Day 53 -- Portsmouth to South Boston (MA) -- 78 Miles

I had a great opportunity to reflect on my coast-to-coast journey in my solo ride home today. I thought about the places I had been, the people I shared the experience with, and the reasons why I took on this journey that has already proven to be an unforgettable chapter in my life.

Although I took a few detours, and moved at a pretty slow pace today (the headwinds were formidable, and the legs felt a bit heavy), the miles seemed to disappear quickly because I was so lost in my thoughts. Before I knew it, I was approaching the "Welcome to South Boston" sign, and I was truly proud. Pedaling to my front door was even more exhilarating!

My plan is to write a final post in the coming days. I am not sure what it will say, or if I will be able to scribe a proper conclusion to this amazing journey. My hope is that a little more reflection before signing off once and for all will be beneficial. In the meantime, I want to thank you for following my blog as I pedaled across the United States. I have been overwhelmed by your support along the way, and the opportunity to share this experience with you has been such a treat.

Day 52 -- Manchester to Portsmouth -- 64 Miles

It's official -- After 3,943 miles, I have successfully pedaled my bicycle from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. With the tour officially coming to an end, I was surprised at how emotional I was -- happy to complete my goal, yet sad to say goodbye to the friends that I made during this unforgettable journey.

The first 60 miles were pretty typical except for the fact that most of the group stayed together as we rode. We usually ride at our respective paces, but today seemed as if we were collectively trying to hold on for as long as we could.

Eventually, it was time to complete the tour and we did so in style. The Rye Police Department provided an escort for the last 3 miles to the final destination -- Wallis Sands State Beach. It was really exciting, and arriving at the beach with my family cheering me on was so special.

I set out with a goal to follow in my father's footsteps -- I wanted to pedal across America just as he did 20 years ago. Furthermore, I wanted to do it in honor of "The Farrell Sisters" -- four of my aunts, each of whom passed away far too soon. Lastly, I wanted to do it for a worthy cause. It is with great pride that I am able to say that I successfully accomplished all of these goals.

Although today marked the "official" end of my cross country challenge, I still have a bit of unfinished business. Tomorrow, I will pedal from Portsmouth to Southie.

For me, there is something special about being able to say that I pedaled from San Francisco to my front door. Furthermore, the ride will serve as an opportunity to surpass the 4,000 mile mark (which I am thrilled about), and, since I will be riding solo, to reflect on the past 2 months -- a truly amazing chapter in my life.

Day 51 -- Brattleboro to Manchester (NH) -- 92 Miles

Lots of climbing again today -- over 6,000 feet -- that allowed us to once again test our legs. After 46 days of riding, my legs are certainly not fresh, but I am grateful that I was able to handle all of the ascents. Admittedly, some of the climbs were intense. One in particular seemed like we were pedaling up a wall -- an average of 16% grade (with a max of 24%) for over a mile.

In spite of the challenging terrain, it was yet another great day to be on the bike. We had beautiful weather all day and passed through some great, little New Hampshire towns (e.g. Keene, Francestown, Bennington). And, I am one day closer to being home. In fact, Manchester is actually closer to home than our final destination tomorrow (Portsmouth).

Soon enough, I'll be lounging on my couch, sleeping in my bed, and attempting to get back to the routine I had before taking on this cross country challenge. While I am excited for all of that, I have to say that this cycling experience has been truly amazing, and it will be hard to say goodbye to it all.

Since tomorrow is the official end of the tour (I, however, will extend my ride an extra day so that I can pedal to my front door so the blog go on for a little while longer), things get hectic after the ride -- people have to pack, box up their bikes, catch flights, etc. As a result, we will be having a farewell dinner tonight -- an opportunity to say goodbye, reminisce, and celebrate our journey together. I am really looking forward to it, especially since my wife will be driving up to Manchester so that she can partake in the festivities and meet the "other crazy cyclists" with whom I have spent the last two months of my life.

