Sea to Sea week 6 day 3

Today we biked 94 miles to Illiana Christian School. It rained all night so everyone had to pack their wet clothes, tent, etc., put on our wet shoes, helmet, gloves etc. and start out into a misty fog that got us wet all over again. Donald came along for all the ride and he looks like I feel:

I had to wring him out this morning and he's never been the same since. 

Today we wore jerseys representing our alma mater. Most of the Reformed tradition was represented as we can see here

After about 50 quick miles through yet more corn we began to use bike trails like this

This actually slowed things down considerably since we had to stop at every cross street for traffic. 

Eventually, after a few wrong turns and an ill-fated visit to a gas station--who really thinks a local in Joliet would know the tour route-- we began to see signs of welcome, literally:

And eventually saw this one

Sleeping arrangements for this evening are a little out of my comfort zone

Hope to get at least a little sleep. Goodnight, sleep tight, all 150 of us!

Sea to Sea Week 6 Day 2

Today we rode through 87 miles of wet corn into into a headwind to an Illinois state park called Shabonna. I really have no idea where we are, other than that this park is surrounded by corn. Here is a picture of the typical road we rode on:

The recumbent rider, Dana Sommers, is from Auckland, New Zealand. We were impressed that he was staying on the right side of the road. A few other sights along the way included a covered bridge:

And my love of old barns was requited

Not much else to show. It was a hard day on the bike; cold, wet, and windy. I rode with Dan again and we hooked up with various other small groups to share the work of riding in front. I was glad to have fenders on the bike with this rain. You may also notice my "license plate" issued by Sea to Sea. They help in identifying people as you ride with them on the road. Donald is still hanging on. He got wet too.

You may wonder how we know where to go when we ride our route. Most routes are worked out ahead of time and available for download ahead of time. These routes are confirmed a day ahead by Phil Quist. Yesterday he found a bridge out and had to reroute most of the course. He (or Barb Mellema) drives the course, sometimes in the dark and paints markers on the pavement at each turn for the cyclists to follow. He also prints a finalized route sheet with mileage to each turn. Mostly, we just look for the markers on the pavement and only consult the route sheet if we think we are lost. We are usually in sight of a group in front of us so we can follow them too. Here is an example of a marker. It is the letter "C" with some kind of arrow connected to it. So, turn left ahead.

 

Overall I feel good and am having little difficulty keeping up. We don't ride as hard as some of the groups of younger riders do. I'm averaging about 15 miles per hour. Tomorrow, we ride around Chicago to Lansing, IL. A ride of about 90 miles, many of which will be on bike trails. This may slow us down because of stop lights and other obstacles. We all are praying for a dry day.

 

 

 

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Sea to Sea Week 6 Day 1: Coralville IA to Fulton IL

Today we cycled 95 miles through the corn of Iowa. The first 20 miles had corn growing in very scenic countryside.

After that, the corn was growing on land that is basically flat. I rode for the first half with three others, the two I rode in the van with, Paul and Rod. Plus my sweep team leader Dan Keil, who is from Zeeland, Michigan. Sweep team is basically the cleanup crew after breakfast, which means we were the last to leave. Here are the three I just mentioned riding through the flat corn.

One of the volunteers, Billy D, rides along the route on his Harley to check on us. Here he is with his mascot, Arnold riding on the back near the flags.

I took the opportunity to show him my mascot, Donald, who is my constant companion on this trip:

 

 

There are also rest stops set up along the way to offer us refreshment and the opportunity for a "natural break." The driver of the white van assured me he has never pulled out into traffic with an occupant seated inside.

Our group of four split up and I proceeded with Dan the rest of the way, increasing our rate of speed as we neared our stop just like a horse picks up speed when he senses he is returning to the barn for his nightly oats. We passed Bruce Seinkowski, who is doing this week's tour on roller blades:

 

Then, after 90 miles, we crosses the Mississippi. The water tower of Fulton shown below is very close to where we are camped now. The windmill is one of Fulton's little mysteries

We crossed the big muddy and rode to Unity Christian School, our very gracious hosts for the evening. They put on a huge dinner featuring grilled chicken and pork chops with corn on the cob. And Pie! The agenda offered a praise band, which I thought would the typically lame kind of music usually offered during worship services. We were all very pleasantly surprised to hear a very good group of musicians. Here's a video mashup of their music:

There may have been dancing.

