Red Ribbon Ride - Day 4

Route -Northfield to the State Capitol in St. Paul

Distance = 45.69 miles
Time = 3.31.00
Average speed = 13.0 mph
Maximum speed = 30.5 mph
Odometer = 3392.7 miles

Took me awhile to get to sleep. But once I did, it was solid! Five in the morning still came too early for me! I was very stiff and thought today might actually be miserable even though it was shorter. I got a little better as I started walking around. I was also worried about forgetting something since I didn’t have to account for everything like when I was camping.

Lorrie dropped me off at the middle school around 5:30am. Plenty of time. By the time I’d found a table to sit at and got my food, the rest of my teammates started making their way in. As soon as Kelli set down her water bottles, I realized I didn’t have mine. Oops! Need those! So I called Lorrie and she had put them in the refrigerator for me last night. Sweet! Out of sight out of mind though. Especially for me that early in the morning! I made her cup of coffee to take with her. I’m guessing it was Peace Coffee since they sponsored us. But I don’t know for sure and Lorrie said it was AWFUL. We all took our time eating and then when we got ready to go out, John said a prayer while we all held hands. A nice way to start the day. Should have been doing that all along I suppose.

After preparing our bikes (tire pressure, etc.), getting a couple photos, and lollygagging a little, we set off. The route took us through downtown Northfield so I led the way. That was pretty fun. Northfield is such a cycling friendly place, I thought there would be more people out. Maybe they were all out riding! Anyway, it was still nice. We turned right on Highway 3 from 2^nd Street where there’s a slight incline. I heard all kinds of moaning and groaning with that good morning incline! (= We proceeded on to Farmington where there was the first pit stop. I was feeling pretty good by that time. Seems like I generally start feeling stronger as I ride more rather than more tired. The rest of the ride was mainly Kelli and me up and down the rolling hills through Farmington, Apple Valley, and Eagen. There was a Twins Pit Stop (2) that was SO cute! We stayed there for quite awhile. They all had their Twins uniforms on, there was a beer vender (fake beer), Twins cutouts for us to pose in, and they would every so often play a little game in the grass behind them with a whiffle ball and one of those huge plastic kids’ bats. Cute! We were taking our time for the most part because at the end of the ride would be the holding area where we would have to wait for everyone to finish and until about 1pm before the closing ceremony. Felt like we were at Pit Stop 3 forever! Lots of people came and left. But there were only about 7 miles through St. Paul left to the finish. Jean showed up with her new team, Mrs. Peterson’s Peeps, so I asked if we could wait for her and all ride in together. So we did. Along with Mrs. Peterson’s Peeps. It was a long “peloton” with lots of cheering and chattering. A funny thing happened though, remember that guy who “stopped short” that caused an accident with Lorrie and another guy on A Day on the Ride? Well, he showed up in front of me… I was leading the big bunch. I tried to slow down to let him go but he just slowed with us. I purposefully missed a light so he would go through it. But he stopped. Kelli and I passed him at one point, but he came right up to the front. Normally I wouldn’t care. I would just follow him. But he wasn’t pointing out pot holes or grates in the road, which are dangerous. He’s dangerous! I told Kelli why I was riding so inconsistently and she said, “Good plan!” Apparently he had caused an accident on one of her group rides as well. Scary! I kept him far enough ahead that I could see what was in the road and could send the message back through the two teams. At stop lights we did cheers. I’m sure the people in those neighborhoods thought we were crazy if they didn’t know what was going on. (= Heading up to the holding area, Rand showed up next to me and tried to race as we’d done the 2^nd day. I beat him to the top but then missed the entrance to the park. lol Dorks!

