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 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...

Day 58- St.Augustine FL

To our utter surprise we woke up to dry skies with the sun peeking through the clouds. No rain in the forecast — what a gift! We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at the hotel and set off around 9 o’clock. Family and friends had been given an arrival time between 1130 and 12 so the pace was leisurely. We rode mainly bike paths. No spectacular scenery, just quiet miles with lots of introspection. As we neared Saint Augustine I started to feel the excitement grow. I was ready for the ride to be done, to see Greg and Gemma and the rest that would be there to join me. It wasn’t quite time to stop paying attention, however, because our route took us right through downtown Saint Augustine’s narrow streets and traffic was both heavy and unforgiving. It wasn’t till I turned into the state park that I got a little emotional. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the realization that this adventure is truly over. I rode in and spotted Greg’s truck right away - and next saw Sarah and Walt and Gemma...

Day 46- Gautier MS

It was a perfect day for an 80 mile ride. We got up really early, planning to get on the road quickly since it was going to be dark by five and we had so far to go. This was no mean feet for me as sleep was hard to come by last night. My bladder woke me at one and four, at which time I was treated to Matt singing the song of his people. And I didn’t need my alarm because the water dripping from the condensation On my tent onto my face was hard to sleep through. Kelly and Adam were on the road by 615. We followed far behind, rolling out an hour later. The roads were awesome right from the beginning. Great pavement and low traffic throughout. Mississippi offered up some treats and some oddities. The first was as we headed into McHenry. On a one and a half mile stretch of road, I counted eight old fire hydrants. And hardly any houses. This roused my curiosity. I passed a man walking a dog and asked him about it. He looked exactly like I expected a rural Mississippian to look, except the d...

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