Cactus Flower Tales

I made it to Friday - Survival Accomplished - just barely

2010-08-13T18:18:00.014-04:00

Back to Life, Back to Reality - The GAMT Girls are all back! Me, Jana, Sue, Princess

Well, I must say that going back to work (that four letter word) on Tuesday may have not been the best idea ever. I was very much out of sorts and couldn't get my head around the fact that 'I was back'. I wasn't ready to be thrown back into normal, especially since my 'normal' the last 30 days was so different. After I finally pulled it together I headed to work, only to realize that my Sirius satellite on the MKX had lapsed and there were orange construction barrels on 80% of my 37 mile (one way) commute! So no handy channel 153 to tell me what to expect and how to avoid it. I knew this wasn't a good idea. I also hadn't driven in 33 days! How crazy is that? Thankfully, no one had to take cover - just like riding a bike! (ha-ha)

I'm flooded with memories of this trip and can't even answer the repeated question, "What was your favorite part?" There are so many of them, riding with the sun coming up, listening to the birds that I know were singing just for me, the morning Paul, Greg, Mark and I rode together and Greg made bird calls that I thought were real until he cracked a huge grin - got me. Going to the laser show at Coulee Dam with Susan, Veronica and Roger (4 out of ~50 ain't bad)and having my whole perspective of dams changed, group dinners and the conversations and laughter -sometimes my stomach muscles hurt as much as my legs! Speaking of laughter the loud outbursts after 9pm with Michelle - the funny secret jokes we shared. It sounds crazy but riding everyday was a favorite - even though there were mornings when the snooze got hit, my legs refused to function as I stretched and tried to remind them what we were here for - I knew that the day would hold something special, whether it was another mental challenge or some other form of beauty (didn't you get sick of my 'so gorgeous' amazing, wow - comments!) And of course the successful summits, the sweat pouring out of me and the same on the descents - knowing that I made it and hadn't careened out of control due to an unexpected tire blow out or whatever other hazard my crazy mind would dream up! Of course, the ever constant butterflies. The sarcastic exchanges between John L. and I - he's my long lost brother I swear! Oh my, I almost forgot - my many, many massages!! How I'm surviving without those is beyond me!!! I knew I should have followed through with my kidnapping scheme!

This also gave me a deeper appreciation for what our amazing (see) country has to offer and at no exchange rate risk!

Back to my first day back to work. I was greeted with such enthusiasm at work from all my co-workers/friends - it was so cool and really helped to lift my spirits! I really had missed the people, the 1,000s of emails not so much! Princess was still in NY on an audit but it was great to be with 'my girls!' Since it was also my birthday they decided it would be great to decorate every square inch or should I say EFI of my office with streamers, over-the-hill stuff, balloons that said welcome home, happy birthday, congratulations and Jana even found some really cool butterfly decorations to put up (those I'm leaving!) It was so cool! They even got a bottle of champagne which we were going to get some OJ for, but decided we better do that off campus! Unfortunately, the fun and conversations didn't last too long as my first meeting of the day was on our audit that starts in the next few weeks - get this it was with our group, Finance and the auditors - arrrrgggghhhhh! Where's my bike!?!

Since it was my first day back and my birthday we went out for sushi for lunch - YUM-O!!! It was perfect. Then back to work for another fun and exciting meeting this time on (I know kill me now) - a Global contract for our licensing group.

Finally, I could exit. Remember the other day when I said 'No I'm not exhausted or tired' - well, let me tell you - I felt like I had been put through the ringer! I know it was emotions and coming down from such an adrenaline rush. So, even though it was my birthday and Craig made me a very special dinner - I opted to go to bed at 9:30 with my computer to read the other blogs and reminisce - pathetic eh?!

I crack up as I think about the first days back, we flew in Tuesday and went to a Corn Roast to see Brent Steinberg in from Colorado, racing for Grand Mesa state - he grew up in the tutelage of our riding group, The Spoke Junkies. Wednesday of course, first day back to work and my b-day, Thursday - Wedding Shower with some riding friends (which was awesome to see all of them, again - lots of crying on my end), Friday - Milford Memories Festival - beer tent and dancing (well someone was dancing -hee-hee), Saturday - Betty was in from Chicago and we went out. See? My life hasn't changed as much as I thought!!! Still go, go, go.....

It was only three days of no spandex, I rode Friday and then we did a 50 mile mt. bike ride on Saturday - it was so weird to be on my mt. bike and you know how much I whined about the dirt on my legs after riding on the Northern? Well, jeez had I forgotten how dirty you get on the trail! My mad skills were a little rusty and it was very weird on my full suspension (she's a tiger - Trek Top Fuel 9.8 - ggggrrrroooowwlll!!!), but after first lap I was back!

Ok to wrap this blog up - as this will be my final post. Perhaps I will do another one when we go to New Zealand - or I may join all the lemmings out there and enter the facebook world for that.

A few more "Thank You's!"

South Lyon Cycle - came through with my set of Bontrager Select wheels when I discovered two weeks before the Tour that my rims had cracks in them in the Bontrager Race Lites and Trek wasn't sure if they would be able to replace them in time! So, thanks so much Gary for the great deal on the wheel set and extra spokes! Those tires where perfect for a XC trip and I never needed to use the extra spokes or the Race Lites!

I know I mentioned this before but the PAC Tour was my first experience with a XC tour but NOT my first experience with a tour company. I have to tell you I will be hard pressed to use another outfit again. Lon and Susan, Chris and Rebbecca too, have it on lock! They did such an amazing job. The crew too - we, the riders never had a need that wasn't met. Everyone was extremely attentive and taught me so much! From the meals and stops to the friendly attitude and helpful nature and always, always encouraging us and cheering us onward. PAC also does a lot of humanitarian work by building schools and donating time and money, buying clothes and food for children in need in Peru - it is just incredible the giving that they do.

By the way, I did stop with the afternoon soda about 6 days before the end of the tour - so no more brain overloading my body!

This experience has reminded me that you need to make opportunities and when those opportunities come along - DO NOT be afraid of them. As my friend said about Day 11 - take the Big by the Horns! Sometimes people shy away from their dreams for some reason - don't it is totally worth it - live life! It's hard to say right now all the ways in which this trek has changed me but it has and its definitely been a phenomenal experience. I have been so wrapped up in the "loss" of the experience that I haven't been enjoying the accomplishment. We went to lunch today (as I haven't grocery shopped until tonight-Monday) and we all got our fortune cookies and we always joke around and read "in-bed" after the fortune - well, because it's hilarious. But, get this, I don't normally buy into these things - mine read,

"The pleasure of what we enjoy is lost by wanting more." How profound! Deep thoughts....... Of course, 'by wanting more' is just part of my nature and why exploring feels so damn good!

So, today - I'm concentrating on 'the pleasure of what'........

Thanks so much for reading and encouraging me!!!

Pics:

What? Why this? I wanted to show my tan lines - so you have to see how they got there (Paul's legs and bike)
My tan lines:

Not happy about it but I'm going to work, with my trusty Nalgene bottle - what? I get thirsty!

Sushi lunch, first row(left to right) Sue, Me, Jana - second row - Dave, Susan, Gabby, Shawn Missing: Princess The Wedding Shower & The Kiss - JR, Gina, El, Sandy El giving the Toast - sniff sniff

WARNING - rated R saying - I have to get this Founders Brewery t-shirt (Michigan Brewery)

Craig, Natalie, Me (yes, it's humid here, my hair was growing minute by minute!)

Bill, JR, Craig, Me

My babies and me lounging in the yard after work on Friday

Zera

Zera not looking to happy as I was lovin' on Boz

Mr. Boz givin' me some lovin'

Day 30 & 31 - The Final Leg and the return home

2010-08-10T19:03:00.013-04:00

This post will have my final day of this journey, a ‘Thank You’ section and I will be adding another post after tomorrow for “Vikki’s First Day Back at Work – Will she Survive?” (I’m singing ‘Back to Life, Back to Reality’) And of course, since this was my birthday present to me – I have to mention that on Wednesday, I turn the big 4-0! Crazy!
WARNING: This is a long one with lots of pictures – you may want to schedule a ‘meeting’ to get through it.
Day 30 – Ashland to Williamsburg (Yorktown), VA – 91 miles and only 1,660 feet of climbing – a very easy day and I suggested to Susan that it be our ‘Champagne Stage’ just like in the Tour de France (WHAT? I thought it would be fitting!)
Sunday night I was in my room ‘all by myself’, ‘one is the loneliest number’, ‘I’m ridin’ solo’ (again, I’m singing) since Michelle’s husband David came to cheer her on. I told her I was going to lay diagonal in both beds!! It didn’t work out exactly that way but it was funny how much I spread out. I was lonely later without her. We had a blast as roommates and frequently had loud outbursts of laughter. We felt bad for whoever was rooming near us, as most people went to bed early and we of course were up late blogging. Funny story from the Sunday ride, when we were all trucking in Scott was pulling and when he came back – as I try and do – I thanked him. I said – “Thanks Scott, Nice Pull”, remember we were cookin’ and there were some decent rollers. Well, he came back and thought I said ‘Thanks for tryin’” – He was like ‘What?!” So, we straightened that out – really – you think I’d be that bitchy!? Not out loud anyway! Honestly, it was funny!
So, yesterday (Monday) started out as they always do, force myself to eat something but knowing it was the last day it was even more difficult to eat – call me sentimental but the lump in my throat made it tough. Everyone was moving a little slowly so the line to the truck wasn’t that long, plus the clock in my room read 6:26am so I rushed out and got in line, put my shoes on and then looked at “THE” clock on the trailer – which read 6:22am – WAAYY too early to load. So, I took some pictures of Cov, Janae and Ann. Once we loaded up none of my ‘peeps’ where there i.e. Susan and Paul – I thought the last day we’d all ride together. I waited about 6 minutes and said forget it I’m outa here. So, I rode along chit chatting with some folks as we went along. The sunrise was so incredible – it was almost like a sunset – it was gigantic in the morning sky and as bright orange as could be. It was absolutely perfect way to start the final day. We rode out of Ashland and onto some beautiful roads with fields and trees all around. We even passed a cut cornfield – I was reminded of the passage of time. It seems like we have been in our own bubble of ‘being’ and to see that really hit home that summer was moving. I rode with California Tom for awhile it was nice we went through some foggy areas and it was good to have another person with me. It is strange to ride through the fog not knowing the area or what could be around the bend – most likely another corn field. The area we rode through was full of all these historic homes – so amazing and we were on the Washington Rochambeau wagon route, a windy and gentle road with lots of my favorite – trees! . In 1781, Generals George Washington and Jean-Baptiste de Rochambeau traveled with cavalry and baggage wagons along the King’s Highway to Yorktown, Virginia. I reveled in the ride lost in my own thoughts of the trip and wondering what everyone else was thinking as we rode along with the wind dancing around our necks – it felt amazing.

I stopped to take a lot of pictures in the hopes that Paul and Susan would catch up to me. There was an antique shop called “Two Frogs on a Bike” – very cute. That is one thing that I long to do – meander through some of the unique antique shops that we went by. I know there would have been some incredible depression glass and other treasures to behold. So, Sandra – we’ll be going on a road trip sometime – hee-hee!! At this point my peeps caught me. It was Paul, Susan, Rick and Walt – so I rushed to hook on with them. I had been breaking my promise to Safety Craig and took my camera out to take pictures without stopping to get off my bike – but the road wasn’t too bad and I wanted to capture our group in another beautiful tunnel of trees.
At the very last rest stop we only had 20 miles to go in two hours so several people stopped for coffee. I wasn’t ready to stop pedaling so I headed towards the rendezvous point which was on Colonial Parkway. I wanted to ride slowly through here and just try and take it in as I realized that this day was what it was all about – the grand finale. I rode semi-cobbled parkway (ouch, on a sore butt) riding under these fantastic brick bridges and historic places along the route. The FFG’s went by saying “we’re gonna make it!” then next came Paul. As he came up he said, “Fancy seeing you here”, I told him I was just tooling along, which made him laugh. As I looked over at him and the memories of all the riding we’d done together surfaced so did the tears. I tried to take Bozeman’s previous advice and ‘Man-up cupcake’.
We rode together to the rendezvous point and got there in the middle of the pack. I looked around at all the people, the awesome crew members, Susan, Lon, Rebecca – everyone and again got emotional and walked over to a sign to take a picture of it and get myself together. (Such a big baby) Once everyone got there Lon assembled us and we paired up and rode two abreast as a group to the final destination. Paul and I rode together and Michelle was just in front of us. We rolled into Yorktown and Susan and Jonathon were there with a big banner commemorating our finish. As I looked around I saw a guy that looked like Craig, but having just talked to him the night before and he told me he had clients in from Japan, I didn’t think anything of it and just headed to the beach. As I set my bike down and started taking off my shoes, everyone started saying, “did you see Craig?” What!? It really was him. Apparently, they knew but I had no clue! So again, the tears of joy again! It was awesome! We all gathered on the beach, dipped our tires into the water and snapped a million pictures! This time my mighty bike didn’t mind the water, there was not algae to get into her spokes, although she wasn’t too keen on the sand. We took a fun ‘chic-pic’ too! It was pure elation! I just couldn’t believe it standing there after crossing America on my bicycle – yes, on my bicycle – I’m still pinching myself. I am so proud of this accomplishment and so very blessed to have been able to do it with the people on this particular trip. Truly an amazing experience.
I think about the first time I heard about crossing the USA on my bike from Scott and Tara and that just seemed like something that I had to do – a bucket list kinda thing. I spent so many years trying to get it off work that for me to be on that beach and actually having done it was just astounding to me. I was doing the big time snoopy dance in my head.
This trip wasn’t a lets go to see this or see that, it was more a destination to destination trip, getting a slice of American Pie – seeing into each area’s own day to day living, not necessarily there to see the ‘biggest ball of yarn’ or the ‘largest prairie dog’ (although we did) more an experience. I have met so many amazing people on this trip, I think that is what makes me sad to know that I won’t be waking up each day to ride with them and absorb their essence. (I know that sounds so freaky) So many incredible people that you just want to invite over to make dinner for them, drink some good wine and talk. Their zest for life and actually living was so incredible to be around (and incredible isn’t even strong enough).
Someone figured that the average age on the trip was 51, which had to be skewed because Greg being 17 had to have really brought it down. There were guys in their 60’s and 70’s, chic’s in their mid 50’s. It makes me think my God, I have so many more years to realize my passions, my “what’s next’s”, and what could be in store? What other discoveries that I haven’t even thought of yet are there for me to dive into? So many of them said, “This won’t be the last time you cross the US” – really? Well, I can see that because there is Southern East to West, North to South…..but there is so much more out there.
I’m reminded of how touched I was at the Crazy Horse monument and Korczak Ziolkowski’s belief, “Never Forget Your Dreams”; I might also add passions as well.
I apologize, but this may be a two coffee-break blog. Can you tell that I’m not fighting a bad internet connection or watching the clock thinking – I HAVE to get to sleep! By the way, I only was able to get two nights of eight hours of sleep on the trip. Imagine how much better I could have done with Sleep?!
Anyway, I had some questions/comments on ‘aren’t you exhausted?’ – well actually, not really. I’m tired and I can tell that my legs are fatigued when I hit a rough climb but overall, I can’t believe how good I still feel. What hurts? Well, that’s a different question. Remember, I’ve been on my rump for 3,400 miles! I am glad to be able to give my hand a rest. I hadn’t mentioned it early as not to worry a certain family member, but my left hand has been experiencing some nerve issues. It should go away in a few weeks after. I essentially don’t have much strength in my pinky and ring finger; it’s weird to see the things that are tough to do like buttoning up your pants!!
I’ve already talked a lot about what I will miss – the people, the people, the people. But, what won’t I miss?
• My morning ritual of A&D Ointment and Chamois Butter – my goodness – what a needed inconvenience! Yes, the same A&D that you would use on a baby’s butt except this is clear (you don’t want that oozing out your shorts!)– but in order to keep things from getting out of hand I’d have an every morning application before getting on the bike. There are things called ‘saddle sores’ that start to develop where your saddle meets your rear/legs. So they are not really raw spots but sorta...hence why I was double shorting it a few times
• Washing my clothes out in the tub – actually wringing them out was a bitch! Especially with my jacked up hand. I really, really won’t be missing that!
• The plan, the process, always on a schedule – well except for my sanctioned massage time – it did really make it flow appropriately, but I sometimes like to deviate and well…..you really couldn’t have a two-bottle of wine night now could you?! (devil-ish grin)
• Those crazy pumps of Lon’s!!! I had a heck of a time getting them off my valve! I have two silly scars on my right hand from ramming my hand into my rear cassette on both sides! I preferred one that was similar to one I have at home so I would wait for that one or ‘tag’ whoever had it that I was next!
• Huh….I thought there was more, but I guess not…..
Finally, for those of you who don’t know, I don’t support big pharma and have not taken any over-the-counter or prescription drugs in over five years. I can proudly say that I ran this ride clean! I had a few times when I thought ibuprofen wouldn’t be a bad idea, but I stuck to my guns and just kept up with the Omega 3’s & 6’s, lots of cinnamon, melons (excellent anti-inflammatory), ginger, turmeric, tons of Vita C, and B-complex – so YEAY!!

