The Gravel World Championships

first of all, i'd like to thank all all the PCL folks for putting on an event that was: 1) well organized 2) challenging 3) fun 4) didn't cost an arm and a leg and 5) full riders who were skilled and friendly. special thanks to Cory for putting on the event and thanks to CVO for providing some mobile oasis action to riders on the route.

rafal and i headed to lincoln on friday night for rider check-in and enjoy some yia-yia's pizza with the PCL crew. after that, we ready the bikes and hit the hay. 4am, we are up and at em for the 515 rider check-in and pre-race meeting. we make small talk with the folks who we met the year before. 6am we are on the road. a flurry of bike lights hit the road in search of gravel glory. pretty soon the really fast group pulls away around mile 3, followed by the fast group around mile 5. the high dew point and fast pace quickly soaks your kit. no worries though, the low 70s temp makes things aight.
i pull into the first checkpoint feelin great! 38 miles down in under 2.5 hours. the really fast guys have come and gone. i fill up the water bottles and am back in the saddle. everything is going well until mile 50. hello cramps. i take it easy, push some electrolyte tabs and continue on. the temp continues to climb, but im feeling great. i arrive in in malcom, around mile 70 in under five hours. im feelin great. i push some calories and some fluids. miles 70-80 are cake and im cruising with a north wind. the oasis location at mile 80 proved to be a very welcoming place. shade, cool water, and friendly folks. i fill up two more water bottles, take a double shot of gatorade concentrate, enjoy some tasty tomatoes, make some small talk about oasis-host Jane's garden and am back on the road. Miles 80-100 were so so....and then...pain. my pace up to this point was somewhere around 14-15mph. From mile 100-111 the pace slowed down as the temps rose. it was at that point i realized there's no shame in walking up a hill at 4mph when you can only ride up it at 5mph. my strategy was to sprint down the hills, coast for a bit, and try to maintain as much momentum as i could on the uphill portion of the rollers. that works great for hills that are close to each other. not so much for the long 1/4mile hills. i pull into some shade, drink some water and some electrolyte tabs and assess the siuation. only 10 miles left to hickman, water supply is going down, and im starting to get headaches. the breaks are getting more frequent and longer. i know something wasnt right when i kept refering to my cue sheet every few minutes, stopped sweating, and started getting goose bumps. this is not good. i gotta hand it to CVO. that guy was crusing down the road and was filling up everybody's waterbottle. i fill three water bottles and hit the road again. the gas tank was empty. the last 10 miles took around 90 minutes. i pull into hickman and see jamie and fenway relaxing in some shade. jamie said i looked like hell and wasnt speaking in very coherent sentences. with 90+ temps and high humidity, i decided to pull the plug with 40 miles to go.

the takeaways from this are to maintain a better hydration plan. although i drank 14-some bottles of fluid, i should prolly pack a camel back for an extra 100oz of cold water. one positive takeaway was that I got to 111 miles faster on this ride than to 100 miles on the dirty kanza 200. This trend of DNF's will have to stop if i want to maintain any type of gravel glory. or maybe i just need to get some more training rides in hot weather or race when it's cooler weather.

a long way to gravel glory

well, the DK200 was a hard day of cycling. here's a quick recap.

RD, EB, and I rolled into a windy, hot, and humid Emporia, Kansas during the middle of Friday for the pre-race check in and orientation. We met the race directors Jim and Joel, both high-class guys who know how to put on a top notch event. registration and orientation went well and it was time to hit the hay. i didnt sleep too well. pre-race jitters make sleeping the night before these events a little difficult. i may take a page from RD and sneak a little nightcap in before hitting the hay.

raceday started with a 415 wakeup call. the 'stach crew pounded some food and liquids prior to rolling out with the lincoln guys at around 530. the lincoln guys are great cyclists, pretty laid back, and fun to hang out with. everybody is there to have fun and take care of business on the bike when it's time. we rolled to the starting line in front of the Granada theater and watched the riders accumulate. there were about 160-some riders at the start line when we began the neutral roll out with the emporia police escort. i hung out in the middle of the pack as we started to hit the gravel and the race was on. then, on like the first bump, and my two rear water bottles pop off. snap! 500 feet into the race and im already in last place. i secure the bottles in my jersey and play catch up.

the first 10 miles of gravel were flat and easy going. after that, the steady diet of climbs, rocky flint, and wind chipped away at your morale. the humid morning air was not too bad because the headwinds and crosswinds cooled you off. however, the winds were relentless. after finishing some climbs you were totally exposed to the wind that tried to push you over. 15-20mph winds continued all morning long. oh well, glad RD and I got some training in on some windy days in early may, otherwise that would'a been much more difficult of a day. i was passing lots of the slower riders but not making too much ground on some of the faster riders. i think i try much harder when there's an element of a pursuit, like there is in the wednesday night ride. anyways, i was fooling myself, the fast group is really fast. they were pushing a 17mph pace where I was maybe pushing 13 the first two or so hours. at around mile 40 the headwinds and crosswinds finally turned to a tailwind as the next 20 or so miles would be with the wind at our backs as we cruised to the first checkpoint. things were going well until flat-city. around mile 42 there was a great descent. i was rolling a little too flat and hit a cattle grate and heard a hissing sound. arg...first flat. luckily there was some shade that the cows were not occupying. i try to fix the pinch flat but abandon that because i couldn't locate where the hole was. too much wind made it difficult. i fix the flat and then hop on the bike. at about the same time i noticed none of my four water bottles had any contents. thankfully some riders shared a bit of their commodity before i spotted a farm house and filled up again.

