6/28/07 2:24 PM Sauk City, WI Afterthoughts

Ted and I wanted to add a few thoughts to our blog for the next time around. It may be not all that interesting but other present or future bike tourists might find this helpful.

1. Would we do this again? Yes, we will although we realize that some wouldn't as it can be hard and unpredictable. you need to be patient and tolorant of occasional discomfort.
   
2. What's the biggest change we would make? More rest days. We cranked too hard too long to make it here on time.
3. Shorcomings in terms of equipment or changes in what you would bring?

• Andy would use a more heavy duty frame. While the Volpe worked okay itbent and wiggled more than I would like. Ted's bike was very solid in comparison.
• Ted had a pair of Avid Shorty 4 caliper brakes that were not really adequate. My bike had short pull v-brakes that worked brilliantly even with a heavy load.
• My rear cassette was a 12-28 and could have keen stretched at both ends. Ted had an 11-34 that worked really well.
• If going through any part of the southwest you need thornproof tubes. I left without one in my front tire and probably patched it 8 times before I picked up a thicker one in Las Vegas, NM. Interestingly enough that tube blew out in Kansas and we replaced it with a regular non slime thin tube and it worked for the next 1000 miles without incident. Ted never had a flat.
• We broke 3 bottle cages. Make sure that the ones you have are high quality and in good shape before you go. If not bring spares as insurance.
• Don't be miserly in terms of water storage. We carried over 2 gallons of water between us in NM. We never ran out but we did drink most of it up.
• Bring high quality biking shorts that you have worn before as well as chamois lubricant for those ocassional hotspots that develop on a hot day. We had three different types of shorts and the $25 Performance shorts had shortcomings that the other higher quality ones didn't.

Finally, don't plan exactly where you will go and stay. Things change too much and you need to react to circumstances. Do plan generally though. Plan for the big picture and let the details unfold.

6/27/07 Roxbury, WI

We made it!

After leaving the town park in Wauzeka we put in a good strong day of pedaling, coving 78 miles (more than I thought) before arriving at my brother's house at about 4:30 pm. The riding was beautiful as we covered level ground along the Wisconsin River. The Wisconsin River has an almost unbroken wildlife corridor consisting of lush wetlands and prairie/forests. We appreciated the efforts of the Wisconsin Dept of Natural Resources as all of the creatures who live there do too!

During most of the day we rode hard because we knew where we wanted to be. After lunch we rode even faster and, I'm sure, made record time getting here. I gave Bob a call when we crossed the river and headed out of Sauk City for his farm and we were delighted at our welcome party as we chugged up the steep gravel driveway for the final few yards of a long ride.
I am happy.


Ted on being finished:
Well, we're done. finished, and we're going to mail the bikes back home to ABQ. I wish we could ride back home, but unfortunately no such luck. With our schedules, and all that jazz, it just couldn't work. But I'm also happy to be finished, it's nice to have a bed, and warm water, and not have to pack up evrey morning. It's nice not to have to worry about where I'm gonna sleep tonight, it's nice to have a place to take off my contacts, it's nice to have a warm shower evrey night. I am very happy to be here.

Mileage today: 78 miles
Total mileage for the trip: 1571 miles

6/26/07 10:18 PM Wauzeka, WI

We left the park later than I would have liked but we didn't wake up
very early. We rode thru level country before heading into an area
that was much hillier. We went past a number of Amish farms and saw
some horse drawn traffic on our road. The green shirted children
seemed very interested in us and one even chased us. The road we
planned to get us down to the Mississippi River was under road
construction but this time we had no problems passing the asphalt
pavers (same operation as before) and the foreman was very helpful.

It was or very hot day today and we were drinking a lot of water,
about 2 gallons each over the day. After climbing out of the
Mississippi valley on a wrong tum we added some distance to our trip
but gained another memorable descent. Eventually we ended up on a big
bridge crossing the river and we were in Wisconsin.

