We had no issues with our flight and actually got into Baltimore early. I don't think I have ever been as excited when the pilot came over the PA and said, "looks like we will be arriving a little early this evening and the temperature in Baltimore is 75 degrees." I will probably remember those words for the rest of my life. It was actually 30 degrees cooler then when we left. Not one day on the whole trip was it 75 or less. Once we got to Baltimore, our boy Charlie Crews was there to pick us up and take us back to B-more for the night. As we got off the plane, that was probably the dirtest I have looked in quite a while. A week plus beard going, day or two without a shower, good stuff.
When we got to Charlie's, I took a much need shower and we were off to Viva Cuba bar or something like that. It was real nice right on the harbor. We sat outside and drank quite a few beers with Charlie and his friends. Outlandish statements about past athletic achievements were made, and bold challenges were offered and accepted. (I still plan on coming to Baltimore on Aug 22 to see Mike run a 5:20 mile)
The next day it was back to Rockbridge County. Before we left, both of us were getting pretty down on Lexington. But after seeing the country at 20 miles an hour and seeing some particularly terrible parts of the country (Mississippi, I'm talking about you) we came to really appriciate how awesome this place is. That night our friends Andrew and AJ were getting married and we joined the after party at Southern Inn. While it was their weeding, I am going to assume everyone was there for our welcome home party.
How do I finally sum up this whole trip?
Are we glad we did it?
Absolutely, without a doubt
Would we do it again?
Probably not
I have always want to live my life by the motto, its about the journey and not the destination. Well this trip was all about the journey and I couldn't have done it without my best friend and riding partner. J-Bro we did it man, 1500 miles, 36 days and triple digits.
Times were had.
Signing off,
Steve
Monday, July 27, 2009
Remember the Alamo
So its been a few weeks, but i'm bored and I reckon I ought to get this done even if nobody is reading it anymore. So we rolled out of New Braunfels with another short day to our final destination. I can't tell you how excited I was to get to the end. We knocked out about 35 miles into the wind and yet again 105 degree temperatures. It is probably getting a little repeatative hearing about the weather, but imagine riding your bike in it. It is kind of the overarching theme of the trip. So we get to the hostel in San Anotonio about 11:45am which was cruical. Apparently, the main office is closed from 12-4 every afternoon. If we had to wait until 4pm to check in I might have done some serious damage to a door trying to get to the air conditioning and a shower. Let me start by saying this hostel paled in comparision to Austin and New Orleans. It is best summed up by a coversation we had with a cab driver on the ride home the next day.
Cabbie- Where yall heading?
Me- The hostel on Pierce St.
Cabbie- Is that the place that looks a little creepy?
Me- Yes, yes it is.
This place looked like a creepy old haunted house with some old army barracks attached. We were in the barracks, it was a little nicer on the inside, but not much. Also, the folks staying there were not as social as the others. We decided to get the bikes taken care of and shipped back to ole VA. We rode about 3 miles to Bike World. They had an impressive store and we got to watch the end of the Tour that day. We had them box up the bikes and FedEx them for us. It was a tad expensive, but the piece of mind knowing it would be done right was worth it. Especially after watching the Greyhound people toss the boxes around after we got off the bus in Houston.
After getting the bikes situated we ended up at a suprisingly classy Mexican restuarant. Since we hadn't showered yet and were still in bike jerseys we opted to sit outside to spare their other clientelle our distinctive aroma. We then headed back to the hostel and got a quick shower and a nap before heading down to the famous River Walk. Over the next few days we spent a fair bit of time down there. Personally, I felt it had a very Gatlinburg, TN feel. Very hokie, very family oriented and confusing as hell. But we ended up, grabbing a few beers and head back for the night.
The next day, our last full day of the adventure we had to make it to the Alamo. If for no other reason then to try and find PeeWee's bike in the basement. Well there was no basement and the Alamo was not as impressive as you might expect. Here is something I have been wondering about, is this the only place were we make a tourist attraction out of a place were Americans were slaugthered by Mexicans. Not our typical M.O. Well we got a few pics and wondered around a bit, before we headed back for a quick nap. That night we were going to have a celebratory steak dinner to finish the trip. We checked the GPS and decided to head for Steers and Beer. Most definitely a place we would enjoy. Unfortunely it was being renovated or just closed for good. We had steak on our mind so we tried a few other places. They were either closed or a tad out of our class range. We ended up at Hooters. Thank god for Hooters, you can always count on them for a good time. We ran up an 80 dollar tab, had a great time and said screw you to the steak houses. Really, not being able to find a steak house in Texas, I thought this was America.
