What a Great Feeling!

Final calculations with a few corrections
Today 55.7 miles
This trip (corrected) 553.26
From Denver to Plymouth by bike 1553.26

That's it we are home!

Well, I can't just leave it there. I do have a few closing comments from the day and thoughts. 

We woke up early today and left around 6:30. We really wanted to get our first 15 miles in to make it to Kouts in time for church.  We were a little late, but not much. When we left Lowell it was cool, not raining, but a very strong wind coming from the North/Northwest. That was fine because our day was predominately East.  We started out on IN 2 going East, but I knew that shortly we had to go North a ways to get in IN 8. I had planned to take the first road headed North. When I turned I knew we were in trouble.  It was immediately like riding uphill in a very high gear. The wind was ferocious. I could see an East/West road not far ahead. I wasn't sure what it was but I knew we were taking it when we got to it. As I was riding ahead of Mary Kay she was shouting, "Let's go back to the highway." I couldn't even hear her the wind was blowing so hard. We made it to the next road and thankfully it was the one I was hoping to get to. We gathered ourselves together and headed for church. After that first 3/4 of a mile it turned into a nice Sunday morning ride to church. 

After church we were talking to some of the parishioners about the next part of our trip to Knox on IN 8. It looked busy with very little paved berm. There advice was riding up to US30 and taking it. That wouldn't be my first choice but it probably would have been better than "8." We asked how far it was. The answer was, "Only about 6 miles." We'll let me tell you 6 miles may not seem like much, but when you are riding a bike 40 to 50 miles another 6 is not what you want to hear. Then I also thought that all 6 of the miles would be into that headwind. I think I would have heard Mary Kay this time if I had chosen that route:). So back to plan one and go to Knox on IN 8. Parts of it were exciting, but we were careful. This does bring to mind a text message that our daughter Liz sent to us after we inadvertently had gotten ourselves on Interstate 55 for three miles in Illinois. Anyone knowing Mary Kay will know how true Liz's comment was. She simply said, "mom would be driving down to pick us up or follow right behind if this were reversed."  Oh how true that would be. This is one of those times as parents you might be saying do as we say not as we do.

A quick refreshment break in Knox and back on our final leg. Knox to 17 had its interesting parts, but we held our breath, said a few prayers and made it home earlier than expected. Many family members were surprised when they heard me yelling a celebratory Woo Hoo as we road up the road, grand kids and kids ran out to greet us with smiles, squeals, hugs, and kisses. IT IS GREAT TO BE HOME!

Mark Kay and I were talking about how we felt now that this is done. As we think back to our decision to do this in the beginning and our decision to go back and finish we remember several things. We started this idea without ever having ridden our bike further than to Culver and back for a Cafe Max breakfast. Here we are not extremely old,  but both in our mid sixties.  Our thoughts are this is amazing. Not that we think we are amazing, but just that this is not an easy task mentally or physically. If we can do this many people can face obstacles that may be in your way or dreams that you mat have. We have found that it is great to have someone you love by your side. It makes the good times better and the tough times more bearable. I know we found solace and help in our faith. Praying for others as well as ourselves made some of those tough times easier. 

We also began the ride with trying to spread the thought - Do something for others, today! We wanted to do that through example and encouragement to those around us. Since that beginning we have added a few other thoughts to our list:

Do something for others, today!  (Don't wait until tomorrow, too many days without doing something good can take place.)

Be kind!  (We all need to do more of this today. We especially need to show kids how to be kind)

Have an impact and make a difference! (Make sure it is positive)

We leave you with this story of our experience, our reflections and thoughts, and encourage you to live your life - live your dreams!

Peace, Prayers, and Thanks,

Mary Kay and Jack

Home is Just Over the Horizon

Today. 40.03 miles, This Trip 383.75, bothe trips 1383.75

Our story is about over. Thank you to our family, friends, and those along the way who have supported us. It has really helped us continue and finish our journey.  In a sense we wish this had all been done in consecutive 31consecutive days of riding. I guess it may gave been a more impressive story. But our purpose was never to impress. We just want to encourage people to always work to create your life, don't let your situation define you. We will take 31day and nearly 1,500 miles at the end of tomorrow. We have had a great time. We have struggled. We have missed family and friends. We have run across some characters and many wonderful people. What an experience!!!

