Wrap Up

For 145 days ! have been a transient. Pedaling from place to place not knowing for sure where ! would end up or what ! would find each day. After covering 6,373 miles !'m back to where ! started. MY little house in Denver. !'ve seen a good bit of this country. ! reached the farthest north, south, east and west that ! have ever been. ! would say !'ve overcome the traveling trauma brought on by MY childhood. Every summer during the hottest week of the year and every Christmas the parents would pack ME and the 2 siblings into the back of the little station wagon and drive nonstop from ky (that's the Jelly State) to the DC area to visit the Grandparents. Every single year. Brutally hot or bitterly cold w/ the back seat folded down. No padding. Just thousands of miles of mind numbing interstate. No ac and barely any heat. That is one of the main reasons ! was glad to move out for college. No way was ! going to go through that any more. Better to take summer classes. It was 100 miles from MY apartment to the parent's town. ! didn't even like driving that far. ! never went on vacations. Never traveled. A few times ! drove out there from Denver. The only way ! knew how was straight through wired up on No-Doz. ! never enjoyed it. ! don't know exactly why ! decided to make this trip. ! just wanted to do something different. So ! committed totally. MY house is rented out for an entire year. Even if ! decided not to ride ! had no place to live. It was scary @ first. Then you get over it. !'ve been through the desert and the mountains. !'ve seen both oceans, the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario. Canada was MY first time outside of America. It's amazing how many of them have learned to speak English. !'ve been in airplanes, boats, ferries, trains and buses. Volcanoes, Canyons, mountains and huge bodies of water have been MY scenery. !'ve seen the most interesting cities in two countries and met people from all over the world. ! visited the site of the first powered airplane flight shortly after seeing that invention used for mass destruction. ! was in NYC when the terrorists attacked. Shocked by the whole thing ! spent the day glued to the tv just like everyone else in the country except it was local news for ME. Just on the other side of the park and down the street a ways. Over the Grand Canyon ! was awed by the rugged beauty. Before ! saw it ! didn't really expect too much. ! had heard it was amazing, but thought it was just hype. It is amazing. ! spent a night on the side of Mt. Saint Helens and went up Mt. Rainier. Vegas for 4th of July. ! crossed the Hoover dam in 118* temperatures and woke up in Florida to 40*. ! went through this country's largest city. That would be Jacksonville, FL. And the oldest city. Four Corners. And Seattle for a week when they had the best weather in the country. ! got to go up on an aircraft carrier and drink @ the original Starbucks coffee shoppe. !'ve been to the spot where our Founding fathers declared independence from the British and fought the first battles to show that they meant it. ! saw there memorials even though their ideas have been compromised in the years since. !'ve been through the places where our own people fought one another. Cities that celebrate their history of ghosts, freedom and toilets. ! need to learn more about MY own town. Although the cities are amazing, !'ve discovered that the majority of this country is little towns of just a few hundred people. There is enough room out there for everyone who wants to be away from the action. Those who tell you there is nothing but concrete all over the country is only looking @ the cities. They are wrong. If they want to be in small towns they can find them in every state. There is one wherever it is they would like to live. They should not begrudge those who thrive on the energy of urban life. Americans pack themselves into the confines of skyscrapers because whatever they may dislike about the city is far outweighed by the benefits. There is no danger of running out of space anytime soon. Several nights ! was rocked to sleep. One on the water in a harbor of a little island and a few on trains. Hostelling is a great way to travel. Cheap. Just what you need. A bed and a kitchen. And benefits you don't get from hotels. In a hotel you are isolated from all the other guests. In the hostel you get to spend time w/ them. If only they had phone jacks for the laptop they would be perfect. Tenting was enjoyable too. For the most part the gear held up well. A few failures forced ME to think of creative fixes. Things ! never would have tried in the comfort of home. ! can overcome difficulties. !'ve become stronger. While many people consider a Century ride to be a real challenge !'ve done six this trip. ! don't think any of them were planned. ! just went out and ended up 100 miles down the road. After all those miles it didn't seem like such a big deal. ! learned about selling options to make a little extra ca$h. That is something ! can continue to do. ! read philosophy and Darwin. ! now understand his theory of Evolution far better than ! did before. ! expected that ! would return a different person. ! had no idea how ! would change though. Now !'m looking forward to new adventures. A new home and new challenges. ! talked to a couple girls for nearly two hours one night just about MY trip. !'ve got memories to last the rest of MY life. ! can't look back and wonder what it might have been like. ! know. And ! know what it's like to lose a friend. Poor Leo lived life the way a kitter catter is supposed to live. He hunted and fought. He slept and purred and was always ready to be rubbed. !'ll miss him. ! dedicate this trip to him. ! hope to live the rest of MY life the way he would have. Completely.

145 days. 6,373 miles. Six Centuries. That's an average of 44 miles/day including 51 rest days. 68 miles/riding day. From 8' below sea level to 8,218'. 42*-125*.

Day 146 Race Day November 4, 2001

Since the monster truck is full of stuff ! took the bus up to Boulder for the race. After wandering around almost lost ! found the spot. It is amazing how intense racing is. 45 minutes w/ MY heart rate @ what most people have as a Maximum Heart Rate. More than 3 beats/second. ! haven't had that much intensity since the last time ! raced back in February. ! didn't crash. Since ! haven't done any technical riding ! was a little concerned about that. After a couple laps ! finally got it figured out. ! felt like MY heart was going to explode and MY lungs would collapse. It was a good race. ! was hoping to watch the season premier of the X-Files tonight. It's been rescheduled for next Sunday. There's some baseball game on tonight. ! think they should just run the game until everyone gets bored. That should only take half an hour. Then back to interesting programming. That's

Day 145 Denver November 3, 2001

! woke up in time to see the sun rise out on the plains. A few hours later ! got to Denver. After putting the Jackal back together ! headed off to Turin for race tyres. On the way down to MY garage ! passed the office. They were actually open. A class was going on. ! got MY books. ! think !'ll have 26 students. Then tonight off to the theatre. The Bug is a neat little space up in Highland. It's good to be home. 18 miles.

Day 144 Chicago November 2, 2001

It was cloudy and raining when ! woke up near Effingham, IL. ! don't mind. !'m sleeping inside. The lounge in Chicago had a phone jack so ! could get online and see e mail and Dilbert. Then ! went out on the River Walk to look around. It only went a few blocks. ! crossed the river to the front of the Sears Tower. The tallest building in the world. Then fed. While sitting there ! looked up @ the Sears Tower and saw an airliner approaching it. It looked like it was heading right towards the building. It was an illusion. It was up higher and off to the side. !'m back on the train now. The weather in Chicago is 60* and......windy. One more night of relaxation. 0 miles.

Day 143 On the Train November 1, 2001

MY first project was to get to the library since !'ll be out of touch 'til ! get to Denver. Good thing ! did. ! found out ! have a teaching gig starting on Monday. Two Basic classes. 9-Noon and 6-9pm MWF. !'m going to be busy. !'m not sure how !'m going to manage the morning class. ! have no keys to the office and the prep offices don't open 'til 10. And !'ve got no way to prepare. It'll be interesting. ! had lunch @ Juan's Flying Burrito. Good Mexican food in Louisiana. Who'da guessed? Then off to the AMTRAK station. It took less than an hour to our first stop. Just off the threshold of the N'awlins airport in the swamp. We had to wait for the southbound AMTRAK train to pass. One of our crew got out to do a roll-by inspection for them. Now we're creeping through the swamp. ! just saw some turtles on a log. The tracks we are on until we get way up into MS are owned by CN. Canadian National. They bought out Illinois Central a few years ago. The tracks are in bad shape. The room on this train is nicer than the VIARail. It actually has a door and electricity. The food isn't as good or as elegantly presented. And there is no dome car on this train. They do have movies running in the observation car constantly ! think. ! would recommend the VIARail over the AMTRAK @ least for this route. It's odd that all MY train traveling so far has been on Canadian rails. !'ll be on a different train tomorrow from Chicago, IL to Denver. ! just noticed that the class !'m teaching is @ the same time as the International class ! was going to take. One more thing to reorganize. Tomorrow is MY last day to just have nothing to do. Then into 7 months of intensity. It's going to be fun. 6 miles.

Day 142 Halloween in N'awlins October 31, 2001

! rode over to the French Quarter and down all those streets. Not a whole lot to see. The architecture is nice but it's pretty run down. Lots of rust. The streets are horrendous. They say it'll cost a $billion to fix them all. After MY evening feed ! went to the French Quarter to take the Ghost & Vampyre tour. There's no historical evidence of vampirism in New Orleans. There are wannabes who like to go to clubs and cut people when they aren't paying attention. Just enough to get some blood to drip into their glass. There are others who advertise. They want AIDS-free donors. Do Vampyres really need to worry about disease? They are dead already. Lots of ghosts about though. ! know why the Jazz clubs leave their doors open. It keeps ax murderers out of town. Many years ago before Jazz was an acceptable style, much like Rock 'N' Roll early on, a popular corner store owner didn't open on time as he was known to do. The neighbors worried and the police came. Someone had chiseled a small panel out of the door. Too small for a man to enter. They broke down the door and found the storekeeper and his wife hacked to death by ax. Soon after there was another ax murder then an unsuccessful attempt. The survivor said it was a large man. Too large to fit through the door panels. There were many more attacks. Not all were successful. The cops were stumped. Then the paper got a letter from the killer. No ID and no remorse. He said he could keep doing it forever and never be caught. He was working w/ the Angel of Death. He was fond of Jazz. If everyone in town would play Jazz all night 10 nights hence he would stop. They did and he was never heard from again. The Spanish would do executions by stoning or beheading. The heads don't come off easily. It would take 3-6 hacks to separate one. All the executions were done in the square. on quiet nights you can see the spirits of the victims wandering about. They fade into a blue mist and dissipate @ sunrise. 10 miles.

Day 141 Another Rest Day October 30, 2001

! didn't really feel like doing anything today. ! pretty much finished MY studying. ! was listening to a couple MP3s that came w/ the laptop. ! thought ! should record all MY vinyl albums onto MP3. That way ! could actually listen to them. MY turntable died a couple years ago. ! had wanted to try to replace them all w/ used CDs and sell the records. That doesn't seem feasible ! had trouble selling some that ! didn't want anymore. ! got all fired up and remembered there is an Office Depot just a few blocks away. Maybe they have them so ! can get an idea what it would cost. ! seem to remember MP3 players selling for about $300. They didn't have any, but it looks like ! could put all 100 albums on CD for about $300. That's a CD/R drive, CDs, labels, jewel boxes and a turntable. !'ll be checquing CNET and EBay when ! return. $3 each and some work is not too bad. ! can sell some of the gear and some of the records to recoup MY costs. That was the only excitement for today. 4 miles.

