Today Kate and I rode on the bike path. It was our first ride since the Bell to Bell on Sunday.

Kate rode 5.5 miles and I rode 4. We rode for 1/2-hour.

It was fun.

-- Noelle

Here we are in front of Independence Hall at the start line of the 2005 Bell to Bell Bike Ride. To see more pictures click here.

Bell to Bell Bike Ride

Today was the Bell to Bell Bike Ride.

We got up at 7 a.m. and had breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa before leaving for the train station.

We rode on the train with our bikes into Center City. After we got off the train our dad had to carry all our bikes up the steps. Then he had to do it again. And again.

After we finally made it out of the train station, we rode our bikes to the official start line in front of Independence Hall. Then we started -- a little before the rest of the riders. Our mom thinks all the lights were red while we were riding through the city. But we finally made it to the bike path.

Noelle rode her bike for the first 8 miles, then she traded it for the trail-a-bike and rode with our dad.

Part of the ride was on a dirt path through the woods. It was really hard to ride there. It was so bumpy it hurt my arms. At the end of the dirt path was a steep cobble stone hill. That was really hard, too.

After the cobble stones was the first official rest stop. We stopped for a few minutes, ate some Power Bar Chips and drank some PowerAde. Then it was back to the ride.

We stopped a few more times before heading up the BIG HILL just before the finish line. That hill really wasn't fair. We crossed the finish line a little after 2 p.m.

At the finish line we met Andre Gardner from radio station WMGK. He was really nice. Then we sat down and had some lunch.

After that we got back on our bikes and rode another 5 miles back to our car.

It was a really long day. But we did it. Noelle rode 8 miles and Kate completed her second Bell to Bell Bike Ride, riding more than 31 miles for the day.

-- the assisters

Finally, a nice day!

Today we registered for the Bell to Bell Bike Ride. It's this Sunday and goes from the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, to the Justice Bell in Valley Forge park. It's 23-miles.

After Mommy got home from work, we all went for a ride.

We started at the biggest hill on the path. Kate made it all the way up. Noelle made it half way and then walked the rest. It is really steep.

Then we rode 4.5 miles to Frosty Falls and had hot dogs and ice cream. Then we rode back to our car. When we got home it was after 9 o'clock.

-- the assisters

Another rainy night. No bike ride today.

-- the assisters

We turned in more WalkAmerica money today.

Thanks to our sponsors, we've now collected $2,300.

Thank you!

-- the assisters

We could'nt go for a bike ride today. It was too cold and rainy.

Hopefully we can go on Thursday.

-- the assisters

Today we officially registered for the Bike-a-thon.

We each turned in $450 collected from our sponsors. We should be getting our rider kits - with our rider numbers - in the mail in a few days.

To see earlier journal entries, click here.

-- the assisters

The new home of our on-line journal

Welcome to the Official Blog of the assisters -- the new on-line home for our fund-raising journal. Please visit often and be sure to let us know what you think.

-- the assisters