Yesterday was our most physically challenging day of the tour so far. The distance was doable (70 miles) but the terrain was hilly and we ended up climbing over 3,500 feet. So today we decided to be smart and give our bodies a rest. Not sure if a 20 mile bike ride in the Ozarks is really a rest day, but it has been a rest compared to yesterday!
Here is the thing though: we may have climbed 3,500 ft yesterday but we descended nearly 4,000 ft. It was incredible and sure enough those speed records of ours got smashed. For two days in a row now I have reached speeds of 47mph on my bike and, yeah, that feeling is hard to let go of, it is unbelievable!
The sound of the wind screaming past.
The sensation of flying free.
The crazy adrenaline rush.
I would re-live yesterday over and over again if I could!
Our rest day has been a good day to catch up on jotting notes about the trip so I will conclude this post by sharing a few of our exploits, especially those concerning panniers.
You see, before this trip, I thought I was pretty handy in using my bike to transport anything, but the last week has proved that I have only scratched the surface of what a bike can haul.
First up was the pizza box. It doesn’t push the boundaries of ingenuity or creativity by much but the responsibility of carrying pizza on a bike is a grave one. If the box had slipped and the pizza had crashed with a sickening thud onto the pavement…Noah and I probably would have cried like little, hungry puppies.
The next challenge was a bit trickier.
I was riding in front of Noah when I heard a very insistent meowing sound coming from the grass alongside the road.
“Is that a bird or a cat?” I called back to him.
“I think it’s a bird.” He responded.
But it wasn’t a bird. Noah saw a little black kitten pop it’s head out of the grass. He stopped and coaxed the kitten toward him.
The poor little kitty kept meowing, it was obviously lost, alone and hungry. So we fed her cornbread. Then I called the Sheriff’s office and they said if we dropped her off they could find her a good home. Now the dilemma facing us was how to take the kitten the eight miles to the Sheriff’s office. Finally, I placed her inside my breathable, athletic bag and placed the bag inside my open pannier.
I was so nervous she would jump out, or overheat in the bag that I kept one of my hands touching her for most of the eight miles. During the ride, she alternated between napping, meowing noisily, licking my hand and trying to escape. It was a relief to hand her over safely to the lady in the office, but for the next few miles my pannier suddenly seemed depressingly boring without a squirming little kitty.
Unfortunately, the last hauling experience wasn’t cute or fun, it was just plain tough. Noah had broken two of his spokes and spoke repair is something I have no experience with (yet). I was completely flustered so I called my bike shop back home. Before the trip, Jake had told me that I could call him if we ever needed advice on the road, it was such a relief to dial to his number. He told us that the bike was rideable until we reached a bike shop, but that it would be wise to lighten the load on the back wheel as much as possible.
We only had 8 miles left to go that day, so the easiest solution was to pile Noah’s panniers on my bike. Both of us packed light for this trip so that we could carry everything on the backs of our bikes, but really it is ideal to have the weight distributed between the front and back. Now I did have a heavy load and it was all in the back. While going up one steep hill, I found it nearly impossible to keep my front wheel on the ground. Yes, learning how to wheelie on a bike would be cool, but not when that wheelie would cause me and my bike to tumble-down a hill.
As I was straining, red-faced up the hills, Noah danced up them on his practically weightless bike. He teased me the entire way by groaning dramatically about how steep the climbs were and complaining about how exhausted he was. I couldn’t laugh over my huffing and puffing so I just rolled my eyes at him and warned him that I was going to break my spokes so that he would have to return the favor.
My question is this-is transporting a cat, a pizza or a person’s stuff or going 47 mph in a car very exciting? Probably not.
But on a bike? Oh yes, because somehow bikes turn everything into an adventure!
For future reference, check out Fiber Fix spokes. It’s a Kevlar cord that tightens into a temporary spoke andrequirs no tools to install. I used one on a tour.
Good on you for taking an easy-ish day. Keep on keeping on.
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I did read something about that before I left home but I was like, “Nah, we won’t have spokes issues!” Hehe. I will look into them again today and maybe order a couple…I don’t want to carry Noah’s stuff again 😀 Thanks, Rootchopper!
