Million Meters of Milk
Pre-Ride Bike Inspection
Pre-ride carb loading ;)
Brevet Card
3 days worth of clothing and food laid out and ready to go. Bike packed and ready to go!
Day 1 was the Cherries Jubilee 400k (250 miles) that took us in a loop heading northeast out of Fond du Lac, (name means at the foot of the lake) traveling through Kewaunee, along the scenic shores of Lake Michigan into and through Door County to the historic Sturgeon Bay which was the halfway point in the day’s ride. There were three people (including Steve and I) that were under the age of 40 and maybe even 50 years old. There was one other tandem team. From those I talked too, Steve and I may have been the only ones there who hadn’t completed a 1000k or grand brevet (greater than 1200k) before. We were surrounded by veterans with a vast array of knowledge and advice and we definitely took advantage of this! The start of the ride at 4am took us straight down the middle of town and it was awesome seeing all the lights and taillights speckling the road. Within 5 miles the group was pretty spread out and become even more so as we hit Niagra Escarpment which would be our biggest climb for the day. Everyone on this ride is ultimately racing against the clock not each other. You ride your own ride and if you want to travel with a group your group is the one behind you. Even though we started in the dark the temperature was warm therefor our wool was packed snug away in one of our bags.
The sun rose soon after the start and illuminated the luscious green farmland. The ride was picturesque the entire time with the bluest of blue sky dotted with white fluffy clouds over gently rolling green crops, marshes, and forest. We talked to all the farm animals. Most horses wouldn't look up from eating the grass. We said "Hey ladies!" to all the dairy cows and most would look at us. We even got a few to run along the fence row with us! We let the beef cows know that we were sorry and we wouldn't be eating them. The amount of manure trucks that pasted us on the road was shocking. Where does all that manure go?
The route eventually took us along the coast of Lake Michigan where you couldn't help but smile looking at the beauty of the landscape as you rolled along roads with very little traffic. We saw pelicans floating in the water as we approached Sturgeon Bay. The previous three control stops we tried to stop as quickly as possible only allowing time to get our card signed, go to the bathroom, refill water bottles, refill our pockets with food, and eat some food. At the control stop in Sturgeon Bay we stopped a little longer since we were accumulating a good amount of time in hand to enjoy a big lunch of avocado mushroom sushi rolls.
The next stop was an information control. We turned a little too soon and went to a chapel instead of a church before realizing our mistake. The control after that was also an information control that was staffed with volunteers. Many riders chose to take longer at this control since it was the infamous Renard's cheese factory. We chose to keep pushing. About 30 miles down the road the sky was getting a little eerie. We stopped and put on our rain jackets in hopes of warding off any rain but it didn't work :( Oh well, the rain was refreshing helped cool us off a bit. The light rain lasted for a few miles into the control at Green Bay and as soon as we got to the control the light rain turned to torrential downpour! Whew, that was close. Since it had been a good amount of time since lunch we decided to eat supper. Arby's fries and homemade pizza rolls really hit the spot. We departed about the same time as four other riders. The route was flatish and so we were able to speed ahead. The sun was settling and the rain slowed to a stop. Then the landscape got really foggy, and we started seeing hail mounds on the side of the road. My glasses and map started fogging as well thus making reading the map near impossible. I had not printed the cue sheet on waterproof paper so I could not take the cue sheet out of the map holder. The group of four caught us and we decided to ride with them. A few were using a wahoo which provides turn by turn direction with near perfection. The four riders were Nigel from New Jersey who is a board member of RUSA and sent us our welcome packets! Chris, a veterinarian from New Jersey. She graduated from Purdue 30 years ago and remembers Pat, both Dr. Adams, and a few other Drs as well. George, a former principal from New York who now does work with non-profit organization and school accreditation. And Bob, whom told us his whole life story and kept me awake and focused as we finished night one.
Back at the hotel Chef Rick had prepared meals for everyone and even made Steve and I's vegan! Pasta with vegetables and a wonderful sauce made from red wine.
