Wednesday, September 5, 2012
RAGBRAI: Recap and Summary
Well, as good as my intentions were to continue updating this blog before and just after RAGBRAI, it seems that it took a lesser priority than a lot of other things in my life at the time. But as I had put a lot of time and effort into preparing, I find that I should at least wrap things up with a summary.
The end of June was an extremely busy time for me, so I was unable to really ride much the two weeks before Charel arrived. I was working 12 hour days a lot, and trying to pack up my apartment, so even though it was supposed to be a priority, cycling took a backseat to other things
After Charel arrived in the US, we trained every day. Starting with the end of the first week, we progressively increased our miles daily until we were doing 60 or so miles a day. We rode mornings, primarily on the trails before it got too hot out. The culmination of our training came when we rode from Cedar Falls to Marion one day, and then back the next. A good portion of the trail is not paved, and there was a county highway we had to use as a detour for 12 miles. This county highway, I found out, was more typical of what I would be facing on RAGBRAI. I had done little to no training on them, and it turned out to be a rather rude wake-up call one week before the ride. I did make it through, however, though it took us quite awhile.
RAGBRAI
I could write thousands of words describing RAGBRAI to you. The entire trip was a learning experience, especially about cycling, of course. I will not write thousands of words here (a month and a half afterwards I may not get everything anyway), but here are some highlights/notes:
-It was HOT.
The first four days were over 100 degrees, Wednesday being the hottest of those. People were dropping from heat exhaustion and dehydration everywhere. I have a pretty high sensitivity to heat, and it was all I could do during the first two days to drink enough fluids and to rest enough. Day 3 I was unable to finish, and day 4 (the hottest day) I didn't ride at all. I had told Charel to make me stop riding if I started to not respond, and that phrase probably saved me a trip in an ambulance. We got to the point that we were stopping every 5 miles or so just to be sure that nothing bad happened. The 4th day, we even had to call emergency services for a woman in our group, who rode in suffering from severe dehydration and heat exhaustion. She recovered eventually, but had to sit out the rest of the week.
Days 5-7 were cooler due to a rainstorm, but were still in the mid 90's.
-It was windy.
Thankfully it wasn't wind-blasting-in-your-face every day, but 3 of the days were. The two days that I began to ride, but dropped out, were partially due to a strong headwind completely sapping my strength (and not giving me much time to drink. Or breathe.) This will be an issue I will have to address with gear (back-mounted water supply, lighter bike) and training (riding into the damn wind more). There was a day where the wind was at our backs for most of the ride; Day 5 going from Marshalltown into Cedar Rapids. It ended up being over 90 miles by the time we were done, but the strong tailwind and rolling hills (plus a day of rest) made it so I completed the day the quickest that I ever have.
-Bikes, everywhere.
This seems like a no-brainer, but until you see it in person, it doesn't really sink in just how many people are riding with you. A never-ending river of bikes. Taking over small towns and farm driveways (especially those with shade) along the entire route. Riding along with the big flow of bikes out of the overnight towns, when I had only ridden with a couple of other people at a time previously, was a pretty exhilarating experience.
-Tents, everywhere.
Most people camped out in tents, ourselves included. I hadn't slept in a tent since I was a child, and Charel had never really camped before. We did purchase an air mattress, which made it pretty comfortable. There were campgrounds everywhere, even along sidewalks where there was only 6 feet of space between the sidewalk and a fence or building. Shade was at a premium, especially during the first few days. We got to be pretty good at setting up our tent by the end of the week, although it was a pretty easy one to assemble in the first place. If people weren't in tents, then they were in old converted schoolbuses, or RVs.
-The food.
As with any event, most of the food was pretty expensive. I do have to say that some of it, however, was worth it. Some of it was not. The breakfast burritos that we had one morning were excellent, the dry corndog and sour lemonade we had one evening was not. One place we went to (a bar) actually ran out of food. This turned out to be in our favor, as we found another place, a Mom-and-pop sort of place, that was selling lots of food for only 10 dollars or so. Another place was a local church serving lasagna with sides for 10 dollars as well (which they ran out of shortly before we were going to leave). I had hard-boiled eggs on a stick, a turkey leg, kolaches, and lots and lots of Gatorade. We ate at a Subway at least 3 times during the week, which seemed like finding treasure whenever we did.
-The people
Tons of people everywhere. Riders in various bike clothes or costumes (we saw a few bananas and lots of tu-tus). Vendors dealing out food, water, and sweets to huge lines. People of the town sitting in lawn chairs waving at all of the cyclists as they rode by. State troopers blocking off highways and directing traffic while playing music through huge speakers or shouting encouragement.
The corn.
Reserve (or even primary) toilets. And of course, it's everywhere. Not much else to say about that.
The experience.
I have never done anything like RAGBRAI. I got to see lots of things and people that I don't think I would be able to see anywhere else. There are lots of things I didn't get to do (quite a few of my friends took the "drink and ride" way, I did not). People from all over the country, even the world, all riding together across this quiet state.
I do not consider myself an athlete, not even now. I am still a bit surprised that I rode as much as I did, even though I didn't do all of it. I learned a lot of lessons about myself and my body's limits, and what it will take to be able to train better for next time. I do want there to be a next time, even if it ends up being a few years from now. It was hard, I was kind of dreading it, but now that it's over I want to try again.
Just like everyone told me I would.
The end of June was an extremely busy time for me, so I was unable to really ride much the two weeks before Charel arrived. I was working 12 hour days a lot, and trying to pack up my apartment, so even though it was supposed to be a priority, cycling took a backseat to other things
After Charel arrived in the US, we trained every day. Starting with the end of the first week, we progressively increased our miles daily until we were doing 60 or so miles a day. We rode mornings, primarily on the trails before it got too hot out. The culmination of our training came when we rode from Cedar Falls to Marion one day, and then back the next. A good portion of the trail is not paved, and there was a county highway we had to use as a detour for 12 miles. This county highway, I found out, was more typical of what I would be facing on RAGBRAI. I had done little to no training on them, and it turned out to be a rather rude wake-up call one week before the ride. I did make it through, however, though it took us quite awhile.
RAGBRAI
I could write thousands of words describing RAGBRAI to you. The entire trip was a learning experience, especially about cycling, of course. I will not write thousands of words here (a month and a half afterwards I may not get everything anyway), but here are some highlights/notes:
-It was HOT.The first four days were over 100 degrees, Wednesday being the hottest of those. People were dropping from heat exhaustion and dehydration everywhere. I have a pretty high sensitivity to heat, and it was all I could do during the first two days to drink enough fluids and to rest enough. Day 3 I was unable to finish, and day 4 (the hottest day) I didn't ride at all. I had told Charel to make me stop riding if I started to not respond, and that phrase probably saved me a trip in an ambulance. We got to the point that we were stopping every 5 miles or so just to be sure that nothing bad happened. The 4th day, we even had to call emergency services for a woman in our group, who rode in suffering from severe dehydration and heat exhaustion. She recovered eventually, but had to sit out the rest of the week.
