2001 A Bike Odyssey

Wrap Up

2005-08-25T20:03:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T20:01:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T19:56:00.000-07:00

! 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

2005-08-25T19:55:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T19:54:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T19:53:00.000-07:00

! 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

2005-08-25T19:52:00.000-07:00

! 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

2005-08-25T19:51:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T19:50:00.000-07:00

! 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

2005-08-25T19:49:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T19:48:00.000-07:00

! 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

2005-08-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

@ 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

2005-08-25T19:43:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T19:38:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T19:37:00.000-07:00

! 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

2005-08-25T19:35:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T19:34:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T19:31:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T19:24:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

! 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

2005-08-25T19:20:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T19:16:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T19:15:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T19:00:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T18:56:00.000-07:00

! 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

2005-08-25T18:50:00.000-07:00

! 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

2005-08-25T18:48:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T18:47:00.000-07:00

! 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

2005-08-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T18:45:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T18:41:00.000-07:00

! 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

2005-08-25T18:39:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T18:35:00.000-07:00

! 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

2005-08-25T18:29:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T18:28:00.000-07:00

! 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

2005-08-25T18:27:00.000-07:00

! 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

2005-08-25T18:26:00.000-07:00

! 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

2005-08-25T18:25:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T18:22:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T14:55:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T14:51:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T14:45:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T14:43:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T14:23:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T14:18:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T14:16:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T14:15:00.000-07:00

! 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

2005-08-25T14:14:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T14:11:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T14:06:00.000-07:00

! 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

2005-08-25T13:58:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T13:56:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-25T13:51:00.000-07:00

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.

World Trade Center

2005-08-25T13:46:00.000-07:00

! took this shot about 17 hours before they disappeared. The dark brown building peeking up in the center is 7 World Trade. That's the building that fell down later that evening. The towers were 110 stories tall each. The Second tallest buildings in the world.
They were completed in 1976 after 7 years of construction.

2005-08-25T13:45:00.000-07:00

By now everyone has been hearing the death toll rise and reports of the
destruction from the terrorist attacks on the US. These were deplorable
acts that we will never forget. But now is a time to look at the other
side of the numbers coming out of New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

The sad but somewhat uplifting side that the mainstream media has not
reported yet - the SURVIVAL rates and some positive news about the
attacks.

*** The Buildings ***

* The World Trade Center -
The twin towers of the World Trade Center were places of employment for
some

50,000 people. With the missing list of just over 5,000 people, that
means
90% of the people targeted survived the attack. A 90% on a test is an
'A'.

* The Pentagon -
Some 23,000 people were the target of a third plane aimed at the
Pentagon.
The latest count shows that only 123 lost their lives. That is an
amazing
99.5% survival rate. in addition, the plane seems to have come in too
low,
too early to affect a large portion of the building. On top of that, the

section that was hit was the first of five sections to undergo
renovations
that would help protect the Pentagon from terrorist attacks. It had
recently completed straightening and blastproofing, saving untold lives.

This attack was sad, but a statistical failure.

*** The Planes ***

* American Airlines Flight 77
This Boeing 757 that was flown into the outside of the Pentagon could
have
carried up to 289 people, yet only 64 were aboard. Luckily 78% of the
seats
were empty.

* American Airlines Flight 11
This Boeing 767 could have had up to 351 people aboard, but only carried

92.
Thankfully 74% of the seats were unfilled.

* United Airlines Flight 175
Another Boeing 767 that could have sat 351 people only had 65 people on
board. Fortunately it was 81% empty.

* United Airlines Flight 93
This Boeing 757 was one of the most uplifting stories yet. The smallest
flight to be hijacked with only 45 people aboard out of a possible 289
had
84% of its capacity unused. Yet these people stood up to the attackers
and
thwarted a fourth attempted destruction of a national landmark, saving
untold numbers of lives in the process.

*** In Summary ***
Out of potentially 74,280 Americans directly targeted by these inept
cowards, 93% survived or avoided the attacks. That's a higher survival
rate
than heart attacks, breast cancer, kidney transplants and liver
transplants
- all common, survivable illnesses.

The Hijacked planes were mostly empty, the Pentagon was hit at it's
strongest point, the overwhelming majority of people in the World Trade
Center buildings escaped, and a handful of passengers gave the ultimate
sacrifice to save even more lives.

Pass this information on to those in fear and the media. Don't fear
these
terrorists. The odds are against them.

Day 93 Three Months September 12, 2001

2005-08-25T13:42:00.000-07:00

! still can't get out of Manhattan. Well, ! could, but ! don't want to fight traffic over the bridges and then ride many miles through the city. Things are getting back to normal here. Sort of. Schools will open tomorrow and the stock markets will open on Friday. Some airplanes will be allowed to fly tomorrow to. Today ! walked from MY hotel @ 110th and Lenox Ave. to 96th and Riverside park. Then north through the park to 122nd and back. ! spent most of the day watching tv though. ! saw MY first NYC cockroach. @ the pizza place just after ! ordered lunch. No rat sightings yet. ! must not be looking in the right places. They showed footage from "the hole" where the twin towers used to be. So far they've found 82 bodies and rescued 9 people. It's possible that almost everyone below the crash floors made it out. Fox is airing phone calls from people searching for people. They are giving out their home phone numbers on local NYC television. That's desperate. The bad part is that most of those people are probably dead and the bodies pulverized. Norman Schwartzkoff called them "bastards" on the air. Just this evening the wind has shifted a bit. This is the first time !'ve smelled the smoke and dust. Other than that nothing else happened today. It's been 3 months today since ! left. Hopefully ! can get on the ferry tomorrow and get to Philadelphia, PA. NYC is a pretty neat place. ! don't think ! would want to be here in the winter though. It sure is expensive. ! would have to be making a whole bunch of money to live here. 0 miles.

Day 92 Terrorists (9.11) September 11, 2001

2005-08-25T13:38:00.000-07:00

! slept well last night. ! used the earplugs. The plan for today was to ride down to Pier 11 to get on the ferry to the Highlands in New Jersey and then ride about 30 miles into Philadelphia, PA. Today is primary day in NYC. ! saw the weather report on tv. They said it was going to be a beautiful day and there was no reason not to get out and vote. ! was trying to call the hostels in Philly, but the phones were busy. ! figured they were just overwhelmed. ! glanced over @ the tv and saw a fire. ! looked closer and realized it was one of the twin towers. They said a plane had crashed into the top of the building. Everyone was wondering how that could happen and then as ! watched another airliner crashes into the other tower on live tv. Now we knew it was terrorists. W. came on and did a press conference from FL. Minutes later scenes from the Pentagon. Another hijacked jet had crashed into it. Another half hour of watching the towers in flames a reporter was doing an interview and they panned up onto the South tower just in time lots of noise and smoke and dust. No one knew what had happened. Maybe a bomb. Other camera angles showed the tower collapsing. Not long after that we saw the other tower drop. Now the new building @ 7 World Trade is engulfed in flames. It's the 60 story Verizon building. So far only 3 deaths out of about 130 serious patients. Also 265 people on the 4 jets. The buildings are said to hold 10,000 people/tower. Some say 50,000. The lobby of the hostel is packed. Everyone is glued to the screen. There are car fires burning downtown. The bridges and tunnels were all closed down. Now some are open so people can get out of town. The pier ! was going to catch the ferry from was engulfed in dust. ! walked down there yesterday from the NYSE. Just blocks from the towers. If they had told ME that there was a ferry 45 minutes earlier ! would have been right down there for the whole thing. 7 World Trade just collapsed @ 5:15 pm. One of the towers did a lot of damage to it when it fell. !'ll be staying here another night. ! wonder if we will be going to war now. Osama Bin Laden is the main suspect according to those who are speculating. The word is that he is holed up in Afghanistan. When ! first heard a plane had hit, they were saying it was a big jet airliner. That sounded amazingly implausible ! figured it was a Leer jet out of control. !'m in Harlem. Apparently the safest place in the city. About 100 deaths @ the Pentagon was the latest report. This was really well planned. Four large airliners from the East coast heading to LA nonstop. Full of fuel and they hit the towers hard on the side to assure a collapse. ! went over to Mount Sinai to donate blood. They are only taking O-negative. They told ME to try tomorrow. ! can do 40 miles one pint low. The video is just amazing. Mayor Guilliani is hidden in a secret location to handle everything. F-16s are flying over the city ready to shoot down anything that goes up. They are speculating that the plane that went down in PA was targeting Camp David. ! nearly bought a couple of shirts near there yesterday. A big sale. ! would have had to have them shipped. That place is probably gone now. There were people jumping from the towers. Maybe ! can get out tomorrow. Now there are explosions in Kabul, Afghanistan. It looks like Cruise missiles. That's the retaliation. Now they say it wasn't from US.

