Apologies for not getting any updates on here. We are in Dubois, Wyoming and heading into Montana Saturday. We are being picked up Saturday by Ben's Aunt Kris and heading to her house in Montana for a rest day. We are about 1,300 miles away from the coast which translates to about two and a half weeks of cycling left. We are hoping to be at the coast by August 5. Our cousin Will has been tracking us on Google maps, you can follow us by clicking here.

Day 22 June 29, 2009

We left the motel and headed straight into the Missouri Ozarks. We biked to Ellington which was 50 miles from Farmington and napped under some shade trees outside of a burger joint. The next 40 miles were going to be the toughest 40 miles of the Ozarks. We took our time and were chugging along when we had our first mechanical failure of the trip. I was biking up a steep hill about a half mile behind Ben and Jay when my chain snapped in half. At first I thought my chain had just come off but when I got off my bike I found my chain dragging behind the bike. I called Ben and decided that the best course of action was to hitch hike to where we were staying in Eminence and we would fix it there. As soon as I hung up a state trooper drove by which I flagged down and he took me into town. There wasn't a bike shop within an hour drive so we were in a real bind. I needed a new pin to put in the chain to hold it together and the police station happened to have an impounded bike that they said I could pull the chain off of. The trooper called dispatch and their conversation went a little something like this-
Trooper: Dispatch, this is 3208 I have a stranded man down with mechanical failure on his equipment. over.
Dispatch: 3208 are there any injuries on site? over.
Trooper: negative, over.
(Sam trying to contain his giggling in the passengers seat)
Trooper: I'm going to need you to get the equipment out of the back room and meet me at the dairy shack in Eminence. Over.
Dispatch: Equipment is loaded onto convoy and in route to destination. over.
We met the other trooper with the impounded bike at the dairy shack and were able to piece together the chain. I hopped on my bike and biked the 8.5 miles to the spot that my chain had broke and rode back so no one could say I had not really biked the whole thing. Mileage= 90.5 (Sam's mileage= 98.5)

Day 21 June 28, 2009

We left the hotel and began the morning biking with Brian and Bob. At 9 Amy and Barbra came and picked them up and provided cold drinks for all. At lunch we stopped in at a local diner and Ben went to get the maps to study midway through the meal. He came back and asked Jay if he knew where the map was, to which he answered that he thought Ben had them. After five minutes of thinking they realized that Jay had left the map at home in Brentwood on top of his desk. We decided to stay at a motel so we could have our parents fax us the maps. Mileage= 44.5.

Day 20 June 27, 2009

After the two week medical break we are back on the trail! Brian and Bob (Ben's dad) biked with us today. It was painfully hot temperatures ranging from 95-105 degrees. We met Amy (Sam and Jay's mom) and Barbra (Ben's mom) two miles short of Chester, IL where they picked us up and took us to the hotel we were staying in for the night. We biked 64.5 miles, though we agreed they were some of the hardest miles of the trip due to lack of activity while we were on break and the extreme heat.

Day 19 June 13, 2009

Woke up at 5a.m. and biked to Marion and met Brian there. Biked 40 miles by 9a.m. averaging just under 20 miles an hour. Trip to be continued at earliest convenience.

Day 18 June 12, 2009

Left the fire station early and we were able to make good time because the mountains and hills had flattened out into the Midwestern terrain. We stopped for lunch at a church which had a basement dedicated to bikers. They gave us sack lunches to take with us. We crossed the Ohio river into Illinois by about four in the afternoon. We forgot to find a place ahead of time to stay, so we biked to the nearest town which was Shawneetown. They happened to be having their town fair this weekend and the local fire station was having a BBQ. We were able to camp in the parking lot behind the Baptist church which was easy walking distance to the fair and library. We are being picked up tomorrow by Brian (Sam and Jay's Dad) to drop our bikes off in Carbondale and then drive to Chicago to visit our Grandfather and to get Ben some medical attention for a rash he has aquired.

