DAY 46 WED 5/18/10 95 MILES

STATS FOR THE DAY
-12:15 TO 3:00PM - 40 MILES
-1 HR BREAK
-4:00 TO 6:20 - 37 MILES
-50 MIN BREAK
-7:10 TO 9:20 - 18 MILES
-95 MILES TOTAL
-7 HRS 20 MIN
-12.9 AVG MPH
-ROUTE 45E TO ROUTE 11N
-AARONBURG,P.A. TO PLTMOUTH,P.A.
-OVERCAST/CHILI
-FLAT REAR TIRE #7 AND #8



FLAT TIRE #7 WAS A SLOW LEAK FROM A STAPLE.I FILLED IT UP ONCE HOPING IT WOULD GET ME TO THE END OF THE DAY BUT I WAS ON A GOOD ROLL SO I WENT FURTHER THEN I INTENDED.SO I STOPPED AND CHANGED THE TUBE OUT.AS I WAS GOING THROUGH AN INTERSECTION IN A TOWN IS WHEN FLAT TIRE #8 CAME TO HANG OUT.I HAD A MASSIVE BLOW OUT OF THE REAR TIRE.IT MADE A SOUND LIKE A GUNSHOT BECAUSE THE SIDEWALL OF THE TIRE BLEW OUT.I THINK THE SIDEWALL WAS SO BEAT UP BECAUSE OF ALL THE WEIGHT JUST OVER THE BACK TIRE MAKING IT SQUAT.SO AT 95 MILES FOR THE DAY I DECIDED TO CALL IT A DAY.LUCKILY I ENDED UP RIGHT OUTSIDE OF A CVS THAT HAD AN AWNING BECAUSE AS I WAS CHANGING THE TUBE AGAIN TO HAVE THE BIKE ALL READY FOR TOMORROW IT STARTED RAINING.I HAD TO USE ONE OF THE TWO SPARE NOBBY TIRES I BROUGHT WITH US.SO I DID SOME SWITCHING AROUND AND PUT THE NOBBY ON THE FRONT BECAUSE IT WILL SLOW ME DOWN LESS WITH LESS WAIT ON IT.

DAY 45 TUES 5/17/10 79 MILES

STATS FOR THE DAY
-1:30 TO 5:00PM - 40 MILES
-1 HR BREAK
-6:00 TO 9:00PM - 39 MILES
-79 MILES TOTAL
-6 HRS 30 MIN TOTAL
-12.1 AVG MPH
-OLD R22 TO R45
-EBENSBURG,P.A. TO AARONSBURG,P.A.
-OVERCAST/COLD
-HILLS/HILLS/HILLS

WE STAYED IN MILLHEIM,P.A. A COUPLE OF MILES WEST OF WHERE I STOPPED RIDING FOR THE NIGHT.POPULATION 900.WE ATE DINER AT THE ORIGINAL ITALIAN RESTAURANT IN TOWN,MET THE OWNER,HUNG OUT AND TALKED FOR A WHILE.IT WAS 9:45 WHEN WE GOT THERE AND HE CLOSED AT 10 SO WE WERE THE ONLY ONES IN THE PLACE AND HE WAS THE ONLY ONE WORKING.HE MADE US SOME VERY GOOD FOOD,WAS VERY COOL AND VERY ITALIAN.RIGHT OUT OF ITALY BROKEN ACCENT AND EVERYTHING.THATS A PIC OF ALL OF US IN HIS PLACE.

DAY 44 MON 5/17/10 55 MILES

Joe drying off in the car :)

Today we woke to it raining, I love the rain but felt bad for Joe. It rained ALL day never stopping. I met him at 20 miles and he was soaking wet. His rain suit, and bag covers for his bike all failed, everything was soaked. He dried himself off and defrosted with the heat of the car, he put on a different sweat shirt and went on his way. I went ahead and found a Walmart where I picked him up some big yellow dish washing gloves to put over his gloves and I got the rain proof spray so at least at the end of the day we could dry things out and spray everything to see if it will help. When I met him again he was drenched so we dried him out the best we could then he put his feet in fresh grocery bags and put on his yellow gloves. I met him 10 miles up because it was getting late and we didn't know if the small amount of weather proofing we would work. When I met him he was soooo much happier, he said that as long as his feet and hands were dry he didn't care if his body was wet. When we went to the trailer to get something out we saw our bed and it was sopping wet. So we had to get a hotel to dry everything out including Joe. Were going to hold our breaths to get to Connecticut dry :)

