07/18/08 Friday... We Made It!! Golden Gate 2pm PDT... scroll down for details

We will soon be posting more videos and pictures of our journey for all to enjoy.  Again we want to thank the many of you who have supported us through this entire journey.  We could not have accomplished this feat without the love and support of the many friends, family, co-workers, and new friends whom we have met along our cross-country tour.  The generosity we have seen along our trip has been extraordinary, and we cannot put into words the appreciation we have for everyone who has been apart of this adventure. 

We look forward to seeing the many of you back home after our return on the 30th, and hope you will all be able to join us for the official celebration in Amherst on Sat. August 16th!

 

07/18/08 Friday, Day 35: our final day!  Fairfield, CA to San Francisco, CA- 80mi

We got up in the park behind the library and rolled up the tent, our sleeping bag liners, and packed our bags for the LAST time!  We stopped briefly at the 7-11 to warm up before our departure (it was quite a cold morning).  A shout out to Lou and Frank whom we met there!  Fairfield held its reputation as a 'the windy bowl,' as we fought, yet again, head-on winds thru the early morning hours.  It was appropriate, however, to see the full moon setting and a beautiful sunrise behind us on our last day on the road.  Our only main stop came in Petaluma where we stopped for breakfast, before legging out the last 40 miles to the Bay area.  The last section of biking thru the Napa and Sonoma valleys were beautiful, enjoyed more of the wine-country rolling hills (not surprising that it is referred to by many as 'bikers heaven').  As we rolled thru Salsalito (just north of San Fran), we could feel the anticipation of the finish.  It was appropriate that we needed to climb a huge hill just prior to the Golden Gate Bridge.  As we crested the hill- boom- it appeared.  We had made it!  As we entered the bridge area we were greeted by Ryan Corbett ('senior,' class of '02), who had made a huge sign to cheer us to the finish.  After a much anticipated photo-shoot, we biked over the bridge (which was packed with folks walking, running, and biking), and over to Baker's Beach on the west side of the city.  There we rolled our bikes down thru the sand and appropriately dunked our front tire into the ocean (well, the whole bike, as a crashing wave came thru!).  We popped open a bottle of champagne (purchased 20mi earlier at a 7-11), took the ocean plunge (which was not easy in the cloudy, windy 65 degree conditions on the beach!), and celebrated with Ryan for quite some time.  Ryan then drove us back to his apt. in the city, and from there jumped on the BART (San Francisco's subway system) with our bikes to ride back over bay to Emeryville to Jayna's (Andy's sister) apartment.  Our friend Megan East (whom we met on a Caribbean cruise a few years back) joined us for dinner and drinks, and we enjoyed a RELAXING evening in Emeryville. Tomorrow begins our long 11-day VACATION in the Bay area, and we could not be more excited to sleep-in and NOT BIKE 100 miles in the morning! 

07/17/08 Thursday, Day 34- 118mi, Pollock Pines to Fairfield, CA

Got an early start this morning- out by 5:00am.  Enjoyed nice rolling downhills for the first half of our day, now descending to elevations below 500'!  We also had our 2nd run-in with the law, and got 'pulled over' on Rte. 50 on our way towards Sacramento.  (Yes, seemingly we managed to find a way to get pulled over on a BIKE). Though our directions made it seem that 50 was 'bike-able,' apparently it was illegal.  The state trooper made us turn around and go back a few miles to an alternate road.  The alternative route- though a frustrating 40mi 'extra,' did turn out to be much more enjoyable, and perhaps some of the best biking roads we've seen thus far.  We enjoyed rolling hills thru many of the winery areas of northern Cal, and resisted the urges to stop at the many 'free wine tasting' signs we saw enroute!  95miles into our day we made a stop in Rio Vista to see where we wanted to spend out evening.  It seemed fitting to reach Fairfield, putting us at 120mi on the day and only 80 from San Francisco!  The last 20miles on Rte. 12, however, were the opposite of the enjoyable biking roads we had in the morning.  This stretch, which we have dubbed the 'suicide leg,' presented our most dangerous biking conditions of the trip.  This 2-lane road had NO shoulder (literally the white line on the right side of the driving lane WAS the edge of the asphalt), a 5" drop-off on the edge of the road, high-traffic conditions which included speeding 18-wheelers, yellow barriers in the middle of the road (so that they couldn't swerve around us either), and a nasty headwind upwards of 25mph.  The wind was also blowing slightly angled, just enough to make cycling in a straight line quite a challenge- not to mention the swirling wind gusts created by the passing trucks.  Fortunately, just after Andy was clipped by a truck (yes, a passing truck's mirror clipped his arm), "Superman" Dan Mitchell offered to give us a ride 5mi up the road to where the shoulder re-appeared.  Though we had refused any rides to this point, the life-threatening conditions deemed it appropriate (especially where we had added 5mi earlier in the day after getting turned around on Rte. 50).  Once returning to the bikeable section of 12, we finished our journey to Fairfield.  There we met an incredibly kind library staff that allowed us to use the kitchen (and even gave us some snacks!), for dinner.  A great thanks to Jim (whose son is a student at Hampshire college in Amherst!), Jeanine (born and raised in Worcester, MA!), Kurt, and Chris for their help during our time in the Jelly Belly capital! (Fairfield being the home of Jelly Belly).  We now sit just 80mi from San Francisco and can taste the finish!

