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!