DAY 43 SUN 5/16/10 25 MILES

STATS FOR THE DAY
-1:30 TO 3:30PM - 25 MILES TOTAL
-12.5 AVG MPH
-PITTSBURGH,P.A. TO DEL MONTE,P.A.
-SUNNY/PERFECT

It was his rest day so he got 25miles in before resting for the day. That was just perfect because it got us out of the city. The city was crowded and hard to navigate through, road construction and one way roads made it hard for newbies like us to get through. We went to get a hotel and it was the most expensive one that we have had to pay for yet... long are the days of $30 motel rooms! We ordered food to be delivered, watched TV and relaxed. :)

DAY 42 SAT 5/15/10 69 MILES

STATS FOR THE DAY
-1:00 TO 9:00PM
-69 MILES TOTAL
-BLOOMINGDALE,O.H. TO PITTSBURGH,P.A.
-SUNNY/PERFECT
-HILLS,HILLS,HILLS,HILLS,HILLS,HILLS

I DON'T HAVE ANY RIDING TIMES BECAUSE WE WERE STOPPING AND GOING ALL DAY GETTING DIRECTIONS,GETTING LOST,BACK TRACKING,ZIG ZAGGING THROUGH PITTSBURGH.IT WAS A VERY TRYING DAY FOR THE BOTH OF US.AS WE GET CLOSER TO THE EAST COAST IT IS GETTING WAY MORE POPULATED AND MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO NAVIGATE OUR WAY.

This is him coming off the bridge he could go over, it was shut down due to road construction but it wasn't dangerous... It was kinda convenient that it was shut down so he didn't need to worry about cars running him over.This is the bridge that he couldn't go over

THATS THE I22 BRIDGE.WEST VIRGINIA WAS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER WHICH WE WENT THROUGH BRIEFLY BETWEEN OHIO AND PENN.

THIS IS A BRIDGE THAT I WENT OVER THAT WAS CLOSED.THE OTHER PIC OF A BRIDGE IS INTERSTATE 22 SO I COULDN'T GO OVER IT BUT THIS BRIDGE WAS CLOSED DOWN.THE ONLY OTHER WAY WAS A LOT OF MILES OUT OF THE WAY SO I TOOK A CHANCE AND IT TURNED OUT ALL GOOD.

DAY 41 FRI 5/14/10 108 MILES

STATS FOR THE DAY
-12:20 TO 3:45PM - 38 MILES
-40 MIN BREAK
-4:25 TO 5:35PM - 20 MILES
-25 MIN BREAK
-6:00 TO 7:50PM - 30 MILES
-15 MIN BREAK-8:05 TO 9:30PM - 20 MILES
-108 MILES TOTAL
-7 HRS 50 MIN
-13.7 AVG MPH-R40 TO R22
-KIRKERSVILLE,O.H. TO BLOOMINGDALE,O.H.
-CLOUDY/HOT/HUMID
-THE HILLS HAVE BEGUN


I RODE INTO THE NIGHT BECAUSE I WAS DETERMINED TO BEAT MY RECORD OF 103 MILES.

I WISH!
Joe went a million miles today so it was late and we were both hungry. I found a bar & grill a mile away called Franks Bar & grill. It had the best prices for food and drinks ever. Burgers, shrimp, chicken all priced $3 to $6 dollars. Well beer and shots were like $2.25 and we asked the super nice bartender if we could sleep in the parking lot and she said that it was more then fine.

