One of the possibly lesser discussed topics on others' blogs might be that of flatulence, so I just wanted to address the issue, lest it be forgotten!
Let me preempt my rambling by saying that we have all appreciated the food provided for us by the kitchen staff - Lavone and her team have done some very wonderful things inside that kitchen truck, and they continue to amaze us with new savory dishes.
That being said... something in the change in diet that we have all undergone during this tour has caused the large majority of us to experience increased flatulence. At first this was slightly embarrassing because no-one was certain whether it was just themselves, or if others were possibly suffering from similar symptoms. As we grew closer to one another - physically, emotionally... and chemically - we quickly realized that nearly everyone was powered by more than just their legs - we were now gas-powered!
Early on, most people tried to be somewhat modest in their emitting of the aforementioned substances, however it did not take long before all caution was thrown to the wind and one could hear a symphony of farts blasting from tents in all directions. It would be great if this were the only place that farting was witnessed, however, several riders have been so bold as to fart in the gear truck, in the dinner line, and other unmentionable places! I must admit, I'm not innocent on this matter, but i do strongly advocate for a return to our more modest days when one didn't have to worry about what type of scents one experienced around camp, and we could simply appreciate the lovely aroma coming from the kitchen truck.
Enough said!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
A triumphant return to the motherland!
Disclaimer: I apologize in advance for the length of this post. However, if you refer back to my original post, I believe I warned you all about this 'narcicistic' endeavor, and as you may know - i do have a tendancy toward verbosity. So without further ado...
On Wednesday we crossed the border by ferry into Canada and were welcomed by a large group of supporters - as well as plenty of tasty Tim Horton's coffee and other delights! Since that time I have been enjoying the company of family and the warmth of a real bed.
I arrived in Chatham and was met by my grandpa. We went back to his place near Ridgetown and had the typical meat, potatoes and vegetable dinner - i hadn't had grandpa's meatballs in quite some time, so this traditional meal was a welcome bit of variety to my normal diet! Then, as tradition would have it, after dinner we went for a crop tour - although I think grandpa recognizes the fact that I intentionally left my agricultural career behind for a reason, and so rather than the more extensive tour that i'm sure my brothers and father would still get, he simply pointed out which of my uncles or cousins owned which plots of land, and we returned to the homestead for a couple cold ones. I always enjoy visiting my grandpa, and was happy that Chatham was a stop on this tour. I did hear a few of the same stories retold again, but no trip to grandpa's is fcomplete without hearing the one about the little old lady in the back of the church who stood up told the pastor that her husband's first wife was perfect.
The next morning (Thursday) grandpa dropped me off back in Chatham and I continued on to London where I stayed with my brother Richard. On the route leading to London, one of the participants of the Canadian Sea-to-Sea tour in '05 organized a 40km time-trial for us. I obvioulsy couldn't back down from a little friendly competition, although i was slightly nervous because my title of the fastest rider on the tour was now on the line, and time-trialing isn't my strongest suit either! Anyway, luckily the rider who I was most concerned about began just in front of me, so i had my sights on him the entire time. I caught up to him about 20k into the race (he started 1 minute ahead), but i couldn't get much of a lead on him after that. he caught back up to me shortly thereafter, and for the last 10 miles of the race we rode side-by-side. This really helped as we pushed one another to keep up the pace. We finished together, and so my victory was secured - my final time was 1hour and 3 minutes (unofficially). This was about as fast as i had hoped for considering the slight head-wind we were riding into. At any rate I was relieved to have endured that effort and retained my title. We then proceeded to ingest several pounds of tasty roast at a nearby CRC church that was hosting us for lunch.
Later that day, upon entering the city of London we were greeted by a group of people from one of the local churches. I was about to blow right by when I heard some one call out my name - it was my cousin Hannah. This was quite a surprise to see her out there, and it was nice to catch up briefly. When I arrived at my brother's place he was "working" outside on the deck, but he quickly put his laptop away and we enjoyed a couple of Mr. Sleeman's finest in the shade of his new gazebo/tent. When Tara came back from work we drove over to the high school where everyone was camped out and picked up my stuff. It's always nice to give friends and family a better picture of our set-up and introduce them to the people we constantly blog about. After chugging some chocolate milk provided by the local church (this is a rare treat, and therefore worth highlighting!) we returned home for dinner, which was awesome and healthy - way to go Tara... and Rich!
