Photos Part II

Sebree, KY First Baptist Church - great stop for the night.

Bridge crossing the Ohio from KY into IL.  That is not a shoulder - I had to ride on the road across.  Not fun, but I pulled over to take these shots.

My first new state - Illinois.  Not the prettiest place I've ever been too....

Murphysboro, IL.  

My one night in St. Louis - still managed to get a good shot by the arch.

Starting point of the Katy Trail.

Stopped at the Augusta Brewery for lunch first day on the Katy.  Pretty good pork sandwich I have to say.

Shots along the Katy.  Followed the Missouri River for a ways and gave me lots of wooded cover most of the way.  Hardly saw a soul as well - it was great!

"Standing Rock".  Apparently Louis and Clark mentioned it in the their journals as they traveled by here.

Great shelter I stayed in for the night.

Ominous, but cool-looking clouds.

Pardner's BBQ in Sedalia, MO.  Highly recommend the ribs and beans.

Getting close to end of 220 mile trail.  Will be sad to see it go.

Me in Clinton, MO, final stop on the Katy.

Finally made it into Kansas.  Road would look pretty similar to this the rest of the way.

Crossing the lower end of I-35, which I've ridden many a time up in MN to the Twin Cities.

Needed a break, and had to show off my new sunglasses.

More Kansas road and a look at the big sky around me.

Was a big fan of the clouds in Kansas.

That's it for the bike portion - didn't take a final shot in Garden City since I never reached my real final destination.  But in Garden City I was able to go check out these Bison really up close.  Pretty cool.

Photos Part I

Well I was able to upload the photos here in colorado, so I'm going to go ahead and put them out there.  Not that there will be many great photos - I wasn't really stopping to often to take great shots, but it'll at least give you a taste of what I was seeing.

Me in Kentucky after first morning ride.  

The first water tower I came across.  Until later in Kansas, water towers were always the light at the end of the tunnel as I was biking along.

Me at the big fort  in Harrodsburg, KY. 

Giant Orange Tree outside of Fort in Harrodsburg.  Pretty sweet.

Here's what my ride looked like - it's a little back-heavy, probably wasn't helping that tire out very much, as I'll find out later...

Some energetic dogs next to the convenience store I stopped at.  Luckily in cages.

First shot of me in my biking shorts.  I think I would wear this combo for about 17 of the 20 days on trail.

Homestead of the Lincoln family (Abraham), although relocated to this state park.

Me scarfing an ice cream sandwich I resourcefully found at the golf pro shop at the state park I camped at on the 3rd night.

What a road looks like.

Kentucky countryside.  

Day 19: Garden City, KS

Well got on the road early on Wed. ready to get in my short (comparitively) 70 miles day to Tribune, which would be my last day in Kansas. Buuut, just about 4 miles outside of town I first felt a little bump, which seemed like trouble so I stopped my iPod and rode a little slower listening closely to my bike to see if anything felt off. About 30 seconds later a felt a hiss of air on my leg and I could only cringe - knowing that my back tire had just gone flat and not in a good way. Flat tires are inevitable on a long trip like this -and I have already changed a few - but I knew this was different. Before looking I knew that it was actually a hole in my tire, not just a punture in the tube. I pulled in the grass, flipped the bike and sure enough saw what I feared. Problem for several reasons - the biggest being that I don't have a spare tire along with me. I did have several tubes, but that's not the problem, and I had just bought these tires new before the trip began, so I figured I could at least ride them out for the trip. Guess not.

Changing the tire at the point was useless until I could get a new tire (although I learned from some bikers coming through I could try and put a boot on the tire - use something like a dollar bill to cover the hole and could temporarily hold for a few miles - I knew I'd have to get to town. Scott City was 20 miles down the road, but was three times the size of Dighton so I wanted to got there instead of back into town. After about an hour of waiting on the road, a couple guys pulled over and offered me a ride into Scott City which I took (Joe and I forget the other name). They were from Texas, and passing through town on business - they are in the feedlot business and I heard a bit about that, although understood mostly none of it. Nice fellas though. They dropped me off at the library in town as I needed to search for a bike shop - it's harder than you may think to find the kind of bike tires i need, Wal-Mart/Target/whatever doesn't carry them. I did find a store in Garden City, about 40 miles south of Scott City, also one in Colby about 70 miles north of Scott City, but outside of that the next bike shop is in Pueblo - my final destination about 220 miles away at that point. So back to the side of the road I went, looking for a hitch down to Garden City.

I went south of the business district a ways - just down from a gas station - to try and hitch and was there for about 15 minutes before a police officer pulled over and told me I couldn't hitch in town. I told him why I needed a hitch and the obvious problem of not having a way to get to where I needed to go. This officer was driving a pickup truck - so I was actually hoping he'd pull a "you shouldn't do this, but you're in a tough spot and I can just give you a ride down there - not like I'm doing anything here anyway". Instead he pulled the "Sucks for you. I need you to go past all the buildings, out of Scott City to ask for a hitch and even then I bet if a state trooper sees you he'll tell you to stop. And even though you need to just go another mile down the road, I won't offer to at least drop you off there, but instead walk your bike and gear that mile next to this busy highway with no sidewalk or shoulder." routine. So I walked out of town and set up shop just south of the "Welcome to Scott City sign". Was there for probably an hour (by the way, roughly 99 degrees at this point, 2 p.m.) before got someone to pull over. Fellow by the name of Chris. Mid 20s, from the area but had been living in Texas recently, had in dog in the truck with him, chewing tobacco along the way as we talked. What really got him talking was hunting - he probably talked about that for 15-20 minutes - hunting big wild boar in the area (he had a skull in the back of his truck). Can't say as though I contributed to the conversation much but still kinda cool to hear about some of the stories and honestly was surprised he talked to me like I would know exactly what he's talking about - guess I figured I wouldn't be coming off as the hunting type in my biking shorts and little bicycle, but hey I'll take it as a compliment.

