Pictures. Get your pictures here. Get them while they are HOT!
If anyone is reading this and would like to read descriptions about the pictures linked to above, please send an e-mail to Scott Hadley at scott@live2ride.org. I'm sure he'll get right on it. Please send e-mails to Scott to express how important it is that you all feel a part of his grand adventure, and how you would like to see some comments and descriptions on these photos. :)

It has been too long since I have last written. I have been very busy and the time has been flying by. I had planned to post in Valparaiso, but I meet my relatives and went to Chicago. Then on the next rest day I augmented the route and I have just now been able to got on line. I will try to do the best I can in remembering what I have done on each day.

Day 40 Burton, OH
3-Aug-07
92 Miles

We were a little soft after our vacation from our vacation, but we muscled through. It took a little while for the knees to get greased up, but then it was OK. We rode along Lake Erie most of the day. It was quite nice. We went through Cleveland and then it got a little hilly. We hadn't seen any climbing in a week. We caught up with everyone and know we are ready for the last week.

Day 37 Napoleon, OH
1-Aug-07
70 Miles
And
Day 38 Sandusky, OH
2-Aug-07
87 Miles
And Day 39

If you thought yesterday was long...today was even longer. Napoleon, OH was only a lay over. We decided that we were going to double up today. We went right though Napoleon and headed towards Sandusky. We stopped long enough to get our toothbrushes and and extra set of clothes and we were gone. Tom, Alison, Cari and I were looking for a bonus rest day. By getting to Sandusky we would have 2 consecutive rest days. This was so we could go to Cedar Point and still have a day to rest. We made it into Sandusky by 8:30 PM and Alison had called Nancy to arrange accommodations - THANK YOU! We were set up for three nights in a real bed. The next day when everyone else was riding to Sandusky we were riding roller coasters. It was a little hot and humid, but it was a blast. The next day we did nothing but rest-a little-nap-TV-eat-nap-TV-eat-TV-Sleep-Very nice.

Day 36 Kendallville, IN
31-Jul-07
109 Miles

This was a long hot day with bonus miles- we got lost. At the end of the day it is hard to keep the cue sheet straight. This one was tough because it had two Main Street turns, unfortunately they were in different towns. We only missed it by about 5 miles. Total miles on the day 120!

Day 35* Valparaiso, IN
Rest Day

Today was a fun day. I saw my Aunt Sheri, Uncle Mel and Cousin Krissy. They came down from Grand Rapids, MI and took me to Chicago where we were able to meet up with up my other cousin Steve. We ate at the Weber Restaurant. Here they cook on huge Weber Grills. After lunch we went to Garretts' Popcorn. They only sell popcorn and the line was out the door. It was that good. We drove around the city and saw some of the sites. We had a great time.

Day 34 Valparaiso, IN
29-Jul-07
82 Miles

Day 33 Morris, IL
28-Jul-07
104 Miles

Day 32 Belvidere, IL
27-Jul-28
83 Miles

Day 31 Madison, WI
26-Jul-07
100 Miles

After a long hot day we had a great reception at camp. Bob D. and Dan S.'s families met us there and cooked a great meal. Brats and salads and frozen custard( which is just like ice cream).

Day 30 Viroqua, WI
24-Jul-07
66 Miles

Day 29 Winona, MN
23-Jul-07
89 Miles

It rained last night and continued for about the first two hours of the ride today. Then it cleared up and was a fairly nice day. We were under the cover of the Beer Garden so I have yet to sleep in the rain. Tonight we stay at the dorms in Winona which is a nice treat.

Day 28 Owatonna, MN 22-Jul-07
72 miles

We left New Ulm and made it to Owatonna. Here I had a great dinner at Famous Dave's. Dense, Tom's girlfriend met us again and drove us around-and sprang for dinner. Then we went to the hugest sporting goods store in the world. It had every dead animal you could think of either stuffed or hanging on the wall. On the way back to the fairgrounds we stopped for ice cream. I had a soft serve cone that reached from my elbow to the tip of my fingers. I did not loose a single drop.

July 23, 2007 - Day 29
Owatonna, MN to Winona, MN
89 miles

At 2:30am I woke up to rain. We were staying at the fairgrounds and some(most) of us stayed in the Beer Garden which was closed in and covered, some did not. I figured that a midwestern thunderstorm would move through pretty fast and be gone by the time we were leaving. It didn't. 6:00am rolled around and it was still raining. It did stop about 7:30 or so and was fine the rest of the day. The weather and landscape was just like Santa Rosa, what appeared to be a cool marine layer, rolling hills, but instead of grapes it was corn, and instead of the ocean we had Wisconsin. Riding in the rain didn't seem to be anyone's favorite thing to do, but it did make the morning go fast. Ane's and Liz's family had set up a great rest stop in Rochester, MN. Strawberry-Rhubarb pie, fresh fruit, water, and a whole lot more-Thank you.

