Sweat on the can

Up early and out of the city on what would turn out to be another simply downright wonderful day. (I didn't earn my pollyanna nickname fro nothin' ya know... thanks Michael). I was up early enough that the wind was slight, but it put a bit of a chill in the air even though the ambient temperature was around 17˚C.

Now Sunday is reserved for the BIG BIKE (echo..... echo.... echo... echo...), so that was the ultimate plan..... get out early and get back in tome to have somewhat of a life with my family.

So this is one of those days where if you asked me how it went, I would say great because even though I am going to include a map (as I have been known to do on occasion), the distance I covered today just seems unfathomable. (Not to mention the 5 k I ran when I got home.)

The Map

So how far did I go? Well.... 180K. Yep you read it right that's 180K on a bicycle. Who'd a thunk it? All told, it took my just over 6 hours at 6:05:00 on the nose.

How do you do such a thing? (to answer, I will paraphrase Sir Edmund Hillary who was asked the similar question after being the first man to scale Everest.) How do you do it? .... well one pedal stroke at a time. To be blunt, you are a fool if you always are thinking about how far you have to go..... yes. yes... I realize that when planning the route and looking on Google Earth to check the distance and planning the amount of fluid and food to bring and where you might get some if you run out, requires that you think about the whole thing, but after that..... fah-ged-aboudit. Just get on your bike and enjoy each pedal stroke.... kind of a Buddhist philosophy of cycling.

Buddhists teach this philosophy to the beginning student metaphorically like this..... Take a bag of M and M's. Most kids will pour several out of the bag into their hand and eat the candy this way. The Buddhists teach that it is wiser to eat each M and M individually and savour each one for its uniqueness. Thus, each pedal stroke leads you along the path. Look a round every now and then and enjoy where you are and don't worry so much about where you are going to be.... you will be there soon enough.

I have to be honest, I find that the 6 hours goes by very quickly this way and I always seem to see some amazing things along the way.... some are even worth a photo.

No mail for the Giant.

About 2 hours in or about 60k out of the city is Poplar Point. I have mentioned it before in my blog. I turned around here to head back to the turn to Marquette.

Speaking of Mail.... this mailbox seems a bit.... wait for it.... wait for it.....well..... fishy don't you think?

Here is the grain silo at Marquette. This is the tallest thing for miles and as you will read in a moment the bane of my existence. [Read the story below... then think of it in reverse, as I had to ride back from Rosser to Marquette, after watering and feeding the Giant.]

The Giant tries to get some lovin' but gets... wait for it.... wait for it... an icy reception.

But first, I mentioned before about the planning thing... well... the big thing about a 6 hour ride, is that you cannot carry with you all the fluid you will need... 'specially on a hot day..... so you have to plan where you might be able to procure said beverages. Well I'll tell you there is something to be said for an ice cold Coke when the temperature is climbing and you have been drinking warm Gatorade for over an hour.

Hemming way called it the sweat on the bottle... I will bastardize it and call it the sweat on the can.

The bane of my existence... well the bane of my day... was the bike from Marquette through Meadows to Rosser and back. This stretch is basically 24K in a straight line each way (well there is a little bit of a turn just before Rosser). So you head out of Marquette and all you can see in the distance, staring at you menacingly, is the tallest object on the Prairies... the town silo. So there I am looking through the hazy mirage, that all highways get in the heat, and way off in the distance I can see this white square. Now I know all you folks from around the globe that live where there are things called hills will not be able to fathom this, but there may be a thread of truth to the motto: "stand on a chair and watch your dog run away for a week!"

There is something totally demoralizing knowing were you are going to be in half an hour. So I try to be Buddhist and enjoy the ride..... it works for a while, but when I look up... there it is in the distance.... taunting me... laughing at me as I melt in the heat... and.... to boot.... it appears not to be even one foot closer. So I ride... and I ride and I ride ... I ride so long that I think I may reach the other side.. and then I look up...... damn it! I am still no closer and, if it is at all possible, it would appear that I am somehow farther away as its steamy visage seems to have been swallowed up by the vastness. So I ride... and I ride and I ride ... I ride until can no longer bear it... and there in the distance I feel like I have gained some ground and made it.

They really are quite majestic... and act as a reminder of how connected we really are to the dirt.

Now the worst of it all...... as I make my way past Meadows... off in the hazy distance..... is... miles more of the same straight nothingness that I have been riding on for the past 30 min. It almost became this hypnotic movement as the pulsing yellow line lulled me into this trance that had me..... aw hell..... I am back to diamond Dave and "Crazy from the heat."

At last I made it to Rosser.

The Giant in repose getting some rest in the shade after a hard bike in the heat.

I had arrived.

I dismounted the Giant.... leaned it up against the tree... and tried my best not to think of the fact that I was just halfway and I still had 5K to run when I got home.

P.S. - We have been invited to spend some time at friends' cottages over the next week. For those of you who are dedicated readers, I will not be near the Internet for a bit, so I will not be blogging. Never fear though, as I will have my camera with me and, as I have to keep training, I will be bringing you more tales of the weirdness that seems to be my life these days. Until then, may the sun be in the sky, may your sunblock keep workin' and may your rides fell like you have no chain.