Golf Cottage to our First Capital City!

Greetings pumpers of blood,

   Lightening and the sweet sound of rain soothed us all into a semi slumber last night. However, we awoke refreshed and feeling great after our wonderful stay in the golf cottage at Old Kinderhook. A morning breakfast of protein shakes and oatmeal was devoured, as usual, by all of us. With the layer of rain still hanging in the air, known as humidity, we all set off for a wonderful ride to Jefferson City. Also, thanks again to Jan and Cindy! We had a great time, and we hope you both did well at your 9 0'clock tee time!
   The ride was basically how Missouri has been since we got here. Up and down, up and down, and up and down. I got a piece of metal flung at my shin causing my first blood of the trip. Continued the up and down, up and down, Nate falls down, up and down, and up and down. Nate's handlebars/gear changers just so happened to snatch Matt's rucksack, thus causing Nate to do the classic him, jumping off his bike while clipped in. Nate scores the second blood of the day. Continued up and down, up and down, Matt falls down, up and down, and up and down. Matt simply just did the classic him and wobble and topple over. "It's a good move." Matt said all knowingly just then.
   I myself did not fall today.
   The last big climb of the day came within Jefferson City limits. We cruised into town, as fly as possible, and   while still on the highway, looked on to find a sheer wall ahead of us... Okay, okay, it wasn't a sheer wall, but if roads were built with anymore slope, you'd simply just being going straight up. All that being said, it was really a wimpy climb and we did it better than Tour de France teams. 
   Now we find ourselves sitting at Yanis Coffee Zone in Jefferson City! Steve, a kind gentleman, offered to purchase us lunch after we told him about our journey and why we are on it. If anyone ever offers us lunch, we simply accept it. This is our shout out to Steve, huge thanks for lunch! We all needed it after the 60+ miles through the Missouri rolling hills today. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yanis-Coffee-Zone/113553082012881 This is the coffee shops facebook! Check it out, and if your ever in J.C. you best be getting the Gyro deluxe!!!
   Upon finishing our lunch and some suitable chess games, we are about to ship out and find a bike shop. With hopes of cleaning our precious machines of travel! Also, a place to stay would be nice as well, so we are going to try and find one of those! Thanks to everyone for reading the blog! Please, if you haven't already (or even if you have), make a donation to the Arthritis Foundation and help us reach our goal!

