Last night we were all treated to a fight between a rednecky biker and his girlfriend...it was straight out of Jerry springer. A bunch of us sat on the benches and listened across the street as biker and girlfriend traded insults. Probably the best entertainment ive had all trip.
Todays ride was pretty nice. Easy pace, flat land, a nice tailwind and a big supergroup of riders. Unfortunately the ride took a bad turn right around mile 50. We were about to go over a bridge only to find that there was construction. The leaders turned onto the freeway, so I took out my cue sheet to make sure that we weren't going the wrong way. Right as I was doing this someone yelled slow down. I looked up only to find that a rider was at a dead stop directly in front of me. I went into his back wheel, sending me off the side of my bike, breaking my left shifter. Don't worry nana, its not as bad as it sounds. I made it out with only a few bruises on my leg. All is well.
Once I made it to camp and settled down for a while, a bunch of us decided to go to cedar point...one of the biggest roller coaster parks in the us. I can now say that my top speed on this trip is 120mph. Yes its true, one of the roller coasters went 120mph.
That about all the excitement I can handle for one day. Off to bed. Once again nana, I'm fine. A special thanks to b rose at shockspital for sending a shifter to me over night. I owe you one.
Until then,
-ride hard.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Day 37: A slow day you all know I need!
Cant believe I for got to say this in yesterdays post...Thank you to all of my friends and family (especially family) that wined and dined me while I was in Chicago. It was a real treat and nice break from what I have been eating while on this trip. So thank you again. Very nice to see you all as well.
Today was a very easy and slow paced day. Nice a breezy 70 miles that actually took me longer than some of the centuries I have done. Now you all can breathe a sigh of relief that I didnt punish my body today. I did get off to a bit of rocky start this morning though. I forgot that when Iswitch time zones my phone doesnt do so automatically. So when my alarm went off this morning at 5:30 and I stepped outside, I found that I was the only one with a tent still up. Oh well. Good thing no one was rushing this morning or I would have been riding by myself all day.
The course itself was nothing to special. Nothing all that exciting to report. Just another day of rolling hills, high humidity and endless corn fields. We did hit state #11! hooray. Ohio is much the same as Indiana, lots of friendly people and corn fields...big surprise.
Towards the end of the day, a whole bunch of us decided to team up to tackle the last 10 miles. All in all we had a pace line of about 18 people. I looked back when I was riding by myself into camp and it looked like a car was coming up behind me. I moved over to the side only to find that it was actually a whole pack of bikers. Pretty fun to ride in a group thats big enough to intimidate a car.
Another easy day tomorrow as well...thank god. Maybe another chance for me to let my body rest.
Until then,
Ride Hard
Today was a very easy and slow paced day. Nice a breezy 70 miles that actually took me longer than some of the centuries I have done. Now you all can breathe a sigh of relief that I didnt punish my body today. I did get off to a bit of rocky start this morning though. I forgot that when Iswitch time zones my phone doesnt do so automatically. So when my alarm went off this morning at 5:30 and I stepped outside, I found that I was the only one with a tent still up. Oh well. Good thing no one was rushing this morning or I would have been riding by myself all day.
The course itself was nothing to special. Nothing all that exciting to report. Just another day of rolling hills, high humidity and endless corn fields. We did hit state #11! hooray. Ohio is much the same as Indiana, lots of friendly people and corn fields...big surprise.
Towards the end of the day, a whole bunch of us decided to team up to tackle the last 10 miles. All in all we had a pace line of about 18 people. I looked back when I was riding by myself into camp and it looked like a car was coming up behind me. I moved over to the side only to find that it was actually a whole pack of bikers. Pretty fun to ride in a group thats big enough to intimidate a car.
Another easy day tomorrow as well...thank god. Maybe another chance for me to let my body rest.
Until then,
Ride Hard
Day 36: 10 down, 3 to go!
I guess a couple of people missed my references from the last blog - jane! The chi chi train was supposed to be short for chicago...ha ha. Ive got some comments from people regarding my fast pace and reckless downhill speeds, but rest assured everyone, sometimes its just better to go fast. Most of the accidents on this trip have actually happened at slower speeds rather than faster. Im not forgetting to stop and look at the scenery either. If I dont go fast and skip some of the endless corn fields, I feel like im getting nowhere. Its actually harder to go slow rather than fast...most of the time. So dont worry, im still getting the same amount out of this trip as those who finish last everyday.
