OK... it took me a while to get this last post posted. I was too tired on Saturday and had to go to Loogootee on Sunday (look it up if here you are curious). I made it the full 160 miles on Saturday (It was actually 154 miles for RAINSTORM riders - long story).Anyway, it was really FAST. There were 1297 registered riders for this last day's ride... we rolled out of Terre Haute in several large packs. The first 40 miles, I was in a group of at least 100 riders... then the groups got thinner, but most of the way I was in a group of at least 6 people sharing pulls.
Today's stats:
154.81 miles
7 hours, 21 minutes
5092 feet of climbing
21.0 MPH average speed!!!!
146 BPM average heart rate
10,436 Calories burnt (not sure I believe this)
The route can be seen here (this shows elevation, heart rate, etc as well): Day 6 Route (RAIN)
Cumulative Stats (5 days):
680.87 miles (but my odometer shows 683 miles - I think there were some miles cruising around parking lots and stuff - I am going with 683 :))
36,018 feet of climbing
47,057 Calories burnt
Total time on my bike: 39 hours, 18 minutes...
Anyhow - its done! Would I do it again???? Ask me that next year :).
-- Marcus
Monday, July 20, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Another very good day. All 14 riders made it in. So far, all riders have made it in on their own power every day! 5 days down, 1 to go...
The story of the day was the WIND. It was extremely windy - and, of course, it was a headwind. Stiff headwind is BRUTAL... this was a 15MPH sustained headwind. At times, I was only going 11MPH in the flats... Unfortunately - due to timing - I battled the wind solo for about 60 miles today. Bruce was too fast... I left late and ate lunch at the 75 mile mark (later than most people), etc. Fortunately, at about 90 miles, "The Girls" from Ohio caught me... Once I hooked on, we kept a pretty good pace (17MPH) into that wind. That helped a lot.
Windy...
The Drury Inn where we are staying tonight is ALSO the registration headquarters for RAIN (the 160 mile ride we are joining tomorrow). There are 1200 people riding RAIN... walking thru the lobby, you hear conversations like "Those people over there are riding RAINSTORM - can you believe that???". Kinda cool...
HAPPY to see this :)
One other thing I learned today... if you are 462 miles into a bike ride - and the route sheet says to go on a road named "Goat" something... just ignore it. Roads named after goats are usually not flat. Today was supposed to be flatter - but the Goat road was anything but flat: 9-14% sustained grade. The hill was a mile long. You can see it in the elevation profile.
Today's stats:
100.6 miles
6 hours, 32 minutes
6152 feet of climbing
15.4 MPH average speed
129 BPM average heart rate
6,263 Calories burnt!
The route can be seen here (this shows elevation, heart rate, etc as well): Day 5 Route
Cumulative Stats (5 days):
526.06 miles
30,926 feet of climbing
32,621 Calories burnt!
Tomorrow is 160 miles... rolling out at 6:45 with 1300 riders. Should be lots of fun. Fully supported, several rest stops. Plus the Rainstorm group gets their mechanic & SAG as well!
Good Night...
-- Marcus
P.S. Tomorrow's post may be posted on Sunday morning... depending on how I feel after doing 160 tomorrow.
The story of the day was the WIND. It was extremely windy - and, of course, it was a headwind. Stiff headwind is BRUTAL... this was a 15MPH sustained headwind. At times, I was only going 11MPH in the flats... Unfortunately - due to timing - I battled the wind solo for about 60 miles today. Bruce was too fast... I left late and ate lunch at the 75 mile mark (later than most people), etc. Fortunately, at about 90 miles, "The Girls" from Ohio caught me... Once I hooked on, we kept a pretty good pace (17MPH) into that wind. That helped a lot.
Windy... The Drury Inn where we are staying tonight is ALSO the registration headquarters for RAIN (the 160 mile ride we are joining tomorrow). There are 1200 people riding RAIN... walking thru the lobby, you hear conversations like "Those people over there are riding RAINSTORM - can you believe that???". Kinda cool...
HAPPY to see this :)One other thing I learned today... if you are 462 miles into a bike ride - and the route sheet says to go on a road named "Goat" something... just ignore it. Roads named after goats are usually not flat. Today was supposed to be flatter - but the Goat road was anything but flat: 9-14% sustained grade. The hill was a mile long. You can see it in the elevation profile.
Today's stats:
100.6 miles
6 hours, 32 minutes
6152 feet of climbing
15.4 MPH average speed
129 BPM average heart rate
6,263 Calories burnt!
The route can be seen here (this shows elevation, heart rate, etc as well): Day 5 Route
Cumulative Stats (5 days):
526.06 miles
30,926 feet of climbing
32,621 Calories burnt!
Tomorrow is 160 miles... rolling out at 6:45 with 1300 riders. Should be lots of fun. Fully supported, several rest stops. Plus the Rainstorm group gets their mechanic & SAG as well!
Good Night...
