Oregon!!

Today we crossed our last state line. It was exciting and kind of sad at the same time. I really can't believe I'm already in Oregon. I hit 3300 miles today, so we have about 500 miles to go in the next 9 days of the trip.

The first part of Idaho was hard because of wind and heat, but the ride through the mountains and into Boise was beautiful. Someone heard on the news that the morning we were in Stanley, ID it was the coldest place in the U.S. I think it was about 35 degrees. So that was invigorating. That same day I saw a cowboy hearing sheep with his sheep dogs and climbed a mountain. It was an adventure.

I really enjoyed Boise. We had a build day and my group biked to and worked in the Habitat Restore, which was fun. We had to bike because betty the van had broken down again, but luckily she was all fixed for our trip today. Our ride into Boise was great, 38 miles downhill!!
Today was pretty easy 70 miles with no climbs, so we were into Vale by 1. Tomorrow we go to Unity. It’s exciting to be so close to making it across the country.

Thanks again to everyone that sends me mail and comments! Miss everyone and talk to you all soon!!

10 States Down, 1 to Go

Quick Update:

We're in Idaho
Ridden 3000 miles
Less than 2 weeks to go
The tetons were amazing

The Rockies

Hi Everyone,

Since last I posted we have ridden through most of Colorado! We are now at 2300 miles.

The rest of Kansas was great, eastern Colorado was not so enjoyable. The day me rode into Denver was the first day we could see the rockies in the distance. Which was exciting, but one of the hardest days so far for me. It was 100 miles, 110 for some. And I was sick. I was so happy to have a day off and a build day in Denver. The first night in Denver I went and stayed with Sarah in Boulder, which was amazing. I got to sleep in a bed and not on the floor! Out of all the normal life things I miss the most, I think it has to be my bed. Anyway I spent my day off going to the doctor, going to breakfast, and sleeping some more. All in all a great day.

The build day was great. I think the Denver habitat has been the most organized build days so far. I ended up painting, with is always enjoyable.

After Denver we had a short ride to Boulder. I spent most of the day getting things for my bike, replacing my chain and one of my tires, so that it would be ready to ride over the rockies,

The next two days were intense we climbed from a 5000 ft to 12000 ft. The day into Estes Park was beautiful and was the first day we were really up in the mountains. The day from Estes Park to Grand Lake was the best most challenging thing I've done so far. We rode up trail ridge road in Rocky Mountain National Park, the highest paved road in the US. We were above the tree line for about 8 miles with wind and snow banks. It took about five hours to climb 30 miles. After about a 2 hour lunch break I headed down the mountain and finished the last 20ish miles in less than an hour. In many ways it's been one of the best days on the trip so far.

Yesterday was much easier, only 40 miles mostly downhill. We stopped at some sulfur springs, which was very nice.

Today we are in Steamboat Springs and have a build day tomorrow. Only one more stop in Colorado then onward to Utah!

Thanks everyone for the mail at the Estes Park mail drop. I think it's the most mail I've gotten yet and I love hearing from all of you. And it's fun to get mail. :)

There's No Place Like Home

The rest of the day off was wonderful. We are now in Beloit, KS. I'm really enjoying the flatness of Kansas, and so far no wind!! I know it's coming but right now it's great. We get into town early enough to explore. Yesterday was only a 40 mile day so I got to get my hair cut, very exciting. Today was pretty short too, only 55 miles, so I got to partake in a banana split and am now at a library that still has a card catalog! Tomorrow starts a series of longer days starting with 90 miles, a few 60 and 70 miles, and then two 90 mile days into Denver.

Today we passed over Hwy 81 which some consider that to be half way across the country, but we still have about 300 miles to go to be at our 1900 mile half way mark.

Anyway I am liking Kansas much more than I thought. I am now going to take a nap at a pool. Hope everyone is doing wonderfully!
Thanks James for reading and commenting!!

Day Off!

We are finally in Manhattan Kansas and are having our first day off! It's pretty exciting not to have any commitments. We did go for a few hours this morning to help clean up debris from a tornado that hit here on Wednesday.

Not too much has happened this week. The most eventful thing was that we had our first 100 mile day (actually 104). Everyone was excited and exhausted when the day was over. Thankfully the next day was a build day in Kansas City.

Oh and we had a prom. We decided when we got to Manhattan that we were going to find the most ridiculous outfits possible and dance. So we dressed up for dinner and had the church members that provided us dinner judge whose outfit was the best. I think they like it as much as we did. And then of course some dancing took place.

Well I will be in Kansas for the next week, and then Colorado! Hope everyone is doing wonderfully. Thanks again for the comments and updates that make me happy.

Until next time...

Oh and our total distance is about 1500, almost half way there!

Katy Trail

Today we are in Marthasville, MO. Our Milage is almost 1200. Pretty Awesome.

