The Big Plan!

When I was in high school I met this guy who had ridden across the entire United States on his bike. Ever since that encounter the idea of doing something similar has both intrigued me and never drifted too far from my thoughts. I am finally in a place in life where I can pursue this adventure. I am so incredibly happy that my son Alex is as enthusiastic as I am for our own ride!

Over the last year or so our plan has changed a few times, but we think we know what we want to do now. Sometime in June this summer (2009) Robin and Emily will take me and Alex to Mackinaw City where we will start our journey back to Osseo. This approximate 450 mile ride will tell us so much about what we don't know and what we need to learn before we make our bigger ride in the summer of 2010. In 2010 we plan on riding from Osseo to the east coast. Currently we are looking at Maine as our destination.

I am looking forward to the personal challenge and the time I will get to spend with Alex the 2 summers before he enters high school. We plan on updating this blog frequently to have something that will serve as a reminder to us of all of the effort, ups, and downs of going after this goal and to let others who are interested see what we have been up to. Feel free to comment on items that interest you, and skip those that don't!

What Now?

So the big plan has been to ride across a significant part of the country, and this summer's trip was a warm-up for something yet to come. Alex and I had a great time together preparing for the ride, and then heading down the road and exploring new places. A ride from Osseo to Maine would take about 6 weeks to accomplish.

What has been difficult is that everything has been on hold; things I like to do. The motorcycle is still in the garage, the dock is still on land and not in the water, and the boat is still at Lake Diane Marine. On top of that I have several projects around the house that I really need to do. Even though the ride kept us occupied and extremely tired at the end of long days, there was still plenty of time to miss the rest of the family. Going on a 6 week ride would require everything to be on hold again, but for a much longer time. At this point I don't know if riding across the country is still what I want to do, but riding is something I am going to keep doing. Maybe the whole family will somehow be involved...maybe a support vehicle and an extended family vacation or another 2 week ride, but on the east coast or upper mid-west. There are plenty of rides in Michigan too. I think the extended ride will still happen, but after I retire and have the ability to organize my time the way I want it to be. Hopefully Alex will still be interested.

Petoskey to Mackinaw City - Day 11

Alex and I were so excited for this day to arrive. We would be getting to the bridge and the rest of the family was coming to meet us. Unfortunately, I was still feeling less than my best from the previous 2 days of riding in the heat and extreme hills. We made a plan to ride the first 14 and the last 11 miles of the scheduled 50 to the bridge. Robin and Emily picked us up in Harbor Springs and we drove through the "tunnel of trees" along the lake shore. We stopped for lunch in Cross Village at a great Polish restaurant called the Legs Inn. What an interesting place! It had cool wood carvings, great food, and a patio with a great view of the lake for those who like to eat outdoors like we did. I guess Bob Seger has a second home up there and frequents the place often. No sighting of him this particuliar day.

After lunch we drove for a bit before Alex and I got back on the bikes for the last 11 miles. I told Robin to meet us in an hour, and that she should have time to check in at the hotel. Was I ever wrong...We rode those 11 miles with a very brisk pace. Alex was saying that he'd never been as excited as he felt then. We averaged 16.5 mph which is considerably higher than our normal pace of 12.5-13.2 mph. We got there before the girls, and called them to come meet us. We took a lot of pictures, shared high fives and hugs. Yes, we cheated a little on the last day, but riding 440 miles is pretty darn good if you ask me. We were only about 1.5 miles from the hotel, and decided to ride that too. It was a good trip, and I am one proud father of an amazing 13 year old boy!

We capped the big ride off with a day on Mackinac Island. We did something we had never done there on our previous 2 trips...explored more of the island on rented bikes!

East Jordan to Petoskey - Day 10

Knowing that this would be another extremely hot day, we decided to get an early start. Bananas, donuts, and milk fueled the start of our ride. Our route took us through the rest of the town we had not yet seen. Within the first few miles we found ourselves again in the hill country of northern Michigan, and were walking the bikes up the hills. On the largest hill of the entire ride, a motorcyclist who was starting his descent yelled over to us. "It's a wall, isn't it?" It was not even 8:00 and we were dripping wet with sweat. This pattern f ride and walk went on for about 20 miles before leveling off for the final 8 miles into Petoskey. I appearlantly miscalculated the mileage for this day. It was only 28 miles when I thought it would be 37.

