We reached our third and final goal: St. Louis, Missouri! Tomorrow we are heading home to Minneapolis. We have biked nearly 1,000 miles (tomorrow we will bike our remaining few miles) and have had such unique and adventurous experiences! We have been able to tell people all along the way about Hope Station and the plight of orphans in China. We have passed out many HS cards and have found encouragement from the fact that even people we don't know are taking interest in the cause. Thank you family and friends for all of your support along the way! We couldn't have done it without you! When we arrive back home we will continue to upload photos and videos that we were unable to upload along the way. Thanks for following!
Well it's about time! Our apologies for continual delays in our blog updates. It's been a trick finding wifi or even phone service. A lot has happened and we are anxious to tell you all some great stories! First and foremost, we want to pay tribute to all of the wonderful people we have met along the way. Larry Sharpe has been our faithful support for the second and third leg of the tour. From Itasca to Minneapolis we were self-supported, carrying all of our gear on our bikes. From then on, Larry, our neighbor from back home, pulled our pop-up and would drive ahead to set up camp each night. He has been such a delight to get to know on a new level than just street neighbors! We are immensely grateful to him for being a kind-hearted servant! Finally we get to tell the story of meeting the amazing Bruce! As we were about to bike downhill, we saw this man pushing a unique cart up that hill. We asked him where he was coming from and he said, "Canada." But he was heading north, so after inquiring more he explained that he started walking from his home in Canada all the way to Florida, and he then walked all around the country! Now he is on his way back home. He has walked more than 18,000 miles!!!! We were so privileged to meet him! We asked what his inspiration and motivation were to start such a journey. He told his story: he used to live a very affluent life, owning homes all around the world, and one day during the economic crisis of 2008, he lost everything - his wife and all his wealth. He said, "Instead of jumping off a bridge, I thought I would start walking." WOW. This man is so inspirational and we have so much admiration for what he's doing! He also has a blog, or you can simply google him with "Seniors walking across America."
Note: I tried to post this on Tuesday, Day 16, but we haven't had internet service for the past few days. It's now Day 19 and we're back in internet civilization, so we'll be playing catch-up here. I will keep this short and sweet cause its midnight and Internet service is intermittent. Today was Day 16 and we completed a second milestone for us because we made it from Minneapolis to Muscatine, Iowa. That's where we pick up the Adventure Cycling route and take it south. Riding bicycle across country has its ups and downs (literally and figuratively ;). You would think its just mile after boring mile, but the scenery and terrain is so varied, that the time and miles can pass quickly. I'll let the pictures and video speak for themselves -- “The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the [camper]. All that cold, cold, wet day.” I'm writing our blog update using Mariah's laptop and a WiFi hotspot through my iPhone (gotta love technology!). This morning marks our third morning of torrential rains and flooding in the Mississippi River valley, so we're hunkered down waiting for the storms to pass. After putting in 72 miles yesterday, my legs could use a rest, so I'm not complaining ;-) Actually, we've only had to bike in the rain for about a half an hour (near Brainerd, MN). With as much rain and water as we’ve had back home, we were feeling quite fortunate when we started the Tour because everyday brought sunshine and summer-like weather wherever we went! But the further down river we go, the more we see the swelling Mississippi, flooding riverbanks and low-lying areas. Everywhere we bike, we see trees sticking up out of the water and standing water along ditches and farmlands. The national weather service has issued severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings from Prairie du Chien to the Quad Cities, pretty much directly on the TORCH tour route. Thankfully our friend and neighbor, Larry Sharpe, is supporting the Tour by pulling our camper to each night's campsite and setting up. The torrential rains come at night or in the morning so right now we are inside and dry. But tent trailers and even big 5th-wheel RVs can get flooded out, or evacuated out, by the local authorities, as you'll see in the video below. Once the rain passes and we dry out, we start riding again. The other day, we didn’t get going until 3pm, but it’s all good. We actually had a pleasant evening of riding and managed to squeak in 35 miles! Here’s a pictorial summary of the last couple of days – Of course, some images deserve their own blog spot – so we might have to expound on them in a future post. Because God is Good, and with your