7/2/06
Location: Jackson, WY
Comment: HOME!!!!
Thought for Today: Wind? You call that Wind?
Miles: 28 and some change
Feels like: I flew
To my fellow riders: I miss you guys!!!

Well as you may have guessed by now I am home. We got back last Wednesday the 28th and then I immediately got immersed in photographing a friend's wedding and all the three days of festivities. What an amazing experience! I haven't been around two such fun families ever!

I took my mandatory week off from riding. I do that after these tours because I didn't the first time and really hurt myself. I don't think any of us realize at the time how incredibly tired we are. I rode today for the first time since the trip ended on the 25th. WOW! I felt like I was flying and my average speed confirmed it. I have never done that loop that fast! The last time I rode here in Jackson it was 40 degrees out and I was all bundled up. Today it was 70 something and fabulously sunny! The flags said that I had a headwind but I was still going 16. I'll bet all the other women are finding they got really strong in those 30+ mph winds.

It is SO great to be home! I am almost through sorting the multiple tubs of postal mail that accumulated while I was gone. Capital One should be shot for all the credit card applications they send each day/week/month. I swear I have hundreds of them.

Hoovering Update: I have cut way back on my Hoovering but I do find there are times of the day where I just have to eat.. right then.. NO waiting. I didn't lose an ounce on the trip. No big surprise because the most I have ever lost on a cross country is just < 5 lbs.

Ellee Update: Ellee is the newest writer for the Lonely Planet! Congratulations Ellee!

Carolyn Update: Carolyn made it to Coos Bay and back home to Oakland. She got her bags from Deb the other day and I have heard she looks great! YAY Carolyn!

On the side of the road:
Wee Buffalo!!! The buffalo went and had babies while I was gone. WAY cuter than Wee Cows!
Wild flowers!
Tourists
Other cyclists with one of those posh guiding companies . .. you know where most of the folks don't actually ride.
Other local cyclists.

6/25/06
Destination: Seaside, Oregon
Miles: 24.69
Total Miles Ridden: 2713.1
Total Number of Flat Tires: 0
Total Bags of Drug Money Found: 0

We rode or final day today. It was amazingly pretty. We rode around Astoria and then on some really nice back roads to Seaside. We stopped at Fort Clatsop. It's a teeny weeny "Fort". It seems not big enough to call a Fort, but who knows. We all met up at the "Prom Bike Shop" and then road to the beach. We took pictures and marveled in our awesomeness.

We had our dinner tonight and talked about our future plans and recapped the trip. It's hard to see everyone leave. It's super hard for women to leave their bikes at the bike shop. Jean, Nancy, Carolyn and Barb are already planning on doing the Southern Tier cross country next year (Carolyn has already done it but she's signed up as a SAG driver). On! And get this! Carolyn put her bags in Deb's car and she's getting on her bike tomorrow and riding to Coos Bay and then taking a bus back to the Bay Area so she can get ready to go on another bike trip with Adventure Cycling in a couple of weeks! Go Carolyn!!!

Well I am not sure what else to say. I put more pictures up on the web tonight. I have a few more to do but they'll have to wait til I get home. I will be home on Wednesday and re-entering normal life and a normal routine. I am looking forward to that. It is going to be hard to give up all the great food prepared for me every day. Life on bike tour is simple and that's super nice. I am homesick and that's really a neat feeling. I'll probably send one more update from home later in the week.

On the side of the road:
The pink bell flowers are Foxglove. Thanks Annie!
The Ocean!
Sunworshippers by the hundreds



Songs From the Road:
(please excuse any typing errors on my part)
By Barb (and perhaps some of the other women)

To the them of "Side by Side"

Oh we ain't got a barrel of money
Jackie and Womantours has it
But we said we would SAG, to help pay our way
So we drive

We know what's coming tomorrow,
AC Maps and Cue Sheets to follow
So we get in Bo Peep, look after the sheep
on their ride

Through all kinds of weather,
we have to do our job
sun and cold, wind and rain,
you'll find us standing around

When they've all had their snacks and departed,
We pick up and get to the front again
Oh we drive down the road, hauling our load
We're SAG HAGs.

------------------------
To the theme of "In the shade of the old apple trees"

In the shade of the old apple trees,
where the Womantour's women did pee.
Came sighs of relief
as they emptied their bladders, you see.

It was there by the old apple trees,
that Glenna parked little Bo Peep
and the gang pedaled in, with that "Gotta go grin"
in the shade of the old apple trees

----------------------------

6/24/06
Destination: Astoria, OR
Miles 68.54
Miles to Date (Yesterday's math was flawed): 2688.4
Feels like: A riding day should be!
Bags of Drug Money Found: 0 (I thought we had found one but it was just the cover that SUVs often have over their spare tire)
Hamburgers Eaten: 1
Sunshine!: Check!

We left St. Helens today and rode to Astoria. As usual the Adventure Cycling provided merely guidelines for the height of the climbs for the day. We had some surprise hills. It's hard to dread something you know nothing about. One was several miles long and at the top we reached 656 Feet! I am certain that we began the climb at least 1000 feet below sea level. That's my story and I am sticking to it! The day started out with some headwinds. We all braced ourselves for a day of that. Then there were trees and they blocked the wind and then the wind seemed to just stop. There is a rumor that we even had a stretch of tailwinds.

I rode with Judy today and we made steady progress. We decided to seek burgers at about 2/3 of the way to Astoria. We found a little burger place at about mile 50 or so and had wonderful burgers. We were fueled for the unexpected hills ahead. Everyone was in good cheer.

It's hard to believe that we only have about 20 miles of riding left. Tomorrow will be filled with all those trappings of re-entry... bikes being shipped, relatives and friends appearing, hugs, smiles, the OCEAN! I can hardly believe that I am here at the Coast. I was certain I was going home in Fort Benton. I could hardly imagine staying for more wind. It just sucked the life out of me. I tried every day to find the silver lining. I would say, "at least it's not raining" or "at least it's a dry rain" or "at least it's not uphill with a headwind", etc. I'd distract myself... "WOW! Look a _____" I'd sing songs. I pondered Alaskan King Crab Legs and looked for bags of drug money. It never felt like enough. Then the Prairie ended and in between the windy days we had some amazingly beautiful days of hills and trees and Culdesacs. Then Poof! I am here in Astoria. Although I will remain a cyclist after this trip, I probably won't be doing another cross country bicycle trip. I think it's time for a new and different adventure.

As I rode today I couldn't help but think about this trip and the women who have shared it with me. What an amazing bunch!

Tailgate update... Tonight my room is right by the trailer. Claudia and Vicky are working on dinner. I am experiencing first hand what it's like to be Claudia. The strangest people walk up and tell her the most amazing things. This woman asked a couple of questions about our trip and then proceeded to tell Claudia how every member of her family had died and all about her lumps that got removed. She left and then came back to say she lost her nicotine patch that she's using to help her quit smoking. I wonder if any interesting men will come by and chat her up. I have seen this at a distance before but tonight I get to actually hear the conversations. She should write a book.. Roadside Tails of the Cycling Chef .. or something.

Highlight...
Ellee left me her most fabulous YANKTON t-shirt! I am riding into Seaside wearing it. WOW I am SO honored!

On the side of the road...
A Mule Deer
These pink flowers that look like stalks of bells. I thought they'd be on my flower identification card but they aren't. Sigh.

6/23/06
Destination: St. Helens, OR
Miles: 63.59 (which included a loop around Sauvie Island)
Did the Math: 2574.5 miles so far!
Sunshine: Check!
Headwinds: Check! (last 15 miles)
Fresh Raspberries: Check!

We road just North of Portland today, from Troutdale to St. Helens. What a great ride! Thanks to Annie, who is riding home to Portland on this trip, we had a fabulous route along nice bike paths for a lot of the day. This place has SO many bike paths! Yay Portland!

Today we said goodbye to Ellee who is off to a family celebration. It's hard to see her go! We all met up along the way to drown our sorrows in lattes and pastry. At that point Ellee road her bike home (she lives in Portland) and we headed off to St. Helens. Michelle is back for the next couple of days to keep us out of trouble.

Also our most excellent riding companion and fabulous SAG driver, Glenna, left for home as well. We all miss Glenna very much!

Oh .. for those of you in Oregon... Ellee wrote an article in Oregon Cycling about us! Annie and Gloria are on the cover: http://www.efn.org/%7Ecat/ocycling/index.php The article is here: http://www.efn.org/%7Ecat/ocycling/index.php?Vol._15_No._4_June_06:Cosmos_%26amp%3B_Lipstick%3A_Across_The_Country_With_My_Future_Selves
You can also pick up a copy in any bicycle shop in Oregon during the month of June. Also stay tuned for the July edition that has an article of bicycling tips that Ellee also wrote.

Hoovering Update:
We have been eating freshly picked cherries for a while now. They're amazing. I found out tonight that they have been expertly stoned using Carolyn's Cherry Stoner. I believe that folks who use the tool are also called Stoners. Sometimes a stone gets stuck and is then referred to as a Hanging Chad.

On the side of the road:
Houseboats! They look so cool floating on the water like they do!
Williamette River!
You Pick strawberries, raspberries and cherries. We loved Sauvie Island!

5/20/06
Destination: Hood River, OR
Miles 45.88
Feels like: Fabulous!

5/21/06
Destination: Nowhere!
Miles: 28.27
Feels like: a nice spin with a friend

5/22/06
Destination: Troutdale, OR
Miles: 52.52
Feels like: the way riding days should be.

Where to begin? Our ride to Hood River was awesome! Pretty and pleasant with a ride up to an overlook that was just stunning. Deb and another friend, Jane, came to visit in Hood River. Deb really wanted to go for a ride on our rest day and so she and I rode back up to the overlook. It was really fun to ride with no real timeline. It was windy but doable and it was sunny and warm. I have never ridden on a rest day before ... ever.. My bike was in shock. We got back, cleaned up and then had fun walking around Hood River. What a great little town. We ate some great meals and I bought some new sandals.