Day 91 Lower Manhattan September 10, 2001

2005-08-25T13:24:00.000-07:00

Today ! wanted to see if ! could get tickets to the Late Show w/ David Letterman. It took almost 2 hours to walk through Central Park and down to 54th St. Dave is on vacation. ! had lunch @ the Hello Deli and got to talk to Rupert Gee. ! got on the bus down to Wall St. to see the New York Stock Exchange trading floor. Only NASA has more computer power than NYSE. Then it was down to Pier 11 to see about getting on a ferry to New Jersey tomorrow. ! may be able to make it to Philadelphia if the ferry goes far enough. Or a hostel north of there. ! don't really want to do another 50 miles in town to a hotel. ! got to see the Statue of Liberty from Battery Park. That's not a good view. Very far away and from the side. Maybe !'ll be able to see her better from the boat. It decided to rain hard here a couple times today. T-storms from Tropical storm Aaron. 0 miles

Day 90 Island Hopping September 9, 2001

2005-08-25T13:20:00.000-07:00

! got on the road @ 10 today. Cold pizza and donuts for breakfast. ! got a hostel reservation in Manhattan on the north side of Central Park. That's actually in Harlem. It was all through town today. Occasionally the town names would change. About halfway ! picked up a staple and had to patch a flat. when ! pumped it back up it blew out. New tube. !'m not moving as fast as ! had hoped today. the streets are rough and lots of red lights keep leaping up in MY way. Not much traffic. It's Sunday. ! got onto the street to the Williamsburg Bridge, but had to detour. they were going to have a parade. Finally found the bike path over the bridge and rode up it. ! could see the skyline and the Manhattan & Brooklyn Bridges. ! got to the other side and surprise. The bike path includes 2 large flights of stairs. ! had to unhook the B.O.B and carry the Jackal down. Lock her up and go back for the B.O.B. Then after a brief ride ! had to do it again. This time for 3 flights of stairs. Brilliant engineering. ! rode through across the edge of Little Italy into the East Village then Greenwich Village on MY way to 6th Avenue. That's the Avenue of the Americas. 6th goes straight to Central Park. 4 lanes. One way. About half way up ! felt like a courier. Even w/ all the gear ! was ducking and weaving in and out of traffic. It was fun. ! did stop for all the red lights even though they are optional. ! was waiting to cross 59th St. into the park when a guy jumped off the bus behind ME. "You beat our bus up here." They all talk funny here. ! figured out why. They have to say stuff like Mauntauk and those other town names out on Long Island. ! was about half way through Central Park when ! realized it was 3:30 pm and ! hadn't eaten. ! stopped for an NYC meal. A hot dog and a pretzel from a cart. Some things you just gotta do. Up to the hostel on the corner of 110th and Lenox Ave. Just across the street from the park. It was tough getting out of the park though since the NYC Century ride was today and that entrance was the finish. Those guys left a couple hours before ! did and were arriving @ the same time as ! was. They didn't have any trailers of course. ! didn't do a century today either. A few hours later ! was ready to feed again. There aren't kitchens in this hostel so ! had to find a restaurant. That's when ! realized ! was in Harlem. ! only found one restaurant. They serve soul food. ! looked @ the menu and determined that that meant lots of meat. Not what ! wanted. Wander some more. ! probably walked a couple miles around before ! found a little chinese place and got some fried rice to take out. 9 pm the road maintenance crew shows up outside to block one lane and do something. They weren't doing much since they kept letting all the busses go through. There is lots of noise here. 48 miles.

Day 89 4th Millennium September 8, 2001

2005-08-25T13:16:00.000-07:00

! was up early this morning and riding @ 7. Good thing too. ! knew it would be a long day. What kind of restaurant doesn't have pancakes w/ breakfast? @ least ! didn't set MYself on fire today. Just 1/2 an hour for breakfast. For some reason the climbs were slow. Part of the problem was that ! was hitting red lights @ the bottom of most of them. On the flats ! was fast. Through one city no problem. Into New Haven, CT and MY knee was feeling a little twinge on the climb. On the west side ! was hungry and it was noon. ! had seen an ice cream store earlier so ! was ready. ! spotted a dairy restaurant. In ! went. First thing ! looked @ was the milk shakes. ! wondered what flavors were available. They told ME they have chocolate, vanilla and strawberry syrup. Or the many flavors of ice cream. Always thinking ! asked for coffee ice cream and chocolate syrup. Stupendous! The waitress thought that was really odd. And MY request for swiss cheese instead of american on MY burger. ! guess they haven't ever seen anything like that. ! was only about 15 miles from Bridgeport, CT where ! was going to catch the ferry to Long Island. ! made it to the dock w/ 45 minutes to spare. Just over an hour on the boat. ! was back to riding by 3:45 pm. 25 miles to the south side of the island to camp. There are no campgrounds closer to NYC and none any where else nearby so ! had to make it. ! got there right @ 6. Something didn't look right. The campground is closed for the season due to West Nile Virus bearing mosquitos. No camping left in NY. ! had just hit 4,000 miles and 90 for the day. ! estimated 45 miles tomorrow. ! figured why not do 10 of those tonight. ! went up 27A 'til ! hit 100 miles. There were plenty of little towns along the road. ! thought it would be cool to get a hotel in Babylon, NY. ! stopped @ a gas station to ask for directions. The guy didn't know of any nearby. None in the Babblin' town. or anything west. Then he asked which way ! was headed. West. "Oh that is much easier". "Go through the Babblin' town and you will see a light w/ a Buick dealer on one corner , etc., etc." ! went by the Hess station and the burnt out catering building. The hotel was there. $80 dollars and no surfing. ! showered and got a pizza. About 30 miles of headwinds today. Great shake, another century and 4,000 miles. Into Manhattan tomorrow. ! need to call hostels before ! leave Lindenhurst, NY tomorrow. 104 miles.

Day 88 19 1/2 Hours September 7, 2001

2005-08-25T13:12:00.000-07:00

Battered AA battery count 42

That's how long it took ME to cross Rhode Island. And 12 of those hours ! was in the hotel. ! didn't even go straight across. !'m not sure if Rhode Island is a county of TA, CT or NY. They didn't bother putting up signs @ the borders. Probably so no one would laugh @ them. ! got up this morning and headed for breakfast. ! asked for Tobasco for MY eggs as always. They didn't have any. They had some other stuff that wasn't very hot and also some habanero sauce. They said to use it sparingly. The bottle said add one drop @ a time so ! poured it on one egg thick and started eating. It burned. MY eyes watered. ! took another bite. It got worse. ! kept eating. ! wasn't learning anything. By the second bite ! was crying. ! couldn't see. ! didn't finish that egg. ! tried OJ and wiping MY tongue w/ a napkin. It still burned. ! made it out alive and even ate everything. The hills are brutal steep. It was hot by the time ! was out riding. ! usually don't have any trouble w/ MY food, but today ! wanted to hurl @ the top of the climbs. ! didn't though. That lasted for an hour and a half. Not long after that ! got something in MY eye. ! rubbed it and nearly went blind. ! had washed MY hands after ! ate, but still it hurt. All along the way in RI little caterpillars were trying to migrate across the road. Most were unsuccessful. In some spots the lanes were covered by mashed caterpillars. ! got quite a few MYself. Around lunch time ! wasn't really hungry yet except for ice cream. Milk for poison control. I found a couple orange cream bars and a cream soda. ! felt better. The landmarks were passing swiftly now that most of the climbing was done. Still some climbs and they were slow, but more descending. ! had a craving for a Coke. A thick one w/ all the sugar in it. ! got one. First one in months. ! found the campground long before dark and that is all that happened today of interest. 68 miles.

