Saturday Evening 16 September
Day 7
We’ve reached the point where everyone forgets what day it is, or how many days we’ve been riding. Just follow the routine: Wake, eat, ride, eat, sleep, repeat. Lawyers, tile layers, real estate moguls, doctors forget about work, just ride their bikes.
Riders said today was tough. I thought it was easy. Of course, I only rode 70 miles, they rode 120. One of the benefits of working crew is being able to cherry pick the sections I ride on the days I ride. I chose to skip the part where everyone else rode into headwinds on I 40 and a bunch of people got flats. Instead I rode mostly alone along long quiet stretches across the Arizona high plateau. With thirty miles to go, Spokane Bob caught me and we rode into Springerville together trading pulls.
Lon Haldeman
Lon and his wife Susan run this tour. Lon was the first competitor to win Race Across America in 1982. I remember watching him on ABC Wide World of Sports thinking that guy must be crazy. Today he shared a story about that first race as we saw St. Johns in the distance. He said, “That’s the first place we stopped to sleep on the first Raam.
I asked, “How long did you sleep?”
Three hours.
How far had you ridden?
Six hundred miles, thirty six hours.
I thought, this guy must be crazy.
Susan Notorangelo
His wife Susan is no wimp either. She was the first female to win Raam. A couple years later, she and Lon set a transcontinental record on a tandem which has yet to be broken. Susan has decided to enjoy life and given up hard core cycling. She says we might see her riding downhill on a sunny day with a tailwind. Today she was cooking potatoes in a solar cooker she got from Captain Jack.
I’m thinking, this lady’s not Crazy.
Other Riders
Looks like SD Charlie has recovered from his desert ordeal. He looked happy riding off the front today. He stopped for a quick bite of lunch before heading down the road.
Spokane Bob rides a smooth wheel. We traded pulls coming into Springerville. Actually he did most of the pulling, even though he had already ridden 100 miles when he caught me. He’s also very gracious, saying as we rolled into Springerville, “Thanks for letting me ride with you.”
