Vernon's PacTour Epilogue

This is my long delayed epilogue for my Elite Southern Transcontinental PacTour adventure. It was delayed for a number of reasons.

1) there were so many demands on time when you return from something like this - family and work mostly.

2) About a week after returning, Robin had one of her twice a year CT Scans to look at her pancreas. The tumor they had been watching for eight years had decided to start growing and was about 3 cm in diameter. The doctors said we could not delay any longer. Ultimately we chose Dr. Dana Anderson at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. The surgery was in September and there was no cancer. Robin is doing well, although we are surprised how long it takes to recover from a 6-7 hour major surgery. Maybe I'll post more about her doctor and the procedure he pioneered in a later blog.

Now back to the epilogue. Getting back to Colorado was no easy task. There were delays and I ended up sleeping on the floor in Chicago O'Hare airport - shown below. What fun after 17 days of riding!

When I returned to Colorado Springs from my PacTour adventure I found some pictures and captions on my office door and a couple of new chairs. It's nice to know people are thinking of you when you are out there wilting in the Mississippi heat and humidity. Here are those picture (taken from the blog) and the entries to the caption contest

West coast captions. Click on picture to view at full size. I'll declare the WINNER after you read them. I'm not sure what prize they win.

West coast caption winner:

Eric: " I am a YOUNG lean mean bikin' machine. I am gonna BURY this old man." Vern: " I hope Eric can keep up. I'll feel kind of bad if I have to leave him behind"

Mid-Ride Captions: Click on picture to view at full size.

West coast caption winner:

Tire pump: $45, Camelbak: $75, Entry fee: $2,995, SHADE: Priceless.

East Coast Captions - Click on picture to view at full size.

East coast caption winner:
Vern and Eric have returned to the same spot after Vern cleverly changes his shirt to give us the illusion that they have biked across the country, but Eric's lack of attention to detail gives them away.

Honorable Mention: All dressed up, nowhere to go.

The guys in the office also decided I needed a more comfortable chair. Here is one version. This is the winner of the chair competition.

This one is good too.

Here is the plaque you get upon completion. The photo was taken on the Talimena Parkway. These are some of the steepest climbs in the hottest most humid climate I've ever ridden in. Photo was taken by Lon Haldeman and it was just a matter of less than an hour before the sky broke loose with the impressive lightning and torrential rain that I describe in the blog posting for DAY 10.

Don't tell Robin that I am a RACE ACROSS AMERICA QUALIFIER - she might get worried. You get this by completing every day in the allotted time and by riding every single mile without any sag wagon rides. 50 people started. 39 finished. 19 became RAAM qualified. I think those numbers are accurate? I should tell her she really doesn't have any worries - right? I mean no one out there has the $20,000 to $50,000 (estimate) to sponsor me - do they?

It was a fabulous adventure!

The End (for 2007 Adventures).

Day 17: 6/26/07 - Completion of Elite PAC Tour

Today we completed the 17th and final day of the 2007 version of the Southern Transcontinental Elite PAC Tour - Eric, myself, and 19 others (21 total) out of the original 50 people completed all 2,797 miles and are RAAM (Race Across America) qualified for the men's solo division. I suppose all of our wives are worried we might do RAAM now? Today was 142 miles from Dublin GA to Tybee Island GA.

Anyway, it was a fantastic ride. Hard, hot, humid, fun, exciting, and a true test. I am glad to have completed it. I met a lot of new friends that I hope to see again someday. Here is a picture as we made our way over the boardwalk to the Atlantic ocean.

Eric and I are holding our bikes in the Atlantic ocean. Just 17+ days ago we took the same photo in the Pacific.

Then they had us assemble for a group picture. I think all the beach people thought it was kind of strange to see us and our bicycles on the beach. The water was warm (even for me) and later on, I went in to float around for a while.

Tomorrow (Wednesday 6/27/07) it's back to Colorado Springs. It has been a long time since we have seen our families. It has been a long time since we've been to work too. It was an adventure but now it's back to reality.

Day 16: Monday 6/25/07 - The 4th Time zone

Today was 160 miles from Eufaula AL to Dublin GA. After being in Mississippi and Alabama, where almost everyone had a "coon dog", it was a relief not to chased by ANY dogs in Georgia. Here is a picture Eric took for me as we entered Georgia, just four miles after leaving the hotel. Needless to say we exited the pace line very early in the day.


The topography has included a lot of lumber producing forests. This has been the case in Alabama and Georgia. With that come a lot of trucks, some of which are courteous and some are NOT. Here was a typical road today. Not real exciting, but typical.

We entered our 4th time zone today and our 9th state in the Elite PAC Tour crossing of the U.S. The states have been California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. The thing about these last four states is that they have a lot of water that doesn't seem to be moving. In Colorado the streams and rivers are definitely moving and lakes always seem to be rough from the wind. Not so around here.