Day 2 was the DairyLand Jubilee 300k and mile for mile this was the hilliest day. The route took us west from Fond du Lac to Montello before turning southeast and going through Horicon Marsh and on Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive through the Kettle Moraine State Park before turning back west to the return back to the hotel. After eating we reset our bike, showered, and slept about 3 hours. We loaded food in our bike ate some breakfast and hit the road again. We planned enough time to get the control going 12 mph and about 30 minutes cushion in case of a flat. The first control was only 24 miles out from the start and along the way we passed Ron, a randonneur from IN. We rode his perm 200k route back in March. We got to the first control with 30 minutes to spare. Ron showed up right as we were leaving, he had miscalculated the amount of miles to this first control, but didn't seem to concerned as it is fairly easily to accumulate time in hand as the day goes on. On our way to the next control we cross paths with six riders. After the 2nd control the route doubles back on itself for a few miles. These riders were about an hour ahead of us and traveling about the same average so we would never see them again. The second control was in Montello and right next to some beautiful waterfalls. Paul, a 30 year veteran from Ohio (who has done PBP 8 times!) was leaving the second control just as we arrived. We meet Paul before on the 400k and 600k in Ohio. He has several grand brevets under his belt and his legs are giant muscles! I went inside to purchase second breakfast while Steve refilled water bottles. He handed the brevet cards to me and I assumed he already had them signed. One of us always has the cards signed as the first thing we do at a control. We make it a habit early on so that we don't forget when sleep deprivation sets in. If your card isn't signed its a DNF. As we were leaving the parking lot Steve says, "you got the cards signed, right?" Me, "What? I thought you got them signed!!!" We are fricken' lucky we didn't get very far. Had we got to the next control 55 miles away and realized this, we would have been done for.
On the doubleback portion of the route we saw Ron, and this would be the last we would see him for the day. About halfway to the next control the sleepies hit Steve and we pulled over in a very shaded area next to a church and rested our eyes for 15 minutes. Steve is really good at these cat naps....me not so much. The grass was soft, the breeze was gently blowing, and I was picking up every sound. Suddenly, I heard a bike. Did Ron catch up with us? It was Paul! What happened? He had left the control before us! We got on the bike and continued on. After stopping at a cross road and checking to make sure we were going the right way Paul showed up again. He admitted he had gotten lost and taken a few wrong turns. Paul and us rode together for the rest of the ride. Well more like we never lost sight of each other and at turns we would wait to make sure everyone stayed on path. After about the 600k mark my butt started to get sore, Steve's was starting to get sore earlier in the day. We relieve pressure by coasting down all hills and sometimes just doing a lift every five or so miles. Towards the end of the day I developed what i presumed was mild heartburn. I've never experience heartburn before and this feeling came and went with no pattern. It became hard to keep our speed up as the hills were relentless and we were starting to get tired. We had spotted a few sand hill cranes in the fields all day but it wasn't until later afternoon we heard them! Two were making a huge amount of noise in a field to our right. They would then run and fly a small amount before landing again. It wasn't until they did this for a third time that we spotted a fox chasing them. The fox seemed more like he was chasing them just for laughs vs outright hunting them. This scene was much more pleasant than the next one we came across. A white older farmer was walking around his tractor in nothing but a string bikini! yes male and yes string bikini and yes with no shame. Unlike yesterday's information controls today's ride featured a postal control. We were to mail a pre-addressed and stamp postcard from a small town. At registration I had immediately put the postcards with cue sheets for this day in a bag! I took a video of us mailing the postcards just in case they don't make it.
Dusk approached quickly and we still had about 60 miles to ride. The next section of the route took us through kettle moraine state park via the kettle moraine scenic drive. A kettle is a depression formed when a large block of glacial ice breaks away from the main glacier and is buried beneath the glacial till, then melts. If the depression fills with water it is called a kettle lake. A moraine is a term used for describing a ridge or mound of till deposited by a glacier. Even though the evening sky was bright with a full moon riding through the state park you wouldn't have known it. The trees were extremely tall causing a eerie pitch blackness. The road curved up and down and turned many times. We had to keep it slow descending because it looked like the road literally went off a cliff and vanished. We felt like we were the only souls for miles. The quietness left me peaceful and scared shitless at the same time. I like riding at night not because most of the time the wind dies and the traffic becomes not existent but because I find tranquility in stillness. I'm a dreamer and these moments are perfect for escaping into my own mind and creating forever untold stories. If you let it the quietness can began quite scary. There were no residential or business areas for miles. What's the likelihood a serial killer was lurking and waiting for us?!? No-one would know for hours that we went missing! I got nervous for Ron because I knew he was traveling behind us all alone. I didn't know how far back he was or if he even was still riding. Our next control stop was already closed in that the shop was closed not that we missed the closing time. I discovered that the card had two locations we could pick from. The second was a bar. Steve and Paul had a good time explaining to the bartender the adventure we were on. Before departing we put our wool on.
