We're here folks! Great to see the big trucks with the Sea to Sea logo on the side, many familiar faces, old friends from the previous tours, and many new ones! There is a positive and upbeat atmosphere here, and an enthusiasm to ride, even halfway through the tour and after living through so much difficulty, from extreme heat to wind and rainstorms. Many falls, from serious to scrapes and bruises, and almost 150 flat tires happened in these 5 weeks. Katie Ryzebol and her best friend took each other out by accidentally touching tires, and we thank the Lord they were not more seriously hurt. Both are back cycling again, looking sleek and fit!
It was a 16 hour drive from home, delayed by traffic backups at road construction sites and a heavy rainstorm that had us pull over along with a dozen other cars because we couldn't see the road! The Rav got a good wash though!
At Pella we got to sleep in the dorms at Central College. bunk beds, so we promptly put both matresses on the carpet so to create a kingsize bed for Kobie and I. :-). Nice not to have to put up a tent.
Got to start around 7am at Pella. Jane Brouwer was so kind to ride with me for my first day. She is very strong, fit and fast, and we had a good ride, at times keeping around 35km/h. The ride was very hilly with about 3,800 feet of climbing. Long rolling hills with some steep 8% ones in between. We even had a 12% one going straight into a whipping head wind. That felt a bit unfair to handle both steepness and a strong headwind - that is two to one to a cyclist. The only worse scenario is three to one: steepness, headwind and heat ( and throw in leg cramps for good measure! ). During the last 40km of the ride I experienced significant trouble with cramps in my calves, due to dehydration I think, and having had to drive a monster gear of 53 - 11 for most of the way except for hills more than 3%. Yesterday was unusually cool around 16C, but the strong head and crosswinds made the 151 km ride a great workout. Due to the cooler weather cyclists easily omits to hydrate enough, resulting in cramps. The big gear thing is here to stay with me for the 3 weeks unfortunately. I had to change the chain as recommended by my LBS bike mechanic as the old one was almost too worn out. It is best to also change the cassette at the same time, but there was no time to get hold of another 11 - 36 tooth high end cassette before we left, not to mention that those sets one back a solid $300 which doesn't fit in my budget right now. So yesterday I found out that my two favourite high speed gears skip and can't be used so what I have is the hard fast gear, and the fourth gear down that is too slow unless you have a roaring cadence like a machine. That one climbs well on slight hills and dealing with wind. So I will just have to make the best of it. the big gear will make me strong and the small gear will up my cadence significantly!
It was all joy to ride in cool crisp air with lovely green crops and meadows covering the rolling hills. Fat horses and cattle dotted along the road. Sme really welcoming looking farmsteads too. Thousands of acres of lush cornfields attest to many hardworking farmers out here. Some great hospitality from the local CRC church treated us to a great pancake breakfast with bacon and fruit. Much appreciated by all the cyclists! The SAG stops this time has fruit and electrolyte fortified water and lemonade, not just water like in the past. Great stuff! Thanks to all the SAG volunteers who spend their days in blazing heat to look after the cyclists!
We pitched camp at Morrison park in Coralville. Beautiful setting around a pond and swimming pool.
The night was cold at 11C and we brought only one blanket, expecting hot weather, but survived by sleeping with our jackets on and huddling together. Bought a second blanket today. The cooler weather is just so much better and enjoyable for cycling than the heat, so nobody is complaining after having lived through 50C out west in the desert!
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