Hello everyone. I figured I would take my last chance to say goodbye to you all. First, I would also like to thank everyone who read our blogs and viewed our pictures. I wish I could tell all of you what your support has meant to me. I hope, one day, to be able to return the favor. Also, I posted some pictures of the finish line, so check those out.

The adjustment back to "normal" life has been surprisingly smooth. Although I can't be the habit of waking up early, I have not missed cooking on the back of the tailgate in high winds or freezing temperatures. What I do miss is Steve's company, the amazing people we met along the way, and talking to Ann (as we talked about 3 times a day). The thing I miss the most, however, is waking up and feeling like I am part of something life-altering. I miss the sense of adventure that everyday held. I fear that this kind of thing might be addictive. In his blog, Steve said he didn't know when the itch to do something like this again would strike, but I don't know if the itch will ever really leave for me.

So, until next time…

Katie

Hello everyone,

   I hope everyone has had a great start to the holidays.  I am fairly sure that anyone who checks and reads these blogs knows by now, but Katie and I arrived at the HP Pavilion in downtown San Jose safely and in good health on Tuesday, November 21.  We were greeted by friends and family and the Jump Rope for Heart demo squad, along with members of the Santa Clara Heart Association staff.  I want to start the closure by saying thank you to everyone who has helped out in any way, followed our progress, hoped for our safety, and generally supported us along the way.  Thank you to the O'donnell's, the Tindall's, Debbie, the DeGregory's, and the Maries for opening your homes and your hearts to us.  Thank you to all the hotels along the way that offered us rooms to stay in and take much needed showers.  Thank you to everyone who donated to the Heart Association helping to bring the total raised at this point to over $10,000.  Thank you to the companies that sponsored us with many helpful items.  Thank you to my parents and Katie's parents for all the work you put into helping plan the trip, seeing it through smoothly, and throwing one heck of a party at the end of it.  And another thank you to my mom for her perfect record in keeping us in hotel rooms each night.  Thank you to everyone who has been faithful in reading this blog, whether you found it entertaining or not.  And a special thank you to Katie for keeping me alive and happy over the course of the trip.  I could not have done it without you...and if by some chance I had, I definitely would not have enjoyed it as much.  You might be curious about life after and how the minor decrease in movement is affecting me...let me start by saying that the past few days have been everything I hoped they would.  I move from the couch to my bed and back, with an occasional trip to the kitchen.  I will probably start daily jogs again soon, keeping the mileage to about 4 a day.  I have already been asked about whether I ever plan on doing it again.  If I had to answer right now, I might say no, but who knows....you never know when or where the itch will strike.  If I were to I would definitely do some things differently, especially with regard to the training leading up to the trip.  And I might not be so concerned with minimizing the length of the trip, although demands on my time and attention will only increase from here on out, so it would take very careful planning and forethought.  In the meantime, seeing as how this school year has already started and that I do not feel like doing much of anything these next few weeks, I plan on attempting to get my single subject math credential during the first half of 2007 so I can teach middle school math in the fall.  And maybe, just maybe, when the trauma from my saddle sores wears off in the next few days or weeks....I'll hop back up on the bike.  Hope everyone has an amazing holiday season, and thank you again for your continued support, concern, and interest in this, our little adventure.

             Love, Steve

I am writing this blog from our hotel room in Gilroy, CA, about 20 miles from our end point today in Hollister, and one day away from San Jose.  Although we will make it into San Jose tomorrow, I am going to save a few miles for the official finish on Tuesday at 3 p.m.  If you are in the neighborhood...or feel like making a trek out to see a half-coherent, unshaven guy stumble into town, maybe we will see you there at the HP Pavilion in downtown San Jose (525 West Santa Clara St. San Jose, CA 95113...you can mapquest it).  There might be food!  Check back here in the next few days for our final thoughts and comments on the trip.

Money found along the road:  $30.00

Miles today:  111

Last 7 days' mileage:  702

The thought of resting makes me weep, but I have cities to leap, and fifty miles to go before I sleep, and fifty miles to go before I sleep.   - Robert Frost...or used to be

                    Steve

Wow! We are in Kettleman City! I can hardly believe that we are in California, but it was so weird to drive into Kettleman City; a place I have driven through about a hundred times on my way home from Cal Poly. With any luck and undoubtedly much pain from Steve's saddle sores, we will end in San Jose on Tuesday.

