A Little Stone in the Road Sends Us Back Home Again,To Indiana

First I want to let everyone know we are in good shape.  We are at home in Plymouth and I will tell you more about the why and how towards the end of this post.  But Monday was a beautiful full day on the Katy Trail and we want to share that experience with everyone.  We have many pictures as it is a beautiful trail and one of the few days we rode anywhere and had shade.  So we will start out with a few of the sites -

This is the side of me that Mary Kay has seen for 21 days of riding!

Lots of shade and a beautiful ride!!

And a few surprises!  There turned out to be six head of cattle sharing the trail with us.  We were a little tentative riding by them.

The Big MO - the Missouri River

As I said we had a wonderful ride.  There was a little detour at the end of the ride due to flooding that took us off the trail.  That prevented us from being able to ride through the old railroad tunnel.  As we rode into Rocheport, MO we were ready for a good night's rest and anxious for more of the trail on Tuesday.  We found the Katy Trail Bed and Bikefest, our lodging for the night and began our usual evening routine.  After cleaning up and deciding that we needed to find a good place to eat (as usual the place recommended for us was closed on Monday) another person staying in the B & B came down and introduced himself.  He was a self described academic finalizing a book for publication on philosophy.  He had chosen the B&B as a nice quiet place to work for a week.  After a short conversation he invited us to have supper with him.  He had brought some food and was going to prepare his own meal.  We all pitched in and had a very nice meal with interesting conversation.  We talked about philosophy, teaching philosophy and ethics to college student who base their early thoughts on their religious background and some of the differences he sees in students for various religions.  He was interested in our encounters along our ride and our question about "Hope."  He "Hoped" that his children would have a clean world to live in.   We did not have Internet access, so after doing a little reading it was an early night to bed.  Things were great!!

About 3:30 in the morning I was laying in bed trying to decide if I could wait awhile before getting up for my bathroom break or not.  I decided the urge was too strong so I got up.  After that I got the worst pain in my lower abdomen that I have ever had.  It came on pretty quick and didn't seem to let up.  I thought it was getting better and then it would start again.  I spend much of the next three hours in the bathroom in various positions trying to relieve the pain.  Of course Mary Kay couldn't sleep either.  We finally called 911 around 6:00 am.  We didn't even know where we were in relation to anywhere else.  It took awhile to get the ambulance there, but I was never so happy to see a paramedic, especially when he got permission from the hospital to give me a little morphine.  After arriving at the hospital going through my medical history and observing me for a couple of hours a cat scan was done and the results showed a kidney stone.  We were told that we could leave and wait out the kidney stone and continue our ride if we wanted, but they couldn't be sure how long it would take.  After a little conversation Mary Kay suggested that we should go home.  Although I didn't tell her I was really thankful that she said that.  I just didn't know how I was going to get back on the bike soon and continue the ride.  We made the decision with some sadness, but with a realization that it was the right thing to do.  It did turn out to be the right decision, as it is Thursday morning and I still haven't passed the stone yet.  We had to take a taxi to rent a car, buy a bike rack, and get our stuff packed up.  Mary Kay drove all the way home, since I was on pain medicine.  I figure she was up from 4 in the morning, spent all morning in the hospital with me, drove 10 hours and didn't get home until midnight.  What a woman!!

As I said, we had mixed emotions about suspending our ride.  However, we were well beyond the point of wondering if we could do it or not.  We know we could physically and mentally complete the ride.  If this had happened earlier in the ride, we would not have had that confidence.  With all the great people we have met on the ride, we met another one of our goals - to talk to people in their own environments and try to understand them a little more.  We have promoted, as well as benefited the theme of "Do Something For Others Today."  Everyday we hear from someone who says they made a decision that day to take time to help someone or do something that they may not have done if they hadn't been reading and riding along with us through our blog.  Our "HOPE" now is that people will continue to do those things.

On our ride home we talked about the most significant things for us from the trip and our hopes.  Mary Kay said she felt so good about us doing this together.  What a great thought!  We did help each other throughout the trip, we made decisions together and after nearly 42 years of marriage, it brought us even closer together.  We also talked about the fact that we were able to highlight good deeds people had done for others.  As we thought more about it I think we realized that these things are constantly going on around us, we just don't take the time to recognize them.  Sometimes we are too busy with our own lives or we think too much about the problems and negative things going on to see the good.  We believe that virtually all the people around us want to do good.

Our hopes - that somehow all the conflict in the world could stop.  Maybe that seems contradictory to our last statement about people wanting to do good.  I am not sure how to explain that but we have learned, even through our short experiences, that people with different views need the opportunity to "know" each other.  Maybe through that knowing and understanding recognition of each others' needs can be more fully understood.  That is simplistic, but somehow it needs to happen.  Another hope is that whatever we have done for others or for ourselves that somehow the idea of service will continue to be part of the way we live our lives.  We aren't riding now - maybe sometime in the future we will go back to finish the ride - but we can still do something everyday for others -

Visit someone who is alone

Help that person that looks like they are struggling with something

Pray

If you have extra - give to someone or some group who can make good use of your contribution

Do the little things - like Harold who collects the tops from pop/beer cans for Riley - he has probably donated tens of thousands through his constant search for tops from cans thrown away

This isn't the end - we will continue to blog about our year's experiences throughout the summer.  The Magee 3 Triathlon is coming up on July 17.  This is the triathlon hosted by our family in memory of Michael Noel Magee.  This will be the 10th annual and anyone interested in participating should get their entry form in as soon as possible.  We have lots of fun - 400 yard swim, 10 mile bike ride, and 3.5 mile run.  Teams are welcome to participate.  We will continue to blog about preparations and what is happening with the Magee 3.  We will also be attending for the 40th consecutive year a family reunion week in Wheeling, West Virginia.  We began doing this when our oldest child was just a baby.  All of our kids and now our grand kids look forward to this week every year.  This again points out one of the important parts of our lives and that is family.  Families need to take the time to develop traditions and togetherness.  In August we will join our friends Sharon, Greg, Ruth, and Ian for a trip to Europe.  It will be interesting to see what kinds of hopes and opportunities to do something for others we observe in Germany and Italy.  So if you want to, we invite you to continue the journey with us - if not we really appreciate the time you have spent with us.  This has been a fantastic adventure, one that has made a difference in our lives.  Thanks for riding with us!! 
Jack and Mary Kay

The Hills of Missouri are Behind Us and the Katy Trail in Front of Us

June 20, 2010 - Sedalia, MO - odometer reads around 840 miles - the bike is in the hotel basement so I am not sure.

