we effing made it! actually, we just fucking made it. sasq just gave me shit for typing effing, so i had to correct it there. anyways. we just fucking rode 5000+ miles across the country!!!!!!!!!!! (i hate it when people type more than one !, but i feel like it's warranted here hahahha). okay, so the past few days have been wicked epic and not, all at the same time. it's been slow and fast simultaneously. kinda surreal really. i'm finding it a wee bit difficult to find the words to sum it all up, but happy that i'm typing on a compy instead of a smart phone.
so i'm not exactly sure where the sasq left off, but i believe it was before santa cruz. we did a pretty cruisey short day into the SC where we met up with the big bro's SC & DC. it was fun and stupid and i effortlessly made a proper ass of myself drinking too much tequila. so sorry for that mess. sasq of course was left with the duty of cleaning up after me, which i might add, that she's gotten wicked good at. but hey, another story from the road, eh?
we rode on from there to half moon bay, which was a very sloooooooow day of riding. we properly dragged ass all day. all we had to do was ride 50 miles, and we dragged that shit out as long as humanly possible. we then dragged it out for so long, that it was too cold for being outside and sasq had a craving for some greasy food, so we did the only thing that broke cyclists can do--eat at mcd's. for the record, this was the first time that we've actually eaten mcd's on the road... other than ice cream... which hardly counts. we then snagged a sixer of all american bud heavy's and made our way to the HMB hiker/biker. it was cold and wet, and the tent was soaked, but we tucked in and watched some stand up comedy, drank our beers, and attempted to sleep as best we could.
we cracked open bright and early, and got ourselves sorted before the homies arrived for the final leg of the journey. the last 25 miles! we were joined by justin, reeni, john, and stu... and sag LB! it was awesome to ride into SF with a crew and have some company other than the sasq for a wee ride hahahaha just kidding; i'm gonna miss that girl, love you sasq! we cruised in, dipped our tires in ocean beach, partied on the beach, had a champagne shower, and are in the process of tearing it up. i reckon i owe sasq an eve or two, so needless to say she's hitting the bottle harder than i hahaha. feels wicked to be back in the city by the bay. cold, but wicked! thanks for all that came out and welcomed us back :)
cheers,
b.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Three short days to go!
I know we haven't been good about blogging lately but with the end so close its hard to find the time or energy to write a post, but here I go....
Lil foot and I didn't make it woo the way to Santa Barbara when Eric caught up to us. We were going to continue on but decided to just get dropped off a couple days later where we were picked up. Eric's uncle Joe and aunt Carolyn live in the Redlands of southern California. We arrived in time for them to return from dinner and they were amazing enough to bring us back some dinner! So yummy!!!!
The ride that day would be our last one before we hit the cali hills and monster head winds. We woke up late that morning as usual and instead of riding as hard as possible we chatted the whole way and dragged ass. It was great and lazy! Eric picked us up 15 miles south of Santa Barbara and brought us to the Redlands. The next day we went to the Big Bear healing animal sanctuary, then a boat tour and then Aunt Carolyn made dinner and Uncle Joe picked up some chicken. It was very much a relaxing day off!
Sunday morning it was time to get back on the iron horse... Ugh this was not something either of us wanted to do but the thought of getting closer to the end kept us moving.
As I'm writing this I'm kind of getting bored... Nothing funny or interesting has really happened since the sanctuary, which had a three legged bear, loved him. Overall summary, the cali coast has been foggy, mostly cold and no cyclists going our way. We've camped out since Sunday and tomorrow we will arrive in Santa Cruz to join up with Double chin and Sweet cheeks! It's almost party time... We cant wait.
Today was kind of cool, besides doing our last long day, 78 miles we met a bunch of firefighters and retirees who are riding from san fran to la, and they are part of the same department that is riding from la to NY... Those guys are staying at fire houses across the country and plan to make it to NY on Sept 10th! Amazing guys!!!
Although the riding has been mundane the convo has been amazing and lil foot and I have bright plans for the future. It's going to be an amazing few years to come!
I know this post is a bit weak, but its all I have in me right now... Maybe tomorrow or Friday one of us will give some good details and stories but for now this is all you get!
Tata for now....
Sasq
Lil foot and I didn't make it woo the way to Santa Barbara when Eric caught up to us. We were going to continue on but decided to just get dropped off a couple days later where we were picked up. Eric's uncle Joe and aunt Carolyn live in the Redlands of southern California. We arrived in time for them to return from dinner and they were amazing enough to bring us back some dinner! So yummy!!!!
The ride that day would be our last one before we hit the cali hills and monster head winds. We woke up late that morning as usual and instead of riding as hard as possible we chatted the whole way and dragged ass. It was great and lazy! Eric picked us up 15 miles south of Santa Barbara and brought us to the Redlands. The next day we went to the Big Bear healing animal sanctuary, then a boat tour and then Aunt Carolyn made dinner and Uncle Joe picked up some chicken. It was very much a relaxing day off!
Sunday morning it was time to get back on the iron horse... Ugh this was not something either of us wanted to do but the thought of getting closer to the end kept us moving.
As I'm writing this I'm kind of getting bored... Nothing funny or interesting has really happened since the sanctuary, which had a three legged bear, loved him. Overall summary, the cali coast has been foggy, mostly cold and no cyclists going our way. We've camped out since Sunday and tomorrow we will arrive in Santa Cruz to join up with Double chin and Sweet cheeks! It's almost party time... We cant wait.
Today was kind of cool, besides doing our last long day, 78 miles we met a bunch of firefighters and retirees who are riding from san fran to la, and they are part of the same department that is riding from la to NY... Those guys are staying at fire houses across the country and plan to make it to NY on Sept 10th! Amazing guys!!!
Although the riding has been mundane the convo has been amazing and lil foot and I have bright plans for the future. It's going to be an amazing few years to come!
I know this post is a bit weak, but its all I have in me right now... Maybe tomorrow or Friday one of us will give some good details and stories but for now this is all you get!
Tata for now....
Sasq
Friday, August 19, 2011
PCH!
Yesterday, Wednesday, lil foot and I covered 65 miles making it to Newport Beach to stay with Mr. Abbey, my friend Matt's father! Huge thanks for letting us stay in the guest apartment and for providing dinner, beers, and breakfast!
The ride was amazing. We're enjoying all the bike paths and bike lanes all up the coast. A much better ride than the side of a shoulderless two lane highway packed with Mack trucks! The past few days have been pretty foggy and a little chilly by the water, but its perfect riding weather so we can't mplain too much. The only probably is that our beautiful tan lines just keep getting worse. Lil foot is slowly looking like a leather jacket wearing motorcyclist with her sunglass tan and I belong in the fields with my biking tshirt tan. What a pair we make. Haha.
The ride yesterday was pretty uneventful but our night was amazing. After a few calls and favors we pulled together I was told by my friend Alissa that we would be able to stay with her boyfriend's parents right by the water in Newport! As we pulled up we could hear the Beatles playing, that was the first sign I knew I would enjoy my night. Then Mr Abbey greeted us and showed us to the garage where we kept our bikes. After teaching us how to start the washer and dryer her offered us a beer, second sign! You might be wondering who wouldn't know how to start a washer and dryer but lil foot actually couldn't start the dryer at one point during the night. Haha. After we had a beer in our hands he showed us around and said when we were all cleaned up we can join him for pizza and to chat about our journey, Pizza = third sign. I think three signs are enough!
We showered up and then spent a couple hours chatting about some of the best stories so far. Then it was off to the monster sized bed. Lil foot and I shared the bed bit it was so big 4 more people could have joined us and I wouldn't have noticed at all.
This morning, Thursday, we were actually up early and out the door by 6:45am. Mr Abbey walked us down to the bike path by the water and we went our separate ways. Thanks again for everything!
Today was a long but great day. We were fully rest and had about 50 miles until we me Mike (of the brothers Rich and Mike whom we met at the mayor's house in nickerson. The original plan was to be hosted by Mike and his wife, Suzie, but life on the road OS very unpredictable so they offered to take us for lunch on Venice! Soo yummy, thank you Mike and Suzie!! After catching up for a bit it was time to move on and keep the riding going. Then a miracle happened and the sun was back out. Since Mike informed us that the rest of our ride would be flat, we decided to lay out on the beach and work on those previously mentioned tan lines! We laid out for an hour that it was time to move on. Only 30-35 miles to go as the sun slowly began to sink and the temperature as well. Tonight we're camping at the Leo Carrillo State Park. It's a pretty sweet campground for just $7 each for person. hiker/biker sites.
Now we are relaxing in the tent and preparing for our 65 miles for tomorrow into Santa Barbara!
Eric will be joining us around lunch and then off to his aunt and uncles for a night or two!
I'll be sure to let you know how our next couples days are as we begin to get close fro the end.
Later days.
Sasq
Ps I forgot to mention how we were asked a few stupid questions by a homeless guy in Brawley. First, "Have you seen any UFOs?" He was dead serious. Then "do you smoke weed?" Guess that second question pretty much answers why he asked the first.
9 days til san fran and less that 2 weeks til I'm home!
Now I'm finished!!!!!
The ride was amazing. We're enjoying all the bike paths and bike lanes all up the coast. A much better ride than the side of a shoulderless two lane highway packed with Mack trucks! The past few days have been pretty foggy and a little chilly by the water, but its perfect riding weather so we can't mplain too much. The only probably is that our beautiful tan lines just keep getting worse. Lil foot is slowly looking like a leather jacket wearing motorcyclist with her sunglass tan and I belong in the fields with my biking tshirt tan. What a pair we make. Haha.
The ride yesterday was pretty uneventful but our night was amazing. After a few calls and favors we pulled together I was told by my friend Alissa that we would be able to stay with her boyfriend's parents right by the water in Newport! As we pulled up we could hear the Beatles playing, that was the first sign I knew I would enjoy my night. Then Mr Abbey greeted us and showed us to the garage where we kept our bikes. After teaching us how to start the washer and dryer her offered us a beer, second sign! You might be wondering who wouldn't know how to start a washer and dryer but lil foot actually couldn't start the dryer at one point during the night. Haha. After we had a beer in our hands he showed us around and said when we were all cleaned up we can join him for pizza and to chat about our journey, Pizza = third sign. I think three signs are enough!
We showered up and then spent a couple hours chatting about some of the best stories so far. Then it was off to the monster sized bed. Lil foot and I shared the bed bit it was so big 4 more people could have joined us and I wouldn't have noticed at all.
This morning, Thursday, we were actually up early and out the door by 6:45am. Mr Abbey walked us down to the bike path by the water and we went our separate ways. Thanks again for everything!
Today was a long but great day. We were fully rest and had about 50 miles until we me Mike (of the brothers Rich and Mike whom we met at the mayor's house in nickerson. The original plan was to be hosted by Mike and his wife, Suzie, but life on the road OS very unpredictable so they offered to take us for lunch on Venice! Soo yummy, thank you Mike and Suzie!! After catching up for a bit it was time to move on and keep the riding going. Then a miracle happened and the sun was back out. Since Mike informed us that the rest of our ride would be flat, we decided to lay out on the beach and work on those previously mentioned tan lines! We laid out for an hour that it was time to move on. Only 30-35 miles to go as the sun slowly began to sink and the temperature as well. Tonight we're camping at the Leo Carrillo State Park. It's a pretty sweet campground for just $7 each for person. hiker/biker sites.
Now we are relaxing in the tent and preparing for our 65 miles for tomorrow into Santa Barbara!
Eric will be joining us around lunch and then off to his aunt and uncles for a night or two!
I'll be sure to let you know how our next couples days are as we begin to get close fro the end.
Later days.
Sasq
Ps I forgot to mention how we were asked a few stupid questions by a homeless guy in Brawley. First, "Have you seen any UFOs?" He was dead serious. Then "do you smoke weed?" Guess that second question pretty much answers why he asked the first.
9 days til san fran and less that 2 weeks til I'm home!
Now I'm finished!!!!!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
"Excuse me ladies, can I talk to you?"
Made it to California and have a few new stories for all of you!
It seems everywhere little foot and I camp happens to also be the place where all the cats like sleep, pee and eat. Thursday we made it into cali and rode pretty late into Palo Verde I had called ahead to the fire department hoping to get a place to sleep for the night but I was informed theres a trailer park that allows cyclists to camp for free with bathrooms and showers also proved! We rolled into town around 9 something and noticed the only place open was a pub. As we put our bikes up against the front of the pub a hot mess of a woman began talking to us. She slurred the whole time, but that's not what made her a mess, it was her outfit that took the cake. Cutoff jean shorts with huge slits up the side, a hole filled tshirt and she was holding a 32 oz styrofoam cup. At least she was nice and was able to kind of point us in the right direction of the trailer park. We went inside and ordered a couple burgers for dinner which hit the spot, at least it did for me! Before ordering, a man sitting at the bar came over to inform us it was buy one get one half off burgers, then he put his hand on lil foot's shoulder. Haha. It's come to our attention that for some reason people like to just place a hand on lil foots shoulder when telling us anything. I tend to just crack up and then we both laugh when the awkwardness is over. Oh man, its too funny!
After eating we headed to set up camp and get some sleep, this was one of those nights where we had to share the space with multiple cats. Ugh, I'm so sick of cats I could really use a good dog chase just to change things up.
Friday we went from Palo Verde to Brawley where lil foots Aunt Debbie Put us up for the night at the Brawley Inn. Such a good nights sleep there but first let me tell you about our ride there. We began for about 40+ miles of no services through the desert and we were riding along side of a two lane highway with no shoulders. Perfect for bikes, NOT. We were stopped for the first time by a highway patrol officer who told us to be careful of the white line and make she if we stop on the sides to get over as far as possible to the right. Thanks officer for your great wisdom, I don't think we would have made it much longer without it. We continued on and made it to a closed store that had a vending machine! We had lunch and put done 4 cans of drinks each. Probably not the best idea hut we needed anything that was cold.
The next 7 or so miles we rode through massive sand dunes. It's crazy how much the scenery changes and so quick. One minute we can be riding on the edges of boulders and canyons in Utah, to deserts in Arizona and now sand dunes of California. I felt like the only thing missing during this part of the ride was Aladin singing 'S whole new world' to me while riding a flying carpet! Haha. We made it to Brawley around dinner time, we bought sandwiches and makings for sandwiches and a 6 pack then headed to the lovely AC of our hotel room. Not too excited happened the rest of the night, just relaxed and got some shut eye!
Saturday we originally wanted to make it to san Diego but because of our late starts and crazy heat of the desert we weren't going to get there til Sunday. But Saturday we went from Brawley to Live Oak Springs Resort. Let me tell you about a bump. Oh man. First the journey there was more desert, long climbs, and another run in with an 18 wheeler. Before you all jump the gun we did not get hit by another truck, nope this time we had a Mack truck call the highway patrol on us. As usual we were riding on narrow highways with no shoulders but as always we ride single file so we don't.block traffic. Apparently this wasn't good enough for one truck driver because a few hours into our ride we were stopped by an officer to chat. Hence the title.... The officer informed us that a Mack truck called in and said we weren't allowing traffic by, what an asshole. How could I or lil foot, being only 2.5 feet wide prevent an 18 wheeler from passing us especially with no oncoming traffic. Such an idiot, but I thought it was funny at the same time. Right where the officer pulled us over there was a boarder patrol station. We walked over to them and asked if they had water, and they did! Ice cold, filtered water, yum!
It was time to ride on, and we stopped in Ocotillo for something to eat before beginning our 3500 ft elevation climb. While eating two guys chatted us up. Jimbo and Clint, who both didn't think we would make it up the hill and be able to continue on. Well we showed them, we dragged ass up and then cycled another 12 miles to get to our intended campsite. As we arrived at the Live Oak Springs Resort our spirits were raised because the bar was open and it was 10pm. The bartender talked up the Campgrounds so much that we were actually excited to pitch the tent and shower up, what he forgot to mention is that he's a massive liar. Oh man, bad enough the sites were all overgrown with weeds and grass, the bathrooms weren't even suitable for a homeless person to want to pee in, and don't get me started on the showers. On top of that there was a monster party going on at some house or trailer and the crazies were walking around. Lil foot was encountered by one when she went to check out the toilets, that was enough for me to not even bother walked to the bathroom, I just peed by a tree. Haha
We couldn't get out of there quick enough on Sunday morning. I slept with a rock on either side of me so every time I rolled over my hips were not happy. Knowing that we would be sleeping indoors on Sunday was motivation enough to get up and get going. It was a 72 mile ride into San Diego and of course the winds picked up the closer to the coast we got. It seemed like we were never going to make it, but finally we reached the last road which becomes a bike path all the way to the ocean! It was amazing to see so many people out on the path. Civilization ay last! No more smells of road kill, instead just the smells of salt water and restaurants. No more mullets on grown men, and some women haha. No more middle America, it was now time for coast riding!
Lil foot had arranged for us to stay with her friend Max who lives in San Diego and he would be meeting us at the beach with his truck to pick us up! He arrived 10 minutes after we go to the beach, with his girl friend Melissa. They helped us inlaid our bikes and head to the water for the dipping of the wheels. It was now official, lil foot and I traveled from the northeastern coast to the southwestern coast on bicycles!!!!! It was now time to celebrate, we went back to Mac's got showered and changed and then headed to lil foots friend from Maine, Kim and Eric's apartment. Kim is originally from Maine and moved out to san Diego after meeting Eric about a year ago. We started off BBQing by the pool then moved back into the apartment to keep the drinking going. I would get into more details of the night but it would take too long and its just a bunch of drunken craziness I'm sure our families can do without hearing about.
Monday was Kim's birthday so of course we had to keep the party going. Before I forget, ee ended up sleeping on the balcony of Kim and Eric's place instead of staying with Max like originally planned. I think that says enough for the kind of night we had. Lil foot decided she would bake Kim's favorite cakes, funfetti cake and cherry cheese cake it was! After a day filled with eating and napping it was time to start the celebrating and games playing! Nothing beats playing board games and seeing how ridiculous it becomes as the drinking continues.
This morning lil foot and i were supposed to get about 60 miles done but due to our 2:30pm start and the shape we were in it was clear that our goal wouldn't be met. We covered almost 40 miles and 30 of them were done right next to the water. So beautiful! The cool constant breeze was perfect and now we are camping right at the beach.
Tonight we'll be sleeping to the sounds of the ocean and of course there's a train only about a hundred feet away, so that will probably wake us up a couple times. Yay.
