Am ride. Well, the daily drill is generally pretty much like this:
5:00 am -- Wake-up; get dressed; break down tent (if camping out);
pack up. The previous night's dinner crew starts heating water (for
coffee/tea and dishwashing), sets out the breakfast array (cold
cereal, instant oatmeal, bagels, milk, juice, yogurt, fruit, hard-
boiled eggs (occasionally), etc.) and the lunch fixin's (bread, lunch
meat, sliced cheese, tomatoes, bananas, apples, chips/crackers, trail
mix, power bars, etc.)
5:30-6:30am -- Eat breakfast, pack lunch, fill water bottles, air up
the tires, slather on the spf-50 (for those who deem it necessary),
hit the road; most of us are biking by 6:30 or 6:45. The "kitchen"
closes at 6:30 (i.e., just a couple of minutes after Phil staggers
onto the scene) so the clean-up crew (again, the previous night's
dinner cooks) can pack things up and get on their bikes, too, at a
reasonable hour. Technically, clean-up and packing the van are the
resposibility of the cooking pair, but in fact there are always
several sets of volunteer hands to help with the work.
6:30/7:00am-[various] -- We ride. There's no attempt to ride together;
people go at their own pace. We all just know where we need to get to
and what the official route is. (And we know that the dinner bell
rings at 6pm.) How we get to the end, and when, and what we do in the
interim, is totally up to each individual. The leaders take turns from
one day to the next either "riding sweep" -- hanging with the last
rider on the official route, looking for anyone having trouble -- or
driving the van. And the van drives the route, again on the lookout
for anyone having trouble, or for problems with the route itself
(e.g., detours, turns that might be missed). If the weather is
especially hot, and/or if the route includes long stretches of no
access to water (i.e., if we're in Kansas), then we'll arrange a
specific spot for the van to park and offer a water break.
Afternoon, post-ride -- The dinner-cooking team (there's a schedule
set up each week; over the course of the whole tour everyone will be
paired up with everyone else) does the grocery shopping. On an
especially long riding day, or if there isn't a decent store where
we're going, the cooks give the van driver a grocery list, and he does
the shopping. The dinner cooks are also responsible for post-ride
sustenance (lots of fresh fruit, juices, chips & dip/salsa), and for
the next day's breakfast and lunch.
For the non-cooks, the afternoon is filled with elemental activities
-- get re-hydrated, pitch the tent, shower, do a little on-the-go
laundry (as needed), read, do e-mail, rest.
6pm -- Dinner. The cooks clean up. The initial rule, as set out by
leader Michael, was that the cooks washed ALL the dishes, but the
group rebelled against that almost from day 1. So everyone washes
their own personal dishes, and the cooks wash the pots and pans and
any other items used in the dinner prep, and make sure everything is
stored in one of the two coolers or the 5 or 6 labelled bins
("breakfast," "lunch," "dinner," "snack," etc.).
7-8 (approx) pm -- Map meeting, which has evolved into map-and-lots-of-
other-stuff meeting. We discuss (a) the just-completed ride and any
issues of note (e.g., expected stores that were closed); (b) the next
day's ride -- e.g., turns that might be missed, sights to see, things
to be aware of (dogs, road surface conditions, traffic), pie/food
possibilities, whether & if so where we'll set up a water stop, etc.;
(c) the proposed accommodations for the next 2 or 3 evenings, and any
alternatives (we've been switching fairly often from camping to
motels, and there are often one or two individual decisions to do
that); (d) the budget (which primarily involves: are we enough in the
black to be able to afford better accommodations); and whatever else
might arise.
8-9 -- whatever
9:00 (or even earlier) -- Go-to-bed time, not by any set rule, but
just because it's what the body needs and wants; lights out at 9:30.
Repeat as necessary until the next rest day, which roll around about
once a week or thereabouts.
That's pretty much it. Any questions?
(Sent from my iPhone)
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