Day 31 – ok not really but the return home
We woke at 4:30am to get to New Port News (airport) for our flight. I woke with a heavy heart, I know I should be excited, but…..I was lucky and got to see Cov, Cynthia, Susan and Janae before they left. Well, I must say it is really weird not to have on spandex today or be on my bike. I started to get a headache on the plane – I know it is withdrawal from the bike!! Craig was on the same flight home with me so that was fun – not for him since I decided to have a coffee. We ran into Gerry S (MN) who was on the leg to Atlanta with us. I was glad as it gave me one more tangible to hang on to from the trip for just a little while longer, plus he’s uber cool!
We arrived at Detroit Metro and I tried in vain to find a “Welcome to Detroit” sign – can you believe it there aren’t any! We then headed to Club Pet to get my babies, Zera and Bozeman – I haven’t seen them in 33 days!!! As soon as we walked in there I was practically in tears (big baby, so emotional – and I’m not even close to starting my period!) They were elated to see me – of course they were also beat because they play constantly at ‘camp’. Get this I came home to discover we have our first bike shops coming to town - yes that's a plural!!
Then through town where I had Craig stop at the Milford city sign (Paul you’d be so proud). I shook off my shoes and scrambled up the 6 foot stone pillar to perch on top of the sign. If any of my neighbors saw me I’m sure that probably thought I was nuts!! Nope just back to where I started that’s all!!
Ok for those who are dying to know the stats:
• 3,407 miles
• I showed 122,736 feet of climbing (their est. is 101k and they’ve been doing it a LONG time)
• 197,280 calories burned (again, no idea on how much eaten but I have to think I consumed at least 4-5,000 calories a day)
• Down 12 pounds and get this 12% in fat according to my Tanita scale (and that was after I ate lunch and had half a real strawberry slushy!)
Thanks You’s
Ok, seriously, I would have never been able to do this without the support and love of my husband, Craig. He took care of a lot of things so that I could train and also take care of my Mom during that too. He never once thought that I shouldn’t do it or that I should wait till he could. Amazing support! Of course, I did warn Sue when I interviewed for my current job three years ago (13 total at Ford) but she was able to pull it off for me this year, along with the support of Susan and Matt – Thank you Ford Motor Company! I have a tremendous network of friends and family too – comments, cards, training buddies – it was all there for me! I also had my coach – Tony V (Fraser Bicycle and Fitness) who got me ready with those crazy one-legged drills which I loved! Jim Izzi of JT Graphics who helped me with my blog banner with my super cute bike in it! The bike shops – American Cycle and Fitness and Hometown Bicycles that got and kept my bike prepped and ready to go on this trip. Laura with Milford Spice Company who donated my supply of organic Saigon cinnamon (yummy!). Jonathan Beebe who helped me get my links to flickr and garmin working! Thank you and many others very much!!!

Again, I screwed up the pictures, so Today (Day 31) is first instead of last, oopsie!

Leaving VA

Back in the DWaiting patiently for my babies

Zera's first and almost leaps over the door!

Scoopin' up Boz

So happy to see me (I'm sure of it, Boz obviously tired)

Scrambled up to the top of the sign - Home Sweet Home

Day 30 the Final Day:

Ann, Cov, Janae

Riding out of Ashland with Janae, Bob (aka Crooked Bob), Cov

Sunrise and the cut cornfield

Two Frogs on a Bike Antique Shop - Sandra - ya ready??

Sunrise again, but it's pretty

Church - check out the cross nestled in the trees

Field fo flowers

Our very last rest stop on this trip

Paul, Walt, Susan, Rick in beautiful tunnel of trees

Williamsburg sign - my camera was a little foggy from my sweaty back - it was close to 95 degrees (we did have a few almost 100 degree days too)

Brick bridge on Colonial Parkway

PAC Van going under the bridge

FFG's double bridge

Jones Mill Pond - which shows up on civil war maps

First glimpse of the bay and of course - tears

Indian Field Creek and my bike reading the sign - she's a history buff!

My roomie Michelle coming into the rendezvous spot

Me and Mr. Paul - Carlie and Tracey I made sure he made it safely!! (I love this pic!) Folks waiting for everyone to arrive Me and Flat Stanley

Ann and I (she's famous you know!!)

John Lake (my favorite mechanic) and I plus - I think he turns 40 this year too.....heehee
Paul, Micheal, Brian getting ready

Two by two in front and in back of me (shame shame taking pictures while riding!)

We made it!! Me, my bike and Chesepeake Bay/the ocean

PAC Girls on a Mission! We DID IT!!! You go girls!! this was the most women on a PAC Tour too!

The full group - AMAZING!!

Gerry (we saw him at the airport), Micheal, Tom

My Big Surprise!!

Final Map!!!

Greg and I and his plates that he found, I think it was like 27!!

Uno's where we had our dinner - they had no idea how much hungry cyclists can eat!

Paul and his lady friends!

The final map and us - I guess I didn't realize how short I was , well except for that day that I was on Micheal's wheel (daddy long legs!)

Speaking of which, Micheal and me - he was my wine buddy

Me coming back with my big award at the banquet

Craig enjoying the slideshow (which was awesome and I can't wait to get a copy!)

The incredible crew! (my BFF aka massage therapist - Jonathon second from the left first row)

At the end everyone signs the map that they use to track our progress and auction it off. Jonathon from Australia won the bids at $1,100 and wound up giving it to Greg (the 17 year old) he said that he was sure that Greg would honor and have the longevity to do so...it was so moving and this is such an emotional hug - just look at it. What a classy guy he is. See what I mean about these folks??!!

Days 28 & 29 - Elkins, WV to Harrisonburg, VA to Ashland, VA

2010-08-08T21:44:00.006-04:00

You would think after all this time I would have learned how to import pictures, but again, they are a little bit of a jumbled mess at the bottom - not in the order that I thought I put them in.

Yesterday - Saturday we rode from WV into VA!! We are almost there! Still can't believe it. We woke to cool temps and lots of misty fog. It was actually beautiful, just difficult to see with your sunglasses on. The sunrise was again, breathtaking as it climbed through the fog and tried to break the chill. (Yes, the chill, we have been so fortunate with the weather - the rest of the country is melting)
Today was another day of climbing - I think Lon said about 10 ridges. I kept waiting for the climbing to get 'really bad' so it never really seemed that awful. There were parts that did pitch up to a 10%+ grade but nothing crazy. We had a lot of 3-4 mile descents that I tried to do with confidence. About mid-way through the ride as we crested one of the climbs overlooking German Valley - I asked Lon - "OK, so is the descending we've done indicative of what I can expect for the remainder?". He said the last one is pretty tight and twisty with about 20 hairpin turns. "Holy Crap!" But as it turns out that having done 70% of my descents on wet or rainy roads - I have built up some confidence and that last descent was killer! Dare I say that I even opened it up a little bit and let my bike have her way as we careened down the road. It was actually fun and I didn't even have the 'fear of death' on my mind! After the descent, Veronica and I rode through this tunnel of trees that was incredible! Brand new asphalt, a slight down hill so we picked up speeds of ~26mph for about 4 miles - sweet! Then we rode some rollers until we were about 2 miles from the hotel and get this - cruel and unusual punishment - a big steep climb short, but steep!
As I rode and climbed a lot - I had a lot of time to think - as you do when you ride - all day long everyday......Anyway, I realized that this trip has really helped me to relax and not worry so much about everything and everyone. I am always trying to 'fix' things - well NO MORE I say - I'm putting that aside, if someone needs my help by all means then I'll be there but no more am I going to try - they say insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results - well this will definitely be a change for me. I also thought about how very fortunate I am to be able to come on this trip - my awesome husband who totally supported me 100% from the very beginning (even though that meant we weren't going to the Tour de France this year) (Thanks Babe!) Also, work Sue, Susan and Matt - I can't tell you how much I appreciated the time! I have many others to thank too! (more on that in the after-post)
I know I talk about butterflies a lot, but seriously, they change from state to state - today it was the large black winged with a big blue bottom 'smudge' on it's wing. They are gorgeous and I love to watch them play.
We wound up having dinner at Ruby Tuesdays (again) but it was really good. Ann, Susan, Michelle, and Mark - poor Mark was stuck with the "girls" but he said he learned a lot. (Yeah, be afraid, be very afraid!)

Today - Sunday- Harrisonburg to Ashland
Today we road up to Skyline Drive (part of the Blue Ridge Parkway). It would be our final climb - sounds so strange doesn't it? I felt GREAT today! I didn't even sleep well last night. I kept it in my middle ring the whole way up - no granny! And got to the top and cruised down on the other side, this descent was killer because it was easier to see the turns in most cases - so look out I went over 35-40 mph going down - oh ya - I had to tell myself, "You Rock" a few times but decided I better not get too cocky - I could bite it at anytime!
I got to the stop and Paul was there and we took off and rode with Janae for a bit. Today's ride was gorgeous - so many trees everywhere and the views and smells were amazing. As we came up to the second stop we ran into Walt and Bob. So off we went on to the lunch stop - don't ask me why I was in such a hurry today - I didn't even know there was a pool at the hotel! Once at the lunch I told Micheal that I was going to catch him before we got to the hotel. At some point after lunch we(Paul, Scott, Walt) passed he and Tom while there were stopped. Paul said -see you passed him - well, that isn't what I wanted - so as they passed us later - Micheal gave chase and I had to pursue - I can't help it. It was a blast and eventually, the whole group came together and we all rode into the hotel together at a very good clip. It was cool to come in with one of the earlier groups - plus I got to spend some time in the pool with Roger, Micheal, Tom and Scott. I also went to dinner with some folks I hadn't gone out with before to a local place called the Laundromat - it was actually a little bistro and quite delish!!
Well, tomorrow is the final day were we all ride to a rendezvous point and then all ride to the water together. I'm not sure how I will feel about this tomorrow. I know I will be sad to see it come to an end and say goodbye to so many amazing and interesting people, but I also know that this is a dream of mine that I can say I have fulfilled. Life's passions are what keeps us all going isn't it? I will have obtained this one.

Saturday -
Virginia (last state - yeah! and boo-hoo)
This young girl that was dressed in 1800's clothes at the top of the climb - she said she liked to dress like that and wave at cars - plus she kept Tim J company at the rest stop

a little fawn I saw on the way

This was just hilariously WRONG - dare I say hillbilly yard art - he also had some eagle bird like thing but his cracked me up - yes that is a baby in the one hand and a stick with a skull on it in the other. I took it and got the heck outa there!

Top of one of the climbs - Germany Valley

Lon - at the rest stop - taking good care of us!! Look at that huge smile too!

Look at that big fat tree - this was a long a rural country road

We saw the Seneca Rocks - info if your interested

Does that bridge look safe too you?!

Morning mountain mist - top of the first climb of the day

Tweasles in the morning

Morning descent

Riders cresting a roller

Breakfast in the mist

Sunday
Dinner with Walt(OH), me, Jonathon (Australia), Tom (ID), Steve (PA), Roger (Germany), Craig(CA)

Look how far we've come!

Last rest stop of the day! Scott, Micheal, Tom, Paul, Dave, Jim

Montpelier & Bob

Civil War Re-enactment

Day 27 - Parkersburg to Elkins, WV

2010-08-06T21:15:00.007-04:00

Pictures globbed in here - most are of the Insane Asylum -
Look at the pictures of the lobotomy - eww!
One of PAC Tour Girls Gone Wild (Susan, Ann, Janae, Michelle, Susan, Me, Cynthia, Cov, Veronica - missing: Priska, Chris, Rebecca ) I know this sounds vain - but I look horrible in all these pics! Oh well, I'm better in person anyway! ;-)

Ok - I just wrote 'Day 27' and all I could think was 'yer sh--tin me!' Seriously!?

