Day 25

Mile 1,579
Jimmy: After a sleepless night in 95 degree Kansas humidity, we pedaled 120 miles to Eureka and got our very first hotel room. A day off in Pittsburg on the eastern border and talking with some East bound bikers that are finishing their bout with Kansas convinced us to get on the road tomorrow before daybreak to beat the heat and pedal through this flat state in the next 4 days.

Traveling East to West, we’ll climb 4,000 vertical feet before we hit the Colorado border. We’re counting down the miles to our stop in Breckenridge for some much needed playtime, bike maintenance, and relaxation in weather below triple digits.

Corey (alias, Forest Gump)--Keep running!
Marcel--Don’t bother, you’re too slow!

PRAY FOR THOSE TAIL WINDS!

Day 23
Taz:
Hmmmm . . . so much has happened in the past couple of days. The biggest news is that we crossed over into Kansas today! We're in Pittsburg, a town of 19,000 for tonight and tomorrow. We are catching up on laundry and maintenance and such.

Okay, now let me back up a little. We woke in Marshfield, MO yesterday morning to heavy rain and storms. We were dry though under a city park pavilion sleeping on tables because we knew it was coming. We waited for it to pass but it wasn't going to happen. We went to breakfast and the library to kill time and wait for it to ease up. Finally, it did seem to ease up so we took off and tried to make it to Walnut Grove Post Office before it closed to pick up a package. On the way, the sky opened up on us again. Right on top of us. Lightening so close it scared us big time. One strike was 30 to 50 feet away. All I could think about was the last thing Jim said to me - "keep my boys safe." There was nothing around and nowhere to go but on. We ended up riding out of the storm safely.

Walnut Grove was 40 miles into our 60 mile day. We busted butt to get to the post office figuring the earliest it would close would be 4 PM. NOT! They closed at 3:30 and we got there at 3:40. Well, everything happens for a reason. After much debate we ended up seeing if we could camp for the night (this town was not shown on the map as one to camp in). The town of 500 rolled out the red carpet and let us stay indoors at a church fellowship hall. It had a great shower. I think it was the quietest night's rest yet!

Then one thing led to another. While Jimmy was dealing with the Campmor package arrival, we ran into a local that told us a bridge was out on our route and the detour would add 20 miles to our ride. Coupled with the late start of the day we had no intentions of doing a 100 mile day. Don't forget we've got those plastic bags on our bikes now! Jim (our S.A.G. man), where are you?! Just kidding. The reroute had us going 70 miles through somewhat flatter country, enroute to the much flatter Missouri/Kansas border.

But, wait! What about our buddy, Preacher Bill? He's a town behind us and needs to know about the detour! Spending all the time we did in Walnut Grove, we ended up getting to be buddies with the policeman on duty. We told him about Bill and he said he would track him down and give him directions. Not only did he do that but he came out west of town and told us he had found Bill! As of tonight, Bill is still a town behind us but says he's going to do a short day tomorrow and then hang here with us tomorrow night.

We've got 1442 miles under our belts now. We are still laughing and having a great time. Sometimes Jimmy and Dusty get to laughing so hard they can't ride and have to stop riding to hold their bellies. They like to have these insane races up the rollers (hills) shouting crazy speeds they are trying to hold as they go up. They also like to sing a lot but only know half the words to most of the songs, and laugh more when they realize this.

Our first week without the truck and we don't think we've lost any weight which was one of our biggest fears - being hungry. I think we've settled into a routine finding a big meal as soon as we hit our evening town and snacking later. Water hasn't been an issue until today when it got a lot hotter. With our tools we were able to turn the water on at a church. We are getting there! WE ARE IN KANSAS!

Day 21
Dustin:
We survived going through the "bad" part of Missouri, but it didn't seem as "bad" as we had been told. Taz, Bill, Jimmy and I pedaled our way through with no problems at all. Once we got to Ellington, the people were extremely nice. While sitting at an intersection looking at the map to find camp, about a dozen people waved at us. One gave us directions to the park and one of the other guys said come camp in his back yard. Hall's buffet was delicious even though the regulars didn't care for the bike attire. With such a good dinner waking up early the next morning wasn't really part of mine and Jimmy's plan, but finally we were up and ready to go. Leaving town also meant leaving Bill. The hills ahead were too big for him to go the pace we were doing. With our final goodbyes said, we pulled away and another new day had begun. It's awesome to talk to the east bounders along the way. Sharing random stories and finding out the "good" places to stay is usually the highlight of our conversation. Today (7/9) I saw and caught my very first armadillo! With Taz and Jimmy chanting for me to pick it up, I finally got enough nerve to do so. Scared to death (yeah, both me and the armadillo), I grabbed it by the tail just long enough for the picture and then put it back on the ground. It then retreated to the log which was its home.

