Keep Chugging Away!

Its been super crazy with school finishing up, but each day brings me closer to start in Seattle. The rapidly advancing deadline is exciting and nerve-wracking! It has been a good week for the group though, we're steadily receiving donations and gear. It's re-affirming to see that in tough times, people can still give what they can. (And anything helps!)

Today Kendal is going to have an interview with the Michigan Alumni Association for their monthly podcast. I'm very excited for him and i wish i could be apart of it, but oh well, being in Arkansas puts a damper on it!

In other exciting news (heh, I sound like i'm a newscaster), we are going to bring along a video camera to record our trip and hopefully a few performances. I hate to count my eggs before they hatch, but I can't wait to see the edited version of our trip when it's all finished!

I want to give a shout out to some people that have helped me through my injury (which is now fortunately resolved):
Thank you Dr. Scott Bennington from Maximum Performance Chiropractic for fixing my knee and helping me diagnose the problems with my bike fit. He rules.

And thank you Johnny Shelby from Third Coast Training for getting my bike dialed and assessing the issues that lead to my injury. He also is helping our group with nutrition for the journey. I look forward to the fall when he's going to turn me into a bike racing beast!

So yeah, exciting stuff is happening and we'll keep you posted!

This is Greg, Signing out!

The Map!

This is a map of the cities we expect to visit along the way. Of course there will be others, and we can't guarantee that we'll be sleeping in each of these towns, but this is our best guess so far. This is going to be an evolving map...we haven't even finished filling in the cities on the eastern third of the trip. Keep checking back to this post, as the map should automatically update as we add more information. Feel free to use the navigation buttons on the left-hand side of the window to zoom in and explore!



View The Unforgettable Journey in a larger map

Patches! If you'd like to sport a patch showing your support of our journey, let us know by sending an email to info@theunforgettablejourney.org. Proceeds go towards our costs for the trip.

oops i forgot to mention that my name is Rachel and this is my first time posting. its good to be here!

signed, sealed, delivered!

PLANE TICKET IS BOUGHT. I'm officially shipping myself via american airlines on seat 24B to the starting line (Seattle, get ready)! ohmanohman! Kendal and I are flying from our aunt's wedding to Seattle on may 18th, which will give us a day in Seattle, so we can hopefully be off by May 20th. I guess the plan is to ship our bikes and maybe tents/sleeping bags in advance to a bike shop or to Stephanie. Greg, I have no idea what an IT thing is, but check out Arnica. its a miracle plant, I used it when i got my wisdom teeth out and for my knee bouts, etc. it speeds healing, reduces swelling, and doesn't have pain killer side effects. you can get it in pill form or use it topically, I bought it at whole foods but I think they have it at other health-ish stores. i know i sound like paid programming, but it seriously has been wondrous.
so stephanie, i know we've never met, but can i sleep over at your house in 35 days?

Long day in the saddle

Last sunday i did the Ouachita Challange endurance mountain bike race. It was 80 miles of beautiful trail and awesome people. I talked to alot of the racers about the trip this summer and got overwhelming support and words of encouragement. This thing is going to be really amazing.
This weekend took alot out of me and i picked up a IT band injury so i'm going to head to a sports chiropractor this friday. I'm kinda excited about it though. Professional riders work with these guys all the time, so for a little bit, i'll feel like Lance. Until then, advil and rest!

-Greg