Tuesday 29th June 1999 -> Dodge City KS

Sleeping in to 6-30am for a 7am buffet breakfast was a luxury! The range of food was adequate but not spectacular.

I hit the road at about 7.30am under an overcast sky with yet another stiff cross to head wind.

I missed the only sag as I was pulling into the wind and trying hard to avoid all the stones! The road was generally clean and good. Terrain was basically flat with some small rolls. Scenery was corn fields and cattle feed lots, complete with odour!

I managed no punctures and rolled into town at about 10-37am. The ride for the day was a modest

 50.9 miles (+ a bit) in 3hrs 07m with a maximum of 22.8moh.

Dinner was another superb buffet plus a menu choice and bottomless drink.

The evening was spent at a show at the Boot Hill museum. It was of average quality with singing and can can.

Monday 28th June 1999 -> Garden City KS

The day dawned overcast and people said it would rain. The wind was blowing fairly steadily.

Breakfast at 6am was mediocre – pancakes, cereal and oatmeal with orange juice. The pancakes ran out as fast as they were brought out.

At 6-30an, I left the motel. The wind blew and swirled – the majority of the day was a frustrating cross head. Odd spurts were a tail wind and some was head on.

The road varied in quality and quietly rolled along. Where there was no shoulder on the road, we were targets for the trucks!

I managed 3 flats and the long valve tube ex the mechanics was too long for the 3^rd one so I patched a tube – an inside hole. That gives me 13 to date – it must be a ride record!

It was a frustrating day with the wind and the legs still felt yesterday so I just cruised along for the 103.9 miles in 5hrs 49m with a max of 27.7mph.

A couple of miles was easy with a HR of 100 or so as a combine harvester drove next to me at 18-19mph and took all the wind. The weather soon cleared and it was another clear and sunny day.

Dinner was a full buffet plus shrimp, chicken or steak. It was an excellent selection. A bottomless drink was also provided. The range of desserts included pumpkin pie, ice cream, nuts, chocolate, nut pie etc. Just what cyclists need!

Sunday 27th June 1999 ->Lamar CO

The longest day started with breakfast at 5-30am. By 6am, I was on the road after an adequate breakfast.

It was again a clear sky, sunny and warm. The wind early on picked its direction – cross then head all the way. It was at least 10-20kmh^-1 in strength.

We rolled through plains with nothing of real interest. Just after the 2^nd sag at 62 miles, my back tyre deflated. I fixed that and it went down again. Fixed that and about 10 miles further, down again! At this time, Mike the mechanic caught up and we then rode in a paceline with Dan and Helen. Further on, Andy joined in for about a mile and then Maria jumped in. After some hard riding, Dan and Helen, who started with Mike, fell off at about the 80-90 mile mark. Maria lasted till about 95 miles.

After the 3^rd sag, my back tyre was again flat. Another 10 miles of pacelining with Mike and I had flat #5 for the day! Rim tape says Mike – all faulty! From there, we made it to town at 2pm,again too early for rooms, so cruised into town for a very leisurely KFC with 3 or 4 drinks!

The total ride for the day, mostly into wind, was 127.3 miles (204.9km!) in 6hrs 59m with a max of 33.7mph. To town average 18.4mph (29.6kmh^-1).

At the end of another week’s riding, I’ve double the number of flats to 19! Total riding for the week was 829km (515.2 miles) in 29hrs 09m with a maximum speed of 72.2kmh^-1 (44.9mph) with an average of 17.67mph (28.4kmh^-1). Again a Jason record!

Dinner was a buffer in the hotel – a very mediocre offering of salad, pasta, mince and sauce with bread.

Saturday 26th June 1999 Rest day

Had a free continental breakfast, changed the back tyre and cleaned the bike. The main frame had a splattered moth stuck to it!

I wandered about 1.5 miles to the nearest shopping centre and read books in a book shop, checked my e-mail (@ 20c/min) and visited a huge petshop which had very birds but everything for cats and dogs. The rest of the day was spent reading and watching tv. It was hot!

Friday 25th June 1999 -> Pueblo CO

Arriving just before 6am for breakfast meant we were served fairly promptly for an order off the menu meal. The place was about a mile back up the road!

At about 6-10am, we set off under a clear blue sky with little wind. The road wound down through a gorge for miles. There were again many Rockies riders out early!

