We Finished!! 485 miles...

Was the final total on my odometer. A good time was had by all - the last day was fun riding (no wind, no big hills) with great weather. No flat tires (Dad, Karla, Matt and Ken all dealt with flats this week so I was convinced I'd get one on the last day). No pie on the last day, unfortunately... Apparently we ride too slow because the towns were all out of pie when we got there! But we did finish the ride with a refreshing treat from Dad's favorite roadside vendor - The Smoothie Guys. Queen Judy and Princess Nancy met up with us twice along the way, then battled fierce traffic and challenging parking conditions to pick us up in LeClaire.

The pictures are of Evan, Karla and I pouring Mississippi river water (courtesy of my Dad - Great idea, Geezer!) on our front tire. The line to ACTUALLY dip our tires was 1 1/2 hours long... No thanks! Instead Dad snuck across the yellow police line to get a bottle full of water from the river. (Thankfully the DNR water patrol didn't arrest him - although that would have been a good story to tell!) We'll include more finish line pics when Evan sends them.

Favorite quotes from the week - many only make logical sense on RAGBRAI (Evan, please send additions - our tired brains have forgotten a few):

• "It's like Sturgis in Spandex!"
• "Okay, you go get some lunch - I'm going to go buy some butt butt'r - I'll meet you over there."
• "I'm having a pig malfunction."
• "Meet at the first tractor on the right." (This was a text message sent by Queen Judy)
  
• "Am I breaking wind enough?"
• "Have you seen Pebbles?"
• "We're going pie hunting - we'll meet you down the street."
• "Grab your pickle and stir."
• "The Methodists make the best pie!"
• "This is the BEST ____ ever."
• "I thought for sure we'd lost you at the slip-n-slide." - "No, it was too cold."
• "You want a beer!?! I don't normally drink beer in the middle of a work out." "This isn't a work out - it's RAGBRAI! Do you normally eat a ribeye sandwich and 2 pieces of pie during a work out?" "Yeah, good point."
  

All in all, Team CycLee had a great week. Collectively we ate about a dozen pies and ate an entire pig (we WERE porkers!). We drank 16 gallons of Gatorade and G2, 32 gallons of water, ate 21 bagels, 12 cups of coffee, 12 margaritas, 10 bloody marys, used 6 cans of sunscreen, and drank too many beers to count since they were free. Dad is lamenting only finding 2 pieces of Rhubarb pie, but to his credit he did research whether apple, cherry or peach would work as a good substitute. (Note: Kathy, can you make Dad a "Got Rhubarb?" t-shirt for next year?). Our charter service served us well - we especially appreciated the misting tents, free cold Boulevard beer, back of the truck cocktail party, meeting riders from all over (including England) and being called Porkers. And our personal SAG service (led by Queen Judy) served us extremely well as we always had bottles full of gatorade and water, packs full of granola bars, and fresh fruit available (including the BEST GRAPES EVER). More impressively, we only had ONE night were we had to put up our tents all by ourselves. It was SO awesome to arrive and find that our bags had been located, camp area established and tents already assembled! THANK YOU!!

The hills, headwinds, flat tires and weather did challenge everyone's patience and tempers from time to time, but on our way out of LeClaire there was already talk of next year. Maybe we'll actually start training before June 20, 2009... Nah - where's the fun in that?

Yes, it is a solar powered speaker pulled behind a bike.

And yes, the guy pulling the speaker passed me several times.

Miles of riders...

Want music while u ride? Use masking tape to secure your iPod to your back!

Evan and Karla enjoying our last stop. @ Little Farms / K and K Bagels - our morning tradition

Team Cyclee on the Last Day!

Packed up and ready for our last day on the road...

Yesterday's ride was a lot of fun - no rain or headwinds, not too sunny or warm - good riding! After the ride we relaxed at the campsite then under the cool shade of the PorkBelly tents with some cold beer. We also enjoyed some cocktails as part of the "farewell" party with PB and met some great people! Finally, we SHOWERED (hooray!) and went in search of food. Karla and I devoured the best baked potatoes EVER! Evan and Matt elected to eat big bowls of grease... oops, I mean they enjoyed some tasty Beef Sundaes (beef, mashed potatoes and other tasty toppings filled with goodness). Those 4-H kids and cattlemen definitely know how to feed hungry riders.

