Arrival: LIVE

courtesy of Grant Worth

We did it!!!!! 85 days, 3647 miles peddaled

NEW YORK CITY!!!!


Thanks to Josh Bousel for the following set of photos:



















to see the whole set by Josh Bousel, go to:
http://flickr.com/photos/joshbousel/sets/72157607174699681/


























Thanks so much to everyone who contributed. We couldn't have done it without you!!!

Almost there! (just a hurricane between us now)

Day 81: 58 miles to Baltimore, MD (actually, Towson, MD)

Rode out of DC on the Rock Creek trail, which was gorgeous tree canopy lined trail, but after almost 40 miles we realized we were still in DC. Decided to re-route for the next four days to get to NY quickly. We climbed a lot of short STEEP hills that day, and also watched the sun set behind us. Then we went to visit our old friend, Carrie Collins, who has temporarily moved back to MD to do a nursing program at Johns Hopkins. Her parents, Janet and Sam, are sweet and funny respectively. In ten years that we've known Carrie, we can't believe we haven't met them sooner. Sam cooked us a delicious dinner, and, having heard a rumor that we are into pie, Janet baked us a cherry pie, which wins the gold medal for best pie on this trip!!! (Thanks so much, guys) *Sweet story: Carrie's parents met at the bus stop!

Carrie, we miss you already!
Day 82: 54 miles to Oxford, PA

At Carrie's we rerouted our path, and found ourselved spending the next night in Oxford. At breakfast, (which by the way included home made blueberry muffins from Janet..yum!) Sam said, "My brother lives in Oxford, let me call him up and see if you guys can stay there."
What are the odds!?!?

It was over a hundred degrees that day as we rode, and hardly any shade on our non bike friendly (but shorter) route. We stopped at the only place we could find shade, the liquor store, and Karin cooled off in the walk in refrigerator. Then we passed the Mason-Dixon line right before we entered, PENNSYLVANIA!
As per our directions, we were to look for the dog mailbox. We were at Max & Denise's.
Denise shows, trains, boards, and grooms Westies. She has six of them, and there were three more that were staying at the house, so nine in total.
One of them, CJ, had been BEST IN SHOW!!!!! Both pages of this are him:
Denise also makes handmade, fashionable leashes. http://www.denisesleashes.com/
Hang in there!
At dinner, (which was wonderful) we learned that Denise had been an aerobics instructor in the 80's. Not only that, but they had one on video that Max had taped. Of course we watched it!
(I think I want to teach a dance aerobics class, who wants to sign up? -D)

Also at dinner we were talking about singing, and learned that Denise and Max were a duo. (http://www.maxanddenise.com/) They sang a few songs for us which were so beautiful!!! Thanks so much guys, we can't wait for the CDs!

Day 83: 64 miles to Morrisville, PA

After a lovely breakfast with Denise on the patio, we headed out on a hot hot day. We pounded it out without too much stopping. The plan was to stay in Trenton, but when we were right at the State line, we stopped at a gas station, and Jayesh, (left) told us that we should just stay in the area we were in. Jayesh also donated to the WWF, and so did Lamont, (right). Thanks, guys!!

We are so close now, but hurricane Hannah is on her way to greet us. Don't worry, we will be at that finish line on Sunday, rain or shine!!! Can't wait to see everyone!! Check out the flyers that Daphne and Michael made (in earlier postings) and we hope to see you there!!!!!!

One nice thing about a hurricane a-comin' is how beautiful it makes the sky look.

Finish line update!

Here they come! Welcome Debbie and Karin this Sunday Sept. 7th at Battery Park. We'll meet up at 4:30 at battery park for their 5pm arrival. Meet at the Castle Clinton National Monument, where the Statue of Liberty Ferry drops off. If you get lost, call me when you get there and I'll tell you where to go, if you don't have my number email me at dgomezmena@yahoo.com and i'll give it to you.

By Train:

• A, C to Broadway/Nassau* E to World Trade Center
• N,R to City Hall, Cortlandt Street, Rector Street, or Whitehall Street
• J,M,Z to Fulton Street or Broad Street
• 2,3 to Park Place, Fulton Street, or Wall Street
• 1,9 to Rector Street or South Ferry
• 4,5 to Brooklyn Bridge, Fulton Street, Wall Street, or Bowling Green
• 6 to Brooklyn Bridge

By Bus:

• M1
• M6
• M9
• M15
• M20

Afterwards we'll meet up at Trophy bar 351 Broadway in Brooklyn with djs, blair, jeremy and michael, to party the night away at the usual party time 9 or 10 ish, again call me if you need more detail.