Well, today I officially lost it! I have had some minor moments of insanity before today ( most in Kansas), but my little breakdown off of highway 33 takes the cake. I had just finished making lunch next to an open field. I had noticed a large quantity of flies around the back of the truck, but didn't think too much of it. However, upon entering the cab I realized that Steve had left his door open, hence letting in about two dozen flies. Well, that was the straw and the camel's back broke. Fortunately or unfortunately, I had a fly swatter and I went Rambo. I began yelling many words I will not repeat here, swatting everything in sight, and digressed into a general state of hysteria as I tried to rid the cab of the flies. Steve, of course, tried to keep me rational, but he just didn't understand. To him, there were a bunch of flies in the cab, but to me flies had invaded my home. It was at that moment I realized how adapted I had become to living in the truck. It really has been my house, if not home, for the past 97 days. I pay rent (gas), I clean it, organize it, it has a kitchen, living (and I do mean LIVING) room, and even serves as a bathroom for Steve on occasion. Well, now that I have made this big revelation, I will be readjusting to normal life in about three days.

So, now you know my dark side. I hope this makes you all appreciate the house/apartment you live in.

I hope that many of you can make it to the finish line. We are going to have a little celebration and we will post the details ASAP. For those of you who can't, you will be there in spirit.

Love.

Katie

PS…Jen, I have tried calling your cell three times and each time it says it's disconnected. I am sure that making it up to the finish line would be sticky because it's so close to Thanksgiving, but we can arrange some time to see you soon. Try calling me again and let me know if it's your phone or mine that is malfunctioning. Love to Bob. Peace out.

.....and I'm going to answer them.  We are currently in the middle of a big push to make it home by thanksgiving.  Cranberries aside, I think it would be nice for Katie and me to be able to spend the holiday with our families after having not seen them for almost 4 months.  By my calculations we are about 375 miles from home and should be just about in Bakersfield by tomorrow.  It is still up in the air whether the actual finish will take place on Tuesday or Wednesday, but my butt willing, most likely Tuesday.  I should be able to get back to everybody who is interested in being there by tomorrow night with the official day and time.

I also wanted to say thank you to my dad for coming out and riding with me for a few days.  We loved having you here.  Zion Park will always be one of my favorite and most memorable rides.

Hope all is well and hope to see many of you soon.  Take care.

              Steve

Number of miles today:  112

Number of times I complained about my butt hurting:  112

Number of scorpions I wanted to see but didn't:  0

I am just back from a brief but wonderful tour with Steve and Katie, starting in Page, AZ, through Zion in southern Utah, down through the NW corner of Arizona, and ending in Las Vegas.  Thank you Steve and Katie for letting me share some of your journey and thanks as well to Ann, both for including me in the "crew" she found great lodging for and for holding the Fort in San Jose, keeping the internet fires burning and taking care of Virginia.  Note to "V":  Katie misses you very much and will be home to see you soon!

Thursday 11/9:   packed bike and discovered it had a broken rear axle at 8:45 pm, just too late to get to bike shop.  Broke into cold sweat.  Flight time: 8:50 am Friday.

Friday 11/10:  Marieke and Ryan took me to SJC early (thanks guys!).  FYI: bike charge is $80.  Flew into Phoenix, transferred to Dehavilland Dash 8, twin-turboprop plane for hop up to Flagstaff, AZ.  Arrived, rented Escape mini-SUV and went straight to Absolute Bikes Inc.  A very helpful fellow found an axle and helped assemble, tune-up and checkout my bike – great thanks to him!  Drove 128 miles to Page, AZ (elev 4198 ft) and met Steve and Katie.  Bestowed some crucial gifts I brought from Performance bike shop:  3 pairs of the best bike shorts I could find, a new and better gel seat pad, and a big tube of "Chamois Butt'r".  Dinner out at Bella Napoli.

Saturday 11/11:  First day on the road - high 40s and overcast all day.  At our first stop Katie gave us some thin heat pads to wrap around our freezing toes inside our shoes.  What a difference!  High open country, gently rising from Glen Canyon Dam (http://www.powellguide.com/) up to Kanab, UT (elev. 4909 ft). Finished 75 mile ride just before wind came up and it sprinkled a bit.  Initiated into rituals of post-ride recovery drinks, mega-antioxidants, super supplements and protein-shakes.  If Steve took them I did too - no questions asked. Stayed at the Parry Lodge, famous for hosting the stars of countless Westerns.  A great place.  Katie's chili was fantastic, and gave the room a nice spicy aroma for hours. After some hours on the Internet, Steve decided to reroute through Las Vegas, Death Valley and south toward Bakersfield, rather than up 395 to Carson Pass.  It will be shorter, with fewer mountain passes, so they can finish a day or two sooner.  Finishing before Thanksgiving is now the top priority.

Sunday 11/12:  Zion Day !  An extra hours sleep, a full breakfast, bright sunshine and absolutely clear cloudless sky.  A short 43 mile ride planned, but those miles!!  Gentle climbing through high desert to top of plateau at 6100 ft, and then a spectacular, easy-paced 2200 ft descent through Zion.  With the blue sky and sun, the colors were amazing.  Ended in Springdale (elev. 3894 ft), with time to look at the shops, eat at Café Oscar (where Katie's family once dined a few years back), and enjoy the hospitality of the wonderful Flanigan's Inn.