Day 87 Change of State September 6, 2001

2005-08-25T13:10:00.000-07:00

! didn't have to get going early today since the first ferry to New
Bedford, TA didn't leave Oak Bluffs 'til 11:30. ! took MY time and even had
time to put in a limit order on MY HRB options. The ferry landed @ 1 o'clock.
! went for lunch and looked @ the map on the place mat. It looked pretty
simple to get to Route 6. It wasn't. ! was going in the general direction and
finally found it. ! went through Fall River, TA and crossed the river there
then 6 combined w/ I-195 to cross the river into Providence, RI. Of course it
was just a little before 5 pm when ! got on the interstate and got pulled
over. The cop said there was a bike route along the river that would take ME
right where ! needed to go. Of course ! had to go down a narrow on-ramp. One
block and ! got to the "Bike Trail Ends" sign. Now ! had to wander through
the city looking for a hotel. ! was in the slums. ! stopped @ 2 gas stations
to get directions. They hadn't even heard of the roads was looking for. !
found the center of town in a traffic jam then ! had estimated MY mileage
trying to be conservative. ! came up w/ 45 miles. That seemed like a good
distance considering the late start and that ! didn't really rest yesterday.
63 miles.

Day 86 Martha Stewart's Vineyard September 5, 2001

2005-08-25T13:07:00.000-07:00

It's not really Martha Stewart's Vineyard. It does look like her kind of
place though. While ! was @ the library today ! found out for sure. Thomas
Mayhew bought Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and the Elizabeth Islands for 40
pounds. He named this island after his daughter Martha who went on to found
AA. Just kidding about the AA thing. ! rode around most of the west side of
the island today. Then to the library in Vineyard Haven, TA to checque the
ferry schedule to New Bedford, TA tomorrow. ! also found out that ! can make
6 'cross races instead of just States. ! looked @ the Amtrak schedule. It
leaves New Orleans, LA @ 1:55 pm and arrives in Denver @ 8:05 am 2 days
later. !'ll have a 6 hour layover in Chicago, IL. ! also altered an option
sell order so it might actually sell. ! can always use a little extra money.
The roads here are all narrow and lots of traffic. The trees come right to
the edge of the road almost and lots of those stone fences the Patriots hid
behind to shoot redcoats. It felt a little slow on the way west, but ! was
actually moving faster than !'m used to. Just pushing the same effort in a
bigger gear. !'ll need bigger chainrings when ! return. When ! turned around
to go back up island (that's east) ! had a couple sprints that seemed like
all ! could do was accelerate. ! came by the construction crew blocking one
lane and accelerated up the grade to intimidate the cop into stopping traffic
for ME. ! was in MY biggest gear and just kept it churning. ! came over the
top of the steep part going as fast as ! had started @ the bottom and quite a
bit faster than ! had been cruising earlier. Then on another occasion ! saw
some cars behind ME on a climb. ! sped up and before ! knew what was
happening ! was really moving. Add 5 mph and it would have been a Lance
attack. ! think !'ll have some popcorn soon. !'m a little uncertain about
where !'ll be for tomorrow night. ! won't make it to New Bedford, TA 'til 1
pm. That doesn't leave ME much time to get across RI. !'ll have to go way
north and into Providence then almost all the was south so ! won't make it
through all in one day. Probably only about 24 hours including sleep time
though. It really felt easier w/out the B.O.B. And ! managed to stand up to
climb and sprint. It only took a few miles to work that out. 46 miles.

Day 85 West Tisbury, TA September 4, 2001

2005-08-25T13:05:00.000-07:00

They charged ME $15 for the campsite last night and it wasn't even a full
hookup one like the others had been. First thing was up and over the Sagamore
bridge. That had ME stressed a bit. It wasn't too bad. Then looping around to
find the road ! wanted. It was fairly flat most of the way, but for some
reason it felt like it was tough to go. There was a head wind so that was
part of it. Another part was that Saturday coming into Brookline,TA ! hit a
pothole really hard and snapped the cable that supports MY handlebar bag. All
day yesterday ! couldn't see MY map or MY watch. It was really annoying, but
being Labor Day ! had resigned MYself to dealing w/ it. Today was different.
! was hoping to find a bike shoppe and none were appearing. ! also needed to
lube MY chain. ! came into Falmouth, TA about 5 miles from the ferry dock w/
15 minutes to get there or wait another 45. There was a shoppe. ! got
everything set in order and they told ME there was a ferry that left from
just a few blocks away and went to a dock a bit farther from MY destination.
! figured ! could checque it out. It was just getting ready to leave a few
minutes after ! got there so on ! went. There was a seagull that would chase
the boat until it got right behind us then he would soar right off the
starboard side for awhile before peeling off to chase us again. He was really
close. About 8 feet away. The island is heavily trafficked. Cars everywhere.
It was several miles to the hostel in West Tisbury. Then ! headed off to the
market. It was 4 miles away they said. It was. It was just hidden. And
expensive. There wasn't even a sign on the store when ! found it. It just
kinda resembled a grocery store. Not many miles today except for the several
excess miles looking for the market. 49 miles.

Day 84 Riding to Cape Cod on Labor Day September 3, 2001

2005-08-25T13:03:00.000-07:00

! was up @ 6 this morning and making breakfast. Out on the streets by 9.
It took a few hours to get out of town. Even then there are houses
everywhere. ! turned and started up a hill ahead of 3 mountain bikers enroute
to the trail. ! was nearly outclimbing them. Their leader was having none of
that so he led them up and 2 of them passed ME before the top. ! passed all
three on the way down the other side then halfway up they came by again. It
must have been embarrassing for them. ! stopped for lunch @ a pizza joint
just a few miles from the campsite to get directions. They all talk funny
around these here parts. The driver told ME it's just a few miles down the
road. "You can't miss it". ! missed it. By about 4 miles. ! decided to go on
to the next campground since ! had lots of time and want to make tomorrow a
short day so ! can have more time on Martha's Vineyard. There are 2 bridges
over the Cape Cod Canal. ! am still on the north side. !'ll go over the
bridge in the morning after all the vacationers are gone. ! went down to the
Atlantic Ocean beach after setting up camp @ Scussett Beach State Park. Then
! set fire to some wood lying around the site. It's just embers now. ! can
hear all the boats coming through the canal. ! found a live starfish in a
tide pool and a little crab too. 70 miles.

Day 83 Boston Bus Tour September 2, 2001

2005-08-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

! rode the train into Boston today. ! didn't realize it went underground.
After walking around on Beacon Hill for a while ! got on one of the tour
buses. For 2 hours ! rode around. The guide sang often and played music.
Everytime there was a "yee ha" in the song he would stomp on the gas and
weave back and forth for a block. He also liked to pop the clutch @
pedestrians and make fun of everyone outside including the tour driver right
behind us. @ one stop he was trying to get a mob waiting for a different tour
to sing w/ him. ! got to see lots of old churches. ! saw the sites of the
Battle of Bunker Hill, the Boston Massacre and the balcony where the
Declaration of Independence was first read to the public. We got close to
Paul Revere's house. Now it would be worth a few $million. He should have
held onto it. We went by the Bull and Finch pub. That's the place you saw on
the opening to "Cheers". And MIT. There are pedal powered swan boats in
Boston Public Gardens. They look like they could hold 20 people. Always being
followed by ducks around the little lake. Then back to the hostel on the
subway. 0 miles

Day 82 Lost in BeanTown September 1, 2001

2005-08-25T12:37:00.000-07:00

! was on the road @ 8 this morning. Not too bad. It thunder stormed last
night about 2:30. ! had to sprint outside to get MY towel so it wouldn't get
drenched. There was some lightning and thunder so ! had a couple Pop Tarts
and went back to sleep. The odd thing about being out in the woods after a
rain is that the leaves catch a lot of the water. Later when the wind blows
through the upper boughs the rainwater falls to the ground. It's hard to tell
if it's really raining or not. It took a while, but ! found a big, hearty
breakfast. Then ! found a candy factory soon after. They had an ice cream
bar. Flavor of the week was Toffee Crunch. No, ! didn't bank over immediately
into the parking lot. ! did a couple of circles on the next corner then went
back. ! don't think enough people eat dessert after breakfast. ! started
calling hostels in Boston, TA. As ! suspected the first few were booked up. !
got one in Brookline, TA. A suburb. Of course ! got really lost coming in.
MY map shows just a couple streets. The campground last night was shown on
roads that didn't have #s by them. Luckily ! asked for directions since it
was actually off a different highway than it looked to be. ! think ! can take
the trolley into town and not have to deal w/ as much traffic during rush
hour when ! leave Monday morning. It'll be Labor day too. ! guess there won't
be a rush hour. !'m on Beacon St. The trolley runs right down the middle of
the road. !'m also very near Boston College. The streets were packed w/
students moving in today. They were everywhere and most of them have no idea
how to drive. So, of course they get U-hauls to practice in. ! did MY most
expensive load of laundry ever. These college students should invest in
washing machines and have their friends come over to use them. ! came through
Marlborough, TA today. Just a reminder to all you kids out there. Don't
Smoke. It's gross. But if you do smoke, make sure to only buy Phillip Morris
brand products. Tomorrow is a rest day. 68 miles.

