Nate doing his grass blowing in the wind dance
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
Concentration
Today the name of the game was concentration. The only way to keep on pedaling was to concentrate on every push on the pedal and hug the tire in front of me. The headwinds were so bad that we drafted and pacelined all day and I was still so tired.
Between first and second lunch (because today was 91 miles), my group stopped at a cafe for yummy breakfast. I got 2 huge fluffy pancakes, two pieces of bacon, and hashbrowns. This was already after granola and a muffin for breakfast AND a chicken breast, tabouli, another muffin, dry cereal, and a piece of chocolate for 1st lunch. My body craves so much food all the time.
Today we also experienced a "change of feeling," a term I coined as a kid for the change experienced between the desert and mountains or the plains and hills. Minnesota has now transitioned from forests to prairies fullbof beautiful wheat fields, that smell of fresh bales. There was not a lot of scenic observation in my day, but this is one thing that really stood out.
I avoided flats today, but route 2 has been brutal to our group. We totalled 17 flats today along several people...it was insane.
Between first and second lunch (because today was 91 miles), my group stopped at a cafe for yummy breakfast. I got 2 huge fluffy pancakes, two pieces of bacon, and hashbrowns. This was already after granola and a muffin for breakfast AND a chicken breast, tabouli, another muffin, dry cereal, and a piece of chocolate for 1st lunch. My body craves so much food all the time.
Today we also experienced a "change of feeling," a term I coined as a kid for the change experienced between the desert and mountains or the plains and hills. Minnesota has now transitioned from forests to prairies fullbof beautiful wheat fields, that smell of fresh bales. There was not a lot of scenic observation in my day, but this is one thing that really stood out.
I avoided flats today, but route 2 has been brutal to our group. We totalled 17 flats today along several people...it was insane.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Headwinds Galore
Bad Events of the day:
- Three flat tires
- Nasty headwinds
- 65 miles on Route 2
- Sore butt and knees
- Crashing blood sugar at lunch
Good Events of the Day:
- Coffee stop at Caribou Coffee again
- Asked Tyce to Bike and Build prom with a can of peas, "Will you be my sweet pea and dance with me?"
More about prom...next Thursday in the midst of our journey across North Dakota we will be having prom at a community center. People have been asking dates in the most unusual and creative and funny of ways. Now we need to coordinate great duo costumes!!
Tonight brought an excellent dinner that consisted of chicken breasts with onions, tabouli, hummus, and watermelon.
- Three flat tires
- Nasty headwinds
- 65 miles on Route 2
- Sore butt and knees
- Crashing blood sugar at lunch
Good Events of the Day:
- Coffee stop at Caribou Coffee again
- Asked Tyce to Bike and Build prom with a can of peas, "Will you be my sweet pea and dance with me?"
More about prom...next Thursday in the midst of our journey across North Dakota we will be having prom at a community center. People have been asking dates in the most unusual and creative and funny of ways. Now we need to coordinate great duo costumes!!
Tonight brought an excellent dinner that consisted of chicken breasts with onions, tabouli, hummus, and watermelon.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Welcome to Route 2
We have now hopped on route two and will be traveling along it for more days than I'd like to discuss. Today we pedaling 82 miles, 62 of which were on a single road. As dreadful as I thought it would be, I actually enjoyed it. The sides of the road were pine and aspen forests, a big change from what we came through in the lower midwest. The road was mostly flat and we averaged high speeds.
This morning, however, the first 5 miles were far from flat. In order to get out of Duluth you must climb up from Lake Superior. We climbed for a solid 2 miles before seeing any sort of flatter terrain.Once at the top we had a lovely break at Caribou Coffee, where I enjoyed a nice iced latte!
We've instituted a new activity called "Sweepstakes," which involves sweep (the two riders who ride in the back) coming up with a challenge for the day. At the end of the day all of the entries are judged and the winner gets something special (i.e. first in line for dinner, massage...etc).Well we have a common phrase that we use in Bike and Build, "Safety is Sexy," to encourage and promote safety on the road as much as possible. So, today the sweepstakes were to take pictures inspired by this phrase. You can only imagine the fun we had...I won't go into more details, but it made the miles pass very quickly as we brainstormed for the most creative picture. Tonight our sweeps, Caity and Hanna, will determine a winner. I cannot wait to see everyone's submissions.
Tonight we are in Grand Rapids, MN, birthplace of Judy Garland. The church we are staying at is right next to the Judy Garland Children's Museum!
And to back track quickly, here are some pictures from the past couple of days.
Shoveling gravel
Shoveling soil
Dirt finally spread out and raked
Dirt tamped down
Finally, to answer some questions from the comments...we have planned many times to use the slackline that I brought, however, other things have sounded more interesting. It awaits much use in North Dakota and Montana as we enter the land of small and tiny towns.
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