OH--IO

The sign says it all!!

This is one of the milestones that I have been pointing to for my whole trip. Having grown up in Ohio, there are many sights and memories that I want to reminisce about and show the boys.
Tuesday morning, I pedaled the last 20 miles of Indiana and crossed into Ohio at Fort Recovery about 30 miles above I 70. Another 25 miles brought me into Greeneville where I stopped for lunch. Again, it was hot, over 90 degrees. I decided to let the heat of the day subside, so I got a haircut. The barber asked a leading question "So, how far have you ridden that bike?" I was off and running. Remember, I don't have to spend a long time in the barber chair. After he heard my (short) story, he said I should go down to the local paper for an interview.
By then, the boys had arrived after a round of golf (check Indiana off their list) and they convinced me to do the interview. It hasn't been published yet, but the experience was interesting.
Josh wanted to go back to Dayton that night, so we went down the road to find a motel where I could stay the night. We put all my stuff in the room and then went back to Greeneville. There I found out an unsettling fact. I had about 2 1/2 hours of pedaling to do and only about 2 hours of daylight. I put the pedal to the metal and got done with 25 miles in about 1 hr 40 minutes. I have gone faster than that before, but not the last 25 miles of a hot 70 mile day. The temp was still 95 when I started the last leg. I was worn out.
Wednesday showed my low energy. I got started on my nostalgia trail. I biked through Vandalia, where I passed an apartment where I lived while teaching in New Carlisle. Not much to see, so I went on to the school. Talk about disappointing. I knew there would be very little chance of seeing anybody I taught with. It had been over 33 years and most teachers retire after 30. I was right. The only familiar name was an old student who was now on the school board. The biggest shock was that the school was gone too. Apparently Ohio won a huge settlement against the tobacco companies a while back and the money was earmarked for new schools. The district found that it was cheaper to build new schools that repair the old ones, so they tore down every school in the district and built new ones. So, let's see. I don't know anyone there. The building is gone. Not much for memories, I moved on.
I only made it as far as Springfield that day. It was not as far as I wanted, but it was hot and I was still tired from the day before. I knocked off and went to friends, the Hunzikers in Kirkersville, Ohio.


Steve is a longtime friend who lived across the hall in Freshman year of college and we lived in the same area for 4 years. His parents owned a farm close to Columbus, so we went there regularly all through school for good food and good times. Steve's mom, who had MS for all the time I knew her died a few years ago, but Bob, Steve's father is still alive and kicking. It was good to catch up.
Steve and his wife Deb live on the farm now in a house they just built last year. They fixed a wonderful, home-cooked meal and offered to put us up for the time we will be in the area. It was great to catch up and the boys didn't hear too many damaging stories of my past. Deb is a photo nut too and she took a picture of the 3 of us.

We got up the next day way too late. I think I must have needed the rest. We went back to Springfield and biked into Columbus. We had lunch, toured the campus and bought some Buckeye paraphernalia. We then went shopping and made dinner for our hosts that night.

I'm up early today. I couldn't sleep because I am so excited about today. I will bike a short trip into my boyhood town of Newark, then the boys will play golf on the course where I caddied and played my high school gold, Moundbuilders Country Club. It is an interesting course that is situated around Indian burial mounds. Something like that would never be allowed today, but it is a fascinating course for such a unique siting.

So, we have so much more to do and see. Golf today, then we will try to scalp some tickets to see the OSU football game tomorrow, maybe see a Newark Catholic football game tomorrow night. It has been 40 years since my senior year. Our team was the first undefeated team in school history. Since then, they have become a powerhouse in the state. Of course, I attribute it all to our fantastic beginnings.

Anyhow, much to do and so little time. I'm sorry about not keeping up the regular posts to this blog, but there is time here later in the trip, probably New York, where I promise to do better.

Till then.

