Week 5

Hi Everybody! This is Molly here. I hope you all are doing well and enjoying these early summer days. We've had an eventful few days and are happy to have made it to Great Falls, Montana for a mini-vacation (within a vacation). More on that later, but first, here's the down-low on the last few days:

Day 33: Following our day off in the fun-filled town of Glasgow, we felt well-rested and ready to bike again. As we peddled out of Glasgow, we saw some strange shadows on a hill up ahead. Looks like besides bears, snakes, strong wind and scalp-hunters- we now have to be on the look out for dinosaurs! We went on to bike 72 miles to Malta, MT. The road was mostly flat with a few rolling hills and a 10-15 mph tailwind. Thanks to the tailwind those Dinos didn't catch us. Phew.

I don't think that cow up there was as lucky as we were

It was a cloudy day, thankfully no rain but the mosquitoes were a-biting. We camped for $3 at an overgrown city park (nobody has been able to mow due to all of the rain). Weather forecast predicted 1/2 an inch of rain overnight and 2 more inches for tomorrow. We decided to put our waterproof tent to the test and luckily it passed!

Day 34: Although we managed to stay dry through the night, we woke up to heavy rain battering our tent and there were no signs of it letting up any time soon. The high for the day was in the 40's. We debated for a while about whether or not to bike anyway- the wind would be at our backs at least. Tomorrow's forecast looked more dry, but we would have a tough headwind to battle through. After getting soaked just packing up the tent, tomorrow's headwind sounded better than being wet and freezing all day, so we decided to take the day off, again. After settling in at a cheap but very nice motel, we warmed up with coffee and diner food and hit up the local Dinosaur Museum to learn a little bit more about those creatures we saw up on the hill when we rode out of Glasgow.

Sure am glad I'm not biking!

The Dinos at the museum were all found in local's back yards!

Nick loves the rain!

Day 35: The last of the rain showers rolled through in the early morning and the elusive blue sky decided to finally come out of hiding! We hit the road planning to ride 68 miles into the wind to Chinook, MT. We were about 11 miles into the windy day when we stopped near the side of the road to have a snack and take a short break. A pick-up truck pulled up and a friendly bearded man rolled down his window to chat. He asked where we were going and when we told him, he warned us about some heavy-duty road construction ahead. He told us that the road was completely torn apart for a few miles, muddy from the rain, and they weren't even letting motorcycles pass, let alone bicycles. He really urged us to take a ride from him past this construction. Part of us really didn't want to take a ride after an extra unplanned day off, we really wanted to push on ourselves. But this guy seemed to know what he was talking about so we threw the bikes in the bed of the truck, hopped in the back seat, and off we went at what felt like warp speed compared to peddling along against the wind at 8 mph. It turned out to be the right choice as the road was pretty gnarly and the company was great. The guy that picked us was named Bum, along with his wife, Linda, and dog, Harley. They have been living in the area for many years and drill water wells. They were such a wonderful couple who we learned have helped many bicyclers in distress. They have even opened up their house and let road-weary cyclists enjoy a "home away from home". Bum and Linda just may be the patron saints of touring bicyclists! They were extremely inspiring in their philosophy on life. They had the kindest hearts and taught us again how important it is to live each day with gratitude and a smile. They believe that kindness to others is so much more important than wealth or power. They truly seemed to enjoy life, live for the moment, and their positive energy was contagious. After saying good bye to them I wanted to run out and help somebody. But we'll help later- LUNCH FIRST! Bum and Linda dropped us off after the construction in Havre, MT and we grabbed a bite at a cafe where we bumped into one of the friendly women we met the previous day at the Dinosaur Museum. She was excited to see us, and us her, and between her and Bum, we felt like we were among friends in the middle of Montana. Did we mention yet that we love Montana? After lunch, we biked 35 more miles to Big Sandy, MT and we camped for free in their city park.

Blue Sky + Doughnut= Happiness

View of the torn up road from Bum's pick-up

Montana is home to tons of Pronghorn.

Finally getting out of the plains.

