Kickapoo State Park Danville, Illinois

We finally left Brazil a couple of days ago. On Sunday we went to church with Rob and Vanita and planned to leave. We got the bike all ready, water bottles ready and then it started to thunder and turned dark! Uh oh! So we pushed the bike back into the garage, just as the storm hit. We went in and checked the radar (what did we ever do without computers?) and it looked like it was going to clear soon. So we headed off for points northwest. Rob mapped us a nice route to Rockville, IN on backroads. It was very pretty. We stopped in Bridgeton at a little store for $1 bottle of pop and snickers bars. We rode through the covered bridge capital of Indiana. We headed to Rockville. When we got to an IGA and planned to buy our dinner supplies, it started thundering again. As Hap bought the groceries I asked the worker where is the closest campground? She said there is one four miles from here at Rockville Lake. So we sprinted (as much as you can on a 450 pound tandem). Just as we pulled into the campground it started to storm. We waited until it slowed down before we set up the tent. Then we rode to a shelter house to cook dinner. It was a dry night in our new tent.

The next day we headed towards Danville Illinois. At one point as we were riding down the road we saw a swamp area full of trees with a boat in the middle of it. There was a sign that said "Nancy's boat rides". We thought it was a funny place for a boat. Just down the road our road turned to gravel. We also noticed the rear wheel was really out of true and wobbling. So we stopped at a house and asked Dale and Wilma if we could borrow there shade. Hap trued up the wheel. We talked to them for quite awhile about the area. Then "Nancy" rode up on a four wheeler. As it turns out she had just bought the land where we saw the boat. It was very swampy. One of the neighbors had put a boat in the swamp and put up the sign. Dale suggested that she put up a sign with the man' who put up the sign's name on it and his phone number to call for information on the boat rides! Very funny!

Dale and Wilma gave us some great advice for getting to Cayuga. We had to ride a few miles of dirt road but it wasn't bad. After all that is why we put on those heavy duty tires. They also recommended that we stop in Cayuga and eat at the Covered Bridge restaurant. Which we did and it was an excellent meal. Great pie. Note to self......do not share a piece of pie with Hap....he doesn't share well! We crossed into Illinois and into Danville. We spent the night at Kickapoo State Park. A beautiful place.

Today's ride was mostly directly north of Danville. But the really good news! We had a fantastic tailwind. It was very hot in the 90's all day. We spent all day riding through farmland. Traffic was light. I don't think I have ever seen straighter roads! We arrived in Watseka. We are now on the Adventure Cycling map. According to it there was supposed to be camping at the city park. We asked several people and no one knew anything about it. So we decided to stay in a motel and air conditioning. After we checked in we found out if you call the police you can get permission to camp in the city park. Oh well....... Tonight, dinner is in the microwave, laundry can get done and we can charge up all of the phones, computers and all the other "stuff".

Brazil, Indiana second day!

So here we are still in Brazil. Somehow I managed to get a bad cold and am still not feeling well. I never get colds. So what's up with this?? We are still staying with friends Rob and Vanita and enjoying their hospitality. Today we fired up their Schwin single bike and tandem for a tour of Brazil. We made a stop to the newspaper to get some info about our ride for Alpha in the news. We haven't ridden single speed bikes for awhile, now I know why I like all of those gears. By the way when I ride I use ALL of my gears. It was a beautiful day until about mid afternoon when the rain began to fall. But luckily we were back at the house.

We drove over to Terra Haute to meet another Alpha patient, John Morton and his wife Debbie for dinner. John said he needed some motivation for starting to ride a bike! So here's your challenge John, it is now published that you are going to start. What choice do you have now? It was interesting to talk to another patient about their experience with Alpha. One thing that we agreed on was that Alpha is so often either not diagnosed or misdiagnosed. So whoever is reading this has any symptoms of chronic obstuctive pulmonary disease, shortness of breath, frequent lung infections etc. Ask your doctor for a simple blood test to get properly diagnosed. Or their is a free test available through the Alpha One organization. You can get more information at their website www.alphaone.org.

While we were in Terra Haute we all went to see the movie "Wild Hogs". If you haven't seen it, we highly recommend it. Especially if you like motorcycles. Hap used to road race motorcycles and my family has been into racing for all of my life. We left our three motorcycles safely tucked away in our garage at home. The week before we left, I wanted to ride mine as much as possible but I had a battery that was dead. It didn't make sense to buy a new one before we left. So whenever I wanted to ride I had to take my starter (Hap!) with me.