Days 5-7 were cooler due to a rainstorm, but were still in the mid 90's.
-It was windy.Thankfully it wasn't wind-blasting-in-your-face every day, but 3 of the days were. The two days that I began to ride, but dropped out, were partially due to a strong headwind completely sapping my strength (and not giving me much time to drink. Or breathe.) This will be an issue I will have to address with gear (back-mounted water supply, lighter bike) and training (riding into the damn wind more). There was a day where the wind was at our backs for most of the ride; Day 5 going from Marshalltown into Cedar Rapids. It ended up being over 90 miles by the time we were done, but the strong tailwind and rolling hills (plus a day of rest) made it so I completed the day the quickest that I ever have.
This seems like a no-brainer, but until you see it in person, it doesn't really sink in just how many people are riding with you. A never-ending river of bikes. Taking over small towns and farm driveways (especially those with shade) along the entire route. Riding along with the big flow of bikes out of the overnight towns, when I had only ridden with a couple of other people at a time previously, was a pretty exhilarating experience.
Most people camped out in tents, ourselves included. I hadn't slept in a tent since I was a child, and Charel had never really camped before. We did purchase an air mattress, which made it pretty comfortable. There were campgrounds everywhere, even along sidewalks where there was only 6 feet of space between the sidewalk and a fence or building. Shade was at a premium, especially during the first few days. We got to be pretty good at setting up our tent by the end of the week, although it was a pretty easy one to assemble in the first place. If people weren't in tents, then they were in old converted schoolbuses, or RVs.
-The food.
As with any event, most of the food was pretty expensive. I do have to say that some of it, however, was worth it. Some of it was not. The breakfast burritos that we had one morning were excellent, the dry corndog and sour lemonade we had one evening was not. One place we went to (a bar) actually ran out of food. This turned out to be in our favor, as we found another place, a Mom-and-pop sort of place, that was selling lots of food for only 10 dollars or so. Another place was a local church serving lasagna with sides for 10 dollars as well (which they ran out of shortly before we were going to leave). I had hard-boiled eggs on a stick, a turkey leg, kolaches, and lots and lots of Gatorade. We ate at a Subway at least 3 times during the week, which seemed like finding treasure whenever we did.
-The people
Tons of people everywhere. Riders in various bike clothes or costumes (we saw a few bananas and lots of tu-tus). Vendors dealing out food, water, and sweets to huge lines. People of the town sitting in lawn chairs waving at all of the cyclists as they rode by. State troopers blocking off highways and directing traffic while playing music through huge speakers or shouting encouragement.
Reserve (or even primary) toilets. And of course, it's everywhere. Not much else to say about that.
The experience.
I have never done anything like RAGBRAI. I got to see lots of things and people that I don't think I would be able to see anywhere else. There are lots of things I didn't get to do (quite a few of my friends took the "drink and ride" way, I did not). People from all over the country, even the world, all riding together across this quiet state.
I do not consider myself an athlete, not even now. I am still a bit surprised that I rode as much as I did, even though I didn't do all of it. I learned a lot of lessons about myself and my body's limits, and what it will take to be able to train better for next time. I do want there to be a next time, even if it ends up being a few years from now. It was hard, I was kind of dreading it, but now that it's over I want to try again.
Just like everyone told me I would.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Road to RAGBRAI: Metric Century
Distance: 63.5 mi / 102.1 km
Time: 5 hours 25 minutes
Route Taken: North Riverside, Cedar Valley Nature Trail
I tried to be a bit more prepared than last time I took a long ride. It appears that I'm not quite there yet, but I certainly did better this time.
I brought a peanut butter and honey (spun clover, mmmm) sandwich, some pretzels/honey roasted peanuts, 3 granola bars, a banana, two 32oz bottles of gatorade, and my two 20oz bottles full of water. One of the gatorade bottles had been shoved to the back of the fridge, so it was frozen. I figured it would melt by the time I got to it, so I took it with me anyway. I had a bowl of cereal before I left. For next time, I think another sandwich would be great, more to eat beforehand would be better, and I definitely need some more fluids. Well, one more water bottle anyway. My bottle of gatorade never did thaw out, so I bought another smaller one on the way home.
I took the same route that I did last time, I just went further along the trail. I wanted to make it to La Porte City this time, so I set that as my goal. The wind wasn't bad, but it was a headwind, so I got tired kind of quickly. I got warmed up ok though, after about 5 miles, and then was able to pedal without many problems.
I got to La Porte City and decided, for some reason, to keep going. I had heard that the trail bridge was still washed out over the Cedar River between La Porte and the town of Brandon, so I guess I wanted to see this for myself. I'm honestly a bit surprised that they haven't rebuilt it in the 4 years after the flood that destroyed it, but I suppose that a bridge wasn't their biggest priority. I plan on riding to Marion on Monday, so I will need to take a detour on a few county roads.
I really don't have much else to note about the trip, honestly. I was kind of light-headed but it didn't get as bad as last time, at least. As I said, I will likely need to eat/drink more, and just get used to the distance.
I did buy a new saddle a few days ago, just to test it out and see. It isn't molded up in the back like the other one is, but the part near the nose is wider so it still digs into my butt, just in a different place. It hurt quite a bit today by the end of the ride. I still haven't decided if its any better or any worse. I can return it within 30 days though, so I'll give it another week or two.
I might ride tomorrow if I have time, but not far. I need to get used to getting back on the bike after a long ride. My first big trip to Marion/Cedar Rapids on Monday, hopefully I make it with no problems!
Time: 5 hours 25 minutes
Route Taken: North Riverside, Cedar Valley Nature Trail
I tried to be a bit more prepared than last time I took a long ride. It appears that I'm not quite there yet, but I certainly did better this time.
I brought a peanut butter and honey (spun clover, mmmm) sandwich, some pretzels/honey roasted peanuts, 3 granola bars, a banana, two 32oz bottles of gatorade, and my two 20oz bottles full of water. One of the gatorade bottles had been shoved to the back of the fridge, so it was frozen. I figured it would melt by the time I got to it, so I took it with me anyway. I had a bowl of cereal before I left. For next time, I think another sandwich would be great, more to eat beforehand would be better, and I definitely need some more fluids. Well, one more water bottle anyway. My bottle of gatorade never did thaw out, so I bought another smaller one on the way home.
I took the same route that I did last time, I just went further along the trail. I wanted to make it to La Porte City this time, so I set that as my goal. The wind wasn't bad, but it was a headwind, so I got tired kind of quickly. I got warmed up ok though, after about 5 miles, and then was able to pedal without many problems.
I got to La Porte City and decided, for some reason, to keep going. I had heard that the trail bridge was still washed out over the Cedar River between La Porte and the town of Brandon, so I guess I wanted to see this for myself. I'm honestly a bit surprised that they haven't rebuilt it in the 4 years after the flood that destroyed it, but I suppose that a bridge wasn't their biggest priority. I plan on riding to Marion on Monday, so I will need to take a detour on a few county roads.
