Andrea Bikes 500 Miles

Pictures!

2010-07-19T09:18:00.001-07:00

Habitat 500: Completed!

2010-07-19T08:39:00.001-07:00

woo hoo! I made it through the ride in one piece! This was a week of intense physical challenge, meeting lots of fun and interesting people, lots of eating, and of course, sharing in the mission of Habitat for Humanity! I'll try to give a little recap of the ride day by day, but a lot of it has blurred together in my mind! Despite how I felt after the first day, the ride did go by incredibly fast! Saturday, July 10th: We arrived at East Central High School in Sandstone, MN to prepare to start our ride. People trickled in throughout the evening, registered and got all the necessary materials to start the ride. The gym began gradually filling up with everyone's sleeping gear, while others set up tents outside. There was a brief program in the evening to welcome everyone and make some introductions of key people involved with the ride. Then it was lights out at 10pm so we could get some rest before starting bright and early the next day! Sunday, July 11th: We were all up nice and early with the lights coming on around 5:15. Everyone set about packing up their gear and getting ready for breakfast, which was from 7-8. Most people were on the road already before 8 to start the first day of riding! It was a shorter day, only 50 miles. However, myself and 6 others found ourselves off route when we misinterpreteded the yellow arrows that were guiding our way, and made a wrong turn. We ended up going about 10 extra miles. While we were off route, a member of our group got a flat tire! We had to laugh at how our luck was playing out during literally the first 15 or so miles of the ride! But we maintained good spirits and eventually got back on track and arrived in Isle around 1:30pm. Then we were invited to go to a rider's cabin on Mille Lacs Lake to relax and enjoy the sunshine. Monday, July 12th: I don't remember quite as much about this day... it was about 72 miles and we got a rather late start because, again, someone had a flat tire! So we were the last ones to hit the road around 7:15. We still ended up arriving at our destination in McGregor at around 1:30 again. We got some food and were able to check email when the local public library opened just for us from 4-6pm! Tuesday, July 13th: I would say this was my favorite day of the ride, despite getting stung by a bee! This trek went from McGregor to Grand Rapids, for a total of 68 miles. The weather was fantastic and by now we were really getting into the swing of things. The scenery was beautiful, and we even stopped to take a picture in front of Big Sandy Lake. Everyone was in great spirits! We had a fun evening before settling in again at 10pm. Wednesday, July 14th: This was my least favorite day of the ride. It was an 80 mile day, my longest ride ever, and about 20 minutes into the ride the rain began. It was thundering, lightening and pouring rain. And, needless to say, my little $1.50 poncho didn't do much to keep the rain away. We were absolutely soaked and it was 28 miles to the first rest stop. We did have to pull over and stop for a while because we couldn't event see. Eventually the rain let up for a while and we made some more progress. But as we were riding on the Mesabi Trail between rest stops two and three, trouble struck again. While switching gears going up a really big hill, my pedals simply refused to turn. So we all got off our bikes and walked to the top, just to discover that my chain and broken. Since we were on a trail and the mechanic couldn't get to us, we had to walk our bikes back about 1/1.5 miles or so to the previous town, where he could meet up with us a fix my chain. Once we got going again, the rain started to fall again. By the time we got into rest stop 3, our spirits were rather low and we were soaked again. But we toughed it out and eventually got into Hibbing around 3pm. I don't think I've ever appreciated a nice, warm shower as much as I did that day! After an excellent dinner we had some music and a brief program where we were introduced to the bike. home. family and they were presented with their bikes! I think we were all happy when the lights went out at 10 and we got some much needed rest. Thursday, July 15th: Bike, Build or Breather Day. I chose to build this day in the afternoon. In the morning I still got up with everyone and had a delicious breakfast. Then I went back to the gym and tried to sleep some more, but since I was already quite awake that proved rather difficult. I spent the morning taking care of a few things like washing all the sand off my bike, hanging my clothes out to dry and getting organized. I also went into Hibbing and explored a little fair they had going on, including watching a yo-yo contest! Then I went over the build site. I learned that it had started as a concrete slab that morning, and now all the exterior walls were up, and a few interior walls were built. By the end of our shift, we had completed several more interior walls and raised all of the roof tresses. We worked side by side with the future homeowners, and we got to see all the bikers as they came in from their 100 mile day! It was truly a great experience. That evening, after another wonderful dinner, we had the Habitat 500 Follies. A talent show that many of the volunteers and riders participated in. Us VISTAs were recruited for a couple of acts, and it was a lot of fun! My parents also stopped in to see how the ride was going, which was great! Friday, July 16th: Another 80 mile day. This time the weather was much nicer, although it was rather windy. This was also perhaps the day of the ride with the most hills. Most of the day we had either a sidewind or tailwind, which was great! But during the last stretch we faced a mighty strong headwind, which made a 4.8 mile stretch feel more like 15 miles! The wind combined with the hills made for a pretty hefty challenge. But eventually we made it, pulling into Cloquet at around 2pm. After a fantastic taco bar dinner at a nearby church, we returned to the high school for a sort of closing ceremony of the ride. We got to see many photos from throughout the week, as well as honor some volunteers and riders who have been involved with the ride for 10+ years. Saturday, July 17th: THE LAST DAY! We got up around 5 as usual and set out for our final day of riding. It was a shorter day again, 54 miles. Another day of hills, but this time not so much wind. Everyone was in good spirits, but excited to finish up a very demanding week. We had to make it up one last monster hill before arriving back at East Central High School in Sandstone, where we had started the ride at the beginning of the week. We all changed out of our bike clothes and showered before celebrating with lots of good food, pictures, and a few drawings for prizes! My parents came for this part as well. Then it was lots of goodbyes and wishing everyone safe journey home, and saying hopefully see you next year!