We found the hotel around noon, and they told us check-in was not until 3:00 pm. After a lot of questioning, they found a room for us to get in right away. The heat and hills were taking its toll on me. I was feeling light-headed and slightly nauseated - similar to motion sickness. I think it was heat exhaustion. I was concerned about my ability to ride another day on rodes with extreme hills, so we rented a car to scout the next day's route. The middle of the route was going to be very difficult.

Williamsburg to East Jordan - Day 9

We said our goodbyes to the Cobb's after a tasty breakfast, and started our 54 mile ride. It was still cool, but only for a little while. My legs felt fresh from the 2 days of very light riding and plenty of fun, but Alex said his had felt better when he was riding every day. There were a couple of big hills within the first 5 miles of the day, but after that things were very nice for most of the trip. At 1:00 pm we had the option of turning left to travel into a very small town to look for a restaurant when none was indicated on our map, or to go right for 6.5 miles to Ellsworth where we knew there was a place to eat. The left turn would have taken us about a half mile downhill that we would have to back-track (uphill, of course). I knew I could wait for lunch, and let Alex make the call. By this time of day, it was really very hot. After some conversation, and a drink of water, we decided to turn right which took us east. This was some of the most difficult riding we had on the entire trip. The jills were huge, and the sun was bearing down on us hard. There was almost no place to shade ourselves when we stopped for breaks. t took us an hour to make it through to Ellsworth. Our bikes felt quite heavy as we walked them up a hill, only to find another larger hill waiting for us. I felt so bad for Alex - he was really wearing out. He would take a few steps, get a drink, take a couple more, wipe his head, followed by 5 more steps, and then tying his shoe. He could not keep a steady pace. We finally pulled out bikes in front of a charming little cafe. We started removing our helmets and gloves, grabbed the water bottles for a refill, and watched the lady working inside shut off the "open" sign. I went in and asked if they were the only restaurant in town, and they said they would serve us cold items only so they would not have to fire up and clean the grill again. I told them we may want to stay and rest longer than it would take to eat the meal, and again asked if there was another place to eat. They pointed us in the direction of the local bar, The Nugget. after locking the bikes up, we waked to be greeted by "you're not from around here" looks of every one of the 7 locals sitting at the bar. To say we didn't fit in with our spandex riding shorts and our bright cycling shirts would be an understatement. We chose a table on the other end of the place, and had a good lunch. After a good hour, we pushed on for the last 7 miles to East Jordan. Again, we walked up several hills. The las mile and a half were all down-hill, and were we exceedingly grateful. The motel was another mom-and-pop type places, but this one was very well maintained. They had a dock across the street where they were going to swim in an hour after we checked in, and invited us to join. My dome was still red from the days' activities in TC, but Alex wanted to go. We got cleaned up, and fell asleep before it was time. We woke up much later, and missed our chance. I don't think a bed ever felt so good.

Traverse City

Days 7 and 8 were a lot of fun for both Alex and me. It was a 20 mile ride to our hotel on the East Bay side of town. We stopped at one of our favorite places for food in TC - the GT Pie Company, where they give you a free drink if you ride your bike there! We saw 3 other cyclists who were also going to Mackinaw City, but they were doing the camping thing. We chatted it up with them for a while before they left. Our Hotel was next to Pirate's Cove. Since it was Father's Day they had a special - Dads mini-golf for free. We had a blast playing 36 holes. Later that afternoon we were invited to join the Cobb family (Jeff, Laura, Elijah, and Ari) for a get-together at Laura's dad's home. There were 18 people there, and they made Alex and me feel very welcomed. They have a beautiful home on Elk Lake, and the food was terrific too. Jeff and Elijah took us back to our hotel, and we made plans for Monday.

Monday morning Alex and I had most of the day to ourselves, and we took advantage of the time off. It started with go-cart racing at Pirate's Cove, and then we went across the street to the Beach Haus Hotel. It turns out that Laura is running the hotel (a very complicated story). She made arrangements for us to use their beach and they provided us with towels and a place to secure our bikes and belongings. We had the best time that afternoon! We rented a Sea-Doo for an hour and buzzed around the bay, and I was able to convince Alex that the parasailing would be fun. I am not a big fan of heights, but I have to say it was extremely peaceful up there. We were in our swimming trunks, so they gave us a "foot dip" before bringing us back onto the aft deck of the boat. After changing we went to a pizza place for lunch.

We did ride 7 miles that day to the Cobb's home. We were invited over again, but this time for dinner and to spend the night. The kids set up a home-made slip-and-slide in the front yard as soon as we got there, and Jeff made a delicious meal. We talked a lot over a few brewskis, and finished the night by playing video games on the Wii. It was a fun day. The down side was that it was Robin's and my anniversary. This seems to happen to us most years, but we always make sure to celebrate it a little late or a little early. Usually it is a professional obligation that keeps us apart on June 22nd.

