Climbing Stats

Courtesy Steve, we now have some climbing stats for this ride. Yes, my Garmin 305 records Ascents and Descents, but only if the operator asks it to. I was 2/3 through before realizing I had it set wrong. Anyhow, for this trip we had over 75,000 feet of climbing. Days two and three were the toughest at 6,082 and 5,865 respectively (and respectfully, for that matter). At the time, after day three, I remarked that I had cycled tougher days, but not a tougher 52 miles.
I checked the stats for my coast-to-coast ride, and from Auburn to Truckee, California we rode 76 miles and climbed 8,500 feet, and from Brattleboro, VT to Manchester, NH 6,010 feet over 86 miles.
For a reason that escapes me, the computer (ok, the operator) put Day 3 into three laps. The first one recorded 15.1 miles at an average speed of 7.4, although maximum was a nice 32.5. To get an average like that, I had to have put in some 4 mph miles. This was the morning we were in a fog. Lap two showed an average of 10.3 and a max of 42.3 (the fastest of the whole trip and both Steve and I were grateful the sheep didn't jump) over 32.8 miles.

The day in the rain (Day 16), going down Rest And Be Thankful, it felt a lot faster than 32.9 as I tried to stay up with James. On several other occasions I thought my speed exceeded 40, based on the adrenalin building up, but the Garmin shows differently. Perceptions can sometimes magnify reality.
I am not a fanatic about keeping (and living by) statistics, but they assist in not letting your imagination run wild and I like having them.