Day 35: Hello West Virginia

This morning we awoke to the sound of frying waffles and the crispy crunch of cereal in a bowl. Ralph had cooked us up a delicious breakfast that inlcluded not only waffles and cereal but eggs, bannannas and grapes as well. After saying our goodbyes to Ralph we headed out down highway 50 with goal of making it to Athens by lunch. The road had been badly beaten by constant barrage of heavy trukcks had left it incredibly rough. The slight upward grade didnt seem to phase us as we wound through the rolling hills of southern Ohio. We stopped at a gas station in McArthur where we were enticed by the 3 for $1 little Debbie Snack deal. Our brief snack got us regeared as we headed out back down the road. Around sixty miles we rolled into Athens, the home of Ohio University. After much debate we decided to eat our packed lunch on the lawn of the beautiful campus. Steve headed out to find the local bike shop because all of his goat chasing and hiking had worn his cleat down so much that they needed to be replaced. After getting his shoes fixed we continued on our journey to West Virginia. The bridge that crossed the Ohio River and welcomed to the new state was an amazing sight. We made a call to Mary our couch surfing host and she guided us too her apartment where we immediatly decided to rest. After showering Mary offered us an amazing chicken parmesian dinner accompanied with a wholesome salad. We enjoyed Mary's hospitality and played the electronic banking edition of Monopoly late into the night. Tonight sleep will come easily for us after a long day.
Miles 103, 70 degrees

Day 34: Chasing Goats on the Way to Chillicothe

 Our previous morning at Albert's had spoiled us so getting everyone out of the tent at 6 was quite difficult but after some coaxing we were on the road to Mcdonalds in hopes of grabbing some breakfast.  The Cincinnati rush hour traffic whirred around us as we trekked down highway 32.  McDonalds not only amply supplied us nutritionally but allowed us to access the internet which we used to set up couch surfing contacts for the next couple days.  We decided to stop at the Walmart next door to resupply our food cache and buy a few extra tubes just to be safe.  After breakfast we aimed for highway 50 which would guide us further and further east over the coming days.  Lunchtime came today around 43 miles in the small Ohio town of Hillsboro where we decided to eat outside of a local Dairy Queen.  Our peanut butter and honey Sandwiches, and crackers as well as Steve "Armadillo Man" Linde's signature food of choice Ramen noodles filled our hungry stomachs.  It was here that we received word that a man named Ralph was going to be able to host us for the night.  With our sleeping arrangements solidified we would now be able to take it easier in the afternoon.  While eating we noticed that a livestock auction was taking place across the way at the stockyards and before we knew it the stockyards had come to us. A small brown and white goat came wondering up over the grass, after some initial shock Steve and I decided to combine our wrangling experience to capture the lost goat.  Before we could establish an effective perimeter it darted across the highway to the neighboring gas station.  It became evident that the goat belonged to a young girl who too was in pursuit.  Steve and I ran after it in our full biking gear as if in back on the farm.  The goat cowered underneath a parked tractor trailer for a minute and we thought for sure out pursuit would soon be over but it somehow evaded our grasp and sprang back towards the road and into a yard.  We took off after it but it was a lost cause. Apparently the girl had just bought the goat but it had jumped out of her arms on the way to the car.  Steve and I watched helplessly as it slipped into the tall grass before entering a wooded area.  Although sad it was time to end our chase, life must go on, and so does biking, so we saddled up and began the last 40 miles on our way to Chillicothe.  The afternoon ride was a gorgeous one through perfect weather and blue skies.  Trivia passed the time on our ride that brought us ever closer to the mountains coming in the coming days.  We pulled into Ralph's garage around 5 o'clock and relaxed a little while he finished up a project in his garden and met his two dogs Flash and Honey Bear.  Ralph, a former professor of french horn at Arizona State was incredibly hospitable to us by offering us showers and snacks before an amazing dinner.  He brought out his wok in which he fried up some chicken and broccoli which he poured over some steaming rice.  It was neat to discuss the field of music d his many life experiences over dinner which culminated in ice cream.  We are continually thankful for the blessings that we have received each and everyday and the amazing suprises that are making this trip increasingly memorable

