I thought I would do a report on my summer bike ride. Originally, I had planned on riding the first 50 mile leg of the trip for the Finish Well ride. This is a fund-raising project for a senior citizens home for abandoned & at risk seniors in Guerrero Mexico that my friend Alisa was undertaking this summer, riding her bike from Oklahoma to Alberta.
Links:
Finish Well Ride
Finish Well Facebook Page
She had arranged for a sag (supply and gear) car to follow her for the whole ride to Canada. The sag car carried all the camping gear, bike repair stuff, snacks, water, etc.; so we did not have to carry it on our bikes. Generally the sag car would drive ahead & meet us every 10 to 15 miles so we could restock our water bottles and get a snack.
The ride started on July 20 in Oklahoma City with the first day destination being Alisa's hometown of Crescent Oklahoma. So, how did I end up riding all the way to the Utah/Wyoming state line instead of Crescent Oklahoma 50 miles away??? Believe it or not, my first experience with plantar fasciitis! On June 29, I woke up hobbling around with arch/heel pain on the underside of my foot. The pain dissipated quickly & I was able to run that day. For the next few mornings, I experienced the same issue culminating but was able to run as planned. On July 3, I ran a 10 mile run with the OKC running club & was hurting at the end of the run. I finally came to my senses realizing that it was the dreaded PF & decided to take a break from running to let it heal up. So, on July 4, I started riding my bike so I'd be ready for the ride on July 20. My fitness level was such that I was able to ramp up the miles rapidly with two 100+ mile weeks in a row including a hilly 50 mile ride (the Norman Conquest). During my ride on July 18, I started thinking about riding more of the fund-raising ride with Alisa. That is reflected in my Facebook post that day, July Facebook post link I talked with Athena about it & got the OK from her. On the first day of the ride asked Alisa if she wanted another rider thru Kansas & Colorado. The answer was affirmative & the beginning of my summer cycling adventure began.
Day 1: Oklahoma City to Crescent OklahomaHot, hot, hot!!! Since we started at noon in Oklahoma we knew it would be a hot ride. We started with 15 riders of all ages. The young kids stopped at the end of the parking lot, a few more stopped at a local park, and 7 of us went all the way to Crescent. I'll be linking to the Facebook posts from the ride a lot since the descriptions & pics tell a more complete story. Alisa's description of that first day on her Facebook post, “Day one finished!!!! 53 miles in 106 degree weather... Off to a great start! Thanks for all who took their time to come out and be part of. Couldn't do it with out you!”
Day 2-4: Crescent Oklahoma to Wichita Kansas
I had other obligations so was not able to ride this portion of the trip. I joined them in Wichita on Sunday evening.
Day 5: Wichita to near Radium Kansas
Long (109 miles) and hot ride with the wind mostly at our backs through the Kansas prairie. We left at dawn on what we knew would be a long day. Nice & cool in the morning but by noon it was another scorcher.
Day 6: Radium to Plainville Kansas
Another early start to beat some of the heat, by afternoon another very hot day, completed 89 miles total.
Alisa's blog for the first 6 days. She's a much better writer than me.
The First Six Days
Day 7: Plainville to Levant Kansas
Longest mileage day on the schedule. Another early dawn start with a light tailwind for the first half. By noon we had a hot quartering headwind for the second half. 111 miles total.
Day 8: Levant to St Francis Kansas
A nice day so we padded on some extra miles (62 miles total) and stowed our bikes in an airplane hangar at the St Francis airport & rode in the Sag car back to Goodland where we had a place to stay. James & Kelly were supposed to head back to Oklahoma today, but will stay on with the ride until Ft Morgan Colorado.
Alisa's blog. Alisa's Blog Post from Goodland Kansas
Day 9: St Francis to Wray Colorado via Haigler Nebraska
A three state day! Kansas, Nebraska, & Colorado! 42 miles total. One of our favorite places to stop especially early in the morning was the local coop in small towns along the route. Good coffee, clean restrooms, & local information. In Haigler Nebraska, we stopped at the coop for a bathroom break. I was waiting out front when the 25 year old manager came out to say hello since I was wearing my OSU cycling jersey. She was a recent graduate of OSU. Alisa & I posed for pictures with her in front of her OSU regalia in her office (picture on Alisa's phone & not posted/shared yet).
We had planned on going further than Wray but knew lodging/camping choices were slim for quite aways past there. As we were going through Wray there was a town festival going on. When we smelled the local coffee/bakery/pastry shop, the smell enticed us to stop. With all the activity in town we were quizzing folks in the coffee shop as to our camping options further down the road. All hotels in Wray were booked for the festival & the only camping there was in a city park where a car show was going on. While standing in front of the coffee shop trying to decide our next option, a local lady was asking Alisa about our bike trip. Alisa gave her the gist of what we were doing... and then the lady told us we could camp in her yard on the edge of town (& use her bathroom/shower, too!!!). We took her up on her kind offer, cut our ride short, pitched our tents, took showers, & enjoyed the town festival that evening while Alisa & Cynthia took the Sag car back to Goodland where Alisa was speaking at a church fundraiser. Alisa & Cynthia rejoined us the next morning.