Sag 1 at 36 miles we not there. Shortly afterwards, I caught the Santana tandem but they raced away downhill so I cruised with a HR of 110-130. As the Rockies turned right, we climbed a fairly steep hill and the tandem was gone.

A long and steep descent into Carson City resulted in my speedo sitting effortlessly on 32-33mph for a few miles.

After Carson City, the mountains were gone and huge plains opened up. The road rolled along and a gentle tail wind to no wind to a touch of head wind led to the next non-existent sag at 73 miles.

From there, it was more of the same and I arrived at the hotel at 10-30am! This was too early so I cruised around a bit and was then told no rooms till 2pm! I suggested they might like to try and we finally got a room about 12pm after drinking many glasses of their free orange juice and reading the paper.

The total inter-town ride was 93.4 miles with an average of 22.0mph in 4hrs 14m with a max of 44.9mph on some good roads.

Dinner was at Western Sizzlin (sic) and was a full buffet plus trout or chicken or steak plus bottomless drinks. A great feed all round!

Thursday 24th June 1999 -> Salida CO

The sign outside breakfast at 6am showed 45°F. This not overly cold though! Breakfast was of average quality – quite surprising given the dinner fiasco – some food poisoning has been reported!

I left breakfast at 6-15am with the sun barely risen. It hid behind mountains and clouds which made it crispy at times!! As we got further into the Rockies, the scenery became more Canadian like – forest with a high snow line.

I was first to leave sag 1 after 29 miles of rolling country with no huge climbs. The Rockies riders were keen and I reeled in more and more all day.

The 9 mile climb to Monarch Pass at 11,312 feet took almost an hour of climbing, a fairly gentle gradient. I kept the HR as 110-130 generally with a maximum of 141.

After photos etc at the top, I set off down the mountain before traffic got crazy. About ½ way down, my back tyre picked up a tiny wire and deflated – puncture no 5! This fixed, I continued downhill, with a rough road in places, right into town with a slight tailwind.

The max speed for the day was 44.9mph, in 4hrs 6m and 66.1 miles in another fine and sunny day. Afternoon temp was about 83°F.

Dinner was at Pizza Hut at 4pm – all you can eat pizza and salad. It was a good ½ mile walk from the hotel.

Wednesday 23rd June 1999 -> Gunnison CO

Arising pre-dawn at 5-30am so the bed could be packed away, we rode to another excellent buffet breakfast.

Leaving town just after 6-20am, I rode into another stiff headwind and the first of 2,000⁺ Ride the Rockies cyclists. The 1^st hill climb was reasonably steep and combined with the wind, a 7⁺ mph 1^st gear grind.

It took over 2hrs to reach the sag at 28 miles. Unfortunately I beat it there so carried on.. There were only a few riders in front of me by then, all Rockies. Another much longer and gentler climb (with much less wind) lead to the summit for the day. A couple of good downhills and a slight tail wind in the last 30 miles raised the average speed quite considerably.

Scenery varied – very Canadian like in places while others were low scrub bland areas. A lake which we rode along and crossed was very Canadian.

The roads varied wildly – some good shoulders to none at all. The last few miles were very rough.

I cruised at HR 110-130 as I did not want to arrive too early. At 10-24am I arrived at the hotel with no luggage truck visible. So, I cycle to the airport, about the same size as Napier, and then up town. It is a one road town with most places a mile or more from the hotel.

The ride to town was 63.3 miles in 4hrs 4m with a maximum of 38.4mph.

Dinner was not only over a mile from the hotel (walked), in a room of about 45 capacity (75 to feed) but also limited in choice to green salad, lasagne, pasta and strawberry shortcake with cream. A very poor effort all round!

Tuesday 22 June 1999 -> Montrose CO

Breakfast was again a solid buffet with servers of eggs, French toast etc.

I left the hotel about 7am and cycled straight into another stiff headwind. With a couple of gentle climbs and a couple of stiffer climbs, it took about 2hrs to reach sag at 30 miles. A great average! Scenery was just more nothingness.

After the sag, the wind died down, some downhills were found and the scenery became rural farming and small urban, complete with some small airfields, featuring a microlight and glider and bi-plane rides.

The road was generally good and I arrived at the hotel about 11-20am and had to wait two hours for my luggage!

