Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Barney's Leaving without Us??!!

Thursday May 23, 2013
Barney the Big Purple Bike took a bath and jumped in a box.

Barney nearly naked and in the midst of his bath
Barney in the box
 
Martha's parents came in for the weekend from K.C. to see us before we depart on THE BIG RIDE. My mom came over for dinner to be part of the fest.
The Creators
 
So, Barney leaves with the UPS person tomorrow a.m. destined for our D.C. hotel. He'll be waiting for us and ready to get out of that box when we arrive early Saturday afternoon.
Baxter II is giving Barney's box a good luck send off
 
Martha and I joined the local club ride this a.m. on our singles for a little 30 mile spin. Martha did great, but admitted that she wished she had a few more bike miles behind her as we get ready to depart. No matter. She'll be like all the great Tour riders. She'll just ride herself into shape as we go along.

I did get just a little nostalgic on today's ride. Thinking about some of the things I'll miss while we're gone. Friends. Family. Club rides. Our home. Summer in the South. But that's okay. THE BIG RIDE has been in the planning for a quarter century and now is its time. Besides, I'm taking my navigator, my techno geek, my business advisor, my soul mate, my stoker, my best friend - my wife! on THE BIG RIDE. That's all I need.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

A Mascot for THE BIG RIDE !!

Larry - He's arrived! The Baxter Mini-me. He's going on THE BIG RIDE to keep us safe and bring good luck.

                                                                    Baxter Mini-me

Monday, May 20, 2013

A Blessing, then A Party !

 

Larry – Sunday, May 19, was a big day. We got to ride the Big Bike to church. We’ve done that a few times in the past, but this Sunday was special. Our church has an annual celebration they call ‘Pentecost in the Park’, which consists of a joint church service with 2 other local congregations held under the pavilion at one of our municipal parks. Someone at the church had heard of our oncoming adventure and arrangements were made for us to receive a special prayer and blessing (including the bike!) during the service. This was very thoughtful and much appreciated. We invited the priest to join us for some or all of THE BIG RIDE, but he said he’d be busy this summer and would have to take a pass. Thanks all the same. We are humbled by our church’s kindness. Thank you each very very much. We also know that we’ll be blessed on our journey by the kindness of strangers many times over as we make our way.
Fr. Polk, Fr. Colin, us and the Big Bike
                                                
 
Sunday’s other event of significance was mother’s birthday party. As before mentioned, we moved her 90th birthday celebration up a few weeks so that we could enjoy it with her before we leave on THE BIG RIDE. Just close friends and family in attendance. Mother had a great time, as did we all. The food was great (thanks to Martha and sis-in-law Suzy) and the flowers were beautiful (thanks to brother Bill). I was just the big idea guy and task delegator.
Larry and the birthday girl

Beautiful flowers by Bill

What's a birthday without a cake

The whole family

I started breaking down the Big Bike a little bit this a.m. Took off the racks and fenders. We hope to get in a few more rides before it goes into the big black box next Tuesday for UPS to pick up and deliver to our D.C. hotel. Bought a new frame pump. It’s like a mini floor pump with a little hose that will allow me to air up the back tire while it’s mounted on the bike. The bigger tires we’re running require some deflation to get over the brakes. With the old pump, I usually enlisted the help of a handy fence post or utility pole to lessen the chances of damaging the valve stem during inflation. Since the wheel now has to be on the bike for tire inflation, my post/pole thing wasn’t going to be an option. We hope not to be using that pump very much, if at all. But experience tells me that it will get its fair share of a work out.
The new pump


