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  • Day 33: Notes from Mom

    June 26th, 2009
    Once again, Sandy was robbed by the "One-Armed Bandit".

    Once again, Sandy was robbed by the "One-Armed Bandit".

    Greetings from Nanton, Alberta, Canada!

    Sorry you haven’t heard from me the past 2 days but I was pooped and went to sleep before Dennis finished his blogging. Progress has continued each day with a few glitches – Dennis needed to see a doctor once again so we visited the local hospital in Lethbridge. The doctor determined that he could finish the ride – thank Goodness.

    We are all excited to finish the ride tomorrow. I think it is about 55 miles to go. The wind was terrible today – it was really tough for the boys. We found a local hotel here in Nanton – they have slot machines which is too bad since I have lost $25.00 – but it’s a nice place with lots of local charm. The owner gave the boys a discount on their room and meals since they are riding for charity. Once again it is great to see the generosity of folks as we make our journey.

    We will be boarding the plane on Saturday around 2 pm and will land in Texas later that night. I will probably spend the night with Bobby and he will take me home Sunday morning. We will all be glad to arrive safely home!

    Thank you, one and all, for all your support and prayers. Please keep us in your prayers until Sunday. I am anxious to get home to Texas – WE ALL ARE! We have seen some beautiful places and met some wonderful folks but TEXANS ARE THE BEST and THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME!

    God Bless & Keep You All,

    Sandy & Boys

    Day 32: Raleigh’s Memoir

    June 26th, 2009

    Not a lot to say about today’s ride but wind!  I know that sometimes the wind has to come from the south but not yet!  We rode from Milk River to Lethbridge Canada and at this point it has all been farm land. I’m not to say that farm land is not beautiful but it can be a little monotonous add the wind and it becomes painful.

    I know the most important thing for this trip we learned was from Randy Stone who taught me about drafting and for the last few days we have been within 18 inches of each other when we ride.  Drafting means the most when you’re heading into the wind the second and third men are not fighting the head winds as much as the first guy.  We have consistently been switching the lead every three miles, thanks Randy Stone.

    Well Dennis had another bout and again we had to spend the afternoon at the hospital.  After a battery of blood tests the good news is the Doc said he can finish the ride.  There will be more tests coming but nothing is pressing to be done immediately.  Keep Dennis in your prayers I am sure things are fine.

    The great news is we will arrive in Calgary on Friday.  Only about 150 miles to go!  We have all moved our flights to fly home on Saturday so Saturday night I have a new roommate!  No more cheap hotels, I have a renewed appreciation for home. 

    Take care and God Bless I will see you soon!

    Raleigh

    Day 32: Dennis’ Diary

    June 25th, 2009
    "I'm Dr. Nick Riviera, and I will perform any major operation for just 129.95!"

    "Don't worry, you won't feel a thing....till I jam this down your throat!"

    Well, we are in Lethbridge Canada tonight.  We only went about 50 miles today, because I had issues again.  After another 3 hours in a hospital (yes a Canadian Hospital - you know socialized medicine), I was allowed to go and the doctor said that I am OK to finish the ride into Calgary.  Basically I have had blood in my urine and after the first tests, they thought I had a prostate infection.  After my Doctor at home saw the tests, and the blood returned today, he said I needed to be seen again, and now.  Another round of tests and what the doctor here feels is that the blood is just from the exertion that I have been placing on my body.  He said that there is a possibility that I could have other problem, but that those tests could wait until I got home.  We decided to finish the ride, and we changed our flights and will be home this Saturday.

    The ride today was mostly flat and the skies were blue, but the wind was again an issue.  I think we were all somewhat relieved not to press on to cover another 15 miles as we had planned, and we hope for better wind conditions tomorrow and Friday as we complete the ride and arrive in Calgary.  Tomorrow is Nanton, and then Friday we are in Calgary!

