I talked with both Phil and Blake tonight. They made it to Wooster, OH by about 8:00 p.m. eastern time. I guess we started talking about other things and I didn't really find out much about how the day went. Anyway, I just checked the blog (11:00 p.m.) and there was nothing there so thought I should at least let you know they got to their destination. Tomorrow should take them to Warren, Ohio...95 miles.
Tomorrow morning Jordan and I will start driving east. We are going to find some fun things to do between now and Friday, May 22 when we'll meet Phil and Blake at the Atlantic Ocean. Maisi may be able to come from Baltimore as well. I hope Blake is able to keep us posted each day--only seven to go--but if not, Jordan and I will try to keep it going from our hotel.
Good night,
Hope
Friday, May 15, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Greenfield, IN - Marysville, OH 155 Miles
They rode the 50 miles they were short yesterday plus the 105 scheduled for today for a total of 155 miles. (Although I thought they told me they went 165 miles). Either way it was a big day. Phil said the wind was on their backs about 85% of the time. Blake's tire was beginning to go flat toward the end of the day so they'll have to change that before they leave in the morning.
They arrived at an Applebee's at 8:30 tonight before they found a motel, so stopped for supper. When they finally sat down to eat they discovered just how tired they were. Too tired to blog...
Good night.
Hope
They arrived at an Applebee's at 8:30 tonight before they found a motel, so stopped for supper. When they finally sat down to eat they discovered just how tired they were. Too tired to blog...
Good night.
Hope
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Tuscola, IL to Greenfield, IN, 170ish miles (over two days)
Yesterday and today are combined into one post, because they will stick out as two of the most memorable days of the trip. Memorable? That must be a typo...I meant miserable. It was almost, but not quite as miserable as the stench I am dealing with right now...there is a microwave in the computer room, and the manager just finished nuking a dish that I can only assume is native to Bangalore, India. I am seriously breathing through my mouth right now...ah... I can almost taste it... Anyway, yesterday we had a great temperature of about 70 degrees all day. It was the only thing that kept us going. The wind was absolutely brutal, and I believe it was about 15-20 mph right in our face all day. During our first stop 30 miles down the road, there was a 12" wrench connected to the bathroom key. So, Dad entertained himself by quoting Rip Torn from the blockbuster movie, Dodgeball..."If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball!" For the last 90 miles, I could hear him talking to himself, but I couldn't hear what he was saying. Once we finally got to the room approximately nine hours later, I could hear him talking to himself in the shower. By this point, I figure he only has a few non-dormant brain cells left battling it out inside his head, but I asked him what he had been saying under his breath all day. With a belly laugh, he said, "If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball!" Well, we stayed at a Super 8, and it wasn't that Super. The morning breakfast consisted of bagels, cereal, the same waffles we have been eating the whole trip, and some of those chocolate covered hostess donettes that were about as old as Mother Teresa. That was it.
We got started this morning from Lebanon, IN, and there were thunderstorms and 20 to 30 mph headwinds in the forecast. Not too ideal. We made it 20 or so miles down the road, and we went into a Starbucks just as it began to downpour. We each ordered a regular, black coffee (which still gets me sideways looks from Starbucks employees) and began to wait out the rain. The people working were great, and one of the guys checked the forecast for us, and it looked like the rain might let up. So after about two hours, we made a break for it. Yeah...the rain never let up. It only got worse. In fact, it turned into a regular monsoon. We started to head out of the Indianapolis suburbs on a side road when we said enough was enough. After about two miles, there was no one that had passed us. We honestly thought we both might get hypothermia and perish in the middle of nowhere. After about ten minutes, we flagged down the one and only vehicle that we had seen on this particular road up to this point. Luckily it was Donny, and he brought us to the Cracker Barrel right on I-70. By this point, we only had 50 miles to go, but the rain was only getting worse, and so was the lightning and thunder. After we ate, we went and checked into the Comfort Inn right next door. As of this morning, the winds are supposed to be on our backs at 15-20 mph tomorrow. If this is the case, we should be able to do the 50 miles of make-up as well as the 105 originally scheduled for tomorrow. But, it's all about the wind. So, pray for tailwinds... I am going to bed. Goodnight.
Blake
P.S. Dad is getting pretty random with his speech by now. Yesterday, I told him we had gone ten miles instead of the seven he thought we had gone. He informed me that I "was full of yams."
