The Perfect Ramblin' Roadtrip

In August, Jay and I set out on what was to become our best road trip ever..

10 days, 8 states, 4 bikes, 2 dreamers..
and one Ramblin' Fever.

In spite of everyone's concern and foreboding, we chose to drive our 1980 Dodge Ram Van "Ramblin' Fever" out to New York for a summer vacation filled with bikes, racing, family, friends, and awesome new places.  Sure, we have no idea how many miles are on her but we've spent the last year getting everything tuned up, replaced, and repaired for just an adventure such as this.  New engine and transmission, new tires and new-to-us captains chairs.. loaded her up and we were ready to rock! Although I knew Jay had a shadow of worry in the back of his mind, I was bathing in a warm feeling of bliss and calm as we headed out on the road after work for our adventure to begin.

It felt like fall as we embarked under grey skies.  A cool breeze and Willie Nelson tunes swirled in the  air as Ramblin' Fever purred along the highway. We were shooting to drive through the night to avoid traffic in Chicago and arrive in Toledo just as dawn was about to break for a cat nap and breakfast before we busted out the bikes for some urban trail riding.

A couple hours into the drive, we were chasing a thunderstorm down 94 as we headed towards Madison, WI. The skies entertained us with magnificent explosions of light and illuminated branches  that seemed to stretch out across the sky for what felt like 10 seconds each time.  We continued to watch the storm as we headed east and the night settled in.

Jay loves driving at night, which is a true blessing and complete opposite of the uncontrolled car-colepsy I experience at night; I'm almost incapable of staying awake on long night drives.  I must have fallen into a deep sleep sometime after Chicago because I woke with a jolt as I felt Jay tap my shoulder and say "Kristy, we're getting pulled over".

The clock read 2:30am and we were somewhere an hour or so out of Toledo, likely the only vehicle on the road.

I sat my chair up, wiped the sleep from my eyes and rolled the window down as the officer approached from my side of the van.  It was humid from the recent rains and Ramblin' was running rich, filling the stagnant summer air with a thick plume of fuel and exhaust.  The officer shined his flashlight on our faces and the dash and opened by saying "I pulled you over because your license plate isn't illuminated".  Jay smiled and nodded, sharing that he had discovered the same problem just hours before we'd left, likely a problem from me getting rear-ended in June that we hadn't realized.  He handed over his license and insurance cards and the officer said he'd return with a warning as long as everything checked out.

We sat in the van patiently as I sleepily giggled about the officer's demeanor and the thick fuel smell we could now taste on our tongues.  As he spoke to us, it was as if he was afraid to look into the back of the windowless van.  I only saw peeks of his face as he made quick glances at us around the door frame. Twenty minutes went by and he still hadn't returned and we deduced it was going to be one of two results:  he was either a) trying to find SOMETHING to get us with, or b) he was waiting for the second squad car to arrive.  But, he returned, apologized for the wait, and sent us on our way with a printed out warning.

After idling so long, Ramblin' roosted the officer with a thick cloud of smoke as we pulled back onto the highway and we shared a nervous laugh together... crap, now he's gonna get us.  Ha!   

Jay continued to drive the last hour or so to Toledo where we found an all-night diner.  We pulled around to the rear employee entrance where there were no lights and parked the van.  Jay shoved aside our bags and blew up the thermarests, making a cozy bed in the back of the van with our feet nestled precariously beneath our bikes and snuggled by our gear bags on all sides.  We slept for a couple hours, woken up by the growing summer heat and sunshine filtering into the windshield and the morning delivery truck unloading next to us.

We clambered out and shuffled into the diner in need of a red eye plate and some fresh coffee. (Queue Supersuckers "Good Livin'" for proper theme music).

The diner was run by one cook and one waitress and they were killing it!  The delivery guy was stocking the shelves with his morning delivery as the UPS guy heckled the chef from the counter service seats.  We laughed and ate as the few hours of sleep and stiffness ebbed and I planned our morning ride.  Back in 2016, we passed through this area on our way to SSUSA in Pennsylvania where I found us an urban single track to ride.  Thanks to the AllTrails app, I was able to find us the same trail which had grown since we were last there!  So, we headed out, kitted up, and hit the dirt at Jermain Trail as the summer heat set in.

