Donna Speaks Again

My Second Trimester

Well. I’m still here and happy to be! We’ve had our share of ups and downs and a few bumpy roads, but that’s only a small part of this wonderful adventure. My legs and hips feel pretty darn good. Some of my experiences cycling include saving turtles, outriding thunderstorms, racing antelope, and noticing some pretty neat mailboxes. In hind sight, I wish I would have taken photos of them along the way. I’d have quite an interesting gallery of mailboxes.

During my first trimester Wyoming was my favorite state, but Kansas is right up there with it’s nice city parks and swimming pools (free to cyclists), friendly people, courteous drivers, and flat roads. The road kill is also up there, and I’m still having a hard time eating beef after pedalling past the smelly yards containing feeder cattle (thousands of cattle waiting for their turn to become part of the food chain). But once we hit Missouri, I loved Kansas even more.

Missouri has been my least favorite state with its winding, hilly roads not fit for cycling. There are no shoulders which makes the roads dangerous. On a very hot and humid day, Lewis even made a comment about dieing in Missouri! I’ve noticed the Adopt A Highway signs are all In Memory Of… probably cyclists killed by motorists. The road kill surpasses Kansas in variety and smell. I have yet to see a live armadillo. We are leaving Missouri with good feelings, though. The Farmington Fire Department is taking care of us tonight by letting us sleep in their Mobile Command Unit with air and TV, plus we can use their kitchen and showers. Lewis was given a special souvenier from one of the firefighters; a leather helmet patch with their emblem on it. Plus this mornings a gal at McDonald’s gave Lewis a treat. He gets lots of special treats and atta-boys almost everywhere we go.

This trip has been wonderful for Lewis in many ways. He gets to see and experience a variety of new things, plus he wants to TRY new things where in the past he would be relunctant. Some of his first timers are riding an mechanical bull, rollerblading, doing flips (which I can’t do), and jumping off the high dive (which Alan won’t do). Plus he’s meeting lots of neat people along the way.

Meeting other cyclists and being at the receiving end of generosity and support from strangers, family, and friends has made this trip wonderful for me—right up there with crossing a state line. As much as I’m enjoying this trip, I am counting down the states and days to when we return home to the luxury of having a house with a kitchen, coffee maker, hot running water, washer and dryer, cozy bed; plus a vehicle to run errands with and put groceries in. Every time I’m in the familiar layout of a Wal Mart store, I expect to run into someone I know. Then I realize how far we are away from home and how far we’ve come. WOW! What an accomplishment for Team Jackson!


So kudos to Alan for “insisting” that we bike across the USA, and for planning and organizing everything. I still get goose bumps when he rescues flipped-over turtles from the side of the road. Soon we will reach our destination. I look forward to being with him when he dips his tires in the Atlantic Ocean (very important!) and hope the grand finale meets all of his expectations.