In the Heartland

As you know by now we’ve been riding through the Midwest for about a week now, but the past few days are when I’ve truly started to feel like I’m in the Heartland of America. Tonight we are staying in Pittsfield, IL, which used to be the pork capital of IL if not America, but due to issues on hog containment, the industry has moved elsewhere, but the tradition of Pig Days has lived on. As I sit outside just off the town square I can hear live country music blaring from behind the signature octagonal courthouse where President Lincoln once stopped on his court rounds before his presidency. I have to say I’m kind of proud to be able to sing along with all the tunes that are pumped out of the speakers. It just feels like a truly great summer night in Middle America. I’m even enjoying the humidity a little now as its not overpowering.

Tomorrow we have a relatively short day, around 40 miles into Hannibal, MO which not only means crossing the mighty Mississippi, but also crossing into the boyhood home of Mark Twain, and the setting of The Adventures of Tom Swayer. Rumor has it Tom Swayer days will be going on, so we hope to have a festival to attend after a short ride to Hannibal, which is also a welcome change from the hours we’ve been spending in the saddle cranking out 80+ miles a day as of late. Today turned out to be just over 88, but was relatively easy since the head winds of the day into Taylorville were missing, it was easier to crank the pace line up above 20 mph.

I’m off to enjoy some of the great live music and the warm summer night here in Pittsfield.

Farm Country Galore

We’ve been riding through farm country and rural America for quite awhile now, but over the past two days the fields have gotten bigger as the land has flattened out the views are amazing. Most of the fields look really good, full of soybeans and corn, which is already far above my grandfather’s rule of knee high by the fourth of July. I talked to a farmer’s wife in Saymour, yesterday and she told me they were a little short on water, but things are still looking very good. The real benefit to riding through farm land besides the open spaces is the general lack of traffic. As it says in “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” its better to take a road that parallels a bigger route as there is less traffic and the scenery is improved. The people are getting increasingly friendly, we’re in that part of the country where people wave when you ride by and say hi and ask questions when you stop.
Justine being a little scared of the wide open spaces.



David riding past corn and soybeans.

The above part of the blog was written a few days ago before we rode into Paris, IL. Yesterday we rode from Paris into Taylorville, where I'm currently enjoying my first day off. It was a beautiful ride across country roads, quite a bit of it in Amish country. There was virtually no traffic, but the going was still slow as we faced a stiff headwind all day and got caught in the rain both early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Final mileage for the day was 97.5 on my computer, which was the closing day on a 550+ mile week, my longest ever.

Here in Taylorville we are staying at the Christian County YMCA, which is a great place with plenty of space for us to spread out and wonderful warm showers. We unfortunately missed the fireworks last night, but a few of us spent a few hours with the townies singing karaoke, which was a lot of fun and a nice break from riding. Today is our first official day off, so most people are sleeping in, but Rebecca and I were up early so came to town to find free wi-fi and get breakfast at a great little coffee/pastry shop off the square here. The rest of the day promises to be relaxing and give us some time to catch up on sleep, swim, read and just hang out. Hopefully I'll have a little more to share about our rest day tomorrow.

Onto the Flats

We have been expecting to get out of the mountains and out into the flat Midwest for sometime now. I would have to say today was the first truly flat day, although yesterday wasn’t bad by any means. Today we rode from Cincinnati, OH to Saymour, IN, an 84 mile day, but the afternoon was flat as a pancake and temperatures were pleasant in the mid 80s. Everyone seems to be in very good spirits and the flat is a welcome change of pace.

A big shout out to our hosts in both Cincinnati and Saymour, Cincinatti was our first home stay, so we divided up into numerous different homes and got to sleep in real beds and have personal home cooked meals. A few of us went downtown to catch a Reds game or at least attempt to catch a Reds game, only 5 people actually went into the Great American Ball Park to catch the last 3 innings. Here in Saymour we are staying at the Immanuel Lutheran Church, which is a beautiful place and has an attached 1^st through 8^th school where we were able to shower. We were welcomed with a wide array of snacks including several kinds of home baked cookies. Geoff’s parents were also here to meet us along with Fox news, so its been an exciting afternoon, and as I write dinner looks to be shaping up in the kitchen, and I’m sure it will be amazing.

As always I like to include a few pictures from along our route. Today I didn’t take many as we were busy riding fast all afternoon, we averaged almost 20 mph after lunch. Yesterday I snapped some great pics though and they are included below.

The beauty of country roads with low traffic is that you can ride side by side and enjoy a conversation.

Sarah riding across the open roads.
Courtney and Alex enjoying a nice country road.

Brian enjoying the flats.

The Day the Rain was Supposed to Come vs. The Day it Came

Yesterday morning as we rolled out of Marietta, OH we were prepared for a day of thunderstorms, everyone had grabbed a rain jacket and tucked it into their camel back as we were told there was an 80% chance of rain. About half of us made it all the way to McArthur before the rain, and the others just got a little wet in the very end.