Sitting down at the dinner table at a local restaurant in Marshfield, MO, talking to the people who were drilling us with questions about the trip, I noticed two people walking in and sitting down at the booth behind us. They did not look at us but I was staring at them for some reason. Finished off the conversation with the people, I see the people in the booth behind us ordering the best desserts and just sitting there and talking. When they were done, they got up and left. We didn't think anything of it. Then when we went to pay the waitress, she told us that us that the people behind us paid for our food. We just couldn't get over the fact that they were that kind. They didn't even know what we had ordered or how much it cost and they generously paid for our meal. I guess that is what you call a random act of kindness and we'll surely be able to pass that on down the line.

Jimmy
Watching Dad drive away was harder than any of us imagined. It wasn’t the loss of the truck, the loss of nutritious meals or bluegrass music in the evenings; we lost a member of our journey, we lost #4; we lost a friend, a guide, a source of endless jokes and laughter; we lost Jim . . . my Dad!

He became more a part of our journey than we could have possibly imagined, but as we watched him pull off in the red truck one final time, our feelings of sadness and confusion were replaced with excitement as the next part of our adventure began.

We turned to our task of squeezing all we need to live for 2 months onto our 2-wheeled touring bikes. As we pedaled our first day through Missouri with a fellow “76 Trail” rider, Bill, we swerved, laughed, bumped into each other, resituated, retightened straps, and learned how to ride all over again. It really wasn’t too bad, but we had more than a few giggles as we rode into our first stop in Missouri where a Farmington Little League team invited us to their cookout and free entry into a division D semi-pro baseball game.

Tomorrow we enter the Missouri territory we’ve been warned about by others on the trail, locals, and bike shop owners. We survived the mountains of Virginia, the wild dogs of Kentucky, and we look forward to the beautiful scenery the Ozarks of Missouri will bring.

With the things we carry, our 2-wheel pedaling machines, and the continued generosity of strangers, we now aim for Kansas . . . 300 miles away it is the last state that stands between us and our westward dreams.

We can’t thank our S.A.G. driver enough for the jump start on the adventure and everlasting memories. We miss you already and you remain with us in spirit!

Day 17
Taz: Here we are in Chester, IL at the Mississippi River. The last day with our S.A.G. man, Jim. It's 7 AM central time. Dustin and Jimmy are fast asleep in their tents enjoying a day off after two very long mileage days in very hot, humid conditions. Jim has taken two east-bound Aussies (Australians) to the nearest bike shop, which is about 30 miles away. They are in their 60s and are having mechanical problems. They need new parts. Jim will be back, I'm sure, before the boys wake to fix breakfast as he has the whole trip thus far. Those fresh cooked egg sandwiches and pancakes will be sorely missed!

Today, we must put new chains and tires on the bikes, lube wheel bearings, and look for any other potential problems the bikes could have. We've also got to divide and pack our spare parts and tools, decide which camera to take, which lights (for camp use), and fine tune our packs, etc.

A whole new ride begins tomorrow. The SAGless ride. Missouri is different terrain too. East-bound riders tell us it is very rolly with steep but short climbs. With this in mind, we plan to do only 50 miles our first day with bags in tow. Morale is good with hitting so many milestones this week and we want to try to keep it that way as our ride becomes more challenging. What were the milestones you say? In the past couple of days, we got out of Kentucky and got into Illinois and to the Mississippi River, which puts us in Missouri as soon we cross the bridge (We set our sights on getting to the Mississippi River about a week and half ago. We wanted to do it for Jim as much as for ourselves.) We hit 1,000 total miles and did two different 100 mile days and we crossed into the next time zone. That's big stuff for me and even bigger for Dusty and Jimmy! Plus, there are cute lifeguards at this park's pool. They stayed open late yesterday evening for us to get showers as we pulled into town. The guys are looking forward to seeing them again today!

Day 13
Facts: We've ridden 12 of the 13 days. We've covered Virginia and have one partial day left in Kentucky. We have covered 849 miles including 110.6 miles today with our first flat tire of the trip at 102 miles. This was Jimmy and Dusty's first 100 miler ever, also known as the century ride by cyclists. We did it in less than eight hours not even trying hard. Oh yeah, the miles didn't bother us, but the heat was a killer being in the mid-90s and humid. We've been chased by 30+ dogs in the state of Kentucky. We crossed into the next time zone today as well.

