The Final Pieces

Bike Selection

The first major choice I had to make was selecting what bike to take.  I had two choices, my light carbon Specialized Tarmac, and my heavy steel framed Surly Crosscheck.  They each had advantages and disadvantages.  My race bike was fast, light, and I was very comfortable with the fit.  Since this had been my primary bike all year I was fairly sure I wouldn’t have any unforeseen knee, back, or other joint problems.  

2005 Specialized Tarmac (Road Bike)

The downside was that it was not very comfortable on long rides.  Bikes transmit road vibrations and flex differently depending on their materials.  Steel, carbon, titanium, aluminum all ride very differently and have differing levels of comfort and stiffness on long rides.  A long day on the carbon road bike is very tough on the body.  Conversely the steel absorbs road vibrations very well and makes the ride much more comfortable.  But that bike is heavy and slow.  I was also concerned about the added weight of the pack I would be carrying.  The surly could certainly handle this extra weight better.   The deciding factor was the next weekend when I did a short ride downtown on the Surly. I felt like I was riding with lead weights on my feet… and that was with a good strong tailwind.  I decided right then to go with the road bike.


Surly Crosscheck

Choosing the right bag and rack to hold my gear was going to almost as critical as choosing the right bike.  It wouldn’t make sense to ride a light, fast frame with a big heavy rack.  So, I planned my rack and bag for either scenario.  I had a rack for my steel framed Surley but it was heavy, and with an already heavy frame it was not the ideal choice.  I did lots of research and found a company called Arkel out of Canada that made a rack and trunk bag combo suited for road bikes with no rear braze-ons.  Called the Randonneur Seat Post Rack, instead of clamping to the frame it clamped to the seat rails making it very sturdy.  It was also very light weight and the bag itself called the Trail Rider Trunk Bag, had a built in rain cover which I liked.  It held a total of 944 cubic inches.  This was all the room I was going to have for ten days.  The minute I got the rack in the mail I knew that was what I wanted to use.  It fastened securely to the saddle rails and seat post and the bag used a series of Velcro straps to sit nicely on top.  It was perfect.  The only small nagging detail was it was EXTREEMLY small.  There wouldn’t be an extra inch to spare.

Nutrition Planning

The minute I started packing stuff into the 944 cubic inch bag I knew there was no way everything was going to fit.  Taking a page out of my dad’s Appalachian Trail playbook I decided to mail supplies ahead to my various hotels and stops so that I would only have to carry a maximum of 2 days of nutrition.  I broke each day down by hour and figured out at an average of 18 mph (which was my assumed pace) how long each day would take.  

 The first four days would be the longest by miles but as it turned out not the longest by time on the bike.  I also used historical data to determine how many calories I would burn each day on the bike.  The human body can only process a certain amount of calories per hour, and very quickly it became evident that I would not take in as many calories as I was burning on the bike each day.  Using a rough calculation I would only be able to take in a maximum of 2,000 calorie per day on the bike.  The rest would have to be made up off the bike at breakfast and dinner.  For the “on bike” nutrition I planned for 5 energy goos, two power bars, (which I later upgraded to 3) 2 cliff bars, (which I later sent home because I couldn’t stomach them) and a big breakfast bar that had 380 calories which would be a mid-day snack.  I also packed some Shot Blocks which I really like as kind of a treat or snack in the afternoon.  The nutrition planning and what actually happened turned out to be very different.

What I found while riding was all the energy bars melted in about 5 minutes so the minute I would open one I’d have melted chocolate all over the place.  The goo’s also turned to liquid in the sun so I essentially had sticky hands, handlebars, and face all day.  The big 400 calorie bars were too much to eat in one sitting and I had to practically force them down.  Almost all the nutrition I brought was horrible yet a necessary regiment that I HAD to follow to keep going.  I never stopped for a meal during the day, and instead choose to start each day with a big, and I mean BIG, breakfast and finish the day with an even bigger dinner.  I found that the before and after meals were just as important as the “on bike” nutrition.  I didn’t realize that the nutrition plan would be a 24 hour process including before, during, and after each days ride.

Supplimental "On Bike" Nutrition in Wisconsin

I put together packages of each day’s nutrition and sent them out to three separate points along the way.  Each was no more than two days from the next so the most I was every carrying was two days.  This helped to minimize the size of nutrition I would be carrying.  During the ride I found this plan worked out extremely well and offered plenty of room for other items that would prove to be just as valuable.  Like spare tubes… more to follow on that.

