Day Thirty One-Two Centuries in Two Days?? Impossible You Say??

Day 31- (103 Miles)- Wednesday, July 18, 2007- Mankato, MN to Rochester, MN (989')

Update: Today I passed the 11,000 mile mark since I started riding last May.

Today was the other bookend in our matching centuries- 102 yesterday and 103 today. It's a first for me, and in all likelihood, a last. Man (at least the ones built like me) were not meant to travel these distances while resting on 8 square inches of flesh evenly distributed between butt, feet and hands. Since Monday, we've covered about 280 miles, an average of over 90 miles per day and we'll continue that mark with a near century again tomorrow- I think the plan is 92 miles. The terrain in Minnesota is relatively flat, but these distances are strong.

We got an early start this morning- I think it was around 6:30AM and we stayed hard at it all day. The weather was fair- temps probably approached 90, with partially cloudy skies and a very light wind- never much of a factor- at least not for the CFS (Chief Wheel Sucker). Actually I did pull some today, though it was probably only 10 miles or so, while I was having a huge argument with Michael Miller and Max- more on this in a moment. The humidity was all encompassing though. It was "cut it with a knife" humidity. The day was one of those where you just know there's a T-storm just itching to get started-in fact, we had storm clouds on the horizon all afternoon and had a very light rain, I think it's referred to as "spitting"- but never did get the heavy stuff cooking.

After a tough century yesterday (tough for me and several others I spoke to- but tough because of what's come before- not because of the route itself) and a very early wake-up (4:30AM), I was really worried about pulling off a second 100 mile day. But, in spite of being somewhat slammed, I did pretty well today and as is common for me, the last 30 miles or so were probably the best part of the day. We did the first 70 miles or so- I guess through the second sag- as Millers plus Bob minus Derek (got sick- dehydrated??). After that we added Gary, the Paines, Mark and Max and sometimes Ernst and Lenny.

The argument I alluded to was a friendly spat between Michael and Max and me and it centered on trying to define the business model behind free web blogs, such as this one. Michael and Max claimed to understand it, but couldn't articulate how the revenue was generated and I tried to school them on what a business model is and why I thought Google had to have something more articulate than the jibberish I was getting out of them. They thought I was being "old school" and JUST DIDN'T GET IT. A good time was had by all, including those little twerps.

The terrain today was slightly more hilly than yesterday and in fact, the ride started immediately with a half mile climb that tipped the old inclinometer at about 13%. The fact that I both made the climb and held breakfast down gave me immense pleasure. But throughout the day, we had some big rollers with faces in the 7-8% range and those are what I refer to as "bitchy climbs". Not enough to require real big boy shoes, but enough to make you wish you were built like a whippet and not so much like a golden retriever.

We finished the day in Rochester, MN- home of the Mayo Clinic. The last few miles of the ride offered us a choice of staying on the main roads or hopping (sounds like a happy thing, doesn't it?) on a bike trail. Again, we made the wrong choice- going with the trail. Cost us 3-4 bonus miles (again, sounds like a good thing). Not a killer, but in the future how's about we save that for the shorter days, OK??

Day Thirty-Knocking A Dog Off A Gut Cart

Day 30-(102 Miles)- Tuesday, July 17, 2007- Worthington, MN to Mankato, MN

In an earlier post I referred to an expression that I once heard my aunt use. She was describing something that smelled bad enough to "knock a dog off a gut cart". Today, I experienced that smell repeatedly, apparently coming from some agricultural process. I suspect the smell had to do with the rearing of either hogs or turkeys. It was so stunningly awful, so achingly sour, so painfully potent that it nearly paralyzed this rider. Sometimes it seemed to come from an empty field, other times from what appeared to be a poultry house, and at times from passing trucks. Whatever the source, it was awful beyond belief. I pray that we have passed through the region in which it is produced.

This part of Minnesota is purely agricultural. And almost purely corn and what we believe to be soybeans. As you ride along you see either soybeans and corn, corn and corn or soybeans and soybeans. They are occasionally spiced up with a turkey house and maybe a windmill or two. That's about it.

Today's ride was a century and I joined the Miller Mob as our leader has called them. Mike Miller started at the front and lead at a brisk pace for the first 10-12 miles. I stayed with them, but I think the early pace set me back a bit as I spent the rest of the day trying to recover. The route today was flat, and the weather was warm, humid and we had a bit of a headwind all day.