Day 17 June 11, 2009

We stayed for breakfast at the gas station. We each consumed four sausage biscuits with homemade jam. Then Lucy came over to the store and cooked us eggs and toast. We were reluctant to go but we left around nine because we would gain an hour crossing over into the central time zone. We biked to the Utica volunteer fire station where we had the place to ourselves. We enjoyed a small dinner then settled down in front of their television to watch game 1 of the NBA finals. Days mileage = 70

Day 16 June 10, 2009

We got up thirty minutes before sunrise so we could be on the road at sunlight. By lunch we had done 55 miles so we rewarded ourselves by going to a restaurant then going and taking a nap at the library. After lunch we biked for another twenty miles and took another break. At the end of this break three bikers pulled up behind us and introduced themselves as transam bikers. We biked with them for another twenty miles until we reached Double LL gas station which we all stopped to enjoy a popsicle. We stayed the night at Double LL which was one of the best decisions of the trip. Arnie the owner of Double LL offered us a shower and laundry which we could not turn down. Then his wife Lucy asked if we would eat dinner with them! We had pot roast and green beans and bread and home grown veggies. After dinner Arnie took us in his jeep to show us the farms and crops that we were so ignorant about. (We couldn't identify corn before this trip) We slept on the porch of the store. There was a massive rain storm that knocked the power out of the street lights several times. Total mileage of the day, 93!

Day 15 June 9, 2009

Woke up and biked out of Berea. Not a very eventful day. We are closing in on the end of the mountains. Stopped and got a cold drink from Ronnie who owns a small restaurant at the top of one of our hills. We camped at the Lincoln Homestead state park. After pulling in we saw three bikers loaded down with panniers rolling past and invited them to camp with us for the night. They were three college graduates that had met each other on a biking advertisement one of them had put out and decided to do this trip. At about nine o'clock a man on a recumbent bike came to our campsite. Mileage = 72 miles.

Day 14 June 8, 2009

We woke up at the crack of dawn and set out towards Berea. It was a hilly day and not very attractive scenery. We got to Berea by lunchtime and found a delicious Italian restaurant called Papa Leno's. We tossed our sleeping bags in the small garden behind a church on the Berea college campus. After dinner (again at Papa Leno's) we decided to check out the college library where we preceded to entertain ourselves until closing time. The days mileage= 55.5.

Day 13 June 7, 2009

After eating a very nice breakfast at the hotel we (3 normal bikers + Brian) biked until lunch at which point Brian and Amy left to head back to Brentwood. We took a very long lunch break and pulled into the Presbyterian church around 6 p.m. There we met up with the Brits who were very talkative and friendly as always. We slept in the parking lot behind the building to avoid the dew. Total mileage 50.5.

Day 12 June 6, 2009

We pulled out of our motel room early and biked 25 miles where our Amy and Brian (Sam and Jay's parents) met us and Brian biked the day with us. We stayed a nice hotel in Hazard, KY. We biked 77.5 miles today with Brian biking 52.5 of those miles with us.

Day 11 June 5, 2009

WE CROSSED INTO KENTUCKY TODAY!!! but we only biked 30 miles to Elk Horn City, KY and stayed in a motel.

Day 10 June 4, 2009

We left the hostel as early as possible to get away from the hikers and get a start on our mountains that were waiting for us in the morning. We were about 10 miles away from council (our final destination) when we started this steep climb. We thought we were lost because it was supposed to be all downhill but it turns out Jay forgot to mention and overlooked our biggest climb of the day. We dragged into Council's city park and collapsed under a pavilion. It promptly started pouring rain but we didn't care because we were dry and done biking for the day. 51.5 miles on the day.

Day 9 June 3, 2009

Woke up and biked out of Wytheville on a highway with heavy traffic. We biked to Damascus where we stayed the night in a church run hostel called "the place". The hostel was predominantly occupied by stoned/drunk Appalachian trail hikers who screamed and fought with each other all night. It was a very unpleasant place to stay, it was not worth the 60 miles we biked to get there.

Day 8 June 2, 2009

Woke up early and ate some biscuits from the gas station and biked to Wytheville where we stayed in the city park next to the police station. We biked 83 miles.

Day 7 June 1, 2009

We slept in at our motel and rolled out around 9a.m. We biked to a small town called Catabwa and stayed in our second weight room of the trip behind a gas station. We met Dave who is currently hiking the Appalachian trail. He was from the tri-city area of TN. We biked 66 miles.

