Lance Armstrong to Ride RAGBRAI

He’s been accused of making some bad decisions, but Lance Armstrong is a world renowned cyclist and a household name in a sport that doesn’t have many familiar faces.

After two years off, Armstrong is tackling RAGBRAI once again. His manager says he’ll ride a few legs in the middle of the route somewhere between Carroll and Grinnell with overnights in either Boone or Altoona.

This will be the 7-time Tour de France champion’s fourth RAGBRAI. He rode in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

What do you think of Armstrong? Will you be excited to see him here in Iowa?

The Mono Saga Continued:

Wednesday came along and I went into work. I hadn’t trained in over a week, but I was beat. I still hadn’t eaten and it was almost impossible to swallow water. My boss sent me home as soon as I walked in. I sounded like I had swallowed a tennis ball.

I went home and crashed for an hour and called the doctor. That first doctor wasn’t available, but another one had an appointment so I headed back in. They did the 3rd negative strep test… They poked around… The doctor wasn’t sure what was going on but he said the tonsils might have to come out.

Thankfully this doctor was aggressive. A doctor after my own heart. I bent over for a shot in the rear, I got some vicodin and some heavy meds. We made an appointment Friday to check my tonsils but he said, “if these get any worse, get your behind back in here EARLY tomorrow.”

I went home and tried to get comfortable. I still couldn’t keep food down and I slept a total of 4 hours even with the vicodin. I woke up Thursday and couldn’t handle it. I went back to the doctor, falling asleep in the waiting room; I laid on the butcher paper in the smaller waiting room as they took blood and did more tests.

The doctor came back quickly, but I knew what was up. I could hear him in the hall. I had Mono, but then he threw a curveball. I was severely dehydrated and my tonsils were taking over my life. I had to get to the hospital for observation and some serious rehydration!

My mom came from Ames and drove me to the hospital. I sat there rehydrating for hours before the doctor came. He prescribed some steroids to get the swelling down and a cocktail of drugs to battle what he decided was Mono and Tonsilitis.

I was in the hospital for two nights and I’ve been laying low ever since. A cupboard full of soup and a freezer full of popsicles are nursing me back to health.

I had to email the people at the Copper Creek Tri and let them know I’d be gracefully bowing out of competition this year. So, I’m still waiting on that elusive first triathlon.

The Doctor is closely monitoring my spleen and all my other inner functions with weekly blood tests so I can get back to training for RAGBRAI as soon as possible. As of now, I’m pretty nervous. I feel like I was struggling to balance the tri and RAGBRAI before I got sick, and now that I have time to focus on RAGBRAI I just hope it isn’t too late.

I laid in bed last night a little bit thankful that I wasn’t trying to figure out where to park for the tri, and if I needed a wet suit, and how exactly transitions would shake out. But now my thoughts have turned to camping gear and how I’m going to charge my cell phone on the RAGBRAI route.

All that’s left to do, this month before RAGBRAI, is to power full steam ahead. Getting ready for the greatest party in Iowa!

The Demise of the Tri

I’ve been training hard since January for both RAGBRAI and the Copper Creek Triathlon. I started back in January at the YMCA downtown taking spin classes and getting in the pool. As it warmed up I added some runs at Grays Lake and took the bike out on the trails.

I was feeling confident, I started early, I loved riding my bike, I was really getting the hang of the running and swimming and I was starting to envision myself at the transitions and I was looking at wetsuit rentals. But then something happened that I wasn’t prepared for, I hadn’t trained for it and nothing in my Triathlon Magazine even mentioned it…

A few weeks ago I started to wonder if I was overtraining a little. I was sleeping a little more than usual, I was forgetting things and I was a little snippy with my friends and family.

I was in Ames visiting my parents and my throat started to hurt so I went to the family doctor. She gave me a strep test but it came back negative. Apparently sometimes it shows up negative but you actually have it, so she gave me a Z-pack to treat the strep anyway, told me to TAKE IT EASY and sent me on my way.

Five days later I was getting worse. I couldn’t eat or sleep. I hadn’t eaten anything solid since Sunday and, it was extremely painful to drink. So I headed back to a doctor in Des Moines on Sunday. He decided it was Mono, but it was too early to test, so he said, TAKE IT EASY, come back on Friday if you’re still sick.

I told him I was two weeks from my tri.. When would I be able to get back into it? He took one look and said, “I think you’re going to have to skip the tri.” In my weakened state I burst into tears. I felt horrible for this very professional, serious doctor. He sorta walked out, and then walked back in and got me a tissue, and walked out, and walked back in and stumbled over an explanation and then walked out and sent a nurse in after me.

I finally pulled myself together, I just needed a few pity tears to make up for the blood and sweat I had shed getting ready for the tri. To be honest, I had a little hope left in me that I’d wake up the next day feeling 100% and I’d be able to rock it out. But that wasn’t the case.

Now you know, I’m skipping the Copper Creek Triathlon. RAGBRAI, however, is still in the plans. But I need to take a nap. I have a long road to recovery. The rest of the story is coming soon!

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.

An Encouraging Word for Kids Learning to Ride a Bike and a Thumbs up for ROCK AND ROLL!

Thumbs up to @meganpralle for tweeting this video. Follow her (and me) on Twitter! I'm @alisa_who

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!