Stories

I figured I would try to post some recollections of the trip that I said I would days ago... so much for organizing thoughts and making this coherent!

On 7/20, Jim and I both drove to Clear Lake/Mason City from different sides of the country... and arrived within 1 minute of each other.

The next morning, we didn't want to actually getup and get going... it was too nice at the lake, but alas, we had to tackle this ride. It took us a while to get out of town so we didn't get to actually start at the South Dakota border like some of us wanted... oh well, probably would have just made us more sore. At Wal-Mart, before heading out of town, I painted some of the windows on the RV to make sure folks knew I was from NC; others had already done some of the other windows and even put some awesome flames on the paint (whoops).

We thought we had the best spot in town for the RV in Rock Rapids. It's funny though - we got there and Blake looked at the sign and said "none of our names are on this, it's not for us." Well I reckon he had already forgotten who I was because right there was "Zack Wynne." So we parked, ate, got setup, hung out and went to bed thinking we'd wake up around 6:30 to be on the road by 8. Oh how wrong we were...

COWBELL! "WE GOT BREAKFAST!" "hey, the route's this way!" 5:00am. I kid you not. Directly at the RV was a group selling breakfast and the first turn for the route. So much for the sleep. We straggled up and out and everybody's all excited (except ole me, the negative nancy of the group). I just kept saying "I just want to get through the day." Which I did, just fine, and even was able to stop and take pictures of all sorts of stuff.

Jim and I met some nice guys, Chad and Trent, in Moneta, the last town before Spencer. I ended up running into them later that week in Clarion and one offered to let us use his house to shower and sleep in once in Cedar Falls if necessary. Thus, the first of my RAGBRAI "boyfriends" is met.

In Spencer, we stayed with a Ron Paul supporter (I had to keep quiet!) and his friends who just hung out and drank...loudly, but funny. They'd holler "welcome to Missouri!" at riders that went past in an effort to freak them out. The next day, their daughter Jamie rode with us.

I never actually rode with many of the folks in our group... they were too fast (or was I too slow?) and I liked to stop and enjoy it more than they did.

In Humboldt we stayed with Dr. Judas, the school superintendent. She used to be principal at Mason City HS and her son Chris Yost grew up with all the other guys (I met him when he came to Wilmington a while back). Her neighbor, Ms. Monahans allowed us to shower at her place... so nice. The next morning, Dr. Judas made breakfast for not only us but also 12 other people staying at her place... a nice breakfast too! This is only the beginning of the great Iowa hospitality.

I'm not sure if it was Day 2 or 3 that I met my other 'boyfriend', haha. John Myers is a photographer from Rochester, NY and this was his 14th RAGBRAI. He rode up beside me and just started talking; he had brought his 20 year old son along but he couldn't finish that leg. We rode and talked for a good long way and then had lunch at Pastafari together (his treat, woo!) where I saw Jim and the rest of them. We rode through Laurens where we had homemade pie (you can see why people don't lose weight on this thing). In Rolfe, I had to stop and take care of my knee which was starting to hurt and he rode on.

Once in Hampton, we met the town's awesomest smoky lady, who ride by on her bike with more gold jewelry than I've ever seen one person wear. Later, I was able to update some and then had some homemade church lasagna. I met up with John again and his son, Dan. We attempted to win a radio trivia show... and even though I was wrong, I still got the prize (I haven't seen the Breakfast Club and was unable to answer who all was in it). So if anybody wants to play Trivial Pursuit "Totally Awesome 80s" or whatever, let me know.

The next day, Day 4, was hell day. It was the day I simply couldn't finish. That hurt the ego more than the sunburn, butt soreness and sore legs. I ran into Jim's mom and stepdad just outside Kesley... literally ran into them taking pictures along the route and they were kind enough to drive me the rest of the way to Cedar Falls. Well, I didn't feel bad for long; the next day, all the rest of our group who went out in Cedar Falls got started late, cut the route in half, and finish in Independence the same time I did!

Outside Independence, we rode through Amish country and I stopped for water at one of their houses. I noticed a sign that said "buggy rides, $5." So, of course, I did it, haha. It was short but neat to talk to them. Aden, a 15-year-old, drove with his small cousin Nelson on the back. Once in Independence, we stored our bikes in town and rode out to the country to stay at the Deckers, where I became an alcoholic.

