Karina and Pete's Excellent Adventure - riding and raising!

blog update

2009-11-11T04:15:00.000-08:00

I have modified some elements the blog over the past couple of days and wanted to explain.

This summer's bike trip was a focused ride made in support of a non-profit organization called the Children and Adult Mobility Project. You can still read about CAMP at campmobilityproject.org. At that time Karina and I were both happy to be able to do our part to support the funding of that organization. However, at this point, due to the behavior and actions of the Director of CAMP, we are no longer able to confidently support that organization and are no longer encouraging other to do so in our names.

Because of this I have reoriented the blog to focus on supporting a project that Karina and I know well and fully support with every bit of our enthusiasm, that being the Ithaca College Crew Endowment.

I'll keep posting here, but clearly the daily poking of the cell phone keypad is over! I will likely write more about my experiences over all regarding the trip, but for now please just enjoy the slide movie below!

Thanks to everyone who stood behind us this summer and gave of themselves - Karina and I appreciate it!

Slide movie of our trip

2009-10-08T09:23:00.000-07:00

The four posts below contain the presentation, parts 1 - 4. Watch them in order for most fun and sense.

I would have just put the whole thing up, but it was too big a file and, lets face facts, I am still a computer misfit!

Hope all is well with all out there. Here we are fine, still zooming along (though not on bikes). School is in full gear for the girls and Christy is off on her own great adventure (Australia! - not biking).

Best and enjoy!

Karina's Excellent Adventure - The Movie - Part 1 of 4

2009-10-08T08:53:00.000-07:00

The Movie - Part 2

2009-10-08T08:33:00.000-07:00

The Movie - Part 3

2009-10-08T07:51:00.000-07:00

The Movie - Part 4

2009-10-08T07:28:00.000-07:00

Karina

2009-08-30T14:20:00.000-07:00

A few photos of Karina: with Aunt Sylvia and Uncle Dick, Ithaca, NY; at Bryce Canyon, Utah; Stinson Beach, California.

Airport idyll

2009-08-30T09:40:00.001-07:00

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Yosemite parting shot

2009-08-29T11:49:00.001-07:00

The day we were leaving Yosemite, the controlled burn scheduled for a meadow in the park went a bit wrong. By the time we left the 91 acres scheduled had turned into certainly more than 1000! Yikes, anyhow, this is lightly filtered by smoke, have others on the other camera.

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Cummington

2009-08-29T08:44:00.000-07:00

Got back home last night from Oakland via Phoenix and Washington DC (don't ask me, I just get on the plane and ride). Pulled into the driveway about 1:30AM. Very happy to be home and back at last into a world with a keyboard, glasses that I can find, and the abillity to actually read what it is that I have written. Hopefully the mispelled words will decrease (at least the ones that I really do know how to spell).

Sometime over the next several days of settling in I will get into the little digital cards that hold the buckets of photos, will organize them and put them up in some sort of slideshow.

Sadly I missed seeing several people in San Francisco who I had not seen in some time. One was a near miss where the altering of schedules at the last minute (my fault) had me departing the meeting place 50 minutes too soon (though now I have preserved a great reason to return out there). The other fell victim to the curse of the cell phone, my bad eyesight, and my general adversion to simply picking up the telephone and calling directly (though, on my behalf, I did call several people, and the hotel charged approximately $10 a minute for what I could have gotten for free (yeah, nothing is free, but anyhow, the illusion of free). Regardless, on the whole it was about as great a trip as I could have hoped for.

Another funny life coinsidence, I am on the plane home and I open the in-flight magazine, and there is this photo of this guy and I thought he looked familiar. Looked again during the second leg of the flight, then finally on the third leg I read the name associated with the photo and there it was, 25 years ago I worked with David at Cabbagetown Cafe in Ithaca, and there he was. When I get done with this I get to write to him! Life is great!

I'll have more to write over the next week(s), but for now I am again a home body doing whatever it is that I do when I am at home!

TIMMY and me!

2009-08-28T10:49:00.003-07:00

What is time anyhow?! Thanks for everything!

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heading home

2009-08-28T08:17:00.000-07:00

Had great days in Yosemite. Made it back to Tim and Chantal's in Petaluma in time to have a fun social evening. Great visit with another IHS friend, Rich. He presented Karina with a necklace and earrings with bike images on them. His jewelry business is called Far Fetched, and it is great, fun jewlery you can check out online.

We are at the Oakland airport now preparing for the multiple flights home. The kids are looking forward to the Cummington Fair!

See you soon.

www.farfetched.com

Beautiful Yosemite

2009-08-25T17:37:00.003-07:00

Lake Tenaya on a beautiful morning.

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Karina and Lilah on Haight St!

2009-08-22T19:11:00.003-07:00

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Day in SF

2009-08-22T18:46:00.000-07:00

Spent today around the town. Rode a cable car, went clothes shopping, hung about around Haight, Karina got her hair done, rode buses, ate pizza and ice cream- great day.

Back at the hotel, the kids are watching a movie and aiming to stay in and get room service. Christy and I, on the other hand, are considering to leave them with the TV and go to little Italy for our chow.

Another beach photo

2009-08-21T20:17:00.003-07:00

Lilah joins in the beach dance!

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Friday evening

2009-08-21T20:05:00.000-07:00

We are in SF, having driven across the golden gate bridge, with the fog racing in, towers above the clouds; beautiful!

Kids have been in the pool at the hotel; I have been trying to get phones to work, along with life in general. When you only bike and eat, then even the basic become complex.

Guess we are heading out for a night on the town. It really is beautiful here!

Stinson beach

2009-08-21T08:08:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Stinson beach was a great place for us to meet the ocean and to end our ride. We had planned for one last day of riding on Friday to finish at Mikes Bikes in San Rafeal, a trip across the Golden Gate Bridge, etc , but Ken wanted he and Mike to begin their drive back east as quick as they could, so the bikes went into the trailer in the parking lot of the local market, I transferred gear needed for the remainder of pur family stay in CA, and Christy, Karina, Lilah,and I went to swim in the ocean and revel in the incredible acheivment of this 13 year old girl who was, all said, the most outstanding aspect of the entire trip. Karina went through it all with grace, persistance, kindness, flexibility, and a level of appreciation and respect that eclipsed us all.

More later

Some two are done!!!

2009-08-21T08:05:00.003-07:00

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Christy and Lilah are here!

2009-08-20T10:11:00.000-07:00

The other part of the family arrived last night and Tim, Karina and I met them at the airport, it was great!

We altered the day yesterday to be able to do that, so today Karina and I will ride this afternoon from Petaluma to Stinson Beach, about 30 miles.

It is odd being pretty much finished. It is like most life non-sequitors where once it is over it doesn't feel exactly real.

After Friday afternoon, Christy, Karina, Lilah and I go into full vacation mode - not a bike in sight. Once I get back home on the 28th, I will get around to uploading photos, writing some of the post-mortum, etc. The slideshow should have some good stuff, I'll try to edit a little as there are loads of photos.

I'll also post some video of the bear, some music vids that I have been wanting to post (couldn't figure that one out from the iphone), etc.

As we get geared up for the last hurrah, a big thank you to all of you out there who have followed us, encouraged us, been entertained by us, been horrified by my parental choices, etc. All of you; truly we are thankful for all of it, and, the trip just wouldn't have been as great as it has been without all of you! Thanks also to the many, many folks along the way who offered their friendship, help, support, generosity, we are forever greatful!

More later...

Mountains beyond mountains

2009-08-18T12:13:00.000-07:00

The last few days have been like fly paper, sticky and in spite of the thinking that you are making the right effort to get free, you actually get stuck-er. As we made our way through steep foothills, to less steep foothills, to higher temperatures and eventually rolling hills, not so steep but with no shade....

Anyhow, it has been a little like Zenos paradox, the closer you get to the end.point, the farther away it gets.

Big thanks to Dennis who picked us up from the frying pan and shuttled us forward through some insane miles of traffic. And heat. And failing equipment. I had a spoke break early in the day, hence spent the day wobbling down the road with no back break. Karina's tires are both threadbear at this point, so we had a few flats too.

We are now with friends in Petaluma, food, showers, bike stores, heaven. Sadly we are only here tonightand in the morning we head off for the coast and ocean. Just to give you an idea of the local weather, in the valley it was almost 100 degrees, by the time we got near the SF bay the temp was in the 60s- bracing.

Three more rides - 35, 55, 15. Karina and I are way short time. Christy and Lilah will be here Thursday and will meet us somewhere along the coast road between Bodega Bay and Stinson Beach - we are very excited to be together again.

The trip past is a little unreal, we are here now, not sure about the previous 3000+ miles, evidently they have happened.