By about mile 70, I was praying for help- and finally got it at mile 90, when we discovered our third sag was co-located with a Dairy Queen. We each took a private booth, slipped off our cycling shoes and stretched out our legs, and ate our cold, creamy treats in nearly total silence. There were a few locals who wanted to hear how far we'd come and Mike, always the cycling statesman, was happy to provide the details. I listened in, offered nothing-just focused on the next helping of my Chocolate Extreme Blizzard.

An update on my ride stats: Total miles completed are about 2,200 (69% of the total), remaining days 12 and remaining miles are 1,000. We'll ride another century tomorrow (my first back to back centuries) and have one more century after that. The ride is passing us by quickly and I have mixed emotions about the end. Part of me is ready to return to the real world and my family and farm-part of me wants the rolling circus to go on forever.

Day Twenty Nine-Rough Roads? You Betcha!

Day 29 (74 Miles)- Monday, July 16, 2007- Sioux Falls, SD to Worthington, MN

Today we eased back into our march across America (I think this qualifies as "March Madness"). Leaving the Super 8 Motel (clearly a misnomer- "Below Average 8" would have been a better fit) at around 7:00AM, we eased onto one of the busiest roads in SD, went a mile and then merged onto a pretty nifty bike path that I believe goes most of the way around Sioux Falls. We were on it for 8-10 miles and at it's end got a look at Sioux Falls- the falls. Gotta say it- wasn't impressed- not a bit. If it was in somebody's back yard- hell yeah, really cool. As a somewhat major city's namesake- c'mon guys-you can do better than this. Niagara's gonna crush you- won't even get to the sweet sixteens with this falls. Even Twin Falls, which was really "Solo Falls" had more going for it.

Shortly after the falls, we were dumped onto city streets and soon enough were on the outskirts of SF, heading east. The weather was poifect- 70's, clear skies, a bit humid, but very little wind. This pattern hung over us all morning and by lunch time, with one hideous detour(more to follow), we were in Worthington, MN.

We actually hit construction once or twice and just strapped on our big boy shoes on and rode through it. Our roads were at times painful (those freeze cracks or whatever they call them will be the death of me), and at other times sinfully smooth- almost made you feel guilty riding on them. In fact, it was a bit like sneaking into the living room and jumping on Ma's good furniture- Suh-weet!!! So unlike South Dakota's Highway Department, which only showed us its nasty side, Minnesota (we crossed into MN at about mile 25) flirted with us all day. First she'd pretend to like us, then she'd toss her hair back and slap us in the face. That is, until she went totally mental.

At mile 53, as we were about to enter the cuddly little town of Adrian, there was a sag van and a crowd of riders gathered on the roadside. Ever the curious ones, we pulled in and learned that we'd be facing a detour with details to follow (progressive disclosure is a hallmark of the ABB experience). After an ice cream break and a happy birthday song for the store's owner-Keith-we motored up the road. We soon learned that we had a choice (the answer to many questions out here is "it depends"- and that's a tightly controlled inside joke-right Mike?). We could ride pavement and add 10-12 miles to the day's total or we could take what was billed as a "dirt road" for 5-6 miles and maybe add 4 miles. We made the wrong choice.

The dirt road started out just fine and about the time we were out of shouting range of the staffer who gave us our choices, it turned to, pardon me, shit. The packed dirt turned to very loose, fine gravel. Now for my readers who've never ridden a lightweight road bike, here's the problem. I have tires with 120 pounds of air pressure (hard as a rock) that are less than an inch in diameter. When those hard, skinny tires hit 4-5 inches of soft gravel, they go just about wherever they want to go. Oh sure, I could make suggestions to the bike, but it was pretty much free to do about as it pleased. Now, to this troublesome situation, let's add copious amounts of dust so we really can't see very well and periodic semi's hauling the foulest smelling matter in the known universe. Oh yeah, we're also gonna throw in washboards on the road, so that your head is shaking hard enough to qualify under The Shaken Baby Protection Act. If we ride this way at 6 MPH and have to travel 6 miles, how long will we be punished? That's right, my little SAT Testers- about an hour. Well, we hung in there, nobody crashed in our group- though I know others did.

We did stop long enough to see some of the corn people coming out for some daylight- though as soon as they spotted us, they flung their tassles up and vanished.

