A Very Grand Finale

A Dream's End, A New Outlook

An update has not been done because I have been thinking of how to close this marvelous journey.

End this great story.

Those of you who have kept up know how I have written this blog, and how I am as a person.

I am a jokester, and a pretty goofy guy.

I like to think I'm fun and happy.

I am also someone who has had many experiences in life that have ranged from being well acquainted with true grief to experiencing some of the sweetest joys in life.

And I know I will have more of the good to come.

What I am trying to say is that this post will not be like the others.

This ride started over two years ago when my Dad and I heard that my Uncle, Ed, and my cousins Matt (who came with us) and Christian Lyman would be doing the ride again.

Ever since that we have put it in our short list of a bucket list of what we desire to accomplish.

We started getting to it in October 2012 when we decided that this summer was our last chance.

I would graduate and move more and more into adulthood, so we both knew this would be it.

If we delayed beyond that, my Dad may not be able to accompany due to age.

In October we purchased an atlas the country at Walmart in Kimball Junction, near Park City.

So the journey began there. 

And we both knew it.

This journey has been filled with challenges that can tax even the strongest of persons, mentally, physically, and at times, emotionally.

I would easily compare it with my mission for the difficulty.

While you are on your bike for six to eight hours a day, spending close to twelve hours everyday just trying to make it a hundred miles plus or so to the next town, you have a lot of time to think.

And this would be the cycle for the next 29 days of my life.

I have come to believe that I cherish two things in this world; honesty and heartfelt love for others.

Everyday on the ride we were met with challenge. Kevin would say, "Everyday it seems we have had a new challenge."

It is so very true.

And for the last 11 years my family has had a multitude of challenges.

In 2002 we lost a daughter, a friend, and a sister.

A year later we picked up and moved to Spokane, Washington for my Dad to be a mission president for three years. Which is easily in the top five for most challenging callings in the church.

I was ripped from the only home I knew and unable to attend the high school where both my sisters went to, and where Ludlow has value.

I left friends behind that cannot be replaced, and a life that was built from the time I was born.

Our family was separated. My oldest sister, Kacey, was to stay in Utah to work and finish school; while my Mom, Dad, and myself were in Spokane.

Once that was over in 2006 I left for my mission of two years in 2007 to Louisiana.

That is the hard truth.

Now let me give you the hard facts between the lines.

During our time in Spokane I came to know new people that would change my life forever.

I made friends who I still keep in contact with from there. These are lifelong friends I would not have met otherwise.

Spokane became a second home.

I was able to visit Utah during the summer and keep up with all of my friends there, and even made new lifelong friends in between.

My Dad came back from Spokane and started a new hotel venture, and a new aspect of his business that has blessed our lives.

During my mission my sister met, dated, and (once I was home) married a man who is the brother I always wanted.

In 2012, while I was able to live in London with some of the greatest people that I consider good friends, a new member of our family was born, Jane Jara Anderson. Who has been nothing but joy to our family.

It is like my Mom has always said, and does say, "We have said enough goodbyes. We want nothing but hellos and welcomes."

And now in 2013 I was able to accomplish, with my Father, an experience and challenge that very few have ever done or even think of doing.

Throughout these last 11 years my family and I have lost most dear, and have gained most dear.

In every aspect of those years there have been people.

Friends, family, loved ones, acquaintances, good strangers who have all helped in some way.

And on this trip we have met and seen people.

I could not even begin to name everyone, but I believe you know who you are.

So I honestly want to say to everyone at the end of the grand adventure: Thank you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

You do not go unseen. Your support, love, prayers, and anything you have given us is noted in someway.

So I honestly want to say to you that I love you.

You are all excellent and great people.

Pat yourself on the back and give yourself more credit than you think you deserve.

If I could, I would do it all for you.

I want everyone to know that no matter how dark things can seem, and it is very easy in this day to see the dark, that there is such great light.

It can be found in most people we come in contact with if you only but try to see it, and be light yourself.

And do not think on your own weakness.

You never know what you can accomplish.

There is a story of our last two days. And a lot of you were able to see it as I posted it.

I say that now the important thing is, is that we did it.

We made it to Boston! We didn't bust, and we dipped our tires in the Atlantic Ocean.

More importantly I say again that I love you, my dear friends, dear family, and dear loved ones.

