Simple Hobby Homesteading

Kevin wakes up with a killer headache and an incredibly painful neck. The camping has not been good for his osteoarthritis in his neck and his inner thigh issue is incredibly painful. We aren’t here to wreak havoc on our bodies beyond the point of enjoyment so we decide to take a break from riding on this day.

San Simeon to Oceano would be enjoyed from the support vehicle rather than in the saddle, we had to be ok with that and I will say it was a nice day to enjoy some time sitting next to my husband.

We packed up camp, loaded our bikes on top of a support van and hopped in with Brian (the guy that fixed my bike a few days ago… was it coming out of Monterey?… hard to remember all the places now. Anyways, we liked this guy and were happy to hang out with him and a few other riders he picked up along the day’s travels.)

We hit all the stops with Brian including a VERY YUMMY cookie and coffee shop called Brown Butter Cookie Company. There are rumors of this becoming an official rest stop or checkpoint for next year’s ride… great idea! I got their original cookies and a bag of their almond ones. Oh my goodness yummy. We also went up the block a bit for some coffee at Top Dog Bar & Cafe. This was a must because my dog training business is called TOP (Training Our Pack) Dog Training, so cool and best coffee ever!

The checkpoint was at Wally’s Bicycle Works and Kevin enjoyed their homemade tamales and salsa. Along the way Kevin and I discussed what we were going to do about the sleeping arrangements (camping) which were proving a nightmare for his neck. We decided to book hotel rooms for the rest of the ride and we were both pretty darn stoked to sleep in a real bed that night.

We drove past the Avila Springs and I remembered taking the boys every year up to the Pumpkin Patch in Avila Beach to get our sweet corn, rock candy, pumpkins and even a bee sting on my big toe one year (we were video taping the pumpkin selection process and the boys still laugh at my select use of words when I got stung… they say it’s the only time they have ever heard me swear. I doubt that but they are sweet for saying so.) I miss our boys and the days of heading to the Pumpkin Patch and vow to take them this year in Indiana. Fifteen and ten isn’t too old for pumpkin picking is it? At what age does it become absolutely and totally “uncool”… I could care less, we’re going 🙂

We arrived in Oceano well before check in time at the hotel so we headed out to the beach to enjoy some calming ocean time. The hot sand felt awesome on my swollen bare feet and we got some nice pictures that afternoon. I remembered riding horses through those same dunes 15 years ago and suggested we go try to find the stables for a nice horseback ride. For some reason that was the last thing on Kevin’s agenda for that day or any other day in his life. Some day I will get this man on a horse! I was missing my animals immensely and would have biked 100 miles to find a horse and bury my face on her warm neck as I do every night at home. Hopefully Mercedez and Pepsi were cooperating for our farm sitters.

It was time to check in at the hotel and you would have thought the Oxford Suites was Trump Tower the way Kevin and I fell on the bed and swooned over the most basic of ammenities. I washed and dryed every item of clothing we had at the hotel laundry that afernoon and walked over to Denny’s to get french fries. Best french fries ever… had never really craved french fries before that day and then suddenly realized I was craving POTATOES! Oh my, you potatoes, what was I going to do with you?

Sat in a hot tub forever and loved every second of it. Couldn’t talk Kevin into the hot tub as he’s not a fan of public swimming pools, hot tubs, or even personal baths… he’s a shower kind of guy. It was good to give my feet a break from cycling shoes that day as they had become quite swollen over the past day or two.

Supper was amazing as usual and we slept better that night than we had in months. We were just entering our old stomping grounds (we lived on Vandenberg Air Force Base for eight years) and we were excited.

The Honoree tonight is Andrew, a fun loving athletic teenager battling Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis since the age of three. An avid bike rider he will most assuredly be on this ride when he reaches the age of eighteen. Seeing, meeting, and hearing all about him makes me think of my boys and I suddenly miss them almost more than I can bear. Ugh, this ride has made me kinda an emotional basket case. I thank God my husband is next to me as I lower my sunglasses over my eyes, shed a few tears, and get the best side hug squeeze from a husband who misses our boys as well.

Ya think Kevin heals enough to ride the next day? Ya think I can fit my huge feet into those seemingly itty bitty cycling shoes? We’ll see…

~Jhenna

We wake up and it is cold… really cold. It is 37 degrees and I am thankful for my warm snuggly sleeping buddy (otherwise known as Kevin, my husband), leg warmers, and jacket. The sleeping bag zipped together experiment did not work out well because (to use my husband’s exact words) “The whole thing rotated like a tank tread. Next thing you know, you (meaning me, his lovely bride) had everything… even zipped up you had all the covers however that is possible.”

We pack up camp and bike up to the lodge for a delicious and filling breakfast. This is the first day that I can’t stomach potatoes. I put a couple on my plate in hopes my hunger for them will come rushing back as soon as I sit down but alas my love affair with potatoes is officially gone… I can’t stomach another potato even though the tantalizing herb aroma awakens my culinary senses. I want to cook (culinary school was a blast for me) but love being cooked for as well. I gotta tell you, 8 straight days of having to do little else but ride a bicycle all day has left me very spoiled. Others cook for me, dear friends are taking care of our farm, relatives are caring for our kids, and my husband spoils me all along the way and at camp with encouraging words, affection, and back rubs!

Today we head out from Big Sur and ride onward to San Simeon. This is the first day with some fog. The only things standing in our way are a massive wall straight up out of camp, sheer cliffs along the way hundreds of feet above the swirling ocean chuckling at the 2 foot tall stone retaining walls meant to keep us on the road, and these two lovely mountains called the Twin Sisters. Other’s have a not so nice name for them but I liked the “G” rated version.

This is the day I have been worried about. I know from our previous days of riding that southern Indiana has no hills to train on… we have speed bumps and some slight ascending pleasantries but nothing compared to California and the mountain range we’d be biking through!

Today I wonder if my new goat that I got from my husband in exchange for agreeing to this ride was really worth it. The man knows how to get me to do these kinds of things and yes, she was worth it because she was already pregnant with two lovely boys (Mike and Ike) and we also scored a deal to get her yearling daughter (whom the boys named “Debbie”), SCORE! OK, enough about goats… on to the ride.

We head out of camp and climb, boy do we climb. Straight up, a bit over 870 feet. This is tough when your muscles aren’t warmed up and your fingers are freezing. I guess this shows what you’re made of… there’s gotta be easier ways to show what one is made of, ugh!

We finish climbing out of camp and have some fun ups and downs with amazing scenery. Just shy of 70 miles today though we found a couple detours (maybe on purpose, maybe not) to make it a full 71 miles for me and Kevin. I have to say this whole ride our routes have been expertly marked out so that even when we do head off to see a sight or two we are able to get back on the route easily, way to go California Coast Classic (CCC) staff!

So, climb out of camp done and on to some nice little climbs that seem like nothing comparatively speaking. Then we hit them, the Twin Sisters. Never before have I climbed as much as I climbed this day (over 5,500 ft in one day) but I’m impressed with myself for not giving up. I once again get very familiar with the lowest gear on my bike, the “granny gear.” I climb, and climb, and climb some more. I eat my energy jelly beans and continue to climb. Guess what I do then? I climb some more. Like an evil version of the movie “Groundhog Day.”

As I started the climb I had a great idea that might keep my mind off the challenge which loomed before me. So far praising and thank God as I climbed hills has made them go relatively fast and easier than I thought. However, this time I needed something more… I would start at the top of my head and go to the bottom of my feet thanking God for each and every body part. Yes, this would be great. There are hundreds of body parts and I had nothing but time.

I started at the base of the first Twin Sister. Every little body part was named and I thanked God… my hair which kept my head warm, ears with which to hear, hands and fingers to grip my handlebars, spleen to… what does a spleen do? Who knows, but thank You God for my spleen (filter maybe?)… my stomach which I wished had a few potatoes in it at this moment, my knees, calves, ankles, even my little toe, thank You God for my little toe and it’s little toe print (do our toes have “toe prints?”… I would have to check that out at a later time.)

This worked beautifully! Unfortunately I climbed for well over and hour or two and I just didn’t have enough body parts to make it the whole way. About twenty minutes shy of the firts peak God provided me with whales to feast my eyes upon. Another pod of humpback whales and we heard these ones before we saw them. A monstrous BOOM as they hit the water after breaching. It was breath taking! How they hauled those massive bodies that far out of the water was simply awe inspiring. I stopped for a quick picture but noticed my phone was almost dead and decided to reserve the power in case there was a family emergency with the boys or something. I’ll always be able to recreate the picture in my mind of those whales, it was that neat! I was able to watch them as I continued to climb. Thank You God!

Then there was a downhill, Kevi flew by me with a common “On your left” and I didn’t catch him until the middle of the next Twin Sister climb. I hit upwards of 45 mph so he had to have been flying at 50 or 55 mph. Those speeds on a bicycle are sheer madness but exhiliarating. I didn’t pump the brakes as much this time and really enjoyed the speedy trip down because I wanted to gain as much momentum as I could to head up that next sister.

Not surprisingly the down hill didn’t last nearly as long as those uphills and before I knew it I was climbing again. I caught up to Kevin and gave him a cheeky “On your left” as I watched my whales (yes, they were now officially mine) and climbed. Time went fast on this climb though it was probably over an hour. As I enjoyed another down hill Kevin zoomed by me again with beard flowing back in the wind… funny sight and I so wished I could have gotten a picture!

