Flat Tire!

Well Well Well, where to begin. So we woke up a little later then normal knowing we only had a short 40mile ride it wouldn't hurt to sleep in a little extra. So we got up about 7 and noticed Kelly's slow leak the day before was completely flat so we had to replace it, unfortunately that was her last tube so we hoped we wouldn't have any more problems. After we got her bike moving again we went to Randy's Resturant for breakfast. Around 9 we finally got on the road and the ride was going alright but it wasn't more then 10miles into our ride and Kelly fell behind and I noticed her waving so I stopped. I figured she needed to go to the bathroom and indeed she did but that wasn't the reason to stop. She had another flat tire. Yeah not good she had no more tubes. Kelly said "guess that's the end of the ride for me." and I told her no, we'll patch it, persevering is part of the adventure. So we spent the next 20 mins patching up her tire and we got back on the road. It seemed like the patch worked, it was holding air. So we kept riding, we weren't planning on stopping for lunch so we pushed on. About 5miles out of Hastings we had to climb a hill and as soon as I got out of the saddle to go up the hill the back tire washed out a bit and I looked down, dang it, another flat! So I got to the top of the hill and started changing the tire and Kelly came up and gave a little laugh, "I guess the bad luck hasn't stopped yet." That was my last tube so now we were riding on pure luck, just hoping we would make it home. When we got into hastings we stopped at Coborn's and went to the bath room and filled our water bottles. Just before we got to the other side of Hastings a motorcycle pulled infront of me, it was Bob, Kelly's dad. He had stopped by to give us a spare cell phone and water since kelly's and my phone had died and it was a good deal that he did. We didn't get more then 2miles out of Hastings and tink tink, what is that noise kelly? "I think I have something in my spokes." Well it wasn't in her spokes it was a sixteen penny nail stuck in her tire! yeah that was the 4th flat tire today 3rd for kelly and 6th in two days. It was hot and we were both completely exhausted, frustrated! We were only 11 miles from Kelly's parents house and we finally had given up, we called it a day. We don't like to quit so close to a destination and more often we don't get that oportunity. So we called it in and got a ride. Unfortunately we ruined the semi-surprise party Kelly's mom had planned for us, most the people weren't even there but we were glad to be home and they all arived shortly and we spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out and chatting with them about the trip! Thanks again everyone for all of your support and please come join us for a little meet and great at Shamrocks tomorrow!

Meet and Greet

Hey everyone in the Twin Cities Area! Kelly and I are going to be at Shamrock's Irish Nook on 7th and Randolph in St. Paul on Tuesday night around 6.30 so anyone and everyone that wants to stop down and chat with us, have dinner or a drink is more than Welcome to stop by and just hang out. There will also be T-shirt for sale. The procedes go to help us help The American Cancer Society! So we hope to see you all there!!

