5am is really early. 6am is really early to start cycling. But, that is what Kenny did. He had a cup of tea and a banana, put his gortex on (even though it was not raining….but it was calling for it…and looked like it could any minute), and off he went.

I am totally not awake yet. I like the mornings, but my brain does not work properly first thing in the morning…and I am sure I really annoy the boys when they have to ask me the same questions more than once…and I stare at them blankly. But, my Scottish accent verbal translator just does not get into gear right away in the morning. John uses terms of endearment (I am sure) and calls me a “diddy” (not sure of the spelling)…among others and just laughs at me all the time……not much laughing from Kenny.

Kenny is not a happy man right now. And, he is a very, very serious athlete…..so a generally serious person…especially when he is focused….so he just gets irritated….

…..I don’t blame him though….his bike is ruined. This trip, to him, has been completely ruined. He said it is no longer fun and he can’t wait to just finish it. Personally, I would not use the word “fun” to describe this trip. It is a lot of work. And, we are stuffed in a small RV for 7 weeks.

And we all are all three very, very different personalities. John is a very detailed, very high energy, by the book, past military, things just so, police officer (who can be so funny that my sides are splitting from laughing so hard…even if the jokes are almost always on me). Kenny is a serious, focused, dry humor, past military, things just so, independent, professional, detached (but when he relaxes just for a moment - which is very illusive…he can say the right thing, or look at you a certain way that will just melt you), and expects a great deal from himself and others….and extremely upset now, because of this accident and his bike being ruined. When he is upset, he retreats, and he has definitely retreated.…and then me….well….I am goofy, awkward, misunderstood, creative, girly, don‘t always like things just so, and think way out of the box, not at all serious…but am also focused and can be very professional and detached as well, when called for, but usually try to just go with the flow, and sometimes just start laughing out loud from things I am thinking…which really disturbs the boys. I also have this notion that I can somehow change the world. I also like to be quiet when I am alone or engaged in any activity that requires thinking…cooking, planning, working. John loves to talk. So, we get aggravated with each other, me; because I don’t want to talk and John; because he thinks I am being rude. And, Kenny just does not care and is quiet and a little standoffish at times, thinks the two of us are being ridiculous and annoying and distracting. So, throw this mix together, in a small space, for weeks…..and John and I had never met before this trip….it has been very, very interesting....and difficult (understatement). And, I have learned a lot about myself.

I never thought it would be fun, though. (and I was more than right about that). My focus was on this fundraiser, the media, and trying to make a difference. It is definitely a chance of a life time… and for an amazing cause…

….thinking of Alex and her amazing mother Liz who I had the privilege of meeting has pushed me on…

I will take a very long and deep sigh when it is all over though….it will be very bitter sweet.

....and I will be searching for a new adventure!....and chasing windmills....

We slept in a little until 7. Then went into Wal Mart and I made breakfast. We arrived at the bicycle shop just before they opened at 10am, to camp out in their parking lot until tires arrive. We cannot do anything else. We are running out of time, and the miles we were adding on, and getting ahead, have been lost. Kenny is speaking at McGee Rehabilitation Hospital on Friday at 4pm, and we were on schedule to get there a little early to make sure he arrived on time.

Now we are going to be miles behind.

UPS arrived with one set of tires by 11am. I called the other company, and did tracking…..and lo and behold….what a surprise…..the sales rep was so shocked….He could not understand why it will not be arriving until tomorrow???….even though it went out late on Monday…..He said it must be a “remote” area it is going to….REALLY?….

We made a decision (no choice, obviously) to get back on the road with the tires we have….and have Bob’s Bicycle Shop of West Virginia to ship them “overnight” to the place where Kenny is speaking on Friday.

We will not be able to finish the trip without these tires. Four tires came today. Three more will be coming tomorrow. We are hoping that will be enough, but we were not able to find any more of them….they are a specialty tire and a special size.

I made dozens of phone calls to bicycle shops along the way. When I would ask for tubular tires, and asked me to spell to them what I was saying….I KNEW I was in trouble. That is why they had to be ordered.

We finished the day again short of where we wanted to finish because of a storm (on our way to Mount Storm….ironic). I was cycling with him and as we approached the top of Laurel Mountain it began to rain. It was raining so hard on the way down, which by the way was a 9% grade downhill, that I could not see and had to really use my breaks. We were drenched....and I know people were having a difficult time seeing us.

We have been using the hair drying constantly to dry Kenny's wear....and the inside of the RV has been looking like a washing garden...