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They are the size of a thimble and are reusable
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Reusable!?!?! I hadn’t picked up on that part, sweet 😀
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I love ur blog so much- what a great adventure!! 💗💗 thanks for helping that little kitty- I hope it finds a great home- I was thinking on my bike ride home from work about your top speed from the last post and laughing because I get scared when I’m going 17mph- LOL! I’m such a chicken!!! Way to go!!!
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I almost want to call the Sheriff’s office to check up on her, she was the sweetest lil thing!
I used to be so scared of hills as well…I have no idea what has happened to me, honestly…it is just so much fun to speed down hills that I can’t help myself, hehe. I still have moments of fear but I just tell myself to calm down and then everything is okay 😀
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Awww- idk if u ever heard of this story- it’s really cute- it’s about ppl who were backpacking and found a kitten and took it w them (maybe ur next cycling trip!! LOL!) check it out when u have time- it’s such a cute story!!
http://www.lovemeow.com/kitty-the-most-adventurous-backpacking-cat-in-the-world-1607995019.html
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I had to check it out, what an adorable cat! It is clearly having the time of its life 😀
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That last line got it. Happy trails.
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😀
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You certainly had many challenges. You did well to get through them and share them too. May God continue to be with you and bless you both.
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Thank you, Marilyn! God has been with us each step of the way, both in the fantastic moments and the not-so-fantastic ones 😀
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Hi. Nice pictures, I’m really jealous. BTW check out this: http://biketouringnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/IMG_2759.jpg how to keep spare spokes. Kee’em rolling.
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That’s great! No one would even know there were spare spokes aboard!
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47 mph!!!!
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YESSS! It was crazy fun 😀
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I 2nd the Fiber Fix spoke. It should be part of any cyclo-tourist repair kit. I always carry one whenever I venture further than one night from home.
I’m sure you realize you’ll be telling these stories 30 years from now. They’ll become part of who you are, part of your own unique story. Enjoy it while you’re living it.
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I think I shall be ordering some!
Thanks Doug, it is really weird to think about, but yeah, this trip is something Noah and I will be talking about for the rest of our lives…and we only have 12ish days left!
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Um… 12ish days left OF THE TRIP. 😉
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Haha, good call! Hopefully the rest of our lives is more then 12 days 🙂
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Thank you for taking us on this adventure with you. May God continue to bless you and keep you dafe as you race down the hill at 47mph.
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*safe
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Thank you for reading along, Amy, and for your prayers and encouragement! Hugs 😀
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Wow, okay, 47mph, that’s epic 😀 And that kitten!!
And… you’re lucky you didn’t break a spoke or two with all that stuff on the back of your bike!
Actually, you could transport a cat, a pizza, AND a person’s stuff WHILST going 47mph, in a car, and it wouldn’t be as exciting as doing them individually on a bicycle! Although the smell of takeaway in a car mmmm…. it sort of gets lots in the panniers…
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It would have been hilarious (in a sad sort of way) if one of my spokes had broken at that point!
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I love your post today. I often feel that life is much better on a bike! Did you camp or stay in hotels?
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Thank you, Katlyn 🙂 We are camping which is lots of fun unless the campground is crawling with ticks! We saw so many last night, yikes!!
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This morning i had to fight the urge to jump on my bike and ride to the mobil mart for a coffee and pack of pop tarts. Where the heck are you these days?
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The withdrawal must still be real then! We are in the middle of Kansas, and it is hot…really hot
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And there is no shade in Kansas!! Take lots of breaks and take your time.
Yeah, the post ride blues are real, the excitement of waiting is gone, the good vibes of not knowing what day it is have vanished. And the “i don’t wanna go to work today” mornings have returned.
But the FANY is 5 weeks away (you still have until 7/1 to sign up!!)
You can always text me photos during the day… hint hint.
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That is true…you just have to make it until FANY, you can do this Steve, I believe in you! Don’t be too suprised to get some pictures from Kansas 😉
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I loved the spirit of this blog post, bribike.
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Bikes are the best 😉
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