07/16/08 weds. Day 33- Virginia City, NV to Pollock Pines, CA- 112miToday's elevation changes put all the others thus far on our trip to shame!  We started our day atop Virginia City at 6000ft, then made a 5mi climb to 7000, and down a wipping winding downhill for 10mi back down to 5000ft (thru Geiger Canyon).  We then made our hardest climb of the trip; a 4000ft incline up the Mt. Rose Highway to 9000ft (the highest year-round Sierra pass), before an 8mi downhill back to 6200ft at the northeast corner of Lake Tahoe (hitting a new top speed of 55mph!!).  We first stopped in Incline Village, and met Justin at the local bike shop who shared some helpful tips for the rest of our trip.  We then enjoyed a gorgeous 30mi ride down the east coast of Lake Tahoe.  We climbed up over Spooner Summit, then down into Zephyr's Cove on the southeast side.  There we enjoyed a swim and some restful time on the beach!  (A shout-out to Julie, whom we met in the parking lot as we were leaving!) A few miles later we crossed into California!  The first few miles in our final state, however, were tough, as we had to climb the final summit of the Sierra's- Echo Summit at 7500ft.  Atop Echo, we met a hungry hiker (who had began his journey in Mexico!), and tossed him one of our Cliff Bars (he was quite excited to get some food).  Best of luck to Marty McFly on the rest of his journey!  Once heading over Echo, we then enjoyed a 30mi descent from 7500 to 3000ft.  Enroute we met Bob and Dave, who both gave us great information on our final destination for the evening; Pollock Pines.  We got to Polluck Pines around 5:30 (which was a surprising climb back UP to 4000 ft), and stopped at a local Cafe for advice on where to find a grocery store, library, or park.  There we met Tom, who graciously let us use his computer and gave us some leftover scones!  Thanks again Tom!  We then hit up the grocery store for dinner, took a dip in the pool at the Best Western (we did ask this time and got the go-ahead!), and made camp behind the local community church for the night.  We now sit ~200mi from San Francisco!

 

07/15/08 Tuesday, Day 32:  Middlegate Station, NV to Virginia City, NV- 112mi

Finally decided to get a full nights rest (a solid 8 hrs), and hit the road AFTER sunrise (what a concept).  We enjoyed a FLAT ride up to Fallon (which we have NOT had for the past 6 days....), and got there in time for breakfast at 9:30.  We also did further research online on how we plan to get around Lake Tahoe, as a few options have presented themselves in the past few days after talking to folks.  We then trekked on towards Silver Springs, then to Dayton, where we had a mailed package to pick up.  It became clear why the Dayton mascot is the 'dustdevil;' the wind is WICKED.  The last 10mi to Dayton may have been one of the most miserable stretches of the trip to date, fighting winds upwards of 35mph, with a few gusts up to 50 (we literally almost fell off the bike).  Upon reaching Dayton we, well, SAT down for a few, got our package, then met Doug Mattice.  Doug gave us some suggestions on our path, including avoiding Carson City (where we were headed), and detouring up thru Virginia City.  Surprisingly, we have decided to add 30mi to the route, and a summit 2,000ft higher than the original, in order to get a better scenic route thru the East side of Lake Tahoe.  I mean, heck, we've come this far, why not add a little more challenge!  We took Doug's advice and headed up to Virginia City via 6 Mile Canyon Rd- the steepest climb we've encountered yet (though we hear tomorrow will be far worse....).  Doug, his wife Elizabeth, Tyler and Joan graciously took us in for the evening, offering us a HOT shower and some Mona Vie juice (you can read up on it- trust us, it's delicious- at www.monavie.com), which uses acai berries.  To learn more, feel free to email Doug and Elizabeth at dizbums@aol.com.  A great thanks to the Mattice family for their gracious hospitality, and the helpful tips for our tough day ahead of us!  By this time tomorrow, we will be in CALIFORNIA!

