Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Anniversary Bike Ride

What do you do to celebrate your 20th wedding anniversary? Well if your married to my husband, you take a 50+ mile bike ride through the hilly (understatement) back roads of Indiana, on cool March day. How cool, you ask? Just take a look at our frozen bike seat and odometer.
We started our journey at 10 am this morning and the temp was about 30 degrees not including the windchill which made it seem about 10 degrees cooler. We only got about 2 miles into our ride when we stopped so that I could double glove. Thankfully the second pair of gloves helped and my fingers were able to thaw out and warm up.
It took us about 3 1/2 hours to get to our destination, the Williams covered bridge which is the longest, double-span bridge in Indiana. This picture is our first rest break, about 16 miles into our ride. The reason why it took 3 1/2 hours to ride 21 miles is because those 21 miles were extremely hilly with no relief - one hill after another.
This is an example of what those hills looked like. Looks fun, huh? NOT! I don't know what was worse climbing hill upon hill or being chased by one mean dog after another. That was pretty much the extent of our first 20 miles - hills and mean dogs - thank goodness for the doggy pepper spray. And go figure, we were never chased when we were going downhill, it was always on the uphill climb when we couldn't get away fast enough.

Williams Covered Bridge


We took this picture with the camera sitting on top of our bike rack.

Kim checking the map. How many more miles to we have to go?

What do you do when the only road back home is covered in water? You go through it of course. Thankfully we made it across this little road block without getting too wet. This was the only way out, there weren't any other detours that we could take without going back the way we came.
Just when we thought we were home free, another mile down the road it was flooded again And this time there was no going through it unless you were a big truck or wanted to get really wet. We watched several cars turn around and go back the way they came. How did we get across? We climbed up the hill, on foot, with the bike, through all kinds of branches and loose rocks. We crossed over the train tracks and back down through much of the same.

Don't be fooled. It looks easier than it was.

The last 30 miles of our trip was pretty uneventful compared to the first 20 miles. The temp warmed up a little and although it still wasn't warm enough to take off some of our layers, our muscles were able to warm up enough to pick up our speed. The last 2 miles of our journey seemed the longest to me and I didn't think my butt could take another second on that bike seat, but we made it back to Spring Mill (our starting point) 8 hours later, and just in time for dinner. All in all it was a very fun day and an experience that I'll never forget.


We made it! 51.9 miles and I'm still smiling!

7 comments:

GRANDMA R said...

What a trip! The worst would be going back up those hills. Just showed the boys and they said they knew most of it already since they talked with you. But they really enjoyed seeing everything! Ethan gave me a big hug and I told him that was nice that they came and spent some time with grandparents so Mom and Dad could have sometime alone. Thanks for the quick pictures! What would we do without digital cameras and computers! Our grandparents wouldn't believe what we can do now! Thanks again, love you both! See you soon!
Love,
Mom and Dad R.

Steph said...

Wow - you're a better woman than me! I'm not sure I could have made it through! Congrats!!!!! Certainly something you will never forget!

Steph said...

PS - You certainly don't look like you've been on a bike for 8 hours! You look rather refreshed!

Anonymous said...

Wow! What a trip. Yes you will never forget it, and dad says on your next trip, ( I use the word next loosely), pull a trailer with a Honda generator and a slump pump. ha, ha. Great job though. Love you. We enjoyed our boys. They got yo see their other cousins and have some time with them.

Anonymous said...

What an inspiring way to celebrate 20 years (which we are coming up on in a few...)! You are undoubtedly a better sport than I am, and Keith is a truly lucky man (we already knew that). MKP

Mad Queen said...

Okay, this is the 4th time I have tried to leave a comment... ahh! First, wow, wow, wow. Kim you are a total trooper to go on such an adventure... and you must be in amazing shape! You survived ICE, FLOODS, HILLS, and even DOGS... wow. I love the photo of you looking at the map and your comment "how much further?" I laughed outloud. Way fun. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!

Lisa said...

INSANE! But I LOVE it!

I totally can feel your pain. It does look like you both did enjoy yourselves though. Love that last smile of yours.

I agree with Steph, you are a much better woman than me too. I think you deserve another full day at the spa.

~Lisa :)