I think we can now blog from our cell phones!

If you bike it, they will come. . .

We three had head a lot of things about Iowa, "Its completely flat and full of corn", but none of us had seen much of the state for ourselves. As we crossed the Missouri we discovered that you can't always trust the impressions of others. . .

The first myth busted is that Iowa is flat. It is indeed very hilly. Nothing too high or too steep, but the countryside rolls on and on. We pedaled across the hills and through the corn until Panorama Lake, where we were taken in by some very kind people, fed some very good corn and the next morning-gosh golly!-we got to ride all day on a bike path!


It was a huge treat to be away from the cars, the noise, and the blazing sun. And after a relaxing day of biking we were deposited in the city of Des Moines.Des Moines is a great city; small enough to travel easily by bike, big enough to offer the variety of city life like great Vietnamese food, contemporary art, and cool people like our host Aaron, a musician and fellow cyclist. 

We spoke with the kids at the Des Moines Boys and Girls Club and showed them our loaded bikes, which always draw attention. After Des Moines it was back on the road towards Davenport. On the way there we were lucky enough to stay with two of Melissa's cousins, who both happen to be big fans of Ragbrai, the largest bike tour in the country! In fact, it was the topic of discussion everywhere we went, considering that we passed through Iowa just two weeks after thousands of riders crossed the state for the event.
We arrived in Davenport hot, hungry, and with lots of phonecalls to make. Our great host Eric and daughter Kayla made sure we didn't spent too much time on the phone and showed us some of Davenport's sights. We took a nighttime visit to the skybridge, an elevated corridor with a constantly-changing lightshow. We also watched Field of Dreams, the classic movie about baseball and Iowa, and we saw a Backwater Gamblers waterski show which was tons of fun! To round out our visit in Iowa, Eric's father Bruce, a lifelong cyclist, led us out of Davenport and into Illinois. . .

Hannah

Hey! A Join the Cycle news roundup!

So we're crossing the mighty mississippi this morning, very exciting, and we're also sharing some of the awesome coverage we've had on the internet and other places. . .

We Are ZINKs gave us a nice post on their travel blog. The ZINKs (zero income, no kids) are fellow travelers who are exploring the United States, learning and writing along the way. A great blog to follow!

Keen Footwear posted an interview we had with the companies awesome Rocky Mountain Rep, Mark. We met up with Mark in Denver and have been riding with sweet keen cycling shoes ever since!

Photographer Tim D'Antonio was at the Fort Collins Urban Assault Ride and has a great portfolio of photos from the event. Check us out on the big wheels!

We've been in newspapers all over! Check out our website's press page for a press release detailing our trip as well as articles that have been published by local papers about us. We're uploading them as fast as we can!

And on another note, we still have t-shirts left in each size so if you haven't purchased your awesome, organic cotton Join the Cycle t-shirt yet, fear not!

Joe’s Mexican Breakfast Skillet

While we were in Flagstaff we were busy cooking, grilling, and drinking all sorts of delicious things. The night we arrived, Chris took over the grill and produced a beautiful spread of grilled vegetables and home-made salsa. In the morning we had plenty of leftover veggies and chips, so Joe got to work making a spectacular version of Chilaquiles.

Large cast-iron skillet

A splash of olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 or 2 cloves garlic, chopped finely

Roughly 1/3 of a bag of corn tortilla chips

8 eggs Assorted veggies, chopped. These can be anything you like, but we used grilled veggies from the night before-zucchini, red onion, sweet corn, carrot and asparagus.

1 can Enchilada sauce-we had to look closely to find gluten-free sauce

Heat the oil in the skillet and add the onion and garlic. Saute until the onions become soft and slightly translucent.

Spread the chips over the onions to cover the skillet and let heat for a couple of minutes.

Crack eggs and drop into skillet, distributing them evenly over the pan. Spread veggies over the top.

Using a spatula, gently stir the contents of the skillet together. The chips should become soft and the eggs and veggies should be incorporated evenly.

Pour the enchilada sauce over the skillet and let cook on low until the eggs are set, five minutes or so.

Dig in! Joe brought out the big guns and used two skillets to feed us. Yes, there were leftovers, but we still ate like champs.

Friends, family and fun

We’ve spent the last few days hanging out in Lincoln and Omaha - and we’ve stayed in houses for a week solid now!  Regular showers?   Don’t know.  We may be too spoiled to go on from here.

We've been having a great time doing presentations for kids groups at Boys and Girls Club and Girls, Inc. – talking with them about bicycling and showing them how to change a flat tire.

It’s also been a lot of fun getting to see family I haven’t seen in 7 years;

getting to meet college Casey’s and Hannah’s college friends and friends of friends; 

riding in Critical Mass in Lincoln;

and visiting the house I used to live in when I was a little kid!  The woman who used to babysit me still lives next door!! 

Lots of fun memories – both old and new.

~melissa

Nebraska. . .The Good Life

We've been riding across the (mostly) flat prairie for a week now and for the most part, it has been the good life! People have been so kind to us-we've recieved food, money, and help from the locals, and nearly everyone is eager to talk to us about our trip. We've also enjoyed some great free campsites in town parks, what a good idea!

We're giving back to Nebraska by way of blood donation, to Nebraskan mosquitos, that is! Insects are abundant here; by day we try not to run down too many of the massive grasshoppers that line the roads and by night we race to get our tents up so that we can hide from the clouds of mosquitoes.

We haven't seen any tornadoes yet, but we met up with a beautiful but powerful thunderhead one evening. The wind was strong enough to keep us off our bikes for a while, but the churning clouds and intense rainbows were worth it.

We passed through Funk! *Insert cheesy song here*

Apparently when the temperature gets super-hot, roads explode! This was news to us but the clean-up crew had a business-as-usual attitude about it. We're imagining what it would feel like to have an explosion under your bike.

The roads have been straight and rolling all the way across the state. After the Rocky mountains this stuff is a treat. Our daily mileage keeps on climbing!

Barley, Hops, and Bicycles in Fort Collins

Well, our final city in Colorado arrived with much anticipation-family and friends to see, beer to drink and of course the Urban Assault Ride.
We started our stay with an awesome BBQ at our hosts house to reconnect with friends (and sisters!) and to meet out teammates for UAR- the Urban Assault Ride. New Belgium Brewery sponsors the event, and was kind enough to sponsor our party in a way. . .they donated the beer!


The UAR is part scavenger hunt, part obstacle course, part race and all performed on bicycles. Teams of two race through the city streets of Fort Collins to find checkpoints where wacky challenges await them. Since the race is all about knowing your way around the city, we had three clever locals team up with us to show us the way. Thanks Kendra, Josh, and Mark! We didn’t snag first place, but it was huge fun, especially the afterparty where the three of us jousted with plungers on minibikes. Yep, you heard me right. And of course there was more free beer, and food, and raffle prizes. Don’t’ worry, Urban Assault Ride happens in cities around the country, so you can find one and get in on this action.
The next day, once fully recovered from our big competition, we took a ride over to the New Belgium Brewery to take a tour with Brian, one of the New Belgiums’s most experienced brewers. We tasted goodies like Skinny Dip, Dandelion, and Mothership; learned how grain, water, and herbs become that lovely stuff called beer; and learned about the company’s small beginnings, strong values, and connection to bicycles. The brewery gives every employee a beautiful bike on their first year anniversary of employment. They also have a fleet of cruisers waiting to transport business guests. And of course there’s Fat Tire Ale, their most popular beer with the bright red bicycle on the label.We were sad to leave the great people, beer, and bike lanes of Fort Collins, but we have a great stretch of prairie ahead of us. Here we come Nebraska!
~Hannah