Our own showroom
guru, Hank Darlington, is bicycling cross country to raise funds for
The
Decorative Plumbing and Hardware Association's Memorial Scholarship
Fund. If
you are interested in supporting Darlington’s cross-country cause,
click
here.
 |
| The huge downhill run that I smartly opted out of for the van. |
|
Today
was both a good day & a tough day! Let me tell you the good part first. It
was a perfect day for cycling! I think this is how I imagined riding across
this great country of ours would be: great scenery, mountains that were snow
capped, cattle in the fields beside us, huge gates into ranch entrances, a two-lane
road with barely any traffic! Sounds idillic, huh? It was! However, it was a
l-o-n-g 109 miles with more up and down than any of us had anticipated. Our day
ended at about the 4000-foot elevation mark - which is 2500 feet lower than
yesterday. I rode most of the day by myself. I like the peace and quiet and the
time to reflect.
Right
after our first SAG stop (mile 27) we encountered a huge downhill run (pictured
here). I opted to take an 8 mile "bump" in the van. It turned out to
be wisdom at its best! (Yes, with age comes wisdom)! It was an 8% downhill
grade with switchbacks, guard rails and cattle guards. I told you I didn't like
going downhill! Champ topped out at 42 mph - and our hotshot rider, Peter, who
loves the downhills hit a top speed of 52 mph. Heck, I'd still be on the road
if I had decided to ride it!
At mile 66 we had the hardest "short
climb" of the trip. (The climbing up doesn't bother me)! All cyclists call
it "the wall". It's less than a mile of 9% grade — straight up hill!
The temperature had risen to 86 degrees — and the arm coolers felt good!
We
reached our first 1000-mile distance today — as you can see in the
picture above. Hurray! At mile 80 I was ready to be at the hotel. I was tired,
my back and neck were stiff — and I can tell you that I don't think my butt
will ever get use to sitting in the saddle that long. All of us were tired when
we hit the hotel about 4:15.
Now
to the tough part of my story. Yesterday as we were leaving the hotel in Santa
Fe we saw an EMT truck pull into the hotel parking lot. No one thought much of
it until last evening when we learned that one of our riders, Charlie Semprebon
(age 66) from Vermont, had passed away in his sleep on Saturday night. I can't
tell you how it affected all of us. Charlie was a great guy — and a real team
member.
Tracy
and the team put together a tribute to Charlie: This morning all of us rode
five miles out of town where we gathered. Then we did a two mile ride, single
file — with a van in the front — and a van in the rear. We left an open spot
for Charlie. It was emotional and overwhelming as we rode in silence — each
saying a prayer in our own way. I can tell you it's mighty hard to ride with
tears streaming down your face. A very poignant thing happened as we began our
ride. A group of wild mustangs joined us — running along the fence...and they
stayed with us for almost the entire two miles. We figured Charlie’s spirit was
in there among them. Bless you Charlie.
Tonight
we're in Tucumcari. The town's claim to fame is that many of the scenes from
the TV show "Rawhide" (1959 to 1966) starring one of my favorite
actors, Clint Eastwood, were shot in this area. Yep, Clint is now 79 years
young. He should be on this trip with us!
Read Darlington’s other adventure-filled posts
from the beginning of his Tour de USA at his daily blog (
http://www.crosscountryrider.blogspot.com).
Comments (0)