We interrupt this blog to bring you this Public SAG Anouncement…
Ride on!
Tag: Biketheusforms
MAA – Day 9 – It’s All About the SAG
Day 9 of this grand bike tour was interesting to say the least. It started out with a wonderful peaceful ride over rolling hills through big green lush valleys. Almost perfect! Almost. At about the 9-mile mark, my tire started losing air. I pumped it up and it slowly lost it again. Since I was only 9 miles out from camp, I called in the SAG Wagon. They met up with me about 20 minutes later. We decided to just switch out wheels rather than change the tire so we could take a good look at it later (it was the same one that went flat yesterday. And off I went. Several miles later, I was concerned about a rubbing noise that had developed. I wasn’t sure what it was, but the bike just didn’t feel right – wasn’t shifting well. I called ahead and had the SAG wait for me. After inspection, it turned out that the wheel was never quite seated right. Once that was corrected, everything was great again!
On to Wyoming! 
Was cruising along just fine until we learned a couple of the roads I was supposed to be on were washed out. The rivers are all running really high! Unfortunately, we learned there are no other viable roads through the area. So…I hitched a ride with the SAG for 30 miles to our stopping point. We are going to re-position tomorrow and head out on an alternate route. It looks like I’ll be dipping into Colorado for a couple of days after all.
Thanks for the help all day, SAG Team!
By the way, it ended up being a small piece of glass that was imbedded in the tire that gave me the flat both days. All cleaned out now!
Song of the day: Went back to an old favorite of mine.
Ride on!
MAA – Day 8 – I Love the Mountains
I love the mountains. I love the rolling hills. I love the flowers. I love the daffodils… One of the many songs that popped into my head today (Now you try to get it out of yours!) I really do love the mountains! This was a perfect day! I rode 55 miles from Salt Lake City to Coalville, UT with 4900 feet of climbing. It was a hard day but oh so satisfying! And the views were absolutely spectacular! I stopped early to respect the SAG Team. We needed a spot to set up for the night and there will not be another for way too many miles.
Just 1 1/2 miles away from the night’s campsite, I got my first flat! Ugh! But – good human to the rescue once again! I was just going to walk to the RV park when along came Alan. He was driving by, stopped and asked if I needed help, and he drove me to the park! He would take nothing from me except a thank you and the opportunity to help someone!
And then Mr. SAG to the rescue. He had the flat changed in short order! He had even gotten the riding bug – was coming back from across town when I pulled in.
Other pics of the day:
Real song of the day:
Ride on!
MAA – Day 7 – All Roads Are Not Created Evenly
When I headed out today, it was smooth sailing! I was going downhill and even had a bit of a tailwind! What a difference a day makes! And then I hit the service road I would be on for most of the day. Turns out it was a road that is not maintained. They weren’t kidding either! For the most part, keeping up a good pace depends on your fitness level, weight of/on the bike, wind speed and direction, elevation gain and road surface. I learned quickly today that road surface is a really big factor. The road was bumpy and gravelly and beat me up for 30 miles.
It wasn’t all bad, though. I met some really good humans. Work crews were out doing major work on the Union Pacific railway which ran parallel to the road I was on. At one point, a truck stopped near me, and the supervisor got out and came towards me. He asked if I was riding all the way through on the road. When I answered in the affirmative, he radioed along the work line and warned them all that I was riding on and asked all the guys to keep an eye out for me especially when coming out onto the road. How kind! Then, every time one of their trucks passed me, they stopped to ask how I was doing and if I needed anything! LaVoy, stopped to give me cold water and a couple of ketone packs (Pruvit Max). And the last one I saw, offered me a cold Gatorade, a package of nuts, and use of their portapotty. What a great group of guys!
I met up with the Sag Team at 40 miles and then I was off again. The road was nice and smooth and I was making up time – For 10 miles. Then the road turned to gravel. It got deeper and looser the further I went. I made it about 5 miles as it went uphill and then disappeared all together. Needless to say, I backtracked, called in the Sag team, and they gave me a carry of about 20 miles around it until the route connected with us again. Smooth sailing into Salt Lake City! Phew!
As a side note, our coffee maker stopped working so no coffee this morning. Not a good thing if you know me (or Mr. Sag). Poor girl! I had to get my coffee from an Rx bar. I think it saved me from a full blown head ache! 