Our flight the next day didn't leave until 5pm so we watched the Tour in the morning headed back downtown for a couple hours and caught a cab to the airport. Both of us were pumped to be headed back east and out of San Antonio. The heat and the fact it was the last stop on our trip and the overall feel of San Antonio did not leave a particular good taste in our mouths. But we were headed home and it was about damn time.
One last thing, when we got to our room we noticed one of the beds in our bunk was occupied. The person had incredibly small shoes so we figured we had a girl roomate. Unfortunely, it was not a girl. It was the smallest man I have ever seen. This little Frenchman was not a midget, but stood probably 4'8" and was 80 lbs soaking wet. I am not even exagerating on his stature.
Cabbie- Where yall heading?
Me- The hostel on Pierce St.
Cabbie- Is that the place that looks a little creepy?
Me- Yes, yes it is.
This place looked like a creepy old haunted house with some old army barracks attached. We were in the barracks, it was a little nicer on the inside, but not much. Also, the folks staying there were not as social as the others. We decided to get the bikes taken care of and shipped back to ole VA. We rode about 3 miles to Bike World. They had an impressive store and we got to watch the end of the Tour that day. We had them box up the bikes and FedEx them for us. It was a tad expensive, but the piece of mind knowing it would be done right was worth it. Especially after watching the Greyhound people toss the boxes around after we got off the bus in Houston.
After getting the bikes situated we ended up at a suprisingly classy Mexican restuarant. Since we hadn't showered yet and were still in bike jerseys we opted to sit outside to spare their other clientelle our distinctive aroma. We then headed back to the hostel and got a quick shower and a nap before heading down to the famous River Walk. Over the next few days we spent a fair bit of time down there. Personally, I felt it had a very Gatlinburg, TN feel. Very hokie, very family oriented and confusing as hell. But we ended up, grabbing a few beers and head back for the night.
The next day, our last full day of the adventure we had to make it to the Alamo. If for no other reason then to try and find PeeWee's bike in the basement. Well there was no basement and the Alamo was not as impressive as you might expect. Here is something I have been wondering about, is this the only place were we make a tourist attraction out of a place were Americans were slaugthered by Mexicans. Not our typical M.O. Well we got a few pics and wondered around a bit, before we headed back for a quick nap. That night we were going to have a celebratory steak dinner to finish the trip. We checked the GPS and decided to head for Steers and Beer. Most definitely a place we would enjoy. Unfortunely it was being renovated or just closed for good. We had steak on our mind so we tried a few other places. They were either closed or a tad out of our class range. We ended up at Hooters. Thank god for Hooters, you can always count on them for a good time. We ran up an 80 dollar tab, had a great time and said screw you to the steak houses. Really, not being able to find a steak house in Texas, I thought this was America.
Our flight the next day didn't leave until 5pm so we watched the Tour in the morning headed back downtown for a couple hours and caught a cab to the airport. Both of us were pumped to be headed back east and out of San Antonio. The heat and the fact it was the last stop on our trip and the overall feel of San Antonio did not leave a particular good taste in our mouths. But we were headed home and it was about damn time.
One last thing, when we got to our room we noticed one of the beds in our bunk was occupied. The person had incredibly small shoes so we figured we had a girl roomate. Unfortunely, it was not a girl. It was the smallest man I have ever seen. This little Frenchman was not a midget, but stood probably 4'8" and was 80 lbs soaking wet. I am not even exagerating on his stature.
Monday, July 20, 2009
San Marcos & New Braunfels
It was still 105 degrees, but we only had 45 miles to ride down to the college town of San Marcos, home to Texas State (formally Southwest Texas State). We checked into the Days Inn and cooled off for a bit. We had been in contact with Jean and Gene, Brandt Wymond's folks. They are both art teachers at TSU and a trip. They came and picked us up at the hotel and took us back to the house. It was a very cool pad and we chatted it up for a while before heading downtown for dinner. We went to a nice little Italian place were you bring your own wine. Judah and I had to finish the whole bottle ourselves since Gene was driving. After the bottle our stories flowed a little easier than before dinner. After dinner they dropped us off and we caught the lastest episode of True Blood. With a short ride ahead of us, life was good.
