I don't think that Shakespeare's beloved in Sonnet 18 was the BikeMS TRAM, but I was messing around with photos from the week (i.e. procrastinating) due to my inability to think of what I wanted to say about last week's ride. In doing so, I thought of this poem. My post is a lot longer than the sonnet, but it has photos!
As we were packing up last Sunday, we unexpectedly had a thunderstorm accompanied by 1.4 inches of fast rain. This, understandably, made me nervous about the upcoming bike ride, especially given the fact that for a week or so before the ride, we were randomly having unexpected thunderstorms.
After the rain stopped, we packed up, went to Northfield, got set up in "camp" on the St. Olaf campus, and Dan, Steve, Deb, and I rode our bikes to town for dinner. Jess, Kellie, and Gregg from the team MS is BS, who we hung out with all week, made their way a little later. It was an uneventful night and the morning's fog (such a dewy (dewey?) tent!) burned off pretty quickly for our ride to Red Wing. This was the shortest ride of the week.
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| The gas station/bait store next to Tanzenwald, the tap room where we had dinner in Northfield. |
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| Monday morning view from camp as we got ready to ride. |
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| There's always time to monkey around! Many thanks to Kim for taking nearly all the photos of me throughout the week. |
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| This is for Matt Fetzer. I'm still proud of us for ultimately deciding several weeks ago that we shouldn't ride through a flooded area! |
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| We set up camp along the Mississippi, in an area that was a couple of feet underwater a couple of weeks ago, per the park worker guy. |
Once in Red Wing, we chilled out by the river and met our teammate Veronika for dinner. I ordered poorly, but that was a lesson learned. As we were wrapping up, we looked at the radar and Deb and I started freaking out about the projected storm and the severe weather instructions we were getting from the MS Society, considering that Dan and I were using a tent we'd borrowed that was luxuriously large, but also from Walmart and, thus, probably not great in a big storm? Deb helped me strap up a spare tarp I'd brought along, putting it on the side from which the storm was approaching. We actually got very little bad weather. Gregg said that he was watching the radar from the restaurant (where they went to wait out the storm) and saw the storm essentially part in half and go around our camp area instead of hit it directly.
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| Dan got me this can coozie. It is so funny. Relaxing on the bank of the Ol' Miss. |
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| Deb, me, Veronika |
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| Why I was freaking out. |
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| Yay, Deb! She was convinced this mad scramble scared the storm away, so she was grateful for the effort. |
It was supposed to rain all day Tuesday on our way to Fairbault. We had sprinkles for a while, but that's it, although you could tell that a storm had come through a little earlier. Apparently some of the earlier riders got wet, for a short while. We took the Sakatah Singing Hills Trail after leaving Red Wing and rode through the state park. SO PRETTY.
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| Deb saw this, I missed it. It is so funny that I had to include it here, though. |
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| Kim and I, debating whether to put on rain coats as it started to sprinkle. We talked to a guy whose name I should know, but don't, because I see him every year. He was insistent that we had to have a more positive attitude and fight the rain. |
Riding downhill into Faribault was really pretty, and I think I need to go there again to look at the city more. We didn't really see much because we were camped at the county fairgrounds. I ate grilled corn and a brat while the campers (Dan, Steve, Deb, Jess, Kellie, Gregg, and I) watched a local band play pop songs in swing music style. The woman had a great voice and the band was good. A young tween was walking around trying to convince us to buy a puppy. (She apparently sold all but one. Presumably for pickup later on, and not for taking on the bike.) During the night's announcements (they happen every night at 7 p.m.), we heard from a local woman about her mother's journey with MS and to thank us for riding. Her mother was there and tried to say a few words, but did not have much strength to do so, although you could see - and admire - her strong will. It was very moving and a good reminder of why we do the ride.
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| At the fairgrounds after running an errand to buy some better quality beer for our group at the weirdest liquor store, which was apparently owned by the adjoining vape shop. Sigh. |
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| I can't explain this face. I was showing off that dang can coozie. |
On Wednesday, we rode to St. Peter. There was a fair amount of road traffic. Kim and I spent some time talking with Harvey, our new friend that we saw throughout the week. He is so upbeat and positive that he was a real treat to get to know and I look forward to seeing him again next year. He's from Fargo, seems much younger than his stated age (81), has a great memory for people's names, and has a granddaughter named Maggie (and not short for Margaret, either, that lucky duck!). Kim and I also spent a lot of time talking to the owner of a cat, at a rest stop in Nerstrand.
