Hills and Hamstrings

Day 33 Pella, IA to Coralville, IA
Distance 150
Saddle time 6:08
Avg speed 24.8
Max speed 24.5
Total ascent 1503m
Total descent 1542m

Today was a good riding day again!  I had a bit of a rough start.  I got out of camp a bit later than I intended (I was the VERY last person to leave camp today!), but with a group of 3 other riders, we hit the road on the way to a second breakfast at Sully CRC (30km from Pella).  My legs were very unhappy this morning, especially my left leg; that’s the one I fell on when I crashed Thursday.   Everywhere I have a bruise on that leg (calf, lateral quad, posterior hamstring) spasmed like crazy as we got started.  Fortunately, after about an hour of riding, the spasms subsided and I’m hoping they don’t return.  I rubbed some ice on the unhappy areas during second breakfast and that seemed to help.

Descending before yet another ascent - the theme of the day!

After breakfast, we had a very hilly 150km total day.  We climbed 1500+m which is one of the biggest climbing days for the tour.  I counted 5 hills with grades over 10%, including one up to 13%.  Gladly, none of them were too long and we made it through without too much difficulty (even on the 10km stretch of hills where we were riding right into a nasty headwind).  We were treated at one of the SAG stops to homemade boterkoek – amazing!  I love being Dutch!  I am so excited for a rest this weekend as my legs are pretty sore.  Hopefully with some stretching and ice, I’ll be good as new for Monday’s 150+km ride!

CRASH! BANG! BOOM!!!

Day 31 Diagonal, IA to Chariton, IA
Distance 120
Saddle time 4:49
Average speed 24.8
Max speed 57.5
Total ascent 864m
Total descent 905m

Today was an eventful day.   I was riding with Kaitlyn and Katie, and we started out our day by getting lost.  We missed a turn around the 10km mark of the ride and when we hadn’t had a SAG stop by km 30 (and they are usually every 25km) and the faster group of riders hadn’t passed us, we figured we had gone the wrong way.  Fortunately, we were about 15km north of where the route was supposed to pass, but we were almost on the same latitude of our ultimate destination, so we spent some time sleuthing routes (asking at a house we were stopped near and then at the gas station in the next town) and determined we could get to Chariton without backtracking (and adding a hilly 30km to our day) if we took the state highway (a moderately busy road with a decent shoulder) and just refilled our water at the town about halfway.  So, after letting the tour organizers know so they wouldn’t be looking for us, off we went! 

We had a great morning!  Excellent road, great riding buddies and being off on our own lent to the sense of adventure we felt.  We made it to the intermediate town (40km from the gas station in the town we first determined our route from and 40km from our destination) and stopped for an excellent lunch.  We were thoroughly enjoying the ride, when I was unfortunately struck by a vehicle 4km west of town (don’t worry, I’m OK!!).  Here’s the story.

The road had narrowed, and we had lost our nice shoulder, but traffic had been very courteous, with even semi trucks waiting for safe times to pass us.  When we got close to Chariton, the road was a bit narrow and Katie and Kaitlyn were riding a little ahead of me as we climbed up a hill.  The shoulder was soft gravel, so we rode on the main road surface (safely as close to the white line as possible in single file).  While we went up the hill, a semi was coming in the opposite direction and a pickup truck pulled up beside me (leaving me almost NO space to cycle) and the driver yelled “HEY!!” at me out the open passenger window (when I interpreted as a “get off the road” type of yell).  Having no where to go, I continued riding forward, when the pickup’s RV trailer struck me in the shoulder (not hard), forcing me off the road and onto the soft gravel shoulder.  The gravel was deep and soft, and my bike almost immediately skidding right, causing me to fall to the left onto the pavement of the road UNDERNEATH the RV trailer.  Fortunately, the wheels had already passed me.  I was going quite slowly as we were climbing a hill (less than 15km/h although I don’t really know how fast) and I didn’t hit my head as I fell (I sort of landed on my left back, right shoulder, left hip and left leg).  I got up as soon as I was sure my head and neck were OK, and got off the road, carrying my bike (which also seemed to be OK).  I was really worried the driver of the truck wouldn’t stop, so I ran up the shoulder with my bike, yelling at him (I was pretty pumped up on adrenaline at that point!  I’m pretty sure if I had to lift a car, I would have been able to do so without difficulty!!).  He did pull over.

