Across America Says Good Bye to Montana! 7/13/12

“We are in Alzada, MT. It is our vey last night in Montana; we are about 2 miles from the Wyoming border. In the morning we are going to look at maps and decide whether we want to go to Mount Rushmore or go up to Minneapolis. Tomorrow we expect to go through Wyoming all the way to South Dakota because we are only going through the top corner of Wyoming. Today we did 90 miles, everyone was going and feeling good, and we had minimal bike problems. We’ve been eating good food, the cook groups have been working well.” – Julia, Trip Leader

Across America Enjoys Montana 7/9/12

The group is in Bozeman, MT. They’ve decided that they will ride out to Livingston, MT, only 30 miles east of Bozeman, today. The extra time will be used to take their bikes into a shop for some much needed bike repair love. They also found out a REI (Recreational Equipment Inc.) store located nearby and they wanted to take some time to check it out. We really can’t blame them as REI is a very cool store. All of the riders are having a great time exploring Montana and are loving the adventure. 

Follow the trip 

Slug and Bam Bam Take on America!

Hello everyone! My new nature name (long story, don't ask) is Slug. Mainly
because while biking to Portland we went through a forest. The ground was
covered in these giant slugs. I thought they were pretty cool because of how
slow they moved. It reminded me of myself. This whole time while biking I have
just wanted to slow down and really appreciate what I am seeing. Also I am
usually in the back trying to catch up with everyone else.

Bam Bam is my bikes name. I was telling my leader Julia about how I wanted to
name my kid onomatopoeia: which means a descriptive word that describes an
action. Hence my bike's name of Bam Bam because when I fall the noise would be
"bam."

On to a more serious topic. We are currently sleeping at the Catholic Church in
Crow Agency, which is an Indian Reservation. When we pulled into town on our
bikes all the cars stopped and people were waving from all directions. It was as
if we were famous. Everyone was eager to help us and point us to a camp site. I
chose the church and I am glad I did. I met Sister Loretta at the front door and
she introduced me to Father Charlie. After moving into the Church gym we got a
tour of the Church. It was beautiful. I have never seen such detailed pictures.
All the Stations of the Cross were of Indians adorned in fabrics of symbolic
colors with translations of English and the native Crow language. Sister Loretta
told us some of the history and fun facts. We got to shower in her house and we
are doing laundry at the laundry mat in town. Kiana, Bryson and I are on laundry
duty while the others are making dinner. What we thought was going to be an
early night in bed has turned into a late night. Luckily we took an hour nap in
a parking lot next to the grocery store in Hardin MT.

All is well. I miss everyone and I will be sure to write more while traveling
through the adventurous state of South Dakota!
Keep donating!!
http://pedalingforpencils.stayclassy.org/


Xo Ken

Across America Gets Wild!

“It was hot today but luckily we are right next to the Yellowstone River. We cooled off after having a delicious lunch of tortilla wraps and fruit. Lately we have been following a small mostly carless road which parallels I 90. We decided to try riding a pace line. That is when we move in a tightly packed group. Each person drafts off the person in front of himself. The person in the very front breaks the wind. When he tires he pulls back and lets the next rider break the wind. We moved very fast this way, probably averaging 18 miles an hour. Yesterday was amazing because we saw wolves and bears on the same day. The wolves we saw at a bed and breakfast. Howlers inn it was called. We saw a grizzly bear just a few miles away. Don't worry everyone in the blogosphere. The wolves and bears were both in nature preserves behind fences. Other than that we have been making good time going east. We will hit billings tonight. We went through a town called Manhattan Montana. I am glad we have thousands of miles still until New York.” -- Jacob, Trip Leader


Follow the trip

Kennedy has officially pedaled over a 1,000 miles in the last 18 days to raise money for pencils of Promise. She has gone through several small towns, the Rocky Mountains and has stayed with family friends in Missoula and met up with friends from Denver, CO in Butte, MT. Her spirits are high and she is continuing to work hard. If you know anyone that would be interested in her journey please share this with your friends. She has reached 36% of her fundraising goal and could use all the help she can get to reach her $10,000 goal to help educate hundreds of children.