Anyway, he dropped me in town and I got my new tire but I was now at decision time. I had a few options:

A) Bike the 40 miles back to Scott City, get back on route but now be another day and a half behind schedule, so either push the miles more and arrive in Pueblo more like Monday night or Tuesday.

B) Bike along Highway 50 out of Garden City, which runs to Pueblo as well. A couple century rides and I'd still be there on time. But even though it has a wide shoulder, it's next to much more busy traffic and scenery is pretty poor, plus at this point the wind is blowing in my face so it would end up being a grind of a final 200 miles.

C) F it. Chill and find another way to get to Colorado at this point. Likely ride the Amtrak to Lamar, CO then Greyhound to Colorado Springs or Denver - really only public transportation option out of there. Have to pack my bike and send it back from here though, since Amtrak/Greyhound doesn't allow it.

So I've ended up choosing C, though maybe with a twist. Yes, my bike tour is done and ended in an anti-climactic way, not really as I would have pictured or wanted but not really in a bad way either. I was close to my goal and certainly could have done it physically, it was more the cost-benefit analysis of the situation said hey, you're on vacation, costs exceed benefit of finishing trail, relax. Course the train was booked for Friday (only 1 train a day, leaving at 6:45 a.m.) so I booked a Sat. morning train.

So I've got a free day here in Garden City today (day 20). It actually has been pretty great so far. Slept in a bit, went to a bookstore and picked out some good reading material for travel tomorrow and for Hawaii (I Can Die In Peace Now: Bill Simmons, Sex,Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: Chuck Klosterman, and Wilderness: Robert Shaw) read a little in a coffee shop and then took a tour of the Wildlife Preserve south of town - really cool. About 6 square miles of preserve which hold like 150 Bison - one of the bigger herds in the US. Got a private tour where we went ride out next to the herd in a Suburban and just got to watch them up close for like 45 minutes or so. My tour guide -Jamie - knew her stuff and was a good guide, and was pretty impressed by my bike tour. AND on top of that, apparently her family is headed out to Colorado to go camping tomorrow and offered to give me a lift to Pueblo. Jackpot! No early morning Amtrak or 7 hour wait for the Greyhound, so I think I'm going to take her up on that.

Anyway, I have a few things I still need to do today, but I guess the blog aspect is just about over. I may post another summary conclusion thing soon, and I will definitely post my pictures on here when I can, but that won't be for another couple weeks.

But for now I'll sign off. Thanks for reading!

Day 18: Dighton, KS

Started out from Larned feeling pretty good about my legs and pace and whole situation in general. I was going to try and push it to Dighton for the night - about 100 miles away, but after that ride I'd be done with big riding days and be able to do days of 70,80,70 and then a morning 20 in Pueblo to finish out the trip - looking pretty good after I had just finished my fifth day of riding 95-100 miles and was going to do my 6th in a row. First stop was Rush Center about 35 miles away - traffic was not great for the first half, way too many cow trucks and man those things are carrying a lot of momentum - you get pushed or pulled away every time one of them passes you on either side, you basically just stop pedaling, put your head down and turn a little into the gust so that you don't get blown over each time this happen. Oh, and my rear view mirror is useless b/c of my panniers in back, so while I can usually hear the trucks coming up behind me, sometimes it's an upleasant surprise.

At Rush Center, which is a bit of an ironic name...not much going on there, I stopped to grab a bite, only to find there was no bite to be had - not even a gas station, but did find a vending machine with a Snickers and got some water. Only had another 12 miles to go to reach Alexander, the end of map 3 for my trip, and they were supposed to have a diner there. Did that, but of course they didn't have a diner, or at least it wasn't open. But pulled into the nearby rest stop and ran into another bike tour-er who was also going Westbound - my first one of the trip! Of course he was probably 50 years old and had a bunch of crap with him, so he went a little slower than me, but I sat and chatted with him for bit at the rest stop and went a little slower on my route to Ness City so we sat and had lunch together there too. He ended up staying there for the night, but I wanted to punch out another 30 miles so I said goodbye and pushed on to Dighton.

That was a tough 30 miles. Wind was in my face, must have been going 12-15 mph so I felt like I was going really really slow and working really hard. Ended up taking breaks at 9, 17, 23, and 27 miles along the way - something I don't usually like to do, but I had the time so I figured better to be patient than exhaust myself. Also went by George Washington Carver's homestead on the way- one of the few historical landmarks I've seen in Kansas where I knew what they were talking about. Rolled into Dighton and just in time - a big storm hit that night with lots of lighting and the power even went out at the place I was staying - glad I didn't camp that night.

Was happy to get in that last century ride of the trip and feeling pretty good about being able to finish on time without any trouble....

Day 16: Larned, KS

So woke up this morning to find out the Rockies have taken over the top spot in the NL wild card race! Didn't expect that this year, and it's happening in the week I will actually be in Colorado - but their last home game for the week is next Sunday morning, which I may possibly be able to catch if I don't hit any snags along the way in the next few days.