Today we ride to Troutdale. Thanks to Barb, our Sleuth SAG, who rode part of the route on our rest day, we had excellent directions to navigate through the bike paths, etc. She saved us some miles on the shoulder of the Interstate and we were very grateful. We rode up to another amazing overlook. The hill was well graded and quite pleasant to climb. There were a whole bunch of other cyclists up there too! Some tourists wanted their picture taken with us! I guess we're exotic..

Alaskan King Crab Update:
Some suggestions for how they got there:
"The legs were probably dropped by an eagle heading south from Alaska for the summer. He'd been carrying and nibbling on the crab to keep up his strength. " Elise

"He or she grew tired of the damn cold winters in Alaska and began the long Match to Florida. Little did it know how the warmth might impact its journey. Along comes a couple of Oregonian hicks who have never seen a crab before and one says I wonder what that tastes like? The other says probably chicken and they start tearing into it. They realize this ain't no chicken and since they have no melted butter they leave the rest and mosy on." Dave C.

"BTW - There was a story on the internet about a dance troupe of crabs that had a head on collision while en route to a benefit concert for under-aged, quadriplegic children. Not sure if they were from Alaska though. (Apparently the crabs are now living at the same facility as the children)." James M.

There was another lengthy story by Shawn about some folks who bought Alaskan King Crab Legs from a roadside stand. Fascinating!

On the side of the road:
Wee Goats!!!
Kite Surfers
Wind Surfers..
-Plants Identified:
Miner's Lettuce
Cow Parsnip
Monk's Hood
Fire Weed
Lupine

6/19/06
Destination: Biggs, OR

I don't have much to say about today. It was a brutal day into a massive headwind. I rode 60 miles. Others rode less and some rode more. We were all very brave. Whoever had the brilliant idea to arrange this trip East to West was clearly insane.

The question I have for today is this... Annie, Ruth and I came upon some Alaskan King Crab Legs on the side of the road. How on earth did they get there? They weren't wrapped. There were 4 of them still connected together and one all by itself. Do you think someone was driving along and decided not to finish their snack of Alaskan King Crab Legs? Did someone put some unwrapped Alaskan King Crab Legs on the top of the car and then they flew off? Was there a huge semi carrying Alaskan King Crab Legs that was accidentally dropping them as it drove down the road? I pondered this for quite some time until the wind beat it out of me.

The Columbia River is very pretty. The wind eventually beat that thought out of me too.

On the side of the road:

Alaskan King Crab Legs
Wee Cows!
Fields of Alfalfa (man now do you spell that?)
Mt. Hood!
Lots of trains! One of them seemed to block the wind briefly.

6/18/06
Destination: Umatilla, OR
Miles: 53.74
Feels like: A stroll along a river
Sunshine: Check!

On The Road To Umatilla. I could be the next big prime time movie... NOT!

It is well known among cyclists that School Buses are a hazard on the road. I have been almost whiped out quite a few times by School Buses. I am not sure what causes them to be so dangerous. Perhaps the drivers simply go insane having to drive kids around all day. Well on this trip I have learned that the Police are not any better. All along the Lochsa River we were stalked by an officer who lectured us about riding as far right as possible. It was the general impression of our group that he simply felt we should get the hell off of his roads. He drove by me so closely that I almost had to ride off of the road. Today in the town of Touchet, an officer turned in front of me as if I were not there. Luckily I was watching carefully for what he might do. I had to stop abruptly in the middle of the road and as he drove by he still didn't even see me. It was amazing. Luckily I lived to tell the tale. He then turned into a convenience market after he saw me and stopped. I thought perhaps he was going to apologize. I rode over and he wouldn't even roll down his windows. What a wuss. So the motto, "Beware School Buses and Policemen"

We road along the Columbia River today. It was beautiful! HUGE pelicans flew by. There were Wee Horses napping while their mothers watched. I have never been to this area before. It's really cool. We have the promise of sunshine this week and mellow winds. We're all pretty excited about it.

I met a local cyclist here in Umatilla. He asked me a ton of questions about our days. How many miles, etc. I told him we averaged about 60 miles a day and he said, "Oh so you're taking the leisurely route?" I told him that most folks who say things like that have never done a trip like this. It's amazing how many folks think they can ride cross country riding 100 miles a day. Sure you can do it but it's insane. There isn't any way that that guy could ride 30, 100 mile days in a row. Anyway I'll exit my soap box now.

The day after tomorrow Deb and Girl Attorney (tm) are visiting! It should be super fun!

On the side of the road:
Pelicans of various sizes
Trains on both sides of the river
Wee Horses
Lovely cliffs covered with lush green lichen.
Columbia River

6/16/06
Destination: Walla Walla, WA
Miles: 97.26
Miles on Cue Sheet: 86.9
Winds: Check!
Sunshine: Check!
Lots of hills: Check!
Sprinkles: Check!
Dodging Cloud Bursts: Priceless...
Quote: "It looked easy" (Glenna who drove the SAG)
Quote: "I would have a heart attack the first day" A guy at the Dayton convenience mart when I told him what we were doing.

Today we rode to Walla Walla, WA. What an amazing day! When I woke up this morning the sky was completely blue. No clouds at all. The sun was awesome. We knew we had two climbs but as these things go there was a ton more climbing than we thought. It's probably for the best that we didn't know. After the first climb to this summit that was 2800 feet or so the headwinds started. We had a tailwind all the way up and an headwind all the way down. Go figure. The 2nd climb was insane. It was on this busy highway and it went on and on and on and on.. miles and miles. It was amazing. After that we thought it was all downhill or flat to Walla Walla... NOT! We turned and road for 30 or so miles on some back roads. What amazed me is that at no time did it seem like we were actually going to ever approach a city. We went up and down and up and down through farms and the countryside. Then all of a sudden we were in back of an airport and then we were in town.

I stopped at mile 69 or so in Dayton, WA. I sat at this little store and drank a Pepsi and ate my lunch. I put my feet up and just enjoyed sitting there for a bit. It really helped me finish that last 30 miles.

Hoovering update: We're across the street from Safeway. I know you're thrilled but they have my favorite.. Ben and Jerry's Berried Treasure Sorbet. I just ate a pint.. okay I shared some with Ellee. I am thinking about having some chocolate in a few minutes. Hummm.. maybe chocolate for breakfast!

On the side of the road:
A hillside completely covered with lupine. It was completely purple
Wild Oats.. I couldn't sow them because the wind beat me to it.
Fields of Wheat
Fields of sweet peas.
A couple of Wee Cows!!!!
Some beautiful horses
A dog that chased me
Other cyclists going the other way (with smiles because they had a tailwind)
logging trucks.
A huge field of yellow.. either mustard or oxalis. Too far away to tell.

Hi everyone,

As most of you know I am bicycling from St. Louis to the coast of Oregon. The ride ends June 25th. I have paid for the trip myself and it's not a fundraising trip per se, but I am raising money for the Firelight Foundation. (www.firelightfoundation.org). I am a little over 1/2 way to my goal of $14,000. Thanks SO much to the 68 folks so far who have donated on my behalf. Your support keeps me pedaling.

It's not too late to donate. If you lost the envelope I sent or just prefer to donate online... you can go to www.firelightfoundation.org and click on "Donate Now!". Please make sure to specify "Cathy's Ride" so that they know that you're donating on my behalf.

All the money you donate goes directly to the cause. The mission of the Firelight Foundation is to support and advocate for the needs and rights of
children who are orphaned or affected by HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan
Africa. Firelight strives to increase the resources available to
grassroots organizations that are strengthening the capacity of
families and communities to care for children made vulnerable by
HIV/AIDS.

Don't worry.. as soon as I send this and finish my pint of Ben and Jerry's sorbet I'll be writing a goofy update about my day.

Hugs!!!
---Cathy

6/14/06
Destination: Winchester, ID
Miles: 74.63
Rain: Check!
Headwind: Check!
Uphill: Check!
Steep Uphill with Headwind: Check!
Better than any day in the Great Plains: Check!

Well today we learned that if we have 77 miles of downhill then eventually we have to go back up. Well today we went back up... The day started out with 30 miles of pretty flat terrain in the rain. It was fairly warm but very wet. We met some cyclists going the other way. They had just started out and were young and enthusastic. I taught them that it was a "dry rain" and they loved that. After that we started climbing. up up up up... When we got to the "top" we were out of the trees and of course we weren't at the top. Then we had these super steep rollers that went on and on . . The head wind (a medium wind for us) made the super steep climbs seem steeper. It was pretty but geez. I was tired when I got done. I was asleep by 8pm

At dinner Jen talked about how she figured that Winchester was named after the grand cathedral... Then she got to town and found the huge rifle on the Winchester sign and realized that she was in the US. It must be a huge letdown for her.

6/15/06 (the real Today.. )
We rode to Lewiston, ID. It was an easy 40 mile day that had this amazing 11 or so mile downhill. I am so behind with these updates. Tomorrow we go to Walla Walla, WA. eeeek.

Hoovering Update:
I have reached a whole new level. I eat all the time. Just when I finish eating dinner I am already thinking about something else that sounds good to eat. It's amazing. I guess I go through this every time but it still shocks me. Humm.. those cookies in the vending machine are calling to me.

On the side of the road:
A serious lack of Wee Cows. Are there no Wee Cows in Idaho? what's with that?
Water. First the Lochsa River and then some others. I'd look up their names but I am tired.
Farms and open grasslands again..

Date: 6/12/06
Destination: Lowell, ID
Miles: 65.86
Total Miles to Date: 2055.6
Feels like: A Coast

*** sorry for the delay but we have been in the land of no phones, no Internet and no cell service for days!

What's better than a tailwind? 77 miles of downhill!

