Cycling – Travel with Goneguru

Coeur d’Alene and Ironman Triathalon, too!

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA (June 2012) Near this tree on the banks of Lake Coeur d’Alene is a commemorative sign telling of the Native Americans who once gathered on the shores of the beautiful lake in northern Idaho. After the Europeans came to America and made their way westward,

On the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene

and the great railroads were built, Couer d’Alene took its spot among the beautiful hideaways of the west. Easily accessible from the Spokane, Washington airport via I-90, Couer d’Alene presents a marked contrast with the sprawling and industrial Spokane. The centerpiece remains the lake with its clear water surrounded by the green hills, but the town of Coeur d’Alene has done a lot to make the visitor welcome.

Lake Coeur d’Alene

The visitors have come and some with star quality names have built homes in the area that we will only read about or fly over and look down on their pools and tennis courts and guest houses.

Along the lake the town proper is a mixture of shops and homes, where walking into the shops gave the impression that the shopkeeper was genuinely pleased to have you in the store, rather than the department store “I just work here” stare. Walking to get about was clearly no problem and a pleasant hike around Tubbs Park will relieve the stress and provide you with some spectacular views of the lake. We will return to Coeur d’Alene for its beauty and charm, and will come back to take our road bikes on the nearby Trail of Coeur d’Alenes rails to trails project nearly spans the Idaho panhandle. But, on this trip we were not brought to the town by any of these.

This trip we came to Coeur d’Alene for the Ironman Triathalon. An Ironman Triathlon is not for everyone. In fact it is only for the fittest of the fit. Ironman competition began in Hawaii more than 25 years ago when several highly fit military men came up with their ultimate test based on swimming, cycling and running events in which they had participated. The challenge they set for themselves was an open water swim covering 2.4 miles, a bicycle ride of 112 miles, and a marathon run, all in one day. From a handful of participants on that day the Ironman has grown into a world wide franchise, with thousands of participants testing themselves in Ironman sponsored events all over the world. We have an Ironman finisher in our family, so we came to watch him participate, see Coeur d’Alene for the first time, and take a side trip to Banff.

The first leg of the contest is the swim. The men and women in their wetsuits lined up along the beach shown in the photo below to dash into the 57 degree F. water where they would swim away from shore 0.6 miles, parallel the shore 0.2 miles, and back to shore where they would re-enter the water and do it again!

The start is awesome. You might see 25 or 30 professionals start half an hour before the age classified amateur participants and it is inspiring to see the pro’s go at it, but the big rush is when the 2500 hit the water at the same time!

Coeur d’Alene swim start

Although it is a difficult spectator sport, as you can see thousands of supporters for the athletes were en masse near the beach and along the seawall yelling and urging their favorite participant on. The water sorts the athletes out by their ability, with swimmers straining stroke after stroke to finish the 2.4 miles before the two and one half hour time limit expires. Then, they run across the sand to the the transition area where they are helped out of their wetsuits, into warming rooms if they need them, and onto their bicycles. Some are unable to continue beyond the swim.

The bike ride is 112 miles. For this part of the race, a lane of US 95 heading south from Coeur d’Alene and major streets in town were closed to trafffic. It is along the streets that you will get the best views of the cyclists.

Ironman Tri-athalon cyclists

Although, the bike ride is also two laps, the laps go so far out of town that each athlete is out of sight for hours, so for a spectator there is plenty of time to grab a bite to eat, see the sights, and get ready for the next time your athlete speeds by. Some say the smart ones take a nap. We chose to walk around the world’s largest floating boardwalk adjacent the Coeur d’Alene Resort. The boardwalk is 3300 feet long and surrounds the marina. If you look at the boats tied up in the Marina, you’ll understand that quite a bit of money is spent on the enjoyment of Lake Coeur d’Alene.

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA — Looking at the Marina from the Boardwalk

We also took in some of the shops and a couple of miles of trails in Tubbs park before it was time for the marathon part of the competition.

The marathon is grueling. Even the fastest finisher has to run part of his marathon in the heat of the day. 26 + miles in two laps through the city streets of Coeur d’Alene. Although we cheered the athletes on, there is no team in this sport. Each athlete is on his own, testing his or her own willpower to put one foot in front of another.

Punishing afternoon sun

Now they are faced with the final deadline: Be across the finish line by midnight or you are not deemed to have finished the race at all. For some, what started filled with adrenalin at 7:30 in the morning will end in anguish after midnight. But for most, they will hear the crowd cheer and give high-fives as they near the finish line.