Thats right folks, teetotaling Zack Wynne had his first real sips (ok gulps) alcohol. I had been drinking a 12 oz green/lime Gatorade Rain when Mrs. Decker appeared carrying a jug of what she called "lemonade." Seeing as how I'm not too smart, I believed her. It was bright green, so I thought it would be similar to lime. Blake and them smelled it and suspected it had some sort of Blue Raspberry vodka in it... I didn't believe them, so I drank it up. Whoops. It was lemonade and vodka. Jim took a picture of me napping after supper and says its me passed out from being wasted, haha.

They were incredibly nice to us. First, we didnt have a place to stay in Dyersville and they hooked us up with the Hawkeye Poet, a man who reads poems at tailgating at Hawkeye Football (the U/I and Iowa State rivalry is amazing, by the way). Second, she cooked an amazing meal for us... which we all ate up. Then homemade ice cream. Finally, she cooked another huge meal for breakfast. This Iowa hospitality is amazing.

In Manchester, I stopped to eat and then went to the Good Neighbors Home to meet some of the nice folks up there. I talked for a long while to Alice, a resident. I also saw a man who rode in the first RAGBRAI, 35 years ago. I figured, if they could come outside and watch us, I should go say hello. I'm glad I did.

On the way to Dyersville, in Dundee, I rode past a 'massages, $1/minute' sign and stopped... nice! I met Darcy who gave an awesome massage and I made her boyfriend Ben take a picture (why not?). I invited her to Dyersville to give massages to the other guys and hang out. They came later and it was awesome. Then they all went out since it was the last night (I took a different view... it wasn't the last night, it was the night before the worst day!). So I stayed in and got ready for the ridiculous hill climbs into Bellevue.

So, on the last day, it was much quieter in terms of vendors, but still I was able to stop and eat and take some breaths. I have to admit some pride in not stopping to walk up the hills... I rode them all, but quite slowly. I did have to stop and catch my breath some at the top, though. But, soon, we hit the ridiculous downhill into Bellevue that ended in a valley that could easily be mistaken for being in the mountains. I couldn't help but smile as I made it into town knowing I was done. Once I got to the river, though, I decided to wait on the boys, who I beat handily, woo! No seriously, I had to wait a bit and decided to buy a jersey... but they sold out of all the fat people jerseys at the beginning of the week (have they not seen the amount of big folks on the ride?!?). I told myself I'd wait to get one until I was done and I would wear it to the river to get my picture taken. So, I was disappointed they were out, but bought some other cool stuff.

Finally, they showed up and we went to the riverbank, dipped, and were done!

They all claim to want to do it in 08... I'm not so sure. I enjoyed it, but I wonder if I need to have a new, different adventure for next year (or whenever). So we'll see.

Postings

Hey folks - I'm back in North Carolina (beautiful Boone to be exact!) and my plan is to write up some details about the trip and post them tomorrow.

My legs are sore, I have an incredible farmers tan and I'm tired, but I have to say I am proud of myself for doing this. I almost can't believe I thought of a goal and stuck to it - all the way to the end. While I skipped half of Day 4, I still completed well over 400 miles on a bike in one week. I'd say thats not half bad.

Hopefully if you take anything from this, you'll realize that you can do more than you think. Go find something that seems just beyond reach and go for it... you'll probably get it if you try hard enough.

whoops

Ok that link doesnt seem to be working...this one should be correct.

http://appstate.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2094158&l=da6b1&id=29709721

link to pictures

Here's a link to my photo album for RAGBRAI... it has explanations on it!

http://appstate.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2094158&l=da6b1&id=29709721

Hello from Cedar Falls

Hey folks - We're staying tonight in Cedar Falls, by far the largest town on the ride. It's also the home of UNI and if you know college sports, you know that my Appalachian State Mountaineers beat them for the 2005 1-AA National Championship... so I can't wait to wear my ASU shirt around town.

I've finally got some pictures to show!

Here's the whole group L-R: Jon Heinz, Jim DeLung, Andrew Clausen, me, Blake Anderson; Elle Schurtz and Travis Birchem joined up on Monday night to ride through Thursday.

Good Morning Rock Rapids... Blake dancing to wake up Jim on top of the RV on Day 1.

