in Lander, WY; on the beach at Waldport, OR

In Saratoga, WY; on the road in WY; in Yellowstone; between Ennis and Virginia City in MT.

In Fort Collins at a taproom; at the Poudre Canyon pass (twice - sorry about that); at the entrance to Grand Tetons; and at Colter Bay in the Grand Tetons.

In Pittsburgh with Jon; with Barbara in Terre Haute, Indiana; Somewhere in Illinois; in a diner on the border of Nebraska and Colorado.

Here are some pictures of Paulnrhe taken in all kinds of places on our trip. These were from a training ride, on the mall in DC, at Mount Vernon, and dining out with Kim Whittle.

And here’s one just outside of Hell’s Canyon. Doe and fawn were crossing the road in front of Paul, and the fawn just stopped and stared at him while he whizzed past on his bicycle. I was lucky to catch that in a photo!

I thought I would post my favorite pictures, some of which I think did not make it to the blog. This video is one Paul took when two antelope ran beside us for about half a mile outside of Rawlins, WY.

07/21/24 It’s been quite the journey. Thanks for riding along with us.

07/20/24 Stephen had purchased shirts for everyone and passed them out at dinner at Jerry’s. We had a final dinner at Molly’s house before everyone scattered. Paul and Rhe had a surprise waiting when they arrived home. Happy to be here. It was quite the adventure, but there’s no place like home!

07/19/24 This is the big day! We made a plan to gather at Ray’s grocery store at 10 am, then we rode together to a beach where we could perform the tire dipping ceremony. WE MADE IT!

07/18/24 We passed haystacks, hazelnut orchards, sheep farms, and waterfalls. Despite the GPS glitch, it was a great ride. Paul ate a huge piece of pie ala mode and a milkshake in one sitting. When asked how he could ride after eating so much, he replied, “I don’t understand the question.”

07/18/24 Ride with GPS led us astray today! It directed us up a steep gravel road. Thankfully a gravel truck driver (apparently they were building roads up there, because there were big gravel trucks on the road) stopped and redirected everyone back to the main road, where the GPS corrected itself.

07/17/24 We got in line to sign the trailer, an Adventure Cycling tradition.

07/17/24 Because we will have family members joining us later, we held our celebration of completing the ride this evening. We went to a fancy restaurant where our dollar limit was NOT $15 and enjoyed a lovely meal with people we have gotten to know well. Brielle created a “talking point” list.

07/17/24 On to Coburg! A long day of riding on a highway. Finally turned off on a smaller road, but the traffic remained. We were sitting on some rocks at a boat launch and a fire truck backed in to replenish its tanks. Also saw a helicopter towing a water bag. Looks like they have a wildfire.

07/16/24 We spent the night at Belknap Hot Springs. Unfortunately, it was too hot to go into the pool. Instead, we went to the lodge and enjoyed the grounds.

07/16/24 From Sisters, we rode up and over the McKenzie River pass. Rhe woke up with a cold and wasn’t sure she would ride, but we both did it in grand style. It was a small, windy road that the van and trailer could not use. Light traffic, great scenery, and the best downhill ever made it perfect.

07/15/24 Time to show you our sleeping system. We have a 4” double-bed pad that self-inflates (mostly-we do have to pump it a bit). We cover that with two fitted sheets (to keep them from slipping off), one regular sheet, and a red blanket. For a trip this long in this heat, it has been perfect.

07/15/24 We were one of the first riding groups to make it to camp. Took advantage of the cooler air and napped a bit before dinner. There is a marvelous bench here. And it is so nice to be able to enjoy the water again, away from the livestock-fouled rivers we have been near recently.

07/15/24 This is a day we have all been waiting for. 93 miles and more than 4,000 feet of elevation gain. With the heat, Paul and I opt to take a van ride 18 miles up the road to make it 75 miles. We started seeing the mountains in Prineville. Passed a plethora of alpacas.

07/14/24 Our accommodation in Mitchell was the Spoke”n Hostel. An amazing place set up for cyclists and other travelers willing to share space. Upstairs are huge bunkbeds with curtains for privacy. Downstairs are private rooms for the two married couples . The shower was in the gazebo out back.

07/14/24 We rode through a fissure in some strange butte-like hills where some of the John Day Fossil Beds are locatedted. We have to come back here because there is so much to see and do, and we only passed through on our way to Mitchell. Brielle provided us with a water fill up.

07/13/24 We stayed at the fairgrounds in John Day, where there’s no place to get out of the heat. Rhe is just about done-in, though no one else seems to be as bothered by it. We spent about half an hour at the grocery store preparing for the next day’s meal and to cool off.

07/13/24 Three passes to ride over today! Up and out of camp by 7 am. No excuses. Except this heat wave continues….

07/12/24 Rest Day in Baker City.

07/11/24 Trail ruts and our day in Baker City. The van took us to the Pioneer Museum way up a hill that no one wanted to climb by bicycle. Then we went for a beer in the middle of a Harley Davidson fair downtown. Two-wheeled vehicles Unite!

07/11/24 To beat the heat, we got up at 4:30, ate breakfast at 5 am, and tried to get out of the chute by 6:00. Some days it helped. Today the ride to Baker City was scenic but hot. 🥵 We were excited to see the actual ruts formed by the wagon wheels of settlers traveling West.

07/10/24 We stayed at a very sad RV Park with little shade. Paul surprised me by getting a motel room to help me to cool off. The heat seems to be bothering me a lot more than the others. I took a nap in the air conditioned room while Paul worked on his derailleur issues.

07/10/25 Finally we are out of Idaho and into Oregon, our 15th state (plus DC)! Today we cycled through Hell’s Canyon, where the high temps were predicted to be 114. Paul had a mechanical issue with his bicycle, which set us back about an hour behind the others. So we took a van ride at 107 degrees.

07/09/24 The pastor from a nearby church offered to let us sit inside the air conditioning until he left two hours later. But the church council wouldn’t let us sleep there. “I was a stranger and you welcomed me…. Truly…as you did it to the least of [my brothers], you did it to me.” Jesus

07/09/24 The next day we took the van 20 miles down the road to hopefully beat the heat. Even so, it was a long, hot day. We ended in Cambridge, ID, where we stayed in Water Tower Park. One toilet, no sink (who built that!?!?) and four huge stars shining from the top of the tower.

07/08/24 We passed some very nice cabins with saunas attached, but those were not our accommodations. Instead, we stayed at an RV park with one shower, no running water available to us at the campsite, and a nasty smelly porta-john for everyone to enjoy. Of course, most of the men avoided it…

07/08/24 Then we travelled along the Salmon River, stopping at one of the many lovely parks, boat launches, and campgrounds along the way. It was another scorcher.

07/08/24 Then it was a steep descent past a memorial to the White Bird Battlefield where the Nez Perce wiped out a contingent of soldiers, setting up the battle of the Big Hole. We have followed the historical trail of the Nez Perce since Wisdom, MT. It is a fascinating and tragic story.