Day 36: Today is June 1st (Happy Birthday Mom!). But you wouldn't guess it here with temperatures still hovering in the 50's. Today we started with a strong headwind that let up a bit half-way through the day. We biked 40 miles to a cool little town called Fort Benton. Fort Benton has lots of history. Not long after Lewis and Clark passed by this area, Fort Benton became the first real town in Montana. As they are right on the Missouri River and having established the inner-most port and trading post in the U.S. Fort Benton acquired lots of travelers, businesses, and a "lively" culture full of gambling and prostitution. The town couldn't be any different these days with its quiet streets, ice cream shops, and kids playing at the local pool. Fort Benton is also very proud of one of it's canine citizens, Shep. Check out the story of Montana's most famous and loyal dog here: http://www.fortbenton.com/shep/story.html. But the true highlight of our stay in Fort Benton was sleeping in a tipi!

Lewis, Clark, and Sacajawea check out Fort Benton.

Fancy hotel in Fort Benton. We prefer tipis.

Good ole Shep!

Check out our new diggs. Thinking of moving into one of these in San Fran!

Day 37: I woke up at 5am to rumbles of thunder and Nick nervously checking his phone for the latest weather updates. Nick told me that there was a terrible thunder storm about 30 miles away and because the tipi was open at the top and not very stable, he thought we should take cover in the bathrooms. Grumbling I took my sleeping bag into the bathroom where Nick and I sat and waited it out. Luckily the worst of the storm didn't get us. Just 20 minutes of hail and lightning. We decided to pack up and head out after the storm had passed as Great Falls (our destination for the day) had a forecast of more storms around 1pm. We figured we would try to beat them. The sky cleared temporarily and we pushed off. About a mile in, the grey clouds rolled back in and the wind and down pour followed. We found a bit of shelter under the the awning of a storage shed and waited this one out too. A lovely rainbow followed and on we went. We had about 20 miles of blue sky until we got drenched again. This time it wasn't as windy so we rode through it. It was an exhausting, hilly, weather-filled 50 mile day, but we made it at last to Great Falls, MT- the promised land! We hadn't had lunch when we arrived around 2- so we biked straight to Fudrucker's and mowed down some buffalo burgers, milkshakes and fries before finally finding rest at the Super 8. Tomorrow we have a real treat waiting for us. My brother and sister-in-law got us a night at the nicest Bed and Breakfast in town http://www.greatfallsbedbreakfast.com/ and an hour massage each! Thanks Eric and Nicole! You guys are the best! We are going to take two days off, rent a car, and see the sights from the comfort of a temperature controlled vehicle. We may even take a river boat cruise! We will enjoy these next two days because after that those menacing Rockies beckon...

Somewhere over the rainbow...

Home stretch to Great Falls- Rocky Mountains way in the distance.

So that's about it for now! Hopefully by the next update we will be safe and sound on the other side of the Rocky Mountains! Peace and love to all of you!

Week 4

Happy Memorial Day Weekend Folks. We're writing to you from the Glasgow, MT library, having just hit the halfway mark of our trip, both in miles and expected days (1500 miles!). It's been a pretty exciting 7 days since last update, full of adversities that are really starting to put this into the "adventure" category, or what I would call "this isn't what I pictured at all" category - both good things I suppose, especially with the hindsight goggles on.

Day 25: Since we have been "banking extra miles" as we call it by doing longer than average days (we figured we need to average 50-60 mi a day, where as we have been recently doing 70-90 mi days) we took a second day off! The weather was still pretty sour, and 48 hrs off from cycling helped fix those sore muslces and joints, and made us stronger I think. We went to the North Dakota State Heritage Museum, which was fascinating, and free! By the end of the day however, we were already getting the itch to hit the road again. After being on the move all the time, it actually feels odd to not be going anywhere. At least that's how I feel - Molly sure seems to enjoy the relaxing.

Day 26: Hit the road early and had a very nice ride along the Bismarck river park and bike trail. No illegal trespassing on road construction this time! Bismarck is a pretty cool city, definitely lots of sprawl, but also lots of bicycle paths and lanes. It became rural very quickly, and we fought a light headwind for the majority of the day. We road about 70 mi and camped at East Totten Recreation Area, right on the shores of Lake Audubon. There was a group fishing near the campsite, which was no big deal, until after we set up camp nearby, at which point they started blaring car radios with the latest rap hits. They kept playing this one song over and over which goes "Make it rain trick, gunna make it rain b**ch" or something like that. Camping in rural North Dakota, just like I pictured it...

