First Night In Topeka  June 5, 2013

 

After an hour or so cab ride, I arrived in Topeka, Kansas. I was greeted by heavy wind and rain and abnormally cold weather. My immediate reaction was to check my phone for local weather and was glad to see that the storm front is supposed to move through overnight.

 My driver was named Frank. He was a former farmer, who had lost his family’s three-generation farm some years back and now drove a cab full time. Frank felt surprisingly comfortable walking me through the issues with his Hyundai van as we drove through the downpour, including that it was in need of a new power steering pump that he refused to spend money on. I knew his comments were just an attempt to make small talk since my lack of knowledge about the Kansas City Chiefs, a topic he was very excited about, were met with dumb responses, like ‘Great name for a team.’, and ‘Will they make it to the Super Bowl this year?’. The news about the steering pump combined with his statement that I had arrived right in the middle of tornado season made me feel uneasy. If you add that to his statement that he was a diabetic and would have to miss his normal medication due to taking me such a long distance, I was a bit nervous that I might not make it. Thankfully, we arrived in tact about one hour and twenty minutes from the Kansas City airport. I thanked Frank and offered to purchase him a candy bar or soda. He passed, but assured me that he would make it home okay.

I arrived at the Fairfield Inn in Topeka at the perfect time. Bikers on the tour were trickling in from the day’s 108-mile ride. The SAG wagon (support and gear) was right in front of the taxi I was immediately greeted by Tracie, our tour guide. I’m not typically a dive right in social person, but I was happy to land right in the middle of them and get the greetings and logistics explanation done all at the same time. Everyone was nice, but I could tell that they were beat and ready to just sit. One of the mechanics had already taken my bike out of the box and started to reassemble it. It was a great relief to see it, having traveled 1500 miles from my home to land in the middle of the lobby of the hotel. After a bit of time, they had it back together and I got to take it for a test spin to make sure that the adjustments felt right. Very tiny differences in the height of the seat and/or handlebars can make a huge difference on the ride, so getting it right is important. It felt pretty good, but I won’t know for sure until I ride my first 20 miles tomorrow.

I killed a couple hours after that to unpack/repack my gear and look over my bike. After that, I joined the entire group in the lobby for my first full briefing on tomorrow’s ride. It was very thorough and it’s expected to be a challenging day. After that, we all went to the local Denny’s and after an hour and twenty of minutes of waiting, I chowed down on some fried fish and a salad. I sat with one of the guides and two women that were in their early 70s, both of whom are doing the entire trek from Los Angeles to Boston.

 Tomorrow will be my first ride. I will wake at 5:30 as I was instructed to do every day. I need to arrive at breakfast by 6 (Denny’s Again), and then check tires and gear. After that, I will hand my bags to the SAG crew and head out with the 7 am group. There are three groups, really slow, medium (that’s me!) and super fast. The fastest group leaves 45 minutes after me. I am happy that there are various levels of talent, but I still want to make a great showing and be building my skills as I go. I know that I can do the 87 miles with no problem. The issue is not in having a good finish for the day. The issue is in having enough in the tank to do it for 6 days in a row. That is something that I haven’t done in my training. I’m told that it is all about the what, when and how I put fuel and fluids in my body. My plan is to hydrate (1 bottle for every hour, drinking every 5-10 minutes) and to fuel well (100 – 150 calories an hour, eating every 15 minutes). That’s the plan anyhow, I’m sure my body will let me know if it has other plans for me.

Well, it’s 10pm here and the sun is not completely down, which seems odd to me. I know my fellow riders are probably asleep, so it’s probably a good idea to follow their lead.

 Thanks for the support. … Stay tuned!

(that's my bike they're working on... a mobile bike shop!)