Miles to go before I sleep

As we enter a new state, Jeff marvels at all we have seen.

                                                                                                                                                                               

He aptly states we have been able to see things we have never been able to see in any traditional way.

For me, it's the pull to explore just a little more. As we pedal past the road designated on the cue sheet, all I need to do is look to one side a see a rolling road extend out, that I long to follow.

The tricky bit of that is that we really don't need to pedal any extra miles.

Jeff's Black Cow mecca

aaannnnddd his pre-lunch

Welcome to Erie, PA...Roberta's hotel mecca

We start our last thirty six hour break...
...our legs are thankful for the rest.

I'll start thinking about the obligations that have been patiently waiting for me back home.
And even though the pull of wanderlust and duty call...I know I have miles to go before I sleep.

Yep - still married...

Fifty Shades of Gravity

When I was foolishly planning all the "rest" time I would have on this trip, I downloaded several books. One was a book I had heard about on Good Morning America.
It sounded like a great "trashy beach book".
Then my daughters suggested I not read it.
Unless you've spent the last couple of months cycling cross country, or hiking the Appalachian Trail - you know of what book I speak. Fifty Shades of Grey.

Bottom line - the book deals with a relationship of both pain and pleasure.
That is what today's hills were all about - gravity's ability to make our lives exhilarating,
or a living hell.
Today, we had every variation of gravity
up and down,
steep and shallow,
long and short.
Fifty variables? Easily.

Pain? It was 94.1 miles, in ninety degree heat. Elevation gain of 3,128 feet. 
Pleasure? The twisty roads, the eight mile bike path through "Jurassic Park", the gardens, the shady spots, the views...and the SAGs.

So - when I get home - should I read the book or not?
I've got to read something while I try to tan my feet.


amazing and all over the place

John from the UK...through the bike path...and before he taught us a little biking ditty

sirens

unfortunate camera mishap - but glad for the proof that I really pedaled...clearly, I was talking - surprise

big farm

huge

little farm - and loved those cows

SAG saints

This is Tracy.  She's the owner and director. She rocks. Period.

tonight's hydration

Snapshot

Things I wished I had taken a photo of...but pedaling took precedence...

The Amish boy of twelve or thirteen, laying belly down by the side of the road on the grass, hat two feet beyond his reach. He looked up as we pedaled by, his short bangs and long hair gave him a look of someone out of a different era. Then...

The teenage Amish boy, riding his "sport" buggy, just as wildly smiling as any boy behind the "wheel".

Or all the mailboxes across the country, from whales, tractors, to just about any type of receptacle that will hold a bill or two.

The lawn ornaments..a bounty of tired woodland creatures, cows, children plucking petals to peeing, a variety of ceramic geese dressed in any assortment of aprons or rain gear, dutch mates, and the random gnome.

The layers of climbing and rolling hills of Ohio, looking like an elaborate scalloping on a cake.

Or the Amish farm pond, with swans and goats together with their babies.

The fat field rat that took one look at me, jumped straight up in the air, ran around like a nut, and then popped into his hole.

The barns...the barns - each one with it's own life story...

And the people who wave from their front porch.

The house that had a driveway lined with "posts" topped with a different colorful hand crafted birdhouse.

The color combinations of wildflowers - purple or blue always a host to yellow or orange.

The small bird relentlessly chasing a hawk away from its nest.

The dragonflies' and birds' bellies we have seen as they fly alongside us for more than three heartbeats.

The surprised deer that ran and leapfrogged over each other when we pedaled right next to them.

The dandelion tufts the size of softballs...

 And little guys faces when they see us go by.

Today I took these...

heavens

and earth

humming powerlines, and deer knocking themselves out to get away from the yellow things...us

let's not split hairs and call it a century...

Storm Chasers

We woke this morning to a thick and heavy air.
We knew it was going to rain...but could we beat it?
We got to Ohio a bit before 7AM. Ohio entertained us all day until the last twenty-six miles.
You know how The Weather Channel shows photos and video clips of storms right before there is a weather smack down? That was us.
The storm chased us the whole way, thunder and lightening all around.
Nothing gives you twenty five mile an hour legs like a little clap of thunder.
You won't see any photos of that sky. We actually are older AND wiser...at least for today.
STATS - 105 miles, climb, climb, climb...still married.  Really - that's all you need to know...right?
Oh yes...we beat the rain.

Good morning Ohio...on the road at 6:30 AM

Clouds come and go

Tricky to see, but I wanted to be respectful.  As we pedaled by, five young girls waved as they set themselves up for a softball game in their front yard.  You can see the buggies.  The Amish have some of the most beautiful home gardens we have ever seen.

