Story of riding a new
bike trail continued from the previous page: “The trail was quite scenic
throughout, & I can see that it will be beautiful when the leaves change
colors soon. I will be taking my digital camera along for the ride each time.
The next time, I suggested that we start at the city (Malvern) where we ended
this time & keep going south, so we can see & experience the whole
trail. I took several decent photos & will be posting those on my biking
page, which will be a part of my weight loss website. There were some lovely
shots off the bridges and of the expanses of farmland with the rolling hills.
I also saw the biggest spider web I have ever seen. It was about 2-3 ft
across & 1-2 ft high. I'd hate to see what kind of a spider lives there!
Even though much of the trail is a wildlife refuge, we didn't see any animals
other than birds. I would love to get a photo of some deer. I keep
looking! On parts of the trail in full sunlight, the grasshoppers were
like a plague. That was the one thing that I wished I'd taken of photo of. As
you rode down the trail, the grasshoppers flew up out of your way & there
were so many, their fleeing bodies made it look like the parting of the Red
Sea. I gladly let Jim go ahead of me in those sections!
I relaxed during the ride & enjoyed almost
all of it. It did get a bit tiring towards the end & on some of the
longer inclines. I'm sure I wouldn't have been as tired if I hadn't gone 52
miles on the Keystone the day before. There aren't as many people on this
trail as the Keystone. Most were bikers, which is good for us, as sometimes
the walkers on the Keystone can (unintentionally) drive you nuts since they
break your momentum. The most tense moment came when we were on the way back
& we had to pass by a huge tree branch that had fell across the trail,
blocking almost all of it. On the way, I was quite cautious, & slowed
down to a near stop. You had to veer clear to one side to get by it, &
duck down to clear the branch. On the way back, I probably approached it
going too fast & I almost wiped out twice. Once was in an attempt not to
hit my head on the large branch & then the second was to recover from the
first near spill. I veered to the right & then to the left hard! Even
though my heart was pounding, I felt good that I must be getting better
control of the bike. I think had this occurred a few months ago, I would have
definitely wiped out. It would have been a bad spill.
As I'm still working on my goal of 100 miles on one ride this year, (at 79
miles tops now) I think that conquering the entire Wabash Trace would make a
great goal for 2003. It's 64 miles long, so that would make 128 miles!
Crazy? Maybe, but I think it's attainable.
The ride of my life, 105 miles: “Sunday morning, September
29th dawned cool & foggy. It was 59 degrees as I pulled on 2 layers of
clothes to prepare for my attempt at a Century ride. My previous high was 79
miles. I had done a 52 mile several times, & a 64 mile once. We have a bike
trail here that goes 26 miles from the North part of our city to a park by
the Missouri river, which is in the county to the south of us. The round trip
makes it 52 miles, so that makes for a nice ride. The park is a good place to
take a break & there is a restroom there as well. Originally, I had a
goal to do the 100 next year, but as I progressed quicker than I thought I
would on my mileage, I felt fairly secure in upping the ante & making the
goal this year, but the pressure was on as the days get shorter & the
temp goes down. I felt like "do or die".
My husband went with me on the first 52 mile run. After that, he bowed out
as his back was bothering him. That first 52 miler was relatively easy. I
kept my pace slower at approximately 13-15mph. I knew from my 79 mile ride,
that if I wanted to make it, I had to keep it slower, at least this year
anyway! Upon our return to the truck, I took hubby home, checked
my tire pressure, replenished my water, & ate 3 tacos. I was on my own to
do the deed. There was nothing but 52 miles & my own sheer will between
me & my goal.
I peeled off my second layer of clothing as the
temperature was soaring. (The high that day was in the 80's.) The main
thing that had changed was that the wind was blowing, whereas before, it was
just a mild breeze. When the trail starts, you are protected somewhat from
the full brunt of the wind, as you are still in town, but by the time you get
to mile 7, you are no longer protected at all.
Someone on the bike newsgroup said that they take each leg of their Century
ride, & devote it to someone. I thought that sounded like a lovely idea,
& so I devoted each 26.3 mile leg to a different person/group. The first
26 miles was for my dear departed Father. He died suddenly of a heart attack
almost 3 years ago on 12/23. He was such a wonderful man, a regular Mr.
Congeniality. He was loved by so many people. I always hope that I can be
just half the person he was. The second 26 miles was devoted to my entire
support group in my weight loss journey. This includes my family & fellow
Weight Watchers members, as well as those I've met online. As I cycled, I
thought of those members who are struggling in their journey, that they could
know just how possible it is to do the things that you never thought
possible. I would have never imagined that I would be attempting to ride a
bike over 100 miles, let alone even one!
The third 26 miles was devoted to my missing
son, Jason. I hoped that if he is alive, that he is doing ok, & that if
he is not, that he is safe in God's loving arms. See
http://members.cox.net/prayersandposters/ if you are curious. In as much as dealing with his
mysterious disappearance has been about the most difficult thing I have dealt
with in my life, this leg of my ride paralleled that, ironically. The wind
beat at me mercilessly. I've rode in strong wind before, but none like this.
Gusts were up to 27mph, & it seemed to never let up. Often, it felt
like the bike would topple over, with me on it. I knew I would have to fight
hard mentally & physically to get through this over all those miles. At
times, I could only go about 7-8mph. I set a goal to get to the next major
intersection. Each time I made it, I would will myself to the next one. Some
people passed by going the other direction, but there were very few riders
going into that awful wind. I reached a point about 12 miles in, & I had
to stop & rest. I strongly considered turning back. It was just too hard.
I heard the voice of a friend at work telling me that he knew I could do it.