I believe you are all now caught up. Tomorrow we hope to stay either in Newport Beach or somewhere around the LA area! Then two more days til Santa Barbara and lil foots boyfriend, Eric, will be down to visit.
10 days of riding to go then finito!
Tata for now.
Sasq
Ps. Big thanks to Aunt Debbie for the Brawley Inn night, Max and Melissa for picking us up and housing us a night, Kim and Eric for feeding us and also housing us a night. Also HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIM!
It seems everywhere little foot and I camp happens to also be the place where all the cats like sleep, pee and eat. Thursday we made it into cali and rode pretty late into Palo Verde I had called ahead to the fire department hoping to get a place to sleep for the night but I was informed theres a trailer park that allows cyclists to camp for free with bathrooms and showers also proved! We rolled into town around 9 something and noticed the only place open was a pub. As we put our bikes up against the front of the pub a hot mess of a woman began talking to us. She slurred the whole time, but that's not what made her a mess, it was her outfit that took the cake. Cutoff jean shorts with huge slits up the side, a hole filled tshirt and she was holding a 32 oz styrofoam cup. At least she was nice and was able to kind of point us in the right direction of the trailer park. We went inside and ordered a couple burgers for dinner which hit the spot, at least it did for me! Before ordering, a man sitting at the bar came over to inform us it was buy one get one half off burgers, then he put his hand on lil foot's shoulder. Haha. It's come to our attention that for some reason people like to just place a hand on lil foots shoulder when telling us anything. I tend to just crack up and then we both laugh when the awkwardness is over. Oh man, its too funny!
After eating we headed to set up camp and get some sleep, this was one of those nights where we had to share the space with multiple cats. Ugh, I'm so sick of cats I could really use a good dog chase just to change things up.
Friday we went from Palo Verde to Brawley where lil foots Aunt Debbie Put us up for the night at the Brawley Inn. Such a good nights sleep there but first let me tell you about our ride there. We began for about 40+ miles of no services through the desert and we were riding along side of a two lane highway with no shoulders. Perfect for bikes, NOT. We were stopped for the first time by a highway patrol officer who told us to be careful of the white line and make she if we stop on the sides to get over as far as possible to the right. Thanks officer for your great wisdom, I don't think we would have made it much longer without it. We continued on and made it to a closed store that had a vending machine! We had lunch and put done 4 cans of drinks each. Probably not the best idea hut we needed anything that was cold.
The next 7 or so miles we rode through massive sand dunes. It's crazy how much the scenery changes and so quick. One minute we can be riding on the edges of boulders and canyons in Utah, to deserts in Arizona and now sand dunes of California. I felt like the only thing missing during this part of the ride was Aladin singing 'S whole new world' to me while riding a flying carpet! Haha. We made it to Brawley around dinner time, we bought sandwiches and makings for sandwiches and a 6 pack then headed to the lovely AC of our hotel room. Not too excited happened the rest of the night, just relaxed and got some shut eye!
Saturday we originally wanted to make it to san Diego but because of our late starts and crazy heat of the desert we weren't going to get there til Sunday. But Saturday we went from Brawley to Live Oak Springs Resort. Let me tell you about a bump. Oh man. First the journey there was more desert, long climbs, and another run in with an 18 wheeler. Before you all jump the gun we did not get hit by another truck, nope this time we had a Mack truck call the highway patrol on us. As usual we were riding on narrow highways with no shoulders but as always we ride single file so we don't.block traffic. Apparently this wasn't good enough for one truck driver because a few hours into our ride we were stopped by an officer to chat. Hence the title.... The officer informed us that a Mack truck called in and said we weren't allowing traffic by, what an asshole. How could I or lil foot, being only 2.5 feet wide prevent an 18 wheeler from passing us especially with no oncoming traffic. Such an idiot, but I thought it was funny at the same time. Right where the officer pulled us over there was a boarder patrol station. We walked over to them and asked if they had water, and they did! Ice cold, filtered water, yum!
It was time to ride on, and we stopped in Ocotillo for something to eat before beginning our 3500 ft elevation climb. While eating two guys chatted us up. Jimbo and Clint, who both didn't think we would make it up the hill and be able to continue on. Well we showed them, we dragged ass up and then cycled another 12 miles to get to our intended campsite. As we arrived at the Live Oak Springs Resort our spirits were raised because the bar was open and it was 10pm. The bartender talked up the Campgrounds so much that we were actually excited to pitch the tent and shower up, what he forgot to mention is that he's a massive liar. Oh man, bad enough the sites were all overgrown with weeds and grass, the bathrooms weren't even suitable for a homeless person to want to pee in, and don't get me started on the showers. On top of that there was a monster party going on at some house or trailer and the crazies were walking around. Lil foot was encountered by one when she went to check out the toilets, that was enough for me to not even bother walked to the bathroom, I just peed by a tree. Haha
We couldn't get out of there quick enough on Sunday morning. I slept with a rock on either side of me so every time I rolled over my hips were not happy. Knowing that we would be sleeping indoors on Sunday was motivation enough to get up and get going. It was a 72 mile ride into San Diego and of course the winds picked up the closer to the coast we got. It seemed like we were never going to make it, but finally we reached the last road which becomes a bike path all the way to the ocean! It was amazing to see so many people out on the path. Civilization ay last! No more smells of road kill, instead just the smells of salt water and restaurants. No more mullets on grown men, and some women haha. No more middle America, it was now time for coast riding!
Lil foot had arranged for us to stay with her friend Max who lives in San Diego and he would be meeting us at the beach with his truck to pick us up! He arrived 10 minutes after we go to the beach, with his girl friend Melissa. They helped us inlaid our bikes and head to the water for the dipping of the wheels. It was now official, lil foot and I traveled from the northeastern coast to the southwestern coast on bicycles!!!!! It was now time to celebrate, we went back to Mac's got showered and changed and then headed to lil foots friend from Maine, Kim and Eric's apartment. Kim is originally from Maine and moved out to san Diego after meeting Eric about a year ago. We started off BBQing by the pool then moved back into the apartment to keep the drinking going. I would get into more details of the night but it would take too long and its just a bunch of drunken craziness I'm sure our families can do without hearing about.
Monday was Kim's birthday so of course we had to keep the party going. Before I forget, ee ended up sleeping on the balcony of Kim and Eric's place instead of staying with Max like originally planned. I think that says enough for the kind of night we had. Lil foot decided she would bake Kim's favorite cakes, funfetti cake and cherry cheese cake it was! After a day filled with eating and napping it was time to start the celebrating and games playing! Nothing beats playing board games and seeing how ridiculous it becomes as the drinking continues.
This morning lil foot and i were supposed to get about 60 miles done but due to our 2:30pm start and the shape we were in it was clear that our goal wouldn't be met. We covered almost 40 miles and 30 of them were done right next to the water. So beautiful! The cool constant breeze was perfect and now we are camping right at the beach.
Tonight we'll be sleeping to the sounds of the ocean and of course there's a train only about a hundred feet away, so that will probably wake us up a couple times. Yay.
I believe you are all now caught up. Tomorrow we hope to stay either in Newport Beach or somewhere around the LA area! Then two more days til Santa Barbara and lil foots boyfriend, Eric, will be down to visit.
10 days of riding to go then finito!
Tata for now.
Sasq
Ps. Big thanks to Aunt Debbie for the Brawley Inn night, Max and Melissa for picking us up and housing us a night, Kim and Eric for feeding us and also housing us a night. Also HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIM!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
New Fundraising Website Setup!
After hearing from many of you that our fundraising website was no longer accepting donations, I've taken the liberty of setting up a new one! My apologies if any of you have had trouble with the old site. We will now be fundraising with Susan G Komen for the Cure. You can access the new site here:
If you have enjoyed reading the blog and following along on our adventure, think what we're doing is inspiring, interesting, cool, or down right insane... then please consider making a donation and helping us to reach our goal of raising $1 for every mile cycled! Many thanks to all of you who have donated directly to us by shouting us hotel rooms. We would not have made it this far with you :)
-Jerry, Steph, & Nugget (Pittsburgh, KS)
-Lindsay & Dave (Pueblo, CO)
-Eileen Tynion (Pueblo, CO)
-Karen & Craig (CO)
-Denise & Steve (UT)
-Grandma Tynion (UT)
-Debbie & Steve (Brawley, CA)
-Chris L. (all the room crashes!)
-Gary & Jo D. (for making space for us even if we never made it there haha)
Thanks again! Your help and support is greatly appreciated!
Cheers,
little foot. and sasq.
If you have enjoyed reading the blog and following along on our adventure, think what we're doing is inspiring, interesting, cool, or down right insane... then please consider making a donation and helping us to reach our goal of raising $1 for every mile cycled! Many thanks to all of you who have donated directly to us by shouting us hotel rooms. We would not have made it this far with you :)
-Jerry, Steph, & Nugget (Pittsburgh, KS)
-Lindsay & Dave (Pueblo, CO)
-Eileen Tynion (Pueblo, CO)
-Karen & Craig (CO)
-Denise & Steve (UT)
-Grandma Tynion (UT)
-Debbie & Steve (Brawley, CA)
-Chris L. (all the room crashes!)
-Gary & Jo D. (for making space for us even if we never made it there haha)
Thanks again! Your help and support is greatly appreciated!
Cheers,
little foot. and sasq.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
We Are the Champions My Friends!
Where was I? Yes, a huge day we had on Monday! As you previously know SC and DC cycles 130.8 miles in order to beat our 122, well their victory was short lived! We road 135.8, that's right 5 more than them!
Although this was a great day, it came with a lot of bumps along the way... I first had a flat after 20 miles and also noticed my back tire was bald so I changed my flat and flipped around my tires. That wasn't soo bad, but then about 15 miles later lil foot got a flat, but her flat also meant the end of her fat crappy temporary tire. A huge construction staple got stuck in hers. She changed the flat and we crossed our fingers Nd continued. After 75 miles it was only lunch time, we were looking good. After lunch lil foot had another flat, but it wasn't the tube so much as the tire. We went to a local bike shop where we both bought more tubes. Then we sat outside at lil foot which her tires and replaced a tube. By the time we took care of tires it was already 4pm and we had a lot of miles to cover. Joce caught up at this point and would go ahead to the town we planned on camping in. As we rode on it became later Nd later the. It was dark. Joce to the rescue! She had our head lights so he met back up with us and after we were lit up she decided to trail behind us and be our headlight! I felt like a celebrity or something with this kind of support. We made it to a gas station and o ly had 4 miles til our next camping location. So off we went. As we pulled in it was plain to see this was going to be a rough night. The spot we pitched our tents eS also home to7 feral cats. Not a good sign. It spelled like pee and there was cat food on the ground close by. Lil foot Nd I were having Kentucky Dave's flash backs.
The plan for the next day, get the Hell out of there and into a hotel near by. Lil foot had her tires delivered to katoes and Kevin and they finally showed. We met katie halfway in phoenix, az where we had lunch together. Then it was movie time. Yay! A month of waiting to see harry potter and what a disappointment. Such a crap last movie, lil foot informed me the books were 1000% better. If only I liked reading. Ha.
Back to the hotel for an amazing.night of sleep on what felt like a cloud!
This morning we didn't get an early start. In fact we didn't start until 11:30, not so smart in the dessert. Joce stayed with us til 3:30ish, then we were back to supporting ourselves. Only roughly 55 mules today because of our late start. Tomorrow we hope to start riding by 6am and over the border into Cali by lunch. I think we'll get it down!
With only one state to go and 15 days til we reach San Fran, the end is near and we can taste it. Beach camping, seeing some of lil foots friends and Eric will be amazing. Can't wait to actually reach the coast so I can dive right into the ocean!
Peace out cub/girl scouts!
Sasq
A little too tired for side notes tonight, but tomorrow I'll write a few you all may enjoy!
Although this was a great day, it came with a lot of bumps along the way... I first had a flat after 20 miles and also noticed my back tire was bald so I changed my flat and flipped around my tires. That wasn't soo bad, but then about 15 miles later lil foot got a flat, but her flat also meant the end of her fat crappy temporary tire. A huge construction staple got stuck in hers. She changed the flat and we crossed our fingers Nd continued. After 75 miles it was only lunch time, we were looking good. After lunch lil foot had another flat, but it wasn't the tube so much as the tire. We went to a local bike shop where we both bought more tubes. Then we sat outside at lil foot which her tires and replaced a tube. By the time we took care of tires it was already 4pm and we had a lot of miles to cover. Joce caught up at this point and would go ahead to the town we planned on camping in. As we rode on it became later Nd later the. It was dark. Joce to the rescue! She had our head lights so he met back up with us and after we were lit up she decided to trail behind us and be our headlight! I felt like a celebrity or something with this kind of support. We made it to a gas station and o ly had 4 miles til our next camping location. So off we went. As we pulled in it was plain to see this was going to be a rough night. The spot we pitched our tents eS also home to7 feral cats. Not a good sign. It spelled like pee and there was cat food on the ground close by. Lil foot Nd I were having Kentucky Dave's flash backs.
The plan for the next day, get the Hell out of there and into a hotel near by. Lil foot had her tires delivered to katoes and Kevin and they finally showed. We met katie halfway in phoenix, az where we had lunch together. Then it was movie time. Yay! A month of waiting to see harry potter and what a disappointment. Such a crap last movie, lil foot informed me the books were 1000% better. If only I liked reading. Ha.
Back to the hotel for an amazing.night of sleep on what felt like a cloud!
This morning we didn't get an early start. In fact we didn't start until 11:30, not so smart in the dessert. Joce stayed with us til 3:30ish, then we were back to supporting ourselves. Only roughly 55 mules today because of our late start. Tomorrow we hope to start riding by 6am and over the border into Cali by lunch. I think we'll get it down!
With only one state to go and 15 days til we reach San Fran, the end is near and we can taste it. Beach camping, seeing some of lil foots friends and Eric will be amazing. Can't wait to actually reach the coast so I can dive right into the ocean!
Peace out cub/girl scouts!
Sasq
A little too tired for side notes tonight, but tomorrow I'll write a few you all may enjoy!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
The Joys of Car Camping!
Sorry for the wait. We've had a busy friend filled week!
As I last mentioned we joined Katie and Kevin Thursday night and camped at the Dogtown Lake an hour south of the Grand Canyon. Since Katie and Kevin were driving up, they were able to bring a ton of stuff which helped big time. Their tent sleeps 8 and ours sleeps two so it was pretty funny to have them set up right next to each other. They also brought a cooler of food and beer! Two of our favorite things. After setting up camp we hung out Nd stared at the stars for a while, it was probably one of the clearest nights yet. As the night died down we all hit the hay.
Friday morning lil foot and I wanted to sleep in but now of course when we can, our bodies are used to getting up super early so up at 6:30 am. This turned out to actually be great because our camping hosts (katie and kevin) were already up as well and making us some yummy pancakes for breakfast!! We offered to help but they insisted they were fine. After our tummies were full it was off to the canyon to shower. Haha. I should have mentioned that the Campground didn't have showers and lil foot and I hadn't showered in a couple days so it was important for everyone's help that we shower at least once during the weekend.
Well as I was saying, off we went. About an hour later we entered the park, it took another half hour or so to find the showers then when we arrived they were being cleaned. Ugh. What else to do in this situation? Crack open a beer! 11:30 am and we were cheers that we all made it to the Grand Canyon. At the same time we were waiting on the arrival of Jocelyn and Chuba, both flying from the east. I was spending an entire weekend with northeastern alumni, it was like visiting my sister in college all over again! Missed you though Katie.
The showers were open again so we bathed then got a call from Jocelyn to let us know they were about an hour away. We rushed to see an Outlook and take pictures, then hit the gift shop and headed back to Williams where we met the other two at the Route 66 Diner. A beer and a burger later it was time to get the party started at the campsite. I was soooo excited for the night time, smores, fire, beers, friends and fun! Chuba had never been camping like this so it was fun to see some of his reactions but he sure was a trooper for the weekend!
Next morning, Saturday, we all got up and had another tummy breakfast but chief Kevin! Baton and eggs. Although I just made myself a sandwich because eggs when I'm a little hungover doesn't go down all too smooth. It was time to head back to the canyon, and instead of paying for another car we parked one cat just outside the entrance and squeezed lil foot into the trunk area! She was definitely in stealth mode for this! We went straight to Dessert view lookout and took a ton of pictures, climbed a tower to get more angles then shopped again. Not to spoil the fun for anyone but the views are pretty much all the same, not to say that's its still not amazing but it gets a little boring after an hour or so of staring at it.
We all decided it was time to head back to camp. Chuba was flying out early the next day so not much drinking for him and Kevin, Katie is pregnant so NO drinking for her and Jocelyn had a couple but lil foot and I took advantage of the fact we wouldn't be riding the next day! We drank PBRs all afternoon and a little of the night, under the caps were card numbers and symbols so we played poker. Lil foot got a full house and crushed me, damn. For dinner we had hamburgers and hotdogs, which once again the chief made the burgers but it was roasted your own weenie. As it got later it was time to call it quits. Again the next morning we were up early to say by to Chuba, Katie and Kevin. Jocelyn decided to hang out with us til Wednesday!
The three of us went to a KOA campsite Sunday morning. I stayed behind to relax and set up camp. Lil foot and Jocelyn went back to hike a bit in the canyon. The next morning we planned a huge cycling day! With Joce there to be our support we decided this would be the day to crush the boys.
Next post has our last few days.
Sasq
Ps, Chuba snores, not only snores but almost sounds like a bear. Maybe he protected us without even knowing it.
Also it was smokey the bear's 67 th bday on Friday, so happy bday Smokey!
As I last mentioned we joined Katie and Kevin Thursday night and camped at the Dogtown Lake an hour south of the Grand Canyon. Since Katie and Kevin were driving up, they were able to bring a ton of stuff which helped big time. Their tent sleeps 8 and ours sleeps two so it was pretty funny to have them set up right next to each other. They also brought a cooler of food and beer! Two of our favorite things. After setting up camp we hung out Nd stared at the stars for a while, it was probably one of the clearest nights yet. As the night died down we all hit the hay.
Friday morning lil foot and I wanted to sleep in but now of course when we can, our bodies are used to getting up super early so up at 6:30 am. This turned out to actually be great because our camping hosts (katie and kevin) were already up as well and making us some yummy pancakes for breakfast!! We offered to help but they insisted they were fine. After our tummies were full it was off to the canyon to shower. Haha. I should have mentioned that the Campground didn't have showers and lil foot and I hadn't showered in a couple days so it was important for everyone's help that we shower at least once during the weekend.
