I guess what I'm failing to mention is that going to Germany to bike (and teach to make money when necessity dictates) requires uh... planning. So here I am, no ticket yet (oops), no job planned (which is actually not so bad, because in Germany you can only get a job once you get there... it's a very face to face culture), no idea of where I will stay in Berlin (comforted by the fact that Berlin is not as expensive of a city as say London or Paris). At the same time, while I have this daunting challenge after me, I feel very calm and not nervous about it really at all. Maybe it's the "wow turns out if I put my mind to it I can do anything!" mentality that completing the 4k gives you, maybe it's just pure laziness, maybe it's just sheer delusion. Buuuuut in the spirit of those three maybes, I figured instead of doing what I should really be doing and buying my tickets (yikes $$) or working on my resume or cover letter or looking for housing, I'll just blog! I have so much to blog about and I'm afraid that if I don't start now, I'll get so behind that I won't ever catch up... so here goes... Chicago to Milwaukee and back to Chicago...
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| So I get to the Milwaukee City Hall and it's under construction... |
Why
200+ miles in one day... I think when I told people about this ride, the number one response was... why???!!!! why???!!!! but seriously, WHY????!!!!
To be perfectly honest, I don't have one uniform answer for this question. I could say that I was doing it to train for my Midwest Tour (which had some crazy mileages as well... not as quite as insane as this one, but still), but that's only a very small part of it. Doing this ride definitely taught me A LOT about doing long rides by myself, but that wasn't really the main reason.
It certainly wasn't to see Milwaukee, because as you'll read below, I spent only a few minutes there before I had to bike back (fortunately I have visited Milwaukee before with a car so I didn't really feel like I was missing out).
I think the only answer I could really give is... why not? I had a free day, I'm in good shape from the 4K, I know the roads there and back are safe... why not go for it? So I kind of have to leave this section seeming incomplete, but I honestly don't know how else to do it... plus I'm hoping that you'll be more interested in hearing how I did it, rather than precisely why.... so here goes...
How (and how not)
I left super early in the morning, around 5:30AM. Of course it was pretty dark then, but one of the nice things about biking out of Chicago is that because the city is lit so brightly everywhere, you can bike safely in the dark (as in biking in the dark in Chicago is very common). I also knew that I would be on a path right dby the lake front for a good hour or so at the beginning. Basically one of the main concerns with such a long ride is that you just need an incredibly long time to do it, so the earlier you leave, the better.
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| Ok I admit it I stole this picture from one of my friend's facebook page... but it basically shows what I got to see as I left Chicago that morning... sorry and thanks Molly |
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| Ok this picture is actually from my Midwest tour, but it gives you a pretty good idea of what I had with me. And yup... those are basically the cheapest bungee cords I could find. It is pretty jenky, but it did its job. |
Actually about fifteen miles into the ride, my bike started making this awful noise and I was TERRIFIED that I had broken a spoke. Fortunately the "only thing" that had happened was that one of the bungee cords had gotten loose and gotten wrapped around the wheel and started rattling against the spokes... ok that actually sounds REALLY BAD but you'll just have to take my word for it that it wasn't. I was able to just pick up the bungee cord and I found a way to tie it around my pack more securely.
Anyway, aside from that brief scare, the morning went really well. I rode through the north suburbs of Chicago (for the most part very nice to bike through and actually I saw a lot of other cyclists, which was really encouraging and made me feel more comfortable).
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| Almost at the Illinois Wisconsin border... look at me, so optimistic and not worn out at all |
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| I actually took a selfie at this sign, but turns out I am REALLY BAD at taking selfies so you'll just have to trust that I actually biked here instead of stealing a stock photo from the internet *ahem* |
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| Wouldn't be 4K Portland without going through at least one tunnel, even on a bike path |
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| Also wouldn't be 4K without going through a tiny town. Although compared to some of the towns we went through I suppose 6000+ is a metropolis |
Honestly I have to say the ride to Milwaukee was really smooth and nothing went wrong. No flats, no broken spokes, parts of the route I took were really bumpy but still overall felt safe (a lot of trail riding too which is very nice). The only issue I really had was that for some reason when I go on long rides by myself, I have this really weird habit of forgetting about eating meals. I guess that's what happens when you're introduced to long distance biking with a van that literally delivers meals to you along the route? As I got close to Milwaukee (close to completing the first century), I became pretty hungry (because it was lunch time duh). But for some bizarre reason, instead of stopping and getting lunch, I decided it would be smart to just try to eat granola bars and other snacks I had brought with me (including just balls of cooked rice). Of course that didn't work, and I became weaker and weaker, but couldn't figure out why (sometimes I have very little common sense). Finally my stomached yelled at my brain loudly enough and I stopped at a Wendy's just outside Milwaukee for a quick lunch.
