Countdown to Triathlon – 144 Days, 20.57 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 80 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

The Journey - Installment Eighty

   

  

         Our ride began as we set off heading west on Capitol Mall, over railroad tracks just before the Tower Bridge.  I had been over that bridge many times in my life in a car, but never on a bike.  The perspective from a bicycle is quite different from speeding over the Sacramento River in a car.  All the riders were still within sight of one another at this point.  Once over the bridge, the men and some of the fast women riders took the lead as we rode on West Capitol Avenue toward Davis and then disappeared from view.   We turned onto a bike trail for six miles.   By this time, there were only a few women riders in view, myself included.  According to the directions on our yellow card which was attached to our bikes, we were to turn and go over some railroad tracks.    There was some confusion because several of the women felt we were supposed to continue on the bike trail.  Instead of insisting, I figured that I was probably wrong and turned back to continue on the bike trail with the others.

            This was our first mistake in following the directions but it turned out to be a God-intended mistake.  We came upon Yvonne who had been riding way ahead of us.  She had made the same mistake and had not turned when she should have but had continued straight on the bike trail.  She was stopped and off her bike examining her tire.  She had the great distinction of being the first to have a flat tire.  I can’t remember who was with me other than Lisa and Terri.  Lisa and I had been riding with Terri and talking with her as we rode along and getting to know her.  I found out that she was the lady from Modesto and one of the people I had called several weeks before the bike ride when I had received the letter from FOTF along with the roster of the riders.  I had left a message about possibly getting together with her and doing some practice rides but we had never been able to get together before the ride this weekend.

          As we came upon Yvonne and saw her predicament, I wondered what was to be done.  It was so early in the ride and I didn’t have a clue about changing a tire even though my son Hollen had shown me how when I was training in April with him in Hawaii.  We looked forward and behind us and not another rider was in view.  We called the Minivans to tell them of the situation.  They were not able to come to our aid because we were on a bike trail.  As we tried to describe where we were, they seemed to think that we should have made a turn and gone over the railroad tracks.

Countdown to Triathlon – 145 Days, 20.71 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 79 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY -  "Courage is about doing what you're afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you're scared."
---Eddie Rickenbacker

The Journey - Installment Seventy-Nine

        The months that I had been scared of this upcoming ride - now it was here!  I should have been trembling in my shoes That morning as we prepared to mount our bikes, I was aware of something missing as we waited to set off from the hotel. Missing were my feelings of dread and anxiousness.  I had absolutely no fear and was actually excited to get started.  I’ll never forget the sound of twenty or more bike riders starting out for a ride.  As each of us got on our bikes and started to pedal, we had to click our riding shoes into our pedals and the sound was at least forty clicks (two shoes per rider).  It was a comforting sound to know we were all starting this journey together.

                          

        We rode to the capitol building in the cool of the early morning on a June day, Father’s Day weekend, which showed promise of a bright, sunny day.  When we arrived in front of the capital, my parents were there to see me off on our excursion.  Also there to greet me was a high school classmate named Alice who was part of Encina High School email e-group and had been one of the people who had been encouraging me these many months. Many of the people I had graduated with in 1962 at that Sacramento high school had been communicating back and forth via email for a couple of years keeping posted on each other and what we were currently doing. 

            Once at the capitol, we waited there for a short time for the local television camera crew to arrive and interview  Ryan Dobson about the ride and its purpose.  Once the interview was completed, I said goodbye to my parents and to Alice as they wished us “Godspeed” and our group started up on our adventure.

The California State Capitol buiilding in Sacramento.

Here we all are before starting the bike ride.  We'd riden to the capitol from the hotel.

You won't see my bike thrown in a heap on the lawn.  I have a kickstand.  Of course, no serious bike rider has a kick stand because (1) it isn't cool and (2) it adds more weight to your bike.

Here's my Mom on the right, Lisa and I'm on the left with my knee braces.