DAY 40 THUR 5/13/10 90 MILES

This "limo" was at the truck stop we stayed at, it looked like a home made one out of a Lincoln it also had bricks behind the left side tires , I guess it had break issues. :)

THESE ARE PICS OF COLUMBUS,O.H.IT A WAS NICE CITY

STATS FOR THE DAY
-1:45 TO 5:00PM - 46 MILES
-25 MIN BREAK
-5:25 TO 8:30PM - 44 MILES
-90 MILES TOTAL
-6 HRS 20 MINS TOTAL
-14.2 AVG MPH
-R40
-VANDALIA,O.H. TO KIRKERSVILLE,O.H.
-OVERCAST/SUNNY/HUMID
-FLAT




-WE ATE BREAKFAST AT A WAFFLE HOUSE BECAUSE KAREN HAD NEVER BEEN TO ONE AND ITS MY FAVORITE CHAIN BREAKFAST JOINT.

DAY 39 WED 5/12/10 78 MILES

STATS FOR THE DAY
-2:15 TO 4:45PM - 40 MILES
-35 MIN BREAK
-5:20 TO 8:35PM - 38 MILES
-78 MILES TOTAL
-5 HRS 45 MIN TOTAL
-13.5 AVG MPH
-R40-CHARLOTTESVILLE,I.N. TO VANDALIA,O.H.
-OVERCAST/THUNDER STORMS/HUMID

I had to take a picture of Joe's favorite restaurant :)


We woke up today and it was raining... we got up fast and then headed back 30miles to get his debt card from the post office. It was raining so hard all the way back to post office, Joe's saddle bags had their "rain proof" covers on them so of coarse they were sopping wet! Joe went to the post office and a car drove by and splashed him and got him soaking wet. Joe has had a bad run of luck. I left him behind so I could go get a hotel because our bed and some other things got pretty wet. I pulled our bed out and put it in front of the hotel heater for a few hours to dry it out along with joe's extra riding clothes which got soaked also.

DAY 38 TUES 5/11/10 74 MILES

STATS FOR THE DAY
-1:30 TO 4:30PM - 45 MILES
-30 MIN BREAK
-5:00 TO 7:00 - 29 MILES
-74 MILES TOTAL
-5 HRS TOTAL
-14.8 AVG MPH
-R40
-MANHATTAN,I.N. TO CHARLOTTESVILLE,I.N.-OVERCAST/HUMID/WIND SW Today was pretty rough Joe had his mom overnight his debt card to a post office in Indianapolis yesterday and today, of course, they didn't have it! We found that out after a series of phone calls to many post offices. I went ahead today to go grocery shopping and go to the hardware store. When I was leaving I saw Joe peddling by so I stopped to tell him the news on his card. And he then told me he dropped his ipod and his ipod player on the road and a van ran it over! So that was really terrible. We found a closed down pizza shop and spent the night in that lot... there's a lot of abandon/close down building through this country.

DAY 37 MON 5/10/10 71 MILES

STATS FOR THE DAY
-1:30 TO 4:00PM - 35 MILES
-30 MIN BREAK
-4:30 TO 7:45PM - 36 MILES
-71 MILES TOTAL
-6 HRS 15 MIN
-11.8 MPH AVG
-GREENUP,IL TO MANHATTAN,IL
-OVERCAST/RAIN/WIND FROM SE
-FLATISH

-IT RAINED STEADY FOR THE LAST TEN MILES OR SO.

DAY 36 SUN 5/9/10 25 MILES

STATS FOR THE DAY
-1:20 TO 3:00
-1HR 40 MIN TOTAL
-25 MILES TOTAL
-15 MPH AVG
-EFFINGHAM,IL TO GREENUP,IL
-SUNNY/OVERCAST
-FLATISH


