11 April 2014
Austin to La Grange, TX
80 miles (Total Miles = 1,655)

Today is my cooking rotation, which means no time for dinking on the bike. Not that there’s time for dinking anyway, given the 80 miles stretching out before us. But when on cooking duty, you really can’t be lagging too far behind because the group doesn’t get to eat until you get to camp and get dinner on the table and when you have 13 people waiting on your arrival and your culinary skills, you might be thinking that this trip was a bad idea.

It’s not, especially with the scenery going from the browns of Far West Texas to the greens of East Texas, but there are timetables to keep. For example, here’s a typical day:

• Deflate your pillow, disassemble tent, and pack up belongings before or just after dawn. Headlamp often mandatory.

• Breakfast at 7, 7:30, or 8 am, depending on mileage for day. If on cooking rotation, report in half an hour before to set out the cereal and oatmeal and lunch fixings. If your name is Marlin, report in even earlier to set up and serve coffee.

• Make your sack lunch. Peanut butter and jelly isn’t just for children.

• Slather on your Chamois Butt’r and sunscreen (try not to mix them up), fill your water bottles, check your tires, and ride out of camp. This should be no later than 1 hour after the start of breakfast unless your name is Marlin. Then it can be whenever because you’ll be first to the next camp anyway.

• Ride, stop for second breakfast, ride, stop for a photo, ride, stop for a snack, ride, stop for ice for your water bottles, ride, stop for lunch, ride, stop for more sunscreen, ride, stop for a Blizzard, ride into camp. With all that stopping, figure an average pace of 10 mph. If in Texas with constant headwinds, cut that pace in half.

• Grab a cold drink, get glared at by Gina for sitting down, get back up and pitch the tent. Blow up Thermarests (note that this must be done in a sitting position or soon you’ll be laying down, unbeknownst to you, having just blacked out), unroll sleeping bags, raccoon through your duffel bag for your towel and shower kit.

• Shower. Unless there is only one bathroom, then wait in line and then shower.

• Laundry. This includes stringing an outdoor line and then 30 minutes later, hanging all your shorts and undies out on it for everyone to enjoy.

• Dinner at 6 pm. If you’re on cooking rotation, report in by 5 pm to get started making the meal you’ve come up with the night before. If you’re not on cooking rotation, you have “free time” before dinner. Unless, of course, it’s one of those 80 mile days. Then you have a “free” 5 minutes to shower, do laundry, and find your mess kit before dinner is ready.

• Dishes. This may or may not involve helping with the pots and pans, depending on your general level of helpfulness and/or your mood that day.

• Map meeting at 7 pm. Pay attention, take notes, and don’t think too hard about tomorrow’s 80 mile route.

• End of day. Crawl, exhausted, into tent. Try to blog, organize belongings, or just stare up at the ceiling, thinking about how the Thermarest needs a little more air and what in the heck you’ll make on your next cooking rotation.