123 Mile Week

I don't know if I have actually said this in my blog yet, but my dad and I were officially chosen in the RAGBRAI lottery. So we are going. 7 days. 442 miles. I'm a little terrified. I'm not worried about my legs or my mind or my knees or my feet. I'm worried about my back. I'm not worried about back pain or stiffness. I just don't want it to seize up. So, in an effort to get as many miles in my legs as possible, while keeping my back as happy as possible, I've been putting in a lot of miles on my Lemond exercise bike. It's a recumbent so it takes the back right out of the equation. I think, at least at the level I ride at, it is a bit harder on the legs than a regular bike. No coasting. But, you have ready access to food and water when you need it. And, when the weather is nasty as it was this week, a movie is much more appealing than getting hailed on.

On Wednesday, I had a 6 hour break in my schedule so I decided to see what 75 miles felt like. After about 4.5 hours of pedaling, 5 bottles of water, 2 diet cokes, 2 hot cocoas, and one gigantic bacon, guacamole, tomato and mayonnaise sandwich, I did it. Along the way I watched two favorites: Cast Away and The Big Lebowski. I felt great. I had burned about 4000 calories and was hungry for the next 2 days.

I still did a lot of bike commuting this week. Grocery trips and the like. My weekly trip to Pho Van where they know me well and have actually started giving me even bigger servings than usual. After eating myself into a food coma on Tuesday I opted for a nap in the pouring rain instead of the long ride I had planned. I rode my bike through dry ice that someone had thrown in my street this week. That was cool. I rode up to Tabor once and when it is all added together my total miles for the week is 123. Not including today. I might go get myself a new watch band today so that would be another 5 miles or so. Either way, I think it is a record.

There's one other thing I want to add. It's not really a bicycle thing except it was the kind of thing I usually only experience on my bike. And, I want to write it down so I'll remember. Last night as I was waiting for sleep as I so often do, I couldn't help but appreciate that with the rain coming down outside my open window, nestled in my comfy bed with our freshly laundered sheets, and lying back to back with my now slumbering husband, well, there wasn't a person in the world who was luckier than me. A perfect moment, and not while listening to David Byrne and climbing a hill on my bike. It happened in my regular life. I've found that these perfect moments sustain me for days, weeks, sometimes even months. But, up until now I couldn't remember one happening that didn't involve my bike, world travel or the sauna. Or maybe a few glasses of wine. Lying in bed holding on to that feeling as long as possible, I thought to myself, "Well, maybe there is hope for me yet. "