Day 50 - The Atlantic Ocean

43 Miles / Day 50 of 50 / Suffolk, VA to Ocean View Beach Park, VA

Thank you Alexa, Rose, and Brad for welcoming us home as we hit the Atlantic. Thank you to everyone for the love and support along the way.

Jack and I are going to take some time off of the bike to catch our breathe, we'll make one final post soon. Thanks for reading the blog and being part of the adventure.

One love.

Day 49 - Weldon, NC to Suffolk, VA

70 Miles / Day 49 of 50 / Weldon, NC to Suffolk, VA

We woke up to Donnell getting ready for work, he's been teaching summer school the past two months in Weldon. Talk about a nice way to start the day. We hadn't seen Don since the school year ended and we caught up on life until he had to leave for work around 7:30 pm. Shout out to Donnell for teaching over his break. FTK baby.

We went back to sleep and caught a little more rest before waking up for good and getting ready to ride our second to last day on the bike. Time flies.

Lesson #92: There are no secrets in a small town. Always trust your teachers.

We stopped at the Rockfish Grill (Weldon claims to be the "Rockfish Capital of the World") and we're approached by a high school student -

"You guys the ones riding tha bikes all across America?"
"Yup."
"I knew it! Mr. Cannon my summer school teacher told us about you all, but we didn't believe him for a minute. Guess he was really telling the truth."

10 down, 70 miles to the ocean.

We crossed the border back into Virginia in the midafternoon and rode another 30 miles to the Davis Lake Campground.

We loaded up on our last gas station dinner of the trip (shout out to 7 Eleven) and pigged out on sugary snacks while we sat on the beach as the sunset and took a second to take a deep breathe and think back over the past 7 weeks.

Fixing Jack's spoke for the last time.

\Total counts between Jack and I, new tires = 3, new tubes = 14, new spokes = 11. Here's to seeing the finish line tomorrow.

Lesson #93: The more comfortable you are with yourself the more willing you are to extend help to other people.

Your outlook on the world determines how you interact and treat the people around you. We blame the environment and/or people around us for how we act but it's our outlook that determines our actions.

The more comfortable and secure you are with yourself the less you view the world and people as threats. The less threatening you perceive the world to be the more you're willing to stretch and put yourself out there.

When Jack and I are asking random strangers for help it's not about how we approach them, something special we say, or anything like that. All we can do is be ourselves.

The more time and effort Jack and I spend talking to people and making the ask for help the more likely we are to connect with someone who is willing to take time out of their day, put themselves out there, and help us.

Shoutout to the people in our lives who have given us this life where we can go on a ride like this. Shoutout to the people we have met and continue to meet along the way who are willing to help us and make this ride happen.

It was the perfect way to end our last night.

Thank you to Don for the place to crash last night.

Last post!

The next time we post we'll have finished our 3,8000 mile trek from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. We just wanted to take a minute to reflect and thank you all for your love, encouragement, kind words and support. Without so many loved ones helping us and cheering for us along the way, there's no way we would have finished this dream!

We'll be finishing on Tuesday, July 30 at 3 p.m. at Ocean View Beach Park in Norfolk, VA. If you are in the area or would like to spend a fun day at the beach, we'd love to see you there at the finish line.

Again, so much love has been showed to us this trip and we are incredibly grateful. Cheers to the finish.

Day 48 - Oxford, NC to Weldon, NC

65 Miles / Day 48 of 50 / Oxford, NC to Weldon, NC

I woke up late this morning after sleeping in my own bed (!) and Seth waking up even later. First day all trip that we didn't set an alarm. (You know we're getting close when...)

We hung out with the group in the morning and Kasey decided to join us for part of our ride today. We loved every minute of it, as Kasey has become an avid biker and it was great to get some company for the day. Kasey's the only guy on our trek who's ridden with us. We had a great day!

We took back roads to Henderson, where I teach and actually biked right by my school. Glad that I don't have to be back there for three more weeks :) We biked right by Seth's old house as well as his high school. Talk about surreal.

After we left Henderson (12 miles in) it started down pouring and we got drenched for about 15-20 miles. Like soak you to the bone wet.

We stopped in Warrenton, where Seth teaches, for some Chinese food and Kasey bid adieu to us as he was biking back to Oxford for the day.

