Habitat 500 Bicycle Ride in 2005 (the 13th annual ride)

to find out more about the Habitat 500 bike ride please visit www.habitat500.org

Introduction

 I had ridden in the Habitat 500 in 1998 and 1999 but had a bad bicycle accident in 2000 which caused me to stop riding for several years. In 2004 I bought a recumbent and started riding again and in July 2005 I rode in the Habitat 500 once again and afterwards two commercial rides.   

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I have organized 227 photos of the 2005 Habitat 500 that you can view. Almost all of these photos were taken by Renee and Steve who traveled with the group as photographers.  

The ride started at St. Luke's school on Saturday, July 9, In St. Paul.

After we left the capitol we hit nearly every red light on the way out of town. So for the first hour I only rode 6 miles. By the time I got to the first rest stop I was the last rider and was having trouble with the cleats on one of my pedals--it wouldn't clip to the shoe. They called the mechanic, and I kept riding slowly. The mechanic fixed it, and he also adjusted the cleats on the shoe then he asked if I wanted to be bumped ahead. I answered yes and asked to be taken to the next rest stop because I know it is hard on them when the riders are widely scattered. I then rode from the 2nd rest stop to the 3rd, but my left foot was hurting a lot, and I was afraid if I kept riding I would be unable to ride the following day. I was using a pair of shoes I hadn't used yet this year, and they hurt the bone at the side of my little toe. It's almost like they were too narrow. So I sagged in from the 3rd rest stop, and I'm very glad I did as my foot ached that evening in an ordinary pair of shoes.

leaving our first overnight home for the daily ride

group picture in front of the Minnesota capitol taken by photographer

rider 102's bike parked in front of the capitol

our baggage truck & the capitol

since I ride a recumbent I tried to include pictures of ALL the recumbent riders plus several others

United Church of Christ

our destination on Day 1 after an 85.6 mile route

Monday I tried my other shoes and took off on a new day. It was cooler and the route was flatter and shorter--only 60+ miles. So I was hoping to finish the route. My foot was better, but I had to rest occasionally to rest it and relieve the pressure, but things were OK, and I was pulling into the 2nd rest sop when I slipped on some loose gravel and the bike fell over on its side. I landed on my hip very hard --naturally the one I have the pressure point problem with--and also got some road rash on the underneath side of my forearm. The mechanic was at the rest stop, and he rushed out to help me. The chain was off and the mirror out of alignment so I left my bike in his hands and I went on up to the rest stop to wash the gravel off my arm and get it bandaged. When I was all cleaned up, I noticed that they had put my bike on the trailer--I had intended to go ahead and ride, but I decided that maybe it wasn't meant to be so I sagged in and only rode 39.3 miles on the 2nd day.

there were several trikes on the ride

The Mississippi River - since this was "the River Ride" we followed the Mississippi the entire week and saw quite a bit of it.

I remembered Dick from the 1998 & 1999 rides.

dinner in LaCrosse after 74.9 miles

I got too much sun on the first two days so I wore my SPF 30 long sleeve shirt and pants today and I've worn my SPF gloves every day.

I rode 57 miles today which was all the route except for about 10 miles when they bumped me up because I was the last rider. It was an interesting but difficult day. We rode on different Wisconsin rails-to-trails and they weren't very good in my opinion. True they had no cars and they were shady, but the surface was crushed limestone which resembled dirt with very small pebbles on the surface. You had to constantly be on guard and you had to carefully stay in the narrow pathway worn by previous bikes. The people on trikes couldn't use the trails at all because they were higher in the center.

When we were on the road there were constant rollers and there was one 3/4 mile hill that was steep. I was able to get up .4 of the hill but when I came around a curve and saw the last section which was the steepest section yet I unclipped and started walking. Later there was another hill which they said was bad, but there was a driveway about halfway up where I rested and managed to get restarted so I made it up that hill. After the 2nd hill there was a LONG downhill.

The bridge across the Mississippi had a bike/pedestrian lane, but it was bad. It was narrow, and there were metal grates with a raised edge occasionally. I rode across in low gear with my hands on the brakes & my right foot unclipped so I could quickly stop.

After crossing the river we were in Winona, Minnesota--our home for the next TWO nights! We are staying at St. Mary's University, and I opted for a bedroom in St. Mary's Village. There are several cabins with each cabin containing two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen/living area. I have one bedroom, and a mother and her two daughters have the other bedroom.

We have a choice tomorrow of (1) a 100 or 60 mile bike ride, (2) working on a Habitat house in the morning or afternoon, or (3) doing nothing. I and several others chose nothing. My foot continued to bother me today. I stopped and massaged it twice, but it was very sore when I finished riding so it definitely needs a rest. Also I need to stay out of the sun for a day.

Every night after dinner there is always a program during which some of the volunteers provide us some laughs and a preview of the route and weather forecast for the next day. Tonight they told us that $220,000 has been turned in by the Habitat 500 riders so far with more expected later. Imagine almost a quarter of a million dollars turned in by 120 riders.

some of the riders took a side trip up to Grandad Bluff - I had enough hill on the regular route without volunteering for extra hills

GEARS had some snacks for the riders when they finished each day's ride

we rode through the Habitat ReStore in Winona

after a 67.1 mile day

a building company sponsored a pig roast & provided musicians

after dinner we visited the Habitat site for the blessing of the 1300th Habitat house in Minnesota

the 1300th Habitat home in Minnesota

these little cookies shaped like a house were baked for the dedication by the owner of the 500th Habitat house who now has a bakery

this is the family who will be living in the 1300th Habitat house - the young couple have two children of their own and have taken on the responsibility of raising a young niece and nephew so they have 4 children

The street is a mixed neighborhood with Habitat houses, regular houses, and government sponsored housing and EVERY house and yard looked very nice.