Monday 11/13:  Going downhill on Sunday had been so easy and so much fun, that  I changed my original plan to stop in Saint George Monday and drive to Vegas Tuesday.  Now that Steve and Katie were going through Las Vegas, we decided to extend my tour and ride there together.  Morning was overcast and cool again as we descended toward Saint George (elev. 2981 ft) through the quiet, rural, mesa-studded terrain, chased by a light tailwind.  However – a little before Saint George, Hwy 9 ends and there is nothing to do but get onto Interstate 15.  Something else – and not in a good way!  The West is built around cars and trucks, and they all run on the interstates.  We took the first Saint George exit and met Katie for lunch.  Jessica, our super-friendly Ihop waitress, gave Steve high praise, strong encouragement, and a discount to benefit the Heart Association.  After riding surface streets through town, we got back onto I15 and headed toward Arizona.  The sun broke through, the tailwind continued, and we were flying.  And then we started down through the Virgin River Canyon.  I won't dwell on it, but between the bridges across gorges, the semis and the long, steep, downhill curves, this was not for the faint-of-heart.  Good job Steve !  Finally the road straightened, flattened, and dropped the final feet across the Nevada border and into Mesquite (elev. 1608 ft).  Ann had arranged a splendid room for us at the Falcon Ridge Hotel.  Very pretty place, with spa!

Tuesday, 11/14:  After breakfast David Bly, a reporter/editor for the Desert Valley Times (www.dvtnv.com), came by to interview Steve and take his picture.  He also drove ahead of us when we took off and snapped some action shots.  We'll see if he puts a story together.  Steve and I had a long straight run towards Vegas.  After an initial climb out of Mesquite, we headed downhill and downwind ~25 mph pretty much the whole time.  The Wide Open Spaces, with room on the road for both us and the semis.  We made N. Las Vegas (70 miles by lunchtime!), ate at Del Taco, and then the nightmare began.  We decided since we still had the afternoon, better that Steve start Wednesday from the west edge of Vegas.  So we rode ~25 miles through the mid-afternoon bumper-bumper, stop-and-go, trucks-cars-fighter jets (from Nellis AFB) traffic.  Most toxic air I've ever breathed, roads torn up and under construction, and just plain nasty.  IT WAS AWFUL!  Las Vegas seems to me to be "the Strip" surrounded by a huge construction yard – concrete factories, steel yards, heavy equipment depots and machinery dedicated to building more of the Strip.  We met Katie at the Blue Diamond Road (aka Hwy 160), and drove back to N. Las Vegas to our Hotel (thank you Holiday Inn Express).  After Chinese take-out, for the first time I'd seen, Steve and Katie both flopped onto beds and fell asleep instantly.  No Spa, no movie, no blogging or photos.  Next morning I decided what had happened:  CO poisoning from the ride through Vegas traffic. 

Wednesday, 11/15:  Apparently fully recovered, Steve and Katie were up early, hustling about and getting ready to head into California.  After breakfast they drove back to Tuesday's end point on the west side of town and started out for Death Valley.  Note:  it is a valley because it has 5500 ft mountain passes on either side.  Steve faced a 3500 ft climb to the top of the first ridge, then a drop to –200 ft, and then a climb back to ~5500 ft on Thursday before descending into the Panamint Valley.  I boxed up my bike and bungied it into the trunk of a cab for the ride to the airport.  I had a wonderful time and am suffering withdrawal from not riding (we did more than 290 miles together).  But the truth is, while I did fine downwind and downhill, I wouldn't be able to keep up on the climbs.  Steve and Katie are on their way home and I can't wait to see them again in San Jose!

~Don

My dad flew out and met us in Page, Arizona two nights ago.  And with him came a boost of morale that only a father who is passionate about what you are doing can bring.  Suddennly my legs do not feel as tired, my lower back does not hurt as much, and because he brought me new bike shorts and a new gel seat, neither does my butt.  We crossed the Arizona border into Utah yesterday, ending our ride in Utah's little Hollywood, Kanab.  Its landscape and surrounding areas made it the ideal spot to film many of the country's most famous western movies of the 40's and 50's.  We stayed at the Parry Lodge, which at one time catered to the likes of John Wayne and Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack.  Today was, without a doubt, one of the highlights of the trip.  Coming down that winding road into the valley of Zion National Park, with the towering, layered cliffs above, my dad riding along beside me, and Katie right behind us, fending off the traffic...it was indescribable.  So I won't try here.  Hopefully the pictures do it some sort of justice.  My dad will be with us for two more days of cycling, and we plan on parting ways in Las Vegas.