Not Much Progress

We did some biking on Friday, but the weather turned foul on Saturday, so we took the day off. Josh has friends in Dayton and there was a beer fest in town, so I dropped the boys in Dayton and drove to see my brother Jeff and his family in Cincinnatti.
I did not take any pictures, so I thought I would put in a picture that most of you haven't seen before. It was taken on my trip to Tibet last Fall. It has nothing to do with this blog, but I put it in here for the benefit of people like Hammer, who won't read anyhing without pictures.
Anyhow, we had a nice relaxing time with Jeff. He fixed a wonderful dinner and that combined with excess exercise, and I fell asleep pretty early. We got up and had a great waffle breakfast, then we called our other brothers and set up a ride with all 4 of us next week up by Cleveland. It should be an awesome time. I promise we'll take plenty of pictures. I am very grateful that they are willing to do this, because they haven't done much riding in the last few years. I promise we'll keep it flat and short. It's a grand gesture. Thanks, Guys.
Got back to Indiana late last night and almost finished the state today. Since there wasn't much of a headwind, I elected to get south instead of straight east. I am almost down to US 40, which will take us through Columbus and Newark.
Called my friend Steve Hunziker who lives east of Columbus. we will stay with him and his family when we get to the city. It will be good to see him. His father is still alive and it will be good to see him again. I just hope he keeps the stories of my college exploits to a minimum around my boys!!
Anyhow, it's late and I have to get up and get out of this state and into my home state of Ohio.
Till then.

Indiana - When will it be over?

OK, I said we were going to get through Indiana in two days. It is taking a little while longer than expected. The first day this week, Tuesday, I was still in Illinois. I did about 75 miles to Kankakee. However, the next 3 days have been tough, only averaging 50 mile per day. In short, the weather has been horrible. 90 degrees plus with 90 percent plus humidity.
Wednesday, I got sick on the bike. I don’t know if it was something I ate for lunch or a symptom of something to do with the heat. For whatever reason, I got off the bike around 4 o’clock. The next day, Matt was having a tough time. Again, we only did 50 miles or so.
Today it was my turn again. We didn’t get out too early today and I didn’t last more than 7 hours out there, only going 45 – 50 miles. We are approaching the border, but it has been tougher than expected. Ask Matt what it’s like to battle the sun, humidity AND a headwind. I think he will always sympathize with my complaining in the future.
Actually, I think he is beginning to appreciate what I have been doing on a daily basis for 2 ½ months. This is tee first time he has gotten on the bike on consecutive days since we stated the trip. He is making good on his goal to ride across a whole state. If the weather cooperates, he will cross the Ohio border sometime tomorrow.
Best wishes to my Cobra39 teammates from RAGBRAI who are riding tomorrow in the “Hotter Than Hell Hundred” in Texas. Gary, Larry and Hammer will ride over 100 miles with temps about 100 degrees. They are just as crazy as I am, only they will be doing it with a whole lot of other crazy people.
Sorry, there are no pictures today. I know Hammer can’t really read this without pictures, but the camera is still broken. We haven’t gotten to Best Buy to get another. I didn’t get a picture crossing the Indiana border. We rode to several border crossings and couldn’t find a welcome sign. Indiana must have budget problems.
Also, I know we need to get a better picture of me on the bike. My sister, Monica, still doesn’t believe I’m the one on the bike crossing the Mississippi. She swears it’s a stunt double. I figure I will get all these pictures when I get to Ohio. I’ll shoot a picture of the Ohio sign, then turn around and take a picture of the Indiana sign. All these will be done when I am riding a bike. Will that satisfy all requirements?
Anyhow, it’s getting late and I have to roll in the morning. I’ll try to do better with updates in the future.
Till then…