Countdown to Triathlon – 146 Days, 20.8 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 78 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

The Journey - Installment Seventy-Eight

On the morning of the first day of the bike ride, everyone was up early and we congregated in the hotel’s lobby for a continental breakfast.  We prepared ourselves by stretching, loading up our back pocket with snacks and filling our water bottles.  We were given a laminated card which would be fastened to our bikes by zip ties.  This card would be replaced each day of the ride by a new one which would list the route for that day.  The card would include each turn we would make and the mileage to the next turn.  This first day was to be the State Capital Building, Sacramento to the Hawthorne Hotel in Napa, 83.5 miles total ride.   We were again reminded to watch for the small neon crosses which had been painted on the edge of the road at intervals along our route.  It was stressed to us to remember to keep hydrated and eat energy generating snacks frequently.  There were some pep talks, someone gave devotions and we had prayers to send us off and for our safety.

Here I am getting ready for the ride.

(Just kidding)

Barb and Lisa all ready to start the ride.

We had our pictures taken in front of trailer that carried all the supplies and tools.  We were informed that the trailer had been donated to Focus on the Family by Ritchie and also all the tools donated by Park Tools Company.

 Here is the group posing in front of the donated trailer. It is not a good view of the trailer, but it was huge and was our constant companion at the beginning and end of the day.  Besides tools, it contained all of our gear from the hotels and all the extra snacks and supplies that the accompanying mini vans did not contain.  It was a welcome sight at the end of each day because when we saw the trailer, we knew we were finished riding for that day.

        2^nd row far left, standing, the lady with the braids, Toni from Kansas.  She rode the Kansas ride, our Northern California ride, and the Colorado ride in July for the Silver Anniversary of Focus on the Family.  At the time she had five children, all girls.  Would you say she loves to bike ride?  Third from the left is yours truly. The blonde next to me is Lisa.  Next to Lisa is Terri from Modesto who will become a good friend but Lisa and I didn’t know her yet when this picture was taken.  The second lady from Terri is Yvonne.  I’ll be mentioning her later.  She was amazing and we learned that she taught spinning classes in her home town.  Third from the right with the white shirt is the lady from Arnold who had to drop out of the ride.  These are the main ladies that ended up riding with me.  I won’t mention the men because we rarely saw them except at the beginning and end of the day.  They got on their bikes and disappeared from view.

        We said good bye to the lady from  Arnold, California.  Remember, I didn’t want to ask her to ride with me in the weeks before the ride because I thought she would have legs of steel since she lived and biked in the mountains.  She developed problems with her blood pressure and couldn’t ride. She came the night before hoping that her health would allow her to ride, but it was not to be.

        After pictures, we set off toward the State Capital building which would be our starting point,  1400 Tenth Street,  Sacramento, California.  I commented to Lisa that we had to ride to the capital, which was 2.57 miles away and that wasn’t even considered part of our ride and was not listed on the route card.  It was extra riding.  It reminded me of the lady in Riverbank at the Wine and Cheese Festival in October of the previous year who commented about a couple of extra miles not being of any consequence.  I had to surmise, “What’s a couple of extra miles when one will be riding over eighty miles.”  As it turned out, there had been a typo on the laminated card and our total distance for the day ended up being 92 miles.  Maybe it is a good thing we didn’t know that we’d only be short eight miles of reaching 100 miles or a Century Ride. 

Countdown to Triathlon – 149 Days, 21.2 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 77 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY -  To be judgmental - The Bible says in Matthew 7:2, "For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
NIV
The Journey - Installment Seventy-Seven

        Dr. Dobson was the founder of Focus on The Family, twenty-five years ago (in 2002). According to the printed program we had been given, his son Ryan was going to speak to us at the restaurant that night and be present on the ride.  I remembered that back in January of 2001 when I first heard the FOTF broadcast, Ryan had been on that first ride in California – Santa Maria to Santa Barbara.  I remember hearing him speak about that ride which had just been completed.  As I looked around the room at all the people, I wondered which person was Dr. Dobson’s son.  I had listened to Focus on the Family for so many years and had seen many of Dr. Dobson’s programs such as Turn Your Heart Towards Home.  I had so much respect for Dr. Dobson.  He had spoken of his children  many times on the broadcast and I had assumed that his son would be just like him. (Remember what happens when you assume.) My pre-judging attitude reared its ugly head once again. It seems that I am so often in that mode.   When Ryan Dobson stood up to speak, I was absolutely horrified.  There, speaking to us, was a rather small-looking kid with spiked red-dyed hair.  I could not believe what I was seeing.  My judgmental attitude caused me to say to myself, “How did Dr. Dobson have kid like that?”  (Reader, please continue reading so that you will see how way, way wrong I was in my thinking and how I came, once again to see the folly of my judgmental spirit.)  He spoke briefly as did some of the other representatives of Focus on the Family.  The dinner ended and we returned to the hotel to prepare for an early departure in the morning.  By the time we returned to the hotel, Bob had arrived.  Lisa presented me with a gift of a book of poetry.  I went quickly to sleep, marveling over my lack of nervousness about the upcoming three days of riding and grateful for my change of heart so that I had no fear of the days to come. 

