It has been two weeks of a complete swing from absolute exhaustion to absolute delight. I hit a crisis of faith in Fremont Nebraska when the temperature hit 100F with 40% humidity and I had no energy to see myself through the next day. But after talking with several riders, came to the conclusion that though I am not an athlete, I did still want to finish the ride - not the endurance road race that it had become for me, but the bike tour for which I had signed on.
My new goal was to be in camp by 4 pm each day, whether it meant riding my bike or taking the SAG and that has worked well for me. So I have SAGGED 5 times altogether and am enjoying my rides, for the most part, knowing that the pressure is off me to perform as a Tour de France racer. I have also found a pace line that I enjoy with 4 or 5 other riders who stop for photos, bird watching, scenery appreciation, and pancake breakfasts, ice cream and any other thing that could possibly interest us.
I would love to keep my blog up to date, but simply don't have the time each night, so here are a few random stories:
For my little sister - I stopped for a drink in Benkelman NE on an incredibly hot day and got into conversation with Bob and Donna at their store. For fun they go rattlesnake hunting at night, taking out a bucket, shovel and flashlight. They shovel a rattler into the bucket, then take it home and put it in their freezer until it dies. I have a photo of Bob holding a mounted huge rattler which was still alive after 3 days in the freezer. He told me this as Donna was putting ice in my drink. Hmmm! I guess it's the equivalent of gopher hunting on the prairies.
Riding alone the next day, I was slugging up a small incline, when I saw Johnny approaching from behind. As I moved over to let him pass, I felt a hand at the base of my spine and heard the order to "Steer Straight". Johnny Rocket Power pushed me up the hill at three times the speed I have ever climbed a hill. It was great fun and I was laughing (well, more accurately, but less appealing) sqealing hysterically all the way to the top. Some of these guys are strong. In fact several of them had often taken turns pushing the much heavier recumbent trike of Bill up mountain passes. Simply amazing and a real act of generosity!
I often have to laugh as I imagine people following the elevation profiles in the "Shifting Gears" book. A downhill in Iowa with a headwind is as difficult as a mountain pass, while our 185 km day with a tailwind into Dordt College, Sioux Center Iowa, was a breeze. The mood was celebratory that night enhanced by my first stay in a real bed in their beautiful dorms.
I loved Iowa, not only for the endless fields of corn, but for the 20F drop in temperatures, and all the tiny picturesque towns with coffee shops and ice cream parlours. Britt, Iowa was especially pretty. That's for my housesitter by the same name. Deb DeBoer served me at the pharmacy. Her husband was a CRC pastor in Langley at one time.
In Madison Wisconsin, I was asked to do give a short presentation on the causes which we support. I was quite tired and managed to throw a few mistakes into my speech by trying to talk rather than read what I wrote, but overall it was a good experience and has sparked many in-depth conversations with fellow riders. Calvin DeWit who is a well-known teacher and naturalist led some of us on a tour of a prairie conservancy which he has established in the Town (township) of Dunn. It is huge and unique in the States. We saw some very rare turkey-footed big blue prairie grass about 7 ft high, purple cone flower (echinacea), hummingbirds and marshland.
I saw the Mississippi from the seat of a SAG after a very rough road took its toll on my hands and other parts. It is impressive with its many wide channels and riverboats. The prairie of Iowa instantly changes to the Great Lakes Forest of Wisconsin and its lush green rolling hills with beautiful dairy farms.
We were on back roads as we crossed into Illinois and so missed the actual highway signs, but I loved the horsy, old world feel of the country as we moved from modest farms toward the huge estates of the wealthy outside the Greater Chicago area. We rode 60 km down the Fox River Trail which winds along though quiet deep dark forests and old towns. Simply wonderful.. Unfortunately, the roads into Trinity College deteriorated into a nightmare. Several cyclists had terribly close calls with traffic that was not about to yield an inch to cyclists on highways with no shoulder. Lyn was even attacked by a sunflower which wrapped itself around her handlebars and caused her to fall, banging her knee badly. Who could anticipate that one? I could hardly make myself get on my bike the next day, but knew I could SAG if it was as bad. Of course, the roads were magnificent, smooth and enjoyable all the next day. And it helped that I had had a great night as the houseguest of Claude and Jan Bos in their Monet room along with my friend, Dora.
The ride along the shore of Lake Michigan has been peaceful and beautiful. Indiana State Dune Park where we stayed was quite incredible with 100 ft high dunes and lovely silky sand and warm turquoise water. There has been lots of time to do the things that our group likes to do, including going off-route to take a ride on the last hand-cranked chain ferry in the States. Mark Deckinger or Marcus Lise might have uploaded those photos to their blogs. I have been riding mainly with them, Tony Schweitzer and Clare K, though the groups change around from time to time and I like to spend time with the Meyer family, too. There are CRC churches every few miles, including a visit to the first one in the States in Graafschap and the magnificent one that has replaced it. There are many people standing beside the roads to cheer us on. It's a rather funny experience as we are treated like heroes, but all we are doing is riding our bikes. None of us can believe that we have actually ridden as far as we have as the days just roll into one.
Yesterday, Tyler, Cynthia and Arnie who were the seriously injured cyclists joined us for dinner at the CRC Conference Centre in Grand Haven. It was wonderful to see them and to know that they are all healing well. Cynthia, recovering from a pelvic fracture, even rode today. Now that's guts!
Tonight I am staying at Calvin College in Grand Rapids with Dennis and Jenny Hoekstra and it is wonderful and homey. And I should probably end here as I am not organized for tomorrow yet.
