Routes and Shout Outs!

Hey Everyone! The time has arrived for us to put together the final preparations for our trip and to wrap up all the tid-bits of our lives that will very soon be on a VERY different track for the summer. High on the list this weekend was: "Pick up riding buddy Narelle from Miniwanca," which was accomplished (check)! She is currently in my garage sorting through her belongings for the up-teenth time this year, deciding now what comes on a cross-country bike trip with her and what goes home to Australia. It's a good feeling to now have one of my teammate-friends by my side, and by mid-week we will both be meeting Kathryn in Ohio before we head further eastward to the beautiful small city of Portland, Maine, from where early next week we will start our journey of many, many miles.

For the first and last portions of our cycle tour, we are utilizing Adventure Cycling Association maps. The ACA is a cycling-inspired non-profit that have established many long-distance routes in the United States, and their maps include helpful information such as elevation change, campgrounds, and bike shops. We will be jumping onto their Northern Tier route (Maps #11, #10, #9) heading west from Maine to Cleveland, Ohio.

Northern Tier Route Map #11

Northern Tier Route Map #10Northern Tier Route Map #9


Our route through the mid-west will be flexible as we bike south and west through the patchwork of small towns and backroads with a few key destinations in mind: Columbus, OH, Indianapolis and Odon, IN, St. Louis and Columbia, MO, Lyndon and Selina, KS, before tagging back up with one section of the ACA TransAmerican route (Map #7 and finally the entire ACA Western Express route from Pueblo, CO, to San Francisco, CA. By the time we reach the Bay Area, we will have logged just under 4,000 miles!

We also hope that by that time through our efforts of rallying support and awareness for charity: water we will have generated enough funds ($5000) for one water system, bringing clean, safe drinking water to an entire community of 250 people! We have already started to receive contributions to reaching this goal and we would like to thank all of those who have graciously contributed to our fund-raiser.

A very special thanks goes out to all our friends, the staff, and alumni of the American Youth Foundation who are continuously generating support for our mission as we ride. Individuals from the Montessori Children House of Lansing and Wakonse, two programs that visited Miniwanca this spring, donated to our funds even before the gates were officially open! The Utopian Marketplace, a gem of a holistic store in Montague, MI, is serving our mission by sell our hand-made, durable hula-hoops to raise money for our trip. And Jandd Mountaineering, the maker of truly some of the highest quality packs and bags, awarded us with a pro-deal for our trip panniers. Thanks to all who have supported us in these and other ways. You are helping to make this dream possible!

Carmen and the Water Cycle 2010 team