After grocery shopping at the Piggly Wiggly (new store chain and new
food choices) we headed east on Hwy 60 paralleling The Wisconsin
River. Highways in this state are several notches better than Iowa
simply because they have paved shoulders with some width.

We wanted to cover at least 80 miles today and we did. Usually,
however, a camping place or hotel appears when we need it. Tonite it
didn't as easily. On the advice of the Sheriff we are camping in a
spacious and well mowed city park tonight.

I think we have only 60 miles to cover on our last day.

Ted, on mood swings, and the signs of hapiness:
It's amazing what a granola bar can do to one's outlook on life. After
making a wrong turn, and grinding up a number of hills, I was in a
foul mood. The kind of mood that makes bad vibes you can feel miles
around. When we stopped for a break, I had a granola bar. Suddenly the
sun was happily shining, instead of beating down mercilessly. I was a
little put off by how fast my mood had changed. Soon after, I began
noticing good signs, like trucks on wedges (8%), and squiggly arrows.
There was a fast twisted road leading down to the Mississippi. I think
I hit 50 at least. Coupled with steep turns, that was the most fun
I've ever had breaking the speed limit.

Now, bed.

distance today: 86 miles
Total mileage: (Ted's odometer broke and I don't want to do the math now)

6/25/07 10:58 PM Backbone State Park, NE, Iowa

As I sit here with a full stomach after a long day of riding the day
blends together into a green blur. More corn, cows and beans, but not
in any pejoritive sense --it's actually quite beautiful.

At lunch we were joined by another rider who was out for a day jaunt.
He was very envious of our trip and would have joined us but thought
his wife would object. He recently retired and had time to ride his
bike more. We had covered only 40 miles but he said he had already
clocked 120 miles! He planned on making it a 200 mile day. At his
average speed of 18 mph that's still a much, much longer day than we
would consider. Our longest ride so far has taken us only 8.5 hours.
We were inspired. Up to just west of Des Moines we had seen no riders
at all but today we saw several and yesterday we even saw a loaded
tourer going the other way. We have been told by many about the
Ragbrai, which is a ride across the state with up to 10,000 riders.
People camp all over the place and folks open up their yards and
homes for general use. We can only imagine. Aside from complicated
navigation, that's all.
We are camped in a beautiful park, complete with big trees, limestone
cliffs and clear running streams. It's a cool and quiet night with few
mosquitoes and we are enjoying it greatly.

Ted, on raccoons, and the Holy Gloves:
At the moment, I am having rather poisonous thoughts towards a
certain raccoon. While I was showering, and dad was on the phone (at
the top of a hill) one of the little pests broke into our noodles, and
our breakfast and our powdered milk! Soon after, the beast was back. A
few feet away from our table, and us, as we were eating our (very much
boiled) dinner. We hissed at it, and showed it our fangs. That's
scared the bugger(s?) off!! In other news, my gloves have recently
become the holiest things around. They're positively papal, and
therefore well ventilated. Not quite as...whole as they used to be.
They're better than blessed, and they're also comfortable on a saintly
level. Needless to say, they needed replacement after being
sanctified. They only become more powerfully Popelike the longer I
wear them. I fear soon they shall become holier than the Grail itself.
Really, though they've got more holes than a than your oldest pair of
socks. And on that note, I shall leave you so I can fend off vicious
hoards of noodle craving raccoons, in

6/24/07 10:06 PM Tama County, Iowa

We gladly left Adventureland and guessed our way towards another 25
mile section of abandoned railway. We really love those trails and
this one didn't let us down. We desert boys were loving the green
tunnels we rode through and large rivers we crossed. After a grocery
stop and lunch in the small town of Baxter we proceeded to "up (north)
and over (east)" our way through sometimes flat and sometimes hilly
cornfield/soybeanfield/cowpasture central Iowa.