It dried up and Seth and I really hit the miles hard. We were on flat pavement and good weather so we were straight cruising. Additionally, we only had 60ish miles to do today as we have no huge mileage days remaining (we are finishing slower as to enjoy our final miles) and we got to Weldon early. We're crashing with our teaching friend, Donnell tonight in Weldon. Thanks for the crib, Don!

Day 47 - Stoneville, NC to Oxford, NC

96 Miles / Day 47 of 50 / Stoneville, NC to Oxford, NC

Today was a milestone for us in a way. It was our last big mileage day of our journey!

When we rerouted our trip, we knew we were going to have a few days with big miles in order to reach our goal of finishing by the 30th, and this was the last of them.

What made this day so great though was knowing our end destination. We'd be staying at my house tonight and have the opportunity of some great friends visiting us and catching up on what we've all done with our summers, so we were anxious to get home.

After another night of sleeping by a basketball court (I'm sensing a theme here) we awoke early to crank the mileage out.

It's been fantastic being able to introduce new parts of NC to Seth. I've been here for the last 5 years and have been fortunate to see most areas of the state. Seth just finished his first year in NC so it's great to see him excited for new places and new terrain.

We stopped for breakfast at Dick's Drive In in Eden, NC. After a wonderful breakfast, we started talking to the owners of the restaurant--they've been there for over 50 years!--and shared what an incredible journey we've had. They gave us free t-shirts to remember them by and to commemorate our trip.

Lesson # 90: People are still interested in our story. Don't be afraid to share it with them.

We worked our way East through the Piedmont on US 158 all day and started to see signs for Oxford about 30 miles out.

We flew the last 30 miles and arrived at home around 4:30. It was really a crazy feeling biking on the roads that I spent so much time training for this very opportunity.

Lesson #91: Family over everything.

Roommates Brad and Kasey were home and welcomed us with open arms. Again, it was surreal being home again after being gone for so many weeks.

Our friend Krista joined us, as did Shane and Clara (shout out to Shane and Clara, avid blog readers, I know you're reading this. So thanks.)

We had a great night cooking, laughing and catching up. It is pretty special to have such a great group of friends after one short year together teaching in NC. We are truly blessed.

Day 46 - Sparta, NC to Stoneville, NC

86 Miles / Day 46 of 50 / Sparta, NC to Stoneville, NC

We woke up ready to roll and realizing how close to the end we really are. 4 days. Still doesn't make sense or really feel like we're in North Carolina.

We climbed through last of Appalachian Mountains and made it as we descended through the foothills.

Today's route had us going through Mt. Airy. Mt. Airy is the town that inspired Mayberry and the beloved Andy Griffith Show. To all the Andy and Opie fans out there we ate lunch at the Bluebird Diner.

Lesson #89: North Carolina shows the love.

No bias here - there has been a noticeable difference between North Carolina and the other 9 states we've biked through so far. People are patient on the road, give us space, and seem to be looking out for our best interests. (Three cars stopped in a 90 second period to see if we needed help when we were fixing Jack's broken spoke) Thank you for showing the love NC. We got us.

A mere 10,700 feet lower than the Western Continental Divide.

We biked through the afternoon heat and struck gold. You know those once in a lifetime ideas? Jack had one. We talked about children's book ideas and ideas for next what could make the next great Pixar movie. We'd tell you all the details but you'll see it on the big screen soon enough. Jack and I figured out by the time we sell the rights to Pixar, cash out, and they actually animate and make the film it'll be about the Spring of 2015. Payday baby.

We pedaled into Stoneville and had our classic dinner of milk & cereal and cheese & crackers from Dollar General. We asked around for a place to camp and we're coming up empty handed. When in doubt, find the police. We found the police chief and he gave us permission to camp in the park at the edge of town. The gates lock at night but he said we were welcome to stay there.

Ball is life.

We set up our tent on the outdoor stage overlooking basketball court.

We found an old soccer ball and shot hoops with it for a good 2 hours. We were in heaven. Ball is life.

The end is near.

Day 45 - Damascus, VA to Sparta, NC

68 Miles / Day 45 of 50 / Damascus, VA to Sparta, NC

Thank you to "The Place" for the shower and place to stay. We packed up our bikes on the front porch and talked to two Appalachian Trail hikers about their adventures. Their parting words. America has become a fascist state where the corporations control the government  and society. Nothing like a little light talk to start the day at 6:30 am in the morning.