Off we go to finish the week - only a few more miles to the Mississippi dip!

Post ride snacks and relaxation and beer... Thanks Nancy and Mom!

Thanks to our amazing support crew, we rolled into camp at Tipton, sat on lawn chairs, opened up the ruffles, sipped on some ice cold Boulevard beer and listened to some tunes from Evan and Matt. They already had our tents up and our other bags in our tents... and they brought the snacks with them... and walked to the beer truck to fill our mugs! Queen Judy and Princess Nancy rock!

Phew... Setting up tents is hard work!

Miller Lite Party Bus & Riders in Mechanicsville! "The Bike Stops Here!"

We listened to the locals and stopped our bikes in this town so we could fuel up.

Riders tackle a few hills... Climbing a hill then turning to find another is not fun!! ;)

Who wants cinnamon rolls for bfast when u can have pie?

Mount Vernon! Less than 100 miles to go on the ride

The whole gang

Cyclees waiting to go

After a tire change and breakfast for a few, we're ready to head out of Solon.

Best Cinnamon Roll EVER!

Still warm from the oven - a whole lot of yumminess!

Solon, Iowa

Home of the best cinnamon rolls EVER! And really nice people! Thanks for helping us get a good start to our day, Solon!

Slow start... Dealing with the third flat of the week.

We have 54 miles to ride yet today. We have a bigger group today with both Ken and Matt here. Good times!

Getting ready to take off for Day 6...

We're off to Tipton and we're so excited that today's mileage starts with a 6!

Yeah! A night in a real bed!

The home of the Baldwins served as our campsite last night... Hot Showers, Pizza, Flush Toilets, Wine, and Awesome Company. Here is Sheila - our hostess with the mostess. Thank you!!!!

Best Blueberry Pie EVER!!!!

Thank you Homestead, Iowa! (And thanks for the walking taco, too.) Today has been a REALLY tough day with rain, headwinds and a bum knee for Karla Jo. (She had to sag for the last part of the ride.) A stop in the Amana Colonies certainly helped us push forward to North Liberty.

(FYI, I did manage to pass the Chaquita Banana outside of Belle Plaine... finally... after several days of him passing me!)

Motorized Toilet Bowl Races in Belle Plaine...

Good times!!! Belle Plaine's Ice House Drive In also has the BEST cheeseballs EVER!!

Day 5 has started cold and rainy but we're still trying to enjoy the ride.

The Chaquita Banana Bike...

And, yes, I've really been passed by a banana four times... Funny or Pathetic?! Not sure

Time for the slip and slide!!!

Our appreciation for the nice farmer who helped us get the energy for the last 13 miles. Off we go too finish... all grassy and wet.

Pork burger.... Mmmmmmm....

Best pork burger EVER!

Two Tractors + A Cable = The Perfect Bike Rack

Have you ever had this much fun waiting for a kybo?

"Who let the dogs out? Woof woof woof woof woof"

Have you have ever had this much fun waiting for a kybo?

"Who let the dogs out? Woof woof woof woof woof"

RAGBRAI riders take over State Center

The Nevada Cheerleaders Cheering on Riders...

Yes they did a leg split for no apparent reason...

Morning Coffee and Bagel Stop

Day 2 and Day 3

Day 2 and Day 3 Summary Statistics:
Miles Completed - 97 (Day 2); 58 (Day 3)
Beers Drank - 0 (Oops)
Rhubarb Pie Consumed - 3 slices (with homemade ice cream... YEAH!)
Showers Taken - 8 (1 per person per day)
Lemonade Stands Visited - 2
Tires Changed - 1
Beers owed to strangers who helped change tire - 1

Day 2 didn't start as expected given our mid-night wake up call at 2:30AM to seek shelter due to the approaching storm. We spent 45 minutes in the church, then received the "All Clear" to head back out. Thankfully the hail and high winds missed our tents. We tried to get back to sleep, but the 5AM alarm came early. We finally made it out of camp at a little after 6AM. Rabbit, Oink and Moo decided to still take the "Century" challenged despite the short night's sleep. The first half of the extra 14 mile loop was filled with hills (NO FUN) but we kept our sense of humor about the route. We were all very excited to get special patches that signified the completion of the Karras Loop (no we don't know why they call it that). Moo wanted to pull over and sew her patch on to her shorts right away, but we told her she needed to finish the WHOLE route first. (We still had 80 miles to go at that point.) Geezer skipped the loop so proceeded ahead of us down the road.