Getting even

2009-08-17T07:22:00.000-07:00

If you wanted to get even with someone, then send them off on Rt 49 from Mariposa going north on bikes. Be sure it is a hot, sunny day and that they only have a cup of water for the trip; that ought to do it.

Though we truely had no reason to get even with ourselves, we did anyway! The good news is that we made it to Coulterville, propped ourselves at the bar at the Hotel Jeffrey and proceeded to down several quarts of water and Sprite. It took about 40 minutes to feel part of this world again.

Met a very high percentage of wonderful folks in Coulterville and would reccommend a stopover there for more than the four hours we spent. We had a jump in the public pool, signed the wall at the Moonshine Cafe, visited the VFW hall, Karina got to hold a King Snake locally found, and were treated supremely by everyone we met!

We provisioned ourselves with a couple of Cans of peaches, a hot dog, part of a grilled cheese sandwich and headed off for Moccasin, a lake to swim in, a good place to camp (regardless of the squirrels intent on dropping 4 lb pine cones from 60 ft above our general vicinity).

Another sunny, fabulous day. Hoping to cover a lot of ground today with more grace (and water) than yesterday!

Bears, rocks, rivers, and roads

2009-08-16T07:26:00.000-07:00

Each morning in Yosemite valley we were visited by a bear at the campsite. The first one was acting like a street busker, performing for personal enjoyment and profit (food). Great show, scratched himself all over, tossed a pine cone around, Ran at and hugged trees we got a video, which I will eventually post). When it was clear that no food was forthcoming, he headed off a little irritated after such good effort, so he swatted a tent, climbed a little tree and tossed someones laundry on the lime into the dirt!

Yesterday, a brief visit about 5 am, no show, just a hunt around, a just avoided tent visit (not ours), then while being shouted off, he scooped up a full cooking pot of water and threw it on one of the tents! Really funny, but glad it was not our tent.

Had great hikes along the Mist Trail, stealth swim and a nice long read. Went to a film and got to meet Ron Kalk (rock climbing icon and super nice guy). I had purchased bus tickets to take us up to Crane Flat, but the pickup was mobbed and there was no room for the bikes, so left with the option of going back up the screamer or adding 30 miles, we opted to go downhill and add the miles. This route took us along the Merced River, blue, clean, bounded by very steep hills. We stopped for a nice long swim.

The biking world has it's own sort of tortures and balances. It is torture to ask any driver what the road topography is. They mean well, but a gas pedal seems to erase the memory of uphills, and of their severity. At Bickville (?) we left off following the river and went up 1800 ft over the next few miles to Midpines Summit, that was about it for us. We got the downhill into Mariposa, where we rented a room at a local hotel and called it a night. (small fact, a quart of chocolate milk is 4 servings at 170 calories per serving, we drink lots of that- even so, we are skinny).

Today we head north and west somehow trying to get towards striking distance to Petaluma. going south from the park did us no favors in that pusuit. Weather is sunny and high 90's. Though we should be, neither of us is running to the bikes to get on the road early. Clearly this is an unbeeakable habit (sort of like an unbreakable curse).

Hey Man, what's happening!

2009-08-15T22:54:00.000-07:00

Tommy! Got your message. Phone been broken and can't call out . We are in Maraposa, heading your way, though not as fast as I want! I'll call you in the morning ( Sunday).

We've been having fun, tired, really tired of going up hills! Had to take 140 out of the park (no room on the bus that was supposed to take us to Crane Flat and Rr 120. Now we are way south of the plan, well see how tommorrow goes!

Yosemite Valley

2009-08-14T06:52:00.001-07:00

We are now in Yosemite Valley, it's quite something!

The ride from Tuolomine was far enough; the first 40 miles not anything like the downhill we were expecting, plenty of work. The last 8 miles follows the river up the valley, past epic granite cliffs, and with the change in temp and vegetation, it gave us the feeling of Jurassic Park. Huge trees.

Left out the six or so miles that connected the first and last part of the ride, which I will call the screaming transition. A drop in elevation of over 3500 ft., narrow-ish, winding, three suprize tunnels, and fast enough that no one passed us (ie, above 35 mph, though just how far I won't get into). Clearly we made it.

Camping at the backpackers area at north pines. Tons of people in the valley, like China to the US. Ate pizza at Camp Curry after having starved all day. Stopped at a place called White Wolf that showed food on the map. Turned out to be only chips and cookies, but it was food. At Crane Flat we split a container of raspberry sorbet, barely tasted it.

Not sure what we will do today aside from jumping in the river (poor mans shower), and trying to find a way out of here that does not include going back up the screaming transition.

Meteor Shower

2009-08-13T06:33:00.000-07:00

Went to a ranger talk about bats that was very fun. Later we were able to hear and identify one variety flying over the meadow.

After, went off to a stargazing program. Laid out on a slab of granite under a clear, dark sky. Identified constellations and counted shooting stars. 125 in less than 90 minutes! Big tails - wow!

Off for the valley today. It got cold last night!

Tuolomine Meadow Twilight

2009-08-12T20:55:00.003-07:00

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John Wayne

2009-08-12T13:05:00.001-07:00

This was a photo hanging on a wall back in Ridgeway, CO; I love it!

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Day off - reading a great book!

2009-08-12T13:01:00.003-07:00

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Tuolomine Meadow

2009-08-12T12:30:00.000-07:00

The cell phone is being a pain, so sorry about not returning calls. Probably it is some very simple problem, but all said, I am still a bit of a technological idiot!

We are in the backpackers area at Tuolomine in Yosemite. Tonight will be our second and last night here. Tomorrow (tr) we ride through the park, 50 miles, and will visit the valley where all the people are and all the big sights (el capitain, etc). We may spend one additional day there before heading downhill and towards the Pacific.

The meteorite shower that I woke up at 3am to see was a washout due to the brightness of the moon. We'll be out again tonight, but before the moon rises.

Weather has been outstanding; today is sunny and calm and lazy. It's after noon and we are laying in thetent; karina reading and me pecking away. Soon we are off for the afternoon, going swimming I. The river where the water cascades into pools, yea. Two days off the bikes, paradise.

Karina is counti g down the days until we are done. We are still meeti g great folks, some we get the names and faces and some only the faces.

I'll post a huge slideshow once we finish up. Until then, as long as the phone cooperates and I can keep a charge in the phone, I'll keep tossing up some single photos.

Hi to everyone!

Tioga Road - Lee Vining Canyon

2009-08-11T22:55:00.003-07:00

Six miles of 12 percent grade, what a schlep! We began the climb at 5 pm Sunday afternoon and arrived at the top three hours later!

The time in Yosemite has been fabulous - we'll bevup at 3am for the meteor shower!

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Yosemite

2009-08-11T20:07:00.003-07:00

Second full day at the park; phenominal! Today we climbed Lembert Dome (pictured) barefoot- excellent. One more day here, maybe two, then it is off for the last week and the grand finale!

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Mono Lake

2009-08-09T08:33:00.000-07:00

Arrived in CA later in the afternoon after a relatively reasonable ride of 67 miles. Dave had carted us on from schurs to Hawthorne (saving us 30 miles of crappy highway and sort of unsafe riding (in my opinion for a thirteen year old).

Ate breakfast at a place called Maggies, pretty good. Packed up our gear in the parking lot and set out.

Hawthorne is a munitions depot, so if it looks a little strange, that is because it is. The road away was much better, but pretty much climbed for 30 miles until we reached the summit (7300?). As we started down, the Sierras were in view and it was a downhill festival! The straitest road ever for the next 25 miles, downhill for at least 20.

We rode along side of Mono Lake, past the mtns where the cold air was channeling down (really cold, like snow cold). Made it to the town of Lee Vinning and got directed to a great place to eat; Whoa Nellie Deli, next to the Mobil station. Super food (lamb for K and steak ceasar for me). We didn't finish dinner until after dark, so we put on the flashers and rode the mile or so back to town and our camping site for the night.

Set up in the dark (we are good at this). Good sleep, Karina is still sleeping now. Today we will hang pretty near to here (maybe eventually put in 25 miles of sightseeing). The plan for later is to position ourselves as far up the Tioga Pass road as we can in preparation for tomorrow. We'll definitely dine at the deli again tonight.

Tomorrows target is Toulomne Meadows, but it is first come first serve for sites, so it'll be early departure up our steepest climb of the trip. Only about 10 miles, but parts are 12 percent grade. Also by leaving early we hope to miss traffic heading up or down the hill.

