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!

Wheels and Heels and Night Train, Champagne, DeWayne

I went out to Jasper Winery Tuesday night for the Wheels and Heels event, a fashion show and shopping event highlighting local bike gear. It was a scorcher all day, but I was sitting in my apartment thinking, it’s gotta be cooler outside than it is in my 4^th floor hot box.

So I took a quick dip and headed around the Fleur detour in my Jeep… I’ve been out of commission for about a week due to some health issues. I talked the doctor down from three weeks off the bike to one week off the bike. Still, one week is too long. I would have LOVED to pull into the winery on my Clubman.

Eventually I found myself on the wrong side of the detour and realized I could have gotten to the winery in about 2 minutes because the detour was AFTER George Flagg… Oh well. I wasn’t the only one strolling in fashionably late.

Happy hour and shopping started at 5:30 and the fashion show started around 6. I rolled in and they were just starting the fashion show. It was a really laid back atmosphere with lawn chairs and bikes everywhere. Even though the lawn was littered with bikes, the parking lot was jam packed.

Channel 13’s Sonya Heitshusen was one of the MCs along with Suzet Nelson. I’m a little partial, but I think they did a fantastic job. Each model in the fashion show was riding a bike, walking, or riding roller skates, and each model had a bag full of goodies that you might need during your rides this summer.

Each bag also had a door prize. I won one of the first door prizes pulled! A $15 gift certificate to Boulevard Sports. I never win anything, so I was so excited. Not sure what I’m going to spend it on… But it’s burning a hole in my pocket already.

One of the highlights of the fashion show was when this guy (on the left) won a t-shirt that said, “Please don’t run me over” on the back, and the same thing backwards on the front (so you can see it in the rear view mirror). His name was “Night Train, Champagne, DeWayne.” He told a sweet story about the greatest years of his life being those years in the 50’s when he rode his bike to school.

The event was hosted by the Des Moines Bike Collective and displayed fashion and goodies from their supporters:

-Jasper Winery
-Q7 Cycling
-Backcountry Outfitters
-Rockabilly Reign
-RAYGUN
-Bike World
-The City of Perry
-VeloRosa
-Des Moines Derby Dames
-Tomboy Tools presented by Tina McIntire
-Ichi Bike
-Dr. Kellie Hoover at Iowa Family Chiropractic
-Kitchen Collage
-DART
-Impulse Entertainment

I have to say, along with a great evening, I ran into an old friend from high school, Andrea, who loves to bike! Both she and I are back in Des Moines after hopping around the US. I’m excited to go on a ride with her sometime soon!

Passport Picture

At the High Trestle Trail ride this weekend they gave out passports that you got stamped at each stop along the way. Right before the bridge they took passport pictures and sent them out via Flikr.
They just sent out the pictures so I thought I'd share it with you. I look tired... I had only gone about 3 miles.


If you rode the trail that weekend, look for your picture here.

High Trestle Trail Grand Celebration

Sorry about the late post… Ever since my ride on Saturday my dad has been on my case to write about it. He doesn’t even want to hear me talk about it… he just wants to read about it on my blog.

Well here it is:

I participated in the High Trestle Trail Grand Celebration Saturday. It was a bike ride between Woodward and Ankeny on the new trail out there. The trail includes the 13-story high bridge over the Des Moines River. Back in 1912 the bridge was a railroad trestle.

Beside the book ends of Woodward and Ankeny, there were stops in Madrid, Sheldahl, Slater and the oasis between Sheldahl and Ankeny. Each town had something special going on Saturday, and the whole community seemed to be participating.

I started the ride in Woodward. I got there early and parked along the main street. Some Boy Scouts were tending to a fire. There were some guys in Civil War garb… The obligatory church pancake breakfast down the street was hoppin’. I wandered over to the ribbon cutting just as the national anthem was playing and those Boy Scouts were raising the flags. Miss Iowa USA snipped the ribbon and we were on our way.

I knew I had to work in the afternoon, so I got a good jump. I was surprised that my bike calculator said I was riding at about 20 mph. I was feeling great and passing everyone. The first stop was right before the bridge. I said hello to a few friendly faces and got on the bridge.