We got up at our leisure and packed up to put in a long day in the saddle, a whole 20 miles. We rolled through Gruene, home to the oldest dancehall in Texas and on to New Braunfels. We were planning on spending a couple days here as we had some serious tubing to do on the Gaudalupe River, but we will get back to that in a second. New Braunfels is an old German settlement which still has a lot of German influence. We ended up at the Smokehouse and feasted on a fine selection of meats. Later that night we took a quick walk across the street to the Lone Star Saloon. As we arrived, lets just say not to much going on Monday night. But our luck was about to change. Two young ladies arrived and ordered a couple beers and burgers. However, the cook refused to make them their food. They had been on the river most of the day and may have been slightly overserved, needless to say they were a tad displeased Well, this little back and forth went on for a good 20 minutes and was our entertainment. We joined them for some beers. They were obiviously not 21, but it did seem to matter to the staff at the Lone Star. For us it was $1 High Life. The only thing was we had to get it oursevles from the fridge behind the bar and leave a dollar on the counter. Got to love the self-serve bar. The same cook also joined us for some beers out on the deck. The 5 of us chatted it up for a while. Obviously they were totally impressed by our feat. The cooks Dad ran the paper in town and he was going to try and get them to write an article about us. Judah gave him his number, but we never heard from him again.
The next day we were headed for the river. However, the tubing company was 2 miles away and we didn't want to have to leave the bikes out in a high traffic area. So we set out on a foot expedition, and expedition it was. As the crow flies, we could cut off about a half a mile. So we set out to ford the river and be there in now time. Before we got to the river crossing we were headed down the road to what looked like a school. As we got there we realized it was not a school, but a mental hospital, and the nutballs were all hanging out outside. We quickly made our way past. We got into a neighborhood and could see the river and the park on the other side. Only problem was we had to make a quick trespass through a backyard and decend at 15 foot slope/cliff into the river. We crossed the river which was about 1.5 feet deep and made our way to Rafter J's Toobs. Yes, that is really how they spell it.
One of my favorite songs has a line, "I like to spend my days, floatin' down the Gaudalupe River. With a cool case of Lone Star Beer, while my body shivers." I figured this would be similar to our experience. However, due to the serious drought in Texas meant the Gaudalupe was to low to float, which meant we had to settle for the Comal which runs through town. The river float right beside the "Greatest waterpark in the world" Schlitterbahn. The tubing run should have just been part of the water park. It was just like an amusement park ride, with shoots, screaming kids, a distinct sunblock aroma, and classy Texans. But it wasn't all bad, we had a few brews, took in the sights, and stayed cool. Really a day on the river is better than a day doing pretty much anything else.
We got back to the hotel and then went back to Lone Star's for the "2nd best hamburger in Texas" it was pretty damn good and fuel enough to get us to San Anotonio the next day.
We got up at our leisure and packed up to put in a long day in the saddle, a whole 20 miles. We rolled through Gruene, home to the oldest dancehall in Texas and on to New Braunfels. We were planning on spending a couple days here as we had some serious tubing to do on the Gaudalupe River, but we will get back to that in a second. New Braunfels is an old German settlement which still has a lot of German influence. We ended up at the Smokehouse and feasted on a fine selection of meats. Later that night we took a quick walk across the street to the Lone Star Saloon. As we arrived, lets just say not to much going on Monday night. But our luck was about to change. Two young ladies arrived and ordered a couple beers and burgers. However, the cook refused to make them their food. They had been on the river most of the day and may have been slightly overserved, needless to say they were a tad displeased Well, this little back and forth went on for a good 20 minutes and was our entertainment. We joined them for some beers. They were obiviously not 21, but it did seem to matter to the staff at the Lone Star. For us it was $1 High Life. The only thing was we had to get it oursevles from the fridge behind the bar and leave a dollar on the counter. Got to love the self-serve bar. The same cook also joined us for some beers out on the deck. The 5 of us chatted it up for a while. Obviously they were totally impressed by our feat. The cooks Dad ran the paper in town and he was going to try and get them to write an article about us. Judah gave him his number, but we never heard from him again.
The next day we were headed for the river. However, the tubing company was 2 miles away and we didn't want to have to leave the bikes out in a high traffic area. So we set out on a foot expedition, and expedition it was. As the crow flies, we could cut off about a half a mile. So we set out to ford the river and be there in now time. Before we got to the river crossing we were headed down the road to what looked like a school. As we got there we realized it was not a school, but a mental hospital, and the nutballs were all hanging out outside. We quickly made our way past. We got into a neighborhood and could see the river and the park on the other side. Only problem was we had to make a quick trespass through a backyard and decend at 15 foot slope/cliff into the river. We crossed the river which was about 1.5 feet deep and made our way to Rafter J's Toobs. Yes, that is really how they spell it.
One of my favorite songs has a line, "I like to spend my days, floatin' down the Gaudalupe River. With a cool case of Lone Star Beer, while my body shivers." I figured this would be similar to our experience. However, due to the serious drought in Texas meant the Gaudalupe was to low to float, which meant we had to settle for the Comal which runs through town. The river float right beside the "Greatest waterpark in the world" Schlitterbahn. The tubing run should have just been part of the water park. It was just like an amusement park ride, with shoots, screaming kids, a distinct sunblock aroma, and classy Texans. But it wasn't all bad, we had a few brews, took in the sights, and stayed cool. Really a day on the river is better than a day doing pretty much anything else.
