Old Man on a Bike... (or- Trying to Become Road-Kill)

    A couple of months ago the words, "Yeah, I'll go on the youth bike trip," came out of my mouth.  It was a moment of weakness, maybe I was trying to relive the care-free days of my teen years, maybe I was trying to be the cool dad, or maybe I was in the midst of a Tourette's moment and couldn't control my vocal nerves.  What ever the cause, I soon began a series of weekend rides of increasing length set up by Pastor Kuder, a man who I witnessed ride 26 miles in hot muggy weather without sweating.  These rides were intended to prepare those going on the trip for the sort of distances we would be experiencing on a daily basis.  Below is a picture of me on the first ride out to Fort Braden, a ride of about 21 miles.  I had a few things to work out on the bike: a better seat, gear adjustments, and rider positioning just to name a few

Notice the multi function carry rack that I have attached to my
ride.  It allowed me to carry lots of  momentum sapping
gear helping to make the ride all the more brutal.

    One of the things that Robbin wanted us to do was to include shorter daily rides during the week  between our weekend trial runs.  This was so that we would build up stamina and condition our bodies to withstand the grueling effects of riding our bikes long distances over consecutive days while we were on the trip.  My daughters we able to do this, and it paid great dividends for them during the week-long tour of North Central Florida.  I however, did not follow this regimen, having two jobs, I spent my off hours racking up seat time in my favorite recliner, albeit watching the travel shows on PBS.  I never really built up the necessary recovery mode needed for a series of days on two wheels.

After two straight days of riding, my middle-aged body was very reluctant to make a go of it on the third day, which started off with a substantial climb over the bridge between Bristol and Blountstown.  On the way down the back side of the bridge, I realized I had bitten of a bit more than I may have realized those few weeks back.  That day ended with a harrowing set of hills bringing us into the fair city of Marianna.  I was thankful for the early end to the day's ride and the 3 hour soak we would have in one of the local rivers that afternoon.

A dramatic reenactment of my triumphal entrance into Marianna
Caverns State Park on day 4 after a 3.5 mile ride. 

The next day was our shortest ride day of the week, only 7 total miles, broken into 2 equal parts, before and after a visit to a local park.  The exhibits and the chance to cool off in the limestone caves that the locale was famous for was a wonderful way to spend the morning.  The 6 hills we had to climb on the way there, then on the way back, not so nice.  I spent part of the afternoon looking for my left lung which had mysteriously gone missing on the way back to our hosts' facility.

I know the camera adds at
least ten pounds to you,
but my pink accessory set
really made me feel fat.

The next two days proved brutal on my forty ahm, cough cough... year old body.  42 miles on the 5th day, and 55 miles on the last day combined to sap every ounce of energy reserves left in my body.  On that final day, I twice moved to the back of my group to use the draft effect to its full potential; allowing the younger members of the group to punch the required hole in the wind, towing my worn out remains in their wake.  While cruising at the back of the pack I made a few decisions.

1- I will go on the trip again next year... It really was a ton of fun.  I'll write more about that later.
2- I need to drop a few pounds before next year.  Moving my brick-like form through the wind uses just too much energy.
3- I need to get more padding for my seat, a lot more.
4- I want to get one of those miniature  electric motors installed on the bike, just to help regulate cruising speed.
5- I need help for the hills; asthma and hills do not mix.

My first mock-up of the bike mounted
 hill ascent assist device (BMHAAD) went
well, except for the awkward riding position and
the probable harm to riders behind... and ahead.  No one
was injured (permanently) during the initial test
pictured here.