Last 2 days/summary by Lynn

For those of you that are still reading the blog, this will probably be
the last entry. I finished my transcontinental tour on Thursday Oct.
2. Our final destination was Tybee Island in Georgia. It was a short
day of 87 miles. There was a banquet that evening where Susan handed
out plaques to us with our pictures. She made memorable comments to
each of us as we accepted our award. I am glad the ride is over and
that I was able to do every mile without being sagged.

There were four memorable days. The first day was rough with the full cramping I
experienced riding from San Diego to El Centro CA. Day 8 was the
hardest day of riding I have EVER experienced in all my days of cycling
when we rode from Socorro NM to Ruidoso NM. We had 30 mph headwinds
with 7250 ft. of climbing. It was a brutal day. We struggled to go 8
mph downhill. The third day I remember was day 16 when we left
McAlester OK and headed to Mena Arkansas. We rode the Talimena Parkway
with 10,000 feet of climbing and fast descents. Mike and I sang show
tunes, 70's and 80's songs and country music as we climbed. I had a
fun day.

The best day was day 11 when I hooked up with Mike riding
from Clovis NM to Amarillo TX. That's when I started riding with Mike
everyday. He pulled me the rest of the way across the country and made
me stronger for it. His objective was to train and get stronger on
this tour and I wanted the same thing. It worked out perfectly. Susan
(tour director) told me after the banquet that once the two of us
started riding together the crew always looked for us on the road and
would say there goes Mike and Lynn.

I'm very lost without him now. I'm so used to seeing him everyday and now there is emptiness.
I need a new goal. I've ridden some since returning home on Friday, but my legs and bike are shot at this point. Both need an overhaul. I probably should give both a slight rest.

Thanks to everyone for your tremendous support and encouragement.

It has truly been an emotional and physical journey for me. I have learned a lot about myself these last four weeks.

Pictures- Stage win in Eufaula, Alabama and getting a rental car to come home-subtitle: saying goodbye to Mike.

Day 23 Greenville to Eufaula

I haven't been able to talk with Lynn. It seems she tried to call but each time the call was apparantly dropped- But again, According to Susan, "Today was 111 miles across the remainder of Alabama. Our good luck with the weather continued, but it was almost too hot. The afternoon high temp was 95 degrees which is almost a record for September 25th. Only three more days across Georgia are remaining. We are starting to smell the finish." I'm not sure how Lynn is doing or if she is still adding on miles - and I haven't seen her in the photos- so Let's just hope she's hanging in there...not long now.

Day 22 Livingston to Greenville

According to Susan, "Everyone loved the roads in Alabama! Gentle hills and glass smooth pavement helped everyone average almost 20 mph most of the morning. Good weather stayed with us again with warmer than typical temperatures. Everyone is counting down the days to the finish with anticipation of no rain the past two weeks."

day 17 and 18

Sorry I have no info for these days. I think Lynn does not want to bog me with blogging due to the death of my brother- her only messages have been just checking on me - if she left other info- I was oblivious to it and I appreciate her thinking about me and not being concerned with herself or this blog in the midst of this incredible adventure of hers- That just shows what kind of friend Lynn is to me and her other buddies. However, I emailed her tonight to keep the info coming and I will try to keep posting every few days.

You can always go to http://www.pactour.com or

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/lenz2008

which is Len's blog.

Also, Martin emailed out some interesting facts/stats, which I'm sure he won't mind me pasting here also:

"Just for kicks, as of the end of Wed, Sep-24th, Lynn has ridden 100 miles or more 37 times so far this year. Also another 24 rides that were at least a metric century. So far on PacTour, including the 15 mile San Diego beach ride the day before the Tour officially started, she has 19 PacTour rides for an estimated 1997 miles at an avg 17.4 mph pace (slowest was the 107 mile HEAD WIND ride to Ruidoso, NM at 12.9 mph // fastest so far was the 111 mile TAIL WIND ride three days later to Amarillo, TX at 22.6 mph)."

PS thank you coach Dan.

Day 12, 13 and 14 (The weekend)

Well-- this weekend, the rides have sounded pretty good overall. I am going mostly by voicemails- as I had guests and a party and never seemed to get to the phone in time to catch up with her.

Friday she left a voicemail that she rode with Mike and really enjoyed it- Apparently, she also went with him and Kurt to dinner and they were trying to convince her to go to some Cowboy Bar there in OK. That was funny-Of course she said, "No." Or that's what she said she said- Ha wonder if she went???

Saturday, I got a message that she made it to Purcell OK and she was "dead tired" as it was a hilly course. She rode with Mike and again really enjoyed it but they got to the lunch stop too early (again) and they were in the doghouse -again . Because of this, they were punished--they would have to start the ride last in the morning. She said Mike was calling her a "trouble maker" - said in fun- of course. But the real new nickname for her is "Bicycle Spice Girl!"