The Finish

The finishers are checked by medical personnel, wrapped in thermal reflectors to keep their bodies warm as walk around with family and friends or head to their bed. Many come back to near the finish line or sit where they can hear the music playing and hear the announcer give voice to the name of each finisher. Deep into the night the music plays and the names are called out. Then, at midnight, the music stops, no more names are called, and the crowd leaves. What seemed forever to train for and watch is suddenly over, but the Ironman finisher has a memory and medal that should last a lifetime.

Ironman Finisher’s medal

Bike Ride Across Georgia: Spring Tune-Up / Summer Fun

For 33 years adventurous cycling spirits have literally rolled across the state of Georgia. I wasn’t there when it started and, in fact, have only participated in the June Bike Ride Across Georgia (BRAG) ride four times, but, once you’ve done it you will either always want to do it again or never want to do it again. There really is no in between. The years that I did it, the majority of the of the riders were veterans of prior rides, so for my money, the do it again crowd far outweighs the others. Every year in June, I wish I was on the road again. To get you “ready” for the 7 day ride across the state, BRAG sponsors a spring tune-up around Madison, Georgia. I’ve done these a few times. The pictures on this blog are primarily from the Spring 2012 tune up with some older pictures thrown in.

First some facts. 2012 Bike Ride Across Georgia starts June 3, near Chattanooga, Tennessee with stops at Dalton, Jasper and Roswell, which is just north of Atlanta for a day of rest before turning north again to Winder, Mt. Airy, and ending in Tiger on June 10. For real details, go to the official BRAG website . Essentially, this years seven day ride covers about 320 miles with a rest day on the 4th day. Some of the cyclists will use this “rest” day to complete a century ride (100 miles). The official ride days range from 40 to 72 miles in distance with rest stops every 10 to 15 miles on average. If you ever want to learn how to run a ride, then you should ride BRAG and watch how the rest stops and SAG wagons work. The volunteers manning the rest stops can’t be beat and the people in the support vehicles never fail to help you out. Sometimes, in June, Georgia is a little hot and these folks make sure any cyclist who isn’t on their A game gets to the next stop. Further, you need to watch the care BRAG gives to the Special Olympians who ride with them every year. You will see some very special people.

The Spring Tune Up started on Friday with rides from Madison’s Heritage Park with the Brer Rabbit Ride. Saturday brought the Oreo Cow ride which gave the cyclists another opportunity for a century ride or the optional 57 mile Blue Willow ride which generally meanders westerly over to Social Circle, home of the Blue Willow Inn. Sunday brought the Rock Eagle Ramble which would take a rider past the Georgia 4-H camp and back to Madison past the Stefan Thomas Museum. Here’s how I saw it from the Bike.

Madison is one of those old southern towns with many old homes that have been taken care of and now provide a glimpse into an earlier time. The house above, stands beside the Saturday and Sunday routes and is striking, but you might have liked another just as well. Sometime during the year, there will be a tour of homes and this one may be on it.

Leaving town you’ll cross the railroad tracks that once upon a time tied the small towns of the south together and carried merchandise and people across the states. Today, they speed past the whistle stops loaded with freight and cars and things bound for distant places while the old depots have been torn down or turned into different uses. Out of town, you’ll find what many of us ride for: Vista’s like these

where you have time to look and linger on the bike while watching the cyclist ahead of you and the car behind. The bicycle riders who do these rides are ordinary people who do extraordinary things. The people who organize these rides are extraordinary people who create an extraordinary event.

On Sunday, near the end of the last day’s ride, you will come across something else quite extraordinary.

The Steffen Thomas Musem of Art sits aside Bethany road adjacent farm fields and cow pastures and has served as a rest stop for the Spring Tune up for a number of years. We had stopped outside several times, but this year, the door opened and we went in. It is an exceptional museum and serves as a cultural anchor not just for Madison but for a much wider area and audience. More importantly the Museum is dedicated to educational programs to reach many of the places our bicycles, cars and trains roll past. We’ll feature the museum in another article, but if you are near Madison for whatever reason, don’t wait for us to write about it. Go see for yourself. Meanwhile, bike, camp, live and learn.

