Day 34,35,36,37 - Rest Days!

Finally we are taking a well deserved rest at my parent's house in Ingleside. They threw a big party for us on Monday. It was great! A lot of my parents' friends were there and most of them are blog followers. I'm impressed that so many people are checking in on our adventures - thank you all for supporting us! I also ate a lot of pie yesterday - apple pie, strawberry/blackberry pie, a refreshing jello/cool whip pie. I think I've built up a pie reserve for those days that pie is just not a possibility.

We also were interviewed by a local reporter yesterday. This was a follow up interview to check in on our trip's progress. An article will be in the Thursday's issue of the Lake County Journal. I'll post a link as soon as it comes out.

We have now completed about 2/3 of our trip. We've gone 2300 miles and have about 1200 miles left to ride to Portland, ME.

Since we've been encountering a lot of the same questions from friends, family, etc. I thought I'd do a little segment here called FAQ's.

1. How's your butt? (Yes, this is the number one question we've encountered!)

Thanks everyone for your concern but our butt's are doing fine. They were a bit tender for the first week. I recommend Calendula for skin irritations. We bought a stick of Calendula Ointment in Bozeman and it has worked wonders on sunburns and other skin sores.

I shelled out $100 for a Brooks Saddle before we left on our trip. These seats are the numero uno choice for bike touring. They are made from a solid piece of leather that softens to fit, like an expensive pair of Italian shoes. I'm happy to report no saddle sores or other major problems in that area. Marc has a Pro Link Saddle on his bike. Its one that he has used for years on his mountain bike. I haven't heard too many complaints from him either.

2. How are you guys getting along? (Or Are you ready to kill each other yet?)

Of course vacations, in general, are a test to anyone's true compatibility. Now add in biking 8+ hours per day, trying to navigate a new route every day, and weather extremes - you now have the makings of a good reality TV show!

Surprisingly, given the extreme circumstances and the fact that we are spending every minute of every day together, we haven't had a huge blow out yet. We've each had our share of bike tantrums and grumpy days but somehow one of us seems to keep the cool and let the other rant and rave.

A former coworker gave me the best advice on marriage - "Choose your battles wisely." I guess all the financial stresses that we've had over the past few years puts everything into perspective. A wrong turn or flat tire on a windy, rainy day just doesn't seem so bad. If all else fails, I just keep reminding myself - "Hey enjoy it, you are on vacation!"

3. Is there anything you wish you had or had not packed on your bike?

Marc's largest regret is buying the Garmin GPS to bring with for maps/directions. His complaint is the turn by turn directions. When you are biking, you like to see a map with several options for roads. The Garmin was put away after the 2nd week of our trip and has not been used since. We've been relying on old fashioned paper maps and mapquest when we have internet service.

He also wishes that he would have purchased an air hose attachment for Presta Valves. It would be nice to top off our tires while we are at gas stations. Typically we have been using CO2 cartridges to top off our tires. These are expensive at a $1 each. (We do have a hand pump but its too time consuming to pump our tires to 115 psi.)

I wish I would have packed a few more clothing items. All the blogs I read from other cross country cyclists said that they overpacked on clothing. So when we packed clothing we just had the bare minimum. Well, for one thing, all the blogs were written by men and they can get by wearing the same smelly thing everyday. I, on the other hand, have a really hard time wearing the same outfit for more than 4 hours, so wearing the same outfit day after day is my worst nightmare! Luckily, I packed a bag and sent it ahead to my parents house. I now have a few more clothing items to choose from.

4. What was your favorite place that you visited?

Our favorite towns thus far have been: Coeur d'Alene, ID, Bozeman, MT, Rapid City, SD and Madison, WI. Although I do have to admit that the weather conditions have swayed our opinion of some towns. I think Spokane and Seattle, WA would also be on the list if it wasn't so wet and rainy.

For both us, it has been the people more than the places, that have won us over. We have been so grateful to all those friends & strangers (that have become friends) that have helped us out along the way.