This ride was, without a doubt, one of the biggest physical challenges I have taken on in my life. There was plenty of aching muscles, exhaustion, and definitely a sore butt, but it was so incredibly rewarding. The people that come together for this event are truly amazing, dedicated people, and it was an honor to share this week with them. Thank you SO much to all who supported me through this whole endeavor!! And Thank you to everyone who participated with the ride and made it what it was. And an extra THANK YOU to Jamie McDonald of Sunrise Cyclry in Minneapolis. I would not have even been able to participate in this ride if not for him generously lending me a bike on which to train and do the ride. He also helped me a lot during the ride itself, I would not have been able to make it through without all of his support! And thanks to Kate for letting me use her cages!They made such a difference!

The more I think about it, the more I wish I could return next year, but since I will be moving to Germany, that would be rather difficult. But who knows, maybe I'll find a way to make it work!

Thanks to all of you for reading this, I hope you found it interesting/entertaining/inspiring! I'll post some photos from the ride for your viewing enjoyment.

I guess that's all, thanks for checking in!
~Andrea

This is it!

2010-07-10T07:24:00.000-07:00

Well folks, this is it! The day has arrived when I will venture up to Sandstone, MN to check in and then start the ride tomorrow! I can't believe it's really here! When Sarah and I signed up (at the end of March!) it seemed like the ride was an eternity away, like it was an idea that remained off in the future. But now it's here and it's time to hop on that bike and pedal, pedal, pedal!

The last two weeks i tapered down the training, big time. I didn't ride at all this week, and I only did about 45 miles last week... I was busy and had lots to prepare... and I was a bit lazy. haha

My grand total for fundraising ended up at... $1061.11. woo hoo! I really wanted to get over $1000, and i did, so yay!

My parents sponsored me by buying me some gear I still needed. I got a sleeveless sports top, a long sleeved sports shirt, a pair of gloves and new sunglasses that don't take up my whole face and slide down my nose all the time. And they also gave a generous donation. So thanks, mom and dad!

I also had several other last minute donations from friends, and I thank them all for that!

Sarah and I also both got tune-ups donated in-kind from Granite City Cycle and Sport! Thanks to them are bikes are all clean and ready for the ride!

I did some last minute shopping yesterday and got stronger sunscreen, bug spray and little packs of kleenex. I think I should be all set! I just need to finish packing it all into my duffel bags and drive up to Sandstone!

Well, it's been a fun, interesting and sweaty process preparing for this... and now it's time to actually do it!

Thanks everyone for your support! I will definitely be writing another update after the ride!

That's all for now, thanks for checking in!

~Andrea

Crank up that mileage!

2010-06-29T13:10:00.000-07:00

Well I've finally put in a couple of longer rides!

The first I did on my own on Saturday the 19th. I started out with a goal of 50 miles, but then decided to do 60! I did take 3 rest stops of 5, 10 and 10 minutes. I was pretty worn out by the end, and my back and knees were pretty sore. But I made it!

