Welcome, Cade!

Cade arrived quickly and safely on Thursday, July 8th. By the 10th we were there to meet and welcome him into the family! What a sweet baby he is. Do you see the Ekedahl boy blonde hairline? While we were there, Joel and Andy (with some help from neighbors and friends) started and finished a wonderful retaining wall in their front yard...it was a steep learning curve for the guys but a job well done!

The Marx's Come to Wisconsin

Just a taste of all the fun things we did in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois while the Marx family was here in July.

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.

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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

Tour de Cure

Recently I was at our City Hall getting information about the upcoming election. In a display out in the hall I was drawn to a brochure about an upcoming bike ride in Wisconsin. I took a copy ~ and a dream was born. This particular ride was 150 miles over two days and I quickly realized that was far to grand for me. So, I went on line and discovered a more reasonable challenge in the TOUR de CURE for the American Diabetes Association. The tour is on June 19th in Ozaukee County, just north of Milwaukee. I will ride 100 K. My goal is to do it in less than 6 hours. There, I said it publicly...I'm committed.

There are a couple of reasons I was drawn to this particular ride. Our daughter, Aimee, had gestational diabetes while pregnant with Ryan last year. This puts her in greater risk for someday getting diabetes. She will continue exercising and watching her diet in hopes that it will not develop. Also, our grandson, Anders, is in a research study for diabetes in Colorado. He will participate until he is 16 years old.

Last April I took my exercise program up a couple of notches in an effort to lose weight and get in better physical shape. My girls have been telling me for some time that walking is not enough (I have walked an hour/4 miles a day since Aimee was born in 1979). I have been doing a 5 mile walk/jog program that also includes knee lifts, side steps, and kicks, as well as arm movements. I have also been lifting hand weights and doing leg lifts with ankle weights. So, I am in much better shape now and could start out right away biking 10-12 miles a day.

We have had some very nice spring weather so I have been training for about 3 1/2 weeks doing about 15 1/2 miles a day (1/4 of the distance of the ride). Yesterday, I rode 21 miles for the first time (1/3 of the distance of the ride). It went well (I did it in 1 hour and 43 minutes) and I have yet to have any leg cramps or pain. I am feeling pretty good about it...I think I can, I think I can.

If you would like to join me in the ride or support my effort, e-mail me and I will send you the information! Notes of encouragement would also be appreciated! I'll let you know how I do along the way.

House on the Rock

On our drive over to the Mississippi River, we spent a good part of the day at the House on the Rock in Spring Green. Oh, my. What an adventure.

Alex Jordan built a 14 room Japanese home on a 60 foot chimney of rock in the 1940's. Jordan had a wild and fantastic imagination, a grand vision, and a miriad of unique and eclectic collections. It was absolutely fascinating and surprising ~ every single room! I cannot even begin to describe or list the variety of things you will find as you spend hours just walking through the rambling rooms and buildings. It's amazing.

You will really need to experience it yourself to fully appreciate and understand my amazement!