Day 50 -- Latham to Brattleboro (VT) -- 82 Miles

Greetings from New England! Although there were many things today that made me feel close to home -- the scenery, architecture, landscape, familiar stores to name a few -- arriving at a hotel that had NESN as one of its tv channels sealed the deal. Watching the Sox game and hearing the soothing sounds of Remy and Orsillo will be quite a treat.

We had another great ride today. There was some substantial climbing (about 5000 feet), so we had an opportunity to (re)test our "climbing legs." Thankfully, I felt strong throughout the ride, and I was able to conqure part of Green Mountain as well as Hogback Mountain. Our hard work on the climbs were rewarded with some quality descents. Similar to my descent at Monarch Pass, I topped out at slightly over 50m.p.h. -- quite a thrill.

Overall, it was a great day -- the weather was cooperative, the scenery was beautiful, and I officially made it to New England. I even took a quick detour to New Hampshire, so technically I was in 3 different states today -- not a bad day!

Day 49 -- Little Falls to Latham -- 79 Miles

As I spend my last night in New York, it's really hitting me that this trip is truly close to being over. It's a strange feeling -- in one regard, it feels like this trip has passed by so fast. Yet when I think about specific rides from early on in the tour, they seemed like they happened a lifetime ago. I am not sure if that makes sense, but hopefully you catch my drift.

Today was another enjoyable day. Unfortunately, we got wet again --some people loved the rain and soaked it all in (literally), but not me -- I had to deal with those wet socks again (I don't need to remind you about my feelings on wet socks, do I?). Most of the rain happened during the first part of the day, although we were hit with a couple of scattered showers as the day came to a close. Even after the rain subsided it remained pretty humid, so it was a pretty wet day all around. I think my wet t-shirtesque bike jersey as seen above is an accurate portryal of how the day went and felt.

As I mentioned yesterday, one of my best friends (and 4-year college roommate), Mike Smiley, picked me up at my hotel in Latham after the ride. We went out for a bite to eat, bounced around the Saratoga area, and generally had a good time just catching up on the things we have been up to over the last two months.

I enjoyed spending quality time with Mike -- a guy who is like a brother to me. I should probably get used to catching up with old friends and family, as there are only a few more days until I say goodbye to my cross country cycling family!

Day 48 -- Liverpool to Little Falls -- 80 Miles

"They don't call it the 'Cross Country Easy,' they call it the 'Cross Country Challenge!'"

Michele Sahli, Tour Director - 2010

What a day! We endured non-stop torrential downpours for 80 miles. No exaggeration --it was teeming from the moment we left our hotel in Liverpool, to the moment we arrived in Little Falls. Unfortunately, it never really warmed up either -- temperatures remained in the low 60's throughout the course of the ride.

As you would imagine, I become much more cautious when it's raining and I am in the saddle. I don't like to ride too close to anyone, and I don't like people right on my wheel either. It's not worth it. This is especially true since we have come so far on this trip -- the last thing anyone needs is a careless accident resulting from riding too close in bad weather.

That said, I managed to ride a reasonable distance from other riders, and at a very comfortable pace. Admittedly, it was slower than my normal pace, but there was no reason to rush -- after all, we were drenched from jump street, so what's a few more minutes going to matter, right?

The ride was not very taxing from a physical perspective, and I felt great after 80 miles. Aside from the normal mental challenges of riding in the rain, the only thing that really bothered me was dealing with wet socks. Seriously, is there anything in the world worse than wet socks? I think not. I know "Mama Hurls" would agree with me on that one.

Tomorrow, we are heading to Latham, NY, where I will meet up with one of my best friends (and 4-year college roommate) -- Mike Smiley -- a current assistant basketball coach at nearby Union College. I am looking forward to it -- should be a lot of fun!