 

As you can see, I am having a great time.

 

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Sea to Sea Week 6 Day -1

Sundays are rest days for Sea to Sea. We had the following message board for the day

The agenda is the upper left sheet: not much was scheduled until the evening church service. I volunteered myself to help in the kitchen for breakfast-Sunday morning just wouldn't be right unless I rushed around in some kitchen somewhere. This time it was for 150 people and the kitchen is a prototype mobile unit.

 

 

 

Some found a church nearby to worship with in the morning. Rod said he rode his bike down the street and stopped at the first church he saw, which happened to be a house church of about 25 worshipers. He said it was a very close, informal and special time. My introverted self wanted a little peace and solitude so I just rode my bike down the street and stopped at the first coffee shop I saw that was open and charged my phone while I read the news at a table for one.

 

 

 

The evening service was hosted by New Life Community Church, which held a special service just for us. They also provided a spaghetti dinner for us which gave the kitchen staff a night off. I have heard of many such acts of generous hospitality from local churches that want to participate in the mission of Sea to Sea. There are also acts of generosity from local bakeries, such as these cookies we had with lunch:

 

Tomorrow I bike 95 miles or so. We heard tonight there is a bridge out on the planned course so there is an undefined detour. I need to work off all that spaghetti and cookies I've been eating. Regrettably, we will miss the Sweet Corn Feed , scheduled for tomorrow night right at our campsite. I would think they do a mean sweet corn here in Iowa.

 

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Sea to Sea Week 6 Day -2

Today we traveled by van from home to Coralville, Iowa to meet up with the tour. My two fellow travelers were from Grand Rapids, Paul Buth (on the right below) and Rod Boerman (on the left.) Both had done past Sea to Sea tours and shared many experiences with me about bicycle touring and group camping in general. One thing I will remember is to check for underground sprinkler heads before setting up my tent. Here they are completing some required paperwork as we unpacked the rental van.

 

The place we are camped is a city park/community center that has a water park, indoor pool (with the essential hot showers,) baseball diamonds, etc. I wonder what the local residents think when a caravan of Sea to Sea vehicles roll up, followed by over a hundred cyclists who set up their tents in random places throughout the park.

 

Dinner was good cycling food-spaghetti, salad etc. I sat with the Kalamazoo group and made to feel welcome. I am anxious to get on the bike, but it won't be for another day. I volunteered to help in the kitchen tomorrow morning. We will somehow be attending church services at a local church. I also am learning the cultural lingo. I overheard a group of young people mention they were going to a "Canadian Bible Study" after dinner that involved craft beer.

 

It is getting chilly here as the sun sets so I need to sign off and change into some long pants.

 

 

 

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Why I Like Donald Duck

Donald Duck is my favorite Disney character. Others may like the sweet goodness of Mickey Mouse, but Donald always makes me laugh. Short-tempered, out of control, and even a little selfish, but always fully enthusiastic. He is basically a Duck on the Edge. And maybe that's why I like him, because I think life is meant to be lived on the edge. Where we need to rely on God's power and all the resources He provides to us: all of our wits, energy, intellect, chutzpah-everything.

So it is in that spirit that I prepare for my week-long tour with Sea to Sea. I leave here tomorrow morning. Thanks to everyone who made this possible by donating to the cause and who will be staying behind at the Inn. I hope to be on the edge as I bike, camp, and spend time with fellow bicyclists.

What's funnier than a Donald Duck cartoon? A German Donald Duck Cartoon:

Never Met a Gravel Road I Didn't Like

This morning was a little nippy at 51 degrees Fahrenheit. Cooler weather puts one in an autumn mood. Here's a picture I snapped on Marsh Road north of Plainwell that looks like the harvest season, and features an old barn as well

In keeping with the seasonal shift, I the road I was exploring, "ran to gravel" as we say. Usually that would dictate turning around and backtracking to stay on paved roads. But I felt adventurous and the 28mm tires, while not as plush as the 40mm I usually run on gravel, were very serviceable. Here's where I stopped for a natural break. Not a house or any sign of life for miles. Try gravel if you like adventure.