Day 140 A Really Bad Day October 29, 2001

After laundry ! went to the library to checque e mail. A kitter catter resembling the Bob Cat has shown up @ Mother's house. Mother and Baby Sister are trying to make a positive ID. ! told her to have Leo checque for her. ! checqued back a little later and found out that ! had missed an e mail a couple weeks ago. Leo has been killed. He was either attacked by a dog or a large bird of prey. He lived a little while but the vet couldn't save him. He died on the 29th of September. He was 6 years old. When ! got them they told ME that outdoor cats only last 5 years on average. Indoor cats live 10. Is a wild beast meant to be indoors? Hell no. It would have been wrong to keep them locked up. It would have been wrong for them to let ME. They were tough and did kitter catter things. They ruled the 'hood. !'ll miss him and Bob too if that's not him, but ! won't keep Bob indoors. "Those who would sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither" Leo did what he was meant to do. Sadly he is gone now. He lived longer than average and way more than any indoor cat ever has. He was happy. How many people can say that? Most spend their lives just doing what they have to to get by. They never take a chance and try to be more than most others can even dream of. Everyone should be like Leo. He would have died anyways. There is no way of preventing that. But could ! have loved him as much? He'd have been someone different. No regrets. 7 miles.

Day 139 Rest Day October 28, 2001

! was out late last night on Bourbon St. It's all true. ! slept late, ate breakfast and took a nap. Then off to the market for something for lunch and some Coke. The new Diet Coke w/ lemon is not recommended. ! did some studying then lunch. ! was going to do laundry today, but the good Laundromat is closed so !'ll get to that tomorrow. Maybe another nap is what ! need. 0 miles.

Day 138 Gators October 27, 2001

Here's what ! learned on the tour today. The cemeteries are above ground. If you wanted to be buried underground you have to drill holes in the coffin so it fills w/ water and stays down. They have family tombs here. The way they work is someone dies. They get put in the coffin etc. and slid into the tomb. It is hot and humid here so it only takes a year to rot down to just bones. When the next person for that tomb dies if it's been @ least a year they open it up to air out for a few days. Then they remove the old bones, put them in a box and drop it down a shaft inside. The coffin is supposed to be destroyed. The next tenant is put in. If it hasn't been a year the new one has to rent space by the week along the outer wall of the cemetery until they are ready to be moved. The french and the Americans hated each other so much they divided the town. The streets change names @ the border. During the 1800s New Orleans was the richest city in the world. St. Charles St. is the prestigious address. One guy had a house on the corner facing the other street. He had the house jacked up and turned around so he could have a St. Charles address. Anne Rice has a house on St. Charles St. near here. All the plantation owners had winter homes in town. Most on St. Charles St. There is a statue of General Robert E. Lee. One of his requests when they put it up was that he be facing north. He didn't want those damn Yankees behind his back. That's the only place in town were the locals know which way they are going. The roads are really bad here. They keep sinking. They have roundabouts w/ traffic lights on them (?). The big buildings have pilings 50' deep to keep them from sinking. ! went on the city & swamp tour today. A bus tour around town then out to the bayou to see the swamp. Lunch right before the boat ride. ! found out what a po'boy is. It's kind of like a sub. ! had a gator sausage po'boy. That's actual gator. It's getting a bit too cold for gators now. It's nearly time for them to start hibernating. It's supposed to frost tonight. We saw lots of birds, a couple raccoons and a turtle. The 'coons like the marshmallows. They usually stay away from the water when it's hot out. Avoiding gators. Then ! saw one. A real live gator lounging on a log. They don't move much. They kill their prey by drowning it. They grab it in their jaws and pull it under water. The pirate John Lefete buried $several million in gold out in the swamp somewhere. That was his hideout. The navy wouldn't go after him since he had nearly twice as many ships as they had and nearly 3,000 men. General Andrew Jackson was sent down to defend against a British invasion. He had no gunpowder so he had the pirates help defend N'awlins. They hated the Brits. In the battle in the fog almost 5,000 English soldiers were killed or wounded. Only 19 Americans died and 66 wounded. The pirates were pardoned and granted US citizenship. 4 miles.

Day 137 Tickets October 26, 2001

! called about SCUBA diving. They told ME ! would have to go all the way to Panama City, FL to do the actual dives. ! left there because there were 3 dive shoppes here. Damn. Now there is some damage to the laptop. It won't read the CD-ROM drive. ! put the floppy drive in that spot and it won't read it either. It was working fine then suddenly nothing. ! got to the AMTRAK station and got MY ticket. ! made it to the library to get online and forgot to checque what ! really wanted to see. ! did get some studying done and a nap. It seems like ! spent a lot of time and didn't accomplish much. ! think !'ll do the city and swamp tour tomorrow. They come pick ME up and ride the bus around town then onto a boat into the swamp to see gators. They also have a cajun buffet option. ! still need to work on the unloaded riding. ! jumped a curb by the train station. Maybe !'ll get some stuff done tomorrow. 4 miles.

Day 136 End of the Road October 25, 2001

@ 4am the wind picked up and it started to rain. ! put up the rain fly just in time for the rain to end. ! slept really well. It was nice and cool and quiet. Even though the trains went by very close ! didn't hear any after ! fell asleep. ! haven't heard trains @ night since ! left home. ! just heard one now. The wind was shifting around. Mostly it was behind ME, but not always. Soon ! was on back roads in the swamp land. Over a bridge and all the houses on the side of the road had cute names on their signs. ! passed through the Bayou Sauvage Wildlife Refuge. ! also passed the NASA Stennis Space Center. It's named after the same guy that the aircraft carrier ! was on in Seattle was named after. Someone was on the appropriations committee. Just before leaving the wildlife refuge ! found a nail. ! haven't had a flat in a long time. Then shrimp fried rice for lunch. On into town. ! waited for a lift bridge. A tugboat pushed a big barge underneath it. Then weaving through town ! found the hostel. A bit disappointing. It's not really in the French Quarter though it is close. The cooking facilities are 2 microwaves. They had a fire in the kitchen so no oven or stove anymore. And the grocery store doesn't have a huge selection. Feeding is going to be tough. !'ve become accustomed to the hot breakfast. !'ll be back to cereal like ! had @ home. !'m done w/ the long rides. A week of hanging out here looking for adventures then 3 days on the train and a ride across Denver. ! think ! can remember how to ride w/out the trailer. ! went to the library w/ it empty. Not too bad. MY patch leaked so ! had to repatch the tube. ! need more patches. ! only have one left. ! was right about HRB. The option price went to $0.30 today. Triple what ! offered to pay for them. Too bad they didn't drop to $0.10 so ! didn't manage to buy any. !'d have cleared $290 in one day. On the way back ! was sprinting fast. The trailer only weighs 12 pounds empty so it was almost like it wasn't there. !'ve seen 3 massive roaches in this room. One is dead. 63 miles.

Day 135 Peeking Beagle October 24, 2001

Battered AA battery count 74

Today was a really tough day w/ some pleasant surprises. First up the hotel where ! crashed last night has the continental appetizer for breakfast. Since ! paid for it ! was going to use it. Off to the lobby ! trotted. There were bagels and donuts and coffee. ! had 2 cups since it was looking kind of grey out and ! had a long way to go. They also had a waffle iron. Just pour a cup of batter, close the lid and spin it to start the timer. ! had enough to fill ME up and back to the room by 8. ! couldn't get online. There was something wrong w/ the server. Finally after many tries it connected. HRB was up 2 cents. Not good after being down about $5 in the last two days. They got hammered because Providian has had trouble w/ some of their mortgages. HRB hasn't reported any trouble yet. Based on that info
! did something ! hadn't expected to do. ! put in an order to buy 20 Nov 40 calls @ 10 cents each. If they hit $0.10 it cost ME $255. If by 11/16 HRB is over $40 then ! can buy 2,000 shares for $40 and sell them for the market price. Most likely what will happen is that the share price will rise and someone will be willing to bet more than $0.10 that it will exceed $40 and will by MY options so ! make a profit. However, if HRB hits $42 ! can buy 2,000 shares for $80,000 and immediately sell them for $84,000 to net $4,000 minus commissions and premiums. !'m only expecting to make a $100 or so though. ! couldn't get onto E*Trade to see if MY order had been filled and ! couldn't checque Dilbert. ! was a bit annoyed and had to leave. It was hot and overcast. Rain looked likely. ! stopped @ the first grocery store ! came to for provisions. Just as ! was walking in 3 touring cyclists rode up. They are from Pensacola on their way back there from a couple days out west of here. ! got some frosted GRAPE toaster pastries. Not POP Tarts. They were the store brand. ! figured grape can't be too far from OK to risk $0.97. Back on the road it still looked ominous. 20 miles out ! could see a break in the clouds, but ! would have to pass under the big, angry storm cloud. All this while battling a fierce headwind. This is not the kind of weather ! was looking for on a ride this long. ! made it to the sunshine only getting hit by 3 drops. Just about the MS border. It's not marked. Perhaps they can't spell it. More miles of wind until ! got to Gautier, MS. For a few moments ! had a tailwind and lunch. It was still hot and humid. In the 80s. After lunch and nearly all the rest of the way there was no shoulder and lots of traffic. Some places had a shoulder that was so rough it was nearly unridable. ! was getting grumpy. ! spend a lot of ride time calculating MY ETA. It looked like ! could get MY tent up and stretch, but not fed before dark. And even that wasn't assured. Still w/ 10 miles to go ! was hungry, hot, tired and MY feet hurt. ! had been watching the beach go by for miles. ! pulled over, took off MY shoes and waded into the Gulf while eating a pair of the aforementioned toaster pastries. They aren't bad and 15 minutes later ! was rejuvenated. Still the wind was howling. As ! got closer ! was slowing down. The wind was coming right off the water and ! had no shelter. ! kept fighting and made it. MY sight has a covered picnic table w/ a light and next to it is a sink and stove. It's probably MY last tent night. ! was concerned about MY can of gas for MY stove. It feels like it is almost empty. One can has lasted the entire trip. ! probably have enough to cook dinner tonight and breakfast in the morning, but now ! don't have to use it.In the Kamp store behind the tv is a Bush/Quayle 92 sign. A memento from before America went so terribly wrong. Shortly after ! started hacking away on the laptop ! heard a rustling outside the tent. ! looked out the little window and saw a beagle peeking in @ ME. It got scared and split. The showers are in little private rooms. No locks on the doors. However, there is a hinged bench that drops down across the inside of the door to bar it. ! love ingenuity. That's it for today. Tomorrow it's on to New Orleans. That will be MY last real riding day. Then a week of adventure before boarding AMTRAK home. 87 miles.

Day 134 Back Tracking October 23, 2001

They are starting to build Indian motorcycles again in Gilroy, CA. That's
where ! got off the bus from Vegas. ! cooked oatmeal for breakfast and got
out early. Good thing too. ! was following the route from MS Streets & Trips.
! found the first turn. It was a dead end. Time to back track. After 5 miles
and 25 minutes ! was back where ! started. Many miles later ! found the major
road ! wanted to take south and got on it. Then west on 20. It looked like a
great place for a triathlon. 20 dead ends into the next big road going south.
! saw the 4-lane and made the turn. 20 didn't dead end there and there were
no signs along the road. Five miles later ! hit a toll booth. ! was going to
the Dauphin Island ferry. They told ME it was closed for the season. Now !
had to go back and cross Mobile Bay in Mobile, AL. ! had to go around to the
north side to cross the bridge then back down south onto 90. ! found a hotel
on the outskirts of Mobile. !'m only 54 miles closer to New Orleans than !
was this morning even though ! rode 90 miles.

