hobo_sapiens

leap

2008-02-29T14:55:13Z

day

Solo day 4, July 11, 104 miles

2007-07-21T01:13:09Z

I did get some sleep and woke up to gorgeous hazy hills. Good to be back in the Appalachians, even without a tent I guess.

Now ride ride ride, up to Apple Orchard mountain and down to the James River. The light that Jesus gave us in the Mojave desert now refuses to turn off (too wet last night?), and will soon burn out.

Late in the longest of days, I arrive at my parents' home, uninvited and unexpected. The first person I see is Naya, the niece I was visiting in Colorado three weeks ago. Apparantly Leigh Ann is working at the Coors factory in the Shenandoah Valley for the week and brought her daughters. My sister and her two girls are also visiting. My uncle, my brother, and his fiancee are also planning on coming in this weekend. Wow. I got to see everyone in my family in a three week span, unplanned.

We all went out to the lake to soak up some sun, play in the sand and enjoy one another:

It was quite a lovely homecoming, and they were all glad to know I'm alive. They missed Rachel, but I went and got her a few days later.

Enjoying Dad's blackberries:

Solo Day 3, July 10, 67 miles

2007-07-21T01:00:42Z

After a morning of discussion and meetings, I hit the bike as the heat hit the hills. It was a long ride up to the plateau of Floyd at Adney Gap and then a quick zoom into the Roanoke Valley. Rush hour was nearing and the traffic near the city was kind of pestering. The parkway is apparently the quickest way to Vinton from Clearbrook, now both nearly part of Roanoke. Thunder was building in volume and some sparks were flying as I started to ascend away from the busy valley, and I stopped to view the storm and secure some valuables from the imminent rain. These happy motorbikers were doing the same (father and son):

I stood by my bike for about 40 minutes of serious rain and then continued riding in lighter rain and lighter traffic as I was entering the National Forest again. I felt a bit lonely while standing in the rain, but like the storm, it passed.

Finding a spot between these two rocks, I made camp. Rain came intermittently through the night and I got a little wet, while ants crawled on my face. It, being the last night out on the road, was actually the worst night. Loud lightning and a spider bite on my neck that still itches a week later confirmed that.

ferrum bizz

2007-07-20T23:04:54Z

Over the next couple days I made (most of) the rounds in the Ferrum area, riding my bike, and getting a few rides.

I think we figured out how to best situate my working intentions, both as a soccer coach and also working at the Blue Ridge Institute. As long as the accounting aspect works out alright, it should be great.

Everyone was very helpful in making the situation possible, and it was great to see old friends again.

7/7/7

2007-07-20T22:58:54Z

Lucky day everyone.

I rode my bike out to coach Baker's new (1890's) house and on the way he passed me in his car carrying two other friends. We all lazed around his place while Rod and I talked about strategy and players we will have this year. Go Ferrum Soccer. I shaved off the last of my hideous mustache and felt much better.

Rod had bought one lotto ticket and scratched off four 7's, winnning $28 dollars, lucky him. Soon we were hungry and chided him requesting he treat us to dinner, take out from the one restuarant within 10 miles, El Torito. The total?

$28 exactly. He hadn't been planning it but saw that it was destined so he picked up the oh-so-lucky tab.

Here is Rod's new cat, He-man. It is going to be a giant:

Solo Day 2, July 6, 74 miles

2007-07-20T22:44:00Z

I climbed back up the steep trail before changing into my bike shorts, and listened for cars on the remote gravel road before stripping down. As I pulled up the shorts I realized I had been busted by a girl jogging the road quietly enough, and I think we were both embarrassed. That is my payback for yesterday's photo I guess.

Several smallish mountains were in store this day, but I rolled down into Franklin county well before dark and surprised my yurt-dwelling friend Randy (who was in the buff) trying to stay cool in the oppressive heat. I guess it is just that kind of day where nudity prevails.
Here is Randy and Katy's abode:

We cooked veggies over a fire for dinner and slept while their six cats (3 month-old kittens) frolicked through the night.

I saw this sign today. It is an awful long dead end, or someone forgot their period:

Solo day 1, July 5, 102 miles

2007-07-20T22:26:26Z

the lighter bike and a slight tailwind allows for a long day starting in Bristol and following Rich Valley (parallel to Poor Valley) through Saltville and Bland to the Dismal Falls.

Late in the day I had a dog-induced sprint that left my quadracepts cramping, but I dusted that pup, oh boy.

I also saw a smashed rabbit that had been painted onto the road with a thick white line. So that is how the tortise won, hmm.

Strange biking without Rachel, but I'm still having a good time and having positive interactions with locals.