i hit the first checkpoint feeling ok. a little dehydrated, but ok. i stocked up on fuel and then hit the road. the next 40 were with a tailwind, so that was nice, kinda. tailwinds make it hard to cool off and the temp had climbed into the 90s. Ouch. Around mile 80 i began to question why was i doing this. in all of these races, there's a little voice in your head telling you to keep going and to not quit. that voice was telling me to take it easy and not kill myself. i switched to a long sleeve collared shirt to protect me from the sun. it helped, but i was beat. the breaks became frequent and there was no drive to keep going. at checkpoint #2 i called it a day. my head hurt and my legs were cramping.

there were many folks who called it quits at that point in the race. it was 3pm and i still had a 100 miles to go. no mas. luckily, i ran into a guy who i rode with on the Good Life Gravel Adventure and he was able to give me a lift back into Emporia. Ahh, air conditioning...

I spent the next few hours eating and enjoying some nice tallgrass wheat beer with some construction guys.

it's a long way to gravel glory. i'll be back. no DNF next time. better training means a better chance to cross the finish line.


****photo credit to Corey Godfrey for the Best Western greeting photo

ridin' dirty!

the Dirty Kanza 200 is right around the corner.

i may have put in <750 miles since march and am a little nervous about the race... but who knows how it will go.

you never know until you go out there and give it your best effort.

my primary goal? finish. secondary goal? average ~12-13mph over the 200 mile stretch. even though my miles may not be where they should be, finishing a tough century ride during a gusty weekend provided confidence and progress. we'll see about this heat we are supposed to get, but if i ride within myself, i'll be there to cross the line. special recognition to RD for setting a tough pace to follow and the trek store's wednesday night rides to see what it's like to pedal with the big fellas. cheers!

ridin' dirty

rafal and i have been doin some pretty sweet gravel routes this spring. who knows, i may even get into the dirty kanza 200...keep your fingers crossed. more news to come

Big News!

New Edition to the Peters Family!

Meet Fenway!

Where does the time go??

whoa!

it's been quite a while since the last entry in the ol' blogo
here's a quick recap of what's been going on.

• mucho landscaping and earth moving to get the garden in
  
• riding to work every day since 1 March
  
• ive started riding bikes with guys who know how ride bikes reeeealy fast. the only thing i know is that if you dont keep up, you'll never catch up...
• work has been exactly that...work.
  
• 1/2 iron man is coming up quickly...im hoping the hammie is up to the challenge
• were gettin a dog pretty soon

that's all i got...until later!

happy new year!

Oh So Many Things Going On

lots of new news!

Big recaps coming soon....marriage, house, dealing with plumbers and real estate agents...whoa

lots of fun stuff to write about.

Good Life Gravel Adventure Recap

About a week ago Rafal and I embarked on our first endurance race of the year by touring some unpaved country roads surrounding Lincoln, NE. It was a perfect day for the race. Cool temps early in the morning that rose to maybe 80 degrees in the afternoon. For those of you who think that riding around Nebraska means riding the great plains with no hills...you are mistaken. This ride was one hilly mutha! the tough part about these hills was their spacing because you lost all momentum from the descent before climbing the next rolling hill. The race started out with 40-some riders at about 615 in the morning and included checkpoints at mile 40, 65, 81, and 106 before finishing back in Lincoln for mile 142. I was doing well the first 60 miles before leg cramps set in and thought, "oh shit, not good" so, i walked the bike for a minute or two, stretched out, and took it easy while increasing the fluid and electrolyte intake. One thing i learned on this race was to push as much fluid and food as possible because you burn tons of calories while spinning and climbing the rollers.

another thing i learned is that i should have brought my ipod or something to pass the time. mile after mile of gravel gets kinda boring and all you have is time to think about all sorts of things. the wedding, work, bikes, where you've been, what you wanna do, getting a house, the fam, friends, all types of stuff. Eventually you run out of things to think about and you just stare at the road and try to find the smoothest line to take your bike through. finding a good line seemed to always be the task at hand. you could be pt-cruising and then run your bike through some soupy gravel which drops your momentum and cadence...then you just hafta work your legs back up to it.