Day 133 Chimichanga October 22, 2001

! got to watch FOX & Friends this morning. ! like those guys. No whiny
liberal bias. There is a big low pressure zone in the Gulf. All of FL except
the panhandle is getting rained on. !'m sure they don't mind since ! am
benefiting from a tailwind. ! was really moving today. ! made the 40 miles to
Pensacola, FL in 2.5 hours. Just as ! rolled into town ! found a Mexican
restaurant. ! haven't had real Mexican food since OR. Chimichanga w/ beans &
rice. Then through town. After a few more country miles ! crossed the bridge
into AL. From there it was just a couple miles to the KOA. After setting up !
got an ice cream cone and went down to the dock. ! lay down on the bench and
fell asleep briefly. There were fish jumping. ! did some time in the Jacuzzi.
Once again ! am reminded that they are quite boring. !'m out in the stix and
will remain there for another day. ! am going to be near the Gulf though. !
hope the tail winds will continue for a few more days. The sun goes down
really early here in Central time. It was dark @ 6:30. 57 miles.

Day 132 Sixth Millennium October 21, 2001

The waffle house is an expensive place for breakfast. ! stayed on the
beach side road as far as ! could. That was 36 miles. Just enough to hit
6,000 miles. ! could see highway 98 just ahead. Another few miles and it was
time for lunch @ TGI Friday's in Destin, FL. MY second cherry shake. They
sure make them small there. It was yummy though. Then on to Fort Walton
Beach, FL. ! figured out that Microsoft Streets & Trips has phone #s for
hotels. ! called some before ! left. One was $25 and just over the bridge. !
found it. The manager wasn't home when ! arrived so ! stretched and waited.
Half an hour later she got back. It's all full. Now ! have to go hunting.
Farther up ! found one. It has a microwave and a 'fridge. ! walked over to
the grocery and got some stuff ! could cook in the microwave for dinner and
breakfast. That'll save ME some time and money. Three of MY stock positions
got assigned so they are gone and all ! have is ca$h. This is MY third day of
watching Speedvision. 59 miles.

Day 131 Dollar$ October 20, 2001

This morning ! just rested. A few blocks to breakfast. ! went online and
made orders to sell some options. The ones ! sold last month expire today. !
expect a couple of MY positions will be assigned. Last time ! didn't find out
until the next day. !'ll see tomorrow ! guess. ! watched a bunch of FOX News.
! didn't even go outside again until ! was hungry for lunch. There is nothing
around here but hotels and condos. ! walked 20 blocks to Wendy's. ! saw a
couple bars that weren't open 'til later. ! walked back on the beach. This is
the biggest sandy beach !'ve been too yet. ! can see through the water here.
! found 2 sand dollars. ! saw a little seagull w/ a fish the size of it's
head. It kept running around w/ his fish. It was too big for him to eat. He
was hoping his mommy would come and cut his food for him. ! even got some
studying done and a nap. 0 miles.

Day 130 Easy Day October 19, 2001

Battered AA battery count 65

Just a few miles and ! was into Tyndall Air Force Base. There were
several jets circling about and doing touch & goes. ! took a pop tart break
just before crossing the bridge to Panama City, FL. Through town, over
another bridge ! was looking for the road to the beach. ! saw a couple hotels
for $22-24 a mile from the beach. The KOA is $20 so ! thought ! would look
around. After a few tries ! found a hotel room that isn't much bigger than MY
tent for $25. There are 2 Dive shoppes in town that do the "resort"
certification. One was closed 'til Oct. 29th. The other one is full for
Saturday. They are going to call ME if there is an opening. ! have time to
wait for the class Sunday too. ! get to watch FOX News and Speedvision. Those
terrorists are such hypocrites. Mohammed's rules for Jihad. Do not destroy
any buildings. They did. Don't harm women or children. They did. Don't kill
an enemy soldier who wants to surrender. They aren't fighting soldiers @ all.
Only fight in self defense. No one attacked them. They are being led by a
billionaire's heir to battle Capitalism. Let daddy pay all my bills. They
bought puts against the airlines they were going to use. They say we are
obsessed w/ money. It seems like it's all they think about. They are fighting
US who helped them fight the Russians when they invaded. They complain of
American imperialism while bin laden wants to rule the entire Middle East
himself. He wants to dictate their religion, thoughts and actions. Then there
are the reports of the bombers in FL drunk and disorderly in a bar and hiring
hookers. None of that is allowed by Islam. They say 400 years after Jesus
came to us GOD sent another prophet to the Arab lands. That was Mohammed.
From the same GOD. And now they are calling US terrorists because 8 of their
civilians were killed. What are they thinking? Peter Lynch manager of
"Betting against America has been a bad bet in the past. It's going to be a
bad bet in the future" 39 miles.

Day 129 Time Warp October 18, 2001

It was another of those bitterly cold mornings. ! heard it was 42*. One of the coldest in the history of FL. Last time it got that cold here the woolly mammoths complained. ! was right next to the Sopchoppy River. It was steaming. ! rode into town and had 2 packs of mini donuts and some apple juice for breakfast. Then south. It was cold. ! had the arm and leg warmers on again. The tail wind was back. ! was really moving. ! made Apalachicola by just after noon. Pizza for lunch. ! have a couple slices left over for breakfast tomorrow. ! had been worried that there wouldn't be anything out here. There was stuff all along the road side. MY route planner had ME stopping just a few miles past Apalachicola where nothing was. ! decided to press on to Port St. Joe, FL. That would cut a few miles off tomorrow so ! could get into Panama City Beach, FL early and maybe take the next day as a rest day since tomorrow is 6 riding days in a row. In Port St. Joe ! asked about campgrounds. They said ! had to go 5-7 more miles to the El Governor hotel w/ a campground across the street. Six miles later ! asked again. They told ME it was 4 or 5 miles more. It was. They just do RVs. No tents. ! found another one. They don't take tents either. They do have a little fishin' pond w/ a gator in it. They told ME there was one place for tents. It was almost a mile off the main road away from the beach. ! went there. "Primitive" campsites are $11 including tax. Not bad. Primitive means no picnic table. There are showers and a game room. Microwave, pool table, tv and ! can hook up the laptop and go online for a quarter. Too bad there's no SCUBA instructors in town. !'d have stayed another night. There is a dive shoppe near the KOA in Panama City Beach. That will be MY recreation on Saturday. ! saw the time line on the map last night. It looked like it went south into Apalachicola. It doesn't. It turns west 10 miles from the coast and mostly parallels the coast up to Mexico Beach, FL. !'m just a mile or so from the line right now. For a couple hours today ! was on Eastern Time, but west of places on Central Time. ! guess the sun sneaks around and comes in from the south side here. The F-16s are out here. ! saw a couple go over when ! got to town. Then 4 more in formation. and some more while ! was setting up camp. 83 miles.

Day 128 Overslept October 17, 2001

! must have overslept. ! don't know how considering the campsite was nearly surrounded by a lumber mill that ran late into the night. But ! must have. It must be February. What other time can you see your breath in FL? It was super cold. ! went off to Denny's for breakfast hoping it would warm up some. It didn't. ! got half a mile from there before ! stopped to put on the leg and arm warmers. ! wore the leg warmers once before when ! was much farther north and it was raining. Now !'m in FL wearing both and still cold. A little over an hour later ! was warm enough to take them off. It was still cool all day. Most of the time ! had a tail wind. That was nice for a change. Not much interesting happened today. ! stopped for lunch @ a place called Ouzt's. ! don't know how to pronounce it either. Then to Medart where ! turned onto highway 319 for Sopchoppy, FL. That road was so smooth. !'ve got the light knobs on all 3 tyres. When no cars were around ! could hear them humming on the road. It sounded like a big truck way off in the distance. Since Sopchoppy is in the middle of a national forest ! figured !'d see signs for campgrounds. ! didn't so ! asked. They have camping in the city park for $5. ! don't know where !'ll end up tomorrow night. It looks like !'ll be out in the middle of nowhere. Palm trees are really just big blades of grass. 66 miles.

Day 127 Where is the Mexican Food? October 16, 2001

This morning was overcast and cool. No wind. While Bill Gates and ! tried to answer the question "Where do you want to go today" the sun and the heat and the humidity came out. And so did the wind. A fierce headwind. Usually when the wind is like that ! enjoy having the big trucks come by. ! can draft a bit. Today most of them had no effect. ! did 11 miles to Cross City, FL for breakfast just before noon. Then into the wind. There is a little county road that loops off of 19/98/Alt27 for about 10 miles and looked like it wouldn't add any distance. ! took it. Most of the way around it was fine except for the wind. Then it got really rough. ! got to the end of the first rough section and discovered MY Gatorade bottle was missing. ! had to go back for it. The trailer had run over it so there was just one swig left. A couple miles of pounding and ! was back onto the main road. ! thought ! would get some Gatorade @ a convenience store in Salem. Salem is 2 closed up gas stations, a church and a Post Office. Athena is only 8 more miles. Half a bottle of water left. Normally that would be plenty, but today ! was working lots harder than usual and going a lot slower. ! was feeling parched. Athena, FL was around a bend. It turned out to be a house and an ATV shoppe. ! stopped and got water. Only 10 more miles to Perry, FL where ! was going to stop. More wind. ! stopped @ the Arby's a few miles out for a late lunch. The campground is behind a hotel in the middle of town. That means ! can go feed @ the Mexican restaurant down the road. ! did laundry and set up camp. ! thought it was 2 miles back. It turned out to be just 1 mile and next to Denny's. It also is closed down and for sale. ! didn't want to do either of the steak houses so ! ended up @ KFC. @ least ! get Denny's for breakfast. 64 miles.

Day 126 Florida Mountain Range October 15, 2001

Battered AA battery count 59

It runs right across Gainesville. About 7 hills. Then it was mostly flat again. Finally ! got a tailwind. After lunch ! was really moving. ! got to the KOA by 3:30. ! had time to study some. ! was going to send e mail last night from the hotel, but every time ! got online ! got disconnected. ! tried a few different #s so it must have been a problem w/ the hotel switchboard. They charged ME for the calls anyway. !'ll have to contact them and complain. Four donuts for breakfast in the lobby. Then ! had to go to the library to get on E*Trade to take care of some stuff. ! was hungry by the time ! got to Newberry, FL. !'m camping on the banks of the Suwannee River tonight. The one from the song. It's been a long time since ! last tented. Just 19 more days 'til ! get home. 48 miles.

