Questions and Answers

Why are you so injured?

Bad luck and some idiocy on my part. The right knee injury was bizarre. The overuse injuries to my left leg were due to being eager to put in a bunch of miles. I didn't feel like I was damaging myself while pedaling with one leg and giving my right leg a rest, but the effects compound after so much use. The only cycling injury I had before this trip was due to my seat height being too high, so all of these injuries were something new. I have learned to listen a bit closer to my legs and adjust my efforts accordingly.

How are you ever going to make it with all these days off?

If I don't make it to Philadelphia, no big deal. I am going to slowly ramp up for the next week and then start putting in some bigger and bigger days, depending on how I feel. Additionally, once I get to Montana, the climbing is largely over and the cycling will be relatively flat. I should be able to consistently put in daily mileage well into the triple digits. Finally, I may be taking a bus for part of the midwest and part of the northeast.

What is it like riding 100 miles in a day?

It is mostly pretty enjoyable. I stop every hour or hour and a half to walk around, go the bathroom, refill the water bottles, get some food, check the maps, plan what I am going to do that night, etc. When on the bike, I regularly change positions to keep from getting sore.
Mostly I check out the scenery and enjoy whatever music I have playing. I have perfected the art of taking pictures while pedaling which has come in handy since the ride has been wonderfully scenic so far.
I don't pedal particularly hard - only a fraction of what I trained at. This is partially due to injury and partially due to the nature of the trip- it is not a race and it is a long trip. So, the riding is pretty easy but over 7 hours or so it adds up, and it adds up even more when you do that for a few days in a row.


Don't you get hot on the bike?

The heat is really not that bad. It is a little worse since I ditched my rack and pannier (saddle bag) setup and went with a backpack, but it is still not a problem. When I pedaled into Mariposa the temperature was above 100 degrees, though on the bike it was not so bad. It is incredibly dry, so I was drinking a lot of water to deal with that. But, I generally get a 15mph-20mph breeze while on the bike while not working very hard. Sweat evaporation is pretty efficient in this situation and it works well, as long as I have a good supply of water. Even going up steep hills, I get an 8-10mph breeze, in addition to the ambient breeze and the breeze from the passing cars/trucks.