- TODAY WAS THE REST DAY SO WE GOT A MOTEL AND CAUGHT UP ON OUR CHORES LIKE CLEANING THE CAR AND TRAILER AND MAINTAINING THE BIKE.
-I SPRAYED ALL OF THE DRIVE TRAIN DOWN WITH BRAKE CLEAN[WHICH YOUR NOT SUPPOSED TO USE BECAUSE IT LEAVES A RESIDUE THAT DOESN'T MIX WELL WITH LUBE]LET IT DRY REALLY WELL AND LUBED THE CHAIN,SPROCKETS,AND DERAILERS.
-WE ALSO BOUGHT SOME NEW L.E.D. BULBS FOR THE TRAILER BECAUSE THEY ARE BRIGHTER AND SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO KEEP US FROM BEING HARASSED BY THE POLICE ANY MORE.WE WILL SEE HOW IT GOES
-TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION AUNT ANDREA WE ARE EXPECTING TO BE THERE BY THE END OF THE MONTH.I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO PUSH HARDER AND HARDER TO MAKE IT THERE AS QUICK AS COMFORTABLY POSSIBLE.
-WE HAVE BEEN TAKING LESS PICS BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN MOVING ALONG QUICKLY AS YOU CAN SEE.I PERSONALLY RATHER JUST KEEP MOVING MOST OF THE TIME RATHER THAN STOP MY WHOLE RHYTHM TO TAKE A PIC BUT I AM TRYING TO FIND A COMFORTABLE MEDIUM.IN THE LONG RUN I DO GET BETTER MILEAGE STOPPING LESS BUT I WANNA CAPTURE THE TRIP AT THE SAME TIME.

DAY 35 SAT 5/8/10 78 MILES

STATS FOR THE DAY
-12:15 TO 3:00PM - 37 MILES
-15 MIN BREAK
-3:15 TO 4:30PM - 13 MILES
-30 MIN BREAK
-5:00 TO 7:30PM - 28 MILES
-78 MILES TOTAL
-6 HRS 30 MIN TOTAL
-12.0 AVG MPH
-MARINE,IL TO EFFINGHAM,IL
-I70E TO 40E
-OVERCAST/NW WIND/COLD


STATS FOR THE WEEK
-530 MILES TOTAL
-75.7 MILES PER DAY
-14.0 MPH AVG


STATS FOR THE WHOLE TRIP
-2066 MILES TOTAL
-59.0 AVG MILES PER DAY
-163 HRS 25 MIN
-12.8 AVG MPH
-FLAT TIRE #6.REAR TIRE


IT WAS A SLOW LEAK TOWARD THE END OF THE DAY IN MY TUBE SO I TIED TO FILL IT A COUPLE OF TIMES TO TRY TO MAKE IT TO EFFINGHAM,IL BUT I CHANGED IT BECAUSE IT WAS LEAKING TO FAST.I WOULD HAVE HAD TO FILL IT UP TO MANY TIMES BEFORE I GOT THERE.


WE WOKE UP TO THE LOCALS HANGING OUT AND TALKING RIGHT OUTSIDE OF OUR TRAILER SO WE BLENDED RIGHT IN AND HUNG OUT FOR A WHILE.THEY TOLD US ABOUT THE BEST BREAKFAST IN TOWN 1 BLOCK DOWN FROM THE BAR AND GRILL WE WENT TO THE NIGHT BEFORE.WHEN WE WENT THERE IT WAS PACKED AND I SAW SEVERAL PEOPLE THAT I SAW IN THE BAR THE NIGHT BEFORE.CLASSIC SMALL TOWN STUFF I LOVE IT.

DAY 34 FRI 5/7/10 104 MILES

STATS FOR THE DAY
-1:15 TO 4:00PM - 52 MILES
-50 MIN BREAK
-4:50 TO 6:00 - 15 MILES
-20 MIN BREAK
-6:15 TO 8:15 - 37 MILES
-104 MILES TOTAL
-6 HRS TOTAL
-16.8 AVG MPH
-I70E TO 270N TURNED INTO 270E TURNED INTO I70E
-NEW FLORENCE,MO TO MARINE,IL
-OVERCAST/COLD/WINDY
-SMOOTH SAILING