We got back to the hotel and then went back to Lone Star's for the "2nd best hamburger in Texas" it was pretty damn good and fuel enough to get us to San Anotonio the next day.
Austin Continued
So I know its about a couple weeks late and we are back in Lexington, but I know none of you would be satisfied if I didn't finish this up, so I hope to knock out a few blog entries here. So we did go and see the bats. We took the bus downtown got to the bridge nice and early to get a prime viewing spot. However, we were famished and had to grab a snack before the bats took off. We headed over to the taco truck nearby and got some street tacos. However, it took a little longer than expected and we missed the start. We did get to see plenty off bats. I think the bats are a 1 time deal. Cool to see once, but that should probably suffice for lets say the next couple decades. One more thing of note about the bats, if you walk across the Congress St. bridge, you can definitely smell them, and its terrible.
We then headed for 6th Street again. We caught some live music on the roof of Maggie May's. We headed over to the Drunken Monkey and caught a little jazz. Then over to the pool hall and threw some darts. Over the course of the trip I don't think I own a single darts game, and Judah didn't win a single game of pool. At least we were consistant. We ended the night taking in some dueling pianos (unfortunely they did not play Piano Man) and then going to our favorite 6th Street establishment, The Dizzy Rooster. We saw some folks we had met the night before and $2 anything spelled trouble for Steve and Judah.
We got up late the next day and were set on taking in Barton Springs Pool. It is a natural spring that puts out 68 degree water. Just the thing we needed to beat the incesent 105 degrees. Well after meeting up with our friend Brian from the hostel we set out. It was Austin so we of course had to deal with a couple of dozen bums and weirdos along the way, but we did make it out. Saturday was a free entry day so the place was packed. I would say the population density of Barton Springs was 2.5 people per square meter. However the water was cool, there was plenty of scenery (pretty young ladies), and it was one of those places you just have to see. That night it was off to find some good barbacue, so we headed for the world famous Stubb's. Me, Judah, and Brian had a great meal inside (even though it was not a good as the Barbacue joint in Giddings) while the band Spoon played outside. Apparently, they are a huge deal in Austin. After dinner we headed over to the communist bar as there was a punk show Brian was attending. We played some 16 year old punks and beat them by 4 or 5 balls in 8 ball. They were not good. Brian then headed into the show and Judah and I left after that. Brian was not a punk at all, so we are still wondering how his night ended up. My guess is he wound up sitting on a stool in the back with an ice pack on his face after getting punched in the mouth during the mosh pit.
Judah and I were riding the next day, and a pretty much exhausted our stay on 6th Street, so we headed back to the hostel relatively early. Got up 8ish for a 45 mile ride down to San Marcos.
We then headed for 6th Street again. We caught some live music on the roof of Maggie May's. We headed over to the Drunken Monkey and caught a little jazz. Then over to the pool hall and threw some darts. Over the course of the trip I don't think I own a single darts game, and Judah didn't win a single game of pool. At least we were consistant. We ended the night taking in some dueling pianos (unfortunely they did not play Piano Man) and then going to our favorite 6th Street establishment, The Dizzy Rooster. We saw some folks we had met the night before and $2 anything spelled trouble for Steve and Judah.
We got up late the next day and were set on taking in Barton Springs Pool. It is a natural spring that puts out 68 degree water. Just the thing we needed to beat the incesent 105 degrees. Well after meeting up with our friend Brian from the hostel we set out. It was Austin so we of course had to deal with a couple of dozen bums and weirdos along the way, but we did make it out. Saturday was a free entry day so the place was packed. I would say the population density of Barton Springs was 2.5 people per square meter. However the water was cool, there was plenty of scenery (pretty young ladies), and it was one of those places you just have to see. That night it was off to find some good barbacue, so we headed for the world famous Stubb's. Me, Judah, and Brian had a great meal inside (even though it was not a good as the Barbacue joint in Giddings) while the band Spoon played outside. Apparently, they are a huge deal in Austin. After dinner we headed over to the communist bar as there was a punk show Brian was attending. We played some 16 year old punks and beat them by 4 or 5 balls in 8 ball. They were not good. Brian then headed into the show and Judah and I left after that. Brian was not a punk at all, so we are still wondering how his night ended up. My guess is he wound up sitting on a stool in the back with an ice pack on his face after getting punched in the mouth during the mosh pit.