Having alwas ridden across the country West to East I never
experienced days like today. Yesterday we climbed Lolo Pass. The
climb was SO easy. It hardly felt like we were climbing and the only
noticable part was the last 3.5 miles and then it was over. We
coasted gleeefully down to Powell and spent the night. We heard a
rumor from another cyclist that we would have 70 miles of downhill.
We didn't believe that at all. Turns out we did have 77 miles of down
hill. So the route from Powell to Lowell was SO great! We went down
this beautiful canyon all along the Lachksa River. It was all down or
flat. It wasn't a total coast but it was surely easy going.

None of us had heard of this river before. It is stunning and quite
large. There is a ton of class 3-4 whitewater and the spring run off
is making it flow very swiftly.

We arrived at our accommodations and found that we all have lovely
cabins right ont he edge of the river. They're SO nice. I am looking
out at the river as I type this.

I saw an add for a local religious bookstore. They said, "Our mission is to fill that God shaped hole in all of us"
I couldn't believe it. I wonder if they have t-shirts. WOW.

On the side of the road:
Butterflies! Tons of them. All along this strip on the side of the
road. There were two different kinds and they were SO pretty.
Rafters and kayakers.

6/10/06
Destination: Missoula, MT
Miles: 83.26
Feels like: A long grimey shower
Question of the Day: Why did the earthworm cross the road?
Hardly worth it: Trying to pee when it's pouring out.
Happy Owner Of: New Rain Pants that don't leak!
Fact: Hills are better than wind
?Fact?: Rain is better than wind?
Facial Expression: Smile all day!

We knew it was going to be an interesting day when weather.com said there was 100% chance of rain. We woke up to 49 degrees and raining. It rained and it rained. The great thing about rain though is that when rain isn't accompanied by wind, you can actually make pretty good time. I was not interested in stopping because that would mean certain hypothermia. So I plodded along with all my winter gear on. I found that my rain pants have died a certain death. Upon inspection after the ride I found that they no longer have waterproof laminate in several places. (note that they cost $45 and I have ridden in the rain on two cross country bike trips with them) This explained my sopping shorts and tights. Luckily there is an REI here in Missoula and Marilyn picked me up a new pair just like the old ones. Fabulous!

At one point there was a convenience mart and many of the ladies stopped there to drink something warm. I stopped, ate my lunch and then moved on. One of them asked me if I was cold. I said no and then reflected upon how folks get really warm just before they die of hypothermia. I thought about that as I rode away into the rain. My teeth chattered for a while and then I just rode by myself in the rain feeling fairly warm.

We saw many many cyclists riding the other way in the rain. Maybe that is what made the day even better. I got to see that not only were the women on this trip insane but 50 or so folks were also just as insane. At one point I heard Vicky laugh at something (she and Marilyn were behind me until they passed me a little later) and then two women rode by me. I started to talk to them and realized that they weren't Vicky and Marilyn, they were two strangers. They seemed entertained that I tried to talk to them. They rode by like I wasn't even moving. It was really fun to watch. We also saw a handful of people traveling on bicycles self-contained and some of the men (unhappy looking) were towing B.O.B. trailers. Eeek.

Tonight my friend Missy took me out to dinner. Did I mention that I love food? !! It was such a great time. We also walked around downtown for a few blocks, checked out the carousel and the special man-made wave for Kayakers. It's 8:42 and I'll be asleep in a few minutes. I am SO tired. I managed to stay up til 9pm though. Amazing.


On the side of the road:
Earthworms crossing the road
Wee Cows!
Second Nature Taxidermy.
All those cyclists going the other way.
Beautiful green hills and a river.

6/7/06
Destination: Great Falls, MT
Miles: 56.14
Feels like: it should...
Wind: NONE!
Hills: Check!
Max Speed: 42mph and I wasn't trying to go fast.
Breaking: Optional.
Bags of Drug Money Found: Still 0..
Fields of flowers: many along today's route.

New bicyclists chant..."Hills are better than wind"

We had a wonderful rest day in Ft. Benton, MT. What a neat little town. Our hotel, although not fabulous but servicable, was right on the river. My Sweetie visited me there and we walked all over. The original bridge and used to turn to allow boats to go up and down, is now a walking bridge. It is super nice and has benches for lounging. We learned the story of Shep the wonder dog. His buddy died and was taken away in a casket on the train in Ft. Benton. For years Shep waited at the train station for his buddy to come back. He made Ripley's Believe it or Not. I think almost all of us have Shep shirts.

I didn't realize that I was fully Hoovering til Jeff showed up. He looked at me in astonisment several times as I ate and ate and ate. He brought a lot of food and even made homemade guacamole. I am back to eating pre-dinner dinners now. I am also addicted to Good and Plentys...

Ann Smith left us in Ft. Benton and I am going to miss her a lot. I have lost two fine riding buddies so far.. First Terrie and now Ann. At least Ann left me her Army Corps of Engineers Jr. Safety Ranger Hat. I am sure it will help ease the pain. We have three new segment riders and we're all having fun getting to know them.

So today. I left the hotel super late... about 8am. Everyone else was gone except for the guides, Claudia and Ellee. I went across the bridge and off on this wonderful road. It was super rolly with big ups and amazing downs. I saw two antelope and different times. They both seemed keen to observe me. One of them went into a run and it was fun to watch. The morning was warm and sunny and there was very little wind. At one point I had a brief tailwind but mostly the wind wasn't any issue. After about 30 miles I caught a couple of the other riders and at the top of this long hill we stood there in awe. It was SO pretty! The sky is definitely bigger here in MT.

We stopped at the Lewis and Clark visitor's center which to our surprise wasn't the advertised 5 mile round trip but more like a 1 mile round trip. Marilyn, Vicky and I got lost in this maze of exhibits. Marilyn was tempted by the Emergency Exit routes that didn't seem to lead us out of the maze. We felt as if we were Lewis and Clark.

On the side of the road:
Two Antelope
Grass that didn't look like waves in the ocean.
The Missouri River .. closer than ever.

6/7/06
Destination: Great Falls, MT
Miles: 56.14
Feels like: it should...
Wind: NONE!
Hills: Check!
Max Speed: 42mph and I wasn't trying to go fast.
Breaking: Optional.
Bags of Drug Money Found: Still 0..
Fields of flowers: many along today's route.

New bicyclists chant..."Hills are better than wind"

We had a wonderful rest day in Ft. Benton, MT. What a neat little town. Our hotel, although not fabulous but servicable, was right on the river. My Sweetie visited me there and we walked all over. The original bridge and used to turn to allow boats to go up and down, is now a walking bridge. It is super nice and has benches for lounging. We learned the story of Shep the wonder dog. His buddy died and was taken away in a casket on the train in Ft. Benton. For years Shep waited at the train station for his buddy to come back. He made Ripley's Believe it or Not. I think almost all of us have Shep shirts.

I didn't realize that I was fully Hoovering til Jeff showed up. He looked at me in astonisment several times as I ate and ate and ate. He brought a lot of food and even made homemade guacamole. I am back to eating pre-dinner dinners now. I am also addicted to Good and Plentys...

Ann Smith left us in Ft. Benton and I am going to miss her a lot. I have lost two fine riding buddies so far.. First Terrie and now Ann. At least Ann left me her Army Corps of Engineers Jr. Safety Ranger Hat. I am sure it will help ease the pain. We have three new segment riders and we're all having fun getting to know them.

So today. I left the hotel super late... about 8am. Everyone else was gone except for the guides, Claudia and Ellee. I went across the bridge and off on this wonderful road. It was super rolly with big ups and amazing downs. I saw two antelope and different times. They both seemed keen to observe me. One of them went into a run and it was fun to watch. The morning was warm and sunny and there was very little wind. At one point I had a brief tailwind but mostly the wind wasn't any issue. After about 30 miles I caught a couple of the other riders and at the top of this long hill we stood there in awe. It was SO pretty! The sky is definitely bigger here in MT.

We stopped at the Lewis and Clark visitor's center which to our surprise wasn't the advertised 5 mile round trip but more like a 1 mile round trip. Marilyn, Vicky and I got lost in this maze of exhibits. Marilyn was tempted by the Emergency Exit routes that didn't seem to lead us out of the maze. We felt as if we were Lewis and Clark.

On the side of the road:
Two Antelope
Grass that didn't look like waves in the ocean.
The Missouri River .. closer than ever.

6/4/06
Destination: Havre, MT
Miles: 88
Feels like 88 Miles: What a change...

I know I haven't written for a few days. We left Wolf Point, MT and road to Glasgow and then Malta. In the words of my friend Dr. Brush.. I have reached Terminal Wind (hers was Terminal Revolutions). On the way to Malta we faced 30+mph headwinds starting at the beginning of the 70 or so mile ride. As we creeped along at 7-8mph I decided that I was no longer having fun. At mile 30 I got in the van. Kudos to the 7 women who braved it out and rode the whole 70 miles in that wind. As it was the 30 miles exhausted me and I slept 9 hours last night.

Today there was little or no wind. It was warm and sunny and for once 88 miles felt like 88 miles and not 150 miles. We were thrilled. Along the way there was a little town called Dodson. Deb and I had the most wonderful sandwiches there two years ago. I stopped and said hi to the guy who owns the cafe there. It was nice. Two years ago it was raining. Today it was sunny and warm. It was nice to get to stop there again. Ann and I found a nice cafe in Chinook about 20 miles from the end. We sat and had a soda and ate our lunches. It was wonderful. We discovered that Chinook, MT seemed to have a number of genetically challenged folks... They were friendly though and one of the men said, "I used to bicycle when I was young, but I grew up"

We discovered where Plastic Flamingos come from. We saw them in their native habitat. We found a native flock of them all along a little creek. They looked so happy in the wild like that. They were out of suburbia and happily wading. It was so sweet. There were a few dozen of them. So beautiful!

When we road to Glasgow, MT a couple of days ago at one of our rest stops there was an osprey nest. It was abandoned and we thought that maybe the occupants hadn't shown up yet. While we were there an osprey showed up, looked around and called his mate. Soon they were both checking out the nest. They then left. We speculated that they were off to the hardware store and lumber yard to get supplies to fix up the house for the season.