Tonight we are at Winona State University and tomorrow we are off to our next state, Wisconsin. Over 2000 miles down and only 18 days to go. It is going by fast. If anyone is reading this and would like to see pictures please send an e-mail to Greg Hadley at knighte2@aol.com. I'm sure he'll get right on it. He has only had them for about two weeks now and I have sent him 3 updates which have yet to make it on the website. Please send e-mails to Greg to express how important it is that you all feel a part of my grand adventure, and how you would like to see some photos.

July 22, 2007 - Day 28
New Ulm, MN to Owatonna, MN
72 miles

We left New Ulm and headed out. It had to be an uneventful ride because it was only yesterday and I can't remember it. We did have one rest stop where Tom's girlfriend, Denise, bought donuts for everyone and that made for a nice rest. When we hit town Denise was about 5 miles from the finish on her bike and rode in with Tom and I. Then it got really good. She had her car and drove us out to Famous Dave's for some really good Bar-B-Que. And that was across the street from Carbella's Sporting Goods Store-It is Huge!!!! (Mega Wal-Mart-Tiny) Then Tom's brothers also showed up to cheer him on.

July 21, 2007 - Day 27
New Ulm, MN
Rest Day

I got up and went downtown to find some breakfast. The main street was very nice and the weather was great. Mid 70's, no humidity, slight breeze, and yes it is July. After breakfast I moved down the street to the cafe to work on this blog. This is harder than I thought it would be.

I took a break and went to the childhood hood home of Wanda Gag. She is the author of Millions of Cats and other books. New Ulm, MN was here childhood home. She was primarily an artist and was famous for her lithographs. She was the first person to use the double page in publishing. This is when the text and picture encompass both pages when looking at an open book. The house was built in 1895 or so and the tour let you walk through the whole house-all the way up to the attic. That was interesting to me because it seems that whenever you go on tours of historical buildings they never let you anywhere but the main floor. No restrictions on this self guided tour.

Then it was back to the cafe to write some more of this. Later Alison and Nancy came to the cafe and we went to see the new Harry Potter movie and the had dinner. We ate at an authentic German restaurant in the heart of New Ulm. Now I ordered the Weiner Schnitzel thinking that "When in Germany...." I should have paid more attention to the sign on the street, "Famous for ribs". By the way Weiner Schnitzel is not a hot dog.

I saw the glockenspiel and the monument to Hermann the German. While writing this, Miss New Ulm and her court came into the cafe, so I had my picture taken. It is Bavarian Days this week. Then it was back to Martin Luther College where we were staying in the dorms and I did some bike maintenance. It was time to change the chain and replace the back tire. Then clean up, pack up, and get ready to do it all over again. This stretch is going to be 7 days before the next rest day.

