I woke up at Doug's place at around noon, and got on the road about 2:00. I was tired. Thanks again to Doug for letting me crash there, I appreciate it.
Let me pause here and say that I stayed with Doug Friesema in Charlottesville, and I am staying with my other friend Doug Scott in Richmond. From here on when I say Doug I am referring to the latter.
Back in the spring one of my training rides was to bike to Doug's place in Richmond so we could go to a gun show. It was sweet, and this coming weekend we will be firing that gun in the woods at inanimate objects. This gave me a unique opportunity to compare my fitness level now with what it was before the trip, because I would be biking the exact same route. I will say that I am in much better biking shape now (obviously). It took me less time to get there than the first trip, and when I arrived I wasn't completely worn out. It's nice to have evidence of physical benefit from the trip.
Doug was kind enough to cook me a tasty dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, which I washed down with a tall, cool glass of HBO on demand. If I had access to Entourage (an HBO original series that must have been created by Jesus himself) all the time, I would never get anything done. It is the best show ever. Doug and Kay (his girlfriend and also my friend from Roanoke) went to the gym, but I declined and instead stayed and watched more TV. It's good that I'm almost done because if I had more than 1 day left, I might just stay here for a week or so. I am currently enjoying internet access to update this blog and check facebook every 5 minutes.
Tomorrow I will be arriving around noonish in Yorktown, where I will get some food with Mike Awesome before starting my return journey to Richmond and then Roanoke. I'll be posting a joyous announcement via iPhone once I reach the beach. I'll also provide a picture so you know I'm not just making it up.
62 miles to go.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
James Days 39, 40, and 41 - Blacksburg, Roanoke, and Charlottesville
So I've been a bit slack in updating my progress, but I am back in familiar territory and the end is in sight. The past 3 days have been somewhat surreal because I've been biking through places that I know well, or have biked before. It feels a lot more like the training trips I did in the spring than the end of the trip. I've also had three nights inside with a bed and a shower, which is amazing.
The ride to Blacksburg was interesting. I was woken up at 4:00am by people driving into the park. I don't know why they were hanging out in a park 2 hours before the sunrise, but one of them drove off in the car down the walking path. It wasn't made for cars. One of them decided to take a nap on another picnic table in the shelter I was in. I was a little concerned. Thankfully I didn't get stabbed/robbed/touched in weird ways by them, and several hours later I left small country Virginia in the fog. The day was nice to ride in, it stayed cloudy for a long time so it never got too hot.
In Blacksburg I stayed with my friend Matt. He had to work that night, so I took a shower and then went and chilled at Red Robin until he finished. It's about as interesting as it sounds, so Ben (who was also working that night) let me borrow his book by Anthony Bourdain, which was actually really good. I'm thinking about buying it when I get back. Katherine came down from Roanoke and we all went out. The one thing I like about bars in Blacksburg is the 32oz beers you can order. Finally, I don't have to get up quite as soon to refill. While the night was fun for me, it probably wouldn't be as much fun to read about, so I'll spare you the details. It did end with taquitos from 7-eleven though, so you know it's good.
The ride to Roanoke is essentially downhill, so the next day was a pretty easy ride. There were a good number of construction projects that were new since the last time I was in town, so it was a nice day. Getting home felt really weird, because it was a combination of relaxing from the biking and doing chores around the house. That night I went to eat with my mom and grandma at the Homeplace. If you have never been there, you are missing out. The last time I ate there was before I took the MCAT, and I'm pretty sure it was the only reason I did well. It's family style dining, so you sit at a table and they bring the food to you. They have fried chicken, ham, roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, biscuits and apple butter, green beans, coleslaw, fried apples, baked beans, and to wash it all down pitchers of iced tea and lemonade. The best part is it's all you can eat, so if you run out of something they will bring you more. I was in heaven.
It was hard to get up the next morning, but I had to get to Charlottesville. I took the Blue Ridge Parkway most of the way there, and it was probably one of the most beautiful parts of the trip. The temperature was perfect, and even though there was a lot of uphills, I think it was one of my favorite days of biking. Charlottesville was packed full of people I haven't seen in a while, so it was a blast to come back. Doug was kind enough to let me stay at his place, which worked out well because it was on the way out of town for Richmond. We all went out to Boylan that night for flip the dealer and table shuffleboard. It used to be that you flipped a coin, and if you guessed right draft beers cost 25 cents. Unfortunately, it's now $1 if you win the flip instead. I felt a little cheated. After I had had enough 'carbo loading' at the bar, we made the obligatory trip to Little Johns for subs. As per usual I ordered the largest sub there, but was only able to finish half of it because my eyes are bigger than my stomach. The good news is that I then could finish it for breakfast in the morning, along with the stale chips. Only two more days left!
The ride to Blacksburg was interesting. I was woken up at 4:00am by people driving into the park. I don't know why they were hanging out in a park 2 hours before the sunrise, but one of them drove off in the car down the walking path. It wasn't made for cars. One of them decided to take a nap on another picnic table in the shelter I was in. I was a little concerned. Thankfully I didn't get stabbed/robbed/touched in weird ways by them, and several hours later I left small country Virginia in the fog. The day was nice to ride in, it stayed cloudy for a long time so it never got too hot.
In Blacksburg I stayed with my friend Matt. He had to work that night, so I took a shower and then went and chilled at Red Robin until he finished. It's about as interesting as it sounds, so Ben (who was also working that night) let me borrow his book by Anthony Bourdain, which was actually really good. I'm thinking about buying it when I get back. Katherine came down from Roanoke and we all went out. The one thing I like about bars in Blacksburg is the 32oz beers you can order. Finally, I don't have to get up quite as soon to refill. While the night was fun for me, it probably wouldn't be as much fun to read about, so I'll spare you the details. It did end with taquitos from 7-eleven though, so you know it's good.
The ride to Roanoke is essentially downhill, so the next day was a pretty easy ride. There were a good number of construction projects that were new since the last time I was in town, so it was a nice day. Getting home felt really weird, because it was a combination of relaxing from the biking and doing chores around the house. That night I went to eat with my mom and grandma at the Homeplace. If you have never been there, you are missing out. The last time I ate there was before I took the MCAT, and I'm pretty sure it was the only reason I did well. It's family style dining, so you sit at a table and they bring the food to you. They have fried chicken, ham, roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, biscuits and apple butter, green beans, coleslaw, fried apples, baked beans, and to wash it all down pitchers of iced tea and lemonade. The best part is it's all you can eat, so if you run out of something they will bring you more. I was in heaven.
It was hard to get up the next morning, but I had to get to Charlottesville. I took the Blue Ridge Parkway most of the way there, and it was probably one of the most beautiful parts of the trip. The temperature was perfect, and even though there was a lot of uphills, I think it was one of my favorite days of biking. Charlottesville was packed full of people I haven't seen in a while, so it was a blast to come back. Doug was kind enough to let me stay at his place, which worked out well because it was on the way out of town for Richmond. We all went out to Boylan that night for flip the dealer and table shuffleboard. It used to be that you flipped a coin, and if you guessed right draft beers cost 25 cents. Unfortunately, it's now $1 if you win the flip instead. I felt a little cheated. After I had had enough 'carbo loading' at the bar, we made the obligatory trip to Little Johns for subs. As per usual I ordered the largest sub there, but was only able to finish half of it because my eyes are bigger than my stomach. The good news is that I then could finish it for breakfast in the morning, along with the stale chips. Only two more days left!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Alive, Well, and Super Lazy
Hola chicos!
For your information, since I know you're dying to know, the RLPT is still alive and doing great. Better than ever even. We even picked up a celebrity guest in Abingdon! However, we are too tired and lazy to deliver a quality update, so we decided that instead of giving you second-rate reading experience we'd hold out until Charlottesville to give you the multisensory explosion that is our standard write-up. Lo siento. At least the map is up to date!
By the way, we'll be in Yorktown on Thursday, July 2 at approximately 12pm. Get ready to rage like never ever before.
Spread it on!
Friday, June 26, 2009
James Days 37 & 38 - Salyersville, KY & Richlands, VA
I left Bob's place without much enthusiasm, as I go longer had home cooked meals and soft beds ahead of me. The day was nice again though, which helped motivate me.
While originally I had planned to go to Prestonsburg, this was not deemed acceptable by the weather gods. About 40 miles out, I stopped at a gas station and was pinnned down by a severe thunderstorm for over an hour and a half (hail, lightning, etc.). Finally the lightning died down and I biked 20 miles to Salyersville, but didn't have enough daylight left to get to Prestonsburg. The icing on the cake was when the power went out on the block with all the fast food and gas stations, meaning I couldn't buy anything because all I had was a debit card.
The next morning I slept in a little (past 7:00) but again had a pleasent day to greet me. I made it past Prestonsburg, an soon was greeted by a glorious 'welcome to Virginia' sign. It feels amazing to be back in my home state, and finally I feel like the end is in sight. I felt so good that I made it the 115 or so miles to Rochlands, Va, which had been my goal after Prestonsburg anyway. When I got to the park in town I met a couple families that were having a picnic, and they gave me half a pizza, a 2 liter of coke, ad a bag of ice. It felt like Homecoming.
This is also the last night I'll be camping out. My schedule is as follows:
Saturday 27th: Blacksburg (Ben and Matt)
Sunday 28th: Roanoke (my house)
Monday 29th: Charlottesville (if you're in town holla at me)
Tuesday 30th: Richmond (Doug)
Wednesday 1st: Yorktown
After I arrive in Yorktown I will be turning around and biking back towards Richmond, and Doug will give me a ride to Roanoke. Then I will celebrate our nation's birth by getting rowdy over the 4th weekend.
While originally I had planned to go to Prestonsburg, this was not deemed acceptable by the weather gods. About 40 miles out, I stopped at a gas station and was pinnned down by a severe thunderstorm for over an hour and a half (hail, lightning, etc.). Finally the lightning died down and I biked 20 miles to Salyersville, but didn't have enough daylight left to get to Prestonsburg. The icing on the cake was when the power went out on the block with all the fast food and gas stations, meaning I couldn't buy anything because all I had was a debit card.
The next morning I slept in a little (past 7:00) but again had a pleasent day to greet me. I made it past Prestonsburg, an soon was greeted by a glorious 'welcome to Virginia' sign. It feels amazing to be back in my home state, and finally I feel like the end is in sight. I felt so good that I made it the 115 or so miles to Rochlands, Va, which had been my goal after Prestonsburg anyway. When I got to the park in town I met a couple families that were having a picnic, and they gave me half a pizza, a 2 liter of coke, ad a bag of ice. It felt like Homecoming.
This is also the last night I'll be camping out. My schedule is as follows:
Saturday 27th: Blacksburg (Ben and Matt)
Sunday 28th: Roanoke (my house)
Monday 29th: Charlottesville (if you're in town holla at me)
Tuesday 30th: Richmond (Doug)
Wednesday 1st: Yorktown
After I arrive in Yorktown I will be turning around and biking back towards Richmond, and Doug will give me a ride to Roanoke. Then I will celebrate our nation's birth by getting rowdy over the 4th weekend.
James Days 35 & 36 - Lousiville & Lexington, KY
The past two days I have had good motivation, as there were houses, showers, and beds waiting for me at the end. The heat has also calmed down a bit, it's now in the upper 80s instead of the upper 90s.
About an hour after leaving Haubstadt, I started running into bikers going the other way. There were probably about 100 of them spread out over the next 30 miles. I talked with some at a gas station, and they were with TRIRI (Tour Riding In Rural Indiana). It's a group thy organizes multi day tours through parts of Indiana, providing places to stay, meals, and other bikers to go with. They didn't have to carry anything on their bikes, though.
Later, after lunch, for the first time on the trip, I was truly scared I was going to be hit by a car. I found out later that there was some sort of delay on 64 East, which meant eveyone got off and drove down the single lane road I was biking on. I had tractor trailers passing me with inches to spare, while cars and truck were compng the other direction. And there were no shoulders. There was a creek to one side and a rock wall on the other. It sucked in a big way. This was all but forgotten later at Andy's house. Shower, clean clothes, good food, and a nice bed can do wonders.
The next day was really nice. Rolling countryside, sunny, and only 70 miles to Bob's place. I passed bikers again, this time it was Bike And Build people. Weak. If I had been biking for over 20 days and was only in Kentucky, I would be really depressed.
I had another great dinner, courtesy of Bob's mom. Since it was the opening night of the new Transformers movie, we went to see that later in the evening. I loved it, but it may have been because Megan Fox was in it, I don't know. Two nights with a bed have spoiled me, the next couple days will be a pain.
About an hour after leaving Haubstadt, I started running into bikers going the other way. There were probably about 100 of them spread out over the next 30 miles. I talked with some at a gas station, and they were with TRIRI (Tour Riding In Rural Indiana). It's a group thy organizes multi day tours through parts of Indiana, providing places to stay, meals, and other bikers to go with. They didn't have to carry anything on their bikes, though.