Saturday was a day of about 50 miles of roller coaster hills.  We have to feel good about what we did, but it was really draining.  Going downhill was fun and kept our mileage rate up a little, but after every downhill was another uphill.  It was a pretty uneventful morning.  We made it to Chilhowee, MO for lunch.  A small cafe with nice people and a good lunch.  Two farmers were very interested in our story and then four biker guys (the motorcycle type) stopped for lunch.  Actually they were all our age or older and were out for a Saturday ride.  They too were interested and interesting.  One of them had ridden across several state on his bicycle, but said he traded it in for the motorcycle a few years earlier. 

It had been a very hot morning.  As we left the cafe we put on more sunscreen and our protective sleeves heading out for another 22 miles to get to our destination - Windsor, MO and the Katy Trail.  About an hour an a half into the afternoon the sky changed dramatically.  The winds picked up and it was a little scary.  We stopped at a house and luckily there was a lady in her yard, she told us we could stay in their barn until the storm blew over.    It was a good place for us.  After a short while we thought the worst was over and got back on our bikes.  We did that a little too early, as shortly after starting out it began to rain.  We made it to the next town and a very nice lady who had passed us on the road stopped along the road and waited for us.  She offered to let us come to her house and dry off.  Another biking angel to our rescue.  We were able to dry off, get a bite to eat, and drink then only had about 12 miles to go.  The rest of the afternoon was better than the morning, but still some hills that we thought were behind us.  We pulled into the Windsor Katy Trail head around 4:30 and saw the start of the next part of our adventure. 

We looked for a campground and found the city park had some nice sites.  We paid our $5 and set up our tent.  As usual we did our laundry at the laundromat and found a place for supper.  The bad part was that we had no cell phone contact or Internet.  So people had to trust that we were safe.  Around 3:00 am it began to lightning and thunder.  We hadn't brought all of our bags off our bikes, so we thought we should get them in the tent.  As we were doing that a local sheriff deputy stopped by and said they were expecting high winds and rain.  He asked, "How fast can you pack up?"  He said we could go over to one of the park shelters and stay until the storm was over.  We decided to leave the tent up and take our sleeping bags over to the shelter - about a 1/2 mile away.  When we got to it we found an open sided shelter, similar to those in Plymouth with picnic tables.  After about 30 minutes laying on the picnic table we decide our tent was just a safe.  So back to the tent.  We must have been exhausted because that was the last we remember until morning - no storm.

Today we actually slept in because we planned to go just a short distance (about 22 miles).  We did that for two reasons.  We really felt like the last three days had taxed our bodies and it was a little Father's Day gift.  We had a nice ride on the Katy Trail.  There was lots of shade (a good thing since the heat index was 102 today).  We passed a few other riders, but I think most people decided it was too hot to do a joy ride today. We did get cell phone service again and it was nice getting phone calls, videos, and text messages wishing me a Happy Father's Day.  Those were really nice to get.  When we were on the Internet later I even got a skype call from Ben - our AFS son from Chile.  It was also good to hear from him and that he is excited to be coming  back to Plymouth's for Kyle and Sarrah's wedding in December. 

One of the things we were anticipating was a little more support close to the trail.  When we got to Sedalia the Katy Trail Visitor Center was closed.  In fact it is not open on Sunday.  I would think that Sunday could be a big day for them.  So once again we were left to our own resources to find a place to stay.  No campgrounds close, we weren't sure about the city park, so we found a nice old hotel in downtown just a short ride from the trail.  It is really nice, another Father's Day gift.  After our shower and cleanup we started doing our normal routine - where can we get something to eat?  Sedalia has a nice downtown, but nothing open on Sunday.  There were a few delivery possibilities - Mexican and Chinese - no thanks we have had enough of those for a few days.  There was an Italian Restaurants that was supposed to deliver.  Now that sounded good.  We looked at their menu and our mouth was watering.  No luck - they were closed.  We found another Italian, but they didn't deliver.  I walked around downtown just to make sure there wasn't anything close.  There was a bar, but no food - lots of smoke and beer available.  I asked the young lady at the front desk if she had any friends who might want to make a few dollars by picking up a supper for us and bringing it to us at the hotel.  She actually called her husband and he picked up a wonderful Italian supper. So we got what we were hoping for and again someone did something for us. 

Sculptures at the Katy Trail head in Sedalia, MO

Do Something for Others Today!

Things You See Along the Road!!

June 18, 2010 - Harrisonville, MISSOURI - Odometer reads 764

Another good day of riding - over 50 miles.  We started off with breakfast with Krysta and the kids then got on our way around 7:30.  It was 86 degrees on one of the bank signs as we rode through Ottawa.  It was extremely humid today with a morning of roller coaster hills.  We made it to lunch in Louisburg, KS where Krysta and the kids met at a Mexican restaurant.  Even though we were dripping with sweat the kids were still willing to get close to us for a picture.

