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