Report on the Little Red Riding Hood Ride with my sisters. Part 1

Most importantly photos!

Myself and biking friend Marina in our snazzy "lava lamp " print capris, in Texas before the ride.

Tux and Ms. Ike helping me pack.

Salt Lake sister and I  (aka "Team Lava-we sizzle"costumed for preride costume party.

                                             Albuquerque sister "en costume."

The Wolf leading the Samba Line.

Salt Lake sister and I at the start (notice groovy matching arm covers.)

Poppies along a typical road

We even got to do 12 miles in Idaho.

Myself and Wolf at the finish line.

Meanwhile in Salt Lake.

The Little Red Ride is an all female bike ride to raise funds for the Huntsman Cancer Research Center and Womens' breast cancer.  It is sponsored by the Bonneville Bike Club, also in Salt Lake City.  Since it an all women's ride, various male members of the bike club cross dress as females, according the the yearly theme.  This year it was Carnaval, so there was a distinctly Rio flavor to the whole event.  There is always a Wolf in full costume, at a Red Riding Hood, also appropriately costumed.  There are often other supporting costume characters.  They all handle the festivities and during the ride, go out to the various SAG stops to make appearances. In the starting area there are always ongoing music, food and vendors during the ride, along with various sponsoring booths (cliff bars, sock suppliers, shorts, jerseys and riding skirts, a womens' law firm, the Huntsman Institute and several more that vary from year to year). The ride fee includes the pre ride dinner, a pre ride breakfast, lunch on the ride, a lime rickey and an ice cream afterward along with lovely SAG stops. 

This is a yearly event that I take part in along with 1 older sister (in Purple in costume) and one younger sister (in red in costume).  It involves me driving from Houston , Texas with my bike , to Albuquerque to meet my older sister.  We then load my bike and her bike into her van and drive to Salt Lake City to meet up with younger sister.  We transfer the two bikes to her bike rack, throw the third bike into the van and the afternoon before the ride head out for Lewiston, Utah,re and the start line.

Lewiston is about 20 miles north of Logan Utah in the Cache Valley. and about 10 miles south of the Idaho border.  It is a river valley situated between two branches of the Wasatch range and is primarily flat with occasional gentle rolls, agricultural land, spotted with small towns.  Very rural and bucolic.

The night before the ride there is are a lot of pre- ride activities.  Since it held at a county fairgrounds, a lot of people drive motor homes and or camp out, it is  a casual outdoor event which includes browsing the vendors, having dinner, live music, a costume parade with both individual and "team or group" winners and some sort of a dance line.  In honor of this years theme of Carnaval, we were all taught to Samba and did a dance line around the field, before we had to Samba across the stage in our costumes. 

Since we had  all signed up for the 70 mile/100 mile distance, we were in one of the earlier starts.  This year there were 3500 riders so the police hold the start waves to about 100 each at five minute intervals.  This helps avoid the usual glut start with people wobbling and or stopping and starting to avoid hitting other riders.   The police control/help out for the first couple of miles by signaling corners and directing traffic (of which there is very little.)

My older sister was still recovering from a hip replacement early in the year so she didn't want to ride far or fast.  My other sister and I rode at her pace to the first SAG stop at 13 mile and then went on to do the longer route.  The weather was especially ideal for me, coming as I was from already hot and humid Houston.  The temperature was in the high 60's when we started and had almost reached 80 when we stopped 5 hours later.  There was no humidity to mention and a full spring sun along with a gentle cool breeze.  Perfect. So we settled in and rode, getting complimented on the lava pants by almost everyone who passed us, and chatting with people we passed.  After lunch (subway sandwiches, fresh salad, chips, candy bars and drinks at a small shaded city park the ride started into a few gentle rolls and a couple of long not horribly steep inclines.  The reward came at about mile 40 when we had a brief  but but screamingly fun downhill.  I always panic and pull up at about 30 but this time I let myself go to 36 before reality and the thought of hitting a rock forced me to apply the brakes a bit.  It was great fun.

The only other excitement was to discover, at mile 50 that the hundred mile loop (which included the 70 mile circuit) was closed off early due to road construction.  since it was only 2:00 we talked to the support drivers and agreed that we would go on into Idaho to do the remainder of the 70 mile circuit on our own responsibility.  The riding was much the same except that now I can add Idaho to the states that I have ridden in.

We gave our older sister a call when we were about a mile out from the finish line so she met us, cowbell in hand and rang us in.  The finish line is always like a reception line.  One of the volunteers was handing out bead necklaces, another was handing out the tradition ride bracelet and the third was handing out Lime Rickeys ( or in our case cola since the Lime Rickeys went early.)  I always end up in a very inelegant position of balancing on one leg  leaning forward  on the on the handle bars while swinging my other leg straight out behind me up and over the seat.  As I was doing this while holding a glass of cola, it didn't help when the bead volunteer swung a couple of necklaces over my head.  These promptly hooked on the brake hood of the my bike.  Fortunately one of the sisters saw my predicament, grabbed my cup of soda, thus freeing a hand to unhook the necklaces and finish getting off my bike without falling down if front of everybody at the end of the ride.  Whew!

