Day 2 is completed!!! (60 miles + 8.5K)

Here's the route

Another 60 miles and 7000 ft  of climbing.  Mark and I felt much better today.  We paced ourselves, drank tons of water, and ate more consistently.

Thankfully, Steve's camera was working because my [Mark's] Android was not. I think the Android OS updated overnight and my camera wasn't working and the power was draining way too fast too. I think I have that fixed now.

The tour company combined our tour with another group of about 11 riders today. It was a bit easier than yesterday but I flatted about 10 miles in (first flat I've had since cross-country tour last April) and that put us way behind everyone else. Wouldn't you know it. Less than 24 hours after giving Steve a hard time about a flat, I get one. I wasn't feeling that great on the first climb and Steve was keeping a good pace up it. And, I noticed as a couple of riders from our group came into view above us, Steve started to up his pace a bit.

The women in the picture above with the neon green jacket with her back to the camera is Diane. We just learned she is an Iron-Man finisher. She's only been doing triathalons since she turned 50, three years ago. She's raised 5 children and is now retired. I noticed the water bottle she had was identical to one I got while I was on the Kona coast of Hawaii and thats how we learned she was there to do the Iron-Man. Oh, and tomorrow, before we start our 50 mile, 5K climb ride, she is planning on first running 7 miles.

The guy with te "72" on his back is John from Canada. There are several riders from Canada on this tour. I learned from him that "72" is a reference to the 1972 Canadian equivalent of Miracle on Ice where the Canadians and Russians had a 5 game hockey series loosing the first two to the Russians in Canada but then wining the next three in Russia. I told him I had no idea hockey was so popular in Canada ;).

So, one thing Steve and I can do faster than the women is descend! Why? Well, because the women are much lighter than we are, they have much less inertia. Drag forces due to wind pull on them almost as much as us (their cross-sectional area is not that much lower than ours), so at the higher speeds of a descent, wind slows them down much more than it does us. These women would literally have to pedal hard to continue descending at the same speed Steve and I can do coasting. But, if I could choose, I'd give that up in a heartbeat if it meant I could climb faster ;)

You can't tell it from this picture but one thing that I am thinking about is how this tour company should have arranged to have porta-potties at the SAG stops. We've just finished and I've needed a place to deposit a #2 for the last 10 miles. I mean, its added weight for the descent, which is fine. But, after that, I kinda wanted to dump it. In the last two days, the SAG stops have been in remote locations with no access to any "facilities". I feel badly for the women because thats problematic for them even for #1's.

Well, thats enough talk of the seedy underbelly of this sport ;)