Unlike last year when we were preparing for Across America North (AAN), preparation this year took back burner to a variety of things. These things started when we hauled the bicycle all the way to Colorado hoping to fit some riding those beautiful CO places, but never getting the bike out of the trunk. Family things always trump biking but it was still a bummer to miss those leg burning mountains. The family time were spectacular as are those CO mountains.
This trend continued when the broken sewer line mandated patio rebuild took most of all weeks until last week. Not that there was no training, but construction training builds muscles not frequently used on the bike. So endurance on the saddle is a bit of a question at this point. I managed to get in rather frequent hilly strength rides, but they were usually less than 30 miles. We worked in some longer ones in the past couple of weeks.
So tomorrow we head for Edgington, IL, just south of the Quad Cities. We ride 64 miles to Bulington, IA, in the hills and valleys along Big Muddy. We are excited!! The we are: Tom Beveridge, Ken (Kenner)McGarvey, Ken Zika, riders of all or part of AAN last year, Bill Wendle, Don Niemi, John Mallon, and Emiel Michelet who graciously offered to drive. We, mostly Bill an Kenner actually, rented a large van and chose existing routes to get to Vicksburg, MS. If all goes as planned, we should arrive on 16 Septmber. That gives us a day to explore the battlefield before heading home on 18 Sep.
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