Todays ride was another rough and tough 110 miles full of rollers. It was a great way to get back into the swing of things after a rest day. Unfortunately the ride leader decided that today we wouldnt leave until 7:30. That on top of 110 miles and loosing an hour was alot to take in after a rest day. We ended up getting in at 5:30! Needless to say that it was a little rough...we still managed to have fun though. Stopped a few times along the way to take in the soy and corn fields...took a leak on the soy and corn fields a few times as well. Around mile 97 we found a really nice homemade ice cream shop. It was like reaching mecca! I was pretty tired and the guys I was riding with were working...relentlessly. You can only imagine how good that ice cream tasted. Or maybe it tasted that good because I was sitting back in a booth and not riding 21mph on a saddle.
Todays ride was much improved by the fact that I had four flats...in the same place on my back tire! Me and the mechanic checked every part of the wheel and couldnt find any debris...its truly a big ride mystery. Let me know if anyone knows how road debris can hide in a tire. It was by far one of the most god damn annoying things ever. Right when you get into a rhythm only to hear, "psssssss." Hopefully I can find someone to let me borrow a back tire...end this madness!
Tomorrows a nice and easy 70 miles. Time for bed and some nice led zeppelin to lull me to sleep.
Until then,
Ride Hard
Todays ride was another rough and tough 110 miles full of rollers. It was a great way to get back into the swing of things after a rest day. Unfortunately the ride leader decided that today we wouldnt leave until 7:30. That on top of 110 miles and loosing an hour was alot to take in after a rest day. We ended up getting in at 5:30! Needless to say that it was a little rough...we still managed to have fun though. Stopped a few times along the way to take in the soy and corn fields...took a leak on the soy and corn fields a few times as well. Around mile 97 we found a really nice homemade ice cream shop. It was like reaching mecca! I was pretty tired and the guys I was riding with were working...relentlessly. You can only imagine how good that ice cream tasted. Or maybe it tasted that good because I was sitting back in a booth and not riding 21mph on a saddle.
Todays ride was much improved by the fact that I had four flats...in the same place on my back tire! Me and the mechanic checked every part of the wheel and couldnt find any debris...its truly a big ride mystery. Let me know if anyone knows how road debris can hide in a tire. It was by far one of the most god damn annoying things ever. Right when you get into a rhythm only to hear, "psssssss." Hopefully I can find someone to let me borrow a back tire...end this madness!
Tomorrows a nice and easy 70 miles. Time for bed and some nice led zeppelin to lull me to sleep.
Until then,
Ride Hard
Saturday, July 26, 2008
day 34: the chi chi train
Finally a rest day. That's all I had running through my head for the entire ride today. If I had to ride another day, I probably would have had to sag. Me and Steve paired up today and decided we would hammer it out...we were both just ready to be done with our long ride week. The two of us started going strong, me leading, pulling about 22mph. We got to about mile 15 and looked at eachother, "weren't we supposed to make a turn? I didn't see a sign for river road." unfortunately we had in fact missed our turn...by five miles. We started riding back in the other direction and hit Sam, he had missed the turn too. Doing 10 bonus miles on what was supposed to be a short day really put a damper on our cheery attitudes.
We hit the first rest stop and felt better. Passing a ton of people put us back in the right frame of mind. I ended up pulling for the entire day...it was really rewarding to feel like I did the work for the two of us to make it to the city. So in the end what was supposed to be an easy 83 miles, ended up being a haul ass 93 miles...oh well.
I'm off to Chicago for the weekend. Can't wait to see everybody that awaits me there. The hand is feeling better by the way. I wore a brace during todays ride. It seemed to help a lot.
Until then,
-ride hard
We hit the first rest stop and felt better. Passing a ton of people put us back in the right frame of mind. I ended up pulling for the entire day...it was really rewarding to feel like I did the work for the two of us to make it to the city. So in the end what was supposed to be an easy 83 miles, ended up being a haul ass 93 miles...oh well.
I'm off to Chicago for the weekend. Can't wait to see everybody that awaits me there. The hand is feeling better by the way. I wore a brace during todays ride. It seemed to help a lot.
Until then,
-ride hard
Friday, July 25, 2008
day 33: take it easy
I think the 3 centuries in a row hit everybody pretty hard this morning. This was the first time on the entire trip that everybody woke up late. Everyone seemed to be a little more tired and quiet than usual. Once we hit the road, it really startrd to sink in. All of my ride buddies, including myself, were incredibly lethargic. It took us all a good 20 miles before we really started moving.
It was a little frustrating to have such a slow moving day, especially after biking with Scott yesterday. But things slowly started to improve. Once me, ed, Austin, and Steve started to realize we weren't moving anywhere we decided to crank it backs notch and have fun. When you're on a bike ride like this, things can get boaring. The only thing you can do is try to come up with games that will pass the time. We played the would you rather game...I don't need to get into the specifics. Needless to say it got to a point where it was pretty damn dirty. After a few rounds of that we went onto a big ride favorite...coasting races. The game goes like this: everybody lines up at the top of a hill. Everyone pushes off with their foot and coasts down the hill. The biker to go the farthest without pedalling wins.
