tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85230190523428676582024-03-19T02:10:44.800-07:00 This is Really In TentsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14724981695408422147noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523019052342867658.post-26131255724893223492013-10-22T04:26:00.001-07:002014-03-06T20:42:51.756-08:00Colorado Bound!We have faced a lot of problems on our trip, but the most difficult one was the national park shutdown. We decided that a bike ride to Colorado wasn't going to happen. The distances between state parks was too far in some places, and we were running out of time.<br />
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We had about two weeks to find a place to stay, figure out our job situations, get some winter clothes, and find a cheap rental car with enough room for all of our stuff. We stayed busy, but we were able to get it all done!</div>
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We enjoyed the visit with my Mom, but we were very excited to get to Colorado! The time to leave was here! Rheann found a great deal on an SUV, 200 dollars for a one way rental to Denver. We packed up that rental car so full, that we could barely close the doors!<br />
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The weather was starting to cool down in Dallas, but nowhere near what we were going to face in Colorado!</div>
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The drive was cloudy and rainy for most of Texas, but we still enjoyed being out on the open road again!</div>
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We crossed through New Mexico, and Rheann snapped a picture of the hills there. The sun was back out, and the scenery was beautiful!</div>
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Once we crossed into Colorado, it didn't take long for the temperature to drop outside, it was half of what it was when we left Texas a few hours ago!</div>
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When we arrived in Denver, we decided to stay the night there. I didn't want to take a chance driving the mountain pass at night, and Rheann wanted to see an old friend, Jeanette. After being on the road for about 15 hours, we decided to meet up with her for drinks in downtown Denver.</div>
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After celebrating our arrival in Denver, Jeanette let us stay at her place. We ended up getting to bed at 3am. It was a very long day, and we were exhausted, but we were headed to Silverthorne tomorrow!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14724981695408422147noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523019052342867658.post-14956473320950742012013-10-22T03:48:00.001-07:002013-10-22T03:48:10.414-07:00A Thief!!!Sorry it has been so long since the last post, I have a big update and may have to split it into a couple posts!<div>I guess I will start with an event in Dallas that happened right before we left. We were shopping for some winter jackets in a thrift store and Rheann's wallet was stolen! She set it down to try on a jacket, and forgot to pick it up before going to the counter, when she returned about 30 seconds later, it was gone! I immediately rushed to see a manger about reviewing the security tapes, she stalled for a bit and then informed me that she didn't have access to it, so I called the police. While waiting for them to arrive, I searched the entire store, because I knew that who ever took it most likely emptied it and then dumped it somewhere. The police arrived about an hour later, and the manager magically had the keys to the door! The police officer took a look. We were then informed that most of the cameras in the store didn't work (surprise!). The camera only saw us in the shoe section, and that was it. So we filed a report, and I continued to search the store for another hour to see if the purse had been dumped, I checked inside of book sacks, behind clothes, on shelves, and everywhere else I could think of with no luck. We were going to have to cancel all of our credit cards, and replace Rheann's I.D. </div><div><br></div><div>The next morning, the store called. They found Rheann's wallet while "cleaning up". They showed me where they found it, and it was in an area that I had checked multiple times before I left. It was also near the section where the video camera was working and saw us earlier, but apparently they couldn't see anyone dump the wallet. This means that the wallet must have been dumped after we left, 2 hours later. This also means the entire time I was checking the store for the wallet, the person who stole it remained in the store with it. You wouldn't steal a wallet, leave the store, then return to the store with the wallet to dump it! The way the manager handled the situation points to either her taking it, or knowing who did it. There is no possible way I somehow missed the wallet in 2 hours of searching, and she was not able to help us for an hour until the police arrived.</div><div>Of course, all of the cash in the wallet was gone, a grand total of 21 bucks, but there was something else that was very suspicious. All of Rheann's loose change was gone as well. She had about 20 dollars, mostly pennies, in the wallet! I don't know if you have ever handled a bunch of loose change, but it tends to make noise when you mess around with it. This means that the crook had time to search the wallet, empty it of its cash, silently handle 20 dollars in loose coins, then hide it in a conspicuous place that I was in, that also happens to be a hole in the camera coverage, all while avoiding detection while I'm actively searching the store for over 2 hours! The gift cards in the wallet were also selectively stolen, so the crook only took ones that they wanted! That means that the wallet was taken to a location that they would not be seen or heard by me, which is only two places, the restrooms or the back room of the store. This theft could only have been done by an employee, who had access to the back room, because the bathrooms were locked. You had to get a key from an employee to gain access to them, and no one went to the restrooms during this time.</div><div><br></div><div>I don't have any proof of one person doing it, so they are going to get away with the crime, but life has a way of paying people back for their actions. If you are ever in Lewisville, Texas, stay away from Thrift City!</div><div><br></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14724981695408422147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523019052342867658.post-67400096836985883112013-10-11T15:35:00.001-07:002013-10-11T15:35:48.181-07:00Time to Relax....AlmostOur time here in Dallas so far has been relaxing, but not uneventful. Our first night back in civilization was a good one! We celebrated with a dinner of filet mignon and Alaskan king crab legs! More good news came in the form of new jobs, we received official word that we both have jobs at Vail Reorts in Keystone! I will be working in the ski school, assisting the ski instructors and guests. Rheann will be working in the day care, and will be implementing an art program there!<div>We went shopping to replenish our supplies, but Rheann and I had some decisions to make about our trip. <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Due to the national park shut down, we have determined that it would take us too long to reach Colorado by bicycle. Our jobs start on November 1st, so we have decided to rent a car to drive up there. We have found a place to live, and we are so excited to arrive!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">This will not be the end of our adventures! We are going to have fun this winter, snowboarding is going to be a blast! We plan on getting back on the bikes in late April. We will be heading to California then! I will still update the blog at least weekly, I'm sure the fun we are having won't stop! Keep following us!</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14724981695408422147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523019052342867658.post-36169355596489535382013-10-06T08:58:00.001-07:002013-10-07T17:36:45.965-07:00Arrived In Dallas!<b>Day 14</b><br />
<b>Roadkill count</b>:4 (last ninja turtle, 2 raccoons, 1 possum)<br />
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Last night we stayed in Athens, Tx. We couldn't find a place to camp, so we decided to get another hotel room. Normally, getting a hotel room in a small town, in the middle of Texas, in October wouldn't be a problem, unless you were in the particular small town we were in, in the middle of Texas, at this particular place in time. Apparently, there is a HUGE flea market sale that happens at this very point in time in a town 30 miles away, called Canton. This sale draws such a crowd that hotels fill up in towns for 50 miles! This also causes the hotels to triple their normal rates for the weekend in anticipation of said sale.<br />
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Motel 8, not normally known for its first class accommodations, was the first place we checked. They should have changed their name for the weekend to the Ritz because they wanted 100 dollars to rent a room! All they had available was a stinky smoking room with two twin sized beds. There was no way we were paying that much to stay in that room at a Motel 8.</div>
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After searching for a little while, we finally found a motel for a reasonable 45 dollars. We walked into our room and quickly regretted our latest decision. We should have camped on the side of the road. Our tent would have been cleaner! You know a place is bad when someone who has been bathing with insects and smells like fish turns their nose up at something!</div>
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We showered with flip flops on because of the filth in the shower. We crossed our fingers and our toes in hopes that we wouldn't get bed bugs from the bed. We were pretty sure the sheets haven't been changed in at least a few visits. This place had a nightly rate, and an hourly rate as well, I'm sure.</div>
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Once we awoke in the morning, we hurried out of the door and headed to the next town. The scenery was pretty, and the ride was hilly, as usual.<br />
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We were headed to a town called "Gun Barrel City". I know what you are thinking. The name of the city doesn't exactly make you grab your kids and pack grandma into the car for a day of family fun, but even the name wouldn't prepare you for this town. Unless you are in the market for a pay day loan or are looking to sell your large gold collection, I definitely don't recommend visiting Gun Barrel City. This place almost beat our motel room from last night for the "most likely place to catch syphillis from the toilet seat" award.</div>
