RAGBRAI at age 3 for your Viewing Pleasure.

It's just a few short days away from RAGBRAI and I'm getting excited. I did a 20 miler and stopped for lunch with my co-worker Krystle and then we went on a 15 miler. Chatting with Krystle made the time FLY, so I'm going to be looking for some Chatty Cathys along the RAGBRAI route.
I'm still editing old RAGBRAI pics, so feast your eyes on these babies.



















































































































People loved me at age 3. Hoping I get the same welcome this year!

Is That a Cow or a Buffalo? High Trestle Trail Take 2

I went out to the High Trestle Trail again today for a “long ride”. My RAGBRAI training has consisted of about 3 short rides (between 6 and 12 miles) and one long ride, ranging anywhere from 15 to 30 miles each week. I’ve also been running and swimming to train for the Copper Creek Triathlon, so my RAGBRAI training hasn’t been as relaxed as 4 days a week might seem.

Last time I was at the High Trestle Trail it was for the Grand Opening, and I started from Woodward. This time, I took a shorter drive to the Ankeny trail head.

I got a late start and didn’t reach the trail until 11:30. By 11:30 it was 90 degrees in Ankeny, but I was stocked with two water bottles, a Luna bar, a granola bar and a banana.

The ride out was easy. I thought I had gauged the wind right and was fighting a slight side wind, but once I turned around I realized I was wrong. A 21 mph tailwind assisted ride out turned into 9 mph back fighting, tooth and nail, and I got passed by an old guy on a mountain bike just out for a stroll.

The “Oasis” between Ankeny and Sheldahl is about 7 miles out of Ankeny. If anyone has driven in and out of Chicago, you might know the toll-free stop called the Oasis. With that in mind, I was expecting a well staffed gas station complete with a Starbucks and a Panda Express… There was an outhouse and a water fountain…

Don’t get me wrong, the outhouse was pretty spacious and the water fountain was cold and it was actually three fountains… one for papa bear, one for mama bear and one for baby bear and the dog. It was also a welcome stop both out and back.

I spotted some wildlife that made me raise my eyebrow… a bright neon turquoise bird and some buffalo… Yes, buffalo. At first I tried to convince myself that the cow just hadn’t shed its winter coat… And then I realized I’m from Iowa, I know more about cows than the typical person. This was definitely a buffalo. (One time I was actually playing some sort of brain teaser game while living in Chicago and there was a question about a cow that no one knew but me. Iowa represent!)

Some of the folks in Ankeny had decorated their yards along the trail with stuffed animals riding old tricycles or advertisements for local bike shops. The same guy who had the buffalo had a yard full of interesting knickknacks like this old Pepsi machine. It was a worthy photo op.

I enjoyed the trail starting at Ankeny, but I think I prefer starting at the other end, in Woodward. The high bridge is at that end and you reach a new town about every 5 miles. The road from Ankeny is a lonely one, but definitely worth the trip.

Setting my Sights on Saylorville

I had a medium sized ride scheduled for today and I couldn’t stomach another in-city ride, so I headed north of town to Saylorville. The Neil Smith Trail rides along the east side of the lake and is a little, as my friend Heather said, “bumpy”.
I found a parking lot off NW 66th and unloaded my bike. I’ve been trying to break in my Brooks leather saddle for a while now; I always forget to use the conditioner on it. So I slathered that on and set off on the path.
As I rode through the woods I quickly realized I was headed in the right direction. A little head wind and a slow rolling (bumpy) climb meant I would be in for a treat on the way home. I stopped to take a few scenic pictures and unabashedly sang along to my classic rock Pandora station, something I don’t feel comfortable doing when I’m saying, “on your left” every quarter mile.
I saw only about 8 people on the whole 70 minute ride, but the highlight was cresting the first hill to catch a group of gentlemen relieving themselves in plain view off the side of the trail. Hey guys, ladies bike too… At least stand behind a tree.
Once I got back to my Jeep I loaded up to head home. To the west, the road home, to the east… Casey’s. When I was younger, my parents would coax me on long rides with the promise of a sprinkled doughnut halfway through. Ever since, I can’t turn down a Casey’s stop after a long ride. I saw that brick building and flipped the turning signal… Quick.

If you’re headed out to the Neil Smith trail, here are a few tips:
1. Know where the trail’s closed. I attempted to ride out here the other day but got stuck at the Birdland Levee construction site. This time I drove out to the south tip of the lake and parked in a designated trail parking area.
2. Keep your mouth shut! I don’t mean, keep this gem a secret, I mean literally… Keep it shut. There are bugs all over.
3. Stop at the stop signs. This applies to all trails, but I noticed that with all of the rolling hills and curves, and so few stop signs, that a few of them caught me off guard. Coming out of the woods full speed doesn’t give crossing traffic much time to stop for you… especially when they don’t have a stop sign themselves.

