~and this one is mine~

In a blog that sometimes finds itself full of photographs, it is hard to imagine choosing a favorite one.  If it is true that every picture has a story to tell, then the 500+ photos that are archived on my blogging site could surely speak one interesting tale.  

If not for the Bike Across Kansas of 2011, I would have never started writing at all.  In the beginning, my only thought was to write for a month to keep my friends and family posted along the way.  After it was over, I was ready to take this site down and go back to whatever it was that I was doing before it all started.  

1,220 stories and 6 1/2 years later, I still like to write.
Everyone's life has a story to tell.  This one is mine.
Have a great day everyone out there!

The route for the BAK of 2011.  I made it all the way to McPherson, Kansas until I had to drop out because of heat exhaustion.  It wasn't how I wanted it all to end but at least I got over halfway there.

I had a t-shirt for each of the days I was gone.  My sister-in-law Paula embroidered messages of encouragement for me on each one's sleeves.  This one is the shirt I had on the day I had to finally drop out.  Mike was my brother and he died 4 years prior to this of ALS.

I had a batch of stuff to take along with me and had to learn to pack lightly.  Even at that, this was too big of a load to carry along.  I learned that lesson the hard way.

The ride started at the Colorado-Kansas line just west of the city of Tribune, Kansas.  Little did I know that 2 years after this ride, I'd be moving to the mountains to begin a life there with Mike.  

Clint and Shelly Rodriguez were my riding partners that year.  All three of us were teachers for USD 308 in Hutchinson.  Shelly and I put many miles in together in the spring before we left. They were a blessing to me.

It was a strange little place to call my home for that week.  This tiny tent and I got along pretty well together.  The night before it all started, everyone met at the playground area of a local school where we set up our tents and unrolled our sleeping bags.  I remember that it was the year of the stickers!  It was advisable to watch where you stepped as well as where you lay down for the night.

Day 2-Scott City, Kansas
It was about 130 degrees in the shade that day but I was so happy!