Please Accept My Apology For Posting One More Time

September 11, 2023

I rode my bike about ten miles this morning. I wish they could be counted toward my total mileage for the tour to bring it over 300-miles. Less than 300-miles seems a little sub-par for a REAL tour. I personally know a guy--well, my brother has told me about a guy so often that I feel like I personally know the guy--who has ridden 300-miles in one day.

I am aware that the information in the previous paragraph is totally irrelevant to my tour into Minnesota's least popular sector, but I DO have a legitimate Cycleblazological reason for adding one more page.

The reason is a meeting with a famous cycle touring couple. It has been in the works for months. There were many things working against it, but the meet up finally came to fruition, and I'm so glad it did. We had a blast!

Perhaps you recognize Scott and Rocky Anderson and The Feeshko. There's a doofus in the picture too.

Being the 22nd anniversary of the 9-11 attacks, I seemed to recall that Scott and Rocky were on tour when that event happened and asked them to remind me of their story. Every American knows where they were when that happened, but not every American was able to view it from the perspective of being on a bike tour in Italy at the time.

I told my story of backpacking in the Grand Canyon when it happened, and my shock at hearing about it all on the radio the day we hiked out of there. Then Scott told me about the second most traumatic event that happened while they were on tour. It happened in November of 2016. Maybe I'd best not get into that political morass.

Man, we talked about so many things that it would be useless for me to remember them all. It was the third time The Feeshko and I have met Team Anderson, and maybe the best time.

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One more story: Two years ago, I met Scott & Rocky near MY Town and we rode together for parts of a couple days. On the first day, I was wearing a Caribou Coffee jersey that Scott seemed to covet. He reminded me how much he wanted it a few times, and I remember telling him he'd have to "pry it off of my cold dead body."

The truth is, I intended to give the jersey to him the next day, but I forgot. I have not worn it since then--mainly because I've gained a few pounds and no longer can wear it with dignity.

When I handed it to Scott, he was so appreciative that--get this--he stripped off his regular shirt just outside the restaurant and put on the new one. We said our goodbyes, and he wore it all the way down the street to their rental car. I hope their rental car didn't have a ticket on it, because it was well past the 2-hour time limit on their parking space.

P.S. You might see these pictures again on the Anderson's journal. They'll be flying to Spain tomorrow for their next adventure.

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Keith AdamsA great and worthy reason to add a page.
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8 months ago

Jeff Lee"I personally know a guy--well, my brother has told me about a guy so often that I feel like I personally know the guy--who has ridden 300-miles in one day."

Well, please excuse my self-indulgence for posting these links here, but you might find a couple of my accounts of riding over 300 miles in one day faintly amusing:

http://jeffleeonline.com/Posts/75
http://jeffleeonline.com/posts/59

I think those two rides are the exact opposite of bike touring, which is why I didn't post them on CycleBlaze, although I was tempted.
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8 months ago

Bill ShaneyfeltI remember returning to the office from doing a safety review of a Government contractor and seeing everyone around a TV, and seeing the first tower with smoke billowing and hearing a few descriptions of what had happened, and I thought "Terrorist attack!" A few minutes later, as I was back in my cubicle a few feet away, the second tower was struck. The USA had definitely been attacked!
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8 months ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesCount those miles! You rode them, you had a Cycleblaze meetup, you earned 'em.
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8 months ago

Gregory GarceauTo Jeff LeeHoly crap, Jeff! I've always been amazed at your daily mileage while touring, but now I'm beyond amazed. I hope everybody reading my journal clicks on those links you provided. Not only exciting race reporting, but great stories of guts and determination.

And now I can say, "I personally know a guy--well, I've read a bunch of the guy's journals--who has ridden 300 miles in a day several times."
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8 months ago

Gregory GarceauTo Bill ShaneyfeltGood story, Bill. It really was an unforgettable day for everyone.
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8 months ago

Gregory GarceauTo Steve Miller/GrampiesThanks Steve, but I just can't do it. Two Hundred Ninety-Seven miles will have to stand as the official total.
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8 months ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Gregory GarceauIf only you were like us Canadians or Europeans you would be counting in Kilometres and would have logged a really impressive 478 of them.
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8 months ago

Gregory GarceauTo Steve Miller/GrampiesJust one more reason why I should try touring in Europe someday.
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8 months ago

Jeff LeeTo Gregory GarceauHa! Glad you enjoyed it. I've been trying to convince my wife to do the race, while I provide support like she did for me when I did it. But so far she's not having it!
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8 months ago