Day 125 Hills and Rain October 14, 2001

Not much happened today. ! have a hotel coupon in Gainesville, FL so ! decided to go there. Sunny Florida was cloudy. It looked like rain. Just as ! thought it was about to pour ! rode out of it into the sunshine. After lunch ! wasn't so lucky. ! got wet a couple times. Nearly got rally lost. The coupon book map was way off. ! was on MY way through town @ a light when ! saw ! had a flat tyre. ! could see the hotel and it was a short way downhill. ! made it. There was a Mexican restaurant across the street. They say it's a good one. ! haven't had Mexican food for a long time. After fixing the flat and showering ! walked over there. They had just closed. ! ended up @ the chinese buffet. They may be filing for bankruptcy tomorrow. !'m stuffed. 77 miles

Day 124 Believe It or Not October 13, 2001

Today ! went out onto Anastasia Island to do some kayaking. They have eco tours. We paddled around looking @ birds. Herons, pelicans and egrets. When ! leave here !'ll be heading back to Denver. !'ll have no egrets. Tee Hee. ! called the hostel in Gainesville where ! planned to stay tomorrow night. It is no longer a hostel. ! got to see the lighthouse here. Then to finish the day ! went to the original Ripley's Believe it or Not. It took nearly 2 hours to go through the museum. ! can't really say it was fabulous. ! guess if you like that kind of stuff. The best part was the mine shaft. They had a bridge running through a cylinder. The floor and the bridge were solid. No doubt about it. The walls of the cylinder were covered w/ fake stone and the ends around the doorways were mirrored. When you first look into the tunnel everything looks just right. Once inside the cylinder rotates back and forth in an irregular manner. The sensation is that the bridge is swinging. No matter how ! tried ! was not able to walk across the bridge w/out wobbling. Even holding onto the rails was not enough to keep MY balance. ! wasn't moving @ all. ! could stand still in the middle and nearly fall over. This hostel has free pancakes for breakfast every morning. They shouldn't mix up the batter. On Vashon Island they just put out a big jar of powder and some mixing bowls. That way they weren't over stirred. It should be a bit lumpy you know. ! got to see the Germans make pancakes. They didn't quite know what was up. They put out a little batter and spread it very thin. ! disapprove. Pancakes should be thick and gooey w/ syrup cooked right in. 10 miles.

Day 123 Four Months October 12, 2001

Today is four months on the road. It's been fun, but !'m ready to go home. Just a couple more weeks. ! went out and walked around town today. ! found the Fountain of Youth. After paying $5.25 to get into the little park for the tour they informed ME that the water comes from the place as the city tap water. The city just takes out the sulfur taste. They have a little planetarium show and a couple museums. ! found the theatre. ! believe !'ll be attending this evening. !'m just a couple blocks from the fort. Castillo de San Marcos. 0 miles.

Day 122 Ghosts and Pirates October 11, 2001

Battered AA battery count 59

On the 2 short days ! had strong tail winds. Yesterday and today were fairly long days so of course ! had strong headwinds. It was slow going. ! was in town for @ least half the time. Jacksonville, FL is the largest city in the country. ! was starting to get hungry, but decided to push on to 30 miles before feeding. That way ! could call and sign up for tax class while waiting for MY food. @ 29 miles it went from stores etc. all along the road to nothing. Just nothing. Now ! was really hungry and the wind was picking up. Another 5 miles ! found a Blimpie's in a gas station. That was lunch. Before lunch traffic had been fairly light. After lunch ! got to where they have 10 bridges in a row under construction so there is only one lane. Then later they just had one lane closed for no apparent reason. That wasn't so bad. The shoulder was mostly loose gravel so ! rode in the closed lane until it ended. Then the traffic came along. Out of nowhere cars were everywhere. It was most unpleasant. ! made it into town w/out being killed. Now ! know why ! had the headwinds. It was actually friendly ghosts trying to tell ME not to come to town. This town is supposed to be one of the most haunted cities in America. ! went on the Ghost walk tour after dinner. ! learned that Ponce de Leon was only 4'11". They were measured to the top of their plumes. W/out his hat he was only 4'6" tall. He wouldn't allow anyone taller than him to be on his crew so a bunch of midget sailors from Spain landed here in 1565 to be greeted by the natives who were all nearly 7' tall. The French started a colony north of here in Jacksonville. Both teams decided they needed to get rid of the others so @ the same time they set sail towards the enemy settlements. There was a big storm. The Spanish got blown out to sea. The French got sunk off Cape Canaveral. They 150 of them had to march north w/ no food. Meanwhile the Spaniards made their way to the French settlement and killed everyone there. Then they heard about the French army marching north to St. Augustine. They went to meet them. All the French were captured. They took them out into the inlet 5 @ a time and chopped off their heads. It took all day. The Spanish now owned Florida which meant they owned the entire continent of North America. Once again !'m in the historic district. What other city has stories about pirates becoming respected citizens after nearly being executed and exploding bishops? 55 miles

Day 121 Into Florida October 10, 2001

! saw MY first 3 armadillos today. They were all like a taliban tank. Their armor was shattered and their guts were all over the road. ! got up this morning and did yoga. That's intense stretching. It rained while we were working out. Missed it. ! wanted to get just across the border and then down to St. Augustine, FL tomorrow. After a bit of research ! realized the KOA ! was going to stay @ isn't in FL @ all. ! figured ! might as well go halfway. ! had another hotel coupon. !'m in the north part of the country's largest city. That's what ! hear. Also home of the Jacksonville Jaguars slush hockey team. Tomorrow on to the oldest city in the country. 58 miles.

Day 120 Barefoot All Day October 9, 2001

! slept really late, had breakfast, sat by the fire then took a nap. Then ! walked out by the lake for a swim came back and took another nap before lunch. ! studied a whole chapter w/ a nap in the middle until the rain woke ME up. ! was in the library on the couch when it started pounding on the roof. Now it's nearly dinner time. ! haven't put MY shoes on all day and of course no riding. This is a real rest day. ! need it. !'ll be riding 30 or 40 miles tomorrow then about 70 the next day before ! take another day off. 0 miles.

Day 119 Happy Thanksgiving October 8, 2001

Battered AA battery count 56

! stayed up too late last night and slept late. Then ! watched CNN a bunch this morning. ! barely made it out by checque out time. No worry. Today is going to be a short day. Just to the Hostel in the Woods west of Brunswick, GA. !'ve heard good things about it. Tree houses and 100 acres. ! got to the Brunswick River and saw a huge bridge ahead. That kind of bummed ME out some. ! had had a strong tail wind most of the day and was moving swiftly. Now ! would have to climb hard. ! couldn't tell if it was a narrow, dangerous bridge or just a climb. ! could only see it off in the distance. As ! got close to it something didn't look right. There were no cars on it and it didn't look like the road went to it. ! couldn't see anything else though. Then around the last bend ! saw the old draw bridge. It is being replaced by the high suspension bridge. Traffic was stopped while a boat passed through. ! got nearly to the front. It was fast going down the other side. Then the road turned into the wind. ! slowed down a lot. Just a couple more miles to go. ! wanted to feed before ! got to the hostel since it was already late for lunch and it would take awhile to get checqued in. It wasn't looking so good. ! found a Flying J truck stop w/ a restaurant and fed there. They had someone greeting people on the P.A. as they pulled up to the fuel pumps. ! don't know why they had us listening to it in the dining area. It sounded almost like an air traffic controller @ a busy tower. ! managed to find the hostel turn w/out any trouble. Then a ways down their dirt road. The place is cool. Totally rustic. The tree houses are screened on 2 sides and look out into the woods. There are chickens and ducks all over the place. They have a fresh water pool and a pond w/ canoes. Swimming in either place is "clothing optional" ! exercised MY options in the pond after paddling out to the dock anchored in the middle. There is one shower. Two of the side walls are woven bamboo. The wall into the sink part of the bathroom has solid walls, but just a hanging bead door. No roof on the shower. They have plants hanging in the stall and some vines. The back wall of the shower is...not there. You just stand there looking out into the woods. Dinner is free here. The two girls cooking it are Canadian and today is Thanksgiving in Canadia so we are having Thanksgiving dinner. This place is a tough competitor for Vashon Island in WA. They have a library even. ! doubt !'ll be leaving the grounds until ! checque out on Wednesday for the short ride just over the border into FL. 43 miles.

Day 118 Lazy October 7, 2001

! read the mileage chart on MY map. It said it was 111 miles to Brunswick, GA. Based on that ! chose a place to stop today about 50 miles out. ! have a coupon for Days Inn. When ! started seeing the mileage signs ! realized that it was only about 85 miles to the Brunswick hostel. The winds were favourable. ! thought about continuing on. ! was going to think about it @ lunch. ! didn't find a place to feed until ! got to the hotel. ! just wasn't feeling like doing a long day so even though it was just 2 pm ! stopped. ! went to the pizza place/gas station next door for lunch. Now ! have to feed again. ! got to study. Finished chapter 1. Then went for a swim. Not much happened today. ! did talk to a guy from Netherlands. He pulled over in his rented Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder. He said he has done many tours around Europe. His first one was when he was 12. Now he's retired and roaming America taking pictures of old people. Tomorrow it's on to the hostel in Brunswick, GA. !'ve heard good things about it. 100 acres of woods and tree houses. Also free dinner. Maybe !'ll get to meet Winnie the Pooh and Tigger too. 52 miles.

Day 117 On the Tour Trolley October 6, 2001

Savannah has a lot of great architecture. @ least in the historic district. The trolley tour of 2.2 square miles took an hour and a half. Savannah was the first city in the country w/ a motorized fire department. The people who lived in town were all fabulously wealthy. There is one house we saw that cost $97,000 to build. That was in the early 1800s before Jimmy Carter invented inflation. They race daschunds here. It didn't make any sense to ME either until just now. Daschund...wiener dogs...bratwurst...Ocktoberfest. The trees here are covered w/ Spanish moss. It's not really moss. It is full of chiggers though. Henry Ford used it to stuff the seats in his first cars. They were recalled. ! saw the building where he displayed his 1st car. ! was so smitten w/ that big, fat tyre ! got a few days ago that ! went to the bike shoppe to get another one. The skinny one is now MY spare. ! locked the Jackal up to a street sign on the corner since ! didn't know if ! would want to ride or not today and there would be no access from 10-5. ! got back to change the tyre. The plan was to do laundry next then to the theatre. Someone had ripped off MY computer. They got the head and the mount, but the wires were all ripped out of it. It's totally worthless to anyone else now. Luckily, !'ve been tracking MY mileage so ! know how far !'ve come. ! made it back to the bike shoppe in time to get a new one. It's not the brand ! prefer and it doesn't show max speed. Now ! won't have the huge number on the odometer. !'m expecting more than 6,000 miles. ! have to do math now to figure out when ! make the next millennium. Laundry took a long time so no theatre for ME. ! do have lots of photos to download so ! won't be studying tonight either. 3 miles.