At the falls, I hardly felt dismal, but rather joyed for the natural shower and mosquito-less night. I even had a half dozen naked girls prancing around on the rocks.

Here is a better view of part of the falls.

PS the girls weren't really naked, but the blurriness makes it appear so, no? I'd never take pictures of skinny (or fat) dippers.

Christ house in Bristol

2007-07-20T21:09:08Z

"I left my wife in Tennessee.." are some words in a Leonard Cohen song, but the following line is " and a baby in Saigon" which isn't quite as true.

I rode to Bristol solo, hauling much less gear, leaving the tent and other amenities with Rachel. My college roommate, Ayres Christ was returning to his parents' house for a couple of days, and we spent it well, cooking, watching the U-20 world cup, and playing wiffle golf in the yard.

It was the fouth of July and Rachel and I spent the day "independantly"; the first we've been separated for more than an hour or so in about 6 months.

roofing

2007-07-20T20:27:28Z

'the exchange place' is a historic farm with barns, houses, cabins, springhouse, gardens and animals. erek and i shingled the blacksmith shop first. we tore off the old, soot-covered cedar shingles, which was a FILTHY job. all you coal miners out there- i feel your pain! coal dust does not come off the skin. i scrubbed with lava rock and pumice all week. finally we put on new shingles. lots of hammering and measuring and carrying heavy loads of shingles up ladders.

erek needed to return to work on his cabin, so i did the small cabin by myself. it is lovely work- like fitting together a giant puzzle. i must have hammered a billion nails in a week, and my right hand is still recovering. at night i returned to our friend ken's home (near the cabin site)to eat supper at 10, drink a gin-and-tonic, and do crossword puzzles for an hour before crashing. i was shingling in my dreams by the end, but i really liked it, and i think i'll go back for more this fall.

erek and megan's cabin

for two days before andrew came to pick me up i helped erek and megan put the tin on the roof of their cabin. that was actually more difficult than the shingles, but much, much faster.

so i got to be a monkey for ten days, see my good friends, and make some dough to pay for the major car repairs.

Kingsport, TN

2007-07-20T17:28:47Z

once the bikes were reassembled we rode off toward the grocery store. the brains were still disassembled and bleary which made shopping for food very difficult. it was only 10 miles to 'the exchange place', the historic farm where our friend megan lives. once we were safely in her bed we slept for the next 18 out of 24 hours. we woke up serious, somber, and mostly-mentally-reconstituted.

after our little rest we went to work on erek and megan's cabin. they are building it using old logs that were part of two barns near the site. erek and his dad have gotten the structure this far in only 15 days!
y

erek and andrew are getting creepy lately. maybe it's something in the water.

there is a need for a roofer at 'exchange place', and i am in need of some income, so i (RT) am sticking around here to shingle while andrew bikes to bristol, then ferrum, then fishersville.

Greyhound ride

2007-07-20T16:44:18Z

The ride to St. Louis was quick and had lots of open seats. There was one couple who couldn't stop pretending they had just met, but that they were going to separate tomorrow after 50 years of marriage. yes, a senseless paradox.

At the depot in St Louis, a brilliant display of Darwinism (survival of the fittest) presented itself as our bus driver told us the wrong bus to get on, and the mob in the station could not be called a line in any non-Euclidean world. Well, I guess we just might survive to procreate, because we got on the right bus and found the last pair of adjacent seats. Our bikes even made it on too.
In the seat next to us I struck up a conversation with a guy (named Skyy) who happened to be headed to a party in Floyd the following night. Is this a case of small world, or big county? He was recovering from a car accident which left one arm skinless and his face mangled, though lots of surgery had made him pretty again, while only losing one pinky finger. He and his girlfriend proceeded to freestyle rap to each other until an argument arose about what had ensued between him and her best friend (or freind as it is spelled in Kansas).

We had another exchange in Nashville, and this time our bikes barely fit under the bus after one loader told me they'd have to wait for the next one. We got the last two seats (not together this time) and I wound up with the biggest seat partner possible, so I was mostly in the aisle. It was about 2Am when we stopped for a rest break, and our militant driver found a woman (across the aisle from me) sleeping cross-legged with her head on her seat partner who had a two-year old in her lap. The driver went to pounding on the slumberer's back, near the kidneys, and several sessions of this took place before the driver gave up and went to call the police. In the mean time the woman woke up and we told her she was getting kicked off. She exited and went into the Waffle House, and then walked across the street. As we pulled away, two police cars zoomed over and trapped her and began the interrogation. My seatmate thought she wasn't drunk like the others did, but rather "high on pills".

