5 days till we leave

Ready to see AMERICA by BICYCLE

For daily updates go to that you can go: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/tourdemiller

Our home page will be:

http://mikenbern.tripod.com/

This will serve as a hub to find all our pages (maps, itinerary, journal, how to email us )

We we are now over $18,500 in funds raised --- just $6,500 short of our goal. If you have not had a chance to donate yet -- Be sure to click the link on the top left -- "Help the Miller's Fight Cancer"
Or you can send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal.Mail them to:

Lance Armstrong Foundation
PO Box 1150
Austin, TX 78716-1150

Our departure is at hand - the days have counted down and we are nearly ready to leave for Oregon. We look forward with anticipation to the people we will meet, the things we will see, the challenges we will face, the growth in mental toughness, the conditioning, the friends we will share a meal with along the way. It is hard to believe -- but it is here.

I trust you will follow us on the daily journal site (above) and please leave us some comments in the guestbook there http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/guestbook/?o=1gci&doc_id=2509&v=1S The folks I have talked to that have done this say that is a big encouragement. So write there early & often.

this is a pic of my new frame

We will be glad to be back on our road bikes ....we have been riding the Mountain bikes since the others shipped earlier this week

Thanks for your prayers, support, well wishes and interest in our trip

I look forward to hearing from you while on the road
THANKS
Mike Bernice Michael & Derek

11 days and counting

This will be the second to last post on this blog after that you can go to:http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/tourdemiller for the daily journal and http://mikenbern.tripod.com for our home page

they are easier to edit and upload pics than this site.

We we are now over $17,400 in funds raised --- just $7,600 short of our goal. If you have not had a chance to donate yet -- Be sure to click the link on the top left -- "Help the Miller's Fight Cancer"

Or you can send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal.Mail them to:

Lance Armstrong Foundation

PO Box 1150

Austin, TX 78716-1150

I finally got my new frame and got it all put together. We took a 42 mile shakedown ride this morning before church. It rode very nicely. This afternoon we will pack the bikes into boxes and UPS will pick them up tomorrow for their trip to Astoria. We will follow them out west on June 14th .

here are a few pictures we took this week on our rides.

Thanks for checking in and be sure to hit the links at the top and bookmark them in your favorites

16 days till departure --- Memorial Day Weekend

We spent the weekend in St. Augustine FL camping. I had to ride my old bike because my other one was in the shop having the components put on the new frame. It felt weird to be riding "old faithful" she has over 22,000 miles on her. The frame geometry is different than the new carbon fiber one I have been riding for the last year.

Michael was able to come over and spend two out of the four days with us. It was nice to have all 4 of us together. We did not do long rides instead we got in just over 40 miles each day. We will have plenty of long rides again soon enough. Getting back earlier let us enjoy the BIG surf that was caused by the high pressure system just off the coast.

Derek spotted the castle to the right along A1A north of Villano Beach. In keeping with the mindset of seeing the country and that every ride is not a race; we pulled in the side street to look at the castle.

It was Sunday morning and Derek saw the plaque to the left. Many of our friends and clients have told me they would pray for us on this journey and we want to share God's love with those we meet along the way. I thought it was neat to be reminded of Jesus in this fashion.

Our fund raising is took a nice jump this week as over $1,000 came in. We are now closing in on $17,000 raised.

If you have not had a chance to donate yet -- Be sure to click the link on the top left -- "Help the Miller's Fight Cancer"

Or you can send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal.Mail them to:

Lance Armstrong Foundation

PO Box 1150

Austin, TX 78716-1150

25 days till departure --- great week of riding

We had good weather with no smoke and lots of nice rides. We had normal rides Mon and Wed before work . Friday we rode with "Bikin' Bob" from the Villages(pictured to the right in Red). He is 71 and has rode cross country 3 times. We shared some good conversation and got some pointers from the cross country veteran.

Saturday hit the road to horse country with Derek, and John and Don. It was nice to be out with 5 of us. The horse to the right was born a few weeks back and like Derek is growing up quickly.

We are under 4 weeks now. Bikes will be shipped on June 4th to assure they are in Astoria when we get there.

