Bill and Charlie's Excellent Adventure

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST AND SUPPORT

2009-06-04T20:53:00.003-04:00

Hello everyone,

Those of you following my blog know that Charlie, Kriss and I finished our 3,030 mile, 46-day bike trip across the country last Thursday, finishing in Bowers Beach, DE. With us (and filming the event) as we put our tires in the Atlantic Ocean was my wife, Rickey, who had taken over as our SAG driver the prior week near Morgantown, West Virginia.

What a journey and such good memories! During the past week, I even managed to bring the blog up to date, including the incredible welcome that we received last Saturday at Toni's Kitchen in Montclair, NJ.

As of Saturday, we had raised over $13,000 (now almost $14,000) to help support the wonderful work being done at Toni's Kitchen, which provides wonderful meals and a nurturing family environment to folks in need. It was truly a privilege to be welcomed as a part of the Toni's Kitchen family. I am very grateful to everyone for your interest, encouragement, kind words and of course financial support to Toni's Kitchen. (Donations for Toni's Kitchen are still being accepted - checks CAN be made out to Toni's Kitchen and sent to my address: 14 Marie Terrace, West Orange, NJ 07052).

People have asked me about highlights of the trip. There were so many - it is hard to pick only a few. But here are some that come to mind:

* My traveling buddies - I was truly blessed to have been able to do this trip with 2 great guys: Charlie Ortman, my long-time friend from NJ, and Kriss Wells, my new good buddy from Iowa. For almost 7 weeks, we were with each other practically 24 hours a day - including sleeping and eating many of our meals within the fairly confined quarters of our RV, "Tiggy." Amazingly, we still liked each other when we finished the trip! While the three of us have very different personalities and are somewhat (ahem) advanced in years, perhaps even a bit set in our ways, we managed to make it work somehow, through a combination of good humor, good nature and mutual respect.

* Our SAG drivers - Again we were truly blessed. Starting with my son Jonathan, with whom I started the trip across the country in Tiggy on April 9, and then my brother-in-law, Dennis Barnum, who was our SAG driver for the first week and who largely defined the role of the SAG, we were nurtured, supported, and also bailed out countless numbers of times. Kriss' wife Martha succeeded Dennis and did the longest stint of about 22 days, starting in Sedona, AZ and seeing us across the Mississippi into Illinois. Jay Bowman, a very mature 24 year old, became a good friend and colleague as he guided us through Illinois, Ohio and into West Virginia. And last but DEFINITELY not least, Rickey and Judy Ortman joined us in West Virginia and were there to see us through perhaps the most challenging part of the trip for the SAG driver since we were no longer following the Race Across America route.

* Meeting friends and family along the way - At the very start of our journey in Carlsbad, CA, we were met by Kriss' cousin, Larry, from San Diego, and my old friend, Mary Jo Guy, along with her sons, Richard and Karl, her daughter Lori, and granddaughter for a wonderful send-off. Later we visited my friends Jeanne and Rich Gibian, had a great dinner and spent a wonderful evening with them at their home in Prescott Valley, AZ. In Bloomington, IN, we had a nice visit with Charlie's nephew, Zack, who is a professor at the University of Indiana. In Dayton, Ohio, we had a wonderful visit with my nephew Mike Corbett and his wife, Katie, and their son Jacob. (Just yesterday, June 3, Katie gave birth to Rachel!) And finally we had a great visit in Clarksville, MD, near Washington DC with friends, John and Kathy Clay. An added bonus was a visit by my son Jeremy and his girlfriend, Kacee. Another friend, Danny Paoletti also stopped by.

* Bike Shops - Believe it or not, our various mechanical problems turned into blessings and opportunities to stop at many bike shops, where we were, without exception, provided with immediate, courteous, and inexpensive service, along with lots of good advice and suggestions with regard to routes, places to stay, etc. Bike shops that I recall visiting included: Ramona, CA, El Centro, CA, Flagstaff, AZ, Prescott, AZ, Taos, NM, Wichita, KS, Jefferson City, MO, Alton, IL, Cumberland, MD, and Harpers Ferry, WV. Bike shop people are in a class of their own!

* Experiencing the country in 60-80 mile chunks- I am convinced that bicycling is the best way to see and experience this country. It is truly awesome - the natural beauty, the ruggedness of the terrain, the resourcefulness of its people, the kindness and hospitality of most people we came across. I fell in love with the back roads and riding through farmlands and small towns, hearing the sounds of birds, frogs, crickets, etc., smelling the air, as well as the smells of livestock and fertilizers, swamps and mountain air. The US is incredibly big, diverse, and beautiful. I can not recall ever being bored or tired of any part of the country or scenery:

In California, we climbed up to 4200 feet in Julian, where it was green and lush, and then there was the steep decline into the desert which was quite variable and beautiful. It also helped to be traveling through it in April when the temperature was still comfortable.
In Arizona, the Saguaro cactus was a majestic presence on the landscape. There were many challenging mountains and beautiful vistas on the way to Julian, Sedona, Flagstaff and elsewhere. Then there was the barren and rugged Navajo territory that took us 3 days to travel through in both AZ and NM, and which also included Four Corners, where Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico meet at a single point.
In New Mexico we crossed the Rockies and enjoyed the breathtaking beauty, spent a rest day in beautiful Taos, climbed Eagle Nest and continued through the Cimarron Canyon, which brought us to the edge of the High Prairie.
In Oklahoma, we had strong tail winds that enabled us to go through the 85 miles of mostly farm and pasture land in less than 4 hours and to travel a total of 119 miles and into Kansas on Jonathan's birthday, April 29!
Those tail winds soon changed to head winds in Kansas, which significantly slowed us down, but Kansas had its charm. One of my fondest memories is seeing the grain elevators several miles from each small town that we would pass through. We also met wonderful people in Greensburg, KS, which had been nearly wiped out by a tornado 2 years ago.
In Missouri, there were nice flat lands near the Missouri River, but constant rolling hills practically everywhere else. There was the beautiful Pomme de Terre Lake and campground, which is a Corps of Engineers recreation area. There was also the wonderful hostel in Teppets, with the key on the utility pole, and Jimmy's bar across the street.
Then we crossed the Mississippi into Illinois, where we felt that we were finally getting close to home, and continued through Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia.
In Pennsylvania, we took a chance on taking our road bikes on the Great Allegheny Passage and were richly rewarded by the best bicycle trail I have ever been on, not to mention the beauty of the land it passed through. The trail ended in Cumberland, MD where it connected to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath that was enjoyable, but a bit more challenging on a road bike than was the Great Allegheny.
Maryland was probably the most bicycle friendly state, with a great bicycle map and well marked bike friendly roads.
And finally Delaware was a nice finish with flat roads and light traffic.

Rather than adding to this already lengthy letter, I will end here and once again thank everyone for you interest and support.

Regards,

Bill

WELCOME HOME on May 30, 2008 in West Orange and Montclair

2009-05-31T13:51:00.019-04:00

INITIAL GATHERING AT EAGLE ROCK RESERVATION IN WEST ORANGE, NJ

WE THEN BIKED DOWN THE SNAKE ROAD IN EAGLE ROCK RESERVATION TO TONI'S KITCHEN, WHICH IS LOCATED IN ST. LUKE'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH ON FULLERTON AVENUE IN MONTCLAIR, NJ.

WE RECEIVED AN INCREDIBLY WARM RECEPTION FROM BOTH THE CLIENTS AND TONI'S KITCHEN VOLUNTEERS

AND FINALLY WE WERE GREETED AND CAKE WAS SERVED AT THE MONTCLAIR UNITARIAN CHURCH

Day 46 Parole, Md (Clarksville) to Bowers Beach, DE (64 bike miles;3030 cumulative miles)

2009-05-31T13:49:00.033-04:00

In the morning, John made coffee, and put out bagels and juice, and other goodies. We said our good byes to John and Kathy and headed down the road to resume our trip from Parole and to Annapolis, which was just a few miles away.

We eventually found our way to Dock
St., which is the official end of the Race Across America route.

At the dock was a tribute to Alex Haley, author of Roots that was entitled "Alex Haley, Family and Heritage. It shows the strenth of the human spirit comes from maintaining strong family connections and pride in one's heritage.

There was no place to park near Dock St. so Rickey could only pass by in Tiggy. We did stop briefly by the old State House where there were guides dressed in period costumes. Rickey commented that
she would like to return to

Annapolis some day.

We then biked towards the Bay Bridge passing by the Naval Academy, before passing over the

Navy Academy Bridge. We then shuttled across the Bay Bridge in Tiggy, and then back on the bike on the Eastern Shore of Maryland for another 30 miles before reaching the 16th and last State that we would be through during our coast-to-coast bike ride.

It was then on to Bowers Beach, DE, passing through Little Heaven on the way!

We chose Bowers Beach as our destination since it was a fairly direct from the Bay Bridge and involved minimal travel on busy roads. It also seemed to be an appropriate name for our destination since the "Bowers" are the highest trump in the card game euchre that we played so often during our journey. But once we got there, we knew that Bowers Beach was the perfect place for a journey to end!!

Day 45 White Ferry, Md to Parole, Md (Clarksville, Md) (64 bike miles; 2966 cumulative miles)

2009-05-31T13:47:00.022-04:00

From Leesburg, we took the ferry across the Potomac to Whites Ferry, MD. There we met up with our old friend, the C & D Canal, at milepost 35.

Once in Maryland, we were able to follow the Maryland bike route map that took us through Poolesville, Rockville, Silver Spring, College Park, Bowie and Parole (about 6 miles from Annapolis).

Earlier I had contacted John and Kathy Clay about possibly parking in their driveway, since I thought they lived in Bowie. But they actually live in Clarksville, about 35 miles from Bowie. John urged us to still come, promising to cook us dinner and also tempting us with the use of their HOT TUB!!

We didn't need much convincing. Once we got near Parole, we loaded our bikes onto Tiggy with the intention of resuming our trip tomorrow where we stopped today.

Needless to say we had a great time visiting with the Clays. John filled us with beer, wine and a great chicken curry dinner. Kathy joined us around 8 pm since it was her late night to work. Also joining us were my son Jeremy, who lives in DC, and his girlfriend Kacee, who had just arrived back home from Kosovo a few hours earlier. Kacee literally got home, took a shower, and then jumped into their ZIP car for the drive to Clarksville. A few hours later, another UUMAC friend, Danny Paoletti, joined us. The Clays' son, Nick, 15, was around for a short while, before going off to a baseball party. Daughter, Alexa, who would be graduating from HS the next day, also stopped by for a short period before going out again.

Eventually we got into the hot tub. It was a very enjoyable evening and we are most grateful to John and Kathy for their wonderful hospitality!!

