The clock is ticking

Well, two weeks from now, I'll be on the shuttle bus, heading back to my sister's house, after my big California ride.

Two weeks ago, the day before my life suddenly changed, my friend Matt and I sought out some hills in the Mankato area.

Check out the population size

Minneopa State Park

Today, I went for a nice hilly ride down by Northfield. The sun rising over the Minnesota River Valley this morning, as I drove down 77, was remarkable.

No need for necks in the old west.

A nice man who apparently lives by me (he figured it out due to my water bottle from the local bike shop) wanted to ride together for a while. I was polite, but then said I needed to ride at my own pace. I decided that, right now, I can't do small talk and either need to be alone or need to be with old friends. I will definitely do this ride again, and perhaps I will be more sociable.

 I haven't hardly ridden in two weeks and I am feeling it. California should be interesting!

My love of assorted foolhardy individuals

So, my dad wasn't entirely foolhardy, but he had a foolhardy streak (e.g., "Maggie, let's drop your young brothers off on shore as you and I take the canoe down the rapids," "I thought you liked being flipped out of your wagon"). I believe that any similar traits I have ("Sure, we can bike through that river") likely are attributable to him.

When I emailed my BikeMS donors before my week-long bike ride in July, he responded. He always responded to each of my emails, either with something funny or sentimental.

Because I live 5 hours from where he lived, this will be the most noticeable day-to-day difference in my life moving forward - not getting frequent and random emails and texts, not having him throw me on speaker phone as he sits in his chair - telling me to not work too hard, to not get hit on my bike, and filling me in on what my siblings are up to.

He mentioned my love of Iceland because we went there, together. I was extremely lucky to be able to travel with my husband and my parents to Peru in 2006; Egypt in 2009; Iceland, Amsterdam, and Belgium in 2016, and the North Shore of Minnesota in 2017. The four of us shared a cabin at our family reunion in Kentucky in 2018, and joined my cousin and her husband for a bourbon distillery tour in Kentucky this past May.

Peru

Egypt, obviously
The Temple of Horus at Edfu, I think

Egypt enthusiasm

You can't see our faces, but who cares?

Alexandria, Egypt

Waterfall in Iceland

Iceland hot springs

Our first beer in Amsterdam -
the perfect choice

Belgian waffles in Bruges/Brugge

My co-conspirator

Ghent, Belgium

The North Shore

I have many memories (and some photos, too) of my dad from before I was an adult, too - - ranging from him falling asleep in my bunk bed while rubbing my back, teaching me how to ride a bike, serving as my cross-country coach and my detention proctor, sharing his true opinions about some of my hairstyles, and driving me to Minnesota when I transferred there for college and stopping so that I could use payphones along the way to try to find a hotel for us to stay at while he bought me Benadryl for my stress-induced hives.

I will need to dig for the photo of the biking and camping trip the two of us went on together about 15 years ago - the only time we did that. He packed a bag of M&Ms as our trail mix and, in true Mahoney fashion, challenged me to a bike race. I won.

A common theme at his memorial service was his love of nature and how he passed that along to us. As I've gotten overwhelmed these past 10 days and find myself taking deep yoga breaths, I have been seeking out nature to comfort me. I am grateful that he taught us that skill.

My parents' yard; sun brings hope

My parents' yard; fog brings peace

My family went for a hike at
the state park we used to always go to
with my dad; the dude in this
photo hates having his picture taken.
I couldn't bear to crop the photo, though.

My bike ride, just after returning to MN
after spending a mourningful week in WI.
The Mississippi River, just after the
confluence with the Minnesota River.

My dad's favorite photo of himself.

I think I like this one better. I took it in Jan 2019.
My dad planted each of those trees and we
would walk the paths between them each
time I visited. He helped me dig through the
snow to find my dog's missing boot.

From a couple of Christmases ago. My parents
gave me the neck buff that I was wearing
as a hat while mysteriously still in
my snowpants late at night.

And when I am feeling like junk, yet have to work and can't step outside, I think I will just put on his flannel shirt, like I did today.

A lot of gratitude and a bit of butt pain

Last weekend, before I went to Atlanta, I did a ride in Scott County, which has gentle rolling hills through a lot of corn and soybean fields. You also get to ride through Jordan which has a little bridge that crosses a cute creek right in the old downtowney area. Maybe they call this a river. I am not sure.

I confirmed that I really like listening to podcasts when riding solo out in the county. I took very few breaks, which probably was a bad idea, even if I did three yoga classes that week to try to stretch out all of the key parts, including a stretchy hot yoga class after this ride.