    This has been a very physically challenging adventure.  While we have met some folks who have adventures that are even grander than ours, we are mostly greeted with people that are amazed at the miles we have covered from our bicycles.

    As we are nearing the end - I am again asking that you consider making a significant contribution to our fundraising effort.  I am near 50% of the goal I had set out, and time is almost out.  If you are able, please make a contribution to recognize this effort.

    Grace and Peace

    Dennis

    Day 31: Bobby’s Blog

    June 24th, 2009

    First full day in Canada

    The day stated out looking like it could be perfect. We woke up to blue skies and temeratures that were mild. Our road out of Milk River was a 4 lane divided hwy that had a 10 ft. shoulder. We had our regular breakfast consisting of oatmeal and toast, and we hit the road. We started out with a cross wind that really didn’t affect our progress. For the first 8 miles, things seemed to be going splendidly. Then the cross wind became a head wind and picked up speed. We were now going into a 20 mph head wind, and when that happens, the fun just goes right out of the ride. We suddenly went from 18 mph down to a difficult 13 mph. We took a break after 24 miles and were pretty worn out. Back on the bike, we pressed on. The good thing was that this hwy was absolutely perfect. It was smooth and just a slight climb. The other thing that was very noticeable was the lack of traffic on this hwy. We really had the hwy to ourselves, as you would only have a car or truck pass about one every minute.

    We finally made it to Lethbrige a bit after noon. We found a good pizza place and took a well deserved break from the road and wind. During lunch, Dennis was still having the same problems that he had the other day, so we went to the local hospital and they did some blood tests and finally cleared him to continue on the trip. We had missed the afternoon part of the ride, so we decided to spend the night here in Lethbridge. This is a very neat town. It’s actually much bigger than we had thought. There is a university here, and it seems like a very cool comunity.

    The scenery for today’s ride was pretty boring. I was amazed at how flat the area is. Lots of farming in this area and not much else. After we found our Days Inn, we went exploring for dinner. We found a pretty unique place called Hednotic that served pretty good food. As usual, we ate and then headed back to the hotel to prepare for tomorrow’s ride.

    Tomorrow and the next day will both be a bit long. We have decided that we are going to get to Calgary by Friday evening, so we have the next two days to cover about 150 miles, which should not be that much of a problem. Having said that, it seems kind of amazing that we are this close to the end of the journey. We’ll try and soak in the last of the miles and really enjoy the country side.

    Day 31: Dennis’ Diary

    June 24th, 2009
    Canada, ey!

    Canada, ey!

    CANADA!!!!!!!

    We have reached Canada!  Today we woke up in Conrad Montana and had basically decided that we would not push it to get all the way, but take a slightly easier day since I had some issues yesterday and Bobby was still hurting.  The winds were somewhat favorable, the sun was shining, and the road was agreeable with a good shoulder.  We ended up riding 70 miles, across the Canadian Border and into Milk River, Alberta, Canada.

    We stopped for lunch at a little (and I mean little) town called Oilmont, which was at an exit that was called Kevin Oilmont, which we all assumed was one place.  Actually it was two, with Kevin being in one direction and Oilmont being in the other.  We ate at about 11:00am at a bar that was about the only building in Oilmont, called “Four Corners Bar”.  Mom was happy because again, there were KENO machines and while we ordered for her, she played poker and won about $15.

    I looked up at the bar and they had T-shirts and Bumper stickers that said “EARTH FIRST” and then some smaller stuff underneath that I could not see.  I could not believe that in a really small town in Montana, called OILMONT, they would be green fanatics.  That was when I got up to get closer to the shirt and saw that it said “EARTH FIRST - we can drill other planets later!”  I thought it was hilarious and bought a T-shirt.

    When we crossed into Canada, we thought we would ride the bikes all the way, but the line was so long and moving so slow, that we loaded the bikes on the car and sat in the car while it moved once every 10 minutes or so.  Finally it was our turn and we got out of the car and onto the bikes so that we could cross on the bikes and have Mom take a picture.

