For all you worriers out there. WE MADE IT!
We got to Virginia Beach on August 15th...exactly 40 days after we left.
Sorry for not updating the blog, but our laptop is on the fritz. It has all the pictures on it and I didn't dare post without pictures. I hope you understand.
Good news is the computer is fixed and we get it back today!
Monday, August 24, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Nauvoo and Carthage
Easy day today. we got chased by a storm, got told we were not very tan. we ran into this classic guy who invited to his house to stay. (Poland Family! this is you! the bed felt GREAT!)
tomorrow, Nauvoo, then Carthage, then who knows?
Nauvoo to Table Grove, IA
popped two tires with little sharp rocks.
super huge thunderstorm. Thanks again to the Poland family for letting us hang out at their house all morning. very slow day, we only made it sixty miles
Got to see the Nauvoo Temple and went to Carthage Jail
Amish
August 2nd
It is amazing how little you can have and still be very happy.
Today I was sitting by my bicycle, and our little tent. I looked at all the stuff we brought on the trip: three pairs of biking clothes, one other outfit, some sandals, toiletries, a camera, laptop, patch kit, waterbottles...and a few other items. Not a whole lot. It all fits on our bikes and we carry it around with us everywhere.
It is amazing how little you can have and still be very happy. I am so happy...we are having so much fun everyday! I love Bill!
August 3rd. Moravia IA to Nauvoo IL
it is amazing how much stuff I need to be happy. today we saw a whole bunch of Amish people. I think they are called a "solemn" of amish. they wear "Plain" clothes. they drive "Plain" little buggies. they kind of look plain. Steph and I did some research on the Amish by reading about them on our iphones. There is an ap for that. Here are some facts about the Amish.
1. "Beachy" amish drive black cars. they are like the wild Amish. they have telephones in thier places of work. the other Amish do not speak to them or allow thier children to marry them.
2. the average Amish has as many years of education as they have children in thier family (6.8)
3. Amish people grow beards when they get married. the men too.
4. Amish get hung up on stuff like how many straps thier suspenders have, how many pleats there are in thier caps and what color of dresses the women wear. if you wear suspenders that have too many straps you could get "shunned" until you confess your sin and repent publicly.
5. when we walked into an Amish shop there was a sign that said :
"This shop is the Lord's shop. stealing from here is like stealing from the Lord. Our price is much easier to pay than His."
Steph and I bought some of the Lord's chips and left.
Iowa is so hilly!
August 1.
the day was tough again. lots of hills, although the road that we were on was much less busy. (the championship Knocks again! thanks for the suggestion!)
we called up the branch president out in Centerville, Iowa and he invited us over to spend the night. James Rodebush and his lovely, wonderful and talented wife, Joyce gave us a great bed to sleep in and a delicious dinner the next day. we will be heading to Nauvoo on Monday!
oh, and we saw some bison today!
Welcome to IOWA
we left late this morning. Pam made us a delicious breakfast (Ham! Eggs! Pancakes!) then showed us the way to her friend Tod's house in Council Bluffs. It was only 65 miles away, so Steph and I did not feel bad about leaving at 10 in the morning. Thanks Tod for the bed, dinner and breakfast!
July 31st.
Very tough day today.
We started on US 34 and it was a mess. the shoulder dissapeared and there were tons of trucks. When we got to Red Oak and decided to take county roads. The county roads were incredibly hilly. In some ways it was more difficult than the Rocky Mountains. Just as much climbing, but instead of getting it all done in ten miles or so it is stretched out over sixty miles of hills. About the time that Steph and I started getting tired we turned off of the paved road and on to some gravel. For the next thirty miles.
We never would have made it, but with ten miles to go a little puppy dog started following us. It would run ahead of our bikes, check out some sweet smells and then catch back up to us. It ran with us for TEN MILES! finally we got to a paved road again and Steph and I decided to outrun it. We were trucking at twenty miles per hour and this dog was keeping pace! we named the dog racer and it did not get hit by a car.
We pulled into town just as the sun was setting. The town pool was open, (the owner of the local bank was having a party) and we were invited to:
1. a dip in the pool
2. a shower
3. an apartment for the night
4. breakfast in the morning.
Carl and Jan Knock, you guys are awesome!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
I was hit by a truck today...I mean I was hit by Bill today. We were pulling into a gas station to fill up on water. There were multiple places to pull into the gas station. I looked over my shoulder and saw that Bill was already in the turn lane, so I got into it as well, thinking we were going to turn right away. Bill was thinking we were not turning right away so he was still cruising pretty fast. At that moment, a car was coming out of the gas station. I thought this would be the prefect opportunity to turn into the station. So I turned...exactly at the moment that Bill was going to pass me. It was a spectacular crash! It ended with both Bill and I on the ground and my front wheel "taco-ed".
That happened in the first 15 miles of the day. A very nice man stopped to give us a lift into town where there was a bike shop. We bought a new wheel and set out for 100 more miles. It was a very long day, but the warmshower we got to was AWESOME!