We got started this morning from Lebanon, IN, and there were thunderstorms and 20 to 30 mph headwinds in the forecast. Not too ideal. We made it 20 or so miles down the road, and we went into a Starbucks just as it began to downpour. We each ordered a regular, black coffee (which still gets me sideways looks from Starbucks employees) and began to wait out the rain. The people working were great, and one of the guys checked the forecast for us, and it looked like the rain might let up. So after about two hours, we made a break for it. Yeah...the rain never let up. It only got worse. In fact, it turned into a regular monsoon. We started to head out of the Indianapolis suburbs on a side road when we said enough was enough. After about two miles, there was no one that had passed us. We honestly thought we both might get hypothermia and perish in the middle of nowhere. After about ten minutes, we flagged down the one and only vehicle that we had seen on this particular road up to this point. Luckily it was Donny, and he brought us to the Cracker Barrel right on I-70. By this point, we only had 50 miles to go, but the rain was only getting worse, and so was the lightning and thunder. After we ate, we went and checked into the Comfort Inn right next door. As of this morning, the winds are supposed to be on our backs at 15-20 mph tomorrow. If this is the case, we should be able to do the 50 miles of make-up as well as the 105 originally scheduled for tomorrow. But, it's all about the wind. So, pray for tailwinds... I am going to bed. Goodnight.
Blake
P.S. Dad is getting pretty random with his speech by now. Yesterday, I told him we had gone ten miles instead of the seven he thought we had gone. He informed me that I "was full of yams."
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Tuscola, IL to Lebanon, IN 121 Miles
I spoke with Phil briefly tonight...8:30 central time, 9:30 eastern time. They made it to Lebanon, Indiana but the headwinds were pretty bad. He said they had a real wind whipping. "It was brutal and there was nothing funny about it." I think Phil said today was one of the top two most difficult days of their trip. Anyway, they were pretty beat when they arrived at their hotel so Blake wasn't going to blog tonight. Hopefully, tomorrow will go better.
Hope
Hope
Monday, May 11, 2009
Springfield, IL to Tuscola, IL 80 miles
This was one of our extremely short days, but it was an interesting one. We left town about 7:00 and were on the country roads by about 8:00. We battled a very slight headwind all day, but it wasn't too bad. We both feel that we are now in good enough shape to handle most conditions. About 20 miles into the ride, I noticed a very annoying clicking noise going on in the axle that connects the pedals, which I believe is called the lower bracket (I know as much about bikes as Terrell Owens knows about humility, so I am probably wrong on what it is called). Anyway, we saw two ladies out cycling after about 35 miles, and we stopped them to ask if they knew where a good bike shop was. Teresa ended up taking us five miles into Decatur to a place called Spin City Bikes. The guys in there were very friendly and helpful. It was a one of a kind shop, let me tell you. When was the last time you went into a bike shop at 10:30 a.m. on a Monday and were offered a beer on tap? We decided to go with the coffee instead. While we waited for my bike to get fixed, we walked over to Jimmy Johns and ate sandwiches, and we both agreed we could eat those everyday for the rest of the trip, since we are both ruined on Pizza Hut for life. After the bike was up and running, we headed back towards our route in which we backtracked at least three unnecessary miles, making it a little longer than the expected 77 mile day. If it were over 100 miles for the day, we would have been mad about a three mile detour. The last 40 miles into town were spent going down back, back, country roads, and I wasn't even sure if we were on the right route. However, we were, and we made it into town at about 3:00. We came to the Holiday Inn Express, and Dad had a great comeback. He barely had to lift a finger for this deal, but got us a great room for $60. Then, one lady came in about five minutes later, and paid $95...sucker! PHIL'S BACK!!! But his brain is nowhere to be found. He was showing me his impression of the "moon walk" when we were in the room, which was basically an awkward strut walking straight forward. I wouldn't even go so far as to call it a "reverse moon walk." Well, we have 121 miles tomorrow. Goodnight.
Blake
P.S. I forgot to mention that at one point in trying to scare cattle yesterday, I'm pretty sure Dad barked like a dog. However, I wasn't certain if that was the tactic he was going for, nor did I ask...the world may never know.