Road Blocks & Green Lights

Training for RAGBRAI has been a blast so far! But, like any challenge, I’ve encountered some roadblocks and some green lights. Here are a few of the things that make me grumble, and some that just plain make me happy:

Roadblocks

-The back wheel of my fancy, shiny, new bike keeps slipping out of place. The quick release just isn’t tight enough and it’s causing me unneeded stress.

-It’s been a cold stormy spring. I strongly believe stormy weather waits for Monday and Tuesday so people don’t feel so bad about being at work on a gloomy day. But Monday and Tuesday are my days off! Bad Mother Nature, Bad.

-Along with RAGBRAI, I’m training for The Copper Creek Sprint Triathlon in June. Sometimes I feel like I’m not giving either training the attention it deserves.

-I literally live in the middle of the city. Getting to a country road to just crank out some good mileage is a good drive away.

-This Neil Smith Trail. I had a heck of a time following the trail past Union Park. When I finally spotted the trail under an overpass I was on, I cut through the grass only to get about a quarter mile before construction... (Photo) It will be awesome when it’s finished, but that’s just the kind of thing that happens when you try to train for RAGBRAI in the city.

Green Lights

-My Greater Des Moines Regional Trails map. I love it. Get one at the Des Moines Bicycle Collective

-The cycling community. You can’t be mad about taco rides out to the Cumming Tap and Wheels and Heels events. Those are the types of things I love about the Des Moines cycling community.

-Riding my bike to the downtown Y and then meeting up with the Meredith Trail by Principal Park and riding around to Grey’s Lake. I feel like I’m getting some of the best experiences of my neighborhood all in a six mile ride.

-Skunk River Cycles. I love all the local bike shops, but these guys are my favorites.

-Spandex. All this bike riding has me checking the tags on my clothes. I love spandex and I look darn good it in after all this riding!

Get Lost

I mapped out a route Saturday for an hour-long 12 mile trail ride. I’ve been riding the stationary at about 12 mph, so I figured I could get it done if I really pushed it. I had to work at 1:00, so I headed out at 10:30 with plenty of time and plenty of sun.

I parked at a little park in Windsor Heights and jumped on the Des Moines trail system headed toward the Greenbelt Trail.

I rode up to Raccoon River Trail around Clive and I started to get nervous. I had stopped a few times to look at my map and make sure I was headed in the right direction, even taken a few wrong turns and had to double-back, and I knew I wasn’t riding 12mph around the curvy, crowded trails.

The trail finally pointed toward Douglas and I breathed a sigh of relief. I knew where Douglas was on a map. However, I parked at University and 69^th… I was at Douglas and 142^nd and it wasn’t getting any earlier!

I rode on Douglas for quite a while, passing 80/35 and giving an empathetic smile to a man with a “hungry” sign. I sure was hungry too, but I didn’t have anything to share and the water level in my bottle was dwindling.

Finally, the trail crossed over Douglas and left the road at Walter-Johnson Park. No sooner did I give a little fist pump than I realized the bridge was out. I did an about-face and headed back to Douglas.

The trail met back up by the Urbandale Library. I remember thinking to myself at one point in time, ‘I have no idea which way to go at this fork… I probably just picked the wrong direction.’ But I brushed it off and kept trucking. It was getting close to noon and I had to shower and get to work.

This photo shows the path I took in red, and the path I should have taken in green…

I wound up at Ashwood and Bryn Mawr. An intersection the GPS on my phone refused to acknowledge. I stopped for about 20 minutes turning my map around and around, trying to figure out which direction was north, and which was south, and wondering why this trail just ended

I rode up to 72^nd and realized I knew exactly where I was! But I still didn’t know if I was going north or south. I rode down a hill, got to Bucs arena but thought I should have gotten to University… So I figured I went the wrong way. Turned around, rode up to Douglas. Upon reaching Douglas, I contemplated calling my mom and crying. I was flustered, making bad decisions, it was 12:55, I had 5 minutes to shower and get to work, and I had just ridden down and up a huge hill for no reason.

But I pulled myself together, rode down 70^th, knowing I was just one block west of my destination, and headed in the right direction.

I passed a DQ, swearing that if I had time I would have stopped there. Finally back to my car, I rushed home and showered and got into work 45 minutes late. Thankfully my weekend work schedule is VERY flexible… plus I was there ‘till after midnight anyway.

So that was my 18 mile, 2 ½ hour initiation into “long rides”. My little 6 mile downtown-Grays Lake loop paled in comparison to this adventure. Yes, I’m calling it an ‘adventure’… it sounds much better than a ‘disaster’.