As midnight approached I was having a hard time staying awake. I was dozing off pedaling and while coasting. I told Steve to keep talking to me but he was tired too and couldn't think of anything to say. Paul is pretty quiet as well. Ten miles out I had Steve pull over. I just needed a few minutes to rejuvenate. The grass was soft and as soon as I would doze off a fucking mosquito would bite me and wake me up. I gave up after ten minutes. Paul said, well sometimes just having your eyes closed for ten minutes does the trick. Boy, was he was right! We finally made it back to the hotel and the chef had a delicious tomato based sauce with veggies over rice for us. We learned Bob from the previous day DNF because he was having a health problem. He was very talkative as were a few of the other volunteers. Very quickly it became extremely painful for me to eat with every bite, like tear jerking painful. I knew I as behind in calories but I couldn't force myself to eat. The chef noticed and asked what was wrong and Bob overheard. He immediately jumped up and came back with an over the counter anti acid. He said acid reflex is common among randonneurs and I would be just after taking some pills. I apologized to the chef letting him know the meal was delicious and I was so disappointed I couldn't eat it. I took the leftovers for breakfast. We should have been more forceful with telling the volunteers we would have to pause story time. This cost us 30-45 minutes easily of missed sleeping opportunities. Before we went to bed we calculated how much time we needed to get to the next control plus have some cushion time. The first control was 40 miles out. After showering we set an alarm on each of our phones and passed out.
Day 3 the Polka Jubilee 300k featured many rivers, steams, and lakes surround Lake Winnebago. The route took us northwest of Fond du Loc to Redgranite then turning east to pass north of Appleton before descending through High Cliff State Park and a final trip through the Kettles and Kames. We woke up after about 3 hours and 30 minutes of sleep. Steve asked its 40 miles to the first control right. After I double checked my eyes got really big .... fuck Steve it's really 50 miles! We gotta go, right now! We quickly got dressed, packed the food, and flew out the door. We grabbed some shakes from the breakfast table and "raced" to the first control. We made it there with 45 minutes to spare. After questioning the attendants at the gas station we knew we were the last to leave this morning. We weren't too worried, as again you can quickly gather time in hand throughout the day. Besides we are racing a clock not the other participants. At the end of the day everyone receives the same acknowledgement whether you finish first or last. There are no fast and slow riders just those who best utilize their time with their abilities.
Today's route was easy in the sense I just had to tell Steve go until you hit a T in the road then turn. My stomach was much better this morning, liquids and small bites were causing no pain! Today was just as beautiful as the previous couple of days with beautiful views. It doesn't get much better than this. We found ourselves approaching two sandhill cranes in the road and as we got closer they started to fly away but kept low and followed the road, creating this feeling like we were drafting behind them and part of their flock. We saw two fawns in a field leaping their little hearts out. I laughed non stop for a couple minutes for some reason at this....sleep deprivation? The day before it was hard not to question why the hell am I doing this? Today as each mile ticked down the more the thoughts turned to how truly grateful I am to be able to ride my bike. This event after all is just a bike ride! The next control was 40 miles from the first and Bob (who kept me awake during the end of the first day) and his wife Melissa were there. He congratulated us on our accomplishments thus far. Apparently it's rare for newbies to do this well their first year. I don't know how much merit this actually has. He also reminded us we only had a 100 miles to go. HAHA! I can't believe we've hit a point in our cycling adventures where a 100 miles is talk about so lightly. We felt pretty lucky the control was right next to a burger king and destroyed a veggie burger and fries (probably not 100% vegan but we're playing the calorie deficient and ignorance is bliss cards). We left the control still knowing Paul and Nigel were about 45 minutes ahead of us. I wished were could have rode with them but there was no need to burn matches to try to catch them. Our energy was good all day because it was 100 miles to go, then 100k to go, 50 miles to go, and 30 miles to go. The next control we got there just as the store closed (not control time) but some volunteers where there. They were so excited for us! I told them I didn't want to talk about it because I would start ugly crying right there and we still had 100k to go.
