Perfect moments of Madison

It's been almost a week since we left Madison, but it was so amazing I just have to tell you about it!

The ride into Madison was a whopping 43 miles, probably the shortest day we've had since the first week of this adventure. The only thing I remember from the ride is arriving in the city. We knew we were in Madison not because of a city sign, but because we were on a bike path.

Capital City Path, lined with a community garden

Madison is known as a bicycle-friendly city (rated by the League of American Bicyclists as a Gold City, same as Eugene). Taking a look at the businesses located in Madison (or right outside), it's hardly a surprise that this town is filled with many bicycle-enthusiasts who plan, advocate for, and even fund bicycle facilities and amenities in town.

Great bike/ped bridges

First of all, Trek is headquartered in Waterloo, just twenty miles north of Madison, and the only two corporate-owned Trek stores are in Madison proper.

Trek graciously sponsored Stella & I, supplying us with tires, tubes, a couple of chains, and jackets. So we went to the store to get restocked, and say hello to our friends there. The mechanics were wonderful and took care of our every need with the utmost attention. It was like being in  a bicycle tourer's heaven.

Protected bike lane

Trek also is the umbrella company and Madison sponsor of B-cycle, one of two major bike sharing companies in the U.S. Since bike share is coming to the University of Oregon campus, we took a tour of the bicycling facilities with two B-cycle employees, Claire and Mandy, on B-cycles. It was a perfectly cool summer day, and so much fun to nerd out in the cities on colored bike lanes, bike boxes, and protected bike lanes.

I'm lovin' the ride!

In so far as the culture here, Madison is very liberal, home to University of Wisconsin (go Badgers!), filled with community gardens and wonderful places to eat and drink. I was happily surprised every time I went in search of food, I was able to find not only gluten-free options, but entire gluten-free menus and bakeries. Ahhhhh... to be in both gluten-free and bike heaven... 

Yes, I could stay here for a little while... but don't worry, Mom, Dad, my friends at the Janet Smith Cooperative - I'm still heading west toward Oregon (or as everyone says it out here, Ory-gun).


A special THANK YOU to Lee Jones, Tyler Reeder, Chuck McFarland and Claire Hurley for being such amazing hosts and taking care of us and our bikes with so much love and attention. You made my first Madison experience unforgettable!!!

Firsts.

This week has been one of firsts.
We volunteered with the South Bend (Illinois) Habitat for Humanity Chapter. It was by far the best build day we’ve had; they put us all to work and made sure we learned a few things along the way. A group of us worked on putting up rafters and roofing the garage. I ignored the slight anxiety of height and got up to nail the roofing as well. It was so rewarding!
In South Bend, another first for me – riding in a Hummer. After a long day in the heat, I barely thought twice climbing into the air conditioned monstrosity.But I gotta say, I don't understand the appeal still, considering the inside is cramped.
The new experiences continued...

I completed my first century bicycle ride, totaling 107 miles from South Bend.
And finally, I visited Chicago for the first time. I loved bicycling to the city. As one of my fellows riders put it - the cityscape appears after a bend in the river path - and then all the sudden, it envelopes you. It was a challenge to keep my eyes in front of me, when there was so much to see above.
In two days, we'll be in Madison!

Catch up!

Today was pretty epic. We bicycled 80 miles, and hit the 1,000 mark of our trip. We also left Ohio behind and said hello to Michigan. It was one of the rare days here at Bike & Build, where we got into our host site before 2pm and have had a good portion of the afternoon and evening to ourselves. 

Stella taking in the Ohio scene.

We spend this time in a variety of ways. Napping is not a question of an "if" but "when", and other common indulgences are visiting the post office, local pub, cleaning our bicycles, stretching, and giving/receiving massages.

I was delighted and surprised when I found out one of the women providing showers today also used to be a music teacher. We exchanged shaky, awful performances of our favorite classics for one another, and then attempted a duet. It sounded terrible, but it was fun. I laughed at my out-of-practice fingers.

In playing the piano, I've noticed something quiet disturbing is happening to my hands. I am developing what's known in the cycling world as "handlebar palsy," which is when one or more nerves in your hand is compressed and causes your hand to go numb/tingle/lose dexterity.

Writing, eating, and yes, playing a D major cord has become an interesting challenge.

I have been assured by my fellow riders and google that this can be improved with some minor adjustments to my positioning and focusing on my core while I ride. Things are getting real technical. 

This evening I was also thankful to have quality internet and thus a little more computer time (am I really saying this?). The real world was beckoning at the door, and I felt like I could no longer ignore it.

Alright real world, goodnight!

Craziness

I can hardly believe we are in Ohio. I am empowered by how far we've come in just a few short weeks; while watching a sunset or getting to the next city we often say - "You know the best part about this? WE BIKED HERE!!!"

My legs are getting stronger. I'm no longer worried about my knees giving out on me and I have pushed myself beyond what I believed my shaky legs could carry me.

Tomorrow we ride 90 miles. Our wake-up times have shifted in response to these long days and the recent heat wave that pushed the temperatures into the mid-nineties.

After riding into our host site, we were driving (yes, weird I know) to take showers nearby and heard the mayor put out a public service announcement asking everyone to avoid going outside. And to check on your elderly neighbors, too.