Later, after lunch, for the first time on the trip, I was truly scared I was going to be hit by a car. I found out later that there was some sort of delay on 64 East, which meant eveyone got off and drove down the single lane road I was biking on. I had tractor trailers passing me with inches to spare, while cars and truck were compng the other direction. And there were no shoulders. There was a creek to one side and a rock wall on the other. It sucked in a big way. This was all but forgotten later at Andy's house. Shower, clean clothes, good food, and a nice bed can do wonders.
The next day was really nice. Rolling countryside, sunny, and only 70 miles to Bob's place. I passed bikers again, this time it was Bike And Build people. Weak. If I had been biking for over 20 days and was only in Kentucky, I would be really depressed.
I had another great dinner, courtesy of Bob's mom. Since it was the opening night of the new Transformers movie, we went to see that later in the evening. I loved it, but it may have been because Megan Fox was in it, I don't know. Two nights with a bed have spoiled me, the next couple days will be a pain.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Day 36 - Watch out for them Crazies! - Madisonville, KY to Munfordville, KY
Distance - 120 miles!
DAANG! I know what you're thinking America, 120 miles is FAR! You are right, and we are tired. And by tired I mean our bikes are tired, we don't get tired. But speaking of deceiving roads, we tacked on some extra distance this morning when Madisonville tricked us into taking a wrong road. Our sharp, inherent genius manstincts quickly led us to correct this mistake, and be on our way. Madisonville and we aren't speaking any longer.
We stopped in Central City (which is in fact not in the center of the State, Country, County, or any other entity we could discern), because Sam has an addiction. It is similar to my addiction to gambling, but his is to 32 oz gatorades. He has between 30 and 40 gatorades a day, and sometimes he hits me. I've started drinking gratuitous amounts of 32 oz gatorades too so he will like me more. Help.
In Beaver Dam we stopped at a Dollar General because there was an add for a six pack of Mountain Dew(dragon) for only $1.50. And it's not like we needed 3 Mountain Dews each, but come on this is a once in a lifetime deal.
We cruised along the "Kentucky Scenic Byway" until lunch, which I'm not so sure was particulary scenic, but I have to say there is significantly less roadkill than in Missouri, which is where all the turtles and armadilloes go to die in the road. We ate in Rosine at the general store, which claims the origin of bluegrass music. I'm not extremely educated on the history of bluegrass music, so I don't want to offend anybody with the claims of Rosine, but bottom line is that bluegrass is a big deal there. And the town has like 50 people. And a delicious cheeseburger. We consumed a healthy amount of pistachios from the Townsend care-package, and turned green.
After lunch we passed through Do Stop, Kentucky, but did not even think about stopping. This is a protest tour, not a do-what-the-city-tells-you-tour, gol. In Leitchfield Sam cured the craving with 32 more ounces, and I rigged up the bike saddle 4.0.2 with a shamWow and a shirt rubber banded to my seat for extra cusioning. Come on I've been sitting on that seat for 36 days now, gettin a little sore!
After the break we pressed on the last 30 miles to Munfordville, and panicked when we realized it was getting too dark, so we sprinted the last 13 miles and no cars could catch us and we were fine. Sam pointed out that we could have made it to Munfordville earlier if we had jetskis for the Green River. We are considering getting jetskis and strapping our bikes to the back for the future. Then when we're not on the water we'll strap the jetskis to the back of our bikes.
Munfordville was closing down when we rolled in, but we scored drinks and food at an IGA that was still open (with a righteous deal on Powerades), and settled in the city park. There were at least 4 raccoons vandalizing seperate trash cans in the park when we got there. One gave me the stink eye. I threatened him.
After we finished making dinner in the picnic shelter, a lady rolled up in a truck. She asked us if we had seen her ex-husband, becuase she was stalking him. We gave her all the information we could, and she gave us a pack of baby wipes and 3 pre-soaped paper towels, and her phone number "in case we needed her to pick up anything from town for us". How bout that Southern hospitality? She also told us to watch out for the Klan, and the crazies, and left us. Uh oh.
Now when people ask us where we're going and we say Virginia, we have to specify that we've already come from Seattle, so we don't look like whimps. We're getting extremely excited for the homestretch and all the hospitality waiting for us just past that sweet Virginia state line!
Our schedule for the remaining days:
6/25 - Somerset, KY
6/26 - Hazard, KY
6/27 - Abingdon, VA (!)
6/28 - Blacksburg, VA
6/29 - (around) Buena Vista, VA
6/30 - CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA
7/1 - King William, VA
7/2 - YORKTOWN!!!!!
ShamWOW!
Love, Aaron
DAANG! I know what you're thinking America, 120 miles is FAR! You are right, and we are tired. And by tired I mean our bikes are tired, we don't get tired. But speaking of deceiving roads, we tacked on some extra distance this morning when Madisonville tricked us into taking a wrong road. Our sharp, inherent genius manstincts quickly led us to correct this mistake, and be on our way. Madisonville and we aren't speaking any longer.
We stopped in Central City (which is in fact not in the center of the State, Country, County, or any other entity we could discern), because Sam has an addiction. It is similar to my addiction to gambling, but his is to 32 oz gatorades. He has between 30 and 40 gatorades a day, and sometimes he hits me. I've started drinking gratuitous amounts of 32 oz gatorades too so he will like me more. Help.
In Beaver Dam we stopped at a Dollar General because there was an add for a six pack of Mountain Dew(dragon) for only $1.50. And it's not like we needed 3 Mountain Dews each, but come on this is a once in a lifetime deal.
We cruised along the "Kentucky Scenic Byway" until lunch, which I'm not so sure was particulary scenic, but I have to say there is significantly less roadkill than in Missouri, which is where all the turtles and armadilloes go to die in the road. We ate in Rosine at the general store, which claims the origin of bluegrass music. I'm not extremely educated on the history of bluegrass music, so I don't want to offend anybody with the claims of Rosine, but bottom line is that bluegrass is a big deal there. And the town has like 50 people. And a delicious cheeseburger. We consumed a healthy amount of pistachios from the Townsend care-package, and turned green.
After lunch we passed through Do Stop, Kentucky, but did not even think about stopping. This is a protest tour, not a do-what-the-city-tells-you-tour, gol. In Leitchfield Sam cured the craving with 32 more ounces, and I rigged up the bike saddle 4.0.2 with a shamWow and a shirt rubber banded to my seat for extra cusioning. Come on I've been sitting on that seat for 36 days now, gettin a little sore!
After the break we pressed on the last 30 miles to Munfordville, and panicked when we realized it was getting too dark, so we sprinted the last 13 miles and no cars could catch us and we were fine. Sam pointed out that we could have made it to Munfordville earlier if we had jetskis for the Green River. We are considering getting jetskis and strapping our bikes to the back for the future. Then when we're not on the water we'll strap the jetskis to the back of our bikes.
Munfordville was closing down when we rolled in, but we scored drinks and food at an IGA that was still open (with a righteous deal on Powerades), and settled in the city park. There were at least 4 raccoons vandalizing seperate trash cans in the park when we got there. One gave me the stink eye. I threatened him.
After we finished making dinner in the picnic shelter, a lady rolled up in a truck. She asked us if we had seen her ex-husband, becuase she was stalking him. We gave her all the information we could, and she gave us a pack of baby wipes and 3 pre-soaped paper towels, and her phone number "in case we needed her to pick up anything from town for us". How bout that Southern hospitality? She also told us to watch out for the Klan, and the crazies, and left us. Uh oh.
Now when people ask us where we're going and we say Virginia, we have to specify that we've already come from Seattle, so we don't look like whimps. We're getting extremely excited for the homestretch and all the hospitality waiting for us just past that sweet Virginia state line!
Our schedule for the remaining days:
6/25 - Somerset, KY
6/26 - Hazard, KY
6/27 - Abingdon, VA (!)
6/28 - Blacksburg, VA
6/29 - (around) Buena Vista, VA
6/30 - CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA
7/1 - King William, VA
7/2 - YORKTOWN!!!!!
ShamWOW!
Love, Aaron
Day 35 - Well, We're in the Kentucky Lottery Jurisdiction at Least - Carbondale, IL to Madisonville, KY
How do I get almost all the state lines? Whatever, I'm over it.
Distance: 179 km
The RLPT left Carbondale in high spirits, mostly due to the marvelous hospitality we received there--thanks again Nicole! After rolling out of the home of the SIU Salukis, we followed 13 east toward the state line and passed Marion along the way. Until this point, I found that for better or worse, most of the towns, villes, burgs, and opolises we'd seen were fairly unique in some manner. Some were clearly meant for tourism like Cody or Osage Beach. Others were progressive college towns with their own particular flavors like Bellingham and Missoula. Others like Norris or Rock River were unique in their sheer almost non-existence. However, Marion was the kind of place I've seen a gazillion times, fast food and gas stations lining the main drag spreading out from under the interstate. Not that I don't appreciate the convenience of such a selection of services (especially after the vast nowheres in the west), it's just interesting to see a very different approach to the aid of the traveler...this is the east.
Back in Realityville, Aaron and I continued moving toward Kentucky and stopped for lunch just short of the state line in Shawneetown (home of Arthur J. Frondflinger*, the King of the Hobos). We hit a Dollar General and had a super healthy meal of:
Sam- Half gallon of OJ, block of cheese, pack o' trail mix.
Aaron- Full gallon of sweet tea, PB w/ bagel and beef jerky, but mostly that dang tea.
So as you can imagine, we felt RAD starting up again. Good thing the state line was only three miles away!
Not that you would have known it. We crossed another huge bridge, this time over the Ohio River which makes IL/KY border, but there was no state sign. There was a county sign, a mileage marker (which by the way, Kentucky does by county, not by road. You could easily see 'Mile 13' a dozen times on the same road. I could make a joke here but I will refrain from saying anything hurtful regarding Kentuckians inability to count over the number 20), but no state sign. We weren't 100% sure we were there yet until we saw a lottery sign. Come on Kentucky, get your act together!
But seriously, Kentucky has been good to us--mostly. We moved on through Sullivan toward Providence (our original destination) and hit up a CVS where I found the shining dragon once again. Aaron and I spent at least an hour perusing the "Love" section of the greeting cards and decided on purchasing enough so our girlfriends can get at least four love letters from us every day for the rest of the summer. Haha yep.
Having been fueled with the dragon once more, we went to Madisonville, a good-sized town with a Subway! This is important because the rents bequeathed a ton of Subway dollars to us, and so we ate our faces clean off. Thanks M & D! So that was just jolly! Before we left we stood outside the restaurant discussing our plans for sleeping when some rather sour-looking folks of the, ahem, non-University of Virginia variety began giving us the stink eye. It doesn't take too much imagination to figure out how the average redneck feels about two young males clad in tight colorful garments that show off our talent and personalities, so we decided to just book it and figure it out later.
Fortunately, we found a YMCA across the street and inquired about staying there. The kind fellow at the front desk told us that this particular YMCA couldn't do that, but he did give us soap and shampoo to take showers and let us hang out in the game room until we went to sleep right beside an outdoor shelter on the property. Props to him, I regret not remembering his name.
Anyhoo, twas a solid day, and we're finally caught up on our posting. Have a HARDCORE DAY!!!
*not his real name because I don't want the railroad bulls finding him out but mostly because I forgot it.
Distance: 179 km
The RLPT left Carbondale in high spirits, mostly due to the marvelous hospitality we received there--thanks again Nicole! After rolling out of the home of the SIU Salukis, we followed 13 east toward the state line and passed Marion along the way. Until this point, I found that for better or worse, most of the towns, villes, burgs, and opolises we'd seen were fairly unique in some manner. Some were clearly meant for tourism like Cody or Osage Beach. Others were progressive college towns with their own particular flavors like Bellingham and Missoula. Others like Norris or Rock River were unique in their sheer almost non-existence. However, Marion was the kind of place I've seen a gazillion times, fast food and gas stations lining the main drag spreading out from under the interstate. Not that I don't appreciate the convenience of such a selection of services (especially after the vast nowheres in the west), it's just interesting to see a very different approach to the aid of the traveler...this is the east.
Back in Realityville, Aaron and I continued moving toward Kentucky and stopped for lunch just short of the state line in Shawneetown (home of Arthur J. Frondflinger*, the King of the Hobos). We hit a Dollar General and had a super healthy meal of:
Sam- Half gallon of OJ, block of cheese, pack o' trail mix.
Aaron- Full gallon of sweet tea, PB w/ bagel and beef jerky, but mostly that dang tea.
So as you can imagine, we felt RAD starting up again. Good thing the state line was only three miles away!
Not that you would have known it. We crossed another huge bridge, this time over the Ohio River which makes IL/KY border, but there was no state sign. There was a county sign, a mileage marker (which by the way, Kentucky does by county, not by road. You could easily see 'Mile 13' a dozen times on the same road. I could make a joke here but I will refrain from saying anything hurtful regarding Kentuckians inability to count over the number 20), but no state sign. We weren't 100% sure we were there yet until we saw a lottery sign. Come on Kentucky, get your act together!