I signed out of the tour in London, and printed off some rough maps to guide me on a detour that I had been hoping to take for some time. I went to visit my Uncle Jake and Aunt MaryAnne in the Guelph area - they live close to where I grew up, and our families were quite close when we lived there. I had the chance to pass by my old high school on the way, and I took the same route that I had taken on several occasions when I had biked to school in the past... ah, nostalgia! My cousin Jeremy showed up that evening as well which was nice, and we caught up on our respective life situations and aspirations (isn't it amazing how you can make something so regular sound so much more sophisticated with the right choice of words? ok Reuben, too much coffee!) Right, so the next morning I slept in and had a relaxing coffee with Jake and MarryAnne on their new patio, and finally got on the road after 10am - that's the way every morning should go!
For those of you who worry about my safety on the roads I won't describe in detail the route I took to arrive in St. Catharines, but I will say that I am safe and sound at my Aunt Yolanda and Uncle George's house, and am looking forward to seeing my parents and other relatives this evening.
More interesting and more concise posts to follow...
On Wednesday we crossed the border by ferry into Canada and were welcomed by a large group of supporters - as well as plenty of tasty Tim Horton's coffee and other delights! Since that time I have been enjoying the company of family and the warmth of a real bed.
I arrived in Chatham and was met by my grandpa. We went back to his place near Ridgetown and had the typical meat, potatoes and vegetable dinner - i hadn't had grandpa's meatballs in quite some time, so this traditional meal was a welcome bit of variety to my normal diet! Then, as tradition would have it, after dinner we went for a crop tour - although I think grandpa recognizes the fact that I intentionally left my agricultural career behind for a reason, and so rather than the more extensive tour that i'm sure my brothers and father would still get, he simply pointed out which of my uncles or cousins owned which plots of land, and we returned to the homestead for a couple cold ones. I always enjoy visiting my grandpa, and was happy that Chatham was a stop on this tour. I did hear a few of the same stories retold again, but no trip to grandpa's is fcomplete without hearing the one about the little old lady in the back of the church who stood up told the pastor that her husband's first wife was perfect.
The next morning (Thursday) grandpa dropped me off back in Chatham and I continued on to London where I stayed with my brother Richard. On the route leading to London, one of the participants of the Canadian Sea-to-Sea tour in '05 organized a 40km time-trial for us. I obvioulsy couldn't back down from a little friendly competition, although i was slightly nervous because my title of the fastest rider on the tour was now on the line, and time-trialing isn't my strongest suit either! Anyway, luckily the rider who I was most concerned about began just in front of me, so i had my sights on him the entire time. I caught up to him about 20k into the race (he started 1 minute ahead), but i couldn't get much of a lead on him after that. he caught back up to me shortly thereafter, and for the last 10 miles of the race we rode side-by-side. This really helped as we pushed one another to keep up the pace. We finished together, and so my victory was secured - my final time was 1hour and 3 minutes (unofficially). This was about as fast as i had hoped for considering the slight head-wind we were riding into. At any rate I was relieved to have endured that effort and retained my title. We then proceeded to ingest several pounds of tasty roast at a nearby CRC church that was hosting us for lunch.
Later that day, upon entering the city of London we were greeted by a group of people from one of the local churches. I was about to blow right by when I heard some one call out my name - it was my cousin Hannah. This was quite a surprise to see her out there, and it was nice to catch up briefly. When I arrived at my brother's place he was "working" outside on the deck, but he quickly put his laptop away and we enjoyed a couple of Mr. Sleeman's finest in the shade of his new gazebo/tent. When Tara came back from work we drove over to the high school where everyone was camped out and picked up my stuff. It's always nice to give friends and family a better picture of our set-up and introduce them to the people we constantly blog about. After chugging some chocolate milk provided by the local church (this is a rare treat, and therefore worth highlighting!) we returned home for dinner, which was awesome and healthy - way to go Tara... and Rich!