On the side of the road...

Yellow headed black birds
Some bird with a super long beak. We're still debating what it is.
Lots and lots of Wee Cows
A black dog that ran for a couple of miles along side us at about 15mph. He wasn't chasing us, just pacing us.
Three antelope but not at the same time.
A wooden snowman on a fence.
The Flock of Pink Flamingos..
Miles of string that they use to paint the lines straight.

6/1/06
Destination: Wolf Point, MT
Miles: 58.20
Odometer Reading: 7624.4
Total Miles Ridden to Date: 1507 (wow, that's a lot)
Road Sign: Wolf Point.. Lewis and Clark Slept Here Why Don't You?

Today we rode to Wolf Point, MT. We had NO (yes that's right) NO Wind. It's amazing how fast we can all now ride on the flat terrain with NO Wind... I kept thinking we had a tailwind but when I'd stop I realized that there was NO Wind. I didn't remember Wolf Point til I got to the town. Of course the hotel hadn't changed in two years and they were still super disorganized. So four of us went to this cafe that I remembered and had lunch. Did I mention we love to eat?

The SAG drivers (Carolyn, Barb, Glenna and Nancy) all got matching "SAG HAG" t-shirts today. The shirts were specially tailored by the crafty scissors work of Ellee. Everyone seemed pleased. They also have the team cowboy hat that seems to be too big for everyone and so there is a hat layering thing that happens.

Claudia seems to have an endless stream of men that want to stop and chat as she cooks for us. There's nothing more attractive to Janitors, Railroad Workers and Alcoholics than a woman cooking out of a the Ultimate Tailgate Kitchen.

I sent some road tips to Ellee for her new article.... I thought I'd share:

--When cycling always look your best because sometimes looking fast is all we have.

---When someone unpleasant drives by and yells things like, " You should be dead in the ditch" I always translate that to mean that they think we're hot women on bikes.

---Wind always turns out to be a headwind .. even if it's coming from behind.

---Even if your day is horrible glue on that smile for pictures. You'll be glad when you look back in your album.

---Even if your day is horrible .. when another cyclist rides by glue on that smile. Their day might be worse and you can at least fool them that yours is fabulous.

---Don't call it a flat tire... Call it a puncture. It sounds so much more pleasant

---When you stand up and pedal always hear Phil Liggitt's voice saying, "She's dancing on the pedals!"

from a friend of mine:
---You bike 20% faster when the person in front of you has a cute butt.
---You bike 30% faster when someone who looks like they aren't in as good a shape as you goes sailing by you.
---"It's not a hydration system, it's just a damn bottle of water."

On the Side of the Road:
--Wee Horses with their Mom's .. SO cute
--One perfectly intact piece of celery
--This tow truck went by us towing a car on the flatbed and then pulling a van behind. The van had one flat tire that was being shredded as the van road on the metal rim.
--The sign that points to Regina, Canada... old @Home folks will know why that's funny.
--Many sightings of many dogs. Claudia played hide and seek with one of them.
--One lone Prairie Dog running down a driveway.

5/31/06
Destination: Culbertson, MT
Miles: 43.79
Feels Like: A rest day
Sun: Check!
Wind: Check!
Familiar Sights: Check!
Bags of Drug Money Found: 0
Quote of the Day: "Who's Trigger?" - Ellee


Today we rode from Williston, ND to Culbertson, MT. It was a wonderful day. We slept in and then had a wonderful breakfast, Including Homemade Donuts! (Did I mention we love to eat?) At mile 19 or so this woman who lives on our route opened her home to us. She had fresh coffee, coffee cake, fresh pineapple, wonderful ginger cookies and iced tea. We stopped and ate and I played fetch with her dog. Kudos to Barb for her outreach program that connects us to all these great folks along our route! The wind was a mellow 10mph or so and although there was a huge storm brewing off to the North of us it didn't rain on any of us.

When I got to Bainville.. it was a huge deja vu for me. We rode this route on the Northern Tier two years ago. We rode the other direction from Wolf Point to Williston. It was an incredibly hot day when we did that and in Bainville we all hung out around the metal cowboy artwork and poured water over our heads. I tried to call Deb to tell her where I was, but I had no cell service there. We sat there and had snacks. It was pleasant.

We are now in Culbertson and tomorrow we go to Wolf Point. The roads are Super Flat now and the wind is supposed to behave again tomorrow. Wouldn't that be lovely!


On the Side of the Road:

Road sign, "Anglers - Boaters Tune Radio to 1610 AM. Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers"
- I sure hope we don't have any Aquatic Hitchhikers.. This ride is hard enough without someone else on my bike with me.
A beautiful Swan and some merganser ducks
Slush Creek Walkers - containing the original descendent of Trigger.
Carol and her wonderful coffee and hospitality

5/29/06
Destination: Williston, ND
Miles Ridden: 24.82
Miles in Van: 50 something.
Wind: Like the Wizard of Oz
Rain: Pelting.. I thought at one point... Is this hail?

We all woke up to find it was warmer outside than predicted. It was supposed to be in the 40s and clearly it was warmer. I left all my layers on though and decided that I could always ditch them at the first SAG stop. So we started riding. There was NO (yes really) wind. It was beautiful rolling green hills. Wee Cows were everywhere. We were all smiles.

Then the clouds started building on the horizon. We were still optimistic. At about mile 17 Carolyn was stopped in Bo Peep to give us snacks. We stopped and chatted.. Soon after I got back on my bike it started to rain. I stopped and put my rain gear on. My jacket first and then a few yards later my rain pants. Then it started raining in earnest. I thought.. "Rain and no wind.. I can do that". I rode on.. enjoying the scenery and even the rain. Then there was rain and a little wind.. I thought,.. "Rain and a little wind.. I can do that". I rode on... Then the rain started to hurt as it hit my face... I still though.. "I can do that".

Ann and I started down a roller. She was just ahead of me and seemed to fly down the hill and part way up the next. Just as I started down a huge gust of wind hit me in the face, almost stopping me. I wrestled my bike to get to a little pullout without falling over and stopped. Jean stopped too. At that point Ann started back toward us and soon we were all in the pullout with our backs to the wind. We all looked at each other in amazement.. How did our fabulous morning turn into this? Soon Carolyn and the Subaru showed up. Everyone crawled in the Subaru. I think at one point there were 7 women in there. I stayed outside (since I was in full rain gear) with Carolyn as we tried to call the van. Soon the van showed up and everyone piled in and bikes on top.

We drove the rest of the way to Williston.. still pondering how it could have hit us so hard when there was only a 20% chance of scattered storms.

Some of us had ridden this day in the other direction two years ago on our Northern route across the US. As we rode by the fence with a boot on each fence post and saw how incredibly beautiful the ride would have been we were all a little sad. Such a pretty day and we weren't out there. It was super nice to start our rest day early and we were all glad to finally be warm and dry.

Today we're all hanging out and doing our rest day adventures. I slept til almost 8am and I have been sipping my coffee for about an hour. It's so nice.

Web Update:
I will be putting up more photos on the website this afternoon ( daydream.com, click on Public Galleries and then Lewis and Clark) Oh and all of these email updates are there too now. (daydream.com and click on blogs) if you want to tell anyone to look. I am still sending them via email and please don't ask to be taken off the email list if you prefer the blog. I don't have time to do that for this trip. Managing the email list is a lot of work. I just wanted the back issues up somewhere because it's a pain to forward them.

Update Update:
I have heard that some folks get worried if I don't send an update every day. I try to have the humor and energy to send something every day. Sometimes, however, my humor or energy leaves me and I am forced to sleep or eat. Please don't worry. We're still all here and an update will be on its way soon.

On the Side of the Road:
Wee Cows!
Fence with boots on it.
Beautiful green rolling hills
I didn't see much else because of the pelting rain.

5/27/06
Destination: Garrison, ND
Miles 76.26
Supposed to be: 68 miles
You Guessed it: The extra miles were directly into the wind.
Comment: I remember every inch...
Humor: None


5/28/06
Destination: New Town, ND
Miles: 76.54
Rain: Check!
Tailwinds: Check!
Headwinds: Check!
Crosswinds: Check!
Stupid Question: "Hey are you guys getting wet?" (a random motorist actually stopped to ask us this as we rode our bikes in a steady rain...)

We found our new favorite town.. Parshall, ND. Why do we like it? We stopped in Parshall. I had a Parshall Cup of Coffee and we both had Parshall Pees. The Parhsall Cemetary gave us a chuckle too. I guess maybe you had to be there.

Ann and I determined that there are two great questions in life. The first is this... If there are Outskirts to a town are there also Inskirts? Where do you find them?
Also if you reconnioter have you connoitered?
As you can see we many of life's great questions were asked today!

We woke up to thick fog and the promise of headwinds. Turns out that for the first 30 or so miles we had tailwinds. They defied all natural law but we were very happy. Then we had some headwinds and some fine cross winds. They weren't as stong as in past days and at mile 58 or so it rained. I didn't mind the rain since the winds were pretty mellow.

Regarding Wee Bulls: I was reminded (thanks Ed) of the old commercial.. "Wee Bulls wobble but they don't fall down".

On The Side of the Road:
The Missouri River (huge surprise eh?)
A deer that met an unfortunate fate.
Many more Wee Cows. One had a cute white spot on the middle of his forehead. Totally cute. The funny thing about Wee Cows is that they seem to know that I am talking to them. If they're lying down they get up when I say, "Hi Wee Cows". It's really pretty amazing.

Lots of crosses made out of PVC pipe. Jen noticed that there were tons more of them on the side of the road we were on all day. We wondered if more folks died on that side of the road and if so, should we perhaps ride on the other side of the road?

In South Dakota there are the "X marks the spot. Think" signs that mark the same thing but they are on both sides of the road pretty evenly distributed.

