As with most places we visit, there are always random sightings and happenings that are uniquely telling of that location. Here in San Pedro, we are in one of the many towns situated on the shore of Lake Atitlan, a lake formed by a volcano, with mountains surrounding the lake … Continue reading
One of the many parts of living abroad that I find fascinating are the local sensory experiences. These are the experiences that are happening around me all the time, which I oftentimes don’t pick up on until I’ve left the area and no longer have those sensory experiences to trigger … Continue reading
We’ve only been in Guatemala for 72 hours now, and much has happened since then. In that time, I’ve had a few realizations that I wanted to share. We are definitely going to learn Spanish. Between the 4 hours a day of lessons, and the three hours or more a … Continue reading
The Plan Based on last year’s failure after 60 miles, I decided that this year, I needed a plan. Not that a plan could guarantee success, but it sure couldn’t hurt. The plan started with getting to the race course a full 5 days before the race even started. We … Continue reading
Marathon Madness has come to an end, and marathon #5 in Ocala, FL certainly closed it out with many more memorable experiences. It was one of the hardest races of the 5, not only because of the course, but because it was the last one. This past week, I made … Continue reading
For those numbers kind of people, including myself, here are all the stats for each runner across all five races, along with any awards or places: Matt Jackson, MS – 2:48.29, 7thOverall, 6thMale Mobile, AL – 2:47.26, 4thOverall Warner Robins, GA – 2:44.35, 3rdOverall Baton Rouge, LA – 2:51.55, 4thOverall, … Continue reading
I’ll be channeling those timeless words of wisdom from Wilson Phillips this weekend while we run our 5th and final marathon in the Marathon Madness series of five marathons in sixteen days. This song was also my theme song during the final days of hiking both the Pacific Crest Trail … Continue reading
This weekend we experienced a little bit of everything, including the other LA, also known as Louisiana. We knew that this past weekend would be extremely tiring, not only because of the marathons, but because of the driving times, and it certainly lived up to its expectations. It was a … Continue reading
Round 2 of the back to back marathons is quickly approaching, and I’m telling my body to heal as fast as it can. My mind certainly knows what it has to do this weekend, but I don’t think my body knows just yet. All the achiness and soreness are still … Continue reading
After sleeping a whopping 11 straight hours last night, I woke up thinking, “Did this weekend really happen?” It was a blur from Friday morning until Sunday night, and I didn’t know it truly happened until I took my first timid steps this morning. Oh yeah, it happened all right. … Continue reading
We made it and we all completed our first round of back-to-back marathons this weekend by completing the First Light Marathon in Mobile Alabama this morning one day after completing the Mississippi Blues Marathon in Jackson, MS. I’ll give a quick recap from my point of view and Julie will … Continue reading
So far it’s been a nice time with Brother Bear, aka Jeff. We’ve run, played games, cooked pierogis, and had just a swell old time. Just to recap, we’re spending all our time down South with Jeff, Matt’s brother, so he can not only spend his winter break from Wisconsin … Continue reading
South Carolina, you were good to us, as good as you have ever been. When we needed sun and warmth, you delivered. When we needed quiet time to study the GRE, edit my book, and read other books, the sound of silence was all we heard. When we asked for … Continue reading
I’m sure there are a number of us who know what it’s like to smell beer at 9am, not that many of us would admit it. But, a few days in Vegas or a couple early football games sometimes call for beer-thirty to hit earlier than usual. On Thanksgiving Day, … Continue reading
There’s a reason fishing isn’t called “catching”, and we experienced that first hand this past Wednesday with our friend Vince and his friend, Steve. Part of the reason Matt and I chose Ocean City, NJ as a destination for the week is because our good friends, Vince and Doris Saul, … Continue reading
One of my favorite things to do is to sit and think about what I was doing this same time last week, and what I’ll be doing this same time next week. For the last few years, the answer was often, “Working and…working.” There wasn’t much of a difference from … Continue reading