In the holding area were lunch and a massage. That was all I cared about! Lunch was a pretty good sandwich and pasta. And I got the last cookie from the “Cookie Waiter” from the previous pit stop. I didn’t want one back then because I didn’t know what kind of ride the next 7 miles would be. My patience paid off! (= I got a great 10 minute massage in which the knot on my left shoulder blade was highlighted. Ouch! She made a funny comment at some point to another of the massage therapists. I had sunscreen and sweat all over me so it was easy for her to do the massage. She said to her co-worker, “Hey, she came pre-lubricated!” which, after some of the other comments from the weekend, made a few people laugh. Definitely one for Adam’s quote book! Then we waited. And waited. Thankfully there was shade in the area so we weren’t all burning up. Once they had us line up we were a little more in the sun and we had to wait awhile there too. I think we were waiting for the crew to walk down to their waiting area before we went to the font of the capitol. Eventually we were freed. It was a very very slow ride down a pretty steep hill. Didn’t seem like anyone fell or crashed into each other. Good thing! When we got to the sidewalk coming up to the Capitol, we could start hearing the cheering. That was very cool! There were so many people there! I saw Lorrie right away with the camera trying to get every moment. They split us into two sides so she had to wait and see which side we went to. Poor thing. But it worked out. After we were all lined up with our bikes in front of the stage, the crew walked down in a space left for them in the middle of the two sides of cyclists. Seeing the crew come in is always emotional for me… and others. They have spent the past four days taking care of nearly our every need. I never saw anyone angry or frustrated… just smiles. They are an amazing bunch of people! More so, I think, than the cyclists. We just ride. Well, we do ride far so I guess I should give us some credit too! Heheh! Anyway, we splashed them with water from our water bottles as a salute. The program was pretty quick. Thankfully since it was very hot and very sunny. This is terrible but I have no idea who the people were that spoke, aside from Teresa, the ride director. The first was a woman who is a politician and then someone who I guess is a radio personality and a local comedian. I’ll go to the ride website later and see if I can find out who they were and do an addendum. lol Lots of cheering and photos followed. Jean’s partner Rose was there with some of their friends from church and a few signs. Lorrie had her sign with her as well.

It was nice having someone there for me this time. All through the ride actually, not just at the end. I remember how I felt at the end of the AIDS/LifeCycle ride in LA with no one there cheering for me, feeling like there wasn’t anyone who was excited to have me back after a week. I would say maybe Emma was glad but she’d spent her week with Emily and Ila so she might not have been quite ready for me to be back yet! lol Anyway, that was a very nice feeling! I can’t believe how lucky I am to have such a supportive girlfriend and that I get to ride my bike as much as I want. Incredible!

I don’t plan on doing much more riding this summer as I have a licensing exam to prepare for. I made that decision before the RRR because I felt like the training or even the pressure to train was taking me away from studying. So, no more rides until I take the exam. Back to running for awhile.

Also, if you sponsored me financially for this ride or encouraged me along the way… I want to THANK YOU VERY MUCH! The support means everything to me!!

To see all the photos Lorrie and I took, go to my gallery at:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/jenniferphd/main/red_ribbon_ride

Red Ribbon Ride - Day 3

Route - Rochester to Northfield

Distance = 71.82 miles
Time = 5.07.53
Average speed = 14.0 mph
Maximum speed = 35.5 mph
Odometer = 3346.8 miles

Another bad night of sleep. Arrgh! This time is was my own fault though. I thought I was being smart just taking out my sleeping bag liner to sleep in so I wouldn’t get hot. I couldn’t shut down my brain for awhile after I got in and I had a quick conversation with Lorrie. She was at her friend Marv’s going away party. I fell asleep for about 30 minutes and then Lorrie texted me and woke me up. Ha! So then it took me awhile again and I was in and out of sleep. At about 2am I realized I was awake so much because I was cold. I know that should be an easy conclusion to come to but think about all I’ve done the last couple days on very little sleep. I was a little out of it. Then I had to pee but didn’t want to get up. So much thought. In my daze I was also thinking I didn’t want to pull my sleeping bag out. Though it takes about 30 seconds to pull out and a minute to put away in the morning. Eventually I went into the middle school where we were camping so I could pee (I know, TMI!). Then had a clear enough head to pull out my sleeping bag. And I slept awesome for those 2 hours from 3am to 5am! Got up and did the routine. Cycling clothes on, threw all my stuff in my bag, packed sleeping bag, and rolled up sleeping pad. Then inside for breakfast. Eggs and oatmeal, potatoes, a banana, and soy milk. Typical. Back outside to take my wet tent down. It wasn’t raining but it was very dewy and foggy.