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Welcome to Missouri

Sac River

Jan, Cindy, and the Rain Cyclists

Old Kinderhook

Old Kinderhook

Missouri, looking like Wisconsin

Mansion to Weaubleau to Our Golf Cottage

Greetings people of the planet,

   We are coming to you live from our cottage at Old Kinder Hook Estates/Golf Course! Although, we will get to that later. I guess we could start earlier, I mean, we cannot skip a day on our blog, heavens no!
   Yesterday started with sad eyes, but a focused determination to cross the country, as we left our mansion in Fort Scott. Once on the road we bought the paper because our mugshots were front page! 5 miles later... MISSOURI! Hello land of up and down roads. So our ride was basically up and down. You'd climb up for about 3 minutes and get down the hill in 30 seconds, only to climb up another hill and repeat the process. But  nonetheless, Missouri turned out to be a sight for sore eyes. Trees filling the landscape with some pretty stunning views from atop most of the hills. It felt like Wisconsin, rolling hills, forests, rivers, creeks, and farmlands all mashing together to make for a ride that pained the legs, but sweetened the eyes.
   We had stopped only once on our 66 mile ride from Fort Scott to Weaubleau Missouri and it was to purchase food at a grocery store. We are hungry people, and you just have to restock the rations!
   We came up to Collins Missouri and read that there was a population of 149... We decided we would have better luck staying 4 miles further in Weaubleau. Once there we basically hung out at a Casey's Gas Station for about an hour chatting up the locals, eating salad, and sandwiches. Lunell, the attendant, was kind enough to try the pastor but they had no church accommodations. However, she told us to go to City Hall and ask if we could stay at the city park. Did I mention Weaubleau has a population of 440?!?! The folk at City Hall told us we could stay at the park! WAHOO, a night of camping! We haven't had one of those in awhile. So we all munched on some foods, read some books, Matt scared the crap outta me, and then just went to sleep. It was a hard day of biking after being treated to a wonderful mansion!
   This morning started out a bit late... Nate didn't wake up when we thought we woke him up. I accidentally wrapped my phone in with my tent. Nate actually lost his phone. So we didn't really start our ride until about 6:30 am. LATE! But we didn't mind, we had only 48 miles to go today..
   Missouri, as stated previously, is a lot of up and down roads. To the point where we actually crossed.. Up and Down Rd. That didn't dampen our spirits though, our legs are big and strong and we are pretty sure, through the Choas Theory, actually save children worldwide... When our ride came to a close, we saw two other bikers across the street sitting at a gas station. We passed them and figured, why not go and have a chat? So we turned back, the best decision of the day.
   The bikers are a married couple, Jan and Cindy, who actually have ridden across the country themselves! They did their trip in 1991 on a tandem bicycle from California to Florida! They have also done a Tridom (?), three person tandem ride from Iowa City to New Orleans! What great people to run into! Indeed so kind as to let us stay at a golf course that Jan himself developed in the 80's if I'm not mistaken. So we are here, in a perfect cottage with three beds, at Old Kinder Hook Estates! Jan and Cindy fed us lunch today, and since they recently sold the property to a new owner, they called him up and have gotten us a free dinner in about 30 minutes at the the Trophy Room, the restaurant on the course!
   We truly have been blessed by the people we meet along the way. It is inspiring to us to have such faith in our country even when it is in turmoil itself. No matter what is happening throughout our nation, with the job market, the people don't change. I believe there will always be kindness in the folks you pass along your journey, just as long as you show kindness yourself.
   As always, thanks so much reading. We are almost at $3,000, which is amazing, but not even a 1/4 of our way toward meeting our goal of $20,000. Be a kind soul and donate what you can! Tell your friends and family, and most importantly Nick W. Have a great night in your respective homes, because we will have a great night in our respective home... America!

Sorry, pictures to come in the future. Not uploading at acceptable speed. Need to sleep and re up on energy.  Get excited for pictures of Missouri and such!

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Kansas Just wasn't Ready to Give Us Up Yet!

Greetings from our last night here at Lyon's Twin Mansions Bed and Breakfast in Fort Scott Kansas!

  Ms. Pat, owner of the bed and breakfast, was kind enough to allow us stay until tomorrow morning. We thought, if you have a mansion with good people, then why not hang out for awhile. Rest, relax, and recuperate! And so we have been doing just that!
   Yesterday morning started with a bit of random news watching and a delicious breakfast at the Twin Mansions restaurant. We consumed some delicious breakfast of Belgium Waffles (Matt), Omelets (Nate and I), and other assorted goodies. Afterwards, Nate and Matt mostly hung out at the house, napping, relaxing, reading, and watching movies. I cruised about the city of Fort Scott for just a little bit on the ol' bicycle! I had a go around of Gunn Park, which was beautiful and gave off a great sense of the Midwest. For lunch I had Marsha's Plains Deli, a delicious sandwich and macaroni salad with a Barg's root beer. They were kid enough to throw the blog and me up on their facebook page as the traveler of the day! Big thanks to Marsha! 
   While biking back to the Twin's I received a phone call from Nate about an interview we would be having with another newspaper, the Fort Scott Tribune, here at the Mansions at 3:30 p.m. We got Interviewed by Angelique, a newcomer to Fort Scott due to a recent graduation from University of Kansas. She was very interested and kind as we told her our story and why we were doing it. We should be in the Fort Scott Tribune tomorrow morning, so we will be picking up a paper before we leave! Thanks Angelique!
   We then cruised to the farmers market here in town and chatted up a few people. Matt bought a bag of tomatoes for $1, and I got a pretzel with cheese. Wasn't to much there, but it's still early in the season and also it's a drought. Hopefully they get some good rain after we leave!
   We arrived back at the mansion and basically started the next 9 hours of our life... We put in the Godfather... First of all three... to be watched before we left tomorrow... and Avatar... As I sit here now, it is safe to say, we have finished all three!!! Whew, relaxing can be tough sometimes! That doesn't mean we did nothing today. We went to Gunn Park and threw around the frisbee for awhile, it was hot, but our legs needed a little of a ride! We have recently just finished up Avatar and munched down Papa Don's pizza! It has been tons of fun here in the Lyon's Twin Mansions! Sadly, however, tomorrow we depart to continue our journey. Thank you so much to Ms. Patt and her husband Larry! You have been so kind and generous letting us relax in your mansions. We could not be more thankful than we already are, we have had a blast and I think you all realize that. But tomorrow we depart knowing we have had the best of fun in Kansas as we could have hoped for. And the Lyon's Twin Mansions was the best finale a state could have had!
   We thank all of our readers for still following us on this journey! We have raised $2,907.58 and plan on making it to 20,000. We need your help, even if it's only $5 and a beer less at the bar with your friends, or that pack of smokes you know you don't want to begin with. Anything helps! Keep sharing our blog and following! Post comments and questions! If you know someone who may be along our route and they have a mansion to put us up in, don't be afraid to tell us! Thanks a lot ya'll! With all the energy of a rest man, GOODBYE-Joey "Moose Balls" Michels.