It’s all in a day’s work here in Baja…at least for Matt and me. Machetes abound as the tool of choice for most anyone looking to get work done around here, so when it came time to cutting down the limb of a banana tree in our yard, what better … Continue reading
Now that we have been in Mexico for over a week, it’s time for a little observe and report on the area, particularly the peculiar things that we’ve seen and done in our time thus far. As with pretty much any travel that one does not only within the US, … Continue reading
With just three days left of riding, Matt and I spent the evening in Santa Monica with friends on Tuesday. We did 78 miles to get to their home that day, we were feeling great about the ride and about finishing before the weekend, and were loving the weather of … Continue reading
Maybe Matt and I should go out and buy a lottery ticket, because the numbers seem to be in our favor right now. We had a crazy Karmic connection in Carmel, California just a couple of days ago that just might go down as one of the best stories of … Continue reading
It’s time to recap, regret and rejoice over the content of our diet for the last week spent in San Francisco. In case we haven’t said it enough, we are forever grateful to our friend Jed, who let us stay in his home for the last 9 days. It allowed … Continue reading
We’ve been in California for about a week now, after spending 10 days in Oregon, and while there wasn’t a hugely noticeable difference the moment we crossed the states’ borders, it has now become distinctly apparent that we’re not in “Kansas” anymore. We have only been in San Francisco for … Continue reading
No, this isn’t a story about UFOs or anything like that, but is about new encounters that were unexpected. Since we are still so new at this biking thing, and doing it long-distance style, each day presents something different. I have come to find that there are road signs I … Continue reading
What is it? Hood to Coast is a 200 mile relay race from Mt. Hood to the Oregon Coast spread over the course of 2 days. The field of over 1200 teams of 12 runners each divides 36 legs of running among the runners. Each runner runs 3 times … Continue reading
It’s time for a little recap of the last few weeks’ events, as it was full of visits to family and friends, good food, a little sight-seeing, a respectable amount of running, and lots of other stuff in between. In total, we drove 2700 miles on the dot from the … Continue reading
It’s been said that some of the best adventures start with a one-way ticket. At least, that’s what we’re hoping, as I have no idea who said that or what validity it has. These past few weeks since the trail have felt like being a bouncy ball at a Flaming … Continue reading
We’ve hiked the Appalachian Trail, we’ve had the ups and the downs of the trail, met good people and had amazing experiences, and I got the experience of the Lyme. We even have loads of Urbyville followers now and everyone is wondering, So Now What? What are you doing next? … Continue reading
I’m now a week removed from the Appalachian Trail, and wanted to write down my final thoughts about the AT experience as a whole before I get too far removed and too deeply involved in the next adventure. It is amazing what time does to memories, and how quickly time … Continue reading
As of 12:45pm yesterday, July 14th, we completed our adventure on the Appalachian Trail. It took 104 days total, 96 of which were spent hiking and 8 of them were days off in Myrtle Beach, SC. As of 12:45pm today, I’m currently riding in a rental car, on my way … Continue reading
Here we are, 88 days into the trail, and I’m still having new experiences that I never experienced on the PCT or yet here on the AT. On the PCT, Optimist and I made a decision near the beginning of the trail to only resupply in towns that were within … Continue reading
It’s our second day in Maine today, and though I was happy to cross the New Hampshire/Maine border, I have to say that I’m ready for the finish. If Matt were writing this, he’d title it, “So close, yet so far.” We are sitting about 250 miles from Mt. Katahdin, … Continue reading
We just might be the luckiest hikers on the trail, or at least it feels that way. Our cup is overrunning with trail magic at the moment. We got back on the trail a few days ago after the amazing trail magic from the Boshart family in Manchester Center, VT … Continue reading
No, these are not names of thru-hikers. These are the names of the unexpected visitors we had to our shelter last night. Last night was one of the strangest nights we’ve had on the trail yet, where I had very little sleep and way too much excitement. About 10:30pm last … Continue reading
