About Us

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Based in Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati, we three are longtime single cycle riders. After early retirement, Karen and David bought a jumbo-sized Cannondale tandem. It's white (very), trimmed in red. We call it the Pillsbury Doughboy. We were joined by Bill, an old friend, on his 14-year old single Cannondale and made the call that started this adventure. He's supposedly retired but continues to find real work when he chooses.We planned to pedal self-supported across the U.S. in Spring 2011 from San Diego CA to St. Augustine FL. In beginning this adventure we agreed philosophically with Jean-Jacques Rousseau: "The person who has lived the most is not the one with the most years but the one with the richest experiences."

Training

"Ride lots." (Eddie Merckx)
Great advice.
This winter, though, it's been a problem to actually ride on the road. So, to follow Coach Eddie's advice, we used a CompuTrainer(r), each logging 4-5 hours per week. I supplemented with every other day weight training workouts, and included 30-60 minutes on an elliptical trainer, which somewhat mimics bike pedalling action. David ran on our ancient treadmill here at home 2-3 times per week.
At left is our elevation profile. JUST for the first and maybe second day. And this route is billed as the "easier" tour??
With our panniers, bar and trunk bags packed on the tandem, we've pedalled outdoors for three whole days, leaving from our house, descending into the Ohio River valley, and back UPUPUP at random. Puff, puff. 
Bill has a more unique training regimen. From a recent email: "KMart, I'm happy to report I have achieved almost half of my training goal of 100 miles. I did 26 today." To clarify, Bill is a marathon runner and in great physical shape. Note I did not say mental. He "conditioned" for a ride across Tibet a few years ago by riding 50 miles with me on a Brown County, Ohio club ride. And he survived. Talk about reward for "bad" behavior.
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