I am so proud!

James easily finished the BAK on Saturday June 14 in Atchison KS. He rode an estimated 500 miles in 7 days and loved every minute of it. Every year they choose three people to award the Spirit of BAK title. Unexpectedly, James was one of the three. People had noticed his positive attitude and willingness to help others throughout the week. He was very surprised to receive this award. The cool part is that the award comes with free registration for next year's BAK! So I guess we will definitely be doing this again. I am so proud that he acheived his goal. Two years ago I was watching him struggling on crutches and wondered how well his mobility would be in the future. Bicycling has given him back leg movement that we were not expecting. Now we just have to plan for next year's route!

Riders from Emporia

Spirit of BAK Award

BAK Part 3 Pictures

On June 12th, James biked on to Sabetha - 71 miles down Hwy 36. There are three total days of biking left and this is the longest of the three. I guess you could say it is all down hill from here. It was a good day to ride with clear skies and sun.

BAK Part 3

Today was Beloit to Washington - 84miles! It was a long day with winds gusting to 35miles. "It was windy, it was hilly, it was LONG, but to quote someone else, ' I am a bicyclist, I don't walk.' I rode the whole mileage. It wasn't particularly stylistic, but I made it. That's all, nothing else."

Tonight we are taking James back to Belleville as the weather has forced all riders to stay inside the school for the night. Driving him back to Belleville will free up some space and give him a quieter place to sleep and a real bed!

The girls and I had a fun day with Stacia and Hayley. We went to Concordia to the Huckleberry Tea House for lunch. The girls dressed up with fancy hats, gloves, and feather boas. We enjoyed sandwiches and tea. The girls bought little tea cups to have a tea party when we got back to Stacia's. I will try to post the pictures of our lunch later. The little girls picked out the fancy attire for all of us.

Tomorrow James goes on to Sabetha. Only three more days till the Missouri line! The girls and I are not sure what our plans will be. I guess I will update later what we end up doing.

BAK Part 2 Pictures

BAK Part 2

So we have been to Norton and Smith Center and are on to Beloit. The trek is going very well. We stopped at the Prairie State Park near Norton to look for a Geocache. We found the first cache but were not able to find the second. Alltogether we have found 3 geocaches.

The girls had a good time visiting with grandma and grandpa and playing with their cousin Chase. Smith Center has monster Mosquitos. Lexie is polka dot even with bug spray on. They had the opportunity to swim and have homemade ice cream.

James had a strenous ride from Norton to SC but decided that wasn't enough - he wanted to complete a Century ride. That means a total of 100 miles. So James and a father/son duo rode to the Geographical Center and back. They debated going on to the Nebraska line but that was a little too far without water support. I can't even imagine riding that many miles! James says the SAG supports all along the way help make the time go by. Many of them dress up as different characters.

Today the ride was a few less miles (55) but more difficult as there was a strong South wind to head straight into for half of it. Then it was a side wind for the rest. Generally he is averaging 15 - 20mph but today was closer to 6-8mph.

Tomorrow is on to Washington. Tonight the girls and I are staying in Belleville with my best friend from high school in her new house! I am having trouble posting pictures so I will try to post later.

BAK Part 1

Bike Across Kansas has officially begun! By Saturday June 14th, James will have biked 470 miles across Kansas and the rest of us will have put that many or probably more on the van.





We began Friday night in St Francis Ks when James rode from the Colorado line to St Francis. Lexie also rode with him for the first three miles. She wasn't really prepared to ride and it was starting to get dark or she may have ridden farther.











The girls and I found a unique General Store that had everything you could want and then we went to see some nature sights such as the Arikee Breaks and we went to the Colorado/Nebraska/Kansas corner. That was a trip full of cows! The last picture shows the girls each in a different state. Madeline is in Colorado, Lexie is in Nebraska, and Katie is in Kansas.






Saturday morning James left St Francis and rode the 43 miles to Atwood. There were many places to stop to eat and rest. Lunch was at Bird City at 10:30am. It was a beautiful day to ride!





Each SAG(Support And Gear) crew were unique and made the trip fun. Tomorrow on to Norton - 61 miles down the road. Lets hope for good weather and less wind!

Dance Recital

Saturday May 31st was the big dance recital. The theme this year was TV Toons. This was the first recital for Katie. She danced to Muppet Babies(although she has never seen the show). Her costume was a cute green bear. She was allowed to choose the color of costume and I was surprised to know that she chose green over pink or blue!

Lexie performed in two dances. Her tap solo was Happy Days with a sparkly pink poodle skirt. Katie had the privilage of presenting Lexie with her flowers after her solo and was rewarded with one of her own. The group danced to the Monday Night Football theme. It was a long day with rehearsals all day then the performance that evening, but both girls did a great job on stage.

Usually there is time to rest after a recital, but with the short summer, there is no break. Katie is excited to begin tap lessons this week. She has watched enough tap that she likes to mimic the moves around the house. Lexie has practices two times a week to prepare for another trip to Branson in August. She will perform three dances and possibly her solo at the Haygood's and at 50's at the Hop. The summer will definitely dance by.