Arnor and More

Before crossing the Missouri/Illinois border, and on a few occasions in western IL, I rode past some houses that were built into the ground. At first I assumed it was to conserve energy or possibly to avoid the damage from elements, but then I started to think where I had seen houses like this before. All of them were built at the base of a small hill, or maybe the hill was the house, but only one face of the houses were showing and earth covered the top of them. The strangest part was that even the portion of the house that was exposed, only had windows on occasion. It was like something straight out of the Shire. There were no sightings of the Hermits that lived in the earth covered houses, but farms with Shetland ponies were always nearby one of these houses. Wait...Hobbits can't ride full size horses...normal people don't live in the ground and Hobbits aren't normal people...it’s really green around here...I must be in the Shire! The realization that I was in Middle Earth triggered something that made me attempt to imitate Smeagol or Gollum every time I said anything.

Imitating the voices of fictional characters isn't the only thing that I am excelling at as of late, I am also becoming something of a bike touring chef. Riding into a state park a few days ago, I came across a farmers market. I didn't hesitate to stop and ended up leaving with a half dozen eggs and half of a watermelon. You may think those are two of the stupidest items that I could have picked up, especially considering that I don't carry any type of oil to cook with and I don't have a knife to cut the watermelon, and you would be absolutely correct. When I made it to my campsite for the night, I started to wonder what and better yet, how the hell I was going to cook these eggs. After a failed attempt at egg drop soup, I scrambled to find something that I could use to save the 6 eggs that I just threw in the pot. I found some ramen noodles that have been sitting in my bag for a long time and decided that would be my best bet. Without any plan of action or idea of what I was doing, I filled my pot up with a little more water and boiled up my MSG and egg covered noodles. This was one of the best meals that I have made on my own, on this trip! It was extremely filling and had a tolerable flavor from the ramen packets, what more could I ask for. The spaghetti and tuna that I make almost nightly has improved as well. Actually, I just bit the bullet and bought a bottle of sauce that had seasoning mixed in as opposed to the cans of straight up tomato sauce. I suppose I can’t really take credit for that one.

After trying to come up with other delicious meals that I could write about, I realize that my cooking has not really improved at all…I just made a lucky save by throwing ramen noodles in a thick egg broth.

Though I can’t cook it, Chinese food is one of my favorite things to eat. Aledo, IL is home to the annual Rhubarb Fest and also my new favorite Chinese food restaurant. Hong Kong Restaurant in Aledo had the best Chinese food that I have eaten since a place in Denver, The Jade Café, closed 2 years ago. When I arrived in Aledo I asked around for restaurant recommendations and everyone said “that Chinese place.” Nobody knew the name, but they all knew where to find it, “that Chinese place is good!”

No more about my eating habits for awhile. I am currently at my home in Naperville, IL. My Dad came and picked me up when I was nearby. I have spent my day off relaxing, tuning and cleaning my bike, and I even picked up a new set of tires. If anyone ever considers doing a bike tour, I would recommend using Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires. I rode 3400 miles and only had 1 flat tire as a result of a puncture. From hear I have about 1500 miles left to ride to Bar Harbor, ME and even less to Portland, ME (my final destination).

Illinois: Land of the Red Rider

Today I rode my bike over the Mississippi River, or as I've heard it called around here, the Miss'ippi River and into Quincy, IL. It has been a rough couple days getting here though. After cleaning off my bike in St. Louis, it was covered in limestone dust from the Katy trail after only 5 miles. My bike is finally starting to show the wear and tear from the trip and so am I. One of my panniers lost a screw and broke loose while I was riding yesterday, the pedals and bottom bracket sound sick, and the seat post is slipping. Pains for me are minimal, but I do have a bit of pain in the front of my right knee. I am going to blame this on the slipping seat post causing a poor riding posture, but lets hope it goes away soon. While adjusting and tightening the seat post this morning, I managed to break the bolt that hold it in place...AWESOME! I rode a few miles out of town to a hardware store with my seat spinning behind me. Once I finally rode over the river, I was completely relieved and all was well.

Missouri wasn't terrible, but it was not my favorite state. The last 30 miles that I rode in the state were easily the worst. The knee pain may have contributed, but the hills/bluffs along the Mississippi are terrible. I might even go as far as to say they were worse than parts of the Rockies. The Rockies have passes with 1000-3000ft. climbs...but they are over 5 to 30 miles Missouri did not have any concern for cars, bikes, or anything else that might find its way onto a hill, and as a result has some very steep grades. There were multiple climbs where my front wheel came off of the ground! This has been a painful stretch of road.

The only person/touring cyclist that I have seen in the past couple of days was a British guy. He is riding from Boston to Los Angeles and has been on the road for almost 2 months. I am not sure when he was planning to finish or how many miles he has done so far, but that seems like a long time to have only made it to the Mississippi. I suppose I have no room to speak though, as I have been on the road for over 2 months and still have 1700 miles to go, I finally calculated it. Tomorrow I will ride through Iowa and begin my ride along the Northern Tier trail, the final 1600 miles of the trip. I am excited because for the first time, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The next few weeks are going to be tougher with less sunlight, but it is starting to cool down which makes a BIG difference, especially at night. The past couple of nights I haven't been sweating in my sleep.

Leaving St. Louis, I had to stop at a Verizon and have them replace my phone. The charging port and the select button were both broken. As a result, I have to apologize to anyone who may have tried to call or text me in the past week or so. If you have not received a reply, it is because I didn't receive whatever you may have sent me. If you were expecting a call from me and haven't received one, it is because I no longer have any contacts in my phone...I love my Verizon Crackberry.

My 20 minutes at the public library are up, thanks for reading and thanks for the support! More to come as soon as I get into digital service.

