exploring corners

Soaking up the last of the summer sun and rain.

2007-08-19T00:05:00.002-04:00

I wanted to apologize for such the long delay for the last of the Big Ride installments! We got home late, late, late on Monday night, and I spent all day Tuesday sleeping and relaxing with my family. The very next morning my parents and I headed up north to a little cabin on Thunder Lake where I got crappy cell phone coverage and even worse internet access, so I didn't get a chance to publish the last of the ride entries. Thanks for all of the support and patience!

The day after.

2007-08-19T00:05:00.001-04:00

We got enough relaxation in yesterday afternoon and evening that we were ready to go out and see a little of our nation’s capital last night. It was dark when we headed out to see the Washington Monument, which was a truly impressive sight to see it all lit up and mirrored in the reflecting pool. Directly across from it sits the Lincoln memorial, which was also striking at night when it is all lit up against the dark sky. From here we wandered over to the Vietnam Memorial, which was truly an extraordinary monument. Our whole trip I had barely given any thought to what we could see or do in Washington, and honestly I was surprised at how much I enjoyed visiting the monuments. It was truly amazing to look at the Washington Memorial and realize how clever it was to see the perfect reflection in the pool, or how grandly the Lincoln memorial stood with its pillars and larger than life marble statue of Lincoln. The most impressive, most well-thought-out and moving memorial was the Vietnam Memorial with its black granite that you can see your reflection in, the names listed in order of the date of casualty, the form it took as the two walls come together in a point, how you can trace those names onto paper you can take home with you.

I think that both of us slept better than we had in a while last night. Ane’s mom had mentioned that it sounded like a party was going on in the hallways in the middle of the night, but neither Ane or I woke up to it we slept so soundly on our real beds with fluffy pillows. At breakfast we ran into several Big Riders who were staying at the hotel, and it was nice to be able say hello to Marty and give Andy one last Good Morning hug. We ate with Jody and Margo’s family, which was so nice to start the day with. Not to mention that I spilled coffee all over the table linens, that’s always a good way to start the day :)

With a few more final goodbyes, we packed up our bags in the room and took our bikes down to meet the boys. Ben and Sean just couldn’t stay away from us they had to drive all the way back into the city to meet us, what are we going to do without them? The four of us toured around the capital on our bikes, and we were rebels without our helmets and mirrors! It sure was strange to see Ben and Sean in clothes other than they’d had all summer, Sean even in a polo shirt, and cruising around on their bikes without helmets. It was the perfect way to see the rest of the monuments because we went almost nine miles, and we certainly wouldn’t have been up to walking that distance. We saw the Washington Monument again, the World War II memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the mall area, the Botanical Gardens, the Capitol Building, and of course the White House. My favorite by far was the Botanical Gardens. I could have spent hours and hours there, the plants and the flowers were so neat, and it was just so lush everywhere. Someday I’m going to have to come back and spend some real time here, when I have the energy, to spend more time at the gardens, and to really take the time to see the museums.

Chinatown offered us all kinds of options for lunch, and we ended up eating at some cheap tortilla place. Finally we returned to the hotel where Ane’s mom and brother had been so patiently waiting for us, fit our bikes onto the car rack, took our last group pictures, and gave our final hugs goodbye (which I’m sure was a humorous sight with Ben being 15 inches taller than me :). Yesterday was such a crazy day that I’m so glad they came to see us today for some proper farewells.

After about 6 hours of driving we’re staying the night in Zanesville, OH tonight. It’s dawning on me for real now that our journey is over and we’ve entering back into the real world. Driving home, all I can do is reflect on the trip, and I keep on picturing all of the people in my mind I may or may not ever see again. There are at least a handful of people that I certainly intend on visiting and keeping in contact with, but never again will we all be together again as a community. Ane made a thoughtful comment about how such grand adventures and traveling like this can leave you so unsatisfied with the real world and your normal life, and it’s definitely true because ever since I’ve started canoe tripping even I’ve always thirsted for seeing and doing more. But that’s all part of who I am, and this trip, this community that we’re all invested in now, the things that I’ve seen and learned on this ride are always going to be with me. It’s like the cliché saying that it’s better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. Thank you everyone for making it such a memorable summer. I’ve never laughed so much, so often, in my life.

Day 48 – Believe it or not, here we are.

2007-08-19T00:04:00.002-04:00

Holy moly—what a day. We packed up for the last time this morning, and had a typical truck breakfast for the last time. It was a beautiful morning and we really got to appreciate Maryland’s country roads in some good weather. I couldn’t have asked more a more graceful last ride together in the weather and the scenery, which included rolling pastoral farmlands with beautiful strips of sunflowers and trees that arched over the paved roads. We got to Kathy’s waterstop this morning well within the timeline we were given, and what a sweetheart she had starbucks coffee waiting for us in the absence of any other coffee stops.

We slowly made our way into busier areas and the outskirts of the DC area. The cue sheet directed us onto a bike path before we hit too busy of traffic, and I swear I have never in my life been on such a trafficked bike path. There were people everywhere biking, walking, or running, and for the first time all trip I felt like how cars must feel when they have to pass us cyclists in busy traffic as we swerved around recreationalists. Then boom! we exited the bike path and we were in the District of Columbia riding along the water and admiring the buildings in our nation’s capital. It was crazy. Poor Ben and Sean, we expected them as native Marylanders to be able to tell us what every building was.

Our cue sheets directed us right past the park around the Washington Memorial where our finish line would soon be, so that we could all meet up at a little Greek Restaurant for dinner. It was nuts because everyone’s families were already gathering around the park to meet us, and we ran into Ane and Sean’s families prematurely! Everyone was asking us where they were supposed to meet us, and of course we had no idea, and all we wanted to do was get to the restaurant so that we didn’t spoil the finish. There was a lot of excitement in the air, and probably one of the coolest parts was when we were stopped at a busy intersection, with a row of cars behind and all around us, and about ten cars back someone stood up out of their sunroof and called out, “Hey Big Riders! Welcome to D.C.!” It was a great feeling, and there was too much going on to really feel sad yet about our trip coming to an end. It was all too surreal.

We all parked our bikes outside of the Old Post Office, in the basement of which a former Big Rider had generously catered our last lunch together. It was fantastic Greek food, but I was too overwhelmed to really eat too much of it. There were a handful of former Big Riders there from last year who kindly offered us their services by taking ALL of our cameras for one last group photo on the steps of the building.

Everything was going by so quickly and before we knew it we were lined up to ride to the finish. We rode in twos, threes, and fours, two minutes apart so that friends and family could be sure to get good pictures of us coming across the finish line. Ane and I rode together, of course, followed immediately by Ben, Sean, and Micheal Yee. It was more confusing than we’d expected to make our way to the finish line, weaving around pedestrians on the park sidewalks and trying to follow the Dan Henrys. Finally we saw all of the people and the finish, and Ane and I decided to hold hands as we came through. Well as it turned out after 48 days of riding we’re still not coordinated enough to do that, and we both swerved off the sidewalk right before the finish. What a classic finale for us. We made it safely across the finish line which was thronged with cheering family members and hopped off the bike for hugs from Ane’s Mom. I called my own mom, and then we were swept away in the excitement for a while everyone else was finishing.

A representative from the national American Lung Association office offered some words of congratulations and of thanks for our efforts during a brief ceremony during which Pollie offered us certificates of completion. Eventually we made our way over to the hotel and unloaded the truck for the very last time as a group. It was such a strange feeling saying goodbye to everyone, because it was hard to recognize that I was actually saying goodbye. How do you spend 48 days with a exclusively with this same group of people, form these relationships and develop such a solid community, and then suddenly have to say goodbye?

Back in the hotel room, Ane and I have just been absolutely spoiled by her mom. When we started to discuss dinner options, it was quite apparent that Ane and I were just not up for any real decision making. Even though we only rode about fifty miles today, it was just an exhausting day. After a showers and a nap on the hotel beds, we decided that getting delivery was much more conducive to our energy and emotional capabilities. We had some Thai delivery and then Ane’s mom went out specially for us to pick up dessert from TGI Friday’s. She let us just relax and even gave us foot massages. It was just perfect.

Day 47 – Dessert anyone?

2007-08-19T00:04:00.001-04:00

For the longest time last night we debated, should we sleep inside the lighted school hallways or should we risk sleeping outside under the stars when it might rain? Finally we decided to walk around and sleep under the school’s covered entranceway, which was a great decision. Our slumber party was two bigger last night when Andy and David Lambert joined us, and we enjoyed watching a brief rain before we fell asleep safe and dry against the building. This morning was our first ever $5 morning, which was fantastic because it was a short day and we rode back into town to find a good little dinner. We found a little place called Ernie’s which gave us just what we wanted for a good start to the day, and we took our time eating and drinking coffee. That was the name of the game today: enjoy the company and the stops.

Before long we were off and leaving Gettysburg behind us. We took some great pictures of our first “restroom” stop along a beautiful strip of sunflowers lining the road, and then we almost passed right by the marker for the Maryland border. After some more pictures we made our way to Kathy’s waterstop, where we decided we could really spend some time off the bike again. We laid our bikes down and headed straight over to the shade of some trees to lay down and nap in. It was glorious, with a waterbottle as a pillow I could have laid there all day napping.

Finally we dragged ourselves onward, and we decided it was lunchtime when we hit Frederick, MD. It was such a cute little town, and honestly it reminded me a lot of the city I lived in in the Netherlands with the brick sidewalks that went right up to the brick buildings and homes. Recommended by a local, we walked into the Orchard for lunch, which was a vegetarian’s dream. I had the best salad that I’ve probably ever had in my life there, so much so that I took a picture of it: organic mixed greens, shredded carrots, sprouts, hummus, avocado, and sesame tofu. Mmm mmm.

We finally made it into the campground tonight just as the first shuttle was leaving for dinner at Applebee’s. I had a quick rinse-off in the shower before it came back, and we were shuttled off to Applebee’s for our last dinner together. The ALAW generously covered the tab for whatever we wanted to order, minus alcoholic drinks. I had a totally un-filling salad, and decided I was definitely going to need dessert. I was sitting next to Tom, who had already had a huge meal and one dessert, but was still hungry, so we decided to each order different desserts and we’d split them. We did, and then ordered Scott’s dessert and ate most of it, and claimed someone else’s unclaimed dessert, and before long we had eaten some of each of the five desserts that Applebee’s offers. It was fantastic.

As our last night in camp, we had some organized ceremonies, which included a mock-marriage between Margo and Adam, an awarding of distinguished titles for most inspiring rider and other such appropriate and less appropriate honors, and a final farewell songs written and preformed by fellow riders. We laughed so hard, and it was a good way to spend our last night together.

Day 46 – Chillin’ at the Laundromat.

2007-08-19T00:03:00.003-04:00

It’s unbelievable that today was our very last rest day, what a sad realization. We had a good day today despite that strange prospect settling in over the community that our journey is coming to an end. I woke up early this morning on the wet grass next to Ben and Sean, and wandered inside to find Ane stirring. She was feeling better than she had last night, and we gathered up our things to walk into town with Bob Dumke for some coffee at The Spot. The coffee was not so good, but we met a very interesting guy not too older than ourselves who was also from Minnesota, and what’s more, had walked all of the way from Minnesota to Gettysburg. Unbelievable. He said that pretty much he woke up one morning and God told him to leave his cell phone, money, and watch at home and to start walking and He will provide. Thus far he had had three meals a day, over $600 in donations, and a place to sleep every night. The generosity of people across this country never ceases to amaze me.

From coffee we made our way over to the Lincoln Cafe for some real breakfast, laundry in tow in hopes that someone could direct us to a laundromat. By this time the boys were up and they met us there for some good greasy breakfast. We hit up the library for some internet access on the way back through town to the laundromat, and threw our clothes in just as a good thunderstorm began to hit. Our clothes had been in just long enough to get good and sudsy before the power was knocked out from the storm. Thus began our four and a half stay in the Gettysburg laundromat waiting for the power to go back on, passing time by playing cards, writing in journals, finding nearby places open to use restrooms and get food, napping, and taking pictures our now massive leg muscles. Honestly, you know you’re with good friends when you can pass 4 ½ hours in a laundromat and not even mind.

By the time we got back to the middle school, it was already approaching late afternoon and dinnertime. After bumming around for a while, vaguely doing some bike maintenance and taking showers, we started off with everyone towards the town center to meet Brack and Jeananne who were in town to meet us for dinner. They were looking good and it was so nice to see them. The hotel restaurant was super fancy and a little above our broke college student budget, so we hugged goodbye and wandered over to the pub for dinner again. We had a good time laying outside on the dirty ground waiting for our table and watching the sky for the impending rain. I had a delicious salad and sweet potato soup at dinner, which was just perfect. Back at the middle school, we’re just hanging out and enjoying each other’s company tonight knowing that the real challenging rides are over and from here on out we’ve just got to appreciate the time that we have.

Day 45 – A good kind of crazy.

2007-08-19T00:03:00.001-04:00

The cue sheet calls today Final Exam Day. I’m pretty sure that a whole third of the day was in my lowest gear, a third of the day was in my highest gear, and only about a third was somewhere in between. Up and down, up and down, up and down. My granny gears were getting tired they weren’t used to working so hard! But it was a good day. And BEAUTIFUL. Naturally, beautiful.

Right from the beginning our hills began, and my muscles were definitely beat up from yesterday. Ane got two flats by the first ten miles, and both made explosive booms like firecrackers. They were very impressive. After some very healthy climbs, we arrived at our first waterstop identified on the cue sheet as at the MacDonalds. As it turned out, there was no waterstop there but we made it one with breakfast and coffee. From there we had some more hills, hills, and hills. They began as rolling hills through farmlands on country roads, passing barns and horses and small towns. It was hot from the beginning today, and we stopped at a gas station before the second stop to refill our waterbottles and admire the hunting supplies in the air conditioning.

Eventually we hit a state park which was a nice change of scenery to winding forest roads, still up and down hills of course. The forest reminded me of roads up in northern Minnesota except that we were surrounded by deciduous trees instead of the nothern pines. The floor of the forest was so green at some points that it looked like a fuzzy green sweater, whereas the northwoods have needles for groundcover. Not a mile too soon we found Pollie and Mark’s waterstop located at the park swimming beach. We sat there for a long time eating and relaxing. Yesterday was definitely the kind of day where we had little appetite, but we were hungry and our bodies were telling us that we needed to eat and eat and eat. Ane declared that it would be at least another year before she can eat another energy bar. Lately we’ve been really taking our time at waterstops, to the point that Pollie asked us how long our social hour would be today.

The next twenty-five miles were brutally hot and humid. We made our way out of the park and onto more country roads. Even Ane, who is rarely affected by the heat, was getting just drained. By the time we made it to Kathy’s stop we were just about dying. Some M&M’s, kiwi strawberry slush puppies, and more energy bars really helped to get some energy into us. We were so far into the mileage, but we knew that we had a monster hill in front of us before we could descend into Gettysburg. Riding in anticipation, we ascended gradually and mentally prepared for a huge hill in front of us, until before we knew it we were descending. It was a little anticlimactic that the hill turned out to be nothing compared to the morning’s climbs, but we were certainly welcome to the long descent.

We rode our way through the old brick buildings of the town and arrived to a warm welcome at the Gettysburg Middle School from Bob Jone’s workplace. The ladies from his firm brought us all yummy, yummy baked goods and coolers of cold drinks, it was so sweet. We went out to a late dinner at a local pub, which had delicious food. Ane was suffering from some heat exhaustion, and we retreated to camp for some R&R. What a hard, long, fun, satisfying day. It seems so absurd to put those four words together to describe the same thing, but they all fit. It’s so crazy here what we’re doing, what we’re almost finished accomplishing. Ben and I were talking about how it’s crazy to love this so much, to love the burn climbing long hills or the challenge of 100+ miles in one day. But it’s a good kind of crazy.

Day 44 – Breathing and drops of sweat.

2007-08-19T00:02:00.003-04:00

Today was such a fun day, and the first day in what seems like a while that it didn’t rain. We had two choices this morning: (1) ride 30 more miles on the flat bike path, or (2) ride 26 miles on a road that went straight up and down the whole way. Honestly, my bike hated me enough as it was from the path yesterday, and I hated the grit in all of my clothes from the bike path yesterday, that it wasn’t a hard decision for me to make in favor of the road. Climbing didn’t scare me—we’d had enough easy days that I figured I could use the challenge before the end of the trip. There were only six of us who chose the road, and I climbed with Sean and Kari the whole way. I guess I didn’t know before what a long and steep climb really meant, or felt like, but I learned today. We had a few healthy climbs where we got down into our granny gears, and then we hit THE climb. All of the sudden I realized that I was in my lowest gear, my legs were barely moving the pedals, my breathing had increased exponentially, and my speedometer read about 3.5 mph. And it kept going and going. This was what a long and steep climb meant I discovered. Strangely enough, I loved it. It burned, it hurt, I was tired, and it just kept going, but I loved it. It was the most satisfying thing in the world to see that top, to feel the release of resistance in the pedals, and to turn around and look at what we had just done, what I had just done. The best part was when we turned around and saw the sign for the gradient going down the hill we just climbed up: 14% for ½ mile. Pretty freaking sweet.