We hung around a bit, shopped the vendors, talked to the other riders.  My younger sister had gotten clever and written out the website for the "lava lamp" pants and was handing them out to whoever asked "where did you get those pants?" so I have no doubt that Aerotech designs (aerotechdesigns.com) will soon be experiencing a run on the the product, if they haven't already.  I met a ride marshal who had sat with us at dinner, and she announced hers were on the way.  

It was a great ride, made even better by the the volunteers (100 for 3500 riders), the riders, and the cause. 

random thoughts after three weeks of re-entry

It has been almost a month since I finished with the Mississippi Meandering cross country bike ride.  Mental re-entry has gone slowly, I still find myself wishing that there were a daily cue sheet to tell me where to go, how to get there and what to do.  Fortunately my daily routine is pretty standard so the thought only occurs wistfully every now and then.  What I do find myself missing are the cooked dinners without having to do any work.  I enjoy cooking, it's just taken me some time to re-establish the timing of the routine.  I also miss the general frivolity and hilarity of a group of  women with a commonality among them.  I have started doing a group ride on Sundays in preparation for the "Tour de Red" ride to raise money for diabetes research.  The ride is in September and the local bike store (bicycle world and fitness-houston) is sponsoring 12 training rides and a "team" for the ride itself.  This is the sort of ride that I would usually do independently, but I thought maybe the group training will allow me to meet some other riders from around here.  At least it gives me one day a week when I am riding consistently, and with other people.

The return to the gym and working with a trainer has been very interesting.  I didn't lose much weight, but I did lose a little bit of circumferance in my measurements, except for my thighs which added 1/2 inch, which is not too surprising after all the hill climbing.  My overal strength is better and a bit more balanced out.  We have started doing a workout that uses only free weights and body weight instead of machines.  It is definitely challenging but rewarding.  I am in the "still getting used" to it phase where I am stiff and sore the next day.

The weather is typically hot and humid- it's July in Texas- but I am still waking up, or rather my legs start moving, early enough that if I am disciplined and get up, I can get in 30-40 miles before it gets unbearably hot.  My body ( or perhaps it is mental) is still feeling depleted enough that it doesn't take much for me to roll over and go back to sleep.  So far I am averaging about 50/50 between leaping up to ride and turning over and going back to sleep.  Hopefully I will improve that ratio over the summer.

In short, life is getting back to normal.  I actually am managing a bit of weaving on a daily basis among a lot of small domestic shores and some heavy reading.

With the help of other ride from previous rides, I would like to offer the following sentiments about re-entry.

1.  there is no daily cue sheet.
2.  there is no snack table
3.  there is no cold recovery drink or post ride drink unless you remember to put it in the refridgerator       as  you go out.
4.  there is no van or support vehicle to pick you up from wherever you decide to "SAG" out
5.  there is no cooked dinner unless you go out to eat.
6.  If your neighbor is doing laundry, don't ask if you can just "throw in a few things."
7.  If your neighbor is setting up the grill in his driveway, don't pull out a chair and join them unless invited.
8.  Do not ride up on every white station wagon parked along side the road and expect water, snacks, a pump, help chaning your tire or a ride.
9.  It isn't necessary to have your bike in your bedroom right next to your bed.
10.It isn't necessary to shower in your bike clothes.
11. It isn't necessary to call out "cart back" " on your left" and the like in the grocdery store or while out walking.
12.   Do take advantage of designated rest days.

#32,33 the last two days through Pine River and Lake Itasca and starting back

Little Falls to Pine River

It's hard to believe that we are on our last two days of riding. The day off in Little Falls, coming as it did after 5 fairly long days of riding sort of felt like a cumulation in its own right.

Because the next two days are 65 and 90 miles respectively, we are still getting up and out by 7:30 AM. This is always hardest the first day after a day off and at this point may of us are feeling pretty well mentally and physically depleted. We were also split between two hotels, which made the early morning coordination a bit more difficult and the general feeling of disconnection that much stronger. There is so much to mentally process on a ride like this from the sights, sounds, smells and noises of each day on the road, to the discoveries about yourself and other people. Physically we are all stronger but our bodies are drained with little or no time to build new muscle tissue and the impossibility of eating enough on a daily basis to replace calories burned without gorging to sickness is a constant factor. So it was a bit of relief to note that todays ride was going to include the last 35 miles on the Paul Bunyon bicycle trail and that getting through the first 30 miles was seemingly a straight shot with no complicated cues once we got out of the city of Little Falls.

Unfortunately the last five miles before the trail were under construction, so we were riding on rumble strips, road construction a very rough or non existent bike lane and shoulder plus finding our way from an unmarked state road to an unnamed local road ( this according to the cue sheet. ) As luck would have it, there was a most excellent coffee shop right before the start of the bike trail so we had a chance to take a break, regroup, connect with the SAG vehicle and relax a bit.




Babe the Blue Ox beside the Paul Bunyon Bike Trail

The trail itself was straight and smooth. Although still built in sections like the previous bike trails, the joints in this one were generally much smoother so it wasn't as painful on the hands and wrists. Once again the trail ran through mostly residential or suburb areas with lots of open space in between and lakes constantly on one side or the other.



along the trail

We passed through the town of Pequot Lakes at lunch time with only 8 miles left on the trail so we left the trail and found a place for lunch. The Laughing Loon, newly opened, emphasizes natural and local farm food. I had the most delicious local wild roast turkey on cranberry wild rice bread with a cranberry relish. It was one of those menus that everything looked so good that it was hard to make a decision. Everybody shared bites of everything, and being near the end of the days ride, as well as being almost at the end seemed to make us a little sillier than ususal and more inclined to prolong the luch and enjoy each others company. The owner even posted a photo of us on his facebook page.