-Marcus

Peter Fox is my doppelganger

The rest of my time in Kansas was painful and hilarious. Shortly after the last time that I updated my blog I stopped for the night at the Council Grove City Lake. Even though they didn't have showers, I was elated to be near a body of water deep enough to swim in. I was camping near the boat ramp and marina and did not see anyone swimming at all. I went down by the marina and asked Bob, the retired army who worked 5 days a week at the marina to escape his wife, if there was a specific spot or maybe a beach designated for swimming. He gave the most sarcastic response he could think of, "yeah, uh, well I think they designated the water for swimming in". Thanks Bob. After swimming for a while I decided to go talk with Bob, who was drinking a can of Busch lite and watching teenage girls get in and out of boats on the dock or "taking in the views" as he described it. Bob was probably about 65-70 years old and looked like he could be the grandfather of Cousin Eddie from the movie Vacation. He was wearing overalls with no shirt, a cowboy hat, nicely shined black shoes, and had the creepiest mustache I have ever seen. To be honest I wasn't sure if it was actually a mustache or just a row of wiry white hairs that he had missed while shaving his top lip. He had shaved all of the hair on his face except for a line of hairs on the edge of his top lip, which were long enough to curl down into his mouth. When he wasn't sipping Busch lite he was licking these hairs. The conversation was strange and seemed to always come back to the idea that, "women didn't look like that (the girls getting on and off the boats) when I was your age". At one point Bob offered me a beer saying, "I have Bud and Busch lite". I was feeling dehydrated and declined his offer. "You know why I like Busch?" I prepared myself for a raunchy joke. "I frequently misplace things and when I find my beer a day or two later, I can actually drink it if its Busch." I chuckled a bit and upon realizing that he was serious didn't know what to say. I responded with "well I usually try to finish my beers in a day." To which he replied, "You know, that's not always possible the way I lose things and I am sure not going to let a good beer go to waste." Speaking with Bob was an experience I will not soon forget.

My ride to Council Grove was very windy, but the night I spent there was hands down the windiest I have been in. On multiple occasions the wind was hitting the tent so hard that it tore the tent stakes right out of the ground, practically collapsing it on me. The first time it happened I woke up flustered and started packing my things up half asleep. When I realized what I was doing and what time it was, everything except for the tent was on the bike ready to go. At this point I just left the stuff packed and slept on the floor of the tent without anything under me. Needless to say, it was not a great night sleep.

The ride the next day was disheartening because I only made it 60 miles but rode for nearly 7 hours. It was a struggle to find the motivation to keep riding at under 10 mph. The only thing that kept me going was that the more miles I rode, the closer I would be to the Katy Trail and a much needed change in scenery. The next night I was delighted to stop at another spot with a lake and a place to shower. I spent most of my night enjoying both of these and even traded the time I would have spent preparing dinner for a little extra time swimming. My mother will cringe after reading this next part, but from that night on I found myself buying and eating more canned foods straight from the can. It tastes the same and it saves you the hassle of cooking and cleaning. Beans, Chef Boyardee, canned fruit, chili, and the worst, which I'm slightly embarrassed to say, was a can of Campbell's condensed beef soup straight from the can. Not surprisingly, condensed soup is much better with water and heat. After opening my bag in the dark one night, I found the can of soup right on top. I held it in my hand hoping to find something that didn't require cooking, but was disappointed when the only other thing I had was spaghetti. Initially, I dismissed the idea without much consideration. But after getting out my stove and searching for a place to set it up, the vegetable and beef filled gelatin started to sound better and better. Finally, after opening it and sampling the soup, I choked down the first spoonful. I convinced myself that it wasn't as bad as it was, but looking back on it, it was awful.

A couple notes about Kansas before I move on to Missouri. I did not see a single sunflower in the sunflower state. Kansas is the windiest state I have ever been to. I picked up a state road map, the free one provided by the Kansas Department of Transportation, and on the front of it, it said, "Kansas...as big as you think." This is false. Kansas is bigger than anyone ever thought. I don't even think that most residents of Kansas realize how big the place is. Everything is bigger in Texas, but Kansas isn't as confident as Texas, so they're going to let you decide how big you think Kansas is. If you drive highways 96 and 56 I think you would agree with me that Kansas is huge. In every state except for Missouri, people driving cars will occasionally wave to me. In Oregon, most people throw up a peace sign. Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado folk generally give a full on wave. Kansas seems to be the exception though. Almost every car I passed in Kansas acknowledged me in some way, but the most common was to point at you with a index finger. The first time I saw this I wasn't sure if the driver was doing this as a threat, as if to say, "Watch yourself...I'm gonna get you sucka!" or if he was simply saying, "you're the man now dawg!" but either way I was confused. Having finished the state and being pointed at a couple hundred times, I think its just a friend hello.

Missouri lays claim to the worst roads that I have ridden to date and the possibly the worst drivers I have ever seen. Upon arriving in the show me state, I took a very long detour as a result of road construction. I now know to avoid roads identified with a letter and to never, under any circumstances, ride roads that are titled with two letters. State route Y in Missouri is in desperate need of a fresh layer of asphalt and lines on the road. State route YY should have the remaining asphalt ground up and turned into a gravel or dirt road. While riding YY I felt like I was playing connect the dots, my bike being the pen and the pot holes at the dots. Changing subjects, I am pretty convinced that the title "show me state" is referring to firearms because I have seen more gun racks in cars here then anywhere in the country. The best one was in a Buick. Drivers in Missouri don't know how to react when they see me riding. Most slow down to my speed and wait for about a minute before passing me. Others have waited for me to stop or turn off, and the best was a couple that honked while cruising behind me at 15 mph and then waved as if to tell me to move off of the road so that they could pass. After dealing with this for a couple hundred miles, I was delighted to get off of the roads and onto the longest "Rails to Trails" path in the country.