Day 81 Much Cleaner Now August 31, 2001

2005-08-25T12:36:00.000-07:00

It was only 0.6 miles from the park to highway 9. ! got sprinkled on a
couple times today. Mostly it was sunny out though. And the miles went by
quickly. Mostly downhill today. Also the map is in a larger scale than the NY
map so ! get across panels faster. The last town ! passed w/ an elevation on
the map said 472'. ! think ! may be in a valley. Tomorrow may be a tough day.
! need to call the hostels in Boston and make reservations. 2 days there to
rest and look around. TA has such quaint little colloquialisms on their road
signs. If a lane ends they say "lane drop ahead". By a construction site one
said "squeeze right" and MY favorite so far "thickly settled". That one was
on Podunk Rd. ! saw a large wild cat wander across the road today. It
disappeared down the embankment before ! could get the camera out so you'll
just have to take MY word on it. ! called HRB about MY options and was
pleased w/ what they had to say. Except that ! want to buy some to hold onto.
Solomon Smith Barney doesn't handle that they say. They gave ME a different
#. After getting transferred around ! figured out that John Hancock Financial
Services had no idea what ! was talking about. All they sell are their mutual
fund shares. That problem is not cleared up yet, but ! think ! have most of
the other info ! need. This campground has showers that work. ! am so much
cleaner now. They had a slide show about raptors tonight. A couple raptors
working w/ Bob & Leo would make an invincible team. 64 miles.

Day 80 Locked Out August 30, 2001

2005-08-25T12:34:00.000-07:00

Battered AA battery count 34

! woke up today just before 6 am. ! figured it would be about time for
the Continental appetizer. It wasn't ready. The room has a door to the
outside and one to the hall inside. ! went out the inside door. When ! came
back the key didn't fit the lock. The other door had the latch on it so !
couldn't get in that way and no one was in the office. After 20 minutes
someone finally showed up to let ME in. Michael Jackson opened the Nasdaq
today. It's his 43rd birthday. ! made it 17 miles down hwy. 20 before the
back tyre went flat. ! took it off to patch it, but couldn't find the hole so
! just put it back on and pumped it up. It held. Until ! stopped for lunch. !
just pumped it up then and rode on. ! figured ! would just buy a new tyre and
some tubes @ the bike shoppe in the next town. ! got into Pittsfield,
Taxachusetts (TA) and it went flat on ME again. ! pumped it up since ! only
had a couple miles to go. It lasted half a mile. That time it was losing air
as fast as ! could pump it in. Now ! had to patch it w/ only a mile to the
bike shoppe. It had to be done. ! got terrain info there. Kind of flat to
Dalton, TA then up a mountain. After that it was downhill for a few miles
then flat in the valley. That was the 2nd mountain ! climbed today. ! stopped
for a map and a couple Hostess cupcakes. It was 18 miles to the town by the
campground. ! decided to go for it since it would be mostly downhill from
there. ! had MY flashers on before ! got to the turnoff. Then ! rode right
past the D.A.R. State Forest. The sign said 6 miles. It must have meant .6.
After 6 miles of descending ! pulled out MY map and realized ! was way past
it. Turn around. This dude w/ a pickup pulled over and offered ME a ride. It
was after 8 pm and ! had 5 miles of climbing ahead so ! said ok. He had done
some touring in Africa and he had fabulous garlic bread. The camp ground is
very dark. No hot water in the showers. $12. !'m pretty knackered. Time for
bed. 78 miles.

Day 79 On to Albany August 29, 2001

2005-08-25T12:32:00.000-07:00

It was foggy when ! woke up today. Probably that is fairly common around
these parts w/ the lake effect. It doesn't look like it's going to be a
really long day today. @ least not compared to the last few. There were quite
a few hills. Lots of rolling terrain. !'m in the Finger Lakes region. !'m
only 50 miles north of Woodstock and the Catskills. ! could head down there
and either become a Vaudeville performer or a hippy. !'ll keep heading east.
Tomorrow ! should be sleeping in Taxachusetts. It looks like they have more
campgrounds @ least along highway 20. The clouds looked somewhat ominous this
morning, but after a hearty breakfast (Mmmmm) the sun came out. The climbs
were hot. Lots of sweat dripping into puddles on the road. Then the descents
were nearly chilly. Really refreshing after the climbs. ! stopped to see what
was up w/ the front tyre. Since ! put the new one on it's been thumping. The
bead wasn't seated all the way by the valve stem. All ! had to do was deflate
it, wiggle it around and pump it back up. Now everything is smooth again. !
rolled into Albany, NY and part way through town looking for a hotel or a
phone book. Nothing. ! stopped @ a gas station and ended up back tracking 4
miles. Not too bad. ! was inside by 4 pm. There is food next door and a
Continental appetizer in the morning. Looks like about 170 miles to Boston.
66 miles.

Day 78 Up and Down to Cooperstown August 28, 2001

2005-08-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

! got to see the weather this morning. It was raining pretty hard in
Rochester, but not due to Syracuse 'til about 1 pm. ! figured ! could outrun
it w/ a 4 hour head start. ! went a few miles and stopped for a bagel. When !
came out it was starting to rain. ! put on the rain covers and headed off. It
got stronger. After 3 miles ! pulled into a church to wait it out. An hour
later it was just sprinkling so off ! went. ! had estimated that today
wouldn't be a long day. It just didn't seem like ! was making any progress on
the map. ! compared the distance ! had done so far to what was left and it
looked like a whole bunch and ! was now behind going into the hills. The
hills got bigger and steeper. Hot and humid. Progress was slow. ! didn't
really have any choice. ! want to make Albany, NY tomorrow so @ least half
today and there weren't any campsites closer. About 60 miles in ! got a big
descent. ! looked @ MY computer. 28 mph. Ok. ! looked again. 39 mph. That is
way too fast w/ all the weight on the very back. It started to shimmy. ! hit
the brakes. It got worse. Now ! was on the wrong side of the road looking for
a yard to crash in. It's best to pick a spot if you can. ! had slowed a
little. The weaving was getting worse. Then a moment of lucidity. When your
trailer is shimmying accelerate out of it. ! did. It worked. ! could slow
down now. Just have to wait for all the traffic to get out of MY way so ! can
get back to the right lane. Maybe ! should move the laptop up to the front of
the trailer. ! was getting close to the campsite when ! spotted a KOA sign. !
figured that was where ! was going. They wanted $23.50. ! talked them down to
$10. The hills just went up and down all day. Mostly up. !'m probably a few
hundred feet up now. ! must have climbed a couple thousand though. !'ll have
no trouble sleeping tonight. On to Albany tomorrow. ! think it's starting to
rain now. !'m actually about 14 miles north of Cooperstown. 73 miles.

Day 77 August 27, 2001. ! Found the Up in Upstate NY

2005-08-25T09:17:00.000-07:00

Battered AA battery count 29

! wasn't able to get online last night so a hotel wasted. Leftover pizza
for breakfast. It rained most of the night ! guess. ! was drenched when ! got
back from the pizza joint. Everything was damp today, but the sun was out. So
were all the dead frogs. They don't handle traffic very well. Lots of them on
the shoulder. !'m in the land were there are no hamburgers. Just hamburgs and
cheeseburgs. Gotta save those syllables. ! found a Motto Guzzi dealership
just outside Syracuse, NY. Yesterday ! had a flat front tyre when ! woke up.
! couldn't find a hole so ! just pumped it up. It was fine for about 50 miles
then it went flat on ME again. ! pumped it up and it was ok. ! ran over
something and the back tyre started hissing. ! patched 2 holes. When !
finished the back tyre the front one was flat so ! got to patch it too. This
morning the B.O.B tyre was flat and still had a staple in it. That must be
what ! hit last night. It's fixed now. After 55 miles today the front tyre
went flat on ME so ! replaced the tyre and the tube. That's about 3,500 miles
on the front. Not too bad. The rear one lasted 1,000 miles and it's
replacement is pushing 2,000. ! found the hostel about 3 pm. They don't open
'til 5 pm so ! had to find something to do for a couple hours. They did have
a note on the door saying there were beds available. ! made spinach and
cheese tortellini in garlic alfredo sauce. ! added some onion, a tomato and
italian sausage. ! managed to save half for dinner tomorrow night. For
dessert Maple and walnut ice cream. ! didn't manage to save any of that. !
got to see Weakest Link for the first time during dinner. Lots of hills
today. ! think !'m up to a couple hundred feet elevation. 75 miles.

