Pactour Elite Southern Transcontinental: Day 8

Day 7:	Hereford TX to Sayre OK
Mileage/Ride Time:	177 miles 9:00	Time Lv/Arr:	6:30am/4:30pm
Climbing:	3500ft	Avg Speed/Work:	19.6mph/3859 kJ

Although I finished at 4:30pm, today I felt kinda fatigued. I was really glad to see the Americ Inn in Sayre OK.

Things began brightly in Hereford TX at 6:30am. There was a glorious fast paceline on a good road surface into the rising sun, uninterrupted for the first 30 miles, and after a hiccup (wrong turn), to the first water stop at mile 35.

After that things broke up. I tried to stay as long as possible on Chris Block's wheel as he attempted to reclaim the lead pack. I probably pushed a bit too hard and got dropped. However, in the end, we both ended up riding with a smallish 2nd group (at a sensible speed) on the road against a quartering headwind. It all went smoothly and excellent time was made until lunch at mile 106.

Tom Rosenbauer indicated the profile looks like a "parabola". We'd lose 1500ft of elevation after lunch. On paper yes, but it really didn't reflect the reality on the road. Profile:

I left the lunch stop alone expected to cruise in way ahead of the time cut. I found Rieks Koning (from Holland) who pushed relentlessly for 25 miles until we caught up with a small group of 6: Vernon Smith, Chris Block, Charles Breer, Peter Beeson, Richard Waugh and Eric Hallam, who were riding at a sensible pace.

Historic Route 66's pavement in Oklahoma (at least) is far from smooth. I took a real beating despite the group riding it at a fairly quick but conversational pace. It has almost no traffic, having been superceded by I-40, but I cannot recommend it for cycling unless you have a full suspension mountain bike.

Coupled with the rising headwind as we made steady progress, I seriously doubted the existence of Tom's Parabola and the purported loss of 1500ft from the lunch stop. Numbers don't lie, but sometimes they don't tell the real story either.

Furthermore, although it was only 82F, the humidity felt high.

Course (MapSource and Google Earth):

Instead of it being a "recovery day", subjectively, it felt like a pretty long day and I was glad to get in.

I am really worried about tomorrow's leg to Ada OK. It's the longest day at 206 miles. And it begins extra early at 6:15am.