Day 10: Wray to Fort Morgan Colorado
A nice 88 mile ride today. Two of our riders had to return to Oklahoma & their real jobs when we arrived in Fort Morgan. We had planned on camping but ended up staying at a hotel.
Video montage from the first 10 days. https://www.facebook.com/OKCtoAlberta/videos/1797079540332579/?hc_ref=ARSV5Adx6mrmA3TCAs5keaB0MN4qLoZZk97ZMZufVNIYRrPNtNdtOZiQ8AhYJ39KBWQ
Day 11: Fort Morgan to Greeley Colorado
Google maps bike route took us a little off-course today trying to put us on sand roads. Those don't work well with skinny rode bike tires. We found a back road that took us most of the way to Greeley without being on either the access road to the interstate highway or on busy US34. So our planned 55 mile ride became a 60 mile ride.
While on the ride today I was discussing with Alisa the logistics of the ride from Colorado to Wyoming since a new Sag vehicle was taking over at the halfway point of the ride in Wyoming. I found out that our current Sag car was returning to Oklahoma on August 11 (the day I was flying from OKC to Seattle for youngest grandson's 16th birthday on August 18). With this information I was able to reschedule my flight of OKC/Seattle to a Denver/Seattle on August 12. I could continue on the ride until we reached the Utah/Wyoming stateline, then my bike & I could ride to Denver in the Sag car where I'd catch my plane to Seattle & my bike would continue on back to Oklahoma.
Day 12-14: 3 days off in Denver
This was originally to be 2 rest days but it turned into 3 as we were ahead of schedule by a day and were awaiting the arrival of a new sag driver flying in on Wednesday along with Alisa having a speaking engagement on Wednesday evening. Three rest days were great for recuperating after the long rides in the prairies & for getting a full rest before entering the climbs in the Rockies.
Alisa'a Blog "Days off in Denver"
Day 15: Greeley to Ansel Watrous CG
The first half of the ride today was mostly on bike trails from Greeley to & thru Fort Collins before starting the climb up into the foothills. The climb on the second half wasn't too bad, just a steady but not steep climb. Greeley elevation was ~4800 feet, Fort Collins at ~5000 feet, & the campground was almost 6000 feet. Total miles for the day, 58 miles.
Day 16: Ansel Watrous CG to Aspen CG (near Gould Colorado)
Tough climb today to the top of Cameron Pass 10,276 feet with a nice downhill to finish the day. Total of 53 miles today.
Day 17: Aspen CG to Walden Colorado
Short ride of 23 miles today to rest up for the ride up to the continental divide at Rabbit Ears Pass. We stayed at a motel in Walden the Moose Capitol of Colorado. Didn't see any moose though.
Alisa's Facebook live video from downtown Walden
Day 18: Walden to Steamboat Springs Colorado
Another tough day of climbing with an exhilarating but frightening descent at the end. A long steady grind up to the continental divide at Rabbit Ears pass. The downhill into Steamboat was crazy fast with speeds occasionally above 40mph.
Alisa's blog pretty much says it all. https://1sojourneronearth.com/2017/08/06/watershed-moments/
Day 19: Steamboat Springs to Juniper Hot Springs CG near Lay Colorado.
A 68 mile ride to a campground that was not on any of our maps. The ranger station in Steamboat told us about this primitive campground with a pool fed by a hot spring. It has been a camping site for the Ute tribe for hundreds of years and had a brief history as a medicinal site for the mineral and warm springs. By the time we arrived it was almost dark. We set up camp quickly and the girls went for a soak. It was pretty chilly out so I deferred. I think I made the right choice because when they got out they were chilled for quite awhile even sitting around the campfire.
Day 20 Lay to Dinosaur Colorado
Another tough 63 mile hilly ride into a pretty stiff wind.
Day 21 Dinosaur Colorado to Red Leaf CG Utah
70 miles was our plan for the day, but this may have been the toughest day of the trip so far. Flat tires (bike & car), storms, big climb out of the Great Basin & just being tired forced us to stop at a campground in Ashley National Forest at mile 53, well short of our goal at Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area.
Facebook live at the start of the ride
Day 22: Red Leaf CG to Manila Utah thru Flaming Gorge NRA
A beautiful 44 mile ride today, great scenery even on some serious climbs, & once again an exhilarating down hill at the end.
Day 23: Manila Utah to Wyoming state line
Made it to Wyoming. This was as far as I could go. I really wanted to continue on but was unable to juggle my summer schedule any more. Thankful to have gotten to ride along with them this far.
Grand total of 1,045 miles on the bicycle for my part of the ride.
I hope Alisa & Cynthia have a great ride to Canada.
Paul
More links if you wish to follow the ride all the way to Canada.
Finish Well Facebook page
Finish Well main website
Paul's blog
I think I have all links & pictures fixed.
Thanks for the great report and pictures. Well done (both the incredible ride and the report)! I followed along during the trip, but having it all here in one place is better. Loved reading this.
