17?

Moustache ride into St Louis today.

I've lost track of the days already.

Two days ago I saw in the paper that the next day there was a criterium in Champaign, Illinois, the town we were in that day. Me and Jen decided to stay in do it, with Jaquie being our support. It was a lot of fun, Jen got 3rd in her first crit, and I finished pretty mediocre at 10th in about a 20 person field. The average was about 24mph in pouring rain, and I hit 35 at one point and this was not during an attack. Definitely felt the 1000 or so miles I had been doing non stop during this one...

Today we rode from Taylorville, IL to St Louis, MO in a huge, midwestern style thunderstorm. Pouring rain, lightning, and intense winds. It was great. We were in a group of 10 all complaining together, chanting "BLOOD OF CHRIST", and fighting the wind.

I don't really have much else to say, or feel like saying. We're hitting more midwestern locations soon, then the Rockies.

Since I have access to the computer now, I'll at least talk about some of the other people that have given me a lot of support on this ride.

Slate from Rapha helped me out with some clothing for the ride. I can safely say that their bib shorts are the most comfortable thing I've ever put near my ass. They also ended up sponsoring the whole ride with some jackets, which have been great on those cold mornings and the days when its just rained a bit. On days like today howevever, nothing could keep us dry, but we still looked classy as fuck.


Seriously, look at me and Joaquin. How fucking classy do we look? We look like absolute gentlemen.

Serfas helped me out with some glasses, pump items, and some tires (fortunately my Conti tires haven't failed me yet). I've always had a problem with cycling glasses, and these don't make me look like a total asshole and they don't fog up as bad as the other ones I've had. However, I do have a pretty brutal mark between my eyes from wearing them.

Topeak helped me out with a tent, one of the Bikampers or whatever. It's small, easy to set up (if you use your bike with it), and gets the job done. On a cushy tour like this, I wish I had brought a bigger tent.

Hammer Gel and Tofurky helped me keep it real (read: vegan) this trip.