Our climbing wasn’t done yet, but eventually we hit the summit, which was the highest point in Pennsylvania: Mt. Davis. This was at mile marker 16.9, and Pollie and Mark met us there for a waterstop. They told us that they hadn’t expected us so soon, and it was incredible that when Steve was the first to arrive, what they heard before they actually saw him was the sound of his breathing and the sweat dropping down on the pavement. I was so sweaty from the climb and the humidity that literally it looked like I had just crawled out of the pool. After a photoshoot, a waterbottle refill, and some gnat swatting, we embarked on the descent. It was such a beautiful morning, and with breathtaking scenery. It reminded me a lot of Wisconsin as we rolled through farmlands, some Amish lands, rolling hills spotted with trees, and fog that made the distant hills look like layers of paper cut-outs. I am infinitely thankful that we chose the road today; it was hard and satisfying and beautiful. You can’t see much on the bike path, and it turned out to be somewhat boring drudgery for them to get through the unpaved path.

Around mile 26 we hooked onto the rest of the group on the cue sheet. We were riding along with Kari coming into town and it’s a good thing that there wasn’t any oncoming traffic because when Sean and I saw the sign for coffee we practically screeched into a sharp left turn for it. It was little local diner owned by some really sweet people who showed us pictures of previous cross-country riders who had come through. It was a nice surprise to see a handful of riders walk in who were among the first off of the bike path, because we were certain that after all of that climbing everyone on the bike path would have passed us. Not to mention that we were practically the last ones out this morning while Dave fixed my chain (again...pretty soon my chain won’t have any of the original links in it I swear).

We didn’t stop for too long, just enough to enjoy the coffee, and we were off again for more climbing and small towns. It was comforting knowing that since we had already hit the highest point in PA we wouldn’t have to climb any higher, and we enjoyed the weather, the views, the road, and the company of just Sean and I. It’s been a while since we’d found ourselves at the front of the pack, and we surprised to learn at Kathy’s stop that only Steve was ahead of us. Kathy’s waterstop was at the memorial for Flight 93, the plane that went down during the 9/11 attacks. It was a moving memorial because it was so unofficial. One huge gate had been erected and just covered with hats, flowers, poems, stuffed animals, pictures, and other such tokens of grief, sympathies, memories, and prayers. There were about a dozen plaques mounted alongside from various group and organizations, enough park benches to be labeled with each person who died in the crash, and a few other pieces of memorial that were contributed by various people.

Moving on from that site, we found ourselves on, surprise, more hills. I still have this image in my mind tonight of a long stretch of straight road ahead of us that just went up and down and up and down. At this point I was getting a little worn out, but I was doing alright, especially when we got to a sign that read: 9% grade for 6 miles. All downhill that was, and with spectacular views. I’ve decided that this is some of my favorite type of riding, and I’ll take this real climbs any day over smaller rollers. I like to just get down into the granny gears and then feel the satisfaction of the descent before I do it again. After some more climbing, some construction, and a torn-up stretch of road that hurt my hand and feet from the vibrations, we finally saw the Cannondale sign for its factory buildings. It was a welcome sight because we knew that our campground was immediately thereafter, and we rolled in to find only three other people there. We even beat the truck! Thankfully the campgrounds also had laundry, seeing as how most of us had loads of clothes reeking of mildew from all of the rain and no way to dry wet clothes in the humidity. The campground even gave his free ice cream, and Sean’s magically refilled itself after every bite as I scooped my too-huge portion into his cup.

After some rain, pizza, and salad with pickles (who does that?), we walked over to the Cannondale factory for a tour. It was super interesting to see the logistics of how these bikes that are taking us across the country are made, to see to the rows of unfinished frames lined up on the racks and shelves, to see the paint room where every machine was covered with intricate layers of different colors of dried paint, and then to see the room where they test the products and break everything with machines. It’s a shame we were so exhausted that it felt like it took eighteen hours because it was a really cool tour.

Day 43 – Grits for lunch.

2007-08-19T00:02:00.001-04:00

Last night we had quite the weather in our tent as we fell asleep to a nice mist on our faces as it rained. This morning was a wet, mildewy morning that we started off by singing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. Floyd surprised us with a strong verse even, and it was a nice silver lining to the morning. The first thirty miles went by in more or less of a blur, with scattered sprinkles and some small climbs. As we were coming down the hill for the first waterstop, Sean got a flat where he also went through a second tube when it was punctured by the tire iron. I’d never actually seen that happen, but now I know why I’ve always been warned about it.

After a little break at Mark’s stop we embarked on the bike path that would take us all of the fifty miles into camp for the night. I quickly discovered that there are a couple of definitions of what a bike path is, because it certainly was not the paved, smooth, black path that I am used to. Instead it was packed cinder, dirt, mud, and sand, which occasionally became as narrow as a footpath. It wound us through parks and woods alongside a river that we occasionally got peaks of. And then it rained. Myself and my bike were just caked with grit. Without a fender or rack on the back, I had one impressive streak running from where my shorts hit the saddle all the way up to the tip-top of my helmet of grit, sand, and dirt. I was the best of the worst, and had eight million pictures taken of me before I could take my helmet off. Somehow, miraculously we seemed to be the only ones who hit the rain and mud.

The checkpoint today that we came to today was along the bike path today was hosted by a former big rider named Fred and his wife Roseanne, and it was so, so sweet. They had birch beer, sandwiches, chips, fruit, cheese, and lots of pies for us. Thank goodness because we were starving and so thankful to get the nourishment.

We continued on to finish the bike path, went over some really fun bridges high over the river, and Ben conveniently got a flat at one of the best views of the river that we’d had so far. Camp is at a state park campground tonight, and unfortunately we weren’t able to find a laundromat open late enough for us to get the mildew out of our wet clothes (which is now mission number one when we get into camp tomorrow). We’re camped next to a dam, and we spent a lot of time just sitting by the water tonight.

Day 42 – You want to split it?

2007-08-19T00:01:00.002-04:00

I swear there’s not much better that falling asleep under the stars and waking up in the morning breeze. I love it. Today was another gloriously laid-back day. Most of the morning was off-set from the cue sheet because we stayed in a different city than was original and there was construction on top of that, so for a good chunk of the morning we had only Dan Henrys to go off of (“Dan Henrys” are markings that our staff makes on the actual road with chalk that tell us to go left, right or straight). It was kind of nice to relinquish directional responsibility for a while, and only have the road to pay attention to. The sky was threatening rain all morning, and we decided to stop at Tim Horton’s for a second breakfast and coffee while we were still dry. I made sure to get a good picture of my three donut holes I bought next to Ben’s three large frosting-filled donuts.

Pennsylvania marked state number something-or-another today, and the scenery was rich with green, hills and valleys, rocky streams, and offered us some good mild climbs to prepare us for the mountains coming up. As we were coming into a little Pennsylvanian town, we hit Kathy’s stop. She warned us not to take pictures of the nuclear power plant we could already see on the outskirts of town coming up, because a policeman specifically stopped to inform her any photographs of it would be confiscated. National security issue apparently. It’s too bad because I have never been so close to such a plant. We crossed a bridge and rode so close to one of the three structures that we heard the roaring water and could see it pour down the sides of the huge formation. I have huge trepidations about using nuclear plants for energy, but honestly the things were so massive and downright remarkable to see up close.

My chain broke for the second time today, well it would have if it wasn’t caught in time, and luckily Dave was within reach to offer me a master pin to fix it. Luckily for Sean he pulled on his garbage bag raincoat just before the rain hit, and it’s too bad for the rain because I didn’t get a picture. We were soaking and cold when we saw a little diner flanked by bikes on every wall. I love how obvious it is to find where the Big Riders are. I had a grilled cheese and watched Ben and Sean scarf down ¾ pound burgers and then claim they were still hungry. Ane and I ordered a brownie-sundae type desert to split, and then ordered another one to split when we decided it wasn’t enough. If that’s not classic Ane and I style I don’t know what is, but it’s always better to split things. The cook and the staff were so great here, and they even gave Ane and I free tee-shirts. The generosity we’ve received across the country continues to blow my mind.

When we go into camp today it was still raining. We’ve been making it our style to be among the last to ride into camp, and by the time we go there everyone was huddled up around a campfire and under some tents covering some picnic tables. Except Jody that is, who snuggled up right under the gear truck with her thermarest and sleeping bag all rolled out between the wheels and her wet clothes hanging up along the underbelly. Ben and I figured we were already soaking so we stretched out on the grass and enjoyed the feeling of the rain coming down. For all of the camping and canoeing I’ve done in my life, I’d never done that before. As I was laying there with my eyes closed, I had the image in my head of what a calm lake looks like in the rain: all of the drops identified by the co centric ripples radiating outward and creating the intricate pattern and texture as they bounce off other ripples. That’s what I felt like, the surface of the water that is, because I could feel each chilly drop hit me. It was an awesome sensation, until I got cold.

The rain let up enough for us to put up the tents and shove our stuff it before it got wet, if was even still dry. I am very lucky to have so many dry bags I am using from canoe trips because many people’s things were soaked from sitting under the tarps. Hopefully soon enough we’ll find us some washers and dryers, and until then we’ll made the best of our mildewy smells.

Day 41 – The day ends as the day begins?

2007-08-19T00:01:00.001-04:00

Today was one of our shortest mileages and longest time out on the road—and it was awesome. We stretched the day as long as we could. The morning began at Cogan’s restaurant for breakfast, which was wonderful because we were allowed to order whatever we wanted and it was a nice time for us all to gather together after the rest day. Our little foursome was one of the last ones out of the restaurant, getting a fantastically pokey start to our 50 mile day, and to prolong our morning further, Ane had a flat outside of the restaurant. This town of Burton sure has some witty locals who made us chuckle because at least 3 people offered us advice such as, “You know, if you had nicer bikes maybe you wouldn’t have to change that flat,” or “You know what they say: the day ends as the day begins.” Well thanks!

Ane and I had the honor of wearing Brack and Jean Anne’s McGowen Institute jerseys today. They were plenty large on us, so of course for our photo shoots we had some 80’s flair thrown in with the tie on the side and the side ponytails. By the time we got to Kathy’s waterstop, we decided that it was far too early in the day for the scant number of miles left. I took a wonderful nap alongside Ben, and then we wandered over the War Vet Museum across the street. Aside from providing the only restroom in the area, it was fascinating. Located in an old home used during the Civil War, it was owned an operated by a family, was free to the public, and covered every war from the Revolutionary War on up. It was complete with an intricate model train in the basement, a diorama-style reenactment of the Battle of Gettysburg, and each of the four floors were packed with thousands of artifacts that were all donated.

Eventually we continued on into camp, and finally made it in after a stop at Taco Bell and a brief stop for Michael Yee’s broken spoke. It was after five by the time we got in, and even if we hadn’t had all of the fun we did today, our pokiness was well worth the effort by the look of sheer disbelief on Scott’s face that we were just then pulling into camp on a 60 mile day.

Camp is a decent campground tonight, with a nice picnic area and plenty of tent space. After dinner catered by Boston Market and a Rider’s meeting, I found myself relaxing on our thermarests hanging out. That combined with some Ane and Liz time, was the perfectly lazy ending to a lazy day.

Day 40 – Small town R & R.

2007-08-19T00:00:00.000-04:00

I’ll admit that a lot of us were apprehensive about what Burton would have to offer us for a whole rest day, but it was truly a charming little town. It may not have had a bike shop or an exciting bustling city, but it was cute and welcoming. I spent the entire time with Joe, which was really nice. We stopped at most of the little restaurants and coffee shops throughout the day for meals, ice cream, and coffee. I was spoiled with his car because we were able to drive down to a little Amish store where I got some local maple syrup and a beautiful rug for Ane’s birthday, in her trademark favorite colors. I napped a lot today, and got some real rest in which was just what I needed.

Day 39 – Cleveland rocks.

2007-08-03T20:04:00.001-04:00

This morning the four of us wanted to get out early so that the other three could get to the Indians-Texans game at noon, and so that I could get into camp early for a special visitor. We set our clocks early, picked up some cue sheets early, and then were off a little after six this morning. Early. We made our way out of Sandusky, though it was a different landscape today than any other day because we never fully got out of towns today. One town bled into another, simply marked with city limit signs. Our eyes were open for coffee shops, and while looking for one we made our way out to a viewing point of Lake Erie. No coffee but a nice view. We finally found a little coffee shop, a strange little eclection of things there, and from the TV news Ane and I learned about the Minnesota bridge collapsing. What a sobering newscast. It’s much different to see such things on the news and in the papers about place that you know, and that you’ve been to.

Eventually we started to get into the Cleveland area. On our way in, riding on a street paralleling Lake Erie, we gaped and gasped at all of the new mansions built on the waterfront. Crazy, huge, monstrous things sitting next to random, small, older properties that had obviously been there for some time. For a while we had a nice bike lane, but soon enough were tossed onto busy shoulderless roads that were marred with potholes and bumps. The sights and city were enough to distract from the road though, and before we knew it we were in downtown Cleveland.

Our waterstop was at a Starbucks in the downtown area, and from here our group made a split. About ten people took off to find the baseball stadium, and I took off through the downtown area with Greg, Jay, Nick, and Bob Jones. It was crazy traffic, and a lot of very tricky turns. We passed by the Browns stadium, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and many other landmarks. It was exciting, but I’m so glad that we had group of us because I’m not used to city riding at all.

We finally made our way out from the heart of Cleveland, and Greg and I pulled out ahead to ride the last twenty miles together. It was so nice to ride with him as we gossiped and talked. It was his wife and his fortieth (!!!) anniversary, so I got to hear the story of how they met and other stories. It was so much fun. We wondered what the cue sheet meant by “busy and hilly” roads, and we sure found out. It had been awhile since I’d really gotten down into my granny gears, but I remembered soon enough.

Finally we got into Burton around 3:00, and it was a cute little town with a center around a oval-shaped park. I was making my way towards camp at the fairgrounds, and there was this tall guy with a big goofy grin walking toward me on the sidewalk. It’s been almost two months now since I’ve seen Joe, and it’s so good to see him!

Day 38 – "I like big butts and I cannot lie!"

2007-08-03T20:02:00.000-04:00

I should really count how many times I write the word “fun” in this blog, along with “beautiful” and “inspiring” and “sweet.” Well, today was a really “fun” day. We really took our time today, and had a grand time on the back roads of Ohio. I know that some people were considering cutting some miles by taking the highway today, but I wouldn’t even consider trading twenty miles for the quiet and rarely trafficked country roads. We found a nice little local coffee shop in one of the towns, with good coffee and espresso. It was also a used bookstore, and Ane found an awesome book called Arctic Dreams for me, one that I had read partially in the Arctic on my canoe trip. Of course it was fate and I had to buy it. After that we retreated to the bathrooms in the back to apply more tattoos, or “iron-ons” as Helen likes to call them. Ane and I were styling in them, but unfortunately for Ben and Sean they didn’t realize that you need to peel off the plastic before you wet the back to apply them. Poor guys, they’re going to get a hard time for this one for a while.

We enjoyed the scenery, some windmills, and winding country roads through corn fields. Mark’s waterstop today was in a little town across the street from a Speedway station, which had slurpee-type drinks! You wouldn’t know it from this trip, because I’m usually some kind of health nut, but man that slurpee tasted good. My tire blew up while I was in the gas station, and I was only sorry that I didn’t hear it because it sounded like a firecracker I was told. After the tire change, we were off again.

During the afternoon I was taken back through memory lane as we sang all of the songs from the nineties that I listened to as an ultra-cool middle schooler. It was hot and sweaty, but we had a blast singing. We finally got into Sandusky, upon which I still had about ten more miles to complete owing to a moment of absurdity last night when I pinky-swore to ride out a full century today. So we set out again from camp with David Latner, a self-professed sucker for extra miles, and explored the city of Sandusky. We weren’t allowed to ride our bikes across the bridge to Cedar Point, but we cut through the parking lot for the workers’ dormitories to make it to the shoreline for pictures. Those rides are so big that you can see them on a clear day across the bay forty miles away. Crazy.

The extra ten miles was through an ugly tourist area, but we found ourself at a little deli that served me a huge garden salad with fresh spring mix lettuce, which was quite a treat. I felt really bad that I accidentally missed lunch duty, but with a little (no, a lot!) of help from Ben and Sean I made it up by taking care of tomorrow’s water jugs. We’re all crammed in tonight to a little area of the campground, but it’ll be cozy and even we plan on getting up early tomorrow because people want to make it to a baseball game in Cleveland tomorrow.

Day 37 – A few of my favorite things.