So that this blog isn't as long as our whole day was yesterday, here's a short(er) summary of the rest of the ride:

Day 2- Hill, Hill, Hill, Breakfast, Hill, Hill, STEEP Hill, Flat Tire, Fix Tire, Hill, Hill, Realize Tire not fixed right as Moo appears to be bouncing on her bike, Darn - Rabbit can't fix it, Hill, Hill, LONG Hill, Hill, Stop at Bike Shop to Fix Tire, Hill, Hill, Hill, Hill, Hill, Hill, Meet Queen Judy for Nourishment, Hill, Hill, Hill, Hill, Pizza and Smoothie (YUM!), Port-a-Pottie (YUCK!), Steep Hill, FLAT LAND!! We're almost there!!... Ooops, RAIN, RAIN, lightening in the distance, State Trooper telling where to go to seek shelter, stop for rain coat, clear sky once rain coat on, Ride, Ride, Mud on Shirt, HOORAY! We're in Jefferson!! Queen Judy hauled our bags out and set up our tents already with Geezer's help! Showers! Pulled Pork Sandwiches! Rhubarb Pie! Homemade Ice Cream! This is awesome!! Sleep!! (In a tent under a street light beside an active railroad track... but still the best sleep all week!)


Day 3: Sleep in til 5:45AM!! Yeah!! FLAT LAND! MORE FLAT LAND! Coffee... Bagels... Flat Land, Meet Queen Judy, Eat someone else's pancakes for our 2nd breakfast (not kidding - they gave up waiting and left), "Last Chance Lemonade", Huge downhill ride, equally huge uphill, Flat land, smiles, laughter, joy, no hills, Limeade, flat land, fast riding, We're in Ames! Showers in a Queen Judy's hotel room! A flush toilet! Life is good. Now time to go find food.

77.8 miles tomorrow. Not as flat as today but after Sunday and Monday, we aren't afraid. (That said, please send feather pillows. There is a certain part of our bodies that IS afraid to get on the bikes tomorrow.)

Over and out.

Moo and Oink

P.S. Favorite Conversation of the Day (as part of a serious conversation between Oink and Bam-Bam from the Flinstones - or someone who looked like Bam-Bam) "Hey, it's Bam-Bam!" "Yep, have you seen Pebbles?" "Yes, I passed her just a little bit ago. You are just ahead of her." "Great, thanks."

P.P.S. Two favorite RAGBRAI Teams - Team Mega-Sore-Ass and Team Pie Hunter... the Pecan Pie hunter had a spare piece of pecan pie in his back jersey pocket today (Again, not kidding... when I asked if his hunt was successful he said "Yep, and if I get in a dire situation, I have a spare piece right here." And proceeded to pull out a pie-shaped tupperware container.).

P.P.P.S. Funniest moment of Moo's flat tire... turning her bike over on the side of the road to get to the tire and smashing her cow horn - the cow horn objected by squeaking, Moo explains to nice young gentleman help us "Don't worry... that's just my cow."

What goes down...

Must come up... YIKES!

Day 3 is underway...

We don`t have blackberry service.

Summary: Tents survived the storm. Century ride was a success. Karla learned to change a tire. Our tummies are full of pie.

It's 2:30am... We wanted to get an early start but...

We were all enjoying a deep sleep (and it was feeling so good) when we were woken up about 10 minutes ago by by a firetruck driving by and a bull horn announcing "everyone needs to move into the church, severe weather approaching". Now we are sitting in the hallway of the church and hoping our tents are still there when we return!

Our youngest support member...

A little crazy helps too

Team CycLee Day 1 Totals
Miles ridden: 57.4
Gatorades drank: 10
Pieces of pie eaten: 4
Beers consumed: 5
Number of times we were called crazy: 1 (that we know about)
Number of showers taken: 4 (which is 4 more than yesterday)

Our day started way too early when Geezer announced at 4:30am "that's my wake-up" call after a train rolled by and sounded its horn. New CycLees rule: no movement or sound until at least 5am regardless of how many trains go by.