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We waited at the edge of town for my Mom to get here. She wanted to meet us and grab a bite to eat. Once she arrived, we hopped in her truck and headed to the next town, Seven Points. We stopped at a brewery for a bite to eat and some barley pop. We enjoyed the break! We headed to my Mom's place soon after.</div>
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Now that we have arrived in Dallas, we had a chance to reflect back on all that we have endured. The trip was physically challenging for sure, but the mental side of it was the toughest. We had to overcome multiple challenges ranging from bike problems to park closures. Every day had some new problem to overcome. We had to beat these obstacles while physically exhausted. We had to dig deep to find the strength to do what we had to do. </div>
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Sometimes one of us would feel like giving up. Rheann and I would have to lift each other up; and just when it seemed like it was too difficult for us to bear, someone would come out of nowhere to help us. We encountered many good people on our trip. People were the reason we got through our trip. They were our strength when it felt like we didn't have enough. When it seemed like fate was against us, we thought about everything people had done for us. This kept us going. Consider our faith in the human race restored!</div>
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I owe a big thank you to everyone for keeping track of us so far. The blog posts will slow down this week while we take a short break, but we will be back on the road soon! I have enjoyed writing this and I hope you have enjoyed reading!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14724981695408422147noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523019052342867658.post-47935736909922567662013-10-06T07:58:00.001-07:002013-10-06T14:01:49.516-07:00Moooo!<div>
<b>Day 13</b></div>
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<b>Roadkill count:</b> 9! (Including the ninja turtle, Donatello) 2 dogs, 1 stinky skunk, 1 evil raccoon, a possum, 1 snake pancake, and 2 UFO's</div>
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I woke up this morning at 6am ready to ride! Rheann wasn't off to a great start though. Her rear tire was flat, and she couldn't find her gloves. The gloves don't sound like a big deal, but they keep blisters off of our hands. When you are riding as far as we are, small problems have a tendency to get big quickly. Her day wasn't getting off to a good start.<br />
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The weather was cool and foggy. We pedaled hard and got some good miles in early. We got 20 miles in before 10am! The scenery wasn't bad, and the roads weren't very busy. It was an enjoyable morning.<br />
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We reached a town called Slocum, and Rheann had some more bad luck! Her chain snapped right off of her bike! On top of that, the chain ring got her in the leg! Here is a pic of how it looks right now.</div>
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It took me 20 minutes of fighting with the chain before I decided to take a link out and fit the chain back on. We thought that would be the end of it, but we were wrong!<br />
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We got about 5 miles down the road when Rheann's chain snapped again! The link that I repaired snapped as well. There wasn't going to be enough chain to keep repairing it like this, so we needed another solution. </div>
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Then out of nowhere, a guy named Chuck stopped to help us. We were frustrated, so we didn't quite give him the warm welcome he deserved, but he offered to help us anyway. He brought us a few miles down the road to a bike shop. I do need to add that he was headed the other way before he stopped! Here is a picture of Mr. Chuck and Rheann.</div>
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Chuck is a pastor in Grapeland. He should be wearing a cape in this picture, because he was our hero! We were really in a bind before he showed up!</div>
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We stocked up on some bike parts we needed at the Dogwood bike shop in Palestine. After taking a short break while repairing the bikes, we hit the road. We were originally going to Fairfield Lake state park, but now that we caught a ride further north we changed our route. We decided to head towards Athens, Tx.</div>
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For the rest of our ride, it was just us and the cows. We would moo at them and they would just stare.</div>
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While on the road, we have some weird moments. Riding for hours and hours can get boring sometimes. To deal with it, we have the most random conversations. Sometimes one of us even breaks out into song! Rheann and I are perfect together!</div>
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We are almost to Dallas! We went out to celebrate tonight.</div>
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I spoke with my mom tonight, since we are so close to her house she is coming out to meet us tomorrow! We are going to catch a ride with her from Gun Barrel City! We will ride 21 miles tomorrow and finally reach Dallas! We are going to take a break for a week or so before heading out to Colorado!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14724981695408422147noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523019052342867658.post-86109181407042145252013-10-04T18:21:00.001-07:002013-10-06T14:01:34.987-07:00Spider Bro!<b>Day 12</b><br />
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Yesterday was a day of rest! We stayed for another day at Mission Tejas state park. We couldn't post anything because the wifi was spotty, so I am posting this from my next stop.<br />
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Our morning started out fairly normal with some pancakes for breakfast, but then I saw something that I thought was pretty cool!<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We run into a lot of spiders and insects while out camping. They jump on us while we shower, throw late night parties in our tent, and even come to eat with us at the table. But this one spider, he was just out in the woods. I</span> call this bad dude "spider bro". You are seeing correctly. This guy is eating a caterpillar that is also eating a bee. Spider bro doesn't care, he ate the bee after he was done! </div>
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After I was finished watching spider bro, Rheann and I went out geocaching. Geocaching is an activity that many people haven't heard about, so let me explain. Geocaching is another word for treasure hunting! In other words, we got to be pirates for the morning! Arrrrrrrggggghhhhh! We borrowed a gps from the ranger station. It already had the locations of our treasure saved on it. We followed the signal until we were close, but couldn't find it. It was hidden, just as any good treasure should be. </div>
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After about 20 minutes of searching the area, Rheann found it! She beat me to the treasure. I didn't want to be a pirate anyway :(</div>
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The rule of geocaching is that you get to take one item, but you have to leave one as well. We made off with a glow stick.</div>
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If you want to know what we left, you will have to go to the park and find the treasure yerself matey! (Just kidding, I've always wanted to be a pirate!)</div>
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After we had our fun treasure hunting, Rheann and I went fishing. We needed to get some bait, so we started looking under logs for grubs. We didn't have much luck, but then some help arrived! The park ranger, Gary, showed up with some worms and a bottle of milk for us! He had overheard us talking about wanting to ride 12 miles into town to get some things, and he went for us! That was amazingly nice of him! </div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Armed with our bait, we knew dinner was only a few casts away! I couldn't wait to catch us dinner, but today was definitely Rheann's day, she beat me at fishing as well!</span></div>
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See that face? That face is her grinning so hard because she caught more fish than me. I brought in only two fish, and she hauled in 7! We were only able to keep five, but that was enough for some more fish tacos!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14724981695408422147noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523019052342867658.post-1134142817398797182013-10-03T08:35:00.001-07:002013-10-06T14:08:44.633-07:00Our Strength!<div>
<b>Day 11</b></div>
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<b>Roadkill count:</b> 2 UFO's (Unidentified Flattened Object) and two poor turtles, Leonardo and Michaelangelo.</div>
Yesterday's ride was another tough one. It took us from Zavalla, Texas, to the Mission Tejas State Park. We left Jeanne's house at about 9am. We rode 20 miles through some minor hills to a town called Lufkin.<br />
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This town was the largest we have ridden in since we crossed into Texas. There wasn't too much traffic, and we passed through it with no problems. We did stop to eat at a nice BBQ place called "Bryan's". There we met some nice people who helped us out with some ice. </div>
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One of them talked to us for a while, Marcie. She was very encouraging to us. Sometimes the rides get too much for us, but we get through because of the people that helped us. Even if it is just kind words, we draw strength from them and it pushes us ahead.</div>
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After we left Lufkin, the hills got a little bigger. We had to brake while riding down them because our trailers are only rated for 25mph. We go a little faster than that sometimes, but the trailer gets speed wobbles if you aren't careful.</div>
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I'm not very superstitious, because it's bad luck; but when we were talking to those people in Lufkin, we mentioned how the ride hasn't really presented any major problems yet. Then one of them mentioned the "f" word, 'flat'. I don't like to talk about flats or even mention them, because every time you do one of them seems to pop up soon. This time was no different. We had ridden almost 300 miles with no tire trouble, then we heard a familiar noise about 8 miles past Lufkin!</div>
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It was Rheann's bob trailer. The tire had sprung a leak. We pulled over to fix it.</div>
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After we fixed the tire, we had no more bike problems for the day. We were still worried about our route to the campsite though, because we started to see a bunch of dirt roads turning off of our road. Dirt roads are awful on our bikes, and take a lot of energy to ride them.</div>