I signed out of the tour in London, and printed off some rough maps to guide me on a detour that I had been hoping to take for some time. I went to visit my Uncle Jake and Aunt MaryAnne in the Guelph area - they live close to where I grew up, and our families were quite close when we lived there. I had the chance to pass by my old high school on the way, and I took the same route that I had taken on several occasions when I had biked to school in the past... ah, nostalgia! My cousin Jeremy showed up that evening as well which was nice, and we caught up on our respective life situations and aspirations (isn't it amazing how you can make something so regular sound so much more sophisticated with the right choice of words? ok Reuben, too much coffee!) Right, so the next morning I slept in and had a relaxing coffee with Jake and MarryAnne on their new patio, and finally got on the road after 10am - that's the way every morning should go!
For those of you who worry about my safety on the roads I won't describe in detail the route I took to arrive in St. Catharines, but I will say that I am safe and sound at my Aunt Yolanda and Uncle George's house, and am looking forward to seeing my parents and other relatives this evening.
More interesting and more concise posts to follow...
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
More random pics
Hans and Nick showing off their tan lines for the camera...
Me looking pensive... contemplating life at a coffee shop near Dordt College
Julie and I trade bites from two very delicious doughnuts, mmmmmm!
Julie and I trying to perform the same stunt while biking... we didn't fare as well this time!
Me looking pensive... contemplating life at a coffee shop near Dordt College
Julie and I trade bites from two very delicious doughnuts, mmmmmm!
Julie and I trying to perform the same stunt while biking... we didn't fare as well this time!
Three states later, and the first one to GR!
Last week, in 5 days of riding I travelled through 4 different states. Monday started in Wisconsin and ended in Illinois. Tuesday (which ended up being one of my longest riding days ever!) we arrived at Trinity Christian College outside of Chicago. Wednesday we stayed at Indiana Dunes State park in the northwest corner of Indiana. Thursday we entered Michigan, and on Friday a few of us pulled a double and found our way to Grand Rapids a day early.
Here's a little recap of this weeks highlights:
Monday was the infamous ride with my mom, see previous post.
Tuesday was my sweep day and we were on a bike path for about 35 miles. However, several riders (yours truly included) took a wrong turn at a fork in the road. We successfully navigated our way back to the route and stumbled upon the usual suspect, everyone's favourite 'long day rider', Gayle Harrison. When we got to the next SAG we took a good half hour nap to give her time to get ahead. Unfortunately, that was the last we saw of her... she made it in safely, but our crew had a few problem flats that kept us out until 7:40pm. This was too bad too because I was supposed to meet my parents at Trinity that afternoon... although as this was the place where those two lovebirds first met i'm sure they were lost in the memories and didn't even notice my absence(jk)! So mom said her final good-byes to everyone she had met on the tour and my parents were off to return home to the real world. That night I enjoyed a few local brews at Aaron's parents' place - I highly suggest the Goose Island 312 if you can find it!
Wednesday was a very eventful and enjoyable day. We were well fed by one of the local churches along the route, after which I joined up with the usual suspects: Hans, Nick, Julie, Carrie (who returned to the tour for this week), as well as Stephanie. We were laughing and carrying on as usual, and enjoying a beautiful bike path which lead us away from the urban mess which some might more affectionately refer to as Chicago. At one point on the path Nick was pulling three of us... literally pulling, yes! Carrie grabbed on to Nick's safety vest, I grabbed on to hers, Hans grabbed mine... then Julie tried to grab on to Hans and things went wrong. Hans went down and landed square on his rear end, and i'm still not quite sure how I didn't go down with him. Steph was behind us the whole time recording this scene with her camera, i'll try to get the clip soon. Somehow my rear wheel went out of true in this incident, but it wasn't too bad and I was able to get it fixed in Holland on the way to GR.