The Katy Trail is a 240 mile crushed limestone bike path that runs almost the entire way across Missouri. Formerly the Missouri, Kansas, Texas Railway, the old tracks have been removed and the route is open to hikers and bikers looking to enjoy the heat, humidity, and wide varieties of bugs found along the Missouri River. Getting onto the path was a wonderful change of pace. There is no traffic, there are stops with bathrooms and water every 10-20 miles, and best of all there is tree cover. My first day on the Katy Trail was a crazy day. I arrived at the trail head in Clinton, MO to find 2 guys from the University of Oklahoma. Nick, a 25 year old recently graduated, and Gabe, a 28 year old with another year to go who looked like he was a frequent participant in his local SCA chapter. (www.SCA.org) Easily the best pony tail I have seen on a man or woman in years! In addition to these 2 was a Father with his son and daughter from Texas. They were on a family vacation touring the Katy Trail . (Great family vacation...or GREATEST family vacation!) It seemed that he was taking a lot of heat for the idea. The family took off shortly before me and the other guys did. After talking with them and riding for a bit I thought for sure I would have to ditch them by the end of the day if I wanted to make it anywhere, but I was enjoying the company and conversation so I stuck around. Maybe 5 miles into the ride, we came across the family that we had me earlier and they were having trouble with their tandem bike. We figured out what was going on and helped out with some tools. Once everything was straightened out, we introduced ourselves. When the father said his name was Charlie Brown I laughed thinking that he was kidding around. "Really?" We said. "Yeah really. Well Charles Brown, but I go by Charlie." He spells it with an "-ey" at the end, but I am going to spell it like the character for dramatic effect...Sorry Charley. A few things ran through my head. First, that I just helped fix the bike of one of the most well know and unlucky characters of all time. Second, I thought it was awesome that Charlie fully embraced his name and was even wearing a yellow shirt. Finally, I may have just met the guy with the worst middle school experience of all time.

All of us continued on the trail and eventually stopped at some local cafe where Charlie Brown bought us lunch. That's right, Charley Brown bought me lunch. As I sat eating with all of these people I said to the other 2 guys, "they'll never believe us." But I have proof. If you look at the names of the people following this blog, you with see Charley Brown that the most recognizable Peanut of all time is following along. Thanks again for lunch Charley!

We left lunch just after a woman stopped to inform us that there was a horrendous storm coming our way with wind gust between 50-80 mph. Not even 20 miles down the road, we ran into another guy. Justin was having trouble with his tires, 3 flats in one day. Thinking how well the last encounter I had was, I decided to stop and help the guy out. We patched his tire, only to have the patch give out before he had his bike loaded back up. Reluctantly, I gave him my last spare innertube knowing that there was a bad storm on the way and a bike shop in the next town. We arrived in Sedalia, MO just as the storm started to hit. Hungry and unsure where the bike shop was, we stopped in at a Chinese Buffet to wait out the storm. As we were leaving I noticed that my front tire was looking low and decided to pump it up before leaving for the bike shop. As I put the pump on the valve the whole top portion broke off letting out all of the air in the tube. This was bound to happen and has reinforced the idea that you never give away your last innertube...ever! Still unsure where and how far the bike shop was, I looked it up and gave a call. Closed. Of course they were closed. Why wouldn't they be? I was forced to walk to and camp out at the Missouri State Fairgrounds until the bike shop opened. I was later informed by my Dad that Sedalia, specifically the MSF was home to a huge music fest even bigger than Woodstock. There was not a trace of towns history anywhere to be found, but after a couple of Google searches I found that the Ozark Music Festival of 1974 was one of the largest music festivals of all time. (http://rodsievers.googlepages.com/ozarkmusicfestival) It drew over 250,000 people to the place I camped and in a Senate investigation was recognized as a weekend of "sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll." It was cool to read the history of the place that I was camped at. I had my tent right beside the Sheep Pavilion, which I later read was the location of a "sex orgy, with hundreds spectators." This was the first time that I had ever heard of the OMF and proceeded to ask every person that I had a conversation with on the Katy trail, especially Missouri residents, if they had heard of the Festival. Not a single person knew anything. Nobody had even heard about it. I was shocked, but still think its awesome that I was able to stay there.

The next morning I arrived at Cecil's Cyclery where I picked up some tubes and talked with the old guy that owned the place for a little while. He specialized in old Chicago made Schwinn bicycles and even had a couple in their original boxes. I think I will return and buy a bike from Cecil at some point in the near future. I left Sedalia and continued down the Katy trail happy to have the spare parts I needed and a new found interest in the Ozark Music Festival. If nothing else, it gave me something new to think and read about when I wasn't on the bike.

The rest of the Katy trail was kind of rough, literally. The further along the Katy trail I rode, the more I found large pot holes or places where rain water washed out large 1-2 foot sections of limestone. The actual trail was getting difficult to ride without a mountain bike. One of the last days that I was riding it, I hit a huge wash out and broke a spoke for the second time this trip. I was about 10 miles from the nearest town and it was getting dark. I rode in the pitch black tunnel of trees with nothing but a small headlamp to guide me. I hit several more bumps and arrived at a campsite and began setting up my tent when my headlamp went out. I was angry, frustrated and trying to stay positive when the headlamp went out and I lost it. I let out a rant that was more colorful than the crowd of people that showed up in Sedalia in 1974 and went to bed shortly after finishing my condensed soup.

The next day I woke up ready to fix my spoke to find I no longer had the tool I needed to do so. I rode the 10 miles into Herman, MO where I found a bike shop and had the spoke replaced. I spent a few more hours in Herman touring the many wineries in the city. After close to a bottle worth of sampling, I was picked up by my good friend Kevin whom I haven't seen in a long time. I was elated to see him! Kevin picked me up and drove me back to St. Louis where I was planning on hanging out for the weekend. On the phone Kevin asked me, "if I drive you, doesn't that go against the ethos of the trip?" I agreed that it did, but I was willing to make exceptions reflecting on the time I had trying to get out of Denver and the condition the Katy trail was in as of late.