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Sure enough, we were 20-something miles out, and the dirt roads started. This one didn't start out too bad. It was lined with trees and was packed firm.</div>
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We joked about how worried we were about dirt roads. This one wasn't so bad, we even stopped to take a picture.</div>
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All the joking soon stopped though. The terrain got tougher, fast. The road transformed right before our eyes from a tamed pet to a blood frenzied beast! Potholes littered the way. Large, loose rocks were covering the areas not filled with potholes. We had to drop our speed in half. We had to keep our speed to less than 8mph, even downhill, to avoid loosing control. The bumps and rocks threw us everywhere. We struggled to maintain control of the bikes and trailers.</div>
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We felt every bump for 20 miles. Normally, 20 miles would take us less than 2 hours, but this road took us almost 4! The rock road was very hilly. We struggled to clump uphill, only to have to hold down our brakes while going downhill. This kind of riding would wear us out quickly, even at full energy; but we had already ridden 40 miles of hills and were already tired.</div>
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We were running out of energy. The ride was too much to bear. Every pedal gripped our legs with pain, every bump sent a shock through our arms. We didn't think we could make it. The dirt road was beating us.</div>
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Then we began to talk about how far we had come. We talked about all of the people who helped us and encouraged us. We drew our last bit of strength from them. They weren't physically there, but with us in spirit. We pushed our bodies with every last bit of energy we could muster!</div>
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We pulled into the campsite, limping in. We had nothing left. We barely had the strength to set up our tent! We both felt dizzy, like we were going to pass out, but we made it! We rode 62 miles (with gear), 20 of it on an awful dirt road! We took showers, ate, and went to bed. </div>
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We passed out at 8pm, and dint wake until 8am this morning. We have decided to take a break today. We need to recover our strength. Rheann is re-plotting our route to make sure we avoid any more of those dirt roads. We were strong enough this time, but barely. We feel so lucky to have made it this far, thank you everyone for all of your help!</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14724981695408422147noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523019052342867658.post-57077577318103027762013-10-02T05:41:00.001-07:002013-10-06T14:08:33.573-07:00All National Park Campsites Shutdown!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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<b>Day 10</b></div>
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<b>Roadkill count: </b>3 (2 squirrels and a snake)</div>
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We woke up yesterday morning completely relaxed. I got to watch the Saints win again on Monday night, we slept in an actual bed, and had air conditioning! We had some doughnuts for breakfast and then I grabbed a newspaper from our front step. </div>
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I noticed a small story about the federal government shutting down, but neither of us thought much of it at first. Rheann did a little research on the internet about it. We still weren't alarmed, until she discovered that the national parks are all closed! We were going to be staying in national parks for most of our trip! This was definitely a huge problem for us. All of a sudden, we don't have a place to sleep!</div>
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We were in full scramble mode after this discovery. We needed a new route, fast. We decided to head northwest towards some state parks in the area.</div>
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We hit the road around 10am and made a supply run to Walmart. We were very low on food, so Rheann did some shopping. She came out with about 20 pounds of food! We filled my sidebags full, they were heavy. We left Jasper worried about how the shutdown was going to affect us.</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">While leaving Jasper, our</span> minds quickly shifted to the ride when we saw the biggest hill we have encountered yet. This thing was huge! </div>
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While we rode up this gigantic hill, a guy stopped in the middle of the road, took a picture of us, then sped off. He didn't even say hi! We continued on to a town called Zavalla.</div>
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We missed our turn off of the highway, but we stopped to get a drink at a store before we could turn around. At this store, we met the nicest people we have encountered on the trip! Joyce and Jeanne welcomed us to the town! Joyce was the owner of the store we stopped at, and she made sure we were stocked to the brim with food! She gave us so much food that we could barely carry it! We talked for a while and enjoyed meeting everyone. Thanks for the fishing tips Johnny!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuOcFlwuI6Idfj4tPz-iftjRv40UUvIqh09F-rAD3AAUCGyKdpfk4yHm9Tysvfd5YwWVNPepd6nWtyHWgb-AQkMowiHAxf-bSjs9Lfmm59H_548smMaPKqI0qxKunmPVEB2-0Y1GDoCzbT/s640/blogger-image-520529492.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuOcFlwuI6Idfj4tPz-iftjRv40UUvIqh09F-rAD3AAUCGyKdpfk4yHm9Tysvfd5YwWVNPepd6nWtyHWgb-AQkMowiHAxf-bSjs9Lfmm59H_548smMaPKqI0qxKunmPVEB2-0Y1GDoCzbT/s400/blogger-image-520529492.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Jeanne bought us some supplies as well, and we talked for a good while at the store. She loved our trip stories! She pointed us to a state run campsite that was a few miles down the road and we were on our way.</div>
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We rode up and down more large hills on our way to Cassel Boykin campsite. The terrain wasn't difficult, so we arrived within a hour of riding. Once we got there, we took a look around.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFdWyunHacsuspDFef5grc-s9EZWCMUaHSNg6rBiALEOE7y8YufcpCJaau15y1meC64l-x2lSIra10AQ4UTVuoYXK7ifhqfjjsV_85Kt3S3MsstSPhRRr6-NF3BiUhYvDspTe6xFRGswp/s640/blogger-image--895831685.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFdWyunHacsuspDFef5grc-s9EZWCMUaHSNg6rBiALEOE7y8YufcpCJaau15y1meC64l-x2lSIra10AQ4UTVuoYXK7ifhqfjjsV_85Kt3S3MsstSPhRRr6-NF3BiUhYvDspTe6xFRGswp/s400/blogger-image--895831685.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Before we could even get our bikes unpacked, we noticed a huge storm on the horizon. We moved everything under the pavilion for some shelter from the rain, but I had a feeling we would be dealing with heavy winds as well. </div>
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The sky got really dark, and the rain came. We took shelter just in time! Sure enough, the wind kicked up to about 40 mph and almost blew our tent away! We loaded it up with gear and sat in it to keep it on the ground. While we were in there, we decided to eat some of the food Joyce gave us. We weren't going to be able to cook in this bad storm, so dinner was going to be beef jerky and nuts.</div>
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Then we heard someone calling out to us. Rheann peeked out of the tent, it was Jeanne! She had driven all of the way to the campsite to check on us in the storm! She offered to take us in for the night in her home! </div>
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She drove us and our gear about 8 miles to her house. She really went out of her way to help us! We got to get a shower, sit in air conditioning, and sleep in a real bed! Jeanne took us out for a nice dinner as well. She really showed us so much kindness in a really tough time in our trip. We were so worried about having a place to stay, and she just took us in. I wish there was some way we could repay her!</div>
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We enjoyed spending the night with Jeanne. We stayed up late sharing stories and talking. She was great company and a genuinely nice person. We can't thank her enough for all she has done for us!</div>
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The next ride will be from Zavalla to the Mission Tejas state park. We just checked with them and they will be open! It is going to be a 63 mile day, so we have a long ride ahead of us! Our batteries are fully charged, so we feel as ready as we are going to be!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14724981695408422147noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523019052342867658.post-5043593217749938102013-09-30T20:02:00.001-07:002013-10-06T14:08:02.219-07:00Texas State Line!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9-PYxtt5HaqjpUrKUW0exM5tlRzN_q7mbvyJS0y7kUOimgQlFkwYSzjYi2euBXCkHe0HAlVY3Tx_OqWe1Ot5sxkT8cgHPPZ6Mu56gddXN9rSbGwQHwJ9W5P-0SwzMJeRyny4a5bsDF1sf/s640/blogger-image--651235143.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9-PYxtt5HaqjpUrKUW0exM5tlRzN_q7mbvyJS0y7kUOimgQlFkwYSzjYi2euBXCkHe0HAlVY3Tx_OqWe1Ot5sxkT8cgHPPZ6Mu56gddXN9rSbGwQHwJ9W5P-0SwzMJeRyny4a5bsDF1sf/s400/blogger-image--651235143.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Day 9</b></div>
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<b>Roadkill count: </b>6 (2 possums, 1 bird, 1 snake, 2 UFOs)</div>
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We finally made it to Texas! It definitely wasn't easy getting here. We are so proud to have made it this far! We have pushed ourselves beyond exhaustion and have overcome many problems on the way. Looking back on what we have been through, Rheann and I could not have made it this far without each other. We are a great team, and it is our teamwork that has brought us our success.</div>