So we are ahead of schedule. Is this because we are fast? No. It has to do with circumstances related to Ken's schedule and needing to alter his route and timing. Having well passed the 3000 mile mark, and given that there is a distinct difference between the Nevada landscape and Yosemite, we traded less time on the "lonliest road in America" for more time in the Sierras.

I'll let you know how we manage the undeserved time in Yosemite. Mono Lake is beautiful. It is a sunny day, Karina is up now, and so it begins again!

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-08-08T20:17:00.001-07:00

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not in Kansas anymore

2009-08-08T02:28:00.000-07:00

Overcast, cool, no real wind; great day to cycle in western Nevada. Ah,well, almost.

When biking it comes down to the road. RT 95 heading south from Fallon is crap for a bike. New road, ruined by the combination of being a truck route to Las Vegas and, worse than that, with the shoulders fully lined with these ground out "rumble strips" which leaves minimal riding room for a bike, and insufficient room for a trike. The net result being short stints on the highway before stopping, crossing the strip, and waiting for trucks to pass. Always looking behind and stopping is even less fun than a headwind; made about 45 miles before stopping where we are now, just outside of a small town called Schurs.

Whlie getting lunch (4pm) at the one store, we met Dave, a great fellow who offered to have us camp on his family ranch, 22 acre island in the midst of the Walker Indian Reservation. And, to give us a lift in his truck to Hawthorn in the AM!

Karina helped him clean some catfish, then got to settle in for a couple of movies watched from the tent on Dave's tv that he perched on the picnic table next to the tent. I talked with Dave, worked on the bikes, and took a shower from a hose set up in an old garage. Beautiful sunset.

The "not in Kansas" bit refers to the coyotes that are howling all around even as I write this! Real West, not like the casinos or RV parks, but like real. It's kind of goose bump-ish, in the same way as listening to loons on a quiet lake in Canada. Though loons don't sniff around your tent or have teeth.

Quiet again now, I'm going back to sleep.

A Mighty Wind (trust me, it's there)!

2009-08-06T22:54:00.001-07:00

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Wind in the face all day

2009-08-06T22:12:00.000-07:00

Nevada is very desolate and insanely beautiful. Mtn ranges run N/S, with these huge endless valleys in between. You can see all the way across the valleys as the road just stretches out before you.

Karina and I rode almost 70 miles into a constant 30 mph wind. There were gusts above 50 mph and one of those actually picked the front of my bike up off the road momentarilly. Fortunately the traffic along Rt 50 is sparse, so aside from local excitement there was no dire consequence.

This lovely wind was the leading in of a cold front, so my worries about it being too hot to ride during the day - not a problem. Temp tonight may get into the 40's; it was only high 50's for a lot of the ride today.

OK, so there is a nice long decent into one of these valleys that is maybe 10 miles across. We were having to pedal in the lowest climbing gear, downhill, uggh! It took well over an hour to cross that one valley. It says something about something when it is easier to pedal up a mountain (not to mention preferable).

Tomorrow the wind should ease back a bit as we head off on our own south to Walker Lake (getting closer tu Yosemite, CA,and the last couple of hundred miles of the trip.

We ran into Rupert again tonight at dinner in Austin. Met him first back just as we got into CO. It's great, sort of like reconnecting with family.

We won't see Ken and Mike now until Bodega Bay, just a couple of days before the trip finish. They decided to travel via Reno, Tahoe, and Napa, while K and me are choosing Yosemite and that route.

Good night.

Nevada, as the wind comes

2009-08-06T07:24:00.003-07:00

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Red Canyon on the way to Zion

2009-08-05T22:12:00.003-07:00

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Karina drinking a peach smoothie at Zion

2009-08-05T22:10:00.003-07:00

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Hoodoos at bryce,

2009-08-05T22:09:00.003-07:00

Couldn't rotate the image, you get the idea!

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Catching up and wind advisory

2009-08-05T21:26:00.000-07:00

Not sure where I left off, but here are some highlights: rode horses through bryce canyon, two great lectures by the park rangers, tons of deer, sunrises, sunsets, lemonade, wall street, hundreds of photos.

We left bryce for a one day ride over to Zion. First part of the ride was uphill and headwind, took forever to go 30 miles. Hit Long Valley, then it was downhill and great. Once we turned for the park, it was uphill again for the last 12 miles. 70 the hard way, we got there to find the campsites were full, so we backtracked a mile to a campground just outside of the park. No dinner, trail mix, and a puzzle of how to get through the tunnels which don't allow bikes thru.

Thankfully our site neighbor, Ben, offered to shuttle us into the park in the AM, and that was super! We got to the lodge by 9 am, ate a great breakfast and set off for the day exploring the park. Highlights: the narrows, turkeys, a condor, lovely water, shuttles, bag lunches, a great book, sunshine and hundreds more photos.

Hiked up to hidden canyon for sunset, then rode in twilight out of the park to Springdale where we met Ken and Mike and camped for the night. Karina and I had a great dinner. Outside it was 95 degrees. Tent was hot, lousy sleep, up at 4:30 to shave and charge the cell phone, washed in the river, then back to sleep.

Oh yeah, full moon.

Today was a shuttle north and regroup day; we crossed into Nevada and are presently in Ely. Tomorrow there is a wind advisory for our 77 mile ride, winds consistant 30-40 mph with gusts up to 55! Really looking forward to that (sarcasm).

Hope they are tailwinds; have four big climbs too. We may be taking two routes after tomorrow, with Kwn and Mike heading north and into CA near Lake Tahoe, and Karina and me heading south to hit CA at yosemite. Will update once I know for sure (by Friday).

Glorious Bryce Canyon!

2009-08-02T16:33:00.003-07:00

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Hello Utah

2009-07-31T20:38:00.000-07:00

Been out of range and battery for a couple of days. The time in Telluride was great and made all that much greater by meeting our neighbors visiting from N Carolina; Cameron and Cheney were super pals for Karina and the time flew by!

Left there and rode over the pass, had rain, wind, and hail, but it was gorgeous. Stopped in Rico for a warm up, and then on to Dolores. Camped by the river there. The ride from there to Utah (devil's canyon, south of Monticello) was not an easy ride. 70 miles, fully half uphill and with a headwind. Got to Monticello about 8 pm only to find that we had another 11 miles to pedal, and guess what, it was uphill! Karina was relentless, though not pleased. We were very happy to get there! Saw lots of deer along the way. Also some big storms which resulted in Karina and I seeking shelter and hanging out with Roy and Larry, wheat farmers from the area of Dove Creek.

Rode just 10 miles today to Blanding, then a schedule change gave us a ride ahead towards Bryce Canyon; we will be there by tomorrow night. Utah is epic and beautiful. How rocks do this stuff is a miracle!

When we left the campground this morning we spotted a mid sized rattlesnake that had been hit by a car, though only recently and was in good shape (for being squished). We investigated thouroughly and clipped the rattle as a token souviner. Visited a pueblo ruin and museum.

Everything is very cool. Need years to do it all justice.

Lizzard Head - 10,222

2009-07-30T17:17:00.003-07:00

Saying goodbye to the high mtns until the Sierras. Wind, NPR rain.......

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Indian Paintbrush along Bear Creek

2009-07-28T22:04:00.003-07:00

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Cycling friends Lou and Mallory

2009-07-28T22:02:00.001-07:00

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Where was I

2009-07-28T21:27:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah, Karina and I took another trip around the nature trail and found a great place to sit on a cliff edge overlooking the resevoir, nice and quiet with a great view of everything. A large hawk flew right over Karina's head and flew up and down the cliff edge.

We packed out and rode into Ridgeway for the main meal before the ride to Telluride. Riding out of town and up into the mountains was a good workout. The Dallas Divide is a slow, continuous climb for about 12 miles. We saw lots of hawks and watched a bald eagle for a while (we took a photo, but we were quite far away). Further up the divide we came upon a bear carcus next to the road; that was a first and another new category in the road kill hall of fame.

After 12 up, we got 12 down, which wAs very nice. Along the route we met two others bound for SF, lou and Mallory. They were the age I want to be and are spending a college summer making the trek. We rode with them the rest of the ride to Telluride, super nice.

The climb from Placerville to Telluride was not as long as the Divide, but a steep way to finish the day.

The events of today (tues) I will write about tomorrow AM, Must sleep again.

Morning in telluride

2009-07-28T06:38:00.000-07:00

Let me go back a day or so. We left Montrose late in the morning after visiting black canyon. That's one phenominal place.
We started out for Ridgeway slowly as we could see a major storm heading smack for our destinaltion. RT50 was very busy with traffic, all with their headlights on (never a good sign, unless you are really into heavy rain and lightening; it's ok if you are, I just don't happen to be right at this particular time).