Today started out cool and dry - perfect! We were at the Red Roof Inn last night and Michelle and I's room was right outside the 'staging' area so I wasn't as anxious about getting everything ready to go since it was so close. We had an early start today - breakfast at 6:30, roll at 7:00. It's hard to eat sometimes in the morning (I know that's just plain crazy talk coming from 'The Guppy') but really it is. I try to eat at least a half a cup of granola, a cup of plain yogurt and a cup of blueberries - all in the same bowl and then a piece of toast with cream cheese on the side. You have to think that this is 'fuel' for the body and force yourself. Plus I make up a bottle of Perpetuem and Sustain Energy that is about 300 calories to drink in the first 30-40 miles. It has saved me a few times. Today, unfortunately, I didn't eat enough and really felt it on the climbs. So, tomorrow I have to make sure to eat more at the stops as we have a lot of climbing to do.

The route today was sensational. We are finally out of the corn and soybean fields for good now. We were surrounded by big beautiful trees and the foothills of the Alleghenies. I absolutely love the mountains, love, love love them!!! I think that at some point we will wind up living somewhere in the mountains. Don't worry Sue M, not anytime soon but one day. They have such a majestic beauty about them. The sunrise today was amazing - there were clouds with the sun behind them and the rays bursting around the outside - picture perfect - but of course I have no picture. Whala! I do have a picture - thanks Micheal! (I took poetic license and stole it from his blog - I also have to credit Scott with some of the past pics I posted - The Hill and the Smiley face water tower - thanks to both contributors!!!) As we rode this morning we came upon a guy, Gary riding his bike to work. He has an 11 mile commute one way to the machine shop that he works at. It was nice talking to him and hearing about the route that we had ahead - his words - "Hilly".

Today we all rode together yet separate - no formal pace line. I had warned Paul that I had a lot on my mind and that I was thinking too much to be responsible for that. I was thinking about the trip ending, coming home to 'real life', work, my family - it was all just a bundle in my mind. I let the first climb gobble it all up and get it out so I could live in the moment and worry about all that other stuff later.

We rode the first part on Route 50 which had some fun, long descents and long climbs but nothing to crazy maybe a 6% grade, then we went through some great windy twisty roads - my favorite - "Meathouse Fork Rd" - it was fun and shrouded with trees to keep us cool. It was a back road and there would be very 'poor areas' and then a beautiful farm home would pop up out of no where. There was also a Post Office in the middle of "No-wheresville", seriously, I don't have any idea where they delivered too.

At lunch we were treated to the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (http://www.talawv.com/) - it sits on 666 acres - because the guy who sold them the land thought that the patients where results of the devil - but it actually worked out well because they could grow their own food and have livestock to be self sustaining. The place was huge and used to house over 2,500 patients at one time. The last patients were in 1994 and then moved to some of the local hospitals. There have been 'reputable' ghost hunters that have officially deemed the place haunted. It was pretty interesting and all I could think about was Jack Nicholson in "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest" - it really looked like that place! They used to do lobotomies, electroshock therapy, hydro-therapy (can you say water boarding?) - it was actually very depressing. However, they do have ghost tours which start at 9pm and go until 5am - where they break you up into groups of 10 and go to the most active parts of the asylum ----- whhhooooooo scarrrryyyy!! Wanna do it?!

In the afternoon back it was just Susan and I as we were the last to go through the asylum tour and got way behind. Unfortunately, 5 miles from the Super 8 Susan got a piece of wire in her tire and flatted. We pushed into a drive way and tried to get her tire off and re-set. But, we couldn't get the dang tire back on. Thankfully, the 'big strong man' that lived at the house finally came out and we enlisted his help to get those last two inches of tire on the rim - dang new tires!

After we got in we had to go through the usual routines of preparation. You'll never believe it but I cancelled my massage because tonight we decided to we needed a Girls Night Out - so almost all the girls went across the street and had dinner at the Steer Steakhouse. It was so much fun! All you can eat buffet and guess what?! They had baby lima beans - yumm-O!! We walked back to the hotel and Micheal had been to the local Walmart and stopped by to give us a glass of wine to help with our blog writing.

Tomorrow is only 106 miles BUT 9,000 feet of climbing with a huge climb into Virginia and an early start again, so I will sign off and get to bed.

Thanks again for the comments and the cards - I got some more from some friends. I love the butterflies! Speaking of which - we are in the land of the giant yellow butterflies with black tips on their wings - they flutter by and they also land on the wild flowering sedum to drink the nectar - so breathtaking!! I love watching them and one even got caught on my jersey as I was riding along, I gently pushed her off and away she flew. Oh! We also saw a fawn - spots and all about 20 feet off of the road in a field - she bawled for her Momma and scooted away - just precious!

Day 26 - Circleville, OH to Parkerburg, WV

2010-08-05T20:30:00.006-04:00

Ok today I was a little worried about but to no avail, it wasn't bad at all well, as far as climbing goes. We started out leaving Circleville, OH with some storm clouds lingering ahead. I didn't even think it would rain at all today, so of course I only had my light jacket (which I always carry). I didn't even put my rain gear in the bag on the truck - dumb!! Oh well, we started out and Susan and I led at first, stretching the legs and waiting for Hocking Hills to start. We had Mark and Paul too. At about mile 13 ish we started feeling the first real rain and had to pull over to put on rain gear and my barrier jacket (aka nothing much to write home about). As we rode on I had to take my glasses off and then put them back on because of the visibility issues. I finally decided it was better to have the fogged up, rain splattered glasses then to have the rain beating down into my eyes.
At about mile 14 I thought ok, just 15 more miles to the sag, but then guess what my very favorite - lightening! I hate that! As we rode on that got closer and closer, at the time the lightening hit the telephone pole (3 up from us) I shrieked and expletive and said, I don't care what anyone else is doing, I'm hitting that porch. I guess it scared a lot of people because there were about 7 of us under the porch and Kurt and Priska around the corner on the other side porch! After about 15 minutes everyone decided that even though it was still raining that it was still ok to leave. Fine! I'll leave too. I hate riding hills when it's wet - I know what a TMB! (titty milk baby) The rest of the day was fine and the hills not much to write home about. We entered into another state, WV and arrived safely at our hotel. We all had tons of work and clean up to do on our bikes to get them lubed and ready to go for tomorrow - 9, 500 feet of climbing - fine - nothing to worry about!
I also had to do my laundry of course - so I have some pics below of what that entails. So, as i get in the shower, I put all the clothes that I've worn that day in the back of the shower and anything else that I want to wash. It gets them all a good pre-soak while I'm showering, then after I'm done in the shower, I fill the tub up a little and give them all a good washing with laundry detergent - again, just like me the clothes are full of road grime - so then I let the water out fill it up again and rinse and then rinse again. My very least favorite is wringing them out then after that I put them in towels and roll them up and step on them to get all the last bit of water out of them - then I either put them on a luggage rack outside or hang them up in the room closet to dry (tonight I did the latter) then you cross your fingers and hope they dry by morning, since we entered the more humid states that's a big wish!!
We went a few blocks away for dinner tonight at the Mountaineer Steak House and ate with tons of people, the outside looked questionable but the food was actually really good. I had ribeye beef tips (med rare ,mmmm) with onions, green peppers, whipped potatoes, broccoli and a salad - it was really good. You may wonder why the heck is she telling us what she's eating well, actually it's for myself - it's amazing how easily the days blur into each other!! We stayed at the Red Roof Inn and both Michelle and I had massages tonight - mine was an hour lovin' it! Then Micheal came down and we had a yummy bottle of Robert Mondavi's Cab (What?! Walmart's selection is slim!) it was so nice to sit back and kabitz with another rider on all the 'fun' stuff you experience on this tour - sore bottoms, mental stuff, family inspirations, etc. It was really cool.

The terrain today actually changed too - we followed a river valley which was incredible along the way. It seemed a lot like WV when we were in OH, but I didn't care as we had broken through the corn fields after the thunder storm. I received more mail today, thanks so much - again, I can't believe it will be over in a few more days - it leaves me thinking - what's next?! Also, loving the comments!!! xoxoxo
Pics:
Cynthia, Cov, Walt, Tom, Susan, Paul and I take shelter on someones porch
Dinner at the Mountaineer, Susan, Me, Cynthia, Cov, Micheal, Tom, Mark, Janae, Ann (next booth over back of Greg (young), Wes, Steve, and Craig

Washing step 3 - after rolling the clothes in the towel, I step on them to get all the excess water out (look at those shiny toes!)

Rolling out my towel and laying my clothes in it to begin the roll up process - step 2 (step one is Wash, rinse and wring out- yes I know that's three steps)!

Clean up of the bikes

If you close up on this you can see the rain really coming down, but not the lightening (my fave!)

Day 25 - Troy to Circleville, OH

2010-08-04T20:28:00.009-04:00

First to wrap up a few things from yesterday, White Barns. No one commented and since we had a good connection last night I googled it (jfgi). As it turns out there are two theories, one is that the path of the Germanic settlers reflects their tradition (whatever that means) or that since dairy farming was getting more commercialized the thought was that the white wash represented purity and cleanliness of the farm and therefore, of the milk. So there you have it.
Also last night we ate at a Big Boy and I must say it was the second worst meal of the trip. I remember the burger the 'big boy' as being delish so I ordered it - get this?! The special sauce is tarter sauce - ewewww! ON my fish sandwich yes, burger NO! Plus my onion rings were raw - oh well, the soup was ok so I had two bowls - Michelle also said hers was the worst so I didn't feel so bad.
Ok, on to today - can you say HUMID! It was so humid when we started this morning that I had a sunscreen dew all over my arms that ran off in rivulets down to my gloves. They were soaked within the first 20 miles. Actually, throughout the day we were so sweaty hot that I rode with my jersey completely unzipped! There was a heat advisory for the afternoon warning that people shouldn't exercise outside. But, we finished up around 1:30 and stopped at the local coffee shop - there were about 12 of us that stopped in to sit in the A/C and get something refreshing. As we sat there, a storm was brewing outside and Rebecca warned that it would hit in 30 minutes. We were only 2 miles from the hotel so we decided to stay for a few more minutes before heading out. When we left you could see the storm really gaining on us and we had to high tail it on outa there to make it to the hotel. When we got to the light just across from the hotel the lights where swinging and the wind really picked up. I had to get off my bike and walk it across the street so I could keep my balance! We made it just in time and got inside before this giant storm hit. Thankfully, everyone was in by then and we were all safe and sound!
Guess what! I got some great cards today from friends and family! Four of them!! Michelle was a bit jealous so I tried to let her open one, but she said that was ok - I proudly displayed them on top of the TV - it was so cool and they where all so pretty and inspiring - THANK YOU!!!
Tonight I hit the pool for some stretching and swimming - it felt great! There were quite a few of us there - Ernie, Micheal, Susan, and Tom. I also got our laundry done and dinner before my 7:00pm massage. It's nice to get those things out of the way before 10pm!!! Also, Holiday Inn Express has fresh baked cookies and I've eaten three of them since I've been sitting here, gosh it's going to suck going back to eating normal!!
The terrain today was slightly hillier than yesterday and we had a few rollers, I kept trying to push myself over the rollers to remind my legs what it's like to climb - REMEMBER I kept telling them. I started out with Paul, Susan and Mark and we actually rode with Wes, Greg and Jim for awhile. At some point I rode with Tom (CA) and Rebecca - it was fun and we sang the 'safety song' I have to get those words from Rebecca. The last 20 miles we flew - it was flat with a slight tailwind - so nice!
Status report - total miles - 2,845, total climbing 87,990, total calories burned- 158,469 - I did finally weigh myself and I am down six pounds which is great because I haven't seen that number since joining the GAMT group! I've been trying to lose 10 lbs for like 3 years! So yippee! Plus, I washed my jeans the other day and they were a bit baggy - again yipppeee!
I have a bunch of pics below for you, but what I'm finding as each day gets closer to the last I am trying to imprint images of the people in my mind and on my camera. As I realize that there are some that I may not see again, I want to remember the mannerisms and things about them. I want to remember the playful jabs that John L gives me, the always enthusiastic "Welcome" that Susan calls out, the funny fist bump explosion thing that Paul does with Jonathon, the 'yes Ma'am from Jonathon - which I don't even mind being called "Ma'am" by him, Walt's silly grin and all the cool things I learned from him, the stern look of Lon that turns to a smile, (young) Greg's bright eyes and eagerness, Ernie's flirtatious grin (even though he treats me like his daughter), I could go on and on about everyone - some people I haven't gotten to know that well and some I have - but all of them have been great and I know that I will have times of longing in the days and months ahead and will need to reflect on their faces and just remember.......
Ok on to my pics before I get sappy....
As always thanks for the comments!! I love them!
Early in the morning

Humid morning start

Morning pace line - lead - Wes, Jim, Greg, Paul, Susan, Mark - what's that we are riding by?! Corn!

Homes in Urbana, OH

First rest stop and all the peeps

I took this of the side of the trailer door - Sue M do you see something your Mom might like to put up at home???

Tom maxin and relaxin at lunch

Amazing isn't it?! Progress so far

The storm that was barking at our heels!

Cool mural in Circleville - home of the largest Pumpkin fest and 1,500 lb. pumpkins and 7 parades in 5 days - learned that from some friendly locals

Coffee shop, me and my chai tea, Mark, Paul, Susan

Coffee shop outside (94degrees) Bob, Gerry, Roger and John

My yummy honkers Ale - oh and Janae, Paul (his Merlot) and Michelle

Dinner - left side - Janae, Paul, Michelle, right side - Jim, Me, Susan

Cov, Scott, Ann, Cynthia, Brian, Rick

Craig, Mark, Wes (short shorts), Steve, Carl

This is a tough one to read but it says "Everyday holds the possibility of a Miracle" so amazingly true!

Day 23 & 24 - Danville, IL to Anderson, IN to Troy, OH

2010-08-03T17:08:00.009-04:00

Hey there 3 states in two days - crazy isn't it? We had taken up 5 days to cross Montana!! OK, I have to start out with an apology - typically I'm a HUGE postcard writer - I usually send at least to 8 different households when I travel - I will admit that I have picked them up - except for a few states - BUT I haven't written them - sorry! I may do it and I may not. I even send them to myself - it's cool to look at them over the years. So, if you don't get one I may just hand it to you later! :-)

Yesterday, Day 23 we did 113 miles with only about 1,000 feet of climbing - fantastic! It was a fun day and I have felt great the last few days! My legs seemed to have recovered a bit and with a little tweak to my pedaling when I climb - alls well!