It didn’t feel like I was on a bridge so high above the water. The bridge is a really solid, comfortable ride. Not too many people had stopped yet to check out the views, so I kept moving.

Madrid had some food stands set up, but it wasn’t even 11 yet, so I just made a once-around of the main strip. I picked up some free snacks (I’m a sucker for free… and snacks) and got back on the trail.

Slater was the next stop. Just as I turned off the trail I saw some familiar faces. Jared and Ron from Skunk River had set up shop on the wrong side of the “no alcohol beyond this point” fence and were helping riders who were having some mechanical problems.

I said a quick hello and headed for the party. I got my “sooner or later you’ll ride through Slater” button, grabbed a burger and an adult beverage and enjoyed the live music for a bit. When I was good and full, I wandered back over to the Skunk River tabernacle to chat with the guys. I quickly realized they didn’t have any pina colada Dum Dums and they weren’t sharing their doughnuts, so I hit the road. I was going to turn around and head back to Woodward, but Jared convinced me that Sheldahl was where it was at. And just another two miles down the road.

Sheldahl was a good call. (Put that on a button). Homemade ice cream and Rice Krispy treats (childhood favorite). Back on the road, I knew I had to get back quick so I could make it back to Des Moines for work.

Once I turned around, I quickly realized that 20 mph on the way there wasn’t just my amazing quads doing what they do best… I had a little help from a tail wind. The 15 miles back were a struggle against the wind. I was lucky to keep moving when I tried to coast. I had made a classic mistake by pushing it hard on the way out, and not considering the trip back.

I stopped in every town praying for a Gatorade… or a four wheeler who would agree to pull me along behind him. Between Slater and Madrid I hooked up with a bagger that was pulling along a stereo and jammed out to some ACDC. (Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap always gets my blood pumping.)

Finally back to the bridge I knew I only had a few short miles to go. I pulled over to gather myself and pop in my earphones, took one last look over the bridge and took off for Woodward.

Once back in town, I scanned the area for a Gatorade… None to be seen, so I loaded my bike on the back of the jeep, packed up and headed for the highway.

I stopped at a Casey’s on the outskirts of town for a Gatorade (finally) and a doughnut (it’s a training tradition). I got stuck behind someone who was doing their grocery shopping at Casey’s, and then a lady who was paying for an ice cream cone in pennies… Finally out of there I hit the road and called my mom to tell her about my 30 mile journey. She likes to hear about it before I put it in my blog…

For photos of the ride, click here.

Things Cyclists Love

During my RAGBRAI training, I've come to accept, and often love, the cycling culture. It's a group of people unlike any other, who have some surprising similarities within their diverse levels of commitment. Here are just a few I've become rather fond of as well:

Taco stands: I have been participating in the Twitter event “Bike School” with cyclists from all over the country. Inevitably tacos come up. We like soft shell, hard shell, beef, chicken, fish… I had a turkey taco today. If there’s a question a cyclist doesn’t know, they answer it with “Taco!”. It’s like in Sunday school when the kids don’t know the answer… they just answer Jesus. Most of the time they’re right.

In fact, one of my bike buddies Sam is the proud founder of Tacopocalypse: A Taco stand that will be making an appearance at the Downtown Farmers Market this summer.

Fancy beer and PBR: From my experience, bike snobs tend to be beer snobs. Beer snobs that like Pabst Blue Ribbon… I went to a meeting for my RAGBRAI team, Team Skunk, and when I arrived someone quickly informed me that the biggest issue we were covering in the meeting was, ‘Who’s going to get the beer, and what kind they should get’. Apparently last year there was a mix-up and someone bought bad beer, and the beer that was there had to be rationed.

Hats with tiny brims: I am still working on my T-Chart of the pros and cons of a hat with a tiny brim versus a hat with an average sized brim. If baseball caps are good enough for baseball players, why do cyclists need these special tiny brimmed hats? There’s nothing going on 45 degrees above the horizon that we need to be able to see without moving our heads… Tiny brims are irrelevant… But I want one SO BAD.

Spandex: There’s nothing like a helmet and a padded, spandex onesie to tell the world you’re a serious cyclist.

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.