07/14/08 Monday Day 31: Eureka, NV to Middlegate Station, NV - 135mi

Left early from Eureka - though we got to bed early, we were still pretty sleep deprived to a degree that we were falling asleep on the bike (literally) for the first 2 hours (but luckily no crashes to report!).  It was quite chilly til the sun came up, but we enjoyed yet another spectacular sunrise over the canyons.  We finished our first 70mi stretch up the toughest climb in Nevada yet- Austin Summit- though the ripping downhill around tight turns into town made it worth it!  In Austin we soon found out a grocery store didn't exist (like we had hoped), and the library was closed.  Luckily we got help from Dee at the Chamber of Commerce in getting our pictures off the camera (as the card was full), enough food at the convenience store, and helpful hints (and a great lunch) from Lisa at the town cafe.  We had previously planned to head for the night to Eastgate, but found out there wasn't much of a place to stay, and trucking an extra 10mi to Middlegate would be worthwhile.  As we rolled over 135mi for the day we finally reached Middlegate station, just after the 'shoe tree' (the pride of Rte. 50- literally, a tree- possibly the only tree in Nevada- covered in shoes).  At the station we enjoyed a few drinks and a great home cooked meal.  In reading the pamphlet, we saw 'free camping' and got excited to know we didn't have to go another mile up the road to camp in the desert!  We also met Nancy, who was excited to hear of our adventure.  A thanks to Nancy for the tips on how to enjoy our time in San Francisco! We met Tom, a geologist from Pollock Pines, bought us dinner at Middlegate station!  Best of luck to Tom on his trip to Austin for work on the silver mine.  Thanks again Tom for dinner and your insight on our travels to Lake Tahoe!!!"

 

07/13/08 Sunday. Day 30, 107 miles From Major Junction NE to Eureka NE

Left MJ early and immediately started to climb what would be the first of five summits! This would prove to be arguably our toughest day, even harder then the Rockies. We climbed Connor’s Pass, Robinson, Little Antelope, Pancake, and Pinto Summits. One peak was 7600 ft and all of our climbing was done in the thin atmosphere of mile high attitude. Our first stop at 27m was Ely NE where we ate breakfast and then rode 77 miles to Eureka.  We bought food at a grocery store and borrowed their microwave to cook up a fine warm dinner.  Checked with the police in regards to the California fire situation and asked permission to camp at the town park. We are pumped to think that we are only 600 miles away, we are a mile high and SF is sea level! 

07/12/08 Sat. Day 29, 123 miles Hinckley UT to Major Junction NE (good luck trying to find it!)
Facing 83 miles of desert, with no water stops, we were on the road by 4:30 AM. We were both excited and anxious about what might lie ahead. The morning was dark and cold, the vast open space was incredible, and we could see headlights on the horizon that would take 15 minutes to reach us!  Soon we were treated to a spectacular sunrise from the East!  The terrain was largely flat with a few tough climbs; as the landscape brightened the scenery became beautiful. By noon we had gone 83 miles and reached civilization, Border Nevada! our 12th state and 3rd time zone!  Spent the heat of day, 6 hours, recovering, siesta, eating, socializing. We met Stacy who presented us with a pin- I survived Route 50 “The Loneliest Road”- with a promise that we would not wear it ‘til we reached California. We will be spending a lot of time on Rt 50 and it truly does lives up to its nickname of “The Loneliest Road”. By 6:30 the heat and wind had subsided enough for us to finish the day with a 37-mile leg to our next source of water, a bar in Major Junction NE. We finished the day as we started – riding in the dark. We could see the bar lights 15 miles away yet it would take a seemingly endless hour to reach them. We arrived at 9:45, pitched a tent on the sand, next to the bar, and slept well.

07/11/08 Friday, Day 28, 78 miles, Santaquin UT to Hinckley UT

On the road by 6AM, 78 miles is a “short” day for us but we were limited because after Hinckley there are 83 miles with  nothing but desert! At about 8 AM we stopped for a nice breakfast in Nephi, went through Lynndyl and stopped at Delta for the afternoon. Delta was 5 miles from our goal destination, but we needed to accomplish several things in a larger town, shopping, mailing and library research. At the library we met Daniel Lumbreras a cyclist who was headed from SF to DC!  With some scary stretches of desert ahead, he was a source of valuable information and advice. He rides a pink bike, symbolic of his family’s mission to raise awareness of breast cancer. Thank you Daniel and good luck! We finished our stay with a swim and a shower and cruised the last 5 miles to tiny Hinckley. We met Heather at the only store, a Sinclair gas station. She was very nice and directed us to a sprinkler free place for us to camp. We made dinner and befriended a stray puppy.