Just as critically important as nutrition was hydration.  Since I would be riding in the heat of late summer, cramping and dehydration were real concerns.  I have always had bad problems on long rides with cramping so on this long journey I was doubly concerned.  My cousin Tod Fenner who is an avid mountain biker in Colorado gave me one of the most critical pieces of advice when he suggested I bring a Camelbak.  Up until now I had never used a camelback other than occasional day hikes, but it turned out to be the most critical piece of gear I brought.  The Camelbak held 1.8L and I purchased two additional water bottles that each held 32 oz. so each water fill-up gave me almost 4 Liters of water.  This was perfect for about half a day and worked out perfect to stop once at about halfway each day and eat a bar and fill-up on water.

Fully Loaded Bike Ready to Go

At each fill-up I dropped a few electrolyte tablets into the bottles to replenish sodium and maintain electrolytes in the body.  However, I knew from previous hot weather rides that it wouldn’t be enough.  I supplemented with sodium / potassium tablets about every hour or 30 minutes depending on the heat and how I felt.  The electrolyte balance is the body is different for every person and since there are so many factors that can affect it it’s really hard to nail down an exact formula.  Every time I felt a twitch in my legs indicating the start of cramps I’d take a salt tab and it would go away.  With the Camelbak, bottles, and salt tabs I was able to keep hydrated and replenished with electrolytes continuously throughout the day.  At night I would fill the bottles again and keep hydrating throughout the evening to make sure I was never completely dehydrated.

Not my actual Camalbak but mine is very simialr to this one

Final Gear Selection

With weight being an ever constant concern I put together the final pieces of gear that would be essential to my trip.  Since I was using electronics for all my mapping I needed chargers for my phone, bike computer, and mp3 player.  I also wanted to bring an actual hard copy map in case I got stranded with no batteries or electronics.  I ordered state maps from Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan and trimmed all the edges off so as only to carry the areas of my route.  This map trimming idea was also originally taken from my dad’s Appalachian Trail hiking.  The last few pieces of gear were a rear view mirror which clipped to my sunglasses and a reflective vest.  Both were very crucial pieces of gear as far as safety was concerned.  I got so used to looking in the mirror it felt weird not having one on after I got back.  It also gave me an added feeling of safety knowing I was much more visible to cars and could see behind me when traffic was heavy.

Me with my vest and rear view mirror

Other miscellaneous items I carried were laundry detergent to wash clothes each night, a bottle of pepper spray which the wife wanted me to carry as added protection, paper and pen for journaling, ibuprofen, sunscreen, chamois cream, bike lock, emergency medical kit, and some bag balm ointment in case I had any rash or saddle issues.  I also brought a pair of "shants" pants that have zipper legs that turn into shorts.  I brought a tshirt, rain jacket, and spare socks which I could wash every day.  To top it off I strapped a pair of sandals on the outside of the pack for getting around off the bike at the end of each day.

Bag after first day.  Only carried the book the first day.

The final pieces of gear were bike maintenance tools.  Although I never planned on having flats or mechanical issues I wanted to be prepared for the worst.  I brought a multi-tool, 2 spare tubes, a patch kit, tire levers, lube, zip ties, and wrapped some duct tape around the rack just in case I needed to throw a hail marry.  As it turned out I would need all these emergency supplies and more.

Go Time

The week before my trip I was very nervous and excited to get going.  I had decided on the bike, the rack, nutrition, route and everything I needed was ready.  But in the back of my mind I had doubts as to whether or not I could actually do it.  I never told anyone except for Weston my friend at work but deep down I wondered if I could really do it.  I kept thinking “ten centuries in a row” can I do it?  I was more concerned about the short time frame than my fitness.  My belief was that I would have knee pain, back pain, or some other injury that would keep me from finishing or force me to take a few rest days.  I actually didn’t make my hotel reservations for the last day until the week before I left because I never thought I would get there.  I don’t know why but it just seemed like such a daunting task that I never could imagine myself riding to New Buffalo, Michigan.  I thought I would make it to Mackinac or a little further but could not picture going further.  Maybe it was this mental block that made getting there (and further) such an incredible feeling.

With some doubt and a lot of excitement to get this show on the road all of a sudden it was Thursday night and I was finally packing my gear for day 1.