July 20, 2007 - Day 26
Tyler, MN to New Ulm, MN
86 miles

We continued along Highway 14 (The Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Highway). We have been on 14 since at least the beginning of South Dakota. Today Tom and I and took off nearly last from camp and by the first checkpoint were very near the front of the pack--this is not a race (yet). After the first checkpoint we passed Rodney and Jerome. If there were a yellow jersey for this ride I'm sure Jerome would have it. He is consistently in the first 3 people in everyday. After we passed everyone I saw the Walnut Grove, MN sign and thought Beth might like a shot of that so we stopped for a minute and took a picture. Just before we pulled off we saw the Dimmitts. We hadn't seen them all day and figured they ducked out right after breakfast. Now the Dimmitts are built of a special ilk. They are doing this on a tandem- a bicycle built for two. I happy to say they are still married and appear to still be smiling, if not always at each other. Where was I? We saw them just before we stopped to take they picture, but we didn't worry because due the laws of physics tandem bicycles don't go up hill as fast as singles. So we took the picture and started the chase. Rolling hils, winding roads, and headwinds were in our favor. We were pushing 20 - 22 into the wind and figured we should have them fairly quick. After about 30 minutes we still did not have a visual. We made it to the next check and we were the first ones there. Obviously they had been abducted by aliens and we were first--this is not a race. As we were pulling out of the final rest stop before New Ulm the Dimmitts were pulling in and as usual in these situations they had no recollection of their abduction. Their memories had been erased and they were planted with the memory of stopping in to a bakery for a Danish. They had remarkably fresh legs for having just been abducted and now that I think about it they must have been placed further up the road to have been able to catch up so fast. Tom and I, not having been abducted were very tired so our pace had dropped considerably. Soon the Dimmitts were right behind us, then they were right in front of us, and then they were way in front of us. Jerome had joined in and was questioning our decision to let them pass us like that. Had I known at that time they had been abducted and also injected with some kind of alien super drug I would have let them go. But I did not. The chase was again on and I was not going to let them out of my sight. I caught up, took advantage of their draft, and then when a good song came on my iPod, which I was NOT listening to, I was off and Tom was right behind. This time we were not going to be caught. About 5 miles out of town, Denise, Tom's girlfriend, passed us and pulled off up ahead. We stopped to say hi and Tom's good sense of competition and the impending doom of the Dimmitts bearing down. We were quickly back on and moving. We hit the City Limits sign and no Dimmitts in sight. We looked back and about a half mile back, just cresting the hill were the Dimmtts. Now it was a race. I looked back and Greg looked like a huge shark, all I could see was him gritting his teeth and tucking his head. I'm sure Trish was behind him doing the same thing. The last 2 miles was all out. I had the cue sheet in my hand and I was trying to find my way through New Ulm. I got to a stop sign just as a car was going and the Dimmitts got hung up and Tom almost got killed. I looked back and they kept getting closer. I missed a turn and they didn't. We were almost there, one more turn, and I was cranking. Fortunately the last 0.1 miles was straight up the side of a hill and once again gravity was in my favor. They were very close behind and gave it a good fight--it was some of the most fun I had had riding on this trip- thanks Greg and Trish. Sorry to Denise, Tom's girlfriend, who got left by the roadside but was a very good sport.

July 19, 2007 - Day 25
DeSmet, SD to Tyler, MN
78 miles

It's great when you get up in the morning and you think to yourself, "Great another short day only 78 miles!" Today was Pirate Thursday. All day we have to talk like pirates. Kathy, one of the crew, had stopped at a shop and got us all pirate eye patches. This was great fun, but made it. difficult to ride. We had a great rest stop today in Brookings. MN, Our 6th State. A local bike shop opened up a little early to let us resupply and the Ice cream shop next door gave out FREE ice cream. Who cares if it was only 9:00am. I got 2 new tires because mine are running thin. I will change them in New Ulm, MN on the rest day.

FYI- DeSmet claims to be the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder and the place where she wrote 5(?) Of her books. They are quick to point out that she only lived in Walnut Grove, MN for about 6 months.

July 18, 2007 - Day 24
Miller, SD to DeSmet, SD
77 miles

Nope, this was the day with the thunderstorm. About halfway through the ride we were hit by an intense storm: rain, thunder, and lightening - not necessarily in that order. It was Andy, Cari, Alison, Lisa, and myself. We were discussing at what point do we take cover when Andy decided that if we have to discuss it it was time. We came up to a farmhouse with a barn in the back. We turned in, yelled "DON'T Shoot", and ducked under a shed. There we rode out the storm for about 20-25 minutes. We yelled at various riders who kept on pedaling, but none could hear us over the storm. The rain ended and we went on our way without getting shot. No one was home and they were none the wiser. But I'm sure they would have been more than happy to give us refuge from the storm.

We ended up getting a hotel that night. 5 in one room and we all had our own bed. I think we had the biggest room in all of DeSmet, SD-Home to Laura Ingalls Wilder. The hotel had a hot tub and that was worth the $20 we each had to cough up. TV, Hot Tub, No wet tent in the morning-priceless.

Bad News- One of our riders got injured today. Dr. Brack Hattler was injured in a mishap and broke his pelvis. He has since returned back home in Pittsburg, PA and is working on his recovery. Our thoughts are with him and he will be missed. The good news is that the Physical Therapist has already got him on a recumbent cycling trainer for his rehab and he is quite happy about that. Keep Pedaling...

July 17, 2007 - Day 23
Pierre, SD - Miller, SD
74 miles

If Liz's brother would hurry and upload her blog I'm sure I would have more to say about this stage of the trip. As of now I am sure there was wind and hills. This might have been the day with the thunderstorm. This might have been the Halfway point too. I need to talk to Liz.