07/08/24 Today we went up and over a pass on a tiny road. At the White Bird Summit, you can buy a business that may or may not include goats.

07/07/24 We met Mark at the top, then rode on to Grangeville. Saw white tail deer in the wheat fields. Rhe was really affected by the heat before we reached the RV campsite for the night. At least there was a cool indoor lounge area available afterwards.

07/07/24 After going downhill yesterday, today we climbed to a high desert plateau. The road was named Lamb Grade, and it was easily the steepest grade on the entire ride. Plus it was hot - over 100 degrees by mid-afternoon. Some guys at a construction site took glee in telling us it got steeper….

07/06/24 We stayed at the 3 Rivers Resort at the junction of the Lochsa and Selway rivers, where they formed the middle fork of the Clearwater River. We sat in the water to get cooler. Surprisingly, that night there was a reggae concert at the RV Park. In the Idaho panhandle. Go figure.

07/06/24 Today was a long ride downhill along the Lochsa River. It got a bit warm, and we had a little headwind. But it was a lovely glide all the same. We found a bridge to sit on for lunch and watched an expert negotiate the rapids below.

07/05/24 Today we travelled up and over Lolo Pass! Stayed at a forest service campground on the other side, where we listened to a very good lecture about bird sounds. We are following the Nez Perce Historical Trail. What a sad story that is. The whistling squirrels were very interested in my bike!

07/04/24 Took the day off to visit my cousin Chuck and his wife, Dawn, at their lovely home in the woods. We didn’t take any pictures, but the time Paul, Jon and I spent with them was special.

07/03/24 If you go to the headquarters, you’ll find us archived forever in their memory box.

07/03/24 When we arrived in Missoula, they had a party for us at Adventure Cycling headquarters. We got our pictures taken, had a barbecue, and a tour of the facility. Paul and I are proud to be supporting such a fantastic organization.

07/03/24 Stayed at another Traveler’s Rest at Darby, MT. The last one was in Pittsburgh. Today we rode into Missoula. While there is a bike path along the highway, Paul and I opted to take as many side roads as possible to avoid the traffic noise. We found some beautiful spots!

07/02/24 Entering Montana, it seemed people had a lot to add to the welcome sign. Another Yellowstone picture - no one crossed the street to say I couldn’t take a picture. And the house where we had a family reunion 3 years ago is still standing, and the green scum on the pond was minimal.

07/02/24 We entered Idaho for a brief moment at the top of Chief Joseph Pass, then back into Montana where we saw the house our nephew and nieces rented for a family reunion three years ago, and the movie set for Yellowstone!

07/02/24 Today we climbed Chief Joseph Pass and rode through the Bitterrroot Valley. We passed the Big Hole Battlefield, but it wasn’t open yet. Then through the woods, over the pass, and on to Darby. Sorry, I used to be able to remove mistakes, but not now. What a lovely picture of my handlebar!

07/01/24 Because of the weather, and reports of rabid mosquitoes when the storm cleared, we had dinner at the bar across the street. It was pizza, and it was good. We also saw a familiar sign designating the US Bicycle Route 76. Haven’t seen that since last year in Illinois.

07/01/24 Because of a snafu with scheduling, we stayed at the Nez Perce Motel in Wisdom. There were llamas in a pen behind the motel and they made the funniest sounds! Until it started to hail, and then she just laid down and twitched her ears.

07/01/24 On to Wisdom. This involved two passes, headwinds, and thunderstorms. And Rhe had on the wrong bike shorts given her current butt issues. It was another tough day. The pictures show a mix of old and new architecture in a house in Dillon and other interesting clouds and landscapes.

06/30/24

06/30/24 We stayed at a special place built for bikers and walkers in Dillon. Only one toilet for about 20 people, but you have a choice of either an indoor or outdoor shower (both with hot water, but one had a brisk breeze to dry you off. Lots of bicycle art here. And a birthday party 🥳!

06/30/24 Headwinds continue to plague us, and today we also had some thunderstorms blow through while we were riding. Twin Bridges had a lovely park with a little library holding some Dr. Seuss wisdom.

06/30/24 We stopped in Virginia City for a break, then travelled on towards Twin Bridges. Saw a family of Sandhill Cranes cross the road. We were happy to see there might be some attempt to remediate the Ruby River after it was dredged long ago, but concerned about a new mining operation there, too.

06/30/24 There was a coffee hut in the parking lot of our RV park. Stephen, who always stops for coffee, didn’t have to go far today. As we started out of town and over the pass towards Dillon, we saw a herd of antelope and an osprey nest being protected by Mom (flying overhead).

06/29/24 Then we rode into the Madison Valley. In the first photo, guess which tree is not like the others? Then a squadron of pelicans performed maneuvers on a thermal rising over a ridge. The river was full of fishermen floating. Then we arrived in Ennis.

06/29/24 Now we are riding in Montana on our way to Ennis. Past Hebgen and Quake Lakes. We stopped at the Visitors Center there, which was all about that fateful day in August, 1959, when a hillside slid and a new lake was formed and the Madison River was blocked.

06/28/24 Then we wandered around West Yellowstone enjoying the sights, food, and beer.

06/28/24 Old Faithful went off on schedule. Then Paul, Jon and I had lunch at the Old Faithful Inn. The dining room had some intriguing etched glass windows probably dating from the 20’s. And Jon and Paul remembered a trip there when they were kids.

06/28/24 On our layover day in West Yellowstone, our leaders took us in the van to several geyser basins and to Old Faithful. This was a much better way to enjoy Yellowstone Park!

06/27/24 Between the head- and sidewinds blowing us either towards the drop-off on the right or the traffic on the left, and the huge volume of cars with trailers, motor homes, and sightseers not watching the road, the ride felt dangerous. So Paul and I decided to take the van. Others rode on.

06/27/24 We broke into two groups of riders, the hares and the tortoises. Paul and I were head tortoises, so we led the slow group to start with. And, guess what? We had headwinds almost from the start. We rode into Hayden Valley and saw a large herd of bison with lots of babies.

06/27/24 Last night we loaded all the bikes on the van. We have picked up a new leader, Bryce, from Adventure Cycling, who is going to drive the van while Brielle and Mark ride with us in groups. This fulfills the permit requirements of Yellowstone Park. We drove to Bridge Bay to start the ride.

06/25-26/24 We found Brielle at the first overlook where we could see the Tetons. Magnificent! We rode into the park with Brielle and Stephen. Found our campsite at Colter Bay and settled in for a well-deserved rest day.

06/25/24 Today we rode out of Dubois, climbed over a pass, and finished in Colter Bay in the Grand Tetons. It was a glorious day but for the headwinds that kept us from truly enjoying the downhills and the ride in the Park.

06/24/24 That night we stayed in Dubois (pronounced Dew Boys) WY, where they had a bit of a gopher population problem. They didn’t bother us, so long as we didn’t stake out our tent over their holes.