Friday, May 17, 2013

Three C's and Tandem Rules

Larry – I started tandeming about 25 years ago.  I knew less than nothing about quality bikes in general and tandem bikes in particular.  Our first tandem was a well used J.C. Penney one speed with a coaster brake.  We paid $100 for it and my wife was not pleased, remarking she could think of a thousand things she would rather have for a $100.
     But the bike grew on her.  It was just a neighborhood cruiser. It went to the ice cream store many times as well as other local fun places.  We had a great time on that bike.  We soon agreed we wanted a better bike that would go a little faster and take us a little farther.  A lifetime passion was born.  Before long we were members of the local bicycle club and making lots of new, lifetime, bike friends. 
    We did our first tour on the KATY more than 20 years ago.  I thought the KATY was a big deal, but now know it was great fun but no big deal.  Since the KATY, there have been probably 15 tours ranging from Utah to N.Y. to Vancouver to Nova Scotia to France and the list goes on.  We’ll probably never top THE BIG RIDE for length or duration, but that’s okay.  There are lots of great tours out there to be had that won’t take all summer to do.
     When I was brand new to tandeming, someone gave me a copy of John Schubert’s The Tandem Scoop.  The book is still in print and contains a wealth of information specific to tandeming.  I reread it several times before passing it on to another newbie team.  Schubert talked about the Three C’s of Tandeming.  Cooperation. Coordination. And Companionship. True words and each a must for happy tandeming.  In all my years of tandeming, I’ve never had a cross word with any of my stokers.
     That probably has something to do with Schubert’s Rules of Tandeming.  Captain’s Rule:  Never scare your stoker.  Stoker’s Rule:  Trust your captain.  Overall Rule:  The stoker’s always right.
     So, if you will be always mindful of the Three C’s and obey the Tandem Rules, you’ll be able to have a wonderful time with your special someone for eleven weeks on a bicycle built for two.  I read somewhere that whichever way your relationship with your significant other was going, a tandem bicycle would accelerate the process.  We are each really excited at the quality time with each other that we’re going to enjoy.  In the hectic workaday world, quality time is sometimes hard to come by. 
     I have known a few couples, each strong cyclists in their own right, who acquired and then quickly sold a tandem for the sake of preserving their marriage.  It happens.  But Martha and I have always known our bike to be just like that song – ‘A Love Machine’.
     We fly in two weeks.  Start pedaling on June 4.  It’s here.
                                  Not us, but the bike is a lot like my first tandem
                                    Maybe us - after a couple of glasses of wine
                                      
 

    

     

      

 

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Half Century Training Ride

Larry - Spring in the central south is having a hard time getting going.  For the second Saturday in a row we've had day long soaking rains with temps in the high 40s.  Not good riding weather.  This Saturday we at least went to the Y and did a spin class sweat fest.  That helped. 
     Today (Sunday, May 5) Martha had the March of Dimes walk as an off branch of her job and couldn't ride.  The weather still wasn't great, with a low clouds, a north wind, temps in the low 50s and a 70% chance of precip.  Still, I had to ride or risk a bad case of cabin fever.
     The local bike club had its regular Sunday p.m. ride scheduled.  I decided that I wanted to see my buds and would ride to the ride.  That's always fun. It was about a 10 mile ride to the club ride start point.  I could make most of the journey on a greenway bike path which follows the river.  That turned out to be a little bit of a mistake.
     Leaving the house I wondered if I had on enough clothes, even though I had given the matter careful consideration.  I was on my tour bike which has a rack.  This allowed be to throw on a trunk with my rain jacket in case things really unraveled.  For the first ten minutes I was on the edge of being cold, then, like it's supposed to, my exertion kicked in and I forgot about being cold just as I swung around a corner and noticed that the rain swollen river had submerged a goodly segment of the greenway.  It looked like about 40 yards was underwater.  I didn't have time to turn around and reroute if I was going to make the club ride start, so I just plunged in.
     The water was not moving and being very familiar with the path, I knew it could be no more than about a foot deep.  I didn't want water in my bottom bracket, so I just shouldered the bike and waded.  The water was not warm.  And now wet feet for the rest of my riding day.
     I did make the club ride on time and had a great time on a little 32 miler.  By the time I got home, I'd done a half century!  I was starting to fade and Martha's spaghetti and meat sauce dinner hit the spot.  I know we'll have a lot of days like this on THE BIG RIDE.  You just have to go with the flow and be physically and (just as importantly) mentally ready for the challenge.
     Today's ride with its minor hardships got me thinking about the comfort cocoon many of us live in.  We live in temperature and humidity controlled homes and offices.  We never feel hunger or discomfort.  If it starts to hurt, we stop.  If we don't want to do it, we don't.  I think part of the attraction many of us have for bike touring is it gives us a little test of ourselves. 
     Can we take a little hardship?  Is it worth all this effort?
     The answer is, course, "Yes!"  It's what takes you out of the sometimes dreary workaday world and let's you feel free and alive like nothing else.  Sure, THE BIG RIDE will have some tough days, but as I always say, "Don't let it get you down, this will be a great story tomorrow".

                                             Clip art - Not me.  Not my skirt.  Not my bike.