Throughout the day we kept skirting rain showers, but for the most part stayed dry. This is Big Sky territory , because you can see for 50 miles in every direction - which is mixed blessing with the weather - since you can see a storm coming from far away, but it also give you the impression you are about to get rained on, when actually the storm is 15 miles away or more, and you never even get a sprinkle.



Day 27: Took a peak out of the tent this morning to check on the rain. The rain clouds looked like they were on top of us, and today they really were. It rained until about 10 AM, so we just hung out in the tent and read until the rain dissipated. We hit the road, and had a decent tailwind, so we felt pretty good. We didn't see many cars on the road today, and were making good time, until the rain clouds caught up with us again. We decided to call it a day around mile 50 - there was a ranch near the lake which rents out trailers and let us set up camp under a pine tree to get some cover from the rain.

We asked the owner, "who rents the trailers?" He responded that usually they are vacationing fishermen, but that because of an enormous gas and oil boom in North Dakota, which has erupted the past 3 years, it was all drilling workers. He went on to say that our planned route over the next few days (which was mapped out 8 years ago) is miserable and dangerous - extremely heavy truck traffic (big 18-wheelers with oversized loads of drilling equipment, excavated soils and tankers) as well as extremely deteriorated roads, with very little options of avoiding them, since we had just bicycled into the heart of drilling country, and we'd need to backtrack 2-3 days to catch an alternate route.

It made for a very worrisome and sleepless night. What to do!?! Add to that we have been having some pretty gnarly tummy grumbles, Molly having "grumbles-plus". We think it's from the local well water we drank at the last campsite. The weather has also become cold rainy and windy. Harumph!

Day 28: It was even colder and rainier in the morning. Despite still not feeling well, we decided to get out of this spot and ride 15 mi into the wind and rain to the next town, Parshall ND, the gateway to drilling country and figure it out from there. Maybe we'd just get a hotel and rest there for the day.

Turns out every hotel in a 100 mi radius is booked out for workers. As we rode through Parshall looking rather miserable and cold and a little scared a pickup truck pulled up to talk to us. Harry, a local pipeline worker told us that our upcoming route was a "death trap". We asked if he could drive us about 40 mi north of our planned route up to better roads with a wide shoulder and 2 lanes of westbound traffic ( much better for passing traffic ). He said he's working but would make some calls. He gave us his number and we hung out at the local gas station warming up.

10 min later Harry pulled up, and said he'd drive us. Being a mountain biker he knew the bind we were in. God Bless You Harry! We drove on back gravel roads so that he could avoid getting caught by any supervisors (although we had a well rehearsed semi-fake alibi that Molly was sick and he, being a Good Samaritan, was taking us to a doctor). He also gave us an awesome tour, showing us oil and gas drills, explained how it works, local history, and showed us some still operational cold war era nuke missile silos ready to go at the push of a button. We didn't take any pictures, we'd like stay off any no-fly lists.

After getting dropped off on US-2 near Stanley ND we biked another 10 mi and found an RV park. There weren't any spots left, the place was full of trucks, trailers and mud, but the owner let us set up camp in a patch of grass near their house. Emotionally and physically exhausted we went to bed before the sun set. Just like I pictured it...

Our little patch of grass amongst the big oil and gas boys

Big Trucks!

Prairie Dog!

Day 29: We were ready to get out of this oil and gas country as fast as possible. Woke up a little grumpy, but things were better quickly. The owner gave us a breakfast of coffee, muffins and bananas (this and camping were free) and while eating saw a prairie dog! We hit the road with a light tailwind and it was flat and we wanted to get far. After getting through the biggest city in the area, Williston, which with the trucks was more intimidating than NYC, even though NYC is 533 times bigger, we finally made it to quieter roads. After 95 miles for the day, made it to Bainsville MT, a tiny town about 20 mi west of the Montana border. Montana was immediately more scenic, and full of mosquitoes (there is standing water everywhere - more on that later). We camped for free in a nice little city park and used the volunteer fire departments facilities for a restroom. Good to be back on the open road.