06/24/24 But once we got to Crowheart on the Wind River Indian Reservation (after negotiating a chip-sealing operation on the highway), the headwinds started and we were fighting to stay on the road. Many of us gave up and rode in the van the last 10 miles. Some soldiered on the entire 73 miles.

06/24/24 But the next day both of us felt better. We saw some fun things outside of Lander. - a bicycle mailbox, a train of mythical creatures, and what appeared to be an ent. We want to go back soon to see what we missed in the wind! Barbara gave Rhe a neckscarf to keep her cool.

06/23/24 The upshot was that lots of sleep, keeping hydrated, making sure your water has electrolytes in it to replace what you lose, and eating regularly throughout the day are essential things neither of us did. It got up to 95 that day, but with the wind it was hard to feel the heat.

06/23/24 Six miles outside of Lander, we finally stopped to eat something. Suddenly Rhe’s vision went all white, and she nearly passed out. Help arrived quickly in the form of a bag of ice over her shoulders and about 6 liters of water and a shower got her back up to snuff.

06/23/24 Then we changed direction and the headwinds nearly knocked us over. We stopped at a rest area called Sweetwater Station and should have eaten something there. But we wanted to “beat the headwinds” that were to get worse throughout the day.

06/23/24 This was a tea tough day. I didn’t sleep well. The first bit was nice, but we couldn’t stop because the mosquitoes were ravenous. We both got 20-30 mosquito bites on our buttocks and outer thighs when we stepped for even 5 minutes. So we didn’t stop.

06/22/24 After fighting headwinds all day, we finally arrived at Jeffrey City, WY. We stayed in a church there that is no longer a functioning church,though it looks like some kind of worship happens in the sanctuary on the second floor. The basement is dedicated to bicyclists.

06/22/24 Next morning, on to the church at Jeffrey City. More headwinds. We passed Split Rock, where wagon trains passed and the Pony Express had a station. Saw a real cowboy rope a calf to check on it, but only from far away.

06/21/24 Afterer the tour, we found our RV Park and lived through a majestic storm while dinner was prepared. We held our map meeting in the Laundry Room to avoid the wind.

06/21/24 The really bad movie called “Prison” was filmed here in 1987. m.imdb.com/title/tt0…

06/21/24 Instead of going to the dusty, windy RV Park, we decided to visit the old Wyoming State Penitentiary. Opened in 1902, closed in 1981, this was not a place you wanted to be in. Tiny cells, cold, cold conditions, and inhumane conditions persisted. Paul had better make the coffee, or….

06/21/24 Spent the night at Rawlins in an RV park. First biked through Sinclair, where the West’s most modern oil refinery is. Also they had two bucks in velvet in their city park. We stopped at a Tea House in Rawlins.

06/21/24 Then on to Rawlins. This was a hard day because 1) we rode 13 miles on I-80, and 2) we had strong headwinds. There are 5 Horsemen of the Apocalypse for bicyclists: Heat, Humidity, Hills, Hounds, and Headwinds. We have left behind humidity, and for the most part, hounds. But the Headwinds….

06/20/24 Oh, yeah. And we entered Wyoming!

06/20/24 We stayed at the Agape House in Saratoga, WY. There is a hot spring there, and we soaked in a pool in the North Platte River. The church that runs the Agape House also had a Hope House and a labyrinth next door.

06/20/24 date correction. On to Wyoming, our 12th state plus the District of Columbia. This day was magnificent! We had the most beautiful scenery, little traffic, and a tailwind. We passed several humongous cattle farms along the way. Think Kevin Costner and “Yellowstone” big.

06/18/24 We stayed at the City Park at Walden, where a moose frequently grazes. Never saw the moose, but were eaten alive by the mosquitoes! Brielle and Peter were our dancing chefs that evening. The sunset was lovely outside my tent flap.

06/18/24 Today we climbed Cameron Pass, the highest pass on our ride at 10,286 feet. We followed the Poudre River to its source, then coasted downhill to Walden, CO.

06/17/24 We stayed at the Poudre RV Resort, where we had a cabin with a kitchen for cooking. And it was Rhe’s night to cook with Molly. And the cooks got first choice to sleep in the cabin. First time dinner duty paid off!

06/17/24 The Poudre Canyon is a beautiful place to ride because of the scenery and slower traffic. Lots of rafters this time of year, too.

06/17/24 We left Fort Collins and took one of their beautiful bicycle paths to LaPorte before we started up the Cache la Poudre Canyon. Rhe’s Dad went to CSU for his DVM degree, and her family lived there from 1964 to 1967. She was happy to see the house is still standing.

06/15-16/24 And then we entered Fort Collins for a well-deserved day off. This town has food and beer and lots going on. We plan to come back and stay in the area for a week sometime soon. Our friend Pat and her daughter, Erin, came up from Boulder for breakfast. They have a Trader Joe’s!!

06/16/24 As we left the campground, we saw the most unusual ornaments on fence posts. We saw the mountains yesterday but could photograph them today. We saw a sheep feedlot with thousands of sheep. And we learned about how irrigation led to Colorado becoming an agricultural state.

06/15/24 We stayed at a primitive forest service campground (pit toilets and no water). People were trying to put up their tents in a stiff wind. The area was known for the birds, and we saw lots of orioles, doves, and other flying friends. A tiny bunny almost let me pet him!

06/15/24 We ate lunch at the Pawnee Station in New Raymer. The food was great, and we met the ex-mayor and his wife who taught high school business classes. They told us a lot about life on the prairie. We also entered the National Grasslands areas.

06/15/24 There is lots of new oil drilling infrastructure here. We passed a large new-looking school building, called The Prairie School. We learned later that it is pre-school through 12th grade, and that some of the students came from more populated areas due to the low student/teacher ratio.

06/15/24 The coffee was appreciated this morning, as it is every morning. Before we left camp we noticed a theme in our clothing. Then it was off across the lonely prairie.

06/14/24 We are staying at the baseball fields and had to shuttle in the van to the community swimming pool for showers. There we found a bicycle cow and a “Dream Redeemer”. Cool art at the park! Jon was impressed with the nail he picked up in his tire. And he was happy they let him go on the slide.

06/14/24 We all cycled past this snake wondering if it was a rattler. Finally someone stopped and took a picture. Nope. Not sure what it is, butt no rattle on the tail.

06/14/24 We stopped for coffee and a bagel at Haxtun. Then we practically flew to Sterling! A tailwind and mid-seventies temperatures got us from Holyoke to Sterling by noon! Still had time to snap pictures of some interesting signs and stuff. The video of yesterday’s wind was from our tandem team.

06/14/24 You must be wondering about the dates I use for these posts. Yes, they are off now and again. For instance I called yesterday 6/14, but it was 6/13. Oh, well. Keep up as best you can and I will try to do better. Leaving Holyoke, CO, I wondered why the main street was called “Interocean”?

