All Hail the Brooks, Several Long Days and Great Hospitality

This post is for all of those who felt me and Bruce's saddles and thought that we must be nuts for using something that felt "hard as a rock." I can't explain to you why the Brooks saddles are so amazing, all I can say is that after 2000 total miles (that includes pre-trip riding) the Brooks is becoming more and more comfortable with every day. Now it didnt take this long to get comfortable, but it seems to be getting even better here lately. No saddle is going to feel like you're sitting in a lazy boy, so at the end of the day I'm still tired of sitting on the seat, but I haven't had nearly as much discomfort as most people complain about. And we don't use shorts with any kind of padding in them either. So for all of you who thought we were crazy for bragging up the Brooks, I can only say "I told you so." Brooks are an older brand of leather saddles that are made in England. Thanks to all those on bikeforums.org who wouldnt stop talking about how amazing their Brooks were, I was a skeptic at first but now I'm just as sold on them if you're planning on doing any kind of long distance riding. My bikes will never have anything different on them. Plus, they just look classy.

The last several weeks have been filled with some long days. We finally seem to be hitting our stride. We usually have close to 50 miles in by noon and then struggle to get another 20-40 miles in the afternoon. It's always hard to get back on the bike after a nice long lunch break. We're now able to go 15-20 miles between any kinds of stops and have been able to stay together much better as a group. We still feel fairly tired at the end of the day but are usually refreshed by the morning.

The one thing that has been absolutely amazing about the last couple weeks has been the hospitality we've received. We've been so fortunate to have friends and relatives who have opened up their homes for us, fed us, let us wash our clothes and have really made us feel quite at home. Its been a nice change from the daily camping that we had at the beginning of our trip. Each time we stop I've just been blown away by the kindness we've received so to all those out there who have shared their homes with us we are extremely grateful. We have one more stop with familiar faces in Kalona, Iowa and then we'll be off on our own again.

We're just past 1600 total miles for our trip and back on pace to be done by the end of August. Bike problems have become fewer, legs have become stronger and our pace has become slightly quicker. I personally am starting to enjoy the actual cycling more and more. At the beginning of the trip I was enjoying the other aspects of the tour much more and the cycling was just merely a way to tour the country. I still would be one that cycles to tour as opposed to the avid cyclist who sees touring as a way to spend hours cycling but I'm enjoying my time (which is alot) on the bike alot more. Hopefully that continues.