New Ride

While i was relating the story of my trip to Aaron he asked about my bike. Since i was about to hit the mountains again and i was still without low gears he offered me his touring bike to finish my trip with. I was hesitant at first though it sounded great. After a few more times of offering i decided to take him up on it. I had to get new tires and adjust things so that it would fit better. I rode it around and it feels good. Dan took my bike to Laramie so if after a day the new bike feels wrong i can trade back to my old one. I have to say that this is the most generous thing that has been done for me since i left. Thanks Aaron. The picture is Dan on the left and Aaron on the right.

Dan

I arrived in boulder on Thursday at Dan Hanley's house. I was excited to get an opportunity to hang out with a friend and have a place to stay for a few days. Boulder by the way has the best bike paths and is by far the most biker friendly place I've ever been. One could actually not have a car and commute comfortably to work. Dan had a BBQ the first night i was in town. The following morning we went rock climbing in Dream canyon with April and her dog Charlie which was a great source of entertainment to everyone. That evening we went out and drank beer and had dinner. I met lots of Dan's friends though i will refrain from listing the names of everyone. Craig, Dan, and I went for a bike ride of about 40 miles the next morning. I felt great though i was not in shape for the speed we were doing. There is a vast difference from riding 100 miles day in and day out, and riding 40 miles at a fast pace. That evening we went to evergreen to see a friend of Dan's by the name of Aaron Worstell. After a few beers we went into evergreen and saw some live music by a band called Harper who's lead singer is a Australian. I enjoyed myself thoroughly. Got up late got breakfast and went back to boulder. Sunday was just a relaxed day and Dan cooked some stir fry. In the morning Dan left for Laramie and i stayed to pack my stuff do errands and mail some things off. I'll be back on the bike Tuesday. I'm headed to Laramie where I'll hang out with Dan for one more day.

Near Miss

The scariest moment to date was as i was headed to Hugo. A truck was passing me and i turn to see how much space there was. As i turned my head back i hit a block of wood in the road. It jarred me so hard that my hand slipped from the handle bars and both of my feet unclipped from the pedals. So i was riding the bicycle like a bull in a rodeo. The bicycle was listing to the left and the wheels were just entering the dirt off the road. At this point images of scraping across the asphalt ran through my head. Some how i managed to pull it off, get the bicycle righted, and back on the road. It a good thing nothing like this happened earlier in the trip because I'm sure i would not have had the balance to make it safely through this.

Rain

As i was leaving Hugo I saw dark clouds in the distance. I decided that i could make it the 15 miles to Limon before they arrived. After about 3 miles i realize my mistake and decide i had better pick up the pace. I pedaled as hard as i could for the next 11 miles. The lightning was making me nervous and It was just beginning to rain. I managed to get to the I-70 overpass 2 miles before Limon and waited out the storm their.

Flat Tire

Not but 15 minutes after leaving the chocolate shower i was riding past a truck stopped on the other side of the road. I thought about stopping, but he had a cell phone and looked like he had the tire off. At the last minute i decided to check on him anyways. Well it turned out he was unable to jack the truck up high enough to put the inflated tire on. The problem was improper use of the jack. After about 15 minutes i get his tire back on and he's ready to go. He said “I've only got $3 but you can have it.” I appreciated the offer but i couldn't imagine taking it. So i decline at which time he tell me that he had been there for 3 hrs and no one had stopped to help him. He thanked me again and i was on my way. Just as i was leaving a cop showed. I would love to hear the guys relating of the story when he says so i was stuck in the middle of nowhere and some guy shows on his bicycle fixes my tire and rides off. I was also very happy to get an opportunity to help someone and just be helped all the time.

Chocolate milk

I stopped to grab a bite in Kit Carson, CO. As i was sitting there eating my food. I picked up my chocolate milk to give it a shake and after two vigorous shakes it dawned on me that the cap was still on the table. Just then the repercussions of the my actions hit me, or should i say showered me. I look around to see just about everything within a 4 ft radius covered in milk. I get up and start cleaning. A minute later the man who works at the store came up and asked what had happened. He laughs after i explain and brings more cleaning supplies. I clean the mess and we get to talking. He related two similar stories that were funny enough to tell again. The first one was when a child dropped a soda and the cap cracked just a little. Well the soda spun and a small stream of coke covered everything in sight. The guy said it took 3 people 3 hrs to clean the mess up. The other story was when a woman bought a coffee and immediately bobbles it. It came to a rest upside down in her purse. The counter was completely clean and every last drop was contained by the purse. Well as you can guess the woman was not enthused. The guy working at the store though said “it's impossible to see this happen in front of you and not laugh”. I totally agree. Then it was back to riding.

