I spent two nights at the Zion Lutheran Church/bicyclist hostel in Hutchinson, KS. Showers, bathroom, kitchen, good company(not very much sleep) a bed. It was great. I ate homemade mac n' cheese, and pancakes, and made chocolate chip cookies. Yess. And to think I almost up and left that town right after the bike shop stop. 45 dollar handle grips, a tire, a tube, a headset tightening, a rear derailer alignment, and a great time with Andrew. Those grips better be worth it Andrew(my hands have been hurting a lot since I pulled that 130 mi day. I could barely unbuckle my packs.)
I biked 90 miles in the rain yesterday. The first real rain I've biked in. It was exhilarating, gorgeous, and totally freeing. The cool drops splattering on my warm, bare skin, running down my face, arms, and legs, and puddling in my shoes, cleansing body, mind, earth, and air. Kansas looked beautiful.
I pulled into a closed campground next to a lake, slightly tilting my bike to fit under the metal gate. It had only been slightly drizzling for the past hour or so, so I slipped into dry clothes: shorts and a t-shirt, it was warm. Remembering that it could start raining at any minute, I finally started pulling my tent out. It immediately started to pour. I rushed to put down the tarp, lay the tent down, put together the poles and get the fly on before the puddles got to big. I threw my stuff under the fly and climbed inside, stripped my now soaking clothes off, and started drying off the inside of my tent with a small, scraggly rag. Wiping down and ringing out the rag I worked my way down to the lower end of the tent. "Whoahoho. Whow. That is... well, that is waterproof, that's for sure."
There was an enormous puddle of water in the lower end of my tent, and being a bathtub bottom tent that I recently re-waterproofed with that water proof spray, that water wasn't going anywhere. So I crouched, stark naked, soaking water up with my already wet clothes and wringing them just outside the tent under the rainfly as the rain poured down from the sky making little drumming noises on the tight fabric. The geese honked overhead and the water of the lake lapped the shore, sometimes more vigorously than others making me peer out with my flashlight to make sure it wasn't going to start rising all of a sudden.
I cooked some dank Annie's mac n' cheese by reaching my hand underneath the rainfly and tending to it without getting wet, only pulling everthing inside when it was all done. I inhaled the noodles, slurped down the extra water, all salty, garlicky, full of creamcheese, and tomato juices, yummm, and had the best night of sleep I have had in a while.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Road Kill State
Kansas is hands down the state with the most road kill, the most anti-abortion billboards, and the most people who wave at you from their cars while driving by. You can also see your destination(typically a little clump of trees) fifteen miles before you get there, there are no bicycle shops, and the wind is always blowing. Only 250 more miles to go, here I come Missouri.
One of the really neat things about Kansas is, because there are no campgrounds, cyclists are permitted to sleep in city parks. All you do is give the sheriff a quick phone call and let him know your staying there. However, the down side is, these parks often do not have bathrooms and, being little towns, sometimes businesses(or the business) have late opening and early closing hours. So time things well. :)
I happened to be in one of these little tiny grocery stores the other day when a young, elevinish year old girl ran up to me and asked me if I was the biker.
"well. Yes. I am on a bicycle.?"
She asked me if I maybe wanted a warm meal, and a shower, and maybe to camp in her yard. Now, being a dirty, stinky, salt covered, wind blasted cyclist lacking good, warm food, fruits and vegetables, I of course said I would love all of the above. We walked outside, got my bicycle, met her mom, and walked to their house. Her mom warned me that the girl's father didn't know yet that I had been invited over and that they would for sure feed me and let me shower but it wasn't guaranteed that I could stay the night. The girl(Abigail) had spotted me and dashed off to invite me over before her mother had been able to say anything. I did end up staying the night. I was ogled and waited on by three little girls constantly inching closer to me as their father told story after story of God speaking to him and telling him of events to come, where his children were going to be born, or natural disasters that were going to hit. Constantly traveling, kept away from pop culture and electronics of any sort, and being home schooled, these three girls couldn't wait to have my attention. We had a slumber party outside in their giant twelve by twelve tent they had set up just for me. At four in the morning we hear "Abigail. Get everyone up. I've been up for hours and I've made a pepperoni and squash pizza for us all to eat. I'll be out with it in five minutes."