We had been in touch with Karina's Grandma Ruth and Poppy (Bob) and had arranged to meet them in Ridgeway (they live in Grand Junction). As we are riding on the rain and traffic and watching the lightening pound Ridgeway, we came upon their car pulled over and waiting for us! Took all of about ten seconds to determine that riding with them to Ridgeway was an excellent choice.

Ate lunch at the True Grit Cafe. Ridgeway was the film site for the 1969 John Wayne film classic, so we ate lunch across the street from the hanging scene (how great is that?!)

The storm had passed by the time we had got there, but it was the topic of the day for those who were there, several ground strikes right in the town center.

They delivered us to our campsite, about 5 miles out of town and headed back to Grand Junction. The campsite was in a super location (Dutch Charlie's), and we presented with the San Juan mountains all around us. The night was fine, no rain that I recall and a beautiful sky full of stars.

Up before sunrise for a walk about, the nature trail from the visitor center was great.

More later, Karina is up and we are off to breakfast.

Main street in Telluride, CO

2009-07-27T20:23:00.003-07:00

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Telluride!

2009-07-27T20:01:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Telliride about 3 hrs ago; such a beautiful place!

The ride from Ridgeway was not easy; 12 mile hill over Dallas Divide, then another climb to finish the day. We are camping at the town park. Presently we are eating burgers and sitting in comfy seats. Looks like we will take a layover day here tomorrow . I'll write more then (when I have my glasses!)

Climbing the Dallas Divide

2009-07-27T11:51:00.003-07:00

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Karina at Black Canyon

2009-07-26T11:54:00.003-07:00

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Black Canyon - WOW!!!

2009-07-26T11:52:00.001-07:00

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Black Canyon - OMG!!!!!

2009-07-26T10:33:00.003-07:00

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Inside the antler store in Gunnison

2009-07-25T22:06:00.003-07:00

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Karina by the antler wagon in Gunnison

2009-07-25T22:04:00.003-07:00

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Gunnison to Montrose

2009-07-25T21:40:00.000-07:00

67 miles, big headwind as we passed Blue Mesa Resevoir; some big climbs and some great downhills (1.5, 3.5, and 4.5 miles).

The landscape was way too beautiful to do justice. RT 50, drive that stretch sometime!

We stopped at a store in Gunnispn before we left there. I will post photos eventually; it was an antler store with lots of stuffed animals, skins, coyote hats, you won't believe the place!

Too tired to write more; must sleep.

Karina at the top of Monarch Pass

2009-07-25T08:22:00.001-07:00

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salida, monarch pass

2009-07-24T21:16:00.000-07:00

What a couple of days! Yesterday we spent most of the day in Salida. Karina made friends with a girl from Kansas who was also staying at the campground; her name is Hannah. She had recently learned to kayak and so we all went out to breakfast together then down to where the river passes right through the town. There is an area of rapids there called the "play hole";great place to watch and learn about kayaking. The two girls spent the entire afternoon in the river. Karina was learning how to roll up; she must have been tipped over 50 times! They finished that time with a few floats down the rapids just with life jackets- it was great.

Then the three of us went to meet Aunt Betty and her friend Betty who had driven down from Denver to see us. We visited for a few minutes and then the girls and I set off on the bikes to Poncha Springs (about 7 miles to the place we were to spend the night. By 7 PM we were there and checked in. John and Alice came and picked up Hannah and then Karina and I went out to dinner with the two Bettys.

Nice dinner, then back to the B&B where we had care packages sent by Christy and Lilah AND by Tanya, Indta, Zephyr,and Kamal- Thanks!!!

We went in the hot tub, then watched a video (mrs doubtfire). Finally asleep by midnight!

5:30AM I am up and out for a pre-sunrise walk, then woke up Karina so we could get in the hot tub one more time! Karina went back to bed after, I stayed up and ate a great breakfast, got the bikes ready, and eventually got Karina back up in time to eat breakfast and be on the road by 9:15 .

Today was CD Day (continental divide day. 22 miles up to Monarch Pass at 11,213 ft; we climbed almost 3,500 vertical ft! Karina was terrific yet again. We made the summit before 3 PM , which was good time. We then spent the next 2.5 hours eating and playing around at the summit. We rode a gondola up to the very top - that was also great. We saw three elk - very impressive!

We left the summit at 5:30 to ride the remaining 45 miles to Gunnison. 9 miles downhill, 6 percent grade - rocking. The remainder was fine, very, very beautiful. We got to the campsite at 8:30. I am pooped! I am typing ok the iPhone in the bathroom at the KOA while I recharge the battery.

Tomorrow we go on to Black Canyon near Monttrose. We ride past Blue Mesa Resuvoir, so I am hoping for swim time! The ride total for tomorrow is about 45. Total for the trip so far - something over 2,000!

Good night!

Salida

2009-07-23T07:12:00.000-07:00

OK, for any of you looking for the nicest 50 bike ride almost anywhere, then the ride from Westcliffe to Salida via 1-A through Cotopaxi would be hard to beat. I have heard that the off road track from Monarch Pass is considered the best in the world, I can believe it. Beautiful mountains, winding along the Arlansas River, and believe it or not mostly flat to downhill, pretty outstanding to be high enough to go downhill and still stay up inthe midst of peaks from 9-14,000 ft.

(Scotty, I have not been able to find the 81,000 ft pass, though if I do come across it, I will let you know and the two of us can rocket it together!)

The plan for today is to enjoy the town and immeasuate surroundings. My Aunt is driving down from Denver, so we will spend the late afternoon and evening with her. Before dark we will ride just 5 miles up the road to Poncha Springs where we will stay tonight in a B&B with a hot tub. This splurge is in preparation for the ride to the pass and over the Continental Divide! 11,213 ft ( we begin the climb from about 6,800 ft and will elevate over the course of 20 miles (the first ten of which are reported to be flat!). It ought to be quite a morning.

Once over the top we will decemd the remaining 40 plus miles to Gunnison. I figure that portion will take a little over an hour; we'll be screaming.

More later

Breakfast in Westcliffe

2009-07-22T08:40:00.000-07:00

Sugar and Spice Mountain Bakery! Wow!

Westcliffe

2009-07-22T06:15:00.000-07:00

I am standing in front of a morning view of the mountains, fabulous!

Got only half a ride in yesterday, but that turnud out to have been a great thing. Repairs kept Karina and I tied up untill after noon. We made fine time on the approach to the Mtns though not fast enough to miss the afternoon storms that cancelled the rest of the ride for Karina and me.

We made it as far as Wetmore, getting to the only store open just as the first drops fell. That was 4:45. The lightening and very heavy rain came down for the next 75 minutes and the math of pedalling to Westcliffe was sunk. I can tell you that the road in that section was narrow and winding, some big traffic and no shoulders, so though it was drop dead gorgeous, it was not a father's dream for his daughter- not at 13.

Westcliffe is very senic, though they should kill all the lights at night; they have given up a lot to develop. Not sure what the destination is today, somewhere between 24 and 55 miles (Texas Creek to Salida). Not sure there is a bad choice to be made today.

In Kansas one night we had a low temp of 78 with 90 percent humidity. Last night it was 40 degrees and even after the rain the humidity was half of what it was in Kansas. I rode around the town at 5:30 this morning and would have been happy to have had gloves on; it is warming up nicely now.

At the moment there is nothing.but blue skies, hard to imagine that less than 12 hours ago the rain was so hard you couldn't see and the lightening was everywhere and just kept on coming! There is a chance if storms again this afternoon, but the next 8 hrs are top shelf!

Pueblo,CO

2009-07-21T05:43:00.000-07:00

Got in about sunset on an epic day of storms. Wound up having to seek shelter in a highway storm culvert. The storms were isolated, unfortunately they were isolated right above us!

Lake Pueblo State Park is lovely, though the neighbors were much less than to be desired, choosing midnight as the best time to throw an adolesent f-bomb tantrum. Wanted to drop their tents on them this morning, but opted for a ore-dawn hike instead.

Tires, tubes, Bents Old Fort

2009-07-20T05:18:00.000-07:00

Nice AM at the resevoir, later start than expected but acceptable (totally).

The campsite is a long way from the highway, over gravel, so it was either the long walk or risk a flat. You know me, always up for a bit of a risk, so we rode out. Had the first flat just after hitting the main road (which was far better than deserved). Two failed patches, ripped valve stem, then finally got it right. Had a snack at a little grocery, total mileage for the morning was 2. While we were at the store we met another rider, Rupert Dale, who had begun his ride in Washington, DC headed for SF. He is a Brit, lives in Denmark, works as a teacher. Great to talk with and would have been fun to continue on together for a while, but he was on to a location further than ours for the day.

