You Know What Time It Is…
We just crossed a river and by now everyone knew what came next - a hill. This is where Lisa Graziano excels. It was her 10th and final section after two short years of riding. On that day Lisa became the first woman to put on plaid and she looked great! We had a line of bikers, all following three professional riders from Germany, who were about to show us “what time it was”. Lisa is a classic queen of the hill rider. She’ll beat you to the top and then I try to catch her before the bottom of the hill while she recovers. We got to the crest, saw Lake Superior in the distance and the long downhill to get there. Thinking it was time for a slight pause in effort, Lisa and I enjoyed a moment. Within seconds the gap between us and the next rider was many yards and growing. In the front of the pack I thought I heard Wolfgang say, “You know what time it is!” This was day 6, so by now I knew very well what that meant. He was going all out.
Lisa, Dan Dalquist and I were the last three in line. Lisa and I hunkered down, swapping the lead every 30 seconds, and finally through herculean effort reached the next wheel. We didn’t realize that we jumped the gun before Dan had a chance to grab ahold. Then Patrick Jungenblut (yep, one of the Germans) dropped back and in broken english said, “I go get him.” By this time Lisa and I are spent, but there’s no way we are letting go of this train. I don’t know how Dan hung on to Patrick, but sure enough, he’s right on my tail. Patrick rides alongside and says calmly, “I go back up now.” As if we were standing still, Patrick powers to the front of the line. We could only watch in awe.
That was three miles of riding we’ll never forget.
It was 2019, year two of Tour Da Yoop, Eh. Wolfgang Brandi heard about the epic ride in Germany, and reached out to book the 10 day 1,200 mile cycling adventure with a couple of his friends. We were thrilled, TDY was officially worldwide! Plus, Germany was a huge bonus. My dad’s parents were from Germany and it’s my dream to visit someday. So having Germans coming to TDY was huge. And with a name like Wolfgang, I couldn’t wait to meet this guy and his friends.
None of us could hang with the Germans the entire day. It was fun to ride for awhile, sometimes half a day, but inevitably you’d hear one of them declare, “You know what time it is?” They’d all smile and then that was it. You’d see them later at the hotel. you tell your story online can make all the difference.
They weren’t there just to ride. Each day had plenty of daylight left and we enjoyed the sights the UP had to offer. Markus Legat stood on blackrocks cliff edge for longer than it took to ride those three miles, contemplating the jump. Yep, like everyone else that takes the blackrocks plunge, he said it was well worth it. At each day’s end of the 10 day adventure Markus would come up to me, put his hand on my shoulder, look at me directly and in the most sincere voice said, “thank you for this day.”
Day 10, the Germans all sporting plaid, making the jersey a global thing. It was mile 60 and I was still riding with them and a buddy from high school, Tim Magnusson. Wolfgang took the lead most of the time. That guy is a machine. We were on a fast flat down Hiawatha Trail and Patrick dropped from lead to the back of the pack. It was my turn to cut through the wind. I pushed hard with everything I had in me. This was the last day and a chance to show the Germans I had something to give. One mile in the front of the pack. Ok, I admit, a very short shift, but I felt I represented. One final push and then I faded to the back, exhausted. I slid alongside Patrick and to my shock and self disappointment, he was sitting completely upright, gingerly eating a cookie with both hands. They didn’t have to say it, Tim and I knew what time it was.
From left - Wolfgang Brandi, Markus Legat, Patrick Jungenblut, and James Studinger
Patrick now lives in the states, rode a few days with us in 2020 and is signed up to ride more in 2021. I’ll see Wolfgang and Markus again someday. Maybe in the UP. Maybe in Germany. Till then - Thank you Markus, Patrick and Wolfgang - for the most unbelievable experience riding with you.
By James Studinger