A Perfect Day in the Saddle

Day 18 125 miles from Ft. Smith to Conway in 6:20 at 19.8 mph. Smooth roads, quiet and beautiful, a fantastic pace line with 6 strong riders taking mile pulls, a 10 mph tailwind, a cool and overcast day all made for pure magic on the bike today. What a fantastic way to come out of a rest day.

A note about the Brits. We had 5 on this tour with us. Andrew was the strongest, and went home to SF with a heart attack. Of the 4 left, there is a father/son named Russ and Pete. These boys have two huge passions. Cycling and beer. Yes, beer! Every night they hit it fairly hard, and on off days they get massively pissed. Yet every morning finds them out again ... pedaling their hangovers off mile after mile. They amaze me, as the few times I've been hung over the last thing I would want to do was pedal a bike for 120 + miles.

Late to breakfast, I sit alone as the other tables were full. Newlin comes up to me, shakes his head. "Damn, Eric, it's finally happened and frankly, I can't believe it took this long. You've managed to piss 'em all off and now no one will sit with you." Bastard is so funny it hurts.