Let The Journey Begin

So the journey is about to begin.  I arrived in LA on Thursday afternoon.  I wanted to have time to adjust to the time change and just get prepared for the big ride.  Of course the "map" was in the hotel lobby.  It is indeed daunting to see the route, even though I knew what it would look like.  Even more daunting was watching the screen on the Delta flight coming here.  They show a topographical map of where the plane is flying.  And when I saw the mountains in New Mexico, Arizona, and California, I remembered that we have to cross them on the bike!  This map will be in the hotel lobbies every night on the trip.  Each day it will be updated with a red line to show how far we have gone.  Right not it looks insurmountable but it is amazing how fast that line goes across the US.

My bike arrived safe and sound.  I am really impressed with the AirCaddy boxes.  They are so easy to pack and unpack and extremely sturdy. 

Today I helped with some of the "chores" the Crossroads staff have to perform in order to get ready for the ride.  It is great to see the behind the scenes work that goes on.  Now I know more about why the experience is so great for the riders.  I took the bike out for a little spin to make sure everything was working right.  But no major rides for me until the tour starts.  Tomorrow is the orientation and then a team dinner.  I met several of the riders today and remember how nervous I was three years ago.  This is a big undertaking and everyone has a right to be a bit anxious about the whole thing.

I am looking forward to starting the ride on Sunday. 

Off Again - XC13 - Biking Across America

Yes, I am going to do the Crossroads trip across the US once again. I am excited about the prospect and ready to go. I have been asked several times "Why?" I think the real answer is: "because I can." Since completing the first trip, I contemplated doing it again several times. But while in Belgium last fall, with some urging from Norm, I decided that I really did want to go again. And time was a'wasting as they say. I had been training and I was healthy, so what could stop me. I am not getting any younger and at my age the feeling of being vulnerable starts to set in. 

As I contemplate the trip, I realize it will be a different trip than the last one, even though the route is the same. I now know I can complete the ride and I believe my conditioning is as good as before, if not better. I think the mental aspect was really the hardest in 2010. Maybe I will have conquered some of that. If I am still the slowest rider (which I may be), I will just enjoy the solitude and the scenery. I know I have learned a lot about climbing, so the mountains do not seem as formidable. However, I know there will be challenges and this will take all of the determination I can muster to ride every day and every mile. 80 miles a day average, thousands of feet of climbing, hair-raising descents off of Mingus Mountain, desert heat, Kansas wind, 45 days of riding; the challenges go on and on. All of this is off-set by: amazing scenery, great support staff, new friends, old friends, the joy of just riding every day with no other responsibilities, the ability to eat 5000 calories a day and not gain a pound, and the great feeling of accomplishment.

The bike has been shipped so I am anxious to go. I will fly to LA on Thursday, the orientation is Saturday, and we start pedaling on Sunday. For those of you from XC10 and ES11 I will reconnect with Tracy, Rik, Jim Olsson, Tom Dunn, Robin, Carol, Hank, Mike Taylor, Darrell Thomas, Bob Fuller, and Tom Gray at various points along the way.

XC10 Riders Reunite at Assault on the Carolinas

One of the real pleasures since riding across America has been the times when some of us are able to get together and ride again. This happened on April 13th in Brevard NC. The ride was a 65 mile ride with 7000 ft of climbing. The climb up Caesars Head was 7 miles. Sounds like a day on tour.

The other riders where Chris Hall, Sam Watson, Jim Olson, Craig Probst, Jim Hall, and yours truly. Of course we had the required pre ride dinner (but not at Applebee's). And a bit of beer was consumed. And we did Tracy proud with out XC10 Crossroads jerseys. Sometimes it pays to be the oldest one in the group. It makes coming in last more worthwhile.