Thursday we entered Michigan and I stopped to visit Lesa, who is back from her Peace Corps assignment in Guatamala, as well as her family at Ben and Mindy's house in the St. Joseph area - the route came within three blocks of their house, so it was easy to find. I showed up earlier than expected - around noon - and I surprised Mindy who was cleaning the house in preparation for the family's arrival. In typical fashion, I figured Lesa (aka Mota) would have let them know I was meeting them there, and Mota figured I would have called ahead of time, but everything worked out fine and the rest of the crew showed up an hour later. It was good to see them all again, albeit a brief visit.
On Friday, Kevin, Kyle and I decided to skip the night in Grand Haven and head straight to Grand Rapids. After a quick pitstop in Holland we carried on to GR and arrived much faster than we anticipated even though we were biking straight into a headwind. With extra time to kill I found my way back to the ole butter factory to surprise some of my former co-workers. It's been two years since I worked at Butterball Farms, and not much has changed since then - I did found out that my position is once again vacant... But as much as I would love to work with that crew again, I just couldn't move back to that city.
We stayed at kevin's old house in east town, and we completed the typical GR experience by going to Yesterdogs for some late night hearty grub. It was great to wake up Saturday and know that I didn't have to get on my bike, other than a short 10min jant to the alma mater, Calvin College, to meet up with the tour again.
Here's a little recap of this weeks highlights:
Monday was the infamous ride with my mom, see previous post.
Tuesday was my sweep day and we were on a bike path for about 35 miles. However, several riders (yours truly included) took a wrong turn at a fork in the road. We successfully navigated our way back to the route and stumbled upon the usual suspect, everyone's favourite 'long day rider', Gayle Harrison. When we got to the next SAG we took a good half hour nap to give her time to get ahead. Unfortunately, that was the last we saw of her... she made it in safely, but our crew had a few problem flats that kept us out until 7:40pm. This was too bad too because I was supposed to meet my parents at Trinity that afternoon... although as this was the place where those two lovebirds first met i'm sure they were lost in the memories and didn't even notice my absence(jk)! So mom said her final good-byes to everyone she had met on the tour and my parents were off to return home to the real world. That night I enjoyed a few local brews at Aaron's parents' place - I highly suggest the Goose Island 312 if you can find it!
Wednesday was a very eventful and enjoyable day. We were well fed by one of the local churches along the route, after which I joined up with the usual suspects: Hans, Nick, Julie, Carrie (who returned to the tour for this week), as well as Stephanie. We were laughing and carrying on as usual, and enjoying a beautiful bike path which lead us away from the urban mess which some might more affectionately refer to as Chicago. At one point on the path Nick was pulling three of us... literally pulling, yes! Carrie grabbed on to Nick's safety vest, I grabbed on to hers, Hans grabbed mine... then Julie tried to grab on to Hans and things went wrong. Hans went down and landed square on his rear end, and i'm still not quite sure how I didn't go down with him. Steph was behind us the whole time recording this scene with her camera, i'll try to get the clip soon. Somehow my rear wheel went out of true in this incident, but it wasn't too bad and I was able to get it fixed in Holland on the way to GR.
Thursday we entered Michigan and I stopped to visit Lesa, who is back from her Peace Corps assignment in Guatamala, as well as her family at Ben and Mindy's house in the St. Joseph area - the route came within three blocks of their house, so it was easy to find. I showed up earlier than expected - around noon - and I surprised Mindy who was cleaning the house in preparation for the family's arrival. In typical fashion, I figured Lesa (aka Mota) would have let them know I was meeting them there, and Mota figured I would have called ahead of time, but everything worked out fine and the rest of the crew showed up an hour later. It was good to see them all again, albeit a brief visit.
On Friday, Kevin, Kyle and I decided to skip the night in Grand Haven and head straight to Grand Rapids. After a quick pitstop in Holland we carried on to GR and arrived much faster than we anticipated even though we were biking straight into a headwind. With extra time to kill I found my way back to the ole butter factory to surprise some of my former co-workers. It's been two years since I worked at Butterball Farms, and not much has changed since then - I did found out that my position is once again vacant... But as much as I would love to work with that crew again, I just couldn't move back to that city.