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| Starting the day off with a good strong cuppa. |
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| Yah! (Exterminator business, advertising its services.) |
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| Deb, me, and Kim at Rest Stop #1. |
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| Steve and me at Rest Stop #1. |
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| There were some hills this day! (Kim took this photo.) |
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| There was also traffic this day. The semis didn't give me any hassle and were pretty patient. Two SUVs and one sedan got uncomfortably close on Wednesday and Thursday. (Harvey took this photo. I don't know why it looks like someone is trying to pass the truck that is waiting to pass the first cyclists, but if so, that person is really dumb. Hopefully it is an optical illusion.) |
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| Harvey, me, Kim, and... Mark(? I think he was riding that day only). This is a photo that someone took with Harvey's point and shoot camera. |
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| The owner of this cat did not appear to be the kind of guy you'd expect to put a visor and a backpack on a cat. He clearly loved this cat, which he found in a church parking lot and accordingly named her Grace. |
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| We were greeted by Mary when we rolled into St. Peter. She has ridden the TRAM for 30+ years - every year since it started. She rides a big heavy bike with a pig (fake) on it, since she's from Austin, home of SPAM. She volunteered this year due to having a dislocated shoulder. She is always so friendly and positive. I look forward to seeing her every year. |
Once we set up camp in St. Peter, the campers from our team and I met up with Veronika for a Bloody Mary at a cool hole-in-the-wall-type bar. We were spending two nights in St. Peter, and I feel bad that I broke my promise to the woman who runs the bar that we'd be back the next night. Dan talked to a guy who was at the bar and the guy came over to our table. He had asked what we were in town for. Dan told him, and he shared that he has had MS for 35 years. He has some mobility issues, but is managing okay. He was very appreciative of our fundraising efforts.
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| This woman's face is on the mirror at Blaschko's bar. She runs the place, although her brother owns it. I recommend it. |
We moved on to dinner and Steve and I split some pizza. I think it was good on its own merits, but I was pretty hungry so it tasted amazing.
The next day we did a loop from St. Peter out past a place called New Sweden and back again. We rode really close to Steve's sister's house, so she and her son met us at Rest Stop #2, which was a cool farm run by people she knows. They gave us a tour of a furnished barn area that they let people use for free as event space.
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| Finished riding, beat Steve at cribbage, showered, and relaxed with Deb, Steve, and Dan in camp. |
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| Gregg, Steve, and Dan. I should have taken photos with Jess and Kellie, too! |
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| Our camp in St. Peter. |
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| Stacy's Cyclers 2024, plus Donna but minus Veronika. Dan, Steve, Kim, me, Jill, Donna, Deb |
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| Stacy's Cyclers, plus team MS is BS (minus Veronika plus Donna). That's Kellie and Jess (sisters) in the frame. Jess is from Colorado and has MS. I love that she comes to MN do this ride. |
On Thursday night, Stacy and her daughter Maddie came to St. Peter and we had a full team dinner - Dan, Steve, Deb, Veronika, Jill, Kim, and me, plus Jill's friend Donna (from Georgia). It was good to see Stacy, for whom our team is named, and to talk to Maddie about her plans to head off to college next month.
After dinner, we returned to camp, where I got tons of itchy gnat bites(!), for the team contests. There used to be many more riders and much larger teams, so the team contests used to span multiple nights. Now the team t-shirt and jersey contest are folded into one event as are the team song and poem contest. It is always a fun and touching mix of cycling humor, TRAM history, and hearing about how people are affected by MS. A number of riders have MS and others have family members and friends with MS. We heard from one rider, whose wife (who had MS) died earlier this year. He and his adult children were cheering on riders at the finish line in his wife's memory and the family donated $100,000 to the MS Society. I can't remember that man's name, but remember riding with him for about 5 miles one year, as he told me about his family.
On Friday, Steve and Dan headed out early because they had weekend plans that they needed to get a jump start on. Kim and I rode near-ish each other up the big hill heading out of St. Peter and ran into Deb and Veronika throughout the day at rest stops and on the road. It was nice to be able to finish mostly together!
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| Deb, me, Kim, and Veronika |
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| Veronika, me, Kim, and Andrea. Andrea is 14 or 15 years old and was riding with her grandpa, Dave, who rides every year and is well known to TRAM riders due to his enthusiasm and recognition of all the volunteers necessary to pull off these rides. Andrea rode behind Kim and me during a particularly windy stretch and was grateful for the break. I told her she should continue on with us, but she said she needed to wait for her grandpa to catch up. So sweet. |
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| Last rest stop of the week. Seeking divine intervention. I'm curious to know who decided it was a good idea to put a full sized bell in a playground. If you really yanked on the rope it was LOUD. |
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| Another successful BikeMS event! |
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| This was THE BEST post-ride meal I've ever had for any event in my entire life. Thank you, St. Olaf, for the tasty, healthy, flavorful Indian food with vegetarian options! And thanks for giving us a reason to go into the very cool and refreshing hockey arena! |
So, that's a long recitation of the week. It was the shortest TRAM that I've ever done (250 miles instead of closer to 300) and not too hilly, although there were a few good climbs. Body-wise, this was probably the most uncomfortable ride I've done in the 15 years that I've been doing BikeMS rides, even early on when I had a crummier bike and was less experienced/worn in. The steroid shot I got in my SI joint in early July has totally worn off and sleeping on the ground in a tent did not help my hip, back, or IT band feel very happy. I did some (admittedly, not a ton) PT exercises and some stretching and a yoga stretching class during the week, but that, adjusting my sleeping pad and pillow situation, and Aleve did not solve the problem. But I know I still felt better than a lot of people who did the ride and I know that this discomfort is nothing like having a long-term disease like MS.
So, this week, I'm going to Pilates, PT, and, for good measure, the dentist. :)
Many thanks to everyone who supported me with donations and/or words of encouragement. I feel so lucky to be able to take time each year to spend a week with great people, riding for a cause. I feel so grateful that people in my circle are able to help me meet my fundraising goals. I feel so appreciative to the MS Society staff and volunteers, including the safety team, for all that they do to make this a positive experience.
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