Pactour Day 17 "Corn today, Corn tomorrow"

"Corn to the left of me..."

"...Soybeans to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle with you."  Prolly gotta be +40 to appreciate a play on a Steelers Wheel song.

Really cool fence in Amish country made of old metal buggy wheels (probably still functional.)

Really pretty flowers by the roadside when we stopped to pee.  I'm sure Papa Free could ID these, especially since they were in Iowa.

?The road old cyclists retire to when they get dropped on too many group rides?

Ah, the ole Miss.  Now we're making progress (nearly 2/3 across the U.S?)

Overnighting in Lon and Susan's home state.  And Opa's roots and alma mater.

Let's see Lon rides across the country and back in 25 days, runs Pactour with Susan, rides his bike (a single speed) dropping everyone in the process, fixes peoples bikes in the afternoons and in his spare times, restitches Will's Pactour luggage bag which wasn't done quite right "outsourced."

Jim's hairdresser may have less work to do from now on.  He has learned to shave his own head on Pactour.  We were suspicious his head resembled the shape of a Beluga whale, we now have affirmative confirmation.

It is said that at some point Pactour seems like "Groundhog Day."   Starting out this am we thought we were at that point.  Up at 5:45, Breakfast at 6:30, Bags out at 6:50, On the bike at 7:00, 150 miles of headwind and rollers, etc etc etc.  Part of this was the last 2-3 days we have entered Corn country and the scenery didn't change much.  Corn to the left, soybean to the right, vice versa, corn both sides, you get the picture.

Jim had started saying smart things like "Today there is an 85% chance of Corn, 15% chance of Soybean."  Or singing the above Weird Al version of Steelers Wheel "Stuck in the Middle with you."  Jim and the boys have a disgusting joke "You know what they say about corn.  Corn today, corn tomorrow" - I'll leave it to you to figure that one out.  We now had a new meaning for the joke since we were riding thru Corn fields daily.

The first 40 miles started out like that then things got really interesting.  We dipped into Northeastern Iowa and went thru Amish country, seeing adults and kids in typical Amish garb, riding buggies.  The farms were beautiful and the roads started rolling and turning.  We started going thru small Iowa towns, which are simply beautiful.  Really brought back memories of RAGBRAI (ride across Iowa) that the family did a few years back.

We did get chased by 2 pit bulls today.  Jim kicked them both in the chops (while riding.)  They seemed to enjoy it.  Everyone made it thru unscathed, fortunately.  Only, later did Jim reflect on the fact that he was riding in his Sandals and things wouldn't have been too good if he had taken a tooth in the big toe.  Oh well, no worries.

After lunch we hit some bigger rollers, then dipped down towards the Mississippi River, crossed it into Wisconsin, Lon and Susan's home state.

The colorful figure of Pactour, Hooker, didn't ride the bike.  Hooker has not missed jumping in a body of water since we departed from Washington.  We think that Minnesota (The land of 10,000 lakes) might have exhausted the Hook the past 2 days and he needed a respite.

We are obviously moving east as the states are now ticking off alot faster than Washington, Montana and Wyoming did.  Only 2 days in Minnesota?  Only late morning thru later afternoon in Iowa?  

The family did awesome today.  All 4 riders did the 135 miles.  No extra miles or reroutes today.  No spills.  JW was tired in the am, Will in the pm.  Fortunately we generally end up riding after lunch for several hours with Cathy Nixon-Heibel, and her amazing energy and enthusiasm is always just the antidote for the tired riders after lunch.  We lose Cathy tomorrow as she is leaving Pactour to get ready for Paris Brest Paris so we will need to find another source of late afternoon energy from now on!!

Later.

The Slausons

Pactour Day 16 "Pactour Power Source Revealed"

As Pactour rolled out this hazy and beautiful morning we went by a graceful field of power generating windmills.

Upon closer inspection the "company" behind the power generators is "SUZLON" Aha!! The source of Susan and Lon's power on the bike and interminable energy driving this group forward each day!! There had to be something like this explaining these seemingly supernatural people.

At rest stops, Jim's job is to fill water bottles.  Each Slauson has 2 bottles, color coded so we know what to put in each.  Jim generally prefers gatorade in both (1 coke after lunch stops.)  JW 2 waters or 1 water 1 coke.  Turk 1 gator 1 water or 1 coke 1 water.  Liam (Will's new name on Pactour) 1 gator 1 water without fail.  Red matches JW's handle bar tape and saddle, White matches Will's handlebar tape and saddle.  Blue matches Turks handlebar tape and bike.  Green is Jim's favorite color.

At night the bikes find a designated sleeping area in the hotel rooms.  Here are Terri and Jim's Cannondales, snuggling of course.

Like a good business women, an hour or 2 each night in the hotel is spent by the Turk doing B-H business.  Using her iPhriend, natch.

Tonight for dinner we ordered in Mexican food.  Not a great idea in Minnesota.  It was absolutely the worst mexican food on record.  And we were so hungry, it was the best meal of our life (since lunch today - hamburgers...)

Today we rolled from Worthington, MN to Austin, MN (spam capital of the free world.)  Very little climbing and much less headwind led to a happier bunch, for sure.  Will and JW set Personal Records (PRs) at 148 miles, thanx to Lon.  More on that later.  Turk sagged in after 110 miles, not bad eh?  That might be her M.O. from now on.  The boys have signed a pact to ride all the rest of the miles from here on in (10 days to go.)  We were going to sign the pact in blood, but the Turk hasn't knocked Will off his bike yet.

More Milestones today.  We brought 5 kits, so each day we wear a kit this go round, we only wear that kit 1 more time (since there are 9 more riding days!)  We are now down to single digits (9 days of riding) to go.  Again, this type of "compartmentalization" is key to getting across the U.S. - sane and talking to each other.

Our Theme today was "Patience." We have a Swedish proverb to reflect on "The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected."  This was timely on several levels - first Minnesota probably has the highest concentration of Swedish descent folks in the U.S.  Second last night we watched Cat Berge's 30 minute video of her RAAM ride 2 years ago.  A copy of that will definitely be in the shop for your viewing pleasure when we get home.  What an awesome accomplishment that was - 3500 miles racing across the U.S. finishing in Atlantic City in 11 days 11 hours.  Remember we are doing Pactour in 26 days, so this is like an afternoon joyride with friends for Cat.