07/10/08 Thursday, Day 27;  105 mi- Duchesne, UT to Santaquin, UT

Took to the dark streets early at 5am.  Sue got up early to see us off.  Only last night did we learn what today would bring; a 3600ft climb in the first 28miles!  It was undoubtedly the hardest stretch of biking we've done thus far (yes, even more difficult than the Rockies!)  Though it was a tough ride, the scenery was amazing.  After hitting nearly 8,000ft. we descended down thru the Indian canyon towards Spanish Fork.  On our way down the canyon, we hit our newest top speed- 49.7mph!  Today also brought our longest stretch without a water stop; 65miles.  Our first stop was in Payson to hit the local bike shop.  We were in desperate need of extra tubes, and also got some extra spokes for Jon’s rear wheel.  A thanks to John and Corbin from Downhill Cycle for their help and the free spokes!  We headed then to Santaquin, our final stop for the day.  We got into town around 4 and went to the library to research our upcoming days.  We found the local park to make camp for the night, where we also found the local EMS/Ambulance cookout.  They welcomed us to join them for dinner, and got to meet many of the EMS staff, firefighters, and policemen of Santaquin.  A great thanks to Sue Farnsworth for coordinating the cookout, and the many others who lauded our charity efforts and helped to get us a warm shower at the firehouse and ensure the sprinklers wouldn't rain on us during the night! (as happened in Walden, co).  We discovered we would in fact get wet at the park, and thus made camp instead over next to the town rodeo stadium.  It was a great pleasure to meet all the Santaquin locals.  A shout-out to Steve,  Michelle, Martin (a red sox fan!),  Stephanie, and Officer Ryan Lind for all your help!

07/09/08 Wed. Day 26, 90mi- Dinosaur, CO to Duchesne, UT.  Weather: Sunny & hot
Early  start out of Dinosaur at 4:55am, and were at the Utah border just 4 miles down the road! (too bad it was too dark to get a good picture at the welcome sign!).  We enjoyed a nice long 15-mile downhill to start our morning, where we averaged 20mph!  We stopped first in Vernal, where we stopped for a break and breakfast around 7am.  We then trekked on to Roosevelt where we stopped to do some very necessary research on the remaining 1000 miles of our trip (upon reaching Roosevelt, we now have less than 1000miles left!!!).  We now need to do a bit more planning of our days as a result of the huge deserted gaps between towns.  Outside of the library, Andy met Evette, who gave him a bear-shaped stone which is a symbol of strength.  Thank you Evette for the always-needed help.  We made our destination for the day to be Duchesne, which was 30 miles from Roosevelt.  Between Roosevelt and Duchesne, we somehow incurred FOUR flats (Andy actually included this time), which was, of course, extremely frustrating.  Furthermore, we now only had 1 extra tube and some patch kits (which don't always work all that well) to get us to the next bike shop 100 miles away.  Fingers crossed we make it!  (this blog was written after getting to the Bike shop- so worry not, that we did make it!!!).  At the Duchesne library we met Sue Wardle, who offered for us to stay at her house (which we of course took her up on).  In waiting for her to get off from work, Andy went to swim at the pool.  He had called earlier for the hours, and was told 5-6 was public lap swim.  Upon arrival, no one was there, so he jumped the fence and went for a dip.  We then met Sue at her house (across from the pool), but had additional company too.  A cop showed up and asked for Andy's ID, and proceeded to take 30 minutes to 'make a decision' on what to have him do; Andy "got off" by paying the $3 to use the pool (though the lifeguard on duty left her post during work hours....).  Not a lot to do in this small town!  Sue and her husband Bill then made us dinner, and we took a ride up to their ranch to see their 54 head of longhorns.  What beautiful animals!  A great thanks to Sue and Bill for their gracious hospitality in Duchesne!

 Happy Birthday to Momma Korhonen!!!  (Jon encourages you all to call her and wish her a happy birthday yourself! 978-790-8623).  Thanks

 07/08/08 Tues. Day 25: 139mi, Weather: Chilly in the morning but HOT by the afternoon.
 
