McBRAAM Wrapup

The day after and it's starting to settle in. My bucket list is one item shorter today. The sense of accomplishment is certainly very satisfying. Most of the miles, meals and hotels will soon be forgotten, but the 4 weeks spent with my brother and father generated memories that will last a lifetime. To put the endeavor in simple terms, two middle-aged adults with families and lives full of responsibilities took a month off, and rode their bikes every day under the observation of their father. How cool and how rare is that!

Some additional fun and amazing fun facts:

• 28 straight days ridden
• 26 days of clear blue skies
• 0 days of rain
• 0 mechanical issues other than flat tires
• 177 hours and 49 minutes spent pedaling
• 1,105,869 pedal strokes per leg
• 61,105 calories burned while on bike
• 7 pounds lost along the highways of America

Some final superlatives:

• Best Dinner - Piccolino Italian Restaurant in Santa Fe, NM
• Worst Dinner - None, when you're as hungry as we were, no meal was bad.
• Best Stage - Stage 4: Congress, AZ to Cottonwood, AZ
• Fewest Flats - Lance 4, Les 6
• Best Roads - Arizona
• Worst Roads - Mississippi
• Best Hotel - Days Inn in McAlester, OK
• Worst Hotel - Knights Inn in Albuquerque
• Silliest Dogs - Oklahoma
• Most barkingest & chasingest Dogs - Mississippi

Final state cycling friendliness rankings:

1. Arizona - lots of new butter poured down in the past couple of years
2. New Mexico - nobody on the roads to contend with
3. California - only state with a bike path on the route
4. Alabama - perception elevated due to proximity with Mississippi
5. Georgia - rednecks enjoy their smoke belching trucks a bit too much
6. Arkansas - abundance of chip & seal surfaces
7. Texas - "now you see them - now you don't" shoulder game was not amusing
8. Oklahoma - responsible for breaking my dog ear...enough said
9. Mississippi - nobody does old crumbling bumpy and cracking pavement like these folks

A few thanks are also in order. Kathy, Monica, Claire, Hannah and Dolly, thanks for giving us up for 4 weeks, holding down the fort back in the real word, and supporting us in this crazy adventure. A big thank you to Karen, my boss, who hopefully still has a job for me on Monday. And thanks to my cycling friends for the encouragement before and along the way.

And thanks to all of you who have read this blog. I hope you've found it interesting.

In the next couple of days I will write a post specifically for cyclists on lessons learned for a cross country bicycle ride, things we did right, things we would do differently, that sort of thing.

And for those of you wondering what I did today with my first rest day, I rode my bike, of course.

Chilling on the beach with the Party Crasher.

A swing on the beach.

Ahhhhh.

Going for a ride, of course.

The lunch stop hybrid cyclist look.

Perfect execution of a coaster brake bike stop.

McBRAAM Stage 28: Vidalia, GA to Tybee Island, GA..."It Is Finished!!!"

Final Stats:
2,790.9 miles ridden.
100,316 feet climbed.

Wow, I'm not really sure what to say or think, now that McBRAAM is in the books. Having had an identical daily schedule for 28 straight days, and averaging 99.68 miles per day, and not thinking much beyond the next 24 hours (or 15 miles on many occasions), tonight and tomorrow will be really strange. But I'm sure I'll manage to figure it out.

I will confess that it was nice to be able to eat dinner based on what I wanted, not on what I needed. Every evening, I have balanced protein for recovery and carbs for energy, so I've skipped many entrees that would have hit the spot, but not done me much good for the day's ride. So this evening I had a basket of fried fish, french fries, hush puppies and a Mr. Pibb. Then, Kathy and I found some gelato, and finally some coffee. It was fun wandering the beach street walk looking for food and a place to chill without having to worry about cleaning kits, water bottles and bikes.