2007-08-03T20:01:00.001-04:00

What a feast we had for breakfast this morning: in addition to our typical truck breakfast we had leftover fruit, corn, meat, and cheese from last night’s dinner. Ben grabbed a whole package of crackers and Sean stuck two ears of corn into his back jersey pocket to eat on the bike later. The beginning of the ride today were small rollers, but a lot of them. They were a nice change from the flats we had yesterday, and the flats we were to have later on that day. I rode side by side with Margo for a while today, and it was so nice to talk to her because we’re in similar stages in our lives right now, or I will be shortly. By that I mean the stage of life where we don’t know where we’re going to be or what we’re going to be doing. Jody told me yesterday that I should only be thinking three days in advance, and to live day by day and moment by moment. Man, I wish I knew how to do that.

This morning we made another McDonalds coffee stop (and fatty yummy breakfast things for some people). Bob joined us too in time for Ane and I to reveal our stunning new tats: Michelangelo tattoos that went together side by side. I was chided for having the audacity to wear a picture of God on my biceps, but of course it was totally appropriate for Ane to have a naked man on her’s. Thank you Will for the great tattoos, we’ll be using them up by the end of the trip for sure.

The rest of the ride today definitely flattened out. It was sad because we rode through so many just wasted fields of corn and soybeans. They were totally desolate fields, akin to the destruction we witnessed as we rode by the burnt forest at Custer State Park. We discovered later that the fields were destroyed by hail damage, and I can’t even imagine how much the farmers are hurting from that.

Kathy held her checkpoint waterstop around mile 50 today, and she was such a sweetheart she went and bought us a whole pack of A&W rootbeer. This treat was accompanied by our socialite Mary’s cheese from her bike cooler that we ate with Ben’s crackers. What a picnic. The rest of the route was short, flat, and easy with the sun beating down on us and good conversation. Ane had the Soung of Music’s “These are a few of my favorite things” stuck in her head, so we began to list off ours together. What a fun game: sitting in her mother’s flannel shirt pocket kitchen, watching lightning storms from porches, flying kites, freshly baked out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies, and on and on and on.

When I finally rolled into the Neopolean County Fairgrounds, I spotted my brother’s bright blue Saturn complete with the bike rack on top. He was waiting for me, and chit-chatting with the crew. It was so much fun to see him, so much fun. Poor guy, Alex ended up driving us all over the place. First to the emergency room so Ane could get a skin condition checked out, then to the Wal-mart pharmacy, then to dinner, then to the pool, and then finally to the Mr. Frosty ice cream place. Ane and I splashed around in the community pool, which was a blast. My roommate Claire showed up at the last minute tonight and met us at the ice cream place, and it was so much fun to see her. We had some quality gossip time and she brought me plenty of chocolate and gatorade to qualm any chocolate cravings I might have, it was so sweet.

Day 36 - The run around the driveway.

2007-08-03T20:00:00.000-04:00

Last night was our last sleep for a while in a real bed, and we were even generously greeted with Starbucks coffee from Kathy at breakfast. Oh the small but oh so significant gestures and pleasures we find on this trip. Rumor had it that the former Big Rider Larry was setting up a second breakfast twenty miles into the route today, and I swear that those twenty miles were collectively the fastest twenty miles yet because everyone was there. This was after a ridiculous yet quite funny four mile loop through downtown Valparaiso, by following the cue sheet, that took us exactly right back to the dorms we just left. When we got to Larry’s waterstop, it was so fantastic. He had dozens of home-baked pastries, lots of fruit and cookies, chips, milk and coffee. It was so generous. Off again, we rode in a large group until we reached an unexpected second waterstop hosted once again by the Lambert family. Again, lots of fruit, cookies, drinks, and other such goodies. The Lamberts freaking rock.

It was a long day mileage-wise, the longest yet at approximately 116 miles. Who would have thought that I could bike so far? It was a good ride today, and I rode mostly as a small group with Kari, Alison and Sean, but also for a while with Jody as well. We just went and went and went, which is precisely what I needed. We didn’t take long breaks today, but I thoroughly enjoyed the riding today. The landscape was some of the flattest we’ve had, which is so nice for a long mileager, and we rode through a lot of Amish country. It was just fun to ride through this area, waving to families in horse and buggies, observing an area with such a drastically different and simple lifestyle. Kathy told me that above a building in one of the towns off of our route there was a sign that read, “Living in the past lane.” It’s so amazing that such a lifestyle can exist and still thrive in this society, and so cool.

The final stretch into Kendalville did seem a little like it would never come, but on the other hand, I felt pretty good. It’s a good feel having done so many miles, and knowing that if I had to do twenty more I would have been capable. Allison grew up with seven brothers and sisters, and she told us that when they were little and weren’t ready for bed, her mother would send them outside to run around their circle driveway until they got all of their energy out. We decided that that final stretch was just the run around the driveway for us, in case we hadn’t gotten all of our energy out yet.

Dinner tonight was fantastic, and it consisted of build your own sandwiches, fruit, and fresh sweet corn grilled to perfection by Bob Dumke. It was one of the best meals honestly that I’d had so far. Whole wheat bread, hummus, loads of veggies, and all fresh and purchased in the amish community at stands along the way by Pollie. What a way to go. We’re sleeping at a cozy little campground tonight with nice grassy areas, though we all rolled in so late and lost an hour today due to time zone change that we all came to bed pretty immediately after dinner. I doubt anyone will have trouble sleeping tonight.

Day 35 – Resting in Valpo.

2007-08-03T19:59:00.000-04:00

Rest day, rest day! Ane and I feasted on granola and yogurt that we had swiped yesterday from the cafeteria for breakfast. We sauntered over to the Starbucks for some coffee with the boys, and met Jerry there who was trying to read but we distracted him for a while. I came back and did some bike maintenance, some sleeping, some reading, and all of the resting that I try every rest day to accomplish. It was great.

Ane and I went over to the super-Wal-mart to pick up yummy yummy salad fixings, and a microwavable orgainic burrito for me. After much dilemma and trial and error, she finally figured out her camera situation and bought a Cannon similar to mine (her old one was ruined in a rainstorm this week). After some computer time at the library, and some chill time in the lounge, we’re off to bed to get ready for our short week coming up.

More Pictures!

2007-07-31T00:52:00.000-04:00

Liz has sent in more pictures from her trip! Click on the photo below to view.

Day 34 – Pizza delivery woman.

2007-07-28T17:27:00.000-04:00

Morris, Illinois to Valparaiso, Indiana

Man-oh-man we had a noisy night. Our campground was a public campground complete with car campers looking for a good place to drink alcohol around a smoky campfire with music blaring. I was just waiting for one of our riders to go over there, but I guess no one was up for the confrontation. Fortunately someone had the responsible idea of calling the police, and they were shushed up before midnight. The four of us decided to have a slumber party in Sean’s huge Taj Majal of a tent last night, with huge screened panels that allowed us all to “sleep under the stars” in a bug-free zone. It was great. When we woke up, people in our group had vowed to be as loud and obnoxious as our neighbors had been the previous night. They got a grand 5:30 a.m. wake-up call of cheering Big Riders. An unnamed Big Rider even rode his bike through the neighbor’s area with his alarm ringing, and we sang loud rowdy Christmas songs as we rode out of camp. It was great, I thought us kiddos were supposed to be the immature ones :)

We actually had a dry day today, no rain although it looked probably all morning. By the time that we got to the first waterstop, it was apparent that it was going to be a chug-chug-along day. Riding 13 out of 14 days in a row, including 600 miles in the past week, can make a person a little tired. The thing is, my body and my muscles are totally capable and trained by now to do it. But I sure don’t have the spring in my pedaling like I did earlier in the week. This rest day will be good for us.

MacDonalds was our coffee stop today, along with hashbrowns and other such breakfast goodies for the others. I talked to Pollie a little bit tonight about how everyone’s riding styles and perspectives have changed so noticeably since the first couple of weeks, and stops like these are indicative of how ours has evolved. We still ride at a pretty good pace, but we stop long and often. There’s really not a whole lot that’s going on at the campsite, so we figure we might as well enjoy the stops along the way. Sit for some coffee. Talk with some locals. Smell the flowers. Take some pictures. As ride director, Pollie gets to observe everyone at a little distance from being an actual rider, and she told me that even the speedsters in our group have evolved to the point that it’s not really about the cycling anymore. It’s hard to put into words or to convey to those outside of the ride, but it’s a humbling thing this community and this journey.

As we boxed around the Chicago area we found ourselves in more populated areas with busier traffic and bumpy bumpy roads. There was no Indiana sign to mark our next state line, so we used Ane’s arm instead. Let me tell you, Indian sure has some potholes. By the time we got to Kathy’s stop we were hungry, and she had boxes and boxes of leftover pizza from last night’s dinner. Ben and Sean had the brilliant idea of bringing some on the road with us, and replaced Ane’s rack pack with pizza boxes, ducted taped on for security. Ane’s Pizza Delivery, delivering pizza across the country within 48 days. We got some good pictures, and we snacked all of the way into camp from her bike.

Around mile seventy today we were warmly greeted by yet another Rider’s family waterstop. David Lambert’s parents and sisters had a tent with food and drinks set up for us, which was such a nice break. No one wanted our pizza though. The rest of the ride was going smoothly until the cable for my back gears broke and I was stuck with just my hardest gear in back. So I had two gears: hard and harder. With only seven or so miles left to go, it wasn’t too bad. And I was honored that Ben and Sean decided to shoot their knees with me by riding in the same high gears up hill and down. We got to the dorms in Valparaiso and Dave was able to just replace my cable.

I actually got ice cream tonight at the Dairy Queen tonight, which ruined my appetite for the cafeteria dinner, for shame. It was a totally tranquil night night for me, which is exactly what I needed. Ane and I played Sweet Honey in the Rock in our room for Jody to listen to, and we just surrounded ourselves in rest and relaxation. I’m ready for a recharging rest day, and then a short four day week next week. I can’t believe that this is all passing by so quickly. Everyday feel long and full and satisfying, but all of the sudden there are 34 of those days behind us and not enough in front of us.

Day 33 – Porpoise pod.

2007-07-27T17:27:00.000-04:00

Belvidere, Illinois to Morris, Illinois

Last night us four kiddos decided to set up beds a little further away at a smaller picnic table shelter away from the main group; we were not about being woken up to everyone else’s alarms and zippers at 4:30 a.m. again. Privacy and sleeping in was priority. Unfortunately, we got a little rain last night and our smaller picnic shelter was not quite as protected, but we got enough sleep. Today’s ride was a million turns again, and it doesn’t feel like you’re actually getting anywhere but in a circle, except that you are and before you know it you’ve gone 108 miles. It was another rainy morning, and it was warm enough that I just rode without a coat and just got wet.

Jody rode with us for a long time today, which was really nice. Naturally we stopped for some classy gas station coffee, and down the road we met up with Kelly. That strong woman rides everyday on an arm-cranked bike, and it’s so fun to see her out on the road. Jody had done some “off-route” riding with Kelly earlier in the trip, and when we caught up with her today, Jody encouraged us all to ride at least five miles with her at her pace. It was so wonderful. We all formed a little tunnel around her to serve as a wind guard, and it worked so well that her average speed of 11.5 mph was bumped up by 3 mph. And it was so fun, singing songs and talking with her. Jody told us about how porpoises form pods around birthing mothers to protect her and the newborn, and how we were Kelly’s porpoise pod. It was so inspiring. Even more inspiring: Kelly made the whole century today. Her first century. What a beautiful day. I tried her bike out this evening, and it was fun, but I couldn’t even fathom riding 100+ miles in a day.

About ¾ into the ride today we decided to stop at the subway, and after a little chat with the manager, were given free meals again. Subway sure has been good to us, three out of four times we’ve asked we’ve been given free meals. We were sitting there for a long time, when we noticed Bob ride by us, and when he saw all of our bikes lined up outside he did a lightning fast U-turn. He gave each of us hugs when he came in, he was so happy to come upon fellow riders after doing 20+ bonus miles from getting lost. Poor guy, on a century day as it were already. Bob rode the rest of the day with us, and we were definitely the last ones into camp with Floyd after our ride with Kelly and long rest at Subway. But we got to usher the pizza delivery men in for dinner.

Day 32 – Singin’ in the rain.

2007-07-26T17:26:00.000-04:00

Madison, Wisconsin to Belvidere, Illinois

This was one of the first mornings in a while where I woke up right away to my alarm, and I suppose that means that I was exhausted enough to sleep soundly through the night. After a typical truck breakfast (cereal, oatmeal, etc.), we were given our cue sheets which was two pages of a million turns. Our longest stretch on one road was about nine miles. What a change from out west. I truly loved Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakoa, where you could go all day and not pass a single town: being in the middle of open range, having the road almost to ourselves, feeling a part of the land around us. Now we are strong into more developed land, where we have half a dozen or more cities in one day, and I love this too. That’s what’s cool about this ride, and about riding your bike across the country, that the route is continually changing and each change allows you appreciate different parts of America. So far we’ve had mountains, dessert, open range, small towns, larger towns, farmland, and everything in between. I could say that I miss the mountains, but every day in the moment is my favorite scenery.

All morning it was hazy and grey. We were winding right and left through a grid of Wisconsin coutry roads. Not once, but twice we stopped for coffee at gas stations. It sounds a little silly, but sitting on the curb outside of the gas station drinking coffee was just perfect. Today was just a contentful day—not the funnest, not the most beautiful, but contentful (yes I know that’s not a word). For once it was nice not to have the sun beating down, and not to be slathered in sunscreen.

Our checkpoint today was in Beloit, WI immediately before South Beloit, IL. We walked across the street to the McDonalds where we sat for a long time for a little more coffee and some food. As planned, of course, we sat there until it started to rain outside, and as we started out it began to absolutely pour on us. Thank goodness we only go as fast as we do because I was having enough trouble seeing things as it was. It was cold. And it was fun. I was drinking the tire spit from the bike in front of me, my whole body was covered in goose bumps at different points, and every inch of my clothes were soaking, but it was fun. We were singing Christmas songs in celebration of yesterday’s half-Christmas on the 25th, I was busting out with some Jewel and Jack Johnson, and we were all having a good time in the rain. It felt like we were in a Nike commercial or somthing, and it lasted for a good 25 miles.

We rolled into camp today at a campground called Outdoor World outside of Belvedere, IL. This place has the most massive picnic shelter that I’ve ever seen, and we’re all set up for the night underneath it. Pollie broke out some chips and salsa for us, and the showers were really good (it’s always nice not to have “gang” showers). There must have been a miscommunication while planning the catering tonight, because the kitchen women were really trying, but most of the group was left hungry and had to be remedied with ordered pizza. This is a nice campground though, with a pool, laundry facilities, and a TV for Tour de France viewing pleasure.

Day 31 – A whole ‘nother place.

2007-07-25T17:26:00.000-04:00

Viroqua, Wisconsin to Madison, Wisconsin

It was great sleeping under the stars last night. I woke up with a damp sleeping bag from the dew, but it was totally worth it. We had another typical truck breakfasts, and was off with the anticipation of our second longest day yet: 108 miles. I was feeling good, I didn’t get out too late, I was excited to get some miles in while it was cool still in the early morning, and then—my chain broke. It had already fallen off twice climbing some short hills, and then it totally broke. It was a brand new chain that I had put on yesterday with more than a little help from Sean, and there had been a stiff link that we thought we had worked out, but I guess not. So I got some help and advice from Andy and other such generous riders who had stopped, and then waved everyone goodbye as I waited for Dave the Mechanic to come to my rescue. I was definitely bummed out that here was a big day and not three miles out on the road I had such a major set back. But Ane was with me. Thank God. What would I do without that girl. We’re such a necessary balance.

As it turned out, that broken link was a blessing in disguise. Dave had no problem fixing it, and we started out again as the very tail end of the group. What a morning. It was beautiful. Being in the rear with Ane, we took our time instead of just riding to get some morning miles in. The landscape was literally breathtaking. I have driven through Wisconsin so many times I couldn’t even try to count them, but you really don’t see anything on the interstate. I was absolutely in awe of how beautiful this part of Wisconsin was, who knew? Rolling, rolling hills and valleys covered in farmland and dotted with trees, the roads lined with all different kinds of wildflowers, rustic farms and friendly farmers and locals of small towns to wave at. Glorious. We came upon an unexpected steep descent the wound us through fog and mist as a flock of birds flew across the country road right before us. I’ll pay the price for sounding cheesy, because anyone there would avow for how almost magical it felt. When we got to the waterstop later, and tried to convey it to Pollie and Andy, we were teased with inquiries of Angels ascending and fairies sitting on the side of the road with us too, but hell, we couldn’t help it. We reached the bottom of that hill, glided into a tiny little gas station and talked to some locals about how they lived in one of the most beautiful counties we’d ever been in.

