Just another day in Michigan

Three days ago, we packed up the campsite and loaded up both the camper and the ever-fashionable mini van, finally departing in a fabulous caravan of five bikes on the roof of a van trailing a slightly grubby but well-loved pop-up camper. We left the Holland State Park and drove three hours, arriving at the Petoskey State Park, where we disembarked and reset our campsite. 

Upon discovering the undeniable presence of a ghastly horde of mosquitos, we found brief sanctuary in a Greek restaurant. Ergo, I discovered a previously dormant affinity for fried fish, Lake Perch, which happened to be the daily special. 

In the following days, we became used to the buggy campsite — mostly because we spent much of our time exploring on our bicycles. We decided to bike from Petoskey to Charlevoix and back, which is about a 45 mile trip. Charlevoix is lovely as ever — partly because the inhabitants generally accepted our spandex-clad presence in every bookstore in town. (Side note: I read part of a magazine about Bob Marley in one of the aforementioned bookstores while my family was browsing, and from what I gather, “Tuff Gong” would have accepted us too.) 

Anyway, I would also like to apologize here to my Strava followers: while on vacation, it seems that the little mental switch in my head that says “your bike ride hasn’t started until Strava says so” is malfunctioning or merely works while connected to wifi. In other words…I haven’t really used Strava during my rides, or have forgotten to hit “record” until halfway through. I promise I’ve been getting in more mileage than I have logged on there — training for the big ride and the looming RAIN ride is still in full swing!

Back to the timeline: the day after our 45 mile ride, we decided to take a rest day and explore nearby Petoskey and Harbor Springs. We decided to visit a bookstore (because on vacation if you’re not biking, you’d better be reading) and I quickly got lost in some book, stopping only occasionally to sheepishly glance at the front counter and hope the proprietor didn’t notice just how long I’d been sitting there making free use of his merchandise. Wholly engaged in my illicit activities, I paid no mind to the pursuits of my little sister. However, outside the store, I walked into a ten-year-old completely incapable of containing her excitement: Zoe proceeded to give me a carefully wrapped journal (in red, of course. Burgundy, to be exact. Zoe pays attention to everyone’s favorite color.) She specifically instructed that this journal was to be used for Bethanywhere; she had chosen one that would neatly fit inside a jersey pocket. Of course, I was very touched, knowing that Zoe didn’t have very much money to spend, and she had chosen to make her vacation treasure a gift for me. 

I have a few plans for the journal (all Bethanywhere related, of course) but I shan’t put them on here because I suspect that Zoe might find them. But it shall most definitely be put to good use. 

And on that note, I must say goodnight, because I need to go to bed for a very important day of laundromats and more bike riding tomorrow.

Thanks to everyone again for reading, 

Bethany

P.S. Because we’re used to the splendid view that is cornfields back in Indiana, we’ve gone rather overboard in photographing everything in beautiful Michigan. Here are a couple of our best shots:

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And then God made Michigan -- for the cyclists

As we've been trooping along (usually via bicycle) through Michigan, we've continued to see why exactly Michigan is just a fabulous place in bike world. This morning we woke up early to ride from our campsite in Holland State Park to the lighthouse in Grand Haven -- 44 miles round trip. Every single mile except the quarter mile to get out of the state park and the mile through Grand Haven to the beach was on a gorgeous bike trail.

Grand Haven Light with sisters and Mom (Dad took the photo)

Here is some proof that everything in Michigan is beautiful:

This is unheard of in most of the car-centered Midwest -- often simply biking to school is something of a suicide mission, with the highways to cross and the aggressive cars to avoid and the fact that on many roads (according to the truckers that regularly plow through Franklin anyway) there simply is no room for a bicycle. And then we have these little oases of bike-friendliness like Michigan and -- or so I've heard -- Minneapolis, Minnesota (one of the appeals of Macalester College).

I also suspect that Michigan natives are just ... friendly. As a whole. It's been kind of impossible to ride a bicycle without some passing cyclist waving enthusiastically or saying, "GREAT morning for a RIDE. Hope you have so much FUN!" It's totally rubbing off on me. I said good morning to every single person I saw until I began to wonder if it was even morning anymore. 

I think part of it is that up here biking is such a big thing. It's like a little side culture. There were three bike stores in downtown Holland, and we of course visited every single one. These cyclists up here don't mess around: the owner of one shop called Velo City Cycles rode Paris-Roubaix this year, which is a super big deal. It's this ultra intense mega tough ride that is basically known for being horribly painful. They call it "The Hell of the North."  But it's cool; it's kind of like a cycling badge of tough-guy-ness and being half insane. (His name is Brad White, by the way, and he rides for pro Team United Healthcare - Dad was being a fanboy, and meanwhile, Brad's wife, Jenny, was also super-cool, helping Mom think about some cycling specs.)  I loved the culture of all things bike, so I bought a T-shirt to go represent back in Franklin. 

