Tag Archives: Trans-Superior Cycling Tour

Cycling Tour – Poised and Ready

Posted on by
3

Tomorrow’s the day.  Finally!  I hate to think of it as wishing the summer away, but I have been looking forward to our Trans-Superior Cycling Tour all summer long, and now it’s here.  So how do I feel?

Ready – I’ve done the training.  We’ll see if it’s enough, but I’m confident I can handle the 500 miles of the trip.  I suspect my bottom will be more sore than my legs.  Our bikes are tuned up and we’re prepared for basic repairs, but hoping we won’t need those skills  much.

Excited – I can’t wait to be outdoors, do the cycling, meet people, see things along the way and stop for ice cream or coffee – depending on the weather.  And it’s vacation after all. It may not be everyone’s dream vacation, but to us it’s a great adventure.

Anxious – Weather probably holds the greatest unknown for me.  Now that the heat has broken, it looks like we will have chilly mornings, comfortable days and cool evenings.  Did I pack the right layers to be warm enough?  This is beginning to feel like the night before a marathon.  Only it’s a lot harder to predict 9 days than 4 hours.

Practical – I think I can take pride in my packing.  We’re talking bare bones – two sets of cycling clothes on the “wear one, wash one” plan.  Little in the way of civilian clothes.  And my iPad, of course.  I still have excess room in my panniers.  How did that happen?  The trick will be not to fill them up before our departure.

Curious – What will it really be like, cycling all day every day for 8 of the 9 days?  Will it really be “500 Miles of Love” as it says on our shirts?  Time will tell.  Starting tomorrow.

Cycle Tour Statistics

Posted on by
Reply

We have had our route for the Trans-Superior Cycling Tour planned for months.  And Rich has mapped it out mile by mile.  “What about the elevations?”  I ask.  I’m curious.  We’ll be going through the Porcupine Mountains – doesn’t that imply some pretty impressive hills?  I kind of like to know what I’m getting into.  Not Rich.  “It is what it is” he says.  I agree that knowing ahead of time won’t change anything, but I’m still unable to leave it alone.  Gmaps-pedometer will calculate that data, so here it is:

Interesting.  The day in the Porcupines has one of the least elevations gains, and it is a net loss in elevation for the day.  It looks like Day 5 heading up to Copper Harbor is where I’d better be prepared for those hills.  Particularly since it is a shorter day’s ride – check out the average gain per mile, a measure of my own calculation.  Good thing we have a rest day following that leg of the trip.

So far these are just abstract numbers.  Pretty meaningless, really.  Best to look at some of my training rides.  I’ve been doing hills, right?  Average gain per mile should be a good way to compare.  Hmmm…   Even my hilliest routes are below the “easiest” day of our tour.  This may be more challenging than I realized!  At least I know beforehand.  Just don’t tell Rich.

Cycling Trip Final Preparations

Posted on by
Reply

We’re in the home stretch! The Trans-Superior Cycling Tour is  just 10 days away and we are checking off our final tasks in preparation for our trip.

We made a costly but necessary trip to the bike shop to get our bicycles tuned up and replace worn parts. It’s amazing how all those training miles can add up and cause wear and tear. I only bought my bike in February, but I have logged 2,500 miles on it already! While we were there, we found some additional gear we needed. Can you hear it? Ka-ching, ka-ching. A new foot pump, a traveling pump, repair supplies and a new pair of biking shorts all came home with us. I also invested in a rear-view mirror for my helmet. I find I just can’t look behind me without swerving into the road. So that expense was in the name of safety. I hope it works.

We have made our initial transport arrangements. True confessions, we are starting in Superior not Duluth. That saves us the tedious extra miles required to travel over the Bong Bridge and get back to our route. So our friends will ferry us and our bikes over to the Bong Museum and provide us with a proper send off. They have to be very good friends, as we requested a 6:15am pick-up.

True to form, I have a detailed packing list. I can’t go anywhere without a list. Space is very limited, so at this stage I’m more likely to strike items than add more. But I shouldn’t forget anything – assuming I do a final check on that list before concluding my packing.

Rich has created a 59 page PDF file with detailed maps of our route. It is annotated with daily mile markers courtesy of gmaps-pedometer, and he has drilled in to capture detail where we need to take turns. The idea is that we can review it before each day’s ride, and if we’re really in need, we will stop and pull up a copy already stored on an iPad.

Now it’s just a matter of time.  10 days to go, and it’s so hard to wait.

Bicycle Maintenance 101

Posted on by
1

It started with a squeaky chain. My bike is still new, so it should purr and whir not rattle and clank, right? But I admit that I’ve been neglecting it. I knew virtually noting about bicycle maintenance. But I wanted to take care of my bike, so I returned to Erik’s Bike Shop where I bought it and was entitled to minor adjustments. It didn’t take them long to confirm that my chain was indeed dry and in need of lubricating. Nor did it escape them how dirty my bike was, and how low my tires were. My negligence was pretty obvious. I admitted not only my lack of care but also my desire to learn and improve. While they graciously restored my bike to its former glory, I received kindly advice and patient answers to my questions.