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| Again.. it wouldn't be 4K without fast food for lunch. I'm pretty sure I had a bunch of healthier options available.. but I didn't even think about it and just went for the Wendy's. In my defense, I went with a grilled chicken sandwich instead of a cheeseburger, which would have been the true 4K choice. |
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| First century. I would like to be able to say that I put safety first and stopped biking to snap this picture with my iPhone, but unfortunately my bike computer exposes to the world that I was moving at a speed of 13.9 mph when this picture was taken. I'm pretty sure I was on a bike trail when it was taken... yes... that's my story and I'm sticking with it. |
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| Didn't know where to put this pic, but I thought the mural of the cyclist was pretty cool... so enjoy |
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| Ok so this picture obviously someone else took for me. Because of that it should have been a much cooler picture with more of the water behind me instead of this random building, but *sigh* |
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| I think this picture is much better and it should have been more of the background for the picture above |
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| Milwaukee City Hall. Looks really cool from this perspective but... |
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| this is the base of the building when I was there... oops of course they would be doing construction when I was there |
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| I was in such a hurry to leave Milwaukee that I took this picture of this cool looking building, but I have no idea what building it is. Bonus points if you find out what it is and post a comment about it. By bonus points I mean everyone will know that you have no life and spend way too much time obsessed with my blog... just kidding... please read my blog |
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| Back in the flattest state in the Midwest... see what I mean by terrible selfies? |
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| This picture is dedicated to Victor, my 4K teammate / son from this summer, who was fond of saying, "it's all good, it's all good"
On the way back, I did encounter some headwind briefly, but honestly it wasn't too bad. But being as hard headed as I am, I forgot the lesson I should have learned from the ride up to Milwaukee, and didn't eat dinner until 8PM or so.... oops. In retrospect it was incredibly stupid, because it really the exact same problem I had with lunch. I felt hungry and fatigued, but instead of stopping for 10 minutes to eat a dinner, I just kept biking and trying to compensate with granola bar after granola bar. Finally my stomach (which I'm sure was in disbelief that this was happening yet again... the same day...) yelled really loudly enough at my brain and I stopped for a quick dinner at a gas station (oh yeah... what could be better than a nasty gas station sandwich).
By this point it had started to become dark, but I knew that was totally fine because the last 40 miles or so into Chicago are basically a combination of trail and city riding, which are both pretty safe at night. Even before I left for the ride, I knew this was something that was likely to happen so it didn't worry me at all.
But what I hadn't anticipated happening was that the little bit of chaffing that started back in Milwaukee would morph into probably the worst chaffing I've ever experienced. Surprise surprise when you ride 200+ miles in a single day with a high cadence and put butt'r on only once you have problems... in retrospect it's a lesson that I shouldn't have needed to learn through such a painful last 25 miles or so.
Unfortunately the chaffing was rather crippling because I couldn't ride with a high cadence which is how I always prefer to ride (high cadence = thighs and butt rub a lot against each other, against saddle, etc. = very painful when you have a lot of chaffing). So I was forced to put my bike in a very high gear and ride with a super low cadence (my 4K teammates are laughing at me right because they know how OBSESSED I am with high cadence.. I mean I guess the rest of you know too, just look at the title of my blog).
But despite all the chaffing and getting too hungry and biking in the dark (again which was safe I promise!), I made it back around 11PM, safe and sound.