-- Marcus
P.S. Tomorrow's post may be posted on Sunday morning... depending on how I feel after doing 160 tomorrow.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Short blog tonight... I am tired and its late. Plus you are probably sick of the long blogs :). I took it pretty easy today. There was lots of climbing and Saturday's 160 mile day is quickly approaching. It was kind of "tapering" - 100+ miles, 7500+ feet of climbing - taken slow at 15.4MPH. It is kind of crazy to consider that we have ridden 425+ miles and climbed 20K+ feet in the last 4 days!!!
Because of the hills, today's ride was just a "grind it out" ride.... so that is what we did. Take each hill one at a time and get to the top...
Today's stats:
101.57 miles
6 hours, 34 minutes
7855 feet of climbing
15.4 MPH average speed
134 BPM average heart rate (taking it easy worked - HR dropped!)
6,214 Calories burnt!
The route can be seen here (this shows elevation, heart rate, etc as well): Day 4 Route
Cumulative Stats (4 days):
425.46 miles
24,774 feet of climbing
26,358 Calories burnt!
Tonight we are at the Marriott in Bloomington, IN. We also got to find our own dinner in town. Most of us went to Grazie (see below - that is our group on the left).
Today's Intake:
Breakfast:
Oatmeal
Fruit and Yogurt
Lunch:
Wendy's cheesburger
Dinner:
Chicken Saltimbocca
Antipasto appetizer
1 Buttern Pecan sundae
On the bike:
2 Gu energy gels
1 Gu chomps
1 package of Shotblocks
5 bottles of Cytomax
2 bottles of water
1 piece of blackberry cobbler with ice cream (met my parents & got cobbler at Velma's Diner in Shoals...)
1 pineapple milkshake
All right - tomorrow is a 100 miler - and it is supposed to be flat. BUT, we may have a 10-15 MPH headwinds... Hopefully we can get in a 19-21MPH groove and knock it out quickly.
And - the squeak in my bike is back. Two mechanics looked at it - but no luck. We will keep trying tomorrow.
Good Night.
--Marcus
Because of the hills, today's ride was just a "grind it out" ride.... so that is what we did. Take each hill one at a time and get to the top...
Today's stats:
101.57 miles
6 hours, 34 minutes
7855 feet of climbing
15.4 MPH average speed
134 BPM average heart rate (taking it easy worked - HR dropped!)
6,214 Calories burnt!
The route can be seen here (this shows elevation, heart rate, etc as well): Day 4 Route
Cumulative Stats (4 days):
425.46 miles
24,774 feet of climbing
26,358 Calories burnt!
Tonight we are at the Marriott in Bloomington, IN. We also got to find our own dinner in town. Most of us went to Grazie (see below - that is our group on the left).
Today's Intake:
Breakfast:
Oatmeal
Fruit and Yogurt
Lunch:
Wendy's cheesburger
Dinner:
Chicken Saltimbocca
Antipasto appetizer
1 Buttern Pecan sundae
On the bike:
2 Gu energy gels
1 Gu chomps
1 package of Shotblocks
5 bottles of Cytomax
2 bottles of water
1 piece of blackberry cobbler with ice cream (met my parents & got cobbler at Velma's Diner in Shoals...)
1 pineapple milkshake
All right - tomorrow is a 100 miler - and it is supposed to be flat. BUT, we may have a 10-15 MPH headwinds... Hopefully we can get in a 19-21MPH groove and knock it out quickly.
And - the squeak in my bike is back. Two mechanics looked at it - but no luck. We will keep trying tomorrow.
Good Night.
--Marcus
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Do Pit Bulls Like Pepper Spray? No, they do not! - Day 3
Pretty tough day today... Particularly weather-wise.
We rolled out about 7:30 this morning. As always, I had trouble getting up and out :). Anyhow, Bruce (the fastest rider out here) and I took off to catch a group of 4 that had a 10 minute lead on us. Our goal was to catch them over about 20 miles... The trip started with an excellent 40MPH descent out toward the South Exit of Clifty Falls State Park. Right in the middle of the descent, Bruce hammered on the brakes and came to a stop... to inform me that ... we were supposed to exit the North Exit! 40MPH descents are steep to climb back up... We hadn't even left the park - and we were climbing a 13%-ish grade because of a navigation mistake :). And - the group of 4 had a bigger lead on us now.
The first 30 miles were tough - getting warmed up took that long. At about mile 35, it started to rain - and rained hard enough to soak all out clothes, socks, shoes, wallet, phone, camera, etc in my pockets. My route sheet was soaked.
