Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Hello from Kentucky!!!
Currently John and I are staying at a Baptist Church in Sebree Kentucky. The pastor who runs the church, Bob, and his wife Violet have been housing cyclists for the past 28 years! We are staying in the youth center of the church and the children who belong to the church made us packed lunches for tomorrows ride and wrote us notes telling us how much Jesus loves us. I can't tell you how thrilled John and I are that Jesus loves us !!! What would we do without him? Ok...enough...
Our ride through Missouri finished off nicely and we left the Ozark mountains and ran into dogs and lots of them. Honestly, John has had it much worse then i have. He has been chased by many more dogs, and at times had to get off his bike and fight them off with water or even his own bike. I think it was a relief for both John and i to get out of Missouri!
We crossed the Mississippi river into Illinois and truly felt as though we were making progress on this journey. As of today, we have crossed the 2,800 mile marker and our about 250 miles away from Virginia! Can you believe it? Illinois was very short and sweet as our route took us by coal factories and back road farm country that was truly remarkable..Our last stop in Illinois was in Elizabethtown. It was right on the Ohio River and luckily we got to stay on the lawn of a hotel for free. We had a cool breeze off the river and watched the sunrise in the morning.....it was one of those mornings where we wouldn't have rather been anywhere else!
Now we will jam our way through Kentucky and make our way to Virginia. I really only have one last piece of information to share with you. That is that i started this trip at 162 pounds and now I weigh 151! John started this trip at 207 pounds and now he weighs a cool 193. When you finally see us in person, it may shock you. I hope you enjoyed the pictures above! Much love to everyone. We miss you......
Currently John and I are staying at a Baptist Church in Sebree Kentucky. The pastor who runs the church, Bob, and his wife Violet have been housing cyclists for the past 28 years! We are staying in the youth center of the church and the children who belong to the church made us packed lunches for tomorrows ride and wrote us notes telling us how much Jesus loves us. I can't tell you how thrilled John and I are that Jesus loves us !!! What would we do without him? Ok...enough...
Our ride through Missouri finished off nicely and we left the Ozark mountains and ran into dogs and lots of them. Honestly, John has had it much worse then i have. He has been chased by many more dogs, and at times had to get off his bike and fight them off with water or even his own bike. I think it was a relief for both John and i to get out of Missouri!
We crossed the Mississippi river into Illinois and truly felt as though we were making progress on this journey. As of today, we have crossed the 2,800 mile marker and our about 250 miles away from Virginia! Can you believe it? Illinois was very short and sweet as our route took us by coal factories and back road farm country that was truly remarkable..Our last stop in Illinois was in Elizabethtown. It was right on the Ohio River and luckily we got to stay on the lawn of a hotel for free. We had a cool breeze off the river and watched the sunrise in the morning.....it was one of those mornings where we wouldn't have rather been anywhere else!
Now we will jam our way through Kentucky and make our way to Virginia. I really only have one last piece of information to share with you. That is that i started this trip at 162 pounds and now I weigh 151! John started this trip at 207 pounds and now he weighs a cool 193. When you finally see us in person, it may shock you. I hope you enjoyed the pictures above! Much love to everyone. We miss you......
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Hello Hello,
So good to be back writing again! It's tough to find Internet connection. Well, John and I cruised through eastern Colorado and left our girl Gillian(the prison guard) and jammed into Kansas...
Kansas was quite the experience. We rode right into harvest season, and wheat was being harvested all throughout the state! As a result, huge combine trucks blew by us and at times almost knocked us off the road.... The wheat fields were beautiful, as the golden hue gently hissed in the wind and gave off quite a hypnotic feeling. A lot of the cyclists we were meeting on the road had said that the difficulty of Kansas was dependent upon the wind. We got headwind pretty much the whole way and it made Kansas a pretty good work out even with the flat terrain. As i am sure you heard, John and i ran into rain, rain, rain, and more rain, which turned into flooding and detours!! Biking in the rain was awesome! The rain in Kansas was cool and it somehow has a invigorating effect on you while you are riding.
The flooding and rain caused problems in our route, and we would have not made it without the help of strangers! In small towns in Kansas families took us in, gave us showers, and showed us how remarkable the "American Spirit" can be. I can't tell you how incredible it is to be welcomed into peoples homes without any questions and feel immediately like family. Some memorable families include Bryan & Dulcie, who run their own Deli in Toronto Kansas. Byran put us up in his house and shared his life stories on his guitar.
For the 4th of July John and i jammed into Marshfield Missouri and attended our first Rodeo!!! Everyone was dressed in full cowboy/cowgirl outfits and we felt completely out of our element. It was right out of that scene in Borat, and john and i took the whole event in stride. The bull riding was very entertaining and the fireworks after were awesome. In my book, 4th of July at a rodeo in Missouri is too darn good.... Can you beat it?
As i write, John and I are in Houston Missouri making our way into the Ozark Mountains. The rain has finally stopped and the heat and humidity has settled in. We are staying the night at the Houston Motel, a mecca for cyclists cruising through the area.
We hope everyone is enjoying their summer. We love and miss all of you. Until next time, please keep thinking about us as much as we are thinking of you!
So good to be back writing again! It's tough to find Internet connection. Well, John and I cruised through eastern Colorado and left our girl Gillian(the prison guard) and jammed into Kansas...