YAY!!!

and thanks to michael for making the flyer!

and spread the word/post on your facebook or myspace or whatever you kids are using these days.

5 more days 'till our booties get a break!

Hello friends! Sorry for the long delay, but we have been peddling hard. We have made it from sea to shining sea and are now in Washington D.C.!!!! Only five more days until New York! Special shoutout to Daphne who has been organizing our arrival fiesta!

A lot has happened since we last left you.....

Day 70: 64 miles Bloomington to North Vernon, Indiana.

We were sad to leave Bloomie-town, but Victoria packed us a delicious lunch of pasta salad and chocolate cake which made it a little better. We biked to Muscatatuk Park, and as soon as we entered the park, a tunnel of trees and a river made the temperature 30 degrees cooler. We set up our tents and started walking into town to find dinner. A nice guy gave us a ride into town, and coincidentally when we were done eating, there he was, and gave us a ride home. It was so peaceful, except for the loud sounds of drag racing that went on ALL NIGHT.

Day 71: 77 miles to Cincinatti, Ohio

The plan was to camp in Aurora, but we got there so early in the day, that the three of us decided to keep on peddling to Cincinnati.

Since there was no campground, we stayed in a hotel... with a pool!

Unfortunately the pool's rule #1 made me lose my appetite for swimming.

That night we watched the finale of the Olympics, and Karin's aura was shining bright.

Day 72: 69 miles to Hillsboro, Ohio
rode out of Cincinatti on a gray-ny day and camped out that night.

Day 73: 36 miles to Chillicothe, Ohio

Chillicothe is Ohio's first capital, and a really cute town. We had planned to keep going, but there were no campgrounds to be found for miles. When we stopped for lunch, we met Lee who treated us to some "buckeyes," which are homemade peanut butter cups. We had planned to sleep in the park that night.

Later, I ran into Lee again, and he invited us to stay at his super cool place that was filled with lots of vintage/old school toys. (THANKS, Lee!!) It was especially awesome not to have to sleep in the park, because that night the city was getting lots of rain from "Fey."

No on ISSUE 12!

Day 74: 60 miles to Athens, Ohio

We biked in the chilly rain. Karin found the Inhale yoga studio and we thought we could go in and ask, "Namaste at your house?"

We ended up at a delicious organic Mexican restaurant, Casa Nueva, where we met Scott who said the magic words: "Do you need a place to stay? I have a hot tub." (Thanks, Scott!!)

We got to play with his blowgun.

Thank goodness we all are still getting along as good as ever!

The cold grass was just the perfect treatment after soaking in the jacuzzi.

Day 75: 59 miles to Mountainwood Park, WEST VIRGINIA
In the morning Scott took us to "The Gathering Place" a organization that he runs to help people with mental illnesses.

I got a one way ticket to Coolville

Crossed a rainy bridge into WEST VIRGINIA!!!
Country road, take these mountain mamma's home!!

The first stop in WV was Parkersburg. To our surprise, we found a LEBANESE restaurant! They were so sweet too! They treated us to a delicious feast, and called the local reporter.

Roger came over and interviewed us, and we made the paper!!

http://www.newsandsentinel.com/page/content.detail/id/508771.html

Roger suggested we stay at Mountwood Park. He had a friend there who rented out a beach house for cheap. (by beach, they mean lake)

There were deer frolicking all around us.

Day 76: 65 Miles to Belgium, WV
The morning was so rainy we didn't want to leave our cozy home.

People in WVa are so nice! Like Danny, who pulled over on the side of the road with cold lemonade for us. He used to do bike touring too, and, after chatting for a bit, he gave us the keys to his place so that we could stay there, even though he was going to be away!

He told us that he makes Indian stuff, and not to get freaked out by his things. We biked on to Clarksburg where there was an Italian festival. We watched these cute dancers and grandma pantomime put on a show.

It got dark before we had gotten to Danny's house, and HWY 50, our route, was closed to bicycles because it turned into a big interstate. We hitched a couple miles with some guys who were already hitching with another guy.

