- Watched a man give his jacket to a shivering rider in the small town of Elvira at a sag stop. (Can't stop thinking of Oak Ridge Boys while there.) Without knowing her name, and fully expecting to get it back before the ride was over. And then watching with mild amusement as the tent over the food released it's full load of rainwater on the protected below.
- The organization and weather was perfect. Except for the rain and the headwind for the first 40 mi Saturday. Goretex works. Thanks Al for inventing! I'm only half the man you are (literally.)
- The route to Galena out of Blackjack Rd. sag was not the same as last year. Which I figured out after 2 miles down the wrong road.
- How you know you are in Wisconsin? Deep fried green beans, deep fried broccoli, and deep fried cauliflower as appetizers in a bar.
- Overheard womenfolk talking "The T-shirts are hideous! Nobody looks good in "mustard." (A color between brown and yellow, the listening man assumes.)
- Almost every dorm at Clarke College in Dubuque is named for a nun starting with "Mary." After most of the day in the saddle, they all look the same. To your surprise when you walk into the wrong room...
- To my Muscatine friends Mario, Nancy and Teri - I was smiling 'inside' at the end of 108.5 mi.
- The Garmin said 13000 cals burned in two days. Added to the 2000 x 2 days reqd for breathing and blood pumping, 17,000 cals is why dinner was on three plates sat night.
- The best flat tire I ever had. A couple hundred yards from lunch in Preston, IA. Changed by a bike mechanic from Iowa City. I kept the lumber staple.
- You don't necessarily need a bike that costs as much as a car from a bankrupt domestic auto maker to complete the ride. But you do want to carry tubes, patches and pump and know how to use them.
- There is a woman in Moline who has an overnight gym bag that looks just like mine. At the end of the ride, after bags are unloaded from trucks, confusion reigns. She was a good sport when I took hers, and she took mine. She didn't use my brand of deodorant, and I wouldn't look that good in her sports bra. Exchange was made.
- I have now heard Dean Mathias explain the no seat thing in every way possible. "I lost it a few miles back." "They gave me a discount to leave it off." "You decide, use your imagination."
- Being passed by old fat guys on long climbs is mildly disconcerting. Bikers come in more shapes than runners.
Why all this biking you ask? Injury hounds my summer like one of the four horseman. Stress fracture, no. Stressed regions - little lines in an MRI - in both legs, yes. The hurt from Illinois marathon has moved to the opposite leg. Heavy cross training, with hopes of getting through season. 300+ mi bike week worthy. I approach upcoming long, long distance running events with humility and cautious hope.
Track Tuesday.
Back to track in Tuesday. Onward to Leaville training camp end of June.
-LWS
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