Well as I was saying, off we went. About an hour later we entered the park, it took another half hour or so to find the showers then when we arrived they were being cleaned. Ugh. What else to do in this situation? Crack open a beer! 11:30 am and we were cheers that we all made it to the Grand Canyon. At the same time we were waiting on the arrival of Jocelyn and Chuba, both flying from the east. I was spending an entire weekend with northeastern alumni, it was like visiting my sister in college all over again! Missed you though Katie.
The showers were open again so we bathed then got a call from Jocelyn to let us know they were about an hour away. We rushed to see an Outlook and take pictures, then hit the gift shop and headed back to Williams where we met the other two at the Route 66 Diner. A beer and a burger later it was time to get the party started at the campsite. I was soooo excited for the night time, smores, fire, beers, friends and fun! Chuba had never been camping like this so it was fun to see some of his reactions but he sure was a trooper for the weekend!
Next morning, Saturday, we all got up and had another tummy breakfast but chief Kevin! Baton and eggs. Although I just made myself a sandwich because eggs when I'm a little hungover doesn't go down all too smooth. It was time to head back to the canyon, and instead of paying for another car we parked one cat just outside the entrance and squeezed lil foot into the trunk area! She was definitely in stealth mode for this! We went straight to Dessert view lookout and took a ton of pictures, climbed a tower to get more angles then shopped again. Not to spoil the fun for anyone but the views are pretty much all the same, not to say that's its still not amazing but it gets a little boring after an hour or so of staring at it.
We all decided it was time to head back to camp. Chuba was flying out early the next day so not much drinking for him and Kevin, Katie is pregnant so NO drinking for her and Jocelyn had a couple but lil foot and I took advantage of the fact we wouldn't be riding the next day! We drank PBRs all afternoon and a little of the night, under the caps were card numbers and symbols so we played poker. Lil foot got a full house and crushed me, damn. For dinner we had hamburgers and hotdogs, which once again the chief made the burgers but it was roasted your own weenie. As it got later it was time to call it quits. Again the next morning we were up early to say by to Chuba, Katie and Kevin. Jocelyn decided to hang out with us til Wednesday!
The three of us went to a KOA campsite Sunday morning. I stayed behind to relax and set up camp. Lil foot and Jocelyn went back to hike a bit in the canyon. The next morning we planned a huge cycling day! With Joce there to be our support we decided this would be the day to crush the boys.
Next post has our last few days.
Sasq
Ps, Chuba snores, not only snores but almost sounds like a bear. Maybe he protected us without even knowing it.
Also it was smokey the bear's 67 th bday on Friday, so happy bday Smokey!
Friday, August 5, 2011
grand Canyon Fun, Friends and some Rest!
Wow what a few days we've had! Between hauling ass to meet our friends, hitching rides (promise I won't do that again mommy), relaxing by the camp site and having a couple beers. It's sure been an insane few days!
For now I'm just going to write a short summary due to the fact that Kevin is cooking some chicken for dinner and I'm sucking down a few drinks!
Tuesday was a pretty long day, we rode into the night to Cannonville, Utah. The ride wasn't insane, boulder ledges, uphill downhills and some crazy foreigners. I think there must have been a flight special from France to Utah because the amount of French people we encountered was beyond ridiculous. We even saw the stereotypical French girl, long as cigarette hanging from her 16 year old hand, while her father took a picture of lil foot and I with his kids. I was baffled to see such a young girl smoking in front of her father, gross.
We finally rolled into Cannonville at about 10:30, I do not recommend riding a fully loaded bike in the pitch black. Needless to say we made it in one piece and set up camp at a nice KOA, which we once again bailed out before having to pay! I had some weird dreams that night, usually little foot has the crazy dreams but looks like we're switching roles. I liked it a lot better when I had good dreams but weird dreams are sometimes interesting as well. I won't get into the dream details so back to biking.
After a couple 100+ milers and a couple just under we needed the half day that lil foot posted on. We had a big day Wednesday and made it over the border into Arizona! During the day we were hit with an intense thunderstorm and had to find dome shelter. Luckily enough there was a campground about 2 miles down the road which we hustled to. Once there it was hiding out at the bathroom time. Storms in Utah generally come in the afternoons and last anywhere from 30 min to 2 hours, and the rainfall can be about 2 or 3 inches. INSANE. We took a bit of a detour and thank god for that, our ride was mostly flat with a slight incline then we had an amazing downhill just about for the rest of our ride over the border. We went to the first gas station open and began asking about a place to camp out for the night. After the second gas.station we were directed to the local motel which allowed us to camp out on a patch of "grass". I say "grass" because it was more like patchy dry tall grass that was cat territory. Lil foot and I looked at each other and knew we would be having a rough night of sleep. We set up our tent and crawled in, we agreed that Thursday would be a day of hitch hiking to somewhere in or around the south rim... About 175-200 miles away.
After listening to cat fights all night I woke up at about 2am having to pee bad, so out of the tent I went. Since we were not at.a campground I had no choice but to POP a squat. As a began to pee (i had toilet paper) I noticed a creepy white cat staring at me, damn I hate that cats are evil. Haha. Maybe not all cats but think about it, they poop in a box then hide it for you to have to find it later, Evil. Though it may seem like I'm an animal water on this trip, I'm not, I just hate assholes who don't keep their pets under control.
I will save our hitch hiking day a couple days with friend until tomorrow so be on the look out for that!
Beer time bitches! Enjoy the weekend people!
Sasq
Ps. BIG THANKS TO KATIE AND KEVIN!!!! just as a little sneak peek of our weekend, they got up at about 6 6:30 and made pancakes this morning, on top of that we're about to make smores so look out tomorrow for our last two days.
Also Congrats to Jenna and Jordan for their engagement! Jenna you're very lucky, Jordan can cook! Haha
For now I'm just going to write a short summary due to the fact that Kevin is cooking some chicken for dinner and I'm sucking down a few drinks!
Tuesday was a pretty long day, we rode into the night to Cannonville, Utah. The ride wasn't insane, boulder ledges, uphill downhills and some crazy foreigners. I think there must have been a flight special from France to Utah because the amount of French people we encountered was beyond ridiculous. We even saw the stereotypical French girl, long as cigarette hanging from her 16 year old hand, while her father took a picture of lil foot and I with his kids. I was baffled to see such a young girl smoking in front of her father, gross.
We finally rolled into Cannonville at about 10:30, I do not recommend riding a fully loaded bike in the pitch black. Needless to say we made it in one piece and set up camp at a nice KOA, which we once again bailed out before having to pay! I had some weird dreams that night, usually little foot has the crazy dreams but looks like we're switching roles. I liked it a lot better when I had good dreams but weird dreams are sometimes interesting as well. I won't get into the dream details so back to biking.
After a couple 100+ milers and a couple just under we needed the half day that lil foot posted on. We had a big day Wednesday and made it over the border into Arizona! During the day we were hit with an intense thunderstorm and had to find dome shelter. Luckily enough there was a campground about 2 miles down the road which we hustled to. Once there it was hiding out at the bathroom time. Storms in Utah generally come in the afternoons and last anywhere from 30 min to 2 hours, and the rainfall can be about 2 or 3 inches. INSANE. We took a bit of a detour and thank god for that, our ride was mostly flat with a slight incline then we had an amazing downhill just about for the rest of our ride over the border. We went to the first gas station open and began asking about a place to camp out for the night. After the second gas.station we were directed to the local motel which allowed us to camp out on a patch of "grass". I say "grass" because it was more like patchy dry tall grass that was cat territory. Lil foot and I looked at each other and knew we would be having a rough night of sleep. We set up our tent and crawled in, we agreed that Thursday would be a day of hitch hiking to somewhere in or around the south rim... About 175-200 miles away.
After listening to cat fights all night I woke up at about 2am having to pee bad, so out of the tent I went. Since we were not at.a campground I had no choice but to POP a squat. As a began to pee (i had toilet paper) I noticed a creepy white cat staring at me, damn I hate that cats are evil. Haha. Maybe not all cats but think about it, they poop in a box then hide it for you to have to find it later, Evil. Though it may seem like I'm an animal water on this trip, I'm not, I just hate assholes who don't keep their pets under control.
I will save our hitch hiking day a couple days with friend until tomorrow so be on the look out for that!
Beer time bitches! Enjoy the weekend people!
Sasq
Ps. BIG THANKS TO KATIE AND KEVIN!!!! just as a little sneak peek of our weekend, they got up at about 6 6:30 and made pancakes this morning, on top of that we're about to make smores so look out tomorrow for our last two days.
Also Congrats to Jenna and Jordan for their engagement! Jenna you're very lucky, Jordan can cook! Haha
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Back by popular demand!
Well, okay... not exactly popular demand, but there was a request or two! It's hard to come between an addict & their addiction, but after some bartering, sasq and I came to an arrangement--I'll write a post & she'll add in all the bits I forget. I think she's struggling a wee bit, but the beers are helping!
So to fill you in on the deets...
Last sasq mentioned we were resting after an ugh, big night out in to-hell-u-ride. Needless to say, her tent stealing leaves us even with my feigning sleep at Dennis "yeah, I have expensive things" creeper. We bummed around telluride for the day, which as DC put it, is a bit like Disneyland--beautiful, wicked expensive, and kinda too perfect to be real. Our second night in telly, we managed to camp out in a proper site, but after dropping 3$ each for 5 mins of hot water, we decided to skip out on the camping fee's; doesn't seem like they're hurting anyway.
We spent our coldest night to date camping at the bottom of the mountains, but still managed to get a decent jump on the day and rolled outta Telly happy, or at minimum, ready, to be back in the saddle. We cruised (shockingly) easily uphill, enjoying the scenery and loving the speedy cruise downhill to Dolores. Finally the weather had cooled down and seems the heat wave that kicked our arses in MO & KS is behind us. Unfort, Telly proved to be an ineffective rest day to sort my tires, so after popping into every bike shop from eastern kansas to western colorado, i resigned to the fact that I would need to order them ahead. We ended up spending a couple hours in Dolores, eating lunch & popping into the lib to order them... which proved to be just enough time for DC & SC to catch up & say goodbye until we meet up again in CA for some end of trip celebrations & DC's bday (won't toss out any numbers here though haha). this would prove to be one of several goodbyes, but we'll get to that later. so because the guys are lazy, and we're pro (wink wink), we rolled on to dove creek and bagged another century. Without many sleeping options, we strolled into the grocery store/gas station/deli to inquire on potential tent pitching sites. As the way small towns go, the locals were more than helpful & interested in hearing bout our travels. Moments later we were introduced to Dave, who chatted us up for a bit, gave us his entire life story, warned us of skunks, and eventually directed us to a cushy patch of grass behind the store/gas/deli combo... which happened to be directly next to a helicopter landing pad and health clinic. Fortunately for us, there was no need for any heli landings, and the evening proved to be a bit warmer. Cruising outta dove creek the next AM, we were hoping for another 100+ day, but didn't quite make it that far. We stopped a few times along the way to stock up on water & supplies. The scenery had changed quite a bit as we passed from western CO into UT, and just as the afternoon desert sun set in, we started in on the hills. With little to no amenities for the better part of 130ish miles, we struggled with the heat & the climbs and stopped short at the natural bridges national monument, which was off route & downhill approx 5 miles, but did offer the prime amenity of clean drinking water. camping was pretty uneventful--we rolled in, threw up our tent, made some quick dins, hid from the rain, & hit the hay. We started in good spirits the following day, given we were cycling back uphill the 5 or so miles we had come to the camp the night before. The riding proved unbelievably fun & fast. complemented by the stunning scenery, we were reminded why we started out on the trip in the first place--riding bicycles is fun! For all the beauty that was in the Rockies and CO, Utah boasts an arguably more stunning back drop. replace the mountains with massive colorful mesas and deep canyons. it's hard to explain the scale and vastness of this landscape, but it does make the passing cyclists feel very, very small. not in a small, vulnerable, I'm getting-hit-by-an-18-wheeler kind of way, but more like a reminder that there are much, much larger things in this world than you and I.
We've easily taken more photos in the past several days than in the whole rest of the trip combined, so sit tight & we'll eventually share/post some. We still haven't managed to find an convenient way to post from the road, so consider this your license to stalk us on the FB for all your viewing pleasure. but in the mean time, here's a little something something to hold you over.
on one of our many photog snapping stops, we were feeling hot and botherd and dying for any sort of cold beverage. considering the options, which is to say, decideding between flat out asking or just trying to look pathetic, sasq opted for somewhere in between; rather loudly, she starts whining about how all she wants is a nice cold gatorade... at which point i had to turn around to keep from blowing her spot and busting a gut laughing. although less than clever, it was very effective. we walked away with a couple cold bottles of water, joice boxes, and sodas. well played sasq.
after filling up on cold liquids, we carried on to hanksville, ut. of course the last 10 or so miles were downhill with a headwind and a serious lightning storm going off in the distance. with the rain starting in just as we rolled into town, we made the decision to cash in on another hotel offer. thanks again to ma and pa brown for the room! sure as hell beats camping in the rain and lightning. to our surprise, just as we were sorting out a room, we see Jo (SC's wife). turns out SC & DC decided that they were gonna try and beat our mileage record of 122. which they did, and are the current mileage record holders with 130.8. apparently they just weren't ready to say goodbye! we celebrated their short-term victory with them over a few beers. you should note however, that their record was without carrying bags... so arguably, not the same! no less, we'll let them have the glory... for now.
leaving DC and SC behind in the AM (once again), we set out for another 80 - 90 mile day. although feeling physically good and ready to cycle, it seems we had hit a wall mentally. we've been on the road now for 63 days, and for whatever reason... just simply did not feeling like riding our bicycles. we spent the better part of the day riding slowly, taking pictures, battling head winds up hill, and simply put, dragging ass. after stopping for lunch for about an hour and a half, we bumped into Jo once again and heard that the guys weren't feeling to frisky for cycling either. turns out they had a bit of a slow morning and didn't even head out until 1030/11. i think their legs must have been tired from the big ride the day before ;)
we kicked around for another hour or so and eventually, after great diliberation, did the inevitable and booked another room haha. there are a million excuses--rain, flood warnings, hills, but ultimately, we just did not feel like riding bikes. so we bought some beers, had a drink with our favorite touring friends, and headed over to the days inn for some more beer drinking and shitty tv watching (we watched quite possibly the worst made for tv movies... thanks life time haha). thanks again to grandma tynion for shouting us the hotel room!
so here we are. just munching down a quick b-fast before we head out for a windy morning ride. we've got a few miles to make up since we had a very short day yesterday... and we need to get to the GC to meet up with the homies! looking forward to seeing katie, kev, joce, & chuba!
godspeed.
little foot.
Ps. I cannot count the number of times we have been asked where we are cycling from, only to be followed up by some response along the lines of, "no you have not cycled all the way from Maine" at which point we reply, yes we have, answer a series of basic tour questions--when did you start, how many miles do you ride, where do you sleep, when will you finish, etc--and finally, the ultimate question... are you going to cycle back?!?! are you kidding me? seriously, you didn't think we actually cycled from ME in the first place and now you want to know if we're going to bicycle another 5500 miles back?? You've got to be kidding me!
So to fill you in on the deets...
Last sasq mentioned we were resting after an ugh, big night out in to-hell-u-ride. Needless to say, her tent stealing leaves us even with my feigning sleep at Dennis "yeah, I have expensive things" creeper. We bummed around telluride for the day, which as DC put it, is a bit like Disneyland--beautiful, wicked expensive, and kinda too perfect to be real. Our second night in telly, we managed to camp out in a proper site, but after dropping 3$ each for 5 mins of hot water, we decided to skip out on the camping fee's; doesn't seem like they're hurting anyway.
We spent our coldest night to date camping at the bottom of the mountains, but still managed to get a decent jump on the day and rolled outta Telly happy, or at minimum, ready, to be back in the saddle. We cruised (shockingly) easily uphill, enjoying the scenery and loving the speedy cruise downhill to Dolores. Finally the weather had cooled down and seems the heat wave that kicked our arses in MO & KS is behind us. Unfort, Telly proved to be an ineffective rest day to sort my tires, so after popping into every bike shop from eastern kansas to western colorado, i resigned to the fact that I would need to order them ahead. We ended up spending a couple hours in Dolores, eating lunch & popping into the lib to order them... which proved to be just enough time for DC & SC to catch up & say goodbye until we meet up again in CA for some end of trip celebrations & DC's bday (won't toss out any numbers here though haha). this would prove to be one of several goodbyes, but we'll get to that later. so because the guys are lazy, and we're pro (wink wink), we rolled on to dove creek and bagged another century. Without many sleeping options, we strolled into the grocery store/gas station/deli to inquire on potential tent pitching sites. As the way small towns go, the locals were more than helpful & interested in hearing bout our travels. Moments later we were introduced to Dave, who chatted us up for a bit, gave us his entire life story, warned us of skunks, and eventually directed us to a cushy patch of grass behind the store/gas/deli combo... which happened to be directly next to a helicopter landing pad and health clinic. Fortunately for us, there was no need for any heli landings, and the evening proved to be a bit warmer. Cruising outta dove creek the next AM, we were hoping for another 100+ day, but didn't quite make it that far. We stopped a few times along the way to stock up on water & supplies. The scenery had changed quite a bit as we passed from western CO into UT, and just as the afternoon desert sun set in, we started in on the hills. With little to no amenities for the better part of 130ish miles, we struggled with the heat & the climbs and stopped short at the natural bridges national monument, which was off route & downhill approx 5 miles, but did offer the prime amenity of clean drinking water. camping was pretty uneventful--we rolled in, threw up our tent, made some quick dins, hid from the rain, & hit the hay. We started in good spirits the following day, given we were cycling back uphill the 5 or so miles we had come to the camp the night before. The riding proved unbelievably fun & fast. complemented by the stunning scenery, we were reminded why we started out on the trip in the first place--riding bicycles is fun! For all the beauty that was in the Rockies and CO, Utah boasts an arguably more stunning back drop. replace the mountains with massive colorful mesas and deep canyons. it's hard to explain the scale and vastness of this landscape, but it does make the passing cyclists feel very, very small. not in a small, vulnerable, I'm getting-hit-by-an-18-wheeler kind of way, but more like a reminder that there are much, much larger things in this world than you and I.
We've easily taken more photos in the past several days than in the whole rest of the trip combined, so sit tight & we'll eventually share/post some. We still haven't managed to find an convenient way to post from the road, so consider this your license to stalk us on the FB for all your viewing pleasure. but in the mean time, here's a little something something to hold you over.