But seriously, Kentucky has been good to us--mostly. We moved on through Sullivan toward Providence (our original destination) and hit up a CVS where I found the shining dragon once again. Aaron and I spent at least an hour perusing the "Love" section of the greeting cards and decided on purchasing enough so our girlfriends can get at least four love letters from us every day for the rest of the summer. Haha yep.
Having been fueled with the dragon once more, we went to Madisonville, a good-sized town with a Subway! This is important because the rents bequeathed a ton of Subway dollars to us, and so we ate our faces clean off. Thanks M & D! So that was just jolly! Before we left we stood outside the restaurant discussing our plans for sleeping when some rather sour-looking folks of the, ahem, non-University of Virginia variety began giving us the stink eye. It doesn't take too much imagination to figure out how the average redneck feels about two young males clad in tight colorful garments that show off our talent and personalities, so we decided to just book it and figure it out later.
Fortunately, we found a YMCA across the street and inquired about staying there. The kind fellow at the front desk told us that this particular YMCA couldn't do that, but he did give us soap and shampoo to take showers and let us hang out in the game room until we went to sleep right beside an outdoor shelter on the property. Props to him, I regret not remembering his name.
Anyhoo, twas a solid day, and we're finally caught up on our posting. Have a HARDCORE DAY!!!
*not his real name because I don't want the railroad bulls finding him out but mostly because I forgot it.
Day 34 - Living the Dream (LTD) - Murphysborough, IL to Carbondale, IL
Distance - 8.0 miles!!
Today James arose with the roosters in the early morn, so that he could be on his way flying solo. The schedule of the real world bore too hard on poor Yamez, and demanded he get back one day earlier than us.
Murphysborough took hot and humid to the next level. When you are laying sleeping-bag-less, motionless on a slab of concrete in the middle of the night, in only shorts, and STILL sweating, you know it's hot. I think we also hit a new mosquito bites per hour max during the night.
Sam and I took the day off and lounged around the Murphysborough / Carbondale area. Needless to say, after a couple weeks of sweating through Kansas, Missouri, and into Illinois, our clothes were begging to be washed, so the first thing we did was visit the Murphy Pride Laundromat. On the way to the Laundromat we checked our second of two mail drops at the post office to find a beautiful care-package from Sam's parents! We washed almost everything we owned and dug into all the Townsend's treats (thanks Townsends!!). I tried to wash my cell phone again but Sam wouldn't let me.
Sam's girlfriend Cat sent him a gift card to the 17th street BBQ in Murphysborough, the World BBQ World Champions of the World in 1990, 1992, and 1994, so we ate there for lunch and met the family of another one of Sam's rafting friends from his West Virginia job. The BBQ and ribs were DELICIOUS (thanks Cat!!), and it turns out the Schmidt's other daughter Nicole has a place in Carbondale. They graciously offered us her couches and air conditioning for the evening, so we got a jumpstart on the next days biking by riding a hefty 8 miles to Carbondale. It was the easiest 8 miles of our lives.
We took care of some crucial bike maintenance at a shop in Carbondale, and used the library for a bit. Turns out the librarian is a psychic, and before I had hardly spoken to her she ordered me to go sign the cross-country-biker-log-book before I could use the computer. I was pleasantly surprised by her psychic powers, so I signed the log book and tried not to let her read my mind any more, lest she steal my identity.
Nicole made us an awesome dinner of chicken / sausage / pasta, and we enjoyed some brews while catching up on some beautiful TV laziness with her, her brother, and her roomate Cameron.
It was a fantastic day of relaxing, and sometimes it makes us wonder what its going to be like waking up for multiple days in a row, without 100 miles of bike riding to do. Our routine is very fine tuned at this point, and sometimes you don't even notice 30 miles go by (especially if you are riding the dragon, or if you have something like an airconditioned destination to look forward to!)
Tomorrow we say our quick and heartless goodbye to this fling that was Illinois. Look Illinois, it was fun while it lasted, but we could just tell from the beginning that it wasn't going to work out.
Toodles!
Aaroune
Today James arose with the roosters in the early morn, so that he could be on his way flying solo. The schedule of the real world bore too hard on poor Yamez, and demanded he get back one day earlier than us.
Murphysborough took hot and humid to the next level. When you are laying sleeping-bag-less, motionless on a slab of concrete in the middle of the night, in only shorts, and STILL sweating, you know it's hot. I think we also hit a new mosquito bites per hour max during the night.
Sam and I took the day off and lounged around the Murphysborough / Carbondale area. Needless to say, after a couple weeks of sweating through Kansas, Missouri, and into Illinois, our clothes were begging to be washed, so the first thing we did was visit the Murphy Pride Laundromat. On the way to the Laundromat we checked our second of two mail drops at the post office to find a beautiful care-package from Sam's parents! We washed almost everything we owned and dug into all the Townsend's treats (thanks Townsends!!). I tried to wash my cell phone again but Sam wouldn't let me.
Sam's girlfriend Cat sent him a gift card to the 17th street BBQ in Murphysborough, the World BBQ World Champions of the World in 1990, 1992, and 1994, so we ate there for lunch and met the family of another one of Sam's rafting friends from his West Virginia job. The BBQ and ribs were DELICIOUS (thanks Cat!!), and it turns out the Schmidt's other daughter Nicole has a place in Carbondale. They graciously offered us her couches and air conditioning for the evening, so we got a jumpstart on the next days biking by riding a hefty 8 miles to Carbondale. It was the easiest 8 miles of our lives.
We took care of some crucial bike maintenance at a shop in Carbondale, and used the library for a bit. Turns out the librarian is a psychic, and before I had hardly spoken to her she ordered me to go sign the cross-country-biker-log-book before I could use the computer. I was pleasantly surprised by her psychic powers, so I signed the log book and tried not to let her read my mind any more, lest she steal my identity.
Nicole made us an awesome dinner of chicken / sausage / pasta, and we enjoyed some brews while catching up on some beautiful TV laziness with her, her brother, and her roomate Cameron.
It was a fantastic day of relaxing, and sometimes it makes us wonder what its going to be like waking up for multiple days in a row, without 100 miles of bike riding to do. Our routine is very fine tuned at this point, and sometimes you don't even notice 30 miles go by (especially if you are riding the dragon, or if you have something like an airconditioned destination to look forward to!)
Tomorrow we say our quick and heartless goodbye to this fling that was Illinois. Look Illinois, it was fun while it lasted, but we could just tell from the beginning that it wasn't going to work out.
Toodles!
Aaroune
Monday, June 22, 2009
James Day 34 - Haubstadt, IN
This morning I said a very tearful and hug-tastic goodbye to Aaron and Sam. As they went to enjoy the sights, sounds, and pools of the greater Carbondale area, I pushed on ahead alone so that I can make it to Yorktown by July 1st.
For this interested, my route will take me through Louisville (Andy's house), Lexington (Bob's house), a couple nights through KY and VA, then Matt's place in Blacksburg, my own house in Roanoke, Doug's place in Richmond, and finally Yorktown.
Back to today. I went to the post office as it opened at 8:30, where I received an amazing care package from Adrienne (thank you so much, it was perfect). With that to boost my spirits I set off on my way through the heat toward Harrisburg. While I will take the heat over cold and rainy any day, it still isn't fun to have sweaty palms while biking. Not to mention sweat running down your face, or fighting a losing battle with chafing (I won't go in to details).
One more state: check.
Southern Illinois and Indiana are both what I wanted Kansas to be: mostly flat, with a couple turns and cities to keep it interesting. I didn't go up anything that deserved to be called a hill all day, and I loved it. Hopefully tomorrow will be much of the same.
A little after lunch I stopped a Super Wal Mart and bought half of a watermelon. It was so refreshing that it's getting its own paragraph.
A guy outside a gas station talked with me about the trip for a while. He was skeptical that
1. My bike would make it to Virginia (it will)
2. It's possible to bike in these temperatures (clearly it is)
I eventually just left him even though he was still asking questions. He can deal with it.
It was still fairly early when I got to Cynthiana, my original end point for the day, and there were no stores in town, so I pushed on for 7 more miles and saw a glorius sign: pizza buffet. It's easier to get me to eat at a buffet than to get an alcoholic to drink, so of course I went there. I got full but didn't take it to 'thanksgiving uncomfortably hard to breath' full, which is quite am accomplishment for me. The park doesn't have running water, but it has a bathroom and it's actually cool out tonight, so I can't complain. I'm looking forward to a shower tomorrow at Andy's place.
For this interested, my route will take me through Louisville (Andy's house), Lexington (Bob's house), a couple nights through KY and VA, then Matt's place in Blacksburg, my own house in Roanoke, Doug's place in Richmond, and finally Yorktown.
Back to today. I went to the post office as it opened at 8:30, where I received an amazing care package from Adrienne (thank you so much, it was perfect). With that to boost my spirits I set off on my way through the heat toward Harrisburg. While I will take the heat over cold and rainy any day, it still isn't fun to have sweaty palms while biking. Not to mention sweat running down your face, or fighting a losing battle with chafing (I won't go in to details).
One more state: check.
Southern Illinois and Indiana are both what I wanted Kansas to be: mostly flat, with a couple turns and cities to keep it interesting. I didn't go up anything that deserved to be called a hill all day, and I loved it. Hopefully tomorrow will be much of the same.
A little after lunch I stopped a Super Wal Mart and bought half of a watermelon. It was so refreshing that it's getting its own paragraph.
A guy outside a gas station talked with me about the trip for a while. He was skeptical that
1. My bike would make it to Virginia (it will)
2. It's possible to bike in these temperatures (clearly it is)
I eventually just left him even though he was still asking questions. He can deal with it.
It was still fairly early when I got to Cynthiana, my original end point for the day, and there were no stores in town, so I pushed on for 7 more miles and saw a glorius sign: pizza buffet. It's easier to get me to eat at a buffet than to get an alcoholic to drink, so of course I went there. I got full but didn't take it to 'thanksgiving uncomfortably hard to breath' full, which is quite am accomplishment for me. The park doesn't have running water, but it has a bathroom and it's actually cool out tonight, so I can't complain. I'm looking forward to a shower tomorrow at Andy's place.
Day 33 - Babymamadrama: Our harrowing brush with real life - Potosi, MO to Murphysboro, IL
Distance: 106 miles
Suddenly the road turned all angry again and we found ourselves up, down, and all over the place on the way to Ste. Genevieve. We made it halfway and consumed our team's 457th and 458th 32oz Gatorades (where I accidentally walked into a furniture place looking for drinks) and pressed onward to town. We found a Save-A-Lot (I got homesick for at least 3 seconds) and totally ate lunch there. After several peanut butter jars, a gallon of Actavia yogurt (I am REGULAR), and a huge muffin, we were ready to go again. We pushed through the hill regions until we hit the Mississippi floodplain, which was gloriously flat and godawfully blazing. I'm pretty sure the heat index was in the severals of hundreds.
Finally we saw the huge bridge spanning the Mississippi in Chester--a pretty significant structure! When we hit the Illinois side, we were greeted with at least forty signs practically yelling that we were in the land of both Lincoln and Popeye.
I hear that Illinois and Indiana quarrel over who has more right to Honest Abe's memory. I hope that one day I too will be famous and awesome enough to have states argue over who had greater influence and connection with me.
North Carolina: Sam Townsend was born and spent 3 of his most formative years here! That was one righteous 2-year birthday party!
Virginia: He was essentially raised and educated here. He even graduated THE UNIVERSITY. We get to have the statue of him!
Nebraska: He had lunch and totally hit the loo here once!
...and so it would go.
Anyway, we met up with my good friend Casey at a park just east of the mighty Missississississippi and she very kindly gave us many homebaked goods, which we dealt with unmercifully. Thanks Casey!!! After our brief rendezvous in Chester, we said our goodbyes once again and hit the road toward Murphysboro.
Like most late afternoon rides, this one felt really long and extra hot (TWSS teehee). We found that Illinois also has some sneaky hills and we were thoroughly angry at them. Still, we finally made it, and soon took shelter in the local Riverside Park. We sat and began preparing our various dinner foods when a large family also joined our shelter for a Father's Day picnic. We discussed our journey and they were very much impressed, apparently enough to give us tons of delicious fresh catfish. We of course ate ourselves silly and continued speaking with some of them.
James eventually went to sleep at a different shelter while Aaron and I continued hanging with the other visitors. Somehow (I don't really know how or when exactly) we found ourselves at the fringe of what can only be described as babymamadrama, and boy was it fierce. We wanted to leave but we really couldn't without completely running away, and these colors don't run. So we slowly packed our stuff while the spat continued in the most vibrant of manners and eventually secured our escape. Whew! Too much real life at one time!
We made it to our 100 degree mosquito infested shelter and went to sleep, the last night with James--and the iPhone so our posts will naturally be less frequent. Don't worry, we aren't dead. It'll be Aaron and me carrying the RLPT torch from here on, so make sure to rage double hard and double awesome for us. Day off in Carbondale tomorrow, Hoowah!
Happy Summer Solstice!