We have really been impressed with the roadsides, as we have been riding.  Now nearing 800 miles and most of the roads are pretty clear of much litter.  We still can't understand why some people throw out entire bags of cups and fast food garbage, but thankfully that is rare.  What do we see?  We could supply our whole family with bungee cords if we stopped to pick up the ones we have seen - all sizes and colors.  I have seen many work gloves, small drink cans (probably next to bungee cords the most numerous), various clothing every now and then, through the high water areas we have seen many - many frogs and turtles (most didn't make it to the other side of the road).  Mary Kay has seen many more flowers than I have.  For some reason I just ride right by them.  Every now and then we see hawks and maybe a buzzard or two circling overhead.  I keep telling Mary Kay to look more alive, when that starts happening.  The last two days we have seen some rather rare sights.  During a cooling off break in some shade trees, we noticed something moving in a field next to us.  We thought it might be horses, but in fact there were two alpacas in the field. 

Shortly after seeing the alpaca's I was flying down a hill and there were two longhorn steers laying in the field right next to me.  However, with a trailer on the back of the bike and loaded panniers I chose not to stop to take their picture.  But today was another story.  A truck flew past us and then shortly in front slowed way down with its flashers on.  I couldn't see what was going on, but thought we better be careful.  Then on the side of the road (not behind a fence) was a big steer.  All I could think of was Matt Lauer's (The Today Show) run in with a deer last year.  He ended up with a broken arm.  I think this may have done a little more harm if it had decided to meet us a little more up close and personal.

One other thing from today - we had not seen an open vegetable stand in all of our travels.  As we came

around a corner I saw a small one.  Knowing that Mary Kay has missed going to a Farmer's Market I thought we better stop.  They only had three items - peaches, tomatoes, and melons.  Guess which one Mary Kay picked out?  Guess who got to put it in HIS panniers?  It was a good melon though.

Another great night with Krysta and the kids.  They are headed back to Plymouth tomorrow to be home in time for Father's Day.  I know Mike will be looking forward to that.  Safe travels for them all!!  Tomorrow we should get to the Katy Trail.  We have been hoping for that for over a week.  I hope it is all that we expect.  Oh and Harold - we should be able to camp there, I understand you think we have been staying in too many hotels and that I am drinking too much beer.  Actually, I haven't had a beer since we left Denver.  Believe it or not as hot as I am, it just doesn't sound good.  That is probably a good thing.  I think one beer for lunch would probably put me over the edge and I may get arrested for drunken bicycling.  But you can buy me one when we get home!

Do Something for Others Today!!

Guess Who is Coming to Dinner?

June 17, 2010 - Ottawa, KS  Odometer reads 708 miles.

Not much of a post to write tonight.  It is getting late and not enough time left to put down today's news except for the best news of the day.  As Mary Kay and I had just ridden up a large hill and came around a corner coming into Ottawa, KS I saw what looked like a familiar van.  Then I saw some people getting out and one had on a shirt the same color as our Spokin Home riding shirts.  Much to our surprise and delight our daughter Krysta and grandchildren Madeline, Mallory, Beck, and Ruby had driven all the way from Plymouth to surprise us.  We have missed all of our grand kids throughout the ride and so this was a very special and unexpected treat.  After we got our showers we spent some time at the pool then went out to eat, and are now getting ready to go to sleep.  There will be pleasant dreams tonight for sure!!  I will try to blog more tomorrow.

Do Something for Others Today!!  We certainly had our day brightened.

Safe and Sound After a Rather Hard Day

Wednesday - June 16 - Emporia, KS - odometer 649 miles

We aren't sure why, but today was a hard day for us.  The temp. and humidity were up and we encountered several constant hills, with a little crosswind.  It just didn't seem that it should have been that hard, but it was.  We had a long stretch without a town.  It is a good thing we didn't try to go on last night.  Elmsdale was virtually non-existent and I am sure going on to Strong City would have been really difficult last night.  Today we got to Strong City around 10:30 and were very relieved to finally find a place to relax and cool off.  We went to the Longhorn Bar and had an early lunch.  We stopped in the Catholic church on the way out to say a few prayers and hopefully, find some additional inner strength.

As the day unfolded that stop in the church was an excellent idea.  We finally made it to Emporia around 1:30 and both of us felt that was enough for the day.  We could have tried to go another 10 to 12 miles, but it just wasn't in the cards.  We passed a small RV park, but that didn't sound like the place to stop.  We moved on down the road and ended up in a Days Inn.  A hotel room again.  We both fell asleep for about an hour after taking showers.  When we woke up the sky had changed and was getting darker and windier.  Soon the TV and sirens told us there was a tornado warning.  We actually went into the bathroom for awhile as the report from the TV said it could be close to where we were.  It did blow by, doing some tree damage in Emporia and headed on East - just where we would be camping if we had gone on.  See what I mean about the stop in the church.  I think God gave us just the strength we needed to get to where we would be safe.   I have put several pictures in today's blog.  For most of the day we were on a two lane highway - 50.  Thankfully, there was a very wide shoulder because it was very busy, especially with trucks.  We were safe, but it was noisy and we had to be a little more vigilant of what was going on around us.  Tomorrow we should get off of it soon and be back to lighter traveled roads.

Do Something for Others Today!


Hey Mary Kay, maybe this is a shortcut.  We are almost home.







Well guess the road is flooded, we will have to keep with the original plan.

Is it June 15th Already?

Tues. June 15, 2010 - Marion, KD - odometer 603 m.

This cow knows what to do on a hot humid day!!

Not too many miles today, but we got to one of those points again where our decision to stop was made with a great deal of thought and questioning of people around us.  We thought we were in a position that with another 35 miles or so, we would be okay.  That sounded good to us as we got our first 30+ miles in before lunch.  We found out that it would probably be at least 40 miles until we found a hotel or camping site unless we went off route a little ways.  We were all prepared to go to the Cottonwood Falls area.  We were told it was beautiful and there would be camping or a nice old hotel with great food.  Sounded wonderful to me.  Several people gave us ideas on how to get there and were very encouraging about the area.  Then someone said well maybe you won't be able to get there using this road, I heard it was closed.  I think you can go this way, the road is closed this morning, but it is supposed to open up this afternoon.  Whoa!  I am not sure I want to get in on this riding a bike.  I called the hotel to ask them.  Sure enough they said one route would probably be closed for a couple more days due to flooding, but they thought we would be able to get in using the other road later today.  We started to think about it and thought even if we got through, with the weather pattern we have been running into, we might get there and not be able to get out for a few days, if it rained again.  So our decision was made for us, we spent a nice relaxing afternoon at the Marion County Lake Park.  We got a very nice campsite and we were able to rest a little this afternoon.  We had food (tuna fish) that we could make for supper and there is a camp store for some necessities, if needed.  As we were looking around the Park Manager said he would probably be going into town and if we wanted him to pick up a pizza or subs for us he would be happy to do that.  The vegetable pizza and garden salad were great!  We took a little walk down by the lake.  There was one group of guys water skiing and several fishermen out.  We finally had time to bring out one of the card games Mary Kay insisted that we bring along - Skip Bo.  I know why she brought it, she beat me twice.