New Pics from days 3-6

Big Rapids, Luther, and Interlochen

Alex and I arrived at Interlochen today at 1:00 pm. We had our earliest start - 7:20 am, but I am getting ahead of myself...

We left the Scott's home for the 49 mile ride to Big Rapids a little after 8:00 am Thursday morning. Jed helped us search new directions which took us to the North Pine Trail. The trail was paved for a good 10 miles to Sand Lake where it then became a dirt trail, and we switched to the roads. Northland Drive took us all the way to Big Rapids. The first 10 miles from Sand Lake to the county line were a little scary at times. There was no paved shoulder at all, and the road was moderately busy. Almost all the drivers have been extremely courteous on the entire trip, but there was one semi on this day that came closer than we wanted! The rest of the ride was unremarkable. We were trying to outrun forcasted storms (that never appeared), so we only stopped for a light snack at lunch in Cass. The store owner was very friendly and knowledgable about the ride ahead. We rewarded ourselves with a big meal at Applebees, and a trip to the pool and hot tub back at the hotel.

We left Big Rapids for another 50 mile ride to an area just north of Baldwin, MI. I fell off my bike about 3 miles into the ride while we were still in Big Rapids. The roads were busy so we stayed on the sidewalks until we were out of town. Someone had been installing a chain-link fence, and the slack in the roll of fencing leaned into the sidewalk enough to catch my shoulder which then turned the bike into the fence. I went down hard, but luckily was not traveling that fast. Pride was the only thing that was really hurt. We stopped in Luther for lunch and a local struck up a conversation with us. He was on a bike too, but only because his car was broken. He really thought we should come back for the 4th of July for the Luther Lumber Days. They close off the main street for a dance and live band. They also have a Lumber Jack copetition. Ask me sometime what I call it. :-) We arrived at our motel around 2:00 pm. It was one of those older places along the side of the road. The owner was extremely kind. Our room was not quite ready, so she let us use another room to shower, and then offered to do our laundry. The restaurant across the street had Alex's perfect meal - tacos and nachos. We ate a lot of food that night! Alex fell asleep at 6:00 pm. I woke him at 9:00 pm to brush his teeth. He stayed up until almost 11:00 pm while I slept. All this sleep allowed us to get an early start for Interlochen. We were on the rode by 7:20.

The 50 mile ride to Interlochen was pretty nice. I am noticing that we are still able to keep up the daily distances, but the pace has slowed down quite a bit. I'll try to get some pics up soon. This sectio of the ride offered many beautiful sites. Some former students are here at Interlochen working as councelors. We are going to try to meet up at the Melody Freeze ("MoFro") later for ice cream. I'll try to get some pics up soon.

The Long Day - Gull Lake to Rockford

This has been a remarkable day. It had poured all night,but just when it was time to leave the hotel in Gull Lake, it stopped raining. We swere so happy to get going, because we knew this was going to be our longest day of riding. The map took us around the west side of the Gull Lake with many curves and turns onto roads that have similar names. When we came upon Highway 43 we were supposed to merge on straight, be we turned left. 4.5 miles later we realized the mistake and turned around. Before that, Alex had a flat, and we had to repair that. Combining those 2 events put us about an hour behind.

The rain visited us off and on throughout the day. It was never in the form of a downpour, and we were grateful for that. Every time Alex put his glasses on, it started up again. For the length of the ride, it was better to have the weather we had than an 80 degree day. We took several breaks to recover from riding into the wind. Alex was such a trooper. He kept such a great attitude, even though he was struggling at times. He was even talking about a bigger ride next year.

When I planned the trip, I did not realize how close our scheduled stop in Belding was to Rockford where we have good friends. There was an offer for dinner that turned into an offer to stay over for the night. This made the difficulty of the day fade as we enjoyed their company and hospitality. Dinner was completed with a home-made cherry pie. Thank you to Mandy and Jed. Owen is as cute as ever, and Julian is such a beautiful baby!

Mendon & Yorkville - days 1 & 2

We have traveled 85.5 miles in 2 days. Day one was 54.5, and day 2 was 31. The people at the 

B & B in Mendon were so kind. Lemonaide for us when we arrived and a huge breakfast when we left. The owners, Cherylle and Jeff, were from South Africa, but have been here for 18 years or so. Mendon looks like it used to be quite the tourist spot for those looking for an artsy place to spend the afternoon or weekend. The boardwalk along the St. Joe River was so nice, but as is the case in so many small towns in Michigan, the downtown has been hit hard. There were more shops with "for sale" signs in them than operating businesses.