Drilling site.

Iron Woman!

These mosquitoes are horrible!

Camping in the city park of Bainsville (pop: 208)

Grain elevator at train station. You see them in every town along the High-Line.

Day 30: Today we had a very nice ride with a strong tailwind to Wolf Point, MT. We rode 70 mi but were in town by 2 pm. We were due for a hotel and needed to do some laundry. We strolled around town as the rain rolled in and continued through the night (hotel was a good choice). Had some McDonalds (molly's favorite guilty pleasure) and then found a tiny microbrewery (nicks favorite guilty pleasure) run by the local doctor called DocZ's. A very good day!

The bicycle tornado has destoyed another hotel room. Molly, don't stand on the bed!

A sampling of our snack stash. Mmmm, pop-tarts

Day 31: We have come to a crossroads. The official Lewis and Clark mapped route goes through central Montana on MT-200 (which is more isolated with some stretches having 90 mi between towns and is also a little more hilly), or we could do our own route staying on US-2, which runs along the northern border of Montana, and then cut down to reconnect near Ft Benton MT in about a week. This route is called the High-Line which follows the Northern Pacific Railroad, is generally flatter, towns are slightly closer together and would shave about 100 mi off our overall route. It is also the official route for Adventure Cycling's Northern Tier bike route, but we didn't have their map, so we'd have to go off the road maps. We chose the high-line.

We rode about 50 mi to Glasgow MT, into a pretty stiff headwind and would get hit with a rainstorm for about 5 min every hour - some with pea-sized hail. Ouch. Sometimes when it got a little crazy I would laugh like a wild man, I guess it makes me feel alive.

Turns out that the Dakotas and Montana are getting about 300% more than their average rainfall, like a lot of the rest of the country. We sure picked the right Spring and Summer to do this trip. After talking to some folks in Glasgow about our trip they said we definitely made the right crossroads choice. MT200 is under 3 ft of water in sections and one entire 30 mi section is closed due to sink-holes, with no nearby detours. So all in all we've been pretty lucky even if it is a little colder and rainier than expected. We also passed through a lot of Missouri and Kansas about a week or so before a lot of those nasty storms hit. Here's hoping the relative good luck keeps up (and the snow is out of the Rockies by the time we get there!)

Big skies and fields of green and flowers.

Hello neighbor!

Day 32: That brings us to today. It's about time for our weekly day off and this will be the biggest town we will see for 4 days or so (it's a whopper - 3500 people). And there is a pretty bad headwind today which helps the justification. I hope everyone is happy and healthy, time for me to go eat third lunch.

Welp - I guess we'll just eat, sleep, and update the blog from the library!

Week 3-1/2

Hi again!

Molly here. It's only been 3 days since our last post, but we are at a hotel with great internet connection (doesn't happen very often in these parts) so we were able to upload photos and video to our last post and while I am here I thought I would fill you in on the last 3 days. But before I do that, a little Pacentacizing: I just have to say that although this trip is physically difficult and a lot of what we write about is food and wind, this trip has also been so meaningful and thought provoking. Before Nick and I left NYC we talked about how much we were looking forward to "getting away from it all". Stepping out of the daily grind can give you the chance to gain a new perspective on where you stand and the exposure to new scenery and people can lead you to think about things you don't always think about. While biking for up to 8 hours a day I have thought about the awe-inspiring beauty of life and the natural world, about the human capacity to endure and overcome great difficulties, about the sadness of the impact that land and money hungry individuals have had on native people, and about how much I love Nick and my incredible family and friends.  And of course, I have also thought about how my butt hurts my neck hurts my legs hurt and WHAT'S FOR LUNCH?!

Now here's the details of the last few days:

Day 21: Today was my birthday, but we really celebrated yesterday so it was back in the saddle for us. We did give ourselves a late start and filled up with waffles (my fave) at Day's Inn before heading out. We biked 60 miles to a nice R.V. Park outside of Gettysburg, S.D. Today there was a strong wind that forced us to eat my birthday lunch in a ditch! Nick's bike chain broke about 15 miles to our destination, but we handled it with no problem by attaching a spare chain link that we had with us. We took a bike maintenance class in Cincinnati before we started this trip, and we sure are glad we did! We had birthday dinner number 2 at the restaurant at the R.V. Park.