Anyway, started on the late side today, since there were supposed to be chances of T-storms up till 9 a.m., and it felt like I was moving pretty slow to start off with the wind blowing in from the North as I traveled West. I've been lucky not to have any strong headwinds I've had to battle off yet, but the side ones are still painfully annoying. Got cruising eventually though and made it to Nickerson (about 40 miles away) a little after noon. Grabbed some lunch at a cafe there - and ran across another Eastbound biker, female computer science professor from Florida, before I headed out. There is a 58 miles stretch from Nickerson to Larned with absolutely nothing in the way of conviences, and I was assuming it would take 5 hours or so to do the stretch. Ended up lucking out that nothing bad went wrong - no flat tires or storms - more wind, but nothing unbearable. The road was generally deserted which was nice and along the way I passed by about a 10 mile stretch of wildlife refuge which was kinda cool to see. Funny though that I saw signs along the route for cars saying things like "Scenic Byway: Play audio section number 7"...and of course saw absolutely no cars along the way -- gotta love that booming eco-tourism business in Kansas.

Anyway, it was quite a long haul to get here to Larned - and I went through my whole Camelback and 2 water bottles, a 1 lb. box of raisins, 1/2 lb. of peanuts, 2 candy bars, a banana, and an orange in the process, depleting my food reserves, but I'll stock up here before moving on. By lunch tomorrow I should be completing map 3 of 4 for the trip, taking me roughly 3 1/2 days to do the 332 mile map - I'm afraid biking in Kansas has spoiled me and I'll be huffing and puffing soon enough when I reach Colorado.

Day 15: Hesston

Woke up this morning too lots of clouds overhead - a big change from the miles of clear skies the day before. I wanted to get in my first ride (35 miles, break possibility at 18) before the rain hit, but of course 2 miles in it started to rain. Pretty unpleasant hour and a half ride and I arrived into Rosalia to find their store didn't open until 11. Ugh. It was pouring out, so I took refuge at the high school - where I had to chill for 2 hours before the skies cleared up.

Booked it up to Cassoday and grabbed some lunch, but wanted to get back on the road again since I was already behind and it looked like the weather would hold for a little. The next stretch was 38 miles without anything in between, so I wanted to at least get a good portion in before bad weather hit. Ended up getting 35 miles in - 3 short of Newton before it started drizzling, but I made it here and found the library. I'm planning on making the 10 mile trip over to Hesston shortly and then possibly pushing 22 more to Buhler, although we'll see. If I don't make it to Buhler, I'll either have to do a real long, or real short day tomorrow since there is a 58 miles gap with nothing before I hit Larned, KS.

Day 14: Eureka, KS

So couple things happened before the day was out on Sat. After posting, I hopped back on my bike for a final 12 mile ride to Immanuel Lutheran Church to stay for the night, and right before I got there I ran into a couple trekkers heading the opposite way. We stopped and chatted for a few minutes - John and Jess from Greenville, SC both seemed really cool, and the funny part was when I told them I was from Johnson City, TN they got really excited. I mean I saw John's eyes light up like no one I've ever seen when I've told them where I was from. Apparently they have friends that go/went to ETSU and journey over to JC occasionally and absolutely love it. No idea why but they do.

Then the church I stayed at was pretty great. Real small, rural church but the pastor lives next door and I sat and chatted with him for a while. Seemed real nice - let me use their shower and laundry and offered up some food, and is apparently a former band director - didn't go into seminary until he was 40. Anyway, nice to sleep inside as well.

Started out the next morning and was able to pound out 75 miles to Toronto (pop 310) before stopping for lunch right before 2. The only place open in town closed at 2:00 and I got there at 1:55 so I lucked out and devoured their Sunday special. Good stuff. The owner came out and sat with me for a little too as apparently she (guessing 40-50 years old, not exactly the most fit person I've met on the trip) and her husband are planning on biking cross country next summer and wanted to ask me all sorts of questions about equipment and whatnot. Happy to do it, and hope they make it alright, but I have my doubts...

Everything is closed on Sundays, which is a pain, but makes traveling go a bit quicker. Biked on over to Eureka to end up right under 100 miles for the day, and at just past 4 p.m. I really wanted to get in a few more too, since there was plenty of daylight left, but the next place I could stay was 35 miles away and I thought that was just too far to leave to chance. Mistake, I should have gone.

Day 13: Girard, Kansas

Finished off the night in El Dorado Springs last night with a couple hours at their Founders Day Picnic. Many more people there than I would have expected for a down with < 4,000 people, and probably pretty typical fair to you small town folk, but to me it was a new experience. Got myself a double buffalo burger and a few other treats. Maybe it's because I've been living in cities/college towns for too long here but what hit me there were all the age generations that I rarely see now: little kids, lot of teenagers, eldery couples, and of course lots and lots of parents. Didn't see much in that nice 20-30 year old, non-married-with-kids demographic. Sat and listened to the muni band play a couple songs, and then a family came up and played some bluegrass for a while that was pretty good I have to say (not to mention the huge consider of a fiddle player). Ended up leaving before the last headliner band came on - kinda wish I had stayed, but I was cold and they were taking too long to set up.

Started on my way to Girard this morning and after about 10-15 miles ran across a small gas station/convenience store I stopped at. Not your typical gas station. This one was made out of wood, had the lone gas pump outside, no running water on the inside. The lady working the counter was very nice though as were the couple guys sitting around the table so I stayed a chatted for a few minutes about the trip. Then when I walked outside the guy filling up his car said hi and told me that my legs looked like they were cut from stone. Uh don't think I've ever heard that one before but I'll take it I guess. Before heading out I wanted to use the bathroom...a new experience for me (I believe) - seeing as how there was no running water, I got to use the outhouse. Well, not as bad as I expected, but I did my best to make quick work, all things considered.