We normally find a wifi hotspot at any library, open or closed but we
struck out twice today so we missed posting. We'll surely hit one
tomorrow as we are probably going through more towns with libraries.
Sometimes we get lucky and we pick up signals on sidestreets when we
pull off on to rest or eat but I would rather be legit and use a
signal meant for the public.

With only a few days left before I need to be at my brother's house I
want to he sure that we get there on time. It's hard to judge
distances since we don't travel in a straight line but I'm pretty sure
that we'll arrive on Wednesday. To do this we plan to ride so miles
and then find a place to stay. Today I couldn't figure out where we
would stay as we rode past a nice hotel at 70 miles but, as it always
seems to happen, we saw a sign to or county park in 5 miles. Knowing
nothing about the place we were very pleasantly surprised to find it
to be absolutely lovely. We are in a quiet wooded private campsite
surrounded by thick forest. There is only one other group here and
they are out of sight and hearing for us. We are very happy still.

Ted, on RVs, and chipmunks:
The RV, the motor home, house trailer, whatever you call it, they're
the biggest thing on the roads. These massive behemoths sometimes
measure up to semi-trucks, and are almost always bigger than busses.
I've often thought about living in one, but then I see the price. I
did meet one man who lived in his gargantuan trailer, his comment was
''I live very comfortably in there. It's better than a pre-fab, and
cheaper, too!''. I have been 'camping' among these metal titans for
too long, so now is a nice change. We're camped in a woodsy area with
lots of wildlife nearby. Chipmunks are the most common, but there are
some deer roaming about. I've seen both kneeling on a deer trail
leading out of our camp. It was very peaceful, and I was just waching
all the world go by. Happiness.

Mileage today: 79 miles in 5.9 hours
Total: 1311 miles

6/23/07 10:56 PM Atoona ,IA

We left Creston under very low overcast skies that stayed with us all
day. We rode north and east on low traffic county roads in various
states of repair. The countryside actually became flatter or maybe the
hills became gentler. Either way we didn't suffer the severe up and
down hills we had been riding for the last several days. After 50
miles we stopped for lunch in a small town with a bike path running
through it. We saw the first real bike riders since we left Abq.
Because the path ran on an old rail bed (thank you Rails to Trails) it
was flat and isolated. At times we rode through tunnels of trees -- we
felt like we were in the jungle. The path took us all of the way to
central Des Moines.

Yesterday a big storm in hit one area we rode to and there were many,
many trees tht had fallen and that were freshly cleaned up. We saw one
semi-truck trailer that had blown over, and the path was flooded at
times so we had to detour. Once we got to the downtown we were advised
by bilars to ride up the main drag of the city right past the capital.
The traffic was fine and the view grand. At this point we were quite
ready to stop but all of the hotels were full so we kept riding on
bike paths until we came to this town where all of the hotels were
full as well. Fortunately we found an empty spot put up our tent at
Adventureland. We think Adventureland is some sort of amusement park
but I have never been in such a packed and large "campground." Either
way its not well named but the showers were great.

Getting thru Des Moines was an adventure but we're certainly ready for
the country again tomorrow.

Ted, on Lamborginis, and inner city safaris: today was interesting in
that we rode through our first real forest. I also saw a Lamborgini
Countach sitting in a parking lot, with the owner nearby.
Unfortunately, the engine was unaccessable due to a complex hood
mechanism. *pout* so, after a few photos for proof, we headed on, and
soon got into the city at which point, we proceeded to wind through a
complex maze of winding, muddy and sometimes flooded paths. After a
few miles, the bike path was covered in large brolen branches, due to
a violent storm the night before. The path ended abruptly, dumping us
on the corner of a busy intersection. From there we navigated through
Des Moines, and we got to our campsite (Adventureland!) and promptly
ate and slept. But its sprinkling now, so g2g. Bye.

Mileage today: 102 miles in 8.5 hours total miles: 1,232

Photos stuck in camera

I'm trying to upload the photos in my camera but cannot get them onto the computer in this library. All well here stay tuned...