We stayed at kevin's old house in east town, and we completed the typical GR experience by going to Yesterdogs for some late night hearty grub. It was great to wake up Saturday and know that I didn't have to get on my bike, other than a short 10min jant to the alma mater, Calvin College, to meet up with the tour again.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
The Wisconsin Experience
In a short span of time (only three riding days) we passed through the great state of Wisconsin. The most noticeable difference compared to Iowa was the quality of roads as well as the coffee, not to mention the wonderful people who hosted us in Madison. They treated us like royalty all weekend long - from shuttles to do laundry, to movies and great food, we were very well taken care of.
My dad came up Saturday night to retrieve his wife, and they found a campsite not far from where we were staying. They kindly lent me their vehicle that night so that a number of us youngen could go out and enjoy all that the downtown had to offer. We went to the university district which is set on the beautiful lake Mendota, and tasted a variety of local micro-brews at an open air patio. On Sunday after the celebration service and lunch - where I gleefully consumed 4 brats in addition to several salads and handfuls of cookies - Amanda came to visit for the second weekend in a row. After sending both my mother and Amanda for a ride on Billy's Harley, we set out in search of a coffee joint to relax for a bit. We drove for a while but couldn't even find a starbucks, so we ended up going to the arboretum for a walk. The rest of the evening was very relaxing, and i sent my mother to bed early since she had a long day ahead of her on Monday...
This was to be my mother's last hoorah on the trip. For several weeks she had been planning on cycling for a day, and that day finally arrived as we left Madison and headed for Woodstock, IL. She was very excited, although slightly anxious as well, but before I even had a chance to say good-bye to dad and Amanda she was already a mile down the road - i had to work pretty hard just to catch her! She kept a faster pace than I had anticipated, especially since her bike weighs twice as much as mine and she doesn't have clipless pedals either! The day was very enjoyable, it was good to spend some quality mother-son time together - we both were amazed that during the two weeks she was on tour we hardly saw one another, so this was very special for both of us. We passed several groups of riders, and were in the first third of those arriving in camp that afternoon - which is pretty good since we didn't leave any earlier than i normally do myself! Maybe it was her fast pace, or maybe it was the excitement of the weekend's events, but i needed two naps in order to recover after this eventful day...
pics to come later, sorry - it's supper time!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Saddle sores...
Seing as there is not much to report about our long days through the rolling hills of Iowa, I'll resort to a short rambling on everyone's favorite sbject: saddle sores. Please, only read on if you are not negaively affected by graphic descriptions of "private" matters.
One of the most painful experiences that a cyclist can endure isn't always a result of a bad crash, but rather is often due to saddle sores. For a more complete description of this term, please check the following site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddle_sores. The frequency and seriousness of saddle sores is obviously increased when one spends increasing amounts of time on the road. Therefore, on a 9-week tour, this becomes an extremely important issue! Most of us combat this potential problem through the use of products such as bag balm, udder butter or even vaseline - really anything slimey will do the trick! Nevertheless, regardless of your product of choice, not even the professional cyclist is immune. Case and point, I struggled with this issue thrugh parts of week 3 and 4. I'll spare you the details, but I will say that I was grateful for the amount of hills we had which required me to be up out of the saddle! You'll be happy to know that everything down under has healed quite nicely and with the addition of my aero-bars I now have another position available for my beehind on my saddle.
Sorry if this may have caused you to lose your appetite, but this is a fact of life that we cyclists deal with on a regular basis, and I thought this might give you a better insight into my daily joys and struggles of life in the saddle!
ps. no pictures will be posted on this subject, lest they be circulated around the Pentagon on the basis that they were somehow mistaken for blown up images of WMDs in Iraq... (this is for the Arrested Development fans out there!)
