Roanoke, VA

Today we reached Roanoke, VA, a rather large town in western Virginia. Although it was 80 miles from where we started, we were luckily able to reach Roanoke before noon, allowing us to beat the forecasted 100 degree heat. We were surprised however to find that almost every hotel in Virginia was booked! Apparently a rather large quasi-hurricane hit yesterday leaving many without power in this heat. We were however able to find a room at a quaint bed and breakfast which is a converted mansion run by two lovely innkeepers. The building dates from the 1800s, and was built by a former mayor of Roanoke/state senator. It is a pretty scenic and conveinient place to stay for a night. Another important moment occurred today, which was us biking down Christiansburg Mountain, or as I like to say, the final hill. After reaching our final summit of 2316 feet, we were able to easily coast the 35 miles to Roanoke. Perhaps the greatest part of this summit however was that we did not have to climb anything but a few hills to reach the top! This is especially satisfying because we were told by a shopkeeper in the town of Christiansburg that some called the climb "worse than the Rockies!"

Wytheville, VA

Today we reached Wytheville, having a pleasant ride of 56 miles. Not only were there very few hills, but for the latter part of the trip we had a nice tailwind! We've also finished before noon, allowing us to beat the forecasted 100-degree heat. Meanwhile, the landscape is becoming similar to that of the east coast. Hills are becoming both smaller and shorter, reflecting the hills we are known to. Yet although the main reason of this trip was to travel and change our scenery, we are both very happy to finally return to the views we know so well. We were also excited to see a car with. PA license plate and one with a MA plate, meaning we are closer to home!

Abingdon VA

We covered a little under 80 miles today. It was a hot day and we were pretty glad to call it quits at Abingdon. We now have 363 miles remaining. Abingdon has a revolutionary war feeling to it, and lots of interesting hotels and resturants. Given that we made it into the final state, VA, today, we decided to celebrate by staying at a nice boutique hotel, The Martha. After rural Kentucky, it is really nice to be back in civilization again! The next three days ae forecast to be 100 degrees plus, so we will be leaving before dawn each day to try and beat the heat.

The pictures below are of Connor and I outside of Abingdon with the Appalacians in the background.

Pound VA, Wise County

We crossed the Virginia line at 7:40 this morning. It was especially satisfying as we crossed one of the last summits at the same time!

Whitesburg KY

We finished in Whitesburg KY, which is 15 miles from the Virginia border. We did 78 miles getting here. The forecast is for 100 degrees plus for the next several days, so we will be leaving before dawn to beat the heat. Honestly we both can't wait to get out of Kentucky! We were ready to do another 35 miles today to achieve that goal, but it involved climbing two more summits. Given the heat we decided to take the conservative route!

Boonville KY

We had a relatively short day today of fifty miles, ending in Boonville, KY. Because of the tire problem, and the placement of motels, we could either do 50 or 100 miles, so we planned conservatively and did 50. Boonville is where Daniel Boone lived before he moved to Missouri. The land here is very rugged, almost as much so as the Ozarks. Today was somewhat challenging. Tomorrow promises to be much more so.

The picture below is one of several beautiful barns we passed.  It is quite interesting that many of the barns in Kentucky are painted a coal/ash color.  We first noticed this outside Lenanon KY, where Maker's Mark,m a bourbon, is brewed.  All of their buildings were the same coal color. Irt seemed a bit odd givent he heat to paint something black!

One of several beautiful shots of the mountains in Kentucky.

This final shot is of the garden of the B&B we stayed at outside of Boonville.  Note the eclectic art!



Our route through Kentucky is placed squarely in the middle of the Bible belt, which you can't miss, given the scores of churches we pass every day. Lots of churches means some friendly competition for parishioners. We see that in the signs outside the churches we pass, which has made for an entertaining ride. Some of the signs take he classic 'fire and brimstone' approach: "Without Christ hell will be your home!" Others are more plain and simple: "Take a stand with Jesus." Some are more economically oriented: "Contribute to our flock and you will have salvation." Still others are a creative play on words: "Give Satan an inch and he will be a ruler." Our personal favorite, however: "God responds to knee mail."



Berea KY

We got on the road by 12:30 pm. We dropped off the car before that, and surprisingly they did not even want to charge us for using it. How nice! The heat was not too bad, but the wind ended up being a major factor, 15 to 20 mph most of the time and of course a headwind. We continue to be amazed at how often we have a headwind. Maybe that's why we have met so many people going east to west! Nonetheless we got in 62 miles, and are ready to start getting into more of the steeper hills and mountains of Kentucky tomorrow.

Kentucky; A Good Samaritan

Luckily we found a good auto shop to lend us a car this morning, allowing us to fix the bike. We will be back on the road at noon and hope to hit either Berea or McKee today!