Two weeks ago, we left our tent in Greenwood Lake, NY and have since been shelter hopping for our nightly residence. So far, so good, yet so different. I am so intrigued by how the presence of shelters shapes the AT experience. Since there were so few on the PCT … Continue reading
Just a few days ago, this post was going to be titled, “Trail Obituary.” I had had enough and had called it quits after 1361 miles just after the border of NJ and NY. That morning, after a terrible night’s sleep, we crossed the border on a hot, muggy morning … Continue reading
Optimist and I have found ourselves at the front of the pack. We knew it would happen eventually as we passed individuals and groups in our first weeks on the trail. Today marks 8 weeks out on the trail, with about 830 miles to go, and we are quite alone. … Continue reading
This is not a declarative statement, but rather a noun and its adjective. It is a description of my views for the last week on the trail. During the weeks leading up to the state of Pennsylvania, I heard from a lot of other hikers, whether first hand in person … Continue reading
Nearly every time I meet another woman who is not out here hiking the trail, but is rather in a town, camping for the weekend or just driving by the trail, she usually says to me, “I don’t know how you do it. I could never do something like thru-hike … Continue reading
I spent the last 6 miles of our hike today thinking, “Please, let there be a room at the Doyle.” If you have ever passed through Duncannon, PA, you know that’s a big statement. The Doyle Hotel is an old, historic building that is cheap ($32.50 for our room), yet … Continue reading
While we may not be hiking an “assisted” thru-hike in the sense that we have people along the trail, bringing us food and water and carrying our packs, we certainly have one the best support crews we could ever compile. The support we have received so far via phone, email … Continue reading
We are now in the state of Maryland, which means we have officially left Virginia, a state that was our home for 3 weeks, which will most likely be the longest we spend in one state. When I look back at Virginia, I’ll most likely remember two things – the … Continue reading
It is time. I am going to compare my experience thus far of hiking the PCT vs. the AT. Each person that finds out we hiked the PCT always follows up with the question, “How do they compare?” It’s a very good question and one that I answer in my … Continue reading
I made a huge mistake upon leaving Pearisbug, VA. I had eaten so much town food that by the time we went grocery shopping for the resupply into the next town of Daleville, VA, I skimped a little. I thought the thousands of calories I consumed would carry me at … Continue reading
I don’t have many luxury items in my pack these days, as a lighter pack has greatly enhanced my ability to enjoy the trail. But there are still a few items that are worth their weight in gold, one of them being my ipod nano. I’m not even sure how … Continue reading
After the night we had last night, I realized that more needs to be told about the shelter life. All this past week, we heard weather forecasts that would scare any hiker into staying in town and not leaving until the storms blew over. Unfortunately, we weren’t near a town, … Continue reading
We did not do much night hiking on the PCT, and thankfully have not started that habit yet here on the AT. So far we have hiked about an hour and a half in the dark, with our headlamps, and that’s about enough for me. There is something about the … Continue reading
I have had to drastically change my mindset about a lot of things out here, one being food. In normal life, I count calories in and calories out so I can maintain a healthy weight. Out here on the trail, I count the calories to make sure I don’t lose … Continue reading
Something I have been reminded of lately is the swinging pendulum effect in all parts of the trail life. Not that this aspect is special to the trail life, but I believe it’s more deeply felt because of the rawness of the life to begin with. These last few days … Continue reading
I have begun to repeat my old habits from the PCT. I find myself looking at my watch, looking at the data book, screaming at a seemingly endless uphill…when will I learn that I make it harder on myself by expecting so much? These last two days have been the … Continue reading
That is the question I’ve been asking myself each night as I lay in our tent, listening to every sound, thinking each one is a bear out to get my food. I don’t remember having sleeping issues on the PCT, but I’m certainly experiencing them here on the AT. Not … Continue reading