Back on the road I ended up F'ing my original route plan and tried to go a more direct - but more tricky - route. Got a bit scared when I crossed what I believe was the state border (note, absolutely nothing marked this crossing except a small sign saying "state road maintenence ends here...not exactly the "Welcome to Kansas, home of the whatever" sign I would have expected) and then the road went to a T. No road signs to tell me which way was what road. That did not exactly match up with my map, so I had to take a chance and just head south and then west, hoping I'd hit highway 64 at some point. Luckily enough I did about 7 miles later, but I was a bit nervous and still don't think that road is actually labelled anywhere. The last 7 miles to Girard were kinda brutal - along a busier road with no should and 65 mph speed limit, plus what felt like a strong wind from the north (although it really wasn't that strong, but looking forward to the big winds I'm expecting in Kansas). Anyway, got here eventually and am looking to refuel and maybe get in another 10-20 miles before I call it a day.

Day 12: El Dorado Springs

So ended up getting to my destination fine but tired last night - in Sedalia, MO rounding out my first century ride of the trip. I was feeling really under-fed at that point though, so I set up my tent at the state fairgrounds with a bunch of RV's then headed out to find a BBQ place. Sedalia is a rather large town for the area - @ 20,000 people - and it's not too far from Kansas City, which I've heard has really great BBQ, and I was not disappointed with the place I found - Partner's. Got my usual Famous Dave's order of a full rack of ribs, and got fries and BBQ beans to go with it. The sauces they gave me were excellent - the Spicy in particular - the ribs had more than enough meat on them - always a problem elsewhere - and I was surprised at how good their beans were. Anyway it was a great gluttonfest to end the night.


Started out in the morning with just 35 miles left on the Katy trail. They went by too quickly as I arrived in Clinton just after 10, and found my way over to the local Wal Mart. Felt right at home in it too - had everything I needed: state maps, sunscreen, sunglasses, toothpaste, and food - and the food prices felt ridiculously low to what I had been seeing - 1.00/lb of grapes! 1.50 for a pound of stawberries! So I got food for the rest of the day and gorged myself on a Wal-Mart bench outside, 1/2 gallon of 2% milk in hand. Yes I did get a couple looks... Not going to lie though - probably will stop off at every Wal-Mart I see from now to the rest of the trip (though it may not be many) they just have what I need.

The first 7 miles off the Katy were absolutely awful. I mean terrible. On a busy highway where the speed limit is 65, and the shoulder isn't paved (at least they have a shoulder I guess) but was really rocky, gravely, uneven, and had rumble strips in it at times as well. Oh and there were a couple "Share the Road" signs with bikes along the way, I could only laugh at the thought of going 12 mph next to all these giant trucks and SUVs zooming by. Got off the highway in Deepwater to go another 12 miles along a somewhat unforgiving strech - the wind was blowing right in my face and it felt like I was pedaling really hard and barely moving. Hilly too, and a decent amount of traffic. But after a short break, I was able to turn onto a county road and then the miles just flew by. Must have had the wind at my back, but I was really eating up the miles for the next 20, then the final 7 or 8 into town had quite a bit more hills - not the long steep ones I had in Kentucky, but much more frequent and some were painful. Others have said (and I agree) that riding through Missouri on a bike is like going on one giant self-propelled roller coaster.

So I'm here now in El Dorado Springs, and apparently they have their big summer festival tonight so I'll definitely go check that out soon enough. Hoping to make it to Girard, Kansas tomorrow - the end of map 2 for my trip - and honestly can't wait to get out of Missouri.

Days 7-8-9-10

I know it's been a few days since I've posted. Things got a little messy, but here's what's been going on.

Day 7: Murphysboro, IL

I started the morning in Marion, just over 20 miles away. I had slept in a little, since the forecast called for morning storms, but of course it was great weather out in the morning and I missed a few good hours of riding. At this point, I had decided to head up to St. Louis to jump on the Katy Trail - a 200 mile long bike trail across Missouri which I'd heard pretty good things about. Since I was a bit unsure of how my route up to Louis would be for bikers, I had spent the morning looking for alternatives to getting up there but came up empty again, so I started my ride, made it to Murphysboro in a couple hours and then looked at the clouds and had to make a choice. The next town was Chester, about 40 miles away which would take me a while to get to, and there wasn't much relief in between if the weather got bad. It was about 2 p.m. and I ended up deciding to wait a few minutes and see what was coming, and I'm glad I did - soon after we got a massive downpour with lots of lighting. This storm lasted several hours as I chilled at a Mickey's, so I ended up having to just camp out at a motel there in Murphysboro. And since I was now 100 miles away from St. Louis, I knew that either I'd have to go another day behind schedule, skip the Katy, or find alternative transportation. After a bit of searching with help from Kristi (sister) I ended up booking a one-way car rental up to St. Louis. And naturally I had to bike all the way back to Marion to get the car. Ugh.

Day 8: St. Louis
So the next day, I biked back, picked up the car and drove up to the big city. Have to say I'm glad I did so, because the road I would have taken up there was terrible for bikers - lots of traffic, little/no shoulder, hilly at times - would have been awful. It felt a bit weird driving all that way - going so fast and at the same time it felt like I covered a lot of ground and it seemed amazing I'd be able to cover it in a day with I bike if I had wanted to. Coincidentally I got into St. Louis the night that the MLB All-Star game festivities were beginning, so there were a lot of out-of-towners coming in from the airport with me as I took the metro downtown. I was just a little out of place in my biking short and bike in the crowded metro. For the night I ended up staying with a friend of my friends Landen and Dan - Liz - who all went to Wash U. Got a little lost on my ride from downtown out to her place, but hey, I got to see the splendor that is St. Louis. Talk about a dead downtown - hardly saw a soul after I was a few blocks away from Busch stadium. Anyway, had a fun night hanging out with Liz, her roommate and a couple friends but I was getting antsy to get back on trail - nearly 2 days now without a good ride.