We left Damascus embarking on our last big climb of the trip. You read that right. The final passage of sorts. 2000 feet of vertical climb in about 20 miles. Lets get it.

The climb up was gorgeous. We intersected the Appalachian Trail multiple times as we zig-zagged up the mountains and alongside the Dan River.

We were about 4 miles from the top when we stopped for a Gatorade at a roadside homemade rest stop.

Lesson #88: "I'd rather build something useful that sit my life away on the porch."

Ronald Regan (yes) had built a rest stop for bikers (motorcycle focused) high in the Appalachian Mountains. It was a self-made paradise that had fee camping, a stage for show, a renovated RV, and a cabin (both for rent for $10 a night). Ronald had built the cabin out of old recycled shipping pallets. A true innovator at heart. All profit that Ronald makes goes to the Wounded Warriors project to support injured veterans.

Jack and Ronald Regan.

Just as we finished the climb we crossed the border into NC. Home at last.

9 down, 1 to go.

We enjoyed the downhill of the other side of the mountain and turned to go off of Adventure Cycling maps. We were going rouge from here to Virginia Beach. Less mileage, fewer climbs, and being able to bike through our home state instead of Virginia is what inspired the re-route.

Getting directions. Lost. And soon to be, thanks to David, found.

We rode into Sparta at sunset and ate dinner at the Brown Box Cafe. Dinner and a hotel room had been given to us by Pastor Bruce from First Methodist Church. We called him a few days earlier to ask if we could sleep in the church basement and he did us one better. Thank you for the generosity.

Finish line details!

Hi, friends. Crazy to think about the finish line but we're getting so close. Especially for you NC friends we wanted to give you our finish line and when we'll be there as there will be some friends waiting for us at the finish line. Thanks so much!

We're going to finish our 3,800 mile trek on Tuesday, July 30 around 3 p.m. We'll bike to Ocean View Beach Park in Norfolk, VA and celebrate our 50 day journey. We dipped our rear wheel in the Pacific, right in front of the Golden Gate Bridge on June 11 and we'll dip our front wheel in the Atlantic to commemorate the trip. We would love to see as many of you as possible at the finish line. We'll swim, enjoy the beach and reminisce. Bring you swimsuit! Let's party! Thanks for all your support.

Day 44 - Breaks Interstate State Park, VA to Damascus, VA

88 Miles / Day 44 of 50 / Breaks Interstate State Park, VA to Damascus, VA

Today was day number three of real high mileage so we could hit our checkpoints and finish our trip on time. We woke up in the morning after a night with Scooba and it was pouring. We were trying to get an early start and bang out some mileage early in the day.

Flight from Beijing to New York. Bike from New York to Los Angeles. Limited English proficiency. Talk about guts. Nothing but respect. 

Starting at Breaks it was absolutely pouring.

Lesson #86: Mother Nature is going to control things. Learn to work with her

We waited out the storm so we wouldn't be soaked all day. We had a beautiful ride today through Southwest VA going up and down the Appalachians. Beautiful sprawling farms.

Since we were going off route, we called cities in northern NC that we may be hitting, asking churches if we could throw our sleeping bags inside their church.

At lunch, we got a call back from Bruce, a Presbyterian pastor in Sparta, NC where we were trying to spend the following evening. After talking about our trip, the pastor offered to put us up in a hotel and give us a free dinner!

Lesson #87: You can always ask for requests, the worse someone could say is no.

Pastor Bruce wasn't even going to be in town. He simply said, "My only request is that you remember the hospitality of Sparta."

We knew we had to work hard to get to Sparta the next day.

After almost 90 miles, we rolled into Damascus, Va right on the Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina borders. I was really excited for this town as it's somewhat of a hub for outdoor enthusiasts in the Southeast.

The Appalachian Trail, the Creeper Trail--one of the most popular mountain bike trails in the nation-- and the TransAmerica trail all went through this little town.

It was really cool to see how this little town centered around outdoor pursuits so much. It had a great feel.

We stayed at a place called "The Place" which is a hostel run by the Methodist church in Damascus. As Damascus is one of the only towns the AT runs through. this was a super popular hostel and it was fun staying there and hearing the stories about some of the thru-hikers who had gone through earlier that year.

Day 43 - Hazard, KY to Breaks Interstate State Park, VA

92 Miles / Day 43 of 50 / Hazard, KY to Breaks Interstate State Park, VA

We planned to wake up again at 4:45 am but slept in until almost 7 am. Our bodies needed the extra sleep to recover from yesterdays (almost) century day.