Day Twenty Eight-I Spent a Week in Sioux Falls One Day

Day 28- (0 Miles)- Sunday, July 15, 2007- Rest Day in Sioux Falls, SD

Today is our third rest day and by all indications, a much needed one. I have stayed fairly busy with domestic issues- laundry, haircutting, shopping for a few things, repacking my bags, etc.
I also managed to wedge a nap in there- a sure indication that my bones were tired and needed a day off the bike. However, lest you think I've been idle, I will remind my kind readers that I am outfitted with only a bicycle for transportation and I had no plans to place my generously proportioned posterior upon that saddle until tomorrow morning. That meant I hoofed it- about two miles to do laundry and at least that- maybe three- to buy the supplies I needed for my bike. By 2:00PM, my dogs were barking and I took a two hour nap. Still need to hit Walgreens for some sun block, clean and lube my chain and cassette and then figure out something for dinner.

Our next leg will take us into Minnesota for three days and then into Wisconsin for four days. Over the next seven days (it is a shorter leg), we'll cover 593 miles and climb 12,070' or about half of the climbing we did in our first leg. That will set us up to take a ferry across Lake Michigan on our next rest day (July 23). So we're looking at much flatter terrain from here on out- we must only worry about heat, humidity and headwinds. Believe me, those three can have me whining like a baby just as fast as a mountain climb.

Just back from dinner and I'm ready for the rack. Will finish packing what I can tonight and then be ready for a good ride in the morning. The ride tomorrow is only 70 miles, but Tuesday and Wednesday are back-to-back centuries, so that will be a test for us. I've never done that, though I've done a 106 and a 92 miler, and a 117 and an 82 miler- so I should be OK. Still, it will be a couple of long days.

Day Twenty Seven- Dances with Horses

Day 27- (72 Miles)- Saturday, July 14, 2007, Mitchell, SD to Sioux Falls, SD

The day before a day off always has the feel of the day before the start of summer vacation. The riders moods were upbeat, especially since we didn't load until 6:45 and breakfast was at 7:00AM. Adding to our euphoria was a positive weather forecast (again) and a short ride- only 72 miles along a relatively flat route- with maybe a slight uphill trend, but nothing to get lathered up about.

Our destination was Sioux City, SD- our last stop in South Dakota. SD has been an interesting state- full of extremes. Extremely: beautiful (Black Hills, Mt. Rushmore), bad roads (every where), desolate and unpopulated. Though we didn't have much of it, it can also have otherworldly heat and winds. According to locals the heat has been right on our tails and next week we'll be dealing with triple digits. Guess we've had it coming and will have to get into survival mode to get through the hot days.
Our stats so far are starting to get impressive. Some fun facts: I am now 63% of the way along my route and will ride a total of 14 more days, with two more rest days. Since leaving Astoria, OR we've ridden for 25 of the last 27 days, have logged 1,988 miles and climbed 68,422 feet. We have crossed the Coastal Range, the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains. I've had five flats and have worn out one tire and one chain (the Habersham Bicycle Giant TCR has been running real fine). On Monday we'll enter our fifth state, with two more states and a Canadian province yet to go.

At this point, I am in good physical condition. I thought I was starting to develop a saddle sore a couple days ago, but the long distance cyclist's friend- Bag Balm, came to the rescue and I am pleased to report that I have weathered the storm. The contact points (butt, feet and hands) are all sound and although my legs feel like they need a day off, I have no injuries to worry about. I feel considerably stronger than when I started and notice a marked improvement in how I go over rolling hills- I'm much more comfortable staying in the big ring and powering up things. We are definitely starting to see injuries crop up- knees, backs, quads, hamstrings, achilles tendons. Seems like somebody is sagging everyday and several riders have bailed out due to backs or knees. Knock on wood, I'm holding together well. It could all turn to crap in a heartbeat, but for now-I'm solid.

As I mentioned, today's ride was pretty mild and the terrain has taken a decided turn from "western" to "mid-western". We are now cruising through corn and soybean fields and things are much greener than a week ago with increasing signs of civilization. We no longer have 100 mile stretches with only one gas station in between.

