GTD ‘ Prep Ride Day 1

A gap opened up in my Thursday afternoon schedule so I decided to throw in a 2 day ride that would include a night of camping.

The plan was to ride to the Ft. McCoy/Oklawaha KOA to spend the night then ride home the next day.

After leaving Gainesville City Limit I rode the GNV Hawthorne Trail to Hawthorne, nice scenery and no cars.  After a slight detour in Hawthorne due to work on the railroad tracks I set out on a country road that my brother David raced on during the Florida Xtreme Tri.  It led me to 20 East which has a bit more traffic.

I was only on 20 East for a short while before turning south on a country road.  At this point my legs were aching, not sure why since I was only 20+ miles into the ride.  The rest of the ride was in the countryside with the main traffic being trucks with trailers hauling ATVs to the Mud Bog.  I was so glad to pass the Mud Bog and eliminate that traffic on my side of the road.

All this time I had been riding on the west side of the Cross Florida Barge Canal.  I had to get on 19 in order to cross over the Canal and turn on Rodman Dam Rd.  Soon my plan to stay at the KOA would change.  Google Maps Bike Route took me past the Dam to a sugar sand dirt road that took me  to the Florida Trail which was pretty much non existent.  Fortunately I had passed the Rodman Dam Campground so I called to see if they had a spot.  I caught Cathy just as she was about to close down.  She said she had a spot and to come on.  As I was riding toward Cathy I called KOA to cancel, they were very understanding re: my GPS failure.

I turned into the Campground and met Cathy.  She said Spot 30 would be good and quiet and close to the Bath House.  She was right!  I set up camp before checking out the Bath House.  As it got dark the mosquitos got bad.  I hurried to heat up some soup for dinner so I could get into my tent away from the mosquitos.  The soup was awesome as was the large bottle of Tang I mixed up.

After cleaning my soup bowl and hanging my trash bag high up on the trash pole I climbed into my tent into my sleeping bag.  It took about an hour for me to fall off to sleep.  Thanks to Celeste I had a solar radio that allowed me to listen to the Christian radio station.  No sooner did I turn it off and I was out like a light.

GTD '20 Illumination

Long distance cycling is not only blue skies and sunshine.  Oftentimes it is overcast, rain, fog, wind, darkness....

For example, when Ben & I cycled down the PCH oftentimes the morning was foggy.  In Minnesota & Wisconsin when riding down the Mississippi River it was dark and rainy.  Riding on the Panhandle of Florida the daily wind was so bad I had to start my ride at 2am when it was calm.

In each of these instances, and many others, it was important that I was visible to the traffic coming from behind or coming my way.  Illumination is of utmost importance!

My Jamis Touring Bike is fitted with a Planet Bike Headlamp and a Bontrager Red Rear Light Blinkie.  My helmet also has a Bontrager Blinkie.  In addition to all of that I wear a Tracer 360 Visibility Vest which acts as a multi colored strobe.

This combination has been effective for me recently as I have commuted from the Campus House to home in the dark.  In my mirror (very important to have) I see oncoming drivers changing lanes early in order to pass safely, what a blessing!

During GTD '20 I am certain that I will be riding in conditions or at times when illumination is of utmost importance, I am confident that I am set up to be seen.

In a few weeks I have a 4 day trip from Orlando to Ft. Pierce and back.  This trip will allow me to simulate a typical GTD '20 day of riding and camping at night.  It will also help me develop a nutritional strategy that will fuel me for 14 days and 1000 miles during GTD '20.  More about that in my next post.

Until then live adventurously & love God!

GTD ‘20 Bike Shops

Whenever I start and finish a tour away from home there are additional matters to consider.  One of those is, where will I ship my bike?  To a Bike Shop?  To my lodging place?  I have done both.  If I ship my bike to a bike shop they can have them assembled, tuned up and ready to go when I arrive.  This is what I did for my Atlantic Coast Trip.  The Bike Shop in Troy, NY, was awesome!