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The day started out rain soaked for us. It was a real challenge to keep our gear dry. We tried to wait and see if the rain would let up, but we had to leave in the rain at 10am to allow us enough time to complete our ride. <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Thankfully, the rain didn't last much longer. We were able to stop and joke around with a few more pictures.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqEqK6M8Z_P6wzybITInouFM-uBtOm99lXFPXKV06wfuQ0-BoNO-QaaQx9-CLPskDFb60Yy-GJ966jOFQnnZliIBTMQdH5d2MRRJPsYtahJkRu-L0oFRdwUOCjQsxoSiCPU3zWJmuXeed7/s640/blogger-image--1151162217.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqEqK6M8Z_P6wzybITInouFM-uBtOm99lXFPXKV06wfuQ0-BoNO-QaaQx9-CLPskDFb60Yy-GJ966jOFQnnZliIBTMQdH5d2MRRJPsYtahJkRu-L0oFRdwUOCjQsxoSiCPU3zWJmuXeed7/s400/blogger-image--1151162217.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtEf5o0G3wlwcVZ3flu3-UdWSBGWZAcdKsr9Nw2AMUQp8jpJc9Dt5Hx0KIZW78CzHLvAwhCphccaAvLc54wZB1aHAfDO4kinIj6MThPsnfUifRsf8uA503q-Jg-J56IyOrEQXWExVTWG5Q/s640/blogger-image-694581588.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtEf5o0G3wlwcVZ3flu3-UdWSBGWZAcdKsr9Nw2AMUQp8jpJc9Dt5Hx0KIZW78CzHLvAwhCphccaAvLc54wZB1aHAfDO4kinIj6MThPsnfUifRsf8uA503q-Jg-J56IyOrEQXWExVTWG5Q/s400/blogger-image-694581588.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6YNSWapULM0a5ze4CIW4NX4sXn6eB_iXhTSujh-dL1LnZlO5WUGin0L3ERZ5M_sFMFR7kLswm3q7t1_Uzm3zyzmivLtT4t8lXXTh0yMkV7O0DfpH8OZIL9ENCcBoZvUUfwh-YhKU-DaX/s640/blogger-image-168813829.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6YNSWapULM0a5ze4CIW4NX4sXn6eB_iXhTSujh-dL1LnZlO5WUGin0L3ERZ5M_sFMFR7kLswm3q7t1_Uzm3zyzmivLtT4t8lXXTh0yMkV7O0DfpH8OZIL9ENCcBoZvUUfwh-YhKU-DaX/s400/blogger-image-168813829.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Our next challenge would be the hilly terrain ahead of us. We climbed at least 80-90 hills on our 40 mile ride. If we weren't climbing a hill, we were riding down another and heading to the next one! There was literally no flat part of the ride today!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQENVY2kEgIDzFUIuyq1d8-QQe67warYRcx1vO91VNm-s0C-DlmdVzEQU4Xv9TGPz3zHRyT-92YUa4C0S6xvM7Yv5mPtRW9ODTacJnae132IZxALoICxjHEIPHa8rWZ7yaaSN82X63nPg/s640/blogger-image-2015552317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQENVY2kEgIDzFUIuyq1d8-QQe67warYRcx1vO91VNm-s0C-DlmdVzEQU4Xv9TGPz3zHRyT-92YUa4C0S6xvM7Yv5mPtRW9ODTacJnae132IZxALoICxjHEIPHa8rWZ7yaaSN82X63nPg/s400/blogger-image-2015552317.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">At around the 25 mile mark, we were exhausted. We took a break and talked about how far we have come. I think that talk pumped us up somehow, because we attacked the ride with renewed vigor. We were able to make it through the hills of Texas by sheer willpower!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLj6m7PksqNytoeTEKrjdHZCfRlyTFMpuKKzwYJzg9nCrEYMyRF4YYPQ5Wj5_uVGeKEa0JGs0OfdDA5QX_sR6nJW-lgITmIy10uA9b98p4jLtFhf1zCiRuHu8XXiqs1FmyGNMHn8_2sd1J/s640/blogger-image--2061034365.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLj6m7PksqNytoeTEKrjdHZCfRlyTFMpuKKzwYJzg9nCrEYMyRF4YYPQ5Wj5_uVGeKEa0JGs0OfdDA5QX_sR6nJW-lgITmIy10uA9b98p4jLtFhf1zCiRuHu8XXiqs1FmyGNMHn8_2sd1J/s400/blogger-image--2061034365.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We stopped in Jasper. Our tent was dirty and some of our gear was soaked. We decided to get a hotel room tonight so we could dry out our gear and charge our electronics. Our hotel room is pure chaos!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSJ8aVe0kmQIllV_mAbI7sEzwOS44UhjOJhUwwLS2_VrK5-BIylV0kQZvZ7A-kVAbcioZHij0FaAoL4kWKaPq4baNbOCtsxj8c4u9k4M0NJ_34HsVofDu8Mf029zFk6PHu_lE5OG70ifx/s640/blogger-image--2079759560.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSJ8aVe0kmQIllV_mAbI7sEzwOS44UhjOJhUwwLS2_VrK5-BIylV0kQZvZ7A-kVAbcioZHij0FaAoL4kWKaPq4baNbOCtsxj8c4u9k4M0NJ_34HsVofDu8Mf029zFk6PHu_lE5OG70ifx/s400/blogger-image--2079759560.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Here is all of the dirt that we washed off of our tent!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBUx2mRq7dbQaH4anXy6QluUEzt0yl7EDrmrLta190iLEGagH2kBv0nwKr5kQ56IyjfuJSo0snILXHDoqf4vAwkDvjUvA7scXHhockpFOAqj9C6jjraUBdoyJOj5J7mVIjI0-Tbl0ndqvB/s640/blogger-image--342253331.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBUx2mRq7dbQaH4anXy6QluUEzt0yl7EDrmrLta190iLEGagH2kBv0nwKr5kQ56IyjfuJSo0snILXHDoqf4vAwkDvjUvA7scXHhockpFOAqj9C6jjraUBdoyJOj5J7mVIjI0-Tbl0ndqvB/s400/blogger-image--342253331.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We are headed to Hank Creek park tomorrow in the Anglelina National Forest. It will be another 40 mile ride in similar terrain, but we will be ready for the hills this time! </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14724981695408422147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523019052342867658.post-21476590431806166382013-09-28T20:15:00.001-07:002013-10-06T14:09:15.255-07:00My Fish Story<b>Day 8</b><br />
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Today was the first day of relaxation atToledo Bend! If you have never heard of this place, it is known for it's awesome bass fishing. The facilities here are the best we have seen so far. Everything is clean and new looking. The view of the water is beautiful. Best of all, there have been no raccoons messing with us!<br />
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We decided to explore the campsite for a bit. We wanted to meet some of our neighbors, but everyone we met had already heard of us! We are pretty famous here in Toledo Bend! Word has spread quickly about our journey. Everyone has very encouraging words to say. When we are on the road struggling, that encouragement helps us get through the day!<br />
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We rented a canoe early in the day. We launched from the boat launch and went out for a nice paddle. We rode in the canoe back to our campsite, I would guess it was about 3-4 miles. Rheann spent the rest of the afternoon lounging around camp, and I went fishing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8im1eMeXUXXcTCQ4u457Cd_A0ffwT6dDk_9kK8ccvyAsmL-YvsB28F-c1T6udgoVX2r0CRfaAPXcUdhhHMhrWC17iScC_X-3YFWaYlfjICW5epcQChJLNpGNoEYEVx6xnYfgjA9_dNUyR/s640/blogger-image--103534192.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8im1eMeXUXXcTCQ4u457Cd_A0ffwT6dDk_9kK8ccvyAsmL-YvsB28F-c1T6udgoVX2r0CRfaAPXcUdhhHMhrWC17iScC_X-3YFWaYlfjICW5epcQChJLNpGNoEYEVx6xnYfgjA9_dNUyR/s400/blogger-image--103534192.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The fish weren't biting early on, so I just spent most of the day casting my line and reeling it in. It started to get tedious after a while. I was fighting the current for most of the day, but by dusk I just started to let it push me around. I caught a couple little bass that I had to throw back. </div>
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It was time to face the fact that we were only having beans for supper. I was about to go in when I decided to cast one last time. I felt an abrupt tug on the line, so I set the hook, HARD. I could tell by the fight the fish was giving me that it was a keeper. I fought him for about 30 seconds and then....SPLASH! The fish jumped out of the water! Now that I saw that he was big enough for dinner, I got excited! I continued to reel him in, and just when he was getting close to the boat, my rod snapped in half! I didn't really have time to think, I reached for the line with my hand, and the canoe nearly tipped over! I knew that if the line got some slack in it the fish would get off the hook, so I just pulled in the line as fast as I could. I finally got him in the boat. I've caught bigger fish before, but I was so excited because we finally had meat for supper!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSN5PclIB5nptNl76ToG9-4dGpSHzwL9VR2jZzChbTsjh-7VJpjC77b36QqG8oV2uvV9gdmhs7pE-ecB8Y6s-fvigFxiVl2c48gu2ZVhV8jcgUzxlTyTTImfZoBR-r8sPbPnfSnjhCaytY/s640/blogger-image--1790652793.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSN5PclIB5nptNl76ToG9-4dGpSHzwL9VR2jZzChbTsjh-7VJpjC77b36QqG8oV2uvV9gdmhs7pE-ecB8Y6s-fvigFxiVl2c48gu2ZVhV8jcgUzxlTyTTImfZoBR-r8sPbPnfSnjhCaytY/s400/blogger-image--1790652793.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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I didn't waste any time after I caught him, I went straight to the fish cleaning pier and got us some bass filets. Rheann put some Mexican seasoning on them and we had delicious fish tacos for dinner.</div>
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I am going to wake up early tomorrow morning so I can ride 6 miles to the nearest store for a replacement rod. I want to do some more fishing!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14724981695408422147noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523019052342867658.post-38416336162767467332013-09-27T20:53:00.001-07:002013-10-06T14:10:50.268-07:00The Trail of Turds<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYDk0Rc2ohzDwonJFbAnnXPBKMruUuCFgHpRQowWyhnCKvOsMwRI-rqg2tFtfUKIPZoSDUvZix_Sld5pvrjsCpGD66Q3v-PK2CpVXIlMtwM0wKjgZRsNX8snlyHP3Bp3oGlmOP8O-YX3X1/s640/blogger-image-927499382.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYDk0Rc2ohzDwonJFbAnnXPBKMruUuCFgHpRQowWyhnCKvOsMwRI-rqg2tFtfUKIPZoSDUvZix_Sld5pvrjsCpGD66Q3v-PK2CpVXIlMtwM0wKjgZRsNX8snlyHP3Bp3oGlmOP8O-YX3X1/s400/blogger-image-927499382.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<b>Day 6</b></div>
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<b>Road kill count:</b> 1 lonely squirrel</div>
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52 miles</div>
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We arrived at Toledo Bend tonight! The trip was exhausting, but so worth it!</div>
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We left Fullerton campgrounds at around 8am, we heard the ride to Toledo Bend was very hilly, so we wanted to give ourselves a lot of time to get here. We had no idea just how hilly it was! We were in for more surprises and road blocks on this ride. "Road blocks" was not a metaphor by the way, there were actual road blocks!</div>
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The ride started out in the Kisihatchee National Forest near Fort Polk. We immediately encountered navigation problems, our directions were correct, but there were no road signs! The only reason we could come up with was that the Army must have removed them for training the troops or something. We had to stop at every intersection for both regular roads and dirt roads as well, because we passed a turn assuming that the map didn't account dirt roads.</div>
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We pedaled through a large maze of hills and forest for hours. There were a bunch of signs everywhere written in Hebrew. We also found a wrecked car sitting on a rock!</div>
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It was 11am and we were almost out of the base, when we ran into a roadblock! The gate was closed and looked like it had been closed for a long time. We had to backtrack a few miles to reach a gravel road. This ended up being at least a 5 mile detour.</div>
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The gravel road was very challenging for us. It was almost impossible for us actually. The road was a steep uphill. It was unridable, so we got off our bikes and did the walk of shame. After a bit, even walking our bikes up the hill in the gravel became difficult. Rheann slipped and fell on one of the hills, we had enough of this gravel! Thankfully, some guys came by in a truck just when we had given up. We flagged them down and they gave us a ride to the end of the gravel road. When we told them about what we were doing, one of them said "I ride triathlons and stuff, but I've never done anything that crazy!" Thank you guys! You really pulled us out of a sinkhole there!</div>