Cycling for the day was 68.3 miles in 4hrs 13m with a max of 31.1mph. This is not bad considering I was pedalling down a hill into the wind at 12-13mph!

I wandered downtown to the bike shop, post office and library. E-mail access was full of school kids so no go!

Dinner was a superb full range buffet at a place down the road – the best and most complete to date.

Monday 21 June 1999 -> Grand Junction, CO

Starting at 6-20am, after another solid buffet breakfast, into a sunny and warm day with a head wind, soon saw many early riders being pulled in. By the 1^st sag at 25 miles, I was almost the 1^st rider.

The road was generally in superb condition. Scenery was just “nothingness” – sand and rocks with low lying scrub for miles and miles. The road rolled up and down with a couple of good descents – pity about the wind!

We crossed into Colorado at about the 70 mile mark. There was no one in sight! With about 15 miles to go, I caught Cliff, who had started early, and Burt, who had sagged 1-2, and we rode fairly fast into town. The other 2 really enjoyed themselves!

After sag 1, the wind was basically a non-event and the pace slowly increased. Three or four long gentle climbs added some interest to the day.

The total ride for the day was approximately 96.8 miles in 5hrs 33m with a maximum of 41.2mph (the speedo missed a couple of beats.)

Dinner was an average buffet, complete with hot food servers! There was a huge thunderstorm with heavy rain and plenty of thunder and lightening. It cooled considerably with the rain.

Sunday 20th June 1999 -> Green River UT

Breakfast was also a good selection and well presented at 7am. The day was fine, sunny and warm with a substantial amount of head wind. Total climbing was about 1500ft but felt more due to the wind.

Scenery was initially low scrub lands with hill backgrounds. A few long gentle climbs led to one good descent. Further west, the classical flat desert with rock formations became the norm. All in all, it was a fairly uninspiring cycling day.

The total ride for the day was 66.2 miles in 3hrs 42m with a maximum of 39.3mph. Some of the roads were in shockingly rough condition and greatly decreased the average speed.

Total riding for the week was 792km (495.1 miles) in 28hrs 33m at an average speed of 27.9kmh^-1 with a maximum of 39.3mph (62.9kmh^-1). This is more than last week!

The afternoon was spent on a trip to Arches National Park, Utah. This is a 4050 minute drive from Green River (which is brown!) The park contains numerous sandstone formations of rocks, arches, windows etc. About 45 people went. Late afternoon / early evening was punctuated with thunderstorms and rain.

We arrived back just after 7pm directly to dinner, a buffet at a next door truckstop. The food was the usual types and quality, complete with dessert, including jelly!

Saturday 19th June 1999 -> Price, UT

The buffet for breakfast at 6am was the best to date – a full and complete selection for all tastes – pancakes, French toast, eggs, fruit, cereal, oatmeal etc etc.

I left the hotel about 6-45am, fairly well down the line. A strong head wind greeted us for the first few miles – progress at 10-12mph was about it! We then turned and started climbing.

Cycling was through a canyon which had some trees, scrub, rivers and waterfalls. All again very Canadian. The climbs were about 5-8% which are gentle but a head wind added some spice.

I reached the first sag at 34 miles at just under 3 hours and was the 2^nd or 3^rd rider in. The sag was followed by a 6 mile climb which virtually completed the 3,500ft or so of climbing for the day. There was then some downhill, still into wind, which was dangerous due to rumble strips and falling rocks!

After a coal mine or two, I reached the hotel about 11.40am. Total cycling for the day was 72.7 miles in 4hrs 37m with a maximum of 34mph. Not that bad considering the wind, the road and HR max of about 141, combined with a warm, sunny and clear day.

Dinner was a well presented, average range buffet in the hotel complete with dessert.

Friday 18th June 1999 -> Springville

Breakfast was yet another poor effort – less than yesterday’s free one! Anyway, it wasn’t crowded as we could not start riding to 9am. We were ready by about 8am!

At 9am, we all started out under another fine, sunny day. The wind was quite strong initially and this, combined with numerous turns, made progress slow. It took over an hour + ½ to reach sag at 25 miles! A new tandem couple helped though!

After sag, we headed off but no one was very keen so I forged on slowly. Some guys caught up so I rode with them until they stopped for lunch.