Tampa: Beach Camping Oasis 10 minutes from Town

We’ve previously posted articles about backpacking on Cumberland Island, but this post is for those of you who are looking for a great beach campground for car campers. You’ll find it at Fort De Soto Park near Tampa, Florida. According to one of the Rangers we spoke to at the campground, twenty-five years ago Tampa Bay was a polluted mess and the area around Mullet Key on which Fort De Soto is located had brackish backwater that couldn’t circulate and a dying grassy area in the bay that soured and smelled, particularly in the summer months. Cooperation between local, state, and federal agencies and the local conservation groups cleaned up the bay, cut new channels for water flow through and around Mullet Key and today the area is a haven for campers.

The island is reachable by a bridge from the Bayway or by water, but what will strike you is the fact that it has remained largely undeveloped.

DSCF1492 — Birds on the public pier looking at the beach

If you look at the background in the picture above you will see the stretch of beach running from the Bay Pier up to North Beach. Note that there is not a single highrise nor even a house on the beach. If you go south from this point, you’ll enter the Bay pass the Bay pier and reach the tip of the island passing only the Park Headquarters building, restrooms and park concessions. That is to say, other than the buildings necessary to provide services to the visitors, there are no other buildings on this island. As you skid through Tampa on I-275, you will not believe you are going to a place as tranquil as this.

Fort De Soto Park Campground sits directly adjacent Anderson Boulevard, so it cannot be missed in terms of passing it by, but it might be missed in terms of getting a reservation. Reservations are taken 6 months in advance, unless you are a Pinellas County resident in which case you get an extra month. The campground holds back 10% of its 250 campsites for walk-ins. On the weekend, a walk-in can reserve a campsite for two nights. We asked the Ranger at check in about this and when one should arrive to be certain of a campsite. He said that the Ranger office opens at 7 a.m. , but that walk-ins would often arrive as early as 1:30 a.m. and bring their lawn chairs to sit outside the door. We checked this story out and on the Friday morning we were there, a person arriving at 2:00 a.m. would have been 5th in line!

The campground is laid out in three sections, a pet area for those camping pet owners who bring their pets along on their adventures and two other area’s across a short bridge over a man-made channel. The area to the right is primarily for RV‘s and large trailers while the area to the left is primarily for tents and smaller trailers. Campsites 1 to 85 are in this area, campsites 86 to 164 are in the pet area and campsites 165 yo 233 are in the larger RV area.

DSCF1428 — At campsite 20 looking past the tent to the water

We’ve camped in campsites 1 and 20 which are both on the water facing out to the bay. As you can see from the picture above the campsites are laid out on a shell base to show you the area in which you should pitch your tent or park your RV. What you can’t see in this picture is that each has electrical service and water service, a grill, a picnic table, potable running water at a tap, and a hook on which to hang your lantern. A small camp store with a spacious deck for relaxation has most of the supplies you might need, if you don’t want to venture back into town. Each spacious campsite is separated from the adjacent campsites by a border of palmetto bushes and palm trees so each has a sense of privacy. However, if you are not in the pet area you will have visitors.

It is no surprise to see raccoons in the day or night, so be sure your food is properly stowed and your trash is properly disposed of in the receptacles provided. The weighted lids are more than a raccoon can lift to get into the bins, and these are not little raccoons. The ones strolling through our campsite would easily have weighted 15 pounds. You’ll also be visited by squirrels and birds, but clearly the largest and boldest of the visitors will be the ring-tailed bandits. As you can see at the right, they are easily frightened and will scurry away or climb a tree as soon as you get near, however, if you are not around they will go through everything you have that’s not tied down.

Campsites 1 to 48, 138 to 153, and 202 to 232 are all on the water facing generally to the west, although many of these have a hedge of bushes between them and the water, however, a large grassy border extends from the campsites to the water. It makes a great spot to set up your lawn chair late in the afternoon and watch the sunset.

In the picture above, you see the sun setting over the other end of the island, which is L shaped, so on the other side of the trees, the sun is settling into the Gulf fo Mexico just beyond the beach.

As mentioned above, there are no developments on the beach. However, Fort De Soto was built in the early years after the Spanish-American war between 1900 and 1910 and remains substantially intact. The fort was rendered obsolete by the development of mobile modern artillery and so the military closed it between WWI and WWII. None of the governmental entities nor developers had any interest in the island in the 40’s and 50’s and the island was largely managed as a bird sanctuary.

