Day 6 Tour des Trees

Today was our final true ride of the tour. Mohican State Park to Columbus, where it all began. 78 miles and 2500 feet of climbing. Most of that climbing was getting out of the state park area, steep, steep hills. It then smoothed out to gently rolling hills after about 25 miles.
It was the hottest day of the ride, hitting 85 when the sun was out but no complaining. We have had terrific temperatures even when it was raining.
One of our riders in our pack today had a bee enter behind his glasses, started buzzing around and ultimately stung him just below the eyeball. Fortunately he was not allergic but it did freak him out. Just think about cycling 20 miles per hour and having a bee in between your sunglasses and your eye. He kept his composure and all was good.
My stomach was still upset today but so much better than yesterday. I was once again alive. Little things can really throw you off on a multi-day ride.
We had an awards program tonight and the TDT MVP was my riding buddy Sam from Vermeer. Couldn't happen to a better man. He sure helped me when I was struggling and he's the same guy who rode with me up Haleakala. Well deserved recognition for someone who really cares about others.
Tomorrow we do the "Champs Elysees ride in" to the ISA climbing competition in Columbus. It's like when the Tour de France riders ride into Paris on the Champs, except we will be riding into Columbus on a bike trail. Similar. Still cool, still fun and it will be a great way to bid farewell to another TDT. Thanks for reading and thank you for your support.

Our tour director Paul frantically marking the last segment of our trail through a cemetery to our hotel.What other tour director runs through a cemetery with spray paint and signs!

Team Bartlett Riders. Rode the last segment together. Outstanding. 

Our route today. 

The 4 leaf clover I carried in my jersey from Peter Becker. Worked. Mostly :)

Sagged. Day 5 of the Tour des Trees

Sagged. When you can't complete the task and have to be driven to the final destination. I woke up this morning with serious stomach pains from the night before. Didn't eat properly? Something lurking in the meal I had last night? Not sure but I knew right away something wasn't right. As we rode I hoped the feeling would go away but it did not. It was a tough day of riding with lots of ups and downs but really nothing crazy. My stomach, however, didn't understand that. So after 67 miles and 4000' of climbing I "ended the ride" on the Garmin computer and was done for the day. I suffered for 4 and 1/2 hours and that was enough. Still not quite right and hope the stomach is better for tomorrow.

The ride went from Kent back to the Mohican State Park, 100 miles. Our first stop was to see the "Signal Tree." A huge bur oak that is believed to be over 300 years old and was used to signal/mark the way for people making their way through this valley. Big tree, cool history.

The best part of the day was riding through Amish country again. We encountered many more horses and buggies. Even a mini horse and buggy! We said that was the mini cooper/smart car version of the buggies. We stopped at an Amish market (dark in side) for water. While there we were eyed by women coming into the store. I realized spandex is likely not acceptable for men to be wearing, hanging around at the market. I'm sure we were pleasantly frowned upon.

Saw many free-range chicken farms. The chickens looked very happy running around outside in the sunshine. It occurred to me that is why Amish chickens taste so good. They have a great live and only one bad day.

Lunch was at Weaver Leather. They provide many slings, saddles, etc for the tree care industry as well as even more horse stuff for the Amish community.

67 miles was not the goal today, but sometimes you have to step back to go forward. Regroup, ride to Columbus tomorrow, Friday. Day 6 of the Tour des Trees. Should be a much better ride.

Amish buggy 

Vermeer Olympics. Canada v USA. It is one reason so many want to move to Canada. 

More shocks of wheat. 

Signal Tree 

The Signal Tree. Big bur oak.

116 Miles 8+ miles in the saddle.

Wow a long, long day. We launched from the hotel at 7:30 and arrived back at 5:30. Yes, 10 hours. Somewhat crazy. We had a great tree dedication for Richard Abbott. A hero of mine. A leader of our tree care industry. Huge turnout from ACRT. We walked 20 miles down a trail to the place where the tree, a blackgum, was to be dedicated. A few great remarks and our blessing of the tree. 20 mile walk back out to our bikes. OK, maybe it was just a mile. Then back to biking. Our next stop was at the awesome Arborwear company. Owned and founded by the great Bill Weber. He has designed clothes for arborist. Amazing. Check his store out at www.arborwear.com  Great food, planted a tree and used the restroom. Bill and his team is amazing. Chagrin Falls.

My morning was really, really tough. My legs said no. I had lead in them. They would not move. Sam from Vermeer saved me. 10mph. Then I came alive. Sometimes the body says no but you have to tell it who is boss. So we rode on.

After Arborwear we rode into Cleveland. Down Shaker Heights BLVD.  Do you know Gearldo Rivera lives there? Yes, met him at a lunch stop one day. Said hello, nice guy. Remember when he had the live show about Capone's vault and opened it with zero inside? I should have reminded him about that. He's on Fox now. There you go.

