Before the ride, written on 8/2/03:

Tomorrow I don't think I'll be around much, if at all. Why? Because I am going for the BIG honking biking goal of riding the entire Wabash Trace Nature Trail & then back. This will be a total of 125 or 128 miles, depending on the source, and I will see what number lands on my odometer. This trail goes from Council Bluffs, Iowa, which is right across the river from me here in Omaha, and it ends at the Missouri state border. I intend to step across that border!
For those who don't know me, this is quite the about face from the girl who could barely walk 10' without being out of breath, and who had to sit down for 5 minutes to recover from walking up a flight of stairs.
This really isn't about riding a bike. It's much more complex than that. It's about dreams, and taking action upon those dreams. It's about removing your fears & the limitations we place upon ourselves. It's about what we can be & who we can be when we put our entire mind, body & spirit to it.
Even if I should fail to make the entire distance tomorrow, I will have given myself another opportunity to do this. The true failure would be in not making the attempt at all.
T.S. Elliot said: “Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.”
Grasp life by the horns & see what it has in store for you. Life is a wide open playing field. We're the players, and we all can play ball!

After the ride, written on 8/03/03:

My second biking goal this season was to bike the entire Wabash Trace Nature trail back & forth in one day. This is a rails to trails that starts in Council Bluffs, IA, which is across the river from where I live in Omaha. It ends in a small town right by the Missouri state border. For more info about the Wabash, please see: http://www.trailsfromrails.com/wabash_trace_trail.htm

 The trail is beautiful, and it seems as if you go through a portal of time to an era when peace & quiet & nature reigned supreme. Often, you are riding down what I can only describe as a “tunnel of trees”. I have some photos of the Wabash here.

 Even in the light of day, the trees are like a thick canvas, obliterating the light of the sun. At other times, you are riding in America’s Heartland, in the backyard of farmland. The grasshoppers are thick all over the trail, and when you ride, there is a constant flurry of them fleeing the wrath of your bike tires. It can, however, become annoying after awhile, as they hit your legs like the sting of gravel flying up at you. Sometimes they even try to hitch a ride, but I don’t let them get away with that!  The surface is like compacted dirt, so it is harder to ride than the paved surface of the Keystone Trail, which I love.

 The towns that you pass through are quite small, with the exception of Shenandoah, which has over 1000 people. They are used to the bikers coming in from the trail, and are accommodating. They’re also friendly, and often strike up a conversation.

 Today I decided to go for the goal. The weather report was for a high in the mid 80’s with fairly moderate wind and no rain. I woke up very early as I didn’t really want to be on the trail in the dark. Knowing how dark it is in the tunnel of trees in the daylight, I sure didn’t want to find out just how dark (and spooky) it would be at night. Besides, I ride by myself, so it’s best to get done before night falls. (Who would want to ride with me…can you imagine asking a friend: “Hey, how about a nice bike ride of well over a hundred miles?”)  LOL

 I ate a good breakfast & made the 30 minute drive to the trailhead. I almost forgot my cell phone at home, and I kept thinking something else was missing. I arrived at the trailhead & was getting ready to depart, when I realized what I had forgotten. It was my helmet and biking gloves! I couldn’t believe that I had forgotten the most vital pieces of equipment. I had to make a decision. If I went back home to get the equipment, I would be riding in the dark for quite awhile. If I went without it, I could risk an injury. If I went home, I felt that I might as well abort. It was going to be such a good day. It just felt right. I hoped I would not regret my decision to ride on. I set out for a very long day at 7:45am.

 The first half of the ride to Missouri was uneventful. When you are fresh into the ride, you can work through all sorts of ideas in your head. I thought of things I would talk about in my upcoming seminar on weight loss and I thought of what I would do for my next year’s biking goals. I thought of my mentoring group, the “Adoptees”  and I thought about all my good online friends who had wished me well today. I thought about my husband, Jim, and son, Michael, and I wondered what they were doing. I prayed as well.  I couldn’t forget God, as it is He who gives me the strength to do these things.

 It was difficult to fathom that I was going to ride that far. After 5 miles, I looked at my odometer, and thought: “Gee, only 125 to go!”  I knew I had to try to ignore the count for as long as I could, so I just took the journey one town at a time. Soon I was approaching the final destination. I had never been there before and I had no idea what this town was like, or how big it was. The town turned out to be very tiny & many of the buildings I saw were in disrepair. I saw what appeared to be the trail’s end as it had one of those containers in which you place your payment to ride the trail. ($1.00 per day) There was a man jogging nearby, and I asked him if this was indeed the end of the trail. I also asked him where the Missouri border was. I wanted to step into another state! It was the end of the trail and the man explained where the border was. We exited the trail & walked together for awhile, talking about it. He asked how far I had come, and he was totally amazed. I’m not going to describe the town’s gas station, which was right on the border. You have to see the photos below. This place had to the most quaint (and funny) place I have ever seen.

 After I left Blanchard, I “zoned” out in my riding. I was one with the pedals, you might say. When you are doing a very long ride, you have to do this to burn up some time. I rode in a relaxed fashion, not looking at my speed or the mileage accumulation. I focused on the road and went by feel alone for shifting. I was able to ride that way for quite awhile, but when I came to Shenandoah, I knew that the rest of the trip was going to be much more difficult. I still had over 30 miles to go, which is not long in general, but after riding 80 miles it is oh so very long. I called Jim from Shenandoah to let him know where I was and that I was doing ok.