Day 76 Rain In Ontario August 26, 2001

2005-06-14T16:00:00.000-07:00

! got on the Lake Ontario Parkway this morning. ! was a bit concerned
since it looked like and interstate on the map. It started right by the
campground and was nearly uninhabited. Nice smooth concrete and a bit of a
tailwind. ! was making good time. Not much happening around here. NY is
pretty dull. Today is the day of the Vancouver Ironman Triathlon. It looked
like there was a triathlon or a Time Trial around here this morning. ! saw
several TT bikes on cars out on the road. ! don't think ! ever made it into
Rochester, NY. Just the suburbs. ! was going to look for a hotel in Webster,
NY but the cop ! talked to said ! would have to backtrack 2 or 3 miles. He
also said there was a Super 8 in Ontario, NY just about 8 miles up the road.
! went for Ontario. ! turned @ the sign for the business district. It had
every business in town listed. One hotel. Not a Super 8. And not anywhere to
be found. ! went to the main town then on the road parallel to the highway
and back out to 104. Nothing. ! went on 3 miles to a convenience store. They
told ME there was an hotel 5 miles back. And none anywhere nearby to the East
or south. Of course there was a head wind and it was actually 6 miles. ! got
the last room and just after ! got inside it started raining hard. Just for a
bit though. Now ! can't figure out how to get online here. MY modem can't
hear the dial tone. ! wanted a hotel so ! could get online. Looks like this
is going to get longer before it gets sent. 74 miles.

Day 75 Back To America August 25, 2001

2005-06-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

One block downhill. Cross the street and !'m on the bridge to USA. 0.3
miles in Canadia today. Then north through Niagara Falls, NY to take hwy. 18
east along the shore of Lake Ontario. ! was really moving in the morning.
This was the first real ride since ! zip tied the rack onto the B.O.B. W/ the
pannier weight all the way in the back instead of in the center the whole rig
felt really twitchy. After 12 miles ! noticed the rear quick release was
open. After tightening the handling got much better. Today ! saw 2 mountain
bikes and 7 recumbents. 3 of the 'bents were up ahead of ME quite a ways so
of course ! had to chase them down and pass them. 'Bents are aero and really
fast. They don't climb very well though. It was mostly flat there and !'m not
aero. ! have the trailer and wide panniers. And a head wind. It took a few
miles to catch them, but ! did. Of course. They were all unloaded. Just out
riding. ! had to keep going once ! got by so they would realize that ! always
go @ that pace and it would be futile for them to try to keep up. ! sure was
glad when they disappeared. There is almost nothing out here. Just a bunch of
farms and houses. ! got to the campground @ 4pm. ! didn't want to go onto the
next one. They say it was full anyway. $18.75 for a campsite. That's the most
!'ve ever paid. MY hostel last night was only $17.25 and that was Canadian
money. Today was like a miniature version of this 2nd tour. ! started in
Niagara County and ended in Orleans County. The real thing starts in Niagara
Falls and ends in New Orleans. Tomorrow ! plan to pass through Rochester, NY
and get a hotel on the other side. It looks like !'ll need to really hustle
out of NY before !'m bankrupt. First to Boston then NYC then PA, DC, and VA.
55 miles.

Day 74 Run For the Border August 24, 2001

2005-06-14T15:57:00.001-07:00

! got up early this morning for breakfast and to bust the Jackal out of
prison in the basement of Union Station. Loaded up ! rode to the pier an hour
early. That gave ME time to true the back wheel and pump up the tyres. Loaded
onto the hydroplane and we're off. The boat taxied out of the harbor then up
onto the foils @ 34 kts. Lake Ontario was all 1 meter swells. It was kind of
bumpy and lots of fun. ! had to wander around onboard some. Once ! took a
step and the boat dropped out from under ME. ! was a few inches off the floor
suddenly. We cruised a little ways down the river and were dispatched. They
told ME there was a "big" hill to climb into town. ! think ! missed it. !
went down to see the falls. It's only a 20 minute walk from the hostel. 41
million showers. That's a lot of water. Then ! rode around town searching for
food. ! went to the market for antihistamines. They don't seem to be working.
The market is a fairly large building. Very little of it is devoted to food.
! wonder how they eat here. ! had to get Chef Boyardee ravioli primavera.
After dinner a dozen hostelers went down to the Falls to see the fireworks.
They were all lit up. ! should have taken MY camera. ! sat there w/ sore legs
until ! decided to put MY feet in the fountain. It just made sense to face
the fireworks and cool off MY calves to keep them from getting sore. We were
supposed to go to the beer garden afterwards. $4 cover. !'m out of toy money
so ! just came back to the hostel. !'m a block from the bridge to America. 20
miles.

Day 73 Lucked Out August 23, 2001

2005-06-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

! came downstairs this morning to see if there were any vacancies. There
was one. ! won't have to sleep @ the train station or wander the streets all
night tonight. Good thing too. ! couldn't get to sleep last night 'til late
then ! woke up after 4 hours and spent the next 2 trying to get back to
dozing. ! managed to get a 20 minute nap. ! went on the walking tour today.
We saw all kinds of interesting stuff and learned history. There is a little
park right behind the hostel. It's also right behind one of the old town
halls. They had trials in the building then would bring the convicts out back
to the park to execute them. We crossed the longest street in the world.
Yonge St. was built as an escape route in the event of an American invasion.
It worked. We invaded. They fled. General Pike namesake of Pike's Peak was
killed in that battle. ! saw ornate banks and churches. And the tallest free
standing structure in the world. The CN Tower. 1,800 ft. or so tall. Of
course they measured it in meters. From there it was into Union Station and
then almost all the way back to the hostel underground. It's raining outside
now. ! totally missed the heavy part. Tomorrow morning ! have to rescue the
Jackal from the train station and get on the ferry to Niagara Falls. 0 miles
again today.

Day 72 Uh oh August 22, 2001

2005-06-14T15:56:00.000-07:00

! went looking for the ferry that goes across the lake to Niagara Falls.
! found it. A hydroplane. It only runs MWF. ! got a ticket for Friday. !
asked for an extra day here, but the hostel is booked up. They gave ME the
number for another hostel in town, but they are booked up also. !'m on their
waiting list. ! may end up pretending to be waiting for MY train all night. !
called the hostel in Niagara Falls, ON. They are booked up on Friday. The one
is Niagara Falls, NY is closed for another 20 minutes. !'ll have to call them
back to get a space. Hopefully there will be cancellations. ! got to see a
protest today. The government employees are upset because they only got a 2%
raise while Parliament gave themselves a 20% raise and left on their 2 month
vacation. The Toronto Stock Exchange is totally automated. The papers say the
PM or somebody really told W. all aboot free trade. What are they saying down
there? ! can't really tell if the Falls are in Canadia or America. ! guess
!'ll figure it oot when ! get there. They tell ME it's only aboot 8 km from
the ferry to the Falls. 0 miles again today.

Day 71 Rest August 21, 2001

2005-06-14T15:55:00.000-07:00

! got to bed about 2 am ! think. ! didn't wake 'til half past 10. About 8
hours. Not bad considering !'m now 3 hours ahead of the time zone !'ve been
in for the last 1.5 months and ! was only sleeping about 6 hours/night on the
train. First thing was to find something for breakfast. that took awhile.
Then ! wandered aboot downtown. ! got down to the harbor. The Toronto Islands
are just offshore here so ! couldn't really see Lake Ontario. ! found the
Hockey Hall of Fame and a little garden park w/ black squirrels. Not much was
accomplished today. ! put in a couple orders to sell options. No telling when
someone will buy them. ! always set the limit a little higher than the
current price to catch an up tick. ! took a nap and now ! probably need to
find a place to feed. ! did find a New York state map. It doesn't show any
national parks and the banks of Lake Ontario are mostly inhabited so ! may be
in a hotel MY first night away from here. It will take 2 days to get to
Niagara Falls. ! did an ETA to Vancouver when ! was in Cimmaron, NM on day 7.
! had estimated 8.28 (today is 8.21) so !'ve still got a week to get there.
!'m in the middle of downtown of the 5th largest city in North America and
guess what ! see on MY way to dinner. A raccoon. What is a raccoon doing
running aboot town? 0 miles, but lots of walking.

