Friday, June 4, 2010

Tour de Cure Training

I've so enjoyed my time on the trails in Wisconsin as I train for the Tour de Cure ride on Saturday, June 19th....so much to see and enjoy. God is generous in His creation.
ponds and lakes, creeks and rivers, bogs and wetlands...oak and birch trees, sumac and crepe myrtle...wildflowers galore with new ones each month (wild rose and phlox right now)...lots of squirrels, gophers/chipmunks, rabbits, cardinals and robins...baseball diamonds, soccer fields, kiddy parks and golf courses...corn and soybeans...old churches and schools...farm houses and barns...big city streets, four lane highways, quaint rural main streets...rolling hills with mansions, run down abandon barns...trains, Dairyland school buses, trucks and cars...men walking dogs, women pushing baby strollers, rollerbladers, walkers, runners, bikers of all shapes and sizes...a red fox, a startled deer, a 2 foot snake, 2 huge turtles, a big fat toad...lots of surprises!
Today I did my first ever 50 mile ride on my bike. It rained this morning so I had to wait until the afternoon to ride...if the little gadget on my bike is to be believed, I rode 51.3 miles in three hours and fifty six minutes (13 mph). Not bad...I feel like my goal to finish the ride (62+ miles) in 5-6 hours is realistic.
The training is taking a lot of time, but I find it enjoyable, and so far it has not been painful. Fortunately I have several different paved trails I can ride in our area ~ and I can get to them on my bike. I have ridden on three Rustic Roads (#10 is on Mill Road and Valley Road where Cedarly is located in Oconomowoc, #86 is on Waterville Road and meanders thru the Southern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, and #16 is on Sandy Bay Road at the north end of Two Rivers)and five different bike trails (The Lake Country Trail, The Fox River Park Trail, The Glacial Drumlin State Trail are all within Waukesha County. The Mariner's Trail and Rawley Point Trail are in the area where we have our boat.) http://psalm1005.blogspot.com/2009/08/early-morning-bike-ride.html

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