Lewis and Clark pointing us in the wrong direction

Lunch in a ditch, much less windy down here.

Day 22: The forecast has been predicting rain for the last couple days but we've been managing to avoid it (must be all of the birthday wishes for good weather- thanks guys!). We decided to make a long haul to Pollock, S.D. to take advantage of a tailwind and attempt to beat the rain once again. It was long and hilly, but we made 89 miles and stayed in a tiny little hotel that felt like grandma and grandpa's house. In the morning the hotel owner, Arthur (an 80 year old man), insisted we stopped by the visitor's center so he could show us more about his town. He called the lady who ran the center (an 80 year old woman) who opened it up for us. They both walked us through the center showing us photos and mementos that they themselves had collected and told us the sad story of the tiny town. The river was dammed in the 60's forcing the whole town to be demolished and rebuilt further away from the river. Ever since then, the population has diminished and they even had to shut down the school as there are now only 2 children left in the once thriving river town. It is sad to think what will become of Pollock.

The long road winding through the rolling green hills

Day 23: Forecasts of rain and thunderstorms continued and this time seemed imminent. We decided to have yet another long day and set off on an 88 mile hilly ride to Bismarck , North Dakota. The day went off without a hitch and we made it to the promised land by dinner (Dave's Famous BBQ). The hotel has a hot tub which we hit up after dinner and slept well knowing we have earned a day off tomorrow!

We made it to North Dakota!

Day 24: It has been 8 days since our last day off and after the last 2 loooong days, we are ready! Our hotel is located next door to the biggest shopping mall in North Dakota so we will get some Starbucks and stock up on some supplies (more fuel for our camping stove and more bike repair stuff). The hardest thing we will have to do today is decide where to eat! And its been pouring rain all day - sweet justification.


Q & A Time!

First of all you guys crack me up! Second of all:

What kind of cheese(s) did Steve use?
Velveeta

Was it brothy/thin or rather viscous?
It was velveeta-y

Was there any pasta involved or did Steve at least acknowledge a potential for pasta, maybe an orzo or stelline?
No pasta, but potatoes. There was sausage in there too!

Do you ever worry, when you are tired and road-weary, that you may be attacked by coyotes or bears or maybe a Lakota Sioux raiding party come to your camp to take your scalps?
No, but I am now.

Was the end of that question culturally insensitive?
Yes. You should be ashamed of yourself!

What are your favorite colors?
Blue and blue

Have you come up with any cool nicknames for yourselves like "The Road Warriors" or "The Pedal Pushers?"
Not yet, but those are some PRETTY GOOD suggestions.

Also, how fast did you get that Mercedes going? I imagine it's pretty wide open up there.
Probably 200 mph. (Don't tell Dallen the hotel owner)

Would you have gone out to check out what was under the cabin @ Snake Creek Rec Area for $200? What about $250? Or a brownie sundae?

Nick said he would do it for the brownie sundae

Last Question: Carolyn, you asked about any gross stories and I got one for ya.

Towards the beginning of our ride, I was taking advantage of the fact that I could eat whatever I want because we are exercising all day. So I got a giant burger and fries and like 4 cokes for lunch. I didn't realize that immediately after leaving the town there was a giant hill followed by lots of other hills. And I barfed while riding my bike and got it all over my shirt. Gross enough for you? Needless to say I have learned to still eat a lot, but to eat a small amount often instead of a ton of greasy food all at once.

 

That's a wrap! Hope all is well with all of you!

Week 3

Howdy partners! It seems like it has been a while since the last update. These past 8 days or so have taken us into the heart of South Dakota. It has been very eventful, and all is very well. Here are the details:

Day 12: If you recall, day 11 was a buttkicker with a serious head-wind, and we called it an early day. Well, what goes around comes around (literally with high and low fronts), becauase today we had a ripping tailwind right at our backs. After making it to our planned destination for the day (60 miles by about 2pm) we decided to keep going further to take advantage of the awesome wind. So, we rode all the way to Sioux City, Iowa, averaging a whopping 15 mph, and we pulled off our first centery ever! We hit 100 miles right as we rode into Sioux City, at Floyd's Monument and Grave, who was the only Louis and Clark member to have died on their journey (burst appendix). We finished at 103 miles and celebrated by splurging on a Holiday Inn Express and some Chili's takeout.

