Once again, only by the grace of God, our eighth annual long distance bicycle ride for HD is about to begin.

Charlotte's older son Brian brought her over to my house. Much to everyone's chagrin, the front tire on her bike had gone flat. We determined we would stop in Glenwood Springs (about 90 miles E on I-70) to see about repair. A nice technician put in a new tube. Charlotte gave him a ride brochure, and while we were waiting in line to pay, he came up to us and said it wasn't necessary to pay! However, this morning, the tire was flat again, and Charlotte hadn't even ridden it!

Arrived safely in Amherst at 8:35 pm, just 5 min. off our ETA. We are staying in the great apartment of Charlotte's 95 year old mother Ann. We had a late dinner in the only thriving business in Amherst (population 277), the Stockman's Cafe.

Got settled in OK. Had to inflate my air mattress and set up my oxygen concentrator machine, which I use to keep my level at 90% or above. It keeps my heart from going into Paroxsysmal Atrial Fibrillation. It will be well traveled by the end of this year's ride.

Tomorrow is our kick-off event, a BBQ and "Shanna's Ride - A Journey of Hope." More on that tomorrow.

About to be "On the road again ..."

With love from the Meanderers,

Up and on the road SE to Kearney for the day's event. "Shanna's Ride - A Journey of Hope" was planned by Shanna Turek's sister Kelly DeVorss, Shanna's husband Robert, and their crew. The Great Platte River Archway Monument was the setting for this participation event, with BBQ afterwards. This monument spans over the I-80 in Kearney, and contains a historical museum of the area, including the Oregon Trail.

Charlotte wasn't able to ride the full out and back distance, because of her bike's flat tire. The husband of Charlotte's niece came out to help. We pulled many goat heads out of the tire, including 3 that protruded into the interior of the tire. And we discovered the protective "Mr. Tuffy" liner had not been re-installed in Glenwood Springs. So, that will alter our plan for tomorrow, as she will need to go to the bike shop in Kearney.

I was among friends, with Megan Younger coming up from KKC, Larry & Eric Luebke from our Western Slope Support group, Larry's sister Laurie & her husband Woody, and the DeVorss and Turek families. Relatives of Charlotte's also attended the event.

The event was very festive and well planned. The food (BBQ pork or Sloppy Joes, baked beans, and chips) was great! After everyone ate, there was a prize drawing for all the donated items. Many different folks won. As each winning ticket was drawn, the winner could select from the available gifts. We don't know as yet how much $$$ was raised.

As clean-up was about done, Sandy Lozier and her husband George arrived. Sandy will be "guest riding" with us for 3 1/2 days. I recognized Sandy because she was wearing an "It's All Relative(s) T-shirt from a few years ago. Got Sandy's bike well attached on the roof rack, and we drove off towards Amherst, stopping for dinner items at Wal-Mart, then on to Amherst.

Jeff Tyler from NTV-the ABC affiliate in So. Central NE came out and interviewed each of us, and shot more footage.

Nice dinner of lasagna, salad, strawberries and ice cream.

Got an E-mail from our rider Sherri Kole in Lewiston WA. The pig roast and silent auction was a HUGE success. Over $10,000 was raised!!! Our friends Annette and Shane Williams were able to attend. We are amazed!

Much appreciation to those who helped at both fundraising events. Well done!

Looking forward to the start of the ride, and the adventures we will have. Ready or not, it's off to Ord tomorrow!

With love from the heartland,
Charlotte, Sandy, and Marie

Hi everyone!

I wanted to add a little more info about Nebraska, which I think is interesting.

Nebraska has 6 topographic regions.

Valleys - the flat-lying land along the major streams. The materials of the valleys are stream-deposited silt, clay, sand, and gravel.

Rolling Hills - hilly land with moderate to steep slopes and rounded ridge crests. In eastern Nebraska, the Rolling Hills are mostly glacial till that has been eroded and mantled by loess (wind deposited silt), while in northwestern Nebraska the hills were produced by the erosion of clay and clay-shale beds.