The last 8 miles to the motel were uneventful except for the final cue which was "turn right off trail at Brookside Comfort Care Facility." Here's hoping that wasn't a portent of things to come.



here's your sign

Chef Lynne had arranged for the loan of a variety of grills so we had grilled vegetables, salmon and hanger steak along with the usual vegetarian, vegan, lactose and gluten intolerant variations and side dishes.

The two Dutch ladies who are continuing on self supported through Canada to Quebec to meet up with neices, had a "garage sale/dollar store sale" of various donated items and things they had acquired along the road, It was great fun to listen to them extoll the virtues of polident denture fixative (bought mistakenly as toothpaste by someone) and other silliness. The guide Carol donated her beat up straw hat which was snapped up after much argument over who was to get it.


Bernadette and the dollar store



Penny, on the right, our oldest rider in Carol the guides hat and looking quite pleased


I had a pair of bike shorts that had rubbed a hole in one leg against the buckle to my tool bag. I had hung onto them thinking I might mend them and wear them as trainer shorts and then remembered that I have shorts to spare. The end result was that the Dutch ladies got rid of a lot of miscellaneous stuff,lightened their load and made some cash to supplement their own along the way.

Pine River to Itasca State Park

Our final day of riding will culminate in arriving at the source of the Mississippi River. I decided that I wanted to finish the ride by riding with my sister. Since she rides fairly slow this meant taking a 40 mile jump in order to arrive about the same time as the other riders who were doing the full distance. Moira, although perfectly capable of doing the whole distance, probably faster than most of the other riders, opted to ride with Kris and myself so she took the jump as well.

The last 40 miles were densely green and gently rolling with very little traffic and a good shoulder. The temperature was in the mid 70's, there was a bit of cloud cover and we were mostly protected from the wind by the trees so it was a pretty perfect ride to finish up with.



vectoring in on the final miles

We found our way around to the North entrance to the park, fought ourselves through yet more road construction and pulled into the Visitors Center parking lot where we were greeted by our guides Carol and Lynne. They had the scene all scooped out and showed us where we could park the bikes, use the restrooms and get something to eat while we waited for the other bikers.

All this accomplished and still no other bikers in sight, I decided that I would wander down to the lake and see what there was to see. I crossed a bridge across the stream which had steps on each side going into the water so I walked across the Mississippi, all the while humming the chorus from an Indigo Girls song "The Mississippi's mighty and it starts in Minesota, at a place that you can walk across with three steps down."



"a place that you can walk across"

A bit further along the trail was the point where the shoreline of the lake was broken by the stream of the Mississippi. Next to it was a memorial pillar marking the lake as the headwaters and source of the Mississippi, along with it's length, amount of water carried etc.



me at the headwaters

Shauna had mentioned that her father and uncle, who live somewhat locally, along with wives and cousin were going to meet all of the riders at the source with champagne. They were already there, and recognizing my Woman Tours jersey, they came up, introduced themselves, congratulated me, and offered me champagne. I opted to wait until all of the riders were assembled but sat and chatted with them for a while before I returned to the visitors center to read the various informational plaques.

Within the next hour and a half the riders trickled in including the tail rider. Carol and Lynne played herding cats and managed to get everyone assembled and headed towards the lake. Several people brough along their bikes so that they could dip their front wheels into the water after having dipped the rear wheel in the river in New Orleans. I settled on scooping up a cup of water in my empty champagne cup and sort of baptised my bike with it when I got back to the bike racks further up the trail. There was much relief, a kind of awed sense of euphoria that we had all arrived, many tears, hugs and congratulations, and flowing champagne. A heavy session of photo taking ensued until everyone had gotten all of the photos they could or wanted.



my sister Kris and I with our feet in the headwaters of the Mississippi River after having ridden its length from New Orlean.



Moira celebrating with her bike



Moira, Kris and I celebrating our accomplishment



most of the riders and the guides celebrating at the headwaters

The final objective was to ride the 10 mile bike trail to the lodge where we were staying. It seemed longer than 10 miles and unnecessarily hilly but we got to the lodge and got our room assignments in various and scattered cabins.

The cabin I was in was extremely rustic and quiant but comfortable and with the basic amenities. The celebratory dinner was held at the lodge at our usual dinner hour. The dinner itself was interspersed with the four SAG drivers putting on an amusing skit, the Dutch Ladies doing a riding skit, several other riders doing amsuing skits or songs and with Moira giving us the "Selkirk Blessing" in Celtic.

The final "map meeting" of the journey was held after dinner as the guides explained the process for those of us shipping bikes, boxing bikes, riding into the airport to rent cars and or riding into the airport to fly out.