One of the toughest segments of the race was the last 35 mile leg. typically the wind blows out of the south and we would have had a great tailwind to push us home. instead, we had a wall of wind to welcome us back to lincoln. luckily there were some strong riders from kansas to ride with that decreased the workload. these fellas were strong and kept a quick pace, especially their leader, Warren, a 50-year-old former Marine who still looks like one. I hope to have this guy's endurance and biking proficiency when I'm his age. We knew things were gonna be ok when we hit the flat Mo-Pac trail for the final two miles to victory lane. the feeling of completing something that i thought would be a stretch was great. im wondering if i can do another 60 miles on top of that....the Dirty Kanza 200 is next May...we'll see. for the time being, i'll stick with shorter rides out to Platte for some sweet bacon

Summer Time!

Finally! The garden is producing a summer bumper crop of tomatoes! These 'maters will be enjoyed after this Saturday's tri at Manawa. Mmmmm tomato with pesto sandwiches and BLTs. Tasty!

Milwaukee Tour

A few weeks ago Jamie and I took a road trip to visit some friends in Milwaukee. At first, eight or nine hours in a car is not the most fun. However, splitting the drive in half with a quick overnighter visit with my brother in good ol' Waterloo made the drive not too bad. Seeing the Iowa countryside full of windmills was pretty cool to see as well. Perhaps our state representative, Lee Terry, could do some actual work and take a roadtrip to Iowa and see how other states are developing their renewable energy resources.

Jamie and I arrived in Waukesha around noon and meet up with her friends from university, Ashley and Chris. Chris is up in Wisconson doing some work for the National Weather Service and coincidentally my work is developing the software the NWS will use. Chris and his weather collegues are also huge fans of a weather guy I work with daily, Earl Barker. We hung out and chatted up before picking up another university friend, Maggie, on the way to the Lake Front Brewery tour. Mmmmm beer! Cold beer hit the spot after the long car ride. Learning how beer is made was pretty cool too. From what the locals have said, the brewery guides are typically funny and inject humor into their tours. Our tour guide wasn't that entertaining. Since the guides are volunteers, receive beer for their services, and we were towards the tail end of the evening, he had been enjoying the product samples a little too much. So yea, you learn about beer making, sample some beer, and then go eat. We enjoyed the beer and went to a fish fry next door where we saw bunches of tourists taking pictures of their food. It was like these guys had never seen food before. Never wanting to not partake in the action, I grabbed my camera and began taking pictures of other people taking pictures of the food. I dont know, perhaps they have never seen fried fish in their lives because and needed proof for friends back home. Or, perhaps they are the type of folks who document every part of their vacation as a means of torturing their friends or kids with a vacation slideshow replay that mimics stop motion animation. Some of my friends and coworkers have done this to me and i sometimes want to gouge my eyeballs out. I dont need to see you and your kid in 13 different poses as he tries to roll over or while you try to feed him. ugh!

Anyways, the weekend weather was perfect! Sunny, 80 degrees, and no humidity. Days like this are the summer norm in Wisconsin. It's too bad Milwaukee summers last about two months. The rest of the time is spent preparing for the cold and defrosting from the cold. The trip highlight was a visit to watch the Brewers with some tailgating mixed in at the Miller Park parking lot. We arrived early and were on hand to watch a Milwaukee college classic played out at the small ballfield outside the stadium: med students vs. dental students. The med students pulled out a narrow victory and that left Maggie in the dumps a bit.
The closest tailgating experience that matches the scale of what we enjoyed would be an Iowa State football game...Open containers, friendly folks, grillin, lawn games, and some bevs. We enjoyed some grilled veggies purchased from a local farmer's market and headed to the game. Like many things, beer made the event even better.
The ballgame was a great time...I was prepared to be hassled by security for bringing in sunflower seeds when reaching the turnstyle. Nope. Miller Park's liberal security policy allows just about any outside food sans alcohol. Wow! This policy sure beats Rosenblatt's SS-style-security at a CWS or Royal's game. The view from our seats made for great people watching and great baseball watching. Earl is a big Brewers fans, so he provided me a ticket for his seats near the 3rd base line. For about two innings I broke away from our group to see his seats and also took this chance to meet up with a buddy who I meet in Antarctica, Dan. It was fun to catch up while watching the crowd boo Manny Ramirez. Dan's trip was big time...like two or so years traveling out of a backpack, this guy went everywhere you could go in South America. We also got a great view of the sausage races.

The Brewers won and while walking out we noticed all these sweet ballpark themed statues you could take your picture with. Never wanting to bypass a photo opportunity, we snapped some fotos of ourselves with the sausages and in this giant glove you could sit in. For those who dont know me, I can be a bit sarcastic...but when I told this woman that it would be five dollars to take her picture with the giant baseball glove, I received an unexpected "F-You and your F'in five dollars!" We all kind of looked at each other and were like, whoa, tranquilo lady, tranquilo. So after the ballgame we enjoyed some more drinks and headed back to Ashley and Chris' place. Everybody was pretty worn out from the game and I went into my normal late-night veggative state where I fall asleep whenever and whereever.

Awaking on Sunday I felt unexpectedly rested and ready for a long ride home...we passed the time talking about the weekend that was and listening to The Godfather. I'd say Milwaukee is worth another visit and like to head up there again. Cheers!