Lebanon KY: land of hospitality?

We did 84 miles today, leaving at 5 am to try and beat the record high of 97 that was projected for today. We made excellent time for the first 60 miles, then things started to unravel - literally.

We had new tires put on both bikes yesterday in Owensboro KY. We did this as a preventative measure - to ensure we did not have any problems with our tires for the end of the journey. My back tire turned out to be defective. It started to delaminate from the inner belt. It got progressively worse and worse. Finally, Connor had to ride ahead and I walked my bike the final distance into Lebanon KY. I'm sure Kentucky is hospitable, but despite the 97 degree heat, I got passed by dozens of pickup trucks, with no one offering to give me a lift or asking if I had a problem, as I walked my bike into town! I have to be honest and say we are really looking forward to leaving Kentucky!

We will have to rent a car now to drive somewhere to get a tire tomorrow morning. But given that we only have 634 miles to go, and ten days left, even if we don't make a lot of progress tomorrow we are still in very good shape.

Hardingsburg KY, Waldo, Where's the WiFi?

We don't mean to sound spoiled, but at the end of the day, the one thing we look forward to is getting on 3G or wifi and connecting back to the world. All we get here is Edge service, so wifi is a must.

We started with the hotel. Yes we have wifi. However, the password we were given did not work, after 15 minutes of trying. So we resort to dinner + wifi. Lots of heathy choices: first, Pizza Hut. Connor: do you have wifi? Pizza Hut: ...WiFi? Connor: Yes WiFi Pizza Hut: what do you mean WiFi? Second, Hardee's. Connor: do you have wifi? Hardee's: Yes we should, but it may not be working, but it usually is! So we go there, and the WiFi, although it usually works, did not. Apparently te dial up was not working right. And lastly, we resort to McDonalds. Luckily, as we sit here, there is WiFi, and thus the update on the blog.

As for our ride today, it was adequate. Onto another town tomorrow!

Henderson KY

We did just under 90 miles today, and crossed solidly into Kentucky. We went over the Ohio River at a little before noon, which was incredibly big and majestic. We will post some photos in the next few days. Kentucky so far has been a good ride, generally flat, with modest rolling hills. We are now down to 802 miles to go!

Two days ago we ran into the 'Beijing - London' cycling group. It is a group of 15 or so Europeans that have been cycling from the prior summer Olympic site, Beijing, to the current site, London. They started in Beijing, went through Korea, Japan, flew to LA, then went through Phoenix and are headed to Washington. Then they fly to Ireland, go across the Irish Sea, and plan to make the closing ceremonies. In London Wow! They previously did Athens to Beijing, and are talking about doing London to Rio next. Talk about too much time on your hands! They were an interesting group of people to talk to.

We are having dinner tonight down by the Ohio River, which should be fun, then on for another 75 miles tomorrow!

Marion IL

Today we had a short yet long day heading to Marion, IL. We had to make a few stops after setting out from Chester, saying goodbye to our newly good friend Volker, who we hope to somehow see again along our trip. But we first stopped in Murphysboro, which was some 42 miles out. The path took us along the Mississippi river levee, which had some decent views of the river, but was mostly farmland. There was nothing but corn for miles and miles, with roads designed around the crops. After hitting Murphysboro however, we headed to our next stop, Carbondale, where we needed to have our bikes serviced. This took much longer than expected, so we ended up spending close to an hour there! But eventually we left, and reached the pseudo promise land of Marion. Tomorrow is a much awaited rest day, that we are both very happy to see arrive.

Crossing the Mississippi

We made it to Chester, IL today, which is across the Mississippi and into Illinois. Missouri ended as it started, with spectacular (read very tough and steep) hills. We thought we had hit the last one, then there would be one more hill to prove us wrong. Finally by about 6:00 pm we crossed the Mississippi into Illinois.

Chester, where we finished for the evening, is located up on a bluff overlooking the river. Lewis and Clark came through here is 1803 on their famous expedition. Our arrival was announced with not quite as much fanfare, but was satisfying nonetheless.

We travelled again today with Volker, our German cyclist, from the Johnson Shut Ins state park. It was a good day all in all with about 80 miles covered.

We also crossed the $5000 mark in funds raised for WaterAid, thank you to each of our friends and family who have donated!

Johnson Shut Ins State Park, Missouri

We had two good days. Yesterday we did 90 miles, and today we did 76 miles. Today was through the Ozarks, which were probably the steepest grades we have seen so far. The hills were 20% along route 106. Fortunately they were generally a mile at most uphill. However, after doing 15 or 20 of those, your legs are begging for mercy! The Ozarks are also some of the most beautiful terrain we have seen so far. The views are stunning, the forests lush and verdant.

We met more bicyclists along the road. We again ran into our friend Volker from Germany, who we started he trip with. We also met a cyclist from Annapolis MD, who was riding west.