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Well, in my last post, I said I was going to get out on the bicycle and make the Indiana border. What I didn't realize is that it was raining heavily outside. Biking was cancelled for the day. Not much else to do in Ottawa, IL, so we started our ballpark trip earlier than expected that day. We had a quick stop in Dunkin' Donuts. That was a first for us in over two months!! We are definitely on the right side of the country now!
Headed up north to Milwaukee during the afternoon. It was raining and had some construction around, so it was slow going. We drove directly to the ballpark to get tickets for the next day and we scored big. 3 tickets 3 rows up from the visitors dugout!!
We saw a movie later that day "Superbad" It was funny in a guy sort of way about teen ager angst. It wouldn't have been the movie we chose to see, but the Bourne movie was sold out. Miller Park (named after the beer) was the neatest park we have seen so far. It has a retractable roof which we needed. It was raining really heavy outside and we were nice and dry. I have never seen so much beer in a ballpark in all my life. We weren't 10 steps from our car when a Brewers fan asked if we were from Boston (what tipped him off? see picture above) He promptly offered us a beer. Since it was 11 AM we politely declined. There was more than enough for us inside the park.
The game was exciting. It was a 7-6 ballgame with 5 home runs. The home team lost so it wasn't as loud and boisterous as other parks have been, but it was probably the most enjoyable time we have had in any of the 4 parks we have visited this summer.
When I took the picture above, I realized that the camera was broken. Matt's point and shoot dropped out of my bike bag a couple days ago and the LCD screen broke. Also, the camera doesn't take all the pictures it's supposed to. I must have pushed the button 20 times and only 4 pictures showed up on the download. I guess I owe him a new camera.
Anyhow, today is the day for the boys to play golf in Illinois, if the rain holds off. I see some friends from Chicago tonight and then we are back biking tomorrow. I am ready. I have only biked 2 days in the last 7 and am feeling it. The rain may continue for a few days, so I may be biking in it for a while. I think it will probably feel better than the 90/90 days lately(that's 90 degrees with 90% humidity- a Midwest killer)
Anyhow, that's all for now,

Riding The Right Side Of The River

We got going again on Thursday. We got away from our friend Bob Loch's house a bit late, had breakfast and then drove for over an hour to get back to Bellevue, IA around 11 AM.
We had about 25 miles to go down the Mississippi until we got to a town that had a bridge across the river, Sabula IA. It is actually an island in the Mississippi and the road to the bridge was almost a swamp that was teeming with beautiful birds like blue heron and snowy egrets. It was very enjoyable.
OK, here is the picture that people have requested. Joe on a bike.
Matt recorded the auspicious moment when I crossed the big river. I am now on the right side of the country. We have been on the left side for too long. The bridge surface was treacherous. A grid design that is very slippery for bikers, so I didn't relax and enjoy the moment. In fact, I didn't enjoy the next few hours. The ride in the first miles of Illinois was really tough. The road was old concrete that was broken and sometimes patched, poorly at best. There was no shoulder, heavy truck traffic. Need I say more? Oh yeah, the drivers were the most obnoxious of any I faced so far. Several couldn't pass me as I was going up a hill, so they started honking. I got some attitude going, mostly obscene and they backed off. I'm not Lance Armstrong, so I don't move as fast as he does, but I am also a lot bigger that he is, so they think twice before trying to bully me around. Well, some of them think twice. I had a truck blow by me so close, he actually put me into the gravel and took me off the bike. Not a fun experience.
However, that day was followed by a positively glorious day yesterday. It was cool. I don't know if it reached 80 degrees all day. It was sunny and the road surface was smooth with plenty of shoulder most of the time. I did 80 miles and biked a good chunk of Illinois. I think there is only about 50 more miles to go before Indiana. I will stop there today, because Matt wants to bike the entire state and he and Josh are going golfing today. They have to get their round of golf in before we leave Illinois.
I have been looking at the map and now figure we will be in Ohio much sooner than we thought. The states east of the Mississippi are much narrower than the west. Illinois in 2.5 days and Indiana in two. We will be in Ohio before the end of the week. The miles are going just as fast (or slow). It's just that the distances are shorter. As Matt once commented "Those states in the West are Huge!!"
After today's ride, we'll get going to Milwaukee for a baseball game. We are just south of Chicago and it is only about 2 hours north of there. It should be an easy drive. We'll take our time coming back on Monday and stop and see some friends on Monday afternoon.

Here is a picture of the boys and I in Kansas City. I finally downloaded the pictures, so this is catch up. I have taken a similar picture of the boys in all the ballparks, but few of all of us. Thanks to the fan who volunteered to take the picture. We always get a lot of comments about wearing the Boston gear, even though Boston isn't playing at the time. We wear our colors proudly!!
Well, it is 8 AM and time to get ready to get riding again today. We'll write more probably from Milwaukee.
Till then.