Where Did Summer Go?

Lots of things going on these days....In the next few days i'll be describing epic tales of

• Milwaukee
• Tri-Tri-Triathlons
• Ragbrai

Some the upcoming events include...

• Branched Oak Lake Triathlon (Maybe)
• Good Life Gravel Adventure
• Black Squirell Triathlon
• Omaha Half Marathon with a twist

back from yosemite!

it's been about two weeks since the yosemite trip...

big news. jamie and i got engaged in front of the beautiful yosemite falls. i asked, she was like, "are you serious?" with a smile and a tear in the corner of her eye...she said yes....phew.

more info to come. also, b-hoff was one of the lucky 31% in california to pass the bar. great job, brian!

back from estes park...

did a quick tour of estes park, colorado this weekend.

Things we saw...

• rocky mountain national park
• the stanley
• elk
  
• inebriated coworkers
• a cool wedding at a beautiful chapel

Back from Paris!

Just got back from Paris last week...so much to see in just one week!

Good times...
Good food
good drinks....

more to come later...

jp

Three Sport Adventure!

Completing and competing a triathlon has been a long term goal of mine. Well, now's the time. This should be a fun and different type of challenge. I'm excited to compete with myself to do my best at this type of event. You never know how good you can be at something until you give it your best shot. With that being said, a few guys and I have started a triathlon-trio and are aiming for a May 31st competition.

Swim, bike, and run. I'm ok at running and pretty good at biking. Swimming...err that's gonna take some work. My cumulative swimming experience has been the swimming merit badge I earned at Boy Scout camp 15 years ago and being able to tread water. I'm attending the Maverick Masters swimming program in order to improve at this sport. The Masters swim program offers organized workouts to adult swimmers with the goal of improving fitness through swimming. The training assistance these coaches provide will help out the triathlon-trio. I attended three times my first week and have realized how much of a workout this swimming thing is. Yaowza!

I arrived on Monday and gave the coach the quick rundown of my limited experience. The warm up began with a 200 meter freestyle, pull, and kick. The workout began with eight-200 meter freestyle with a focus of breathing technique and head placement. Head down and replace your nose with your ear as you breath. The workout was tough for a beginner.

I have to say the whole experience of this Masters program is a bit humbling. Yea, you think you are an ok athlete...until you try a sport that you never have done before and get to watch Nana glides past you while you are trying to catch your breath in the corner of pool.

Short term goals is the name of the game here.

The short term goal that I set on my first day of swimming was to make it down to the end of the pool, while breathing properly, without stopping. By the third day of swimming I'm able to do that. Down and back is the next goal.

More triathlon goals and updates to come.

Happy New Year!

It's a new year that's full of new opportunities!

 

wow, it's been a while since the last entry and so i thought i'd add an entry. there are some big things coming down the line this year and it should be a great time.

Some potential destinations that i've been thinking about include:

• Pacific Northwest to visit some buddies i met a few years ago
• Estes Park  with Jamie for a wedding and a bit of hiking
• Milwaukee with Jamie to visit some of her friends, enjoy a brewery tour, and watch the Brewers play a game or two
• Yosemite to visit Hoffman, climb Half Dome, and see the waterfalls
• NYC to see the US Open
• New Zealand, Austrailia, and Asia...this is a stretch, but it'd be a blast!

There are some other things going down...more info on those as they develop

In Memoriam of Joeri Gorter

This is dedicated to traveling, the outdoors, cycling and friends. It is never easy and is a shock to learn that someone you met just a few weeks ago no longer is alive. That's what I felt when I read my email this morning and learned Joeri Gorter was hit by a truck while on his rowing bike last Friday.

 

The thing about traveling is that it helps develop a knack for sizing people up and in just a few minutes. It doesn't take too long to tell what type of person someone is. Do I like this person? Can I trust them? Do they want something from me? What type of person is this and do I get a good vibe from them? These impressions come quickly.  

 

The impression that Brian and I got from Joeri when we first saw him rowing his bike up Highway 120 was, "wow, that guy is in pretty good shape. that looks hard, but it also looks like fun." The impression we had when we met him in the Yosemite campground was genuine. He enthusiastically accepted our meal invitation and shared his scotch with us. Right away Brian and I could tell we had met a great character. Joeri told us stores of life in the Netherlands, taught us some Dutch slang, made us laugh with tales of Amsterdam, and his plans to ride all over the US. Brian and I envied his plans. We envied his contagious optimism and attitude.

 

We met as strangers and departed as friends who planned to meet up in Omaha and Amsterdam for a drink.

 

We were looking forward to that drink.

 

Brian and I are saddened about this loss and will miss that reunion.

Yosemite Summary

It's been over a week since the return and now's the time to send out an update on the latest happenings. Work had been pretty busy the last few weeks with all types of stuff, so this was a well-timed break from the action. The trip's purpose was to go out to visit a buddy from undergrad and from the days of working as a clubbie for the omaha royals. It was also a great excuse to quit shaving for a while and see how well the beard look looks. I still have a ways to go on the beard look. The midway point was Sacramento, California, but the destination was Yosemite National Park.