Song of the day: I had to go back to Journey for motivation –
Pics of the day – You’ll see the road surfaces!
Next up…more mountains!
Ride on!
MAA – Day 6 – Keep Pushing On
I can do heat. I can do hills. Wind, not so much. Today was really tough! I rode into a headwind all day long and the scenery didn’t change – until mile 93. Then I had a great ride! I hadn’t been able to keep much above 12mph for most of the day so when I was able to hit 50 coming down the mountain straight into town, I was pumped! (It was a smooth road with no potholes, drainage grates or cars/trucks.) 🙂
We knew it was going to be a tough day from the get go. I was all packed up and ready to leave when I realized the SPOT tracker was not on the bike. We couldn’t find it anywhere! I posted earlier today that it was not functioning. Well that was a half truth. It wasn’t functioning because it wasn’t turned on, because we couldn’t find it! We looked everywhere and tore things apart to try and locate it – to no avail. It was going to be a long day in the saddle and I had to get started. We prayed and I launched without it. I even backtracked to the grocery store we met at when we first got into town to see if anyone had found it. A big NO. Onward. At about 35 miles into the ride, the Sag texted me that it had been found! Mr. Sag “dumpster dove” and found it in the trash. It had apparently fallen off a shelf into our garbage bag! Thank God it was found because once they caught up to me and I was again able to be stalked, there was no cell service for the rest of the day.
Route 50 might be the loneliest road in America, but it was a nice ride all in all. Route 93 was just boring and long and harsh! I kept thinking I just want to go back! So this song kept popping in my head all morning…
So there were several songs of the day. Of course I kept thinking of “They Call the Wind Mariah” and “Colors of the Wind.” Some friends tried to implant others to stick in my head all day. Kathy W, this is not a Small World After all! You can’t imagine the vastness of it all. BB, 500 Miles doesn’t count anymore. I’m way beyond.
I kept coming back to one song all day because I really needed. I was reminded about REO Speedwagon by my friend Tom. He suggested it in an email I read just before heading out. It worked in the wind and I went back to it at the 90 mile point while climbing back to 6400 ft.
Pics of the day:
Ride on!
MAA – Day 5 – Those Hills!
To anyone living in the Midwest, I can unequivocally tell you that America is definitely not flat! I always thought the hills between Hammond and South Bend, IN were tough. Boy, was I naïve! Then I thought the hills around Napa Valley were tough. Well, they were. Just in a different sort of way. Today, I started out with a 2.6 mile climb of about 800 feet starting at around 6600 feet elevation (Remember, I live essentially at sea level)! Then I got to ride down a 6% grade for about 2.5 miles! What fun! I LOVE the descents! I thought it was pretty cool. Not too tough given that my legs were fresh. Oh, but not to be outdone…I ended up doing 6 more climbs with the same amount of elevation gain throughout the day (when my legs weren’t so fresh). We even topped the day off with a swirling, mostly cross, sometimes head wind at a steady 17 mph. with gusts up to 35mph. Even the big box (think sail) sag wagon was nervous waiting for me in that! Made it through, though, and survived Route 50! Ride on!
Lesson of the day: when you take off your sunglasses, don’t touch the lenses with your fingers!
Pics of the day:
Song of the day: Psalm 121
Ride on!
MAA – Day 4 – The Loneliest Road
It sure is the loneliest road in America! There ain’t nothin’ out there! There was a stretch through the day where I didn’t see any cars or other humans for 61 minutes. And yes I was tracking that. How else does one keep their mind occupied?
I started out the day from Fallon. After navigating through the back streets for about a half hour, I met up with Route 50. Once I turned onto 50, the next prompt said “In 100 miles, turn right. So I turned it off. I think I could find my way. 🙂
The rest of the day was just pure nothing! A lot of long slow relentless climbs, though! 97 miles with 3970 feet of elevation gain. I did get a nice max speed of 36.7 mph coming down from the last pass. The whole reason you climb!
Speaking of descents, this is what it looked like coming down from Spooner Pass yesterday (view from the Sag).
Lessons learned today…
Don’t ride over cattle grates! (Luckily I didn’t)
The rumble strips are nasty!
And here are the other pics from today. Don’t get too excited
Song of the day…
Ride on!