Day 1: Just outside Rock Rapids

Ashton, a stop on Day 1.

Jim passed out on the RV floor at the end of Day 1.

My new buddy John Myers from NY and I at "Lei Over in Laurens" on Day 2.

This is Ms. Monahans, the neighbor of Dr. Judas (Jim and them's old H.S. principal) who allowed us to shower in her home in Humboldt.

Mayberry in Eagle Grove (Day 3).

Singing "You are my Sunshine" in Alexander (Day 3)

Crossing I-35

With the ladies of KLMJ (I think)... I won a radio contest in Hampton!

Travis getting jealous of Jim rocking out on Guitar Hero 2 at the Hahn's in Cedar Falls.

I'll be honest, this day was difficult. I was actually unable to finish it, which was disappointing. I made it more than halfway into the day then I ran into Jim's parents who kindly brought me to Cedar Falls to get some rest so I can finish the week. This is a very difficult ride under the hot sun. We've already ridden over half the route and its going to get even more hilly. I'm hoping the extra rest will help out. Thanks for reading and I'll update again soon. Time for a shower and some Guitar Hero!

sorry.... pictures

I'm on Blake's laptop and my memory disk is not formatted for the laptop, so I'll probably not be able to post pictures tonight... major disappointment. But, I will do my best to do it tomorrow in Cedar Falls. Don't worry, they'll definitely go up as soon as they can.

GREETINGS FROM HAMPTON, IOWA!

Hey folks! I'm not dead! It has been difficult at times to say the least. But, we've done three days and about 220-230 miles. We're technically halfway across the state but in terms of the actual route, we'll hit halfway tomorrow.

We finally made it to Rock Rapids, which is about 20 miles from S.D. and 10 miles from Minn. late Saturday. Jim and Andrew slept on top of the RV... that was interesting. We thought we'd wake up at 6:30 on Sunday to start... well those plans got foiled by the early riders by our RV and the people yelling BREAKFAST!

The first day was alright... what made it most tough was the wind. From the south and we were riding directly into the south. Blake and Jon finished first, Jim and I came in about an hour later. I think I'm the only one who's making this a social event... I've met riders from everywhere and of all shapes and sizes. On Day 2, I met a guy named John Myers, a photographer from Rochester, NY who's on his 15th ride. He rode with me for many miles and even bought my lunch at "Pastafari."

One of the most interesting things are the team names. There's cheesy ones, serious ones, and obscene ones, haha. Team "Dairy Air" from Wisconsin; Team "Achin' Knee" from Ankeny, IA and Team Darel... they just call each other Darel instead of their real names.

The towns have been great... quaint and historic and lively and full of great food. There was "Lei over in Laurens," "Holiday in Humboldt" and "Relax in Rolfe" to name a few. There is church cooking everywhere along with all sorts of sandwiches, sweet corn, smoothies, etc. Also, along the way, many homes have setup places for shade, water, some food, and yes, water and beer slides (Blake did it, not me!). The people are incredibly hospitable, like Ms. Monahans who lives in Humboldt and allowed us to shower at her place.

I'm sunburned like you wouldn't believe. My butt hurts even more! I don't know how they ride on those seats for so long... no wonder the racers go so fast. My left knee knows its being overused and gets sore towards the end of each day, but I drug up on Aleve, ice it up and walk it off. I know I have to finish.

I'm going to attach some pictures to show you what's happened along the way. Thank you for all the great comments and support. This is tough but fun and I only hope I can finish in one piece!

Almost there!

Ok this is it... almost. I leave on Friday for Iowa. It's going to be a long drive but I think I'll enjoy it... I love seeing new places and there's alot of places between here and there that I haven't seen.

This past Saturday I rode 83 miles... bangin'! But then you have to realize Sean finished waaaay ahead of me and actually did more miles. Skinny punk, haha. But still, I did it. My knee was absolutely killing me though after I was done... I'm slightly worried but I won't let anything stop me at this point from doing the ride. I'm going to get drugged up on Aleve and hope for the best.

Tonight I took my bike to REI to get a couple things looked at.... and I came away with a new one, haha. Well, I'll pick it up tomorrow or Wed. hopefully, but still. They have an incredible 100% satisfaction guarantee and since I'm a member, I was able to replace my bike for a bigger one (everyone said the other was too small) at no extra cost. Wow. Yall shop there, they're great.

