A group shot: Me, "Mad Dog" Max, the ever so lovely Aremy and "Gum-gum Bum-bum"!
28 June 2008
21 June 2008
Two days ago we crossed the Ohio River by ferry - leaving the Shawnee State Park area in southern Illinois and entering the pennyrile region in western Kentucky! The landscape continues to be rolling but orange daylilies have replaced the echinacea I saw throughout Missouri and Illinois alongside the road.
Cyclists we've met in passing have issued the following caveat - beware of unfriendly dogs in Kentucky! A group of bikers traveling west under the auspices of Adventure Cycling said their pannier bags were ripped open by one feisty fellow. We've got one can of pepper spray but it isn't in my handlebar bag. Aremy keeps it close and I don't think she is willing to give it up! I wouldn't want to either.
Our group has settled into a comfortable routine. Aremy is our alarm clock and likes to rise early. The rest of us are always trying to convince her to let us sleep in a bit later. Every morning Max gets up last, and Alex spends most of his time trying to cajole him out of his sleeping bag. Max is our time keeper; he's the only one with a watch on the trip. Alex is our official guide; he carries the map and has only mis-led us twice! I lock up our bikes each night; luckily, we've had no problems with theft.
We've picked up our pace and must get to Virginia in the next ten days. I've bought my flight back to Minneapolis and will arrive on the 5th of July! Wishing ya'll well from the junction of Hwy 84 and 920 in rural Kentucky. I've just had a super serving of strawberry ice cream and I'm spent.
Cyclists we've met in passing have issued the following caveat - beware of unfriendly dogs in Kentucky! A group of bikers traveling west under the auspices of Adventure Cycling said their pannier bags were ripped open by one feisty fellow. We've got one can of pepper spray but it isn't in my handlebar bag. Aremy keeps it close and I don't think she is willing to give it up! I wouldn't want to either.
Our group has settled into a comfortable routine. Aremy is our alarm clock and likes to rise early. The rest of us are always trying to convince her to let us sleep in a bit later. Every morning Max gets up last, and Alex spends most of his time trying to cajole him out of his sleeping bag. Max is our time keeper; he's the only one with a watch on the trip. Alex is our official guide; he carries the map and has only mis-led us twice! I lock up our bikes each night; luckily, we've had no problems with theft.
We've picked up our pace and must get to Virginia in the next ten days. I've bought my flight back to Minneapolis and will arrive on the 5th of July! Wishing ya'll well from the junction of Hwy 84 and 920 in rural Kentucky. I've just had a super serving of strawberry ice cream and I'm spent.
13 June 2008
Alex and Aremy woke up this a.m. floating. We'd pitched our tents alongside a creek in Girard's city park - which I guess was a mistake! There really is something to the cliche "hindsight is 20-20" isn't there?! I can only imagine what people are experiencing in Iowa with all of the flooding. The rain pelted us throughout the night; the crashing thunder and flashing lightening allowed us little sleep. At 6 a.m. we surrendered and shifted soaked sleeping bags and thermarests along with our shivering selves under an open-air gazebo. I pulled out my headlamp and sat, pen in hand scribbling in my journal. Max babbled on and on about checking into a hotel room, Aremy and Alex pulled out OJ and Shredded Wheat for an early breakfast.
Aside from a few sprinkler surprises we've mostly stayed dry on the trip. We're lucky really. Snow in Nevada and a swift hail storm in Colorado stalled us momentarily, but altogether, Mother Nature has been quite kind to us. We're almost all of the way through Kansas, with only four miles to Missouri. This afternoon we'll leave the windy plains and enter the limestone Ozarks!
Initially, I'd had a bit of trepidation towards leaving the scenic vistas of Nevada's mountains, Utah's cliffs and canyons and Colorado's 14er summits. I felt pretty sure I'd get bored with the flat-lands in Kansas. Wow, was I wrong! There's been so much to see - like wildlife - we had an antelope chasing us a few days ago, there was the cutest baby fox which crossed our path, and did you know that there are zebra here too? Well, not naturally of course, they belonged to a nature conservatory.
The shaded colors of grain are breathtaking as well - deep amber, light amaranth, turmeric tans and khaki browns paint the landscape. Then, we've met a slew of cyclists pedaling east to west in Kansas, too! Most are riding in two's or three's; the largest group was an eclectic mix of six: two from the Netherlands teamed up with a couple in their sixties from Virginia, along with a 19 yr. old cycling to college in Boulder, Colorado, and a 20-something yr. old guy raising money for leukemia.
I've just been alerted my time is almost up. Have got to strap on my Axo cycling shoes and clip into my pedals. Wishing you all well and have a great weekend!
Aside from a few sprinkler surprises we've mostly stayed dry on the trip. We're lucky really. Snow in Nevada and a swift hail storm in Colorado stalled us momentarily, but altogether, Mother Nature has been quite kind to us. We're almost all of the way through Kansas, with only four miles to Missouri. This afternoon we'll leave the windy plains and enter the limestone Ozarks!
Initially, I'd had a bit of trepidation towards leaving the scenic vistas of Nevada's mountains, Utah's cliffs and canyons and Colorado's 14er summits. I felt pretty sure I'd get bored with the flat-lands in Kansas. Wow, was I wrong! There's been so much to see - like wildlife - we had an antelope chasing us a few days ago, there was the cutest baby fox which crossed our path, and did you know that there are zebra here too? Well, not naturally of course, they belonged to a nature conservatory.
The shaded colors of grain are breathtaking as well - deep amber, light amaranth, turmeric tans and khaki browns paint the landscape. Then, we've met a slew of cyclists pedaling east to west in Kansas, too! Most are riding in two's or three's; the largest group was an eclectic mix of six: two from the Netherlands teamed up with a couple in their sixties from Virginia, along with a 19 yr. old cycling to college in Boulder, Colorado, and a 20-something yr. old guy raising money for leukemia.
I've just been alerted my time is almost up. Have got to strap on my Axo cycling shoes and clip into my pedals. Wishing you all well and have a great weekend!
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