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Modeling my new shirt at Crust 54 Pizza in Holland, MI

So there's the current situation -- I'm all excited about biking culture and so ready to come back to Franklin wearing my bicycle T-shirt and showing off my meager tan (hoping to shake my albino status) and to continue on as one of the few, the proud, the cyclists of Franklin. 

But. I wouldn't have been able to get this far in my training without all the encouragement of all of you, and so again, thank you so much for keeping up with me, my blog, and my adventure. 

Keep on reading!

B

Good news from Michigan

Hi guys,

This past week has been very exciting. I’ve got a lot of thank you’s to make, and I will be sending personal emails in response to each and every one of you who has contributed to this crazy project of mine, so be ready!

First off, we’ve raised, in this week, a total of $395 for the National Arthritis Research Foundation (or NARF, as I like to think of them). I am so grateful, and so amazed, by this sudden outpouring of support. I wasn’t sure what kind of a response I would get with this project, so I tried not to get my hopes up too high — I was originally thinking around $500-1000 and I would feel that I had raised an acceptable donation. But in less than a week, you fabulous subscribers and supporters have nearly brought us to that goal. Suddenly it seems that I may be able to help fundraise much more, and I am now very much inspired to delve back into the quest for sponsors and awareness.

It was a pretty great moment when I discovered just how much support I’d suddenly received: I was halfway through a 42 mile bike tour of some of our favorite towns in Michigan — from Holland, to Saugatuck, hopping over a bridge 2 miles to Douglas, and back through Saugatuck to Holland again — and I was sitting down with my family for some lunch at a cute restaurant in Saugatuck called Pumpernickel’s. First off, I have a definite affinity for all things small business and unique, so the restaurant was making me happy because it screamed, “We understand you, small business artisan soy candlemaker.” I was also engaged in an intense telepathic conversation with my older sister Charissa as we simultaneously noticed and delighted in the fact that the two ladies sipping tea at the table next to us were undeniably speaking in British accents. Finally, I briefly checked my phone to pause my Strava app, and lo and behold Bethanywhere was blowing up before my eyes. 

It was a pretty good day.

But beyond the generous donations, I’d also like all of you to know that your kind words of encouragement were just as important. Yes, I’d love to raise a nice pile of cash for NARF, but getting through that ride is going to be one of the biggest challenges I’ve tackled yet in my very long life of a full 17 years. It’s not the money, or the colleges, or the bragging rights that are going to give me that push I need at the end of those long 100 mile days, it’s going to be the fact that I’ve got all these people behind me that want this too. So I’d like to throw out a thank you to the Wabash River Cycle Club for your warm welcomes and willingness to come out and ride with me — I will definitely make this a part of my journey. And I would like to thank each and every family member, friend, friend of a friend, and internet supporter for your thoughtful encouragement and your shared excitement for the journey. I’ll be thinking of you when the training gets tough!

Thanks to all, more updates to come!

Bethany 

P.S. My sister took some nifty photographs during the bike ride: we’ve got mom and dad looking fancy in bike gear on their 25th wedding anniversary and various other photos of varying loveliness of locations we saw on our ride yesterday. Enjoy!

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Mom & Dad on the Saugatuck, MI Boardwalk halfway through a 42 mile 25th Anniversary Bike Ride

Saugatuck duck = Saugaduck?

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Old Style Chain Ferry across Kalamazoo Lake

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Rose Arbor at City Park

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Sunset Sky at Lake Michigan

New Jerseys!

Dad and I have finally designed some Bethanywhere custom bike jerseys! It took us awhile but we’re rather pleased with the finished product.

Here it is!

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New Jersey (Not the state!)

Up top we’ve got, obviously, the Bethanywhere logo, then the hot air bicycle because it’s nifty, then what I suppose has become the Bethanywhere motto: Going places…even if it hurts” and finally, at the bottom, we’ve listed some of those places I’m going in order of our arrival on the bike trip: Franklin College, University of Indianapolis, Butler University, Valparaiso University, the University of Chicago, and finally Macalester College.

We’ve ordered one for each member in our family, and doubled up for Dad and me so we can wear the jerseys throughout the ride. Of course, if anyone happens to be interested in ordering a jersey, that can most definitely be arranged. Just comment below and we’ll get one ordered for you.