If you have not had a chance to donate yet -- Be sure to click the link on the top left -- "Help the Miller's Fight Cancer"Or you can send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal.Mail them to: Lance Armstrong Foundation PO Box 1150Austin, TX 78716-1150

32 days till departure.... Smokey in Florida

Our fires have now burned over 330,000 acres in Georgia and Florida. We are thankful that the fires for the most part are over 40 miles away but the smoke is here. It has encroached on our training; which is minor in the big picture. We are praying for safety for those nearer the fire and strength for those fighting the fires.
We had to move our Friday morning ride into the back room and onto the trainer. A stationary device spawned in Hell. If you have ever had to spend time on one you know what I mean and if not I can not explain it here.

Our training overall is going well. We have have ridden over 6,000 miles in the last 12 months. That does not count any off road riding which I did 2 days a week from Oct to Feb. I would say that we are ready and in the next 30 days we will just continue to log some miles and saddle time.

Derek is pictured here with his new bicycle. It is a Specialized Allez. I might add it is a double XL frame to accommodate his nearly 6'5" body.

We are now up to $15,686 raised so far.

If you have not had a chance to donate yet -- Be sure to click the link on the top left -- "Help the Miller's Fight Cancer"Or you can send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal.Mail them to: Lance Armstrong Foundation PO Box 1150Austin, TX 78716-1150

39 days till Departure and over $15,000 raised

Do not forget to click on the Itinerary link to the left to look at my other website
This was a few days off with no riding. Bernice and I went to San Diego for and Ameriprise Circle of Success conference. We stayed down in the Marina area of the city.. the pic to the left is out of our room on the 22nd floor.


We met our friend Darrell and his fiancee Ronni. They took us to LaJolla for an evening of great food, views and excellent conversation. He gave us some good pointers on the upcoming trip as he rode cross country last summer.

This was our last few days off the bikes as we will now put the final push in our training. We have been asked will we be ready and the answer is training wise we could leave tomorrow. We have base mileage of 6,000 miles in the last year and some specialized riding (hills and intervals)as well.
For exercise in San Diego we kayaked in LaJolla on Thursday in some big surf in the Pacific (sorry no pics --- BIG WAVES and my camera do not mix) Then Friday we went to the SanDiego Zoo for a behind the scenes tour.
Friday night we had a party at the Miramar Air Station. This site was the Navy Top Gun school and is now an air station for the Marines. We got to see F18's, F16's, Hornets and several types of helicopters. The highlight though was talking to the pilots and being able to shake their hands and tell them we appreciate their service to our country. It was a very moving time with them.


We then had dinner and had a front row space to hear the band Smash Mouth. I was 2 feet from lead singer Steven Harwell as he sang Walking on the Sun , All Star and others. Very cool to have a concert in a small venue like that.


We crossed 2 milestones this week. We are under 40 days till we leave and over $15,000 raised. We had multiple people promise their donation would be on the way soon. Only $10,000 to go to hit our goal.

If you have not had a chance to donate yet -- Be sure to click the link on the top left -- "Help the Miller's Fight Cancer"Or you can send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal.Mail them to: Lance Armstrong Foundation PO Box 1150Austin, TX 78716-1150

Since you stopped by leave a comment and let us know. Feel free to ask questions if you have them.

46 Days till Departure

Be sure to check out the NEW site in our links to the left . It has our daily itinerary and other information

We rode 279 miles this week with over 7,055 feet of climbing. It seems we seek out the hilly routes hoping that that combined with our spring winds will do the job in preparing us for the mountains that lay ahead.

We had over $1,000 come in this week for our fundraising which pushes us north of $14,500 so far. The weather has been delightful to ride in of late. Short sleeve or sleeveless jersey's.