The Beautiful Red Wing Marina

Today we woke up and it looked like it could rain and Greg told us that it was suppose to rain all day, I'm not sure were he got his info from but they lied to him. We did have to pack up all our wet gear since it rained all night! The sun was shining to the East and there was thick fog on the hills to the west so we couldn't see the sky to the west but as soon as we got on the road the sky was blue and clear. We rode into Winona and ate breakfast at Perkins, what a great way to start off the morning. After breakfast we road along the Greater River Road until we got to Kellogg, it was dinner time and Kelly was fading fast. She said she was tired so we found a place to eat. It was called Town and Country Dinner and ordered a Mt. Dew for Kelly. We chatted with the lady that ran the place. Her name was Peggy and she was super nice. She gave us our meal for free and told us about a young man that was riding from Boston to Washington and had stopped in here just the day before and was headed for the cities. I guess we are just going at the right pace to miss all these people. Greg had met two others and us and he had only been riding two days. Well after that we got back on the road and it was hot. The ride went well, we stopped in Lake City for some Gilato and chatted with some of the patrons about what we were doing. The break was nice since the heat was getting to us. We only made it a few miles outside of Lake City and bam Kelly got a flat tire. She had a thorn in her front tire so we changed that and, a couple of motorcycle riders swerved at us on the shoulder and reved up their load pipes to scare us. How dumb, I don't think they realize that they could really hurt us or themselves! Anyways we were about 2 miles out of Red Wing and we were both like wow our back tires are low. So we got into town and I tried to pump my tire up and heard the air leak so I had to replace my tube. We both agreed that we needed a break so we went to Stewy's and ate. Kelly got on the phone and tried to find us a place to crash and everything was full, the campgrounds and all the hotels. We were like what are we going to do. So we were getting a little nervous but things always work out. We were talking about where we could try to camp and a couple of guys that were sitting outside heard us and one of them was Randy the owner of Stewy's and they said they could help us out so they made a couple calls and sent us down to the Red Wing Marina to meet with Cindy. So we thanked them and gave them a card and headed to the Marina to catch Cindy before she left. When we got there it took us a bit to find her. When we did she showed us were we could camp and gave us the code to use the bathrooms. The bathrooms were awesome. They were in this old Caboose and extremely nice. So we set up camp and took turns showering and chatting with the locals. They loved what we were doing and wanted to hear all about it. After showering we sat on the swing for a bit until we were driven into the tent by the bugs! Thank you Randy and Cindy for your help and thanks to everyone who continues to support us!

Mini PA

Today started off great, we ate breakfast with the boys. Cam was being as cute as ever, playing with his feet and we had to remind him that big boys don't put their feet on the table even if it is extremely cute. After breakfast we said our good byes and took a couple pictures and hit the road. We both knew what was in store for us or at least had a good idea. We knew that Wisconsin would eventually get hilly but once again we underestimated just how hilly it could get. Bryn had given us a route that was supposedly beautiful but I think we missed our turn as some point. We never did find Dodson Hollow Road so we road the County roads all the way to Chaseburg. The scenery was absolutely amazing. We went down this awesome down hill and along this beautiful lake that didn't look like it could actually exist in Wisconsin. It felt like a mini PA and then we went up a killer climb out of the valley and it really felt like PA. The ride remained up and down until we reached La Crosse. Unfortunately we had a little incident before and had to except a ride and didn't get to rip this amazing multiple mile down hill. Kelly had gotten some mud on her tire and it was making her unstable and shaky so she needed to stop. Typically when one stops you unclip both feet from the peddles before one stops. Kelly had gotten a little careless and only undid one foot and unfortunately it was her left foot and the road side was slanted and as she was trying to unclip the second foot the weight shifted that direction and she fell down, not the first time for either of us, unfortunately there was a steep ditch there and she went down and the bike went over on top of her. She ended up with a pretty good bruise just under her knee. There was a couple of guys that stopped in a truck and asked if we needed a ambulance and if she was ok and where we were headed. They said they would give us a ride to La Crosse if we were still here in a half hour because there were coming back this way. We sat there for a little bit and Kelly said she was fine and could ride but we only got about a half mile and she had to stop again so we said we would wait for those guys. We found our ice pack and taped it to her leg. Kelly was laying on her back beside our bikes and it looked like she was dead. This really nice lady named Kelie stopped and asked if everything was ok. We told her what happened and that these guys said they would stop back but it had been 45mins. She offered us a ride but she was in here SUV and said that she would come back in 15mins with a truck and if we were still here she would take us to La Crosse. She came back in just a short while and we were still there, I guess those guys forgot or something. When we got to La Crosse we thanked her and she was on her way. We ate at this place called the Cheese Corner. It was pretty good but a little expensive. After we ate we got on our bikes and Kelly said it was tender but it didn't bother to ride so we hit the road and didn't stop till we saw the "WELCOME TO MINNESOTA" sign! Finally a state we were familiar with! When we got out of La Crescent we got on the "Greater River Road" and road that all the way to Homer and the Pla-Mor Camp Ground, just outside of Winona. The ride was beautiful along the river. Actually the entire day was beautiful! We chatted with the guy at the front desk of the camp ground and he thought we were doing a great thing so he gave us a free campsite. So we went down and set up our camp and Kelly went to go shower. When she came back she told me about this other bike traveler was here. He came down and set up camp right beside us. His name was Greg I believe. He is riding from Apple Vally Mn to New York. He had a lot of gear with him in respect to what we were caring but he said he needed his luxuries because he's old, haha. It started to rain so we set up our tarp to sit under and we ate some noodles and hot dogs and went and chatted with him for awhile before we went to bed. Thanks to Kelly for the ride and everyone else that helped us along our way and everyone that has supported us this far!