I’d already been thinking about taking a class in bicycle maintenence. Finding out that Erik’s offered such classes sealed it. I immediately signed up for the Novice Class. This past week I devoted my Tuesday and Wednesday evenings to this endeavor, and it was just what I needed.

My bike ready for maintenance

Although the class held up to ten students, there were only five of us, which made for a great ratio with the two instructors. We brought our own bikes to work on, and each had our own bike stand, work bench and extensive set of tools. Not only were we taught for the advertised 6 hours of class, but the instructors made themselves available before and after each class for as long as we liked. I’m sure I availed myself of at least 8 hours.

Since I’m not exactly handy with tools and mechanics, I had no illusions about coming out of the class able to do my own repairs. My goal was to understand the major components of my bike, how they worked, and just what the issue might be if something went wrong with it. That and how to repair a flat – while I’d been lucky to date, I knew the day would come when I found myself in trouble out on a bike ride far from home. Due to the diligence and patience of the instructors, I exceeded my objectives. We covered basic bike cleaning and daily maintenance, tubes and tires, wheel truing, chains, deraillers and brakes. I got advice on types of biking shoes and pedals, and an adjustment on my seat height. I changed my front tire three times… admittedly it took that many times to get it right, but all in the name of good practice. I confess to getting somewhat lost in the intricacies of the two derailler systems, but I did glean enough to make a necessary adjustment to the limit screws at home this weekend. What a coup that was!

Even though my husband is capable of making most of the repairs we might need on our upcoming Trans-Superior Bike Tour, I feel a lot better knowing I am more self-sufficient than before. And truth be told, when he was frustrated by having multiple flat tires this past week, I was able to give him some good advice on his repair process. And it worked!

Cycle Touring

Posted on by
1

I admit I tend to be a bit hard core. Put a goal out in front of me and I develop tunnel vision.  It becomes a mission.  I push to the max to reach that target or higher.

Preparing for our Trans-Superior Cycling Tour has been a bit like that. I’d never done long distance cycling before, but as soon as the snow melted I was out there training day after day, increasing my distances in rapid succession. Just like in marathon training, I like to press on. Mile after mile, no stops.

So when my husband, Rich, and I set out for a bike ride this weekend, I found my style challenged. Why does he keep stopping, I kept asking myself? Time for a photograph. Time for water. Time to take in a nice view. Time to slow down and look around while we cycle. Harumph – let’s get going!

We had selected a new route that would take us over roads we’d never traveled before. It’s always nice to see new territory, and we had a gorgeous sunny day on which to do so. We cycled inland from Two Harbors and around to Beaver Bay surrounded by beautiful farms and forest. Road surfaces were good, and the lack of cars made any lack of shoulder a non-issue. Not even the eight miles of unexpected dirt road in the middle could spoil the route. If only we could just keeping going. But I was informed in no uncertain terms that on our upcoming cycling trip, Rich had every intention of sightseeing and stopping along the way. Just get used to it.

Upon our arrival in Beaver Bay, Rich headed straight for The Big Dipper. Ice cream in the middle of the morning? Didn’t seem too outrageous to me – weren’t we cycling 50 miles on a hot day? The smoothies on the menu instantly appealed to us, and they were the best tasting ever! Hmmm, I began to feel my attitude shifting slightly. Perhaps this stopping thing had some merit? The remaining miles took us down the North Shore, largely on the Gitchi-Gami State Trail which kept us blissfully separate from the car traffic. Lake Superior was at its best, brilliant blue and sparkling in the sunshine. It was a glorious sight and eased my resistance to this new leisurely pace. Silver Cliffs provided a terrific view, and yes, we stopped, got off our bikes and took pictures. I even took the time to read the information boards. And enjoyed it.

I think I get it. The Tour in Trans-Superior Cycling Tour. I hope the scenery is good.

Cycling Milestones

Posted on by
Reply

I’m trying to ratchet up my cycling miles.  If we’re going to do 70 miles a day for the first 5 days of the Trans-Superior Cycling Tour, I need to keep upping my longest distance.  To date, my max has been 40 miles.  I’ve had my sights set on 50, and decided today was the day.  Beautiful sunny day, no wind, and temps in the high 60’s – perfect!  It was a glorious day to be out cycling, and although I started to feel the curse of the saddle after about 30 miles, and found myself choosing easier gears after 40 miles, overall it was a great ride!  Sort of like marathon training – after while, you are on auto-pilot, and the miles melt away behind you.

The other reason for the push was that we have registered for the Tour de Pepin, a cycling tour around Lake Pepin on June 2.  We intended to do the 50 mile ride, thinking it would be fun to take the paddlewheeler back to the start.  But the best ferry times fill up quickly (lesson learned!), so we defaulted to doing the full 72 mile ride.  Being the overachiever I am, I harbored secret desires to do the full ride anyway, so I’m not too disappointed.

