Lon's Route Description
Today is a recovery day from the steep climbing. We enter the dense pine forests of western Arkansas. Lumber and paper mills are the major landmarks today.
McDonalds Locator
Weather
Mena Forecast
Pine Bluff Forecast
Today is a recovery day from the steep climbing. We enter the dense pine forests of western Arkansas. Lumber and paper mills are the major landmarks today.
McDonalds Locator
Weather
Mena Forecast
Pine Bluff Forecast
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Elite Tour
PA Randonneurs
PAC Tour
Contact
Tom Rosenbauer
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Previous Day
Back to Journal Index
Elite Tour
PA Randonneurs
PAC Tour
Contact
Tom Rosenbauer
Ride Recap
This morning, I decided to withdraw from the tour. It was a fairly easy decision to make, although I may have given some second thoughts if I knew how difficult is was going to be to get out of Mena, Arkansas! This morning, with 7 days remaining on the tour, I tried to picture what it would be like at the finish. In the end, I don't think I would be able to say I rode my bike across country, given that I hadn't ridden every mile under my own power -- an accomplishment I had already done on my previous tour. I was already "over trained", so there was no additional benefit to be had in putting in more days of riding without any recovery time. On the other days while I was still "in the game", I was very motivated to keep riding to see if I could overcome the challenges of each day. But now, that motivation was gone, and I reconsidered what was the best use of my time.
By leaving now, I could catch up with my consulting business -- several clients had been put on hold and were not happy. I would also be able to spend some vacation time with my family -- who were also not completely happy about the time this sport demands of me. While I was willing to risk much with my family, business, and health to see if I could rise up to the challenge of the Elite Tour -- it seemed foolish to continue on, now that there was little more to accomplish.
As a side note, I think I would still be in Mena if I didn't have access to GoogleMaps. Thanks to Google, I was able to locate a taxi and car rental to get back home -- the nearest one was 80 miles away. The 2 day trip home was exactly what I needed to start my recovery. The Interstate system was practically a straight shot home ... I40 to I15 and on to I78. Driving near the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive along I15 made me think back fondly of my first PAC Tour: the Eastern Mountains from Florida to Maine, all along the Appalachians.
Some final thoughts about the Elite Tour are in my Postscript.
This morning, I decided to withdraw from the tour. It was a fairly easy decision to make, although I may have given some second thoughts if I knew how difficult is was going to be to get out of Mena, Arkansas! This morning, with 7 days remaining on the tour, I tried to picture what it would be like at the finish. In the end, I don't think I would be able to say I rode my bike across country, given that I hadn't ridden every mile under my own power -- an accomplishment I had already done on my previous tour. I was already "over trained", so there was no additional benefit to be had in putting in more days of riding without any recovery time. On the other days while I was still "in the game", I was very motivated to keep riding to see if I could overcome the challenges of each day. But now, that motivation was gone, and I reconsidered what was the best use of my time.
By leaving now, I could catch up with my consulting business -- several clients had been put on hold and were not happy. I would also be able to spend some vacation time with my family -- who were also not completely happy about the time this sport demands of me. While I was willing to risk much with my family, business, and health to see if I could rise up to the challenge of the Elite Tour -- it seemed foolish to continue on, now that there was little more to accomplish.
As a side note, I think I would still be in Mena if I didn't have access to GoogleMaps. Thanks to Google, I was able to locate a taxi and car rental to get back home -- the nearest one was 80 miles away. The 2 day trip home was exactly what I needed to start my recovery. The Interstate system was practically a straight shot home ... I40 to I15 and on to I78. Driving near the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive along I15 made me think back fondly of my first PAC Tour: the Eastern Mountains from Florida to Maine, all along the Appalachians.
Some final thoughts about the Elite Tour are in my Postscript.