06/14/24 We got really lucky today! We couldn’t stay at the fairgrounds as planned due to a 4-H event. So our brave leader, Mark, got on the phone and found us a place to stay at the St. Patrick Catholic Church. Inside with air conditioning! And special drinks at the local coffee shop.

06/14/24 Today wasn’t as bad as yesterday. Not as hot (only got to 92today), and we only had to go 38 miles. Best thing, though, is that we are now on Mountain Time and in Colorado! Goodbye, Nebraska! Notice how the road bends to the left after the Colorado sign. We got a tailwind after that turn.

6/13/24 In Imperial, Nebraska, we stayed at another Methodist church in transition, but it had its signage already. We got to spread out so that we had a private room. We were asleep before 9!

06/13/24 There were some gems along the way, even with those brutal conditions. I witnessed a new way to gather cut hay. We saw some great art at a little park with a public restroom. And I found a horny toad!

06/12/24 Backup to McCook. Saw this Open House sign and decided it must not take long to sell a house here. Also saw this beautiful cloud as we came home from dinner. Our humble abode at the Quality Inn was blessed by the presence of a boat named after my favorite Van Morrison tune.

06/13/24 Hot! Hot! Hot!🥵 It hit 100 degrees today. But even worse was a headwind. We rode 61 miles in these conditions. On roads with little to no shoulder and big trucks blowing by regularly, sometimes passing us and each other at the same time. Uggh. Glad to end at another church with air conditioning!

06/12/24 Our rest day was spent fixing bicycles, sending stuff home in a big box put together by the postmistress, getting my hair cut, and enjoying the local sights. Including a home remodeled by Frank Lloyd Wright. The High Prairie Museum was full of great stuff, too.

06/10/24 We had lunch at the Blue Flower Bakery before heading into McCook, where the gang went out for Mexican food. Much better than the fried tacos Paul picked up at a convenience store the day before…. He actually eats that stuff!

06/11-12/24 Finally!!!! A rest day! And this one in a motel! Two nights in a bed with a toilet just 5 feet away! Bliss. But first, we had to get there. Passing a DOT yard, I noticed the art on the sign. One small town had a park with a Purple Heart memorial and an old cabin.

06/10/24 At Arapahoe, we stayed at a Methodist church. They had a potluck dinner and made omelets to order the next morning! It gave us all a chance to visit and learned a lot about prairie living. The church had joined the Global Methodists, and were awaiting their new outside signage.

06/10/24 Now is a good time to show you the collection of mailbox pictures I have been collecting. Gotta so something to break up this unrelenting prairie landscape.

06/09/24 Next morning we saw Indians in the grass just before Paul’s chain dropped and he had to do some road repairs. Back on the road again, we ate lunch in the stands of a baseball stadium that reminded me of Memorial Stadium at the Seattle Center.

06/08/24 That night in Franklin, Paul was on dinner duty. He and Stephen were going to do “Mediterranean”, but after perusing the local grocery, changed the menu to hamburgers and fresh corn.

06/08/24 We passed several towns, including the birthplace of Willa Cather in Red Cloud, NE. We saw lots of damage from the storm we weathered in Mankato. There was lots more wind and golf ball sized hail north and west of where we were.

06/08/24 After that storm, we decided it was time to leave Kansas. We played tag with the Three Amigos (Jim, Peter, and Doug) for awhile, but they soon zoomed away as we fought a headwind. Meanwhile, Stephen deviated to visit the geographical center of the lower 48 near Lebanon, Kansas.

06/07/24 In Mankotah we experienced a sheet lightning thunderstorm we rode out in our tent. About 45 minutes before it started to rain, the sky lit up with continuous lightning with no thunder. Then the rain came HARD. The lightning continued, but now we could hear a constant rumble of thunder.

06/07/24 In Mankotah, we found a Sweden Creme fast food restaurant. Wish we had these in Seattle! Before that, we stopped by the side of the road for lunch, and found an outdoor museum, complete with a jail you don’t want to find yourself in.

06/07/24 Heading to Mankotah, Kansas, we noticed what we thought was a big rock, but on closer examination realized it was being excavated. No one we met could identify it. Also, notice how our “rolling hills” are flattening out. This is a welcome change, but it makes way for wind. Mostly headwinds.

06/06/24 We also passed a town named Blue Rapids. Instead of a town square , it had a town circle. Great 70’s music was blaring from speakers, and the town had a tiny museum in the circle explaining the geography of the area.

06/06/24 Since this is the anniversary of D-Day, I noticed an elaborate memorial to the fight at Iwo Jima, where Paul’s father was wounded. We had lunch in a park with an elaborate play area. And we passed several signs commemorating schools that no longer existed.

06/06/24 On to Washington, Kansas. On the way, we passed Centralia. 😳 In Washington, we stayed at a city park that had a great community swimming pool with a flying monkey on top of the slide, and a monument dedicated to the Wizard of Oz called Munchkinland.

06/05/24 To get to our campground at Seneca, we had to find our way over a mound of dirt where a road crew was replacing a bridge. At least it wasn’t muddy! And a favorite Kansas personality peeked out of someone’s yard. We were also surprised to see so many wind turbines in Kansas!

06/05/24 Muscotah was also the hometown of a famous baseball player, Joe Tinker, who played professionally from 1902 to 1916. In his honor, the world’s largest baseball is set up in a park along with three statues, commemorating the trio (Tinker to Evers to Chance) who perfected the modern double play.

06/05/24 Today we rode from Achison to Seneca in Kansas. We have two days of back-to-back 75 miles of pedaling. This is when we are finally getting whipped into shape for finishing the ride. Even so, Paul had to stop and join Jon when he saw the sausage and eggs breakfast on his plate in Muscotah.

06/04/24 And now we are in Jesse James country, and Kansas, too! We had to trust the gps to get to our campsite through a locked gate and gravel road. Achison, Kansas, is where Amelia Earhart grew up.

06/04/24 Today we leave Missouri and enter Kansas. But not before we experience Weston, MO, where they have every kind of festival you can imagine, including a “Lost Virginity Tour” and a Testicle Festival! And a train stop. Also, if a relative dies, you have to adopt the road where she died?!?

06/03/24 You can find out more about Jim at www.jimthewonderdog.org

06/02-03/24 Off to explore more of Missouri on the back roads. Which were quite hilly. We are still following Lewis and Clark, now we are on the Santa Fe trail, and it all intersects with the Oregon Trail! Who knew Missouri was such a hub for people going places! Not to mention Jim the Wonder Dog!

06/01/24 We stayed at a city park in Boonville . It was not the best place. The designated tent site was on a steep hillside. Then someone locked the restrooms! We were all unhappy until the guy with the key showed up. But the sign on the fence made up for it. And the Missouri River overlook.

06/01/24 Our day in Boonville was all about doing laundry and finding WiFi to update the blog. Downtown was decorated with bicycles.

05/31/24 On down the Katy Trail to Boonville, where we have a rest day! Boonville is not named for Daniel Boone, BUT Daniel Boone’s sons found a salt lick nearby (called”Boone’s Lick”). Some entrepreneur took the salt to Santa Fe to trade, and this is the beginning of the Santa Fe Trail.