    So - we kept riding and arrived in Milk River, which is also a pretty small town, and checked into an absolutely loverly motel called “The Southgate 98 Motel”.  Maybe for like a day it was a pretty ok place, but that was long ago.  After 70 miles though, we were ready to stop and so here we are.  We ate at a country club that had golf and bowling and at this time, we are all blogging and heading to bed - if we are lucky, we will be in bed by 7:30pm - we are such party animals.

    Anyway, we should be in Calgary by Friday!!  Hopefully we can even change our flights to get home a little early - but if not, we will rest for a couple of days before flying home.  It has been quite the adventure and I will take it as a testament to our relationships that we have been able to live and work so closely and still be able to give each other a hug before night time.

    Well, Hope all is well in your world.  Please consider a donation to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

    Grace and Peace
    Dennis

    Day 31: Raleigh’s Memoir

    June 24th, 2009

    Ok there are beautiful rides and there are rides just like today’s ride from Conrad, Montana. Today was like riding an endless road.  When you can see the next 6  to 10 miles ahead of you, you can see the ups and downs coming, the first mile looks just like the 70th mile and the wind yes the wind is coming from the north west which just so happens to be the direction we are headed.

    On the bright side we can scratch Montana off our list we are now in (Drum roll) Canada. I am sure everyone has heard of the town we are staying in Canada it is Milk River that is right the hopping town of Milk River.  Tonight’s motel is very private out of about 40 rooms we are the only guests., we are next to a farm and ranch implement sales lot and behind us is where farmers can buy agriculture materials in bulk. It is a hopping place.

    The great news is we are only about 53 miles south of Lethbridge which looks like a real town.  We are all doing great we have defiantly gotten into biking shape so no one is complaining of aches or pains just ready to get home.

    I know this adventure has been a great thing in so many ways but home sounds so sweet right now. We have enjoyed the bonding of being together we truly love one another and with out that I assure you this would have never been accomplished.  We only have three days left of riding then we will be in Calgary.

    So God Bless and take Care!

    Raleighbike-trip-2009-1243

    Day 30: Bobby’s Blog

    June 23rd, 2009

    Canada or Bust

    We have made it to Canada!!!! We left Conrad Montana this morning pretty early and headed for the boarder. We had pretty good conditions and we were all excited about the ride today. We knocked out our first 22 miles in good order. We had ,mostly sunny skies and a bit of a wind from the west. This part of Montana has lots of rolling hills which means some nice downhills followed by some very long uphills. We actually had one of our steepest climbs today at a 7% grade which is pretty darn steep. Once again, we are in a part of the world that is very desolate but also very beautiful. When you look off into the distance you can see green rolling hills forever and there is also a whole bunch of sky out here.

    We broke for lunch at around 11:00 at this pretty cool bar/cafe called Four Corners which is located at the Kevin-Oilmont exit.. This place had just about everything you could want. They had pool tables and electronic darts and of course like most all businesses here in Montana they had several slot machines. We finally got mom off the slots and got back on the road after a pretty good rest and lunch. We had actually planed on this being a short day and staying on the U.S. side of he boarder but we couldn’t find a hotel in any of the towns. So we headed on into Canada after going through customs (which took a very long time).

    We have made it to the town of Milk River named aftter the river that runs right through the middle of town. This is a very small town and we were lucky to find a motel in the area, but the South Gate 98 is our home for the night. We just finished dinner at the local golf club where we ate at their grill. This must be a community course because they didn’t ask for our membership number. If we had had more energy we could have bowled a couple of games while at the club house. Golf and bowling…..a pretty good combination.

    Tomorrow we are off for Lethbridge which is a pretty good size town. It’s about 60 miles away and we could use a lighter day since we did another 70+ miles today in the wind. We are all getting pretty excited about reaching our goal and making it to Calgary. For so long it seemed like Calgary was just to far away to really make it on bikes, but now we have the goal line in our sites and we are ready to get there and celebrate.