Day 9: Marthasville
Woke up early and headed out of St. Louis to St. Charles, which is where the Katy trail begins. The ride out of town - about 15 miles - was pretty nerve racking, going through a good amount of morning traffic that's none to happy to have a biker along side them, but whatever I survived. Once I was on my way on the Katy things were good though. The Katy really has to be one of the best bike trails in the nation - it's surface is crushed limestone, which isn't ideal for my bike, but I put on some thicker tires before the trip began so was hoping they would hold up on the surface. The trail is really well maintained and they do a good job of letting you know where everything is at - eating, water, restrooms, ect. As you bike along you are essentially either biking through a forest with a singular path cut down the middle - lots of overhanging trees and creeks/rivers running along side the trail - or you are next to farmland with scenic view of the bluffs in the distance and vast expanses of sky. And it seems like there is hardly anyone on the trail - I can go 10-20 miles without seeing a soul, I couldn't ask for more. Plus the overhang blocks the sun so you don't even know it's 90 degrees out. Oh, and it's completely flat. In a good way - it never tires out your legs, because you can only go about 15-17 mph anyway riding on the gravel. Stopped in Augusta for lunch at a brewery where I got a great pork BBQ sandwhich and a beer, but when I got back to my bike the back tire was flat. Ugh. So I changed it and started on my way again. Made it maybe 5 miles before it was flat again. Oh no. The trail had gotten more bumpy after Augusta and I was now afraid it would be too much for my bike. I changed it again, and was now down to 1 more spare tire (along with some temporary scabs). Started off again and 2 miles went by before it went flat yet again. %*#($#!. I could feel the trouble know, so I looked at the map and tried to figure I way I could start biking on the paved road (since I figured the trail was the problem). I couldn't reach the highway for a few miles, so I changed my tire again and went very slowly down the road (7-8 mph) and finally made it to the highway. I needed to go about 30 miles to reach the next bike store. Started and and 2 miles along, thud. Back tire out again. #(*($##%^@)#(@$#^%!)!)@*!). So I said F it, and walked the next 2 miles into Marthasville, changed it again, grabbed some dinner and set up camp for the night. I figured by back tire was just screwed and that when I went into a shop they'd tell me I'd have to get a new one or something. At that point, I wouldn't have been surprised if my trip was going to have to be cut short.

Day 10: Trebbets
So I started out the next morning, found the sheriff and asked for a lift to Herman, where I knew there was a bike shop. He would have been happy to give it, but couldn't fit it in his car. So I began walking down the highway, looking to hitch a ride. After about an hour and and a half, finally got a guy to stop - he was on his way on an insurance call, but was heading back to Washington (about 6 miles away) where he knew there was a bike shop. It wasn't perfect, but at that point I had to take it, so I hopped in, headed out to a farm to check out some wind damage to an auger (sp?) and then headed to a bike shop in Washington. After a little time, we finally found the problem. Me. Apparently I was being a bit to rough with the presta valve as I was hand-pumping the tires, which was causing the flats. They fixed me up and dropped me back off at Marthasville - the young guy working there was very interested in my trip and talked with him for a bit, seemed like a cool guy. Even gave me a free lube and chain cleaning. So it wasn't until 1 p.m. that I started on my ride - I had now missed a full day's riding with this problem. But I was able to crank out 55 miles that afternoon and made it to a cool house for the night. Basically a shelter set up for cyclists on the Katy Trail - no one works there, you just walk in and there's bunkbeds and showers, a bike room, ping pong table, kitchen area - it was really nice to have. Too bad I didn't have anyone to whoop up on in ping pong along, but there was a nice couple from Dallas staying there as well. And the place only asks for a $5 donation.

Day 11: Sedalia
So I got up early this morning and set on my way. Made it 60 miles before I took lunch here in Booneville, MO and have about 40 more to go this afternoon to hit Sedalia. Biking is a breeze on this trail and will miss it when I'm back on the roads with cars, but I'll just enjoy it while I can. If I can avoid any more problems the rest of my trip, I think I can still make it to Pueblo, but I think if I end up with anymore setback - weather, mechanical, or physical - I may have to end up cutting the trip short. I'll cross my fingers though.

Day 6 - Marion, IL

Day 6 was a long and interesting one. Ended up throwing down 90 miles today, but far my longest, though certainly not the most difficult. I was trying to cover the entire shortcut I was turned on at the Baptist Church by other riders - basically letting get almost 2 days into 1 - with the drawbacks being the scenery was nothing special and you're traveling next to faster traffic. Since I'm trying to work in my detour up to the Katy Trail though, I decided it was worth it. Problem was the weather today - from the get-go I could tell it wanted to rain, and I was dodging storms all day, but it was dry when it needed to be - and came up just 15 miles short.

Notes from the day:

• I'm now, apparently, in territory where roads have shoulders. Makes the riding a lot different. Less worry about checking constantly for cars, but I have a lot of gravel and debris I have to watch for instead.
  