Bernice & I will be heading to San Diego for a conference from Wed to Sat this week so our mileage will be off a bit but we will get some exercise there as we will be kayaking in the Pacific at LaJolla and walking a good bit at the San Diego Zoo. We are hoping to meet up with our good friend Darrell (pictured right) for dinner Wed. He helped pull us across the deserts of Nevada last summer

If you have not had a chance to donate yet -- Be sure to click the link on the top left -- "Help the Miller's Fight Cancer"Or you can send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal.
Mail them to: Lance Armstrong Foundation PO Box 1150Austin, TX 78716-1150

If you have a question ask......if not leave a comment and let us know you stopped by. We had 3 comments last week you guys are catching on. (grin)

53 days till departure -- What a ride

Tour of Springtime Rural Vistas a 200 mile ride over 2 days. We went from Quincy,FL to Albany, GA and back. It ended up 208 miles -8 bonus miles I guess. We did over 5400 feet on climbing over the 2 days. The rides went very well and we (Bernice, Derek & I ) felt great --- so I guess all the training is paying off.

I did have a little problem - at mile 22 my rear derailleur (shifter) cable broke and we were unable fix it. This meant I only had 3 functional gears instead of 30. It made it interesting but not unbearable.
There were 375 people in the event and we were able to meet some really nice folks.

This week we crested the $13,500 mark in our fund raising.
If you have not had a chance to donate yet -- Be sure to click the link on the top left -- "Help the Miller's Fight Cancer"Or you can send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal. Mail them to: Lance Armstrong Foundation PO Box 1150Austin, TX 78716-1150

If you have a question ask it if not leave a comment and let us know you stopped by.

60 days till departure ... great week of riding

This week we crested the $13,000 mark in our fund raising.

If you have not had a chance to donate yet -- Be sure to click the link on the top left -- "Help the Miller's Fight Cancer"Or you can send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal. Mail them to: Lance Armstrong Foundation PO Box 1150Austin, TX 78716-1150

This week included a few shorter rides and then an 84 mile ride on Friday and a 52 mile ride on Saturday. We had some very windy conditions; which are good for improving our stamina. We passed some old Florida Cracker houses like the one above. I got the chance to pet the baby horse pictured here it was only 6 days old. I saw the lady and asked her how old it was she told me and said if you want pet it go on in the paddock. I was over that fence in a flash.

Next weekend we will ride a 200 mile ride called Tour of Rural Scenic Vistas (TOSRV). It will go from near Tallahassee, FL to Albany, GA (100mi) and then back the next day. Derek will get to ride with us; unfortunately it is too close to finals for Michael to ride it with us. There will be 365 of us riding.

Thanks for reading .... Please leave a comment so we know you visited.

68 days till departure .... Happy Easter

It is hard to believe the days are now numbered in the 60's. We made our final payment this week and purchased trip insurance so things are coming together. I have some ask about the route. To the right is the overall map. You can see the states we will cross. In Wisconsin we take a ferry across Lake Michigan then cross into southern Ontario. We come back into the United States from Canada at Niagara Falls.


This week we had an excellent riding week with a nice 72 mile ride into the horse country north of Ocala. There we can find some hills (we covered 1985 feet of elevation on that ride) and some canopied low traffic roads.
Derek had Friday off from school so he was able to join us. It is a nice time to ride in the horse farms because this is the time of year when the baby horses are abundant. It is fun to watch them learn to run on their new legs.
We have what we call the invisible hills this time of year here in Florida. It is the wind which is sustained most days at 15mph. When you ride into the wind it simulates climbing and aids in conditioning. I can tell we are making progress in that arena because it does not seem like a ride unless we go over 50 miles and 70 to 80 feels perfect and a century (100 mile) ride leaves us pleasantly tired not exhausted.

On today's 48 mile ride we stopped briefly at the traveling Vietnam War Memorial. It was a sobering site to see the flags, the Marine guard, and the 58,000 names of men and women killed during that war. Thanks to all those who have and are serving our Country.

Our fund raising is now up to $12,926 and rising. THANKS to all who have given so far. If you have not had a chance yet -- Be sure to click the link on the top left -- "Help the Miller's Fight Cancer"

Or you can send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal. Mail them to: Lance Armstrong Foundation PO Box 1150Austin, TX 78716-1150

Since you stopped by .... Please leave a comment. Just click on the comment button below this post. Trying to get you in the habit as they will be a source of encouragement this summer

74 days till Departure.... Spring break

This past week was Spring Break for Derek. We were invited by some good friends of ours to share their time share condo with them in Eden, Utah (just outside of Ogden). We flew out Saturday(3/24) and back yesterday (3/31).We did some hiking along the Ogden river on our off day.