I did want to bring up the Michale Noel Magee Scholarship Fund again.  It has been a week or so since I mentioned it.  There are links on the side bar to explain it and why we have it on our site.  Please take a look at the information, if you haven't already.  It is all part of our theme of - "Do Something for Others Today."  We love it when people find away to do something meaningful for them and others around them, but if you are looking for something else please consider our scholarship. 

Before we left someone asked me, What do you think about when you are riding all day?"  Having  not ridden this long before I really couldn't come up with an answer.  Tonight we stared thinking about that a little more.  We certainly have been riding long enough that we should be able to come up with an answer.  I guess for me it has been several things.  Of course, when the riding is hard - sometimes it is just thinking about the conditions and then trying not to think about the conditions.  A great deal of time is thinking about people that are not with us.  As we have noted in our blog we have several relatives and friends who have encountered some medical problems over the last few weeks.  Certainly everyday we say the Rosary and other prayers while riding for there recovery and health.  Sometimes we even pray for ourselves and our safety or for strength.  I think about our kids and grandkids many times throughout the day and especially enjoy the pictures that we have received.  Replaying some of the encounters we have had and thinking about those we have met has also been a good thing to remember while riding.  Oh yes, and looking for a restroom or someplace to discreetly take care of that - and looking for food and rest stops.  I must say that scenery is always around us, but it doesn't change very quickly on a bike so yes we notice it, but only occasionally do we see anything that really draws our attention.  I will see if Mary Kay has anything to add - She is busy talking to our camping neighbor - a good looking guy.  She said she would write tomorrow.

Blogging at the Marion Lake Campground

Great Night and Good Day of Biking

Sunday, June 13, Larned, KS

If you remember when we last left you we were waiting out some rain and possible bad weather in Larned.  The sky finally looked decent around 11:00 AM.  We hoped to make it at least to Great Bend (21 m.) but our ultimate destination was going to be another 11 miles to Ellinwood, KS.  As luck would have it the wind was not bad, a little hot and humid.  We were making pretty good time.  We had to make a stop in Pawnee Rock to find a restroom.  Mary Kay found a church and went in.  Thankfully the service was over and she didn't walk right in the middle of it.  They were having a pot luck dinner in their basement and invited us to stay for lunch.  It would have been nice, but we were already late getting started so we thanked them and pedaled on.  I don't know how we have failed to mention it, but every town we have gone through as we left Southeast Colorado and in Kansas has had at least one very large grain elevator.  They are very easily seen in the distance and help motivate us to get from one town to another.  Sometimes the distance is a little deceiving. They are a significant part of the landscape.

After the rest stop we continued on to Great Bend.  Kansas seems to have an oil boom going on right now.  Great Bend is the home of many drilling companies and drilling equipment suppliers.  We needed a little break and also wanted to find out what the outlook was for more storms later in the afternoon and evening.  The town park in Ellinsworth was near a little pond and after all the rain we had already seen I was a little worried about how wet it might be in the park.  Several fields and dirt roads had significant flooding.  We found a nice ice cream stand and talked to a few people, but other than being a little concerned about the weather they did not have any specifics.  We had decided we wanted to get additional miles in and we would take our chances.  We also knew that since it was Sunday this was probably our last chance to get something to take with us for supper and breakfast.  We were pretty sure Ellinsworth would not have a place to eat.  So we went to a local grocery.  I  stayed out with the bikes and gear while Mary Kay did the shopping.  When she came out she said several people were concerned about the weather and didn't think going to Ellinsworth was a good idea.  As we were putting our groceries away and deciding what to do a couple came up and stared talking to us.  They had just come home from an eight day organized Ride Across Kansas, with 800 other bicyclists.  The were interested in our trip and before we knew it they invited us to stay at their house overnight.  Just two people out of the blue offered this to us -  Doing something for others!  They were concerned about the weather and our safety.  They seemed like very nice people - anyone who would voluntarily open their home to two haggard looking older bicyclists have to be nice people.  We took them up on their offer.  Soon we sitting in their home discussing their bike ride and ours.  They are also very health conscious people.  John is a chiropractor and Donna is the FACS instructor for the county extension office.  As we talked more they really peaked Mary Kay's interest in their diet.  I think she ended up with at least the titles of five or six new cookbooks and a cruise called the Taste of Health Cruise.  It was really a great evening with a delicious healthy vegetarian supper.  There we so many things that we talked about through the evening that were just remarkable that four people meeting each other outside a grocery store would find in common and of similar interest.  It was another one of the highlights of our trip.  Around 6:45 Monday morning we said good bye, but see you again .  The sky was overcast, but virtually no wind - we were really cruising.  We went the first 30 plus miles by 10:30 and had a snack at he local Subway.  The lady in the Subway was extremely nice and interested in our trip.  Back on the road we found that the small town Lyons had some very nice art and sculptures -

We moved on and continued to make great progress.  We finished our 60 mile day by 1:30 in the town of McPherson.  We felt good enough to go on, but we were in one of those predicaments with places to stay and potential rain.  To assure ourselves of somewhere to stay, other pitching our tent on the roadside (which we aren't ready to do) we would have to go possibly 30 more miles.  We felt good about the day, but we aren't crazy.  We stayed in McPherson and will continue our adventure tomorrow.  Last night and this afternoon we received some great pictures of our grandchildren.  We miss them all!!

