Historical Post: Wrap-Up Quotables and Such

We sat down at ride's end over a few (OK, quite a few) Margaritas and reviewed the ride. Here's some Quotables and such from all the riders.

Why’d you do the trip?
Gary
Turning 40 and loves these big group events

Gill
Unemployed anyway, and there might be some men out west (I’m paraphrasing here!)

Chris
Beat joining a diet program. Besides, “You (Gary) volunteered me for it…”

Cliff
Wanted to drive coast-to-coast, but this seemed like a better option to see the US

Jerry
Kinda was wondering what the old carps (our swim team) were up to. Also thought he’d be considered a good orator in new mexico…

Tom
Wanted to work on his tan, and liked the concept of 2 weeks in an RV with stanky guys. I think the chain gang somehow factored into this also, but he’s not saying…


Favorite Moment
Gary
The end of the day going into Carazozzo. First we run into the amazing Apache folks doing the 400 mile relay run. Then, Chris rides the most magnificent pull up the mountain overlooking Carazozzo. At the top we get the otherworldly view of the valley, 50-75 miles across, with only the few lights of Carrazozzo down in the valley. Then, the Apache’s flashing their lights and tooting their horns and cheering for Chris as he road into town in the black of night. Kind of a warrior cheering on a warrior type of moment. A memory that will live with me forever.

Gill
First time of night riding through PlasterCity (the gypsum coated bunnies glowing in the dark running across the road while Gill was on her first night ride), and Chris’s ride into corazozzo.

Chris
The “Sagebrush Ranch” in Reno. Technically not part of the ride, but definitely the best experience of the trip for Chris.

Cliff
He didn’t have a specific moment, but we did every time Cliff spoke…

Jerry
What ride, honk, honk? (a la Harpo Marx)

Tom
The “I play the piano for Jesus” guy in Yuma. Left for dead on the highway, broken bike axle, $1 to his name, no water, 115+ heat. Tom’s just loves the human interest stuff.


Most Memorable Pull
Gary
The one in New Mexico through the stone quarry area. I had a ~ 30 mile ride, averaging nearly 27mph, including a 50+mph downhill for ~ 6 miles, through a town at full spin, and past 3 tremendous rock quarries. One of the funnest rides of my life.

Gill
The rain ride. Gill had never riden in that kind of rain before, and it was so incredibly refreshing after 9 days in the heat that she just kept on going. Although it was a close run between her and chris, this ride won her the “wet T-shirt” award of the ride.

Chris
Hands down, the ride into Carazozzo with the apache’s. He had tears streaming down his face when he finished, and could only liken it to riding through the Arc de Triumph at the end of the Tour de France.

Cliff
The pre-dawn ride leaving Corazozzo. It was pitch black, a million stars out, with the sun rising brilliant orange in the foreground, Cliff basically climbing for some 30 miles, with barely 3 cars passing him the whole time. He said that it was the most solitude ride of his life.

Jerry
Salt river canyon climb. Miles of 6% out of the saddle climbing, with the sun beating down, and the weather getting cooler mile by mile.

Tom
The apache stretch of the desert, pre-Corazozzo. Tom was riding along, passing an apache runner every ½ mile or so waiting for his/her turn to run. Blistering heat, no perspective on anything, and nothing even resembling civilization for miles and miles.

Favorite Personality
Gary
The “I play the piano for Jesus” guy in Yuma. I have a special affinity for god’s people…

Gill
Joe, the innkeeper at “Echo 87” motel in west texas. A kindly old gentleman, with a rye sense of humour.

Chris
The waitress at the Safire restaurant. “The huevos racheros are huge; I only eat them on a special occasion!”.

Cliff
Te adorable little blonde waitress in Texarcana. When we asked her if we could ask her a question (about the menu), she replied “Yes, it’s true, we do wear shoes down here soemtimes”. She had us all in stitches, and had the cute thing working for her to boot.

Jerry
Joe again.
Tom
Joe also.