MAA – Day 3 – God’s Country
I always thought that I was riding through God’s country around the Napa Valley. Then on day 3 of this journey, I got to ride around Lake Tahoe and up and over the Sierra’s. God’s country for sure! Oh that’s right, it’s all His. Well day 3 was remarkable for breath taking beauty and magical descents! And then we hit the Carson Plains…
Day 3 Stats:
72.6 mi., 2717 ft. elevation, 7075 ft. max elevation, 12.7 mph avg., 36.9 mph max speed
Pics of the day:
You’ll have to wait for more…internet connection isn’t great here.
Ride on!
MAA – Day 2 – Wow! That’s a Big Mountain!
You may have noticed (if you’re following my tracker) that the route changed. When Mr. Sag called the ranger station near Kirkwood, he learned that route 88 was open, but none of the side roads into campgrounds are. So, no place to stay. Executive decision was made to go up route 50.
Now, I’ve been to Lake Tahoe many times, just not in the last 10 years. I seem to have forgotten what the road was like. It’s different when you’re in a car anyway. You don’t notice all of the subtle ascents. On a bike you sure do! I climbed slow and steady ALL day starting at Cameron Park.
The first 30 miles were tough. I was on back roads and bike paths for most of the morning. (You can’t ride a bike on route 50 until after Pollock Pines. At one point, after being put on a lovely gravel road with steep climbs by my navigator, I apparently crossed over onto private property. The owner came out of his house to let me know I couldn’t be there and would need to go back the way I came. I apologized and after I told him I was riding cross country and was unfamiliar with the area, he wished me luck and let me pass on through! Phew! Somewhere around Placerville, I found Big Foot too! 😉
Once on 50, it turned into a great day. It’s a sweet ride (down) from Pollock Pines to Kyburz. Then the real climbing began! And it just wouldn’t stop! I finally reached Echo Summit and then it was a beautiful descent down to the campground. All in all, a very satisfying day!
Pics of the day…
Ride on!
MAA – Day 1 – Let’s Hear it for the Sag
Think Let’s Hear it for the Boy and you won’t be able to get the song out of your head either! Day 1 turned out to be a great day to ride and a great day to learn! Cool, but not cold in the morning, turning to perfect temperature and mile breeze (not windy) in the afternoon. We headed up through Sacramento towards the Sierra foothills.
Before I left, I kept having the feeling of forgetting stuff. This would be the last day to pack things from home that I needed. Extra lights, charging cords, etc. Turns out, the first duty of The Sag (the girl) was to remind me that I hadn’t eaten breakfast! Good thing. With 100 miles staring me in the face, that would not have been good. I’m learning.
With everything packed and breakfast eaten, I pushed out. I made pretty good time all day except for the few navigational glitches again! It seems that when surface streets and bike paths run parallel, I’m not really sure which to be on (until I get the “off course” alert. I’m learning.
Day 1 had a familiarity to it. I had ridden the route a few times before up till Dixon (50 miles). The last half of the day was all new. My favorite ride so far was the American River Parkway bike path from Old Sac to Fulsom. I even met a few new friends on the path.
This is Al. We had a great chat at one of the rest stops. He was well aware of the bike path and rides it routinely to stay in shape now that he’s retired. Love it!
This was my other new friend. I don’t just have random squirrel thoughts, they actually exist! (Scoobert’s jealous, though).
Then I headed into the foothills. So much fun to climb for the last two hours of a century plus! I nearly bonked. I stopped at a CVS to get some much needed water and sugar boost only to realize that at my last stop to pull some snacks out of my pack, I had left it open! Somewhere along the way, my pouch with cash, credit card and id, fell out!! No replenishing now. When I met up with the hero Sag, they broke camp, and we drove back along my route to see if we could spot it (I knew a 10 mile area where it would have happened). No joy. As we gave up and headed back to camp to cancel card, etc., I checked my email. A kind soul, a fellow cyclist had found it! Charlton went to my blog – I keep business cards with that info in the pouch as well – in case new friends are interested. He connected with me through the blog and let me know he had found it. We texted back and forth and learned he was only about 10-miles away – so we retrieved it last night. My first Good Human story!
I’m learning! God is good! Your prayers are working!
Day 2 – hear I come! Ride on!
Michele Across America 