Monday - June 14, 2010 - odometer reading is at 565 miles.

Do Something For Others Today!!!

Sunday Morning - Laying Low

It is Sunday morning.  We had a long night of rain and thunderstorms.  They are continuing this morning.  We thought we had a window of opportunity and got all ready to ride.  We stopped for a little continental breakfast before leaving and the sky opened up once again.  Weather radar seems to show that we may have a chance to leave later this morning.  Hopefully we can.  This is not helping our mileage average and our deadline to get home.  At least we are inside and can watch Sunday Morning.

Saturday Was Our Day of Rest

We took the day off for two reasons - 1.  We were just tired!!! 2.  We wanted to spend some time looking for a different route through KS to the Katy Trail in Missouri.  Both were accomplished!  We also had a chance to go to Mass this evening.  That was something that was important to us this week..  We have good friends and relatives that have had some very serious medical issues this week.  It was good to be able to sit in a quiet place to pray and reflect.  While sitting in church I had a thought about our ride.  There have been some very difficult times for us, but when we end each day and think about the accomplishment of the day we feel good.  When we are able to add to that, the experiences we have had with people it is even more of a positive thing for us.  Hearing that other people are enjoying our blog and sticking with us is really neat.

At church this evening it began raining and of course blowing very very hard.  Most people did not leave the church after Mass, they were waiting for the rain to slow down.  A lady asked us what we were doing and after a brief conversation offered to take us back to the hotel.  That was such a relief.  We were about eight blocks from the hotel and we would have been drenched.  Another act of doing something for others.  Believe me, we were very grateful.  Like Plymouth there were tornado warnings and sightings in the area this afternoon.  We are glad we are in a hotel tonight.

Today, I would just ask that when you think about doing something for others - it could be a special act or it may be that time of reflection, prayer that someone needs.  Whatever it is please take a moment and do it.
Hannah, Patti, Michelle, and Mel are in our special prayers today.

May the rains and winds stop overnight - until tomorrow -
Jack and Mary Kay

What Happened to Route 96? Or Dad do you know you are going South?

June 10, Bazine, KS - June 11, Larned, KS odometer reading 475 miles

Building Mural in Dightown, KS
A big two days and with Internet it is time to catch up. Yesterday was a fantastic day. We had a pretty hard wind, but it was coming a little bit from Southwest. We were able to ride about 68 miles which is our best day yet. We went from viewing (and smelling) large cattle feed lots to beautiful sweet smelling alfalfa fields. We met several cyclists at a bowling alley in the mid-morning. We just couldn't pass up a few games. Really it was the only place open that had a place to get a bite to eat. The other group was headed West. Some of them had met on the ride and just started riding together. One man was about our age and was from Venice, Italy. He has been riding around the world for the last several years. Evidently he must be independently wealthy. They were a nice and varied group. We were a little envious in that they had a

SAG vehicle carrying their supplies and organizing their stops. Either would be nice.

We spend lots of time hoping and looking for a place to stay and/or eat. Fortunately, on this day we had luck in both areas. In a fact we were doing so well we decided to add 12 additional miles to the end of our ride just so we could get to a special bed and breakfast for cyclists (Elaine's B & B for Bicycles). We called ahead to make sure there was room for us. She offered camping at $10 each, B & B for $75 which would include a homemade supper and breakfast. When we got their we chose the B & B. We were not disappointed! We also got to use her washer and dryer to freshen up our clothes. She made a vegetarian dinner for us which was delicious. She and Mary Kay talked about cooking for quite awhile and Mary Kay picked up a few new recipes. Three other men stayed there, also. One was a young man in mid twenties and the other two were probably close to our age. The older two men were on a three month ride from Oklahoma City up through Oregon and then down through the West Coast of California before starting back home. Although they had ridden in smaller rides as part of a biking group this was their first big ride. I did get a chance to talk to them about their HOPE - one of them said that this ride was #1 on his Bucket List and he Hoped to finish it. The other, after some thought said that he really admires Greg Mortenson author of Three Cups of Tea and One School at a Time. His HOPE was that Mr. Mortenson would continue to be successful with his work in Afghanistan. We also asked Elaine what she Hoped for - she wants to make a difference in people's lives. I didn't tell her but that is part of my personal written mission, also. She is making a difference giving support to many cyclists who come to her door for a safe and comfortable place to stay, but further than that by giving encouragement to some who are at a rough part of their ride. As we well know there are days that you wonder if continuing is still in your character. I am sure she has helped many get on the bike the next day continuing their challenge. It was a wonderful night of good food and conversation. We tried to get the Oklahoma guys to come in when a tornado watch was given, but they said they were from Oklahoma and they didn't worry about it until they could see it.

We left Elaine's after a nice breakfast at about 7:15. They sky was still overcast and virtually no wind - not from the front, side, or from the back of us. We felt great as we started our days ride. We made about 21 miles in two hours which was a very good pace for us. About that time we needed to stop for some refreshment. There was a small bar open and we were invited in by a fellow mowing the grass. Once inside we found a table full of retired men and women from the town having coffee and eating homemade cookies. Of course we were offered the cookies and coffee. I ordered a coke, since coffee is not something I drink. We relaxed for awhile and enjoyed the company. When we were leaving the bar-maid said coffee is always on her and that I owed just $ .75 for the coke. What a deal for cookies, drinks, and conversation. However, our luck was about to change!

