When we arrived in Charleston we went out to dinner with Deb from the ALA and Neva who is an Alpha One support group leader. She has arranged for Hap & I to meet with the WV Governor tomorrow at the capital building. What an opportunity to do some PR for Alpha! Thanks Neva! We also were going to present our check to the ALA for the TREK bike tour we are doing with Team Alpha next weekend. It is a 2-day ride along the Greenbrier River in WV. It is a beautiful trail. Hap & I rode it a few years ago.
The next morning we were supposed to be at the capital building at 9:15a. We were only a few blocks from there so we got to the gate a little early. A TV cameraman showed up from WOWK Charleston station and did an interview. Another station WSAZ also did an interview. Meeting Governor Manchin was really cool. He read a proclamation stating that May was Alpha One Awareness month. He told us that he had mandated that when any knew roads were built in WV that a 2-foot shoulder was required. We thanked him for that. All in all it was a special day for us. We are still trying to figure out why people are so amazed at our “little bike ride”. All we are doing is having fun! When things get tough sometimes along the way, I remember Dugan and how hard he trained and worked to ride his bike with a quarter of a lung! What we are doing is easy. Hopefully we got some good press for Alpha.
We left Charleston and headed towards Huntington. We stopped at John’s bike shop in St Albans. We were very impressed with the bike shop. Great selection of bikes, parts and Jeff actually knew something about them. He had done a tour across the US back in 1976. We ate lunch at Taco Bell. We stopped at Jim’s Campground outside of. Milton, WV. There were two choices of campgrounds. The KOA wanted $30 to pitch our tent. Jim’s wanted $12. Which would you pick? Jim’s was really nice. We had a huge shelter house that we could park the bike under and cook our dinner too. It also had electric outlets as a bonus.
We left the next morning after eating our traditional oatmeal, peanut butter and banana breakfast. It was hot and sunny. The road was little busier as we got closer to Huntington. Most of the traffic gave us plenty of room. But there’s always that 10% rule. We had a flat tire on the way into town. It’s always much more fun to have a flat tire, in traffic, with no shoulder. It didn’t take long to get it changed. Hap’s getting really good at it. I don’t even have to tell him what to do anymore! It was supposed to start raining so we planned to stay inside in Ashland, KY. We stopped at a gas station to look in a phone book for hotels. While we were there a guy said, “Hey didn’t I see you on TV this morning?” He talked to us for quite awhile. We had been wondering why so many people had been blowing their horns at us and waving as they passed. Maybe they saw us on the TV! That would explain it. Before we got to the hotel we stopped and bought another tube. Just in case…..We have had to ride in more junk on the side of the road just because of the traffic. We got to the hotel, left the trailer and road to a Wal-Mart for dinner supplies and to get a prescription filled. While I was standing in line a lady behind me said, “Didn’t I see you on TV this morning?” I asked her if she learned something and she said yes she did. It was very interesting. Oh, did I mention that the Wal-Mart was on TOP of a big hill? So here’s the picture…..four lanes, no shoulder, slow tandem, lots of traffic. We had a lot of people come pretty close. I guess they had to get to Wal-Mart in a hurry. I am sure that it was some sort of an emergency that’s why they couldn’t wait 10 seconds or so to get around. But we all made it into Wal-Mart and no one got hurt. That’s the important part.
The next day it was pouring down rain. We decided to stay an extra day in Ashland. We spent the day doing laundry and eating. We only have 30 miles to go to get to Portsmouth, OH. Then maybe 70 miles or so to home.
This morning we left Ashland, stopped at Bobby’s place (or Bob Evans to all of you who aren’t from Ohio!) and road north on Rt 23. Rt 23 runs through Circleville HOME. Not far now. We are getting to our neck of the woods. It was overcast all day but still a great ride. We made a call to All Saints Episcopal Church in Portsmouth about spending the night there. We have stayed there many times when we road TOSRV (Tour of the Scioto River Valley). They agreed to let us stay even though TOSRV is the next day. We planned to be riding north tomorrow as TOSRV riders are heading south to Portsmouth. This way we get to see all of our biking friends that we haven’t seen for a very long time. We got to the church just in front of a big downpour. My brothers and wives are driving down tonight to take us out to dinner. It sure will be great to see them!
We are down to two more days of riding before finishing this year long (and three day) adventure. I go back to work in a couple more days. Where did the time go?
