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Week 3: 12 May through 18 May, 2002
Click
www.bamacyclist.com and navigate to "Where's Mike", then to "2002Fast" to see our ride leader's site
(complete with lots of photos!).
A special HELLO to Mrs. Thompson's class from the Collaborative School!
Day 21 - Saturday, May 18, Springfield, IL to Champaign, IL. 102.5 miles.
Believe it or not, today was 102-mile rest day. 43' at the start, with visible
frost on the rooftops, it was pretty clear many riders had 'pulled out all
the stops' in terms of digging to the bottom of the bag to dress warm. But the
cold was mitigated somewhat by the 'two breakfast' phenomenon..., we ate
Continental-style at the motel at 6AM, followed by luggage load, 5.5 mile ride to
Bob Evans for a second breakfast made somewhat slow by the Saturday AM rush. Underway
again at 8AM, the layers were already flying off, with sun out and temps likely
already into 50's. Of course, we had wind to keep the motif of 'windiest
trek' consistent. Today we were 'ridiing the grid' of rural roads..., pretty
much 4-6 miles east, with a brisk cross wind, followed by a left hand turn into the
wind to chug 1 mile at 10-12mph into brisk wind. Repeat. Day stayed cool. My
legs were so cooked, I dressed warm, and rode into lunch SAG (68 miles) with
the 'A-Team' who were behaving today. There was collective groan and/or
shriek at every left hand turn..., we are mentally shell-shocked from so much
wind. The was a lot of flood water evident. Many fields were underwater. We
saw ducks swimming amongst sprouted alfalfa and goldenrod. Plows stood idle.
Yesterday we saw sandbaggers along the rivers. We were on a two lane county
roads all day. Peaceful. Lunch was particularly peaceful..., in a cemetery,
where people sat on the asphalt which was warm and watched a herd of horses
cavort across the road. After lunch, FL Mike and A-team took off. I stayed in
tow for awhile, came a bit unglued on a headwind section, chased for 1-2 miles,
then decided to take some of Mike's advice and make a rest day a rest day.
Kicking back I did last 20+ solo (yes, it required reading the queue sheet;
an art practiced by some but not all riders). Anyway, while easing my way
through that last part, I got reacquainted with how contented I can be to just
ride my bike; even with the wind or the 'whatever' we have all experienced.
A bit of a slow day, so now a brief word about Road Kill. I've noticed the
most common species of animal we seem to see along the road in the east seems
to be a variety of songbirds. Possum, raccoon, skunk, turtle..., but the quick
color-flash of a tiny bird seems most frequent. Many times song birds are
audible, and the birds seem to swoop around the road, like they swoop over
the fields, sometimes flying quite close to the bikes. My guess is they don't
'know cars' until it is too late. I always hope it was quick.
The approach to the motel included Saturday PM traffic along a strip mall. Kind of
crowded. But the motel had a good whirlpool, and an excellent Chinese Buffet
within a very close walk. That restaurant really 'took a bath' when nearly the
entire crew of 'bottomless-pit' bikers hiked in and camped for a lengthy
fillup. Rest day of 100+ was capped off by checking up on my dogs and hearing
they are A-OK. Also made plans to see my Dad next Fri PM at Dunkirk, and
following day when he hopes to join us for a few miles on the road as we ride
through Orchard Park, NY within 5 miles from his house. There's snow in the
east, but it's May so we'll see!
Click
here to see the approximate route for day 21.
Day 20 - Friday, May 17, Quincy, IL to Springfield, IL. 102.1 miles.
Well, in case any of you have been wondering WHY I haven't spent more time on
the cell phone, being 'in touch'..., today was a good example.
Left in the usual 'gloam' of 6AM something - to make short ride to breakfast.
The BEST NEWS was my computer kicked in and seemed to be working. Breakfast
was incredibly SMALL; I pulled an Oliver Twist and asked for 'more gruel',
getting a double-up on oatmeal. Out into the weather, it was overcast with a very
brisk wind from about 10 o'clock to almost head wind. I found myself most
comfortable standing and plugged away finding my legs over the gentle up/down
terrain as we left town. It was 49'. So, that was the easy part..., the first
SAG didn't come until mile 41, by which time the temp had dropped a few
degrees and it was very gloomy. Wind had not abated. At the SAG, Mike
actually allowed luggage to be unloaded, as the optimistic weather channel
had left many people way-short of what was to come. I was reasonably prepared
and pushed off into hard wind, going 10-13 in wind and 18-20 with tree shelter,
of which there got to be less and less. OK, the computer was still working';
oh yeah, but then it started to spit-rain, rain more, and continue raining.