We hit the road by 6:15 this morning, getting a cheerful send-off from Sharon, Roxy, and Chloe!  It was a chilly morning, but not nearly as cold as yesterday.  For the 1st 50 miles of the day, we enjoyed rolling downhills and a tailwind!! (where have these things been the whole trip?).  It may have been the first time we truly experienced 'effortless biking.'  After a short break in Craig, another spoke broke on Jon's rear wheel- not a good sign!  We knew going into the trip that Jon's rear wheel would be our biggest obstacle, as his wheels are racing wheels with fewer spokes than Andy's, and that the back wheel of course endures the most stress (as compared to the front wheel).  We replaced the spoke in record time, however, and are now contemplating the idea of purchasing a new wheel when a bike shop comes around (not that we see those very often in Utah or Nevada!).  We arrived 30 miles later in the small town of Maybell- our last stop before a long 60-mile stretch thru the dessert.  For the first 40 miles after Maybell we literally saw only 2 houses, a deer, and 2 cows (and we're convinced the cows were lost....).  We saw a small lounge at the 40mi mark and stopped for water, before finishing the last 20mi to Dinosaur where we made camp for the night.  Today fell just 1 mile short of our longest ride, but did prove to be our fastest average speed- 17.3mph!!! (we usually average near 15, but were as low as 13 on windy or hilly days).  In Dinosaur, which lies just 4 miles before the Utah border, we set up the tent in a town park, which had showers available in the bathroom!  We enjoyed the leftover burritos from the night before, and went to bed very early (9pm) in anticipation of an early start tomorrow.

 
We must also note, that over the past few days we have decided to travel a different route thru Nevada and California, now opting to go thru northern Nevada, thru Reno, around Lake Tahoe, and down to San Francisco.  The long stretches in southern Nevada to Yosemite seem to be a bit much to deal with (there's something about a 180mi stretch without any sign of life in 120 degree heat that isn't so appealing).  We do still plan to see Yosemite, however, but will take a trip down via car after arriving in San Francisco. 
 
Also, a great thanks to the messages and texts we have received from the many friends and family thus far on the trip!  We greatly appreciate your support!Day 26

 

07/07/08 Day 24- 55mi- Weather- chilly early (mid 40's), overcast, sunny by late morning

Though we camped under a gazebo in Walden Park, we were woken up by water falling on the tent...in the form of a sprinkler!  Our morning thus started a bit earlier than expected (up at 4:30, out at 5:30), and hit the road on a very chilly Colorado morning to Steamboat Springs.  We essentially biked 55miles (our shortest day yet, made possible by yesterdays monster ride) thru the Rockies.  We could probably count on 1 hand the number of houses we saw along the way, but can't complain with the beautiful scenery, including our being surrounded by snow-capped mountains.  We had a slow-rolling climb thru our first 30 miles until hitting the famed Rabbit Ears Pass, which made a steep climb over 4 miles.  By 9am we had crossed the Continental Divide at 9500ft., and could thus claim to officially be "over the Rockies!"  We enjoyed a long and steep (8%grade) downhill drop into Steamboat Springs.  By 10:30 we had arrived at Sharon Bigelow's house, where we would be staying for the evening.  To make a long story short, Bob Kitto, whom we had met during our stay in Ft. Wayne, IN, had a former co-worker he knew in Steamboat, Sharon, who offered to give us a nights stay.  Sharon was also so kind to drive us to town (which was 5mi away), so that we could do some needed shopping at the bike shop and grocery store.  We had a nice relaxing afternoon at Sharon's beautiful house up on the ridge, and then she  made burritos for her tenant, Chris and us.  The 4 of us enjoyed a nice relaxing evening (including Chris' sangrias!).  A great thanks to Sharon, Chris, and the dogs (Roxy, Chloe, and Bear) for a fantastic stay in Steamboat!

view from sharons deck, wow!

07/06/08 Day 23-- 120mi- Cheyenne, WY to Walden, CO- Weather- overcast, windy at mid-day, nice in the afternoon.