It is now Saturday morning and it is pouring down rain. We had planned to leave this morning. I am still suffering from this stupid (sorry for the technical language) cold. Se we plan to get packed up and wait out the rain. Hopefully we can ride today. We'll see.

PS: If you want to see the pictures better. Just double click on them to enlarge them.

Brazil, Indiana

Yesterday's ride to Brazil was a hot, windy ride on National Road Rt 40. We left the motel in Plainsfield and stopped at Krogers for a breakfast of bagels, yogart, milk, banana and peanut butter. As we rode I noticed that gas prices are up to about $3.50 / gallon. So I decided to see how many miles we could get out of our breakfast. It was 25 miles! Lunch was peanut butter, bagels and apples. Rt 40 got alittle hillier as we went west and the wind picked up. But then when you are riding with head wind Hap what can you expect. We also decided we may as well get used to riding into the wind since we will be traveling mainly west.
I am still not feeling very well from this cold. But at least I didn't have a migraine along with a cold.....now THAT would be bad! And my neck and back are finally feeling better. I think my steroid injections are finally starting to work. Now let's see if they hold up until we go home for Christmas.
Riding on Rt 40 really wasn't so bad. It is a divided four lane highway with alittle bit of a berm on it. We had ridden on it once before when we rode the RAIN (Ride Across Indiana in a Day ride) several years ago. That ride goes from Terra Haute east to Richmond. We had so much fun riding that day. We were riding our single bikes. I was training for a triathlon and decided not to draft for the 160 mile ride. Then we got into a race trying to catch a group of guys who kept leaving the food stops just in front of us. It was a great ride.
In Brazil we are staying with Rob and Vanita, high school friends of Hap. They must be as old as Hap! I didn't know they HAD high schools back then! We had a great dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Then took a tour of their funeral home. The funeral home has been in Rob's family since the 1800's. It is in a wonderful old building, that has been beautifully decorated and updated. It was really fascinating to hear about the funeral business. I know, it's not something alot of people would think is interesting but you have to remember that this is Hap and Diane.

On the road again!

Hi everyone
We rode out of Indy today. We followed the canal trail and then onto the White River Trail. From there we got on the National Road (US Route 40) to Plainfield, IN. We only road 25 miles today. But we decided that 25 miles of city riding is actually 50 miles of county miles. Maybe that is where the saying "going a country mile" comes from. I managed to get a cold and lose my voice (Hap is so upset!) and feel very puny today. We also didn't leave Indy until after noon so stopping earlier than expected made sense. One of the problems with traveling by bike is that campgrounds are not always in the location that you need them. We would have had to ride another 25 miles to get to a campground (thanks to our new computer that helps us find them). On our normal trip we would just ride to a town and look at a phone book to see what was available.
It was very difficult to leave our families behind. I don't think either of us anticipated how much leaving everyone would bother us.
Riding on the canal trail and the white river trail was really nice. It was shaded and cool and no traffic. Today it was 89 degrees and hot. We did manage to get turned around when we got off the trail, but we figured it out and got on Rt 40 to head west. Rt 40 wasn't too bad but there was still alot of traffic. It was four lanes so there was plenty of room. But another one of our "rules of the road" is that there has to be ONE idiot on the road who rides right up behind us, blows the horn, and then passes very close. That's when I yell to Hap, "Hold your elbows in!" I just don't understand this when there is a clear lane. It only takes a small turn of the wheel to move over. Sometimes I think people are just in a hurry to get there milk and bread at the store............................. What other reasons could there be?
Since I was feeling so bad we opted to stay in a small motel on Rt 40. So that is where we are. Hopefully I will feel better tomorrow.

Our first presentation for Alpha One went very well. Sonnie and Dugan came over from Ohio (see picture). We hope to do alot more for the Alpha organization. We'll see how that all pans out. Thas all for now. We need to go find something that has dinner written on it.

Take care

Back in Ohio?

Hi everyone, we had a slight detour from our planned route! My mom became ill so I am back in Ohio for a few days. Hap is still in Indianapolis with his sisters from Oregon and Arizona at his parents house. Hopefully I will be going back tomorrow after mom's doctors appointment. We planned to leave Indy on Tuesday morning anyway, so this really doesn't change that ..... so far.... You see you never know what will happen or where the Eaton's will show up! Once we heard that mom was sick, Sonnie and Dugan drove me back to Chillicothe in their RV.

