Day 1-A Very Successful Day

Cedar Park, TX to Lampasas, TX (2007 ATLAS Ride)
Distance: 69.66 miles
Time: 3:49:13
Max Speed: 33.8 mph
Average Speed: 19.2 mph

Humidity is awful. I'm laying, no, sticking to my sleeping bag right now under the cover of the pavilion at Roadhouse BBQ and I think the air is about 99% humidity right now. My notebook is damp, most of the clothes in my bag are damp, I'm slowly sweating everywhere, it is wonderful. Suddenly I am reminded of why I did not enjoy camping in Boy Scouts when I moved from El Paso to the Ft. Worth area. I cannot wait for the desert, oddly enough, where at least there is a break from the heat at night, and the heat is dry. Once we get to Lubbock, it should get better.

Enough whining. Today was the ATLAS ride from Cedar Park to Lampasas. I believe there were just under 100 participants who joined us on the official first leg of our journey. The route was amazing. The hills were few and moderate at worst, and the clouds provided relief from the sun to accompany the nice breeze. For the last 12 miles of the ride, I did not go under 20 mph. It was beautiful. I was afraid I was going to bonk today after eating gummy bears & PB&J last night for dinner, but I felt good all day and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I was actually the first 2007 t4k rider to make it to the finish, which was a pretty cool feeling. The finish was at Roadhouse BBQ, where we are currently camping. Yet another on my list of strange places I have camped. We had delicious brisket, some of the best I've ever had, and sausage, as well as sides such as coleslaw, beans, potato salad, and macaroni salad. It was a glorious meal with some interesting music by two different bands to go with the meal. Apparently Rhett Butler had to cancel this morning for some family issue, so he did not play. I got to the finish line around 1:10 or so and we did not really do anything until well after 6 PM. I am hoping all summer is similar: arriving early in the afternoon and then relaxing and eating to prepare for the next day's ride. It was a great day. Enormous thanks to Emily and the ATLAS committee for making it happen. I know they will sleep well tonight, exhausted and stress-free at last.

Tomorrow will be a different story. Very different indeed: a story of a 125 mile ride to Coleman, TX. Assuming all mileage estimates are correct, tomorrow will be my longest ride ever, by about 20 miles. I hope I ate enough tonight in preparation, but I don't want to eat so much PB&J that I can't take it by California. It looks like we are going to be eating a lot of it this summer. We were also spoiled today with the rest stops, stocked with fresh fruit, cold water, cookies, pretzels, and even Smoothie King at the third rest stop! I know the rest of the summer will not be like that, but how I wish it were. Oh well.
After tomorrow we will be over 200 miles into our trip and only 68 days from Alaska. It already feels like the summer is beginning to pass quicker than I would like. I must find a way to slow it down. I suppose 125 miles on a bike will be a good way to make you feel every minute of the day.

Tomorrow will be long, very long. But our destination is a gym with showers AND laundry facilities, which I am quite excited about! For now, I must sleep and dream of bicycle wheels dancing in my head.

Peace and Love,
Trek Tito