tonight marks the start of my fourth school year here at central missouri...(well, classes actually start tuesday, but our week of welcome events began tonight) we always start the week with a prayer and praise night that is geared mainly towards our returning students...it is a great way to give them a chance to reconnect and to focus and to prepare to invest in the new students.
i am sitting at my desk trying to accurately process the awesomeness of the night. the time of worship and prayer at campus house was so authentic and real...and it was all student lead. a number of different students lead prayer time, and it was raw and real and deep! quite frankly i was pretty blown away to say the least...not blown away by the worship and praying itself...but blown away by what was behind it...by what God is doing in students!
and then, at the end of that time, we challenged students to go on a prayer walk around campus...to intercede for people and places in a very real and tangible way. it is something that we have done the last couple of years, but there was something different about it this year. as i walked around campus, i saw so many students from our ministry taking it so seriously...
one girl was sitting outside of the art building, where she is an interior design major and spends so much of her time. another who is on the track team spent time sitting on the side of the track. and so many seemed to be so passionate about being present and interceding for what is going to happen on this campus this year. it truly was awesome!
it was a night to remember. it leaves a wonderful taste in my mouth...an excitement about this group...about what is happening in this place...about what God is doing!!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
Thanks to an Awesome Wife...
i have been trying to get some follow-up/final thoughts written on our trip...and i feel like one of the biggest is a huge thank you to my wife for being awesome!
during the trip and in the aftermath of it, i can't begin to express how many times people were shocked that i had a wife that would be willing to ride a bike across the country with me. but she did...and she was awesome to do it with!!
that is one of the very biggest reasons that i love my wife! she is passionate...she is willing to listen to my passions...and she is willing to invest in those passions. and that is exactly what happened with this trip! i would never have actually considered this trip, let alone done it, if she wouldn't have been willing to listen to my crazy ideas and to allow me to dream. but she did...she did all of that and so much more, and for that i am so thankful and i love her so much more because of it! not many women would be willing to jump on a bike and ride some 2800 miles just because their husband was crazy and was looking for an adventure...
...and i guess that is part of why i chose to call cailyn my wife!!
so thanks honey...i love you!!!
during the trip and in the aftermath of it, i can't begin to express how many times people were shocked that i had a wife that would be willing to ride a bike across the country with me. but she did...and she was awesome to do it with!!
that is one of the very biggest reasons that i love my wife! she is passionate...she is willing to listen to my passions...and she is willing to invest in those passions. and that is exactly what happened with this trip! i would never have actually considered this trip, let alone done it, if she wouldn't have been willing to listen to my crazy ideas and to allow me to dream. but she did...she did all of that and so much more, and for that i am so thankful and i love her so much more because of it! not many women would be willing to jump on a bike and ride some 2800 miles just because their husband was crazy and was looking for an adventure...
...and i guess that is part of why i chose to call cailyn my wife!!
so thanks honey...i love you!!!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Thoughts on the way our trip ended…
it didn’t end where we had originally planned…that was astoria, or. we didn’t make it quite to our alternate destination…that was yellowstone. but in some strange way, it just kind of seemed right that our trip ended in…lander, wy of all places.
it didn’t have the fanfare and welled up emotion type of a feel as we cycled in. instead, it just kind of happened…which i think is how some of the very best endings occurs. i know that for me personally, i can put all kinds of expectations on how something big…like an ending…is supposed to feel, and this allowed it to happened without the pressure of how it was supposed to feel. and yet, like I said, in the midst of all of that, it felt right.
it was our longest day of riding on the whole trip, 124 miles. and the transition that we experienced in the landscape over the last 40 miles or so was absolutely majestic! without a doubt a part of the trip that neither of us will ever forget!
i have also been thinking about the way the trip ended with respect to the elements of story, and i feel like there is much for me to learn there as well. here are some of the things i have been processing.
a good story does indeed take planning and initiative. very seldom does someone simply stumble into living a great story…it just doesn’t work that way. so, without a doubt, i believe that we must be intentional in the story we live and the way we are living it. however, i am realizing that even the best planned story must sometimes yield to the Great Storyteller and His ways and His plans! His timing is ultimate and supreme, and that is what matters more than anything else…and that is what makes for a great story above all else.