Today's ride was not that interesting. Nothing new to see that we haven't seen in 27 days, except the Atlantic Ocean. In fact, it was a bit tedious as the road had poor to non-existent shoulders while being busy with traffic, and yes, more pine tree trucks headed to paper mills. I had a navigation snafu and lead us on a wrong turn at a Y-split, and went about 6 miles before realizing it. So we had a choice, improvise or backtrack. We decided to improvise, which meant hopping on Interstate 16.

It was legal to ride I-10 in California, I-40 in Arizona, and I-25 in New Mexico. It was not legal to ride I-16 in Georgia. But we did it anyway. For 23 miles. After all, what's an adventure without a little adventure thrown in? It turns out that we actually felt safest while on the Interstates than on any other roads, except the very remote back-roads. There are national standards that the Interstates meet, which include a shoulder wide enough for a large vehicle to rest upon, and a rumble strip separating the shoulder from the traffic lanes. This means that cyclists essentially have the equivalent of a full lane to ride on. The only real hazard is the flat tire potential caused by the debris field of disintegrated truck tires. But we solved that with tire liners.

The alternative is state and county highways that usually have no shoulder at all, and on which vehicles of all sizes whiz by at 60 mph with nothing separating a cyclist from the vehicle except for a rather flimsy cushion of air and the space the driver feels obliged to give.

I joined a Strava distance challenge this month. It can be found here:
https://www.strava.com/challenges/October-2017-ride-distance-challenge

There are 168,170 cyclists competing from all over the world. Due to my unique month, I am currently in 5th place globally, and in 1st place in the USA. I don't know if I'll hold my lead in the US, it'll be close. I may have to ride Monday and Tuesday to protect my lead, but that means I'll have to reassemble my bike in short order when I get home. We'll see how that turns out.

I plan to write a post tomorrow to recap some final thoughts while they're still fresh. Stay tuned if you're still interested, and thanks for reading.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1249493288
https://www.relive.cc/view/1249493288

1 McBRAAM complete.
2 sets of very tired legs.
2 very jubilant spirits.
2 oceans visited.
9 states traversed.

Hotel: Admiral's Inn, 2 of 5 stars (kind of old, below average breakfast, but what do you expect on an old seaside village?)
Restaurant: Sting Ray's Seafood (finally ate what I wanted, not what I needed - had deep fried cod and french fries!)

Before the journey started (way before...).

After the journey was complete.

Cyclist victory salute. (Yes, I took off my cycling shoes and socks before entering the water.)

Definitely not spin class.

Team McBRAAM (sans Island Girl, the Party Crasher, who took over picture taking duties.)

The Parlee served me faithfully from sea to shining sea.

Wearing helmets of a different sort.

McBRAAM Stage 27: Perry, GA to Vidalia, GA..."The end is near."

2,689.5 miles ridden.
98,459 feet climbed.

I confess to mixed emotions on this eve of the completion of a near life-long bucket list accomplishment. I'm not going to get all teary eyed and mushy, but it's hard to believe that we're about to wrap this up. Team McBRAAM had its last post ride dinner together as immediately following tomorrow's ride, SAGMan and Lance will drive off north to their real lives, while I stay on an extra day to relax on Tybee Island with the Party Crasher. (Island Boy somehow always finds his way to an island for R & R, that's how I got my nom de plume.) She suggested maybe we could rent some beach cruiser bikes and tool around the island. Sounds fun, but I'm not sure I will be able to keep up with her.

Today's ride was more of the same. Clear blue skies, perfect cycling temps, 100 (almost) miles of rollers, light breezes, and keeping SAGMan from getting lost in the Georgian pine forests, among which all of the roads and intersections look alike.

Considering how much time we have spent within a broom's reach of all manner of steel chariots, we have had only one clearly aggressive encounter. Lance and I were minding our own business, doing what we've been doing for 26 days, when we got buzzed by a white dually "pick'em up truck". It goes around the curve up ahead, and I notice its brake lights as it disappears from sight. About the time I had forgotten about it, it pulls up beside us, slows to our speed, then the driver floors it. Out of the vehicle's tailpipe comes a huge black plume of exhaust, which promptly envelopes us like the blob that ate New York. The last thing I saw before being plunged into momentary darkness was a Georgian redneck with this completely idiotic and silly grin on his face, framed perfectly in his over-sized passenger side mirror. Jethro sure showed us. Ah well, rednecks will be rednecks.