 When I left Shenandoah, things went downhill really fast, and I don’t mean literally. I felt like each mile was ten miles long. It was going so slow and I felt so tired. I had to play every head game in the book to keep on going. I was still taking it one town at a time, but the mileage wasn’t budging. Mile number 95 seemed stuck for eternity. Without my gloves, my hands were quite sore by this time. Other parts of my anatomy were even sorer. I read on a sign that there were 73 bridges on the trail. Those bridges, which were usually fun to cross, were now torturous. Every vibration reminded me of the aches and pains. I started to feel poorly, even though it was not hot. I knew I had enough hydration with having a 100oz water pack, which I filled twice, plus two larger Gatorades, but it felt as if I was at the beginnings of dehydration and crashing!

 I knew I was in trouble with feeling this way with 30 long miles to go. I kept wondering if it was all in my mind because I was tired. I worried that if I became ill along the trail that no one would come along for a long time. I felt as if I could vomit, which is certainly not a good sign! I wanted to stop and call Jim and tell him to come and get me, but something kept me from making that phone call. The next town finally came and somehow I kept going. I prayed a lot, but had a difficult time focusing because of how I was feeling. I tried to figure out if I was not thinking clearly because of my fatigue and that I was foolhardy for not just stopping right then and there. I just wasn’t sure, but I kept going, very slowly.

 I made to the next town, Malvern, and I stopped and ate a burger. I hoped that eating this might help me feel better and give me renewed energy. It did to some extent, but was minimal help. I was 5 miles from Silver City, which is three towns away from what I wanted to be my final destination. I thought surely I could make it there. There was a place where I could buy another Gatorade, which I planned to do. For some reason, I always get confused about the mileage between Malvern & Silver City, and it is actually 8 miles. If I had remembered that, I would have quit & called Jim right then & there. I planned to call him for a pick up in Silver City, unless things radically changed. It seemed like such a shame that I would be so close and yet so far! I was very disappointed.

 Along the way, I saw something that I’ve always wanted to see along the trail, but never had. There was a huge deer standing right on the trail ahead of me. It turned around and saw me coming, and it then did a beautiful leap up in the air as if to demonstrate his abilities for me. He then disappeared into the brush. I did see other animals today, including many rabbits and a large bird called a Blue Heron.

 I arrived in Silver City, not wanting to call Jim, but wanting to at the same time. I just wanted to go home. I felt so awful all over. I held off calling him until I had my Gatorade. There were a couple of bikers in that shop, who were riding a recumbent tandem, which is always a neat sight. They had seen me in Malvern, and they asked how far I had been today. They had rode between those two towns and were going home after they ate. I told them where I had been, and I can honestly say that I have never seen two people’s jaws drop so far down in all my life. I told them I was having a bit of trouble, and I pointed to the Gatorade, saying: “I sure hope this helps, although I’m not sure it’s going to.” They both said they thought it would and reminded me that I only had 15 miles to go. I felt like I couldn’t possibly call Jim as I was so close. I still felt awful. I decided to see if I could make it to Mineola, the last town before Council Bluffs, where the truck sat waiting for me.

 The ride was a great struggle. I wondered if I would be found lying on the side of the road. I hoped not. Suddenly, I felt strong again, almost as if I had just started the ride. I was amazed at this and wondered how I went from feeling horrible one second to feeling good again. My pace picked up and I was shocked to see that I was going 15mph again. I was even able to pick it up to between 15-18mph. I had a very strong feeling that the assistance had come from above, and that perhaps at that moment, someone, or maybe several people, were praying hard for me, and that God granted their petitions. I looked at my watch. It was 3 minutes until 8.

 Darkness was coming. The locusts had already started their night symphony, and were soon joined by the crickets and all other sorts of creatures. I pedaled faster. I came to an historical marker that marked a town that no longer existed. I knew that 6 miles remained. I also knew that there was no doubt in my mind that I would finish. I laughed out loud, and hoped that no one was nearby, as they would have thought I was nuts! I also thanked God for letting me accomplish one more feat. Early on in the ride, I had been thinking of trying for 150 miles in one day for a goal for next year, but I felt in my heart that He wanted me to end the high distance attempts at this mileage, and that there were other things I could accomplish with my biking. I was ok with this. After all, how many people can say that they rode a bike that kind of distance in one day? I was ever so grateful that He gave me the ability to do it.

 The end of the ride loomed ever closer as darkness closed in. I made it to the trailhead just as the sun left its lovely orange and pink remnants on the horizon. I had been gone for 13 ¼ hours. My ride time was 11:46.  My odometer also showed that I have ridden a total of 2,697 miles on this bike, which I purchased in early July of 2002. My odometer read 130 miles for today. I looked at it and smiled, even with knowing I would never see it go any higher. I had accomplished what I had set out to do, and I knew that God now had other plans for me.

 

 

 

 

 

The “gas station” in Blanchard, Iowa at trail’s end.  Some people’s closets are bigger than this place!

I was curious what would happen if anyone but Bob parked here.  Everything here was so quaint. Notice the large pot bellied stove to your right.

I’m standing in Missouri taking this photo. Notice the sign on the gas pump, the only gas pump, I might add. The “Entering Missouri sign is right around the corner.

I hoped that Bob & Mary Ann really didn’t live here.  I wondered to which state they would pay their taxes. I accidentally have myself in the photo.