Katy Trail friends are friends for life.

“Don’t you just love riding 100 miles and then eating delicious looking fruit flowers.” Yes I dooooo! Big smiles thanks to a surprise waiting for me in Kansas City.

-Bianca

Dear ARAL,

I have found our new 2012 destination point.

Love, GRAL

It was a long time coming but it’s finally here. New Crocs Day!

-GR

Dammit.

This is a little place we happened upon called Mr. Ed’s Elephant Museum.  We went down the driveway confused at first because it only looked like the skeleton of what once was an Elephant Museum (whatever that actually is).  When we got closer, we became even more fascinated, a door opened behind us and out pops Mr. Ed himself.  I ask him “What happened here?” to which he replied “We had a fire, two days ago.  We had about 10,000 elephants here (sculptures, toys, etc.) and we were able to save about ¾ths of them.”  Our jaws dropped.  I told Mr. Ed about the house fire that my family experienced when I was but 15 and how I could empathize with the trauma of something like this.  He assured me they already had plans set in place to open a temporary Elephant Museum and (obviously) Candy Shoppe in less than two weeks.  I was so happy to hear that he was feeling resilient and he didn’t let a tragedy like this grind him down.  Even though it was such a bizarre and random place to happen upon. And that we only spoke to him for a few moments- I really had a pretty cool moment with Mr. Ed and will never forget it.

http://www.mistereds.com/

Wish I had better pictures of such an amazing place, but the Iphone shots will have to do. This is MOBO, a bike co-op that we visiting while in Cincinnati that had volunteer services for the community to get people riding bikes and keep their bikes in great shape. Everything was free, from tubes and tires to a helping hand and tools. Loving the bike love across the county.

Kansas camping stores make the Kittery Trading Post look like the Sporting Goods section of Wal-Mart.

Good Morning from Kansas! Well afternoon? We ride at night and sleep at day to beat the heat because there is no shade in this state- so we have almost no concept of what day or time it is. Cool. But at least it makes for pretty sunrises!

New placement of Greg’s machete is key for night riding. It allows easy access to fight off snakes, tornados, coyotes and aliens working the night shift on the crop circles. -Bianca

One of my favorite accessories of the trip has been my custom made, first of its kind, Recluse front bag. This bag fits perfectly on my top of my front rack and carries all the essentials for the day. There is a big section inside for my meaty Nikon camera and other compartments for things like energy bars, sun glasses, a multi-tool, my wallet, sunscreen, etc. The most important part of the bag though is the top clear cover that enables me to slip our maps under and navigate while riding. Dana did an amazing job, check out his other handmade items here:

http://reclusedesigns.wordpress.com/ -Bianca

What an exciting day! Bianca’s wish came true when we (finally) started to encounter others on our same Adventure Cycling maps. First was Lindsey from Scotland who was riding from Astoria to Yorktown and then at the tail end of our day we ran into a couple from Melbourne including this yellow fellow. I know what you’re thinking- and I thought it too! This is clearly Greg’s bike’s lost brother! At least a second cousin right? He had a yellow’d out Surly Long Haul with matching Velocity wheels and even a Bob trailer! While Greg was busy oogling his super matchy matchy steeze we did manage to get their URL. You can check out their travels at: www.therewillbehills.com

He even had the wheel of his trailer powder coated too! I know, right? Marty- first order of business upon my return…

Boring Kansas roads make for good impromptu photoshoots to pass the time.

-GR

Geekhouse Promotional Materials. Marty I better be getting paid for these.

11 States down 4 to go!

Here it is. I waited until I was in your home state and put on your shirt so the burn was as bad as possible. No handed riding with a Bob trailer. Ian Sutton, eat your heart out.

-GR

This is what 2500 miles from Boston looks like. Still running the same two tires I left on.. but probably not for long judging by this.

-GR

These Plains are Great! I will miss your high winds and many dead snakes. Pueblo mañana.

Double-Rainbow.

Best tan lines ever.

