The Races to Missoula and Cheyenne

Most days on the Journey are carefree and taken at an easy pace to conserve energy for the current ride and the days to come. However, some days we have a sponsored lunch or noon event that requires the team to pick up the pace and make sure we're at lodging on time. On these days, we have what's called a rackpoint. That means each paceline has to be at a certain mileage point by a certain time or else crew will load their bicycles to the crew vans and drive them the rest of the way to lodging. Don't nobody wanna get racked. Just a competitive thing.

The first time a rackpoint became an issue with a paceline of mine was on the ride to Missoula, Montana. We had to ride 100 miles by noon to make a 12:30 sponsored lunch. My paceline of four was crusing along at a decent pace until flats started to become an issue. The first and second ones weren't so bad, we were still on pace to beat the clock. It takes me anywhere from 5-10 minutes to fix a flat, pretty slow but not too time consuming. However, as the flats started to accumulate due to the rough shoulder of the interstate, we began to get uneasy. Side note: Yes, you can ride your bike on the interstate but only in a few states. Montana, Wyoming, and maybe one other. They're usually the fastest way to get to our destination but they're all riddled with rumble strips some of which take up the entire shoulder of the road.  Not fun to ride across every 20 feet.  Since my mom reads these I'll assure her that we take extra precautions to ensure safety and the mild mannered motorists of Montana couldn't be nicer. Back to the story. After our fourth flat (three of which were mine, I had to toss that tire shortly there after) we calculated that we had to average 24 mph over the next hour and a half to beat the clock. The race was on. I'm not sure how we were able to crank out the miles as fast as we did but I know it was something I could not have done alone. We pushed eachother and were remarkably on track to be on time until Max, our strongest rider of the paceline got his first flat of the day, making five for the group. The four of us had run out of tubes to replace flats since we never thought we would accumulate so many in one day. We thought we were finished, you never leave a rider behind. Our option was to just sit around and wait for a crew van to pick us up. But Max suggested we pick up our bikes and start walking towards Missoula. Why not? It was only another 10 miles and we were running on an adrenaline high so it sounded like a great idea. I wish I was able to paint the picture of 4 determined, perhaps delusional cyclists walking along the side of the interstate with their bikes slung on their shoulders. As Max says, "It was epic." We could've used the theme song to Rocky or The Eye of the Tiger. We made it about a mile before a crew van met up with us and Max was forced to rack. However, the rest of us were given the green light to finish the ride. Exhausted, we rolled into town just in time for lunch. Needless to say, we all slept well that night.

Three days ago on the ride into Cheyenne, Wyoming, my paceline experienced two flats and a minor injury that caused time to be a factor. Again, we pulled off a remarkable average speed over the last hour of the ride that can only be explained by good teamwork and four guys that may be a little too competitive. We thought we were on pace to beat it. 65 miles by 11:30. We made 64.15 miles by 11:30. We were racked. Rackpoints are precise, rackpoints are mean. However, it was a good team building experience. It also reshifted our focus that this summer is not about the bike, it's about changing society's perception of people with disabilities and fraternities. Though we didn't make this one, we had a great time racing trying to beat the clock.

Other than that, I'm thankful to be out of Wyoming and in Colorado where we get some shorter riding days and two days off to help us rest as we continue the Push mission.