I joined forces with Big Ralph again this morning and we began slowly, but we were groovin' in no time. At about mile 11, Ralph hollered at me and looking back I saw that we had four horses galloping along a fence line to our right at full speed, apparently chasing us- just for the fun of it. It was very, very cool. We began yipping and yelping in cowboy fashion, whistling and slapping our spandex (cowboys would have slapped their spandex, just trust me)- encouraging the horses to stay with us- which they did for about a mile. Just as a tree line interrupted their ability to keep running with us, we heard one of our riders way behind us, yelling for us to stop- which we did. "You dorks missed the turn about a mile back" were his carefully chosen words. What a buzz kill.

With a slight headwind facing the riders, the two of us (remember, a big guy is more fun to draft behind than a little guy) soon collected an assortment of wheel suckers and we hammered along, pulling a double line down the country road and into the first sag at mile 40 or so. After the sag, our group split apart and Ralph and I went along, eventually picking Derek Miller up and the two of them tried their level best to kill me on the remaining 20 miles or so. They came close, but I kept finding excuses to stop for this and that and finally faked my way into Sioux Falls and the luxurious Super 8 Motel. Hey- decent bed and functioning AC- I ain't bitchin'.

This weekend there is some sort of bike (motorcycle) event in Sioux Falls and the place is overrun with Harleys and muscle cars. I'm begging you guys, go fast somewhere else- I want to sleep tonight.

Tomorrow, our third rest day, will be a day of exceptionally low expectations for me. My only to-do's are to find a washing machine and a barber. And if I can't find a barber, I'll be able live with that. BTW, thanks to Sherry and Joe for getting my care package sent to me. It had Chamois Butter, new cleats and cleat covers- golly, this is the best Christmas ever!!

Day Twenty Six- A Sing Along

Day 26- (70 Miles)- Friday, July 13, 2007- Chamberlain, SD to Mitchell, SD (1,300')

As the saying goes, "what a difference a day makes". Loyal followers know (and several commented- Keith, Jack, Danny and Susie know who they are) that yesterday was my crybaby day. I whined like a little boy with a hurt finger. Oh this is too hard and that bothers me and gosh this hurts, etc..

Well, today ole cheerful Bob is back. I woke once last night at about 3:00AM and to my delight I could tell that my body was getting rested and the legs felt good. With a bit of a grin, I rolled over and slept in until, get this, 5:15AM. Holy crap- it's practically a day off. We didn't load luggage 'til 6:20, ate breakfast at 6:30 and hit the road about 7:00ish. The route today was only 70 miles and other than a 300' climb at the git-go, it trended downward all the way to Mitchell.

The ride was a two lane country road that started out OK, and then turned on us for a while with those cracks that I wrote about yesterday. I rode with a group that included the Millers and assorted others for a while and then hopped on with Ralph, Gerard and a woman who's name escapes me. We hung together until about mile 25 when she dropped off. Ralph, Gerard and I cruised at 18-22MPH for a while and then Gerard dropped off to ride with someone else. Ralph and I finished the ride together and had a nice chat about life and careers and flying airplanes (he's a private pilot) and life adventures, etc. The ride today was more brisk than I would have done on my own (big Ralph is a macho man who rides with the big dogs)- but still was an easy day. We were about the third or fourth riders into town, arriving at little after 11:00AM and the day was kind to me. I am back to feeling myself and have confidence in the legs for tomorrow. Life is good.

The weather today was another gem- high by our ride's end was about 80, humidity was low and the winds, for the most part, were a non factor. I continue to be amazed with the weather we've had. Probably shouldn't discuss it, but we've had it soooooo nice.

Mitchell is home to the world famous "Corn Palace"- a tourist trap on the same scale as Wall Drug. I do not plan to go see it. Instead, I'll sit in my comfortable, air conditioned motel room and prepare for tomorrow's ride- our final ride in our third leg.

Today I had lunch with Rich (an attorney from Columbus), Ralph and a guy named Topper. We were having a nice chat as we waited for lunch and somehow the subject of sailing came up. Topper told us that he had sailed around the world- twice. The first time he did it on a 27' wooden sailboat, with no electronics and it took him eight years!!. He then told us about some of his adventures and explained that he spent a grand total of $10,000 during the eight years. Unreal. He then came back to the U.S. and decided to start building sailboats and did that for a number of years, figuring that he had learned a lot about what worked and what didn't work on a long distance cruising boat. What an interesting bunch of people.