Kenny has gortex (rain proof and when I say rain proof, water does not even think of penetrating this stuff), but it is so hot to wear, he made a decision earlier to not put it on….we should have suggested it more strongly. So, by the time we get him in the RV, he gets dried off, redressed, and puts the gortex on….it will be getting too late to continue in this weather and it will be getting dark. We checked the weather, and they are calling for severe storms all night.

Kenny will have to start really early tomorrow and finish late, regardless of the weather, tomorrow.






That's me trying to keep up with Kenny....even with a broken bike he is so very determined.....the rain was making it very difficult to for us to see and we were completely drenched to the bone.  The rain got so hard that my helmet did not keep the rain from just pouring in my face, and Kenny said the spray from his front tire in addition to just the rain was brutal.  At one point, before reaching the bottom of the hill, and Kenny was obviously ahead of me (I was really using my brakes....I just could not see!!!), John stopped the van and was yelling at me to get in!  But, I was just too stubborn and did not stop until I reached Kenny at the bottom!

Kenny’s hands were numb this morning. He did not get a massage last night because it was so late, and he was so tired he just fell asleep.

So, I gave him a quick chest massage and he said it helped some. Because Kenny has not taken any time off for his muscles to recover, they are beginning to break down and they are angry at him. They are shouting and about to stage a walk out I think! What a mad man!

Kenny was stopped by another police officer this morning, and told that by West Virginia state law, he is required to stay on the shoulder of the road no matter what. I did look it up on the Internet, and he was right! So Kenny is on the shoulder. In West Virginia it is not a law. The law states there that he is allowed to use them, but not required. I also, just for giggles, looked up Missouri state law for bicycles (where Kenny was hit by the car)…..and….it is not a requirement in Missouri either….and…..the guy who hit Kenny should have been ticketed, and charged with a class C misdemeanor (according to Missouri laws that I researched).

What a day. The tires were suppose to come to the bicycle shop, but both companies screwed up. One company said they did not even have the order in the system. So, we had to reorder and pay for overnight shipping (it was order originally last Friday). The other company, for some reason, sent it on Monday 2 day priority??? We needed it today. The biggest problem now is, there are no other tires, and we are stranded until we get tires.

We all drove back to Parkersburg, WV, where the shop is, to wait for tires. None of them will get there until tomorrow….we did get laundry done. And, we again stayed in a wonderful Wal Mart parking lot with the fantastic view of shopping carts.

The picture below of Kenny on his cycle show the "rumble strips" he has had to endure.....with those, and gravel, and debris, and lots and lots of large (and small) dead animals....it is almost impossible to stay on the shoulder of these roads.  I also took a picture of the road rash on his arm.....it is looking better, I think.  His shoulder is still very sore.

It was so cold last night that I woke up to a Kenny with a hat on his head. LOL!

John and I have been joking around a lot. And laughing a lot. John believes that in the face of adversity you should have humor. But, I think our foolishness, and constantly joking around has worn thin on Kenny. I think he is a bit bothered with us. The cycle problem is really stressing him out, and rightfully so.

Kenny was stopped by a police officer twice today. Drivers had called in to say he was in the way. The officers were very polite, and Kenny explained why he could not be on the shoulder.

This morning we realized that by being ahead of schedule, was going to put us past our bicycle shop stop to get tires for Kenny’s cycle. When I mentioned it to John, he said “You are a barrel of laughs!” You can only laugh about all that is going on, or you will cry. So, we are doing as much laughing as possible.

After much discussion, we decided to stop by Bob’s Bicycle Shop in Parkersburg to meet the shop owner “Kenny” and to thank him for getting us the tires. Then, tomorrow, John and I will drive the morning close to Kenny, and then John will cycle with Kenny in the afternoon and I will drive the 60 or so miles back to the shop to pick up the tires. We are hoping they will come early so Kenny does not have to sit long in the hand cycle before I can get back.

A local television station tracked us down to get some footage and an interview. Another driver had called into the station with a tip and they had followed up on it. John was driving and I was riding in the back, and I was watching for Kenny to come across the bridge when we saw the reporter. She called after us to see if she could do an interview. I yelled back out the window that we were on the way to a bicycle shop and to meet us there. I am sure people thought I was wacky hanging out the side window of the RV shouting out to her.

We did not stop until after 8:30 tonight, and were still a little short of our destination. But the flat tire held us back almost an hour. We did have 3 media interviews, but they only took a minute, and one of them was during his lunch break. He could have finished, but it did not make since and it was getting dark. So, we decided to just add the miles on tomorrow. So, instead of doing 112 miles today, he will do that tomorrow.

We stayed in a gas station parking lot for the evening, and will have to find water and sewer tomorrow sometime.

Kenny is beyond “knackered”.