DC!!!!

First off, I need to thank my wife, Kathy, for her support in this endeavor to cross the US. Love her lots and can't wait to get home. My friend Stephen Noland, without his help and companionship may not have been able to pull this off. We arrived in DC yesterday at about 2:30pm. Yes, the heat and humidity of the past few days has been near impossible, the heat index over 115. We stayed in the small town of Shepardstown, WV and made the trip over to the Antietam Battlefield, very impressive and awe inducing. The shear thought of all of those people fighting and the shear destruction of humanity, lost 23,000 men in 1 day, should be a constant reminder to all the cost of war. The temp that day was about 104, would have been nicer to walk more of the area, but the heat won out. Later that day, we rode down to Harper's Ferry, WV and stayed the night there. Again, just very fascinating history and colonial architecture. Think I might bring Kathy back to this area, but not by bicycle. Yesterday on to DC. The C&O Canal Toll Path is ok to ride on, but just be prepared for no or limited services. Very hot and humid. It's a little confusing when you get to DC, but from the way our politicians do things, maybe that is par for the course. Today we cleaned the bikes, repacked our bags to ship home, and rested. Total of 3100 miles, not too bad for a couple of old guys. When we get home I will write a final synopsis of all this, the great sites we saw, great people we met along the way, and who knows what else. Thanks to all of you for joining me and Steve in this journey. John

Cumberland, MD

Well, the ride along the Greater Alleganehy Passage was fantastic!! A great Rail/Trail from Pittsburgh, Pa to Cumberland, MD. Met lots of very nice people. It was also nice to get away from hills, had a gentle upgrade of 1-3% but that is essentially flat after what we have traversed. After we crossed the Eastern Continental Divide (they actually think they have one) it was 20+ miles of downhill to Cumberland, MD. Lot's of history in this area, George Washington, Gen Braddock, French and Indian Wars, Revolutionary War, Civil War, etc. Is very fascinating and well worth the extra time we are taking to visit the area. We are about 3 days out of DC, but may continue to take our time and visit Harper's Ferry, Antietam Battlefield, etc. If you ever want to take an interesting bike ride, the ride from Pittsburgh, PA all the way to DC is well worth the effort. Miss Kathy and home quite a bit, can't wait to return. But, also very happy to be able to do this trip. Will catch up with you all later. John

NO MORE HILLS!!

So, we have made it a total of 2741 miles this far, a little around 300 more miles to go. After we left Columbus, we started the numerous days of hills and more hills. Several detours of about 8-9 miles to cover 2 miles because of freeway. Had several hills for the past few days at 15-20% climb, numerous hills of 8-12%. Now we start on the Allegahany trail and the CO Canal trail all the way to DC. It is relatively flat, old rail trail. Some interesting history in this area, but also lots of traffic and very little shoulder on the roads. In Morristown, Ohio we went through the Jamboree in the Hills, essentially a 4 day redneck woodstock with CW music and over 100,000 people. Lots of wife beater t-shirts and mullets, I guess that's still the style here in the hills. Don't know if we'll have much access from here to DC, but it has been an epic journey. Tomorrow is Kathy and I 29th anniversary, next year she and I go to Alaska for our 30th, by cruise boat!! Thanks, and we'll see you later. John

Middle of Ohio.....

Well, last we talked we (Steve and I) were in Bloomington, Ill. WE stayed the next day over in Normal, Ill. the home of Ill. State University. Had a good trip across the state, weather was very warm and humid. Made it across Indiana in 2 days with a stop in Kokomo. Continuing on we strayed into Ohio and stopped in Bella Fontaine and then to Columbus. Two days ago we went through very hot/humid conditions (heat index was 114), and I was not feeling very well. About 1:30 or 2 in the afternoon we watched a storm roll in from the North. In about 10-15 minutes the temp dropped 25 degrees, wind gusts up to 50 mph, etc. We found shelter in a garage of some nice folks and watched a massive thunder, lightning, rain storm for about 2 hours come over the top of us. Thank God for the kindness of strangers. Yesterday was about as perfect a day of riding as we have had, although Ohio has plenty of hills, it was kind to us. Cooler temps, lower humidity, and a tail wind most of the way. We were cruising at between 15-18 all day. Mind you, this is with loaded bikes. Staying at Ed and Barb's in Westerville overnight last night and today. Ed is Steve's Father in Law. Tomorrow we look to head out toward West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Probably pick up the River trail around Sat or Sun and then on to DC. Have booked our return flights for July 29. Linda Bauer, YES!!!! We did make it to Skyline Chili, thanks for the input. Looks as if we will be winding this up in the next 2 weeks, just hope to find a safe passage to DC and then home. Catch you all later. John

