Test Day, 13 Vultures and Ozona Blue

I thought we might do a test ride today simulating the riding conditions we might experience on the Ride Across America. That would include getting up at the crack of dawn, having breakfast out somewhere, then heading out for the day's ride. Planned rest stops would be every one and one half hours or about 20 miles or maybe less depending on conditions. The idea is to re-hydrate and refuel at the stops. Basically following the axiom of "eat before you are hungry and drink before you are thirsty".  It's hard to recover if you get depleted and if you get depleted you could "bonk". And that's not good.

Turned out to be a great day to ride. Temperatures in the low 70's and somewhat overcast. Just a little wind out of the NE in my face on the way out but it turned into a tailwind on the way back which was nice. Averaged 14.3 mph and 4 hours and 12 minutes of saddle time. Only 496 feet of elevation gain. Close to what one might expect in Kansas. Overall a good test ride. Margie and I had breakfast at Perkins about 7:00 am which is just a few blocks away. We were the only customers in the restaurant which was strange. Got on my bike and on the way out on McMullen Booth road I noticed 13 Vultures on a set of light poles watching me. Kind of a spooky sign but I tried to look alive as I went by. I made a point to sip on my water bottles every time I had to stop and got a breakfast sandwich at McDonald's at Hwy 54 and Trinity Rd. Also stopped at the Roadway Gas Station and picked up a bottle of gator aid and a small water. Decided to stop at Ozona Blue restaurant for lunch. I called Margie and she met me there. This is one of our favorite places to go when we are in Florida.

Coffee and Breakfast at Perkins

We were the only customers!

Joh Deer tractor at exit to Starkey Wilderness Park

Anclote River at Tarpon Springs

Our Table-side view at Ozona Blue

Cold Shock Top at Ozona Blue 

Back to Training

Finally back on the bike for a training ride. Weather was clear and warm. Started out at 70 degrees but warmed up to 84 in the afternoon and some good wind in my face up to 15mph on the way back. Wanted a longer ride so I headed out to the Suncoast Trail and back through the Starkey Park Wilderness area. Then on to Tarpon Springs and Palm Harbor via the Pinellas Trail and then to Clearwater Beach and back to home. Got some good saddle time and definitely tested out my water supplies. Total of 78 miles and 5 hours and 43 minutes. Did ok till about 60 miles and decided to take a lunch break. Biked more slowly to Clearwater Beach where I got some ice cream before heading back. Not much elevation gain but hey I'm in Florida.

Rest Stop at Trouble Creek and US19

Biking Thru the Starkey Park Wilderness

Clearwater Beach

Getting Ready

Swing Daddy 4

Bikes on the Rack

Lots to do in order to get ready for the trip. First needed to get a 2 inch hitch receiver put on Margie's SUV. Got it at U-Haul and they did a nice job and I was able to schedule it quickly. Next, I put on the Yakima Swing Daddy 4 Bike rack. I ordered this on Amazon and it arrived a little quicker than I thought. Was very easy to assemble. Just followed a U-Tube video. Was surprised at how heavy it was but I won't be taking it on and off very often. Put my two bikes on to test out. Got the Trek 520 assembled at the Trek shop since my normal shop was too busy to handle (one week turn-around).

Margie an I went out shopping for some food items and missing things. Turned out we had quite a load when we returned from shopping. Hope there is room for our other gear.

Maybe I went overboard on the power bars. Went to Costco and got 4 or 5 boxes, 120 plus bars. 21,000 calories if I eat them all.

On The Way

I'm at the Seattle/Tacoma Airport with my bike, bike clothes, tent, two sleeping bags, traveling gear  and Margie's pillow. Thanks to Brandon for driving me to the airport.

Forty pounds of bike, racks, etc in the box and 110 pounds of other baggage consisting of two 26 inch suitcases plus my carry-on bag and knapsack.

I'm taking a red-eye thru Minneapolis on the way to Tampa. Margie will be coming to Florida from Los Angeles on Thursday.

There are still a few things left to do before we are ready to go.

I need to get a 2 inch hitch put on the SUV for the bike rack carrier. I ordered a Yakima Swingdaddy 4 Bike Carrier via Amazon. It should arrive by UPS on Wednesday by close of day. It attaches via the 2 inch hitch and is able to swing the bikes out of the way of the rear door for easy entry into the back of the SUV. I also ordered two sleeping pads via Amazon and they should show up on Friday. That will complete our camping gear and bike carrying needs.

I will be taking Brett's bike in case he joins us along the way, Margie's bike, my Specialized S-Works road bike and the Trek 520 touring bike. This should give me plenty of spare bikes in case of problems. No need to stop and repair a flat, just hop on one of the spare bikes and I'm back on the road quickly. Also, in case anyone wants to join the adventure for a few miles we have some extra gear available.

Michelle called while I was at the airport and said I had left this on top of the washing machine. This little bag goes behind the saddle and is designed to carry spare tubes, patches, CO2 cartridges, tools and tire levers. Basically, an emergency kit. It is the bag I had on my Sequoia road bike that I left in Poulsbo. Not sure how it got on top the washing machine but I probably don't need it. She opened it and showed me what was inside:

Looks like a road bike tube, a CO2 cartridge tool, two bike tire levers, a patch kit and a dollar bill. The dollar bill is not for "candy" along the way but can be used as a "boot" to fix a tire puncture in an emergency. Each of the bikes I take will have a similar kit for emergency repair situations. Hopefully, this is the only thing I left behind.

