Day 69: West Yellowstone, MONTANA!

I'm on the clock at Strozzi's Internet Lounge in West Yellowstone. A very chic place to write from, but oh the pressure!

We almost left Dubois after my last post, but then we decided that we might need some gloves. It turned out to be a very wise decision. We knocked on the door of the local outfitter, but no answer ... of course some dude on the second floor hollered down that it was closed, and then invited us up to coffee while he ate his lunch. He owned a chainsaw store next door that sold gloves... we didn't end up buying any, but it made for an interesting story. We asked about the sub-zero weather, and he said it was VERY unusual. What a relief!

From Dubois we pressed on to Togwotee Pass. We never made it. We stopped at Pinnacle Campground about 8 miles from the top of the pass. Unfortunately there was no gasoline because the pumps were closed, the restaurant was closed for the winter, and the store was also closed for no good reason at all. The guys on bikes were in a pinch. We devoured a good portion of the energy bars you fans have sent us, which were sustaining but perhaps not the most exciting dinner we'd eaten. We asked the person running the campground if he would sell us some food, and about 10 minutes later came back with hot dogs, doritos, cup o' noodles and 8 cokes. This was the kind of food we were used to! We gladly paid the $100 he wanted. I mean $10.

We froze that night - when we woke up there was a sheet of ice INSIDE the tent from our breath. It was the coldest morning we'd had on the trip. We SCRAPED off our tents, packed up and headed towards the pass. As we crossed over, we caught sight of some snowflakes coming down. This was still AUGUST, mind you! As we descended from the pass, a transformation took place. The sun started to shine and the wind was actually at our backs. We looked at our odometers in disbelief. We stopped at Togwotee Lodge for a reality check and some snacks and pressed on towards Hatchett where we were told they had burgers. It wasn't on the map, but we went for it.

Hatchett has some of the greatest people we met in Wyoming. Dustin was our server and couldn't believe how much we ate. It was one of only two real meals in the last couple days, and we were ravenous. He felt so sorry for us that when there was a mistake in ordering and he ended up with an extra order of chicken fingers, he brought them to our table on the house. We must have looked pretty pathetic. We struck up a conversation with an interesting fellow named Don sitting at a nearby table. He was on vacation, doing everything from hunting to water colors. At the end of the gorging, Dustin came over with our check and the money we had given him and told us Don had paid for our meal. This was quite a treat and honor, but even more so on this occasion as it was probably the most gigantic lunch we'd had the whole trip. We felt like God was raining down blessings after the wind and rain and weather we'd been facing. Thank you Don!

Full stomachs and happy hearts caught their first glimpse of the Tetons. We thought we had seen them, but those were just random mountains with snow on top. When you see the Tetons, you KNOW they are the Tetons. Sharp peaks towering a mile over your head and snow capped dragon's teeth. It was a powerful moment.

We rode with the Tetons in sight the whole way to Signal Mountain. We debated and prayed about where to stay that evening, and in the end decided on Signal Mountain. It was an incredibly great choice. The Tetons were the backdrop behind a pristine lake with round rock shores. We met a couple girls, Carlin and Taylor, at the campground and decided to split a site. A fantastic choice. Then we decided to swim in Jackson Lake. A questionable choice, it was COLD. If Daveyray and I hadn't swam and washed up there, we would have broken the non-shower record.

We devoured spaghetti that evening and met our neighbor, Matt. He was a ranger at Yellowstone for a number of years and had some great advice as well as camp food to share. Daveyray, Carlin, Taylor and myself decided to hike up to Solitude Lake the next day while Jonathan and Johnny took a day off at Signal Mountain. Unfortunately we got held up by traffic in the morning - they wouldn't let cyclists through and required us to ride in a pickup truck at the head of the traffic line. Tell us twice! We felt like kings, but missed Matt for the hike in the morning. Matt, we wished we could have hiked with you! It was incredible.

So Day 67 started with a hike up from Jenny Lake to Solitude Lake. Taylor drove us to the trailhead, otherwise we never would have made it on our bikes. It was a fantastic hike - the Tetons were spectacular, we saw three moose, Solitude Lake was like something out of a dream, and on the hike back we saw an incredible sunset and then the moon came up and shone on the lake. God's creation in full effect. Taylor and Carlin were great company, two really interesting girls on their own cross country trips. Carlin heading to Seattle to start something new and Taylor visiting her brother in Montana.

We got back to the campsite really late, but not too late to explore the hot springs nearby. What a treat after a long day of hiking.

Day 68 started with pancakes. We took a lazy morning to get ready, and discussed our route with Taylor and Carlin. Carlin was going the same way and offered to take our BOB bags to our campsite and drop them off. SPECTACULAR!

We said goodbye to our new friends and headed out into the construction again. I think they are repaving all of Yellowstone. We got a four mile bonus out of the ride in the pickup truck and started out towards Madison, WY. We entered Yellowstone and enjoyed bison, Old Faithful, hot springs, elk and deer. It was a great day riding through the park. I think all the guys were in awe of the beautiful country we live in.

Johnny and I got hung up watching about 50 buffalo graze, and then held up even further when his tire went flat almost in sight of Madison campground. It was dark and late when we put the rice and stew together for dinner. Still a great day.

I wiped out last night riding back to the campground from the payphones. I'm alright, but my bike took a beating. Luckily we reached a bike shop today in West Yellowstone and I was able to do some repairs as well as tune up mine and Johnny's bike. The bike shop here let me use their shop to work on both of our bikes.
Thank God that I wasn't hurt and my bike was rideable. He's watching over us.

We entered Montana around noon today. State number eight out of ten! We're really getting there...

Johnny lost his wallet in West Yellowstone and couldn't find it. While he was looking all over, a big camper pulled up and said "Are you-" and Johnny yelled "YES" and hugged the lady. I hope she was alright. She said she had just found his wallet and was looking at his license when he showed up. She said she was surprised it was really him, she was looking for the nerd in the picture.

So now we're tuned up, fed, and ready to roll to our next campsite at West Fork River. The Lord has been blessing us right and left with kind people who are helping us.

As for the next and LAST mail drop -

Try to mail by Friday, September 3. If it's late, we'll have them forward it on to us up the road!

General Delivery c/o Ryan Hartford (or your favorite Guy on a Bike)
Grangeville Post Office
Grangeville, ID 83530

Day 65: Dubois, Wyoming...

We never made it to Jeffery City.