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Iola to our new Mansion

Greetings, from still in Kansas...

    With our hopes high on making it to Missouri today, we failed, but for good concern. Our ride was great, an easy 40 miles to from Iola, Kansas to Fort Scott, Kansas. We figured we would stop in Fort Scott, 4 miles from Missouri just to see if we might like it enough to stay. If we only had known how well Fort Scott treats its outsiders!

   Upon cruising into town, we were told of a local park that we could camp at, we just had to get their City Hall and see if they'd let us camp for free. With some weird directions from our first helper out of the way, we finally reached the tiny City Hall. They said we could camp at Gun Park for $4 dollars per tent for the night. A good deal, because we thought that if we didn't use tents, then it would merely be free... Ya know, just a loophole in the system. With one option for our stay, we decided to search for something better. Something air conditioned cool.

   After lunch in the shade, we started our search for a place to stay, as well as spreading awareness. Our first stop was the Lowell Milken Center. A non-profit that helps to celebrate unsung heroes who change the world! We had the opportunity to meet the Program Director Megan Felt, author of "Life in a Jar". The book is about a hero of the holocaust, Irena Sendler, who helped save 2,500 kids from the Warsaw ghetto. Megan first started the project in high school as a freshman, researching and actually bring Irena Sendler's story to the world! Megan now teaches thousands of students from around the globe about unsung heroes and how they change the world. What she has done is amazing, and it was a true honor to meet her. She is inspirational to say the least. Also, thanks for the Jolly Ranchers!!

   Our next stop was Life+Style. We met Cynthia and Rosemary here and they were kind enough to get give us some delicious iced tea and cookies! We chatted for awhile and it was great to get to know them! Cynthia actually called the Bourbon County Newspaper and got a reporter to come to her store for a story on us! So check the news tomorrow if your in Fort Scott! Cynthia told us about some people who may be able to help, the most being Pat at Twin Mansions Bed and Breakfast. Other than that we met Don Miller, a local history teacher, and two lovely old ladies at The Country Corner. Everyone was so sweet and kind to us that it made our day here in Fort Scott already too good to be true!

   When leaving to head to the bookstore, we ran into Dusty and Amy Drake. They told us that we should go to little Italy in St. Louis for some good authentic Italian food! They donated $20 to our cause, so we thank them very much! Also, a big thanks to Diane Tucker for donating $20 to our cause!

