O The Flats

            This week riding has been very straightforward with very few hills.  But it has been nice to see different parts of the country than what I’m used to.  For me it has been interesting to see a lot of the farmers working on harvesting their crops for the season.  Using all their equipment such as combines in the process that I’ve never really seen in use before.  It has also been pretty fun riding by all the cattle farms and checking out the cows.  Sometimes when riding by some of the younger cows they are still interested in me as I ride by so they start chasing me along the fence.  When a couple of them start going it always seems like the whole herd starts running at the same time which is funny to watch.

Todd from Council Bluffs

            I have been lucky to meet some very cool people this week though.  The first cool person I got to meet was Todd in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  This is basically the same place as Omaha, Nebraska.  It’s just the other side of the state line.  But I was able to find him through warmshowers.org.  Todd took me out to eat at a great pizza place, which just happened to be right next to the TD Ameritrade College World Series Baseball Stadium.  Now of course if you’re a Gamecock fan at all you know that this is where the baseball team won the College World Series in 2011 after winning in the old stadium in 2010.  It was cool getting to see where the gamecocks have seen so much recent success in person.

            The next night I stayed at a church in Onawa, Iowa.  They were nice enough to let me stay inside their family center for the night, which also had a kitchen that I was able to cook my dinner at for the night.  When I left Onawa the next day there was a very stiff headwind though.  It was blowing directly in my face from the northwest all day.  Not to mention it was blowing between 15 and 25 mph all day.  This made for a very frustrating ride because of how slow I was going.  I gained just over 400 feet of elevation in 40 miles so it was a very flat ride overall.  However, because of the wind I was still only able to average 7.6 MPH. 

College World Series Stadium

            O well I had two rest days coming up so I just kept pushing on and eventually made it to Sioux City and my next couch surfing destination with Titus.  This turned out to be a very fun weekend of watching football and hanging out with Titus’s friends for Halloween.  This was one of the most fun weekends I’ve had on this trip and some of the coolest people that I had met yet. 

            The next step is Hawkeye point on Tuesday for the 7^th high point of the trip and then on to South Dakota for number 8. 

            - Michael Hunter       

You just have to roll with it

What a week we have had.  It was exciting for me (Brent) to be back on the road.  Monday was a nice short 30-mile ride down the Katy trail from Columbia to Boonville, MO.  The Katy trail is a reclaimed railroad that runs 240 miles across Missouri.  Our next day was spent riding I-70 from Booneville to Higginsville, MO.  Yes, in Missouri bikes are allowed to ride on the interstate system.  While the vehicles flying by at 70-80+ mph were a bit nerve-racking, it was nice to the entire shoulder to ourselves.  While riding on the shoulder was comfortable, the 45-degree temps and 20 mph headwind were all the opposite...but to look at the cup half full, it was great training for the winter riding that shall be encountered up north.

Unfortunately my excitement was short lived.  By the end of day two my achilles were hurting worse than they had ever hurt before I got off in Georgia.  (for those of you who do not know, I took off three weeks to rest and rehab my Achilles due to tendonitis.)  It was as if I had not rested and rehabbed at all.   The night after our second day, walking was hardly bearable.  It was apparent that I would need much more than three weeks off and then it still wouldn’t be guaranteed that I could ride again.  After thinking for a while and talking it over with Michael, I have decided that I will no longer be riding.

This was a tough decision.  I’m an optimist and competitor, driven to succeed and really wanted to push through and hope all will be well, but I had to be realistic.  This isn’t like football where I could get a cortisone shot or push through the pain.  It’s day after day endurance riding, where pushing through the pain would likely lead to long-term damage…not worth it in the long run.  It’s a bummer, but you know what…I can still serve the ultimate purpose!

That purpose is providing opportunities to tomorrow’s leaders by fundraising for the Big City Mountaineers!  I will now take on a PR role; coordinating places for Michael to stay, venues to give presentations at, people to ride with him and reaching out to media outlets.  I’m looking at the time I spent on the road as the ultimate PR training grounds.  Now I know what is needed and how I can best support Michael as he continues on to the highest points in America. 

Speaking of that ultimate purpose, the raffle for a pair of Voler cycling shorts will conclude in one week on October 31^st.  You can enter by making a donation to the Big City Mountaineers.  Click here to do so.  For every $10 donated you will be entered into the raffle once.  In addition, our generous matching donor will match your donation, so you’re $10 donation will be $20 to the Big City Mountaineers.

            To end on a high note, the past week was full of family filled awesomeness!  We stayed Wednesday night with my cousin Kristen, Thursday night with my cousin Eric, the weekend was spent at home, and I am writing you from my cousin Hannah’s.  It was great to spend Saturday watching football with dad and making cookies with mom.  To top it all off, my extended family came over that evening and we had a great dinner followed by watching the Cards take game 3 of the World Series.  Sunday We paid a visit to my Hope Church family.  Members of the church donated over $300 to the Big City Mountaineers!  So awesome!  It was a great time at home with great people.

Here's to continued success and safety for Michael as forges ahead.

Brent

Mizzou Homecoming!