In fact, it's been difficult to make it anywhere. As soon as we said goodbye to the girls and headed out of Rawlins, the wind picked up. And picked up. And picked up. About 20 miles outside of Rawlins we estimated the winds to be gusting somewhere between 50-60 mph from the west. I've never actually seen winds like this before, and don't presume that you have either, so let me explain what that looks like on a bicycle.

You lean over about 10 degrees to the left.
You get blown off the road more than once.
You watch birds shoot across the road flying backwards.
Anything you drop that weighs less than one pound is instantly in the Dakotas.

On the plus side, you never have to smell roadkill.

It's been like this for the last three days of riding, though sometimes the wind drops down to a breezy 20 mph. Mostly headwind. We were on the bike over eight hours yesterday, averaging well under 10mph.

So frustrating.

Enough about the wind... let's talk about the good stuff. We ended up in Three Forks/Muddy Pass, Wyoming on the evening of Day 62. We were totally spent after just 47 miles in the wind. On a side note, this is the third or fourth place called Muddy Pass on our trip. There are a lot of muddy places in the US. So we stop at the convenience store and realize we're never going to make it to Jeffery City. Cue the local entrepreneurial prodigy, Bert. Bert owns the gas station we're at, and as of four hours prior to our arrival a cabin about 1/2 mile back up the road. He proposes that we stay there and we haggle on a price... $20 later we're cruising our way to the only house in sight, complete with the only trees in Wyoming and a plush carpeted living room. We were on top of the world. We made up some chili on 2 lbs of pasta for a prebedtime snack and said goodnight. Thank you Bert and thank you God for taking care of us in such creative ways! Bert bought the place to put a Bed and Breakfast on the property, so if any of you readers are ever in the Three Forks area we recommend it...

Day 63 - So we jet out of Three Forks bright and early to beat the wind and trudge on our way to Lander. We never made it. Detect a theme? The wind crushed our spirits, but the unbelievably beautiful landscape helped take our minds off the invisible hand pushing our bikes backwards. We made it to a place whose name I can't recall, but in appearance looked like the most ridiculous movie set I've ever seen. Old style store fronted cabins, lots of skulls and horns and antlers and old paraphernalia - a wagon and a real dinner triangle out in front of the cafe. Remember the Popeye town where they took it really seriously? Same idea. Wild wild west but for real, no jokes. Freaky at first, then we all realized it was one of the coolest places we've stayed yet. We filled up a cabin with our stuff, filled up our bellies with dinner, and then a nice lady named Amy had a birthday party in the next room and gave us her last four pieces of cake. It was perfect.

Day 64 we got up too early again and were grumbling about how the sun hadn't come up yet. Grrrrr. We rode into Lander and entered the McDonald's with rejoicing. Jonathan's parents sent us McDonald's gift certificates (hint hint) and it was a massacre. The poor girl behind the counter thought we were going to jump over it and make McDeluxes ourselves. We headed out of Lander towards Red Rocks. It didn't exist. We did find a dog that for some reason all of us got really attached to. I named him Jackson after Jackson, Wyoming and he followed us five miles to where we camped out under the Red Rocks along the Wind River. We made a campfire, roasted some hot dogs and cooked up some beans. It was my favorite night of camping yet, and we woke up to a spectacular sunrise splashing on the red rocks behind us. Perfect.

We took Jackson back the five miles to find his owner. We all entertained thoughts of bungeeing him to the BOB trailer and bringing him to Oregon, but it just wasn't right. We ran into a dude in a pickup truck and he took Jackson - said he knew who he might belong to. We were sad to see our mascot go, but glad to know he would be taken good care of.

We're in Dubois now, after eating a few breakfasteses at the cowboy cafe. This town has a real western feel to it - I think there is an old mine shaft on Main Street. Ran into some bikers at the laundromat who couldn't believe we were biking cross country. It made me really proud.

We can see the snow capped Tetons in the distance as we climb into the hills. It's exciting to watch the landscape and wildlife change. I guess we're changing, too. It'll be more evident when we get home, but we're all learning a lot about ourselves and about our walk with the Lord. There's a lot of time to think when you grind into the wind for eight hours a day... Every day we thank God for the opportunity to be out here doing this, and for the family and friends back home who support us and love us. AND for the new friends we meet who help us along the way or just wish us well.

Just about 1,000 miles to go. Woo!

Day 62: Rawlins, WY to Jeffery City, WY

Back to reality. Our hearts and trailers are heavy as we said goodbye to our friends Sara, Jess, Tracee and Carrie this morning. The good news is - we had a lot of fun these past few days!

Steamboat Springs rocked. We arrived on the scene about 1:00 on Saturday. I was the proud owner of a brand new pair of cowboy boots at 1:05. We'd seen signs for a store called F.M. Light for the last 100 miles of biking and the advertising really worked! To top it off all eight of us bought tickets to the rodeo that night. Can't pass that up!

We shopped for a while in Steamboat Springs, something the Buys on Bikes don't do very often. We also stretched out in the sun on the grass in front of the County Courthouse, something we do all too often. We tried to get a ride in on the Alpine Howler, a downhill bobsled course on wheels instead of snow, but lightning closed it down two minutes before we got there. It just wasn't meant to be. Mexican food WAS meant to be, however - we beelined straight for Rio Grande in the face of the oncoming storm and ate at least 10 bowls of chips and salsa. A proud moment. As an exercise in self control I won't describe our lunch any further.

The rodeo was just back across the street, and it rained very solidly for a half hour before it started. The clouds parted, the sun set spectacularly, and the rodeo began. Only 58% of us had ever seen a rodeo before! We followed along in the program as best we could and were very concerned about the intermission when the children chased a calf and a lamb trying to get the ribbon off its tail for a prize. Maybe those of you originally from the West think this is funny, but we were all worried about the lamb and calf and the three year old kids almost getting trampled. It's different out here.

We left the rodeo for the only thing that could possibly make us leave something like that early - HOT SPRINGS! We had heard the springs were a little bit shady, but they were really great. The stars were out and the spring were incredibly relaxing, especially after biking for 2 months. It was fantastic to lounge in the pools staring up at the sky.

It certainly made camping out in Walden when we got back SUPER COLD. We were still somewhere around 8000 feet and it doesn't feel like August out here.

Next morning in Walden we went back to the same restaurant for the fourth time and ordered the "usual". Then we sped off to Encampment and had a wonderful ride in the sunshine with two pace cars following. Those were pretty much the only cars we saw on the ride. We'd heard southern Wyoming was boring and ugly, but it was just the opposite - rolling expanses, beautiful fields... maybe it was the company.

