Hello World
Spent my first bike trip prep week back on the farm. I didn't get much tractor time due to all the rain, but had plenty of time to enjoy the family and actually start planning for the adventure ahead.
D-Day -6
Pre-trip chaos ensues. What you see on the table is 90% of what we are carrying on the road. We are taking a minimalist approach...
D -1
We made it to Seattle! The Aircaddy bike boxes proved to be a worthwhile investment afterall. One very early morning Uber XL later, we arrived at Logan...
Seattle to Index, WA
Kate and I had the quintessential Seattle send-off yesterday with cool temps, cloudy skies, and rain. But we met some wonderful people at every juncture...
Index to Leavenworth, WA
Hey guys! What a day yesterday was. If you're wondering at all what possessed us to do this bike ride across America, don't worry, we are too...
Leavenworth to Wenatchee, WA
Okay! Recovery Day complete. We got our bike gears improved for the rest of the Rockies and moved our seats up a cm to take some of the strain off our knees...
Wenatchee to Coulee City to Spokane
Friends! Sorry for our lack of updates these past two days. During that time we've covered 175 miles and climbed 6,062 ft. Our bodies are sore in lots of places...
Spokane, WA → Beyond Hope, ID → Thompson Falls MT → Missoula, MT
We are long overdue for an update. After our last post, my Mom commented that we needed to include more of the hardships. It's true, behind all of the Instagram photos...
Ovando, MT → Helena, MT
Hey there! It was another hot day today, but it felt great compared to the last three days we complained about in yesterday's post. We stayed in Ovando, MT last night...
Helena to White Sulpher Springs, MT
Our day started with a great send off from the nicest guy in Montana--our WarmShowers host Joel. We slept great, got to do laundry, and had a lovely chat before hitting the road...
White Sulphur Springs, MT → Ryegate, MT → Billings, MT
Our riding plans have been at the mercy of the weather these past two days. Both Thursday and Friday we were unable to reach our target destination...
Billings, MT → Garyowen, MT → Broadus, MT
It was only after finishing our ride and sitting down in a local bar that Kate and I learned of the tragedy in Orlando that took place Saturday evening...
Broadus, MT → Alzada, MT → Rapid City, SD
After our long day into Broadus, we turned off the alarms and woke up late (7:30) on Monday. There aren't many towns in southeast Montana...
Rapid City, SD → Interior, SD → White River, SD → Ainsworth, NE
South Dakota is not exactly a road bike friendly state--at least not the roads we were on. However, the genuine and friendly people we met at every juncture more than made up for it...
Ainsworth, NE → O'Neill, NE → Norfolk, NE → Fremont, NE
If South Dakota was a tough cookie with all its hills and 3-inch road seams, Nebraska was (mostly) a hot windy pancake...
Freemont, NE → Shenandoah, IA → the Farm → Leon, IA
The morning in Fremont was our earliest start yet. We had special incentive. By the end of the 100 mile ride to Shenandoah, we would be within an hour's drive of Maryville, MO...
Leon, IA → Oskaloosa, IA → Iowa City, IA
We set sail from Leon after a delicious breakfast of what is becoming our new standard fare: oatmeal, two eggs over easy, and toast at a local cafe called From The Ground...
Iowa City, IA → Geneseo, IL → Morris, IL → Hebron, IN
Our love for Iowa, and Iowa City in particular, started in 2011 while Ben was on his second year-long deployment to Afghanistan...
Plymouth, IN → Butler, IN → Gibsonburg, OH → Westlake, OH → Conneaut, OH
We kept our visit in Plymouth low key and enjoyed barbeque with my dad on our patio. My childhood friend, Amanda, also took a half day from work so she could drive up...
Conneaut, OH → Avon, NY → Ithaca, NY
We awoke in our Conneaut, Ohio B&B (such a treat after so much camping!!) to a scrumptious breakfast with the owners, Dale and Sheila, and set out to celebrate July 4th...