   Upon hearing the name Pat and that she is the owner of Twin Mansions B&B in town, and that she may be able to help us out, we finally got on our bikes and decided to check the place out. We parked our bikes in front of the mansion and stepped into beautiful! Right away we met Pat and she was happy as a clam to see some cyclists! Right away she said that we could stay in the Bed and Breakfast complimentary! Turns out her and her husband Larry love to host touring cyclists!!! PERFECT! I wish you all could be here to see this place, it is just amazing. Built in the late 1800's and seems to be perfectly standing the wares of time, it is honestly the best place I have ever stayed, period. Matt and I both agree that on this trip, we are living like kings! We have a room with a shower, therapeutic massage tub, and king size bed. We would have been fine with the backyard... Thank you so much Pat and Larry for allowing us to stay in such a beautiful place! We feel honored and will spread the word to everyone about your kindness and hospitality!

   We would like to throw out a huge thanks to the city of Fort Scott, Kansas! We couldn't have asked for more when rolling into a city! We are blessed with the sense of community here and the good-hearted people we met everywhere. We will tell everyone we know that there is much more to Kansas than you think, and one of those much mores turns out to Fort Scott!

   Currently sitting in tower of the mansion, in love with life and writing this blog for our readers. We are watching the Big Lebowski and have just a great end to our day! Some quirky things have happened today, like Matt losing his shoes on the road! Also, the lady who told us our shirts are the color of sunshine! That sunshine represents happiness, and that she tries to find happiness in everything she does! We tried to talk to her, but she seemed so in love with her walk that the brief moment of passing was enough to leave her words marked on our souls. Bring happiness to everything you do, just like sunshine!

   Thanks to all our readers our there! Your all great! Comment and ask questions and say whatever you'd like! Tschau for now!!!

http://lowellmilkencenter.org/ check out some unsung heroes!! 

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 Ghost Kitty 20 years old Linda and Mac's kitty

 Becky our wonderful hostess with the raincyclists

 From left to right; Louie, Brent, Becky and Brian

 Harm from Holland

 Seven bikers with one common bond

 Life + Style     Rosemary striking a pose

 America!!!

