Riding in the Eastern Time Zone!!!

I rode into Illinois. This is the first state that I have been in, so far on this journey, that I have actually stayed in other than at the airport.  I now feel like I'm getting closer to home.  My brother and uncle came in to Peoria and I took July 4th off.  We went to Bass Pro Shop and it had a bowling alley in it so went actually played a few games.  Tony beat up every game but I''m blaming his victories on my numb hands from riding. 

 We went back to the hotel after dinner and turned it into a bike shop.  It was time to change tires and do some maintenance to the bike.  As you can see after 2,500 miles I got everything I could out of those tires.  In those 2,500 miles I only had one flat and it was the same day I changed the tires. So they were very good to me.   

Today I made it to Indiana and the Eastern Time Zone.  Now after I get use to this time change I won't have to adjust anymore.  

One of the best parts of this trip is the people that you meet and the small towns that you go through.  Every small town has its own character and is known for something.  As I rolled into Hillsboro, IN they had bikes on side of the building going through town. 

The journey continues one small town at a time. I'll be back in my home state of Ohio soon passing through on my way to the Atlantic Ocean.  I'm looking forward to seeing my family and friends.  Until then I will Just Keep Pedaling.  

Please don't forget the reason I'm out here.  Do something positive in your life.  Take steps to make yourself healthy and happy.  Also raising awareness and funds for the Brian Grant Foundation, Spencer's Army, and Rachael's Raising Hope.

Hello Iowa!

Minnesota came and went pretty quick.  It was very nice in Minnesota.  I had opportunity to get on a few bike routes that were absolutely beautiful.  The routes toured me around a few of the lakes that Minnesota is so famous for. I also took day off in Minneapolis.  A couple good friends of mine Val and Chad drove all night to meet me in Minneapolis.  It was so nice to see a couple of familiar faces.

While Chad and Val were here I had the opportunity to get into a chiropractor.  Val also hooked me up with deep tissue massage.  They both helped tremendously.  Putting in the miles I have lately takes a toll on the body and taking care of it is crucial.  Thank you guys for that.

Taking a day off in Minneapolis was great also.  My legs thanked me for it.  We had the opportunity to go to the Mall of America.  It was huge and had any child's dream in the center with rides and games.  I know we only walked through about a third of it but they had every store I could imagine.  We also took some time to walk through the city and had a good dinner.

After I left Minneapolis, my next destination was Rochester.  It was a pretty easy ride since I unloaded all my luggage with Val and Chad.  I can fly on a light bike.  Once I finished, Rochester is where I actually got a massage.  After the massage therapist beat me up, we went and ate a little Italian. 

The next morning Val and Chad started back to Ohio and I was heading to Iowa.  

  I ended up in Waterloo, IA.  At the bottom of the Iowa sign it says "Fields of Opportunities".  I'm not sure about the opportunites but there are a lot of fields.

Today I rode into Iowa City.  Waterloo to Cedar Rapids had a bike trail.  Most of it was pretty nice.  About 20 miles of it was gravel and rough.  I truly felt I was in the middle of nowhere at one point. I found myself on a gravel bike route in the middle of a field.

  I met up with a guy named Benny that was familiar with the path and guided me through it  to Cedar Rapids.  From Cedar Rapids I rode into Iowa City, home of the Iowa Hawkeyes. From Cedar Rapids to Iowa City was absolutely beautiful and had a wonderful bike trail.  

Moving on!

North Dakota was a lot easier than Montana.  I flew through ND.  I did have a few challenges with the wind.  I did make it through it though.  ND was beautiful and it amazes me how spread out everything is in the West.  I do know everything seems to be bigger in the West.  I went by the biggest cow and buffalo statue.  As you can see below that is one big statue.  You can see the actual buffalo in the field.

My first day in Minnesota was hot and windy.  It took me a while to get 60 miles in.  Whenever you average less than 10 mph it becomes a long day.  I made up for it though when I got on a rail to trail path.  On these paths they take old railroad tracks and make them into bike trails. It was absolutely awesome to ride.  I came into so many neat little towns and went by so many beautiful lakes on the route.  I ended up riding the entire route. (110 miles)

 It was nice to meet people on the trail.  I met two couples that were out riding the route.  They were battling the wind as I was enjoying it for once.  I stopped to talk to them and we had a wonderful conversation.  I gave them my card and I hope they read this.  If you do Thank You  for the donation and I hope you enjoyed the rest of your ride. 

It wasn't long that I would be in Minnesota that I would find a viking.  He was in a little lake town called Alexandria.  He makes me look small but I have felt small since I have been on this trip. 