Made 16 more miles before stopping for lunch at a Best Western in Las Animas. Cool inside and the food was good. Met a couple of really nice folks from the area while there. Each day is filled with that sort of thing, and everyone we have met has been very nice. They confirmed that Bents Old Fort was well worth the visit, so that was the next stop.

We got about 100 yards down the road before Karina got her flat and it was the AM redux. The ride to the fort was very beautiful, taking us higher into the hills. Gorgeous views of the plains. We passed a farm that raised emus, antelope, zebra, be more; had not expected to see any zebra. Spotted our first rattle snake, the car flattened variety.

The fort was really great a d we could have easilly spent many more hours there. It is a reconstruction (a very good reconstruction) of a private fort that was used as a trading post in the mid 1800's. Just no the edge of the Arkansas River, at that time the boarder with Mexico! Very cool place.

Got to our campsite in La Junta, swam, ate, did laundry, watched two episodes of The Nanny. Sleep.

Today it is on to Pueblo, maybe a first sight of the Rocky Mtns!

John martin state park

2009-07-19T05:31:00.000-07:00

We had an excellent day at the resevoir! The morning was relaxed andby noon we were heading off to spend the afternoon with our neighbors and their kids on their boats. We had cooked pancakes earlier for the kids and they all chased and caught grasshoppers in the surrounding area. They spotted our first scorpion, a nice looking guy about two inches long and sort of greenish.

The area around the resivoir is pretty open land, so the wind could rip on through. There are pelicans, heron, hawks, loons, and a host of other birds here, along with fish, turtles,and the biggest snake that I didn't see, but reported in as silver in color and 5' plus in length.

Got the boats launched and spent the afternoon tubing, touring the resivoir, checking out the sandy beach areas and anchored and just floated and swam. Everyone had a ball and generally, had we all not gotten hungry, we could have stayed out all night! No storms.

Dinner, fire, shared food and continued good company. Karina went sound asleep early; I was not too far behind her. Beautiful stars, cool night air, beautiful sunrise this morning. We' pack soon and hit the road (maybe get a quick swim in), then it is on to Ordway, about 60 miles, weather looks clear, cool for the moment. We will be sorry to leave such a wonderful group of new friends behind.

On the road again

2009-07-18T06:46:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Hasty,CO last evening. We missed one epic storm by three hours, which would most certainly deposited us, bikes, tents, and all into the resivoir! This morning I lay in the tent listening to the wind build, finally relented to look outside at the cause, man. The good news is that the storm tracked SE, giving us an excellent view of something we wanted no part of!

We arrived in the dark and went off to visit the neighbors who were the only others in the park. What a fun happy evening ensued under clear, dark, star filled skies! I turned in after 1 AM but they went on until the very wee hours. We hope to go boating with them today on the lake, which if last night was any indication, I should have plenty to write about later,

Camp Kansas - day 3

2009-07-15T06:51:00.000-07:00

Mike and Ken went off yesterday to visit Greensburg, ks, this was the town that was wiped out by a huge tornado a year ago. YouTube that if you want a good scare.

Karina and I stayed put. Two nice girls, Both named Jamie, played and swam with Karina all day long. Last night they had a sleepover at their tent, watched a video, etc. Karina got bit by a dog, which was a little bit of a bummer, but she is a trooper and everything is fine.

We had planned to to to the movies last night, but, guess what? Here's a hint: it was 109 degrees during the day. Yep, storm chaser! Tried to get some photos. Anyhow, even though all the conditions were very ripe, we got lucky again. The lightening was like what you see in one of those glass balls at the science museums,only you'd be in the ball!

A little rain this morning, slow start, the folks keep coming in and the event keeps on going!

A second day off

2009-07-14T09:25:00.000-07:00

Another storm just missed us last night, though we were treated to the light show.

Karina has been in the water with the two Jamies, two girls from near Wichita; they are having a blast.

I am reading through the Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy; also having a fine time. It'll be 105 degrees today, so sitting this one out is gererally a requirement. The plan is to ride in for the midnight show of HP. Also, tonight they're calling for severe storms in the area. There is a tornado siren nearby, which makes me feel marginally better.

Around the park they are still setting up for this veterans weekend. The scene is a whole book in itself! We have nice neighbors and it is like one big, informal,family picnic. Including all of the idiosyncratic aunts and uncles. Helping to set up are a group of inmates from a nearby prison, they have been working their tails off, been very nice, and fun enough to talk with.

The park will fill up with vets from Vietnam and Iraq. Plenty of injured folks. I recall a toast my Uncle Bill made one time, very simple: "no more wars."

We leave here on Friday bound for Colorado. That'll be fine timing, as it sounds as though the weekend will be just a little nuts! I'll take a nice quiet campground anyday!

95 squared

2009-07-13T11:37:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you combine 95 degrees with 95 percent humidity, heat from Texas with cooler air down from Canada? Answer: the kind of an electrical storm that'll keep me awake until 4 AM even after pedaling 95 miles in the heat! Fortunately we were just on the south edge of the really serious activity. interesting note, had we not dropped the layover day, we'd have been right in the middle of it. There was so much lightening and so many ground strikes that there was no keeping track.

Karina pedaled 95 miles like the champ she is, slept through the storm, and today is happy still.

We are camping at a park in El Dorado, on a lake. Turns out this week is Kansas vets week here at the park, so we are going to stay put for a few days here and do some fund raising. We'll try to get to Witchita tomorrow for some deferred cycle work. Karina is at Walmart buying water floats and we plan to spend some serious time relaxing, attempting in vain to mitigate the whacky biker tan lines we've backed on. The new Harry Potter film is out, so we'll see that a few times! Maybe go bowling, too.

Met some wonderful folks yesterday. Left Chanute and made it as far as Toronto by lunch, had a great lunch, super break, then by 1:30 thought we were ready to take on the next 25 mile section. We rode only about ten before it was clear that it was not only too hot, but way too hot to go further. Now, given that you know me and my general inclinations to forge ahead regardless of discomfort, this was my limit!

We selected a house, knocked on the door and then spent the next couple of hours talking and drinking cold water and gatorade with a very nice couple. The house was so cold inside, incredible; but when I mentioned how cool, the fellow just shook his head and told me they had the AC set to 80 degrees! That was a stunner.
We rwluctantly left there about 4 pm and cycled to Eureka and to the first ice cream place we spotted. Turnned out to be a great choice, as within 5 minutes an old blue car pulled into the lot and we met two of the greatest, fun characters ever! Tom, in his sixty's, wanted to ride Karina's trike, so I set him off and he went tooling around the lot like a happy kid! His friend Charles was 70, he didn't ride the trike, but just visited with us. Tom invited us to his ranch ( which we may regret not having gone that instant). He told Karina that he'd put her on his best horse and feed us tbone steaks. We got his address, took some photos, and have an open invite from the both of them!
We left there at not 6 pm and cycles the remaining 30 miles through the Flint Hills. I'll post photos eventually, but I will say that we were treated to the most beautiful miles yet. There is only 4 percent of the original high grass praire remaining; what a treasure to have that remaining and what a tragedy to have so little left- so gorgeous.
Finally arrived at the park at 8:30.
Right now I am sittlin under some shade, cool(ish) breeze over the lake, noplace to go, and eagerly awaiting the floats!

Chanute , KS

2009-07-11T17:52:00.001-07:00

Made it to Chanute on a very hot day, heat index was over100 with a warning to drink loads. We did do that. Ate lunch at a place called The Peppermill in Girafd. Really nice people and we drank buckets of water. Me met a couple of bikers also from the east and headed west. Dinner just got here, more later - need massive amounts of food now!

Being lucky with weather

2009-07-11T04:47:00.000-07:00

Able to check out the weather channel and things look much better for us than predicted
Some thunderstorms this morning are possible, but it looks like we'll have cloud cover. So we dodge the really hot stuff for another day. Sunday? We'll see!
Karina is still sound asleep. We decided to lose a layover day in order to lower the mileage for the next couple of days. We still have two long rides this week, but are hoping that the shift of days will qork in our favor. Next non-riding day is not till CO, five more days.
Today's ride is in the 60 mile range, so we'll take a little more time getting going so Karina can rest. No kidding this is hard work, but "She goes, she goes, faster than an arrow from the Tartar's bow."
More later

A day

2009-07-10T20:21:00.000-07:00

This morning I failed to notice that the forecast mentioned thunderstorms. We got on the road by 7:30, great. Then we got delayed by a very long train, then the lightening, rain, flat tire, more rain. Still we had gone 20 miles by 10:15, which was not too bad.
The positive was that the cloud cover kept the heat down. Still hit 90's, but it was a cool 90's.
Later in the day we stopped in at Cooky's Cafe in Golden City for great pie!
We are in a motel tonight, happily cool, and watching bad tv. We'll be up early tomorrow and off to Chanute. Did I mention tar we are now in KANSAS! Looks to be really hot.
I have more to write about Missouri - it is good, I like the state and the route was great. I will say that the hills are sometimes endless, sharp little hills that you cannot see over until you are at the top. Trucks (big trucks, with logs and other big stuff), they hide too. If there were shoulders on the roads, it wouldn't be so bad, but guess what: no shoulders! It's good to not be playing armadillo.
Sleep, now.

hot enough for ya?

