Thursday, July 26, 2007

New Pictures

The new pics are up.

Food

Wi-fi has taken over the world. I'm sitting in a McDonald's writing this. Yes I ate here. Only twice have I succumbed to the fast food temptation. Usually when I get a late start and am just trying to make up miles.
My knee is better, the swelling has gone away and it's not as stiff. The rest helped and Dan gave me some advice that I think is working, about adjusting the cleats on my shoes. To answer Joe's question of diet, I stop at a grocery store at least once a day to pick up food. I've found it difficult to carry much fruit. So I've started to carry canned fruit as well since it doesn't get destroyed in my pack. As to quantity, a couple of days ago I ate a bag of bagels, two yogurts, two bananas, a can of peaches, four puddings, can of tuna, some peanut butter, a bag of powdered sugar covered donuts, and misc other things I could get my hands on. I think the rolling hills in Kentucky are almost as bad as the mountains that preceded them. It's hard to get a rhythm and i think that the road builders in Kentucky just drew a line on the map and started paving. I rode up the steepest hill to date this morning. It was only 100 yards long but it was everything I had just to turn the pedals to the top. The sun something else, and finding shade has become more difficult. It's only going to get worse to. The day after rest days are usually the worst anyway cause it's almost impossible to get a early start out of a motel. Rural motels' prices are amazing though. They don't add taxes either. So when they say $35 that's what they take from you, not another $10 for misc “taxes” that chains seem to be charging. Well back on the bike, I hope this finds everyone well.

Monday, July 23, 2007

The Internet

I haven't riddin my bike without the bags for so long that I now suck at that to, it wobbles everywhere. Though I feel much stronger as I crush up a small hill that felt hard before, like I was some amazing cyclist. Celina has no cell coverage but it does have wi-fi in town. I rode around stopping and taking out my laptop then closing it and doing it over until I found some. It didn't take to long. Also I'll post some more pictures tomorrow.

Physical Failure

The kamikaze grasshoppers scored a hit yesterday. The slightly fat lip I received is a testament to their impact force. So not only have I been beaten by small insects, but my knee has been hurting for a couple of days. Either because I'm getting old or just want an excuse to be lazy, another rest day is in order. Most of the other pains I have experienced have gone away on their own and I'm sure this would have also, but I just decided to be extra cautious. I'm pretty sure the pain developed from pushing to high a gear in the mountains. It was feeling better in the last 20 miles of the day over rolling landscape, to the point I was questioning my decision to take a rest day. Everything else is feeling much better, my body has definitely become much stronger. Celina Tn is a beautiful city and as good a spot to rest as any. Though I have all of the extra energy that my body is generating with no outlet. I actually rode 65 miles this morning and I don't know what to do with myself. I think tomorrow will be interesting at best. Too bad there isn't a climbing gym here. It's ironic that my only source of transport is the bike and I'm trying not to ride it so that I can rest.

Unexpected Help

Before i left the bike mechanic at Lutherville bike shop told me all of the things that he saw as potential flaws in my bike and might be problem areas. Of course none of those things have gone wrong. The new bike rack that i bought lasted maybe 35 miles before it to shook apart. To make things worse my sandals fell out when it broke. As you might guess at this moment, i was less than enthused. I had been running on a real high energy level and just feeling great, the weather was great everthing was going well that day and then this. Before i my attude had a chance to change, the owner of the house who i stopped in front of came out with a huge glass of ice and asked if there was anything he could do to help. I initially turned him down, but on second thought I took him up on his offer. Honestly what was i going to do other than limp to another bike shop and have the rack break apart again. Doc and Sherie(sp?) were very hospitable. We managed to get the rack together using mostly pieces from his garage and a few nuts and bolts I brought along. We bolted a couple of mending plates to it, and strapped a hose clamp around the whole thing. Doc turned out to be a software engineer who describes himself as having been on the right side of the .com boom. I think having the means to move into the country and grow your own food is the dream of many people. Well to them I say thanks. The rack has held together quite well for 300 miles so far, and my good mood continued.