Many great rest stops on this day full of pickles, pineapple juice, sandwiches, energy bars, twizzlers, and cookies.

Kevin’s upper thigh issue had once again been plaguing him all day. We were still a good 15 miles from camp and Kevin had to get some more cream on his issue if he would have any hopes of staying on that saddle for one more second. We noticed a perfect little pull off area just ahead where we could stop for just a few minutes to allow him to attempt to doctor himself up as inconspicuously as possible. We pulled over and just as Kevin pulls out the cream and squeezes a good sized glob onto his hand a big RV pulls over right next to us. We both just look on in disbelief as an entire family empties out and starts taking pictures. We look at them and look beyond us to a beautiful light house scene with a gorgeous ocean backdrop. Yes, that was a good picture… now hurry up and get back on your RV people.

We wait, hoping they will get their pictures, pack up, and leave. They all got back on the RV but they didn’t leave. They just stayed there with an occasional peek out at us from their curtained windows. What was Kevin supposed to do now? We looked at the glob of white cream in his hand and back at the RV… are you serious, just leave already! Fed up, Kevin flung the cream on the ground and said, “Let’s just go.”

We hopped on our bikes (Kevin a bit more gingerly than I, poor guy) and headed off to the campsite. We came along a neat stretch of beach with huge elephant seals and I just had to stop to get a picture. I took pictures of my boys with these seals almost eight years earlier, my how time had flown by!

We rolled into San Simeon State Park ready for dinner and feeling so very accomplished from our day of climbing. Oh, what a great day!

Today was Tiffany’s Honoree day and it was such a blessing to have gotten to know her on such a personal note, this woman is an inspiration with such a phenomenal story to tell. Many riders enjoyed wine tasting with Bristol’s Hard Cider Tasting but Kevin and I were looking forward to showers and some chill time to hopefully get Kevin’s issue cleared up enough to ride the next day, so we skipped on the spirits.

I did get a massage (one huge perk of the ride was a talented team of massage therapists wih very reasonable prices for 25 or 60 minute massages!) this evening to help with a very sore right side from my stupid “at a standstill” fall a few days before and sore muscles from some big climbs. It was just what teh doctor (and husband) ordered!

Separate sleeping bags… sigh… though it is plenty warm this fine night. What will the morning bring?

~Jhenna

I must come clean about something that I did not purposely leave out of yesterday’s ride post… Perhaps I had momentarily blocked it from my memory because I was so excited to finally be on my bike or maybe I just wanted to save myself some embarrassment… Anyways, yesterday, day two of riding for most but day one of riding for me… well, I kinda sorta totally fell. One of those falls that I have gotten really good at. The fall from an almost complete standstill.

Here’s how it went down (literally)… We were biking on a beautiful bike trail along the highway from Santa Cruz to Monterey and I saw a road sign with the mileage to Los Angeles and a few other places. This road sign would be a great picture of how we were slowly but surely getting closer to Los Angeles and help add that “epic” touch to my California Coast Classic scrap book, my sole excuse for the plethora of selfies and road sign pics.

I voiced my intent to stop for a picture to my husband, slowed down, clipped out of my left pedal while braking and coming to a nice slow stop next to the wonderful California shrubbery. I was almost at a complete stop when I reached around my back to the right to pull my iPhone out of my back jersey pocket… Leaning to the right while only being clipped out on the left does not equal happy times and over I went letting my right knee catch the brunt of the sandy and unfortunately sharp shrubs and succulents. Where is your nice soft grass California?

Of course the first thing one does is look around to check if anyone saw the “tumble” (can’t really call it a crash). There was only one other rider behind us and he slowed up as he approached and asked if I was ok. I said I was and he rode on. Kevin was a total sweetheart, helping me back up and holding my bike while I took assessment of my knee and took a picture of that STUPID SIGN! I had a nasty gash full of dirt and sand on my knee and some nice road rash along my whole right leg. How do these “at a standstill” tumbles cause such injuries? I blame you speed play pedals! Grrrrrrr

To make matters oh so much worse I was wearing my new white cow socks and the stream of blood was heading straight for the cuff… NOOOOOOOO, save the socks! I grabbed a tissue from my bike bag (who’s glad I’m an overpacker now husband? Yes,  me) and applied direct pressure rubbing a great amount of dirt and sand deep into my bloodstream. The socks were saved though for the next 15 miles I had to catch a stream of blood every so often. OK, enough about yesterday.

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We are heading out from Monterey this morning and I do believe Kevin is determined to make me an expert on clipping out of my pedals at a roll and at a stop. Many pep talks as we roll down that hill out of camp which is quite fun on the downhill side of things. I now thank the staff for having us come up that monster hill because it was fun to fly down!

My knee is super stiff but I have no infection thanks to the homemade plantain, tea tree, comfry healing salve I brought along (yes, I’m that nerdy). Kevin’s upper thigh issue is proving to be quite a burden for him and we both agree that we’ll take many breaks today full of great memory photos!

We are heading to Big Sur and I’m told today and tomorrow are two of the most beautiful days of the whole trip. Today would be somewhat short as far as mileage went with only about 47 miles of riding. There was some decent climbing but the view was absolutely breathtaking so the ride went smoothly.

I had lived in California for 8 years before (just 3 miles from the coast) and never once had I seen a whale. Guess what I saw this day… a whole pod of humpback whales feeding on anchovies just off the coast. We stopped and took a ton of pictures as I swooned over the magnificence of these creatures. To say it was amazing would be the understatement of the century. Seeing whales was a hope of mine on this trip and certainly a box I wanted to check on my “things in life” list. CHECK!

The uphills made me work but the downhills were exhiliarating. I was clutching and pumping the brakes as I reached speeds of 40mph (faster than I’ve ever gone on a bike) and Kevin would fly past me as if he just lit his booster rocket pack with seemingly no fear!

 

We were getting close to camp at the Big Sur Campground. About a mile shy of camp was a neat little resturant and shop where you could get some great food and put your feet (or whole body) in a refreshing stream (river?) shaded by huge cyprus trees. When I say refreshing I mean freezing cold of course.

Kevin and I opted for a huge lunch at the restaurant complete with a big brownie and ice cream dessert which I inhaled shamelessly. To my defense, I offered Kevin some but he’s not a sweets kind of guy (which I already knew)… I just wanted to be sure those around us saw the effort I made to share lol.

After lunch we strolled down to the stream to put our footsies in the water. Ummmmmm… that lasted as long as it took me to take a quick picture and dash back out. That water was cold and I’m a complete baby.

We climbed back on our bikes and made our way into camp. It was gorgeous. The day’s heat was shaded by these huge stands of cyprus and pine trees. The smell of pine always takes me pack to good memories of camping and canoing along the Wisconsin River with my dad and brother. We got our stuff, set up camp, took showers, and I gathered some stuff to go down to do some laundry. I packed the clothes and cycling gear that needed to be washed with my bag of quarters and baggy of detergent (NOT DRUGS) into one of our hiking packs and hopped on my bike. It was a quick little ride to the laundry facilities at the campground (about a mile, maybe a little less) and there was a washer open. I put the first of two loads in and waited. Another washer became available, I threw our other load in, and waited.

I chatted with some folks who were cycling the coast as well. They were supporting themselves with all their own food etc. and seemed to be in great spirits though they looked quite weathered. We must have looked like spoiled Holloywood kids to them with our fully supported rest stops, catered meals, and fancy cycling outfits. It was fun to talk with them and listen to their experiences.

There were two industrial dryers but one was broken. Hmmm… 2 washers and 1 dryer, the line was quite long for that dryer and it was almost dinner time. I decided to pack up the damp clothes and return to dry them after dinner. Damp clothes are quite a bit heavier than dry clothes and the ride back to our campsite was a bit more cumbersome with the heavy pack on my back. Luckily the riders camping next to us had a clothes line up and offered to let us hang our damp things. This will certainly help.

We had decided on the late dinner time this evening which we though started at 7:30pm (we later found out it started at 7:00pm as was clearly written on our DRG which we totally didn’t look at for the supper time). We also thought there were shuttles to take us up to the lodge from the campsite but we weren’t seeing any (it’s quite possible we just didn’t wait long enough) when we went to catch one at 7:00pm.

“Let’s just walk,” I suggested. I don’t think Kevin was feeling as spry and chipper as I was because he gave me a somewhat ugly face. We couldn’t ride our bikes up because we’d be returning well after dark and had no headlights on our bikes. So, we started off not knowing exactly which way we needed to go (and seeing no signs that would help us out). I knew (for fairly certain) that we passed the lodge on our way into camp that day (Kevin didn’t remember seeing it) and I knew the creek that was now on our left was on our right when we road in. Kevin seemed dubious. It was getting dark quickly as we walked and a car approached. I suggested we flag it down and ask which way the lodge is but Kevin played his “no direction asking man card” and it passed by. We walk some more. I’m getting hungry and more unsure of my navigation skills. Another car approached and I flagged it down to ask which way the lodge is. They said we are on the right track and just keep going… we did. We got to the guard gate at the entrance to the park and I ran up to ask which way the Lodge is. She said it’s across the road and up to the right but it would be safer for us to take the trail (through the woods) rather than the road in the dark. We followed her advice even though I was sure I would be eaten by a bear. I just had to outrun Kevin… just kidding… kinda.

We got on the trail and I am not exagerating when I say we heard a ton of rustling in the woods to my right. Ask Kevin, he heard it too! It had to be a bear! We quickened our pace, nervously laughing and chatting way louder than we probably needed to (nervous laughter scares bears off, right?).