I am also adding this little gem for your viewing pleasure. I had a jacket on that I had rolled up to about ¾ length. My SPF clearly only lasted about an hour of that ride.

Is This Heaven? No, it's Iowa.

This is my RAGBRAI training blog. Follow me as I get to know the trails of Iowa, put in some saddle time on county roads and get to know other cycling aficionados. Check me out on Twitter at @alisa_who.

After graduating from Iowa State, I moved away to Chicago for almost two years. I lived a few exits away from what they called the Loop in downtown Chicago. The loop is the home of most of those skyscrapers in the beautiful Chicago skyline.

I always got a fuzzy feeling when I was driving into the city. I would look at the skyline and have to pinch myself. I remember a few times saying, out loud in my car, “I can’t believe I live here”.

I moved to New Orleans and had a similar feeling, looking at Jackson Square, taking part in Mardi Gras… I wondered, “What kind of person gets to live like this?”

Well, today I had that feeling. I woke up and put on the spandex, threw my wheels over my shoulder and walked them down the stairs. I got on my bike, just like every other ride, and headed down the hill. I rode down Locust past the Y, along the lake, past Principle Park. I turned a corner to cross the river, and BAM! There it was!

It wasn’t the Chicago skyline… It was the Des Moines skyline. And, while not quite as grandeur, this skyline slowed me down a little bit. I looked around and saw people fishing off the bridge, I rode down a quiet street, I said “good morning” to every single passerby, even when I got to Grey’s Lake and it was a little ridiculous saying hello to EVERYONE.

My ride turned into a homecoming. I was back home for this season in my life, and Iowa was welcoming me with open arms. Nowhere else in the world could I be training for this ride quite like I will here. And RAGBRAI is unique to Iowa. Not only is it only held here in Iowa, it showcases the best about Iowa.

This cycling niche I’ve fallen into defines Iowa and there’s nothing to complain about when I’m on a bike. Outsiders don’t always understand, but I live in Iowa, and I’m pretty lucky.

What is it about Iowa that makes your heart skip a beat? And can I give a little shout-out to Mother Nature for this little slice of heaven pie in the shape of an 84 degree day?

Speed Bump

It’s the first warm days of spring and I’ve hit riders block… I have no desire to swim or run for my tri training, and I have little desire to jump in the saddle.

I spent the last 3 months dreaming of these 60 degree days, plotting my paths, building my, now massive, quads in preparation for 20 mile rides, and I’m just not interested.

I’ll tell you why I think this is. I have a few ideas;

1. I live on the 4^th floor of a walk-up on the top of a hill. If I want to ride, I throw my bike on my shoulder and walk it down 4 flights of steps. Not so bad, but when I get back, I first have to climb a half mile hill on the girl, and then throw her over my shoulder, fight the heavy front doors to my apartment, and haul her back up 4 flights. Just the idea of it makes me grumpy.

2. I just don’t like being a nuisance. I’m not that biker that flies through intersections on a red without looking, I check my shoulder to see if anyone’s behind me before making any lane changes… I’m a considerate traffic participant.

That being said, I get a little anxious riding on open roads. I love riding trails where everyone is high-fiving and enjoying the outdoors… but I almost ran into a car today who didn’t use a turning signal, I ride so close to the parked cars because I’m trying to give the drivers a full lane that I’m afraid I’m going to clip a mirror. When I do make it out to the open road, I have anxieties about what the drivers are thinking of me, if they will give me a full lane when they pass and if they’ll give themselves enough time to get back over before the oncoming traffic comes.

3. I love riding with friends. I like having some company and a little encouragement on the high hills and head winds. However, my last 3 friendly rides have gone like this; Mullet’s to Mars- My friend Krista likes to bike, but she hasn’t been hitting the gym like I have preparing. She likes to leisurely stroll on her big bulky cruiser, I wanted to be the first one at every stop, leading the pack. I heard one guy say to another, “you don’t get to be the fast one” as they sped past us. I want to be the fast one! I should note though, I had a BLAST, and I love my dear friend Krista. We actually went on a walk the next day and pushed each other up a big hill west on Grand. We just aren’t in the same cycling mindset. The second ride began with my friend Kevin coming to borrow one of my bikes. We carried them both down the 4 flights and jumped on… And then my back tire locked up! The alloy quick releases just aren’t doing their job. I since got it fixed, but I’m not convinced I won’t switch to steel before RAGBRAI. Finally the latest buddy ride I went on was with my friend Rebekah. I went on a ride with her last year and she kicked by butt. I hadn’t been riding at all, and she was on her sporty road bike, and I was on my then 100% mountain bike. That said, I was sucking air on our totally flat trip past Napier over by Ames. It wasn’t a good ride, and I felt like the fat kid who can’t walk up a full flight of steps. This time I was confident. She’s been running and I’ve been biking, I thought at least I could keep up… and I did for the first leg. Downhill and with the wind. Then we stopped to check the time and it was clear she was down for more and I was ready to turn around. We turned around, because I get what I want, and with the wind in my face and the seemingly hillier terrain, she kicked my rear all the way back to Ames. We got done and I was sure we had gone 20 miles… nope. 10. Good 10 mile ride Alisa… Get ready for 6 more of those EVERY DAY for a week.