05/30/24

05/30/24 After all that riding, we climbed up an elaborate ramp to the bridge over the Missouri River, and entered Jefferson City. Where we got to sleep in a bed. In a motel. 🤩 With pizza for dinner 🥘 🥳 Map meeting under the motel sign.

05/31/24 Our last day on the Katy Trail. We got an early start and had plenty of time for carrot cake 🍰 and a pie made of raspberry brownies at the General Store in Rocheport. Highly recommended!

05/30/24 We passed through Weldon Springs, where they processed uranium during the Cold War. This led to some interesting signs along the trail.

05/30/24 This is one of our longest days of the trip at 83 miles. The Katy Trail is made of crushed limestone, which was a fine surface to ride on because it had not rained and it was dusty but not muddy. But it was a loooong day no matter what surface you are riding on. At least it was mostly flat.

05/29/24 Across the street from the Bike Stop was a Lewis & Clark Museum and boathouse. The boathouse had replicas of the river boats they used to go up the Missouri. While there, we met Mr. Lewis himself- or at least the man who will play him in a reenactment film being produced by the museum.

05/29/24 the first day we had a lovely time at the Bike Stop, a coffeehouse with a bicycle maintenance outfit affiliated. Several people had bicycle issues, so all of us stopped there to check it out. The art was bicycle-centric, to say the least….

05/29-31/24 Now we are on the famous Katy Trail! First thing I am going to do is re-post the dates and places we are going. We started at Black Walnut. We cycled on the trail until Booneville. Here’s a link to find out more about the trail. mostateparks.com/park/katy…

06/07/24 Hello everyone! I have not had WiFi for awhile, so I have been unable to update the blog. I will do that as soon as I am able. In the meantime, here’s an omen we enjoyed this morning.

05/29/24 From Alton, we rode over the Mississippi River and found our way to the start of the Katy Trail. The wind was still blowing, but once we got on the trail, the trees blocked it and the riding was easy.

5/28/24 And at the State Street Market Cafe in Alton with Al and Jean Manalaysay.

More from 5/28/24: The other big news is we start down the Katy trail. The last big trail of our journey

5/29/24 Paul here, trying my hand at the blog thing. Two big milestones to note: we reached the 1000 mile mark in our journey and we cross the Mississippi River. Alton IL is an old Mississippi river town where we bed down in a generous Baptist church. We also reconnect with cousins Jean and Al from nearby Fenton MO for a fabulous dinner and reminiscing. These were the kind folks that bailed Rhe and I out at the end of last year’s ride.

05/27-28/24 We went through Madison County Illinois, and saw a couple of wooden bridges. Is this the setting for “The Bridges of Madison County’”? And one town had a unique way to congratulate its graduating seniors.

5/28-28/24 Two of the most difficult days we will do on this trip, I am sure. Both days had strong headwinds, bad roads, and lots of traffic. At the end of both days we were exhausted. 😩 Both days were about 65 miles. Glad they are behind us. ?Is it “Van-Day-lyah” or Van-da-Lee-a”?

And the thunderstorm in the picnic shelter the day before.

And the thunderstorm in the tent!

05/27/24 Cicada video didn’t load, and I missed the world’s biggest pencil. Let’s try those again.

05/27/24 Despite the cicadas, we soldiered on. Some scenes from Casey, IL, where they have the largest stuff all over the downtown core: largest pencil, largest swizzle spoon, largest post box, etc.

05/27/24 The cicadas are now a constant presence. We hear them in groves of trees, they fly at us, stick to us, and we hear them pinging off our bike tires. One even got under my sunglasses and was crawling on my eyelid before I stopped and flung my glasses off my face and to the side of the road.

05/27/24 The very most important thing about this day is that we met the cicadas. All three broods (annual, 13-year and 17-year) have emerged in Illinois. In some areas, the noise is overwhelming. Imagine being in a theater showing a fifties sci-fi movie and the alien spaceship is taking off.

05/26/24 Thunderstorm, not a tornado. Thankfully , no one floated away or sprung a leak in their tent.

05/26/24 On to Casey, IL, where we camped in a city park with showers! If you ignored the warnings on the wall about black widows, the shower was divine! Then the police, emergency responders, and a guy from across the street came by to warn us about a potential tornado warning that night. Only a thunderstorm!

05/26/24 Memorial Day

05/26/24 We backtracked to a coffeehouse to wait out the storm. They had great art on the doors of the restrooms. When the storm passed, we biked through a deserted Indiana State University campus, passed a porta-john farm, and several Veteran’s Memorials on Memorial Day.

5/26/24 Things got better once we got on the bikes the next morning. First we went through Poland, where they spell “text” differently. We chose not to detour through Brazil. But we got caught in a thunderstorm anyway!

05/25/24 And then we got to our campsite for the night : Misty Morning Campground. ALoud music, no running water, despicably filthy portapotties, and it was hot with very little shade. All-in-all, our worst camping experience so far.

5/25/24 Today’s ride made us all fall in love with Indiana. We stayed in the small farm, wooded low areas with all kinds of birdsong and charm.

05/24/24 Paul and I did not eat with the group, but went out for a nice dinner at a Mexican restaurant. I asked for a glass of Merlot wine, and the waitress served me a Miller Light! Sigh. It was still a lovely evening.

05/24/24 We washed laundry, picked up necessary supplies, walked about town, and rested. There is a college here named for Benjamin Franklin, and they have a “lazy Faith” chapel….

05/23-24/24 We spent a necessary rest day in Franklin, Indiana at a city park. There were showers in a public swimming pool. The water was cold, the shower was not private, and Paul and Jon were told that it was inappropriate for them to shower naked as this was a family facility. 😵‍💫

05/22/24 Crossed the state line into Indiana today! Immediately realized we were somewhere new when all the convenience stores and city parks had restrooms open to the public. Very hard to find a place to pee in Ohio. Some leaving Ohio pictures. Knee high by the 4th of July! And old churches.

05/19-21/24 Pictures that didn’t upload. Beautiful houses, buggies in the front yard, and fertilizer in bomb shaped containers….

Paul’s dinner preparation. Special tonight is 🌮! We take turns cooking in pairs. Cooks for the night have to come up with a recipe, shop, cook, and clean up at night. Then they have to make coffee, get breakfast ready, put lunch makings out, and clean up before they leave in the morning.

Beautiful houses

05/19-21/24 More pictures. Beautiful houses, some bioengineering project, Paul’s dinner preparation, and fertilizer tanks lined up in a row.

05/19-21/24 Our tandem couple had a surprise visit from their son, who is soon to be deployed to Greece, with a new baby grandma had not seen yet. Kevinn and Mary were ecstatic!