We reached Riverside before Encampment and got tangled up in the local politics. They had the nicest city park we'd ever seen, but the previous Mayor owned the campground, so a giant "NO CAMPING" sign was erected. The promising news was that the Mayor quit two days before we arrived, so I called the current-Mayor-in-charge at her home. On Sunday. Apparently this was OK in Wyoming, as the shop owner wrote down her number and handed me the phone. It wasn't meant to be - no camping in Riverside.

We moved on to Encampment, which I still don't understand as a separate entity from Riverside. They are about 100 feet apart. Encampment DID allow camping, however - one VERY important difference. They also had the MOUNTAINMAN RENDEZVOUS, which ranks up there as one of our top favorite things we've done on this adventure. Imagine a hundred people or so gathered together in a big meadow and living life as though it were 1830. Incredible. Teepees, 'hawk throwing (that's tomahawk for the uninitiated), cooking contests, black powder rifles... they had it all. The best part was that they welcomed us as lost children from another century. We competed, we were fed, and we had a blast. Our own Jess won the Women's Hawk (this was an amateur competition not to be confused with the current Olympics). Apparently she grew up with a 'hawk range in her backyard, explaining her prowess. Carrie and Tracee also placed very high in the Frying Pan Toss.

We headed over to a lesser yet still relaxing hot springs in Saratoga, which was more like a hot pool with some people yelling across it, and returned to Encampment for 'Smores. We almost lost Johnny to the 1800s, but he came to his senses at the last possible moment. A nice dude with a lantern guided him back to our campsite.

Thank you so much to Danny, Mike, Branden, Trenton and Patty and all the other folks at the Rendezvous who made us feel so welcome and a part of the festivities. It was a highlight of our trip!

We left Encampment yesterday morning headed for Rawlins. The ride was downhill with a tailwind and we wore our uniforms and the sun was shining... all was right with the world. Lots of video and pictures later, we faced Interstate 80, a headwind and an oncoming storm. It didn't dampen our spirits and we finished strong at the Rawlins KOA. We worked out a deal with the woman there, snagged two campsites and took some of the best showers we've had in ... 5 days.

Praise and Forest lived on in Rawlins - if you haven't heard, the Guys on Bikes had a time of worship on Thursday nights back at the White House at home in Virginia (the OTHER White House, if you were wondering). We continued the tradition in Rawlins last night with some singing and prayer. Until the storm hit, of course. Then we all piled under the pavilion and threw all our stuff all over the place. Seems to happen a lot, actually.

We said goodbye to our friends this morning as they headed back home, and now we're back on the road - four guys on bikes headed west. The Tetons are coming up, and some more down time to reflect on why we've been blessed with such good friends and wonderful experiences.

P.S. New Mail Drop Coming Soon!

Day 59: Walden, CO - Two Months Down, One To Go!

We Thoreauly enjoyed breakfast this morning in Walden - try the Rocky Mountain Pancakes at River Rock Cafe!

Our friends have arrived - Sara, Jess, Carrie and Tracee have joined us for some biking adventure. Actually, we're not biking today. We're headed to Steamboat Springs to enjoy a day off and relax in the hot springs. It's a rough life.

Let's go back in time, shall we? We had a great ride from Dillon, CO to Kremmling, CO. Downhill + Tailwind = Happy Dudes on Bikes. We cruised the beautiful ride and met Doug, a fellow bike tourer who has seen the better part of the world on a self-powered two wheeled vehicle. We had a bible study at the Something Shooter Cafe in Kremmling and talked about some of the Lord's Promises. It was interesting that the ideas weren't that new to us, but our experience of them was radically different while being on the road. In a very real way, God's promises come alive when you are looking for them every day. I think we all agree that some very important lessons are moving from head to heart as we live each day depending on those promises.

The five of us hung out at Rocky Mountain Bar & Grill afterwards and had a rainy night under the "Bike Park" awning. I guess we deserved it after such a great ride. We only broke one spoke the whole day. Only five people came to the big pavilion in the center of the park to make sure we knew we couldn't sleep there. The designated "Bike Park" was a drippy overhang behind some sort of decrepit barn. I don't want to know what other cyclists had done to Kremmling before we got there, but it must not have been pretty.

The scenery is spectacular in Colorado. There's really no way to explain it. Rolling grasslands, gorgeous snow-covered peaks. I've had two years to build up anticipation and I'm blown away.

After a freezing rainy night in Kremmling (Daveyray slept in a hammock - ask him about it when you get the chance) we got a late start to Walden. We blame the coffee shop in town - if it wasn't there we'd have been on the road much earlier. We said goodbye to Doug who was heading off to Rocky Mountain National Park (notice how everything is Rocky Mountain _____?). We faced headwinds and freezing rain and lots of climbing on our way. Blech. A couple of days of having Tracee carry our bags and we degenerat back into wimps. We met up with Carrie M. about 5 miles out of Walden and Johnny and Daveyray took her up on the offer to carry our bags. Jonathan and I didn't. I don't know why.

I've gotten comments that our food descriptions are getting slightly long-winded, so I'll keep it short. It was another feast at River Rock Cafe. The rest of the team - Tracee, Jess and Sara - showed up a couple hours later for another meal at River Rock and topped the evening off with dessert. There was much rejoicing and cajoling down the streets of Walden, which to my knowledge has never happened in this town before. Shaking it up a little.

Last night was COLD, and that totally justifies our trip to Steamboat Springs. Taking the day off, seeing the sights, enjoying Colorado... that's why we're here, right? One more ride and we leave this state for Wyoming - "Like No Place on Earth!"

Let's hope they're right.

Day 57: Dillon, CO

Chillin' in Dillon. Get it? The thin air has certainly gotten to us. We've spent the last three nights around 10,000 feet.

We left off in Eads, CO about to ride off to Ordway. From there on things have just been getting better and better. Hard to believe.

The ride was still FLAT. This is COLORADO. Something is WRONG. Johnny was concerned at this point that the Rockies had ceased to exist, and we were all a little on edge to see some terrestrial deviations. (That means rocks).

Ordway felt like a Western town, which was a relief since things still looked a lot like Kansas. We met up with the mayor of Ordway, Nancy and her husband Pete. She let us stay in the City Hall Meeting Room, which was PLUSH. TV, sink, VCR, and a horsehoe shaped desk reminiscent of a UN Summit meeting room. It got full use as the Guys on Bikes discussed their future plans.

