UConn Coast to Coast Bike Trip 2018

Hello again, I can't believe we have gone through two more states since my last post. We are nearing the end of our journey here across these great United States. Now, we are in NYC and are exploring the largest city so far of our trip. We had a fun trip into Philly, taking the Pike to Bike route on the old abandoned PA turnpike. We explored the old tunnels and climbed up to look at the decrepit machinery. The PA hillside was wonderful and we enjoyed riding through the Amish farms. We even took some time to play mini golf, swim in the community pool, and stop by Valley Forge to steep in its rich history. Though we are trying to get back before school starts, we are still finding time to enjoy ourselves. During our time in Philly, we stayed with a retired chef who told us the inspiring stories of his journies through the Mississippi Delta. From the owner of Jones BBQ who won a James Beard award and catered to the Clinton's with pulled pork on wonder bread, to the founder o

Hello, We've reached Pittsburgh. What a unique city, mixing new with old. Our host here is awesome and has been sharing many cool stories from his travels. One cyclists that came through was so obsessed with being in shape that he filled his bags with rocks. Luckily for us, were fine with carrying only our gear. Since Toldeo, we've been to Cleveland, and Amish country. We even got to see a horse and buggy cross a main intersection! Along the ride we also got to stop by Lake Erie and take a dip. It was cool and refreshing. Not long until home now for sure. Christine

Hello again, Our journey continues in Ohio today. After staying in Milwaukee, we were on the road at 4am to catch our 6am ferry across lake Michigan. Luckily, there were no cars around at all, so we were able to enjoy a quiet tour of the city on our way out. We reached the dock just in time to see the sun rise over the lake. Later that day, on our way to Grand Rapids, Curtis got his bike fixed up and a new helmet since his old one had cracked. Overall, the past few days have been nice. Beautiful fields of crops, and lakes are abundant. Last night, we stayed in Toledo, which ended up being a cool city. On our way into town, we stopped by a completely volunteer-run community bike shop to fix a flat tire. The staff there were amazing!  Then, on arriving, we had lots of fun with our warm showers host, visiting the plasticine museum at the University of Toledo Medical School, and generally sharing stories. Tonight we are camping and then tomorrow we will be off the Cleveland! We

Hello, Yesterday we reached Milwaukee! It's amazing to be this far across the country. On our way to Madison, we enjoyed a scenic hilly tour of Wisconsin, complete with farm views and lakes. Then, when we had almost reached Madison, we ran into a couple on the bike path who invited us to their neighborhood potluck. It was lovely, and we got to share stories of our cross cou try adventures. It is constantly amazing to be treated so kindly by complete strangers. Our hosts were amazing as well, they gave us food, showers, laundry, and beds, even when they had plans for the night. They even woke up early to see us off the next day. Today we explored Milwaukee, saw the domes, visited the beach at Lake Michigan, and had beer and brats. Off to Grand Rapids, Michigan tomorrow, marking our seventh state! Christine

Hello again, We have made it to Minneapolis! This is certainly the biggest city we have seen since Seattle. There is more here than we could ever ask for, and our warm showers hosts were able to point us toward the best food and ice cream in town. Earlier this week, we explored Fargo, and ended up taking an extra day because of pouring rain. There we had the pleasure of witnessing the weekly bike ride. There must have been at least 50 people there. It was nice to have to the comradery of fellow cyclists as well. Today, we explored the city and had a juciy Lucy burger, seen the cherry and spoon, and a relaxed a bit, gearing up for our ride tomorrow. I even had the shifter cable on my bike fixed totally for free from Erik's bike shop. The generosity we have received continues to astound me. To finish off the night, our warm showers hosts took us out for beer and food, and shared storied of their own trip through all 48 continental United States. Minneapolis has certainly been

Hello all, We have been busy riding through North Dakota. After taking a short ride through the badlands, we reached Bismarck and enjoyed some street art as well as the state museum. We also discovered the greatness that is Scheels sporting goods. While on our way to our camping the next day, we stopped in Hazelton, where we walked into a coffee shop to find a church group had rented it out, as it is their weekly meeting place. They quickly whisked us away to free coffee and breakfast foods. They even snapped a photo of us to put in their weekly paper, and sent us on our way with a few copies. Then, while entering Gackle, just before we reached our campsite, we found a sign which read "Cyclist Housing" and went to check it out. There, we found a small apartment with free laundry, showers, and beds in the basement of a fifth generation bee farming family. They were Catholic, so this was their way of helping those in need. They also offered very reasonably priced snacks a