Day 6 - Plan B

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  Tempe, Arizona, United States
Saturday, June 7, 2008

Man, is it hard for me to write this tonight. I can be arrogant and cocky (and Patty might add, slow to admit I am wrong) and those qualities have cost me in this case. Did a lot of research about this trip. I knew that most people allow about 60 days for the trip when they are self supported. I also knew that most said it was foolish to take the route I chose if you were starting after mid-May. But, hey, I'm a five time Ironman. Three time Boston Marathon qualifier. A real Tough Guy. Surely, I could do what these guys wouldn't attempt - do the trip twice as fast, and do it in June.

WRONG.

I probably never wore a hat when my mom told me to, either.

It occurred to me today that this journey is not living up to it's original purpose

Hey, the world is green again

. If you read the opening statement you may remember that I was going to travel from coast to coast, thinking deeply about my first 50 years, planning the next however many. Reflecting on all the many things that I have to be thankful for. Instead, this first week has been like the movie, Groundhog's Day. With me spending all my time thinking not about my place in the universe, but about how much longer do I have to go today, where my next set of fluids will come from, and could it possibly get any hotter? The whole thing has degraded into a test of how tough I am. As I was passing through Tempe today I saw a thermometer that read 106 degrees. There is no way that I can make it to Florida in the 23 days that I gave myself. I originally figured I would ride about 8 hours a day and cover 125-130 miles. Based that on my Ironman bike experience of going 112. I way underestimated the effect of the heat, hills, and the fact that this bike weighs 50 more pounds and is a lot less aero than my racing bike. Plus, less comfortable to boot, with an ability to make my knees hurt.

So what to do? Quit and head home? Add a week? I had problems with both of those options. So I came up with a third. I am going to change it up and get back to the adventure I wanted to have. I am going to wander aimlessly about. Probably head up to Sedona, maybe the Grand Canyon, or into Utah. Maybe it's 60-100 miles per day

Even my watch said hot

. Just wander about with no pressure, maybe take a glider ride or hot air balloon ride, or rent a mountain bike for a day, we'll see. I hope that in this way I can enjoy the time and the solitude, then return home in a week or so, refreshed and hopefully having accomplished the true purpose of the trip. It'll be good to watch the kids play basketball. Oh yeah, and to see Patty too.

Strangely, I have a feeling that I let all of you down that are pulling for me. Your comments, emails, and support mean a lot to me. I do realize the story is somewhat less compelling now, but I am going to continue to post each day until the trip is through. It is a strange world, we'll see what happens.

Plan is to try and get an early start tomorrow. They are saying mid-90's by noon, high of 101. But they also say it is gonna be cooler next week. 97 by Wednesday. Nobody seems to complain about it though. Except me. 9% humidity. I have never drank so much in my life, yet my clothes show no sign of me sweating. Today, I had well over 2 gallons of fluids, most of it 100 + degree Gatorade. Yum.

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Tom - I'm assuming the trip is deductable now?

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