When the driver of the pickup got out, he started screaming obscenities at me ()(#@$*& bikers on the #$*&en road etc).  I was also yelling at him.  Fortunately (I’m going to use that word a lot in telling this story), my riding buddies had been able to get back to where I was by this point so one of them got in between the driver and I, one called our tour manager (who arrived in short order with our nurse, definitely helping to defuse the situation along with 2 fish and wildlife officers who stopped to see if I was OK) and the driver of the car behind me (who had stopped) checked me to see if I was OK.  I didn’t seem to be badly hurt, and my bike looked OK (I checked the frame, fortunately I had landed slowly and on the non-drive train side), so I got the information of the driver and decided to ride the last 4km into camp.  I felt OK and while I have a BIG bruise on my left flank, a bruise on my left hip and outside leg and some road rash on my right shoulder, I am pretty much uninjured!  Definitely could have been worse considering I fell into traffic!!!

Anyway, I guess some people think I should have called the cops, but I suppose to what effect?  Some drivers hate cyclists, and it was my opinion that this driver ran me off the road intentionally (as evidenced by his yelling at me while passing unsafely on an uphill and then screaming at me that I shouldn’t have been on the road after striking me with his trailer and riding me into the shoulder) and it’s scary to me that drivers like that can be out on the road endangering the lives of cyclists.  In the same breath, I’m exceptionally grateful to God that I am OK and everytime by back or shoulder twinges it’s a telling reminder that things could have been MUCH worse and I am grateful for my relative lack of injury.  I look forward to another ride tomorrow!!

Feeling like I got pretty easily after my encounter!!

When we got to camp, we got to have a special surprise that some of us have been planning for a few days.  It was the 30^th birthday of one of the riders, and when we had talked about his birthday, we had talked about maybe getting ice cream cake from Dairy Queen.  However, when he googled it, there was no Dairy Queen in Chariton (or, in fact, on the whole route we rode today).  So (unbeknownst to him), we ordered Dairy Queen ice cream cakes for the whole tour from a DQ just off the tour route, which one of our fabulous drivers picked up.  The person whose birthday we were celebrating was completely surprised, so mission accomplished!  All in all, I would say it was a great day (except for the part where I got hit by a car!!) :P

Day 32 Chariton, IA to Pella, IA

Distance 83
Saddle time 3:52
Average speed 21.4
Max speed 56.7
Total ascent 741m
Total descent 776m

Back in the saddle again today after yesterday’s crashing adventure.  I actually felt pretty good when I got up (no thanks to the trains and rain that kept me awake last night) and some of the spasms in the muscles in my back were better, so I decided that since it was a relatively short day, I could ride.  I felt very sluggish on the bike, my muscles are SORE, my back is STIFF and I have a couple pretty sweet bruises, but I made it the whole distance, riding with my daddy.   Today we passed the halfway point of the tour for distance, which of course deserved a photo!

Halfway there!

Along the way, some cyclists found a kitten on the side of the highway running around alone.  After trying to check with some of the close by houses and finding no one there, they brought it into town and gave it to the animal shelter.  So cute!

Kittens make everything better!

We spent the afternoon exploring Pella, IA – a very cute little town!  Tonight we have our first celebration service and then a 100 mile day tomorrow!eare SORE, my back is STIFF and I have

Crossing into IOWA!

Day 29 Firth, NE to Sidney, IA
Distance 113
Saddle time 4:52
Average speed 23.2
Max speed 55.0
Total ascent 837m
Total descent 908m

Another good riding day.  We were woken up by some excitement.  Some of the group was sleeping in the main hallway of the camp we were staying at and some were sleeping in tents.  Around 630, the main hallway was flooded by the tent people who had seen a storm coming (the wind was blowing pretty fiercely and the clouds were dark), so they had QUICKLY packed up their tents and headed for shelter.  Fortunately, there actually was very little in the way of “storm” (it was windy and there was some moderate rain) and everybody stayed pretty dry (especially tents/sleeping bags etc) but it certainly was an exciting way to start the day.

We had a hilly 113 km day with some rain in the morning (which meant I got to clean my drivetrain AGAIN – not my favourite chore!) and an occasional moderate headwind.  The other excitement of the day was courtesy of my inattention.  We were riding single file on a country road when I failed to notice the shoulder I was on abruptly ended.  My riding buddies had moved over and I hadn’t noticed.  I went off the 2-3 inch pavement onto the gravel, grass and broken pavement at about 30km/h.  I was trying to decide whether I wanted to fall to the right (landing on the softer grass, but also landing on the derailleur) or the left (hitting the pavement, but protecting my drivetrain), when I found myself slowing enough to unclip and not fall EITHER way.  A big relief for sure!  I was shaking from the adrenaline, but got back onto the road for the rest of the day. 

We had a great stop for lunch in the town of Norton (population 61, but home of a delicious restaurant – try the grilled chicken salad with the “Dorothy” dressing, which is apparently only available in Nebraska).  As we neared our camp site, the group wanted to stop at Wendy’s, but I felt like continuing on, so I rode 8km all by myself.  It was actually a bit strange to be riding alone after spending 4 weeks always riding with others.  I think overall I would choose to ride with a group, but I had a great day in total!