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While riding on base, we got to talk a a few soldiers while we were taking a break. Rheann got really pumped up when the soldiers thought what we were doing was hardcore. These guys hike with 80 pound backpacks and go through intense training. We really took it as a compliment!</div>
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Once we got off the base, we continued on to Leesville. We stopped for lunch at a place called Fatboy Skinnys. They had pretty good burgers!</div>
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We continued on the road to Toledo Bend. The road was pretty much a constant uphill ride, that is until we turned onto a road called Buckshot Road. It started out as just a crappy slab of pavement, but then it got worse. It turned into a dirt and sandy hell! Our bikes were not setup for this kind of terrain. We have skinny road tires on them and no shocks. The loose sand presented a constant threat of falling. We were in for a challenge!</div>
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This road is where the we got the idea for the title of this blog. We saw so many different kinds of animal feces that we renamed this road the "Trail of Turds". How much feces does it take to warrant such a name? Let me tell you, it was an obscene amount of feces. We lost count of the piles of horse, cow and dog poop at around 50! This trail was a literal minefield! Apparently, this road has a long standing tradition of things pooping on it. It was the toilet of the forest, so we decided to make an addition of our own! (Just kidding, but that would have been funny) It looked like no one had driven a car on it in years, it was overgrown with grass as well.</div>
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After pedaling for 12 miles through poo infested dirt hell, we finally had one singular, lonely mile left until we reached the highway. Then we encountered our second road block. I wanted to call it a road block, but it was more like the road just ended! There was a gate with a chain and a lock on it right in our path. On the other side of that gate, there was a horse pasture. We either had to circle back 12 miles through the Trail of Turds, or try to jump the fence somehow. We decided to go for the fence.</div>
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We took apart the bob trailers, then we put the bikes over the gate. It wasn't until we had lifted one of the 70 pound trailers over it that I discovered the gate was dummy locked! That's right, we struggled which lifting all of our heavy gear over a gate that had an open lock on the chain!</div>
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We rode across the pasture to find it full of horses. There were 10 or 12 of them, and they all wanted to meet us. They came right up to us to say hi. That was a pretty cool experience!</div>
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We rode across to the house next to he pasture, and called out for someone to unlock the gate. I guess the lady that came out was confused on how 2 cyclists hauling 140 pounds of gear ended up in her horse pasture in the middle of nowhere. There was no explanation that could have sufficed, so we just said "We're sorry". It must have seemed like we teleported there from the future or something. We can only imagine what she must have thought! She pointed us to the highway and we were on our way again!</div>
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The rest of the ride wasn't bad, we were just tired from the whole ordeal we had been through. We limped into Toledo Bend at around 6:45. We took a good bit of breaks, but that came out to over 10 hours on the bikes today!</div>
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We got to our campsite, and we were simply blown away by the beauty we saw. The view was incredible! We had just enough daylight left to snap a few pictures.</div>
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We will be staying here for the weekend. We need some rest and I want to do some serious fishing! Our next ride takes us into Texas! We can hardly believe we have come this far already!</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14724981695408422147noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523019052342867658.post-49411536848938441482013-09-27T18:51:00.001-07:002013-10-06T14:11:36.203-07:00A Mew Friend<div>
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<b>Day 5</b></div>
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<b>Road kill count</b>: 2 (1 possum, 1 evil raccoon)</div>
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Today we said goodbye to the great campsites at Chicot State Park. They really spoiled us with the electricity and wifi. The plan was to ride to Oakdale, which was about 26 miles, and stealth camp. Instead we rode 59 miles to the Lake Fullerton campground. There is no running water here, but you can see the stars clearer than any other camp we have stayed at so far! This place is really remote!<br />
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The ride today was the longest we have done yet, but it was surprisingly easy for us. We did have the added challenge of numerous hills, but we overcame them one at a time. The entire ride was very scenic. We spent most of the day riding in roads through forests. The sun stayed behind the trees and we rode in the shade! The weather was beautiful as well.<br />
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We did meet a few new friends today, but the one that sticks out the most for us had fur. This little kitten came out of nowhere and started chasing after my bike. This kitten was meowing at us and chasing us, almost like it was asking us for help. She was injured, so we decided to take her with us into the next town. I really wanted to bring her with us on our trip, but we wouldn't have been able to care for her. We ended up bringing her to the fire station in Oakdale. We left her with all the beef jerky she could eat and some fresh water, hopefully the firefighters will take good care of her!<br />
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We also met some nice people in the Subway there, we told them about our blog and that we would mention them. Hi to the workers at Subway in Oakdale!</div>
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After we ate lunch, we noticed that we were really behind schedule. The whole ordeal with the kitten took a lot of time and we did deviate from our route to take care of her. We decided to step it up since we only had a few hours of daylight left.</div>
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When we got into Fullerton, people at the general store gave us weird looks. We have been getting a few of those on our trip, but the people being nice to us far outnumber them. That includes the couple we met tonight at our campsite. They were really fun to hang out with. They had been at the camp all day and caught a bunch of fish. We worked out a deal with them; they would combine their fish and our jambalaya so we could have a feast! Rheann cooked a great dinner, as always!<br />
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Tomorrow we are headed to Toledo Bend! We are really excited to get there! It will be a 48 mile ride with a lot of hills. Hopefully that ride is just as enjoyable as today was!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14724981695408422147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523019052342867658.post-1480046630965822222013-09-25T21:42:00.001-07:002013-10-06T14:14:25.356-07:00Raccoons' Rukus<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><b>Day 4</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">The raccoons wreaked havoc on our camp last night. We normally hang our food bags from a tree so they can't reach it, but these raccoons had PhDs! We watched as one of the bigger ones tried to stretch out and reach the bags. It couldn't do it, so it climbed the tree and got on the branch that we hung the bags from. It's additional weight caused the branch to drop low enough for his buddies to hop on the bags! We were impressed, and had to really use our heads to outsmart these guys. I ended up having to climb a tree to make this setup.</span><br />
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It was just out of reach for them and it seemed to work, but I got my hand caught on a nail in one of the trees and got cut pretty bad! We took this picture the next morning.</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We woke up this morning feeling like the road kill we have been counting. Two 50 mile days in a row really took it out of us, so we decided to stay another night at Chicot. We needed and deserved a break! I was ready for a day of fun and relaxation. The</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> first thing I wanted to do this morning was get a fishing line in the water, but we had a few chores to do first.</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> Our clothes were really stinky, so today was laundry day!</span></div>
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We hung our laundry out on a clothesline we brought with us, then we had some breakfast. We went out to the pier for some fishing, but didn't have much luck. We didn't mind though, the view was great!</div>
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<span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">After our fishing was done, we took a little ride around the park. We explored some of the trails and took in the fresh air.</span></div>
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<span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">To finish off the day, we rented a boat and went fishing again. We had a few bites this time, but both of our reels malfunctioned so we had to cut the trip short.</span></div>
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<span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">We went back to camp empty handed, so I went on a ride down the road to get some supplies.</span></div>
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<span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">I rode 5 miles, in the dark (uphill both ways!) and arrived at the store, only to find out its been closed for an hour! </span></div>
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<span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">I caught a ride from a nice guy who also got to the store at the same time, and brought me to walmart to pick up some supplies. Normally, I would have ridden the 10 mile stretch, but it was dark out and very dangerous!</span></div>
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<span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">When I got back to camp, Rheann cooked up some dinner for us. You would not believe her skill with that little stove! She cooked blackened chicken and rice with onions and bell peppers. She even made some cornbread! It was delicious!</span></div>