05/19-21/24 After the rain quit, we got 🥵. Not sure how high the temperatures reached, but with the hills, heat, and humidity our legs were feeling like noodles. We stayed at 3 campgrounds near lakes, but

05/18/24 Two days in churches means two days without showers. Ugh! So our brave leaders got on the phone and set up showers for us at a State Campground twenty miles away. We all jumped in the van and came home clean! In this heat and humidity, we need a shower after biking all day!

05/18/24 Another church, this time in Byesville, Ohio. Reminds us of our friend, Byron. Hi, By!

5/18/24 The rain was lighter today, butt now we start climbing the hills of eastern Ohio. Big, rolling hills. You climb hard over one, and then roll down to meet the next big hill. To make matters worse, a road was closed and the detour had bigger hills. The tandem team was amazing!

5/17/24 Time to leave PIttsburgh and head west on real roads. And so it started to rain. We were lucky to ride trails for about half the day. But in the rain. We stayed at a church in Wheeling WV that night. We’ve been in Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginiainia, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

5/15/24 For the evening, we walked to an incline station, got lifted up to the neighborhood above us, and enjoyed a good meal with our friends Jim from Oregon and Peter from Holland.

05/16/24 Our day off the bikes in Pittsburgh involved eating gigantic sandwiches at Primanti’s; shopping for necessities at REI, and washing clothes. We even passed the Greek Orthodox Church where Karen’s parents were married!

05/15/24 Pictures of the ride into Pittsburgh.

05/14/24 And more pictures! The last flood a month ago only went halfway up the roof support. One flood actually went over the roof! Someone didn’t pay attention to the weather rock.

05/14/24 One more time! I loved the Hobbit cyclist camp and hope that you can enjoy these pictures!

05/14/24 and a Hobbit shower! And weather station.

05/14/24 and the Hobbit campsite for cyclists.

05/14-15/24 I see that a number of pictures did not post. I probably need better WiFi coverage. Let’s try again. Scenes from 5/14 on the GAP Trail.

05/15/24 More Travelers Rest pictures.

05/15/24 We stayed at a hostel/motel called The Traveler’s Rest. Really cool space in an old office building, including a bank vault on the first floor. Paul and I got a room of our own - bathroom down the hall. We had to wait until 4pm, so found a brewery nearby and sampled the local libations.

05/15/24 Today we arrived in Pittsburgh! We have a rest day tomorrow and I am so looking forward to it.

05/14/24 The best part of this day was where we stayed. It was a hobbit dwelling for cyclists on the trail. We spent a lovely evening there, and didn’t have to leave early the next morning so got to hang out for awhile.

05/14/24 More art on the way out of town, and a hiker/biker site built by the Boy Scouts. Then we passed under a car bridge where they were sandblasting with protective covering for trail users. One of the picnic shelters we passed showed why you should never use rafters. And a misnamed john.

05/14/24 We passed through the town of Connellsville. Great art and bicycle welcoming, with flush toilets and a pavilion for waiting out a rainstorm.

05/14/24 - More of the beautiful GAP Trail.

05/13/24 The campground was called the Outflow Campground at Youghiogheny Lake. No, I don’t know how to pronounce it.

05/13/24 Towards the end of the ride that day, we ran into lots of bridges. Be sure to read the signage before crossing. Paul finished the day at a bike shop where they replaced his brake rotor. Spent the night at a Corps of Engineers campground by a dam.

05/13/24 We have one couple, Kevin and Mary from Paducah, KY, riding a tandem. The first day on the C&O Canal, they broke the front crank on their bike and pedaled 40 miles with 3 legs. Kevin had a huge grin on his face when it finally came back to him fixed and ready to ride.

05/13/24 A big surprise for Paul was when we passed through the Mason Dixon Park. Mason and Dixon did a lot of surveying to set up the first thirteen colonies. The park had a copper line down the middle of the bike path, representing surveyor chains. At Frostburg we found some art.

05/13/24 Today we climbed about 2500 feet in the first 20 miles at a nice 2-3% grade, then downhill for 40 Miles. We cross the Eastern Continental Divide where water on one side runs to the Atlantic Ocean, and on the other side runs to the Mississippi River. 200 miles since we left WA DC.!

05/13/24 Unfortunately the first thing we did was run into each other, and Rhe fell on her right side. Bloodied her knee and jammed her shoulder. Paul’s bike was damaged with a bent brake rotor that dragged all day. We patched the knee, but Mark showed up with a gauze pad and wrap that held better.

05/13/24 Woke up to sunshine and heavy dew. We packed up and now we are on the Great Allegheny Passage Trail. This trail is in much better shape than the C&O. All 145 miles are maintained by volunteers. No more mud!!!!

05/12/24 After all that muck, Sean became a black sheep. But after a good washing, he’s back to a creamy color, even if a shade darker. Rubber ducky had lost his propeller. They reunited in Cumberland for a photo op and to exchange their stories.

05/12/24 We woke up to sunshine despite the flood the night before. We took down a wet tent yet again, and cycled on. Saw Lily pads and lots of water on the trail. We were a muddy mess. At the YWCA where we camped, we had 10 minutes to shower, but we made it in time! And devices got charged!

05/11/24 Also lots of muck gumming up the works of our tires rolling with fenders on. And lots of hiker/biker campsites along the way, though I would hesitate to stay because of the mosquitoes.

05/11/24 The trail held some surprises, including a tunnel, turtles, Civil War history, and a final 14 miles of pavement.

05/11/24 At our map meeting last night we learned our mileage for today is not 62 but 77 miles. Ouch! And predicted rain with thunderstorms coming later in the day. It was too wet to take many pictures. Felt we should stop cycling and start building an ark….Then a tornado warning!

05/10/24 More mud pictures from today. We are riding on the C&O Canal towpath where mules and horses pulled barges along a canal, which was built around the 1810’s. There are a series of locks and lock keepers’ houses along the way. The canal even goes over other rivers entering the Potomac.

05/10/24 We had a stop to make sandwiches, then rode on through the woods to our resting place for the night. Paul gave both bikes a good washing down before we quit for the day.

05/10/24 First we dipped our tires in the Potomac. Then the challenge was to find the beginning of the C&O Canal Trail in Georgetown. Can you find Stig? Then we got really wet. And had to carry our bikes down some really slick steps when we got off the trail.

05/10/24 Off to Oregon. We had breakfast, made lunch, and brought our stuff down to load in the van. Ready to ride! Here’s our itinerary. Our companions include Stig, Sean the sheep, and unnamed rubber ducky with propeller that really twirled when the bike was in motion. The weather was iffy.

From left: Leader Bri from Texas; Mary & Kevin from Kentucky; Jim from Portland OR; Molly from Eugene, OR; Peter from Holland; Stephen from Seattle; me; Leader Mark from Maryland; Doug from past Robles, CA; Barbara from Henderson, NVJon and Paul. That’s the motley crew.

05/09/24 Let’s tighten that group photo a bit. Looks like a bunch of old people reliving their glory days, doesn’t it? Most of them said they are riding the TransAm because they weren’t able to do it in 1976 when they were all in their twenties!