Route Sheet
Random Photo
Just Getting Started with Dinner
We rolled out about 7:30 this morning. As always, I had trouble getting up and out :). Anyhow, Bruce (the fastest rider out here) and I took off to catch a group of 4 that had a 10 minute lead on us. Our goal was to catch them over about 20 miles... The trip started with an excellent 40MPH descent out toward the South Exit of Clifty Falls State Park. Right in the middle of the descent, Bruce hammered on the brakes and came to a stop... to inform me that ... we were supposed to exit the North Exit! 40MPH descents are steep to climb back up... We hadn't even left the park - and we were climbing a 13%-ish grade because of a navigation mistake :). And - the group of 4 had a bigger lead on us now.
The first 30 miles were tough - getting warmed up took that long. At about mile 35, it started to rain - and rained hard enough to soak all out clothes, socks, shoes, wallet, phone, camera, etc in my pockets. My route sheet was soaked.
Route Sheet
We were planning to stop at mile 62 in Scottsburg for lunch (at the same Arby's we stopped at yesterday). The first rest stop was at mile 30 - and I skipped that one (carrying 3 water bottles, I was fine). Then - the second stop was at mile 57. Just before that rest stop, I saw a lightning strike way off to the west... so the plan is - if a lightning or hail storm approaches - find a building. Likely, that would be on the porch of someone's house or in a barn or similar building. I wasn't interested in being stuck in a barn with a farmer and his chickens for 3 hours while the storm passed. I put the hammer down and made it to Scottsburg - but my legs were beat! I rode the first 61 miles and 2483 feet of climbing without stopping (3 hours, 26 minutes).
Statistics at Lunch
Statistics at LunchAnyhow, there were three riders there when I got there. We all ate lunch and then rested and watched the rain (both outside and checking RADAR from our phones :)). Unfortunately, it was cold in there - and the rain on our shirts was evaporating - we were freezing in the restaurant. About and hour was all we could handle - so we headed back out into the rain with about 50 miles to go. The rain let up after 15-20 minutes and the next 47 miles was uneventful. Although I intended to ride straight thru, I saw Bruce at the last stop at mile 93, so I stopped for about 2 minutes... Otherwise, I did not stop during the last 50 miles.
Oh yeah - we had some spectators!
Spectators...
At about mile 108, I was cruising along at a pretty good clip in the flats... I crested a small hill and started to descend. I saw that there were two dogs on the porch of a house about 50 feet off the road. In the countryside, we have seen LOTS of dogs - dozens every day. Many of them will "chase" you. Usually, they are 1) breeds that are not concerning (golden retriever), 2) behind a fence, but run "with you" as you ride by or 3) run on their property near the edge of the road for fun or to "protect" their property. These two dogs saw me coming down the hill and took off running. This wasn't that abnormal - but I grabbed my pepper spray anyhow... one was a Pit Bull... there was no fence... he crossed onto the street about 30 feet behind me. Unfortunately at this point in the ride, I was not interested in trying to outrun a Pit Bull that was in a full sprint (I was probably doing 18 MPH). When he got about 5 feet behind me, I hit him with the pepper spray... he IMMEDIATELY hit the ground. His "buddy" decided that chasing me wasn't a good idea... I didn't have enough presence of mind to check my heart rate monitor - but one of those spikes at the end of the graph - its not hill!
Two ladies were about 5 minutes behind me on the route... When they crested the hill, the dogs got up and looked at them. The ladies saw the dogs... and then the dogs sat back down. Obviously, I don't want to spray a dog - but if you leave your Pit Bull unfenced & unchained in the front yard... that's what happens. And - the pepper spray works! I did however learn one additional lesson --- after you spray that stuff, rinse the top off with your water bottle... about 3-4 minutes after I put the pepper spray back in my pocket, my back started to sting :).
Then - I finally rolled into Spring Mill State Park. While we were eating, the tour mechanic washed everyone's bike! My parents came down from Loogootee to have dinner with us - but I kinda had to eat and run (sorry). Between our meeting about tomorrow's route and my 6:30PM appointment with the massage therapist we have with us on the tour...
So - today's stats:
111.37 miles (including two wrong turns)
6 hours, 40 minutes
6,757 feet of climbing
16.7 MPH average speed
140 BPM average heart rate (this number needs to stop climbing :))
6,779 Calories burnt!
The route can be seen here (this shows elevation, heart rate, etc as well): Day 3 Route
Cumulative Stats (3 days):
323.89 Miles
16,919 feet of climbing
20,144 Calories burnt!
Oh yeah - we had some spectators!
Spectators...