The Columns at Francis Quadrangle

When Michael approached me (before Cycle for the Summit had been conceived) and said he wanted to get serious about this crazy idea.  I told him I would be game under one condition…that we made it to University of Missouri for the 100^th anniversary of homecoming.  Knowing how passionate I am about my baccalaureate alma mater (I bleed black and gold glitter baby!) without hesitation he agreed, because he knew I would not miss it for the world.  Why was this so important to me?  Mizzou conceptualized the modern day homecoming in 1911, when athletic director Brewer wrote to all of Mizzou’s alumni, enviting them to come home to watch the Tigers take on the Kansas Jayhawks.  I won’t go into more details, but jeopardy and trivial pursuit both support that we invented homecoming.  Check out this article "Did Mizzou really invent homecoming?" which tells an interesting story on the history of homecoming and you can make up you own mind. 

2007 Summer Welcome Leaders (SWeven!)

The entire weekend was a whirlwind of activities.  (I will apologize now for not taking many pictures)  I got to catch up with so many old friends.  To add to the excitement, my girlfriend flew in and my parents dove down as well.  Friday night was the Summer Welcome Leader reunion.  Summer Welcome is Mizzou’s summer orientation for new students and their families.  I was part of the Summer Welcome program fro two years.  It was so great to catch up with my SWeven family, not to mention meeting other Summer Welcome leaders from years past. 

            

A homecoming staple at many universities is the parade.  We were going to be in the parade with 170 other “float” entries.  The parade committee thought they were pretty funny putting us behind the Harley Davidson club!  I had planned to bring earplugs, but unfortunately we had a little shifting snaffou with the bikes and had to skip out on the parade to go to the bike shop.  (I didn’t want to miss out on family and friend time trying to get to the bike shop after getting the parade)  It was just an issue where the shifter cable had popped out of it’s bracket, so he fixed it in no time and we learned how to fix it if it ever arises again. 

            The rest of the day was spent tailgating with friends and family.  It was a short tailgate, because it was a 1pm kickoff.  I had a blast at the game reveling in the familiar songs played by Marching Mizzou.  Even though it was a blowout, we stayed to sing the alma mater and fight song after the game. 

To cap off our time in Columbia, MO I got to visit four of Columbia’s dining staples and my favorite places to eat.  Shakespears Pizza, probably the most popular answer you will get if you ask a Columbia, MO local where you should eat.  All I have to say is they slice their own peperoni, because the pre-sliced stuff just isn’t thick enough.  Booche’s Burgers, made the USA Today top ten burger in America list.  No frills, just your burger served on wax paper, love it!  Addison’s, my personal favorite for nachos bianco  (from the menu: Italian pasta chips topped with Asiago cheese sauce, tomatoes, scallions, kalamata olives, banana peppers, mozzarella cheese, and chicken, black beans, or chorizo sausage) and the Boulevard Wheat beer just tasted better there.  My friends and I were Thursday night regulars.  To cap it all off, breakfast at the Broadway Diner, famous for the Stretch, an omlet on a bed of hashbrowns topped with chilli, diced onions and green peppers…and I like to add all of that on top of bisquits and gravy.  So good!

Thanks for allowing me to ramble about my homecoming experience a new blog on the ride will be here soon.

Sincerely,

Brent and Michael

Catching Up

            So I am just a little behind on this blog but that’s ok because I’m about to get yall caught back up with us.  Well after a couple great days with the Etowah Roadies I had to hit the road again and I was on my way to Woodall Mountain in Mississippi.  On the way there I got to meet some cool people at the fire station in Arab, Alabama who put me up for the night.  One of the guys also made some peach dump cake, which I had never had before but it was delicious.

Ivy Green - Helen Keller's home

I got a chance to visit Ivy Green, the birthplace of Helen Keller in Tuscumbia, Alabama.  This was pretty unexpected but as I rode in to town one night and was looking for a place to stay that night I saw some signs leading to her house.  It was already getting dark so I decided to swing back by in the morning to check it out.  It was well worth the few extra miles of riding to see it and wander around the yard for a little, enjoying the surroundings.

This same day I crossed into Mississippi and reached Woodall Mountain, which is the highpoint for the state.  So far it has been our lowest high point at only 807 feet but it still required a mile long hike up hill to reach the summit.  There was a nice monument at the top placed by the high pointers club but otherwise you could not really see anything because of all the trees.

The next day I crossed back into Tennessee and rode all the way to Jackson.  This is where I met my mom as she drove all the way out from Virginia to hang out for a few days.  This was very relaxing and helpful to have her come out.  While I was riding she would take the majority of my gear so that my bike would remain pretty lite and the days were a lot easier for me as I rode from one town to the next.  It was also nice knowing that I would be staying in a hotel and going out to eat good food each night instead of having to find a new place to sleep each day.

She followed me all the way up to Sikeston Missouri where we split ways as I continued towards Taum Sauk, Missouri’s highpoint.  This is where things started to get a little interesting.  During the whole trip there had been a few dogs here and there that would come out and chase us.   Most drivers were generous about the space they gave us as they passed on the road.  However, in southeast Missouri that all changed.  Within 2 days and about 100 miles of riding I had 11 dogs come out and chase the bike.  Some would surprise me, because they wouldn’t bark at all until they were right behind my tire.  If I did not see them running out behind me it would come as quite a start.  The drivers in Missouri were also a lot less generous with their space.  In fact it seemed like the majority of them didn’t want to give me any space and there were a couple times that I actually rode off the side of the road because the cars passed just a little to close for my comfort. 

Nonetheless I made it to the high point of Missouri, which was the first high point that both Brent and I were both at since Brasstown Bald in Georgia.  He showed up the night before and drove to the summit as I biked, but at least we were both there. 

Now we are taking some time off in Missouri for their 100^th anniversary of homecoming and we will let you know how it goes next time.  Until then....

- Michael and Brent