There was to be a library meeting for a short while, so we crossed the street to get some dinner at Bits N' Spurs. There we met Roger and his dad Joe and had what we all agreed was the best meal of the trip so far - of course we all ordered the hamburger steak special, a side entree of Burritos, Flautas and Tacos and an appetizer of homemade chips and green chili. We vowed to come back in the morning, and the GOBs made good on their word. Roger and his dad were exactly the kind of people we were hoping to meet in Colorado - a former rodeo rider turned adventure kayaker. Joe was just cool in a cowboy hat, chewing on an unlit cigar. We saw one more dude there who later stopped us on the highway to say hi. It's nice running into people you know on the road.

We had a private matinee of Goodwill Hunting back at the City Hall Meeting Room, and then crashed for the night.

Day 54 - We packed up right quick the next morning to make it to Bits N' Spurs by 7:01am (they opened at 7) and there were Nancy and Pete who had gotten there at 7 sharp. Roger showed up a few minutes later. Something about that green chili forced you to return... We ordered the special again with a side order of breakfast burrito. These are important details! After breakfast we got a picture with the owner, a free berry blossom (a strudely thing covered with ice cream - we had four of them the night before, I neglected to mention) and poured out into the streets for hugs and goodbyes. The waitress from the night before showed up and gave us each a mom-like hug, Roger shook hands all around and we thanked Nancy and Pete profusely - it was the greatest day Ordway has ever known. Ok, they probably had a 100 year high school reunion that might have been bigger, but to us it sure felt like we belonged in Ordway.

Donna and Pete promised we'd see the Rockies on today's ride, so we hauled off a full 1mph faster than usual. Woo.

We saw nothing. I think I strained my right eye scanning the horizon for a sign of the Rockers, but saw nothing. We DID meet quite possibly the most interesting fellow of the trip - this dude named Matt. Matt cut an interesting figure with a complete gunbelt, pistol, horse and donkey, cowboy boots and a rifle. He was mapping the first entirely non-motorized trail from west coast to east coast and had been at it since SEPTEMBER, 2003. Up until this point we had thought we were pretty cool. As were talking to Matt the dude from Bit's N Spurs pulls up in the oldest loudest flatbed wrecker we've ever seen and stopped to say hello. What planet are we on?

We cruised into Pueblo still wondering what was up with the Rockies. Johnny at this point wanted to try a different direction and go off in search of the mountains. We were at our collective wits' end. I got so used to Jonathan destroying wheels that I forgot to tell you he thrashed his new one on the ride to Tribune. It was a little dicey because we didn't have 14 replacement spokes - his derailleur went over the top and ate his wheel to pieces. We actually called AAA and asked for a ride to Pueblo, but we got disconnected ... or they hung up. For some reason (aka God was watching over us!) LazyRay hung onto the OLD WHEEL for 4 DAYS instead of shipping it home. It wasn't in perfect shape, but it was usable and definitely a better option than hitchiking 100 miles to Pueblo, our next best option. The reason I told you that little anecdote was because we got his new wheel fixed in Pueblo. Sweet. We also bought a bunch of bike tubes because we are going through them like Jonathan goes through wheels.. or DaveyRay goes through tires... or Johnny goes through spokes... or Ryan goes through Clif bars.

From bike shop to laundromat. We met Betsi there and struck up a conversation, and after smelling our laundry she offered us her place to shower. After a second thought, she said "I'm not going to be there for the next few days - just crash there!" As the thunderheads loomed outside, we were all very thankful that this incredible woman would offer us her apartment without even learning our names! She gave us directions and left a note on her back door telling us we were at the right place. Unbelievable. We tuned up our bikes in the backyard and met all her neighbors - Leo, Becca and Leah. Once again we were saved from another set of thunderstorms by complete and utter kindness and hospitality. Thank you Betsi! An interesting highlight at Betsi's house was Johnny supergluing his fingers together while trying to fix his bike helmet. All five on one hand. I had to cut them apart with a knife. It was spectacular.

Between the laundromat and Betsi's we managed to stop by the Tea House Chinese place and put it out of business.

Day 55 was gorgeous, and made even better with a McDonald's deluxe breakfast. There was a sign over our booth saying we had to eat in less than 30 minutes or they would call the police. Whatever happened to the subtle yet effective uncomfortable seats?

A couple miles out of Pueblo a magical tranformation occurred. The prairies turned to dry canyons and we started climbing. The big moment came as we crested a hill outside of Pueblo and saw the Rockies stretched out before us. Johnny got out the video camera and recorded me taking pictures of him recording (tell me if I've used that one before). Johnny's concern about the Rockies not being where they were supposed to be vanished and we enjoyed a beautiful ride with the mountains creeping closer and closer every minute. All of us cruised off the shoulder a few times while staring up at the behemoths before us.

We ran into a car coming the other way... I mean, someone stopped to talk to us. Kathy and her husband Clarence were Eastbounders, her driving the car and Clarence riding a rather glamorous racing bikes with hardly any spokes. They filled us with anticipation of what was ahead - buffalo and pronghorn antelope and jackalope. I think they were joking about Jackalope, but we really weren't sure at the time - we were vulnerable from seeing the mountains for the first time and ready to believe anything.

We stopped to eat lunch in Wetmore at Wet Mountain Country Store and made up some salami and cheese sandwiches. We were hungry and figured it was an uphill battle to the next town, so we crashed for a while. There were hummingbirds on the feeder outside.

The next town was an unbelievable 11 miles DOWNHILL. We were very confused. Florence was a string of unique looking shops and fun cafes that served much much more than salami sandwiches. Oh well. Jonathan and I stopped a little way outside of town at a sign that said "fresh peaches" and ended up meeting a fascinating Mr. Harold Thomas Witcher who has lived in Colorado for 83 years. As we pulled up to his garage where he kept his peaches, he started cutting up a canteloupe and said "I'm glad you boys stopped in" and proceeded to feed us fruit and stories of his life. He fought in WWII, landed on Normandy on D-Day, built bridges all the way to Berlin and lived out his days in Colorado as a trucker. His father was a engineer who worked on the Royal Gorge suspension bridge, which we would see the next day. He was definitely a highlight of an already amazing day. He sent us off with two more peaches for Daveyray and Johnny and a good feeling in our guts. I love this country.

As we started the final climb from Canon City to Royal Gorge, Johnny started whooping at the Go Kart place on our right. Of course we pull in, buy four tickets, and proceed to terrorize all the nice other people who didn't happen to be wearing matching uniforms and didn't bring their own crash helmets. Good times. Johnny feels that he won the race, even though his car didn't finish first. Weird.