Today, thousands of birds can been seen and are still protected on the island, therefore, a large part of the island is off-limits as a nesting area, however, the undeveloped beach is therefore somewhat secluded from the central road and bike path and relatively unspoiled. The beach is widest and most usable from the Gulf pier (fishing is free with no permit required) up to the bird sanctuary at North Beach and above North Beach to the tip of the island. The beach extends southward beyond the fort and around the bend in the island past the Bay pier to east beach. At East Beach and North Beach, parking, pavilions and bath houses are supplied in abundance and are well maintained and clean. The cycling trail runs the length of the island and connects to a multiuse trail that runs along South Pinellas Bayway for several miles. You can pedal your hybrid or cruise bike along the path for miles without seeing a hill. The road cyclist zoom past in their spandex on the road, generally disdaining the multiuse path and its slower traffic.

The island and the campground make up one of the better family camping locales on any beach anywhere. It’s also quite attractive to the RV crowd. Camp cleanliness and light maintenance is the responsibility of about 8 couples who serve as camp hosts. They get their campsite free of charge for three months in exchange for 20 hours per week (per person) spent “doing the chores” that are necessary to keep the camp pristine. A husband and wife team, who were one of the host couples we spoke with, had been on the waiting list to host at Fort De Soto for three years and were thrilled to have finally arrived for their three month stay. The Rangers we talked to had all been with the park for at least a dozen years and many of the campers had returned for year after year to the park. One Pinellas county resident shows up at 2 a.m. on Friday nearly every week to get a walk in campsite so he can spend his weekend fishing and communing with nature.

Separate from the campground, on the north end of the island across from the pavilions and bath houses servicing north beach, a narrow road leads to Arrowhead picnic area. Again, the seclusion and sense of being out in a wilderness is amazing. The area is as well kept as the remainder of the park with trash cans, bath houses, and picnic tables available for day users. No overnight camping is allowed in this areas. You may want to just go sit there and rest by the water, or maybe you’ll rent a kayak and paddle up to here on your way to adjacent Shell island, which is also undeveloped and reachable only by boat. Either way you’ll find it a tranquil and restful spot.

This place is one of our favorite car camping locales. It’s clear we aren’t alone in thinking this. One of the rangers told us that about 10 to 15% of the winter visitors are French Canadians. One couple we met were from California, another from Maine, another lady from Pennsylvania. There was a good mix of families with kids on bikes, retiree’s in RV’s, couples hanging out together, minding their own business but happy to wave or converse if you wanted. You can see more about the campground at http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/05_ft_desoto.htm . There may be additional posts regarding Fort De Soto on Goneguru.com, however, for one last look at the kind of scenery you’ll find at Fort De Soto State Park, here’s a tree that has been there a long, long time.

DSCF1550 — Inside the campground at Fort De Soto Park.

Cycle the MS 150 with Goneguru

We have been very fortunate to have been able to enjoy many great outdoor activities. In addition to hiking and backpacking, we have participated in the Bike Ride Across Georgia and numerous other group rides. They have been great fun and a pleasure to for us. However, there is one cycling experience that we have done several times that is more than just personal fun. The Multiple Sclerosis Society organizes bike rides at diverse geographic locations that actually help people who suffer from MS by raising money to help find a cure. To date, I am not aware of a cure but these rides help provide the fund s that keep hope alive. The rides are called the MS 150 because they entail up to 150 or more miles of riding over a two day period. Here’s the start.

This year Goneguru has formed a team and I am asking you to come ride with us, to enjoy the fellowship and camaradarie, to raise funds for the cure, and to feel better about yourself while doing something for someone you likely will never meet, or perhaps, for someone you already know. The next few paragraphs will share a little about our experiences and then I’ll give you the link to our team page so you can sign up. Everyone is welcome, even if you just want to come and camp out with us.

Our first MS 150 was held at Callaway Gardens in rural Georgia about 65 miles south of Atlanta. Callaway Gardens is a beautiful sanctuary and worth the visit in and of itself. The start and finish as well as the food pavilion, bandstand, and camping facilities are all inside the Callaway Gardens property. Additionally, there are hotels and the nearby Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park campground. The ride itself consists of two days of riding through the rolling countryside around Callaway Gardens and if you choose the longer route on the first day perhaps over into Alabama. That route would cover roughly 100 miles. You can choose shorter routes ranging from about 25 miles to about 65 miles. The second day is all shouter routes, with none greater than 65 miles. If you are already a cyclist, these distances don’t phase you. If you are not yet a cyclist, you have time to get in some “seat time” before the ride this September. This first ride for us was inspired by people we know with MS. We joined a small team formed by a person with a family member with MS and wore bandana’s signed by the person. It was great. Super weather and beautiful scenery.

