Life After the Road

WOS and Vesper here in Boerne, Texas.
Life off the road is quite hard to adjust to. We are planning on creating a Food Pod like in Portland here on the Kennon side of Herff Ranch.
We are planning on first running a friends cart called "The Flaming Hog" here on the Ranch and then completeing our second food cart from an RV called a Twilight Bungalo from the 70's.
While the Flaming Hog serves BBQ, we are planning on serving Gormet Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.
We feel that the location could become appealing and the traffic flow here on FM 474 is high enough for good exposure.
I am possibly looking on starting a new blog on the construction of the food cart and the business as well.

We continue to cycle into Boerne and even to the RIM. Vesper is even planning a 50mi. trip with his son in March!

I am looking as well at writing a book on our trip across the USA!
We will see...don't want too many eggs in my basket at once.

Stay healthy and keep shifting gears wherever you may be.
WOS and V

Thanksgiving Dinner at Norwood!!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

We arrived in Powhatan, VA on Tuesday, December 6th in the rain.
We rode up on our chariots as the post arrived with a grand welcome from Ted and Connie Harriss. We placed the bikes out of the rain and went inside the family plantation called Norwood! This home had been in the family since 1830 when Beverley Randolph bought the property. Since then, the home has been added onto and still stands today.
We took showers and joined Connie and Ted for a Pot roast dinner that was extremely delicious. After dinner and catching up all the family news, Vesper and I went to bed in an 1830 Sleigh bed on the second floor. We slept soundly and awoke to coffee and breakfast. We decided to explore the grounds towards the James River.
We returned to Connie cooking up a storm for our Thanksgiving Dinner!!
Some Kennon relatives arrived to share in our Thanksgiving Dinner which consisted in: Chicken (there were not any fresh turkeys), sweet potatoes, Spaghetti 'n cheese (Mac'n Cheese), dressing, gravy, green beans, and apple/cranberry Pie with Vanilla Ice cream.
After the fantastic dinner we returned to bed with our tummies ready to burst.
Today we planned our next destination and are planning on going into town for a little shopping before we leave tomorrow.
Looking forward to the finish line of the United States of America!!
Thanks for reading,
WOS and Vesper

We have made it to Yorktown, VA!!!!

Saturday, 12-11-11

We rolled into Yorktown at about 4:30 pm just as the sun was setting.
After reaching our connection here for a place to stay with Grace Church, the oldest church still in service in the entire USA, we were introduced to the Home on the Bay. This is the location you may see in the photos.

We have had a long journey...
From Portland, OR to Yorktown, VA. We were planning on making it up to Washington D.C. but the weather got to cold and we were finished with the trip.
I only have 10 min. left to be on the computer, so I will show the time we had at Norwood as well as our final destination in photos.

We were planning on moving to Detroit, MI for a whole new adventure, but with further thought and pleading from the family in Boerne, we have decided to return to TX for at least the winter...another blog... we will see.

A special thanks to all the kind people we had met along the way as well as those that have been following us that have donated to our cause. It is hard to imagine how difficult the trip would have been without it.

Thanks for reading and following us as we shifted gears across the USA
WOS and Vesper

Virginia by bike was not as expected...

Today, Monday Nov. 28, 2011

First off, we were not able to rent a car to drive to Powhatan, VA for Thanksgiving Dinner at Norwood.
We needed a major CC or Car insurance with the use of a debit card in order to rent.
So... we pedaled on Thanksgiving Day to Whitesburg, KY. Not a long trek but we were looking for an easy ride with it being a holiday and all.
The following day we rode again looking to pass the KY border into VA. we headed north on 115 towards Jenkins, KY and turned east on the 23 towards VA. We crossed the Payne Gap towards Pound, VA on the SHOULDER LESS Hwy of 23 finally ending up in Wise, VA where we were able to get a hotel room at the Best Western where the manager gave a great deal on a $80 room for $55. Thank you Quinn!!
Please keep in mind that the route we had been taking since Hazard, KY has been off route (the ACA route across the Trans-Am). We were honked at more in VA than all the other state before. There is a good reason to stay on the route if not just for the purpose of not getting honked or yelled at.
While in Wise, we were contacted by a warmshower couple in Lebanon, VA who we had requested a warmshower from a couple days before. John and Patty Brenner are a very friendly couple who opened their home to us as if we were one of their children. We had so much fun getting to know the two of them in there cute town of Lebanon. Thank you John and Patty! We had a great time!!
After getting directions from John on the best way to return to the Trans-Am, we set off with Hayters Gap in our near future. Once we connected to Hwy 80, we back on route and on our way to Damascus, VA.
Hayters Gap, or "Haters Gap" was not that bad at all to Vesper and I. We felt like we had done worse working our way into Wise, VA than that. Some say it is harder going the other direction, which from looking at the map, I can agree.
We arrived in Damascus around 5pm and we know that the sun would be setting soon, so we started looking for a place to sleep. After watching the weather all day long, we decided that the best idea was to find indoor shelter in case it was to rain. For $10/person, we had a bunk house all to ourselves and a hot shower as well. The night was very warm around 61deg. and very calm. Vesper couldn't sleep due to my snoring and Yoshi's grooming, not to mention a nagging feeling that something was about to happen in the world of great proportions. I woke this morning with swollen fingers and sore muscles. I guess the "Haters" Gap was more than I had previously perceived. It wasn't raining, was still warm, but the dark clouds were really starting to move in. It was a gamble, but we decided to take a day off to let the rain pass before we moved on.
It still has not started to rain.
We are looking forward to getting to Norwood soon so we may have our own special Thanksgiving on the plantation.