We had 2 days of spring skiing when we first arrived then as shown in the picture to the right winter came back and we had 2 great days of Utah powder skiing. That was at Powder Mountain and the last day we hit Snowbasin. We had a great time and logged 121,959 feet of vertical in 5 days of skiing. That is 22.9 miles straight down or 255.7 miles altogether. So though we were not riding our bicycles-- we were not loafing. I think it was good cross training. We even skied in the aspens a good bit looking for the untracked powder which was easy to find. Derek made nice improvement in his technique this trip.
This week it will be back to work and cycling as we prepare for the final 74 days till we leave.

Our fund raising is now up to $12,876 and rising. THANKS to all who have given so far. If you have not had a chance yet -- Be sure to click the link on the top left --"Help the Miller's Fight Cancer" Or you can send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal. Mail them to: Lance Armstrong Foundation PO Box 1150Austin, TX 78716-1150
Since you stopped by .... Please leave a comment. Just click on the comment button below this post. Trying to get you in the habit as they will be a source of encouragement this summer.

82 days .... early update

First off we are making progress in the fund raising efforts. We crossed another milestone $12,000.
I want to say a heartfelt thank you to all those who have donated. I know there are some checks that have been mailed but have not shown on the tally board. Be sure to click the link on the top left --"Help the Miller's Fight Cancer" and track our progress. You can donate there as well. Or you can send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal. Mail them to: Lance Armstrong Foundation PO Box 1150Austin, TX 78716-1150

Today we took a nice ride around Lake Weir and down to the Villages. It was a nice 59 mile ride. This update comes a little early because tomorrow am we fly to Salt Lake City for Derek's Spring break. We will be skiing with friends for a week. A nice bit of cross training. It is always nice to see other parts of the country and the things that God has created.

To the right is a picture that shows the variety of the Spring weather here in Central FL. It was taken last Saturday morning when the temps were in the 40's --- brrrrr.
Also pictured is a new friend of ours - Jon. He is a long time rider with a nice stable of Italian bicycles. A good rider and a pleasant addition to our Saturday rides.
I know I say it often ....BUT ... if you are here... leave a comment. I am trying to get you in the habit so this summer we will draw strength from our friends.

87 Days and counting

This week was a good one with short rides in the beginning and a nice longer somewhat hilly(for FL) ride on Saturday. It is good to have Derek riding regular now that basketball is over. We had a cool (temps in the 40's) ride up into horse country covering 60 miles and over 1700 feet of climbing. We had strong headwinds(12 -18mph) for the first 30 miles and still averaged 16.5 mph.


We enjoy the varying terrain we have to train in. Even the temps and wind are things that will make us ready to face the varied conditions of crossing the continent.

It looks like our local paper wants to do an online video journal as well. They are planning to provide us with video camera and "air card" to provide wireless Internet. That will be a complement to this site.

We are at $11,396 raised for the Lance Armstrong Foundation as of today. If you have not made your donation yet this is a great time to do so.Click the button on the upper left titled -- HELP the Miller's FIGHT CANCER. and make a donation online. Or you can send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal. Mail them to: Lance Armstrong Foundation PO Box 161150Austin, TX 78716-1150

Since you stopped by.... write a comment or ask a question....let us know you stopped by.... just click the comment below

95 Days...Planning & Perspective

This week Bern & I logged over 260 miles. We did some small rides early in the week then a 100, 75 and 60 as the week progressed. Between them we covered North East and South of Ocala. We are often asked how you prepare for a trip like ours and the answer is "Saddle Time" or is other words "Time on the Bike" We do long rides and shorter rides with "intervals" mixed in.