Mechanical Failure

So I finally got into the mountains. I was eager to get there and once there, I only wished that I was done with them. It reminds me of being a child wishing that my beard would grow so that I could shave like a “real man”, then as soon as you have to shave you wish you could go back to when shaving wasn't necessary. The day was hot and sunny. Some of the climbs exceeded an hour of standing in the lowest gear. I stopped on one such climb and took a nap under the overhang of a closed craft shop. I slept comfortably until the angle of the sun change enough to make the shade narrower than my body. So I've taken to cat naps in places were I can find shade and few people come by to bother me. These little siestas actually are one of my favorite things to date. I continued up into the mountains after i was properly rested. As i was getting near Clayton GA I realized my rear rack was shaking a lot more than it had previously. The bike was wobbling and it took a great deal of added core tension to keep the bike going in a straight line so i stopped again and took off my rear bags. After a few minutes trying to find the cause I found that two of the welds had broken and the aluminum platform had sheared clean through, on the rack. I used some cable ties that i had, to stabilize it and a strap from one of my bags. I then tied my messenger bag to my seat. The next thing was to call my brother who always has access to the Internet, and find the nearest bike shop. It was some 45 miles away in Hiawasse, the town that Bryson hitched to in “a walk in the woods” and ditched Mary Ellen. All this made it possible to limp the rest of the way to Clayton. As i got there it began raining. I decided to stay in Clayton rather than continue on, which i had planned on. The following day I got up to be disappointed that it was still raining. My departure was postponed until after 2 when the rain stopped. Most of this time was spent under the front of an Ingles supermarket were I continued to read Bryson's book. Finally the sky cleared and I began my arduous trip to Hiawasse. It was almost all climbing for the first hour. I was still continually frustrated by the bicycle shaking side to side. I'm sure people driving by must think that I'm the worst cyclist on the road. As I got to lake Burton, of course it began raining again. Probably one of the funniest sights you'll see is a grown man riding a bicycle screaming at nothing. To say the least I was very frustrated. So I stopped at a lake overlook where there was a gazebo with picnic benches. The rain actually never materialized, but I've gotten a little gun shy since it could be ten miles before there might be another place to stop. So I took one of my naps, and then continued on up the hill. So I climbed until I found a overlook with a nice view of the valley below. I stopped for about 15 minutes where i met two people. One, an Obese man who expressed how it was unfathomable that one could ride all the way up the mountain. The other was an eccentric husband and wife couple who were looking for a place to put in their canoe, on the lake that wasn't a private slip. Of these two groups I tried to find out how the road to Hiawasse was, as far as terrain. I got that it was just like that leading up to were I was. This news was not what i was hoping to hear. If the climbing was to continue i thought it was going to be very hard to get to Hiawasse that night. Luckily they were both wrong and it was actually about 80% downhill. Along the way I passed by were the Appalachian trail crosses US-76. So I stopped and took a picture. I had this real urge to take my stuff off the bike and start hiking, since my legs feel so much better when I'm walking. I managed to get to Hiawasse then managed to miss the rode for the bike shop by two miles, before I asked directions and returned. I arrived too late to get the new bike rack. So I'm waiting until 10 am when the store opens. So this brings to an end the first week of my trip.

Friends

I got my start late Wednesday. My legs though recovered were a bit sluggish. This took the first 10 miles of the day to get them moving properly. The wind was in my face. I would only get a relief while in the middle of going up a hill and then as I was nearing the top BAM. It felt as though someone hit me in the chest and was holding me back. I would have to drop 3 gears just to continue, even though the hill had begun to flatten out. After about an hour of fighting the wind I was feed up and decided to stop and read for a while. It is very fitting that the book I'm reading is “ a walk in the woods”. Reading about Katz and Bryson I'm reassured that this is completely within my ability. While sitting at a gas station reading I was asked the usual questions. Though this couple were exceptionally unable to grasp the concept of what i was doing and where I was going. Actually after repeating it several times i became amazed at how complicated it was to explain to the this couple. I'm sure they something between disbelief and confusion. Reading about someone else's ineptitude on an equally unprepared trip, brought my spirits up a lot. So I got in another 40 miles in the afternoon. During which I found a new reason to were sunglasses, kamikaze grasshoppers though this seems in-consequential. They actually hurt, at first I thought they were rocks from passing cars but then i saw one and it rode hanging onto my derailer cable for a few minutes. A little later I stopped at an grocery store to fill my water bottles and pick up some food. This is were I met Lee Smith. He's 76 and his wife died of Parkinsons a year and a half ago. I was on the phone with my father and he just started asking me questions so I told my father I would call him back. After speaking to Lee for a couple of minutes he had informed me that he had been a principal until retirement. Now worked as a “bag boy” at a grocery store, which i could clearly see was largely for the personal interaction. He insisted on buying me dinner. I ended up going with him to his house and he showed me his diplomas, pictures of his daughters and his wife, who he said nothing but the absolutely nicest things about. I had wanted to get another 40 miles in after i stopped at the grocery store. I decided I should just take Lee's hospitality and be grateful so I stayed the night. I think Lee is my kindred spirit. He had more soda in the house than anyone I've ever met and when i tried to drink water he did his best to convince me to take a brake from the water. For everyone who knows my eating habits this is ironic at best since i was the person turning down mountain dew for water. He also insisted on buying me breakfast and asked me to promise to call him semi regularly to let him know my progress and that i was still alive. After this, off I went for the day.