Today we stopped around 9:30 in Momence, IL. We found a bar open for our rest stop. It was Mary Kay and I drinking a diet coke along with 5 guys drinking beer and watching a pool game. What a life.  Our ride varied between busy roads and some nice country riding. The hills were more frequent, but nothing too bad.  We were happy to reach the hotel early again, as the wind from the expected evening storms started kicking up. Once again it looks like prayers are helping and we will be able to start out on a nice morning.

Our plan is to start early and make it to Kouts in time for Sunday 8:30 mass. Then we will head to LaCrosse, Knox, and finally Lawrence Lake!

We started our trip with a theme of doing something for others, today. We had many "gifts" of support given to us along the way.  It is fitting that we were able to return those gifts in small way to a young couple.  Keep watching for your ways to help others.

Peace, Prayers, and Our Thanks,
Mary Kay and Jack

Great Day of Relaxing

30.67 miles today, 374.39 miles this trip, 1,374.39 miles in 29 riding days.

Well it happened, we had a great morning of riding and got to Kankakee around 11:00 am. Stopped to have lunch with plans to ride on to Momence. While we were eating I called the two places to stay, one was closed and one had no room available. Back to the smart phones for a search to see if there was anywhere else that we could ride to and still get more miles in. We couldn't find anything less than 36 miles away. That just wasn't something we wanted to try. So Kankakee is our home for the day. Our lunch waitress was very helpful, interested in our journey and protective. She guided us to an area of town that she felt would be "safer."  She suggested the Hilton Garden Inn. Looking on Priceline they listed a $159 a day price. Of course I looked for something cheaper. I found an Economy Inn listed so we headed there. Whoa! When we got there it reminded us of the Plymouth Economy Inn. We couldn't see ourselves spending all afternoon and evening there and at the bar next door. 

So we decided our only choice was the Hilton. I must have looked desperate because after giving a brief account of our travels the manager on duty gave us a significantly reduced price. Uncle John, life is good! We cleaned up, went to WalMarts, The Dollar Store and then sat poolside playing a game of Crowns. We opened a bottle of wine and a margarita drink and relaxed. It has been a very relaxing afternoon. 

Our original schedule of getting home Sunday is still on. All those people who went out this morning and blew toward the East, it worked. Do it again tomorrow and scatter the possible rain clouds for 

Sunday. We can't wait to see our family and friends. 

Thanks for all the prayers, concern, and support. We are almost done Spokinhome. 

Prayers and Peace, 

Mary Kay and Jack

These give you a little look at today's digs. Quite a bit better than yesterday.

This is from a morning rest stop

Compare those to yesterday's digs

Saying Goodbye to Historic Route 66

Today 55.53 miles (a good day), This trip 399.07 miles, total from Denver 1, 399.07 miles in 28 days

The closer we get to home the more it seems like home. Nothing to fae out of the ordinary again today. We just keep rolling the pedals over and over. Since the storms came through there has been a shift in the wind. Since we are going Northeast an d tomorrow East, the winds have decided to come directly toward us. So tomorrow morning if everyone would step outside around 9:15 your time and blow real hard towards the East it would be great. Maybe we can change the direction. I will let you know.

As I said in the title we will be leaving 66 tomorrow morning. We will miss the mystic and the people we have met along the way. Today we stopped at an old Standard Oil gas station that had been reconditioned and houses a little gift shop. It still had the repair bay in tack with many old tools and machines. It brought me back to my Dad's old stations and shops. I saw brake tools, old charge card machines, the hoist, just so many things from my past.  A group of four or five couples drove up on motorcycles. The motorcycles were all very new, everyone was decked out in their new leathers. They were from Switzerland and had just left Chicago this morning on a trip two and a half week trip on Route 66 to Los Angeles. That had rented their motorcycles and had a SAG car riding with them. I can't imagine the cost of that trip.

