Training Gets Real

With just 6 weeks to get ready, my training had to get turned up to 8. I'm too old for 10 and besides, I was already putting in about 100 miles a week with these "rolling" hills we have.

The first week I did 3 50 mile rides. I'm slow, so each one took 4-5 hours but Peggy accompanied me on at least one. She's gotten fast which encouraged me to pedal a bit more quickly- but it's really no use. I can go as many miles as you want- I just can't do it quickly.

This week I've done 3 60 mile rides. I've experimented with different ways to do it. One was just a flat out 60 mile loop all at once. One was a morning ride of 30, lunch with my school buddies at State Lunch (such a good cheeseburger), and 30 miles that afternoon, and today I did a 30 mile loop, stopped at home to make a sandwich, and rode the loop the other way. I have to say I am not a huge fan of the big break in between. I'm better doing it all at once. I did like the double loop as it kept me closer to home, but I am confused by something. Ride with GPS says I had more downhill than uphill, but I followed exactly the same route. How is this possible?

Riding back to back also showed that my bike seat is not sublime. I wasn't sore, nothing like the 60 mile day on the Erie Canal trip, but I wasn't comfy either. I learned some new skills as I swapped out my seat with my old favorite from the original Trek that 's waiting in Florida. I ship the bike Tuesday and don't like to change equipment at this late date- but the shapes of the seats are pretty different. I'll go for 30 tomorrow morning and see how it goes.

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Day 57- Palatka FL

We are at the Quality Inn in Palatka on the last night of our tour. Dinner was at the Azalea brewery and awards were given out to all participants — tongue-in-cheek, of course. They were as follows, and as memory serves: Most likely to deliver an impromptu dissertation: Carl Most likely to speak up and be right: Kelly Most likely to build a bike on the side of the road: Adam Most likely to cry at the ceremony: Jack Most likely to bribe her way to being the favorite: in Most likely to bribe her way to being the favorite: in Most likely to use shit in a sentence: Terry Most likely to ask or something is when it’s right in front of them: Sue Most likely to ask or some thing is when it’s right in front of them: Sue Most likely to burn the house down if coffee is not ready: met Most likely to stop a stranger and ask questions: me It was not the raucous affair I think we all had hoped for, mostly because we are all a bit introspective and conflicted as the tour comes to an e...

Day 33 Smithville Texas 53 miles

If you had asked me at the beginning of the trip which state would have had the steepest climbs, I would not have guessed Texas; however, that seems to be the case. Today I felt right at home. We had our map meeting this morning at breakfast and all seemed doable. I did one last check with the front desk to see if my absentee ballot had caught up with me. It had not. Greg, your vote will not be canceled by me this year! We headed out through sidestreets to leave Austin, a city I can highly recommend. We traveled bike lanes and bike paths out to some rural roads. Of course we had to stop for second breakfast burritos! We were riding in a group of about six when we came up on a stretch of road that had house after house with loose dogs. All of them ran at us. We must’ve made a crazy sounding group. Some of us hollered. Some blasted air horns. Several of us have “dog dazers“ which is a little clicker device that is supposed to repel dogs. I’m not sure how well it really w...

Day 53- Perry FL

We had a very windy night which made for a great sleeping. I set an alarm for 1:00 AM so I could see the Artemis unmanned moon rocket launch, but when I got up I found it had been pushed back and well, 70 miles, so I chose sleep over history. It was gray when we got up, and gray as we headed out. And chilly! I wished I’d opted for leggings over my shorts but was happy to have gloves. Small victories.The temp said it was almost 60 – my body threw the BS flag. I was cold all day. Not much to say about this ride. We had a 20 mile bike path that took us off route 98 for a while. We met another Bike traveler named Tony who had been on the road since June 26. He started in Connecticut and rode to Indianapolis, then back towards Pittsburgh where he rode the trails to DC. He then went to Key West and is now on his way to New Orleans. We asked questions about his gear (there wasn’t much!) and traded a few stories and wished each other well. We got off the trail and crossed the St Mar...

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