QUICK STATS

Ahh...it was so nice to wake up in a soft bed and a warm room! Today was going to be a big day, we were going over Hoosier Pass! So for breakfast we made corned beef hash browns with one can corned beef, 2 lbs of hash browns, and 6 eggs topped with Mozzarella cheese. And we ate it all!

Then we worked on getting health insurance. Through a series of events related to getting mail on the road, the coverage we thought we had gotten, turned out not to be what we thought we had gotten. In fact, it turned out to be no coverage at all. So we tried again. After a frustrating time of filling out forms and reading find print, we got an application in and should find out tomorrow if it was accepted. But thanks to the time it took, it was already after noon when we left the condo.

We hadn't gotten more than 200 feet down the road when April shifted gears and her chain fell off! Thankfully, we were only going about 500 feet down the street to a little grocery. So while April went in for groceries, I worked on getting her chain back on and making sure it wasn't going to come off again.

It turned out the grocery store was temporarily closed while the only employee chased down her dog, which had run out of the back room and down the street. But she, and the dog, soon returned and we got our supplies and left. As I wheeled my bike over the curb and into the street, I noticed the back tire didn't bounce when it dropped off the curb. I looked and, sure enough, it was flat! Our first flat in almost 2,000 miles! And it was on a day when we were already way late and supposed to climb Hoosier Pass, the highest point on our whole trip!

I took off the back tire and felt around the inside. I found something poking through, but I couldn't get it out. Thankfully, we found out there was a bike shop in the little shopping center we were in. The bike shop guy, Ryan, took my tire to the back room and took out "several things", including the piece I had found, which was likely a street sweeper bristle or a steel wire from a blown out car tire I'd run over at some point. And he didn't charge for his services!

While I put the tire back on, Ryan wandered over to check out our bikes and find out more about our trip. He had taken a tour through Canada and really enjoyed it. While we were talking to Ryan, some other random guy came over and started talking about riding mountain bikes. April asked him if he rode down the ski slopes, which we'd heard was a popular thing to do.

"F***-yeah I do! It's a thrill man! And if that isn't enough, pop some ecstasy or speed and do it. If that's too much just smoke some weed." Then he proceeded to walk out into the parking lot (where it had started sprinkling), took off his shirt and threw it down, and started rapping! A little later he offered to be our sag wagon (support vehicle), but only if we "paid for everything 'cause I don't have anything, ya know?" We declined.

By the time the bike was back together it was well after 2:00. Hoosier Pass was still 30 miles away, no closer than when we'd gotten up that morning. We'd have to not only climb up and over, but we wanted to get down a ways so we could get to an actual town. Plus it wouldn't be so cold at night if we were at a lower elevation. April asked Ryan if he though we could make it before dark. He said, "ehh...sure."

We decided to go for it even though it would be hard. We needed to keep making progress on our route! So we pulled out, chains on, tires inflated, but feeling frustrated. Plus it was now almost 3!

Within a couple of minutes of leaving, it started raining. A cold, sharp, icy rain that stung as it hit our skin. Then the wind (a headwind) picked up. By mile 3 we were both complaining loudly. By 3.5 miles, we gave up and decided that if we could, we would just stay another night in the warm cozy condo with the soft bed. I called Kim and she agreed right away, but I told her all about our day anyway...sometimes you just need to whine to someone!

As we rode back toward the condo, the rain stopped and the sky turned blue. For real. We joked that God didn't want us to go over the pass today and He was doing whatever it took to keep us there. Now that we had turned back, He could let up a bit.

We stopped at a different grocery store on the way back and got some food: two frozen personal pizzas, two frozen burritos, two hot pockets, and a 1/2 gallon of goo-goo cluster ice cream. We were ready to enjoy the remainder of our day! We got back to the condo where I dished up some ice cream and turned on the TV to see what was on. "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" was about halfway through, so I decided to watch that. April decided to work on the blog.

That's how we spent the rest of the afternoon. I sewed my patches onto my bags while I watched TV and April continued to work on the blog. And we both pigged out. By time the night was over, we'd finished off everything we'd bought...including all the ice cream!

It was a frustrating day, but the extra rest (and ice cream) was good for our soul if nothing else. Plus we get to sleep in a real bed again! Bonus!

Oh, and if you would like to send us mail, we've added a section to our contact page on where to send it.

Thanks for reading! Good night!

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