When we finally reached the first waterstop, we were surprised to find Speedy Gonzales Andy there. He had had a terrible morning, and decided he wanted to ride with us and be a part of our magical morning. We had a good ride through the next stretch of miles as the terrain flattened out and the farmland petered into more towns. Kathy’s waterstop today was at a cute little farmer’s market type stand, with a petting zoo! I swear it was so bizarre, with little goats, a zebra, and even a camel. Poor things aren’t meant to live in little pens in rural Wisconsin, but it sure was an interesting sight. We feasted on fresh cantaloupe and tomatoes with hearty whole grained bread. Mmm mmm.

The next twenty miles flew by across flat roads while Ane and I digested all of the food we had just eaten. Eating on the road is a tricky balance because had we not eaten that lunch, with sixty miles left to go still, we would have totally bonked in the last quarter of the ride. You get to points where you don’t want to eat anything, you’re sick of all of the food you’ve been eating for the past month, but you know you have to and you know by now what works and what doesn’t.

The last thirty miles or so went by a little more slowly today, but it was so nice to ride with Ane and just Ane, we haven’t had much chance to do that on this trip. As we entered the Madison area, the directions got a little tricky, but more or less it just got a little long because you know you’re in the destination city but the campsite is still twenty miles away. At the very end, we somehow missed the turn into the campground, and when we were about to turn around a quarter of a mile away, Ane got a flat. Goodness gracious. It was only fair that if my chain got us off to a slow start, Ane would get a flat to delay our finish. When we finally rolled into camp (with almost 110 miles on the computer) we were warmly greeted by Bob Dumke’s and Dan Scott’s family with smiles, tables of food, and coolers of drinks. It was such a nice reward to the day. And boy did these Wisconsinites know how to provide a meal: salad, potato salad, fruit, squeaky cheese curds, grilled burgers and hot dogs, and most importantly, really good veggie burgers and veggie hot dogs. It was so wonderful.

As if the day couldn’t have gotten any more full, my good friend Emma met me at the campground. She goes to school and has an apartment in Madison, and since we were a ten minute drive out of the city, it was so fun to be able to go into town with her. Emma took me to the Union where we ate ice cream from the campus creamery and sat on the lakefront terrace for a long time chatting until the sun started to set.

Day 30 – Do the hoooookey pokey!

2007-07-24T17:25:00.000-04:00

Winona, Minnesota to Viroqua, Wisconsin

I slept well today for the first time in a couple of nights, on a real mattress on a real (bunk) bed. It was lovely. Though I must say that my alarm went off and I looked out the window to see people already loading up the truck. Honestly, we must have some real morning people in this group. Our breakfast was a little shotty today at the cafeteria, but we had an exciting announcement that we had a new crew member joining us: her father Mark! (We lost a crew member a couple of days ago for a personal crisis.)

This whole day was absolutely gorgeous as we traveled through and finally climbed out of the Mississippi River valley. I have driven through the area many, many times, but never have I experienced it as I did today on the bike. The first twenty miles led us from Winona to Dakota, MN. The entire route was along the river, and we even travelled a couple of miles on an intimate little bike path through the trees and parallel to the bank. Perfect slow, pokey, lazy, content riding. Ben was our little gentleman this morning, reaching down on the bike and picking wildflowers from the side of the road for us. He even wore some in his helmut and Sean had a whole garden stuck into his handlebar bag.

Eventually we turned back onto hwy 14 and then exited towards Dakato. Here we were greeted so warmly by the Meyer family, and I was grateful that I hadn’t had much of a breakfast at the cafeteria because they had loads of yummy yummy food for us. It was so fantastic, this family has hosted this Minnesotan breakfast for the Big Riders for years now. They had signed posters up from previous years and photo albums of previous riders. They even had pictures already printed off of us, and asked for our autographs! How cool. One of the girls conducted an interview with us, and in exchange we were given hand-made bracelets to keep with us. Truly I cherish mine, what a good memory. As one of the former riders wrote on her poster, they truly made us feel at home. These are the people who are inspiring.

We moved on down to La Crescent and across the bridge to La Crosse. Right beforehand I watched as a car immediately in front of us came to a quick and random complete stop, and then watched as Sean slammed right into the back of it. He fell, rolled, and sprang up just like a bouncey ball. He was totally fine, as was the car and the bike, but it certainly woke us up. The bridge across the Mississippi was huge, and we soon found ourselves taking pictures of the sign for state number five: Wisconsin. Ben was even bold enough to lay right in the flowerbed under the sign.

Once in La Crosse, the traffic was a little hectic through the downtown area. We were even witness to a fender-bender accident ahead of us (thank goodness it had nothing to do with us). On our left we watched the world’s larges six pack approach at the city brewery. Of course we were with Micheal Yee and Helen who convinced us to stop at the gift shop and visitor’s center.

The mighty Mississippi remained on our righthand side for a while longer, and I took so many pictures. It was so beautiful with the bluffs on our left, the train tracks immediately on our right, the shoreline after that, followed by green algae and lily pads speckled with bright yellow flowers, fishermen mingling in the shallow waters, and the river’s expanse topped off with the western bluffs on the far shore. I’ve never appreciated the river as much as I did today.

Slowly we turned east again and began to climb out of the valley. The whole experience was breathtaking, absolute picturesque landscape. I couldn’t believe it. Steep rolling, rolling hills on a small rural road surrounded with fields of corn and hay dotted with trees and bluffs. It was Amish country as well, and I spotted long black clothes on clothes lines, waved to a family in a horse and buggy crossing our path, and admired and awed the neatly piled bunches of hand-bundled hay. It was incredible. The scenery was too overwhelming to photograph even.

We had a super steep 1.5 mile climb at one point, as well as a super steep descent that was curvy, and thrilling. I was having so much fun, and really had no idea how fast I was going until afterwards my jaw dropped at my computer’s max speed of 47.1 mph. Sean and I tried to convince Kathy to drive us back up to the top to do it again, but she wasn’t biting at the idea.

Viroqua was our destination today, a cute little town of 4,300 people. It was a short day about 67 miles, but we took our time so much at the Meyers and through the terrain that we got into camp pretty late. It was blissful to just lay around, even before showering, and just hanging out. Sean helped me change my chain, and it was a very educational experience. Ane and I ate dinner at the Viroqua co-op store, and I seriously felt like I was in heaven. I ate piles of organ salad with everything on it I could have dreamt up, and then enjoyed some soy ice cream treats. This little town sure knows how to build and stock a co-op, it was like a mini Whole Foods!

Tonight I plan on sleeping out under the stars again, we have a fairly quiet piece of land at the fair grounds with plenty of nice green grass.

Day 29 – Home sweet home.

2007-07-23T17:24:00.000-04:00

Owatonna, Minnesota to Winona, Minnesota

Today was a wonderful day, and a wonderful day of ironies. Last night we slept under the stars in a little row of four sleeping bags. Ane got fed up with the flood lights of the recreation center next door, and moved into the Beer Garden building where everyone else was sleeping. That’s right, the Beer Garden building. The remaining three of us finally fell asleep under the stars to passing lightning in distance. About three o’clock in the morning I woke up to a few sprinkles on my face. Deciding not to take my chances, I instigated a move to the Beer Garden, and just as we approached the door it began to pour outside. Not exactly a great night’s sleep, but an adventure nonetheless.

After a truck breakfast in the Beer Garden, we were off to an on-again-off-again rainy morning. The sunrise was gorgeous with the intense color around the clouds that washed out to either side into to the horizon. Beautiful. We sure knew how to make that first twenty miles last: 3 flats and one punctured tire. So the one morning we had somewhere we wanted to get to fast, we were almost the very last ones to Rochester. All we could do was laugh. What a sign was this? At least there was a great rainbow by the last flat we were fixing.

Finally, finally, we made it to Rochester. As we came down the hill on Country Club Dr., I saw my grandmother’s assisted living home, and across from it some yellow tents with people milling around—our welcoming committee! Ane’s family and mine were there with muffins, strawberry rhubarb pie and crisp, lots of fruit, cake, gatorade, and water. What a treat. It was so wonderful, and it was apparent by the empty trays that everyone else before us enjoyed it as well. Not to mention my generous father greeted the four of us with espresso drink orders, what else could we have wanted? It was so much fun. I went up to see my grandma and my aunt Kady for a little while as well, which was so nice.

After a long period of eating and socializing we moved on to ride through downtown Rochester, and Ane and I were tour guides for Ben and Sean pointing out St. Mary’s, the Mayo building, where I bought my sunglasses, where we used to get our hair cut, where I once saw an accident, and other such obviously important landmarks. And then I got another flat tire. Another! That brought our total of the day up to four flat tubes and two replaced tires for the four of us, and a grand total of four flats for me so far this trip.

The rest of our day was blissful. I can’t say enough times how much I love Minnesota. We were definitely among the last handful of people in the group on the route today, but it didn’t bother me at all because it was all totally worth it. We didn’t have the best shoulders today, but we spent most of the day riding two abreast talking and enjoying ourselves, stopping often to eat and use “the facilities.” It was fun to arrive at each rest stop throughout the day to see smiling familiar faces of friends and family. And it was beautiful. Of course.

Camp tonight is in the dorm rooms of Winona State University, where we got to do laundry! Washing things in the sink can be so inconvenient. Both my family and Ane’s family met us in Winona and we all went out to the Acoustic Cafe for dinner. Holy yumminess. Just what I wanted and way better than the cafeteria food we heard was served to the group. The Cafe’s atmosphere was so chill and comfortable, just what we needed, and we were so fortunate to be surrounded by both our families. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

Day 28 – American pie and the Beer Garden.

2007-07-22T17:23:00.000-04:00

New Ulm, Minnesota to Owatonna, Minnesota

Last night was a restless night for some reason, and I heard Ane thrashing around on her mattress all night as well. Breakfast was in the cafeteria this morning, and I had some Life cereal with the yummy blueberries that my parents bought for me. Perfect. I had a pretty good day today, and thoroughly enjoy the southern Minnesotan terrain, small towns, and of course people as we approach my hometown. It was cloudy all day, sometimes with a headwind and often with a strong crosswind. Ane and I feel right at home in the rolling farmland, and today we passed field after field of corn and soybeans. I love the soybeans: they look like seas of sequins or velour with their shiny texture.

Not too much exciting happened today, it was a pretty short day at 72 miles. I had a flat at mile 57 at the rest stop, which was not a problem to fix. We hung out there at Kathy’s stop for a long, long time eating donuts and cookies. It was nice. When we rolled into Owatonna this afternoon we were greeted by a Vern fan club (this is his hometown) and were served pie by his wife—what a treat! Camp is at the Owatonna fairgrounds, and tonight’s $10 night was spent at a Mexican Restaurant across the street. So I’m full and content now just to lay here in the breeze on my thermarest, anticipating a fun day tomorrow going through Rochester.

Day 27 – Root beer tasting.

2007-07-21T17:17:00.000-04:00

New Ulm, Minnesota

I had such a nice rest day. Sean and Ben and I rode our bikes into town for some breakfast at a small local diner called Ulmer’s. We ended up sitting there for a long time with our bottomless cups of coffee enjoying the morning and the company. When we came back to the dorms we cleaned our bikes outside and then sat around outside on the grass in the breeze. Totally relaxing.

My parents came to New Ulm by about 4:30, and it was so nice to see them and be able to give them hugs and talk face-to-face instead of briefly on the cell phones. After a grocery store stop we went over to Schell’s brewery for a tour, and coincidently met Sean and Ben there as well. The tour was a little too detailed with the history, and a little lacking in actual brewery showing, but it was still nice. My parents pretty much had six bottles of beer sat in front of just them for the tasting, and us youngsters were give large glasses of 1919 rootbeer. After a dinner at the Lamplighter restaurant (nice but not vegetarian friendly), and some really expensive but delicious homemade ice cream, I hugged my parents goodbye until two days from now when I ride through Rochester.

We’re all preparing for a stretch of seven days on the bike ahead of us, and Ane and I are more than excited to see our hometown the day after tomorrow.

Day 26 – The inconvenient route.

2007-07-20T23:15:00.000-04:00

Tyler, Minnesota to New Ulm, Minnesota

Tuphat Girls catered both our dinner last night and our breakfast this morning, and it was all good food with lots of fresh fruit and veggies. That always scores with me. Pollie, our ride director, told a good story last night when she made her evening announcements. She said that a week or two ago, she had a dream that there was a beautifully paved bike path that stretched from Seattle, WA to Washington D.C. This was our route, with perfect little turnouts for waterstops, with these great huge oak trees all around for “facilities.” Then Pollie talked about a new husband who died two weeks after his wedding from lung cancer, and about how many stories we’ve heard and people we know who are suffering from lung. This ride is not about the convenient route. What fun would it be if we never had headwinds like we’ve had all week, if we never had mountains to climb or poor roads to navigate? That’s not what this ride is about; it’s all about the inconvenient route.

This morning was a chilly morning, and it was so cozy to wake up to the brisk air, all cuddled up in my warm sleeping bag. Getting out of that sleeping bag was another story. After a great breakfast and some good Minnesotan rolling hills, I warmed up soon enough. Even though Minnesota is giving us the same South Dakotan headwind, at least she’s giving us much cooler temperatures. Another beautiful morning, we enjoyed the green and the rolling hills with small farming towns that are becoming more and more frequent. We’re going through more Laure Ingalls Wilder territory, riding over Plum Creek and by the sod houses on the prairie.

By the afternoon we were enjoying a SE wind, which meant a crossheadwind, but felt awesome. I lead our group of five for probably twenty miles, just because it was the first time in days that I felt somewhat “on.” Being in front, seeing the whole road ahead of me, through the familiar terrain of Minnesota, was definitely the highlight of my day.

Coming into New Ulm was a strange feeling because those roads could have so easily been Rochester roads. New Ulm’s a cute little town as well, and it was a good feeling coming in knowing that we were finally getting our rest day again. Everything was going great until the very last 0.2 miles to the college we were slammed with a HUGE hill before us, with a massive gradient, leading up to the college. Awesome. All we could do was laugh.

We’re just relaxing tonight. Sitting outside the Martin Luther College dormitory enjoying the cool night breeze.

Day 25 – God’s country.

2007-07-19T23:15:00.000-04:00

DeSmet, South Dakota to Tyler, Minnesota

Welcome to Minnesota everyone! Oh glorious state. Today was a great day, only 78 miles, and we had a lot of fun despite the ever constant headwind. It was supposed to become a tailwind immediately upon crossing the state line, but apparently the wind gods are on vacation. We had a good gas station coffee break at our eight a.m. waterstop today. Lucky for us it was a Sinclaire station with the well-known green dinosaur out front. Naturally that just begs for a photo op, and we piled on.

Eastern South Dakota, also knowing that Minnesota was coming has been a profound mood lifter. All day today we were surrounded by green: rows of corn, soy beans that to me look like fields of green sequins, even the grass was finally green. And lakes! Holy moly we saw our first real lakes since Idaho I think, and that was such a sweet sight for sore eyes. I’ve been missing water, and definitely took some pictures. Our last decent sized South Dakota town of the trip was Brookings, which was a cute little place around mile 40 and made for a lazy waterstop outside of a connected coffee shop and bike store. Oh could we have asked for anything more. Yes: free ice cream there. What a town. We stayed there for probably an hour before moving on, eating ice cream, chilling, talking to locals, enjoying the comfortable temperature.

Finally back on the road we met three people bannering a sign for Margo and offering cool powerade. They were super sweet, and so much fun to meet. The next twenty miles brought us to the state border, with a sign much more elaborate than any state marker yet, complete with a stone mounting and wooden sign. That’s Minnesota for you! Kathy had her water stop here, and we lazed around here for a while too, which was so lovely. I could have stayed there all day in the shade, enjoying the company. Yesterday we were in so early that we got so hungry before dinner, and we figured that we might as well take our time out on the road as long as the weather was cool enough. There was even a mysterious chilly breeze that we’d feel every once in a while, the weather was perfect.

Congratulations to South Dakota and Minnesota for being so energy conscious, there were many wind farms on our way through the borderland today. Those things look so cool stretched out along the fields and the sky. Alongside the road there was a little building with two of the wind turbine blades sitting out front. They were HUGE, and we stopped for pictures and flyers to learn more about them. Of course I just think they look cool and appreciate their energy consciouness, but I was riding with all engineering students who were talking watts and etc. etc. :)

The rest of the ride in was windy, but otherwise not bad. Tyler, MN is a cute little town that greeted us with delicious watermelon (which I ate seven pieces of). We’re setting up camp on some beautifully grassy and shady grounds outside of the old Folk school.

Day 24 – Christmas is coming...

2007-07-18T23:14:00.000-04:00

Miller South Dakota, to DeSmet, South Dakota

I was beginning to think that South Dakota was the most monotonous state yet, and then today she threw a curveball in. The night was spent in the Miller High School, and about a dozen of us shared the air conditioned trophy room. I really miss the privacy and nightly debriefing with Ane in our little tent, traded for a room full of rustling and snoring, but after the previous hot night I jumped at the opportunity for air conditioning. Still, I didn’t sleep especially well, and was definitely not waking up too quickly.