5/26/06
Miles: 52 and some change
Wind: Finally to our back ! (mostly)
Destination: Bismarck, ND
Wee Horses: Check!
Wee Cows: Check!
Thunder and Lightening: Check!
Special Thanks: To all of you who sent me encouraging emails lately. I have needed them.

Today we tentatively road out of the hotel. What would the wind be like? Did those flags lie? Only the road could tell us and we were hopeful but cautious. The route was rolly again but it was nice. The pavement was brand new for close to 40 miles. The wind was gentle and to our backs.. well sort of crossy and to our backs. It was a nice temperature. It was pretty.. and for some of the time it was quiet. Wind is WAY noisy. It's maddeningly noisy. Today the wind was quiet.

When the route flattened out the tailwind got stronger. Of course that was handy because off in the distance there was lightening and thunder. I road in my little patch of sun for a while, in denial of the storm. For a brief time it tried to hail on me but the hail was a little slushy. Then it stopped. By the time I got to Mandan (a cultural mecca) and onto the bike path that would take us to Bismark, it was warm again and the sky was blue. We had a huge headwind in Bismark as we went East to cross the river. Yucko.. it sucked the life out of me.

After arriving at the hotel, Carolyn and I headed for the bike shop listed on the Adventure Cycling map. Well 16 blocks and a flat tire later, the bike shop is now a pet store. Oh well.. it was a fun adventure.


Hoovering update:
Well there is a Mall here by our hotel. Yes that's right a Mall. Not a little Mall but a huge Mall. I had no idea when I entered the sporting goods store that it was attached to the Mall. As I wandered in amazement I found all the things I was looking for. I didn't know what they were when I entered the Mall but I felt confident I'd know them when I saw them. I had a latte at Starbuck's. It was just how I like it with foamy soymilk. I ran into some of the ladies at the natural foods store. Yup, a Mall *and* a Natural Foods Store. I got some nuts and things for road snacks and carried on. On the way back from the Mall I was unexplicably drawn to Famous Dave's BBQ. I couldn't stop myself. Within a couple of minutes I had a huge beef brisket sandwich and slaw. I just finished it and dinner is in an hour. I am sure I'll be plenty hungry for dinner. I just love Hoovering...
The funny thing about this Hoovering is that I don't actually know I'm hungry. All of a sudden I'm eating and eating and I can't stop and I never seem to get full.

Tan Update:
My fingers officially look like I dipped them in mud. My gloves are fingerless and after a while my fingers are tan and my hands are white. It looks just like I dipped my fingers in mud. Of course there's a little dot about 1/2 inch in diameter on the back of my hands where the velcro strap doesn't cover over my hand. It's freaky.

On the Side of the Road:
Rocks with "Born To Buck" painted on them, one letter to a rock. They were in a field of big horses and Wee Horses.
A black metal or wooden (flat) Statue of Liberty on someone's lawn

Lots of Wee Cows! One of them had gotten on the wrong side of the fence and his mother was desperate to get him back. I watched and finally he found that he could get under this part of the barbed wire and back to his mom. Whew! (BTW I guess he was a Wee Bull but it doesn't sound as cool as Wee Cow.

5/25/06
Destination: Fort Yates, ND
Miles: 61.38
Note: 2nd longest day of pedaling but not the second longest mileage day


Barb wrote another song today. This one is to the tune of "Walking in the Rain" by Johnny Ray

--------
Just riding in the wind,
getting blown away.
Thinking to myself,
"Why didn't I SAG today?"

Just riding in the wind,
with the grip of death
Keep the bike up straight
This really is a test

People pass in their vehicles,
They probably think we're nuts
We just keep our heads down
And wait for that next gust

Just riding in the wind,
Will it ever end?
All the time remembering,
The wind is your friend.
---------

YAY for Barb! I didn't really think anything would make me laugh today but this song rocks.

I am not going to go into details for today. Let's just say it was slow and difficult. I tried my best to grab onto any silver lining but in the end failed miserably. It is not clear to me that I can do any more days like today.

There were some sweet things that happened during my wind torture... I stopped to adjust my seat bag. You have to picture this scene. this is a VERY open space. I was all alone in a huge span of openness. A little speck. This nice person stopped to make sure I was okay. It was super sweet.

A little while later I hear this "chirp chirp". I looked and finally saw this prairie dog on the other side of the road. He was up on his hind legs and demanding that I take notice. I said hi and he settled down. A little while later a prairie dog ran across my path, stopped in the middle of the road, and then carried on. It was neat. Toward the end of the wind torture there was a huge colony of prairie dogs on the left side of the road. Hundreds of holes and tons of little dogs running around and playing. It was neat.

On the Side of the Road:
A poor dead kitty. So much for 9 lives.
Eight horses all by a fence cheering me on (or laughing at me.. with horses you can never tell)
Prairie Dogs.
A turtle (that Ann helped across the road)
Oahe Lake (this lake has been going on for days now.. it's huge)
A bunch of black cows with little white Wee Cows...

5/24/06
Miles Ridden: 24.00
Average MPH: the worst yet
Rest of Ride: In the Van
Destination: Mobridge, SD
Winds: NW at 30mph with 50mph gusts
Rain: Check!

Before I go into the update... Barb wrote a song today. It's new words to Home on the Range. Michelle sang it for us this evening! What a treat!

O give us some roads
where the winds really blow
from the right, from the left
in your face
Where you can't seem to find
ones that blow from behind,
So you pedal and struggle
all day.
Ride Lewis and Clark,
Where the strong winds will sure
leave their mark,
Where seldom is heard
a discouraging word,
These Womantours woman are tough.

Well I think we're all disappointed today. For the first time ever the wonderful Calfee "Plastic Bike" (TM) ended up on the rack. We rode off with high hopes this morning after an amazing array of freshly baked pastries and a wonderful breakfast ala Michelle. The wind was amazing. It got stronger and stronger. The sky was all sorts of grey and black. The sun peeked through here and there with these amazing rays. We had a cross wind for 15 miles and then we turned directly into the wind for 6. We turned North again and a little bit later we were supposed to ride 17 miles on a dirt road. (there was road construction that closed our primary path). Well when we got to that intersection the winds were very intense and facing really "sinky" dirt with those cross wind gusts was just insane. If the road had been paved I think some of us would have carried on but it was a fine day to take a ride. We gratefully got in the van and drove the rest of the way to the hotel.

When I arrived at the hotel a surprise package of wonderful chocolates awaited me. Yumm yumm. There's also a really decent restaurant here and I had a great buffalo burger.

Tomorrow the winds are NNW at 18mph. That's starting to look really great.

On the Side of the Road:
Ring Neck Pheasants - A whole bunch of them flying out of the tall grass
Wee Cows .. these were teeny and SO cute.
Grasses blown into waves like an ocean

Dan the other Lewis and Clark rider. He's self-contained and he's riding our route. We have seen him a couple of times. He turned down a ride in our van and headed bravely up the 17 miles of dirt in the wind. It was amazing to watch him swagger up the hill.

5/23/06
Destination: Gettysburg, SD
Miles: 72.41
Winds: South 15-30
Miles To Date: 1085

Today when I got up I looked out into the darkness and saw that it was probably raining or it had just stopped raining. I continued getting ready and hoped that it was just my imagination. When it was light it was cloudy but warm and lovely. We rode out of town and at the top of the hill we all had to take our layers off because it was too warm. Then the sun came out. Fabulous.

The morning was just beautiful. Little rollers and amazingly big sky. The winds grew and grew out of the South. We had some really nice stretches of tailwinds and then also stretches of a very strong cross wind. I am at a point now that even the cross winds just zap my energy. Still the first group of us were at the motel by around 12:30pm or so.

Suzanne and I had a discussion for a while along the road about bicycle chamois. I was commenting on how shorts that are fabulous on one trip are instruments of torture on another trip. We puzzled over it and it seems that the lower tech more oval chamois seem to be the old standard that works. We're not sure why. We both vowed to go back into our closets and start wearing our old low tech shorts to see if they're now fabulous again.

On the side of the road:
The family farm.. I haven't mentioned this but the family farm seems to be gone. We have passed many, many farm houses and barns that are long since abandoned. They have been replaced by large corporate farms. Some barns and houses are on the verge of collapse. Some we have seen have collapsed. There are still a few left. Today there was a beautiful white farmhouse with a blue metal roof and the propane tank had a nice smiley on the end. Most are gone though, just empty shells.

A racoon and a pheasant that met horrible fates.
A jackrabbit that ran swifty across my path
A field of pig pens. The piggies were being fed and all in the middle of the field
Wee Cows (of the farm variety)
Anti Abortion Billboards

5/21/06
Destination: Pierre, SD ( pronounced "Peer")
Note about Destination: Pierre is the Capital of SD. It's also the only state capital without Interstate access.
Miles: 61.41
Feels Like: We're Bionic

We had heard rumors last night in Fort Thompson that we would have an ESE wind today. We couldn't even let ourselves think that we might get such a wind. Before we went to sleep there was some debate about which direction was North. I was too tired to participate. Anyway when we got up this morning and started to ride North, it became really clear that we had an East wind. In 12 miles we would hang a Left and maybe, just maybe we'd have a little TailWind.

As we rode the 12 miles enjoying at least a cross wind, it kept picking up. The wind got stronger and stronger and when we finally made our left we had the most amazing tailwind.... It was like we were flying. It was beautiful rolling terrain and it wasn't entirely necessary to pedal at all but we all got to remember what it was like to use the big chain ring... WOW! We were all in Pierre before noon and had huge grins on our faces.

Tomorrow is our rest day and also Jen's birthday. I am hoping that we'll get more ESE winds as a present for her birthday. If not we completely enjoyed our day with little effort. It's about time!