Abigail and I successfully wake one other girl up and we all sit in the tent together in the middle of the night eating home made pizza, and ice cream, and then crawl back into bed until morning.
The next morning when I left, all three girls grabbed their bicycles and pedaled the first mile with me giggling, babbling, and shrieking and finally waving goodbye.
One of the really neat things about Kansas is, because there are no campgrounds, cyclists are permitted to sleep in city parks. All you do is give the sheriff a quick phone call and let him know your staying there. However, the down side is, these parks often do not have bathrooms and, being little towns, sometimes businesses(or the business) have late opening and early closing hours. So time things well. :)
I happened to be in one of these little tiny grocery stores the other day when a young, elevinish year old girl ran up to me and asked me if I was the biker.
"well. Yes. I am on a bicycle.?"
She asked me if I maybe wanted a warm meal, and a shower, and maybe to camp in her yard. Now, being a dirty, stinky, salt covered, wind blasted cyclist lacking good, warm food, fruits and vegetables, I of course said I would love all of the above. We walked outside, got my bicycle, met her mom, and walked to their house. Her mom warned me that the girl's father didn't know yet that I had been invited over and that they would for sure feed me and let me shower but it wasn't guaranteed that I could stay the night. The girl(Abigail) had spotted me and dashed off to invite me over before her mother had been able to say anything. I did end up staying the night. I was ogled and waited on by three little girls constantly inching closer to me as their father told story after story of God speaking to him and telling him of events to come, where his children were going to be born, or natural disasters that were going to hit. Constantly traveling, kept away from pop culture and electronics of any sort, and being home schooled, these three girls couldn't wait to have my attention. We had a slumber party outside in their giant twelve by twelve tent they had set up just for me. At four in the morning we hear "Abigail. Get everyone up. I've been up for hours and I've made a pepperoni and squash pizza for us all to eat. I'll be out with it in five minutes."
Abigail and I successfully wake one other girl up and we all sit in the tent together in the middle of the night eating home made pizza, and ice cream, and then crawl back into bed until morning.
The next morning when I left, all three girls grabbed their bicycles and pedaled the first mile with me giggling, babbling, and shrieking and finally waving goodbye.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
La Junta, Colorado
Whhoops,
I broke down on highway 96 ten miles east of Sugar City. I was pedalin' along and shifted gears. My bike semi-smoothly shifted up one gear and then was unresponsive. Shit. Well, I wanted to tighten the cable a little bit anyways. I glance down at the cables. Huh.? That middle one looks a little loose. So I reach down and gave the cable a little tug. The whole cable starts pullin' up from the gear box end. Ooohhh shit.
I pull over onto a gravel pullout, unload my bicycle, pull out my tools, and sit down to see if i can fix it.
Minutes later a van full of kids pulls over and asks if I'm all right. I'm great. I can single speed it to the next town if i can't figure it out. No biggie.
wow, I wish I remembered more from that bike mechanics class I took four years ago.
A motercycle pulls up fifteen minutes later. "ya need a hand with anything?" he asks.
"Well... do you know how to fix a shifter?" Hey, he's on a motercycle, but he might still know how.
He comes over, sits down next to me in the gravel and starts fiddlin' around with this stupid shifter with me. He has no idea how to fix a shifter either. He calls a friend up. This friend says there's no bike shop in La Junta, but he thinks he can figure it out. Turns out, there's no bike shop for the next 200 miles or so. Ha, shit. So Scott(this guardian angel biker guy) takes me on his motorcycle twenty miles off my route into La Junta, we pick up his truck, and go back to grab my bicycle. His friend comes over, puts my shifter back together(we/mostly I, had taken it completely apart at this point) and Scott and I go get a new cable at Wal-Mart(which only sell full sets.)
Now, I can't even remember which way to turn the little knob on the rear derailer to loosen or tighten the cable, and we have to figure out how to make my bicycle shift smoothly. Oh wow.