Plains - flat-lying land which lies above the valley. The materials of the plains are sandstone or stream-deposited silt, clay, sand, and gravel overlain by loess.

Dissected Plains - hilly land with moderate to steep slopes, sharp ridge crests, and remnants of the old, nearly level plain. The Dissected Plains are old plains eroded by water and wind.

Sand Hills - hilly land composed of low to high dunes of sand stabilized by a grass cover. The sand dunes mantle stream-deposited silt, sand, gravel, and sandstone.

Valley-Side Slopes - moderately sloping land which occurs between the escarpments and the major stream valleys in Western Nebraska. These areas are mostly siltstone bedrock covered by a few feet to a few tens of feet of sand, gravel, or silt.

Kearney, where we started the ride, is in the Dissected Plains. We transitioned into the Eastern Edge of Sand Hills around Ericson, into Valley in Elgin, then into Plains in Norfolk, and finally Rolling Hills for the rest of the time in Northeast Nebraska, before we go through the Southeast tip of South Dakota.

The second interesting thing was that the Remmereids in Tilden live on Center Street. That stret is the border between Antelope County and Madison County. They live in Madison County, but their church, Immanuel Lutheran, across the street and South a block South, is in Antelope County.

The Nebraska we have seen is beautiful, but it is way too windy. Today, the winds were about 40 mph, and yesterday about the same.

Hope you enjoyed this extra addenda.

With love from the road,
Marie

The morning had a great beginning! While we were getting packed up, NTV aired the piece about the ride. This came in handy later in the day, as I will explain. After breakfast and fond farewells to Charlotte's mother Ann, we drove into Kearney.

The Great Platte River Archway Monument was the starting point for today's ride. After a prayer, Sandy and I took off on the same route as yesterday's "Shanna's Ride." While Charlotte was getting her situation in order with her bike, Sandy and I rode together for about 10 miles. Once we were out of town, she took off, being a very strong rider. I rode along at my slow pace for about 5 more miles, until Charlotte caught up in the van. We drove together to Pleasanton, where she started riding.

I noticed a number of signs on spur roads off the highway saying "Minimum Maintenance Road."

We all managed to "rendezvous" in Loup City, a quaint town of about 1,000. When I rode into Loup City, I discovered that Sandy had gotten a flat on her bike's front tire. She enlisted the help of a garage mechanic to put in a new tube. We ate lunch on the grounds of the Courthouse. A woman arrived simultaneously with us, and started talking to us. Then she realized she had seen us on TV. She made a $10 donation!

The scenery, with hay fields with dottings of pine trees and silos reminded me of the fabric on the potholders I made as hostess gifts for this year's ride.

Between Loup City and Ord a historical marker caught my eye. The Blizzard of 1888 had temps of -30 to -40 degrees, and a howling wind for 12-18 hours. Miss Minnie Freeman, still a teen herself, was teaching at a school near this site. When the wind tore the roof off the sod schoolhouse, she saved her pupils by leading them through the storm to a farmhouse 1/2 mile away.

Coming into Ord (population 2269), an oversized American flag was visible in the distance. Ord's motto on a sign is "good to see you." Found Megan Younger's grandparents home very easily. I lead both Sandy, and later Charlotte, right into their driveway.

They live on Evelyn Sharp Road, named after Nebraska's Queen of the Air. She got her pilot's license at 15 (back in 1934, and was one of the original 28 members of the Women's Auxilliary Flying Squadron (WASF) which evolved into the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). She was killed in a plane crash in 1944. Each year, Ord celebrates her life, and it is quite an event.

Megan fixed a wonderful dinner for us; two different kinds of quiche, and two salads. After dinner, Megan lead us to the Shepherd's Inn, the premier B&B about 8 miles outside of Ord. Charlotte and Sandy stayed there, and I stayed in Megan's grandparents home. When C & S returned, we all went over to the nursing home in Ord to visit Megan's Aunt Millie, who has HD. Very sweet lady ...