Do look forward to the many fabulous pictures of me sweating in these fancy Bethanywhere jerseys that are soon to come – unfortunately it’s pretty much impossible to be fabulous in the middle of a strenuous bike ride but the new jerseys will definitely add some glam.

Thanks for reading, more updates (and pictures) to come!

Making Connections...

It’s been a while…  I haven’t posted much since the end of school – I’m happy to say that after my sister’s graduation and ensuing party, much of the busyness keeping me from posting was bike trip related!

I’ve done some training rides (you can look at them on my Strava account) and managed to push pretty fast, much faster than I was previously able. For example, our average speed during one of the latest Thursday night CIBA rides was over 17 mph – a real jump from the 13 or 14 mph I started out at in the beginning of the season. I can thank much of this to my tailored bike fit, encouraging fellow riders, and I’m pleased to say my own growing strength and confidence on the bike.

Beyond training, we’ve also moved forward quite a bit on the planning and connecting necessary to undertake this ride and raise some money to make a difference. I emailed Macalester College to let them know that I would be showing up sweaty and immensely proud of myself in the first week of August, and now I’m pretty sure there will at least be someone at the school for my triumphant arrival. I also reconnected with the Arthritis National Research Foundation, which continues to express great enthusiasm for the ride. Once again, the Arthritis Foundation is a fantastic organization and we’re really looking forward to hopefully contributing some funds and awareness for the group.  If you're willing, please click over to my "Get Involved" page and consider making a donation -- 100% of what comes in will go to the Foundation, and there are a few other ways you can help there, too, if you're interested.  Thank you.

Also, last night Dad and I stayed up doing battle with computer nonsense in order to install a subscribe function. We emerged victorious and you can now subscribe to my blog, which will email you whenever I post. I promise not to post too much or do terrible things with your information. (Frankly I’m not sure I’d even know how to do terrible things with anyone’s personal information.) Anyway, I’d love to see some new subscribers – it’s a much easier way to keep track of my journey without having to remember to go look it up all the time, and it makes such a difference to know that somebody's out there somewhere.

I’d like to throw out a thank you to all you folks who have kept up with me thus far without all the details of the website figured out, not to mention the good people who linked me on Facebook, you guys are the best!

Now, as for what’s coming up: Sunday, my family and I head up to Michigan for our summer vacation. We plan to spend a lot of time up there on our bikes, even the ever-fabulous Zoe.

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Zoe and Dad in February 2014, celebrating her 1000 miles of cycling while aged 9.

She’s a gem. She also rode 1,000 miles on her bike last year (while she was 9) so she’s pretty kicka$$. (Am I allowed to say that?)  Anyway, she’s one of the tougher ten-year-olds I’ve had the pleasure of knowing.

Thanks for reading! More updates to come.

Thursday Night Ride!

I'll update this post with more detail in the morning, but I'm testing my new subscription thingie and wanted to get something posted tonight so I can see if I get the notification in the morning.

We did have a great ride tonight, covering our regular loop from the Candle Shop at about 16 mph.  We had a new rider that we'd met over Memorial Day weekend, and a reporter and photographer from the local paper were there to talk a bit about cycling here in Johnson County, so that was fun.

More tomorrow, I promise!

Sick Day

Today is the first day of summer and my sister’s graduation: which I haven’t come to terms with but shan’t think about till 7 o’clock tonight.

Anyway, the end of May is almost upon us and Dad and I hadn’t yet finished our CIBA 500 miles in May goal yet. With all the graduation and family events scheduled for this weekend, today was our last chance to ride the 31 CIBA miles we needed to complete our goal and earn our free jerseys (the best part of course). Unfortunately, I’ve been very much sick this entire week – finals week, which has been just a fabulous time. I got up this morning with just a couple hours of real sleep, a sore throat, completely stuffed up head, and a cough. I considered cutting myself a break, but could not abide with missing my goal by just 31 miles. So, we headed out to Indian Creek Church for the Southeast Trainer CIBA ride, and took a shorter loop than the 54 miler we had done the past weekend. It sucked, but turning up my music and drinking every mile made it manageable. We got not just 31 but actually 34 miles in, bringing our May CIBA total to about 503 miles.

I’m really pleased with this accomplishment, because it means that some of my training has paid off, and my epic ride goal seems much more achievable. Six weeks ago, 28 miles at 15 mph on a beautiful day during our Franklin CIBA ride was a struggle. Now I can do the same ride at the same speed – while sick as a dog.