I got over to the bike corral near 6:30am. Good job! Thomas, Kelli, and John were still standing there so we took off together. We stayed together for a little while then I had to stop for water with one of the support cars. I had forgotten that last night when we pulled in I had added Gatorade to my water. Disgusting! There was a ½ pit stop at one of the Rochester Chipotle restaurants. They had mini donuts, which killed me not to have. But with 70+ miles to go, donuts aren’t going to cut it. Didn’t stay there long. Kelli, Thomas, and John had taken off but John was stopped at a light so I caught up to him. He took off to catch up with them and I went my usual speed. I had a moment thinking how glad I was that I don’t have the mentality of having to “keep up” all the time, that I’m okay riding alone. A few moments later, I saw John flip on his bike and fall into the road. By the time I got up there, he was up and had checked his bike. He said he and the bike were both okay and that he just wanted to take a moment to compose himself. So I took off figuring he would pass me up soon. Got to the next pit stop and told Kelli and Thomas about John. They laughed and asked if he was okay. Such is the nature of our team. We all took off from there (Douglas) and headed to the next pit stop. I have to mention that this first pit stop was a “tribute” to Northfield and the Jesse James Gang. Cowboys, sheriff, a bank, etc. It was cute. (= John ended up missing the 2^nd Pit Stop and went directly to the 3^rd Pit Stop. Said he felt out of it.

At lunch, Eric’s Bike Shop showed up so I had to wait and see if this mechanic could fix what the one from last night messed up. Arrgh! Why did I let them touch my bike? I’ve never had a good experience at Eric’s so I thought I would give them another chance. Dumb! I don’t have access to several of my gears after I asked the mechanic last night to help me get access to the one I was having trouble with. The mechanic today didn’t make it better but made it different so I could at least do some creative shifting to get the access I needed on the few larger hills. Guess I’m going back to Milltown Cycles! And now I get why most of my team supported The Alt instead of Eric’s in the pre-ride preparation!

After that, I rode most of the route on my own. Between Pit Stop 4 and Pit Stop 5, I literally did not see another rider the entire time. Weird! I think I wrote this before but I often feel alone in this ride. I think because I was near the front today, I got less attention from the road crew as well. Didn’t see them on that particular stretch either. Thank God for the yellow arrows or I would feel like I was going the wrong direction! (=

Lorrie and Darshi were waiting for me at the 5^th (Nerstrand) Pit Stop. That was awesome! Tori and Emma Blue were with them too. (= Didn’t spend much time there since I was almost done for the day. But I got them and me some snacks before taking off. “The Last Big Hill” (for real) was coming up. Out of Nerstrand, the route took me down a road I had not ridden before, I think it was something Valley View Road. It felt strange to be “lost” in my own neighborhood. There were a bunch of big rolling hills before the last big one. It was pretty intimidating to look up at so I just had to keep telling myself I’ve done bigger. Another rider rode up with me, which I know was supposed to be encouraging. But it was actually more annoying. It’s great that some of the stronger riders stay back and help those who need the encouragement. I just wasn’t one of those people today. (= The people along the side of the road and the homemade rap were awesome. The cheering is a great part! It was also cool because Thomas, Kelli, and John were waiting for me at the top. That made me feel good! So, except for Jean, we all rode in together.

This day was also full of potholes. That was very hard on my arms, hands, butt, and lower back. For some of them, I was thinking it was good to be alone so I could see the holes clearly. I kept worrying about the groups of riders where the 3^rd or 4^th person wouldn’t hear the first person while the 2^nd person is trying to avoid and not pointing well. I’m sure a few people went over their handlebars on those. )=

Once at the Northfield Middle School, I just had to wait for my personal shuttle (Lorrie) to pick me up and take me home. To my own shower! Yay! Darshi and Bhanti were at the house and they all watched Kung Fu while I took a nap. After they left, I took a shower and got ready. Lorrie and I drove back out to The Last Big Hill and cheered for the last few people coming in. It’s amazing to see such determination.

Back to the school for dinner – pasta – and “Friends and Family Night.” Good pasta! Then Jeanie White was introduced by our pastor Paul and Jeanie spoke about her son Ryan White. That was pretty powerful! She was very “down home” except when talking about Elton John or Michael Jackson as close friends of the family. Toward the end, I was getting pretty fidgety and ready to sleep.

Afterwards, I asked Cheryl, the physical therapist who had worked on my Achilles, to take a look at Lorrie's ankle. She said it look like a packed sausage! lol She said we had been wrapping it wrong and making the swelling worse. Oops! So she put a funky tape job on it and then the Ace ("tenser" as Lorrie calls it) bandage on and explained how it should be done. It was VERY nice of her to do that! After we grabbed our Tiramisu and some fruit, we headed home. I am REALLY hoping for a good night sleep!