We got it figured out though, I think. I'll find out today. It's riding smoothly so far. :)
It was about five o clock last night when we finished fixing my bike and I ended up Staying at Scotts for the night. Crazy Irish, biker, climber, traveller, correctional officer, train conductor, millitary man with a family in Winslow, Az. We had a blast shootin' the shit, talkin' about correctional facilities, and zombie attacks. Hehe.
Now I'm headed twenty miles back onto route(which is about what I ended up biking yesterday) and hopefully making it to Eads or farther(my destination for yesterday.) We'll see what happens. All in the spirit of adventure. ;)
I broke down on highway 96 ten miles east of Sugar City. I was pedalin' along and shifted gears. My bike semi-smoothly shifted up one gear and then was unresponsive. Shit. Well, I wanted to tighten the cable a little bit anyways. I glance down at the cables. Huh.? That middle one looks a little loose. So I reach down and gave the cable a little tug. The whole cable starts pullin' up from the gear box end. Ooohhh shit.
I pull over onto a gravel pullout, unload my bicycle, pull out my tools, and sit down to see if i can fix it.
Minutes later a van full of kids pulls over and asks if I'm all right. I'm great. I can single speed it to the next town if i can't figure it out. No biggie.
wow, I wish I remembered more from that bike mechanics class I took four years ago.
A motercycle pulls up fifteen minutes later. "ya need a hand with anything?" he asks.
"Well... do you know how to fix a shifter?" Hey, he's on a motercycle, but he might still know how.
He comes over, sits down next to me in the gravel and starts fiddlin' around with this stupid shifter with me. He has no idea how to fix a shifter either. He calls a friend up. This friend says there's no bike shop in La Junta, but he thinks he can figure it out. Turns out, there's no bike shop for the next 200 miles or so. Ha, shit. So Scott(this guardian angel biker guy) takes me on his motorcycle twenty miles off my route into La Junta, we pick up his truck, and go back to grab my bicycle. His friend comes over, puts my shifter back together(we/mostly I, had taken it completely apart at this point) and Scott and I go get a new cable at Wal-Mart(which only sell full sets.)
Now, I can't even remember which way to turn the little knob on the rear derailer to loosen or tighten the cable, and we have to figure out how to make my bicycle shift smoothly. Oh wow.
We got it figured out though, I think. I'll find out today. It's riding smoothly so far. :)
It was about five o clock last night when we finished fixing my bike and I ended up Staying at Scotts for the night. Crazy Irish, biker, climber, traveller, correctional officer, train conductor, millitary man with a family in Winslow, Az. We had a blast shootin' the shit, talkin' about correctional facilities, and zombie attacks. Hehe.
Now I'm headed twenty miles back onto route(which is about what I ended up biking yesterday) and hopefully making it to Eads or farther(my destination for yesterday.) We'll see what happens. All in the spirit of adventure. ;)
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Boulder, Colorado
Hey, it's never too late to start blogging. Right?
So I have ended up in Boulder, Colorado. Off route? Yes.
I was sitting in a convenience store in Walden, CO, after battling with 40 mph winds for 50/60 miles, trying to finish a whole cantelope so I didn't have to carry or waste any of it when Stan and Sylvia walked up. They offered me a ride. Well, my first inclination is to say "no, I've got to bike this whole thing(thing being the entire coast to coast)" but I paused and rethought. Why not? This trip is about the experience and the people, not just about the biking. So I took them up on their offer, had a wonderful ride, an amazing picnic, and ended up coming all the way to Boulder with them and checking out Boulder for a day(Which, by the way, is an awesome, very bike friendly town)
So I have ended up in Boulder, Colorado. Off route? Yes.
I was sitting in a convenience store in Walden, CO, after battling with 40 mph winds for 50/60 miles, trying to finish a whole cantelope so I didn't have to carry or waste any of it when Stan and Sylvia walked up. They offered me a ride. Well, my first inclination is to say "no, I've got to bike this whole thing(thing being the entire coast to coast)" but I paused and rethought. Why not? This trip is about the experience and the people, not just about the biking. So I took them up on their offer, had a wonderful ride, an amazing picnic, and ended up coming all the way to Boulder with them and checking out Boulder for a day(Which, by the way, is an awesome, very bike friendly town)
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