Day 70 Late to Toronto August 20, 2001

2005-06-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

All day there was speculation as to how late we would be. We were
scheduled for 8pm. They were saying midnight @ the earliest and maybe 1 am.
The train pulled into the station @ 11:20 pm. @ the baggage pickup the bikes
come off last and don't go on the conveyor belt. ! decided to leave the
Jackal and the B.O.B @ the station. The hostel people told ME they had no
bike parking and most people park their bikes in a car garage for $6/day. The
train station will keep them for $7.50/day. The first day is free and ! don't
have to unload anything and haul it upstairs. It was only about 7 blocks to
the hostel. Oddly enough the hot-dog stands were all open outside the train
station. Another day of 0 miles.

Day 69 Delayed August 19, 2001

2005-06-14T15:53:00.000-07:00

When ! awoke this morning everything seemed perfectly normal. then !
realized the train wasn't moving. That's not right. ! went to breakfast and
it still wasn't moving. A freight train ahead of us had hit a body and the
RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) were investigating. It happened on an
Indian reservation. It seems there have been a few murders there lately and
they wanted to determine whether this was one or a suicide. After 4-5 hours
we were rolling again. Trying to make up time. We got to Winnipeg late. The
Westbound Canadien was held up because we were late. Union rules. The
Vancouver crew is not allowed past Winnipeg. They had to work the other train
back. 0 miles again.

Day 68 Across Canadia August 18, 2001

2005-06-14T15:52:00.000-07:00

In the middle of breakfast they announced that we would soon be passing
Pyramid Falls. The train slowed down and there they were. ! saw a mountain
goat climbing the hill over a tunnel. Lots of cows too. ! think they may have
been wild cows. We left the Rockies early today and now are on the plains.
The train stopped for an hour in Jasper and again in Edmonton. ! asked if we
would get to see where the Oilers practice losing to the Avs. Too bad !
forgot to wear MY Avs cap when ! went into the station. The pit crew in
Edmonton were all wearing Roller Blades. Those Canucks are just so wacky.
More wonderful grub today. The Edmonton station is right between the end of
the runway for one of their little airports and the Royal Canadian Mounted
Police vicious dog training center. There was a helicopter parked in the
obstacle course. Amazing. They are actually teaching police dogs (Canadian
Shepherds no doubt) to fly choppers. We had a wine tasting this afternoon and
saw the Westbound version of Le Canadien. 0 miles of course.

Day 67 Zip Ties August 17, 2001

2005-06-14T15:51:00.000-07:00

Today is the day to get on the train. ! either have to fix the rack or
order a new one. After breakfast ! went to the hardware store and got a big
bag of zip ties. They are wonderful things. 21 of them are now holding the
rack on the fender of the B.O.B. It seems to be working ok so far. The
panniers are high enough so they don't drag in turns. It'll be tough getting
the wheel off the trailer if it flats. Oh well. It has only gone flat once
and that was in MY back yard. After laundry ! loaded everything up and headed
out searching for lunch. ! found a garlic and spinach pizza w/ feta cheese. !
decided to wander through town to look around and make sure the zip ties were
going to hold. ! made it to the train station about 2 hours early and boxed
up the jackal. In the lounge they had internet access and juice. Out on the
platform they had a band to play for us. We boarded an hour late and finally
headed out. Dinner as we passed through the outskirts of civilization towards
the Rocky mountains. The food is quite delicious and there are snacks about.
! did have a bit of a fright. While brushing MY teeth ! noticed a little
tupperware container in the bathroom. ! couldn't tell what it was so ! opened
it up. Something in foamy water. ! still didn't know what it was, but ! had
to find out. ! poked it and that's when ! got it. It was someone's teeth.
Ick. 12 miles.

Day 66 Oot and Aboot August 16, 2001

2005-06-14T15:50:00.000-07:00

! just wandered aboot today. @ the market ! found after much searching 1
kind of blueberry muffin mix. ! got it to make blueberry bread. This morning
! looked under the counters and found a loaf pan. Good deal. Then ! looked
for the oven. There was none. If ! weren't an American !'d have had no bread.
Damnit! ! bought the mix. ! want the bread. ! made it happen. ! mixed half
the bag w/ water right in the pan. It tasted good. Then ! came up w/ a large
skillet to set the pan in. then ! found another large skillet to cover the
pan and the other skillet w/. Voila, an oven. That's the American way. Later
! went down to the nude beach since it is nearby. It was a lot like hippie
fest on Vashon Island except no clothes. ! think you need the pot to enjoy
neked hippies. You certainly need it if you're going to talk to them. Then to
Jericho Beach. ! called up the guy who opened the very first Domino's Pizza
franchises in Vancouver, BC. He sold everything several years ago and now
just farms. He's way out in the suburbs where the buses don't run w/ bikes.
All ! wanted was a free pizza. Oh, right. ! know him and his wife from when
he was the manager of the store in Murray, KY (that's the Jelly State). ! was
a driver there then. It was MY first real job. ! was damn good @ it of
course. It would take 3 hours to get as close as possible in the bus and that
would leave ME having to walk 2 or 3 miles. ! went to the beach. He said they
still owe him $150,000 and won't even deliver to his house since he's just
out of their area. He's going to have to get on them about the payment. They
are in default now. Tomorrow ! will have to figure out something about MY
rack. ! have an idea. Once again ! am an American. We make things happen. It
broke yesterday w/ no weight on it. ! figured it would so ! took the empty
B.O.B to get groceries. !'m going to try zip tying it onto the trailer wheel
sort of like a regular rack. !'ll be visiting a hardware store in the
morning. While riding yesterday ! managed to do some climbing standing up. !
haven't been able to do that unloaded since ! figured out how to do it w/ all
the gear. It just happened. ! figured the trailer was affecting the handling
and not just the weight. Today ! climbed w/out the trailer and did ok. It
just happened all of a sudden. ! even did a 'cross dismount. ! may be able to
ride an unburdened bike again after all. 17 miles.

Day 65 4,839 Kilometers August 15, 2001

2005-06-14T15:49:00.000-07:00

That's 3,000 miles. ! rode into the city to get breakfast and find the
VIARail station. ! leave via train for Toronto Friday evening. The VIARail
website is quite confusing. ! had estimated what it would cost to go several
months ago. It turned out that w/ tax it's only a few dollars more Canadian
than ! had estimated in US dollars. About 75% of what ! expected. And ! think
! get some kind of refund or credit of the GST when ! return to America. GST
is 8% on just about everything. !'ll have to research it. !'ll be calling H&R
Block tomorrow. ! hit 3,000 miles just after leaving the rail station. !
wandered about town for a while then to the grocery. What do Canadians eat? !
wandered all around that store and couldn't find anything ! wanted. Good
thing ! had a can of soup already. After a nap ! found out where a Safeway
was and the kayak rental place. No rentals unless you've got more sea
kayaking experience than ! have. Damn. It seems the only way !'ll be out on
the water is a private lesson. All the tours are booked for the year. The
Safeway didn't have a great selection either. ! wandered the aisles for an
hour before ! found food for the rest of MY stay. This is NOT USA. 23 miles.

Day 64 On to Vancouver, BC August 14, 2001

2005-06-14T15:48:00.000-07:00

Shortly after 5 am we woke to Enigma and ate breakfast while the sun came
up. We needed an early start since we had 40 miles to the harbor. Hopefully
we'll actually sail today. Leaving the bay it was foggy and it looked like we
would get some good wind. It didn't happen. More motoring. We didn't use the
auto pilot today. We took turns @ the wheel. Mostly ME of course. About mid
day some breeze. ! kept steering as MY crew hustled about opening the genoa
sail. Finally sailing. The chop was fun too. The bow going up and down
crashing in the surf. Nothing bigger than a 1 meter wave. The wind lasted
over an hour then it was back to motoring. There were giant ferries and
container ships plying the strait w/ us. Many of them once we had the
Vancouver suburbs in sight. We came under the main highway bridge into the
narrows. Lots of traffic. We found a dock to moor @ in North Vancouver and
tied up. It was time for dinner. We went looking for a pub. Everything was
closed. Finally we found a place for fish & chips. ! still had to go across
the inlet to Vancouver then about 10 kilometers to the hostel on Jericho
Beach. We were right next to the Sea Bus. ! got to the hostel about 10
tonight and into bed. 9 miles.