Red Ribbon Ride - Day 2

Route - Lake City to Rochester

Distance = 71.61 miles
Time = 5.46.00
Average speed = 12.4 mph
Maximum speed = 36.0 mph
Odometer = 3274.9 miles

My neighbor snored all night. I slept horribly! Not a good thing with another long day coming up.After breakfast, as I was taking my tent down and getting things ready to go, I spoke with the snorers other neighbor. He said he hadn't gotten much sleep either. At least I wasn't alone in my agony! (=

I got started later than my whole team. They left around 6:30am and I wasn’t out of camp until just after 7:00am. I ended up taking my time and stopping for photos, especially around Lake City. It’s beautiful there! Ran into Jean Z., a teammate, at Pit Stop 1 then rode with her to the next pit stop. That was nice! We took it slow and chatted a lot of the way. The rest of the day is a blur of rolling hills and a couple doozies. Interesting pit stops were The State Fair complete with Princess, Bearded Lady, and a Bozo the Clown cut out. And they served cotton candy! Gross! lol I didn’t have any but from the look of the garbage, lots of people had. (= Another was the theme of the musical Wicked. Lots of support from the car and motorcycle crew, the motorcycle crew especially on the hills. That was great! We also experienced the “Last Big Hill” complete with rap that was developed for just that purpose. (= At lunch, Rand, a former teammate I guess, asked if I wanted to join him and a couple other people, Adam and Kelly, he’d been riding with. They waited for me, so I did. That was nice. I feel like I’ve been doing a lot of this ride alone, including the training so it’s gotten a little lonely. Mostly, that’s fine. But sometimes I wish I was the same pace as others or part of a team that rides together. So anyway, we jokingly raced up the hills. Not downhill because my bike is so much faster than theirs (hybrids and mountain bike) regardless of the rider. We completed the “Last Big Hill” together too. That was fun. Not much cheering after that point. We just had to make our way through Rochester, which turned out to be an interesting adventure with the strange stoplights.

Back at “home,” same routine… turn in bike, get gear, tent up, shower, chill, dinner (Chipotle burritos) and then the program. Showering was an interesting experience reliving middle school memories of not wanting to shower with a group. Thankfully I’m more comfortable now than I was back then. I also had to remember how to use those, too short, sinks where you put your foot on the bar below for the streams of water to come out. Weird! Haven’t seen one of those in a very long time! During the program, Thomas, a teammate, got “caught” doing something nice for someone. I think they said he helped change a flat in a mosquito-infested area. Food is inside the school, Willow Creek Middle School and it is air conditioned. So that’s where I am now. I’ve set up my tent away from everyone else… so far… and I am really hoping for no snorers nearby. We’re on the infield of a middle school running track and I set up my tent on the outside of the track while everyone else is on the inside. (= I definitely need a good night sleep!

I was proud of myself today. My ego brewed a little at first with the hills and thinking about how I had been in California. Then I let it go and had a pretty good time. And really, I did quite well. (=

We ride home to Northfield tomorrow! Sleeping in my own bed and I get to see Lorrie! (=

Red Ribbon Ride - Day 1

Route - Mall of America in Minneapolis to Lake City

Distance = 76.78 miles
Time = 5.35.11 ride time (about 8 hours total)
Average speed = 13.7 mph
Max speed = 29.0 mph
Odometer = 3203.3 miles

We got about 4 hours of sleep last night. Yikes! Took me awhile to get packed. But I finally did. It was hot as hell in the house so it took me awhile to get to sleep. But when I woke up, I was pretty awake. Lorrie woke me before the alarm so that was a nicer way to wake up. Took Cedar all the way from home to the mall. (This is only significant to those who live in the area and know what a mess I-35 has been lately.) On time! Most of my team was already there so it was just a matter of waiting for the Opening Ceremony and for the ride to get going. Jean and her partner Rose put airplanes on top of our helmets for the theme, "I believe I can fly." Cute! Opening Ceremony was nice. Andy Ansell, from our church, spoke and Reverend Robyn Provis, also from our church, blessed us on our journey. After about an hour or so, we were off. About 8am. I felt tight. But that's expected. Rode with my team awhile and then I made a light that they didn't so I went ahead for a little while, knowing they would catch up. They did eventually and passed me up. I think they are generally about 2 or 3 mph faster than me at most times. Pretty basic ride most of the way.