Of course we make a group decision to press on to Royal Gorge and eat there, figuring there would be SOME option in such a touristy area. Oops. Eight miles of climbing later we find out there is one frozed pizza in Royal Gorge and it's been there as long as the suspension bridge has. We panic, call the campground, call our moms, call ANYBODY... and suddenly the lady we're askign has a flash of insight - "There's aDairy Queen about a quarter mile up the road!" Saved! We storm the DQ and freak out Sammy and Mike behind the counter. We order everything, sing happy birthday to Sammy in a key way to high for four dudes, and demand the largest dessert ever created by man. This is a worthy challenge to bored high school kids and they actually created what looked like a 1/2 gallon of soft serve with a little bit of everything thrown in. We were ecstatic.

As we left DQ we rode an incredible two mile downill into what has to be the greatest sunset I have ever seen. We're in the rockies.

The campsite at Royal Gorge was actually a big pavilion owned by the rafting place we made reservations with - Dvorak Rafting. It has cool army tents already set up, a giant fireplace under a pavilion with CHRISTMAS LIGHTS everywhere and is right on the Arkansas River. Three industrial strength showers topped it off - this was living.

Tracee met up with us the next morning, just in time to go whitewater rafting through the gorge. Of course given the dinner situation the night before, the Guys on Bikes had no breakfast. We talked to Kelly, who was later to be our raft guide - she whipped up a batch of pancakes worthy of four hungry bikes. Amen! Later on the river, Kelly and Ivan were our patient guides and didn't get that frustrated even though we couldn't hear their commands over our yelling and whooping. After a while we just hit each other with paddles to get someone to stop rowing. Of course Johnny "fell in". The gorge was... beautiful. The suspension bridge was way overhead, the train would pass by on our left with people waving, and we saw old water pipes, pumphouses and buildings from the turn of the century. It was good fun. Afterwards napped and read and napped some more, and then drove to Canon City for a giant meal of Mexican food at El Corporal. It was a sight to behold, I think Tracee was a little shocked.

We watched another amazing sunset, roasted smores over a giant fire in the giant fireplace and crashed after another incredible day.

Tracee hauled our gear and we hauled bunnies on Day 55. We rode our planned day's ride to Schechter Hostel, breezed right by the hostel and rode all of the next day's ride to Fairplay, and then kept going to Alma just 6 miles short of the Continental Divide. Seventy seven miles of climbing through the heart of the Rockies and we rocked it.

Almost unanimously we agreed that this was the most amazing ride to date. We rode 22 miles to Guffey and ate at Peaceful Henry's. The four dudes ordered six breakfasteses amongst them, and again Tracee was a bit astonished at the gorgery. It was fantastic. We stayed for a while longer for the church service at 1pm IN PEACEFUL HENRY'S! The sermon was perfect, talking about trusting God even when you can't see exactly where He is leading you. He even used some biking examples just to make us feel special - it worked. The people of Guffey were just great and were really interested in what we were doing. The town itself was unique - four antique shops and a lot of weird art all over. It felt like we had found a place few people had discovered.

The ride continued and we climbed from about 6,200 feet up to 10,500 feet through Currant Creek Pass. We met Leland who ran the country store in Hartsel on the way to Fairplay and he reassured us we would find a place to stay if we pressed on - he was right! We rode through a hailstorm, saw a double arched rainbow and had towering mountains all around us every step of the way. We drafted Tracee's car for a while so we looked like professional racers. Johnny the Cheater even hung onto her door for some of the hardest hills. When we got to Fairplay, we bought some Subway subs and took a risk, pressing on towards Alma without knowing exactly what we would find. We'd heard there was a city park there and that the one cop in town was friendly. Good enough for us! It got late and dark and cold, but the Lord provided us a BIKE PATH exactly from Fairplay to Alma, the only bike path we've had to date for our only night ride to date. Riding in traffic at night is DANGEROUS, but we had our own road the whole way... Sometimes I wonder who is planning this trip... but then I'm convinced it's not us.

We arrived in Alma at 10,500 feet and found the city park had a perfect pavilion, open restrooms and a bar open on Sunday night with greate hot chocolate and the Olympics on TV. God is good. A friend of ours from Virginia, Levi, moved out here a year and a half ago and he rode a couple hours out of Colorado Springs just to camp with us in the freezing cold. He was planning on climbing Quandary Peak the next day, but remembered he had a meeting the next morning so just camped out for the night and left us everything we needed for lunch and breakfast the next day. Talk about a good friend!

Day 56 started off frozen. It was below freezing when we woke up in Alma. We put on ALL our clothes and made a beeline to the coffe shop where we planned the day's climb to the top of Quandary Peak, one of Colorado's "14ers". A 14er is a mountain over 14,000 feet. That's right, Moms!

Levi helped us plan out the climb and gave Johnny a ride over to Hoosier Pass since he had broken a spoke the day before. At that point we weren't sure we would have time to summit the mountain if we spent the time fixing his spoke, as afternoon thunderstorms tend to roll in forcing climbers off the mountain around 2 pm. Daveyray, Jonathan and I biked the six miles up to Hoosier Pass and the Continental Divide, four of it uphill. We met Spenser, Angela, Riley and Buffy at the top and got a picture. Buffy and Riley were dogs, Spenser is Daveyray's friend from Saranac Lake and Angela is his daughter. We zoomed two miles down to the trailhead of Quandary Peak and Angela led the six of us up the trail. Jonathan took one for the team and drove Tracee's car 80 miles back to Guffey to pick up our mail. We didn't get it in Guffey the first time because it was Sunday. Life is like that sometimes.

Spenser and Angela and Buffy and Riley left us about halfway through the climb for an appointment with Breckenridge Pizza place and Tracee, Johnny, Daveyray and I headed to the top. It's hard to explain exactly, but it sure felt like being on top of the world. The mountains we had cycled among were now stretched out before us. We looked down on thunderstorms, on the trail we climbed, on the Continental Divide, on everything. It was the highest point on the tip in a lot of ways. As if we weren't feeling close enough to the Lord, we found a verse scribbled on a piece of paper at the top -

Psalm 121 -

I lift up my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD , the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip- he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you- the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm- he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

It was hard coming down from the mountain. It helped that near the treeline we ran into a troupe of birds that ate trail mix out of our hands. That certainly eased our transition. Jonathan met us at the bottom, we caught our breath and pressed on.

We rode the rest of the way from Quandary downhill to Breckenridge, breezed through Breckenridge with just a short stop for Crepes, and on to Frisco where we met up with Spenser again for the final ride to Dillon. A full day of climbing and a full day of biking. We needed a rest. The beauty here in Colorado is almost overwhelming.