Thanks for Reading,
WOS and Vesper
 

Appalachians in KY

Monday 11/21/11 Hazard, KY

We left Berea on a Saturday when the weather was good, sunny and DRY.
We pedaled long and hard to make it to Booneville where we knew of a Church that was kind to cyclists.
What we didn't know was that most of the cyclists camp outside in the back.
We however were able to talk the pastor into allowing us to sleep inside where there were gas heaters and a bathroom.
After waking up around 6:30am to be out of the church by 8, we went to the local cafe where we had coffee and biscuits and gravy. The biscuits came on the plate with a bowl of the gravy next to it.
We had never seen B&G served in this manor. 1st, there wasn't any sausage in the gravy! Even the Yankees in the north put sausage in the gravy.
As we set off for a grueling day of climbing the Appalachians, the trailer broke and Vesper had to rig it so that it will stay connected to the bike. All was good as we set off. Not 30 minutes into our ride, it began to rain and rain hard. we were soaked in 5 minutes.
We were faced with tackling 3 very large hills on our way towards Hazard. We were excited to get to Hazard because we knew that we had a warm place to retreat to when we got there.
The three hills were massive, but Vesper felt as if he was in the tour de France! Some kids that were playing outside were cheering him on and yelling about the cute dog he was pulling. Also, someone in a truck shoot silly string at him as the drove by with a "WooHoo"
The hills were fun for him but torture for me.
When we finally made it to Hazard, our CouchSurffer host that we had lined up the following day had not contacted us yet. It was getting dark and we were sitting at a McDonalds trying to use the "free" wi-fi for better reception. We decided to try to contact another possible host here in Hazard from couchsurffers.org.
Stephen and Ellen with an emergency couch plea.
They responded and were gracious enough to have us for the night.
Stephen was good enough to give us a ride to Enterprise so that we may rent a car and head towards Powhatan, VA to the Noorwood Plantation.
http://norwoodplantation.com/
We will be leaving today to spend Thanksgiving with my cousins Ted and Connie Harris as well as Kennon.
We look forward to visiting with the VA Kennons and spending some time in history.

We will come back to the Appalachians to finish out trek across the USA to D.C. after Thanksgiving.

Happy thanksgiving to all that follow our blog!
Thanks for reading,
WOS and Vesper

All the way to Berea, KY

Tuesday, 11-15-11
Kentucky had not changed much since I graduated from WKU in 2003, but then again it has.
I am seeing it from a new perspective of being on a bicycle as a tourist.
From a cyclists point of view, KY is not that bad as far as the vehicular traffic. The drivers are more respectful than the other state drivers in that they are more likely to slow down and give you enough room when they pass.
KY has its downs as well, in that there are tons of HILLS!!!
We have been told over and over again that the APPS are harder than the Rockies. How can this be? The Rockies reach higher altitudes, in the 9,000-11,000ft. when the Appalachians only reach about 4,000ft.
The difference I was told is the grade in which the roads are. where the Rockies were higher, they had a smaller gradual grade. The Apps have extremely steep grades for a shorter distance.
I guess it is all based on which you prefer.