Just before we went in the wind started to pick up a little and we left highway 96 that had been our route for most of the last 6 days. By the time we got back to our bikes the winds  had gone back to its normal 20 to 25 mph range coming from the south. Not too bad, except that the map now has us going 19 miles directly south with five or six hills. I am telling you, this matched our hardest day. I blame it on Mary Kay, since when she was asked by one of the ladies in the bar how long it would take us to go the 31 miles we hoped to ride yet - she said about two hours and forty-five minutes. She actually met to say 3 hours and 45 minutes, but just to tell you how hard it was, it was another six hours before we got to Larned. About the time we were finishing the 19 mile ride South, I got a text message from our son Kyle - "Do you guys know you are going South?" I know he was just concerned that we might have made a wrong turn, but at that point I felt like saying, "You are d__n right we are going South and I am getting pretty d__n sick of it." Instead I just ignored the text and we moved on. We finally had to pull over and eat some of out tuna fish and crackers that we have been carrying with us for a few days. To add insult to this all, we tried to find a few trees to sit under. As soon as we stopped the flies invaded. So it was a quick rest, bite of food and back to the ride. We finally got to our turn and now had the wind to our side instead of our face. That was better. About 7 miles outside of Larned was an historic Fort Larned. We were hot, tired, and hungry so we decided to stop to see if they had anything to eat, drink, and a place to cool off. When we got to the Visitor Center a nice young Park Ranger began to tell us about the Fort and give us information. I had to tell him we were exhausted and all we really wanted was a cool drink and a place to sit down for awhile. I think he could readily see we needed it, as he quit his talk and guided us to the pop machine and some benches. That ended up being the break we needed. We finally were ready to finish our ride to Larned.

But the adventure doesn't end there. We really wanted to camp since we have stayed in a hotel and the B & B for the last two nights. We rolled into the "campground" and right away I had some suspicions. There was a rather crude cement block building that looked like it might be the showers. Showers are so important to us, especially after the day we had. I asked are those the showers? The manager said, "Well so to speak, but they are all tore apart right now. I am rebuilding them 'cause I had so much black mold." I quickly explained that we needed a shower and would have to move on down the road - hopefully, a yellow brick road leading us to a shower. He did tell us we could cool off in their swimming pool, but we passed on that, also.

So once again, we are in a hotel for the evening. As we were going to our room Shay, one of the young men we had met biking in Sheridan Lake came up and met us. He had taken a day off of riding to recuperate. It was nice to see him again and after showering we went out for supper with him. He has certainly had an interesting life in his 33 years. Earlier I told you he is headed to Minnesota to meet his lady and work on an elementary education license. Talking about his past a little more, besides biking in Australia, he has backpacked in Patagonia, Argentina. He does most of his adventures solo. He has some real interesting experiences. I doubt that we will cross paths again, but we wish him the best.
He keeps a pictorial blog of his trip - http://www.pushingthemule.com/

I said earlier that we are going to change our route to make it possible to go up to the Katy Trail in Missouri.  After our day today we decided that is was best to do that as soon as possible.  We are going to take tomorrow off to plan our new route North.  If we stay on this route for two or three more days we end up going another 30 to 40 miles South.  After today we don't want to take that chance if we don't have to.  Shea did some research on Kansas today and said it comes from an Indian translation meaning "winds from the South."  That was enough for us - we probably won't move from here, unless we get a good plan early.  That will give us a chance to possibly go to Mass on Saturday evening.

It was great to hear good news about Patti and Hannah!

Do Something for Others Today!!
Love to Friends and Family!!  We miss you all!
Jack and Mary Kay

Short day - no opportunity to post - We will add two more days later tonight!

June 9, 2010 – Scott City, Kansas


No Internet tonight so this will have to be posted later. Before I forget there are two things I wanted to add to yesterday’s post. One is that we met a lady that could be a cousin of our daughter-in-law Melanie’s Mother- Janet. She waited on us at the Chatterbox Café for lunch. She was very nice to all the people in the restaurant and said so many of the things that Janet would have said. She had the whole place laughing. We hope this finds Janet feeling well after her recent surgery. The other thing is that Mary Kay said something yesterday morning that I didn’t think I would ever hear from her. As we were getting ready to start the day she said – “Let’s get ‘r done..” I am not kidding. I guess she has seen too many ranches and trucks on our ride.

Today we had to wait until 1:00 in the afternoon to pick up our package that was mailed to the library. We had a nice morning of rest and a very nice lunch, picked up our package and headed east. It was relatively cool with a headwind, but we were able to make it to Scott City - 24 miles in a little less than 3 hours. We would have gone further but it would have been at least 7:30 or 8:00 by the time we would have gotten to our next possible overnight destination. The road is getting more congested and we really didn’t want to be out that late. I would say picture 17 with quite a few trucks on it with a 65 mph speed limit and that is what we are riding on right now. The birm is probably about 2’ wide at the most. Usually things are okay, but every now and then a truck gets a little close. We actually stop and move off the road completely when a truck with a wide load comes by.

I have one favor to ask of everyone West and East of us. You know how we all think the wind blows out of the West. Well we haven’t seen one yet. Tomorrow at noon Eastern Time I would like all our friends to the East of us look to the West and inhale as hard as you can. At the same time I would like all our friends West of us to face East and exhale as hard as you can. Maybe that will change our wind karma.

Today was pretty uneventful on our short ride. One good thing is that no one has mentioned anything about a snake for over a day and a half now. When we got to Scott City we actually had choices of where to stay – a city park with a restroom (no showers), a couple of hotels, and a fitness center that allows you to sleep on their floor and use their showers for a reasonable fee. We chose the fitness center. We can put our mattress out, have access to a TV, and of course the shower. You would be amazed to find out how very small things can make a big difference in your life. We also had a nice Chinese supper and are ready to relax and get started early tomorrow.

Do Something for Others Today!

Still smiling and together!!  What did you expect?

A Great Day!

June 7 continued and June 8 - Leoti, KS  - odometer at 3 miles.

Nate, I promise we will be home for your birthday!!! 

Although Jack loves to post this blog I thought I would share a few observations.  Everyday we have faced some physical obstacles, heat, hills, and WIND, but everyday we have had the strength to get though them and it does make us stronger.  We are grateful for this and for the beautiful scenery we have encountered.