Day 30 Sidney, IA to Diagonal, IA (HALFWAY POINT TIMEWISE OF THE TOUR!!!)

Distance 140km
Saddle time 6:07
Average speed 22.8
Max speed 52.9
Total ascent 1334m
Total descent 1325m

It’s a bit depressing to think that our net elevation gain for the day is only 9m.  After a gruelling day of climbing up and down and up and down across southern Iowa, we are sleeping only 9m further from sea level than we did last night.  We left Sidney a bit later (8:15ish) and I rode with Zach’s Angel’s.  I had so much fun over the first 30km.  The hills were lovely and rolling, and you could get enough speed on the descents to carry you up much of the ascent.  The sun was shining and the corn was tall.  It was awesome.  When we got to Shenandoah, a town about 40km into the ride, the Angels decided to stop for a second breakfast (not too uncommon a practise).  I, however, was feeling a bit stressed out, considering we still had 100km to go, the service at the restaurant we chose was not super fast and I was on the sweep team (ie. Had to help set up by supper which starts at 5:30pm).  I was feeling a bit of pressure to get in a bit faster, so Kaitlyn and I struck out on our own and had a great day chatting, climbing hills, and climbing more hills (This was the third highest elevation gain day for the tour - the highest two days being in Colorado and New Mexico!!).

Once in camp, we had a delicious supper (mmmmm…Iowa corn!!!) and then the United Church from Diagonal, who is raising money for their new building, sold us AMAZING pie and homemade ice cream as a fundraiser (they are also cooking our breakfast tomorrow!).  It was incredible.  After Pelaton, we enjoyed a bunch of skits (our devotion groups are facing off in a small group story telling/joke/skit challenge) and now it’s time to  call it a night!  Looking forward to a great day of riding again tomorrow (hopefully with just a few less hills).

Riding through Nebraska

Day 28 Fairbury, NE to Firth, NE
Distance 83.1
Saddle time 3:12
Average speed 25.9
Max speed 41.3
Total ascent 311m
Total descent 294m

Our pace line today

Rejoined Zach’s Angels today after not riding with them through Colorado (they are all stronger climbers than I am).  It was super fun to join up with them again for a short day with LOTS of fun stops (donuts, fries, ice cream, internet).  Not a very eventful day otherwise.  Heading into Iowa tomorrow!

What does Shakespeare have to do with a headwind?

Day 27 Red Cloud, NE to Fairbury, NE

Distance 122 km
Saddle time 5:59
Avg speed 20.3
Max speed 44.0
Total ascent 584m
Total descent 743

Well, today was a tough day.  I’m not sure if it was because it was a tough day in itself or because we were all just a bit spent from yesterday.  I woke up just feeling a bit cranky to start things out.  Once we got on the road, I felt like just about everything was sore.  My wrists hurt on the handlebars, my quads and IT bands were tight and making my knees hurt, my bottom was aching on the seat, and I just was not feeling it.  In addition, we had a rolling hill day, which is fun for about a minute.  You climb up a rolling hill, crest, and then lose all the elevation you just worked for in about five seconds, before heading up the next roller (which is usually steeper and longer than the previous).  AND we had a headwind (my least favourite thing in the world).  It just added up to a tough slog.  I was riding along, feeling sorry for myself, when the clouds started to gather ominously behind us.  No worries, I thought, we are riding into a headwind.  If the clouds are gathering BEHIND us, then we should be fine, right?  WRONG.  About 25 km from the end, we got caught in our third rainstorm of the week.  So, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself when we arrived in camp, only to find that we got to use the worst showers of the tour (outdoor, freezing, have to hold the tap on), and we had showered in a horse barn previously…

 All that complaining done, I was reminded of a quotation that I’ve written on this blog before from Sam Nutt’s book, “Damned Nations”:  "To say I am lucky to be alive doesn't fully capture the extent to which I recognize this to be true, for as long as I can claim it to be. And hopefully, I'm not nearly done yet. Most of us come into this world amidst a frenzy of pain and emotion and unpredictability, and too many of us leave in the same way. If between the two certititudes of birth and death lies a generous period of love, family and friendships, free from the shackles of violence and poverty, it is a life to be coveted."



Smiling despite gathering clouds!

I am so fortunate and grateful.  My health is good.  The people I love are safe.  The country in which I live is safe and stable.  I’m on an amazing adventure across the continent, and I get to do it with not only some amazing people who I’ve met here, but I get to see my mom and dad EVERY DAY and I get to ride my bike with my dad several times a week.  Once I arrived in camp and got my head out of my proverbial saddle region, I couldn’t get the Shakespeare quote, “A pack of blessings light upon your back” out of my head.  That is what I have: A pack of blessings light upon my back! 

There, art thou happy?