I've made it to Minneapolis, MN and I'm a little over halfway finished with this trip.  I'm taking a day off in Minneapolis to get some rest and go to a chiropractor.  I need a little adjusting from putting in so many miles.  A massage may be in my future as well.  I hope this blog finds everyone BLESSED.  Take your "NOW" and make it a "WOW". 

Out of Montana!

I want to thank everyone for all the support on my social media, and the videos that I have been receiving. You guys are amazing. I've had so many people stop and ask me about my ride in the little towns I have been in. It is very humbling how much people care and want to help. I had to stop in Glendive, MT today. As I was there a women came up to me and asked "where you headed son". So I asked today or when I'm finished? We started talking and had a wonderful conversation. She ended it with "God Bless You"! It is a wonderful feeling to feel the presence of God while I'm on this journey I'm truly blessed to be doing this but it is a wonderful feeling to think I'm able to help and inspire others to do something positive. That is what this ride is about!

I'm glad to be out of Montana. It was pretty difficult riding conditions with the wind the last few days. I made it though and that is what matters. Hopefully the wind from here on out will push me in the right direction. I made it to North Dakota today and I'm 90 miles from another time change. I'm making progress. I'm really tired and I'm trying to take care of my body. I wish everyone the best and I hope you are doing something incredible. God Bless!!!

Small Town USA!

The toughest day on the trail was my ride from Lincoln, MT to Simms, MT. It was a total of 40 miles but the side winds and climbs were brutal.  I made it to the Continental Divide by way of Roger's Pass. On my way up I found a sign that said I was in a historic place.

 Then I made it to the Continental Divide.

The downhill after Roger's Pass was great for about 6 miles.  Then the rolling hills and side winds came.  It was difficult to keep my bike on the road at times because of the winds.  My jacket sleeves were  blowing to the side the winds were so bad.  I made it though.  Once I finally got to Simms, MT the ride became great.  The roads flattened out and I had a tailwind.

I then went to Great Falls, MT were I had another visitor waiting for me.  Tarah flew in that morning to spend a few days with me on the trail and ride a little bit.  It is so nice to have someone around and I've been very blessed to have such great friends and family support me.

Getting to Great falls was pretty tough so I wanted to take a shorter ride to rest my legs some.  I went about 55 miles into Fort Benton, MT.  I thought Dayton, Wa, was like Mayberry until I went to Fort Benton.  This little town had more spunk that most big cities.  As soon as I pulled in the first car I see on the road is an old Model T.  

It didn't take long to find out the happenings for the night.  The buzz around town was a wedding and the Model T car show.  We got a hotel room in the historic downtown area.  Suzy was the owner of the motel and she took care of us.  She told us about the happenings in town and then shared with Tarah and I that her friend John rents canoes and we could go on the Missouri River for a few hours.  We jumped on that.  I thought if I didn't have to use my legs I would be fine.  So we sat out on a 17 mile canoe trip that was peaceful and gorgeous.  

After we left Fort Benton, I decided to take my ride a little farther than planned.  I wanted to make it to Lewistown, MT.  The ride was 100 miles but I thought I could catch up on some time.  There were a few hills in the way but all and all the ride went well.  I was fatigued throughout the day but I've come to grips that I will be tired everyday until I get finished with this trip. After 7 hours 32 minutes in the saddle I made it to Lewistown, MT.

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 God Bless America!

On the trail!!

I've made it to Lincoln, MT.  I haven't blogged in a few days because I haven't had service.  I just got service back yesterday.  I've been in the mountains of Idaho and Montana, where my new favorite berry is the huckleberry.  The only Huckleberry I ever heard of was Finn but now    I know you can put them in pie, pancakes, soda, cheesecake and anything else you can think of.

I spent one day riding along side of the Clearwater river.  It looked like the pictures you would  see in a Field and Stream magazine. One of the coolest things that I noticed was if someone lived on the other side of the river there were zip lines they would use to get their mail. I'm sure they fight to go get the mail there.  As I was riding along I came up on a young man that was stretching.  I stopped to say hello and find out the guys story.  His name was Jack and he was 70 years old riding the Lewis and Clark Trail by himself.  Last year he explained to me that he rode the TransAmerican Trail.  He was in amazing shape and didn't look 70.  He shared a story with me about riding up a hill and seeing 3 beautiful women.  As he was paying attention to the women he lost focus on climbing the hill and because he was clipped in he fell over.  He explained to me that it isn't a big deal to fall over just get back up and start riding again.

The next day the Clearwater River turned into the Lochsa River.  My goal was to get into the Powell Junction so I would have a place to stay and get as close to the edge of the Lolo Pass as I could.  As I'm riding I see a little black car come towards me with an arm hanging out.  It was my good friend Chad McKibben.  He got a flight and wanted to be around to help me get through the 140 mile stretch of Idaho's national forest and support me in getting over the Lolo pass.  I finished my ride in Powell that day and Chad and I got a little cabin to sleep that night.  It was called the Lochsa Lodge and it was very cool.  It had a pay phone to make calls.  As we were getting settled there my friend Jack from the trail came in and stayed there as well.  We had dinner with him.