Rain was in the forecast so I had my jacket with just in case. Good thing! It started sprinkling about 30 or so miles in. Then it became a downpour. No big deal. Except there was lightening, both horizontal and vertical. Scary! I passed up the Burritobago (Chipotle's suppoprt RV) thinking I should just make it to lunch. The next pit was a church in a little town. By the time I got there, it was pretty bad. They ended up closing the road to us so we had to stay at the church. We only had access to the parking lot originally. But the custodian at the church called "The Boss" and asked if he could let us inside. We ended up staying there a couple hours. It was pretty cold since we'd all come in wet. First aid offered milar blankets for us to share. Those things TOTALLY work! I'm getting one for our camping gear!

The first plan was to start sweeping us (putting us in and our bikes on cars) to get us to the lunch stop. Most of us suggested they go pick up the food and bring it back to the church. That seemed the most reasonable to me since we had such good shelter. It also meant we wouldn't lose out on any mileage! (= So they did bring us lunch, chicken caesar wraps and pasta salad. Yum! They also made a ton of coffee for those who wanted it. That is the spirit of a ride like this! I'm sure they did not want to clean up after a hundren wet smelly cyclists. But they did and they were smiling and having a good time with us!

It seemed like a whole new ride once we got started again. Though my socks, shoes, and chamois (the big pad in the crotch of the shorts) were still wet when we were released! The next pit stop was on the Cannon Valley Trail, which was supposed to be lunch. This is about 10 miles from my home! The theme was the Flintstones and it was VERY cute! Then several miles down the Cannon Valley Trail to Red Wing, which was an awesome part of the ride. Smooth trail, slightly downhill. I was also excited because Lorrie was supposed to be waiting for me at the pit stop in Red Wing! And she was! It was very good to see her though it didn't last long. Twenty miles to camp from there. She stopped along the way to cheer with her cowbell along with some other people. That was great! The last 20 were hard! Headwinds made even going downhill difficult. I hate that! I rode with a woman named Jody for a lot of it but then couldn't keep up after about 15 miles. Then she stopped so I rode the rest alone. Seeing Lake Pepin was SUCH a relief! It still took a little while to get to Hok-Si-La campground. Definitely a welcome sight! Lorrie was there cheering again with my teammate Rand.

That was a hard day for me. It's good to be "home!" Typical routine follow: grab gear, set up tent, shower, eat. It's a beautiful campground with a wonderful view of Lake Pepin, which is really just a part of the Mississippi River. Dinner was grilled meats. Lorrie stayed until about 8:50pm and took off after giving me a massage. Hopefully I will sleep tonight! Though at the moment my neighbor is snoring very loudly. Argh!!

Red Ribbon Day on the Ride

Distance = 56.76
Time = 4.38.45
Avg speed = 12.2 mph
Max speed = 29.5 mph
Odometer = 2982.3 mph

Well, we jumped from 20-mile rides to a 60-mile ride. Wow! It was pretty warm and I had forgotten my sleeveless jersey. I knew exactly where it was! lol Hanging in the bathroom to dry. Ah well. I should start from the beginning. We got most of our stuff ready last night. So that was good! The alarm was set for 5:45am. That was not good! We got up around 6am and were off in pretty good time. We were on time for the required safety speech and to start with everyone. I got a little nervous at the beginning because they made it sound like we were all expected to stay together. Yikes! That could be painful! But that wasn't the case. They just preferred that we stay together... and, I think, realized that it wouldn't happen. Anyway, we rolled out in a group of about 71 from the St. Joan of Arc church where the RRR office is housed. We made our way through Minneapolis along well trafficed roads. I got a little concerned that we would spend the entire time in the city. Now I sortof wish we had! lol