The only other excitement came when one of the Amtrak trains must have had something going on, because we had fire trucks pass us and shortly we came upon 4 or 5 spots where grass fires had started along the tracks.  We had a little smoke issue, but not too bad. It took ou minds off if  our sore bottoms.  We did have in truck today that didn't want to share the road with us. I believe we could have easily reached out and touched him. Much of our ride was similar to 17 in Plymouth, but fortunately not as busy. Almost everyone else was very considerate.

We are only 126 miles from home. We would love to do it in two days, but halfway is about Lowell, IN and there really isn't a hotel close to there without going beyond our mileage max. Of course if we could find a place there is still no guarantee we could make it. That darned wind could cause our mileage to be a little less.  We will see. Right now we have two plans, one isto go to Kankakee,  Il. which is only 30 miles or Momence, Il which is 43 miles. We will see how the wind blows and how the roads are.  So as we finish our 8th/28th day of riding we find ourselves in a subpar Super 8 in Dwight, IL.

See everyone soon.

Peace and Prayers,
Jack  and Mary Kay

Nice Morning Leading to Traffic in The Afternoon

Today 37.79 miles, This Trip 381.5. Total 1,381.51

Not many miles or much to talk about today. After last night's storms we waited for awhile this morning to leave. Once we got in the road the early miles were easy. It was overcast, not much of a breeze, and pretty flat.  We road into Atlanta, Il. One if the spots on the Historic Route 66 tour. We stopped at a local griil for a light snack and drink. The waitress had a 1950's uniform and the soda fountain was open. The wItress was very friendly, especially after we told her a little about our ride. She told us the people who had left just as we came in were from Australia. They were driving a 1957   Chevy all reconditioned. The waitress thought they had bought it in L.A. And were driving tonChicago. She said some other people from Australia had stopped last week. They had bought motorcycles in LA and were going to ship them back to Australia to sell. They figured they would make enough to cover their vacation expenses.  The town was really making the best of  promoting themselves around Route 66. She said a bus company has 21 stops booked with them over the summer. As we were leaving we saw another man from Switzerland. He had a 1965 Mustang and was also driving across country.  Sounds like a fun next trip in either an old custom car or motorcycle.  Anyone want to join us?

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We got into quite a bit of traffic, which added some stress to the last hour and a half. We got to our evening's stop at 2:30 and are taking advantage of some time to rest. We are looking at our route and fine tuning our last four days.

Thanks for staying tuned.

Prayers and Peace,
Mary Kay and Jack

A Long Ride to Lincoln

Today 43.97,  This trip (I made a mistake yesterday) 343.72, total both trips 1,343.72

Yesterday we were planning to pick up some extra miles today, beyond our trip to Lincoln. We hoped to make it to Atlanta or McLean. We made up extra miles but not forward. We had a very nice first 20 minutes. We got to Route 66 and shortly came to a sign that said bike Route 66. We weren't going to take it because I thought it would cost us an extra 3 miles or so. At the last minute we took it. After about 500 ft. I slowed down and hesitated. Mary Kay said maybe we should go back. I agreed and back we went.  It looked good we were back on track when all of a sudden we were on an on ramp with nowhere to go. We were on Interstate 55. Evidently we passed a sign that said, "Nonmotorized vehicles prohibited." So for three miles we were hugging the very outside edge of the berm while cars and trucks zoomed by us. All kinds of things go through your mind, not the least of which are prayers.  I was waiting for a State Trooper to pull us over. Luckily we made it to the exit. We immediately stopped at a Subway to calm our nerves.