We made it to the Lodge (unmauled) and dug in to a great dinner of chicken, pasta, salad, rolls, potatoes (of course potatoes), and desserts.

Tummies full, it was time to head back to camp and fall into a potato induced coma snuggled in my warm sleeping bag. I’m too impatient to wait for a shuttle back to camp so I talk Kevin into walking. As we are leaving we meet up with Natascha, a fellow rider and that night’s Honoree. Diagnosed with JRA at 12 years old this woman lets nothing get in her way!

We all start to walk back to camp down the trail of certain death and mauling and we hear rustling in the woods again off to our left. My heart skips a few beats as I’m not sure if it’s a cougar or a bear ready to rip me from limb to limb because I smell like yummy chicken, pasta, dessert and POTATOES! I search my knowledge of bears to try to remember if they like potatoes all the while trying not to act like a scared little school girl in front of Natascha (Kevin already knows I’m a scaredy cat).

We trek on and the trail spits us out onto the main road where a shuttle pulls up and offers us a ride. I love their perfect timing. We hop in and Natascha shares her story with us, very neat and inspiring. This young lady goes on to accept a marriage proposal from her boyfriend later in the ride!

We arrive back at camp and check the clothes on the line. Much of it is still a bit damp and needs to get dried before it’s packed up. Ugh, I was tired. Kevin insists on walking with me to the laundry facility and I’m glad for his companionship as I’m less afraid of being eaten but more afraid of being abducted by a crazy camper somewhere along the way. I throw the damp clothes in my pack and Kevin asks if I have everything. I respond in a long exasperated tone, “Yes, I only took the clothes out of the pack so the rest is all still in there.”

We walk along and Kevin asks if I know where I am going. I do, but he has a way of making me second guess myself. It’s a straight shot, not tough, but it seems we walk forever. We finally arrive and I empty all the clothes in the huge empty dryer. It’s chilly and I contemplate throwing myself in for a tumble of warmth. I reach into the pack to get the bag of quarters and they aren’t there. Seriously, they aren’t there! They have to be there. I don’t remember taking them out but truth be told that doesn’t mean that I didn’t.

Kevin gives me the “Oh hon” as I dig in my pocket to see what loose change I have. One quarter, I have one quarter in my pocket. Well, that will give us 10 minutes worth of drying time. I spend the next 10 minutes apologizing to Kevin who just chuckles and says he loves me. It seems like one of those “I love you even though…” kind of I love yous 🙂

The 10 minutes actually dries our cycling gear completetly (gotta love spandex) but doesn’t do much for the cotton shirts etc. We pack up the clothes and head back to camp. We plan on hanging them out to dry on a line when we get into camp the next day.

Now, it’s time for sleep. We can’t call the boys because there is no cell reception. We decide to zip our sleeping bags together to make one big super snuggly sleeping bag that we both ought to love. We didn’t. Apparently, throughout the whole night I was quite the sleeping bag stealer and both of us got a very fitful night of rest. On the bright side, we stayed plenty warm even though temperatures dropped to the mid 30s!

Life is good… ya ready for the ride to San Simeon tomorrow and to see if I survive the climb up the Twin Sisters mountains? First I have to make it out of camp which proves to be a task in itself…

~Jhenna

12:30am… that’s half past midnight for clarification. I am blissfully sound asleep when the skies seemingly open up and let forth a massive force of rain. Like a tidal wave hitting our tent… receding… and then coming back to hit us again. It’s perfectly rhythmic and we slowly realize it’s not a natural downpour at all but rather the football field sprinkler system greeting us in the depths of night. Kevin and I both snuggle down further, dry as can be in our little tent. We can’t get back to sleep while the sprinklers pelt the tent but soon it is over and we drift off, chuckling and hoping no one got wet. We hear a couple loud bangs and oddly enough think nothing of them.

3:30am… Wonderful, I must be on California time now because I do not wake up on my own. However, I am awake, wide awake. Oh yes, another round of sprinkler fun. It’s chilly out so I snuggle even further down into my sleeping bag hoping against all hope I can get back to sleep when this round stops. Kevin and I both chuckle and wonder how this sprinkler detail was overlooked by the staff.

We later find out the detail was not overlooked, the sprinkler system was shut off but some pranksters (most likely the football team) turned it back on and threw some fireworks in for good measure. Those teenagers! Kevin admits he would have done the same thing at that age and I stare at him in disbelief… Who… is… this… rebel… that… I … married? The shock! lol

Everyone seems to be in decent spirits even though a bunch got SOAKED. Tents unzipped, no rain flys on (it’s California, rain doesn’t exist), and bags sitting outside. A hot breakfast with made to order omelets makes things ALL BETTER. This is when I first realize that I had better get to loving potatoes as they seemed to be a constant at every meal. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a midwest meat and mashed potatoes kind of girl so I was excited to see potatoes on the menu but how would I feel at the end of this seven day potato fest? My wnderful husband explains that they are a great food for cyclists because they give you energy that sticks around through the day rather than short bursts (ooh, that’s what we had our energy jelly beans for, right?!?!). Spinach, zuchini, and black olive omelet, potatoes, and cereal for me, YUM!

Today it is Santa Cruz to Monterey. Approximately 48 miles… maybe more if we take any sight seeing detours. I want to see seals, whales, dolphins, horses and any other animal that may help with the critter sized hole in my heart from leaving our hobby farm.

We pack up and head out at about 7:30am. Am I excited? YOU BETCHA! As we ride the back streets of Santa Cruz Kevin gives me yet another lesson on the easiest and safest way for me to clip out of pedals as we have numerous stop lights, stop signs, etc. to navigate ahead. I just don’t get it as usual and am slightly awkward (but do not fall over) at every stop.

The route is marked perfectly and we ride happily with a few other riders. We climb a couple hills and that’s when I notice my gears are quite rough. Every time I try to go into my small chain ring or a lower gear I get a grinding noise. That can’t be good so I stay in my large chain ring and a rather large gear for the first 15 miles.

I thanked God that I trained in a higher gear with a lower cadence for all those Indiana miles. However, I couldn’t keep this up for long. The hills were getting steeper and it was sometimes difficult to get going quick enough to avoid being run over after a stop light. At the bottom of a rather long and large hill a support van happened to be pulled over helping another rider. Brian (knows his way around bikes awesome but doesn’t call himself a mechanic? curious or maybe I misunderstood?) was manning that particular van on Day 2 and he had my gears fixed in about 3 minutes flat. Very nice and perfect timing!

Kevin and I head off on our merry way and have a beautiful ride. We stop for pictures of seals, each other, and more seals. The climbing isn’t bad but Kevin has an issue on his lower thigh from the day before that plagues him. It’s sore and this day was not a comfortable ride for him. Me? Oh I’m floating on a cloud and the miles flew by quicker than I ever would have wanted them to. Honestly, it felt like a 10 mile ride to me.

Coming in to the rest stops and check points as a rider is exhilarating. I fall in love with honey and peanut butter sandwiches, pineapple juice, and pickles! Yes, pickles. I kinda feel like a pregnant woman with this combo and never before would I have thought pickles were a cycling food but they are. The sodium, minerals, vitamins, and who knows what else in these foods help ward off cramps, muscle soreness and give lasting energy. Sure, why not 🙂

We get to Monterey and comtemplate hanging out down at the pier for a while before heading up a ginormous hill to camp. However, Kevin wants to shower and relax so we head up to camp. OK, so our “Daily Route Guide” (DRG) says the following…

Right. Scott Street. Climb to camp begins.

Left. Van Buren Street

Right. Jefferson Street

Continue straight. Veterans Drive. Climb steepens! (yes, they had the exclamation point in there)

Continue Straight. Enter Veterans Memorial Park.

So, we start climbing. I’m in my lowest, easiest gear. I don’t think I have ever been in this gear before. I start to climb… and climb… and climb. I thank God for my legs with which to pedal, my heart with which to pump, and my lungs with which to give me air. This helps. I eat some energy jelly beans. Not sure if that helped.

We keep thinking the next street will be Veterans Dr where the climb will steepen and we’ll almost be done. Nope, just more climbing but no Veterans Dr.

FINALLY, we make it to Veterans Dr. and I think this is when I first realize that Indiana has no hills… no switchbacks, no pain envoking, never ending streets of climbing. Guess what, California does, and they are everywhere! I have to admit I thought it was kinda cruel that the staff chose a climb into camp… we just wanted a shower and some potatoes, why are they making us work so hard to get these seemingly basic wants?

We finally reach Veterans Dr. and wow did that climb steepen. Ugh. Through the pines and switchbacks galore. I would tell myself the camp was just around the next switchback but it wasn’t. The next? Nope. Why did my husband talk me into this? This was hard… the excitement was fading as I thought I might roll backwards still clipped into these death contraption pedals.

This is horrible, but I was glad to see others were having troubles as well. Sure, there were folks that steadily climbed up with what seemed like very little effort but I told myself they were most assuredly doping. I don’t mean to offend anyone if any of the other riders read this… I wasn’t thinking clearly at this point, I cannot be held accountable.

We climbed and climbd and climbed and then guess what, we made it! Woohoo, back to excited Jhenna! My “Thank You God for the ability to do this” got me through after my “Just keep pedaling” mantra left me feeling defeated.

I was feeling great. My legs were strong, my hands and arms were ready for more, and my bottom actually wasn’t sore at all, I’m shocked! I though back to six months ago… my first ride when we had gone two miles and I was begging Kevin to turn around and head home because it hurt so horribly to sit on that evil seat. I had come a long way… we had come a long way and it was pure sweetness to be riding with my husband.