St. Louis has been a blast! My stay has included a whole lot of delicious and fattening foods, admiring architecture, and a lot of baseball. I hate the Cardinals even more after spending time here. I have been alternating time at Kevin's apartment in the city and my friend Tim's parents house in the suburbs. A new slogan, motto, mantra, or rule to live by has been adopted in my time spent here in St. Louis. To preface the tag line, I must tell a story. A few nights ago, I was at the house of one of Tim's high school friends. After a few beers we decided to climb onto the roof. We spent a decent amount of time up there telling stories and hanging out until we got bored and decided to go back inside. As we stood up and got ready to climb down, Tim's friend Justin stops, looks at us and says, "Fortune favors the bold," and proceeds to leap off of the roof...in flip flops! Sure that he was going to have a few broken bones from the way he landed, Tim says to me "this is going to be an awesome ride to the hospital." We asked Justin if he had broken his ankles to which he responded "no but I did knock the wind out of myself pretty good." Fortune favors the bold defined the rest of the night and madness ensued. This is a dangerous motto, but I feel it is fitting for my trip and have decided to adopt it as the official slogan.

-Marcus

Rock Chalk Jayhawk

One thing I find interesting about traveling around the country, on bike or otherwise, is seeing how much thing cost in different places. For example, today I saw a case of 30 PBR's for just $10.99! I have bought a few 30 racks before but never have I seen one for less than $15. If beer had been this cheap while I was still in school, I would have a lot more money...or a serious problem. On the flip side, I didn't buy tuna the last time I saw it because it was $1.69, that's almost 5 beers in Kansas!

Another thing you can't miss being on the road in the summer is RV's, trailers, 5th wheels, and pop-up campers. Though they are a hazard to everything on the road it is fun to see their names and the ridiculous accessories that come out of them when they park. Most are named after cats or national parks liken The Panther, The Cougar, or Yellowstone. None of the animals that the names come from have anything in common with campers and why would you want to name something you are going to be living in after a predatory cat? My favorites are names which were clearly painted on by the owner and include Puma Unleashed, The Sloth, and Inefficiency. Accessories include full patio sets with grills and TVs connected to a dish...I think Direct TV needs to start targeting the mobile market. They are really missing out on a huge demographic.

The heat in combination with the humidity has really started to wear on me. Today I drank a total of 8 liters of water, a half gallon of orange juice, and 2 Pepsi's and only took one pee. If nothing else this is the best cleanse of my life. Even though the heat is much worse, I feel more comfortable when I do get into towns because the people here are very nice. Out West when I would walk in somewhere people would stare and the few I said hi to might say hi back, or they might just ignore me and walk away as quick as possible. The people in Kansas still stare but they'll joke around too. One woman today looked at me and laughed saying "nice shorts Mr. Armstrong". While stopped in a parking lot another woman came up to me and offered me some cucumbers that she was bringing to her mother. No matter how nice the people are though, I still can't wait to get out of Kansas.

Marcus

I'm not in Kansas anymore...wait yes I am, but apparently there are still witches here

Two nights ago just after finishing up my blog I went back to the city park (my campsite) and sat around lonely and depressed. I sat and thought to myself, "the novelty of this trip has definitely worn off, I am ready to call it quits and go hang out with my family". This was a terrible night. I think the reason for it was a combination of being by myself and not talking with anyone for a few days, not feeling well from the stomach flu, being dehydrated and finally because it was 105 degrees out at 5:30pm! I moped around the park for awhile doing random things with my bike and read a bit, but was tired of toying with my bike and simply couldn't get into the books I was reading. Finally the sun went down and so did the tempurature, with this I put up my tent and set everyting up for bed. In the distance I could see a storm front moving toward me and the wind was picking up. Storms cannot sneak up on you in Kansas. You can see them hours away. Its like playing hide-and-seek with a fat kid that's a mouth breather, they simply can't hide. Seeing the storm I decided to put the rain cover on my tent. I don't have a hammer so instead I was using a stake turned sideways to push the slim metal stakes into the ground. While pushing in the last stake, my hand slipped. With all of my weight behind it, my hand was forced onto the sharp tip of the stake, slicing open the tip of my left thumb and my right palm. Immediately blood started pouring from the cuts. I was pissed at myself for not using a rock or something! thoughts like: will I need stitches? can I ride with this? what are those stakes made of? All started popping into my head. I rushed over to the bathrooms and washed out the cuts with water and then continued over to the pool where there was a party going on and a lifeguard that was willing to help me out. She taped everything up and shortly after thanking her I went back to the tent and passed out.

I slept alright and woke up the next morning before sunrise to beat the heat. To my surprise the wind had shifted and I quickly forgot about the heat or the cuts on my hands. I made it to the first town while it was still cool (85 degrees). I took a short break and kept going to make ride as long as I could while it was still cool. Nearly 5 miles from the next town, I ran into a couple from California by the names of Steve and Cyndy ( http://greatisland.net/biketour/ their website). They are doing a cross country bike ride of sorts simply because they can and they want to visit some family in Rhode Island. Cyndy's last day of riding should be today when the two reach Salida, KS. She has to return to Sacramento so she does not lose her job as a dietician. She is a lot like what you would expect a dietician to be and by that I mean she is a picky eater, but the bike trip is getting her out of that habit in a big way. Steve will stop take a break and drive Cyndy to the airport tomorrow and then return to Salida to finish the ride to Rhode Island. Steve was the CEO/President of a company that builds fire trucks. He no longer has that obligation and as a result has the time to ride across the country. Steve and Cyndy are an older couple, probably in their mid to late 30's and usually ride road/race bikes. This is their first tour and aside from the lack of showering and heavy bikes I think they are enjoying their time. I rode with the two into the town and had breakfast at a local place. By this time it was really hot and every chance to get a glass of ice water and sit down was welcome. I enjoyed the meal but more so, I enjoyed their company and the conversation. Following breakfast I decided to ride with them so I could take a break from talking to myself. Being used to racing, the two always rode in lines to take advantage of eachothers drafts and used all of the biker lingo and hand signs that goes along with it. I was clueless at first but its not that difficult to figure out.