We ate a quick breakfast and were back on the road. Today's mission: crush miles. We had four major climbs through the Appalachian Mountains for the day.

Shortly into the morning ride we met Jerry and rode with him for a couple hours. Jerry, at age 62, is biking across the country with his two younger brothers. They had started their journey in Astoria, Oregon, right on the coast of the Pacific. The Oregon ocean cliffs he talked about sounded out of this world. Jerry had the itch for adventure. At age 60 through hiked the entire Appalachian Trail (2100 miles hiking, Georgia to Maine!).

Jerry and Joe.

We continued to bike through community after community that was loudly and proudly pro-coal. The "If you don't like coal, then don't use electricity" and "Stop the war on coal" bumper stickers / billboards / yard signs were a little different than the Campuses Beyond Coal flyer's I had seen covering campus back at the University of Minnesota.

I stopped on the summit of the our second to last pass to snap some pictures and catch my breathe. A red Dodge Neon pulled up with a young husband and wife with three youngings in the back seat.

"I hope ya got yer pistol up under your shirt."
(Me laughing) "No, no need for that."
"No son, for real. You ever seen 'Deliverance'? These here folks up here will kill ya. Get moving!" 

Just another welcome to Kentucky moment.

9 down, 1 to go.

Lesson #84: Dogs protect their ground. Don't try to negotiate. Get out.

Jack had a stroke of brilliance and grabbed two plastic whistles from General Dollar. Boy did they come in handy. We dodged probably 20 dogs on the afternoon ride alone. And when I say dogs I mean unchained, rural dogs, that chase you chomping at the air, hoping to get you or your bike. The whistles were highly effective.

We stopped at the last grocery store on our route for the day and grabbed dinner. We had about 12 miles to our campsite. We stopped a few miles before the campsite, on a steep turn, to snap a picture of the "Welcome to Virginia" sign.

Lesson #85: (In Kentucky) T-shirts optional.

An older Ford F-150 pulled up and out hopped a shirtless middle age man. He grabbed a cold beer from the back of his cooler, popped the cap off, and asked "What the hell are ya doing"? Quick chit chat and Scooba invited us to come pitch a tent and grab hot showers at his place a few miles down the road. People are kind.

Scooba was a Navy veteran who served in the first Gulf War and a retired coal miner. He described the 80 hour work weeks down in the mines he used to routinely put in before the economy tanked. Sounded absolutely grueling. He pointed to his missing tooth and said he was living in this trailer, that he usually rented out, outside of Breaks Interstate State Park because he was being hunted by someone and couldn't go home. He had been living here for the past six weeks. We pulled into his gravel driveway and he graciously grabbed a jug of fresh water from the convenience store across the street. Scooba talked about his dream to turn the shed next to the trailer into a bikers only hostile with showers, bunk beds, and bike tools. He set us up in his spacious three man tent and Jack and I ate our dinner, showered, and called it an early night. As we were nodding off a Jeep (not Scoobas truck) pulled around back, literally side swiped the corner of our tent, and stopped. I got a nervous pit in my stomach. Who is this? Why are they here? What's going on? Scooba hoped out of the driver's seat, handed us a $20, said "Enjoy lunch tomorrow. I've got some business I got to got take care. Goodnight" and drove off.

We need to fight less. And use less drugs to numb our pain.

With our third big day in a row of climbing tomorrow we retired early and fell asleep to the sounds of cicadas and the stream flowing behind the tent.

Day 42 - Barea, KY to Hazard, KY

94 Miles / Day 42 of 50 / Barea, KY to Hazard, KY

Kentucky has been one of the nicest states to bike through for a few reasons -
1. Much of the route has been rural back country roads, which have few cars, nice grades, and roll through absolutely gorgeous landscape.
2. Trees. This is the most (and only) shade and refuge from the scorching sun we've experienced so far.
3. Friendly cars. Almost all the cars we've encountered have been patient, courteous, and given us lots of space on the shoulder as they pass. The same can't be said about coal trucks. Honeybadger don't care. Those coal trucks blow like they are intentionally pretending they can't see you. I see you. And I know you see me. In the words of 'Ye they need to "pump the brakes and drive slow homie."

