WE MADE IT!

Looks like we made it into the paper again:

Another 'crazy guy on a bike'

Aug. 8, 2009

Lots of new photos: ALL PHOTOS

We walked onto the beach at the Atlantic ocean on August 8th! The name "Yorktown" has been so imprinted into my mind over the course of the trip that when I finally saw it printed on a road sign, I almost did a double take.

This has been an overwhelmingly fulfilling journey. I walk away with a renewed sense of faith in the goodness of people.

My journey will continue up the coast to NYC and beyond!

COOKIE LADY!

I finally had the exceptional honor of meeting the esteemed "Cookie Lady," June Curry. The Cookie Lady has reached a level of lore on the TransAmerica that is difficult to be matched by anything else. We started hearing stories of her home and her kind deeds as far back as the Oregon coast, and were pleased to find them all to be true!

June is a kindly older lady who lives in a proper three story brick house perched near the top of a steep hill above the town of Afton Virginia. She has lived in the same home since her birth, and for that reason history runs DEEP in her home. She has dedicated one of the buildings on her property as "The Bike House" (or bike 'who-ose' as she pronounces it). The building is filled top to bottom, wall to wall with bicycle memorabilia from the last 35 years. June's health is ailing, but her mind is filled with hundreds of stories that she loves to recount at a moments notice. She apologizes that she is often unable to remember all of the bicyclists she has taken in, as it has now been over 14,000! (yes, fourteen thousand!) She meticulously photographs each group who comes through her home, and catalog's them into a binder for year.

June is now recognized by the Adventure Cycling organization as a "Trail Angel" - or someone who has gone above and beyond to help cyclists on their way. My time at June's house was wonderful, and I feel like a better person to have had the opportunity to meet her. Thanks Cookie Lady!

June Curry - "The Cookie Lady" with Jackson and Heather. All Photos.

Leaving my little piece of memorabilia at The Bike House. All Photos.

Our Polaroid for the Cookie Lady's Records. All Photos.

Bicycle Memrobelia in "The Bike House" at the Cookie Lady's. All Photos.

5 Days Left!

Our voyage across the country is quickly coming to a close. It seems that every day we ride more than we had expected, resulting in an end date that was originally August 30th, then 20th, the 10th, and now the 8th!

The feel of the communities we are traveling through has been rapidly changing again. Gone are the Deliverance-esk scenes of rural Kentucky. We've had our fill of ratty trailers and even dirtier dogs. Crossing the state line into Virginia was like a breath of fresh air. In this dignified land, lawns were mowed, houses were firmly attached to their foundations, and the locals speak in a distinguished southern drawl. Today I had the pleasure of shopping at an all-organic market, and reading the Wall Street Journal for the first time in nearly 2 months! The biting smell of bulk flax seed and oats at the market instantly brought me back to grocery shopping at home in San Francisco. I miss good food!

The Appalachian mountains are turning out to be a BRUTAL ride. It seems whoever laid out the road system here decided to go straight over the mountains instead of following riverbeds and ridges, as is the style in the west. It seems there is never a break; we're either going straight up or straight down, there is no in between.

Yesterday our path crossed with the Appalachian Trail. This 2200 mile hiking trail runs through the mountain range running north-south. We had the opportunity to meet with a couple of hikers who had been out on the trail for 75 days. As bicyclists we are used to being on the bottom of the transportation totem pole. When we found out they had only managed to cover only 700 miles in that many days, we started to feel pretty good about our progress. :-) They were funny guys who obviously enjoyed a little (a lot) of herb on their trip. They had taken to wearing Hawaiian Sarongs, or skirts as they were calling them. It was a funny interaction, as these guys had obviously been on the road for a LONG time.

Finding Our Way. All Photos.


Following the "76" bike route across Virginia. Same route as the "BikeCentennial" in 1976! Left to right: John, Doug, Heather, Jackson, Dave. All Photos.

John in the Rolling Virginia Countryside. All Photos.

Either the Baptists have a REALLY good sense of humor, or they are completely oblivious. All Photos.

The Dogs are Getting OUT OF CONTROL!