so…did it end the way that we had planned…absolutely not. are we glad that it ended the way that it did…absolutely. it was right and it was best…and that is what matters.
it didn’t have the fanfare and welled up emotion type of a feel as we cycled in. instead, it just kind of happened…which i think is how some of the very best endings occurs. i know that for me personally, i can put all kinds of expectations on how something big…like an ending…is supposed to feel, and this allowed it to happened without the pressure of how it was supposed to feel. and yet, like I said, in the midst of all of that, it felt right.
it was our longest day of riding on the whole trip, 124 miles. and the transition that we experienced in the landscape over the last 40 miles or so was absolutely majestic! without a doubt a part of the trip that neither of us will ever forget!
i have also been thinking about the way the trip ended with respect to the elements of story, and i feel like there is much for me to learn there as well. here are some of the things i have been processing.
a good story does indeed take planning and initiative. very seldom does someone simply stumble into living a great story…it just doesn’t work that way. so, without a doubt, i believe that we must be intentional in the story we live and the way we are living it. however, i am realizing that even the best planned story must sometimes yield to the Great Storyteller and His ways and His plans! His timing is ultimate and supreme, and that is what matters more than anything else…and that is what makes for a great story above all else.
so…did it end the way that we had planned…absolutely not. are we glad that it ended the way that it did…absolutely. it was right and it was best…and that is what matters.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Day 43 : The Pick Up...
this morning, we made contact with my aunt and uncle and made plans for them to come and pick us up in lander at around 4 pm.
after getting that all set up, i began calling around to different dentists to see if someone would be able to squeeze me in. i called 2 or 3 with no success, and then finally, i found a very sweet sounding receptionist who seemed determined to get me in. she said, "how does 9:30 work?". which sounded absolutely great considering that it was about 8:45 at that point in time.
cailyn and i got a few things together and walked the 5 or 6 blocks down to the dentists office. after filling out a little information, they promptly took me back and put me in a chair. before long, the dentist came in and asked what was going on. i gave him a summary of what had been going on over the past number of days. he then quickly looked at my abscess and decided that he could lance it and relieve most of the pressure, which would help the pain and also allow the antibiotic to start working much better. so, he numbed it a little and then that is exactly what he did. and i will be honest, it was a fairly painful process, but i can't begin to tell you how much better i began to feel as soon as the procedure was complete. my face no longer felt like it was going to explode.
so, with that out of the way, cailyn and i headed to the main drag of the town to find the bike shop and see about the possibility of them keeping our bikes until we came back through lander with mike and jenna on our way home next week. the bike shop was super generous in telling us they would be happy to keep our bikes for the week while we were in yellowstone.
we grabbed a little lunch at a great local place and then headed back to where our bikes were at (a great little grassy patch by a river and behind a hotel, where we were able to pay them a small amount of money to be able to shower), to pack up our gear and then ride our bikes back down to the bike shop.
we got our stuff all together, cycled to the bike shop, and just about had the bikes all settled in at the bike shop, when we got a call from my aunt and uncle. they had decided that for space reasons, it would be easiest if they just rented a small uhaul trailer to put some of their gear in and we could just put the bikes in there as well, in case we were interested in riding them around yellowstone at all.
we informed the bike shop of our change in plans, and they were still gracious enough to allow us to leave the bikes there until my aunt and uncle actually arrived. so, cailyn and i headed across the street to a pretty nice little bookstore/coffee shop and got a little coffee and sat and talked and read a little in a few different books that we found interesting on the shelves of the store. i have to say, it was nice to be able to just sit and read...something we really haven't done in the last 6 weeks.
and then, before long, my aunt and uncle called again...they were coming into town and needed to know where to meet us. so, we gave them directions on where we were and a couple of minutes later...they were there, ready to load us up and be our knight's in shining armor.
it is totally awe-inspiring to me the way that God works...to be literally thousands of miles away from anyone that we know, and yet to have relatives that end up being hours away when we are in need of someone to come and pick us up and take us the final miles of our journey. God...you are cool...real cool!! i am looking forward to continuing to process the overwhelmingness of that in the weeks to come!
so from here, we are off to yellowstone, to spend through friday with my aunt and uncle, then on saturday, cailyn's friend aimee who lives in montana is coming to see us, and on sunday our great friends mike, jenna, and sammie will come to hang out for a couple of days, before they will take us back to warrensburg.