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| earning our keep washing dishes at the mayors house in KA |
on one of our many photog snapping stops, we were feeling hot and botherd and dying for any sort of cold beverage. considering the options, which is to say, decideding between flat out asking or just trying to look pathetic, sasq opted for somewhere in between; rather loudly, she starts whining about how all she wants is a nice cold gatorade... at which point i had to turn around to keep from blowing her spot and busting a gut laughing. although less than clever, it was very effective. we walked away with a couple cold bottles of water, joice boxes, and sodas. well played sasq.
after filling up on cold liquids, we carried on to hanksville, ut. of course the last 10 or so miles were downhill with a headwind and a serious lightning storm going off in the distance. with the rain starting in just as we rolled into town, we made the decision to cash in on another hotel offer. thanks again to ma and pa brown for the room! sure as hell beats camping in the rain and lightning. to our surprise, just as we were sorting out a room, we see Jo (SC's wife). turns out SC & DC decided that they were gonna try and beat our mileage record of 122. which they did, and are the current mileage record holders with 130.8. apparently they just weren't ready to say goodbye! we celebrated their short-term victory with them over a few beers. you should note however, that their record was without carrying bags... so arguably, not the same! no less, we'll let them have the glory... for now.
leaving DC and SC behind in the AM (once again), we set out for another 80 - 90 mile day. although feeling physically good and ready to cycle, it seems we had hit a wall mentally. we've been on the road now for 63 days, and for whatever reason... just simply did not feeling like riding our bicycles. we spent the better part of the day riding slowly, taking pictures, battling head winds up hill, and simply put, dragging ass. after stopping for lunch for about an hour and a half, we bumped into Jo once again and heard that the guys weren't feeling to frisky for cycling either. turns out they had a bit of a slow morning and didn't even head out until 1030/11. i think their legs must have been tired from the big ride the day before ;)
we kicked around for another hour or so and eventually, after great diliberation, did the inevitable and booked another room haha. there are a million excuses--rain, flood warnings, hills, but ultimately, we just did not feel like riding bikes. so we bought some beers, had a drink with our favorite touring friends, and headed over to the days inn for some more beer drinking and shitty tv watching (we watched quite possibly the worst made for tv movies... thanks life time haha). thanks again to grandma tynion for shouting us the hotel room!
so here we are. just munching down a quick b-fast before we head out for a windy morning ride. we've got a few miles to make up since we had a very short day yesterday... and we need to get to the GC to meet up with the homies! looking forward to seeing katie, kev, joce, & chuba!
godspeed.
little foot.
Ps. I cannot count the number of times we have been asked where we are cycling from, only to be followed up by some response along the lines of, "no you have not cycled all the way from Maine" at which point we reply, yes we have, answer a series of basic tour questions--when did you start, how many miles do you ride, where do you sleep, when will you finish, etc--and finally, the ultimate question... are you going to cycle back?!?! are you kidding me? seriously, you didn't think we actually cycled from ME in the first place and now you want to know if we're going to bicycle another 5500 miles back?? You've got to be kidding me!
Issues w/ Fundraising Web Page
Just wanted to post up a quick message regarding the fundraising web page. we've heard from a couple of people that there has been some trouble with the processing of donations. we're still looking into sorting it out, but please leave a comment or give us a shout if you have experienced any trouble. not currently sure if the issue has been resolved yet.
also, there have been loads of strava failures. it doesn't work quite so well without service, making our mileage reported look a bit low if it manages to record at all.
cheers.
b.
also, there have been loads of strava failures. it doesn't work quite so well without service, making our mileage reported look a bit low if it manages to record at all.
cheers.
b.
Monday, August 1, 2011
We're still alive!
Hey all! Just wanted to let you all know we are indeed alive, but have been cursed with terrible service and long riding days so we haven't had the time to post for a few days. Lil foot wants to do the next update so I'm just here to let you know all is well and we've made it to Utah in one piece!
Stay tuned for a post from lil foot with the details of our last few days, which trust me have been crazy/fun/tough/amazing all at the same time!!
Peace out cub scouts.
Sasq
Ps hope the Carita Family Mocation is starting off well and hope you get great weather all week! Love you guys and wish I was laying on the beach with a cold one in my hand next to you all!
Also thanks Den Den (lil foot's mom) for the night in the hotel tonight, you saved us from a bad lightning storm!
Stay tuned for a post from lil foot with the details of our last few days, which trust me have been crazy/fun/tough/amazing all at the same time!!
Peace out cub scouts.
Sasq
Ps hope the Carita Family Mocation is starting off well and hope you get great weather all week! Love you guys and wish I was laying on the beach with a cold one in my hand next to you all!
Also thanks Den Den (lil foot's mom) for the night in the hotel tonight, you saved us from a bad lightning storm!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Telluride you are beautiful!
Where to begin.... The start of the day was about 30 miles of decent riding with wide shoulders! Lil foot and I are still riding with the guys, their new names are Sweet Cheeks and DC (double chin/daddy Chris). I think the names don't need any explaining so I'll continue on with the riding. From Montrose to Telluride it was supposed to be an easy 60 miles but instead it was about 70 miles of mostly uphill climbing. On the map elevation profile it didn't look so bad but man oh man what a climb. Being that I have a road bike and not a touring bike like I should, the mountains have been a bitch on my legs. With the combination of my lack of a lower gear and the altitude, I was struggling big time. Lil foot hauled ass and made it about 3 or 4 miles ahead of me into town. Just when I was considering hitching a ride the road turned and opened up to possibly the most amazing view ever. A 3mile downhill into Telluride creates a beautiful view of the mountains surrounding the town, and the river flowing through it. I decided to sit a while and catch my breath while taking in the view.
The guys were already at the bar and planning to hit the bottle hard, so lil foot and I of course joined in without any objections! The Sheridan was the first place in a while that didn't have a drink maximum and we enjoyed every minute of it! After a few rounds Sweet Cheeks went and had some family time while DC stayed back and continued on with us. I think meeting these guys has been the best part of the trip, they're down to earth, funny and looking to enjoy their cycling the same way we are. A couple weeks ago DC joked about hiring lil foot and I to work in France at his ski/boarding lodge. That joke is in the works of becoming a reality, and if all goes well the adventures of Sasq and Lil Foot will continue! Last night DC mentioned he and his wife are looking into work visas for us, so fingers crossed for Sasq & Lil Foot take on France!
Words can't describe how amazing this adventure has been so far and we still have about 2000 miles to go. With the grand canyon as our next big destination then the coast of California to finish, we can't be happier that we chose to go from east to west. Jocelyn, Chuba, Katie and Kevin are joining us at the grand canyon then Eric will be joining us along the coast! Tons to look forward to but for today we are going to enjoy Telluride and check out the mountains, off a bike thank god!
Tata for now.
Sasq
Couple side details I thought you all might enjoy... After 8 weeks of riding, my ass is hating me right now. No matter what people say about getting used to the seat, they're lying. I might have to get one of those inflated donut seats. Thanks to my mom for mailing me new shorts back in Pueblo, it takes a little of the pain away but my tushy is still soar.
Lil foots sun poisoning on her legs has cleared up pretty well, now she just has super dry flakey skin... Gross haha.
Feeling in my fingers comes and goes, the new gloves I have definitely help but these Rockies are super rough on my hands as well as legs.
Positive note... I probably lost about 15 and a ton of inches! Lil foot is toning up as well, but she doesn't think so, so we'll probably start adding some ab work outs here and there... I know we're out of our minds but we can't cycle across the country and finish looking like the same lazy asses we were.
Now that's all folks!
The guys were already at the bar and planning to hit the bottle hard, so lil foot and I of course joined in without any objections! The Sheridan was the first place in a while that didn't have a drink maximum and we enjoyed every minute of it! After a few rounds Sweet Cheeks went and had some family time while DC stayed back and continued on with us. I think meeting these guys has been the best part of the trip, they're down to earth, funny and looking to enjoy their cycling the same way we are. A couple weeks ago DC joked about hiring lil foot and I to work in France at his ski/boarding lodge. That joke is in the works of becoming a reality, and if all goes well the adventures of Sasq and Lil Foot will continue! Last night DC mentioned he and his wife are looking into work visas for us, so fingers crossed for Sasq & Lil Foot take on France!
Words can't describe how amazing this adventure has been so far and we still have about 2000 miles to go. With the grand canyon as our next big destination then the coast of California to finish, we can't be happier that we chose to go from east to west. Jocelyn, Chuba, Katie and Kevin are joining us at the grand canyon then Eric will be joining us along the coast! Tons to look forward to but for today we are going to enjoy Telluride and check out the mountains, off a bike thank god!
Tata for now.
Sasq
Couple side details I thought you all might enjoy... After 8 weeks of riding, my ass is hating me right now. No matter what people say about getting used to the seat, they're lying. I might have to get one of those inflated donut seats. Thanks to my mom for mailing me new shorts back in Pueblo, it takes a little of the pain away but my tushy is still soar.
Lil foots sun poisoning on her legs has cleared up pretty well, now she just has super dry flakey skin... Gross haha.
Feeling in my fingers comes and goes, the new gloves I have definitely help but these Rockies are super rough on my hands as well as legs.
Positive note... I probably lost about 15 and a ton of inches! Lil foot is toning up as well, but she doesn't think so, so we'll probably start adding some ab work outs here and there... I know we're out of our minds but we can't cycle across the country and finish looking like the same lazy asses we were.
Now that's all folks!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
What goes up must come down...
7/25 More climbing and miserable winds...
Lil foot and I have pretty much been riding with Chris and Gary now for a while and we all planned on doing 87 miles from Cotopaxi to Gunnison which judging by the elevation profile on our maps should be a repeat of the day before. A long ass climb with a huge downhill on the other end. Well the climbing began and again felt never ending. Along the way lil foot and I met a few guys that where hanging out by the side of the road waiting for a few other friends. We got to chatting about cycling and found out two of their friends had a bet going on. One was cycling up to Monarch's summit while the other had to hitch hike up. Clearly not an even bet but the cycling guy actually made extremely good time, though I'm assuming he still lost. This guys were entertaining for the 15 minutes we talked to them, but now it was time to ride on.
After 5 hours on the saddle we still haven't reached the top. My ass was soo numb at this point, on top of that it began to rain and the temperature dropped a bit. Every turn we made the road continued going up as our moods were going down. FINALLY, the top! At over 11000 feet we reached the top of Monarch Summit! We took q little break before cruising downhill.
The next 10 miles were beyond amazing. Lil foot and I cheered and high five all the way down, then the fun was over. With 30 plus miles left, the wind picked up. We were still going downhill but without peddling we would have been at a stand still. This went from a high fiving downhill to a long ass night of riding. As if the wind wasn't bad enough we both needed a restroom desperately but of course there was nowhere to go except for our final destination. By about 9pm we dragged ourselves into Gunnison and were exhausted. After finding a restroom we got in touch with Chris and Gary, Chris offered to let us share a room with him, but refused to take our money... We repaid him in drinking all night. As if we hadn't learned that drinking the night before riding is a bad idea, we continued on to the bars. Once again we closed a couple places, played some pool and then passed out for the night. Chris snores so now I have a video of it on my phone, blackmail!
7/26 Now that's what I'm talking about....
Two days of 40plus mile climbing, it was time for a great riding day. Today was just that, 66 miles into Montrose. Thefirst 20 miles was filled with mountain side views and the Arkansas river along side of us. Then it was a rough 20 miles, a little climbing but the rough part was the down pour and hail. Though the hail wasn't huge it still hurt a lot. There was a gas station/store right in the middle if our only two climbs for the day, and it was perfectly located. We reached there right before the rain got even heavier, so we hid out for a while before doing our last 20 miles.
The rain slowed down so we hustled out, only a 4 mile climb and then downhill 16 miles! The rain picked up again on the way up, but our downhill was perfect even with the rain. I don't think I had to pedal for more than a minute on the entire way down.
By the time we reached Montrose I was soaking wet and freezing. After my aunt Karen found out, she and C Bear (Uncle Craig) booked lil foot and I a room at the econolodge! AMAZING! Love you guys and thanks again! Right now I'm recleaning all my clothes because they were drenched during the rain. Lil foot is doing her thing of post cards, talling up numbers and so on. Tomorrow we will make it to Telluride, Colorado and the next day its Utah time. Not sure we'll see anything as beautiful as the Rockies for the rest of the adventure but we are still looking forward to all that's ahead!
Night all!
Sasq
Ps... We miss our friends and family, so comment away and say hi!
Thanks again Karen and Craig for tonight, I probably would have caught pneumonia if I was still out there tonight.
Lil foot and I have pretty much been riding with Chris and Gary now for a while and we all planned on doing 87 miles from Cotopaxi to Gunnison which judging by the elevation profile on our maps should be a repeat of the day before. A long ass climb with a huge downhill on the other end. Well the climbing began and again felt never ending. Along the way lil foot and I met a few guys that where hanging out by the side of the road waiting for a few other friends. We got to chatting about cycling and found out two of their friends had a bet going on. One was cycling up to Monarch's summit while the other had to hitch hike up. Clearly not an even bet but the cycling guy actually made extremely good time, though I'm assuming he still lost. This guys were entertaining for the 15 minutes we talked to them, but now it was time to ride on.
After 5 hours on the saddle we still haven't reached the top. My ass was soo numb at this point, on top of that it began to rain and the temperature dropped a bit. Every turn we made the road continued going up as our moods were going down. FINALLY, the top! At over 11000 feet we reached the top of Monarch Summit! We took q little break before cruising downhill.
The next 10 miles were beyond amazing. Lil foot and I cheered and high five all the way down, then the fun was over. With 30 plus miles left, the wind picked up. We were still going downhill but without peddling we would have been at a stand still. This went from a high fiving downhill to a long ass night of riding. As if the wind wasn't bad enough we both needed a restroom desperately but of course there was nowhere to go except for our final destination. By about 9pm we dragged ourselves into Gunnison and were exhausted. After finding a restroom we got in touch with Chris and Gary, Chris offered to let us share a room with him, but refused to take our money... We repaid him in drinking all night. As if we hadn't learned that drinking the night before riding is a bad idea, we continued on to the bars. Once again we closed a couple places, played some pool and then passed out for the night. Chris snores so now I have a video of it on my phone, blackmail!
7/26 Now that's what I'm talking about....
Two days of 40plus mile climbing, it was time for a great riding day. Today was just that, 66 miles into Montrose. Thefirst 20 miles was filled with mountain side views and the Arkansas river along side of us. Then it was a rough 20 miles, a little climbing but the rough part was the down pour and hail. Though the hail wasn't huge it still hurt a lot. There was a gas station/store right in the middle if our only two climbs for the day, and it was perfectly located. We reached there right before the rain got even heavier, so we hid out for a while before doing our last 20 miles.
The rain slowed down so we hustled out, only a 4 mile climb and then downhill 16 miles! The rain picked up again on the way up, but our downhill was perfect even with the rain. I don't think I had to pedal for more than a minute on the entire way down.
By the time we reached Montrose I was soaking wet and freezing. After my aunt Karen found out, she and C Bear (Uncle Craig) booked lil foot and I a room at the econolodge! AMAZING! Love you guys and thanks again! Right now I'm recleaning all my clothes because they were drenched during the rain. Lil foot is doing her thing of post cards, talling up numbers and so on. Tomorrow we will make it to Telluride, Colorado and the next day its Utah time. Not sure we'll see anything as beautiful as the Rockies for the rest of the adventure but we are still looking forward to all that's ahead!
Night all!
Sasq
Ps... We miss our friends and family, so comment away and say hi!
Thanks again Karen and Craig for tonight, I probably would have caught pneumonia if I was still out there tonight.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Oh Colorado the climbs, downhills, rain and beautiful scenery...
Just to start off, we are alive and kicking. The Rockies have been pretty crazy in so many ways but let's start where I left off.
7/22 Dinner and drinks with Chris...
Lil foot, Chris and I planned on having a fun night out in Pueblo, and what a night it was. First dinner at the Texas Ranch House close to the hotel. Amazing food, but I felt and looked like total shit. I was definitely getting sick, but with the next day being a rest day I pushed through to have a few drinks. We left the restaurant and 20 minutes later walked right back to their bar because nothing else was walking distance, but it would be an early night there. They close at 11 and there was a 4 drink maximum, LAME. the bartender informed us that Applebees is pretty popular on a Friday night and open til 2am but that was a lie. We took a cab over, $6, had maybe 2 or 3 pints each only to find ourselves needing another place to go because it was closing time and only 1am. That's when we went to the Quality Inn's bar/club. Clearly we wanted to keep drinking but once we arrived at our last location we had a fast beer and got the Hell out of there. What a group of weirdos in that place. You could tell we didn't belong at all. At that point it was time to call it a night and get some sleep. ThAnks again to Lindsay and hubby for the night in the hotel!
7/23 Rest Day
As I already mentioned, I hadn't been feeling too good, and it still showed the next day cause lil foot took one look at me and said "wow you look like shit." Thanks buddy! My plan was to stay in bed all day and thanks to my mommy, Eileen Tynion, we had another night at the hotel so we didn't have to pack up anything! I slept through the continental breakfast but food wasn't on my mind. Lil foot had a big day of errAnds, she's been looking to find a 26 inches touring tire but apparently its not a common size tire so she road about 15 around town to a couple shops only to find out that no one had the right tire. Then she ran a couple other errands before returning to the hotel. We wanted to see Harry Potter but lil foot's friend, Leah, drove over for the night to visit so we all went for some Mexican food. I was still feeling like death but needed something in my belly.
Cactus Flower was pretty good, but of course the waitress had a minor default that I couldn't get my attention off of. A little arm, haha. Not to be mean but its very distracting when you notice someone's default, it becomes the only thing I focus on. During dinner Leah mentioned she made us a present, I love presents and surprises! She made us energy cookies which didn't last long the next morning! YUM!
After dinner I went back to the room and slept a ton hoping to get my energy back, lil foot went to Leah's room and got to have a nice night of catching up. Lil foot returned at around midnight and said I still looked like crap, thanks again. The plan was to get breakfast and hit the road for our first day in the Rockies!
