Welcome to our blog

Glad you chose to visit our blog that documents our trail as we bicycle from the Niagara Falls area to the east side of Iowa, then join up with 10K bikers for RAGBRAI. We are following the northern tier route from Adventure Cycling Association. We have 2 vehicles (40ft RV and a Jeep). The normal days ride involves the logistics of driving one vehicle approx. 50 miles west, hopping on our bikes (pulling a trailer with our dog Zin), riding back East to the other vehicle. This way we get to ride together, take advantage of the prevailing westerly winds and stay in the comfort of our RV. Hope you enjoy the ride!

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Day 11 – Mary Jane Thurston Park to Fremont Walmart


ITEM of special note: On the drive in the RV to the previous campgrounds the RV was attacked by a Kamikaze BIRD. The bird flew straight into the top of the windshield with a resounding THUMP. The SmitTanic seemed to have survived the attack unscathed.

As Kevin was prepping the RV two days later to leave for the next destination he noticed a large 12” crack in the front windshield. The crack started at the top of the windshield half way between the driver and passenger. The crack ran down and then curved slightly towards the driver side. Kevin felt the windshield and could not detect the crack on the inside. He then went out side to look for the crack from the outside. No crack is detected. We learned the the RV has triple pane glass in the windshield. It appears that the middle pane is the one that is compromised. Kevin marked the end of the crack with a piece of tape to see if it progresses. He will need to call the insurance company to see what can be done to replace the windshield. Ideally it can last until his week long stay in Moline Illinois prior to the start of RAGBRAI.

Logistics:
We new that it would be a 2 hour drive to get the RV to MJ Thurston Park in Grand Rapids, OH so it was up early (5 am) to get the RV ready to move. Even planning ahead and doing a lot of Prep the night before we still were not able to leave the campgrounds until around 6:30 am. The skies were dark due to the early time and the threatening storm clouds. As we made our way down the road the rain and wind and lightening entertained us. On our way to the drop off site we stopped at a very elaborate truck stop complete with several dining options and even a Starbucks. Kevin added Diesel and Theresa gabbed a breakfast sandwich. Upon arrival at the next camp site for the RV we recognized there was no place to park the rig until check in time. We had already had a conversation with the camp host who informed us there was a Marina just down the road were we could stage the RV until our arrival back on the bikes to then check into the campgrounds. The skies had unloaded a bit on the drive over but appeared to be dry, but cloudy for our late 8:45 start.

The Route:
Theresa pulled Zin first. The route took the trio back thru 'town' along the Maumee River then turned right into the headwind for a 7 mile stretch. Theresa assessed all of her aches and pains from yesterday and wished she had taken some Aleve before she started, oh well at least the sun was muffled by some heavy cloud cover. She shifted the Green Machine into the middle chain ring up front and could barely make 8.5 mph. Slow and steady was the mornings motto! The sun was starting to peek thru as the cloud cover slowly melted away, the winds started to shift more westerly to our favor (mostly). The roads were very smooth, newly paved with no shoulder but few cars. The first town was Bowling Green, our route took us straight thru and Theresa's plan was to find a place to get a cold beverage and swap the trailer on the far side of town. In the middle of the straight shot thru town was major construction and a not very well marked detour that added about 3 miles out of our way (that sucked). Once back on the trail and the other side of Bowling Green Theresa disparately looked for a suitable place (shade, bathrooms and cold drinks) but all there was was a golf course and some businesses. She kept peddling checking the map it was 11 miles to the next potential stop. At this point the road headed NE which was mostly with the wind at their backs the roads continued to be exceptionally smooth so Theresa settled in and kept a blistering 12-13 mph pace (wooohoo). As we rolled into the metropolis of Pemberville we spotted a Diner on the Left with no shade and 2 (not open) eateries on the right with shade. We parked in the shade and talked to a local (who happened to own one of the not open establishments named The Forks) to get the skinny. She said the Diner was the only thing open and suggested we could get some thing to go and sit in the shade. What a grand idea! Theresa was off to procure lunch and Kevin took Zin behind some buildings to do her business. After a good rest and downing ice water and some Diet Coke, we were ready to hit the road. Zin drank lots of water as well and was refreshed and cooled down by the water that Kevin poured on her. Theresa had pulled Zin 27 miles, the rest of the route (about 25) would be left for Kevin! By this time the sun had made a rude appearance and turned the steamy ride into a sauna.

Kevin's turn into the head winds south awoke his legs and heartbeat as he tried to stay below his max heart rate. Kevin was recognizing that he felt better, could ride longer and steadier if he was able to keep his heart rate just below 120 bpm. This got him thinking of what his max is and what 80% of max is for him. Last time he calculated it was many years ago. Back then 80% of max was somewhere around 150 BPM. Lately he has struggled to achieve that. He associated that difficulty with being out of shape, over weight, and getting older. OLDER that was it. He had not recalculated his heart rate zones in years. SO. For several miles as he watched his heart rate he also calculated the following formula in his head. MAX heart rate = 220 – age. For Kevin that is 220 – 60 = 160. Then calculate 80% of that for your peak Target Zone. For Kevin that is 80% of 160 = 128. WHAT 128 is the top of his work out zone, and all this time he has been pushing to reach that 150 range. Getting old means you got to pace yourself more.
After 2 miles once again we turned east (with the wind mostly) and he picked up the pace into Gibsonburg. No stop was made (even with Theresa pleas'), “stopping gets us no where!”, Kevin just wanted this trek to be over! Seems like the last 10 miles are always the worst! We had a straight away towards the target town of Fremont and turned onto a road that was not even 1 lane. There were 2 cars that passed us and both had to go in the grass to get by. The road had no lines panted on it (why bother). We deviated from the AC (Adventure Cycling) route only to get to the Walmart on the north side of Fremont. Finally done! It was 96 degrees with a heat index of 107.

Stats:
Day 7 of riding, 50 miles, 12.1 mph avg, total trip miles 340, and 2865 calories burned for the days ride.

See Kevin's garmin stats here:

After the ride:
First order of business was to get something cold in us. Theresa went in for round 1 at Walmart for cold Beer, water and a Payday. Second round would take 1 hour with a shopping list that spanned every corner of the store at least once if not twice to find everything but one on the list. Meanwhile Kevin and Zin sat in the jeep with the air going as a downpour doused the black asphalt parking lot causing steam to rise. One more quick trip into the Lowes across the street to get the remaining item then on to the campground. The site was a water only site with only a port-a-pottie for the campers. The only other occupants where the camp hosts, who came out in the rain to great us. Kevin maneuvered the Smitanic into the designated slot with no issue. It was 5:30pm, 12 hours since we began our day. Wine was poured and dinner prepared on the grill.

Item of Note: the crack in the windshield grew an extra inch on the drive to todays campground.

Tomorrow's Plans:
Theresa has yet to figure out the route for tomorrow that will be about 52 miles. That is the next chore after this write up is done while Kevin makes his edits.

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