One of the most painful experiences that a cyclist can endure isn't always a result of a bad crash, but rather is often due to saddle sores. For a more complete description of this term, please check the following site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddle_sores. The frequency and seriousness of saddle sores is obviously increased when one spends increasing amounts of time on the road. Therefore, on a 9-week tour, this becomes an extremely important issue! Most of us combat this potential problem through the use of products such as bag balm, udder butter or even vaseline - really anything slimey will do the trick! Nevertheless, regardless of your product of choice, not even the professional cyclist is immune. Case and point, I struggled with this issue thrugh parts of week 3 and 4. I'll spare you the details, but I will say that I was grateful for the amount of hills we had which required me to be up out of the saddle! You'll be happy to know that everything down under has healed quite nicely and with the addition of my aero-bars I now have another position available for my beehind on my saddle.
Sorry if this may have caused you to lose your appetite, but this is a fact of life that we cyclists deal with on a regular basis, and I thought this might give you a better insight into my daily joys and struggles of life in the saddle!
ps. no pictures will be posted on this subject, lest they be circulated around the Pentagon on the basis that they were somehow mistaken for blown up images of WMDs in Iraq... (this is for the Arrested Development fans out there!)
Entering Iowa
On Monday we entered the great state of Iowa... much the same scenery as we found in Nebraska: corn, soybeans and a very limited amount of coffee shops. We started to head north in order to arrive at Dordt College on Tuesday afternoon. We were very well received there, with dorm rooms to sleep in and a pizza and chicken dinner. I hadn't been to Dordt since I last visited my brother Justin there some 8-10 years ago, and there have been many changes made to the campus.
My friend Paul (used to live in the 10th street house in Portland with me) met me there along with his friend Nina, and we hit up the free bowling lanes for a few games. I somehow managed a score of 145 in the first game, but things steadily declined from there.
Later that night we had a celebration service, so i threw on the ole yellow shirt and suit jacket combination for good measure. Most everyone went to bed early since Wednesday was the first of three consecutive century rides. When we woke we were greeted by sheets of rain, although this was somewhat of a welcome surprise compared to the heat that we had been experiencing previously. After a typical dining hall breakfast, we hit the wet roads with eager anticipation of a west wind... and we certainly got it. The clouds cleared around noon, and the tailwind pushed us all the way into Algona - it's great to ride at 20+ mph and not have to pedal!
Today again, we set out for another 112 miles. However, this time we weren't as fortunate with the winds and actually had to work for this one! I took my sweet time mostly today, making long stops for gas station coffee and ice-cream, as well as popsicles provided by John Elzinga's fiancee who has been following along with us since Omaha.
Well, i pretty much stink, and i'm sitting in a public library making their keyboard all dirty, so i'm going to head back to camp and clean up... hygeine standards really go out the window on tours like this - except for purell, but don't get me started!
My friend Paul (used to live in the 10th street house in Portland with me) met me there along with his friend Nina, and we hit up the free bowling lanes for a few games. I somehow managed a score of 145 in the first game, but things steadily declined from there.
Later that night we had a celebration service, so i threw on the ole yellow shirt and suit jacket combination for good measure. Most everyone went to bed early since Wednesday was the first of three consecutive century rides. When we woke we were greeted by sheets of rain, although this was somewhat of a welcome surprise compared to the heat that we had been experiencing previously. After a typical dining hall breakfast, we hit the wet roads with eager anticipation of a west wind... and we certainly got it. The clouds cleared around noon, and the tailwind pushed us all the way into Algona - it's great to ride at 20+ mph and not have to pedal!
Today again, we set out for another 112 miles. However, this time we weren't as fortunate with the winds and actually had to work for this one! I took my sweet time mostly today, making long stops for gas station coffee and ice-cream, as well as popsicles provided by John Elzinga's fiancee who has been following along with us since Omaha.
Well, i pretty much stink, and i'm sitting in a public library making their keyboard all dirty, so i'm going to head back to camp and clean up... hygeine standards really go out the window on tours like this - except for purell, but don't get me started!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Weekend visits
The past few weekends I’ve had the chance to visit with friends and family which has been great. It started with the surprise visit of my parents in the Denver area – which turned out to be a longer stay for my mom – and then I briefly visited with Adam and Megan in Denver, and then with Amanda as well Adrian’s dad near Omaha.