Day 44 Harpers Ferry, WV to Point of Rocks, Md (Leesburg, VA) (17 bike miles; 2902 cumulative miles)

2009-05-31T13:44:00.024-04:00

The plan had been to take a 1/2 rest day and use it to explore Harper's Ferry and vicinity.

But the rain had other plans for us. It had rained much of the evening and it was raining when we woke up. We had eggs and veggies for breakfast and then headed back to Harpers Ferry to visit the bike shop, ceramics studio and whatever else seemed interesting.

Harpers Ferry actually is a pretty nice town, located where the Shenandoah flows into the Potomac. It has been beautifully restored with a lot of history. There are also lots of hiking and biking trails and spectacular scenery.

But the rain was unrelenting so we were pretty much forced to stay inside.

Rickey was very proud of herself for following the instruction to "Examine Closely"!

But we did find good use for the new umbrellas that we purchased earlier at the bike shop.

We headed back to Tiggy for lunch and decided to give biking a shot despite the rain. So off we were on our bikes back to Harpers Ferry and then a foot bridge over the Shenandoah River and back into Maryland, where we picked up the C & O trail with the Potomac just to our right.

Since it had been raining for quite some time, the trail was very wet and both our bikes and our bodies got caked in mud.

We biked through Brunswick, Maryland and met Rickey and Judy at Point of Rocks, MD where Tiggy shuttled us a few miles south to the Leesburg, VA Days Inn, the closest place we could find to stay for the night.

Day 43 Little Orleans, Md to Harpers Ferry, WV (70 bike miles: 2885 cumulative miles)

2009-05-31T13:42:00.019-04:00

Leaving the Little Orleans Campground and our SAG drivers, we headed back to the C & O Trail, with Hancock our first meeting point.

Since I was helping to pack up, and do the "water in - water out" routine, Kriss and Charlie actually left almost an hour before me. But I was able to make up time, and get to Hancock about the same time as they did because I was able to find the paved bicycle trail near Lock 56 that the bike shop guy in Cumberland had told us about. Kriss and Charlie missed it.

Below and to my right was the C & O Canal and the Potomac River.

The video below illustrates once again that I am no Jonathan when it comes to videoing!!

Continuing their uncanny knack of arriving at just the right time, Rickey and Judy arrived in Hancock just a few minutes before Charlie and Kriss. Hancock was a charming town and had a National Park Visitor Center and exhibits. Route 40, the National Pike, also passed through Hancock.

From Hancock we had another 11 miles of paved bike trail in lieu of the C & O. Since our goal was Harper's Ferry W.V. by evening, we decided to return to the roads rather than go back to the C & O. By afternoon, the skies darkened and then it poured as we were biking towards the Antietam National Battleground site on Route 65. We stopped at a closed gas station (it was Memorial Day!) to get out of the rain. Soon after getting our call, our guardian angels, who were having a relaxing lunch at the Desert Rose in Williamsport, MD, arrived which allowed us a change out of our wet clothes.

Once the rain let up, we were back on the road, arriving at the KOA campground in Harpers Ferry by 6 pm. Because Rickey allowed us only 1 beer each, we were able to get to the Secret Six Tavern in Harper's Ferry by 7:30 before it closed.

Day 42 Cumberland, Md to Little Orleans, MD (40 bike miles; 2816 cumulative miles)

2009-05-31T13:38:00.033-04:00

After getting info from the local bike shop (where Kriss also took a shower), we headed south from Cumberland along the Potomac River on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath towards Washington, DC. We had been told that the trail was not quite as smooth as the Great Allegheny and we found this to be true.

Still our road bikes worked fine, although we would not go nearly as fast.
We soon came to our first lock, lock 75, and also the lock keeper's house. As I was to learn, the lock keepers were on call 24/7 and were also responsible for maintenance and upkeep of the lock. For this they received a house, an acre of land and $150 per year salary. I chatted with an artist who was capturing the beauty of the site on canvass.

The water in the canal varied considerably - some parts were dry, in other places it was covered with algae or duckweed, and the water was clear where it flowed more quickly. There were many turtles and other wildlife on and adjacent to the road.

The Town Creek Aqueduct at Milepost 163 was well restored and demonstrated how the canal was able to cross the various creeks and rivers that would enter the Potomac.

Around Milepost 155 was the Paw Paw tunnel. Construction of the 3118 foot long tunnel was begun in 1824 by a Methodist Minister. But he soon went bankrupt and the tunnel was not completed until 1850. To accelerate construction, two shafts were dug from the top of the mountain so that construction of the tunnel could proceed in 4 directions! Entering the tunnel I could barely see the light at the other end. There was no other light, so I held onto the railing in the pitch dark with the canal below me and to my left and kept walking until I got to the other side. I encountered no one else in the tunnel until I was almost through.

As I emerged from the tunnel, I found a boardwalk that went through the very narrow gorge and, shortly after, Lock 66.

Rickey and Judy met us with Tiggy at the 15 Mile Creek walk-in campsite and we went for a very welcome dip in the Potomac. Earlier they had found an available campsite in nearby Little Orleans. Even though we could have gone further we decided to grab it since it was still Memorial Day weekend. A restful afternoon was appreciated by all as was a great supper at the campsite.

Day 41 Markleysburg, Pa to Cumberland, MD (63 bike miles;2775 cumulative miles)

2009-05-31T13:36:00.042-04:00

We drove a few miles north to Confluence, PA to pick up the Great Allegheny Trail which was within Ohiopyle State Park. But first we needed some photos of, and with, our lovely SAG drivers!

At Confluence, which was milepost 61 on the Great Allegheny Passage, we crossed the Youghiogheny River and headed southeast, destination: Cumberland, MD, which was milepost 0. McKeesport, Pa, just south of Pittsburgh is the other terminus at milepost 132. The Passage fulfilled George Washington's vision to connect - for trade then, for recreation now - the eastern seaboard via the Chesapeake Bay to the Ohio River. At Cumberland it joins the 184.5 mile Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath, which ends in the Georgetown area of Washington DC.

The Great Allegheny Passage is on former railroad lines with a surface of mostly a crushed limestone. It also includes the amazing work of railroad engineers who built tunnels, bridges, and viaducts to cross the Allegheny Mountains. Amazingly the grade never exceeds a one percent eastbound from Pittsburgh or two percent west bound from Cumberland to its high point near the Eastern Continental Divide. It is extremely well maintained, with amenities such as benches along the trail frequently in memory of friends and family members.

Our lunch meeting spot was Rockwood, where we were met and cheered on by our SAG team!!

Later we had lunch was in the Gazebo overlooking the town. Inside we discovered a nest!!

After lunch biked on the 1,908 ft. Salisbury viaduct which spanned two highways, two local roads, a railroad and a river! There were also

lots of windmills on the mountains.

At Meyersville we had short "meet and greet" with our enthusiastic SAG team,

and then more bridges and tunnels.

It had been overcast part of the day, with rain predicted. It soon began to drizzle. By the time we reached the tunnel at the Eastern Continental Divide, the highest point on the trail (2392 ft.), it was raining quite hard.

Kriss and Charlie continued on while I took some pictures and chatted with a scout group that were trying to keep dry.

Shortly thereafter I got to the Big Savage Tunnel, which was 3300 ft long with NO lights. We had all intended to bring flashlights but forgot. Fortunately, I could see some "light at the end of the tunnel" and there was also a handrail to hold on to as I walked with my bike through the pitch dark.
By the time I passed through the tunnel the rain had stopped and I struck up a converation with a family from Pittsburgh, who were very interested in hearing about my trip across the country and also in seeing the blog.

Then it was goodbye Pennsylvania and hello Maryland! The 1000 ft long Borden tunnel built in 1911 came next.

By the time we got to Frostberg it was raining quite hard. But since it was downhill all the way to Cumberland, we figured we would give it a shot. We soon were adjacent to the Western Md scenic railroad, where I stopped and filmed the beautiful scenery while under a tree.

It was then on to Cumberland, where Rickey and Judy awaited us at the Cumberland train station. That weekend there was a Blue Grass festival in town so there were no campgrounds nor motels available. No problem!!! We stayed in the parking lot in the train station across from the local newspaper plant.

Day 40 Morgantown, WV to Markleysburg, PA (29 bike miles;2712 cumulative miles)

2009-05-31T10:58:00.017-04:00

With my wife Rickey and Charlie's wife Judy expected later in the afternoon, I became the SAG driver today. Using Google maps, we found a "walking route" that would allow us to avoid Interstate 68. The plan was for the three of us to meet near Exit 10 of I-68 around 11:30. That gave me a chance to further explore Morgantown.

In addition to the bike trail along the Monongahela that we rode on yesterday and today, I also rode on the Decker Creek trail that ran mostly east-west. I then biked around much of the University of West Virginia campus.

Later I heard from Charlie and Kriss who had taken a wrong turn because the street names on the directions did not match the street names on the ground, and had only "netted" a few miles from Morgantown despite having biked almost 20 miles. Driving Tiggy I also had difficulty finding my way out or town. Eventually we got together and back on the route. But part of the walking route turned out to be an extremely steep gravel road that was not suitable for either Tiggy or the bikes.

Meanwhile Rickey and Judy had made excellent time, so we arranged to meet in Bruceton Mills, WV, where Rickey could assume the SAG duties, with Judy the chief navigator.

We biked to Markleysburg, PA, which is on Route 40, also known as National Pike since it was one of the first highways to the West. We stayed overnight at the National Pike Motel, where we had an opportunity to get reacquainted with our lovely wives whom we had not seen for almost 6 weeks.
At this point, we happened to be quite close to the Great Allegheny Trail, a Rails to Trails bike trail from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, MD. Charlie had previously ridden portions of the trail on his hybrid bike and raved about it. We decided that we would test it out with our road bikes the following day.

Day 39 Hundred, WV to Morgantown, WV (45 bike miles:2683 cumulative bike miles

2009-05-30T07:41:00.017-04:00

Today we would be saying good bye to Jay who had become a very good friend to all of us. He also did a fabulous job as the SAG driver for 10 days.

The plan was for Jay to drive us back to the main road and then drive himself to Morgantown (actually Westover) park Tiggy and catch the bus to Pittsburgh. We would bike to Morgantown to pick up Tiggy.

The only hitch was that we thought that we were on a different road than we actually were. Jay made a wrong turn and wound up in Pennsylvania!! But he did make the bus - by 1 minute! He actually left Tiggy at the bus station itself, apparently sweet talking the station manager into letting him do so.

Soon after being dropped off by Jay on Highway 7, we reached the town of Hundred, WV at the junction Routes 7 and 250. The town basically consists of a gas station and a cafe, where we stopped for a second breakfast. We chatted with some of the locals and also got valuable information on getting to Morgantown.

The ride was beautiful along with some interesting sites and views along the way.