The whole first thirty miles I was sleepy and my legs were just not working well for me. I was riding with Ane, Ben, and Sean again, and we decided about mile thirty that we needed a potty break at a gas station. Ane was the decision maker, and she made it a little too late and wiped out on the gravel when she turned at the last second. She’ll be bruised a little, but these silly falls happens to the best of them. Plus she had a lovely dust “racing stripe” down her side from it. Thank God we stopped here because Sean and I split a customary cup of coffee, and it made all the difference. Physically I was still a little worn out, but mentally I finally woke up. Even Ane was impressed by the turn-around. Guess I’m more addicted to coffee than I realized, and I definitely won’t be skipping it at breakfast again. So energized, I initiated a boys vs. girls friendly competition: who could get the most semi’s to blow for us. I can’t believe we lost that, honestly they were getting all pity honks.

Not five miles from the gas station we saw the flashing lights of a police car and ambulance up ahead. Now when you’re in the middle of South Dakota on a straight and flat country road, where you’re just as likely to pass one of us cyclists as you are a car, those flashing lights are a scary sight because you know that it’s one of us. As we approached the lights I felt the almost eerie unease that I used to feel on canoe trips when a plane flew overhead, in which case each canoe would stop pedaling in a dead silence to see if that plane was coming to tell us bad news from home. Bob walked out to us and explained that Dr. Hattler had fallen, no cars involved, by scraping wheels with another rider. From what we hear tonight, he’s going to be alright but it was a good fall. We cleared out of there as soon as we could so that we weren’t in the way, but it was a pretty sobering experience. He hadn’t even been in a paceline, and it was a serious reminder that despite all of the fun and games we have going everyday, we are always at risk for various hazards out there.

Around forty miles into our day today, we reached our halfway mark of the trip! After a leisurely lunch and photo op at the park, we prepared ourselves for the dark skies moving our way. Thus we’ve been 24 days and not a single stretch of real rain. That streak ran out today and then some. The lightning came first, off in the distance and heading right for us. It was spectacular, and dark skies and lightning started to envelope us. Rain began shortly thereafter, and got harder and harder until it was literally pelting. I couldn’t see any actual hail on the ground, but it sure felt like it with the wind hurling the rain at us like that. But it was thrilling. All of it. A few riders pulled over to wait it out, and that was probably the safer option, but we were having too much fun. Besides, we had rubber tires between us and the road, and Ben as our tall lightning rod if that wasn’t enough. When it finally blew over we had some fun pictures of us soaking wet at the waterstop.

The last fifteen miles weren’t so bad, but they were at a snails pace in the wind again. I was literally falling asleep. My apologies for so many comparisons with canoeing, but never imagined that I could fall half asleep pedaling just like I could on weary days paddling. Let me tell you, Ane’s bottom bracket was mesmerizing in my half-daze. Finally we arrived in De Smet, and we were so famished we headed for the nearest food place, which happened to be Subway. I asked for the manager, explained that we were 24 days into a cross country bike tour for the American Lung Association, that we rode out that huge storm, that we were soaking wet and famished, and was wondering if they’d be willing to sponsor us a meal. They were so sweet and kind, gave us all 6” meals, and it hit the spot in so many ways.

Camp was at a cute little city park. By the time I got my shower it was freezing, but if this is the first cold shower I’ve gotten yet then I feel like we’ve done well. Dinner was at a church nearby, with air conditioning cranked down to about 50 degrees I swear, and was served by the chamber of commerce. It was pretty good, with midwestern scalloped potatoes, plenty of fruit and cookies. I even stole two veggie burgers for the next day. Tom and Sean had a bratwurst war, trying to won up one another, and Sean won with a combined brat and hotdog total of seven. Gross. And hilarious.

Day 23 – Hakuna matata.

2007-07-17T23:13:00.000-04:00

Pierre, South Dakota to Miller, South Dakota

Last night Ane and I slept in a swimming pool we were sweating so much. Goodness gracious it was so hot outside. We slept at a city park, which was really nice, and had showers at a hotel a block away. I swear the second we stepped out of that hotel we were already ripe again. Smelly that is. The first night that I was actually ready for bed at 8:30, I couldn’t sleep because it was too dang hot. Oh such is life, but I got to enjoy the company outside the tent at least.

Ane asked me three times this morning if I was sure that it was really 5:20 a.m., it was so dark outside because of the time change. We are now in central time zone! Exciting. After we dragged ourselves out of bed this morning and got some breakfast down, Ane and I headed out. Before long the boys caught up with us and we pedaled in a herd for the rest of the morning. Sean and Ben bought some $3 squirt guns and accosted people ahead and behind, and even Dave the mechanic through the SUV window. Ben and I passed the time leading a pack through the wind and singing Regina Specktor and the Lion King music.

On the hotel TV yesterday I watched the weather station, and was forewarned that the weather today was supposed to be just like yesterday: hot with headwinds. Fortunately we were able to escape some of the heat because the day was much shorter today at 73 miles, but it sure was windy. For the last 20 miles or so we had a nice paceline going, a true indication that the wind was significant since it’s been a long time since we’ve formed one of those (lately we’ve just been riding in herds on these rural roads). For a lot of the day, it was just put your head down and go. At least this is South Dakota and the landscape doesn’t have a lot of variation so you’re not missing a lot by watching the bum in front of you that you’re drafting off of, and these are the words coming from Miss Ane the picture woman. The scenery that we were missing was much like yesterday: vast, almost treeless expanses of wheat, corn, and some soybeans. There were a couple of fields of sunflowers as well, but they were still young and flowerless. I was trying to imagine what it must look like in the fall, whole fields of sunflowers spread out, all facing the sun.

Day 22 – Wind blows.

2007-07-16T23:13:00.000-04:00

Kadoka, South Dakota to Pierre, South Dakota

Today was possibly my hardest pedaling day yet. From the very beginning, I never quite got warmed up. My legs were tight, and worse: tired. We began the day at the city park with pleasant rollers through farmland, farmland, and more farmland. It was extremely dry all day, all of the bridges we crossed today were over dried up riverbeds or otherwise a trickle or sludge of muddy water. The weather was warm right from the beginning of the day, and it only got hotter, and hotter, and hotter.

As the day heated up, the wind also picked up. And up, and up, and up. As the day wore on, the water stops couldn’t quite keep up with my personal water intake, and we stopped to buy a couple of gallons of water at a tiny little general store. Actually, it was an antique store, a grocery store, a liquor store, and oh much more. The poor woman who worked there, in the middle of this dry, dry nowhere. At least it was air conditioned. I struggle to imagine what life is like out here, so radically different than what I know. It does have its own sort of beauty though, unique thus far to South Dakota. The most striking image in my mind was this vast golden field today, with what must have been eight or nine huge combines driving through them trailed by huge swirls of dust and hay against the blue sky. As Ane said, this sure wasn’t a family farm, and I was literally blinded (and praying there wasn’t a car behind me) when we rode through the cloud of dust, but this is South Dakota.

The last twenty miles of our almost century were really tough. I was struggling for sure. We had a cross headwind, strong, and it meant that it was hard to really keep a draft on the shoulder. I was very fortunate because I was with Ben, Sean, and Andy. I couldn’t keep pace with them, my legs felt like jello, but they waited for me through the wind at the top of every single hill. Each time I would fall behind I would think, alright I guess I’m finishing this on my own. But each time they would be up there waiting for me. It made all the difference. I spoke to Andy later, and he told me that hey, we all climb at our own pace but in the end we’ve got to come in together. That’s what this ride is about.

Good thing for today: a quote passed on from Ane’s mother about the wind, “Well you are in South Dakota you know. Pretty soon you’ll be in God’s country.” Minnesota that is.

Pictures!

2007-07-16T10:54:00.000-04:00

I am working on getting Liz's pictures posted! To see the slideshow, click on the picture below:

Due to some technical challenges, some of the pictures are in a different place as of right now. To view pictures from the earlier days of the ride, click on the picture below:

I apologize that it has taken some time getting these up. I have also posted them in Liz's posts so that they can be viewed in context with what she's written. In all cases, clicking on the pictures brings you to slideshows with more pictures.

Day 21 – Chirpin’ with the prairie dogs.

2007-07-15T23:12:00.000-04:00

Rapid City, SD to Kadoka, SD

Today was a fun day, more fun than a century should be. It’s funny because it still feels like a century, it’s just that a century feels different now. We’ve done so many that a day shorter than 90 miles is a treat. We got out this morning to a good truck breakfast outside of the Mining school. Once out of town I remember asking Ben, are those gray clouds behind us or is that just my glasses? Well sorry Ben, they really were gray clouds! By our first waterstop at 20 miles we had picked up a pretty hefty side wind. And we could see the rain coming down to our north. Guess this taught us not to trust the weatherman. Lightning began to flash in the distance, sky to ground, and you could just feel the excitement in the air. I loved it. There’s nothing better than a good thunderstorm, and this was at a distance far enough to enjoy without danger. All that we felt was a little bit of rain and some heavy winds.

As the storm blew by us to the north, we were left with some persistently strong head and cross-headwinds. The sky was clearing up as we entered into the badlands. Prairie dogs were everywhere, standing on their hind legs and chirping at us as we invaded their grounds. It sounded like Ben’s squeaky pedal again. It was slooooow going against that wind, but I was feeling pretty good and it was good company the four of us (Sean, Ben, Ane, and I). We traveled the same road that Ane and I had been on two years earlier on the way to Colorado, and I remember it distinctly, but it was a radically different experience on the bike. Really it was amazing to experience it from the bike’s vantage point, pace, and nearness. In a car you are so clearly separated from your surroundings, I don’t care what kind of car you are in. On a bike, you’re a part of it. You feel every little bump and seam in the road, you appreciate every bend and curve, and you get to savor the view longer and it slowly transforms. I love it.

We took our time to climb up to some of the peaks for views, and took a million pictures. Not to mention of course we took a million more at the world’s largest prairie dog on the way out. The last twenty mile stretch was long but pleasant with the company. We took our time and enjoyed the scenery. I can’t emphasize enough how that makes all of the difference. And to have Ane there. What a summer.

Day 20 – Bummin’ around Rapid City.

2007-07-14T23:10:00.000-04:00

Rapid City, SD

Ahh lovely rest day. Slept in to a whopping 7:30 a.m., had a fantastic breakfast of yogurt and fruit provided by Ane’s family (and kept cold overnight in a make-shift cooler—ice in the sink covered by a bag of clothes), and went for coffee at the gas station across the street. We walked down to the bike shop, but they didn’t have a ton of inventory of things I needed. It was already well into the 90’s by the time we walked over there, and next time I’ll remember to consider riding my bike. Spent a lot of the day relaxing, which I’ve discovered is the number one priority for me on rest days. Ane’s aunt and uncle came to take us out to lunch at Boston’s, which was perfect: huge and fresh greek salad with a spinach and basil pizza. Mmmm. They were so sweet, and even were willing to take us to Target and the sporting goods store.

We watched to Tour de France on the TV, which was very exciting to watch with the cycling experience I have now, and with the people around me who were also all very excited. Then right before I went to bed, Ane and I sat down to watch my brother’s slideshow from the very first morning of our ride. It was so pleasantly surprising how much fun it was to view all of the photos from that morning, and it brought back all of the emotions, anticipation, nerves and energy from those moments. Seeing the pictures of everyone else who at that time were total strangers to me, and there were so many of these strangers that I’d spend the next 48 days with. Remembering those first impressions, seeing us all collectively as strangers, was such a striking contrast to and realization of our now tight community, now knowing these people’s stories, having shared every good and bad day I’ve had with those people.

Day 19 – Do not approach buffalo.

2007-07-13T22:34:00.000-04:00

Newcastle, Wyoming to Rapid City, South Dakota

Well, last night I laid outside on the grass talking until much, much too late. The trains came by at least every half an hour, and they couldn’t have been louder had we been laying right on the tracks. The street in front of the Senior Center was actually quite the hopping place at midnight, including some teens surfing on the bed of a truck. I was definitely tired today, my legs just weren’t feeling the climbing today, and it was probably because I didn’t quite the sleep that I needed. But if I’ve learned anything on this trip, it’s that you ought to take risks with opportunities that won’t come along again. I was tired today, but it was totally worth it and I’d do it again.

Today was such a strange day because there were so many different chapters to it. The staff at the senior center served us a good, hearty breakfast and then we started off on our last stretch of Wyoming. Before long we hit the South Dakota border and then had a good 1200 feet of climbing. From there we had a couple of good steep descents, always immediately followed by a good steep climb. Up and down, up and down. I swear that today was one of our biggest climbing days.

Our checkpoint today was in the town of Custer, SD, which was a cute little town. I wished that we could have stayed there at night because there was a nice stretch of small businesses and good vibes. At this point a handful of riders turned off-route for the rest of the day to see Mount Rushmore, and a handful of riders turned off-route to go see Crazy Horse. After a chai latte, I decided to just head onward because word had it that the Mount Rushmore crew were in for an extra twenty miles and a monstrous climb.

I was so glad with that decision because straight out of Custer we entered Custer State Park, which was BEAUTIFUL. Gorgeous boulders, plenty of coniferous trees, nice views, and picturesque lakes. It was fantastic. Plus, after a healthy climb again, we enjoyed a descent that was at least ten miles long. It wasn’t extremely steep, but it was long and winding at an steady average speed of 30 mph. Cars had a speed limit of 35 mph, and with the scenery, no one seemed to mind just hanging out behind us. It was possibly the most fun actual cycling experience yet on this trip. It was so beautiful and so thrilling, that I decided there was no way I wanted to stop and take pictures because I wanted to just enjoy the moment. Part of the beauty and excitement of the ride was the scenery and the riding together, seeing it flash by at that speed, feeling the wind and the curves of the road, being surrounded by the trees and the views, and I knew that I would just ruin it all by stopping and attempting to capture it.

Then to top it all off, we saw a buffalo. It was just Sean and I when all of the sudden, cruising down at that 30 mph, he slowed, stopped, and pointed. Not twenty feet from the road we had just flown by was a buffalo. We stopped and took pictures as it crossed the road and sauntered off, and we were waaaaaay too close (especially Sean:). I couldn’t help but thinking that if we had come cruising down that hill 30 seconds later, we would have T-boned a buffalo. But it was beautiful. I guess that the park recommends that you don’t get out of your car as you drive through the park because the buffalo are so dangerous when they want to be, and here we were on our bikes. It was pretty cool.

Probably no one was quite prepared for the last 20 miles of the ride. The day was so beautiful, and the scenery so enrapturing, that the last 20 miles up and down huge rollers, against a very healthy head wind took me at least off guard. But we made it. It was a good day, a hard day, and it was blissful to arrive at dorms with actual beds and nice showers knowing that we had tomorrow off.

Day 18 – Racing trains.

2007-07-12T22:32:00.000-04:00

Gillette, Wyoming to Newcastle, Wyoming

Naturally, in a place as busy as that city park, we couldn’t get a whole night’s rest without a little turmoil. A couple of kids ran streaming through our tents hollering and calling fire, but I myself was too groggy to do much besides open my eyes and vaguely intend to check that my bike was still there. It was hard to get up this morning though. I think there have been maybe three mornings now that I’ve been sure that my alarm must be off because it has seemed impossibly too early for breakfast.

Up and out to a good start finally, my foot/ankle was giving me a lot of trouble. The first thirty miles was definitely a lesson in pain management, but I was fortunate to have Sean pull me along for a little ease until Kathy gave me some ibuprofen. The rest of the day rolled along extremely fast. It was about a 75 mile day, but it seemed like half of that distance. The terrain was certainly not flat as predicted, but the rolling hills were gradual and glided by quickly as we averaged 17.5 mph. It was a good day rounded out by some cheese and tortilla wraps provided by Lisa and some incredible trains that raced us. The trains seemingly went on forever (which I found out later was literally 1.5 miles long), there were three of them, each car was laden with coal, and they were rolling alongside us against the dark distant hills and blue skies.

Camp, dinner, showers, and breakfast is at the Newcastle Senior Center, and it is so nice to have everything right here. My legs always appreciate the opportunity to stretch out and walk around, but tonight is one of those nights that I am more than content to just sit and relax. The people here are so sweet and generous, and the food was prepared with lots of love. We even bought some freshly squeezed lemonade from a little girl across the street.

Day 17 – Riding in herds.

2007-07-11T22:30:00.000-04:00

Sheridan, Wyoming to Gillette, Wyoming

Last night Ane and I woke up (probably by the highway which sounded like it was right next to our campsite) and both had to pee so bad. Grudgingly we slipped on or flip flops and fleeces to brave the night air, and were immediately dazzled by the stars. The spread was the best night sky that I’ve seen so far on this trip. With much less light pollution, the milky way was clearly visible. We were cold, we had to pee so badly, but all we could do was hug each other as the sky mesmerized us. It was the most worth-it bathroom trip ever.