At about mile 108, I was cruising along at a pretty good clip in the flats... I crested a small hill and started to descend. I saw that there were two dogs on the porch of a house about 50 feet off the road. In the countryside, we have seen LOTS of dogs - dozens every day. Many of them will "chase" you. Usually, they are 1) breeds that are not concerning (golden retriever), 2) behind a fence, but run "with you" as you ride by or 3) run on their property near the edge of the road for fun or to "protect" their property. These two dogs saw me coming down the hill and took off running. This wasn't that abnormal - but I grabbed my pepper spray anyhow... one was a Pit Bull... there was no fence... he crossed onto the street about 30 feet behind me. Unfortunately at this point in the ride, I was not interested in trying to outrun a Pit Bull that was in a full sprint (I was probably doing 18 MPH). When he got about 5 feet behind me, I hit him with the pepper spray... he IMMEDIATELY hit the ground. His "buddy" decided that chasing me wasn't a good idea... I didn't have enough presence of mind to check my heart rate monitor - but one of those spikes at the end of the graph - its not hill!Two ladies were about 5 minutes behind me on the route... When they crested the hill, the dogs got up and looked at them. The ladies saw the dogs... and then the dogs sat back down. Obviously, I don't want to spray a dog - but if you leave your Pit Bull unfenced & unchained in the front yard... that's what happens. And - the pepper spray works! I did however learn one additional lesson --- after you spray that stuff, rinse the top off with your water bottle... about 3-4 minutes after I put the pepper spray back in my pocket, my back started to sting :).
Then - I finally rolled into Spring Mill State Park. While we were eating, the tour mechanic washed everyone's bike! My parents came down from Loogootee to have dinner with us - but I kinda had to eat and run (sorry). Between our meeting about tomorrow's route and my 6:30PM appointment with the massage therapist we have with us on the tour...
So - today's stats:
111.37 miles (including two wrong turns)
6 hours, 40 minutes
6,757 feet of climbing
16.7 MPH average speed
140 BPM average heart rate (this number needs to stop climbing :))
6,779 Calories burnt!
The route can be seen here (this shows elevation, heart rate, etc as well): Day 3 Route
Cumulative Stats (3 days):
323.89 Miles
16,919 feet of climbing
20,144 Calories burnt!
Random PhotoToday's diet:
Breakfast:
Large bowl of Cream of Wheat with Apples
Lunch:
Chocolate Milk
Medium Beef and Cheddar (Arby's)
Dinner:
3 slices of ham
2 large scoops of mashed potatoes and gravy
1 wheat roll
2 pieces of corn bread
1 large bowl of cottage cheese with cherry pie mixed in :)
1 piece of cornmeal pie
1 piece of pumpkin pie with whipped cream
On the bike:
3 packages of shot blocks
5 energy gel packets
1 package Gu chomps
1 PowerBar 20G protein bar
Breakfast:
Large bowl of Cream of Wheat with Apples
Lunch:
Chocolate Milk
Medium Beef and Cheddar (Arby's)
Dinner:
3 slices of ham
2 large scoops of mashed potatoes and gravy
1 wheat roll
2 pieces of corn bread
1 large bowl of cottage cheese with cherry pie mixed in :)
1 piece of cornmeal pie
1 piece of pumpkin pie with whipped cream
On the bike:
3 packages of shot blocks
5 energy gel packets
1 package Gu chomps
1 PowerBar 20G protein bar
Just Getting Started with DinnerTomorrow is 7,000+ feet of climbing. Going from Spring Mill State Park to Bloomington... Gotta get some sleep...
Good Night.
-- Marcus
Good Night.
-- Marcus
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Day 2 - "They don't work on mountain bikes like yours, and stuff like that..."
Another beautiful day... Lets start with the stats:
100.16 miles
6 hours, 3 minutes
5352 feet of climbing
16.5 MPH average speed
133 BPM average heart rate
6144 Calories burnt!
The route can be seen here (this shows elevation, heart rate, etc as well): Day 2 Route
Note that the calorie count on the website (71,679 is incorrect :)).
Cumulative Stats (2 days):
212.52 Miles
10,162 feet of climbing
13,365 Calories burnt!
I wanted to get up about 6:00 this morning (3:00AM pacific time!), but decided to sleep in until 6:45. This meant I would roll out late - about 7:30. Most people left between 7:00 and 7:15. I thought I would be by myself - and have to catch the tail end of the group. Turns out that the fastest rider was running a little late too - and he waited for me. We took off and maintained a pretty fast pace for the first 30-ish miles. I couldn't hang on - but he would wait for me periodically. We eventually caught most of the group... but not everyone.
Lunch today was at Arby's in Scottsburg.
Today's route was a little hillier than yesterday's and it started wearing on everyone... speeds dropped, times went up - and most people are more tired tonight.
I had no issues other than the squeak, squeak, squeak. Our destination (Clifty Falls State Park) is near Madison, IN. In Madison, IN (pop. ~12K) there is a bike shop... so, as we rolled into town, I stopped and ask a man that was painting a house for directions to the shop. He said "There's no bike shop in this town...". Hmmm - Google disagrees. So, there was a young man walking down the street (no shirt, pants on his "hips"...). I figured HE would know where the bike shop is - and he did! Then he looked at me, looked at my bike... looked at me again - and one more glance at my bike. After careful consideration - he said "They ain't gonna be able to work on a bike like that one" :). Hmmm - I was contemplating "Why?". Then he says "They don't work on mountain bikes like yours, and stuff like that...". Huh... Why don't I just go ask them :).