After our stay with Rich and Mare who so very graciously dropped us off in KY at the hostel in Sebree.
The First Baptist Church is a cyclist mainstay. there we met Katie, a grandmother who was cycling the Trans Am on her own for the first time.
The church made dinner, our own room as well as a hot shower.
The following day, we continued through KY following the Trans Am with the ACA map.
The Falls of Rough at the Airport was our next camping destination. 80 miles we cycled even in the night.
We "Air Camped" there at the Airport in 27deg. temps.
Ready to head on down the road when once again, Vesper woke with a flat tire.
We were trying to find a warm shower for our next destination after the cold night stay and were willing to cycle out of our way for just that reason.
We were planning to go to Elizabethtown when our host suggested that we visit Leitchfield because they had a bike shop.
We contacted the owner of Embry's Bike Shop where Rick suggested that we cycle off the ACA trail to his place where he would not only give our bikes a tune up, but would put us up for the night in his home.
After traveling a short 18 miles, we arrived in Leitchfield, KY at the bike shop after long up and downs south.
Joyce had cooked a beef stew that was so tender and full of flavor. She also cooked some cornbread and a Lemon Bunt Cake. We were well stuffed and ready for bed. We also turned Rick Embry onto the Warmshowers.org website for touring as a guest as well as hosting other cyclists like they did us.
Thank you for the help and generosity you both had shown us.
The following day, we headed towards Howardstown about 50 miles away where there would be a campsite for us to rest. We stayed at the Larue County Park under an awning for shelter from the weather. A cold front was headed our way, and the wind let us know!!
All night the wind whipped and blew the tent as if a tornado was above us.
The following day we headed east again pushing through the wind on towards Bardstown where we stayed at the "My Old Kentucky Home State Park" in our tent once again.
We continued east the next morning hoping to find shelter knowing that it was only a matter of time before we got rained on. We decided to head towards Danville because they had a campground as well as it having the last known bike shop until we were over the Appalachians. As we were headed south on 127, Mark Morgan stopped and offered us a place to stay at his home there in Danville. seeing as how we were not going to make it to Berea, we agreed to his offer and headed to his home.
Mark and Joni were very nice and giving as were all of our angels along the way. They took us out to dinner and even introduced us to there son Daniel who lived there in Danville.
Joni is a quilter who makes very unique quilts that anyone would love to have across their bed.
Mark is a lawyer who is progressive and with the times. They both cycle and lead healthy lives.
We are blessed to have met them.
After a restful and warm nights sleep, we left Danville on our way to Berea where we had a warmshower lined up. The only problem is that it was raining. So with strange looks from all of Kentucky, we peddled on in the rain all day long until we finally reached Berea.
In Berea we met our warmshower connection Paige. We peddled through hill upon hill to her home about 3 miles out of town. We were greeted by her dogs and later her family.
Now with our stomachs filled with country ham, we will go to sleep and awake fresh and new for the Appalachians.

Illinois is coming close to one of the Favorites

As written in the post before, we have had a good experience with Illinois.
We left Chester on our way towards Carbondale where we were to pick up the Bike centennial.
We left thinking instead of hwy 3, we would take the alt. route on the 150.
This route on a Saturday did not look all that much safer once we arrived at a huge hill where there wasn't any shoulder and the traffic was very busy.
We turned around and decided to ask some of the locals the best way to make it to Carbondale. We were given a BACK ROAD way.
We were OK with this because there wasn't hardly any traffic, but the hills were steep and long.
Once we made it to Carbondale where we had set up a warmshower for that night, it was dark.
Joe was a young man who lived by himself and worked in a bike shop there in Carbondale.
He had been riding since he was young and cycled across the USA twice.
We gathered as much information from him as possible as well as cycling maps for the rest of our trip. We are of coarse going to mail them back to him when we reach our destination.
Thanks Joe!!

Sunday we headed out trying to follow the maps. I of coarse mess it up and we ride to far down hwy 51. We ended up riding some back roads to reach our destination of Tunnel Hills where we had another warmshowers waiting for us.

We finally make it to the Tunnel Hill Rd. where it would be another 8-10miles to get to their home. They offered a support vehicle so I called and asked if they could come and pick us up. Ann was glad to do just that and in no time we were at her home having dinner with her family.
Her daughter and son in law were visiting them before they left on their own adventure around the world. Sounds like fun to us!!!
After playing a couple rounds of Rummy, we went to bed to wake up to a wonderful breakfast of Banana Pancakes, Bacon and coffee.
THANK YOU ANN AND AL!
We wish Dustin and Theresa good luck on their travels.

Moving on towards Cave in the Rock our next destination.
I was better at reading the maps now and we were on the right path.
We had been riding for several hours and were going to make a turn when a man had stopped and asked us if we needed directions.
We asked which way to the next town of Eddyville.
He directed us and then asked if we needed anything for our ride and that his home was just up the road. we accepted and followed him.
Rich and MaryAnn live in a beautiful log cabin here in Southern Illinois.
Rich invited us to stay the night and we accepted in order to give our knees and muscles a rest from all of the S. Illinois hills we have been climbing.
After meeting all of the Pets: 4 dogs, 6 cats and 2 horses, we knew we would have a great time.
We all ate BBQ chicken, sweet potatoes, salad and beer. Mint Chocolate chip Ice Cream for desert. we were able to shower and sleep well on a comfortable bed.

The next day, Rich went golfing and we were able to visit with MaryAnn.
I was able to go ridding with her around the property on Eddie. Please see photo.
I had so much fun!! Ridding a horse instead of my bike was a nice break.
Eddie and Lilly we MaryAnn's two horses.

We are looking forward now and should be in Kentucky tomorrow.
We will miss our new friends here in Illinois. We will miss Rich and MaryAnn as well. HA, HA!
Just kidding, Thank you so much for showing us so much love!!