Our bike computer showing our 100 mile accomplishment. (Floyd's monument to the left).

Surf and Turf from Chili's and a hot shower. Sweet rewards.

Day 13: Another good day of tailwind. It's also been really hot - today it reached 93 degrees. The morning started with a delightful ride on a city bike path which turned out to be a fiasco when we ignored the "bike path closed" sign a few miles in. What we thought would just be minor repairs turned into a huge construction project on the adjacent highway which resulted in the demolishment of the bike path. Instead if going back and finding an alternate route, we walked our bikes through a couple miles of active highway construction, bulldozers and all, until the bike path started again. We got some strange looks from the workers but nobody said a word. At least we had our helmets! We went on to ride 80 miles and camped beside a beautiful lake outside of Yankon, SD. Pretty cool town. Good ice cream.

From now on we will take these signs seriously.

Campsite in Yankton.

Day 14: Since we just bicycled 180 miles in 2 days we took it a little easy today. Biked about 30 miles and then camped outside Springfield, SD. Our luck was starting to change as the wind began to change back to a headwind. Before getting to the campground we loaded up our bikes with a bag of charcoal, some grillins and veggies. Still hot so we relaxed in the sun by the river, had a great steak and porkchop bbq while the sun was setting.

Loading up on grub at Doug's Food Center. (Pepsi, feel free to send us a check).

Grillin.

Day 15: Thunderstorms rumbled in the distance through the evening, but we were spared. However, the weather has changed drastically. Today was cool in the 50s, overcast, and windy (the bad kind). We labored 50 miles to Pickstown, SD through hills and headwind. On the way we had a peanut butter sammy lunch in Marty, SD, which is a surreal and kind of eerie Native American town. It was on the Yankton Sioux reservation, and had a large Catholic missionary and school onsite. Apparently some not so good things happened there in the 1950s and 60s, but now the Sioux run the school, so things have gotten better. We got a hotel that night as reports were for some nasty storms that night, and boy are we glad we did! There were some big winds, big rains and big lighting where we stayed, and tornadoes about 150 mi east of us.

Day 16: Crummy day. Rainy, windy (bad kind) and very cold, highs in the low 40s. Took the day off, not a good day for biking and we were due for a day off. There wasn't much to do in Pickstown, we ate a lot at the local gas station cafe (twice), rested, and took a stroll to the post office to mail back more stuff. I'd say we've mailed about 12 lbs of stuff that we really didn't need. I think we are pretty bare bones now, and won't be able to dump any more weight. However, I have started to tear out the pages of the book I am reading after finishing each chapter - hey, every little bit helps.

Day 17: The weather wasn't much better, and while we wished we could just take all crummy weather days off, we can't. So we layered up and put on basically all of the bicycling clothing we had (maybe I should have waited a week to mail back that extra clothing) and rode into a very cold, misty, and windy day. It never warmed higher than 45 degrees, and with the wind felt like the low 30s. We fought a 25 mph head-wind all day. See the video below to get a better idea of what the wind was like. We were not happy campers, but we grinned our teeth and grinded on. We stopped for a long 2-hr lunch in the town of Platte, SD, to get out of the elements and warm up. We wandered into a local ice-cream and lunch spot, and it was a doozy. Steve, the owner was there, as well as some of his friends. Steve gave us free coffee and candy, let us try as many of his homemade ice creams as we wanted for free, and tested some of his new concoctions on us - cheese soup, chili dog with sauerkrat, and chicken salad sandwhices (all for free, but we left money anyway). Steve is a really great guy and kind soul, and shared his hard-luck story with us, which was very inspiring. He reminded us that life isn't about the rat-race, making a bunch of money, and immersing yourself in stuff. Life is about family and friends, being happy and making those around you happy. We promised to send him a post card when we finish. Finished the day at Snake Creek Rec Area (54 mi) and since we were literally shivering when we arrived, we got a little basic cabin with bunk bed for $30. There were some critters underneath the cabin that night, not quite sure what it was - it sounded like a mix of a pig/rat/raccoon. We decided to pretend that it was a cute little prairy dog down there, but you couldn't have paid me $100 to find out what it really was.

