Cheery Vern and John

First finishers Vernon Smith (left) of Colorado Springs

and John Flanigan of Denver

Vern and John spent almost all of the past 60 hours together. Just the two of them and their bikes. They traveled light, both in gear and sleep. Maybe 3 hours of napping total, they say, with an hour leaning against the post office in Lindon, Colorado, in the wee hours this morning when the cross winds and their fatigue was too much to continue safely. But through the whole ride, they want everyone to know, Vernon was very cheery.

Notes here at LCHQ show that John was riding the 1000-km + 200-km option, so his times are 48:24 + 11:18. Vern books a 59:42 for his 1200. That appears to be the 10th fastest time in the Last Chance Book.

The Rider Progress updates will be off-line for a few hours, so here are a few details:
Following John and Vern out of Byers are
- Albert Kong
- Henk Bouhuyzen
- Andrea Koenig
- Sharon Stevens
Still at Byers:
- Chris Kaiser
Everyone one else is en route to Byers and are believed to be enjoying lighter winds that are shifting to an advantageous direction of NE.