Once in Morgantown, we found a great bike trail along the Monongahela River, and eventually retrieved Tiggy. We had a "three beer lunch" in town and spent the rest of the afternoon doing laundry and spiffing up Tiggy, in advance of the arrival of our last SAG drivers, who would be arriving tomorrow.

Day 38 Marietta, Ohio to Hundred, WV (61 bike miles;2630 cumulative miles)

2009-05-29T16:41:00.032-04:00

Leaving the Fairgrounds campground, we biked almost completely through the lovely City of Marietta, Ohio, managing to go both north and south at the same time, while supposedly travelling east!!!

We took a "shortcut", following the Google walking directions that soon became a gravel road that was incredibly steep. I barely managed to make it to the top and needed to catch my breath. It did flattten out somewhat, but the downhills were a bit treacherous in places.

The farms and rolling hills were quite beautiful, with lots of shade. But signs of "civilization" could be seen as well. The picture to the left was taken while looking west while the one below was looking east.

We eventually reached Route 7, which was adjacent to the Ohio River, crossed the Ohio and entered West Virginia, at the City of St. Mary's. We then stopped for lunch in Friendly, WV.

Adjacent to the road were railroad tracks and just below was the Ohio River. It reminded me of Iowa near where Kriss lives on the Mississippi River. Kriss agreed that it was starting to feel a little bit like home. Shortly thereafter, we entered Davenport, the same name as the city where Kris lived for many years in Iowa, and where he still attends church. Then we came to Sistersville, which was settled by Charles Wells, the last name of our distinguished rider colleague, Kriss, and also lots of other "Wells" references.

We eventually reached New Martinsville, and left the Ohio River valley and headed eastward towards Morgantown, which was where Jay had a reservation for the next day to catch a 10 am bus, which he was told was the only bus to Pittsburgh. From Pittsburgh, he would catch a bus to Philadelphia. He planned to stay in Philly overnight with a friend. On Friday, another friend from Boston would pick him up and they would be going to Ocean City, Md with a bunch of other college friends.

We were about 45 miles from Morgantown when we saw a sign for a campground. We were also nearly out of gas!

So we headed for the campground on the gravel road. After about a mile with no further signs of the campground, we stopped at a clearing that belonged to an oil company, and decided to stay there rather than risk running out of gas looking for a camp ground that may or may not exist and may or may not be open. So we did our usual after biking beer and snacks and made dinner. During dinner we were visited by a neighbor who made it clear that we were not to stay there. Later the owner of the campground came by and told us that he would open the campground just for us. It was located on Mt. Hebron about a 1/2 mile further up the road. While quite primitive (and a bit pricey for what it offered) it met our needs. We filmed Jay's "words of wisdom" for his successor SAG drivers and we had our last rounds of euchre, of which sadly Jay was not the winner.

Day 37 McArthur, OH to Marietta, OH (75 bike miles;2579 cumulative miles)

2009-05-22T05:57:00.015-04:00

The weather continued to be beautiful for riding - cool, but not cold, with bright blue skies. We continued on Route 50 through Albany towards Athens. Foolishly we did not check the RAM route which advised getting OFF 50 before it became a Freeway. Suddenly we were in the middle of cars and trucks whizzing by with a terrible shoulder. Kriss was quite a bit ahead and Charlie was behind me. I waited for Charlie to catch up to me. Charlie was a bit shaken up, having been just run off the road and into a ditch by a truck. Fortunately he mangaged to stay upright!

We decided it was time to get off the highway and mangaged to find through Google maps an alternate route through the streets of Athens that took us right by and through Ohio University.

We eventually re-joined 50, which was more benign at this point. There even was a bike path for a bit. We eventually caught up with Kriss and Jay who were waiting for us about 5 miles east of Athens. After lunch, we continued on Route 50. We passed through great sounding towns like Guysville and Coolsville, and also Drag Strip Road!

But riding on shoulders on a 4 lane highway is just NOT fun bicycling. With cars and trucks whizzing by at 70 mph and higher, it is extremely noisy. And with the debris on the shoulders, it felt like a flat tire waiting to happen. Sure enough, I got 2 flat tires within an hour! There were also frequent sightings of road kill.

The prospect of continuing on Route 50 through West Virginia, per the RAM route, was not appealing. So we decided to take a more northerly route that would take us to Morgantown, where Jay was hoping to catch a bus to Pittsburgh and then to Philadelphia where he would meet a friend and head to Ocean City, Md for the Memorial Day weekend.

We eventually made it to Belpre and then headed up Route 7 to Marietta, Ohio, where we found a cool campsite at the Marietta Fairgrounds. This was our second opportunity to do some grilling.

Day 36 Greenfield, OH to McArthur, OH (50 bike miles;2504 cumulative miles)

2009-05-22T01:12:00.014-04:00

I decided to bike the 8 miles from the campground to Greenfield and actually got there first, since Jay needed to fill up with water and dump the waste water. Back on 28, I couldn't resist snapping a picture of Buckskin Township Hall!

Our interim destination was Chillcothe, a small city with an Ohio University campus, to seek out a bike shop. The first one we found was closed on Mondays, so we then headed for another. I got there quite easily by bicycle. Getting there by vehicle was quite another story, since the only apparent road was ONE WAY the wrong direction. Jimmy, the bike shop owner suggested parking at the high school and walking (or riding) over.

I had been having some problems with shifting, particularly in

going into lower gear; I explained this to Jimmy and asked him to take a look. He did but he also measured my chain and said that the chain was in very bad shape. When I told him how many miles I had gone, he said I definitely needed a new one. Although I had an extra chain in Tiggy, I asked Jimmy to go ahead and change it. Later Charlie and Kriss came and I suggested to them that they may want their chains to be looked at. They had Jimmy look at each and sure enough they too needed replacing. Jimmy said that he had sold his last chain to me. Fortunately, both Kriss and I had extra chains, so Jimmy replaced Kriss and Charlie's chains at NO CHARGE.

This has been our experience with bike shops the entire trip. Charlie recently wrote about our experiences at bike shops in his monthly column for the Gazette, the monthly newsletter of the Montclair Unitarian Church. Thinking back, we remembered each bike shop stop, including ones in Ramona and El Centro, CA; Flagstaff and Prescott, AZ; Taos, NM; Jefferson City, MO; Wichita, KS; Alton, Ill.; and Chillicothe, OH. At every shop they would stop what they were doing and help us out and charge us practically nothing. Bike shop owners and mechanics are the best people!

At each bike shop, we generally would buy a half dozen bike tubes to have on hand. We estimate that we have gone through at least 30 tubes among the 3 of us.

Jimmy also gave us great directions for getting safely across the Salt Creek, avoiding the Interstate and getting onto Route 50 East.

There were a few hills along the route, but services were quite scarce in the towns we passed through. Fortunately, we found a motel in McArthur, OH, which is named after a former General and Congressman from Ohio (not DOUGLAS). I managed to get an Internet connection at the pub where we ate dinner, but then lost it.

Day 35 Middletown, OH to Greenfield, OH (Paint Creek State Park) 66 bike miles; 2454 cumulative miles

2009-05-21T23:02:00.017-04:00

Mike and Katie graciously got up early Sunday morning to make a delicious breakfast of eggs and vegetables. (Mike and Katie don't drink coffee, so Charlie whipped out his supplies and provided his trademark freshly ground brew.) Jacob soon joined us and of course was the center of attention.

Then it was time for the bikers to bid good bye and continue their journey.

The previous evening we had driven about 35 miles up I-75 and I-70 to get to Mike and Katie's. Now we needed to retrace our steps back in Tiggy to Middletown, where we

resumed our biking. We passed through Lebanon, with its beautiful Victorian homes. We also passed through several small towns while travelling

southeast on US 73. We passed by a quite heavily used bike path along the river, on our way to Blanchester, which is one of the time stages of the RAM.

At Blanchester, we headed east on Route 28, passing by

mostly farms and pastures, and passing through small towns such as Martinsville, Famers Station, New Vienna, Highland, and Leesburg, none of which had any place to stay. Finally at Greenfield, we detoured about 8 miles south and stayed at Paint Creek State Park.

Day 34 Greensburg, Oh to Middletown (Dayton),OH: 76 bike miles;2388 cumulative miles

2009-05-18T14:01:00.021-04:00

After another night of heavy rain, we left the Lee's Inn in Greensburg, Indiana (not to be confused with Greensburg, KS that I previously wrote about) with heavy overcast skies with a definite feel of rain. Since we were on the north side of Greenfield we decided to take a slightly different route from the RAM route, heading north on Route 3 and then east on County Road 520 through Clarkson. The night before I had replaced my tire and tube on the back wheel, only to find it flat as I was about to leave. I refilled the tire, and it seemed to hold air so I decided to give it a shot. After about 10 miles I noticed that the tire was nearly flat. I put more air in it and continued, but also called Jay and asked him to wait for me since it seemed like I had a leak. So another tube bites the dust...

It was enjoyable riding on the sparsely travelled road, with the beautiful fields and farms,

although we did encounter a number of dogs who got a great thrill out of terrorizing us as we passed by. Mostly they were harmless and enjoyed running with us (Charlie may disagree with this assessment :)

Eventually we reached Route 52 and soon came to the Whitewater Canal, which is a State Historic Site.

We had lunch in Brookville, which had many historical buildings and then we continued unceremoniously into Ohio - there was no sign to welcome us to the new State.

We were soon in Oxford, Ohio, which is the home of Miami of Ohio University. All day it alternated between threatening clouds and bright sunshine. As it got later in the day, the rainclouds started forming in earnest and it seemed that we would have a huge storm... but it only drizzled and then the sun came out.

I had been in contact with my nephew, Mike Corbett, who lives in northeast Dayton, with his wife Katie and 21 month old, Jacob. They were away during the day but would return around 7 pm. We decided to have dinner on the road and then drive up to Mike and Katie's.

Jacob is a real cutie, who we all enjoyed playing with. After Jacob went to bed, Jay and I, Katie and Mike played, you guessed it, euchre.

Day 33 Bloomington (vic) to Greensburg, IN (84 bike miles; 2312 cum miles)

2009-05-16T00:29:00.018-04:00

Rather than following our usual ritual of fresh brewed coffee in Tiggy, we decided to defer (HORRORS!) our morning coffee till we got to Bloomington, about 16 miles away, where Charlie's nephew, Zack lives. Zack is a Chemistry professor at the University of Indiana.

We had a comfortable night on the lot of Grubb's Garage, nestled next to a big repaving machine, and actually got started before 8, one of our earlier starts.

We met Zack at the Copper Kettle
which was both a different name and address from what Zack had given us, but it all worked out. We had a nice visit with Zack. Jay even managed to get a haircut during the visit.