We're not in Kansas any more

So Kansas was fun and now I'm happy to be out of it. The state is everything that Missouri wasn't. I guess you have to ride through Missouri to appreciate Kansas.

Excess appetite

Hunger has become a constant state. The other day I ate a pot of spaghetti, bread, pudding, and then finished it off with watermelon. The watermelon was given to me by a very nice gentlemen who came over and said “If you are going to stay in the park then you have to help me and my family eat this watermelon.” The point being that i ate and ate while continuing to feel hungry. At some point there was just not enough room for it all and the last bit came up. I thought it was funny actually. This is just an illustration of how hunger is now a constant. Not something that comes up three times a day.

Ron

A week and a half ago Ron from the climbing gym called me to see how far i had made it because he had the idea to ride west on and meet up with me on his motorcycle. After i told him were i was he said he wasn't going to be able to catch me and get back in a weekend. He had a week of vacation so he left last Friday in order to catch up with me. We were going to meet in Tribune, Ks. I got a late start after staying in Dodge City and tried to call Ron to let him know that we might not make it to Tribune. In the afternoon we decided to make it to Tribune though it would mean riding after dark. I still hadn't heard from Ron and it was dark. At about 9:30 Ron pulled up next to me as about 8 miles from Tribune. We had a short conversation and he went ahead to town. I got there about 10 which turned into 9 in town since this was the transition into mountain time. We all slept in the city park. Since i slept in that morning i was happy to talk until midnight. It was very nice to see someone familiar. I was on the road by 7am since there was 60 miles between towns and it was bound to be hot.

Logan's Family

After we crossed the makeshift bridge we met Logan's uncles, Mike and Larned, just before reaching Larned. They were going to ride with us until Ness City. It was nice having a group and other people to talk to. Mike and Geo ride regularly and have nice road bikes. Several sprints broke out in the afternoon. Everything was going well until two of the towns on the map turned out not to have stores we were expecting. Because of this Logan and I ran low on food and the last 20 miles were pretty miserable. The high was 104 degrees. Of course we finished though just as soon as we finished I ate a snack of 1500 calories. Mike's wife and daughter met us in Ness City and transported us to Dodge City were we spent the night in a hotel. I was exhausted and as soon as i could crashed and slept till late. We caught a ride back to Ness City in order to start were we left off the night before. Logan has a funny ritual of looping back when ever we go off route and come back on. He saws it's for luck and to make sure he doesn't miss a single inch of the trail. This loop was a source of entertainment to everyone riding, jokes abounded. I very much enjoyed the company and say thanks for the hospitality.

Road washed out

Info travels by word of mouth along the transam. It's actually pretty interesting how quickly you find out about cool places to stay and obstacles in the road. I heard the road was out about 200 mikes before we got to it, but Logan got the info in Virginia. I was told about the wash out by at least three different groups including people who were not connected to the trail. We were told by this older couple that there was a plank across the 15 foot gap, but that we should either find another route or go into the field and walk around. This came off as a challenge so Logan and me decided to walk our bikes across the board. It turned out to be easier than expected though it would have made for a better picture if one of us had fallen in.

Lost

I managed to get lost without ever actually leaving the trail. The transam maps are broken into 25-35 mile sections. Accidentally i folded over one and since the map i missed contained just one road without any turns i was looking for Rosalia after 15 miles instead if 40. I get to eureka and buy a map of Kansas because when i had exceeded 15 miles i decided to ride on and just me back up with the trail later. It took about 2 seconds to realize my mistake after i opened the map. 5 dollars wasn't to much to find my way again though i never actually lost it. It did make me feel a bit foolish though.