All day today I had the song "Gary, Indiana" going on in my head it made me giggle. I also kept thinking "Hi Scott & Tara's folks - wherever you are". I didn't realize that Indiana was the white washed barn mecca. It's so cool to see so many of them and so different than the typical ones that you see. The terrain today was pretty flat and we were in Indiana very quickly within the first 6 miles. I thought maybe some different scenery - nope! Guess what? More corn and soybeans. I rode with Paul, Mark, Susan and Dale for most of the day and we just kinda took it easy with a few times going a little crazy. We had great roads today too, which Mark was very impressed with, since he's from Muncie, IN - he said there can be terrible ones.

We passed a few little cute towns and had a great lunch as usual! Michelle and I ate at the Ruby Tuesdays later than usual, (they have an amazing salad bar) as I had an hour massage - I tell you I don't know how I'm going to go back to not having my every few days massages!!

Day 24 - Into OH-IO we go

Guess what?!! Last night I got my first full 8 hours of sleep on this whole tour!! I was rearing to go and felt better mentally than I had in a week. This is not only taxing on your body but your mind can get tired. Not that there's much to think about, you have the routine down and all the things you have to prep, but you just get tired. So, I felt like a million bucks! It's funny but I play with the mileage expectations in my head, if we have 136 miles to do, then after the 36 is under my belt I think - we only have 100 left that's easy, then I break that down into thirds - so who couldn't do 33 miles, and so on, it makes it easier to digest.

I came out with my luggage to find Paul had already got his on the truck - he's been paying attention! So, off we went - there were clouds in the sky but the rain hadn't started yet. As we rode out we had Mark and Susan and we caught up with a few others. Dale left for 'real life' today - yuck real life!
When you ride in a pace line you forget to look around and enjoy the views - I try to pay attention to the wheel in front, looking for hand signals to tell me what to expect (holes in the road, roadkill, whether the person is going to stand on the pedals, etc.). So, today I was determined to stop and take more pictures and catch up later. Well, I did take more pictures and my group would soft pedal til I caught up. So, I have a few more but not much.

We rode through some residential areas today that where nice and I saw even more white barns. Everyone seemed to be in a really good mood, knowing that we had a super short day with only 85 miles and barely any climbs. As we were riding Lon came by us and rode with us for a little bit then started to leave us - well as I mentioned - I felt great - so I moved up the line and gently eased our group faster and faster til 'we' almost had Lon back til I looked back and Paul was saying 'Vikki - settle down' - what!? I didn't want too, I should have stuck with Lon til lunch to burn off my excess energy but I acquiesced and took my place back in line. Only for Paul to say to me - and this is from Paul - Mr Nice guy - 'You're like a mare in heat" WHAT!!! I told him they must not have powerful independent women in Australia! And that I'm surprised to hear what comes out of his mouth (he had said the same to me the day before) He did apologize but it was all in good fun. Just about 9 miles before lunch we got rained on a bit, nothing like before though, thank goodness! We also saw a big sign indicating Amish the next 19 miles but I never saw any darn it I wanted to take a picture.

As we came up a small hill I saw a cyclist in the street and a car - my heart sank and I warned the line that there was a situation up ahead. As we came up the person on the ground stood up and the car left. It was Cynthia - the car was blowing the stop sign and didn't see the cyclists - thankfully she wasn't hurt. She fell when she slammed on her brakes - since it was raining her brakes were wet and they don't stop as easily. I'm not mentioning this to scare anyone but I am mentioning it to say, please pay attention when you are driving, put down the cell phone, don't text, look around and up and down for things that may not be as high as a truck or car. I was so glad that she was alright I gave her a great big hug!

We got in super early today at around 2:30. As I was coming into the hotel I spied with my beady eye a Nail and Tan salon - can you say pedicure!!?? Oh yes, I was so elated that I shot to the shower, got cleaned up and headed over to the spa. When you do this type of thing you are very hard on your body, it just gets abused! So, I needed to pamper my feet a little bit and my toes where getting chippy and I can't stand chipped up polish! It was pure heaven, complete with the massaging chair (not nearly as good as Jonathon) with compression and kneading - ahhh, and super hot bubbly water! She did an awesome job! As I was sitting there, not expecting anyone to know me there - I hear "Hey Lady" Janae had come over too and got her toes done - so cool.

Now, we are looking at where to go for dinner. At 7:00 there's a dvd and ice cream social - yippee!!! AND maybe, just maybe I'll get to bed by 9:30 tonight again so I can tear it up tomorrow!!! I mean rest up for the days in Virginia (2 days in a row of 105+ and 9k of climbing - shudder to think of them)

Day 23

Susan and Rebbecca(Lon & Susan's daughter) cleaning up from lunch

Surround yourself with Shady Characters - looks like this one may have been struck by lightening or got a bad hair cut!

This is hilarious - a sign pointing out a HILL at first I groaned but look at the hill in the back - not much!!
Cute downtown

A seemingly innocent flag and cone, but it has the Pavlov's Dog affect on us - it's where the stops are with water, food, sunscreen, and my very favorite --- Chamois Butter!! (no that's not something you eat!)

Indiana state sign - Paul has the one with me in it, but your probably getting sick of seeing those!

Morse Reservoir in Indiana - hey it's not a corn or soybean field!! Typically there are tons of sailboats but since it was a Monday the poor saps where probably at work!!

Day 24

Cov, me , Susan and Paul - we're in OH-IO, look at the "0" sign, zero miles.....

1st stop Greg (far left) Jonathon in the back, Jerry and Jim

I thought we were in Indiana not Kentucky!

Cynthia (recumbent), Tom, Ann, Stan (look at the farm house, their entire set up was white, barn, corn cribs all of it!)

A White Barn - so cool, they are everywhere - anyone know why they are white?

Middletown Dietrich Memorial Park - big artillery gun

Janae and I at the spa - look at those sparkly toes!!!

Day 22 - Pekin to Danville, IL

2010-08-01T21:53:00.003-04:00

This is a picture of the new Ford 10 passenger van - this is how amazing this group is - their other Ford Van was on it's last legs and they were planning on replacing it after this trip, but at our lunch the day before, it was kaput. So, Susan and Lon called to a dealership to get another one. I heard about it after lunch and said - well, let me get you x-plan! So, the dealer actually gave them the discount and some customer cash -but get this - they had to go meet the dealer about 2 hours away and get the trailer and old van to the hotel and another dealership, take all the racks and everything off re-pack and re-assemble - with no interruption to our trip or service level AT ALL!!! Can you believe it?! The group was up until 11:30-12:00 but got it all done - AMAZING!! I'm so glad it worked out and anyone that needs a new Ford product let me know - we can get you a discount!!

Today we started the day with cooler temperatures but a lot of humidity. We had a misty fog that lasted just past the first stop around mile 35-ish. I had to take my glasses off so I could see, but most people left them on and just kept wiping their lenses off. I had beads of moisture on my lashes and eyebrows! I wish I had a picture of that as it was all over the hair on my arms!
I was again one of the firsts with my bag into the truck and Paul gave me the wait a minute look. I told him that there would be no screwing around for the day the because I was tired. He looked at me and said, 'Some of the things you say, aren't interpreted as nicely in Australia' - what's wrong with 'screwing around'??? I corrected myself and said 'messing around' instead, which seemed to satisfy him. As I mentioned, today was a difficult day to get up! In the last week we've done over 920 miles! I really wanted to sleep an hour (or 4 more!) We've been getting up at 5am for at least that long and out on the bikes (including stops) for at least 10+ hours. A girl gets a little tired! So, my main objective was to get in early and take a nap. (RIGHT! It's 9:10 and I'm writing this, shame, shame)
Anyway, back to the ride, we were supposed to do 136 miles today and guess what!? We did 138 soooooo.....I'm whole on my mileage - so I'm a MEFI - modified every flippin' inch!! Yeah! I did the Snoopy dance when I got in. We started out with Paul, Mark, Susan, Dale and I - it was a nice start and we rode two abreast and got to chat with everyone along the way. We were on mostly non trafficky roads that were pretty decent chip and seal. Although, there was a few roads that hard the tar bubbles and as you rode over them it was as if you were riding over fish flies/May flies or bubble wrap - pop, pop, pop.....Paul called it a 'dead road' as it felt like your tires were dead on it.

We thought we were out of the Corn and Soybean area but no way we actually were surrounded again by corn it was funny, I kept thinking if I was on this road late at night I could really scare myself - remember - I grew up with the "Children of the Corn" movies - yikes! But, it's not just corn there are all kinds of different seeds that they want to let you know about : DeKalb, Pioneer, Channel, Stoner Seed, Ehler Bros. - we even went by DeKalb (city) where Monsanto's is which used to be AgResearch Corp, I think they were one of the big inventors of hybrid seed corn, a little factoid for you. As you ride along with either of those lovely crops or the person's wheel to look at in front of you - you really can get a lot of thinking done. I even made up a little song about my leg fatigue (I'm still working on other verses here's just a taste, please envision a saxophone accompaniment):

Lactic Acid Blues

Oh..I got the Lactic Acid Blues

Can't climb today but,

that ain't news

Can feel the pain way down through my shoes

Oooohhh, I got the Lactic Acid Bllluuuueesssss.

The other thing that we heard a lot today was the cicada's, if you haven't seen the pic go back a few days and you'll see him. But if you've not heard them click here for a sound byte:
http://soundbible.com/920-Cicada.html. It's weird to go by these giant trees and wonder what are they doing?

Tonight was very enjoyable, we came in and I worked on my bike as usual cleaning and prepping. Although today, I changed my rear tire, my other one was getting worn pretty good and had some flat spots so before we hit the climbs and screaming descents in Virginia I wanted to get her ready. I crack up every time I shower - besides the fact that I'd really like someone else there to scrub me down (Craig?!) (you are pretty tired at the end of the day) - I'm amazed at how dang dirty I am - the road grime that comes off of me! Between the sunscreen that attracts it and the stuff that kicks up from the road - the cleaning crew must wonder what kind of people are showering in their hotels! I have a routine down where I wash my legs twice (and sometimes three times!) then shave my legs - that's one thing I have been shaving my legs EVERY DANG DAY!!! What a chore! But, at least I'll be ready if I get invited to a party and have to wear a skirt! Right!

Michelle and I met up with a group and had dinner at the Mexican place down the street - it was actually very good and I had chicken with onions and mushrooms and get this?! I didn't have to rush through it!

Here are some pics from the day:

Smiley face water tower - we actually look for the water towers of towns to see how close we are getting to civilization

Dinner mates- Left side and around - Ernie, Me, Greg (17 year old crossing for his 3X!!!), Susan (joined for the day - rode her recumbant from Chicago!), Greg, Tom, Michelle, Bob (he looks real mean but he's a big softy!)

Progress so far - unbelievable 'eh?

This cracked me up!! A guy rode to the gas station on his mower to meet his buddies for coffee!! Oh my!

Day 20 & 21- Colfax to Mount Pleasant, IA to Pekin, IL

2010-07-31T22:02:00.006-04:00

Well, where to begin - it's a toss up as last night had I of posted it probably would have been a raw emotional thing....but today I'm way better. So, lets get yesterday out of the way and end on the high points of today...

Day 20- Colfax to Mount Pleasant, IA
Yesterday (Friday) started out with lots of clouds and a rain storm on the way. So, I packed my rain coat in with the truck, my light one is always with me. Susan and I started out together and sure enough the rain started within the first 10 miles, light at first but by the time we got to the first stop it was a steady light rain. So, I put my rain coat on and thought I might regret it as it tends to get hot and sticky. But, I was soon glad that I had it on as the rain steadily got worse. We rode on and the thunder started following us along with some far off lightening. Yes, I did say lightening - I have two fears - one is being struck by lightening. Thankfully, the rain wasn't cold at first and we made it to the second sag with the lightening only 13 seconds behind us - apparently there is a calculation that you can do to see how far away the 'real' storm is. I didn't care, I was very hesitant to go back out in it with that dang lightening, but after a few snickers bars (What?!they are mini!) We headed out. About 10 miles away Susan looked down and realized she had a flat - dang it! So we headed to the nearest drive way and against my better judgment under a tree. We tried to get her tire changed but it was so weird it was almost crumpled to the rim. I tried calling the caravan to let them know to stop and give us a head but got vmail - they were cleaning up from the last stop. We wrestled with that thing for almost 20 minutes! I was watching for the caravan to go by and finally saw them coming and ran to the road to flag them down at the same time Susan finally got the tire off the rim. Carl pulled in and helped finish getting the tire on and was pumping it up when suddenly, "POW!". The tube burst again, so he had Greg get another wheel down and we swapped them out. Come to find out later the tire was full of glass. Susan looked longingly at the van, but there was no room in it for us to move up as there were already people sagging, plus I didn't want to. There is a saying here "EFI" - I was an "EFI" Every 'Flippin' Inch - so there was no way I was sagging. So off we went.
As we rode on the storm had hit were we were and we were in the lightening, thunder and down pours. As we rode up hills the water just poured down and as vehicles passed it was like a wall of water and debris would hit and you'd almost be stopped. The worst was when the pig truck went by and we were splattered by it. EWWW!!!! We couldn't have been more miserable!
By the time we made the lunch stop - everyone but the crew was gone and we were cold! They got us our meatballs and pasta and we shook off the chill as we ate. Susan's fiance, Dale met her there and I knew she would ride forward with him. I however, had no intention of sagging. But, as I finished up, Susan N (owner) started questioning me and more than strongly suggesting that I get 'bumped' forward. I couldn't help it but the tears started, I had survived a flippin' storm and now was being told I had to get moved forward in order to stay on track. I was devastated. I wasn't happy about it but finally agreed, after all, Dale had said he could barely see me when he was driving down the road. So, there....I was no longer EFI. It sucked.....but the rest of the group wasn't that far ahead and I only went forward 14 miles. My rational is this - Craig and I had already got in 12 extra miles on day 2, so now all I need is 2 more miles to back on the 'Modified EFI'. But, I was extremely bummed about it yesterday.
To top it off the rest of the ride was of course guilt ridden - I know, I know a wasted emotion. Not today, I'm off the pity party and on to the rest of the journey. There are some funny pictures of a crazy mud pit we had to cross. I also got to ride with Scott for awhile which was nice since I had been alone for a little bit playing 'catch up'
The good thing was after the tears and people coming up to me to console me - I had a wonderful massage - it made me feel better. Besides, it was a 141 mile day and I did 127 miles.