We took a slight detour through the University of Indiana campus. Everywhere there were signs for the Coach Hep benefit bike/run/walk that is taking place tomorrow. Coach Hep was the Indiana football coach who recently died of cancer.

We then continued eastward on our journey.

The next large town was Columbus, IN, which was bisected by a river with a rather stunning bridge. The river level was quite high, but there did not seem to be any evidence of flooding in the city itself.

After Columbus we did some "leap frogging" which allowed Jay to do some biking. I drove Tiggy about 10 miles down the road and then biked back till I met Charlie. Once we were back to Tiggy, Kriss, Jay, and Charlie continued biking while I drove Tiggy to Greensburg to identify a place to stay for the evening. I then started biking back. Within a mile, I ran into Kriss and Jay. About a mile later, unfortunately I got a flat. I was about ready to go when Charlie came by. I then realized that the tube I installed had a slow leak. Fortunately, I did not have too far to go to get back to Greensburg.

Day 32 Newton to Bloomington, IN (vic) (90 bike miles; 2228 cumulative miles)

2009-05-15T22:54:00.031-04:00

Because of the rains, we spent two nights parked at the River Park motel, with only Jay actually sleeping in the room. Overnight, there was an incredible display of thunder and lightning, hail and torrential rains. Fortunately the roof patch held and Tiggy stayed dry.

Immediately next to the motel was
the Burl Ives bridge, named after the Newton native. The motel owner explained that Burl Ives returned to the town to speak at the high school a few years before his death and his widow decided that he should be buried there.

The results of the torrential storms from the prior day and evening were quite evident as I crossed the bridge. The Embarass River had overflowed its banks and much of the flood plain was under water. Much of the low lying fields were underwater and every stream was raging!

I passed by another Drive-in Movie, the 2nd one that I saw...and then came the town of, believe it or not, "Oblong." Oblong was a cute town that also had an oil museum.

Soon thereafter, we reached a new state; clearly the rains had hit Indiana as well. I was struck by the beauty of the flooded fields and woodlands, a few of which are below:

After 90 miles of biking the consensus (aka Charlie) was that we had enough. But what were we to do with no motels or campgrounds within 20 miles?

No problem! Charlie begins chatting with Buck of Grubb's Garage and asks if he knows of any campsites nearby. Buck thinks for a while and says no. Charlie than asks if if would be ok for us to park for the night. Without any hesitation, Buck says sure. Later I speak to him and ask if we could have some water from their hose, which they graciously provide. Up the road a high school baseball game was about to begin. The home team lost 8-2.Then it was back to Tiggy for a dinner of spaghetti and meat sauce, with allegedly semi-dry Illinois wine, and mint chocolate chip ice cream for dessert.

Day 31 Newton, Illinois (0 bike miles); 2138 cumulative miles

2009-05-13T17:38:00.010-04:00

Today was our first complete washout, but an enjoyable day nonetheless. In the morning we consulted with ace meteorologist, Judy Ortman, who said there might be 2-4 hour window starting around 10:15 am where we might be able to bike. We went into town to the library where we had internet access, then donned our bike clothes, anxiously waiting for the rain to stop. Several times we were teased as the rain would stop, only to start up several minutes later.

We played several hands of euchre, with Charlie constantly mopping up water dripping in seemingly from the window. Later I climbed on the roof to discover a tear in the rubber roof, which I patched temporarily with duct tape.

It was then back to the library, for our internet access and the opportunity to catch up on the blog. Charlie successfully uploaded a couple of videos to his blog, and I was also able to upload the video below.

Day 30 (May 12) Mulberry Grove, IL to Newton, Il, 73 bike miles;2138 cumulative miles

2009-05-13T16:21:00.019-04:00

The "Jay" phase of the trip has begun, with the assumption of the keys to Tiggy by our third SAG driver, Jay Bowman, and the departure of Martha Easter Wells, our 2nd SAG driver. Martha had been with us since Day 7 of the trip and did a superb job in keeping a careful eye on us, running countless errands, finding places for us to stay, and fetching us when we needed fetching. THANK YOU MARTHA FOR SEEING US SAFELY THROUGH ARIZONA, NEW MEXICO, OKLAHOMA, KANSAS, MISSOURI AND PART WAY THROUGH ILLINOIS!

We were soon to discover that Jay needs no introduction in Vandalia, Illinois, which was the next town after leaving Mulberry Grove. Jay's favorite dinosaur was also there to greet us!

Vandalia was also the former Capital of Illinois. The young Abe Lincoln served as a State Legislator in the 1830's.

From Vandalia, it was on to Effington, where we were able to do much needed laundry. Since the day was still young, we decided to continue on... little did we know that a head wind would make the last 25 miles a bit tougher going.

We passed through many small towns, including "Dieterich" which is the name of a friend from High School. I was intrigued by "2000 Ave" in such a remote area!

Later, there appeared a strange person biking towards us... why, it is our esteemed SAG driver, who did not fully realize the significance of biking with a tail wind. Jay would soon find that it was a bit tougher heading back to Newton, where he had spotted a motel for us for the night. Dinner would be Mexican once again!

Day 29 (May 11) St. Charles to Mulberry Grove (86 bike miles;2065 cum miles)

2009-05-13T10:35:00.027-04:00

We left the Sleep Inn in St. Charles, MO and headed back to Route 94, Destination: the Mississippi River and the State of Illionois!

An option was to take the ferry across the Mississippi at Grafton, but, after hearing about the high bluffs there, we decided to stay on the RAM route through West Alton, MO and the bridge to Alton, Ill. Rather than the hills and valleys that had characterized most of Missouri, the route was flat with fertile fields and farms which were within in the flood plains of both the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.

There were many railroad crossings (thankfully PERPENDICULAR to the road), which we navigated with no difficulty. We arrived in West Alton and the end of Route 94. We proceeded onto Route 67 towards the River. Soon after seeing a friendly sign, Charlie got a most peculiar flat tire. Strangely, the puncture came from INSIDE the wheel. There was no evidence of a puncture anywhere on the tire. After a makeshift fix, we headed for the bridge which allowed me to take a slight detour to check out a wildlife refuge constructed by the Corps of Engineers.

After crossing the river into the City of Alton, Illionois, it was time to look for a bike shop. we found one close by in the historic portion of town. On the way I passed the spot where the last Lincoln-Douglas debate took place before 5,000 people.

Passing through Alton, I came across a statue of Robert Wadlow, the world's tallest man at 8 ft, 11 1/2 inches, who unfortunately died at the age of 22.

We passed thru a number of small towns, eventually finding a really nice campsite in Mulberry Grove.

There we were joined by our new SAG driver, Jay Bowman, who is from Davenport, Iowa. Jay, 25, will be starting grad school in the fall at the University of Minnesota at the Hubert Humphrey School of Public Policy in Minneapolis.

That evening we had salmon that Martha had picked up with baked potatoes and Indian vegetables.

Day 28 Hermann to St. Charles, MO (71 bike miles; 1979 cum miles)

2009-05-11T01:41:00.011-04:00

Leaving Hermann, we crossed back across the Missouri River, and back onto our old friend Route 94. Once again, it was fairly flat biking through the flood plain with its lush farms and fields. But once it turned inland, the steep hills and valleys were back.

Surprising as it sounds, probably the steepest hills we encountered anywhere on the trip were shortly after we turned onto County Road U. But thereafter we encountered more gentle hills and valleys to Warrenton, where we pretty much followed the I-70 service road through many small towns north of St. Louis. We had hoped to get to West Alton near the Mississippi, but with threatening weather we decided to stay in St. Charles at a Sleep Inn, where Charlie and I enjoyed the hot tub to soothe our aching muscles.

Day 27 Teppets, MO to Hermann, MO (40 bike miles;1,908 cum. miles)

2009-05-10T23:10:00.020-04:00

Today was going to be our "rest day", but we first needed to get to Hermann, about 40 miles away from Tebbetts. So it was back on Route 94 East, which is part of the Lewis and Clark trail. The first 1o miles or so were flat. The air was filled with the sounds of the frogs and crickets in the nearby ditches, which were full of water from all of the recent rain. The Katy trail ran parallel to Route 94 during the first 10 miles

Route 94 E then turned inland and we had to climb the bluffs. We were now back to the short steep climbs and downhills that have characterized much of our bicycling through Missouri.

After about 12 miles or so of up and down on the bluffs we were back down into the flood plain for another 12 miles before turning south towards the Missouri River and the very charming town of Hermann. Hermann was settled by the Germans, whose influence is very much still alive. There are wineries, museums, nice restaurants and a generally festive atmosphere. We had lunch at the Trapper grill outside on the patio with many people asking us about our trip.

Martha and Kriss decided to stay at a Bed and Breakfast across the street from the restaurant. Charlie and I proceeded to a nearby campground at City Park. Charlie's goal was reading and relaxing, while I was determined to check out the wineries and see Hermann. I visited several wineries, including the Hermannhoff winery, where I ran into a young couple, Brandan and Brooke, who I had met earlier at the tourist info office. We were tasting wines together and then they invited me to join them to drink a bottle of wine that they bought. I accepted and we had a great time together. Brooke is a Spanish teacher, while Brandan will be starting a new job in computers. They have a 2 year old, whom they had graciously allowed Brandon's parents to babysit for the weekend. We later struck up a conversation with another group of older people, one of whom was from Argentina. She and Brooke had a great time speaking Spanish together!

One more video from Jonathan!

2009-05-09T16:22:00.002-04:00

Hi readers! It's Jonathan again. I finally got around to editing the video of my last day on the trip (Day 7). Check it out here!

-Jonathan

Day 26 Eldon, MO to Teppets, Mo

2009-05-08T12:29:00.027-04:00

Sleeping in my usual loft bed in Tiggy that was parked by Randle's motel in Eldin, Missouri, I heard a couple of raindrops around 6 pm and decided that it might be a good idea to put my bicycle under the porch of the motel. About 20 minutes later it started to
rain harder. I grabbed an umbrella and headed over with my laptop to the motel room, where Charlie had the morning coffee ready (NOTE: when Charlie stays in the motel, he brings into his room the coffee maker, the grinder and the coffee beans into the room. In the morning he grinds the coffee beans and makes the full 12 cups of coffee that the coffee maker is capable of. If he is in the camper, he unmakes the bed in the dinette, sets up the table, sets up the coffee "altar", grinds the coffee, and makes the coffee) The four of us then have our coffee. Bill or Kris may make oatmeal that sometimes all four of us have, other times some may have cold cereal or soft boiled eggs. I have made pancakes on several occasions and once I made Matzoh Bria!)

SOO anyway, by the time I get to the room I am pretty soaked. Martha and Charlie were already there. Chris had decided to go across the street to a restaurant for pancakes.