Prairie Harvest

After a couple of hours after leaving my riding companions i arrived in newton Kansas. I rode to the agreed upon meeting place. Not more than two minutes after stopping my bike outside of prairie harvest, a women who introduced herself as Heidi walked up to me and asked if i was riding the trans am bike route and was i staying the night in newton. Before i got out the answers to her questions she had explained that she hosted people in her house though she was leaving for a wedding in South Dakota. She then gave me her roommates name and number with instructions to call her so that i could stay in their extra room. Just after this interaction Logan showed up. We went inside prairie harvest were we met Heidi's roommate Liz. She offered to have us stay at her house just as i was trying to come up with a way to say that her roommate had offered us a room in their house without sound to entitled. We ended up getting showers and then went out for dinner. It turns out that they had done the trans am the year before and since they live within 200 yd of the route they would show the same generosity to others that they had received on their trip. The night ended up with Liz, Kate(Liz's friend), Logan, and myself drinking beer, and looking up funny nostalgia on the Internet. Such as hammer pants and Dean Cain from Louis and Clark, who by the way was the worst superman to date. All said and done it was all that Logan had hyped it up to be and more. So much so that we didn't wake until 10 and only rode 60 miles the next day. I have to say thanks to Liz for the hospitality.

More people to ride with

I meet three people in Cassady Kansas at a convenience store who were out for a afternoon ride. We had a very interesting conversation about the local area, Kansas, my trip, and many other things. They left and were headed in my direction. I then filled my water bottles and got back on my way. I caught up with them after a few minutes. They were having a leisurely ride and since it was heinously hot and i hadn't ridden with anyone to date so i rode up and continued the conversation where it left off. This went on for about fifteen miles when we came to their turn off. As we said our goodbyes i was asked about my blog and how often i updated it since they would like to read it. I said something to the effect that i probably wouldn't write in it again until i get to Colorado because Kansas is flat and boring. As i said it i knew it wasn't true, but it was only then that i realized that despite the dreadful heat, mosquitoes, the major lack of distinguishing landmarks I have really enjoyed Kansas. What makes this a great place to ride is the people.

Someone to ride with

I ate dinner at this nice restaurant in Toronto Kansas. The owner of the restaurant piled my plate high and brought me extra food since she knew how hungry i must be. We talked for a bit and glad to have get info about the local area. After dinner i road down to the lake where there is a state park and stopped for the night. This to cap off my longest day to date of 115 miles. I had just recently broken a rear spoke and spent the next 30 minutes fixing it. Which turns out to be much more complicated than i would have guessed, since you have to remove the rear wheel, take off the tire and tube, and then take off the rear cassette in order to replace the spoke. As i was washing up from this, which in addition to being labor intensive is one of the dirtiest jobs possible, i meet Logan. Who is a 19 year old college student from NY. We sat and talked for a couple of hours until it was really late and we decided to go to bed. During the course of the conversation we realized we were headed in the same direction so we agreed to meet up in the afternoon the following day in newton Kansas about 100 miles away. This i was told was the place to go since there were people at a health food store their by the name of prairie harvest that would put us up for the night. The idea of a shower and air conditioning sounded wonderful so in the morning we got up early and headed off.

Missouri

My observations about Missouri so far are as follows. It is a grave imposition the slow down or even move over but the slightest bit in order to pass cyclists. As well they feel the urge to jam the horn whenever they are passing. Not to let you know they are there, but just as they get along side of you. The worst offender was a tractor trailer who passed me much much closer than i would have like and just as he was pulling even laid on his horn. With maybe 3 feet to my self every muscle i own contracted and tried not to swerve but startled is an understatement. And then just as i was relaxing i guess his colleague decided to begin laying on his horn 50 feet be hind behind me and continue using it until 100 feet after he left. I guess that i forgot the roads were made for these two drivers alone. Not only this but they don't believe in building roads that navigate around hills. Everything is straight up and straight down. The Ozarks were pretty but between 100 degrees and hills that were as steep if not steeper than anything i encountered in the Appalachians i could have done without them. Some one i passed said that they had found a grade of 21%. This compared to the steepest interstates of 6-7% and the steepest climbs in the tour de france of 10-12%. I can say that words not fit for children passed my lips on more than one occasion. In addition my rack broke again. I'm waiting in a small town until morning for the hardware store so that i can mend it well enough to get me to the Kansas border where there is a bike shop. Lets just say that Missouri is my least favorite state so far. Luckily I'll be out of it in less than two days.