Out there running since dinosaurs roamed the earth
That was epic, Paul! Well done...and for a good cause. 1,000 miles with that climbing s a serious ride (and I see, coincidentally, they've hit 2000 miles today). Those 40mph downhills would have me kinda nervous, though. Yowsa!
Thanks for posting all this. This pics are awesome. I was very curious about this whole journey. I didn't have time to review the Facebook posts today but will this weekend.
Be safe. Be kind.
Great report. Looks like an amazing trip.
Head Procrastinator
How awesome! I am very interested in the bikes and hydration/nutrition but again you did have a sag wagon so maybe not as much of a concern. I will read the blog, I've enjoyed your pics of the trip on FB too.
Well done!
MM#209 / JapanJoyful#803
Very fantastic, Paul.
Not many people are stu, . . . I mean, can turn a one-day, 50-mile ride into a three-week, 1,000-miler on a whim without any accommodations reserved along the way let alone do it with someone who's goin' on for another thousand or more.
ps- knowin' the conversations that otherwise wouldn't happen is what makes it hard to part with some of those old event T's too.
"Enjoy yourself. Your younger days never come again." 100yo T. Igarashi to me in geta at top of Mt. Fuji (8/2/87)
Thanks for taking us on this Amazing Adventure with you................w0w
..nothing takes the place of persistence.....
Paul, fantastic report and fantastic ride.
MM #5615
I finally came to my senses
...and rode 1045 miles on a bike. Can somebody explain this to me?
Great report, Paul!
Paul - what're your longest rides before this? Are you gettin' ready to do something even more daunting? How's the swimmin' going?
Although I had been following this adventure on FB while it was happening, I enjoyed reading through this narrative as well.
What an exciting adventure! I remember how sore my backside was when I did a 150 mile/2 day ride up in Seattle (Whidbey Is/Port Orchard) years ago - I can't even imagine doing more mileage than that day after day! Those views you got to take in sure are amazing though. Do you think the relay running you did caused the PF? I hadn't put the timeline of it all together very well, but you noticed the PF not long after that running.
Tammy
Great read. What an amazingly cool adventure!! . . . my butt is sore(er) just thinkin' about it.
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Trail Runner Nation
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Bare Performance
That was epic, Paul! Well done...and for a good cause. Those 40mph downhills would have me kinda nervous, though. Yowsa!
I was scared going faster than 35mph. Constant thoughts of hitting an expansion joint wrong & crashing were constantly running through my head. At 40mph, I was worried that my brakes would fail and a crash would be something like a motorcycle wreck..
The accompanying sag was awesome. As far as nutrition, it was mostly bad with snacks being the road food of choice. I'm not much for gels or energy drinks but a couple of the riders used Hammergels & some sort of anti-fatigue drink. We ate a good breakfast & supper everyday though.
Yup, plenty stu---. But I am a runner, too. So it comes naturally.
I had a couple of 50 mile rides but mostly 30 mile rides in the the 3 weeks before starting. I was amazed that I did so well on the 80 to 100 mile days at the start of the ride. We did have the wind at our backs for the early rides through Kansas. That helped & may have got me in shape for the later rides. Actually, what hurt the worst was being saddle sore from lack of saddle time before the ride.
I have nothing on the calendar other than Boston next April. I'm hoping this PF clears up soon so that I can get my base mileage back up before starting to train for that.
My son-in-law mentioned that maybe we should do a ride across America together. So, maybe that is in my future.
I did get a swim in last week after being away from it during the ride. I'll keep doing at least a weekly (if not more) swim through the winter. Who knows, maybe some more triathlons in the future, too.
Although I had been following this adventure on FB while it was happening, I enjoyed reading through this narrative as well. What an exciting adventure! I remember how sore my backside was when I did a 150 mile/2 day ride up in Seattle (Whidbey Is/Port Orchard) years ago - I can't even imagine doing more mileage than that day after day! Those views you got to take in sure are amazing though. Do you think the relay running you did caused the PF? I hadn't put the timeline of it all together very well, but you noticed the PF not long after that running.
What an exciting adventure! I remember how sore my backside was when I did a 150 mile/2 day ride up in Seattle (Whidbey Is/Port Orchard) years ago - I can't even imagine doing more mileage than that day after day! Those views you got to take in sure are amazing though.
Do you think the relay running you did caused the PF? I hadn't put the timeline of it all together very well, but you noticed the PF not long after that running.
Yup. Saddle sore was the main issue in the early part of the ride.
The PF didn't start until over 10 days after the relay. So, I don't think that has anything to do with it. I think the more likely cause was a new pair of sandals that I had started wearing just after the relay. I usually wear retired running shoes as my footwear of choice. For some reason this summer I decided to get a pair of sandals for casual wear. I wore these extensively in Seattle after the relay & until the PF hobbled me. I think they may have not had enough arch support. The good news... the PF improved when I stopped wearing them; the bad news... I'm still battling residual PF pain & am reluctant to start running again.
Thanks again for reading & commenting everyone.
A wonderful journey. Thank you for sharing it in your own words and pictures.
Live like you are dying not like you are afraid to die.
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