The rest of the week was a little lazier than past weeks. I put in a few 15-20 mile rides.

The Saturday came the longest ride of my biking career thus far... 73 miles! I joined several other Habitat 500ers for the Red Wing training ride around Lake Pepin. It was a really great experience! It was really cool to meet some others that will be on the ride again. A few others were rookies like me, but some of the others had ridden the ride already for like 9 or 10 years! Wow! It's always nice to ride with other people and hear their stories and tips. We took 3 rather long breaks and enjoyed some tasty food. It was a nice, but hot, day. The wind was quite kind to us overall. And I survived the 2.5 mile uphill battle! But despite stopping to have my bike adjusted a bit the day before, my back and my knees were still KILLING after about 30 miles. Eventually, the other riders realized that maybe my seat needed to be brought down a bit, so we adjusted it and I think it made a big difference! It's kind of hard to tell, because my back still hurt a bit after that, but it also didn't get any worse! So I see that as a good sign.

I took a couple days off, but now i'm going to head out today after work and see how that new seat adjustment goes! I'm optimistic.

To date, I have put in approximately 910 miles so far. Which, as it turns out, might actually be too much! ha. So I think i'll be taking it a bit easier these last couple weeks before the ride.

In fundraising news... I have exceeded $1000 now! Some will be taken away due to administrative costs on firstgiving.com... but i'm still confident I will end up with over $1000, so I'm really happy about that. I'm still asking though... I'll keep trying until the very last minute!

Well, I guess that's all for now. Thanks for checking in!
~Andrea

Battle Wound

2010-06-17T13:13:00.000-07:00

Well folks, I have my first real battle wound as a result of my training. No, it is not a skinned knee or a concussion or anything like that... but rather... a dog bite! Let's go back...

So yesterday I went out for a nice ride. The weather was perfect! Not to hot, not too windy, just the right amount of sun. I headed out on the county roads to get some variety and tackle some hills rather than just riding straight and flat on the trail like usual. I was biking up a rather steep hill on County Road 3 somewhere around St. Stephen or St. Joe... when I heard some rustling in the bushes. I turned to see a medium sized black dog approaching me. It looked happy and wasn't barking or anything so I just thought "oh what a cute doggie" and then... CHOMP it bit my leg! I was so shocked I almost fell off my bike! I stumbled a bit and the dog backed off so I just started pedaling again as hard as I could to get away from the dog. I was so scared! All I could think was, what if this dog full out attacks me! What would I do?! But luckily, that didn't happen. So I biked a safe way away and then stopped to asses the damage. It looks like just one tooth really broke the skin, so there was just a little dot of blood. But now there is a rather substantial bruise where his mouth chomped down. Haha reading this it makes it sound worse than it really is. It's not bad. It's more of a funny story than anything else. But definitely one of my more exciting rides.

Aside from that though the ride was really great! I did about 30 miles and it felt good to actually be trying out some new terrain that was a little bit more challenging.

Today I won't make it out for a ride because it's super windy, and it is supposedly going to storm later... Also, I have to babysit. So I might just go to the YMCA for a bit if I have time.

In fundraising news... a dear friend from Germany made a contribution! Thank Laura! And a co-worker at the office made a contribution to both Sarah and myself, so Thanks to Melanie and her husband as well! So I'm totally getting there! Now i'm at $840! woo hoo!

Well time to get going. Thanks for checking in!

~Andrea

finally, some sun!

2010-06-16T08:22:00.000-07:00

Well according to the forecast there should be some sun anyway! It has been so dreary lately! But despite the rain, Sarah and I still made it for our 46 mile ride last Saturday! We participated in the Caramel Roll Ride (very healthy! haha). We started out in Albany and rode to Holdingford (10 miles), then on to Bowlus (7 miles) where we turned around and headed back to Albany (with a quick stop in Holdingford for a little snack) then we still had some time so we went out to Avon (6 miles). That's when the rain started, and OF COURSE I left my rain jacket in my car when we stopped back in Albany. UGH. So by the time we got back we were both totally soaked. But that's ok, good practice I guess. Ya never know what kind of weather we'll run into on the 500!

Sunday morning I went out for a quick 20 mile ride. The weather was not looking so great again, so I wasn't out too long.