Lake Itasca to St.Paul/Minneapolis

As usual,my legs started moving at 5:00AM so I and everyone else were at the usual time to pack up luggage, haul it down to the lodge,and get breakfast. An anxious crowd gathered for the bus,some worried about making somewhat earlier flights and the rest resigned to longer waits but the bus driver took the situation in hand, designated below bus cargo bins according to airport terminal destinations, walked the bikes that were being boxed at the airport or being picked up and or taken home in rental cars onto the bus and "seated" them carefully so that there was room for the 20 riders and access to the bathroom.



bikes riding the bus



Abbey asleep among the bikes

There was much photo taking, hugging and waving goodbye. Lynne the chef brought aboard a bag of fruit and granola bars, a "bus style snack table" and then we were off. The first two hours or so of the ride were filled with animated chatter but as the time passed we became more and more reflective and quiet. Obviously the reentry decompression has started.

Based on previous cross country rides I have done, reentry can take anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks, depending on how tired people are, when their bikes arrive and what else is going on in their lives. I know that I will be flashing back to specific sites and moments on the ride throughout the year.

Could I have done it better? probably. Could I have ridden more miles? possibly. Am I satisfied with the trip? most definitely especially considering what the last year has been like and the toll it has taken on me mentally and physically. Will I do another cross country tour? Most diefinitely!



the water guardian/ spirit of the Mississippi River

Day off in Little Falls

I had a productive day off in Little Falls.

I slept in late, met up with my sister Kris and had breakfast at a Perkins cafe, along with a bus load full of noticeably labeled "Christian " tourists on their way to a weekend seminar on "God wants full custody not a weekend visitation." After breakfast we wandered off down to see the sights. Our chef/guide Lynne had been prevailed upon to meet up with anyone interested at a local bakery at 11:00 to give us the lowdown on some of her secrets, so notebooks in hand we went there first and spent a happy hour discussing pros and cons of cooking various vegetables, meats and using different fruits. Came away with a couple of nice little secret hints which I hope will spice up the meals I cook.



Lynne discussing vinaigrette with a couple of the riders

The cooking seminar finished, Kris and I walked down to the dam on the Mississippi which gives Little Falls its claim to fame. Many, many years ago when the river was smaller, apparently the falls consisted of four huge granite boulders which made up the Little Falls. Nowadays, the Mississippi is much wider and there is a hydro electric dam which spans the river downtown. The rains which we saw very little of all through Iowa, Illinois and the general area known as tornado alley , have been passing and dumping to the north of us which means that the river here is at flood stage so they had the flood gates of the dam pretty wide open and the resultig flood of molasses brown water was impressive.


The floodwaters of the Mississippi



Bernadette and Yolande, our two Dutch riders


After exploring the park and the Veterans memorial across the road, taking pictures and chatting with fellow bikers who were also out and about we headed back towards the main street to find some lunch. We came across a second hand clothing store and Kris mentioned that she wanted to find a western style belt for Moira, the Scottish lady who had been riding with her pretty consistently.

A side note aside here about Moira. A retired middle school teacher, Moira is a petite lady with auburn hair ,green eyes and a very quiet but incredibly sweet personality, a will of iron, a dry sense of humor and a real fashion sense. This was the first extended touring type ride she has ever done. Back home she just "rides out with the local lads." She was riding a custom built bike, and had actually hired the mechanic from her local bike shop in Scotland to come and teach her how to clean it, adjust it, repair it and care for it. She lovingly cleaned and adjusted it every night in the hotel room and by the end of the our tour had lovingly cleaed and adjusted almost everyone elses bike.

When someone was complining about the hills encountered, especially on the "ride from hell" into Hannibal she was careful to explain that in Scotland where she rides, the mountains are referred to as "hills" while everything else was just "roads". We sure spent a lot of time on steeply slanted "roads." Her comment about the wind was that unless the flags at the local golf course were being blown horiztal to the ground it wasn't a "wind", just a "breeze

While on the ride, Moria had discovered dollar stores and found time to "do a wee spot of shopping" almost every short day or day off. She was constantly accessorizing and reaccesorizing her 3 basic stylish outfits. She had found a pair of western style jeans at a dollar store and was very proud of them but they were a bit loose around the waist so she had to catch them from slipping down frequently, hence Kris' determination to buy her a belt.

We found a heavily embossed leather belt with a rhinestone design on the buckle that was just perfect so Kris bought it and presented it to Moira. We went found some lunch and then headed back to to the hotel for a bike cleaning session and naps.

At dinner, Moira showed up all decked out in her boots, that she had been wearing as casual shoes until someone introduced her to Keene sandals, jeans complete with belt, denim western style shirt with a US flag scarf in her hair as a headband declaring that "now I feel as if I have really arrived." Needless to say she looked the height of fashion in a fun and whimsical way.

Obviously the belt was a success.

#28-31 Winona to Little Falls, MN

This is the start of our last long stretch of back to back days of riding. We will be going from Winona ,MN via Wabasha, Red wing, Stillwater (Oak Park Heights) Cambridge to end up is Little Falls for our next day off.

Wabasha
After a couple of creative detours due to misreading the cue sheet, which is a hard thing to do when the cue sheet is only 11 cues long but…… we got into Winona in plenty of time to watch them feed the eagles at the National Eagle Center, explore the informative displays and grab lunch at the local Silver Star Salon, where we shared a plate of deep fried dill pickles, along with soup and sandwiches. The pickles were interesting, crunchy hot and salty but kind of limp. They were definitely helped by the ranch dressing.