In McArthur we enjoyed dinner courtesy of the local Presbyterian church. Dinner was a new dish for all of us, a hot dog sliced lengthwise then topped with mashed potatoes, cheese, and ketchup. Some of us thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread, okay maybe that was only me, the vegetarian option was lacking so the group split up to hit up a few of the local pizza joints. After coming out of the pizza place the rain had begun in earnest. It rained pretty much all night, the boys slept in the Calvary church while the girls Church of the Nazarene. David Mollitor assured me that it would be low 80s and clear today. Due to his assurances I even put on sunscreen this morning, something I had neglected to do yesterday, although without drastic repercussions. Well it turns out that the rain came to stay, we left the Church of the Nazarene in full rain gear and it stayed on all day. The clouds truly opened up before lunch drenching us, but at the same time it was great to ride on low traffic roads and the rain was a pleasant change from the 90+ degree heat we've been experiencing the past few days. This afternoon the weather broke once we got to Hillsboro, where we are staying at the United Methodist Church, which even provided showers in the church, a welcome change from having to go to a secondary site to shower. People are now milling about cleaning and lubing bikes, doing laundry, enjoying the afternoon sunshine and all around relaxing.

I know that everyone loves photos, so I've included a couple taken over the past few days.


David posing while on the move across the Ohio state line, on a long hot day into Marietta.


Courtney Wong with a pneumatic staple gun on our build day in Marietta.

The above two were taken this morning, right before leaving and then when we stopped on the road for a bit. The scenery was beautiful although a little wet.

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have my picture taken in Boston, OH this afternoon and the ride in.


A big shout out to all the families out there who have kids on this trip, today was also mail drop and the amount of support we continue to receive in the form of mail and local support is awesome.

Nathan

A Compilation of State Lines

Our trip will be visiting 15 different states, which means 14 different state lines, since I don’t really count Rhode Island as having a state line since we started there. Each day that we cross a state line is a little bit of a celebration, another major step towards the Pacific. Today we crossed from Pennsylvania into West Virginia, and even on the small back road that we came in on the line was marked and we paused to take a few photos before riding the final five miles into Cameron, WV. Tomorrow we get to cross into Ohio, so another state line awaits for photos galore. Here are a few from our trip so far.

On a side note, I had a great find today, a Pennsylvania license plate as I was riding along US 40, a great memento from a long trip.

PS. Mom I realize it is halfway to Christmas today, I hope you celebrated, sorry I can't call, apparently Cameron, WV has no cell signal anywhere.

Hills Upon Hills

Today we rode from Berlin to Farmington, PA. It was a day of steady long rolling hills, but mostly on the back roads of rural Pennsylvania. Before lunch we climbed, and climbed and climbed some more into the Laurel Ridge State Park. After lunch we rolled down a huge hill, dropping down at 50+ mph, until we hit PA 381. Thanks to Joseph, an architecture student at the Rhode Island School of Design, and a map at lunch we were able to alter our route a little to see Falling Water, which was a wonderful experience.

After the stop to look at some amazing architecture we climbed again and rode through Ohiopyle, a great town that revolves around the river that runs through it and the kayakers that flock there along with families wading in the river. It was a great small town. Finally we climbed up again to our home for the night Benner’s Campground. Tonight is our first night camping, we set up the tents without incident, and the dinner crew put together a simple but great meal of rice and bean burritos.

Internet or Lack there of….

It has been awhile since I have written or we have been able to update the Bike and Build site. It turns out that the life of a traveling cyclist is very busy, and that fact combined with the lack of wi-fi in many small towns has made posting difficult. We are already through our first solid week of riding and first build day. The first week was a long one with over 450 miles of riding. Even for me this was a little over the top. The longest week I’ve done previously was 330 miles back in January of 2006. With all the riding there have been a few mishaps. I hit the deck a few days ago and came away with a few scrapes and a really nice bruise:

Cooper hasn’t faired so well and had his second trip to the hospital today after a crash that gave him a concussion. The crash shook the group up, but Coop is in good spirits and is recovering well. All of this riding has led to quite a few pictures here are a few:

Ride groups have also formed, although people are pretty mobile between groups depending on the day. I’ve been riding a lot with the David’s, Joseph, Eric, Mariah and Katie, but have also spent time scattered with a few other riders.

The food and hospitality of our hosts has been amazing, with everything from great home cooked pasta dinners after long ride days to the opening of their homes for 32 of us to shower each evening if a YMCA is not available.

Only a few more days and we’ll cross another two states, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, off of our list of 15. The ‘mountains’ of Pennsylvania have dished out their fair share of pain, but also a lot of great memories, trials, and photo ops.

For now life on the road stays packed with riding, packing, unpacking, repacking and sleep. I will keep posting as we find internet access.