When our alarm went off much too early this morning, it was the start to a very long day: we knew that today was going to be one of our longest mileages of the entire trip. In actuality, though, it was one of my best days. For the first half of the route, we rode in one huge herd. No real pacelines or organization, we played jute box and laughed at a surprisingly fast clip. (My generation was a little underrepresented as songs from the eighties were predominate from Tom, Allison, and Kari; us college kids have to work on that.) Ben and I shared another customary cream soda today, and before we all knew it we were at waterstop 50-something mile, then 70-something mile. Despite the mileage we were covering, it was a little disheartening to recognize that at mile 70 we still had 40 miles left.

I had a lot of fun today though, and the route was anything but flat. We had a lot of healthy climbs, and I rode with Sean, Ben, Kari, Scott, Tom, Allison, and Andy. It was fun to ride with these people because I consider them a little about my ability, but I had no problem keeping up and we had some good energy. It gave me a lot of confidence because I can notice a definite improvement with my strength and hill climbing.

We finally rolled into camp a little before 4, and headed over to Subway for a little nutrition on another $10 night. We’re staying at a city park tonight, which has showers at the community pool and is located right next to skate park. Busy place: I’m not expecting a quiet night.

Day 16 – In living color.

2007-07-10T22:29:00.000-04:00

Hardin, Montana to Sheridan, Wyoming

This morning we were the very last ones out on the road because Ben was on breakfast/water duty, but it totally didn’t matter, and it was nice to encounter various groups of riders as we approached the middle of the group. I feel like we’re coming to a really cool point in the trip where people are comfortable knowing their riding capabilities, their own styles, fellow riders who are compatible with all of that, and then also the comfort to mix it all up. It was really fun to see riders who are normally behind to be up front, riders who are normally speedy gonzalas’s to be further back, and etc. etc.

We stopped at the Custer Museum and visitor’s center where I found some beautiful postcards. Back on the road, we passed our 1,000 mile mark and then hit the Wyoming border. Montana has been our home for a long time now, and it’s almost startling to reach a new state because it’s a milestone that reminds us how fast our time together is flying. As if I can’t write this word enough, Wyoming has be BEAUTIFUL. Today was possibly the most colorful day I can think of. So many layers of color surrounded us: the red road stretched out in front of us surrounded by bright green and gold fields, some grasses that were almost blue, dark green trees, sheets of mountains and hills far away, and the ever brilliant blue sky topping it all off. It was also a super fun day because once we made our way up in the group, I found Ane with a herd and we all got to ride together. It was a hard day for me because my stomach was upset for most of it, which let me tell you is fantastic when there are absolutely no cities in a 50 mile stretch, but the scenery and people were good distractions.

KOA campground outside of Sheridan, WY is home for us tonight. It was a $10 night again, which means that we were give a ten dollar bill to go out and find some dinner in town. We found a Country Kitchen and then walked back for a group meeeting. A group of middle schoolers read about us in their paper and came to visit us. They were planning and training for a 100 mile trip of their own for the charity Wyoming Cares in August. It was a treat to share our stories and advice with these girls, and to see their excitement and answer their questions.

Day 15 – Short and sweet.

2007-07-09T22:28:00.000-04:00

Billings, Montana to Hardin, Montana

Today was a treat. The day was about 50 miles long only, and so we all took our time and poked around on the bike. I rode with Ane the whole day, along with a bunch of other people. It was fun just to take our time, knowing that no matter how slow we go, or how many stops we made, we’d still get in early. We played a bunch of games on the bike, attempted to unwrap starbursts with just our tongues, and Ane even did a little off-roading (a.k.a. rode into the ditch :). It was a good day, and when we got into camp we were thrilled to learn that our Hardin campsite was adjacent to a really nice community pool. After a little swimming and hot-tubbing, we wandered into town to a local diner and the grocery store.

The rest of the evening was spent being lazy and laying out on our thermarests on the grass. The local Hardin 4-H club was sweet enough to bring us ice cream and sang Happy Birthday to Dan Scott in Crow. As the sun went down, the four of us (Me, Sean, Ben and Ane) listened to music, giggled, and watched the sky paint itself.

Day 14 – It's a sign.

2007-07-08T22:25:00.000-04:00

Billings, Montana

Our rest day today in Billings is at Montana State University, in an un-air-conditioned building which was cozy nonetheless. A bunch of us walked to Perkins this morning and had a great big yummy breakfast at Perkins, with an impressive display of food on the table. We searched for some postcards, but nothing really was open on Sunday in Billings. I guess it’s good to know that there are still some places in the U.S. who observe some day of rest. Ane and I biked down to the Albertson’s grocery store to get some granola bars, etc. I was locking up my bike, and when I didn’t have a back jersey pocket on my tank top, I set my sunglasses down on the ground. Apparently I left them there, and after shopping I spent a good stretch of time frantically searching the grocery store for my shades. I knew that they had been stolen, and I just kept thinking about how these shades had been to the arctic with me held so many memories. As Ane was watching our stuff outside, she asked a man who walked up if he had seen a pair of shades. All he said was, “Yes,” and as he pulled them out of his pocket he proclaimed, “I’m sick of stealing.” If that’s not a sign, I don’t know what is.

A good chunk of the afternoon I spent at a local cafe sipping iced tea, downloading pictures, and talking to Andy and Iron Mike. It was relaxing and super comfortable because it was not too different than an afternoon I would have spent in Michigan with my brother. We rode from there to a downtown restaurant where we met a large group of Big Riders and I drank some home-brewed root beer.

Day 13 – The wide Montana sky.

2007-07-07T16:39:00.000-04:00

Harlowton, Montana to Billings, Montana

As it turned out, the youth center was a little too stuffy and a little too crowded for the relaxing night that Ane and I wanted, so we ended up setting up our tent on the football field with those brave souls. Then the wind began to blow, and blow, and blow. It was nuts. A storm was a brewin’ and we sure weren’t sleeping. We heard Michael outside struggling with his tent, and by the time we got out of ours, his tent had collapsed around him and his creaky cot. Tom’s little head was popped out of the top of his tent, Ane was running around her underwear and a make-shift skirt (a floofy little girls’ swim suit top), and Scott was up on top of the hill with his arms crossed just chuckling at the sight of us. All five of us were out there that night (minus Justine who remained in her tent so it didn’t blow away) helping Michael in the blowing wind pack up his tent. It was such a fun night, we were laughing so hard at the chaos around us that my tummy hurt, and Tom and I were snorting up a storm.

Once we got back into our tent the storm must have blown over quickly, or maybe it was just Michael’s cot keeping us up before :), but I got a great night’s sleep after that. About breakfast time we were really glad we had slept outside, because I guess some people were stirring, up and dressed by 4 a.m. Good God, breakfast wasn’t even supposed to be until 5:30. So Ane and I were grateful that we got to sleep in this morning. We got off to a nice start this morning, and made good stops through Montana at small little towns, including the home of the Testicle Festival. What a claim of fame, but unfortunately they weren’t serving the Rocky Mountain Oysters (a.k.a. bull balls) at 8 a.m. in the morning.

I was pretty tired today, for some reason, but for the most part, and for most of the riders, today was an easy 90 miles. We all got in during the early afternoon, and the terrain was pretty flat. I had two major highlights of the day: (1) Ben and I bought a cream soda around mile 50, and (2) Kelly finished the ENTIRE route today on her hand-cranked bike. Inspiring. What a strong woman.

I lied, there’s a third highlight of the day: tofu steak. Beyond Basil came to cook us our meal again tonight, and set it up around the park picnic tables. Holy moly. I can’t even begin to describe how fancy schmancy and delicious the dinner was, but for the meat eaters there was even grilled swordfish. Swordfish! Honestly.

As if it could have gotten any better, the sky just erupted at the end of dinner. A handful of us sat outside on the balcony watching it, and I swear that it was better than ANY fireworks we could have gotten at the fourth of July. It had been a long time since I’ve been able to sit and watch lightning like that, and what a show it was. Beautiful. And someone had told us that it never rained in Montana.

Day 12 – Holy hotness.

2007-07-06T19:34:00.000-04:00

Thompson, Montana to Harlowton, Montana

It was a bit of a tense morning this morning: we had yet another century today, we were anticipating temperatures over 100 degrees, and everyone wanted to get out early to beat the heat and get some miles in. Within a couple of miles our crew smacked right into some unavoidable construction. And by construction, I mean that the road was actually just rock and sand for a couple of miles stretch. It would have been fun with a mountain bike, but I’m pretty sure that my bike isn’t made to ride that. Most of us got through alright, but we had some falls with bikes, including the tandem, and I believe that some people got driven through because of safety. Right off the bat from there, we began again with a climb that was an 11-mile climb that ascended about 1200 feet. It was long, but honestly, I loved it. It was through a beautiful forest, the gradient was shallow enough to be manageable, and it felt really good to reach the top. Not to mention there were leftover cupcakes at the top :)

From there the rest of the day was up and down, but overall a gradual decline. But it was hot, hot, hot. 105 degrees. Holy hotness. So it begins. I rode with Sean and Ben the whole day, and we were a great team. We didn’t even make a paceline today, but we were going a perfect pace that was fast enough to cover the miles without over-exerting ourselves, and at a speed where we could carry conversation and keep ourselves entertained. For the last 40 miles we played some great games that I used to play on canoe trips: Boddacheli (spelling?), the Band Game, the Number Game, etc. etc. We also got some creative brainstorming going for how we can play cards if they were sticky, how we need those velcro balls/gloves to play catch with, etc. etc.

When finally we rolled into Harlowton, my sighs sounded like hallelujahs. It was a long, hot day, but I offer so much credit and respect for those who came after me – people who are working just as hard as me on the bike but had to be out there in the heat for hours longer. It’s going to be a trying week ahead of us. Thank goodness we have a rest day in Billings after tomorrow.

We are staying in a youth center tonight, next to the high school football field where a few brave souls are setting up their tents in the heat. The rest of us will deal with each other’s coughs, sniffles, rustling, zippering, etc. etc. in the name of (hopefully) a cool night’s rest. We’re getting used to these slumber parties. Beyond Basil is a restaurant from Billings that came all the way here to feed us, and it was INCREDIBLE. Best food by far. Not only did they offer the biggest pieces of (so I was told) delicious meat to the meat-eaters, their vegetarian food was more than adequate with protein and green leafies. I can’t imagine how much that meal costs in a restaurant, but it was delicious.

Day 11 – Continental divide.

2007-07-05T19:33:00.000-04:00

Avon, Montana to Townsend, Montana

We had royalty among us today. I woke Ane up this morning with a hug instead of an alarm, I figured that that’s how her mother would have done it on her birthday. Then I gave her her birthday beads and crowned her with her Birthday Princess crown complete with pink feathers. Don’t worry, I got a great picture of the sleepy princess. We were informed by a lot of people that they woke up to our giggling this morning, but that’s better than an alarm right?

Right away this morning we were off to a long climb right away. I started out with Ane, and then rode for a while with David, which was good conversation. When he stopped, I decided it would be a nice change to ride by myself for a while. It was an unexpectedly social solo ride; it was great because I was going my own pace up the hill, but between passing people and getting passed, I was hardly alone.

At the top of the hill we reached the continental divide, which was noted by a large wooden sign but no spectacular view or anything. After our photoshoot, and after Ane popped her gift of champaign, we embarked on the ten mile descent. We didn’t get especially speedy, I think I averaged about 35 mph, but it was long and beautiful. There’s nothing better than (a) feeling the thrill of a descent and (b) enjoying the scenery on the way down.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. I have a feeling that much of Montana is going to look alike, which is a terrain with its own beauty, but nonetheless you become quickly accustomed to. Our riding group switched up a bunch today, and then I finished up the rest of the day with Sean. We came into Townsend around two-ish, stopped at the gas station for directions and then walked into the bakery to pick up a birthday cake for Ane. As it turns out, we were informed that her mom had already ordered five dozen cupcakes to be delivered! Clever woman. So we enjoyed a delightful dinner and spread of birthday sweets, and lights out in the gym were 7 p.m. in preparation for an early morning start.

Day 10 - Avon 4th of July.

2007-07-04T19:17:00.000-04:00

Missoula, Montana to Avon, Montana

Second century in three days! Today we were off to a truck breakfast (French press coffee, oatmeal, etc. etc.) bright and early in the morning. I rode most of the day with Ane, which was such a treat...though maybe not so much for her :) Ane got her own personal coach with Iron Mike today, who gave her technique tips and also pushed her like our old swimming coaches used to.

The landscape changed a little today, mountains in the background and rolling hills of farmland and grazing land. We saw lots of cattle, some beautiful heron on a lake, and a whole herd of antelope. That was pretty sweet, I’ve never seen antelope before that I recall. Our day was pretty uneventful otherwise. It got pretty hot today, so it was good to get some miles in while it was cool. We stopped for while at a little creek to wade our feet in the freezing water to cool off. It was probably full of cow poop, but it felt good anyways.

The last ten miles of the day were pretty hard for me, I was just beat. But it was a good day, a long day for me, but a good day. There was a good mix of quick miles and pokey miles with conversation and sing alongs with Bob. Tonight camp is in a tiny, tiny town called Avon. It’s an actual campground here, with nice facilities, and a FANTASTIC dinner was brought to us tonight. Yes, it was spaghetti again, but the vegetarian sauce was basically a chili with beans and veggies. Then we were brought the “best pie in the country,” which was very good and very filling.

It was a bit of a long day, but it was so satisfying at night. I am continually appreciative and inspired by this group of people. I had such an inspiring conversation with Jody today, which made my day. She is possibly the most faithful person I have ever met, lives through spirit and love. I can’t help but think about how hard this trip will be to leave, and how lucky I am at this point in my life to be surrounded by such a community.

Day 9 - To the Big M.

2007-07-03T23:14:00.000-04:00

Missoula, Montana

As if we hadn’t had enough adventure for the day, we were walking back from the University center gameroom last night when six of us decided to sleep under the stars (peer pressure can be such a good thing). There was a hill/mountain that flanked the University, with a large M in the hilltop visible from miles away. About 10:30 p.m. we hiked the many, many switchbacks up the hillside up to the M, which it turns out was cement. A little further up near the top we set up camp: thermarests and wool blankets. The view of the city at night was incredible, and the stars, excepting a little light pollution, formed a welcome canopy. It was a perfect night, but I ended up with only about two hours of sleep. The stars kept me awake, much like when you attempt to fall asleep to a TV set, I just kept watching them and wasn’t ready to close my eyes. We stayed up quietly talking, and as it became colder and colder we formed a little huddle and layered the blankets on top of us. The morning came all too soon, and at 5:00 a.m. up went Tom to scout out the sunrise. For about 45 minutes we all waited for the sun to rise, taking bets (which of course I won :) for when it would rise. After the 6:15 rise, we wandered down for breakfast, showers, laundry, and NAPS.

Ane and I decided we needed a swim, and pedaled down to the river bank under a bridge. The water was super crisp, but a quick dip was as good as any nap as far as refreshing goes. It was so lovely, and the water was actually pretty clean. We spent some glorious time in the sun on the bank before I headed back for a two hour nap.

Awake and refreshed, the rest of the evening was a little more strenuous than planned. The restaurant reccommended was quite the unexpected trek in flip flops, and dinner turned into a 3 ½ hour experience. A little crabby at first, with a little food and chocolate mints, life was better. And ice cream. That always helps. And now, bed before another century tomorrow.

Day 8 - Centurians.

2007-07-02T23:13:00.000-04:00

Thompson Falls, Montana to Missoula, Montana

Today was an EARLY rise. We woke up at 5:15, but with the time change my alarm was still set for how our bodies really felt, in western time, which was 4:15. Good God. After a pack up, we rode down to the little Thompson Falls Elks Club for a really fantastic breakfast made by a woman who wanted to contribute (she was mother of a host to one of our riders back in Seattle). The group I was riding with determined that the most important thing of our daunting first century ride (over a hundred miles in length) was to get out early. 6:30 we were off and riding into the sunrise, with perfect weather, gorgeous scenery alongside a river (ever calling to me) and railroad track. We were flying, covering ground like it was our job, adeptly shooting photos from the bike of the mountains left and right, and were shocked to find that we were the first riders into the morning waterstop. The stop was in Paradise, MT, and we found one dollar coffees at the local cafe which we made communal because they were so huge we couldn’t finish them before we were off again.

From Paradise we had a stretch that our group joined two others to make our group Mike, Sean, Kari, Steve, and I. With a beautiful paceline going, we were cruising in the low 20’s mph. It was just fun really, to hold that speed, to look around and see the mountains, and to see the miles fly in the essential cool morning weather. The funny part was that as great as it was, each of us were thinking to ourselves, “Man, I don’t know how much longer I’m going to want to ride with these guys at this pace.” So it was probably for the best that we dropped back to eat a sandwich at mile 50.