Andy and Ted
La Porte City, Iowa

6/22/07 9:33 PM Creston, Iowa

Today dawned darkly for 2 reasons -- it was cloudy and the stove was
broken and I couldn't make any tea! Our old Coleman multifuel store
was acting up and it finally stopped working this morning. As Ted
packed up the tent I took the stove apart to try to make it work. I
ended up breaking it pretty conclusively. With that we left, heading
east. After about an hour we came across road construction that closed
the road (unmarked). The foreman refused to let us pass even if we
walked our bikes along the fenceline. Our only option was to turn
back and add ten or 15 miles to our trip or go around them. We ended
up going around them through the adjacent field and it seemed easy
until we had to cross a deeply cut stream with a lot of mud at the
bottom. Somehow we got the bikes across but I was in muck up to my
calves and I only luckily held onto my shoes. With very dark and
uncharitable thoughts towards the unhelpful foreman we got our bikes
back on the road after washing up in a bigger stream without mud.

We had lunch in friendly Corning and had our faith restored in people
following very helpful encounters in the library and grocery stores.
Besides, a full stomach can make a big change in your outlook.

Creston is a large town complete with traffic and a Wal Mart
Supercenter. Much to my surprise we were able to buy a replacement
stove there, slightly bigger but useful nonetheless. As we left the
store the skies were menacingly dark so we checked into the new Super
8 motel next to the Wal Mart. It was wise move as storms have moved
thru all evening. We had a light day today in terms of mileage.

Ted: On Wal Mart, and much needed tea.
If there is one thing I cannot wake up without, it is tea. I came to
this rather unpleasant conclusion this morning when our stove quit on
us as a result of using motorboat fuel. It was as if my mind had been
in the sauna for too long, it was foggy, if not useless. So we went
without tea, and the day was awful. From stream crossings in ankle
deep mud to sub 50 mileage, it was bad. We ended up going into wal
mart. The amount of...stuff, mostly cheap, and plastic. They did,
however, sell all but one thing we needed, and we left somewhat more
fortunate.

Miles today: 48

6/21/07 9:58 PM Stanton, Iowa

After resting in Shenandoah we continued down the road on seldom
traveled paved county highways. It seemed that we went either downhill
or uphill -- few to no flat parts. The day was cloudier and it cooled
off somewhat as the day got later. Still, it was nice to roll into
camp and shower off the salt deposits and sunscreen.

It turns at that we camped in the wrong spot. This site has
electricity and we didn't pay for it. Of course we don't use any
either and the camp is almost empty but the ranger was undeterred for
a minute or so. When we promised to he gone 1st thing in the morning
he relented. Being bike riders who look tired has some advantages.
Iowa seems to have nice parks if this place is any indication of the
others. We are camped on the side of a nice lake and the shower are
clean and warm. I seem to be regressing to the point where the only
things that really matter are food quantity, wind direction and shower
quality.

Ted, on bug spray, and hills:
Today's riding was some of the most tiring we've ever done. But once
you get over it, like evreything else, it's fine. Apparently the
Misourri River was miles wide at one time, due to glacier melt off. We
spent most of the day riding out of the river banks. Speaking of
banks, the lakeside campsite we have has no mosquitoes...bwuh? Seems
like they sprayed the whole lake. It is very nice not to have to use
bug spray. The fireflies are sparkling, so that's my cue...g'night

Mileage today: 72 miles

6/21/07 3PM Chilling out in Shenadoah

We have been riding through Southwestern Iowa and we are enjoying the beautiful country. Once we left the very wide Missouri Valley we climbed into the Loess Hills (top 2 pictures). Loess is windblown glacial sediment that is found very thickly along the eastern banks of the larger rivers in the upper midwest. The sediment particles are very angular and they hold together nicely to make steep cliffs and banks. It is very hilly here. No sooner do we struggle up a steep hill then we fly down it on the other side, all in a matter of 3 minutes. The temperatures are in the low 90's and the humidity is at its usual Iowa summer level (uncomfortable) so we took a break from the heat of the day -- ate in a Chinese buffet then found the town library. We are now in Shenandoah, yet another beautiful midwestern small town with friendly people.