There we were at 10:00am on Thursday riding singletrack in Toledo, only 16 hours after we'd left home.  Splatters of sunshine clawed their way through the dense canopy above us as we navigated the flowy singletrack. Deer quietly roamed the trail along side us, popping their heads up as we passed in relative silence.  It was the perfect way to spin out the legs before making the last charge to NJ - our bed for the night and base camp for the next few days.

I took over the reigns and cranked up the tunes as we watched the miles fly by.  About a third of the way down I-80 in PA, we hit traffic.. major traffic.  The sign had said there was road construction ahead, but no one was moving.  After 20 minutes, we had only moved about 3 or 4 car lengths... another 30 min. went by and we didn't move an inch.  Sitting in a cloudless sky and 90+ degrees, we were HOT.  Every car around us had their windows up and likely had the AC's cranked.  Our fully carpeted 80's dream had no such luxury so we dripped sweat in our seats, hanging out the window trying to cool ourselves in the smallest breeze if we could.

Over an hour had gone by and we hadn't made it a mile.  I sat and watched as the engine and transmission temp gages began to climb and Ramblin' began to chug in the heat, eventually dying in the left lane.  We knew it was just the heat but something had to be done to resolve this on our own - there was no way AAA was coming to the rescue here.  Jay looked at me and said "Switch. There's no  way you'll do what I'm about to do".  

So we traded places as the cars idled around us and I flagged the semi next to us that we needed to get over to the right shoulder.  The next time the cars moved, he let us over and Jay took it all the way to the shoulder but didn't stop to let her rest.  I checked the map and we were only 3 1/2 miles from the next exit so Jay kept it moving on the shoulder, passing maybe a 1000 cars and semi's packed so tightly in desperation to move, no one tried to stop us.  But hey, if you saw Ramblin' Fever coming up the shoulder after two hours of mind-numbing traffic, would you have believed it?

I found us a 10-mile detour that we drove as Ramblin' chugged but improved greatly as the moving air cooled the '92 Magnum under the hood and we jumped back onto I-80 just after the construction zone and purred along as if nothing happened.  I waited a moment but, once we were both relaxed again I cranked up "Eastbound and Down" by Jerry Reed and we sang along with smiles on our faces,  petting the carpeted dash and praising Ramblin' for being so awesome.

We were now a few hours behind our goal but still took in the beauty of the sunset behind us as we counted down the miles to our next stop, "Forrest Lodge" in Sparta, New Jersey with our good friends, the Christians.

At 11:00pm, we rolled into the quiet community and revved the engine one last time before putting Ramblin' to bed for the night.  We shared the day's adventures with Joe and Cindy over a beer before joyously heading to bed (in a bed!) for some much needed sleep.  We made it!!!  And in Jerry Reed's words, "Eastbound and down, loaded up and trucking', we gonna do what they say can't be done"... yep, we did what they said couldn't be done!

The first mini-adventure of the trip was a success.  Oh yeah, and we're only on day 2!

Stay tuned for more epic stories to come.. riding in NJ, Singlespeed USA antics, the Belt!, New York City, Rock n Roll, and sand dunes, and more riding!

Awwww, feels so good to finally start telling the story!
Ramblin' On,
Kristy Kreme

Digging out to see the light

In 2006, I came to the realization that the life I was leading didn't resonate with my soul.  I had no idea of who I wanted to be or what I wanted in life yet, but I knew that I was lacking joy and true connection.  I made some drastic changes and, some time later, started this blog as a way to celebrate the new journey I was embarking on.  I was on a mission to try new things, grow lasting relationships and explore the world around me to identify what truly brought me joy.  One of the guidelines I set for myself was to use this blog to bring positive, uplifting stories to light to share my happiness with others (whoever they may be).