I had hoped to visit with Adam and Megan on Saturday, but our epic climb brought us into town late that day, not to mention Adam was rather sick at the time. But we finally got together Sunday evening for a short night-cap at his lovely abode just north of Denver University. Megan is studying in the law program at DU and through her resourcefulness, landed her and Adam the chance to live in the Phipps mansion free of charge in exchange for some weekly duties organizing events etc. I didn’t take many pictures, but I couldn’t stop from habitually picking my jaw up from the floor – this place was immaculate! Just to name some of the details: there were original manuscripts in the library from Edgar Allen Poe, Mark Twain and others; there was an ornate Steinway in the living area next to the covered tennis courts; murals and much fine wood carving in well decorated rooms.
We enjoyed a few brews in the soda fountain room which was signed by many of the Phipps guests – Marilyn Monroe among many others. It was great to catch up if even for a short while.
This past weekend in Fremont (near Omaha)…
My friend Amanda came to visit from Iowa City and she picked me and my mom up in Fremont after my long sweep day, and brought us to Adrian’s (my roommate in Portland) parents place - they live in Elkhorn, just outside of Omaha. It was too bad that Adrian wasn’t there - he just flew home a few days earlier. This is now the second time that I have visited his parents without him actually being at home!
It was great to spend a night away from the busy-ness of the tour, as well as enjoy great company, the comfort of air conditioning, and the blessing of being able to sleep in a real bed! We also got to enjoy some great German products that they brought back from their recent travels.
Mark, Adrian’s dad, is the pastor at Bethany Lutheran in Elkhorn, Nebraska and we had the opportunity to attend one of the services Sunday morning. Mark kindly pointed us out as his guests and had us stand during the service – he told the congregation about the tour, and had me show everyone my stellar farmer’s tan. That afternoon we shared a great Sunday dinner together – thanks for grilling Mark! This was such a refreshing and restful weekend, and I’m now ready for another long week in the saddle.
Here's a pic of Amanda and I next to the gear truck at camp:
And here's evidence that my mom is indeed earning her keep on the tour!
I had hoped to visit with Adam and Megan on Saturday, but our epic climb brought us into town late that day, not to mention Adam was rather sick at the time. But we finally got together Sunday evening for a short night-cap at his lovely abode just north of Denver University. Megan is studying in the law program at DU and through her resourcefulness, landed her and Adam the chance to live in the Phipps mansion free of charge in exchange for some weekly duties organizing events etc. I didn’t take many pictures, but I couldn’t stop from habitually picking my jaw up from the floor – this place was immaculate! Just to name some of the details: there were original manuscripts in the library from Edgar Allen Poe, Mark Twain and others; there was an ornate Steinway in the living area next to the covered tennis courts; murals and much fine wood carving in well decorated rooms.
We enjoyed a few brews in the soda fountain room which was signed by many of the Phipps guests – Marilyn Monroe among many others. It was great to catch up if even for a short while.
This past weekend in Fremont (near Omaha)…
My friend Amanda came to visit from Iowa City and she picked me and my mom up in Fremont after my long sweep day, and brought us to Adrian’s (my roommate in Portland) parents place - they live in Elkhorn, just outside of Omaha. It was too bad that Adrian wasn’t there - he just flew home a few days earlier. This is now the second time that I have visited his parents without him actually being at home!
It was great to spend a night away from the busy-ness of the tour, as well as enjoy great company, the comfort of air conditioning, and the blessing of being able to sleep in a real bed! We also got to enjoy some great German products that they brought back from their recent travels.
Mark, Adrian’s dad, is the pastor at Bethany Lutheran in Elkhorn, Nebraska and we had the opportunity to attend one of the services Sunday morning. Mark kindly pointed us out as his guests and had us stand during the service – he told the congregation about the tour, and had me show everyone my stellar farmer’s tan. That afternoon we shared a great Sunday dinner together – thanks for grilling Mark! This was such a refreshing and restful weekend, and I’m now ready for another long week in the saddle.
