DAY 17
Ray departed from Minden at 8:45
a.m. headed for Beatrice, Nebraska. We caught up with him
at 10:30 a.m. after filling the RV’s water tank and restocking the
Gatorade & Bananas.
It was about 20 degrees cooler than
previous days with the temperatures residing in the mid 80’s.
That is until 2 p.m. By then it was back to being unreasonably
hot.
The Nebraska wind continued to thrash
Ray around like a piñata at a Sweet-tooth Convention. A couple
of abusive hours later we figured out that by riding directly in
front of him we could break most of the heavy, opposing winds.
Ray was so invigorated by the augmentation of the wind that when
he reached mile 123, his intended last mile for the day, he went
2 miles further! He said he felt like doing another 75 miles
– but the crew needed to eat!
We got bounced around to 3 different
restaurants in town before we could find one that would serve us
at 9:30 pm. We thought we might end up dining at Casey’s General
Store and sitting on the curb again, which would’ve been fine by
this writer, but alas we found Valentino’s. We closed the
evening with a little Letterman and chit chat.
At the days end, Ray had finished
1,575 miles of this 3,100-mile journey. Please continue to join
us on the www.bikeforbread.org news site as we near home!
We’ll have more pictures within the next few days!
DAY 18
On the ride today Ray met two curious,
young men named Mike & Levi from Cortlend, Nebraska. They
were very excited about the bike trip across America and it’s purpose.
The roads in these parts of Nebraska
aren’t too congested so when Ray is outside of the RV’s shepherding
gaze, i.e.: when we’re dumping the Loo ‘ or doing a Yoo-hoo run,
the only visual stimulus to be found in this vast prairie country
is its' animals. Today, Ray mooed at the cows, spotted
a beaver toting some vegetation up the river, and saw a loose pig
cross the road.
Thanks to those of you who have emailed
us with your own PERSONAL minute-by-minute 'daily reports'.
We've enjoyed reading them. I might add that there has been
the temptation to bootleg some of YOUR stories as I've searched
for things to write home about (Like today..!!?) in some of the
rather ‘nothing to write home about’ areas of our fair country.
When Ray returned from his ride,
we did the usual...the Crew relaxed while Ray cleaned the RV.
After Ray got things in adequate order, we went to an extremely
authentic Chinese restaurant before turning in for the evening.
Join us tomorrow from Missouri, as we press on towards home.
See you then!
DAY 19
Ray was out of the gates this morning
at 8:30 a.m. after doing a 7 a.m. interview and tidying up the RV.
(We do reprimand him but he says something about needing to do his
part!) The crew stopped to pick up ice and lunchmeat at Wal-Mart
before joining Ray who was already well underway.
…When we last left our brave young
hero, he was trekking across a desolate tract of… (Boy, Ray
would hate that. I’ll begin again...)
When Ray came into view - what we
saw was him walking his bike, not riding. Another spoke (number
4) had broken and he was forced to walk his bike for 2 miles until
the RV reached him. Undaunted, he grabbed the backup bike
from the RV and took off without even his water bottle, trusting
that Cooter would have his main bike up and running before he needed
his next drink! This was, in fact, the case and Ray was soon
back on the road with his bike of choice.
We spent most of the remaining 60
miles in Nebraska drafting Ray so that we might shield him against
some of the intense wind, and we were mostly successful. However,
when he reached the Missouri State Line and crossed the Missouri
River, the geography immediately changed. We were no longer
able to protect Ray from the winds' interference because a continuous
succession of camelback type hills had taken over the countryside.
Even though the temperatures were in the 95-100 degree range, it
was the hills that took the most out of Ray today.
Ray ended up in Maryville, Missouri
after having biked a total of 91 miles for the day. After
replying to emails and making phone calls, we had dinner and then
just relaxed a bit before cashing it in for the evening.
Ray’s going through states like Diet
Coke! Tomorrow, it’s Iowa!
See y'all from Ray, the Bike for
Bread Support team and Missouri! As always, we hope that you’ll
join us again tomorrow!
DAY 20
Ray began his day with a peanut butter
& butter sandwich and a Diet Coke. He rode out of Maryville,
Missouri at 8:30 this morning with calm winds and temperatures in
the 80’s. Ray didn’t stop riding for 3 solid hours.
We had to replenish his beverages through the window of the moving
RV while he rode. He logged in 45 miles before 11:30.
It was only then that he was forced to stop his trancelike spin
fest. Then what do you think happened next boys and girls?
That’s right! The wicked spoke demon reared its evil, ugly,
little head again. Ray no longer becomes even slightly irritated
by the recurring theme of the spoke, but rather - waits with a ready
chuckle for its’ reappearance in the storyline of his 37-day trek
across America.