Jim decided to try on the Patience theme from the gun this am, his front tire was low.  So he sent the family down the road and changed it (twice since he must have pinched the tube with a tire lever the first time.)  So he got to chase for 8 miles, no problemo.

The whole family got to try on Patience with a rerouting 15 miles into the ride.  We hit a junction and were directed to go right (we were supposed to go straight) because of road construction.  After 1/2 mile we saw 25 riders coming back at us so we made a U-turn to join them - turns out we had to go Left.  Fortunately Turk had stopped to pee in a cornfield or we would have been 2-3 miles into the wrong way corrigan.  

We had the pleasure of a tailwind for our detour (course meant straight into the headwind to rejoin our original course.)  And we added 6 miles.  Turk must have been trying on Patience, because there were no screams or cursing from her when she found this out (of course we didn't tell her til mile 50 or so.)

Clever Lon.  Adding miles to the planned 143 mile ride to ensure Will would PR.  Will's previous was 145 a couple of days ago (when JW was sick.)  So both PR'd today with 149 miles!  I'm sure Lon was trying Patience on the whole Pactour group, whom I'm sure were absolutely thrilled to ride up to 10 extra miles today!!

Tonight we did body measurements.  Jim has lost 2 inches on his chest and waist, 1 inch off his hips and calves.  Turk has taken off 1 inch of her hips and 1/2 inch of her thigh, none off her chest (thank god.)  Will and JW's measurements are pretty much stable, they did take 1/2 inch off their calves.  Looks like the calves are gonna be the big winners during Pactour, certainly increased definition.  Jim might be loosing a bit of his manteats.

Dinner is here (order out Mexican in Minnesota?)  so we're out for the night.

Thanx for reading.

Til tomorrow or so.

Slauson's

Pactour Day 15 "JW back in the game"

Today's ride was very monotonous, so Will tried different styles of pedaling for kicks.  Didn't make Mother too happy....   Notice the corn in the background.  Forcast for the next 4-5 days of riding is 80% corn 20% soybean.

Cattle in Wyoming and South Dakota seem to always huddle as close together as possible.  I guess to keep warm in the winter and persists as a habit year round?  We do see lots of cows each day, this is certainly beef country.

Tonight we stay in a Travel Lodge.  Pretty cool little poster they customized out for our arrival.  You may find this hard to believe, but PacTour is considered the world's hardest cycling tour.

Today we rode into Minnesota, overnighting in Worthington.  The ride was killer, small rollers all day with constant 10mph nagging cross headwind.  We noticed the wind immediately heading out in the am so looked for the first available wheel to draft off.  Kurt Searvogel came by and we jumped on.  Kurt is an enthusiastic triathlete from Arkansas and being a big man blocks a lot of wind.  I personally hold Kurt responsible for the 100 degree days we have been having since on Day 1 he announced he had signed on for Pactour because "It's too hot in Arkansas in the summer to train."  Anyway, we rode Kurt's wheel for 20 miles towards the rest stop at mile 30 which gave us a nice jump down the road on the day.

The day heated up really quickly and we had ridden hard to the first rest stop.  So at mile 90 lunch we decided to help clean up lunch and take the lunch van to the next rest stop 20 miles away.  (Jim had noticed, on the days map a 10 mile stretch due south which would have taken us straight into the wind we had been pushing all day which helped the decision.)  

Once we got the bikes in the lunch trailer, and learned of the 5 mile stretch of unimproved road we somehow decided to take the trailer all the way into the hotel.  Probably a good decision since we had a chance to do laundry, and the Turk went immediately down for a 2 hour nap on arrival.  Hopefully we'll all be a bit fresher in the am.

Tomorrow we ride to Austin, MN (home of SPAM - the "food" not the email.)  Supposed to be an easy 150 miles, but looks like the wind will continue to pester us.  By the way, JW was on the bike all day with only an occasional bout of mild vertigo, and we'd get out of his way when he'd veer off course towards us.

Tonight we ate at Lon's favorite restaurant, Perkins, so that should supplement us with some superhuman strength for the morning.

So far 3 riders have bailed from Pactour - a 70 year old New Zealander who sagged with us on day 4 or 5 from lunch and announced that he had never had to get into the truck during the 5 Pactours he had done, and he was old enough to leave if he wasn't having fun.  Another fellow left today because of foot tendonitis.  A 3rd rider left after a week of riding (he only signed on for a week.)  So we're still here, Haldeman, so we must not be doing too badly.  It really is a difficult Pactour because of the heat and the winds, but the spirit of the riders, and Susan's suggestions to keep us from overdoing it, is making it doable.

Thanx for reading.

The Slausons

Pactour Day 14 "1/2 way"

Mornings (and evenings) require lots of lotions and potions.  From left, A&D ointment and Desitin cream for evening/night raw bottoms.  Assos Chamois cream for morning raw bottom prevention.  Some special cream for the Turk.  Sunblock.  Moisturizing cream (very dry weather in the Northwest/north.  Born Muscle Up to get the legs ready and smelling and looking like their ready to ride.

JW off today, head still spinning.  Doesn't seem to affect his text messaging somehow.

Pactour Support van.  Responsible for 1st and generally last rest stop.  Notice the Lon made wooden supports for the gatorade and water.  Carries food, soda, 1st aid stuff, ice.

Motel van.  (Lons van)  Generally does 2nd rest stop and _maybe_ later rest stop.  The trailer carries all the luggage each day, as well as our "stash boxes" with any personal supplies we carry.  Also has all the tools for the end of the day, pumps, soda and even carries our cardboard bike boxes across country for packing up the bikes in Virginia.

Lunch Van (Susan's van)  Sets up lunch (and breakfast each day.)  Holds all food, drink, kitchen supplies, etc.

The ride today across the South Dakota plains was not as spectacular as the past 2 days, but still beautiful rolling fields and lots of cows to be seen.

Terri and Will hammer along a beautiful field of Sunflowers.

The steadiest riders on Pactour, Rob Keough and Steve Doyle.  These guys are Australian and 2 of the only riders I've ever know to keep it steady uphill, rather than following the "Hammer and Coast" philosophy most riders deploy breaking up the groups all day.