2nd Century of the Trip!

Day 26 Norton, KS to Red Cloud, NE
Distance 165
Saddle time 6:55
Avg speed 24
Max speed 46.8
Total ascent 853m
Total descent 995m

Nasty weather brewing over Red Cloud, NE

A good riding day, but had some difficulties.  I don’t know why, but I was really nervous about today.  I had heard it was going to be a long day (more than 100miles!), and that it would be hilly.  There were rumours swirling about headwinds and heat, and I was just nervous going into it.  I started out at a moderate pace, but definitely slower than my group (Dad, Harold and Len) because I wanted to save my energy.  At 40km we were graciously hosted by a church who gave us yummy baked goods and headed back out on the road.  I was OK over the next 70 km, we had been told that a relative of one of the riders was going to give us free ice cream, which pretty much kept me going.  I was pretty tired when we arrived at the restaurant, but the ice cream was very reviving and I felt great for the remaining 50+km.  About 8 km from Red Cloud, we saw an unfortunate black cloud brewing over the town and after deciding not to try and wait out the storm, rode into a pelting rainstorm for about 2km into camp.  It was a little stingy, but we made it into camp, soggy but fine.  Once we arrived, there was quite a bit of bad news.  Firstly, the rain had come unexpectedly, and all our gear was unpacked from the trailer and had gotten pretty soaked.  Secondly, two girls from our tour had a moderately bad crash and were being seen in ER.  Fortunately, my sleeping things were not that wet, and we are drying out the sleeping bags and mats for those whose things got really drenched.  And we are very grateful that there were no serious injuries for the two girls who crashed.  So, overall it was a challenging day, but a good one.  Tomorrow we have a 120km day to round out the week!

Tailwind tailwind tailwind!

Day 25 Colby, KS to Norton, KS
Distance 117
Saddle time 4:04
Avg speed 28.9
Max speed 47.9
Total ascent 241
Total descent 462

Drafting the motorcycle

Such a great day!  Slightly downhill the whole way and a strong tailwind made for my fastest metric century ever in 3:22:17!!  Definitely a fun time.  Got to draft behind Billy D (our motocycle SAG) for a bit and then when we turned into the headwind to get to our campsite, along came my mom to draft behind!  Truly excellent timing!  Tomorrow is our second full century of the tour, so hoping for continued tailwinds!

Internet again after a 3 day drought!

Day 22 Colorado Springs, CO to Limon, CO
Distance 123 km
Saddle time 5:06
Avg speed 24.1
Max speed 49.3
Total ascent 611m
Total descent 847m

When we left Colorado Springs today, we heard there was a chance of rain.  However, since they have had a drought here for many months (? Years?) I guess I didn’t really take the warning seriously.  I had a jersey and solar sleeves on, and at the last minute threw my light wind jacket into my handlebar bag.  At about 15 km, it started to rain.  It was soooo cold.  Around 25 km, Shannon pointed out a donut shop and she, Kaitlyn and I dripped our way in and huddled up with hot chocolate and apple fritters.  When we headed back out again it was so freezing I didn’t know if I was going to be able to keep going.  Fortunately, after pedaling a bit, I was a bit warmer.  One of the Sea to Sea vans pulled up and Malori was in it, having gotten SAGged out because she wasn’t feeling well, and she leant me another pair of sleeves, some knee high leg warmers and a head band.  Seriously ride savers – definitely saved the ride for today!  Much warmer, we continued on until, unfortunately, Kaitlyn’s rear shifter cable broke.  Fortunately, Peter rode along and was able to adjust it so that she could at least continue riding.  It was a hard ride into camp with a headwind (and another break for bacon and eggs!) but fortunately the rain let up and it got a bit warmer so it was a bit easier.  I’m on sweep team tonight, which means I have to help set up/clean up supper and breakfast so back to the grind!

Day 23 Limon, CO to Burlington, CO

Distance 126
Saddle time 5:14
Average speed 24.1
Max speed 41
Elevation change not recorded due to Garmin error

We had a pretty good start to the day.  I was on the sweep team, which means I had to help clean up from breakfast/make sure the trucks are packed and today, wait for the last riders to leave camp as the support vehicle which usually does sweep was not available.  So, we didn’t get out until about 7:35.  The first 75km or so was along I-70, which had a nice wide shoulder and was (relatively) smooth and debris free.  We had a bit of a crosswind, but we were also mostly on a gradual downhill, so it wasn’t too bad.  After we got off the interstate, we had a pretty strong cross/headwind that got pretty frustrating by the last 25 km or so, but we did ultimately make it and had some ice cream as a reward for our wind-fighting before heading into camp.  I hope we don’t have too much wind over the next few weeks, although I have a feeling these are going to be difficulty cycling weeks due to the cross/headwind possibilities.  Le sigh….