Judah and I were riding the next day, and a pretty much exhausted our stay on 6th Street, so we headed back to the hostel relatively early. Got up 8ish for a 45 mile ride down to San Marcos.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Austin, Texas
So we finally made it to Austin. 28 days and 1400 miles. The ride in from Giddings was tough. We got out early in the morning, but 75 miles in the heat is never easy. If you have an opportunity check the 10 day weather forcast for Austin. 10 straight days of 104 degree high, 76 degree low. Lets get back to the story, we pulled into the hostel around 1pm ready to grab a shower and a nap. Unfortunely, our reservation got screwed up and they had no beds for us. They did recommend this guy Dave who rented out a room in his house. We will get back to this character in a minute, but we couldn't get in over there till 3. So we hit up the Pizza Hut and then Judah needed to sauve up a little for his meetings with the Spanish Dept. here at UT so we head across the street for a haircut. I was skeptical of a haircut and shave for $8, but Fast Freddies cleaned him up nice. Here is my question, are people getting a haircut really interested in speed to warrant being called Fast Freddies?
Okay so back to Dave. This guy was just your typical crazy old dude who did a little too much acid a couple decades ago and never really recovered. He answered the door in just a towel. But the room was cheap and we got a nice cold shower. We got his whole life story, he has been in the bed and breakfast industry (if you can call it an industry) for quite some time. But Austin is getting too big for him, so he is just saving up some scratch until he can ex-pat to, you guessed, Costa Rica.
Got up yesterday morning, stashed the bikes here at the hostel and took of for campus so Judah could have his first meeting with the department. That went well and we headed back to the hostel to check in and cool off for the day. Unfortunely, right as we walked in we were semi-force to play 4 person chess with another crazy old dude named Rodger. This old coot could talk you ear off and loved this game. He told us the 7 things we had to remember and i'm pretty sure 3 of the 7 were exactly the same. I don't know why we seem to attract the crazys but we do, and there are a ton of them down here in Austin. This guy Rodger moved to Austin to try and become the 5th best 4 way chess player in the city. I know it is a lofty goal, but you have to shoot for the stars. He now claims to be the 2nd best player, probably in the whole town, but Judah took him down no problem. This guy plays in all night coffee houses and games apparently go all night. He invited us to go with him since we were so go, but we graciously declined.
After a dip in the lake out back, a quick shower and shave we were off to the infamous 6th Street last night. If you read my discription of Bourbon St., that tells a pretty accurate tale of our night last night as well. Got up early today to watch the Tour, mountain top finish, you can miss that. We both met with our departments, which went well for both. I head over to Mellow Johnny's, Lance Armstrong's bike shop here in town to check it out. Picked up a couple souviners. Anyway, we are recharging right now and are going to go check out the 10 million bats fly out from under the Congress St. bridge in a couple hours. Probably a little more 6th St. later and off to Barton Springs tomorrow morning. We are then head for San Marcos on Sunday morning.
Keeping Austin Wierd,
Steve
Okay so back to Dave. This guy was just your typical crazy old dude who did a little too much acid a couple decades ago and never really recovered. He answered the door in just a towel. But the room was cheap and we got a nice cold shower. We got his whole life story, he has been in the bed and breakfast industry (if you can call it an industry) for quite some time. But Austin is getting too big for him, so he is just saving up some scratch until he can ex-pat to, you guessed, Costa Rica.
Got up yesterday morning, stashed the bikes here at the hostel and took of for campus so Judah could have his first meeting with the department. That went well and we headed back to the hostel to check in and cool off for the day. Unfortunely, right as we walked in we were semi-force to play 4 person chess with another crazy old dude named Rodger. This old coot could talk you ear off and loved this game. He told us the 7 things we had to remember and i'm pretty sure 3 of the 7 were exactly the same. I don't know why we seem to attract the crazys but we do, and there are a ton of them down here in Austin. This guy Rodger moved to Austin to try and become the 5th best 4 way chess player in the city. I know it is a lofty goal, but you have to shoot for the stars. He now claims to be the 2nd best player, probably in the whole town, but Judah took him down no problem. This guy plays in all night coffee houses and games apparently go all night. He invited us to go with him since we were so go, but we graciously declined.
After a dip in the lake out back, a quick shower and shave we were off to the infamous 6th Street last night. If you read my discription of Bourbon St., that tells a pretty accurate tale of our night last night as well. Got up early today to watch the Tour, mountain top finish, you can miss that. We both met with our departments, which went well for both. I head over to Mellow Johnny's, Lance Armstrong's bike shop here in town to check it out. Picked up a couple souviners. Anyway, we are recharging right now and are going to go check out the 10 million bats fly out from under the Congress St. bridge in a couple hours. Probably a little more 6th St. later and off to Barton Springs tomorrow morning. We are then head for San Marcos on Sunday morning.