We found the right Route 66 road and took off again. It was really bumpy. Our bottoms were pretty sore after about 8 miles. At that point we found another Route 66 BikeRoute sign. The map showed that it might extend our trip another two or three miles. Balancing that with the bumpy road and our previous experience we decided to take the bike route abpnd the extra miles. We still felt we were in good shape and could get further than Lincoln.  We followed the map to the connecting point with Business 55 just outside of Lincoln. A sone's throw as the old saying goes.  Wait what is that? Detour road closed ahead. Our conversation went like this, "Surely, not all four lanes will be closed and we will be able to get our bikes through.  There seemed to be cars coming towards us." So we decided to ride the 3/4 of a mile and try it. Sure enough all four lanes were closed. They were putting in a new bridge.  It looked like a side road might be our solution. We took off, but soon it did't seem quite right. So this was a good time to pull out the smart phone. Sure enough it was going to take us to a dead end. Conversation again, " pelts go back to the last cross roads we came to before we got to 55 and go East that should take us around the construction." Good plan off we went. About 2 miles later we came upon the Logan Correctional Facility. I thought we were getting unusually close as we continued to ride around it. We passed a few employees on a break and they looked at us oddly. We continued and I began to turn right at a "Y" in the road. Suddenly people were yelling "No, No!" So I figured we should take the left part of the "Y." Then I noticed a golf cart up ahead stop and wait for us. Conversation,
"Is this the way to go around the Facility."
"No, you are in a prison compound. You will have to turn around and leave the way you came."
"Can you tell me how we can get by the construction on 55."
"Just go back to 55 and turn left it will take you to the Interstate and you can go about three miles around the construction."
"We were already on an Interstate for three miles today. If we do it again they might bring us back here. :)"
"Then the only way to go is to go back and take county roads around. It is a long way."

There went our smiles. I got out the smart phone again and mapped out a route. It was a long way and it was very hot. We soon decided that making it to Lincoln today sounded pretty good. So it doesn't look like we will knock off a day on our schedule.
There may be very high winds here tonight, but we are in a safe place.  We had a couple of drinks at the bowling alley next door and watched some people gambling on the machines and then ordered in pizza. Life is good!

Sorry my pictures didn't come through tonight. If I get them I will post them later.

Peace and Prayers
Mary Kay and Jack

The Wind Found Us Today

Day 6
Today - 52.55, This  trip - 190.95, Total 1190.95

The mileage is getting easier to handle but we still have to plan our daily trip so that we will have a place to sleep at the end of the day. Today we easily made it to Springfield, but were tested a few times.  We began the morning with overcast skies and a wind from the South. My route planning from the night before hit a snag in the first 1/2. Let's blame it on a poorly marked intersection. I quickly realized the error and we turned around. That gave us the first taste of the wind in our face. I thought to myself that I was glad we weren't riding South. Back on historic Route 66 and headed North was just what we wanted. This will date those who understand it, but Mary Kay and I are getting "our kicks on Route 66."

The Illinois map tries to take us off of Route 66 before it deadends or gets to busy with traffic. That is good in some respects, but ends up adding several miles to a trip with many sideway miles. That happened today and as the wind picked up speed it also was coming more out of the Southwest. That was just the direction that many of our sideway journeys took us. Plus we got a few more hills that way. We started getting visions of Kansas. But We knew we weren't in Kansas anymore.  The good thing was that those trips were short and we would quickly return to an 8+ mile stretch with the wind almost directly behind us. That was good!

It seems that this continues to be a journey of faith. First of all we have faith in each other that we can  finish this trip that we began four years ago. In fact I believe we are pretty close to our old form. The other faith that keeps popping up is the more important capital F "Faith." Today after a little bit of a struggle we came upon "The Our Lady Of The Road Shrine."  This was erected in 1959 by a local Catholic Youth Group to remind those journeying on Route 66 that speed was causing deaths. They erected the shrine to give travelers a place to pray for safe travels. We did.

We finally found places to sit and relax today a good old Subway and a McDonalds. What a difference that made. Most of the last 12 miles were on a paved Interurban Bike path. What a wonderful day!  There was one other mishap. At the end of the day my legs don't have quite the spring in them that they usually have. We were at one of our frequent stop intersections in Springfield when my jump up, my shorts, and my bike seat just didn't mesh quite right. I broke off the first couple of inches of my bike seat. That brings up a problem that only time will tell the best solution.
1.  Ride without the little pointy end of the seat - while that might be the cheapest (which is usually
my choice) it might not be the best for my physical health.
2. Buy some duct tap and tape it back on.  Again, pretty cheap - so that is my choice.
3. This one we will save for later - buy a new seat. The negative are the cost and having to break in my seat to a new bike seat.
I will let you know tomorrow if my first choice works.

Our plan was to only go to Lincoln tomorrow. It looks like that woul be a really short day. So we are thinking about riding on to either Atlanta or McLean. It looks like Wednesday could be a rainout day, so I think if all goes well we will go as far as we can. With any luck we might be able to ride some on  Wed. and rearrange our plan to arrive home earlier.

