Supper on the Road

Jeanette and I were able to drive out to visit Arvid on the road tonight. His supper was a 3-piece meal from KFC, coleslaw, and mashed potatoes, washed down by a Pepsi and then a vanilla milkshake for on the bike. We met him just North of Hoddinott on Henderson, where he sat in the shade for 16 minutes to finish his meal. Not much time to spare! Things are tough, as they always will be on an event of this nature. Pushing past one or two days means your body starts doing things it wouldn't normally do. He's feeling okay, but keep the prayers coming - he needs 'em!

After the 16 minutes he was back on the road, milkshake in hand. I had hoped to update him on Lance Armstrong's performance in the Tour de France, but he's staying up-to-date by listening to CJOB on the road. Four days have nearly come and gone, and he indicated that the toughness of this event is at the same caliber as RAAM last year. But that was 11 days, this is 23. One difference and difficulty this year in the fact that he has a set distance he needs to complete by the end of the day: 457km. No more, no less. With varying weather, varying states of physical readiness, varying states of mental sharpness, that can be more difficult some days. On RAAM, if he had a great day and flew to 500km, that meant he had (technically speaking) less to do the next day. On a headwind day, he could have squeaked by with 320km. But not on this ride. He's got to tough out 457km, day after day, regardless of how wet he gets, how strong the wind is, how little he slept, or how tired he feels.