“Let’s Play Two!”

It’s a favorite saying of Chicago Cub legend, Ernie Banks.  ”Mr. Cub” as he’s known, loved the game of baseball so much that he wished he could play a doubleheader everyday of the year.

So imagine this….The C4C Team of riders is given the opportunity to combine two (2) days of riding into one.  Sure, we’re adding 25 miles to a 50 mile day.  Oh, and those extra 25 miles are almost entirely uphill including an 8% climb over a mountain pass.

We all said, “Let’s do two!”

Our reward:  An entire day off because we’re ahead of schedule.  A day to do laundry.  A day to do routine maintenance on the bike.  A day to blog!  We all jumped at it!

For C4C Team Rider, Pete Schloss, happiness IS a clean bike!

I suppose my being a Cub fan and my desire to ride 5,000+ miles across the country on a bike says something about my mental status. (e.g. glutton for punishment)  But hey, we all have dreams.  Just never thought I would bike entirely across the United States before the Cubs would ever win a world series….

As an aside, I believe my Cubs (Once “beloved” now no longer. I had about all I could take after their early departure from the 2008 NLDS with a team loaded to win a World Series.) are 7 games below .500 and sit 7 games out of first place.   Cycling has become a great way to pass the summer.  And now, I don’t need to concern myself with the mediocre ball club from the Northside.

For those who know me…at least free agency in hockey begins July 1st.

Rider’s Ramblings

There are signs that after a month of riding, the team is getting stronger.

One thing that has helped us is an earlier arrival to our destination points each day.  Previously we had been arriving after 4:00 p.m. which leaves just enough time to clean up for 5:00 p.m. Mass.  To arrive around 2:00 p.m. is a real blessing.  Additionally, having 50-75% of the miles knocked out by lunch has become a real motivator for the team.

A day off for maintenance is also a plus.   The bikes we ride — and the amount of miles we are achieving every day — need regular TLC.  A poorly functioning bike can make for a very long and tiring ride.

Tomorrow we have a challenging ride into W. Yellowstone followed by an actual “planned”  rest day.  We better enjoy it while we can because the following day begins a 9 day stretch of consecutive rides