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<span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh02f8x_fD7jidoJ7o0fgGZx4oq9UYrJL7jQIGmz3hqIbXOnc7eoaXWbYSpxdU8Z03SackqinVrQJqZwfAoqmOstmwDRgm5DdVdhBmH4wJaQXVam6IQ8kICVLfYoRNa4dnD0nI3edfqhBp/s640/blogger-image--314595737.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh02f8x_fD7jidoJ7o0fgGZx4oq9UYrJL7jQIGmz3hqIbXOnc7eoaXWbYSpxdU8Z03SackqinVrQJqZwfAoqmOstmwDRgm5DdVdhBmH4wJaQXVam6IQ8kICVLfYoRNa4dnD0nI3edfqhBp/s400/blogger-image--314595737.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">It looks like we are going to go to bed for the night. We plan on riding as far as we feel like tomorrow, then we will just camp in a random spot in the woods; this is called "stealth camping". We are headed to Toledo Bend! We should arrive there in 2-3 days, depending on how far we go tomorrow. I can't wait to fish out there! Hope you enjoyed reading about our trip so far!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14724981695408422147noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523019052342867658.post-52765817644148277372013-09-25T07:23:00.001-07:002013-10-06T14:14:34.377-07:00Against The Wind<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNP095-vYu4rvHPaMlad9gXy2I0IHrJ47zXc89CcfnVSI_mqjBwbp9szjZ-X4-VYRtqsoQBwMAnEQ1ZWxkSUigKR4gTCjUO-JC2LA1PteGo4hjhY28t70SJ-RSTsmq6lldOfBpFoMC7_q/s640/blogger-image--824429957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNP095-vYu4rvHPaMlad9gXy2I0IHrJ47zXc89CcfnVSI_mqjBwbp9szjZ-X4-VYRtqsoQBwMAnEQ1ZWxkSUigKR4gTCjUO-JC2LA1PteGo4hjhY28t70SJ-RSTsmq6lldOfBpFoMC7_q/s400/blogger-image--824429957.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<b>Day 3</b></div>
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<b>Road kill count:</b> 4 ( 2 raccoons and 2 puppies ): )</div>
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Our route yesterday took us from Sherburne WMA to Chicot State Park. It was another 50 mile day, and this ride had unique challenges for us to overcome as well. There weren't any dangerous roads this time, but the wind was brutal! </div>
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After riding for 24 miles straight into the wind, we felt like we needed a long break. We stopped at a Subway that also had wifi. We ate lunch there and rest our legs for a bit.</div>
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We hit the road after an hour break and ran right into a rainstorm. We didn't mind the rain at all, but we had to scramble to protect our gear that was outside of our bob bags. </div>
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After the rain passed, we caught a break from the wind. We were able to ride a little faster, but since we weren't struggling so hard, we were able to appreciate our surroundings more. We stopped and took a few pictures on the way.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuGqEFjApKHpfCOMSG_4Vn3f8t1utrXgpHSJNziVY8L-gEt3dxbrBIuZsuqO5EheA5ZhsSC-G_BO1wb5jgG_4Hv_-9Fcch8_LRWJ2clL0Kjbv9oXbk7RxRRTFOZJfouR3JCvcPar8ASfL0/s640/blogger-image--1210188580.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuGqEFjApKHpfCOMSG_4Vn3f8t1utrXgpHSJNziVY8L-gEt3dxbrBIuZsuqO5EheA5ZhsSC-G_BO1wb5jgG_4Hv_-9Fcch8_LRWJ2clL0Kjbv9oXbk7RxRRTFOZJfouR3JCvcPar8ASfL0/s400/blogger-image--1210188580.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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We finally got to camp at about 5:30. <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We usually average about 12-14 mph on our rides, but we went at half that. The ride ended up taking us almost 9 hours! We were exhausted but we took one last picture.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVMO-MRVVbQHAtacwj84MsSnR2CEZiIUj89zrjG3bsUnxvWESapjfgbwEATcoqPRk12FMDWwmGChUjBYPRV_0DFfs4PNtlT-WCXdG7n_HDEUnUynBloSidoxbW_HXMqA4sAXBRm_yITNbs/s640/blogger-image--1210746428.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVMO-MRVVbQHAtacwj84MsSnR2CEZiIUj89zrjG3bsUnxvWESapjfgbwEATcoqPRk12FMDWwmGChUjBYPRV_0DFfs4PNtlT-WCXdG7n_HDEUnUynBloSidoxbW_HXMqA4sAXBRm_yITNbs/s400/blogger-image--1210746428.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">When we arrived to the campground, we met a fellow cyclist named Ricky Fotenot. After we told him our story, and he was impressed! Apparently the route we took to get here kills multiple cyclists every year, so much so that local cyclists call it the "death road". Ricky went and got us a six pack of blue moon, saying "if I ever ride across the basin, I hope someone buys me a beer!" That was so nice of him! Thank you! I wish we had taken a picture!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">The trip so far has been really good for us. We have already met a ton of nice people, and have gotten a lot of help along the way. Rheann and I are getting much closer and this is great for our relationship. Time means much less to us now that we don't have such a busy life. We aren't constantly in a hurry and we can just enjoy being together. We are working well together, but I do have to add that Rheann is pretty capable. She is great at camping and I don't think I would have made it even this far without her!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We will be taking a day off today and staying again in Chicot. We want to get some fishing in, so we will be renting a canoe and going explore! I am looking forward to some r&r! I will probably post another entry tonight, we will make sure to take pictures of all the fun today!</span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14724981695408422147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523019052342867658.post-15094815304665314952013-09-24T11:29:00.001-07:002013-10-06T14:15:12.850-07:00Goodbye Baton Rouge!<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMzPvw_CjSF6NpHNlDJcvm0hWRnLisdn9KI4gB6o2rKFiW3MH3WTPTzcJ1xy8YHC9GTdBSYFxROc-Z2DtLoXnHhNX9ZAxbroQaESRn5GqIwZ0zy6OWLTv5Y4wQQtDUphbFoUHJBo8Tovw8/s640/blogger-image--518797403.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMzPvw_CjSF6NpHNlDJcvm0hWRnLisdn9KI4gB6o2rKFiW3MH3WTPTzcJ1xy8YHC9GTdBSYFxROc-Z2DtLoXnHhNX9ZAxbroQaESRn5GqIwZ0zy6OWLTv5Y4wQQtDUphbFoUHJBo8Tovw8/s400/blogger-image--518797403.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Day 2:</b> Farr park to Sherburne WMA</div>
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<b>Road kill count:</b> 6.5 (One angry beaver, two possums, a sly snake, a hawk, nutria, and one little old crawfish)</div>
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Today was a very challenging day. My knee was still hurting from yesterday's ride, and we had a 50 mile ride to our next campsite, Sherburn Wildlife refuge. We started the trip around 7:30am and we had numerous problems from the beginning. I had to stop multiple times to adjust my equipment. I moved my cleat position on my pedals, and slid my seat forward a tad. Once I did that the pain in my knee was gone! Also, my brakes were rubbing on my front end and that is why the shorter ride yesterday took so much out of me.</div>
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It took us two hours to get past downtown Baton Rouge, I was unfamiliar with the route we were taking and we made a couple wrong turns. We got to the bridge over the mighty Mississippi and faced yet another hurdle. There was no shoulder on the bridge and the expansion joints were sprfar enough to swallow our front wheels. Construction closed one of the lanes on the way up, so we got a break there and used the closed lane. A stroke of pure luck happened when we got to the top. We ran into a nice police officer and he gave us an escort on the way down! Thank you so much officer!<br />
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Once we got over the river, we thought it would get a little easier, but we were wrong! We had to ride on a road with holes and grass all over it. It doesn't sound like much of a problem, but when you ride long distances those little bumps start to add up. The speed limit on the road changed from 40 to 65 out of nowhere and we were forced to ride the shoulder. It had these little speed bumps every 20 feet. This went on for 8 miles.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYvKdCts_7UXzR0rTIxuhFho1OY9jR56ru4Jvqg5y8FdFmc7WrPMOT-b1YAYwUfe1pDPauJGHYbMYkNK_OWFVDY8ESHplAjkwt3grwV_unOgBS1rvlJcaQVFlet9PWWOtlt1bEkoW40kfP/s640/blogger-image--669434979.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYvKdCts_7UXzR0rTIxuhFho1OY9jR56ru4Jvqg5y8FdFmc7WrPMOT-b1YAYwUfe1pDPauJGHYbMYkNK_OWFVDY8ESHplAjkwt3grwV_unOgBS1rvlJcaQVFlet9PWWOtlt1bEkoW40kfP/s400/blogger-image--669434979.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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We still had more challenges ahead of us. We missed another turn but we discovered that we could continue straight and meet back up with our route. Our new route ended up being shorter, but we soon discovered why google maps had us go the long way. We ran into a 4 mile long bridge with no shoulder. Traffic was flying by us going at least 70! Cars were having to change lanes to avoid us, and a few people "buzzed the tower" going pretty fast. I decided to take the rear just in case something awful happened. If I were to get hit first there would still have been a chance that they would miss Rheann. <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">I was terrified, but I was going to protect her no matter what. I</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> wanted to get done with that road as fast as possible. We were in an all out sprint for the entire ride on that horrible road, I honestly didn't think we were going to make it off that bridge.</span></div>
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When we finally made it across, I pulled over and gave Rheann a huge hug! We were both exhausted and breathing heavily. We took a break for about 20 minutes, just thinking about how much danger we were in.<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We turned down the final road for the day, only 4 measly miles left. W</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">e were looking forward to relaxing at camp. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Then a bikers worst nightmare for a road surface was laid before us, gravel. (Cue the horror music) Let me explain why a gravel road is so bad for a cycle tourist. Normally, riding a bike in gravel is shaky at worst, not really a thing nightmares are made of. But when you are pulling a 70 pound trailer behind you that wants to go its own way, you have a very high potential for sliding out and wrecking. Getting injured is one of the few things that could end this trip, and most of the time we are in the middle of nowhere, so even the slightest dangers become a lot worse.</span></div>
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We managed to make it through the long gravel road without wrecking. We finally reached the campsite! We met this nice game warden when we arrived, his name was Errel. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgShVnf7T2mh4i-ilY3TP812a_su7CMbAAejW74NOFftYUNfmVJyR4Tc58fbCF5W5f5rCzGdNgz9OFmDxln4n4uquE43SKOolqp27KgGKqmlewsytXUpKwxrrh1MZyksqHe6FeruwLb1hsS/s640/blogger-image-708782108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgShVnf7T2mh4i-ilY3TP812a_su7CMbAAejW74NOFftYUNfmVJyR4Tc58fbCF5W5f5rCzGdNgz9OFmDxln4n4uquE43SKOolqp27KgGKqmlewsytXUpKwxrrh1MZyksqHe6FeruwLb1hsS/s400/blogger-image-708782108.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
