The week

We have completed about 340 miles of the journey in the first 7 days. The toughest passes are done with three remaining. Tomorrow will have one unnamed pass from Colrville to Iona. It will not be too bad. There is a low pass in the Rockies as we pass south of Glacier National Park. And finally a low pass in the Apalacians.

So this last week we topped 5 passes. We are getting adjusted to being in the saddle for long hours with each day getting better. Surprisingly going downhill also has it's problems. For one, there is the question of stability. I'm not comfortable going more that 30 with these loads. We try to keep it around 20. Believe me, the bike wants to go about 50 down these steep passes.

It's also actually pretty uncomfortable. Hands cramp squeezing the brakes hard enough to slow down. And, there are foot problems. Our feet get really hot and cramped and it is hard to relieve withou stopping and sometimes even taking shoes off for a bit. It is interesting because even going downhill there is always some kind of pressure between foot and pedal.

- Pete

It's been a great week although exhausting at times. We camped 5 nights out of 7. We found many cute little cafes to eat lunch at. We also made friends along the way. We are looking forward to the next week of adventures.

-Alicia