Our new friend, Steve.

Day 18: More cold and more headwind! We biked (if you call moving slightly faster than walking "biking") 47 mi to Chamberlain and found a campground. While biking we got stuck behind some Dakota boys herding cattle for a few miles. There were probably 200 cows taking up the whole road so we jumped in to help them (2 bikes and a ATV on the road, with 2 ATVs flanking in the grass). After a while one of the ATV guys escorted us to the front of the pack. Cow herding was a first for us and definitely today's highlight.

Herding Cattle.

Day 19: Today was better. We slept in a bit had doughnuts and coffee for breakfast and stopped by the Lakota Sioux Indian Museum. We only biked 25 mi to Ft. Thompson. The next town was 60 mi further from Ft Thompson, and after 2 tough headwind days 25 mi sounded better than 85 mi. The sun was starting to come out again, so our spirits were improving. We planned on camping, but couldnt find any campgrounds in the area. It was also on the Crow Sioux reservation, and we weren't feeling too solid about "stealth" camping, since after stopping at a convenience store some beer drinking locals recommended not to go "that way" ("that way" being where we were thinking about setting up camp). So we got a hotel, and went to the local casino for a really good meal, and some light gambling. Spent $5 on slots, we were up $13 at one point (shoulda cashed out) but lost it all! $5 poorer...

Mamma needs a new pair of bike shorts!

Day 20: We had a tailwind! Horray! We rode that 60 mi full of rolling hills and river views to Pierre, SD, the sprawling megapolis and capital city, population 13,000, and were here by 1:30 PM. Since tomorrow is Molly's birthday (Happy Birthday Molly!!!) we got a room at the Day's Inn. Upon mentioning that it was Molly's birthday, they gave us a discounted rate in a nice room, and the owner lent us his Mercedes so that we can drive outside of town to the best steakhouse in SD - The Cattlemen's Club! These guys are awesome (plan A had been McDonalds - Molly loves her MickeyD's). We just got back from the steakhouse and have full bellies and happy birthday smiles. And that brings us to now.

Lunch stop en route to Pierre

Lord won't you lend me your Mercedes-Bendz?

Tomorrow looks to be decent tailwind so fingers crossed. As I'm sure you've noticed, wind is a central theme. We check the wind forecast daily. I now care more about the wind then sports, current events, or the meaning of life, unless the meaning of life is "wind", which would be a two-for. The Sioux call this land the Wind Center of the Earth Spirit. Those guys know a thing or two.

Q&A Time:

How much water do you drink a day?

I would say we drink one large (24 oz) water bottle every 15 miles or so. More on hot days. We both carry enough water to last an average 50-60 mile day. So far we have been going through at least one town every 50 miles to refill our bottles if we need to (usually in convenience store bathrooms). Once we get to Montana we may need to use natural water supplies to refill. We opted for iodine as opposed to a pump filter to save on weight and money.

How do you plan your routes each day?

At first we thought we could plan weeks at a time. As we've gone on we've realized that so much depends on the weather so now we pretty much take it day by day. Every night we look at our maps and the latest forecast. If hills and weather look good we plan for a longer day (60- 80 miles) and if not we plan for a shorter one. We sometimes give ourselves a couple options so if we are feeling good we keep going and if not we stop. We have these great maps for the entire route from the Adventure Cycling Association that detail distance, elevation, and what services each town has (camping, hotels, grocery, restaurant, gas station, bike shop etc). Sometimes our final decisions on where to stop really depend on where the campgrounds and/or lodging are sometimes even if we would prefer to do a 50 mile day we have to choose between a 25 or and 80 miler.

Icing the knee and planning tomorrow's route.

What bikes/ gear are you guys using?