From there, the cue sheet was sadly inaccurate and misleading. The wind swirled and provided some tail push.

Riding was on quiet rural roads and also tree lined suburban and university street. The bike patch was rough as guts and one road was “grooved” down hill.

Many of the riders were not skilled at bunch riding and I was hit from behind and cut off, all in the first 10 or so miles! The scenery of urban streets with mountain back drops and rural roads were hard to watch while ensuring you were not knocked off your bike or pushed into a pothole!

Due to navigation problems, the total ride was 65.2 miles in 4hrs 17m with a maximum of 32.3mph. It was basically flat with the odd short climb.

Dinner was an excellent buffet at the truck stop across the road. Chocolate sauce pudding and custard all included!

Thursday 17th June 1999 -> Rest day

Breakfast at about 9am was a free continental buffet. Not a great range but enough!

After a bike clean, lunch across the road at a fast food shop and doing the laundry, I headed up town. This was done by courtesy shuttle to the airport and then bus up town.

After wandering around town and through a couple of shopping malls, around Mormon square etc, I headed back via bus and shuttle after dinner at Arbys. I arrived back about 9pm and received fax #3 which had been sent two days earlier!! Dad also rang again as the front desk had not passed on a message!

Wednesday 16th June 1999 -> Salt Lake City UT

Another night of limited broken sleep ended at 5.39am. Breakfast was again in the casino and an off the menu option. This was poorly organised and executed. Food was acceptable.

Mike and I left about 6-55am in the 2 man paceline. He was on fire and started cruising at 28mph!! Too fast for me. I lasted about 70 miles and then he continued on. I caught Ron with about 20 miles left and towed him to the motel.

The day was again fine with little wind that swirled around the valleys, giving head and tail winds. It was basically flat with 890ft of climbing. It was also warm. (c80°F)

Scenery started with huge salt flat expanses and then changed to low lying scrub and then Salt Lake with mountains in the back ground. The city is at the foot of the mountains.

The ride was long and tiring – Mike ripped my legs a bit too much! I arrived 1^st at the hotel at about 12-55pm after 118.2 miles of cycling in 5hrs 56m with a maximum speed of 31mph.

Dinner was poor all round – bread, salad, pasta and rice only served in one room with eating in another squashed room. It was waiting in hot rooms and charges for all drinks. It was an early night and I was asleep soon after 8-30pm!

Tuesday 15th June 1999 -> Wendover, NV

Pancakes, fruit and cereal at 5.40am was breakfast. Riders were keen to get on their way under the clear blue sky with little wind.

I left about 6-25am and was among the later leavers (just.) I soon passed most riders along the flat to gentle rolling freeway. Scenery was still just scrub with mountain backdrops.

We were sagged up a 5 mile climb due to road construction. The downhill was into a slight head wind so was not very fast.

The last 15 miles or so were just one long, straight, gentle climbing road. At the top, the salt flats of Utah and Wendover were visible.

I arrived at the hotel at about 12-45pm before putting the watch forward 1hr to mountain time.

Lunch was again at Burger King, the only visible food place in town other than the casino!

No flat tyres for the day was an improvement on the previous two days. Total riding for the day was 103.3 miles in 5hrs 26m with a maximum of 39.4mph. HR was generally <120 until the sag then 130-140 balance. Legs feel o.k. but Mike wants to race tomorrow!

Dinner was in the casino at the “Over the Rainbow Rain Forest.” This was a full buffet in a Disneyland like rain forest setting, complete with a full dessert (all types) and drinks. The casino was all lit up in neon lights and was huge but moderately populated. Best feed yet!

Monday 14th June 1999 -> Elko, Nevada

We returned by bike to the restaurant at 6-30am for breakfast, all packed and ready to go. Breakfast was also fairly poor – cereal, oatmeal, eggs and ham with pancakes if you waited. I left about 6-55am for Elko.

Back out on the freeway under a clear blue and sunny sky with a constantly shifting light wind, my back tyre lasted about 10 miles – it looks like a stone rather than a wire.

Continuing on through more flats with some mountains appearing, we went through much road construction and some hill climbs – over 2,000ft in total. My HR was < 120 until the hills when it went to 130 and then 140.

