May 31, 2009

night 3

i was just taking some night photos of the structures at the campsite and the couple in the campsite thought i was laying clamore mines to kill them.

1. who kills someone with a claymore mine?
2. who brings claymore mines on a bicycle!

the guy was smoking an electronic cigarette. no smell. vaporizes a liquid with nicotine in it. says he smokes at movies and in the office.

the future has arrived?

----------
Sent from my Verizon Wireless mobile phone

day 3 = holy crap

good ride. beautiful day. just ate caseys pizza which was so bad i had to dip it in ranch dressing.

finally at a campsite with showers!

i just counted my mosquito bites. without counting my back, chest or face i have 347. im assuming that i will run out of blood soon. maybe i have the measles?

my left knee really hurts.

shower time.

----------
Sent from my Verizon Wireless mobile phone

lunch at the rocheport general store. curried chicken salad sandwich with fruit salad.

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

day 3

got a short 45 mi day today. have to base my distance on camping availability. the mosquito bites are swelling and people on the trail notice immediatly.

stopped at catfish katies 8 mi out of rocheport for an ice cream and some benadryl. hopefully that helps.

ive got my legs again. m barely managed 12mph yesterday. now im pushing 16 or 17 today. must have been that shot.

made it to rocheport for lunch. eating at a general store and a blugrass band is playing. i seriously feel like im in the 1800s and im travelling train towns on black beauty. my trusty steed.

im gonna go rob a bank. brb! lolz! omgz!

----------
Sent from my Verizon Wireless mobile phone

day 2 cont

i love hartsburg.

camp was up by 4 or so. went to a local winery and talked with the owner for a bit. he bought a caboose to turn into a bed and breakfast.

went to the bar in town and talked with some guys. one told me to watch out for gang deer...especially the crypts. noticed i had a red bandana on me.

the bartender said i should come back a 9 when it gets really crazy. so i did. it was bottomless cup night. people were arm wrestling and barking at each other. some dude brought in a small aquarium with frogs in it and set it on the bar. he was thrown out. my night ended when some old man with two black girlfriends bought me a shot.

slept well. i lied yesterday though. i have upwards of 100 mosquito bites. also the birds here are following me and dive bombing. effers.

----------
Sent from my Verizon Wireless mobile phone

western omlet at dotties in hartsburg.

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

May 30, 2009

any ideas what this is? guy at the bar is asking me.

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

day 2 cont

arrived in hartburg, mo. the rain delay set me back a bit so im only 125 mi into the trip. free camping here at the city park which is a 50 x 50 plot of grass with a jungle gym in someones back yard.

had to pack in a hurry this morning and when i rolled out my tent there blood stains all over it from freakin dead mosquitos! i swept up 20 or so. like a crime scene in there. also realized that iave bites all over me and they didnt start itching until it was warm. bleh. id say i have around 30 on my upper arms. they must have been lady mosquitos...going all up on my guns like that.

weather. good.
miles. 126.
time in saddle. 12h:59m
average. 11.6 (headwinds are killing me)


----------
Sent from my Verizon Wireless mobile phone

lunch at dotties. country fried steak n' peach cobbler.

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

day 2

woke up at 530am only to spend 30 minutes clapping bugs to death in my tent. weird thing is i dont have any bites.

cleaned up. went outside. storm coming in. packed frantically and got out of camp. the campground is self serve so you pay in a bin and take change from this bowl thats just sitting on a table. they also have oreo cakesters. delicious.

rode 15 miles in the rain and ate my left over pizza with some dudes who were riding east. i felt weird because they brought more equipment than me for a 2 day ride.

still having water issues. i stopped at a family bbq to ask for a fill up. they obliged. so nice!

knee hurts. only doing 50 mi today. in jeff city now and will end in hartsburg.

----------
Sent from my Verizon Wireless mobile phone

day 1 cont

rring about. they were constantly on you. i thought i was going to lose my mind it was so annoying. the campsite felt haunted. lots of creepy rotting wood structures randomly placed. i was waiting for something to maul me.

didnt sleep much as the bugs got into my tent and would buzz in my ear. i turned the radio on to drown them out. thanks again terbear.

----------
Sent from my Verizon Wireless mobile phone

day 1

got off to a late start. was up till 3 or so the night prior and chose a few more hours of sleep over punctuality. les and i a had country boy breakfasts at cracker barrel with steak! got on the trail around 12. the trail is dusty and flat. no climbs. no decents. its a little boring at times.

every guy that is also touring inspects your bike like a prize cattle...walking around it slowly. you can tell that are judging me by my choices. kinda funny.

other than chia bike guy. i only talked to one person all day. the towns are small with abondoned building all over. i had a hard time finding water and food. i actually ran out of water at one point only to find that some guy had installed a soda machine in his front yard. no dollars though. had to track him down for change.

i miscalculated my distance...added a section twice. my 98 mi day turned into a 75 mi day! still didnt get into the campground until 8pm. had to set up in the dark and mosquitos were so bad you could hear them whir

----------
Sent from my Verizon Wireless mobile phone

May 29, 2009

late lunch. tjs pizza and a pepsi.

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

this guy just told me he wants to make an art bike that he can grow grass on. he called it a chia bike and he had cheese crackers in his toofs! nice guy.

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

Woah.

So we just played a show. It was fantastic. I'm a bit hoarse from singing/yelling/talking so much. Dad taught me how to wear a bandanna properly, saved my eyes from the salt.

Its a bit late - i had planned on awaking at 5:30am and being on the bike by 7:30am. Then I realized that I have all the time in the world with absolutely no responsibilities on this trip besides pedaling.

I'm going to sleep in a bit.

100 miles tomorrow(today i guess?), it begins!

Thanks again to everyone who came out, it was nice seeing you all.

May 23, 2009

Packed.

Provisions.





























What am I bringing?


(not photographed)
100 ML CamelBak.
Snacks.

(photographed)

Tent.
Sleeping Bag.
Lightweight Tarp.
Sleeping Pad.
Camera.
iPOD.
Cell Phone.
Ukulele.
Emergency Radio.
Extra Tubes (2).
Harmonica.
Crescent Wrench.
Multi-Tool.
Tire Levers.
Seat Wrench.
Chain Cleaner.
Needle-Nosed Pliers.
Proofhide.
Shovel.
Wet Wipes.
Fire Starters.
Utensil.
Mini-Spatula.
Matches in waterproof case.
50 ft. Nylon Rope.
Extra Cables.
Soap (with case!)
Tire patch.
Insect Repellent.
Tylenol.
Floss.
Pancho.
Medical Kit.
Sunscreen.
Mini-Towel.
Travel T.P.
Journal with Pens & Pencil.
Mess Kit.
Extra Stakes.
Shoes.
Cleaning Rag.
Crank Flashlight.
Shoes.
Clothes.
Compass.
Lock.
Helmet.
Glasses.
Gloves.

Followers