We both have touring bikes which are made to carry extra weight and come with them components needed to easily attach front and back racks. I have a Surly Long Haul Trucker and Molly has a Jamis Aurora. We are carrying basic tools (Allen wrench set, 2 spare tubes and 1 spare tire each, frame mounted bike pump, lube, pliers, chain link, brake wire etc). We have mountain biking cleats and pedals which give you the option to clip in on one side or use a flat pedal on the other. Our panniers are waterproof bags made by Ortlieb. So far all of our equipment has treated us well and we are happy with our purchases.

Week 2

Hi everybody!

Molly here. We are into our second week. It has been lots of fun and lots of hard work. Here's the quick rundown of the last few days:

Day 7: After a nice day off, we hit the road again and bicycled a very hilly 61 miles. It was a cool but sunny day. We had a few run-ins with mean dogs, which at first was scary, but they just bark and chase us until we are away from their property. I guess they get us to pick up the pace a bit :). A nice old man offered to give us a ride over some of the big hills, but reluctantly we refused the kind offer and told him that we needed the training if we planned on making it over the Rockies. We had peanut butter sandwiches for lunch in the lawn of a church. One of my favorite things about bicycling through these rural back roads are the tiny towns. Some are charming and some are a little sad, but no two are the same. Here are a couple examples:

My favorite town so far, called Weston

One Room Library

No camping around this night, so we got another cheap motel. Dinner was microwave gas station food. Surprisingly delicious!

Day 8: Great day. Started hilly, but the last 10 miles followed railroad tracks and the wind was at our backs. We felt great. Camped at Lewis and Clark State Park. Got to camp early thanks to the tail wind and got to relax a bit, enjoy the wind in the trees, and made some beans and rice for din din.

Right before our rice and beans

Day 9: Today was really challenging. Started great. A little morning drizzle, but it cleared up within an hour. Finally got through Missouri (re-named Misery by us because of all the hills). Kansas took our heart as it appeared to be sunnier, less hilly, and the people (and dogs) seem more pleasant. But after lunch the sun was overtaken by some gnarly storm clouds.

The wind picked up and we had to really push hard to find shelter, which we did at a Gypsum warehouse. I was not a happy camper as the weather was putting an unexpected damper on our otherwise lovely day. After it blew over, we made another 15 or so miles until a hard wind forced us to walk our bikes for a mile or so uphill. I thought we would never make it to town after a long day of bad weather, but alas, we did. We ate fried chicken at a grocery store (classy) and camped at a park right outside of Falls City. I was happy this day was over!

Day 10: After a rough day yesterday, today was pretty darn good. The wind was at our backs again and it gently pushed us up and down the beautiful rolling hills of Nebraska (new state!). It was fun! After a downhill, we barely had to pedal at all to get up the uphill.

Easy riding!

The second half of the day we biked along Steamboat Trace Bike Path, which was pretty run down. A big tree had fallen over the path and we had to haul our loaded bikes over it.

The day ended on an uphill gravel road and we camped at an R.V. Park in Nebraska City. We got to camp pretty early (4:30ish) so we walked 2 miles to town and had some yummy BBQ food.

Day 11: Got an early start, but a nasty head wind really took it out of us. Even though it was flat, it felt like we were riding uphill all day. We stopped after 47 miles to have lunch (BBQ again! Lucky us!).

We decided that we would end the day here in Council Bluffs, Iowa and get some rest (achy knees, dehydration, and a case of the f-its). This hotel is much nicer than the last one. Business Center! Pool! Free breakfast with waffles!

Before I sign off, here are answers to a couple questions that were posted to us earlier:

1) What other training did we do besides the 150 mile overnight ride?

Not too much really. We did several rides over the past few months around 30-50 miles, and just tried to stay in good "gym" shape. We wish we would have done a bit more training, but I don't think anything could have prepared our bodies for biking all day, every day, for so many days in a row. But now almost 2 weeks in our bodies are feeling noticeably stronger.

2) How much weight are you carrying?

Nick is probably carrying about 55 pounds  and I am probably carrying about 40 pounds. That's a lot to haul up and down hills, and we have already started mailing things home that we don't REALLY need. :)

Make sure to check out the Week 1 entry again as we uploaded some photos to go along with the narrative.

That's all for now! We hope all is well with all of you! Signing off until next time...