Blake
P.S. I forgot to mention that at one point in trying to scare cattle yesterday, I'm pretty sure Dad barked like a dog. However, I wasn't certain if that was the tactic he was going for, nor did I ask...the world may never know.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Quincy, IL to Springfield, IL, 107 miles
Yep, today was just another average, dull day. We did not go for the continental breakfast this morning. Instead, we pedaled 14 miles outside of town to Liberty, IL to eat at a local place called Mike's. It had a great country feel to it, and we had a great breakfast. After we left there, we made it quite easily the next 50 miles into Jacksonville where we ate lunch. We finally had to break the pizza mold, because we do not want to ruin ourselves on Pizza Hut for life. Ironically, we ended up at a pizza place, but we both ordered gyros from our great waitress, and they were very tasty. After lunch, we only had 40 miles to ride, and I am pretty sure the wind was right on our backs. Once we got into Springfield, Dad struck out. Yep... Strike 1: Normally a pro at room price negotiations, we went to three different places, and they all stuck their ground on the price. One kid said "that price is out of the question" with a very rude tone...no time for Phil humor. We found it funny that each of these places had about four cars total in their parking lots, and that they wouldn't sell a room for a lower price when they are that empty. So...here we are at Microtel. Strike 2: Our waitress that had the personality of a robot at Carlos O Kelly's tonight carded dad when he went to pay with his credit card. He was visibly upset, and I told him not to take it personally. When you think about it, he hasn't combed his hair in three weeks, he hasn't done much shaving, he had a green coat on that he looked like he picked up from the Salvation Army, and again, the $1 flip-flops came back to haunt him. Also, the tan lines from his helmet also kinda make him look like those not-so-human-wrinkly-foreheaded dudes from Startrek. Strike 3: We got back from dinner, and Dad gave it his best effort to help himself to whatever he could find in the cupboards underneath the breakfast bar. He couldn't find any hot chocolate, so he asked the front desk guy if he had any. To obtain the hot chocolate would have meant he would have had to walk across the street to the IHOP. He wasn't about to pay for any... However, he did come back up to the room to offer me some peanut butter that he found. I asked him what he planned to put it on just as he was downing the first packet straight out of the container... he has most definitely gone bonkers. So yeah, the most action of the day happened when we were riding through a neighborhood with businesses that were predominately beauty shops and liquor stores, and about three miles from our hotel, a lady yelled "get on the sidewalk" to Dad. The sidewalks were about as clean as the Missouri shoulders. We didn't listen to her at all. That is all for tonight...I've checked the map for tomorrow 100 times, but it still says we only have a 77 mile day. We can't believe it. Goodnight.
Blake
Blake
Saturday, May 9, 2009
The past two days
Yesterday, Cameron, MO to Kirksville, MO 110 miles
Well, today was the first morning that I realized I am completely sick of the same continental breakfast every morning. Even when it is different, it is the same (somehow). The biscuits and gravy I had this morning nauseated me, but I ate them anyway. When we left the hotel, it was raining pretty hard. I was a bit nervous about the start of the day, because about two miles into it, there was a huge bolt of lightning right in front of us. Luckily, it was the only one we saw all morning. After about ten miles, we hooked up with the route that we were supposed to be on for the long 145 mile day we cut short by 30 miles the night before. It was highway 6, and it was rougher than a celebrity mug shot. There were pot holes and minimal shoulders all day. We stopped for our Pizza Hut fix in the town of Trenton after we almost got lost by going the wrong direction in town. When we arrived at Pizza Hut, there was a newlywed couple that showed up right as we were getting there. According to the graffiti all over his truck windows, it informed the world that he "Got-R-Done," and that it was now, "Beer 30." I wish them the best of luck. Before we left town, Dad insisted that we hose down our bikes. As a result, we power washed all the grease off our bikes and they were making more noise than a group of middle school girls at an 'N SYNC concert. About 30 miles outside of Kirksville, we stopped at an auto shop and the friendly guys that worked there let us use some of their WD 40. About three miles outside of town, the shoulders were not rideable. They seemed like they were gravel, and that the road crew just put some tar over it and called it a day. It wasn't even that hot out, but the tar ended up clogging up my cleats. Dad suggested that we thumb it the last three miles into town. Not more than five minutes later, Don and Sherry picked us up and brought us to the Comfort Inn. They were nice enough to wait around to see if we could get a room. It turned out that Truman State was having their graduation this weekend, and there were no rooms available. Don and Sherry then brought us down to the Super 8, and we are very grateful, because it was rush hour traffic, and we would not have made it. Well, Super 8 only had one room with one bed, so we called the Days Inn, and they had one smoking room available with two beds. We decided on that one. Before we made it over to the Days Inn, we stopped for a buffet at the Ponderosa Steak House. It was seafood night...not too delicious, but it got the job done. I need to rewind a bit and inform you of our dinner two nights ago. We ordered in Chinese, and Dad was brave and went with the sweet and sour shrimp. He woke up during the night debating whether or not he should have visited the toilet. I wouldn't have had time to make that trip after eating some shrimp at Ponderosa...I am still amazed as to how I kept it down.