Day 47 -- Canandaigua to Liverpool -- 70 Miles

I am running out of positive adjectives to describe our daily rides. Honestly -- at the end of each ride, I sit back and think about how enjoyable it was, but I am afraid that I never am able to properly convey it on the blog without coming off as a broken record. Oh well -- I am having fun every day, and you'll just have to take my word for it -- repetitive as it may be.

Anyway, relatively short day today -- yes, 70 miles equals a short ride these days -- strange, I know. Conditions were favorable throughout the day, and I managed to ride at a comfortable pace for the duration.

Some of the highlights of the ride include: pedaling along the Erie Canal (we will be doing that again tomorrow), visiting the first house that One Eleven Robb and his wife owned (in Liverpool, NY), and enjoying a post-ride lunch at Heid's -- a famous landmark in central New York.

A couple of other interesting moments included riding along Farrell Road as we entered the greater Liverpool area. Also, when we visited One Eleven Robb's old house, we chatted with the current owner -- whose last name was Farrell. Any "Farrell encounter" is a good one -- two in one day is special!

We have some fun planned for tonight. One Eleven Robb has a brother, Rick, who lives 15 minutes from our hotel. Rick and his wife, Linda, have invited the entire bike group to their house for dinner and drinks. It should be a lot of fun, and I am looking forward to it!

Day 46 -- Hamburg to Canandaigua -- 100 Miles

Please don't let this scenic photo by Canandaiuga Lake fool you. Yes, the sun is shining and evertyhing looks peaceful and serene, but we battled the weather to get to that point. We pedaled through approximately 35-40 miles in some pretty heavy rain.

There was really nothing great about the wet miles, except for the discovery of my new favorite sign of the trip (I'll bet that only my wife and I appreciate this, but oh well). Once things cleared up, however, the ride was phenomenal.

I spent the dry half of the day with Georgia Joy, Pam (staff), One-Eleven Robb, Sooner Rick, and Chevy Chase Phil. As you can tell from the picture, we are becoming so cohesive as a cycling unit that we even eat lunch in a paceline (actually, as we ate our post-ride meal outside, it started to look stormy, so we were all forced to move the side that was protected by an awning).

Overall, it was another great day. This might sound crazy, but I think that the rain in the beginning of the day was a blessing for our group. There has been a lot of chatter about how the trip is winding down, and I felt a sense of complacency beginning to loom. Even though there was only 35-40 miles worth of rain, I think it was enough to serve as a reminder that we still have a long way to go, and need to stay focused at all times.

Today marked the final century of the tour -- I mean it this time! Actually, our cue sheet only had us scheduled for 94 miles, but after detours to downtown Canandaigua and the lake, we arrived at the hotel with 98 miles completed. Tacking on another 2 and making it an official century seemed like the right thing to do.

Day 45 -- Erie to Hamburg (NY) -- 86 Miles

Today was a great day to be on a bike. There were slightly overcast skies that kept the temperatures extremely comfortable throughout the day.

I spent the day riding with Judy (staff member), Sooner Rick, and One Eleven Robb. When we weren't fixing flats (both Rick and Robb fell victim to a punctured tire), we were moving at a very nice, but brisk, pace.

We pedaled along Route 5 for the majority of the day, and were able to see some fantastic views of Lake Erie -- the largest body of water we've seen since Pacific Ocean (in San Francisco) -- as we rode. Once again, I found myself thinking about my dad (pictured right) throughout the ride, and how he felt as he traveled along the same roads 20 years ago.


As usual, it felt great to enter a new state -- our 11th on the journey. I thought Pennsylvania sounded close to home -- New York sounds even better. We will be spending 5 nights in New York, and hopefully the reamining rides in this state are as comfortable as the one we had today!

Day 44 -- Erie -- Rest Day

Not much to report -- much needed rest day today, and I took full advantage of it. I need to make sure that I am physically ready to pedal home.