Comedy

The quote of the day is “don't worry it's not a fire”. This was said at a taco bell as a cloud of smoke came billowing from the kitchen. It turns out that someone tried to clean one of the ovens using instructions given her by an employee who wasn't there. My hats off to the other employee it definitely made me laugh. This was after i stopped at Wal-mart, were i saw what would have been two of the cutest Amish girls if wasn't for the fact that they were the most sullen looking people I've seen in the resent past. I walked by them probably a half dozen times and not a hint of a smile. As I began to ride away they passed in the cross walk in front of me. To my amazement they both broke out in wide grins. My theory is that they finally saw a person who had a worse mode of transportation than them. I feel the thought went something like this “that poor b'#%^& doesn't even have a horse”. Maybe not but it made me feel good to see them smile.

Farmington

In Farmington MO you can sleep in the city parks if you check in with police. Just as it was getting dark, a young man appeared in the pavilion where I was staying. As my grandpa would say he was no brighter than the law allows. I engaged him in conversation out of politeness and a little boredom. His questions kept coming back to the types of animals I had seen. He would ask “have you seen any moose?” and I would politely explain there weren't any along the route that I had taken to get here. I would try and draw out some semblance of an interesting conversation, then he would ask “have you seen any elk?”. After maybe 5 repetitions of this I was through and did my best to look busy doing something else. He finally left after another 10 more minutes of the questions. During the course of the conversation I found out that I was not the first cyclist to have been way-layed by this gentlemen. I believe he came by this park regularly to check to see if there was anyone spending the night. Finally I was alone and the mosquitoes had died done a bit. They had been nearly unbearable earlier. Just as I was beginning to enjoy my peace and quiet a group of 8 girls in the 12-14 age group rolled up and asked if they could sit down. I thought hell why not, it's not like i was trying to relax or anything. All of a sudden I found myself in the midst of a barrage of questions “where are you from?”, “don't you get tired?”, “how old are you?”, “how do you like Farmington?”, “what time in the morning are you leaving?”, and many more. To the age question they guessed 23 then as I pointed up, 25, and then 26, finally I said 28. They all exclaimed that I definitely didn't look 28. This I took as a compliment and
began to laugh to myself as I realized I was being sorta flirted with. At the question of when I was leaving one of the girls piped up that they should get up at 5:30 and see me off as a cheering section. I did my best to squelch this idea because not only was I trying to limit my interactions with young girls but I probably would not be especially sweet if I was fallen upon by 8 giddy girls at 5:30 in the morning. It was getting dark and I was acting disinterested so they eventually left. Sleeping out in the middle of an urban area is a very interesting and odd experience.

Pictures problems

if you can't see the new pictures try this link

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=2s4e46lp.3zfqjbj1&x=1&y=-xb6m9g

Counting Calories

As many people in the US, I have joined the ranks of the calorie counter. Probably not as diligent as most, but i find myself turning over every food item i buy and reading how many calories are in the entire package. Though i am constantly aware of my caloric intake its for the polar opposite reason of most. Having a goal of eating as many calories as possible is sometimes tiring, though eating when ravenous actually makes everything takes better. I find that my previously less than discriminating taste buds have given up all opinions other and “that tastes good”.

My sun tan

The sun tan that I've achieved is at comical proportions, and only getting funnier. Not only do I have the permanent socks, it looks as though my gloves never come off, complete with dots on the backs of my hands which line up with holes in my gloves. These are funny but expected. What makes me laugh the most is the four brown ovals across my forehead which match up perfectly with the vents on my helmet. I could see them being used in a CSI to find out what manufacture of helmet I use.

Beer

The most spontaneously nice and funniest moment happened to me. As I was just sweating to the point of dripping, a car flies by and a beer is put out of the window, and the car slows. They had already passed but then pulled off the side of the road. As i pulled up alongside the passenger said i looked like i need a cold beer. I thought that i would love one in another 10 miles but that at this instant it would be a horrible idea. So i said thanks but no thanks then continued up the hill, which was steepening. As they pulled past i had a short conversation between labored breaths. At this point i was straining severely to make it up the hill, and after 90 miles this was no small feat. The conversation consisted of the usual, “where are you coming from?” and “where are you going?”. Then a car began down the hill in the opposite direction, and they had to leave. Through the sweat i chuckled and smiled the rest of the way up the hill. The best thing was this inspired me to buy myself that beer and relax.

Sweat, sweat and more sweat

Taking a hot bath helps to relax my legs as much as anything. Sitting and sweating profusely while reading a book, maybe listening to music can be an amazing experience. Ironic as it is since i spend all day sweating, until the salt builds up on my body like some joke with a salt shaker went awry, wishing i could take a brake in the shade and cool off. If you couldn't guess this is salt on my shirt.