After stopping twice for coffee and breakfast (all before mile 9) we were on our way. Let's clear something up right now.... IOWA IS NOT FLAT. WE PROMISE!!! During our ride, we enjoyed 3,797 feet of climb. If that's not what you call vacation, we don't know what is! Although tomorrow unless Iowa's topography changes overnight, we'll tackle 5,239 feet of climb. (Right now we are channeling our inner mountain goat in preparation!)

We had awesome support from Queen Judy and crew - Kathy, Aunt Marlene, Uncle Loren and George Henry. They met us with water, gatorade and snacks. Most impressively they found our bags, scouted a campsite and initiated tent set up before all of us were done riding!!! (We've been informed not to expect similar service again this week.) Thank you!!!

We have met a lot of nice people along the way. Two of our favorite quotes of the day: "A little bit of crazy always helps" - said by a man who witnessed a mere 10 seconds of conversation between Oink and Moo; and "You can do it. You are a mountain goat" - said by a man to Oink as she was nearing the top of a hill.

This afternoon we stated repeatedly we were glad we chose Porkbelly's charter service... Cold beer, hot (or cold - your choice) showers, and "cooling" tents with water misters were available. They even fed us a yummy church supper dinner. Afterwards, Geezer and Rabbit went down to check out Harlan's expo and entertainment tonight (Terri please see note below). The two of us are relaxing and listening to a jazz band from afar. Tonight is going to be an early night - really, it is not even 8pm and we are struggling to stay awake. Plus we want to get an early start tomorrow because Rabbit, Oink and Moo are going to attempt the century (100 miles) - yes, the man was right, we apparently are crazy.

All in all a great day. Tomorrow's forecast is for hot and hilly conditions. Whoo hoo!

Over and out,
Moo and Oink

Note to Terri: Evan has not purchased any jerseys or tshirts, per your explicit instructions. That said, we cannot say as to whether or not he's purchased socks (red cornhusker ones of course), a sweatshirt (which would be totally different than a jersey or tshirt), a bandana, shoes, a Ragbrai poster, a biking tattoo, tie-dyed personalized underwear (he may or may not have done your xmas shopping there too) or a super cool blue bike. While we can't say if he's really bought any of these items, next year you may need to supervise personally.

Almost to Harlan!!!

Dad dips his back tire in imported Missouri river water

CycLees Hit the Road!

We almost forgot...

A big thanks to Geezer and Rabbit! They put our Moo and Oink horns on our bikes today. Others in the campground were totally envious. (Or something like that.)

Team CycLee hits Mo Valley!!

We all met up at the Porkbelly site this afternoon...and spent about 2 hours getting organized. Considering our bags need to be on the truck by 7AM tomorrow, I'm certainlyu hoping that packing up goes faster tomorrow. A big thanks goes out to Queen Judy and Geezer for making the drive to Iowa City to pick up Oink and Moo!!

Oink made us some awesome daily maps that are laminated, which are now attached to our bikes. This way we won't get lost (kidding!) But it will tell us how far in between towns and should help us direct Queen Judy where to pick us up if needed!! We also tested our walkie talkies - so we will actually get to use our call names.

Porkbelly's charter service is awesome so far. We get free beer, bloody marys and margaritas, but have to pay for gatorade and water!! We've met fellow bikers from all over the US. Everyone has been very friendly.

In terms of the weather forecast, it was a very warm day and rain is expected for tonight. Rabbit was smart enuf to bring a tarp to cover the bikes, but let's hope the rain misses us!

Our biked tires are full and our saddle bags are packed. Now time for sleep. Bring on RAGBRAI!!!

Over and out,
Oink and Moo

And We're Off!!

Well, almost. I think I'm ready to go... and if I'm not, there isn't much I can do about it at this point. My bags are over packed, my bike rack is waiting to carry the bikes to Iowa (have I told you about my nice rack?), the new Pig Horn for my handlebars is in my bag (along with Karla's matching Cow horn - yes, I know they are designed for ages 6 and under), and whatever I've forgotten hopefully they will sell along the route.