I think she said she went out to dinner with Mike and Kurt again that night. They sound like her new Posse' as she is quite fond of them. Lastly, tonight, Sunday, I got a message that she and Mike were going out to Chili's and she talked about how Good her new young friend, Mike has been to her. She said she had to buy a new wheel today because she ran over some machinery part in the road. A hundred and thirty bucks not expected---oddly she didn't seem too upset about it because she repeated how great Mike has been to her-how fast he is to ride with and generally how kind he is etc... She did sound a little nervous when she went on to say they will have a steep climb-- 8500 feet tomorrow--She also got a massage and is drinking lots of water. Hopefully- she can relax at dinner and not stress about it. Maybe Mike will give her a pep talk and pull her most of the way- The last thing on her message was that she'd call tomorrow- "If I survive."

The picture is Mike and Lynn - stage win on day 14-

BIG TEXAN HOTEL

Day 10

Message from Lynn:

"What a great day of riding. Day 10 is done. 107.5 miles of riding with a tailwind. I rode with Mike from Ohio. We averaged 21 mph for the ride. It was soooo much fun. At one point he asked me if the pace was okay and I said yes afraid to look at how fast we were going - 28.7 with no effort. Amazing what a difference a tailwind makes. We are in Clovis NM today and tomorrow we ride to Amarillo TX. We're staying at the Big Texan home of the 72 ounce steak. I wonder if anyone will order it. Right now everyone is hanging out by the pool having gin and tonics. I'm at the pool but not drinking g & t. I just finished a chocolate milkshake. It felt good against my cracked chapped dry lips. I look like a raccoon from all of the sun. I have progressed to 70 SPF sunblock on my face and 50 SPF everywhere else. I try not to look in the mirror anymore. It's frightening. No interesting scenery today. Just straight interstate riding with very little traffic. It's been kind of nice seeing so much undeveloped land so far on this trip. Thanks Mount Vernon Middle School for the terrific stars with encouraging words. Excellent!"

Students: I set it up so you should now be able to Google: "mount vernon middle school" and pull up this blog. Your support, comments, mail and the fact that you are following / keeping up with Lynn through this blog means a lot to her!

Day 9 Messages from Lynn

This is another message sent by Lynn:

"A much better day of riding as compared to yesterday. A short day, only 97 miles. I actually had time to do my laundry and go to the infamous UFO museum in Roswell after I got back. It was very nice to have the afternoon to do stuff. There wasn't a lot of exciting scenery today. Some climbing and rolling terrain. I rode most of the ride solo. Just did my own thing. Having daily issues with my derailler and have to keep getting it adjusted. I hope my beloved bike will survive this trip. It is definitely beginning to balk. Tomorrow we head to Clovis NM. On Wed. we will be crossing over into Texas. We are a third of the way done. Is it Oct. yet?"

I talked to Lynn while she was doing her Laundry. Her voice is tired. We talked for a while but didn't really say much. She again indicated the trip was much more challenging than she had thought it would be. But said she'd met some really nice people. She also mentioned she had seen a SPIDER in NM that was the size of a hand!! It was crossing the rode. Wild huh?

Day 8

"OMG! I have never experienced such a brutal day of riding in my life. 105 miles of riding into STRONG headwind and crosswind for the entire ride AND 6800 ft. of climbing mostly from mile 65 to the end. I had a flavorful vocabulary by the end of the ride. The ride was so windy at over 30 mph that it took 8 hours to complete the ride. This was actual time on the bike. Our rest stops were moved up several miles each time to give people time to recover a bit. Many people sagged (for those of you - students who may not know this means something to do with support assisted- basically got a ride the rest of the way) portions of the ride. Miraculously I made it through the whole thing. I rode in with Hans from Sweden and we were following one of the crew that was riding today and missed our turn into the hotel. We ended up riding over a mile down a very steep hill which we had to climb back up to get to the hotel. Hans the gentleman said as we were climbing back up the "mountain" that he was not happy. I on the other hand was not so gracious. By that time, I was close to tears after the day of riding I had.Tomorrow is "supposed" to be an easier day of 97 miles of riding with less climbing. Of course today was supposed to be easier too. I hope there is NO wind.That's all for now. Too windy to stop and take any pictures today. Len should be writing up the day on his blog tonight so be sure to check it out. Susan took a bunch of pictures today as well. All are on the pactour.com website."

The flights - first class all the way

Above, Lynn nervously checked in at the airport, but in no time, she was on her cell telling me how nice first class was with this airline and what smooth flights.

Special thanks to Heath who helped by hooking her up with good airlines, upgraded tickets and smooth flights and special thanks to Heath for getting her there on time and even walking her up to snap some photos. We also know Heath and Martin (Walter's Daddy) will be taking good care of the sweet boy for the whole month that Lynn is gone.

one last hug goodbye

Heath snapped a few pictures when she picked lynn up yesterday- here is one of Lynn hugging Walter - one last time before heading out.