The idea of training for RAGBRAI and a triathlon has gotten daunting. I’m scared to run, I don’t enjoy swimming anymore. I don’t want to stop loving my bike.

I hate to say it, but I’m considering dropping the triathlon to focus on RAGBRAI. If you have time, leave me an encouraging note or send me some advice. Leave it here or, as always, I’m tweeting my progress on @alisa_who.

Build The Trails

The Board of Supervisors in Guthrie County voted 3-2 to turn down an already-approved development grant of $365,000 for a 17-mile trail across the county. They also refuse to take ownership or take responsibility for maintenance if it does get built.

The trail is also part of the proposed American Discovery Trail which is a network of trails stretching across the US.

A crowd of 60 people showed up to attend the hour-long public hearing on Thursday morning before the supervisors took their vote. 60 people! And on a Thursday morning. Most of these people probably took the morning off from work to voice their opinions. Almost all of the people who attended were in favor of the trail. They’re in favor of the economic boost it could give to struggling, small town Iowa.

Just a handful of people voiced their opposition to the trail project saying the maintenance costs and legal liability that would come with ownership would be a drain on Guthrie County taxpayers. (This was after a guy from the St. Gregory Retreat Center volunteered the center to do trail inspections, pick-up trash and do light maintenance.)

When I read this I immediately thought about my own pocketbook. I thought about how I’m trying to pinch pennies. I haven’t been to Smokey Row in a month, I’m trying to decide if I should spend $5 to get into an office March Madness pool… I have my money packed into envelopes labeled, “groceries”, “gas”, “savings”, “debt”. I’m on a major money diet.

I know where all my money is going, but there are a few things I don’t regret spending my money on; Y membership, my new bike, and fresh fruits and vegetables. I don’t regret spending money on these things because my health is important to me and I know I’ll see the return in my investment in the lack of hospital bills and prescriptions.

My message to Guthrie County is this; those trails will be used. They will be used by kids learning to ride their bikes, by senior citizens getting out of the house to get some fresh air, by moms and dads needing a moment away from the kids. Those trails will be used by your family and my family, and for the sake of our health, BUILD THE TRAILS.

Is That Spring I Hear Around the Corner?

I went on my second little adventure of the “spring” yesterday. The first was in February that day it was 65, when I went out to Waterworks Park and followed a trail till I came to a flooded area under Grand. Yesterday I headed in the opposite direction, looking for open road.

After Yoga at the Riverfront Y, I asked the front desk girl if she knew where the trail leading to Saylorville was. She said she rides it all the time in the summer, and she gave me perfect directions down Grand, left on Robert D. Ray Dr. and onto the path. I left home in a hurry before yoga, and left my Des Moines Regional Trails map at home… so I was on my own.

I rode for a few miles along the river in 50 degree weather, smiling at the walkers and dodging the spots in the shade where the snow hadn’t melted yet. Calling out “On your left!” and trying not to startle my fellow exercisers.

I got to about East Washington Ave. and came to a trail dead end. I could go right… seemingly curving back to where I started, or left… down a big hill. I chose the hill, knowing full well if that wasn’t the right way, I’d have to climb that sucker.

The sidewalk seemed to end at Union Park, and I wasn’t sure where I was, or if the trail picked up again, so I headed back… Up that hill. I knew the same trail led back south to Grey’s Lake at the very least.

I ran into a new friend named Jim on the path and we rode around a bit downtown and stopped for a coffee at Java Joes. He told me about the Des Moines Bicycle Collective on Grand and we headed in that direction to check it out.

The Des Moines Bicycle Collective is a volunteer run, non profit, community bike center committed to promoting healthy, sustainable transportation. They repair and recycle donated bikes for resale and reuse. The teach safety, commuting tips, and bicycle repair skills as well as housing a little bike store in the front full of affordable, rebuilt bikes. Their flyer says; donations, time, skill, parts and money are always appreciated.

Check them out at 617 Grand Ave. or at dsmbikecollective.org. They have limited hours, but they fit right into my schedule. I’m planning on going in sometime this week, or early next week to volunteer. I figure there’s nothing bad that can come out of learning bike maintenance and making some cool bike friends.