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Thursday April 3, 2008, 120 miles (193 km) - Total so far: 711 miles (1,145 km)
So I got a message from my aunt Patti tonight and I thought it was pretty funny so I had to share:
"Hi Joe! I have shared your blog site with one of our 6th grade teachers. I go into her classroom and assist a few of my students who are in that class. In math, we are covering variables and patterns, and the kids are watching your progress (miles) for each day. Perhaps we will take the data (miles traveled each day) and plot your progress. Your journey comes at the same time that the textbook covers a bike rider and his journey!! Such a coincidence! The kids would like to read your entries (it's projected on the movie screen so they can see the map)but,ahem, their teacher has to scroll quickly and skip certain parts, like your motel adventure with the working blonde. LOL.. They are enjoying the photos and think it is so cool what you are doing! Bet you never thought that you would be the subject of a math investigation...Aunt Patti"
How cool is that! Here's a good math problem for today's ride: what was the average incline, or grade, in percent for the insanity known as today's route. The numbers you'll need? 120 miles of rolling terrain with a total elevation gain of 7500ft.
Today was certainly one of the hardest days I've spent on a bike. 7500ft of climbing in itself is tough, then add to the equation actually pedaling 120 miles on top of that. I was trying to come up with a good analogy while riding today, but I don't think there is one. Just try imagining... Well, 120 miles + 7500ft uphill. There were two full-on mountain passes, lots of little ups and downs, and the killer was the last hour and a half coming into Silver City. I was sooooo ready to be done for the day, but a pesky little uphill forced me to continue another 2100ft up! That is not what the map suggested! On the other hand, maybe it did, and I was just ignoring it all day.
Despite the long day and hardwork, the scenery was the prettiest of the trip so far and the roads mostly traffic free after mile 30ish. I took tons of photos.
I mentioned yesterday the Alaska jersey, and today didn't fail.. A guy actually stopped his car ahead of me and got out, as I was climbing the first pass of the day and wanted to know if I was from Alaska. Turns out he is too and has a place in the same neighborhood we're in and another in the town south of Anchorage called Girdwood. Crazy! Jerry Bell was his name.
Highlights:
-jerry bell
-big downhills on the passes
-seeing two motorcyclists with snowboards strapped to their backs heading toward colorado.
-spectacular views everywhere!
-getting to the top of the second pass and finding a pine forest that smelled great. It was just like the air freshener you'd hang in your rear-view mirror, only smells real.
-lots of rolling hills with wavy grasses.
-getting cold well water at the post office in Mule Creek, NM.
-everyone who passed in their cars/trucks on the rural roads waved, cheered or did something nice.
-Being chased by ominous clouds that were dropping rain but never getting caught.
-Making it to the continental divide
-making it to Silver City and not collapsing first.
Lowpoints:
-climbing is tough no matter how you look at it.
-fierce crosswind blowing me everywhere.
-mediocre sandwich in Buckhorn.
The last thought is what I overheard at subway while eating dinner. There were two motorcycle guys talking about their trips.. One guy was whining about how tired he was after such a long day. The other guy asked where he rode, and he named some towns and said, "yeah, you wouldn't believe how tough 300 miles is in the mountains!"
I wanted to shout "try it under your own power and then see how tough it is!" But I realized that may be very provocative, so I kept my mouth closed. :)
Tomorrow I have the option of 99 or 137 miles. We'll see how it goes. I can't start till 9:00am because I have a care package at the post office and that's when they open. Looks like it'll be 99.
Joe
"Hi Joe! I have shared your blog site with one of our 6th grade teachers. I go into her classroom and assist a few of my students who are in that class. In math, we are covering variables and patterns, and the kids are watching your progress (miles) for each day. Perhaps we will take the data (miles traveled each day) and plot your progress. Your journey comes at the same time that the textbook covers a bike rider and his journey!! Such a coincidence! The kids would like to read your entries (it's projected on the movie screen so they can see the map)but,ahem, their teacher has to scroll quickly and skip certain parts, like your motel adventure with the working blonde. LOL.. They are enjoying the photos and think it is so cool what you are doing! Bet you never thought that you would be the subject of a math investigation...Aunt Patti"
How cool is that! Here's a good math problem for today's ride: what was the average incline, or grade, in percent for the insanity known as today's route. The numbers you'll need? 120 miles of rolling terrain with a total elevation gain of 7500ft.
Today was certainly one of the hardest days I've spent on a bike. 7500ft of climbing in itself is tough, then add to the equation actually pedaling 120 miles on top of that. I was trying to come up with a good analogy while riding today, but I don't think there is one. Just try imagining... Well, 120 miles + 7500ft uphill. There were two full-on mountain passes, lots of little ups and downs, and the killer was the last hour and a half coming into Silver City. I was sooooo ready to be done for the day, but a pesky little uphill forced me to continue another 2100ft up! That is not what the map suggested! On the other hand, maybe it did, and I was just ignoring it all day.
Despite the long day and hardwork, the scenery was the prettiest of the trip so far and the roads mostly traffic free after mile 30ish. I took tons of photos.
I mentioned yesterday the Alaska jersey, and today didn't fail.. A guy actually stopped his car ahead of me and got out, as I was climbing the first pass of the day and wanted to know if I was from Alaska. Turns out he is too and has a place in the same neighborhood we're in and another in the town south of Anchorage called Girdwood. Crazy! Jerry Bell was his name.
Highlights:
-jerry bell
-big downhills on the passes
-seeing two motorcyclists with snowboards strapped to their backs heading toward colorado.
-spectacular views everywhere!
-getting to the top of the second pass and finding a pine forest that smelled great. It was just like the air freshener you'd hang in your rear-view mirror, only smells real.
-lots of rolling hills with wavy grasses.
-getting cold well water at the post office in Mule Creek, NM.
-everyone who passed in their cars/trucks on the rural roads waved, cheered or did something nice.
-Being chased by ominous clouds that were dropping rain but never getting caught.
-Making it to the continental divide
-making it to Silver City and not collapsing first.
Lowpoints:
-climbing is tough no matter how you look at it.
-fierce crosswind blowing me everywhere.
-mediocre sandwich in Buckhorn.
The last thought is what I overheard at subway while eating dinner. There were two motorcycle guys talking about their trips.. One guy was whining about how tired he was after such a long day. The other guy asked where he rode, and he named some towns and said, "yeah, you wouldn't believe how tough 300 miles is in the mountains!"
I wanted to shout "try it under your own power and then see how tough it is!" But I realized that may be very provocative, so I kept my mouth closed. :)
Tomorrow I have the option of 99 or 137 miles. We'll see how it goes. I can't start till 9:00am because I have a care package at the post office and that's when they open. Looks like it'll be 99.
Joe
1 comment:
Are you listening to any motivating music? If so, what are you listening to?
Jen
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