05/09/24 Last, a group photo looking down the reflecting pool. Just afterr the photo, our leader, Mark’s, tire popped with a very loud “BANG”! I was surprised no one ducked and no SWAT team showed up. But we had a lesson in changing a tire right in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

05/09/24 Then we backtracked to the Jefferson Memorial. His wise words could help us today.

05/09/24 Today was our shakedown ride. That means we took a short (40 miles) to make sure everyone’s bikes worked and our GPS units will get us from point A to point B. We ate breakfast and took bicycle paths downtown to Mount Vernon. No time to take a tour. Can you find Stig?

05/08/24 On the trail we passed a cyclist and Paul said “ that guy looks familiar”. We caught up with him and met Doug. Then on to the hotel, where we said goodbye to Karen. For our first meeting, we all got in the van and went back to the same neighborhood we had been staying in.

05/08/24 Today is the day! We are supposed to meet our fellow cyclists for this adventure at the Crown Plaza in Arlington, VA.We said goodbye to the cat next door (fondly called Adolf), and we pedaled to Virginia while Jon and Karen hauled our stuff.

05/07/24

05/07/24 There was a domed ceiling, lots of paintings, and other things of importance to see, including a tunnel directly to the Library of Congress. And then it was time to go.

05/07/24 There were a few federally commissioned statues. I found it sad that most of these were of people of color and women who have not been recognized by the States. MLK, Rosa Parks, and 3 women who were placed in the President’s Hall, surely after someone became embarrassed about the all-male presences in the room.

05/07/24 Mostly we looked at art, architecture, and statues. Each State has sent two statues of people from the State deemed to be important. The statues can be either bronze or marble. You should recognize a few of these people.

05/07/24 Inside, Paul found a boundary stone laid by surveyors laying out the District of Columbia. we saw a video about the history and the building of the Capitol and its purpose. Then we were assigned to a tour guide who gave us quite complicated hearing devices.

05/07/24 Now to the Capitol. We had a reservation for a 2:30 tour. On the way, we saw a statue dedicated to Christopher Columbus. I found the Supreme Court, and justt had to take a selfie. We saw an honor guard leaving, and watched a well-trained dog sniffing guests for something.!

05/07/24 Today we have tickets to see the Capitol. First we walked to downtown Takoma to mail a letter and get some stamps. The neighborhood is full of bicycle art and craftsman houses. Love this neighborhood.

05/06/24 After the ride, we drove to REI to get new bike shorts for Rhe, then to Trader Joe’s for dinner supplies. We parked near a dog park with an adjacent structure — was it for dogs or for children? Inquiring minds… Children!!!

05/06/24

05/06/24 We stopped by the Jefferson Memorial, which is also under construction. It is a Monday, and all the school kids are arriving by bus for their end-of-the-school-year-trip to WA DC. So much excitement! Then back into the quiet woods.

05/06/24 We pedaled to the Jefferson Memorial until we were stopped by an armed Secret Service Agent. He told Jon and Paul that there was a foreign diplomat in the helicopter and that they just “did these kinds of things now and again.” Not buying it -he was looking for terrorists with bazookas.

05/06/24 We saw wildlife along the way, including Canadian geese and herons. These herons seem whe much larger than those in Washington state. I think they are still Great Blue Herons, but they must get more to eat because they are HUGE!

05/06/24 We went past all the places we saw on our boat ride, but closer. And we found a spur to the C&OTrail, which will be our starting off place for the Ride Across America 🇺🇸 on Friday. We passed a beach volleyball court with the Washington Memorial in the background.

05/06/24 Today we finally got on the bikes! We found a marvelous trail nearby, named the Rock Creek Trail. It went through a huge park - Rock Creek Park - and ended up on The Mall! What’s a fantastic day! The Rock Creek Trail took us past the National Zoo.

05/05/24 Kimmi took us by bus to her neighborhood after dinner. While the boys went shopping at Whole Foods, Rhe and Karen went home to meet Kim’s cat, Cinnamon. Then she drove us back to the VRBO. By train it would have been an hour, but by car it was 15 minutes. Thank you, Kim!!!

05/05/24 We met Kimmi at the cathedral and went with her to dinner. She explained there had been a flower show there and that all the floral arrangements were left in the church. They represented different countries. Can you find the one from Switzerland?

05/05/24 After The Mall, we took two buses to the National Cathedral, wheree we had the beautiful experience of listening to a concert by the National Cathedral Choir. A little known fact about the National Cathedral is that one of the gargoyles on the exterior is a bust of Darth Vader. True fact!!!

05/05/24 The Women’s Vietnam Memorial representing Faith, Hope and Love.

05/05/24 The Vietnam Memorial.

05/05/24 The WW II Memorial

05/05/24 The Martin Luther King Memorial. It is hard for me to choose his best words, because there were so many. They spoke to me with much wisdom for today.

05/05/24 The Korean War Memorial.

05/05/24 Happy Cinco de Maya! We took a stroll on The Mall today. I’m going to let these memorials speak for themselves. First stop, the Lincoln Memorial.

05/04/24 Back in Georgetown we enjoyed the art, and found the C&O Canal starting point. We will be following this route for a few days when we start pedaling. Then we found a bite to eat. We didn’t know we had chosen a hookah bar until it was too late.

05/04/24 The old town part of Alexandria was full of restaurants and shops and fun places. I’d love to know what these Eucalyptus looking trees are called? As we were waiting for the boat back, I saw a father put a scarf around his daughter’s neck and zip up her coat to stop her shivering.

05/04/24 In Alexandria, we found an artist coop at an old torpedo factory. It had a Shakespeare exhibit with his sonnets projected onto cloth and his words read by actors that you could hear only if you stood on a floor balloon. The tiles in the bathroom and the banister on the stairs were all art.

05/04/24 Today it rained quite a bit, but we were determined to get out and see the sights. Karen had arranged for us to get a sightseeing boat cruise from Georgetown to Alexandria, VA. We used trains and buses to get to the takeoff point for the boat. Then we took off down the Potomac.

05/03/24 After that we walked the mall. There was evidence of an upcoming exhibit of farming and farm equipment. We saw the White House and Marine 1. Then we headed to the train and found the Ford Theater, which is run by the National Park Service. Little Shop of Horrors is currently playing.

05/03/24 After the Air and Space, we went to the Native American Museum for lunch and spent some time in the Memorial garden. The poles around the area had neckwear from people who died defending our nation. Neckwear included bandanas, amulets, awards, etc. The nearby pond had 10 ducklings.

05/03/24 There was even a balsawood model of the first airplane Paul ever built. And the Mars landrover that looks like it was built with spit, duct tape, and zip ties. It took a licking and kept on ticking for 14 years in the harsh Mars climate.

05/03/24 Other than that, the Air and Space Museum had exhibits on flying since the 30’s, moon landings, and what’s next. Since more than half the museum is closed for renovation, we actually saw most of it. Including some advice from speed demons and a good synopsis of flight and women.