The next three days are of increasing mileage ending up with an 88 miler into Twin Falls. Today’s mileage was a relatively calm and almost level 40 miles, mostly through farm country with some trees and lots and lots of corn. I feel like I am watching a film of corn growing in reverse. It was taller in Missouri and Iowa while here in Wisconsin and Minnesota, it is barely nubbins poking above the soil. Lots of potatoes and fodder crops as well but all in the spring can’t quite tell what they are stage. There are no more stands of grain looking ready to harvest.



a turtle crossing sign on one of the detours

Redwing or Red Wing depending on who you ask- Home of the Running of the Llamas

We managed not to get lost today since the one cue was right onto route 60 and right onto route 61 and then straight until you hit Redwing.

In spite of the simplicity of the cue sheet, it was a challenging ride in other ways. We passed through a number of small towns where the road was narrower and the traffic a bit more chancy. Of major interest was Lake City, the birthplace of water skiing (“Hey guys, watch this!”) where we stopped for coffee at a shop complete with a “hippies Welcome” sign in the window. We had a lovely view of the waterfront where the Mississippi flows through a glacial gouge named Lake Pepin. This is supposedly the widest part of the upper Mississippi.


Here's your sign


After Lake City we started climbing again. The three major hills we did were not horribly steep, probably 6-8% grade but they were each over 2 miles long, the kind of hill where you have to keep reminding yourself to sit up, relax your hands, arms and shoulders, breath deeply and remind your legs to keep moving. I got through all the verses of 99 bottles of beer on the wall (once in English, once in Dutch) on each hill. The downhill portions were wide sweeping turns and rewarding, but too, too short compared to the struggle of the climb. It reminded me of the old definition of alpine skiing which is “Whoosh! Walk a mile.” Checking my pulse I noticed that I was hitting my maximum BPM on each hill. The area in between was mostly flat with some gentle inclines which also helped.

As we came into town there was a beautiful brick, turn of the century building on beautifully manicured grounds up on the hill alongside the road. We were speculating on whether it was a church, a grand home, or a private school or college when someone noticed the barbed wire topped fences all around the building. It turned out that it was the Minnesota State Prison at Red wing.




Once we were in town we had to stop of at the Red Wing store to view the worlds’ largest work boot in a whopping size 638 DD., and have our picture taken standing next to it. Redwing work boots are world famous and produced all over the world. They had a display of every size available. Luckily their size 5 /1/2 started at a double DD so I was able to forgo buying a pair. From the boot store we rode directly to the Wheelhouse Cycles bike shop which amazingly for a Sunday, was open so Lea and I dropped off our bikes for derailleur work and went and grabbed lunch. Bikes in working order, and sated we called it a good day at 45 miles.

Stillwater (Oak Park Heights)

Stillwater is actually considered an outer suburb of Minneapolis/St .Paul so once again, leaving Redwing we crossed the bridge over the river and rode mostly in Wisconsin. There were a lot of long slow rolls on this part of the Great River Road, which has apparently beaten out several other roads for the most scenic route in the USA. It was very bucolic, with alternate views of wide sweeping fields and gently rolling grass covered bumps dotted with grazing black angus cattle It was another day when we never saw the Mississippi except when crossing into Wisconsin in the morning. About mid-ride we crossed the St. Croix River back into Minnesota. We stopped at the town of Afton for a coffee and lunch and then got through another series of short nasty climbs before we hit the suburbs . After that it was purely suburb riding in the shoulder of the road with a mixture of courteous and not so cautious or courteous drivers trying to get through the land of suburb strip malls, railroad tracks and interstate interchange. At times it is hard to remember that the purpose is to ride the river, especially when there are county after county of square grids of roads that are numbered or lettered from county line to county line while the river wanders where it will. The nights’ AmericInn ended up being on the other side of the interstate which would have put us riding wrong way on an access road, so Marti, one of the riders with a terrific sense of direction consulted with a local and took us around and about but finally to the hotel.

The days mileage was 52.



Is this county road 0 or county road O ?

The ride to Cambridge was blessedly straightforward, one we got out of Stillwater, with about 1/3 mileage on an actual bike trail with limited access, It was nicely paved in blocks so we rode the 15 miles or so to a constant ka -thunk, ka- thunk coming up off the handle bars. Some of the cracks between the blocks were larger than others and hadn’t been filled in so there was also an occasional loud KA_THUNK, usually followed by a word or two. Almost as bad as riding Texas chip seal but more maddening in its regularity. Bike path ka-thunks or not, it was a lovely peaceful part of the ride, level, surrounded by trees and bushes, an infrequent road crossing or driveway and now and then a glimpse of the highway off to our side.



the Sunrise Prairie bike trail



when is a bike path not a bike path? The alternate life of.....

We exited at mile 40, hit the SAG, wiggled our way through Wyoming and Stacey, and stopped for a coffee at the Nesting Grounds Coffee shop. The only other customers in the place were four women who had known each other since their children were in kindergarten, and although no longer living in the same neighborhood, still took one day a month to get together and do something special. They were on there way to have a spa day but had stopped to plan the next months outing. It’s the kind of area where generations of the same families have lived and grown up together. It brings a real sense of community that a lot of places don’t have.