love and support and prayers, we've biked 648 miles so far, through 4 states. We've seen some spectacular scenery and met lots of people. We've been able to tell them about the work of Hope Station and the plight of orphans in Chengdu. And, this makes it ALL worth while. Embracing Life, Mike This quote from the original Lion King, clearly modified by me from ‘danger’ to ‘hills’ has been playing in my head since week one. It really came in handy yesterday, as a shove of motivation up our steepest and longest hills yet. Until today, our biggest hill was between Wabasha and Trempealeau, which you may remember we named Suicide Hill. Looking back on that hill now I truly laugh because it pales in comparison to what we faced yesterday. In northern Iowa, between McGregor and New Wine, we ascended approximately 2,300 feet in a matter of 30 miles. We also descended the same amount (scary as all get out! A narrow shoulder with patches of gravel and debris, and even when pumping the breaks we were clocking 30 mph, without breaks I’m sure we would have gone 45 mph!) My dad has an elevation app on his GPS so here is a fun stat: our biggest climb at one time was 569 feet, and this hill lasted for 2 miles. We clocked an average of 5 mph! Here is a short video. My dad was crazy enough to take out his phone and capture it while biking! When I expressed shock, he replied, “It’s not like I have anything else to do in this spare time!” I want to share with you 4 KEYS to successful, crazy bike feats. :) These lessons have significantly improved my flat ground biking and are crucial for conquering hills.
1. Gearing – a recreational cyclist, whom I considered myself to be prior to this trip, generally thinks that one has to push severely harder on inclines. Their pace slows as they murder their thighs and knees. Even during the first 100 miles of this trip, I found my pace to be so inconsistent and chaotic. I would speed up to 18 mph for a few minutes until my burst of energy ran low, and then I would be back to 10 mph while I caught my breath. This should not have to happen! My dad always says, “Let the bike do the work for you.” True, this is why gears were invented. Gearing is like art (leave it to the artsy-fartsy girl to see the artistic side of a sport!): it is precise, but once mastered its so freeing! Once I paid attention to the rhythm of my legs and the revolutions, my cycling became so steady! Your speed going up a hill should match that of your speed on flat ground (as much as possible), so adjust gears accordingly. It is so grand to ride a bike with proper gearing; perhaps it is the closest thing I have found to flying! 2. Mentality – Some people are motivated by negative emotions, such as anger, which can truly fuel one’s adrenaline and lead to insane achievements. In the long run, though, I think this ends in disaster. Positivity is the state of mind I am constantly striving toward. For me, a variety of things stimulate positivity while riding: cracking jokes with my dad, upbeat music, talking to strangers, anything with action and risk, big cities and aesthetically pleasing small towns. Everyone has their own ways of keeping positive, so know yours and be proactive about incorporating them into moments that are physically or emotionally stressful! 3. Breathing – I owe this one to my aunt Kelly Wilder, who gave me a simple and seemingly obvious tip but one that I had not incorporated until this trip. Prior to this trip, I have always breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth. I thought someone had told me this is the healthiest pattern of breathing for athletes. Once I tried deep breathing though, the faintish feelings I used to get after climbing a hill disappeared! Yoga could have helped, but thanks to my aunt I got the tip anyway! 4. Water – water everywhere! Even when you’re not thirsty, drink, drink, drink. The other super helpful thing I have learned is that water is not only for drinking, but for pouring on yo’ face! As I alluded to above, I used to get these strange physical symptoms after climbing a hill: tingly face, shaky hands, shortness of breath, overheating and blackouts. It happened two times at the beginning of the TORCH Tour, but I have been quite proactive in preventing them. Breathing is a big help, but I have also found that pouring water on my face at nearly every rest stop will calm everything down. It is really fun to see the improvement we’ve made – I believe we’re getting stronger and stronger each day. For my dad that’s a miracle! We had prepared ourselves for the worst: to have to call it quits after we reached the Twin Cities if strenuous physical activity compromised my dad’s recovery from surgery. Quite the contrary, he feels like biking 50 miles a day has actually sped up his recovery! Thanks to all our family and friends for your support, words of encouragement and prayers! We have now completed 544 miles and are heading for Muscatine, Iowa. We’ll keep you posted as long as phone and internet service allow! Today we got a lot of variety in scenery! We rode from Hastings to Wabasha, totalling 56 miles. This stretch is very gorgeous, with