Squidoo

Hey everyone!  We've just created a new Squidoo Lens all about the Just Be-Causes Trike Tour!!  Check it out at:  JustBeCauses

No Dogs Allowed!

 

We take Simon to San Lee to go for long walks because he can't go with us to Kiwanis.  This sign is on the ground at the trail heads there.

And this is what Simon thinks of that!

Trees

On an otherwise dead tree, this single remaining leaf really caught my eye.  It was sooo bright, it looked as though it was on fire!

We aren't sure what kind of tree this is, but it has prompted us to do some studying up on the trees in our area.  We feel like we should know these kinds of things since we love nature so much.  We walked about 5 miles today and gatherered a few special branches which Ken will turn into beautiful walking sticks.

Jen at San Lee

Today's walk was wonderful with all the fall colors and the crisp air.

TerraTrike Fund

As some of you may have seen we have changed our goal amount of $1500 to $2000. We were going to try and buy the TerraTrike Path 8 which is a great all around trike for town and trails. This is a photo of that Trike. I called and was going to go ahead and purchase this particular trike but after talking with Wayne Oom we changed our minds.  Wayne said he wanted our trip to be a complete success with the minium amount of problems and he and his team has offered us a new deal that follows: We will be able to purchase 2 TerraTrike Tours At the price of one Cruiser. This is a fantastic deal. The Tour TerraTrike is much more suited for what we are going to be doing especially when we hit hit the mountain ranges through Virginia and Colorado. (Wayne said we would really be thanking them for this then) and I must agree with him. Though it seems it will take a bit longer to purchase the trikes but I believe it is the best way to ensure our success.  We have made another change in plans as well.  Instead of getting a ride to Virginia and starting there we will instead be leaving directly from home.  This does not affect the start date of the trip, but it will make our trip right at 7000 miles!  Wow! We wanna thank everyone for their support and help in this and thanks so much for your patience and kindness. I have also listed a pic of the Terra trike Tour for you all to see. Peace be with you all.

IZZI

Hey folks, I would like to talk a little about "Izzi." Jen and I came up with this name for our Higher Power a little under a year ago on our first bike trail where we had our first experience together in the wonder of God in nature. We at that time called God "The Great Is." We thought this an appropriate name for God because all that we experience has the essence of God within it. We began to notice Izzi working more and more in our lives - to the point where we changed very much and grew very stable in our spiritual nature. Today we see Izzi in most all things we do daily and especially in nature.
The reason I am speaking of this today is because I have really seen Izzi moving powerfully in the endeavour we are undertaking involving our trip across country. I remember when this was just a seed in our mind... and how Izzi planted that seed when we were on that bike trail last year.  At times I wondered if we were going down the right path with this trip and Izzi just kept showing us over and over again that we were. The confirmations were uncanny, actually, and undeniable. I thought perhaps because we would be so needy in the task that it was not the right thing for us to do...but I see now how wrong that thinking was. Because of our needs we reached out to people and found that we had support in what we were doing.  In fact, if Jen and I had the money to just buy the TerraTrikes we might not have contacted any of the wonderful people who are now supporting us. Now we have developed a network of people that are working together with us to ensure our success. I see Izzi working through these people and we are seeing our endeavour growing larger and larger and we haven't even started the trip yet!
I suspect that we will be able to touch a lot of people on our tour not only through meeting them face to face on the road but also by blogging and through feeds to other websites such as Donate Life and TerraTrike. We have gone from nothing to being at the start of something really great!  It is like throughout our whole lives we have come to this one thing that we were meant to do and have been practicing for all this time. So we move on in our endeavour and look forward to what Izzi has in store for us on our trip... I am sure it will hold many blessings and a lot of healing, for not only us but for those around us and those that are interested enough to follow along as we go. May Izzi bless you all,  Ken (and Jen)    

Happy Hallowe'en!

Ken's spider turned out really good!  We got a carving kit and did this ourselves with the little saws.  It was really fun since neither of us had done this in years and years.

Mine turned out a little goofy looking, but I like that about him.  He looks like he is laughing.  :)

Carving Punkins

Before.

After.

Ken's Scary Spider!

Jen's Goofy Pumpkin.

Jen Wins Second Match!

Here's Jen playing her second league match yesterday against Beth.  They played at a great little public court in Raleigh even though all day it had threatened to rain. 

This is Beth.

Rained Out

When we got to the courts in Apex yesterday afternoon it wasn't raining.  But by the time Ken's opponent arrived, so had the rain.  This was taken right before the downpour that prevented Ken's first ever league tennis match.  We are going back today at 6:00 to try again.

Please Watch This

Don't Miss This Video - Wow

The Tour Route

As many of you know by now, April 1, 2010 will be the start of The Just Be-Causes TerraTrike Tour.  Many of you have inquired about our route, so I am posting the map so you can see exactly where we will be heading.  Once we get on the road there will be regular updates to our location and daily blog entries as well so please keep coming back to check this site! 

Our starting point will be in VA where we will begin the TransAmerica Trail portion of the trip.  This trail ends in OR and from there we will take the Pacific Coast Trail to San Francisco.  Then we will take the Western Express Trail back into Denver.  From there we will take a train back home to NC. 

Total Trike Miles:  6675   

Jen Wins First Match!

Jen and I recently joined the Peach Tennis League put on by Prince. Today was Jen's first match and it was an interesting and fun day. The match was in Cary....that is about 36 miles away from where we live. So this morning we got ready to go and packed all the Frescas to take with us....and headed off to Cary. Of course Jen was kinda nervous since this was her first match and she had not played in a league since she was a teenager. I, of course assumed the role of reassuring her that everything would be great...  Well that got harder to do when we got to the tennis courts and realized we'd forgotten the racquets. Hmmm.... So we figured they would have loaners in the Tennis Center....and they did... so we tried to get a court but two of our credit cards would not work there.... kinda embarrassing....  What a start... Jen was getting so upset and I was running out of ways to convince her that it was going to be ok.  Not sure what we were going to do, Jen was on the verge of tears when the phone rang.  It was her opponent Lisa, and boy did she save the day. She said she had an extra tennis racquet, a can of balls, and a place to play for free....wow....she was so very understanding. When we met her at the tennis courts she put Jen completely at ease and Jen played a wonderful match without being so upset about the earlier events.....thanks so much Lisa!  Below are a few pics from todays event.  Oh yeah.... this is the first time I could really watch Jen move on the court while not worrying about watching the ball....I realize why I lose all the time.      ~Ken

This is Lisa. 

Jen's forehand. 

Keep your eye on the ball, Jen!

Rainy Day at Kiwanis

Walking is a great way to wake up and start the day and we do that here several times a week.  We especially like it when it's raining since the park is mostly empty.  It seems like we have some really great conversations here and we often come up with new ideas while we walk and talk.

We are getting really serious about getting into shape!

Our Gear

                                    

We decided the other day to return our old tent and instead get this smaller one and some of the gear we will be needing for the trip.  There are still quite a few things we need, but this is a really good start!

Our EdieBug

EdieBug saw me with the camera and jumped up to have her picture taken.  Unlike Simon she is not camera shy.  Simon is scared to get his picture taken!

The Wetlands

The turn-around point for today's ride was this Wetlands Area.

Southern Pines

 We rode around the Southern Pines/Pinehurst area today.  They have miles and miles of trail connecting their many parks and lakes together.  They also have LOTS of golf courses there as well as country clubs and tennis courts.  We didn't play today, though.  After we rode, we went into the village and looked around in the neat shops and had some lunch at a little deli with tables outside.