Hello friends! I hope to have up within the next few days some statistics from our trip like mileage and amount of money raised. I'm compiling that right now. But I thought it was time we let everyone know where we are at now and what we are doing post-bike trip!
Matthew and I moved up to Lawrence, Kansas in the middle of December, and we're both enjoying it immensely. Matthew is taking some classes at a local college and working full time at a community mental health center, and I am taking an art class at the local community arts center and looking for (another) job. I'm certified to substitute teach in the public school system here, but I haven't gotten called yet, so I continue to look for other work. I will also be completing an internship in mediation and conflict resolution for my state certification this spring.
We've been lucky to get visits from a number of family members and friends since we moved here, and look forward to some more this month. If ever you find yourself in Lawrence, we'd love to have you!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Saturday, November 17, 2007
From Albuquerque
We left Las Vegas Tuesday morning and before long I realized that I wasn't going to be able to bike over a mountain pass after being sick for so many days. We called Matt's mom, who was able to come pick us up and take us to Albuquerque early. We only had about 110 miles to go, which we are hoping to pick back up again next week. But we did get 850 miles in, and we're proud of it. As for my health, I am finally feeling back to normal, although I haven't gotten back on the bike yet. Perhaps today I'll try it.
Heifer Project threw us a reception Wednesday night in Albuquerque, and it was really great to meet Maria (Heifer's coordinator for this whole region) and the volunteers from the area. It really brought the trip together, and we were very touched! We ate at the Flying Star downtown, learned about the projects Heifer has going on in this region, and shared some pictures and stories from our trip. They presented us with Heifer Project volunteer shirts, a children's book about Heifer Project, and a canvas tote bag. We were able to present a check with the monetary donations we've raised so far (almost $1200).
The group at the Flying Star
Matthew, Maria, and I
Heifer Project threw us a reception Wednesday night in Albuquerque, and it was really great to meet Maria (Heifer's coordinator for this whole region) and the volunteers from the area. It really brought the trip together, and we were very touched! We ate at the Flying Star downtown, learned about the projects Heifer has going on in this region, and shared some pictures and stories from our trip. They presented us with Heifer Project volunteer shirts, a children's book about Heifer Project, and a canvas tote bag. We were able to present a check with the monetary donations we've raised so far (almost $1200).
The group at the Flying Star
Matthew, Maria, and I
Monday, November 12, 2007
Springer to Las Vegas, NM
Wagon Mound from the south
10 miles outside Wagon Mound and we could still see it. It felt like we were going nowhere, with all the climbing and the unencumbered views, and with no grain elevators to tell us how close we were to the next town.
Ft Union Ranch (where the two routes of the Santa Fe trail reunited.)
Unfortunately, we didn't realize we had already passed the entrance and it would have been 8 miles back uphill.
Sunset outside Las Vegas (right before Uncle Bob picked us up - don't worry, we weren't biking after sunset...)
Eating at Dick's Restaurant in Las Vegas - my Uncle Bob and Aunt Elise are on the left, and Matthew and I are on the right. Matt looks a little scared in this one!
Update from Las Vegas
The two routes not too far from here.
Drugstore and soda fountain in Springer.
Pronghorn antelope
10 miles before Wagon Mound - you can see it off in the distance. This was when the frontage road was still quite beautiful.
It's Monday night, and we're packing our clean laundry for tomorrow. I think I got some stomach bug or food poisoning our first night here and I felt weak and slept most of the last two days. Today I feel remarkably better, though, and we will be leaving in the morning and heading for Santa Fe, some 70 miles and a mountain pass away. From there it is only another day's ride into Albuquerque - I can't believe we're this close!
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Recovery
I wasn't kidding about the trek from Springer to Las Vegas being the hardest yet. As proof, Heidi is now unwell. She caught some kind of bug and now isn't feeling so well. So, for the time being we are putting the trip on hold. Las Vegas was the historic stopping place for many along the Santa Fe Trail. In the past there were trademeets here. The fur trappers, traders, pioneers and suchlike would come down to Las Vegas once a year or so and live it up. So, that's exactly what we're doing. In a very relaxed way.