Day 6 May 31,2009

We left Vesuvius after we attended a church service at a small Methodist church within walking distance of Gerties. The church comprised of roughly 20 people who were all very kind and ended up donating 80 dollars to our trip fund. We arrived in Lexington around two p.m. and decided we didn't feel like biking any further so we got a room and a motel that was in bankruptcy for a good price. We had an awful day as far as distance only 20.5 miles on the bike.

Day 5 May 30, 2009

Charlottesville to Vesuvius. 60 miles. Longest climbing day yet. We spent 25 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway which consisted of steep inclines and declines. It took about two hours to bike to our peak and twenty minutes to coast down. We camped behind Gerties country store.

Sleeping Arrangements

Many of our readers have written asking about our sleeping arrangements. For example, Barbara H. from Winnetka, IL writes: "Hey guys! Sure have enjoyed following your travels. Thanks for keeping us all posted with such an informative and insightful blog! I have been wondering though, where do you guys spend your nights? Do you carry a tent, or stay in motels, or a combination?"

Well, Barbara, great question. Many of our favorite moments so far have come when we aren't on the bikes at all -- and often it's because we've found ourselves sleeping in such interesting places! We do carry a tent, but we only pitch it about 50% of our nights on the trail. Even when we do pitch it, a three-man tent doesn't fit three 6'4"-6'6" males particularly comfortably, so we often lay our sleeping pads out on the grass until a thunderstorm forces us into more cramped confines. Here's a quick run down of where we've spent our nights:

• Next to the playground of the Mechanicsville Presbyterian Church, after asking the office secretary, out of the blue, if there was some spare grass to pitch a tent on. (Mechanicsville, VA)
• In the weight room of a volunteer fire station, which allows TransAmerica cyclists room, board, and kitchen use! (Mineral, VA)
• In the backyard of a general store in a town of 400. Cheerfully owned and operated by a couple who fly confederate flags from the roof and declare Robert E. Lee to be "our hero!" (Vesuvius, VA)
• In a single room in a bankrupt hotel, owned and operated by a friendly Indian couple who cheerfully put-up with my smattering of Hindi. (Lexington, VA)
• In the weight room (yes, the second weight room of the trip) of the garage of a general store in a small Appalacian town. (Catawba, VA)
• On the ampitheatre stage in a town park in western Virginia, where we encountered an octagenerian member of the local fire department who spent the gloaming hunting pidgeons in the park with a .22 rifle. (Whytheville, VA)
• In a single room in Moore's Motel, the lone motel for a sixty mile stretch of eastern Kentucky. (Elk Horn City, KT)
• In a luxurious GuestHouse Inn, in the company of a certain pair of Brentwoodians who, coincidentally, comprise roughly 40% of our readership.

In short, finding a place to spend the night is just another part of the adventure! We'll keep you posted on where we end up down the road.

Ben.

A Typical (7,000 Calorie) Day

Internet access has been limited, but we've found ourselves with a quick chance to hop on a computer at the Hayter's Gap public library, where we've stopped for a quick break before beginning a steep climb culminating in lunch. So in lieu of a full summary of our past few days of Appalachian travel, I thought our readership (recently estimated at 8 but growing fast we're told) would be interested in what a typical day's menu looks like. The amount of calories that our bodies ask for on a daily basis has surprised even us!

Using yesterday, a 64 mile not-too-challenging day, as example, here is what our food intake looks like:

7AM: Wake-up and shovel down a fair amount of granola and chocolate chips. Multi-vitamin (pro-biotic optional).
8AM: Begin biking.
9AM: First break. Eat a BumbleBar (300 calorie energy bar), peanuts, and a granola bar.
10AM: Second break. Pull into a local diner and order an ommelette, biscuits, hashbrowns and toast.
11AM: Third break. Raisins, more granola, chocolate chips, and peanuts.
12PM: Lunch. Essentially a glorified snack break where we stuff more granola down, along with a gatorade from a local gas station, before collapsing onto our sleeping pads for a 1-hour reading session (typically a two day old Wall Street Journal) and nap.
2PM: Back on the bikes.
3PM: Pull into a McDonald's. Consume a milk shake, fries, and (in Sam's case) a double quarter pounder with cheese.
5PM: Arrive at camp. Heat some water on our stove, and cook ramen. Two packets each.
7PM: Head to a local restaurant for our final meal of the day. Last night we took in two 16" pizzas at a local parlour. Two nights ago we enjoyed the local BBQ.
10PM: Sound asleep. Sam imitating a chain saw.