6/20/07 8:33 PM Nebraska City, NE

I'm sitting on the banks of the Missouri River looking at Iowa about
200 yards away with a full, full stomach.

Today was another good day of traveling. We left Beatrice with cool
temps and light winds. Eventually it got pretty warm and the light
breezes turned into moderate tailwinds. The land turned quite hilly
and we used all 27 gear combinations in the process of climbing at 7
mph and flying down hill at 35 mph. After a leisurely lunch at the
county courthouse lawn in Tecumseh we rolled north towards Nebraska
City. At some point between lunch and here we passed our 1000 mile
mark since leaving Albuquerque. Coming into town we ate at an all you
can eat buffet then rolled into camp along the river at the north end
of town. After showering we were treated to fresh fried catfish by our
neighbors, unfortunately we were so full we could hardly eat any more.

Ted, on happiness and all you can eat buffets:

Ahh, the glorious all
you can eat buffet, invented by man, for hungry cyclysts. At least,
that's what it seems like to me. After riding our (2 to the power of
10)th mile, we were pooped. When we reached Nebraska City, we thought
we'd hit the campsite, set up camp, have our usual dinner of fish and
noodles, and sleep. But soon our plans were inturrepted by the sight
of an all you can eat buffet. All previuos thoughts of having canned
salmon were shattered by this glorious beacon of unmatched culinary
perfection. Needless to say, we ate there and left with the
comfortable feeling of at least 4 generously loaded plates of Italian
food (each) in our almost too full bellies.
Having finished my rant about the holy status of an all you can eat
buffet, it's time to go on to a much deeper topic. The feeling one
gets from having ridden over 2 weeks isn't one you get often. Having
your whole life on your bikes, being able to stop and talk to all the
people in all the little towns. Do that thing you've always wanted to,
because if you don't you may never get to it. Live the life you've
imagined.

Today's mileage: 79 miles in 5:45
Total mileage: 1012 miles

6/19/07 7:56 PM Beatrice, Nebraska

After a leisurely departure from Edgar we launched in to a moderate
direct headwind as we rode steadily eastward. We were able to do only
about ten to fourteen mph on the level. Most of our ride was quite
level with occasional small dips for stream crossings. We had a late
lunch in Daykin and another large snack in Plymouth before pulling
into Riverside Park, a beautiful and spacious city park in Beatrice.
Many of the towns we have ridden though welcome camping in the parks
and offer water and electricity as this one does. It's green and still
humid here. After the rain yesterday it cooled down and got slightly
less humid. In the evening (now) it has cooled off nicely.

It looks as if we will probably only make it to Nebraska City (on the
Iowa border) tomorrow night. At this point we on, or ahead, of
schedule to be at my brother's house in 8 days. We are still enjoying
the timeless and carefree life that riding or bike across the country
can enable. We feel very fortunate.

Ted, on wind and picinic tables: I feel very pleased right now. While
it was a fairly boring day, and the headwind was a bugger, we just
rode, and made decent mileage. Once you get over the headwind, it was
easy. At the moment we're sitting on a picinic table, with our stuff
all set out, and no shirts on, cooling off nicely. The fireflies have
just come out.

Mileage today: 69.4 miles 5 hr 45 min
Total: 933 miles

6/18/07 11:30 pm Farm pictures

We have had a very nice day staying with John and Lynn Greer. After a relaxing morning Ted and I used John's well equipped shop to finally clean our chains and derailleurs. They have been squeaking after we hit a lot of rain one day and they were sandy from a wet dirt road we travelled one morning in Kansas. It's a messy job but you are rewarded with a shiny chain for a day or two.