Sunday evening-Monday afternoon we had the VISTA end of the year celebration! So I did get any biking in. We did go for a nice hike though... again, it rained. It was great to see all the other VISTAs and talk to the others who are doing the 500.

Tuesday also wasn't a big biking day for me. It was raining most of the day. It cleared up a bit in the evening, but depending on which direction you looked in it seemed like it could start again at any moment. My bike needed some adjustments, so I just biked to Fitzharris and had them take a look at it for me. So a grand total of about 3 or 4 miles, haha.

Today the weather is SUPPOSED to be nice. So I biked to work and my plan is to go for a ride afterwards. We'll see! Probably around 25-30 miles, depending how i feel.

Fundraising is still at a standstill. I must say, I'm a bit disappointed by this. I'm still not really worried about reaching the $900, but I was really hoping to be able to do more. I really thought I would get some more support from my friends. I know times are tough financially... but it's a really good cause! I guess I'll just have to keep asking!

Anyway, that's all for now! Thanks for checking in!

~Andrea

Rain Rain Go Away...

2010-06-11T07:18:00.000-07:00

Another not so great training week...

Monday I did make it out for a 35 mile ride... which may have been slightly over doing it since i had been off my bike for a week before that, but oh well.

Tuesday the weather was bad, but I did make it to the YMCA for an hour on the stationary bike and a quick 500 yard swim.

Wednesday I started out with the goal of 30 miles, then the wind was absolutely horrible so I reduced it to 20... and I only ended up doing about 18. I felt like crap! Stupid wind.

Thursday my body was hurting and I had some errands I needed to attend to, so yet again I didn't get a workout in.

And today I am supposed to work all day at a golf tournament, and it's raining. So a ride doesn't look likely.

Tomorrow Sarah and I are supposed to take part in the Caramel Roll Ride... but the weather does not look too promising. I guess we will see!

No new fundraising news. Still need my last $125!!

Not too much new to report I suppose. the ride is creeping closer and closer!

Thanks for checking in!
~Andrea

Getting back in the game

2010-06-07T13:27:00.001-07:00

Sooo as predicted I had another rather lazy week while the boyfriend was in town. I only made it out for one bike ride, and it was only 15 miles... so it was a rather pathetic week training-wise.

In fundraising news, a donation from my mom's friend went through, so that was great! I also got a donation from a friend in Germany! Woo! Thanks Meredith! And my sister made a contribution as well! So getting closer... I'm now at $775! So getting really close...

This week I really need to get off my lazy butt and put in some miles! Today after work I am planning to bike out to St. Joseph and get on the Wobegon Trail! This will be a new accomplishment as I usually drive out there and then just ride on the trail. I HIGHLY prefer riding on trails, but it just seemed odd to me that I was driving to work, just so I could go for a bike ride afterwards. It's only about 8 miles to bike out to the trail, so it makes sense. Hopefully the roads are at least somewhat bike-friendly to get out there though... I'll have to take a different route than the one I drive. So I'm planning to do a total of about 35 miles today if my out-of-practice self can handle it! I think it'll be fine.

This weekend Sarah and I are doing the Caramel Roll Ride on the Wobegon Trail. That should be cool, something a little different.

Then on Sunday is the VISTA end of the year gathering! Ah! I can't believe it's already been almost a year! crazy to think about...

Well, that's all for now! Thanks for checking in!
~Andrea

1977

2010-05-28T11:40:00.000-07:00

So I heard on MPR this morning that there is a possibility (it's not for sure yet) that this spring may have been the hottest spring since 1977! I believe it man. This was a freakishly warm spring. We didn't even have snow in March! And now we've had highs in the 90s already and it's only May?! Crazy!

Anyway, another week has gone by. I'm up to about 125 miles for the week, and it'll probably stay there since this evening I am picking up my boyfriend at the airport! yay! He'll be here for about a week before heading up to Bemidji to teach at a German summer camp. I'm going to try to convince him to do some rides with me, but we'll see how that goes!

Yesterday Sarah and I rode together again. It's always nice to have a riding buddy!

With all the sun this week I'm starting to get some color! I've got some pretty sweet tanlines going on from my bike shorts and my socks haha.

I don't think I have any news in the fundraising arena... but hopefully after this weekend I will! I'll most likely see some friends this weekend since I'll be home in the cities, so hopefully I'll be able to convince them to contribute a bit. I've been reading some pretty inspirational Habitat stories today and it's getting me all motivated! I don't have too much more to the $900 mark, but it'd be awesome if I could exceed that! We'll see!