Keeping Austin Wierd,
Steve
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
On The Road Again
Seeing things that I may never see again, like Giddings, TX. We had a very nice little hiatus in Houston, but it did feel good to get some more miles on the legs. First off, I'd like to send out a big thank you to the Houston crew. Coleen, thanks for letting us loaf around your house for 4 day. Sarah and Will, we could not be more appreciative of your hospitality. From picking us up from the sketchy bus station at 1am, to opening your houses and pools and barbacues, to giving us a ride out of the Houston metroplex yesterday. If you are ever in Virginia, please let us return the favor.
We started out of Katy, TX yesterday morning headed for Brenham (home of the Bluebell Ice creamery). The roads here in Texas are a welcome change from what we have been riding, low traffic and wide shoulders. It made for a much more enjoyable ride. Judah did have a flat around Bellville. After a little repair work we were headed out again. Only problem was that was our last tube and the nearest bike store is in Austin. Keep your fingers crossed. We crossed the Brazos River, and it confirmed what Robert Earl Keen says in The Front Porch song: "The Brazos still runs muddy, like she's run along." Not the most tempting river to swim in, but its still fun to see the places I hear about in all the songs I listen to.
We rolled into Brenham just in time for lunch at up Purcell's Country Buffett. I didn't have much of an appitite after the ride, but Judah managed to put down about 10 pieces of there famous fried chicken. We scouted out hotels that would have the Versus channel so we could watch the tour, but to no avail. We had to settle for an update from my brother. I can't wait for him to get the 2009 Tour DVD so I can watch the stage, it sounded awesome.
We got a late start this morning and by the time we woke up it was pouring rain, so we waited it out in the hotel room. We got off about 10am, which was unfortune because the mercury quickly climbed into the triple digits. We were way out in "the cut" for most of the ride and there was little shade to be found. The mesquite trees down here don't block the sun like a good southern pine in Georgia. We had a quick lunch at Jackee's Cafe in Burton. This was about the only thing going in a town of 312. And its a good thing we stopped because it was another 26 miles through the oil fields, and cattle ranches where we may not have seen a car or another person until we got into Giddings. We were planning on heading a little farther west, but the next closest hotel was another 25 miles down the road. Not a particularly exciting prospect at 2 in the afternoon. So we decided to bunk down here for the night, get up early and head the 60 or so miles into Austin tomorrow.
Like I said, we are going to hostel it up for the next 3 nights. We will meet with our prospective departments at UT, swim in the lake, watch the bats and check out
6th street to see if this town is to our liking. Touring the University in July is probably like taking a tour of Va Tech in Feburary. It will take a strong will to look past the weather. Anyway, hopefully we will be able to check in frequently down there. Oh yeah, we have set a return date, we are flying out of San Antonio next Friday the 17th. See you then.
Cowboy up,
Steve
Sorry I missed it yesterday, but my phone is dead and no computer to speak of, Happy Birthday Joc.
We started out of Katy, TX yesterday morning headed for Brenham (home of the Bluebell Ice creamery). The roads here in Texas are a welcome change from what we have been riding, low traffic and wide shoulders. It made for a much more enjoyable ride. Judah did have a flat around Bellville. After a little repair work we were headed out again. Only problem was that was our last tube and the nearest bike store is in Austin. Keep your fingers crossed. We crossed the Brazos River, and it confirmed what Robert Earl Keen says in The Front Porch song: "The Brazos still runs muddy, like she's run along." Not the most tempting river to swim in, but its still fun to see the places I hear about in all the songs I listen to.
We rolled into Brenham just in time for lunch at up Purcell's Country Buffett. I didn't have much of an appitite after the ride, but Judah managed to put down about 10 pieces of there famous fried chicken. We scouted out hotels that would have the Versus channel so we could watch the tour, but to no avail. We had to settle for an update from my brother. I can't wait for him to get the 2009 Tour DVD so I can watch the stage, it sounded awesome.
We got a late start this morning and by the time we woke up it was pouring rain, so we waited it out in the hotel room. We got off about 10am, which was unfortune because the mercury quickly climbed into the triple digits. We were way out in "the cut" for most of the ride and there was little shade to be found. The mesquite trees down here don't block the sun like a good southern pine in Georgia. We had a quick lunch at Jackee's Cafe in Burton. This was about the only thing going in a town of 312. And its a good thing we stopped because it was another 26 miles through the oil fields, and cattle ranches where we may not have seen a car or another person until we got into Giddings. We were planning on heading a little farther west, but the next closest hotel was another 25 miles down the road. Not a particularly exciting prospect at 2 in the afternoon. So we decided to bunk down here for the night, get up early and head the 60 or so miles into Austin tomorrow.
