Day 7: Never a Dull Moment

Editor’s Note: Tim Case is cruising into the Midwest portion of the Race Across America. This is a solo bike race that will have him cross the United States in about 10 days. He left Oceanside, Calif., Sunday morning and had completed 1,912 miles by 5:46 p.m. Sunday, passing through Jefferson City, Mo., on his way to to Marthasville, Mo., His team checks in with us daily. Tim is riding for Team Strong Heart to raise money and awareness for Camp Odayin, which is dedicated to serving children with severe heart problems.

Ok, so the truth is I don’t really know what day it is. Hehe…

I just arrived to a hotel room in Washington, Mo., where Gordon (crew member) and I are going to take a three-hour nap before Tim arrives. Things were supposed to go smoothly. We were going to drive ahead and get rest after a long day prior with chopped non-quality sleep, and Tim and the rest of the crew would do shift change later. Welllllll, not quite, said Mother Nature. A HUGE storm rolled into the area right as Tim was pedaling towards Time Station 32. I was already 50 miles ahead when I got the call that we had his rain gear. Well, so much for that rest. It was rush, rush, rush back to met Tim and the crew. We came up with a quick game plan around the storm, which unfortunately slowed us down a little, but that was inevitable due to Tim’s safety. It wasn’t much time later and a little prayer was answered as the storm moved south, and the route moved east. Tim road through only 16 miles of downpours, and then the sun and tailwinds arrived :-).

He is currently 40 miles away from here where he is flying through the hills.

So let me back up to yesterday and how we got to today.

Tim approached the Sedgwick Fire, near Time Station 33, and as soon as he pulled in when they were going to do this great display of lights and sounds, they OF COURSE got a call. Yes our luck. But we still hung out there, and these guys were the nicest most generous people that just really made our day! We got to give Tim a little lunch, a bathroom, shade, massage and some chitchat in the environment he is most comfortable. Then he continued on, and Gordon and I stayed, did some wash, took ice for the coolers, and got update the blog. Thanks again to all the guys at Station 33!

That was a start of a day that just seemed perfect. Tim was cruising, and told us this was the best day he was having. All saddle sore pain is gone with our new seat, and he suffers only minimal knee pain. He said he just couldn’t believe how smooth things were going, and how strong he feels. We pounded through 280 miles by the end of the day, and unfortunately had a little mishap that was a very close call. Once Tim starts to get into extreme tiredness he becomes real foggy, and we have to watch him closely. We were doing a bottle hand off and as he went to ride away from the vehicle, he lost balance on the ruts along the line of the road and his bike got stuck under the wheel rim of the vehicle. I truly thought it was all over. But, .once again it wasn’t. We took him to a hotel where Eric (crew chief) was sleeping, and he took care of everything. His bike was fine, but it was a definite scare and a yucky way to end an almost perfect day.

This morning was tough as Tim was very groggy and slow to wake up. He was a bit irritable, but he was kind to us. However, an hour later, he showed his strength and told us wanted to make it to the Mississippi River by the evening.

Tim amazes us every minute of the day. I truly don’t know how he just pedals that bike non stop for hours the way he does. This morning when in his waking up, cranky state, he asked me why he’s doing this, and I reminded him how through this experience, he will always know his amazing abilities to be a fighter, and a survivor for any challenge in his life.

Oh, and don’t let me forget. So yesterday afternoon, as Tim was powering through Kansas he tells us how he is having hallucinations, and tried to show us the cartoon animals in he road. Yah, that was when we put his sleep plan together.

Speaking of sleep, I think its time for that.

See ya on the other side of the Mississippi next time we speak!

—Michelle Pearl, Tim’s girlfriend and crew member.

Other Posts:
Some thoughts from Tim
The Finish
Day 11 1/2
Day 11
Day 9
Day 8
Day 7
Day 6
Day 5
Day 4
Day 3
Day 2
Day 1