Dugan and Sonnie came over to Indianapolis for our presentation at the Telacris Plasma Collection center. The treatment for Alpha One is Prolastin which is made from plasma. We spoke to the staff of the plasma center at 6:30am! I thought I was on vacation and didn't have to get up early?? Remember one of the "rules of the road?" I think the presentation went well and the people got some good info about Alpha and why collecting plasma is so important. A few years ago there was a shortage of Prolastin, partly due to not having enough plasma to make it from. This was a big impact for Dugan because he had to miss several of his treatments.

Hopefully the next time I post we will be riding out of Indy and headed for Brazil, Indiana! Take care. Diane

Dugan and Kendall ride TOSRV

Here are a few pictures from Dugan and Kendall's TOSRV ride. They rode 50 miles from Columbus to Chillicothe on six tanks of O2! This was Kendall's first TOSRV and her longest ride so far on her new ride, a Giant OCR 3 from Bill's Bike Shop (that should get me a free water bottle.....). Both of them did a great job during the ride and we sure hated missing it. But we did talk to them a bunch as they were riding. Tiff and Dustin served as the "Pit Crew" with spare oxygen bottles, power bars, power gels and gatorade. Dugan can only carry 3 bottles on the bike. The one picture is of Kendall and Tiffany talking to the trainer (Aunt Diane) for instructions prior to the ride.

I am not sure how many Alpha patients are able to ride like Dugan. But I am also not sure how many try. If any of you want some info on how Dugan does this send a note in our comments section and we'll try to get you the information.

Indianapolis

Hello everyone, sorry we have not posted for awhile. We are still in Indianapolis and will be here for another week visiting family. This morning we got out for a ride on the Monon Bike trail. It is a great trail through the heart of Indy. I have been able to get over to the YMCA every day for swimming and my back exercises. One of the concerns for this trip is will my back and neck hold up. So getting in the pool and doing the very specific exercises prescribed are very important. I also have a massage and chiropractic visit planned.

One of the questions that several people are asking is "How do you train for a ride like this?" The answer is we don't train, we live a lifestyle that makes it possible. If you know us very well you know that we "train" everyday. Biking, running (although that is out for me right now), swimming, weight lifting, racquetball and just plain having fun. The only thing that I think needs to be "trained" is our gluteus maximus (look it up!) and that shouldn't be a problem. Hap having cramps the other day took us alittle by surprise, but I think it was a combination of the high temperature and humidity and not enough calorie intake. Once he started cramping we put in him, a power bar, 2 gels and 2 bottles of water and then about an hour later, did the same thing. He didn't have any more trouble after that.

We have our first presentation set up for the Alpha One Organization. www.alphaone.org for next Friday. We will be speaking to the staff of a plasma center. Prolastin the only medication proven to help Alpha One is made from plasma. Dugan and Sonnie are driving over for the presentation. We are so excited to be able to give back to an organization that has helped Dugan so much.

Speaking of Dugan. He, along with his daughter Kendall are riding TOSRV today. We just talked to him and he had made it to Circleville (25 miles). So far he had used 3 tanks of oxygen. He sounded like he was in good spirits. I will post some pics for you later. So all of you who are sitting on the couch reading this........there is a man who has 29% lung function out riding his bike! What are YOU doing today.

That's all for now. Remember we will be stationary for another week. After that the destination is Brazil, IN or close to that. Oh and I realize that some of the posted pics are duplicate. I am still working out the bugs so hang in there. I have a year to figure it out...........
Diane and Hap

The Adventure begins...

We are officially "on the ride"! We arrived today in Indianapolis after two nights on the road.

The adventure started by riding into church sunday morning for Father Dale to give us a "bicycle blessing". We know that without God's help this adventure not only couldn't happen but also would not have even been thought of. God has given Hap and I the desire of our hearts and the ability to follow a dream. So this little ride is in his hands. Father Dale's blessing was very special for us.

Also, my mom, sister Sonnie, niece Kendall and Dugan all showed up at the church to see us off. That was very unexpected and very appreciated. Bill and Jill road with us out of town on their tandem laughing at us because we were so slow! When I get more pictures in here you will see why. We pulled Katie's trailer for the ride to Indianapolis with about 50 extra pounds of gear for the 2 wks in Indy.

When we started the ride it was sunny and cool (60's) but the best news was that we had a tailwind for the first two days. We have ridden to Indianapolis before so we knew what the route sort of was. Although when we rode it before we called it the "let's try to ride to Indy in a day ride". We tried the ride 2 times! Both times the wind was blowing in our faces and it was about 100 degrees. So for this trip we decided to make it a 3 day ride.