After arriving at Sacramento International Airport late Thursday evening, I grabbed my bag off the luggage belt and walked into the cool California night to meet my buddy Brian and Yoda, his 1980s Toyota pickmup truck. What was odd was that for as old as the truck was, there was not a spot of rust to be seen. Oh those rough California winters, eh? We ride off into the night and talk about current events, how things are going, and where to grab a bite to eat. We made the right choice and grabbed some iconic California Food, In N Out Burger. I ordered the Double Double and went Animal Style on the delicious food. It's getting to be 11pm and we roll into Brian's place where I meet Kona, a friendly Chocolate Lab. Kona likes visitors and we play around a bit before I crash on the couch.

The next day we pack up the grill, the food, our bags, and tent. On the way out of town we stop by In N Out again where I actually meet Brian's girlfriend. What makes this notable is that Brian has been dating his ladytype for about two years, but no one has ever seen actual proof of the girlfriend. We hear good things, but never really saw evidence of existence for quite a while. Well, she does exist and she's a nice girl for Brian. I'm also pretty sure Brian didn't hire an actress to play the part of his girlfriend.

We have our Garmin and our directions. We are on the road like Jack Kerouac and on the road again like Willie Nelson. The population density California is staggering...no matter what time of day or where you go, the place is full. It's a huge cluster and it was great to escape all those people. Along the way there was a disagreement between the Garmin and Google Maps. We chose to use Google Maps and ended up near a prison and a landfill. Blast you, Google Maps! We are back on track after asking for directions from a guy out for a run in an orange jumpsuit. Ha!

The way to Yosemite is a long and winding road. The Sierra's many mountains, sharp curves, and huge RVs keep us alert. One wrong turn and you fall long ways. Go bye bye. The only thing memorable about the drive there, besides passing by the prison, was this guy we saw rowing his bike up the mountain road. My buddy Jesse rode his bike cross country and told me about riding climbs that were miles long, but this guy put a rowing machine on a pair of wheels and was going up the frickin' mountain! Craziness! After stopping in a town a few miles from Yosemite, Brian and I roll into the northwest corner of the park and settle into the Hodgdon Meadow Campground, about 45 minutes northwest of the Yosemite Valley. We put our food in the bear locker, popped up the tent, and played a bit of Stratego before crashing. The moon and night stars were shining bright that night! After being in the city for so long, you forget how nice it is to look up and see the stars.

The next day we pack our sandwiches, make a bit of oatmeal, and head off to hike to the North Dome. We read in the park newspaper about this strenuous 11-mile guided hike that will take around seven hours to complete. Why not, we thought. We meet up with Ranger Andrew Smalldon and a couple from Holland at nine bells. What's strange about hiking is your body freezes while standing, but heats up after your feet start moving. We hiked in our tshirts and pants and threw on our jackets after stopping at the top. Along the way, the ranger told us park information, forest ecosystems, animals, and his experiences in other national parks. His stories like the firefall make the three and a half hour hike to the North Dome easier.

Even for being in reasonable shape for the shape we were in, Brian and I sucked wind at the mile-plus high elevation. Slow and steady is the approach you gotta take while hiking at this altitude. The view at the North Dome was spectacular! To the left was Half Dome and to our right was the Yosemite Valley. We stake out a rock, snap some fotos, and enjoy the view for about 30 or 45 minutes before heading back. The way back took forever. We blamed our poor endurance for our slow feet and sagging heads. Ranger Smalldon scared me when I asked him a question about trees as I pulled the bark off of a dead tree. He was like, "Dude, I'm gonna hafta write you up for doing that to a tree." My eyes widened and I was like, "Oh shoot...but the tree's dead!" And then he was like, "im just givin you a hard time...Gotcha!" He and Brian laughed a bit while my pulse recovered a bit. One thing that I must say is that park rangers are probably the nicest and most optimistic people you can meet. These folks always seem positive and why not. You are out in the middle of nature, you get paid to hike on a trail, and you get to wear a cool uniform.

The last mile and a half took forever. I'm pretty sure the last portion was measured as the crow flies and not how the trail winds. Brian and I get back to Yoda and relax on the tailgate. We snack on the WheatThins and watch the traffic whiz bye. The number of motorcycles we saw in the park that day was large. Tons of Harleys in large groups and a few solo BMW riders whose bikes reminded me of the Long Way Down/Long Way Round riders. That's something my brother and I would like to do...one of these days.