We road around near the airport and the group had started to spread out a little because of traffic lights. I rode behind a guy, who I think is on my team, that kept lurching and hitting his breaks. So I'd ride up on his ass even though I was trying to be careful. Because of the traffic, it wouldn't have been safe for us to pass him. So I just slowed a little more and stayed where I was. Lorrie was behind me. We got to a major overpass intersection near the airport and I think I-494. Everyone in front of us was "rolling" through a green then yellow light. So all I heard was "rolling." Well, the man I was talking about before decided to stop suddenly without saying anything. So the guy behind him stopped suddenly. I swerved to barely miss them and crossed on the yellow. As I was in the middle of the intersection, I heard Lorrie yell, "JESUS!" She had run into the two guys. The exact reason why expressing one's intentions is imperative when riding in a group. By the time I got across and was able to safely stop and turn around, she was already up. I went back over and besides a scrape on her leg and being shaken up, she was fine. Her first accident out of the way. I said to the guys standing there, "You have got to tell people when you're stopping!" I could easily have gone off on them because Lorrie was hurt. But I controlled myself. It would have mainly been my fear of her getting hurt being expressed. So I just focused on her. We started out again slowly, making sure her bike and body were okay. They seemed to be. I was surprised at how little concern anyone showed. Maybe no one saw what happened. Though I know the two guys saw it. But they took off as soon as the light was green. Not exactly the "community" I would expect of an AIDS ride in general and especially after what I'd been told. I will keep an open mind though. For now. I've seen the other side of the community as well, when Joe was hurt, so I'll just assume that this was "individual" and not group. Okay, done being a psychologist for now.

The rest of the ride was a mixture of fun and pain. We had some rolling hills before the first rest stop and it was a little difficult for both of us to get our legs into it. But we are both "late starters," so we don't do great the first 10 or so miles and then kick it better toward the end. We stopped for a little while at the first rest stop. Got some salty snacks and used the rest room. Lorrie had thought about sagging after the first or second leg. She decided to head out and see what the next leg would bring. More of the same. It was getting a little more windy at this point too. And obviously hotter with the afternoon approaching. The next rest stop was interesting. No food except these little "coin candies." I'm not sure what to think about that. Even some little snack packs of peanuts would have been better. But if people aren't cyclists or athletic at all, how would they know? It was "manned" by a major sponsor of the ride, Wells Fargo. So I guess I can't complain too much. But how about some oranges or bananas? PB&J?

The next leg would be one of the more difficult. Although, at this point, we were getting beyond our longest past ride this year so all segments were difficult! lol But this one was long, flat, straight, and windy. My least favorite! As you may remember, I made peace with the wind in California. But it's different to make peace with views of the ocean to distract me. It's another to be peaceful when the scenery is lacking. Lots of green. I was also getting hungry. Those coin candies didn't quite cut it! lol So we just kept pushing and pushing. By this time, Lorrie and I were basically alone. Couldn't see anyone in front and no one behind. Thankfully the signs were well-placed and often enough! They definitely had that under control! The lunch stop was great! Hamburgers and chips. Just what we needed. But... I ate too much! lol I should have just had 1/2 a hamburger. But, like I said, hungry! By this time we only had about 18 miles left. That's nothing! We were nearly done. Ahh the mind! (=

The next 18 miles were very hard. Remember, we have only ridden about 20-miles at a time by this point. So we'd already doubled our trip mileage in one shot! It was so friggin hilly the next section. Wow! No wonder it was short in distance... 10 miles. So we just chugged. Can't say much more than that! Well, except that we did catch up with the guy who stopped short and I made sure to pass him right away. He passed us again later and got pretty far ahead. Worked for me! At one point we were on a bit of a flat area and some guy in a huge car honked at us. Presumably to get out of the way... there were no encouraging waves or anything like that. Then he had to stop at the light ahead. I was feeling a little feisty by this point. Anything to get some energy. So I peddled hard to catch up to him at the light. Once I caught up to him, I just waved and smiled at him. I know it made no difference to him and he will likely continue to honk at cyclists who impede his progress in any way. But it gave me a little boost and that's what matters! Off again to conquer more hills. I honestly lost count of how many hills there were. AND THEN, the bridge. HOLY CRAP! After the hills we turned onto a paved trail. That was fine and dandy. Until we started riding next to what I think was I-494. There was a major headwind anyway. And then the traffic added to that wind. It was painful. SO painful! I started getting pre-cramps in my legs. You know, those little spasms that tell you any one of the next five exertions will lead to a mind-numbing cramp. We stopped on the bridge for about a minute so that I could settle my legs down. Drank some Accelerade. And off again. Once across, we had just a little jag to get to the final rest area. They just smiled and nodded knowingly at us. Apparently everyone had been telling them how painful the bridge was. We stayed there for about 5 minutes recovering. Well, not really recovering so much as trying to keep from turning into one big cramp. Then off we went for the final 8 miles.