We made our way to Cleveland. I'm a fan. I love this town. It is making a come back. Forget Lebron, he's move on. The downtown is vibrant. 100 years ago, Cleveland was the wealthiest city in the world. Google it. Today, making it happen. We rode through Rockefeller Park, a Bartlett client. Along the lakefront. Through the mud, see pic. Took a photo at the Rock Hall. Cool. Rock on people. Long live rock. OK.

On to Public Square. Bartlett client. Thanks Eric B!. Great lunch at the Old Stone Church. Cleveland rocks.

Afternoon ride was tough. You hit 100 and go...OK, have 16 miles yet to go. We rode through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Amazing. We had 20 of us pulling a peloton through the park. A train!

Ice cream at 101 mile. Then 15 miles on a bike trail and we are home!

We have seen some maimed animals. 3-legged dog attacks us. 1 legged-Coopers hawk. Today....a 3 -footed deer. What is going on in Ohio??

Saddle sores. Google it. Yes. Painful. Must manage them. All good.

Thursday. Day 5. Could be toughest yet. Back to the big climbs as we head back to Mohican. 20% incline climbs. OK to walk bike. For some. It will be the last tough ride. Do it.

Bridge in the Cuyahoga National Park. Yes, its a National Park!

My poor ride. Muddied up.

Some TDT peeps taking over the laundry room on my floor. 

I think it is a code. Or drying their stuff. Not sure. 

I did the the Paris-Robuaix  ride instead. Just some mud. 

Long Live Rock. Photo op at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

Rider down! After 100 miles we wait for another rider. Sam.

Day 3 of The Tour Des Trees---RAIN!

We woke up this morning with no rain falling. This was the first century (100+miles) of the trip so far and everyone was itchy to get moving. We knew the rain was on the way. The goal was to get to the first rest stop dry. Almost. We had to climb our way out of the Mohican State Park.....a grueling climb up the road, one we've done before. A nice descent but then another climb out. Already cashed at 8:30am! The ride, however, smoothed out and that was the last of the 12%+ pitches until after lunch. Then the rain started. We have a great pace line going lead many times by our 2014 Purdue graduate Dustin. I named him the Boilermaker Express as he pulled us along like a locomotive. For those of you who don't ride, those who follow a lead rider can experience 15-20% more efficiency (comfort) due to the slipstream that is created. It is a wonderful thing for guys like me. So we pounded out the miles and it began to rain harder. The deal with rain is that the roads become dangerous for skinny tires, you can't see potholes filled with water, it is cold, and you can't see very well because your glasses don't have wipers. Also, when you are drafting you drink alot of road water, water from the road thrown up by the rider's tire in front of you. But once you are wet, you are wet. We don't wear rain gear in the summer as it is too hot. So you put on a light jacket, some arm warmers and pedal.

Lunch sucked. It was outside, in a gazebo out of the rain. Sitting on cold concrete. No one's fault but you quickly get cold and start to stiffen up, especially when you are 56. So we didn't linger and got back on the road. A good hill helped to warm us up. Then the Boilermaker Special was on the move.

We had a Bartlett sponsored stop by my Cleveland office leader. Planted two trees including a tree clone of a tree give to Jesse Owens during the Olympics in Germany. Pretty cool. The other tree was a Johnny Appleseed tree, yep from Johnny himself. Cold, still raining, off we went. Then....the rain stopped and the sun came out! It was amazing. Off went the jackets and arm warmers. We were almost dry when we arrived into Kent at mile 100. Our last pull was on a great bike trail. We all stopped to see a one legged Coopers hawk. Think about that. How does a one-legged hawk eat. Probably infrequently, but he looked good. Bet he doesn't even know he's supposed to have 2 legs. Three legged dog, one legged hawk. I love Ohio.

Massage helped. If you have ever had a massage after a long workout, race, run it is awesome. Your legs are so tight that any pressure hurts like heck but man do you feel better the next day. Even had some work done on the quads at a rest stop.

Tomorrow says no rain. Let's hope but if it comes, so be it. You can't appreciate the sunshine without a little rain. We ride our biggest mileage day tomorrow. 116 miles. Going through Cleveland and back to Kent. Should be challenging but the elevation will be mild or so we hope. Going to stop at Arborwear, purveyor of fine arborist clothing. Bill Weber who founded it is a friend and one of the best. Great company. Check them out, you can buy online. Everyone want's arborist clothing!

Thank you for all the support. It may seem like a small thing but when you are not wanting to pedal anymore you do, at least I do, think about all the encouraging messages.

Day 3. Mohican State Park to Kent, OH 100 miles.

Paul Wood. Our tour director. Runs Black Bear Adventures. A cycling tour company for avid cyclist. 

The Clink family and Bartlett teammates. 

The Jessie Owens oak. Thanks to Chad for making this happen. 

Day 4. 116 miles yet to come! 

