Clovis, New Mexico

Wednesday Evening 20 September
Day 11
Lon Loading Bikes at Dawn
Lon Loading Bikes at Dawn

While sitting at dinner this evening in K-Bobs Steakhouse, Lon had to ask me what day it was.  I wasn’t sure either and had to consult my iPhone.  K-Bobs is a chain, a typical PacTour restaurant.  I ordered a rare NY strip steak.  The friendly waitress served me a steak with a red flag that said rare.  It was cooked medium. Tasted ok though, I was hungry after riding 110 miles.

NUTRITION AND CALORIE BURN

Food is our fuel. Muscles work by burning ATP, which the body produces by mixing oxygen with stored glycogen.  Our bodies can store about 2600 kCal of glycogen in our muscles and liver.  Our calorie burn depends on how fast we ride. If we don’t ride too hard, we burn perhaps 3000 kCal, and our bodies can also convert fat to glycogen. Many riders, like me, cannot eat much while riding; we grab just enough to maintain our reserves.

Here’s what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast (before riding): 1/2 waffle, fake butter, syrup, 1/4 c. oatmeal with milk, 3 c. coffee with cream

During ride: 4 cookies, 2 bananas, 8 green beans, 1 slice tomato, 2 tbsp. baked beans, 12 oz. coke, 3 liters water.

After ride: Guzzled Sprite, no idea how much. 1 cheeseburger, small fries at McDonalds. 7 oz. steak, 1/2 baked potato, 1 c. chicken vegetable soup, salad at K-Bobs.

The Ride

The tour has reached the midwest.  Total climbing for the day was less than 2000 feet – pretty small for 100 miles.  All day on U.S. 70, straight road stretching ahead of us seemed to be going uphill. Big John said that illusion is created by the curvature of the earth.  I’m not sure if it’s that or diffraction.

U.S. 70 has a wide shoulder littered with tire treads that contain fine wire staples.  People were flatting all day.  I rode one stretch with Bro’s Todd and Terry until one of them flatted.  I’m not sure which one because they’re twins (riding their first tour together.)  I helped them boot the tire and replace the tube, then flatted myself 200 yards up the road.

CLOVIS POINT
Clovis Point
Clovis Point

Archeologists discovered fluted projectiles called Clovis Points in a dig near this city in 1929.  They were created by indigenous people 12 – 13 thousand years ago, and represent one of the earliest known examples of tool making technology and archeologists still argue whether it originated on this continent or migrated here.

 

 

Published by

Karl

Born in Harrisburg, PA. Undergrad at Drexel University. Learned to ride a bike when six years old, riding ever since. Started cooking when I was in college, stopped when I got married, started again in 2006 when my wife was out of town for a few months. Jobs: worked at post office while in college to earn money to buy a stereo. After grad school, worked at a small software company in Redmond, WA for twelve years. Afterwards, went back to school to get a certificate, then started teaching high school. Still doing that off and on, part time as the need arises.

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