February 9, 2010 - Day 2 - Coast to Coast

Not many miles today, 28.5, but a whole lot of elevation gain. We started climbing after 11 miles of easy rolling hills. We climbed to near 3000 ft on our way up the mountain and that doesn’t include all the ups and downs in between the major climb. We got in about 3:00 just before the rain started and the legs sure were complaining. It seems like all the training still doesn’t protect you from cramping legs. We’re hoping the weather will co-operate tomorrow, although they’re predicting snow. We’re anxious to tackle the last part of the climb. Scenery was beautiful and the bike is working well. We’re optimistic and happy!

We forgot to mention the great people that helped us yesterday. While we were standing on the street corner with a broken chain, a biker (Dave) stopped to ask if we needed help. He was from the area so helped give Carol, our support, directions to pick us up. He couldn’t think of a bike shop near where we broke down but called us 30 minutes later. He had gone home and went on-line to find one for us. He called again today to make sure we got the bike fixed and were on our way.

The two men that helped us at the bike shop, the owner and a mechanic, went out of their way to take care of us. When they found out we were biking across the US, they dropped everything and spent an hour replacing the chain and adjusting the gears and charged us only $29.

We have also received many emails expressing words of support and prayers. People so willing to help certainly keep us “pedaling on”.