Bikers

So I feel as though I've been adopted by bikers. Maybe more like the runty kid that everyone looks out for. Whenever we're stopped in the same place they almost always strike up a conversation. Usually they ask the basics, but generally more interested in how I deal with rain and common dangers on the road. When most pass they give me the same side wave that they give to one another. Which I hadn't noticed until I was talking to two bikers and watched their interaction with passing motorcycles. Not only do I get the wave, but as I was moving down a hill fast enough that I was keeping up with most of the vehicles, I noticed a motorcycle pass and the passenger had out their camera and instead of taking a picture of the sprawling mountains they were taking a picture of me

Monday, July 16, 2007

pictures

Use this link to see my pictures
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=2s4e46lp.3lrlm19p&x=1&y=7s457b

the journey thus far

So I've learned that animals are at least as fascinated by my riding by on a fully loaded bicycle as everyone else. it's hysterical to me when every cow in the field lifts it's head to look at me though pays no attention to every passing tractor trailer. Also dogs, yesterday i passed a house that had at least 12 dogs unfenced that chose to chase me 200 yards or so. Though i love the reaction from people just as much. yesterday i stopped at a gas station and i was asked "where i was coming from?", this same scenario has played out more than once. to my reply of folly beach i got the response of wow. Then the best part is when they inevitably ask "where are you going?". i usually just say Colorado or maybe Vancouver in-order lessen the blow to this person. if we continue to talk i explain the rest of my trip. I get a range of responses from "i won't feel as good about myself the next time i ride my bike" to "my daughter wants to do the same thing" to "what cause are you riding for", to my favorite "man, only a white guy would do something that crazy". All said in friendly and curious fashion.

I've covered a little over 200 miles. the first three days can be summed up with three titles day 1 "Rain", day 2 "pain", and day 3 "mileage".

The rain started less than two hours after i left at which point i stopped under a Eckards awning for about an hour. about an hour later down the road i stopped in front of an elementary school for about 2 hrs for the second bout of rain. Some one called the police. When they arrived they looked at me and only asked "you taking a break". They barely waited for a response before leaving. Though this was the beginning of the "homeless" feeling that Steve described to me. i got in two hours of riding before i stopped at Gihvans state park to eat lunch. I was there maybe 15 minutes before the rain just poured out of the sky. If you've lived in the south you can appreciate the amount of rain I'm talking about. When there is 3 and 4 or more inches of standing water everywhere because the sandy soil can't absorb it fast enough. So at this point i waited for about 5 hours in a bathroom. I finally got about 3 more hours of riding before dark when i pulled my bike into the woods and made camp. It's unnerving to "stealth camp". every little noise makes catches your ears.

The pain came from changing my seat and didn't have the height properly adjusted. this causes pain in the knees. I had to call my brother first thing in the morning, and have him look up on the Internet which way, up or down, to adjust my seat based on the specific knee pain i was experiencing. I did eventually get it adjusted properly. the pain is much better, but it lingered into today. At a gas station where i stopped to get a mountain dew i also bought some boiled peanuts. this i a taste of home for me. Something that is an acquired taste and i miss about living i Baltimore. While i sat and savored my boiled peanuts and began to read Bill Bryson's "A Walk In The Woods". the irony if you've read it is inexplicable, at least in the beginning since I've only read that part. So he goes into detail about bear attacks and camping in the woods. all I'll say is that i was very diligent with my food stuff that night and had one more thing to imagine the noises were coming from. i experienced a little more rain in the evening. so far my bivy kept me dry though when closed in the summer it's warm enough to make you sweat an equal amount to having just been out in the rain.

The mileage came in an unexpected way. I decided to take the day off, get a hotel, and try to recover from riding hard for two days after having not ridden in two weeks. As i arrived in Monetta 15 miles away, i realized that it was to small to have a hotel. So i asked the person staffing the gas station were the closest town with a motel was i was told Batesburg. I then rode 10 miles there. Now i found out that there was only one hotel here and not what i was looking for. In hind site the woman in Monetta was guessing there was one based on Batesburgs size. So finally i got credible info, and i ended up
riding 45 miles to greenwood. This actually ended up better than you would think i actually rode through the pain and ended up feeling pretty good and managed to get another 70 miles in on i day where i was going to through in the towel. This brings me to here where I'm sitting in my hotel room after having iced my legs, then took a hot bath, and showered.


On a side note, i completely underestimated how the gear would effect every aspect of the bicycle. From how it handles to how to lean it against a wall. This education has come slowly. Today i was finally able to stand-up on the bicycle and pedal uphill without having the rear shake me several feet side to side. now i can even lean my bicycle against a pole without watching it with shock and awe as it slides to the ground after it sat just fine for 10 minutes.