Training 2

(Sam)
Well, today, we came across a path, that is quite familiar.
Way back in October, I decided that I was going to sell some popcorn to a teacher of mine for Boy Scouts. Little did I know of the adventure that lay ahead.

About halfway there, I remembered that a friend of mine only lived about half a mile away, so I'd sell some to him as well. Unfortunately, his neighbor's (and I'm, not joking about this in the slightest) yaks and emus steered my attention away from his house. I continued on my way to the teachers house, completely ignoring my friends house. When, I got to my teacher, she wasn't there, but her husband said that as I got to my friends house, she'd be home. He directed his hand the COMPLETELY OPPOSITE WAY, and I continued on a bike ride full of monstrous hills and an extra 7-10 miles. As soon as I got back to her house, she directed me the correct way, bought some popcorn, and I returned home safely, after a 15 mile bike ride. Today, we relived that bike ride. Unfortunately, we were hoping for at least a 20 mile ride, and we fell 5 miles short. And, we both agreed that we didn't want to do that 3 more times, so that doesn't help us much either!

(Amy)
It's true, we aren't anywhere close to being ready for 50 miles a day.  Maybe we never will be before we leave and we'll just tough it out during the week of riding?  I just hope we can have fun during the week and not have it feel like a week of work (torture?). 

Anyway, our 15 miles was a workout today, but Sam has become quite a rider.  I have to all but drag him out of the house to go on a ride, but once we're out there, he's like a machine!  Just keeps pedaling and pedaling!  At least 3 or 4 times he sat and waited for me while I caught up to him. 

I'm hoping to get a 25 miler in with him next weekend with a shorter one during the week - that's wishful thinking.  But with track done, soccer almost done and scouts winding down, he's got a bit more time after school. . . . so maybe. 

One thing is for sure - we need to buy more water bottles.  It's crazy how dry you get while riding! 

New parts, 22 miles, and Lincoln the psycho dog

Sam got his first taste of bicycle maintenance by learning to change my tubes and tires this week.  He was actually pretty good at it!  Between the two of us, we had the new tubes and tires on my Trek and the old Trek tires on my old red Roadmaster in no time.  The new parts seemed to do the trick to even out the wobble in the front tire - it's smooth sailing.  Now the Roadmaster is ready to sell and the Trek is ready to ride! 



 

Jeff's annual end of the year Science Olympiad picnic was this weekend in Hudson.  The plan was for Sam and I to bike the 22 miles there while Jeff and Aaron drove there.  Then we'd pack the bikes up when the picnic was done and catch a ride home in the car. 

All packed up and ready to ride to Hudson!

 

Only a mile and a half into the ride, we met Lincoln.  Lincoln is a psycho 10 month old boxer puppy.  Puppy probably isn't the right word.  He's big and strong with a penchant for chasing anything with wheels.  He decided to come chase us down Bacon Road which is pretty busy.  He'd chase Sam, biting at his heels, then dash into traffic, not caring if cars were coming or not.  We kept riding, but it was obvious Lincoln wasn't letting up, so we turned around to take him back home.  We didn't want him getting hit!  Once we were off the bikes, he would run, jump in the air and body slam me in mid-air.  He was jumping higher than my head!  Left me with a few good sized scrapes down my side - my first "biking" injury??  Finally found his owner, but he wasn't about to listen to her either.  So we spent the better part of 40 minutes trying to get Lincoln corralled so we could get going to Hudson!  Finally, she said "just go and if he gets hit, he gets hit".  Ugh.  We took off, he followed us, still biting at Sam's feet.  She would yell "Kick him in the chops!" from her car as she followed this bizarre parade down Bacon, honking her horn as she drove to try and get Lincoln distracted from chasing us.  He finally found a house with 2 other huge dogs that were barking at us and he ran over to join them.  We took off as fast as we could before he remembered to follow us.  So, we ended up with a late, late start.

Our rest stop in Pittsford.  We thought it was the half way point. 
It turned out to be the 2/3 way point!








