So I'm ready to go back to Indiana. Ohio is ridiculously hilly compared to what we have been doing for the past couple weeks! And it only goes up from here.
Since we last talked, we have traveled to Greenville, to Columbus and are now in Cambridge, OH. Ohio was mostly ok to us. It was relatively flat until today. There was a constant up and down in terrain that really made my legs ache.
In Greenville, OH we had a work day which consisted of us cleaning out a thrift store used to raise money for the Fuller Center. We did a lot of cleaning and even came out with a couple of souvenirs. The church we stayed at placed us in their youth center which turned out to be a giant arcade. This is kind of scary to wake up in and very annoying to have people playing Pac Man at 5 am.
Tomorrow we will ride to Wheeling, WV. We are so close to home!!! Its just crazy to think how far we have come.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Indianapolis, IN
So... its been a while. Let me bring everyone back up to speed.
Missouri was hot and kind of miserable. We biked pretty long days. The terrain was hillier than we have been accustomed to for a while. The humidity made hot days hotter and long days longer. But we no long pass through dead towns. I tripped my bike up a couple times, which finally did it in. We stopped in a small town called Carrollton, who gave us a very warm weekend. Half the town came to greet us and the Mayor made a proclamation that that day was officially Carrollton FCBA day. They gave us around town in the town trolley (which we turned into a party trolley) and bought us ice cream. Definitely a success.
Illinois was surprisingly flat. Flatter than Kansas. I loved it. We got to cross the Mississippi to cross into the state. It was a little scary because they were doing construction on the bridge, but over all pretty awesome. While we were in Illinois we stayed the night in Lewistown at a small Christian summer camp where we ran into... JEFF CERAR!!! We were all thrilled to meet up with Jeff and his brother who were passing through. It was very nice to see a face from home. Jeff greeted us with smiles, hugs and chocolates :). Another cool part about this stop was that for the first time in a very long time we were given the opportunity to sleep in beds... real beds... no pillows, but I guess you can't have it all. The camp there provided all our meals and a pool. What more could a cyclist want? Needless to say it was a very pleasant stay. The next morning we work up very early to be greeted by thunder and lightening. While this put a damper on our early start, it gave us the chance to chill out during the morning and enjoy each other's company when we aren't too exhausted to talk. The rest of the day was over cast and rainy. I loved it. Perfect riding weather. We arrived in Bloomington, IL in the early afternoon and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening chilling out. In Bloomington we had our fourth build day. We worked on putting windows in and re-doing an entire porch. The build days are a good day off our bikes, but at the same time really remind us why we ride; to bring more awareness to ca use that can never have enough attention.
Also while we were in Bloomington, I was able to purchase a new bike, since my original bike (Sojo) was pretty much ridden into the ground. While Sojo and I had some good rides, it definitely makes me appreciate this new bike so much more. It rides very smooth and goes a little bit faster for all the energy I put into it. I have yet to come up for a good name for it.
On August 2 we rolled into Indiana. Indiana so far has been more of the same as Illinois. This makes the 100 mile days much easier. However yesterday we had our longest day yet; 111 miles! On days like these we live on prayer... and cheeseburgers and milkshakes. Someone on the street commented to us that we were crazy for riding on the hottest day of the year. If I had a dime for every time someone told me that in every town we have stayed in since Colorado, I would be rich. Yesterday's hi was on 97 degrees. That's nothing compared to the 110 degrees we did in Kansas. Today we had another work project here in Indianapolis. We cleared two empty lots (soon to be houses) and did a demolition on a garage and then started to rebuild it. It was hard work, the kind that you get dirt and ants in unexpected places, but so much fun.
It's super hard to believe that we'll be home in a week and a half. Where has the time gone? We are excited to see you, but sad knowing we will have to leave all these amazing people behind. Hope everyone is staying cool and enjoying the end of their summer!
Missouri was hot and kind of miserable. We biked pretty long days. The terrain was hillier than we have been accustomed to for a while. The humidity made hot days hotter and long days longer. But we no long pass through dead towns. I tripped my bike up a couple times, which finally did it in. We stopped in a small town called Carrollton, who gave us a very warm weekend. Half the town came to greet us and the Mayor made a proclamation that that day was officially Carrollton FCBA day. They gave us around town in the town trolley (which we turned into a party trolley) and bought us ice cream. Definitely a success.
Illinois was surprisingly flat. Flatter than Kansas. I loved it. We got to cross the Mississippi to cross into the state. It was a little scary because they were doing construction on the bridge, but over all pretty awesome. While we were in Illinois we stayed the night in Lewistown at a small Christian summer camp where we ran into... JEFF CERAR!!! We were all thrilled to meet up with Jeff and his brother who were passing through. It was very nice to see a face from home. Jeff greeted us with smiles, hugs and chocolates :). Another cool part about this stop was that for the first time in a very long time we were given the opportunity to sleep in beds... real beds... no pillows, but I guess you can't have it all. The camp there provided all our meals and a pool. What more could a cyclist want? Needless to say it was a very pleasant stay. The next morning we work up very early to be greeted by thunder and lightening. While this put a damper on our early start, it gave us the chance to chill out during the morning and enjoy each other's company when we aren't too exhausted to talk. The rest of the day was over cast and rainy. I loved it. Perfect riding weather. We arrived in Bloomington, IL in the early afternoon and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening chilling out. In Bloomington we had our fourth build day. We worked on putting windows in and re-doing an entire porch. The build days are a good day off our bikes, but at the same time really remind us why we ride; to bring more awareness to ca use that can never have enough attention.
Also while we were in Bloomington, I was able to purchase a new bike, since my original bike (Sojo) was pretty much ridden into the ground. While Sojo and I had some good rides, it definitely makes me appreciate this new bike so much more. It rides very smooth and goes a little bit faster for all the energy I put into it. I have yet to come up for a good name for it.
On August 2 we rolled into Indiana. Indiana so far has been more of the same as Illinois. This makes the 100 mile days much easier. However yesterday we had our longest day yet; 111 miles! On days like these we live on prayer... and cheeseburgers and milkshakes. Someone on the street commented to us that we were crazy for riding on the hottest day of the year. If I had a dime for every time someone told me that in every town we have stayed in since Colorado, I would be rich. Yesterday's hi was on 97 degrees. That's nothing compared to the 110 degrees we did in Kansas. Today we had another work project here in Indianapolis. We cleared two empty lots (soon to be houses) and did a demolition on a garage and then started to rebuild it. It was hard work, the kind that you get dirt and ants in unexpected places, but so much fun.
It's super hard to believe that we'll be home in a week and a half. Where has the time gone? We are excited to see you, but sad knowing we will have to leave all these amazing people behind. Hope everyone is staying cool and enjoying the end of their summer!
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