Today was an up-down-up-down day!  We started in Cheyenne (6,000 ft).  In the first 35mi we climbed to 'the summit' of I-80 at 8600ft.  That was followed by a zipping 10mi downhill to Laramie (7200ft), where we hit our new top speed of 47mph! We then had a flat (but extremely windy!) 30mi stretch before climbing over the Medicine Bow Range (~9000ft.).  We then enjoyed a long downhill stretch to our stopping point- Walden, CO at 8100 ft.  Despite the drastic elevation changes, we were able to punch out a big day to shorten our ride to Steamboat Springs tomorrow.  Just before climbing Medicine Bow, we stopped at a house (and there were very few to choose from!), to get water; since there weren't any gas stations or stores of any kind for a good 50mi stretch to re-fill.  There Everett and Anita Coleman offered not only to fill our water bottles, but also to make us lunch!  We enjoyed Anita's turkey sandwiches and salad with fresh mango(!) and a custard dessert.  A great thanks to the Coleman's hospitality, and also for sharing the story of their remarkable son, Elliott.  We then made the climb up over Medicine Bow- hitting a 6mi stretch at one point with grades upwards of 10%.  Once cresting the range, we entered into our 10th state of the trip; Colorado.  From there it was an enjoyable downward ride to Walden.  As we reached town we got our 8th flat of the trip- that resulted from a staple in Jon's rear wheel.  Jon is now up 6-2 in the flat race, though not a competition he wishes to win!  In our search for a camping spot, we found a town park that was coincidentally full of other tenting cyclists!  It was then that we discovered Walden lies on the popular Trans-Am route that many bikers use to bike cross-country.  Our discussions with the other cyclists centered around our 'unconventional' methods of touring the country; on 'non-touring' bikes and non-touring wheels, with little gear- lacking such items as a sleeping bag (we only brought sleeping bag liners), and a route that was essentially conjured up on a whim!  We enjoyed their dismay, but impressed them with our success thus far.

07/05/08 Day 22-- 67 mi- Kimball, NE to Cheyenne, WY- Weather- WINDY

While this was one of our shortest rides yet (mileage-wise), it proved to be quite possibly our hardest day yet.  Right from the get-go out of Kimball the winds were 'not kind.'  Not sure what gusts got up to (perhaps 25mph or so), but it was consistent for the entire 67 miles.  The biking was tough, and proved to be a good day to have a shorter mileage goal.  Enroute we stopped at the Pine Bluffs P.O. to pick up Jon's wallet (which he had left in Omaha!), which was generously shipped out to us by Jess Donovan- thanks again Jess!  We made more frequent stops today due to the wind, but still made it to Cheyenne by 2:30.  There we arrived at Jon's friend Shea Boyle's apartment- another friend from his ISV Australia trip- though Shea was not actually there! (she was on a swimming and diving clinic trip to Texas).  Shea graciously still offered for us to stay in her apartment, and her dad Casey was kind enough to come let us in.  We also met one of Shea's top divers, Billy, who hung out with us for the afternoon.  After watching "Good Luck Chuck," he drove us up the road to the Synergy Cafe so we could use the internet.  We then went shopping and had a nice relaxing night with a pasta and vegetable dinner with corn-on-the-cob alongside the TV movie of the night, "The Bad News Bears."  Great thanks again to Shea for giving us another stay along our trip!

07/04/08 Day 21:  Happy 4th of July!

Brule, NE to Kimball, NE- 94mi- weather:  again perfect biking weather- though high temps by mid-day up into the mid- 90's.

Left Brule early (5am), though it felt like 6am with the time change.  We decided not to recognize the time difference until later today to enjoy more of the holiday!  We made stops in Chappell, Sidney, and then in Potter, where we hit the 2,000mi mark (and celebrated with sparklers- fitting of course for the 4th).  Between Sidney and Potter, we met another cyclist, Ben Darling, who turned around to bike with us for a few miles.  Thanks Ben for the company!  We also incurred our first real mechanical problem, as a spoke broke on Jon's rear wheel.  We had to remove the wheel, tire, and back gear cassette to get the new spoke on, and then true the wheel.  (It was a good time to find out that the wrench we have is too small to remove the lock nut, and intend to get a new wrench in the coming days!).  We finally arrived to Kimball, and went immediately to the town common where the July 4th tractor pull was going on.  Jon had called ahead the night before (to a number we got on Kimball’s website), and met the woman who had left us a message, Anne.  She and Grandma Jones offered us free lunch (burgers, coleslaw, & chips), and we spend an hour by the Beer Garden watching the tractor pull and meeting the locals!  We then went to the pool for free swimming, but a boy had hit his head moments earlier and the pool was shut down.  Soon thereafter we met Jim, whom had overheard of our cycle at the common, and generously offered to buy us a holiday 6-pack-, which we of course agreed to!  We then went back to the common, where the tractor pull was wrapping up, and offered to help with the taking-down of the festivities.  We moved tables, picked up trash, took down banners, etc.  We hung out for a good few hours, and met Alex, Brint, and Colby in the process.  The guys took us back to Grandma Liz's house so we could take showers, and then took us to Subway for dinner.  The night was capped off with fireworks put on at the high school, along with TONS of fireworks set off by locals in town (there was literally not a dull moment in the sky from 8-12).  We then got to bed around 11, camping on the football field near Colby's camp at the common.  A great thanks to all whom we met in Kimball (too many to name), the gracious hospitality, and the new Kimball hats!  We will (and have been) wearing them with pride! Best of luck as well to Alex, Brint, and Colby as they head to Lincoln to start school in the fall!