 

       ________O

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Come back on Monday to read day one of the Focus on the Family National Bike Ride for the Family.  IT BEGINS!

Countdown to Triathlon – 150 Days, 21.42 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 76 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY – Egad! It’s getting closer isn’t it and I need to get training more.  We finally got the glasshouse cleaned and now I have access to my stationery bike and all my weight room equipment.  I’ll tell my self – “You go girl” or  in other words – “GET YOUR BUTT IN GEAR!”

        _______O

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Shortly after arrival in Sacramento Thursday afternoon, the day before the bike ride, Lisa and I checked into our rooms.  Mini vans gave us all rides to a restaurant in Sacramento for dinner which was hosted by Focus on the Family.  It was held in a small restaurant in a rather small room.  I remember that we were all spread out at tables, quite crowded together and seated four to a table.  I glanced around the room wondering which of the people seated there would be riders and which were from Focus on the Family.  As I listened to the presentation about the upcoming ride, I was really amazed at the organization and support that would be provided.  We were told about the volunteers from each city that would be riding along with us and encouraging us.  It was explained to us that Focus on the Family had a semi truck with everything in the trailer that could possibly be needed for bike breakdowns.  They had a bike frame straightener, all the tools needed, tires, tubes and everything I didn’t even know one would need. We were told that we would be provided all the drinks and snacks we needed and that we were to avail ourselves of these provisions in order to keep ourselves hydrated and full of energy. 

 I had not realized until they told us at the dinner that the riding suits we had purchased from FOTF as part of our registration fee, (remember the $200 which my accountant gave me) contained a pocket on the back of the shirt which was to be used for snack food.  I had already worn the suit on a couple of occasions and didn’t know about the pocket. It was explained to us that if we became thirsty, we will have already become dehydrated and we must not let ourselves get to that point.  My thought at that moment was that if we drank so much we would need to go to the restroom often.  But then I thought back to the months of my training and I had only had to concern myself about that situation one time.  Because of the exercise and sweating from the exertion, evidentially it freed us from nature’s call. 

It was explained to us that the semi truck driver had gone ahead of us the day before on a motorcycle and had marked our path with neon colored spray paint at intervals on the edge of the roadway.  Those marks, in the shape of a cross were our directions for the entire journey. 

    

Countdown to Triathlon – 152 Days, 21.71 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 75 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY - "Dingbat" - One definition is: A weird thing, person or situation, a person considered stupid or foolish

For you younger readers, Archie Bunker was the leading character In one of the most successful sitcoms in history.  The show was about a bigoted, loading dock worker, his wife Edith, daughter Gloria and son-in-law Mike.  Mike was Polish and Archie aways called him "meat head"or Pollock.   The show ushered in a new era in our television broadcasting because Archie never shied away from controversial or socially relevant subject matters.  There wasn't a race of people or nationality that he didn't make fun or insult.  He was always bemoaning the fact the world wasn't the same anymore.  Hence, those were the days.  The show can still be seen today on cable or satellite TV and Bob and I have watched it recently.

Lyrics to "Those Were the Days"
from the TV show of the 70's
All in the Family, starring Carroll O'Connor
and Jean Stapleton

"Boy, the way Glen Miller played.
Songs that made the Hit Parade.
Guys like us, we had it made.
Those were the days!
Didn't need no welfare state.
Everybody pulled his weight
Gee, our old LaSalle (a car) ran great.
Those were the days!
And you knew where you were then!
Girls were girls and men were men.
Mister, we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again.
People seemed to be content.
Fifty dollars paid the rent.
Freaks were in a circus tent.
Those were the days!
Take a little Sunday spin, go to watch the Dodgers win.
Have yourself a dandy day that cost you under a fin (five dollar bill).
Hair was short and skirts were long.
Kate Smith really sold a song.
I don't know just what went wrong! Those Were the Days!"