Low Point of the Trip
Gary
The desert finish into Phoenix. I hadn’t eaten anything real for ~ 16 hours, was completely dehydrated, scorched, sick of riding, hating humanity, and needed to sleep. Other than that, just another day on the road.

Gill
The desert when it crossed 110*. She had tons of trouble breathing, and could never get warmed up properly. A very painful stretch.

Chris
The first time he blew out the RV toilet. Not that it pained him so much, but he felt bad for all of us thereafter.

Cliff
The point in the desert ride when he had been out there 3 ½ hours all alone, came over the last meeting point hill, and hot only was nobody there to meet him, but 2 minutes later when we got there, he found out that his truck had burned up and that’s why nobody had caught up to him.

Jerry
What’s a low point?
Tom
Tennessee – the entire state.

Scariest Moment
Gary
The tunnel up the mountain in Arizona. Pitch black, straight uphill, with no lights or perspective. I thought, “This is where I die”.

Gill
The downhill into Plasterville. Pitch black, on an interstate with rumble strips, animals and tire remnants everywhere, 40mph crosswinds, double tractor trailers, and noise rumbling everywhere.

Chris
When the RV toilet started blowing up all over him. He thought 50 gallons of crap was going to come out.

Cliff
The Mississippi bridge into Memphis. 2 lanes, tractor trailers passing him at speed, no shoulder or bail out lane, 100+ feet to the water, and basically nowhere to go.

Jerry
The salt creek downhill. After experiencing his favorite ride (the uphill), he wore out a set of brake pads on the downhill.

Tom
Every time Gary drove the RV, especially on the mountain roads.

Miscellaneous Moments and Awards
Most Grueling Ride
The desert ride through Arizona. Hotest thing any of us had ever experienced.

Most Improved Cyclist
Gillian in a landslide. She was awesome, never tiring, attacking hills. Still a skirt on downhills however…

RV chef award
Gill again for her only matronly event, cooking us up pounds of pasta in the RV at a Texas roadside. Chris wins second for buying the 4 foot piece of jerky in New Mexico.

Most Dramatic Finish
Tom, in Savannah. Bruised and bloody, stopping traffic. Only Tom…

Worst Motel
In Jasper, Georgia, roaches everywhere, truckers going by constantly, no food, minimal phones. What a hole.

Most Monsyllabic Rider
Jerry “Harpo” Erb

Friendliest Drivers
Texas by a longshot (incredibly)

Best Local Chick
The night clerk in Swainsboro, tn.

Best Rancher Butt
The two cowboys in chaps in Roswell. Even the guys looked (and we had to pry Gill off!)

Funniest Daily Event
Chris taping up his nipples so reduce rubbing from his jersey. Second funniest was him removing the tape each day

Best Turnaround
Cliff getting stopped for speeding in Northern AZ, and ending up getting directions from the cop, and stories about how they’re beating those “damned dreadlock people”.

Most Suprising Event
We saw < 10 “real” cyclist throughout the entire trip. Very unexpected.

Best cartographer
Cliff. Scores of maps starting the trip, good reactions to changing road conditions.

Most Suprising Learning Event
Finding out that Cliff had 6 siblings, and that he thought his brother was “weird”. Say it ain’t so, cliffie….

Most Suprising Thing About the Trip
The velocity that we were going at. Everyone brought reading materials, and not one person even finished a magazine or book along the way, or had more than 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

Finishing Nicknames
Gary Lumpy (you’d think 600+ miles of biking would have lost some weight)
Gill Ghost bunny/Snowbunny
Chris The Snake
Cliff Roger
Jerry Harpo (honk, honk)
Tom Alien

Special Thank You’s

Val Hunt for dinner and use of her house in Phoenix
Len/Pat in Dallas for dinner and use of their house
Louie for fixing the RV generator so quickly
Joe the innkeeper for letting use his personal shower when his motel was full
Safire restaurant for giving us the best meal of the trip
Cliff’s dad for the view from Lookout Mountain
And last, but not least, the Apache tribe for their support into Corazozzo.