I really don't have much else to note about the trip, honestly. I was kind of light-headed but it didn't get as bad as last time, at least. As I said, I will likely need to eat/drink more, and just get used to the distance.
I did buy a new saddle a few days ago, just to test it out and see. It isn't molded up in the back like the other one is, but the part near the nose is wider so it still digs into my butt, just in a different place. It hurt quite a bit today by the end of the ride. I still haven't decided if its any better or any worse. I can return it within 30 days though, so I'll give it another week or two.
I might ride tomorrow if I have time, but not far. I need to get used to getting back on the bike after a long ride. My first big trip to Marion/Cedar Rapids on Monday, hopefully I make it with no problems!
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Backbone State Park
Oh look, a non-biking post! (mostly)
I love Backbone State Park. I've been there several times, and the scenery is always gorgeous. This time, my family was camping there for a week, so I popped over there for a night. I brought my bike but only rode about 10 miles, so not much to say on that. Pictures are worth more anyway, so, here we go:
The rest of the pictures (along with previous trips) are here: Backbone State Park
I love Backbone State Park. I've been there several times, and the scenery is always gorgeous. This time, my family was camping there for a week, so I popped over there for a night. I brought my bike but only rode about 10 miles, so not much to say on that. Pictures are worth more anyway, so, here we go:
The rest of the pictures (along with previous trips) are here: Backbone State Park
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Road to RAGBRAI: Drained and Unraveled
Distance: 52.5 mi / 84.5 km
Time: 4 hours 32 minutes
Route Taken: North Riverside, Cedar Valley Nature Trail
The post title is more of a description of events than it is my mental state. But more on that in a bit.
The weather website promised good cycling weather; sunny, warm, small wind from the south. While it was right on most of those, it was at no point blowing from the south. It blew from the east, actually, which is the direction I decided to go. The wind wasn't strong enough to really make a difference, so I wasn't too worried about it.
I thought about taking my usual loop, but I ultimately decided on going straight through Waterloo down the Cedar Valley Nature Trail. This trail ends up in Cedar Rapids (an hour drive away, or 62 miles to the very north part of town according to Google). Of course I wasn't going to go quite that far, but as this is a ride I'm planning on making, I figured it would be a good idea to scout out the northern leg of the trip.
I left pretty early, as I knew this ride would take me 6 or so hours to complete. It turned out to be pretty hot out today, so I probably should start leaving even earlier than that. The trails were pretty much deserted for the first hour or two of my trip. I took the trail on the northern side of the Cedar River, as opposed to the southern side as I usually do. Everything past Highway 218 was going to be new to me. I found the first part of the trip nice and relaxing, as it was mostly shaded by trees. I could tell that this area was one that would be under water when we get floods every few years. The trail ran alongside a lake at one point, and it was only about 2 feet above the waterline. My theory was proven when the trail ramped up onto the levee. Someone had drawn lines where the flood had reached previous years. The highest, of course, was in 2008, when we had a pretty nasty flood through the entire area. I don't think we'll really have to worry about it much this year, however, as it has been pretty dry this whole summer so far.
The trail ran down by the river once again when I reached downtown Waterloo, and I reached what looked like orange construction barriers in my path. I was circling back around to find a detour when a man in construction clothes came up to me and said "It's not actually blocked off, the fences are staggered." The gap between the two was pretty tight, but not so bad that I had to get off my bike. It did feel sort of like an obstacle course, though.
There was another one of these kinds of gates a bit further down the trail, at a railroad crossing. I did have to get off my bike for this one, which I think was by design. There was a train, but it was so far down the tracks that I didn't really have much to worry about.
I was still in Waterloo when I noticed that both my handlebar tape and my bandage on my finger (a burn) were both starting to come undone. The bandage was under my gloves, so it wouldn't have flown off or anything, but the handlebar tape was starting bug me. I had to stop for a few minutes and attempt to re-wrap it. I will have to do a better job later, but my patch job held, at least.
The trail took me next through Evansdale. It ran along a pretty busy road for about a mile, which made me a bit nervous. The drivers seemed to be pretty used to cyclists though. I never get entirely comfortable riding on the street, however, since there are some drivers that are oblivious, or malicious, or just completely incapable of driving period. As I would come out the loser in a fight between car and bike, I try to pay attention to what is going on.
South of Evansdale, the trail began to go through typical Iowa wilderness. By that, I mean cornfields. Sometimes there was a narrow band of trees on either side of the trail, but you could still see the fields through them. There were enough trees around to house plenty of bugs, though, and a lot of them seemed suicidal enough to dive in front of me. I had to wipe bug guts off of my sunglasses a couple times, and spit out a couple of them too. At least I didn't swallow any.
My next town I reached was Gilbertville, which I passed through in a matter of 10 seconds. One of those little Iowa towns that has about 10 streets total. After that, it was pure cornfields again.
I had been thinking about where to turn around, whether it was at 25 miles in, or at the next town (La Porte City). I wasn't sure when the town would be, so I decided to go a certain distance past 25 miles on my odometer. If I reached the town first, I would turn around, if I reached the number first, I would turn around then. It happened that I reached the number of miles first, so I took a U-turn and headed back towards home. After looking at the map when I got back, I was only about a mile and a half out from La Porte City. I suppose I'll get there next time, then.
The trip back to civilization was pretty uneventful, aside from my butt starting to hurt a lot, and an increasing desire to urinate. I knew there wasn't a gas station close to the trail in Gilbertville, so I had to make it back to Evansdale. It wasn't really an emergency, though, and I stopped for a break at a gazebo on the river. My mom happened to call me while I was resting, so the break stretched to about half an hour long, which was probably good. I don't think I take long enough breaks sometimes.
I was just south of Highway 20 when I started to feel really lightheaded. As I had drank a lot of water and Gatorade, I knew it was because I hadn't eaten enough. This event turned the "stop to pee" break into "stop to pee, eat, rest, walk around, and get out of the sun". I stopped at a Caseys General store, took care of business, filled up my water bottle (from the faucet, not myself), and bought another bottle of Gatorade. There wasn't much option for food, though. I settled on a bacon cheeseburger, although I would have preferred something that wasn't hot. After I started to eat it, though, it was utterly delicious. I could have probably eaten two or three of them, I was so hungry. I stuck with one, though, as I didn't feel like paying restaurant prices at a gas station more than I had to.
I set off on the way home again and only had to stop one more time. The wind was at my back for a lot of the trip home, which was a relief, and a pretty welcome change from last time I rode a long distance. I stopped because of my butt (again!) and because I figured I should at least drink more fluids as it was getting pretty hot outside.
Aside from nearly hit by a turning car on Main Street (stupid college girls), I made it home alright. My legs seem fine, but my butt still hurts a bit. I know it's the saddle, because the back of it digs into my rear end pretty hard. I will try to adjust it a bit before investing in a new one (as this one cost me a lot of money), but I might have to do just that. I also have realized that I need to take in a bit more food before and during the rides. I also went through three 20oz bottles of water and about 50oz of Gatorade. I would have ran out, had I not stopped at the store. I guess I also need to re-think how much fluids I take, as well, as my rides will just get longer. It's good to work these issues out now, however, instead of realizing this all on RAGBRAI and being in major trouble.