The final preparations for Team CycLee appear to be coming together (all of which are just oh-so-important). We finalized logistics for tomorrow. Daily maps have been laminated at Kinko's and Kathy just finished making our official CycLee t-shirts. (Thank you Kathy!) Karla is getting some Walkie Talkies this afternoon. Walkie talkie names are final (and placed on the aforementioned t-shirts) as follows:

• Geezer - Dad because, well, he's the only team member over a certain age and, more importantly, we can now call him Geezer without getting in trouble (and I LOVE that he now signs his emails "Geezer")


• Rabbit - Evan as we'll never catch him


• Bull Man - Ken because has a good Bull story


• Little Bull - Matt because his dad has a good Bull story


• Queen Judy - Mom as she will be taking care of us during the day all week so we need to treat her like royalty to show her our appreciation


• Princess Nancy - Matt's Mom because she'll be Queen Judy's assistant later in the week


• Moo - Karla due to the aforementioned Cow horn - and I thought "Heifer" was a little rude


• Wanna Be - Kathy because in her heart of hearts, even though she says we're crazy, she really wants to be a CycLee too


• Oink - Me (Krissy) due to the aforementioend Pig horn and my campaign to use a charter service called Pork Belly that refers to us as "Porkers" for the entire week


• Henry - Henry because he's only 2 and he would get confused if we called him something else

In addition to frequently referring to my father as Geezer, one of the most amusing parts of preparation has been the conversations associated with telling people I'm out of the office next week. Responses are typically something like "Great - are you going somewhere relaxing and sunny?" Sometimes I just smile and nod. The few times in which I've explained I'll be riding 471 miles across Iowa next week on a non-motorized bike with my family and camping at night, the replies included:

"Do you need me to tell you the definition of vacation?"
"And you are doing this by choice? For fun?"
"Iowa? Really? On a bike?"
"What is wrong with you?"

Here's the thing... clearly these people have no idea what RAGBRAI is... I try to explain that it is a group of 10,000+ people having a good time... that last year I saw a Chiquita Banana riding down the road followed by someone on a unicycle... that I had a conversation over morning coffee with a seemingly mild-mannered gentleman explaining in a great Kentucky accent how "Some days I just like to mosey and some days I like to HAUL A*S! And today I'm hauling a*s!" ... and, most importantly that growing up in Iowa this is something I always said I'd do - so now we're going to give it a try!

I'm really looking forward to this coming week. I know it will require a lot of patience (especially when waiting in long lines for short showers with no hot water), flexibility and sunscreen, but I hope that Team CycLee's first week-long RAGBRAI experience is so much fun that we can't wait to do it again!

Cheers,
Oink

P.S. Evan, as long as we have Queen Judy available for an emergency SAG, I'm willing to go for the Century... it'll make a better story to say that Mom picked me up on the 100-mile day (I don't have to tell anyone if she picks me up at mile 25).

Tapering???

Hypothetical question of the day - if you've really only done 3 long training rides, is it possible to have a taper week? If the answer is yes, then this was definitely a tapering week for me. If the answer is no, then, well, I'm just going to assume the answer is yes.

This week was not a good one for riding - I got in about, oh, ZERO miles. Work was crazy and we had to go out of town for a family matter. Oops. Well, I still have youth on my side, right? I did get in a couple of rides this weekend...

My favorite father-in-law was in town this weekend (he's also my only father-in-law but that's neither here nor there). Ken helped me put a new odometer and strap pedals on my bike Saturday morning (okay, he did it himself, but I offered to help!). Then he hopped on Matt's mountain bike and we took the bikes for a 20-mile ride. We decided that it was a good idea Dad is bringing his hybrid for Matt to ride because Matt's mountain bike is not the ideal RAGBRAI bike! I also decided that the strap pedals weren't giving me the performance I wanted so I decided to take the plunge and buy clip pedals and shoes for my bike. My excuse is that it's for all of the hills in Iowa, but I can also use them in spinning class year round so I think they're a good investment...right, Matt??

Matt, Ken and I went for a bike ride on the Chicago North Channel Trail (I think that's what it's called anyway) on Sunday morning. We got lost getting on the trail - only a 1/2 mile detour which is nothing compared to Kristin's detour that morning! The trail is nice, paved and has a lot of interesting artwork along the route. I don't think it's the best for a training ride, but I definitely intend on going back to ride it a little slower and look at the sculptures. We took the train north as far as could and then headed back to the city. We took a planned detour down Devon to Sheridan and then hopped on the lakefront path. At Wilson, we could turn right and go home or we could head south a few miles and make it into a 30-mile ride....we decided to ride the extra 10 miles so we could hit 30 for the day. I believe we would have gone further, but we had a Cubs game to get to in a few hours and priorities people - Go Cubbies!