2009-07-10T04:31:00.003-07:00

sorry for the short entries, still on the tiny keyboard. Yesterday was94 with heat index of 102. Today that goes up to 104, but it getsbetter! In Kansas we'll hit 100 (107 with the humidity); how do youspell fun?

Trying to get on the road by 7, two hours later than my preference, butalso two hours earlier than the norm; they'll be thanking me later andI'll make early risers yet!

provided all goes well, we' be in Kansas tonight!

we found a cool hat on the road and Karina looks outrageous in it, I'lltry to get more photos up soon. another interesting item- in the URkdepartment the raccoons still rule, but no kidding, as soon as wecrossed the Mississippi we saw our first armidillo ( in flattenedform); it looked like they might male a run at the title.

Ken missed a turn yesterday AM, added some extra heat to his day. I hada little nap on the pavement of a Baptist church that had the greatdesign sence to have a covered entry (88 in the shade felt wonderful!)

we passed through "Booger Country", I don't know,

alright, gotta get out of here!

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Missouri- hot & hills

2009-07-09T04:10:00.003-07:00

tryiing for an early start today. high90's, humid. I'll fill in withmore of the details(like there is really more to say about that)tonight.

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Some days are better than others, but the are all good days!

2009-07-07T06:51:00.000-07:00

Backing up a little. On the 4th of July in New Harmony we were treated to another visit from cousins; this time it was Brian (Christy's brother), Carolyn, and Karina's 16 year old cousin Cubby. They arrived in a big Winnebago sort of vehicle and it was great!! A place to get in out of the rain, a place to visit, eat, drink and watch some video (wii). They were terrific!

Karina got to spend the night sleeping under the cover of a hard roof, I slept in the tent in the rain, got a little wet, was glad that Karina didn't.

The morning of the 5th we had a great breakfast (pancakes and ice cream), then I was tied up with some mechanical work while Karina and Cubby and Carolyn went off to the swimming area to check out the water slide and all that fun stuff. They had a ball. Everyone stayed and the day stretched on until finally it was time for dinner. That is when we went to the place in town, The Red Geranium, and had the big dinner, got to meet Jane Owen. She hosted us for dinner, madea donationand was generally the nicest person you'd ever want to meet.

Crossing another river

2009-07-07T04:40:00.003-07:00

today we cross into MO and over the Mississippi River! The last time Idid that via a bridge (I.e. not over in in a plane, or swimming) wasstill the 1970's! Nice day to do it!

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New Harmony

2009-07-06T05:11:00.000-07:00

We have been settled In New Harmony, IN for a few days. We met a woman named Jane Owen, she was in her 90's and she was very nice, and she gave us a tour of the town. She showed us the roofless church, the grainery, a garden dedicaded to her husbends mother, And the second geological laboratory, all beautiful. Saturday had been the Fourth celebraton. We listened to the Declaration of Independance be read, choir song, and a great presentation by the current President of Southern Indiana University. After, we ventured out into a heavy rain for our ride in the golf cart parade through the town (we In our cycles). Next was a BBQ at the town park, a small but super nice crowd in the rain listening to a brass trio play festive music, ate burgers, fresh cobblers and ice cream.
I'll write some more ( of which there is lots), tonight.
Today is sunny, we camped In The town park, the birds are singing and we are back on the road a d into Illinois as soon as we eat, take down and pack up, and cross the Wabash River! 60 miles on the docket for today, and after two days essentially off cycles, we're ready!

some photos

2009-07-03T05:47:00.001-07:00

In no particular order: Karina pointing at a windmill in Ontario, sunset and storm in Erieau, Ontario, Fruit Stand in Ontario, me on the iphone "where are we?", Cedar Point Amusement Park from the ferry, Anny, Cassidy, Tesslin, Karina and me at Wildcat Woods; Karina riding down the road in Ohio someplace (twice), Karina on Red Neck Blvd. near Gnaw Bone, IN., Karina in Republic, OH

Bloomington,evening

2009-07-02T19:16:00.000-07:00

No pictures yet, but I'll get some up soon - promise.

OK, so picking up where I left off, we stop next at a place called Wildcat Woods Camping near Greenville, OH. Anny, Cassidy and Tesslin were waiting for us when we got there, and that was really great, meeting us on there way from Las Vegas, NM to MA. The fellow who runs the campground was super nice (and super nuts, I mean that in a good way), Todd, he let us stay for free, and, then he let Anny and the kids stay in a trailer on the grounds for free also, so we could all stay together for the evening.

The trailer had a screen porch, so we set up for dinner on the porch. The campground had a rec room, the kind we all wish we had in HS! Black lights, pin pall machines, pool table, juke box with classic rock and glow in the dark images on the walls of Pink Floyd DSotM, Led Zep, etc. He had a "wall of shame, where Mike was later able to sign his beer bottle and place it in in the que. Too much.

Anyhow, we had a great dinner, the kids all swam and played around and got to bunk together. We all went out to breakfast together in Greenville the next morning. Anny and the kids set off for the Cape and we were on to the next spot.

We made it to St. Paul, IN. stayed at a place called hidden paradise. It was a huge camping area tucked back in the woods surrounding a former quarry. Good showers. Karina and I didn't get there until after dark, as we had stopped earlier to eat at the Dutch Mill Buffet (or, to over-eat there). By the time we left it was beginning to get dark, so it was well dark by the time we reached the campground. The plus side was that we were out to see the fireflies come out by the gazillions over fields of growing corn and, even better, over fields of wheat that had been recently cut. We tried to videotape, though I am sure that it won't do the scene justice. The show rivaled the rec room (minus the classic rock). It was fun riding in the dark, little to no traffic, and blinkers on.

The next day was the ride where we are now. We rode about 65 miles and our total to date is somewhere in the 900's; pretty good! Now we just have to wrap up the other several thousand miles and that'll be that!

Tomorrow it's on to New Harmony to get ready for the 4th and the parade and all that. I'll get lots of photos of that. I actually saw a costume today, red and white stripes, blue with white stars, top hat, Karina would have looked outrageous in that for the parade, but I passed on the additional expense and we'll go with our CAMP shirts (which if you are in the east and look west towards Indiana this evening, you may be able to pick up the glow in the western sky).

We miss you all; thank you all for comments and encouragements, and we will persist and get there in just seven more weeks! SEVEN MORE! So strange, and great.

Bloomington, afternoon

2009-07-02T15:15:00.000-07:00

Hi, Karina and I went off with Eric, Rita, Alex and Carissa for a great lunch at a neat little place near the university today. After we all went to Griffy Lake, rented canoes and kayaks and spent an hour or so paddling around the lake. Really pretty and it could have been in upstate NY for the landscape. We spotted a Rough Green Snake hanging out in a tree overhanging the water, probably 3' long, skinney, very green, and way cool.

Speaking of long and skinney, Alex is officially taller than me (though to keep him in his place I reminded him that I was still older and needed glasses to see anything - that changed nothing regarding size, but it was all I had to go with).

Got back to the house and I sacked out for an hour or so and now things are heading towards dinnertime! Days off with friends - love em!

Republic, we pedalled on to a capmground called Clinton Lake. We are riding through just beautiful farmland and it is not looking like anything is out there besides barns and corn, soybeans and wheat, then sure enough, a little campground with a whole pile of folks (several hundres), lots of RV's, lots of golf carts, a nice little lake, pavillion, volley ball tournement in process, kids, the works.

Got to swim and had a good dinner. Met a little felow named Bryce. I hear him say to a little girl he's playing with "my birthday was yesterday". Later I tell mim happy birthday and ask how old he is and he says he's five. I sang hin the very short birthday song ("this is your birthday song, it isn't very lo........"). After he tells me he's four and his birthday is in November!! He was a riot. SO I tell him that there is a place in Utah called "Bryce Canyon" and that it was named after him and that he was the King of it. He liiked that and I am pretty sure he spent the rest of the day telling folks in the campground that he was the King of Bryce Canyon!

The next night deserves a ful post of it's own, so I will try to get back to the keyboard at least one more time tonight.