Like I said, we are going to hostel it up for the next 3 nights. We will meet with our prospective departments at UT, swim in the lake, watch the bats and check out
6th street to see if this town is to our liking. Touring the University in July is probably like taking a tour of Va Tech in Feburary. It will take a strong will to look past the weather. Anyway, hopefully we will be able to check in frequently down there. Oh yeah, we have set a return date, we are flying out of San Antonio next Friday the 17th. See you then.
Cowboy up,
Steve
Sorry I missed it yesterday, but my phone is dead and no computer to speak of, Happy Birthday Joc.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Happy Birthday America
Sorry I haven't posted in a couple days, I know how everyone is hanging on my every word, so let me catch you up. I'll start a Bourbon St. in New Orleans; what can I say, its Bourbon St. Drinks were drank, Hooter Shooters were shot, big girls and old ladies were danced with, indecent liberties were taken, times were had. We recovered the next day in New Orleans, toured the French Quarter and waited out what seemed to be a hurricane under a small balcony. We decided that day we would ride maybe 30 miles the next day to get out of town and then head to Baton Rouge the next day. Well, we ended up riding 75 miles to Gonzales, LA. Judah did want to ride the 25 more miles into BR, but cooler heads prevailed and we stopped for the night, definely the right choice. The next day we were going to head up to Opolusa, LA. From my previous post you know what happened when we tried riding out of BR. So we headed to the bus station, boxed up the bikes and booked a trip to Houston for 7pm that night. THis gave us 5-6 hours to "explore" BR. Since we were going to be spending the evening on a Greyhound, we figured beers were in order. We went to the bar, played some shuffle board and pool and got sufficiently lubricated for the bus ride. Now I have never been on a Greyhound before and it was an interesting experience. I sat next to Patrick for LaPlace,LA. He was going to see his mother in Houston. The wierd part about this is, his wife also went to Houston but on an airplane. This guy just preferred the bus, not because he was afraid to fly, just loved the bus. I got his whole life story, pretty nice guy all around. Judah sat next to a guy from Mexico who was taking the bus all the way to southern Mexico, they chatted in spanish the whole way. Then we got to the station in Houston. Now that was an interesting experience, especially since we got in a 1am. I can sum it up as "salt of the earth."
Well Sarah picked us up and brought us back to her place here in Houston. Very nice. We got to sleep in and relax most of the day. At this point I was particularly pleased not to be riding through the swamps in nowhere Louisiana. We went out that night to Armadillo's. I love Texas bars. Got some Shiner Bock's, life was good. The next day we went over to Sarah's friend Will's house and lounged poolside most of the afternoon. This was just a little precursor to the 4th activities. Yesterday we had a pool party at the same location. Beers, slip and slides, real barbacue ribs and chicken, again life was good. Oh yeah, and the Tour de France started yesterday, totally awesome.
We are spending most of today taking it easy a getting ready to get back on the bikes tomorrow. We are getting a ride out of town from Sarah and Will, which we will be uber appreciative for. It will be three days up to Austin where we intend on staying at a hostel on the lake. It has been great to take a few days off, but I think we are both ready to get back on the move. Only 350 miles left to ride.
Everything is bigger in Texas,
Steve
PS. I accidentally jumped in the pool with my cell phone. Needless to say it is dead. So if you call me and it goes straight to voicemail thats why. See you down the road.
Well Sarah picked us up and brought us back to her place here in Houston. Very nice. We got to sleep in and relax most of the day. At this point I was particularly pleased not to be riding through the swamps in nowhere Louisiana. We went out that night to Armadillo's. I love Texas bars. Got some Shiner Bock's, life was good. The next day we went over to Sarah's friend Will's house and lounged poolside most of the afternoon. This was just a little precursor to the 4th activities. Yesterday we had a pool party at the same location. Beers, slip and slides, real barbacue ribs and chicken, again life was good. Oh yeah, and the Tour de France started yesterday, totally awesome.
We are spending most of today taking it easy a getting ready to get back on the bikes tomorrow. We are getting a ride out of town from Sarah and Will, which we will be uber appreciative for. It will be three days up to Austin where we intend on staying at a hostel on the lake. It has been great to take a few days off, but I think we are both ready to get back on the move. Only 350 miles left to ride.