We rode the rest of the day switching off who was leading the group which really does help when there is a headwind. Our next big break was in Ness City, at the City Pool. This was the most refreshing swim of my life! Jumping in that water after riding in 100+ degree weather, felt amazing! I swam around a little but for the most part just floated. I was too tired to go off the diving boards or down the slides, so I just sat in the water. A couple of kids instantly came up to us and wanted to show us tricks and wanted us to throw them. I declined, but Steve thinking they would go away, threw them a few times. They didn't leave him alone after that. After swimming around for a bit we went to a restaurant down the street that had all you can eat taco's and ice cream. I ate a lot! We left too full to ride comfortably, but managed to make it 12 more miles to Bazine and Elaine's Bike Oasis where we stayed that night.

Elaine is a older woman who lives with her husband on their farm. The two started taking in cyclists about 6 years ago and have loved every visit they have had. They offer a B&B as well as their yard if your not looking to spend the money. The two have no kids, but I get the feeling they really wish they had. They were very kind to me and offered to help us in any way they could. We pulled into the B&B somewhat late and were greeted by an older couple on a tandem bike, the same that I had seen the day before in Eads but didn't get up early enough to talk with. They were nice enough people but they kept to themselves for the most part so I didn't get their names or much of a chance to talk with them. That night I slept on the screened in porch on the house, this kept me from putting up my tent and saved me some time in the morning.

I woke up late to find everyone hurrying to clean up their things before they got too wet, it was already raining. As we got our things together we ate some corn for breakfast before heading out. In Rush Center, KS I left the Trans-American Trail for good. This marks the completion of my first map along the ride and I think it puts me at or nearby the halfway point of the trip. From here I will continue East along Highway 56 until I come to Clinton, MO where I will begin riding the Katy Trail to St. Louis. Over the course of the day, I hit two huge walls! The first was more like a hill, an invisible hill, actually it was just a terrible headwind, but it slowed us down to almost 10 mph the whole day. Aside from today, the wind yesterday was the worst that I have seen on the trip. The road is so straight and the wind didnt shift at all, as a result the wind was in our faces all day. We stopped much sooner than we had expected in Great Bend, KS where we hit the second wall. The Great Wall...China Buffet! I love Chinese food buffets!!! We sat and ate plate after plate of Sesame Chicken, Beef and Peapods, as well as bowls of Egg drop soup, it was amazing! After we were full, we sat for a few hours talking because we were unable to stand. This might have been from the ride that we had just completed, but I am going to attribute it to the MSG overdose. After 3 hours at the buffet, we took off our separate ways. Steve and Cyndy to a hotel and me to Ellinwood 12 miles up the road.

I was actually trying to make it further than Ellinwood, but after a long day on the bike and the wind still in my face, I called it quits early. When I arrived I spoke with a couple of locals that weren't really sure if you could camp in the parks. I was pretty close to a church at the time so I went and knocked on the door of the rectary and asked if I could set up my tent in the backyard. Father Chuck, the priest at St. Joseph's, said it would be just fine. After unpacking my things and having a snack, I went and talked with Father Chuck a little. Most of the conversation was about the bike route I was taking (he gave me a few pointers on my route and may have saved me a few miles) and also my trip to this point. He was also telling me about a shortage of priests in the area and how they have been waiting for new ones for a while. In the meantime, he is running the show at two different parishes. It struck me as odd when he mentioned there is a large number of priests in the Phillipines. In fact the church and the area has been waiting for a few for several months now, but there is some hold up going on with their visa paperwork. I thought this was odd because it almost seemed like they were mail ordering priests from the Phillipines...China will export anything these days, even priests from the Phillipines ("the chinaman is not the issue here dude!...and Dude Chinaman is not the preferred nomenclature, Asian-American please"). Sorry for rambling. After talking I filled up my water and went to bed, hoping to get an early start before the wind, this was a dumb idea.

I woke up to thunder and lightning and managed to get all packed up and on the bike just as it started raining. Having not eaten breakfast and not knowing what I was in for regarding the storm, I headed into the nearest gas station and sat down for some coffee. It turns out there were severe T-Storm, flood, and wind warnings out...should have just kept riding. As I was sitting talking with the two girls behind the counter the storm started to get worse and worse. At some point the Tornado sirens went off and continued for a few minutes straight. I stayed in the shop and observed the interactions between the locals and these girls. Turns out they knew everyone. As someone pulled up, one of them would say who it was and the other would start preparing their order and before each of them left, one would say "try not to melt out there". It was like clockwork.

Eventually the rain slowed and I started to ride. Today was worse than yesterday. Maybe the drafting helped a whole lot yesterday, but today I was struggling to reach 10mph. By the time I had completed 60 miles and made it to McPherson, I was dead. After stopping by another Chinese Buffet (this one wasn't quite as good) I found my way to the Library where I am sitting now. Who knows how fast I will make it out of here. The wind is killing me! I always thought it blew from West to East...not the case. I was expecting to do at least 100 miles a day through KS, but with the wind the way its blowing, I am lucky to get 60. The people in Kansas are very nice though. I stopped in Lyons, KS for a bit and a guy came up to me name Derril and asked where I was going. After about 2 minutes of talking with the guy he called up someone that he knew in Marion to see if I could stay with him. When the guy didn't answer, Derril said "hold on" and called up a few more people. Only one person answered but said they wouldn't be around tonight, oh well, thanks anyway Derril! I couldn't believe that this guy was going out of his way to try and find me people to stay with. Either way, I didn't make it to Marion so it wouldn't have made a difference. Not sure where I am staying tonight, but hopefully I can go for a swim or take a shower!

-Marcus

Update

The first three posts are back up on the Blog! Sorry if they seem out of place, I am not sure how to change this around, but at least I have them now. Thanks again Deedah!!!!!!!