• Basically no climbs today. What a difference that makes. Doing 90 was no problem for my legs - it's just the hours on my butt and arms that start to cause problems. Gives good evidence to my theory that I'll be able to bust a few 100 mile days through Kansas/Colorado for the home stretch.
• I did however get my first flat today - due to some little metal wire on the shoulder which I never saw. Luckily weather was holding at the moment, but ended up taking me probably 1/2 hour or so to change, since I was a little rusty.
  
• Honestly, how does all that gravel get on the sides of the road? Anyone?
  
• Officially out of Kentucky now (Marion, IL for the night). Aside from the first day, I ended up really enjoying the rides for the other 5 days and am guessing it'll be the best scenery I'll see along with my hopes for the Katy Trail.
  
• Crossed over the Ohio River to get into Illinois. Crossing the bridge isn't very fun on a bike, although was lucky that when I got to the top there wasn't any traffic around so I was able to stop, hop up on the slim sidewalk and take a few pictures. Didn't realize how much bridges swayed as cars go over them though - that felt pretty weird.
• Lastly, staying at a Days Inn tonight. Supposed to be even more problematic weather tomorrow, but on the plus side, I'm actually pretty impressed with this Days Inn.
  

That's all for now. Hopefully don't have to stay put from weather tomorrow, but we'll see.

Day 5: Sebree

I took off from Falls of Rough on the early side (although I had just passed the time zone change, so I cheated a little) and set off for Sebree about 75 miles away. The towns have begun to space out a little more in the area, and certainly am going through a lot more farmland now - which means more gentle slopes, and while it's still hilly they aren't the killers from earlier in Kentucky.

After a full day of riding, I made my way into Sebree (pop. 1,200) to stay at the First Baptist Church, which puts up touring cyclists for the night - I had heard from people coming the other way it was a must stop. I pulled into the church parking lot to have the minister come right out, pull me off my bike and then it was a flurry of greetings and food, food, food - it felt like I was being introduced to my new in-laws at a big family dinner, everyone saying hello, asking me where I was from/going/doing, and offering me more and more food. Apparently there had been a funeral earlier in the afternoon, and the church folk had all brough in food after the service. I was hitting the tail-end of this so I was told to grab a couple plates and chow down. And I did. Ended up with 3 plates of food - a good serving of Ham, full chicken breast, green beans, cornbread, cantaloupe, fruit salad, deviled eggs, mashed potatoes, 2 brownies and a piece of french silk pie. Took me a solid hour to gorge myself with that, but it felt good to have a full meal. Did I mention I had eaten a whole pizza for lunch that day? Of course, an hour after I was done eating I was ready for some more, but by that time everything was packed up. Anyway, the church is very accomodating to cyclists - there ended up being 7 others who stayed there last night- all headed East - and we were able to use the showers, laundry, a space to sleep for the night, really all you could ask for. It also happened to be the beginning of their town Summer festival that night, so I wandered over there for a bit - saw a lot of good Southern Cooking, there was live music going on - pretty much what you'd picture a small town festival to be, fun to enjoy for a little bit. I even noticed there was a group of Chileans there who were dishing out Ceviche - a dish I had just recently gotten to know in Peru! Wish I could have tried some, but Ceviche isn't exactly great riding food. Surprising to see it in small town Kentucky though.

Anyway, I'm back on the road now. I'm working my way through a supposed shortcut into Illinios, but there's been a lot of rain and even possible tornadoes in the forecast. My hope had been to do all 100+ miles of the short cut today, but it'll likely be less and in pieces as the weather allows. That's all for now.

Hembre

Day 4 - Falls of Rough

Been a couple days since I've posted, but I'll try to still go day by day. Day for was a pretty good ride - just over 60 miles, and only a few steep hills. The past 2 days dogs have not been a problem, however I've heard from cyclists coming the other way that they ran into a couple problems going through Missouri. I'm actually trying to work a detour into my trip where I ride the Katy Trail up in Northern Missouri (not just to miss the dogs, but a nice bonus) and once I get past the Ozarks I think I'll be home free from that pain.

Stayed in a hotel next to a state park on day 4 - the place was alright although a little sketch. Had a swimming pool - which sounded appealing - but it also looked like they just filled the hole in the ground with hose water, and added no chlorine. Yeah for water-borne diseases. Oh well, I guess I fit in at the place as I swam around in my biking shorts. I then was watching a little TV while eating dinner and noticed the headboard for some reason was a little sticky..........so I decided it was best to just go to sleep.

While problems with dogs have largely gone away I'd say my biggest current problems are as follows: I can feel the saddle seat sores starting to form, not a good sign. After about 45 minutes of riding, my toes start to lose their feeling - don't know if that's because my shoes are too tight, or not tight enough, my arms also get tired out as they end up being in a locked position for large chunks of time. Road have gotten a little more busy - no real close calls yet, but those big trucks are certainly a pain to deal with. Oh and I have trouble (meaning I can't) putting my bike in it's lowest gears, making extended hills a big drain on my energy. If I end up having to go through the Ozarks, it'll cause me to go pretty slow. Not that any of these problems are very severe, but all things I'm going to have to keep an eye on.

Better news on the next post.

Day 3 Hodgenville

Great day of riding yesterday - about 65 miles, great weather again and was able to get here by dinner time. I did have to go over the biggest hill I'll have to do for quite some time...and ended up having to walk half of it, I was out of gas as it was at the time. Saw more tobacco farms then I had been - it's nice to bike along side the rows and rows of crops insted of by front porches all day. Also noticed a couple wine farms (yes grape farms, but you know what I mean), and it seems like just about everyone out here raises horses.

