The Band Of Biking Brothers: Wind

Hello world!

I hope y'all are doing well! If not, shoot me a text or call me and I'll listen to what's going on. Or if you're doing great, I'll celebrate with you!

Well to be perfectly honest, nothing of real significance happened today. And i had to read Dave's blog to get some ideas of what to blog about.

First, today was our first official day in Kansas! We slept about a mile from the border, but today was our first day! So another big mile stone.

Second, my bike as well has a name! His name is not as cool as Dave's, but i Iike it. His name is Joshua "Hippy" Garrigan. Joshua because I wanted something strong, courageous, conquering, etc. and Joshua from the bible was all that and more! He was a leader, warrior, man of God, and example. He conquered many nations, while I am only conquering one, it still counts. So that's Joshua. Hippy comes from he becoming of the trip. That was the first name given because I fell on my hip a few times that first week. And whenever I fail to uncool I'm time, it always seems to be my hip that hits hardest. So hippy is the "nega-name" he has whenever he misbehaves. And Garrigan, which come from me! So there you have it, my bike is named.

Now back to today,

We were out of our home for the night (under the railroad tracks) by 8:10, and biked till about 10, grabbed second breakfast, and kept rollin. We stopped around 1 and picked up some groceries in leoti. Then we crossed the time zone so we are only one hour behind those of you on the east coast now! We were trying to make it to a town called Scott city by 3 which was now 4, but got caught in a rain storm. So we stopped off in a cattle feed yard. We were welcomed in and ate a beagle while waiting for the storm to pass. Then we went the next 7 miles to get to the city. We stopped and grabbed a pizza and free breadsticks. Greasy, but good. By 6:30, we left and headed for our final destination of the night, dighton. We pushed and went about 14-16 mph the last 2 hours to get there by 8:30. Now we are in the city park enjoying more food! (Aka potato soup, trail mix, and a little Mac n cheese.

There you go, a detailed summary of our day! Oh and the only other thing, 24 mph headwind/sidewind! Yea. Not too easy to pedal, but we did as well as we could with the strength we had.

Here's a in fact for you though, almost every day of the past 40 days has averaged somewhere in the 12 mph range. Whether it was along the coast, in the redwoods, in the Rockies, in Yosemite, of here on the plains. For one reason or another, we are not quite sure, it has been nearly impossible to break that barrier. With this side/head wind we are unable to keep any momentum. As soon as we stopped pedaling, it took about 15 seconds to slow to a stop.

All in all, we went just short of 90 miles today, the hour we lost due to time change is our excuse. Tomorrow, we are planning on doing it all over again! It may be long, straight, flat, windy, and honestly boring. But it's still worth it! To be doing this trip with my brothers has taught me a lot, and I am given a chance to appreciate all the different sides of God's creation. From the majestic mountains to the sea of corn and wheat.

Thanks to all of you who are still actively praying for us, again, we need and appreciate every prayer. Pray that we stay right where God has us (me). That in my mind i don't start thinking about a week ahead or what could be, but enjoy where I am at right now.

Also thank you to each of you who have given even a little bit to our fundraiser and to the foundation fighting blindness. They do such great work for our dad and we get excited every time we receive an update on how much has been raised. We are at $2,500! That's great! And it's all because y'all have given!

Thanks to everyone for reading and have a great day!

(P.s. I was serious about calling or texting if you want to talk. I might not be able to respond right away, but when I get a chance I'll respond (864)-569-2864

-sincerely Tom

Pics from the day!

Joshua "Hippy" Garrigan