Day 116 Big Crash. Lots of Damage October 5, 2001

It's going to be a short day today. ! went to Denny's for breakfast and then back to the hotel. ! wanted to study, but it took way too long to get MY grub. So ! had to kill time watching CNN until 10:30. ! wanted to wait 'til 11. Just couldn't do it. Highway 17 and I-95 are the same road for the first 12 miles today. Streets & Trips showed ME that there is a frontage road. Whew. It ran parallel to I-95 just a couple hundred feet away. Almost no traffic. Then 17 split off and ! just took that on down to Savannah, GA. There is a big bridge over the river. It's wide and has a huge shoulder so it wasn't so bad. Down the other side the whole road is elevated for a long ways. ! didn't realize ! should take the 25 exit. ! thought ! would be coming into town and getting on a little street and there ! would be. Wrong. Soon 17 turned into I-16. ! took the next exit and found MYself on I-516. This was not good. ! flipped MY map over to the Savannah side and realized it was really not very good. @ least the next exit would get ME down onto regular streets. Now ! was on the SW side of town. ! had to find MY way back across town w/ few details. Of course it had to start raining @ this point. ! found the hostel and then went off to find food. The hostel doesn't open 'til 5. That's why ! didn't want to leave early. After checquing in ! was going to study, but there were girls there so ! had to talk to them for a couple hours instead. !'ll study tomorrow. Then a 9 pm trip to Kroger's for dinner. After feeding ! felt like wandering the streets. ! was on MY way back when ! heard the crash a block over. ! had to go see what was up. Some guy was driving his girlfriend(?) home. She was drunk. She thought it would be a good idea to grab the steering wheel. The truck jumped the curb and took out a porch on a triplex. Here's the odd part. He said he had been on the phone to 911 when he crashed. ! don't know why. He was telling them about the crash after it happened. He told them he had hit Bonnie's house. That was enough. It seemed like ! was the only one out there who didn't know who Bonnie was. The cops swarmed. The ambulance showed up. The truck was mashed up on the front. They had to use the jaws of life to remove the girl. They have a big expander thingy. First they broke the door off. It had been fine before. That set off the horn. It took a fireman and a cop to cut the battery cable to shut it off. ! was thinking they should just reach under the dash and pull out the fuse. That would have been too easy ! guess. Then they expanded the cab and warped the whole truck. ! don't think it was totaled before they got there. It is now. Bonnie showed up eventually. She has some kind of coplike uniform and a cane. She'll be using the back door for a while. It was midnight by the time ! got back so it was straight to bed. 57 miles.

Day 115 Another Century Barely October 4, 2001

! was up for sunrise over the water. And hungry. It took 28 miles in fog to find a place to feed. It seems like only tourists eat breakfast around here. The hotel where the restaurant was full of bikers heading to Myrtle Beach. It took half an hour to get MY food. Unlike the other guy who had waited, but was being a jerk the waitress whispered to ME that ! didn't need to worry about paying. Just a mile later ! found the bridges into Charleston, SC. Narrow and steep and long. It was 10 in the morning. Why weren't all those people @ work? Two miles of brutal climbing and lots of cars ! was over. Another 47 miles of unpleasant roads ! had a convenience store lunch. Rice and cheese & macaroni w/ gravy. ! got a Coke. It had a magic cap. ! get a free 20 oz. Coca Cola product. Another 22 miles to the KOA. The caffeine and sugar really helped. ! was moving fast. Waffle House was MY landmark and ! was counting down the miles. There it was. And 4 hotels. !'m out in the sticks and off season. ! decided to see how sleeping indoors compared to camping. The one w/ a Denny's was way too much, the manager told ME to try the Knights Inn next door. Cheaper and just renovated. It was pretty cheap. Problem was ! only had 98.6 miles. ! couldn't get that close and not make a century. ! rode to the restaurant and back. That's kind of cheating. That's the 6th century this year. 100 miles even.

Night 114 Camping Again Finally October 3, 2001

For once ! got out of a hotel before checque out time. ! had even gone across the street for breakfast and to the post office to mail some stuff home. Nine O'clock and !'m on the road. Through town to the south side of Myrtle Beach. It is Bike Week here. Harleys are everywhere. ! dropped one of the new bottles. After retrieving it ! started thinking about ways to secure them. Soon after ! dropped it again, but didn't notice it until ! was a quarter mile down the road. By the time ! got back to it it had already been run over. Oh well. It only cost ME $5 w/ the cage and ! had another bottle in the bag. ! put MY pants leg straps around the necks to hold them in better. Now !'ve got a bit more reflective stuff on the jackal. !'ve noticed that there are almost no hills around these parts. The only ones are bridges and they are steep. Over the bridge into Georgetown was 50 miles and lunch time.Then another bridge out of town and on south on 17. !'ll be taking highway 17 all the way to Jacksonville, FL. The wind was against ME all day again. @ least there were no flats. ! still don't have a spare tyre. The bike shoppe only had one the size ! needed. They had several 700 x 23s like the one ! had just worn out. No 28s like ! wanted. ! went w/ a 700 x 38. It's a brute. ! think ! want one for the front too. The plan is to go to the KOA just a bit north of Savannah, GA tomorrow. Another long day, but it's the only campground ! can find on the map. That will give ME a short day to the hostel the next day. From the map it appears ! could cross Georgia in one long day to Florida. !'ve estimated that if ! average 60 miles/day ! can make New Orleans w/ 7 rest/play days. ! ordered MY train tickets today. ! found a campground in the Francis Marion National Forest for a reasonable fee. Only $7.50. Of course ! saw lots of signs for $20-$25 rooms in Myrtle Beach. ! heard the breaking news about the Greyhound crash on CNN this morning before ! left. ! hope no one messes w/ AMTRAK before ! get on. 85 miles.

Day 113 Beach Combing October 2, 2001

! forced MYself out of the hotel an hour before checque out time. ! had to if ! was going to make it to the Myrtle Beach State Park. The wind was there all the time. This was the first day for the new tyre on the B.O.B. ! wasn't feeling too good most of the time. ! was expecting about 85 miles. ! knew there was another state park a little farther down the road. ! considered another century. ! has an idea. ! don't know why ! hadn't thought of it long ago. ! keep MY extra water in the trailer. It's hard to get to there. ! stopped @ Wal-Mart and got a couple new water bottles and cages. Those are now zip tied to the trailer hitch. Now ! have more room in the bag and the center of gravity is farther forward. ! wanted to get over 50 miles before ! stopped for lunch. Just after 50 miles ! got another of those delightful flat tyres. ! sat in the grass patching the tube and putting it all back together. Just in time for it to pop again. This time it ripped the side wall of the tyre. ! put in MY last spare tube and a $10 bill for a boot. ! had passed the last town in NC and was nearly to the info station for SC. Nearly made it. Then BANG! They told ME there was a bike shoppe in N. Myrtle Beach, SC and it was only about 5 miles. ! changed shoes and started walking. Now ! knew ! was going to get no lunch. It was actually 6.5 miles. The campgrounds are all @ least $22. ! found a hotel for just $37 so ! went for it. Instead of feeding ! went out and walked on the beach in the surf. There are lots of sea shell bits on this beach. PBS just had a program about kitter catters. Barnyard lions. They lower blood pressure and increase longevity. The only domestic animals we haven't quite tamed. 63 miles.

Day 112 Gettin' Educated October 1, 2001

Battered AA battery count 55

Today ! decided to see about getting books for a tax class. ! called the district Office and found out they had some books in a Rental Property was being taught tonight. By the time ! got the book it was way too late to make it to where ! wanted to get to so ! came back and got the cheap hotel room again and studied. Then off to Monkey Junction for class. Of course ! was coming into the middle of the class just in time for Alternative Minimum Tax on rental property. ! got to buy school supplies. Tomorrow ! head out for real. 25 miles.

Day 111 5,000 Miles September 30, 2001

! was on the road @ 7:20 this morning. Over 3 bridges to Swansboro, NC for breakfast. In downtown Swansboro ! saw a few ducks. One was followed by a bunch of ducklings. MY pancakes were shaped like dinosaurs. A few miles later ! was passing through Camp Lejeune Marine Corps base. There were tank crossings all along the road. They weren't doing anything. ! saw one Hummer. A bit later ! hit 5,000 miles. Things were looking good. ! wanted to make it to Wilmington, NC today. ! had a coupon for a Super 8 for $38.88+tax. ! decided to put off lunch 'til ! got there so ! could get a couple pizzas for lunch and dinner. Suddenly ! was on the road ! thought ! was supposed to turn onto. ! was told the Super 8 was just a couple blocks. ! saw a marquee @ Travelodge. W/ tax it's less than Super 8 and a microwave. ! got to see motorcycle racing on Speedvision and then they showed hydroplane racing from Seattle when ! was there. Now the Broncos are playing. There are state parks w/ campgrounds on MY route for the next 2 nights @ least. 71 miles.

Day 110 To A Different Island September 29, 2001

! had to get on the 9:30 ferry or wait 'til noon. The ride was over 2 hours so ! couldn't really get a lot done anyway. ! was on the mainland now out in the swamp lands. Just a couple tiny towns along the way. Mostly a tailwind which was a nice surprise and it was cool. ! think they said the high was supposed to be 62*. ! have one of the hotel coupon books and since there are no campgrounds marked on MY map for the rest of NC and no more hostels 'til Savannah, GA ! figured ! could do one of the cheap hotels. Trouble is Ocracoke to Wilmington, NC is a good 2 day ride and the only place w/ discount hotels along the way was Atlantic beach which is only about 40% of the way. ! heard there was a campground on the west end of Bogue Banks Island. That would get ME another 15-20 miles and cost less than a hotel. ! stopped @ the visitor center and they gave ME a list of about 20 sites. Three in Emerald Isle. !'m @ the westest one. Just about to the bridge back over to land. Tomorrow ! pass through (! hope) Camp Lejeune Marine Corps base enroute to Wilmington, NC. Not much happened today. 66 miles.

Day 109 Brine September 28, 2001

! crashed early and slept late. ! went out and rented a kayak for 2 1/2 hours on Pamlico Sound. ! went out and found a sandbar out in the middle w/ a bunch of pelicans and gulls on it. They all launched when ! landed. ! walked around on this place that is underwater whenever the tide comes in. Then it was back to the bay. Now ! had a head wind. ! think ! had the current w/ ME though. It seemed like ! was moving fast. There were lots of little waves. About a foot or 2 high. Sometimes the front half of the boat was out of the water. They didn't give ME a spray skirt so ! was drenched when ! got back. MY face was crusted w/ salt from the spray. ! walked down the road from the hostel to the lighthouse. It is the 2nd oldest operating lighthouse in the country and the oldest in NC. 0 miles.