The repaired seat

When we stopped at the County Market I saw this and it reminded me of my Dad. He sold Ford tractors for a while in Plymouth after WWII

Of course this is the broken seat

A nice place to sit for a not so healthy lunch. It tasted good though.

Our Lady of the Road Shrine

Hail Mary prayer along the rode by the shrine. 

Remember Burma Shave?

We are getting our kicks on the

1940 - 1977 section

Angels On Your Shoulders

Miles today 49.7, Miles for this trip 138.4, total from Denver 1,138.4

The title of post come from a parishioner at Our Lady Queen Of Peace church in Bethalto, Il. We saw that this church was about a half mile off our route for the day, so thought we might make mass. We arrived just as it was ending. As we road up on our bikes we did get a few looks. Since mass was over we went in to say a few prayers before getting back on the bikes. As we were leaving a lady asked us what we were doing. As we left she said, "Angles on your shoulders." What a great parting blessing for us.

We road nearly 20 miles after that before coming to what I thought might be a Farmers Market. It turned out to be a fruit and vegetable stand. But it would have been a little difficult to take much with us. We were also looking for a place to cool off and sit down. You guessed it, there was a gas/convenience store just up the road.  Those places are really cold when you first walk in after a few hours of riding you bike. We got some drinks, cheese and crackers. I also noticed that a Marine Corp unit was selling grilled brats just outside. For all my Marine Corp friends Semper Fi. It was just what I needed.

Back on the bikes and a quick turn onto Histori Route 66. Pretty uneventful but nice ride for another 20 miles, but time for a cool off and energy stop. Yep, convenience store, but still no place to sit down. That has made it a long day!!

I mentioned that we are riding on Old Route 66. I got a bike map from the State of Illinois. The map and direction are great except it is written for a trip from North to South.  That doesn't sound to
complicated does it? Well when you are hot and sweaty and looking at small print that says:
Go.  Dir.    On.                                                                       Miles.          
L.     S.       Mt. Oliv Rd./Lake St.                                          1.3
L.     E.       Main St.                                                                . 3

And you have to think in reverse stuff happens. Well I missed a road sign and a turn.  Not a good thing to do on a bike. As a typical man I did't tell Mary Kay we were on a road that didn't appear on our map. Fortunately my sense of direction is still good so I just kept heading NW. All the time hoping that I didn't come to a country road that only went SW. We didn't and while the roads weren't excellent, well maybe not even fair, we made it back to 66 and shortly to Litchfield. What makes the story even better for me was that we made it their about 10 minutes before today's thunder storm. Thank you God. As we ate at the China Town Buffet I told Mary Kay the story. At least tonight we could laugh about it. I believe tonight I will study the map and make a few personal notes.

At dinner Mary Kay's Chinese Cookie said, "You will conquer obstacles to achieve success."  That left us wondering what is ahead of us? At least we know that one of us will come through it successfully.  Mine said, "Everything will come your way."  So I guess together we should be well off.

Hope your day was a good one! Missing our family!!!

Prayers and Peace,
Mary Kay and Jack

Days Two and Three Thankful To Be Dry and Safe

Day two miles 42.3 total this trip 88.7 total all together 1088.7
Day three miles 42.55 total this trip  131.25 total together 1,131.25

Still can't figure out the picture process so I will just tell the story and you can match the picture to the narrative. That will make it a little game for you. 

Compared to today day 2 was pretty uneventful. Anyone watching our Facebook pages have a sneak preview. 

Yesterday we left Joey's Birdhouse after a pleasant night of rest. The morning was pleasant and we rode along pretty well. We hoped to rest and get a light snack in Treloar. But we were about 40 minutes early for the local bars opening. There was nothing else in the town. Where are the Casey.s when you need them? So it was a 23 mile ride before lunch and a break. We found some great pizza and a salad at Dillbeys in Marthasville.  Again it was about the only place open in the town. The three young girls working made me reflect on the variety of opportunities available in Plymouth for recent graduates, but also why people young people leave to find greener pastures. 