Day 21 - Mount Pleasant, IA to Pekin, IL

Well, after a nights rest - yesterday didn't seem so devastating and I was ready to ride and prove that I wasn't 'sag material'. I was the first one in line at the trailer and out the door and on my bike. Paul was back in the saddle and was shocked, he was like don't go anywhere - I said - sorry Paul - I'm taking no chances! It was a beautiful morning and cool. We rode into Madison, IA and got to see Old Fort Madison and the great big Mississippi River - wow! That was cool, plus we crossed it on an old bridge that had a car deck above the rail area - so cool!
We also passed into Illinois today - so incredible how far we've come. Greg commented on the scenery that it wasn't all corn and soy beans - then we turned a corner and guess what? Corn and soy beans! The roads today were much better and a lot of it reminded me of Michigan the meadows and farms. Paul did catch me at a light, we along with Greg and Mark rode together - it was really fun and went quick the first stop at 30-something miles came up quick. Mark is back in the saddle and riding very strong too! We passed some great barns and grainaries too. It's weird to say that 136 miles went 'fast' but it did - we cruised along pretty steadily and kept a decent pace. There was a road that we were on that was 'closed' and we pretty much had it all to ourselves, we realized that it was closed because a big hunk of it was missing so we had a little mt. biking to do! The funny thing was that at the end there was a huge Caterpillar digger at the end that we went under - I wish I had a picture of that!! (it was just parked)
We came in through Pekin and they were having a big Cruiser nite - so tons of cool cars everywhere. Once in I went through my normal routine and met Michelle's friend who rode from Chicago to meet up with her - incredible, right?! So, she will ride with us tomorrow. Then I met Scott for dinner at the Italian place next door and wound up meeting up with Jerry, Rick, Bob, Ernie, Jim too - it was a fun and relaxing dinner - the first in awhile. Typically, I'm rushing so much that I have to inhale my dinner to make it to a massage or to finish my laundry and prep for the next day.
Tomorrow is another long day - 136 miles, we get a shorter day in 3 days thank goodness!!

July 30
Look at that huge smile on Cov's face! (Cov and Cynthia)

Mike washing his shoes off after the mud slog
Rick carrying his bike - no shoes of coures - mud clogs up your cleats see above when you wear your shoes

Lunch stop - look at the puddled water

The start of the morning - Mark, Janae and Susan

Day 21

Old Ford Madison - look at that guy enjoying his Saturday morning

Really cool paddle boad on the Mississippi River - Casino anyone? (aka Jana)

Grainery

Crossing another state!!

Soy beans

Road Closed - Mt biking Open

Illinios scenery - look at the cool American Flag on top

Funny barn - like those two ran out of the barn and left those cut-outs

The Illinois River (that's two giant rivers in one day!)

Days 17, 18, 19 - Yes I know I'm Behind

2010-07-29T20:13:00.007-04:00

Ok, a really quick re-cap of the last couple of days

Tues - July 27 - Mitchell to Vermillion SD
Today was a scorcher and supposedly our day of recovery at 115 miles.
We started out - Paul, Susan, Mark, Bob and I getting warmed up and headed out. By the time we got to the first stop at I think mile 29-ish- Mark didn't look so good. We encouraged him to drink lots of stuff and sit in the shade for a few to see how he'd do. He was very dehydrated and was having severe cramps - even in his arms. Veronica and Susan convinced him to sag for the day as he was really bad off and to top it off hadn't eaten dinner last night! If there is one thing that I'm learning it's to really take care of myself - eat and rest (the eat part - no prob but, I really need to up the rest part) So off we went and after lunch Susan started getting really bad from the heat - you are literally sweating buckets and you have to keep your electrolytes going. So we slowed down to a crawl and limped in but we all finally made it in. We got cleaned up and went next door to Cherry Cafe and I had a 'first' chicken fried steak - I must say it was yummy!! It even had gravy on it - it was basically just calories in - my vegetable was corn!

July 28 (Wed) - Vermillion, SD to Denison, IA
Today was rollers rollers rollers, constant. Today we also had a change, Paul took the sag today. When you ride this many miles this many days in a row - your body does some really weird things. You also get chafing or saddle sores - Paul was experiencing that and they must have been bad! Mine actually were doing great til today, I have some new ones. Since it was so hot I was putting ice in my sports bra - oh boy did that feel good but when it melted it got my shorts wet - soooooo...anyway. Susan and I started out together and got some great pics when we went into Iowa - another state! The last few days had taken a toll and Susan dropped back. I reached the first stop and she was about 2 miles back. I debated on waiting but if you stop too long your body goes into recovery mode and well, we still had 100 miles left - you don't want that - you start up and your legs are screaming at you. So, I told John to tell her I'd beg for forgiveness at lunch. Just as I was leaving she pulled up and we talked and she was cool with it - I didn't want any bad karma or to have 'bad form'!
As I rode on it was beautiful I lost count after 25 of all the monarch butterflies - we also saw a fox and spooked a rooster(pheasant) that flew out over the corn fields. I have some cool pictures of the Iowa corn fields below - they actually terrace the fields here (sorry no pics of that). It's 360 degrees of corn fields! Some of the farm equipment they use here you'd swear that you could ride right under it! I motioned to the farmer and he just shook his head "No", I really wasn't going to do it.
You know you are crossing the country when you go from rattlesnakes to gartner snakes (Sorry Kristi), free ranging livestock to fenced farms, no bugs to a field of glowing, glinting lightening bugs - purely amazing. it's also going way too fast. I'm getting a little melancholy already - but we still have 11 days and I am of course going to revel in each moment!

I had an hour with Jonathan today - remember he's my BFF/massage therapist! I can tell you I enjoy that WAAAAYYYY better than my bath tub of ice water!!! (Damn you Sue Bott!) I had to have my pasta dinner wrapped up to make it to my appt., but got lucky because after I met up with Micheal and Tom and had some wine with it - a great end to a great day!

Day 19 - Thurs - Denison to Colfax, IA
Today was much cooler! I wound up starting off by myself as Paul was off today and Susan wasn't moving so quickly (remember that line to get your stuff in the trailer, I was in the top 10 and I wanted to scoot - a long day with 133 miles) It was a very misty morning and just gorgeous - Denison is home to Donna Reed (she had a show and from It's a Wonderful Life) so we left out of Donna Reed Blvd. Neat, huh? We had some rollers to start off with again today, lots of cows and horses - when ever I go by them I always tell them 'good morning babies!' They love it!
We had some time constraints today and a few people got sagged forward, thankfully I didn't, but the road we were on today was horrible, I felt like I was in Michigan! It was very bumpy and uncomfortable. My left arm was really bothered by it and my feet too - crampy and going numb. Thankfully I got to lunch and guess what!? Susan had gotten CORN from a local farmer! YUMMY!!!
Back on the bike and onto a better county road with less traffic too. At the last stop I noticed Rick putting soda in his water bottle. I gotta admit something......I have drank more soda on this trip than I have in my whole adult life - all kinds, coke, diet coke, strawberry, rootbeer, something lightening - it's weird by afternoon nothing seems to quench the thirst. Ok back to my 'experiment' so I thought mmmmm....why not try it - uh oh!! I did and by the first few miles after I left the caffeine was kickin' in! My brain started saying - ok Cynthia left before you go catch her and after that Rick and then sprint into the end - well we were still 25 miles out! My brain was talking but my legs were having a hard time delivering! Well, I did catch Cynthia and I think I had imaginary riders in front of me as I swear I saw them climbing the rollers then when I'd reach the top they were gone again. This went on the whole way in and my legs were trying to respond - I swear I was doing a time trial the last bit - it was fun and thankfully burned all the caffeine out before anyone was subjected to my yammering!!
Oh, I received my new cleats and was getting help with it when Jim noticed that the anchor screw was coming apart and the plastic sole of the shoe was breaking. I thought - oh great! I have to wear my crappy spare pair and buy a new set when I get back. BUT, never fear Lon the master is here. Lon took it and re-anchored a new screw and fixed it right up - drill gun and all! He saved me like $200!! That guy is amazing!

Ok, I'm sorry to hear you girls aren't getting along at work, try and be nice to each other while I'm away! Even if Sue is boring and fat - try and make her feel better!! NO damn it I'm not HS skinny yet, but I do feel like I've lost weight - they say you shouldn't but I say to heck with that I am going too!!! It sounds like my friend Valerie will come and work with you while I'm gone too!! Thanks Bozeman for the words of encouragement too. Thanks everyone for the comments! Love em!!
Tomorrow more corn I presume!!!

July 27 (Tues)
Cicada - isn't huge? Looks like a giant horsefly to me There are so many windmills - at all these farms and homes all over - how did we get away from that?

Moo-Cow cooling off

Look at those cutie pie babies!

Another cool cemetery

The field of butterflies at lunch - but you can't see not one of them - there were tons!

Day 18 (Wed)
Another state down - entering Iowa

The roads of the day and yesterday - they just keep going and going....

Corn on Film (aka Girls on Film - Duran Duran)

The money shot - I waited all day for this shot - it looks so cool like the road is dropping off into the corn fields!

Farmer working

Yes, they are all my Faves!! (favorite) Of course - when I got into town there was a G Ave, H Ave, oopsie! I thought it was an omen.

Day 29 (Thursday)

Mark rearin' to go after getting his electrolytes back up! Way to go!!

Misty morning

Cynthia passing by in the fog....

Day 15 & 16 - Rapid City to Murdo to Mitchell, SD

2010-07-26T23:00:00.007-04:00

Catching up on the last two days and almost 300 miles - fine 294 to be exact!

Sunday - Day 15 - Rapid City to Murdo

Today was the longest mileage so far - 149 miles and a measly 3,180 feet of climbing. We started out with a very large group and one could have said at mile 31 ish that this was going to be easy - not so fast - the group broke up after the first stop and that left 7 of us. We got a really kick butt double pace line going - it is when two lines of bikers get moving out and just keep cycling through like a continuous chain - totally fun! So at lunch we were averaging about 19.3 mph. Before we left town though, there was this kid that had a back pack on, regular shoes, panniers laden with stuff - looked like about 70lbs of stuff! He was keeping up with us until we hit a hill. As I came up to him, I slowed down - I wanted to know this kids story! He apparently started in Seattle 16 days before - only ONE day before us and with all that stuff! Amazing - his name is Ben and he was headed to NY. Of course, I wanted to know more, what was driving him? Why this route, Why - job? adventure? etc.....but no time ( I know Sue M - just worry about myself but I'm curious!!)

We went through the Buffalo Grasslands - so cool - lots of grazing animals, deer, horses, antelope, and of course cows.

Bad, Bad, Bad Bad Lands - you make me feel like I'm in another world (ok, use your imagination and that's to Bad Boys). We went into Badlands National Park - I've never been there and I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it was - it was mystical - magical - and just far out! Check out the pictures - they were so amazing to see all the different formations. After my yummy lunch burrito - we had a climb out to contend with - wouldn't be PAC without a climb after eating.

Paul was sweet and indulged us to take some cool pics over the cliffs into the Badlands - they turned out cool! We also passed a historical site of the old prairie homes and all I could think of was Laura Ingalls Wilder and Almanzo - remember that?! So I had that theme song in my head for bit - Paul didn't let me stop to take pics here....sniff sniff..

Sorry to say this Sue B (TX) - but the Long and Winding road came to mind (actually for both days). We had a hellacious cross wind for both days and I swear I've asked for forgiveness but the Lord sent a plague of GRASSHOPPERS!! They were everywhere! They would jump from your wheels and the wind would throw them back at you - landing in my helmet, hitting my face - yep lips too! They would bounce of my arms and in between my legs as I pedalled - ewwww!! They were very irritating and where ever present for at least 75 miles! I had all manner of there spinney prickly legs stuck in my helmet. I felt sorry for them at first since they were being killed but by the time we got in - I just wished them all dead!

When we finally got in all I could think of was the pool - ok I started thinking about that around mile 90. But, once in - I had to prep my bike for the next day, get my bag to the room, change my clothes, shower, wash my clothes in the tub and use the luggage rack as a dryer and set it outside - OH and today Susan made us banana smoothies with protein mmmmm....good! I thought that would be my dinner since I had a massage but instead got some chicken and veggies to go from the Buffalo restaurant. BTW, I did get poolside and it was refreshing - I actually felt like I was on vacation! Swimming felt good too, different muscles - ahhhh!! OH when I went to get ice (no not for the bath tub!) There was a 4 week old puppy named Charlie in the lobby of the hotel and I scooped him up and let him kiss my face ( I was salty afterall) and cuddled and cuddled him till he squirmed away from me - boy I miss my family! Craig, Zera, Boz - where are you?!

Day 16 - The long and windy road.....

Ok, today was a LONG day! Another 145 miles, I couldn't keep up my group on the climbs so at mile 51 - I hurried up at the stop and told them I'm going ahead so they didn't have to wait for me on the climbs and have to waste their energy 'protecting' me. (I hate when folks have to wait for me! Plus, when you are working that hard to stay with the group, your not taking care of yourself - I need to stretch my back a lot and just couldn't) So, off I went and actually felt better since I was taking care of myself. I got to lunch and they had my fav - Hebrew International - so I scarfed one and was about to leave when Susan and Paul came in - they didn't look so good - did I mention we had the same crazy wind as yesterday. Unfortunately, I couldn't wait because I would become stiff as a board so I kept on going. Everyone was having a heck of a time today - the heat was bad, the wind and the mileage all played a part. I made it to the next stop and saw a few of the strong guys there suffering from the heat too. I re-iced my bottles and headed out - Susan wound up riding today and started just about mile 110 (she's one of the owners and only gets to ride when she can) BOY was I glad - she helped me so very much to help block the cross wind and then we caught Cynthia and all three of us came in together - to give you a perspective on how much it helped - alone I was going about 14.9 (yes, embarrassing but true - you try it!) with the three of us we could get to 17ish mph.

So my theme song for today was - (please sing to the Stu song from Hangover http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ9zSq8kJ-E )

Slog, Slog, Sloggie, Slog, Slog - if I get knocked over by heavy cross winds - then I'm sh-t outa luck!

I had another appt. with my BFF Jonathon and I thought I would come off the table - my legs were tight! He helped a lot and got the majority of the knots worked out.

Again, love the comments - I have been taking a cold bath after my shower, seems to help - will try the ice thing but that seems like a lot of work!!! I won't sass you Sue - but I will scream your name even though I know it's good for me but it hurts like heck!!!