7/24 Happy Birthday Chris! (My brother)
We started our day a little later than planned but didn't mind because the weather was amazing and we didn't have to worry about hiding out during 100 degree weather for a few days. 87 miles from Pueblo to Cotopaxi and the halfway point would be roughly 9000 plus feet elevation. What a bitch of a climb. It wasn't too steep, just felt never ending. Along the way lil foot and I found Nina, Norwegian cyclist, in the side of the road and boy was she excited to see us. She hauled ass for two days doing twice as many miles just to catch up to us for some company. We road on and climbed little by little. I thought I was feeling better but the climb was getting to me, I was might headed and exhausted. This was going to be a long rough day.
We reached the top finally and found a place to eat, but the service was a bit crappy. Good thing my food was decent otherwise I would have been even more mad. An old woman, I'm guessing the owner, asked if we were having a bad day and I told her "No, your service is shitty." You would think that would get rid of her but no. What a head ache. We had enough of that place, so it was time to finish up our last 30 or so miles to Cotopaxi. After the rough climbing all day we finally caught a break and it was smooth sailing downhill for the remaining ride! Beautiful scenery the whole way and my energy was back up!
We spent the night at the KOA, the guys got a cabin (doesn't count as camping, haha) and the three of us camped out under the stars! Our first night of amazing camping in a long time!
Sasq
Part 2 to follow...
7/22 Dinner and drinks with Chris...
Lil foot, Chris and I planned on having a fun night out in Pueblo, and what a night it was. First dinner at the Texas Ranch House close to the hotel. Amazing food, but I felt and looked like total shit. I was definitely getting sick, but with the next day being a rest day I pushed through to have a few drinks. We left the restaurant and 20 minutes later walked right back to their bar because nothing else was walking distance, but it would be an early night there. They close at 11 and there was a 4 drink maximum, LAME. the bartender informed us that Applebees is pretty popular on a Friday night and open til 2am but that was a lie. We took a cab over, $6, had maybe 2 or 3 pints each only to find ourselves needing another place to go because it was closing time and only 1am. That's when we went to the Quality Inn's bar/club. Clearly we wanted to keep drinking but once we arrived at our last location we had a fast beer and got the Hell out of there. What a group of weirdos in that place. You could tell we didn't belong at all. At that point it was time to call it a night and get some sleep. ThAnks again to Lindsay and hubby for the night in the hotel!
7/23 Rest Day
As I already mentioned, I hadn't been feeling too good, and it still showed the next day cause lil foot took one look at me and said "wow you look like shit." Thanks buddy! My plan was to stay in bed all day and thanks to my mommy, Eileen Tynion, we had another night at the hotel so we didn't have to pack up anything! I slept through the continental breakfast but food wasn't on my mind. Lil foot had a big day of errAnds, she's been looking to find a 26 inches touring tire but apparently its not a common size tire so she road about 15 around town to a couple shops only to find out that no one had the right tire. Then she ran a couple other errands before returning to the hotel. We wanted to see Harry Potter but lil foot's friend, Leah, drove over for the night to visit so we all went for some Mexican food. I was still feeling like death but needed something in my belly.
Cactus Flower was pretty good, but of course the waitress had a minor default that I couldn't get my attention off of. A little arm, haha. Not to be mean but its very distracting when you notice someone's default, it becomes the only thing I focus on. During dinner Leah mentioned she made us a present, I love presents and surprises! She made us energy cookies which didn't last long the next morning! YUM!
After dinner I went back to the room and slept a ton hoping to get my energy back, lil foot went to Leah's room and got to have a nice night of catching up. Lil foot returned at around midnight and said I still looked like crap, thanks again. The plan was to get breakfast and hit the road for our first day in the Rockies!
7/24 Happy Birthday Chris! (My brother)
We started our day a little later than planned but didn't mind because the weather was amazing and we didn't have to worry about hiding out during 100 degree weather for a few days. 87 miles from Pueblo to Cotopaxi and the halfway point would be roughly 9000 plus feet elevation. What a bitch of a climb. It wasn't too steep, just felt never ending. Along the way lil foot and I found Nina, Norwegian cyclist, in the side of the road and boy was she excited to see us. She hauled ass for two days doing twice as many miles just to catch up to us for some company. We road on and climbed little by little. I thought I was feeling better but the climb was getting to me, I was might headed and exhausted. This was going to be a long rough day.
We reached the top finally and found a place to eat, but the service was a bit crappy. Good thing my food was decent otherwise I would have been even more mad. An old woman, I'm guessing the owner, asked if we were having a bad day and I told her "No, your service is shitty." You would think that would get rid of her but no. What a head ache. We had enough of that place, so it was time to finish up our last 30 or so miles to Cotopaxi. After the rough climbing all day we finally caught a break and it was smooth sailing downhill for the remaining ride! Beautiful scenery the whole way and my energy was back up!
We spent the night at the KOA, the guys got a cabin (doesn't count as camping, haha) and the three of us camped out under the stars! Our first night of amazing camping in a long time!
Sasq
Part 2 to follow...
Friday, July 22, 2011
What a crew we've become!
7/20
As we left Shay's Inn my mood was much better than the day before. The plan was to cycle to Tribune, Kansas and take a dip in the city pool, take a little nap and cycle another 30 miles to the first town after the border of Colorado. By 2 pm we were looking good, sat pool side for an hour or so, then of to the library for our nap. Our plan was working and the wind was going to be in our favor at night. The guys, Chris and Gary, were also in Tribune but they were ending there for the night. It's become a contest almost between the four of us to see who will ride further and it kills the guys if we make it passed them which just fuels us to go on.
Unfortunately the weather in western Kansas and eastern Colorado tends to change at the drop of a hat. We hopped back on our bikes to push out 30 miles, around 8pm and maybe made it 5 miles before the sky became a lightning show. Lil foot looked over at me and saw I was scared, I told her I'm turning around and finding a house to camp on, so we did. A couple miles back we knocked on a door and asked to pitch our tent on the lawn, they said sure! We put the tent up and laid down to try to sleep right away so we couple make up the time in the morning. It must have been about an hour when it began to rain, but rain we can handle, at 11 pm that's when the fun began. The winds of the plains are hard enough to ride in, sleeping in them is a whole other experience. We went from sleeping beauties to blowing around bodies. Our tent actually moved a couple feet at one point, then we spent almost 2 hours holding the tent praying it wouldn't blow away with us still in it. The lightning continued and the thunder was shaking the ground, so its plain to say we didnt sleep more than two hours tops. After the winds calmed down a little we attempting to knock on the door and ask for some shelter. At this point we had been sitting in a puddle and the temp dropped to the 60s so we were also freezing. Noone came to the door, but I noticed the door was open so we let ourselves in and stayed on the floor in their mud room. I guess you can say we had our first night of squatting!
7/21
By 4:30am the sky cleared up and we hustled off the lawn back a few miles to a gas station. As if the night of no sleep wasn't enough, lil foot got a flat tire on our way to the gas station. She also ran over an already dead snake which freaked her out because she HATES snakes. Haha. Our day wasn't looking all too bright at this point.
Back to riding and hoping the day would get better. The winds were against us to start of but we pushed and made it to the border, hello Colorado! Another 15 miles later we stopped for a little break, mainly to give my tushy a break cause my shorts were done for. During our first break the guys caught up and informed us they planned on doing 120 miles in an attempt to top us, but at that same moment we decided to keep up with them and make it just as far! We rode on while they took their break and that's when it happened... 10 miles later an 18 wheeler came up behind us and beeped so lil foot began moving over but the truck drive didn't want to wait. He came plowing through, there was no traffic coming the other way but he didn't move over, instead be wizzed by and clip lil foot's back bag causing her to lean into me and causing me to hit the edge of the road and I wiped out. The 18 wheeler went on his merry way not even a tap on his breaks to each if we were ok. Luckily not too much harm done, I have a scratched up left shin and knee and a few bruises on my legs. But no bike damage and now we can add near death experience to our list. What a mess of a morning this was turning out to be. Tue guy caught up and we rode on, they were shocked to hear about the truck.
We made it 60 miles and sat down in a diner for lunch, Gary's family joined us. It was time for the second half of our day and the weather was amazing, mostly cloudy and only the low 90s!
With 10 miles to go a storm hit us hard. LITERALLY. The guys had gotten a bit ahead of us when the winds picked up. We were riding on a 45 degree angle and rain was hitting us hard. There were tumble winds flying across the road and by the looks of things we were royally screwed. That's when Wendy came into our lives! A beautiful sight at just the right time. Wendy pulled up next to us and offered to give us a ride to our final destination. We packed our bikes in the back of her suv and chatted our way to Ordway Colorado, 10 miles! The guys were a bit stronger and toughed it out, but it was probably a little easier without bags and they didn't want a ride when offered. We were dropped off at the Ordway hotel where the guys were staying for the night and we would be sleeping on the floor of Chris' room. Saved from the storm, which never made it our way.
Once everyone made it to the hotel we showered up and hot the local bar for a few beers and had some DiGiorno. The place was pretty interesting and the bartender as well. It should have been an early night but we drank until 1am and had a blast. Unfortunately this morning was not a happy one for us. Haha.
7/22
Only 50 miles til Pueblo Colorado and for the first time lil foot and I were bagless! Gary's wife was kind enough to take our bags for us and we would get them back later. It was a bit weird at first but I sure can get used to riding without them. The ride was a quick one as we had a lovely tail wind the whole way!
Lil foot's boyfriend's sister offered to put us up for the night at the econolodge. Amazing, night two of the beds for butts foundation! Thank you Lindsay and hubby for the night! You guys are amazing! :-)
Tonight we are heading for some food and drinks on the town with Chris while Gary has some family time. So off for food now, hopefully talk to some crazy locals that way tomorrow I'll have something good to blog about.
I'm outtie!
Sasq
Also, lil foot witnessed an insane car crash right before lunch. An 18 wheeler loaded with cows cut off a woman in an suv when he turned into a gas station. He ended up crushing the side of this poor woman's car. Noone was hurt and I believe the cows are ok as well!
It was a crazy 18 wheeler driving day indeed.
As we left Shay's Inn my mood was much better than the day before. The plan was to cycle to Tribune, Kansas and take a dip in the city pool, take a little nap and cycle another 30 miles to the first town after the border of Colorado. By 2 pm we were looking good, sat pool side for an hour or so, then of to the library for our nap. Our plan was working and the wind was going to be in our favor at night. The guys, Chris and Gary, were also in Tribune but they were ending there for the night. It's become a contest almost between the four of us to see who will ride further and it kills the guys if we make it passed them which just fuels us to go on.
Unfortunately the weather in western Kansas and eastern Colorado tends to change at the drop of a hat. We hopped back on our bikes to push out 30 miles, around 8pm and maybe made it 5 miles before the sky became a lightning show. Lil foot looked over at me and saw I was scared, I told her I'm turning around and finding a house to camp on, so we did. A couple miles back we knocked on a door and asked to pitch our tent on the lawn, they said sure! We put the tent up and laid down to try to sleep right away so we couple make up the time in the morning. It must have been about an hour when it began to rain, but rain we can handle, at 11 pm that's when the fun began. The winds of the plains are hard enough to ride in, sleeping in them is a whole other experience. We went from sleeping beauties to blowing around bodies. Our tent actually moved a couple feet at one point, then we spent almost 2 hours holding the tent praying it wouldn't blow away with us still in it. The lightning continued and the thunder was shaking the ground, so its plain to say we didnt sleep more than two hours tops. After the winds calmed down a little we attempting to knock on the door and ask for some shelter. At this point we had been sitting in a puddle and the temp dropped to the 60s so we were also freezing. Noone came to the door, but I noticed the door was open so we let ourselves in and stayed on the floor in their mud room. I guess you can say we had our first night of squatting!
7/21
By 4:30am the sky cleared up and we hustled off the lawn back a few miles to a gas station. As if the night of no sleep wasn't enough, lil foot got a flat tire on our way to the gas station. She also ran over an already dead snake which freaked her out because she HATES snakes. Haha. Our day wasn't looking all too bright at this point.
Back to riding and hoping the day would get better. The winds were against us to start of but we pushed and made it to the border, hello Colorado! Another 15 miles later we stopped for a little break, mainly to give my tushy a break cause my shorts were done for. During our first break the guys caught up and informed us they planned on doing 120 miles in an attempt to top us, but at that same moment we decided to keep up with them and make it just as far! We rode on while they took their break and that's when it happened... 10 miles later an 18 wheeler came up behind us and beeped so lil foot began moving over but the truck drive didn't want to wait. He came plowing through, there was no traffic coming the other way but he didn't move over, instead be wizzed by and clip lil foot's back bag causing her to lean into me and causing me to hit the edge of the road and I wiped out. The 18 wheeler went on his merry way not even a tap on his breaks to each if we were ok. Luckily not too much harm done, I have a scratched up left shin and knee and a few bruises on my legs. But no bike damage and now we can add near death experience to our list. What a mess of a morning this was turning out to be. Tue guy caught up and we rode on, they were shocked to hear about the truck.
We made it 60 miles and sat down in a diner for lunch, Gary's family joined us. It was time for the second half of our day and the weather was amazing, mostly cloudy and only the low 90s!
With 10 miles to go a storm hit us hard. LITERALLY. The guys had gotten a bit ahead of us when the winds picked up. We were riding on a 45 degree angle and rain was hitting us hard. There were tumble winds flying across the road and by the looks of things we were royally screwed. That's when Wendy came into our lives! A beautiful sight at just the right time. Wendy pulled up next to us and offered to give us a ride to our final destination. We packed our bikes in the back of her suv and chatted our way to Ordway Colorado, 10 miles! The guys were a bit stronger and toughed it out, but it was probably a little easier without bags and they didn't want a ride when offered. We were dropped off at the Ordway hotel where the guys were staying for the night and we would be sleeping on the floor of Chris' room. Saved from the storm, which never made it our way.
Once everyone made it to the hotel we showered up and hot the local bar for a few beers and had some DiGiorno. The place was pretty interesting and the bartender as well. It should have been an early night but we drank until 1am and had a blast. Unfortunately this morning was not a happy one for us. Haha.
7/22
Only 50 miles til Pueblo Colorado and for the first time lil foot and I were bagless! Gary's wife was kind enough to take our bags for us and we would get them back later. It was a bit weird at first but I sure can get used to riding without them. The ride was a quick one as we had a lovely tail wind the whole way!
Lil foot's boyfriend's sister offered to put us up for the night at the econolodge. Amazing, night two of the beds for butts foundation! Thank you Lindsay and hubby for the night! You guys are amazing! :-)
Tonight we are heading for some food and drinks on the town with Chris while Gary has some family time. So off for food now, hopefully talk to some crazy locals that way tomorrow I'll have something good to blog about.
I'm outtie!
Sasq
Also, lil foot witnessed an insane car crash right before lunch. An 18 wheeler loaded with cows cut off a woman in an suv when he turned into a gas station. He ended up crushing the side of this poor woman's car. Noone was hurt and I believe the cows are ok as well!
It was a crazy 18 wheeler driving day indeed.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Toasty Tuesday
Picking up where I left off... We hauled ass as fast as possible away from Dennis' house and made it to Ness City, 20 miles away, where we stopped to eat some breakfast and fill up our water bottles with cold water. Plan for the day was to get.as far as possible depending on heat and wind. The morning ride was a bit tough, we had a cross wind which at one point the combo of the cross wind and an 18 wheeler coming by pushed lil foot off the side of the road. This was intense. In case you need a better idea of the winds we're facing the next time its windy out go for a run in it and then every block or two have some smack you in the face with a bat. This is how it feels to battle a head wind along with an on coming truck.
As for you truck drivers, sorry I'm not waving all too much, its just that I'm bracing myself for the hit coming my way from your truck.
Once we filled our bellies it was time to get back onto the iron horse. Another 32 miles to Dighton. The wind continued to make our ride miserable and one top of that my back tire looked low. Lil foot rode on as I stopped three times to put air in it, and on the third time the pin popped off the tube. GREAT. Just what I needed, another flat tire. I pushed my bike half a mile where I could sit on the side of the road to change the flat. The first tube I tried to replace it with was not working and finally the second one went one! As I was finishing up a guy pulled over and ask "Need air?" In which I replied "No, I'm ok." What I wanted to say was, Sir I believe the only air you can prove at this time is from your ass so I'm going to pass. But I held back and he went on his way. At this point I was pretty miserable, I have no cushion left in my shorts so my ass is sore, I keep getting flats, the head wind was killing me, I was on 3 hours of sleep and the heat was going up. Lil foot lucked out and made it most the of the way before the wind got really bad, but it took me about two hours to go 14 miles. Ridiculous.
I warned lil foot I was in a shit mood and she understood. When I finally made it to town I ate lunch and then we began to plan what we would do. We went to the library where I took a crappy nap and we got to do some internet surfing on a computer! Then it was time to go cause the library was closing. Off to get some ice cream. I was still in a crap mood and neither of us wanted to cycle on, we decided to check in a shay's inn which was a lovely HOLE. To start off when you walk on there's a fly swatter to kill the flies in the room. I'm talking old school style, like my grandma does in upstate ny. Haha.
I showered first and found a previously used towel still in the shower. Yum. While I showered little food found us a six pack of shock tops! She showered next then we had our beers and hit the hay early to get ready for a long day ahead.
This morning the alarm went off at 3:30 but we slept in as usual and got a 5:30 riding start which is still good.
To be continued... Bed time for me.
Sasq
As for you truck drivers, sorry I'm not waving all too much, its just that I'm bracing myself for the hit coming my way from your truck.
Once we filled our bellies it was time to get back onto the iron horse. Another 32 miles to Dighton. The wind continued to make our ride miserable and one top of that my back tire looked low. Lil foot rode on as I stopped three times to put air in it, and on the third time the pin popped off the tube. GREAT. Just what I needed, another flat tire. I pushed my bike half a mile where I could sit on the side of the road to change the flat. The first tube I tried to replace it with was not working and finally the second one went one! As I was finishing up a guy pulled over and ask "Need air?" In which I replied "No, I'm ok." What I wanted to say was, Sir I believe the only air you can prove at this time is from your ass so I'm going to pass. But I held back and he went on his way. At this point I was pretty miserable, I have no cushion left in my shorts so my ass is sore, I keep getting flats, the head wind was killing me, I was on 3 hours of sleep and the heat was going up. Lil foot lucked out and made it most the of the way before the wind got really bad, but it took me about two hours to go 14 miles. Ridiculous.
I warned lil foot I was in a shit mood and she understood. When I finally made it to town I ate lunch and then we began to plan what we would do. We went to the library where I took a crappy nap and we got to do some internet surfing on a computer! Then it was time to go cause the library was closing. Off to get some ice cream. I was still in a crap mood and neither of us wanted to cycle on, we decided to check in a shay's inn which was a lovely HOLE. To start off when you walk on there's a fly swatter to kill the flies in the room. I'm talking old school style, like my grandma does in upstate ny. Haha.