The trip that we had planned to take 2 hours ended up 2 1/2 hours thanks to Lincoln.  Jeff was just finishing the burgers and hotdogs on the grill when we finally got to the picnic, so we hadn't missed the best part.  :) 



Our trip computer read 22.6 miles in 2.5 hours - thanks to Lincoln.

We made it!!!

Overall, it was an interesting trip.  We felt pretty good by the end of it.  We didn't necessarily want to hop back on the bikes and ride back home, so we still have to build some endurance, but I think we're making good progress so far.  There won't be a time schedule to stick to during the PALM, so we'll be able to ride a little easier than today.  I'm feeling more and more confident as we go. 

 

The lesson learned today?  Pepper spray just might be a good idea for some overly friendly dogs.  Let's just hope I don't spray it into the wind!

Training

Warning:  This is a boring post.  More for my memory than anything else.  Skip it if you're looking for something interesting to read.  :)

I went 8.5 miles today alone.  Sam's been busy with track and scouts, so I decided I would get some miles in and I'm getting tired of running.  I made a figure 8 from Lake Wilson to South Sand Lake.  A good route with some decent hills.  I love the extra 11 gears on this bike - makes hills SO much easier!!

The first time I took the new bike out something seemed off with the front wheel.  Seemed off balance again today.  I checked the rim against the brakes and nothing looks bent or out of shape, so I'm wondering if it's something with the actual tire or tube.  The new tubes should be delivered today, so hoping that once I get the tubes and tires changed things will smooth out.  I ordered a new stem - gives me a shorter reach and raises the bars up a bit.  Should be more comfortable than the 120mm with practically no rise that I've got on there now.  Got some of the raw materials for Sam's saddlebags - still collecting, and then we can start constructing.  Can't wait!

Best part of the ride today was watching a male mallard coming in for a landing on a little lake off Mechanic!

A surprise addition to the trip!

Well I sure never thought I was going to buy a bike for this trip. 

My intent was to take my old red Roadmaster that Jeff bought me from Walmart shortly after we got married.  My first hesitation was when I took it to the bike shop and the guy said "you're going to have quite a work out" on the PALM ride.  Yeah, so Old Red isn't as light on her wheels as she could be.  Then after lifting Sam's Trek and my bike on and off the car rack for our rides, I definitely noticed a significant weight difference.  But I still figured I'd plow along, it's not as if that bit of weight was going to make or break our tour this summer.

But. . . . this Trek just popped up on Craigslist this week, and it was only $80.  I emailed for info and the guy said since the tires were flat (after a year of storage) he'd sell it for $70.  I did a little research, and it's about a 15 year old bike.  Originally a $600 model, it is still selling on Ebay for $150-$200.  So I thought I'd go take a look.  When the guy brought it out, he apologized for the tear in the seat and told me he'd actually take $65 for it because of the tear.  The rest of the bike literally looks like it was bought 3 months ago.  The tires and break pads aren't even worn and the paint looks brand new.  So for $65 I got an awesome new bike and it is WAY lighter than Old Red!
 

All this one should need is to take the knobby tires off and put on the new road tires and tubes that I bought for the Roadmaster to make the ride a bit easier.  If I can sell the Roadmaster for even $30, then I'm only out $35 for the Trek.  That's the deal of the day, for sure!   

Bike Rack (Sam)

Ok, I got my bike rack in today! Now, I can finally hold a lot of useful stuff on my bike! Here's my bike before hand...

 

 

And here's the Rack...

 

Thanks to some (just about all!) help from my Dad, I eventually got it on there!

 

And voila!

 

It might not look big, but it'll sure help! (Now, if I can only get my hand on a basketball, and spider web net...)




51 days and counting... (Sam)

Well, a lot is coming at me for this. A lot more than I was expecting! I'm really looking forward to this trip.

Our route will start from Holland, which is right on Lake Michigan. From there, we'll go to Wayland, Greenville, St. Johns, Flushing, Kingston, and finally Lexington, all in 6 days. Phew! It's getting a little difficult balancing all of this, and finding time, except on weekends, to actually get some biking in. Another challenge we will have to face is weather. We have to bike NO MATTER wind, rain, snow, or sleet. I'm starting to feel like a mailman! I'll bike in about anything as long as the weather isn't this...