Since we were in "Beef Country" tonight we ate at a steak house.  Will and Jim had Buffalo Rib Eyes which were fab.  No that's not a real buffalo behind us taking a bite out of JW.  Sorry you can't see more of the Turks calves, they are defining more each day.

Today we rode from Murdo, SD to Mitchell, SD.  145 miles of less climbing, but persistent headwind.  JW felt better, but his head was still spinning so another day off the bike.  We estimated a 20% chance of vomitus, so left him alone with Susan in the lunch van.   No vomiting reported.  

We really are 1/2 way across the US by bike.  This was really nailed home when we crossed the Missouri River late morning (pretty much a 1/2 way point across the US.)  Really interesting was crossing over US 281 which pretty much divides the US and if we had gone South on US 281, after a bunch of days of riding would have arrived right at Bicycle-Heaven!!!

We pretty much rode behind the 2 Aussies you see above all day, to keep it steady.  Everybody seemed a bit tired from the last few days and in a mellow mood.  We all weathered the ride well, Turk sagged in from mile 109 ("100 miles is enough for me!!")   Will and Jim completed the 145 miles, the longest ride of Will's career.  Will commented in the afternoon "you know I've ridden my bike more miles than I've driven a car.  Atta a boy, Will, go green.

2 funny comments today.  A guy on a big motorcycle rolled up next to us early in the day and talked with us a bit.  He meant this as a compliment, but we really enjoyed the irony when the HELMETLESS motorcycle rider told us he thought we were insane riding our bikes across the country.

Earlier Hooker rolled up on us (more later on the Hook, definitely the personality of Pactour)  The Hook is one of the fastest riders on the tour, and also one trying to take it all in the most.  We had started out in groups of 6-8 into a headwind and the Hook started a bit later than the rest, per usual.  As her rolled by he commented to Jim "Damn everybody starts out way too fast, then blew by us off into the distance."  Love the irony.

Funny that of the 40 riders on Pactour, around 20% are "foreign"  We have the 2 Aussies, mentioned above, 1 New Zealander, 1 Swede, 1 Belgian, 1 British and 2 Canadians.  Are the foreigners tougher for signing up, or are Americans smarter for not signing up.

The minivan and vans roll out after the riders each day.  The minivan has the first rest stop, sets out bike racks, food, first aid, fluids and ice.  The Motel van leaves after the bags are all loaded onto it and the morning's bike racks are loaded.  It does the 2nd rest stop and maybe a later rest stop, but generally not.  The lunch van leaves after cleaning up after breakfast and heads for the lunch stop (usually stopping by a scenic area to prep lunch, today the Missouri river.)  Lunch is the 3rd rest stop.  The minivan and motel van leapfrog the riders to their next rest stops, and all vehicles stop at each stop (ie each vehicle drives the entire riding route each day) to report on status and position of riders.  If a rider is falling too far behind, recommendation will be to "bump" up a rest stop to get back on track.  The Motel van is the first van to arrive at the motel each day, gets the room keys ready, sets the riders bags out and sets up bike racks and secures the parking lot for the Lunch van to have a decent location for the following morning's breakfast.

JW is 90% this evening so should be back in the game tomorrow.  We'll see if he does the ride from Mitchell SD to Worthington, MN or not.  It'll be good to have the whole family back on the road again.

Questions have come up about how the Turk got her name.  Lilly, Matt's Daughter, (Terri's partner at Bicycle-Heaven) couldn't say Terri and called her "Turkey" a couple of years ago.  The name sticks, and pretty much anyone associated with B-H calls Terri "Turk."

The theme of the day was "Heroes"  Pericles is credited with saying "What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others."  Certainly Lon Haldemen and Susan Notorangelo are "Heroes" to the Slausons and many, many other cyclists.  Really any rider on Pactour is a Hero.  And most of the Bike Industry and people working retail Bike stores are heroes for the positive impact they have on the lives of cyclists.  Enough, I'm about to cry.

Till next time, thanx for reading.

Pactour Day 13 "Friday the 13th in the Badlands"

By now I think we've conveyed how organized and efficient Pactour is.

Each Day we have a cue sheet with all turns, landmarks, mileage, rest stops, lunch stops, sites to see etc. on 1 sheet, then an actual map of our route for the day.

There is 1 chalk board with the any key information marked on it.  Many people photo it with their camera or camera phone to have for later reference.  We took the picture, but didn't read the sign today - fortunately we had the money to get into the Badlands (most importantly where the lunch stop was.)

Will hammering down the road as we enter the Badlands.

Only a brit (Shaun Bonney) could have legs as white as Matts after _13_ days of riding 10 hours a day in the summer sunshine.

The Badlands may be the most stunning site we've been thru yet.

At key intersections the direction to turn is marked with a "P" for "Pactour" (Lon and Susan call it "P"ing on the road.  The happy face is less usual and means Franz marked the spot.

Again, at the end of the ride the chalk board has the info for the night, the fact that we have changed a time zone, and info for the morning such as what time breakfast is and what time to bring the bags to the truck.  There is also a map of the US showing how far we've traveled, updated each day.

Tonight we are at a Best Western.  I'm not sure why we didn't stay across the street at the "Lee" Motel.

Today marked a major milestone day.  It is the 13th day of 26 days of riding, so we're 1/2 way done.  Tomorrow we actually will cross the 1/2 point in terms of distance.   The day began ominously as we realized that the 13th day was on Friday, so it was a Friday the 13th of sorts.    Plus we were heading into the Badlands of South Dakota.  Jim sang Bruce Springsteens "Badlands" song (or some version of it) to Will, who was unimpressed.

We flew to Everett, WA to start the trip on Friday the 13th and that worked out OK, so we figured we'd be OK.  Well, JW is not OK, head spinning, headache and stomach ache so he didn't ride today.  Terri stayed with him and had a well deserved day of rest, off the bike (NOT!!!)  

JW threw up multiple times today, only once in the Pactour Van.  Terri and JW were in the lunch van so they set up lunch in the Badlands national park.  Several times, as they were told to relocate once or twice.  After lunch they left the park and had a flat tire (so had to uncouple the lunch trailer, unload the van and change the flat (while JW vomited.)  They noticed a nail in the other rear tire (the one which wasn't flat.)