Anyway, hopefully I'll be updating soon to tell you about a lovely ride I took with the boyfriend! haha.

Thanks for checking in!

~Andrea

turn down the heat, please!

2010-05-25T06:58:00.000-07:00

Wow, yesterday was a HOT one! Today will be quite toasty again I believe. Not the best for a good long ride... but better than cold and rain I guess.

Let's see... I won't go through everything I've done in detail, but I've gotten in some pretty good rides in the last week. Last week I ended up at a total of 135 miles, the suggested range on the training calendar was 90-150, so I was really happy about that. This past weekend Sarah and I did 30 miles on Friday, I did 15 on Saturday (once the thunderstorm passed) and on Sunday Sarah and I met with some others that will be doing the Habitat 500 for a training ride on the Lake Wobegon Trail. We did 40 miles! My longest ride so far. And it really wasn't too bad. It's so much better to ride with others, it's great to have the company.

In fundraising news, I'm up to $675! ($725 if my mom's friend submits the $50 donation that she was going to give). I've had some great surprises in the fundraising world lately. For example, a while back when I was sending out letters, I really wanted to send a letter to a former teacher/swim coach from high school. However, she had moved away the year I graduated, and I had no idea how to get in touch with her. Well I did things the old fashioned way and looked her up in the phone book (even though i thought that was a total shot in the dark because she has a very common last name and i wasn't even sure exactly what city she was living in) but it worked! The letter found her and she wrote back and sent a check! And in all honesty, even though I am very committed to my fundraising efforts, the letter was much more valuable to me than the check. (although the check was very helpful too! :) ) It was SO great to connect with her again! I also received donations from a former co-worker I haven't talked to in a long time, a college friend, and a former supervisor! So it's been really great seeing all these people come together to support my efforts and Habitat. It really is amazing to me. Thank you SO much to everyone who has contributed!

Yesterday's ride was a little pathetic (only around 15 miles) but it was so HOT and I didn't have sunscreen with me and I was quite tired... So today I'll have to do more! I'm heading out to the Lake Wobegon Trail again after work. I'll aim for around 25 miles I think. I've been going there a lot lately. I really like riding on the trail a lot better than through the city. It's so much nicer. And I've seen a lot of wildlife! Turkeys, chipmonks, lots of birds, even a turtle! Good times!

Well, I guess that's all for now! Thanks for checking in!

~Andrea

And I'm Back!

2010-05-17T08:50:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

Yes, it has been a while. My vacation was great! It was really good to be back in Germany and see everyone again... that being said, my training didn't go quite as well.

I was quite lazy while I was on vacation... I only went for a jog once, didn't find a bike to use at all, and wasn't able to get to a pool... oops. I did go for several long walks though... i'm going to pretend like that helped.

And of course, upon arrival back in the wonderful state of MN... the weather was terrible! Almost all week it rained and was quite cold. Since my membership to the YMCA expired just before I left for Germany... I had a pretty lazy week. But I was also quite jetlagged and trying to get back into the swing of things, so I can't say I would have been out on the bike every day anyway.

I did finally make it out for a 15 mile ride on Friday. It wasn't too bad, but I could tell that I hadn't been on the bike for a while. Then Saturday the weather was beautiful and I headed up to the Lake Wobegone Trail for a nice 26 mile ride. That was a bit more challenging. Sunday I spent a couple hours in the morning helping out at the community garden and then hopped on my bike for a 20 mile ride, which was very nice. So overall, the weekend was good. However, i do need to start building up the mileage if I want to get back on track with the training guide. I'll head out for another ride this afternoon, and the forecast says the weather should be nice all week! woo!

In fundraising news... a few checks came in while I was gone, so I am now up to $500 total! Awesome! Thanks to everyone who has donated!! But I've still got a ways to go!

Also, on Friday I was able to pick up the bike shorts and jersey that were donated by Fitzharris Bike and Sport. Awesome! I feel like a real biker now! The shorts aren't all that flattering... but they're definitely helpful!

Anyway, that's all for now! Keep the support coming!

~Andrea

Leaving on a jet plane...

2010-04-23T09:03:00.000-07:00

Well, this evening I will be boarding a plane and heading over to Germany for a couple weeks! So unfortunately I will be off my bike for a while... but I will still have to find other ways to work out! We'll see how that goes...