We rode to Dayton the first day and spent the night with Donna and Paul. It was a great ride except that they still live on TOP of the big hill. We have asked them to move to the bottom of the hill but they haven't yet. Paul fixed a fantastic and very healthy salmon dinner for us. After a soak in their hot tub, a soft bed was great.

The second day the planned route was Dayton to Richmond, IN. We started out on the bike trail into downtown Dayton. And yes we did manage to get lost, but in our defense there was construction on the bikeway. So it wasn't really our fault. Eventually we gave up on the bikeway and headed towards Trotwood where we were able to pick it up again and ride into Brookville for lunch. From there we got on the National Road Rt 40 into Richmond. Rt 40 isn't too bad to ride on. Once in Richmond we had quite a time trying to find the campground. That is very common for us. When we asked for directions we were told, just get on I 70 go to the next exit and turn right..........mmmmmmmm....did ya notice that we were on a bike.....hello.......

This was our first night in our new tent and our new sleeping bag, Big Agnes. The tent has so much room we didn't know what to do. AND two doors! Big Agnes was great. I know she will keep me warm. So there we were laying in our tent watching a movie, checking email and talking on the phone.....not bad!

Today's ride was more difficult. More of a side wind. And some rolling hills. We rode into Indianapolis just about rush hour. So let's see if there are 3 lanes, and in the far right lane you come up to a slow moving bike, what should you do?? Put blinker on and move to the left? Get up nice and close so that they will know that you are there? Drive up beside them and call your friend on the cell phone and tell them about these stupid people on a big bike that is blocking the road?

That is pretty much the just of what has happened the last three days. It is good to see Hap's family again we don't get to see them often enough. The next week should be alot of fun. Thas all for now. See you on the next go round!

Rules of the Road

With just one day to blast off you would think that we would be ready........well........we are.......sort of......... Hap and I have been taking these trips, although much shorter 2-5 week (400-1800 miles), for 21 years so we know what we need to take and how to pack it. One of the challenges for this is the "extra" stuff. Like the computer, bigger tent. We are probably looking at 10,000-12,000 miles give or take a few miles. For the first part of this ride, from here to Indianapolis, we will be also pulling "Katie's" trailer. We are staying a few weeks in Indy visiting family so we are going to need extra "stuff". We plan to leave the trailer there and ride the trip without it. In this picture you can see Katie in her trailer on a tandem rally ride last year. We lost our girl a year ago, but the pain of her not being able to travel with us still doesn't go away. But don't worry Katie will be with us somehow.


Alot of people want to know what our route is and how do we pick the route?? This route started because we didn't want to ride across the plains (KA, NB) of the US, wanted to see the Dakotas, love riding in Montana, wanted to visit friends in Idaho and Washington, wanted to go back to the Olympic Pensinsula and Mt St Helens and visit Hap's sister in Corvallis, OR. We also wanted to be able to go through Glacier Park again and actually have time to spend a few days hiking. We have ridden through there twice but not had a chance to stay. So that was the start. The rest of the route was pretty much decided the same way. What do we want to see and who do we know lives near there. The idea is that there are so many places we have had to rush past that we wanted to go back to. So now we can do that.


In our many travels we have certain "Rules of the Road" that must be followed or you have to suffer the consequences. I thought before we get started on our journey, we should share these rules. Also, when Hap breaks one of these rules I will have witnesses now. So here they are:

1. The ten mile rule: We can ride no farther than ten miles in the morning before we have coffee. During that ten miles, you may not talk to Diane.


2. Don't wake Diane up early in the morning and say, "It's 6am it's time to get up and ride." And being cheerful doesn't help!


3. Watch out for the ropes on the tent, because they jump out and grab your feet.


4. Keep the bike out of the ditch.


5. We have one disputed rule: Diane's is to be off the road by at least 4 hours before sundown. Hap's is to be off the road sometime just before it gets dark.

There are more rules but I am afraid this is getting too long. I'll share more later.....

By the way for those of you who are posting comments. If you don't sign your name they show up as anonymous. Which is fine with us. I just wanted you to know that your email address and your name are not published.

Thanks to all of you who have wished us well, and given us a wonderful send off. We are going to miss you. Take care Diane and Hap

Getting closer.............