July 16, 2007 - Day 22
Kadoka, SD to Pierre (Pier), SD
95 miles

I can't remember who I started riding with today but I know I ended up crossing the Missouri River into Central Time and Pierre with Tom. I think we were with Ane for a while and then she ditched us on a hill somewhere. I can vaguely remember Alison and Carrie until they ditched us somewhere too. 200 miles in two days. We got to Pierre and found a restaurant-Marlin's. It was 1/2 price burger night and they were good. For some it was 2 for 1 burger night. But the big story was the Marlin Challenge. It was a 3 pound burger with bun and condiments a pound of fries, and a bowl of beans or coleslaw. You have 1 hour and it is on the house- no leaving the table. No one from our group was up for it-though Tom said he could do it if he had had some warning and time to prepare. But there was a local guy who had made a reservation and going to try to be the first one on the Marlin's wall of Fame. We had finished our dinner about the time he started, so we all walked up to Zesto's ice cream shop. This was one of the best Hot Fudge Shakes I have had so far, and much to everyone's amazement I could not finish it. On my behalf, it was a full quart shake and I had just ate a huge dinner. I knew Tom would be able to take care of whatever I couldn't finish. It was a slow walk back to the park. We did stop back by the restaurant to see how our burger eater was fairing. He still had 10 minutes when we showed up but he had already thrown in the towel. I suggested a severe heckling, but Tom took the higher ground. They guy didn't even touch the fries or beans-very disappointing.

That night I lost more weight sleeping than I did riding-west of the Missouri River no humidity, east of Missouri River 90% humidity. Unfortunately I didn't sleep in my goggles and swim fins but it would have been a good idea (sweat). We camped along the river in a beautiful park and in the morning I lost about a pint of blood to the local wildlife-mosquitoes. If anyone could forward me some info on the symptoms of West Nile Virus I would appreciate it.

July 15, 2007 - Day 21
Rapid City, SD to Kadoka, SD
101 Miles

Did I mention SD was full of hills and wind???? And a beautiful place called the Badlands. This is not like Iceland where they named it that so people would stay away and it is really beautiful- It's Bad! It looks a lot like the moon, but hotter. And hillier and windier. Steve and I rode together today and had as good as ride as you can in the wind, right straight into the wind. There was a time during the ride that we each thought we had lost our minds. During a 10-20 mile stretch the only thing we could hear over the howling of the wind, the wind that was moving in the exact opposite direction we were, was the sound from an invisible dog chewing his invisible squeaky toy. Now this invisible dog was chewing his toy and running the exact speed we were riding. Of course I did not want to say anything to Steve because I had clearly lost my mind and I didn't want to ride alone the rest of the day. Eventually I broke down and asked if he too had heard a noise. Much too my relief he had. We thought it might be birds, but when we stopped to hydrate the barren landscape we noticed what appeared to be the world's largest "WHACK-A-MOLE" game. It was acres of prairie dogs! There were heads popping up all over the place and every once in awhile one would scurry to another hole. I hadn't lost my mind and we were both very relieved. We continued to slog through what turned out to be a very beautiful landscape in its own desolate, barren, windy kind of way.

July 14, 2007 - Day 20
Rest Day!!!!
Rapid City, SD

I had very few expectations for this trip as far as what I wanted to do. First was to finish, another was to go to Cedar Point in Ohio (rollercoasters), The other two were in Rapid City- Mt. Rushmore and Tyrannosaurus Rex #8. We were staying at the South Dakota School of Mines where they happened to have one of the few T-Rex skeletons, unfortunately it was in Chicago. So if you get to Chicago go to the museum and have a look at South Dakota Sue, one of the most complete T-rex skeletons ever discovered. Now it was not a complete loss because I did get to see South Dakota Stan-just the head, and lots of other fossils as well. It appears that South Dakota was where dinosaurs went to die.

Sidenote: The days events may or may not be in sequence, but all events are true as to their actual occurrence and I'm pretty sure they happened on the day cited, but my recollections are befuddled by dehydration and exhaustion and will not hold up in court.

I was ready to rent a car to tour Rapid City, but Alison had a friend, Carl, who came to visit her and he had already arranged transportation. We went to Breakfast and then we were off to see the heads. Mt. Rushmore is quite an impressive sight. When I first saw it I thought, "It looks just like the pictures." But as you walk around and see the displays and read the info about what went into creating it grows and the the awe sets in. It truly was quite incredible. After having some ice cream and getting a few souvenirs we were off. Did I mention Tom was with us? We went down the road a few miles to see the Crazy Horse monument. This has been a long time in the making and still far from complete. Beth saw it when she was twelve and we were sure it would be done by now- it's not. And conventional thought is that it may never be complete. The conception artwork is quite impressive and I'm sure Savannah's grandkids will be in awe of the final outcome.