I would hug you all with my gorilla long arms if I could.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

We made it with you!

And now I hope you honestly know me a bit better.

Boston! No bust.

Enjoy yourself.

-Jordo

Days 25 - 27: Upstate New York, Fourth Quarter, Boston or Bust!

Day 25: Niagara Falls, NY to Palmyra, NY

Neeewwww Yoooorrrrrk!

What a great and beautiful state!

Our morning greeted us with clouds and cold though. 

That may seem to cancel out my previous statement, but the day turned around and became awesome!

See!?

We started out on the New York 31. It is also known as the New York Bike Route 5.

Good shoulder and good ride.

Even met a few friends along the way.

 

Also got to see the Erie Canal on a pretty decent bike trail.

This is one of the days that we were looking forward to.

We were dedicated to head to Palmyra. Founding location of the LDS religion.

New York has been one of the prettiest states. Especially once we get to the hills part.

Although we really didn't like the hills. After all, we were used to flatland.

Today was also a sad day.

We had a casualty we all hoped didn't happen.

Matt got his first flat.

He rotated his tires a few days earlier and just a few miles outside of Palmyra his back tire went buh-bye.

We were all hoping both his tubes and tires would make it to Boston.

How amazing would it have been if those tires went 3,300 miles with out getting a flat!?

Sadly that wasn't to be our tale.

Still...

We made it.

And changed from riders to tourists for our evening.

We visited the Smith Family Farm, the Sacred Grove, The Grandin Printing Press where the Book of Mormon was first published, and finally the Hill Cumorah.

I gotta let the pictures tell the rest.

Please, enjoy!

The guy with us in the second picture is Elder Howell. He was our tour guide through the log home and the frame house built by Joseph's older brother, Alvin.

Some of his original work can still be seen in the frame house.

And its fireplace was one of the first hiding places for the Golden Plantes.

After the tour we spent 30 minutes, each alone, in the Sacred Grove.

The feeling is overwhelming and incredibly peaceful.

It was an extremely nice break from the ride.

In almost every way.

So we had a little photobomber at the Hill Cumorah.

The guy's son who took the photo just ran on in and Lance and I were in such a good mood that it didn't even bother us.

The more the merrier.

We hopped in the van and headed south to Canandaigua for the night.

Which was southwest of Palmyra, so we actually backtracked a few miles before we headed out the next day to Waterville near Utica.

Day 26: Canandaigua, NY to Waterville, NY

Another cold morning to start us off.

It's freaking July and the mornings are in the 50s!

With our drive south we were no longer on the 31, but now on the 20 heading east toward Waterville.

Early in the morning we had our first break near a beautiful lake.

Then we went to the next town of Skeneateles, NY that had another gorgeous, clear lake withe beautiful surroundings.

The white house on the other side of the lake in the distance is beautiful and enormous!

A little later down the road we met a man named Jeff.

We had met several characters on our trip and decided that we needed to start taking photos with these good people.

Jeff gave us a little knowledge about the road ahead, which consisted of our old friend hills. And was just a great guy.

When what we hear most is a lot of just bad news, it's so easy to forget that there are many, many, many good people in the world.

Especially in the promised land of the USA.

And we got introduced to our old friend hills again.

Eastern New York is filled with valleys that run North-to-South.

Every big hill in between we had to climb.

Remember that post a while ago that said we went up and down and up and down.

Well this made that look like a cake walk.

On this side of the Rockies we came close to climbing 8,000 feet total for the day!

We also estimated that some of the monsters we climbed had anywhere from a 13% to 14% grade!

The point of the mountain in Draper has its steepest at 12%.

And that hill sucks.

As our theme is though, BOSTON OR BUST!

Still had a pretty ride.

And Big Kev enjoyed his lunch break in luxury and style.

No accidents or mechanical mishaps today.

Just really exhausted by the end of it all.

We finally made it to Waterville.

Because of the lack of hotels we had to drive a few miles north to Utica to spend the night.

We woke up early the next day and began the ride back in Waterville where we left off.

Day 27: Waterville, NY to Albany, NY

We were all in good spirits today.

Even with the knowledge that we had another day of rollercoastering with the hills again.

Another day blessed with no accidents or mechanical mishaps.