-Marcus

Empire Builder: The People and Places

6/9/09

Last night while I was eating dinner by myself, a guy about my age came and sat down across from me with a can of miller lite and just looked at me without saying a word. He was wearing a big cowboy hat and boots as if he just got off a ranch. I introduced myself and started talking with him. He was a construction worker and when the "bossman" told him business was going to be slow for the next few weeks caught the first train to Spokane, WA. He has live in all but 14 of the united states and has picked up a little bit of an accent from each. This combined with a slight lisp gave him one of the most unique accents I've ever heard. We talked for a while about where i would begin (Astoria) my trip. He had lived nearby and gave me a discount card of a local restaurant called The Lighthouse. He handed it to me and looked me in the eyes as he said "there's a waitress there...Real attractive!" After talking for a little more than an hour, I went back to my seat to try and sleep. 10 minutes after falling asleep, the stewardess shook my shoulder and said, "he's gonna be your new seat-mate" looking at a guy standing next to her.
He was a 23 year old traveling around the country by bus and train after recently being laid off from his job as a grass roots organizer. He worked to educate students and organize them against nuclear research. I found the idea of a grass roots organizer getting laid off and giving up to be somewhat ironic. He told me about conspiracy theories dealing with Denver International Airport, his being a vegetarian simply to prove he didn't have to eat meat, and how he was the last of his friends to get his first cell phone and facebook account. The first time I pulled out my phone he looked at it and said "oh you have one of those new future phone, huh? How would you ever get along without it?" I just laughed and said "yeah".
I didn't sleep well last night. The car was freezing and all I have on is a t shirt and shorts. I woke up around 3 after going to bed around 1. I watched the full moon dip in and out of the clouds until about 4 when I went back to sleep.
I got up at 5:30 with the sunrise and went to the lower level of the train where there is a single aisle with bathroom doors on either side. As I walked down the stairs and turned the corner into the aisle, I see a young Amish couple kissing...found 'em! Caught totally off guard, all three of us freeze. They separate to let me through and she puts her head down smirking and he avoids eye contact as well. Without hesitation I look at both of them and recite one of my favorite movie quotes to perfection, "big gulps huh?... Welp...see ya later!" And walk past into a bathroom stall. The reaction was easily the most awkward and confused look I have ever received from anyone. They must have thought something was seriously wrong with me. They most likely had no idea I was quoting Dumb and Dumber or what a big gulp was. I entertained myself the rest of the morning by coming up with ideas of what I would say if I were to find myself in a conversation with an Amish person: Nice threads, is that shirt polo? You look just like the girl from sex in the city! If you need to look anything up I have internet on my phone. Great turban! (while pointing to her bonnet). Though I would probably never say any of these to someone, I was a nice break from my book.
This was not my last meeting with the couple though. Later in the day I spotted the two of them walking through the car. To avoid eye contact I grabbed my water bottle and took a drink while looking at the ground as they walked past. Just as I was about to swallow I saw that he was wearing Reebok's...I immediate choked on the water spitting it everywhere as I could not hold back the laughter! Reebok...the latest in menonite fashion! Forget retro! I want colonial!...I want Reebok!
The scenery in North Dakota and Montana is similar to Nebraska or Eastern Colorado but with fewer houses and towns. At our house last year in college, (man that's strange!) we used to say that our fridge was where vegetables went to die. Montana is where cars go to die. Rusty broken down cars in yards outnumber houses 37 to 1 in Montana.
Glacier NP and the Rocky Mountains are a welcome and beautiful change of scenery. I can't wait to go back and spend some time hiking around that park. I was disappointed that the train didn't do switchbacks up the mountains as I had heard...sorry Mike the conductor didn't even know what I was talking about.
Next stop Portland and not a minute too soon, after walking into the coach car from the dining car you get punched in the nose by the scent of 40 some people sitting in the same car for two days...smells like class! Seriously this car has got da funk!!! As I sit here writing, a women just sat beside me (I am in the window seat) with her infant child and proceeded to start breast feeding...time to get off of the train!

-Marcus

Leaving Town

6/8/09

Just before leaving for the train station today I went to the grocery store with my mother to pick up some food for the trip. Though I did not even fill a single basket, it was still more food than I wanted to carry, and less than I would like to have on hand. Not being able to carry more than two days worth of food makes me nervous and realizing this made me a bit tense the rest of the morning.
The ride to the train seemed very long. I was anxious and nervous and wanted to get on the train asap. Checking in at the station was a breeze. The box that I packed my bike up in was so large that I only had to take the handlebars off. This will make things much easier once I arrive in portland.
Waiting to board the train I had a cup of coffee and a hamburger with my parents, eager to see where and who I would be sitting with for the next two days. After leaving the food court we went down to the gate. At the gate waiting with us were roughly 15 Amish. I was hoping I would get the chance to sit and talk with a couple of them at some point, hasn't happened yet but I'm still hopeful.
I boarded in car 2715 and was suprised that I was one of the first, especially after waiting in line for such a long time. I picked seat 57, a window seat with noone beside me. There are two girls my age across the aisle from me and a couple in front of me that look like they are coming from, or on there way to a commune. All four of them have had their headphones on since just after we started moving with...that's almost 2 hours straight!!! Other than them there are a few older couples in the back of the car. I haven't found the Amish... yet. I bet they're in the bar car!
I have spent the past hour or so reading "Life of Pi" which I am convinced has the slowest start to any book I have ever read. As a result, I have turned to the crackberry to update this page. It looks like it will be a long ride

It begins...