We pick up some firewood at one of the turnouts and head back to our campsite. Why buy firewood when you can grab the stuff from the forest for free? While prepping dinner and enjoying some beverages, we see the rowingbike guy coast into our campsite and we do a double take. "Wanna beer?" we ask him as we prepare the yardbird, rice, and beans. We exchange hellos, offer him a drink, and invite him to dinner. Joeri is a 30-something who is taking a break from Holland and rowing his bike all around the U.S. The rowing bike really is a series of complex levers and pulleys. The setup is just like a recumbent bicycle, but the rider does not propel himself by peddling. Instead, the chain has been replaced by a nylon rope and the rider pushes with the legs while pulling the arms. Talk about a full body workout. Joeri was in shape, but he loved cigarettes During the three hours we ate and drank he prolly smoked at least seven Marlboro Reds...We talked into the night about America, Holland, soccer, the president, and many more topics. I think there was some definite bonding going on between Brian and Joeri when the topic changed to soccer. Both guys talked about the soccer players who they admired and all that…that stuff still is Greek to me. The only soccer players that I know of are Zinedine Zidane and Diego Maradona. The activity from the long hike and the good drinks took their tool. At about 930 I hit the wall and was dozing off. It was lights out after about two minutes into the sleeping bag.

My body was still on Omaha time and I awoke at 530. I wondered around the campgrounds for a while and returned with some water for the breakfast oatmeal. Day two would be nice and easy after the 11-mile hike did a number on us. Our feet were sore, our muscles were stiff, and our clothes were a blend of BO and campfire. But to be in a place like this will always puts you in a good mood. We ate some breaky and said our goodbyes to Joeri.

It was time to hug some trees so Brian and I set our sights on some Giant Sequoias. There are two groves of these massive trees in Yosemite, the first was about 1.5 hours away from our campsite in the Maraposa Grove and the second was along the way to the Valley in the Merced Grove. Brian and I picked the closer grove and hiked in to see these massive trees. These trees were wicked amazing! You don't appreciate how big they are until you get next to them, crane your neck back, and try to see to the top. Amazing what comes from nature. In all we saw about 15 of these behemoth trees and were astounded by how they dwarfed other large trees around them. The only bad part about hiking into the grove was that we went downhill the entire way…this required hiking uphill to get out. We took our time and enjoyed the sites…this made the hike a bit easier. Check out the size of these things!

It was back on the road and into the Valley. Ah Yosemite…a shrine to human foresight, strength of granite, power of glaciers, the persistence of life, and the tranquility of the High Sierra. This is one area of the national park that you really can't take a bad picture in. Horizontal trees growing from small cracks in the hard granite, majestic views of waterfalls (when they are turned on), and the pine tree smell affect your senses as you cruise through this place. Brian and I stopped for a quick lunch at the Yosemite lodge where I developed some serious hiccups after putting too much Tabasco into the chili. When hit up the local Yosemite souvenir shop where we quickly took advantage of the $1.50 Yosemite Pale Ale craft brew and found a great spot to admire El Capitan while we relaxed. It was during that time I convinced Brian that El Capitan's English translation was The Lieutenant. Gotcha! We then hike our way to Yosemite Falls to people watch and write some postcards to friends back home. The falls weren't working that day, but nature will prolly turn things back on in the spring. It's gotta be impressive when these falls are flowin during the spring snowmelt. We hung out at the falls for a while and then wandered across a few meadows until we came to Sentinel Bridge where we captured some epic shots of Half Dome reflecting off a calm stream. The foto reminded me of the shot that Rafal took of Fitz Roy when he came down to Patagonia for a while. We hung around the bridge, snapped a few fotos, and visited the small Yosemite Chapel afterwards. Nice little place. Overall, I would say that Yosemite was one heck of an experience and would recommend the national park to anyone interested in seeing some great sites and hiking some of the 800 miles worth of trails

going going back back to cali cali

im off to californian to hike around yosemite national park

yea buddy!!!

Part 4 & 5 annoy your friends with anonymous postcards from abroad

While in Madrid, my friend Greg forwarded me some good information about a couple he and his wife know. Here are the details about them

 

Names: Joe and Michelle
Address: Omaha NE
Professions: Joe is a Physical Therapist / Michelle is a Physician's Assistant
Children: Joey (1 going on 2)
Current Events: They are having a baby today. They were induced this morning and are still waiting to see the new baby. Some specifics are: It will be a girl, they haven't landed on a name yet, they are at Methodist hospital.
Other Details: Both went to John Brown University, Both play sports (Joe played Basketball, Michelle played Volleyball), Both sing in the church choir, Joe loves to BBQ and watch basketball/sports, Michelle loves fruity candy, Joey can't quite talk yet in full words but you can kind of understand him, Both come from large families, Joe is the oldest of 5 brothers, They live in Omaha NE but weren't born here, Joe used to sing in a Gospel Quintet, Joe is the #1 fan of singer David Phelps, They love American Idol, They have friends from all over and Joe has a brother who is a missionary in the Philippines.

Hopefully that is enough for you to do your thang. I would raz them a little about not having decided on the baby's name as that seems to be something people talk about. I'm assuming I'll pay you when you get back?!? That gives us an excuse to get some people together for lunch sometime and hear your traveling stories.

Aight, catch you lata, enjoy the rest of your trip. 

 

And here are the postcards...