Fizz'z Bike Shop
Anyway, long story, but the bike is fixed (sort of). The bike shop did not have the bottom bracket I needed, but they DID have the wrench. So I called the tour's bike mechanic (who has the part, but not the wrench) and he brought the part. Together, the two mechanics got it swapped out. I thought we were GOLDEN - and I left. Then I left the shop and started the 10 miler to Clifty Falls Inn. There is a large climb (~1.5 miles, 10%+ grade) - and the cranks started "jumping" and making a horrible noise. Once again, Bill took a look at it. It is now shimmed so it doesn't wobble any more - BUT, the bottom bracket sticks slightly at one spot. He recommended that I replace it again when I get home :). Anyway - it is ridable and quiet - that's most important.
Fizz'z Bike Shop
This is my room tonight - and my bike... The state park inns in Indiana are VERY nice. This one has a standard rack rate of $122/night. That's quite a deal for a brand new, very nice lodge like this (and free wi-fi). The view is great. The river in the background is the Ohio river. Just across the river is Kentucky.
Tonight's Room at the Clifty Falls Inn
So - tomorrow is another 110-ish miles. I am heading to bed - as I need a full night sleep and early wake up.
Good Night.
-- Marcus
100.16 miles
6 hours, 3 minutes
5352 feet of climbing
16.5 MPH average speed
133 BPM average heart rate
6144 Calories burnt!
The route can be seen here (this shows elevation, heart rate, etc as well): Day 2 Route
Note that the calorie count on the website (71,679 is incorrect :)).
Cumulative Stats (2 days):
212.52 Miles
10,162 feet of climbing
13,365 Calories burnt!
I wanted to get up about 6:00 this morning (3:00AM pacific time!), but decided to sleep in until 6:45. This meant I would roll out late - about 7:30. Most people left between 7:00 and 7:15. I thought I would be by myself - and have to catch the tail end of the group. Turns out that the fastest rider was running a little late too - and he waited for me. We took off and maintained a pretty fast pace for the first 30-ish miles. I couldn't hang on - but he would wait for me periodically. We eventually caught most of the group... but not everyone.
Lunch today was at Arby's in Scottsburg.Today's route was a little hillier than yesterday's and it started wearing on everyone... speeds dropped, times went up - and most people are more tired tonight.
I had no issues other than the squeak, squeak, squeak. Our destination (Clifty Falls State Park) is near Madison, IN. In Madison, IN (pop. ~12K) there is a bike shop... so, as we rolled into town, I stopped and ask a man that was painting a house for directions to the shop. He said "There's no bike shop in this town...". Hmmm - Google disagrees. So, there was a young man walking down the street (no shirt, pants on his "hips"...). I figured HE would know where the bike shop is - and he did! Then he looked at me, looked at my bike... looked at me again - and one more glance at my bike. After careful consideration - he said "They ain't gonna be able to work on a bike like that one" :). Hmmm - I was contemplating "Why?". Then he says "They don't work on mountain bikes like yours, and stuff like that...". Huh... Why don't I just go ask them :).
Fizz'z Bike Shop
Fizz'z Bike ShopThis is my room tonight - and my bike... The state park inns in Indiana are VERY nice. This one has a standard rack rate of $122/night. That's quite a deal for a brand new, very nice lodge like this (and free wi-fi). The view is great. The river in the background is the Ohio river. Just across the river is Kentucky.
Tonight's Room at the Clifty Falls InnToday's food:
Breakfast:
2 bowls of oatmeal with peaches
Large plate of about 5 scrambled eggs
Breakfast:
2 bowls of oatmeal with peaches
Large plate of about 5 scrambled eggs
Lunch:
Large Arby's beef and cheddar
Dinner:
2 small fish fillets
3 large scoops of mashed potatoes and gravy
2 scoops of carrots
~ 15 asparagus
2 glasses of chocolate milk
1 bowl of blackberry cobbler with ice cream
2 cookies
Recovery (pre-dinner):
1 Gu energy gel packet
1 Powerbar 20G protien bar
On the bike:
3 bottles of Cytomax
~4 bottles of water
2 packages of Shotblocks (6 / pkg)
1 package of Gu chomps
3 Gu energy gel packets
Large Arby's beef and cheddar
Dinner:
2 small fish fillets
3 large scoops of mashed potatoes and gravy
2 scoops of carrots
~ 15 asparagus
2 glasses of chocolate milk
1 bowl of blackberry cobbler with ice cream
2 cookies
Recovery (pre-dinner):
1 Gu energy gel packet
1 Powerbar 20G protien bar
On the bike:
3 bottles of Cytomax
~4 bottles of water
2 packages of Shotblocks (6 / pkg)
1 package of Gu chomps
3 Gu energy gel packets
Good Night.
-- Marcus
Monday, July 13, 2009
Day 1 - Squeak, Squeak, Squeak...
GREAT DAY... The weather was incredible and we made really good time.
