Monday was our first day in Kansas. Our first day we stopped in Coldwater, where we camped by Lake Coldwater. For the last 50 miles, we had a steady 30 mph crosswind turned headwind, with close to 40 mph gusts. Needless to say, we paced a lot slower than our previous days. The next day was into Dodge City, where we had a steady 20 mph headwind the whole day. (Both days were 90 miles). Today, we rode into Garden City, and rode about 20 of our 55 miles on stripped pavement - basically rumblestrips.
If you haven't noticed, Kansas is definitely my least favorite state! And did I mention all the feed lots and trucks full of cows we passed on the road? A local told us that between three cities here, they slaughter 27,000 cows per day - yikes. Let's just say I'd much rather climb a mountain any day.
Can't wait for Colorado tomorrow!
Route Map
Our route: Nags Head, NC to San Diego, CA
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Best Birthday Ever!
Jared and Steve pulled for me the whole way from Ponca City, OK to Cherokee, OK. They let me take first. I chalked it at the church. We rode 81.6 miles in 3h 45m - that's a 21.5 mph pace!
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Saturday, June 18, 2011
What remains for a rainy day
There's a coffee cake too! And I donated the basket to the church, which they now use as a bread basket :)
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Thanks Mom and Dad!
Stews care package - I don't think I could ask for a better birthday gift :)
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Road closed
But not to worry - the construction workers were kind enough to stop everything and let all 33 of us walk our bikes across the half mile road block so we could continue on our route. I've certainly learned to expect the unexpected, and roll with it.
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Bartlesville, OK
We spent the last three days in Bartlesville, OK. There, we worked with the local Habitat for Humanity Chapter. We accomplished a lot, including putting in a new garage roof, priming and painting the whole interior of a house, and framing another house. The community was very appreciative of our efforts, and gave us some great accommodations and dinner in return.
Bison
We hung out with some bison about 10 miles outside of Grove, OK. I think this is the first time I've been so up close with them. I was surprised at how calm they were - except when they started fighting for one of my teammate's attention. One seemed to take a strong liking to Ben and wanted him all for herself. We did manage to distract her by giving her pieces of apple to eat. But then she was back to Ben.
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Thursday, June 16, 2011
Missouri State Line
We biked about 10 miles in the state, before returning back to Oklahoma.
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Tenacious Toplip Tuesday
The guys have Mustache Monday, so the ladies named this a day. We all used bike chain grease to make our 'staches.
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Sunday, June 12, 2011
Little Rock, AR to Clarksville, AR
Today marked the longest ride of our trip thus far. We biked 102 miles, marking my first century ride. We couldn't have asked for a better day. There was a steady cloud cover, temperatures hovered around 80, and we all had sufficient nutrition donated by Gu and Cliffbar. With a little adrenaline in the mix, we managed to finish the ride with a 17.3 mph average pace, active biking time of 5 hours and 50 minutes, with max of 40 and a min of around 8 mph (there were some big hills). Shout outs to Becca, Steve, and Ben for keeping the dream team alive. It was also great to ride with Emily and he dad Joe. Thanks for lunch at Atkin's Cafe Joe! Nothing like second breakfast.
We're now staying at the University of the Ozarks. It's a real treat to have dorm beds to sleep in. Although I took a 2 hour nap before dinner (graciously provided by our host Dawn - spaghetti and meatballs and salad...num num) this evening, I'm about ready to hit the hay. 5 am wake up. Night everyone.
We're now staying at the University of the Ozarks. It's a real treat to have dorm beds to sleep in. Although I took a 2 hour nap before dinner (graciously provided by our host Dawn - spaghetti and meatballs and salad...num num) this evening, I'm about ready to hit the hay. 5 am wake up. Night everyone.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Little Rock Build
We salvaged valuables from an abandoned warehouse in North Little Rock for the local habitat for humanity restore. We easily collected a couple thousand dollars worth of stuff.
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Ice Cream
We built in Little Rock today. A habitat volunteer Tom treated us to ice cream.
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Little Rock, AR
We biked on a river path through Little Rock. There was a pedestrian bridge over the Arkansas River.
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Friday, June 10, 2011
This was our cue sheet yesterday.
The only way for us to get out of Memphis was to walk across a mile long bridge and then bike on interstate-55 for 0.5 miles! As we were entering the highway there was a sign that said no bicycles on the highway. But we all made it - safe and sound.
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We crossed the Mississippi on Thursday, June 9th
Right before we walked across the bridge in the pedestrian lane out of Memphis, TN and into West Memphis, AR.
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We arrived in Memphis, TN on Tuesday, June 7
On Wednesday we had a day off. Starting Tuesday afternoon, we celebrated with a pool party at a mutual friend's house. On Wednesday, we spent the day downtown. We went to the Arcade for their famous sweet potato pancakes, went to the National Civil Rights Museum, went to Rendezvous for the city's famous BBQ ribs, and saw X: First Class in theaters. Pictured here is the Lorraine Hotel, the site of the civil rights museum - room 306 is where Martin Luther King was staying when he was assassinated.
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Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Chickasaw State Park
We stopped to cool off at the lake on the way to Bolivar, TN. Ashley (left) and Jen after our swim.
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Monday, June 6, 2011
Typical Lunch Stop
Each day, one of the trip leaders drives a 15 passenger van and trailer along the route. About halfway to our destination, the driver will pull over the trailer and we will stop there for lunch. We typically have PB&J and fruit, and if we are lucky we will get left overs from last night's dinner. On days that are longer than 90 miles, we have two lunch stops.
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Friday, June 3, 2011
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