He helped us find some fresh water and showed us where to camp for the night. Then we discovered that there were no showers at the campground! We were beyond stinky so we did the only thing a Cajun can do, we took a bayou bath! We went for a swim in the river, then I relaxed and did some fishing. Rheann set up dinner and we had a good night. It might rain tomorrow, and we have a 48 mile ride to the next camp, but we are still in high spirits. We made it through a very challenging day and are proud of it!</div>
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Here is a map of today's route.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14724981695408422147noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523019052342867658.post-6462742856953019262013-09-22T12:38:00.001-07:002013-10-06T14:15:59.007-07:00Finding our Freedom<div>
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<b>Day 1</b></div>
<b>Road kill count:</b> 3 frogs, 2 birds, a rat, and some poor unidentifiable creature (We named it Ferrel)<br />
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Posting from: Walk Ons in Baton Rouge</div>
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Trip Total: 28 </div>
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It's hard to believe the day of our departure has finally arrived! We hit the road at around 8am this morning. The weather was perfect; overcast and about 70 degrees. We said goodbye to my Dad and we were off. My long time friend, Adam, rode with us on our first ride out of Gonzales, La. We rode 28 miles to Baton Rouge, and we are sitting in Walk Ons watching the Saints game as I write this. After their inevitable victory over the Cardinals, we will be on our way to our campsite for the night.</div>
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The ride here went pretty smooth. We rode past all of the chemical plants on highway 30, so the scenery wasn't much to look at. Pedaling was difficult though, I think Rheann must have started a large rock collection and put it into my bag this morning. That is the only explanation for how difficult my ride was. My legs are tired, even though I have completed much longer rides. Rocks or not, it's nothing a beer or 7 can't fix!<br />
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I wish you could describe the feeling of freedom I have right now. The rides will be long and tough, but we don't have any deadlines to make. We don't have to call anyone "sir". It is just Rheann and I on the open road. We have only ourselves to depend on, and we will have to rise to meet every challenge we are going to face. It won't be easy, but trust me when I tell you that this feels so right. We have both been preparing for this journey our whole lives, we just didn't know it.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH_3dOU2Uyjifa-wdoXdz_aKlvcm5YkxigasIVRbItVOaWi6HKO-pImhNYKLJbdqYSQWUs3djQQfIoYbcPGqq0Pl8jvo8AX0c1RmeOYNlJQ6MskOMyQ2lVN_Ge-Njpplfcoj9TUyrKVN7E/s640/blogger-image-252592571.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH_3dOU2Uyjifa-wdoXdz_aKlvcm5YkxigasIVRbItVOaWi6HKO-pImhNYKLJbdqYSQWUs3djQQfIoYbcPGqq0Pl8jvo8AX0c1RmeOYNlJQ6MskOMyQ2lVN_Ge-Njpplfcoj9TUyrKVN7E/s400/blogger-image-252592571.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">We will be spending the night in Farr Park, then we have a long 50 mile ride tomorrow. Hopefully we don't have any problems with raccoons tonight! We will need our rest, because our journey is just beginning!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14724981695408422147noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523019052342867658.post-27860600977509449472013-09-11T14:48:00.004-07:002013-09-11T14:48:55.183-07:00Completely Liquid<h2 style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>-Written by Brian</b></div>
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We have sold everything we were willing to part with over the last 2 months. It has been a lot of hard work, but we are almost ready to leave! We were hoping to leave for Baton Rouge on Wednesday, September 11th. Unfortunately, we have to delay the trip for a few days while we try to complete the sale of Rheann's car.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitten, Buddy, and Mama</td></tr>
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It wasn't easy parting with everything in our home, but the hardest thing about this whole experience so far has been saying goodbye to our cats. We left them in the care of my aunt; They will be very well taken care of, but we will miss them greatly. We will come back for them when our trip is over. Goodbye Buddy, Mama, and Kitten!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14724981695408422147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523019052342867658.post-13951877171589186712013-08-28T20:04:00.000-07:002013-08-28T20:16:06.607-07:00Ocean Springs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;">
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<h1 style="text-align: center;">
<u>Ocean Springs Trip </u></h1>
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Posted by Brian</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6Gp6ibiRoBDZppQKmSU7829pdKgB9lW__rcuk5PeqiHvPfDaxn1xiTBvAeNn5WkQWPTOzDS7flByxirHRTAoLr40qzxczJH5fcXU8gH8rT6UbVyG6jifZnjBcN1uSbpNvnnTgmItG4xE/s640/blogger-image--1409743767.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6Gp6ibiRoBDZppQKmSU7829pdKgB9lW__rcuk5PeqiHvPfDaxn1xiTBvAeNn5WkQWPTOzDS7flByxirHRTAoLr40qzxczJH5fcXU8gH8rT6UbVyG6jifZnjBcN1uSbpNvnnTgmItG4xE/s1600/blogger-image--1409743767.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>The Ride In</b></div>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We parked just before the St. Louis Bay bridge and began the 39 mile trek to our campsite in the Gulf Island National seashore. The scenery was beautiful and the weather was great. We were on the open road with only ourselves and a few possessions. This is what real freedom feels like!</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Although
the trip was a blast, the ride there had some problems. We had bike
troubles, sunburn, and a few too many falls by Rheann.We started the ride with a lot of energy, but reached the camp site worn out and ready for some relaxation.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsjMAfPDiqXdOSFqTKqmvRdC1iQgHtf9mgieHRWh9V7yC9J_18dD6cbqde4KXJLqTTkOjSpHVs1kmTXLEuT8kWnj19EVWrM4N1BmZZ-uAAo4QTxLfGmIKZqXvS7UAgW3P7NJ8DjMN5zIE7/s640/blogger-image-1228423121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsjMAfPDiqXdOSFqTKqmvRdC1iQgHtf9mgieHRWh9V7yC9J_18dD6cbqde4KXJLqTTkOjSpHVs1kmTXLEuT8kWnj19EVWrM4N1BmZZ-uAAo4QTxLfGmIKZqXvS7UAgW3P7NJ8DjMN5zIE7/s400/blogger-image-1228423121.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rheann in Pass Christian</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj20WzFeo2wj0zKwrzdc0jYvrPJoYA_-jdsgBddT1vFspiWV5ToX2OekslqZ0dmQ8L_79cIk7r2Lky8kK9ccbSZ5XjXaN4hmX9JoKZIHSvFaQ1slbhQ0tv5EJxT9bQycw7-e984I8Z_ZbRt/s640/blogger-image-1227088562.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj20WzFeo2wj0zKwrzdc0jYvrPJoYA_-jdsgBddT1vFspiWV5ToX2OekslqZ0dmQ8L_79cIk7r2Lky8kK9ccbSZ5XjXaN4hmX9JoKZIHSvFaQ1slbhQ0tv5EJxT9bQycw7-e984I8Z_ZbRt/s400/blogger-image-1227088562.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brian in Pass Christian</td></tr>
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<b>Setting Up Camp</b><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We
got there in one piece ready to set up camp, but needed a few extra supplies for dinner. I left to pick some things up while Rheann handled the tent and the fire. We thought we spotted a market on the way in (about a 3 miles from camp), but when I got there I discovered that it was really a bar! Who names their bar "The Government Street Grocery"? I ended up riding a couple extra miles trying to find a supermarket. </span></span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Rheann got the tent up, sleeping bags
out, and then she made dinner. I don't care if you're name is Emiril Lagasse, until you can beat Rheann on a camp stove I will not be impressed by your cooking skills! She cooked some jambalaya on the sketchiest of fires, and it was delicious!</span></span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Fast forward an hour and we are ready to get showered.... </span>"Where's the toiletry bag?" "Uhhhh....I can't find it...." </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We forgot to bring soap! We had a full day's worth of stench on us and nothing to remove it with! We had to take showers with only water. </span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Despite our smell, we snuggled up to bed only to get woken up by critters trying to get at the food bag. A family of raccoons decided to keep us and our food company for the night. After chasing them off a few times, we finally foiled them by hanging the bag from a tree with our rope.</span><br />
<b><br /></b><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">In the morning Rheann made pancakes
for breakfast. We packed up camp and got ready to ride home. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYo2DAoHIJdRVZ0FAPUuPprXFGDvE0SgsVVOWrcgtlU26CfYyiHLuqxZuC3C5ktga_mQbWbRL0f92rpIktT2znYHZxOb6fCB4_CaXXwXZWRyxU0nbbdhFRozdhAbPxHanDwM0HjMdtMPeT/s640/blogger-image-1131733413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYo2DAoHIJdRVZ0FAPUuPprXFGDvE0SgsVVOWrcgtlU26CfYyiHLuqxZuC3C5ktga_mQbWbRL0f92rpIktT2znYHZxOb6fCB4_CaXXwXZWRyxU0nbbdhFRozdhAbPxHanDwM0HjMdtMPeT/s640/blogger-image-1131733413.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Master chef Rheann</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCSszHGXoGOiQDUsnglTGi3yLFMH8mv_96FPZcGTNPEsVu6Bu2f6Eyf7vgYGtNhB2yAUlZ-7mI_8TB0V0O4g2E0cIkZzcy_qrmO3wD7ng6yOecT2ZO2ID_cMTrXy2y60JyZP4hHuWGJIIE/s640/blogger-image-1531116194.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCSszHGXoGOiQDUsnglTGi3yLFMH8mv_96FPZcGTNPEsVu6Bu2f6Eyf7vgYGtNhB2yAUlZ-7mI_8TB0V0O4g2E0cIkZzcy_qrmO3wD7ng6yOecT2ZO2ID_cMTrXy2y60JyZP4hHuWGJIIE/s400/blogger-image-1531116194.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You want me to sleep where?</td></tr>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b>The Ride Home and Meeting Our First Fellow Bike Tourist</b></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">This ride was a bit easier, even though we were sunburned and tired from the day before. We had some more minor bike problems, but nothing too serious. We made significantly better time on the ride back.</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Our ride was almost over when we ran into our first road buddy! His name was Eric. He was from Panama and seemed to travel a lot lighter than we did. Eric was a very interesting guy, and his way of seeing life was very similar to ours. We only talked with him for half an hour, but we could tell he was a very passionate and friendly person. He was a lot more experienced than we were at touring. </span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">After he told us about everywhere he had been, Eric told us about his current trip. He was on a spiritual journey. His path is going to take him across the Underground Rail Road, where escaped slaves had to run in order to reach freedom. His journey started in New Orleans, and will end in Niagra Falls! He spoke of his trip with such enthusiasm and vigor, and I am happy for him to have found something so meaningful to him. We enjoyed meeting Eric and wish him safe travels on his journey.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXqvijP3BVht68F58BU0qVd5vRWb6LXtdfhROe-On6_wAsgb49nAJEPwXjiVqAQAf_9J5XYMiUzLfjiz8N42Bf_J7kIAgr30-SQUG_oMmQCxVKrWWIz1-o_fxSIgUp0CSxszDB_drGpFHy/s640/blogger-image-922382448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXqvijP3BVht68F58BU0qVd5vRWb6LXtdfhROe-On6_wAsgb49nAJEPwXjiVqAQAf_9J5XYMiUzLfjiz8N42Bf_J7kIAgr30-SQUG_oMmQCxVKrWWIz1-o_fxSIgUp0CSxszDB_drGpFHy/s400/blogger-image-922382448.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our new friend Eric</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14724981695408422147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523019052342867658.post-40869820140909231332013-08-22T20:26:00.001-07:002013-08-22T20:52:19.135-07:00The Countdown Begins!<h1 style="text-align: center;">