Starting statistics...
Today we rode from Richmond to Nashville. I figured that Nashville was further than 113 miles from Richmond, IN... but these states are not as big as California - so maybe not! Imagine my surprise when we rolled into Nashville, INDIANA! Anyhow, tonight we are staying at Brown County State Park. It is really a nice park - and the Abe Martin lodge is great.
City Center - Nashville, IN
The route can be seen here (this shows elevation, heart rate, etc as well): Day 1 Route
The stats for today were:
112.36 miles
6 hours, 8 minutes
4810 feet of climbing
18.3 MPH average speed
134 BPM heart rate
7221 Calories burnt!
Interestingly, even though we climbed a total of 4,810 feet, the lowest elevation was 625 feet above sea-level and the highest elevation was 1,081 feet above sea-level. Rollers... all day. We did hit one CRAZY steep section (maybe 200 feet long) that was 21% grade!
I did the first 100 miles and 3533 feet of climbing in 5 hours, 26 minutes (on the bike).
During the day, I practiced mobi-cyclo-photo-posting -- taking pictures using your mobile phone and uploading to Facebook while riding! Of course - only when no cars were around. Please forgive me if not all of the FB photos have captions :). Unfortunately, cell service was intermittent so several of the photos I wanted to post are in the ether.
Lunch was at a Bev's Country Diner. If you have ever been to southern Indiana, or southern Kentucky, or southern Ohio or southern Illinois... well - you get the point - if you have been to the rural mid-west, you have been to Bev's Country Diner. It probably had a different name - but it's the same place... same menu (different layout). I couldn't stomach too much oil, so I made a lunch from side orders and breakfast. They thought I was nuts... and it was the most expensive meal anyone had at $7.02. Of course - I now have $0.98 that will almost certainly be lost before we reach Terre Haute. Perhaps a tax deductible donation is in order.
Bev's Country Diner
We had one rider in our group go down today... at about the 25 mile mark. He was practicing his cyclo-photograpy at the time. Should have been using his mobile phone instead of a camera - everyone knows that. Must be a rookie.
I only had one issue today - a squeak, squeak, squeak on each pedal stroke. It started early in the ride: about 25 feet from the beginning :). I showed the mechanic and we determined it was a worn out bottom bracket (the bearings / housing at the bottom of the frame where the crank arms (connected to the pedals) go THRU the frame). For the record, TruVativ bottom brackets last 4232 miles before they start squeaking. We decided it was best to ride today's ride on it as-is and then replace it tonight at Brown County State Park. When I arrived, Bill (the mechanic) took the pedals, cranks and chain-rings off... and then started removing the bottom bracket. But it was really tight. So, he got the BIG wrench to get them off (one on each side). No luck - so he got out a breaker bar and put it on the wrench... Two hands, 3 foot breaker bar, grunting, grimmacing... no luck. Unfortunately, we were at risk of breaking it... which would be REALLY bad - so he stopped. For the next three days --- squeak, squeak, squeak! Hopefully, I can get it fixed in Bloomington when I can visit a full-blown shop. It may have to be cut in half to remove it. I may just require a whole new bike...
And - the eating began in earnest today...
Breakfast:
2 bowls of oatmeal
2 bananas
1 PowerBar 20g Protein bar
Lunch:
2 bowls of oatmeal
1 bowl of cottage cheese
1 bowl of peaches
Dinner: 3 large scoops mashed potatoes and gravy
3 pieces of Salisbury steak
1 large bread roll
2 scoops of peas
1 large bowl of macaroni and cheese
1 bowl of bread pudding
2 cookies
2 glasses of chocolate milk
On the bike:
3 packages of Shot Blocks
Dinner: Just Getting Started
Tomorrow is 100 miles from Brown County State Park to Clifty Falls State Park. I understand it is very similar to Niagra falls - only without the crowds. Breakfast is at 6:30AM and we will probably roll-out about 7:30AM.
Good Night....
-- Marcus
P.S. The weather looks like it is going to hold...
Starting statistics... Today we rode from Richmond to Nashville. I figured that Nashville was further than 113 miles from Richmond, IN... but these states are not as big as California - so maybe not! Imagine my surprise when we rolled into Nashville, INDIANA! Anyhow, tonight we are staying at Brown County State Park. It is really a nice park - and the Abe Martin lodge is great.
City Center - Nashville, INThe route can be seen here (this shows elevation, heart rate, etc as well): Day 1 Route
The stats for today were:
112.36 miles
6 hours, 8 minutes
4810 feet of climbing
18.3 MPH average speed
134 BPM heart rate
7221 Calories burnt!
Interestingly, even though we climbed a total of 4,810 feet, the lowest elevation was 625 feet above sea-level and the highest elevation was 1,081 feet above sea-level. Rollers... all day. We did hit one CRAZY steep section (maybe 200 feet long) that was 21% grade!