Lynn and Walter

The Bicycle chain has been very helpful to Lynn. I know even yesterday, ONE DAY before leaving, she was working with them on getting helmet pads. Oh and Look at the lovely apparel she's wearing above!

Also, pictured above, the love of her life, Walter- I think Lynn will miss Walter the most!

Lynn and Walter

YOUR SUPPORT

Lynn can't stop talking about how much everyone's support has meant to her through this. Recently, she received a number of cards/letters from a special group of kids, and from her friends at DHSR.

She was really touched by both and wanted to extend a special thanks to friends at work/DHSR for the encouragement and recent gift(s).

She really has appreciated all of her friends so much.

A Climatic Weekend of Training

Provided by Martin- Edited/published and modified with permission by lynn and joy.

Sunday: Lynn headed out sometime between 5:45am and 6:00am, again with the "blinkie." A storm was brewing so before I got into the car, I decided that the smarter thing to do was to wait. Then BIG lightening and thunder started! I thought, "CRAP!" I searched and found some rain gear. Aha! A gallon sized zip-lock bag with wind-breaker and rain jacket. I put this in a handy position near the door and left a message for Lynn that I was headed out to Pleasant Union Elementary, so that I could get it to her before the storm reached her.

I (Martin) was a mile down the road when Lynn called. She was sheltering under the carport at one of the churches at the corner of Bruce Garner and Rock Springs roads. She was dry because she stopped riding when she saw the lightening. It had not started raining where she was. I arrived at the church where Lynn was trying to decide what to do. It looked like the storm was easing off and was less threatening north. Lynn didn’t want to ride farther north. I offered to "leapfrog SAG" and direct Lynn onto lightly traveled roads. Lynn didn’t want to ride farther north. We loaded up her bike and headed for Raleigh.

We headed directly into some tremendous cloudbursts and lightening. It was very dark. Some (a few) cyclists were still riding through this?!? The storm finally passed. Lynn decided to re-start her ride after refilling her water bottles and making a quick wardrobe change.

Lynn re-started her ride around 10am or 10:30am. She called around 2:00pm to say she was doing all right. I mentioned that she doesn’t have to do an entire 150 miles. I knew I was wasting my breath. The next thing I knew, she was finished at around 5:00pm. Lucky’s odometer read 150.06 miles. Now that is what I call careful planning. Was that the longest solo ride of all training this year? Ask Lynn….

Lucky To the Rescue! (and a ride for Walter)

Weekend Training
Provided to us by Martin Edited/Modified and published with permission by Lynn and Joy

Lynn’s training schedule had been getting tougher the last few weekends, with back to back 100-milers July 26 & 27, back to back 120 milers Aug 2 & 3, and then back to back 150 milers the weekend of Aug 9&10.

Those of you who know Lynn, will not be surprised to hear that it is difficult to get her to talk about her training rides or to search more vigorously for riding partners.

Her Saturday ride started from her house at about 5:45am in the complete darkness that encompasses that hour this time of the year. With her rear "blinkie" in full operation, she set out to meet "Lucky" at the Finley YMCA about three miles from her house. No traffic.

At the Y, Lucky, who recently completed the Lake Placid Ironman in under 11 hours and a bonus riding partner, Mark wear waiting. Mark is a fairly regular Y riding partner and CNC riding partner from last fall.

The intrepid trio headed out on Six forks Rd across I-540 and points north. All "blinkies" were in operation. Sometime before reaching Franklinton, the "blinkies" were retired for the day, and Lynn’s cycling computer stared acting up, actually blinking at her. They turned around upon reaching US-1 just west of Franklinton and headed back toward Raleigh where Lynn’s computer finally died. Lynn didn’t care much about speed only the odometer reading—how else was she to be sure she was not cheating on her training schedule?!

Lucky to the rescue! He offered Lynn his wireless cycling computer for the weekend, or longer if she needed it. They stopped at the Stoney Hill Fire station and Lucky (with knife and zip ties supplied from the fireman) installed his computer on Lynn’s bike.

Somewhere around 50 miles, Lucky and Mark split off their separate ways for their respective homes. 50 miles of riding with partners: pretty good compared to some of the training rides, especially since the "Lake Placid" training group finished their training (and the Ironman). Lynn continued to the Y, refilled her water bottles, and decided to repeat the trip up Six Forks ->New Light->Bruce Garner->Pokomoke Road…to Franklinton, and returned. Rather than completely retrace the route on the return, Lynn decided to make a four-mile loop side trip across the flat Pleasant Union Church Rd. I (Martin) had finished my metric ride and was standing in the parking lot as Lynn rode by Pleasant Union Elementary – I don’t even know that she noticed me, or anyone else for that matter.