Day 63 By Law ! Am in Great Britain August 13, 2001

2005-06-14T15:46:00.000-07:00

MY 5:30 wake up never came. Luckily ! woke @ 5:40 and took off. After
breakfast ! went down to the harbor. SS Columbia is a 41' Robinson design
sailing ship. It's last voyage was from Hawaii to Victoria, BC. The skipper
is a yachting instructor from South Africa. He needed a crew of 4 to sail to
Vancouver. Mostly to help pay for fuel etc. We set sail around 8:30 am. After
motoring out of the harbor we raised the sails to catch the small amount of
wind available. Out the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the Harro Straits. We say a
few dolphins and seals. No whales. We stayed just on the Canadian side of the
border By mid afternoon we reached our destination for the night and anchored
in Broward bay on the North side of North Pender Island. The depth finder
said the water was 10 meters deep and 15* C. 3 of us went in for a swim. A
lot of shivering and paddling about in the salty water then a lap around the
boat before climbing back aboard. After "disarming" the dinghy all 5 of us
paddled a very crooked path to the cafe on shore. We walked up the road to
the mall. A very small mall then farther up the road. We found blackberry
bushes thick along the roadside for a snack. A fawn wandered out to the edge
of the road. No fear. The Aussie was nearly run over several times. After a
long bit of walking we decided to turn around. The Aussie mentioned
hitchhiking and stuck out his thumb. Half a second later a van pulled over to
give us a ride. A Canuk talking Canadian eh. How do Canadians spell Canada? C
eh, N eh, D eh. Back @ the cafe ! got a milk shake and we headed to the bar
next door to play pool. Back to the boat to make dinner by sunset. Queen on
the stereo. 1 mile.

Day 62 It's Been Two Months Today August 12, 2001

2005-06-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

! started on June 12. Today ! was kind of tired. ! went to checque on the
adventure. ! have to be there @ 7 am tomorrow. It'll take 2 days to get
there. MY new buddy from Vashon Island was really jealous. He had to take the
ferry and busses up to Vancouver, BC. He'll get over it. He gets free stuff
everywhere he goes anyway. ! just rode today to drop off the B.O.B. !'ve
booked 3 days @ the Jericho Beach hostel in Vancouver. !'ll have to get
tickets for the train when ! get up there. The VIARail web site is really
tough to get info from. ! think it leaves @ 5:30 pm on the 17th. It also says
that train only runs 3 times a week and !'ve never had it tell ME ! had
chosen an invalid date. We'll see. Time for bed now. ! have a 5:30 wake up
call. 2 miles.

Day 61 Surrounded by Canadians August 11, 2001

2005-06-14T15:44:00.000-07:00

! was up pretty early so ! decided to try to make the 12:45 ferry from
Port Angeles, WA to Victoria, BC instead of the 4:15. ! made it and even had
time to feed since it was running 15 minutes late. It's a 1.5 hour ride
across the Straight of Juan de Fuca. About 20 miles. In canada we all got
herded into the customs building to answer the standard questions. ! guess !
had some wrong answers.They pulled MY records and discovered MY long string
of burglary arrests from back when ! was a foot shorter and tattooed. !'m
only allowed to stay in the country for 2 weeks now. !'m also not allowed to
work in canada. ! hadn't really planned on job hunting up here in the frozen
waste land, but now ! think ! will. Some of the hostels let you stay free if
you do some cleaning. ! think !'ll checque in Vancouver and Toronto. ! was
going to do it here this morning except that !'ve already paid and they don't
do refunds. There seems to be a lot of canadians around town. Instead of the
normal background noise of cars or crickets it's all "eh, hoser" After
studying the ferry schedule ! discovered that ! have to go 26 km (16 miles)
to catch a ferry to Vancouver, BC. That one doesn't even go all the way
there. It would drop ME about 25 km South and then !'d have to ride the rest
of the way in city traffic. Whilst puzzling over this dilemma ! noticed a
posting on the bulletin board. An excellent opportunity even if ! didn't need
it. It'll cost ME $25 CDN, but those are just like nickels almost. That comes
to about $16 in real money. ! think !'ll wait to reveal the adventure for a
few days. Just to build the suspense. 51 miles.

Day 60 Rest Day August 10, 2001

2005-06-14T15:43:00.000-07:00

! had hoped to get some kayaking in today. Alas, they don't like to rent
to anyone alone so ! just wandered around town. They have an Uptown and a
Downtown here. To go from downtown to uptown you climb the stairs. Not much
going on. On to Port Angeles tomorrow to get the ferry to Victoria, BC. 0
miles.

Day 59 Escape From the Island August 9, 2001

2005-06-14T15:42:00.000-07:00

Finally. ! had everything ready to go in time to make the ferry. Once
that ferry got to Seattle ! would have 25 minutes to make the next ferry to
Bainbridge Island. ! got on the first ferry and they told us they had
problems w/ a boat so we had to wait for another ferry to get in. !'m not
sure why. ! assume it was so those passengers who were switching boats could
get on ours. After a 20 minute delay off we went. We pulled into Seattle just
in time to see the Bainbridge Island ferry pull out. So it's another hour
'til the next boat. Time to go to Tully's for coffee. Starbucks isn't really
that good. ! came back just a couple minutes too late and missed that boat
too. So another hour waiting. This time ! got on the boat. And ! was off as
soon as they opened the gates. When ! stopped for lunch ! went around to the
bathroom to fill MY bottle. Right outside the back door some guy was washing
his Ferrari 308. Then, just before the bridge off the North end of the island
! saw another 308. ! saw some interesting street signs on the way up here.
Two Crane Lane and Egg and I Rd. The hills can be pretty steep around here. !
made it to the hostel in Port Townsend, WA about 6 pm. !'ll be here for 2
days before heading to Port Angeles, WA to catch another ferry to Victoria,
BC. 60 miles.

Day 58 Road Trip August 8, 2001

2005-06-14T15:38:00.000-07:00

Battered AA battery count 23

A few of us took a car and went to the largest building on Earth. The
Boeing assembly line for 747s, 767s and 777s. It's big enough to hold
Disneyland and have 12 acres of indoor parking. Korean Airlines 500th 747 is
just about finished. It had all the parts attached. Just needs interior and
paint. They roll one out every 8 days. From there we went up to Mt. Rainier.
We got up to 6,100'. Then back to the island way after dark. 0 miles

Day 57 Straightening up August 7, 2001

2005-06-14T15:37:00.000-07:00

Today ! fixed up the Jackal and put on the new chain. Then took a test
ride to the airport. There was an old Cessna 140 getting ready to go. They
have 2 airports here. The nearest one has a 2,000' grass strip. That and a
short nap is all !'ve done so far today. !'m hearing that the hostels North
of here that ! was planning on going to are booked tomorrow so it may be
another day here. We'll see. 7 miles.

Day 56 Microsoft August 6, 2001

2005-06-14T15:36:00.000-07:00

! needed to get out to Performance in Redmond to trade in MY chain. Since
Microsoft is in Redmond ! figured ! could pop by to see it too. Actually
Performance and the MS campus are just a few blocks apart. ! had also heard
of a troll under a bridge and the locks from the lakes to the bay. They have
a fish ladder w/ windows so you can watch them go upstream. Not many
traveling today. Then ! had to figure out how to get to Redmond via bus. The
bus drivers seemed to not know how to get anywhere. It took quite a bit of
effort, but ! managed to make it out there. The bus back to town was full of
Micro Serfs. All geeky and very quiet. It was nearly 9pm when ! got back to
the hostel. Too late to work on the Jackal and get ready to leave on the last
morning ferry. Looks like another day here. Welcome to the hostel California.
There was a couple from Belgium who were making ribs for dinner. They had
wine and invited several of us in to share. ! was up late into the night
discussing politics w/ a poli sci grad from Boulder, CO. 0 miles.

