Arrival in Farmington Missouri

We arrived in Farmington this afternoon after quite a few ups and downs.  By ups and downs I mean hills of course!  It's still a surprise to Skip at how much more challenging this roller coaster is to crossing the Continental Divide 8 times...  So when skip pulled in, it was a fast shower and quickly over to the closest restaurant for some sustenance.  

Skip burns an average of 7000 calories  day, so you can imagine how much he needs to eat, or at least tries too!  Sometimes, you just can't sit down and consume that many at one time, so he stops at least twice a day in small towns along the way.  We also make sure we always have fruit or some other type of snack Skip can grab when we catch up to him during the day.  Arch and I also have a cooler of ice and drinks available.  We also use the ice on Skip, trying to keep him in working order all the way to the finish line.

The finish line is creeping up on us, we are still thinking we will be arriving close around the 18th of September in Yorktown Virginia.  That's two weeks!  We will keep you all posted on how we are doing, and should plans change, (in which they constantly seem to be doing), you guys will be the first to know!  So if you or someone you know is still thinking about getting involved in the fight to find a cure for Parkinson's disease, pleas do.  It's never too late to make a donation, or spread the word of Skip's great journey across the country!  If you'd like to become a part of the welcoming party in Yorktown, please e-mail me at coasttocoastforpd@hotmail.com, or if you have any other questions!  Hope to hear from you soon! 

Change of Plans

The plan was to make it to Ellington, MO from Marshfield,  about a 130 mile trek.  Skip has been able to cover 160 miles in a day, so setting this goal didn't seem out of reach.  Unfortunately the terrain made it seem impossible!  We have entered a landscape I would like to refer to as Rollercoaster Roads, where it seemed that the ups lasted a lot longer than the downs. 

 Skip has had so much fun biking here, the mountains were a great challenge, and the scenery was amazing, but the beauty of the rolling hills and constant challenge of making that big 11% climb, only to find another right around the bend, gives him a new sense of satisfation at the end of the day.  So when plans were made the night before, no one really knew what the challenge would be.  Arch and I caught up with Skip in Summersville.  I decided to hop on the spare bike and join Skip, knowing it would be quite the ride, but liking the idea of finding out how strong I really was!  20 miles, and three or four of the biggest hills I had ever climbed, we arrived in Eminence, MO.  Wow, and Skip had been doing this all day!  I have to admit, it was a great feeling getting to the top, realizing you mad it,and then having the reward of being able to sometime reach 40 miles an hour on a bike, on the way back down the other side.  

After a stop at the local grocery store to refuel and rehydrate, we pressed on... Arch had come back with the car to check on us after he had scouted out our original destination.  He came bearing some bad news.  The one hotel in town didn't take dogs!  We were only about 4 miles outside of Eminence, and had about 20 more to go, into a town where L-E would be sleeping in the car.  It was getting late, by Skip's calculation, if he continued on his own, he still wouldn't make it in till about 7PM, and his knee was acting up on him, which might slow him down even more.  We decided to make the 4 mile journey back to Eminence where L-E was welcome and we would be able to have a good meal before the restaurants closed.  

I think we were all thankful for the change of plans.  It was awesome to able to bike down a couple of the hills I had biked up, and find myself amazed that I had actually done that!  I have always had an unmeasurable amount of respect for what Skip is doing, and it grows everyday.