I’ll worry about putting consecutive days of long rides together later. And adding more hill work.  I think I have plenty to keep me challenged until the final test in mid-August.

Cycling progress?

Posted on by
Reply

For almost two months now, I have been diligently training.  Cycling 3-4 days a week, with at least one and more often two long rides.  I’m up to 40 miles at a stretch now.  I’ve even worked in some hill training.  It has felt good.  I can feel my strength increasing, my endurance improving and the early pain in my knees has melted away.  I really feel like I’m making progress!  Bring on the Trans-Superior Cycling Tour – I’m going to be good and ready!

Just for fun, I thought I’d check on my overall mileage.  My favorite tracking software, SportTracks, calculates cumulative mileage for my equipment.  So a quick check after today’s ride gave me the answer.  598 miles.  Seriously?  That’s all?  Working the math backwards through my recent rides, I figured out that I hit 500 miles some time during last Tuesday’s ride.  It took me 1.5 months to cycle what we’re planning on doing on a 9-day Tour…  What a blow.

Good thing that Tour isn’t until August.  I think I have more training to do.

Protecting Lake Superior

Posted on by
Reply

Living near the big lake, one can’t help but be interested in protecting this unique body of water.  Fortunately, there just happens to be an organization devoted to that specific purpose.

We stumbled on the Lake Superior Binational Forum while planning our cycling tour.  To be honest, it was their logo that attracted our attention as we thought it would look cool on our cycling jerseys.  But looking more closely at their website, we discovered a lot of great material on protecting Lake Superior.

The Forum was started in 1991 and consists of volunteer representatives from Canada and the US states that border Lake Superior. Their purpose is to provide input to agencies and governments on managing the lake, and educate local residents about ways to protect and restore the lake’s natural resources.  Their vision statement is “Water is Life…and the quality of water determines the quality of life.”  That resonated with us.

It’s easy to get involved by being a Lake Superior Steward.  All they ask is that you make simple wise choices in areas of conservation, recycling, and use of natural resources – which you may already be doing.  In return, you will be connected with people who care about the lake, and have the opportunity to receive an informational e-newsletter or provide input on programs to protect the lake and its environment.  Another option is to attend or participate in the many programs which are part of Lake Superior Day, July 15, 2012.

By the way, they readily agreed to let us use their logo. It is already emblazoned on our jerseys along with their web address, and we are hoping it generates interest on our cycling tour.  And we’ve already signed up to be Lake Superior Stewards.

Trans-Superior Cycling Tour Unveiled

Posted on by
11

This is it, the cause of my sudden attachment to my bicycle, the reason for my forays out into the wind and weather for training, the shift from running to cycling.  It’s the Trans-Superior Tour!

Never heard of it?  Probably because it was my husband Rich’s brainchild.  The route, the idea of spending 9 days cycling together, the challenge, and the custom cycling jersey.  It’s not his first such adventure, but it is mine.  I’m a cycling novice, remember?  But I’m up for it!

I have to admit, his route is rather ingenious.  We wanted to focus on Lake Superior, and many of the best views from the road are on the Western end.  So how to contain the trip to that portion of the lake?  No problem – we’ll just ferry across using Isle Royale as a stop-over!  Not a bad way to get a rest mid-trip and perhaps a few hours of hiking in the wilderness.

So here is the official route.  We start in Duluth, work our way along the South Shore and up the Keweenaw Peninsula, right up to the top at Copper Harbor.  That takes five days and is the most challenging part of the route, with the longest cycling days and the most hills.  From there we ferry across the lake and return along the North Shore to Duluth.

I suspect that whittling down my travel essentials to one set of panniers is going to be one of the trickier aspects of the trip.  However, Rich’s mode of travel involves staying at inns and little motels along the way, so I am spared the need to schlep real gear on this venture.  And I admit I like the idea of reliable shelter, hot showers and real beds.

I have between now and mid-August to be ready for this cycling tour.  I will periodically update my training progress and the finer details of our trip plans during that time.  And if you want the male point of view on this journey, visit Rich’s blog, NorthStarNerd.org.

Oh, and did you read the fine print on the jerseys?  That last line reads “500 Miles of Love.”  It has to be, or we wouldn’t be doing this!

Cycling Novice

Posted on by
Reply

I’m a runner.  I thrive on long runs, training for marathons and getting out early in the morning before the rest of the world wakes up.  Why cycling?

My husband, Rich, took up cycling several years ago and is now hooked.  He thinks nothing of coming home from work late-afternoon and cycling 27 miles before dinner.  That’s a medium distance bike ride for him.  He’s done several multiple-day bike trips, including a Father/Son 350 mile trip through Northern Minnesota.  And now he wants me to go on a bike trip with him…

Change is good, right?  What will it hurt to miss a marathon this summer and gear up for cycling instead?  I’ve agreed to the challenge, and even started my training rides, thanks to our early spring.  Admittedly, my initial excursions into the countryside have been a lot of fun!  Besides, I have a shiny new high performance bicycle, so I can’t back out now.