Time To Get Back On The Bike

Well, the time off has been relaxing. I haven't taken three days off in a row since the trip started.
The baseball game in Kansas City was wonderful, got up the next morning and shopped at a number of stores, notably Wall Mart and a bike shop. We had a lot of little things to get that had been building up for over a week as we were in such isolated areas of Nebraska and South Dakota. We needed tires for the bike (I have already worn out two since we started). I needed a new pair of bike gloves (which I wore out within two states), I had to get parts for my glasses, both the ones I wear on the bike and my regular pair. This trip has been hard on a number of things. The laptops are showing the wear, we need to get a new cooler. Of course we already lost one tent and are surviving on the generosity of GaryFriedman, our riding teammate from RAGBRAI.
We then drove up to see my good friend Diane Arant in Fairfield, IA. We had a bunch of things that we needed to order through the mail. I needed a new pair of bike shorts, Josh needed a biking jersey. I wanted a book on medicine for biking (my feet are numb from the riding) and we needed GU (our nutritional supplement for on the bike energy). Well, we haven't had a mailbox for the last 2,000 miles, so Diane offered to be our drop point.
We had a wonderful home cooked meal and Diane and I showed the boys that we were superior at Euchre. We had a great time. Thanks, Diane
This morning I did the maintenance on the bike. I changed the tire, re-wrapped the handlebars, general lube of chain, derailleurs, brakes etc. Nothing too drastic, but it needed to be done. Actually, I may have stripped a bolt on my chain ring, but I won't know if it's a problem till I start to ride tomorrow.
Did laundry and went out to lunch with Diane, then drove to Bettendorf, IA to stay the night with Bob Loch, another teammate from our Iowa RAGBRAI week. Bob works for John Deere in their international audit department, so he is on the road a lot. We were fortunate to catch him at home. We went out for a great Italian dinner and now we're back here looking over maps for our route tomorrow.
We are planning to go south of Chicago and through Illinois in 3 days or so. It is only 200 miles wide. Indiana is about the same, so we plan on being in Ohio late August or early September. We'll let you know exact dates soon.
Well, I'm tired and it will be a big day tomorrow. Time for bed.
Till later.

A Rest Break

I was amazed when I didn't have to get up and get on the bike yesterday. Today it feels positively decadent. I downloaded some pictures, but they seemed to be old news. We'll have to take some new ones.
We left Iowa and went to Kansas City, about 275 miles away. We saw the home team Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-2. It was a really nice stadium, but the weather was HOT! It was 94 degrees at game time and the humidity was oppressive. Then I remembered, I have been biking in heat just as bad and I shake my head. I guess I get more of a breeze on the bike or I just expect to sweat there and it isn't a big deal.
We enjoyed our time at the ballpark and afterwards, we began our discussion of our timetable for getting to Kennebunk. No published date yet, but it just seems an amazing topic. too far in the future when we were in the West.
Over the next couple days we will do some fun and a little work. I have to work for a few hours on bike maintenance and the boys want to play a little golf. We plan on riding over the river on Thursday morning. By the way, I think I want a picture taken of this event. Brother Jerry says that I have not had a picture of myself actually riding a bike on this blog. There was some insinuation that I just cart the bike around to various locations to have my picture taken. I must silence the sceptics.
Got to go back and wake the boys. We'll post again in a couple days.
Till then.

News Flash – Team Roche Reaches the Mississippi

On Sunday August 12 at 7:30 PM CDT, Team Roche crossed the line at Rock Raids, IA to complete a major milestone, crossing the entire Western US from Florence OR to Bellevue, IA. They are on the banks of the mighty Mississippi.
On the road since June 4, the team has covered over 2,200 miles and 6 states. We truly persevered in making it to the Mississippi. “If it wasn’t for us, Dad would have quit in Oregon. We had to kick him in the butt constantly” said Josh. Matt chimed in with “We have been extremely patient with the old guy. I have never heard a grown man complain so much in my entire life”.
Joe was unavailable for comment as he was unable to be awakened, although still breathing. The team agreed to let him take the next two days off to heal. They will cross the bridge into Illinois on Wednesday and the pace picks up. “Since RAGBRAI, we have been able to cover more than 800 miles. We won’t be pushing the old man quite that hard over the homestretch, but I don’t see why we can’t do an average of 65 per day, even at his age. After all, we have to get to Ohio soon to see more ballgames and maybe an Ohio State football game”, said Josh.
Check out their website and blogs at http://www.the-trip-of-our-lives.com/