I showered first and found a previously used towel still in the shower. Yum. While I showered little food found us a six pack of shock tops! She showered next then we had our beers and hit the hay early to get ready for a long day ahead.
This morning the alarm went off at 3:30 but we slept in as usual and got a 5:30 riding start which is still good.
To be continued... Bed time for me.
Sasq
Monday, July 18, 2011
"Yea, I got expensive things!"
7/18
Today I think takes the cake for the mosr interesting day yet.
To begin we woke up at 3am and were greeted by June offering to make breakfast. Lil foot and I tried to insure her that we had food, but she wouldn't take no for an answer, so pancakes, eggs and fruit it was! After saying our goodbyes and thank yous, we were on our bike by 4am and it was only 78 degrees out! We finally got the super early start we hoped for.
No sun beating down on us to start our day gave us hope for another 100+ ride. The downside of riding without the sun is the darkness, lil foot and I missed our turn putting us a mile further, but we noticed the missed turn and quickly were back on track. There was a cross wind with a slight tail wind which made our morning a very proactive one. As the sun began to rise we were able to see a bunch of deer running all over to find some cover, what a beautiful sight. It was 60 miles roughly til we planned on breaking for lunch. it was about 10am when we arrived in Larned, we did a little protien bar shopping then hit the subway for a bite to eat. while we sat and ate Chris, one of the English guys, arrived covered in sweat and salt. He shocked to see how refreshed and dry the two of us looked, so we ended up having a bit of fun with his look. Then Gary caught up as well, he had the latest start of all of us but since he has legs like a horse his 60 mile ride was like a walk in the park. We all joked about passing a few people going the opposite way and not stoping to talk. Normally we would chat with other cyclists but today was all about pushing as hard as possible to beat the heat and get out of the sun.
After about two hours at Subway lil foot and I were back at it, 33 miles until the next town with a place to stop. The sun was getting stronger, so we made it a plan to put the pedal to the metal and go as hard as possible. we booked it there in a little over two hours! At this town there was only one business open, a car repair/gas station. I asked if it would be ok to hide out from the strongest part of the sun and the woman working the counter said of course! while we sat there we dealt with a few stupid comments and questions which seem to have become the theme of this Kansas heat. "Hey girls, a bit hot for a bike ride isn't it?" "Going to be a hot one today." "You must be really hot from riding." I wish I could walk around witha sign on that says, "WE KNOW ITS HOT, THANKS!"
When all the weather questions and comments passed then it was onto questions about our actual riding, where do you sleep, where are you going, coming from and so on. There was an older man sitting in the shop as well, he began to volunteer different workers' homes for us to stay the night, but we said we were fine with just camping out at the rest stop. Then one of the workers, Dennis, said it would actually be fine with him if we stayed at his house and he happened to live right accross from the rest area we had planned on camping anyway. We accepted and headed out to finish the last 13 miles of our ride, then he would come by after he was finished with work to let us know where to go. DEAL!
Lil foot and I arrived at the rest area, a Men's and Women's bathroom with two water fountain between them inside an air conditioned building. We sat there waiting for Dennis to come get us, but after about two hours of sitting there we figured he had bailed on us. The plan now was to wash us with wet wipes and get some sleep on the floor by the water fountains. As I pulled out the first wipe lil foot came into the bathroom and said he's here! Thank goodness cause I could really use a shower after the 107 miles we had riden.
Across the train tracks there was a two story house that look pretty beat up, with a bunch of rusted old things on the lawn, ah home for the night. Dennis originally made it sound like he lived in a beautiful house with nice funiture, three bedrooms, two living rooms, surround sound in three rooms and more. From the sound of things we were in for a treat but from the looks of things, it was going to be a rough night. HAHA We walked in the front door and lil foot asked for the grand tour. BIG MISTAKE. We went from room to room hearing about the prices of every piece for furniture and electronic in each room, the history of how he came to own most things and stories from his past. Ugh, if we had known the 5 minute tour would actually be an hour we would have just asked where's the shower only. As we went on the histories of objects became more ridiculous, and it was easy to see that Dennis never has visitors or friends of any kind over.
Finally it was shower time, I went first. Before starting up, Dennis demonstrated how he had fallen out of the shower once, this demonstration caused his ass crack to become exposed and it remained that way for the rest of our stay. Lucky us. I was sure to be quick and not leave lil foot alone too long with him, but unfortunately this guy could talk a mile a minute. In the 10 minutes I was gone, lil foot learned about his 6 year marriage and divorce and some other family problems. Then it was my turn to learn about the crazy man. I was shown an atlas of where his mom lives in Denver (luck her for getting away from him), where she works, where we were, where he's lived and traveled. Oh man, was the pain ever going to end. Lil foot was finished and came back just in time. We sat in the living room where he went into more detail about how expensive some of his stuff is and he acted like we were impressed with the price tags, "Yea, I got expensive things!"
Now the convo was turned to drinking and how much he could drink, which isnt actually all to impressive compared to some of the drinking lil foot and I have done in the pass. Haha. Then he wanted to show us how his car speakers can shake his shed, seriously? It was like going to show and tell for 5 year olds, except its adorable when a 5 year old shows you things he/she is proud of, not so much from a 29 year old guy. We were able to get back into the house where he continued to talk, it was 10:30pm at this point and we needed to be up in 5 hours, lil foot faked falling asleep midconvo - not cool. I was left alone, thats when he wanted to show me his favorite part of a movie. I hummored him, but once he began asking my age and if 29 was too old for me, I faked a yawn and hit the couch with lil foot.
He went to bed and lil foot and I agreed no matter how tired we were at 4am we had to leave and get out of there. He didn't seem dangerous, just had the social skills of a rock, infact a rock would be more of a good time!
7/19
Our alarms went off this morning and we didn't move too quick but luckily Dennis was awake and came in at 4am to wake us. This morning was easily the quickest we had ever gotten our shit together. We took off and didn't look back. Thanks Dennis, not so much for the house to sleep in, but more for the laughs I and lil foot will be having with our friends at your expense.
Sasq
More about today (7/19) to come tonight...
Oh and I can't forget to mention the map that Dennis drew us to a place to eat in Dighton. It is literally 6 quares (buildings) and one says Hornet's Nest (the place he was directing us). UNREAL.
Today I think takes the cake for the mosr interesting day yet.
To begin we woke up at 3am and were greeted by June offering to make breakfast. Lil foot and I tried to insure her that we had food, but she wouldn't take no for an answer, so pancakes, eggs and fruit it was! After saying our goodbyes and thank yous, we were on our bike by 4am and it was only 78 degrees out! We finally got the super early start we hoped for.
No sun beating down on us to start our day gave us hope for another 100+ ride. The downside of riding without the sun is the darkness, lil foot and I missed our turn putting us a mile further, but we noticed the missed turn and quickly were back on track. There was a cross wind with a slight tail wind which made our morning a very proactive one. As the sun began to rise we were able to see a bunch of deer running all over to find some cover, what a beautiful sight. It was 60 miles roughly til we planned on breaking for lunch. it was about 10am when we arrived in Larned, we did a little protien bar shopping then hit the subway for a bite to eat. while we sat and ate Chris, one of the English guys, arrived covered in sweat and salt. He shocked to see how refreshed and dry the two of us looked, so we ended up having a bit of fun with his look. Then Gary caught up as well, he had the latest start of all of us but since he has legs like a horse his 60 mile ride was like a walk in the park. We all joked about passing a few people going the opposite way and not stoping to talk. Normally we would chat with other cyclists but today was all about pushing as hard as possible to beat the heat and get out of the sun.
After about two hours at Subway lil foot and I were back at it, 33 miles until the next town with a place to stop. The sun was getting stronger, so we made it a plan to put the pedal to the metal and go as hard as possible. we booked it there in a little over two hours! At this town there was only one business open, a car repair/gas station. I asked if it would be ok to hide out from the strongest part of the sun and the woman working the counter said of course! while we sat there we dealt with a few stupid comments and questions which seem to have become the theme of this Kansas heat. "Hey girls, a bit hot for a bike ride isn't it?" "Going to be a hot one today." "You must be really hot from riding." I wish I could walk around witha sign on that says, "WE KNOW ITS HOT, THANKS!"
When all the weather questions and comments passed then it was onto questions about our actual riding, where do you sleep, where are you going, coming from and so on. There was an older man sitting in the shop as well, he began to volunteer different workers' homes for us to stay the night, but we said we were fine with just camping out at the rest stop. Then one of the workers, Dennis, said it would actually be fine with him if we stayed at his house and he happened to live right accross from the rest area we had planned on camping anyway. We accepted and headed out to finish the last 13 miles of our ride, then he would come by after he was finished with work to let us know where to go. DEAL!
Lil foot and I arrived at the rest area, a Men's and Women's bathroom with two water fountain between them inside an air conditioned building. We sat there waiting for Dennis to come get us, but after about two hours of sitting there we figured he had bailed on us. The plan now was to wash us with wet wipes and get some sleep on the floor by the water fountains. As I pulled out the first wipe lil foot came into the bathroom and said he's here! Thank goodness cause I could really use a shower after the 107 miles we had riden.
Across the train tracks there was a two story house that look pretty beat up, with a bunch of rusted old things on the lawn, ah home for the night. Dennis originally made it sound like he lived in a beautiful house with nice funiture, three bedrooms, two living rooms, surround sound in three rooms and more. From the sound of things we were in for a treat but from the looks of things, it was going to be a rough night. HAHA We walked in the front door and lil foot asked for the grand tour. BIG MISTAKE. We went from room to room hearing about the prices of every piece for furniture and electronic in each room, the history of how he came to own most things and stories from his past. Ugh, if we had known the 5 minute tour would actually be an hour we would have just asked where's the shower only. As we went on the histories of objects became more ridiculous, and it was easy to see that Dennis never has visitors or friends of any kind over.
Finally it was shower time, I went first. Before starting up, Dennis demonstrated how he had fallen out of the shower once, this demonstration caused his ass crack to become exposed and it remained that way for the rest of our stay. Lucky us. I was sure to be quick and not leave lil foot alone too long with him, but unfortunately this guy could talk a mile a minute. In the 10 minutes I was gone, lil foot learned about his 6 year marriage and divorce and some other family problems. Then it was my turn to learn about the crazy man. I was shown an atlas of where his mom lives in Denver (luck her for getting away from him), where she works, where we were, where he's lived and traveled. Oh man, was the pain ever going to end. Lil foot was finished and came back just in time. We sat in the living room where he went into more detail about how expensive some of his stuff is and he acted like we were impressed with the price tags, "Yea, I got expensive things!"
Now the convo was turned to drinking and how much he could drink, which isnt actually all to impressive compared to some of the drinking lil foot and I have done in the pass. Haha. Then he wanted to show us how his car speakers can shake his shed, seriously? It was like going to show and tell for 5 year olds, except its adorable when a 5 year old shows you things he/she is proud of, not so much from a 29 year old guy. We were able to get back into the house where he continued to talk, it was 10:30pm at this point and we needed to be up in 5 hours, lil foot faked falling asleep midconvo - not cool. I was left alone, thats when he wanted to show me his favorite part of a movie. I hummored him, but once he began asking my age and if 29 was too old for me, I faked a yawn and hit the couch with lil foot.
He went to bed and lil foot and I agreed no matter how tired we were at 4am we had to leave and get out of there. He didn't seem dangerous, just had the social skills of a rock, infact a rock would be more of a good time!
7/19
Our alarms went off this morning and we didn't move too quick but luckily Dennis was awake and came in at 4am to wake us. This morning was easily the quickest we had ever gotten our shit together. We took off and didn't look back. Thanks Dennis, not so much for the house to sleep in, but more for the laughs I and lil foot will be having with our friends at your expense.
Sasq
More about today (7/19) to come tonight...
Oh and I can't forget to mention the map that Dennis drew us to a place to eat in Dighton. It is literally 6 quares (buildings) and one says Hornet's Nest (the place he was directing us). UNREAL.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Home sweet home!
It's only been a few hours but I had to update everyone on the amazing night! Earlier lil foot and I noticed four bikes outside of a house in town, so before heading to the park to camp, we swung by that same house to see if anyone would notice us and sure enough two of the cyclists came running out. After two minutes we were parking our bikes behind Joe and June's house. Jim is the mayor of Nickerson and the two have been making in cyclists for years as well as being the host of many exchange students from all over the world. An amazingly friendly order couple with great stories of past visitors.
The four other cyclists were two sets of two who met a few days ago and have been riding together. One a married couple, Mike and Joan, They have done a few long trips over the years and had some good stories from the road. Mike and Rich are a pair of brothers, both retired and just enjoying the summer across the country. We were also offered a place to stay in san Diego and LA when we reach California which is amazing! All four are heading west as well but they will be heading north as we go south.
Tonight we have a bed, had a hit meal, a shower and have laundry going right now! I'm really hoping Colorado people are this welcoming otherwise lil foot and I will have to rough it more than we already are.
Sasq
The four other cyclists were two sets of two who met a few days ago and have been riding together. One a married couple, Mike and Joan, They have done a few long trips over the years and had some good stories from the road. Mike and Rich are a pair of brothers, both retired and just enjoying the summer across the country. We were also offered a place to stay in san Diego and LA when we reach California which is amazing! All four are heading west as well but they will be heading north as we go south.
Tonight we have a bed, had a hit meal, a shower and have laundry going right now! I'm really hoping Colorado people are this welcoming otherwise lil foot and I will have to rough it more than we already are.
Sasq
Burn, Baby Burn...
Not to worry the title doesn't mean lil foot and I have sun burn, just that the heat wave continues...
Last night I definitely got some much needed sleep while lil foot still stayed up a bit part, but she doesn't seem to require as much sleep for some reason, what a freak! Any way we decided to sleep in and only do 50 miles today so lil foot could give her legs a break from the sun and so I could sleep. This was a great idea but the problem was we didn't have the wind on our team today. Instead of cruising through our ride, we battled cross and head winds. Starting around 9am didn't help much either, it was already 94 degrees out and going up to 104 - great.
In the morning we were able to load up our bottles with ice water and gatorade from the fire house, unfortunately the ice part didn't last all too long. After 30 miles we went through Buhler thinking there was a store or gas station or anywhere to get more cold water, instead we found out the closest place w as 12 miles south. Oh man. An older man was the one who gave us that bad news but turned things around when he offered to help us out, he brought us out a pitcher of ice water before going on is way, also offered us to sit on the chairs by his front door in the shade if we needed to! The Kansas hospitality continued and we were lucky it did.
We took a 15 20 minute break then prepared for our 20 miles to Nickerson. Before I forget let me tell you about our lovely getups today... I am wearing two pairs of bike shorts because the padding on my shorts are almost none existent, while lil foot is wearing bike shorts under another pair of casual shorts to protect her thighs from more sun exposure. Also last night we were able to do laundry and a towel was washed with our clothes that had grease on it, that grease is now on other clothes adding to our hobo look. I must say we look lovely right now! Haha.
Back to the biking.... We started up again and found ourselves at a closed road, so we checked out Google maps and found an alternate route. That route included a mile ride on a DIRT road, more like a ride/drag because there were some spots that were impossible to ride through. Now with a layer of dirt mixed with sweat and sun block woo over ourselves we found another dirt road ahead of us. Thanks Google maps. We noticed a new highway under construction so we push our bikes up to that and began to ride back to the route we needed to be on. It was great to be on that, no traffic and it wasn't dirt. This whole process added about 2 miles but 20 minutes to our ride because of the damn dirt. Once we were back on track it was smooth sailing from there.
The wind was only a cross wind now and the sun was getting stronger, this motivated us to haul ass even more. As we continued a.cyclist going east was approaching, he stopped to chat and take a picture but lil foot was good about keeping the convo short since this guy seemed he would have gone on forever. Good luck to that guy, forgot his name, he started out on a tandem bike with his wife but now was riding solo.
Only 8 miles to go! We pulled over so lil foot could take off her outer shorts layer, then we really booked it! We did our last 8 miles in about 30-35 minutes! Unfortunately Nickerson isn't all too much of a town. The library and most shops are closed since its Sunday, but we found a gas station to set up shop in for a while in the ac. Tonight we will be camping in the city park, but with any luck we will look pathetic enough to someone to get a pity invite to a house! I honestly have no shame so I have been trying to chat it up with anyone and everyone who passes us just hoping for that invite. As of now we haven't even come close to an offer. Pooh. I will not give up though!
The English guys also made it to Nickerson, but are staying at the Animal Farm B&B, so we won't see them until tomorrow on the road when they come flying past us. Nina on the other hand has gone a bit off route. She insisted on going to some galaxy show about 6 miles out of the way (each way) and invited us to join, but we declined and opted to get the riding done with early, I think we chose the better option because it is now 104 and its 6pm so I would not want to be riding my bike right now. Not sure if she'll make it to the city park to join us tonight, if not we may not see her the rest of the trip. Just in case... Good luck Nina and enjoy the site seeing!
Considering we wont be escaping the heat for a while we aimll continue to attempt early starts. Although I love the flatness of this state, the heat is really getting to our heads and it makes us a hit cranky so bring on the Rockies!
Our next rest day is planned for Telluride Colorado which we've heard is beautiful, then after that we head into the desert for a few days before hopefully meeting some people around the Grand Canyon!
Tomorrow will be the last day of our 7th week and we will be at about 2750 miles! We are sure looking foward to the rest of our trip, with the hard mountains, heat of Kansas, dogs of Kentucky and home of Pop Eye behind us we have amazing sites ahead.
It's about 6:15 pm here now, so off to the city park to set up camp, cross your fingers for a nice stranger to take us home with them! No dirty jokes people this is a family friendly blog hahahahahaha!!!!
Tata for now.
The one and only,
Sasq
Ps. In case you were worried about my tushy, don't. My lovely num will be mailing me two new pairs of shorts tomorrow! Also lil foot's rash looks a little better and we will continue to keep her legs from the sun, no matter how ridiculous.she has to look!
Last night I definitely got some much needed sleep while lil foot still stayed up a bit part, but she doesn't seem to require as much sleep for some reason, what a freak! Any way we decided to sleep in and only do 50 miles today so lil foot could give her legs a break from the sun and so I could sleep. This was a great idea but the problem was we didn't have the wind on our team today. Instead of cruising through our ride, we battled cross and head winds. Starting around 9am didn't help much either, it was already 94 degrees out and going up to 104 - great.