To donate: http://pedalingforpencils.stayclassy.org/fundraise/pop?fcid=146315

Blogging from the road: take 1

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=4232266484586

How to master the casual fall...

The team and I have really bonded. Everyone is amazing and they all work really
hard. There are only a few times when we take awhile to pack up our bikes with
the food, mainly because it really does weigh your bike down so no one wants to
carry it. But now that we have a great routine working we are having a blast.

We have a few inside jokes. The one about me is that I fall every day off my
bike. Since day one ( we are on day 13) I have fallen.

Descriptions of falls and recoveries:
Day 1: I was biking through Astoria, Oregon and there is this giant bridge
connecting Oregon and Washington. I was observing the bridge and trying to
figure out how cars got onto the bridge. I turned my head back a little and
found the ramp, but at the same time I hit a wood post in the middle of the
path. I flipped over my handle bars and skidded along the side walk. My bike was
stuck on the wooden post and the front tire was spinning. I just sat there for a
second then burst into laughter. It was like a scene straight out of a movie. I
picked up my bike, straightened the handled bars, and proceeded on. My bruises
have just now begun to fade. It was by far my best fall.

Day 10: I rear ended a kid in front of me because I was drafting a little too
close. I ended up falling into a little ditch but hopped back on because I was
worried someone might see.

This morning: I was a little tired and kind of cranky so I flung myself into the
parking lot a little too aggressively. Out of karma, I'm sure, I went to take my
feet out of the clips and got stuck and fell over. I was still cranky so I just
let my bike lay there and went inside to grab my coffee.

What I call the "savior" fall:
We just named it today, but I have done it at least 4 times. When the group is
tired and trying to convince our leaders to take a break I do the "savior." what
happens is someone asks to stop, then when the leader says no I gently lean to
the right and fall over. Then the leaders know that we are really tired so we
stop.

My advice to everyone is not to fall, but if you are going to just let it
happen. Keep your hands on the handle bars to avoid broken arms. Unclip your top
foot and if you have time the bottom foot. Also remember to always wear a
helmet. Then just let it happen and bounce back up with a smile :)

Goodnight everyone! Hopefully tomorrow I have a day without falling.

P.S. one day I fell into a handicap sign at the Walmart- some people told me it
was a sign??

PICTURES!!!
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9wkbyq1n5pjc3tl/jKmhCyXkhJ

Click to donate!
http://pedalingforpencils.stayclassy.org/fundraise/pop?fcid=146315

Hello everyone!

Blog update sent from Kennedy on Saturday night. They are currently riding through the rockies and are planning to arrive in Missoula, MT sometime Tuesday!

This is the first night I have actually had the energy to write a blog. Let me
give you a quick run down of the past week. First two days we moved slower than
turtles. We were sore, a little out of shape, and still adjusting to getting up
early and going to bed late. However we are finally on a schedule that works.
Yesterday we were able to wake up at 5:30 am after sleeping in the backyard of
the Walla Walla Fire Department. We had a nice bowl of oatmeal (which we eat
every morning) then hit the road. Our goal was to ride 40 miles before lunch,
which we accomplished! We had a quick lunch on the road (our delicious peanut
butter and jellies) then continued biking. We had to climb a mountain and
getting to the top of the summit was probably the best feeling ever. We had a 5
mile descent that was a blast then road another 20 miles downhill. We made it to
Lewiston, Idaho with a total of 106 miles!! Needless to say we all hopped in the
shower   (something we rarely do) then went straight to bed. It was the best
nights sleep I have ever had. The next morning we road 60 miles to give
ourselves a little break. Tomorrow we are getting ready to start our ride up the
Rockies. It will be extremely challenging but the team dynamic we have developed
has really helped us all get past our tough days. I am a little sore but
enjoying every minute crossing America. Please continue to donate. I love to see
all the support while I am riding, it gives me an extra boost, which I will need
for when we climb the Rockies.
You can donate at pedalingforpencils.stayclassy.org
So far my journey has been amazing. Every day one of my fellow riders surprises
me with what they are capable of doing and I even surprise myself. I can't wait
to make it past the Rockies!!

Talk to you all soon :)