The Joys of Training

Training for anything can be fun, but, it can also be a pain….literally. My intent was to be riding the bike I had set up on rollers all thru the winter months. It didn’t happen. So, I actually didn’t get started until my birthday on Mar. 17th.

Because of my work schedule it’s hard to get out on the road except on the weekends. I usually try to do a long ride on Saturday and then a shorter ride between church services on Sunday afternoon. Thru the week I’ll try and be on the rollers at least three nights.

The roads I train on have a good supply of rolling hills and smooth roads. But, they are lacking shoulders. It’s pretty tough riding with traffic when you don’t have decent shoulders. There are a lot of oil-chipped roads around too. I don’t mind riding on them with my touring bike but I’m not too keen on using my road bike on them. The touring bike has a lot more absorption and comfort.

I think the bottom line is to get in shape. I need to get my legs strengthened to handle those 75-100 mile days plus the higher elevations in Colorado. I’m blessed to have a good variety of different types of roads within riding distance from my home. If I need steep hills, I got ‘em. If I need smooth flats with headwinds, I got ‘em. If I need a series of rolling hills, they’re there. If I need gravel roads…..wait, I never need those! Mountains? An old friend took me riding thru the hills south of Glasgow the other day. At the time they seemed like mountains! I even had to walk part way up one. Now I have a new objective!

At this point I’ve got a little over four months to prepare myself physically, so, I have to be disciplined in doing that. It’s the same way with growing in the Lord. A Christian has to be disciplined in studying their Bible everyday and to be in a prayerful attitude all day. A commitment to service and obedience is important to, not only to their growth, but to the growth, encouragement and well being of their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Trusting in God takes discipline and determination. A healthy fear of God is equally important.

Proverbs 3:5-8 says, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.”

To do this tour I need to be fit and in shape. I need to be healthy and strong internally as well as externally. The next four plus months are going to be very busy and hard on me and, if the training doesn’t kill me, I pray I’ll be ready.

FAQ'S

Q: Why are you doing this trip?
A: Check my March post entitled “Commemorating the 50th”.

Q: What route will you be taking?
A: Check my April post entitled, “The Route – Winchester to Winchester…via Colorado”.

Q: How long will you be gone?
A: I’ve allotted myself 31 days but will be trying to cut it down to 30 days. Leaving Friday Sept. 3rd and back by Sun. Oct. 3rd.

Q: How many miles will you ride?
A: I don’t have the exact mileage figured yet but around 2000 miles.

Q: Is anyone going with you?
A: At this time, no…and no one’s volunteered yet either! It’s hard to find anyone that is willing to take off during the time I’m going but I’m open for volunteers.

Q: Are you worried about traffic?
A: Yes and no. I use my head and am always watchful and cautious. I have two mirrors and I listen for what’s coming up behind me. There are a lot of people who don’t follow the Rules of the Road and have no idea what to do around bikes, especially passing from behind. I always have to be on the defensive.

Q: Where will you be staying?
A: I’ll be tent camping most the time in City Parks, camp grounds, State Parks, or people’s yards. Occasionally, I may try staying in or at churches and possibly a firehouse, yet, it might be hard to run across manned firehouses since I’ll be steering clear of bigger cities. The weather could force me into a motel room but I prefer to tent camp. I will stay with a friend and relatives between Denver and Pueblo. I would like to stealth camp a couple times if I can find the right places.

Q: How much food and gear will you carry?
A: I’ll try to take enough food to get me by for about two days. I’ll be eating lots of peanut butter and jelly or honey sandwiches. Gear wise I want to carry only what I need and hopefully it will be around 40 total pounds. I’ll know more when I do my practice camps and rides this summer.

Q: Will you carry any weapons?
A: Yes, a sword, God’s Word. And, mace for the dogs.

Q: How many miles will you ride a day?
A: It will be as low as 65 miles and possibly as high as 137 miles. I hope to average between 75-80 miles per day.

Q: What time will you start riding each morning?
A: I hope to be on the road no later than 6:30 each morning and put most my miles in before noon.

Q: What about rest days?
A: I’ll take about three rest days at my family’s house in Denver, after riding for 11 days straight, and one rest day at my friends house three days after I leave my relatives house. Then, no rest days till I get home.

Q: How do you train for the tour?
A: I hit the road on the weekends, riding as many miles as I can. Three days a week, I ride the bike set up on my rollers at home.

Q: What kind of bike will you ride?
A: I have a 2005 Trek 3900 mountain bike that I converted into a touring bike. It has street tires, touring handle bars, racks, fenders, 24 speeds and misc. other items that help it be more suited for the highway and hills. It does have the original front shock that I have mixed feelings about. The shock just adds more weight that I have to deal with, but on the other hand, at my age I can use all the shock absorbing I can get.

Q: How much will it cost you a day to travel?
A: It will depend on a number of things…how much I want to eat at restaurants, camping fees, supplies, a rare motel room maybe. I hope to keep it as low as possible but I’ve heard some cyclist say that $15-$35 is the range. I hope to try and get by for around $20 a day, if possible. Instead of three meals a day, I’ll need four to keep up my strength. Dumpster diving and assorted road kill could help curb my costs greatly (just kidding Mom). One thing’s for sure, I won’t be buying any gas! Whoopie!!!

