Mileage
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Ah, the daily mileage. The Mileage charts could really make or break your morning depending on what they said. "How far 'til Pit 1?" "When is pit 3?" "Are we there yet?"
The charts gave directions when to turn, and how to proceed at major intersections. A evelation profile was provided on the opposite side. Sometimes those elevation profiles where very depressing. Often in skimming the directions it was obvious that a less difficult, more direct route should exist.
Example: 1) Head north on A st. 2) Turn left on 4th St. 4) After 2 miles turn right on C st. 5) After 5 Miles turn right on 10th. 6) After 2 miles turn left on A st.
It was obvious if I just stayed on A st. it would cut 4 miles off the route. And after checking with a local, I usually would do just that.
It was always more adventurous to go 'off route'. There was a real sense of freedom. But you didn't have 'support' if something bad happened. I significantly deviated from the route on 8 different days. Sometimes I added mileage, to go see something interesting; often I took short cuts; and sometimes the mileage was the same. I (or a small group) usually had a great time off route, not worrying about passing or being passed by other riders. Local people where more friendly, and inquisitive. Because I wasn't the 741st bicyclist to go by, I was the first, and they had seen the others while driving or heard about us on the radio or while talking to a friend.
The Official Mileage was consistently short everyday. It became expected. On day 44 the offical mileage of 86.4 miles was almost 20 miles underestimated. There was a lot of 'rails-to-trails' mileage that didn't get averaged in. I took a big short cut that day and only rode 71 miles, while other riders had logged over 100.
The following chart compares my recorded mileage to the Official Mileage. The biggest discrepancies occurred on days 22 and 26. On Day 22 April (ride buddy) and I took off through the BadLands to visit Wal-Drug. And on Day 26 we pulled a 'double' and rode into New Ulm a day early, so I rode 0 miles on the day I would have got there.
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The Numbers
| Offical Total Miles |
3226 |
| Offical Average Daily Miles |
67 |
| My Total Miles |
3387 |
| My Average Daily Miles |
70 |
| Average Time per day |
5:45 |
| Average Speed per day |
14.13 |
Official My Average
Day Mileage Mileage Time Speed Start End
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1 76.1 76.1* Seattle, WA Easton, WA
2 87.4 90 6:30 13.8 Easton, WA Yakima, WA
3 83.8 83.8* Yakima, WA Kennewick, WA
4 0 22.8 2:47 8.2 Kennewick, WA Kennewick
5 77.4 81.37 5:30 14.8 Kennewick Dayton, WA
6 73.9 74.87 6:30 11.5 Dayton, WA Lewiston, ID
7 86.7 86.7* Lewiston, ID Kooksia, ID
8 89.6 93.14 6:24 14.6 Kooksia, ID Powell, ID
9 54.1 55.4 3:41 15.0 Powell, ID Missoula, MT
10 0 15.38 1:59 7.8 Missoula, MT Missoula, MT
11 98.1 100.04 7:06 14.1 Missoula, MT Avon,MT
12 62 65.66 4:37 14.2 Avon,MT Townsend, MT
13 96 98.42 6:14 15.8 Townsend, MT Harlowton, MT
14 94.1 98.16 5:45 17.1 Harlowton, MT Billings, MT
15 0 0 Billings, MT Billings, MT
16 50.8 50.9 4:03 12.6 Billings, MT Hardin, MT
17 85.5 85.5* Hardin, MT Sheridan, WY
18 112.9 114 7:42 14.8 Sheridan, WY Gillette, WY
19 73.7 75.75 5:47 13.1 Gillette, WY Newcastle, WY
20 85.9 72 Newcastle, WY Rapid City
21 0 5 Rapid City Rapid City
22 105.6 133 8:13 16.2 Rapid City Kadoka, SD
23 91.7 98 Kadoka, SD Ft. Pierre, SD
24 73.1 73.1* Ft. Pierre, SD Miller, SD
25 77 82 6:15 13.1 Miller, SD DeSmet, SD
26 78.3 175 14:00 12.5 DeSmet, SD Tyler, MN
27 88.3 0 Tyler, MN New Ulm, MN
28 0 5 New Ulm, MN New Ulm, MN
29 71.3 75.98 4:19 17.6 New Ulm, MN Owatonna, MN
30 87.9 90.5 5:53 15.4 Owatonna, MN Winona, MN
31 70.4 75.98 5:19 14.3 Winona, MN Viroqua, WI
32 105.5 104 7:10 14.5 Viroqua, WI Madison, WI
33 0 0 Madison, WI Madison, WI
34 80.8 85 6:23 13.3 Madison, WI Belvidere, IL
35 62.2 64 4:42 13.6 Belvidere, IL Lisle, IL
36 106.5 111.18 7:27 14.9 Lisle, IL La Porte, IN
37 87.3 89.5 5:29 16.3 La Porte, IN Kendallville, IN
38 69.1 69 4:09 16.6 Kendallville, IN Napoleon, OH
39 83.3 87 4:33 19.1 Napoleon, OH Sandusky, OH
40 0 0 Sandusky, OH Sandusky, OH
41 75.7 80 5:01 15.9 Sandusky, OH Chagrin Falls, OH
42 56.2 60.6 4:03 15.0 Chagrin Falls, OH Canfield, OH
43 78.1 87.61 6:28 13.5 Canfield, OH Washington, PA
44 86.4 71.21 5:46 12.3 Washington, PA Confluence, PA
45 0 4 0:25 Confluence, PA Confluence, PA
46 73 74.09 6:02 12.3 Confluence, PA Flintstone, MD
47 79.8 85.7 6:02 14.2 Flintstone, MD Frederick, MD
48 51.4 61.51 5:00 12.3 Frederick, MD Washington D.C.
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Total: 3226 3387
Avg: 67 70 5:45 14.13
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I am missing data for days Day 1, 3, 7, 17, 24. And used the Offical Mileage to Compute my total Mileage for these data. Missing days do not compute into my average distance, time, nor speed. I also bicycled on 'off days', for a total of 52 Miles which is included in my total. Missing days are denoted by an *.
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