The midwest is neat because it has "Emergency Snow Routes" and somehow 90 degree mornings also. Yes, I know it's summer (first day!), but shut up. The hot hot mornings are at least enough to force you out of your already burning sleeping bag and make you do stuff. Like run to Wally World and slam some OJs and doughnuts! (Did you know that if you sit in one of those little shopping buggy things, people will give you the strangest looks?) We left Wal-Mart feeling like we HAD saved money and lived better so its was greatalicious. Riding was pretty typical until we found Farmington and a White Castle.
None of us had ever been to a White Castle before, but we were pretty sure they served cheap food, so we stopped for a pre-lunch situation. Apparently White Castle's thing is sliders (midget burgers for us non-PC folks) and GRATUITOUS use of the word "crave." Seriously WC, this crave thing is getting pretty craving annoying. Still it was good (I kept it at 2 burgers, Aaron had around 56) and we pressed on.Suddenly the road turned all angry again and we found ourselves up, down, and all over the place on the way to Ste. Genevieve. We made it halfway and consumed our team's 457th and 458th 32oz Gatorades (where I accidentally walked into a furniture place looking for drinks) and pressed onward to town. We found a Save-A-Lot (I got homesick for at least 3 seconds) and totally ate lunch there. After several peanut butter jars, a gallon of Actavia yogurt (I am REGULAR), and a huge muffin, we were ready to go again. We pushed through the hill regions until we hit the Mississippi floodplain, which was gloriously flat and godawfully blazing. I'm pretty sure the heat index was in the severals of hundreds.
Finally we saw the huge bridge spanning the Mississippi in Chester--a pretty significant structure! When we hit the Illinois side, we were greeted with at least forty signs practically yelling that we were in the land of both Lincoln and Popeye.
I hear that Illinois and Indiana quarrel over who has more right to Honest Abe's memory. I hope that one day I too will be famous and awesome enough to have states argue over who had greater influence and connection with me.
North Carolina: Sam Townsend was born and spent 3 of his most formative years here! That was one righteous 2-year birthday party!
Virginia: He was essentially raised and educated here. He even graduated THE UNIVERSITY. We get to have the statue of him!
Nebraska: He had lunch and totally hit the loo here once!
...and so it would go.
Anyway, we met up with my good friend Casey at a park just east of the mighty Missississississippi and she very kindly gave us many homebaked goods, which we dealt with unmercifully. Thanks Casey!!! After our brief rendezvous in Chester, we said our goodbyes once again and hit the road toward Murphysboro.
Like most late afternoon rides, this one felt really long and extra hot (TWSS teehee). We found that Illinois also has some sneaky hills and we were thoroughly angry at them. Still, we finally made it, and soon took shelter in the local Riverside Park. We sat and began preparing our various dinner foods when a large family also joined our shelter for a Father's Day picnic. We discussed our journey and they were very much impressed, apparently enough to give us tons of delicious fresh catfish. We of course ate ourselves silly and continued speaking with some of them.
James eventually went to sleep at a different shelter while Aaron and I continued hanging with the other visitors. Somehow (I don't really know how or when exactly) we found ourselves at the fringe of what can only be described as babymamadrama, and boy was it fierce. We wanted to leave but we really couldn't without completely running away, and these colors don't run. So we slowly packed our stuff while the spat continued in the most vibrant of manners and eventually secured our escape. Whew! Too much real life at one time!
We made it to our 100 degree mosquito infested shelter and went to sleep, the last night with James--and the iPhone so our posts will naturally be less frequent. Don't worry, we aren't dead. It'll be Aaron and me carrying the RLPT torch from here on, so make sure to rage double hard and double awesome for us. Day off in Carbondale tomorrow, Hoowah!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Day 32 - Iberia to Potosi, Mo
Distance - 106.5 miles
Iberia was already warm in the morning. It was only going to get worse in the day. Let me jump ahead and explain that the heat index got up to 109, and I saw a bank sign give am actual temperature of 99 at one point. Hot and sweaty was the game today. For a long time we enjoyed biking on no shoulder with cars racing past, but luckily the traffic didn't last too long. What did last was the hills. I think we did more total uphill climbing than we did in the Rockies, and here the ups are significantly steeper than anything we have done so far. Nevertheless we trucked through it all, and the second half of the day was a nice trek through the Mark Twain National Forest, and a break from all the hills.
Upon our arrival in Potosi we went to the nearest grocery store, but before going in we spotted a Super Wal-Mart off in the distance. The allure was too great so we went there to get our food. We sat down on the sidewalk outside the store like hobos and consumed our dinners, each of us washing it down with a half gallon of either strawberry or chocolate milk. We still aren't sure if that was a great idea or not, because it was still pretty hot out. Also, in Missouri, Wal-Mart really does sell everything.
The park we chose for the night was nice in that it had all of our demanding living requirements: water, a bathroom, and a picnic shelter. Aaron took a 'shower' under the water spout, which actually looked quite refreshing. Just before going to bed, a cop rolled up with a dog in the back that was going nuts. While he called his supervisor to see if we could stay, a second cop pulled in. Apparently we warrant backup. They let us stay, which just reinforced in our minds that we can get away with anything.
Iberia was already warm in the morning. It was only going to get worse in the day. Let me jump ahead and explain that the heat index got up to 109, and I saw a bank sign give am actual temperature of 99 at one point. Hot and sweaty was the game today. For a long time we enjoyed biking on no shoulder with cars racing past, but luckily the traffic didn't last too long. What did last was the hills. I think we did more total uphill climbing than we did in the Rockies, and here the ups are significantly steeper than anything we have done so far. Nevertheless we trucked through it all, and the second half of the day was a nice trek through the Mark Twain National Forest, and a break from all the hills.
Upon our arrival in Potosi we went to the nearest grocery store, but before going in we spotted a Super Wal-Mart off in the distance. The allure was too great so we went there to get our food. We sat down on the sidewalk outside the store like hobos and consumed our dinners, each of us washing it down with a half gallon of either strawberry or chocolate milk. We still aren't sure if that was a great idea or not, because it was still pretty hot out. Also, in Missouri, Wal-Mart really does sell everything.
The park we chose for the night was nice in that it had all of our demanding living requirements: water, a bathroom, and a picnic shelter. Aaron took a 'shower' under the water spout, which actually looked quite refreshing. Just before going to bed, a cop rolled up with a dog in the back that was going nuts. While he called his supervisor to see if we could stay, a second cop pulled in. Apparently we warrant backup. They let us stay, which just reinforced in our minds that we can get away with anything.
Day 31 - Weaubleau, MO to Iberia, MO
6/19/09
Distance - 84.3 miles
The Weableau motel/inn/cabins, while sketchy and questionable by normal standards, was a sweet sweet luxury to us. The air conditioning worked like a magical charm, and although the sink grumbled violently when the shower was on, the shower was still a beautiful thing. The cabins claimed to be "recently remodeled", but the bright shag carpet, rusty ol' refrigerator, and tattered recliner begged to differ. We slept in a bit, enjoying the clean sheets, and Sam completed stage 3 of his Saturn V jettison discharge sequence by sending his broken pannier back to Virginia with mom, on track for a crash landing into Yorktown!
For the first time in weeks, we woke up in the morning to feel the wind blowing strong--DIRECTLY in the direction we wanted to go. We praised the wind gods and sacrificed a turtle as offering. Although we had the wind with us again finally, ye olde sun was still relentless and it was one of our hottest days yet. We were sweating out the water almost faster than we could drink it in.
The roads in Missouri have been ok, although the turtle roadkill count is easily in the 60-80 range, and I think we've also started to move towards roadkill of the more exotic variety, including several armadilloes, some snakes, and one huge frog. They all provide exciting obstacles if not gruesome spectacles.
We took refuge from the heat in the Camdenton KFC for lunch, and Sam and I once again chased the elusive dragon by crushing endless mountain dews. I think Sam might have even touched the dragon. After lunch I received my routine 60-mile flat tire and fixed it on the side of the road. My tires are definitely just getting too thin, and after 5 flat tires in 4 days, I can't wait for the next town with a bike shop to get some new tires!
The last part of the day on the road from Osage Beach to Iberia had NO SHOULDER AT ALL, so we had some nerve-racking riding next to cars, but hopefully we have some better road tomorrow. Some guys in Kansas told us that Missouri roads get the worst reports from cross-country riders. We didn't want to believe him, but we'll see how the next 2 days go!
We found the Iberia park, cooked up some delicious pasta dinner, and settled in under the shelter to watch the town high-schoolers do laps around the park in their pickup trucks for the next 3 hours, which is apparently the customary Friday night past-time. I guess we enjoyed it, because we got to experience short clips of music, fading in and out as they drove by. Notably, Miley Cyrus, which is Sam's favorite.
-posted by Aaron
Distance - 84.3 miles
The Weableau motel/inn/cabins, while sketchy and questionable by normal standards, was a sweet sweet luxury to us. The air conditioning worked like a magical charm, and although the sink grumbled violently when the shower was on, the shower was still a beautiful thing. The cabins claimed to be "recently remodeled", but the bright shag carpet, rusty ol' refrigerator, and tattered recliner begged to differ. We slept in a bit, enjoying the clean sheets, and Sam completed stage 3 of his Saturn V jettison discharge sequence by sending his broken pannier back to Virginia with mom, on track for a crash landing into Yorktown!
For the first time in weeks, we woke up in the morning to feel the wind blowing strong--DIRECTLY in the direction we wanted to go. We praised the wind gods and sacrificed a turtle as offering. Although we had the wind with us again finally, ye olde sun was still relentless and it was one of our hottest days yet. We were sweating out the water almost faster than we could drink it in.
The roads in Missouri have been ok, although the turtle roadkill count is easily in the 60-80 range, and I think we've also started to move towards roadkill of the more exotic variety, including several armadilloes, some snakes, and one huge frog. They all provide exciting obstacles if not gruesome spectacles.
We took refuge from the heat in the Camdenton KFC for lunch, and Sam and I once again chased the elusive dragon by crushing endless mountain dews. I think Sam might have even touched the dragon. After lunch I received my routine 60-mile flat tire and fixed it on the side of the road. My tires are definitely just getting too thin, and after 5 flat tires in 4 days, I can't wait for the next town with a bike shop to get some new tires!
The last part of the day on the road from Osage Beach to Iberia had NO SHOULDER AT ALL, so we had some nerve-racking riding next to cars, but hopefully we have some better road tomorrow. Some guys in Kansas told us that Missouri roads get the worst reports from cross-country riders. We didn't want to believe him, but we'll see how the next 2 days go!
We found the Iberia park, cooked up some delicious pasta dinner, and settled in under the shelter to watch the town high-schoolers do laps around the park in their pickup trucks for the next 3 hours, which is apparently the customary Friday night past-time. I guess we enjoyed it, because we got to experience short clips of music, fading in and out as they drove by. Notably, Miley Cyrus, which is Sam's favorite.
-posted by Aaron
Day 30 - Chasing the Dawn into the Roadkill State: Iola, KS to Weaubleau, MO
Distance - 107.5 miles
Like a Saturn V rocket, my situation is systematically breaking apart as this journey progresses. By the time we hit Yorktown, I expect to be riding in just Speedos and on a unicycle. But hold on a second and I'll explain the process in a moment.
We left Iola bright and early, and after fueling with the infamous "Double Croissant Initiative," I met Aaron and James at a nearby gas station. There we ran into a local reporter for the Iola Register and she gave us a brief interview and photo session, a cleverly disguised excuse to look at our muscles.
After yet another successful GFI, we made our way east along 54 toward the state line with a gentle tailwind helping us along. I especially appreciated this kind gesture made by Kansas, and we were able to split up on good terms and are still close friends and still talk.
From here we crossed into Missouri (The Sho Nuff State) and pressed on to the town of Nevada (ne-VAY-duh). Just before we got lunch, Stage One of my structural jettison process began. I hit a bump turning into a parking lot that was immediately followed by a sound eerily similar to a cat getting pulled through a Gutenburg Printing Press. Except that this sound was a bad one.* My rack snapped on one side this allowing my right pannier to gleefully lodge itself in my wheel. Awesome. But luckily during lunch I was able to fix the bloody thing with duct tape and iron will. Problem solved! Maybe...
Remember that the day's heat and humidity were totally out of control (imagine being on the Magic School Bus during the "human body" episode and running out of gas/magic in Ralphie's armpit). We needed relief. So we decided to hit the pool at El Dorado Springs, so we pressed on for many a sweaty mile without incident. HA! Don't tell me you believed THAT! Aaron's tire bit the dust in town and I hit another bump initiating Stage Two of my release sequence, specifically the total breakage of the right side of my rack. However, both Aaron and I limped our way to the pool anyway because that's the kind of men we are! Naturally we made it at 4:58, two minutes before closing time, but we took our shirts off and so the lady at the counter HAD to let us in-that's just the kind of men we are. The staff let us swim and jump off the high dive (!) as long as we promised not to drown and as long as they could stare at our muscles. We decided that was legit, because let's face it, that's the kind of men we are.
Eventually we had to depart, and Aaron (God bless him) carried my detached booster (pannier) for the thirty mile ride to Weaubleau, a little town in the western edge of the Ozarks.