 

7/03/08 Day 20:Cozad, NE to Brule, NE (10mi west of Ogallala)- 108mi- weather- perfect biking weather, and FLAT!

Left the church early by 6 to take to the streets on a chilly Nebraska morning! (mid 50's).  We got 2 early 'legs' out of 25 miles apiece to get to North Platte.  A few miles before town the winds started to pick up.  We hit the library to research the weather, to ensure it wasn't going to get worse!  Low and behold the winds died down and the day of biking wasn't all too bad.  We arrived in Ogallala (yes, this is the actual name of the town....) around 3, though we crossed into the Mountain Time Zone- so it was really 2:00.  We went first to put some of our digital pictures onto a CD, and then to the library and the local pool where Andy did a half hour swim.  We then went grocery shopping and hit up "Homemade Heaven Sub Shop," where Jon got a sub and a free piece of coconut cream pie- a thanks to the owner Chin for the generosity!  Finally around 6:00 we decided to get in another 10 miles and head to Brule, a small town west of Ogallala.  We made camp in the town park, to the sounds of many locals setting off fireworks.  We also took out (for the first time) the frisbee and tossed it around for a good half hour before hitting the sack.

 

 

7/02/08 Day 19 Wed.- Grand Island to Cozad 93 mi Chris got us started with eggs & waffles and cookies-to-go at 6:45 AM.  Storms threatened but never emerged, though strong gusts blew from the North. At 9AM we hit the halfway point- 1750 miles! Rest of the day uneventful. Received a generous donation from Karen at a gas station somewhere in Nebraska! Went to the police station in Cozad to inquire where to camp. Officer Tim Kostrunuk contacted Pastor Jeremy Jech, who biked to the station and escorted us to the Wellness Center for showers and the Cozad Christian Church for shelter. Had we arrived a day earlier, we would have caught the performance Frankie Valance gave in this very church! Today we send Happy Birthday wishes to Jesse Regnier and thanks to Annette Korhonen for mailing all those postcards yesterday to the CHF donors & Pete McCarron for being our dedicated  webmaster!

7/01/08 Day 18 Tues.- Omaha City to Grand Island  Weather hot,(98), terrain flat, no wind!
Today was a record breaker- 140 miles (felt like putting up a BIG number on the mileage chart in the cage!) Left Omaha at 6 AM. 30 mi. into the trip, pedaled past the grim remains of an overturned 18-wheeler & cargo of hogs, none surviving. Another 30 mi., now hungry & eager to buy food in Rising City, we arrived to find only a post office, and had to bike another 7 mi to the grocery store in Shelby. Thanks to Anne for the candy & Scott for the donation! Continuing on, we’ve loving the town names & have voted Nebraska the State of All-time Best Town Names: Wahoo, Surprise, Worms pop.36…. Arrived in Grand Island at the home of Katie (another Australian trip mate) and parents, Dave & Chris where we immediately jumped into their lake. Dinner another GREAT meal, Chris serving up potatoes with cheese, mac & cheese, corn and Dave elevating the art of grilling steaks to a new level. Homemade cookies and ice cream for dessert and the best sleep after out biggest day. Warm thanks to the Starostka Family!

06/30/08 Day 17 Mon. 112mi, Weather- picture-perfect biking weather!  Sunny, mid-80's,
little to no wind

Out and on the bike by 6:40.  Got in a solid 20 miles to Adair where we stopped for breakfast.  Weather was great for our ride, but the terrain was hilly! (Yes, Iowa does have serious hills- and no, we didn't know that til today either....)  We then chugged along towards Nebraska, finally shaking out of Iowa!  Perhaps now we will avoid the daily question of "are you guys training for RAGBRAI?" (The Registers Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa- the famous ride that everyone relates every biker to....).  We finally crossed into the Cornhusker state (our 8th) over the Missouri river, and arrived at our destination in Omaha around 4:30.  We stayed with Jon's friend Jess Donovan and her boyfriend Chris.  Jon and Jess met 2 summers ago during their student volunteer trip to Australia.  Jess and Chris treated us to dinner in downtown Omaha in the Old Market section of town.  We enjoyed a great dinner and some local brew at the Upstream Brewery where we were able to get a table outside on the brick-laid street.  We then stopped off for ice cream to top off the night.  A great thanks to Jess and Chris for a great stay in Omaha!!!