Gear - The Stuff I Think I'll Need

Some people take a lot of gear on tour and some go ultra light. I’m shooting for the middle. I have about 95% of all my gear excluding food. I’ll try and carry about two days worth of food with me in case I’m in an area sparse on services. It’s possible that some of the least used stuff will be shipped back home once I get on the road.

When I started making a list of what I thought I might need to take, I was surprised at how much it actually was. I studied other cyclist’s blogs and journals, along with product reviews, to try and determine what would fit me best during the trip. Hopefully my research will pay off. I think the most important things are comfort while riding the bike and comfort while sleeping. Both of these areas will be tested and tweaked over the next few months.

Some of the items I bought have yet to be tested, by me anyway. I’ll try and occasionally post some product reviews as I start to actually use them. I won’t bore you with reviews and details on all the items but the major ones only, like the cook stove, net book, camera or the tent per se.

Later, I’ll post a picture of everything laid out before I attempt to stuff it all within my panniers. My wife doesn’t believe I can get all the items I think I need on the bike and ride it too. We’ll see.

You Gotta Have Goals

I have a number of personal goals that I hope to achieve while doing this tour. I’ve listed them in no particular order and I’m sure I’ll add or subtract from the list as my plans develop. I would appreciate your prayers in trying to meet these goals.

1. Be in good physical condition before I start.
2. Be in better physical condition when I finish.
3. Have everything and everyone at work prepared to cover my job while gone.
4. Not have any sickness or migraines.
5. Meet my daily mileage distances.
6. Hand out at least 300 Million Dollar Bill Gospel Tracts.
7. Share my testimony for Christ to at least one person each day.
8. Ride on the Trans Am Trail.
9. Ride on the Santa Fe Trail.
10. Ride the complete length of the Katy Trail.
11. Update my blog each day (this depends on a Wi-Fi signal).
12. Raise money for Bibles For The World (no set amount yet).
13. Make it up the mountains without walking.
14. Out running any dogs.
15. NO flat tires!
16. No mechanical breakdowns.
17. A shower every other day (pray hard for this one).
18. A $20 daily allowance or less.
19. Take time to smell the roses.
20. Not getting too sunburned.
21. Start each day early.
22. End each day early.
23. Make it back home for my family reunion.
24. Make as many church services as possible.
25. Have fun.

The Route – Winchester to Winchester….via Colorado.

Planning the route I’ll be taking is quite the undertaking. It’s actually just one big loop. There are many options and things to consider. Along with finding a somewhat direct course, it also has to be roads that are bike ride worthy…..good shoulders, smooth pavement, low traffic count, ample services and so on. Then I have to factor in where I’ll be laying my head for the night…..City Park, church, firehouse, hotel, grassy meadow, etc. Plus, I need to try and have a Plan B in case Plan A goes amuck.

So far, I’ve got about 75% of the route plotted I’d guess. Some of the areas you would think would be the easiest to map have ended up being the hardest. The closer to big cities I go the more difficult and time consuming it is to try and figure out how to get thru them. But, it’s all a part of the challenge of the trip.

Day one will take me from my home in Winchester, Il., elevation 546 ft., to my brother’s home in Quincy, Il., an easy 65 mile ride to get my legs warmed up. From there I’ll head into the northern part of Missouri and ride a fairly direct route due west until I cross over the Missouri River into Nebraska at Big Lake Mo. Total miles across the state will be about 265.

The Nebraska leg will be run parallel of the Kansas state line yet just a few miles north. It’s made up mostly of Routes 136 & 34. Total mileage for Nebraska will be around 387. My last night’s stay in Nebraska will, hopefully, be in the town of Benkelman. The next morning will be Sunday and I plan on crossing the state line and attending Morning Worship at a Baptist church in Wray, Co.

I’ll continue on south of Wray till I hit Route 36 then set my sights westward for Denver. I’ll stay overnight in the little town of Joes and then, the next day, attempt to ride the complete remaining miles to my Aunt and Uncles house at Lone Tree, elevation 5960 ft., in one 138 mile day. That will bring to a close eleven days on the road and a well deserved few days rest.

After some R & R with my relatives I’ll take a short ride to Bibles for the World’s headquarters in Colorado Springs, the midway point in my trip. The next morning I’ll continue south towards Canon City and the Royal Gorge area. I’ll have to cross the Wet Mountains to get to my friend Randy Bringmans new log home in Westcliffe, southwest of Canon City. I believe the highest elevation over the mountains will be at a place called McKenzie Junction at 8359 ft. After a weekend with Randy I’ll start back east towards Kansas. This is the section that I don’t have mapped out yet. I have a number of options and it may be a while until I’m clear as to what to do. I’ll run part of the Trans Am Trail and have thought about also hopping on the Santa Fe Trail. For now, let’s just say I’ll be crossing Kansas aiming for the west end trailhead of the Katy Trail in Clinton, Mo.

The Katy Trail is an old rail line that has been converted to a limestone bike path 225 miles long from Clinton to St. Charles, Mo. I’ve ridden different sections of the Katy before but have had a long time goal of riding the complete 225 miles someday. No better time than this trip. Once I’m off the Katy I’ll cross the Mississippi River back into Illinois at Grafton and proceed along the Illinois River back home to Winchester. Total elevation gain for the trip is about 7815 ft.

These route plans may change between now and the start of the trip and maybe even during the trip. I hope to average about 75-80 miles a day but I also hope to shave off at least one full day from my schedule so I have a rest day before returning to work. Once I get everything mapped out I’ll post the total miles.