Joe Does A Century

This will be very short. Today I rode for 100 miles. I am exhilarated and exhausted. I started out at 7:30 and didn't get off the bike until 9 PM. This is a badge that I have been aiming for on this whole trip. Most long distance bike riders have done a century.
The boys played golf today, so I was without support. I ran out of water several times because I took a state route here in South Dakota that had no stores. I had to stop at several farms along the way to replenish my water supply. At the first stop, the thermometer read 99 degrees. So I was hot and sweaty most of the day.
I took plenty of water and I was not in danger of sunstroke or heat exhaustion. I know the signs and took it easy. That's why 100 miles took all day.
I am happy, but I have to get back on the bike again tomorrow. I have about 60 miles to go to Rock Rapids, Iowa. That is where we started RAGBRAI several weeks ago. When I cross the line in Rock Rapids, I will have covered all the ground from Florence, OR to the Mississippi. YEE HAH!!
We'll take a couple days off to celebrate and then I will do a better job of posting to his blog.
Till then.

Musings from Nebraska

I left Nebraska today and rode into the first couple miles in South Dakota (obligatory photo to follow) I think I matured a lot as a rider in this state. I also had plenty of time to think.

For Instance:

Where do they get these grasshoppers in Nebraska? I think that the Nebraska football team stopped taking steroids several years ago, so the science Department fed the leftovers to the grasshoppers in an experiment. They escaped and bred with the local grasshopper population. They are HUGE, about the size of frogs. If you get hit by one of them, it can knock you off the bike!!

Expansion joints may be good for the road, but it is hell on the butt.

I must be getting closer to home. I have gone through Bridgeport (CT?), Newport (RI?), Hyannis (MA?) and today Atkinson (NH?) If I go through a Kennebunk the trip is over, even if all these towns are in Nebraska.

There is a new set of road kill here. Turtles for god sake!! And birds (big ones!!)

I haven’t seen much corn. Biking through the corn is like riding a stationary bike. You can pedal for a long time and the scenery doesn’t change.

Actually, the Sandhiils of northern Nebraska is the most beautiful scenery that I have biked through. I think I would recommend those 250 miles to anyone, just at another time of the year. It is too hot in August!!

I think that motorcycles are a pain. They are everywhere as the annual Harley festival in Sturrgis S. Dakota. They are too loud and too smelly. I think it is like the problems sailboaters have with powerboats. They call them stinkpots, for the same reason I do the motorcycles!!

That's all for now. Later.

Nebraska II

I have been over 200 miles in Nebraska and I haven't seen any corn. I think that's a good thing.
The only problem is that it isn't flat either. I am riding in the Sand Hills, a semi arid area that runs through Northwest Nebraska. It is hot too. It's very beautiful, but the hills and the heat have taken their toll. We rode 300 miles in the last 5 days. That includes today, where I could only ride 45 miles before I just hit the wall. I spent the afternoon doing laundry and sitting in a whirlpool.
Tomorrow is another day. If we are going to get a chance to see the Royals in Kansas City, I will have to get to Iowa by Sunday night. It could be close.
People have asked some interesting questions in the last two days One farmer was amazed I was doing the trip - "How many miles do you ride a day 10 Miles?" No It only seems like it. Actually i's about 10 miles per hour.
One lady in a grocery store "How many bikes have you gone through so far?" What? Do I look like I would be hard on bikes? Actuallt just one. I politely answer any and all questions. It makes me feel like some celebrity.
It's late and I have to get up early tomorrow. I'll write more next tme.
Later.