We were within a mile of Defiance, MO and our nights lodging just as a thunder storm came in. We hurried off the trail and found a very steep hill up to the B&B. Even though it was raining we our legs wouldn't get us up the hill. We ended up walking the last 300 feet of the day.  I can't say that this place was as welcoming as Joey's. We showered, rested and walked down the hill to get supper. We only found two biker bars (motorcycles) and a vineyard. The vineyard was having a wedding reception, so biker bar it was. Mary Kay had the whitest garden salad that I have ever seen.  Another walk in a light drizzle and we were back for a nights rest. The morning breakfast gave us a pretty greasy start to day 3. I forgot to tell you our bike computer put the temp at 95 during the afternoon. That did make the thunder storm more tolerable.

Day three had some interesting happenings. It was another 20 mile ride to the first place that had anything open. It was a great city (St. Charles, MO) and what for most people is the end of the Katy 

Trail. Riding there was much more congested than the previous two days. We encountered a benefit run of some type, many recreational biker/runners/walkers, and then what I would call a peleton of 15 to 20 racing bikes pass us. This was a fun morning.  When we got to St. Charles there was a nice area to get a bite to eat (humus, avocados, and crackers). I got a little advice on how to get to the bridge to Illinois and we started the last leg of the Katy Trail and MO. We were riding slower than the first leg. There was less shade, more heat, and allot of humidity. This part of the trail was less traveled and not as nice as the rest. I mentioned to Mary Kay that if the  first part of the trail had been like this we may not have been so enticed to come back and finish. We are glad we did though. The trail just ends with a few big boulders at the end. We found the access road and headed East on state road 94. We had about eight miles to go before the bridge. The heat and humidity was really slowing us down now. Mary Kay saw a shady spot so we headed for it as the thunder started to roll in. As I was rolling in I noticed my front tire going flat. Great!! A nice lady gave us a bottle of wTer and sId we could wait out the shower under her vegetable stand. It was a perfect place to change tubs and rest. We figured we had about 4 miles to go to get on US 67 to go over the bridge. We got within a 1/4 mile and the sky let loose. We saw a gas station ahead so we biked on to take cover. Again, thank goodness for convenience store. We were able to get a drink and a snack while waiting out the storm. It took about 45 minutes for it to let up enough and the sky to begin to clear. We headed for the bridge about two mile away. It was a very busy 4 lane highway with a pretty good berm. I was glad that we hadn't tried the trip in the downpour. It would have been hard for cars to see us.  It was raining but we had to move on. When we got to the bridge I was anticipating a divided bike/pedestrian lane. It was divided by a white painted line. Cars and trucks were going by us at 55 mph or more. I later found out that there is a controversy going on and that the State is putting up a barrier in the near future. I guess there was a pedestrian fatality. We are safe and there are no more big bridges to cross until we get to the Yellow River. 

We found a Super 8 for the evening, Panera Bread for supper, and a washer to clean our dirty wet cloths. As my Uncle John would say, "life is good."

Have a great Sunday, go to church and pray for the ones you love.

Prayers and Peace
Mary Kay and Jack

Day One of Our Reboot

Miles today - 46.2
Miles round one and two - 1046.2

Well, we made it through our first day. Mary Kay said the miles seemed like 100 instead of  46.  Most ou the day we were luky enough to ride in the beautiful shade of the Katy Trail. But wouldn't you know that as we neared the last 10 miles we were out in the sun most of the times it seems that I remember the last 10 miles of the day are always the hardest. The temp for the last 10 miles was near 90.

We started the day with a ride across the "Big Muddy" or the Missouri River. Mary Kay confirmed my suspicion from last night. When we got up this morning she said all she could think about all night was riding across the bridge. It didn't help that when getting directions we were told there was a pedestrian/bike lane. Of course I missed the turn and we got in the lane with the cars and trucks! Those semis don't seem to like us much. Fortunately there was an escape route before we got to the actual bridge and we were able to backtrack to the bike lane. It was much safer.

Wow I got the pictures I just can't get them in the right order. This is the end of the day as we approach the Mckittrick station on the trail. It was a vey welcome site! 

This is one of the beautiful sites we saw along the trail. It is pretty, but I think it is goldenrod.