We spent the night at Spenser and Deb and Angela's place in Dillon and weren't much for socializing. We mustered enough energy to open our EIGHT PACKAGES (THANK YOU EVERYONE) and whoop a few times, and then ate a big spaghetti dinner from our wonderful host family and slept very soundly.

The next day the five of us (five? Tracee came with us, silly!) headed into Breckenridge and browsed the shops. I don't know about everyone else, I felt like a bearded alien. We've been out on the road for a while. Still fun, but I am starting to shy away from Sunglass Hut. It's too much.

Johnny and Daveyray recuperated in the afternoon, Tracee headed back to Denver to get some more friends (THANK YOU TRACEE FOR CARRYING OUR STUFF AND LETTING US LIVE OUT OF YOUR CAR) and Jonathan and Spenser and I went 4 wheelin' up in the mountains. It was ... unbelievable. Despite the rain and cold I whined until Spenser took the Jeep top down so I could stand up in the back seat and hang onto the rollbar. I seriously got a stomacheache on the way home from being so excited. We drove all over creation and Jonathan and I are taking aspirin today for our sore smiles. Spenser rocks. We ate burgers last night to celebrate.

Today we head on to Kremmling and begin to leave the Rockies. Thank you SO MUCH to Spenser and Deb and Angela for putting us up and putting up with us. We're smitten with Colorado.

If you've stuck with this blog entry this far, you're hardcore. You may want to open up a Word Document or print something out so you look busy. Thanks for being a fan, we feel like you're on the trip with us!

Thanks again for all the packages, too. We'll be scheduling another post office drop soon, but you may want to send letters of encouragement this time. We're making Power Bar soup tonight for dinner.

Day 53: Eads, CO

WE MADE IT TO COLORADO!

There's something very sweetly satisfying about bicycling out west. I can't really quite explain it, but you should definitely try it sometime.

Tribune, KS was exciting in ways we never thought Kansas could be. Our last night in Kansas, of course...

We arrive in Tribune somewhat late after lounging for 6 hours in Leoti. We arrived sometime in the evening and headed over to Karen's Kitchen for some Mexican food... they ran out of beans. We made a bad decision to take out the video camera at the "restaurant" and Johnny ended up chasing me out of the establishment into the street trying to get control of it. It's all on video, of course. Afterwards we head over to the city park pavilion to set up camp. DRay, Johnny and I put up our tents/bug nets under the pavilion, Jonathan stays over at the Ampride gas station (also the center of action in town) to make phone call(s). We get cleaned up at the pool across the street, Johnny and I start to doze off in our tents and DRay heads off to do laundry because that's what we make him do.

That's when the fun started.

Johnny and I hear a very loud air raid alarm that lasts about 5-10 minutes. As the last klaxon fades away, I mutter "THAT was annoying" and go back to half-sleep. Wisdom itself.

About four minutes later a dude in a pickup truck shows up and pulls up right to our tents. "Your friends asked me to pick you up, we're under tornado warning." Of course Johnny and I know all about weather like this and start to reassure him that we'll be just fine. We find out the gentleman's name is Junior and his daughter works over at Ampride. Like a switch being thrown, the rain starts coming down sideways and our tents threaten to take off the ground. We are quickly convinced to take Junior up on the offer. Then some of our camp items start to get whisked off into the ether and rain is flying through the pavilion sideways - Johnny and I of course react with catlike instincts as I throw things into the back of the pickup while Johnny grabs the video camera. "We're in the middle of a tornado!" he says to the camera. "Get your stuff in the truck!" I yell. Junior apparently has done this before and stands in the middle of the pavilion and tells us about the annual rainfall in Colorado. We finally get everything into the truck and head off VERY slowly through the flooded streets to DRay and Jonathan awaiting us at Ampride. Totally dry of course. Punks.

The sheriff shows up at Ampride, makes a few calls and books us at the local Lutheran church. He asks for all our IDs and runs a background check. After a round of secondary questioning with Johnny about his extra driver's license, we're off in Junior's truck again over to the church. It seems like the worst is over, but we're all a bit shook up. Our stuff explodes in every direction when we get to the church - tents drying, shoes drying, bibles drying... it looks like a war zone. We crash hard and try to understand what happened just before sleep comes to us.

Day 52 was gorgeous of course. We slept in a little bit at the church, our stuff dried out completely, and we rode yesterday like four dudes glad to be alive.

Thirteen miles into yesterday's ride we reached COLORADO! The giddiness overtook us, we raced for the state line and took nutty pictures climbing the Welcome to Colorado Sign. Those are forthcoming and definitely worth waiting for. Spirits were high as we pedaled the first few miles into our sixth state.

At lunch we stopped in Sheridan Lake, where a mechanic kept a supply of chimichangas in a freezer in the back room in case anyone was crazy enough to stop in Sheridan for lunch. He happened to mention we had more "weather" coming in, and was kind enough to show us on the internet the radar picture for our area. We panicked and raced the last 28 miles to Eads, where we beat the storm by about 7 hours. Good thing we hurried. In Eads we wandered all around town trying to find a place to stay, but it was a big election day in the county seat so voting took top priority. The wonderful people at the County Courthouse finally took us in and let us sleep in the Community Room (aka Tornado Safe House). We used the kitchen to whip up some omelettes and knocked off a half gallon of Rocky Road before bedtime. The storm wasn't too bad - we were relieved because if the tornado siren went off again the entire town would be congregating in our bedroom. We had some great discussion last night about the trip and our reflections on our experience. I think we all got a lot out of it.

We're not in Kansas anymore. Bet you didn't see that one coming.

Day 51: It's All Over...

Just kidding! At least I've got your attention.

The Guys on Bikes have made it to Leoti, Kansas. It's a small town on Route 96, which we've spent the better part of the week exploring. This road should take us all the way to Pueblo, CO if we don't take any turns.

We actually had a dude in a pickup truck stop and ask us directions to Scott City the other day. We politely told him "The other way". We honked our horn as he drove off and he rummaged under his front seat for a moment, weaved into the left lane and proudly produced a deafening blast on the airhorn he'd found. We love Kansas.

Go back in time with me, will you?...

I suppose I left out some of the fun we had on day 42. American Airlines crashed their central computers so we spent our day re-routing through Dallas and sleeping on the airport floor. Luckily Johnny, Daveyray and I had a lot of practice sleeping on concrete. Not so luckily we were at Sbarro's when they called our names for our standby flight to Washington. The folks on the plane were thrilled to see that they were waiting for three loud guys with pizza so that they could take off. Jonathan took a flight on another UNNAMED airline and had absolutely no problems. He actually arrived at the same time as us which made for an easy pickup.

