Tour de Oink





Tour de Oink was held in Morrilton June 18, 2011. Jane and I met up there and rode together. There were two distance routes and we chose the long one which was 40 miles. The weather was pretty nice. It was sunny and kind of windy, but later it got a little cloudy and that helped to keep the temps down.

There were three rest stops, but we only stopped at one. The rest stop in Atkins had some delicious homemade cookies! It was right across from a church that had a huge, beautiful steeple.

We made decent time on this ride, even with the wind blowing.  It only took us 2 hours and 38 minutes. I must say this was one of the most enjoyable rides I've been on this year.  The scenery was really nice, the roads were pretty good and the watermelon at the end of the ride was perfect!  I wouldn't have known about this ride if Jane hadn't mentioned it and I found out more info on the ACF website.  I hope next year they'll advertise it more, because it was a really nice ride and and I think people would enjoy it.

Big, white country church in the middle of nowhere.

The steeple :)

Jane and me and the rest stop in Atkins. They even had Atkins pickles!

Tour de Rock



The Fab Five: Fred, me, Christy, Bob (the navigator) & Jane

Finally! The ride I've been waiting for....the ride that started my passion for cycling....the ride I knew I was going to reach my goal on! I did it!! I rode 100 miles (actually 104).

The Carti Tour de Rock was held June 11 and I rode with my training ride buddies: Christy, Bob, Jane and Fred. Jane and I finished after 7 hours and 9 minutes and Fred came in 45 minutes behind us. We were lucky in the fact that we didn't have any flats or mechanical issues. It was a pretty hot day and we had to deal with some strong winds.

I can honestly say that this wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The last 15 miles were pretty tough, but I kept on going and did it! We stopped at every rest stop and I was so thankful every time I got my hands on ice and cool towels!

Since I've conquered this goal, my next goal will be to beat my time! I'm hoping that I get the opportunity to do just that on June 25 - Tour de Corn! This is going to be in East Prairie, MO.  I'm thinking about going and doing this, the only drawback - no riding buddy, so I'll be doing it alone. The good thing about doing this is that most of the time you meet new people and end up riding with others that are going the same pace as you. Hopefully, that will be case and I'll have a great ride and beat my time :)

Me and Jane right after we finished!

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The Ranch Ride

The Ranch Ride was held Saturday, June 4, 2011 in Conway.  It benefited Soaring Wings Ranch and began at Hendrix College. This was the very first Ranch Ride and was full of hills! (Some very BIG hills!)

I was very apprehensive about doing this at first, but I had a new bike buddy that said he would stay with me the whole time. His support really helped me make it through the day!

I rode the long portion - 56 miles and it took me four hours to do. My average speed was 14.08, which isn't that fast...but for all of those hills...I'll take it! That just gives me wiggle room to improve! I will also admit that I had to push my bike up a few of those hills. These legs of mine are use to the flat delta terrain.

There was a sad twist to the day. One lady did die during this ride when her brakes failed coming down a steep hill and she hit a parked car. I'm aware that riding can be dangerous either through my fault or the fault of someone else and I'm always so thankful when I finish a ride safely.

I would definitely like to improve my speed and my ability to climb hills better. There's always something to work on and get better at and I'm excited to see how much faster and easier I can do this ride next year!


Kenny before the ride. He's a strong rider!



The deadly, really steep hill!





More Training for Carti Tour de Rock

I'm still doing the training rides on Saturday whenever I can and whenever the weather isn't too bad. This past weekend I rode for 54 miles and it was a little windy, but I hung in there!

I met some new people that I ended up riding with.  A husband and wife that were very nice!  That's probably one of the best parts of cycling.  It can be such a social event!  I have yet to meet someone that I didn't like or that wasn't friendly and helpful!

This was a great riding day for me!  I had a very healthy breakfast that gave me the fuel I needed.  For a lot of the ride I was in front pulling the small group I rode with.  It was great riding with others because when I got a little tired, I could draft behind someone else. 

I took advantage of the energy gels which really helped me out alot!  Also, I've been using clipless pedals for about three weeks now and I have noticed a big improvement in power!  They have really made a big difference!