We got into Lincoln a little late. Pam knew we were coming and had made us salad, bread, and lasagna with zucchini. After dinner she served us ice-cream and blueberries. Everything was so delicious. Where is this lady from??? She is amazing! To top it off, we slept in a wonderful bed and she was making ham, eggs, pancakes, and protein smoothies when we woke up. Do we have to leave?
ps. Pam, I love the glasses!
Gibbon, Nebraska
July 28th
130 miles today. extremely windy when we started out. it got windier. by two o clock we had only gone 55 miles, which was a bad sign. then the wind died down a bit and we were able to start moving. We put on another 80 miles before nine o clock that night.
It was dark and we smelled bad. As we got into Gibbon we found an old folks home called "the good samaritan"... a sign! They let us take showers... thanks! Now we are camped in a park.
Tomorrow we hope to pull to Lincoln. another heroic day. Nebraska is corn, trains and smelly trucks.
Black IceCream!
July 25th
Long and pretty much flat road today. We cruised for 103 miles of generally uphill against the wind sort of stuff. Steph was a champ and had some inspirational pulls.
In New Ramer we saw a rodeo in action. They had calf roping and barrel racing among other things - all we saw was the barrel racing (girls) some of those girls could MOVE!
When we made it into sterling, CO, we met up with the Speight family. Mark, his wife and daughter welcomed us into thier house. great day! We ate black icecream! It was not the most delicious icecream we have eaten...but it did amazing things...like turn everything it touches black! Amazing. We had another great laugh!
Thank you Speights! You guys are great!
The French Man!
Fort Collins to Sterling, CO
The French Man!
After today, both Bill and I wish we knew how to speak French. As we were riding toward Sterling, CO we saw another cyclist coming towards us on the opposite side. We rode to the other side of the street to greet him and find out where he was headed and where he came from. Once we said "hello" we knew that all of our effort might be in vain. He told us he did not speak english. That part we got. And then he started speaking French! We understood that he was going from New York City to San Francisco and that he was from France. And that is all. We then were able to use a little sign language to figure out that he needed water, and wanted to know where he could get a hotel.
We showed him where to get water and where the closest hotel and camp ground was. We also filled up one of his water bottles. I asked if he needed food, and he showed me his chapstick...indicating he had plenty of chapstick. He did have very chapped lips though. Then we all just stood around and smiled...nothing else to say because we didn't know how to say it. We both said goodbye and went our ways.
Moments later Bill and I decided that we should have just given him some of our food....or at least pulled it out. Bill turned around and chased him down. He gave the French man a whole bag of Fig Bars. He said thank-you, and then kept riding.
can you imagine what that frenchman must have thought? "Wow, those fat americans! always keep cookies in thier bags!" we had a good laugh.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Bike Co-op
In other news, when we got into town we found the “bike co-op”. We rolled up and asked for a tube to buy. They said, “we do not sell tubes, but if you would like a tube, we can give one to you.”
This place fixes and refurbishes used bicycles and then gives them to people who need them. The cost of a cheap bike is about twenty hours of community service. The cost of a nicer bike is forty hours or so. If you wanted to fix your bike they would show you how to do it, free of charge.
Amazing place. Inspirational. Steph and I have yet to build our garage, but when we do... It will become a bike co-op.
Ohh SHIFT!
July 24th - Gould to Ft Collins
Today we had a 52 mile descent. It was spectacular, except that Steph got a flat halfway down the hill, which I patched poorly, because the patch failed. So I patched it again one mile later. One mile after that the patch failed again. So steph patched it. Steph’s patch held for about seven miles before we had to pump it up again. So for about thirty miles we pumped the tire up every six or seven miles. Whew!
When we got into town we found a wonderful family to spend the night with. Rita and Tom Brown work for the forest service and have a wonderful house and spectacular garden. (steph and I are inspired again!)
We spent the whole night talking and laughing with the family. Such great people! The "Oh Shift" sign was in their kitchen...left over from when they were cheering on some cyclists at a race.
Cold morning
Camping in the Woods
Steamboat was a very cute town...I would like to visit there again. Or maybe even buy a ranch close by. Today we had some of the most scenic riding so far. We climbed up Rabbit Ears pass (9420 feet) and there were huge meadows of wild flowers and bubbling streams everywhere. Pine trees, Aspen trees, cool air...wonderful.
Gould is a tiny town that apparently survives on campers. The KOA campsite cost 32 dollars per night. another campsite cost 24. all we really wanted to do was pitch a small tent. we need about ten square feet of flat surface for 7 hours or so. not that hard.
so Steph and I trucked toward a possible campsite 10 miles (and ten thousand feet!) up the road. but the sun was going down, so we decided to pitch a tent by the side of the road.
lots and lots of mosquitoes. twenty for every square inch of your body.
Steph got another flat. The tubes with the long stems do not hold up well against a hand pump. the valve ends up breaking off.
pray for no bears.
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