Cardinal Rules

There are things you just shouldn't do. You don't say Macbeth in the theater. You don' tug on Superman's cape. You don't spit into the wind. And you absolutely do NOT brag about having perfectly functioning tires on a bike ride. Alex did this yesterday, and no matter how we warned him, he kept doing it.

"Hey, we haven't even had one flat tire on this trip."

"Shhh! Don't talk about it, Alex."

Then later, "I can't believe we haven't had any flat tires on this whole trip!"

"Seriously, you're going to jinx us."

4.5 miles into the ride today, guess who had a flat tire. Fortunately it was a quick fix, and we had no further mechanical problems. The Universe pays attention to these things. As soon as you start to feel too good about something, as soon as you get a little too proud, the Universe levels things right back off. This is abundantly obvious on a bike. If you've had the luxury of coasting down hills all day, you'll be sure to pay for it with some climbs. If you've been climbing tough hills, you'll most likely be rewarded with some downhill. Unless you're in northern lower MI.

We told Alex  the flat was his fault, but he isn't accepting responsibility. He figures if he had upgraded Kevlar lined tires like ours, there would have been no problem. Of course he also blames David for the winds today. "Hey, it looks like the winds have finally calmed down." Ahem. The Universe was listening.

David often says about cycling that you just have to take what the day gives you. Today was a good day to keep that in mind. We had a little bit of almost everything to deal with while riding, including a busy, bumpy road with no shoulder, strong winds, hills, and of course, one flat tire. On the bright side, we did manage to outride a storm we saw coming. Those dark clouds were headed north while we were headed south.  Another bright spot was the miraculous recovery of David's knee. He had no trouble today.

I find that riding against the wind and climbing steep hills makes it difficult to relax. My upper body tenses up and exacerbates my neck problems. So I rode in a lot of pain today. If you are thinking of taking up distance riding, and you are young, I would recommend you start before you develop such problems as bone spurs and arthritis. I may need to take more permanent action at some point with my neck issues so that I can ride more comfortably.

I think they were expecting us to sing or play some jazz...

 As it was, I had developed a pretty bad attitude during the first 17 miles or so. Then we stopped to take David's picture in front of the "welcome to Denmark" sign, and some cows wandered out to the roadside to say hello. That improved my mood. (Mooood) Usually the pain comes later in the ride. I went from feeling regret just yesterday that the trip was almost over to counting the miles to the finish line today. Just as a watched pot never boils, counted miles never seem to increase. But eventually we did find our way into Manitowoc and a hotel. There is a hot tub here calling my sore muscles, and I'm thinking I've earned it today.

After 534 miles, not counting whatever riding we did in TC to get our laundry done, we are finished with this particular trip, our longest to date carrying the most equipment on our bikes at once. I'm pretty proud to have made it all the way here. I have been saying this is our first long unsupported trip, but I have to admit there's been support waiting in the wings the entire time. My parents have been prepared to come and fetch us if ever things got too messy, and that knowledge has been a great comfort. I'm glad it wasn't necessary, and now we can enjoy visiting them on our way back to reality. Or from reality. I haven't quite decided which is more true. It's been a great break from the ordinary, that's for sure.

Pretty sweet ride, huh?

Go drink some water and jump on a bike! As for us, we'll be on the SS Badger tomorrow afternoon crossing Lake Michigan to get back to our car.