Spending Spree

We completed our longest indoor session to date on Saturday morning, trying to bike the equivalent of 55 miles in just under 3 hours. After lunch and a quick nap, we headed out on errands which included our favorite store, REI. There we stocked up on some clothing we'll need for the trip. Cycling tights are on order and in the mail for cool weather (hopefully unnecessary!), and we each got some new shorts to shore up our supply of existing shorts. We've never had to plan to ride this much without the availability of laundry facilities (we think), so we're planning ahead. We also got a new toy: a Garmin GPS for our bike. I'm looking forward to having turn-by-turn directions for our rides programmed into a GPS made especially for touring cyclists, and being able to anticipate turns on our routes without trying to read tiny print on a cue sheet and map. Marge, I'm sure, is looking forward to her captain knowing where we are going and not getting frustrated with him and worry about getting lost or missing a turn like we did in our last tandem rally to the addition of a few miles to the route. We got an extra pair of gloves just in case and Marge got some more sun sleeves to protect her arms in the sun, something she tried last year for the first time. With both of us having had skin cancer, we're trying to protect ourselves. Shopping at REI is so much fun! Marge even got something unrelated to cycling--a new jacket. We are pretty well set for the trip now with clothing and gadgets. I'll be setting up the Garmin per Santana's instructions this week. Should be fun!

Also this week, we're anticipating our longest training sessions in our plan which isn't the best timing because of Holy Week. John will be home for a couple days, and we won't have much time with him because we'll be in the gym. Easter baking will be a challenge also, but we'll do our best.  That's what happens when we had to take a week off because we were sick earlier this year! Both of us have a couple days off this week (I'm taking vacation), so we might even get all our rides in with all of the other stuff we have to do! We'll try to push up some rides so we can take Easter off--a projected 65 mile day!

Test ride

Last week was a high volume week, culminating in an epic 2 hour and 45 minute ride indoors on Saturday. Of  course, we passed the time watching a movie (Cary Grant in "Walk, Don't  Run") and a classic Hawaii 5-O episode. It sure helps pass the time! For these long rides, we're focussing on just being on the seat of a bike that long and not trying to push it too hard, although we do sweat!

Then, on Sunday, we took advantage of an unusually warm day and took the tandem out on the rode for the first time this year! We were very worried, if we used last year as a measure, that our first ride would be in Memphis. But we were blessed with a 70 degree March day (wow!), so we took it out on the sand and grit left over from the winter road treatments, dodging potholes, and took one of our favorite 12 mile loops down to the river from our house, across the  Stone Arch Bridge, past the Guthrie on the re-paved West River Parkway bike trail, across the river again on the Old Number 9 bridge on to the Dinkytown Greenway through the University to Energy Park Drive in St. Paul, and then back north to home on Stinson. It was a fun ride and was a lot easier than most of our seasonal first rides. Winter conditioning is paying off! The worst part: it was so warm there were throngs of pedestrians out, especially on the Stone Archh Bridge, and many decided to walk on the bike trail and not stay on the pedestrian side. Oh, well, we got some practice calling out, "Bike ccming through" or "Bike on your left; no, the other left!" We had to go slow, but it was good to be out and the downtown scenery of St. Anthonly Falls and the skyline is really nice to have so close! It almost makes up for the lack of mountains. ;) (The picture isn't from this last ride, but from last year. Thus the lack of pedestrians!)

More later....

Time on the Bike

We've been trying to follow a training plan for the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) Marge found on the internet. She figured that if we trained for such a long ride, our day rides from the American Queen paddleboat would be easy. So, we've been trying... There have been some set backs with my doctor schedule, and of course, winter weather, but we've been doing some really long rides in the gym. Today was our longest: 2.5 hours. Last week we did a 2 hour ride. It's been fun; we pass the time by watching classic Hawaii 5-O episodes, Sufferfest training videos, and lately on the longer rides, movies. Today we watched a 1938 Cary Grant and Kathryn Hepburn movie called "Holiday." Last week it was "The Hundred Foot Journey." We get some interesting looks as we bring Marge's portable music stand into the bike studio, set it up and put our little portable DVD player up and start the timer, hope on the bikes, and spin. Hopefully, the time we put in on the bikes here will pay off with easy and enjoyable rides during the tour. Today, spring is in the air as what little snow we have is melting and it the hight was 43! We took off layers and are looking forward to riding outside soon. Next week, it's supposed to hit 50!