Jim and Will got into a big group of 20 to start the day so made it to the first rest stop at mile 31 averaging over 20 mph.  They rode with a group of 4 to the next rest stop at mile 58 with a group of 4, and a lot more headwinds.  Average speed went down so they figured it would be better to ride with a larger group from there, so they rode a group of 10 to the lunch stop at mile 76.  Lunch was in the Badlands national park, so everyone had to pay $7 to get in (trust me to avoid riding an extra 40 to 50 miles around the park, plus to get lunch no one complained!)

Will had ridden too hard at that point (coupled with the previous days effort) since being 6' 2" and weighing 140 lbs doesn't give you much of a momentum advantage.  (Funny Jim seems to have  a  momentum advantage into the headwinds...Jim has lost 2 lbs on the trip but 8 lbs of body fat, so he's happy.)

After lunch Jim rode off in a small group without Will.  Will made a nice choice since the afternoon consisted of big headwinds, riding on huge 1/4 to 1/2 mile climbs - most of the day's 3100 feet of climbing was done after lunch.  At mile 150 Jim rolled in, just after the Turk and the boys (remember that their van had a flat.)  

Bedtime was "late" since we changed time zones and 9pm became 10pm real quick.  Changing time zones is interesting on Pactour.  We will generally change a day early, or a day later than the actual time zone depending on the day's and the next days rides.  If it is a short day and then next day is a long hard day we will change the time zone early, and vice versa.  Regardless, we get the short end of the time stick moving West to East since all time zone changes "spring forward" and we lose an hour of sleep.  

Transcontinentals are run West to East, however, to take advantage of the prevailing winds, which are generally West to East.  Funny how we are always riding into a headwind this year!!  Thank you Mr. Gore for global warming.

Yesterday we saw a banner which read "Your mother was Pro-life."  Jim and the boys couldn't decide whether the banner was Pro-life or Pro-choice.....

Til tomorrow.

Pactour Days 12 "Mt Rushmore"

JW's wounds well tended to with Spandage.  Looks like a TdF veteran here.  Notice the rain jacket in his back pocket - first day we rode in a little rain of the tour (while at home San Antonio has been getting pounded >-:)

I can't quite think of the right word to describe the Black Hills of South Dakota.  Serenely ominous?  Beautifully dark?  This was the most beautiful riding we have done yet!

Goal for the day - Mt Rushmore.  Today we sported the Bicycle-Heaven St. Charles kit.

Today was probably the neatest day so far.  The weather cooled to the low 70's and we rode across Eastern Wyoming and Western South Dakota.  Riding up to Mt Rushmore thru the Black Hills of South Dakota (remember the Beatles "Rocky Raccoon?")  

JW may be down for a day or so, he was having vertigo today and went to bed early with a headache.  Probably just a bit too much for a 14 year old, riding 7-8 hours a day?  The Turk's legs have really come around the past couple of days, she also crashed early tonight from exhaustion so she'll probably take tomorrow off with JW (well deserved.)  

Taking a day off is great fun as you get a chance to recover your muscles, hydration and morale while helping the crew for a day.

Will and Jim got their legs tested on a 3 mile climb by the Belgian Mark and Swede Cat.  The boys were pushed to the limit but made it over the top of the climb and screamed into Rapid City with the 2 Europeans.

Tomorrow is 150 miles with only 3100 feet of climbing, looks like it'll be only Will and Dad.  Stay tuned.

Pactour Days 10-11 "Wyoming"

View back from the 20 mile 4000 foot climb over the Big Horn Mountains.

Near the top, time to cool off in a little waterfall.

Top of Big Horn Mountain Pass.  Glad to see shooting stuff up isn't reserved only for Texas.

Day 10 was Pactour photo day, so natch wore the Pactour Jersey.  Notice Bisty in the background - check out the Pactour website for her background.

The City Limit sign sprint competition continues, Gillette didn't have an official sign, so the boys chose this as their finish line.   Double points (4) for finishing city signs.

A few days back you saw Jim's SRM data.  Here is JW's Garmin GPS data.  Pretty cool to see your speed and elevation - and your route displayed!!

Unable to post photos today - Internet access can be interesting in a state of 500,000 people.  I'll try to add tomorrow.

The past 2 days have been very cool.  Wyoming is a bit less "desert-like" than Montana, with alot of rolling hills.  

Yesterday we did a 20 mile climb, first 10 miles about 3% grade into 20mph headwind, then last 10 miles switchbacks with grades of 8-14%.  Definitely the toughest climb we've ever done on a bike.  Turk did it on her own in 3 hours, Jim and Will did 2:30 (and stopped for the waterfall.)  JW had to bail at 10 miles, his 100 pound frame worked harder into the headwind than it would have on the steep grades.  Bummer, but we all enjoyed the 16 mile descent towards Sheridan.

Last night we walked down the street to find laundry.  Across the street we found Korean BBQ which was nice.  Food variety is key to keeping Pactour fresh, as Lon says it is a bit like "Groundhog day."

Today "Woodyisms" were born. Woody Graham is nearly 70 years old and a veteran of many Pactours.  He is not the fastest rider, but gets the job done every day.  He rides by himself, with a pannier and we often see him as we are generally the last riders of the day.  One day we were walking to dinner (Subway next door) and several other riders were already eating (we had probably finished around 4:30 and it was now 6:30.)  Here comes Woody, finishing his day (after starting at 6:30 am.)  A typical Woodyism is "my toys use Energizer batteries, the Energizer Bunny uses Woody batteries."  He has become a bit of a hero to the boys and really sets an example of perseverance, tenacity, and endurance.

Today we rode to Gillette, WY.  Lots of rollers, better winds so enjoyed a tail wind today.  Will was hurting a bit today from his effort on the Big Horn climb yesterday.  Turk finally found her legs today, so she may start enjoying the riding a bit more from here.  JW absolutely flew today.  His challenge into the headwinds yesterday was reversed by the advantage he has climbing with a tailwind - it literally blows him up the climbs.

Tomorrow we ride 150 miles to Rapid City, Mt. Rushmore is just outside of town, so we will get to see this USA icon for the first time.

Til then.