Good morning Rockies

Starting in Sugar City, CO we started to see these strange blue shapes in the distance…

“You tried to cross the river and failed. You lost one Croc and two granola bars.”

This is what I’ll be doing today -Bianca

11,312 feet up! Enjoying the view from the top of Monarch Pass

After a pretty major structural fail to Greg’s driveside drop out (pictured) we are between a rock(y mountain) and a hard place. During a freak accident during our climb up Monarch Pass (the highest summit of our entire trip at 11,321ft) the mount for the rear dérailleur broke off right through the threads rendering Greg’s bike a singlespeed. This is a pretty major hit but I’m happy to report that morale is high and nothing at all will stop us from making it to San Francisco- we are currently sussing out options to restore somewhere between 8-12 speeds to the bike to make it the rest of the way. In the meantime we are farting around Gunnison, CO while a local shop makes one last ditch effort in putting an emergency der. hanger in place. Stay tuned today while we soak up the beautiful mountain valley weather and wi-fi, and post up all of our favorite pics. from yesterdays climb, bike-fail, and subsequent meltdowns. Thanks to those who have helped us get through from the care package in Parlin to the tips and ideas for shifting solutions they have helped us stay positive and optimistic. If you want to help out- make a donation today to the Autism-Society to let us know you love us and our journey- shifters or not.

After hearing me scream from almost 2 miles away- Bianca found me on the side of the road red in the face and teary eye’d over my broken bike and what I thought was the end of the trip. While emotions were running a little too high to Tumblr anything in the heat of the moment- Bianca did capture this gem right after. I had just finished setting the bike up as a single speed by breaking the chain and shortening it and B suggested we take a picture as we puttered up the last ¼ mile of the epic 30 mile climb. I was sure I was going to have to buy a new bike and right as Bianca took this picture she said, “This may be the last time you ride your bike.” It wouldn’t be a trip if nothing went wrong and I’ll remember the feelings running through me when this was shot for the rest of my life.

Finally, when all I had left in me was melted down to a warm goo of failure and dismay- we made it to the summit. I began to cheer up when Bianca emerged from the gift shop with a bag of fudge and a Monarch Pass patch for my flannel. I had accomplished my goal of Pueblo to Monarch without chamois bike shorts, and Bianca did the entire pass without using her granny gear! It’s using the little victories to keep you going :)

The descent was so beautiful that it was hard to stay angry. Who needs gears when you’re going downhill for 11 straight miles?

I’m happy to report that with the generous and miraculously speedy help of Rock N’ Roll Sports in Gunnison, CO the bike has been restored to its former glory and we are back on the road!  With a combination of a few recommendations and ideas a lot better than any of my own- Dave of Rock N Roll drilled through my frame to bolt on a emergency hanger and set me up with a new Ultegra der. and chain!  He even repaired my fender mount (I had been using a Redbull pull-tabs since the middle of Kansas). The bike feels great and I’m forever indebted to these guys.  Onward to Lizard Pass! Hopefully this 10,000+ ft. climb is a little gentler on me and my ride. Thanks for all the support.

Our last mountain pass in the Rockies, 10,322 feet and a mouth full of powdered donuts. -Bianca

After thinking I was cool for getting over Dallas Divide without breaking my frame again I tried to jump over a fence. The results are in: I am still not cool.

These trees, what we once thought were White Birch, are Aspen trees and they cover the hills of the Rockies. Cool thing about them is that they all share the same root system so essentially what you see here is actually just one organism. Thanks for the knowledge Billy & Clay.

…and they make for some good climbing too.

In Rico we were directed towards a natural hot spring where we decided to take the day off and relax our tired feet after climbing all morning through Lizard Head Pass. This little spring was quite a find…

THEN.. We realized what all the commotion about this little Spring was REALLY for, it fed a hot tub a stones throw away nestled right on the river. Needless to say our afternoon kind of planned itself out and after a morning of washing clothes and eating Jambalaya- we’re now Utah bound and should arrive in Blanding to pick up a few packages from friends in two days time.

It’s begining to look a lot like the desert!