6/07/09
This trip will be my first attempt at what is called "Self-contained" bike touring. The idea is to carry everything you will need along the way, on the bike, and turn it into a two-wheeled mobile home. I will be attempting to cross the country from the Pacific Coast (beginning in Astoria, OR) to the Atlantic Coast (finishing in Bar Harbour, ME) with a layover in Chicago for my cousin Cathy's and her fiance Tom's wedding on July 25. Congratulations Cath and Tom!
Total the trip is just over 5000 miles. I was expecting to take my time and average around 60 miles a day. As a result of my poor planning, I am getting a late start and will need to average about 75 miles a day if I want to make it to the wedding.
I begin my adventure tomorrow as I board a train which will take me from Chicago to Portland, OR. It will be a 45 hour train ride aboard the increasingly popular "Empire Builder" train, known for is scenic cross country route through Glacier National park.
Following my arrival in Portland, I will begin riding to the trail head of the Trans-American Trail in Astoria, OR. Everyone is familiar with Astoria as this is where the movie The Goonies was filmed. After spending some time with Chunk, Data and the rest of the gang I will follow Highway 101 South along the Pacific Coastline to Florence, OR. My route will take me through Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming (Yellowstone and Grand Tetons included), Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and finally Maine. I will be riding on the Trans-American Trail until I reach the Great Rivers Trail, which I will ride until I arrive at the Northern Tier Trail. (http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/RouteNetwork.pdf)
I will be carrying the following:
Camping Equipment
-3 person Tent
-Sleeping Pad
-20 degree sleeping bag
-Sleeping bag liner (for cold or extremely hot nights)
-50ft. rope (for hanging up food)
-2 liter pot
-backpacking stove (thanks Jon!)
-utility knife
-dish soap
-sponge
-hand sanitizer
-Sham-WOW!
Clothes
-3 polyester t-shirts
-long sleeve wool shirt
-3 pairs of cycling shorts
-2 pairs of normal shorts
-thermal sweatpants
-3 pairs of cycling socks
-wool thermal socks
-polyester underwear
-rain jacket
-rain pants
Bike Equipment
-Jamis Aurora bike
-Jandd Extreme front bike rack
-Topeak Super Tourist rear rack
-Ortlieb Back-roller classic panniers
-Louis Garnier front panniers
-bell (Thanks Andie!)
-odometer/speedometer
-bike multi tool
-cone wrenches (13, 14, 15, 16mm)
-spoke wrench
-spare spokes
-spare brake and derailleur cables
-bike pump with gauge
-Helmet
-Bike shoes
-Safety Vest (good for visibility and directing traffic. Thanks Morrissey's)
-Sun Glasses
-Duct tape
-lock and additional cable
-spare tubes and patch kit
-cable ties
-chain breaker
-Maps
Hygiene/Health
-toothbrush
-toothpaste
-bar of soap
-gold bond medicated powder (like a millions little fairies)
-deodorant
-spf 85 sunscreen
-Benadryl
-Advil
-Chap stick
-water purifying tablets
-multi vitamin
Electronics
-Blackberry (for internet and entertainment)
-Camera
-Solar charger
There is plenty more stuff but I can't remember it all and I am sure you don't want to read my packing list. Total the gear weighs in at 75lbs, a lot less than I thought I would have.
Expectations of the trip include chaffing, a few bad stomach aches, probably some weight loss, sunburn, and most of all adventure. I am excited for the people I will meet, the things I will learn (hopefully not to much about bike repair) and being in the middle of nowhere. I anticipate that the trip will be physically and mentally challenging but in the end will be an experience of a lifetime.
I will update this page and check my email as often as possible. If you would like to contact me...
trucc903@gmail.com
...or you can add me as a friend on Google Latitude and track me as I ride.
-Marcus

Dirty-ass Red goes to the big city

8/1/09

I am finally on the road again after nearly 3 weeks off in Denver and Chicago. Though the time wasn't the most productive, it was a fun and a much needed break. After racing nearly 400 miles in 3 days to get to Denver, I was greeted with big hugs and friendly smiles from familiar faces. My time spent off the bike was some of the most memorable of the trip and reminded me that I have the best family and friends anyone could hope for. Some of my favorite times include a Harry Potter party to celebrate the opening of the 6th HP film. Nobody actually made it to the movie that night, but we had some Muggle fun with my road flares, fireworks, and a bottle of corn whiskey. The following day was spent at the theater watching the film. The 6th movie was the first one that I had seen and afterwards was anxious to watch the rest. So, the next day was spent alternating between the pool and my friend Papa Steve's house, where we were watching the rest of the Harry Potter movies. The movies went late into the night and into the next morning. It was like a 6th grade sleepover, we sat in a cold dark room watching what seemed like endless hours of G-rated fun until we passed out. There was also "Tony and Marcus' Day of random fun full of milk," when my friend Tony and I walked around Denver in the hot sun, eating a huge sandwich and drinking a gallon of milk (milk was a bad choice!!). I should also mention that I was wearing a dark green leisure suit that I picked up at a Goodwill at the beginning of the day. The highlight of the day was either the milk or a woman in a old beater of a Subaru shouting "Burritos" at us as we sat on a curb waiting for a ride. Before she left she made a puckering face as if she wanted a kiss, then smiled showing all 7 of her teeth and drove away. Other interesting days included Tony's birthday when we rode a 4 person bike (double surrey) around a park chasing ducks and eventually taking it into a neighborhood, playing a couple of Rugby games with the guys from Regis, and the night Tony broke up with his girlfriend (I would describe the events of the evening, but I keep hearing my father say "filter" as he reads this and so they have been left out). One of the final and slower nights during the week was spent sharing stories with my friends Christie and Moryah who were returning from Guatemala. Though the evening was low key, some great news came out of the gathering. My friend Deedah is a member of Google Reader, a site that notifies you when a blog you are a fan of has a new post. On this site, she found my old and original blog posts. I am excited to have these back and can't wait to put them back up. Thanks Deedah!

Part of my time off was also spent in Chicago. I flew back leaving all of my things in Denver in order to make it to my cousins Cathy and Tom's wedding. I showed up to the airport wearing the leisure suit that I bought on the fun day. Even though I got a lot of stupid looks on the plane and in the airport, it was worth it when it was well received by my family. My mom picked me up from the airport and didn't recognize me, which explains why she almost drove past me as I walked up to her car. My dad took one look at me saying "what are you wearing? Did the Amish convert you?" he proceeded to laugh for roughly 20 min. When I arrived home, dinner was waiting for me and the force feeding began. My mom is a great cook and didn't hesitate to make more food than we could possibly be expected to eat. When nobody else wanted any more, it found its way onto my plate. As much as I said I didn't want it, I was could still eat more. Thanks Mom, I miss your cooking already! The next morning as I came down the stairs my dad said to my siblings, who were sitting at the kitchen table, "oh look, here comes Dirty-ass Red". Apparently I look identical to one of my Dad's old friend who they called "Dirty-Ass Red" and he swears that if any of his old friends saw me, they would call me the same thing.
That's it! I've had it with this abuse...I'm leaving home...and I'm going to live on my bike...and ride across the country!!! Damn, what was I thinking!
The wedding was a great time! The ceremony was a beautiful Irish wedding and the reception was even more fun! The Coral Room at the Drake Hotel was definitely not ready for The Ricker or the Trucco dance party that broke out. The fun didn't stop with the reception though, it continued into a lounge at the hotel until 2am with the Aunts, Uncles, and Older cousins. Those who were still standing spent a few more hours at the Hangy Uppy until the sun came up. I couldn't wait to rush over to my brother Chuck's apartment the next day to help him move out, which is why I had about 10 missed calls and voice mails when I woke up. The wedding was a great excuse to take some time off and see my family, thanks Cath and Tom and Congratulations again!