Aaron's mom, Kathy, once again helped us magnanimously by putting us in the Weaubleau Motel and treating us to dinner at Smith's Restaurant and Berry Farm in Collins. There we unmercifully executed many a country-fried steak, pork tenderloin, cobbler and pie. There were no survivors. We returned to the motel and enjoyed the luxuries of modern living quite thoroughly.
I was able to send my pannier back with Kathy (thanks again!!!) and now I am traveling Spartan style with minimal everything. Makes for a lighter load anyway.
Also, I love seeing trees again, we take them for granted in Virginia.
* I don't really enjoy seeing cats go through printing presses.**
Live to ride, ride to live,
Sam!
**hahahahaha
Like a Saturn V rocket, my situation is systematically breaking apart as this journey progresses. By the time we hit Yorktown, I expect to be riding in just Speedos and on a unicycle. But hold on a second and I'll explain the process in a moment.
We left Iola bright and early, and after fueling with the infamous "Double Croissant Initiative," I met Aaron and James at a nearby gas station. There we ran into a local reporter for the Iola Register and she gave us a brief interview and photo session, a cleverly disguised excuse to look at our muscles.
After yet another successful GFI, we made our way east along 54 toward the state line with a gentle tailwind helping us along. I especially appreciated this kind gesture made by Kansas, and we were able to split up on good terms and are still close friends and still talk.
From here we crossed into Missouri (The Sho Nuff State) and pressed on to the town of Nevada (ne-VAY-duh). Just before we got lunch, Stage One of my structural jettison process began. I hit a bump turning into a parking lot that was immediately followed by a sound eerily similar to a cat getting pulled through a Gutenburg Printing Press. Except that this sound was a bad one.* My rack snapped on one side this allowing my right pannier to gleefully lodge itself in my wheel. Awesome. But luckily during lunch I was able to fix the bloody thing with duct tape and iron will. Problem solved! Maybe...
Remember that the day's heat and humidity were totally out of control (imagine being on the Magic School Bus during the "human body" episode and running out of gas/magic in Ralphie's armpit). We needed relief. So we decided to hit the pool at El Dorado Springs, so we pressed on for many a sweaty mile without incident. HA! Don't tell me you believed THAT! Aaron's tire bit the dust in town and I hit another bump initiating Stage Two of my release sequence, specifically the total breakage of the right side of my rack. However, both Aaron and I limped our way to the pool anyway because that's the kind of men we are! Naturally we made it at 4:58, two minutes before closing time, but we took our shirts off and so the lady at the counter HAD to let us in-that's just the kind of men we are. The staff let us swim and jump off the high dive (!) as long as we promised not to drown and as long as they could stare at our muscles. We decided that was legit, because let's face it, that's the kind of men we are.
Eventually we had to depart, and Aaron (God bless him) carried my detached booster (pannier) for the thirty mile ride to Weaubleau, a little town in the western edge of the Ozarks.
Aaron's mom, Kathy, once again helped us magnanimously by putting us in the Weaubleau Motel and treating us to dinner at Smith's Restaurant and Berry Farm in Collins. There we unmercifully executed many a country-fried steak, pork tenderloin, cobbler and pie. There were no survivors. We returned to the motel and enjoyed the luxuries of modern living quite thoroughly.
I was able to send my pannier back with Kathy (thanks again!!!) and now I am traveling Spartan style with minimal everything. Makes for a lighter load anyway.
Also, I love seeing trees again, we take them for granted in Virginia.
* I don't really enjoy seeing cats go through printing presses.**
Live to ride, ride to live,
Sam!
**hahahahaha
Day 29 - Emporia, KS to Iola, KS
6/17/09
Distance - 80.2 miles
The morning did not start off too well for our bikes. I was greeted in the morning by the old mysterious morning flat tire. After I fixed that, on our way to the grocery store Sam realized that the new cleats he got for his shoes aren't the right size for his pedals, and the tension adjustment scew stripped out while he tried to make them work. On top of that it was already like 9,000 degrees and only 8:30 in the morning. We tried to console ourselves with grocery store doughnuts because we heard somewhere that you can eat away your sorrows, but it was no use.
So after 22 miles into the small town of Madison, spirits were low and the neighborhood pool gleamed like the gates of heaven. We decided a swim / sketchbot 5000 would be a perfect cure for the day. Turns out that James is allergic to water and refreshment, so he decided to go on to Iola without us and we'd meet up later. Sam and I busted down the gates as soon as they opened and enjoyed some quality pool time that threw us back to our childhood. Sam got yelled at for running where he was supposed to walk and I couldn't find my mommy. There was about a 2:1 ratio of lifeguards to drownees, so we felt safe.
We ate a classic RLPT lunch of bread, peanut butter, granola bars, etc by the pool, and then used the nearby library for some precious free Internet time before heading out. We started 2 cow stampedes on the way to Iola, which was a new afternoon record. It's actually very exciting, all you have to do is yell and wave your arms as you pass the cluster o' cows, and sometimes if they get confused enough they will stampede alongside you until a fence won't let them go further.
We met James at the park in Iola, which easily had the best selection of play structures so far (props, Iola) and slept out from underneath the shelter and enjoyed the stars.
We've been really surprised to learn how many people are actually reading the blog now, and we want to thank all of you for the support!! Keep the comments and the advice coming! And we were actually hoping to pull a forest gump and roll into Yorktown with like 50 people on bikes behind us. So here's what you need to do: quit your jobs and meet us in Charlottesville in a week and a half, get a bike, protest the real world! Details to come...
-posted by Aaron
Distance - 80.2 miles
The morning did not start off too well for our bikes. I was greeted in the morning by the old mysterious morning flat tire. After I fixed that, on our way to the grocery store Sam realized that the new cleats he got for his shoes aren't the right size for his pedals, and the tension adjustment scew stripped out while he tried to make them work. On top of that it was already like 9,000 degrees and only 8:30 in the morning. We tried to console ourselves with grocery store doughnuts because we heard somewhere that you can eat away your sorrows, but it was no use.
So after 22 miles into the small town of Madison, spirits were low and the neighborhood pool gleamed like the gates of heaven. We decided a swim / sketchbot 5000 would be a perfect cure for the day. Turns out that James is allergic to water and refreshment, so he decided to go on to Iola without us and we'd meet up later. Sam and I busted down the gates as soon as they opened and enjoyed some quality pool time that threw us back to our childhood. Sam got yelled at for running where he was supposed to walk and I couldn't find my mommy. There was about a 2:1 ratio of lifeguards to drownees, so we felt safe.
We ate a classic RLPT lunch of bread, peanut butter, granola bars, etc by the pool, and then used the nearby library for some precious free Internet time before heading out. We started 2 cow stampedes on the way to Iola, which was a new afternoon record. It's actually very exciting, all you have to do is yell and wave your arms as you pass the cluster o' cows, and sometimes if they get confused enough they will stampede alongside you until a fence won't let them go further.
We met James at the park in Iola, which easily had the best selection of play structures so far (props, Iola) and slept out from underneath the shelter and enjoyed the stars.
We've been really surprised to learn how many people are actually reading the blog now, and we want to thank all of you for the support!! Keep the comments and the advice coming! And we were actually hoping to pull a forest gump and roll into Yorktown with like 50 people on bikes behind us. So here's what you need to do: quit your jobs and meet us in Charlottesville in a week and a half, get a bike, protest the real world! Details to come...
-posted by Aaron
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Day 28 - Abilene, KS to Emporia, Ks - The Stuffening
Sam enjoying some classic Kansas flatness.
Distance - 106.7 miles
Last night we had the great fortune of witnessing a high school couple breaking up in the picnic shelter acrost yond stormy park. It was a very lucky occasion, sort of like national geographic spotting the snow leopard in attack mode in the Himalayas. Even better, the sky was storming it's brains out, adding to the drama of the situation.
Our destination today, Emporia, had two great things in store for us: a good bike shop and the ever delicious Applebees - to which we had a gift card (thanks again mom!!). Basically we had to change our route to end at a city with an Applebees, that's how important Applebees is. Applebees. James left us bright and early, worried that we would get to the bike shop too late, and Sam and I said goodbye to Abilene shortly after around 7:30am, our earliest start of any day so far! We happily peddaled along with chicken fingers, cheeseburgers, mozzerella sticks, and brewtuses dancing through our minds. I've been working hard the past several days to catch up on the flat tire count, so I tallied up another flat within the first hour of riding. The wind was finally blowing out of the southwest today, so we knew we would FINALLY get a bit of a tailwind once we turned east around lunchtime. And tailwind we did receive! Having a tailwind while biking is a glorious luxury, and we finally hit some classic Kansas flatland after our lunch stop underneath the shade of the Kansas Department of Transportation Area Three Nothern Yard Tree #5.
Feeling like Lance Armstrongs x2, we cruised along to Strong City, Kansas. I know what you're thinking, how did they know? And yes, we did take our picture underneath the city sign. It was about (sketchbot) 5000 degrees outside and 200% humidity, so we took the opportunity to awkwardly eat some snacks while standing in the ailses inside Stong City's beautifully air conditioned gas station.
We have a suggestion for Kansas and Colorado roads: please don't make your rumble strips extend the entire way across the 8 foot shoulder of the road! Completely unnecessary, and it means we either have to suffer over the hand and butt-numbing rumble strips, or get honked at by vehicles for riding in the road, and I'm getting tired of having to beat up belligerent truck drivers, geez.
Anyways, we made it to Emporia, found Yamez at the bike shop, and set out for the promised land (Applebees). It was a 2 for $20 entree deal that included an appetizer, so James crushed 2 entrees himself and Sam and I split the deal. I told them it was my birthday 16 days ago (which it was), and they sang to me and gave me a free dessert! Oh the promised land indeed. We left feeling like we wanted to die (a good thing in this case I guess), and used the Emporia State University Library for some free internet, thanks Emporia!!
We're staying in the 50 acre Peter Pan Park, underneath a picnic shelter big enough for 250 people, pretty nice place if you're a hobo!
Day 27 - Beloit to Abilene: Advent of the Sketchbot 5000
Distance: 433,488 ft (82.1 mi)
All right kids, I have a real computer now so I can type like I really mean it. Hooray!
We rolled out of Beloit shortly before 9am, and after AT LEAST 1.5 arduous miles, we took a break at a gas station featuring really cheap breakfast sandwiches. Yes. We then rolled onward toward the Hwy 36 and 81 intersection, where we once again came upon Drew & Jeremy, the cyclists we saw the other day! We teamed up into the mighty yet ever controversial
five-man slipstream for the next 15 miles to our next turnoff. We stopped under an overpass in true hobo fashion and shared some stories for a bit, then cried for several fortnights and parted ways.
We turned south on 81 and moved toward Minneapolis (boy were WE ever lost) but luckily figured our way toward Bennington. We had to turn on a "county road" which might have been just dandy for a car but for bikes was more like riding an insane massage chair on the railroad tracks. Still, we finally made it to the beautiful little town only to find all our chances of food were closed on Mondays. TYPICAL. So we settled at the city park where we polished off the food we had (James and Aaron were all right, but I only had a 1 pound block of cheddar cheese). It wasn't that bad though, the cheese had melted into a fine fondue consistency and was quite a delicacy. However, the real charm of Bennington was its COMMUNITY POOL!
Aaron and I eagerly forked over the best $2 we have ever spent, and we totally hit that pool up! We felt only slightly awkward because everyone there was either under 9 or over 35, besides the lifeguards, but we went into Sketchbot 5000 mode and stopped caring. The pool unbelievably refreshing, but more importantly, we totally showed up those kids with our diving board techniques, they had no chance. Leaving the pool with refreshed bodies and spirits and supercharged egos, we gave a happy goodbye to Bennington.
The afternoon was less exciting until we landed in Abilene, but let me tell you, it was HOT. And really really really humid. To achieve this sensation you should: A) Submerge yourself in a nasty hot tub. B) Use a Ham and Cheese Hot Pocket as a snorkel. That ought to do it. Anyway, Abilene. Originally, we intended to go another 17 miles, but we had to buy groceries first so we wouldn't starve. However, Zeus had other plans. After exiting the store with a giant loaf of cheese bread, two cans of ravioli, a pound of strawberries and a zillion Little Debbie Star Crunches, I noticed the sky had darkened. A lot. Then rain started to fall. A lot. So we took refuge in a gas station to wait it out, but the lightning refused to let up. We soon decided that 17 miles in that weather would be catastrophic, so we instead rode several blocks to a park in a residential area.
There were 2 picnic shelters, but unfortunately the better of the two was occupied by a young couple very clearly in the process of breaking up. (Call me heartless, but it's pretty funny when you're not involved) So we commandeered the other area, and ate our dinners while watching the lightning and commenting of the painful process occurring in the other shelter. (A tornado watch is perfect weather to break off a relationship in, don't you think?) We thoroughly enjoyed each for around 3 hours (seriously), and hit the hay for our early rise the next day.
BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!
We woke in the middle of the night to a coyote stepping to us all hard-like. That wasn't fly so we told it to git. I was half asleep during this altercation, but it mostly consisted of James hissing and hollering at the animal while it stood there, probably as confused as I was. I'm pretty sure there was a wrestling match in there but I've been known to not be fully aware of the world when I wake up suddenly. Haha.