particular highlights being the bluffs of Red Wing and Lake Pepin in Lake City. Of course bluffs also means hills... you know, some silly people think that the trip down the Mississippi is downhill (because it's southward). But rivers have hills surrounding them... today began the hilliest part of our trek. Left: Off in the distance, you can see what we deemed "Suicide Hill." Below: My dad was insane enough to take out his phone and take this photo as I was pluggin away up this beast of a hill! Meet 5-year-old Rena. She was definitely a highlight of my day! We stopped at a gas station to refill water bottles and she was inside showing customers around. She directed me to the restrooms. Once I came back outside to where my dad was with the bikes, I found her and my dad sitting on a picnic table. She was chatting away. My dad and I traded spots and it did not take a minute to discover that Rena's vocabulary was impressive for such a young girl! I gathered that her mom owned the station, so I asked, "Do you live around here?" (later I thought, why would I ask that of a child whom I have never met?! not trying to be a creep) She promptly replied, "I live in this world. I like living in this world. There are lots of trees." A girl after my own heart. Today was quite special on multiple fronts. There are not many things that my dad loves more than spending time with family, biking, and camping. Fitting that we got to incorporate all of those into this day that celebrates him as a father! We left our home in Minnetonka this morning, so he got to see his wife and two other kids (in addition to me, who he is stuck with for 30 days anyway), then met up with his brother in Robbinsdale! Bill was one of our original members during the 'visioneering' stage of this tour. He and his daughter dreamt of joining us for the whole tour but it just didn't work out. All that to say, it was really meaningful that Bill could join us for the day to experience it just a bit! We also had a friend, Doug Kraft, join us for part of the ride this morning! That was one of the fun benefits of biking in the Twin Cities - having friends and family able to join us. Beyond all of these reasons, I personally loved this day because Minneapolis is super biker-friendly and has such a variety of fun scenery! Lots of people of diverse cultures, art, gorgeous nature, old buildings and trains, and I could go on. The second half of the day was down to just my dad and me, heading for Hastings. So, we were trying to hook up to a highway that would bring us from South St. Paul to Hastings, and decided to explore a trail that seemed to have potential. Partway into the woods, the trail was abruptly blocked off with an orange fence and sign, "Trail Closed." Of course we didn't take heed; being the adventurers that we are, we proceeded to hop the fence with our bikes. A ways in, we discovered why it had been blocked: the entire trail had caved in from water damage. We went around it. We went for miles on that trail, assuming it would someday lead to the highway, but finally it just stopped. We hauled our bikes through some tall grass, ditches, over railroad tracks, and finally reached the highway! Shout out to the most amazing dad in the world! I am SO blessed that I was raised by such a gentle, loving, sacrificial, and servant-hearted leader! You have taught me so much, in fact, to the point that I have a deep yearning to learn more! You have given me so many gifts such as family, laughter, time, and of course, a newfound passion for bicycling! Thanks Dad! Love you lots!
Due to my Dad's recent bout with cancer, we adopted a vital attitudinal approach to this tour: "holding things loosely." We did not know how far we would get, but we are going for it anyway! Each day is a major accomplishment to us both, and we are celebrating every new mark on the map that we make. Reaching the Twin Cities was our first goal, and we made it! In fact, we "camped out" at our own house on Friday night, took Saturday to rest and regroup, and will head out for the second leg of the trip Sunday morning. In 5 days we biked 270 miles, and we already learned a lot! Each day is so different because of the conditions - terrain, weather, lodging accommodations, food and unexpected factors. We have laughed a lot and even cried a little (well, not my dad, yet).
Here are some of the photo highlights from the week. Day 4 concluded our hardest day yet. We rode 72 mi. from Little Falls to Monticello. After getting groceries we camped alongside the Mississippi River. In the morning the park manager, Don, introduced us to two beautiful trumpeter swans. We're getting into the groove of cycling and camping and trying to update you all on the road.It's no day three and we are in Brainerd Minnesota. Here's a link to a program called TrackMyTour. We'll be using this to give more specific updates and photos along the journey. |
We're using TrackMyTour to give updates via waypoints along the Torch Tour. Click on the direct link here or search for the Torch Tour at TrackMyTour.com.
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July 2013
AuthorsThe Dad - |