On to Nebraska - On and On and On

Well, I have to put the obligatory picture of the state line in the blog. It’s not a big deal anymore, so the boys weren’t there to take my picture. Trust me, I don’t just cart the bike around to each state line. I actually ride there.
As I said before, I ain’t crazy about riding this state. It’s 600 miles, about the distance of Cleveland to Boston, with nothing in between but corn.. I started the ride on Saturday and the first 22 miles were BEAUTIFUL!! There was a slight tail wind. It was slightly downhill . The road was a country backroad, a real blessing after I-80. I was in heaven and I poured the muscle to the pedals. I did that 22 miles in about an hour, close to double my usual pace. It was a west to east route and so we were still coming down from the Rockies.
Well, then I turned north for the next 25 miles and all of a sudden I was going uphill into a headwind. I will never believe another person who says a state is flat. They discovered 500 years ago that the world wasn’t flat and I feel I am re-discovering that all over again. So I will state emphatically - Nebraska ain’t flat.

I took this news rather badly. In fact, I soon found myself screaming at the shear unfairness of my route. I believe I was having an experience that all long distance people get over time. I believe it was the beginning of a breakdown. The monotony and exertion were doing me in. Most days, I wake up grateful to be where I am. I thank god for the opportunity. There are some days when I can’t believe I was stupid enough to commit to something like this. What the hell am I doing here?
Well, Saturday was one of those days. After I did 70 miles, I knew I had to grab my camera and get away by myself for a while. The camera has been neglected on this trip. I have a little point and shoot that I carry on the bike, but the boys have taken most of the pictures with the big camera. I love photography and it replenishes the spirit. I took off for parts unknown. There are some neat rock formations in the area, so I took off for Chimney Rock. It is a unique formation that was a major landmark on the Oregon trail. I wandered around the back roads taking pictures. An older gentleman rode up in a 4 wheeler and asked what I was doing on his property. When I showed him the camera, he told me to follow him. He had to corral some cattle that got out and I could catch the sunset right over the rock. He knew what he was talking about and I got some nice pictures, not perfect because the light was too low for the best but it was good enough.

The camera did it’s job and I feel sane (relatively) today. Sunday I did 65 miles in some really hot weather. When I got off the bike for lunch around 2 PM, the bank clock said 100 degrees. I didn’t know it was THAT hot!! After lunch and a break, I went out and did another 20 miles to finish up my quota. I called Josh to come pick me up, as I was exhausted. I was walking down the road on the shoulder of the road and half asleep, I never saw the rattlesnake that was lying there. When he gave the ominous rattle that I have only heard in the movies, I knew exactly what it was. I saw the coil come up and I didn’t wait around to see the rest (no, I did not stop to take a picture). I thought I was exhausted, but I must have covered 30 feet in record time. In fact, I think it was in one big leap. I think the adrenaline kept me up for over an hour. That is when I finally stopped shaking. OK that’s another first. I have seen grizzly bears and now rattlesnakes on this trip. Quite an experience for a city boy.
Anyhow, got back and did some laundry and fell asleep. It is now Monday morning and raining. Raining!! I haven’t seen rain since Oregon. Oh yeah, I have seen some thunderstorms, but no gentle rain. I will ride anyway as the temp will be real nice. It will be pretty flat today, so I shouldn’t need the brakes. I got to roll, so we’ll catch up again (again and again) further into Nebraska.
Till then.

Wyoming is Done!

Friday, I started I started here in Buford, WY. As you can see from my picture it is a bustling town of 2 people. In fact, I caught half the population out mowing the lawn.
It is just West of Cheyenne, WY where we have stayed the past couple days. I got caught in a good storm on Wednesday that continued into Thursday. I didn’t complain too hard about not riding because I was still worn out from the rides early in the week. We chose a motel with a real nice hot tub and I spent a considerable amount of time there. I also did a few chores that I have been meaning to do for a while, such as backing up the photos on the portable hard drive and updating the iPod. It was nothing that had to be done, but it was nice to scratch those chores off my list.
Got out of Cheyenne and up to Buford around 9 AM and took of downhill for the next 25 miles. I don’t know the elevation of Cheyenne, but I went down 3,000 feet in altitude over the 70 miles I rode yesterday. I don’t think I pedaled much all the way to Cheyenne. Plus, it wasn’t so steep that I had to ride the brakes either.
Add to that the tailwind and cool (70’s) temperatures and it was almost heaven. I say almost because you have to remember I was riding on I-80. The trucks were still a problem and the shoulder had a rumble strip every 20 yards. So the ride was not perfect, but I made good time. It took me about 5 hours to do 70 miles. I even did a few extra miles when I got off the interstate on a side road and got pretty well lost. I finally got to Pine Bluff, WY on the border of Nebraska about 2 PM. The weather was sunny when I went into the deli, but ominous clouds were coming in as I finished my meal.