The night and morning passed rather uneventfully and without sleep, and we arrived in Kingsport with soggy gear and cloudy heads. we dried things on the sidewalk while i put the bikes back together and ate a package of dry ramen for sustinance.

While we sat there, a man driving by asked us if our bikes were for sale. Remember the man who wanted our wooden bowls? I guess we have the aura of street vendors these days.

Hardly believeing that we were in Kansas yesterday morning, we both agree that it was the longest 24 hours of either of our lives.

day 113, june 29, 26 miles

2007-07-20T15:42:12Z

the bus departs at 1 so we have to be at the station by 11:30. the plan is to wake up at 5:30, but it is raining HARD when the alarm goes off. we doze until 7:00. it is still raining, but if we are going to catch the bus, we must leave now. we ride on the sidewalks to avoid rush-hour traffic and rain-blinded drivers. i cant believe that we didnt get any flat tires on those jagged, bumpy sidewalks.

we are not exactly sure how to get downtown, and so we get stuck between some interstates, and a park. a 6 dollar map showed us the way, and we were off... the rain stopped just as we rolled up to the station. we took the bikes apart to packed them into boxes, and stuffed our wet garb into panniers before rushing in to buy tickets. three minutes after we got the tickets, they boarded the bus. 10 minutes after we left the station, we realized that we had lost our passports, stamps and postcards, two books, andrew's fleece, journal and our minds. we had left them on the sidewalk outside the station. oh well here we go...

day 112, june 28, 46 miles

2007-07-20T15:30:23Z

the rain and proximity to KC busyness gives us some hesitation to push through the dim afternoon light, and our late morning start leaves the day short. we will not make our goal of leaving kansas tonight. we are five miles away. the small town camping options have faded away as we near the metropolis. urbanity has taken hold.

most of the counties around this one have flood warnings and watches. where is our raft?

we find ourselves in a large, well developed park, squeezed between 4 softball fields and a kids pioneer park. it is not legal to camp here but so far no one cares that we are sleeping in a gazebo.

on the road today there was a GIANT dead frog and lots of smashed turtles lining the steep and short hills. short as they may be, our legs were burning. dairy queen must be popular out here...their cups have reappeared en-mass along the road.

tonight, while lying under the small roof on our table-beds, and fending off the 5-fold gang of raccoons growling in the darkness, we have decided to catch a bus tomorrow to take us to kingsport TN. We have used every other mode of transportation so far (airplane, train, ferry, sailboat, kayak, city bus, subway, (almost) motorcycles, and the ever-popular car) so we thought we'd try out a 24 hour stint in the world of Greyhound (aka-dirty dog).
This should give us about two weeks extra to repair our broken professional lives, and let andrew learn how to play soccer again. We also have two plateless, insuranceless, lifeless vehicles needing some TLC from a mechanic or six.

why kingsport? we have some friends there who need visiting, and we would like to ride bikes from there to ferrum, VA.

the coons have gone to sleep and so must we.

day 111 june 27, 44 miles

2007-07-19T21:48:22Z

* we had imagined that once over the rockies, the western winds and flat terrain would propel us forward at blinding speeds, and we would average at least 100 miles per day. obviously kansas had other plans for us. this has been the hardest part of the trip. and by the way, northern kansas is not flat at all!!!*

it rained all night and into the morning. we decided to ride 10 miles to the interstate to hitch a ride to kansas city. a real nice country boy stopped and after checking our i.d.s to make sure we weren't card-carrying-killers, he gave us a ride to topeka. The guy's name is Guy, and works as a pop-hauler, dr. pepper to be exact, and he likes kansas because it is affordable and 'in-the-center'.

after Guy dropped us off at walmart, we rode through soft rain to lawrence. the road was great until the shoulder disappeared. it had been blasted away to prepare for road work. by the time we hit lawrence, we are soaked, and tired, and there seems to be no free city park camping for wayfaring strangers. we hit up the hotel.

there was a bumper-buster behind us. we could have caused it if they were looking at us instead of at the car in front of them. we didnt stay to find out.

once we were safely sheltered, strong rain pounded the out-of-doors periodically through the evening and night. i like rooves.

day 110, june 26, 60 miles

2007-07-19T21:37:34Z

i woke up in a complete daze... didnt know where i was at all.
we rode to riley to eat lunch and nap on cool metal pick nick tables. a kind librarian let us use her computer for some email check-ins. it wasnt quite as hot as it could be so we kept riding on to manhattan. we were looking for a diner for dinner, and ended up at a local drive-in with sad burgers and mediocre chili.

it is getting lusher and more humid each day we travel east. i am getting really excited when i see familiar plants from 'home' like poke berries and non-native oriental bittersweet. my precious exotics... i love to hate them.

as we biked into wamego the humidity was incredible!! SOUP TOWN. we had to stop at sonic to get cold drinks. the city park had showers in the pool area for us, and lush lawn for camping. we unfortunately pitched the tent beside the teenage hangout...b-ball and loud music. fell asleep to bumping beats of Snoop doggy dog.