We got back on the road wiggled ourselves through another couple of small towns and then rejoined the highway which had a wide, nicely paved and almost clean shoulder for the rest of the ride., stopping at a Bar/Saloon which was open and had food. It was very firmly run by a mother and son team who sponsored the local bingo tournaments, the rules were posted everywhere, along with the most interesting beer sign I have ever seen. We could have had fried pickles again but opted for sandwiches instead.



a truely amazing beer sign

The last 10 miles were an uneventful smooth and gently rolling ride in the shoulder and on into Cambridge.

The general weariness and the mileage is getting to everyone a bit, and becomes pretty obvious at dinner time. Whereas before, as soon as Lynne finished identifying what the different foods were, there was a mad rush/feeding frenzy around the food, now there is a slower, meander over, inspect the food, pick up a plate, take some food and wander back to sit down. Either because of weariness or perhaps a bit of end of ride depression and separation sadness there is less conversation, fewer stories and jokes. We are still enjoying the riding, but many are ready for it to be over.

The days mileage was 60 miles.

Little Falls

A van day for me as both of my wrists were sore and strained from hitting a couple of hard bumps yesterday. Plus it was going to be a long day riding into a day off so I decided to treat myself to a break. Somehow 6-10 hours in the saddle just didn’t appeal, although since the ride looked pretty flat I probably could have done it. Got into the AmericInn- this is a local franchised chain. Some have been spectacular, others are so so, but their saving grace is that they do have good coffee and are usually near a food source .Because of the size of the town , we are split between two motels about 1/3 a mile apart. When we packed the van this morning, those of us staying here, put our luggage in last. Those three of us riding in the van with Lynne helped her to unload the eight persons worth of luggage and stack it in the lobby. Everyone else in the Van was staying at the place ½ mile up the road, but the AmericInn had a room ready for me, offered me some laundry soap and asked if I thought that she should deliver the baggage to the rooms. It was kindly meant, but I was afraid that some of the ladies, coming in late, tired and hot, might get confused and upset thinking that the van still had their luggage, so I opted to tell her not to bother, and that we were all used to horsing our own luggage and backpacks and bikes around, A while later, when I went and asked about whether or not she had some laundry soap, she found me three small boxes and then reassured me that she would go out as soon as she could leave the desk and buy some for the ladies to use .Obviously this is one of the better AmericInns.

I am also very impressed with the Minnesotans in general, they seem to be an overly polite, mellow and considerate group both on a one to one basis and also in terms of driving and making allowances for bikers riding next to or in front of them or waiting in scattered groups to cross the road, or is a couple of necessary detours, riding against the traffic hugging the side of the road.

We have the day off here in Little Falls tomorrow and then it’s another two days of riding and we will be done and able to see the source of the mighty river.

Todays mileage, had I ridden it would have been about 85 miles.


****I have changed all of security settings so hopefully, google will now allow comments. Even if they don't show up on the blog itself I am getting them and reading them. Thank you to everyone for your kind and supportive responces, they have made all the difference to my mind set and perceptions- I guess I'm human after all much as I hate to admit it.

#24-28 final three days in Iowa, one day in Wisconsin and into Minnesota

It has been five days of steady riding since leaving Burlington, IA.

The first day into Muscatine, "pearl of the Mississippi" and home of the worlds largest pearl button factory was fairly civilized. The terrain is still rolling but for once there wasn't much wind and what there was seemed to be from behind most of the time.

We got into the hotel to discover that the criterion riders were all here and competing in a local criterion. Guess they take the Memorial Day weekend to do three in a row. As we continue to zig zag up the river, they will be peeling off and heading home to their various states.

Unfortunately although we arrived in time to visit the museum and downtown, everything was closed. We grabbed lunch in "Southern Girls BBQ " just as they were pulling the ribs and brisket off of the grill set up outside on the sidewalk so we enjoyed our late lunch and headed back out of town to the motel.

We have been riding during the day on the Illinois side of the river(supposedly the flatter side) and then crossing over into Iowa for the interstate motels.

Going from Muscatine to Maquoketa Iowa was a van day for me after a rough night of cramping, overheating and not sleeping. I didn't really mind as it was a strong headwind day and the terrain was generally rolling. We got into Maquoketa (the bear was here) in the van by noon, the rooms were ready so I crashed until dinner.

Tomorrow will be better.

Maquokeeta to Dyerville, IA was another windy day and very rolling. It was one of those days when if you are in a group, each person takes a turn as lead rider hard because everybody has a different style and pace on the hills and it takes a while to regroup and sort out so in spite of the fact that we were trying to group and pull, it didn't really work. Whenever we turned across the wind the spokes of my wheels were singing so the wind was at least 15 mph or stronger, with gusts that either made you skitter across the road or almost blew you back down the hill. The highlights of my day were to actually achieve a top speed of 14 mph while peddaling as hard as I could downhill, and admitting that I was no longer having fun and getting into the van at mile 30 (out of 63.)