We ended the day at Johnson Shut Ins State Park. We are camping here, spmething Connor was pretty excited to do. No the name does not imply a lost aunt or other relative that is a 'shut in.'. In fact the name is derived from the fact that the water is 'shut in' by the natural geology of the region.
Tomorrow we should enter Illinois and finish at the Mississippi River! We are both very excited, because that means that the next day is our very coveted rest day. We are hoping to rest in Marion, IL, which perhaps has the best slogan we've encountered so far "the hub of the universe!" Hopefully it will not be too busy however to relax!

Marshfield, MO

We are getting close to entering the Ozark mountains, which we should start to see tomorrow and the next day.  Today we made it to Marsfield, MO.  We met more cyclists along the trail - both from Europe and the United States.  On our trip we have certainly met more foreign cyclists than americans.  The amazing thing is all the international cyclists have commented on how nice and hospitable people are in the US during their visit.  It is almost a nice way of spreading good will, that these people come to the US, and enjoy our hospitality, versus the sometimes poor image other countries have of americans.

Speaking of hospitality, we also found out that people from Missouri seem to take that a bit to the extreme.  Several times while going up a hill at 8 or 9 miles an hour, we would have cars wait to pass us, until we signaled that we saw them and it was ok to pass us.  Back home I don't think people would even think a minute before passing someone on a bicycle, let alone sitting there paitiently waiting for you.

Connor and I bought a tent and sleeping bags today.  We figured it would give us a lot more flexibility on where to stay.  Some of the upcoming days, there are hotels at 50 or 100 miles, but nothing in between.  Having the option to camp one night will allow us to push on further than we might otherwise.

We also stopped at the homestead of Nathaniel Boone, son of Daniel Boone.  It is located in Ash Grove, MO (where we had breakfast).  The homestead dates from 1837, and was very interesting to see it in its simplicity.  There was a map dating from 1850 in the house, which showed the old configuration of the US at that time.

Also, we saw a confederate flag hanging from a house today. The first we've seen but probably not the last!

Everton MO (land of intervals!)

We made it to Everton MO today. We are staying at a nice little hunting lodge in honestly the middle of no where. It is owned by a couple who moved here from Chicago. The hunting lodge is a wondrous place. It is filled with various souvenirs while catering to many cyclists. There is a Transamerica bicycle trail sticker on the door much like many other places, (eg Cooky's) signifying that we are not the only ones passing by. There is also a little book for us to sign, filled with comments from other cyclists. Although the location deserves the title of 'middle of nowhere' it is as the owner said, an oasis. He was also kind enough to let us drive his truck to get some dinner. We stopped at Golden City, MO for lunch, and found a fantastic place called Cooky's for lunch, which has about 20 types of pies to choose from.

After that we got into the real Missouri biking, which is hill after hill after hill. For the rowers in the crowd, it is great interval training. You go up a 10 to 15% grade, which is short and intense, and get your heart rate up to maybe 95% of your maximum, then you have a downhill, and it all starts over. On one downhill I hit 39.4 mph without peddling! We are very glad to be out of Kansas. It is nice to have some hills and some more varied terrain to look at. The state of Missouri so far has been rural but very beautiful. We have some long days ahead, but will hit the Mississippi river in four days, which we are looking forward to!

Pittsburg, KS

Today we reached Pittsburg, KS, four miles from the Missouri border! But aside from our disappointment, today was an easy day. We traveled 64 miles today, encountering a few detours and fierce winds.

The most interesting encounter today however came when we ran into Volker, a man who I and my older son met on the ferry from San Francisco! Although he did not speak much English, it was good to catch up with a fellow cyclist who was on the same path as us. Sadly however, he is camping at night, showing that it would be hard to travel with us. Although biking across the US makes it seem big beyond any proportion, running into him again truly made it seem small.

Chanute KS (Living the Adventure)

We are in Chanute, Kansas, whose slogan is "Live the Adventure". Somewhat like the one in El Dorado Kansas, hard to fathom. As for our ride today we lived some sort of adventure. We biked 98 miles today against a fierce 15-25 mph headwind (or sometimes a crosswind).

As you can imagine we're both happy to end the day here! Yet we passed some beauty on our way here. One area was the Bluestem cattle region. It is considered the last true praise in the United States, with over 4.5 million acres, and is a major cattle producing region today. Kansas is filled with luscious landscapes (and apparently a few hills). It was entertaining to reach a few rolling hills - ones that allowed us to coast around 20 mph at different moments.

We also ran into a few other cyclists on Transamerica cycling trail, a group of men who were all over 60 heading west. Although its a small thing to say hi to other cyclists passing by, it truly is a huge motivational boost! .

