Friday, May 7, 2010

Better Safe Than Sorry


We left Saturday morning (5/1/10) around 8:00 for our 3-day trial training ride. It was a beautiful day . . . not too hot. Ward had a hard time keeping the bike on track with our load . . . made the bike very wobbly, and I wondered how he would deal with this 4,000 miles! We did okay with hills, taking them slowly. We stopped a few times to rest and had lunch in Goshen, Va. and ate at a picnic table. Our ride on Rt. 629 to Douthat State Park was beautiful . . . nice and shady and a very pretty ride. We were tired when we got to our destination and had to ride another mile and a half to check into our campsite and then back - ugh . . . a total of 62 miles total. We got our tent set up and fixed our dinner (Hamburger Helper) which was not the most gourmet meal I've ever had and so I didn't eat much. All went well until 12:00 midnight when we felt drip, drip, drip on our faces . . . it had started to rain and we hadn't put the rain fly on the tent!! Ward rushed and got it on, and fortunately it did not rain hard. We both slept pretty well. The air matresses we got worked very nicely except they emitted an eerie sound when the air moved through them . . . I thought I was hearing something in the woods! ha I felt very tired and a bit weak the next morning and we decided not to go on to Cave Mountain Lake, but head for home. I did okay for about the first 40 miles but then was totally exhausted and didn't think I would be able to make it home. We stopped and I drank and ate and felt a little better and was able to make it home without an ounce of energy left!! I realized at that point that I could not do that every day for three months, so we had to make the grueling decision to abort our trip. Ward is absolutely the best . . . he said "I love you more than I would have loved to ride across the country." Not all is lost . . . we will continue to ride our bike, but probably without the load behind and not as far.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Another training day




We got all our gear together today (4/18) for a trial ride . . . quite different with a load on! It was only 45 degrees when we left but warmed up to the low 60s. Rode 32 miles to Mike and Melissa's. We were good and hungry when we got to their house and devoured chips and salsa!! Melissa fixed dinner for us and we headed for home, another 22 miles . . . the last 10 with a strong headwind, so we were glad to get home. We thanked God for our safety and a good ride!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Training Wheels

Had to get a picture of these beautiful daffodils; and the legs aren't bad either!




Would not have seen these in a car!



Another conditioning ride today. We drove to Warm Springs, Va. , parked the car and took off for an approximately 40-mile loop ride. What a beautiful day. . . perfect for riding . . . 71 degrees. We had gone approximately 20 miles and weren't sure of our turn so we asked two men if the road we were to turn on was ahead and they said "yes, but are you sure you want to take that way, it is really steep?" We said, "we're not scared" and on we went. We were half way up the hill and I said, boys, you were right!! We made it though and was it worth it when we got to the top . . . there was a beautiful 80-foot waterfall. Interestingly, at one time this waterfall had been 200 feet. We had brought a picnic lunch with us and found a place at a church to eat our lunch and we were off again. Luckily no more major hills, although I think Ward would have loved it if there were - he sees them as a real challenge!! Got back to our car and had ice cream, which tasted great after our long ride.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

It's started. We had our first conditioning ride of the year and it went well. We logged 18 miles in sunny 55 degree weather. It was great to be back on the bike and boy, do I have a great Stoker.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Our Journey - the beginning

This is a journey we've been planning since the summer of 2009 - a dream we share - riding our tandem across the country. We are amazed at what God has done in our relationship and biking is just one thing that we both love to do and we want to turn it into a "mission of sorts." I had a vision for a bike ministry before I met Ward and now it seems to actually be becoming a reality. We decided to do the ride for a cause and we both have a heart for the mission that we have supported for the last year. It all started after Ward's daughter, Karen, went on a trip to Cambodia in the summer of 2008. Her mission was to work with "Remember Nhu", an organization founded by Carl Ralston that helps save young girls from trafficking. You can learn more about "Remember Nhu" by going to http://www.remembernhu.org/.

We plan to start our journey May 15, 2010 in Yorktown, Va. and will end up in Astoria, Oregon. We plan to take three months to complete the trip. We will be camping along the way and also taking rest days and staying in motels. We hope you will follow along with us on our journey.