sidenote: as i mentioned in the last post, over the next couple of weeks, i hope to do a number of different reflection types of posts.
thank you: thank you to all who have followed along and all who have been such an encouragement to us. it has been both exciting and humbling to have so many people join us for this journey. so, there really aren't proper words, but thanks!
after getting that all set up, i began calling around to different dentists to see if someone would be able to squeeze me in. i called 2 or 3 with no success, and then finally, i found a very sweet sounding receptionist who seemed determined to get me in. she said, "how does 9:30 work?". which sounded absolutely great considering that it was about 8:45 at that point in time.
cailyn and i got a few things together and walked the 5 or 6 blocks down to the dentists office. after filling out a little information, they promptly took me back and put me in a chair. before long, the dentist came in and asked what was going on. i gave him a summary of what had been going on over the past number of days. he then quickly looked at my abscess and decided that he could lance it and relieve most of the pressure, which would help the pain and also allow the antibiotic to start working much better. so, he numbed it a little and then that is exactly what he did. and i will be honest, it was a fairly painful process, but i can't begin to tell you how much better i began to feel as soon as the procedure was complete. my face no longer felt like it was going to explode.
so, with that out of the way, cailyn and i headed to the main drag of the town to find the bike shop and see about the possibility of them keeping our bikes until we came back through lander with mike and jenna on our way home next week. the bike shop was super generous in telling us they would be happy to keep our bikes for the week while we were in yellowstone.
we grabbed a little lunch at a great local place and then headed back to where our bikes were at (a great little grassy patch by a river and behind a hotel, where we were able to pay them a small amount of money to be able to shower), to pack up our gear and then ride our bikes back down to the bike shop.
we got our stuff all together, cycled to the bike shop, and just about had the bikes all settled in at the bike shop, when we got a call from my aunt and uncle. they had decided that for space reasons, it would be easiest if they just rented a small uhaul trailer to put some of their gear in and we could just put the bikes in there as well, in case we were interested in riding them around yellowstone at all.
we informed the bike shop of our change in plans, and they were still gracious enough to allow us to leave the bikes there until my aunt and uncle actually arrived. so, cailyn and i headed across the street to a pretty nice little bookstore/coffee shop and got a little coffee and sat and talked and read a little in a few different books that we found interesting on the shelves of the store. i have to say, it was nice to be able to just sit and read...something we really haven't done in the last 6 weeks.
and then, before long, my aunt and uncle called again...they were coming into town and needed to know where to meet us. so, we gave them directions on where we were and a couple of minutes later...they were there, ready to load us up and be our knight's in shining armor.
it is totally awe-inspiring to me the way that God works...to be literally thousands of miles away from anyone that we know, and yet to have relatives that end up being hours away when we are in need of someone to come and pick us up and take us the final miles of our journey. God...you are cool...real cool!! i am looking forward to continuing to process the overwhelmingness of that in the weeks to come!
so from here, we are off to yellowstone, to spend through friday with my aunt and uncle, then on saturday, cailyn's friend aimee who lives in montana is coming to see us, and on sunday our great friends mike, jenna, and sammie will come to hang out for a couple of days, before they will take us back to warrensburg.
sidenote: as i mentioned in the last post, over the next couple of weeks, i hope to do a number of different reflection types of posts.
thank you: thank you to all who have followed along and all who have been such an encouragement to us. it has been both exciting and humbling to have so many people join us for this journey. so, there really aren't proper words, but thanks!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Day 42 : Our Longest Day Yet...And Our Last...
From Rawlins, WY to Lander, WY -
Story [in numbers]:
Story [in words]:
in response to the brutal day, with respect to the wind, that was yesterday, we decided to get up with the sun and get riding. with that in mind, we were on the bikes at 5:45 riding to beat the wind. and we were riding along with our new friend, eli...a guy who ended up camping next to us at the campground last night...he started in new york and has pretty much made his own way across the country until just joining the transam yesterday.
we cycled along with eli for the first hour and a half of the morning...however, eli was talking about really wanting to push the miles and was hoping to get to lander...which we thought sounded absolutely crazy, even if the winds were good...because it would mean riding in the range of 124 miles for the day. so, after 20 miles or so, eli decided that he was going to push ahead of us in an attempt to get to lander. we wished him well and watched him ride off into the distance.