THAT IS WAYNE WATKINS.HE WAS A REALLY NICE POLICE OFFICER THAT WE MET UNDER SOME FUNNY CIRCUMSTANCES.WE WENT INTO TOWN TO FIND A PLACE TO PARK FOR THE NIGHT AND TO EAT BECAUSE IT WAS COLD AND WE HAD A LONG DAY.AS WE PULLED INTO A GAS STATION IN TOWN TO ASK THEM WHAT WAS UP WAYNE PULLED IN BEHIND US BECAUSE OUR TAIL LIGHTS ARE REALLY DIM.WE STARTED TALKING,SWAPPED SOME STORIES AND EVERYTHING WORKED OUT.HE ASKED THE GAS STATION IF WE COULD PARK IN THERE LOT FOR THE NIGHT AND THEY WERE REALLY COOL ABOUT IT AND LET US.HE ALSO RECOMMENDED WE GO TO PHIL'S BAR AND GRILL 2 BLOCKS DOWN THE STREET.THEY HAD REALLY GOOD FISH AND GREAT PRICES AS WELL.WE HAD A GOOD NIGHT AND DAY OVER ALL.THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HOSPITALITY WAYNE.WE APPRECIATE IT HIGHLY.

I GOT MY 5TH FLAT TIRE OF THE TRIP.IT WAS THE REAR TIRE AGAIN JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER ONE.THOSE PUNCTURE PROOF GOO FILLED TUBES WORKED WELL FOR ME.TECHNICALLY I GOT 3 FLAT TIRES TOTAL TODAY.I NOTICED THE AIR PRESSURE ON MY REAR TIRE WAS LOW SO I STOPPED TO CHECK IT OUT.THERE WAS TWO HOLES IN THE TIRE WITH LIQUID BUBBLING OUT.ONE IN THE SIDE WALL ONE RIGHT IN THE CENTER.THEY STOPPED LETTING OUT AIR WHILE I WAS FINDING THEM SO I PUMPED THE AIR BACK INTO THE TIRE THAT IT LOST AND GOT ON MY WAY.MUCH QUICKER THEN CHANGING A TUBE.THE ONE THAT GOT ME WAS AT THE END OF THE DAY THOUGH.IT WAS A 2 INCH SCREW THAT BLEW OUT THE TUBE.YESTERDAY IT TOOK ME 20 MIN TO CHANGE THE TUBE TODAY 5 MIN.IT WAS AT 7:50PM I GOT THE FLAT AND I WAS ON A MISSION TO BEAT MY RECORD OF 103 MILES.I WOULD OF GOT A FEW MORE MILES IF IT WASN'T FOR THAT FLAT.

THE WIND WAS IN MY FAVOR SO I TOOK FULL ADVANTAGE ALL DAY LONG.I ATE LUNCH AT A WAFFLE HOUSE.A BUNCH OF LOCALS AND I WATCHED SOMEONE GET ARRESTED IN THE DRIVEWAY OF THE PLACE.IT WAS LIKE COPS LIVE.

DAY 33 THUR 5/6/10 71 MILES

STATS FOR THE DAY
-1:15 TO 3:15PM - 27 MILES
-45 MIN BREAK
-4:00 TO 8:00PM - 44 MILES
-71 MILES TOTAL
-6 HOURS TOTAL
-11.8 MPH AVG
-EUGENE,MO TO NEW FLORENCE,MO
-R54E TO I70E
-SUNNY/WARM
-LOTS OF UP HILL

THAT IS THE MISSOURI BRIDGE.

THIS IS THE MISSOURI RIVER AND A TRAIN PASSING BY.

THE SIGN IS REFERRING TO A COW TESTICLE EATING FESTIVAL.OTHER WISE KNOWN AS ROCKY MOUNTAIN OYSTERS,CALF FRIES, OR PRAIRIE OYSTERS.

THIS IS A BUG WE FOUND ON THE GROUND OUTSIDE OF OUR TRAILER.WHEN IT SPREAD ITS WINGS OUT EVEN FURTHER IT HAD MORE MARKINGS THAT LOOKED LIKE EYES.IT KINDA LOOKS LIKE A STINGRAY.