I may ride tomorrow, I'm not sure yet. I'm pretty happy with how today went, as I can tell I'm getting stronger, and the issues are starting to work themselves out (or at least present themselves so I can fix them)
This was my route today:
Time: 4 hours 32 minutes
Route Taken: North Riverside, Cedar Valley Nature Trail
The post title is more of a description of events than it is my mental state. But more on that in a bit.
The weather website promised good cycling weather; sunny, warm, small wind from the south. While it was right on most of those, it was at no point blowing from the south. It blew from the east, actually, which is the direction I decided to go. The wind wasn't strong enough to really make a difference, so I wasn't too worried about it.
I thought about taking my usual loop, but I ultimately decided on going straight through Waterloo down the Cedar Valley Nature Trail. This trail ends up in Cedar Rapids (an hour drive away, or 62 miles to the very north part of town according to Google). Of course I wasn't going to go quite that far, but as this is a ride I'm planning on making, I figured it would be a good idea to scout out the northern leg of the trip.
I left pretty early, as I knew this ride would take me 6 or so hours to complete. It turned out to be pretty hot out today, so I probably should start leaving even earlier than that. The trails were pretty much deserted for the first hour or two of my trip. I took the trail on the northern side of the Cedar River, as opposed to the southern side as I usually do. Everything past Highway 218 was going to be new to me. I found the first part of the trip nice and relaxing, as it was mostly shaded by trees. I could tell that this area was one that would be under water when we get floods every few years. The trail ran alongside a lake at one point, and it was only about 2 feet above the waterline. My theory was proven when the trail ramped up onto the levee. Someone had drawn lines where the flood had reached previous years. The highest, of course, was in 2008, when we had a pretty nasty flood through the entire area. I don't think we'll really have to worry about it much this year, however, as it has been pretty dry this whole summer so far.
The trail ran down by the river once again when I reached downtown Waterloo, and I reached what looked like orange construction barriers in my path. I was circling back around to find a detour when a man in construction clothes came up to me and said "It's not actually blocked off, the fences are staggered." The gap between the two was pretty tight, but not so bad that I had to get off my bike. It did feel sort of like an obstacle course, though.
There was another one of these kinds of gates a bit further down the trail, at a railroad crossing. I did have to get off my bike for this one, which I think was by design. There was a train, but it was so far down the tracks that I didn't really have much to worry about.
I was still in Waterloo when I noticed that both my handlebar tape and my bandage on my finger (a burn) were both starting to come undone. The bandage was under my gloves, so it wouldn't have flown off or anything, but the handlebar tape was starting bug me. I had to stop for a few minutes and attempt to re-wrap it. I will have to do a better job later, but my patch job held, at least.
The trail took me next through Evansdale. It ran along a pretty busy road for about a mile, which made me a bit nervous. The drivers seemed to be pretty used to cyclists though. I never get entirely comfortable riding on the street, however, since there are some drivers that are oblivious, or malicious, or just completely incapable of driving period. As I would come out the loser in a fight between car and bike, I try to pay attention to what is going on.
South of Evansdale, the trail began to go through typical Iowa wilderness. By that, I mean cornfields. Sometimes there was a narrow band of trees on either side of the trail, but you could still see the fields through them. There were enough trees around to house plenty of bugs, though, and a lot of them seemed suicidal enough to dive in front of me. I had to wipe bug guts off of my sunglasses a couple times, and spit out a couple of them too. At least I didn't swallow any.
My next town I reached was Gilbertville, which I passed through in a matter of 10 seconds. One of those little Iowa towns that has about 10 streets total. After that, it was pure cornfields again.
I had been thinking about where to turn around, whether it was at 25 miles in, or at the next town (La Porte City). I wasn't sure when the town would be, so I decided to go a certain distance past 25 miles on my odometer. If I reached the town first, I would turn around, if I reached the number first, I would turn around then. It happened that I reached the number of miles first, so I took a U-turn and headed back towards home. After looking at the map when I got back, I was only about a mile and a half out from La Porte City. I suppose I'll get there next time, then.
The trip back to civilization was pretty uneventful, aside from my butt starting to hurt a lot, and an increasing desire to urinate. I knew there wasn't a gas station close to the trail in Gilbertville, so I had to make it back to Evansdale. It wasn't really an emergency, though, and I stopped for a break at a gazebo on the river. My mom happened to call me while I was resting, so the break stretched to about half an hour long, which was probably good. I don't think I take long enough breaks sometimes.
I was just south of Highway 20 when I started to feel really lightheaded. As I had drank a lot of water and Gatorade, I knew it was because I hadn't eaten enough. This event turned the "stop to pee" break into "stop to pee, eat, rest, walk around, and get out of the sun". I stopped at a Caseys General store, took care of business, filled up my water bottle (from the faucet, not myself), and bought another bottle of Gatorade. There wasn't much option for food, though. I settled on a bacon cheeseburger, although I would have preferred something that wasn't hot. After I started to eat it, though, it was utterly delicious. I could have probably eaten two or three of them, I was so hungry. I stuck with one, though, as I didn't feel like paying restaurant prices at a gas station more than I had to.
I set off on the way home again and only had to stop one more time. The wind was at my back for a lot of the trip home, which was a relief, and a pretty welcome change from last time I rode a long distance. I stopped because of my butt (again!) and because I figured I should at least drink more fluids as it was getting pretty hot outside.
Aside from nearly hit by a turning car on Main Street (stupid college girls), I made it home alright. My legs seem fine, but my butt still hurts a bit. I know it's the saddle, because the back of it digs into my rear end pretty hard. I will try to adjust it a bit before investing in a new one (as this one cost me a lot of money), but I might have to do just that. I also have realized that I need to take in a bit more food before and during the rides. I also went through three 20oz bottles of water and about 50oz of Gatorade. I would have ran out, had I not stopped at the store. I guess I also need to re-think how much fluids I take, as well, as my rides will just get longer. It's good to work these issues out now, however, instead of realizing this all on RAGBRAI and being in major trouble.
I may ride tomorrow, I'm not sure yet. I'm pretty happy with how today went, as I can tell I'm getting stronger, and the issues are starting to work themselves out (or at least present themselves so I can fix them)
This was my route today:
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Road to RAGBRAI: Old Enemy
Distance: 41 mi / 65.9 km
Time: 3 hours 54 minutes
Route Taken: Cedar Prairie Loop, Greenhill Trail
Today could have been the perfect day to ride a bike. Lower 70s, low humidity, sunny, no rain, slight breez-wait no. The breeze wasn't slight.
I knew going into today's ride that there would be a pretty heavy wind (since I check the weather). Out of the west, which is probably the worst place it can come from on my long-distance days. You see, I live on the west side of town, which means pretty much any riding I do back home is...heading west. Usually up a hill, as well.
