Day 1...

Day 1 is done. 3% of the trip; people liked to comment at the first rest stop that we were 1% of the way through the entire trip, which seems like a very hard way to think about all the days to come. Much easier to think about the tour in 25 mile increments, from the start of the day to first rest stop, then to lunch stop, on to 2nd rest stop, and finally to the end (variations may apply). That way all we have to do is make any given 25 mile distance and finish each day well enough to start the next. Lots of talk about just finishing each day just well enough, nothing heroic one day is worth the impact it could lead to on the next.

Today's ride could not have been a better day, absolutely beautiful, with 4 distinct components. The first leg started at 7am in the hotel parking lot (saying goodbye to Tom's wife and 3 Seattle cycling friends who were kind enough to come see us off, including Tom Mayer who rode out with Tom and I out to Monroe) a cool morning with low fog amidst farmlands and river bottoms. The second leg was up Route 2 from Sultan to Steven's Pass, the clouds by then gone with brilliant blue skies. The surprise was we were able do do most of the ascent on two spectacular small roads that parallel the highway which are among the prettiest roads of firs and ferns I've seen in Washington. Third leg was straight downhill in a building heat, some tailwinds and the occasional gusty headwind, and finally the 4th leg which was the roll into Wenatchee in a 90 degree oven. 127 miles at an average of 17.6, the first part at 17 to 18 mph, a much slower climb, 42 mph on the steep descent component, and then in the high teens to the finish. 9 hours overall from start to finish, just under 8 hours on the bike. Only minor issue was I sliced both front and rear tires on a rock and had to replace them at the lunch stop which was only a mile down the road so that was unlucky and lucky it was so close.

Tom and I have decided we're tracking road kill: 2 deer, 2 opposum, 2 raccoons and 2 things we won't mention as it might offend the cat lovers out there.

More intersting to us is what a very different group, a different tour, a different approach this is from what we've done before. And to set the stage, I really just have to say this: what is this, an AARP (pensioner's) convention? That isn't a bad thing, it's just reality: there are 3 guys over 70, there are more people over 60 than under, and there are maybe 4 people under 40. And it's not a question of how well anyone can ride, one of the 70+ guys got an award yesterday for completing 20K miles on PacTour trips, which is a heck of a lot. Second big change is the confidence factor. There is no bike one-upmanship here, nobody sniffing around frames, wheels, or components. It might be about pills, powders, gels, and bars, but it's not about the bike, and the result is a confidence level among riders that is very obvious. Hard to speak generally about 30+ prople, but we've heard about riders who have stepped down from elite PacTour events (170 miles a day vs 114 that we are doing). About 2/3 of them have done one or more PacTours before. Many of them have done trancontinental trips before, sometimes several. Riding long, long distances is just what these riders do and they are happy to be here and confident in what they can accomplish And lastly, the rules. The point of PacTour is ride all day and not much more. So the way PacTour enables that is there are rules (3 pages of them) that are the ONLY focus of the 60 minute intro meeting. No warm greeting, just a rule review. There is a rule for everything. Wash your hands before eating meals at the vans. Vans open at 10 minutes before breakfast. Bike repair is 4 to 6pm each day. Want to argue about timing? Lon (who runs Pactour, with Susan his wife) has put an atomic clock on each van. There are many rules and no arguing allowed, the efficiency of the whole trumps any breaks from the way.

So a beautiful day, we've heard everyone is ok although 3 people had falls (no details), couldn't have gone better, there are many more to come of course but I think we've got the major rules down and can start operating in the groove. Dinner was next door at the Windmill Restaurant, steaks and baked potatos with Charles, Steve, and Jerry (MN).