On the launch pad =)

Bikes are put together, gear is packed, and we're chilling in the cool of the Californian afternoon in the warm embrace of family away from home. We spent the morning learning archery from Uncle Bill and cousin Ryan. Andrew (Jack Hammer, self appointed nickname) and I (with a yet to be revealed killer nickname) are now expert marksmen, so if you try mugging us on the road watch out because we will go find a bow and hunt you down (just kidding of course, we'd call the police first then come find you).

We're going to head out tomorrow late morning from the San Francisco side of the Golden Gate bridge. We have a route picked out through California, Rt. 1 to Rt 299, up into Oregon. From there Idaho and the rest of the country =) We've budgeted 10 days for California, so 10 days from now if we are not through I want emails asking me what happened. You all, the hundreds and thousands of you, have a responsibility to help keep us on schedule, because we have the propensity to look admire the scenery.

I hope to post later this week,

Signing off,
Nate

* Picture is of Andrew and I with the cousins, left to right, Patty, myself, Ryan, and Andrew
** 80% of all donations go towards Living Water International (www.water.cc)

And...we're almost off =)

Thanks to Uncle Bill the Bikes are safe and sound in San Francisco! We leave Friday morning for San Francisco, and then come Sunday we start out on our bikes! We've spent the last couple months getting aquainted with our bikes (lot's of riding on Ohio bike baths for me and riding on NJ roads for Andrew).

Before we start out I'd like to take a second and jot down some notes on why we're doing this craziness =)

1. We want to raise money/awareness for Living Water International (http://www.water.cc/). The organziation provides sustainable water sources for communities in developing regions of the world (everywhere from Brazil, to Mexico, to India, to Africa). Thank you to those who have donated so far!!! Because of you we have raised over $1000!! You can either donate through the blog or mail a check written out to Kevin Dolan with Living Water in the memo line to 11 Daylily Dr., Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054. We would also appreciate your prayer for their organization and for safety on our trip.

2. We want to see the country  =) we've done a lot of traveling over the last 20 or so years as a family, but I suspect that we're going to get a lot different perspective by riding our bikes.

3. We want an adventure - There's something that is irrestible to us about riding a bike across a continent

4. It looks sweet on the resume

and last but certainly not least...
5. To have time to unwind, think, and enjoy God's creation

For those who wish to follow us as we go, just book mark the site or click follow on the right hand side of the screen. I hope to update the blog every week or so via libraries, churches, and random friends/acquantiances along the way. The updates will include mileage to date, general health and morale of myself and Andrew, and thoughts on the places and people we'll meet along the way. Please comment at will and add your thoughts to the official record of this expedition.

-Nate

Andrew's Marathon

This past saturday on June 4th I got to finish my first marathon. The marathon was in Potter's County PA, I trained for about 3 and a 1/2 months before it and my time was 3:57, which was not so bad considering a few of the problems I ran into. First of all, this was not an ideal marathon for a first timer, it was very hilly and went up over 1000 ft in the first 17 miles. I was planning on taking their "gu" packets they give you on the run, which are meant to give you more carbs and such that your body was running out of, but unfortunately after reading the nutrition facts I found they had some stuff that I wasn't really supposed to have. So I had a really hilly, "gu"less first marathon but it was awesome and I had a good finish. My heel was extremely bloody from my shoe rubbing it and didn't realize it until I passed the finish line, I'll try to get some pics of that up. My time honestly did dissapoint me a little bit, but I'm proud to say I did not stop or walk once during the whole thing. I think this definately was a good way to mentally prepare myself for our bike trip. It was the hardest thing I've ever done and I've never fealt that severely sore before (walking was a real problem post race), but two days later I feel much better. My dad got to come along on the trip which was great, and we had a fun time.

-Andrew