As we ride deeper and deeper into Kentucky, the dogs are getting more and more out of control. Literally every house has a mass of vicious dogs, waiting for their moment to sprint. Any guilt we have previously felt about harming an animal has faded away. We have taken to riding as a tight pod of five, and are now armed to the hilt with every weapon we can conceive. The lead rider rarely has anything to worry about, as the dogs almost always chase the trailing rider. We've started to riding two-wide, thus one person can protect the back left of the group, and the other the back right, with one rider at "point" (front). Each of us has spray mace, and a box of "poppers." The latter of which are small paper-wrapped firecrackers that can be detonated by throwing them at the ground. With the lead rider screaming at the top of his/her lungs, and the trailers spraying and blowing up everything else, we have managed to avoid any bites. We're actually starting to have quite a time of it, and the constant distraction makes the miles melt away.

TODAY MARKS 2 MONTHS ON THE ROAD FOR JOHN AND I! HORRAY!

Kentucky! [This Post Written and Edited by Doug Lybeck]

July 23, 2009

We crossed into Kentucky this afternoon. The transition from Illinois was dramatic: strip malls to rolling hillsides. Each home tends to have an immaculate 4-5 acre lawn surrounding it. The amount of time Kentuckens spend mowing their lawns must be astonishing! The countryside accompanies the property very well, alternating between lush trees, hills, corn, soybean and tobacco crops.
Kentucky's residents LOVE their enormous, perfectly maintained lawns
All Photos



Me and my first Tobacco field.
All Photos

Other cyclists have been warning us for weeks about the dogs in Kentucky. They are NASTY! It seems like every other house has one or two BIG, MEAN dogs sitting on the property, ready and trained to attack cyclists. They often come out of nowhere, remaining silent until they are at full speed, right on your heels. We’ve tried a number of techniques to evade them, some with better success than others. John often tries to stop ahead of the dogs, resulting in them loosing interest and wandering off. I’ve tried the “pedal for dear life” approach, which is not really advisable because if they have already caught up to you they can easily outrun the bikes. Everyone is now carrying dog-mace or pepper spray which seems to be the most effective deterrent. We’ve only had to use it once thus far, and Heather relayed her experience as “turning a ferocious killing machine into a whining puppy” in a matter of seconds. I hope I don’t have to use the ¾ aluminum pipe I now carry on the bike, but I will if I have to.
One of the few ways to fend off attacking dogs.
All Photos

Churches continue to becone of our most reliable and welcoming places to camp. The Bob and his wife Violet took us in in Shawnee Kentucky, and treated us like royalty! Violet cooked us a wonderful southern style dinner of cornbread, beans + hamhock, salad, coleslaw and spiral cut ham. Showers, laundry and an air-conditioned place to sleep were greatly appreciated.

St Louis [This Post Written and Edited by Doug Lybeck]

July 21, 2009

We finished the Katy Trail in Missouri this afternoon in grand style. The trail technically ends in St Charles, but we decided to continue on into St Louis.

It’s been fascinating to watch the progression of real estate prices as we approached the city. Only 50 miles out, nice three bedroom homes can be had for as little as 20K! The small towns outside of the city are actually VERY nice. For some reason I had a bad image is Missouri in my head before I arrived, but I’ve been proven quite wrong.

John, Heather, Jackson, Dave and myself rode into the outer suburbs of St Louis, through Creve Coeur park and a series of interurban bike trails. Unfortunately the trails quickly ended and we found ourselves on packed city streets during rush hour. I’m used to city riding, but its significantly harder when fully loaded for touring, let alone with four other people trailing me. The others needed a Best Buy to find a new camera, so I decided to use the opportunity to sprint into downtown to see the arch! The tourist in me couldn’t resist. Downtown St Louis is very nice, much like most US cities. It had a slum period in the 70’s and 80’s, and has received a great deal of waterfront improvements over the last 20 years. The area directly downtown actually reminds me quite a bit of San Francisco.

Being an uber-tourist at the arch in St Louis
All Photos

We Got In The Newspaper!!

Amanda did an interview with the New Haven Register, and it looks like it got published!

New Haven Register - Connecticut