There are fireflies here. I haven’t seen fireflies since I was eleven.

During the thunderstorm we had the other night, I though of one of those "romantic" music recordings featuring thunder and rain in the background. The recordings that I’ve heard have always had a train blowing its whistle in the distance. I have always thought that strange, why mar the sounds of nature with the train.

As I was experiencing the storm in my tent (not a very romantic setting), I could clearly hear that damn train off in the distance. You can’t seem to get away from those ubiquitous trains. Reality certainly is very much like those recordings.

Revisiting bicycle stability. Now that I’ve ridden my bike for a while with the 20" front wheel, it is very much more stable. I am now feel free to pick up speed on the downhill so I can work the hills that are coming up.

July 21^st in Indiana, we had our first vehicle – bike accident. A camper hit a bike. The rider is okay, but suffered a broken clavicle.

We are getting very tired of the lunches provided to us. It’s not that the lunches are bad, it’s just that they tend to be very similar to each other, and after 20+ lunches, you start looking for something different. The same is true with the other meals. It has gotten to the point, that the crowd cheers when they find out that the lunch will not be provided and they must find their own lunch as the communities on the way have adequate facilities to provide lunch for 700 riders.

We riders are called (of course) "Big Riders" for the "Big Ride". The trucks that carry our gear and supplies are (of course) Ryder trucks. The crew is getting creative. The truck that carries our water is called "The Aquanator". The Ryder Logo that says "We’re here when you need us" has been changed to "We’re here when you need water". And on the back are the words: "Got Water?" The phone number has been changed from 1-800-Ryder to 1-800-Big-Rider which by the way, gets you the Big Ride office.

People are starting to talk about post ride depression. During exercise, the body generates endorphin which reduces the pain associated with the exercise. This phenomenon is sometimes called "jogger’s high". In fact, jogging and exercise are sometimes prescribed as treatment for depression. The problem is, that we have been living on this stuff for weeks now, and after we reach Washington D.C. our physical activity will go to zilch, and we will have withdrawal symptoms.