The day became hotter and hotter, the traffic heavier and heavier, the shoulder smaller and smaller, and the trucks meaner and meaner. I can’t wait to get into Minnesota just for the kind of folk that return a friendly wave. It was near impossible at some points to enjoy the scenery because the roads required complete concentration, and this was mostly due to the returning Monday traffic coming out of Glacier Park. The rest of the ride went pretty smoothly however. Jody scared me a bit, because at our 56 mile checkpoint I was peeling a juicy delicious mango with my teeth, and she told me that 90% of people are super allergic to the skin with reactions similar to poison ivy. After rinsing my face super-well, I found no reaction and think I’ll look that up myself :)

After our 75 mile waterstop, when miraculously there were only two people ahead of me, we finished out a gradual 9 mile climb. It was hard, I was sweating bullets. After a breif stop at a gas station, where Mike and Sean devoured a couple of donuts, we came to the most rewarding moments of the entire day: the descent. Oh man. The whole damn hot day was so worth it just for this descent. Cruising down, we were so lucky that at this point we could take up most of a lane, because as I glanced down at my speedometer the numbers crept up and up. 47.1 mph was my max speed, and this was feathering the brakes a bit, and not in a total tuck. In the moment I wanted to tuck and just climb to higher speeds so bad, so it was probably for the best that I was creeping up to Sean who was creeping up to Mike.

We cruised into possibly the warmest reception yet, at the dorm rooms of the University of Montana in Missoula, in the speedy hour of 2:30-ish. At an average of about 16.9 mph, it was for certain a good 105-miler. The cafeteria food was incredible, with the largest, freshest salad bar I could have imagined.

Day 7 - Running out of Wow's.

2007-07-01T23:11:00.000-04:00

Sandpoint, Idaho to Thompson Falls, Montana

We left Sandpoint, ID this morning prepared for a day more beautiful even than the previous, and we were not to be disappointed. Idaho rocks. We stopped soooo often today, photo shoots were around every corner. After our customary warm-up 20-25 miles or so, we stopped at a cute little esspresso/produce stand, in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. There were two people working there who told us all about the Huckleberries we’d been eating in our shakes. They are sweet little berries that look similar to blueberries, but they can only grow wild. With so much demand, and no luck in cultivating, they are largely over-harvested. Very unfortunate, because the ice cream is dang good. I also bought a mango from them as they told us about the old silver mine behind us that goes all of the way through the mountain.

I had to change my tire today after it bulged from the expansion of the tube and the heat of the road (I think?). Fortunately for me, Andy so kindly gave me his spare tire, and not only that, he basically fixed it for me. He’s the best. Pretty much.

After that tire ordeal, the day was starting to get long. We had all stopped for so many pictures, which was so necessary, but made for a long day. I dropped back and pedaled with Ben and Allison for the last quarter of the day, and it was so perfect. None of us were concerned with keeping pace, we stopped six times in ten miles for photo shoots, and just enjoyed the company and day. Right before we came into town we crossed a huge beautiful river, with awesome boulders and rapids. Of course we stopped, and walked back onto the bridge’s narrow shoulder for pictures. Shared a moment with Trish over whitewater canoeing, and just appreciated. A quote that really summed up the day and the land around us was Allison’s: I’m running out of wow’s here today. That’s a good thing.

Well warned that we had entered bear country, we spent the night as a slumber party in high school halls so that we didn’t have to worry about relocating our food from tents and bags. Dinner was at a little local restaurant called Minnie’s, dessert at a great little ice cream parlor. No tent tonight. A little card playing. A little relaxing. And bed.

Day 6 - So I hear good things about Idaho.

2007-06-30T23:10:00.000-04:00

Spokane, Washington to Sandpoint, Idaho

Today was a definite contender for the most beautiful scenery so far. The morning began with a fantastic meal by the Gonzaga cafeteria (where Ane stuffed a few extra pancakes in her jersey for the road) and then we rode out of down in a huge paceline with at least two dozen people, which was really fun. Of course a handful of us stopped for espresso (thank you Bob, so kind of you), and we were off to enjoy the last of Washington. I met up with Ane a couple of times today, which was so wonderful. Our lead into Idaho was extraordinary, truly. It was like the northwoods of Minnesota but on mountains.

The day FLEW by, and we covered 75 miles in about 4 ½ hours, and it was absolutely gorgeous. I also mastered the technique of shooting pictures on the bike, which I feel will be essential. We cruised into Sandpoint, ID before 1:00 and walked down into town to eat at the nice little Hydra (or Hydrant in Tom’s words) Restaurant, and then of course stopped for the town specialty: huckleberry shakes. Even I had one, and they were delicious. I feel like I’m eating so much for this ride, but the guys on this trip are seriously devouring as much as they physically can. The quote I loved after we finished lunch was, “Well we’ve got to go get those shakes because we have dinner in an hour.”

Local News Article

2007-06-30T02:14:00.000-04:00

Liz and Ane made the front page of the sports section in the Post-Bulletin, which is Rochester, Minnesota's local Newspaper! Check out the article here.

Day 5 - Resting in Spokane.

2007-06-29T23:08:00.000-04:00

Spokane, Washington

Lovely, lovely rest day today. I slept in to a late 6:30 this morning, after waking up at 4:30, 5:00, 5:30.... But it still felt good. We went out to breakfast at a tiny little diner with one woman of incredible talent managed the long bar table by herserlf, taking orders, making the greasy greasy eggs, bacon, hashbrowns and pancakes, taking checks, and all the while telling us about her hometown New Orleans. It was pretty impressive. After a walk to the bike shop and the local Safeway to load up on fruit, I came back to the dorms for a while to work on blogging. A professional masseuse was coming in for extremely discounted massages, and when a spot opened up, I took it. $35 for an hour, and with my mother’s encouragement had a relaxing afternoon. It was so necessary, and worked out all the muscle knots and a nerve I’d been having problems with.

I’ve definitely discovered that the best thing to do on a rest day or long evening is to walk around and stretch out the legs. After a breif thunderstorm, a bunch of us went out to a Mexican restaurant and then crashed for the night.

Day 4 - The espresso team.

2007-06-28T23:15:00.000-04:00

Odessa, Washington to Spokane, Washington

Day 4 began with some great egg bake and fruit at the cafeteria, and we were off for a beautiful morning of riding. That’s definitely my favorite part of the day, the morning. The rolling hills we had forecasted for us were certainly rolling, up and down, up and down. We rolled into a little town called Harrington where hit up the post office and the general store for coffee and good old cream soda. Riding on we had a great paceline going at 18-20 mph until we hit Davenport. After an espresso stop we were ready for the long gradual 9 mile climb as noted on our cue sheet. As it turned out, the gradual climb was easy peasy with a tail wind at probably an average 18 mph, not to mention that the shoulder was HUGE and smooooooth and totally clean. It was fantastic.

From that point we began to hit some city traffic outside of Spokane. The directions were a little confusing, and at one point we weren’t entirely sure we were on the right road when we began a couple of mile huge descent. All I could think of was that this sure as heck better be right because there was no way I would want to go back up it. We were looking for a road called Artiole, and when we couldn’t find it we gave up and had lunch at a sub place. Turns out that Artiole wasn’t a road, but a road that kind of detours. With the help of locals we found the Gonzaga Jesuit college we were staying at, with sweet dorm rooms. It feels good to be in a real building, and not having to set-up our tents. Fantastic pizza, a glass of wine, and breaking into our own locked room late, we fell asleep on mattresses.

Tomorrow: Rest Day. Stay Tuned. Pictures coming soon. My brother freaking rocks. He made my website look great.

Day 3 - Ridin' with the boys.

2007-06-27T23:13:00.000-04:00

Vantage, Washington to Odessa, Washington

The day began crossing that beautiful blue lake on a massive bridge and up an immediate 1.8 mile climb. I got some good pictures, and the morning was crisp and refreshing. The climb was a piece of cake, though it was immediately following the largest and greasiest breakfast we could have asked for at the restaurant, and Iron Mike gave me some good tips on my pedal stroke. By the end of the days I had sore muscles that I hadn’t used before, including my abs and sides. On the way up we took a pit-stop at the Wild Horses Monument, a striking display of bronze horse statues on a ridge with a scenic overlook to the lake and bridge beneath us. I allowed some pictures of myself this time so that people could see I was actually there. I have found it very difficult to take a lot of pictures. I wouldn’t have a problem stopping to take pictures, but I never think to do so. I guess I just get wrapped up in the ride and what I am seeing around me, and I feel like the attraction of the landscape that it is so huge and surrounds you and that a picture wouldn’t nearly capture it. When other people stop to take pictures, I take some as well, but I’m going to have to try to work on that.

Today was a more challenging day for me. Everyone told me that Day 1 would be the hardest, and Day 2 would be the second hardest, but I found Day 3 to be much harder because I was tired and sore. We stopped this morning for espresso, which was a nice treat. Our ride took us through more brownlands, and then through some farmland. It was bizarre for me to look to my right and see desert land with brush and then to look to my left and see lush green rows of farmlands. Any green I saw I knew was heavily watered and irrigated, and it blew my mind to think of how much water it took to support these communities and where it all came from. Apparently the water was all fuelled from the Grand Coulee Dam and the Columbia River roughly 50 miles north of us. Unbelievable. I keep wondering what it’s like to wake up every morning to this scenery.

I think the best part of this day was that each field was clearly labeled with a green road sign as POTATOES, CARROT SEED, ASPARAGUS, etc. etc. It was great. Minnesota doesn’t have those, though they’d all be CORN, WHEAT, and SOY BEANS. It became a pretty hot day today, though I hesitate to use that label because I know it will only get hotter and more humid as we go. I was hydrated enough, but felt a little weary. We stopped again about 15 miles from the end to do a little off-roading on a gravel road to find some shade alongside a barnish building. After eating, the effect was close to immediate as far as energy went, and I’ll have to remember in the future to eat more than I think I need.

The group of people I’ve been riding with is all guys, and I think that my brother would approve of the clip we’ve maintained. We’ll ride at a good pace, and then stop when we want to for espresso or fresh fruit (though we found no peaches today at the peach farm), the energy is high, we get some good pace lines going, and we just have fun. It’s great because all of the guys I ride with are about a foot taller than me, which of course means that I make a poor wake myself but receive an awesome draft from everyone else. The great thing about the actual riding aspect of this group is that people are all over the place. Some are young, some are old, some are super speedy, some are much more relaxed, some people go and go and go, some people stop all the time, some people want good conversation, some people want a good pace, and no matter how you ride there can be people around you. Often the group I’ve been riding with are in pace lines or in a fashion where conversation is limited, but I LOVE it. I love the physical part of cycling, the feeling of the road, the feeling of the bike and my muscles. I can definitely feel my body transforming already from the cycling.

The last few miles our group rode alongside the Dimmitt’s, the married couple Greg and Trish who are riding the Crew’s only tandem this year. The poor guys can’t exactly stand up on their rig, and I can not imagine how sore they are from that. But it was really fun to talk to them, and they were good company on the hills (which I fall behind on until I reach the top where the guys are waiting for me). Finally we rolled into Odessa, WA around 2:15, a small, small town. Everyone was a little more weary than the previous afternoons, but it didn’t take too long for people to cheer up as we relaxed. We stayed at a high school athletic field, with meals catered by the cafeteria, which were surprisingly good. We found some ice cream at a local shop, and got stood up by some locals at a park for a volleyball game, though we got our fill from the park swings. It was a lovely night, with a great sunset too.

Day 2 - The WA desert.

2007-06-26T23:11:00.000-04:00

Easton, Washington to Vantage, Washington

I had no idea that Washington was so desert-ous. The first day was what I expected: pines and snow-capped mountains. Today our landscape drastically changed. Within 20 seconds of hopping on the bike this morning my toes and fingers lost feeling, and someone later informed me that the temperature was down to 35 degrees (which I’m so glad I didn’t know at the time). It didn’t take too long to warm up, and we had a pleasant rural ride through valley ranches and the such. Tiny towns, cute, and I even saw a cowboy hat or two. I rode with a couple of different groups today, and for the first part of the day we rode on a beautiful stretch along a river ridge. Far below us, it was bittersweet for sure. The river was of decent size, with a swift current and many rapids. It was a strange feeling because I wanted to be paddling it desperately, but cycling alongside of it had its own delights.

Before long, our terrain became brown, brown, and brown. Though contrasted with the brilliant blue sky, it was an awesome contrast. All of the sudden we came upon a Best Western and every kind of fast food joint you could think of, which felt so absurd that in the middle of nowhere here this whole city can exist. About six of us walked into a Subway, and were happy to sponsor us a meal when I asked. I think that will be the key to our lunch stops: it doesn’t hurt to ask for an alternative to PB&J sandwiches.

We picked up a bit of a headwind on our way up a looooooong gradual ascent today, in the heat and sun, but we were having a good time. We kept on expecting the next turn to take us into the summit, but it just kept going and going and going. Finally when we reached the summit and the long descent, it was so anti-climactic as we still had to pedal against the wind; when we should have been flying we were averaging around 20 mph. But when it comes down to it, it didn’t really matter because we were enjoying ourselves. Our cue sheets pointed out a Petrified Forest about 2.5 miles from camp, which was “worth the look about.” So we got there, locked our bikes up, started the trek up the ridge, and came upon the first two holes in the ground with fossilized tree stumps. We had a good laugh, decided we’d had our fill, opted not for the “interpretative trail” hike, said our thanks for stretching out our legs, and hopped back on the bikes.

Camp was at Vantage Riverstone Campground with a pool, laundry, store, and cafe, in the middle of nowhere again. A river had been dammed up to form a beautiful blue lake against the brown terrain, and later, the radiant skyscape. All day today, the clouds in the sky were just gorgeous, and just got better and better as the sun went down. We got into camp around 2:30, cleaned some bikes, took some showers, ate some watermelon, played some cards, and had a dinner catered for us at the restaurant (spaghetti of course), and went to bed.

Day 1 - Out of Seattle.

2007-06-25T23:10:00.000-04:00

Seattle, Washington to Easton, Washington

Well, well...what a day! Day One of our adventure found us milling around on a Seattle waterfront park at 7 a.m. During a brief ceremony where we handed over a check for $350,000 to the ALAW, it was a glorious cause and accomplishment, but I’m sure the majority of us were just antsy and itching to get out on the road. I was more nervous I’m sure than I was able to fully acknowledge at the time, but I was certainly was anxious. It was so nice to have my brother and father there for the whole thing, to hold our bikes, take pictures, send us off with all support and confidence. Having them and Ane there, and speaking to my mom on the phone, was grounding.

Finally we were off, and it was CRAZY. Our cue sheets with directions were 3 pages long with a million close left and right turns. It was so all over the place that I could barely glance at the sheet anyways. Fortunately there were a group of former big riders with us for the day to help guides us, which got us through the city (not without some off-roading still). There was a lot of adrenaline running through the group as we were going through the city, winding through bike paths, across the huge windy bridge, and past traffic. That was honestly the most “city riding” I’d ever done, I’ve been so spoiled with country road training around Ypsi/Ann Arbor and Rochester. It was fun though, and things started to wind down when we left the city. We had a climb to Susquihana Falls, where we all stopped for lunch and a photoshoot. From there I found myself riding with a Former Rider, Will, which was really good conversation as well as assurance as he offered me stories and advice from his own experience. Already I can tell that this experience will be flooded with inspiring people; every person I talked to today has such stories and perspectives. Honestly, what kind of person rides his/her bike across the country?

Next challenge of today’s ride was a climb up Dennis Road to beautiful pass, and then the glorious descent. The climb up was on small road through the forest, and the descent was on I-90, which I was grateful to have Will lead and point out hazards for me. Our group slashed through a field of crap on the shoulder at one point, little metal disks, which left many people with their first flat of the trip. We figured that some avenging motorist had thrown them on the road and was chuckling behind a tree as we road through one by one at 30-35 mph.

Camp was at Easton State Park, which was wonderful to stay at a real campground, what I think of as “camping” for our first night. All of our tents were nestled into the sites in the trees. A bunch of Former Riders met us there to cook-out for us, burgers and veggie burgers with salad and pasta, beer, juice and soda. We were spoiled.

Big Ride Kickoff

2007-06-25T02:15:00.000-04:00

The Big Ride is officially underway! The group of riders met Monday morning at Stan Sayers Park in Seattle, Washington to begin their journey across the country by bike.

To see the slideshow from the event, click on the photo below. There are a lot of pictures, so you may want to speed up the show, or get comfy!

By they way, this is Alex, Liz's brother. I'll be helping her with the photographic and web publishing duties while she's on the ride.

(originally posted on June, 29, but moved for continuity)

so our journey begins.