Biking in Belgium

Anyone who is considering biking in Europe should seriously consider Belgium. After two weeks of a wonderful trip, I can highly recommend this as a destination. On August 30 Norm and I flew to Brussels where we met Tracy, Jim, Ron, and Craig who had just arrived from Colorado. All the bikes arrived in tact in their cozy Air Caddy boxes. After a day in Brussels to unpack bikes and recover, we drove to Oudenaarde where we met Doug from Coventry. Oudenaarde is in the western Flanders area and is the location of the Tour de Flanders. We spent a week in a lovely old hotel in the middle of town and from there explored the area. Friends of Jim's from Germany joined us the first day in order to orient us to riding in this area. The Flanders area is basically flat with some hills which provide a challenging climb. The real challenge in this area are the cobblestone streets. Believe me, you wonder why your body or bike is still in one piece after your ride on them. No one from the US will believe the number of biking trails there. A whole network of roads exist with their own roadsigns. The guys climbed the cobblestone hills that are part of the Tour de Flanders. I guess descending on the cobblestones was the real challenge. I did not try that. Riding on the flat was enough. We rode from Bruges to the sea one day and explored the WWI battlefield areas another day. And best of all the sun shone every day. Unfortunately Dougie had to leave us after the first week. The next week we went to Durbuy, a small town in the Ardennes. This is beautiful country and the riding was very different. It is mountain country with assents and descents, one after another. The countryside and small towns are fantastic. Every moment was enjoyable, even the climbs. We went to Bastogne to visit WWII memorials. Very moving. Again the weather was good, the people were friendly, and the biking was super. As good as the biking was, the meals, discussions and laughs were comparable. Everyone on the trip had a great time and we are all looking for the next adventure. The road goes on and the fun never ends.

Preparing for the Belgium ride

OK, so I know that Belgium is not part of America. However, I just want to continue the blog as part of my long-distance cycling experiences. Jim Ollson and Tracy Lenier came up with the crazy idea to ride in Europe in 2013. Jim did the research and the decision was made to go to Belgium. We want to be a part of the Tour de Flanders and ride the cobblestone roads that the big boys ride! So reservations have been made and we are all leaving August 30 and will be staying for two weeks. The riders will be Jim Ollson, Tracy Lenier and Doug Squires of Crossroads Cycling fame. Also joining us will be Ron Allum and Craig Seamans of Fredricksburg, Tx, cycling fame. Norm will be coming to participate in the non-cycling activities. Unfortunately he still has to do his on-line teaching while there. The intention of this trip is to have fun, drink many varieties of Belgium beer, see the sights, laugh a lot, and then if there is time left, cycle. Since we will be staying one week in Oudenaarde and one week in Durbury, we can enjoy the time without worrying about making it to another hotel that night. And we can pick the routes that suite us. The big boys can ride their Tour de Flanders hills while I ride the less intense routes. With my new iPhone, I should be able to take some good pictures for the blog. The last post of the picture of the bike against the car was merely a test to make sure I could still remember how to post pictures.

Getting ready for Belgium

Assault on the Carolinas

As I continue to ride into "old age," I continue to look for challenges to keep me training hard. So the first one for 2012 was the Assault on the Carolinas out of Brevard, NC. This is a metric century with 7000+ feet of elevation gain. I knew it would be a challenge because while doing a training ride there last summer, I went so slowly up one of the hills I fell over! Now that was embarrassing. So knowing I had to do that climb along with a 6 mile continuous climb over Caesars Head, I had some trepidations.

Carmichael Training Systems has an office in Brevard. So Chris Carmichael came the day before the ride and took us out for a pre-ride. That is who the gentleman is in the picture. CTS staff are all great and one of the young guys stayed with me half the ride and then my coach Tracy hung back the second half. Once again I was the last one in but you all know that I am used to that.

Saturday was the ride and what a wonderful day it was. It is just now spring in Brevard and the weather was perfect. The route was fantastic, except for the many, many climbs. But I made it up the climb I fell on the year before. And guess what. Where I fell wasn't even steep compared to the top half of the climb. There were people out there with horns and cowbells which really gave the spirit a boost. The 6 mile climb brought back memories (not so fond ones) of going to Prescott and/or Flagstaff on the XC10 ride. But I made it and for a change was not the last one in for the day. There were a handful of riders behind me and some who had to be picked up on the road. So I felt good about the whole thing.

Now on to Cashiers NC on May 5. This will be a mini-XC10 reunion with Roy, Stu, Sandy, Chris, Craig, Harold, Sam, and myself. Should be lots of fun. The big dogs are doing the century but I will stick to the metric century. It is another ride with mega-climbs.