I just returned from dinner at The Pufferbelly Restaurant with Scott, Robb and Larry. We enjoyed a great meal at a place that seemed to have a lot of history associated with it. After dinner, Scott treated the group (even our cab driver, Howie) to gelato. For all of my Southie/Irish bretheren reading the blog, gelato is Italian ice cream, and it is delicious. It was my first experience with gelato, but it won't be my last.

Today does, however, mark the last rest day of the trip. At dinner it was briefly mentioned that, as a group, we will be undergoing a "series of lasts" over the next 8 days. The rest day meal tradition that Scott, Robb, Larry, and I have had throughout our cross country challenge is something I will certainly miss. Like so many of the rest of the group members, Scott, Robb, and Larry are great people, and a lot of fun to be around.

Ok, enough of this mawkish gushing. It's time to put the game face on, and get ready to ride tomorrow -- the countdown to completion is on!

Day 43 -- Youngstown to Erie (PA) -- 103 Miles

4 consecutive centuries -- check! Candidly, I am glad that the stretch of 100+ mile days are over. My body is feeling tired, and a rest day is exactly what I want and need. I was psyched to check into our Erie, PA, hotel knowing that I don't even have to look at my bike tomorrow if I so choose.

Regarding today's ride: except for a series nasty hills (13% grade) that we had to conquer at the very end of the ride, it was a reasonably challenging day. I spent most of the day riding in a paceline, and it helped a great deal. I did my fair share of pulling, and I also benefitted from the drafting I recieved when people in front of me were pulling -- It made the ride a lot more bearable.

The highlight of the ride was stopping at White Turkey Drive-In -- a place that served shakes, root beer floats, hot dogs, hamburgers, etc. Something about it reminded me of Sully's, and, for a fleeting moment, I felt home.

Pennsylvania -- as I have said in the past about other states, it just sounds closer to home. I am sure that my father (pictured above, right) felt the same way when he arrived there on his bike 20 years ago!

Day 42 -- Wooster to Youngstown -- 103 Miles

After hotel location changes, we were slated to do only 90 miles today rather than the 93 I had anticipated and wrote about in earlier posts. As previously mentioned, I was planning on riding 7 extra miles to make it a century. For some reason, having to ride 10 extra miles seemed like a lot less fun. I realize that it all adds up to 100, but a voluntary 10 versus a voluntary 7 is a big difference. To end up with 103 miles -- well that's just strange, and I'll explain how that happened in a moment (the anticipation must be killing you, huh?).

The first leg of the ride was quite enjoyable. I rode with a group of 7 and pulled for a considerable amount of the time. Upon reaching the SAG stop, I was greeted by some members of the Stark County Bicycle Club (pictured with me above)-- a club that "roommate Larry" is a proud member of. It was great to meet some of the people that Larry rides with when he is not keeping me in line on our cross country challenge.

After leaving the SAG, I rode by myself for the most part. The road conditions were awful. Honestly, Ohio -- how about using some of that "American Reinvestment Act" money to clean it up, huh?

At one point in my travels, I incorrectly read my cue sheet and pedaled 1.25 miles in the wrong direction. After realizing my mistake, I immediately turned around and pedaled 1.25 miles to get back on track. Normally, getting lost can be annoying, but I didn't mind at all today because I figured I now only had to do 7.5 extra miles to get my century.

I pedaled onward, and about a mile before arriving at the hotel, I bumped into a fellow rider, Gloria. I asked her if she was interested in riding extra miles with me so that she could turn her day into a century as well. Gloria accepted the challenge but told me that she needed the full 10 miles to get there (Quick aside: Gloria turned 60 on this trip, and she is one heck of an impressive cyclist).

Gloria and I bopped around Youngstown, ended up doing slightly more than 10 miles, which is how I ended up with 103 miles for the day (aren't you glad you read the post to find out? I thought so). As expected, I dreaded each one of the voluntary miles, but in the end I was pleased with my decision.

After the ride, "roommate Larry's" friend and racquetball partner, Ed Tkatch, and his wife, Dee, drove from Salem, Ohio, picked us up at our hotel, and treated us to dinner. We went to a place called Quaker Steak and Lube -- it was a lot of fun, and it was so thoughtful of Ed and Dee to include me in the festivities.