For over a decade, this blog has helped me relive some amazing accomplishments, celebrate dreams coming true, and express my gratitude for the life I had found.  But for months now, I have realized that I had major writer's block that was causing this dark vortex to surround me and drag me to a very scary place.  I let my self-doubt and procrastination take priority over the simple pleasure of my writing and it came back at me tenfold - by skipping that which brought me such joy for so long, I was missing a significant source to feed the spring and my well was running dry.

Maybe it was the sale of the cherished company I used to work for to one that I couldn't fall in line with and throw away my morals to work for.  Maybe it was the realization that I was on the wrong career path. The stress of a new career and new company? Trying to make a name for myself in cycling after three years of off and on injuries.. only to also come back a few years older?  The winter that refused to end?  Maybe it isn't so hard to believe (er.. admit) that I was more depressed than I'd been in decades...

Sure, there were some awesome races, a handful of great finishes, wonderful memories shared with family in friends in the past months, but the shadows still lingered when I sat down to tell the latest adventure, blocking the stories from activating my fingertips.  Although summer's intense arrival has lessened the sadness, the shadows still blur my thoughts at times and distort my story.  I've experienced some amazing personal bests as of late yet the doubt whispers to me ... 'maybe it was a fluke' ... 'you can't do that again'....'maybe you shouldn't even try'....

It's one thing to ride the miles, lift the weights, stretch the muscles.  But what do you do when your mind doesn't believe you can do it?

The only way I can imagine fighting it is to shine a light into the deep wound that refuses to heal up.  Maybe by opening the door to the pain I've held so tightly, I can kick it out into the light and begin to move on.

It works on the Boogeyman, right?

I have a handful of friends and family who also struggle with their own darkness and depression and I hope they always know I'm here for you.

And to my husband, Jay, who I've just now realized loves me enough for the both of us... Thank You from the bottom of my heart.  Your belief in me may not always chase away the tears, but your unending pursuit is the knight in shining armor this girl has dreamt of.

Sleeping with the lights on,
Kristy Kreme

Slip Slidin' into Spring

... or maybe it's second winter.  Either way, after watching the snow fall for over 36 hours, we couldn't help but rally the troops for a 'spring' urban ride. Lucky for us in MN, the bike paths are among the first paved surfaces to be plowed every snowfall, so we headed to the Greenway to begin our adventure.  Sure, why wouldn't my road bike with fenders work for today's ride?

I should have known this would be quite the feat when we had to help push a motorist or two out of an intersection on our way to our meet spot.  We tossed the bikes aside, dug our heals into the 6+ inches of snow in the intersection, and rocked the car forward as our feet sank to the glare ice below and we scrambled for traction as it lurched forward.  Mission: Accomplished.

We found our pals at the Greenway entrance and headed east into the wind as the snow pelted our faces and the ice under the bridges kept our attention sharp.  We really didn't have much of a plan before the trail hit West River Road and an audible sent us south towards Minnehaha Falls.  Much to our surprise, Sea Salt was open and the typical line around the building was nonexistent.  I looked to Dave and said "I thought they weren't open in the winter.??".. He laughed and pointed out "It's not winter".

We sat along the windows, drinking beers and sharing stories as if we were figures in a snow globe watching the winter bliss entertain us.  But it isn't winter.. it's F$%&ing spring!  But, hey, we made the most of it!  As the snow refused to let up and the chill began to set back in, we knew we had to be back on our way home.

Riding my road tires was a mistake..  or maybe just early cyclocross practice.. but I fought my bike and the ice and slush for the entire ride.  While my friends were smart to bring their CX, Mtn or fat bikes, I found myself hanging out at the back riding the best line I could find.  Slipping out on every climb and Tokyo-drifting down every decent kept me on my toes, but I still had a fun time trying to film the awesome, yet less than desirable spring ride.  Man, what I wouldn't do for some sun on my shoulders and sweat dripping down my back!



Holding out for warmer days,
Kristy Kreme