Sciatic Nerve & Canada

I've made it to Grand Marais. The first big ride out of the gate was sure to leave its impression on my body! This will be my last night in the states for 8 days. Tomorrow I head 76 miles to Thunder Bay, Ontario. At present moment, I am feeling the lingering heat from the Tiger Balm I bathed myself in. I can't believe how sore I am. You'd think with all the biking - all the training specifically - that I have done for this ride, I wouldn't hurt this bad. The left side of my body is in far worse shape than my right side. Today as I was riding, I began to wonder if a person needs their Sciatic Nerve in order to live and function with relative normalcy. If it's one of those things, like an appendix, I could do without mine. It was giving me so much trouble today. I dont know if it was the nerve itself or the pain I had in my neck on the left side, or the intense pain in my left foot - or even the pain I had in that space between your thumb and index finger - actually, it was probably a combination of all of the above. Either way, it killed the left side of my body.

Last night's easy 26 mile jaunt into Two Harbors from Duluth was nice. Although it was a night ride, the temperatures were cool and there was no wind. Today around Silver Bay, all of a sudden, a pretty annoying head wind decided to give it a go at me, so needless to say, Silver Bay to Grand Marais was all into a headwind. And I dont know what it is about the hills up here. They aren't steep, but there's alot, and they're gradual inclines. Maybe the gravitational pull is stronger here because it will reduce me to like 7 mph! That's terrible!

My body's been adjusting to the level of exercise and the mass quantities of power gels, Cliff bars, and sports drinks I have been putting into it. Can't say it's responded very well. I'm hoping all gets adjusted sooner rather than later. Luckily, there have been no urgent incidences while on my bike. No, my body waits to tweak out until after the ride when all I want to do is relax. That's when my stomach decides to tie itself in knots and beat the crap outa' me - sometimes literally! Too much info? Well, it's part of my reality thus far.

Day 2 has been rough. I hear that distance riding is supposed to get better the longer you do it. I am hoping in a few more days, I will feel strong and the pain will decrease. It's been hard to focus on anything other than how uncomfortable I am and the various points of pain, sometimes excruciating, coursing through my body. Right now this feels like a hopelessly long and miserable trip. I try all the time to get out of my body and into my head. I've got alot of hours in the saddle and alot of time to myself to ponder the many questions and curiosities I have. Right now, because the pain is so much, it's all I can focus on. Here's hoping for some vast improvements!

The lake is beautiful as always. This morning was particularly wonderful. I've been taking some photos along the way, but alot of Highway 61 didn't have nice lake views. Also, with the 1.5 - 2 foot wide shoulders sometimes, and vehicles that dont move over, it was pretty treacherous for a long time. Guess it was good practice for the next 8 days in Canada where I have heard the TransCanada Highway is just like that as well.

For our last night in the states for awhile, we're staying at a hotel that has terrible internet reception so, because it will take a half hour, at least, for this post to upload, I am signing off. I will have more tales and updates in a few days when I can access some internet hopefully in the remote wilderness of Canada at some of the places we're staying. We'll see though! Stay tuned and thank you for all the positive thoughts and encouragement. Maybe my next post will be less complain-y! ;)