Today, Kirksville, MO to Quincy, IL, 97 miles
Who would have thought a day that was so great could have started out so horrific. About 1/2 mile into the day while Dad was making up lyrics to a song he didn't know the words to and laughing to himself about it, he ran over a huge, rusty nail that was about 1 1/2 inches long. It was the first tire blowout of the trip, and it kind of sounded like a gunshot to me. After we changed the tire and had a nutritious McDonalds breakfast, our luck changed. We had great winds on our backs for the whole rest of the day. We flew for our fist 25 miles, and we came up to a cafe in a town of abut 200 people. You know those times in movies where someone walks into a public place and it falls dead silent? Well, that is exactly what happened when we walked into that cafe. After the initial shock to the town folk, we were wondering how the 14 year old kid was doing outside with the lawn mower that looked like it was ready to explode when we rode up... I think we distracted him when he saw us, because he ended up grinding up a bunch of rocks that produced a gigantic tornado of smoke. It was actually quite hilarious, if you ask me. Yep...we made a real impression. Once we started talking to everyone, it was back to normal in the cafe, and we ordered scrambled eggs and toast. After about 20 minutes, we still didn't have our order, and a table next to us said they had waited 1 1/4 hours for their order. We checked with the kitchen, and they said they hadn't started our eggs and toast yet. We scratched our order and had the All American breakfast instead...coffee, Nacho Cheese Doritos and a Snickers bar. That held us until...you guessed it...Pizza Hut after another 45 miles. Once we finished there, we took the one mile ride down to the ferry that was to take us across the river into Illinois. Yep... it is definitely closed down on the weekends...bummer. So, we had to take the Missouri side down to the interstate bridge that took us straight into Quincy. We avoided getting on highway 61 until three miles before the bridge. Once we realized there was no other way to get to the bridge except the shoulders of highway 61 (which were in worse shape than the tar covered ones from yesterday), we threw up the old thumb. No more than two minutes later, Tom pulled over and picked us up. He was a pretty funny guy, and it turns out he attended my Alma Mater of UW-Stout. Small world! We briefly exchanged Stout stories, and he enlightened us as to the time him and one of his buddies rented out a tandem bicycle from the field house, and promptly took it off a sweet jump directly into lake Menomin... my kinda guy. Well, he brought us right into the bike shop in Quincy, and it was great luck, because we made it about 30 seconds before they were supposed to close. Ryan and Greg were extremely helpful, and they fitted us with new tires and a few minor adjustments all in 30 minutes. We met a gentleman from London that was doing a solo cross country ride from L.A. to Boston as well. It's always great to meet other riders! After we left the bike shop, we went to find a hotel. So, here we are at the Holiday Inn. When we got here, Dad gave his usual opening speech to work a great deal. It was really funny, because the kid working asked if he had a government issued I.D. to get a better rate (military, etc.). Without hesitation and a big laugh, Dad busts out his government issued Minnesota drivers license. Very matter-of-fact, the kid said, "No one has ever tried that one on me before." Dad and I found it hilarious. Well, our room is great, and I am going to bed. Goodnight.
Blake
P.S. We managed to stir up a couple good cattle stampedes today. Entertainment at its finest...