Our route for tomorrow has been changed -- we are now scheduled to ride 103 miles (not 96 as originally planned) to Erie, Pennsylvania. Now I won't have to ride any extra miles to get my 4th consecutive century. I am looking forward to completing that task, and am equally eager to have a rest day after it's done.

Day 41 -- Marysville to Wooster -- 104 Miles

Another century completed. In fact, today marked the last "official" century of the tour. I am, however, still planning on stretching the next two rides (93 and 96 miles, respectively) into 100 mile days. I will undoubtedly regret the decision as I ride the extra 7 miles tomorrow (and 4 on Sunday), but I'll be glad I did it in the end... I hope!

Interesting ride today. I felt great for the first 96 miles -- the last 8 were awful. I rode with some of the stronger members of the group throughout the day, but apparently I spent a little too much time "playing with the big boys," as I was really feeling the burn as the day came to an end. Oh well -- I still really enjoyed the ride.

I think that I had become a bit spoiled by some of the flat terrain we have been blessed with on recent rides, and today served as a great wake up call. The last 40 miles were extremely challenging -- several rolling hills with grades as high as 15% at times. It was like being back in Missouri.

Once the ride ended, the fun did not stop. A dear family friend, Karen Foley (pictured with me above), came to check in on me at the hotel. Although I have made several friends on this cross country trip, it was refreshing to see another Southie native! Karen currently works in Ohio for part of the year, and was kind enough to drive down to pay me a visit.

All things considered, it was another great day. I am starting to hear rumbles of "light at the end of the tunnel," and "trip is really winding down." I cannot believe we only have 11 days left -- 10 riding, 1 rest. I just have to remember to take it all in, and enjoy it while it lasts.

Day 40 -- Richmond to Marysville (OH) -- 106 Miles

Greetings from Ohio! Unfortunately, I accidently deleted the picture of me at the state line before I downloaded it, so you will just have to trust me when I tell you that I officially crossed the state line. Yes, that is me in Marysville, Ohio in the picture above!

Regarding the ride: Today was really fun -- I rode at a pretty good clip, and really enjoyed the fact that I have successfully made it to another state. 40 miles after pedaling through the morning mist, we reached the first SAG, where a former alumnus of this cross country challenge met us and brought us a bunch of snacks. It was very thoughtful and generous of him.

A mere 10 miles later, we were greeted by a tailgate party being hosted by Wade and Tony Schroeder's family and friends. These folks did it right -- hot dogs, sausages, snacks, beers -- they had the works! I stopped and met a bunch people, but I realized that I still had 50+ miles to ride so I passed on the food and drink.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. Enjoyable, but uneventful. I eventually reached the hotel, and happily accepted a care package from my wife. A package from Mary in Marysville -- very nice!

Day 39 -- Indianapolis to Richmond -- 75 Miles

Another enjoyable day on the cross country challenge. We departed Indianapolis with fresh(er) legs after a relaxing rest day. We were slated to ride 75 miles to Richmond -- most of which were pedaled along Route 40.

It was a pretty straightforward day from a riding perspective, but we did have a chance to enjoy one great tourist attraction: The Hoosier Gym & Community Center in Knightstown. This is the gym where they filmed many of the hoop scenes in the movie "Hoosiers." For those of you have seen the film, you will recognize the gym and locker room in my photos from the day.

It was a great experience. We had an opportunity to shoot around, take pictures, and were given a tour of the facility. As we shot around in the gym, I received some requests to dunk the baksetball -- something I was not sure I was capable of doing anymore. It took me a few attempts (I was in my socks only and was overly cautious and tentative), but I was able to throw one down eventually.