Day 109 June 25, 62 miles

2007-07-19T19:43:03Z

we took the morning off because the next town is over 50 miles away and we got in pretty late last night. We'll try to make that 50 tonight rather than this breeziest of hot days. Roads are generally busier than normal because of the peaking wheat harvest. Here a combine takes up more than both lanes:

Rachel went in the park pool while I ran a couple of errands. Then we left Beloit in the evening, riding through firefly havens, and ending up in Clay Center for more free town park camping. Rachel was really tired once it got dark out, and we arrived at 1 Am

Day 108 June 24, 82 miles

2007-07-19T19:07:18Z

Riding into a slight headwind this morning, we met a cyclist from Stockton who had all his racks on, just in case he got the inspiration to take off on a tour.
The park's water was wretched, so we went into pizza hut for the buffet, air, and liquids. There the water is pretty bad too so we drank way too much root beer. We slept for most of the afternoon on the floor of the court house foyer(closed, but unlocked on Sunday).

We were again asked by some very nice people whether we carry guns, and left town in the evening.

It is wheat harvest time so there are lots of combines driving around in fields into the night, and convoys of them fill the roads going only slightly faster than us.

We entered Cawker City, famous for its giant ball of twine and Rachel went to climbing it. It is a strange beast, especially at night.

Another crepuscular (morning and evening-like deer) day ending in Beloit where we received different directions to the city park from two different drunk women and eventually arrived at Chatauqua park with free camping up to 10 days. Sleeping like babes after finding a spot under a willow, next to the Solomon river.

Day 107 June 23, 62 miles

2007-07-19T18:30:24Z

29 miles in the morning takes us to Hill City, where we nap on some concrete picnic tables, and talk with some local history buffs. Their granfather had homesteaded here, living in a sod house dryland farming, as they called it.

we still have strong winds from the east and south (the directions we would like to go), and they are forcast for days to come.

Leaving town in the evening, we passed through the town of Nicodemus, a town founded by Buffalo Soldiers who fought against Native Americans to "win" the (mid)west. They are having a blues/jazz festival tonight, but we ride on to Stockton, finding a park with showers at 11 Pm. It is saturday, so night riding wouldn't be the safest.

The moon is waxing, so every night it gets brighter.

Day 106 June 22, 53 miles

2007-07-19T18:18:08Z

We slept in late making the most of the shelter, and then did laundry in town where this clock hung:

there was another painting of the last supper in our room last night but we forgot to capture it in the camera.

We went to a bar for lunch which Rachel told me was a "pizza and brewery". It turned out to be a little more limited than that. the menu consisted of "Chicken Fry" which I ordered and chicken salad, which Rachel got. I expected something like chicken fries, but the plate resembled the common southern "Country fried steak". The texture made me think they take the scraps of fried chicken (not bones, but mostly skin) and press them into a circle and then deep fry it, essentially double-fried chicken skins. mmm-mmm. It is a good thing I exercise vigorously over 6 hours a day. Rachel's meal had chunks of this material over iceberg lettuce.

In the library, we met two of 27 bikers who had just rolled into town. They were with the Bike and Build organization and ride from town to town giving presentations on homelessness, and doing general awareness-raising work while on their trip. they get to have a van haul all of their gear and sleep mostly in churches. It seemed like fun, but very structured.

Running into others from that group in town, they were all in awe at our loads, and general plan-as-you-go aura of our trip-including tonight's plans to start biking at night instead of in the heat of the day.

So we started after 6pm and it was glorious: low winds, lower traffic, and the temps weren't too bad either. It was the first time since Ft. Collins that Rachel felt well and was enjoying the riding. Night fell and we put on our reflecto gear and blinkey lights. We couldn't really stop without being swarmed by mosquitos. See her cat eyes?

We rode until a little after midnight and found a park to sleep for six hours or so.

the whole evening we were riding towards a distant lighning storm that was thunderless and beautiful, and we saw about one vehicle per hour (coming from several miles away), and were glad to step off the road to let them pass.

here is our camp spot:

Day 105 June 21, 73miles

2007-07-19T17:54:30Z

We woke before sunrise to beat (some of) the heat. Rachel wore handkerchiefs on her thighs to stop the sun poisoning. Her new shorts reveal some untanned flesh and even with generous SPF 50, blisters are forming:

We recieved some mixed messages from the Kansas Dept of Transportation:

Still desiring an evening with AC and shade, we rolled into Oberlin and again found that local road work had filled both of the town's motels.
In the meantime Rachel cooled off in this freezer. Notice the horse? It costs 1 penny to ride, reflecting Kansas's low cost-of-living:

Dubious looking info led us deeper into the old town center where we did find a historic hotel that had a lot of character, but was still not expensive. Instead of battling racoons from a campsite, we only had to fend off this bobcat.