And great scenery, yet again!

Even got to see an Amish buggy!

I knew Amish lived in upstate New York, but I don't know the areas.

It was a sweet surprise to see it! We also passed a store that advertised their homemade Amish fudge.

Sadly we didn't stop in for a sweet bite.

Today, we also became tourists for our lunch break.

Why, you may ask?

Our ride on the 20 takes us only 10 miles away from Cooperstown, NY.

For those that don't know, Cooperstown is the home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

I have no idea when we'll be back in New York, especially Cooperstown, so we had to take this opportunity.

How could you not!

This is an adventure! You gotta do things that get you life points!

The ten mile ride south into Cooperstown went by Lake Otsego.

Absolutely beautiful lake.

And then we had our day in Cooperstown.

I'm calling my shot like the Sultan of Swat.

The Colossus of Clout.

The Colossus of Clout.

Baaaabe Ruuuth!

The Greeeat Baaambiiinoo!

A lil' Sandlot partial quote for ya :)

I though I was safe.

But apparantly I was out :(

Then put shorts over our bike pants and went to the Hall of Fame and Museum.

 That's Henry "Hank" Aaron's locker.

I have a lot more pictures, but only putting up the really good ones for now. I can show some to y'all later too :)

I'll also put them on Facebook after the trip.

After our excellent day in the museum we, naturally, had a hot dog for lunch.

There was a stand set up outside a shop where Pete Rose, MLB All-Time leader in Hits, was signing autographs.

At $60 a piece...no thanks :)

Then we visited Doubleday Field.

Cooperstown is where the Baseball Hall of Fame is because this is where the game was first though invented back in 1839 by a man of the name Doubleday.

This town is where the Little League World Series can be held most years.

We got to see Double day field. THE birthplace of the game.

Now as most of you know, I never really played baseball. But I love sports and love going to MLB games.

It was so awesome getting to see all of it!

With the release of 42 and other racial controversies in the mix, I was most excited to see this guy in the Hall.

And my Dad's favorite player.

After our break in Cooperstown we continued on our way over hills and through valleys to Albany, NY to rest our burning buns and thighs.

A great day.

We are in the last two days of our ride.

Tomorrow we cross into Massachusetts.

We expect to be in Boston on Sunday. That is our pledged goal.

We will ride through anything now.

After all...

BOSTON OR BUST!!!

-Jordo

Riding Days 21 - 24

Day 21: Cheboygan, MI to Pinconning, MI

150 Miles of Michigan was conquered this day. What a great Saturday.

My weekends lately have been awesome. I get up, bike all day, and go to bed.

Early to rise and early to bed, makes a man healthy; but socially dead.

In our case that isn't true.

The support and recent stories I have heard from home from friends, family, and loved ones have been amazing to the ears!

Thank you all.

Now I must backtrack a bit. Some have asked about our situations like flat tires and accidents.

Yes. We have had both occur.

I have fallen over plenty and we have had the miracle of only four flat tires.

One was Steve Carlston on day 3 in Washington. One was a slice of the tube and tire for me, had to change both, that happened less than a mile from North Dakota. Two were my Dad's on the way to Havre, MT.

Freakin' West Dakota.

He had a tire go that the sealant couldn't seal. Matt changed it, and less than a pedal later the tube exploded!

So we changed it again.

We had already gone 100 miles when this happened. It was awesome...

Could you smell the sarcasm?

Ok.

Back to Day 21.

We woke up and started our zig-zag down the Michigan 33 towards Bay City.

Nothing eventful happend for the day, but we were able to crush 75 miles before lunch.

Which is a first.

It was a gorgeous day for riding, as you may see.

It was a high of 77, no rain, and big puffy clouds.

Perfect conditions for a great day.

My Dad hasn't sent me the photo, but we had lunch at a place called Carrie James Restaurant in Comins.

It was founded by Carrie James, a lady. We found out it was a brothel owned by her...known for its lemon maraigne pie.

Yeah. I don't see the connection either.

Still a hoot.

Lunch took a bit, or else we woulda made it to Bay City. Instead we stopped at 150 just after Pinconning on Neuman Rd. 

It was perfect because we have been watching a lot of Seinfeld lately at the hotels. So it was easy to remember.

Found this after lunch and felt very blessed for our ride.

