bad day, good day

The hills are back.

So we left a relaxing time in Madison for a ride that was supposed to be a mere 102 miles to Gays Mills, with some hills, and maybe some rain. We started out having a pretty smooth ride on some great country roads, until about 26 of the 30 of us realized we were waaay off course...some had gone more off than others, but all 26 of us ended up going at least 14 miles out of the way (some over 20) because one of the country roads we were supposed to turn on was not marked. After about 30 minutes of trying to figure out where we were and where we needed to go, we finally got back in the saddle, and back on course about 30 minutes later. As a result, our lunch stop was a bit earlier on the course than planned (46 on my odometer), just because some people had already gone over 50 miles on the day. After lunch, a typo on our cue sheet (the piece of paper with our route directions) sent us the wrong way on another country road, sending us only about a half mile or so off course before we realized the problem, asked some locals, and turned ourselves around (when you realize you are traveling east on this trip, you know something must be wrong). The day was getting long, there was no rain in sight, only blistering sun, which meant no means for cooling off our sweltering bodies. At mile 92 on my odometer, we had another break, and immediately following that break, I missed a turn and sent myself another half mile on the wrong road before realizing I had to turn back. In all, what was supposed to only be 102 turned into 120 miles, and after leaving Madison around 7:30 in the morning, I finally arrived in Gays Mills at 6:30 in the evening. ELEVEN HOURS. The sweeps didn't make it in until 8:00. The last 20 miles felt probably longer than the previous 100.

To make matters worse, it was hot, and there were tons of hills. We had three very steep climbs, most all toward the end of the day, and another long, steady climb even closer to the end. We also had two steep descents, one toward the end, and the second upon arrival into Gays Mills. It is not good to have steep downhills at the end of a long day. Our bodies are exhausted enough, but our mental strength is incredibly weak too, making the downhills as much of a challenge as the uphills, in addition to a serious safety risk. But we all made it, no serious human injuries to speak of (some bike injuries though).

Oh yeah, and I crashed again. I have no idea how it happened, I was doing and feeling so well...it was around mile 25 on the day (right before we realized we were lost and the day went from good to terrible), I was cruising uphill at around 22 mph, and I just lost control of my bike and fell over, messing up my beautiful new white handlebar tape. It was pretty hilarious in retrospect, but I did scrape up my right shoulder, arm, and hand. Fortunately it did not exacerbate my previous injury any more.

Anyway, today. Today was good, really good. We left Gays Mills and almost immediately had a long, steep uphill climb. I would find out at lunch that we climbed at an 11% grade, which is pretty steep. I felt good, and rode as hard as I could all the way to the top, at which point, there was an unbelievable view of the town about 1,000 feet down. It was a really great sense of accomplishment to set a pretty positive tone for the rest of the day. We rode through three states today, crossing into Iowa, and riding along the Mississippi River up through Minnesota for a while, then back across and into La Crosse. We actually spent most of the day in those two states, stopping for lunch in New Albin, Iowa. The roads were a little bumpy, but I felt like I was cruising the entire day. My energy level was good, my legs felt a bit tired but strong, and there was no wind to speak of. I think I had one of my faster days...at times, I noticed myself cruising up a hill at 24 mph, which is pretty nice. With the exception of the big hill and other rolling hills in the beginning, and some city riding at the end, I think I was probably averaging somewhere around 19 or 20 mph, which is a really nice feeling. In headwinds, its hard to get over 14 or 15 mph, and in yesterdays long ride of rolling hills, I know I averaged only 15.6 mph. So today was really nice. The sun was out, after the morning clouds burned off, and it was hot, but it didn't bother me as much as yesterday.

So we're in La Crosse now, it seems like a really nice town. Too bad there isn't much time to check it out. Anyway, I have to go now. We have a meeting in 10 minutes, then dinner, then some chores. To Pepin, WI tomorrow, more riding along the Mississippi, then St Paul on Monday, and more riding along the Mississippi.