day 10: next time im going east to west!

Everybody I told about this trip told me it was the way to go. "oh don't go east to west, you'll have headwind the entire way!" boy were they wrong. These past few days have been headwind the entire way. But this isn't any headwind, this is a damn stiff one. The fact that we had a century today wasn't helped by The fact that the headwind was relentless.

I've been looking back at some of my other posts and have noticed one common theme: every day sounds grueling and not very fun. I can't tell you how far from the truth that is. The sights combined with the pure challenge of this ride make it worth it. Not to say that I really dislike parts of my day on the road.

Part way through the day today I stopped to take a picture. While I was looking out across the plains, the magnitude of what I'm doing hit me. All of the sudden I started getting anxious and jittery. "40 more ducking days of this!" I thougt to myslef. And then just like that I realized, "wait, 40 more days of this!" I can't tell you how humbling cycling is. One moment you want nothing more than to quit, and the next second you want nothing more than...more! Its realizations like these that make me get back on my bike. I can't even begin to imagine how much stronger this will make me: ohysically and mentaly.

Well I hope those words of wisdom are what you all were hoping for. Its certainly what I was hoping for.

Until then,
-ride hard

day 10: next time im going east to west!

Everybody I told about this trip told me it was the way to go. "oh don't go east to west, you'll have headwind the entire way!" boy were they wrong. These past few days have been headwind the entire way. But this isn't any headwind, this is a damn stiff one. The fact that we had a century today wasn't helped by The fact that the headwind was relentless.

I've been looking back at some of my other posts and have noticed one common theme: every day sounds grueling and not very fun. I can't tell you how far from the truth that is. The sights combined with the pure challenge of this ride make it worth it. Not to say that I really dislike parts of my day on the road.

Part way through the day today I stopped to take a picture. While I was looking out across the plains, the magnitude of what I'm doing hit me. All of the sudden I started getting anxious and jittery. "40 more ducking days of this!" I thougt to myslef. And then just like that I realized, "wait, 40 more days of this!" I can't tell you how humbling cycling is. One moment you want nothing more than to quit, and the next second you want nothing more than...more! Its realizations like these that make me get back on my bike. I can't even begin to imagine how much stronger this will make me: ohysically and mentaly.

Well I hope those words of wisdom are what you all were hoping for. Its certainly what I was hoping for.

Until then,
-ride hard

Check This Out

This is the blog written by John, the biker that I mentioned in a previous entry. Hes biking from Fairbanks, Alaska to Fort Collins, Colorado by himself with his dog. He has some great stories on there, you all should read a couple.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=3Tzut&doc_id=3618&v=Bx

-Ride Hard

Day 8: Are we there yet?

The prospect of doing a century doesn't scare me, what does is doing it in 95 degree plus weather. However, the fact that we woke up this morning to a brisk 65 degrees gave me some hope. The moment I stepped outside I knew it was going to be an interesting day.

I put one foot out the door of the high school and was immediately swarmed by about 50 mosquitoes...not a pleasant wake up call. I headed back inside grabbed my bike and literally rode out the door in order to avoid being eaten alive. We headed down for breakfast at the local diner and hit the road around 7:30. The first thing that occurred to me when I hit the road was "ride damn fast, you don't want to be stuck in the heat." I took off and left the other riders in the dust.

About 30 miles in, what seemed like only an hour, I started to get a little tired. I needed to get pumped and power forward, so I put on my ipod and blasted some heavy metal. Before I knew it I was motoring away at 23mph uphill.

By the time I hit the lunch rest stop it had already hit around 90 degrees. Everybody was taking their time and shooting the breeze, eating a little food and kicking back. Me and two other guys looked at eachother and said, "fuck it, lets go." Unfortunately for them, when I hear the word go, that means go. After about five minutes I was on my own again.