 

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The Black Beast

This is my Surly Cross Check, aka the Black Beast. It's big, heavy and has a somewhat "relaxed" geometry. Setup in full touring mode with fenders, 28mm tires, rack, Brooks saddle and the rear axle pulled all the way back in the rear dropouts for an even more stretched out wheelbase. (George painted the back steps too.)

 

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Holland Group Ride

I occasionally join the Tuesday night group ride that originates from Velo City in Holland. This is one of the largest group rides in the area. Here's part of the group taking over the back alley near the shop. These are my people.

We split up into smaller groups according to how fast we want to go. I usually go with the second group, which goes about 20 average in a 30ish mile route south and east of Holland. I like the feeling of rushing through the countryside riding as close as you can to stay in the draft of those ahead of you. Here's a quick snap I took during one of the straight stretches.

While there is an understanding that no one gets dropped, we do split up into smaller groups as the ride progresses. There is also a hill where everyone goes as fast as they can- sort of a race within a non race. The hill is where I go into the red zone and get passed by some of the younger, fitter bikers. This is where I resolve to lose more weight and train harder. I must need humiliation as a motivator.

 

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My Sea Sea Home

Camping in this during my week with Sea to Sea

Thanks to Bri for getting this at a really good price. I need practice setting it up-30 minutes is way too long.

 

 

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Herb rides to Gun Lake

Today I rode to Gun Lake. Here's what it looks like:

The last time I rode here it was early spring. For some reason there are a lot more people, boats, and noise this time of year. This lake is within the Yankee Springs Recreation Area, which is a beautiful area to bicycle-hilly, curvy, wide and well maintained roads. In addition to cycling, there are many other ways to recreate without using those loud, smelly internal combustion engines:

 

I got to the Yankee Springs area by taking Marsh Road from Otsego. This route will take you through a place called Orangeville

Yes, that really is a non-ironic dog cowering in the bed of that pickup truck. If this view of Orangeville doesn't make you want to live there, the apparent certainty of a burial plot may just do it.

The availability of cemetery space should not be taken for granted. I saw this meager offering closer to Yankee Springs:

Not really sure why the chain link fence is necessary.

 

Also, looks like the wheat crop is ready for harvest:

There were three double bottom semi tractor trailers lined up waiting to be filled. That's a lot of wheat.

 

And finally, I never saw an old barn I didn't like:

 

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The thrill of victory, the agony of my feet

Because of the longer distances in the "Sea to Sea" ride, I have been doing some longish rides over the past couple of months. Instead of the usual 30-40 miles, I try for at least one ride of over 70 miles each week. I also began using different shoes with recessed SPD cleats because of all the walking anticipated:

These Sidi Dominators have the same upper as my road shoes which have over 3000 pain-free miles on them. The problem is that after about 50 miles or so the outside of my feet hurt like crazy. I tried loosening the straps to no improvement. I also experienced loud and annoying squeaks each pedal stroke. I was not looking forward to a week of escalating pain during the Sea to Sea tour. After consulting with my Local Bike Shop, it turns out my 15 year old SPD pedals were deemed too worn out. They allowed my feet to roll outward too much at each pedal stroke, which caused the foot pain. A new set of pedals will hold my feet in a stable position:

(I know the back steps need paint- I'll put it on George's to-do list.)

 

Also, because we'll be camping the week of Sea to Sea I thought cycling sandals might come in handy:

 

 

I tried these on yesterday's 86 mile ride, taking along my cycling shoes to change into when the sandals became too annoying. These things are the closest thing to riding barefoot, which I haven't done since I was a kid. Never even thought about changing into my Sidi shoes. I may use just the sandals all summer. I do recommend sunscreen on your feet the first few days you wear them. Otherwise you will get some weird sunburn pattern on the tops of your feet:

 

It's all good now!

 

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