Pactour Day 9 - Wyoming in 115 degree heat

Breakfast in the parking lot may not sound terribly appealing.  Well, when Susan is making french toast in the morning that's not so bad, is it?

Our friend Lara Sullivan is quite a climber.  How she climbed a bale of Hay is beyond me.

Will has been a blur on this trip.  Not sure if the Bull and his Heifers could see him cruising by.

Kinda cool burned out mining town on the road to Cody today.

Today we wore our CSC kits.  More on this later.

Today was a tough day for the family.  115 miles of hot (up to 115 on the tarmac afternoon) head wind mostly uphill.  We bailed at the 95 mile mark and took the AC van in.  Tomorrow's 150 miles with 720 feet of climbing including the 4000 foot 18 mile climb thru the Big Horn Mountains. so we'll be a little fresher for that.

No flats or crashes today, so better fortune.  We're out of Montana, finally.  We've done 9/27 days and 1000/3500 miles so I'd call that progress.

Will and JW ride Cervelo R3's.   This Canadian bike company is one of Bicycle-Heaven's major brands (along with Canondale, Felt, Raleigh, Kona, Moots, Pinarello, Colnago.)  The Cervelo R3 is the bike which won Paris Roubaix the past 2 years with Fabian Cancellara in 2006 and Stuart Ogrady in 2007.  The R3 is the more comfortable and strong of the 2 top end Cervelo racing  bikes (the other is the soloist) so we thought it would be a good choice for the boys for the trip.  Seems to be working, they are struggling less than the parents, I believe.  

We took 4 cycling outfits each (Pactour supplies a jersey, so we have a total of 5 for the trip.)  2 of these are Bicycle-Heaven kits (1 San Antonio, 1 St. Charles) 2 are Professional tour teams (CSC pictured above and Liquigas.)  

We're proud of our brands at B-H.  Cannondale (Liquigas) won the Giro d'Italia earlier this year, and Cervelo (CSC) is the top ranked team in the world and wore the Yellow Jersey at this year's Tour de France for a week or so.

Til tomorrow....

Pactour Day 8 - Tailwinds and Downhills

Crusing along at 24 mph Terri and Cathy Nixon-Heibel have chance to chat.  Gotta love tailwinds.

Maybe the Montana stretch of Pactour should be called Tour of the Super 8 Motels?  4th Super 8 in 4 nights.  Any hotel is the Ritz after a hundred mile bike ride in 100 degree heat.

Black Widow claimed another victim today.  Jim's leg on the left, JW's arm on the right.

Today's fast ride gave us time to jump into the Yellowstone river to cool off.  It was 105 when we got into town.  Pactour dog Bisty enjoyed chasing rocks into the river.

Today we rode from Bozeman to Columbus, Montana.  We've paid our debts so we earned the mostly downhill, tailwind day.  We averaged over 18mph (the other days have been in the 15-16mph range) so arrived at our hotel earlier than expected.  Threw in a couple loads of laundry and headed down to the Yellowstone River.  Very nice.

Today was JW's day to hit the deck, rolling into a stop sign he clipped the Turk's back wheel.  So, like father like son, mom claimed her second victim.  Only Will remains unscathed but we assume he is on the Turk's agenda.  JW got a little road rash on his elbow, and remarkably over his anterior upper pelvis bone.  None of the rest of us are thin enough to scrape that area, we'd bounce off our belly's.

Speaking of body composition the Turk has been stable thru 8 days of riding (however her calf definition seems to sharpen each day.)  Jim's weight has been stable, but his body fat percentage has dropped a couple of points.  Our scale has an interesting calculation where it gives you a "Metabolic Age."  Jim's started at 34 and is now 23.  Turk's started at 23 and is now 21.  See guys, you want a woman 20 years your junior?  Put her on a bike.  Will has dropped 3 pounds and 2% body fat, JW has gained 3 pounds and his body fat is stable.  I guess this means we are doing a good job of staying hydrated and nourished, it will be interesting to see what the next 2 weeks of riding show.

Jim had a back flat today after a ripping downhill (picked up a 1" nail, fortunately just a slow leak.)  As usual he sent the family ahead and fixed the flat.  A long slow chase downhill with a tailwind turned into a superfast superhard chase since just then Marc Leuckx (very fast Belgian rider) and Cat Berge (Swedish woman, RAAM racer) came upon Jim.  They chased for 10 minutes at 35mph with Jim's heart in the 168 range.  It'll be interesting to see how the family stacks up against Marc in 2 days on the Big Horn Climb (4300' climb in 18 miles Marc holds the record of 1hr. 17 min.)

Speaking of flats the family has had 7 so far.  We brought 25 spare tubes, so, so far we're OK.  Day 1 Jim had 3 flats (all rear wheel, finally found that tiny piece of wire from a steelbelted radial hiding in the tire tread) and JW had 1 flat (a front puncture hitting a rock on a down hill.)  Day 2 Turk had a rear flat.  Day 3 JW had a rear flat.  Days 4-8 were without any flats.  Some cyclists don't even like to speak of flats for fear of summoning up some angry flat tire god.

We had a fantastic meal 1/2 mile from our hotel (felt funny to walk, felt like we were going really sloooow.)  We at at a Restaurant/Bar/Casino.  Seems to be casino's everywhere in Montana, gambling must be big (and legal.)  Will and Jim each had a 12 oz Ribeye (fortunately they didn't go for the 16 or 22 oz cuts) which was the best steak they had ever had.  I guess Montana is beef country.  But then again, Terri had the pork chop sandwich which was the most tender cut of pork we've had so pigs must be nervous up here also!

Tomorrow is tougher day.  115 miles with 6200 feet of climbing.  Tonight will be 9pm lights out to get a bit more rest in preparation.

Thanx for reading.

Pactour Day 7 - Lonism's are born in Montana

It may get near 100 in Montana during the day, but the rollouts can be cold in the am.  Seems your jersey back pockets are a good place to warm your hands...

Lon's calf.  The man is all muscle.  More on this later.

Riding 8 hours a day, you never know what you are hungry for 25 miles down the road.  Pactour rest stops have anything you can imagine.  Twizzlers, Jerky, cookies, fruit, energy drinks, crackers, Potato chips.  You need lots of fluids, calories and salt to get thru the days, but it has to appeal to you when you have time to eat it.