After the feline was subdued, we could rest in peaceon the fine quilts in our personal white robes.
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they even had an old-timey exercise equipment room downstairs for our lazy selves.

Day 104, June 20 59 miles

2007-07-19T17:38:09Z

This morning we got up in the 5's 'cause it is going to be hot!

We went through Wray too early for groceries and met a biker/farmer jealous of our touring. He rode with us a bit while chatting about his dream tour (he rides an unladen bike while his wife rides ahead on a motorcycle with a credit card).

Refill water at an auto shop, and then spend 30 minutes in Nebraska (which is really pretty actually). We turn into the wind and have some serious hills to cross into Kansas. We intended to stop early in St. Francis (when the temp hits 95F) and find both motels full of road construction workers, but there is another fine free campground right between them. Rachel takes a spigot shower:

We here hailed by this native on his horse (on the hill) and at first thought he was upset by our tresspassing on the Pawnee territory, but it turned out that all he wanted was our blog address.

Day 103 June 19, 69 miles

2007-07-19T17:23:36Z

We left town passing a huge feedlot, and for miles endured clouds of gnats, apparently feeding off of the stench therein. Lots of cement truckers are excited by our visage and honk while waving, leaving zero hands on the steering wheel, I guess. They are happy though and so are we because the shoulder is wide.

I was offered a shower by a man I met at a gas station (for us, a water station) but declined as we had one last night.

Rachel's illness has fostered a habit of taking a nap in every town (they have the trees) we pass through. We stopped at a rest stop (closed for mowing) and end up staying all evening, getting rest and finishing Tolkien's Two Towers.

this should be our last night in Colorado

Day 102 June 18 , 59 miles

2007-07-19T17:09:47Z

A generally uneventful day beyond frequent stops and heavy sunshine. This is some of the only shade we found. Notice rachel?

Rachel is not feeling well so we called it quits for the day upon entering the town of Brush, finding their town campground free for the first night.
Rachel fell asleep quickly while I wandered around and found some adult softball league entertainment. this photo resulted in a home-run.

Some neighborhood dog decided we were not welcome and woke us up, barking right next to our tent, but left soon thereafter to find his bitch.

day 101, June 17, 60 miles

2007-07-19T16:52:03Z

This morning my throat was sore. by midmorning i was feeling sick, but it was better while riding than off the bike, so we kept on riding.

i honestly dont remember much of this day, and my journal entry goes like this-
-lightening -HOT! -cactus -rest stop -wind -rattlesnake

the rattler was chillin (warming) on the shoulder of the road. he wouldn't budge, and wouldnt rattle, even when i shook the rattle we took from the squashed snake in wheat country.

stopping at a campground for a refuge from the 100 degree heat, we found a mickey mouse pedometer, a cool covered concrete slab, and lots of flies. Three hours of rest and then we went a little further for free and private camping on the Pawnee National grassland, which was generously scattered with crouching cactus. there was a spectacular lights display in the sky as we set up our tent. the sunset was 365 degress and lightening storms were popping along the northern cloud bank.

brother visit # 2, Denver

2007-07-19T16:26:46Z

steve graciously lent us his car to travel south to denver, since andrew's bike was still in the shop waiting for parts. in denver we have two more beautiful nieces, naya and geneva. Chris (andrew's brother) and leigh ann had just moved into a fantastic house. they hadn't even had time to really unpack before we came, so andrew and the girls had plenty of room to 'dance'.

there is a wonderful green space near the house that is deep enough to swallow small children. luckily we had them on leashes.

again we ate lots of delicious food, and had plenty of sleep, including family nap time.

leigh ann works for coors brewery, a HUGE place compared to odells, roughly 1000 times the production volume. we had a tour and tasting at coors, including a look at the room where they sprout the barley. it is pressurized and kept at 100% humidity, and the 5 foot deep troughs of grain are stirred mechanically every 15 minutes.

chris and andrew have several uncles, aunts and cousins in the area, so we had a bbq-pauly-vandeloo-reunion. this crew knows how to make each other laugh. the only thing missing was a hard-core card game. Thank You to all those who drove through rush hour traffic to have dinner with us.