BTW - current stats - 1,769.64 miles, 64,331 feet of climbing, 98,270 calories burned (I just wish I knew how many I was taking in!!) xoxoxo

Some pics for you!
the morning line to get your bags in first and your butt in the saddle and out the door! (this was 6:30am)

Me and my Badself in the Badlands (yes, it's a double shorts day)

Horses - the two to the far right were playing but my camera doesn't reach that far to capture it so awesome!
Ok, where are the houses to these mailboxes???

Road through the Badlands park

The landscape of the Badlands

Susan and I

this really weird toilet that I stopped at, makes you think - where is that water coming from?? ( I swear I flushed too---hmmmm....)

Paul has had it - plague of the grasshoppers, crosswinds, putting up with 'gotta stop and take a picture!'

Today (Day 16) Me, Susan, Cynthia - FINALLY made it in - yeahhhh!!!

Can you say stiff cross wind?!!

Crossing the Missouri River

Rural Farm - much of the countryside today

Cute church

Day 14 - Custer to Rapid City, SD

2010-07-24T21:30:00.006-04:00

Can I just say that today was so INCREDIBLE!!! First of all, we were in Custer, SD - where just a few miles away sat two amazing gifts that could be enjoyed by us as mere spectators, Crazy Horse and Mt. Rushmore. They both were very moving to me and to be seeing them because I rode my bike there is still a 'pinch me moment'. Mt. Rushmore is a symbol of freedom and a hope for people from all cultures and backgrounds and Crazy Horse's creator Korczak Ziolkowski said, "Never forget your dreams." I can not tell you how deeply that touched me. I believe that all of us have dreams and that we owe it to ourselves and our closest contacts (spouses, family, friends, etc) to deliver on those dreams. I feel like I am doing that to be a better person and to give more to those people. I have never been to either of these monuments but I can tell you that they were impressive. It was amazing to see, I actually can't wait to come back again and hike in the Black Hills - there were tons of trails to go on. Ok, before I start getting misty, on to the ride.

We actually had a short day today. You could either go 45 miles and see both or you could go 76 miles and go through Custer State Park and see Mt. Rushmore. Since I wanted to see both we chose the shorter route. You would think it would be easy, but for some reason my legs didn't remember what they were supposed to do. Not that the climbs were difficult (we had about 4,500' of climbing) but I think there was a little fatigue in there. We rode through some beautiful mountain terrain, with the pine trees and granite poking through. We also had some gorgeous meadows full of black-eyed susans, purple cone flowers, pin cushions, and bright yellow flowers. It smelled heavenly. Have I said this before? That you really have sensory overload on a bike - from a car you can't really get the same smells - maybe for a lingering moment but as we climbed up on hill you were engulfed with the smell of flowers - I couldn't escape it nor did I want to. It was a heady experience.

I also was more in a "loligag" mode. I wanted to actually stop and smell the flowers. I told Paul to keep going but of course, he would wait to make sure I was still coming. I tried to take more pictures today too. Below I have a bunch, but not in order really.
Tonight, Michelle and I ate with Ernie, Bob and Jim at Perkins - hey you can get broccoli there! (and my grilled tilapia was pretty good!) This town is full of crazies on their way to Sturgis or wishing they were - plus a lot of 'crotch rocket' kids that are squealing their tires and such. Oh and it's a full moon - Happy Full Moon Sandra!!

We have 149 miles tomorrow - yes that's right - have an easy day and we gotta pay! So, tomorrow's breakfast is at 5:30 and we leave by 6:00am.

The flowers:

Beautiful Meadow in the Black Hills

Paul, Susan, Bob and I on the wall - oh and Mt. Rushmore behind

Me and my Men:

Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, Lincoln

Artsy Fartsy - framing

Me with the sculpture of Crazy Horse and the actual in the background

This is all the beads in the Native American museum - Mike show Pam she'd love all those beads!

Crazy Horse in the morning

Day 13 - Gillette, WY to Custer, SD

2010-07-23T23:42:00.005-04:00

Today we left Gillette, WY (Craig and his buddy Barclay had come here and stayed at a boarding house just after High School - I'll have to get the scoop on that one later) Gillette is a very industrial city, there is a coal strip mine and there is tons of traffic on the way out of town. We were warned about the drivers, but we didn't seem to have to much trouble except for with one and it wasn't that big of a deal. (A shave and a hair cut type when they drive too close to you thinking they are big stuff) The first 30 miles was only 200' of climbing so we flew! Oh today was also my 'experiment' day, what do I mean? Well, after 12 days of some pretty decent riding you get a sore bum! So, I've been hearing about people who actually wear two pairs of shorts - it helps with the friction that causes the owies on your soft parts. It actually did help but I think I had the wrong pair on the inside - on the 149 mile day I'm trying it again. (Yes, PK the pic that Janae sent you I have on 2 pairs!)

We got to get a glimpse of Devil's Tower off in the distance and Susan and I stopped to take pictures. Of course when Paul came back to see what we were taking pic's of he said alright girls round it up - he didn't think the inch high looking big rock was anything to stop for! (The pics didn't do it justice so in a way he was right)

At the second rest stop, Lon and John had the trailer at this old town, it was a re-creation of Iron Town from the 1800's - it was a place where settlers would stop by on their way out west and cowboys and ranchers would come to the saloons and play cards, etc. It was cool, there are pics below of it and some old painted buggies with a train in the back ground. We were cruisin' back out on the road, each of us taking a pull and kicking it up - we were getting closer and closer to catching a coal train that was almost a mile long - when it was my turn we were literally only a 1/4 mile away from it but it was still moving, I really pushed it and let my heart rate soar - we were coming up a slight up hill and I knew if we didn't go for it then we'd miss it - so panting and giving it all I could we finally caught and passed the back end of the train - it was so incredible!!! We were elated! Sad story alert: Just after that we saw something in the distance that made you think there were big troughs out in the field about 50 yards from the road. As we got closer we realized it was about half a dozen dead cows laying on their sides with their legs out. We couldn't figure out what had happened to them poison, bad water? We found out later that a few days ago a huge hail storm as big as soft balls came down and killed sheep, cows, antelope, and other livestock. It was sad - I couldn't look at them - poor things!!

When we hit lunch at New Castle with 1,500' of climbing we had averaged 19.4mph - pretty decent. Of course when we arrived all I could think about was New Castle Ale, mmmm....beer. Dave(NB) reminded me that that was in New England - yeah, I know but a girl can dream, right!?? We had a yummy lunch and I called to check in at work really quickly and got to touch base with my girl(s) Princess was the only one there - but it was good to see what was going on. Back on the bikes - it's amazing how the body revolts even after being off the saddle for only 20 minutes. It was a slow 10 minutes of warming up before we got moving again. A few days before we had been seeing these huge concrete oval/square shaped towers - we knew they were some sort of grainery but hadn't ever seen them like that. Well, in New Castle they had one that was a cafe - apparently they are flour mills - I am still hoping to take a picture of one so I can show you. They are pretty cool looking.

After lunch we had some climbing and guess what!? We hit South Dakota - see the cute picture below with Paul, Susan, Bob (on the bike Friday) and me. It is amazing to realize that we have been in 5 states now! We'll be in SD for a few days now though.

We also entered into the Black Hills National Forest - gorgeous! We had the smell of pines all around us - mmmmm...good! There was a few miles of twisty turny downhills with a 7% grade - it was dry so I put my skills to the test and had a fun time going down - of course it was dry today too. Our route took us right by Jewel Cave - a National Monument, so since we only had 13 miles left (of our 115) we decided to see if we could get a tour. Unfortunately they were all full but we did look around the visitors center and saw some really cool pictures of it. The cave is 151 miles long!! It was discovered in 1900 when two prospectors heard wind rushing through the holes in rocks - cool huh?

When we got into town we had to stop and take a picture by the sign and I crawled up on top of it, good times! I also included a picture of a nice orderly garden, because of this trip I didn't plant anything this year and am jealous!! After doing some laundry, Michelle and I met Jim (NJ), Bob (AZ), Tom (CA), Ernie (WA) for dinner and I had more buffalo - but tonight in a stir fry at the Cattleman's restaurant - it was chock full-o-veggies! Then we stopped by the Purple Pie house - I had a piece of strawberry rhubarb - oh yes! Topped with vanilla ice cream!
As you can see from the picture below (the first one) I haven't lost any weight. Also the pics are in no kind of order - sorry they just get dropped in there. You can tell which ones I talked about above and the one is of the re-growth from a forest fire in the Black Hills. Also a map showing how far we've gone so far - again amazing! BTW- I think if you want to see the pics below bigger you just have to click on them.
Thanks so much for all the wonderful comments - love, love, love them!! I also received some nice cards at the hotels along the way what an incredible surprise! Thanks Julia and Nana!!! Julia - I knew it!! Congrats! She's going to be one spoiled little girl!
Lots of love to all!!

Catch up - Day 11 Powell to Sheridan, WY & Day 12 - Sheridan to Gillette, WY

2010-07-22T23:35:00.005-04:00

Day 12 Pics (see way below for info)

Day 11 pics of Bighorns

Day 11 - Bighorn day!

Sorry - yesterday - I didn't get back in time to get my laptop out of the truck before it was locked up - plus I was beat! The big day yesterday was of course the Mighty Mighty Bighorns! Well, I think I mentioned Lon had said that on average it takes about 4 hours to get up - so we all guessed at what we thought our times would be and I thought - 3:48 - well guess what!? I blew the doors of that! 2 hours and 57 minutes!! Whew whoo! Of course many of the other FFGs did it in like 1:45, 2:15 but I didn't care - I did the Snoopy dance at the (almost) top of that bad daddy! The first picture is looking up at the start of the remaining 6 miles to the top, the other one is of the view from about 4 miles in looking down. It was awesome, as you rode up there were vehicles going up and down and they would stare at you in astonishment. I think they thought we were all insane! A car went by and yelled 'Go!', that was encouraging as I continued to pedal upward. It was an incredible feeling of exhilaration to make it to Lon and Jonathon - they both could hear me whooping and yelling as I pulled into the stop.

Paul and I waited for Susan to get to us and then we started up the remainder of the climb, the summit was actually at mile 61. There is a pic of me by the sign warning the trucks and RVs of their impending doom ahead.

And here is another one of Susan, Paul and I at the actual summit. The flowers were everywhere, the mountain meadows were full of them, this actually pales in comparison to what we saw along the way, I was just too cold to stop and take more. There were fields of lupine, indian sunset, bergomat, etc. Gorgeous! So, after this is when our adventure really began for the day. We summitted and saw the beauty all around us, the top actually still had snow on it. I had my jacket and long fingered gloves at the lunch truck - so dumb! I thought it would be at the top with Lon for some reason. Susan saved me by letting me borrow her arm warmers. We started our descent down and guess what? Gusts of wind pummeled us as we tried to descend - yes try is the appropriate word, when I looked down on a pretty decent decent, I was going 8mph!! What! There was apparently a severe thunderstorm rolling in and we were at the edge of it (for now). So, we continued on and finally made it down part of the way and started crossing this beautiful meadow complete with a stream running along it and there in the middle of it by some evergreen trees was an Elk! Yeah! Finally after scanning for days and day for anything there he was - not very big a 'satellite' bull all by himself - probably a four by. He was cool, but no time to watch and get a better picture we had to try and out run this storm. And thankfully, he wasn't running out in front of me so that "I hit an elk today" won't be a part of this blog! Well, we made it to the lunch truck - the only ones - everyone else had been long gone. Thankfully, Susan, Veronica and Tim were still there and got our plates and let us sit in the van to warm up and eat our yummy AND warm grilled cheeses. I grabbed my rain/wind coat and long fingered gloves, Paul borrowed some glove liners and a rain coat from Susan and she let me wear her wool jersey under my jacket (yes, I had my own jersey but it was freezing!). Susan and I went into the visitors center and warmed our knees up with the hand air dryer before we started off.

The next part was actually comical. We had another downhill, but first - more construction and closed roads, with an escort again. Thankfully my mt. biking skills were intact and I made it unscathed - however, a few pick-up trucks sure looked like a nice option to get me out of that gravel! No way! After the gravel, we got to climb a short hill and then guess what!? Anyone else this would have been pure joy (Craig) but for me the sign that read, "Next 11 miles 8% grade" struck the fear of God in me! Remember that severe thunderstorm that was surrounding us, well on the way down it gave us a nice sprinkling of rain - in a hairpin turn, 8% grade, white line always present, DOWNHILL!!! At some point, I did look out and think wow this is beautiful to see so far out and the trees and all that but then I also saw the bending twisting road below. Paul was so kind he stayed with me the whole way down, even though I think it was dangerous for him to do so. I had to keep relaxing my hands and shoulders to keep the death grip off. I also had a point when I was almost ready to walk the remaining 8 miles down - but in the end I made it - I freakin' made it!!! I couldn't believe it - I hugged Paul with joy that I made it! We still had 22 miles to go and we coasted into our hotel almost 12 hours after we left that morning - but as we road into Sheridan a big rainbow appeared in the sky and all we could think of was that God had taken care of us (his sign).

Day 12

Today we started out with 1,200 feet of climbing in the first 19 miles, but it actually wasn't too bad. The terrain was slightly rolling hills with mountains in the distance to view. It was incredible - anyone that ever has doubts about good in the world, just get yourself outside, it is amazing - the birds sing so loud when you ride you can hear them just like they are singing only for you and it is the most beautiful song, the sun is burning off the mist and dew, sigh.....

We rolled along looking for animals and wildlife as we took in the views, the weather today was perfect! Started out cool high 50's and then up to the high 70's. We did see some hawks and a crane, but at the first stop Mike asked me if I'd seen the antelope - WHAT?! I hadn't so I doubled my efforts to try and see some and finally we did! For some reason, all my pictures for today are clustered at the top of the page - so you'll see a really cool one of the views we had with a cute flower in it, the antelope and her baby, the place where we had lunch - the Spotted Horse -(check out that old Standard sign and the signs on the side of the building) we didn't eat there but our lunch trailer was there. And some folks coming up one of the rollers.

Today was a nice recovery ride kept it casual up til the last 8 miles and then we pulled a Walt, did the marine whoohaa and kicked in - Susan and I let the charge with Paul, Rick, and Stan - what a blast that was coming into town. My poor baby (bike) needed some extra luvin' after yesterday so I spend some extra time on her cleaning her up then, my favorite mechanic, John helped me with my brakes and my head set was doing some indexing so got that cleared up and ready to roll out tomorrow - cuz that's how I roll! (can you tell it's late - I'm getting punchy)

More pics coming soon - on flickr I hope - have some good ones! Take care!!!