Ended up camping at a county park - which turned out to be just a few baseball fields and a swimming pool, but I'll take it. No one else was out there last night and it ended up having a pretty big storm on me -- I'm lucky I got their early enough to set up my tent before it hit, but there was quite a bit of lightning and rained for several hours. It was the first storm that tent has seen, so I'm glad it passed that test alright.

Well that's all for now - I better hit the road for the day. I haven't yet gotten in the habit of waking up early...figured that would be happening by now, but guess not. Oh well.

Day 2 - Fast-Forward...Not/Lincoln Homestead State Park.Day 2 - Fast-Forward...Not/Lincoln Homestead State Park.

So before I went to bed Monday night, I had convinced myself that biking through Kentucky was not worth it. My whole day had been spent watching, waiting for dog attacks and wasn't worth the hassle. So I spend the next morning at the library trying to find buses, trains, taxi's, or one-way car rentals that could drop my off in Missouri, where I'd finish the route and stay in Pueblo for a week biking around the Rockies. Harrodsburg was about the biggest town I'd be coming across for several days, so I figured it was then or never. Of course finding transportation proved much more difficult than I hoped, and after a few hours of searching, I came to the conclusion that it was not meant to be. So I headed out, back on that trail, after lunch and put in a very modest 30 miles to the Lincoln Homestead State Park, where I camped for the night.

The biking over there was actually pretty nice. Only a couple dog chases, and one really great single lane road through some farms up on a ridge. I've found I like going in 10-15 mile increments throughout the day, stopping for a while to catch my breath, grab a Snickers, and relax - I'm so used to trying to get everywhere fast that I have to consciously try to slow down and enjoy the inbetween. On one of my stops in Mackville, KY (pop. 295) they old lady working behind the counter was nice enough to fill my water bottles and was pretty amazed at how my camelback worked. Otherwise no great biking stories from yesterday - but perfect weather really. A bit on the hot side - 85 degrees or so - but relatively no wind and no rain yet.

Yesterday was also my first night of camping. Things went alright, I guess - I ran across another solo biker, Chris, who was heading East on the trail (he started at the beginning in Oregon and had been on trail for 79 days already). There was also a golf course at the state park, so I went up to the pro shop and got a much needed ice cream bar and the lady even let me use their showers to wash up for the night. Was able to set up my tent alright and cooked some spaghetti for dinner - in addition to the broccoli and carrots Chris offered me and went to bed early - after the teenage boys who came out to play on the playground decided to leave. Watching the sunset from the tent was pretty cool, but there were a ton of mosquitos out there last night, so once I got in my tent I didn't want to leave. Also had problems with temperature last night - as it was pretty warm until sunset - I first fell asleep with no shirt on - but then got colder throughout the night. I thought I had packed my longsleeve hoodie T-shirt, but apparently not, and what I brought for a blanket is this "Emergency blanket" which is like what they put around you when you finish a marathon - that really shiny, crinckely paper material - so I whipped that out and it at least kept me not from freezing, but I'm sure Chris really enjoy me rolling around in wrapping paper all night. I think I'll be fine in the future, unless it really gets cold which it shouldn't, since I do have my arm and leg warmers, and I didn't put on my rain fly last night, and that will help keep me insulated as well.

Anyway, I should roll. Took me about a half hour, and asking 4 people for directions, to find this library so I'm little behind where I wanted to be at this point. Wish I could post my pictures so far, but no dice until I make it back home and load them on my computer.

Hembre

First day - Harrodsburg

So made it through my first full day in tact here traveling from Berea to Harrodsburg, which ended up putting about 55 miles on my bike (though 4 or so of that is because I missed a turn). Haved gone looking for my camping ground yet - hopefully it's nothing too horrible. Thoughts from the first day:

• As mentioned before, I hate dogs. For whatever reason, folks out here don't particularly like to fence in, or chain up their dogs, leaving them free to chase whatever they please. I'd say I was chased maybe 5 times today, and there were another 6 or so that didn't chase much since they were too late. No pepper spray was used, but I'd say my 2 worst encounters were first with a dog (yep, I don't know breeds, deal with it, but it was no small dog) who's house is right on a turn, so he had more time to catch up with me. Was running pretty fast right on my back wheel for a bit, but didn't end up running into me and stopped after he got tired of my yelling at him. I'd say I was most ready for disaster when I was going down this nice, wooded, single-lane road and made the turn onto a County Road, when I saw a brown blur go past me on my left. I looked over and saw a metal fence - momentary relief - but followed it and saw it just ended a few yards and and there waiting for me, in full stride, was some large barking dog, running a full few yards ahead of me and not giving up. I did my usual routine of staring straight ahead and moving into the other lane, but he kept giving chase for a little. I reached in my pocket and grabbed the pepper spray, but then he gave up. The sad part for me was that I felt like I was going at a decent pace - 17-18 mph or so - but the dog could run that like nothing. Note to self: Bikes cannot outrun dogs.
• Dogs were certainly my focal point while riding along today - didn't listen to the iPod, and was keeping an eye on each front yard for potential problems - but aside from that there was a lot of good and some more bad to go with it. I'd say the best things about the day were that after leaving around 8 a.m. this morning, I made it to my destination by 2:30 p.m., giving me another 4-5 hours of biking if necessary for the day. And that included a nice long lunch stop. Also, when I was able to relax a bit more, the scenery out here really was pretty great. Lots of rolling hills and quaint countryside. Didn't want to stop while riding, but would have made some good photography. I also noticed several 'quilt barns' which have a large quilt-like pattern over their entryway.
• My stop for lunch was what I'd call my first real 'Kentucky' experience - a small convenicence store where the owner also made sandwiches for lunch. Sat down right before the lunch rush across from a large, bearded, chain-smoking fella who'd been working the same job for 35 years apparently. Didn't stay in too long though (not used to the smokey smell...made me feel a bit queesy at the time) so went and sat out on the porch for an hour. Had a couple guys who were going in ask me about the trip - as I did stand out a bit in my skin-tight bike shorts and biking shoes which sound like tap shoes - all seemed nice enough and everyone knew each other.
• As for my legs it was a promising, but far from making me confident in the rest of the trip. Some of the hills out here I had a pretty tough time with, and I have a feeling I'll see worse in the days to come. Ended up walking the last portion of a couple of 'em. But I do think they still have good spring and recovery time - so as long as I don't have to sit and do 40 miles non-stop, I think I'll be able to pick up my mileage as needed.