we rode another 12 miles or so, and came across this place called grandma's cafe. now what i should mention is that, shortly after we left rawlins, we entered the great basin, which is basically this huge bowl of nothingness in the middle of wyoming. but in the middle of this bowl of nothingness...literally in the middle of nowhere...was this cafe called grandma's. we cycled up, poked our heads in to make sure they were opened, and grabbed a seat to get some breakfast. the food was pretty good...although grandma seemed a little quiet and like she was maybe getting up in age a little bit.
a number of days ago, we made a tentative plan to ride to a city called jeffery city...however, we heard a couple of days ago from some eastbound cyclists that jeffery city was a pretty shady place and that we probably didn't want to stay there. so, with that information in mind, as we sat at grandma's, we studied the maps to decide where our ending point for the day would be. it was at that point that we realized that the best thing for us would be to make an attempt to push on to lander as well...so, as crazy as it seemed, we got back on the bikes, hoping to make the day total in the range of 124 miles.
we cycled and cycled, through mostly nothingness...the scenery was pretty bland, the ground fairly flat, and the winds relatively calm. until about 3:00, when we had completed about 75 total miles for the day. the winds began to pick up, as a very obvious sheet of rain began to build out in the distance. and before long, we were in the middle of the storm, with rain spitting on us and the winds gusting at what had to have been 30 mph. by about 4:15, we managed to make it through the storm to a rest area that was at about 85 miles for the day. there was camping in the area, so we were debating about whether we should just stay there for the night, or wait out the storm a little bit and then try to finish the 39 miles into lander...which we did know was mostly downhill.
when we actually got inside the rest area, we found about 7 other cyclists inside, one of whom was eli...he apparently was not able to push as hard as he had hoped and he had arrived at the rest area just about 20 minutes before we had. we talked with him for a little while and the three of us decided that we would wait the storm out a little while and if it cleared by about 5, we would push on together into lander.
the storm did clear, and by about 5 the skies were mostly blue and the winds were completely calm. so, eli, cailyn and i got back on the bikes and headed out. we had to climb about 300 feet as we left the rest area, and then as we crested the hill and began an amazingly long downhill, we found that the scenery had completely changed and that we were looking at one of the prettiest scenes of the trip. beautiful rolling hills for what seemed to be as far as the eye can see.
the ride into lander was indeed almost completely downhill and the three of us were able to make the 39 mile trek in just a little over 3 hours. and man were we glad that we pushed on to finish the day. it was really nice to be in a town of a little size and it also felt pretty cool to be able to say that we had gone 124 miles...easily 20 miles further than we had ever ridden.
however, as the day passed and the miles mounted, the abscess on my tooth and gum were continuing to grow and become more uncomfortable. since visiting the doctor on thursday, i would say that the abscess had easily doubled in size. so, when we arrived in town and i finally had cell reception again, i called my parents to get their medical perspective on things (my mom is a dental hygentist and my dad, a pharmacist).
after some discussion, it was decided that it was probably time for me to see another dentist and that it was probably also in my best interest to stop the cycling. the fear was that my body was just having too much trouble healing and doing all the cycling. we were just days away from our final destination of yellowstone...but it just didn't seem worth it to continue to push things at the risk of my bodies health.
here is where God is just absolutely amazing. as it turns out, my aunt and uncle, who were were supposed to be meeting in yellowstone in a few days, are in cody, wyoming for the night, which is just a couple of hours north of where we are right now. so, the plan is that we will try to make contact with them in the morning and see if there is any way they could come and pick us up and take us with them to yellowstone...and in the meantime, i will try to see another dentist and see what the next step in the process might be with this abscess.
it is a little hard to fathom that this is probably the end of the cycling portion of our trip. it is hard to believe that we are to that point already. we certainly would have liked to be able to cycle the final 3 days into yellowstone, but it is still pretty crazy to think that 42 days ago we were in yorktown, va, dipping our rear tires in the atlantic ocean, and now, we are in lander, wy. it really is crazy!
hopefully, over the next couple of weeks, i will write a few different posts reflecting on the ending, processing some of what we learned and what God is teaching us, and also a trip in review post where we will try to reflect back on some of the best moments and "award winning" people and places.
