Trans Iowa Training

Today I awoke with visions of doing a 150-200 mile ride. My day off got moved from Thursday to Friday as of some family matters with my boss which is totally cool. This denied any possibilities of riding with my Trans Iowa training partner (3 Hours away) Ari, who has Thursdays off....so I planned on going solo. The wind was out of the north so I headed into the hills of Athens and Petersburg to start....I set my mind on doing a long ride and this kept me cool and calm and not in a rush for anything during the day, I expected to be on the bike the entire day. I ended up in Petersburg and planned on riding down to Jacksonville, I texted my friend Dale who teaches and lives in Jacksonville on a whim and turns out he was on spring break and could ride with me, I took some amazing roads filled with hills and gravel on the way out and met with Dale with 67 miles under my belt. He took me through a loop all the way around Jacksonville and sent me on my way with 100 miles in. It was so nice to ride with Dale, he is always great company, very traditional cyclist like myself and we get along very well. Had a great ride and chatted about bicycles, life, and everything in between...including the taste of plain Gu (remember your Hinsdale story Ari?). I rode 120 miles self-supported with everything in my Revelate Tangle bag...I hope this is a good sign of being prepared for the monster that awaits. I stopped in Franklin, IL for some candy and peanuts and gatorade and continued my quest home. The ride home seemed like a struggle and as I pulled into the bike shop, I realized I had ridden with a leaking flat tire for probably 5-8 miles. Perfect timing, I changed the tire and headed home and the legs were tired but felt like they could have given more. Ended the day with 162 miles of gravel and pavement. Was the longest ride I have ever done in my life and feel great about it....thanks to Adam and Mark for getting me out for a beer afterwards and talking nonsense like usual, great friends and a great day of riding. Can't wait for Trans Iowa....am getting more and more excited, and glad to have tried a long ride with a some-what finalized bicycle set up. Cheers!

- JB