Bike in a Box

Here's a picture of my bike all boxed up. Have decided to take it with me to Florida as a Bicycle on Delta Airlines. We take the red-eye on April 28th back to Clearwater. The charge should be $150 for the bike. Will use our AMEX card to get reimbursed for the $150, so net cost is zero. Fed Ex would charge $289 for 3 day express guaranteed delivery. They have a 5 day service for $100 but no guarantee. Looks like Sam photo bombed my pic.

Back in School

I was invited by Drew and Abby's school to talk a little about my ride across America. The presentation took place in the gym and was given to the 3rd and 4th graders first and then the kindergarteners thru 2nd graders.

Lots of great questions and interest about the ride. Here are some of the questions:

Why are you doing this?
Are you going to raise money?
Where are you starting?
How long will it take?
How far is it?
How many miles will you ride each day?
Where will you sleep?
What will you eat?
Won't it cost a lot of money?
What's that bump in the route?
Where will you go to the bathroom?
What's in your bag?
Tell me about your bike?
What training did you do?
What if you run into a tornado?
What if you're chased by a grizzly bear?
Why are you going east to west against the wind?

What a fun way to think about the ride and get some inspiration from kids who may start dreaming about their own big adventure.

Drew, Me, Abby

Last Training Ride in Poulsbo

Made my last training ride in Poulsbo today. Got off around 9:30 am, partly cloudy and cool. I didn't wear any of my rain gear and just my biking bibs and jersey with an Under Armor shell underneath. Was pretty cold going to Silverdale with a slight wind out of the South. It warmed up a little on the way back on Big Valley Road. Got a nice hot latte in Port Gamble and headed back on the old Port Gamble Road. It has some nice steep hills (17% for bit). I even stood and pumped up one section. That got my heart rate up to 161. Was pretty pleased with the ride: 42.6 miles in 3hr 37min., average speed 11.8 with 2,632 feet of elevation gain. This would be equivalent to over 200 miles in Florida. My total training mileage is now 420 miles. I should be able to meet my goal of 500 miles with a few rides in Florida.

Tomorrow (Thursday) I'll go to Drew and Abby's school for a little talk on my bike ride for all the kids. Not sure what they'll ask but it should be interesting. Here's a map I made which traces the route across America. Click to enlarge.

After the school visit I'll take my bike to Classic Cycle in Bainbridge and leave it to be tuned up and then boxed for shipment to Florida. On Friday I'll pick up the bike and drop it off at FedEx for 3 day shipping to FedEx location in Dunedin, Florida. I'll pick it up on next Wednesday and then take it to my local bike shop to be set up and checked out. I should be able to ride on Thursday next week (April 30).

Not Open On Monday

Great day for a bike ride. Temps expected to be in the 60's with sun. Decided to head down to the Bainbridge bike shop where I bought the Trek 520. Wanted to check on the time required to pack up my box. Just went down Hwy 305 all the way. Then left at the stop light just before the ferry terminal. Made pretty good time, and thought I even had a little headwind but not sure. Got to the bike shop door and tried to open it. Whoops. Locked. Sign says "Not Open on Mondays". Oh well.

Headed over to the other bike shop in Bainbridge and looked around for a few minutes before getting back on my bike to make the return journey. Stopped by the FedEx office to see what the options would be to send my bike to Clearwater. The lady says I need to be sure the box is no more than 51x30x8. Otherwise there will be a $60 charge for "bigness". Also they have 5 day ground service but there is no guarantee with it. If you want a guaranteed arrival you need to use the 3-DAY option. Get the box in by 3pm and you'll make the outgoing truck.

The sun felt good on the way back but thought I had a little headwind when I was expected a tail wind. A headwind both ways, not fair. Anyway headed out and thought I made pretty good time on the way back. However, got my Garmin results and not so fast. Averaged 12.7mph, a little slower than the 13.5 on the way to Bainbridge. Good news though, the Brooks saddle felt pretty good. Only about 20 miles but I'll take it. Click to enlarge.

Clear Creek Ride

Another foggy morning with low temperatures. Stayed around the house until about 10am. Then headed out to Silverdale via the Clear Creek Road. Took a nice climb out of Poulsbo to get to the Clear Creek Road, the a left turn and up some more incline until finally you reach the top some 5 miles or so down the road. Then it's downhill at 3% or so to Silverdale. Stopped by the bike shop in Silverdale to get some chain oil. Went to lube the chain before the ride and I was out of my supply. I also switched my saddle again. I picked up a Brooks B17 saddle at REI. Supposed to be the most comfortable saddle made. Got to admit it felt pretty good. May need to adjust the height just a little though. I'll do some tinkering on the next ride.

To Ride or Not to Ride

Ok. This morning it was cold and foggy around 8 am with the weatherman saying it was going to rain about noon. Well, then the sun started to come out and there were only a few clouds in the sky. Perhaps I could get a ride in, but it would have to be short and I'd need to stay close by. So I started out on the back roads and the farther I got the better the weather seemed to be. So I kept going to Port Gamble and the turned back toward home. I took the old Port Gamble Road back which has some nasty 15%-17% grades along the way.  I dropped to my "hill climbing" gear (some call it a "granny gear") and never had to stop. Guess it would be a "grandpa gear" for me.

Got about 27 miles in and 1,700 ft of elevation gain. Here are the the stats and a picture of the Trek 520: (Click to enlarge)

The Truck 520