Ok, once again, my plan is to update this with stories and pictures once the ride starts, if I am able. If not, I'll definitely do it after the ride. Please check back for postings starting this weekend!

www.ragbrai.org for more info on the ride.

Thanks for your interest, drop me a line sometime if you wish.

Another delayed update

It's been so long I almost forgot what has happened. But, don't you folks fret, I have not given up yet.

Since the last time I did my longest ride yet - 52 miles. Awesome you say? Yes, except for the fact that it's still 4 miles shy of the shortest day in Iowa. But hey, I did it, and I'm going to keep working at it.

I've also been going to the gym/personal trainer regularly. I've lost close to 10 pounds, but these frequent trips home always give me a chance to cheat on my diet. I figured I have to have some not-so-good stuff occasionally so that I'll actually stick to eating good stuff the vast majority of the time. So, at this point, I feel as if I've bottomed out without reaching my first goal and I've fluctuated some, but this week I'll have to be hardcore about it so I can get below that certain figure and towards the next one.

I leave in two weeks! Actually, it starts in two weeks... I leave on 7/20. I think things are working out... not sure who our driver is and still haven't heard about from housing in Rock Rapids, but oh well. It's going to work.

This week I plan on learning how to change my tire/tube in case it gets flat. I also need a first aid kit.

This past week I rode on Monday and Tuesday night. On Monday, I found my way to Hains Point, where the racers go. It's a good stretch all within East Potomac Park and they can usually get up to good speeds. Well on my way I decided I would fall and cuss in front of tourists. Go me. I unclipped my left foot from the pedal and shifted just so slightly to the right, falling right at Independence and 14th SW. I didn't have anything to clean with so it was super-bloody but really wasn't that big of a scrape, just a square inch or so below the knee. I was also bruised on my thigh which actually hurt worse.

Tuesday I rode with my friend Sean up to this bookstore on NW to hear Floyd Landis talk and get him to sign his new book. That was also an experience. Sean is a hardcore cyclist and races with a local team... we met on the metro because he had all his cycling stuff with him and I struck up conversation. Anyway, Connecticut Avenue is straight uphill over there and it was tough, but I made it. Good talk to - alot of folks don't know who Landis is and I really didn't care all that much until I heard him talk, so now I can't wait to read his book and hear in depth about why he's innocent. Sean was definitely more excited... I'm sure I'll get that way if I meet some politician.

So, from here on out I'll try to update some more... I'm planning a very long ride on both Saturday and Sunday this coming weekend (sorry church, gotta skip to ride this time). And, my goal is to use this on the trip to talk about each day and upload some pics. I'm not sure how internet access will work out there but hopefully I'll be able to do so.

Thanks for reading and staying interested.

delayed update

It's been a while since I updated, but I've still been steadily working.

I. Riding
II. Personal Trainer

I. I rode about 30 miles again last Saturday on the W&OD Trail doing the same Route from Bluemont out towards Reston. On the way back, some guys passed me with RAGBRAI jerseys. I caught up with them in Vienna and talked for a few minutes. They call themselves "Team Nasty" and only do it in even numbered years. They said I'd be fine, just to remember that I've got all day to finish. Good deal.

II. I made a big and costly step - I not only decided to join a gym, I decided to get a personal trainer. I went regularly to the gym at App and with Marshall's help, I did well. I didn't realize how well I had done until I had gained it all back. So, I knew I needed someone that knew what to do and would stay on top of me. I joined Fitness First, right around the corner from my work on 19th Street NW. It's fairly inexpensive and they have what I need... no frills. I also signed up with David, who's giving me a great deal between now and the race for 3x-a-week sessions. Hopefully I can get some weight off in the right places and some muscle on to make the ride easier. Even after that, I'll probably continue, just not at the 3x level...I don't have that much money.

That's it for now. I'll update more. But with my weekends being full coming up, I'm not sure what kind of outdoor riding I'll get to do. I'll mostly, probably, be in doors on the trainer or a bike at the gym (really cool - real courses and other racers... not just a fat seat where you sit and read a magazine).

Thanks for coming by.