05/03/24 The great thing about flight is that it only got off the ground because of the bicycle. The Wright Brothers did everything to develop the first flying machine based on their work with bicycles.🚴

05/03/24 The Air and Space Museum was under construction, so it took some time to find the entrance. Once there, we set off to boldly go where no one has gone before…. There is a glare off the glass, but that is the actual model of the Starship Enterprise from the original series.

05/03/24 Getting the bikes ready was a priority this morning, but we still haven’t done a shakedown ride to insure the pedals won’t fall off. Oh, well! On to the Smithsonian Air And Space Museum! The train was packed with 4th graders, who got off the next stop. Yay! The rest was just being in DC.

05/02/24 We picked up Jon’s bike early, and in the process learned the air conditioning in the car we rented was not working. Even though it was 91 degrees today. We took the Metro and met up with our old friend, Kim, at Mikko’s Nordic Cafei in Dupont Circle. Great dinner, great company.

05/01/24 Things could not have gone better. The plane was on time, Mt Rainier poked his head out to wave, and the plane landed early. Stig critiqued the flight attendant’s instructions. Got the car, found our home for the week, then attended a Zoom meeting with our cycling buddies.

05/01/24 - Our neighbor, Solange, brought over two donuts to eat as a sendoff. One was carrot cake! Yum! Another neighbor sent a picture of us riding our bikes a few days ago. Today we got up early, said goodbye to the cat, and met Jon and Karen at the airport. Excitement abounds!

04/29/24 - The first day of the “tour” is May 8th. But the first day we start riding West is May 10th. There will be 12 riders and two leaders in all. Average daily riding will be 60 miles, which is why we trained hard beforehand. Wish us luck!

04/29/24 - Our plan is to fly to DC on May 1st so we can see the sights, get the bikes built again, and adjust to the time change before we start the journey. Paul’s brother, Jon, will be riding the trip with us. His wife, Karen, is joining us for our tour of DC, as travel agent extraordinaire.

04/24/24 - Paul dismantled and boxed the bikes for shipping them to a bicycle shop in Washington DC. Now all we have to do is say goodbye to our friends and pack.

March and April 2024 - We have been training since mid-May. The weather has been variable, but Seattle in the springtime is a great place to ride if you don’t mind getting a little wet. Cherry blossoms on the UW campus, sunny days now and again, and headwinds that build muscles.

March and April 2024 - So, we are going to try again this summer. This time, we are taking an Adventure Cycling Association tour, which includes two leaders and a van! This is our tour, including a map:

www.adventurecycling.org/guided-to…

March and April 2024 - Here’s the plan. Paul and I tried to ride across America last year. We started in Yorktown, VA, and made it through Virginia and Kentucky, but stopped riding once we crossed the Ohio River at Cave-in-Rock Illinois. 1,000 miles in all, but we still had 3,000 to go.

If you are ever wondering what to give someone who is going on an adventure involving lots of physical labor, I recommend a hanky. Friends gave me this one and it has been incredibly useful for wiping off sweat and blowing my nose almost daily. FYI, it’s the best!

09/27/23 The Palouse to Cascades Trail goes to the Washington/Idaho border, but after the Beverly Bridge the trail is not as well maintained and there are fewer services. We will try that when the trail is more developed. From Seattle to Beverly, WA, this was a grand ride!

09/27/23 After hours of cycling in the desert, we starteded downhill and coasted to the Columbia River. We crossed the Columbia River on the Beverly Bridge, the new pedestrian and bicycle bridge that allows us to avoid the I-90 bridge at Vantage. Paul’s brother, Jon, was there to pick us up.

09/27/23 We decided to stop for lunch. This was when Stig told us we had left all of the good lunch makings in the refrigerator in the hotel room . Thanks to a jar of peanut butter, Paul did not die of starvation.

09/27/23 There were lots off cuts in the landscape for the trains to pass through when this was a railroad. These were reminiscent of a Lord of the Rings scene, and we both felt like Merry and Pippin on the backs of orcs being carried through Rohan.

09/27/23 Last day on the trail! We followed the River out of town and suddenly we were in sagebrush. At first we tracked with I-90. But then we crossed over and entered the US Army Yakima Training Center. This is a wide swath of beautiful, empty land.

09/26/23 In Ellensburg, we stayed at the Hotel Windrow in downtown. Five stars from us! They gave us a broom to clean our bikes, then locked them in somebody’s office for safekeeping. Dinner was half a block away at the Julep.

09/26/23 We passed an elk trying to hide in the trees along the trail. We saw lots of osprey and eagles and some turkeys raced us for a few yards up the trail. It was nice to be far enough away from I-90 to hear something other thanks traffic.

09/26/23 On to Easton and Cle Elum. There’s a lake at Easton! Who knew???? That’s what you miss driving on the interstate. At Cle Elum, they have made a park on the trail commemorating the town’s history as a train station.

09/26/23 Next morning we woke up to rain. So we ate a big breakfast at the motel diner, then got going. First we biked around the west side of Lake Keechelus - the lake I-90 borders to the east.

09/25/23 At the other end of the tunnel, there was some kind of trail ride going’s on. Lots of horses and trailers. We headed up to the ski hill, where we stayed at the motel off the freeway, and enjoyed a beer at the brewery across the street.

09/25/23 At the tunnel, we donned our headlamps, pulled on our rain gear (it’s wet in there!), and pedaled to eastern Washington through the 2.25 mile hole in the mountain. It’s very dark in there.

09/25/23 Next morning all trace of the cramps were gone. On our bikes, and now we get to climb the John Wayne Rail Trail to the Snoqualmie Tunnel at the top of the pass. A beautiful and glorious day, with only a smattering of rain. Lots of trestles and fall foliage.

09/24/23 The ride after Issaquah was beautiful to start with, then we ran into trouble. Part of the bike path was closed, so we had to climb a very big hill and Rhe’s legs started cramping. We weren’t sure we would make it to North Bend. But we did, and had a good soak in the hot tub at our VRBO.

09/24/23 By Issaquah, Paul was famished! A Triple XXX burger revived him. Sadly, the famous Triple XXX Burgers went out of business a few months later, making this Rhe’s one and only experience at this iconic 50’s drive-up joint.

09/24/23 On Mercer Island we watched a lacrosse team practice , then on to Bellevue where we had to navigate designated bike trails that suddenly turned into urban streets with little or no signage to point the way.

09/24/23 We got a good look at the new light rail stations and I-90 bridge construction as we pedaled next to heavy traffic in n our own protected lane across the floating bridge. The only thing not protected was our eardrums!

09/24/23 We left from our home in the very southern tip of West Seattle and headed into the city. To get to the east side, we had to navigate the bicycle route across Lake Washington on the I-90 bridge, which also means you have to climb up to the Mount Baker Tunnel for pedestrians.

4/28/24 It’s time to get started on this blog again. First to update everyone on our ride to the Columbia River last fall.