My first day with the clip pedals went well. I was scared after hearing stories of falls from Dad and Kristin. Luckily, I never fell on THIS trip (I'm sure there will be a fall in the near future). The closest I came to falling was when we got stopped at a stoplight - thank goodness the light pole was there for me to catch myself on! But, since I caught myself on the pole and didn't actually fall, it didn't count.

So, in summary, I did about 50 miles this weekend, which isn't as far as I hoped, but it was better than nothing. So, I'm still going with my tapering theory. Runners taper the weeks before a marathon. I'm just tapering a week before RAGBRAI.

Karla

Less than a week to go...

One week from tonight I'll be collapsed in a tent somewhere in Harlan. Hopefully sleeping (I still need to procure ear plugs). Or reflecting on how much fun was had on Day 1. Or worrying about the hilly 80+ mile Day 2. Or marveling about how wonderful it is to sleep in a tent in Iowa in July... or maybe not.

Karla and I both continued to cram this weekend. Karla will add something herself but I want to take a minute to give her props. Karla purchased clip pedals and shoes on Saturday afternoon... and subsequently provided more evidence that she is a rock star. Ms. Karla rode 30 miles today in the city (which means she had to stop) and she didn't fall once. For those of you who've heard my "beetle on its back" stories and seen the band aids on my knees, I think it's pretty clear who got the coordination-genes in the family. Way to go, Seester! Hooray! Hooray! I'm so impressed!

I did a shorter ride on Saturday then I decided to close out my training with a 60-mile ride in the northern suburbs today. My plan was to start with the Chicago North Branch Trail and then head onward from there. I'd never been on the route but it turns out that the North Branch Trail is great - paved, shaded, little bits of prairie... a little escape from the city (if you ignore the sounds of the expressway nearby). The only downfall is it is a little curvy, which I'm not used to at all. I'm no speed demon but there are a few people out there slower than me and I was hesitant to pass people around the curves... this lack of courage resulted in me closely following 3 strangers (guys) who insisted on riding 2-3 people wide for a little while and I was able to hear all about "Steve," who apparently no one had seen in 20 years, but he was spotted at a recent reunion - he looks GREAT, has a very impressive job and, most importantly, I'm happy to report Steve's new wife is a very attractive actress on a Telemundo soap opera. I could tell you more about this Telemundo star (the gentlemen were disappointed that there weren't pictures to share), but, really, I'm guessing you are about as interested as I was (that means not interested). It certainly provided me some comic relief, but needless to say I passed them as soon as I felt I could do so without risking my life.

My adventures onward from the North Branch trail were interesting. I got myself a little bit lost both heading north AND coming back. I made it onto the Green Bay trail, which then turned into the Robert McLory trail heading north (loved that trail!). I rode all the way to the Great Lakes/North Chicago metra station, saw 2 deer, 1 policeman on a bike, no roadkill and did not hear about anyone's personal life. My transition between trails, however, was somewhat comical. I highly doubt I could retrace my steps if I tried. As a result, my 60-mile bike ride ended up being my 75-mile bike ride! (Oops. I guess it was good training.) At one point I do confess that I asked a cop if I was, indeed, heading west. He gave me a very funny look, then confirmed I was going west... if I'd only waited 3 more blocks, I'd have found the evidence I needed. I'd severely overshot my re-entry onto the North Branch trail so ended up backtracking for awhile. (In a not-so-unrelated note, Highland Park has a very nice downtown area, Winnetka had a sneaky hill and stoplights mid-hill are just CRUEL, and Sheridan Road is fun to ride!)

All-in-all, I really enjoyed my ride. (My legs and certain other body parts did not find it as enjoyable.) Stories about Steve aside, I did meet some friendly riders and enjoyed checking out the "new" terrain. I'll definitely head back that way later this summer for fun - but only after I plot out a more detailed course.

Cheers, Krissy

KRASM (Krissy's Ride Across Southern Michigan)

As Karla mentioned, I spent the weekend in Michigan with friends cramming for RAGBRAI. I think over the three days I did a little over 100 miles riding through the country roads with one ride slighly over 50 miles. I thought about doing a little more, but I was having too much fun visiting the pool, the beach and relaxing!