Tent set up, sleeping bags rolled out, showers taken, and off to get some food. Tonight, I am introduced to tofu. Kevin piles his plate with rice, corn, salad, cornbread and ribs. In place of ribs on my plate is tofu. We live in Indiana… don’t see tofu on menus in southern Indiana. I grew up in Wisconsin… tofu is not beer or cheese.

I have no choice, I need protein and I’m allergic to mammal meat (go ahead, work it out in your mind… beef no, mammal. Pork no, mammal. Chicken yes, not a mammal. Fish yes, not a mammal. Turkey yes, not a mammal.) They slathered the tofu with barbecue sauce and grilled it. Truth be told, it wasn’t bad at all. I ate two big pieces and the texture is the only thing that even alluded to the fact that it was not real meat. Well done catering crew, well done! However, I totally coveted Kevin’s ribs which probably weirded him out a bit and made him feel guilty, sorry honey. We chatted with and got to know some great folks from all over the nation while we ate.

There were some give aways and we met the night’s honoree, Kayleigh Springer. She was diagnosed with polyarthritis at 15 months of age and has attended Juvenile Arthritis Camp and Juvenile Arthritis Conference. I really appreciated the Arthritis Foundation having these daily honorees as it allowed us to see how arthritis really affects all ages and life.

When we signed up for this ride I envisioned everyone sitting around chatting and getting to know each other after dinner and there were quite a few who did this. However, as far as Kevin and I were concerned we were tired beyond measure and couldn’t wait to crawl into those sleeping bags.

We called the boys to say good night and let them know how the ride went, all about pickle, pineapple juice, and peanut butter sandwich eating, and my first experience with yummy tasting tofu. They were happy for us but wondered why we were eating like a pregnant woman… it’s amazing how much we think alike! Our oldest son (15) was excited because he was heading out on Saturday with his cousin and some guys to do an air soft gun tournament. Is this safe? “Don’t shoot your eye out” was the only advice I could offer my son.

We snuggle down into our sleeping bags (on a slight downhill slope) and fall asleep so very fast. The entire night I slide down and crawl back up only to slide back down again. It’s all good, I get to ride again tomorrow! However, why, just why the climb into camp? lol

All righty, I’m back. Just so I don’t get behind on my quest to get each day done I will hop on and finish this day.

When we left young Tiffany and Jhenna at blog post Day 3, they were fast becoming BFFs through shared stories of struggles, perseverance, and triumph. As we drove down the Pacific Cast Highway (Highway 1) we cheered on riders as we passed and I even caught a glimpse of Kevin!

We were asked to stay and help at the last check point of the day making sure riders didn’t miss the turn to come up, grab a PB&J sandwich and those magical little energy jelly beans and check in so we knew they hadn’t fallen into the ocean. We had a great time cheering in the riders and I even got to cheer my husband in and get a great big kiss! I shared with him the great news that I had the bicycle part and in just a few short hours we would see if it fit. He was tired and a bit sore but showed genuine excitement at the notion of having a riding buddy the next day.

Tiffany and I stayed and waited until the last riders came through and were given the green light to head on into camp at the high school in Santa Cruz… we would be camping on their football field for the night.

When I got there my amazing husband had already grabbed our bags, set up the tent, and was sprawled out seemingly just waiting for me to arrive and talk his ear off. I gave him a quick kiss, asked how the day’s ride went and admittedly only half listened as I thought about getting the bike piece to Jamaica and Ian.

Kevin paused for a moment while he was telling me about his day and I hate to admit it but I was gone, jogging to get my bike and heading to the mechanics. I thnk Kevin understood… He wasn’t mad when I came back so he must have understood 🙂

I grabbed my bike from the rack and looked at the slot where the wedge piece was supposed to fit… it looked too small for the piece I had in my pocket. “We’ll see” I thought. I made my way to the mechanic’s van and waited patiently (though I may have been bouncing up and down) while Ian finished up with a bike on the stand. He finished and I wheeled my bike over, held out the piece in my hand and just stared. He took the piece and slipped it perfectly into the hole and inserted my seat post with seat. It fit like a glove… like a perfect non-OJ Simpson like glove! I jumped up and down and gave Ian a HUGE hug! Jamaica just laughed and said if it didn’t fit he would have chipped of a piece of wood from his stand and wedged the seat post in! They were probably just both relieved they didn’t have some crazy sobbing woman standing before them.

I jumped on my bike and took it for a little spin down the block and back… it felt MARVELOUS! It had been just over two weeks since I had sat in that saddle and I cannot even explain how good it felt… amazing! I thanked God, I thanked Ian and Jamaica and I sprinted back to the tent to thank my husband!

That night we put my numbers on my bike and I was ready to ride for the next day. We called the boys and gave them the good news. They were both doing well in Wisconsin and excited that I would be riding the next day. We had a delicious supper and snuggled down into our sleeping bags and laid our heads down on our rolled up jackets.

Did I mention I was not able to refit my pillow into my pack when we left the hotel that morning? Apparently a sleeping bag takes up a little bit of room in a pack and the pillow had to be left behind… this ought to be an interesting trip camping with no pillow. I like my pillow. However, my bike ws fixed so all seemed to be perfectly right in the world at that moment. Little did we know it would be a fitful night of rest full of many things meant to keep one wide awake (like I needed any help with that!).

Kevin was very excited to have me ridingthe next day though he admitted he was a wee bit worried I might have a tough time of it… Day one was hard and he was thinking our training in Indiana may have been inadequate. Couple that with his held fear that I was ill-equipped to clip out of my speed play pedals quickly if need be and I doubt he got much sleep that night thinking about what all could go wrong. We will see…

 

~Jhenna

2:30am… awake… WIDE AWAKE! Yup, obviously still on Indiana time. Totally awake with no goats to milk, what’s a woman to do? “Kevin, are you awake?”… nothing.

I lay there for the next two hours praying to God. Praying all sorts of things but above all else that His will be done and I be content in it. Contentment… that’s a challenge for me. Laying my worries, concerns, and troubles at His feet, an even bigger challenge. Trusting God’s timing, perfect plan, and love for me the biggest challenge of all.

God knows all my needs, wants, and heartfelt desires. He knows when I am not placing Him first in my life and he knows the instant my selfish heart gets me in trouble. I wanted to ride today. I wanted to ride soooooooo badly. I was ready to ride. I even felt that I DESERVED to ride. Pride, self-righteousness, and selfishness leave me a very wretched person.

 

Slowly but surely as I laid there and prayed I gained perspective. Quite possibly God’s plan was for me to not ride this day. Maybe not ride at all. Would I be content with that? I wasn’t sure so I prayed some more, earnestly and with a very heavy heart.

4:30am… Kevin stirs ever so slightly and I do one of those “big stretches” that accidentally knock him right upside the head. “Oops, I’m sorry honey, are you up?” I whisper trying to keep the eagerness from my voice. If I couldn’t ride today I was going to make it the best riding day for my husband (minus the whole knocking him upside the head part)!

A flurry of activity ensues in which we get all ready, I pack a small bag with my cycling gear just in case the bike part is miraculously found and I’m able to ride, and we try to make the best of the situation. Hmmmm something is missing. I can’t find my bike bag that has my spare tube, epipen, and driver’s license in it. Where did I put it? I just had it yesterday afternoon… We search the room, our luggage, everywhere. I then suddenly remember I had it in a bag we had taken to FedEx yesterday to get my bike, is it possible it fell out and is still in the rental car? Kevin and I get to talking and think there’s a remote possibility that even my bike part fell out of the box in the trunk of the car and may be there! What are the chances?

I head down to the car rental lot with my little flashlight to check. Sure enough, sitting on the floor of the rental car is my bike bag and Kevin’s sunglasses case. Wow, how funny is that. I checked the door, of course it’s locked. I look around to be sure no one is watching and thinking I’m trying to steal this car and then proceed to go and check all of the doors… yup, all locked. Grrrrrrr.

I head back to the room to give the status report to my husband who takes it all in stride, just chuckles, and gives me a “Oh hon” 🙂

None of the bike shops that may have my bike part open until 9 or 10am so it looks like it’s a for sure thing I will not be riding unless the part is in the trunk. We won’t know that until 8am when I come back up to the car rantal place to get my bike bag and check.

We head down to breakfast at the Hard Rock Cafe walking our bikes (hard to ride a bike without a seat). So depressing but I tell Kevin all about how I’m trying to be so very content with God’s plan but hoping his plan involves a little bike piece in the rental car trunk.

We enjoy breakfast and chatting with fellow riders. At 7:50am I leave Kevin at the Hard Rock Cafe (they are still giving riders a briefing and running a little behind) and walk up to the rental car place. I wait until he opens at 8am precisely and explain what I’d like. He hands over the keys and I head down to the car praying the whole way my bike part is there. I get my bike bag and Kevin’s sunglass case and open the trunk. There, laying in the middle of the trunk is… nothing, absolutely nothing. Oh well, let’s try that contentment thing again.

I head back down to the restaurant and chat with one of the support van drivers. She says they can put my bike up on the rack and take it to Santa Cruz where we’ll be camping that night. However, they have to give support to the riders throughout the day so they won’t be able to run around to bike shops to look for my bike part. I’m bummed but totally understand. Contentment right?!?! God certainly knows what areas of life I need work on and wow is He giving me opportunities to practice.