So that's a typical day!
Ben.

Day 4 May 29, 2009

After I had finished writing last night another biker showed up at the station. His name was Jack and he was from New Zealand. He was pulling a trailer and going incredibly slow. He was an incredibly nice guy but we all agreed doomed to fail. We woke up at 6:30 a.m. and cooked a hot meal in the station's kitchen. We left and rode hard today. It was up and down hills all day. We stopped for lunch at a small gas station in the middle of no where. We biked into Charlottesville Virginia, the home of University of Virginia, in a torrential down pour. We set up camp across the street from the University at St. Paul's Episcopal church. I'm writing this entry in the library of the church left open by a very nice pastor named David. We biked 55 miles on route.

Day 3 May 28,2009

We left Mechanicsville Presbyterian around 8:30 a.m. The office worker (Carol) brought us fruit cups to take with us and led a prayer for us. We rode through beautiful farms and countryside filled with farm life and rolling hills. We stopped at a country store for lunch and bought ice cream, cheese, and crackers. After an hour break we broke for Mineral (population 432). We arrived in Mineral after some hard climbs and hard rainstorms. We were very excited to find that the volunteer fire station had room for us to stay even though they were hosting a beauty pageant and carnival that night. We were able to shower, do laundry, and utilize their kitchen. We met Charlie, an 19 year old volunteer who started volunteering at age 8, who gave us a tour of the station and trucks, and Oscar an EMS who gave us ice for our knees and interesting conversation. Our on route mileage was 52 miles.

Day 2 May 27, 2009

We woke up around 6:30 at the hotel, where we ate a carb loaded breakfast and started off. We shot out of the gates and biked 30 miles by 9:30 but slowed down due to a lack of training. By lunch we had reached 50 miles and Glendale (where we planned on staying the night). After an hour break we decided to head off for Mechanicsville. We rolled into Mechanicsville around 4:30 and knocked on a Presbyterian church door. The door was answered by two very kind women who agreed to let us camp behind the church for the night. We biked 72 miles on route today. It was cloudy today but sunny enough to where I have suffered some serious sun burns on my arms.

Day 1 May 26, 2009

After meeting up with Ben and Uncle Bob yesterday in Louisville we drove to Beckley West Virginia where we stayed the night in a hotel and woke up early to drive to Yorktown. When we woke up we realized that a crucial bike rack part had been lost/stolen in the night rendering the rack useless. We arrived in Yorktown around lunchtime and took photos of the Atlantic. Ben, Jay and I headed towards Williamsburg with no gear other than rain jackets. Uncle Bob met us at the Comfort Inn hotel just off the route and we ate at a very good Indian restaurant. After dinner we split the food and gear between us to really start biking tomorrow. We plan on going 55ish miles tomorrow .In total we biked 19 miles today.

Monday Jay, Sam and a parent will drive to meet Ben and Uncle Bob (Ben's dad) in Louisville.  We will have lunch in Louisville then set off for Yorktown, Virginia.  

Equipment list

TRIP BEGINS MONDAY MAY 25, 2009

• 3 man tent
• 3 cycling bibs
• 3 cycling jerseys
• 3 pairs swiftwick socks
• bike shoes
• front and back panniers for bike
• front and rear lights
• light weight sleeping bag and pad
• 1 micro-fleece sweatshirt 
• 1 rain jacket
• 1 leathermen knife
• 2 cooking pots
• 1 Tupperware (to be used as bowl and plate)
• 3 liter camelback water bladder
• back and front lights
• 3 summer reading books
• leg and arm warmers
• 2 pairs of bike gloves
• 1 bike lock
• whisper lite stove
• 32 oz. fuel canister
• sunglasses 
• camera
• one bike multi-tool
• 5 spare tubes
• 1 set of tire irons
• sunscreen 
• bike computer
• chamois butter
• pair of crocs
• toiletries 
• cell phone
• Frisbee