I did the first 100 miles and 3533 feet of climbing in 5 hours, 26 minutes (on the bike).
During the day, I practiced mobi-cyclo-photo-posting -- taking pictures using your mobile phone and uploading to Facebook while riding! Of course - only when no cars were around. Please forgive me if not all of the FB photos have captions :). Unfortunately, cell service was intermittent so several of the photos I wanted to post are in the ether.
Lunch was at a Bev's Country Diner. If you have ever been to southern Indiana, or southern Kentucky, or southern Ohio or southern Illinois... well - you get the point - if you have been to the rural mid-west, you have been to Bev's Country Diner. It probably had a different name - but it's the same place... same menu (different layout). I couldn't stomach too much oil, so I made a lunch from side orders and breakfast. They thought I was nuts... and it was the most expensive meal anyone had at $7.02. Of course - I now have $0.98 that will almost certainly be lost before we reach Terre Haute. Perhaps a tax deductible donation is in order.
Bev's Country DinerWe had one rider in our group go down today... at about the 25 mile mark. He was practicing his cyclo-photograpy at the time. Should have been using his mobile phone instead of a camera - everyone knows that. Must be a rookie.
I only had one issue today - a squeak, squeak, squeak on each pedal stroke. It started early in the ride: about 25 feet from the beginning :). I showed the mechanic and we determined it was a worn out bottom bracket (the bearings / housing at the bottom of the frame where the crank arms (connected to the pedals) go THRU the frame). For the record, TruVativ bottom brackets last 4232 miles before they start squeaking. We decided it was best to ride today's ride on it as-is and then replace it tonight at Brown County State Park. When I arrived, Bill (the mechanic) took the pedals, cranks and chain-rings off... and then started removing the bottom bracket. But it was really tight. So, he got the BIG wrench to get them off (one on each side). No luck - so he got out a breaker bar and put it on the wrench... Two hands, 3 foot breaker bar, grunting, grimmacing... no luck. Unfortunately, we were at risk of breaking it... which would be REALLY bad - so he stopped. For the next three days --- squeak, squeak, squeak! Hopefully, I can get it fixed in Bloomington when I can visit a full-blown shop. It may have to be cut in half to remove it. I may just require a whole new bike...
And - the eating began in earnest today...
Breakfast:
2 bowls of oatmeal
2 bananas
1 PowerBar 20g Protein bar
Lunch:
2 bowls of oatmeal
1 bowl of cottage cheese
1 bowl of peaches
Dinner: 3 large scoops mashed potatoes and gravy
3 pieces of Salisbury steak
1 large bread roll
2 scoops of peas
1 large bowl of macaroni and cheese
1 bowl of bread pudding
2 cookies
2 glasses of chocolate milk
On the bike:
3 packages of Shot Blocks
3 Gu energy gels
1 Payday candy bar
4 bottles of Cytomax
3 bottles of water
And - for those keeping track - I downed a medium Butterfinger Milkshake after I posted last night.
1 Payday candy bar
4 bottles of Cytomax
3 bottles of water
And - for those keeping track - I downed a medium Butterfinger Milkshake after I posted last night.
Dinner: Just Getting StartedTomorrow is 100 miles from Brown County State Park to Clifty Falls State Park. I understand it is very similar to Niagra falls - only without the crowds. Breakfast is at 6:30AM and we will probably roll-out about 7:30AM.
Good Night....
-- Marcus
P.S. The weather looks like it is going to hold...
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Day 0...
OK - the bike is all back together and working well...
Heading to bed... planning to head out tomorrow morning at about 8:00. Late start as we are not staying at the starting location. We will drive there and then get everyone going.... There is an optional hill-climb at the end. They called it a "big" hill - we will see (maybe).
I met about 1/2 of the riders tonight... lots of different people. One is a taxidermist from Alabama. I figure if we hit a squirrel or something - we could take it as a souvenir?
Today's intake:
* 1 Steak and Shake breakfast steak sandwich
* 1 Gu packet
* 1 Powerbar 20G protein bar
* 24oz of Cytomax
* 1 Large plate of fettucine Alfredo
* 1 Bowl of lentil soup
* 1 Small strawberry shortcake dessert
* 1 Pulled pork plate (maybe a 1/2 pound of pork??)
* 1 Large sweet potato
* 1 Medium milkshake
and some bread and lots of water...
And we haven't even started the ride yet! I did do approximately 20 miles to get the leggs warmed up. But - the real deal starts tomorrow...
Good night.
- Marcus
Heading to bed... planning to head out tomorrow morning at about 8:00. Late start as we are not staying at the starting location. We will drive there and then get everyone going.... There is an optional hill-climb at the end. They called it a "big" hill - we will see (maybe).
I met about 1/2 of the riders tonight... lots of different people. One is a taxidermist from Alabama. I figure if we hit a squirrel or something - we could take it as a souvenir?