We were halfway up our first climb for the morning when we spotted a homemade sign above a mailbox. It was our first sign that we were approaching the ocean. For the first time, the end felt like it was in sight.

Lesson #82: Keep pushing.

As we were snapping a picture Keith came outside. He had made the sign. Keith and his wife Ronda were both former teachers. Keith had spend 22 years as a middle school teacher and had taught all subjects by the time he left the classroom. He spent his last 8 years as Principal. Ronda was a former special ed teacher and now served as one of the district's school psychologists. Keith had grown up across the street from where he currently lived and had moved into his current house in 1973. His three brothers lived within a few miles from him. Family is a beautiful thing. The first cross country bike ride that made cross country touring popular was in 1976. Keith and Ronda have seen it all in 27 years of hosting bikers. Their advice to us was to find the parts you enjoy of being in the classroom and focus on those. Figure out how to maximize these parts and minimize all the other distractions. Ronda looked at us endearingly and said "Stick it out." There seems to be a pattern here of the veteran and retired teachers we've met on the road: teaching is hard, the first few years and especially challenging, it does get better, you can do it. Shout out to encouraging and supportive people.

Keith.

After stopping for lunch the rain started to come down. At first it was light and a perfect shower from the sticky, humid, heat. Then the skies opened up. It was biblical like rain out there. We ducked for cover in a house's overhang and waiting it out.

We were soaked, totally and completely soaked. It was pleasant riding the rest of the day with the cool temp from the rain.

We were still soaked hours later when we pulled into Hazard. Shortly after getting into town we met Trevor. One of the few bikers we've met who is also going east.

Trevor was from Savanah, Georgia and took one month a year off to tour in his bicycle. He showed us the back of his leg where there was a large, 3 inch gash. He had been bit by a dog a couple weeks back. He had racked up $6500 in medial bills (no insurance) for rabies treatment from 3 sets of shots from three different hospitals from the one dog bite.

Trevor.

Lesson #83: Be kind to people and people are generally kind back.

Trevor flipped old houses in Georgia, bought them when they were broken and foreclosed, fixed them up himself, and turned them into upscale rentals. He said he always worked hard to be generous and kind to his tenants and in return over the years he's built a sustainable business off of renting out his fixed up homes.

Trevor thanked us for being teachers and talked about influence of a few special teachers in his life. He attributed his happiness now to them. Good reminder to not make excuses and remember the impact that we can have in the classroom. Feels scary in some ways to admit this or accept that responsibility. Also makes me thankful for our jobs and thankful to get back home soon and start the school year.

Thank you Keith and Ronda for being so generous and supportive of all the bikers who go by your house. Thank you Trevor for re-focusing me on why I'm thankful to be a teacher.

Day 41 - Danville, KY to Barea, KY

38 Miles / Day 41 of 50 / Danville, KY to Barea, KY

We had been planning to see my sister and her boyfriend for a few days, as this is the closest I would be to home. We coordinated with my sister Meghan, and her boyfriend Curtis, to meet us down I-75 in Berea.

I was super excited to see my sister, and a familiar face, as I hadn't seen one since the Fourth of July. We had only a few hours of biking in the morning to meet them midday. The ride was gorgeous with rolling hills and farmland all the way.

We could definitely feel the Appalachians coming on, as the mountains started getting bigger and bigger as we went East.

Anyways, after a refreshing half day, we were in Berea and met Meghan and Curtis. We tooled around Berea, and realized there was really nothing to do, so we went North on 75 to Richmond and had lunch at B Dub's. It worked perfectly, as the Pirates were playing the Reds. We enjoyed lunch, the Buccos got the W, and then we went to the movies.

Hilarious movie, I highly suggest that anyone see Monsters University. Pixar really knows what they're doing. It was so much funnier as an adult, as the movie centers around Mike and Sully and their college experience. Truly hilarious. Check it out.

We stayed up at the hotel, got carry-out and watched movies. It was so refreshing to have Meg and Curtis come down and give us one last final push before we finished.

Thanks so much for coming down. Much appreciated!

Day 40 - Bardstown, KY to Danville, KY

44 Miles / Day 40 of 50 / Bardstown, KY to Danville, KY

Working to get back into our routine of rising early we woke up on the edge of the golf course around 6 am. We lucked out and were only a few miles from that glorious Macky D's breakfast. A few egg and cheese McMuffin's later and we were on the road before 8.