Soon thereafter, Lynn called from Finley Y to say she had completed a bit over 100 miles and was trying to figure out where to ride next. Walter and I drove out to meet her at 1pm at the Subway at Patterson and NC-98. Walter likes going for rides.

We got to the Subway about four minutes after 1pm, just as Lynn arrived on her bike. Walter was very excited! Lynn was also happy to see Walter. Walter enjoyed helping eat our tuna subs. Lynn remounted and headed out to ride her last 25 or so miles. She finished about an hour and a half later. Saturday done. Average pace about 18.2.

Picture and Update

Point of clarification- I will not be checking this as often until Lynn is on her ride across the USA.

This picture was given to me to post - It is Lynn and Crazy Tom on the Century!

Last Ride

Lynn's last ride yesterday was a short ride (56 miles) and flat. There was one stretch of shake and bake but that was not too bad. Mostly, she rode alone on this ride. Riding into St Simon's there was a lot more traffic than there had been --but as she said that, it didn't seem to phase her either.

After the ride, Lynn said she saw Crazy Tom in tights and a cape and he was wearing a bright pink wig. Can you imagine him on the bike trying to get into a superman pose in that outfit?

Lynn also went by a dead armadillo without decorations. But, she asked Lamar who was behind her if the animal had beads when he went by and he said, "Yes" and just shook his head. She could just imagine Crazy Tom in that "get-up" riding over the armadillo decorating it as he zoomed past.

She then took a long bus ride back to Oxford where her brother picked her up and took her to Atlanta to spend the night.

This morning, she is on the way back to the good state of NC. There was sadness and fatigue in her voice. She was really worried about this week but she said everyone was so good to her there. She met some fantastic people. Louis seemed to be very special to her. Dave and Lamar and Audrey were also apparently great. She was very thankful to Dave for introducing her to Audrey. The whole Posse will definitely be missed by her. I'm sure she will try to keep in touch with them all. She asked me to extend a big thank you to everyone who made her feel so loved this week.

Lynn's ankle held up good, though the swelling is still there. Over this week, she logged about 555 miles of riding! Yet, she is worried about not working out today. Can you believe her?

THANK YOU DANNY and Road KILL

It's been wild for me today, I have been tied up in conferences, debates, deliberations or other such events including a special awards dinner with a speaker etc. etc. I have not been very accessible for Lynn. And, I could not get wireless Internet last night. Today, I was tied up from 7am until now- it's around 11:30pm. Between voting on amendments and debating issues, I did squeeze in a post and I did have a glass of wine at dinner so that helped ease my day a bit. I lifted my glass and thought of Lynn, sent some positive thoughts and even said a little prayer-Unfortunately though, I have not been able to take any phone calls which might have been better for Lynn then my thoughts and prayers.

The good news is I did get information about the ride from a couple of voice mails. From the messages and the tone of her voice on each of them, I came to the conclusion that she was in good spirits earlier and then fatigue set in on her.

Lynn and her posse took the shuttle into town to the village pizza place for dinner tonight- she sounded in good spirits at that time- although when she started to name the town, she realized she did not "know where she was"--

If you want to see the town name, please go to the link I placed in the very first post- I, myself am too tired to look it up. She said it was "a lot of shake and bake" on the roads today---Even more than that though, she elaborated, "These are the roughest roads I've ever been on in my life."

She also said she did the hammerhead option- which put her riding about 79 miles. She averaged about 18.9 mph.

It was evident in the later voicemail, that she was tired. She said she was lying in her tent and there were bright security lights shining in on her. She cussed the lights on voicemail and then softly said for the second or third time in my messages-how thankful she was for Danny and how he helped her prepare for this by getting her into shape.

She said she had hardly slept since the beginning of this ride. Hmmm- that may be an area we should all help her brainstorm about- as she will NEED sleep on the ride across the country- oh wait- I think they are actually staying in hotels for that- I'll check on it.

Anyway, one story she told on her new riding buddy- part of her posse- "Crazy Tom" is this--

He belongs to a team called "Road Kill" - as they ride along if they see a dead animal, they stop and put beads around them. For example, dead rabbit or dead snake-it doesn't matter, as long as the body is not completely mutilated- the team stops and puts jewelry around "their little heads."

I thought I'd leave you all with that- I'm not quite sure how I feel about that- I probably need time to "process" that a bit- is it honoring them or just plain "crazy"- You be the judge---it's just too bad I have the images in my head right before bed. Thanks lynnnnnnnnn!!!

Please see this addition to the last post

I apparently omitted the last sentence of Martin's report for yesterday IT IS VERY Important! After that ride:

"Apparently, Tom told Lynn that she was strong – strong. In response to that compliment, Lynn wants to say: 'Thank you, Danny.'"