This is the first post of the Adventure Monkey site. I had been riding regularly since that summer and had a few ride stories on a photography site I used to run, but I got the idea of Adventure Monkey while riding and created this site. It is humorous to read now and see how far I have come from August 9, 2009. The main things I get from this post: whatever you want to start do it now with what you have, like I did with my 20 year old bike and directions on paper. I didn’t own spandex, I didn’t know what I was doing TBH, but the important thing was, I did it.
The night before the ride
I had a 90-mile ride scheduled with my friend Rob the following week. My longest ride so far was 46 miles. Everything beyond that was unknown territory. I wanted to plan something between 40 and 90 miles for tomorrow.
The family turned in for the evening as I sat in the yellow glow of the end table light navigating a route on mapmyride.com. I had been riding Flint Hills gravel around Emporia pretty regularly now, and always wanted explore further. Clicking the mouse, I added on the miles creating a new route.
Instead of turning as I usually did for a short 30 mile ride, I continued straight on road C. I wanted to turn at some point to roll into Madison and ride home via HWY 99. They were calling for a windy weekend in Kansas and I suspected tomorrow would provide strong winds from the south. That would put the wind at my back the whole way home from Madison, and I’d be on pavement. I knew I would be tired from cranking through the Flint Hills with a strong gusting wind in my face and I planned for an easy ride home.
In the midst of my mapping, Jennifer peeked her head into the living room. “What are you doing?” “Are you coming to bed?,” she asked. Two questions, no pause in between. I explained that I didn’t want to get lost on my ride tomorrow and was mapping it out. She came into the living room and sat on the couch next to me. I felt bad for leaving her and the kids so long on my rides, but it is something that I have to do. It is difficult to explain, but riding long distance on my bicycle does something to me both physically and mentally. Without it, I get restless and to be quite honest a little depressed. In the future I hope to take the kids on cycling adventures. Jen was not interested in any such adventure like that.
I tried hiding it, but she looked at the monitor. The end marker read 64 miles. “Are you crazy?” she said. I murmured something about preparing for next week and wanting to get in a good ride before then, but it was only partially true. I was buzzing with anticipation about the ride I had just mapped out. A large portion of it would be through the beautiful rolling hills of the Kansas Flint Hills on low maintenance roads. Miles of rolling grassland, cattle grazing beneath an open sky, and the quiet that comes from being far from everyone. It was going to be a challenging adventure.
I tried to console her by saying I could cut the ride in half pretty easily by turning off the mapped route and going through Olpe instead of Madison, but in reality I had no intention of doing that. I wrote down some directions on a piece of paper, wishing I had an iPhone or other GPS device, but this would have to do for now. Hopefully the directions would be correct. I printed off a little map to help me visualize the route if I got lost. It wasn’t good for much since it was too small for the road names to be printed, but at least I would know where bends in the road would be and it may help if I got lost. And I get lost pretty easily.
My mind had already began thinking about supplies for the trip. It would be hot, windy and humid. I would leave as early as I could to get in a few cool hours, but I would need a lot of water. I would have to hit the dreaded Wally World on the way out to get some Cliff bars, bananas and a portable air pump in case of flats. At this point, I am new to bicycle touring and I am still buying equipment. In fact, I am riding my 20 year old rigid mountain bike, made to ride trails in the late 80’s, not a multi-hour tour, but it is all I have for now.
I finished the night by filling water bottles and a hydration pack and putting them in the fridge.
It was a restless night. I couldn’t believe how excited I was. If the sun was out, I would have left in the middle of the night. Eventually, I drifted off.
The screeching alarm interrupted my slumber. Any excitement I felt as I tried to go to sleep was replaced by a longing to go back to sleep. It took a little self prodding to get me up. I told myself it would be a great ride as I wiped the sleep from my eyes and stumbled into the bathroom, leaving Jen asleep in the cozy bed.
Oatmeal with granola, a glass of water and some FRS for breakfast. I am a coffee drinker, but I definitely did not want the diuretic or laxative effects on a long, hot bike ride. I picked up bananas, Cliff bars and a small air pump that would fit in my hydration pack from Wally World after breakfast. The pump was a POS that would most likely get returned after the trip, but I needed some sense of security on this long ride. There’s no way Jen can come save me in the middle of nowhere on a low maintenance road in the family van.