Story [in numbers]:
Story [in words]:
in response to the brutal day, with respect to the wind, that was yesterday, we decided to get up with the sun and get riding. with that in mind, we were on the bikes at 5:45 riding to beat the wind. and we were riding along with our new friend, eli...a guy who ended up camping next to us at the campground last night...he started in new york and has pretty much made his own way across the country until just joining the transam yesterday.
we cycled along with eli for the first hour and a half of the morning...however, eli was talking about really wanting to push the miles and was hoping to get to lander...which we thought sounded absolutely crazy, even if the winds were good...because it would mean riding in the range of 124 miles for the day. so, after 20 miles or so, eli decided that he was going to push ahead of us in an attempt to get to lander. we wished him well and watched him ride off into the distance.
we rode another 12 miles or so, and came across this place called grandma's cafe. now what i should mention is that, shortly after we left rawlins, we entered the great basin, which is basically this huge bowl of nothingness in the middle of wyoming. but in the middle of this bowl of nothingness...literally in the middle of nowhere...was this cafe called grandma's. we cycled up, poked our heads in to make sure they were opened, and grabbed a seat to get some breakfast. the food was pretty good...although grandma seemed a little quiet and like she was maybe getting up in age a little bit.
a number of days ago, we made a tentative plan to ride to a city called jeffery city...however, we heard a couple of days ago from some eastbound cyclists that jeffery city was a pretty shady place and that we probably didn't want to stay there. so, with that information in mind, as we sat at grandma's, we studied the maps to decide where our ending point for the day would be. it was at that point that we realized that the best thing for us would be to make an attempt to push on to lander as well...so, as crazy as it seemed, we got back on the bikes, hoping to make the day total in the range of 124 miles.
we cycled and cycled, through mostly nothingness...the scenery was pretty bland, the ground fairly flat, and the winds relatively calm. until about 3:00, when we had completed about 75 total miles for the day. the winds began to pick up, as a very obvious sheet of rain began to build out in the distance. and before long, we were in the middle of the storm, with rain spitting on us and the winds gusting at what had to have been 30 mph. by about 4:15, we managed to make it through the storm to a rest area that was at about 85 miles for the day. there was camping in the area, so we were debating about whether we should just stay there for the night, or wait out the storm a little bit and then try to finish the 39 miles into lander...which we did know was mostly downhill.
when we actually got inside the rest area, we found about 7 other cyclists inside, one of whom was eli...he apparently was not able to push as hard as he had hoped and he had arrived at the rest area just about 20 minutes before we had. we talked with him for a little while and the three of us decided that we would wait the storm out a little while and if it cleared by about 5, we would push on together into lander.
the storm did clear, and by about 5 the skies were mostly blue and the winds were completely calm. so, eli, cailyn and i got back on the bikes and headed out. we had to climb about 300 feet as we left the rest area, and then as we crested the hill and began an amazingly long downhill, we found that the scenery had completely changed and that we were looking at one of the prettiest scenes of the trip. beautiful rolling hills for what seemed to be as far as the eye can see.
the ride into lander was indeed almost completely downhill and the three of us were able to make the 39 mile trek in just a little over 3 hours. and man were we glad that we pushed on to finish the day. it was really nice to be in a town of a little size and it also felt pretty cool to be able to say that we had gone 124 miles...easily 20 miles further than we had ever ridden.
however, as the day passed and the miles mounted, the abscess on my tooth and gum were continuing to grow and become more uncomfortable. since visiting the doctor on thursday, i would say that the abscess had easily doubled in size. so, when we arrived in town and i finally had cell reception again, i called my parents to get their medical perspective on things (my mom is a dental hygentist and my dad, a pharmacist).
after some discussion, it was decided that it was probably time for me to see another dentist and that it was probably also in my best interest to stop the cycling. the fear was that my body was just having too much trouble healing and doing all the cycling. we were just days away from our final destination of yellowstone...but it just didn't seem worth it to continue to push things at the risk of my bodies health.
here is where God is just absolutely amazing. as it turns out, my aunt and uncle, who were were supposed to be meeting in yellowstone in a few days, are in cody, wyoming for the night, which is just a couple of hours north of where we are right now. so, the plan is that we will try to make contact with them in the morning and see if there is any way they could come and pick us up and take us with them to yellowstone...and in the meantime, i will try to see another dentist and see what the next step in the process might be with this abscess.