The first day's ride itself was really nice. We had to significant stops along the way, but were able to keep a very nice pace for us.

Day 2's ride started with a flat tire on my bike, but I just pumped it up and along we went. I will take a closer look at it tonight to see what the issue is. The ride today was short (I found a significant short-cut), but we are limited to making stops where the hotels are. We will pay the price tomorrow with our longest ride - 62 miles! It is supposed to rain/storm too. It will be a long slog if that happens. The owner at the Gull Lake Inn has been really nice, letting me use his computer for this update, and helping with laundry facilities. We also met 3 other cyclists. David was going in the opposite direction, and had stayed at the campground we would have stayed in around Luther if we had stuck to the original plan. He said it was an awful place to stop. I am glad we changed our plans. The other two we saw were getting ice cream across from our hotel. It was a nice chat. You always learn something when you talk cycling with other riders.

One other note...Alex is the man! I am so proud of him for working so hard, and enjoying the experience  we are sharing. :-)

Time to Roll!

The last few days have been very busy. I get all the end-of-year stuff done at both the high school and middle school. Emily was a big help with the music library. Both kids help get the house ready for the Concord Middle School staff fajita party, and Alex and I went to the Lake to mow. On top of all that we were able to fit in several rides to be ready for today. 

Last night we set all of the equipment out on the table to make sure we had everything. It's hard to believe that everything fits into just two packs! We packed it so well that we were able to take an extra shirt which may seem like a little thing, but will make laundry cycles much easier.

We scouted our first two day's rides by car yesterday. It looks like we are in for in some pretty big hills west of Coldwater. We found a short-cut on day two's route, finding the hotel was a bit of a challenge.

We'll update the blog when we can... 

Osseo to Mackinaw City - Summer 09'

Day 1: Osseo to Mendon - 54 miles

Day 2: Mendon to Yorkville - 40 miles

Day 3: Yorkville to Belding - 62 miles

Day 4: Belding to Big Rapids - 57 miles

Day 5: Big Rapids to Wolf Lake (Luther area) - 54 miles

Day 6: Wolf Lake to Interlochen - 50 miles

Day 7: Interlochen to Traverse City - 13 miles

Day 8: Traverse City - resting!

Day 9: Traverse City to East Jordan - 54 miles

Day 10: East Jordan to Petoskey - 37 miles

Day 11: Petoskey to Mackinaw City - 51 miles

Day 12: Entire family visits Mackinaw Island!

Day 13: DRIVE home!

That's 472 miles. By car, and on the interstate, it's only 303 from our home to the bridge.

More Pokagon trip pics...

Under Siege!

Before turning in for the night, we cleaned up camp. All of the food was put in the Burley trailer, and it was securely fastened. Unfortunately, there was not a place in the campground area of the park to take trash. We put it in a bag, and left it out. At 1:00 am we heard the rustling of the bag followed by the sound of a Pringles can hitting the ground. I got the flashlight and opened the tent. There were two raccoons rummaging through the bag for anything they could find. I figured they would get what they wanted, and that would be the end of it. So we went back to sleep thinking we would have a mess to clean in the morning.

At 4:00 am we heard the two barking/growling at each other. This time much closer to the tent and by my bike with the trailer. This time I opened the tent more carefully with the flashlight's gaze catching one of them reaching into the smallest of openings at a corner-seem to pull out a marshmallow and shove it in its mouth. I threw on my shoes and chased it off by throwing pieces of wood and small rocks at them. They were not deterred at all... brazen bastards! Knowing that there was no way I would eat the food they touched, I finally threw the rest of the marshmallows into the woods far from the tent. I checked the Burley to make sure there was no damage and to ensure they could not reach any food still in it.

Half an hour later they were back. I thought I was prepared for them this time because I had brought some empty plastic pop bottles into the tent so I could throw them at the bandit-faced vermin. I carefully opened the tent again, took aim, and threw it as hard as a could. I hit the trailer very close to the creature, and the bottle bounced back toward the tent. He came forward to check it out, and was about 4 foot from the opening of the tent! I took my shoe and stomped the ground which caused him to retreat a little. I was able to chase him off by shooting water from my water-bottle at him.

In the morning it was evident that he did indeed return. He could not open the trailer or reach any more food, but he tried to pull my shirt out of that little space. The bright yellow riding shirt had a few smudges of dirt and several loosened threads from the claws.

