Assessing How I'm Doing

Now that I'm 11 days (and over 400 miles) into this trip, how am I doing? I can honestly say I'm doing well. My legs and knees are holding up well. My hands go numb on occasion but I have been able to revive them and keep going. All winter long, I had been concerned about my sore right ankle; I haven't had a single problem with it on this trip. My hip is doing fine. 

The biggest problem I have had has been with saddle sores. Up until today, my sitz bones were just on fire as I rode. I had to stop frequently while riding each day's route to get my butt off the saddle. I now have a regular pharmacopeia of chamois creams, diaper creams and ointments, and pain meds. I was the only person to stay in camp all day yesterday on our layover day; I gambled that a full day off my saddle would be restorative and improve my riding comfort. My gamble paid off! My ride today was not pain free, but I could ride continuously--only taking breaks to eat and sightsee. 

I definitely feel like I've found my groove at this point. Good thing, too; we have some steep, long days coming up in Tennessee and Kentucky.