Although I did not see any bulls crossing the road while I rode, I did see live deer, rabbits, horses, cattle and two baby raccoons. I realized I'd become "citified" as when I saw the baby raccoons running along the side of the highway from the distance I thought "Rats? Seriously? I can't get away from alley rats all the way in Michigan?" Further inspection proved that I had, in fact, escaped from the alley rats for the time being. Roadkill included a deer, a skunk, a fox and something unidentifiable. And on Saturday morning I even heard a rooster crow! (Lazy rooster - it was already 7:30AM!) Thankfully no stairs or trees - just some beautiful views of Lake Michigan. The riding was fun but when I sat on my bike Sunday morning, that comment about feather pillows came to mind. I'm seriously concerned about my backside and my shoulders lasting the entire week. (Yes, Karla, I was keeping my arms bent!)

The other portion of my training went well as I ate many different kinds of foods, including s'mores, ice cream, pasta, pizza, pulled pork sandwich, chips... etc. I didn't have any pie though. So, absent the pie part, I think I'm prepared for the evening church suppers and afternoon ice cream stops.

I also stopped at Bass Pro Shop on my way back from Michigan for a few camping supplies... a lantern, something to sleep on, a battery-operated fan (I could not find a battery-operated tent airconditioner!), and some patch stuff for the tent. (Note: I need to practice re-packing the tent. The set up and take down process is under control... but after four tries its still not back in the bag the same way it was when I took it out on Thursday!)

I'm so not ready. Good thing its a ride and not a race. Looking forward to the stops along the way!

Cheers, Kris

Karla's Training in Chicago

While Kristin was in Michigan over the weekend (I'm sure she'll blog about it soon), I did my training rides in Chicago. They were both along the Chicago lakefront, so nothing exciting (i.e. running in to bulls, riding down stairs).

My first training ride was Friday morning. Matt decided to join me for this ride - it was his first long ride! We wanted to go about 40 miles, so we rode to the lake, up and down the lakefront path and back home...we're pretty sure that was around 40 miles. We had a slight headwind on the second half of the trip and Matt's legs were getting tired so our trip home was slightly slower than the first half. Perhaps I should have taken him on a shorter ride since his longest ride prior to this one was, um, 15 miles. Oops. He made it with flying colors though - even sprinted the last few blocks...I think the promise of food gave him a burst of energy.

My second training ride was Saturday morning. With Kristin in Michigan and Matt at work, I had to go this one alone. I decided to do 50 miles...which was not fun by myself...no one to talk to! I was in my RAGBRAI jersey (yes, I was looking all official) so I chatted with a few people about RAGBRAI. One guy was riding it and we talked about how we were both cramming for the ride! Another couple was from Ames - they come to Chicago to ride the lakefront path once a year because it's such a great ride. They were also very excited for RAGBRAI to come through Ames and recommended that we go to the Iowa State campus because they're pulling out all of the stops!

My training also included a lot of ice cream with magic shell. I'm assuming that at least some of the towns will have a Diary Queen, so I am practicing for the multiple dipped cones I might eat...yummy!

Okay, that's all for now. T-minus 13 days...yikes!

Karla

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It's a talkathon – but it's not just talk. Check out the i'm Talkathon.

Two Days in a Row!

Well, Kristin and I successfully rode two days in a row! Woo hoo! We both did a 12 to 15 mile ride on Monday…and decided that our rears were a little sore from our 50-miler on Sunday. I think we’re insane for doing it SEVEN days in a row in less than three weeks. I need to start collecting feather pillows to stack on my saddle now!!

Matt joined me for Monday’s ride. He’s going to try to do a long ride with Kristin and I on the 4^th of July. It’ll be interesting to see how his mountain bike holds up! If you hear a lot of loud swearing on the 4^th, it’s because his bike broke down 20 miles from our car.

Cheers!

Karla

"Huh? On a bike path? Really?"

That's what Karla and I were thinking when we saw this sign... before I could even finish the thought "Ka-chunk"... I thought I ran something over... as I'm trying to figure out what I hit, "Boom" I hit something again... finally I figured out that I hadn't "hit" anything... Karla and I had managed to ride down two of those stairs the sign was warning me about. Whoops. Then we saw the second sign that said "Warning Stairs Ahead. Bikers Dismount." Information that may have been useful 20 feet ago.

