Long Ass Weekend – Enhanced Version

First of all, if you don’t like what you read on this blog or some of the entries are too long for you – don’t fucking read it. It’s my blog and I’ll do what I fucking please.

And now back to your regular scheduled program.

Last Friday I skipped out of work an hour early. I had many things to do and little time to do it. First stop – the LBS to pick up the newly built Big Dummy. I hustled down there and they were putting the kickstand on. This was the last thing. My first ride was to home – about a mile and a half – in the rain. No real opportunity to test it or adjust much of anything.

By the time I was done with all my stuff and got to bed it was midnight. I couldn’t get right to sleep because I couldn’t stop going through mental checklists for the trip. I did drift off and was yanked out of sleep by a 4:30 AM alarm. I ate, dressed, and was out the door turning the cranks from Sioux Falls at 5:30 AM.

It was in the lower thirties temperature wise. I was confident I had enough layers. However, at the first pass through town, I put on the raincoat as a wind stopper layer. My toes were numb and I was wishing I’d put on my shoe covers. Wool socks weren’t quite enough. The wind was blowing 20 to 25 MPH out of the Northwest. Most of my travels were to the West.

I pedaled on, stopping at each pass through town (which are roughly 10 to 15 miles apart) to take in some calories and warm my feet. I knew it was slow going but the Dummy felt good and I continued West arriving in Mitchell (the 70 mile mark) at about 2:45 PM – well behind my most conservative schedule.

There I met up with SD_PedalPower. We rolled through Mitchell to stop on the North end of town to eat. The place was nice enough and the food was OK, but the owner of the joint insisted on telling us about a bike related story multiple times. He told us no less than five (5) times the story of a biker riding on the wrong side of the road. Dude, we just want to order and eat. Finally he left us to our ordering and food. We departed the place and Mitchell about 3:30 PM.

Up to this point I estimate my average speed to be about 8 MPH. SD_PedalPower had a computer on his bike. We plodded along at about a 10 MPH average. With a missed corner we lost more time and added four (4) miles to our journey. Pounding on we stopped at every pass through town long enough to take in some calories, stretch, and maybe pee.

The sun went down and took the temperature with it. More layers on again. Lights came on and we continued to fight for the miles. Meeting cars sucked. Their lights were nearly blinding. After two passed in quick succession my riding partner came up and told me, “Dude, I really don’t like riding at night. I get dizzy.”

We found our way and were into Chamberlain – 144 plus miles from my start and 74 plus from his – as the clock on a bank said 12:36 AM. Only a few more miles to go to cross the Missouri river to the hotel. We checked in and got to the room slightly after 1 AM. Showers were in order and then sleep.

I was asleep as my head hit the pillow. My day started at 4:30 AM and bedtime was approximately 2 AM. Tomorrow was to be the same 144 miles in the opposite direction. For some reason the alarm went off early on Sunday. I first thought whoever had the room before us had it set. But I think my riding partner set the alarm. I didn’t make clear regarding any expected departure times for the next day. Lights were now on and I could detect him wrestling with the coffee maker. Dude! WTF! I was awake but my eyes wouldn’t open. I put a pillow part way over my head and slept longer. Note to self – make clear with roommates the intended schedule for the next day. I do admire his persistence and drive to get going. However, rest is not over rated and we both got a bit more.

He went and ate the continental and when he came back to the room I finally got up and did the same. He snoozed a bit longer. We left the hotel at about 8:30 AM. We rode down to the river, over it, and then the 1-½ mile climb out at 6% grade. The Dummy climbs like a goat! A drunk goat. With three legs and Emphysema. OK, it climbs very well, just not quickly. I was in the middle ring and on the second to the largest tooth count cog. It wouldn’t stay in the largest tooth count. I need to adjust the rear der a bit. Newly built bikes all need their adjustments. This seemed to be The Big Dummy’s only one.

We made the climb, flattened out (operative word flattened), and SD_PedalPower experienced our only flat of the trip. It was about 9 AM when we left Chamberlain. However, the bastard headwinds we had on Saturday persisted, though not quite as hard, giving us tailwinds on the way back. Cruising speeds were in the 18 to 20 MPH range – which I thought pretty good for a Big Dummy fairly heavily loaded rolling at 26 x 2.35 tires.

The pass through towns came much quicker on the way back. We still stopped at each one, ate, peed, stretched and motored on. Finally back at Mitchell, my riding partner loaded his bike into his vehicle and I soldiered on. I continued the brisk pace hoping to make it home before dark. I didn’t quite make it that quickly. At the last pass through town the sun had now set, I put away the sunglasses, and pulled out some layers. Lights fore and aft were illuminated.

It was great to finally make it back to home. I was unloaded and in my apartment at almost exactly 10 PM. Saturday I left at 4:30 AM and made it out there at 1 PM the next day. Sunday we left at 9 AM and I was at my place at 10 PM. Talk about cutting some time!

My mileage was approximately six miles from my place to the Tour de Kota start, 70 miles to Mitchell, an additional four miles due to navigational error, 74 miles to Chamberlain, five miles to Oacoma and the hotel, for a one day total of about 159 miles. Sunday was five miles to Chamberlain, 74 miles to Mitchell, 70 miles to Sioux Falls, and six miles to my place for day total of 155 miles and a weekend total of 314 miles, give or take a few.

Body check – actually OK. My pains are not what I expected. I have plenty good legs having tested them a bit on my commute. My soreness is in the outer half of my kneecaps and the outside of my Achilles area. Also, I have a numb sore spot between my shoulder blades. I experienced that same thing last year after the Highway 212 Gut Check. My ring finger and my pinky finger on the left hand are sort of tingly and numb – still – but I expect that to go away in a few days or weeks. My new Brooks ass hatchet saddle is now broke in – more or less. My ass pain isn’t my corn hole so much as my butt bones. I attribute this to the new saddle.

My knee and Achilles pain is a bit of a concern. I’ll investigate that to see what’s up. I’ll also not bike too hard the next few days and monitor it to see what changes might occur. If anyone out there has experience and / or knowledge about knee pain and such – contact me.

I’m going to save my review of Surly’s Big Dummy for another post. This post is long enough and I’m hungry all of the time. So, it’s time to go eat – again. Before I go, big huge thanks to SD_PedalPower for riding along. I know I could have done it myself but it was nice to have company.

Note to self – get a MP3 player. I don’t have one but would really like one for these longer rides. Next up, The Almanzo 100 – 100 miles of shear gravel road delight in Southeastern Minnesota. The weekend after that is the Black Hills Fat Tire Festival. The weekend after that one is another long ass weekend ride. This time Sioux Falls to Brookings to Huron. That in one day and then back the next. The mileage should be slightly more than this past weekend.

You know, I’ve never named any of my bikes. I just don’t. To me, I love ‘em, but they’re just bikes. I know a few chicks and even some dudes who’ve named their bikes. I was thinking about that, amongst many other things, as I was riding. I thought, if I were to name this bike it would probably be….hmmmm….Edgar Allan Poe. Quoth the raven, “Have a beer.” But I didn’t name the bike and most likely won’t. It’s just not my style. Many strange, unusual, and interesting thoughts run through a dude’s head while biking for a very long time.


Ride On.