Today's intake:
* 1 Steak and Shake breakfast steak sandwich
* 1 Gu packet
* 1 Powerbar 20G protein bar
* 24oz of Cytomax
* 1 Large plate of fettucine Alfredo
* 1 Bowl of lentil soup
* 1 Small strawberry shortcake dessert
* 1 Pulled pork plate (maybe a 1/2 pound of pork??)
* 1 Large sweet potato
* 1 Medium milkshake
and some bread and lots of water...
And we haven't even started the ride yet! I did do approximately 20 miles to get the leggs warmed up. But - the real deal starts tomorrow...
Good night.
- Marcus
RAINSTORM Blog...
All right... several people have asked me if I am going to blog my bicycle ride this summer - and I wasn't planning to - but I figured I would try to get with the program and blog. I have never done a blog before. In fact, I think blogs are ridiculous... BUT, I thought Facebook was ridiculous too until about a year ago (maybe less). FB is pretty cool. Maybe, just maybe, this blog thing will go the same way. We'll see - it is entirely possible this will be my best blog post ever, as well as my worst.
And - yes - I realize that that I am getting with the program ten years after the program started and just in time for it to be replaced :). Ah - this is what it feels like to get old. But if any of you young kids are feeling particularly young based on my getting older - lets go for a bike ride :) (Amy is excluded from said challenge).
First - thank you to my wonderful wife for taking care of our children solo while I am riding around in Indiana... Fortunately, the children are perfect angels.
I have signed myself up for RAINSTORM (http://www.triri.org/storm.html). It is a 660 mile bike ride in southern Indiana... in 6 days. 100 miles / day for the first 5 days and 160 miles on the last day. The last day traverses the entire state, from west to east. Fourteen people signed up for this fun. On the last day, the 160 miler, we will be joining 1000 people riding in RAIN (Ride Across Indiana) (http://bloomingtonbicycleclub.org/tours/rain/rain.html), including my cousin-in-law (is this in the OED?). No - you don't get paid for doing this. In fact, they deduct a large sum from your bank account for the privilege.
So - on the shuttle bus from the airport to the hotel last night, the driver inquired about why I was in Indiana. I explained I was doing a 660 mile bike ride around southern Indiana. He asked about the route and... then wanted to know if I was planning to rent the motorcycle :).
After my short stay at the Radisson Indianapolis Airport location (and my current pit stop at Steak and Shake), I am headed to my cousin's house to rebuild my bike bicycle. Hopefully FEDEX didn't destroy it... Oh well - there is a Super Walmart around the corner - I could just grab a Huffy. Or - is there a Harley dealer around here?
All right - let me wolf down this incredibly balanced & nutrition packed Steak and Shake sandwich and hit the road.
Definitely ore to come --- maybe.
- Marcus
P.S. On a blog am I supposed to use correct English? Grammatically correct sentences? Active voice? Correct spelling? Can I end sentences with prepositions? Capital letters? Real words? You -> u? Your -> ur? I spent a lot of time and money (actually not my money) on higher education... hmmmm.
And - if you know how to insert a hyperlink correctly on blogger - please let me know
And - yes - I realize that that I am getting with the program ten years after the program started and just in time for it to be replaced :). Ah - this is what it feels like to get old. But if any of you young kids are feeling particularly young based on my getting older - lets go for a bike ride :) (Amy is excluded from said challenge).
First - thank you to my wonderful wife for taking care of our children solo while I am riding around in Indiana... Fortunately, the children are perfect angels.
I have signed myself up for RAINSTORM (http://www.triri.org/storm.html). It is a 660 mile bike ride in southern Indiana... in 6 days. 100 miles / day for the first 5 days and 160 miles on the last day. The last day traverses the entire state, from west to east. Fourteen people signed up for this fun. On the last day, the 160 miler, we will be joining 1000 people riding in RAIN (Ride Across Indiana) (http://bloomingtonbicycleclub.org/tours/rain/rain.html), including my cousin-in-law (is this in the OED?). No - you don't get paid for doing this. In fact, they deduct a large sum from your bank account for the privilege.
So - on the shuttle bus from the airport to the hotel last night, the driver inquired about why I was in Indiana. I explained I was doing a 660 mile bike ride around southern Indiana. He asked about the route and... then wanted to know if I was planning to rent the motorcycle :).
After my short stay at the Radisson Indianapolis Airport location (and my current pit stop at Steak and Shake), I am headed to my cousin's house to rebuild my
All right - let me wolf down this incredibly balanced & nutrition packed Steak and Shake sandwich and hit the road.
Definitely ore to come --- maybe.
- Marcus
P.S. On a blog am I supposed to use correct English? Grammatically correct sentences? Active voice? Correct spelling? Can I end sentences with prepositions? Capital letters? Real words? You -> u? Your -> ur? I spent a lot of time and money (actually not my money) on higher education... hmmmm.
And - if you know how to insert a hyperlink correctly on blogger - please let me know
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