Unlike the grotesque, awful, horrible hotel I stayed at in Atlanta in January (which ended with me disrobing on the back patio during the polar vortex to leave my luggage and belongings outside for two weeks in 30-below temps in the event I brought home any bed bugs), I stayed at a nice hotel this trip and even (gasp!) slept with my curtains open so I could look at the ATL skyline.

I am an employee of a government contractor and there are definite pros (flexibility, the option to do side projects) and cons (not as good of benefits, scope of work can be limited) to this arrangement. I appreciate the company I work for, though, as they really do try to make you feel like they care. They gave me a prize and a gift card when I was in ATL. The best part is that now I can be considered for the annual employee of the year prize - - a bobblehead of Joe Carter (the founder of the company) himself. This is so odd and weird but yet cute and compelling.

Since I did the week long Ride Across Minnesota, I've been having more right hip pain then before. On the bright side, it sort of distracts me from my on-again, off-again lower left back pain I've encountered since my rowing years (which, I learned can be eliminated if one actually maintains core strength - - a novel concept).

Anyhow, after Matt and I did a hilly metric century ride today (which actually is more hilly than my September California ride will be - - THANK GAWD)... 

... I spent over an hour stretching tonight, and Googling what the heck is actually happening with this pain in my literal butt. Some gluteus muscle that is a hip extensor continues to be rather uncomfortable, despite two massages, a chiropractor visit, doing core exercises, doing yoga, and stretching a lot. Annoyingly, it hurts when I try to stand up when climbing a hill. Not great, considering that I will be doing a lot of hill climbing in CA. I hope it isn't a tear or bursitis or anything that the Internet suggests would be very inconvenient. I think I strained it on the Ride Across Minnesota when I was trying different pedalstroke techniques, and it needs to chill out.

Anyhow, any pain in my patootey is overshadowed my my huge, massive gratitude and appreciation. Friends from near and far helped me exceed my fundraising goal, and I cannot begin to describe how great of a feeling that is, plus how humbling it is. Thank you so much.

httpp://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/GoMaggieGo

Triathlon: Maggie Style

This weekend, we went camping at Scenic State Park (that's the official name, as well as an apt adjective) in north central Minnesota. We drove up Friday afternoon, set up camp, and walked along a ridge which once was a valley of running water during the glacial era. Apparently, the huge glacier dropped a bunch of rocks and silt into the valley and now it is a peninsular ridge. I think I need a video reenactment to fully appreciate the process.

Saturday was perfect - I rode on the more-rolling-than-Minneapolis country roads, got back to camp and went canoeing with Dan, and then jumped in the lake in my gross biking/canoeing clothes. That's my kind of triathlon: biking and water sports with no actual competition. 

Today, I took my coffee by the water, hoping to see the three otters and the eight loons that I saw yesterday. I just saw a couple of loons, which was still a super great way to start the day. 

Friday views of the lake. The once-a-valley-now-a-ridge
thing is on the right in the top photo. The bottom photo was
from the peninsula.

Piper on the ridge, Piper too tired to figure out
her bed, and Piper not wanting me to enjoy coffee
by the water. She wanted to explore the shore.
This poor old gal was a trooper, especially
considering that we really pushed her beyond
her current limits. 

Saturday night's storm rolling in.
I really appreciated our pop-up camper once it
started downpouring.

A couple of the loons, one of a ton of cute ground
squirrels. I didn't have my phone when I saw the
otters. And I couldn't snap photos of the fox
or deer I saw on my bike or the snake I saw swimming.

Scenic, right?

I prefer the carving to my round head in the
photo position. I had to share the photo of me,
though. My pink face blends in so nicely!
I listened to some good podcasts while riding;
glad I got a little bike speaker for Christmas.

I rode faster than I typically do and rode up some hills, although I'll need to do more to get ready for California. I'm a little nervous about my achy back and recurring slight uncomfortable spot on my seat, but I have six weeks to figure all that out.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/GoMaggieGo

Liberated into a pure self and into the fresh, awakening world

In March, I read this great piece about accepting the risk of cycling to experience joy. "I swear that sometimes all I wish for, cool air, bare arms and to be free, free from the labor of making sentences, liberated into a pure self and into the fresh, awakening world."

The first year I did the week-long Ride Across Minnesota was a much-needed respite from an extremely difficult and stressful work situation. Since then, I treat this ride as a way to be free from my daily life, free from the labor of making sentences, liberated into a pure self. I also learn more throughout the week about the struggles of those living with MS and the accomplishments of the MS Society. As a result, it also helps reconnect me with my motivation for doing these fundraising rides.