Ray continued on his backup bike
for several miles until Cooter was able to install a new wheel (purchased
in Ft. Collins for just such an occasion) on his main bike.
The new wheel carried Ray through the day.
We crossed into Iowa today with very
little change in scenery. The weather was consistently pleasant
the entire ride to the extent that the wind and temperatures were
involved. The newest millstone seemed to be humidity.
Isn't it always something?
Ray did mention that he passed a
restaurant named Dogasourus that reminded him of a restaurant by
the same name in Northeastern Connecticut. This evidently brought
back found memories and gave him a laugh while riding.
We’re in Centerville, Iowa tonight!
We’re all trying very hard to get some decent rest tonight.
Lately, dinner for us has been at 9 pm and then talking goes on
much longer after that. Acceptable behavior if you're getting
up at noon! Still, Ray needs to chat after riding alone for 10 to12
hours a day and well...we missed talking to him. Of course,
then there’s sleep...and none of us want to undermine its'
significance. Therein lies the battle.
We’ll be back tomorrow with more miles crossed in
the great state of Iowa. Look forward to having you back
then.
DAY 21
We pulled out of Centerville, Iowa
at close to 8:45 after Ray wrapped up an interview with WILI radio
of Willimantic. The temperature was in the 90’s from the
start of the day to the finish. The roads were nice enough
to draft Ray for about 10 or 20 miles so we were able to relieve
him of some of the Iowa crosswinds. He said that overall,
it was a good day of biking. There were no spoke problems
today, although we did fix the ones we have been racking up from
days prior. We found a bike shop that was rather off the
beaten path (The address was a Rural Route) called The Bike Barn.
We were quite fortunate as the next 30-40 miles appeared to be
void of bike shops. They were great to us and corrected
our wheels quickly so we could get back to Ray before he really
missed us.
The scenery changed enough to keep
it interesting for Ray while he was riding. We saw several Mennonite
families in Iowa traveling in horse-drawn carriages. The
children of these families got such a kick out of Ray & the
RV. They were absolutely cute and couldn’t stop waving and
staring at us! Ray also came to a lemonade stand that he
couldn’t resist stopping at.
The RV had the wheel troubles today.
It got a flat tire just before we crossed the Mississippi.
Cooter and Aaron fixed it – no problem. The timing was perfect
if it was going to happen anyway. Barbara’s family that lived
just south of where we got the flat stopped up to encourage Ray
and say hello to everyone. Thanks again for making
the drive Ray, Jan, Billie and Brett! It was good to see
you.
It was a mile across the Mississippi
into Illinois.
DAY 22
We left out of McComb, Illinois
by 9:15 am. The roads we were traveling were narrow, rough
and curved which made them unsafe for biking. Couple that
with aggressive drivers who all seem to be late for the same function
and you’ve got 3 members of Ray’s crew with soiled britches at
the end of the day. The RV isn’t always able to follow or
draft Ray when there are frequent hills or winding roads as we
put him even more in harms way than he would be on his own.
We’re then forced to pull ahead of him a ½ mile down the road,
and anxiously wait for Ray’s shape to come into view.
However, Ray was enjoying the spectacular
scenery between narrow escapes and close calls. The fields
of corn billowed and stretched out in the distance like a sunlit
green sea. These were, by far, some of the greenest &
most immaculate plots of farming land that we have seen so far.
We also saw some nifty looking barns and other intriguing buildings
from times past.
After 93 miles of riding the accident-waiting-to-happen
roads of Illinois, Ray decided to finish up in Bloomington. He
had pasta from Rose’s Kitchen as he customarily does after
a day of biking, while we searched the city for affordable accommodations.
When we found a cheap hotel that
had a pool so we settled ourselves in and went for a swim to cool
off. Ray made phone calls, we checked the email and then
we all changed for dinner. There was a Steak n Shake
next door to us so we walked there for grub, even though steaks
and shakes are two food items that 3 of the 4 of us won’t or can’t
have.
The food was cheap and cooked in
an Easybake oven by the size of the portions, but it was an enjoyable,
strange meal. Our waiter made it fun just by putting up with us.
After Ray comes off of the bike after a 10 hour or so day, it’s
as though he’s had a 6-pk of Jolt cola. I’m not sure if
it’s because he’s completed one more day of biking, or because
he gets to talk to people again after hours of deprivation, or
because we let him drive the RV if he says the magic word.
We left the miniature food restaurant
and watched ‘Strange Brew’ on the RV’s VCR then just went
to sleep.
Tomorrow we will remain in Bloomington
for a day of rest for the RV crew. Because after all, Ray
still bikes on his rest days, so we can’t honestly refer to them
as his rest days – can we? So, the crew will take it easy,
Ray will bike and we’ll be back with you tomorrow to tell you
all about it!
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