    Day 30: Raleigh’s Memoir

    June 23rd, 2009

     

    Well we are Soooo close but not there yet, I mean Canada.  we made it to Conrad, Montana today starting south of Great Falls covering better than 75 miles.  We spent better than six and a half hours on the road and it is as if we are in an entirely different state than yesterday.  The ride from White Sulphur Spring to Great Falls was just amazing versus the ride from Great Falls to Conrad reminds me of West Texas.  We fought the wind all day and most of the ride was up hill, making for a tough day.

    There is not a lot to comment on the country side other than comparing it to West Texas but much, much colder.  Tonight is supposed to the coldest night on record so it is par for the trip!  Depending on the weather conditions we should be crossing the border tomorrow afternoon it would be a long day but if we push we can do it.

    We had another opportunity to go to the hospital today this time for Dennis he had a problem with dehydration and an infection so after a short visit they put him back in riding shape for tomorrow. Keep us in your prayers we are just 5 days from accomplishing our goal of Calgary, Canada and about half way to meeting our goal on donations to the Kidney Foundation.

    Take Care and God Bless

    Raleighbike-trip-2009-1220

    Day 30: Dennis’ Diary

    June 23rd, 2009
    Dennis learned that if you want to keep hydrated, massive amounts of Kool-Aid is not the answer.

    After a hard night of partying with the Kool-Aid Man, Dennis found himself dehyrated and visiting a doctor.

    Well, it was an interesting day today. I only rode for about 25 miles, whie Raleigh and Bobby went about 75. At lunch I started having some symptoms and ended up going ahead to Conrad Montana to a hospital to get checked out. Turns out that I am dehydrated and have an infection. After an IV and some antibiotics, I was released and they said that I am fine to finish the ride.

    We started in Great Falls, and ended in Conrad. The other two did a total of 75 since we started south of Great Falls this morning. The wind was a bear - heading West at first, we were directly into the wind. As we got past Great Falls, the roads turned North and the wind was at our side - a slight improvement. I am not sure that Bobby and Raleigh would have gone all the way to Conrad, but Mom was there at the hospital with me, so they rode to the end. Sorry guys!

    Anyway, we are definitely in the home stretch - we will ride Tuesday through Saturday and arrive in Calgary on Saturday instead of Friday. That will keep the daily amounts to under 60 - which works for Bobby’s sciatic nerve and my dehydration both.

    Well, we will see you all soon.

    Grace and Peace
    Dennis

    Day 30: Notes from Mom

    June 23rd, 2009
    Sandy is happy to see that the boys have matured since moving out of the house.

    Sandy is happy to see that the boys have matured since moving out of the house.

    Greetings from Conrad, Montana!

    It has been a day of wind and more wind  and it’s still very cool - I look forward to some good old warm Texas weather.  We left the camera case with the battery charger at the Spa Motel in White Sulphur Springs so Dennis & I went in search of a new charger.  No luck though so I guess I’ll need to learn to use Bobby’s camera.

    At lunch we learned that Dennis needed to see a doctor so I took him to the local clinic here in Conrad.  Fortunately, it was fixable and he will be back on the trail again tomorrow.  So far, Raleigh has been the only one NOT to need medical help on this trip - we hope to keep it that way.  Of course, he will have shoulder surgery the week after we get home.  It’s good to know that in five  more days we’ll have completed our journey.

    It has been a wonderful trip but we’re all ready to get home sweet home. Thanks to each of you for all your prayers - please keep them going until next Mon. when we board the plane to go home.  I volunteered to be tested for Doug but Dennis said there was an age limit of 60 - so the best I can do is encourage my younger friends to be tested and support the Lymphoma/Leukemia Foundation in other ways.  Of course, I also support the other 2 charities - The Kidney Foundation and Caritas of Austin.  I know this a trip and experience we will always treasure and remember.

    Love & God Bless,
    Sandy & Boys