DAY 32 WED 5/5/10 76 MILES

STATS FOR THE DAY
-12:25 TO 3:20PM - 40 MILES
-30 MIN BREAK
-3:50 TO 6:10PM - 21 MILES
-40 MIN BREAK
-6:50 TO 8:00 - 15 MILES
-20 MIN PIT STOP-4:25 TO 4:45PM CHANGED REAR FLAT TIRE #4-TWO NAILS ONE PUNCTURE.
-76 MILES TOTAL
-6 HOURS 25 MIN
-11.8 AVG MPH
-BUFFALO,MO TO EUGENE,MO
-R73N TO R53E-SUNNY/HOT
-LOTS OF UP HILL


I TRIED THAT NEW FANGLED PUNCTURE PROOF TUBE WITH THE GOO IN IT THAT IS SUPPOSED TO FILL SMALL HOLES AND WHAT NOT. WE WILL SEE HOW IT GOES.THOSE KEVLAR TUBES ARE RALLY DURABLE AND GOT ME THIS FAR SO I AM GOING TO BUY SOME MORE OF THOSE WITHOUT A DOUBT.THE PUNCTURE PROOF ONES ARE HEAVIER THAN THE KEVLAR AS WELL.THEY ARE BOTH HEAVIER THAN REGULAR TUBES BY A DESCENT AMOUNT.

KAREN WENT UP 60 MILES TODAY.I ATE LUNCH AT A CREEK UNDER A BRIDGE OFF THE 54E LIKE A TROLL.ALMOST GOT BIT BY A DOG AND CHASED BY A COUPLE OTHERS.

DAY 31 TUES 5/4/10 93 MILES

STATS FOR THE DAY
-12:20 TO 3:15PM - 43 MILES
-50 MIN BREAK
-3:50 TO 5:00PM - 18 MILES
-1 HR BREAK
-6:00 TO 7:50PM - 32 MILES
-93 MILES TOTAL
-5 HOURS 10 MIN TOTAL
-18.6 AVG MPH-GRANBY,MO TO BUFFALO,MO
-R60E TO R65N TO JUNCTION OF 65N AND 73N
-SUNNY/HOT
-1/2 HILLS 1/2 FLATS



KAREN WENT AHEAD 60 MILES TODAY.I PACKED MY LUNCH AND MET UP WITH HER ON THE EASTERN SIDE OF SRINGFIELD,MO.

DAY 30 MON 5/3/10 73 MILES

STATS FOR THE DAY

-1:30 TO 3:40 - 31 MILES
-1 HOUR BREAK

-4:40 TO 8:00 - 42 MILES
-73 MILES TOTAL
-5 HRS 30 MIN TOTAL
-13.2 AVG MPH
-VINITA,OK TO GRANBY,MO

-R60E

-SUNNY/HOT
It was a nice night so we set-up a movie and snacks on the tail gate. We are staying in a church parking lot that had water and power it was very nice, no bathrooms though :(. I asked people who were at the church to see if we could set up camp they said that would be fine. I think I'm going to look at churches more because they were very nice about it and most of them will have external electricity. I think we wont be bothered by cops as much either :)

THAT IS KAREN FEEDING THEM GRAPES.THEY ALL STOOD THAT CLOSE BUT WOULD NOT EAT THE GRAPES FROM HER HAND.SO SHE THREW THEM OVER THERE AND WE WALKED AWAY.THATS WHEN THEY STARTED SHOVING EACH OTHER OVER EATING THE GRAPES OUT OF THE GRASS.SILLY COWS.

THIS IS A CLOSE UP OF THEM. THAT IS THE BACK OF OUR TRAILER ON THE RIGHT WHERE WE ARE COOKING OUR DINNER AT THE END OF THE DAY AND THAT IS A HERD OF COWS ON THE LEFT WHO ARE HIGHLY INTERESTED IN WHAT WE ARE DOING/COOKING.

THATS THE KIND OF TERRAIN I HAVE BEEN RIDING ON ALL DAY.I TOOK THIS AT THE VERY END OF THE DAY RIGHT BEFORE THE SUN SET.

YEAH WE GOT TO ANOTHER STATE!!!!!!!!

THESE ARE BABY BIRDS THAT SOMEONE FOUND IN THE AIR CONDITIONER OF THEIR ROOM.THE PIC BELOW IS WHEN WE FIRST CAME OVER TO TAKE PICTURES AND THE ONE ABOVE IS WHEN THEY REALIZED WE WERE THERE.THEY ARE CLEARLY LOOKING FOR FOOD.NO WORD ON WHAT THE OUTCOME WAS.

THESE PICS ARE OF THE MOTEL WE STAYED AT.