Terry has acquired a new nickname, or rather, the ABB riders have taken to the "Go Zippy Go" jersey and now call him Zippy. OK, I'll explain for those of you scratching your heads. At Terry's Bon Voyage party, he was given a couple of gifts from our dear friends with whom we do a lot of hiking--the "Go Zippy Go" cycling jersey and the head sweat do-rag with their silly nicknames written all over it (all of which have a story behind them). Now, in this case, the Zippy does not refer to his speediness. Not that kind of zip. It all happened on a cold hiking trip when he acquired that nickname...but that's all I say. So when he put the jersey on for this tour, everyone assumed it referred to his cycling speed, and now it does!
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| Who ARE Those Guys???? |
Yesterday saw one more rider drop out, suffering from pretty bad saddle sores. They were warned about that at orientation, and for anyone who didn't do a lot of training and riding long hours in the saddle for conditioning, the long mileage and repeat days are taking a toll. Blisters on the bum are not fun. As Travis put it, "Cycling is probably the only sport in which cover-your-ass is considered a positive strategy."
Today, most everyone is going slow and feeling yesterday's exertion of 116 miles. But not Zippy. He's just fine, no aches or stiffness. Not tired. Here's where his dedication to training pays off. He duplicated the heavy mileage days, back to back, while training, so he knew he could do it. Now, doing a century (100 miles for you non-cycling readers) is basically easy for him. Today's ride was climb up, go through and down three mountain passes, with nice descents and long, 20+ mile stretches of flat runs in between. The last stretch was a broad valley where the wind was strong and right in their faces. But once they arrived at their Baker City motel, it was all relaxation in the great climate and clear air. Terry's taken a real liking to eastern Oregon, for its rural beauty and relative lack of people.
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| Larger Wagons Marked Sites Along The Oregon Trail |
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| Riders Coming Up One Of the Rollers |
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| En Route to Baker City |
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| Here Comes Zippy |
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