If I choose to ship it where I will be lodging I have to unpack and assemble my bike with the hopes that nothing was damaged during shipment.  This is what I chose to do for my Mississippi River Ride.  I shipped it to the hotel and assembled everything in my room.  There were a few minor issues that needed attention so I had to go to the bike shop before leaving Minneapolis for Itasca SP.

For GTD ‘20 I will have Gator Cycle in GNV break down my bike, pack it up and ship it to the Angry Catfish Bike Shop & Coffee Bar in Minneapolis.  They will have it ready to go for my Saturday morning ride to Jamie & Niw’s house.

At the conclusion of the Trip I will stop at Jack’s Bicycle Shop in Detroit.  They will take care of breaking my bike down, packing it up and shipping it to Gator Cycle.

I am thankful to find good people at good bike shops, they are a blessing and a significant factor in helping me have a successful Trip.

The next issue for me to tackle is illumination.  Sometimes I set out or am caught in the dark, it is extremely important to have adequate lighting in order to be seen by all vehicles.

Until next time, live adventurously and love God!

GTD ‘20 Navigation

Yesterday was the day to finally figure out how to operate the Turn By Turn Navigation on my Garmin Edge 530.

After watching YouTube videos and reading the DC Rainmaker website I was getting close to having it figured out.  Close truly did not count, I was missing the final step to successful turn by turn navigation.  I mounted my Trek and headed to Gator Cycle to see if Brian was working.  He was!  Brian helped me make some progress with other 530 issues and I had alerted him to the fact that I needed to solve this navigational puzzle sooner than later.

I handed my 530 to Brian and he got to work.  After several minutes of button pushing after I told him my intended destination he handed it back saying it was ready to go.  Before taking it back I had him walk me through the process.  Success!

I left Gator Cycle and rode to The Swamp, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.  Though the turn by turn navigation took me a different way than I would have gone, it got me there.

As I stood in the shadow of The Swamp I realized I now had to go through the process without Brian.     I went into Maps and began to Browse.  I decided to designate home as my destination.  After doing so I held the Select button until I was asked to Confirm my destination.  I Confirmed it and it Calculated mileage and route.  I pushed start and began to follow the route, it worked!

After arriving home I was satisfied that I could check this task off my Trip Prep List.  I know this Turn by Turn Navigation will be extremely beneficial during my GTD ‘20 Ride, especially when navigating my way through larger cities like Madison, Milwaukee, Chicago and Detroit.

Next Task to accomplish is connecting with Bike Shops in Minneapolis and Detroit.  I will need them to build up, break down and ship my bike.

Until then, live adventurously and love God!

GTD ‘20 Cold Weather Acclimation

When cold weather visits north central Florida I have to take advantage of the opportunity to test out the cold weather gear I will be wearing during my “Go The Distance ‘20” Ride in May.

Yesterday the daytime temperature was 48F and last night when I rode home it was 36F.  All the gear I had on kept me comfortable day and night.  The only piece of gear I was missing last night was my balaclava, the wind was biting my face all the way home.

My gear consisted of:
-Thermals
-Warm socks
-Touring shorts
-T-Shirt
-Fleece
-Wool headband
-Stocking cap
-Warm gloves

I think this gear will work perfectly as I cycle thru Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana & Michigan May 17 - June 1.

GTD 2020 Preparations

With only 118 days till I begin GTD ‘20 in St. Paul, MN there are many preparations that I have to take care of.  Gear, Route, Gear Transportation, Physical Readiness, Support Raising...will keep me busy till I fly out of Orlando on May 15th.

I am looking forward to GTD ‘20 because I will be able to visit UFCCH Alumni, University Campus Ministries, Inner City Ministries, Ministry friends....  In addition to all of that I will check off my 50th State visited, Michigan.

GTD ‘20 is a UFCCH Fundraising Bike Ride.  All Funds received will be used for Student Mission Scholarships & UFCCH Projects.

You can financially support GTD ‘20 by the mile or with a one time donation.  The estimated total mileage will be posted after I finish tweaking my Route.

Prayer Support is the key to a successful journey.  At this time prayer for all the preparations taking place would be appreciated.

Blessings!  Bob