After returning to Denver, I put off getting back on the bike for as long as I possibly could. First because 3 weeks of sitting around, drinking, and not riding bikes put me in great shape for the rest of the trip. Second, I did not want to leave my friends and spend at least another month alone on the road. One mistake that I made on this trip was doing it solo. Physically I have had no real problems, but a lack of conversation is draining for any person that is somewhat extroverted. I realized for the second time why this trip is so hard, and why I enjoy having friends and family around me. The first day of the trip was rough. I started late in the morning since I had to get some things together and get back into a routine. My friend Kevin "Brett, Shy Guy, Guy, Rodney" Stakelin joined me for the first 20 miles or so. I rode with him through downtown and out onto the Cherry Creek trail. When he left me, the trail started splitting off into different directions and I had no idea where i was going. I found my way onto the highway I was suppose to be on and started riding in some heavy traffic. It didn't slow for a while and the heat started to pick up, which was awesome. After a few turns and a change in highways, I started to feel a bit sick to my stomach. Shortly after the stomach ache started I made several stops at gas stations and grocery stores. This was the first time on the trip and in a recent memory that I had a serious stomach ache. Dehydration and exhaustion started to set in and I decided to cut the day short at Kiowa at the Elbert County Fair before the gas stations started to disappear. The stomach ache continued through the night and I couldn't even finish eating a hot dog. On top of the stomach, I put my tent up near the trailers since the tent area was full, bad choice. All of the trailers had generators and the nice fellow beside me decided he should keep his on until 12:30 in the morning...thanks man.
I slept well all things considered and woke up feeling alright. By noon the next day I was in Limon, the town that I was aiming for the first day. With the stomach feeling better as the day went on, I decided to ride to Kit Carson. When I arrived I found the city park with the help of some locals and rode up to a picnic area with a homeless guy laying on a bench. I started making dinner and within 10 minute of being there, Denny decided to come talk with me. Denny was an older guy, at least 60, who definitely had a drinking problem, and had not showered in a while. He said he had been homeless for 30 days, but said the last time he had a job was in 2005 "with Big Man and JD", fixing the damage from hurricane Katrina. He was a nice enough guy but I had to be careful not to say anything that might make him think I was liberal in any way, he was a mixed up dude. After Denny had mentioned something about looking for work and trying to find some help, I told him about a couple places in Denver that had good programs. He quickly responded with, "what are you some kind of liberal? They're always trying to set up new programs and eventually they're going to socialize the whole damn country!". I was planning on staying the night there until I spoke with my mom. I called her just after Denny left to go get some "soda". My mom suggested I check out another place in town to camp for the night. I resisted but took her up on it and eventually rode to the next town when Denny returned with a drink for me and insisted I drink one of them. When I told him I was going to go check the other place out he wanted me to wait for him to get his stuff so he could check it out with me. I was getting creeped out and decided to ride 20 more miles to Eads even though it was already 7:30.

I left Kit Carson and just outside of town had my second flat of the trip. I pulled the bike off the shoulder and fixed it, not knowing where the whole had come from. Worried about time I started racing for Eads, with bugs hitting me in the face and giant Grasshoppers jumping into my wheels. For some reason Grasshoppers jump at you as you come towards them, and when they jump at the bike they always get torn up in the spokes. When they get hit, it makes a sound as if you were to pluck a string on a guitar and it makes me laugh every time I hear it. The other thing is that in Eastern Colorado, they grow their Grasshoppers HUGE!!! I'm talking like the size of a small dog! Somehow, the growth hormone that the cattle farmers out here are using is being absorbed by the Grasshoppers and they look like Lobsters. Please start eating organic foods, my wheels cant take much more of this! Also, after riding this leg of the trip I am no longer curious why Eastern Colorado is the smallest and least popular of the Colorado Universities.

When I was about 5 miles out of Eads and at around 8:30pm, I got my 3rd flat. The sun was going to set any minute now and hear I was only 5 miles out fixing a flat. After inspecting the tire and the innertube, I concluded that it was the wheel that was puncturing the tube. It looked as if the holes for the spokes were not entirely covered by the tape. So before putting everything back together, I wrapped the inner wheel with some duct tape and continued on. I haven't had any problems since and am now considering the matter closed. I arrived in Eads in the dark and quickly found the city park. I set up camp and went to bed after pounding a few liters of water.

Today I rode to to Tribune, KS completing the state of Colorado and crossing over into Central time. I was able to take a much needed shower and am taking some time off of the bike. I rode 250 miles or so in the past 3 days and was certainly not prepared for it or the stomach flu. I am going to see what I can find hear in town to eat and am anxious to plot out the coming days through corn fields. It is getting harder and harder to find places to charge my phone and even more difficult to find is digital service so that I can post to the blog.

It was rejuvenating to spend time with everyone over my break and it has prepared me for the next 2500-3000 mile to Portland, ME! Thanks for all of the hospitality, delicious food, and most of all, for supporting me on this trip! Sorry for such a big break in posts, hopefully I will start to post on a more regular basis to satisfy all of you who are becoming RedRider junkies.

-Marcus