The last leg was not so much difficult as we were just ready to be done. The route took us back into a neighborhood. So we had some stop lights and such. Not a big deal. At one point, one of my teammates passed us in her truck. Why couldn't we be done too!?? lol It felt great to be back... and done! There was a filmographer there asking us to say things into the camera like, "I'm a daughter." For some kind of RRR promo I guess. One we got our stuff put away, we decided to wait until Jean, another team member, made it in. So we waited about 20 minutes and cheered her in. Then left!

At home, we showered and took a nap! lol It was a lazy lazy night after that day! But I'm proud of us for making it with so little training under our belts! And I'm SOOO thankful that Lorrie didn't get hurt!

I didn't take my camera because I thought there was too much chance of rain. That would have been a relief! I'll start carrying it more often. (=

Red Ribbon Team Ride - AGCMCC

Distance = 20.7 miles
Time = 1.44.57
Avg speed = 11.8 mph
Max speed = 22.5 mph
Odometer = 2925.5 miles

At church today my team was rolled our bikes up to the front before the offering was given. We are the recipients of 2 months worth of DUO (do unto others) fund offerings. This should help complete my fundraising! As we stood up there with our bikes, one of the board members who is also doing the ride said a few words about us and the ride. The congregation gave us a standing ovation. It was much more emotional than I expected. We all stood up there, our eyes tearing, just looking at each other like, "What do we do now." So we just stood and took in the energy. It was awesome!

After the service, we hosted an official training ride. The plan was 30 miles. We started with 17 riders. We rolled through Minneapolis, down the same trail we rode several weeks ago that I can't remember the name of, into St. Paul and around the state capitol. Somewhere toward the beginning we lost a couple riders. One was a ride leader who was the caboose as no rider gets left behind. The other was a woman who I don't think had ridden yet this year and was having some bike trouble and riding trouble. So we were at 15 riders. In St. Paul around the capitol, there was a short steep hill near the capitol. My favorite kind! One of the guys got a flat at the bottom so we had to wait at the top for them. I turned around and went about halfway back down and rode it up again. Really. I love those kind of hills! And I definitely need the work! Took awhile but they finally got things under control. Something is going on with his spokes because that was his second flat during that ride. Once we were reunited, we all headed off again.

We got into a neighborhood around the capitol and, from the front of the pack, we heard, "Biker down!" Not what any of us ever want to hear. Our other ride leader had fallen at the bottom of a short hill when he was trying to turn. I was sure he had broken his collarbone. He was in shock and had possibly lost consciousness for a very short time. We called an ambulance. The incredible thing was the people in the neighborhood. SO many of them came out and asked if we needed help. It was really incredible! We happened to have 2, maybe 3, nurses riding with us. So they basically took over until the ambulance got there. The rest of us stayed out of the way, directed traffic, accepted wet cloths from neighbors and checked on each other. Joe was laying in the middle of the road so we were definitely in the way of traffic and very visible. Ambulance didn't take long getting there. They assessed him and decided he should get to the hospital. He was out later that night and went to one of the other rider's home to recuperate. Very scary! And definitely a reminder that anything can happen. He wasn't goofing around or being careless. His tires just slipped out from under him on a turn. It happens. Lorrie was a little freaked out. She's never seen a cycling accident before. There was no blood or anything like that. And he'll be fine. But she was still shaken. Side note... Joe, miraculously, did not break any bones!

We decided as a group, 14 now, that we should turn around and go back. People were shaken up and our minds weren't on the ride. So it was best to get home. No further issues after that point.

Red Ribbon Kick-off Training Ride

Distance = 14.41
Time = 1.22.58
Avg. Speed = 10.4
Max Speed = 15.2

Red Ribbon Ride Kick-off Training Ride. About 15 people showed for the this first ride of the training season. That was a pretty good number of people I thought. There were a few that are on the All God's Children MCC team, which was cool. I had checked out the names on the team but don't really know anyone at church so it was good to put names to faces. There were two other women, Kelli and Jean, that I recognized from church. Funny thing was that both names are relatively gender neutral. So according to the team list, it was possible that I was the only woman. Glad there are others! I feel better about being part of a team now that I've actually met some of the others. I had a vision of camping alone and spending the entire 300 miles on my own. Which, while riding, I might. For an introvert like me, a few connections here and there can do wonders!