Today we kitted out in our sister shop, Bicycle-Heaven St. Charles, team uniform.  Ara Oggoian opened BHSC 6 months ago outside Chicago.

There is always something to do during Pactour.  Here Lon cleats up another riders shoes after today's ride.  Yesterday, he sewed up my bag which had torn because I've got way too much stuff in it.

Today did 100 miles from Butte to Boseman, still in Montana (we actually overnight 4 nights in Montana, the most of any state.)  The family rode easier so we all made it and enjoyed the ride.  We crossed the Continental Divide at mile 11, then had a sweet 15 miles descent to our first rest stop.  We were averaging 11 mph by the Divide, then 16 by the rest stop.

The boys and their friends have a running joke line about Chuck Norris.  I've always found this funny because I honestly don't think they know who Chuck Norris is.  But, the tell lots of jokes like "Chuck Norris's tears can cure cancer, problem is Chuck Norris has never cried."  Or, "If you spell Chuck Norris playing scrabble, you automatically win the game.....forever."

The gist of it is, Chuck Norris is the baddest, toughest strongest man to walk the planet, ever.  

Well, after spending a few days around Lon Haldeman, and riding behind his legs of steel yesterday the Lon jokes have begun.  For example, "When Lon rides his bike, he doesn't move.  The earth spins beneath his wheels."  Or "Lon invented the motorcycle so that his friends can keep up with him."  "Lon had a hula girl tattooed on his calf.  When he flexes, he not only can make her dance, but cook and clean too."

Anyways, I'm sure we'll hear more of these over the next 19 days.

So today we finished the first 7 days of riding.  And we're still in Montana!  Old school training went by mile per week.  We've done 800 miles in a week.  Newer training went by hours per week.  We did 49 hours of riding this week.  Newest training probably goes by workload per week.  We did 28,000 Kilojoules of work on the bike this week.

All without doping.  Only with excellent preparation, support, nutrition, hydration, recovery.  Mostly with teamwork.  The family as a team, and the teamwork of the Pactour crew.

Thanx for reading.

Pactour Day 6 "Uphill into the Headwind"

The scenery in Western Montana is simply gorgeous, all the time.  Note JW and Will (with the Turk tucked in just next to Will) suffering on the wheel of Lon Haldeman and Jon Jahan.  Kinda looks like Lon may be suffering a bit too?

The Turk is known around B-H for her calf definition ie "Hi-Def or Mos Def."  Maybe she'll approach Robbie Robbinette aka "Calfasorous" near the end of the trip?

Near the top of our 3 mile 8% climb at 6300 feet there was a cool heart cut out of the forest.

Today Jim made a mistake of pushing the family too hard.  From mile 0 we were heading back into a headwind and he was worried the expected 9 hour ride time might approach 10 hours so we  started jumping onto the back of groups for the first 60 miles.  For example we sat on Lon and Jon's wheels for around 40 miles.  This totally cooked JW and the Turk.  We rode "easier" to lunch (most of the ride to this point was uphill) so they bailed and sagged in.  Not a bad 80 mile ride.  Tomorrow we'll not make that mistake again and ride easier.

After lunch Jim and Will set off together.  After 10 miles we had a 3 mile 8% climb and Jim continued to push the pace.  Every once in a while Jim would motion Will thru and Will would slow the pace so Jim would come back around to the front.  Near the top Jim asked Will if the pace was hard and Will said, yeah - Jim had been climbing around a heart rate of 175.  Asking Will his heart rate "in the 120's!!"  Looks like Will has a pretty good engine and he could leave dear old dad whenever he wants.

We rode for 10 miles around several lakes at the top (around 6300 feet) kinda cool to see fish in the streams up here.  We then descended for around 15 miles (into a headwind of course) at around 25-30mph the whole way.  Jim doing most of the work, Will would come around occaisionally.  We still had 10 miles to the next rest stop at the bottom and the day was hot so we stopped at a Conoco to refill water.  Will gave Dad a big hug and commented how cool going that fast and hard was.

Tomorrow we start climbing from the start and cross the continental divide.  I hadn't thought of what the continental divide was for a while, basically it is the watershed dividing line for our major oceans.   Water on the west side flows towards the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico, Water on the east side flows towards the Pacific.

Speaking of climbing, we climbed about 5680 feet (or 1 mile) today.  Kinda cool when you picture a mile in the distance, then imagine that mile going from the ground up into the air, then think about riding that mile upwards on a bike!

As mentioned our days start at 5:45 and we are on the bikes at 7:00.  We get to our hotel around 5:30.  We clean the bikes, replace any tubes or supplies used then drag our bags and bikes to our hotel rooms.  Then Turk or the boys might do a massage,  after which we do dinner around 7:30 or 8:00.  Bedtime is usually 10pm, I bet it'll be closer to 9pm tonight.

Tomorrow we will ride easier so we can all finish.  Since it is a "short" 100 mile day, we actually get a 1/2 hour extra sleep as we start riding at 7:30.

Terri really appreciates being able to do this "Family Ride of a Lifetime" and has to thank her understanding partner at B-H, Matt and all the staff of B-H - Branton, Rick, Colby, John Rodriguez, (and Jaime.)  Retail business has very slim margins, thanx to the internet, and so those guys all work so hard to keep B-H going.  Their customer service is second to none, and Rick is the best mechanic you will ever have to fortune to have work on your bike.  (By the way Rick, Jim's bike has never worked better.)

Til next time.

PacTour Day 5 "Hip Surfin on the Tarmac"

If you look in Western Montana on the map, you'll see how far we are and our little route for today...

As promised, the view from the boys back porch.  Simply epic scenery in western Montana.

Since we start early, breakfast is generally served by the PacTour Crew outside the motel.  

Jim is using his SRM Powermeter, for fun, not really for training on the trip across the U.S.   When the speed dips down and the power spikes up you can bet he's giving the Turk a little help pushing her up a hill.