86 miles, high 75,clear skies

Day 33: Heading to Ohio

This morning instead of snoozing our alarm we just straight up overslept.  The sound of the fans in Albert's garage made it difficult to hear our alarms so we slept in till 7 when the morning light woke us up.  We were then treated by Albert to a nice breakfast at the White Front Cafe, there was a buffet so we all ate till we were stuffed.  Once we got back to the house Albert offered to give us a lift over some hills so we graciously accepted and 30 miles later were dropped off and we said our goodbyes and thank yous to our great host and were on our way.  Our first challenge was to find a bridge to cross the Ohio River.  There basically was only 1 bridge which was on I-275, so we decided to take that into Kentucky.  The bridge was very narrow with a lot of debris on the shoulder, and once on the other side Lyle had a flat and we had to stop and fix it.  While we were fixing Lyle's flat, a Kentucky state trooper showed up to let us know that we were not supposed to be on the interstate, which we thought might happen but it was the only bridge that fit our route.  Then a second trooper showed up.  Apparently they had multiple calls from drivers that there were bikers on the interstate.  The troopers actually very nice and seemed more worried about our safety than the fact that we were not supposed to be on the interstate.  So they escorted us to the next exit, one car in front and the other behind.  It was neat getting our first private escort.  Once off the interstate we meandered up through the top of Kentucky to Cincinnati where the bridges where.  We stayed on the south side of Cincy seeing the Reds ballpark and other cool sights.  Once we got to the edge of the city we all seemed to have flats so we took a pit stop and patched Lyle's tube, and fixed both of Jody's tubes and one of his tires because there was a small hole in the wall of his tire where the tube was actually popping out.  We decided to end for the day in the first town we came called Newtown.  We got to meet a great couple, Larry and Gina, and their granddaughter, that let us tent in the back yard and invited us in to talk and watch the NBA finals.  Lyle, while walking through the yard barefoot, got stung by a bee that made his foot swell up.  Gina gave him some ice to put on it to help with the swelling.  We feel very fortunate to be able to find such wonderful people to stay with each night of our trip.  We always leave places thinking how we will never be able to top this, but God keeps surprising us with more and more amazing hosts.

55 miles, 30 mile lift in the truck, State troopers, couple flats

Day 32: Meeting Albert in North Vernon

We woke up to a dreary and cloudy morning after a night of thunderstorms and rain.  We ate some breakfast on the go bars and headed on our way.  After about 20 miles we stopped for a short break and bought some fresh baked donuts that hit the spot with some chocolate milk.  The morning was filled with small hills and we were hoping for flatter terrain in the late morning before lunch and we found some just as the sun began to shine.  Jody was happy to see plenty of fine horses grazing in nice green pastures.  We headed up to Brownstown for lunch and ate at McDonald's.  We are all trying to spend less money at fast food places ever since we spent a lot on dinner in New Harmony realizing we cant eat like kings.  We left Brownstown and just continued the way we came in and realized that we actually needed to turn off on to another road.  So we made a new route which consisted of more back roads to get us on tract and to North Vernon.  Once in North we set out looking for a house and had a little trouble at first till we knocked on Albert's door.  We knocked on Albert's door because we noticed he had some nice wooden tractors in the front lawn that were plant holders.  We thought that they were a good sign.  Albert immediately began telling us stories of his travels to Oregon and out west while we sat on he beautiful new porch.  Then Katy, his wife, offered to cook us a pizza for dinner, and so we ate while we chatted.  We all got showers and ate ice cream, which seems to be something we eat multiple times a day now.  Albert had told us about an old scenic town called Madison which was down along the Ohio River, and had offered to drive us down there to take a look.  So we decided it would be neat to go down and check it out.  We got to Madison and went for a walk around the block.  Albert wanted to show all of us this really stunning yellow house with big pillars but could not seem to find it.  So while we were looking Albert kept us entertained with all of his jokes and stories.  The town was very beautiful old buildings and a very scenic view of the river.  After being unsuccessful at finding the yellow house we got back in the truck and went around to look once more.  Albert was very determined to find this vanishing house.  After only a block or two we found the yellow house and it was beautiful.  Large white columns and landscaping to match.  One of the real treats of the evening was getting to listen to Albert's CD's of old country music.  We listened to Roy Orbison, Josh Turner, Rosanne Cash and a couple other good artists.  It was really neat to hear some older music for a change and hear a little history about them.  We were all getting tired by the time we got back and Albert hooked us up with some of the nicest blow up mattresses that i have ever seen.  Over a foot and a half thick with built in pillows!  We set them up in the garage because the there was rain in the forecast for the night.  It didn't take long for us to all fall asleep.