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| Hard to see, but the distance is 199.99 miles. For some reason I had this terrible fear that my computer would reset to 0 miles once I crossed 200 so I took this picture just in case. |
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| Within one mile of home and way way more tired and sore and chaffed than at the beginning of the day |
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| Double century! Finished at 207.67 miles |
So that's the story of my first double century. As happy as I was to finish the miles, the more I think about what I did, the more insane it seems. But of course I regret nothing (except maybe the chaffing) and I'm really really glad I did the ride. If nothing else it makes a great story and lets people know that I am insane (always a good thing)!
My tips on a double century ride
As I wrote at the beginning of this post, the main reaction I got when I told people that I was going to do this ride was... why? Having finished now, far as I am concerned not only do I not regret doing the ride, but I want to do more double centuries, and eventually a triple century (I mean.. it's perfectly logical, after two comes three). Buuuuut having said that, there are some things I might do differently if I did it again... and I thought I would share them with you. So may I humbly suggest, my tips on doing a double century ride (or any other super long ride) solo... I mean one of the things I would like to do through my own biking is get other people excited about biking and inspire them (if I may use such a word is to go on their own long bike rides!
1. Bring a lot of food... like more than you think you might need. Riding a double century is NOT the time to be worried about calories or losing weight. You are not riding a double century to lose weight. You are riding a double century to ride a double century. So you will need to eat really often... like around 250-300 calories an hour, which is actually quite a bit. In fact, it's definitely better to overeat slightly rather than undereat. There is nothing worse than becoming fatigued because your blood sugar is dropping because you didn't eat enough. At the same time, I suggest trying to eat moderate quantities often rather eating a huge amount of food infrequently.
Also, it is a good idea to actually carry lunch and dinner with you rather than make stops. I suggest bringing a couple of sandwiches. This way, you'll never have to be afraid of not having a place to stop for meals, plus stopping for meals and buying food usually takes longer than just pulling out a sandwich from your bag.
If none of this is convincing, here is a list of what I ate that day (ok I probably could have eaten a lot more healthfully...):
Breakfast of 2 eggs with a lot of rice + vegetables (it was a big breakfast )
11 granola bars
7 oz bag of beef jerky
3 large gatorades
1 large powerade
1 large coke
1 Wendy's meal
1 gas station sandwich
1 large bag of sun ships
5 rice balls
a post ride meal of a giant burger + fries + a slice of of chocolate cake to celebrate
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| Basically me that day |
Also, don't be afraid of sugar. You really have to work hard to keep your glucose levels up on such a long ride, and even if it's not so good for you, once in awhile it isn't the worst to buy a bottle of coke just for the sugar. At least that is my opinion.
2. Bring spare bike parts... ok this one is pretty obvious so I won't spend too much time on it, but bring extra tubes, a pump or CO2 cartridges, a patch kit,etc all that good stuff. I lucked out and didn't have any problems, but obviously it was a good idea to not count on getting lucky. Also a roll of duct tape can perform miracles if you need it.
3. Try to never stop... ok maybe not never, but in order to complete so many miles, you just have to keep moving. A lot of times it isn't your speed that makes it impossible to complete so many miles, but rather just how often you stop. Obviously you have to stop once in awhile. So my suggestion is to make the most out of each stop. Whenever you do stop, try to do everything you need to do - so fill up on water, grab snacks out of your bag to put in your jersey pockets, use the bathroom, put on butt'r (very important), check directions, make bike adjustments, etc.
4. Use butt'r... often. I think I don't need to elaborate on this one.
5. and last but certainly not least... ride with a high cadence. My teammates are probably either laughing or about to call me and scream at me to stop talking about cadence, but honestly without a high cadence there is just no way to you can completely such a long ride. If you ride with a low cadence all day, more than likely your knees will hurt like crazy, your legs will be sore, and you will tire yourself out way faster. Even after 200 miles my knees felt great and my legs weren't that sore, because they never had to work all that hard (plus it is mostly flat).
So that's the story of my Milwaukee ride. And you know what? I did take a break from riding for one day afterwards (due to the terrible chaffing especially), but despite what I thought initially, within a few days of the ride, I was ready to get back on my bike. I'm not exactly sure what it is about biking I am finding so addictive (perhaps it's eating several day's worth of calories by lunch, seeing the land in the most unique way possible, or something else), but hopefully you enjoyed about my adventure, and even more importantly, go on your own adventures...
Til the next ride (hint which took place just six days after this ride)...
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