Martina had come up on me and we worked toward lunch. All day, I'd noticed a
certain 'bumping' quality to my ride, and tried to attribute it to the
concrete seams, but, with Martina as a witness, about 7 miles short of LUNCH-SAG,
my rear tire blew in a puff of smoke, leaving a 3+ inch tear. Martina was
right on the b=van-scene with her cell phone, and within 10 minutes Magic Mike
(aka fearless Leader) arrived and we used my spare tire/tube from the van. Many
thanks for him getting his fingers cold to mount the tire and get me underway.
Lunch was at some kind of Food Mart with HEAT and COFFEE and SOUP. We 'camped'
with everyone struggling for layers, as it was raining pretty hard by then.
MANY thanks to Karen for lending me her full-fingered gloves..., my main error
of omission. Setting off again through streets of Jacksonville, then off
again into this incredible Kansan (oh no!) like wind. Grind, grind, poor
visibility. Forty miles, kept at it. Traffic was very nice on this two lane
round. only jumped outta my skin once, which I think was unintentional. Martina
and I hooked up again coming into Springfield and navigated our way past the
Capital building dome to our motel 2 blocks away. Really didn't get to
'freeze-down' until I was in the lobby. People rallied pretty well to queue
at the ONE washer/dryer; get out of clothes fast for Route Rap at 6:30 and
given huge collective "whew" on this tough day. A few of us were trying to
eat next door, and waiting almost 45 minutes for food, I was really wiped out
(ie non-conversant) until I got a few K of carbs into me. Now Martina and I
have the room WARM, laundry stashed and tomorrow will come. Hey, I had a
funny feeling about our "13" last riding day was probably one of the top, oh
I dunno, 20 hardest things can recall doing in terms of endurance. All this
and vacation, too. So, that's why sometimes I rely on the webpage to do the
updating. 10-4 for today.
Click
here to see the approximate route for day 20.
Day 19 - Thursday, May 16, Kirksville, MO, to Quincy, IL. 78.8 miles.
Day started wet and 55'. Breakfast was slow going but no big deal given
relatively low mileage. Left at 8AM full of 2x2 (eggs + pancakes). Again on
RT 6E. Mike had deferred to giving us more scenic route because of the
weather. It rained fairly steady but not too hard for first 30 miles or so.
Small towns and closer together. Ground is saturated looking. Less hills. I
rode to 41 mile SAG in small ring, seated, catching rest from yesterday, ..., also
standing in wet shorts is ..., well, damp. Stopped in Elira Nursing home to use
restroom ..., and was motivated to get back out in the rain and ride. Keep
active while you can! Rode a bit harder after lunch. Partly to stay warm
which wasn't overly difficult. Rain let up. We quickly closed in on the
Mississippi River, but our crossing ended up being a walk across an adjacent
bridge to the main bridge. The pavement was ripped up, but it was actually OK
since we had a much better chance to see the swirling eddies, and barges being
pushed. We came into Quincy via the 'old town' with many interesting and huge
properties along tree lined streets. We made our way over to the usual
'strip'; followed up with bike cleaning, Mexican chow, long walk to Sports Bar
that was totally empty but had 2 PCs with free internet connections. Long walk
back due to non-thru attempt to navigate suburbia; ended up with an orange
freeze dessert. Returned to find my bike computer, which had worked right up
to the door is DOA, Bryan kindly spent 30+ minutes with me trying to
troubleshoot, but we couldn't get intermittent (mostly non) pickup to work. I
had it baggied all day and it doesn't appear wet. New battery didn't help.
Nuts. I think navigation stays easy for a few more days, so I'll have a bit
of time for a work around or replacement action. Watching the Giro on TV for
continued motivation!
Click
here to see the approximate route for day 19.
Day 18 - Wednesday, May 15, St. Joseph, MO, to Kirksville, MO. 140.2 miles.
We rode Rt 6 East all day. Left at 6:05 into rising sun, 55', no wind in AM.
Road was narrow, with negotiating with school buses required as we quickly left
suburban St Joe. I was feeling fine and relatively optimistic about the
day. Rode solo today, took short SAG stops and ended in 8.5hrs which is about
17mph average. For the last 40 it got windy, but was mostly a blasting
crosswind that only came at open fields..., NOT like KS where it seems it can
get at you all the time. Lunch SAG was perk up with cinnamon buns and sweets
from Jamestown local bakery. Passed a Menonite SLEEPING (!) in his horse
drawn carriage as the horse 'knew the way' and clip-clopped along the road.