Then a ray of sunshine… I am told I can ride with Amy Robertson, the amazing woman in charge of this whole ride (with the amazing help of the “other” Amy and Monica and a whole crew of suport staff). By the way, I seriously wonder how these three ladies, Amy, Amy and Monica can look so amazing, be so cheerful, and have so much energy when we all know they are getting hardly any sleep and burning candle at both ends… I look forward to chatting with Amy about how she does it as I ride with her that day!

I go from bummed to excited to be riding with Amy and even more excited when she says we can stick around San Francisco until the bike shops open! Kevin comes out and we hang out for a bit before he starts the ride. He likes the sparkle in my eye.

The group picture is taken, Kevin gets his bike, we kiss and I send him off with a simple “Have a good ride honey, see you in Santa Cruz this afternoon and maybe along the way. I love you, will miss you, be careful, and I totally know where the van is parked in Chicago so all is well!” He smiles and all the riders set off, what a sight!

Amy and I stick around for a bit as she makes sure everyone gets off safely and her whole crew know the plan. I become her shadow as a bunch of us head back up to the hotel so they can pack up their stuff and make sure they have everything before leaving San Francisco. I am glad to help where I can, helping to load up a box truck, babysitting an RV parked on the street so it doesn’t get ticketed and calling bike shops to see if any are open a little early… they aren’t.

9:30am… I get ahold of the first bike shop which does not have the part I need in stock. Over the next 45 minutes I call all the bike shops in the area who carry Specialized and no one has the part. I call our bike shop back in Evansville to see what advice they can give me. They call Specialized directly (their main center is in California 🙂 ) who says they can get a part out Monday at the soonest overnighted to wherever I need it to go. I don’t want to wait till Monday 🙁

Not sure who came up with the idea of seeing if any shop in the area had a Ruby and would be willing to take it off the floor, remove the part, sell it to me, and then have Specialized send them another (paid for by me) on Monday but it’s an option. Genius idea, whoever though of it!

I call the first shop… yes, they have two Specialized Ruby bikes with that part on the floor… I’m practically jumping up and down in excitement at this point! My grin had to be from ear to ear!

Then my excitement is dashed… No, they are not willing to take one off the floor until Monday because they “might” sell them over the weekend. Are you serious?!?! It was really hard to remain calm and gracious. REALLY HARD! I thanked them for their time and called four other shops… no Ruby bikes on their floor at this time. The last shop I called, Valencia Cyclery, had one on the floor. I held my breath after I explained what I wanted and they went to get the manager. He came back on the line, told me he’d sell me the piece and I could come pick it up anytime. I thanked God over and over again. Contentment is easy when things go my way, right? I am a total work in progress, don’t ever stop praying for me folks!

Amy and I chatted up a storm on the drive over to Valencia Cyclery… I’m not sure I let her get a word in edgewise I was so excited. We talked family, riding, work, life, a little bit of everything. We got there and I ran in with an extra bounce in my step. All they had was a 2014 Ruby (mine was a 2013) and the part had a different stock number than the one I was looking for but I said I’d take it anyways and just see if it fit. The guy at Valencia Cyclery was so cool! He took the bike apart, sold me the part (only $34), and said he’d take care of ordering another part from Specialized and would pay for it. Wow, all I can say is wow. Valencia Cyclery in San Francisco folks, give them your business and love!

I felt like I was carrying the Queen’s crown when I left the shop. I slipped it into my pocket, zipped it up, and had a great ride with Amy as we headed down to meet up with riders and volunteers at the different rest stops. Every time we passed a rider along the road I would wave, she’d honk, and we just had a great time encouraging everyone on a very tough course. So many big hills, lots of traffic, and quite a bit of stopping for lights etc.

We stopped at the first rest stop and that’s where I met Tiffany. A beautiful young lady, volunteer, and honoree later in the week for the Arthritis Foundation. They needed someone to drive one of the vehicles for the rest of the day and that’s where my shotgun trip with Amy came to an end. I was now driving a minivan as Tiffany’s co-pilot.

It became clear very quickly that I was not meant to ride my bike this day because I had some things to learn out of the saddle. Contentment… yup that’s a given. What else?

That day I really learned about strength, perseverance, self-sacrifice, and gained a knowldge base about arthritis and what the Arthritis Foundation does. From Amy’s perspective and then from the other side of the coin, Tiffany’s.

I wasn’t dazzled by a beautiful coastline as we drove along, I was dazzled and awed by the story of this young lady, Tiffany, who told me what it was like to grow up with and still be plagued by juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA). What the Arthritis Foundation camps and conferences did for her and so many of the kids she had met through these programs. The lifelong friendships based on a shared understanding of how this diesase can and does knock you on your butt day in and day out. The research and medication programs aimed at finding a cure or helping people who live with arthritis. The lack of understanding among the community about the fact that JRA is it’s own type of arthritis that one does not “grow out of” when you become an adult. Just so many things I was clueless about.

I thanked God for my sunglasses that day so Tiffany wouldn’t see the tears that I just couldn’t hold back. She thanked me over and over again for raising the money I did for the Arthritis Foundation through this ride and all of a sudden it just didn’t seem like I raised enough. Every penny would be spent so well… so perfectly and would affect someone’s life in a very real and great way. I asked questions and she answered them. Never would I had had the opportunity for such an intimate conversation on this subject with a survivor if I had been on my saddle that day. God is good.

Ya know, now is the point it seems like I should get back to my bike… did the piece fit?… Did I ride the rest of the California Classic?… But it just seems so unimportant now.

I think I need to end this post on the note I did… I’ll jump back on in a bit and finish up the day but I just think you need… no, I need to stop and remember what this ride was really about. Raising funds for the Arthritis Foundation to do the work that is so important in our nation.

Still raising funds because I believe in this cause. Thank you Amy and Tiffany for showing me what matters…

http://ccc14.kintera.org/jhennaconway

 

~Jhenna

 

3:30am, Friday, day before the ride starts… I am wide awake and obviously still on central time. My mind and body are screaming at me to get up, pack Kevin’s lunch for work, let the dogs out, feed the horses, feed and milk the goats, throw a load of laundry in, and sit with my Bible and a cup of coffee for some quiet time. But wait… where am I? I don’t hear any roosters, no birds chirping, and an alarm has obviously not gone off.

Ahhhhhh, yes, San Francisco. Go back to sleep Jhenna. But… alas… I cannot. “Kevin are you awake?” I whisper. “No, go back to sleep honey” is his sweet response. But… I… can’t! Too excited! I lay there for another hour wide awake until I can no longer stand it.

I walk up to the “premier lounge” on the 10th floor in hopes of finding some coffee. Nope, no coffee and very little to keep me occupied so I head back to the room to see if I can convince my husband to wake up. On the ninth floor a couple get on the elevator with me… a man with a simple small rolling suitcase and a woman with a wild head of hair, a very loose oversized tank top, miniskirt and obviously no undergarments (doesn’t she feel a draft?). I smile politely but can’t wait to get to our 8th floor to dash out and tell Kevin that I most assuredly got to hang out in an elevator with a prostitute. Wow, do I sound extrememly sheltered and naive.

Kevin is unimpressed with my news but I talk him into getting up and ready way before he ever would have even thought of on his own. We head down to get some breakfast and then back up to wait. I call the Sheraton to see if we can get into our room there if we head over now (8am) but they are cryptic and don’t give us a straight answer. Maybe, but maybe not until noon. I’m bored out of my mind in the hotel room so we call a cab to head to the Fisherman’s Wharf and the Sheraton. I talk Kevin into the idea of walking around the Wharf if our room isn’t ready yet.

The front desk calls us a cab… a seemingly nice calm gentleman who doesn’t even comment on my heavy bag as he hoists it into the trunk. Wow oh wow, I am not usually a person able to be frightened easily but I was a wreck when this guy got onto the back streets of San Francisco off the highway (freeway?). Straight up and straight down, dashing here and there and everywhere. Trying to prove his cab could go from dead stop to 60mph in the span of one black before slamming on the breaks at the stop sign he knew was there before leaving the last one. Seriously, was he trying to make me scream? I actually clutched Kevin’s hand like I thought we might not make it!

We made it. Guess what, the room would be ready at noon. It was 10am. Check-in for the California Coast Classic was at noon and mechanics would start assembling bikes at 2pm so we had some time to kill. We stowed our bags in a secure room they had set up for just that purpose and walked down to the wharf. Nice little shops, fresh donuts, crepes, all sorts of things one would love to look through and buy for souvenirs if only they had more than a little bike bag to fit them into. I did get two Alcatraz postcards for the boys… mental note, I need to find those and give them to the boys as I never did get around to mailing them from California!

It’s noon! We check into our room, take our stuff up and head directly down to check-in for the ride. I’m sooooooooo excited! We get our new jerseys, jackets, socks, numbers, and all sorts of other cool stuff. Little packs of energy jelly beans from Jelly Belly… seriously do they really want me to be any more amped up than I already am? We meet Amy and all sorts of other folks just as excited as we are, so very cool!

We head back up to our room, dump all of our cool swag out on the bed and start packing things up for the epic ride that starts in about 18 hours.

At 2pm we head back down to lobby area to the room where they are putting bikes together. We meet two of the most amazing bike mechanics in the WORLD,  Ian and Jamaica. These guys not only know their trade but they have magnetic personalities. Easy going, fun loving, and hard working I wish my sons could have met them and just followed them around for the week.

