bakerjw,   you hit the nail on the head with your comment about unclipping after 12 hours in the saddle and your legs are toast!!  On an attempt to ride from Port Angeles to Bellingham last year I started in the dark and it was dark when I started across the bridge over Deception Pass.  Should have just kept riding but I slowed down to see where I was supposed to get on the walkway and  reached out to grab the rail and figure things out.  Did I mention that it was dark?  I missed the rail and being out of gas I didn't get unclipped and did a perfect impression of the guy tipping over on his trike on Rowan and Martins comedy show years ago.  I laid there for a few seconds trying to figure out what had just happened and then I tried to unclip and get the bike away from me.  Don't know how long I wallowed around trying to get up before I realized there was a car stopped about 15 feet back from me!!  I don't know if they were sitting there feeling sorry for me or about to die laughing but at the moment I was wishing they would just run over me and put me out of my misery.  The driver flashed his lights a few times and then waited for me to get my act together.  Long story short, being and old geezer, I am going to either get flat pedals or at the least, flats that you can clip to your bike so you can ride either way if you are tired or the trail is getting sketchy. 

Larry

Had to chuckle at the picture of Mike Hall laying on the motel floor.  That man wasn't even out there long enough to get a respectable bikers tan!!

I would think that your riding style would have a lot to do with how long your brake pads, or any other component, would last.  A hard core all out rider is going to be pedaling hard and breaking hard vs. the more conservative rider.  Barring an accident, you pick your poison.     (What SlowRide said)

Shoulda seen that one coming!!

Also been following Michelle and her progress.  I hope she has a ton of friends and family waiting at the finish for her.   Looks like she might finish tomorrow.   She really deserves a royal welcome in my book!!!

My non biking buddies are always telling me how "dorky" looking bike helmets are, HAH!!  I would much rather have a dorky looking helmet smashed than having my head look dorky after a crash!!  Thanks for the visual TearFilter.

JefA,
  Thanks for the heads up on this product.  Glad these work for you and will check them out.  I had a feeling I'm not the only one with this problem.  Have also been riding more and even got a trainer so I can sit and spin in the garage when the weather is crappy. 
Thanks again,
Larry

Thanks Wayne!!  I will check it out!!

Lynda,

Thank you so much for your response.  Like the others have pointed out and you picked up on was being under trained.  Chris pointed out that if you are riding hills and you are riding in the  anaerobic zone and the lactic acid buildup doesn't have time to be broken down between hills you start cramping.  I live at 1000 feet and it is all down hill no matter where I ride and then it is all hills no matter which way I go and then all up hill to get home.  By then I am toast!!!  Broke out my HRM and kept it in the zone and it made all the difference in the world.  Maybe there is hope for me after all.  It was interesting to learn in your link that cramping can increase with age.  That will be my excuse from now on and I'm sticking with it!!

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

Larry

Eric, thanks for sharing how you used seat position an crank and cleat positioning to correct you cramping issues.  I do believe I have overcorrected.  Probably due to my philosophy that if a little more is better then to much is just enough. 

JP,  I will check out the Sportleg.

Chris, I don't think you are callous, I appreciate your straight talk!!  Your comment that you think it is most likely my style of riding along with bike fit is starting to resonate.  I'm embarrassed that I have not been wearing my HRM so no idea when I am digging myself into a hole.  I do admit that my style and form really sucks so will work on this.  No medications or medical issues.  Does gasping and wheezing and not being able to talk at all count as breathing?  

Seriously guys, I really appreciate ALL of your feedback and based on the number of views my question has received I believe that there are others who are benefiting from your sharing.

Thanks again,
Larry

Thanks NatHC and EricB.  I will check these all out.  Tell me Eric, was your seat to high or to low?  I am running my seat in what I would consider a slightly lower setting so I am not "ankeling: so much.  I am what my son calls a masher, not a spinner.  He wants me to raise my seat so I get a little "bounce" at the bottom of the stroke.  I have also moved my cleats all the way back so that the pressure is in my arch and not out toward the balls of my feet.  Thanks again guys!!
Larry

Thanks Area 54.  I do agree I need to train more as in ride, ride, ride.    And would you believe that as I was reading your reply I got a pop up add on ending leg cramps leg cramps forever!!  Larry

I hate to sound like a whiner but I am old and feeble and I can get leg cramps that after about 30 miles  leave me curled up like a pretzel in the gutter!!  I eat bananas and drink electrolytes until I am having to stop in the bushes every half mile.  (But that comes with age and is another problem)  Does anybody out there have a cure or better yet, a preventive solution?  I am open to any and all suggestions and thank you all in advance!!

Larry

Rode 21 miles last week outside of Port Angeles, took 3 1/2 hours with 2670 feet of elevation gain.  Thought I was going to die.  I am getting old and a small bowl of oatmeal doesn't last very long.  First time I had to walk and push.  Think I need to work on my diet plan.  I would be willing to trade some of our hills for some of your flats.  
Larry
PS.  I'm always slow to try new things, new to me anyway, but if you haven't tried Strava to track your ride it is free and  easy.  It works on both I-phone and Android.

Big River, You are my new Super Hero!!!  

Ditto!!!  Seems like I'm not the only one that is benifiitting on this site!!  Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences and knowledge!!

I ordered the que sheets and the Canada portion of the tour.  I did not realize that the cue sheets are the same as what is written on the maps so do you really need both?  If I had to do it again I would just get the maps an eliminate a bunch of paper.

Thanks Midsouth.  That's what I have been doing but when I click on the different choices like I always have in the past, instead of getting the pictures I get 3 little boxes with a red "X" in it.  I don't know what button I might have hit to cause this change.    Thank you for your time and suggestion.

Does anybody know why the route pictures of TD don't show up?  I don't know if it is my computer or what.  It is my escape from reality to ride the divide through them.  If they don't come back I may be forced to ride the ride to get my fix!!

Not to change the subject but has Dennis Lowen gone into the camping mode in order to get the "Red Lantern" or did he just forget to hit Spot?