Elite Tour
2013 Summary
Rob Welsh
It has been a week since I completed the
2013 PACTour Elite Tour. After we arrived
in Tybee Island on Tuesday, I drove a rental car up to High Point, North
Carolina to visit my daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter for a few
days. This was absolutely the best way
to unwind after an event like this – spending time with an adoring 3 year old
who loves to talk and have you play with her. She seemed to sense my mood too, laying out
pillows and suggested nap times for the two of us a couple of times. Here we are at the zoo:
I made a few more stops on the way back
to Minnesota to see a biking friend I hadn’t seen for more than 30 years,
cousins and an uncle, all great to visit with and talk to and gradually help me
to reintegrate into normal life.
This year’s
trip was very satisfying and enjoyable and had more of a rhythm to it than the
2010 Elite Tour. Steve Reed and I talked
about how different a second transcontinental ride felt from the first. Steve did the PACTour Northern Transcon last
year. We agreed that you aren’t as
stressed about whether you can make it, you know what the routine is and,
generally you are pretty good at keeping yourself in the right place each day
as far as food, water and mental attitude is concerned. While we kept up a good pace most of the
time, it wasn’t forced or draining. We
knew what we had to do and took pleasure in spinning through the days.
This didn’t
prevent both of us and Clay Griffin, my roommate, from each having a rough day
early on. Crossing the Sonoran desert
was very hot, with temps peaking at 109.
On a ‘rest day’ heading into Springerville, AZ, I didn’t pay attention to my nutrition and hit
a low spot pretty hard after a long stretch into the wind. Fortunately Clay and Steve were there to drag
me in through the last couple of rest stops.
Each of them had their own issues earlier that we worked through
together so we built a bond of mutual support early on that helped us meld more
closely later on.
Will Oberton
really got me going in the right direction when he held back from the faster
group to ride with me leaving Roswell, NM on Day 8. I knew I was getting fitter but I still
dogged along for most of the day, even with a tail wind. He had a hard time riding at my slower pace
but had a lot of patience. The last 20
miles into Hereford, TX, though we picked up Jacki and Rick at the ice cream rest
stop and Will stepped up the pace to 30 mph. It was a great way for all of us to finish and
helped me realize I was actually getting into better shape.
The next day
Clay and Steve joined us, along with Brian for a while and we started to cruise
along pretty well, aided by a nice tailwind and a flat,
not-much-to-see-out-there route. Our
average was 22 mph for the day as we cruised through Texas and into Oklahoma.
A few, including Joe Avoiles, just kept
rolling along, completing each day, usually near the back of the group, but
still smiling. 
When we got
to Oklahoma, our group of five stuck together through the wind and some long
flat days. We worked well together and
it was particularly helpful on the long stormy day across Oklahoma, where we
had plenty of quartering headwind. We did
a lot of echeloning and that made battling the wind a lot easier and kept our
attention too, as the scenery wasn’t special except for the rain clouds and
thunderstorms that kept us company that day.
The Talimena
Scenic Parkway in eastern Oklahoma was a break from the pace line way of
riding, after we had ridden 120 miles that day to get to the start of it. I have never averaged 10 mph for 5 hours
before, nor had I spent so much time in my lowest granny gear, grunting up the
long, double digit grades. It was a
beautiful ride, with lots of wonderful vistas, but no one was happier than me
to roar down the last hill into Mena, Arkansas and to the hotel. Will said ‘one and done’ for the Parkway and
that was enough for all of us that day.
The next day
our group of five came back together for a 180 mile recovery day across
Arkansas. We were pretty mellow (beat
up) from the Parkway, but good weather and flatter roads (after 30 miles of
Ozark leftover hills) kept at a good pace throughout the day. The next day, heading into Mississippi, Tom
and Jeremiah joined our group and we were now seven riders strong all working
together to roll through the delta and across the deep southern states.
A couple of
days later, in Alabama, Lon suggested for safety reasons that we break into two
groups. This worked out really well as
Steve, Clay and I (and Brian for part of this) found that we had a similar
mentality – keep up a good pace, work together and help each other out. The other group, with Will, Tom and Jeremiah
also did well. They usually rode in front but we were almost always within a
few minutes of them at each stop and the hotel.
There was a
cadre of strong solo riders that continued to slog along on their own every
day, including Brad Haslam, Wayne Riley, Little John Downham (from the UK), Big
John Newton (from Pennsylvania), Nicco Frias and Bruce Boehm, our amazing
recumbent rider who got faster and faster as the roads flattened out and was
usually waiting for us at the hotel.
My personal
perspective, as you can undoubtedly tell, is that these kinds of rides are a
lot easier and more fun in a faster pace line group, if you can do it, but I
was surprised at the number of riders that spent a lot of time on their own
each day. This takes a different style
of riding, with a lot of personal determination and focus to keep turning the
miles, especially when the weather wasn’t the best (i.e. winds). Overall we were pretty fortunate with
favorable winds but had a few long stretches with brisk winds in our faces.
Clay, Steve
and I, with some help from Brian, rolled across Alabama and Georgia
together. Steve Marshall joined us for a
few legs in the last day or so. The
roads generally got smoother and flatter so we cruised along at a pretty good
pace.
While we
didn’t get to meet many local people along the way, Mayor Billy T. of Metter,
Georgia took the time to talk to us in the City Park and tell us about his
beautiful town. The local press showed
up quickly (I checked and Mayor Billy has been re-elected three times) so
pictures were taken and probably showed up in the Metter newspaper later in the
week. I asked Billy if he would pose by
my bike and pretend he had been riding it across the country.
The end of
the ride seemed to come quickly. On the
last day we were knocking off 20-30 mile legs then we were already at lunch,
near Savannah. We stopped for ice cream at
Leonard’s before rolling out to the gathering place just outside of Tybee
Island. It was nice to take a little
time before we hit the beach to talk to and congratulate each other before
joining in a parade group into town, with lots of cheering and waving, down to
the beach for photos and wading in the Atlantic Ocean. Joe Avoiles made it – good for him.
Rick Robinson rode with Jacki on many days
and on his own – he made every mile too.
Brett Ellet
cramped on day 1, was in an accident a few days later but kept up a good pace
every day and completed every mile.
Brett also has the neatest paint job, with inscriptions, on his bike
that I have seen.
Several
other riders didn’t ride every mile, but they did well, gaining strength and
experience. Jacki couldn’t ride the last
day due to knee problems, except for the last few miles, and she was
disappointed about this, but she impressed everyone with her strong riding and
undeniable spirit.
Alan had to
miss a few days after being clipped by a car, but he was there too.
Clay’s
parents met us at the lunch stop. They
were thrilled to see Clay complete the ride - they have been active cyclists
for a long time and are heading to Europe for some barge bicycle touring in a
couple of weeks.
So, the
adventure is over again. It was a great
way to get focused and work myself into good shape - watch out if you see me
rolling down the road after you this summer!
The PACTour experience was wonderful, as usual – Lon and Susan know how
to do this well and they had a great crew.
The best part was riding well and finishing with friends, knowing we had
enjoyed many good miles together.