Eric broke his left side crank arm today. What a monster he must be. Of course it was hot and humid, AGAIN. Tomorrow should be cooler (in the 80's) as we approach the coast, go through Savannah and on to Tybee Island. Last day tomorrow.

Day 15: Sunday 6/24/07 - A recovery day for me.

The internet connections at the motel we were at last night in Camden AL wouldn’t let us upload anything at all. I put stuff on for yesterday just a few minutes ago – Please scroll down and read about Day 14 first.

Today (Day 15 Sunday). Here is a picture if Jeff Linder and his "Bike Friday".

Today (Day 15) was 152 miles from Camden Al to Eufaula AL. There are only two more days remaining to this Elite Southern Transcontinental PAC Tour. Thanks go out to Lon and Susan for putting it on and for taking such good care of us. Thanks also go out to all of the crew for their work in keeping us fed and encouraged. We are only 3-4 miles from the crossing into Georgia, our final stat to ride in. So far we have ridden about 2,500 miles and have about 300 to go. The next two pictures show our progress and position at the end of today’s riding.

I rode today as a “recovery day” after yesterday’s trouble with the heat. Eric and I rode together all day after only about 25 miles in the pace line. We took more photos and just went at our own pace. It was HOT again, and I resorted to using Kevin’s tube sock filled with ice starting at the 101 mile lunch stop. It made the heat more tolerable. We finished the 152 miles in 10:00 hours, 1:45 behind the amazing Mark Pattinson who finished alone. I believe I heard that he has finished first every day but Day 1.

Here is a picture of George Metzler.

We saw a lot of Kudzu in Mississippi and Alabama. Apparently, Kudzu is native to Japan and China, however it grows well in the Southeastern United States. Kudzu is a vine that when left uncontrolled will eventually grow over almost any fixed object in its proximity including other vegetation. Kudzu, over a period of several years will kill trees by blocking the sunlight and for this and other reasons many would like to find ways to get rid of it.

Here are some things that have worked well for me on this tour:
1. The medical bike-fit from Andy Pruitt’s staff (Tami and Todd) at the Boulder Center for Sports medicine. The changes they made to my set-up made all the difference in the world – no IT-Band knee pain and better posture.
2. My bike itself, a Serotta Ottrott ST. It has been very comfortable on these sometimes rough roads. Thanks go to Serotta, but also to John Crandal and the staff at Old Town Bike Shop in Colorado Springs for all of there help and maintenance. Stop in and see them sometime.

The other three things that worked well all concern the three contact points your body has with the bike – feet, hands and butt. Keeping these three areas happy makes for a more enjoyable ride.
A. The Specialized Body Geometry shoes were roomy for me – much better toe room than any of my previous shoes.
B. Using Syntace C2 aero bars gave an extra position that took pressure off the hands.
C. The Boure Pro short worked out best for me.

I always wanted a house with a porch. I wonder if this one is avalable.

Tomorrow we go into Georgia.

Day 14: Saturday 6/23/07 - Oppressive Heat!

Today was 172 miles from Forest MS to Camden AL. Here are some pictures taken during the breakfast period (6:00 to 6:30 AM). This is Tom Schwartz (crew) loading some bikes on to of the van.

This is George Jahant (crew) who later today would be a huge cooling relief to me.

Here are some riders waiting for Susan to say "breakfast is open". Pictured are (closest to farthest) are Tom Lawrence, Peter Beeson, Scott McIntosh and Brad Reid.

This is a picture of Mark Jackson (crew). Aside from always being fun at all stops he is the morning "bagel man".

Here is a close up of the flowering Mimosa tree followed by a picture of the tree itself.

This is a picture of myself and Charles Breer as we entered Alabama today.

This was my hardest day. 172 miles from Forest MS to Camden AL. The HEAT did me in. After the lunch stop (at 106 miles), I couldn’t keep up with Charles, Eric, Scott, etc. I just didn’t have it. Maybe I didn’t drink enough early on? Maybe I didn’t eat enough? Maybe The first 100 mile was too fast? Maybe I wasn’t tolerating the 100 degree heat and humidity very well. Maybe it was a combination of all these factors? I told Charles I was going to have to drop out of the group. I had to stop and get some no-doze and a coke in hopes of staying alert and recovering. Was it working? I don’t know. Then Kevin Kaiser came along and helped me get to the next sag stop (at 137 miles). He helped with encouragement and trying to sling-shot me up some of the rollers. At the 137 mile stop George Jahant (crew) put cold wet towels on my head and water down my back. Mark Jackson (crew) helped fill my camelback and bottles. Thanks George and Mark. Kevin gave me his tube sock to fill with ice and ride with around my neck. Thanks go to Kevin. That may have helped the most. I had a fair recovery between that 137 miles and the last stop at 154 miles. Phil Holcomb and I sometimes rode with each other or one of us would get ahead a little or behind. He too was encouraging and made sure I was OK. Thanks Phil. Here is a picture of myself and then one of Phil on the bridge over the Alabama River.

Tomorrow is all in Alabama.