Where's Waldo....John

Well, it has been 7 or 8 days since we last logged in. Then we were in Seward, Nebraska; now we are in Bloomington, Ill. Have had several long days of riding, including a 96 miler yesterday and the day before, we rode 77 miles in the rain, thunder, and lightning. Mostly, the days are very hot and humid. After we left Seward, Nebr. we stayed in the Hotel Fitzgerald in Plattesmouth, Nebr and crossed the flooded Missouri the next morning. Not many options for cross the Missouri as the flooding is quite dramatic and extensive. In Iowa we tried to take US 34 across, but due to flooding, road closures, and being scared worse than I can remember on that highway (no shoulder, high speed trucks, etc.) we traveled south to Iowa Highway 2 and crossed the state that way. Iowa does not believe in shoulders on roadways, roads are very rough on us physically and on the bikes. Hell, they make Nebraska look good. We crossed the Mississippi at Ft. Madison, Iowa. Great cafe and bakery at Ivy's. Interesting little town, very much the Mississippi river town of Huck Finn era. In Iowa we also traveled through Amish country, the carraiges, etc. The farms are all immaculate, maybe we can all learn something about their simplicity and way of life. After crossing into Ill., we traveled on Ill Hiway 9 across the state and thus am now in Bloomington, Ill. Will be taking a day off tomorrow and then hitting the Indiana border the next day. So far we are over 2100 miles, a little over 700 left to go. Has been an adventure but miss Kathy and the family. Will try to keep you abreast of where we are at. John

Last day in Nebraska

We are in Seward, Nebraska taking a day of rest. I sorely need it, just feeling beat up and need a day to recoup. Our last day off was in Casper, Wyoming. The shoulders on the road (US 34) in Nebraska are harsh, very rough, feels like you hit a pot hole every 10-15 feet. Seward is a nice little town, true Americana, looks like you walked onto the set of Back to the Future. People are very pleasant and nice and we actually found at least one beer with some hops to it, limited flavor, kind of a wheat beer. It will do, looking for something more in Iowa. Tomorrow we head to the Nebraska border and hope to cross the Missouri River. Lot's of crossing are closed due to flooding, but we think we can cross over at Plattesmouth, Nebraska and then pick up US 34 again in Iowa. If anyone has any ideas, we are always open, including places to stay. Temps are supposed to go into the high 90's or even exceed 100 tomorrow and the next few days, with humidity. We will try for a very early start in hopes to avoid the real hot. Winds are to kick up to 20-30 mph out of the South, Southeast. Anyway, the adventure continues, we are more 1600 miles into this, a little over 1,000 to go. Take care, John

Adventures with no good beer

Well, tonight we are in Lexington, Nebr. Tomorrow we will stop in Kearney and visit with my brother Don; then on to Grand Island and visit other family there. Grand Island was where I was born. Yesterday we had a good tailwind, but mechanical problems forced us to call a shorter day then we desired and stayed at North Platte, today was a mixture of headwind, sidewind, and rain. 62 miles today. Our search for a good beer in Nebraska continues, and good coffee, and toilets that work on first flush. Other than that, it has been an adventure. The continued amazing thing is the very nice and hospitable people we meet, every day. We are now over half way. In Cozad, Nebr they state they are the 100th Meridian, thus we are now offically in the Eastern half of the US. Weather has been more than interesting, keeping a constant eye on the severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings, so far we have been on the edge of most of them. We get wet and wind, but have not had to seek shelter yet. So.....we continue on, looking forward to the next day!! John