We were vanned through some construction and a small tunnel at the end of it. Construction on the final off ramp caused all sorts of confusion and the luggage truck returned to help. Consequently, we had lunch at Burger King before the luggage arrived at about 2-30pm. We hit town before 12pm.

My front wheel picked up 2 wires in the last five miles with one apparent puncture. The bottom bracket had also begun to creak under pressure. Another deflating day!

The total cycling for the day was 69.5 miles in 4hrs 25m with a maximum of 37.9mph.

Dinner was at the motel but again nothing exciting or flash – just the standard salad, fruit, pasta and meatballs with strawberry ice for dessert!

Sunday 13th June 1999 -> Battle Mountain NV

Breakfast at just after 7am, again in the casino coffee shop and an excellent buffet, heralded the start of another fine, hot and little wind day.

I first went to a carpark with about 25 other riders for braking and emergency cornering techniques. The results of braking were interesting – front and back, front only and then back in order of effectiveness.

At just before 9am we left town. I cruised all day with the heart rate under 130. A 3.8 mile very gentle climb after about 10 miles temporarily put the HR to 140. This was followed by a downhill which was not as long as promised!

Shortly after the downhill, again on the interstate, my front wheel started “clacking.” I stopped it and found a tyre wire in it. I pulled this out and heard the air escaping. One puncture! I fixed this and then checked the back tyre. Yep, there was a tyre wire! It was short so I thought I would try and ride to the sag. It lasted about 2 miles …… I went to change this but my spare tube had worn a hole in it (XXL!) The sag passing had no long stem valve tubes so I patched one tube and got another mile or two before the patch failed. We then patched the other holed tube (which already had a couple of patches on) and tried again. This time I made it to the sag stop and completed the ride just before 1pm without any more wires!

The total ride for the day was 55.2 miles in 2hrs 57m with a maximum of 39.3moph. All of this was done at minimum effort and maximum punctures! Not a bad effort given the heat.

Scenery was again sparse – salt flats with low lying scrub with a back drop of brown hills and mountains – some with traces of snow. The sky developed into excellent looking thermals in the afternoon.

Total riding for the week was 462.6 miles (740km) in 26hrs 53m at an average of 27.5kmh^-1 and max of 42.4mph (67.8kmh^-1). A Jason record!

Dinner was a poorly organised affair – the place was about a mile from the motel and had insufficient tables and chairs. The food was standard – pasta, chicken, bread, salad etc. A hot walk back to the motel and we retired for the day.

Saturday June 12 1999 -> Winnemucca, NV

Summer is here! A hot, dry, sunny day with virtually no clouds and little wind.

Breakfast was also standard but of a higher quality and variety. Fruit, cereal, pancakes etc plus strange tasting canned pineapple juice and chocolate coated donuts were the mornings carbos.

Mike the mechanic and I tried to form a paceline. Only Dave #2 showed up and lasted at least a minute! We picked up a couple of older guys on the way through. They lasted to the sags and then we started again. Most of the ride was with just 2 or 3 of us.

The ride was mostly flat but had some gentle climbs with a total climb for the day of some 1,400 feet. The scenery was the same as yesterday i.e. nothing exciting, and we again rode the inter-state through blown tyres etc.

I arrived at the hotel/casino just before 12pm after a “Mike I know a short cut” tiki tour. There was a Spanish parade of sorts through the middle of town with the local fire brigade taking pleasure in squirting each other and all and sundry!

The total ride for the day was 73.3 miles in 3hrs 56m with a maximum of 33.3mph. Heartrate was generally 120-140 which is less than the 150-160 on the 1^st day of hill climbing and 140-150 on the 2^nd day of hill climbing.

Dinner was at the coffee shop at the casino and was an excellent Mexican buffet – the best meal to date!

Friday 11th June 1999 -> Lovelock

Yet another fine, clear morning with little wind. The temperature soon began to rise and was summery in the afternoon.

Breakfast was eggs, French toast, cereal and fruit salad. Good for cycling perhaps but nothing too exciting!

I left the hotel near the tail of the field at about 6.55am. the first 31 miles were great – a slight tail wind and some gentle down hills. A few rumble strips added excitement to the day. Riding up one gentle rise, I thought I was going slow but my speedo said 25mph!

The 2^nd and 3^rd 30 miles were more difficult with a touch of a head / cross wind. The scenery was salt flats and scrub – nothing exciting and all down the freeway.