It continued to rain harder and harder with rivers of water passing under Tiggy(see below video). Chris eventually returned - someone gave him a ride to get across the street and across the river of water. The question became: when would it stop and whether we would be able to bike at all today. Charlie was following the TV weather; Martha was checking the latest updates on her laptop. For me I welcomed the time to catch up on my blog!

The rain finally stopped around 11:00 am, with Chris and Charlie heading out around 11:30 am. Not quite finished yet, I left around 12:10. Fortunately we had noticed on the map that there were some back roads to take to Jefferson City rather than returning to the 4 lane highway that we were on yesterday, which was the RAM route. On such a road, we are forced to ride on the shoulder which is basically a flat tire waiting to happen. Also having cars and trucks buzzing by is DEFINITELY not fun.

On the back roads, there were the farms, cows, and even an occasional turtle on the road.

We arrived into Jefferson City, the State Capitol, and headed immediately for a bike shop to check out our bikes and to refurbish our stock of bicycle tubes that was dry due to all of the flats that we have been getting.

By 4 pm we were back on our bikes and passed by the Capitol and then over the Missouri River. Soon we were on Route 94 E which was close to the Katy trail, which is about 240 miles claims to be the longest Rails-to- trails trail in the country.

Our destination was Teppets, which the bike shop owner said that there was a hostel where people can stay for $5. When we entered the town, it said population 66 (although Jimmy the bar tender said it was actually about 100). We fournd the Turner Katy Trail Shelter, which was locked. But there was a sign on the door that said that people are welcome to stay and that the key is hanging on the nearby utility pole. Inside there were about 50 bunks, a large kitchen, a bathroom, showers, and a bike shop. Nobody else was there but us. Our intent was just to shower and stay in Tiggy which we parked next to the Shelter.

Immediately across the street was Jimmy's bar, which, lucky for us, was open. It actually is only open on Fridays, Sundays and Wednesday's. However, if the regulars want a drink when it is closed they can let themselves in and just leave the money on the bar!

We had a great time chatting with Jimmy, and also with Barbara Scheneder who lived next door to the Shelter. I also loved checking out all of Jimmy's stuff hanging around the bar. We had a great meal of stir fry followed by a game of Euker with microwave popcorn.

Day 25 Pomme de terra Lake to Eldon, MO (73 bike miles; 1,819 cumulative miles)

2009-05-08T11:12:00.012-04:00

Bill, of course, could not let a Corps of Engineers dam go uninspected. He also visited with the Project Manager across the road at the Corps of Engineers office and got an updated weather forecast for the day which looked good.

Bill eventually caught up with Charlie and Kriss, shortly before reaching the first sighting of the Lake of the Ozarks. In contrast to the rather pristine Pomme de Terre Lake, the Lake of the Ozarks is quite developed, and there was a considerable increase in traffic. It must be really brutal in the summer when the tourists flock in.

There was a long climb into Camdenton, which is a major tourist destination, with many chain fast food, miniature golf, etc. I did see a Panera's which made me think of the one near us in West Orange. About a mile into Camenton, I found Martha who found a good lunch parking place. Shortly after starting my lunch, the "call" came from the boys back by the bridge that Kriss had had 2 flats and that one of the tubes that he and Charlie had was defective. So I loaded my bike onto Tiggy and headed back with Martha with a new tube.

After lunch, it was Bill's turn for a flat tire... and then Charlie's turn. With the shoulders full of debris, flat tires, would be an unfortunately reality. We decided to stop in Eldon, where we found a nice motel, and an even better place to eat. It was "All you can eat" catfish night at Andy's. A great meal was had by all!

After dinner, Bill worked on the blog under moonlight just outside the motel room.

Day 24 Nevada, MO to Pomme de Terre Lake (near Hermitage, MO) 76 bike miles; 1,746 cum miles)

2009-05-08T09:55:00.024-04:00

He's BACKKKKK!!!!
Yes indeed, Charlie is back in the saddle as we leave Nevada!

We soon find Missouri to be rarely flat - it is a one ridge and valley after another. It was actually fun to gather enough speed going down the hills so as to make it up the hill without losing too much speed!
While curious, we do not deviate to check out Blackjack!

Bill can't resist the sights along the road, including a "new road". We pass through several small towns, and in Hermitage, we head about 3 miles to the south for a Corps of Engineers recreation area and campsite -
And what a beautiful and scenic campsite it was! It was located on a peninsula that jutted into the beautiful and clear Pomme de terra Lake (the Potato Lake!).

Bill had a nice chat with the park ranger and his wife, both Corps employees, who feel like they have died and gone to heaven, having the job that they share taking care of the camp ground.

We had a great dinner of Macaroni and tuna, courtesy of Martha, and then an enjoyable evening of Euker, while watching the sun set and colorful views of dusk.

Day 23 Yates Center, KS to Nevada, Mo.(84 bike miles;1670 cum miles)

2009-05-05T23:44:00.028-04:00

With Charlie still mending, Kriss and I set out for what will be our last day in Kansas. Despite the mishaps, we have all grown quite fond of the charm of the small towns with the tell-tale grain elevators that could be seen from a mile or more away as we approached various towns. There was also beauty in the farms and fields, with an occasional church in the distant landscape.

We passed through the small town of Piqua, population 150, then the somwhat larger city of Iola, population, 6,000. Next came the town of Gas (which reminded me of our own Gas man :). I could not resist taking a picture of a drive-in, rarely seen today, which is how I saw most of the movies that I saw as a child!

Our lunch meeting spot was Fort Scott, which was about 5 miles from the Missouri border. Ft Scott is a National Monument run by the National Park Service. It had been an outpost prior to 1853 to protect the settlers from the Indians, but became irrelevant when the settlers moved further westward into what was supposed to be Indian territory. It was reactivated during the Civil War.

It was very nicely restored and Bill particularly enjoyed seeing the recreation of the tall grass prairie.

Martha, of course, was in heaven, with l0ts of placing to walk and learn about.

Leaving Fort Scott, we waited for a passing train and were off to Missouri, with Charlie back in the saddle again!!

And we are now in Misssouri.... and on our way to Nevada (Nah-vay-da), Missouri!

Nevada is the home of Coffey College, a two year women's college. We had a great dinner at the Cherry St. Grill in Nevada, where we were served by two young women from Coffery, one from Maryland and the other from New Mexico.

Day 22 Park City,KS to Yates Center, KS (97 bike miles;1586 cum miles)

2009-05-05T23:41:00.024-04:00

With Charlie on the mend and taking the day off from biking, Bill and Kriss set off from the Days Inn in Park City and headed east thru Kechi, and then picking up Route 254, a four lane highway. Fortuantely, it was not nearly as busy as was Route 54 the previous day, so it was not that unpleasant a ride. Near Eldorado, 254 joined up with 54 again, which fortunately was not a four-lane superhighway.

Eldorado was a pretty and charming town, with some beautiful Victorian homes, pretty parks, an Oil museum and even a livestock auction!

Route 54 continued into the country with many farms and pasture lands. The cows always seemed to take notice as the bikers in our funny garb passed by.

And now for the beautiful legs competition - can anyone match the legs with the respective biker?

After lunch it was back on the road passing by endless farms which had once been part of the huge tall grass prairie in the midwest.

And finally into Yates Center, a somewhat depressed town, after biking 97 miles!

In Yates Center, Charlie gives an update of the past few days including his condition.

Day 21 Pratt to Park City,KS (73 bike miles;1489 cum miles)

2009-05-05T23:35:00.008-04:00

The day started innocently enough. Charlie and Kris leaving the Econolodge in Pratt, where we had stayed for the night. Bill, taking advantage of internet connection, posted the blog for the night before and left about 30 minutes later.

Approaching a railroad crossing just before the City of Cunningham, KS, Charlie took a nasty spill when his front bike wheel got stuck in the space between the track and the road. He banged his head, hard against the ground. Fortunately, his helmet took the brunt and he did not suffer a head injury. But he sustained lacerations to his leg, badly bruised his hip and also hurt his shoulder. His bike also suffered damage. When Martha arrived in Tiggy, she and Charlie headed for Kingman, about 15 miles away where the nearest hospital was located. Kriss and Bill continued biking in the direction of Kingman.

About 5 miles up the road, Kriss and Bill spot Tiggy on the shoulder. The tread on the inside rear tire had unraveled, forcing Martha to pull off the road. Fortunately, a pick-up truck stopped and asked if he could help. Martha immediately replied: 'Could you take Charlie to the hospital in Kingman", which he immediately agreed to do.

Bill called the Road service and was told that the service person was coming from Hutchinson which was more than an hour away. Kriss continued biking to Kingman, while Bill and Martha waited for the towing service.

After waiting about 2 hours, the tow truck arrived and Tiggy was jacked up and tire replaced with the spare tire. Meanwhile, Martha had researched places to get a new tire using Charlie's GPS and found one in Wichita about 50 miles away that was open on Sunday. Meanwhile we heard back from Charlie with the good news that he had no broken bones nor neurological damage, but he was in a lot of pain from all his bruises, and of particular concern was pain and lack of motion in his shoulder.

Bill said he would bike to Kingman to meet Charlie. Martha said that she would wait a few minutes to give Bill a head start, and then go to pick up Charlie and then go with him to Wichita to get a new tire.

About 10 miles up the road, Bill gets a call from Charlie: "Bill, you need to stop riding". Bill: "Let me get to the top of the hill". Charlie: "You may not want to, since you may need to go back to Martha". Bill: "What?" Charlie: "Yes, the towing guy forgot to lower Tiggy from the jack and Martha can't move. Bill: "Gulp".
Charlie: "Wait a minute, Martha is calling". Charlie: "Its ok. The towing guy came back. He realized that he had forgotten the jack and returned. Martha will be heading to Kingman shortly to pick me up".

Bill decides to continue biking , but rather than taking the RAAM route that Kriss took which heads north around Wichita, he decided to stay on Route 54, which is where the tire store is located.

About 10 miles later, Route 54 turns into a 4 lane highway, with a 75 mph speed limit! Bill naturally is riding in the shoulder with cars and trucks whizzing by. This is NOT fun bicycling.

Shortly thereafter, the "rumble strips" changes direction. Rather than running just inside the shoulder parallel to the road, some highway engineer genious decides to have the strips run perpendicular t0 the road through essentially the entire shoulder. The only way to avoid it was right at the while line that separates the right lane from the shoulder. So that's basically where I rode, with cars continuing to whiz by me. I may have uttered a few works of profanity to several who got a little close for comfort. Getting near 5 pm , I call Charlie and he tells me that they are finishing up the tire balancing and they should be ready to go. After some difficulty, I finally get to them.

