days until the start!

Gary and I will ride our bicycles through 10 states on the way down the river.  Without looking at a map or otherwise using the Internet, can you list which side of the Mississippi each is on?  There are three possible answers: East, West or Both.  Post your answers in the comments below.  The winner will receive one gasp of awe and three “We are not worthy’s” from each of us.

We will stay a total of 53 overnights on the trip counting Lake Itasca on Day Zero and Venice, Louisiana on Day 52.  Twelve of those will be in Minnesota, followed by 10 in Illinois, eight each in Mississippi and Louisiana, five in Missouri, four in Wisconsin, two each in Iowa and Tennessee, and last but not least one night apiece in Kentucky and Arkansas.

The response to our Warmshowers’ requests and inquiries made to overnight locations where we couldn’t find a Warmshowers host and there was no nearby campground, along with kind offers of lodging/camping from out of nowhere, mainly on facebook, has been simply overwhelming.  We have gone from upwards of 35 “open” nights to five in a matter of a few days.  In several instances we have multiple offers of hosting from the same city or town.  Wow- you folks are incredible!!  If you have offered to host us for an overnight the plan is to contact you back confirming our stay or to thank you for doing that if we are going to wind up staying nearby in another location by no later than the evening of Thursday, the 17th.  Please let us know if you check your email of Friday and have not heard from us.

The five locations where we are still looking for a host are

• Caruthersville, MO on Wednesday, September 27th or Thursday, the 28th
• Tunica, MS on Sunday, October 1st or Monday, the 2nd
• Scott, MS on Tuesday, October 3rd or Wednesday, the 4th
• Natchez, MS on either Saturday, October 7th or Sunday, October 8th and the next day after the day of arrival (Rest Day)
• Phoenix, LA on Sunday, October 15th

Oh, and my bike shipped from the Trek Bicycle Store in Anchorage [link] today.

BikeFlights [link] is really a class act.  I used the company for shipping my bike last year twice and they provided service that was both flawless and attentive.  Highly recommended!

David