Beat the heat!

Trying to get an early start this morning to beat the heat.  It's 80 degrees right now and only 5:20 am.  It should be well over 100 today.

Kansas City!

Checked out the WW1 memorial. The photo is a view of KC from the top. We also went to the Boulevard brewery (you can see the brewery in one of the photos, too!), Hammerpress printing company, and checked out the Amigoni winery since we heard there might be some cyclists there. Today, we win!

Kansas City!

We made it out to KC today. We have officially crossed over the border to Kansas but we'll take the day off to see KC tomorrow.  The temperatures hit 102 today but we still did 78 miles by 2:30. We'll clean up and get some KC BBQ!

Summit Lake winery

Out on a hot ride near Jefferson City we stopped by a winery on top of a hill. We could have done without the hill though.  The capital building in Jefferson City is amazing though. It wasnt too far from the bike trail we were following, the Katy Trail.

Made it to MO

We made it to MO and were able to wander around St Louis. Today we've made it to the Katy Trail.

Illinois!

We made it to IL. The greeting here is "Land of Lincoln" and the greeting in IN was "Lincoln was born here". So they really like him out here.

Just another 30-40 miles left today

Dogs everywhere!

We're somewhere around Worthington, Indiana on a hilltop and the sunlight is still visible. There were a lot of unleashed dogs on the back roads and we even came across a wall of dogs staring at us as if they were ready for battle.  Or they just knew we had bologna. But slowing down has really helped stop the dogs from chasing us. 

Bloomington and Columbus seem to be the only towns in IN that acknowledge that bikes exist.

Tamar's tweets

You can also see Tamar's tweets at

twitter.com/tamarmelman

Jades site

Here's jades website. It's probably more interesting than mine

jadebikesamerica.com

Made it to A coast...

So I've been lacking on the postings but in the last week we've made it to Niagara yesterday, lake Erie, seen the Frank Lloyd Wright house Graycliffe, and crossed into Ohio. There have been Amish people along the way, a couple guys riding penny farthings coast to coast and lots and lots of corn. But out in Ohio there is a lot of rural area. We just made it through Ohio and are in Indiana now and there is much less here than there was in Ohio. 

There was a freak thunder storm the other night which pulled up the rain fly stakes and leaked water into the tent.  But that's the worst weather we've had to deal with.  Mostly we have had to bear with the heat and just take the afternoon off.

Hosts

The hosts we've found have been amazing.  We've knocked on three doors and used warmshowers.com twice and camped wild the rest of the time.  Everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY, has been amazingly supportive who we've come across.  The Brudos weren't home when we arrived and left everything out for us to make food and they even made us brownies. And they left the door unlocked for us. AND they made us fresh scones for breakfast. AMAZING! We found them on warmshowers. The Norris' were a family we just happened upon because we knocked on their door.  We asked for a place to set up our tent. Nothing more. They made us burgers and potato salad for dinner and then pancakes and eggs for breakfast. They didn't have to do that at all but they insisted.  Of course we didnt turn it down.  There will be more to follow on the generosity of the Norris'.  Other homeowners have allowed us to camp on their lawn and use their hose, which is definitely them going out of their way and we still appreciate it so much.  Sometimes they weren't even there! I think I have a benefit with travelling with two girls over most groups. If i were to ask I don't think i would get a good response. Especially with the way I look right now.  I'll post that photo later. To the people who have helped us so far I say thank you from the bottom of my heart. Especially to the guy who just happened to drive by and offer us three bottles of ice cold water.  That was perfect timing! The heat has been getting bad lately.  I hope that we find many more people along the way just as helpful as those whom we've met and I hope that everyone reading this can share the same generosity with anyone needing a helping hand.

The views make it worth it

The hills may be horribly steep, and the heat may be oppressive, and the sunburn may sting a little, and my legs may be tired but the views really make the climbs worth it around here. Especially when you get to go 30 mph down the other side.

Brutal!

Just climbed that.

I didnt feel like walking back to get a better photo but it was a mile and a half long.

Ritchfield springs

Made it over the rolling hills. These were pretty rough and I'm ready for some sleep. 6 miles before we find a campsite though. I feel like i can tackle the hills a lot better now, even though my legs are feeling tired. Over 60 miles done today

Rt 20

Rt. 20 coming from Schenectady. The rolling hills of NY. Who knows where we'll end up tonight?

New York!

Made it to NY. Hard to believe we made it from Florida, MA to Schenectady, NY with all those hills. We had some amazing hosts the photo shows where we camped. There may have been poison ivy out there too...

Taconic Range

Crazy hills crossing into NY but with some awesome views. Pictures still to come

Bear sighting

Saw a bearing trying to get down to the river yesterday when we were getting into the Berkshires.  He ran up the hill right when he saw us and just stared down at us as we rode. He was bigger than i thought a black bear would be but he didn't want anything to do with us.

Leaving MA

Woke up in Florida this morning; it's pretty much a ghost town with a great view.  We'll be making it through North Adams and Williamstown to make it to Schenectady by tonight.  We have a host so we can get a shower tonight!

Bridge outside Gill

Checking out the view over the river from the bridge outside Gill, MA

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Rough day packing. I think I have everything but we'll see. If not im sure i'll find it on the road. The trip starts tomorrow so i hope we're prepared for it