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 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).
3 comments:
Hello. This post is likeable, and your blog is very interesting, congratulations :-). I will add in my blogroll =). If possible gives a last there on my blog, it is about the TV de Plasma, I hope you enjoy. The address is http://tv-de-plasma.blogspot.com. A hug.
Hello. This post is likeable, and your blog is very interesting, congratulations :-). I will add in my blogroll =). If possible gives a last there on my blog, it is about the Home Theater, I hope you enjoy. The address is http://home-theater-brasil.blogspot.com. A hug.
Hi Vernon,
I'm interested in doing the 2009 Elite Transcon and found your blog. Your daily updates from a rider's perspective were very entertaining and informative. I was 75% there before and your blog pushed me to 99%, so look for my name on the roster. Want to join me?
Max H
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