The first three days we could look up and see the snow capped mountains, seeing the mountains is always uplifting. In addition we often had a stream, river, or waterfall at our side. It was awesome!  When we got into the high desert country with its mostly brown terrain there were patches of orange poppy colored cactus blooming. They were beautiful!  Today we passed green blowing fields of wheat.

I also want to share that a trip like this humbles you, I have lost all sense of vanity!  When I take off my helmet I have a perfect mullet and it has not stopped me from going into restaurants, I kind of feel sorry for Jack that he has to go in with me.  When we get home I will share all of my bathroom experiences!

Well that was Mary Kay's blog update.  I know she thought I was being too negative and maybe coming across as complaining a little too much.  That may be, but I couldn't do this without her, even with her mullet.  And the bathroom experiences best be left to face to face conversation. 

I left off last night saying we had a great day of meeting and sharing experiences with people, even if the heat, humidity, and wind had its affect.  We started the day in good shape with just a little wind and good road.  Not too far into the day we came across a lady who had a flat tire on her car.  I was able to do something for others.  After all we have had done for us it was good to do something for someone else.

Later in the day we rode into Sheridan Lake, CO.  There was a great little convenience store that was in the right place at the right tine.  We got a good lunch of submarine sandwiches and planned to say an hour or so to make a decision as to what the rest of the day would bring.  More heat and more wind were predicted.  A young biker came in and we talked to him for an hour and a half.  He was riding to Minnesota to meet "his lady" and start work on an education degree.  He was riding solo and had ridden in Australia and other places.  He was very interesting and talked quite a bit about his biking routine.  He often sleeps along the road anywhere and averages 75 miles a day.  The three of us then got into a discussion with a truck drive who wondered why we thought we should be on the road with him.  He and other motorized vehicles pay the gas taxes for the roads and we don't.   He was concerned about safety and to be considerate of his opinions you also have to know that he had to make a choice a few years ago, of hitting a biker or hitting an oncoming car going out of its lane on a hill.  Fortunately the biker lived, but it did have an affect on his outlook.  After a pretty long discussion I think he had a better appreciation of what we were trying to do and we had a better appreciation of his concerns. 

Well we needed to make a decision about what we were going to do.  Outside of the store we made our decision quickly.  We were staying in Sheridan Lake the heat and wind were too much for us.  Our young friend took off, and hopefully got another 20 miles that afternoon.  The whole night was extremely windy.  We were very fortunate that a local church has a ministry of helping bikers.  They offered their nursery room for us for the night.  It was a beautiful church, air conditioned, nice kitchen, and Internet.  It was a great night.  There were 75 members of the congregation and the pastor was from Village Ministries.  They place non-denominational pastors in small communities needing a pastor.  The ministry raises part of the cost and the church the other part.  They were also having their vacation bible school this week.  The parents had really gone to great lengths to organize and decorate the church with their theme.  Everyone from the community, church, and the pastor's family were extremely nice to us.  We have found wonderful people in many different types of places on this trip. 

Evening reading in the nursery!

YES WE ARE IN KANSAS, BABY!!!  NO DOROTHY OR TOTO YET - DO SOMETHING FOR OTHERS TODAY!!

Monday, June 7 Too tired to do much of a blog

We really shouldn't be tired, but we are.  We quit riding today about 12:15.  Extremely hot and humid, believe it or not and the winds were 20 + gusting to 40.  Not great riding weather.  We met some tremendous people today.  Hopefully, I will feel like doing a blog tomorrow and have Internet access.  We are staying in a church in Sheridan Lake, CO and should be looking for Dorothy in Kansas tomorrow.  Our odometer says we have ridden 280 miles.  Not the average we would like, but we have decided that we are going to just keep riding at the pace we can and see how far we can get.  Hopefully, we will make it to Plymouth, but if not we already have had some great experiences on this ride.  We will keep riding. 

Stayed tuned for our next blog because today was definitely a day of doing something for other - things were done for us and we got to do something for someone else.

Take good care of yourselves and do something for others today!

Days 5 and 6 Windy, Hot, Few Conveniencies

We left yesterday's campgroung at 6:30 to get a good start before the sun got too hot.  It worked for a couple of hours and we were making good time.  We stopped about 9:00 for breakfast in Ordway, CO.  We had a pretty good omelette and the two boys that we had met the day before told people we should be coming through, so people were looking for us.  The biggest difficulty we had up to that point is that it seemed everything was up hill, not big hills but just constant hills.  It ended up being about 45 miles of constant rising with an occasional short downhill.  You couldn't say it was our best day, in fact we both agreed that yesterday was the toughest thing we had ever done.  We also had 15 to 20 mph headwinds all day.  Talk about sapping us of strength.   Our maps are pretty good listing what type of conveniences are in each town.  The problem is that each town is very, very small - especially yesterday.
We were coping with the wind and hills pretty well when we got to the next little town that was supposed to have a convenience store and cafe.  Both were closed!  We found some shade on the city hall steps and drank a little supplement that we had.  Along the way you can really tell how bad the car sales are in the US.  We passed about 40 miles - yes I said miles with car transport cars just sitting on the side tracks for storage.  There would be 15 to 20 cars in a row, then a break to allow a rancher access to his property and then they would start up again.  I kidded Mary Kay that we might end up sleeping in one of them last night.

Again there was no place to go to get out of the sun.  People are still warning us of rattlesnakes and saying to stay on the road.  Finally it got just unbearable and we needed to find some shade.  I saw a little access road running underneath a railroad tressle.  We ate some of the supplies we were carrying (lucious sardines on an English Muffin) under there - we jokingly called it the 12-8, 10-6 Restaurant or it could have been the Swallow Cafe, since there were a bunch of swallows nesting under it.  Luckily no snakes. 