Day 24 Burlington, CO to Colby, KS
Distance 109km
Time 4:19
Avg speed 25.5km/h
Max speed 40ish(Garmin buggy again today)
Total ascent: 200ish m
Total descent 500ish m

A great day!  All that foreboding yesterday was for nothing!   We had  a beautiful, mostly flat or slightly downhill, fast day with a moderate crosswind but overall great riding.  I rode with Kaitlyn and Shannon and we had an excellent day with lots of good conversation, a fast pace line, lots of giggling and overall excellent riding!   If the rest of the week shapes up like today, it should be pretty sweet, but I guess I’m learning each day is different and there’s no way to predict exactly how things are going to go!  My bike is working well and I’m having a great time!!

2 more days of riding!

Day 19 Poncho Springs, CO to Canon City, CO

Distance 103
Saddle Time 3:35
Avg speed 28.3
Max speed 64.4
Total ascent 428
Total descent 982
My magnet slipped on my spokes today so some of these stats might be slightly off (I’ve estimated using the #s I had and the numbers from a friend’s computer).

I feel like twice a week I’ll say, “This is my favourite day so far.”  But, THIS was definitely my favourite day so far!  So many things happened!  When we started out, we took an alternate route from the highway so that we could go through Salida – a gorgeous mountain town.  We sort of toodled around the downtown and hung out by the river before heading out towards Canon City.  What a beautiful route!!!  The first 80 km were an amazing downhill (1-3% grade) winding along a river through an absolutely stunning canyon.  Every time we rounded a curve, I felt like my jaw dropped with the beauty of it!  At about 50 km, there was a little town where we stopped for bacon/eggs/tea.  A most excellent mid-morning snack.  I initially was riding with Alexa, Malori, Katie, Wayne and Eric, but after our stop, Katie and I sort of took off.  It was hard to ride anything except flat out on this amazing, windy downhill.  It just compelled you to go FAST!! Katie and I are really well matched as riders.  She’s slightly faster than me (which I like in a riding buddy – the better to push you with) and we have similar styles.  It was a super fun riding day.  As we reached the top of our climb for the day (a 8 km hill that started out at 6-7% for 3-4 km before flattening into 1-2%), we saw a sign for a river rafting company that said “walk-in’s welcome.”  We had seen lots of rafting groups on the river as we cycled and it was only 1130, so Katie said, “Do you want to check it out?” 

We went in and found out they could accommodate some of us for a rafting trip at 130, so we busted it for the last 15 km, got to camp, found a ride back up to the rafting shop (thanks, Mom!!!), and rounded up 5 other riders (there were 7 spots in the van total).  We had an amazing afternoon rafting Class 3 and 4 rapids down the Royal Gorge (on the Arkansas river).  What a total blast.  My abs hurt both from paddling and from giggling.  Tomorrow is not too many km (I think about 90), but pretty hilly, but I feel good about one last climbing day before our amazing downhill week that starts on Monday!

Day 20 Canon City, CO to Colorado Springs, CO

Distance 81 km
Saddle time 3:34
Avg speed 22.6
Max speed 64.4
Total ascent 883m
Total descent 555m

Another great day riding.  It’s crazy to think that 3 weeks are already gone and we are a third of the way!  It was a climby day today – lots of uphill, and I was with 2 faster riders, but they were very patient with me and waited at the tops of the hills, so it was great!  Once in Colorado Springs, I dropped the bike at the bike shop to get the free hub assembly replaced on my wheel and then bummed around camp, had a nap and am hoping to do some laundry – should be a pretty wild Saturday night! J

NEW MAX SPEED!!!

Day 18 Alamosa, CO to Poncha Springs, CO

Computer screwed up, but these stats are very close to accurate

Distance 128
Time 5:15
Avg speed 25 km/h
Max speed My computer reached 78.7km/h and I was still accelerating by that time, so I know I hit over 80km/h (which was my goal for the trip!)
Climbing approx. 500m up and approx. 500m down

Atop the pass!

Great riding day today.  The first 80 km or so were just a straight, flat road between mountain ranges, but we had a nice pace line going.  Part way through the ride, I really started feeling like I was having trouble keeping up, which was frustrating, but then I realized it’s because my back tire was soft – I picked up a thorn = my first flat of the trip.  Then we had a nice, gradual uphill over 25 km (1-4%) which was well rewarded with a 10km descent that was SUPER fast.  I hit 78.7km/h on my computer and was still accelerating, but the computer stopped working, so I’m pretty sure that I hit 80 (which was my goal for the trip), but I don’t have solid proof. To me, it counts!  Right at the bottom of the hill was a small convenience store/bar with $2 draft beer where we all celebrated our successful descent.  A great, fun day in camp wrapped things up and now I’m ready to hit the hay!!