We rode on highways that I didn't know even existed! I've never seen these places!  The scenery was really nice.  We rode through old pecan groves and some of these trees had been knocked down by recent storms.

On the way back, we took a little break at the Plantation Agriculture Museum in Scott.  I have passed this place many, many times but have never stopped.  This is a little jewel and I'll have to take the time to come back and visit!  It took about 3 1/2 hours to finish our ride, which wasn't too bad considering the wind.  We averaged about 15.17 mph.  It started to rain on the last 5-10 minutes and I'm thankful we made it back without getting too wet! 

After riding I went to one of my favorite new lunch spots - Argenta Market and had a turkey flatbread sandwich which was just what I needed!  It was a very enjoyable riding day!  I couldn't ride the River Trail like I normally do because a lot of it is under water, so I went by ACF and then headed home later that day.  I hate to say it, but.....I'm ready for some hot weather and still conditions! 

Ride for the Cure

Finally! My first organized ride of 2011 that the weather allowed me to do! It was still very cold and very windy!!! I had planned on doing the 50 mile ride, but due to the weather and all the hills (which I'm not use to doing), I decided to just do the 20 mile ride. Before the actual start, they let all the young children ride around the parking lot on their decorated bikes.  We released pink balloons into the air and then it was off to line up on the street.

The hills were everything I had been dreading! I'm so accustomed to riding on the flat delta land around my house so this day was a definite workout! I will say that just seeing the landscape was worth the drive. 

This was the first time I had visited Jonesboro in a few years.  There was a health expo at the Convocation Center, and it was pretty neat to walk around and check everything out.  They served us HUGE burritos after the ride which were yummy...but it was just way to much food for me to eat!

Ride for the cure was for a great cause and I'll probably do it again next year. I just hope that the weather will be warmer!! (and I can really do without the wind next time)

Reducing my carbon footprint...

I rode my bike to work! I've ridden to Brinkley before and thought about how neat it would be to just ride to work. I left the house before 7:00 so I could be there by 8:00. I knew the wind was out of the south and that it would work in my favor. It was so nice to be out that early during that time of the day. I was on the road in time to see the sun rise - what a great feeling!

I had to carry a backpack with a change of clothes since I was going to be working. I think I'll get a bag together with some essentials to leave at work next time and then I'll only have to carry a work outfit.

The trip to work only took an hour and 10 minutes, but the ride home was another story! That wonderful wind that pushed me to work, was really working against me on the ride back! It took me an extra 25 minutes for the return trip!

I enjoyed doing this and will difinitely do it again! Two advantages to this...I reduced my carbon footprint on the earth this day, and I got my workout in before I got home!

More Training

I did another day of training for the Carti Tour de Rock on Saturday.  I rode 42 miles with a group of people that I thought was going to go about 13-16 mph.  I think I ended up in the wrong group because most of the first part of the ride we were doing about 18mph!

Toward the end of the first half I was beginning to get tired, but I pushed on!  I made it to the rest/turn around point.  I took a few minutes to eat some energy beans and hydrate myself.  I decided to head out, I was on my own and pretty much stayed that way the whole trip back.  I don't mind riding alone, in fact I prefer it, but I will say I was a little nervous about it when I reached Broadway.  Perhaps next time I'll wait for some other riders so I'll feel a little safer :)

Some of the high points about this day was that I met some more nice people and I learned that riding in a group pushes me to go faster! After talking to a lady during the ride, I'm considering getting clipped into my pedals, but that's another topic with more to come!

After the training ride I headed to my usually spot at Burns Park for some more riding.  I did the River Trail two times and my total miles for the day....are you ready??......72.6 miles!!! My new record! I know I'm going to hit my goal before the middle of summer!

I need to mention that I set up a new FB group - Pedal Chix!  I'm hoping to get more women involved with cycling, especially women in my area.  We'll see how it goes!  I'm having the first "group ride" this Wednesday in Brinkley at 5:00.  I'm going to keep it at about a 10 mile ride, I don't want to scare them away with long rides.  Right now I only have 2 ladies wanting to meet up.  Sounds like another blog topic!