Alex suggested that we get a second small tent for the Burley, but I think raccoons would just bite and scratch their way into a tent too. I had some pepper spray that I did not think about until later. I had a pretty good angle and a short enough distance that it most likely would have been effective. I have already had a few suggestions, but one of the most feasible was to toss a rope over a branch and hoist the trash and food up and out of reach. Because the loss of sleep, pepper spray still sounds the most satisfying!

Pokagon Test Run

First I want to say that I am extremely proud of my son Alex! Did he ever do a great job on this overnight trip from Osseo to Pokagon State Part in Indiana! We rode 83.5 mile (roundtrip) with a strong head-wind the first day, and a nice tail-wind the for most of the second day. The last 10 miles on the way home were laborious with a very strong cross-wind. Alex's health was an issue on the way home, but he plugged along without complaint. He will be back to full strength after the antibiotics kick in!

I learned that we will need to tackle the trip to the bridge differently than we did the trip to Pokagon. The trailer and cargo weighed in at 43 pounds, and it was tough heading up the hills towards the end of the ride. Less weight and a long break about 2/3 of the way through each day's ride will be necessary. I will also be riding with that thing in tow nearly every time I go out over the next 2 weeks to get ready.

After checking in at the campground gate, we rode to our reserved site. It was smaller than most of the yards in a mobile home park. With little energy left, we rode back to the gate to request a larger site with a picnic table. We were grateful for their assistance. Our new site was quite nice.

After showers and a bite to eat, we went down a trail that led us to the beach. Waiting for us was a bean-bag tossing game which is quite the rage in the upper mid-western states of NB, ND, & SD. They have given it the most unfortunate of names: "Corn Hole."

There was also a stable with horses to ride (for a price, of course). Alex took his first ride since the little ponies at the county fair when he was just a little guy. Luckily we had a good guide, and all went well.

After dinner, cooked over the fire-pit, we turned in early - 9:00 pm, but the night did not go smoothly. We were under siege most of the night!

Robin, Come Get Me!

While still feeling good about myself for yesterday's 27.5 mile ride, Alex and I took off for a long ride this afternoon. We have come to enjoy going down county rodes we have never traveled before. About 12 miles into our anticipated 20-25 mile ride I noticed my bike was a little sluggish, and thought I would put some air into the rear tire. Everything was going fine as I was inflating the tire until I removed the pump from the valve stem and a steady "shhhhhh" whispered in my ear. There was a leak where the valve stem meets the tube.

Great news...I have not only one, but two extra tubes! Bad news!...They are at home! Luckily Robin was at home, and sped to our rescue.

My friend Linc suggested that I get some practice repairing common bicycle ailments. The repair went smoothly, and took only 10 - 15 minutes. Obviously I learned something important today: Carry what you need to repair your bike!

Changing of the Plan!

Alex and I have been logging in some pretty serious mileage lately. I have been noticing the differences in difficulty in different directions of travel. South and West are much more difficult than North and East. Today I rode just over 27 miles where I took the same route to and from my destination. I averaged 2 miles per hour faster on the return trip! I also contacted the lead weather man at WILX (Andy Provenzano) and he shared this with me about the prevailing wind patterns in June:

" Prevailing winds would be west-southwest. Although it can turn northeasterly on occasion for a couple of days. June winds are not that strong unless a front is approaching. Similar to what our Thursday and Friday this week will feel like. You might want to consider the sun position as well. It will be in your eyes most of the day if you head south.Windspeed in general is between 5-15mph. When fronts are around it can get gusty 25-35MPH."

Thanks for the info, Andy!

We are now going to leave Osseo and ride to the Mackinaw Bridge in Mackinaw City. I think this will work well for the girls in the family. Maybe they will sneak a trip in to Chi-town! Alex and I will schedule our rest day in Traverse City. It's a win, win!

Look for the new itinerary soon. :-)

Pics

Itinerary (The Old One - New One Coming Soon)

Day 1 - 48 miles: Mackinaw City to Petosky

Day 2 - 32 miles: Petosky to Ellsworth

Day 3 - 41 miles: Ellsworth to Williamsburg

Day 4 - 27 miles: Williamsburg to Interlochen

Day 5 - 57 miles! Interlochen to Luther

Day 6 - 55 miles: Luther to Hardy Dam

Day 7 - 50 miles: Hardy Dam to Belding

Day 8 - 0 miles: Rest!!!