Now, we need to find Kriss. After several futile attempts to reach Kriss, Kriss finally calls and tells where he is. We head up I-270, go past where he is, get off the next exit, and then head back. Kris is waiting for a Days Inn is Park City (northwest of Wichita) and we decide to stay there for the night - with our usual routine - Charlie in the hotel room and Kriss, Martha and I in Tiggy. Being dinner time, Martha did her usual dinner research and came across a family owned Italian restaurant about 6 miles away.

The restaurant was exactly what we needed after what had been the most trying day of the trip. Charlie had scotch on the rocks and we ordered a bottle of Chianti with dinner. The dinners were all fabuous!!

And then back to the Days Inn and Tiggy for much needed sleep!

Day 20: Bucklin, KS to Pratt, KS (54 bike miles; 1416 cumulative miles)

2009-05-02T21:53:00.028-04:00

A DAY OF SERENDIPITY (or Grace, as Charlie put it)!

As we were getting ready to leave the 1950's era West End Motel (and they were probably still using the same furniture) in Bucklin, KS, population 847, it was cold and damp, and then started to rain. The forecast for the rest of the day was not good - rain and northeast winds of 10-15 mph. So should we take the day off? Should we go to Dodge City about 30 miles to the northwest (wrong direction)? Should we wait, go ahead and bike in the rain, or just wait it out and see? After about 30 minutes, the rain stopped, and we decided to give it a shot. Leaving Bucklin we saw a sign (for once Bill did not have his camera because of the still strong threat of rain) that read: Greensburg 19 miles; Pratt 49 miles. Amazingly, although we still had headwinds, they were not nearly as strong as they had been the past two days. We were actually able to ride consistently between 10 and 17 mph. Eventually it did rain but it was not a downpour, and not too uncomfortable. By 10:30, we arrived in Greensburg and immediately noticed the remains of the devastation of the tornado that struck on May 5, 2007 and entirely wiped out the town. But it was also clear that much had been rebuilt. Looking closely, we saw that the recurring theme of the rebuilding effort was "green town" - the town had decided that it would rebuild smarter and greener. Greensburg held special significance to Charlie since he had done a sermon on "generosity" that was inspired by an NPR story about the tornado, and had interviewed a woman who had lost everything, but held out hope that her wedding ring and the wedding ring of her mother would be found. (Hear Charlie's description below)

Later we visited the office of the organization that is promoting "green" home restoration. Charlie and Bill bought T-shirts there to help support the efforts. We had a nice conversation with Curt Roener, an Architectural Engineer involved in the rebuilding. Curt told us that there were festivities taking place all weekend to commemorate that 2 year anniversary of the tornado. In fact he invited us to a free barbecue lunch at the newly reopened John Deere retail store about a mile down the road.

Not to be ones to pass up a "free lunch," Charlie and Bill biked to the John Deere facility and entered to find people listening to a live a capella group, while others were eating or standing in line for the barbecue. We were directed to the shortest line and got into a conversation with Kent and Ann, who were wheat farmers and Anabaptists from a small town south of Pratt, called Sawyer. We found a few vacant chairs and asked if we could join them. We were warmly welcomed by Marion, and Jill Ann (right photo), who were daughter-in-law and mother-in-law. Jill Ann and her husband Max (right photo) were residents of Greensburg, who survived the tornado, but whose home was destroyed. Charlie asked Jill Ann if she had heard of the story of the woman whose wedding rings were lost and later found. She said that she had and called over Steve (center photo) who had in fact found his wife's (and mother-in-law's) ring and who later presented it to his wife on one knee and asked her once again to marry him. It was very touching and emotional!

By 1:30, we left the plant and continued on our bikes, destination Pratt, KS about 30 miles away. After about 10 miles it started raining quite hard, but we were pretty bundled up, so it was not really a problem particularly since the winds were not too bad. The rain stopped after 20 minutes or so, and we were able to enjoy the landscape, with fairly frequent oil wells in the wheat fields. We always knew we were approaching a town when we could see the grain elevator in the distance.

When we got to Pratt, Charlie mentioned that he ran into Kent and Ann and they asked more about the purpose of the bike trip. When Charlie mentioned the Hunger project and Toni's Kitchen, Kent gave Charlie $40 to support the effort. He also invited us all to come to a dinner in their home town of Sawyer for the Volunteer Fire Department. Charlie and Bill decided to go while Martha and Kriss preferred to do laundry. It worked out great!

Day 19: Plains, KS to Bucklin, KS (59 bike miles;1362 cumulative miles)

2009-05-02T21:51:00.010-04:00

Today's theme was TEAMWORK!

We awoke again to gray skies, with temperatures in the 40's and a VERY strong headwind. Today we would need to work as a team to draft for each other if we were to make any progress. Each of us would take the lead for a mile, and then dropping back in the shadow of the other two where we were protected somewhat from the wind just like geese.

It was actually fun working like this. Grain elevators continued to be prominent in the skyline, signalling an approaching town.

Day 18: Hugoton, KS to Plains, KS (51 bike miles: 1303 cumulative bike miles)

2009-05-02T21:48:00.003-04:00

Yes, we miss Oklahoma indeed!!!

All day we battled very strong headwinds, along with chilly weather, like this lonely tree! (Sorry for the corniness :)

Among today's milestones were Charlie having grape jelly for lunch!!

Plains, KS was a nice little town with a library that was open till 6:30, with wireless Internet that worked even outside of the library. Bill chose to continue to work on the blog in Tiggy while Charlie, Kriss and Martha had dinner. We stayed overnight at an RV park located near the local grain elevator and railroad.

Day 17: Clayton, NM to Hugoton, KS (119 bike miles; 1252 miles)

2009-05-02T21:45:00.015-04:00

Today -- Aptril 29 -- was Jonathan's 26th birthday. Happy birthday Jonathan!

The forecast for the prior evening and the upcoming day was not good, with many showers and thunderstorms in the area. So we expected a long day when we left Clayton at 8:30 Mountain time with the wind blowing quite hard. But it turned out that it was a tail wind. Within 1o miles, we crossed the border into Oklahoma. (Bill took a short detour into Texas since Route 56 went right by where the 3 states (New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma) meet. By then the sun was shining and with the tail wind we were flying across Oklahoma at speeds of betweeen 25 and 40 miles an hour.

We took a short lunch break once we reached Elkhart, Kansas, having travelled 85 miles in a little over 3 hours.

We continued through Cimarron National Grasslands and another 34 miles to Hugoton, KS, for a total of 119 miles for the day - the most of any day so far.

Later that evening, the Beat Boxing Biking Trio (sans Beat Boxing), consisting of Bill, Charlie, and Kriss, called Jonathan. They explained that they had planned to serenade Jonathan on his birthday, given that he has been a key part of the Bike across America for Hunger and Toni’s Kitchen, having helped drive Tiggy across the country, biking the first week, and of course setting up all the blogs and being the videographer while he was with us.

But after today’s wonderful bike ride through the State of Oklahoma, the trio were inspired to celebrate their love of Oklahoma, by singing a modification of Rogers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma as follows:

Oooh K, la homa,
With a tail wind pushing us along
And a real smooth road, and a long downhill,
And hardly any trucks at all.

OoK-la-homa
We quickly moved across the state
The scenery’s great, With not one wait
Even Charlie’s speeding right along.

We have thousands of miles to go
Through Kansas and Ohio
And it would be a JOY, aye yip-eye-oh-aye-oye!
If they’d be just like Oklahoma, Oklahoma,
OK-LA-HOMA OKLAHOMA, OK

And then singing our family's version of Happy birthday to Jonathan:

We wish you a very happy birthday
A glorious and celebrated birthday
To you dear Jonathan,
We wish you a long, long life.

Dau 16 - Springer, NM to Clayton, NM (85 bike miles, 1133 cumulative miles)

2009-04-28T23:42:00.016-04:00

The headwinds that we had experienced the day before apparently were part of a cold front since the weather was chilly when we started out from the Oasis Motel and got progressively foggier, colder and then drizzly. Fortunately the wind was not too bad and it was mostly downhill. But towns and services were widely spread apart. Our waiter from the night before, Gary, had mentioned that there was only one small town between Springer and Clayton, a distance of about 83 miles.

With my hands and feet cold from the fog and the rain, I was pushing hard to get to Gladstone, which was about 42 miles from Springer (leaving Charlie and Kriss behind). There I found the delightful Gladstone Mercantile, which was a real oasis! I got a cup of coffee, which helped warm me up a bit. I took off my wet shoes and socks and enjoyed both the warmth and ambience of the charming grocery/crafts store that obviously is a labor of love by the owner, Thelma, and her husband. It was then on to Clayton and the KOA campground there for the remaining 43 miles, where unfortunately Charlie experienced a flat tire.

Day 15 - Taos to Springer (83 bike miles, 1048 cumulative miles)

2009-04-28T23:41:00.031-04:00

We bid goodbye to Taos (and the Paragon Inn) and began what was to be one of the most beautiful and enjoyable rides of the trip, as well as, for the last 20 miles, one of the most difficult. We would take the southern route around Wheeler Peak (el: 13,161 ft) that would take us through an area of beautiful homes, galleries and ranches on the outskirts of Taos, then up a climb of about 3,000 ft through Angel of Fire and finally to the charming town of Eagle Nest.

Just past Eagle Lake, we started the next climb where road construction was taking place that would lead us to the incredibly beautiful Cimarron Canyon.

We stopped for lunch by Cimarron Creek just before the start of the Cimarron Canyon.

Much too quickly we emerged from the canyon and entered the town of Cimarron (el 6430 ft.), which is at the boundary of the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains. Here we would leave our beloved Route 64 on which we had traveled about 310 miles since entering New Mexico.

We were now clearly in the Great Plains with flat dry land as far as you could see. We spotted a number of animals including the antelope in the center picture below. We also crossed the Santa Fe trail which brought many pioneers into New Mexico. But as we continued on Route 58 the head winds started to pick up and got stronger and stronger, making the 25 mile trip from Cimarron to Springer extremely difficult. In Springer, we stayed at the Oasis Motel, and savored an enjoyable dinner at the Simple Simon pizzeria.

Day 14 - Taos (rest day) (10 bike miles around town)

2009-04-28T23:40:00.017-04:00

Today was a much needed DAY of REST! We checked out the UU Congregation in Taos, but alas, they only have services the first and third Sundays of the month.

We stayed at a lovely Campground about 5 miles outside Taos with a beautiful view of the mountains. I got a nice photo of a prairie dog!

After a leisurely morning, we checked out the local bike shop in Taos which had Sunday hours. Charlie and I spotted a motel for $49 in town so we grabbed it. I (Bill) biked to the Taos Indian Resevation and took the very interesting tour.

A visit of the Taos square followed - very charming. Next I stopped into a Batik and furniture gallery and got a personal tour of the beautiful are work by Gary.

The evening ended with a great dinner at Ricky's (they obviously don't know how to spell!)