I'll leave it at that for today. My next stop will be Bardstown, which appears to have a library, so hopefully I'll be able to post again, but we'll see what time I get in there.

False Start...but I'm heading out tomorrow, really...

So I'm two days into my trip and I'm already 2 days behind. I was at the beach in South Carolina last week, and made my return trip home to Johnson City before I was going to head out on Sat. for my bike trip. Well I ended up getting home at like 6 to JC, and was running around trying to make sure I had absolutely everything I wanted for the trip (namely pepper spray...apparently the dogs throughout Kentucky are notorious for attacking bikers...anyone who knows me knows that that poses quite a problem...). Anyway, around 11:30 at night, while still working away to get ready to leave early in the morning I finally said, nope, just put it off another day - that's what having flexibility is all about. So I did, and then waited until this afternoon for my parents to get home so one of them could drop me off at my starting point.
Anyway, I'm here at last in Berea, KY and am ready to hit the road tomorrow morning. My expected route will be about 50 miles to Harrodsburg, KY and I'm interested to see how it goes. There's a chance I'll ride into town at like 3 p.m. and be rearing to do another 20 miles...but more likely I'll be huffing and puffing and dragging into town at like 6 p.m., only time will tell I guess. The toughest biking will be at the beginning of the trip, so I'm taking the first few days and trying to go at a slower pace and length so I can gauge my endurance a bit better - though this will mean I'll need to do more 80-90 mile rides through Kansas when I come to it. Yipee.
O.k., didn't really have much to say here so I'll sign off for now. If my next entry from anywhere but a hospital where I'm recovering from a dog attack, I'll be happy with whatever progress I've made.

Erik

P.S. - I HATE dogs. HATE. More on this later, I'm sure.

What I'm doing

So I've decided to spend about 3 weeks this summer biking across the country. Wanted to keep people updated who either are interested in my trip or are just bored at work and want to laugh at my likely failures, so I'll try and keep this blog up to date. Figure it's a lot easier to explain the What than the Why of my trip, so here's exactly what I'm planning on hopefully possibly doing.

I'm setting out on the TransAmerica Trail starting in roughly Haysi, VA (starting stop still TBD) and biking to Pueblo, CO. The TransAmerica Trail is a collection of biker-friendly roads (or as biker-friendly as they come in the area) assembled by the Adventure Cycling Association that runs fully from coast-to-coast starting in Yorktown, VA and traveling 4,200 miles to Astoria, OR. My projected route will take me roughly 1,600-1,700 miles over (hopefully) 23 days or so starting this Sat. (July 4th) -which averages out to biking over 70 miles per day. http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/transamerica.cfm
I have mapped out my proposed route on a google map, which I'll link to when I can, but for the moment am on a library computer which must be from 1998 since it doesn't have enough processing power to open it.

Here are answers to the questions I'm usually asked when I tell someone I'm going on the trip.

Q: Are you crazy?
A: Yes.

Q: Where will you sleep at night.
A: A mix between campsites and motels. I'm bringing along a 1-person tent and air pad to sleep on.

Q: What all are you bringing.
A: Not that much, all things considered. Less than 20 lbs. of gear, not including water weight. I'm carrying 2 panniers on my back-rack, and I'll have in it a couple pair of biking shorts, 2 biking shirts, couple pair of socks, my biking shoes, another pair of shorts and a T-shirt, my tent and air pad, couple spare tires and tire levers, tire pump, hex key, rain jacket and cover for bike and panniers, my camelback and a couple water bottles, maps, mini first aid kit, mini stove and basic camping cookware, sunscreen, insect repellent, toiletries, pepper spray, leatherman, and that's about it.

Q: Is there I reason you are going in the hottest month of the year?
A: Yep. Adds a challenge. Who doesn't enjoy a good several hours of biking through the flat pains of Kansas during 100+ degree heat.

Q: Who are you going with?
A: Um...myself.

Q: No really, who are you going with.
A: Seriously, just myself. Aside from the obvious roadblocks(time off/cost/physical ability) involved with trying talking someone into joining me, I am looking forward to the chance to do something challenging like this on my own. Certainly makes things as flexible as I'd like them - can go at whatever pace a feel like, stop where I want to stop or detour as I see fit - as hey, if I get halfway through and decide I want to quit (which I realize is certainlly possible), doesn't make me feel guilty for putting the other person off by themselves.


I have no idea what my internet access will be like throughout my trip but I'm going to try and between staying at motels occasionally and having libraries pointed out on my maps, I hope to be able to give a couple updates each week. I will likely not be able to post pictures until after I get back home (August 9th).

And lastly, in the off chance you know anyone that lives somewhere near my route, or if you'll be in the area, and want to either offer up a place to crash for a night or stop by for a visit - let me know.