous pedaling. This break was much needed as I was close to 60 miles into the ride. Also, what's the point of putting 5 spickets out at a rest stop that don't work? County must be running tight on money - and to those County's that pave wide shoulders for cyclist -I love ya! Money well spent...however you could sweep them every once in a while :)

The thoughts were all over the place while heading into El Dorado, tons of memories came to life when I hit El Dorado! The lake that Jon and I camped out at, AJ's first ride on a jet ski, my first 90 degree turn on a jet ski going 40+ (I think I forgot about physics at that moment!) and all the great times we had there. Jon's now down in Australia living it up...miss ya buddy! Tons of memories flooding the mind now, baseball field where I played off to the right and the pizza place downtown where we ate after a few games. Then on down 254 where I had always wanted to ride to the lake, well I finally got to ride that section highway and it was a good one...I really started to pick it up as I was flooded with positive thoughts and emotions about getting out of the heat and seeing Wichita again. I moved to Wichita right out of high school to play baseball at Newman University and stayed for close to 8 years, bought my first house there, landed my first job, et cetera! Just tons of memories - we all have memories like these I'm sure!

While heading into Wichita I wanted to stop by Koch Industries - where I landed my first job out of college. I thought about it for a while who might still be there - names came to mind where Joe and Mickey so I thought hell I'll stop in and see if their around. Joe had moved with Invista to the East coast, but Mickey was there so I was able to chat with him for 30 minutes or so and catch up on good times and share my trip. (I think when people are alone like I was all day, I tend to talk alot) So Mick - sorry if I talked your ear off and "Thank You" again!!! I look forward to catching up again...

So the last stretch across Wichita to the Nance's was a hot one! I stopped in QT for some water and heard on the radio the heat index was 110 and I could feel it! I was smoked by the time I reached there house - went straight for a cold shower and some food! The Nance's have been like a second family to me for a long long time so stopping here was a blessing! Its always a blessing, J&S are in my mind the ideal role models for parents! Love ya both!!!!

Wow its 10:14 and I'm out of cookies - I think we should remedy that! lol The day has been an interesting one, I was hoping to be in bed by now but everyone says its about the journey so I'm taking it in one second at a time! The bad thing is Captain hasn't checked in on me today which is kinda sad, however I know she is taking a trip tomorrow and will be out of pocket for a week so I might need any takers for updates!

As I sit here and blog I wonder are my blogs too long, my sister made a comment when she was here she tried to read it at work and boy do I have a lot to say! Well - for those that read this - do it when you have some time because when the fingers get to typing I just let it flow! Maybe look forward to it like you would a television show, well maybe not a sitcom as I would like you to take more from my post.

When I was on the ride today I was thinking alot about how I take things for granted on a daily basis and this journey has highlighted just a few things. I'm out here on the road and when I locked the door to the Community Center last night I thought I wasn't going to get that feeling until I returned to Tulsa. Think about it - take your keys and go to the door on the outside and lock it! Tell me what you think -what does it represent to you?

Other things I thought about today that I take for granted on a daily basis How about running water? Electricity? Your vehicle - do you really need one? What's wrong with taking the bus or riding a bike? What would you do if you lost your sight? Who would take care of you if you did? Do we need all these apps on our phones? My thoughts can take me to places and this is one of those times!

Another thought that came to mind today was how we are a "Throw Away Society" - I have to ask why? We throw every thing away, money on useless stuff, electronics if they break, and spouses if running in to tough times. I have to ask questions like why, why has society fallin' into this trapped of "I can just throw it away" - I mean think about it, if you didn't throw money away you would have it when you need it, to take that trip or to lend it to someone in need. Electronics can be fixed - however as an economist I understand opportunity cost but fixing something can still be cheaper you just have to learn but that's not how society thinks. "O and the real kicker - I've been out of the statistics loop for sometime but how about divorce, run into a little problem and divorce city! I cannot understand this one - I've scene divorce a couple times now and its not worth it! This reminds me of a joke I heard once about divorce - Husband asks his wife what she wants for Christmas, wife replies "A Divorce" and the Husband replies I didn't pln on spending that much this year! I'm not sure how that has anything to do with the point I am trying to get at but it came to mind! The point is we have a choice on the decisions we choose and I believe we shouldn't just throw something away because we think its worthless or it has a rough patch (for marriage). What happened to all the mentoring that elders gave to the youth? Are we just a me me society or are there people out there that teach others not just your family how to do things? Another challenge I propose is to try and fix the next thing that breaks, don't just replace it replace it. Don't get me wrong - there is a time and a place! And for those and marriage - just don't do it to do it, it means something and forever is a long time so think about it because divorce isn't the answer...

Okay the last piece of this blog may be rought to follow - I'm tired and should be in bed! 6AM start is going to come early! Working 6-7 hours on pedaling is not as easy as it sounds, there are times I hate it and times I love it! Same as when your sitting at your computer thinking about your job!

Godspeed and until next time... :)

One other thought - I venture into Western Kansas tomorrow and wi fi will be pretty sparse to look for post as you will never know when they arrive!

Somthing just wants me to keep writing - thought of a quote I played over and over on my ride today from my high school gym teacher "If ya do it right, you do it light - you do it wrong, you'll do it long!" - sorry just something in my mind today!

Tomorrow will be another opportunity to get stronger, what will you do? (physically, mentally, spiritually, and relationally!) GODSPEED...