We received a friendly wave from a couple in their buggy.

Each barn...

...has a quilt pattern on it.

Sixth Sense

funny - right?

We are beginning to leave behind the tandem friendly flats.

As I look into the not-too-far distance, elevation changes are noticeable, and actually somewhat familiar.
Short and steep.
The humidity was beyond high, and I knew if I released my hair from my helmet, I'd be reliving the '70's with my Chia Pet look.
Unfortunately the DQ we were supposed to stop at for "lunch", was closed for renovations.
I may or may not have heard the big guy suppress a small sob.

Hungry, hot, humid = hangry.

There's only one thing to do. Use your sixth sense - the all necessary sense of humor.
Now, I have used the words grim, painful, punishing when referring to times on this trip.
The uber-close relationship that we have as a tandem team can be "a pressure cooker"
(pronounced - cook'ahhhh).
The tension can build, and weariness can sap joy from this world. (Too much?)
We have had to rely on and fine tune the skill of finding humor in anything.

Tracy's band of merry men and women know the virtue of humor. Therefore they set us, on our day off, to hunt for items to decorate our helmets, for the next day's departure.
The chuckling starts for us after dinner the night before the break, and continues the day after the break. For a blessed thirty six hours, silliness rules.
Nothing like sending 22 punch drunk people off to be creative.
What we lacked in talent, we made up for in laughter and good humor.

Which is good medicine...even for sore body parts.

planning

creating

plotting

absolutely...

nuts!

Job Description

People in the southwest are kind:
Pulling into a gas station...
Farmer - Which of you is doin' all the work?
Jeff - She is. (Smart man.)
Farmer - Where you goin'!
Me - Boston, we started in LA.
Farmer - What do you do in the big cities?
Me - Go through them.
Farmer - What do you do when it rains?
Me - Get wet.
Farmer - Hmph!
Me - I know.

So - you non-tandem folk, this is what I do:
We are clipped in together, and synched so I, the stoker, have to pedal at the same rate and time as the captain. We both put out equal value of energy output, but clearly Jeff is stronger (thank God), and therefore is the main engine.

I am the turbo boost engine at street lights, dogs, hazardous situations, and getting up steep hills.
Jeff - Ready?
Me - Yep.
Jeff - Give us gas.
Me - Okey dokey. At which point I stand and power us up.

I am the controller of the drag break. This is the three pound drum brake on the back tire for steep hills. It's my contribution to keeping us alive.

I am the periscope - for any information going on behind us as I have the only rear view mirror. (This is my first foray with a mirror, and will never cycle without one again.)

I am communicator, chatting up the driver or motorcyclist who has questions as we "pedal" next to each other.

I am the navigator. I read all the cue sheet information to Jeff as he steers us to our next destination.

I am the entertainment - whether chatting or singing to keep the captain engaged.

So there you have it. Riveting stuff right?

Oh yeah, one more thing...here's my dashboard...

check out his back

flight deck and inspiration
usually a pony tail as well, but already lent it out

side views are my only option

But here is my view...

beautiful sky

beautiful Indiana

Civilization (?)

Eighth state line crossing

When we left Missouri, and entered Illinois there was an abrupt change of venue. 
People. Buildings. Traffic.
Behind us were the small towns, as we entered the land of exurbs, suburbs, and metropolitan space. Homes are closer together, schools, and swing sets.

The thing that struck me in this southern bit of the Land of Lincoln was the cornfields.
Corn next to the people, corn next to the buildings, corn next to the schools.
Have you ever seen a cornfield smack in the middle of town?
Most other places had darling little parks. Nope - cornfield.
There was even a huge prison as an island in the middle of sea of corn.
Every once in a while they'd throw in a soybean field just to mix it up.
In the "wild west" the cornfields were indeed wild and vast as well.
In Illinois they were orderly, labeled, and civilized.

In the booming city of Champaign we came across another civilization - warriors of the raging road. Gone was the smile and wave, or the STOP sign chat with the car next to you.
In Champaign you best move along, or hear a car horn in your left ear...which amazingly makes you jump a foot off your saddle.  Then there are the sirens, and motorcycles, and dump trucks.
This was civilization.

That is why, with joy, we left it behind.
We entered Indiana with gentle rolling hills, farms, and roads lined with blue wild flowers, Queen Anne's lace, milkweed in bloom...and more corn.
It was quite civilized.

Look up at the birds - hundreds of them

Wabash River, Indiana...more water than the Rio Grand, less than the Mississippi

master of multitask...don't text and ride