I'm all about music. I always have been. Anyone who has ridden with me for a decent amount of time knows I pride myself in my playlist. I feel every day, and possibly even every moment, should have its own soundtrack. And when there isn't music on, I start to feel a little uneasy, especially if I'm trying to work. One of my best monthly bills is Spotify, which gets me through races all over the world, working from home in a foreign country, lengthy airport layovers and long-haul flights. (And I should also point out that I have an amazing global plan from T-Mobile that makes all this possible.)
The Tour de Pologne isn't all about the bike race. A lot of this race seems to revolve around driving through Poland. This has included everything from heavy city traffic, four lane highways where maniacs try to run you down and super remote back country roads that count as about 1.5 lines wide. The race bible also doesn't mark the best route into the finish, so that's always its own added headache.
On average, I'm spending about 4 to 5 hours a day in the car and they aren't relaxing, road trip hours. Many of them are white knuckled and see me praying to whatever in the hopes that I make it to the finish in time.
Yet, today was my most successful transfer to date. I gave up on the race bible. I gave up on the GPS. I gave up on Google Maps. Instead, I put myself behind a Polish team's bus and followed it at the max speed of about 115 kph for over two hours, which wasn't so bad because my little Cleo is floored by around 117 kph and I managed to make it to the finish for the first time without getting lost or blocked by road closures.
All this time in the car means a killer playlist is vital. Right now, I'm all about the country music with a sprinkle of Americana. There is just something amusing to be driving across Poland listen to Luke Bran, Alison Krauss, Avett Brothers or Lee Brice.
Here are some highlights from today's tunes:
- Somewhere With You -- Kenny Chesney
- Crazy Girl -- Eli Young Band
- I Don't Dance -- Lee Brice
- Highway Don't Care --Tim McGraw et al
- Life's What You Make It -- Graham Colton
- Gunpowder & Lead -- Miranda Lambert
- Home Alone Tonight --Luke Bryan and Karen Fairchild
- Whiskey Lullaby -- Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss (<-- her voice may be my favorite on Earth)
- I Play the Road -- Zac Brown Band
- Springsteen -- Eric Church
- Come Over -- Kenny Chesney
- Hard to Love -- Lee Brice
- Head Full of Doubt -- The Avett Brothers
- Kiss Tommorrow Goodbye --Luke Bryan
Below you can find today's whole playlist on Spotify. It runs nearly 3.5 hours....meaning most days I would still be a little short. I'm always open to music recommendations, so send them my way.
https://open.spotify.com/user/fcgorman/playlist/3iGljTO9YodHufIoyYab9E