Rich full first day.

With love from the road,
Marie, Charlotte, and Sandy

Route mileage - 78.5
Sandy - 78.5
Marie - 31.5
Charlotte - 36.71
Road Change - 8 cents

After a good night's sleep, I got ready to go with Megan, back to The Shepherd's Inn, for a fancy breakfast. The presentation was fabulous. The owners, Don and Doris, dressed in period clothing from about 100 years ago. Our first food course was fruit arranged like a face, with circular orange slices with blueberry pupils, a small wedge of cheese for a nose, and a 1/2 banana split lengthwise with a small sliver of cherry. Main course was an individual quiche and hash brown style sweet potatoes. Both were yummy! Thanks to Megan for making us feel so special.

Back to Megan's grandparents' home. Sandy was anxious to get on the road, with an 80 some mile day ahead, so she took off. Charlotte was ready next so she took off, too. I spent a little more time, and showed them the Phase III Hunt-Dis Memorial Quilt. It was so hard to leave; I shed a few tears. I'd like to go back to Ord again, but not in the winter. They had 27" of snow back in mid-March.

Caught up with Charlotte and drove another 10 miles. When I unloaded my bike, guess what? My bike had a flat front tire. I pumped it up to 100 lbs. and prayed it would hold air enough to ride.

No towns of much size today. Typical was Ericson (population 104 people, and thousands of cattle). Saw many pivots spraying water on crops.

Lunch in the City Park in Bartlett. By then, the wind was really blowing N. I had a great 7 miles with the wind behind me, so after lunch Charlotte took her turn flying. We then SAGGED 17.5 miles and caught up with Sandy, who had been riding that same distance. Charlotte was ready to ride again, so she rode into Elgin (population 735) and I drove the van in, then took off riding. Horrendous wind out of the SE, maybe 30 mph. I rode and walked for 5 plus miles, then Charlotte rode and I drove. Road was poorly marked, so we weren't sure if we were really on the right road. I flagged down an elderly couple in a pick-up truck and verified we were on the right road. Sandy and Charlotte were so relieved when they made the turn North towards Oakdale.

Just 7 more miles to our destination of Tilden, but Hwy 275 went Southeast, so more crosswinds. Sandy arrived safely, and got a chocolate malt from The Udder Shoppe, painted like a Holstein cow. Charlotte arrived about 20 minutes later.

It was very easy to find the home of Steve and Janice Remmereid. We were able to shower and then they had a great dinner for us: chicken lasagna, a macaroni/pea salad, asparagus, and fruit salad. Originally, we were going to sleep in a pop-up camper, but with severe thunderstorm warnings, they said we could sleep in the youth room of their church, Immanuel Lutheran.

So here we are, comfy and safe.

With love from the road,
Marie, Charlotte, and Sandy

Route miles: 88.5
Sandy - 88.5
Marie - 19.6
Charlotte miles - 52.5
Total route miles - 167
Road change - 0

We got on the road about 7:15 am. Sunny skies, slight breeze, perfect riding weather. I left the van about half-way between Tilden and Norfolk (pronounced "Norfork" by the locals. Maybe they got confused, or dislexic, or sort of adapted a short form of the North Fork of the Elkhorn River. Anyway, Norfolk (pop. 23,516) is by far the largest city we have seen since Kearney. Looked very progressive, with 2 farm implement businesses, at least one auto dealership, a hospital, two private high schools (Lutheran and Roman Catholic), Wal-Mart, and other "big box stores."

Highway 35 started out nice, with wide shoulders, but ended up being a problem. North of Winside, but S. of Hwy 98, the highway had narrowed to no shoulder, and the wind was blowing fiercely out of the West. Charlotte was sitting in the van, on the driver's side, preparing to get out and start riding. She had the door slightly ajar, and was holding onto it, when a semi truck barreled by. She lost her grip on the door, and it flew open, overextending how far it was meant to open! Thank God she was OK! When I arrived at the van, I found her in tears. But thank God, she was OK! We surveyed the damage, and thought it best to load up my bike, and drive towards Wayne, and let Sandy know what happened. We caught up with her about 4 miles from Wayne. We decided to load her bike up onto the rack on the top of the van. During that process, she opened the lock-jaw mechanism too far, and a piece of it went flying, not to be found. So she decided to ride carefully into Wayne, and meet Charlotte and me at Tom's Auto Body.