Then we encountered another detour, that we couldn't get around, so we hitched once again (only a few miles!) with Doug and Scott. We stopped at their house and got to meet their cool family, who also invited us to stay, but we were already set on going to Danny's.

THANKS!

We finnaly made it to Danny's house, and it was SO cool. He is an amazing craftsman and artist, and also a coalminer.

Day 77: 49 miles to Oakland, MARYLAND

That morning leaving Danny's house, we couldn't find a store or place to get food. We saw a sign which led us to Sandy and Melanee, whose restaurant was closed, but they put on a pot of coffee for us. Then they shared their breakfast with us, and also donated to the cause. THANKS GUYS!!! Their niceness and positive vibes gave us that extra boost to climb 4 MOUNTAINS!!

The Appalachians are our last final hurdle, but they were also a pleasure. The weather was cool and the scenery was so lovely. And the long, windy downhills were SO much fun.

We popped into Maryland for the night and stayed at the top of Backbone mountain.

A nice girl helped reunite us

Day 78: 49 miles, Romney, West Virginia

Early morning at the top of the foggy mountain felt like a dream.

We got to Romney early, but there was no where to hang out, so we ended up hanging out on the lawn in front of the gas station. There we met Sherri, who invited us to stay in her YURT! This was her bumper sticker:

I'd never been in a Yurt before!

Sherri writes books about psychic connections involving people with mental illnesses. She also reads Tarot, and gave us readings.

It's amazing how huge the Yurt is inside. It's like a tent and a teepee mixed with some elegance and class. I slept on the massage table.

Thanks, Sherri!

Day 79: 53 miles to Berryville, VIRGINIA

Today's ride was downhill and euphoric as we crossed into a new state!

Day 80: 69 miles, Washington, D.C.
We rode 40 miles on the W&OD trail. Lovely.

Stopped and had the BEST PIE!

Ceci's friend Laura left Balloons and signs all along the trail..

She even made T-Shirts!

After the party we biked to Anna's house, Ceci's cousin, who is hosting us tonight.

5 more days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The day is fast approaching!! Save the date for Debbie and Karin's NYC finish line fiesta! Sunday September 7th at Battery Park at 4:30 pm picnic and celebration! Also there will be an after party Sunday night so we can dance with the girls and check out their killer tan lines! More info to come soon. contact daphne dgomezmena@yahoo.com with any questions and stuff.

Indiana-na-na

Day 65: 69 miles to Bloomington, INDIANA!


Today we crossed into another state! We stopped for lunch at Vincennes where we decided to part ways for a few days. Ceci and I headed north to Bloomington, while Karin headed south to Louisville. Don't worry friends, it's only for a few days and we will reunite on Saturday in North Vernon.


Sunset over the corn fields


We really wanted to make it all the way to Bloomington, where Andy D and Victoria were waiting, so we decided to keep biking even after it got dark. The red full moon lit the night for us and a blanket of fog strangely only covered the crops on the left of us.


Day 66-69: 0 miles, resting in Bloomington

Andy D & Victoria just moved into a sweet house with a gorgeous garden that has roses, vegetables, surprise lillies, and sunflowers taller than me!


Victoria let us raid her closet. It feels so nice to wear a dress!



Karen, Andy's mom, took us all out for lunch (Thanks!)
(She's a therapist who is working on a book about female sex offenders)


The pool is only a few blocks away.


The next day we had a picnic at the winery.




Sha-na-na-Sweetness.


We took a stroll through the University and went to see an exhibit at the Special Collections Library where Victoria is getting her library science degree.


Victoria was painting these seagreen stripes in perfect lines without even putting tape on the walls.


port on the patio


Andy & Victoria have been cooking us delicious meals! Pasta sauce made with tomatoes from their garden, shepherd's pie, and homemade cobbler to name some highlights. We also got to eat Indian AND Tibetan food!


We hit the Bloomington night scene a few times to get our dance on.
I miss dancing!! my legs almost forgot how... (almost)



As of midnight, it was Ceci's birthday!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CECI!!!!


it's been awesome living like real people for a few days!!!


For her B-day, Victoria surprised Ceci with a beautiful AND delicious banana chocolate cake.




In case anyone wants to read about our adventures from another P.O.V. you can check out Ceci's blog: http://www.ceciliaanderson.blogspot.com/

Back to the wildlife we go!! We just mapped out the way to D.C. and I can't even believe how close we are now!!!!! Miss everyone! XOXOXOX