Worcester, MA to Windsor Locks, CT68 miles
Windsor Locks: Population 12,000,
Named for a set of canal locks that opened in 1829.
Well, I'm here to report some good news and some bad news. The good is: NO rain, unseasonably warm weather and a "short" day of riding in New England. The bad: 3 flat tires (all on the back wheel and tougher to change) and I ran out of tubes and CO2 cartridges. So with 11 miles to go I had to join Carol in the SAG wagon. I'm bummed! I'm upset and I'm very disappointed that I won't be riding EFI (Every Fantastic Inch)! Sometimes the middle "F" word is a different word!
I like riding up hills and I'm pretty good at it, but steep down hills scare me. The first two days I hit 40 mph twice. Today I was a tad over 40 mph when the rear tire went flat. I was lucky I was able to control the bike and get stopped. Thank goodness it was the rear tire. If it had been the front tire I could have had serious problems.
The neat thing about riding with a group of other riders like this is the camaraderie and team work. Whenever anyone has a problem folks stop and help. It's never fun because it slows all those folks down. But we all know that the next time it might be you.
I'm very pleased and honored to have Mr. Steam as a sponsor for my ride. They are a manufacturer of steam generators for the home. Note the above picture of me in one of my Mr. Steam bike shirts. The folks at Mr. Steam have made a very generous contribution to the DPHA Scholarship Fund and they're working very had to encourage others to join them. Thank you one and all!
Three days of riding and we've been in 4 states. Tomorrow we have another tough one (93 miles) and a whole lot of climbing...6000+ feet. And of course, what's the weather report? Rain all day! Maybe we'll get lucky like today and dodge the liquid sunshine!
We stay in nice motels and we eat very well. On the longer days with lots of climbing we burn between 5000 and 6000 calories. Yes, that means we eat a whole lot more than normal...and we are continuously hydrating with Gatorade and water. Plus, we eat power bars, gels, trail mix, fruit and pastries at the SAG stops. In doing all of this I will probably lose weight. Carol did a great job picking me up with the SAG van and loading my bike on the van.
We're surrounded by history, but have seen very little to document with pictures. But take a close look at the picture of the house we passed today. What you see are the results of a tornado that passed through the area last month. There were several houses that looked like this and every tree was sheared off. Wow! The power of Mother Nature. I guess I better not complain about a little rain. BIG day tomorrow so I better turn this over to Carol to type and post. If you're following this I hope you're having as much fun as we are.
You like climbing up hills, but not going down them. Very, very strange!
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