Brutal Day 2 of the Tour des Trees

We had breakfast at 6am and all saw the rain outside. It was a light rain, but rain. This meant that the roads would be wet and very dangerous on the descents. Today was our biggest day in altitude gained for the day. We end up with 6300' over 76 miles. Now that might not seem to be a big deal if you ride, but believe me, it was a big deal today. Most of the climbs were "short" but many, many of them were extremely steep. We encountered several that were well over 12% grade and touching 15% grade. This required coming out of the saddle to pump the pedals just to keep the bike from falling over! Many people walked their bikes up some of these hills. That is what made today so tough, one of the toughest in my cycling life. Who would have thought there would be that much elevation in Ohio, but there is. It was the steepness that caught most of us off guard. Our peloton finished without incident but were tired and sore by the end. At some point you just get sick of climbing your bike up a hill that most people would not even walk up. But this is what cycling is all about. The challenge of the day.

We went through Amish country and saw many homes without electricity, beautiful homes, no power. We asked permission to take a photo of some young children with their ponies. In the front yard, playing, all day. Think of all things on TV they are missing, all the video games, etc. How refreshing. Just playing outside all day.

We did get chased briefly by a dog for the first time. It was a 3-legged dog. If he had 4 legs he might of gotten to us, but he didn't.

Favorite part of the day was angel food cake at the church, our stop for lunch. I knew that great church people would eventually have angel food cake for us, of course! That sugar laden concoction really revved my engine after lunch and carried me for some miles. The rest of the lunch was good, but, man...homemade angel food cake.

Our group finished fairly early but we still ended up riding for nearly 6 hours. Brutally slow pace up all those hills--we were just glad to get up them.

Amish family with their ponies.

Yes this is Ohio.

Homemade angel food cake. Heavenly...get it.

Three Boilermakers on this Tour! Boiler UP!

One of the more gentle times on the ride today. 

A pretty tough first day

The first day of riding for the Tour des Trees is complete. 93 miles and a ton of climbing. The climbing was in shorter, very steep hills as opposed to longer climbs. Some of the hills were so steep it was tough to keep the bike upright. The first day is always fraught with nerves at the start and sometimes crashes. This day had no incidents! We had a couple of good stops early in the ride, including planting a huge birch tree with at tree spade that was dedicated by the mayor. The afternoon portion of the ride was where the hills really kicked in and so did the cramps. A few of us locked up. I was able to fight them off by slowing the pace and later taking a Hot Shot. Hot Shot is in my opinion a miracle shot of cinnamon tasting liquid that stimulates the nerves in the back of your throat to almost immediately stop the cramps. The nerve impulses are disrupted that cause the leg cramps, and for me, stopped them right away allowing me to power on. Our last stop was at the Methodist Church and it was amazing. The people were so welcoming and the bathrooms....best so far. Even had stained glass windows in them! We deemed it our "pray and pee" stop. They loved it! Oh...an important, and first ever, offering at this rest stop was pickle juice! Awesome. Used to fend off cramps. I think it is delicious. In small quantities.
Our final destination for the the next two nights is the Mohican State Park lodge. It is a very, very clean and wonderful state park "resort." We are fortunate to have this space for the next couple of nights and again when we make our way back from Cleveland. All the buzz tonight was about the ride on Monday, the Queen Stage. Queen Stage is the term for the toughest day of a multi-day tour. It will only be a 75 mile loop but we will be going back up those extremely steep grades and will climb about 6000'. Cramps stay away. We are thinking we will stay dry tomorrow but rain is in the forecast. Climbing 6000' in the rain will be epic if it happens!

My bike has its own resting spot in my room. 

The route for today. 

This is invaluable after a day of tough riding. Invaluable. Thanks WCA, Katie and Denise! 

                                                       Pickle Juice for those who cramp.

Let's ride. Sam from Vermeer. 

Final Preparation for the Tour des Trees

The Tour des Trees is a 530+ mile fundraising cycling ride to raise money for the TREE FUND. The TREE FUND is the engine behind tree research, an important aspect in how arborists take care of trees and protect tree workers. This year the ride goes from Columbus to Cleveland and back...a big loop! We will have about 75 riders making the trek, rain or shine, wind or calm, cool or hot.


The thing about the Tour Des Trees is that we all have real jobs, busy lives and yet we ride. The months and weeks of training are behind us and now it is time to pull all the stuff together one needs for a week of cycling. This is the time you think about all the other things on your plate, in your business, with your family that perhaps you should be attending to rather than riding for a week. The cause is right for us tree people—raising money for tree research while renewing old tree friend connections and making new ones. Frenetic packing will soon occur while also trying to tie up as many loose ends as possible before the grand depart. Note to self—loose ends are never completely tied up. For me the 6 hour drive to Columbus, OH will be on Saturday. We will have ride check in and a very important safety meeting. Dinner. Sleep. Then we ride on Sunday morning, Day 1. 93 miles from Columbus to Mohican State Park. For me the first day riding is always tough. The body isn’t ready but all will be good. Nerves set in with everyone for none of us know what each day will bring. The great thing about riding is that one is somewhat forced to focus on the task at hand, for that day, for the ride before you. Riding is being in the moment and a lesson that can apply to each day and every situation.