Day 10 - Columbus, MT to Powell, WY

2010-07-20T23:10:00.004-04:00

Today started out a little harried! I was all in order took my bike out got it prepped brought my bag out, ate my breakfast and then started to 'load up'. I went to put my shoes on and thought my right shoe was broken and I couldn't get it to buckle up - so I messed with that for five minutes til I got it to work (fixed tonight by tightening some screws - phew!). Then I realized I didn't have my cue sheet! Arrrgghhh!! Meanwhile, remember if it says you can leave between 7-7:30am, and you leave at 7:10 - you're virtually the last to go out! Also, my key to my room was in the room and you needed it to get back into the building - so I asked Carl to help a sister out and thankfully he did but I was still feeling a big frantic. Finally, out on the road again.
The weather was looking sketchy - big thunderstorm clouds off in the distance - of course in the direction that we were headed. So, I started out with my arm warmers and jacket. Thankfully, it was a lot of nice cloud cover and no rain. The terrain today was rolly - and by that don't picture "weeeee here I go down and the momentum will carry me up" - not really it was a struggle. Every time we went down around the bend we'd have to climb. My legs were very sluggish today. Before we started the climbing though we had an interesting start where they were doing road work and had it closed and we had to wait about 7 mins. or so and then proceed with a lead vehicle - lights included over gravel - you know when the tear the blacktop off and put a bunch of rocks and then compound it down - YEP that. There were two sections like that and believe me when I say we didn't care what the black top was like when we actually got back on it!! One guy's tire blew so loud that you thought a shot gun had gone off. Crazy - but very interesting and an experience for sure!! Back to those fun climbs today, as Paul, Susan and I started up on the first one Lon Haldeman - owner of PAC came up along us and took some pictures, meanwhile my tongue was hanging out. I expected him to keep on climbing and be gone. You may not know this but he's THE MAN, the big muhaffa, the top dog, amazing solid muscle and all things biking ability - you think I'm kidding - google him! (records, Race across America, on and on) He rode with us (and right behind me mind you) for so many of those dang climbs and I was trying so hard to kick it up the hill (yes, Lon, that was me kickin' it) thinking to myself he is probably looking at my pedaling efficiency, how well I climb - will she make it up the Big Horns tomorrow - THE PRESSURE - I tell ya! Haha!! But, actually we had some good chats - when I could get out some full sentences.
I'm not going to lie - after 1,081 miles and 39,460 feet of climbing - my body is sore and it let me know about it today! My legs were slow climbing, my back was killing me - even after standing on the pedals and stretching every 5-8 miles, my hands are starting to hurt a bit. So, I was really worried about the climb(s) tomorrow after not feeling so great today. (More on that later)
We had a crazy downhill and for those of you who know me - I'm a very deliberate downhiller. Ok, it wasn't that crazy but for me going down braking at just under 40mph was well, scary. When we went to dinner Bob, who passed me flying and with the biggest grin on, said, "Oh ya, I saw you on that just inching your way down" "inching my way down!" I was going 40ish!!! Of course, he had to have hit somewhere in the high 40's to maybe 50!
We had lunch along the way (of course) and guess what?! My favorite - hot dogs and not just hot dogs Hebrew International Hot dogs - you know I love the kosher all beef frank - mmm,mmm good!! OH! We entered into Wyoming just as we hit lunch too - so crazy cool! Ten days down, so a third of the way in time and almost a third in mileage. Amazing. As my roommate Michelle's said "I'm having the time of my Life!" - I could NOT agree more!
Well, tomorrow is 123 miles with get this - 7,300 feet of climbing -gulp! We'll go through the Bighorn Mts. in Bighorn National Wilderness. We start off with 32 miles of decent elevation nothing crazy then we start an 18 mile climb with 4 miles of 8% grade, 1 mile at 10%, half mile of 14% and then a steady 10% grade through hairpin turns! I'm scared! But, I think I can do it. They say that on average it could take 4 hours to do 18 miles (remember we have 122 to do for the day!) And unfortunately, that isn't all the climbing for the day - there is more!
Ok, it's almost 9:45 and I better get to bed we start at 6:30 tomorrow - I swear someones going to have to bring me a headlight!!
(if it works I'm posting pics below)

Day 9 - Bozeman to Columbus, MT

2010-07-19T21:57:00.006-04:00

Well, my baby left this morning and I had to soldier on without him. I started out by myself and then hooked up with Paul (Australia) and Susan (Chicago). Today was 105 miles with 3,000 feet of climbing. So, not too bad. By the way, if you want more info on the route and elevation click on the Garmin Link to the right, it has tons of stats for you. If you want to go back into the old ones you'll have to register with Garmin, but my data is available should you be interested.
We climbed early and went over Bozeman Pass at 5,750'. Then we went into Livingston, MT - where there was a historical marker - Lewis and Clark had passed through in 1806! (Again, a great history lesson kiddies - be prepared!)
The second stop had a visitor center where we chatted with the lady there and learned about Charles Russell (the sculpture of him was on their porch) - famous Western Artist. After the second stop we stared cruising along at like 24mph and picked up another pace line. Michelle (my new roomie) is on a recumbent and came cruising passed us - she can cook in a downhill! We kept that pace up and hit lunch (mile 78) pretty quickly. Where we ate lunch was another historic site - a group of 3 traveling to head out to gold in MT in 1865(ish) had been killed by the Sioux, their grave was found by a nephew in 1937 and properly marked.
The rest of the day was downhill and we cruised into town - with a big giant black thunder cloud following us - we had some sprinkles but nothing to crazy. Then I started hearing a strange noise coming from what I thought was my chain, but turns out it was a lovely staple that I had picked up - dang it my 3rd flat tire!! I got the bike flipped, tools out, and tire off and Paul came up and started helping and all I wound up doing was pumping it up - how nice!!
Susan was taking a group down to swim in the Yellowstone River - but since it was raining I didn't think they'd go because of the rain- but guess what?! they did go and I missed it! Darn it, that would have been so cool. We passed the sign to Yellowstone Park at around mile 55 and I thought well - how far is it? I'd love to go!
OH!! We also road with a newbie to the group - he joined today he's one of the guys I'd classify as the 'Old Guys' (again with the deepest respect) - he was on a Bike Friday (a foldable bike) and he can cruise!! Claims he has a cold too - amazing!!
Funny thing happened today that reminded me I forgot to mention in yesterdays blog. We have to ride along I-90 on occasion and today Tom got pulled over - lights and everything - I joked with him - "for speeding?" Not exactly for riding to far from the white line. Michelle got pulled over yesterday for "going darn near into the tire tracks" of the lane. Well, many states have laws that state, "bicycles....ride as far to right side of the roadway as practicable", some even have the 3 foot law - which you are legal up to 3 feet away from the white line. But, even though these are funny happenings, it brings me to questions I get from people like why aren't you on the other side of the white line? Well, if it's safe then we are - but when there are hazards there we just simply can't. Hazards can include surface issues - glass, metal, gravel - blown tire pieces - yes - imagine hitting a piece of a radial tire with wire in it - gets in your tire and you will constantly get flats. Sometimes it's just too narrow. If a cyclist hits any of these things or slips off the edge because it's too narrow, they can be catapulted into the lane in front of an approaching car. Also, it's sometimes safer so cars can see you better too. So, that's my soap box speech, remember most state laws say that bicycles should be subject to the same laws as the driver of any other vehicle. (please no hate mail on this subject - :-) )

I also forgot to mention the fields of golden rod that we passed yesterday - it was so awesome - the smell was incredible! So amazing!!

Day 8 - Butte - Bozeman, MT

2010-07-18T20:07:00.010-04:00

Well, today is a sad day for me. My BFF leaves tomorrow morning to head for home and back to work. Today was his last riding day - so he leaves with 864 miles and 30,260 feet of climbing under his belt. We were able to share the most amazing time together through Washington, Idaho and almost all of Montana - discovering some fun new places to come back to and so many memories to treasure. It seems the more we see the more we want to see - that's why we are together to taste all that life has to offer for us and to revel in it together - we are very blessed! Ok, before I can't see any more due to my blubbering, I better get to the events for today.

We left the hotel today and within the first 5 miles we started climbing, but not too crazy, at about mile 9 we began climbing Pipestone Pass at 6,418', so about 2.5 miles of climbing. It was incredible. So beautiful - I know how many times can you hear me say that? We crossed the Continental Divide today -- let me repeat - We CROSSED the Continental Divide today on our bicycles! How crazy cool is that? My dear nieces and nephews I want you to look that up so that when I ask you what the Continental Divide is you'll have an A+ answer! Incredible.

We had a fast decent down and we cruised! Ernie came along and wanted to chat with me and I wound up going down faster than I would have liked - I'm sure he was thinking it was poky since when we stopped talking within seconds he was GONE!

The weather was much like yesterday cool in the morning and then warm in the afternoon. I felt great today and we kicked it along - passing beautiful ranges and always surrounded by the mountains. Anyone want to run through the sprinklers?

We rode along Madison River and had lunch along it's banks in the black Ford Recreation area. It was so nice- we watched as people floated on down the river on rafts and tubs - some on their party flotilla's - we wished we could put our bikes on them and float along too. While watching the river there were really cool spots along it that I envisioned Craig and I picnicking - maybe even with a book or something - of course that would require us to be still - it's a nice thought - think we could do it?!

After lunch we had another 2.5 mile climb that we had to do which wasn't too bad then we headed into Bozeman about 16 miles away. We kept waiting to see a sign that welcomed us but wound up only getting this one. We had to stop as this is our youngest namesake - and we needed a picture. I've been thinking about them both a lot with Craig going home and how much I miss them, Zera and Bozeman. I was reminded of Boz a bit today as we passed skunk smells - the little munchkin decided to chase some deer and found a skunk just before we left. Craig will get to love up on them tomorrow and give them some hugs and squeezes from me too. (for some reason the pic isn't loading - I'll get it)

As we entered into Bozeman, just before our hotel we darted into the Dairy Queen and I got a yummy Raspberry slush and Craig got a blizzard - dee - lish! Paul(Australia) and Susan (Chicago) came in and joined us - we got to talk about the ride.

Day 6 & 7 - Thompson Falls to Missoula and Missoula to Butte, MT

2010-07-17T23:45:00.003-04:00

The last few days the internet connection hasn't been the greatest. But, fear not my faithful fans (ok a little grandiose), I have updated my photos and the garmin link so you are all set. Also, I've noticed that some of my comments are mentioning that all I write about is food - well - why do you think I bike?! So I can EAT!!!

Day 6 Recap
This morning started out chilly with a misty fog that hung in the mountains as we headed out of Thompson Falls along a gorgeous ride with the river beside us most of the way. It was a slight climb up as we rode along. I must say that today on the climbs my legs were tired! I couldn't keep with the guys so I would get dropped then catch up afterward.
We kept our eyes peeled for Big Horn Sheep but unfortunately never saw any - darn it! But, Craig was fortunate as he was gazing out over the river an eagle swooped down and picked up a fish and carried it off to become its next meal! The temps after noon were in the 90s so it was a long hot ride into Missoula -we couldn't drink enough water!
We got in and prepped our bikes for the next day, had massages (thanks Jonathon!) and mosied on over to the Press Box for some food AND to watch some of the Tour de France - so cool that Schleck has the yellow (or did I have no idea were it stands today) I had some yummy mussels in garlic and wine! mmmmm!! It feels good to burn over 7,000 calories in a day!!
Day 7
This morning was much like yesterday with a little chill in the air to start and a beautiful ride along the river - so incredible. Today was to be another toughie - after yesterdays 136 miles we had 134 today with almost 5,000 feet of climbing. We also had time windows we had to reach for our second rest stop and lunch - or else the DREADED sag forward!! After yesterday, I wasn't looking forward to seeing how my legs would feel. But, I was pleasantly surprised at how good I felt - it must have been the massage! We started out just the two of us and then we picked up Greg and Walt and cruised along after the first stop another Greg joined us and we were hauling - a little too fast for me actually. I was kicking to keep up - but with my tongue hanging out I managed. We went through the town of Phillipsburg, MT - where Levi Liephiemer is from or lived - coolio! It was a really cute town (see pic) kinda like an old west one. Then we headed to the lunch stop - where we tried not to eat too much. The climbing started about 4 miles out of lunch and then at about 7 miles out of lunch (mile 86.5 mind you) we started a 8% grade climb for 2.5 miles! What incredible views those switchbacks offered!
Hey in MT - their asphalt has a mauve color to it - it isn't black like ours, it's actually kinda pretty - check it out in the photos!
Once at the top we were treated to a gorgeous view of a lake at the top of all that - there was an awesome waterfall that followed down the valley that we saw on the climb up from the lake.
We rode with Walt most of the day and I gotta say there are some incredible riders on this trip, some we only see once in awhile because they are so freaking fast! (FFG's for sure! Freakin' Fast Guys) Walt has over 20,000 miles in on PAC Tours! These old guys are fast! Check out Ernie as he cruises right by me!! ( I mean that lovingly!) but it just re-enforces my theory that cycling IS the fountain of youth!
Tonight we had massages again - AHHH!! But, ordered carry out so I could catch up on this stuff.
Tomorrow is going to be a "light" day with only 101 miles and 3,200 feet of climbing.

Day 5 - Sand Point, ID to Thompson Falls, MT

2010-07-15T23:21:00.001-04:00

Today - I've had some difficulty connecting so - no updates to photos or garmin info, I'll get them up tomorrow. Sorry folks!