I set off to ride anyway, because if it's like this on ragbrai I would have to tough it out. I hadn't even gotten to Greenhill road when my asthma started acting up.
I've had some pretty bad history with my asthma. It seems that nearly everything triggers it: heat, humidity, allergens, walking fast, running, going up stairs, and aerosols (like spray air fresheners and perfume). Biking is about the only exercise I can do without feeling like I'm drowning. Today, however, was apparently going to be an exception. I took my inhaler, and it at least opened my airways enough that regular riding didn't trigger it.
This is when I mention the wind again. The forecast had said 14 mph with 23 mph gusts, which turned out to be wrong. The regular wind was blowing about 25 and the gusts had to be up to 40. While I made sure I didn't ride into the wind for most of the trip, there were times, of course, I had to ride directly into it.
Any exertion today (hills, standing, and yes, wind) made me short of breath. It was the worst riding back along Highway 20, before the trail turned north again. After I rode through those hills against the wind, I had to stop and catch my breath (and hack up all sorts of fun things).
I don't mean to spend the entire time complaining, however. While I was a few miles short of my goal of 45 miles today, my legs held up just fine the entire time. This is quite the improvement from Friday, where my muscles hurt for 2 days. I don't thing that will happen today. I can tell that I'm getting stronger, even if it's slowly.
I will be back on the bike tomorrow (for a shorter ride) if my butt doesn't hurt too much. Hopefully my asthma behaves tomorrow...
Time: 3 hours 54 minutes
Route Taken: Cedar Prairie Loop, Greenhill Trail
Today could have been the perfect day to ride a bike. Lower 70s, low humidity, sunny, no rain, slight breez-wait no. The breeze wasn't slight.
I knew going into today's ride that there would be a pretty heavy wind (since I check the weather). Out of the west, which is probably the worst place it can come from on my long-distance days. You see, I live on the west side of town, which means pretty much any riding I do back home is...heading west. Usually up a hill, as well.
I set off to ride anyway, because if it's like this on ragbrai I would have to tough it out. I hadn't even gotten to Greenhill road when my asthma started acting up.
I've had some pretty bad history with my asthma. It seems that nearly everything triggers it: heat, humidity, allergens, walking fast, running, going up stairs, and aerosols (like spray air fresheners and perfume). Biking is about the only exercise I can do without feeling like I'm drowning. Today, however, was apparently going to be an exception. I took my inhaler, and it at least opened my airways enough that regular riding didn't trigger it.
This is when I mention the wind again. The forecast had said 14 mph with 23 mph gusts, which turned out to be wrong. The regular wind was blowing about 25 and the gusts had to be up to 40. While I made sure I didn't ride into the wind for most of the trip, there were times, of course, I had to ride directly into it.
Any exertion today (hills, standing, and yes, wind) made me short of breath. It was the worst riding back along Highway 20, before the trail turned north again. After I rode through those hills against the wind, I had to stop and catch my breath (and hack up all sorts of fun things).
I don't mean to spend the entire time complaining, however. While I was a few miles short of my goal of 45 miles today, my legs held up just fine the entire time. This is quite the improvement from Friday, where my muscles hurt for 2 days. I don't thing that will happen today. I can tell that I'm getting stronger, even if it's slowly.
I will be back on the bike tomorrow (for a shorter ride) if my butt doesn't hurt too much. Hopefully my asthma behaves tomorrow...
Friday, May 25, 2012
Road to RAGBRAI: Upper Limits
Distance: 47 mi / 75.6 km
Time: 4 hours 2 minutes
Route Taken: Cedar Prairie Loop (x2), Greenhill Trail
When I started off today, I was already sore. I set a goal of 40 miles, but I wasn't honestly sure if I would get that far. I certainly was going to try, especially after not making my goal on the last long ride.
It has been windy the entire week, aside from today. I rode anyway, mostly commute to work, which is why I didn't bother to post it. I did make most of the training goals on the guide that I'm following, save for one day. I think I was only a few miles short though, and I had a bit more on a previous day.
There was rain in the forecast, but it looked like it wasn't going to hit us until later, so I decided to go anyway. As I said, my legs and butt were already sore, but nothing major. I find that the soreness in my legs tends to go away after a few miles anyway, as I get warmed up.
There were tons of people on the trails today. It seemed that, for the first 20 miles anyway, I was always following some other biker. These are just some examples:
-A middle-aged guy with an oversized tshirt. I caught up but he was going too fast for me to pass him.
-An overweight woman with two mirrors (like a car would have). She didn't look like a biker but props to her for getting out and riding.
-A guy, probably my age, who was obviously training for a race. He had the racing handlebars and everything, and was FLYING along the trail.
-Two women, coming down one of the underpasses, almost hit me because they took the turn too fast.
The person I met that gets special mention is an older guy, probably in his late 60s or 70s, who was wearing a ragbrai jersey. We started chatting at one of the stoplights, and he paced me for about 10 miles or so. He gave me some tips for riding and training, and said that I will really enjoy myself. He had all of his previous years wristbands wrapped around the handlebar tube. It was pretty cool, seeing that.
I took the Cedar Prairie loop twice, a decision that ultimately took me further than my planned mileage. It started raining a bit for the last hour or so, but nothing that bad at all. I honestly expected to get dumped on, but it seems that the rain missed us yet again.
I had to push myself hard to make it back, though. I went 7 miles farther than I've ever gone, and with only one major break. I kept telling myself "Only a bit farther". Sometimes I repeated it like a mantra. I rode the last bit of the trip along the same route I use to commute, which actually helped me. I felt my brain lock on to the routine and take me back home like I had ridden 5 miles, not 47.
My butt hurts more than anything. The new shorts are good, but getting time on the saddle is probably the more important part. I will have a couple days to rest it, at least, before my next ride. Not sure how my legs will do, as I am working 12 hour shifts the next two days. As I don't ride my bike to work for those kinds of shifts, it will be a sort of break, although not a very good one.
In other ragbrai news, we found a group to ride with. Cedar Valley Cyclists is a local group that I heard about at Europa. They will bus us out there and have camping spots at each town, and bus us back. I talked to one of the coordinators on the phone earlier this week, and he seemed enthusiastic about it. I will be registering and paying the fees after I finish typing this, so it will be official in a little while.
See you after the next big ride.
Time: 4 hours 2 minutes
Route Taken: Cedar Prairie Loop (x2), Greenhill Trail
When I started off today, I was already sore. I set a goal of 40 miles, but I wasn't honestly sure if I would get that far. I certainly was going to try, especially after not making my goal on the last long ride.
It has been windy the entire week, aside from today. I rode anyway, mostly commute to work, which is why I didn't bother to post it. I did make most of the training goals on the guide that I'm following, save for one day. I think I was only a few miles short though, and I had a bit more on a previous day.
There was rain in the forecast, but it looked like it wasn't going to hit us until later, so I decided to go anyway. As I said, my legs and butt were already sore, but nothing major. I find that the soreness in my legs tends to go away after a few miles anyway, as I get warmed up.