Well, that about sums up Day XXVII,
All right kids, I have a real computer now so I can type like I really mean it. Hooray!
We rolled out of Beloit shortly before 9am, and after AT LEAST 1.5 arduous miles, we took a break at a gas station featuring really cheap breakfast sandwiches. Yes. We then rolled onward toward the Hwy 36 and 81 intersection, where we once again came upon Drew & Jeremy, the cyclists we saw the other day! We teamed up into the mighty yet ever controversial
five-man slipstream for the next 15 miles to our next turnoff. We stopped under an overpass in true hobo fashion and shared some stories for a bit, then cried for several fortnights and parted ways.
We turned south on 81 and moved toward Minneapolis (boy were WE ever lost) but luckily figured our way toward Bennington. We had to turn on a "county road" which might have been just dandy for a car but for bikes was more like riding an insane massage chair on the railroad tracks. Still, we finally made it to the beautiful little town only to find all our chances of food were closed on Mondays. TYPICAL. So we settled at the city park where we polished off the food we had (James and Aaron were all right, but I only had a 1 pound block of cheddar cheese). It wasn't that bad though, the cheese had melted into a fine fondue consistency and was quite a delicacy. However, the real charm of Bennington was its COMMUNITY POOL!
Aaron and I eagerly forked over the best $2 we have ever spent, and we totally hit that pool up! We felt only slightly awkward because everyone there was either under 9 or over 35, besides the lifeguards, but we went into Sketchbot 5000 mode and stopped caring. The pool unbelievably refreshing, but more importantly, we totally showed up those kids with our diving board techniques, they had no chance. Leaving the pool with refreshed bodies and spirits and supercharged egos, we gave a happy goodbye to Bennington.
The afternoon was less exciting until we landed in Abilene, but let me tell you, it was HOT. And really really really humid. To achieve this sensation you should: A) Submerge yourself in a nasty hot tub. B) Use a Ham and Cheese Hot Pocket as a snorkel. That ought to do it. Anyway, Abilene. Originally, we intended to go another 17 miles, but we had to buy groceries first so we wouldn't starve. However, Zeus had other plans. After exiting the store with a giant loaf of cheese bread, two cans of ravioli, a pound of strawberries and a zillion Little Debbie Star Crunches, I noticed the sky had darkened. A lot. Then rain started to fall. A lot. So we took refuge in a gas station to wait it out, but the lightning refused to let up. We soon decided that 17 miles in that weather would be catastrophic, so we instead rode several blocks to a park in a residential area.
There were 2 picnic shelters, but unfortunately the better of the two was occupied by a young couple very clearly in the process of breaking up. (Call me heartless, but it's pretty funny when you're not involved) So we commandeered the other area, and ate our dinners while watching the lightning and commenting of the painful process occurring in the other shelter. (A tornado watch is perfect weather to break off a relationship in, don't you think?) We thoroughly enjoyed each for around 3 hours (seriously), and hit the hay for our early rise the next day.
BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!
We woke in the middle of the night to a coyote stepping to us all hard-like. That wasn't fly so we told it to git. I was half asleep during this altercation, but it mostly consisted of James hissing and hollering at the animal while it stood there, probably as confused as I was. I'm pretty sure there was a wrestling match in there but I've been known to not be fully aware of the world when I wake up suddenly. Haha.
Well, that about sums up Day XXVII,
Day 26 - Prairie View to Beloit
Distance - 101.2 miles
Prairie View offered a nice nights sleep; we stayed dry even though it was pouring. The only casualty that night was Aaron's phone, which was accidentally left out in the rain. Bummer.
We had a sweet Pizza Hut lunch buffet in Smith center, but we soon learned that buffets are not as enjoyable when you have to get back on the bike afterwards. Grumblings were had but not enjoyed by all.
Right about Lebanon, KS, we stopped at the Center of the Contiguous United States. It's essentially where the US would balance if it were a cardboard cutout. And by 'stopped at' I mean we went to the sign off the road that was 4 miles from the actual center. I'm not biking an extra 8 miles, but you're more than welcome to.
This was not our only amazing sight this day. For later in the afternoon we passed through Cawker City, home of the worlds largest ball of twine. It's housed beneath a shelter and looks more like a dome now than a ball, but it'll do. Every year they hold a twine-a-thon and add more to the ball. They really don't want to lose that title, or there really wouldn't be anything left in the town. The only other business around was the Ball Of Twine Inn, and that would go under with the twine.
The land continued to be rolling and un-Kansas like until we hit Downs. The last 20 or so miles (including the stop at the twine) were fairly flat, and a nice end to a long day. We finally hit Beloit and looked around for a place to stay. There was a park off the road, but we decided we could find something better (with bathrooms), so we continued down the road until we found the Beloit Sports Complex next to the high school. Beloit must be pretty good at sports, because this was an impressively large place. A little later, (but before we had unpacked, thankfully) a cop came by and told us we could stay in the basement of the municipal building because it was going to be stormy. We told him we would rather spend the night in jail, but he wouldn't let us, so we settled for basement/tornado shelter that conveniently had workout mats on the floor for extra padding while we slept. It's always nice to have an indoor space to sleep in, especially when there is a microwave for my oatmeal the next morning. I have to say that this was probably the 2nd nicest gesture of hospitality we have had (it would be pretty hard to beat Helena).
Prairie View offered a nice nights sleep; we stayed dry even though it was pouring. The only casualty that night was Aaron's phone, which was accidentally left out in the rain. Bummer.
We had a sweet Pizza Hut lunch buffet in Smith center, but we soon learned that buffets are not as enjoyable when you have to get back on the bike afterwards. Grumblings were had but not enjoyed by all.
Right about Lebanon, KS, we stopped at the Center of the Contiguous United States. It's essentially where the US would balance if it were a cardboard cutout. And by 'stopped at' I mean we went to the sign off the road that was 4 miles from the actual center. I'm not biking an extra 8 miles, but you're more than welcome to.
This was not our only amazing sight this day. For later in the afternoon we passed through Cawker City, home of the worlds largest ball of twine. It's housed beneath a shelter and looks more like a dome now than a ball, but it'll do. Every year they hold a twine-a-thon and add more to the ball. They really don't want to lose that title, or there really wouldn't be anything left in the town. The only other business around was the Ball Of Twine Inn, and that would go under with the twine.
The land continued to be rolling and un-Kansas like until we hit Downs. The last 20 or so miles (including the stop at the twine) were fairly flat, and a nice end to a long day. We finally hit Beloit and looked around for a place to stay. There was a park off the road, but we decided we could find something better (with bathrooms), so we continued down the road until we found the Beloit Sports Complex next to the high school. Beloit must be pretty good at sports, because this was an impressively large place. A little later, (but before we had unpacked, thankfully) a cop came by and told us we could stay in the basement of the municipal building because it was going to be stormy. We told him we would rather spend the night in jail, but he wouldn't let us, so we settled for basement/tornado shelter that conveniently had workout mats on the floor for extra padding while we slept. It's always nice to have an indoor space to sleep in, especially when there is a microwave for my oatmeal the next morning. I have to say that this was probably the 2nd nicest gesture of hospitality we have had (it would be pretty hard to beat Helena).
Monday, June 15, 2009
Day 25 - Bird City, KS to Prairie View, KS
Distance 105.8 miles
Sleeping in Bird City, Kansas was a lose-lose. You could either sleep zipped up in the sleeping bag and boil alive, (literally sweating - it was a hot night) or sleep outside the bag and get eaten alive by the skeeters. I chose to do about half and half to maximize my sweaty mosquito-bitten situation. Actually besides the skeeters the park was really sweet, and all the people really nice. People in Kansas have to be nice though because you don't want to be mean AND from Kansas do you? That is also a lose-lose. People in Wyoming however are not concerned about this.
I think we had a slight headwind today, but great sunny riding weather again! Tons of perspective going on out here in the sunflower state. There is a rule in Kansas that roads can only have 1 curve in them per 50 miles of straight stretch, so it makes for a lot of long vanishing points. Also, although Kansas is on average flat, we have been doing our fair share of climbs and falls over a rolling landscape, not quite the stereotypical flat pancake, at least where we've ridden so far.
We ate a delicious delicious lunch at Subway thanks to a gift card from mom (thanks mom!!) After lunch we encountered a rattlesnake (one that finally wasn't roadkill) on the side of the road. We figured Joel had given us enough advice on distracting deadly snakes so James went ahead and gave it the kiss of death. In Norton we saw the same 2 guys from yesterday who are biking from San Francisco to New York City and talked to them for a while. They've had much better luck with flat tires than us, maybe we need to get some of the nice fatty tires they have!
We've also come to the conclusion that every town has a park, no matter how small, which has been crucial for our hobo experience. Even ol' Prairie View, Kansas where we are tonight. So far there are no skeeters here (keeping our fingers crossed!) and we have express permish from the county policeman to use the facilities and get our slumber on. So unfortunately we aren't technically hobos tonight. We're trying as hard as possible to look the part though with our 3 and 1/2 week "beards".
Also, thanks so much dad and diane for sending the t-shirts we had made to Otis! We are now officially a protest tour because we can roll into diners wearing our matching RLPT uniforms.
Today we hit the 2,000 mile mark! That's 4 hours of flying in a plane, 33 hours of straight driving in a car, 25 days of pedaling on a bike, or several years of rolling if you are the rolling Baba. Put THAT in your brains protestors!
-posted by Aaron
Sleeping in Bird City, Kansas was a lose-lose. You could either sleep zipped up in the sleeping bag and boil alive, (literally sweating - it was a hot night) or sleep outside the bag and get eaten alive by the skeeters. I chose to do about half and half to maximize my sweaty mosquito-bitten situation. Actually besides the skeeters the park was really sweet, and all the people really nice. People in Kansas have to be nice though because you don't want to be mean AND from Kansas do you? That is also a lose-lose. People in Wyoming however are not concerned about this.
I think we had a slight headwind today, but great sunny riding weather again! Tons of perspective going on out here in the sunflower state. There is a rule in Kansas that roads can only have 1 curve in them per 50 miles of straight stretch, so it makes for a lot of long vanishing points. Also, although Kansas is on average flat, we have been doing our fair share of climbs and falls over a rolling landscape, not quite the stereotypical flat pancake, at least where we've ridden so far.
We ate a delicious delicious lunch at Subway thanks to a gift card from mom (thanks mom!!) After lunch we encountered a rattlesnake (one that finally wasn't roadkill) on the side of the road. We figured Joel had given us enough advice on distracting deadly snakes so James went ahead and gave it the kiss of death. In Norton we saw the same 2 guys from yesterday who are biking from San Francisco to New York City and talked to them for a while. They've had much better luck with flat tires than us, maybe we need to get some of the nice fatty tires they have!
We've also come to the conclusion that every town has a park, no matter how small, which has been crucial for our hobo experience. Even ol' Prairie View, Kansas where we are tonight. So far there are no skeeters here (keeping our fingers crossed!) and we have express permish from the county policeman to use the facilities and get our slumber on. So unfortunately we aren't technically hobos tonight. We're trying as hard as possible to look the part though with our 3 and 1/2 week "beards".
Also, thanks so much dad and diane for sending the t-shirts we had made to Otis! We are now officially a protest tour because we can roll into diners wearing our matching RLPT uniforms.
Today we hit the 2,000 mile mark! That's 4 hours of flying in a plane, 33 hours of straight driving in a car, 25 days of pedaling on a bike, or several years of rolling if you are the rolling Baba. Put THAT in your brains protestors!
-posted by Aaron
Day 24: Enter the Midwest - Otis, CO to Bird City, KS
Distance: 103.8 miles
With two state lines and a time zone change, Friday was a significant day for us! We slowly woke up in the comfort of the Otis Lutheran Church and began packing/eating all the goodies we recieved, I'm pretty sure I had enough sugar to kill a horse. (And by the way, thanks to you who sent stuff, it does mean a lot) we were eventually able to pack what we didn't eat (not much actually, I'm a voracious eater) and I didn't develop diabetes! So we set off from the promised land of Otis and pressed eastward along 34. We passed several hamlets along the way and stopped in Wray for a quick snack of delicious cookies and whatnot. We continued east until POW! We hit Nebraska! And that is no exaggeration, they had recently tore up the road to repave it, the result being a super bump in the road, and corresponding thud. We stopped to take pictures at the sign (motto: The Good Life, which apparently includes shooting as the sign was riddled with bullet holes) when we met a group of cyclists heading from San Francisco to New York. They were cool guys, but not as cool as us because they had a support group, gaw!!!
We continued toward the tiny town of Haigler and devoured lunch, which for me, was mostly the delicious goodies from Otis, God bless that place. After eating and christening Nebraska, we moved south into Kansas!
Now, there are some facts about Kansas you should know:
1. Kansas is NOT flat like a pancake. It is more like a waffle, mostly flat but all kinds of ridges in it. The first thing we did in the state was climb a big hill. Somebody get Kansas one of those trendy "stereotype me" shirts from UVA. It would say, "I am not flat, Wyoming keeps spreading rumors." poor Kansas.