Well, today was the first morning that I realized I am completely sick of the same continental breakfast every morning. Even when it is different, it is the same (somehow). The biscuits and gravy I had this morning nauseated me, but I ate them anyway. When we left the hotel, it was raining pretty hard. I was a bit nervous about the start of the day, because about two miles into it, there was a huge bolt of lightning right in front of us. Luckily, it was the only one we saw all morning. After about ten miles, we hooked up with the route that we were supposed to be on for the long 145 mile day we cut short by 30 miles the night before. It was highway 6, and it was rougher than a celebrity mug shot. There were pot holes and minimal shoulders all day. We stopped for our Pizza Hut fix in the town of Trenton after we almost got lost by going the wrong direction in town. When we arrived at Pizza Hut, there was a newlywed couple that showed up right as we were getting there. According to the graffiti all over his truck windows, it informed the world that he "Got-R-Done," and that it was now, "Beer 30." I wish them the best of luck. Before we left town, Dad insisted that we hose down our bikes. As a result, we power washed all the grease off our bikes and they were making more noise than a group of middle school girls at an 'N SYNC concert. About 30 miles outside of Kirksville, we stopped at an auto shop and the friendly guys that worked there let us use some of their WD 40. About three miles outside of town, the shoulders were not rideable. They seemed like they were gravel, and that the road crew just put some tar over it and called it a day. It wasn't even that hot out, but the tar ended up clogging up my cleats. Dad suggested that we thumb it the last three miles into town. Not more than five minutes later, Don and Sherry picked us up and brought us to the Comfort Inn. They were nice enough to wait around to see if we could get a room. It turned out that Truman State was having their graduation this weekend, and there were no rooms available. Don and Sherry then brought us down to the Super 8, and we are very grateful, because it was rush hour traffic, and we would not have made it. Well, Super 8 only had one room with one bed, so we called the Days Inn, and they had one smoking room available with two beds. We decided on that one. Before we made it over to the Days Inn, we stopped for a buffet at the Ponderosa Steak House. It was seafood night...not too delicious, but it got the job done. I need to rewind a bit and inform you of our dinner two nights ago. We ordered in Chinese, and Dad was brave and went with the sweet and sour shrimp. He woke up during the night debating whether or not he should have visited the toilet. I wouldn't have had time to make that trip after eating some shrimp at Ponderosa...I am still amazed as to how I kept it down.
Today, Kirksville, MO to Quincy, IL, 97 miles
Who would have thought a day that was so great could have started out so horrific. About 1/2 mile into the day while Dad was making up lyrics to a song he didn't know the words to and laughing to himself about it, he ran over a huge, rusty nail that was about 1 1/2 inches long. It was the first tire blowout of the trip, and it kind of sounded like a gunshot to me. After we changed the tire and had a nutritious McDonalds breakfast, our luck changed. We had great winds on our backs for the whole rest of the day. We flew for our fist 25 miles, and we came up to a cafe in a town of abut 200 people. You know those times in movies where someone walks into a public place and it falls dead silent? Well, that is exactly what happened when we walked into that cafe. After the initial shock to the town folk, we were wondering how the 14 year old kid was doing outside with the lawn mower that looked like it was ready to explode when we rode up... I think we distracted him when he saw us, because he ended up grinding up a bunch of rocks that produced a gigantic tornado of smoke. It was actually quite hilarious, if you ask me. Yep...we made a real impression. Once we started talking to everyone, it was back to normal in the cafe, and we ordered scrambled eggs and toast. After about 20 minutes, we still didn't have our order, and a table next to us said they had waited 1 1/4 hours for their order. We checked with the kitchen, and they said they hadn't started our eggs and toast yet. We scratched our order and had the All American breakfast instead...coffee, Nacho Cheese Doritos and a Snickers bar. That held us until...you guessed it...Pizza Hut after another 45 miles. Once we finished there, we took the one mile ride down to the ferry that was to take us across the river into Illinois. Yep... it is definitely closed down on the weekends...bummer. So, we had to take the Missouri side down to the interstate bridge that took us straight into Quincy. We avoided getting on highway 61 until three miles before the bridge. Once we realized there was no other way to get to the bridge except the shoulders of highway 61 (which were in worse shape than the tar covered ones from yesterday), we threw up the old thumb. No more than two minutes later, Tom pulled over and picked us up. He was a pretty funny guy, and it turns out he attended my Alma Mater of UW-Stout. Small world! We briefly exchanged Stout stories, and he enlightened us as to the time him and one of his buddies rented out a tandem bicycle from the field house, and promptly took it off a sweet jump directly into lake Menomin... my kinda guy. Well, he brought us right into the bike shop in Quincy, and it was great luck, because we made it about 30 seconds before they were supposed to close. Ryan and Greg were extremely helpful, and they fitted us with new tires and a few minor adjustments all in 30 minutes. We met a gentleman from London that was doing a solo cross country ride from L.A. to Boston as well. It's always great to meet other riders! After we left the bike shop, we went to find a hotel. So, here we are at the Holiday Inn. When we got here, Dad gave his usual opening speech to work a great deal. It was really funny, because the kid working asked if he had a government issued I.D. to get a better rate (military, etc.). Without hesitation and a big laugh, Dad busts out his government issued Minnesota drivers license. Very matter-of-fact, the kid said, "No one has ever tried that one on me before." Dad and I found it hilarious. Well, our room is great, and I am going to bed. Goodnight.
Blake
P.S. We managed to stir up a couple good cattle stampedes today. Entertainment at its finest...
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