Back in the saddle!

Day 17 Chama, NM to Alamosa, CO
Distance 125 km
Saddle time 5:38
Avg speed 22.1
Max speed 64.5
Total ascent 960m
Total descent 1015m

Made it to Colorado!

A pretty good day.  I had a great sleep last night, but was still not feeling amazing when I woke up.  I choked down some toast with jam and headed out with my Dad, Len, Terry and Harold.  The first bit of the ride was pretty flat, but quickly became a good climb with grades between 5-7% for about 20 km.  We got to the first SAG and I was feeling pretty awful.  We had taken lots of breaks on the climb (almost every km at one point), but I was feeling sick and nauseous.  I lay in the back of the van for 5-10min and felt a bit better, so decided to carry on.  Right away after the SAG was the steepest climb of the day (up to 9% for 2km), but this was followed by a beauty downhill for 4-5km before the last 5 km ascent of the day.  And…..I made it!!!  Once we were at the top, it was a smooth sailing day, mostly descending or riding on the flat in a fast paceline.  Super fun!  I’m still not totally 100%, but keep improving and am excited about tomorrow!



Made it up the climb!

The view was super worth it!!

Ups and Downs on the Road

Day 15 Shiprock, NM to Turley, NM
Mileage 89.5km
Saddle time 3:38
Avg speed 24.6
Max speed 60.6
Total ascent 616
Total descent 393

Day 16 Turley, NM to Chama, NM

Was supposed to be 141km, but I rode only 36km due to illness
Saddle time 1:53
Avg speed 19
Max speed 54.1
Total ascent 374
Total descent 148

 

Well, it was a great day followed by a bit of a disappointing day!  Monday we left Shiprock on a mildly hilly route to Turley, NM, where we got to stay at a beautiful winery!  The scenery was absolutely stunning and we got to take wine tours and have wine tastings – lovely! 

Tough life at the winery

By that evening, though (and unrelated to the wine), my stomach was not doing so hot and I spent a long, sleepless and sick night before deciding not to ride on Day 16.  I was hoping I would maybe start to feel better, so I packed all my cycling clothes in the SAG (Support and Gear truck - with my mom), put my bike on the roof and slept for 2 hours.  By the time the cyclists started pulling into the SAG, I was so anxious to join them.  I was still not feeling very well, and had only eaten a tiny bit, but I thought I would be REALLY disappointed (as a opposed to only PRETTY disappointed) if I didn’t even try to ride.  So, I suited up and headed out with my Dad, Len and Harold. 

 

Gorgeous views during my short attempt at riding today!

The first 20 km, I was feeling OK, but I wasn’t really able to eat anything (only a quarter of a sandwich – not really enough calories for a long distance cycling day!), so by the next SAG  (36km total riding) I was ready to pack it in.  I curled up in the back seat and slept another hour.  When I woke up, I overheard another cyclist say they thought the next 12 miles were downhill (it was an intensely hilly day with a LOT of mileage and my hat goes off to all who completed even stretches of the ride!!), and I thought, “Oh!  Downhill, maybe I could do that!!”  However, they had already packed my bike on a different SAG and that was probably for the best.  While I’m not too sick anymore, I have not been able to eat anything else this afternoon and am currently lying in my tent, considering having some plain rice for supper.  I’m really hoping to be well enough to ride tomorrow – the scenery here is BEAUTIFUL and it is definitely not the same seeing it from a car.  Additionally, I think there is a real sense of camaraderie built among the riders who were able to ride today, and frankly, I’m a bit jealous (what is the tenth commandment?  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s epic climbing day??).  But, I think I made the right choice for today and will play it by ear from here!

Seeing God on the Road

Yesterday (Saturday) was so amazing, I thought it deserved it's own blog post!

Day 13 Rehoboth, NM to Shiprock, NM

Distance 161 km (CENTURY!)
Time in saddle 5:56 (a significant improvement from my previous century at 7:08)
Average speed 27 kph
Max speed 70.9 kph
Ascent 795
Descent 1286

Total distance so far: 5479

 