Rest Day Activities:
Here's a little glimpse into what happens on a rest day. We sleep in as much as we can. Usually for me that means waking up between 6 and 7 with no hope of sleeping later. I lounge around and drink my coffee for a bit. Then I decided when to do my chores. Chores include Laundry, Bike Cleaning and Maintenance, organizing our stuff, eating and eating and eating. We also check out the local town. Tomorrow I'll be going to the Bike Shop, (I may need something there. Not sure what but I'll know it when I see it) shipping a box of stuff home and checking out the capital of SD. Oh yeah and I'll be putting all of my pictures up on my webpage, www.daydream.com (click on Public Galleries and then Lewis and Clark).

On the Side of the Road:
Another teeny Wee Horse (so so cute)
The Missouri River (like you didn't know that)
Flags blowing in a favorable direction.
Some sighted sculptures of buffalo and such out on the hills
Ann saw a Blue Heron

5/19/06
Destination: Chamberlain, SD
Miles 90.14
Feels Like: 135 (at least)
Winds: Yes from the North
Our Direction: North
Quote: "Wind will make anything wobble" - Jean
Quote: "My butt really hurts, but I can only focus on one pain at a time. My feet hurt more" Marilyn
Quote: "Here comes the fork" - what Marilyn said when it was my turn to get off the front of our little pace line.
One more Quote: "In Pukwanna, I wanted to puke" - Nancy.. Pukwanna was a town on our route.

Today was amazingly beautiful. The first 20 miles was really amazing. We were all in denial that the winds were picking up. I felt that if I denied it then they would stop. Well they didn't stop. Before they kicked into full gear I saw these amazing horses on both sides of the road. They weren't fenced and one was right by me as I rode through. They were really neat.

We had a wonderful lunch in the Mecca of Platte (thanks to Ellee) and then we headed out into the wind. We had 7 miles due West before lunch and 8 miles after lunch.. Then we headed North again. The winds were directly from the North and kept getting stronger and stronger. Marilyn and I lined up and traded off every mile. It saved me. I don't think I would have made it if we hadn't taken turns.

I have heard stories of Pioneer Women going Insane out here on the plains. I think there are a number of reasons why:
1) The Wind
2) The open expanses without anyone or anything (It's like that now so I
can only imagine how expansive and empty it was back then
3) The Wind
4) Did I mention the Wind?

Okay I have been so behind in telling funny stories from the trip. As you know most of the women are more mature. The youngest is 42 but the staff is younger. Anyway the ladies determined that Ellee was clearly too young when she only bought a fifth of alcohol for the drinks for the group. She showed up with the teeny bottle and she was asked, "What is THAT?" I was determined to be "airplane sized". It was also determined that she wasn't capable of buying the right kind of bread. I missed the whole bread thing but Ellee has never heard the end of it. Anyway of course Ellee is totally capable of doing all those things. Now she knows to buy nothing smaller than a gallon of tequila or other liquor and she buys bread without strange crunchy things in it. So when Emily exclaimed, "We forgot to pick up my bike!" Ellee said she already picked it up. Ellee said, "Yup, all 27 years working just for you" (or something that resembles that.) Totally funny. The ladies have started really loving those 27 years working for them! I know I have.

Hoovering Update: Someone (who wishes to remain anonymous) started putting M&Ms in her peanut butter sandwich...

On the side of the road:
Bales of Hay arranged really interestingly on a field
Really happy song birds
Bison/Buffalo ( actually yesterday)
A Red-Headed Woodpecker
Those wonderful free ranging horses.
Banana peels... We're still wondering if they're from the monkeys or the circus clowns. Maybe the monkeys were chasing the clowns.

I finally fixed the images on my webpage. I have some up from the first week or so. I'll work on the next group of images soon!

Enjoy!
---CJ

http://daydream.com/public.cfm?tGalleryId=30&GP=1

5/18/06
Miles: 80.53
Average Speed: Still not telling.. but WAY better than past days.
Feels like: A nice summer Day
Destination: Pickstown, SD
Checking into the wrong Hotel because of bad documentation: Check!
Quote: "Gayville South Dakota, That's the name... get over it" - Barb's T-shirt
Quote: "That's right.. all 27 years working just for You!" Ellee

It took all of us a while to accept that today was actually real. Now that I have pondered it, I should have made someone pinch me. We were concerned because the day was supposed to be 65 miles and it was going to be 80 miles. We were terribly worried about the wind. The news this morning said that we would have West winds changing to East winds 5-15mph. That sounded promising. We were all cautiously optimistic.

We left an hour earlier than usual and braced ourselves for another day in the wind. Miles clicked by as we found that there was no Wind. The morning was chilly, about 48 degress, but it warmed up nicely to 80 degrees. The ride was amazingly pretty and the roads were nice and traffic free. There was a stretch of about 16 miles where Jean and I clicked away at 17+mph. Then there was a hill and she dusted me. It was SO much fun!

At one point, Jean, Annie and I were at this T intersection and these really nice Native American guys (Sioux I suspect) stopped to ask us about our trip. They were so excited to hear about our ride! It was really cute.

Our first SAG stop was at what I call the "Straw Bale Bathrooms" There were these huge staw bales and well... you get the picture... The ride had one teeny town and the rest of the time we were just out there in the boonies.

Hoovering Update: I am starting to eat all the time. I just ate more corn nuts than I thought anyone could consume. I just love food!
Last night Ellee made the most amazing Thai rice dish and pot stickers. We anxiously await her next creation.

Picture Update: our next rest day is Monday. I plan on uploading all the pictures at that time. There are a few up there per my last email.

On the side of the road:
Lots of Wee Cows
"Equal Rights School Road"
Lots of Fencelines with an occasional Old Tire hanging on them. (we pondered the use of the old tire.. I guess they have to do something with old tires)
Really interesting Farm Machinery.
Farmers tilling and planting. One was spraying something toxic with his big spray gizmo.

5/15/06
Miles 62.73
Average Speed: Crawling
Maximum Speed: 58.9 (don'tya just love technology? )
Bike Computer Malfunction: Check!
Motel Name: WinneVegas
Just When You Think It Couldn't Get Worse: Rain
Temperature According to the Wonderful Weather Gizmo: 64.2F
Bag of Drug Money: Blew Away


Today we woke up to a glorious day. The first 17 miles were Windy but Amazingly Beautiful. Hills to the Right and Farmland Stretching out to the Left. WOW it was Stunning....

Another Highlight of today was the town of Onawa, the original Home of Eskimo Pies. The let down was that although every one there seemed to know that they were the home of Eskimo Pies, no one had one for Sale. There wasn't even a Onawa sign for me to photograph. What's with these folks? I guess they don't know Marketing.

All these days in the Wind I kept holding on to the fact that although we had Wind, Wind, Wind and more Wind, it really hadn't Rained. Well today after about 45 miles in the wind from Hell, it started Raining. So we had Rain and WInd. What a combo..

In the last five miles or so of my ride, Ellee zoomed by me. I was so happy to be behind her. She made a wonderful wind break. She asked if I wanted to draft here and I appreciatively said, "Yes". Apparently that meant accelerate and so she sped away from me at way faster than I was capable of at that point (maybe at any point). I had to chuckle when she finally realized (about a mile later) that she was a mile ahead of me. Totally funny. I put my head down and crawled to the motel.

The Silver Lining? It was Super Windy and Pouring but I didn't get a Flat! (or as they say in The Tour.. a Puncture). Puncture sounds more civilized doesn't it? I think so!

I couldn't let myself even for an instant think that we might get a Tailwind, but as I turned for the .7 miles over I-29 to the WinneVegas Motel.. I had a tailwind and managed to hit a whopping 12 mph.

Hoovering (TM) update:
I have been eating and eating and eating. I will soon be eating again. Did I mention that I love Food?

Revolution Update: Ann has started a revolution. These didn't start til much later on the Northern Tier. It appears that if we just stay on route K-whatever that we will do fewer miles than if we follow the Adventure Cycling Route. I signed up. We'll revolt at the map meeting. It will be a ton of fun!

On the Side of the Road:
A dog that was much more interested in chasing the SAG vehicle than us.
Other Dogs that were super annoying
Very Polite Drivers.

Destination: Elk Point, SD
Answer: There seem to be no Elk here.
Miles: 47.89
Average Speed: Less than 18mph
Wind: Yes Lots
Odometer Reading: 6825.2
Miles Ridden To Date: 707.8
Feels Like: At least 1000.
Quote of the Day: "This is just like Lewis and Clark... they didn't know where they were either" - Anonymous


Hi everyone,

Today was a really great day. The cue sheets were a challenge as usual (I am debating about whether it's que or cue but I could give a damn really...). We rode through Sioux City (while the Beach Boys song Surf City keeps going through my head... "Come to Sioux City.. here we come... " ). We ended up at the Mall and had to wriggle our way through it and out the other side. Just as we were temporarily found there was a Walgreen's. I was SO psyched to pick up some necessary supplies that I threw caution to the wind and stopped to shop. The ladies there were so sweet. They let me park my bike inside and eagerly asked about my trip and helped me find every little thing.

Before I knew it I was on my way with my new found bounty. Of course the next turn was called something that didn't at all resemble the name on the sheet and as I turned I realized that I was in a huge industrial area and no one would find my body. Just as I started to worry and dug for my cell phone, Carolyn drove up and confirmed that she was confused as well. I rode on and saw her turn ahead at the next turn and I was back in the game.

We all managed to find the Lewis and Clark Interperative Center and Interpreted quite a while. I rode away from there with Ann. She was leading the Ann and CJ revolution. (anyone can join) We decided to go straight on route 105 instead of doing this little jog out of the way on route 12. We felt like outlaws. I did tell some folks so that they wouldn't worry. We rode on our little adventure and part way up our detour we met a local cyclist who slowed down to chat with us. The road was so quiet that he rode next to us for miles and chatted about how unusual the NNW winds were this time of the year. He showed us where a nice stopping place was and then headed off to finish his ride. Turns out he lives near the famed Walgreen's and knows the ladies who were so nice to me. We caught up with the SAG just as some of the other ladies who went the long way arrived. They rode about 5 miles further than us. The funny thing is that I rode exactly the mileage that the cue sheets said. The actual route was longer.