Dyersville IA to Prairie du Chien MN took us through the towns of New Vienna, Luxemburg and Guttenburg. You know it will be a challenging ride when the guide mentions that there are five "terrain features that might prove challenging", and takes care to point out the " Steep climb", "scenic overlook" and "Pikes Peak" on the cue sheet. We seem to have progressed into a new cooler climate zone which is not too bad small town was 67, quite a change from the 90+ we were in last week.

scenic overlook sign


The climbs were indeed challenging. The first three (including the one which led to the scenic overlook) were 8-10% and about two miles long each. Not impossible if you settle in to a granny gear and get a regular pedal stroke and breathing pattern going. But that kind of 20-30 minute climb leaves you a lot of time to sit and wonder why you are doing this, study the trees, think about the mathematics of the gear ratios, wonder who won the latest greatest competition etc. and then leaves you leaning over your handlebars at the top gasping and wondering if you are going to throw up, faint, or ride on.

The answer to "why" comes in the glorious downhill runs, which were long swooping curves with good visability, dry clean shoulders and the confidence to let your bike build speed while you are hunkered into an aerodynamic tuck.

The scenic overlook, the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers was worth every inch of the climb and the shortened down hill to reach it. The sag wagon was there so we guzzeled water, gatorade or our favorite power drinks while munching fruit, granola bars and pretzels while contemplating the view.

a barge coming out of the Illinois River into the Mississippi

The last two hills of the day were the hardest. The first was the climb called Pikes Peak and the other was the "steep hill". Each was 2 miles long and the grade increase from 8-10 to 10-12%. I had to stop about halfway up each hill to get my breath and contemplate actually walking the rest of the way. As it turned out I was able to convince myself to get back on the bike and soldier on but there were several ladies who walked one or both hills who were probably the wiser and less sore for it.

The downhill on the final hill took us into the town of McGregor, home of the Ringling Brothers of circus fame. The downtown along Main Street was charmingly restored and painted with several places to stop for lunch. We were disappointed to learn that the "Twisted Chicken" was no longer in business as it had been mentione by Carol the guide, so we settled on the Bluegill cafe instead. Their special of the day was Mississippi Mud Carp Chowder with Kickapoo blend coffee. It was delicious!

A couple of mild rollers beyond McGregor we rode across the bridge into Prairie Du Chien and Wisconsin for a one night stay.

The AmericInn where we stayed had rooms ready, iced lemon water at the front desk, a great spa and a message chair so we were very happy campers.

I was of two minds as to whether or not I was going to ride the 97 miles from Prairie du Chien via La Crosse to Winona, MN. The first half promised to be flat, and according to the cue sheet, with a generous designated bike only shoulder. I was still debating in my mind after breakfast when I took my luggage out to the van at 6:45 AM. It was cold and raw. When I came down 10 minutes later with my bike it was raining to I took the cowards way out, handed my bike up to the top of the van and climbed in.

As we were driving along I could see that the first 50 miles of so would have been lovely had it not been raining but I decided that I had made the right choice. We stopped at 35 miles to pick up a couple of worn wet riders and then went on to 47 miles to wait for the next group in the parking lot of the Genoa National Fish Hatchery. There was an Amish buggy parked next to a red pick up at one end and three more buggies a bit further along the parking lot. The horses were all tethered in the grass off to the side. An interesting cultural juxtaposition.

Amish buggies at the Genoa Fish Hatchery-did they work there?


We picked up several more riders and then headed to the start of the 25 mile gravle bike path that started after the city of La Crosse. At this point the slowest rider was still a couple of miles short of the 47 mile stop so we settled in to wait for her as she had specifically requested a 60 mile stop. The remaining riders who were soldiering on into the dwindling rain passed us and took off into the poorly marked series of gravel paths that took them through a wilderness area. After an hour or so, two of the riders came back swearing that the trolls had messed with their phone and bike computers as nothing matched the cue sheet and refusing to go back into the woods. Lynne, the other guide, took her bike off the front of the van and led them out through the edges of town to where they could get back of the trail for the remainder of the ride into Winona.

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A view of the weather further along the ride

Meanwhile back at the van, the tail rider had shown up, added her bike to the roof racks and climbed into the van. We had to ride with the windows open to the cold air in order to keep the van from steaming up from the wet riders drying off and warming up.

The La Crosse town symbol in the park near the troll infested bike trail.

There is a state atheletic meet here in Winona, so the hotel if full of gangling young men and women wandering around in packs with their adult supervisors. We had pizza last night since this is a big hotel, it was a long day with the final riders pulling in about 6:00pm and Lynne was unable to cook.

Our room here is actually a mini suite with a separate room with a double bed futon, and second large flat screen tv and a third flat screen in the bathroom so you can lie in the bathtub and watch the news. It's actually quite decadent.

I spent my free day doing laundry, cleaning, lubbing, oiling and checking the tires on the bike. Went downtown to explore a bit, got some shot blocks at the bike store and had lunch.

Tomorrow is the start of our final five days in a row of biking. After that we have a final day off, then two days to complete the distance into Lake Itasca. We will spend the night there and then wave goodbye to our bikes as they head off the the Minneapolis bike shop to be packed and shipped off to our homes while we board a bus and head to the airport.

Tomorrows ride is only 35 miles which means we will get to sleep in a bit, although our minds and bodies will still be waking and getting ready to go by 6:00 AM . At least we should get into Wabasha in time to see the sights like the National Eagle Center and the Church with the Tiffany stained glass windows.