Anyway, on with the training ride. We started out in the parking lot of All God's Children. They did a safety speech before heading out. Taught us the hand signals. Told us to hydrate and not to pass each other. lol Being the opening ride, the point was just to spend some time in the saddle and enjoy each others' company. That works. We rode out to Park Ave. where we went North and did a little jag down to the entrance of the trail about 2 blocks away. Not bad! Then we headed west on the Greenway Trail, which seems like it spans most of Minneapolis. Great for commuters! Made me miss living in the city a little. Not Minneapolis though! heheh We rode in line for about 7.5 miles until we got to The Depot Coffeehouse in Hopkins, MN. Cute little place next to what used to be railroad tracks. Stopped there for a few minutes so people could get coffee and use the bathroom. I still don't understand drinking coffee in the middle of a ride. People do it all the time. But it's a diuretic (makes you have to use the bathroom a lot) and seems like it would cause dehydration. Neither of those things seem good to me on a bike ride. But lots and lots of people do so it must be something good... or addicting! lol After the break we were standing outside waiting for the last few people to come out. Lorrie and I both started getting cold just standing there. It wasn't really cold out. But we were sweaty and it definitely wasn't warm. Low 50s maybe and cloudy. So we went back to the foyer until the others started coming out. Wusses! (= Back on the bikes for the trip home. I don't know where but at some point people started telling us about glass on the trail ahead. Apparently someone had dropped some bottles from a street bridge above the trail that landed right in the middle of the trail and covered most of the width. Rude people! We passed one man who was changing a flat. Presumably from the glass. Poor guy. A couple of the people in front asked if he was okay or needed help. I thought that was nice. I always offer but have some trouble changing road tires so my help would often be useless. But in a pinch (heheh) I can get the job done. We also passed under another bridge where an elderly man was shaking his cane at us and yelling. Nice! Finally, there was a man running on the "wrong" side of the trail. Lesson... on trails you walk, ride, and run on the right side. On roads you bike with traffic on the right side but ride and run on the left facing traffic. He was doing the opposite. Not a big deal unless there's a lot of traffic. Apparently one of the guys in the front of our group pointed out the error of his ways because what I heard from the runner was, "BITE ME!" lol Ahh recreationalists! Gotta love us! I think those were the negative interactions. Everyone else was cool and we had a great time.

What I noticed. I got a little impatient with the slow pace. I busied myself making jokes to myself. I kept my place. Didn't pass. In other words, I behaved. I'm sure my friends on the AIDS/Life Cycle ride would be impressed. Okay, but here was another interesting observation. Remember that safety speech I mentioned at the beginning? Well, for most of the ride we heard nothing from the ride leader about runners, walkers, or bikers up. He also rode 2 abreast most of the way back... even at one point when he was passing a walker on one side and another cyclist was coming toward us and passing. I thought that was interesting. Why? Because I am inherently a rule disobeyer. And when I see the ride leader... who just read all these rules to us AND didn't want someone to ride with us because she was late and *that is the rule*... break most of those rules... I AM IN! lol

Welcome to the 2008 Training Season!

P.S. I forgot Jeero! Please don't tell Jeero that I was out riding. Jeero would be VERY hurt! Jeero was home with O.X. having an UglyParty. We'd have grounded them but we felt guilty.

Summer Charity Bike Rides

I just registered for the Minnesota Red Ribbon Ride. There's always a short time after I register for these rides in which I wonder what I am thinking. Why am I putting myself through this! And isn't there something *better* I could do with my time in July?? So far the answers have always been the same. I'm putting myself through this because it makes a difference to lots of people. And no, there really isn't anything better than riding my bike around the state raising money for charity during the month of July. I'm going to be hot anyway, I may as well make some good of it. (=

I'm doing something different this year though. More! In 2006 I rode from San Francisco to Los Angeles for the AIDS/Life Cycle Ride. In 2007 I rode around Northwestern Minnesota for the MS TRAM. This year I am planning on riding the Red Ribbon Ride July 17-20 and the MS TRAM July 20-25. Nine days of riding for two organizations whose issues mean a lot to me!

For the Red Ribbon Ride I am required to raise $1500. For the MS TRAM I am required to raise $300. With your help, I can definitely do it. I don't have my MS TRAM page yet. But to donate to my Red Ribbon campaign, click Jennifer's Red Ribbon Page to get to my donation page. I'll let you know when I'm up on the MS TRAM site!

Thanks for your support, financial and otherwise!! Guess I should get started on my training! (=