Day 32: Hometown Iowa

Day 32: Matt's writing this one. You know what to expect.

Today was a great day of riding for the CURE. Weather conditions couldn't have been better. We woke up at the lovely A-ford-O Motel around 8AM and quickly got ready. We then found ourselves back on the road again looking forward to more thunderstorms. It wasn't long before we ran into more GPS problems (the GPS had taken us to a dirt road). With a quick fix of the GPS we were on our way again. We had the privilege to view more of the Iowa countryside (more corn - more hills - with the occasional herd of cow). About a half an hour into our ride we looked up at some pretty dark clouds. Thinking it was going to pour anytime we booked it. We couldn't believe it, we missed the scattered T-storms. Today we arrived at Des Moines, Iowa to meet up with Nate's family. So back to the weather…it was overcast, making it much cooler than if the sun was out. It didn't rain, however, it was humid (but in Iowa, you can't beat the humidity). We arrived at Nate's cousin Dylan's house where we caught up with the Tour de France, Stage Four. The Martinez Family later treated us to a tasty steak dinner at an old town gem, The Open Flame (where we met more of the Martinez family). We got to pick out our steaks and cook them ourselves on the "open flame." We are now home just chillin and watchin t.v. It's chill time. Good night everyone!

Day 31: Whoever said the Midwest was flat....is a liar.

We made it to Iowa!!! Our sixth state covered in our epic journey! We started out this morning in Omaha on what we expected to be a fairly flat ride...Little did we know, we ended up smack dab in the middle of a giant set of never-ending rolling hills. I'm talkin' about the kind that makes your crankset squeek. The kind that makes your shin-splints ache. The kind that make your support car driver wonder how the rest of his team is doing....that kind.

Just kidding. It wasn't all that bad, it just was not what we had expected the Midwest to look like. Be that as it may, we continued our day in Atlantic, IA home of the CJ's "Cy Hawk" award winning burger and chili! It was hands down the best burger that Nate has ever had (excluding the DAM burger in Page, AZ). And believe Nate, He knows a thing or two about burgers! He worked at In-N-Out for over 2 years! That's right...that long.

To top off our day, we have just been relaxing at the A-Ford-O Motel. Our room was donated to us by a very kind and generous lady named Rita Ford. Thanks Rita! Oh yea, and also thanks for helping us with a spare key when we locked ourselves out (and by we, I mean Matt).

Stay tuned for our photo of the Iowa state sign as we did not see it entering the state today.

Day 30: Slide Pictionary

Day 29: Independence Day

Day 29: Independence Day

Today was an extremely difficult day! We rode about 70 miles….all of them being in the rain. Our crew started out in the city of Sutton, NE which consists of a Subway…and that's about it. We greeted the rainy day with a Connect for the CURE rendition of Francis Scott Keys' "The Star-Spangled Banner!" (See video below) After being pumped up on Freedom, we headed on our way deep into the heartland of America and arriving at our destination of Lincoln, NE which is the state's capitol.

We were fortunate enough to find a place to stay here with some of Nate's family connections! They made us a delicious smorgasbord of sweet corn, potato salad, pork & beans, and BBQ spare ribs! Yum…I know believe me. I'm stuffed. After dinner, we were treated to a block-party-fireworks-bonanza by the locals! (See video) It was a great way to wind down the evening. Goodnight to all of you who are following us, but we gots to watch the Tour de France before we hit the hay! You think we would be sick of cycling by now!

We miss you and love you….and HAPPY 4TH!!!

Day 28:

Day 27: Rest Day - Ezaki Shout Out

Thank You to the Ezaki Family for your prayers, love, and support. We love you all.

Day 26.

Day 26: Stay tuned for next blog tomorrow. We are still getting adjusted to the time change. video in progress.