THE RIDE

After three months and 1063 miles (for perspective, it's 1020 miles from our house in WI to Sarah and Joel's house in CO) of training, the 100K ride is over...and I finished pretty well. My goal was to complete the 62+ miles in 5-6 hours and I did it in 4 hours and 40 minutes...and spent an additional 40 minutes drinking bottles and bottles of water and eating granola bars and fruit at the 5 stops along the way...plus chatting with my two great teams members and cheerleaders ~ Andy and his sister, Carol. It was great and gave me something to look forward to as I peddled my way thru little country towns, lots of farmland, up many hills, along Lake Michigan in Port Washington, and down the wonderful paved trail thru Ozaukee County. I never knew just when Andy and Carol might show up...once high above me on an overpass and once as I was coming around a corner by a Country Springs Hotel. Carol's bright peach top always caught my eye, as well as the signs she made to encourage me. They were the only ones who went from stop to stop ~ and lots of people got to know them thru the day.

It was a pretty day ~ blue skies and 75-80 degrees. The first half (north from Grafton to Oostburg) the winds were at about 8 mph but the second half (south from Oostburg to Grafton)they were at 15, gusting to 20 mph. That made it a bit challenging ~ but it did help dry up the sweat.

I made one little extra side trip in Belgium when I miss-read a sign and went the wrong direction for about 1 1/2 miles and then had to go into the wind to go back. Other than that, the way was well marked and I could enjoy the scenery...laundry flapping in the wind on the clothes line, an older lady weeding her huge garden in her brown swim suit, rabbits running across the trail, ponds and wetlands, golf courses, Pioneer Village Living Museum...

I was tired during the last push to the finish, but ended strong and could smile pretty easily when I was greeted by Andy at the finish line. We went to Subway for a sandwich, took Carol back to her car in Milwaukee and went home to clean up for church at 5:00 and dinner out afterwards. Been there, done that ~ and I've got two t-shirts and a great farmer's tan to prove it.

So, 12 Fourteeners climbed in Colorado, 17 miles of the Na Pali Coast kayaked in Kauai, and 100K biked in Wisconsin...next stop...a leisurely walk along the Great Wall.