One of our boxed bikes is there (package 2 of 2) but the other box is missing (package 1 of 2 according to the label and the one containing my bike). We call FedEx to try to track it down. After reading the tracking number to literally 14 different people (one even at one of their Canadian distribution offices, I prayed to God my bike was not in Canada) we find out FedEx in Evansville did not type up the complete label on my bike box and it was sitting at a distribution center in south San Francisco. It took over 2 hours and 14 people to get this little tidbit of information.

No, they could not get the bike to the hotel. All of their trucks were out for the day and there was no way to call anyone back in to load it and no other truck to bring it. Yes, they understood I needed the bike before 5:30pm. Yes, they understood the bike should be sitting at the hotel right now. No, they were unable to figure out that the box (package 1 of 2) should have gone with the box with the same tracking number and name of sender (package 2 of 2). No, they had no other options for us unless we wanted to come pick it up ourselves. How were we supposed to do that?

I mentioned to Kevin that there was a car rental place across the street and we should rent a car, drive to get the box and try to get it back before the mechanics closed up shop at 5:30pm. We talked to Ian and Jamaica and they said regardless of the time the bike would be assembled and ready for me to ride in the morning if we could get it there. Seriously, what did we do to deserve these awesome guys?

We ran to rent the car and sped off (Kevin was driving so speed limits were obeyed). We made it to the distribution center 12 miles away after 40 minutes of traffic and waited. I signed in as they asked me to and literally saw my bike box sitting on a cart 5 feet away. It was beyond a metal detector and 4 FedEx security guard guys. I pointed to it and explained to one of the guards that I was here to pick up that box. He said I would have to wait… FOR WHAT? I waited… I seethed but I waited. I waited some more. 15 minutes passed with no effort from anyone that I could see to do ANYTHING! I called FedEx and told them I was at the south San Francisco distribution center to pick up my bike and could someone expedite the process as we had to get the rental car back before they closed in 15 minutes.

If we didn’t get the rental car back in time that evening we would have to come back up to return it when they opened at 8am which is when the ride was supposed to start. FedEx said someone would be down to help me momentarily. What exactly were the jobs of those security guard guys other than trying to drive me insane? Just wondering.

Ten minutes later a very nice man came, gave us the box and Kevin and I just looked at each other as the box was beaten up horribly with gaping holes… it would be a miracle if my bike was in working order. Perhaps boxes with incomplete labels get drug around the back of the truck for a few blocks as punishment? That’s what it looked like.

Down the back seats go in the car and the box fits perfectly. I ask Kevin to please let me drive as I’m feeling confident in my ability to get us back in time to return the car… apparently I think I can fly is probably what he was thinking. I weave in and out of traffic, praying as I go and possibly urging the car to go speeds it wasn’t completely comfortable with.

We were soooooo close. 5:10pm…I drop Kevin off at the hotel in hopes he can get the bike to the mechanics before they close the doors thinking we couldn’t get the bike that night. I see the rental place is closed so I head to park the car in the rental lot so it’s ready to return in the morning. Guess what though… as I’m getting out of the car I see the rental car guy getting into his own car after a hard day’s work.

Yup, you guessed it, I have no shame! I give him a cheerful smile and ask if he’d be willing to take the keys and check the car back in “real quick.” I must have looked like I was on the edge of a huge cryfest because he agreed! He opened the office back up, let me take care of all the paperwork and the car was taken care of, WOOHOO!!

Ian and Jamaica seemed genuinely happy to see us and the bike box we carried though they had every good reason to run the opposite way (they would certainly be putting in overyime that night).

We left the bike with them (Kevin’s was put together and looked GREAT!) and headed off to get something to eat. We went to the same restaurant we visited eight years before as Kevin embarked on this same ride without me in 2006. Yummy Italian food and a few laughs about the crazy last couple hours we had lightened our mood and made everythying seem like it was going to be ok. We happily walked back over to the Sheraton and checked on progress of my bike. They were getting to it next and I was excited 🙂

We headed back up to our room to relax a bit and wait for word that my bike was done so we could bring it up and put my number, tail light, computer, etc. on. Being me, I couldn’t stay up in the room patiently so I headed down to check on the progress (I give my husband, Ian, and Jamiaca all the props in the world for dealing with me this night). When I walked in Ian had some bad news. There was a part missing on my bike… a crucial part. A little wedge shaped seat clamp that is made especially for the Specialized Ruby and it’s internal seat post configuration. The seat post and seat cannot be secured without it. You’ve… got… to… be… kidding… me. It must have come loose in shipping and fallen out of one of the gaping holes in the box.

I’m not a crying kind of woman nor am I one prone to meltdowns but if ever I was to have an absolutely selfish meltdown this would have been the perfect time. Kevin showed up at just that moment and wrapped his arms around me. Oh how I love that man! We called every bike shop in the area and they were all closed by that time. There was nothing anyone could do. My bike was unrideable until we got that part.

I was bummed… beyond bummed. Kevin was bummed. We went back up to the room to pout a bit and attempt a good night’s sleep. Kevin would ride out solo tomorrow and we’d figure out what I’d do in the morning. Most likely ride in one of the support vehicles while trying to have the piece shipped to wherever we would be that day or the following Monday… what else could we do?

Stay tuned…

~Jhenna

 

We arrived at my grandparents’ house Thursday night after preparing the hobby farm for our absence. How does one explain to 16 goats, 2 sheep, 2 horses, 11 cats, 4 dogs, a bunch of chickens, a bunch of guineas, a bunch of rabbits and 2 guinea pigs that we would be away for two weeks, not forever, and they were to be on their best behavior for the seven families who were to be caring for them for two weeks. Add to this the simple fact that no one runs our hobby farm quite like me and my well trained two sons (by well trained I mean they have been taught to do things “Mom’s way” and do so quite well) and you have a recipe for quite a bit of worry on the part of this hobby farmer.

 

We got in late to grandma’s house in Wisconsin Thursday night and I didn’t have time to dash to the grocery store for the boys’ favorite foods. Logical next step? Set my alarm for 4:30am the next morning to run to the 24 hour Super Wal-Mart for things like carrots, goldfish crackers, string cheese, frozen wholegrain waffles, taco shells, chips, lemonade, almonds, and a million other things that no two boys could ever eat all of in a month’s time even. I promise I was not thinking that my grandmother was unable to get these things for our boys. I just didn’t want her to have to be bothered with a big grocery trip on top of all she was already doing for us by watching our kids for what seemed like forever.

 

I’ll let you in on a little secret (probably quite apparent by now)… I’m not away from my kids very often. We homeschool, they like to hang out at home, and we have many of the same interests so we tend to just be together A LOT! This is the longest Kevin and I will have been away from our kids… ever. I’m not sure how I feel about it as I grocery shop for their comfort food. Maybe they will think of me when they eat string cheeses. For every goldfish cracker my youngest son eats maybe he will feel my loving arms around him. I may be a bit emotional…

 

Ooh guess what else… I found flip flops! I had looked for cheap plastic flip flops (for shower shoes on the ride, I’m a germaphobe) all over Indiana and Kentucky and found NONE. Guess what I found in that Wisconsin Wal-Mart… FLIP FLOPS! I was ecstatic. Probably more so than anyone in Wal-Mart was prepared for at 5:00am. I also got a big bottle of shampoo and conditioner even though Kevin recommended the little travel sized ones. I may have to sneak these into my bag to avoid a well deserved lecture about overpacking from my very logical (and almost always right) husband.

 

I got back to Grandma’s at 6:00am and was welcomed with a great pot of coffee (oh how that woman knows me!) and a cheery good morning from Grandma who thought I had just woke up (did I look that rough?). Kevin and I grabbed some coffee, loaded up our bags, hugged the boys and grandparents goodbye and set off to catch the bus in Rockford (hour drive from Grandma and Grandpa’s house).

 

We chatted in such a gitty fashion and were so excited! We had clipped our helmets onto our carry on gear so they wouldn’t get cracked in checked luggage (I admittedly think air luggage handlers are out to ruin every material item I hold dear) and in hopes that they would be a great conversation start up for folks we ran into along the way (still raising funds for the Arthritis Foundation on the ride and through Oct 31! Donate here! http://ccc14.kintera.org/jhennaconway .)

 

About halfway to Rockford we realized we were way early, completely excited, and throwing around the idea of just driving down to Chicago ourselves. Kevin didn’t like the idea of me riding a bus back from Chicago on my own on the return trip anyways and the parking fees at O’Hare would only be about $10 more than the cost of the bus tickets to get there so we went for it. ON TO CHICAGO!

 

Traffic was easy, construction not so bad, and when we got to Chicago we were almost 4 hours early for our flight. I felt like we were on “The Amazing Race” and kept alluding to that fact the whole drive down as an excuse for my slight lead foot. We got to the airport and I wanted to grab our bags and sprint to the shuttle, airport, and to our gate all the while checking for earlier flights (I used to watch A LOT of The Amazing Race). Kevin wanted to take our time, MAKE SURE I knew where the van was parked, MAKE SURE we had everything we needed, MAKE SURE I would remember where the van was parked, and MAKE SURE we weren’t forgetting anything… get my point?

 

We checked everything twice over and jumped on the shuttle to the terminals. We were so excited! I totally overlooked and forgot the bar of poison ivy soap I had brought for the lovely poison ivy I had all up and down my right arm but wouldn’t realize it until we were getting into the hotel in San Francisco. I blame Kevin LOL!