06/29/08 Day 16 (Sun. June 29):  102mi from Grinell, IA to Stuart, IA Weather:  Windy (again), rain in the am, bright sun in the pm.

After a brief 4-hour snooze under the overhang of the elementary school entrance in Grinell, we got up at 3am and were on the bikes by 4.  We decided to get an early start to avoid the predicted windy conditions, as the wind usually picks up after 9am.  The first few hours were tough; for 1 we couldn't see! plus it began to rain, the wind was still blowing, and we hit a 6mi patch of grooved construction pavement! However, we did get to Des Moines (50mi from Grinell) by 8:30am, and enjoyed another continental breakfast upon our arrival! (as mentioned before, we had hoped to get to Des Moines yesterday, but could not due to wind- we would like to thank, however, Rick Sampson, whom we met on www.warmshowers.org, for the generous offer to stay at his house Sat. night!).  By that time the wind had picked up again, and decided to spend the day in Urbanville (the northern part of Des Moines).  We stopped at the pool where Andy did some laps, then off for a 1:00 showing of Indiana Jones.  At 3:30 we got back on the bikes to try to tack on another 40 miles.  The winds were still strong, but we found an awesome 15mi bike path that ran parallel to our route, which blocked the wind.  The path was a diamond in the rough, and made for a huge mental break from the monotonous traffic-ladend Iowa routes.  We passed by ~75 bikers on the path and (literally) said hi to every one.  We finally arrived in Stuart, IA, got some food at the grocery store, and made camp at a roofed pavilion by the local baseball field.  The 100+ miles made our Omaha destination within striking distance for tomorrow!

Also- you can add to our stay in Clinton, IA that the church where we stayed has a website- www.jcpop.org

06/28/08 Day 15:  67mi- Weather: WINDY! (gusts up to 38mph)

Today we met our fiercest enemy yet: WIND.  Though we got an early 6:30 start (with send-off snacks from Lauren as well), our hopes of having a big 120mi day to Des Moines was foiled by a fierce wind.  After 35mi, we hit winds upwards of 38mph, and were forced to stop after 50mi in Brooklyn, IA- known as the community of flags (the picture of the flags tells the story of the wind...).  We went first to the library to research the weather, which showed not to improve until, essentially, Monday.  The librarian Jody, and wife of the Mayor of Brooklyn, offered to take us to lunch as well as a place to rest for the afternoon.  We enjoyed a great lunch with Jody & Loren (the mayor) at Rednex, then back to their house for an afternoon nap. Our 2-hour nap was much needed!  We woke up to some homemade pies (raspberry, apple, and key-lime) topped off with apple pie ice cream!  We declined Jody & Loren's offer to spend the night (though tempting), as we decided to try to get in a few more miles before sunset.  Loren made us a few sandwiches for the road, and we headed off.  15 miles up the road we decided the wind was still far too difficult to overcome, and stopped in Grinell.  There we met Holly, Jenny & Otto, who invited us over for chicken, potatoes, and a homemade cherry (hand-picked!) tart dessert!  After gorging on food once again, we made way to the local park and camped for the night under an overhang near the school, shielding us from both rain and wind.  A great thanks to Jody, Loren, Holly, Jenny, & Otto for great food, company, and hospitality!

06/27/08 Day 14:  86mi, weather:  overcast all day- rain in morning and thundershower at night (sunshine when we saw Lauren Horrigan's face....) Read new article

Left Clinton at our EARLIEST start yet: 5:45am.   Stopped at the Super 8 for a continental breakfast!  Andy incurred our 6th flat of the trip, as his back tire was torn like Jon's was 2 days prior.  Arrived in Cedar Rapids- hollahh!- Iowa, around 2:00.  We saw the devastation of the flooding that occured 2 weeks ago.  We stayed at Jon's long-lost Chapel St. neighborhood friend Lauren Horrigan's apartment.  Lauren made us a FANTASTIC meal of brie, croissants, and preserves, with a main course of salmon, carrots, tomatoes, rice, zuchinni, and summer squash- not to mention a dessert of home-made brownies and fat-free a-la-mode!  A great thanks to Lauren (our Iowa Ambassador/Ms. Iowa), her friend Summer, and the dogs Jack & Gracie for a GREAT stay in Cedar Rapids, IA- (as we're told, the best city in the union!).