Hmmm..., wonder if that's adaptable to biking somehow. The day was rolling hills
and farmland. The hills were easy enough to pretty much power over. Only
'bring-down', other than some fatigue for last 15 or so, is creaking
somewhere (headset? front skewer?) when I stand. I actually pulled in (first)
at the swell Comfort Inn and was met by 2 women and 4yr old Haley. They had a
cake with an A-B-Bike logo and lots of crackers/cheese/fruit/sodas. I started by
washing my bike out front where hose and clean/dirty rag bins were provided.
I managed to get Haley to come over and tell me about her bike, which is fast.
The women were saying "first person in was a woman!" ..., and yeah, that was OK
with me especially becuse of the kid. Everyone was in by ..., I don't
know..., including a REAL long distance rider, Bryon, who did 177 miles today
(he's training for Boston-Montreal-Boston). Several of us walked for super
pasta-fillup at this kind of Sports Restaurant place. Thunderstorms coming
in. Tomorrow is (much) shorter ..., maybe we'll have time to ride between the
drops. All around GOOD DAY; glad to a have long one behind us on such a nice day.
Click
here to see the approximate route for day 18.
Day 17 - Tuesday, May 14, Topeka, KS to St. Joseph, MO. 92.8 miles.
Almost like a second rest day on the road. Good start to second half. Left in 50'
sun at 7; day warmed to 70's with light wind from South as we continued NE.
Left Topeka before rush hour through downtown area. Day started flat to
rolling with road becoming more 'ribbon-like' as hills started to
chain-together out in the country. Very green everywhere with alfalfa and all
the rain. Rode with Fearless Leader Mike who demonstrated his drill sargent
voice by stopping two separate 'dog attacks' with ...well, one time it wasn't
even English what he yelled, but the dogs halted midstep. Very handy. We
diverged to check out small town of Nortonville, riding up the brick main
street empty except for a tractor. Mike said the trip leaders like to
explore adjacent towns just to know both the route and alternatives better.
We diverged again in the larger refinery town of Achison, KS where we went
to a combination Drug Store/HardwareStore/Bike Shop all in one. The guy there
had helped out the trip a few years ago. The front 1/4 of the store was all
bikes (GIANTS). He had the pump adapter Mike wanted. Everyone in the store
came over to talk to us. We walked a bit down the pedestrian mall to statue
to Amelia Ehrhardt, a town daughter. Then out of Kansas across the Missouri on
a narrow steel grate + concrete bridge. A nice dump truck followed me but not
too close across into Missouri. Again we diverged up a road that paralleled
the main route. Pretty bumpy but so quiet and green. Small farms, homes. Climbing
started at road HH. Mike got digital-camera-itis on such a nice calm day..., so
we practiced then staged this re-enactment of 'The Look' from last years
Tours de France with Karen's help at the top of a hill. Lunch was so peaceful
at the town common in Dekalb. Barbara had the red van (newly washed) set up under
the trees and said some people from the town had brought out the picnic tables
from the gazebo, so we had place to sit. A lot of riders were kind of hanging
out since the end of the day was only 20 miles away. Going into St Jo. we ran into
some tarring that took a detour or two, then town was very 'spread out'. Once
entering town limits we rode 10+ more miles, a lot of it through a bike path
park, and past some mansions and large buildings. Arriving at the inn, there
was a tour trolley right out front. The guy said he'd be back in 45 minutes,
so a few of us showered and grabbed a tour of St Joseoh, MO..., home of the Pony
Express. The trolley took every street in town, with this guy driving around and
around. He told us everything he knew, but said "I think, or I'm not sure"
after almost every sentence. It's a new job apparently. St Jo. has several
large indutrial complexes all apparently in some state of collapse. We saw
the place where Aunt Jemima pancakes were invented. It is supposedly haunted
now. She was the housekeeper, after whom the inventor/mansion owner named his
invention. A lot of large hospital/rehab bldgs, regional HS, nice buildings
downtown as the driver explained this town of 73K people is spreading out and
leaving downtown to museums and bars. We nearly died of thirst and starvation
in the trolley, but he did drop us off directly at Perkins where we
immediately began major carbo loading. Walked to Walgreens after chow; ate
dessert on way back to route rap. Tomorrow is 141 miles with a ton of hills, and
some narrow roads. Supposed to be 30mph wind from South (x-wind). So much
for rest..., anyhow the Giro is on TV so Martina and I will use that for
motivation. It was A-OK to be back out on the road.