The problem was since we didn't have a chance to stop at the convenience store to replenish supplies we ran out of water about fourteen miles from our destination.  That was bad!  I flagged down a car and a couple of young girls gave us five bottles of water.  That was a life saver since we still have a long hard hot hard ride for that 14 miles.  One small town, really just a crossroad had put out a picnic table and an outhouse along the road for people to use.  It reminded me of the old reststops that used to be along US 31.  Very primitive, but a great place for us to rest for awhile.  After that we went our last 14 miles to the big town of Haswell.  We, especially me were wore out.  We rode into the town park and found it too had outhouses and a hand pump for water.  Boy that water tasted good, it was very cold - but helped clean us off as well as get us some fluids.  However, their convenience store was also closed.  We had peanut butter, English muffins, and some nutrition bars to eat for supper and breakfast. A really great part of the day was when a young man, Dusty stopped to talk to us.  Dusty will be a senior in high school next year.  He has 7 kids in his class and rides the bus about an hour and forty minutes to school each day.  He was very positive about their school.  They go from 8 to 4 - four days a week. Many of the classes are done through distance learning between four or five other schools and they are able to take college level classes.  He is planning to go to college and major in elementary education.  He told us quite a bit about his life.  His "Hope" was for his grandma.  She recently have an operation for colon cancer and his hope was that it would all turn out well.  A little while into our conversation a fourth grade boy came to visit us also.  I guess the bikers added some interest to the town of 52 people. Blake got a real kick out of talking to Mary Kay about rattlesnakes.  They said they probably wouldn't be able to get in our tent, but might crawl under it during the night.  That morning Dusty's dad had stepped up on his tractor step and stepped right on a rattlesnake.  Fortunatly he stepped close enought to its head so that it couldn't bite him.  Dusty was able to take care of it with a shovel.  We said it was time for us to get our peanut butter supper out and Blake said his parents ran the convenience store and he would askhis mother to open it up for us.  We really appreciated it.  I found cheesesticks, peanuts, gatorade, a snickers, and a bologna sandwich.  We lived it up, said goodbye to our great friends and then went to bed.  No snakes, again!

Today we only planned to ride a little over 20 miles, because we knew there was a motel with showers and indoor toilets.  Not as many hills today, but still a good headwind which slowed us down.  We did get to Eads about 11:00 am.  We didn't make it to church, but believe me we have really been praying the rosary and any other prayers we can think of for the last few days.  I hope God approves.  There was a restaurant across the parking lot from the motel.  We cleaned up and went there for lunch.  At last a place to actually order something.  We both had a salad, Mary Kay had a shrimp dinner, and I had a swiss steak/mashed potato buffet.  It was really good.  Un fortuanately the only thing open for supper is a convenience store and a bar with pizza.  I am trying to make up my mind. Mary Kay found a laundromat about half a mile away, so got all of our laundry done.  Then we went across the street to the bar for a drink.  Other than the owners we were the only two in the place.  They were really nice people to talk to.  She is a Scentsy sales rep. and they are trying to sell the bar.  It was a nice break for the day, the air conditioned room is great - now I just need to decide between a deli hot dog or pizza for supper. 

We have been so fortunate to get all the great help from strangers - Do something for others today!

It’s Hot, but the VFW was Cool!

Friday June, 4 2010 -Day 4 another 45 miles or so. We tried for an early start today since it was supposed to be hot. We still didn’t get off until 8. The weather report was correct - a beautiful sunny day – at 4:30 we saw a bank sign that said it was still  99 degrees. We are in a small town called Fowler. No Internet access so this will have to be posted later. In fact we may not find Internet until Sunday. Our campsite is the cheapest so far at @ $12. It is an RV Park, so to speak. I believe we put our tent up in his side yard. But there is some shade and a decent bathroom with a shower. We are at a point in our trip that we really have to go a long distance or a short distance to end up in a town with even a park to camp in. Tomorrow will be a city park with no showers, but I think we will have a bathroom available.Later in the evening we realized that we were only about 100 yds. from the train track.  Throughout the evening and night freight trains flew through the town with horns blaring.  From about 7:30 to 9:30 someone was practicing their drums in the neighborhood.  I thought maybe a garage band was going to practice, which would have been kind of neat.  But is turned out to only be drums practicing the same thing over and over.That probably won’t happen tomorrow. 

Getting back to today - As you can see it was hot, but as they say it was a dry heat. Hey it was still close to 100. We can’t fill too badly though we met two college age boys this afternoon. They are riding from Fresno, Ca. to Virginia Beach. Their “Hope” was for tailwinds. Hearing their stories of 90 mile days, mountains, and deserts – makes our trip a piece of cake. Tell that to my bottom side.

 

We stopped in Boone today. They are really used to having bicyclists stop by. We picked up a few things from the general store and then were told we should stop at the VFW. I just got my VFW Aux. Card so we stopped. One man was sitting at the bar drinking a beer at 10 in the morning. We found out that his wife was running the general store. He was quite the character. He and the bartender were really nice to us. We signed their guest book. They have had bikers from all over the world stop in. Hopefully, we will be able to hit a few more VFW’s on the way. The bartenders HOPE was for the Gulf to get cleaned up and the oil to stop.

We road on a two lane road most of today. Very little traffic, but what there was certainly had to be exceeding the 65 mph speed limit. For sites we saw some blooming cactus. Very pretty, but what we really wanted to see was some shade. We found some in a hay barn. We relaxed and cooled off there for about 15 minutes and that was the last shade we saw for about 2 hours.

As usual people are interested in what we are doing and offering support and wishes. We really enjoyed our time at the VFW. When we got to Fowler we stopped in a store to ask directions to the library. We thought they might have Internet access. One of the ladies offered to drive us to it. That was very nice, especially since when we got there it was closed.

So keep thinking about how you can Do Something For Others Today – something little can make a big difference for someone else.

By the way please ignore any grammatical errors, misspellings, etc. I am usually too beat to do much proofing and right now I am laying on my mattress trying to key this in.

6/6 /10 We are finally back to Internet availability tonight. I will blog a little more for the last to very interesting days later tonight. Stay tuned and as always – Do something for others today.

Jack and Mary Kay