walking down Jimmy Carter Place street to our bus

That evening after dinner we went to the Habitat site for a dedication of the 1300th Habitat house in Minnesota. I had been in Winona in 1999 at the dedication of the 500th Habitat house, and the owner of that house now has a bakery and she made cookies shaped like a little house for the dedication. The young couple who are receiving the 1300th house have two children of their own and have taken on the responsibility of raising a young niece and nephew so they have 4 children and commented that they would never had been able to have a home of their own without the help of Habitat. Their home completes the homes on that street--Jimmy Carter Place--and Habitat will be constructing houses at a new site. The street is a mixed neighborhood with Habitat houses, regular houses, and government sponsored housing and EVERY house and yard looked very nice.

we stayed at Saint Marys the two nights that we were in Wynona

this was my day off so I didn't get up for this breakfast

some of the riders worked at the Habitat sites either in the morning or in the afternoon

Day 5 - Thursday

On Thursday the route from Winona to Red Wing was 85 miles and was described as scenic and hilly over several valleys. There were 4 difficult hills, and I made it up the first two. But when I was told at rest stop 3 that there was two difficult hills right away, I and several others opted to be sagged up the hills. In fact we sagged all the way to rest stop 4--28 miles--so I only rode 57 miles.

At the very beginning I missed a turn but Richard was across the highway, and he shouted at me and then whistled and I stopped, turned around, and saw him waving his arms so I crossed the highway and went back to the correct street. Later I was following another rider, and we both saw an arrow that seemed to point to the right when the road was curving and that's the way we went. However, another rider caught up with us and told us we had made a mistake. He said the arrow was poorly placed, but there wasn't a confirming arrow on the route we took and there was one on the other road. Two mistakes and the day was hardly underway. However, it was OK the rest of the way to Red Wing. In Red Wing I got concerned that we had somehow missed the church we were staying at because we had gone all the way into town coasting downhill only to turn, pedal 2-3 blocks, turn again and then start pedaling uphill back the direction we had come from. I thought we might be following arrows out of town for the next day but a local reporter came up and told me I was going in the right direction for St. Paul's and described where it was. He then asked my name and asked me to wait while he drove ahead and got in position as he wanted to take my picture as I went by.

When I finally got to St. Paul's I found out that those of us sleeping inside the church couldn't move our luggage into the basement until 8 pm because they were having a blood drive. We also found out that we had to walk 5 blocks to the YMCA to take our showers. So I put my bike in the basement (the 3 rooms for bike storage were available but the big room we were sleeping in wasn't available) and went and got a shower. We then sat around on the lawn of the church until it was time to go eat at another church. After eating and viewing skits put on by several riders, we went back to St. Paul's, moved our luggage in, and went to bed. The church providing dinner and breakfast provided VERY good meals. For example, for breakfast we had scrambled eggs, link sausages, pancakes, orange juice, milk, coffee, and fresh fruit.

dinner day 5 - students had drawn individual placemats and this was one of them--others are pictured on other pages here and later

Frank is another rider that I remember from 1998 and 1999.

Jamie has a bike shop in Minneapolis and has been the bike mechanic at every Habitat 500. All repairs are free except for the parts.

a skit showing how to signal turns

Thursday night is always amateur talent night. Anyone who wants to sing, play, read, etc. is encourage to provide some entertainment after dinner. 

On Friday we rode from Red Wing to Hastings via the scenic Cannon Valley Trail so we had flat terrain for the first 32 miles then quite hilly terrain for the remaining 32 miles on the regular roads. Actually we rode the Cannon Valley Trail to the end and then turned around and rode it part way back. Right where we exited the trail there was a huge 2 mile long hill up out of the valley and again several of us opted to be sagged up the hill as our knees were sore and we were tired. Even after sagging up the LONG hill there were a lot more hills as most of the route was either up or down. In Hastings we stayed in the local high school, and it was a new building that is only 3-4 years old. In Hastings we had our only experience of an inadequate church meal. Even though they had been told that there would be 120 hungry cyclists and about 40 volunteers, they didn't have enough food. It was a potluck meal and they just had whatever the parishioners had brought. Those who went though the line early had a good meal, but those later in the line had no meat just vegetables, and by the end of the line about all they had was fruit. Finally someone--I don't know if it was the church or Habitat called Domino's and had some pizzas delivered. The same church served us breakfast, but they had plenty of food that time.

breakfast Day 6

this rider has a bike like my old Trek carbon fiber road bike

Lori is a nurse and travels with the group as a volunteer to provide expert assistance for minor problems. She helped me with a bladder infection by purchasing cranberry juice for me, a bad sunburn on my legs, and the road rash on my arm when I fell.

several huge shoes were on the sidewalks in Red Wing

These massage therapists volunteer each year and provide free 15 minute massages. Any tips they receive are donated back to Habitat.

On Saturday we had a very short day--only 27 miles from Hastings back to St. Paul. I wore my knee pads because on Friday after finishing the day, we later rode about a mile to dinner and my right knee was hurting and then during the night my left knee was hurting. There were hills but nothing really bad, and my knees didn't bother me. The last 10 miles Richard stopped and waited on me and rode the rest of the way with me which was very nice. He lives in Minneapolis and is familiar with the area and thought I might have a problem since I missed the two arrows on Thursday. I was very happy to have someone to ride with as some times we were on very busy roads. I finished about 10:30 and took a quick shower before packing everything up and decided to just go ahead and drive home. I got home about 9:30 pm. My left knee hurt some in the car and it hurt some last night. It is the same problem I have had before, and the chiropractor can correct it--I just hope he can do it with one visit as I leave on Friday for my next adventure.

for pictures of other vacations return to the Vacation Photos page