Day 108 Ocracoke For Dinner September 27, 2001

They told ME it was 60 miles to the Hatteras ferry then another 12 to Ocracoke. ! went for breakfast and then headed south. All the houses along the shore are built up on stilts. They are all very tall. Mostly 2 story houses on top of the stilts. The whole outer banks are just narrow islands. Some places not much wider than the road. ! couldn't see the water over the sand dunes. Just a couple miles out of town ! came across the Bodie Island lighthouse. It's a really tall one. The ones on the West coast where mostly short ones on high cliffs. Out here they are all tall. Then over a 2 1/2 mile bridge across the Oregon Inlet to Hatteras Island which is mostly a wildlife sanctuary. A bit of a headwind most of the way. The prevailing winds along this coast are from the south so !'ll be heading into the wind most of the time. Just like on the west coast. ! came into Rodanthe, NC about lunch time. ! wanted to wait a bit longer so ! decided to keep going to Salvo about 5 miles south. That was a mistake. Salvo had a Subway. Avon was the next town and it was 12 more miles. ! found a place there. ! had 58 miles already and had figured out it was going to be a lot farther than ! had expected. Just after lunch ! bumped MY geek mirror. As soon as ! got it adjusted it was full of a USPS jersey. Some guy on a Serotta w/ aero bars was right behind ME. ! had to speed up. It took him awhile to catch up then he went around and left. Now ! had to go fast. 15 miles to the ferry. ! increased MY pace by about 5 mph all the way there. Less than half way ! turned west directly into the wind. That really made it hurt. ! got to the ferry landing w/ 15 minutes 'til the next boat out. ! could see the last boat just getting turned around. ! got some Cookies & Cream fudge and waited. Once onboard ! did some stretching. That really felt good. ! think ! need to stretch more often. Forty minutes on the boat. ! just cruised across that island to Ocracoke. On the road ! saw painted some words. "Joyce....I....I....Love....You....You" Just after that and "Adopt A Highway" sign sponsored by Joyces of Ocracoke. Odd. Lucky ! had a map. None of the streets where marked. They said they just got them named last year. ! had pizza for dinner and baked some chocolate chip cookies. 91 miles.

Day 107 OBX (Outer Banks) September 26, 2001

Not too far to go today. And not much happened. ! got about 15 miles out into the country when ! saw a hitchhiker. He sort of resembled Tiger Woods w/out the $100 million. Five miles later @ a junction ! saw another hitchhiker talking to a driver. He wanted to get to Nags Head, NC. It was the same guy. ! stayed up late to watch Dave last night and woke @ 6. That and having gone 4 days straight w/out a rest day had ME feeling a little fatigued. ! made it. After checqueing into the hostel ! rode out to Kill Devil Hill about 5 miles south of here. In 1903 on December 17 Orville Wright made the first powered airplane flight. It lasted 12 second and 120 feet. The brothers did 3 more flights that day. Each going farther. Flight 2 and 3 were just a bit longer. Then Wilbur made 852 feet in 59 seconds. They had spent a few months each of the prior 2 years on that hill practicing in gliders. They had to learn to control the flight before they attached the engine. On December 14th, Wilbur won the coin toss to be the first to fly. He lasted 3 seconds and stalled. It took them 2 days to fix the damage. Then on the 17th it was Orville's turn. He didn't crash. 25 years later the government decided to put up the monument. They had to send in the Army Corps of Engineers to stabilize the hill. It had moved 450 feet in those years. The whole Outer Banks region was an island of sand dunes. That's why they chose this place. Lots of wind and soft sand to land on. It took 3-7 days for them to get here from their bike shoppe in Dayton, OH. They had one of their employees build them an engine since no one else wanted to make one that small. A couple odd things about the Wright flyer. The average little airplane has a tail and only one engine. The Wright flyer also had one engine but it turned 2 propellers. It also had a canard wing instead of a tail. The tail has a negative angle of attack. That means it pushes down instead of up like the wing does. It does that to maintain stability. A canard has no tail. It has a small wing on the nose that lifts also. It is much more efficient. And it makes the plane handle bumps more smoothly. ! wonder why the design changed. 15 years after that flight Eddie Rickenbaker made his 1st kill in WWI. He managed 26 in the war to be known as the Ace of Aces. In 15 years we went from a 59 second flight to warbirds. While ! was taking pictures of the monument a couple modern warbirds flew up, made a turn around the pylon and headed back south. The monument is designed like an air race pylon. ! did 18 miles w/out the gear today. ! had wanted to go skyin' here. It seems there was an accident of some type early in the year so the airport was mostly shut down. There was one 172 that landed and took off again. Nothing on the ramp. Too bad. 67 miles.

Day 106 Anomalies September 25, 2001

The skies were cloudy when ! left. ! didn't even put on MY shades. It was like that for miles. In fact it didn't get sunny 'til ! got to the Great Dismal Swamp. Does that sound right? ! saw a turkey wandering down the side of the road. He was unconcerned about the cars & trucks whizzing by, but ! terrified him. ! didn't know they could fly. It took off barely and landed across the street. Everything around here is farm land and swamps. Just after crossing into North Carolina ! passed a body shoppe w/ a Lamborghini Countach getting worked on. ! had lunch near the only campground in the area and rode on. It looked like ! could make it to Elizabeth City, NC. That would be about half way to Kitty Hawk. ! was going to try to find a visitor center to see if they had one of the hotel discount coupon books. ! saw a billboard for a $40 hotel so ! headed that way. ! saw a nice one before ! got there and stopped in to see what the rates were. Same. And only 50 more miles to Kitty Hawk. 76 miles.

Day 105 Wind Makes ME Stronger September 24, 2001

Battered AA battery count 53
! saw the news last night. They said it was supposed to rain most of the day. ! got up, went for the free continental appetizer. Four donuts and some muffin bits. It wasn't raining yet. ! hit the road. HRB closed way down on Friday and opened up $1.45. It is time to buy MY options. ! did the calculations and got ready. ! got just out of the Richmond city limits when it started spitting rain. That seemed like a good time to stop for a snack, don the GoreTex and write the checque for MY shares. It never did get to raining and it looked like it was getting sunnier. ! made it to Ft. Lee just outside of Petersburg, VA. That is where ! was born. Of course the hospital was turned into a clinic. Then they expanded it. It seems ! was one of the last born there. No one to follow in MY footsteps. So, after passing through the Petersburg battlefield (Civil War's penultimate battle ground) it was lunch @ Hardee's. ! wish it had been Arby's. Down 460 ! was making good time. ! wanted to make it to Ivor, VA. It was not to be. Just as ! pulled into Waverly, VA it started to pour. ! popped into a convenience store to wait it out. A tornado touched down in Dinwiddie, VA just about 30 miles west. They said there was a hotel almost next door, but it had bugs and wasn't very nice. The next town (Wakefield) also had a little hotel though not much nicer. It is only 7 miles. The rain let up some so ! left. Once ! got half way the rain started to dump again. ! found the hotel. It's right next to the Virginia Diner that had been advertised all along the road. ! had the peanut pie. ! had a headwind all day. It's making ME stronger. Wall Street rallied this morning and kept going. ! saw a roach. Ick. ! stopped about 11 miles short of where ! wanted to. 59 miles.

Day 104 Saving Money September 23, 2001

As expected the B.O.B tyre was flat when ! awoke. ! fixed it and did some other maintenance. ! asked about breakfast places and if there was a way ! could make it over to highway 2 since it looked like a smaller road than 1. They gave ME directions that were taking ME about 5 miles north to get there. ! told her @ the start ! wanted to go south. ! first asked if 607 (the road the KOA was on) went through to 2. ! should have known there was trouble when she said "I don't think there is a 2 south". About that time another Kamper walked in and announced that she lived on 2 south. She said to go west to 1, south to 606 and then back east to 2. After nearly an hour and 12 miles ! got to the intersection of 606 and 607. ! looked @ the little map. ! was only 3 miles from where ! started and still no breakfast. Cracker Barrel in Bowling Green, VA was highly recommended ! got there hungry and didn't see Cracker Barrel. ! got through town and decided ! better go back and ask someone. The guy @ the auto parts store said the only one he knew of was 30 miles away. Pop Tart time. ! went on looking for something. @ 40 miles ! found a little grocery store. ! went in to ask about restaurants. They had hot pizza slices and a big root beer. finally !'m fed. Just 4 miles later for some reason (maybe the root beer had been on the shelf for a really long time) ! felt totally intoxicated. W/ the wasted miles @ the start it was going to be farther than ! wanted to go today so ! got a hotel room in Richmond. Only $35 for Days Inn. To and through Petersburg tomorrow. ! saw a turtle on the side of the road today. And a couple who had been mushed. ! moved the one guy off onto the dirt. 62 miles.

Day 103 Back On the Road September 22, 2001

Out of DC, across the bridge and down Route 50. Somehow ! managed to buy a VA map that doesn't show campgrounds. ! figured ! would go to the nearest state park and ask them for that info. It was a county park and they didn't know anything. Now ! don't know who's even in charge of the various parks shown on the map. ! headed down 123 to Hwy. 1. ! figured ! would go as far as ! wanted and see what was there. They tell ME ! have a cousin in Stafford, VA. That looked to be about 50 miles. Not quite as far as ! wanted to get today. !'ve estimated that ! am now behind schedule. 2 extra days in NYC and an extra day in DC as well as an extra day to get to Philly has really thrown ME off. That and the estimate ! did on the big USA map in the DC hostel. On MY way through Quantico the B.O.B tyre flatted. The patch from last time was leaking. It wasn't as difficult to patch as ! had feared. Off again. ! came next to Stafford and was looking for 210 as ! had been told. ! didn't see it. ! felt kind of bad just passing by like that w/out asking for directions, but !'m not really a tight family kind of guy. ! didn't feel comfortable w/ the idea of showing up on their porch and asking for free food and lodging. It's been 15 or 20 years since ! had any contact w/ any of the relatives last. And before that it was only 5 or 6 times for Christmas dinner that ! had even spent w/ them. ! fear ! will live to regret this as it was probably the last chance ! will ever have of seeing them. MY uncle is in his 70s ! believe. !'ve just never been close to any of MY few relatives. ! have had 12 prior to Emma and Thomas and that includes grandparents. So on to Fredricksburg. They say they are America's most historic city yet they also say the bus tour only takes 15 minutes. ! stopped by the visitor center to ask about camping. They directed ME to a KOA Kampground several miles south. On MY way out of town the rear tire burst. Somehow ! had torn a hole in the tyre and the tube had found it's way out. New tyre and tube and ! was rolling again. ! got to the turn off and the B.O.B tyre was flat again. ! only had a couple miles to go so ! just pumped it up and hoped for the best. That turned out to be less than half a mile. ! continued on w/ a flat 'til ! only had 1 mile to go and refilled it. This time it held up all the way. ! couldn't talk MY way into the $10 rate ! got @ the other 2 KOAs. This one was just over $25. ! did get to swim in the heated Olympic width pool. It's as long as an Olympic pool is wide. 10 laps. It's going to be tough getting back to swimming as much as ! was before the journey. It's about 70 miles to where ! was born so that is MY goal tomorrow. There is a campground nearby too. ! could clear VA in a mere 3 days. That would really get ME back on some kind of schedule. !'ll have to do some bike maintenance in the morning when ! have some light. Better here than on the side of the road somewhere. 76 miles.