Last night we stayed in Hodgenville at the county park for free, and tonight in the Utica Fire Station with a roof over our heads and air conditioning. They just leave the building open and bikers come and go as needed. Tomorrow is a "rest day" with a short 25 miler to Sebree, KY to do laundry and maintenance to the bikes. Next, we have our sites set on crossing the Ohio River into Illinois and reaching the Mississippi River where we lose "S.A.G." SUPPORT AND GEAR - not just support and gear but meals, unlimited water and a sigh of relief when we see the guy in the red truck in the distance. We know that we have snacks and drinks waiting on us. We are extremely lucky to have such a professional S.A.G. Even though Jim has never done anything like this before, he has done everything like a pro. From turning around for a flat tire when we thought he was long gone, to having peanut butter sandwiches waiting for us when we arrived at one of our many stops during the day. He is also an expert water locater and very good at keeping us hydrated. We can't thank Jim enough for getting off work and leaving his family and friends and joining us on our awesome adventure (sorry about the 4th of July bash he missed at home!).

The article about our trip came out this week in the Massanutten Villager for those of you who are close enough to grab a copy.

Note: We have had almost NO Internet service so we've been calling in our blogs and dictating to family members. When we get Internet service, we will send pictures as well as the blogs.

Taz
The past few days have brought us a long way through this very different state of Kentucky. The eastern part of the state was scary looking, but we never ran into any problems with the people. In fact there were some really cool people that went the extra mile to help us out, like David at the B&B in Hindman and the people at various country stores. Now we've moved into a part of the state that looks and feels like the rolling countryside of the Culpepper area, but the people still talk funny. Since the last blog we've stayed in Boonville at a very cool church that had a special set up just for bikers; Berea at a regular campground; and tonight at a town park in Springfield. The locations of the camps have forced our mileage to be a little lower than we hoped but we don't mind too much that the mileage was lower in the mountains. Today was around 75 miles and the temperature was around there too. What a beautiful event filled day. I'll let the guys tell you about the events. We are moving towards some slighter terrain and are looking to up the miles by the weekend. Jim has been feeding us like there's no tomorrow. He's also learning the ins and outs of digital photography as he's been snapping pictures of us. Oh, yes, Dusty about has the shifting down and is now starting to stand to crank up these rollers with Jimmy and me. Most days Jimmy is still our strength setting the pace and leading the way, even if it's up a mountain we climbed by mistake because of bad road signage.

Jimmy
Dogs, birds, road kill, closed roads, puppy, getting lost (in the uphill direction), and LOTS of toothless people . . . just the average day in ole' Kentucky. Let me explain in brief. We have seen many overturned, abandoned cars and we have swerved to miss various road kill. Yesterday "we" missed an unmarked road which led us up a two mile mountain climb . . . but it was a blast coming back down! Came over a hill today to find a truck that had just blown our socks off, overturned in the road. The driver was ok thanks to his seatbelt and the six even crazier volunteer drivers who rushed to his rescue in their tripped out pickup trucks. Dusty had a hard time parting with a stray puppy, seems Kentuckians have developed immunity to sympathy for abandoned dogs. As the mountains slowly turn to hills the scenery has changed. Saw our first Mercedes Benz in days, houses suddenly have front doors again, some dogs appear to be kept indoors and free of rabies, and the vine covered forests are gradually turning into tobacco fields. In all honesty the people have been great (despite missing something vitally important to their oral anatomy); the views and weather are amazing and the wildlife abundant. However, Kentuckians grow some wild dogs--that will never change. Eyes bulging and teeth showing, these biker hungry beasts chase us in packs in 2 to 3 on a regular basis. Scaring the heebie-jeebies out of us at first, our snarling assailants are sent home whimpering with a quick blast to the face with a well aimed water bottle; a skill we quickly acquired in this peculiar state. So long as no blood is drawn we usually coast a mile or 2 after an attack laughing our heads off, retelling our close encounter with our Kentucky enemy.

Dusty
Today was quite the day although I was asleep till I found the puppy! Yeah ... while riding down the road I see a little ball of orange and white and think aww another dead animal to add to the list of kills in Kentucky . . . then it got up. I turned around and by that time the little guy had run over to Jimmy and started to pee on the ground. Jimmy picked him up and then handed him to me. Holding the puppy reminded me of when we got little Sage and Mocho. I wanted to take it with me but he probably wouldn't fit on my gear rack. But still would have been worth it to me! So, I thought well maybe we could find its home. Sike, being that we are in KENTUCKY people are used to stray dogs and say, "oh well someone must have dumped him off." Since I did not have my handle bar bag or other bags I couldn't just shove him in there and wing it back to town. So, Taz and Jimmy tell me to just put it over the fence and get ready to ride ... (DON'T KILL ME MOM) I DID IT :(. Leaving the dog behind and as he jumped and yelped as I let him over the fence . . . I got on my bike and left. Now I feel really bad about it and would love to go back and get it, but I do understand that there is nothing we could do, but the dog would be a very fun companion along the way. Oh well life goes on, I just hope he found a home. Otherwise today was crazy. . . from reading Jimmy's log you can probably tell. At a park, weather is great, see ya when I get home.