it is a little hard to fathom that this is probably the end of the cycling portion of our trip. it is hard to believe that we are to that point already. we certainly would have liked to be able to cycle the final 3 days into yellowstone, but it is still pretty crazy to think that 42 days ago we were in yorktown, va, dipping our rear tires in the atlantic ocean, and now, we are in lander, wy. it really is crazy!
hopefully, over the next couple of weeks, i will write a few different posts reflecting on the ending, processing some of what we learned and what God is teaching us, and also a trip in review post where we will try to reflect back on some of the best moments and "award winning" people and places.
Day 41 : Wyoming = Windy...
From Saratoga, WY to Rawlins, WY - 44.2 miles
Story [in numbers]:
Time on bike: 5:13:59
Average speed: 8.4 mph
Max Speed: 23.8 mph
Story [in words]:
we woke up this morning to a beautiful sunrise over the lake and mountains that were just off to the one side of our tent. and to our pleasant surprise, the winds were not blowing at the moment. so, we got loaded up, ate a few pop tarts, and got out on the bikes.
the beginning of the morning was nice...it seemed like we were going generally downhill, and we were able to ride next to each other quite a bit, which was really nice. (wyoming seems to generally have nice wide shoulders) before long, we found ourselves riding up to a lady with a stop sign for some apparent construction ahead. we heard her say to the car in front of us that she would have to wait about 14 minutes...but as we cycled up to her, she asked if we wanted to go or if we needed a break...we said that we would like to go ahead as we were trying to beat the wind. she radioed ahead to make sure that it was okay, and after getting the 10-4, she told us to go ahead. it was fun because there was a pilot car (truck) taking traffic back and forth, and every time the lady would drive past us, she would give us the biggest wave you have ever seen.
unfortunately, a couple of hours into our ride, the wind did pick up, and the cycling became quite difficult. as we neared walcott, we knew that we were going to be making a road change, but weren't sure what road we were getting on...we pulled out the maps, and to our surprise, it said that we were supposed to ride on i-80. in most states it is illegal to ride a bicycle on an interstate, but apparently not in wyoming. it was definitely a little scary, but there was more than adequate shoulder, and so we felt like we were safely clear of the traffic.
we continued to make very very slow headway as we worked our way into rawlins. we had had hopes of going past rawlins today, but the wind had thoroughly demoralized us, and we were confident that going further was not going to be in the plans for today. as i was cycling, i was thinking that if there is ever an alternative needed for chinese water torture, maybe they could just put people on a bicycle and tell them to ride straight into a 20-30 mph headwind for an hour or two. it was demoralizing to say the least.
after a stop for lunch at taco bell and a trip to the grocery store to stock up for tomorrow, we pedaled across town to our campsite for tonight. it is a very nice place for a fairly reasonable price...i think it gets the award for the best campsite on the route so far.
so, it is going to be early to bed tonight, and then the plan is to get up and be ready to pedal out with the sun. the forecast is for less winds tomorrow, but regardless, the winds are almost always more favorable in the early hours, so we are going to try to knock out as many miles as we can before things get hairy. hopefully it is better than today.
Story [in numbers]:
Time on bike: 5:13:59
Average speed: 8.4 mph
Max Speed: 23.8 mph
Story [in words]:
we woke up this morning to a beautiful sunrise over the lake and mountains that were just off to the one side of our tent. and to our pleasant surprise, the winds were not blowing at the moment. so, we got loaded up, ate a few pop tarts, and got out on the bikes.
the beginning of the morning was nice...it seemed like we were going generally downhill, and we were able to ride next to each other quite a bit, which was really nice. (wyoming seems to generally have nice wide shoulders) before long, we found ourselves riding up to a lady with a stop sign for some apparent construction ahead. we heard her say to the car in front of us that she would have to wait about 14 minutes...but as we cycled up to her, she asked if we wanted to go or if we needed a break...we said that we would like to go ahead as we were trying to beat the wind. she radioed ahead to make sure that it was okay, and after getting the 10-4, she told us to go ahead. it was fun because there was a pilot car (truck) taking traffic back and forth, and every time the lady would drive past us, she would give us the biggest wave you have ever seen.