 The Drakes with the raincyclists

 Our Mansion tower room

 Theraputic massage tub

Joey chillin like a king in his mansion

The party is over and its time to get out of Kansas

   After four awesome, wonderful nights in Wichita it was time for us to finally leave and get back on the road and on our way to St. Louis for the Juvenile Arthritis Convention. We had a quick breakfast of cereal and bananers before we said goodbye to Mac, Linda and Sam. We cannot say thank you enough. We had a great time and we felt more at home than we have the whole trip. With memories of the last few days in our mind we set out for a 66 mile day to our destination of Eureka, Kansas.
   We had a wonderful ride with a slight wind in our face for a little more than half our ride. Then we stopped in El Dorado for a quick bite to eat and watched some old dudes play tennis. We totally could have beaten them in a game of doubles.
   The last 30 miles of our ride was fast with a tailwind and 12 miles before we hit Eureka we encountered our first cross country touring cyclists. We stopped and chatted them up for a few minutes. They were Oliver, Doug and Brian. They were going from New York to San Francisco. We swapped a few stories about biking across the country and they told us that if we were staying in Eureka we should go to the pool and find Becky. They said she was the nicest lady ever and would probably let us stay at her house.
   Good luck you guys and keep killin it on your way to San Fran.
   Once we got to Eureka we went to the pool where they said she would be and asked for Becky. Good thing we were talking directly to her when we asked! She is the manager of the pool and let us into the pool for free and said that we could stay at her house that night. She has been hosting touring cyclists for the last two summers and she loves it. She used to be on warm showers which is a website that hosts cyclists but now she is just a legend on the transamerica bike route. She only has three rules for cyclists that stay at her house; you have to sign in her log book, take a picture with her and send her a postcard from your home city or state.
   So we hung out in the pool and after about an hour another three cyclists pulled into the parking lot. They had been riding with Oliver and the guys we met earlier and they told them to go to the pool and find Becky. So we started talking with our second group of cross country bikers and they were also going to be staying at Becky's that night. They were Brian, Brent and Louie. And then there were 6. They were going west to Boulder, Colorado where Brian was stopping and Brent and Louie were splitting up with Brent going to Seattle and Louie going to San Fran.
   When we had enough of the pool we got ready to leave and just as we were getting on our bikes yet another touring cyclist pulled into the parking lot. His name was Harm and he was from Holland. He is going east to New York. We told him to talk to Becky about a place to stay and set out for the grocery store and Becky's house.
   After picking up some supplies we rolled up to Becky's house and made our self at home as she told us to. We met her daughter Becky and her friend. We had some lunch and it wasn't long after that that Brian and Brent showed up. With Louie rolling up about an hour later and Harm a few minutes behind him we had our whole bike gang in Becky's house. We hung out and talked about life on the road, the hardships and the fun, the exciting and the boring, the past, present and future.
   Becky was so cool and extremely inviting. She told us to make her house our home and if we did not that it was our fault. She was just as excited to have us in her house as we were to be there. Thank you so much Becky and keep making bikers day, every day. We all hit the hay on the ground and got some good rest for the next day of biking.
   Fearless leader speaking now! This morning was great, Cocoa Puffs, muffins, protein shakes with oatmeal, Cheerios, and Honey Bunches of Oats. Not to mention a group of 7 cyclists all doing their morning routines, shuffling around the house. We all said our good byes and shared information, then we set off east as the others set off west! Besides Harm, he set off a bit late due east!
   With a legendary stay behind us, we set off for Iola, Kansas, a mere 50 miles! We stopped in Yates Center for a snack in their "Historic Downtown", although we had no idea what was historic about it. However, Yates Center is the Hay capital of the world!!!!! HAY HAY HAY ITS FAT FARMER ALBERT!!!! That was a really lame joke, that is all.
   The ride continued without a hitch all the way to Iola. I saved a turtle from impending doom on the highway and then Iola was just around the corner. We stopped at a local gas station and asked if there was anywhere with an all you can eat buffet. Turns out, THERE IS! Thanks to the great couple at the gas station for telling us and a donation for to used for lunch! We ended up at the chinese buffet restaurant and each had about 5 plates of food! So good, I'm still full typing this! We were asking around for a place to stay and the waitresses said that a local pastor was about to leave. So Nate asked him if we could stay at his church and what we were doing an why. Phillip Honeycutt, the pastor, was kind enough to put us up in a motel across the parking lot! We thank you so much for your generosity, the showers here are the best we've had!
   Now we've been hanging out here in the air conditioning because its Sunday, so only restaurants are open. Matt and Nate napped after eating, and I watched movies... Utter relaxation! At this point we are doing some upper body workouts to keep our bodies chiseled like Greek Gods! So a huge shout out to the pastor Phillip Honeycutt of Covenant of Faith Christian Center! 
   So as always, tell your friends family and foes! Spread the word like the plague because we are almost at 4,000 page views!!!! Comment on the blog, tell us who you are! Thanks so much for reading and more to come in the future!

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Greetings inhabitants of planet Earth

