Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Day 17: Half Way to the Atlantic

Today we passed the half-way point in our journey across the continent. At the end of each day's riding the map is updated to show our progress:

Today also marked the first time I've had a problem with my bike, which was the sudden onset of side-to-side play in my back wheel, indicating that the bearings were screwed up. I've been riding a PowerTap hub, a fancy gizmo that meters the pressure I am putting on the pedals and reports it wirelessly to the bicycle computer in watts. Of course I can do without it. In its defense it provides  info that can be helpful when I'm doing a "pull" (leading a pace line, so setting the pace) up a hill to monitor my effort closely so I don't "cook" the riders behind me and split up the group. So as the hill steepens I can hold the watts steady and slow down proportionately to the load.

I'm mentioning it because I want to give kudos to PACTour for their support in this kind of situation. The problem with the hub was not debilitating so I was able to ride 10 miles after it occurred to the Lunch break. Crew member John L was at the lunch area with the main truck and trailer, and he supplied me with a spare "team wheel" that got me back on the road within minutes. At the motel tonight John L and Lon Haldeman diagnosed the issue, determined that they couldn't replace the bearings, and gave me some options including buying an replacement wheel at a very reasonable price. Unfortunately the wheel for sale wouldn't support my 11 speed gear cluster so instead they offered to let me continue to use the team wheel for the tour on loan. I'll ship my PowerTap wheel in for repairs tomorrow or the day after that. I really appreciate the help in keeping my bike going!

I didn't stop to take a lot of pictures in central South Dakota. We started early at 6:30 AM, we crossed the Missouri, we saw some longhorn cows and a riding mower with a sidecar, we got in after 4 PM after completing 144 miles. Then we went and saw the Corn Palace, a local attraction since 1892.














Art shot of the day (from Paul)


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