Amazing day today!  First 90km were smooth sailing.  Fast riding and downhill meant for a really fun morning.  I originally was planning to aim for a goal of less than 6.5 hrs for the century, but when I saw how fast the first 80 km went, I decided to aim for less than 6 hrs and split from my riding group with one other girl to see if we could make that goal.  10km later and we had picked up another rider (Harold, a pastor-slash-bike-mechanic who had previously fixed a wheel problem I had) who had gotten dropped from his group.  At 90 km, I was shifting as per usual when my right shifter lever felt funny and definitely went too far.  The next thing I knew, I was holding the lever in my hand.  Oh.  No.  Fortunately, my rear derailleur had ended up sort of in a  middle gear and I could still shift between the two front chain rings.  As the day was mostly downhill and I had 2 gears now (quite hard and medium hard), we kept riding.  We got a headwind, which I initially really struggled with as I couldn’t downshift to accommodate for the wind resistance, so Harold and Alexa (my riding buddy) generously pulled me for the next many kms.  We picked up another puller (Katie) and between the 3 of them, I made it to Shiprock with slightly sore knees from riding up a few rolling hills in a much higher gear than I would have preferred.  At the last SAG stop, I borrowed a phone and called the bike shop in Farmington (the next town over from Shiprock – about 30miles east) as there is no bike shop in Shiprock.  I explained  to the mechanic what the issue was and he said he thought he might be able to pull shifters off another bike but to call when I arrived in Shiprock.  I asked Deb (more on Deb later) if she would be willing to drive me to Farmington to the bike shop and she agreed.  After we finished our century (in less than 6 hrs!!!), Deb, Karel (who had broken a spoke) and I headed off to Farmington.

The mechanic was waiting for me at the shop, new floor model bike in stand, ready to pull the shifters off this brand new bike and put them on mine.  He changed the shifters out, repaired my bar tape (which had been shoddily done by the shop in Medicine Hat) and, as a bonus, cleaned my chain and rear cassette with an ultrasonic cleaner (not sure what exactly that means, but when I saw it, I thought he had put a new chain on!).  He also had some advice re: the previously mentioned wheel issue I was having.  When I went to pay, he charged me only the wholesale cost of the shifters and NOTHING for labour!!!!!  A serious discount!  I gave him a Sea to Sea card and he offered to post the info on their shop FB page in order to solicit donations.  Truly amazing!!!  It was an incredible experience of both God’s provision in general as well as a peek at some God characteristics through the people I was with today (the servant spirit of those who helped to pull me through the day, the amazing kindness of the shop owner).  It was an amazing glimpse of God’s glory!

Now, about Deb.  Deb and Mark are a couple who joined the tour just  for this week and Mark only rode part of the day on 3 days.  Mark was diagnosed with liposarcoma of the leg in Nov or Dec of last year, spent Feb having radiation therapy and then had surgery this spring to resect the tumour.  They removed a 3.5 lb tumour the size of a football from his right thigh, which was complicated by the fact that the tumour was wrapped around the sciatic nerve and associated vascular structures.  Mark was initially told he needed to have his leg amputated, but he signed up for Sea to Sea anyway.  Eventually, the surgeons decided he didn`t need amputation, but because of the location of the tumour, there was no guarantee that he would have good leg function post op (in case of damage to the sciatic nerve or the blood vessels).  He was still planning to do Sea to Sea even though he had no idea what his operative outcome would be.  We was only discharged from hospital 8 weeks before riding.  He started riding a trainer at his house post op and was up to 45 min at a time when he developed severe lymphedema of the leg, prohibiting activity.  Still, he planned to do Sea to Sea.  After intense physio and compression therapy, he received the green light to go ahead and ride short distances (he rode a total of 60 miles this week).  He was especially fun to ride with today as he grew up in the area we were riding through, including one of the Navajo communities and Shiprock itself!  Deb is his wife, who told me a lot of the story while cheerfully driving 45 min out of her way to Farmington bike shop.  She was an absolute delight and the joy that comes from that woman is absolutely contagious.  I was amazingly inspired by their story of faith and providence. 

So, all in all, I`m pretty fired up right now!  An awesome day riding, a look at God`s heart, an experience of providence and an inspirational story of faith:  bring on the climbing in Colorado, Sea to Sea!!!!

Actually the worst blogger ever.

OK, I haven't written any blog posts since we started and I'm sorry about that.  The internet is not always the best and there are often things I'd rather be doing than blogging, but I've had a few emails requesting that I update, so here we go and I'll try to update weekly for the rest of the summer.  I do post pics on facebook with our riding stats almost every day, so that's probably a better way to follow me.

Here's the summery of the riding so far!

Day 1: Orange County to Redlands CA

Distance 113 km
Saddle time: 5:04
Avg speed:  22.4
Max speed: 61.9
Total ascent: 717m
Total descent 342m

Rode OC to Redlands with Sara, Laura, Karyn and Zach (aka Zach’s Angels).  Pretty good day.  Had to stop for Mark who had fallen and broken his ankle.  Nasty looking #, but not much to do aside from waiting for the ambulance.  Last 20km were hard, but formed a pretty fun/fast paceline which helped things go a bit quicker, which was definitely nice.

Total mileage so far: 4538

 Day 2: Redlands, CA to Coachella, CA

Distance 128
Saddle time: 5:11ISH
Avg speed: 24ish
Max speed 58.2
Ascent: about 700m
Descent about 900m

Difficult day.  Started with lots of climbing, then beautiful downhill stretch with tailwind – super fast and fun, but then hot and got a bit lost.  Dad was sweep team  - didn’t arrive until 615 so went out with mom to cheer for him.  Hot as Hades out there!!!!