Just before 12pm I reached the hotel at Lovelock. A strange, rather ghost looking town. Naturally, the hotel comes complete with a casino.

Cycling stats for the day are 4hrs 28m, 91 miles and a maximum of 33.7mph.

Lunch was a reasonable walk down the road at McDonalds. We then located a post office and then FREE e-mail at the local library. I had a good e-mail catch up and stamped all the postcards ready to mail – it is supposedly US$0.50 per card! Time will tell!

Dinner was of standard fare but good quality and plentiful i.e. chicken, pasta, meatballs, salad, lasagna (vege) etc. No dessert!

The 1^st fax from home arrived and I collected this without charge (I didn’t ask!) and mailed my postcards.

Thursday June 10 1999 -> to Sparks, NV

The morning was cool, sunny and fine with little wind. It was not frosty or cold enough for longs etc.

Breakfast was again sparse – cereal x 4 plus bread and “instant” oatmeal. Orange juice was plentiful though!

I left the hotel about mid-field at 7.40am. After about 2 miles, we climbed for 5 miles or so. I was climbing initially quite well at 15mph but soon fell to 7/8mph. Roadworks meant we climbed up the left hand side of the road. Just like home!

After more roadworks and some downhill, I reached Lake Tahoe. They had some “grated” road up the hill by the lake (just after crossing into Nevada). This was downhill and totally spoilt the benefit as it was rough as guts.

Shortly afterwards, I started climbing Mt Rose. Riding at about 8-12mph, I passed many riders up the 8 or so mile climb to the sag stop and was 1^st one there. 8,990ft high.

The scenery was again very Canadian – snow, trees, rocks, mountains and lakes. Snow was right up to the road side.

From the summit, a 16 mile downhill was done in almost 30 minutes at about 32mph average. After that, a few more turns and a missed one meant I cycled the interstate until the next exit. It was a good road surface! I soon located my bearings and arrived at the hotel before midday. I received my fun for a $1!

Total cycling for the day was 52 miles in 3hrs 14m with a max of 42.4mph. The temperature had also risen to a nice 70ºF.

A hamburger and fries at Denny’s for lunch was a good prelude to the 6pm dinner.

Dinner was standard fare – pasta, mince, chicken and salad with water to drink. Tomorrow’s route map was simple and includes about 1,200ft of climbing.

Wednesday 09th June 1999 -> Truckee CA

The day dawned early – 5.30am, and was cool with varying high cloud. After a breakfast of cereal, cereal or cereal and / or oatmeal and / or wait some time for pancakes from 6am, riders starting setting off on the hills. There was basically no wind.

I left almost last at about 7.10am. Very shortly after starting I passed the first rider. Every mile reeled in more and more riders.

There were one or two quite short sharp rises but the majority were long and gentle. I cruised up most hills at about 10mph in 9^th gear. The entire ride was either up or down – some ups were very long – many miles in length.

By the first sag at 26 miles, I was about the 4^th rider but had not passed that many people. It seems a few had taken a special tiki tour!

On the way to the 2^nd sag at 58 miles, I pulled in the rest of the riders and the staff member riding. The hills continued right to the sag.

Road conditions were extremely variable, some were superb, one was an Interstate and others were full of cracks etc. As the Denver Pass area in the Sierras is a ski resort area, much of the road damage is a result of snow.

The scenery was very Canadian i.e. clear water, snow and trees etc. A lot better than cities!!

From the 2^nd sag, a couple of short climbs led to a descent of about 1,000ft over 6 miles down a twisting road. This then continued as a downhill road right into town. A missed turn and I was on my way to Nevada! After a few bonus hills (both up and down), I turned around and headed for the hotel and found it easily.

I first arrived in town about 12.45pm and was first into town. I reached the hotel about 1.20pm, was 2^nd in, and was about an hour early for the luggage. Great! By 3pm, only about 8 riders had arrived.

My speedo missed a beat for a minute or so but recorded 80.9 miles, max 40.2mph, and cycling time of 5hrs 23m (including starting + stopping etc.) Vertical climb was 8,230ft total and it felt like it before I arrived!

Dinner was fairly good at the motel with lasagne, chicken, bread, drinks etc etc. All good and filling!