One piece of advice we've heard from people coming across going the opposite direction was to ask locals and venture off of our bicycle routes once you're deep into Kentucky.

It's been the first time this trip we have the option to take more than one road to our destination. Today's ride we had found an alternate route that saved us a few miles.

We rode straight through the morning sun and into the early afternoon heat. It was one of our shortest rides of the trip, we're going slowly to Barea, KY because Jack's older sister can come down from Ohio and meet us on Sunday. It's time to pump the brakes and drive slow homie.

As we neared the outskirts of Danville Jack heard a sharp "pop" from his back tire. Yup, another spoke down. He could not have had better timing though. Danville was home to the only bike shop within a few hundred miles in any direction of our route. Our luck continued as the Danville Bike and Footwear was open on Saturdays.

Ernest was the mechanic and owner and greeted us with a jokingly harsh southern accented "Well sure der young feller, we can fixer up dat bike no problem 't all."

Ernest and his son Andrew ran the bike shop. Ernest had rode across the USA in the summer of 1977, one year after the inaugural bicentennial cross country bike ride that started this whole bike across the country thing. He had a picture book from all the 35mm stills he had taken on the trip.

Thank you Andrew and Ernest.

Lesson #80: The kindness we've experienced this ride apparently wasn't all that kind back in the beginning.

In the summer of 1976, to celebrate America's 200th birthday, the Trans-America bicycle route was born (the route we are on) to celebrate the party. Droves of young people came out, as he described, on 10 speed bicycles with little more than jean shorts and an adventurous spirit.

Small towns and mom and pop stores across the route apparently weren't always keen on hundreds of people descending on their town / shop, using everything and anything in sight (bathrooms, showers, etc.) and then leaving abruptly. Ernest said many stores had signs up the following summer of 1977 when he rode that read "No bikers" or "Cyclists not welcome here. Don't come in."

Thank you Ernest for laying down the path that has eased people's anger. We've enjoyed the generosity on the route, especially gas stations that were the only water in hundreds of miles that now have signs that read "Cyclists welcome."

Ernest helped me put on a new back tire I had been carrying since Illinois, I ran my old one as long as I could. The tread had cracked in multiple places exposing the bare bones of the tire. Jack had his spoke replaced and wheel trued and we pumped our tires and lubed the chains to get ready for the final 700 mile trek to the Atlantic.

Ernest rode on another cross country trip many summers after '77. This time on a tandem bike with his son, who was 10 at the time.

Lesson #81: Libraries are the livelihood of a community.

Jack and I took the rest of the afternoon to make the most of our rare extra couple of hours by grabbing food at the local pizza shop and spending time in the greatest place on earth, the library. The Danville Library was gorgeous, and recently renovated. Great to see families, kids, and community members have such a beautiful space to gather at and call home.

Thank you Ernest and Andrew for the stories and help getting our bikes tuned and primed for the last leg of the journey.

Day 39 - Sonora, KY to Bardstown, KY

47 Miles / Day 39 of 50 / Sonora, KY to Bardstown, KY

After a great off day, we were doing it Willy Nelson style and were on the road again.

We said goodbye to Tom, Seth's dad, and Ruthie, his pup, and bid them adieu for Iowa. This was the first day in the last four that we were riding with all of our weight again, and it honestly felt good to be back in the groove again. Tom + a rest day makes for a great formula.

It was so humid today it felt like you were covered with a blanket. The sun wasn't that hot, the air was just so humid.

We were riding today through Abraham Lincoln's backyard. His birthplace, his boyhood home, etc were all on our route today. It made me laugh thinking about it, as we had just come from Illinois and they claim to be the "Land of Lincoln" even though he was born and grew up in Kentucky. Made me think of the fight over the Wright Brothers for Ohio and North Carolina. They were born and had their shop in Dayton, so Ohio claims "Birthplace of Aviation" but made their first flight in NC, deeming it "First in Flight".

Never really known what side to pick on that considering both are "home" to me, but I'm partial to my Midwest roots.

Anyways, it was cool thinking about Lincoln romping around as a kid through the Bluegrass back country.

We were riding along and I noticed a highway continuously jumped on and off our official Adventure Cycling Association route. We were doing mostly stepping-stair like crisscrosses through back country roads around the foothills of the Appalachians. After so many turns, I started to get bold and for once, decide whether to (gasp) go off the official route. Dun dun dun.