Beautiful Nights

The nights have been clear. So i haven't bothered to set up my bivy. I've always enjoyed sleeping outside, and actually feel safer sleeping without a tent, since the tent doesn't add to my security, and without it i can see the things that go bump in the night. In Illinois I watched as a raccoon ran by in the middle of the night. I feel attuned to my surroundings sleeping out, and it is amazing. Getting up with the sun is much easier as well. I barely use my sleeping bag. Though maybe completely wrong I feel my metabolism has increased to were I've turned into this human heater. With the temperatures in the low 60's, I only use my sleeping bag liner that resembles a sheet sewn into tube. It is great except that it doesn't have a zipper and you have to slide into it from one end. I envy the AT through hiker for the readily available sites to sleep undisturbed in the woods.

Fire Flies

Fire flies, I haven't seen them since i was a kid at my grandparents. I didn't expect to see any in Illinois, I guess for no other reason than that is the only other place I've seen them. The state park that I'm spending the night in is not quite as cool, but it does have showers and electricity.
I was worried that I would get lonely and that this would be the biggest challenge on the trip. Up until now the problems have been physical. I guess I overestimated my abilities. There's a first for everything right :) Today at lunch time it was extremely hot and the sun was just unbearable so I stopped into a gas station/food mart and bought a pizza, which I ate at one sitting. I was dehydrated and was glad to be in the AC so I drank a liter of Gatorade and couple of bottles of water while i sat and talked to some local farmers who passed in and out at different times. They told me all of their stories about cyclists coming through and changes to the town the usual. Some thing that made me laugh, is that since I grew up in a suburb I never really was affected by the weather. To were a raincoat or not is not really being affected by the weather. Now it is much more of a concern. Though I can generally find a place to wait it out when I see the clouds coming. My point is that their lively hood revolves around this issue. Of the 9 or so odd farmers who came in and out during my rest everyone of them commented on the fact that rain was for casted and it had not arrived a point that they were all very peeved about. This brings me to the point that until now I've slowly gotten better at striking up conversations with strangers, though being out on my own and needing info such as weather reports, good places to stay, etc. has definitely helped me in this department. I have come to enjoy this rather than dread it as I did when I was a child.

Wal-mart

In Bowling Green, KY I bought a new pair of flip flops from Wal-mart for $1.94. earlier that day I was taking to my Dan and he suggested that I should see if they would let me sleep there since they allow RVs and trucks to spend the night in their parking lots. I asked the manager and they had no problem with this idea so I set up my tent out back. It seems kinda odd to sleep in tent a misted large buildings. Other than having the cops called on me, who were annoyed that someone other than Wal-mart would call since as the police officer said “if Wal-mart had a problem then they would have called”. So this is the second time in two weeks that they police have been called on me. This definitely adds to the homeless feeling and makes me wonder how easy I have it in comparison to real homeless people. Since I'm reasonably well educated and have a specific reason for sleeping outside, I'm left alone as soon as I tell people my situation. Were as it must be trying to have no were to go and no quick and easy way to convince people your doing nothing wrong.

Finding the Trail

The brake down of my day has become very Spanish in structure. I've started making my large meal in the afternoon and taking a nap afterwards. I find at the end of the day as it's getting dark I have less ambition to cook and clean up. I think I've found the answer to the picky eating habits of children, exercise. So if junior won't eat, go outside and run until your hungry enough to eat anything put in front of you. I say this cause I've taken to cleaning the very last bit of food from what ever vessel it came in. I lick the pudding cups clean and empty every donut crumb into my mouth. Today is my first real day on the transamerica bike touring route published by adventure cycling. I haven't seen a single person touring on their bike let alone maybe two riding a bicycle at all. So I was a little surprised that I would see five people touring today. They were all east bound. In the first little town I stopped in yesterday, I met the mailman who informed me that I could sleep in the volunteer fire station which was left unlocked for cyclists. I was pretty excited since I hadn't showered in a couple of days and yesterday though only 90 degrees, had a humidity of 85-95 percent. I was drenched by 6:30 am and it continued until I got to Utica. I slept in late and didn't get started riding until almost 12:30. 40 miles went extremely easy were I took my long lunch and hope to make it to the Ohio river, were I'll stay the night. Things have definitely flattened out a bit and since everything is feeling better I hope to start making a few more miles every day.