Kentucky-YeeHaw!


Taz
Tonight we are at a B&B drying out in Hindman, KY. Passed by Hazzard today. We spent some long, hot days in the saddle and now we’re spending some long, wet days in the saddle. It rained on us for 30+ hours which included our day off. We spent all day either eating, napping, or trying to stay dry. After trying to cram me and my gear into a one-person tent for a week and several nights of that week wet, I am ready to upgrade to a two-person tent. This tent is cozy, when it’s not wet out. I hit the sides, though, when I roll over.

No fun being wet for this long but at least I’m doing what I love, riding a bike—many days in a row! The first week was about surviving each day and getting a routine down. We’ve had a ton of laughs; Dusty is like watching a kid grow up. So much of what we’re seeing and doing is so fresh to him, some of his comments just crack us up. Jimmy and his dad, Jim, get the giggles so easily about anything, it makes us all giggle. This is what it’s all about—“the journey”. As Corie said, “it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey”. This trip will change us all!

Dusty
The last few days have been good in ways but horrible in others! From vacuuming mushrooms with Charlie, who’s sitting in the rain under the tarp at Break’s Interstate Park, passing the Kentucky line, meeting the recumbent man (Ian Wood), and now sleeping under Dave’s roof at the B&B. Today was rainy and cold at times but Jimmy, Taz and I made the best of it! Through laughter and taking many breaks, today’s ride in the storm turned out to be a lot better than I had expected. My first dog encounter was today; an English Boxer ran out of the fence and ran beside me for a good 3 strides until he skidded closer to my bike. Then he turned around and retreated back to his roost on the front porch. Kentucky is HERE. The 3 upside down smashed cars that greeted us a few miles down the road from the VA/KY line assured us that we were on our way through the junkyard of the U.S. As said by Jimmy, “Kentucky is the graveyard for America’s cars” and I do believe he is right. Well we made it to Kentucky finally, our first state down. Now we have a new plan. MAKE IT THROUGH ALIVE!

Jimmy
It is too wet to use the computer, too far away from civilization to get internet access, if we do the right dance we can sometimes get the right cell service, and it hasn’t stopped raining for days. Good news: our butts don’t hurt anymore, we crossed our first state line, and we bike every day. Good times keep on coming; we spend our nights laughing about the day’s events and our days doing that thing we do . . . we bike. We pack camp, hop on our bikes, and pedal the miles to our next destination. Along the way we talk to local folks, admire the diversity and scenery from one day to the next, reminisce about old memories at the NUT in Harrisonburg on Shenandoah Club rides, and laugh at one another during flub-ups. With one day of Kentucky complete, we wish for sunshine, that we remain visible to coal truck drivers and that we remain invisible to Kentucky stray dogs.

Continued upkeep, lubrication and constant service to both our bodies and bikes, we tackle each day with confidence and excitement. Each ride carries us a bit closer to the unknown, yet further from the people and things we know and love. We think about you all, often share stories, pictures and memories to help each other understand our journey. Keep us in your thoughts . . . we be biking!

Day Three
Jimmy: Day three brought us our first shower! We are all just chuggin right along, falling right into a groove. Seeing the red truck sitting ahead in the distance will surely be a vision that we will miss greatly when Dad turns for home. Having a blast. Biking is what we do! HUGE THANKS to everyone for the compiled thoughts!! Good times, lots of laughs, keeping me going.

Climbing? What Climbing?
Taz: The ride has started! We are in day two of this amazing journey. We've gone from Massanutten, up the Blue Ridge Parkway, to Vesuvious, to Troutville with 5,000 feet of climbing today alone. Dusty and Jimmy are pulling me right along. Jimmy's dad Jim is an awesome support driver, he's spoiling us.
Dustin: Day two is almost as good as day one. However my butt hurts and I still can't shift, but Taz and Jimmy assure me that it will all come in time. Both nights have been free camping so far but tomorrow we will probably stay at a camp place with showers and laundry. I can't wait to get to a new state, although Virginia is okay. No strange events yet but here comes Kentucky, Yee Ha