Our lunch break at Mokane, MO. This was about 20 miles into our day. The place was an old general store with concrete floors and a few tables to sit at for lunch. The menu was sparse, but we had tuna salad and egg salad sandwiches. There were several touring bikers eating also and a group of ladies playing cards. The ladies left so we ate at their table. Gary a local came in so we invited him to sit with us. Gary had his own backhoe and Doug septic and water lines. He was about our age, lived a few houses down from where he was born and enjoyed his life. Some of the other bikers noticed our shirts and wanted to know about our ride. They were on a three day tour with a SAG truck. They couldn't believe our story and that we never had done much bike riding until we started our trip the first time. Then they told us that their group had come up on a man yesterday who had died on the trail. That was more info than I needed to know. 

So far the only animals we have seen this time are several turtles, this dog that stayed with us for awhile, and one deer. No snakes and no warnings to stay away from the rattle snakes. I can be slow at times, but even I can remember that advice.

Here is what should have been the first picture of the day.  Mary Kay actually riding across the bridge.  I was so proud of her! 

Now back to the end of the day story.  We got to our B&B, Joey's Birdhouse at 4pm. Hot, tired, and ready for a shower. There was a note on the door to go in in, that the door was unlocked and we could call Joey's partner Rich when we were settled. There was nowhere in site to eat supper so I called and asked Rich where we could go to eat. He said let me know when you are ready and I will take you to town.  He picked us up about 5:45 in his pickup truck and took us to Herman, MO. about 3 miles away. He took us to a friends restaurant, introduced us, and said he would come back in 40 minutes to get us.  Then he proceeded to sit down and told us his story.  It was interesting and was much like brother-in-laws Jim's story. He moved back to Herman because he loves the town and wanted to do something for it. He is a contractor, so he and Joey have bought several old buildings and have or are going to renovate them. He also ran for Mayor, but because of his "ideas" was soundly defeated. However he continues to dream and work toward making things in both Herman and Mckittrick better. After supper he drove all around Herman and showed us virtually every street, nook, and cranny. Then we headed back to our room and Rich had a glass of wine with us. It was an interesting evening. He left about 9 when Mary Kay said she needed to go to bed. 

As I finish tonight's post I am also ready for bed. Tomorrow we plan to end up in Defiance, MO at Parson.s House Bed and Breakfast. Hopefully we will be able to find a place to eat. We had a stretch today without any cell contact, so we missed out on making some post during the day to let our family know we were OK. We hope tomorrow will be better. Oh yeah, I didn't really say much about our physical condition. We felt good for most of the day, maybe even better than we thought. The mileage was about right. We did forget to buy sunscreen, so we are a little baked. It was good that most of the day was in the shade. We did get sunscreen tonight so if the muscles don't tighten up too much tonight we are looking forward to another great day tomorrow. 

Prayers and Peace

Jack and Mary Kay

The Long Ride To a Restart

A 6:30 AM Start - Thanks Greg for taking us to Chicago

After a Long Day on Amtrak We arrived in Jefferson City  MO at 7:45 PM 

I am very frustrated right now. The blog is not doing what I am trying to do with it. It can't be operator error!  I have spent an hour trying to get these two pictures from my phone to the blog on my IPad.  Hopefully tomorrow will bring back the "genius" in my thinking.  Suffice it to say that we had a good day riding the train. We actually rode through much of the area we will be when riding our bike.  It looked pretty flat. Those are famous last words of any rider. However,  As we approached Jefferson City I had a feeling that we were making a very long and gradual drop. Hopefully I am wrong. 

We got a few looks from other passengers as we loaded our bikes on the train. Some were looks of awe and others were looks of bewilderment. A few people stopped us as we got off to ask us what we were doing. I don't think we convinced them to try it, as they were actually taking a quick smoke break while the train was stopped. 

We had a nice supper - nice rich pasta for me and of course a salad for Mary Kay.  Tomorrow the fun begins. We start off with a ride over the Missouri River. It is a nice tall bridge.  Mary Kay is really looking forward to that as our first obstacle. If there is much traffic it may be a walk across the river for her.  

I better get some sleep and hopefully tomorrow's post will be more interesting. 