 

Hey Gang!
Congrate on the new addition to the fam. What are you going to name the new baby? You know that you cant leave the hospital w/o naming that kid! My suggestion is to name the kid after some Spanish soccer or war hero.
I've been all over Spain and have visited some amazing churches. I think both of you should tryout for the La Sagrada Familia church choir. That church would be amazing to be a part of. Hope your brother is safe in the Phillipines and little Joey is talking up a storm.
See you guys soon!
jp

Jamie wrote...
Joe & Michelle
Congrate on the new addition to your family! Joes is going to love being a BIG brother! Methodist was great when I had my two kids there. We'll have to BBQ when we get back and share stories about all our travels - - - this week we are in Madrid & Loving it! Tonight we will see a bullfight at Las Ventas 0 0 0 the ring on the front - - - Should be fun to see you soon!
J

for the record...jamie does not have two kids.

Part 3a: annoy your friends with anonymous postcards from abroad

i dont know if the goal was to annoy or just to confuse. but i think it worked.

here's an email i received from my friend Paul. Paul is the guy who set me up with Joe's address.

I ran into Joe last night so I asked him if he had been getting any strange mail. He looked kind of surprised and said that he had. I didn't want to let him in on the secret, but I couldn't come up with a good reason for why I would know about it otherwise. He enjoyed it and said that it has been the topic of conversation with just about everyone he has talked to for the past three weeks. He was convinced that it was his aunt somehow trying to convince him to become a missionary in Morocco or Spain. Anyway, I'm glad your trip went well and thanks for the fun.

Part 3: annoy your friends with anonymous postcards from abroad

This is my third and final postcard to my friend-that-I-never-know named Joe. The postcard says
Papa Joe
I know a guy like you would appreciate a postcard like this. Nothing but love coming from Madrid, baby! You gotta see this place. It's a Spanish version of New York or Chichage, except people speak a different language and dress sharper. Ive seen some excellent street performances that you would appreciate from your RoadShow days. Nothing like a good street performance to get the say started off right, ya know.
Take Care, see you on Ragbrai.

Why Can't Omaha Be Biker Friendly Like Barcelona

This entry is dedicated to biker awareness on the road. So I'm returning from the grocery story about an hour ago and have one of my panniers full of goods. I'm at the stoplight behind a car...Stationary. Unclipped from my pedals. Waiting to go northbound on 50th and Dodge. I'm not going slow...I'm stopped when this wife-beater-wearin-jerkstore tried to run me off the rode while waiting at the stoplight. This idiot leaves the road, drives onto the sidewalk and pulls up beside me. Ok, he's driving on the sidewalk now and yells at me, "Get the f-off the f-in road." Being tired, hungry, hot and sweaty did not help my patience. My blood began to boil, I took a look at the guy and I'm like..hmm, "Well, D-A, looks like your the one who is off the road...why dont you respect the riders." Now, I'm never really one to start anything...but I'm not the type who is going to back down if i get pushed. We exchange a few more niceties and he drives off...driving on the sidewalk between the stoplight pole and the building. Curse you Teal BMW with Nebraska plates PYP 754

It's time for Omaha to grow up. Mayor Fahey, buy some paint and mark those streets to make the city more biker friendly...I do have to give Omaha credit...Omaha has made some progress in recent years, but those streets are not entirely biker friendly. There needs to be a shift in thinking. My roommate Andrea said it best that Omaha is at the point where we are like some tweeners are between high school and college. "do i wanna grow up and do the mature stuff...or do i wanna sit in the basement of my parents home, play xbox all day, and never grow up. O-town is at this point and needs to get out of Ma' and Pa's basement and into the real world.

Omaha needs to be a bit more like Barcelona. I have never seen a more biker friendly town than Barcelona, Spain. I'm pretty sure if I travel to more spots in Europe, I'll realize that there are many more biker friendly communities out there. Here's why I think Barcelona's biking community. Many of the biking lanes have a median that separates bikers from traffic and pedestrians. Biking lanes have their own cross walk signs. Bike racks are organized and the ADT-swipe card system lets you lock up your bike without carrying a heavy lock. Drivers respect bikers and bikers respect drivers and pedestrians. It's time for Omaha to grow up and become biker friendly. Plus, the useful thing about taking a bike to a bar is that you can use the bike to lean on when you return home. My friend Geoff from California (originally from biker friendly Ireland told me that one)

im workin on the fotos n stuff...but this weather makes me just want to head outside.

Man Vs. Beast...Plaza de Los Toros...Bullfighting Time!

Ole!

Bullfighting in Spain goes wayback and whether or not you are a fan of it or not, it's an impressive spectacle. The sight of an angry 600kg-horned beast barreling down full-speed at guy dressed in a sparkling singlet and matching jacket will grab your attention. "Ole," the crowd shouts as the beast sends his horns through the matador's outstretched pink cape.