Tuesday 08th June 1999 -> Auburn

Another beauty clear, sunny and mild day. Breakfast was a poor effort. Despite getting up at about 6.45am and arriving at the restaurant just after 7 (and being some of the last cyclists there!), we did not complete our medium sized choose from the menu breakfast at the coffee house in the motel carpark till about 8.20!

We finally left the motel at about 8.40am. The majority of the ride was on bike paths and flat. One or two early bumps got the heart going.

The sag stop was at about 33 miles at Folson lake, a hydro electric dam. We were in the last 20 or so to sign in. A few power bursts up the small hills strained one of my co-riders and left the other one behind.

After the sag, Mike, a tour leader, rode with me at a solid pace. A couple of long hills, with a couple of steep parts, got the heart and lungs going. Mike pulled away but I throttled back as there are 7,500ft of climbing tomorrow!

A few downhills, round town slowly and then to a bike shop. Shirts were US$60 each. Too much! A Santana tandem (very old) US$750 and a triplet (steel, no STIs) US$3,900 were on sale. Nothing else was interesting so we left.

A short ride up a few more hills and I reached the motel. Tod was already there and Loren was at the bike shop getting some bigger gears to climb the hills! (now a 28:24).

The total ride for the day was 51.7 miles in 3hrs 18m and a maximum of 32.1mph (time includes a lot of city hill climbs + lights etc to bike shop.)

Dinner at Sizzle after route maps was great – only five of us went and we had an unobstructed view of the mountains to be climbed. Service was also timely with plenty of food!

Monday 07th June 1999 -> Sacramento

Breakfast at 7am. Pancakes with pancakes or cereal and grits. Great stuff! Loren was up at about 4.30am! A keen man.

We left the hotel at about 8.10am and mid to late field. Up the 1^st (and only) little “bump”, my roommates were left behind. Whoops!

A tailwind flat stretch soon followed and cruising at 25mph was easy. A train crossing allowed some navigators to catch up. They lasted until the next flat long stretch.

After the mandatory sag stop at about 30 miles, I headed out and caught more riders. Ending up riding with a recumbent and another cyclist all the way to Sacramento. On entering town, the raisable bridge was being tested so we had to wait.

We arrived in town, before the luggage, at about 11.50am after 58.5 miles of cycling in 3hrs 37m with a maximum of 29.1mph. A flat, uninspiring ride with no scenery of any consequence. The day was fine, sunny and mild with not much wind.

Dinner was again uninspiring – potato salad, green salad, garlic bread, b-b-q chicken, beef and cookies. Drinks other than water were a little bit extra!

Tomorrow’s ride has 2,000ft of climbs compared with today’s flat 600ft. Strangely enough, I am looking forward to the hills tomorrow and the next day!

A quick ride back into and around Old Town Sacramento (which looks like Disneyland, complete with river boats) ended the day before retiring to the triple room option at the hotel which is a double as they don’t allow rollaways!

Sunday 06th June 1999 San Fran ->Fairfield

Roommates, Tod and Loren, are up at 5am! I think they’re keen. I got up about 5-45am for breakfast at 6am. Not an exciting or large breakfast – very few choices. Basically cereal, fruit, oatmeal + French toast.

After some stuffing around and very full lifts, confused check out staff (my fax from home was never delivered), everyone was lined up outside the hotel ready to go. At about 7.15am we started rolling for the “escorted” 16 miles to the beach for wheel dipping.

A hill about a mile long but not very steep was climbed after about 1 mile. This was done at about 8-12mph to stay behind the van. We had been told to “ride like we do at home” but I thought “attacking” in a non-race after 1 mile in a limited speed escort was not a good idea. The hill shattered the group anyway. After a number of stops and about 2 hours, we finally reached the beach.

It was a cool morning but the sun was shining with no clouds. The day warmed up as we moved along.

Once everyone had churned through the sand and had the obligatory picture taken, it was back to the carpark for a group photo. Everyone had their “USA” cycling shirts on that were handed out at registration. Quite a sight of about 65 cyclists!

After that it was all go – head for Fairfield using the route notes. So, we all set off – only one tandem, one recumbent tricycle, about 3 recumbents and the balance fairly standard bikes.