 

Check in was a breeze at O’Hare… props to Virgin America, great airline and super nice people. Plus I kinda felt like we were heading somewhere exotic just by the airline name… Virgin Islands, ummmm , can’t really think of any other place that Virgin America reminds me of but Virgin Islands are good enough. We still had just over three hours until our flight left and there was no line for security so we got through quite rapidly.

Kevin kept asking me, “Do you remember where the van is parked? Lot F, S1.” I assured him I had put the information in the notes of my phone because I could NEVER remember it. He seemed content with that.

A wonderful breakfast at the airport Wolfgang Puck hit the spot though I kept thinking they were hiding bacon somewhere in my Belgian waffle that would assuredly send me intio anaphylactic shock and my epi-pen was in my checked luggage (once again I blame Kevin for not insisting I put it in my carry on). Oh, actually, I think we both decided I might get in trouble in security for my obvious intent of taking over the plane with an epi-pen.

 

We walked around the terminal, looking in shops, realizing there really are few magazines we are really interested in anymore and thinking people MUST BE CRAZY to pay $5 for a little bag of about 15 almonds. We chatted, messed around on our phones, double checked I had the van parking information in my phone at the insistence of my sweet husband, chatted some more, checked online to see if our bikes had been delivered to the hotel (FedEx tracking confirmed they had), walked some more, called the Sheraton to see if our Amazon.com boxes had arrived (I eventually hung up after being on hold for 45 minutes while they checked), and finally were ready to board the plane. San Francisco here we come!

 

I don’t do well on flights. I’m not scared I just have the attention span of an ADHD squirrel. I like to drive so I can stop when I want (seldom do but the option is still there), go as fast or as slow as I want (always fast… grrr that lead foot), and can pull through a drive through whenever I get hungry. Flying limits my options way more than I am comfortable with and I just get bored. I couldn’t sleep because I was too excited and so I resorted to watching Judge Judy and Law & Order: SVU on the neat little individual video screens each seat had. Kevin’s was on a picture of our flight path and the plane seemed to move at a snail’s pace across the midwest, west, and California. I took pictures (of his screen) when our little plane was shown over Nebraska (our youngest son’s birth state) and entering California (our oldest son’s birth state). These of course were for their awesome scrap books that I haven’t quite started yet.

 

We arrived in San Francisco right on time and my Amazing Race dream jumped back into full swing as I begged Kevin to sprint off the plane and through the terminal with me… he refused. To the baggage claim we went at a normal pace (grrrrrrr!) and picked up our large hiking backpacks (mine had miraculously stayed together even with the ripped seam). Mine was crazy heavy and Kevin kept asking me what all I had in there. I admitted to the large bottle of shampoo and conditioner somehow rationalizing that those were the sole cause of the seemingly 400 pound pack. My stubborness and pride took a front seat and I insisted on carrying my own pack out to the area where we were to catch the shuttle to the hotel by the airport. Kevin said, “Fine” and I knew to not mention that we should sprint out to the shuttle spot like we are in The Amazing Race.

 

It was warm but windy. We waited and waited for what seemed like hours (in reality it was in total about 30 minutes) and I made several calls to the hotel who assured me the shuttle was making its regular rounds and would be there soon (should I tell them we are on The Amazing Race?). It was. We hopped on the shuttle for the hotel and again were excited beyond measure. “Do you remember where the van was parked?” Kevin wanted to know again. I chuckled and said “I have no clue, I guess I’ll be hitchhiking out of Chicago.”

 

We chatted about things of the ride… what we were excited for, nervous about, how often we would stop to take pictures, what ifs, and of course memories that Kevin had of the ride eight years before. I was nervous about my bottom getting sore and Kevin was nervous that I wouldn’t clip out of my pedals at stops well and would be falling left and right taking out other riders as I went down. His concern was valid.

 

We arrived at the hotel and it was lovely. We took all of our stuff up to the room and relaxed for all of 2.5 minutes before I was asking Kevin if he wanted to go for a walk, get something to eat, anything to move my legs and calm my racing mind a bit.  We went down to the hotel restaurant and had a great dinner. He had sea bass with rice and veggies and I had salmon with some pasta and yummy potatoes which I checked over several times for any signs of mammal product (I’m allergic to mammal meat… not fun). I really hate that I am so overly concerned with the fact that every chef is secretly trying to kill me with mammal products, ugh!

 

We talked about the time difference (the fact that California is 2 hours behind the midwest) and the fact that we better get a “good night” call into the boys as it was already 9:00pm their time. We chatted with them, all was well, they were fine. Grandma and Grandpa were also doing great and Grandma made me promise that I would be coming at some point to get my children (the amount of clothes and food I had brought for them had her concerned lol).

 

We headed up to our room with full bellies and excited nerves. Have I mentioned we were SO EXCITED! Yup, we were. I looked for my poison ivy soap to give relief to my very itchy arm and realized I didn’t have it! Ugh! I tried to call the Sheraton again to check on our bikes and Amazon packages (tent and sleeping bags) and they told us all bikes were locked up in a separate room and they would have any packages for us at check in. I drifted off to sleep that night slowly while Kevin did some reading. We joked about how this was our honeymoon (we never had one when we were first married) and how totally unromantic we would feel each day as we finished many miles on our bikes. It was good to be on this journey with my husband of 17 years, even if he wouldn’t play The Amazing Race with me… maybe tomorrow.

 

Join me tomorrow for Day two of this adventure. Remember how I was talking about exotic destinations? Crazy at it may seem, we actually got to see Jamaica, so cool!

Ta ta for now,

Jhenna

 

As many of you know, back in April Kevin (my husband) and I signed up for an amazing trip. It was the kind of trip that you had to train for, raise money for, and go through logistical nightmares to make sure it all came out “just right.” Even with intense training (I can be quoted screaming, “Indiana REALLY does have huge hills!”), amazing donations, and the most well thought out and planned logistics things did not go smoothly. First off, Indiana has speed bumps (well at least southern Indiana)… nothing to compare with the MOUNTAINS, yes I said mountains, we climbed in California. Wait a minute… let me back up one second…

Before you think I am some crazy mountain climber dangling from cliff edges and carrying an oxygen mask to reach a summit let me let you in on our trip… We rode in the 8 day, 525 mile bicycle California Coast Classic to raise money and awareness for the Arthritis Foundation. Over 27,000 feet of climbing in all, sleeping in tents on the very hard ground, eight hours on the bike most every day, and leaving our children with relatives for almost two whole weeks!

Ok, now that we are all straight, back to the speed bumps of Indiana. They are short little hills even though some do have quite a steep incline. They are short, sweet, and to the point. At one point in California while climbing the Twin Sisters I was climbing straight up for over 2 hours. Now that’s a hill (mountain)! Not short, not sweet, and certainly not to a quick point!

Logistics, oh my the logistics! How does one get 2 bicycles, camping gear, comfy clothes and cycling clothes and equipment out to California when airlines are charging an arm and a leg for even one checked bag and the reality that they throw luggage (and boxes with bikes in them) on those conveyor belts up into the belly of the plane looms over you as you stare at your expensive bike with thin little spokes, carbon frame, touchy gears, and a chain ring that just begs to be cracked ? One gets creative!

Leading up to Day one of our epic travels (Day one would be the “travel to California” day) we decided to have our bikes disassembled, boxed, and FedExed out to California. People do this all the time, right? This is how bikes get to the bike shops! We were able to get a great discount from Breck’s Bicycle Shop for packing up both bikes ($50 instead of $150) as a donation for the Arthritis Foundation. We took the bikes to be boxed up two weeks before the ride started. They disassembled, boxed them up and I lugged the two boxes to FedEx the next day. We paid $372 to ship both bikes to The Sheraton at Fisherman’s Wharf, Kevin Conway, c/o Arthritis Foundation California Coast Classic. Bikes, done, woohoo! Not having them for training two weeks before the ride was tough. We knew we would be logging many miles and hours on those saddles (seats) and disliked the idea of not being on them to get ourselves used to it every second we could. But, it was $980 to ship them via air (just a 3 day shipping) and our budget did not allow for that.

Camping equipment… tent, sleeping bags, tent stakes, mallet, you know all that stuff one needs to be sure you don’t end up blown into the ocean in the middle of the night or covered in a marine layer of fog upon awaking. Well, all that stuff is hard to fit into an already VERY full hiking pack (we were limiting ourselves to one checked bag each to save cost and for ease of lugging stuff around on the ride). Light bulb moment… buy new sleeping bags and tent from Amazon and have them delivered to the hotel in San Francisco to be packed on the luggage truck without us lugging them around the airports! As far as getting them home? We’d worry about that later. Order made the Tuesday before we left for trip so it would all arrive the day before we got there. I even called the hotel to be sure this was ok (it was) and so they would be expecting it and hold it aside for us when we arrived (they said they would). Pillows are crazy bulky but I was able to stuff mine in with only ripping a few seams towards the top of my bag (it would hold up… right?). Kevin decided to use his sweatshirt for a pillow and said he’d be fine (the man has osteoarthritis in his neck… I’m not sure what definition of “fine” he was clinging to but I figured he’d be “fine” and I’d give him mine if his “fine” didn’t hold up).

Bikes… check. Sleeping accommodations… check. We packaged each set of a day’s cycling gear in a separate gallon Ziploc bag (so we could put the dirty cycling clothes back into that bag while they waited a few days to be washed), threw in some comfy “lounging around camp” clothes which would double as pajamas, plenty of ibuprofen, Excedrin, muscle relaxing creams, Benadryl (liquid and tablet), aspirin, iron supplements, epipen, pepto bismol, and tums. We looked at each other and our “medicine bag” and just laughed. Wow, we were getting old and had some conditions that required a few extra things to be considered.