Which reminds me of one other thing. Not a pet peeve per se, but a feeling shared universally among cyclists that I feel compelled to mention. Vehicle drivers do not need to honk at cyclists when they come up behind them, or when passing. Trust me, we cyclists know you vehicles are there. We hear you. We feel you. We smell you. And cyclists with the little helmet attached rear view mirrors even see you. We are more acutely aware of our vulnerability than you can imagine, and don't need to be reminded of our 3,000 - 80,000 pound weight disadvantage. Honking only makes matters worse. I know that little soft section at the center of the steering wheel is nearly irresistible to mash, but please over-ride the urge. Cyclists everywhere will thank you.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1248261568
https://www.relive.cc/view/1248261568

1 fresh traveler.

2 hot chocolates.

3 weary travelers.

Hotel: Days Inn, 3 stars of 5 (pretty standard room and breakfast).

Restaurant: Steeplechase Grill, 5 stars of 5 (house converted to restaurant, food and ambiance was excellent).

The start of stage 27 was a bit nippy.

McBRAAM Stage 26: Phenix City, AL to Perry, GA..."Island Girl crashes the boys' party."

2,589.8 miles ridden.
94,922 feet climbed.

The biggest event of the day was Island Girl showing up at the McBRAAM nightly food fest, which was in full swing at a little Italian diner on Main St. in Perry. Through the front door and right into the middle of my chicken Alfredo she walked. What a sight for a worn out wayfarer such as I.

I guess she got tired of holding down the fort back in Simi Valley by her lonesome. She tells of unexpected trials and tribulations, the kind that only happen when the honey-doer is away. There was the  master bedroom smoke detector battery that went belly up on Day 3, and has been chirping its "battery dead" warning ever since. There was the front yard tree that was blown over by the Santa Ana winds. And there was the hot water heater that quit heating.

Solution....book a ticket in the friendly skies and add some much needed female presence to the boys' little month long sabbatical from reality and responsibility. And this is one sun burnt, wind blown, lead legged, under-nourished, rest deprived boy who is glad she did.

Oh, and we did ride today. Through yet more cotton fields and something new...peanut fields. And under yet again a clear blue sunny sky.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1246865150
https://www.relive.cc/view/1246865150

1 pretty wife who joined the fun.
1 happy husband.
1 ice cream sandwich eaten by SAGMan (an apparent weakness to which he is just now confessing).

Hotel: Microtel, 5 of 5 stars (nice and new).
Restaurant: Rusty's Bar & Grill, 5 of 5 stars (excellent Italian, made better by Kathy's appearance).

McBRAAM Stage 25: Prattville, AL to Phenix City, AL..."Back roads found along with a preponderance of War Eagle."

2,492.2 miles ridden.
91,087 feet climbed.

Today was the most scenic day yet since we crossed the Mississippi. Our route took us along mostly back roads of eastern Alabama. About halfway, we went through historic Tuskegee. Before and after, we rolled through some beautifully wooded countryside that was short on population and plenteous on steep rolling hills. Everything is still very green, apparently Alabama has not yet received the memo that it's Fall. The fun thing about the country back roads is that you never know what you'll see, what kind of pavement you'll ride on, or what kind of terrain is in store. The variety and surprise keeps things interesting.