Admittedly, it appears that I do not have the hops that I once posessed, but I am going to give myself a break and chalk it up to pedaling nearly 3,000 miles over the past 39 days, and attempting to dunk without sneakers. Excuses, excuses, I know. I guess I am still just trying to pretend that I qualify as an athlete -- a guy can dream, right?

Anyway, the tour of "Hickory High's" gymnasium was a lot of fun, even in spite of the fact that I am not a fan of the Hoosiers movie. I know that's blasphemous -- especially for a hoops (and movie) fan, but it just never did anything for me. That said, I think I will have a new respect for the movie now that I have seen where part of it was filmed.

The rest of the day was nice, but nothing special. We just pedaled along the highway until we reached Richmond, and, ultimately, our hotel. We have four long days coming up: 104, 104, 93, and 96 miles, respectively. I am hoping to stretch those last two into "official centuries" so that I can check "completing 4 consecutive 100+ mile days" off of my list (what list you ask? I don't know -- it just sounds good). It's easy to say now, as I sit comfortably in my air conditioned hotel room. Hopefully I feel as eager to do it when it's actually time to make it happen.

Day 38 -- Indianapolis -- Rest Day

Rest day today. I spent the morning walking around town, and visiting some of the local museums -- namely the Indiana State Museum, and the NCAA Hall of Champions. Since it's my day off, I will keep this post brief, and let my photos from the day do the talking for me.

I just returned from a phenomenal dinner at St. Elmo Steakhouse. The last time I ate there was 7 years ago -- the night before playing in the NCAA tournament my sophomore year. Hard to believe that was 7 years ago.

Day 37 -- Crawfordsville to Indianapolis -- 63 Miles

Another great day today! I rode the first thirty miles as a member of the "Phil Young Wagon Train" -- an 11 person paceline led by Phil from Maryland. The conditions were reasonable, and Phil had the urge to pull us all the way into our first and only SAG stop, so I just kept a low profile and tucked into the line.

After hitting the SAG stop, it was time do some sightseeing. We were already on the outskirts of Indianapolis suburbs, so we had all day to see what the general area had to offer. Our first activity was at Roark Welding and Engineering. Ted, the owner of the shop, was kind enough to give us sweaty cyclists a tour of his shop.

Since the Roark company has several contracts with the military we were not allowed to take pictures for most of the tour. I was however, allowed to get a shot of the simple front entrance, and their custom titanium bicycle area of their shop. Quick aside: the titanium bikes that they fabricate are awesome -- I want one someday.

After the Roark tour, we pedaled onward to Indianapolis. We made our way through Eagle Creek Park, and ultimately ended up at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. After witnessing its incredible size (both the track and the stands), we got back in the saddle, and cruised over to the Major Taylor Velodrome. If you do not know anything about Major Taylor, I encourage you to read up on him, as his story is very fascinating.

After a couple of laps at the velodrome (the banked curves made things interesting. Honestly, it was not for me), I continued towards the hotel. Prior to making it "home" for the night, I managed to get some pictures at NCAA headquarters (as well as a shot of their hall of champions, and, as seen above, their mascot), Lucas Oil Stadium -- home of the Indianapolis Colts, and Union Station -- the former nexus of the city.

Again, today was a truly great day. It was the quintessential touring day, and there is nothing wrong with that! I suppose that's enough storytelling for today. In fact, I should probably get some sleep -- I want to get up early and throw eggs at Peyton Manning's billboard tomorrow.

Day 36 -- Champaign to Crawfordsville (IN) -- 82 Miles

Great ride today -- said goodbye to Illinois as we crossed into Indiana, and said hello to the "Eastern Standard Time Zone." Other than that, I have nothing major to report.

I rode the first 20 miles solo. After that I pedaled by Larry Frederick, who decided to hold my wheel for the final 62 miles. We worked out a nice deal -- I pulled us along, and he treated me to cold drinks and snacks (we were ahead of the SAG support van, and decided to do our own thing rather than wait).