Day 55 Earth Fair August 5, 2001

2005-06-14T15:35:00.000-07:00

The big island event this weekend is Earth Fair. Mostly a bunch of
hippies hanging out ranting about genetically modified foods and how we need
more government to protect us. ! visited for a couple hours mostly so ! could
test ride the Jackal. The island has some big hills. It was quite a ride and
! realized ! hadn't put MY levers on symmetrically ! did get a henna tattoo.
They last a couple weeks. When ! got back to the hostel there was a flock of
Girl Scouts who were visiting using their cookie money. 8 of them and 2
leaders. From the night before there was a little family w/ a girl the same
age who had taken a fancy to ME (can you blame her?) so ! took her out and
introduced her to the Girl Scouts. They came up w/ a fun activity and really
bonded. What they decided would be fun was to chase ME and steal MY hat and
shoes and sit on ME. Then one of them got out the makeup. It took 9 Girl
Scouts to hold ME down and make ME glitter. Why didn't stuff like that happen
to ME when ! was a cub scout? 13 miles.

Day 54 Into Seattle August 4, 2001

2005-06-14T15:34:00.000-07:00

! took the ferry over again and rode the bus into town. On weekends the
ferry doesn't go to the downtown piers. ! wandered around. ! could hear the
Blue Angels performing, but couldn't get any good shots of them. ! found the
Original Starbucks in the Pike Market just a couple blocks from "the pig".
The pig is a giant bronze piggy bank that people drop their spare change into
and they use it to help homeless people. It has become a landmark. ! actually
heard a guy on his cell phone telling someone to meet him by the pig. Earlier
this summer the lady who cast the original pig made 150 fiberglass casts and
distributed them to local businesses who sponsored them. They, in turn, had
artists alter them and place them all around town. Try www.pigsonparade.org
to see a bunch of them. There are people wandering the town trying to see all
of them. This is the coolest hostel !'ve been to yet. There was a group by
the barn when ! returned square dancing. There's a little airport just down
the road. ! think one more day here and !'ll work MY way to Victoria, BC.
Ride some and take some ferries then to Vancouver, BC. 0 miles.

Day 53 Seattle August 3, 2001

2005-06-14T15:33:00.000-07:00

! went into Seattle today. You have to take the ferry across. After
checqueing the schedule it was determined that ! could go @ 8 am or 9:35. If
! missed that one it would be 3 pm before the next one went over. Since !
wanted to ride the Jackal ! skipped the van ride to the dock. ! left right
after it did and went to town (Vashon). Of course going to town was the wrong
way to go. Not too far out of the way thankfully. The only info ! got was
"it's pretty far" Now ! was running late. ! had to time trial an unknown
distance in about 20 minutes. Off ! went. It was 5 miles and ! was really
moving fast. ! wasn't sure ! was on the right track since there were no signs
along the way. Then down a steep hill. ! got to the dock just in time and
onto the ferry. ! got to talk to another 'cross racer & his girl friend who
were a minute later than ! was. 20 minutes later we were in Seattle. First
thing to do was the Underground tour. After 20 minutes of colorful history
that by itself was worth the admission we split up into groups to go out and
tour the first floors of several buildings downtown. The whole thing took 2
hours and was very humorous. It seems the first mayor was a democrat. He
introduced Seattle (then Duwamps) to corruption. He had the streets paved.
Just from his house to his office. He hired a relative to be the county
secretary. She lived in Ohio and didn't do anything except deposit her
paychecque. When he got his tax bill from the city he would sue and as the
mayor he would settle the case for large sums of money. W/ the city on the
brink of bankruptcy he set up a lottery to raise funds. Can you guess who
won? That's right. They reelected him a few times after that. Basically, the
guy who settled the area saw a huge hill covered w/ big trees right above the
bay. Chop the trees, roll them down to the ships and send them to San
Francisco. Bring back a shipload of money. He surveyed for the city on the
mud flats on the shore. Alas, he did his survey @ low tide. They built the
town anyway. There were sewage problems. In 1890 most of the town burned. The
city wanted to use water to sluice the dirt from the hill down to the flats
to raise the ground level. Estimated time for it to dry out and be usable was
10 years. During the wrangling brick buildings started going up fast. The
city decided to raise the street level above sea level and put in sewer
lines. They did this by building walls around all the buildings 8'-32' high
depending on how far up the hill they were. Once the walls were built the
started filling in between them. Mostly w/ dirt (they moved more dirt than
was moved for the Panama Canal), but also trash, dead animals, ship ballast
etc. Then they installed ladders @ each corner so you could cross the street.
After a few years that was a hassle so they put girders between the buildings
and the street walls and installed sidewalks @ street level complete w/
skylights on the corners. Now street level was on the second floor. The first
floors developed a very colorful history. There were several uses through the
years. "Seamstresses", theatres, speakeasies and rats. The city profited
greatly from the Yukon gold rush. After Prohibition was proven to be a
failure the underground fell into disuse. Mostly just old junk that the
building owners didn't want to pay someone to haul away. Then tourists. The
whole city is pretty cool. ! had a mocha before the tour. Then ! went down
the docks across the street and toured the USS John C. Stennis. That's an
aircraft carrier. There are 4 Navy boats in town for Sea Fair this weekend.
The Blue Angels will be performing on Saturday. They were practicing today.
We could hear them underground. ! got to see them fly by once. The line to
the boat was over an hour long. We went in on the hangar level then took the
airplane elevator to the flight deck. They had lots of planes and helicopters
on deck. The Admirals boat was parked in the hangar. That was cool. Then off
to REI before heading back to the ferry. ! saw a few couriers riding around.
About half were on phixies. This town has some steep hills. Back on the
island ! left the ferry lot and looked up a giant hill. ! rode it, but MY
quads burned a terrible burn and MY biceps are sore just from that climb. !
think !'ll take the van and the bus around town tomorrow. 23 miles.

Day 52 Lance was on Regis this morning August 2, 2001

2005-06-14T15:31:00.000-07:00

Battered AA battery count 22

! got to see it since ! was in the hotel. He's off to see GW tomorrow.
Today was supposed to be a short day. On the road @ 10:30. ! went North the
way ! came then across on North 21st St. to Pearl St. Down to Point Defiance
Park to catch the ferry to Vashon Island. It was noon and the next ferry
didn't leave 'til 2:45 so ! rode around the park on Five Mile Rd. then up the
hill to get lunch. The Antique Sandwich shoppe looked interesting. After
waiting 10 minutes the line hadn't moved. ! went across the street to the
place that said they had the best food in town. It was OK. The really cool
thing there was the cherry shake. ! had to try it. It was amazing. ! nearly
ordered another one. After waiting around for a while the ferry was underway.
On the other side ! took the road up the West side of the island. There were
some big hills, but it was worth it. This hostel is neat. They have Teepees
and covered wagons for the private rooms. In the morning we get a "cowboy
breakfast". We make our own pancakes. ! went to the market and spent $24 for
dinner and some breakfast stuff. Good bacon and OJ. For dinner ! had spinach
ravioli w/ marinara. ! put some little shrimps in the sauce and cut up a roma
tomato. Broccoli and cheese sauce on the side and molasses cookies for
dessert. !'ll be shaving before ! head into Seattle tomorrow. ! have to have
a goatee to get in ! think. The Blue Angels will be performing this weekend.
There is an aircraft carrier and several other Navy boats on display. After
dinner we played frisbee in the giant camping area. Espresso tomorrow. !'ll
be here 3-4 days. 33 miles.

Day 51 Into the City August 1, 2001

2005-06-14T15:30:00.000-07:00

It was mostly flat riding today. Back to Tenino for breakfast then up 507. Just before !
got to why 7 ! did 6 intervals just to remind MYself why ! don't do them all the time. !
was still clearing lactic acid out of MY legs when ! got into Spanaway, WA. ! went
almost to the North side of Tacoma before ! asked where the hotels are. They're all
down South. Back 7 miles to the Motel 6. They say Tom Bodet doesn't come around
to tell us a story before bedtime, but !'ll be watching for him just in case. There's an
Army base SW of here w/ an airport. !'ve seen lots of BIG military planes making sharp
turns down low over town. ! made it to Performance. They had most of what ! needed,
but no rack. The store in Redmond doesn't have one either. !'ll have to order one and
return the busted one for credit. !'ll be going to the IHOP for breakfast tomorrow then
onto the ferry to Vashon Island for a few days. The Seattle hostel is all booked up. !'ll
have to take the ferry over there to get espressos. !'ll probably be staying up late
tonight to install new parts. It actually turned into a high mileage day. Good thing ! left
early. 70 miles

Doug!!