Tuesday's ride with Sarah was great! We paused long enough to take a few photos. We didn't even plan to wear the same shirt! haha We probably did around 12 miles. We left from the office and went down the trail by the river and then beyond that a little to lengthen the ride since the trail is pretty short.

Wednesday was my long ride for the week, despite that being a very busy day for me. I did about 25 miles and it was a really nice ride. I ended up out in a farming area, which was really lovely, until it started smelling like poo. haha

Unfortunately I didn't make it out for a ride on Thursday because I was gone all day at a fundraising training (Thanks Habitat MN! :)) and by the time I got back up to St. Cloud I just had too much stuff to do to get ready for my trip since I neglected to prepare anything earlier in the week.

No new fundraising news unfortunately... but i'm hoping that soon I'll be getting some donations because there was just an article about me in the paper! http://oakdalelakeelmoreview.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=13&ArticleID=6255
It was on the front page of the Lake Elmo/Oakdale Review and I belive also the N. St. Paul and Maplewood papers (since this is the area i am originally from). Yay! Exciting!

Anyway, lots of work to finish up before I leave in a few hours! I may or may not post a couple times while i'm over on the other side of the pond... we'll see!

~Andrea

More Pictures!

2010-04-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

New Bike!

2010-04-20T12:17:00.000-07:00

Wow. I just typed out a big long post and it got deleted. ugh!

Anyway, the title does not lie, I have a new bike to train on! Well, new to me anyway. The wonderful Jamie McDonald, of Sunrise Cyclery in Minneapolis, has loaned me a bike to use to train and for the ride. I am so pumped! Thanks very much to Jamie, and to Paul for helping me sort all this out!
I got the bike on Saturday... but first i'll recap since my last post...

Thursday my plan was to do a relatively brief ride, but when i got out there i felt so good (despite the crappy bike and the wind) that I did 20 miles! Woo!

Friday I kept it short because the wind was terrible again and I had to drive down to the cities, so I just did 5 miles.

Saturday was the day of the training ride in Minneapolis. So I headed over to Sunrise Cyclery and Jamie set me up with a bike to use, I thought he might have intended for me to just use it that day, but he said i could keep it through the end of the ride. SWEET! I was super nervous because this bike felt totally different from what I was used to and I was worried I was totally going to bite it, but it went totally fine! Thanks to Morgan, Mary and Megan for making the ride so great! I feel like I learned a lot and I feel much more confident and excited about the ride. woo! We did about 30 miles, which is the longest ride I've ever done! I felt great afterwards! My back was a little sore, but nothing compared to how it felt with my old bike.

Sunday i hopped on the Gateway trail and did 15 miles. I did the same route i did when I was home a couple weeks ago, but this time it was much easier and faster! It was great.

Monday I squeezed in a quick 10 mile ride after work and a meeting w/my landlord and before grocery shopping and laundry. fun times. It was lovely.

Today, Sarah and I are going to do our first ride together! We'll head out after work and probably do about 10-15 miles. You can expect some pictures of us soon!

In fundraising news... My dear Uncle Larry sent a check for $75, Thanks Uncle Larry! And my buddies Tess and TJ each made a donation Friday. Thank you Tess and TJ, you guys rock! This brings me to a total of $340 so far. Slowly but surely!
ALSO Sarah and I scored a sponsorship from Fitzharris Bike and Sport here in St. Cloud. They agreed to donated a pair of bike shorts and a jersey for each of us. Woo hoo! I can't wait to try out my bike shorts!

Lots of exciting stuff happening! This weekend I will be heading to Germany (assuming this cloud of volcanic ash allows me to). I'm super pumped, but also a bit nervous that I'm going to lose some ground on my training. I'm going to try to keep things up by running/walking/possibly swimming. If I really want to humiliate myself I could post a picture of myself after a run. haha we'll see...

Anyway, that's all for now!

~Andrea

Darn Wind

2010-04-15T13:34:00.000-07:00

Hello Hello,

Well Monday and Tuesday I stayed off my bike... but I did head to the gym and do an hour on the stationary bikes there. I do like being able to listen to music/read while i'm biking... but i don't like that i just sit in one place in a room that smells like sweat... oh well.