Day 3 Coachella, CA to Desert Centre, CA

Distance: 99.7
Saddle time: 4:19
Avg speed:23.1
Max speed: 46.2
Ascent: 648m
Descent: 389m
 
Excellent day.  A quick 30 km to the first SAG, then a 30 km climb (3% grade).  I couldn`t keep up with Zach`s Angels, but George Vanderkuur rode with me and we caught them at the next SAG.  Delicious ice cream and then a fast 35 km into Desert Centre.  SOOOO NICE!!!  Hope there are more days like this one!!
 

Day 4 Desert Center to Quartzite, AZ

Mileage: 120km
Saddle time: 5:11
Average speed: 22.8
Max speed: 50ish
Elevation gain: About 500m

Really great day.  Rode with Dad and Len all day (Team “Weigh More”) but Karyn and Sara joined us by the end.  Hot as anything, but we were really well supported all day.  Big climb at the end, but felt good and it went well!

 Day 5, 6, 7, 8

Tour suspended due to extreme heat in Arizona.  Highs above 45 C.  Really disappointed, and worried that I won’t get to make my 10,000km, but I think it will be OK.  We’re going to try and add some kms in Payson so that we make up some of the missed miles and climbing.  I think a lot of people are disappointed, but it’s unbelievably hot here, and it’s probably best that we’re not riding.  It was so hot in Phoenix that we could barely be outside for 30 min!!!

 

Day 8

Just a fun ride today to the river to swim and have a picnic.  Really enjoyable!  Had some great climbing (I’m slow, but I’m learning to love the climbs).  Had a nice coffee with mom and then skyped Philip, so that was all really nice.  Then rode another 10 km after supper (wanted to do 50km total today) and cleaned my chain etc.  Feeling good and excited to ride tomorrow (3000ft climb onto the Rim in Arizona.  Such a gorgeous area.  Will be riding with my dad and Len because I’m a slower climber than the rest of Zach’s angels and it’s better if I ride with a different group on climbing days!

Distance 50.4

Saddle time 2:34
Avg speed: 19.5 (it was alllll climbing today!)
Max speed 60.7
Total ascent 656m
Total descent 660m

Total mileage: 4936

Day 9 Payson, AZ to Heber, AZ

Distance 88.7
Saddle time 4:22
Avg speed 20.3
Max speed 65.0
Total ascent 1296m
Total descent 837 m

Great riding day!  Long climb (8 km at a 6% grade), but felt great while climbing and had a really good time riding with my dad and Len.  On the descent, started getting a weird squealing from my bike and would get unstable/shaky/vibrations through the bike – SCARY!  Len figured it was the bearings under the cassette and figured out that if I kept my pedals turning, then it wouldn’t happen, so I made it into camp OK.  Harold spent a long time working on my bike (thank GOD for him!!!) and now it seems to be working OK (Took it out for a few km to try it out).  Probably will need to pick up a new rear wheel as a backup, but should get through the next day or so, I hope!!!  Some gorgeous vistas today for sure!!!

 

Day 10:Heber, AZ to St. John’s AZ

Distance 128
Saddle time 4:56
Avg speed 25.9
Max speed 54.3
Total ascent 840m
Total descent 1038m
 
Another great day.  My bike seems to be fixed (Harold spent 2 hours working on it yesterday) and I had no trouble with it, even with tons of beautiful descents.  We stopped for coffee in Snowflake, which was a nice change of pace from last week in the desert, where we were all just pushing so hard to get in as early as possible.  It was great to get to have a break after riding only 50km. 

 

Day 11 Heber, AZ to Zuni, NM

Distance 89km
Saddle time 3:32
Avg speed 25
Rest of stats erased by accident.  Some climbing today.

Another great day!  Totally loving things!  We rode a pretty uphill route with a great group (Zach’s Angels and Top Gun combined for a day!).  Nice and fast considering the uphill.  Chilling in Zuni.  We were woken this morning by a cannon (!) at 5am because apparently this is a tradition in St. John on Independence Day!  Crazy!!!

Day 12 Zuni, NM to Rehoboth, NM

Distance 75.6
Saddle time 3:18
Avg speed 22.8
Max speed 54.6
Total ascent 725 m
 
An adventurous day!  Short ride, but lots happened.  Hit a horrid patch of gravel and skidded like crazy and was sure I was going down, and almost collided with two different people (Brandon and Karel).  Definitely felt God’s hand of protection!  Brandon’s spoke broke and after many adventures, he got a new spoke AND a new back wheel!!  Amazing!