Today we rode 136 miles from Thompson Falls to Missoula, Montana.  We now know that Missoula is home of University of Minnesota.   Jim decided to overlap Turk's wheel during the second hour, landing on his hip, knee and shoulder at a about 15 mph.   Fortunately the roads in Minnesota are nice and smooth so only a little hematoma on the hip and a small scrape on the knee.  In Texas there would have been alot more damage to both rider and clothing.  I guess Jim needs to reflect back on Day 1's philosophical topic - First of all Be Safety (courtesy of our favorite local bike race promoter, Raul.)  Other than that the ride today was awesome, winding back and forth across I-90 (hard to image that road ends in Boston, MA.)  The climbs were gentle and we finally had a tail wind.  Turk's legs are starting to come around and her attitude seems to be following, we think she is almost enjoying the ride1!!

A typical 130 mile ride day at Pactour starts at 5:45 with wakeup and shower (and weighing and body fat analysis.)  Breakfast is at 6, generally in the parking lot consisting of muffins, fruit, oatmeal, toasted bagels, coffee and juice - served by the Pactour crew.  The bags are brought out to the Motel Truck at 6:20 and we are on the bikes at 6:30.  

Rest stop 1 is around 30 miles (basically a 1%'er) Rest stop 2 at 6o miles, Rest stop 3  at 80 miles.  Rest stops are done by the Red Caravan, or the Motel Van, which leap frog each other.  All imaginable snacks, gatorade, soda, water, creams, sunblock are provided at these.  Lunch is at mile 100 (not a bad little ride to earn lunch!) and the Lunch van cooks hamburgers or hot dogs or grilled cheese or burritos, or there is sandwich meat depending on the day.

After lunch there will be another little 1%'er to the hotel generally with another rest stop on the way.  We reapply sunblock every other stop and chamois cream every stop.  Chafing is an issue after 8 hours on the bike, so like good little babies we are even using A&D ointment and Desitin at night.  Key to keeping the ride fresh, ice for water bottles is at every stop also.   With global warming even in Minnesota it's 100 degrees.

I mentioned our bikes earlier.  Turk rides the Cannondale Synapse, Jim the Cannondale SystemSix.  This is timely since Cannondale bikes rode to victory in the Tour de France 2 of the last 3 stages, 1 a climbing stage, the other a sprinting stage.  2 days ago Mauricio Soler of Barloworld won the climbing stage, today Robbie Hunter of Barloworld won the sprinters stage.  Barloworld was one of only 2 invited teams to the Tour, the other teams all being automatic selections.  

The bikes are interesting since Terri's Synapse was originally market as Cannondale's most comfortable bike, well it is so comfortable that now with a super light weight version it is a favorite for the climbers.  Mauricio Soler probably rode the Synapse winning his stage.  Jim's SystemSix is a new bike for him, replacing his 3 year old original Six13.   Jim replaced his bike with the "newer" model with alot of trepidationsince the Six13 was the most comfortable bike he ever rode.  Well the System Six is every bit as comfortable and alot stiffer (good for a 200 pounder.)  Robbie Hunter probably won today on a SystemSix, unless he is now riding the newest Cannondale SuperSix.

Tomorrow another 135 miler and I think we cross the continental divide.  Today we did 4200 feet of climbing, tomorrow should be around 5200 feet of climbing so we are probably looking at 9 hours ride time.  

Thanx for reading and the emails and text messages.

Day 4 "Confidence and Fun"

Lots of beautiful river crossings today.

Our hosts, Lon Haldeman and Susan Notorangelo.  They are multiple Race Across America champions both on singles and tandems.  They've been running Pactour for 20 some odd years now.

The family holds still for a second before diving into lunch at mile 72.  Notice this year's edition beautiful Pactour jersies.

Of course by day 4 it was time to do laundry.   So while the boys sat by the river, and Turk got massaged, I pedaled 2 miles (uphill, into a headwind wearing street clothes carrying 4 days of laundry and cycling clothes in 2 laundry bags.)  Fortunately for me, by the time I was done, the wind had changed so I got to train a little more into the headwind heading back...

Today's philosophical theme was Have Confidence, and Have Fun.  Joe Namath said "When you have confidence, you can have alot of fun.  And when you have fun, you can do amazing things."

The route continued along northern Idaho (Idahoe Mr. Quayle?) and into Montana.  No sustained climbs, but 3000 feet climbing total on 86 miles rolling, winding roads across and along beautiful rivers.   One highlight of the day was finding a bag of about 500 zip ties, which Jim carried to lunch.  JW spotted 'em - oughta score some points with Mr. Haldeman for the Slauson family.

One thing we are doing during the trips is daily weights and body fat analysis on the scale we brought along.  (When Rob Kane heard we were bringing the scale his comment was "you should have to haul all the crap you bring along with you each day.)   Jim started at 205.5 lbs 19.5% fat and a metabolic age of 34.  Will was 145.4, 8.6%, JW 106.6, 11.3%.  Obviously we can't give you the Turks stats, but we'll let you know her percentage drops at the end.  We also did body measurements which we will repeat weekly.  I'm sure Will and JW will find this data useful on some science experiment this year in school.

Tonight we are in a neat little motel along a georgeous river - I'll try to snap a photo in the am and include later, it really is beautiful.

Thanx for reading.

Day 3 "Soldier Down!!"

Today we crossed our first state line - I took the sprint by a 1/2 tyre width from JW (and the 10 points.)

The Turk was struggling today until she plugged in her new best friend (the iPhone.)  All of a sudden she was climbing like a monkey.  Or maybe biting her tongue made the other pains lessen?

JW and Anna Catherina Berge (Cat) winner of 2005 Race Across America Women's Division.  Cat is riding across the U.S. with us this summer.

"Team" Bicycle-Heaven riding across the U.S. this summer include Terri (aka the Turk, Bicycle-Heaven co-owner with Matt Hamlin,) Jim (Emergency Physician caring for Baptist Health System Emergency Patients) and 2 soccer players Will (10th grade Reagen HS this fall) and JW (9th grade Reagen HS this fall.)

One soldier (Will) didn't start today with the stomach cramps he had over night.  He is doing well tonight and should be back on the bike in for Day 4.

Day 3 was a Pactour "rest" day of 90 miles.  We left Spokane and did some gentle climbs to Idaho, then cross the Priest River and rode 20 miles of winding rollers along the river, maybe the most beautiful 20 miles of the ride so far.  We are overnighting in Sandpoint, a very cool town.  Northern Idaho is absolutely gorgeous - I can see why the many Bicycle-Heaven triathlete customers loved Coeur d'Alene triathlon last year.

