Spokane, WA. -2- Minneapolis, MN.

September 6th – September 23^rd, 2015

Preface

It’s been almost two years since my last long ride….link to that blog....
   
http://austin-2-washingtondc.blogspot.com/

and while I was planning to go on a ride, this wasn’t it….it was going to be a Seattle -2- San Diego ride, but riding through the Cascades in WA and OR and then the PCH in CA….Mt Rainer, Mt St Helens, Columbia River Gorge, Mt Hood, Crater Lake and then southwest to northern CA….oh well, another time hopefully….

Minneapolis has been on my list of places to ride to….actually I wanted to ride to Madison to see my sister Jeanne….with south to north not appealing, west to east was the only real option….once Spokane was determined to be the start point and keeping the numbers of days under 3 weeks Madison at ~2500 miles was too far….Minneapolis was doable and I get to see Sandy’s mom , brother, his wife and perhaps her cousin….but I have to admit that ~2200 miles in 19 days of riding was leaving me fairly unmotivated….actually very unmotivated ….the way it mapped out, going across South Dakota and Minnesota, the last 4 days averaged ~135 miles a day and those were the longest days of the ride….and nothing personally to anyone from there or who lives there, corn is boring….something would have to give….

The Prelude

The opportunity for a test ride was once again during our visit to Tucson, AZ at the end of May….a ride out to climb Mt Lemmon was the choice….Mt Lemmon is rated an HC climb, probably because it’s 26 miles long....the avg. grade is reasonable at just under 5% and at Ski Valley the elevation tops out at 8200 ft….the cool thing is at the 12 mile mark you are at 6000 ft, so you get to play in elevation for another 14 miles….I left the house in early daylight around 5:30 am with temps in the mid 60’s….it had been super low humidity the days prior and it was no different this day….

Ended up an 84 mile round trip ride and I got back to house ~12:30 pm….by then the temp was well into the 90’s and I was a bit shattered….I totally mismanaged my hydration….started with 2 big and 1 small water bottles….finished with one full big bottle….combine that with probably being dehydrated from some previous days of yard work, it was fortunate it didn't turn out to be a total disaster….a beautiful scenic ride though none the less….and even though I was an idiot, the bike rode great….

Windy Point, Mt Lemmon

The Route

Spokane WA north to Newport WA….north and east to Bonners Ferry ID and the northern tip of Idaho to Libby MT….east through Kalispell MT and Columbia Falls MT to the west entrance of Glacier Nat’l Park….through Glacier on Going-To-The-Sun Rd (hopefully its open) and exit the park east at St Mary MT….south to Browning MT, Augusta MT and Townsend MT….east and south to Livingston MT….south through Yellowstone Nat’l Park and the Grand Teton Nat’l Park to Moose WY….north on the east side of Teton and then east over Togwotee Pass 9654 ft, which may be the highest elevation of the ride, to Dubois WY….east through Riverton WY, Casper WY and Lusk WY….north and then east into South Dakota through Hot Springs SD and then north through Wind Cave Nat’l Park to Custer SD….north and east through the southern Black Hills, Needles Hwy, Mt Rushmore and east to Interior SD….northwest through Badlands Nat’l Park to Wall SD and then west to Rapid City SD….in the middle of July I arrived at a solution to “corn boredom”….I am renting a car in Rapid City and driving to Willmar MN which chops off 500 miles….from Willmar I will have a final day of riding east to finish in Hamel MN….that will be 17 days of riding ~1700 miles….with that decision my enthusiasm increased exponentially….

The Preparation

Same as previous rides….ride “junk miles” (thanks for that Rick)….ride “heavy”….ride big gears….eat right and lose some weight….

If you are interested in a more detailed description see the blog from 2013….

The Equipment List

Pretty much the same as previous rides with a couple of new pieces of gear….a Giro MIPS helmet….Crank Bros Candy SL pedals, which to my surprise were significantly lighter than the Time Atac carbon….SealSkinz thermal gloves and booties….these are awesome….and finally tires with Q-tubes with Orange Seal tire sealant….thanks to Doug Hills for the idea….flat tires suck and this seems like literally adding a bullet proof measure….and last, an ION Air Pro 3 to take some videos for the blog….

A detailed list of everything else is also on the previous blog….

Finally

A bike ride retrospective….September 2005 was my first long solo ride from Austin TX to Boulder CO….there were some days when I woke up in the morning and was still unsure of the route for that day, the motel reservations were made the same day, used disposable cameras for pictures, used pay phones to check in with Sandy along the way and I will be riding the same bike for this trip….

I guess the point is ten years later things seem so different now but in reality the basics are the same….you get on the bike and you ride all day to get where you want/need to be….it’s a simple process….and all the planning, to whatever level of detail or sophistication can never account for what can happen out on the road….for me it is as exciting as it is unnerving….the mental battles are as much of a challenge as the physical ones….either way you know you are in for a fight….

Logistically I am as well prepared as any previous ride….physically I think I am as well but can a person be as fit as they were, say 10 yrs prior ?....5 yrs ?....my Dad used to tell me “sometimes you just have to find out stuff the hard way don’t you ?”….I suppose I do….

Acknowledgement

It would be remiss of me not to mention Sandy and her support and role in this….we have done this drill quite a few times….she stays one or two or five steps ahead of me along the way, making sure I know what is where and open until when….also, tracking my progress and calling me as I ride right past the exit for the motel at the end of a tough day….all that and more while managing all the stuff at home and taking care of these guys….I love you….

We want food and we want it now

Sunday I fly to Spokane, take a cab to the Spoke 'N Sport bike shop and then ride 55 miles to Newport WA.... I Fed-Ex'd my bike to these guys last week and they assembled it and told me its ready to go....Scheduled arrival time 12:30 pm and hope to be on the road by 1 pm....

Thanks for following along....