Back in the Saddle! ( El Dorado KS)

We are back on the bikes. We flew into Wichita this morning and headed out after picking up the bikes in Newton KS. We got a lae start (2:00 pm) so we did not make a lot of miles today. We finished in El Dorado KS, whose motto interestingly enough is 'the art of fine living,' somewhat surprising in rural Kansas!

The geography of the area has started to change as we move further east. When we were in Leoti and Wichita, the dominant feature of the landscape was the big grain elevators, everything else was flat. That has now given way to the beginning of a more rolling landscape, as we get closer to Missouri. We actually had our first hill to ride down! There are many more trees and rivers. We started to see sandstone rock outcroppings, something we last saw in Colorado. We look forward to seeing more as we get closer to Missouri.

A word in closing on the winds. Most people will tell you if you are going across the country to ride west to east, to get the benefit of the prevailing winds. That makes sense. After all, we have all flown over the US several times, and it of course is a lot shorter going east than heading west. For whatever reason, we have had the opposite wind pattern for most of our journey. For example, today we had wind from the SE at 15 to 20 mph, which is a pretty big headwind. When we picked up the bikes, the lady told us the with wind was 60 mph three days ago! Unfortunately the forecast is for more of the same, winds from the SE at 15 plus mph. So we will batten down the hatches and push on as we go east!

Scott City/Garden City, Time for a Break!

We left early tis morning from Leoti. A little before 7:00 Connor accidentally drafted too close and hit my pannier, then the tire, then swerved and fell. We had him checked out in the ER and fortunately nothing but bumps and bruises. Usually when you fall off a bike you break a bone. He is very lucky! From here we are catching a flight back from Wichita Kansas tomorrow then taking a week off for family and work. We will resume from Wichita on the 12th of June, hopefully a little recovered!

Leoti, KS

We made it into Kansas today, officially crossing the Colorado border and changing time zones. The scenery hasn't changed much however, except for many farms and their crops. The flat land however is the best change. With winds allowing we're now able to travel from 15- 20 mph, allowing us to travel quickly. we're both looking forward to making Wichita and flying back home for a short break with the family.

Eads CO, Tornadoes

We left Pueblo CO early Saturday morning. Our goal was to get 115 miles done, which would bring us to Eads CO. Even though that is a lot of miles, given the flat terrain (and if the winds are favorable) we felt we had a decent shot of making it. We did about 50 miles, and stopped to get some sandwiches to eat later for lunch. After Sugar City CO there literally was not a tree in sight as far as you could see. We cycled on for another couple of hours, and finally came to a bend in the road where we could stop under a tree. After lunch we went on another hour or so and stopped in Arlington CO, another bendin the road, bit this time with trees and a picnic table. There we met two cyclists going the other way (from Yorktown VA), Dave and Darren. They had just crossed their halfway point on the Transamerica Trail, and were bound for Portland OR. We then pushed on to Haswell, where we stopped. From there it was 22 miles to go. The winds picked up and all of a sudden the cross wind switched to a nice tailwind and were making 23 mph. Then it picked up more, we were going believe it or not 25 mph without pedaling, 30 if we peddled. The sky became extremely dark and ominous. Across the black skies we had dozens of tumbleweeds crossing the road, and only an occasional car going the other way. There was no place to get shelter, Eads was only about 8 miles ahead, so we continued to push on. Then before us about a mile off to the right we saw a twister form, and then just as quickly unform. The wind picked up more, and visibility was less than half a mile. We got within about four miles of town, then it started hailing. I could not believe it, we went from 90 degrees to half inch hail. We continued on, and then it turned into a torrential rain. We were fortunate that there was an open shed next to a house that we took shelter in. The heavens literally then opened up. Had we been five miles earlier on the road there would have been no where to go. We waited out the storm, and then after about twenty minutes the farmer who owned the shed, David Marble, pulled up with his wife. They were kind enough to let us stay, and we sat and talked with them for about an hour while the storm blew itself out. We finally got the last three miles to Eads, very happy to see the motel and to be dry.

Pueblo CO

We made Pueblo today, which is the culmination of the Western Express trail. From here we pick up the Transamerica trail for another (ouch) 2182.5 miles, at least according to Adventure Cycling. Coming into Pueblo, and all the rush of civilization, was an abrupt change from the isolation we have had in the last few days in the Rockies. We had to get used to cars everywhere again, and lots of people. The trip today was good, in fact shortly after we left at 5:30 this morning, we saw four big horned sheep cut across the road in front of us. They then proceeded to nimbly climb a 60 degree slope of the canyon wall and ascend 100 feet above us. It was pretty amazing to see. Tomorrow is our last day in Clorado. We should make Kansas on Sunday. We leave Colorado with some satisfaction. It is one of the most beautiful states in the Union in our estimation, and was a great experience to cycle through.