Day 9 - 50 miles: Belding to Yankee Springs

Day 10 - 48 miles: Yankee Springs to Oak Shores Resort (close to Mendon)

Day 11 - 34 miles: Oak Shores Res. to Potawatomie Rec. Area (between Union City and Coldwater)

Day 12 - 34 miles: Potawatomie... to Osseo...home, sweet home!

OR

Day 11 - 68 miles: Oak Shores... to Osseo...home, sweet home!

That's 476 miles, only 173 more miles than
you would drive in a car on major highways!

Equipment

ACQUIRED
bikes
riding clothing
bike map (from Adventure Cycling)
bike maintenance/repair book
bike tools
air pump

riding gloves

trailer - Burley Cargo (Ebay!!!)
tent

sleeping bags
water bottles

rain gear

spare inner-tubes

inner-tube patch kit

foam sleeping pad

rack with bags

cyclometer

map holder

mess kit

first-aid

pepper spray

propane stove

lantern/flashlight

sun block

Riding Log

4-12-09 about 10 miles 52 degrees, windy, sunny

I am out of shape, Alex was great on his first ride on the new bike.

4-15-09 about 10 miles 56 degrees, sunny

The same route as the 12th, but felt much easier. Alex is getting more confident on his new bike.

4-17-09 20 miles 70 degrees, sunny, headwind for the 1st 10 miles, tailwind last 10

We rode to Wal-mart & then ate at the Chinese buffet before returning home. Alex's longest ride!

4-18-09 Took my bike to the shop for a tune-up...no bike until Friday...cold, wet week anyway.

4-24-09 7 miles - got the bike back from the shop, put the racks and packs on each bike and had just enough time before sunown for a short ride. Bought lots of equipment today. $$$ - Yikes!

4-25-09 10 miles - very windy, but great morning temperatures.

4-30-09 I wish the weather would improve...rainy & cold all week. Trailer arrives tomorrow!

5-1-09 15 miles in the rain, and we both feel great! Trailer is here and in the box.

5-2-09 13.6 miles (someone got a cyclometer), windy, hilly, Alex was pulling ahead today!

5-3-09 10 miles busy day...wished we had time to ride further.

5-5-09 15 miles...did not feel difficult at all for either of us. We are getting closer to where we need to be for this ride!

5-8-09 23 miles...our longest ride without a significant rest time in the middle. We both feel great!

5-11-09 10.6 miles...a little cool at first, but it's still a nice night

5-12-09 25 miles... beautiful day with some strong head winds

5-19-09 14 miles...very hilly route today. Alex was whipped for the last 4 miles.

5-20-09 20 miles felt good, nice and warm out too!

5-21-09 27.5 mile solos ride. Alex had soccer. Stopped at some friends' house in Reading for a visit. Good time, good times. I have decide the trip will be reversed. We are headed north instead.

5-22-09 12 miles on bike, 3/4 mile walking the bike (See "Robin, Come Get Me" post")

5-23-09 34 miles. Best bike ride we've had. Went to Pioneer, OH, had lunch, and meandered back through several roads in Hillsdale County.

5-25-09 16 miles...alittle cool this morning, but nice and sunny.

5-29 & 30-09 83.5 miles...Pokagon trip!

6-03-09 12.5 miles...Alex is still getting over his bug..cough, cough...

6-05-09 18 miles...T minus 10 days!

6-07-09 14 miles...would have been 18, but Alex had a flat. It was getting dark, so Robin saved us!

6-09-09 21 miles..wow, was it nice out for this ride! Big ride is gettin' close!

6-12-09 12 miles

6-13-09  17 miles - almost fell off the bike when both feet got stuck in the stirrups while I was stopping. 

6-14-09  10.5 miles - nice and easy for today. Tomorrow it gets interesting!

Our Bikes

I have a 24-speed Specialized Sirrus Road Bike. I don't know much about the brand or other brands for that matter. It was a Christmas/Birthday gift from the family in 2006. There was a lot sneakiness going on to keep it a secret. With help from the neighbors, I had no idea until Christmas morning! The first few times I road it, I had no idea how to downshift. It is definitely not the kind of bike we all grew up with. It is amazingly light. I love riding it.

It was fun getting Alex's bike. It was also a surprise, but at spring break of this year (2009). It was hidden in the shed. I asked him to get some tools for me and he found it. His bike is very similar in appearance to mine, but is a 24 speed Trek. Fitting him for this bike was a challenge, and he will probably outgrow the thing in a couple years. It should fit Robin nicely though. Can we get her hooked?