Inaugural JIK Cavalcade Endeavor Awards

Good evening ladies and gentle-men (Joker voice).  We are gathered here this evening to present our Inaugural J.I.K Cavalcade Endeavor Awards and issue our thank yous.  Don't worry the blog isn't over, we still have Ragbrai to document (which will be an entirely different beast to write about, but entertaining nonetheless).

Recap.
Today Ian and I didn't really do anything (well anything productive for society).  Ian spent most of his day playing Samurai vs. Zombies (or something) on his phone.  I read a bunch of different stuff (magazines, newspapers, music sites, twitter, etc) and researched climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. I guess I also semi-planned a trip with my friend/cousin-in-law (is that real) Brandon to climb a 14K footer in October.

After that, we also got some groceries for Ian's mom and hung out with her.  It was good to see her and talk.  We had some good discussions about education, testing, and stuff that most of you would find very uninteresting. Good times!

We're going to break the trip down into about five (or so) major best categories. 


Best Over Night Stay
Tie between Minco, OK and Sidney, IA.
Great hospitality from both hosts.  Minco-was the first real chance we had to sit and talk to people at length about what we were doing and they made us feel right at home.  Sidney- nothing feels more at home then BLTs with fresh garden picked tomatoes, and a freshly baked blueberry pie to welcome you back to Iowa.

Best Pass Through Town
Bowie, TX
Stopped at a nice little Italian eatery, with very fair, authentic Italian food.  I know it was authentic because all three workers spoke fluent Italian and had some very expensive cars out front.  I would never assume there were extra-curricular activities taking place in this small town restaurant, but I would be naive to not wonder.


The Nate Herrig Award for Best Lunch
Mi Familia in Mineral Wells, TX.  Great Mexican food.  The steak tacos were covered with cilantro, lime, cheese, and an awesome corn tortilla.  It was by fair the single most memorable food item we encountered on the entire trip.  (It also came not only with chips and salsa, but with Queso; JACKPOT!)


Best Piece of Pie 
Koffee Kup in Hico, TX.  As Vicki forced Ian to devour an enormous piece of coconut meringue pie before his meal, it was apparent that the pie title was gone on night one.  The pie was famous in TX (as were the burgers) and it did not disappoint.


John Cernohous Certified One-Star Motel/Hotel
Although Hico, TX gave it a run for its money, the A-OK Motel in Waureka, OK was far away the classiest of the classless we encountered on our trip.  It contained the fine amenities, a window unit AC, dirty bath tub, and a 19-inch, 1980's tube TV.  The capstone of the stay was what we  saw in the morning.  A man and a woman leaving one room in separate cars, early in the morning. Springer anyone?

Best Climb
The majestic approach into the Loess Hills as we climbed through the tree covered highway, slithering our way through the bluffs in SW Iowa.

Best Gas Station
Cenex in Caldwell, KS. We had pleasant banter between us and the cowboys/farmers.  One cowboy expert was willing to trade his horse for one of our bikes.  Only problem is that a horse can only ride 28 miles a day (so he said), and we can ride over 110.  The stop was topped off by John's aunt's arrival, which at the time was a needed boost to our journey with her high spirits and fresh attitude on a hot day (that turned out to be 110 miles).

Best Day/Ride
As alluded to above, the best day was the century (plus) leading us into Wichita, KS.  Once we passed the hundred mile mark we found new legs and cruised into Wichita at our best pace of the trip for over ten miles.

Most Interesting Person
Mel Cude.  The 89 year old, bike shop owner with Parkinson disease who helped get us back on track.  

Quote/Dialogue of the Day:
Ian: "I feel like I should go outside or something" (Ian to me after he had been gaming on his phone)
Kellen:  "Dude we have been outside in 100 degree heat for 10 days, plus we have to ride up and do Ragbrai."
Ian: "Yeah, good point."

Ian Fredrick Hembry's Travel Tip of the Day:
"It's nice to be within driving distance of Casey's pizza."  (If you can't tell, Ian loves Casey's pizza.)

John Cernohous's Word of Wisdom:
"Chickasa is the most mispronounced town of the trip." (remember it's pronounceds chik-a-shaaa)

Five Things I Learned Today:

1) Ian misses gaming.  He killed thousands of zombies today without even flinching.  If there is a zombie apocalypse, I know who I want on my side.

2) Coming up with five things you learn everyday on a bike ride trip is not easy.

3) Hills are much less stressful in a motorized vehicle.

4) Sleep deprivation and extensive physical activity does take its toll.  Ian has been sleeping a lot and I can barely bend my legs.

5) After a long journey it's good to see your mother.  (Ian says.  I won't see my parents for another week and change!)

Ian thanks:  Andy Johnson for hooking us up with the house in Sidney (check out his website for cloth www.rooskee.com or his facebook page, Rooskee Designs), my family, my wife and my dog, Ramona.

Kellen thanks: My family, Ian, John, friends that sent me well wishes/calls, all of you that have read this blog, the wonderfully nice people we met along the way, and Brent Johnson (of Bike Tech in Cedar Falls) for some technical help 1500 miles away.

Tomorrow should be a good day of doing some yard work for Ian's mom, a short 20 mile shake-out ride, meeting up with Jared, and the midnight showing of the Dark Knight Rises.  I could not be more stoked (excited, to the normal person) to see this movie.  Christopher Nolan is the man, I can't wait to see how the trilogy ends.  I'll include a review in the next blog without spoilers.


Remember the blog won't end yet, we still have Ragbrai.  Keep checking back in with us! And, if you are along the Ragbrai route or are riding come find us!


Until tomorrow,


KRS