About Lea's Foundation

In 1998, Lea Michele Economos, a young woman who died of leukemia at the age of 28, made a dying wish to her parents that others would not face the hardships she encountered by finding a cure for this disease. Her family started this charity to carry on that wish. Today, Lea’s Foundation takes an active role in finding a cure for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and myeloma and to better the lives of people living with these diseases. At the UCONN Health Center, the Lea’s Foundation Center for Hematologic Disorders sponsors research in this field. A new program covers the cost of bone-marrow testing to help recruit life-saving transplants for patients. Also, annual scholarships are given to children with leukemia who are planning to attend nursery school. For more information on other projects carried out by Lea’s Foundation, please visit their website at www.LeasFoundation.org.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Day 32: KT Caboose (California, MO to Defiance, MO - 112 miles)

Dan and I think we will be home in 11 more riding days. Our goal is to do it without having any miserable days.  Today was a successful non-miserable day!

We had about 25 miles to ride in the morning on the road before we picked up the Katy Trail in Jefferson City. We rode the well known Route 50, which we have had an on and off relationship with for the last 4 states. Although, this time it wasn't as lonely as it was in Nevada. It was like a real highway. For the first 20 miles, there weren't too many cars and there was a really nice shoulder on the side we were riding on. Things got funky when we got into Jefferson City. We had to make a few turns, and found ourselves on ramps and bridges that definitely weren't made for bikes. Sometimes the shoulder disappeared to nothing, and we were riding on the side of the right lane of the highway. After only one wrong turn that cost us 2 miles, we made it to the Katy Trail. The unpaved road slows us down a bit, bit the canopy of trees blocks the wind.  

Our daily video from the trail: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AAaQzXcJaZs&feature=plcp

Riding the Katy Trail is nice. We didn't go fast, but the riding is flat and our slow and steady pace let us finish the day in Defiance without being too tired. On the way we stopped at the KT Caboose, which came at a perfect time because I was running low on water. We filled up on water, Dan got a blue shaved ice (which you can tell from the color of his lips in the picture), and I got a coffee milkshake. We chatted with the worker, Teresa, for a few minutes and went on our way. 


We asked the Elysium Fields Bed and Breakfast for a discount on a room for the night, and the owner, Brian, quickly offered "the cottage" free of charge. He converted the old Defiance Bank, which ran from 1901 to 1935, into a Bed and Breakfast. The bathroom is in the old bank vault. This place is really cool!
Looks like Dan and I are gonna get cozy tonight. 

We are getting dinner at a biker bar in town. There are probably 50 to 100 motorcycles parked outside. I thought it was a motorcycle show or something but I heard this is how it is in Missouri. Joe, I don't think you would fit in here. Everyone is riding Harleys and custom chopper-like bikes.  

Tomorrow we plan to ride through St. Louis and check out the Gateway to the West and then go as far as we can into Illinois. 
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