Now the miracle unfolds in Wayne NE. The owner and another technician took the van in, and started using various tools, and their experience, to try to get the door back in kilter, and get the door to be able to open and close. They had dropped everything when we explained about the Midwest Meander. After over an hour of working on the door, they finally got it to open and close, and be able to be locked. When I took out my wallet to pay, they said there wouldn't be a charge! We plan to send them a token of appreciation (a box of almond toffee).

Found a park in which to eat lunch - yep, peanut butter again! We decided that to be on the safe side, with 40 mph winds, we would load up Sandy's bike onto the other bike holder on top, and drive the rest of the way - 22 miles.

We found Marie George's home quite easily. Marie is the mother of one of Sandy's friends. She lives in an 80 year old farmhouse, down 2.75 miles of gravel road. She runs a low-key B&B in her home. She has 6 ferral cats, all of whom are somewhat related.

Marie served us some mint tea (made from leaves from her home grown mint) and some banana bread. After showers, we had a wonderful dinner which Marie prepared: pork roast, mashed potatoes, carrots/onions, and a raw asparagus salad. For dessert, we had rhubarb sauce (like apple sauce, but made from rhubarb). Everything was delicious.

Just one more 1/2 day of riding with Sandy. Her husband George will drive up to Vermillion, SD and pick her up. Then it will just be Charlotte and me until Sherri Kole joins us in Iowa City. Boo hoo. I wish Sandy and Sherri could have ridden together. They would have been very compatible.

We rest easy tonight, in a wonderful place, with a wonderful hostess. We saw a miracle today ... and praise God for His protection and provision.

With love from the road,
Marie, Charlotte, and Sandy

Route miles: 77
Sandy - 55
Marie - 21.48
Charlotte - 22
Road Change - 49 cents (hooray for Norfolk)

Marie George fixed us a wonderful breakfast of waffles, sausage, and cran-raspberry juice. It was hard to break away from the B&B home of this dear lady in her mid-70's.

Drove the van out about 5 miles on a gravel road, then started riding Hwy 15. There was a strong headwind for about 14 miles as we headed North. The only thing that made it bearable was the verdant pastoral scenery. (Kevin, that one's for you!) Finally made it to Hwy 12 where we headed East, with the wind at our backs. Passed through tiny towns of Obert and Maskell, which boasted of having the smallest City Hall in the United States. Crossed over the Missouri River (which seemed low to me in water flow) into South Dakota.

Only major town we passed through is Vermillion, in which the Univ. of South Dakota is a major presence. The National Music Museum, which houses 10,000 instruments from all cultures and historical periods, is located on campus. The Dakota Dome is also a landmark of Vermillion. It has a 10,000 seat indoor football field, 7 basketball courts, 3 volleyball courts, 4 racquetball courts, a 25meter swimming pool, and an 8 lane 200 meter track.

Fond farewells to Sandy today. Her husband George drove up from the Omaha area to pick her up. She was such a great team member. Love you, Sandy!

After the buffet lunch at Pizza Hut (treated by George and Sandy), Charlotte headed out East on Hwy 50. The road changed highway numbers when it crossed over the Big Sioux River, the border between South Dakota and Iowa. The road surface changed from pinkish with gray shoulders in SD to Cement with pink gravel on the shoulders.

The highlight of the day occurred when I got a phone call from our Melchizadek (Ted Hatfield). He and his two sons just happened to be "in the area" as they were driving up to South Dakota. His wife Lona has been helping care for her 80some year old father, who had cardiac surgery. Ted has been a faithful fan of the ride, and has shown up to surprise us on 3 of the rides (2000, 2005, and 2006). It was so great to see Ted, Sean, and Caleb again, and to see how the boys are growing up.