There were tons of people on the trails today. It seemed that, for the first 20 miles anyway, I was always following some other biker. These are just some examples:
-A middle-aged guy with an oversized tshirt. I caught up but he was going too fast for me to pass him.
-An overweight woman with two mirrors (like a car would have). She didn't look like a biker but props to her for getting out and riding.
-A guy, probably my age, who was obviously training for a race. He had the racing handlebars and everything, and was FLYING along the trail.
-Two women, coming down one of the underpasses, almost hit me because they took the turn too fast.
The person I met that gets special mention is an older guy, probably in his late 60s or 70s, who was wearing a ragbrai jersey. We started chatting at one of the stoplights, and he paced me for about 10 miles or so. He gave me some tips for riding and training, and said that I will really enjoy myself. He had all of his previous years wristbands wrapped around the handlebar tube. It was pretty cool, seeing that.
I took the Cedar Prairie loop twice, a decision that ultimately took me further than my planned mileage. It started raining a bit for the last hour or so, but nothing that bad at all. I honestly expected to get dumped on, but it seems that the rain missed us yet again.
I had to push myself hard to make it back, though. I went 7 miles farther than I've ever gone, and with only one major break. I kept telling myself "Only a bit farther". Sometimes I repeated it like a mantra. I rode the last bit of the trip along the same route I use to commute, which actually helped me. I felt my brain lock on to the routine and take me back home like I had ridden 5 miles, not 47.
My butt hurts more than anything. The new shorts are good, but getting time on the saddle is probably the more important part. I will have a couple days to rest it, at least, before my next ride. Not sure how my legs will do, as I am working 12 hour shifts the next two days. As I don't ride my bike to work for those kinds of shifts, it will be a sort of break, although not a very good one.
In other ragbrai news, we found a group to ride with. Cedar Valley Cyclists is a local group that I heard about at Europa. They will bus us out there and have camping spots at each town, and bus us back. I talked to one of the coordinators on the phone earlier this week, and he seemed enthusiastic about it. I will be registering and paying the fees after I finish typing this, so it will be official in a little while.
See you after the next big ride.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Road to RAGBRAI: New Things
Well, let me get this out of the way now: I have been slacking. I do have good reasons for it though. I've been working nearly constantly since Wednesday, and aside from a ride to work once, I haven't gotten any miles in. It has also been extra windy, but that's something I usually go brave anyway. I'll try to get some riding in tomorrow but we will see.
Enough of that, I have other things to share with you.
I got my trunk bag in the mail Wednesday night. It is a bit smaller than I pictured but I like it. Here are pictures:
I can put my travel air pump (which you can see in the top pic), my tool kit, extra bottle, and it even have spots for pens and cards and stuff. I grabbed a couple of trail maps from Europa today that I can carry with me finally. I also put in a cargo net that I just bought today. I can't wait to try it out.
I also went to Scheels and spent too much on a pair of new bike shorts. However, I think that they will be worth it as they will be much more comfortable than the ones I have. The ones I have are okay, but they slide around too much on long rides.
The last thing I have to share with you is a photo I took of myself and my bike. I've had this idea in my head for about a week now and I finally got it on...well...computer.
Well that's all for now.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Road to RAGBRAI: Early Heat Wave
Distance: 34.4 mi / 55.3 km
Time: 3 hours 1 minute
Route Taken: Cedar Prairie Loop / South Riverside / Big Woods
My plan today is to go 40 miles. I haven't reached that goal yet.
It wasn't too bad when I started off at 10 this morning, but near the end of the ride, the heat, wind, and humidity got to me and I had to go home.
But I get ahead of myself. I started off today knowing that it would be a bit humid and windy. The wind was coming from the west, of course, so headwind on the way home. It wasn't horrible when I started, so I went south along the Cedar Prairie loop.
Part of the trail was closed, so I found an alternate route. I think I tacked on half a mile or so. Not too bad but I had to play in traffic a bit and that always sucks. The people around here are pretty used to bikes, but you always get the few assholes who either don't pay attention to you, or worse, see you and decide to be rude. Nothing happened though, so I don't really have a complaint today.
After a few miles I had to ditch the shirt, and rode in my shorts and sports bra. I may not be in the greatest shape but as I said before, comfort trumps shame in this case. At least I'm not as pasty white on my stomach as I was before.
I stopped at Europa today because they were doing free massages. I had to wait for a bit, but I was the last one. Apparently, I really needed one because all of my leg and shoulder muscles were really tense. That really doesn't surprise me one bit. The woman doing the massages said that I could "really use an hour long massage," which is probably true, but there also might be some motivation to sell involved. The hour massages cost 65 dollars, so no-go on those anyway. It still helped a bit though.
Of course, since I was at the bike store, I bought a couple things. Two insulated water bottles (since my water got to the temperature of bath water) and a new pair of gloves. These gloves have a bit more padding than my other ones. The ones I had were Bell ones from Walmart. They're good, but only up to about 20 miles. After that, my hands started hurting and getting numb. I think the combination of the bar ends and the new gloves should take care of that problem. They're men's gloves, since women's gloves are too small for me. I guess big hands come with being tall. I got the red/white ones (there wasn't a picture on the website). I tried to stick to my theme of red/black/white so my bike and all the stuff matches. I'm a bit weird like that.
I got back on the road and took Killer Hill down. I've mentioned Killer Hill in my other blog Disstraction. Basically, it's a really big hill (who knew). Got up to about 35 mph coasting before reaching the trail and riding back towards home. I figured I would get some fun in before turning into the punishing headwind.
I took one ride around Big Woods before deciding to head home, deciding not to take the entire loop. At this point, the heat and wind had started to get to me. I think I made a good decision, because by the time I got home and up a hill, I was sweating profusely and utterly exhausted.
As I said, I might take a few miles later to reach my goal of 40 miles. I also plan on riding to trivia. We shall see.
Oh yeah, no pictures either. My point and shoot decided it didn't want to work anymore. Yet another purchase to make, I guess.
Time: 3 hours 1 minute
Route Taken: Cedar Prairie Loop / South Riverside / Big Woods
My plan today is to go 40 miles. I haven't reached that goal yet.
It wasn't too bad when I started off at 10 this morning, but near the end of the ride, the heat, wind, and humidity got to me and I had to go home.
But I get ahead of myself. I started off today knowing that it would be a bit humid and windy. The wind was coming from the west, of course, so headwind on the way home. It wasn't horrible when I started, so I went south along the Cedar Prairie loop.
Part of the trail was closed, so I found an alternate route. I think I tacked on half a mile or so. Not too bad but I had to play in traffic a bit and that always sucks. The people around here are pretty used to bikes, but you always get the few assholes who either don't pay attention to you, or worse, see you and decide to be rude. Nothing happened though, so I don't really have a complaint today.
After a few miles I had to ditch the shirt, and rode in my shorts and sports bra. I may not be in the greatest shape but as I said before, comfort trumps shame in this case. At least I'm not as pasty white on my stomach as I was before.