Anyway we may not have saved any time but the little detour really helped our morale. Looks like the revolution will continue later in the week when we change the route for the 99 mile day that turns out to be 117 miles. Some of the ladies found a route that's more direct and is only 84 miles. In this wind 117 miles would be insane. At 7-9mph it takes a long time to go 117 miles.

Definitions:
Floor Pump vs. Hand Pump. - It seems that at least some of you don't know what a Floor Pump is. A Floor Pump is a bicycle pump that you put on the floor, you put your feet on the little wing things and then you pump up and down. Let's contrast that with a Hand Pump. A Hand Pump you carry on your bike. It's lightweight and you practically have to be bionic to get enough air in your tires because you use your hands to pump it in and out while you're balancing your bicycle up against a wall or whatever.

Breakfast Frenzy:
The Breakfast Frenzy is in full swing. So Breakfast has been mostly at 7am. Turns out what that means is that women are usually completely done with Breakfast by 7am and have gotten on their bikes. When Michelle cooks something it's great because those of us who actually go to breakfast at 7am get to eat warm, yummy stuff.

On the Side of the Road:
A big old barn ready to fall over
That Cyclist from Sioux City.. okay he wasn't on the side of the road...
Walgreen's

May 15, 2006

Well I decided to have an Apres Ride Beer and found that dinner isn't ready for another hour. I decided to take some time to answer your questions about the trip and how it works.

We paid for this? Yup... we did. We are all Women (right now the oldest is 73 and the youngest is 42) and we have paid a company to organize this trip and to schlep our stuff from place to place. This is the first time this company has done the Lewis and Clark route and so that's why the route sheets are somewhat challenged at times. Suzanne, aka, SueMo Map (tm), scouted the route and put together our directions. She leads the Map Meetings. SueMo Map (TM) doesn't roll off the tongue like Map Judy of my trip two years ago, but with practice you'll get it.

Every night there is a Map Meeting. We go over the route for the next day and are given Que Sheets. These are a synopsis of the Adventure Cycling maps and also give specific directions to our accommodations for that night. They say things like, "Turn Right out of the Motel and ride in Horrible Winds for 60 miles, oops 70 miles"

On the road we are supported by a Subaru Outback called "Bo Peep". The women who drive that are, Glenna, Carolyn, Nancy and Barb. They rotate so each rides 3 of every 4 days. We meet up with Bo Peep throughout the day and Hoover its various snacks. We can also get in the Subaru and give up if the day sucks. Those of us who are into EFI riding (two of the words are Every and Inch) usually only do that if the conditions are unsafe. You don't need a reason though, that's what they're there for. This Wind is starting to feel more and more like a Fine Reason. The Subaru also known as the SAG or SAG Vehicle, also has tools, a floor pump and other things for us if we break down.

Then there's the Van and the Trailer. The Trailer holds the 8th Wonder of the World.. the Wall of Luggage (TM). This Wall is pretty small since there are only 16 or so of us. On trips where the numbers are more like 28 the Wall is a thing of Beauty. The Trailer also has the Kitchen. Michelle makes amazing delights for dinner out of that Kitchen. There is a propane multiburner stove and cupboards full of all sorts of cooking stuff. Gloria designed it and it's pretty amazing.

Ellee and Michelle run the trip. Michelle cooks and the two of them rotate who drives the Van. The non-driver is often seen riding with us. Ellee makes sure things happen that are supposed to happen. We have women who only ride a segment (we lost 6 of them on our last rest day, and two new ones arrived). Ellee deals with all of that.
At some point Michelle will leave and Claudia will join us and cook. I don't know Claudia but she lives very close to me and I hear she's an amazing cook.

So each day we ride at our own pace to a predetermined destination. We are each supposed to follow the very same route.

Well that's all for now. Keep those questions and comments coming!

Hugs
---CJ (that's my Bike Tour Name)

5/13/06
Happy Mother's Day!
Destination: Missouri Valley, IA
Miles on the Directions: 63.8
Miles Ridden: 76.18
Wind: Lots and Lots
Wind Direction: In My Face.
Bags of Drug Money Found: 0
Days Left in this Riding "Week": 7

Today was another incredibly Windy Day. Winds from the NNW at 10-20mph. We're all getting really Sick of the WInd. The Forcast says NNW Winds at 10-20mph seemlingly forever. We were really glad that it didn't Rain. At one point the sky was SO black! Just a few sprinkles and then it stopped.

The ride was Beautiful. Even the route through Council Bluffs was pleasant. I did a quick stop at a bike ship looking for some Chamois Butt'R but they didn't really have any. It was a huge shop and the employees didn't even come up from the shop to say hi.

Sorry this is so terse, but I am Tired. It was our 4th straight day in the wind. The day we just had off seems ages ago and it was only yesterday.

On The Side of the Road:
Christy Creme (seemingly a local donut place)

5/11/06
Destination: Falls City, NE
Miles 54.86 - miles count double because each one was such an effort
Average Speed: Not Telling
Feels Like: Kansas
Remembered As: The Awesome Paceline Day
Paceline Members: Marilyn, Vickey, CJ and Barb
Motto: At Least we Looked Fast.
Hardcore: Jennifer who rode the whole day alone
Hero: Carolyn who kept us all going
Quote of the day: "It's a Breeze" - Jennifer
Quote of the day Out take: "It Blows" - CJ

Apologies for not getting this out last night but not only was there no internet access, no real phone but there wasn't even a 3 prong electrical outlet in my motel room.

Kansas welcomed us with 30+ mph wind gusts. You can't beat that! We struggled along til we saw Carolyn at about mile 15 (she was driving the support vehicle) and after eating everything in sight the Awesome Paceline TM was formed. Of course when you have a 25mph cross wind, a Paceline isn't all that helpful but it was a huge morale booster. So we inched a long switching off the front every mile when Marilyn would yell, "Time!" Sometimes it was actually a headwind and the Paceline Rocked.

Carolyn would check in with us every 5-10 miles. She was on the verge of being the "Stalking SAG" TM but we loved it. At one point Ellee tried to get us to stop. She felt that we were all in danger of being blown off the road. Poor Ellee... We all just looked at her, tipped our heads and got back on our bikes. It was a hard day but certainly a doable day for us. We had nothing better to do as it turned out... the motel wasn't exactly one to write home about.

The traffic was better and the drivers polite and then we were out of Kansas and into Nebraska. We had lunch at the state line and took pictures.

Wee Cow Update... A friend of mine didn't know what a Wee Cow was and google'd "Wee Cow". Much to his horror he found this,

"In April 1870, Wee Cow was found guilty for wounding with intent to murder and sentenced to death. A review commuted the sentence to twenty years imprisonment on account of temporary insanity."

Believing that we were seeing this kind of Wee Cow on the side of the road he sent me a Very Concerned Email.

On the side of the road:
More Wee Cows (of the farm variety)
Trees almost completely bent over.

To be honest we didn't see all that much because we spent all our time fighting the winds. It was a generally pretty ride though.

Hugs!
---CJ

5-9-06
Miles According to the Directions: 65.6
Miles because "The Bridge was Blown Up": 4
Miles because Street Sign Missing: 2.8
Miles because Turns Missing on Directions: 2.8
Total Miles Ridden: 75.20
Apres Ride Beer: Priceless

We're all grateful today that the rain seemed to have missed us. I woke up in the middle of the night to hear the Time to Build the Ark Rain (tm). I gleefully dozed back off and hoped for better weather whenever my alarm woke me. It seemed that it was going to rain but in the end it became warm and sunny. Another amazing day.

The ride was wonderful. Those big rolling hills that give you that hope that if you go down one fast enough you don't have to work to get to the top of the next. It was fun and a bit tiring. When we got to the section where "The Bridge was Blown Up" we got to ride on a totally new stretch of freeway with a great bridge over the Missouri River. It was fun.

Excelsior Springs, MO was like a Driver's Ed Video with a big steep hill in the middle. We climbed and climbed to this intersection that had cars coming every way and we had to stop and then go in the middle. Ouch. Then our turn on NE 124th Street didn't have a sign and three of us zoomed by it because we were still looking to bear right onto State Route H. We had to turn around and then found that some turns were missing from the directions. Anyway we all safely made it to the hotel with some of us having to rush because nature called.

As we were lost someone said, "Lewis and Clark had it a lot tougher than this". I'd have to agree, but to some weary women on bicycles we felt like Lewis and Clark today. Okay.. Lewis and Clark with bicycles and cellphones.

Suggestions from the Audience:
- It was suggested that Meat Solutions are probably useful to cyclist's "Bacon" region. Perhaps we should have stopped to find out more.
- It was also suggested that Meat Solutions might be some sort of protein powder that would also help cyclists
- There was also one Soylent Green reference

Hoovering Update:
Michelle is finally here and that meant that we had a huge feast last night. We all ate and ate and ate.
Everyone was very happy today too because of her wonderful 7 grain hot cereal... Yumm
During the feast one of the women muttered, "You'd never know that I ate chicken salad an hour ago"

On the side of the road:
One very beautiful owl that met an unfortunate fate
Cows.. but no Wee Cows (tm)
I left out the two donkeys that were with the Llamas yesterday
A guy in a van who informed us that Kearney, MO was in the completely opposite direction to where we were headed.
Fields of Wee Corn (tm). The tallest I saw was about a foot.

5-8-06
Miles: 70.75
Odometer reading: 6393.9
Direction according to the Wonderful Weather Gizmo (tm) : still unknown...
Feels like.. a breeze

After a very successful rest day of high adventure and mostly lounging around we got on our bikes again today.

We rode to Higginsville, MO. Where is that you ask? No one really knows. It's a town of 4600 people though and so it was the biggest in quite a while.