Soap… what about soap? Lately my life has revolved around soap (making and selling it for fundraising for this ride). I just thought I would get that out in the open so you don’t think I’m a crazy soap person.

Liquid shower gel was a mess waiting to happen and a bar of soap would be a mess after every shower. What to do, what to do? Ooh ooh, I make soap, I can figure this out! I cut a couple of my bars in half or fourths (the ones that would be good at relaxing muscles and/or repelling mosquitoes etc.) and put them in a Ziploc bag. We could each grab a little bar for each day’s shower and just leave it in the shower truck when done or throw it away because we had another little bar for the next day. This idea literally took three days of intense problem solving… what can I say, some things just need the perfect solution and that can’t be hurried. I was quite happy with my solution though I don’t think Kevin lavished as much praise as the idea was worth.

Laundry detergent… we would be able to do laundry at two different points during the 8 day ride which helped one not to pack as many clothes. I poured some powdered detergent in a Ziploc bag, looked at it, thought I would have my bag confiscated for drug or anthrax smuggling and be subsequently arrested, thrown in a California prison, never be able to make soap again, and never ride my bike. So, I labeled it “TIDE LAUNDRY DETERGENT NOT DRUGS.” That seems logical right. After so much effort with the soap dilemma this was the best I could do… a girl only has so many brain cells at optimal firing capacity in a given day and I was not interesting in building new synapses.

The kids… what to do with the kids. While I felt a little guilty about Kevin and me heading out to California without the boys I was relieved to learn our youngest son (10 years old) had no desire to go to California. He said he had seen all he wanted to see of California after living there for four years.  Our fifteen year old would have loved to come but has hit a streak of uber compassion and sweetness lately and said it would be great for dad and me to get off on this trip by ourselves. I’ll take it. Off to Wisconsin they went to spend time with great grandparents, cousins, uncles, great aunts and great uncles and all sorts of other extended family that I have no clue how exactly they are related. Besides, it was the 100^th anniversary of Cheese Days in Monroe… it would be EPIC! They had their laptops, Grandma and Grandpa had WiFi and satellite TV (we have neither here at the homestead), the boys were actually quite excited.

Yes, I know Grandma and Grandpa have a washing machine, yes, I know they know how to go to the grocery store, and yes, I know they’ve raised up three kids of their own but that didn’t stop me from sending a month’s worth of clothes, buying a month’s worth of groceries, and reminding my boys of all the daily things they should be doing (teeth brushing, showering, eating well, helping grandma and grandpa, going to bed the moment grandma mentions she is tired, and being all around the best kids EVER). I think my Grandma may have been concerned that I would never be coming back to get my kids!

Plane tickets… it was time to figure out how we would get there and get back. Kevin had a school (for work) starting in Oklahoma City three days after the ride finished. This would be tricky. We decided to drive the boys to Wisconsin. Stay overnight one night there, leave the next morning to drive to Rockford, Illinois where we would catch a bus that would take us directly to our Virgin America check-in desk. We would fly Virgin America to San Francisco and arrive there Thursday night. Stay overnight at a hotel by the airport that night, go to the Sheraton at the Fisherman’s Wharf Friday. Stay overnight there Friday night with all the other riders and start the ride Saturday morning! Ride the next 8 days and finish in Los Angeles the following Saturday and be met by my aunt and uncle who live there. Stay with them for Saturday and Sunday and then on Monday I fly back to Chicago, take bus to Rockford, pick up van and drive up to Wisconsin to get boys and then drive the eight hours home the next day. Kevin would fly out of Los Angeles Monday morning to Oklahoma City and attend his class for a couple weeks and then fly home. He checked with his boss at work who gave the green light for leaving from L.A. for the class. Tickets bought, PERFECT!

Not so fast. Three days before we were set to leave Kevin finds out his boss was wrong, he can’t leave from any destination for school other than his home destination. We buy a ticket for him to fly from Los Angeles to home on Sunday so he can pack and leave to drive to Oklahoma City Monday morning for a class that starts Tuesday. I try to change my flight to leave on Sunday as well to save my aunt from having to make two trips to LAX and find out it will cost $650 to change flight. I buy a separate one way flight on Spirit America from L.A. to Chicago… much cheaper (Why has no one ever warned me about Spirit America?)! Disaster averted but why oh why were we having to deal with all this when I was trying to get the farm ready for my absence?

OK, so these were some of the things we had to settle before the ride even started. As many of you know, the work leading up to the trip can be more tiring than the trip itself! To save you from reading an insanely long post I will wrap up my pre-trip ramblings here and continue with DAY ONE tomorrow. Nothing  goes as planned, things get interesting, we see Jamaica, and I almost have a melt down… stay tuned!

Water water everywhere… unless you live in California. Wish I could send some rain your way guys and gals. Readers are asking, “How do we collect and use water on The Shepherd Hobby Farm?”

We have an older well which we do not use often because of a high sulfur content (smell is the worst part of it) and a huge cistern which is AWESOME for us. One has not truly felt soft water until you have bathed in rain water. To some that may sound luxurious… to others, downright weird and unsanitary.

What is a cistern? Quite simply it is a vessel used to store water, usually a reserve of rainwater collected from a roof or other catchment area. People have been using them for hundreds of years. Our cistern is a simple cement “vault” type box buried underground about 30 feet from our house. We have buried piping hooked up to all the down spouts from the gutters of our house and garage (working on barn roof).

Why collect and use rain water? Did you know that rain water is known as the “Gold Standard” in water quality? It is more oxygenated, is naturally pH-balanced, and is free of chlorine and additives (EarthSystemsNW.com).  Yup, it’s all those things and best of all, IT’S FREE! No water bill, I love it!

So what about the rain barrel projects that so many people are posting? Those are great starts and certainly worth the effort for things like watering gardens and flower beds. However, they only hold an average of 50-55 gallons of water whereas a roof system with a cistern will catch and hold thousands gallons of water. “Also, rain barrels often run out of water during the summer, when outdoor water usage is highest and rainfall is at its lowest. Cisterns can ensure you have water for outdoor use all summer long. Another benefit of cisterns over rain barrels is that rain barrels are typically used for outdoor water usage only. Cisterns, however, can be used for both indoor and outdoor use and can either significantly supplement indoor water use or completely replace it” (Earth SystemsNW.com). Our cistern is used for everything in our house except cooking and drinking water.

How does a cistern work? They can be either above or below ground and as mentioned before ours is below ground and when filled to the brim holds approximately 12,000 gallons of water.  Cisterns usually collect rainwater from a roof through gutters and downspouts which funnel the water into the cistern (this is how ours works). The water can be drawn out of the cistern through gravity or a pump can be used to provide increased water pressure (we use an electric pump that is housed in our garage). A simple hose bib can be connected to the cistern which allows a common garden hose to draw water directly from the cistern (we do not have this but know of some folks with smaller cisterns who do). The cistern can also be configured to run the rainwater into the house once it has gone through a series of filters (depending on if the water will be used for drinking water or for non-potable uses such as toilets, washing machine, etc.) We have a simple triple screen filter box the water runs through just before it enters the cistern. Once the water leaves the cistern it is pumped through a sediment filter and another cartridge filtration system in the house before it makes it’s way into any pipes destined for our use.  Cisterns have an overflow pipe so that once the cistern is filled, the excess water is properly drained away from the house.

Is there any maintenance? Yes there is. We have monthly filter changes and cleanings which cost about $5 (we buy the cartridges in bulk and manually clean the triple filter screens) per month. We also check the gutter guards each month to ensure they are in place which helps prevent debris going into the downspouts. Once in a while we also choose to sweep off the roof but we know many people who choose to let a stiff wind do that job for them. I just like excuses to climb around on the roof.

About 5 years ago we went through a severe drought and our cistern was emptied by our usage. We used the opportunity to lift the man hold type cover and go down in to clean out the cistern “vault.” I got an up close and personal view of our cistern and it was amazing. It is actually a two room “vault” with a 5 by 3 foot walkway through each “room”. We cleaned some mud from the bottom and sent it up the ladder to the light of the day in buckets. There wasn’t much and it created some amazing dirt for a patch of flowers that grew there in the summer.

Soooooo what if we are in a drought and get NO RAIN? Or perhaps a certain hobby farmer turns the hose on to fill the horse water trough and forgets it is on and drains the entire cistern onto the horse paddock ground overnight?  It’s happened and we still needed water to live comfortably so we chose to have a water delivery service (the folks who fill swimming pools etc) come and delivery 4,400 gallons of water for $140.

Can we drink the water from our cistern? According to Earth Systems NW, “Rainwater can be used to meet all your water needs whether it’s outdoors for your garden or indoors for washing and drinking. Rainwater can be turned into potable, high quality drinking water by using a series of filters.” We have had our water tested and it is safe to drink but the filters needed to give me constant peace of mind often leech chemicals such as chlorine into the water to ensure sanitation. Therefore, we use a filtered 5 gallon water cooler system for drinking and just buy the refillable 5 gallon jugs which provides us with instant ice cold and super hot water at our fingertips (it’s one of the few luxuries we use… another is our Keurig… what can I say, I’m spoiled in some areas).

Ya all have any other questions about cisterns? Ask away J

Lovin’ the rain!

~Jhenna