Prayers and Peace

 

Blessings as we get closer

Father Kummer came all the way from Ft. Wayne to bless us and our bikes for the ride. I hope my kidneys got a little splash of Holy Water too!            

              

Tomorrow is our last day at home,before we leave for our ride. It was great having many of our family, friends , and of course. Father Kummer here to get us ready to roll.  I did want to go back to our original ride and update some of our reasons for doing this,other than just being a little crazy.  Our theme has been "do something for others,today." We hoped to make that part of our daily life,not just for our bike ride.  We also encourage everyone to think about that as your day progresses. We all have good intentions,but sometimes our own needs cover up the most simple ways we can help others. Before we know I it one day, one week, maybe even a month goes by and we realize we have missed out on a chance to offer ourselves to someone or some cause.  That is why we have added the "today" to our theme. Don't wait into tomorrow.

If you read back in our original blog you will also see that we are riding to remember and give thanks for four family members who made it through an accident. There were a couple of angels that didn't and we want to help others in their memory. To do that we have established the Michael Noel Magee Scholarship.  We have over $10,000 in the fund now and are working toward $15,000 to $20,000 within the next three to four years. 

During our earlier ride we found that so many times people along the way did something for us, rather than us doing something for them.  Those instances only strengthened our believe that most people in our world want to do what is right.  So we start this journey once again hoping to help others, but knowing that we will benefit from the kindness of others.  To keep our end of the bargain we have been reflecting on what we did while pedaling for hours everyday.  When the heat, hills, and wind seemed unbearable we often said many Hail Mary's and other prayers. Some were just to give us the strength to continue forward, but then we started remembering and praying for others that we new were in need. So we are offering to include people or situations that you may know who are in need in our prayers.  You may not feel comfortable posting something on this blog so feel free to email me     jdavis6k@gmail.com  We will be happy to include your requests in our prayers. 

I just checked the weather forecast for Jefferson City. It looks like low 80's and a chance of thunder showers for the first few days. We can handle that.  I will blog more on Wed. after our train ride. 

Keep us in your prayers. 

Peace

Jack and Mary Kay

Let's Try This Again

In 2010 Mary Kay and I began a bike ride from Denver, Colorado home to Plymouth, IN. We aptly called our blog and journey Spokin' Home.  Unfortunately after 1000 miles we had to stop our ride in Missouri.  Well after the birth of four more grandchildren (making it 20), a wedding, back surgery, and more kidney stones we have decided to finish the ride.  Some have asked if we are starting all over back in Denver. No way!  The word finish is key here.

On May 28th we will take a train from Chicago to St. Louis then another one to Jefferson City, MO.
We will spend the night there and on the morning of the 29th we will get back on the Katy Trail and start our ride home.  We have the first two days and distances planned, but then we will play it by ear. We know that the wind, rain, heat, and hills can affect our daily mileage so we will just see as our legs and bottoms wear out where we are each day.  I believe we will have approximately 550 miles to get us home.

We will miss our family and friends, but are really looking forward to this adventure.  We are so fortunate and blessed to be able to come home to our family.  We also know from our last experience that this time together - just the two of us - is a special time.  We know we will need each other's love, encouragement, humor, and faith to get us from one small town grain elevator to the next, until finally we will see home and Lawrence Lake.

We invite you to join us on our journey.  If we have Internet access we will post a blog each day.  For those who weren't part of our last trip, we invite you to look back on our blog to get a picture of the first 20 days of this ride.  Of course, the blog goes in reverse, so if you want to start at the beginning you will need to page back and the work your way forward.

Are we physically ready?  Probably not, but we will ride ourselves into shape. We quickly realized last time that it is extremely difficult to really be prepared for a ride like this. The weather and stamina are of course  instrumental in that, but the mental part of the ride is really difficult.  I believe we are more ready for that this time.  When you are hot, tired, and feel weak you tend to think to yourself, "Can I get up every morning for the next thirty days and ride another 50 miles in the wind and heat again?"  We answered that question the last time (with Mary Kay's positive outlook) and we will be able to do it again.  Hopefully, in 10 or 11 days after we start we will be back home.

Think about us on May 29, wish us luck and pray for us.