30b430 Goal #4: Bike the Kal-Haven Trail

Well, my butt blisters have healed into calluses, so I feel ready to talk about the hardest goal I've completed to this date: Biking the Kal-Haven Trail... there and back. 

That is 70 miles. Ew.

My original goal was to just bike there and have the Hubs come pick us up after we spent a lazy afternoon at the beach. But this girl wouldn't let me:

She has a 30b430 list too and has supported me in many of my endeavors. I decided to support her list by adding another 35 miles onto my ride. Our friend Joe joined us because he likes biking, beer, and beach, so why not?

I didn't ride my road bike because the tires are too thin. That was probably my first mistake. I rode my hybrid Trek with the nice bouncy and wide seat thinking that it would be more comfortable-- I'll come back to that horrendous decision later. Each of us carried a backpack and Joe had some saddlebags on his bike filled with beer and ice. 

My backpack weighed about 30 pounds on the way there. While riding, I thought a lot about how I've lost 30 pounds and I can't effing believe I carried that extra weight on me! DANG! Anytime I want to stop working out and start eating all the fried food I want I'm going to fill my backpack with books, put it on, and walk a mile. Truth.

We made it there and my seat was already hurting my delicate behind. Those types of bike seats are NOT made for long distances. They seem comfortable and bouncy, but ride more than ten miles and your bottom is screwed. I vowed not to complain, drank a beer in a park behind a tree, ate a delicious and fattening lunch of chips, tacos, burritos, and mojitos at Su Casa, and headed to the beach.

Before the butt blisters wiped the smile off of my face. 

Then it was time to ride back... 

...but not before riding to Dairy Queen for a sundae (lactose intolerance aided by Lactaid)!

The ride back is kind of blur. We all said we weren't going to complain and the conversations began to go like this:

Danielle: Ughhhhh this is--

Me: AWESOME! This is so AWESOME! We should do this every day!

Me: I want to die--

Danielle: Of HAPPINESS! O M G! ME TOO!

We all began to get kind of loopy. When I get loopy, I try to carve my initials into picnic tables with my Swiss Army knife:

Feelin' cray-cray, shortly before I got my lip caught in my water bottle.

I decided that it was too much work to carve a whole word, so I just wrote a message for the next people to stop at the picnic table: 

With about ten miles left, but butt was almost at its limit. It was screaming in pain and I felt like blisters had formed on my cheeks, burst open, soaked my bike shorts with blood, and then somehow caught on fire. I still managed to smile for a picture!

For the last two miles, I threw my no complaining vow into the woods. Poor Danielle and Joe had to deal with this:

Me: MY ASS HURTS!

Me: I HATE THIS!

Me: I THINK I'M BLEEDING!

Me: FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS. MY BUTT HURTS FROM DECIDING TO RIDE TO A BEACH AND BACK! I DON'T CARE THOUGH!

and finally in mile 70:

ME: UGHHHHH. HUMPHHHHH.

Gosh, they started riding so fast in the end. Weird.

Then it was over and I rested my sweat-soaked self onto the pavement.

Cars, beautiful cars.

My goal was doubly achieved, my butt wasn't bleeding (although I had some CRAZY butt blisters in the morning), and Danielle and Joe decided to stay friends with me.

Thumbs up.

Plus, I got to take a screen shot of this:

I feel so cool!

I definitely ate all 1600 of my assigned calories and probably all 4172 calories from the ride. But really, what better day to eat Mexican food, drink microbrews, and indulge in ice cream sundaes?

Whew. That was harder than a sprint triathlon!

1. Complete an indoor triathlon. 2/12/12
2. Complete an outdoor triathlon. 6/2/12
3. Swim across West Twin Lake and Rose Lake (or Pine Lake). 7/14/12 and 6/26/12
4. Bike the Kal-Haven Trail.7/30/12
5. Play the piano in front of people.
6. Visit my family in the Philippines (or at least have tickets booked by my 30th birthday).
7. Have a conversation with a dear Senegalese friend in French or Wolof (preferably Wolof).

8. Visit my grandparents in California.
9. Pop a champagne cork with no fear.
10. Make leche flan (it's Filipino, it's amazing, and I'm makin' it).
11. Jar or can veggies, pickles, sauce... something.
12. Revised 5/1/12 because I remembered that I'm supposed to graduate in December and my Master's degree is really important to me!!! Get my Master's degree and submit some of my academic writing and then, maybe, you know... get it published.
13. Travel out of the country with Nate.
14. Pay off at least 50% of my remaining undergraduate credit card debt.
15. Sing karaoke by myself in Kalamazoo in front of all of my friends.
16. Eat clean for one month.
17. Pick berries and bake something with them.
18. Write at least one chapter of the novel that I write in my mind while I'm walking the dogs.
19. Thank my mom for everything she's done for me.
20. Go further into the UP than the Mystery Spot tourist trap and jump into Lake Superior.
21. Get chosen for one more summer fellowship in another country where I am able to work with youth.
22. Go on a police ride along.
23. Get to 200 blog posts.
24. Revised 5/1/12 Make some decisions about my career and/or PhD prospects. Apply for PhD programs.
25. Attend roller derby training so I can learn the moves.
26. Learn how to flip turn when I'm swimming laps. 4/19/12
27. Take a real personal day. 6/8/12
28. Learn how to drive a stick.
29. Go horseback riding.
30. Poach an egg perfectly.