In the morning we were able to load up our bottles with ice water and gatorade from the fire house, unfortunately the ice part didn't last all too long. After 30 miles we went through Buhler thinking there was a store or gas station or anywhere to get more cold water, instead we found out the closest place w as 12 miles south. Oh man. An older man was the one who gave us that bad news but turned things around when he offered to help us out, he brought us out a pitcher of ice water before going on is way, also offered us to sit on the chairs by his front door in the shade if we needed to! The Kansas hospitality continued and we were lucky it did.
We took a 15 20 minute break then prepared for our 20 miles to Nickerson. Before I forget let me tell you about our lovely getups today... I am wearing two pairs of bike shorts because the padding on my shorts are almost none existent, while lil foot is wearing bike shorts under another pair of casual shorts to protect her thighs from more sun exposure. Also last night we were able to do laundry and a towel was washed with our clothes that had grease on it, that grease is now on other clothes adding to our hobo look. I must say we look lovely right now! Haha.
Back to the biking.... We started up again and found ourselves at a closed road, so we checked out Google maps and found an alternate route. That route included a mile ride on a DIRT road, more like a ride/drag because there were some spots that were impossible to ride through. Now with a layer of dirt mixed with sweat and sun block woo over ourselves we found another dirt road ahead of us. Thanks Google maps. We noticed a new highway under construction so we push our bikes up to that and began to ride back to the route we needed to be on. It was great to be on that, no traffic and it wasn't dirt. This whole process added about 2 miles but 20 minutes to our ride because of the damn dirt. Once we were back on track it was smooth sailing from there.
The wind was only a cross wind now and the sun was getting stronger, this motivated us to haul ass even more. As we continued a.cyclist going east was approaching, he stopped to chat and take a picture but lil foot was good about keeping the convo short since this guy seemed he would have gone on forever. Good luck to that guy, forgot his name, he started out on a tandem bike with his wife but now was riding solo.
Only 8 miles to go! We pulled over so lil foot could take off her outer shorts layer, then we really booked it! We did our last 8 miles in about 30-35 minutes! Unfortunately Nickerson isn't all too much of a town. The library and most shops are closed since its Sunday, but we found a gas station to set up shop in for a while in the ac. Tonight we will be camping in the city park, but with any luck we will look pathetic enough to someone to get a pity invite to a house! I honestly have no shame so I have been trying to chat it up with anyone and everyone who passes us just hoping for that invite. As of now we haven't even come close to an offer. Pooh. I will not give up though!
The English guys also made it to Nickerson, but are staying at the Animal Farm B&B, so we won't see them until tomorrow on the road when they come flying past us. Nina on the other hand has gone a bit off route. She insisted on going to some galaxy show about 6 miles out of the way (each way) and invited us to join, but we declined and opted to get the riding done with early, I think we chose the better option because it is now 104 and its 6pm so I would not want to be riding my bike right now. Not sure if she'll make it to the city park to join us tonight, if not we may not see her the rest of the trip. Just in case... Good luck Nina and enjoy the site seeing!
Considering we wont be escaping the heat for a while we aimll continue to attempt early starts. Although I love the flatness of this state, the heat is really getting to our heads and it makes us a hit cranky so bring on the Rockies!
Our next rest day is planned for Telluride Colorado which we've heard is beautiful, then after that we head into the desert for a few days before hopefully meeting some people around the Grand Canyon!
Tomorrow will be the last day of our 7th week and we will be at about 2750 miles! We are sure looking foward to the rest of our trip, with the hard mountains, heat of Kansas, dogs of Kentucky and home of Pop Eye behind us we have amazing sites ahead.
It's about 6:15 pm here now, so off to the city park to set up camp, cross your fingers for a nice stranger to take us home with them! No dirty jokes people this is a family friendly blog hahahahahaha!!!!
Tata for now.
The one and only,
Sasq
Ps. In case you were worried about my tushy, don't. My lovely num will be mailing me two new pairs of shorts tomorrow! Also lil foot's rash looks a little better and we will continue to keep her legs from the sun, no matter how ridiculous.she has to look!
Eureka! You've found… Becky!
To pick up where sasq left off… after cycling the last 23 miles into Eureka, we finally made it to the city park which is actually the city aquatic park aka pool. We rolled up to see Nina's tent set up, but no sign of her. Exhausted after a long, hot day, we collapsed onto the park benches, longingly eyed the refreshing, yet out of reach pool, & picked up our phones to do what we always do at the end of every day--catch up with the rest of the world! It was still hot & getting late and a little further investigation revealed that the showers were locked as well. After setting up camp & doing a bit of unpacking Nina came rolling up in truck with a new found friend! She was the bearer of good news, telling us that she had spoken with Becky, who promised that she would be back later and would open the showers up for us. Now, you're probably wondering who Becky is, huh? Brian, our first touring mate we met on the road back in CT, was the first person to tell us about her. All he said was to go to the pool & ask for Becky and that she would take care of us. Now, there are some amazing and some amazingly nice people that we've met on the road. And then there's Becky. She is the Kansas mother of all touring bicyclists (in rare cases she is also the daughter or sister)! And what a great mother indeed! This woman came barreling into our lives at just the moment we needed her and took great care of us up until the moment we went to sleep. And then she came back because she's that good! She opened up the pool for us after hours so that we could cool down after an insanely hot day of riding (first century under our belts!!), shower, and of course offer us some delicious frozen treats. She apologized up and down for not being able to have us over as her AC was out, yet still offered it to us anyways. After a long chat and learning a bit about each others journeys, we rinsed off, and then she said the magic word, "ice cream". Of course you can't say no, even at 1145 at night, so we opened the freezer to find it fully stocked with every Little Debbies treat imaginable. Then she gave us ice cream cones, stuffed an unopened box of zebra cakes into my hands and offered to make us anything else we wanted. She sure does know the way to a cyclists heart! But this wasn't all. After riding several days in 100+ heat, I've some how managed (haha) to get an ugly rash/skin irritation covering nearly the entire front of my legs. A little concerned about it, we asked Becky what she thought, who revealed that as a mother of 5 she's practically a doctor. With the care & concern of a mother she took a look and made her best diagnosis of sun poisoning. But, a little unsure, she decided it best to check with her doctor. Sometimes timing is everything, and on this particular night, there happened to be an all-night relay for life event taking place and a good chance that her family doctor might be there. So before saying goodnight, she said she would come back or meet us in the morning before we took off if he had any useful info. We of course were shooting for a bright and early start. Now, Becky's already come and opened the pool for us, hung out with us, fed us and she's only just met us. And then she came back. At midnight (which gave sasq quite the fright… and almost got me punched in the face haha). To tell me what her doctor said. Which, was that her diagnosis was probably correct and that udder cream might help. As in the cream put on cows udders and that it could be picked up at a feed store. She then offered to get me all sorted out the next day if we decided to stick around. But alas, the road was calling and we needed to keep going. So many, many thanks go out to our Kansas cycling mother! It's people like Becky that truly have an impact on you. Now despite the late night, we still managed to hit the road at 6 AM and beat some of the heat. About 10 or 15 miles into our ride, we see the Brit's round the corner of a turn and head on down the road toward us. Funny how we keep cat & mousing with all the other west bound cyclists. Chris & Gary are cruising now though as they are no longer self-supported, so it took them no time to catch up to us. So now we'd become quite the little cycling posse ourself--Nina, Chris, Gary, Sasq, & myself. We rode a pretty short and easy day into Newton, where we had sorted out another fire house stay. We had met a Newton fireman on vacation in MO who told us we were welcome to crash at the firehouse when we passed through. Gotta love those firemen ;) haha don't worry LB! Usually a very nice deal, we get mats to sleep on, AC, washer/dryer availability, and showers. And with the heat, a night in some AC is the only way to get some rest. The remainder of the day was pretty uneventful; mostly just trying to hide from the heat and figure out if we can knock off another century tomorrow. Sadly, it seems that we may be parting ways with some of our cycling buddies, as schedules and bodies dictate otherwise. Wishing all the best to everyone out on the road & hoping we meet up again!
Okay, another late night and another early AM.
g'night
little foot
PS. Thanks for all the support everyone! We wicked appreciate it.
Okay, another late night and another early AM.
g'night
little foot
PS. Thanks for all the support everyone! We wicked appreciate it.
Friday, July 15, 2011
122 miles... cruising through Kansas!
What a day... This morning lil foot and I had our quickest time getting out of. amp, and were on the road by 5:45am. It was beautiful to ride so early, no sun, no humidity and no hills! The morning was flying, we reached 60 miles before 11am and continued on after an ice cream cone from McDonald's! About 20 miles later we found a little shade and had some lunch, during this time we had two people offer us cold water! Apparently Kansas is known for having some of the most polite people and we were sure feeling the love. Only two miles after starting up from lunch a third guy pulled over and waited for us on the side of the road with more water, I felt like a professional cyclist in a race and riding by just grabbing a water without getting off my bike!
This was shaping up to be a great day.
The plan was to meet Chris and Gary in Toronto, but we found out they went on to Eureka, KS. An extra 23 more miles than we originally expected to do, but we figured if we had the wind with us then let's go for it.
We made it 99 miles into Toronto and it was 100 degrees with a heat index of 112, so we thought it would be smart to take a two hour break from the sun. At this point lil foot began to get heat rash on her legs, she was able to put cream on them and ice them up which helped a bunch!
The place we stopped in was a little restaurant in the middle of the three block town, the people in there were extremely nice and chatted us up a bit while we rested in the ac. An hour later we ordered food, and boy oh boy was that a mistake. I had a cheese burger with onions and mushrooms, only it wasn't actually a burger but a gross meatloaf tasting chunk of meat. Lil foot had the ruben which was a special that come with a drink and side, but they never offered her a drink and chartered her extra for the side salad she requested. The two owners had mentioned during our chatting that they weren't doing too well because the town doesn't like new people, but buddy I have to tell you it might be the service and not so yummy food that is causing your lack of business. Haha. YUCK. I won't be ordering anymore hamburger steaks the rest of the trip that's for sure. I must say though it was amazing of them to let us hide out from the sun for a couple hours.
Around 6 or so we got ourselves together and headed off for our last 23 miles to Eureka and a prospect of getting to dip into a pool! Although we were pretty tired and drained, we made it in under two hours! Nina was all set up in the city park when we arrived, so we chatted a bit before an amazing woman entered our lives!
Lil foot told me she would like to pick it up from there so the rest of the night and the next day is all her!
There will be no need to tie me up this time, I'll let her write a post for once, haha.
Before I finish I don't believe I mentioned the crazy guy from Holland or the group of younger guys from all over the states. Let's save the crazy guy for last so first the group of guys... It was 10 miles before reaching Toronto and we were passing through one of the many lovely towns of this beautiful country, we made a turn and noticed about 8 guys heading our way with fully loaded bikes. We generally stop and talk to any cyclists we see, but these guys didn't just stop they swarmed us if they had been in prison for years and the only action they were getting was from their cell mate Spike. I must say one or two were good looking so I didn't mind much haha. One of the guys spent the previous night with Brian (from Connecticut) who apparently has been telling everyone he meets about us. Still not sure if its a good or bad thing, but it feels like we're celebrities among this summer's cyclists. They all seemed like they were having a good time on their trip but we kept the talk short due to the heat rising. So good luck guys.
Now the crazy guy... What a nut! It's about 9am or so and in the distance we notice a cyclist coming our way, as he gets closer we noticed his outfit was a bit much, a fleece, full on high top hiking boats and a reflective vest. Not only was he completely over dressed but he had five bags on his bike and a massive backpack on. I almost groped from heat stroke just looking at him. That convo wasn't all too long or interesting because he definitely didn't understand us a bit. The rest of Tue day lil foot and I would just the word fleece to make the other laugh, so at least we got that out of that encounter!
All done now... Lil foot shall continue some time today!
Sasq
Ps today was 103 without the heat index... Just a little sneak of what's to come I guess.
This was shaping up to be a great day.
The plan was to meet Chris and Gary in Toronto, but we found out they went on to Eureka, KS. An extra 23 more miles than we originally expected to do, but we figured if we had the wind with us then let's go for it.
We made it 99 miles into Toronto and it was 100 degrees with a heat index of 112, so we thought it would be smart to take a two hour break from the sun. At this point lil foot began to get heat rash on her legs, she was able to put cream on them and ice them up which helped a bunch!
The place we stopped in was a little restaurant in the middle of the three block town, the people in there were extremely nice and chatted us up a bit while we rested in the ac. An hour later we ordered food, and boy oh boy was that a mistake. I had a cheese burger with onions and mushrooms, only it wasn't actually a burger but a gross meatloaf tasting chunk of meat. Lil foot had the ruben which was a special that come with a drink and side, but they never offered her a drink and chartered her extra for the side salad she requested. The two owners had mentioned during our chatting that they weren't doing too well because the town doesn't like new people, but buddy I have to tell you it might be the service and not so yummy food that is causing your lack of business. Haha. YUCK. I won't be ordering anymore hamburger steaks the rest of the trip that's for sure. I must say though it was amazing of them to let us hide out from the sun for a couple hours.
Around 6 or so we got ourselves together and headed off for our last 23 miles to Eureka and a prospect of getting to dip into a pool! Although we were pretty tired and drained, we made it in under two hours! Nina was all set up in the city park when we arrived, so we chatted a bit before an amazing woman entered our lives!
Lil foot told me she would like to pick it up from there so the rest of the night and the next day is all her!
There will be no need to tie me up this time, I'll let her write a post for once, haha.
Before I finish I don't believe I mentioned the crazy guy from Holland or the group of younger guys from all over the states. Let's save the crazy guy for last so first the group of guys... It was 10 miles before reaching Toronto and we were passing through one of the many lovely towns of this beautiful country, we made a turn and noticed about 8 guys heading our way with fully loaded bikes. We generally stop and talk to any cyclists we see, but these guys didn't just stop they swarmed us if they had been in prison for years and the only action they were getting was from their cell mate Spike. I must say one or two were good looking so I didn't mind much haha. One of the guys spent the previous night with Brian (from Connecticut) who apparently has been telling everyone he meets about us. Still not sure if its a good or bad thing, but it feels like we're celebrities among this summer's cyclists. They all seemed like they were having a good time on their trip but we kept the talk short due to the heat rising. So good luck guys.
Now the crazy guy... What a nut! It's about 9am or so and in the distance we notice a cyclist coming our way, as he gets closer we noticed his outfit was a bit much, a fleece, full on high top hiking boats and a reflective vest. Not only was he completely over dressed but he had five bags on his bike and a massive backpack on. I almost groped from heat stroke just looking at him. That convo wasn't all too long or interesting because he definitely didn't understand us a bit. The rest of Tue day lil foot and I would just the word fleece to make the other laugh, so at least we got that out of that encounter!
All done now... Lil foot shall continue some time today!
Sasq
Ps today was 103 without the heat index... Just a little sneak of what's to come I guess.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
rest day...
Nothing exciting today to report. Lil foot and I took advantage of the hotel bed and slept in til 9 then hit the continental breakfast and ate our weight in pancakes and bacon! After that we did some organizing and planning for the grand canyon, looks like we should be there around the first of August give or take a day.
It sure was the perfect day not to ride, the heat was back and brutal, bit we did our best to stay indoors. Around 1 we took our bikes to the shop, wow that almost sounds like we're riding motorcycles instead of bicycles. Haha. I had new tires put on and lil foot bought a new tire to replace her back one since its getting pretty bald. Since my bike wouldn't be ready for a couple hours it was time to get some Wendy's for lunch, yummy frosties! Thats when our planning was complete for the next 16 or so days, and we look foward to getting some centuries in. Then did some food shopping for the road. Bagels, tuna, oatmeal, rice, trail mix, fruit and protein bars account for 90% of our diet and then we get subway here and there or something cheap like a burger from a local place we pass through.
When my beautiful bike was ready we returned to the bike shop to find Peter, Amy and Mike waiting there to have a little work done as well. We chatted for a few before heading back to the hotel to grab our bags.
At the hotel we took over the storage room and repacked our bags. In the next day or so Eric, lil foots boyfriend, will be receiving a lovely package of random crap we either no longer need or haven't used yet. The packing was done and we intended to join the other three in the city pack, but decided to stay in the ac as long as possible so we order pizza and Hung out a bit. Before the pizza we chatted it up with a guy staying at the hotel and he gave us $40 for food or anything we needed, two gatorades and two flavored waters! What a great guy. Oh, did I mention he's running a farm show? Anyone know what that is cause I would love to be informed. Thanks.
We were done stuffing our faces and it was time to leave dream land to brave the heat once again, so off to Lincoln park in Pittsburg, Kansas we went. It took a little while to find the others but we did and now its time for bed. Hoping for a 5am start on cycling tomorrow and looking to do somewhere between 90 and 100 miles to Toronto where we will join the Brits, which I will now refer to as the English dudes/guys because I learned to thats what is preferred, but I'll double check with them tomorrow night.
Good night, hope you are all enjoying your ac or central air!
Sasq
It sure was the perfect day not to ride, the heat was back and brutal, bit we did our best to stay indoors. Around 1 we took our bikes to the shop, wow that almost sounds like we're riding motorcycles instead of bicycles. Haha. I had new tires put on and lil foot bought a new tire to replace her back one since its getting pretty bald. Since my bike wouldn't be ready for a couple hours it was time to get some Wendy's for lunch, yummy frosties! Thats when our planning was complete for the next 16 or so days, and we look foward to getting some centuries in. Then did some food shopping for the road. Bagels, tuna, oatmeal, rice, trail mix, fruit and protein bars account for 90% of our diet and then we get subway here and there or something cheap like a burger from a local place we pass through.
When my beautiful bike was ready we returned to the bike shop to find Peter, Amy and Mike waiting there to have a little work done as well. We chatted for a few before heading back to the hotel to grab our bags.
At the hotel we took over the storage room and repacked our bags. In the next day or so Eric, lil foots boyfriend, will be receiving a lovely package of random crap we either no longer need or haven't used yet. The packing was done and we intended to join the other three in the city pack, but decided to stay in the ac as long as possible so we order pizza and Hung out a bit. Before the pizza we chatted it up with a guy staying at the hotel and he gave us $40 for food or anything we needed, two gatorades and two flavored waters! What a great guy. Oh, did I mention he's running a farm show? Anyone know what that is cause I would love to be informed. Thanks.