Passed a pasture with a herd of 12 or so black and white Pinto horses. Also passed a sign for the "Prairie Rose Golf Course." That's a nice name, I think.

Ted took us all out to dinner at the Family Table Restaurant in LeMars. Then they had to get on the road to Watertown.

LeMars is "the ice cream capital of the world." It is the home of Blue Bunny Ice Cream, and houses a huge factory, the corporate offices, and even a museum!

We are staying in a Super 8 motel tonight, courtesy of a Lutheran Church in LeMars.

Today was a "Tri State Day;" breakfast in Nebraska, lunch in South Dakota, and dinner in Iowa!

With love from the road,
Marie and Charlotte

Route miles - 80
Marie - 30
Charlotte - 50
Sandy - 35

Road change - 0

Up pretty early, to get the continental breakfast at the Super 8. I had a waffle, and Charlotte had oatmeal. Outside, there was some fog, which was nice.

While Charlotte started riding, I scoped out all the Blue Bunny buildings. Impressive! LeMars bills itself as the "Ice Cream Capital of the World." Its location on the globe is 43 degrees 47.63 N Latitude and 096 10.406 degrees W Longitude. The museum didn't open until 10:00 am, so we couldn't do the tour.

Remsen was the first town E of LeMars. It was the most upscale town we have seen on the route. Very nice new homes, brick construction, alongside a golf course.

Scenery was about the same all day - field upon field of corn just starting to grow.

Passed through Cleghorn, which will be celebrating its QUASQUICENTENIAL in 2015! Anyone know what that word signifies? E-mail me!

Stopped in Meriden to mail a thank-you note, and some photos for Ron to scan and put on the website. Anyone is welcome to visit HYPERLINK "www.bikeforthecure.org"www.bikeforthecure.org which was done by Jennifer Hickok from Levina Design. Jenn's mother Nita Giles died from HD in Spring 2001.

Also passed through the outskirts of Cherokee, "The Home of Professional Rodeo."

The "leap frog" or "Pony Express" style riding went well.

Passed through Aurelia, which had a wind farm, but praise God, today wasn't really windy, and what wind there was came out of the West, so we had the wind at our backs.

Ate lunch in the City Park in Alta. We needed some water for the jug we keep in the van, and also needed to use the restroom. We stopped at a Casey's General Store. We gave the cashier a brochure, and she told us that her daughter's aunt has HD! The aunt, Tami, will be attending the dinner gettogether at the Fonda Nursing Rehab and Care facility. Sold a ride t-shirt to the clerk (Missy).

Passed through Storm Lake, a diverse community with mansions along the lakeshore, and Tyson, Sara Lee, and Hormel packing houses. It is also the home of Buena Vista University.

The last leg of the ride was straight E to Fonda. Found the Nursing home easily in this town of 600. Iowa has the 2nd oldest mean age of population of the 50 states. This nursing home has 35 residents and 40 staff, and is home to David, a 32 year old man with HD. Our hostess, Wilma Frey, the administrator, said he is like her 3rd son.

After showers, we got to relax, visit, etc. before more family groups showed up. Tami (Phd), her two sons, her brother Johnny (and wife Amanda and two sons) her brother Chad, Elizabeth and her fiancé Bruce, and her son Chad (Phd), David (Phd), plus Wilma, Charlotte, and I all enjoyed pizza and salad, and visiting with each other. I was able to show the Phase III Memorial Quilt, too.

Wilma lives in Sac City, SW of Fonda, in a wonderful old restored farm house. It is the custom in Sac County to paint a large quilt block design on the side of your barn; the one on hers is called Spinning Windmill. Charlotte and I were both very tired after the ride and the party, so we went to bed pretty quickly after our arrival.

A wonderful day ... thank you, Lord.

With love from the heartland,
Marie and Charlotte

Route miles - 79
Marie - 30
Charlotte - 50
Road change - 1 penny