Wednesday was my rest day. I did bike to and from work and I noticed that the oil Paul put on my chain made a noticable difference. It's easier to pedal, the gears shift a little bit and it's not making such awful sounds anymore. So that's a plus.

Today i will head out for a ride, not too long though as i'm still worried about the condition of my bike. I'll probably go about 10 miles or so. We'll see how I feel once I'm out there because it's supposed to be very windy today... which i think is a pretty annoying element to deal with. But I guess it's better than rain... maybe... I'll probably ride on the trail so I hope that'll be a little sheltered from the wind since it's surrounded by trees... maybe?

Nothing new in fundraising. People should have received the letters that I sent out on Monday, so I guess I will wait and see if I get any responses!

I believe Sarah and I will be doing some follow-up with some area businesses relatively soon. We sent those letters probably a couple of weeks ago now, so it's time to get in touch with them and beg for money/stuff!

Well, that's all for now! Hopefully i'll be checking in soon letting you all know that I have a new bike to train on!

~Andrea

My bike is 'terminal'

2010-04-12T10:40:00.000-07:00

Yup folks, you heard it here first, my bike is on its deathbed. Tragic as that is, I can't say I didn't see this coming. It's an old bike, and she's definitely seen better days. There were enough problems that I noticed on my own, and I know nothing about bikes. So I wasn't at all surprised to hear from someone who does know all about them that the bike is in its final days. However, hope is not lost! The wonderful Habitat 500 Committee member who was so gracious to check out my bike will also be helping to find me a bike to train on and ride the 500 with. I am SO grateful! Apparently, he seemed to think that riding 15 miles on my bike, was probably about the equivalent of riding almost 30 miles on a good bike. This was a relief to hear, because I was really starting to wonder how I was going to to make it through such distance when I was already struggling on my shorter rides.
So I will be taking it a bit easier on that bike... since it's not in the sturdiest condition. I would certainly hate to have a bad wipe out and mess up my ability to participate in July! I took a pretty bad spill on a bike when I was living in Germany about a year ago... I wasn't seriously injured, but I was very disoriented which led to an ambulance being called to take me the whole... oh i'd say about 3 blocks... to the hospital. Good times! It did take me a little while to get back on a bike after that, but not too long. And now I always wear a helmet!
Anyway, despite my bike's sorry condition, I did mangage to get in a total of 40 miles Friday-Sunday. The pictures I posted are from just after my 15 mile ride on Saturday morning. I'm glad they're taken from a bit of a distance so you all can't see how red-faced and sweaty I am! haha. But it was really a great weekend to get out and enjoy the sunshine! I'm going to need to buy some sunscreen soon or I'm going to have some funny burn lines from my sunglasses!
Today I think I will just hit the gym since I'm a little paranoid about my bike now, and it's supposed to rain anyway. I'll probably do an hour on a stationary bike and then lift some weights.
Tonight I'll be attending the Mid Minnesota Cycling Club meeting to see if anyone there is interested in participating or supporting! So hopefully that will go well!
Not much in fundraising news... I did get a donation from my sister's boyfriend. Thanks, Eduardo! Also, today I sent out 15 letters to old professors, family friends, internship supervisors, etc. So hopefully that will turn up something! We'll see!
Well, that's all for now! Thanks for checking in!

~Andrea

A couple pictures!

2010-04-10T10:35:00.000-07:00

Looks like a beautiful weekend!

2010-04-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

Wow, this good weather is absolutely spoiling me! Yesterday I went for a lovely little ride. I started out with the goal of riding 8 miles, not too long, but enough to get a nice work out, and ended up going 11 miles! I was very proud. haha. Some streches of the ride were quite difficult because of the wind, but overall it was really nice. I didn't tackle very many hills this time though. I mostly stayed on relatively flat ground.

Today I will head out again with a goal of 10 miles. I think I will try a new route today. A few times I've gone on this nice path that runs along the Mississippi River, but it's not very long so then I have to find other places to wander around and it's annoying to deal with all of the stop signs/lights. We'll see where I end up today...

My goals for the weekend are to do 15 mile rides on both Saturday and Sunday. I think the weather is supposed to be quite nice both days, so I think it should be possible. And other than biking, I don't really have any big plans this weekend, so I should have plenty of time!

