Day 21: Our Second Rest Day

June 25, 2016
Pueblo, CO
Miles:  0  Climb:
Total Miles 1,447

On this trip I can't remember what day it is, but I know it when it is a rest day.

We normally are up at 5:00.  Today, I didn't set the alarm.  After breakfast I read the paper and did a crossword puzzle, my first of the trip, which is a surprise because I am a crossword puzzle addict. After the puzzle, I cleaned my bike at the bike wash station that the staff set up for us and I had the mechanic adjust my derailleur because my chain was slipping and clunking between gears yesterday. Had lunch.  Napped.  Talked with my family on the phone.  Napped some more.  Then joined three other riders for a cab ride downtown to a nice restaurant.  What a treat.  We normally eat at chains close to the hotel.  This was a really great meal with a good glass of wine in a small restaurant in the historic district.  I highly recommend dc's on B Street if you are ever in Pueblo, Colorado.  It is next to Neon Alley, which is an alley with restaurants with outdoor seating and old neon signs decorating the buildings.  Very nice.

While the riders have a rest day the ABB staff are working, still.  There are four staff supporting this ride.  They drive two vans, one of which pulls a trailer.  The trailer carries the luggage.  One of the vans is outfitted for the mechanic and the vans carry the SAG stop food and supplies.  The four staff have done an amazing job of supporting 20 riders of varying skills and abilities.

For the four staff with us on this trip, this is a summer job.  Michelle is the tour director.  She is on the faculty at UM-Flint.  This is the seventh trip she has made across country, one as a rider and six as support.  She is the person in charge and everyday is making decisions about how to support riders that get as much as 30 miles apart on the route.  Gene is the mechanic.  He is a retired teacher.  Jane is his wife.  She is a retired postal worker.  They now live in Florida and work for ABB in the summer. This is their fifth trip across the US, once as riders and four times as support.  In September they are doing an unsupported ride across the US for their vacation.  They are doing the Adventure Cycle southern tier route from San Diego to St. Augustine, Florida.  That means they will make two cross country trips this year, one as support staff for ABB and the other for fun for their vacation.  Carole is the fourth support person.  She did this ride in 2009 and this is her first year as support staff. The support staff all are cyclists so they take turns driving the SAG vans and riding.  They work long days supporting the riders, and  on the rest days, they work.  They wash the vans, reorganize the equipment, buy more supplies, and check out the routes ahead for road construction or other potential interruptions.  Their one priority is to get all riders to New Hampshire safely.

We start the next leg of the route tomorrow, through the plains and into the Midwest.  We have back to back century days to get us into Kansas, another state down.  Tomorrow is a 120 mile day, which will be the longest ride I've ever done.  Next rest day is in nine days, and the four of us who had the nice dinner tonight are already scouting out the restaurants in St. Joseph, Missouri.