Here's a pic of Amanda and I next to the gear truck at camp:
And here's evidence that my mom is indeed earning her keep on the tour!
Denver to Omaha recap
The past week was rather long and hot – our average distance bumped up to 90-some miles per day, and the humidity slowly became a factor… needless to say, leaving the mountains was a little difficult for me. The possibility for additional excursions is diminishing as rapidly as the scenic photo opportunities – unless you’re into horticulture!
I began the week riding solo: listening to music, collecting my thoughts and spending some time in an introspective state. It was really refreshing to start my days this way, and it really gave me a renewed perspective on why I am doing this tour, and what it means to be a part of an initiative like the Sea to Sea. However, the long straight roads of eastern Colorado and Western Nebraska started to wear on my patience, and after a while I would find some friends to ride with on the route. Thankfully, we were fortunate enough to have several pools to cool off in along the route this past week – that definitely rejuvenates the body after the long days!
Here's a shot of me riding solo... oh wait, this was actually from Denver's celebration rally - the plaid sports coat has become a sunday tradition now!
This week was also spent trying to convince our friends who left us in Denver (Carrie and Kincso in particular) to rejoin us on the tour. Things are looking positive, and that gives a number of us some additional motivation to make it through the Midwest humidity. Carrie actually paid us a visit in Minden as she drove back from Denver to Minneapolis. Thanks again to Mrs. Groen for the ice-cream that afternoon!
The last day of this week I was on sweep duty, and it ended up being alright – the day, while quite hot and humid was rather enjoyable. The regular group of 7 riders (plus another this day) took our time and stopped soon into the route for coffee/lunch to make sure we wouldn’t catch up to any riders too quickly. We did catch up to the infamous Gayle Harrison – one of our ‘long day riders’ that is incredibly motivated and has a wild sense of humour – and I enjoyed riding with her, sharing laughs carrying on. For Gayle's take on this lovely day, see this link: http://gayleharrison.blogspot.com/2008/08/saturday-august-2-riding-with-reuben.html
Next week looks to be much of the same: long days with high heat and humidity… now I remember why I left the Mid-West for the cool climate of the Northwest!
I began the week riding solo: listening to music, collecting my thoughts and spending some time in an introspective state. It was really refreshing to start my days this way, and it really gave me a renewed perspective on why I am doing this tour, and what it means to be a part of an initiative like the Sea to Sea. However, the long straight roads of eastern Colorado and Western Nebraska started to wear on my patience, and after a while I would find some friends to ride with on the route. Thankfully, we were fortunate enough to have several pools to cool off in along the route this past week – that definitely rejuvenates the body after the long days!
Here's a shot of me riding solo... oh wait, this was actually from Denver's celebration rally - the plaid sports coat has become a sunday tradition now!
This week was also spent trying to convince our friends who left us in Denver (Carrie and Kincso in particular) to rejoin us on the tour. Things are looking positive, and that gives a number of us some additional motivation to make it through the Midwest humidity. Carrie actually paid us a visit in Minden as she drove back from Denver to Minneapolis. Thanks again to Mrs. Groen for the ice-cream that afternoon!
The last day of this week I was on sweep duty, and it ended up being alright – the day, while quite hot and humid was rather enjoyable. The regular group of 7 riders (plus another this day) took our time and stopped soon into the route for coffee/lunch to make sure we wouldn’t catch up to any riders too quickly. We did catch up to the infamous Gayle Harrison – one of our ‘long day riders’ that is incredibly motivated and has a wild sense of humour – and I enjoyed riding with her, sharing laughs carrying on. For Gayle's take on this lovely day, see this link: http://gayleharrison.blogspot.com/2008/08/saturday-august-2-riding-with-reuben.html
Next week looks to be much of the same: long days with high heat and humidity… now I remember why I left the Mid-West for the cool climate of the Northwest!
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