Team
With David 'Hollywood' Taylor Leaving today it's the first change in the core team. There have been a few people come and join us for a day or two, but there is still a core team which will continue to change as others work the ride around other commitments. David will be missed by all. He's one of the strongest riders and has some great banter. I've always found him to be good company and apart from the slight complaint about my snoring we've got along just fine. Was quite emotional saying goodbye, more than I'd expected.
The team dynamic is working better than expected. Some friendships form stronger than others and there are differences of opinion and character, but it is certainly an interesting aspect of this adventure. I've been saying all along that it is essentially a collection of individuals undertaking quite an extraordinary adventure. We all have differing backgrounds, aspirations and abilities. But bringing them all together is a very rewarding experience. I think for me one of the biggest down points of the team is that any group of individuals when put together do not always exceed the sum of their parts. I think for us it's sometimes the simpler things such as getting dinner or regulating the nature of end or start of day briefings But I think it's pretty fun being along for the ride as we sort this out. My style may be too flippant sometimes, and maybe I shouldn't be so reticent to stake my point of view a bit more forcefully sometimes, but it's only ever an issue when everyone is tired, which is to be expected as we acclimatise to the physical and mental rigours.
Accommodation
I still find it quite extravagant to be staying in motels all the way, but it's amazing how used to a little bit of luxury you can get, and what happens when the standards drop a little. Ovando has to have been the best yet. It felt like a proper little guest house, and imaginations could run wild pretending to live in a bygone western era.Food
The novelty has worn off a little. Going from eating meat once or twice a week to red meat every meal is a bit much. Not sure if I'm burning off more than I'm taking on yet. But there are perks. When breakfasts are cooked to order I'm a sucker for pancakes and syrup. The most amusing thing is generally when we walk into a local restaurant or diner en-mass and seeing how the various establishments deal with this ravenous bunch of British wanderers. And how we deal with the food and service on offer.Fitness
Apart from my own dodgy hamstrings fitness across the group is good. We're brushing off 60+ mile rides nonchalantly. But with a couple of 100+ milers coming up there is a certain mental barrier with every milestone distance. I'm in the fortunate position to be generally fit enough that I can ride anywhere in the group. Though it's often dictated by my mood, often I'll start the day near the back making sure that everyone is still in the group, but quite often I do feel the urge to race off and give my legs and lungs a bit of a pounding. But by no means can I pick and choose when to beef up the engines. I think my slightly excessive appetite helps with my energy levels though.Research
This is where the most work will be required. There were certainly some fascinating conversations and observations to come out of our time in Portland. There have also been a few interventions noticed along the way in the larger cities such as Missoula and Bozeman (though no coincidence that these are also university towns) There is a certain amount to learn from the day to day riding, but this is a very different experience form the focus of helping create a 'cycalised city'.My hope is that when we start approaching the focus cities that the group dynamic and fitness will be restored so that we are in better shape to make good assessments and immerse ourselves in the cycling experience of these cities. Some positive pointers about our planned route are that Chicago, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh and New York in particular (as well as a host of other American cities) were name checked as rolling out initiatives that are exceeding the momentum of activities in Portland.
Until we have made thorough assessments first hand and through interviews with cyclists and the movers and shakers in these cities it isn't really possible to draw any conclusions, and as much of this trip has shown in so many other ways, to make predictions now as to the form of our findings would likely be largely futile, and possibly negate a large part of the rationale of the whole trip.
Predictions
every day is full of predictions: "the weather will be..." "Tomorrow will be hard" " When we get to _____ it will be ..." "Let's meet at _____ for lunch" and so on. In my opinion right now we are predicting too much and not necessarily planning enough. We know what works and what doesn't and there is trepidation that everything has gone so smoothly so far that things will change. But there is a big mental challenge here to get over the enormity of the task.Digital Connections
Well there's the website, The Portland to Portland blog, you tube, flickr, facebook, twitter, and that's not counting the online presence of many of the group members like Peter's personal You Tube, Nic's Blog, Sarah's Blog or of course, mine (which I don't think i need to hyperlink to do I, as you're actually reading it now). My flickr and then twitter, twitter, twitter, twitter and twitter. Then there's Garmin and Strava. So we're pretty well covered on that front. It's amazing the digital trail we're leaving, compared to how a trip like this would have been previously. Most significantly though is the way that the route was coordinated and is managed digitally. I am pretty much totally reliant on others and internet for day to day orientation. Which is a bit strange for someone who loves maps and navigation so much.I do have a suspicion though, that like the weather bubble we're travelling in the social media aspect is primarily for our own benefit, being able to get back and track our own progress at the end of the day online, after having experienced it for real, but maybe that's just me? It's a general modern dilemma though isn't it. Along with the fact that the scenery and challenge is so massive, and continuous that it takes some sort of documentation to keep track of everything that's going on. Let's face it, as much as I've read of Lewis & Clark recently we are in 2013 now, and not 1806, maybe they used to pass notes and sketches around the campfire too?
But if for nothing other than me in a few weeks time, here's some of my choice digital content:
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