   Chuck and Susie, Melissa and Dallas, Mike and Chris, Linda and Mac
   We won't bore you with our ride into Wichita... There was some hills, some wind, some more trees, and a lot of airports...
   WICHITA! Destination of relaxation! We cruised up to Linda and Macs place in Southeast Wichita on July 3rd. They are friends of Nates parents from when they lived in Louisiana and they were kind enough to allow us the status of guests for the past few days! Just so happens, we fit right in, and it has been some outrageous fun these past few days!
   We lumbered in all smelly on Tuesday and with quick introductions and a lunch already ready for us, we couldn't have asked for more! With some quick showers after lunch, we all hoped into the truck for a ride to meet the "framily" (friends that are family) and for a day at Kaw lake in Oklahoma! Drinks in hand and happiness in tow, everyone had smiles on their faces as introductions began. We met most of Linda and Macs framily right there at the lake! Susie, Melissa and Dallas, and Mike and Chris (with the exception of Chuck, Susie's husband whom we end up meeting later). After introductions, the fun just hasn't stopped rolling!
   The lake consisted of lots of drinks, laughs, tubing, floating, drinks, swimming, naked Nate, and a cookout!  We all hung out on Dallas's pontoon boat and basically just floated, drank, and shared stories! With most of the conversation being quite in the "adult" language, I wont share what happened for the stories and stuff... After the floating, Dallas and Mac took us out for a bit of fun and tubing under the sun! This is where naked Nate comes in... Nate's swimsuit is a tad bit big on him and for some odd reason he likes to be dragged in the water as opposed to being on the tube. So every time he was on the on the tube, he just lost his swimsuit! Dallas had to keep cruising around dragging naked Nate to find his suit somewhere off floating in the water! The best part was when Matt and Nate were tubing together, and even then Nate would lose his suit... So for a little bit Matt was tubing with naked Nate, muwahaha! The rest of the lake consisted of floating and drinking, just overall having a great time with our new found framily! After our drive back to the house, wonderful sleep ensued!
   The next morning didn't start at 4:30 as it usually does but instead we got the opportunity to sleep in for the first time in weeks. We took advantage and awoke to Panera Bread bagels and cream cheese. Thanks Mac!  With a full belly and no evidence of a hangover Mac and Linda took us on a tour of Wichita and showed us some of the downtown and some of their cool architecture. 
   After the exploration of the city we came back to the house and decided that swimming was the next thing on the agenda. Since Mac now has a civilian job on the Air Force base he got us onto the base and took us to their swimming pool. The pool was pretty great with a rock climbing wall over the water and a set of water slides. We conquered the routes on the rock wall except for the last one, which was by far the hardest. The slides were fun and fast exspecially the purple corkscrew one that sent you swirling faster and faster until it spat you out in a torrent into the pool.     
   After the pool we went back to the house, but stopped at the liquor store to pick up supplies for the ensuing 4th of July party. With Kansas brewed beer in tow we got back home, packed up the cream corn, and set out for Mike and Chris's house.  
   The party was full of good people, great stories, and fun times. At Mike's house we got the opportunity to meet Chuck who is Mac's brother from another mother as he put it. Chuck was loud, obnoxious, and loads of fun, just like the rest of the framily. They all made us feel more at home than we have in a long time and we can only hope that we are still partying that hard when we have kids. 
   The rest of the party was full of great food including buffalo chicken, cake, potato salad, cream corn, sandwiches, shredded chicken sandwiches with barbecue sauce and booze. Booze being the most important aspect. 
    Once it got dark the fireworks started and they would not stop for over two hours and included 360 degrees of greatness the entire time. This was just outside of Mike and Chris's house and wasn't the city setting off fireworks but instead the whole neighborhood basically having a fireworks fight to see who could set off more and be louder and be brighter. We all agreed that this was one of the best fireworks shows we had ever seen. With the fireworks dying down we got back in the truck and headed home to pass out and get up the next day to go to the bike shop and explore downtown. 
   The 5th started out with eggs and bacon for breakfast! After our feast, we started out into the heat of Kansas for our ride around Wichita and to the bike shop. Once there, naked Nate didn't find a suitable new saddle for his bike (bike seat), and Matt and I got new handlebar tape! Now, Matt and I are stylin' hard! Matt rolling with yellow to match his waterproof stuff sack, and me rocking red, yellow, green, and black! Soooo we're pretty cool. The guys at the shop were especially nice and very helpful and interested in our journey. Thanks for your support Darrell and his co-worker! We hope you follow along on our journey!
   After the bike shop we stopped at the Wichita Eagle News to see if they'd run our story... As far as we know, they haven't... BUT MAYBE... Ya never know, I guess we just aren't newsworthy here in Wichita... Weak sauce!
\   After the shop, we realized it was to hot to continue our ride around downtown so we started heading back. We stopped at an aquarium shop, ALWAYS AWESOME! Then we also stopped at a violin shop! Simon, the owner, turns out was diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis and it was horrible for him... It left him, for the most part, unable to play violin... Until later, he was given Embryl, a breakthrough drug of the late 90's and it helped him immensely! He regained his ability to play the violin, which from what I saw, was a true love of his life! He said he should have been a poster child for that drug, perhaps he should have been, because it seemed to have changed his life in the best way possible! Thanks Simon, I'm sure Nate will be back to purchase a violin from you in the future!
   Upon returning home, basically Matt and I just hung out in the basement and watched movies for the rest of the day. Bliss. Nate went to watch Linda and Mack's grandson play baseball. Matt and I watched more movies! How wonderful rest can be!
   Now we are here, today, Friday the 6th. We had a great breakfast at a diner in Wichita before Matt and I ended up here at a Starbucks blogging. We've had such a great time in Wichita with a wonderful sense of that Midwestern home feeling. The "framily" has been wonderful to us and we cannot thank them enough! We will miss all of you, and if we are ever in the Wichita area again, I'm sure we will swing by for a float in the lake! Linda and Mac have been such gracious hosts, karma will be sure to bring them good fortune! Tomorrow we set off for somewhere in Kansas, 50 miles east Wichita! Thanks Wichita, you've been a blast!
   Thanks to all of you who checked the blog and kept seeing nothing for the past few days. Continue to do so! We have hits from the Netherlands, Taiwan, Senegal, Columbia and the Chech Republic! Along with our gracious followers in Germany and Russia! Thanks to everyone for spreading the word! Continue to do so! As always, get on that Nick!!!
p.s. anyone can comment now! you don't need a gmail account! SO COMMENT, tell us who you are, why you like the blog, and ask us questions of what we think may be to come next!!

