Sunday, June 29, 2008

Training for RAGBRAI!


Daughter, Ashley and I need to get really serious about RAGBRAI training. Of course she has age on her side and having been a cross country/track runner in high school helps also. I, on the other hand, have none of the above advantages which means I have to kick up my riding and training in the few short weeks remaining!

Today we rode a 42 mile loop, the wind was 22 mph NNW with gusts up to 26 mph. We were slow, but sure. It did feel mighty fine when we were riding south and east! Hopefully I'll get in some good mileage this week and start on some hill training.

Rummage Sale for MS Society

My daughter Ashley are looking forward to riding in the MS Bike Ride; Pedal the Plains which takes place Aug. 2nd & 3rd. This is a two-day ride and goes from Sioux Falls to Vermillion and back this year. We are both proud members of Team Road Kill.

We held a rummage sale on Saturday. We had been collecting items or almost a year now and it was a great feeling to get the growing pile of "stuff" out of my basement! The sale was a success, taking in aound $400 which we'll divide and donate to the MS Society as part of our fundraising efforts for this year's bike ride.

We posted signs stating the money raised would be donated to the MS Society which many people commented on. I think our rummage sale in a small way raised awareness of the disease and the activities of the MS Society to fight the disease and provide support for those with the disease.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Century Ride


My first Century Ride of 2008; what a beautiful day with great company throughout the ride. It was interesting that we had quite a few riders who rode different segments, starting from various locations, including: Alcester, Beresford, Burbank, Hub City (Dalesburg), Newton Hills Sate Park, and Wakonda. Craig D. did a gret job describing the ride, so I'll just add a few pictures (my camera still works after dropping it on the road!).

Click here to see pictures.

Monday, June 16, 2008

My daughter's wedding!

The Wedding was Wonderful!





Daughter and husband left for honeymoon this morning. Mom & Dad are still recovering from the big day. It was a beautiful wedding! Here is a hodge podge of candid wedding pictures: http://s277.photobucket.com/albums/kk49/cathyjo77/.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

TDK Day 2

WINDY! That says it all. Melissa and I pulled out around 6:30am again and after a quick picture in front of the Corn Palace (pictures coming when Melissa returns!), we made our way out of town. Once we turned west we knew what we were in for. We each battled the wind at our own pace and met up again at Mount Vernon. Between Mount Vernon and the next stop at Plankinton, a pace line passed and invited me to hop in which I graciously accepted. At the stop I met up with Mary Jean and Bonnie and we started our own small pace line and slowly made our way to White Lake. At our slow but steady pace we made it but calculating how much longer it would take us to complete the ride, we decided to sag into Chamberlain. Not an easy decision but my reasons were: 1. This was my last day of the ride and I wanted to spend some time at Chamberlain before leaving; 2. From the physical and mental fatigue of the wind I was starting to ride a little squirrley, better to quit on my own rather than have an accident. My motto is "live to ride another day!" I probably was a little more cautious than usual with my daughter's wedding just a few days away and knowing all that needs to be done, I couldn't risk any accidents!

So we sat and waited nearly an hour for a sag to come through and Mary Jean came up with the bright idea of looking into hiring our own sag. We talked with the nice folks working at the food booths and within a couple of minutes we had hired our sag, Joan, who only wanted gas money. So Joan finished up her duties and went home to her ranch to get her pickup.

In the meantime I'm fretting and worrying about Melissa, wondering where she is. And stupid me, I didn't have her cell number. I learned later that she was delayed with a flat tire but luckily the Spoke & Sport people were nearby when it happened. My plan was to ask Joan to go towards Plankinton first to see if we could find Melissa. But just as Joan pulled up with her pickup, Melissa rolled in looking all bright eyed and bushy tailed. She asked if I was riding on and I told her we had a sag hired and she was going with us. I didn't give Melissa a choice but I think she was happy to accept the ride.