Day 43 we rode from Pittsburg, KS to Chanute, KS. Actually, the correct version of the story is that we rode .5 miles from the bike shop in Pittsburg to the place where Johnny got a flat tire. We knew we were back on the road. Ed from Tulsa had driven us out that morning and enjoyed a giant breakfast with us, dropped us off at the bike shop (thanks again, ED!) and Joe showed us our tuned up, once again shiny bikes. Of course it was time for a flat tire.

It was also time for SORE BUTTS! I won't make it too graphic, but I described it to a friend as "Rub your [butt] with 50 grit sandpaper, sit on broken glass and then rinse off with a lemon juice bedet." You're right, that was graphic. In summary - three of us have new bike seats in the mail as we speak.

Chanute was a ... hoot (to clue you in on pronounciation). We stayed at the Santa Fe campground which was free for the first 48 hours. That just doesn't happen out East. There was a SERIOUS men's softball game going on, and we camped out right past the right field fences. Simply brilliant. They like their softball out here ... (obvious foreshadowing). For those of you who love the inane details of our lives, i.e. all the moms "in the house", we had Italian hoagies from Wal-Mart for dinner.

Day 44 we rocked Chanute to Eureka! It was another rough day. At this point we had been facing a headwing for a couple of days and were hating life. We thought we would be as strong as "junk", but he reality was that we had just softened up on our time off. A few of us (4) were discouraged. Read on. It gets way cooler.

So DR and JShiu go to the grocery store when we get to Eureka to get some dinner and come back empty handed with big grins on our faces. Johnny and I are done swimming at the super cool free pool and are surprised to hear them describe how the local florist has invited us to stay at her and her family's house that night. With AC! We pack up as quick as we can, which isn't very quickly, and the grins are on all four faces. Back at the florist shop we are met by Lisa, who pops the trunk, we load up, and we're off to vote in Eureka! She needed to vote before she went home, and dragged us along.

Lisa and Eric and Wesley and Wayne Moot are the coolest folks in Kansas. They took us in, fed us a GIGANTIC spaghetti dinner (there were LEFTOVERS), made our BEDS with SHEETS and PILLOWS, we had our own SHOWER, and there was even WATERMELON FOR DESSERT!

The Moots, as they are referred to in Eureka, were "what is up" in Eureka. Thank you tons! They have been taking in bikers for a while now and enjoy the interesting stories. I am still floored at their laid-back hospitality. It was humbling. They gave us waffles and bagels and sausage for breakfast and Eric gave us a ride back to the shop to pick up our bikes in the morning. Unreal. Just so you know, a package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese and a foil package of Crisco LARD look very similar at 6AM. Almost similar enough to spread on a bagel. Almost to the point where you would take a bite out of it... As an unrelated side note, Crisco is the worst tasting thing ever. Don't eat it.

We slugged out Day 45 to Cassoday, where the plan was to buy some stuff for sandwiches and eat on the long long ride to Newton. Yeah right. There was a home-cooking all-you-could-eat buffet there and we had mashed potatoes coming out of our ears when we were done. It was almost embarassing, but these Kansas women all act like your mom and coo and cluck when you eat a lot of food. I think heaven is just like this but with a tailwind instead of a headwind. We ate enough that we made it across the street to the city park and fell asleep in the grass. It was a debacle.

Ten miles out of Newton we stopped for a drink because it got REAL hot. This town was so small I can't remember the name. It had a couple of houses and a grain elevator. We knew this because we sat out in front of the local mechanic's shop drinking pepsi when a kid named Trent told us we could get some "pop" at the "elevator". We didn't understand what this meant, but Johnny and I trucked over to the building he pointed at and scared the "dad-gum bejeezus" out of about eight people hanging out inside. It might have been the bike shorts. Once we explained what we were doing and how cool we were, they gave us some pop. They were a lot of fun, trying to get one of the older gentlemen to come with us cross-country. I think they just wanted him to leave the elevator.

Newton had a nifty pool and a mesquito population of such size and stature we had to hide the food bag or they would fly off with it. You'll be relieved to find out that Newton had absolutely nothing else interesting about it at all. We moved on.

Day 46 we slept LATE and it was GREAT! They really should have a basic writing test before they hand out a blog like this... anyway, we slept late and Jonathan was ready to roll so he wrote down the directions to Hutchinson and we haven't seen him since.


Just kidding Jonathan's mom and family! We made it there fine, and so did the rest of us. We picked up a tailwind for some of the way and it was like buttering biscuits. That's a phrase you would think they would say in Kansas but they don't. Yet. Some phrases they do say:

Dad-gum
I do declare
Heavens to Betsy (just kidding. No one has said that yet)
Run you off
Git 'er done
Take you in
Woo (this one was recently introduced)
I reckon
A "jog" in the road (this happens when the road doesn't do what you think it should)
Up a piece

The Zion Lutheran Church in Hutchinson (they call it Hutch to keep it simple) was what Kansasans would definitely NOT call the bomb. Not that it wasn't great, but no one around here would say that. It was THE BOMB. Inflatable beds, sheets, pillows, towels, kitchen and towels. These are a few of my favorite things. Jonathan and I (Ryan, in case I've still got your attention) went to the Cosmosphere, a SURPRISINGLY large and complete space museum. They had the SR-71 Blackbird anda space shuttle mock up and many shows, displays, trivia, and an out-of-place but still-exciting-enough-that-we-have-to-go Nascar IMAX show. It was Da Vish (that means well scripted with a strong plot).

Day 470 ... I mean 47 was to Larned, Kansas. In a show of incredible self-control Daveyray only made 16 jokes about how the name of the town could be misconstrued as "learned". It made the ride so much shorter and pleasanter...er. In his favor, he did make stacks of fantastic blueberry pancakes. So I guess your jokes WERE pretty funny after all.

This was an interesting day. Daveyray busted a driveside spoke 13 miles into the ride just past a town called Nickerson. "What's a driveside spoke", you ask? It's the same as a regular spoke except you can't fix it without special tools that we left at home in VA because we were having so much fun at the wedding. Ahead of us lay a 70 mile stretch of NOTHING. The bike shop was back in "Hutch" where we started. We walked the bikes back to Nickerson to regroup. Kim at the convenience store heard our story, was actually convinced by our patheticness and decided to give Jonathan and DR a ride to Hutch when she went to pick up our paychecks. Solid Gold! Daveyray got the tools he needed, Jonathan got a new wheel because he felt like it (and his old one was breaking) and Johnny and I stayed behind and worked on his bike and made plans for the future. Bike plans.