Since it was still pretty wet we went to the Sedan Grain Elevator and met the manager of the facility. I had all sorts of questions about where the grain went, how it is moved and who buys it. What I learned is that there are many, many new ethanol fuel plants being built in the midwest and this will dramatically alter the existing supply and demand for corn. This is presently reflected in the high commodities future prices for corn. How this all plays out in the end with supply, demand, markets and price is unknown. As John said the future will be interesting and full of possibilities. Afterwards John needed to go check on some calves in a pasture down near the Little Blue River, a few miles away. Ted was thrilled to have the opportunity to drive there on an ATV. On the way we passed by the Oregon Trail close to where it crossed the river. John told of finding old china in a nearby field from an Indian raid in 1864. In the forest by the river it would be difficult to guess that you were a short distance from the flat fields of corn, wheat and beans.

After that John took us to his very large equipment barn and we got to see the combine, planters, mowers, trucks, cultivators and many large tractors. Ted even had a chance to drive one around.

This has been a delightful day. I don't think we could have had better hosts and we are very grateful. From here we will be headed across southern Nebraska for the next day and a half before we cross the Missouri River and enter into Iowa on Thursday.

6/18/2007 9:00 am Edgar, NE

I awoke in a bed this morning and looked out of the window to very grey and threatening skies. Shortly afterwards the thunder and rain followed. We had already agreed yesterday to take a rest day at John and Lynn's. We have laundry and bike maintenance to do not to mention that we have been riding long distances every day and our bodies could use the rest! I was reminded of this as I just climbed a set of stair and felt my slightly sore and tired legs!

It's good to be inside!

Ted, on houses and motors: the nice thing about living in a house and such is that one has a bed, and blankets to cover you, not to mention easy shelter from the rain. We're staying in the house of a friend's second cousin. It is a working farm, and has lots of...engines. If one goes back about 120 meters, you would find several large V8 engines scattered about. these have, doubtless been used for pumping water onto the fields, as we had seen others like those doing in western Kansas. These engines can be found running 24/7 sometimes muffled, sometimes not, at about 6,000 RPM next to fields. It's not surprising that many of them wear out, and can be found lying around behind silos and such. I also found many other motors, only these are in tractors. the poeple we're staying with have tractors. 7 that run, and one in the process of being restored. These tractors are enormous, and look as if they could pull a mountain. One has a large block of concrete on the front, I'm guessing to keep it from going nose up wheel it's pulling a...dirt ripper thing. Anyways, life is good when you wake up in a bed. Ciao

6/17/07 7pm

Today was a cyclist's dream. We awoke to the sun and a stiff southern wind. That was good since most of our day was to be traveling north out of Kansas and into Nebraska. The wind began at about 15 kts and increased during the day to about 25 kts. There were many times we were cruising down the highway on a level stretch at 30 mph with our tires humming on the concrete. At that rate the miles flash by and it's pretty exciting. We ate lunch in Mankato, Kansas amongst thick trees. We continued north into Nebraska and entered the state through the town of Superior. While there we couldn't refuse the Subway special offer of 2 foot long sandwiches for a great price so we ate lunch again. We ended up at the farm of John and Lynn Greer south of Edgar, Nebraska. John is Sheryl Chard's cousin and she graciously arranged for us to connect with them before we left.

Total mileage today: 80 miles in 4 hours and 46 minutes
Trip total: 865

6/16/07 11:27 PM

The highlights today, as we rode east along US Highway 24 towards our
destination of Glen Elder State Park, were small towns, lush foliage,
friendy people and a large ball of twine.

Many of these towns are paved with bricks and have very active and
tight knit communities. They are very inviting places. At the grocery
store in Osborne almost everyone stopped and asked us about what we
were doing. The whole staff and some customers came out to watch us
pack our food into our bags. They were curious how and what we
carried. We also came upon the world's largest ball of sissal twine in
the town of Cawker City. We had a fine time talking with the 2 nice
ladies who were acting as caretakers to the ball. They even got a roll
out for Ted so he could add some more string to the ball. He never
asked for it, they just gave it to him and told him to tie it on some
where and start walking. One of the women had done a whole series of
famous replica paintings (Mona Lisa, Worhol, Dali, Rockwell, Kahlo,
Van Gogh, etc.) with hulls of twine included somewhere in the picture.
They are hanging in many of the shop windows of town. Very bizarre
but a must see if you ever go to Cawker City.