I stopped at Europa today because they were doing free massages. I had to wait for a bit, but I was the last one. Apparently, I really needed one because all of my leg and shoulder muscles were really tense. That really doesn't surprise me one bit. The woman doing the massages said that I could "really use an hour long massage," which is probably true, but there also might be some motivation to sell involved. The hour massages cost 65 dollars, so no-go on those anyway. It still helped a bit though.
Of course, since I was at the bike store, I bought a couple things. Two insulated water bottles (since my water got to the temperature of bath water) and a new pair of gloves. These gloves have a bit more padding than my other ones. The ones I had were Bell ones from Walmart. They're good, but only up to about 20 miles. After that, my hands started hurting and getting numb. I think the combination of the bar ends and the new gloves should take care of that problem. They're men's gloves, since women's gloves are too small for me. I guess big hands come with being tall. I got the red/white ones (there wasn't a picture on the website). I tried to stick to my theme of red/black/white so my bike and all the stuff matches. I'm a bit weird like that.
I got back on the road and took Killer Hill down. I've mentioned Killer Hill in my other blog Disstraction. Basically, it's a really big hill (who knew). Got up to about 35 mph coasting before reaching the trail and riding back towards home. I figured I would get some fun in before turning into the punishing headwind.
I took one ride around Big Woods before deciding to head home, deciding not to take the entire loop. At this point, the heat and wind had started to get to me. I think I made a good decision, because by the time I got home and up a hill, I was sweating profusely and utterly exhausted.
As I said, I might take a few miles later to reach my goal of 40 miles. I also plan on riding to trivia. We shall see.
Oh yeah, no pictures either. My point and shoot decided it didn't want to work anymore. Yet another purchase to make, I guess.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Road to RAGBRAI: Handlebar Wrap and Trunk Bag
I didn't ride today, but I wanted to share a couple of purchases I did make today.
I finally bought a trunk bag on Amazon.com. Here is the link: Bag
This is what it looks like if you're too lazy to click on that:
I finally bought a trunk bag on Amazon.com. Here is the link: Bag
This is what it looks like if you're too lazy to click on that:
There were a lot of reviews and they were pretty much all positive. I like the look of it. We'll see how I like it when it finally comes in the mail.
I also bought bar tape to put on my bar ends. I didn't really find too many suggestions on how to install it, so I just winged it. I don't think it looks too bad:
We'll see how that holds up, too. It came with some ends that I didn't need, but I like them a lot so I might incorporate them into some other part of my bike. Either that or use them for some sort of craft, I don't know.
I plan on going for a short ride tomorrow. I invited several coworkers to the lake. Karie and I are going to eat at Waffle Stop beforehand. Is it just me, or am I being way more sociable than usual? Hmmmm....
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Road to RAGBRAI: Errands
Distance: 22.2 mi / 35.7 km
Time: 1 hour 32 min / 40 min (total)
Route Taken: Wal-Mart/College Square Mall
Today was meant to be a much shorter ride, maximum 25 miles. I didn't quite hit that mark but I think I did pretty good.
Karie and I went to Wal-Mart today to look at bike stuff. Yes, I realize that Wal-Mart doesn't scream "High quality goods" when it comes to bikes, but they sometimes have some good accessories. I was looking to see if they had bar ends, and she was looking for a computer, a tube bag like I have, and a lock. At least, that's what she bought.
The ride there was pretty decent. The wind wasn't nearly as bad as yesterday, thankfully. I had some residual soreness in my legs, a bit more in my butt. Not enough to prevent me from riding, thankfully. It wasn't too warm out, either, but it wasn't unpleasant at all.
I didn't find bar ends at Wal-Mart, so I convinced Karie to ride with me to Scheels at the mall. We had to take some actual roads for this trip, which is always a thrill ride. We didn't do too badly though, but people need to learn how to behave around bikes. Or more bike riders need to learn how to behave around cars so the people driving don't get all nervous around us. Well anyway, I guess paying attention is the most important part. We made it fine, although we had to circle the whole mall just to find the bike racks.
Scheels has a bike rack out front, but for some reason they seem to have decided to use it as advertising space. They had a bunch of used bikes all locked out front. There were only a couple of open spots, on the back of the rack, and that sort of annoyed me. At least they didn't take up the entire space.
Anyway, I found my bar ends, bought them, and we went back to Karie's house. I hung out for a bit, helped her install her new bike computer, and then I took off for home.
My second ride of the day was over to my best friend Dave's house to do laundry, and to make him install my new bar ends. We went and ate Hy-vee Chinese food in the meantime. After we got back, he installed them. He had to cut off the ends of my original grips, and bolt the new bars on the ends. It only took about 15 minutes to install both of them. I took them for a short test ride, and they were solid and felt pretty comfortable.
I left after finishing laundry and watching a couple episodes of River Monsters (one of my favorite shows!). On the ride home, I of course tested my new handlebars. The verdict? I love them. I feel like I have much more control than I did before. They especially help on hills. Switching hand positions to brake and shift will take a bit of getting used to, but I was already instinctively using them. The only downside I noticed was that the bare metal got a bit cold in the cooler air of the night, but I plan on buying some handlebar wrap tomorrow, so that will be taken care of soon.
I posted a picture of my new water bottle setup, too. Enjoy!
Time: 1 hour 32 min / 40 min (total)
Route Taken: Wal-Mart/College Square Mall
Karie and I went to Wal-Mart today to look at bike stuff. Yes, I realize that Wal-Mart doesn't scream "High quality goods" when it comes to bikes, but they sometimes have some good accessories. I was looking to see if they had bar ends, and she was looking for a computer, a tube bag like I have, and a lock. At least, that's what she bought.
I didn't find bar ends at Wal-Mart, so I convinced Karie to ride with me to Scheels at the mall. We had to take some actual roads for this trip, which is always a thrill ride. We didn't do too badly though, but people need to learn how to behave around bikes. Or more bike riders need to learn how to behave around cars so the people driving don't get all nervous around us. Well anyway, I guess paying attention is the most important part. We made it fine, although we had to circle the whole mall just to find the bike racks.
Scheels has a bike rack out front, but for some reason they seem to have decided to use it as advertising space. They had a bunch of used bikes all locked out front. There were only a couple of open spots, on the back of the rack, and that sort of annoyed me. At least they didn't take up the entire space.
Anyway, I found my bar ends, bought them, and we went back to Karie's house. I hung out for a bit, helped her install her new bike computer, and then I took off for home.
My second ride of the day was over to my best friend Dave's house to do laundry, and to make him install my new bar ends. We went and ate Hy-vee Chinese food in the meantime. After we got back, he installed them. He had to cut off the ends of my original grips, and bolt the new bars on the ends. It only took about 15 minutes to install both of them. I took them for a short test ride, and they were solid and felt pretty comfortable.