For those of you who don't know, Seth is the handy one and the mechanic and I am the observant one and the navigator.

We went off route because it looked like we could take a country highway that was much more direct to Bardstown. Sure enough, the wind was behind us and we were flying all afternoon, in addition to taking 12 miles off of our route. Equal to another hour of our life off the bike. Awesome!

We were biking into the outskirts of Bardstown, Ky and I was on cloud nine. Known as the "Bourbon Capital of the World" there are plenty of distilleries in the town, and the town centers around the production and manufacturing of bourbon. Two distilleries in production found my nostrils as we were coming into town, and I knew we were in a good place for the night.

We got a late start to the day (around 1 p.m.) so were happy with a shorter day, as we are trying to plan it to see my sister in Berea, KY on Sunday.

Off of the high of finding our own route, we decided to take the last 10 days (gasp!) of our trip and plan our reroute. We've been looking for an alternate route through Virginia, as we'd like to deal with the 15-20 % grades of the Appalachians for as little as possible. The official route also has us going in a bit of a bell-curved shape through Virginia; starting in the southwest, working our way to Northern Virginia and snaking our way back to Southeast Virginia. We looked at that and thought wasted miles.

Instead, we rerouted our trip through northern North Carolina and will work our way northeast out of Roanoke Rapids and end at a beach in Norfolk, VA.

Lesson #79: Not all who wander are lost. Sometimes the best way to find yourself is by forging your own trail.

That said, we'll be on our own route for the last 500 miles

A few bonuses of this route:

1. About 100 fewer miles
2. Less time climbing the Appalachians (known as the most difficult part of the whole trip).
3. Going through North Carolina, seeing teaching friends in Eastern NC, and being on more familiar terrain.
4. Actually ending at a beach that looks over the Atlantic.

We'll have more information about this reroute, as well as where and when we'll be at the finish line for all of our NC teaching friends who have nothing to do but see us jump in the water? That'd be special.

Stay tuned for our route changes!

After having our eye on the prize, we ended the night camping at a state park in Bardstown. The good life.

Day 38 - Mammoth Cave, KY

Rest Day / Day 38 of 50 / Mammoth Cave, KY

Today was a great day. After pushing so hard to get that mileage in since Pueblo, CO we took our first off day in two weeks. We were close to Mammoth Cave National Park, the largest cave system in the world, so it was a good day for an off day and to explore with Tom (Seth's dad), Ruthie the dog and Alexa, my girlfriend who lives in Nashville and just so happened to have a day off of work to join us! Awesome!

We met Alexa outside of the National Park and took one car in together, with all the aforementioned people (and dog). Props to the National Parks, Teddy Roosevelt really knew what he was doing back in the day. Mammoth Cave had a kennel where Ruthie could make some friends for the day while we explored, so all were happy.

It was hot as a mug outside, so definitely a good day to reap that free air conditioning, as Mammoth Cave stays a constant 54 degrees during the summer. Talk about a nice day to be off the bikes! We got up with a tour of the caves led by a park ranger and we were off.

Alexa braving the section of Mammoth Cave known as "Fat Man's Misery"

Lesson #79: The body is fragile, listen to it when it's talking and take a rest day.

Mammoth Caves is really hard to describe; one of those epics that you really have to see in person. There are almost 400 miles of discovered caves within the National Park, and a few other thousand that the experts believe it stretches. Tours and explorers alike have been using Mammoth Cave for almost the past two hundred years and there is a little bit of everything. Stalagtites, stalagmites, tight squeezes, open-air caverns, sheer rock faces, etc.

It felt the whole afternoon like we were in the plot of a Dan Brown mystery or something, and there was some ancient ruins or treasure buried deep beneath the surface. You would have loved it, Pops.

We made it as deep as almost 400 feet beneath the Earth's surface and learned a lot about the formation of the cave (water eroding limestone over time) and some of the early cave dwellers and explorers who made the cave what it is today.

After our tour, we went to grab Ruthie from the kennel and split for the night. After some grub, Alexa and I headed to camp in the National Park while Seth, Tom and Ruthie grabbed a hotel room in town.

This was our last night with Tom, and we have been so appreciative of his support. Thanks, Alexa, for coming to visit and for a cushy campground. A great respite for sure!