Until today, we were clearly in Crimson Tide land as virtually everyone who cares about such things as college sports (and in the Southeast, we're really only talking about football) was sporting their crimson colors and elephant logos. I expected that since, yeah, there is a football team from around here that I hear is doing OK these days, but what I didn't expect was the sudden and total change as we went east of I-65. Today, all we saw were the War Eagle and AU flags and banners of the Auburn Tigers. And this also got me pondering how this university can have two mascots. Are they a War Eagle, or a Tiger? Pick one, but ditch the split personality. Personally, I'd go with War eagle as it's unique. There's two other Tigers (MO, and LSU) in this conference, and a Wildcat (KY) too. Their closest relative would be the Gamecocks (USCe), but surely an airborne fowl is superior to one that can't even fly.

But I digress...

Re-ranking the cycling friendliness of the 8 states to date:

1. Arizona
2. New Mexico
3. California
4. Alabama
5. Arkansas
6. Texas
7. Oklahoma
8. Mississippi

https://www.strava.com/activities/1245330395
https://www.relive.cc/view/1245330395

1 monstrous calzone eaten, mostly.
1 pint of butter pecan ice cream eaten by SAGMan (a dinner time confession).
2 C-17s in a flyover.

Hotel: Quality Inn, 4 of 5 stars (very nicely appointed and good breakfast).
Restaurant: Giovanna's Pizzeria, 5 of 5 stars (everything homemade in real time).

The calzone.

McBRAAM Stage 24: Demopolis, AL to Prattville, AL..."Easy like Monday morning."

2,393 miles ridden.
86,563 feet climbed.

Now this is the way Monday mornings should always be!

We starting stirring just a bit before first light, enjoyed a full breakfast while the roads dried out, then rolled out around 8:00. We both felt refreshed and ready to take on the final week of our odyssey. Having had to modify our weekend route due to aforementioned reasons, we were able to enjoy a short Sunday ride of 51 miles, check into the hotel by 11:00 am, get laundry done, enjoy a real lunch, take naps, clean up the bikes and do some some much needed maintenance on them, and recharge for the final 500 miles.

So, when we took off this morning, we both felt great, and our spirits were buoyed even further by the almost forgotten sensation of tailwinds. This allowed us to complete our 90 miles in under 5 hours without having to work very hard. On endurance activities like we're doing, conserving energy as much as possible is paramount, and today will enable us to start tomorrow in pretty good shape since we didn't get too knackered today. The temps are perfect for cycling, and more tailwinds are forecast, so Savannah here we come!

https://www.strava.com/activities/1243857899
https://www.relive.cc/view/1243857899

0 dogs seen or heard.

1 storm chased east after it had chased us yesterday.
2 nights in a row eating at Cracker Barrel.
8 states now ridden in.

Hotel: Super 8, 4 of 5 stars (brand new remodeling).
Restaurant: Cracker Barrel, 3 of 5 stars (never will be great, but never will be bad either).

McBRAAM Stage 23: Meridian, MS to Demopolis, AL..."Outrunning the storm by 40 minutes."

2,302.3 miles ridden.
83,522 feet climbed.

Today was really only about one thing: progressing eastward as far as possible before the big storm hit. In that sense, it was a success. We rolled out before sunrise, took just a few very short breaks, and kept SAGMan within 5 miles of us. About a third of the way, we crossed into Alabama, state #8, leaving just one more state up ahead. We still had a pesky headwind, it seemingly determined to fight us until its bitter end, with the new weather system promising more friendly cooperation.

You can see from the three chronological screenshots below how we were riding in a little pocket of dryness, and although the skies looked threatening, we did not get a drop on us until we had made our destination of Demopolis. The two red dots are our starting town of Meridian to the west and our finishing town of Demopolis to the east.

Tomorrow we start our final week and we'll be back on course once in Prattville tomorrow afternoon. It's all straight east from here on out, and back to rides around 100 miles long after having two day of shorter rides.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1242550974
https://www.relive.cc/view/1242550974

1 very big storm outrun.
8 states now ridden in.

Hotel: Econolodge, 3 of 5 stars (best Econolodge of trip).
Restaurant: Mr. G's Pizza, 2 of 5 (strange mix between fast and sit-down food).

The weather a bit after we started.

The weather en route.

The weather 40 minute after we finished.