Day 13: Tierra Amarilla, NM to Taos, NM (78 bike miles)

2009-04-28T22:29:00.019-04:00

Forget about the Continental Divide... Today was going to be the real challenge!!!!! We would be climbing over 3,000 ft to the Brazlo pass, which is at elevation 10,500 ft!

Charlie "effortlessly climbing the mountain. Our indominable SAG driver, Martha played possum and hit each of us with snow balls as we rode by.

Finally, we reached the Pass and it would be downhill (mostly) from here.

We are now out of the snow, but when we got down around 7000 ft el., we would hit a head wind for the last 20 miles to TAOS. OUCH!! About 10 miles from Taos, I passed Earthship which is a community of passive solar heated homes. There are Spaceship communities in over 40 countries. They give tours but it was getting late and I was looking forward to being finished for the day.

The next treat was reaching the Rio Grande Gorge, which was over 800 ft deep. It was quite a spectacular sight. While it looks like only a ribbon of water, there is white water rafting that takes place in this area.

Day 12 - Carson Nat Forest (Route 64) to Heron Lake State Park (78 bike miles)

2009-04-28T22:27:00.025-04:00

After our usual hardy breakfast of freshly ground and brewed coffee (Charlie's specialty), and oatmeal (Bill's specialty), we were on our way along US 64 continuing through Carson National Forest, and beyond with its beautiful and varied scenery. Leaving Carsen National Forest, we entered the Jicarilla Apache Reservation, and then down the mountain to the town of Dulce and later to the beautiful Dulce Lake.

We had lunch in Tiggy with a beautiful view of the snow capped mountains, and then with planes flying overhead, we reached ... the Continental Divide. It was then through the lovely town of Chama (which has narrow gauge railroad that runs to Durango, CO during the summer) and then to our overnite campsite in Heron Lake State Park.

Day 11 - Ship Rock to Carson National Forest (87 bike miles)

2009-04-28T22:24:00.015-04:00

After breakfast at the Rez Rock café, the only restaurant in Ship Rock (but only open for breakfast and lunch as we discovered the evening before!), we were on the road and soon to leave the last Navaho Nation Indian Reservation that biked 210 miles through.

Soon thereafter, Bill noticed a barber shop. Needing a haircut (and also since his eyes were watering from the wind), he stopped and was warmly greeted by Ken the barber. Ken was very interested in hearing that the purpose of the trip was to raise money for Toni’s kitchen. He refused to let me pay for the haircut! I told him that I would make a contribution in his name to Toni’ kitchen. I also invited him to stay with us should he be interested in visiting NYC someday.

Later in Farmington, NM, Bill noticed an optician office. Needing protection from the wind and glare, he was able to find goggle- like sunglasses that fit over his glasses. This solved the problem that he had been having with watery eyes.

The next town was Bloomfield, with Martha finding a nice lunch area in the parking lot of the US Forest service. There we found out that we were permitted to park overnight within Carson National Forest within 300 ft of the highway. Since the next town was 84 miles from Bloomfield, we agreed to look for a suitable spot, which we found. We had a great dinner of macaroni, cheese and tuna, with wine of course, and then an evening of Euchre. An added bonus was going outside and seeing a spectacular viewing of stars in the perfectly clear sky.

Kriss on the road

Our spot for the night!

Day 10 –Keyenta, Az to Ship Rock, NM. (98 bike miles)

2009-04-27T01:07:00.008-04:00

Beautiful views of mesa,part of the sacred Monument Valley,from hotel window. Taking advantage of internet access, Bill gets a late start, seeing beautiful rock formations and eventually catching up with Charlie and Kriss by lunch time. Bill, Charlie, and Martha take a detour to Four Corners, while Kriss continues to Ship Rock, New Mexico, which is a completely Navaho town, and accurately named. We spend the night in a campground on the San Juan river in Ship Rock, watching a huge fire that appeared out of control, but eventually was put out.

Day 9 – Cameron, Az to Keyenta. (102 bike miles)

2009-04-27T00:23:00.011-04:00

We are starting to find our rhythm now, each of us going at our own pace, rather than riding together. Leaving the Trading Post, we continue on Route 89 within the Navaho Reservation, crossing the Little Colorado River and a new time zone (mountain daylight time). The terrain is dry, rocky and sandy with only sparse vegetation.

We next head east on Route 160 and start climbing, passing the Dinosaur Tracks exhibit(that Martha visited and enjoyed, passing thru Tuba City, (el: 4037) and even seeing some farm animals on our way to Kayenta (el: 6037), which is the entry point to Monument Valley, sacred land to the Navoho. Charlie and I each pass 100 miles for the day, a significant milestone for each of us. The only lodging in town was an EXPENSIVE room at the Holiday Inn.

Day 8 – Sedona to Cameron, Az. (90 bike miles) Part 2

2009-04-26T23:32:00.008-04:00

It was then on to Flagstaff (el 6906) for lunch and a visit to a local bike shop that was located on the famous Route 66.

Leaving Flagstaff, we continued on Route 89, with snow capped mountains in the distance, reaching elevation 7276, before heading downhill to Cameron, AZ (el. 4202), which is the beginning of the Navaho Reservation, and the Trading Post Motel where we stayed overnite and also had dinner.

Day 8 – Sedona to Cameron, Az. (90 bike miles) Part I

2009-04-26T22:17:00.010-04:00

The next phase of our trip begins, with our indomitable SAG driver, Dennis, and our videographer/blogger extraordinaire, Jonathan, no longer with us :( but with a very enthusiastic Martha stepping in as our SAG driver. After our usual healthy breakfast in Tiggy, we passed through the beautiful city of Sedona (el. 4326) and headed up the spectacular and steep (but fortunately shady!) Oak Creek canyon. We passed by Slide Rock State Park, where Martha did some hiking, and finally got to the scenic overview at the top of the canyon (6400 ft.) In addition to the great views of the canyon, there were also opportunity to purchase Native American jewelry and artifacts. Charlie couldn’t resist!

Day 7 – Prescott Valley to Sedona.

2009-04-26T13:15:00.013-04:00

Posted by Jonathan:

Today is my last day of the trip!! Here is my grand finale video, followed by Bill's first blog post. Thanks to all for watching!

Posted by Bill:

Breakfast of Fresh ground coffee and four-grain pancakes at Jean and Rich Gibion’s house in Prescott Valley, fond goodbyes and then 2500 ft climb up Mingus Mountain (El:7303). We all miraculously met Dennis at the overlook where the dramatic “handoff” of the keys and SAG duties to Martha Easter-Wells took place. Then it was the steep downhill through the lovely town of Jerome and further downhill to Cottonwood. But we next faced another 1000 ft. climb to Sedona and the Rancho Sedona campground, a total of 52 bike miles for the day. It was then farewell to Dennis and Jonathan who take Martha’s rental car back to the Phoenix airport.

Day 6 - Aguila to Prescott (58 bike miles)

2009-04-22T19:00:00.003-04:00

Today we climbed OVER 4,000 FEET (actually much more, considering how many times we had to re-climb the same elevations)! It was not easy, but there were some terrific views along the way which made it all worth it. We successfully made it to Bill and my former neighbor, Jeanne's house in Prescott Valley. We were treated to hot showers, warm hospitality, comfy beds, and an amazing Italian restaurant!

Day 5 - Quarzite, AZ to Aguila, Az (80 bike miles)

2009-04-20T11:52:00.004-04:00

We crossed the border at the very end of yesterday, and today we got our first real taste of beautiful Arizona! We saw the magnificent saguaro cactus all over, and it looks like it is straight out of a cartoon. This was also our first day with NO BREAK-DOWNS!

We spent the night at a campground in the tiny town of Aguila, AZ, where I slept outside under the stars, with not a cloud in the sky. Saturn was shining bright tonight, and I even saw a few shooting stars.

My usual formula of inserting a biking clip montage in the middle is getting old... so get ready for a CACTUS MONTAGE!

The bikers get all the glory

2009-04-17T11:55:00.000-04:00

The trip from a different perspective: the driver.

Day 4 - Brawley, CA to Quartzite, AZ

2009-04-17T02:02:00.003-04:00

Day 4: 65 miles by Jonathan, 90 by Bill.

On the bright side, the temperature was perfect today! However, we were once again plagued with far too many mechanical breakdowns, arduous uphill battles, and worst of all devastating headwind. Luckily, at the end of the day we arrived at a campground equipped with a jacuzzi for our aching muscles and wireless internet for video blog updates!

Day 3-Julian to Brawley

2009-04-16T03:18:00.003-04:00

Finally, a good full day of biking! We actually got a bit of a late start, so that Charlie could get his bike fixed once and for all (fingers crossed), but we still managed pack in a solid 87 miles today! Most of today was in the desert, a few hundred feet below sea level. It was a welcome change from the nasty weather in the mountains we had yesterday.

Day 2: Comedy of Errors

2009-04-16T02:53:00.002-04:00

Day 2

Well, as mentioned in my last post, Day 2 was off to a rough start. It turns out, it was also a rough middle and a rough end. Our original goal: 70 miles. Our actual mileage: 22 miles (although we did climb 3,000 ft). Instead of narrating the day, I'll just list every problem we ran into.

1. Jonathan has no reflectors or lights. Put one on.

2. Jonathan's front brake rubbing against the wheel. Fixed it.

3. A bungee cord wrapped around the axel of Jonathan's pedal. Removed it.

4. Jonathan's back brake rubbing against the wheel. Fixed it.

5. A screw falls out of Charlie's shoe (which clips to his pedal), and he can no longer pedal. Fixed it at a bike shop.

6. Bill gets a flat tire. Adjusted bent valve and pumped it up.

7. Bill's tire loses air. Adjusted valve again and pumped it up again.

8. Bill's tire loses air again. Tried to adjust valve and valve broke.

9. Replace the tube with Bill's spare. Tube didn't hold air.

10. Attempt to replace tube with Charlie's spare.... but he had forgotten it. Kriss backtracked 1.5 miles to supply his.

11. Charlie's back brake rubbing against the wheel. Fixed it.

12. Charlie's wheel rubbing against frame. Temporary fix.

13. Charlie's wheel misaligned. No bike shop for miles, hardware store can't help. Stuck in Julian, with Dennis 18 miles ahead, waiting for us with no cell phone signal.

14. We're all in shorts and t-shirts, temperature drops to thirties with 50 mph winds. People of Julian laugh hysterically at us. We buy clothes, take shelter in a Mexican restaurant, drink beer, eat burritos, chat with the locals, and hope that Dennis wonders what happened and comes back to save us. Three and a half hours later, he shows up!! At least we have a place to sleep.

Even with all the problems, we squeezed some good biking in and had a great time!