2. Kansas is hot and especially humid. Humidity is bad because you can't sweat as easily so you always feel dirty, even at night. Of course the real tragedy is the fact that my hair, having grown since the trip started (duh) is getting frumpy. Geez.
Anyway, we passed a lot of construction (Kansas has nice roads) and moved on for several dozen uneventful miles until Bird City! Not only is this place the only Bird City in the US, it has the gnarliest park we've ever seen in a small town. Complete with a pool, field, tank (yes), and cool and slightly dangerous rope structures, we were in heaven. We went to the local steakhouse called Big Ed's and ate some delicious non-junk food, one of the best steaks I ever did have. We returned to our cool park and proceeded to donate our blood to the evidently ravenous mosquito population (they go after your face!). That's the gist of it all, I'll explain details when I get back because my thumbs hurt and I hate iPhones.
2:1 odds I get arthritis before diabetes,
Sam "steakcrusher" Townsend
With two state lines and a time zone change, Friday was a significant day for us! We slowly woke up in the comfort of the Otis Lutheran Church and began packing/eating all the goodies we recieved, I'm pretty sure I had enough sugar to kill a horse. (And by the way, thanks to you who sent stuff, it does mean a lot) we were eventually able to pack what we didn't eat (not much actually, I'm a voracious eater) and I didn't develop diabetes! So we set off from the promised land of Otis and pressed eastward along 34. We passed several hamlets along the way and stopped in Wray for a quick snack of delicious cookies and whatnot. We continued east until POW! We hit Nebraska! And that is no exaggeration, they had recently tore up the road to repave it, the result being a super bump in the road, and corresponding thud. We stopped to take pictures at the sign (motto: The Good Life, which apparently includes shooting as the sign was riddled with bullet holes) when we met a group of cyclists heading from San Francisco to New York. They were cool guys, but not as cool as us because they had a support group, gaw!!!
We continued toward the tiny town of Haigler and devoured lunch, which for me, was mostly the delicious goodies from Otis, God bless that place. After eating and christening Nebraska, we moved south into Kansas!
Now, there are some facts about Kansas you should know:
1. Kansas is NOT flat like a pancake. It is more like a waffle, mostly flat but all kinds of ridges in it. The first thing we did in the state was climb a big hill. Somebody get Kansas one of those trendy "stereotype me" shirts from UVA. It would say, "I am not flat, Wyoming keeps spreading rumors." poor Kansas.
2. Kansas is hot and especially humid. Humidity is bad because you can't sweat as easily so you always feel dirty, even at night. Of course the real tragedy is the fact that my hair, having grown since the trip started (duh) is getting frumpy. Geez.
Anyway, we passed a lot of construction (Kansas has nice roads) and moved on for several dozen uneventful miles until Bird City! Not only is this place the only Bird City in the US, it has the gnarliest park we've ever seen in a small town. Complete with a pool, field, tank (yes), and cool and slightly dangerous rope structures, we were in heaven. We went to the local steakhouse called Big Ed's and ate some delicious non-junk food, one of the best steaks I ever did have. We returned to our cool park and proceeded to donate our blood to the evidently ravenous mosquito population (they go after your face!). That's the gist of it all, I'll explain details when I get back because my thumbs hurt and I hate iPhones.
2:1 odds I get arthritis before diabetes,
Sam "steakcrusher" Townsend
Day 22 - Fort Collins, CO to Kersey, CO
Distance - 41.7 miles
Thanks Joel!! We were bums at my brothers place for almost 2 whole days, and I don't think the rest could have been any better for us. We got to take care of some bike maintenance, some beer drinking, some serious buffet eating, quality family (well at least for me) visiting, and much more. Thanks again Joey, Casey, Mom, and Joe for coming up to Fort Collins.
Forgive us for being lazy with the blog updates, they take a while to type into the phone, we don't always have phone service so that we can post them, and many times sleep comes too soon after the longer days of riding, but mostly we're just lazy. So basically just forgive us for being lazy.
Anyways, we of course started late out of Joel's place because sleeping in is so tempting when you have a nice place to sleep. And also because we had strewn our stuff about his house and it took a while to pack. The late start combined with another flat for James and I both and a stop at a bike shop in Loveland made for our day to be cut short. But in the words of Sam, "I've never been so gale to see such non-scenery!". We're excited about the flat terrain in eastern Colorado and Kansas that should make for easy riding. We're staying at a park in Kersey tonight and beginning work on all the food mom stocked us with.
Sam and I actually walked away from the local gas station with about $40 worth of free hot sandwiches though because we had just asked them if they were going to throw them away. They said sure just take them so I guess the soup can wait until tomorrow!
I'm also proud to say that for the first time ever tonight, I was asked where Virginia was. Maybe it's not such a small world after all?
Thanks Joel!! We were bums at my brothers place for almost 2 whole days, and I don't think the rest could have been any better for us. We got to take care of some bike maintenance, some beer drinking, some serious buffet eating, quality family (well at least for me) visiting, and much more. Thanks again Joey, Casey, Mom, and Joe for coming up to Fort Collins.
Forgive us for being lazy with the blog updates, they take a while to type into the phone, we don't always have phone service so that we can post them, and many times sleep comes too soon after the longer days of riding, but mostly we're just lazy. So basically just forgive us for being lazy.
Anyways, we of course started late out of Joel's place because sleeping in is so tempting when you have a nice place to sleep. And also because we had strewn our stuff about his house and it took a while to pack. The late start combined with another flat for James and I both and a stop at a bike shop in Loveland made for our day to be cut short. But in the words of Sam, "I've never been so gale to see such non-scenery!". We're excited about the flat terrain in eastern Colorado and Kansas that should make for easy riding. We're staying at a park in Kersey tonight and beginning work on all the food mom stocked us with.
Sam and I actually walked away from the local gas station with about $40 worth of free hot sandwiches though because we had just asked them if they were going to throw them away. They said sure just take them so I guess the soup can wait until tomorrow!
I'm also proud to say that for the first time ever tonight, I was asked where Virginia was. Maybe it's not such a small world after all?
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Day 23 - Kersey, Co to Otis, Co
Distance - 95.5 miles
We woke up bright and early at 6:00 this morning because we were all quite excited about getting to Otis and our first mail drop. There was a slight smell of fertilizer in Kersey that grew much stronger as we headed east, and we soon came upon the reason; a feedlot containing thousands of cows was positioned upwind of Kersey. I am honestly amazed at how many cows fit into such a small area. These were not the same cows that had acres of range to roam around in.
Most of the day was nice, it was warm and the wind wasn't against us so we had a pleasent ride. For lunch we stopped in Fort Morgan, where I also stopped at the bike shop, because there was a gash in my tire from my flat the other day and I wanted to patch it somehow. This shop looked like they hadn't purchased any new biking equipment since the late 80s. It had VHS tapes from Lance's 4th tour win, as well as some older races, and it was run by a nice couple who apparently mostly did work on department store bikes that the Mexicans brought in. I bought the patch kit from him, and decided not to get a new tire because all the ones he showed me looked like they might dry rot in about 300 miles. I trusted him more than the shop owners in West Yellowstone, although that isn't saying much.
The last two hours we had to push through the rain, but we were motivated by the thought of getting to the post office before 5:00. We pulled into town at 4:40 and went to the post office only to see that they closed at 4:30. However, after knocking on the door the lady inside was nice enough to let us in to get our packages. It turned out she was married to the pastor at the church, and so they let us stay in the fellowship hall for the night.
First, though, we went to the cafe in town and had ourselves a delicious dinner of breakfast foods, and drank water out of mason jars. Afterwards we went to the church to unpack. Besides a dry place to sleep, they also let us come take showers at their house and toss some clothes in the dryer. Added on to all that we spent the better part of an hour snacking on all the sweet foods that had been mailed to us (thank you to everyone who sent us things, it really brightened our day).
As if our egos weren't already big enough, someone from the Otis weekly paper came by and interviewed us for a story (she is sending a copy of the paper to us). We figure that by the end of the trip we'll be pretty famous and will probably be able to cash in on it somehow. Still working on the details with that.
I can say for certain that we are already looking forward to Murphysboro and more mail.
We woke up bright and early at 6:00 this morning because we were all quite excited about getting to Otis and our first mail drop. There was a slight smell of fertilizer in Kersey that grew much stronger as we headed east, and we soon came upon the reason; a feedlot containing thousands of cows was positioned upwind of Kersey. I am honestly amazed at how many cows fit into such a small area. These were not the same cows that had acres of range to roam around in.
Most of the day was nice, it was warm and the wind wasn't against us so we had a pleasent ride. For lunch we stopped in Fort Morgan, where I also stopped at the bike shop, because there was a gash in my tire from my flat the other day and I wanted to patch it somehow. This shop looked like they hadn't purchased any new biking equipment since the late 80s. It had VHS tapes from Lance's 4th tour win, as well as some older races, and it was run by a nice couple who apparently mostly did work on department store bikes that the Mexicans brought in. I bought the patch kit from him, and decided not to get a new tire because all the ones he showed me looked like they might dry rot in about 300 miles. I trusted him more than the shop owners in West Yellowstone, although that isn't saying much.
The last two hours we had to push through the rain, but we were motivated by the thought of getting to the post office before 5:00. We pulled into town at 4:40 and went to the post office only to see that they closed at 4:30. However, after knocking on the door the lady inside was nice enough to let us in to get our packages. It turned out she was married to the pastor at the church, and so they let us stay in the fellowship hall for the night.
First, though, we went to the cafe in town and had ourselves a delicious dinner of breakfast foods, and drank water out of mason jars. Afterwards we went to the church to unpack. Besides a dry place to sleep, they also let us come take showers at their house and toss some clothes in the dryer. Added on to all that we spent the better part of an hour snacking on all the sweet foods that had been mailed to us (thank you to everyone who sent us things, it really brightened our day).
As if our egos weren't already big enough, someone from the Otis weekly paper came by and interviewed us for a story (she is sending a copy of the paper to us). We figure that by the end of the trip we'll be pretty famous and will probably be able to cash in on it somehow. Still working on the details with that.
I can say for certain that we are already looking forward to Murphysboro and more mail.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Midway Picture Update Spectacular!!
So we haven't had much opportunity to upload pictures yet, because the only pictures we can upload from the road are ones taken with James' iPhone (the tableau divine). But since we have computer access at my brother's place in Fort Collins finally (thanks Joel!), we figured we would give a little picture update of the trip so far!
Jacked and Tan(Lined)
At least Wyoming will give you a nice sunset after she blasts you with thunderstorms. 
We see alot of this. 
Hell's Halfacre, a bizarre alien landscape in the middle of Nowhereville, Wyoming. It was actually used in the filming of "Starship Troopers."
Typical Wyoming.
Yellowstone Lake, largest mountain lake in North America.
Ghetto tarp situation at Norris Campground in Yellowstone.
Bison simply don't care about traffic laws.
Sam did this a lot...but no more!!!
Earthquake Lake and the symbol of GBAmerica!
More riding through nowhere.
Aaron and Sam on Continental Divide! Sam being squished totally unawares. 
Sweet bus!
Wheel fixing time...buh
Road. Hills. Sky. Montana.
James' first flat.
Edgar and a Snowman.
Top of Lolo Pass, Mtn Time Zone, and Montana State Line! Checkpoint overload!
Lowell, Cool rafting town.
Sure.
First State Line crossing... awesome!
Rancher Burger... This is God's Country.
Park in Spangle, WA...home for two days!
Central Washington. Yep.
Not quite a Rancher Burger, but hey, it'll do.
Desert of Central Washington.
North Cascades Highway...righteous downhill!!
Cascades...beautiful!
Diablo Lake, not too shabby.
Washington Pass, ready go downhill at 1356 mph!
Rainy Pass, the weather was just terrible. Obviously.
Puget Sound, Seattle WA. Time to go!
Spoke repairs on our first day. Trial by fire is right.
Setting up at the airport!This compilation brought to you by Aaron and Sam, hibachi!
Day 20 - What in the Hail is Going On!? Including Day 21 Bonus!
Distance - 104.3
The title pretty much explains it. Our last day in Wyoming was easily our most brutal day yet. "You wouldn't shut up about how flat and boring everything is, why was it so hard?" you ask. Well, after I eat this Whamburger and French Cries, I'll tell you. First, we had a headwind THE ENTIRE WAY. The road was mostly straight so there was little relief from the merciless attack of the southern wind blasting across the open plain. Even on the uphills, the wind hit us with rekindled wrath. Then there was the sideways variety of hail and rain. And I thought Montana had issues with us leaving. Wyoming reaches a new level of clingy. But more on that in a second.