We were done stuffing our faces and it was time to leave dream land to brave the heat once again, so off to Lincoln park in Pittsburg, Kansas we went. It took a little while to find the others but we did and now its time for bed. Hoping for a 5am start on cycling tomorrow and looking to do somewhere between 90 and 100 miles to Toronto where we will join the Brits, which I will now refer to as the English dudes/guys because I learned to thats what is preferred, but I'll double check with them tomorrow night.
Good night, hope you are all enjoying your ac or central air!
Sasq
Best day by far!!!!
Before I begin about today, let me catch you all up on the rest of our night. As previously mentioned we camped out on Ash Grove, Missouri in the city park with our cyclist buddy, Nina. We thought it would be a pretty simple night, set up camp, sweat a ton while attempting to sleep and then maybe get a few hours like the previous nights. Instead we got what we wished for, thunderstorms! Not only did we get thunderstorms but there were viscous winds that came along with the pouring rain. Lil foot and I were just about ready to pass out when we hauled ass out of the tent and rushed to drag it under the pavilion, then we settled in again thinking we were safe. Not the case. Only 15 minutes later the winds picked up and blew the rain right into the tent again, ugh, now what do we do? After moving some tables around we found a spot on the cement that was safe from the rain so we put the tent there. As we were rushing to move everything, I looked over at poor Nina and then left lil foot holding the tent to help her a bit, I know I'm nice like that!
Now safe from the rain it was off to sleep, at least so we thought. Now around 1am after being asleep for maybe 15 minutes the sound of a train blowing its horn for half a minute came through town. All three of us shot up in our tents and almost had a heart attack. The train didn't only sound like it was passing through town but passing through the pavilion we were sleeping under. UNREAL. Finally we got a bit of sleep, like 3 or 4 hours tops.
On to today, literally the best day by far! This morning was no longer hot as Hell since it rained all night, and we were looking foward to leaving the hills of the Ozarks. After maybe 10 or 15 miles of the last bit of hills we hit the flats! From Ash Give we made it to Golden City for lunch where we ate at Cookie's Cafe. Apparently the pie is famous among locals and cyclists bit I wasn't too impressed by the looks of them. Jerry, yours looks 100x better! I had a milkshake though that was very yummy, and they bring you the melt mixer with the remaining part of it! Loved that.
After lunch as were we getting ready to start up again, I received a call from my brother, Jerry. He asked where we planned to stay the night then called me back 10minutes later with AMAZING news, a night at the Holiday Inn Express, thanks Jerry (and steph and little nugget, of course.) This was the much needed rest were looking for and definitely beat camping yet again in a location with out a shower or rest room at night. BTW the bed is sooooooo great!
While I chatted with Jerry, lil foot and Nina chatted up an older couple, Tom and Diane Richards. I assumed they were going through the usual questions we get from people but when I was off the phone they informed me we would be riding about 10 miles down the road to the couple's farm and each taking a ride in their two person citaborca (acrobatic spelled backwards) plane! We didn't hesitate to take them up on this offer so we hustled over! We arrived to their farm not know exactly what to expect, this was going to be one for the books for sure. Tom and Diana show us their hanger with the plane and now we were like little kids on Xmas morning. Nina went up first with Diana, then lil foot with Tom and that's when the clouds began to roll in. Diana asked if e could wait around a little so I would have a turn, so we all chatted about our travels and theirs. About 20 minutes later it was my turn! I had a blast, Diana showed me different towns, friends farms, the road we would be biking and the clouds! Our luck had clearly changed for the best!
It was easily the best day on the road, we left the hills, had an amazing hotel room for the night, a plane ride in the afternoon then went to applebees for dinner where we bumped into Chris and Gary (the Brits)!! Those guys crack us up! We had a few drinks during dinner and talked about the last few days since we had last seen them. Now the plan is to take today off to get things done and mostly get my bike sorted out. Then tmorrow we will ride to Toronto Kansas where we will camp with the guys!
Big, extremely big thanks to Jerry, Steph, Nugget, Tom and Diana. You all made our hard work through the heat wave beyond worth it!
On a side note here are a few stories we've heard along the way... Nina informed us that the brothers we met back at the beginning of Kentucky had called it quits, the younger of the two was hit by a ... Wait for it.... DEER. Apparently while on one of the back roads a deer came charging out of the woods and rammed right into the back end of his bike, he wasn't hurt but his bike had enough damage to have to called it quits. Now that's a story I would never had expected.
The dogs have calmed down now, and due to my lack of spray, Mike (Asian cyclist we met in bardstown) would be happy to hear that I stopped and pet a dog. Believe me though, this is not my new method of dealing with dogs chasing me, I will be back to spraying those bastards once I have spray again! A little dog yesterday that attempted to Chase me must have forgot he was chained up because he went flying back when the chain reached its limit. Poor little guy but it was like watching a cartoon!
What else... Oh we passed by another eastern bound cyclist from Germany. I noticed that when people don't understand eachother they tend to just say 'yea' to give themselves a little more time to process what was said so they could answer. The German guy used 'yea' to just about answer all our questions, so we kept it short with him when we realized we weren't getting much info out of I'm. Nina on the other hand had plenty to talk to him about, she lived in Germany for a few years, but she mainly lectured him about not having his helmet on. I cracked up that he was getting lectured and probably didn't understand most of what she was saying! Good luck German dude!
I believe you are all caught up. Once my bike is fixed I'll post about that.
Sasq
Oh I thought of a funny way to look at what Jerry did for us, he donated to the Beds For Butts Fund! Haha.
Now safe from the rain it was off to sleep, at least so we thought. Now around 1am after being asleep for maybe 15 minutes the sound of a train blowing its horn for half a minute came through town. All three of us shot up in our tents and almost had a heart attack. The train didn't only sound like it was passing through town but passing through the pavilion we were sleeping under. UNREAL. Finally we got a bit of sleep, like 3 or 4 hours tops.
On to today, literally the best day by far! This morning was no longer hot as Hell since it rained all night, and we were looking foward to leaving the hills of the Ozarks. After maybe 10 or 15 miles of the last bit of hills we hit the flats! From Ash Give we made it to Golden City for lunch where we ate at Cookie's Cafe. Apparently the pie is famous among locals and cyclists bit I wasn't too impressed by the looks of them. Jerry, yours looks 100x better! I had a milkshake though that was very yummy, and they bring you the melt mixer with the remaining part of it! Loved that.
After lunch as were we getting ready to start up again, I received a call from my brother, Jerry. He asked where we planned to stay the night then called me back 10minutes later with AMAZING news, a night at the Holiday Inn Express, thanks Jerry (and steph and little nugget, of course.) This was the much needed rest were looking for and definitely beat camping yet again in a location with out a shower or rest room at night. BTW the bed is sooooooo great!
While I chatted with Jerry, lil foot and Nina chatted up an older couple, Tom and Diane Richards. I assumed they were going through the usual questions we get from people but when I was off the phone they informed me we would be riding about 10 miles down the road to the couple's farm and each taking a ride in their two person citaborca (acrobatic spelled backwards) plane! We didn't hesitate to take them up on this offer so we hustled over! We arrived to their farm not know exactly what to expect, this was going to be one for the books for sure. Tom and Diana show us their hanger with the plane and now we were like little kids on Xmas morning. Nina went up first with Diana, then lil foot with Tom and that's when the clouds began to roll in. Diana asked if e could wait around a little so I would have a turn, so we all chatted about our travels and theirs. About 20 minutes later it was my turn! I had a blast, Diana showed me different towns, friends farms, the road we would be biking and the clouds! Our luck had clearly changed for the best!
It was easily the best day on the road, we left the hills, had an amazing hotel room for the night, a plane ride in the afternoon then went to applebees for dinner where we bumped into Chris and Gary (the Brits)!! Those guys crack us up! We had a few drinks during dinner and talked about the last few days since we had last seen them. Now the plan is to take today off to get things done and mostly get my bike sorted out. Then tmorrow we will ride to Toronto Kansas where we will camp with the guys!
Big, extremely big thanks to Jerry, Steph, Nugget, Tom and Diana. You all made our hard work through the heat wave beyond worth it!
On a side note here are a few stories we've heard along the way... Nina informed us that the brothers we met back at the beginning of Kentucky had called it quits, the younger of the two was hit by a ... Wait for it.... DEER. Apparently while on one of the back roads a deer came charging out of the woods and rammed right into the back end of his bike, he wasn't hurt but his bike had enough damage to have to called it quits. Now that's a story I would never had expected.
The dogs have calmed down now, and due to my lack of spray, Mike (Asian cyclist we met in bardstown) would be happy to hear that I stopped and pet a dog. Believe me though, this is not my new method of dealing with dogs chasing me, I will be back to spraying those bastards once I have spray again! A little dog yesterday that attempted to Chase me must have forgot he was chained up because he went flying back when the chain reached its limit. Poor little guy but it was like watching a cartoon!
What else... Oh we passed by another eastern bound cyclist from Germany. I noticed that when people don't understand eachother they tend to just say 'yea' to give themselves a little more time to process what was said so they could answer. The German guy used 'yea' to just about answer all our questions, so we kept it short with him when we realized we weren't getting much info out of I'm. Nina on the other hand had plenty to talk to him about, she lived in Germany for a few years, but she mainly lectured him about not having his helmet on. I cracked up that he was getting lectured and probably didn't understand most of what she was saying! Good luck German dude!
I believe you are all caught up. Once my bike is fixed I'll post about that.
Sasq
Oh I thought of a funny way to look at what Jerry did for us, he donated to the Beds For Butts Fund! Haha.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Auto Correct...
Ignore the typos, I have auto correct on my phone, and on top of that I'm not the best at spelling!
I must say that the typos make some of the posts funnier though!
Once again, good night.
Sasq
I must say that the typos make some of the posts funnier though!
Once again, good night.
Sasq
Its like a heat wave....
Today was another tough day in the heat and hills of this roller coaster state, Missouri. For all those who own motorcycles you should ride through here, it would be amazing, on a bicycle however, not so fun. The day started a little later than we hoped but we were on the road by 7am. We slept on the lawn of a court house/library which was not only hot but very noisy. Lil foot thought a baby was crying at one point, and I just wanted to punch anything making noise so I could sleep. Anyway, we hit the road and the heat wasn't bad yet, there were clouds in the sky and a slight breeze! But it didn't last long til the heat kicked back in. Ugh.
If anyone of you have seen the weather lately then you'll know that we are riding through a gross heat wave which warns people to stay indoors and limit exposure to the sun, clearly we have a death wish because we are pushing through!
Along the way we made a random find, a little farm that had about 6 peacocks! The guy had the feathers, I believe, and this guy sure was shaking a tail feather to get some attention! Lil foot has a good picture of it, we will try in the next day or so to find a library and upload some pictures.
For lunch we went to subway, eat fresh! I love $5 foot longs! Haha. We also rehydrated and.enjoyed some AC for q couple hours, then back to work. Besides some steep climbs we noticed a new smell, US! We are stinking at this point and were hoping for a shower or something soon. At one point I couldn't tell if I had passed road kill or if it was just me, I know, bad.
During the last part of our ride we began saying that we hoped to see our Norwegian friend, Nina, again. Lucky us she was on the city park of Ash Grove when we arrived! We did a bit of chatting, found out the brothers which we met in eastern Kentucky had called it quits due to a deer running into one of their bikes and damaging it badly. We were also happy to here that this park has showers! Probably one of the grossest but I'll take any thigh at this point. We had dinner, tuna on bagels, and a few cold beers, showered up and now its time for bed.
The three of us plan to camp in Pittsburg Kansas where I will finally get my bike fixed, then the lil foot and I will be taking a day off to get shit done. Tomorrow will be a roughly 60-65 mile day then we plan to start up again Friday and haul ass through all the flat terrain before climbing the Rockies.
Thanks once again to Peter who helped me make it this far on a tire that should have given out already!
Also shout out to Marykate, miss you crazy bitch!
Well its way passed my bedtime, so good night all.
Sasq
If anyone of you have seen the weather lately then you'll know that we are riding through a gross heat wave which warns people to stay indoors and limit exposure to the sun, clearly we have a death wish because we are pushing through!
Along the way we made a random find, a little farm that had about 6 peacocks! The guy had the feathers, I believe, and this guy sure was shaking a tail feather to get some attention! Lil foot has a good picture of it, we will try in the next day or so to find a library and upload some pictures.
For lunch we went to subway, eat fresh! I love $5 foot longs! Haha. We also rehydrated and.enjoyed some AC for q couple hours, then back to work. Besides some steep climbs we noticed a new smell, US! We are stinking at this point and were hoping for a shower or something soon. At one point I couldn't tell if I had passed road kill or if it was just me, I know, bad.
During the last part of our ride we began saying that we hoped to see our Norwegian friend, Nina, again. Lucky us she was on the city park of Ash Grove when we arrived! We did a bit of chatting, found out the brothers which we met in eastern Kentucky had called it quits due to a deer running into one of their bikes and damaging it badly. We were also happy to here that this park has showers! Probably one of the grossest but I'll take any thigh at this point. We had dinner, tuna on bagels, and a few cold beers, showered up and now its time for bed.
The three of us plan to camp in Pittsburg Kansas where I will finally get my bike fixed, then the lil foot and I will be taking a day off to get shit done. Tomorrow will be a roughly 60-65 mile day then we plan to start up again Friday and haul ass through all the flat terrain before climbing the Rockies.
Thanks once again to Peter who helped me make it this far on a tire that should have given out already!
Also shout out to Marykate, miss you crazy bitch!
Well its way passed my bedtime, so good night all.
Sasq
Monday, July 11, 2011
Heat, Hills, Humidity, HELL...
As you might be able to tell by my post name, today what a day of H's. After yesterday's heat we decided to start super early, up at 4:45 and cycling by 5:45, even at that time it was already 80 degrees. We continued climbing the large hills of the Ozarks and have only one full day left of them. Thank goodness!
This morning wasn't great for me especially, after only 6 miles and a few climbs I was covered on more sweat than the day before, I thought I was going to die. Lil foot made me drink a water with a gatorade packet in it, and after a little break it was back to work. We began in Eminence and made it to Houston by 11:15am, a 44 mile morning. Not too shabby! We sat in the entrance of a Walmart for 3 hours to hide from the worse part of the day. During this time we had lunch, picked up a couple items and just people watched. It was hysterical, one nutjob was in a winter coat and the heat index was 106, another toothless guy chatted with me a bit while lil foot shopped, I didn't understand a word he said so I continued to nod my head and act like I knew. Haha.
With the heat still pretty rough, the humidity went down a touch, and a slight breeze, which was also a welcomed head wind, picked up. We had about 17 miles til our next break then 27 more from there. When we reached our break point it was extremely depressing to see the only business already closed for the day. Unbelievable. Luckily a woman across the road was home and let us fill our water bottles up! What a lovely lady.
Last 20 to go and we're exhausted but forced to continue due to lack of sleeping options. The map showed a few more good climbs so we mentally prepared ourselves. It wasn't all too bad after all. The sun was beginning to set and we rode through a few cool spots which was nice, but then we climbed our last hill for the day into Hartville, only to have the humidity return with a vengeance. Bad enough last night we didn't get much sleep, looks like tonight will be a repeater. Ugh this sucks. On the positive side, free camping on the court house lawn!
Right now we smell bad, are over tired, sick of the humidity and the damn hills. Kansas here we come, on Wednesday that is! Also if you were wondering how my bike it, its holding up with the duck tape jimmy rigging Peter originally did and I've done to keep it fresh. It should make it to Pittsburg, KS where there are a few bike shops. Until then I will have to continue to keep a close eye on it.
On a side note, if any one has frequent flyer miles/points for a hotel they would like to give up we wouldn't mind a nice hotel bed for a nice change from this smelly tent.
Be sure to click on the support the cause tab and donate to save the future of boobies.
That is all for tonight, we plan to cycle from Hartville to Ash Grove tomorrow, and are crossing our fingers for a thunderstorm soon.
Nighty night
Sasq
And I almost forgot we met two guys going east today, Ray and Rusty, they were probably in their 50s and seem like they were having a blast, wish they were going our way I'm sure they would have been fun to ride with for a while! Good luck guys!!
This morning wasn't great for me especially, after only 6 miles and a few climbs I was covered on more sweat than the day before, I thought I was going to die. Lil foot made me drink a water with a gatorade packet in it, and after a little break it was back to work. We began in Eminence and made it to Houston by 11:15am, a 44 mile morning. Not too shabby! We sat in the entrance of a Walmart for 3 hours to hide from the worse part of the day. During this time we had lunch, picked up a couple items and just people watched. It was hysterical, one nutjob was in a winter coat and the heat index was 106, another toothless guy chatted with me a bit while lil foot shopped, I didn't understand a word he said so I continued to nod my head and act like I knew. Haha.
With the heat still pretty rough, the humidity went down a touch, and a slight breeze, which was also a welcomed head wind, picked up. We had about 17 miles til our next break then 27 more from there. When we reached our break point it was extremely depressing to see the only business already closed for the day. Unbelievable. Luckily a woman across the road was home and let us fill our water bottles up! What a lovely lady.
Last 20 to go and we're exhausted but forced to continue due to lack of sleeping options. The map showed a few more good climbs so we mentally prepared ourselves. It wasn't all too bad after all. The sun was beginning to set and we rode through a few cool spots which was nice, but then we climbed our last hill for the day into Hartville, only to have the humidity return with a vengeance. Bad enough last night we didn't get much sleep, looks like tonight will be a repeater. Ugh this sucks. On the positive side, free camping on the court house lawn!
Right now we smell bad, are over tired, sick of the humidity and the damn hills. Kansas here we come, on Wednesday that is! Also if you were wondering how my bike it, its holding up with the duck tape jimmy rigging Peter originally did and I've done to keep it fresh. It should make it to Pittsburg, KS where there are a few bike shops. Until then I will have to continue to keep a close eye on it.
On a side note, if any one has frequent flyer miles/points for a hotel they would like to give up we wouldn't mind a nice hotel bed for a nice change from this smelly tent.
Be sure to click on the support the cause tab and donate to save the future of boobies.
That is all for tonight, we plan to cycle from Hartville to Ash Grove tomorrow, and are crossing our fingers for a thunderstorm soon.
Nighty night
Sasq
And I almost forgot we met two guys going east today, Ray and Rusty, they were probably in their 50s and seem like they were having a blast, wish they were going our way I'm sure they would have been fun to ride with for a while! Good luck guys!!
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