The wonderful Paul Reasoner (Habitat 500 Committee) will also most likely be stopping by my apartment on Sunday sometime to have a look at my bike! THANK YOU PAUL! Hopefully he won't tell me that it's about to fall apart and I should stop riding it! I'm looking into the possibility of trying to get a bike shop to lend me a bike for training and the ride. I just don't think i'll be able to make it on my old bike... we'll see!

I don't believe I have any new fundraising news. I've been rather lazy in this department lately. Although I am assembling a list of potentail prospects, so I should be sending some letters out soon!

Well, I hope you all enjoy the weekend! And to my fellow Habitat 500 riders, I hope you have the chance to get out there and put in some miles!

~Andrea

The calves are slowly but surely getting better...

2010-04-07T10:26:00.000-07:00

Pathetically, my calves are still sore, but at least they are getting better. They don't really event hurt when I'm biking... just when i'm walking around after sitting at my desk for long periods of time...

Anyway... Monday after work I hopped on my bike again with the intent of doing another 15 mile ride. I only ended up doing 14 miles, but it swear I biked around the whole city of St. Cloud! I ended up on one road that was just constant hills, up and down, up and down. The down parts were a very welcomed break... but the up parts were almost unbearable, given my gears won't change at all so I had to ride them at the same pace that I ride flat ground... I'm sure a few people got a good laugh as they drove by me in their cars and saw my red face. They could probably even hear my panting...

Tuesday I decided to take it a bit easier since my body was hating me very much and just go for a nice swim in the morning before work. So I went to the Y and did my usual 1500 yards. I was running a bit late though, so I didn't have time to do some 'pedaling' in the water. Next time!

Today is my 'rest day'. I did still bike to work though. It's only 1.5 miles, so i figured, why not?! It's not like a workout or anything that will tire me out, so I think it's still a legitimate rest day.

My plan for the rest of the week is to go for rides (weather permitting) on Thursday and Friday between 8-10 miles, and do another 15 mile ride on Saturday.

In fundraising news, I got $100 the other day from a couple of friends! That was wonderful! I also got a surprise online donation of $25 from a friend that studied abroad with me in Dublin. I hadn't even sent him a message or anything! He must have just seen something about it on my facebook page and decided to donate! What an amazing and unexpected treat! So I am working my way up... still a long ways to go though!

That's all for now! Keep checking in, maybe i'll post some photos soon!

~Andrea

It's true, I will be biking 500 miles...

2010-04-05T12:28:00.000-07:00

Hello folks!

So recently I made the crazy committment to ride my bike 500 miles. WHAT?!! Yes, you read that correctly. At the end of March I signed up to participate in the Habitat 500 Bike Ride, a 7-day, 500 mile ride to raise money and awareness for Habitat for Humanity. In order to participate I must raise a minimum of $900! I also have a lot of training to do! So here I will update you all about the progress of my training and fundraising and post some lovely photos of me all geared up and hittin' the road!

I'm at about $90 so far for my fundraising, so I've got quite a lot of work ahead of me! If you have any interest in donating, you can give me cash/check, mail a check to:
Attn: Andrea Hills
701 2nd St. N.
St. Cloud, MN 56303
OR go online to my firstgiving page:
www.firstgiving.com/andreahills

As for training, this past fall I got a membership at the local YMCA. Since then, I have been working out, on average, 3-5 times a week or so. Since I signed up for the Habitat 500, I have stepped up my number of weekly workouts to 6 per week with one, much loved, rest day. The past 2 weeks I've been at this, either spending time at the Y on the exercise equipment and lifting weights or swimming, on my bike, or other training activities. It can be challenging on busy days, but so far I've been able to make it work!

My bike is definitely in need of a tune up, the gears don't change, the seat is too low and it makes some interesting noises from time to time. Hopefully I'll be getting that taken care of soon. It probably also doesn't help that I have a mountain bike, rather than a road bike.

My longest ride thus far was a 15 mile ride I did on Good Friday with my brother's bike. I was at my parent's house in Lake Elmo, MN and I'm fortunate that they live right by the Gateway Trail, so I was able to hop on that and cruise along for a while. The wind was not on my side that day though! But I made it through and I'll be gradually increasing my mileage in the weeks to come.

Yesterday's 45 minute session on the elliptical has left my calves stinging like crazy, and sitting at a desk all day certainly doesn't help that. I'm hoping that once I get on my bike later that will help a bit.

Well, that's all for now! Keep checking in to see him I'm doing!

~Andrea