This year's ride followed a relatively short (260+ miles) and flat route in western Minnesota, with a loop in South Dakota. I rode up and down most hills more than once (~300 miles), pushed myself to ride hard on some of the flats, and dug into the headwinds to help myself prepare for my California BikeMS ride in September. The weather this year was probably the best I've experienced on this ride - we had one overnight thunderstorm, and the days weren't too humid.

I apparently should have done more stretching - although I finished feeling that I had many more miles in this body, everything has been kind of tight and wound up since I got home. In between bouts of stretching, applying assorted balms, and cajoling the massage place to squeeze me in for a short visit, I've pulled together a sampling of photos to describe the events of the past week. 

Getting started: Willmar to Montevideo

After a very hot and humid week in MSP,
Matt and I tried to squeeze in a quick ride
before I left for the week-long ride.
We got stuck in this storm, but I am
glad it hit BEFORE I left town.

Rest stop #4 each day had watermelon. I think that's
why my teammate Steve and I were pretty giddy on the
first day. We saw a lot of old metal park equipment
from our youth throughout rural Minnesota.

We found a great taproom and pizza place in
the town of Montevideo (MN, not Uruguay). Here
is our team with our nice friends from the team "MS is BS."
We normally have over 60 riders from our team do
the MS150, but just a handful that do this 5-day ride.

Kim and I at the first day finish line. This
was her first time doing 5 straight days of
riding. She did great. I've been considering my
dentist's suggestion that I get Invisiline (despite
having had braces as a teen). That snaggletooth
makes a persuasive argument.
Or does it give me character?

Montevideo to Ortonville; South Dakota

Steve's photo of Kim and me rolling into Ortonville on Tuesday.
I'm pleased with my posture. I've been working on that.

Stacy and Travis flew to Ortonville on Tuesday to have
dinner with us at a supper club on the lake, and Stacy took this photo.
(Restaurant choices in town on a weeknight are limited.)
The guy across from me is Aaron, from Team MS is BS.
He is from Colorado, is nice and interesting, and joined us
for dinner. I hope he'll ride with us again someday,
even if riding in MN likely is kind of flat
and boring for a former pro racer.

Stacy's photo of Ortonville

Ortonville has been a host city for this ride
10 times over the past 30 years, and was a host
city the very first year. We spent two nights
in Ortonville. They went all out for us: bands,
a beer vendor on a golf cart, s'mores, fireworks,
cornhole tournament, kayaks, pontoon rides...  

On Weds, we did a loop in South
Dakota. The stretch by the lake was
amazing, the long south stretch was
one big fat headwind. The last leg back
to Minnesota was downhill with a tailwind.
I'm not sure I've ever ridden faster.

Percy the skeleton is on the route every year. This year,
his "minder" suggested that riders make a $2 donation
to the MS Society when taking photos with Percy.
He raised over $60 on Wednesday alone.
These were the riders from our team this year. Such great people!

After getting back to Ortonville, Steve and I did an extra
14 miles or so, heading over to and through the Big Stone
Wilderness Area. This photo doesn't do it justice. It
is astoundingly beautiful, with its preserved (non-mined)
stone formations and wetlands. It was hot, so I stopped in
town on the way back for ice cream with shot of
espresso poured on top: I recommend it!

That night, after losing the team jersey contest (we were robbed),
a teenager strong-armed me into going on stage and joining
in on this drumming thing. I was glad when it was over. :-)
We didn't enter Thursday's team song competition, but
Team MS is BS did great, winning a trophy!

My tent and my bike in Ortonville, with South Dakota
across the lake.

Benson

This was a sign at a rest stop. It makes sense, but
I had never thought of this before. Sobering.

Rest stop #3 was at a family farm.

I raised over $3000, so I had to go in.
I was going to pull down my shorts for
the photo, but realized not everyone
would find that quite as funny as I would.

We got to sleep with a bit of a light
show. I am lucky that I have
a good tent and the rain stopped
by the time I had to get up in
the morning.

Back to Willmar and Whatnot

I actually have no idea what day this is from. I stole
it from Veronika. We saw a lot of corn and soybeans this week.

I believe I stole this photo from Kim; and
think it is the final rest stop on the final day.
We saw some nice lakes heading back.

Veronika took this photo one of the days. I love the clouds.

Done! Thanks for your support and encouragement!

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/GoMaggieGo