Below is a tale of our time at a Madrid bullfighting match.
So we hopped off the subway at the Las Ventas stop and climbed the metro stairs to a brown-bricked circular plaza with people buying/selling food and fans preparing for the match. The quantity of people outside the stadium matches the sight similar to ESPN gameday, except there are no drunk frat boys with letters painted on their chest and no Lee Corso wearing a mascott on his head. Just a calm buzz about the match and people lining up to get in.

Jamie and I picked up a few bocadillo sandwiches and thought about eating them prior to entrance. I asked around and everybody said bringing food into the arena is common practice. Now, being from the States, Jamie and I are accustomed to over-zealous insecurity guards at events like the College World Series where they actually hire Douglas County Sheriffs, Omaha Police Officers, and Delta Security (cop wannabes) to pat down little kids and ensure they dont bring in their own bag of sunflower seeds. Forget about the 31 shootings Omaha had in 31 days last year, our priorities are geared more towards searching fans who want to bring in a 99-cent bag of Cornnuts rather than preventing/solving crimes. but that's my point of view.

Getting back to the story, the Las Ventas event, folks let you bring in anything...I mean anything! 2 liter bottles, cans of beer, hard liquor, full meals...a guy even brought in a whole pig's leg! Why can't we do that in America. Let's focus on the event, instead of profit. So we ate our dinner and drank a Coke inside the stadium where we watch the stands fill up from our 14th row seats. Typically, the cheaper seats in a bullfighting event are situated in the sunny section. We were in those seats and the sun warmed us in the Spring weather.

The stadium is full and it is game time. The drums pound, the horns sound, the gates to the ring open to begin the opening ceremonies. Four bullfighters walk into the stadium on their steeds followed by the junior toreros. To me, the junior toreros are the rodeo clown equivalent that protect the main bullfighter by distracting the bull and maintaining its level of anger while the main bullfighter changes horses. Instead of barrels, these toreros duck for cover behind recessed panels that allow them to duck and cover when the bull gets a little too close. The participants do their song and dance and everybody saw how well-trained these horses were. According to rider command, the animals marched forwards, backwards, and sideways in a variety of cadences and trots. Pretty cool, actually. When that finished, the real fun began. Man vs. Beast. The fight begins with a single horse mounted bullfighter waiting in the ring. The main door opens and a horned beast charges at full speed. It's looking for something to take out its aggression on. The bullfighter sees the 600kg animal coming and starts to move. Because of it's ability to quickly turn and easily accelerate, the horse has the advantage in the fight. It's all about angles in this fight. The bull gets close enough to feel the horse's tail, but the bullfighter steers the horse enough to be a safe distance.

For a long time I always thought bullfights were just a guy in spandex and a bull plowing through a red cape. Well, that's not exactly how things happen. Bulls die in the match. The bull's death takes about 15 or 20 minutes and it's pretty bloody. The end of the bull begins with the bull chasing the horse for a bit. The bullfighter is then handed a long barbed shaft. With shaft, the bullfighter charges the bull and jabs it into the bull's neck, staining the black coat deep red. The bullfighter jams two more long barbs into the bull's neck and is then handed three smaller, dagger-sized barbs. With the smaller daggers, the bullfighter gets almost parallel with the bull and crosses over his body to jab the barb into the animal's neck. This is a pretty complicated move considering all the moving parts going on. The bull is tired. It's not as quick as it once was and from our seats you witness how heavily the animal is breathing. At that time, the bullfighter gets off of his horse, grabs a pink cape, another barb, and approaches the bull. The bull aims its horns at the cape but only plows through the air. This goes on for a few more minutes and the bullfighter successfully plants a few more barbs into the beast's neck. The bull is near the end when the red cape appears. The junior bullfighters appear from their recessed doors and begin to waive their pink capes on the sides of the beast to ensure the bull is sufficiently exhausted and blinded. You too would prolly go blind if someone stabbed you in the neck a dozen times. The fights ends when the bullfighter takes a long sword known as a muleta and thrusts it between the shoulder blades and into the heart of the beast. The bull stiffens for an instance and then goes limp. Maintenance then comes in to drag the bull out of the ring. A harness is fastened around the bull's head and horns for three mules to drag the animal away.

steak anyone?

Without a doubt, bullfighting is cruelty to animals, especially when the bullfighter misses with the muleta and has to retry a few times. the crowd was not pleased when that happened.

Jamie and I saw around eight matches that evening and the scariest event occurred on the second fight. You know how I mentioned man vs. beast and how the bull usually dies? Well, in this match the bull at least got a few good shots in and really hurt the bullfighter. While the bullfighter is putting barbs into the bull's neck, he will perform some elaborate tricks on the horse while the bull is chasing it. One of those tricks included a pirouette where the bull slowly follows the horse and then the horse does a 360 degree turn right in front of the horned-beast. This trick worked well when the bullfighter would turn into the ring, or the open area. Well, we witnessed the horse turning into the wall and towards the bull. The bull was waiting for him and dug its horns into the horse and knocking the rider down. It only lasted a few seconds, but the crowd went silent, the white horse we bloodied, and the bullfighter's head was injured. They got him out of there, but talk about bloody. yaowza