95 miles, met Albert, not as hot

Day 31: English for the Night

This morning we were treated to breakfast at the Main Cafe by Nathan and Jeanie, they told us that we were the talk of the town and that that all the locals would love to see us at the Cafe.  Before we went to the Cafe they showed us several other local sights that they insisted were worth seeing.  Jeanie drove us in their golf cart while Nathan led the way on his bicycle.  Bikes and golf carts are normal forms of transportation for this small town, and actually it was the first town in Indiana to have a golf cart ordinance that states you have to have your golf cart registered  and have a license to drive the streets of New Harmony.  Jeanie informed us that every 4th of July they have a golf cart parade where everyone decorates their decorated golf carts, but since everyone is in the parade their is no one really left to watch the show.  They took us to the roofless church which was constructed by the Harmonists as a place of worship but now is a hot spot of weddings and is  booked through 2014.  The statues in the church are quite rare and bizarre, but yet beautiful.  After saying goodbye to Jeanie and Nathan we headed out of town to get our first real glimpse of southern Indiana.  The road wound through beautiful and rolling fields of wheat and corn.  After our morning ride we located Holland, Indiana which was home to a nicely manicured park, with pavillions, a baseball field, and a serene lake.  We decided to eat our packed lunch here and rested before we finished out our ride. Steve decided to bike shirtless for the second half of our journey so he could work on his tan. Twoards the end of our ride we began to see our terrain transform to hilly forests.  After judging the the town of Birdseye to be too small to stay in for the night we forged on to English, Indiana where it also seemed quite small.  We struggled desperately to find a place to stay in the seemingly abandoned town.  After knocking on at least 6 doors without any response or speaking to anyone we were all feeling quite discouraged until we saw a man John working in his garden.  He offered us a place to tent on his vacant rental property and we settled down for the evening.  We had heard rolling thunder in the distance and went to sleep with the rain fly off hoping that it would stay to the north.  In the middle of the night we were awoken to a light rain and Jody and I sprung into action quickly putting up the fly and throwing all of our stuff underneath the porch of the house.  Once we were safely inside our tent the storm bombarded us with high wind that rocked our tent and rain that pelts the sides with hurricane force.  We spent that hot sticky night hoping for morning as we tried to sleep through the storm that had interupted our nights sleep.
96 miles, hot and sticky, thunderstorm in the night

Day 30: New Day, New State, New Harmony

At Cecil and Betty's   home we arose to a delicious breakfast of toast, oranges, cereal, and the best part homemade peach pie and ice cream.  Cecil provided us with some for our chains which were in dire need of lubrication because it had been around 1,500 miles since Montrose, Colorado where they were lasted greased.  Our morning ride through the Illinois countryside was beautiful and thrilling as we narrowly skirted along thin shoulders as the coal trucks continued their barrage against us.  Soon we were thrilled to be once again driving over yet another large body of water.  Rend Lakes' fishing boats and soft waves shone in the morning sun as we pedaled across the lake.  This morning we were able to pedal particularly fast through the flat Illinois farmland. With each of us cruising as fast as we could go we slightly separated for a time until we decided to re-converge for the final push into McLeansboro where we were surprised to find a Mcdonalds rising from the town like a yellow and red oasis.  After much discussion and research we decided to head to New Harmony Indian because there was a movie theater located there.  By taking an early lunch and biking hard we figured we could catch an afternoon matinee and still have enough time to find a house and enjoy the town.  Little did we know the movie theater only was showing two movies and only at 7 PM.  A high school teacher basketball coach encouraged us by telling us that New Harmony was a cool little historic town and that we would have lots of fun there.  Powering through the afternoon proved to be a minimal task as we descended down twoard the Wabash river and the toll bridge that would usher us into Indiana.  Recent flooding was evident here as well as we could see fields that had been plowed under after being destroyed.  The water mark on trees was at least ten feet up as we neared the rivers banks.  Surprisingly we were asked to pay a 25 cent toll to cross the bridge, which was in horrible condition.  Rumor has it that the toll money for this privately owned bridge has not been going to its upkeep and was evident in the patchwork array of different colored asphalt that peppered the bridge.  After stopping at the visitors center we found the house of Jeanie and Nathan, who were both involved in meetings that night.  So after dropping our things we hit of Samue'ls Place a local pizzeria where we unknowingly spent way more than we had intended.  New Harmony was originally founded by the Harmonists a religious cult back in the 1800's and has lots and lots of historic buildings and points of interest.  That evening we were awed at the pieces in the museum including an 8 legged calf and wondered around in the hedge labyrinth before returning to our yard.  When Jeanie and Nathan returned they invited us in for showers and soon we found ourselves sharing stories.  They had moved from Indianapolis six years earlier but now call New Harmony home.  While waiting for our laundry to finish we enjoyed watching the NBA finals.  Jeanie invited us to eat more food and we filled ourselves once more on her Pasta Concoction.  That night they offered to let us sleep inside and were again surprised by the generosity of strangers who we now could call friends.  New Harmony had been one our most memorable towns yet as we went to bed in luxury and with full stomachs.

87 Miles