Kansas was quite the experience. We rode right into harvest season, and wheat was being harvested all throughout the state! As a result, huge combine trucks blew by us and at times almost knocked us off the road.... The wheat fields were beautiful, as the golden hue gently hissed in the wind and gave off quite a hypnotic feeling. A lot of the cyclists we were meeting on the road had said that the difficulty of Kansas was dependent upon the wind. We got headwind pretty much the whole way and it made Kansas a pretty good work out even with the flat terrain. As i am sure you heard, John and i ran into rain, rain, rain, and more rain, which turned into flooding and detours!! Biking in the rain was awesome! The rain in Kansas was cool and it somehow has a invigorating effect on you while you are riding.
The flooding and rain caused problems in our route, and we would have not made it without the help of strangers! In small towns in Kansas families took us in, gave us showers, and showed us how remarkable the "American Spirit" can be. I can't tell you how incredible it is to be welcomed into peoples homes without any questions and feel immediately like family. Some memorable families include Bryan & Dulcie, who run their own Deli in Toronto Kansas. Byran put us up in his house and shared his life stories on his guitar.
For the 4th of July John and i jammed into Marshfield Missouri and attended our first Rodeo!!! Everyone was dressed in full cowboy/cowgirl outfits and we felt completely out of our element. It was right out of that scene in Borat, and john and i took the whole event in stride. The bull riding was very entertaining and the fireworks after were awesome. In my book, 4th of July at a rodeo in Missouri is too darn good.... Can you beat it?
As i write, John and I are in Houston Missouri making our way into the Ozark Mountains. The rain has finally stopped and the heat and humidity has settled in. We are staying the night at the Houston Motel, a mecca for cyclists cruising through the area.
We hope everyone is enjoying their summer. We love and miss all of you. Until next time, please keep thinking about us as much as we are thinking of you!
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Hey Hey,
John and I can officially say that we made it through the Rocky Mountains. It was truly amazing and no words can really explain to you the breath taking scenery. It is something you must experience for yourself! The hardest part of our trek is pretty much over, we made it through most of the mountains, and we are currently in a small town in Eastern Colorado called Ordway. The night before, we stayed in Pueblo. We met a local cyclist on the road named Donald and he asked John and I if we wanted to crash at his house! We immediately said yes! Donald was quite the adventure man....He teaches in Burma during the year and has cycled all over the world...We set up camp in his backyard and met his wife Crista. They took us out to a local Bar that their family owns and we got free drinks all night! I had one! The next morning he took us to a local Mexican place called Taco Star. It was one of the best Mexican food i ever had. Truly delightful.
It was tough to leave Donald, but today we continued into Eastern Colorado. It was quite the change in terrain for us as everything is now flat! It has its advantages and disadvantages. We had a tough headwind today and we fought through 55 miles of riding in 100 degree heat. We ended up in Ordway, where we found about by another cyclist that their was a woman named Gillian who houses cyclists. So, we made our way to Gillian's crib and the rumor was true! Gillian works in a correctional facility down the road and has been housing cyclists for over 10 years! She is originally from New Zealand and has an amazing zest for life. She has stories of all of the cyclists she houses and remembers each one of their names! Truly remarkable. She let us do some laundry, got us some dinner, and as i write, John is in the other room knockin down some beers with her! This experience will be one John and i will remember forever and be a highlight of the trip!
I hope you enjoy the pictures we loaded below! They combine Utah and Colorado. By mid week we should be in Kansas, let's hope for a tailwind. Finally, to quote our good friend Donald in Pueblo,
'Riding on your bike for the summer is good livin'
No question about it. Good livin.....
John and I can officially say that we made it through the Rocky Mountains. It was truly amazing and no words can really explain to you the breath taking scenery. It is something you must experience for yourself! The hardest part of our trek is pretty much over, we made it through most of the mountains, and we are currently in a small town in Eastern Colorado called Ordway. The night before, we stayed in Pueblo. We met a local cyclist on the road named Donald and he asked John and I if we wanted to crash at his house! We immediately said yes! Donald was quite the adventure man....He teaches in Burma during the year and has cycled all over the world...We set up camp in his backyard and met his wife Crista. They took us out to a local Bar that their family owns and we got free drinks all night! I had one! The next morning he took us to a local Mexican place called Taco Star. It was one of the best Mexican food i ever had. Truly delightful.
It was tough to leave Donald, but today we continued into Eastern Colorado. It was quite the change in terrain for us as everything is now flat! It has its advantages and disadvantages. We had a tough headwind today and we fought through 55 miles of riding in 100 degree heat. We ended up in Ordway, where we found about by another cyclist that their was a woman named Gillian who houses cyclists. So, we made our way to Gillian's crib and the rumor was true! Gillian works in a correctional facility down the road and has been housing cyclists for over 10 years! She is originally from New Zealand and has an amazing zest for life. She has stories of all of the cyclists she houses and remembers each one of their names! Truly remarkable. She let us do some laundry, got us some dinner, and as i write, John is in the other room knockin down some beers with her! This experience will be one John and i will remember forever and be a highlight of the trip!
I hope you enjoy the pictures we loaded below! They combine Utah and Colorado. By mid week we should be in Kansas, let's hope for a tailwind. Finally, to quote our good friend Donald in Pueblo,
'Riding on your bike for the summer is good livin'
No question about it. Good livin.....
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