We got back underway around noon and made the long haul to Larned by dark.

The rest of the ride to Larned I do not recall, nor was the meal at Don Do's stellar... but the kids we met at the city park were about the coolest thing we'd ever seen! We first met Zac and Kaleb and Shelby, who were pretty darn cool. Then Alex and Evan and Jason came riding in on Spanky, April and TJ or JC or CJ. Those are horses, and they darn near ran me over with them. That was AWESOME! Of course they let us ride their horses all over the park, three city boys taking videos and making fools of ourselves and having a fantastic time. The kids all decided it was a good idea to make the horses run as fast as possible. A grand time was had by all except Daveyray sat out on the festivities, mentioning saddle soreness.

We loved hanging out with the kids from Larned and even thought it was funny when they rode the horses into the pavilion we were sleeping in. It was blissful. Unfortunately we didn't take ANY pictures so you'll have to use your imagination... wait, we DID take pictures! We'll post them up just as soon as we can.

Day 48 was the day we woke up too early. I don't know how it happened, but somehow at 5:20am we were ready to roll out and it was raining and pitch black. Some miscommunication somewhere. We sped straight back to Don Do's for a bigfatbreakfast and waited in a half-stupor for the sun to rise. On to Ness City, made it by lunchtime! Not in time to get to the post office where we mailed ourselves some goodies, but in time to get some lunch at the Frigid Creme Dairy Bar and meet Vyrl, a church fund-raiser and former pastor from Oklahoma who was giving a message the following morning in Dighton, KS. He prayed with us for Johnny's knee and invited us to hear him speak the following morning. That night we stayed in the city park and found out why the whole town had seemed so quiet - there was a softball tournament with everyone in Kansas spectating or competing. It was mayhem. They played softball until MIDNIGHT, which for some tired bikers was an unheard of hour. That's the kind of hour that people sneak into pools if they find a low spot in the fence, if it wasn't open when you arrived and couldn't take a shower. Hypothetically speaking, that's LATE!

Kids threw rocks at Johnny's tent in Ness City. I thought it was funny at the time, but later pretended to be mad when Johnny asked about it.

We made Lisa's chicken corn chowder recipe on our new stove. We're so domesticated.

We also talked about our plans for the rest of the trip. We figured a lot of stuff out - just so you know this isn't all just a big party, we actually do work out some interpersonal things. For the most part it's a big party, you're right.

Day 49 was a gorgeous ride to Dighton and then on to Scott City. Jonathan and DR went on ahead and Johnny and I just rode slow. Johnny's knee has been hurting, so we took the pace down a little bit. We certainly took advantage of the slower pace and drank in the morning sunshine. Something about that morning made it really special, not sure what... Kansas plains spreading out in front of us, sun just rising on our backs, the mist burning off the road and not a car in sight. So flat you can see in every direction until your eyes get tired. That kind of morning.

We rock'd Dighton. We enjoyed Vyrl's message in the morning and got invited to "dinner" (dinner=lunch in Kansas) by Gerry and her daughter Liz. We later met the rest of the crew, Melea and Caroline. This whole event was the 100th Anniversary of Dighton High School and people came from all over to celebrate and catch up... and we were certainly caught up, right in the middle of it. I ate four plates of homecooked everything, we bought T-shirts, signed babies foreheads... it was grand.

We left with tupperware containers and pies and cookies and treats and it was all bordering on ridiculous, but we had the greatest time. Thank you Dighton!

We went to the pool and fell asleep for a long time. In case you haven't noticed, it goes like this - ride, gorge, pool, nap.

We finished the ride to Scott City last night and ate at Pizza Hut and slept across the street at the park. After the hoopla, it was a bit uneventful. Today is day 50 and we're in Leoti, halfway to Tribune and our second-to-last day in Kansas. Colorado is calling us, on 50 miles away... it'll have to wait until tomorrow. We ARE going to cross into Mountain Time Zone in a few miles, so try not to call too early in the morning or we'll still be sleeping.

We're officially halfway done with this crazy thing. Some of us. Johnny and I are planning on riding the West Coast. Did I tell you that yet?

Consider yourself warned.

Day 42: Tulsa, OK (we're BACK!)

The wedding was a huge success, Reade and Lisa ACTUALLY got married with some pictures to prove it. We had some good time at home, we saw some good friends and had some good times, now it's time to hammer out some more miles and get focused. I also managed to put back on the weight I had lost in the previous month. Awesome.

A couple of thank-yous to Tulsonians - To Chris, Kurt and Jenny for the hammocks... THEY ARE AWESOME! This family decided we needed hammocks for our trip and gave us four to bring along. Nice and lightweight and luxurious. Thanks to Jimmy Jobe for making us some shnazzy cards - he didn't like our construction paper cards and created us some full color full sized business cards. We are forever indebted! They will be in circulation shortly, you will be able to buy them on EBay.

Tomorrow we pick up the bikes and head on our way to Chanute... but as promised, I've had some time to reflect and would like to share with you a day in the life of the Guys on Bikes....

5:00am Jonathan has the only watch and wakes us all up by yelling "get up!"
5:30am We actually start to wake up and spend some time with the Lord, usually trying to remember why we are on this bike trip
6:00am Start packing up stuff (eyes still closed). We usually average 2 groans per items, sleeping bags count as 2 items.
6:30am Johnny wakes up finally.
7:00am We gather together to pray for the day. We all get on our bikes, and then someone remembers they have to go to the bathroom.
7:15am Stop at nearest breakfast place and grunt a lot.
8:00am We get on the road for real.
8:15am Still waiting for the last guy in the bathroom.
8:30am-10:30am We ride without talking, trying to figure out where we are and what we're doing.
10:30am Snack time!
10:30am - 12:00pm PedalpedalFLATpedalpedalpedal
12:00pm We stop for lunch and all order the same thing.
1:00pm-4:00pm PedalpedalpedalCHANGEMAPSpedalpedal
4:30pm Arrive at City Pool and cheer when we find out it's free. Dude working at city pool is same high school kid from previous town.
4:31pm Swimming
5:30pm Laundry, start making a campfire, set up tents, make guy noises
6:00pm Start cooking, make giant mess
9:00pm Food is ready!
9:05pm Food is gone, start cleaning up
10:00pm Go to sleep!
10:05pm Local soccer tournament begins in field next to tents.
10:15pm Neighbors release dogs to bark at tents in nearby fields.
5:00am What?! Again!?

Another giant thank you to Ed and Mary and Amy for putting us up (and putting up WITH us) in Tulsa. It has been a ginormous blessing.

See you on the road!