We left the town of Rock River (town motto: We like both kinds of music: Country and Western!) as soon as we could, and pedaled into fierce wind toward Laramie. But before Laramie lies another town called Bosler, another community we expected to appear much like Medicine Bow and Rock River. However, that wasn't exactly the case. It appeared that whoever the residents were decided that Bosler should go with the classic "1939 Poland" motiff. There were certainly buildings, houses, and a store, but they all were abondoned and had fallen into disturbing states of disrepair. It's so interesting that all over the west there are ghost towns that serve as ATTs, and you can probably score a snow cone and a 55-gallon drum of cola in said towns. Bosler is a legitimate, 20th-century ghost town, where nothing exists except some completely rusted out cars and collapsing buildings. It was truly an eerie sight to behold.
Okay I'm over it. We headed into Laramie, home of the University of Wyoming, and ate lunch in a bright and sunny spot beside the Chamber of Commerce. We basked in the sunshine, and enjoyed the blue skies after a somewhat dreary morning. With newfound hope in the weather, we continued south out of town toward the Colorado Border. As soon as we got out of town however, the sky darkened and the wind exploded in our faces. Seriously. Pedaling as hard as we could, we could barely maintain 10 mph, a rather frustrating situation to find yourself in. After miles of this unbearable wind and continuing rise in elevation, we were feeling pretty beat. But Thundar, the Giant Stormcloud and Terror of South Wyoming kept us moving, in hopes we could beat him to the top of the ridge. Turns out, Thundar was only toying with us, for when hit the top, he began slamming us with hail and shooting lightning at the road only a few hundred yards ahead of us. Now, I heard this one time that lightning likes metal things that are out in the open. Since our bikes fit that description nicely we decided to hike off the road into a depression since it's my understanding that lightning can really ruin your day. After about ten minutes, things cleared enough to ride again, and we pressed on all the way to the state line!
Almost immediately, the weather improved and so did the road. (By that I mean it went downhill) and we rode the remaining 30 miles from the border to Fort Collins with little incident, besides a really sweet double rainbow situation. (Don't worry, the rain kept coming, just not as wickedly) We made it to our destination right before dinnertime, and we met with Aaron's family at his brother Joel's apartment. After the best hot showers ever, we were treated to a fantastic dinner at Cici's where we completely dominated the buffet line with the most ruthless frenzy ever displayed by a consumer since the Great Raven Incident of 2009.
So we stayed in Fort Collins on Monday night and given our quintuple set of centuries in the past five days, we chose to stay another night. This was of course great because we had time to wash clothes, bikes, and ourselves. Also, I procured a brand-new rear rim for my ride, that jank is PIMP! We hit the road todayfor a shorter ride to Wiggins, then on Friday we roll over to our first postal drop point at Otis! We extend a special thanks to Aaron's family for treating us to food and to Joel for letting us crash, it's awesome!! We'll catch up with you soon, keep on protesting ragers and don't stop raging protesters! Sam out!
Day 19 - Casper to Rock River
Distance - 115.4 miles
After a wet night because of park sprinklers (we learned some lessons about parks with nice grass), we bought our food, ate some doughnuts, and then headed towards Rock River. Unfortunately the road doesn't head directly there, so we spent a good part of the day actually heading a little west before we could go back east.
The wind wasn't very friendly that day. We had to gain a decent amount of elevation, and when you add on a crosswind that seemed to fight your forward momentum it made it a lot of hard work. Rain came in spurts, but wasn't too bad. We stopped at a conveniently placed rest stop to eat lunch. There were almost no cars on the road, and it was emtpy when we arrived, but as soon as we sat down there were people coming in and out like they owned the place. I'm pretty sure they were doing it just to annoy us and let the wind in.
Medicine Bow was the first real town between Casper and Rock River (it's only 18 miles from Rock River though). We stopped at a gas station to warm up and rest. The lady inside was really nice, and gave us the last three pieces of pizza for free. It was delicious. Aaron bought an amazing card there to send to Cassie. I won't mention any more until she gets it so it doesn't ruin the surprise.
Upon arriving at Rock River, we stopped at the bar (the only thing open) to ask if there was anywhere inside to stay. The three yokels inside were about as apathetic as anyone could possibly be, and we had no leads on a dry bed. Aaron mentioned that there was a church under construction back at the entrance to town, so we all agreed that it was time to step up our hobo ways to the next level. Yes, we slept in a construction site. And it was nice too, because it rained some that night but we stayed nice and dry.
Our resting place for the night
After a wet night because of park sprinklers (we learned some lessons about parks with nice grass), we bought our food, ate some doughnuts, and then headed towards Rock River. Unfortunately the road doesn't head directly there, so we spent a good part of the day actually heading a little west before we could go back east.
The wind wasn't very friendly that day. We had to gain a decent amount of elevation, and when you add on a crosswind that seemed to fight your forward momentum it made it a lot of hard work. Rain came in spurts, but wasn't too bad. We stopped at a conveniently placed rest stop to eat lunch. There were almost no cars on the road, and it was emtpy when we arrived, but as soon as we sat down there were people coming in and out like they owned the place. I'm pretty sure they were doing it just to annoy us and let the wind in.
Medicine Bow was the first real town between Casper and Rock River (it's only 18 miles from Rock River though). We stopped at a gas station to warm up and rest. The lady inside was really nice, and gave us the last three pieces of pizza for free. It was delicious. Aaron bought an amazing card there to send to Cassie. I won't mention any more until she gets it so it doesn't ruin the surprise.
Upon arriving at Rock River, we stopped at the bar (the only thing open) to ask if there was anywhere inside to stay. The three yokels inside were about as apathetic as anyone could possibly be, and we had no leads on a dry bed. Aaron mentioned that there was a church under construction back at the entrance to town, so we all agreed that it was time to step up our hobo ways to the next level. Yes, we slept in a construction site. And it was nice too, because it rained some that night but we stayed nice and dry.
Our resting place for the night
Day 18 - Shoshoni, WY to Casper, WY
Distance - 103.1 miles
Sometimes in Wyoming the wind blows. Sometimes it blows 35 mph with 60 mph gusts in your face. This morning we couldn't figure out whether the wind was on our side or not. With mostly side-winds we found ourselves riding at 20 degree angles leaning into the wind, and it felt like we had a long day ahead of us. Conveniently though, the road turned downwind and we made the best time of any day so far, cruising for a solid hour and a half at about 30 mph!
Turns out Wyoming drivers aren't too keen on bikers. We were honked at more today than the rest of the trip combined! Yesterday a dude actually leaned all the way out the passenger window of a tow truck and screamed "GET OFF THE ROAD!!" at us. And our reply gratious sir: no thank you. Man's trying to hold us down and block our chi, but we shall protest on!
Over the 103 miles we rode between Shoshoni and Casper, we passed through 5 towns, with a combined population of about 50 people. The first town, Moneta, literally consisted of 3 buildings, a couple tractors, and possibly several skeletons at the lonley intersection of the highway and another Wyoming "road". We figured that when they were making the Wyoming road map, there must have been all this blank space in the middle, so they started calling people's houses towns so they could fill it up.
Today was one of few days recently when nobody got a flat tire!
We decided on our way in to town that our Number of Days Biking to Buffets Ratio (NODBTBR) was way too small, so we visited the Home Country Buffet in Casper, determined to cause them to lose money. We estimate we put away about 5,000 calories a peice at dinner, with about 4-5 full plates of food per person, and we agree it has been the happiest moment to date on the RLPT. The joy brought forth when unlimited food meets insatiable appetites is beyond words. The McGrumbles inevitably set in however as we ate ourselves to the point of discomfort and beyond, but that's what the buffet is all about right? Right?
We are hobo-ing again tonight, this time behind an elementary school underneath the picnic table of a picnic shelter. Full moon, dry clothes, warm breeze, buffet-induced coma...living the dream!
Sometimes in Wyoming the wind blows. Sometimes it blows 35 mph with 60 mph gusts in your face. This morning we couldn't figure out whether the wind was on our side or not. With mostly side-winds we found ourselves riding at 20 degree angles leaning into the wind, and it felt like we had a long day ahead of us. Conveniently though, the road turned downwind and we made the best time of any day so far, cruising for a solid hour and a half at about 30 mph!
Turns out Wyoming drivers aren't too keen on bikers. We were honked at more today than the rest of the trip combined! Yesterday a dude actually leaned all the way out the passenger window of a tow truck and screamed "GET OFF THE ROAD!!" at us. And our reply gratious sir: no thank you. Man's trying to hold us down and block our chi, but we shall protest on!
Over the 103 miles we rode between Shoshoni and Casper, we passed through 5 towns, with a combined population of about 50 people. The first town, Moneta, literally consisted of 3 buildings, a couple tractors, and possibly several skeletons at the lonley intersection of the highway and another Wyoming "road". We figured that when they were making the Wyoming road map, there must have been all this blank space in the middle, so they started calling people's houses towns so they could fill it up.Today was one of few days recently when nobody got a flat tire!
We decided on our way in to town that our Number of Days Biking to Buffets Ratio (NODBTBR) was way too small, so we visited the Home Country Buffet in Casper, determined to cause them to lose money. We estimate we put away about 5,000 calories a peice at dinner, with about 4-5 full plates of food per person, and we agree it has been the happiest moment to date on the RLPT. The joy brought forth when unlimited food meets insatiable appetites is beyond words. The McGrumbles inevitably set in however as we ate ourselves to the point of discomfort and beyond, but that's what the buffet is all about right? Right?
We are hobo-ing again tonight, this time behind an elementary school underneath the picnic table of a picnic shelter. Full moon, dry clothes, warm breeze, buffet-induced coma...living the dream!
Nightlights
Once I discovered the magic of prolonged exposure, there was no stopping us.
This one illustrates the range of emotions and feelings that we have on the trip. I believe it's our sensitivity to these aspects of our lives that make us special. Puke.
Forever Raging!
Hopefully this ultraLIGHT design will work one day...
I'm going to sleep for real this time...buhhhhh
This one illustrates the range of emotions and feelings that we have on the trip. I believe it's our sensitivity to these aspects of our lives that make us special. Puke.
Forever Raging!Hopefully this ultraLIGHT design will work one day...I'm going to sleep for real this time...buhhhhh
Day 17 - Journey to the Center of Nowhere
Distance - 116.2 miles (NEW WRECKORD!)
So we left the ATT of Cody toward our destination of Shoshoni fairly early, passing the hunting lodge Buffalo Bill once stayed in, the trading post he frequented, and the ditch he once emptied his chamberpot into. We headed south through the plains toward the small town of Meteetsee, seeing several prancing pronghorn antelope along the way. And I naturally blew out my rear tire. Again. So two miles short of town I replaced the tube, and joyfully rode to the convenient store in Meteetsee on fresh tube number six... Marvelous. We continued south after a short break toward the Home of the "World's Largest Mineral Hotsprings", Thermopolis! (You know it has these hot springs because not only are there 37 signs for them, there is also giant lettering on the mountainside over the town) But naturally, the wind blasted in our faces for the next several dozen miles until we hit a rest area somewhere between the two towns.
We downed our lunch of bread, cheese, and other high-class foods at the rest stop, and rolled on in the face of Aeolus' vengence for thirty-two more miles. In a race against an incoming thunderstorm, we pedaled hard until we just barely beat the torrential downpour to a gas station in Thermopolis. We downed egregious amounts of caffeine, (Yeah 24oz Rockstar!) and headed through the beautiful Wind River Canyon toward Shoshoni. And finally some scenery! Apparently the lower strata of the canyon is composed of rock formed during sometime like the Pre-Cambrian Age, which is geologist for "Really Ridiculously Old." We continued up the canyon until we reached a completely level plain...the REAL Wyoming. Awesome. Really. Then we FINALLY hit Shoshoni, and assaulted the nasty microwaveable food at the local 24hr gas station. After enjoying the comforts of a small-town gas station and all its accoutrements, we went back outside to find my tire mysteriously went flat. Boy, this keeps getting better. Luckily the park we ended up staying in was only right across the street, and I triumphantly wheeled my wounded steed over there in the highest of spirits. We bedded down after we set up our situation, only about fifty yards from a silent homeless chap. Another long day down, the next day we head for Casper! (Where our hero gets new tires and his troubles cease....sort of)
*DISCLAIMER: If you thought this post was boring, it is likely due to the combination of the lateness at which I am writing and the sheer fact that central Wyoming is about as exciting as a rotting log. So I offer to you a synopsis of stuff I thought about in the middle of nowhere:
-When I ride downhill, I hold the bottom of my handlebars and pretend I'm a TIE Fighter from Star Wars so I can make that "Reeeeoooowwwww" sound. I'm awesome.
-Despite the fact the plains of Wyoming are impossibly dull, they have some pretty cool sunsets. In Wind River Canyon I totally turned up "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" soundtrack to complete the "I'm Clint Eastwood" experience.
-I wonder if Clint Eastwood would be a good pilot in a TIE Fighter?
-In all seriousness, even in the face of pretty irritating circumstances like sore knees and tendons and a gratuitous number of flat tires, I realized things are going pretty dang well. I have much to be thankful for like a bike that works properly, and body that usually won't rebel, an incredibly supportive group of friends (we really do appreciate all the helpful words), a fantastic girlfriend who always knows the best words of encouragement--even from a fillion dillion miles away, and a family that's always there, 147%. Basically if you're reading this I extend a thank-you for the support, continue raging on!
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