It is often these little things that make me feel a little crazy for doing this but also less of a wimp for stopping occasionally to have an amazing root beer float or to eat a juicy peach in the shade with my fellow riders.

What am I saying - we are completely crazy!!! Here I am typing away at midnight, and I get up in five hours to bike 90 miles.

With that, I am going to get horizontal for a while.

Look at my facebook for photos! There are quite a few to browse through. I know you are trying to avoid all that work you have to do. ;)

Five straight days.

Today marks our fifth day of cycling in a row. Every morning, we wake up between 5am and 6am, and are pedaling by early morning. We take a break after a few hours for lunch, and then finish by 4pm.
It's finally setting in that we are bicycling across the country, and we'll be bicycling like this for the next eight weeks.

There have certainly been a few surprises this week traveling through New Hampshire, Vermont, and now New York.

Good surprises include:
- Beautiful countryside. I had no idea that there were quiet, scenic roads out here, nor quaint little towns with old brick buildings. Everyday has been a pleasant surprise in both respects.

- Zero flat tires (so far). I know I'm bound to get one soon, but with my fellow riders going through several patches and tubes already in the trip, I'm feeling pretty lucky about that. Yesterday I even pulled out a good chunk of glass from my tire. Disaster averted!
- Amazing hosts who can cook gluten-free food! I was more hungry in my first week of this diet when I was cooking for myself, it turns out that other people know what's up with wheat. I was made a batch of GF brownies by our first host, Yvanne, and just finished the last one yesterday. AHHH what a delight.

- Our crew is wonderful. The people I'm spending every waking moment with are hilarious, passionate, and are all amazing individuals.

Not-so-good surprises:
- My booty hurts. Even with chamois butter, creams and powder, there's no getting around it - sitting on a saddle for 6 hours a day takes a toll on one's behind.

I’m trying really hard to think of unpleasant surprises. But actually, that’s all. Life is pretty great.

First two days

We are in New London, NH.

As I sit and type, I listen to my fellow riders around me. Their questions and observations resonate with me. "What day is it tomorrow?" "Does anyone else feel like we've been bicycling for a week?" "My legs are tired...." "Oooo... my ass hurts!"

It's been two days. I've logged 105 miles, according to my cycle computer, and my average speed has been 12.8 miles/hour - so much faster than when I carry all my gear!

Stella and I decided we'd keep track of a few other things throughout the trip:
Bars consumed: 5
Roadkill seen: 9
Flat tires: 0 (Wahoo!)

We've scaled many hills so far. I'll write more soon!

For photos, visit my facebook page.

On the tire swing

As a kid, I loved the tire swing. 

[Nerdy side note: Was the tire swing the brainchild of an idealistic urban planner who wanted to figure out a way to take a few of tires out of the junkyard, or just an evil  operation for which sprinkler-like child vomiting was the only goal? I'll google that and let you know later]. 

Tire swings only inhabited a few parks where I grew up in Boise, Idaho (swings of all varieties were deemed dangerous and were not found on any public school grounds). As a limited resource, tire swings.

But beyond the origin and scarcity of the tire swing – neither of which were in my consciousness at the age of 6 – I simply loved swinging. My dad had a way of whipping the swing around that made me squeal with delight and fear at the same time. Would I walk away from the swing unscathed and laughing or would I be thrown from it and scrape my little kneecaps? I had no way of knowing.

The last month has been a little like my childhood tire swing experience. The crux of my year fell on me with deadlines and social activities; with a solid grip, all I could do was hang on and enjoy the ride. I spent a weekend in Bend, filling the days with live music, bicycling, and experiencing the great brews. I also worked my butt of to close a couple of streets down town for our annual Bike Music Festival and for the first time, wrote a grant for federal funds to improve campus for bicycling and walking. Oh yeah, and with a lot of help and support from family and friends I also reached my fund raising goal! Whew!

As fun as the tire swing always was, I there was always a lingering feeling of nausea. I haven’t been able to avoid that either. Don’t worry, I won’t go into details. The gist of it is that I’ve been sick for about a month but unclear what the cause of my sickness was. After a couple of visits to the doctor’s office, a few tests, and some bloodwork, I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. 

Celiac is one form of gluten intolerance (one of the more severe), impacting one’s ability to digest food properly and absorb nutrients. I said goodbye this week to all the glorious brews I love in Eugene and those I tasted in Bend. I also had my first grocery shopping experience and was dismayed with the limitations of this new diet and how expensive the few items were that I biked home with.

In the grand scheme of things, it’s not bad. It’s just an inconvenience and above all, more timing for a bicycle trip in which would normally inspire carbo-loading of pasta and breads. I have a feeling there will be a learning curve here, so by the time I get to Wisconsin and North Dakota, I hope to have a gluten-free system down.

I’m back on the tire swing waiting for a push. I’m giddy but a little nervous about the next 10 weeks of my life. I anticipate to be met with many physical, nutritional, and emotional challenges. I might walk away laughing, I might get thrown and scraped up a bit, but I expect to have the best summer of my life, nothing less!

Stay tuned for more gluten-free cross-country bicycling and building posts!