Thanks Rev. Olse!

Day 22: Pinconning, MI to Vasser, MI

Welcome, welcome Sabbath Morning.

So another plot twist. We spent the night over in Midland, Michigan and attended sacrament meeting in the morning at the local ward.

The reason being is because Matt's older brother, Christian, is on a mission here in the Lansing Mission.

He served in this ward for seven-and-a-half months and left his greenie there.

So Matt was able to meet Elder Smyer, Elder Lyman's mission son. Took a picture and emailed it to his bro.

It was awesome for Matt and us all. We heard nothing but good things about Elder Lyman.

After that we had a short 40 mile day to Vasser.

Another beautiful day.

Vasser has Vulcan pride.

Live long and prosper.

Ride long and pedal.

We ended up staying at a nearby town called Frankenmuth.

It was a spectacularly German themed town.

Like a screen shot of Midway in the middle of nowhere Michigan.

We all felt sad that we weren't able to spend more time exploring the place.

It looked incredible! If you are in Michigan and need something, go check out Frankenmuth! They said they practically always have something going on.

P.S. Today...Return of the King. Some may understand :)

Day 23: Vasser, MI to St. Thomas, ON, Canada

We started off early as usual and started our journey to Canada.

Today was a big day! Close to another 160.

Honestly I can't really explain our route through Michigan but we ended up leaving the country!

Don't worry. It was planned.

In Ontario we headed east on the 2, otherwise known as the London Line.

This was a straight shot into London, ON

I had England nostalgia seeing all of this. I had to get a picture.

I realized within the first ten miles into Canada that it isn't like America. Although it looked like the Midwest.

Canada doesn't believe in shoulders on their roads.

Most of the London Line was zero to ten inches of shoulder. 

Which made us get to a street in London, ON that allowed us to take a straight shot south to St. Thomas by the 3, The Queensway.

Which turned out to be a much safer road. We scouted it at the end of the day in the van to make sure we wouldn't be fearing for our lives like we were on the London Line.

The Queensway took us pretty much back to home sweet home to the good ole US of A.

Day 24: St. Thomas, ON to Niagra Falls, NY

We're goin' to Americaaaa!

We made a pact that we would make it back to the US today.

The Queensway was only a LITTLE safer, but we were greeted with a beautiful morning in Canada.

And east we went towards Niagara Falls, ON and then to Niagara Falls, NY.

Canada seemed a lot like America. More so than I thought.

The difference in view? Canadian flags instead of American.

Near Simcoe, ON we ran into construction work on the road.

Hopefully they're adding a shoulder to the road.

We met a man named Gerald, older Canadian gentlemen with two good black lab dogs.

He gave us a great alternate route that made us avoid the construction.

He was a very funny guy!

He said "eh" after everything and "Ya know" before every statement.

Every time his dogs would cross a tree line in his driveway he'd yell "Get back to the house!" "Bear!!! Dumb dog. He's stupid." The way he said it was hilarious though!

The reason he wanted the dogs to get back was they had shock collars on and crossing the line would activate them, but they didn't care and just wanted some lovin'.

Good dogs.

Gerald was a solid Catholic and a good man. It was a lil' miracle meeting him.

We continued on our way until we ran into a huge opening filled with soccer fields that would be an excellent stop for lunch.

After lunch we continued on our way enjoying the fields and actually lots of huge wind turbines.

Like they were at least ten stories tall.

Not too many of those back home.

Had another delay though.

I have never seen a drawbridge like this lifted.

And after at least a half-hour of waiting for the boat to go through we were finally able to make it to Niagara Falls, Ontario to see the falls from the Canadian side.

I've been to the American side before.

This is definitely the better view.

And after only two days in Canada, we were back home to the promised land.

I agree with Ricky Bobby, "Greatest country on the planet."

We completely missed the "Welcome to New York" sign and weren't able to get a picture.

That is still bugging me even as I have been typing this.

I love keeping y'all up to date on the social media with pictures.

 

We are spending the night in Niagara Falls, NY and getting ready to head to Palmyra tomorrow.

It's pretty unbelievable to think we only have two states left to conquer.

We could be in Boston either Sunday or Monday.

Even Saturday if we all have the will.

Either way...

BOSTON OR BUST!

-Jordo