I prepared to get back up on the bike, when a woman rode by. She was about 5
years older than me, about the same weight, & was riding effortlessly, or
so it appeared. She had a sports bra on with no top, & her stomach was
hanging out. I figured that's probably what I would look like if I didn't
wear a shirt. For whatever reason, the sight of this woman pushed me to ride
back into the wind & continue on. I'd only been riding again for a few
minutes when she passed by going the other direction. I wanted to
shout:"Thanks, lady for having a fat gut!", but she never would
have understood that I wasn't really insulting her, but thanking her. On I
went into the wind, which seemed to mock me as it tore it way through the
endless rows of corn in the fields surrounding the trail. I thought about
spitting into the wind as a defiant act, but then thought better of it, as
the spit would have went right back at me! Later on down the trail, I came
across an elderly gentleman riding a one speed bike that looked like it came
right out of the 50's. (So did he, for that matter!) That sight propelled me
on. I was at about mile 18 on this most difficult leg. I tried to relax,
although it was very difficult. As I came closer to the river, I
watched two eagles do a dance around each other in mid-air. I saw three
sandhill cranes along the way, too. I'd been trying to get a photo of the
cranes for weeks. Each time I would get close, they would fly away before I
could get the camera ready. They're very camera & people shy, I hear. I
finally was able to sneak up on one & get a photo before he could take
off. Ah, triumph at last! I also got a photo of him in flight. I took several
swigs of water & prepared to battle the wind yet again. I thought it
would make a great reward to have battled the wind all those miles, &
then get to coast back on that last leg. That thought kept me going the rest
of the way to the park.
At the park, I stretched & ate a power bar. I went for my water &
discovered it was very warm...yuck! I still sipped it, but it was
nasty. The place where we rest is right by a marina, & many were either
coming back from boating or preparing to go. A family was transferring things
from their boat to their vehicle within close proximity to my resting place.
I saw a woman with not one, but two coolers! What I wouldn't give for some
cool water, but I thought I must be a scary sight with my sweat drenched
helmet hair, bloodshot eyes, & salty residue all over my face. I stared
at the coolers & licked my lips. I couldn't contain myself any longer
& had to ask if they had any clean, crushed ice. The lady eyed me
cautiously. She must have decided she felt sorry for me & she let me dip
my sweaty hands into her cooler & retrieve as many ice chips as I could.
I explained to her what I was doing & how far I had been. She told her
companion in amazement. I was never so happy to have cold water, but in the
heat it didn't last long. It was better than what I had though. It was time
to go home.
The final leg of my journey was devoted to the glory of God. I figured that
He had helped me come this far in my journey, meaning not just the bike ride,
but everything! I had to thank Him for giving me back my life. The first 6
miles was back into the wind, as that's where it curves back north to head
home. I knew that I could make it another 6, & then I was going to get
that reward of having the wind push me home. I noted that now time was going
to be the enemy as I don't yet have a light for my bike. I had my work cut
out for me. I noticed that the sunset was spectacular! Rays of sunlight
streamed through the clouds. As the sun edged its way to the horizon, shades
of pink, orange, & blue appeared. What a fitting sight, considering my
dedication of this last leg. As I turned the corner to head back north &
to ride with the wind at my back, things changed. The wind died down to just
a slight breeze. I would have to go the rest of the way on my own
power! I hadn't expected that.
To my surprise, with each mile, I felt better
& stronger. I had no doubt that I was going to do this. My only hope was
that I had enough energy left to go fast enough to make it back before dark.
I pedaled at about 15mph. I had a mini-goal for quite some time of going up
an incline & sustaining speeds of 20mph+. At mile 88, I came to a good
incline, & felt like I could go for it. (I don't ask for a lot, do
I?...lol) I came into the incline at 24mph & up I went. I watched
the odometer..24,.23,.22.I was almost to the top..21,.20mph. About 5 ft from
the top, it hit 19mph! Darn! I tried again at mile 91, 93, & 96, but it
was not to be. I decided that I didn't care, at least not for today, as I
watched the odometer in anticipation of its rolling over to 100 miles. The
sun was sinking. I pedaled faster. Oddly enough, I hit the 100 miles while in
the midst of what I called the "Seven Deadly Hills". This was an
area of the trail that used to be extremely difficult for me when I first
started to ride as there are 7 inclines close to each other, which doesn't
give a newbie rider much recovery time. For a time, I would dread that area.
Now I watched as the odometer rolled over to 100. No one was around, & I
could have shouted to the mountaintops, but I just laughed a joyous laugh. I
sat back in the saddle & coasted for a short while. Then, it was time to
kick it in gear as the sun had disappeared from sight, & I still had
miles to go. I think adrenalin surely took me home, & I was very
surprised that I didn't have the typical sore bottom. In fact, I was only
mildly sore in my upper thighs! I rode up to my truck as the last hint
of daylight succumbed to the darkness. The odometer read 105.1 miles. I thanked
God for bringing me home.
October 20, 2002: “I went on a bike ride in
the freezing 42 degree wind this morning. My goal was to climb an incline on
the bike trail we use & to sustain speeds of 20mph+ when completing the
climb. Not only did I do it once, but three times!
Post season 2002: I was thinking about my biking goals for 2003.
I had already decided that I would ride the entire Wabash Trace, but
something was missing in those goals. One day, when I was riding the
Keystone Trail, I saw an elderly woman riding her bike. She had a entry
number on her bike for the B.R.A.N. event. (
Bike Ride Across Nebraska, a 445 mile trek over the course of 7 days in early June) I thought that
was quite an accomplishment for someone her age. The vision of that woman
remained in my mind all season long and when I started thinking about my
goals for 2003, it became clear that I must try BRAN. The more I thought
about it, the more it made sense as the perfect goal. See my
Getting To Goal pages for more about my preparations!
Yes, I plan on writing a
B.R.A.N. journal complete with photos!
To continue on to the photo journal....click
here.