The hardest part of the day was the 4 mile climb. When I hit the base of it I was thinking, "oh this isnt that bad, it almost looks flat." Man was I wrong. Maybe I was just tired, or maybe the headwind was starting to get to me. But within a mile I bonked and had to stop every five minutes just to keep from cramping up. Luckily I was able to make it to the top of the climb without too much pain, and man was it worth it. I stopped to look and see if anyone was coming up behind me only to see the most magnificent view of a winding road and a snow capped mountain in the background.

Once I started back up again my right glute cramped up. Fortunately I had a nice steep 2 mile downhill right in front of me. I started hammering away to try and pick up as much speed as I could; I hit the down hill at about 25 and managed to get up to 45 by the time I hit the bottom. What a rush after a long grueling day. That downhill was just enough rest to get me to the end of the ride.

I pulled into the university dorm to be welcomed by some cookies and pink lemonade. I have never been happier to see store bought cookies in my entire life. After eating a little food I went up to the receptionist and asked for the closest masseuse. I called and set up a 90 minute appointment with, "the biggest, strongest, mountain dwelling masseuse you have on staff." I dont think the receptionist knew what to make of that, but she ensured me that I would enjoy my massage.

Well, its off to bed.

Until then,
-Ride Hard

Day 7: Heatwave

When they said it would be hot, I didnt think that it would be this hot. One of the bank signs we passed today said 111 degrees! Holy Shit! Aside from that it was a truly beautiful and great ride. Well...maybe aside from the constant headwind. The morning started off with a great ride along the side of a mountain shaded by trees. The entire first half of the ride was riverside with great views of the mountains and wildlife. We saw 3 moose today.

Later on in the day we passed a rider, somebody that wasnt in the group. He had a makeshift trailer, along with a dog and what looked like 60 pounds of gear. We caught up with the guy and asked where he was headed. "Well, im going to fort collins,CO. I started out in Fairbanks Alaska though." Holy shit, this guy is serious. "Ive been pulling 70 to 100 mile days, my dog usually runs 50 along side me. Then I just crash along side the road or pitch my tent in peoples back yards." Apparently you can do this kind of ride without any plan and a road in front of you.

That is about all that I can recall right now from the day. Im going to go fall on my face and try to squeeze in 8 hours of sleep before our century tomorrow.

Until Then,
-Ride Hard

day 6: headwind, headwind, and more headwind.

Today was a breeze! I think once you get past 4 80 mile days in a row, everything seems like a piece of cake. Me and the pack made it to the first rest stop (20 miles in) after what seemed to be 20 minutes.

There was a running joke before the ride even started that some riders go so fast they miss the giraffe on the side of the road. Well today there was a giraffe on the side of the road! Not to say that it was real, but a 10 foot tall iron giraffe on the side of the road is still pretty striking.

Another 20 or so miles in, I realized how we really were in small town America. In the middle of the interstate there was an American flag...I couldn't miss this photo op. I climbed to the top off the hill to find that this flag was a 9/11 tribute. Wow!

At the second rest stop we finally hit a big city. Unfortunately we were blocked by traffic for 2 miles back due to the parade that happened to be going on. My biggest regret of the trip will be missing a photo off the sign on the side of the road reading, "slow, rodeo crossing." we decided to stay and watch the parade for a tiny bit. It consisted of a lion king float, miss teen small city, and a 4x4 bearing a confederate flag. I started heading back to my bike only to find that I had a flat. "god damnit! 6th day and I already got a flat." I suppose I'm doing better than some people who have got 3 in one day.

After we got back to camp and settled in for the night we decided it was time for some more pranks. Some of the girls on the trip, nick named the god squad, went to mass. So me and a couple friends took all 3 of their bikes and string them up from the trees...priceless.

Well that's all for the night. I hope everyone is doing well and is less sunburned than me.

Until then,
-ride hard

day 5: say goodbye to numbness

Nothing to exciting to report today, besides the fact that I bought a new saddle! Hooray! It set me back 90 bucks but I've been assured it will eliminate numb crotch.