Navigating by following USA shirts, I lost my roommates within a minute. Powering up a good steep but short hill, my right foot came out and I had to stop. I then joined with 3 guys and we were soon on a small tiki tour. Not a problem!

The Golden Gate bridge was next and it was vastly populated with every type of cycle and cyclist (even one or two tandems!) Safely across, I waited for my navigators. Some time later they turned up as one guy had fallen off his bike (he repeated the feat almost half an hour later – ouch!)

Anyway, a lady told us how to reach the next area and so we had another bit of a tiki tour. We stopped after a while but then saw some USA shirts coming so followed them. It turned out they were led by a local resident. No problem!

After going up and down a few rises, on bike paths, many turn and sets of lights, a small detour, we hit Highway 57 and a tailwind. Sitting on 25mph was easy and we were down to a group of 3.

The “rumble bars” on the road made life quite exciting – especially when I ended up on the traffic side of them after crossing off an overbridge.

A final gentle climb of about a mile or so lead to a closed road. This was downhill and tailwind. The road had some big cracks and holes in it (hence the closure) and also 2 brand new fences and gates across the whole road! A bit of cyclo-cross, a few more cruising miles and we were there – Fairfield. Five of us were the first in at about 3pm. Some of the hotel rooms were ready!

Total cycling for the day was 86 miles. Ignoring the 1^st 16 miles, the ride was 68 miles in 4hrs 19m (includes starting + stopping + time to room etc.) Max speed was 46.2mph. Max HR was about 158 (but not working too well.) The 3,200ft of climbing was not noticeable.

Dinner at Denny’s down the road was totally uninspiring – pasta, meatballs and cold chicken with bread rolls and salad. Ice cream followed – great carbo loading!

Saturday 05th June 1999

Bike front brakes adjusted at check in. All bike o.k. Prelim talk and info given. Total ride climb = 95,000ft!

Route sheet for 1^st ride given out. Climb for day = 3,200ft. Course has many turns to get out of town!

Dinner at Sizzler – not a major problem. Sunday ride to start at 7am!!

Friday 04th June 1999

Have breakfast and collect bike. It’s still sitting at the front desk essentially! Take it to my room (on the 6^th floor) and start (finding) ordering things for the rides and checking for damage.

Bike odo 12.40pm 4-6-99 = 16,834 miles = 27,087km

Bike all seems o.k. A few minor adjustments required by mechanic.

Hotel has e-mail @ US$21 an hour, min. charge 15 mins. Decline their offer!

Wander around the block or two a bit – overcast, cool weather with a seabreeze. Right next to airport. No shops only hotels, offices etc. Watched t.v., had dinner and retired for the day.

Thursday 03rd June 1999

Departed Napier on Air NZ for Auckland. GT all packed in a box and checked to San Fran. Handlebars had been rusted in and much effort required to get them out. Pedals an easy job with the right tool!

Arrived Auckland no problems. Air NZ boarding pass needs to be changed to United anyway as they require passport details etc. Flight to LA c. 11 hours with some minor turbulence. Bike + luggage arrive visually o.k.

Clear customs and go to re-check baggage to be told flight to San Fran is cancelled. First confirmed flight is 3.30pm so take that. Another new boarding pass issued!

Find the “Inpass” registration on the ground floor of the Tom Bradley terminal (go left out of United and walk on footpath until you get there!) Card issued within 15 minutes – no charge. Then advised expires with passport i.e. 14-2-2000! Plan is also only available to frequent business travelers.

Finally locate a United service desk. After much searching, no upgrade granted for LA à Auckland and can’t standby – currently none available. Must keep checking to try and achieve. Tandem freight not much different – can accept on day of departure but not before. They have a storage facility 2-3 miles from the airport but they supposedly don’t deliver to airport. A great help!

Arrive in San Fran – bike has apparently come on an earlier flight. Call hotel and wait and wait and wait for shuttle bus. Call them again and wait and wait. Call them again and again and again. Great phone lines! Try a different pick up location and finally catch bus.

Arrive at hotel with 2 bags and bike – need 3 hands already and no Jake yet! Registration is confirmed and they will bring the bike up to my room in about 10 minutes. I’m still waiting!

Pizza and chocolate cake for tea in the hotel restaurant before watching some TV news and calling it an early night. Learn daily temps are 10 à 20°F below normal. Great!