So far

Training has been off and on since I got my bike at Christmas. I had one heck of a semester, my last in grad school. On top of that, I'm also very out of shape and Boone is very cold in the winter. So, my riding for many months was limited to a trainer inside. I did learn to play Super Nintendo while riding on the bike though...

My first outdoor ride came at spring break in early March. Once the trip to New Mexico fell through, I made my way back down to UNCW. I was able to ride 17 miles in less than two hours along River Road. Lots of fast traffic and lots of wind, but I made it.

I attempted to ride outside in Boone sometime after that (not exactly sure what day). Needless to say it was very unsuccessful. My community was at roughly 3500 feet in elevation and it was again quite windy. I didn't make it far.

I moved up here to DC about two weeks ago but had been traveling and unpacking until earlier this week. I researched and decided I would follow a ride I found in a book that seemed like it was way out in the country and about 35 miles in length. I was so wrong on so many accounts that day. It was hell trying to find my way out of town on the proper road, then once I got almost to Purcellville, VA, I realized I had forgotten my helmet. With some help from my dad on the phone, I found a bike shop only to find out they were waiting on a new shipment of helmets that would come later that week. Also, I found out that Loudon County had grown ridiculously since the book was written about ten years ago and nothing is 'country' anymore. So I rode back to Leesburg and bought a helmet there and proceeded to ride on the W&OD Trail.

The W&OD Trail is a paved 'park' from Arlington to Purcellville, or about 45 miles. It's popular for walkers, bikers, runners, rollerbladers and even horseriders. So I hopped on it and rode about ten miles from Leesburg to Purcellville and back for a total of about 21 miles. Then I treated myself to Moe's, completely negating any healthy aspect of the ride.

Saturday I went out to the trail again, only this time I started in Arlington at Bluemont Park. I rode just over 15 miles up to Reston before turning around, for a total of about 31 miles. There was a little more terrain and I did a little better than on Thursday.

So, up to this point in DC, I've ridden a total of 52 miles. Not bad, but not enough. I have to work on my hills. Also, I need to keep reminding myself that RAGBRAI is not a race but rather simply a ride... no need for speed and no need to worry about where I am in the pack. If I finish 10,000th, so what, at least I finished.

First post

I decided to create this blog to keep a record of my training for the 35th RAGBRAI. I also hope to use this during the actual trip to record the hard work, the fun, the soreness and so on.

For those that don't know, RAGBRAI stands for Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. The ride literally crosses the whole state, from river to river, starting in the west (usually) in towns along the Missouri River and ending in the east at the Mississippi River. Apparently the cool thing to do is to dip your back tire in the Missouri River at the beginning and your front tire in the Mississippi River at the end. Started by the Des Moines Register newspaper in the 1970s, it now has about 10,000 registered riders annually. This year, I'm one of those... wristband number 90306.

I'm not doing it alone, because Lord knows, I certainly would have found a reason to back out by now. I'm going with my former UNCW roommate Jim and at least, his friends Jon and Blake. They are all from Mason City, Iowa, and did the ride in 2000. We decided to do it this summer before we start the real world (although we all pretty much have already started it).

In all, this year's ride route has been labeled the flattest ever (thank you, God). Nonetheless, the days are long and believe it or not, Iowa does have some hilly terrain. For more information about the route including mileage, check out http://www.ragbrai.org/route-chart.html. The shortest day is the last day, from Dyersville to Bellevue, and its 56.6 miles. The longest day is the second day, from Spencer to Humboldt, and its 77.4 miles. The total estimated mileage for the route is 477 miles.

Most of you have seen me and I'm not Captain Fitness. So, I know I have to work hard to get to a point where I can complete the ride comfortably and reach one of my main goals of the ride: not dying.

I was grateful to receive a road bike for Christmas from my Santa-like parents. It's a 2006 Novara Divano... nothing special - Novara is REI's brand. But, it was fairly inexpensive and it has worked well so far. I also received the fancy clip pedals and a trainer. I've added other accessories along the way including the fancy shoes that clip into the pedals and oh yes, the totally sexy bike shorts (you will never see me where them unless you see me on my bike).

This post is now long enough. The next one will be about some of the work I've done so far and some of my plans between now and July 22. Thanks for stopping by and keeping me motivated.