Why did I mention this show?  Archie always called Edith a dingbat and I called myself that in the story below.  After typing that word, it just reminded me of the show and I can still hear them sitting at the piano and singing the above song.  Edith would play and sing in a very screechy voice and off key with Archie singing along.

The Journey - Installment Seventy-Five

         On Thursday, when they arrived at our home, Lisa’s husband loaded my bike and travel bag into their pickup truck.  Someone was with him in the passenger seat.  From where I stood near the driver’s side, I didn’t think that person was Lisa and I assumed it was their daughter.  She had long, flowing hair worn down around her shoulders and looked so young.  I remember wondering where Lisa was and that maybe I hadn’t noticed her getting out of the truck. I did a complete 360 degree turn on the driveway.  When I didn't see her, a hopeful  thought flitted through my mind that maybe her husband had dropped her off somewhere nearby, at a store perhaps, and was going to pick her up on the way out. But that didn't seem plausible.  I had an ache in my heart and a stabbing feeling in my stomach.  That old feeling of insecurity raised its ugly head again thinking that perhaps she had changed her mind and wasn’t going to ride with me after all.  We had to have a huge laugh over that because as soon as she spoke I realized that the person with the long, flowing hair was Lisa.  I hadn't recognized her.  I felt very foolish at that point. I'm sure Lisa wondered why in the world I didn't know it was her. I had spent a lot of time with her when we were Tupperware Managers, years ago and should have been able to realize who she was .  But when we had last met a couple of weeks before, she was wearing a baseball cap, she had biking pants on and her hair was in a ponytail. What a dingbat I can be. Just call me Edith Bunker.  With great relief I got into their pickup truck for our trip to Sacramento. All was now right with the world! We drove to the hotel and Lisa’s husband dropped us off because he wasn’t able to come along with us on the journey.  My husband Bob was to meet me there later that evening.  Bob had decided that he would come to the ride and ride along in his pickup truck as support.

Countdown to Triathlon – 153 Days, 21.85 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 74 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY -

This is the motto for the bike ride.  I found it this weekend while sorting papers.  Unfortunately, I did not find the bike ride story file and if I don't find it, all the future writing will have to be from memory.  We had a very exciting Saturday.  Bob went out to get the news paper and a neighbor was walking across the street to our house. She asked if Bob knew his window was broken.  Last week a rock from a truck shattered the lower one third of his windshield so he answered her that he knew about it.  A few minutes later, another neighbor came over and asked if we knew that the drive side window was broken.  This was about 9:30.  Since it had been raining hard all night and there was very little water in the truck, the robbery must have occurred in the daylight hours.  Whoever did it was probably on foot or on a bike.  They broke the window and snatched Bob's new GPS and his new XM radio that I gave him for Christmas.  They left all the cord dandling so they can't be much use to them.

At 9:30 that night we were watching a movie and there was a huge bang which scared me.  Then I saw falling sparks and debris on fire which fell into our backyard.  The power went out immediately.  I called the city and told them I knew exactly where the problem was.  Our side of the street for several blocks each direction had no power. A branch from the neighbor's redwood tree fell across two of the power lines and shorted out.  It was so windy and rainy all day.  It took them about two hours to get the power back on. 

It's amazing how much we depend on electricity.  I kept saying to myself, "Okay, I'll do this then."  Then remembered I need electricity to do it.  "Okay, then I'll go do that."  Can't because I need electricity.  It made me think of how the pioneers must have had to get up at dawn and work until dusk to get all their chores done because candlelight is hard to work in.

The Journey - Installment Seventy-Four

        The week of the bike ride was here!  I could not believe it.  I kept getting encouraging card and notes as well as phone calls from people.  Their encouragement meant so much to me.  I made sure the bike and gear were all ready and that my muscle stimulators for my knees were packed.  Lisa and I made arrangements for she and her husband to pick me up on Thursday around 2:00.  He would not be able to stay for the bike ride and Bob would join me later that night after dinner.  He had decided to to accompany us in his truck.  He would ride ahead and wait at intervals for us to pass and would stay with me in the hotels for the three nights.  I was so glad to have his presence on this upcoming journey.  We were all to meet the night before the bike ride at a hotel in Sacramento and then would be given rides to where FOTF was to host dinner for all the riders and the helpers.