We rode through the mecca of XXX Outlet Stores. Unfortunately for us none of them were open. Disappointed but hopeful we moved on.

The forecast was for 40% chance of Thunderstorms. Eeek. Well it did sprinkle on us and for a while we had a very nice tailwind. It was fabulous to be on pavement and the rolling hills meant we got to coast. I embraced my Inner Coaster (tm) and it was a blast. Before we knew it we were 50 miles into the ride. It flew by.

About half way through the ride we came upon the "Cargill Meat Solutions" sign. (again you can't make this stuff up.. I have photographic proof) I pondered for most of the day what a Meat Solution would be and whether or not anyone would want one. They sound a little scary to me. Meat Solutions... what could it mean?

Oh.. almost forgot. The Hoovering Update. We are all starting to Hoover. It creeped in slowly because we were riding short days but now you can see women circling the trailer for dinner and everyone is going to breakfast earlier and earlier. I am starting to plan my next meal/snack while I am still eating the previous one. It's hard to make it through the night without a snack. I ate a huge bag of licorice the other night before I went to bed. Pretty soon we'll be having the Pre-Dinner Dinner (tm) and all the other combinations of double meals. More as it develops

On the side of the road....
Baby Cows known to CJ and Deb as "Wee Cows" (tm)
Possums that have met unfortunate fates.
Meat Solutions ( I am certain someone has already trade-marked this)
A half dozen or so Llamas. They all looked at us with interest
We heard a peacock..
One "Wee Horse" and his/her Mother.

In the spirit of Lewis and Clark I am going to start randomly capitalizing words in my updates. While we were at the Museum of Western Expansion we found that they often capitalized things.

5-2-2006
Miles 44.85
Feels like .. a lot less...
Weather.. amazing... sunny, warm, fabulous...

We left the fabled St. Louis arch today and headed off on our Lewis and Clark adventure. A huge thanks to Deb, who road tripped to St. Louis with me and introduced me to Wall Drug, the Corn Palace as well as other roadside attractions. Too bad the world's largest Ball of Twine was just beyond our reach! Also a huge thanks to Bill and Elaine Darte who took me out and fattened me up the night before my adventure began.

So the ride... It was flat as flat can be. On trails of all sorts. Some paved, some not paved, some very muddy, lots of very deep puddles. The Plastic Bike is already "mountain bike dirty" (TM)

5-3-2006
Miles 26.75

Quote of the day from a church sign....

"Those who seek God at the eleventh hour die at 10:30"
(seriously.. I have a picture. you can't make this stuff up)

The other days were longer. Each of the first three days I got lost.. How does that happen? I think it's because of you who pledged per mile (Mirv). At least as I am trying to find my way I realize that I am earning more $$ for Firelight (SHAMELESS PLUG: if you want to donate go to www.firelightfoundation.org and make sure to say it's for Cathy's ride)

So the first day we all were following this Bike Path and ended up going around this little Lake. I got to chat with the Fisherman twice as I went by. He hadn't caught anything yet but was hopeful. Then we ended up somehow missing a turn (again on the Bermuda Triangle.. my new name for any bike path) and had to figure out how to weave our way through this town to get to the motel..

The second day I was distracted by the Church Sign (see above) and missed Pam Street. Terrie and I ended up at a QT market just as the thunder and lightening storm attacked. Interesting people watching at the QT that's for sure.

Then the curse struck again the third day when we entered the Katy Trail in the wrong direction. What's worse than riding 65 miles on the Katy Trail? 71 miles on the Katy Trail. I really really really dislike the Katy Trail. It's flat but dirt and it just goes on and on. You can't go very fast and you end up with mud everywhere.

For those of you who have pledged per mile (Mirv) my initial Odometer reading is attached. I have also attached this great pic of all of us at the arch. I'll put photos up on the web on Sunday, our first rest day.

Today Ellee rode into the motel with a Safety Triangle attached to her Helmet. It's truely a fashion statement and I am already planning to get some velcro or something to attach it to mine. She named it the Safety Mullet (TM). You gotta love that.

On the side of the road.....

Several Snakes
a Turtle
lots of Cardinals
a Skunk that ran in front of us today

April 11, 2006

For everyone who is new to the list, welcome... I rode again today and
decided to send you some thoughts for the road. The real trip doesn't
officially start til May 2, but training here and now is just a
riot...

4/11/06

I have found on a fabulous spring day like today a cyclist has any
number of chants. Here are some

"It's not cold, It's not cold, It's not cold..."
"Snow is better than rain. Snow is better than rain. Snow is better
than rain... "
"Snow is dry, rain is wet. Snow is dry, rain is wet. Snow is dry, rain is wet"

There are also questions that get asked (sometimes outloud as more of a scream)

"Where did this $%^&* wind come from?"
"Do I really have brain freeze from the wind?"
"Can someone actually cycle with all this clothing on?"
"Is that a moose in the road?"

I rode 40 miles and even though it did snow on me and it barely hit 40
degrees F, it was a beautiful day and a lovely ride.

Hugs!
---Cathy

April 2, 2006

The two of you who actually read the entire last message requested I
send this. Enjoy!

My first ever spin class was many years ago at a gym. It was on this
stupid fixed bicycle with a tension knob. A woman I refer to fondly
as the "Lycra Bambi" (tm) was coaching us up imaginary hills and we
were in a race with each other apparently. I was out of shape, and I
thought I was going to die. To summarize .. it sucked.

So here I am in Jackson and at the beginning of the winter I flew back
into town one day. I sat next to a local guy who, after he worked as
hard as he could to get to move to a seat away from me, decided to
give in and chat. I was lamenting having to face the Lycra Bambi (tm)
and he said that I had to go to this local bike shop for spin. He
said his biking buddies swore by it.

So in January I signed up for my first spin class. I had no idea what
I was in for.

I did as I was told. I showed up with my bicycle. My bike was
connected to a trainer that was connected to a computer. There are 8
of us at a time. On the big screen each of us is in a lane and there
is a map of the terrain. There is a countdown and then we're off.
The computer simulates uphills and downhills. Note that it may say
it's downhill but there is no coasting. The downhills seemed
remarkably like the uphills most nights.

Well my first spin class at the bike shop went about as well as the
spin class with Bambi. Turns out the other 7 people are folks that I
never ever get to ride with on the road. They're the ones who blow by
me and I often ponder where they are going and why they're in such a
hurry. Now I get to sit in a room beside them watching them kick my
ass. This one guy finished 8 (count them) miles ahead of me in a 19
(yup you heard right) mile ride. I didn't even think that was
possible. One guy stopped riding and left and it took me like 15
minutes to catch him.

Every Grrl needs a purpose...... Turns out after a few nights Michelle
showed up. I found that the reason that I was in spin class was to
make it so she wasn't last. She started coming every time after that
because I think she totally liked not being last. The final spin
class I went to before it ended for the season, I gave Michelle a run
for her money. My average speed was a whopping 17mph. (compared to
my original 12). She tried to drop me but she couldn't. She only
beat me by 1/3 mile! Meanwhile all the other folks beat us both by 5
miles with average speeds of 22mph. I call these people "Uber".

The discussions before and after class were all about who was doing
which race when. Turns out they're all 20something and most of them
are super nice. It seems that spin class will be the only chance I
get to actually ride with any of these folks.

Chris Carmichael (Lance's coach) is going to be in Jackson in August.
I am going to his workshop. Maybe it will help me get a little more
Uber. I have to say that spin class has been good for my riding. It
made my push myself and usually I just ramble along. Of course I felt
like I was flying today and, well, it was a massive tailwind.

More hugs!
---CJ

Ps. More on the way to St. Louis in a couple of weeks.

April 2, 2006

Since the decent spin class has ended for the winter and I can't bear
to face the Lycra Bambi (TM) at gym spin class, I have no choice but
to try to ride outside. In Jackson Hole that is no small task.

I rode a short ride on Friday to see if I could survive the cold. It
went well but it snowed on me. I have found that getting snowed on is
WAY better than getting rained on as long as the roads are clear.. but
still eeeewwww!

The anatomy of a "nice spring day"...

I put on a ton of gear... wool socks, then thick waterproof socks,
knickers, waterproof/windproof tights, thick thermal shirt, jersey,
hoodie (I LOVE MY HOODIE), and rain coat, riding gloves with thick
windproof gloves over them, plus the usual shoes, helmet, etc.

If that isn't exhausting enough. I have to carry my bike down my
driveway (it still has about 6" of slush on it) and down the road
quite a way before I can ride on clear pavement. It's barely 40F
outside at 2pm. Some of the roads have snow on the sides so deep I
can barely see over them. (while on my bike)

Okay so I am riding. It's not so bad. I have this SPF 30 goop on my
face that's like thick Vasaline. It is fabulous stuff, but not so
great for my complexion. It's windy.. I can deal with that. I
discovered that there are two roads that are still closed for the
winter but they're plowed and perfect to ride on. So I rode up the
main road and turned onto one of the perfectly clear yet closed roads.
If the gate was just a few inches higher I could ride right under it.

A man in the distance was putting on his snowshoes and was bent over
for a while. He looked like a bear so I slowed way down til I could
identify what he was. I continued on my way past the man/bear. The
thing about no cars is that there is nothing to duck behind if there
is some huge critter.

When I got to the booming metropolis of Kelly, WY, I saw my first
moose. She was huge. I am thinking she was a he who already lost his
antlers for the season. He/she was a ways away so good. When I got
back to the main road I saw that tourist (aka gaper) season has
started early. There were three moose on the side of the road. One
was super close to this little barbed wire fence. There was a woman
in knee deep snow standing on the other side of the fence no more than
20 feet from the moose. Like that fence will keep her safe. I made
sure to yell to her, "THAT'S INSANE!"

Now I am home. Time to warm up and get ready to ride another day!

Hugs
---Cathy

Ps. If you have read this far and think you want me to write one of
these about what spin classes were like here in the town of extreme
atheletes let me know.