After about 10 rounds of this we pumped out the last 25 miles to camp and took a nice swim at the lake. Apparently the lake is private, so we had to follow a whole bunch of outrageous rules while there. Like no jumping off the diving board, only diving...how does that work?
Anyways, I have unfortunately had my first injury of the trip. According to the doc on the trip I have a pinched nerve in my left had. Mt pointer finger has lost most of its strength...its pretty fuckinh annoying. He said there's nothing I can do but let it heal. If anybody has any other suggestions please let me know.
Until then,
-ride hard
It was a little frustrating to have such a slow moving day, especially after biking with Scott yesterday. But things slowly started to improve. Once me, ed, Austin, and Steve started to realize we weren't moving anywhere we decided to crank it backs notch and have fun. When you're on a bike ride like this, things can get boaring. The only thing you can do is try to come up with games that will pass the time. We played the would you rather game...I don't need to get into the specifics. Needless to say it got to a point where it was pretty damn dirty. After a few rounds of that we went onto a big ride favorite...coasting races. The game goes like this: everybody lines up at the top of a hill. Everyone pushes off with their foot and coasts down the hill. The biker to go the farthest without pedalling wins.
After about 10 rounds of this we pumped out the last 25 miles to camp and took a nice swim at the lake. Apparently the lake is private, so we had to follow a whole bunch of outrageous rules while there. Like no jumping off the diving board, only diving...how does that work?
Anyways, I have unfortunately had my first injury of the trip. According to the doc on the trip I have a pinched nerve in my left had. Mt pointer finger has lost most of its strength...its pretty fuckinh annoying. He said there's nothing I can do but let it heal. If anybody has any other suggestions please let me know.
Until then,
-ride hard
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Day 32: now were riding fast.
today I had the priveledge of riding with Jim's friend Scott. After a long day of 110 yesterday, it was nice to have some one pull me. For the entire 98 miles today, Scott was upfront pacing me, jim, ed and austin. boy can this guy ride. Hes a Cat 3 from Portland. So when I get out there this school year, it looks like ill have some riding buddies that can keep up with me.
Nothing too exciting to report today. Another day in the life of a endurance bike rider. There was alot of up and down today, which did start to get pretty rough after 50 miles. Excitment of today was by far hiting IL. This makes state #8! I cant believe that I have already made it this far. I can remember the other day when I was just in Washington. The finish line seems so close now that I can almost feel it.
Hopefully the scenery will start to get a little more interesting once I get out of Illinois. Right now theres really not much to look at. Cant wait to see everybody in Valpariso.
Until then,
Ride Hard
Nothing too exciting to report today. Another day in the life of a endurance bike rider. There was alot of up and down today, which did start to get pretty rough after 50 miles. Excitment of today was by far hiting IL. This makes state #8! I cant believe that I have already made it this far. I can remember the other day when I was just in Washington. The finish line seems so close now that I can almost feel it.
Hopefully the scenery will start to get a little more interesting once I get out of Illinois. Right now theres really not much to look at. Cant wait to see everybody in Valpariso.
Until then,
Ride Hard
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
day 31: too long...too long
Long...long...long. This was by far one of the most monotonous days we have had on the trip. On top of the fact that I was exhausted from last nights birthday, we had 110 miles to do. And believe it or not...Wisconsin is fucking hilly. There were rolling hills the entire way.
The trip didn't get truly grueling until the last 20 miles. I felt like I was on the verge of tears. When I finally made it into camp, tge road leading in didn't improve my spirits much. A bumpy road with loose mulch. I was pretty much fish tailing my way to camp. If somebody thought this was a good joke, they were pretty twisted.
Big news, aside from the pain in the ass ride. The ride leader, Daniel, is no longer with us. I don't post this as I told you so, more as a I saw it coming. I won't bash him online, so if you want to hear specifics you'll have to wait until I get home. Let's just say I won't have to worry about eating food that was saliva in it.
Well that's all for now. I need some sleep in preperation for tomorrows 96. Goodnight all.
Until then,
-ride hard
The trip didn't get truly grueling until the last 20 miles. I felt like I was on the verge of tears. When I finally made it into camp, tge road leading in didn't improve my spirits much. A bumpy road with loose mulch. I was pretty much fish tailing my way to camp. If somebody thought this was a good joke, they were pretty twisted.
Big news, aside from the pain in the ass ride. The ride leader, Daniel, is no longer with us. I don't post this as I told you so, more as a I saw it coming. I won't bash him online, so if you want to hear specifics you'll have to wait until I get home. Let's just say I won't have to worry about eating food that was saliva in it.
Well that's all for now. I need some sleep in preperation for tomorrows 96. Goodnight all.
Until then,
-ride hard
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