Click
here to see the approximate route for day 17.
Day 16 - Monday, May 13 Rest Day, Topeka, KS 21.4 miles.
Bliss to not awake to an alarm. Everyone appeared to be up by 8ish...., roughly
equivalent to noon for us... Leisurely breakfast including digestion and 2
cups of coffee much enjoyed. Next was bike wash; a lot of us setting up out
front of the Holiday Inn to use hose, and relube. Also de-mudding cleats. Day was
70 and sunny. We are in a green suburban area with wide concrete streets. A
local biker guy had very kindly taken day off work to help drive people
around. He gave great directions and knew about a bike path. A few of us
wanted 20 miles of easy spin, so we rode to Capps Bike shop which was a pretty
big store. I bought better gel-cell gloves, a few tubes, and a heavier lube
that is for "wet and long distance riding". Then we rode an easy hour on a very
nice bike path that wound along a small river, through athletic fields and
amongst gardens maintained by various groups. The perfect ride for today.
After lunch I got some shoulder excercises from our resident riding PT, Jill,
and I'm pleased with my progress and also her help with specifics of how to keep
resting and improving. Late PM matinee of Spiderman for a bunch of
us..., perfect flick..., no thinking needed. Dinner, packing, back 'on the clock'
to ride out of Kansas tomorrow.
Day 15 - Sunday, May 12, Abilene, KS to Topeka, KS 108.4 miles.
Woke to the sound of pretty steady rain, checking the parking lot in the 5AM
dark showed huge puddles and temp somewhere ... maybe 50' best case. Needless
to say, people were dragging a bit at breakfast. But it started to happen as
usual, rain gear and warmer clothes came out. Left about usual 6:45AM in
lighter rain. I wore (heavy) tights, booties, skull cap, polyprosey,
windbreaker and my 12 year old rain jacket (left over from last trek..., when else
do you ride in the rain...) and amazingly enough I turned out to be pretty
comfortable all day. Sort of a relative term I guess, since of course we were
all wet (from outside, and inside), but I was warm except for the SAGs. The hills
of eastern Kansas started; the day stayed dark, high low 50s, intermittent
rain, 10-15 mph wind out of north with us riding "blocks" of rural roads
mostly east, then a bit north, then east again. We passed many herds of
cattle, managing to cause a lot of ministampedes. My theory is the cows were
'on edge' seeing as how a herd of cattle was lifted up in a tornardo and
returned piecemeal to the ground just a few days ago very close to where we
rode earlier one day...., anyway for whatever reason they really seemed to
react to our bright colored rain garb (haz mat suits as some guys dubbed
theirs). Before lunch, the 5 of us riding togther "power fixed' a flat
using teamwork and a puddle to determine root cause, quick change and Mike
appearing right on time in van for quick pump. Didn't even get cold. Before
lunch the quick, steep hills started..., real rollers stretching eastward. Just
a little too long to power over, it felt good after so many days of 'flat
sitting', but I could tell I was gettting 'softened up'... Lunch SAG at 76
miles was a cold curb in dead town. Saving grace was the one open Cafe. The
cafe was heated, with sloping linoleum floor..., very tricky in cleats... I
ordered a 'large' coffee, thinking 'mug' but the girl pulled out an oversized
styrofoam supersizer, so I sucked down about 24oz of weak mid-western coffee,
and the temperature was just right.
There were 35 miles left to Topeka and I just cruised, gained some 'alone'
riding time and really got off on the rolling, green terrain. Hills lightened
so I could get over just fine, and a bunch of us re-grouped to manage the
suburbs, strip mall negotiation to Holiday Inn. It is our DAY OFF tomorrow!!
People dove in here like a haven. There was a rider hospitality room, the
whirlpool and sauna were full. REST! We had road rap tonght so everyone was
clear on how to regroup Tuesday AM. One rider, David, the youngest guy (31 yr
old IT guy) had to go back to work. Everyone very sorry to see him go. A
'new guy' joined us, Joel, riding home to Boston. 1682 total miles in 15
days of riding. Yes, tomorrow I will spin 20 or so unless it's wet...but first
sleep in!
Click
here to see the approximate route for day 15.
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