Thursday, August 6, 2009

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Hey Hey... we made it to Minneapolis and our stay here has been fantastic. We met up with some good friends (Angela, and Ben) and have been staying with them for a couple days now. We arrived in the city on Tuesday and on Wednesday morning Nico went to get his passport so that we can go through Canada. He got it and we are good to go. We spent a day today cruising around the city and seeing the sites with Ben. We saw Claes Oldenburg's spoon and cherry sculpture, we hit up a lake for some swimming and sun, got some delicious subs at Jimmy Johns, and ran a couple other errands (bike shops and what not). We also received an awesome care package from the parents and godparents back home full of delicious goodies and treats. Thanks John and Celeste thanks Mom and Pops. We have been getting real used to just hanging out and chilling out, but are ready to get back on the road. Today we biked a couple miles out of the city to another friends house of Angela, who lives right by a lake with a hot tub and the works. Its a real rough life. We realized we haven't posted in a while now, and we have a bit to talk about.

Busted Bike follow-up: In Rapid City after Nico totaled his bike we were fortunate enough to meet one of the most chilling dudes in Rapid, Eli. We were also able to stay with one of the nicest women in Rapid. Jean-Claire saved us, she let us stay with her for three nights and even let us drive her stylin' sports car. Eli from the bike shop was able to hook us up with a new frame through a friend of his, Ted, and then helped us totally strip and rebuild the new bike in his garage at no charge. Within two days from the accident we were back on the road and heading to the badlands. Badlands.... wow totally awesome. The prairie just runs on for miles and then all of a sudden drops out into these massive and phenomenal canyons.. awesome views and endless rock formations. From the badlands we charged through South Dakota completing back to back 120 mile days and made it into Minnesota to stay with Ron and Sandy, family of Nico. The two of them were amazing hosts spoiling us with plenty of food, hot showers, even our own rooms with comfy beds. We were able to spend some time with them and take a tour of their property on some ATV's and shoot some guns from their porch. It was quite a great a experience and we had such a blast hanging out with them. Thanks again Ron and Sandy for having us.

Tomorrow we are heading out of Minneapolis on our way to Michigan and to the great lakes. We haven't quite decided our specific route, but we are looking forward to whats ahead. Its pouring rain right now which is nice when we have the luxury of a house and hot tub, hopefully it blows over by tomorrow so we will have some good riding weather. We have about 1300 miles to go which means we are about 2/3 of the way through, with the final leg to go. New York City, here we come!!!










7 comments:

  1. hey guys, my name is Amy and I found your blog pretty randomly- through Emily Anderson who ran into you while doing "Alice's Drive" in a very old car. Anyway I live in Michigan, in a suburb of Detroit named Clawson, and would be glad to host you for a night if your route takes you through this area. I live in an apartment but have a couch and a guest bed.

    If you want to get in touch, You can email me at journalistamy@hotmail.com. Keep up the good riding and blogging!

    ~Amy

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  2. We were happy to have Nico and Calen visit us in Redwood Falls. To the parents of both these boys, what a great job raising these VERY fine young handsome men!! They were so polite and respectful! What a delight! We enjoyed watching them have a good time, riding ATV"s and shooting rifles, along with their GREAT appetite.
    Guys, we loved having you and look forward to following your trip across the states. Continued good times and have a safe trip. Hope you won't have to use the band-aids we sent with you!! Fun Fun!!! Sandy and Ron Mannz

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  3. WOW! Those rock formations are ridiculous! Looks like you guys are having so much fun, and meeting such nice people along the way.

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  4. Hey, we are all really missing you and can't wait to hear about your adventures IN PERSON. XOXOXOXOXO from the B-H Bunch

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  5. In the BBQ picture: what is everyone else going to eat?

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  6. Great to see the latest pictures and read the stories! It is so cool how your various hosts have hooked you guys up. Hope the last 1/3rd is smooth riding and good people like you've been meeting. Calen I'm sure that spoon and cherry sculpture was right up your alley!

    Nikolai

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  7. It looks and sounds as though you are having a wonderful XC adventure!! So glad for you~
    Hope your deserved good fortune continues and that you'll come back through SD on your eventual return. Take care, Jean-Claire

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