Our next MS 150 was a Spring ride in Savannah, Georgia that took us from downtown Savannah, out to the islands along the coast and back to town. Unfortunately, a mile into the ride the skys opened up and a torrential downpour soaked the course and everyone on it. I had failed to clean the pads in my helmet before the ride and the rain water washed salt out of the pads into my eyes just as we were passing one of the squares in Savannah. The pavement was old and cracked and in a moment when I tried to wipe my eyes, the front wheel of my bike went into a crack running lengthwise in the road, and cause the real wheels to overtake the front wheels. This condition leads to an immediate rolling effect for the rider and the bicycle with significant impact onto the roadway. I damaged some ribs and a shoulder in the fall. As is my custom, I was riding behind the group, so no one in my party saw me go down although a number of other cyclist had to dodge me and the bike. I checked the bike, wiped my eyes and got back on. A couple of miles down the road my party was waiting for me. We soon found a drugstore where I bought the strongest over the counter pain reliever they had and a souvenier ball cap. The ball cap went under my helmet to absorb the salt and to this day I wear a cloth ball cap under my helmet every time I ride. It prevents salt blindness and on a sunny day it gives me an extra bill for the eyes.

Our last MS 150 was back at Callaway Gardens and this time we joined an organized team. We wound up wearing the sponsors jersey and cycling with a mix of the employees, their parents, and their kids.

Black Jersey Group — Starting an MS 150 at Callaway Gardens

We also cajoled one of our hiking buddies, Mark, into riding with us. He’s a great rider and hopefully will be along this time.

This year, on September 16 and 17, at Callaway Gardens we are going to do it again. In the words of the MS Society “By joining [a] team, you will be signing up not just for a great ride, but also for a celebration of the great things we can achieve when working hard for a common cause. Each mile we pedal together brings us that much closer to a world without MS. So please, register online to join me or make a donation.”

What we hope to do with MS is to see the day when the last Finish banner can come down and no one has to live with MS.

Come ride with us and pedal the future a little closer. To join the Goneguru team follow the link http://bikegaa.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?fr_id=18479&pg=teamlist to the list of teams sign up, pledge to raise $250 dollars for the MS society, ride until September, then come camp and ride with us.

Cycling Vermont

Seer and I, along with two sisters, decided to combine cycling, travel and the fall foliage of Vermont. We didn’t want to ship the cycling bikes so we contacted POMG Bike Tours of Vermont at http://www.pomgbike.com/ and arranged everything except the airline tickets. We went in October and the foliage was amazing. The cycling bikes Rich and Jenny provided were in great shape and had toe clips, although you probably would want to take your own pedals and clip system as well as your own seat. Rich rode with us and Jenny drove the SAG truck as needed. Our accommodations were in Stowe, so that was our starting point, dinner and rest destination each day. I’m not sure what hills we climbed but Rich called them Ekk and Oh, My God. They weren’t really difficult and didn’t really require cross-training, aka walking the bike up the hill, but we were assured that the LAMB gaps trek would test your cycling mettle. Over dinner we discussed that more challenging route and an alternative where only two of the gaps per day were ridden. I think Rich called it the LAMB Chop.

More to come

Goneguru’s Travel and Recreation Blog

I’m the Traveler at Goneguru.com. My wife is the Seer. Together and separately we have had the great good fortune to have hiked, biked, run, traveled and enjoyed such places and things as: backpacking in the Grand Canyon, the White Mountains, Cumberland Island; hiking along the Appalachian Trail, along the Highline in Glacier National Park, to the top of Mount LeConte in Tennessee, and along the coast from Villa Jovis to Marina Piccolo on the Isle of Capri. One or both of us have traveled to Rome, Venice, Florence, Gibraltar, Madrid the Coast of Spain, Costa Rica, the Riviera Maya, San Diego to Maine, and Alaska to St. Thomas. We’ve swam with Pirranha’s, snorkeled on Caribbean reefs, and ridden our bicycles from border to border. We’ve done tri-athlons, du-athalons, half-marathons and the Peachtree Road Race. All of this requires a great appreciation and love of food and travel and most of all meeting people. We intend to recreate our travels for our readers, to share our experiences from the past and future, and hopefully meet up with you along the way.