June 2002

The month of June has been mostly uneventful. We are in full swing training and have little time on the weekends for much more then training and chores. The shortest walk day in June was 10 miles. This does not sound like much but when you figure what it takes us to prep for, walk and clean up from, it turn into an all day event. The walking part is only 3.5 hours and at this point is a nothing walk. Add to that the "prep" time, we eat a FULL breakfast, mix Gator Aid in our Camel Backs, mix up some GORP, prep our feet and drive to where we will walk, 2 hours. Then there is the cleanup when we get back, post walking stretch, 30 min to 1 hour, clean the Camel Backs, put away all the walking stuff, 30 min to 1 hour. So adding it all up a 10 mile walk day takes 6.5 to 7.5 hours. Most of the day. Generally we have been starting about 7 to 9 in the morning and ending about 2 or 3 in the afternoon. This does not leave much time for more then chores for that weekend. Needless to say, Katie and I are ready for the training to be over.   We will be glad to have our weekends back. We are not going to stop walking, we will just be walking 1 long or two short days on the weekend, not two long all day events.

There was one weekend worth talking about. We took Friday June 21 off work, so we could walk three days in a row. This was our final big weekend before rolling back the training and starting to rest for the event. This was a significant weekend because it was the first time we were going to walk three days in a row just like the event. The plan was for a 45 mile weekend, 15 mile Friday, 15 mile Saturday and 15 miles on Sunday. Everything started out fine, we had a wonderful walk Friday. I was trying some new shoes, and I thought they were broken in only to find that they were not. I got blisters on the ends of both my little toes, Katie's feet were tired but OK. Saturday morning I put mole skin on my toes and off we went on the walk. At 11 miles we were in our standard lunch break at the Hofbrau in Atascadero. As usual we got our lunch and headed to the patio to take off our shoes and eat. As I was putting on new mole skin, I realized my little toes were kind of beat up with a VERY LARGE blister consuming the entire end of each toe. I put on my shoes and it was hard to walk. Lucky for me our friends Dick and Lynette were at the Hofbrau for their regular Saturday lunch, so I hitched a ride back to our car from them and Katie hit the road to walk the last four miles back to the car.

We both knew I was not going to be able to walk on Sunday with Katie. So on Saturday afternoon, I dug my bike out of the garage to see if I could get into operating shape. We figure it has been four plus years since we were in the saddle and the bikes have been just sitting. I pumped up the tires to see if they would hold air and let them sit over night. Sunday morning, much to my pleasure and pain, the tires held air. An old friend Kim, her husband Jerry and their two kids were driving through town and we had plans to meet them at the Hofbrau at noon for lunch. So we were starting Sunday kind of early, parking at the Hofbrau and doing a 15 mile loop out from there and back. Katie started to walk and I started to ride. I had not gone a quarter mile and I noticed that the tires were not rolling straight and regular. I rode out and stopped to look at the tires. The tires on my bike were the ones with a cloth like side walls. Well the bike has spent too much time in the sun and the side walls were dried out and breaking. Needless to say, it was time for plan B, I would take the bike home and check on / follow Katie in the car. I ran home and as I was dropping off my bike I looked at Katie's tires, all rubber and in fine shape. I drove back out to check on Katie and tell her I was going to work on changing the tires from her bike to mine. Back home I drove. When I got home our Tuesday/Thursday evening training partner and neighbor Linda was on her way out for her Sunday walk. I told her where Katie was, and she headed out to walk five miles with her. I traded the tires between the two bike, gave it a little test ride, put it back into the truck and was off. I calculated where Katie and Linda should be and parked at Paloma Creek Park, jumped on the bike and rode backwards to find them. I found them and rode next to them for about a half an hour until we came to the fork in the rode and Linda turned to head back to her car. Katie and I then went on down the route to Paloma Creek Park, a bathroom break and foot check. I spent the next two hours as Katie did the next leg of the day, out Rocky Canyon Road and back to the the Park. It was now just before noon so I took the bike home, jumped in the car and was off to the Hofbrau. I passed Katie 2 miles out from the Hofbrau and she was doing fine, a little slow but moving along good. I got to the Hofbrau about 12:15 and found Kim, Jerry and the kids waiting. We had a great time talking and waiting for Katie while they had lunch. Katie walked in about 12:45 and joined us. We had a wonderful little visit before Kim and Jerry had to head out on the next leg of their trip. Katie and I have a long slow lunch and headed home. She did it, KATIE THE ATHLETE walked a 45 mile weekend. She was ready for the Avon 3-day Breast Cancer Walk. 

Bob