Here's a short story that might interest some people.  I definitely got a kick out of it.  Tonight I was checking my email, as is part of my normal routine when we have access to the internet, and my eyes did a double take at one of the names in the "from" column.  From:  Dean Karnazes  Subject:  Hi Steve.  You may or may not have heard of him, but he is a big name in the world of ultra-endurance sports.  He is famous for running hundreds of miles consecutively, going without sleep for several nights in a row.  He just finished up doing his 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days in New York City, and now, coincidentally, is running home to San Francisco.  Somehow or another he got wind of "A Heart in Motion from Ocean to Ocean," and the fact that it was a run specifically from New York City to San Jose, California.  Whether his decision to start running home two days after finishing his previous endeavor(s) was off the cuff, I don't know, but he emailed me from just west of Philadelphia to ask for help with his route, and if I would mind sharing mine with him.  I had no reason not to.  Who knows, maybe I will become famous as the guy who helped Dean Karnazes with his run across the country.  Hope everyone is doing well, and thanks for reading.

       Steve

Greetings from Arizona! We have been on the Navajo Reservation the past two days. The terrain has turned from mountains covered in snow to red striped desert. It is equally as beautiful, but completely different. We are now right next to Lake Powell and the Grand Canyon.

Steve's saddle sores get worse by the day. They are now large open wounds that make riding daily torture. Wow…that sounds extreme. Well, as bad as they are Steve is still determined to make it home ASAP. So, we are trying different solutions every day.

The BIG news is that Steve's dad, Don, flew out and met us in Page this evening! For those of you who don't know, Steve's dad has been our biking Yoda and is a biker himself. He is going to bike with Steve through Zion Nation Park and go back home when we hit St. George. We are very excited to have another member to our team and a wise one at that.

I hope you are all happy and healthy.

Love.

Katie

Hello friends and family. We are nearing the end of the Rockies, which is very sad because they are so… for lack of a better word… beautiful. We are staying the night in Cortez (shout out to Ann for the amazing sponsored room!) and tomorrow we hope to make it into Arizona.

Here are some of the highs and lows of the past few days…

LOWs: Truth be told, biking is much more difficult than either of us imagined. Every other day we are thrown a new problem in which to immerse ourselves. If it's not the tires, it's the seat. If it's not the seat, it's the handle bars. If it's not the handle bars, ..well you get the picture. We always come out on the other side, but I don't think that Steve has been able to reach his mileage potential simply because every little hiccup sets us back about an hour (if not more).

Another low is that Steve has very bad saddle sores. Now, about two weeks ago I had never heard of saddle sores, but now I understand just how dedicated Steve really is to finishing this trip. I will not describe them here, but you all can look them up and use your imagination. He is in constant pain sitting, standing, and especially riding.

With all the bike frustration and the cold weather I have to admit that I am a bit homesick. Mostly for a kitchen, but I am very much looking forward to seeing my family as well.

HIGHs: As always, Steve is the highest you can get. Despite everything, he takes every situation in stride and cracks his corny jokes as often as possible. Seeing him suffer through this with a positive attitude is such a daily inspiration for me. In any situation, I think he would find a way to make me smile.

Another high is that the Rockies have rendered some of the most breathtaking sights I have ever seen. Everyone we have met here is very nice and the towns here are old, cute, and full of unique shops and gifts. We stopped and had lunch at an organic café, which was very colorful and built out of concrete and colored bottles. It was soooo cool.

Steve sprinted about 30mph on his bike yesterday when a large dog chased him for about a mile. He rushed into the car sweating and scared. It turns out that the dog was friendly with a love of howling and chasing bikers (see picture for details).So, we made a new friend.

The highest high of all is just knowing how many people we have thinking about and supporting us. Thank you for reading and thank you even more for caring.

Love.

Katie

Hello everyone!

We are now well into Colorado, which is very cold and very beautiful. Biking, at first glance, seemed like a quick, easy solution to Steve's stress fracture hold up. However, our first few days on the road were plagued with flat tires and pedal problems. I had always assumed that changing a bike tire would be relatively easy. However, without the proper tools and the proper knowledge fixing a flat is virtually impossible. Steve and I both struggled through it a few times (with many calls to the wise Don Bethune: our bike guru) and eventually gave into giving up a day of biking to drive into Pueblo for supplies. Today, Steve biked 80 miles, making him my biking hero as well. Weather has been good for the past week (by good I mean sunny and clear, but coooooooold). So, if the weather allows, we will keep up the high mileage and make our way home soon.

Stay tuned for pictures soon…

Love to all!

Katie

P.S. Thank you to everyone who gave us comforting/inspiring texts, phone calls, postings, etc. during Steve's transition into biking. They meant more than you know.