It was a warm morning with a 5-15 mph south crosswind. Could be worse. Today was advertised as another "climber" and it didn't disappoint.
Heading out of Chillicothe, MO
I have included some video clips on today's posting. Technical issues with the Google blogsite have forced me to upload through YouTube. After you play the clip, you will see other play options inside the "box" which you will want to ignore.
Due to the winds and road noise, my narrative is very difficult to make out. In this first clip, we are riding down a divided, limited access state highway. I am talking about the road hazards of this type of road. Ironically, just as I stopped the video, we came upon one of our riders with a flat tire. He may even be visible on the clip right at the end.
By contrast, after 24 miles, we spent the remainder of the ride on this type of road (Tom M. and Nick, in red)
The Missouri country side became a little less lush today than yesterday. We saw a lot of horses.
More countryside on video:
The final video is of a downhill ride today. We would try to gain momentum with each attack of the next hill. There is a fair amount of vibration from the road and, later, trying to balance the camera on the handlebar while I was shooting. Given the rate of speed, I will think twice before doing this maneuver again.
A final comment about both the still photos and the video: this is truly "point and shoot" in action. As you might expect, I am unable to use the viewfinder so I literally point the camera at what I'm trying to shoot and hope for the best. Thanks for your forbearance.
With half of the tour behind us, the riders are actually doing quite well in virtually every respect. The one issue, though, that continues to affect many of the riders is what the UK guys delicately refer to as the "undercarriage". There are multiple approaches to deal with this problem, each with its own fervent following. These include using two types of lubricant (one for the body and another for the cycling shorts), wearing two pair of riding shorts, "re-lubing" several times during the ride, swearing by any one of a number of competing products, etc.. One of our riders, Chuck, claims to be using Crisco. We assume that he is joking but we've also noticed that the dogs seem to chase Chuck much more than the rest of us.
Total Miles: 75 Total Vertical Climb: 5200 ft.
It's a thrill for us non-bikers to just watch your videos, that downhill video was exhilarating! As for the "undercarriage" issue, first cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil will most likely be your best choice. The only problem would be slip slidin' away! Still shots will do for the next excursion...Manny says, still shots with no hands, of course. Best wishes to everyone on the 2,000 mile mark, be safe and ride hard!
ReplyDeletewith the videos i can really feel where the rubber meets the road!my ass hurts just looking at the pictures and videos. stay safe steve
ReplyDeleteMike: I dare say, your Blog bottomed out at the end there.
ReplyDeleteHey Mike way to go big brother!!!! Can;t wait to see you and talk about all your experiences. Best wishes from Russ and Karem
ReplyDeleteVideos are great - I cannot imagine going downhill on a bike and shooting videos at the same time. In fact, I can't imaginge going 2000 miles on a bike - my rear end could not take it. I think a pillow would be in order.....
ReplyDeleteLinda
Mike, you need to retrofit the bike with road sound dampening equipment. By the way, I've missed, or not seen anything about the tandem pair. What was the initial rider #, and what is it now; one in the same, I hope. John & Carol
ReplyDelete