2000 PAC Tour Central Transcontinental
Day 13, September 22
by Ken Bartholic, Cheryl McMurray, and Chuck Bramwell

Daily Map
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Lon's Description: The rest of Kansas is not flat. The hills and trees become more frequent. Rivers and valleys are common east of Winfield. This is the rural heart of America. Motorist wave with one thumb lifted lazily from the steering wheel. Everyone one wears baseball caps from their favorite seed corn supplier. People live in the same town where they were born. Corn on the cob is eaten everyday in season. High school sports are the favorite teams to watch.


Today we rode from Pratt to Winfield, Kansas, a distance of 120 miles. It was another windy day, although not as bad a the last 2 days with mostly sidewinds of 15-20 mph, with some segments of the course directly into the wind (at 10-12 mph).

Cheryl was fortunate enough to find a paceline that worked well and this made the day more tolerable. Ken and Chuck spent most of the day riding by themselves together.

The temperatures reached the 90's, and we did notice the humidity increasing. We are also seeing a change in the terrain, with more rolling hills, and even trees and shrubs to provide shade and to provide some relief from the wind. Today was still difficult, but somewhat easier than Days 11 and 12, largely due to the shorter miles.
Ken and Cheryl


THE NUMBERS

Estimated Distance: 120 Miles
Actual Distance: 126.3 Miles
Cumulative Actual Distance: 1,643 Miles

This includes the following off course added miles:
San Diego - 2.0 Miles when Chuck and Bob Harting missed a turn

Winslow - 4.7 Miles when Chuck, Ken, and Les Drake went to the mural painting after the ride

Pagosa Springs - 3.1 Miles when Chuck missed Lunch

Alamosa - 11.2 Miles when Chuck missed the turn for Lunch

Estimated Feet of Climbing: 1,800 Feet
Actual Feet of Climbing: 1,130 Feet
Cumulative Feet of Climbing: 47,000 Feet
Elevation of Destination: 1,760 Feet
Average Speed on the Bike: 15.7 MPH
Maximum Speed on the Bike: 28.0 MPH
Chuck's Heart Rate Data:
Max Heart Rate was 196 BPM a few weeks ago before PAC Tour
Time above 150: 0:01
Time between 130-150: 2:58
Time below 130: 6:41
Dairy Queen Count: 1 Blythe, CA

2 Twister's Ice Cream in Williams, AZ

3 Dairy Queen in Cortez, Colorado was phenomenal

4 Dairy Queen in Monte Vista, Colorado
(PAC Tour Hot Fudge Banana Split:
Bananas, 3 Scoops Ice Cream, Hot Fudge on Side: Awesome!!)

5 Dairy Queen in Pratt, Kansas

6 Dairy Queen in Winfield, Kansas - PAC Tour Hot Fudge Banana Split


A Great Lunch Stop It was warm at lunchtime so the shade at the Church was a welcome sight.


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Cheryl's back It was good to have Cheryl back rolling again today.


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PAC Tour Dishwasher The PAC Tour Dishwasher is busy at work!!!


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OUR THOUGHTS

Highlights: Today was again difficult but not as bad as yesterday. The wind was out of the South at 15-25 MPH. We did pretty well when we were going East but it was a very slow and difficult time when we turned right and had to ride South which happened four times for about 15 miles.

We rode fairly hard ... but after the past couple of days we're having a hard time getting much power to the pedals.

We continue to see what "Howling Winds" are all about here in Kansas.

We crossed the half way point today ... a major breakthrough.

Ken and I chose to take it easy today. We were real tired from the prior back to back hard days and needed to "recover on the bike", if that's possible.

We pulled into a small town called Belles Plains for a fruit bar at the local market. The folks were really nice and very interested in our trip including our route into Winfield. It was mighty hot and humid out so the fruit bar tasted real good.

It was 95 degrees when we rolled into Winfield at the end of the day. The Dairy Queen was a welcome sight for sure!!

Chuck and Ken couldn't get into their Hotel room ... the lock mechanism was broken. About an hour later, the lady at the Front Desk was finally able to fix the lock ... adding to the excitement of another long day. You just never know what's going to happen on PAC Tour!!

At 9:30 P.M., the skies were covered with extremely dark clouds. The Weather Channel was reporting severe thunderstorms just North of us in Wichita. It was so incredible: lightning bolts firing off all around ... a full 360 degrees. Huge black bellowing clouds lit up by firing bolts of lightning!! Of course, the wind was howling at gale force ... 60+ MPH according to the Weather Channel. It was hard to stay upright as I walked out in the field next to the Hotel. Hail was as large as nickels. As I went to sleep, I was hoping for the best for the weather in the morning.

The forecast for tomorrow is for strong winds from the North ... couple that with a 150 mile day and it will be a true test for us.

The day after tomorrow has 140 miles but includes 6,300 Feet of Climbing. There will certainly be some howling wind added to this day. The weather forecast shows us just ahead of a cold arctic storm which could challenge us even further. We have concluded that this PAC Tour is becoming a very big challenge for sure and that we're going to have to dig very deep indeed.

Chuck is falling asleep sitting up even as he writes this so we are going to bed now.

Chuck
Memorable Scenery: Now we're seeing a lot more trees
Mechanical Problems: Chuck woke up to a Front flat tire this morning so he quickly swapped out the tire and tube ... just to be safe.
Biomechanical (Engine)
Problems:
We were mighty tired today on the bike ... these winds are taking a big toll on us
What Worked: Dairy Queen Hot Fudge Banana Boat
What Didn't Work: Heat and headwinds ... the headwinds were brutal when we turned South directly into them.
Quote of the Day:

"All we are is dust in the wind"
See below

Chuck's Song of the Day:

"I close my eyes, only for a moment and the moment's gone
All my dreams, pass before my eyes a curiosity
Dust in the wind
All they are is dust in the wind

Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do, crumbles to the ground though we refuse to see
Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind

Don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away, and all your money won't another minute buy
Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind

Dust in wind
Everything is dust in the wind"

Kansas, 1977
"Dust In The Wind" on "Point of Know Return"


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