Day 37 - Carbondale, IL to Marion, KY

62 Miles / Day 37 of 50 / Carbondale, IL to Marion, KY

Going along with our new understanding of "Pay more now, and end up paying less over the long haul", I started the day by getting new bike shorts at the bike shop. I had bought two pairs of the cheapest pairs I could find pre-ride and now both had holes on the underside that caused excessive rubbing each time I pedaled. Very uncomfortable.

Bucket hat game on point. Good looking out pops.

We spent the day biking through southern Illinois, by far our shortest state on the route. We biked up and out of the Mississippi River Valley and back down towards the Ohio River. The heat was back. And this time it brought along the humidity.

To distract ourselves from the heat we talked all things Big Ten basketball. Get ready for the Hawkeyes this season. Jason Fullen we felt you here today in spirit.

Perfect fuel for the ride: eating pie as we wait for the ferry.

We crossed the Ohio River in Cave Rock, IL by taking our second ferry ride of the trip across the river. Hard to believe it's cheaper to run a ferry 7 days a week instead of building a bridge across.

Pops had drove ahead (over a bridge, not the ferry) and was waiting for us in Marion. There was one hotel listed on our map, the Royal Inn Hotel.

Welcome to Kentucky. Who needs a bike when you have a boat that can carry a bike?

Lesson #78: Always trust the locals, especially when there seems to be a strong pattern of advice.

To sum up every interaction I had with the 6 people I met in Marion at the gas station and the local DQ - I have never seen such looks of horrors on peoples faces when you tell them you're planning to spend the night at a motel. Honestly, every person went out of their way to tell me to avoid Royal Inn at all costs. They told stories of bed bugs, crazy managers who raid your room midway through the night, and overall negativity.

I appreciate people looking out but the more they talked with such certainty the more I wanted to explore this place.

As it turns out tonight was the start of "Little Sturgis" here in Marion so we couldn't find a room. The B & B in town was also full. We ended up finding a reclusive B & B in the basement of a house outside of town.

Tomorrow we've got our sights set on Mammoth Cave National Park. Time to get the headlamps out and explore.

7 down, 2 to go.

Day 36 - Willow Springs, MO to Carbondale, IL

67 Miles / Day 36 of 50 / Willow Springs, MO to Carbondale, IL

We woke up ready to ride. A night of luxuries of a hotel room (AC, shower, continental breakfast) quickly reminded us what life outside of a 4 by 6 tent was like. Talk about a refreshing reminder.

The mighty Mississippi.

We filled up our wattle bottles and were sitting at our first stop light of the day when Jack said "Uhhh, Seth you're tire looks flat."

Now before I beat the dead horse and share some bike problems I need to take a minute to shine some light on the positive. My back tire, the Achilles heel of our trip, has made it over 1200+ miles (since Colorado) with no issues what so ever. Turned out my air stem had bent and was leaking. Easy fix. One new tube and 20 minutes later and we were on the road.

Don't forget to eat your spinach.

Lesson #76: Pay more now, and end up paying less over the long haul. Pay less now, and end up paying more for it in the end.

As we fixed the tube Jack and I talked about how nice it's been to not have rear wheel issues the last thousand miles or so. In Salida, CO I had my back tire restrung and a new rim put on. If I would have invested this energy at beginning of ride I most likely would have avoided the time and money of dealing with a bum back tire the first 2000+ miles of the ride. Hindsight is 20/20. Lesson learned. Hope it sinks in enough to remember in the future.

The ride was absolutely gorgeous. We rolled up and down back county roads in Missouri as we rode into the Mississippi River Valley. The lush, green scenery was a nice change of pace from the not so lush windy and dry Kansas landscape. And the fact that pops was carrying most of our weight in his '88 Mercury made the ride that much sweeter. (Thanks pops).

Lesson #77: You take the biker out of the Midwest but you can't take the Midwest out of the biker.

Towards dinnertime we crossed the mighty Mississippi into Chester IL. The home of the beloved Popeye the Sailor. As soon as our bikes touched down off of the bridge Jack and I felt like we were home. (Illinois, Ohio, Iowa - they're pretty much all the same, right?). Midwest love - forever we're home.

6 down, 3 to go.

We grabbed burritos from Moe's, a nice change of pace from our normal gas station food dinner, and retreated to the motel to watch the All Star game. Great to see Joe Mauer play and the AL win it. Sorry Jack, home field advantage is ours.

Thank you pops for making it down. We really appreciate you taking our weight as we ride during the day. This supported touring thing is...incredible.