Then we were off again to search out more food. On this day we ate in three of the top ten restaurants in Rapid City. After midday meal #2 we were headed to the movies. Unfortunately we were 20 minutes late and had to for go our rest day tradition. It was probably better because people were dozing off randomly in the car or restaurant and I know I would have missed a good portion of the movie. We went back to the dorms, ordered pizza, watched a stage of the Tour de France, and off to bed.

July 13, 2007 - Day 19
Newcastle, WY to Rapid City, SD
81 Miles

I have been slogging on my blogging. I am going back in a week in my long term memory to try and fill in the gaps. By this, I mean I have been reading all the good people's blogs who have been keeping up on a regular basis. Now I think I have a handle on what I have done over the last the last week. We entered South Dakota today. We were heading into a rest day and I find myself looking forward to those very much. This one was going to be big though because I actually had things I wanted to do there. We rode through Custer State Park which was remarkably beautiful- hills, trees, buffalo. I only saw the hills and trees. Sean and Liz got some great pictures of a buffalo after they almost ran right into it. See pictures and note the sign: http://exploringcorners.blogspot.com/

After leaving the park on a nice descent through the woods South Dakota opened up into a great expanse. It was slightly intriguing because it looked flat all the way to Minnesota. That was not the case. South Dakota is one hill after the other and all roads head into the wind. Did I mention it was hot? But that was all OK because we were heading to a rest a day!

Day 18 - 7/12/07 Gillette to New Castle, WY (75 miles) 1st in to camp: Avg. Speed 21.7 mph (Last 40 miles 23.7mph)

Today I wanted to just ride. So I stayed with the group out to the first water stop and then I went rogue. After 2 weeks of riding at pace I wanted to stretch it out. I took off and hammered for the rest of the day. It was a mild day as far as climbing, about 1500 feet. It was fun to just go. I got to town found the Newcastle Senior Center and took a nap. Then I walked down to the corner store an drank a quart of ice cold chocolate milk and got a sandwich for lunch. Then took a another little nap before we unloaded the truck. That is the prize for getting in early, you get to unload 100 40 pound bags. It makes for a full body workout. Then I went back down to the store for ice cream and since I thought I wasn't the only one who might like some I bought three gallons and we had a little ice cream social. Now I must go clean my bike.

Limited services and "mostly flat". As for the mostly flat part-LIE! As for the limited services-There was the Spotted Pony at mile 72. The great part was that around every bend in the road there was another hill to climb and when you thought there could not possibly be another hill-there was another hill. Early into the ride had another 5 mile construction zone = gravel road. We had the shuttle option or the pedal option- I pedaled. I was a little nervous about my tires but they held up fine. The rest of the day was "mostly flat". We stayed at the community center in Gillette and met a lady named Allison who worked there. After offering to take us all out to her house for dinner, we declined because of the late hour, she called the local buffet and made the manager give us a deal. So for $10.50 we got all we could eat and eat and eat. And then went to sleep.

An uneventful day as far as I can remember right now and there is no one around here to be my long term memory. We did stay at a KOA under the freeway.

I was surprised at the scenery and the beauty of the long rolling hills and the statuesque buttes. It was nice to have a short day after a rest. Alison and I went to a coffee shop before setting out and it was quite fun. The shop was across the street from the first turn of the day. And that first turn was half way down a long step hill. So we sat out on the patio and watched the Big Riders sped down the hill. Then we watched them ride back up again. A few made the turn and a few went exploring for new routes out of town. Had it not been for the coffee shop I am sure we would have been at the bottom of the hill too. The rest of the day was great. Tail winds and a slow leisurely pace. No hurries. No worries. When we got to Hardin we stayed at the High School across from the Community swimming pool. It had a hot tub!!!! So after a shower in I went. A little hot tub, a little swimming, a little more hot tub. It was a $10 night. They give us $10 and we go find food. We found a great place for pizza and it was attached to the movie theatre. So after dinner we saw Ratatouille-discount night.