Sleep, pancakes, no cycling today!

2009-07-02T06:41:00.000-07:00

Ahh, a day off again; very nice.

OK, so going back a bit, we spent several days riding along the northern side of Lake Erie. The terrain is generally flat and is pretty with much reduced traffic overall.

First night was spent in a place called Selkirk at a provincial park. Funny story here was that upon arrival I did my usual routines in terms of setting up the tent, arranging gear, etc. My habit is to put my essential stuff (wallet, passports, etc.) next to the tent while setting up and then once the tent is up I move it all inside. Part way through the routine we had dinner, or something, and so that transfer part was interrupted. Towards the end of dinner Karina and Mike reported that some huge animal had come into the campsite and they chased it off. Turns out that the huge animal was a large raccoon and though it was not truly interested in my wallet, it was very interested in the energy bar that shared the same pouch. Being dark-ish at this point in the evening, all we knew was that the animal was gone and that all else was fine. Next morning however, as I looked through everything for my wallet, I came to the conclusion that the thing had been dragged off into the woods by the raccoon. After several minutes of colorful language and searching I did find the pouch (minus the energy bar) about 50 yards down a hillside ravine. The raccoon was kind enough to have unzipped the pouch rather than just tear it to shreds to get at the food.

Speaking of raccoons, they are the winner by far in the URK competition (that being the "unidentifiable road kill" competition). The great part of biking is that you get to hear the birds sing, the streams run and all the stuff you miss in the cars, the downside is that you get animal anatomy 101 as dissected by motorized vehicles; this can be quite a show.

In Canada, we stayed a night with Joe and Michelle at their small campground in Erieau. Beautiful area, super nice people and a really fun stop. Joe is a Captain for ships delivering goods all over including 300 miles off the coast of Greenland. As a career sailor, you can imagine the depth and breadth of the stories. Michelle took Karina off on a several hour excursion in kayaks where they visited a nearby island and got to see a variety of wildlife. The lake can get very rough and there was an impressive storm that came through. Wind, lightening, pelting rain. We set up for dinner in their boathouse BARn, where we were dry and quite content. Later the strom blew past and we sat around the campfire until late in the evening.

Next day we were off to catch the Ferry in Kingsville. The lake was calm, the day sunny and delightful. We stopped over at Peele Island for a few hours where we took time to replace a spoke on Kens rear wheel and Karina got to go swimming several times. The crossing resumed and we got into sandusky about 7:30 PM. You come into the port by sailing up to and past Cedar Point, which is a roller coaster park on steroids! There is one ride we could see where the cars shoot essentially strait up several hundred feet (fast as you can imagine in order to get that mass and weight up that high), then a slight pause (maybe 2 seconds) then the cars tip downward past 90 degrees and plummet towards the ground in freefall. You can hear the screams probably in Canada, we went nowhere near that one. Oh, did I mention that as the cars are doing the death dive that they also spin around two revolutions, nice touch, kind of a bonus.

We spent the night at a KOA in Sandusky. Our neighbor was in the most tweaked out RV ever! I can't even really begin to describe the machine to do it justice, but it was pulling a trailer that contained a Lexus as the scooting around vehicle (which may give some indication of the rest of the rig). The inside of the bus itself had sort of stone covered walls. The cargo holds underneath opened to display a full flat screen TV. Anyhow, top shelf.

The next morning we rode onto Republic, OH (about 40 miles), got there early enough that we could hop back in the car and go back to Cedar Point for the evening. If you do ever go to Cedar Point, take at least a day or two and start with the "death plunge", after that everything else will be within your limits. They do have a variety of rides for the more vomit adverse, which Karina and enjoyed some of those. Had a great ride on "Wildcat", sort of a classic smaller rollercoaster; that was great and was a first for Karina!

I'll write some more tonight. I'll see if I can put on some photos, too.

Bloomington!

2009-07-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

And,you know what that means A) a computer with a keyboard and internet access and B) COUSINS! We are all tired, but happy to have arrived. I will recount the past several days in the morning, I am too tired to do much right now. Today was about 65 miles, overcast and low 60's - no rain, great day to ride. Went through a town named Gnaw Bone! Karina did great, which has become standard. Rita and Carissa cooked a great dinner so we are all full and happy as can be. Eric looked over the itinerary and found the missing day, something that I probably would not have found until I was actually in the middle of missing it!

More in the morning...

Headwind

2009-06-29T20:08:00.003-07:00

First, typing with one finger and a keyboard the size of a matchbook is no fun for a guy who can't see without glasses and is too lazy to go get them. Anyhow...

A beautiful day to generate electricity if you are a windmill! But no rain, a super nice lady bought karina and I lumch. Best of all, we have visitors! Anny, cassidy and tesslin are with us tonight! I will write more about what has been happening over the last week once we get to Bloomington in a few more days.

Also, Karina's comment about the roller coaster should have said "OH MY!"

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Lima

2009-06-28T19:55:00.003-07:00

Big head wind in the afternoon plus a presistant leak in my rear tube slowed things down . Only managed 50 total, but they were beauties.

The laptop seems to have crashed, so I am on the virtual keyboard - joy.

We will have visitors tomorrow night- details later.

Two other things, one - if you feel inclined to make a donation, don,t be shy. Second, there is a raffel - tickets are $10 and first prize is one of the trikes ($3000 value - and very cool).

One more, if any of you know (or are) wives or mothers of military in Iraq or Afghanistan, we have some donated pearl necklaces to give to those people - just let me know.

Enough for tonight. Thanks!

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Where are we today

2009-06-28T11:25:00.003-07:00

McCutchenville, OH? We were just there this morning!

Nice day. 30 miles down, 40 to go!

Road a roller coaster last night at Cedar Point, OH. If you really like roller coasters, that's the place to go. Karina says "it my!"

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What an awsome day!

2009-06-22T19:41:00.000-07:00

If you have never been to Niagara Falls, you absolutely must go. It is so much more amazing than I was ready for and we had just the perfect day weather-wise to take it in. We got drenched by the American Falls, Karina was in and out of the torrents of spray for half an hour before she finally was ready to go to the next thing. I would watch her dissappear into the spray, then after a half a minute she would race out to the railing, rake and squeeze the water from her hair, big smile, then right back in. So wonderful.

Later we walked over the Rainbow Bridge to the Canadian side and got great views of the falls, then went for a ride on the Maid of the Mist boat. I figured we were going to get totally drenched, but the boat eventually navigated to this spot where the mists kind of missed, so we could take photos and all that. The water coming down. incredible.

couple of more photos

2009-06-22T06:59:00.000-07:00

Sun came out for a bit! Karina on her trike taken near LeRoy, NY along Rt5.

The other is of the sky near Windam, NY between storms!

some photos

2009-06-22T06:52:00.000-07:00

Photo of Karina and Lilah.

Lilah told me yesterday that since it was Father's day and I was not there, that she had changed it to Daughter's Day!

Thanks for all the messages!

2009-06-22T06:42:00.000-07:00

Hi again, thanks to you all for the messages and comments! It is really fun! I wish I actually understood all this computer stuff better so I could comment back and all that, but I don't.(just happy to be having as much technological success as I have been so far!)

I'll Try to post some more photos today. Because the first bit has been a lot of pedaling, I have taken less photos than I might have. I mean, after all, how many photos does one need to see of a road in the rain with a field next to it (though, there have been some breathtaking fields, great roads, etc). I could have probably taken a photo of the insane pit bull that was just dying to break its chain to shred us, but I decided to get the hell out of there instead! (you can jsut get the mental image - mentally unstable dog on chain with bare ground under his range, huge mouth and big muscles (next day I bought pepper spray just in case. I have also been practicing light sabre techniques with my tire pump!)

Layover near Buffalo

2009-06-22T06:19:00.001-07:00

Hi, yesterday was a fine ride. Actually had been scheduled for 75 miles but decided that 56 was enough, especially after the ride in the rain the day before. We had good weather afterall, just a little mist now and then.

A couple of things to fix early on, chain adjustments, brake adjustments, another flat. I think we have almost filled our quota on that stuff, so pretty soon we'll have no more of that (do you believe me?; you shouldn't).

I am finally breaking down today and buying a pair of legitimate bike shorts with the padded butt. Looks like the trikes are still a few days off, we are now looking at Sandusky, OH and the pick up point. That being the case, I thought that some amenities were in order, hence the shorts and I am also going to put the clip pedals on the cycle that I am riding - enough of this toughing it out!

We are staying with friends outside of Buffalo, which is fabulous for all the reasons that you could think of. Karina just woke up (a little after 9), I have been up since 6 or so (my clock has apparently reset itself to early mode).