So far in this ride I have ridden 20 out of the 24 days of riding. Although variable on a day to day basis my average distance has been 55 miles, I have ridden 1298 miles out of a possible 1500. I have also learned that I can burn as many calories riding 25 miles against a 15mph wind as I normally burn on an average 75 mile ride with onlymoderate wind. On the other hand, riding with a tail wind of more than 8 mph cuts my calorie burn from an average of 7-9 calories a minute to an average of 5-7.

More minor details contemplate while riding.

#23 Keokuk IA to Burlington IA and photos

Snake Alley from below

cat 4 over 50 climbing

women cat 4 climbing at top

looking down from the top- tiny dots on the street waaay below are riders on the pre climb

I knew I left my bike somewhere!





sigh... no more apple fritters at the Mill Bakery in Nauvoo Il. but we had a good cup of coffee. Most of the riding today was pretty flat through square mile big cornfields, with four way stops every 1000 feet. Think of the opening of Superman or Field of Dreams and you will get the picture. Crossed back into Iowa to get to the hotel which as is typical on the Iowas side, had a steep climb up from main street to the top of the bluff and the suburb sections of the city. Nice town, but the big excitement is that the Snake Alley Criterium is being held here tomorrow so there are lots of very expensive bikes rolling in. Just saw two of the guests, a 14 year old cat three rider and another young lad in team kit roll their finger weight bikes out to do an evening training ride.

We will all go in on the van tomorrow morning to see the sites and some of the races. Got my laundry done this afternoon so I'm good to go. whoo hoo

54 miles

#18-22 St.Louis,Grafton IL Hannibal MO,Keokuk IA

Happy Birthday to me in Grafton, Il.


I am in Keokuk, IA after ridden in in the van. The ride into Hannibal yesterday was pretty horrid, terrible roads with no shoulders and no where to hide from big trucks and farm equipment, most of whom were forced to grumble themselves up a hill behind the bikers and then reacted by cutting over to the right as soon and as hard as they could in front of us as we rode down the hills. There were several falls and several close calls. I caught a lip and took a tumble while we were panting our way up a mile long 11% grade, It's hard to ride in a granny gear, gasping for breath and still ride in a straight line so as a truck cut in I flinched and basically tipped over. Not going fast, nothing hurt but some pretty serious road rash on one knee and palm and some interesting bruises on my legs and thighs from the bike frame, The rollers were relentless with grades from 6-18%. I bailed at 69 miles but 6 of the ladies did the full 113 miles.


The second half was worse than the first viz a viz road conditions and hills, and the worst part was that the route took the riders into the busy center of Hannibal and then back out of town to the south west side over several more hills to the hotel. Had I been riding at that point I would have definitely dissolved in a puddle of tears and frustration and called for a taxi .


The ladies who road the whole distance are true heroes, each and every one.The last two riders, the Australian lady and a lady from Vermont rolled in at 7:00 pm after 12.5 hours on the road.


Today promised to be an easier day since the tail winds were coming from the south at 20-45 mph but then when we got to the ferry, we discovered it had not passed its coast guard inspection and was closed. Much gnashing of teeth and frantic consultation between i phones, garmins,the two guides and the locals at the ferry. Finally one of the ferry guys said that they were almost done fixing the lights to coast guard compliance and since everyone including the sag and van and trailer were there he would do a one time run just to get us across. Crisis averted thanks to the kindness of strangers. The alternative would have been a 30 mile detour south into the headwinds to the next ferry and then another 30 miles back to get back on route adding 60 miles to a 60 mile day which would have been almost impossible after yesterday's "little adventure,"

waiting for the ferry


I did not sleep well last night, I was alternately night sweating, shiuvering from cold and cramping and charlie horsing so I was already feeling a bit doubtful about the prospect of riding, in spite of the tail wind, and when it looked like the ferry was closed, I took it as a sign and loaded my bike onto the van and climbed inside while waiting for bikers to show up at the ferry.


It looked like it would have been a wild ride. The terrain was much flatter but the winds were pretty horrific, and by the time we got into Keokkuk, the visibility was being impeded by the blowing dirt and debris. Riders coming in said the ride was a bit chancy because the wind kept suddenly gusting in from the sides and blowing them all over the road, then they had a long final stretch heading south west into the quartering headwind to do the last 5 miles into town.

I am at the point where the mind and body are being forced to relize that riding 30-50  miles every other day alternating with heavy cardio, weights and resistance is not at all equivalent to riding 60-90 miles a day for five or six days in a row with one recovery day in between.

I am also being forced to recognize the toll, both mentally and physically, that the last year- mastectomy,the death of my resident father in law for whom I was primary care giver 24/7 and the ongoing tamoxifen therapy have taken on me. There is no point in complaining as it is what it is, but I still find it hard to accept this perceived weakness both mentally and physically.

Tomorrow is a shorter distance into Burlington IA and then a rest day for everyone to physically and mentally regroup. We are on the down hill slope distance and time wise having done almost 1200 of the 1900 miles and more than half the days of the ride. As we ride out of Burlngton on Sunday, the time will suddenly speed up and the end will come much too soon.

Bebe the Bike decked out in her Happy Birthday Marni finery