Cheers,
Matthew
Cheers,
Matthew
Springer to Las Vegas: The Longest Day
11-9-07: Springer to Vegas (70 miles)....today was the longest (though not in miles) and hardest and slowest day yet. We left Springer at about 8:45am. It's about the second earliest that we have started. We had a restful night inside a local motel. The only campground was five miles north and right next to a prison. So, we stayed inside. After a good rest and an early rise and we were ready to head to Las Vegas.
I watched the news at 6:30am and found that there was a slight breeze from the north. "Yeah", I thought, "we're heading south. Looks like an easy day". I could not have been more wrong. The day started out easy enough. There was a slight breeze from the north, the sun was shining and we were ready to ride.
Approximately six miles later we had changed our tune. The first five miles were easy. All were down hill. The trouble is that every time that you go down a hill, you must now ride uphill. And Las Vegas is 600 feet above Springer in elevation. Ah, joy. So, after about a 300 or 400 feet drop, we began our climb into Las Vegas....at eight miles an hour. We were very fortunate in that we had a tailwind for about five miles. We were unfortunate in that our tailwind became a strong front wind at about the same time as our downhill became an uphill.
About 27 miles later we stopped in Wagon Mound, a little town that is named for a beautiful landmark that looks (if only vaguely) like a covered wagon. We stopped at a c-store and ate snickers bars, salt and vinegar chips, burritos and PB&J. After about 6000 calories we were off. And things got worse.
The climbing intensified. As did the wind. Nevertheless, we continued into the foray and bravely pushed forward. The rolling hills continued upward, and the wind continued to push us back. A continued eight miles an hour saw us up many a hill, and the wind pushed so hard that our downhills didn't feel like downhills. Push, push and more pushing.
We ran out of back roads after about 47 miles or so, and had to join the interstate. That's I-25 folks, and filled with hundreds and thousands of cars. In the first 45 miles we saw 23 cars. We didn't even try to count the cars on I-25. We spent about 1o miles on I-25 before the sun went down. At this point we yielded to reality and called Uncle Bob to come and pick us up. So, we had a car ride for about 16 miles...really not so bad considering that we had ridden 800+ miles so far.
So this is the hardest day that we had so far, and it will probably be the most rewarding we have.
Matthew
I watched the news at 6:30am and found that there was a slight breeze from the north. "Yeah", I thought, "we're heading south. Looks like an easy day". I could not have been more wrong. The day started out easy enough. There was a slight breeze from the north, the sun was shining and we were ready to ride.
Approximately six miles later we had changed our tune. The first five miles were easy. All were down hill. The trouble is that every time that you go down a hill, you must now ride uphill. And Las Vegas is 600 feet above Springer in elevation. Ah, joy. So, after about a 300 or 400 feet drop, we began our climb into Las Vegas....at eight miles an hour. We were very fortunate in that we had a tailwind for about five miles. We were unfortunate in that our tailwind became a strong front wind at about the same time as our downhill became an uphill.
About 27 miles later we stopped in Wagon Mound, a little town that is named for a beautiful landmark that looks (if only vaguely) like a covered wagon. We stopped at a c-store and ate snickers bars, salt and vinegar chips, burritos and PB&J. After about 6000 calories we were off. And things got worse.
The climbing intensified. As did the wind. Nevertheless, we continued into the foray and bravely pushed forward. The rolling hills continued upward, and the wind continued to push us back. A continued eight miles an hour saw us up many a hill, and the wind pushed so hard that our downhills didn't feel like downhills. Push, push and more pushing.
We ran out of back roads after about 47 miles or so, and had to join the interstate. That's I-25 folks, and filled with hundreds and thousands of cars. In the first 45 miles we saw 23 cars. We didn't even try to count the cars on I-25. We spent about 1o miles on I-25 before the sun went down. At this point we yielded to reality and called Uncle Bob to come and pick us up. So, we had a car ride for about 16 miles...really not so bad considering that we had ridden 800+ miles so far.
So this is the hardest day that we had so far, and it will probably be the most rewarding we have.
Matthew
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Springer and the end of our beloved highway 56
Mile marker number one on our beloved Highway 56. It ended after following it almost the entire trip (over 750 miles so far.) It was lovely - little traffic, terrific people, and beautiful scenery the whole way.
The Santa Fe museum here in Springer - we might try to visit it later today.
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