I am still having fun and I have worked through most of the pains. So far we have not had 1 ride day with rain, but now that I have written that all things should change. I better go look for some wood to knock. After two weeks I am really missing Beth and Savannah and I really appreciate the sacrifices they are making to let me do this. Next time maybe they'll come with me :-)

Today I was ready for something different so I decided to go the whole way in 1 gear. I picked middle ring in front and my 14 in back. This made for some good challenges. I made it over the first big hill and felt pretty confident I could go the whole way. The key was keeping up the RPM's. I had a few 3-5% climbs of a mile or two or three and I hit those babies at 20 - 22 mph. I was going faster uphill than down on some of them. The hard part was not gearing up on the downhill side. After about 24 mph I couldn't pedal as fast as I could coast. Once some of the guys figured out what I was doing the were very supportive. Andy and Stephen were a big help in keeping the motivation going.

We made it to Billings, MT in under 5 hours (92 miles) and then I thought that instead of a single gear day I should have gone for my 5 hour century, but it was 8 miles short. I have still have a couple more chances, but we had a little tailwind aid today that made it very nice. Brack Hattler Jr., who races on a pro team out of Denver, CO was riding with us since Spokane, WA. He went for his 5 hour run on the day with 5 miles of construction, stong headwinds for the last 20 - 30 miles and 105 degree temps, and alone. He missed it by 20 mins. And there was a twelve mile climb in there somewhere too.

In Billings we had another great dinner BBQ chicken, Ahi, and that great crab salad, and stuffed red and green peppers and more. Then the fireworks or another thunderstorm. There was thunder, rain, and lightning, the power went out, the winds were reported at over 80 mph!!! The lightning got close and a bunch of us huddled under the cover at the park where we had dinner. Others left just before that (the smart ones). Tom figured it was a good time to go play in the sprinklers. The lightning missed him. The rain lightened and we went back to the Dorms at Montana State University-Billings. Then another thunderstorm moved through and we sat in the common room and watched Mother Nature at work. Tom still hasn't been hit by lightening, but I will keep you posted.

That night we had a great meal catered by Beyond Basil from Billings. We had beef and pork ribs, swordfish, veggie calzones, a great crab-mango salad and more. Needless to say it was some good food and they are serving us again in Billings!

We all stayed in the Youth Center that night, but of course there were a few braves souls who set up their tents on the football field. I just don't like using my sleep-in time to take down my tent so I opted to sleep indoors. Tom, Justine, Michael, Liz, and Ane(Annie) opted for the field. I told them there was going to be a thunderstorm but they didn't seem to mind. About 10:30 I went out to check on them in the 60+ mph winds and they were all having a grand old time. They were running around laughing taking pictures and trying to Michael out his collapsed tent. Michael ended up inside, the storm passed, and no one blew away. Michael has been dubbed with a new nickname as a result- Dorothy.

In Helena, the capitol of Montana, we stopped at the bike shop, the grocery, store and McDonald's, and that's about when the day started getting long and hot. I'm sure some other stuff happened that day but after lunch all I remember is pedaling.

We arrived in Townsend it felt like we did 100 miles and it was over 100 degrees. Fortunately we were able to find an ice cream shop which had great ice cream. I think I had a scoop of Coffee and cream, Moose tracks, and Cookie dough. We sat in the air conditioning and regained our sugar levels and discussed classic movies Pollie will never see. She doesn't watch movies from before she was born(1977). The list grew very long very fast.

It was Ane's birthday and she turned 21! Her mom sent her a ton of cupcakes which we all enjoyed.

Boy, does my butt hurt, Boy, does my butt hurt, a lot Boy, does my butt hurt.

Then Tom joined in. He gave us a riddle and we can only ask yes/no questions. This started on day 10 and as of today day 11 this is what we have:

A man goes to a restaurant and orders seagull. He takes one bite, goes out into the alley and blows his brains out- why? It has taken us three days to figure out he at seagull. In our defense it has not been a constant effort.

I did find some good ice cream at the Avon Cafe. They had a pretty good Cheeseburger too. They were the ones who also catered our dinner at the campground. It was some of the best spaghetti I have ever had. It had a homemade sauce that was fantastic. They had fresh fruit, salad, and parmesan bread for dinner, and for dessert at least 5 different kinds of pies- the apple and huckleberry were homemade and fantastic. Then Stephen and I rode back down to the cafe to get another chocolate shake. Then I went to bed.

Oh yah, Somewhere along the line I changed my first spoke. It was really a team effort. We came across Phil at the side of the rode. We thought he was changing a flat but it was a broken spoke. Luckily Alison had an extra spoke and the same kind of wheels as Phil. Together Andy and I were able to change the spoke and get the wheel straight enough for Phil to get to the mechanic.