Day 102 More Sight Seeing September 21, 2001

All in town today. ! went first to the White House. No tours now. So ! walked west past the Reflecting Pool to the Lincoln Memorial. They call him "The Great Emancipator". Slavery was on it's way out even w/out his help. What he did do was initiate the odious income tax and began the elimination of state's rights. The Constitution says that all powers not specifically granted to the federal government shall be reserved to the states. The Civil War elevated the federal government to a position of superiority over the various states. That is one of the things the signers of the Constitution feared greatly. Centralized power is the precursor of corruption and abuse as we can plainly see now after many years. ! was reading the engraving on the wall when the security guard started hollering @ ME that ! had to leave. ! thought it was because ! had sat down on the floor to read. There was a "suspicious package". After descending the many stairs ! didn't feel like climbing them again so ! moved on. ! saw the Korean War Veterans Memorial. While walking along the Potomac ! realized that the Pentagon was just across the river and ! ought to be able to see it. ! did see it, but not well enough to be sure. ! ended up walking across the George Mason Memorial bridge into VA where ! could see 2 sides of it. Not the damaged walls though. That was quite a hike. Now back to the Jefferson Memorial. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. He was a farmer and a scientist. He liked to try new farming techniques @ Monticello. He would tell neighboring farmers what made his farm more productive so they could grow more profitably. He knew that many of them could not afford the risk involved in his experimentation. He also wrote in the Declaration of Independence language that would have ended slavery. The Carolina delegates refused to ratify the Declaration if that was not removed. He was our third President. He oversaw the Louisiana Purchase which doubled the size of America and hired Lewis & Clark to go out and explore the West. He felt we needed to know as much about the world as we could. From there ! was hungry so it was off to Planet Hollywood. !'ve never been to one before and MY map said ! got a "complimentary souvenir gift" w/ a purchase of $15 or more. Lunch was $20 w/out even trying. MY gift was a Planet Hollywood Baltimore pin. ! walked a long way today, but not all the way to Baltimore. ! don't have any urge to repeat MY visit. The food was ok. Better than McDonald's. Not $20 good for a decorative bit of lasagna and a shake. In fact, ! stopped @ the first pretzel cart ! found after leaving. They had tvs going all over. Showing upcoming movie trailers and music videos. From there ! went to the Arts and Industry building of the Smithsonian. They house temporary exhibits there, not arts and industry. ! learned that a beagle brain is half the weight of an orangutan brain. Our brains use 20% of our energy. That's probably for sedentary folk. Not ME. It does explain why !'m generally confused after a hard ride or a race. ! often go grocery shopping on MY way home from a race since ! have the Monster truck out already. By the time ! get to the checque out ! feel drunk and barely know what !'m doing. That's why tv night is the same as race day. to the Hirshhorn Museum next. MY legs and feet were aching by now and ! was blocks from the hostel. ! went through the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden and looked for the jet fighters ! could hear overhead. ! couldn't spot them. ! did see Marine One launch from the White House. Most likely W. was onboard. ! saw the 2 jets then heading the same direction. ! think he's got a tunnel to the Capitol. And then the long trek back to the hostel. Many miles of walking !'ll be sleeping hard tonight. Back on the road in the morning. It seems like ! just got here. 0 miles.

Day 101 Site Seeing September 20, 2001

It was raining when ! finally got ready to leave so ! decided it would be a good day to go out to Falls Church, VA on the subway. ! donned the GoreTex jacket and walked a few blocks and went underground. In less than an hour ! was walking up the mighty hill to the maternal Grandparent's old house. It wasn't raining anymore. From there it was off to the library and then back to lunch @ Long John Silver's. ! luv Long John Silver's. !'ve dined @ this particular one on several occasions. It's greasy so it's a good thing there isn't one anywhere near MY house. Then back to the Metro station. ! was going to go to see the Pentagon. The guys back @ Metro Center said ! couldn't get off @ the Pentagon stop w/out an employee ID. ! would have to go to Pentagon City and take the bus back. ! got off @ Pentagon City and they told ME there was no way to get near it. Back to the city. ! went by Ford Theatre where Lincoln was shot. He died across the street. ! strolled down Pennsylvania Ave. to the Capitol and climbed the steps to where W. stood for his inauguration. He was looking out over the Mall past the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial and beyond into Virginia. Then to the Air & Space Museum. Did you know that the first around the world helicopter flight was in September of 1982 and the pilot was H. Ross Perot Jr. They did it in 30 days. They were preparing some recruiting materials for explainers. Those are college interns who explain things in the museums. ! got recruited to be an audience member for the photo. ! had an actual explainer as MY co-star and several extras. That pretty much finished the day for ME. W. gave his address @ 9pm local time. A great speech. A call to war and a call to prayer. Perhaps the Taliban will get the hint and toss out the bad guys. We also need to make some changes. US needs to keep out of everyone else's business. We shouldn't be trying to impose our will on other nations. That's why they attack us. If we left them alone they wouldn't bother US. It's obvious that these people can kill many of US if they want to and there isn't much we can do about it. We need to remove their reason to attack US. 0 miles.

Day 100 Finally a Short Day September 19, 2001

Battered AA battery count 49

! just passed out last night. And slept 'til 8. To breakfast then prepare to leave. ! had estimated a short day today. That was from where ! thought ! would be tenting last night. It took less than a mile to get MYself lost. The highway ! was looking for (144) also has a name. ! saw a sign for that road and turned there. It seems it runs up from Baltimore, joins 40 then turns SW again on it's own. Good thing ! have the compass bell. After going East for a mile it didn't look to be turning so ! turned around and returned. A little ways down the road ! found where ! wanted to be. The hills have returned. And where there were no hills there was wind. ! haven't battled wind in quite some time. It was quite frustrating. ! wanted an easy day today yet ! had to work hard. Luckily it was just a few miles. ! was watching the map and making adjustments to MY route as ! went. Into the city. Once ! got off 182 onto 97 then 390 it was almost a straight line to the hostel. 390 is 16th St. NW. Down to K St. then over to 11th. They say Dubya's house is a mere 5 blocks away. It's a bit more than that. ! found it. Then ! saw the Washington Monument and the Capitol. !'ll have to actually go up to see some of these places tomorrow. ! just looked @ them today. ! guess Dubya would be one of the growing number of people who works out of his home. You know it is the wave of the future. The kitchen here is being remodeled. That means no stove. Good thing ! checqued it out prior to hunting groceries. All cooking is by microwave. Looks like oatmeal for breakfast. ! got a big box. !'ll eat a few packs while !'m here and save some for those tenting days. It's hard to believe it's been 100 days already.That seems like such a long time to be homeless. Just 45 more. ! did a rough estimate on the map downstairs. About 2,000 miles to New Orleans, LA. 38 miles.

Day 99 Damn! Another One September 18, 2001

! like the tenting. ! slept pretty well as always and got up around 7:30. It was only 12 miles to York, PA then just a few to Red Lion, PA. ! got breakfast before ! got to York in a place where ! was the only one w/out an AARP card. ! wandered through Red Lion trying to find the house of MY paternal grandparents. It was all for naught. ! found the restaurant we always went to when ! was but a wee lad. ! thought it was pretty close to the house, but nothing looked like the right street or terrain. ! figured today would be about the same mileage as the last two days. Onto side roads. ! was heading for Petapsco Valley state park near Sykesville, MD. Lots of ups and downs. Climbs @ 5 mph and descents where ! had to ride the brakes to keep the speed safe. ! stopped for lunch around 2 and just felt like it would be a good day to pump MY legs full of sugar and caffeine. Everything there was not the best. Pepsi products and the ketchup was Hunts not Heinz. ! had 4 glasses of Dr. Pepper. Once ! crossed the Mason Dixon line into Maryland the hills smoothed out. ! was rolling fast on the flats. Soon ! was hungry. It looked like 7pm for MY E.T.A. ! stopped for a Pop Tart. Nearly to Sykesville and !'ve exceeded yesterday's mileage. ! stopped to get directions. The guys told ME there's no camping spots in that park. The camping is farther down off highway 40. Another 15 miles or so. ! turned on the blinkers and headed off. ! got on Rt. 99 and found the 90* turn. I-70 wasn't showing up. It was very dark. ! came to an intersection w/ hwy. 29. It said to Washington so ! took it. Soon ! got to an exit that had the little hotel symbol. Off ! went onto hwy. 40. ! found a hotel in Ellicott City, MD. 2 guys were in the lobby waiting. The desk guy had left for a milk shake. They asked how much the rooms were. 2 left for $62. They weren't sure. ! grabbed one. Showered and fed. 101 miles. That's the 5th Century this year.

Day 98 West From Denver September 17, 2001

Isn't that how this whole trip started. The thing about going West from Denver is that you are heading into the hills. In CO & in PA. The mountains out here are the Blue Mountain Range. On the map they are precariously close to ME. !'m definitely in their foot hills. ! don't have the altitude here, but they are still steep and brutal. ! woke @ 7. Hungry. It had been 10 hours since ! last fed. ! had asked about feed zones when ! checqued in and it didn't sound promising. ! figured there must be something out there. After a few miles of wandering through the back roads trying to get back onto 322 ! stopped @ a map store. ! had just turned onto 322. It wasn't marked @ all. They said there wouldn't be any food until Hershey. That's 20 miles away. They were right. After 32 miles ! had a burger, fries and a butterscotch shake for breakfast @ noon. Then to the library to checque MY bank account, the market and e mail. The library doesn't permit e mail. If you type in www.aol.com for aol anywhere it goes straight to the library home page. ! was frustrated by that so ! had to find a way to do it. ! did of course. Not much mail to see. Then it was time to head to the Hershey factory. ! took the pseudo factory tour. You ride in a car that looks like a roller coaster around and see pretend machines working and narration. Not a bad ride. ! didn't do the amusement park. @ the end everyone gets a small Hershey bar. Then ! got a couple cookies. MY diet sucks today. From there it was only about 15 miles to Harrisburg to where MY only uncle lives. ! haven't seen him or MY 3 cousins in over 15 years. We're a close family can't you tell. ! found the house about 4:30. ! think !'ve been there before. No one was home. ! waited half an hour and looked @ the map. About 20 miles to Gifford Pinchot State Park. ! had to leave if ! was going to make it there by dark. The hills all went up. ! crossed the river and then followed it south. Twisting and turning. ! got to the little town @ the crossroads and stopped for directions. The maps are pretty bad about State Parks. You never can tell where the entrances are. They told ME it was 3 miles. ! went 3 and saw the sign saying keep going for camping. ! stopped @ the office. It's another 4 miles around the lake to camp. ! found it no problem, but it was getting dark. Up went the tent. Off to the shower and feed in the dark. MY lower back is sore from the climbing. 77 miles.