I called the boys who were just finishing up their golf game in Cheyenne. By the time they got to Pine Bluff, the weather was going crazy. There was a lot of lightening and hail, but we heard tornados were expected too. Scratch camping out. The only motel in Pine Bluff was sold out, so we went to Kimball, NE about 20 miles away. Not much else to report. We showered and had dinner and crashed pretty early.
I got up this morning prepared to do this blog and check my email, but the wireless connection isn’t working. The motel office isn’t open till 6, so I don’t know if I will post this today or not. I want to get out early today and get the miles in ahead of the thunderstorms that seem to be happening every day around 3. We will bike some very flat areas, so if the wind is down, we should make some good time. I just want to make it through Nebraska as quickly as possible. I have seen the Mississippi, and I am already there in my head. Nebraska is just detail. It isn’t technically difficult and the scenery isn’t unique. It’s just a blip on the radar and we are running late in the overall schedule.
We have now been on the road 2 months. We have biked across 4 states and if you take out the days we played (baseball, Yellowstone and the back and forth to Iowa, we have only been biking about 6 weeks. I am biking longer days and once we cross the Mississippi, we should make good time - on the road anyway. There will be more baseball and friends to visit. We could string this out for quite a while. I think we are getting ready to get to New England. Two months on the road and my own bed sounds pretty good.
The network isn’t up and I have to get rolling. Maybe we’ll get this going in the next town.
Till then…

Back in the Saddle Again

OK, we are back in WY after our trip to RAGBRAI. Since we want to get to the Mississippi as quickly as possible, I decided to take a couple long days and get into Nebraska.
Well, the first day went well. We got up a little late and got out to our starting point about 9:30 AM. That's a little late and I knew I would be biking in the heat of the day (about 90). Did close to 80 miles and didn't get to the hotel until dark. Showered and had a quick pizza and went to bed.
I knew the next day would be tough. I had to get back to I 80 and climb my highest pass to date. I have the picture, but it is still in the camera. Anyhow, I waited until 8AM until the solar glare was over. I wanted those truckers to see me. Got started on the uphill and things just weren't working right. I was pedalling very slow and it was really tough. I decided to give my coach, Larry Hart a call and check in. I described my problems and wanted to know if this was all in my head. He assured me that I was exhausted. I believed him. He told me to get off the mountain, have a nap and some GU (a high energy gel) and relax for a couple hours and try again.
Lo and behold, I fell asleep in the van on the way back to the motel and slept another hour when we got there. I guess I did not re-charge fully after the long ride the day before.
Got back on the bike about 1PM and what do you know? I got a good headwind( about 30 MPH) to accompany the trucks and the hill. It was probably my roughest climb to date, but also my last big hill. I went over 8650 feet, climbing about 1600 feet in 4 miles.
Finally got over that after 2 PM, and started the downhill. Got another 15 miles down the road with the headwind blowing me one way and the trucks blowing me another way. Still it was downhill and I didn't have to pedal hard. However, the wind turned ugly and a thunderstorm developed, so I called it quits after 25 miles at about 4 PM.
We went into Cheyenne and found a hotel with a hot tub (really needed that). We had dinner at a nice brew pub and did laundry. Fell asleep around 11.
Now it is 6:45 and time for me to get ready to bike again. There is about 50 more mile, mostly downhill to go today then we will be out of WY. Nebraska is next and I saw a mileage sign that said 525 miles to Omaha, so that state should take a while. One day, one pedal at a time.
Not much else to report.
Later.
PS, Thanks to Diane for the title of today's blog. Yes, back in the saddle and it is tender going.