Well, if yesterdays smells were of pine needles, clover and mountain meadows, today’s was fresh cut alfalfa (hay) and mountain air. I gotta say that today’s ride was simply GORGEOUS!!! We followed Route 200 along Lake Pend Oreille, what phenomenal views! We had mountains in front of us and the lake to the left as we rode along. It was difficult to stay on the road from looking at the beauty. Again, we are amazed at the differences in terrain each day brings. Thankfully, there wasn’t much traffic. When we started out, it was very marshy and had that ‘wetlands’ feel to it, there were roosts for birds but we didn’t see many occupied. There was one bird that we think may have been a young Heron – as its head looked kinda fuzzy.
There are so many incredible looking steel bridges that we’ve passed – I want to take pictures of them all. The Cabinet Mountains towering over them and us! We left Idaho behind today and we were greeted in Montana with a nice gravel road. Literally it went from pavement to gravel and no sign welcoming us in either. I gotta say they are in need of some state funding. Craig and I had no problem on the gravel, as it was just like our road on its best day - when we take it to Kensington for an after work ride. It only lasted about 5 miles and we were back on beautiful Route 2. There was supposed to be a bear zoo along the way but somehow we missed it.
We got another glimpse into the Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom (remember that guy with the white hair?! Marlin Perkins (can you tell Craig is with me? No way would I know that)!) As we road along the water we saw a young bald eagle feeding – so AMAZING! There was a spot along the water that had a log jam or blockage and I saw some huge fish. Then when we were walking back from dinner a doe and her twin fawns crossed by us – so cute when they aren’t in my yard eating all my flowers!
Susan and Veronica hosted us for our lunch stop – get this – grilled cheese and tomato sammy’s – YUM-O! We got back to the main hotel and gave our trusty steeds some lovin’ aka cleaned and lubed the chain and washed them down. We took a walk over to check the ‘board’ for times of the evening events and saw Susan, Chris and Veronica – Susan offered us a beer and opened the cooler to see a variety, which included a Porter from --- and An Alaskan Ale – since it was early we decided to take her up on it and took our beers down to overlook the river – what a view (again, I know you’re going to get bored hearing me say that. They said that at dusk or early morning there may be mountain goats along the cliffs. Coolio! There’s also a spot about 10 miles out on our ride tomorrow that may be good for sighting them.
Today’s weather started out cool but very sunny and the temperature climbed to over 90 and at 7pm mt. time, the bank’s gage said 98!! We have been very lucky with the weather and hope it stays nice and dry!
Dinner was at a local diner where we ate with Brian (Canada) and Mark (IN) – nothing sensational just a teriyaki bowl and a salad. Then back to the hotel to fight with technology! (Difficult to get in and stay on-line)
OH my funny sign of the day was for a motel, it was touting that it offered, “mattresses and Wi-Fi” geez, I hope I get a mattress and I hope it’s clean!!!

Day 4 - Spokane, WA to Sand Point, ID

2010-07-15T00:10:00.009-04:00

Sorry folks, but I'm really tired today even though it was a short day. I think from staying up late the since I started. I was hoping to go to bed early today but Sand Point, ID is a very cool small town and we were captivated by the ambiance and walked around had dinner with a bunch of us from the group at Spuds they serve super fresh local cuisine. I had sweet potato encrusted sockeye salmon and curry veggies - oh my!

Looks great doesn't it!? Then we strolled back and ran into a group from the tour at McDuff's Brewery and visited with them for a few, stopped at the local Gelatoria - where all the stuff is imported from Italy and she made it that morning - yowza! We also met a very neat girl named Autumn - who had lived all over the world, trained for an Olympic sport and teaches Kindergarten all at the tender age of 22!!! Hence, I'm starting this late again, darn it!!

Back to the start of today- it was actually a brisk morning so I had to wear my windbreaker since we had a very fun descent out of the hotel. We went through downtown Spokane and headed on out for the day. BTW, what is the schedule for the day typically, someone asked? Well we get up around 5:30am, finish getting our stuff ready and head to breakfast which PAC puts on with tons of yummy goodness to add fuel to the body for the day (fruit, cereal, milk, bagels, oatmeal, pastries, etc.), we take our bikes with us get them on the stands, pump up the tires so they are ready to roll, then we head back to the room grab our bags and get that down on the truck and head out - the last few days it's been around 7:10-7:20ish. We ride along and chat with people we come to or get passed by. There are at least two rest stops and a lunch - again all well stocked with salty, carb-loading, deliciousness. Today at lunch we had burgers - beans - and all kinds of salads and sides. Then we ride to the hotel, wash our bikes, clean and lub our chains and start getting our stuff together for the next day. We do laundry, get a massage if we signed up (and we had today - ahhh!!) and of course get some food in our bellies. So that's the basic schedule. Rinse, repeat!

Today we crossed into another state - WooooHOOOO!!! - Idaho! It was so cool. We stopped and took pictures - Of course and even one of the Washington sign too. We also saw two golden eagles, a crane and nesting ospreys - Isn't this country amazing?! It was incredible to be on this ride today and take in all of the scenery. We saw a lot of people from the group on the ride today too, which makes it fun at the rest stops and such to catch up with them or get to know them better. Scott we did ride the bike path in to Sand Point it was very pretty!!

I have a funny sign that we saw when we walked into downtown. The street is a 6-7 lane street so at some of the cross streets they have these buckets with flags in them so you can use them to get across the street without a light. Here is a picture of the instructions. Enjoy! Also, I will upload more pics from today tomorrow - because now it is after 10 and I want to go to sleep!!

Day 3 - Coulee Dam to Spokane, WA

2010-07-13T23:50:00.001-04:00

Well, first of all - I (yes, me without Craig) made it to the laser light show last night - it was sooo cool!! I ran into Susan, Veronica and Roger over there - 4 out of the 50! It was late to be up. I have some pics on Flickr. We learned a lot about the Columbia River and how the dam was built and how many benefits it has for the surrounding towns. I also uploaded the Wild Life - Parking sign - I still think it's funny.

Today was an incredible day, not so much of a tailwind as yesterday but some. It was a bit of a brisk morning but not too bad. We ate outside and I finally remembered to bring my Organic Ground Siagon Cinnamon from Laura at Milford Spice Company (milfordspice.com) for my oatmeal - an excellent anti-inflammatory and so very yummy in oatmeal! It's like gourmet oatmeal everyday - cranberries, almonds, brown sugar, blueberries - oh my! (I hope I'm still so enamored with it on day 27!)

We headed out of the reservoir basin with a steep short climb right out of the gate and more climbing for ~10 miles - although not too bad as it had a few downhills throughout. The weather was stunning and we just spun along enjoying the countryside. The total mileage for today was 83 miles so we figured why burn out our legs early. Ok, call me dumb - but I had no idea how many wheat fields Washington had - cherries (delicious red and Rainer YES) but wheat - no. We saw wheat in all it's forms, little baby shoots, some that just looked like grass, bright green waves of wheat swaying in the breeze and the wheat you all imagine - golden, and of course the start of it all the tilled up earth - oh my I feel like the guy from Forrest Gump -"shrimp gumbo, boiled shrimp, fried shrimp..."

We went through these gorgeous rollers with some incredibly smooth pavement - being from Michigan we have some of the worst pavement in the country - so this has been divine! As I was cruising along there were two large double grain haulers coming up from the opposite direction and for some reason I felt like a kid and gave them the arm pump to signal I wanted them to honk - honking when I know and expect it - good! It was so cool - I was beaming. I had another experience with a motor cycle today that made me laugh (Mickey and Rondo B I thought of you guys). The guy went by and gave me the "signal" you know the one you see them give each other - arm out down just slightly wave/peace sign. I did it back and then quickly looked over my shoulder to make sure there weren't motorcycles behind me - Nope! Those two things made me think - if you make eye contact with other 'users of the road' maybe it does make them look at us (cyclists) as more human. I can only hope.

We didn't see a lot of riders today a few here and there and at the rest stops. We had Mike, Tom, Ernie, and Tom pass us and I got an excellent shot of them going down the road - check out the pics. At lunch there were tons of folks there - since we only had about 20 miles left and couldn't check into our rooms until after 2:30 (usually) we hung out and chatted with everyone. We went through a few small towns and there wasn't really any funny signs today darn it. BUT, there was a wagon and instead of having horses it had two Canada Geese pulling it - again, I wish I would have taken a pic - but thankfully Susan did - Hilarious! (It's on the pactour.com, Susan's blog) After lunch there was a really cool house that was like a barn too - I hope I posted it, kinda had a tinge of scariness to it as well, like it could have been a part II to Amityville Horror - just after it was a really steep looking climb that actually was a lot of fun too!

We actually did laundry today without using the bathtub - it was quite a line up to get in but we did and mmmmmmm do our clothes smell better! Dinner was an authentic Mexican Restaurant - which it seems had no idea that a pack of ravenous riders where going to converge on them and eat them out of everything! The poor guy did the best he could and we ate with Ernie (WA) and Tom (CA) and got to know them better - they did have Dos Equis and Modelos -mmmmm beer!

Lon and Susan showed a documentary of their records for crossing the USA on their tandem - we missed some of it but the last 10 minutes we saw got me misty - how awe inspiring they are! Amazing, so amazing!! They ROCK! Then they hosted an ice-cream social - yum! Mint Chocolate chip, caramel with pralines and more caramel on top!! Dee-lish!!

Day 2 - Wenatchee, WA to Coulee Dam, WA

2010-07-12T23:19:00.003-04:00

Gorgeous Sunshiny start to the day! Mileage was supposed to be 94, with 4,500 feet of climbing. Due to some extra credit and a minor cue sheet issue we ended up with 106 miles. I didn't have my Garmin on after the first stop in Waterville to somewhere around Whitehall Rd.
Today's terrain was so different then yesterday - it was amazingly dry on the route, lots of canyons and dry fields. We had gusts of wind from 40-50mph - which as my fellow cyclists know that can be a great thing if it's coming from behind you! Which if you check out the pics - I have an example of the wheat going sideways. I really wanted to sneak my camera out of my back pocket and take a picture of my Garmin and cycle computer which read 36mph, going slightly UP hill AND a heart rate of 117! Active recovery - oh yeah! But Craig was behind me and I knew he'd give me the business - 'Safety never takes a break", "you have to stay focused", yada yada... The other thing about a wind like that is when you are going down the side of the canyon at 48mph (using my brakes!) and you get hit with a gust - SCARY!!

I rode with some fun folks today - Susan (Chicago), Ernie (Seattle?), Paul (Australia) - loads of fun! At one point we thought we hit the top of a climb and we started joking about a sprint to the top at which point, Paul started saying 'well, c'mon Vikki' As Craig F. can attest - I can't turn down a challenge - even if it was short lived! (Sorry I can't remember the names of others)

We rode along Banks Lake for miles - it was gorgeous! We had lunch along it's bank - and guess what we had - you guessed it my favorite - hot dogs! Hail to the mighty hot dog!!! YUMMY! That's one good thing about burning 6,000+ calories today - I ate my second favorite thing for dinner - a fish sandwich - no not from McD's - but it did have cheese and lots of tartar! Hey fish is an excellent source of protein and omega-3s! There was also a cool sign that I took a picture of that I'll upload tomorrow, "Wild Life - Parking" - ok it looks funnier than it sounds!

We had dinner with Rodger (Germany), Walt (OH w/ 20,000 miles!!), Bob (VA) and Michelle (MS) - great dinner conversation - get this Walt did the RAAM - Yes the Race Across America - several times! Brevets - long distance cycling event where cyclist follow an unmarked route through check-points - 200-1400k! I think Milford needs to get on this - Joe?
If we can make it the dam has a laser light show at 10pm - I sure hope they play some Pink Floyd for it!!
BTW- Thanks everyone for all the comments! I love them! I didn't realize I had any til today.

Day 1 - Everett, Wa to Wenatchee, WA

2010-07-11T23:56:00.002-04:00

Today was 128 miles, 5,690 feet of climbing and a 7:00pm massage - oh yes! People mentioned that I should put something on my blog to count - like the number of mean people, road kill, etc. Well, today it was the pictures of stuff I should have taken - the "Fish Crossing" and "Look out for Fish" signs - yes they were real! The other one was the "Adopt A Highway" sign that designated it's supporter as the local nudist colony - LOVE it!
The weather started out overcast - perfect - no hot sun beating down on you. We started out just ourselves and another rider, Wes from Virginia joined us. I of course, had the cue sheet tucked safely in the leg of my shorts - I hate to be lost - yes, it's part of my control freak nature.
Today we would go over Steven's Pass - the ride up to it was incredible we were on Route 2 but took some alternate routes, the first one was awesome, no traffic lots of trees, the river beside us and up, up, up. However the next route was up the Old Highway and it was less than desirable, gravel spots where the old road had worn away, a really cool wood bridge we had to dismount and walk over (mile 66.5 mind you), again - up, up, and up - when I hit the gravel I could only think - this is cruel and unusual punishment. The good thing was that we didn't have the traffic whizzing by. We stopped for lunch and Susan had an awesome spread of much needed food - including fresh veggie salads with brown rice and feta cheese - DE-LISH!
The last 20 miles took forever - I had two flats along the way - and remember I mentioned the cloud cover earlier - not so much while I was trying to change my tires. We finally arrived at the hotel! We both had massages with Jonathon - oh yeah! Deep tissue anyone?! It was awesome!
Then off to gorge on some yummy food to do it all over again tomorrow!!
Hopefully, these won't be so lame but I gotta tell you - I'm tired!!!

Seattle

2010-07-11T00:50:00.004-04:00

We left on Friday and what a long day of travel, it was comical all the plane issues we had. I am a tight wad so when I bought my plane ticket I stuck with cheap instead of convenient - so I was supposed to go DTW to Chicago, Chicago to Minneapolis, meet up with Craig in Minne for our final leg into Seattle - well after an hour delay on my plane due to an oxygen hose needing replaced they de-planed us - I ran down to Craig's gate and begged the woman to let me on - PHEW! She did! But, Craig's plane had to have a wheel replaced so another hour delay -but no need to de-plane (are we on Fantasy Island?)
Today, we got our bikes together and rode to the Sound and the Ocean -it was gorgeous! We did the traditional - dip your bike tires in the ocean thing - although my bike said she didn't really want to get all that slimy kelp stuck in her spokes. I got it out afterward though!
There are tons of cool people on the trip and some with over 20,000 miles of crossing our wonderful country - see I guess I'm not so crazy after all, huh?!
Tomorrow we start the ride and we can't wait!

Cactus Flower Tales? - WTH?!

2010-07-04T11:36:00.003-04:00

I know, I know, why Cactus Flower? Well, as you can see from the title banner and the uber cute picture of my very first bike, NON-hand-me-down-came from my cousins-Jean,Margaret, Donna- then my Sister-Ang - then to me bikes - THE Cactus Flower Huffy -AWWWAAHHH the rays of sun shown upon her! Yes, straight from the box - well sorta my dad had it put together before I even saw the box. It was LOVE at first site and I would risk my life in our garage day NASCAR type racing to not get a scratch on her. And what a long brake line she could leave on the garage floor - oh ya! (Sorry dad!)

So, I honor her in this blog for driving my love of bicycling - the wind in my face, the freedom it gave me, and the sheer joy of pedaling. (single speed bliss at it's finest)