June 4, 2011

Bartlett to Elgin to Neligh to Pierce to Wayne               

Today's report from Mike's Ride for Make-A-Wish:


I'm not going to lie to you folks.  I did not know it was possible for so many different body parts to hurt this bad all at the same time!!  Ouch.  Without going into all the gory details let me sum it up like this.  My butt hurts and my legs ache.  Standing to pedal eases the butt pain but hurts the legs.  Sitting on the seat eases the leg pain but hurts the butt.  Getting off the bike and sitting on the ground eases the pain in both areas, but doesn't get you anywhere.  See the problem? 

It took me a full 5 miles when I left Stanton for the aches and pains to kind of ease.  I'm HOPING that at some point I start to feel stronger and not hurt so bad.  But, until that happens, I guess I'll just suck it up and keep pedaling...

Six words sum up my day: "Settle in.  Pedal up.  Fly down...Settle in.  Pedal up.  Fly down....Settle in.  Pedal up.  Fly down."  Man oh man are there a lot of big bumps around Stanton/Madison/Albion!  I went up and down hills all day, over a mile worth of climbing and 1500 feet more than yesterday.  So, the average speed was lower (because of wind resistance, you never get back going down what you put in going up) even though the wind was quite helpful today.  Plus, the temperature was cooler.  All in all, a very nice day, aside from the pain cells throughout my body that are working overtime!    

-          Final Stats for today:

           Started at 7:30 am and finished at 6:00 pm. (Ugh!!)

           Covered 113 miles, average speed of 13.6 mph.  Max speed - 37.7 mph

           Riding time - 8 hours and 16 minutes.  Feet of elevation climbed - 5377'. 

           Wind - out of the NW/NE.  On the "Hurt/Help" Wind scale, today was a +1.5. 

The "Hurt/Help" Wind Scale is my way of saying "this is how much the wind hurt/helped me over the course of the day".  It can Hurt me up to a -5, or help me up to a +5. 

Thank-yous for today: A HUGE thank you to Denise Hummel and Jeanie Holtmeier who drove the support vehicle all day.  We had a great time and they were SO very helpful.  Thank you ladies!!
Thank you also to my host family in Bartlett, Randy and Lisa McCain.  The lasagna was delicious!!!!  So, was the rubarb dessert with ice cream.  (-:)



St. Michael's Catholic Church

 We went through Spalding today.  I am going to HAVE to come back and tour St. Michael's Catholic Church!  What a beautiful building.  Unfortunately there was a wedding going on so we were not able to go inside and look around.  Another day though.  Wow!  

Bible verses dealing with Jesus and “wishes”.  A WISH…

     To have their children blessed by Jesus – Mark 10:13-16

Quote of the Day: 

“An engineer designing from scratch could hardly concoct a better device to unclog modern roads – cheap, nonpolluting, small and silent…” - Rick Smith

“It would not be at all strange if history came to the conclusion that the perfection of the bicycle was the greatest incident of the nineteenth century.” - Anonymous

Spin Home Wisdom for today:

      Check the Spin Home Wisdom page for my new story, "The Skinny on Fat Bike Seats". 

      Route/Towns for June 5: -
Bartlett to Elgin to Neligh to Pierce to Wayne