2007-06-24T01:58:00.000-04:00

Wow, wow, wow. Here I am in Seattle. My mother and I enjoyed a relaxing morning over coffee and conversation yesterday at Dunn Brothers (who has great coffee, but Jim there is a reason why they put all lattes in to-go cups so that you can't see the foam quality ;). We met Ane and her family at the airport, and after hugs, kisses, words of wisdom, and a few tears, we were off through security. After reminding Ane about travel-sized liquids in quart-sized bags, Miss Responsible Me gets stopped for having a swiss army knife in my carry-on. Awesome. But I certainly had my liquidss all in order.

The flight was easy and relaxing until before we knew it the pilot was announcing that already we were in Montana. Goodness gracious, wake-up call. The time it took us to reach Montana could be tracked in minutes--our way back would take us days and weeks. There were many emotions washing over me as we flew over the rolling hills as they gave way to peaking mountains: admiration, awe, nervousness, thrill, apprehension, and an already forming sense of determination. Those mountains, those roads below me, are goiing to kick my booty, challenge me, reward me, and command my respect for its terrible and beautiful terrain. Magesty. Without getting too dramatic, it was a flight unlike any I have been on. Seeing that horizon was still a fraction of the distance we'd be traveling. And every little wind in those pinprick roads, every little river and plot of land I skimmed with my eyes were the same that would take me weeks to traverse.

Our host Alicia picked us up at the airport. She, her husband, and little 11-month-old Jack were fantastic hosts. Ane and I were spoiled rotten in our little "cabana" out back, with supior home-cooked food, and a great walking tour guide of Seattle. It's easy to fall in love with the city, on the waterfront, with unique and welcoming vibes. Not to mention BEAUTIFUL. Perhaps I should keep count of how many times I use that word this summer.

After a relaxing morning, and a true Seattle latte, we made our way over to Orientation. It was intimidating to see so many people there, but very quickly was really calming to finally meet everyone and hear other people's experiences and etc.

Tomorrow's the big day...bright and early we have a big send-off and check ceremony. $350,00.00 is the amount that we're handing over to the ALAW. How cool.

Missing everyone already. Excited. Nervous. Ready.

home sweet home in beautiful Minnesota!

2007-06-13T12:01:00.000-04:00

Goodness, I realized that here I'd directed people to my site for the summer, and it hasn't been updated in almost a month! So much has happened in the last few weeks...

Thanks to everyone's support including my friends and family, the good people of Plymouth, MI, the fantastic community in Ypsi and the support of local cyclists, I was able to meet the pledge goal that I made for June 1st! It was such a good feeling, and the pledges are still trickling in as well. I have raised $5,575 to date, and all in total the Big Ride Crew has raised $326,870!

Last Thursday I finished my last day working at the cafe, scooped my last ice cream cones and made my final lattes for a couple of months. On Friday I made the long drive back to Minnesota with my baby (a.k.a. my bike), with a broken cruise control, rocking out to my brother's iPod and admittedly subsisting on a good store of caffeine. Of course I miss my boyfriend and everyone else, but it has been so nice to be home. Going out to coffee with my parents, enjoying the "spacious" home life after apartment living, our own washer and dryer, and of course finding bliss in the beautiful Minnesotan roads and countryside has been just wonderful.

Finally, I am making some of the final preparations for my departure. Ane and I made a trip up to the Twin Cities yesterday to make some final purchases at the huge Erik's Bike Shop. I got a thorough tune-up, got all of my spare tubes and such, bought some bike shorts, more waterbottles, etc. etc. We had a pretty grand time together. Waiting for my tune-up we killed time at REI and some local coffee/bakery joints, eating and watching the stylish city folk :) I guess we can be quite the pair together, and I think that the bike shop guys got a kick out of us (we were told never had people had so much fun in the dressing room while we tried on bike shorts).

riding to Chelsea.

2007-05-16T09:52:00.000-04:00

I love cycling. Thank goodness right? You'd hope that I do, considering I'll be riding for 3,300 miles this summer. Seriously there's a distinct satisfaction that comes from reaching a peak and then flying down the other side, from a steady incline turned steady decline, from riding against the wind, and then turning around and riding with the wind. That was my Good Thing of the day yesterday: after riding 15 miles to Chelsea, MI against the wind, my Good Thing was turning around and riding back with the wind at my back. It's a lot like previous experiences I've had: swimming the mile, finishing strong, and then cooling down in the warm-down; portaging the canoe, forcing yourself to just finish through instead of taking that break, and then flipping that canoe down gently into the water at the other end; paddling against the wind on an endless lake, feeling like you're going nowhere, feeling the canoe slide quickly backwards on any small rest, and then finally pulling into that eddy, or better yet that river flowing downstream. And for the record, I would prefer cycling against the wind any day to paddling against the wind in a canoe.

I have found the road to Chelsea to be a great training road. The speed limit is a little faster (55 mph), the traffic is slightly heavier, and the surrounding farms periodically waft the smell of manure. But all together it's a pleasant ride on the Dexter-Chelsea Road. The only thing that really I hate, and that I'll find anywhere, are the occasional big construction trucks or the pick-ups hauling trailers that wizz by within a few feet of you on your bike (I hope my mother isn't reading this). Actually, the countryside vaguely reminds me of my Minnesotan farmlands, though there is something distinctly Minnesotan missing and something distinctly Michigandian present that is hard to define. Maybe it's just the vibes.

I met a bone fide cycling coach yesterday morning on the road. I felt a little absurd and embarrassed to tell this professional cyclist how amateur I am, and yet I am riding my bike across the country this summer, but he was really helpful. He rode with me for a couple of miles, gave me some training and fit advice, and it was really nice. Here's a link to his website if anyone's interested (with a clever URL): http://midlifebikecrisis.blogspot.com/ It makes me realize how many cool people I've met so far, people I'd have never met otherwise, and how excited I am to meet my riding mates this summer along with people along the route. ALSO, how excited I am to start riding with my brother again soon. Poor guy, for various mechanical reasons (long story), and despite all of his efforts over the past months, his bike has been out of commission for far too long. Hopefully today or tomorrow he'll be ready to ride again, and I am looking forward to the training partner, and I know it'll make his day as well.

april showers really do bring may flowers...

2007-05-06T23:03:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone and thank you so much for your patience with my poorly updated blog. It has been over a month since I have last posted, and so much has happened since then. School has been out for a while now it seems. I had an all-nighter (literally) some pretty great dark circles under my eyes, and some anxiety-ridden dreams when I did sleep, but I pulled out of finals' week alright. This was the most stressful, most crazy, and at the same time, most rewarding semester thus far. Honestly: fundraising, training, working, and then some Organic Chemistry just to make things fun. I am still in one piece however, and now I am looking forward to the next month and a half as I prepare for my ride.

I am in the home-stretch now for fundraising. I still need about $2,000 left to raise before the 1st of June, and I am doing all I can to realize that. Unfortunately, I had a lot of trouble with the postal service last month. It turned out that 20 letters of mine were misplaced (long story) by the Plymouth post office and got out over a month late. I apologize to anyone out there who received one of these letters. Many of you reading this may have had me knocking at your door this weekend, and I want to thank you deeply for actually checking out my website and supporting me in this cause. It's so easy to just brush-off door-to-door "peddlars," and I really appreciate your support.

If anyone has any questions, or any words of wisdom or support, I would love an email or comment here (elizabethsch@gmail.com). And please, if you're in Michigan, stop by Cafe Luwak in Depot Town of Ypsilanti! I'm working a million hours this month, and there's a good chance you can say hello to me...come on....ice cream and espresso and a smile!

my good things for the day.

2007-04-02T06:39:00.000-04:00

My close friend Ane and I are stressed out; it's just the semester of tears and chaos. We're both trying to survive with grades, fund-raise for the ride, train for the ride, and of course deal with everything else that comes with being 20-year-old college women like relationships, family, etc. etc. Sometimes it's so easy to get totally overwhelmed, and it's all made just that much more difficult that probably the most stable pillar in our lives (each other) is hundreds of miles away. But there are three things we do to compensate:

(1) Technology. I'm a hardcore cell phone and email addict, and I am willing to admit it.

(2) Whenever we talk or email about all of the stress in our lives or cry to each other about this or that, we rarely end without "good things of the day." It could be the warm wind we felt walking home from class, cookies someone sent us, a good conversation we had with someone, or the prospect of a thunderstorm tomorrow. It could be anything. It stems from a tradition I've always had on canoe trips called Rose, Bud, Thorn. Everyone on the trip shared their roses and thorns from the day, and then their "bud," or what they were looking forward to for tomorrow. At the camp I worked at this past summer, we did something similar called the Grateful Circle. Oftentimes it was the most meaningful part of the day. Life gets crazy, and I'm not vain enough to think that my life as a college student is any more stressful than anyone else's. These are the things that remind me that underneath the craziness there's a current more simple.

(3) Our mantra: It'll all work out in the end. If it hasn't worked out yet, then it's not the end.

On that note, my Sunday was all a Good Thing. I slept in. My boyfriend and I went to Chipotle for breakfast/lunch; a new one has just opened, and they are rare sightings here in Michigan. On the way home we stopped at the U of Michigan Botanical Gardens. It was such a beautiful day as we wandered around the park. The spring is still early enough that the breeze kept us cool despite the sun, and the sun felt so welcome on my skin after so long a winter. The place was nearly deserted, and we sprawled out on the wooden bridge over the little stream (we were full and sleepy from Chipotle of course). Later at work, some older musicians came and rocked out on a harmonica and guitar, which was so fitting the night as storms were rolling in.

I'm not sure if I can say this without sounding cheesebally, but every once in a while you get to witness an image or a scene that is so beautiful, touching, and nostalgic, etc. Last night as I was sweeping in the back of the cafe, I saw a little boy who was at the age where he was just becoming more comfortable on his own two feet, but still walks stop-start a little. He was walking down the alley holding hands with his father. When they came up to the giant puddles, he stopped and seemed to not know what to do. Then like any kid does, he naturally discovered the deep and profound thrill of jumping through them. It's a shame that us grown-ups always have to keep our expensive shoes and clean pants dry. I can still remember my brother and I at our old, old house when we were little. It wasn't in the nicest neighborhood, and the driveways weren't all even--which made them perfect for making the biggest, deepest puddles a kid could ever dream of. My brother had green rainboots with frog lips and eyes popping out of the toes..

road dreams.

2007-03-27T06:40:00.001-04:00

It's a good thing I'm trying to post more often, because I mysteriously lost the draft I already made of this post...

Well, on Monday the temperature soared into the 80s here in Ypsi, and I took my baby out for her first ride on real pavement. After months now of training indoors on the cyclops trainer, I finally got a taste of what road riding was like. It was starting to feel a little absurd that here I am riding across the country this summer and I have never even ridden outside yet. And I was nervous. So nervous. Especially after a tense 25-minute rush hour drive in Michigan traffic, I was slightly shaking with the idea that I had to get out on the road with these cars--on a bike. But I did and it was EXHILARATING.

I am deeply indebted to my older, wiser, more experience brother (hehe, I know you're reading this Alex) who can show me the ropes and pick the right roads. We were on the outskirts of Ann Arbor where the cyclists are everywhere, the speed limit is lower, and the cars are more than courteous. The road was even scenic, winding along a small river that made me nostalgic for canoeing. It's a little saddening to be looking forward to a summer without a canoe trip, but on our short Monday ride I was hit with so many parallels between the two kinds of tripping--cycling and canoeing that is--that I think I'll be satisfied. Both have the same struggle with the elements, like wind, sun, and rain. Both will find me in a new campsite almost every night. Instead of whitewater and portages, I'll have traffic to survive and mountains to climb. And I'm sure that I'll discover that like canoeing, the company I'm with will make the trip.

As for the title of this post, I had my first cycling dream last night. I was biking uphill and the woman I was following was trying to teach me how to use both legs on one pedal, and how that was supposed to be so much easier. Somehow I don't think so....

and the sun comes out!

2007-03-26T12:19:00.000-04:00

Ok, I PROMISE that I'll get better at updating this blog more often. I am so indebted to my sponsors that it's the least I can do. Life is crazy these days, but there are only signs of good things to come--the air feels like summer now.

I was sick most of last week, and lost a lot of training because of that. On the one hand, I could more exclusively study for my monster Organic Chemistry exam without looking at my bike with guilt. On the other hand, my bum is pretty sore from getting back on the bike again yesterday. Since the weather is absolutely beautiful, I am taking my baby outside for the first time today! My brother Alex is going to show me the ropes as far as road biking goes, and thank goodness because as I've said before, I don't even like driving with these Michiganders (that's right--they call themselves Michiganders, and I have heard some controversy on the sexist implications of that title :)

lazy sunday morning.

2007-03-11T09:56:00.000-04:00

It's been a long, long time since I've updated this site, and I suppose I should start practicing for my route this summer. Something tells me that after all day of riding, my posts will be short and sweet and I won't want to spend a lot of time figuring out how to use the site. Something also tells me that I'll end up uploading my pictures and then letting my super-awesome brother take the time to put them on the site for me :)

Things are warming up here in Michigan. Ice cream sales at the cafe are a good indicator that the long winter months are ending, and I served a lot of ice cream last night. From couples carrying leftovers who eat maturely from a bowl with a spoon, to sticky-fingered little kids with superman ice cream smeared all over their faces and mysteriously too in their hair, the weather drew in all sorts of depot town wanderers. Pretty soon I'll get to take my shiny new baby (a.k.a. my bike) outside for the first time since the January cruise around the bike shop parking lot. Honestly, I'm a little terrified. Here I've been riding for hours, comfortably in my room on the trainer watching movies and listening to music, but I still need to learn how to really ride it--outside. Fortunately for me my experienced brother can babysit me while I'm learning. Good God, I hate driving with crazy Michiganders...now I'm supposed to bike on the road with them?

Safely inside for now at least, training is well underway. I'm up to about 2 hours a day on the trainer, with biweekly spin classes and a few core training and piyo classes. I've even dragged myself to the pool a couple of times a week, and surprisingly, despite two years of separation, we still get along well. It feels refreshing to get in now and just swim because it feels good, and every now and then I time myself for a laugh. There's just something entirely unique about the sport, and something about the water, that's hard to explain. Addicting too. Maybe I'll be one of those crazy people who never really quit for good. Maybe.

Now I'm off to get some more fundraising letters together and then I have some organic chemistry to tackle. Thank goodness training is by necessity a priority in my life this semester, there's only so much organic and quant. and genetics I can study before I start dreaming about it. And that's a bad sign.

smells like summer.

2006-11-08T13:50:00.000-05:00

It's November 8th, we've had two snowfalls already, the leaves are all off the trees, and yet, this morning felt like a summer morning. The streets were wet, the air was perfumed with rain, and the chorus of birds chirping as a rode my bike to the Rec slapped me in the face with summer nostalgia. No better way to start the day. The nostalgia always has two ends. One brings me back to endless summers swimming outside at Soldier's Field, waking up at the crack of dawn and saying a prayer for thunderstorms to rain out practice. On the other end brings me to the days and weeks spent up North, with a paddle in my hands and the ground (alright, more like my thermarest) for a bed. Many of my middle school and high school summers were split between the two.

The summer of 2004 found me very far away from home, still with a paddle in my hand, but not in the North woods. With five other women I spent 43 days up in the Nunavut territories of Canada. We were at the mercy of the wind and sun, rain and sleet, hot and cold, sand and ice, frozen lakes and rushing rapids, and of course, the arctic bugs. We didn't see another soul until day 41--excepting caribou, muskoxen, white wolves, and other small critters. Below I have posted pictures of our trip.

land of the midnight sun.

2006-11-08T09:55:00.000-05:00

click here for ultra-cool arctic slideshow

baby steps.

2006-10-19T14:25:00.000-04:00

Wow, this too is a whole new venture for me. First, I sign up to ride my bike across America, and next thing I know I am creating my very own blog. I guess this is just the time for new adventures. I must admit, my aim here with this blog is twofold—no, threefold. To start with, I am riding my bike across America next summer. Most likely if you are reading this you already know a little about the ride. And, most likely, I’ll be providing you with even more who, why, where, what and how's of this particular adventure. In short, it is a fundraiser for the American Lung Association of Washington, I am raising $5,500, and I will be spending 48 days of next summer with three of my best friends and three dozen others as we ride from Seattle, WA to Washington D.C. It’s only October, but come June, July, and August I will be using this site to detail the journey and upload pictures. Secondly, throughout this fundraising process I have been given the opportunity to re-connect with many people I haven’t talked with in ages. I hate being just someone who "wants your money" because I really do enjoy being able to get back in touch with people. This blog will help to let people know what is up, or has be up, in my life. Thirdly, and this is a teeny-tiny factor in the purpose of the blog, I am asked to create one for my current English class. But really, that is just a good excuse to start it now.

So there you have it. I won’t promise to update it daily, or very regularly at all, but I’ll do my best. In addition, I will promise from the get-go that you’ll have to deal with my enthusiasm (a.k.a. geekiness) for school, vegan cooking, reading and all other quirks of interest. I know there’s a little geek inside of us all...