So I get up and have my breakfast of oatmeal and tea before dressing in my Spiffy Spandex Super Hero Suit for the ride.
In addition to the routine tasks of checking tire pressure and lubing my chain, today I will load my bike with a similar weight as to what I will be pedaling in AZ. This means my bike bag on the rack over my rear wheel will be loaded with four bottles containing four liters of fluids. I will not be drinking these fluids. They are ballast creating the approximate weight I will be carrying on our four day ride from Ash Fork, AZ to the Topac, AZ (located on the shores of the Colorado River, the natural boundary between Arizona and California). I will also be wearing my backpack today. It will contain three liters of fluid and my bike chain. This will be the approximate weight of what I will carry on my back while pedaling Route 66.
This weight simulation exercise was a lesson hard learned from our previous ride across the Sonora Desert. In my training throughout the winter months for that trip, I didn't think to wear a backpack. So at the end of our first day of travel last March from Tubac, AZ to North Tucson, AZ, my upper shoulder muscles and neck muscles were a sore mess. So I am avoiding that this time. I will be wearing my backpack every day from this point on to get those muscles up to strength.
With lots of sport drink bottles, a half dozen power bars, and two apples, I roll out of my driveway. My plan is to do a big loop that will take me inland northeast about 14 km (8.5 mi), then directly west toward Lake Huron, the south along the shore road of the Lake, then 12 km (7.5 mi) east and inland back to my home. I anticipate this trip taking me about 3 hours.
Temperature must be respected and taken seriously today. As I leave my home around 9 am, it is about 21 C (70 F). But the humidex temperature is 28 C (83 F). And within the hour the temperature, with the humidity factored in, will be 34 C (93 F). But this is good. I need to experience these temperatures because in Arizona, in September, our daily temperatures will be close to 38 C (100 F).
My complete ride takes 3 hours and 12 minutes. My actual "seat time" is 2 hours and 55 minutes. I travel 50 km (31 mi) at an average of 17 kph (10.5 mph). I drink two liters of Sport Drink, eat 2 apples and one power bar. (This is a little on the low side for this distance and these temperatures. When arriving home I eat a good lunch of Chicken Ceasar Salad and a huge bowl of watermelon.)
The pictures below tell something of the story of my ride.
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| Several of these pictures reflect the "Wind Turbine Corridor" I ride through today. About 14 km of my ride was through a less densely populated area of the township in which I live. Because there are fewer homes, the Wind Turbine concentration can be greater. There are so many turbines along this road, they can be heard and felt. The ground actually vibrates and pulsates to the rotation of the turbine in the top of the tower. This picture shows the massive bolts that anchor the tower into it's large cement base. |
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| This is my road towards and my view of Lake Huron from about 6 km inland. |
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| Photos cannot capture the largeness of these Turbines. I believe they are about 61 meters (200 feet) in height. |
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| A harvest of Giant Shredded Wheat Rolls ready for export to the breakfast tables of America :-) |
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| Picture of Someone staring at the camera with Turbine towering above him. The small looking box attached to the spinning blades contains the electromagnetic generator. I have a friend who services and repairs these electromagnetic turbines. I says he can stand up in the turbine housing -- the small "box" you see at the top. |
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| You are viewing one of the world's largest nuclear power plants, located about 7 hours drive north of Detroit, Michigan. I believe they have 6 active reactors with plans to put two more on line. |
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