I left after finishing laundry and watching a couple episodes of River Monsters (one of my favorite shows!). On the ride home, I of course tested my new handlebars. The verdict? I love them. I feel like I have much more control than I did before. They especially help on hills. Switching hand positions to brake and shift will take a bit of getting used to, but I was already instinctively using them. The only downside I noticed was that the bare metal got a bit cold in the cooler air of the night, but I plan on buying some handlebar wrap tomorrow, so that will be taken care of soon.
I posted a picture of my new water bottle setup, too. Enjoy!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Road to RAGBRAI: Punishing Winds
Distance: 40.3 mi / 64.9 km
Time: 3 hours 35 min
Route Taken: Riverside/Cedar Prairie Loop/Big Woods Loop
My goal that I set today was 40 miles. I got ready and walked out of my house to...wind. Lots of wind.
I started off with a tailwind, which is fun of course, but meant that I would be riding home in a headwind. I still went out and did it, though.
I was originally going to take the Cedar Prairie trail the opposite direction that I did last time, but I changed my mind and went on the Greenhill trail. I decided to stop at Europa (the bike store) to get a 2nd water bottle cage put on my bike, as I'm quickly finding out that one bottle of water is not nearly enough. I want to get a rack bag too, but I don't get paid until Thursday so that will have to wait. I'm probably going to buy one online. The cheapest one that they have at Europa is 50 dollars, and I don't really like that one. I'll look around more later today.
I went down the south riverside trail to get to the Cedar Prairie trail and...turned into the headwind. The next 10 miles or so it blew at me diagonally, making things a bit more difficult than it should have been. I was exhausted after 20 miles but after a short break, I kept pushing myself. I swore a few times, and got stared at a lot. I guess I looked like I was working hard or something.
I took the trail all the way up to Big Woods, and after resting another 10 minutes, took the loop through Blackhawk Park. Another 2 miles into the headwind. The return trip was tailwind, and somehow that gave me enough energy and motivation to do the last 2 miles home; uphill and against the wind.
I made my goal, thankfully. I haven't decided if I'm going to ride tomorrow or not. I should try to get at least 20 miles in, but we'll see how my legs feel tomorrow. I'm exhausted.
No pictures today, since I managed to forget my memory card for the camera...
Time: 3 hours 35 min
Route Taken: Riverside/Cedar Prairie Loop/Big Woods Loop
My goal that I set today was 40 miles. I got ready and walked out of my house to...wind. Lots of wind.
I started off with a tailwind, which is fun of course, but meant that I would be riding home in a headwind. I still went out and did it, though.
I was originally going to take the Cedar Prairie trail the opposite direction that I did last time, but I changed my mind and went on the Greenhill trail. I decided to stop at Europa (the bike store) to get a 2nd water bottle cage put on my bike, as I'm quickly finding out that one bottle of water is not nearly enough. I want to get a rack bag too, but I don't get paid until Thursday so that will have to wait. I'm probably going to buy one online. The cheapest one that they have at Europa is 50 dollars, and I don't really like that one. I'll look around more later today.
I went down the south riverside trail to get to the Cedar Prairie trail and...turned into the headwind. The next 10 miles or so it blew at me diagonally, making things a bit more difficult than it should have been. I was exhausted after 20 miles but after a short break, I kept pushing myself. I swore a few times, and got stared at a lot. I guess I looked like I was working hard or something.
I took the trail all the way up to Big Woods, and after resting another 10 minutes, took the loop through Blackhawk Park. Another 2 miles into the headwind. The return trip was tailwind, and somehow that gave me enough energy and motivation to do the last 2 miles home; uphill and against the wind.
I made my goal, thankfully. I haven't decided if I'm going to ride tomorrow or not. I should try to get at least 20 miles in, but we'll see how my legs feel tomorrow. I'm exhausted.
No pictures today, since I managed to forget my memory card for the camera...
Friday, May 4, 2012
Road to RAGBRAI: Tan Lines
Distance: 17 mi / 27.3 km
Time: 1 hour 30 min
Route Taken: Riverside/Big Woods
I took a short ride today to at least attempt to make up for not riding extra yesterday. Although, my main plan was to go up to Big Woods and lay out for a bit to enjoy the really warm weather (and to soften my biker tan lines)I did about 12 miles before Big Woods by taking a loop around Riverside trails. For some reason, it seemed a bit harder today than it usually does. I'm not sure if its a bit of fatigue, the humidity, or the heat, or just me being weak, but I got tired much quicker than I usually do. I didn't exhaust myself, of course, but I felt a bit drained. I think it was probably the humidity.
When I got to Big Woods I changed into my swimsuit bottoms (I was already wearing the top) and rode to one of the hidden beaches. This is the first time I rode with the new seat without bike shorts. I wouldn't be able to do it for long; there are lots of metal bits near bare skin and it would just...hurt. Anyway, I got to the area, which wasn't too far (about a quarter of the way around the lake), set up my towel, and laid down for a bit. It didn't take long for me to move my towel from the ground to the bench, however, since there were lots of bugs...everywhere.
I saw butterflies by the hundreds today. Half of the time I was laying out I had my eyes open watching them. I did eventually get my camera and start sneaking up on them. Most of them were too smart for that but I did get pretty close to a couple of them. The downside was...the flies. They kept annoying me and biting. Well, that comes with being outside, I suppose.
After about an hour, I decided it was time to come home. I did a lap around the lake, and then headed back. I didn't push myself too hard today because I will be taking the bike to work, so that's another 10.4 miles to add to today. It was very humid at this point so I didn't bother to put my tank top back on. Keeping cool trumps shame as far as I'm concerned.
I have two days off in a row next week so I will attempt to ride two long rides in a row. I'll probably be tired as hell afterwards, but if I want to do RAGBRAI I better get used to it...
Enjoy the extra pictures today!
Time: 1 hour 30 min
Route Taken: Riverside/Big Woods
When I got to Big Woods I changed into my swimsuit bottoms (I was already wearing the top) and rode to one of the hidden beaches. This is the first time I rode with the new seat without bike shorts. I wouldn't be able to do it for long; there are lots of metal bits near bare skin and it would just...hurt. Anyway, I got to the area, which wasn't too far (about a quarter of the way around the lake), set up my towel, and laid down for a bit. It didn't take long for me to move my towel from the ground to the bench, however, since there were lots of bugs...everywhere.
I saw butterflies by the hundreds today. Half of the time I was laying out I had my eyes open watching them. I did eventually get my camera and start sneaking up on them. Most of them were too smart for that but I did get pretty close to a couple of them. The downside was...the flies. They kept annoying me and biting. Well, that comes with being outside, I suppose.After about an hour, I decided it was time to come home. I did a lap around the lake, and then headed back. I didn't push myself too hard today because I will be taking the bike to work, so that's another 10.4 miles to add to today. It was very humid at this point so I didn't bother to put my tank top back on. Keeping cool trumps shame as far as I'm concerned.
I have two days off in a row next week so I will attempt to ride two long rides in a row. I'll probably be tired as hell afterwards, but if I want to do RAGBRAI I better get used to it...
Enjoy the extra pictures today!
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