Day 2, off to a rough start

2009-04-14T13:14:00.001-04:00

We're all ready for a full day of biking today, after yesterday's half day. We fixed a few problems with my bike, biked 0.4 miles, and then Charlie ran into problems with missing screws. Fortunately, it happened directly in front of a bike shop. We should be on our way again relatively soon (hopefully)!

Day 2
At the beginning of day 2, we're all ready to go!

Posted via Pixelpipe.

And the trip begins!

2009-04-14T11:53:00.001-04:00

At 3:00 pm, April 13, 2009, Charlie, Bill, Kriss, Dennis, and myself dipped our bikes in the Pacific Ocean and started the journey to Atlantic Ocean!

On day 1, we biked 34 miles and climbed 1,540 feet.

Pacific Ocean!
After driving 3000 miles from NJ to CA, we spent a few minutes at the Pacific and immediately turned back.

Posted via Pixelpipe.

Las Vegas!

2009-04-13T10:05:00.003-04:00

Las Vegas is so shiny and sparkly! We stayed in the Stratosphere, shown in the video below.

After Bill, Kriss, and I hit the casino and buffet downstairs, we went for a drive through the Las Vegas Strip to the airport to pick up Charlie and Uncle Dennis (Dennis will be driving the RV for the first week). It was a great way to see the strip - but after sitting in traffic for a while, I decided to go explore on my own.

There were rides on top of the Stratosphere!

Here's another ride:

2009-04-12T22:54:00.002-04:00

Since leaving Kriss and Martha's house, we've gone through 6 states! Iowa and Nebraska were pretty boring (as noted in my Nebraska post), so we're going to skip right to Colorado. I fell asleep during the first part of Colorado, and when I woke up at 4:00 am, it was 27 degrees and we were in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. Here's some video:

Unfortunately, it was still pretty dark during much of Colorado. Here's some footage of our last few miles of Colorado:

Next state: Utah!

I really enjoyed driving through scenic Utah! The views from the highway were fantastic. However, the end of this clip demonstrates why I won't be videotaping while driving anymore.

Stay tuned for next post... Las Vegas!

-Jonathan

2009-04-11T18:40:00.001-04:00

Nebraska
In case you were wondering, this is what ALL of Nebraska looks like. I have been waiting all day for something interesting to blog about, but this all I've got. Sorryyy!

Posted via Pixelpipe.

Iowa!

2009-04-11T12:07:00.001-04:00

Kriss is driving the RV like a PRO!

Posted via Pixelpipe.

2009-04-10T23:03:00.001-04:00

Today consisted of a whole lot of driving. We drove through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, and tonight we are staying right on the Mississippi River in Le Claire, Iowa, in the home of Kriss and Martha. We're about a third of the way to our biking starting point in California!

Here's a recap of the driving:

Crossing the Mississippi:

Being welcomed into the home of Kriss and Martha, as Kriss joins the trip:

If you're craving more videos, there's extras here: http://www.youtube.com/user/CharliesRide

Begin!

2009-04-09T22:30:00.000-04:00

We are officially en route!! Bill and I got a bit of a late start, leaving a little after 10pm (original plan was to leave at 5). But we think we have at least 2 hours of driving in us before bed time!

For those of you who are facebook friends with me, you can see a google map with my current position on my profile below my friends. Check it out!

The trip begins in 17 hours!

2009-04-09T00:19:00.000-04:00

Jonathan here. Bill (my dad) and I are leaving in less than 24 hours to start the long drive in the R.V. across the country! Here's the plan:

1. Start packing at 11:00pm the night before

2. Go to work

3. DEPART!

4. Pick up Kriss in Davenport, IOWA

5. Pick up Charlie and Dennis in Las Vegas

6. Drive the rest of the way to Oceanside, CA.

7. Start biking!

First stop: Davenport, Iowa. Check out our driving route from NJ to CA.

Next entry will be from the road!

Introduction

2009-04-01T10:40:00.013-04:00

Bill and Charlie’s Cross Country Bike Ride for Hunger Relief

The Rev. Charlie Ortman, Pastor at the Unitarian Universalist
Congregation at Montclair, and
Bill Slezak, of the First UU Church of Essex County in Orange,
are taking their wheels on the road to raise consciousness about the hungry among us.
Kris Wells of Davenport, Iowa will also be riding!!

(Jonathan Slezak, Bill's son will be joining them for part of the trip as well!)

The Plan

April 9-13: Drive the camper from New Jersey to California, picking up people along the way.

April 14-early June: Bike 3,021 miles from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean and crossing 14 states, following the route designed by Race Across America.

While the others bike, there will be wonderful volunteers driving the camper along the route: Dennis Barnum, Martha Easter-Wells, Jay Bowman, Rickey Slezak, and Judy Ortman!

Because hunger is right next door, this ride will benefit Toni’s Kitchen, a food ministry where warm hospitality and hot nutritious meals are served every Thursday, Friday and Saturday as well as on Christmas Day.

Bill and Charlie's Excellent Adventure

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST AND SUPPORT

WELCOME HOME on May 30, 2008 in West Orange and Montclair

Day 46 Parole, Md (Clarksville) to Bowers Beach, DE (64 bike miles;3030 cumulative miles)

Day 45 White Ferry, Md to Parole, Md (Clarksville, Md) (64 bike miles; 2966 cumulative miles)

Day 44 Harpers Ferry, WV to Point of Rocks, Md (Leesburg, VA) (17 bike miles; 2902 cumulative miles)

Day 43 Little Orleans, Md to Harpers Ferry, WV (70 bike miles: 2885 cumulative miles)

Day 42 Cumberland, Md to Little Orleans, MD (40 bike miles; 2816 cumulative miles)

Day 41 Markleysburg, Pa to Cumberland, MD (63 bike miles;2775 cumulative miles)

Day 40 Morgantown, WV to Markleysburg, PA (29 bike miles;2712 cumulative miles)

Day 39 Hundred, WV to Morgantown, WV (45 bike miles:2683 cumulative bike miles

Day 38 Marietta, Ohio to Hundred, WV (61 bike miles;2630 cumulative miles)

Day 37 McArthur, OH to Marietta, OH (75 bike miles;2579 cumulative miles)

Day 36 Greenfield, OH to McArthur, OH (50 bike miles;2504 cumulative miles)

Day 35 Middletown, OH to Greenfield, OH (Paint Creek State Park) 66 bike miles; 2454 cumulative miles

Day 34 Greensburg, Oh to Middletown (Dayton),OH: 76 bike miles;2388 cumulative miles

Day 33 Bloomington (vic) to Greensburg, IN (84 bike miles; 2312 cum miles)

Day 32 Newton to Bloomington, IN (vic) (90 bike miles; 2228 cumulative miles)

Day 31 Newton, Illinois (0 bike miles); 2138 cumulative miles

Day 30 (May 12) Mulberry Grove, IL to Newton, Il, 73 bike miles;2138 cumulative miles

Day 29 (May 11) St. Charles to Mulberry Grove (86 bike miles;2065 cum miles)

Day 28 Hermann to St. Charles, MO (71 bike miles; 1979 cum miles)

Day 27 Teppets, MO to Hermann, MO (40 bike miles;1,908 cum. miles)

One more video from Jonathan!

Day 26 Eldon, MO to Teppets, Mo

Day 25 Pomme de terra Lake to Eldon, MO (73 bike miles; 1,819 cumulative miles)

Day 24 Nevada, MO to Pomme de Terre Lake (near Hermitage, MO) 76 bike miles; 1,746 cum miles)

Day 23 Yates Center, KS to Nevada, Mo.(84 bike miles;1670 cum miles)

Day 22 Park City,KS to Yates Center, KS (97 bike miles;1586 cum miles)

Day 21 Pratt to Park City,KS (73 bike miles;1489 cum miles)

Day 20: Bucklin, KS to Pratt, KS (54 bike miles; 1416 cumulative miles)

Day 19: Plains, KS to Bucklin, KS (59 bike miles;1362 cumulative miles)

Day 18: Hugoton, KS to Plains, KS (51 bike miles: 1303 cumulative bike miles)

Day 17: Clayton, NM to Hugoton, KS (119 bike miles; 1252 miles)

Dau 16 - Springer, NM to Clayton, NM (85 bike miles, 1133 cumulative miles)

Day 15 - Taos to Springer (83 bike miles, 1048 cumulative miles)

Day 14 - Taos (rest day) (10 bike miles around town)

Day 13: Tierra Amarilla, NM to Taos, NM (78 bike miles)

Day 12 - Carson Nat Forest (Route 64) to Heron Lake State Park (78 bike miles)

Day 11 - Ship Rock to Carson National Forest (87 bike miles)

Day 10 –Keyenta, Az to Ship Rock, NM. (98 bike miles)

Day 9 – Cameron, Az to Keyenta. (102 bike miles)

Day 8 – Sedona to Cameron, Az. (90 bike miles) Part 2

Day 8 – Sedona to Cameron, Az. (90 bike miles) Part I

Day 7 – Prescott Valley to Sedona.

Day 6 - Aguila to Prescott (58 bike miles)

Day 5 - Quarzite, AZ to Aguila, Az (80 bike miles)

The bikers get all the glory

Day 4 - Brawley, CA to Quartzite, AZ

Day 3-Julian to Brawley

Day 2: Comedy of Errors

Day 2, off to a rough start

Day 2At the beginning of day 2, we're all ready to go!

Day 2

Posted via Pixelpipe.

And the trip begins!

At 3:00 pm, April 13, 2009, Charlie, Bill, Kriss, Dennis, and myself dipped our bikes in the Pacific Ocean and started the journey to Atlantic Ocean!On day 1, we biked 34 miles and climbed 1,540 feet.

Pacific Ocean!After driving 3000 miles from NJ to CA, we spent a few minutes at the Pacific and immediately turned back.

Pacific Ocean!

Posted via Pixelpipe.

Las Vegas!

NebraskaIn case you were wondering, this is what ALL of Nebraska looks like. I have been waiting all day for something interesting to blog about, but this all I've got. Sorryyy!

Nebraska

Posted via Pixelpipe.

Iowa!

Kriss is driving the RV like a PRO!

Posted via Pixelpipe.

Begin!

The trip begins in 17 hours!

Introduction

Day 2
At the beginning of day 2, we're all ready to go!

At 3:00 pm, April 13, 2009, Charlie, Bill, Kriss, Dennis, and myself dipped our bikes in the Pacific Ocean and started the journey to Atlantic Ocean!

On day 1, we biked 34 miles and climbed 1,540 feet.

Pacific Ocean!
After driving 3000 miles from NJ to CA, we spent a few minutes at the Pacific and immediately turned back.

Nebraska
In case you were wondering, this is what ALL of Nebraska looks like. I have been waiting all day for something interesting to blog about, but this all I've got. Sorryyy!