I find it amusing how things can be put in perspective. We are excited about our 3600+ mile ride this summer and we had a visitor spend the night on Wednesday who has ridden 166,214 miles and crossed the country 14 times east to west and numerous north to south treks. We are on a list to provide hospitality to cross country cyclist and Hans Myors stayed with us one night this week.

We enjoyed the riding and the gorgeous spring weather this week. Sharing the road with the bikers of Bike Week;we had the rumble of Harley’s accompanying us all week. They were a friendly lot and shared the road well. I guess that leather and lycra mix well.

I am also asked if Michael is riding. He sent me proof that he is at least dressing up in bicycle clothing now & then. Notice the SEC Champion Gator with his helmet in place. Mike is riding with Cayce between going to Class (3.64 gpa), working at Sonny's, and working as a Teaching Assistant for Business Law

We are now at $11,396 raised for the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

If you have not made your donation yet ....this is a great time to do so.Click the button on the upper left titled -- HELP the Miller's FIGHT CANCER. and make a donation online. Or you can send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal. Mail them to: Lance Armstrong Foundation PO Box 161150Austin, TX 78716-1150 Thanks for your support

Since you stopped by.... write a comment or ask a question....let us know you stopped by.... just click the comment below. I am trying to get folks in the habit of comments because I have heard from others it is a BIG encouragement while on the road

Rainy days & the Trainer 102 days till departure

This week was a tricky one weather wise. Warm with good rides on Monday and Wednesday. Then the rain started Thursday and continued until today (Sunday) That meant the trainer was put to use. The trainer is a device that you put your bike on and use it as a stationary bike. It is a device that is despised by most cyclist; because an hour on the trainer is like a death march. Even with music and a fan it is hard work.

Our Saturday rides are growing to the right is Chuck our newest edition. Our ride this coming Saturday could have as many as 8 in it. This makes for some good conversation and new friends.

We are at $11,296 raised for the Lance Armstrong Foundation as of today. If you have not made your donation yet this is a great time to do so. Click the button on the upper left titled -- HELP the Miller's FIGHT CANCER. and make a donation online. Or you can send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal. Mail them to: Lance Armstrong Foundation PO Box 161150Austin, TX 78716-1150 Thanks for your support

Since you stopped by.... write a comment or ask a question....let us know you stopped by.... just click the comment below

West coast friends and familiar faces -- 109 days till departure

We had a great week of cycling this week. Monday and Wednesday were in the woods after work... nice rides.

Then on Friday a west coast friend, Darrell (above) (who rode with us last year on our San Francisco to Salt Lake City ride) came to Ocala for a ride. We got in a great 60 mile ride through the horse farms north of town. It was great to show him our favorite roads and enjoy talking with him. Also gathered some good tips about cross country riding as he rode all the way across last summer(2006).


Then on Saturday we had our good friend Dr. Don (as Derek calls him) with us. Don rides most Saturdays in the winter and the Wed & Sat the rest of the year with us. He is getting in better and better shape as he is with us as we increase our mileage towards our departure date. We enjoy his company and insights and will miss riding with him while gone this summer on the road. Derek is finally done with HS Basketball and was able to join our longer rides this week. He fared very well on the Saturday ride of 46 miles (to the Villages then around Lake Wier) Ahhh....the benefits of being 16.

Michael is in the last semester of his Junior year at the University of Florida. He is balancing classwork, teaching assistant responsibilities, a job, a girl friend( Hi.. Cayce!!) and trying to train. The good news is he was on Deans list last Semester and he still has about 100 days left to train. He is getting a taste of what adult life is like when you have to balance many tasks. He will do fine I am sure.

We are at $11,096 raised for the Lance Armstrong Foundation as of today. If you have not made your donation yet this is a great time to do so.Click the button on the upper left titled -- HELP the Miller's FIGHT CANCER. and make a donation online. Or you can send a check-made payable to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Be sure to put Participant ID: 150474715 in the memo so it will be counted towards our goal. Mail them to: Lance Armstrong Foundation PO Box 161150Austin, TX 78716-1150 Thanks for your support

Since you stopped by.... write a comment or ask a question....let us know you stopped by.... just click the comment below