Paul, one of our old friends whose name I promised not to mention......made the comment that some ol' farts are having trouble reading the small print. So... here is a checklist of what we have gotten done so far:

• New computer
• New computer working
• Diane and Hap know how to work computer...........some doubt to this one but I'm still giving it a check!
• New brakes, tires, wheels, cables, panniers, raincoats, waterproof compression bags, Big Anges (sleeping bag), new shoes for Hap (even though he said the 20 year old shoes were just fine!), headset.
• Test ride on "new" old bus.
• Steroid injections-low back, and neck. OUCH!
• Marital counseling
• Clothes packed..................ok so I don't have this done yet....I better stop playing on this thing and get busy. More when I can add some to the checklist.

Later. Diane and Hap

Making progress

We are getting closer to blast off. Today we are off for a "test" ride of the Bus after it's face lift. We just got new front Arkel panniers. Our old front panniers were too small. We thought we might need more space. We already use Arkel rear panniers. They have worked very well the last few years.

Hap has been hard at getting the garage ready to put our car and van inside. But that is probably going to mean putting all 12 of our bikes inside. Now where are we going to put the three motorcycles??

The last few days we have spent spending time with friends and saying goodbye. I guess this crazy thing is really gonna happen. Who knew? When we started dreaming of this many years ago, it seemed a long way away.

We got our new computer yesterday. It is a Lifebook P something or nother. All I know is that it weighs 2 lbs + the 2 lbs of the Pelican waterproof, shock proof, Eaton proof case. Not sure if that includes battery weight or not. But I don't think I want to know.

Riding for Alpha's

I promised more information on Alpha One Anti-trypsin Defiency. My brother in law, Dugan, was diagnosed with Alpha in 1993. It was just a lucky coincidence that he even got diagnosed. After being treated by many lung infections, his doctor said "I just went to a conference last weekend about this new lung disease. I am going to do a blood test for it." Otherwise it could have been years before the correct diagnosis was made. He was sent up to The Ohio State University (GO BUCKS) and entered a research study. They were testing a new treatment called Prolastin. Prolastin is not just a "pill" that you take daily. It has to be infused through an IV. This meant twice/month trips o the hospital. These continue today. Several years after diagnosis when his lung function began to drop, he went to the Cleveland Clinic and was basically told. You better lose some weight, get in shape, because there is no cure and you will eventually need a lung transplant. On the way home he said so how do I start? I want to ride a bike! For those of you who don't know, I have a degree in Exercise Physiology and a RN and have worked with people and exercise programs for 25 years. So my first reaction was how is he going to ride a bike with oxygen? He started with walking for a few minutes and being 70 pounds overweight. He also built and designed a rack for his bike to hold three tanks of O2. He ended up a year later 70 pounds lighter and we rode a 350 mile one week ride! I pulled a trailer with extra oxygen. He was my hero. I was amazed every day at his ability to climb any hill, ride in the heat of the day and still smile through most of it. His comment of the week was "if I didn't have to stop and change my oxygen, stop to eat and drink, and quit answering the phone, I could win this race!"

So this ride that we are starting on is dedicated to Dugan and all Alpha's out there. After watching him all of these years, I know that this little ride we are going to do is nothing in comparison. The bottom line is don't give up. Dugan's ride was only possible through his determination, motivation and basic stubborness. His doctors are all amazed at what he is doing. And frankly so am I! I have watched so many people say they can't exercise because of this or that. But I see a person with 29% lung function doing something special.

The Old Bus is getting a new face lift

In the picture you can see our tandems. Yes, of course they have names! The yellow one is the "Bus" and the other is the "New Tandem" or NT for short. NT is getting upset about not getting out for rides for awhile. But I don't think he wants to carry any extra weight on him. Sooo we are taking the Bus. The Bus is a 1985 Santana tandem that has been rebuilt mucho times. She's hangin in there and hasn't let us down yet. She has been on every trip for each of our 20 yrs of touring. If you wanna know more technical stuff about the new parts, etc you'll have to ask the mechanic. That wouldn't be me. We each have our own jobs. Hap's is to take care of the bike and keep the bike out of the ditch. Mine is to take care of our bodies and make sure we eat something from all food groups every day. You do know that chocolate and ice cream are a major food group don't you? Hey I'm the expert here.... I think it has something to do with him being a mechanical engineer and me a nurse. Even if he did go to Purdue for his ME, I try not to hold that against him.

Tonight we went out for a short decompression ride. Oh, you don't know what that is? That is when "stuff" piles up, things bother you so you have to go out decompress. And what better way than on a bike! The gettin ready is gettin rougher, but we've still got time.

On tonights ride we had no planned route. Hap came to an intersection and all of a sudden turned right. I said why did you do that? He said because there was an arrow painted on the road. So I said is that what our plan is for the next year? We may be zigzagging all over the US! Now this should be interesting!