Day 97 In Denver September 16, 2001

Coming out of Philadelphia ! hit every light red for 10 miles. ! finally got out where there wasn't a light on every corner. ! just couldn't seem to make any progress on the map. ! didn't think it was supposed to be really far today. ! had hoped to make it to Intercourse today. Doesn't everyone want to get to Intercourse? It looked like it was going to be way out of MY way and a lot of effort to get to Intercourse. Isn't that the way it always is? ! made it through Blue Ball w/out having to go to Bird in Hand. Intercourse, PA isn't very populous. You would think it would be considering the name. Denver seemed to keep getting farther away and ! was slowing down. ! stopped to ask for distances and campsites. There was one nearby, but ! would have to head South 4 miles and back track tomorrow plus make up the mileage ! didn't do today. ! was considering it when ! got on the descent. Now ! was moving and felt better. ! wonder if it'll last. ! decided to press on. !'m in Amish country. ! saw 24 buggies on the move. Four parked by a barn w/ their drivers bouncing a basketball. Then ! started seeing them on bikes. 16 of them and one on Roller Blades. Almost all the buggies where going the other way. Finally ! saw one ahead turning in MY direction. It always helps to have someone to chase. Some of these guys are a lot faster than others. They have no problem pulling out and passing each other. That was the one ! saw. He came around one just before ! caught him. ! pulled along side and when he saw ME he wanted to race. We were doing over 25 starting to climb. ! started to get a shimmy and a car came over the top of the hill so ! decided to drop back before ! got squished. ! stayed right w/ them to the top of the hill where they pulled off. ! found Denver, PA. It's actually named after Denver, CO. There was a sign that said there was a campground nearby. ! went looking. Hoping it wouldn't be closed for the season. That may be a problem. ! need to start moving South soon. ! found it. It's open. $25/night. The pool is closed and the shower takes quarters. The free movie was last night. That's the most !'ve paid to camp yet. ! miss OR. $4/night including showers. ! found a Performance in Paoli, PA today. ! needed a fender after Friday's dousing. ! didn't have one on the back because ! had the rack. ! did some maintenance while ! had light then fed and into the tent. It's been a week since ! tented last and that was only one night after 3 nights indoors. 75 miles.

Day 96 The Cradle of Liberty September 15, 2001

! went to see the Liberty Bell first today. It was actually sent over from England for the PA colonial courthouse in the 1750s. It cracked soon after and couldn't be repaired so they melted it down and remolded it. Then it's tone wasn't quite right so they built a new one. It was used to announce important events. Nearly every day. That one soon lost it's tone. They discovered a hairline crack all the way up the bell so the bell makers widened it to what you see today. That is how they restored the proper tone. That was before the Declaration of Independence although it was rung to announce the first reading right here in Philadelphia. A few years later they discovered another crack so they retired the bell. It was worn out. In the 1850s a group of Abolitionists christened it the Liberty Bell in their fight to end slavery. Thomas Jefferson had originally put wording into the Declaration of Independence that would have freed the slaves, but the South Carolina delegate refused to ratify it so it was cut out. Edgar Allen Poe rented a house in Philly for 2 years while publishing some of his best stories. Ben Franklin lived here. He lived other places too, but only owned the home here. ! saw the 2 rooms that Thomas Jefferson rented on the outskirts of town (it was much smaller then) to write the Declaration of Independence. And ! toured the first US capital. They had to move the capital to a site on the Potomac for so the southerners could get there easier. KY was the 15th state and then TN. VT was 14. ! was in the room where Declaration of Independence and the Constitution where both ratified. ! went to the Betsy Ross house and the site of the house rented to house President Washington. All this stuff was in walking distance of the hostel. It was a small town then. Security is pretty tight. Only guided tours. No wandering off. Don't step away from any personal belongings. Everyone must have an escort @ all times. ! saw a couple planes fly over. The stock market opens again on Monday. ! hope all goes well. It could be a very tough day. 0 miles.

Day 95 Rain September 14, 2001

Battered AA battery count 45

It's raining outside this morning. !'ve got 60 miles to go today to get to Philadelphia. ! went over to the breakfast bar for the "free" breakfast. Last night it looked like they had a little room for a hot breakfast bar. The sign said "breakfast bar". That room is locked up. They had a small counter w/ a bunch of bagels and some cupcakes and little donuts. No plates. ! had to sit on the stairs to eat. That's pretty lame for $80/night. Last night aol kicked ME offline. When ! tried to get back on it said MY password was incorrect. ! reentered it and tried quite a few more times to no avail. !'m going to have to call them and complain. ! am really annoyed. ! wonder if these terrorists were in Boston while ! was there. ! was in Providence, RI where they arrested the guy on the train. The fbi found out that a couple of those guys were in a bar being obnoxious on Friday. ! thought Islamic Fundamentalists weren't allowed to drink. It seems like these would be the kind of people who would do as they were supposed to do. They are training to kill thousands of people including themselves and their comrades. That just seems odd. It's going to be a wet day. ! got rained on for 25 miles before it let up. The only map of NJ ! have is on the edge of MY PA map. It doesn't go as far East as where ! spent the night last night. ! know the road ! want and ! was watching the cross roads waiting for the first one to show up. It never did. ! was crossing county highways. None of those #s showed up on the map. Just the one that ! was on. After 30 miles ! was getting worried. When was ! going to get onto the map? ! knew it was about 35 miles from the first intersection. ! hit 40 around 2 pm and was hungry. ! came into a town and there it was on the map. It's nearly a suburb of Camden, NJ. ! had missed every cross road and town for 30 miles. What a relief. After lunch ! got back out. It was cold out. ! guess it had been cold all along, but ! had been warmed up. Now ! had cooled down and MY feet were wet. ! rode harder. Then the sun came out. ! had to put on the Oakleys and ditch the Gore-Tex jacket. Then the bridge arrived. That would be the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. The bike path was designed by the same engineers that designed the one on the bridge ! took into NYC. Geniuses. ! had to lock the Jackal up @ the bottom of the stairs and carry the B.O.B up 3 long flights of stairs. That was it though. No stairs to walk down on the other side. ! got to the hostel just a couple minutes before they opened. Lucky ! did too. They ran out of beds. On the way to the grocery market ! got to look @ some of the city !'ll be viewing tomorrow. It's very dense. ! like that. Kind of like Boston, MA was. There is @ least one block of cobble stones. The Liberty bell is right near the hostel ! think. Oddly they name all the alleys here. There are 3 alleys between 2nd and 3rd streets. They all have street names. !'m on Bank St. ! saw several couriers zipping about. Did you see the changing of the guards @ Buckingham Palace yesterday? They played the Star Spangled Banner. The rockets red glare. The bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our Flag was still there. ! guess the Brits have forgotten that those rockets and bombs were hitting their guys. Site seeing tomorrow then heading out Sunday morning. 56 miles.

Day 94 Whoops September 13, 2001

The tv news has been saying the ferries where running on schedule for the last couple days. ! couldn't get in touch w/ them on the phone so ! decided to go by and see. ! thought the 34th St. pier was on the west side. ! went there and ended up by the Chelsea Piers. That is where they have a morgue set up. ! went down to 14th St. That is as far south as anyone can go. Then to the east side. ! found the dock. Not much to it. The ticket office is a tiny hut all boarded up. ! went back to the hotel and checqued out so ! could get back for the 11:45 boat. ! got there just in time, but the boat wasn't there. ! figured it would be late. While ! was waiting 5 state police cars pulled up and disgorged the NYPD SCUBA team. ! waited about an hour until some other people arrived and said they were running one boat @ 3 pm. ! had nowhere to go so ! just waited. ! got a sub and a paper. The boat actually showed up. ! got to Atlantic Highlands, NJ about 4 and headed for Philadelphia, PA. ! thought it would only be 25-30 miles more. After 20 miles ! wasn't sure where ! was since ! don't have a NJ map. It looks like it'll be another 60 miles or so. ! made it to Freehold, NJ and after wandering about ! found a Days Inn. After dark. It gets dark a bit after 7 here. 57 miles.

LEONARD PITTS

It's my job to have something to say
By Leonard Pitts Jr.
Tribune Media Services

They pay me to tease shades of meaning from social and cultural issues,
to
provide words that help make sense of that which troubles the American
soul.
But in this moment of airless shock when hot tears sting disbelieving
eyes,
the only thing I can find to say, the only words that seem to fit, must
be
addressed to the unknown author of this suffering.
You monster. You beast. You unspeakable bastard.
What lesson did you hope to teach us by your coward's attack on our
World
Trade Center, our Pentagon, us? What was it you hoped we would learn?
Whatever it was, please know that you failed.
Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause.
Did you want to make us fear? You just steeled our resolve.
Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together.
Let me tell you about my people. We are a vast and quarrelsome family, a

family rent by racial, cultural, political and class division, but a
family
nonetheless. We're frivolous, yes, capable of expending tremendous
emotional
energy on pop cultural minutiae a singer's revealing dress, a ball
team's
misfortune, a cartoon mouse.
We're wealthy, too, spoiled by the ready availability of trinkets and
material goods, and maybe because of that, we walk through life with a
certain sense of blithe entitlement. We are fundamentally decent, though
-
peace-loving and compassionate. We struggle to know the right thing and
to
do it. And we are, the overwhelming majority of us, people of faith,
believers in a just and loving God.
Some of you, perhaps, think that any or all of this makes us weak.
You're
mistaken. We are not weak. Indeed, we are strong in ways that cannot be
measured by arsenals.
Yes, we're in pain now. We are in mourning and we are in shock. We're
still
grappling with the unreality of the awful thing you did, still working
to
make ourselves understand that this isn't a special effect from some
Hollywood blockbuster, isn't the plot development from a Tom Clancy
novel.
Both in terms of the awful scope of its ambition and the probable final
death toll, your attacks are likely to go down as the worst acts of
terrorism in the history of the United States and indeed, the history of
the
world. You've bloodied us as we have never been bloodied before.
But there's a gulf of difference between making us bloody and making us
fall. This is the lesson Japan was taught to its bitter sorrow the last
time
anyone hit us this hard, the last time anyone brought us such abrupt and

monumental pain. When roused, we are righteous in our outrage, terrible
in
our force. When provoked by this level of barbarism, we will bear any
suffering, pay any cost, go to any length, in the pursuit of justice.
I tell you this without fear of contradiction. I know my people, as you,
I
think, do not. What I know reassures me. It also causes me to tremble
with
dread of the future.
In days to come, there will be recrimination and accusation, fingers
pointing to determine whose failure allowed this to happen and what can
be
done to prevent it from happening again. There will be heightened
security,
misguided talk of revoking basic freedoms. We'll go forward from this
moment
sobered, chastened, sad. But determined, too. Unimaginably determined.
You see, there is steel beneath this velvet. That aspect of our
character is
seldom understood by people who don't know us well. On this day, the
family's bickering is put on hold. As Americans we will weep, as
Americans
we will mourn, and as Americans, we will rise in defense of all that we
cherish.
Still, I keep wondering what it was you hoped to teach us. It occurs to
me
that maybe you just wanted us to know the depths of your hatred.
If that's the case, consider the message received. And take this message
in
exchange: You don't know my people. You don't know what we're about. You

don't know what you just started.
But you're about to learn.
X X X
(Leonard Pitts is a columnist for the Miami Herald, 1 Herald Plaza,
Miami,
Fla., 33132. Readers may contact him at (888) 251-4407 or via e-mail at
leonardpitts(at)mindspring.com.)
© 2001, The Miami Herald
Distributed by Tribune Media Services, Inc.