The Turk was struggling for the first 50 miles today, then turned her iPhone music on and suddenly was dropping JW and Jim on the rollers.  Her old "best friend" (TV) just may be upset when she gets home with her new "best friend." 

The family has a "Green Jersey" contest during the ride - 2 points for a City Limit Sign, 5 for County Signs, 10 for State Signs.  Wills first concern when we figured he couldn't ride today was "Oh no, JW's going to get all the points today.  I had to take a few to keep JW from pretty much eliminating Will.  After 3 rides the scorecard reads JW 37, Jim and Will 17, Terri 2.

In the previous post we mentioned 1% rides.  Any ride of 30-35 miles on this trip (ie between rest stops) is a 1% ride.  The trip is 3400 miles long so these rides are 1% of the distance.  Gives perspective since it is hard to think of riding 3500 miles, but when you think of riding 35 miles 100 times it seems more manageable.

Today's topic was Family.  The quote we discussed was "To the world you may be just somebody, but to somebody you may just be the world."  This reminds us to thank all who are reading along, who are thinking about our journey - all your morale and support is appreciated and needed!!!

PacTour Days 1 and 2

You cannot possibly ride across the U.S. without professional nutritional supplements.  Notice the twizzlers in the rear pocket...

Today we rode by "deserts" of wheat "dunes"

and "seas" of Alfalfa

Of course, 120 miles in 95 degree heat can leave you looking like this at the end...

Day 1 we rode from Everett, WA to Wenatchee, WA.  The 130 mile ride was gorgeous (including the 15 mile 3000 foot climb nicely complemented by unimproved roads and a walk across a gravel bridge.)   Most of the day was spent climbing or descending along rivers with roaring rapids.

Day 2 was Wenatchee to Spokane, WA.  The ride was scheduled for 165 miles, including a beautiful sweeping switchback climb just outside Wenatchee, to the first rest stop.  The prevailing wind wasn't, so we ended up with a headwind all day.  The wind, the heat (95 degrees after noon,) and the rollers led to a family decision (coincidentally tomorrows theme is Family, todays was Compartmentalization) to cut 40 miles of headwind rollers out after lunch (at mile 90.)  We rode with the lunch truck to the last rest stop, 35 miles from Spokane.  This extended break with lots of food and hydrating made the last 1% ride (I'll explain what a 1% ride is later)  really fun.  So, we ended up with 120 miles and are pretty fresh going into tomorrow - a "rest" day of 90 miles.

Will's not feeling well tonight, we'll see how that sorts itself out by morning... 

Meanwhile, Back in San Antonio

So, while the Slausons are off riding around the country, Bicycle-Heaven is staying busy with some projects of our own. Bike sales have really been up over the last month. I think that all the rain has made people lusty for some new bikes. Matt is not excluded from this category of folk.
Check out the complete build of his bike below.

The tour is on! We are really enjoying the daily coverage. We play it in the store throughout the day. So far the brands that we sell are doing well. Cannondale, Cervelo, Colnago, and Ridley have all brought their riders stage wins. Come by to check out the latest products in the store.

I hope you enjoy the pictures.

The 2008 Cannondale Mountain Bikes have started arriving. These bikes are a great value. We are seeing them roll out the door daily. These bikes you see here start at $420 and move up from there.

This is a picture of my Lapiere. That is all

Here is Matt's new IF all built up. This is a Factory Lightweight with record and ES wheels. It weighs just over 16 lbs fully built.

This is a Colnago Extreeme C in the Extreem Power paint scheme. There is only one of these bikes in the US and Bicycle-Heaven was chosen by the Colnago Area Rep. to build it up. Complete bike photos will follow soon.

Above are some photos of the New Cannondale Super 6. THese bikes are handmade in the US and have some incedible details. The integrated cranks have ceramic bearings. The smaller seatstays offer more vertical compliance while maintaining efficient power transfer. Come by the store to see it in person.

Sweat GUTR now in stock. It really works.

The Cervelo Team Limited Edition paint job. We have already sold this one but it is cool anyway.

Who let this guy in here?

PacTour Day Zero

3500 miles in 26 days, averaging 130 miles per day on the bike should be interesting.  Hey if the Tour de France guys can do it I'm sure we can too!!  I guess it's a good idea for the Queen stage to be Day 2 - 165 miles with 8000 feet of climbing.  We'll see...

I figured we'd need 2 cars to take 4 Slausons, bags and bikes to the airport, leave it to Matt and Terri to fit everything into one vehicle.

Lots of long-term friendships are forged during Pactours.  Carolyn (far right) picked us up with our bags and bikes from the Seattle airport at 11pm, took us on a ferry ride to Whidby Island and treated us to a night of relaxation in her beautiful home.  Now we spend the next 26 nights in Best Westerns, Super 8's and Motel 6's...

Pactour support and organization is outstanding - here is the Motel Trailer which carries our luggage each day, holds our supplies and even brings our bike boxes across the country.

Tomorrow we start riding so, like Remo Williams, "The Adventure Begins."  

To "help" us each day we discuss a philosophical topic.  Yesterday's theme was "Action" and we referred to such quotes as Vince Lombardi's "It is time for us to stand and cheer for the doer, the achiever, the one who recognizes the challenge and does something about it."

Today's topic was "Living in the Day" which is something Dan Millman fans might recognize as central to his philosophies of "Clear your mind and be in the moment" and "There are no ordinary moments"

We will see how long until the first mutiny....

Ride of A Lifetime

After you ride your bike alone for a while, you try a ride with a group.  That is fun, and next you go for some  fast group rides.   Generally a century ride comes next.  Eventually, the bug catches you and you try bike racing and triathlon.  Well, our sport is certainly infectious and new challenges are always present.  Perhaps a Brevet (timed "races" of 100 - 1200km.)  

Cycling "vacations" become a way to experience new places and people and PacTour offers just the fare for the enthusiastic cyclist.   Lon Haldeman and Susan Notorangelo, both former Race Across American champions in several categories, run PacTour (Pacific to Atlantic Cycling Tour,) and these 2 do it ride.  They offer multiple ride options thru the year, including rides completely across the U.S., rides in Peru,