The next day was a trip up the Lolo Pass.  I started out early that morning.  The Lolo Pass was about a 2000 feet climb up the 5,236 feet.  It took me 1 hour and 36 minute to climb Lolo Pass.  Even with that I'm not sure who got more exercise Chad or myself because Chad was running up and down the Lolo Pass trying to find the best picture opportunities.  He did an excellent job of capturing memories of going over Lolo Pass through pictures.  I'll share a few.

Once I reached the top of Lolo Pass I hit two mile stones:

and

I finished the day riding downhill into Missoula, MT.  I actually took a rest day the next day to rest my sore legs.  Chad and I spent the day in Missoula checking out what it had to offer.  We went to the Adventure Cycling headquarters and I ate the ritual free ice cream that they offer to all members who ride across the country and they took us a tour of the facilities. They also took my picture and hung it on the wall and I wrote in their book about my trip so far.  

Now that catches up to today.  Chad left this morning and my goal was to ride to Lincoln, MT.  The ride was 85 miles and 90% was climbing.  It looked like rain from the get go but luckily it was just a drizzle.  This was without a doubt my toughest day.  It was in the mid 40's and with the drizzle it wasn't the most pleasant ride.  I was in the saddle for 7 hrs. and 31 minutes.  I finished the day exhausted but as I finished up my first 40 miles I stopped to take a picture and a guy I met named Randy at Adventure Cycling rode up and we started talking.  We were going to the same place so we finished our ride together in Lincoln, MT.  When we got into Lincoln we stopped at a local cafe to get a bite to eat.  Many of the locals started talking to us and telling us about Lincoln.  Come to find out this is where the unabomber was from and where they found him. They were quick to tell us but they said that isn't what we want to be known for though. 

So far this has been an amazing journey from the beautiful scenery, all the support, and to the interesting people I've met.  You just never know who you are going to run into on the trail! 

I just rode across Washington

I know I haven't blogged for a couple of days so I will do a quick recap on them.  After Walla Walla, Washington I took a short ride into Mayberry.....I mean Dayton, Washington.  I stopped in at the visitor center and they shared some information about the town.  It was actually a nice little cozy area.  It wasn't a big town by any means but it did have a lot of character.  The ride was beautiful but it was pretty difficult even with a lower mileage. 

From Dayton I rode to Clarkston,WA which is right on the Washington/Idaho border.  I actually thought I was from the country until I started traveling in the west.  It is amazing how much open land is around.  The fields go on for miles and miles and then you will see a single house.  I don't know how they farm all of these hills but they do.  It is actually neat, you look at the wind blowing the plants and tall grass on the hills and it looks like ripples in water. I feel so small when I have all this large scenery around.  I have a free feeling like I can yell and no one can hear me.  I actually have done that a couple times or a song will come on and I'll sing it out loud because no one can hear how bad I sing.  

On my way to Clarkston I came up on three gentle resting on side of the road.  They were riding into Pomeroy and finishing their day there.  As I pulled up to stop and talk, they immediate greeted me and said, "What's your story?"  This is the question that I've heard over and over again while on this ride.  Everyone has a story and it is awesome and inspiring to learn some of them on the road.  One of the gentleman named Bob had just retired and he always wanted to do a trip on his bike.  He told me that he was a rookie.  I explained to him that I was too. It was fantastic to see these three free spirited gentleman out enjoying their lives.    

Today my goal was to get to Kamiah, Idaho.It started out with a minor chain issue on my bike. I stopped in a bike shop on the way in Lewiston, ID and was out in 10 minutes.  Once that issue was fixed I was ready to go. I started out riding through Lewiston and had to go up a hill so steep that I couldn't make it all the way up.  I had to get off and walk a quarter mile. I know I probably shouldn't tell that but it is the truth.   These are definitely not the rides that I'm use to.  The land in the west is on steriodscompared to where I'm from in Ohio.  It is absolutely beautiful though.  Majority of my ride today was a climb.  It took 4 hrs. 30 minutes to ride 40 miles.  Climbing the mountain was slow and exhausting.  It was nice to go down the mountain on the other side but needless to say I'm a flat lander and I'm tired of hills and mountains.  I don't mind looking at them but riding them is a different story.   I know I have a few more mountains ahead but I can at least prepare for them a little better.  When it says5000  feet of elevation I will have a better idea of how much that is.  I continue to follow the theme of "Just Keep Pedaling".  I know that with my faith and a little sweat I can accomplish anything.