Day Twenty Five- A Fine Whine

Day 25 (83 Miles)- Thursday, July 12, 2007- Pierre, SD to Chamberlain, SD

(I just changed the title of today's blog as a result of a comment from Keith- you inspire me man....)

There have been more difficult climbing days, longer mileage days, hotter days and far less scenic days. But for my money, I suffered today worse than any other day so far. I wanted out from the very beginning and watched the odometer from 6:00AM until we arrived in cheery Chamberlain at about 1:30PM. The problem seemed to start yesterday when we "lost" an hour due to moving from the Mountain time zone to the Central zone ( and this, following a 117 mile day). So, instead of rising at 4:30 AM this morning (barbaric enough, I'd say), I got up at 3:30 AM at least according to my body- and at this point, that's the only one I have to work with. So right away, I ain't feeling all that great. Next, I realize that my legs are way past dead. Like two hunks of well seasoned firewood. Kinda heavy and hollow feeling. (Note: I just came back from rap and talked to several other riders who are having the same issue. One of them mentioned that our leader predicted that this week and next are typically when many riders start to wear down. Its all about rest, nutrition and recovery now.)

I think that the miles we've already done in this leg are catching up with me- we've done 530 miles in the last six days (almost 90 miles per day for six straight days) and we've had three days in the last six that totaled 320 miles. So having ridden three centuries in less than a week with no days off- maybe I should be tired?? Total miles ridden is now approaching 1,900 in a tad over three weeks. A bit above my average, let's say.

I rattled out of the hotel this morning, still nearly dark, without any real plan about riding today. Within a few miles, the Paine Train came rolling by with Ernst in tow and I decided to hop on. So we shook along until the first sag at mile 30. Somehow, the Paine's had heard I wasn't 100% and I think they took pity on me and let me suck a wheel for about 25 miles. The traffic was light and polite (I believe we were running through an Indian Reservation), but the road surface was just awful- a condition we'd see through nearly all of today's route. Extremely rough texture and a deep crack every 50-75 feet that just pounded you when you hit it. This was a road that, if it were back home, no one would attempt to ride a road bike on.

(By the way, I have no idea what this picture below is. Saw this structure on the side of the road and thought it was An Important Original Work of Art- so I shot it. Actually, I heard it was some kinda wind experiment that went horribly wrong. Who knows...) From time to time today we'd get a strong headwind. I was in misery and couldn't wait to get off this freaking bicycle. Several times I considered sagging in, but I fought the urge and stayed the course. I am a not a courageous man, but I am mortally afraid of being called a girly-man.

The scenery, however, was some of the prettiest we've seen - certainly in South Dakota. When we got the Missouri River (it is actually more like a long, skinny lake along the route because it is impounded by a dam about 30-35 miles upstream from Chamberlain) off to our right side- the views were very impressive-kinda Finger Lakes style-from the hilltops. The area is very sparsely populated in spite of the natural beauty and the town of Chamberlain appears to subsist on fisherman (walleyes)and hunters (pheasant).


Today, at the first sag, the staff had painted some stuff on the road commemorating the coast-to-coasters reaching the halfway point in the ride. My loyal readers know that I reached my halfway point a day or two ago, so I didn't get too swept up in the emotion- but did take a picture of Derek posing at the writing. Speaking of Derk, I was riding solo following the first sag and a few miles down the road I heard something behind me, turned and there he was- right behind me. He hung with me for the rest of the ride and we entertained each other as we got pounded by one of the worst cycling roads in America. I'll betcha Borat wouldn't ride on that G.D. road- it really sucked.

At one point I decided I wanted to stop and do something. Derek decided to lay out next to the road and we were soon joined by Richard from OK, who sat on the shoulder next to Derek. I was standing next to them and along come the Three D's, charging down the road. Apparently they saw two bodies laid out on the edge of the road and thought I was signaling for help. Jen was totally freaked out. Seventeen apologies later, I think she's only slightly pissed at us for scaring her. SORRY JEN!!! I'LL NEVER DO IT AGAIN. EVER. HONEST. In retrospect, I'm not quite sure what I did wrong- guess I should have scolded Derek and Richard for unsafe sitting/laying. From now on, I will be my brudda's keepa.

We have two more days to go before our third rest day. The next two days are shorter ones-around 70 miles- than average and not much climbing. The wild card will be heat and wind. Haven't seen a forecast yet, but I'll hear one at rap in about 15 minutes. Signing off for now.