We somehow lost track of time today hanging out in parks, libraries,
and eating. We rode only 5 and a half hours but by the time we got to
our campsite the sun was on it's way down at 9 pm. After tea, showers
and dinner we find it late.

Ted, on motorcycles and yogurt:
I have been eating enormous amounts of yogurt and other things of that
genre (like cottage cheese). Just today, I have eaten a litre
container of yogurt, 3 cup size yogurts, and a tub of cottage cheese,
yet I still find myself wondering if they have any yogurt in the bait
shop. Another thing I have noticed is that the consumption of yogurt
seems to attract motorcycles. The more yogurt like substance I
consume, the more motorcycles pass by! Today at a small park outside a
town, there I was, just finishing off my last cup of yogurt after 2
cups of the stuff, and a quart of cottage cheese. When what seemed
like all the Harleys in Kansas passed on the highway. For most of
them, I think it was an alternate life as motorcycle guy, as most of
them were over 50, and overweight. Some whooped and waved, while
others sinply scowled at the weirdos without engines. All in all, I
like this part of Kansas, with all the small towns, tight communities,
and twangy midwest accents. However, it is late, andi must sleep.
TTFN, tata for now!

Mileage today: 74 miles in 5 hr 30 min
Total: 785 miles

Ted writing:

Spiders are amazing. Each night we've been in northern Kansas, they've
prepped our camp for Halloween. They have woven webs all over our
stuff, the tables, and US! It's creepy and cool at the same time.
Because they're spiders, it's creepy, but they catch all the ticks
and mosquitos, it's cool. they're fast, too. I found a spider web
between my arm and my body while I was eating breakfast. It had a few
gnats in it already. It was cool.

in fact, they wove a web between my ankles as I was writing...wow

6/15/07 7:40 PM near Stockton, Kansas

Posted from the Stockton Library after stopping by the grocery store for a mid-morning snack...


We are staying at Webster State Park in a pretty grove of trees off by ourselves. We have a large pavillion with 4 picnic tables to put all of our stuff on.

We continue to be very hungry. We went into a small grocery store today in Palco and wanted to eat all of the food in sight- cake mix, cans of beans, chips, etc. These are things that I don't even eat, but that didn't matter!

The country is getting softer and more inviting. The land is rolling and the fields are smaller and there are trees growing naturally in the wetter places. Compared to the land further west of here it is lush. I know that it will only get more beautiful as he head east. There are a fair amount of oil pumpjacks and tanks along the roads. You can hear the oil slowly flowing into them sometimes but more often you can smell them- not too bad of a smell.

As we were riding north this afternoon we spied a big twin steepled church in a little town (Damar). We had to detour a little bit but we learned about St. Josephs Catholic Church in the process. Built in 1911 it was in stunning shape inside and out. The door was open so we let ourselves in and gave ourselves a self-guided tour. It was a beautiful, quiet and cool break from the road.

Ted: We had a relatively easy day, with beautiful rolling hills, and quaint little towns. Probably the most interesting part of our travels today was a big church in a little town (Damar). The town leading up to it was interesting. It seemed as if a painter had gone over all the closed up shops, and painted them as if they were open, and thriving. Even the houses had people painted into the windows. Believe me, it wasn't as creepy as it sounds, it was nice actually. When we hit the church, the first thing that struck me was the sheer height of the steeples, they were enormous. When we entered through the mock mideval doors, I noticed that the inside was A: quite dark, this changed when I took off my sunglasses. B: big...just as I suspected. C: the stained glass windows were amazing. This church was beautifully becorated with oil paintings on the wall depicting the crucification. The soaring roof was supported by enormous marble pillars, lit by stained glass windows. Some of the aforementioned windows were dedicated to families, and people who had donated, or helped che church in some way. I could go on and on, but the mosquitoes have just come out, and are being mosquitoes. But as I wind down, I look out towards the lake and see a small spark drifting lazily through the air and I realize that the fireflies are out.