<u>The Countdown Begins!</u></h1>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<u>The Bikes</u></h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-xJuZrQJ7DjM/UhbWUR8WKXI/AAAAAAAAAD4/m01VU4o35XE/s1024/Photo%252520Aug%25252021%25252C%2525202013%25252C%25252012%25253A43%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone" height="487" id="blogsy-1377229347156.3428" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-xJuZrQJ7DjM/UhbWUR8WKXI/AAAAAAAAAD4/m01VU4o35XE/s500/Photo%252520Aug%25252021%25252C%2525202013%25252C%25252012%25253A43%252520PM.jpg" title="" width="300" /></a> <a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-AyYzP0CeWTA/UhbXEV2u-LI/AAAAAAAAAEY/MW19YiQFglg/s1024/Photo%252520Aug%25252021%25252C%2525202013%25252C%25252012%25253A42%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone" height="487" id="blogsy-1377229347154.7302" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-AyYzP0CeWTA/UhbXEV2u-LI/AAAAAAAAAEY/MW19YiQFglg/s500/Photo%252520Aug%25252021%25252C%2525202013%25252C%25252012%25253A42%252520PM.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Posted by Rheann</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Finally they are built! Our mean cycling machines are finished!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">Big thanks to Bayou Bikes and Zach! They have been invaluable to us as we get started on our journey.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wq5LM-H9eqE/UhbWVh0i5NI/AAAAAAAAAEA/kNFLgeSIm9A/s1024/Photo%252520Aug%25252021%25252C%2525202013%25252C%25252012%25253A44%252520PM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="409" id="blogsy-1377229347173.734" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wq5LM-H9eqE/UhbWVh0i5NI/AAAAAAAAAEA/kNFLgeSIm9A/s500/Photo%252520Aug%25252021%25252C%2525202013%25252C%25252012%25253A44%252520PM.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It took a lot of getting used to on our first ride. Learning how to get on and off the clip less petals was a little painful! Brian had used them before so he was a little better off. I had it a little harder, falling over in the middle of the road 3 times wasn't exactly the most pleasant experience! (Neither was the rain, nor the puddles I fell in, nor the traffic splashing us!) Both of our butts are sore from the seats, but that will go away with more riding.</div>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<u>Full Gear</u></h2>
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-SG9cUcbR8ds/UhbWW0qny6I/AAAAAAAAAEI/nc_g2F9sHLI/s1024/Photo%252520Aug%25252022%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525205%25253A12%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone" height="225" id="blogsy-1377229347128.0515" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-SG9cUcbR8ds/UhbWW0qny6I/AAAAAAAAAEI/nc_g2F9sHLI/s500/Photo%252520Aug%25252022%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525205%25253A12%252520PM.jpg" width="300" /></a> <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-W6IYYULMsro/UhbXFvwSCcI/AAAAAAAAAEg/3AK6JbRy7AE/s1024/Photo%252520Aug%25252022%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525205%25253A05%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignnone" height="225" id="blogsy-1377229347143.887" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-W6IYYULMsro/UhbXFvwSCcI/AAAAAAAAAEg/3AK6JbRy7AE/s500/Photo%252520Aug%25252022%25252C%2525202013%25252C%2525205%25253A05%252520PM.jpg" width="301" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Now that we finally got our bikes, we had to try out hauling the gear to see how the Bob trailers handled. To our surprise, it felt a lot easier than our first ride on the bikes. The trailers seemed to push us along once we got rolling. Even over bumps and potholes, they followed easily behind us. The only time we really felt them was starting off or going up hills, but even then it was still manageable.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I'm really excited to go on our training trip to Ocean Springs, MS. Then I'll finally have the upper hand and show Brian up with my camping skills!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Let the training begin!</strong></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">To grandmothers house we go!</td></tr>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14724981695408422147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523019052342867658.post-59187687817755442282013-08-12T16:03:00.000-07:002013-08-12T16:12:35.118-07:00The Plan<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Plan</span></u></h2>
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Leaving everything behind and going on the open road won't be easy. Here is a rundown of how we are preparing for our journey.</div>
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<b>Step One</b></div>
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We are selling everything we own</div>
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<i>Craigslist and eBay gods please grant us plentiful bids- Amen</i></div>
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<i>If you're interested Here's our <a href="http://www.ebay.com/sch/bmxrider70763/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25&_trksid=p3686" target="_blank">eBay profile</a></i><br />
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<b>Step Two</b></div>
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Stock up for the trip</div>
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<i>lots of online shopping</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<b>Step Three</b></div>
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Obtain our transportation</div>
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<i>This requires a little explanation, ever heard of cycle touring? Well it's basically riding long distances and carrying everything you need along, that's how we plan on getting around. Currently we are building some bikes with the help of an amazing <a href="http://bayoubicycles.com/" target="_blank">local shop </a>. </i></div>
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<b>Step Four</b></div>
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Train</div>
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<i>We are planning a short trip in a few weeks to test all our gear. We will leave from our home in</i> <i>Metairie, Louisiana and ride to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, spend the night and ride back.</i></div>
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<b>Step Five</b></div>
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Leave</div>
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<i>We've already planned the first leg of our journey. First stop Texas and all the sites in-between</i></div>
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<i>here's the <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=203306518851680420473.0004e1fe6a151267ed721&msa=0" target="_blank">Map</a></i></div>
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We do have many more stops planned but that's our first</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14724981695408422147noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523019052342867658.post-10295799822759358282013-08-09T16:50:00.000-07:002013-08-12T16:08:01.084-07:00The Beginning of Our Journey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHuJpBPEjWqMkzf4d_RkxxNRCX9FJlbOx-NcPE-nwNTX5luTmERKXBSNL7NnPvm9yGkajC2OndcrHgaLI_4Aj4qBFhZW_uzyy6KGtXRQqtKpr78FDKpWwLZCI59PExNABCVVppX8uLWwk7/s1600/68891_1423841762889_76483_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHuJpBPEjWqMkzf4d_RkxxNRCX9FJlbOx-NcPE-nwNTX5luTmERKXBSNL7NnPvm9yGkajC2OndcrHgaLI_4Aj4qBFhZW_uzyy6KGtXRQqtKpr78FDKpWwLZCI59PExNABCVVppX8uLWwk7/s1600/68891_1423841762889_76483_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<b>Our story</b></h2>
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<b>The Beginning of Our Journey</b></h4>
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<b>Meet, fall in love, move away together, struggle, find dream job, move....still unhappy</b></div>
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We searched, we moved, and eventually we found that dream job we hoped for. Great pay, great benefits... Brian was working 72+ hours a week and Rheann never saw him. Meanwhile she was was taking classes, not because she really wanted a business degree, but because she felt like she had to.<br />
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We had what we thought we wanted, but the job hours were only getting worse. All the work we had done together and all we had made it through was being tested to the core. </div>
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Why was all this so important to us? Why were we looking for this dream job and money? To buy things that we didn't need and only thought we wanted? To help everyone else get rich and contribute to a broken system? Why do we spend so much of our lives working for nothing, when we can spend it actually living?<br />
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We are RETIRING EARLY, we are hitting the road and seeing the beauty and majesty that is all around us. It's easy to sit back and follow the plan society has put forth for everyone; school, college, a 9-5 job, marriage, mortgage, babies, mid life crisis, and then becoming grandparents. We don't want easy, we want exciting!!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14724981695408422147noreply@blogger.com0