unfortunately, a couple of hours into our ride, the wind did pick up, and the cycling became quite difficult. as we neared walcott, we knew that we were going to be making a road change, but weren't sure what road we were getting on...we pulled out the maps, and to our surprise, it said that we were supposed to ride on i-80. in most states it is illegal to ride a bicycle on an interstate, but apparently not in wyoming. it was definitely a little scary, but there was more than adequate shoulder, and so we felt like we were safely clear of the traffic.
we continued to make very very slow headway as we worked our way into rawlins. we had had hopes of going past rawlins today, but the wind had thoroughly demoralized us, and we were confident that going further was not going to be in the plans for today. as i was cycling, i was thinking that if there is ever an alternative needed for chinese water torture, maybe they could just put people on a bicycle and tell them to ride straight into a 20-30 mph headwind for an hour or two. it was demoralizing to say the least.
after a stop for lunch at taco bell and a trip to the grocery store to stock up for tomorrow, we pedaled across town to our campsite for tonight. it is a very nice place for a fairly reasonable price...i think it gets the award for the best campsite on the route so far.
so, it is going to be early to bed tonight, and then the plan is to get up and be ready to pedal out with the sun. the forecast is for less winds tomorrow, but regardless, the winds are almost always more favorable in the early hours, so we are going to try to knock out as many miles as we can before things get hairy. hopefully it is better than today.
Day 40 : Our 7th and Final State...
From Walden, CO to Saratoga, WY - 75 miles
Story [in numbers]:
Time on bike: 6:20:40
Average speed: 11.8 mph
Max speed: 44.6 mph
Story [in words]:
The day had an interesting beginning. i was just about to get out of the tent, when i heard a pitter patter across the tent. we had noticed before we set up our tent that the grass seemed awfully green...which we had heard could be a bad sign when you are west of kansas...a bad sign because it means there is a good chance they have sprinklers. and sure enough...they did.
i promptly got out of the tent (between sprinkler bursts, of course) and moved the bikes so that at least they weren't getting wet. however, just about the time that i got the bikes situated out of the way of the rain (sprinklers), they shut off. so, i moved the bikes back by the tent and then removed the rain fly to put it over the fence so that it could dry a little. meanwhile, cailyn was finishing packing things up inside the tent. she just about had everything packed up, and we heard another noise...another set of sprinklers had turned on. now, not only were the bikes getting wet, but the inside of the tent was getting wet. so, i quickly tried to put the rain fly on as quickly as i could in a makeshift kind of a way. needless to say, by the time everything was said and done, the vast majority of the things we had were wet.
we finally got things loaded and headed back to the moose cafe to grab some breakfast. we enjoyed eggs, bacon, toast, and one gigantic cinnamon roll. we finally got on the road at about 9.
the cycling today was relatively easy, with just one substantial climb in the middle. we made our way to the summit of the climb and as we arrived at the top, there was a fairly dark looking cloud just off to our left. we were resting for a moment and preparing to descend when we saw a gnarly lightning bolt strike. we decided it was time to go, and fast. so we headed down the other side, and as luck (or unluck) would have it, it began to rain...big, cold drops.
thankfully, we seemed to be able to outrun both the rain and the lightning...and the cycling returned to fairly easy normal going. we stopped in a cute little town to make some peanut butter bagels...it was there that we ran into the two ladies from the netherlands that we have been playing leap frog with the last couple of days. we shared some nice conversation with them and then got back on the road to cover the last 18 miles for the day.
we made really good time finishing the day,,,maybe partially due to our excitement about the rumored hot springs. we rolled into town and headed straight for the springs. we changed into our swim suits and went down to the spring. and man was it hot...so hot that i could only put my legs in and cailyn was only able to put her feet in. so after a little while, we went down to the river that ran right alongside it and enjoyed a slightly cooler hotness (if there is such a thing).
we headed inside and took showers and hopped back on the bikes to find a place to eat. we finished the night with a good meal at a local eating establishment, a quick trip (unfortunately uphill) to the grocery store to pick some stuff up for tomorrow, and then out to a lake just outside of town that has camping. and man, it was a mosquito haven...it was a quick set up and then get into the tent as fast as we could.
oh, and by the way...we are into wyoming...our 7th and final state on the trip...
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