We ate a ton of vegan cookies someone made for us and a volunteer packed some for the road. We had a little sprinkle hit us but the rain was refreshing and didn't require us to get our jackets out. Along the way to the next control and older gentleman pulled up beside us and asked if we saw a huge black thing in the field behind us. No, we didn't. My wild mind quickly was like are there bears in Wisconsin? He later came back and let us know that with his binoculars he spotted a 30 lb turkey and we didn't need to worry. The next control was the last information control and it was dusk by the time we got there. We didn't venture to go to the outlook at the High Cliff State Park because the mosquitoes were out in full force. The last control was at a walmart. This control took a little longer than we wanted. We didn't want to leave the bike alone and so we had to use the restroom one at a time. Steve said he felt one step away from feeling homeless as he fell asleep next to the bike next to the entrance. Our last 35 miles were in the dark. We slowed close to where we thought our turns were to shine lights on the road signs to make sure we didn't miss a turn. No extra bonus miles today! We saw a lightening show off in the distance and after consulting the radar knew we needed to push to miss out on getting dumped on. We reached Mengell hill where the cue sheet said don't cuss the RBA. We cussed the hill but not her! It was steep and taking Bob's advice of never meeting a hill he couldn't' walk we walked up it. We had plenty of time in hand.
As we neared Fond du Lac the storm was creeping closer and closer. The route took us down a similar roads as Day 1 but I still got us lost. We let the approaching storm get the best of us. Steve wanted to keep riding and I had a hard time consulting google maps. We got so turned around. By the time we got back on route there was a train going across the tracks. We waited and waited and then the unthinkable happened.....the train stopped dead on the tracks. What do we do? We decided to go down the next nearest road and get back on the route as soon as we could across the tracks. Back on route we sprinted to the finish. We didn't know our legs had it in us we here we were after 1000k racing 24 mph down the road that would lead us to the hotel. Lightening. Thunder. A rain drop. We made it!
A few people waited up for us. I couldn't comprehend the huge accomplish we had just completed. We were so drained physical, emotionally, and mentally. We got our cards stamped, signed them, and took a photo of them. It would be a year before we would see them again as they get sent off to Paris for approval. Michelle took a finish photo with us before the Rick the chef brought us grilled portobello burgers with a stuffed sun dried tomato roasted red pepper filling. OMG I could have ate three of those. We also devoured a tub of peanut butter fudge sorbetto. I was so tired I didn't even shower before bed. We slept about 6 hours before stumbling out of bed. Steve went to tell the front desk we was tired of racing a clock and that we would be late leaving our room. He came back to tell me this and we both started ugly crying. We went to breakfast and tried hard not to cry as people came a congratulated us and we them on an awesome ride. We let Michele know what an amazing job she did at organizing the ride and how wonderful all the riders and volunteers were.
Final thoughts- I know most are wondering..... yes my quads were sore for about 48 hours post finish time and yes so was my butt. We have some bruising but no chaffing so we'll take that any day. We are glad we decided to do this ride to bridge the 600k and LEL. We learned so much about having to ride multiple days in a row and being surrounded by veterans gave us opportunities to learn and receive advice on how they have been successful. A few of the riders have ridden LEL before and their experiences will help us prepare to have a successful ride. I am still scare about the huge challenge LEL will be but feel more confident that Steve and I can push through. We know we can do a 1000k. Comparing distance, feet, and time.....LEL is only 400k longers, 18,000 more feet of climbing with 40 extra hours to do it! I love how randonnuering forces you to be a resourceful self sufficient cyclist. The clock keeps running and you have to manage making it to the finish before the cut off no matter if there is bad weather or you have mechanical or navigation issues. It forces you to be resourceful with your time and how much you allot to riding, eating, resting, and sleeping. Many factors play into your success not just athletic ability and you alone are responsible for your success. I'm often left contemplating whether these events are the hardest things I've done in my life both on and off the bike. The challenges we have faced has certainly forced us to redefine what we ever thought was possible. What we have accomplished is huge and I never want to take away from that, but at the same time I will tell you that we aren't anyone special and we didn't grow up involved in sports. We've been successful on these rides because of the hard work, dedication, and consistency in training. If you want to run your first 10k or heck walk a 5k, ride your bike 5 miles or 100, make the commitment and work on it every day. You'll have days where you aren't successful but that's ok use it as a training tool and learn from it. How far can you go? What are your personal limits? Reach them and destroy them! Keep moving forward but don't forget to enjoy the journey as much as the destination.