It's gotten hot, windy, and stormy, but in some ways that makes the days more exciting. We ran into some pretty bad storms our last day in Indiana and through most of Illinois. The storms made everyone be creative when finding shelter. One day I hung out in a Wendy's, on day under someones porch, and another under a bridge.

The day of the storm under the porch was great. Right before the storm hit I was hanging out in Amy's yard, a wonderfully nice lady that gave us grape koolaid, which was delicious. I took off down the road with Mary, Kevin, and Cory. We had to stop 3 miles later to wait out a crazy windy storm under another generous person's porch. George joined us and so did a boy dog named Ginger. I really enjoyed that day.

The next storm was on our way into St. Louis. This time we sought shelter under a wooden bridge which we later found out all the water leaked through. There were about 7 of us under there waiting out the storm for about 1/2 hour. Durning this I looked down and there was a black snake on my foot. I will admit I freaked out a little bit. I screamed threw my bike down, which landed on Alana, then tripped over the bike and fell down. At the time it wasn't funny, but afterwards the other people's versions of the story made me laugh. It's going to take a while to live that down.

We had a great build day in St. Louis. We helped with a group called Rebuilding Together. We repainted a house and did yard clean up. The house looked really nice when we finished.

Today we rode from St. Louis to Marthsville. It was supposed to be a 60 mile ride but much to our suprise and delight it ended up being only 50!! Also we spent bout 40 miles of the ride on the Katy Trail, which is the longest rails to trails project in the U.S. I know I really enjoyed being on a traffic free trail, in the shade, with very little wind. It was pretty wonderful. We stopped for lunch in a little place called Defiance which had great ice cream and a sweet bike shop. Many people acquired biking hats and bells and horns for their bikes. (Sonya's hamburger bell was my favorite). After lunch I rode with 7 of the girls singing and being silly for the rest of the ride into town. We rolled in to the church around 12:45. The afternoon was spent taking showers, getting in an extra lunch, and napping. All in all a great day! Tomorrow we have a 90 mile ride into Jefferson City and another build day coming up on Wednesday.

I really enjoy everyone's comments. If you want to see photos there are some up on the bike and build website.

State Line

Hi Everyone!

Well we are now in Indiana. Pretty exciting. We only had three days in Ohio and crossed into Indiana today. We are staying in Columbus which has quite a bit of modern art for such a little town. The vistors center has a Chihuly exhibit which is amazing for such a small place. I think some of us might go exploring tomorrow morning since the ride will be a mere 50 miles compared to today's 90.

We had a build day in Cincinatti. I did a great deal of caulking, I think I could caulk just about anything now. We also put up a bunch of insulation and helped with some other jobs. Having a build day was great, but I have to day I was glad to have a day off of riding.

Everything is going well. We will hit the 1000 mile mark in the next couple of days.

I think we might go see a movie tomorrow in Bloomington. It's always fun to do normal people things.

As for the gold bond, thanks to Sonya's parents, we now have two big communal bottles of it. Also very exciting.

Justin, it would be the best thing ever to high five all of you going down the road. Jasmine, I can't wait to see new pictures of moosey.

I heart you all.

Country Road

Hi Everyone!

Sorry it's taken me so long to post. Internet is sparse.

So this is what's been happening.

Total Miles: 575
Another Build Day in Lynchburg
Crossed a State Line.

So far the trip has been great. Yesterday was by far the hardest day. We rode 85 miles through the West Virginia mountains. Going uphill for almost 50 miles did not make me happy, but the downhills almost made it worth it. I hit a max speed of 38 mph, but other people got up to 50 mph.

We've ridden through Emporia, Victoria, Lynchburg, Ronoake, Blacksburg, VA. Hinton, Madison, and now Huntington, WV.

My favorite day so far was the ride into Blackburg. It was only 36 miles over beautiful mountains. Most of the time do not like going up mountains for miles at a time. But there is something nice about finishing a downhill where all you can hear is the wind rushing by as you are going 30 mph, then transitioning into a steep uphill going 5 mph causing everything around you to become very quiet and peaceful. Just you and the bike.

I was also extremely excited to cross our first state line, it made it seem like we really are biking across the country.

The build day was great. I learned how to put up dry wall, always a useful skill. It was nice being able to work with the women that will live there. She really appreciated our help. There was an article about us in the Lynchburg newspaper, I would link it but I need to let someone else use the computer.

Thanks everyone for your comments! I miss everyone. As for sending me something that might be helpful, the first thing that comes to mind is gold bond.

First Day of Biking

After 2 days of orientation and dipping our back wheels in the ocean, we left Virginia Beach this morning and rode to Suffolk, VA. It was originally going to be 37 miles, but the route was changed and we went about 50. It was a lovely ride in perfect weather.

Not too much news yet...but it seems like its going to be a great trip. We build tomorrow and ride again on Monday.

Total Miles: 51.4

Very Soon

So I am leaving today for Virginia Beach!
We start biking Saturday!
I will do my best to write often and post up pictures.