So we packed our bikes carefully in the back of the pick up and all 4 of us ladies, along with our driver, Joan, fit very comfortably. Joan was very warm and pleasant and full of conversation. She seems the epitome of a self-sufficient woman rancher.

So even though we sagged in, we had no shame in doing so. I think we should get a TDK patch for being the most resourceful in getting from Mitchell to Chamberlain!

We showered (no lines when we got there!) and enjoyed the beautiful scenery and had a drink to celebrate the end of a long day. My daughter pulled in around 4:30pm to pick me up and after she had a chance to say hi and goodbye to everyone we headed home and my attention has turned to wedding details. I think often of everyone riding this week and my prayers are with you for your safety and may he wind be to your backs!

Melissa - you go girl, you are going to finish this ride this year, and I couldn't be happier for you!

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

TDK Day 1 Details


On Saturday I checked into the TDK registration booth around 4:00pm and it was like a family reunion with lots of hellos and hugs. First person I see is Teresa from the Argus and she has her baby boy with her, he is a cutie and growing fast! Next I checked in with the ShuttleGuy camping service and find all the regulars are back. After dropping off my bags, my husband and I were off to Tea for a wedding reception. We got back to the TDK start point a little after 9:00pm and it was very quiet, all the tents were set up and people were calling it an early night. Melissa and her husband had just set up camp. Melissa and I decided we would leave the next morning by 6:30am. A few rain showers rolled through during the night and I thought for sure we would be riding in rain on Sunday but luckily it only rained during the night. We managed to leave Sunday morning around 6:30am even with Melissa's unexpected TV interview! (Did anyone see the piece KDLT aired on Saturday at 5pm and 10pm?)

On the road, there were more TDK family to meet and greet and the miles went by fast. The rest stops were all great, especially Salem, where it seemed they went all out to welcome bikers to their town. At that rest stop I ran into Marilyn and we talked about RAGBRAI. We will both be riding with our daughters on that ride - another exciting event to look forward to this summer!

Not too far past Salem, Jim caught up with us. I've ridden a lot of miles with Jim on the past two TDK's. When he pulled up along side me, I asked, "is that Jim?" I was rather shocked because his voice didn't sound the same as I remembered. But after all, Jim rode his first TDK in 2006 when he was only 14 years old, he has since grown leap and bounds. The cool thing about biking is that it is an activity that brings people of all ages together who share a common passion.

The three of us pulled into Mitchell with plenty of time to kick back and find yet more TDK family to get caught up with.

I'm so fortunate to have in addition to my own wonderful family, a great TDK family!

Tour deKota - Sunday


First day of TDK '08 - Melissa (on the right) and I ready to go! We stayed dry all day and there was no wind to speak of - a perfect day to ride bike! A great ride was followed by a great evening of camaraderie! More details to follow.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

I'm So Happy!!!


The ShuttleGuy called me back tonight, finally, after I left several phone messages, bordering on harassment. But all is forgiven now that I have my deluxe camping services secured for Saturday and Sunday night on Tour deKota. This is the only way to camp! Once you camp with the ShuttleGuy and the "inner circle" you'll never go back!
My hubby is staying with me Saturday night so he gets to experience a taste of TDK.
I can hardly wait!!! I need to start packing.
So only 2 days of TDK and then back home to get ready for the WEDDING!

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Old Iron & New Carbon


My husband is into old iron, as in tractors, and I'm into new carbon, as in bikes. Today the hubby enjoyed participating in a tractor ride and parade - a chance for him to enjoy the beautiful weather and talk tractors with fellow tractor enthusiasts. I went for a quick 10 mile bike ride after church and then met the hubby in Irene for the tractor parade and picnic in the park. After getting him back to the starting point so he could load up his tractor, I took off to Viborg to ride with the Biking Vikings. We started at 5:00pm and did a 32 mile loop north and east. It was perfect weather, almost too perfect. I kept thinking each time we turned we would run into some wind - but there wasn't any to speak of. Mark this day on the calendar!