Bryn, Cam, Sky and Blue Dog Cycle

The ride from Mazo to Viroqua was very beautiful and very scenic. We woke up a little later then normal but it was ok since all our stuff was still packed from the night before since Jay and Heidi were so kind and let us sleep in the spare bedroom. The morning ride was fabulous. We quickly got into a nice pace and cruised side by side. We had a nice ride were we got to chat and ride together. It was probably one of our best days of riding. It was very enjoyable and not too strenuous. We had one little scare with Kelly's knee but i think it was a bit of fate, Kelly had said she needed to go to the bathroom but would wait till the next town and we were approaching a rest area and right as we got to the entrance she let out a little scream and so we pulled into the rest stop and took a nice little break in the shade and use the facilities. After that we rode till Richland Center and ate lunch. The funny thing about the ride was every sign would be only one mile closer and the GPS would say we had ridden 2 or 3 so we didn't know what to believe, but we finally got there and ate the Center Cafe. We got a lot of food for the price and since we spent more then $6 on one entree we got a free slice of pie. After lunch the ride got a little bit more hilly every mile, and before long it began to look more and more like PA again, everything. The road, the trees and the hills. It was like we were having flash backs, that wasn't too good for the morel, but we managed to laugh it off. Kelly had blamed me for jinxing us by saying that Wisconsin has not been too bad to us so far and then things started to get a bit more intense and we got a taste of real Wisconsin and went on a nice roller coaster of hills until we reached Viroqua. When we got to the edge of town Kelly said lets get ice cream and so I looked it up on the GPS and I found a Dairy Queen and Kelly was like well I bet it;s on top of a hill and it was, the whole town was.
When we got to DQ it was right next to this cool little bike shop so we stopped in there first and picked up a couple tubes and got to chatting with Bryn one of the mechanics about our ride and our bikes and we started asking about a place to set up our tent and the owner Pete was telling us about a couple campsites that weren't too far away and then Bryn chimed in and offered us his back yard and we said that we would think about it over some ice cream and we would be back. So we walked our bikes to DQ and ate a blizzard, and discussed our options, there wasn't much discussion and we went back to Blue Dog Cycle and told Bryn that we would love to stay at his place but we had to eat first. He gave us his address and told us that we could stop by whenever. We ate this little Mexican joint and then went to the library and checked our emails and finally we went to found Bryn's house. It wasn't too far away. When we got there we met his to awesome boys, Cameron and Skylar. Although there were only 2 and 4 respectively, they helped us set up our tents and checked our bikes and then we played a little bit after our tour of the house. Cam said the cutest thing. I was helping him pick up his marbles and I went to hand them to him and the dog stuck her noise in at them and I told her those aren't for puppies and cam was standing right there and looked at me with a big smile and said "I'm not a puppy" with the cutest little voice. After that it was time for the boy's to get into bed so we let them do their bed time stories and we settled in. After the boys were in bed we went in and chatted with Bryn and enjoyed a cup of tea. He was a very interesting man. He had lived the life that dream of doing. He had been a mountain guide for many years working with Outward Bound and helping challenged children, which I find very admirable and awesome. He was also at one time teacher for troubled youth. So we talked about all kinds of interesting things and before we knew it, it was almost 11 and we headed off to sleep. Thanks guys for letting us crash at your place and being so cool and thanks to everyone that supports us!

Janesville to Mazomanie...