The next morning we were supposed to be at the capital building at 9:15a. We were only a few blocks from there so we got to the gate a little early. A TV cameraman showed up from WOWK Charleston station and did an interview. Another station WSAZ also did an interview. Meeting Governor Manchin was really cool. He read a proclamation stating that May was Alpha One Awareness month. He told us that he had mandated that when any knew roads were built in WV that a 2-foot shoulder was required. We thanked him for that. All in all it was a special day for us. We are still trying to figure out why people are so amazed at our “little bike ride”. All we are doing is having fun! When things get tough sometimes along the way, I remember Dugan and how hard he trained and worked to ride his bike with a quarter of a lung! What we are doing is easy. Hopefully we got some good press for Alpha.
We left Charleston and headed towards Huntington. We stopped at John’s bike shop in St Albans. We were very impressed with the bike shop. Great selection of bikes, parts and Jeff actually knew something about them. He had done a tour across the US back in 1976. We ate lunch at Taco Bell. We stopped at Jim’s Campground outside of. Milton, WV. There were two choices of campgrounds. The KOA wanted $30 to pitch our tent. Jim’s wanted $12. Which would you pick? Jim’s was really nice. We had a huge shelter house that we could park the bike under and cook our dinner too. It also had electric outlets as a bonus.
We left the next morning after eating our traditional oatmeal, peanut butter and banana breakfast. It was hot and sunny. The road was little busier as we got closer to Huntington. Most of the traffic gave us plenty of room. But there’s always that 10% rule. We had a flat tire on the way into town. It’s always much more fun to have a flat tire, in traffic, with no shoulder. It didn’t take long to get it changed. Hap’s getting really good at it. I don’t even have to tell him what to do anymore! It was supposed to start raining so we planned to stay inside in Ashland, KY. We stopped at a gas station to look in a phone book for hotels. While we were there a guy said, “Hey didn’t I see you on TV this morning?” He talked to us for quite awhile. We had been wondering why so many people had been blowing their horns at us and waving as they passed. Maybe they saw us on the TV! That would explain it. Before we got to the hotel we stopped and bought another tube. Just in case…..We have had to ride in more junk on the side of the road just because of the traffic. We got to the hotel, left the trailer and road to a Wal-Mart for dinner supplies and to get a prescription filled. While I was standing in line a lady behind me said, “Didn’t I see you on TV this morning?” I asked her if she learned something and she said yes she did. It was very interesting. Oh, did I mention that the Wal-Mart was on TOP of a big hill? So here’s the picture…..four lanes, no shoulder, slow tandem, lots of traffic. We had a lot of people come pretty close. I guess they had to get to Wal-Mart in a hurry. I am sure that it was some sort of an emergency that’s why they couldn’t wait 10 seconds or so to get around. But we all made it into Wal-Mart and no one got hurt. That’s the important part.
The next day it was pouring down rain. We decided to stay an extra day in Ashland. We spent the day doing laundry and eating. We only have 30 miles to go to get to Portsmouth, OH. Then maybe 70 miles or so to home.
This morning we left Ashland, stopped at Bobby’s place (or Bob Evans to all of you who aren’t from Ohio!) and road north on Rt 23. Rt 23 runs through Circleville HOME. Not far now. We are getting to our neck of the woods. It was overcast all day but still a great ride. We made a call to All Saints Episcopal Church in Portsmouth about spending the night there. We have stayed there many times when we road TOSRV (Tour of the Scioto River Valley). They agreed to let us stay even though TOSRV is the next day. We planned to be riding north tomorrow as TOSRV riders are heading south to Portsmouth. This way we get to see all of our biking friends that we haven’t seen for a very long time. We got to the church just in front of a big downpour. My brothers and wives are driving down tonight to take us out to dinner. It sure will be great to see them!
We are down to two more days of riding before finishing this year long (and three day) adventure. I go back to work in a couple more days. Where did the time go?
Today we rode to Chillicothe. It was fun to see all of the TOSRV riders coming south. We saw alot of old friends that we haven't seen for a long time. It sure is good to be on home turf. We have ridden the Tour of the Scioto River Valley every year since 1983 so we felt like we knew every turn and crack in the highway. It is a very pretty ride following the Scioto River. In Chillicothe we made a quick stop in the park to talk to the local newspaper and take a picture. Then we stopped and bought my mom some roses for Mother's Day. Of course I told her that I had bought them in Portsmouth and hand carried them from there. All of my family showed up for a cookout. It was great to see everyone. Especially the three new babies, Korbin, Reed and Rowdy. I plan to spoil all of them soon!! Tomorrow is our last day on the road. I go back to work at Berger Health System on Monday. Hap will be busy getting our house (assuming it is still there) back in working order. We have ridden 10,280 miles. Tomorrow's ride will be about 30 miles. It is supposed to be a stormy, rainy day. A fitting end don't you think?
1 comments:
so glad you arehoje safe and sound. Looking forward to seeing you and hearing everything. Have been trying to keep up with you but ... monica nd amerc
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