Other than the stairs incident (which had us both laughing very hard) and a fallen tree in the path that we had to lift our bikes over and then jump over ourselves (Karla wanted to try to jump over the whole thing on her bike but we couldn't find a good piece of wood to use as a ramp), our first long ride was successful!

We logged in approximately 50 miles - give or take 5 miles due to my not-so-reliable speedometer - and had a good time. The last 9 miles were even completed at a slightly faster pace due to ominous clouds on the horizon. However, while this seems like a REALLY long distance, I'm still a bit panicked about the big ride. This distance doesn't even equal a single day of RAGBRAI and, for the most part, our ride was flat (it's a little hard to find hilly terrain in the Chicagoland area). And I'm pretty sure that by day four I will likely be looking for feather pillows or something equally soft to duct tape to my bike seat.

Cheers, Kristin

P.S. Yippee! This proves we CAN blog from the road! Not while we are riding, of course... Dad, we are also not talking on our phones while we ride, right? That said, Evan/Dad, any thoughts about trying to use walkie talkies on the road?

Our First Training Ride... Three Weeks Out

I wish we were kidding.

My Favorite Advice from Veterans

Team CycLee is taking advantage of the charter services from PorkBelly Ventures during the week of RAGBRAI. (And, yes, we are all called “Porkers” during the week…) Prior to the ride, PorkBelly has sent out 20 emails (at last count with more arriving daily) with training tips, general advice and important logistical information. The grossest tip involved keeping a Gatorade bottle in your tent at night to avoid using the bathroom (CycLees, we must avoid setting up camp next to anyone named Chuck.) I just wanted to share with everyone my two favorites tips from RAGBRAI veteran, Frank, in terms of training:

1. Practice for the ride by watching three hours of television each night sitting on a broomstick.
2. When you get up in the morning, stand outside your bathroom door for 15 minutes before going in.

While I might have trouble finding time to get on the bike, I will do my best to do follow Frank’s advice.

Cheers, Kris

Training...Sort Of

This is a great name for a blog simply because compared to Evan and Dad, Kristin and I haven’t trained nearly enough! Although, I’ve been going to spinning classes 2 to 3 times a week for the past 3 weeks…but that isn’t quite enough. Dad did 35 miles of hills this week – I ate 35 potato chips. Not quite the same.

Kristin and I are hoping to write on this blog during our RAGBRAI ride to share our experiences. If you haven’t experienced RAGBRAI, it’s a great time (or so I’ve been told). So, although our legs will be tired, our fingers should be able to still type out our thoughts each day!

Cheers!

Karla

Under Trained and only a Few Weeks to Go

So Karla and I have started this site based on the BRILLIANT suggestion of our dear friend Jen who came up with the idea after hearing about how much our dad was training... and how much we were not. After witnessing our lack of training for a few days, she found the idea of us spending a week sitting on a bicycle funny enough to justify a blog.

But before I talk too much about our preparation (or lack thereof), for background on the big ride through the cornfields that is coming up in a few weeks, check out www.ragbrai.org. To read about who in the world the CycLees are visit the site our super smart cousin, Dr. Evan Lee, created: http://web.mac.com/eldenlee/CycLees.

The 2008 members of Team CycLee who will be riding the full week are Lowell (our Dad who is doing a great job training), Evan (the super smart cousin and experienced rider), Karla and me. We will also be joined at the end of the week by Karla's husband, Matt, and her father-in-law, Ken. We've heard rumors that a few other friends may be riding along for a day or two along the way (which is perfectly fine as long as they are okay with me attaching a cable to their bike to pull me along).

Our dad and Evan have been training like crazy. Rumor has it Ken has been doing the same thing. Karla and I have been talking about training like crazy (and I even read part of a Bicycling magazine) while we enjoy the Chicago summer. (Go Sox... whoops, sorry Karla, I mean Go Cubs!) Looks like we'll be cramming over the next few weeks... not sure how that will work out.

This is all for now. Time to test sending messages to this blog remotely so we can be sure communicate our trials and tribulations from the road.

Cheers, Kris