We'll take it slow this morning, then it's off to Niagara Falls for the rest of the day. Looks like it should be fine weather.

About the end of the day yesterday Karina announced that I was torturing her as we had to ride past a carnival in Stafford without stopping, immediately followed by passing a mini-golf place! Not sure that qualifies as serious torture, but perhaps minor.

The ride from Canandaigua was much more uphill than I was expecting (any of us). Seemed like we spent the majority of the day going up, even though I know that is not really possible. Anyhow, the combination of the day before and the drain of what seemed like endless hills minus the fun of the fast cruises downhill, made for a harder day. Having said that, we still put in over 50 miles and there was no mutany (maybe a slight boycott). We are all glad to not be on the cycles today!

Tomorrow we cross the bridge into Canada for the remainder of the week.

another photo

2009-06-21T05:04:00.003-07:00

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uphill in the rain

2009-06-21T04:54:00.003-07:00

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Ditto

2009-06-21T03:45:00.000-07:00

Good Morning. 6:30am, and it's Groundhog Day (as in the Bill Murry movie); it's also the first day of summer.

It is not raining yet, but it reminds me of when I was in Ireland with Jon and Steve and we seemed to be endlessly stuck in clouds and rain, the morning conversation would go like this (each phrase was spoken daily, by each person, multiple times per day for ten days): (upon waking one of us would unzip the tent flap, stick their head out and survey the day) "How's it look out there?" "I think it looks brighter, we might be OK. (momentary optimism)" "yeah, OK. (reality strikes)" Then it would rain as usual, though the precipitation was blissfully punctuated by multiple stops for Cake, Butter and plenty of beer. Rarely noticed the rain in the afternoons, though the conversation repeated from pub doorways, or sheep barns, or from under eves or awnings.

Anyhow, it is looking brighter outside. And, I am sure that by the time we get to Kansas that we'll all be remembering the cool. wet, rainy and overcast days with heartfelt romance, wishing that we'd have some shade.

We have somewhere around 70 miles to go today. Happy Father's Day!

Singing in the Rain

2009-06-20T19:14:00.000-07:00

Yeah, OK, so it did in fact rain on us the entire ride today, but we were relentless and just plowed through it. We left the IC boathouse about 8:15 and by the time we had gotten to just past the Glenwood Pines I had two flats! Patching in the rain is a joy,. Then I found that the tire was split, so I had to perform triage on that and successfully plugged the tire and then rode it another 60 miles! Might just see how much of the day I can get it to go tomorrow!

Later, Karina had a chain issue, so we dodged into a dilapedated barn behind a house that was for sale to do that repair in relative dryness. Success again, and then we pounded out the last 12 miles to Canandaigua.

We got to see three of the albino deer that reside in a reservation alongside of Rt96a in/near Romulous (sp). Very cool animals! Did not get photos (as the rain was too risky for the digital camera).

Got to see a wedding at Taughannock Falls overlook, that was nice (and somewhat wet).

We are inside and dry tonight, warm again and ready to sleep. I have had my preemptive ibuprophen, but I am hoping that after we leave the Buffalo area that I won't need that any longer.

The TiTrikes are soon to be here! Can't wait (nor can my sore butt). The photos of the trikes are phenominal and I am confident that the real deal is going to be much, much better. The plan is for them to be delivered to us in Buffalo.

I have been riding a last minute touring bike that is a little less well fitted that is optimal, and my backside was not fully prepared for the saddle ride that I have been getting. No blisters, but plenty of sore. That's enough on that.

Karina is starting to really figure out her legs and strength and becomming more and more confident in her capacities. Three days ago I was able to ask her "so, we have riddne 25 miles already, do you feel like you have ridden that far?" and she'd say "no." Today the question was "You have just ridden 50 miles, do you feel like you have ridden that far?", and I get the same answer "no." We made almost 70 miles today and as we were fixing the broken chain at the 60 mile mark, soaked and cold and rummaging in a funky old barn to stay out of the rain while we repaired the chain, we are laughing, screwing around and generally both in good moods.

The terrain was much less hilly today and for one stretch of favorable flat Karina was busting 24 mph for almost 5 miles, I was busting trying to keep up (my cold knees were less than happy today).

I'll try to get photos up sometime soon. I haven't quite been rady to tackle that little tech project, but maybe tomorrow night. We'll see.

Thanks for the comments and all that - wish I could see you all!

Leaving Ithaca

2009-06-20T03:45:00.000-07:00

Well, it's a good thing that we are not here for one more day, the general pull of the area, the friends in the area, etc., and we might have had to stay all summer! Great place.

Wend to see the EAC Montessori production of Peter Pan last night at the State Theater. Outstanding.

Tons of thanks to Dan and Becky, Connor and Eli for hosting us here; it's been a blast!

We are now off north and then west to arrive near Canandaigua today, then Sunday it's on to more friends outside of Buffalo! Can't wait (though apparently Karina is finding the bed more appealing thasn the breakfast table (for the moment))! Got to go!

Ithaca

2009-06-18T19:12:00.000-07:00

Alright! Here and at a real keyboard at last, so I can write a little more than the basics.

Today was great ride - about 30 miles (a relief after doing almost 70 the day before). We got to sleep a little later than usual and that gave the heavy rain time to pass. By the time we left Marathon, NY, the sky was grey but dry for the next several hours. A word about the hills between Oneonta and Marathon, they are not for the faint of heart. To give you a little idea of who the 13 year old is who is riding this trip, two short stories.

First, on the first day, 50+ miles, toward the end of the day we are tired, knees sore, Karina is cranking away up a hill and I have hopped of the bike to walk a little. I suggest to Karina that she hop off the trike for a bit to walk up the last bit of the hill, her response was clear and to the point: Dad, I am riding across America, not walking!" That pretty much shut me up.

Yesterday, huge hills, three long days behind us, 8pm, getting dark, raining significantly, we had the opportunity to get trucked the last 8 miles. I asked Karina if she wanted to ride, she said yes. I told the guys in the truck to take off and we got ready to ride a little more. Then she tells me: "dad, I meant I wanted to ride in the truck!". No option, no tears, just back on the bike and she pedaled another 4 miles uphill. Got picked up when it was really too dark to ride safely any longer, but if we had lights, she would have just kept on. Incredible kid!

So, this morning I am getting ready to leave the campground, walking up to the front entrance and there is this guy who just pulled in in an RV, I say good morning and he says good morning, and I say, Hey, I know you! Turns out that he used to live in Cummington, moved four years ago to Florida and just happened to be traveling in the NE. What are the chances of this happening?

I am in Ithaca ten minutes, getting a smoothin at CTB in Collegetown and I run into Mark Ladd! Great things just keep on happening! Knock on wood they continue just like that.

Tomorrow afternoon I am still planning to visit the Ithaca commons between 4 and 6, so if any of you are in the area and what to say hello, keep your eyes peeled.

We had a BBQ at the IC boathouse tonight which was fun. I watched Karina catch a duck, just scoop it up!

The ride through the Catskills was really nice. Big hill to climb up to Windham, and it was in the clouds. There is a biz there that advertises a five state view, couldn't see anything! Took a pic of Karina pointing at the fog! Karina says "five state view my a--!"

A short while later we crest the top of the hill and the shy breaks open and it is just so beautiful that you would never believe that only minutes and miles earlier it was a complete wet fog bank!

I'll see if I can load up a few pictures soon.

We set the iphone up on the back of Karina's trike so we can listen to music. Current favorites are the sound track from Mama Mia, HAIR, and Beatles Abby Road! Life is good!

More soon.

Oneonta

2009-06-16T19:07:00.000-07:00

Made it 60 miles today. East of windham was a cloud. West over the pass it got clear and lovely. Went through a town named Butts Corner, thought you'd like to know such a place exists!

Had steaks for dinner, dessert at the shiney diner. Life is good!

Time to pass out.

In the wet

2009-06-16T03:16:00.000-07:00

Some rain yesterday, but not too bad. Karina and missed the turn for the campground, so we got a bonus ride of 1 mile very uphill! We get to ride it again this morning! Sorry about the double posts! I probably won't get that sorted out until Ithaca. Hoping to get near oneonta by the end of today. Ken had his first flat at the end of yesterday, I patched it once in the dark, and then more successfully this morning!

Typing with one finger is a pain! (unless I am at my keyboard at home, then it is just business as usual!)

Day 2 near windham

2009-06-15T16:12:00.003-07:00

Wild day. It took a lot longer to get to the eve bridge than expected. Thanks patty Alexander and elliott for the welcome to copake falls. Really nice! When I get to somewhere that I can wifi. I'll post more. We are not too sore'

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