Mileage today: 68

Total: 709

6/15/07 6:21 AM near Ellis. Kansas

We left yesterday morning to a cloudy but calm day. More Kansas
wheatfields. We stopped in the town of Ness City for lunch and
shopping. Everyone was friendly and helpful. The insurance agent
offered us his office for a bathroom, water and a weather check on his
computer. The auto parts store folks are very helpful in finding us
washers, wire and small amounts of wd40.

We finished the day in short showers of rain, sometimes heavy, but it
wasn't cold. We are now staying at Cedar Bluffs State Park. The irony
is that the cedars are now underwater and now there are cottonwoods
planted on the shores of the lake.

Our neighbor is a young man from the Tyrol region of Austria named
Simeon. Coming from the mountains he wanted to come to somewhere very
flat and open. He flew into Dodge City and wants to hike the banks of
the Smoky River here in Kansas. I don't think it is what he expected.
He is visiting a place that few Europeans see however.

It is foggy this morning but looks to be clear above.

Mileage today: 85 miles in 5 hour and 51 minutes

Total: 640 miles

6/13/07 6:26 PM Kalvesta, KS

After grocery shopping in Garden City we headed east on Highway 156.
The Wind still was blowing from the southeast and we had a bit of a
headwind. We had been riding for about an hour and a half when the
skies began to grow very dark. Within a short period of time we were
taking shelter beneath a large bridge and the thunder and lightning
and rain were heavy. After waiting out the storm for maybe 45 minutes
we decided we would ride in the light rain to Kyveston, maybe 20 miles
down the road. As we were moving our bikes onto the road a man stopped
and offered us or ride. We hesitated, saying we were just going to
Kalvesta and he said he lived there and knew there was nothing
there. Even not a church? Well yes he said, you could stay there.
Besides, this rain is supposed to he heavy until the morning. At that
point we gave up our stubborn pride and began to be practical. We took
the ride. While we were driving he offered to feed us and lien said
that the entire 2nd floor of his house was empty and we could sleep
there. Now we are full, dry, warm and spread out in a 2nd floor room
listening to the rain pounding on the roof.

Kalvesta has 3 houses, a church, an implement dealer and a coop grain
elevator and gas station. Our host is an electrician and he is working
on building ethanol plants. He says he has at least 10 years of work
just in this area. He moved here recently from Colorado and bought
this comfortable house and 3 and a half acres of land for $70,000. I
didn't know that was still possible.

Garden City Kansas

We hit the big town of Garden City today. The big theme of the morning was agribusiness -- feedlots, slaughterhouses (processing plants) and grain elevators. This is a cattle town. They do, however, have a nice library where I write this.

There is still a low pressure system stalled in the middle of Kansas and it is giving us SE winds now so we have no choice to go into the wind! From here we aim to hit a state park to the east of here after we buy groceries.

All continues to be well with our bodies and bikes. We are, however, looking forward to trees.

Pictures in reverse chronological order

Click on any picture to enlarge.

Ted feasting on roadside mullberries in Western Kansas (note the wheat)



Municipal campsite Elkhart, KS

Rural Schoolhouse, Western Kansas

One big descent coming up, near Mosquero, NM

Lunch stop. 45 miles 3 cars.


Swimming in the Canadian River, NM

We leave the mountains and enter the prairie



Old farm, NM

Yet another large descent coming up.

Camping by the Pecos River, Villanueva, NM

Pecos River Valley Old Spanish Colonial

The road out of Stanley, NM


The scenery get better out of Stanley.





Here was are at the Daly's farm on our first night out of Albuquerque.