An interesting day to say the least. We got up and said our goodbyes to Jim and started our days journey. The trip started off different than most!!! Chance was finally not ready to get up at his usual 6 am wooo hooo!! That means we finally got our around 7:45 or so! The ride started off with wonderful weather and no sign or rain which is always a plus! We rode well for quite some time and stopped off at about 20 miles for a little breakfast at the great old McDonalds! There we rested a wee bit and headed out in hopes of my knee holding up.. That did not happen. We got about 30 miles or so in and the kliner(knee) was very angry with me. So I stopped and allowed it to rest, of course Chance was anxious to get going but he understands that without a happy klinker the ride will not go as planned. So after a nice little rest we headed out along hwy 14 towards Madison. Once we got into Madison it was a beautiful ride around the lake and into town. There we stopped at a little place for some lunch and a long much needed break. Like usual some other customers were very interested in hearing our story! It's so great to have so many people interested in what we are doing! After our break we tried very hard to get out of Madison, however, the construction on the roads were tryin to keep us there. Despite their great efforts we broke free of the city of Madison. The afternoon portion of the ride went pretty smooth! I was able to keep pace with Chance so we could talk and laugh about things we have seen along the way! Once riding in to Mazomanie, Wisconsinwe had finally broke the 1000 mile mark! As soon as we got into town we stopped off at the library to find a campground for the night. We were unable to find something close and the librarian offered to take us in! Then another lady came in and started talking to us so we ended up staying with her since the librarian was not sure when she would be able to show us to her house. So we rode with Heidi home and met her husband Jay and her very cute and rambunctious boys; Emmaus, Uriah and Micaiah and her beautiful baby girl Zipporah! They were so kind to allow us in their home and it was fun to see how excited the boys were to see us and show us all the cool things around their yard! We shared great conversation and travel stories with Jay and Heidi along with a great dinner of meatloaf they made! I think the meat loaf made Chances night, he was very delighted by the menu for the evening! For the remainder of the night we talked with Heidi and Jay and they even let us take a shower and stay in their guest room! Could not have asked for anything better! They seem to be the adventerous couple like us! Heidi and Jay, thank you so much for your kindness and hospitality! We have come to see that behind the parts or our world and country that are crumbling, there are wonderful people with open hearts and great spirits! Thank you to everyone for following and continue the emails.

Two seasons in the Midwest.... Winter and Road Construction..

So we hit the road construction season here in the great Midwest! Starting off out of Woodstock, we were headed towards Janesville to stay with my dad's cousin Jim! The morning started off very cloudy and we were hoping it would not rain. Again, it was very windy and of course my (Kelly) knee started hurting again. After four days of rest you would think that maybe just maybe it would feel better. NOPE:( So as we road we ran into lots of construction which would put us on very bumpy roads and the bumps hurt my incredibly smart brain! We stopped in a small town and had lunch at the X-14 Bar and Grill. The reason it is called such, is because it is at the corner where hwy X and 14 come together. We sat there for a while where I ate probably the best pulled pork sandwhich I have ever had! We talked to the lady there who was intersted in our ride and at the end she hugged us and said she felt like we were her kids. She was very nice and we were happy we ran into her! Again, we keep running into such wonderful people. I would have to say personally meeting all these wonderful people is one of my most favorite parts of the trip! After lunch we walked out and crazy as it may seem the sun was shining and the sky was the most beautiful blue! We took of with our spirits happy and bodies full of food. It was a nice afternoon ride, not to trying or difficult. Chance and I had our crazy silly conversations as we rode. Along a country road we ran across the most beautiful field of flowers. I stopped to take a few pictures which you will see up in our album shortly! Our afternoon ride was quite short and we ended up riding 50 miles as I said before to Janesville where we were welcomed with open arms to a warm shower and what sounds like will be a deliciious meal made by Jim! Thank you very much for allowing us to stay with you! It's always great to get to know family you only see every so often are reunions and such! We are still looking for a place to lay our heads tomorrow night and then we will be ready to go! Hope everyone has a great week and continues to follow and pray for GREAT weather!! FYI when we get to MN we will be getting together one night at Shamrocks to eat and talk so I will fill you in with date and time!