Larry called us "the old dog" and "the new dog." I am not sure about the adjectives, but we both worked like dogs to make it to Crawfordsville. We really hammered it out, but we enjoyed ourselves too.

Since I am talking about Larry, I figure it's a good time to give a brief background about him. This is Larry's 4th cross country bike trip. In fact, he pedaled across the country with my friend, Dan Hannigan, in 1996. Larry's son, Aaron, also joined him on the 1996 journey -- Aaron was 13 years old at the time (impressive, huh?).

A former Oakland police officer, Larry was on duty one night (in 1982), and was struck by a drunk driver going 65 m.p.h. Miraculously, he survived the accident after receiving 110 units of blood.

Since then, Larry has essentially dedicated his life to raising awareness about the importance of donating blood. It is not uncommon for Larry, who is joined by his daughter, Adella, on this trip, to pedal 100 miles and then go off to a local blood drive and give a presentation. They are such an impressive family. Although I have stolen a lot of its thunder, I encourage you to visit Larry and Adella's website.

After reading more about Larry, you can understand why this self-proclaimed "old dog" gave his "new dog" a run for his money today. The guy has the heart of a lion. Or a dog. Whatever -- you get the idea.

Day 35 -- Springfield to Champaign -- 103 Miles

Great day to be on a bike. I am relieved to be saying that after 3 consecutive centuries (well, 97 miles on one of the days, but close enough). Although we had a relatively long day in the saddle, the scenery did not change much. Similar to yesterday's ride, we found ourselves on several country roads, and observed cornfield after cornfield after cornfield (with the occassional soybean field).

I spent the majority of the day riding with Phil from Maryland, Kiwi Rick, Larry Frederick, Sooner Rick, and pedaled a little bit with a few others along the way to Champaign. We rode at a nice, brisk pace and the mileage seemed to dissapear due to the good company. I wish I had more to write about. Except for one roadblock (literally), it was a pretty uneventful 100+ miles.

After the ride, I cleaned up and made my way to mass with The Schroeder Boys and "Tour de Fran" DiGiano to pray for strength -- both physical and mental -- to finish the last 17 days (15 cycling, 2 rest) of the challenge. When I arrived at the church and saw the name of it, I took it as a sign that someone upstairs has my back.

Day 34 -- Quincy to Springfield -- 111 Miles

Greetings from Springfield -- the state capital of Illinois, and (eternal) home of Honest Abe Lincoln.

I had a tough day today. For some reason I was not on "Crusader Time" (a rule my college basketball coach implemented. It meant you arrived somewhere, and were ready to go 15 minutes early for everything) for the luggage load, and I ended up being the last person to leave the hotel. For some of my Holy Cross hoop friends, please know that I am as surprised as you probably are that I was not on "Crusader Time." Normally, I show up to things on "Hurley Time" -- 15 minutes before "Crusader Time." Credit for coming up with the creative name goes to my 4-year college roommate.

Anyway, once I finally did depart the hotel in Quincy, it was not long (4 miles) before I hit another stumbling block-- flat tire. After changing the tire, I hammered to the first SAG. I refueled at the SAG, hit the road, and was starting to hit my stride. As I approached the Illinois River Bridge, I was ready to step it up another notch but I fell victim to yet another flat. Once again, I changed it out, hit the road, and enjoyed the rest of the flat-free ride.

From a scenic/terrain standpoint, Illinois masqueraded itself as Missouri during the first leg, as we were subjected to a fair amount of rolling hills. In the second leg, Illinois seemed more like Kansas -- cornfield after cornfield after cornfield (minus, for the most part, the awful aroma). Thankfully, I eventually made it to Springfield, and there was some semblance of civilization.

We were originally slated to ride 106 miles, but I added 5 miles so that I could see Abe Lincoln's tomb. Chances are I will not be coming back to Springfield anytime soon, so I figured it was best to "man up" and do the extra mileage. I was pleased with that decision. Now, I am about to make an even better decision -- hit the sack so that I try and crush another century tomorrow.