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We celebrated this triumph at Panda Express – here is my lunch complete with an entire box of Kleenex, half of which I went through today.

Now I just have to deal with my sister’s graduation – wish me luck!

A Weekend Marathon (or Six)

This weekend was the first time I’ve done several consecutive rides of significant distance – and I was surprised and pleased with the result!

On Saturday, Dad and I rode a metric century – it was difficult but we had a good time. This ride, I decided to pull out my bike-mounted speakers for the first time. I also compiled a playlist of mostly 80s hits and classic rock to be the soundtrack of the ride. Being a music person, I’m 90% faster when I’ve got music going because that somehow gives me about as much energy as food does. So far, the best song on the playlist is “You Don’t Know You’re Beautiful” by OneDirection because boybands just have that kind of power. However, Duran Duran’s “Rio” is definitely the getting taken off because that sax solo at the end is murder when it’s assaulting your ears as you’re trucking up a sizeable hill. 

There were a few strange looks when we arrived at a sag stop accompanied by Vivaldi, but it works for me so I’m going to keep on providing myself with a cycling soundtrack.

Sunday, Dad and I met up with our good friend Julie from the Thursday night CIBA rides out of our candle shop, and biked a 54 mile loop from Franklin Central High School to the Franklin (City) McDonald’s and back. I was a little nervous about my legs cramping up after the significant ride the day before. For the first ten miles, I was not feeling it. I felt slow and uncomfortable, and I was dreading the next 40 miles of sweatiness and soreness and grumpiness.

At my tired, slow pace, I found myself riding with an older couple. I was actually just about to pass them when the woman smiled and introduced herself. I adjusted my pace and responded, and joked about being the back of the pack. She mentioned how she and her husband didn’t ride as much as they used to, mainly because in 2008 they had stopped cycling seriously to train for climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. I’m fascinated by all things travel and epic (hence the bike ride) and so I spent the next half an hour listening to her amazing travels all over the world. She and her husband had not only summitted Kilimanjaro, they had climbed an ancient Incan trail to Macchu Picchu, they had embarked upon an African Safari, they had visited Poland and all of Europe, they had experienced “five star hotels” in Tanzania and Kenya, they had fended off lecherous men in Egypt, and were headed off to Costa Rica in two weeks. Listening to her incredible stories, and the kinds of discomforts and frustrations that one encounters outside of the comfortable first world of America, I was inspired. Riding my bike and knowing that I can stop every ten miles to pamper myself with air conditioning and clean sheets and fast food suddenly doesn’t seem like that much of a sacrifice anymore. For the rest of the ride, nothing really bothered me or made me terribly uncomfortable. I ended up zoning out to Mumford and Sons and leaving my Dad and Julie behind, and didn’t notice until I’d reached railroad tracks and stopped to get my bearings. I’m not usually the pack leader, but something about that couple’s experiences has really motivated me to get out of my comfort zone. I’d never felt as good on a ride as I felt for the last half of that ride.

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Monday was Memorial Day, and so Dad and I went out again on the same ride. This time we rode in a larger group with some of CIBA’s stronger riders. I found myself in a perfect spot, right behind a fellow who was pulling his two Schnauzer puppies in a little covered wagon. I was highly amused watching them fall over each other and jostle for postion, then give up and fall asleep in the way that all dogs eventually do. I also got a fabulous draft and found myself comfortably going at a speed that is usually more of a struggle. Again, I had concerns that my riding in over the past few days would contribute to leg cramps and soreness, but I felt loose and comfortable. When we reached McDonalds’ that morning, a few regulars were amused at our sweaty return, and I feasted upon a definitely healthy cheeseburger mostly likely manufactured out of car tires. We did cut that ride a little shorter than the day before, ending with a grand total of about 43 miles, because by that time I was a little uncomfortable and I wanted to get back so I could study for finals.

This weekend proved a couple of interesting things – first, that I can physically ride long distances for consecutive days. (We covered just over 160 miles over three days - a little more than six marathons - Woohoo!)  Second, that most pain and discomfort can be ignored if I think big picture. And dream about climbing Macchu Picchu myself one day.

Unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to do as much biking as I would like to in this coming week due to the unvanquished beast that is final exams, but I’m looking forward to fitting at least one more CIBA ride in to finish our 500 CIBA miles in May goal – and getting a free jersey for it of course.

Also, because of the huge success of my bike speakers, I’m looking for new ideas for good songs to put on the playlist. If you have any music suggestions, please comment! I’m going to be on my bike for seven hundred miles and the background music is most likely what’s going to keep me on that bike.

Thanks!