I packed my rear trunk bag with my camera, two extra waters, four FRS chews, three Cliff bars, two bananas, spf 30 lip balm, towel, extra inner tube, garage door opener and debit card. The bag is not compartmentalized. I wondered how everything would hold up getting stuffed in there and bouncing around on the back of my bike. Time would tell.
After putting on my cycling clothes, applying sunscreen and kissing Jen goodbye, I was off on my gravel grinding adventure. I shut the garage door and rode out of town. It disappeared behind me in five minutes or so. I remembered about two and a half miles into the ride that I forgot my tire changing tools would would have to try to do it by hand if need be. I didn’t know if that will be possible, but I just couldn’t bear the thought of backtracking.
The first ten miles or so always feels like work for me and today was no exception. I pedaled to wake up and get some milage behind me. About ten or so miles into the ride, I hit my first low maintenance road. Things would get a bit more interesting. The road was bumpy, rocky and hilly. Fifteen miles in, I was out there. I saw two cowboys unloading their horses to go ride in the hills. I hit some pretty steep climbs. This picture was taken at the top of one of the hills. Although tiny, you can see the cowboys in the distance.
I was feeling really good at this point but the bananas looked a little rough already. About 18 miles in, I had to stop and take these pictures. I decided to put one of the bananas out of its misery and eat it before it got any more bruised and bled all over my camera.
The choice of shortening my route had vanished. I had to go 25.5 miles before I hit a cross road that would lead me back home. I was feeling high on adventure. Now the only evidence of human existence was the low maintenance road that I was riding on. This was a true gravel grinder. There were miles and miles of rolling hills covered with natural grasses all around me. I was riding into a very strong, gusty headwind. It would be like this until the home stretch when I would ride with the wind. That’s Kansas – hot, windy and humid.
I had my written directions stuck between my handlebar and brake cable. I pulled it out to check every now and then. When it came time to turn, I was amazed that I was only off by a tenth of a mile! Pretty accurate. It came time to leave the Hills and turn left onto maintained gravel roads and head towards Madison.
I turned one last time and head into Madison. I ended up at a Casey’s. I bought some G2 and asked the nice lady behind the counter if she could fill up the bladder in my hydration pack. She looked at me a bit funny, but obliged, after all, I gave a dollar to Jerry’s kids when I paid for the G2. I got a few funny looks from the good ‘ol boys at Casey’s. I guess they didn’t like my tight cycling shorts. Or maybe they did, not sure. I am always as nice as possible to everyone I meet on the bike. I don’t want to get run off the road or anything.
I sat on the sidewalk and gave my self a few minutes to cool down before riding out of town and back towards Emporia. I got back on the bike and felt a little tight. It was getting hotter and I wanted to get home before it got into the 100s with the heat index. I think the longest part of the ride was pedaling out of Madison up on that long climb out of town towards Highway 99. I downshifted and pedaled up.
I thought of planning a weekend cycling tour into the Flint Hills at some point to really do some exploring. That would be fun.
It was hot, but I had the wind at my back blowing me towards Emporia. But without the wind in my face, I felt really hot. Riding into Olpe, the sweat dripping down my face was hot. Hot sweat. I was feeling a bit overheated. I stopped at the gas station in Olpe to cool down for about ten minutes and then got back on the road. It was about 15 miles back to my house. It was nice riding 24 miles per hour, but the heat was wearing me down. Heat index of 100. I kept drinking water. I kept sweating. There was a steady drip from my chin when I looked down.
Finally home. Fatigue had fully set in. Sixty-four miles, most of it through the Flint Hills, the last stretch under a punishing heat. I was exhausted, but there was a quiet satisfaction underneath it. A deep sense of having done something. A sense of accomplishment. Mentally, physically, spiritually, I felt reset. It’s hard to explain, but cycling takes me somewhere deep, and it’s always a good place.
My Adventure Monkey was quiet, satisfied, full. That wouldn’t last forever. I’ve learned that the hard way. When I ignore the hunger, something in me dulls. Everyday life, as necessary as it is, lacks the edge, the uncertainty, the pull. I need that. Cycling feeds my Adventure Monkey. We all need adventure in our lives. This is how I get mine. This is my antidepressant.
I felt ready for the 90 mile trek next week. It would be 100% pavement and it wasn’t supposed to be as hot.
Feed Your Monkey
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