Day 13: Friday 6/22/07 - Paying for the first 100 miles.

Today we rode175 miles from Batesville MS to Forest MS. I didn’t carry my camera because it wasn’t focusing properly. Here is a picture that Andrew Puddy (from Australia) took a few days ago when Brad Haslam crashed and dislocated his knee cap. The story goes that Brad was holing his leg in to keep it from hurting as much and really wanted to have a picture taken to record the event before they hauled him to the hospital.


My day began asking Lon for a wheel magnet. He had one. I lost mine in the incident with the construction wire yesterday. Anyway I got the magnet installed and used a couple zip ties to re-secure the pick-up sensor.

We started in the fast group again, but the second group (starting 1 minute back) caught us in the first mile or so while we were sitting at a stop light. Anyway the group was a bit larger for some reason. Eric had planned to skip the first stop, and I found out later that “fast” Mark Pattinson wanted to miss it too in order to get it down to a smaller group. It worked because we were down to eight or so. Eric took his pull and then fell out of the group. The rest of us went on. Charles Breer and Peter Beeson didn’t stay in at the next stop. Then Don Maggie dell out of the group and then, with 130 miles to go, it was down to three of us – Mark Pattinson, Scott McIntosh and myself. We worked together until mile 100. I checked my watch and we had just done a 5:04 century. Then my sanity came back and I decided I didn’t want to work that hard any more. I rode to lunch at 107 miles and left as Peter and Charles were coming in. I wanted to go easy after the hard morning and let lunch digest. I rode the next ~30 miles alone, wondering if I was going to fall asleep, or when would Peter and Charles show up. I was paying for the fast first 100 miles. They did show up with Ed Pabst and we worked together to the 175 mile finish. I continued to pay for those early miles feeling sluggish and tire in the 95 degree heat. We finished at 4:45 PM doing the 175 miles in 10 hours 15 minutes.

There are only four more days left to this adventure. Two nights in Alabama, and two (including the night after the finish) in Georgia. We have gone over 2,000 miles so far.

Here are two pictures of Mississippi that Eric Hallam took and said I could use.

Day 12: Thursday 6/21/07 - (WITH PICTURES NOW) Into Mississippi

Note: Last night's motel internet connection didn't allow me to upload any pictures. The pictures here were added 6/22/07, the day after.

Today was 156 miles from Pine Bluff AR to Batesville MS. The morning started out t 6:30 AM with a very comfortable temperature, but still muggy. Once again Lon started us off in three groups separated by 1 minute each. Once again the usual people joined the fast group. In this group was Mark Pattinson, Peter Beeson, Charles Breer, Eric Hallam, myself and about seven others. The group pretty much stayed the same for the first half of the day. Eric however did a few things like skipping or shortening a stop so he could do some standing, rather than just sit a spin a high cadence which can get tiresome for the legs and the butt.

The group was about twelve people, each taking their turn at the front. I was in the second from the back position and heard a bike in front of me kick up some sort of object. Then it seemed as though I was caught up in something. Eventually I knew it – something was caught in my front wheel and it was going round and round through my fork. I got the bike stopped without going down. We had to remove the front wheel and untangle two pieces of heavy duty construction wire, like the mesh for reinforcing concrete. It bent two spoke pretty bad and the wheel was out of true. We opened the brakes enough to ride without rubbing and I got a substitute wheel at the next sag stop.

Wheel damage is one thing, but the repeated scraping from the rotating wires really messed up my beautiful Serotta F3 fork. I suppose that is one of the accepted hazards of riding in a pace line group when not every piece of debris can be pointed out in time to avoid it (particularly if you are near the back).

Somewhere along the way I snapped this self portrait. Maybe I'm not smiling because I'm starting to get mouth sores.

Lon and Susan went out together for the first time on their tandem (that I know of). Both of them have individually won the Race Across America (RAAM) and together on their tandem. The group (without Eric who had gone out ahead of the tandem at a break and was already with the tandem) went kind of wild in a chase for the tandem. Eventually we caught the tandem, largely do to Mark Pattinson’s influence. Then we were at the lunch stop. I was fast to fill bottles and grab a bite, but the fast group left while I was in an actual sit-down toilet facility. They might have waited but I didn’t tell anyone where I was (three minutes) and Eric wasn’t sure, so… Eric, Jeff Linder, Ed Pabst and I left together with no hope of catching the lead group. Eventually the lead group finished at 3:16 PM and we finished at 3:45 PM. Eric came in at his own pace at 4:05 PM.

Lon replaced the most badly damaged spoke after we got in (two pictures below).

Many of my pictures the last two days have been out of focus, particularly the longer focus distances. I’ve been carrying my camera in a Lowe case mounted to by handlebar stem for easier access while riding. I think the vibration may have damaged the camera. I’ll have to see what deal I can work out with Eric so I can use his camera sometimes in exchange for him using my PC to upload and do his blogging. No easy or convenient solution. Maybe I’m hosed from here on out?