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 America the Beautiful with Miss America

 From Left to Right; Mac, Susie Q, Linda, Melissa the thinker, Chris, Dallas. The Framily

 Nate feeling like a boss with the ladies

 Tubing like a real man

 Thats how we do it in Kansas

 And hes down

 Joey jumpin up and down

 Is that all you got?

 Riding those waves like a true cowboy

 And hes down

 Matt just chillin like a villain

 Double Team, Supreme!

 And hes passed out

 The Thinker after a few too many

   Our new Framily

We found TREES near Kingman Kansas!

Greetings people of planet Earth!

   Our first breakfast of oatmeal was enjoyed this morning by all three of us in the church commons. The usual limbering up was done with moans of stretching satisfaction. The morale was high, as it always is. We set off on our adventure to Kingman, Kansas before the sun illusion of rising had begun...
   With a bright orange/red/pink glow and a cool 68 degree morning, biking didn't seem like it would be all that hard today. With a wind starting from the south and us heading east, it was crosswinds to start. After halfway and the far side of Pratt, Kansas, we continued our trek east as the wind decided to start going northwest... AH! You should all have learned by now not to go biking into the wind... As hard as it sounds, it is only a mere challenge of a moment in time. You learn to push through and ignore the pain in your knees, the hot water in your pack, your aching shoulders, and burning leg muscles all for that destination at the end of the day. You forgive the wind for its harshness and thank the sight of new found trees! Once you roll into your destination for the day, stretching relieves some of the pain, naps always help, and conversation and laughter can cure any ailment. When the kindness of others is thrown into the mix, you get the tastiest, most rewarding, and best drink of all, life.
   So here we find ourselves in some hot weather chilling under a fan in a barn at the fairground in Kingman Kansas. We'd like to thank Mindy, or Mandy, or we should stop being so tired when we meet people... We would like to thank her for allowing us to camp at the fairgrounds!
   So without further adieu, we bid farewell to thee. As always tell that good ole Nick W. what to do. Bee sure to make that honey, and donate that money! Keep spreading the good words of our blog! Enjoy life, and eat off the floor!

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 That morning sun.. Matt and Nate enjoying the 68 degrees

Frintner!