Everything is bigger in Texas,
Steve
PS. I accidentally jumped in the pool with my cell phone. Needless to say it is dead. So if you call me and it goes straight to voicemail thats why. See you down the road.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Life is a Highway
So we are here in the state library of Lousiana in Baton Rouge at 1pm. Why are we here you might ask? Well, the roads are so bad here in Louisiana we decided it best for both safety and morale to catch a ride for a few miles. Now you may be saying to yourself it can't be that bad. Well, there is only 3 roads that cross the state down in this region and only 1 is not interstate, so we ended up on US 190. We made it out of Baton Rouge about 6 miles before we had had enough. Not only was there really heavy truck traffic, but the shoulder had rumble strips that went all the way from road to dirt, pretty much unrideable. After nearly getting grazed and knocking through pothole after pothole we decided to call it quits on this road. We head back to BR to evaluate other options. Why do the roads suck so bad in Louisiana? I'm going to drop a little knowledge on you; Back in the 80's the government decided they wanted the drinking age to be 21. If states did not raise there drinking age, they lost a substaintial percentage of their highway money. Guess who the last state to increase from 18 to 21. You guessed it, Louisana. Which is exacerbated by the fact that it gets so hot down here the road buckles frequently.
So now its off to lunch and hopefully meet up with our British friend Badger. We decided to box up the bikes and take the bus across the state line and be done with Louisana and their "parishes" forever. We will check back in from the Lone Star State.
Alive... but barely,
Steve
So now its off to lunch and hopefully meet up with our British friend Badger. We decided to box up the bikes and take the bus across the state line and be done with Louisana and their "parishes" forever. We will check back in from the Lone Star State.
Alive... but barely,
Steve
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sin City of the South
So yes, New Orleans most certainly was a major improvement from the misery of southern Mississippi. After a week of nearly 500 miles in 100 degree heat without a day of rest, we decided to kick back a bit in the Big Easy. I believe my travelling companion left off with the margaritas and burritos,so I'll take off from there. So we made it back to the hostel to "rest up" for a big evening out. At this point we met Alan, a 6' 7'' Brit who the ladies throw themselves at. We got to chatting and he kept handing us brews and eventually we found our way to Bourbon Street. Naturally, good times were had- dancing, karaoke, shirts came off...pictures will come later. The next day, as Arlo Guthrie would say, we looked and felt our best, but luckily we didn't get a phone call from officer Obie, but instead we spent the day touring the french quarter, stuffing our bellies with cajun delights, and winning enough for dinner and drinks courtesy of Harrah's casino. Then we caught up with Jesse Daystar, another Lexington native and good friend, who is on a truly epic ride. He left Jacksonville a couple weeks back with a Habitat for Humanity Bike and Build crew, and is going to ride over 3000 miles building houses. Funny to cross paths in New Orleans. All in all it was a good day off, but we couldn't rest on our laurels for long. Today we headed north/northwest to the outskirts of Baton Rouge. Finally the wind was on our side, and we covered the 72 miles along the Mississippi River in just over 4 hours in the saddle. Funny to think of 72 miles in 96 degree heat as an easy day, but it wasn't bad. Now we've got 4 long days into Houston for the 4th of July.
1100 miles and counting,
Judah
1100 miles and counting,
Judah
Sunday, June 28, 2009
New Orleans thumbs up: Mississippi thumbs down
Greetings from New Orleans, Louisiana. We got out of Mississippi in 3 days and it wasn't soon enough. But let me go back in time a few days. Mobile, Alabama ... now that was a time. We only had 40 miles to go into Pascaguala, MS the next day so we decided to enjoy ourselves that night and sleep in a little bit. We started out the night at Haley's Club. They had $2 High-Lifes and free crawfish on Thursday night. I mean free crawfish, how can you go wrong. They were delicious, we had a few, and not to mention a couple beers, before we decided to head down the street and see what else was going on. We got about a block down Dauphine St. when we got to this bar that was advertising free ping-pong. Well, Judah was sold and we went in. We got a pitcher and posted up at the table. We downed a couple pitchers and flirted with the bartender, who was particularly friendly. After about 2 hours and a couple pitchers, I started looking around and noticed a bunch of rainbow colored objects. I found this a little wierd, but didn't think anything of it. I then noticed the clientele, and all of the people I thought were little fat boys were actually not boys at all, but rather butch lesbians. We had been there for 3 hours and little did we know we were in the gay bar. Oh yeah, and the bartender thought we were a couple, perhaps why she was so friendly. It took me a while to convince Judah of this fact but he finally came to the same conclusion. We took a couple shots, had a good laugh and headed down the street. We ended up a this bar near our hotel. I ordered 2 Bud's and they were $5 a piece. I though this was a tad steep but oh well. Ok, perhaps my favorite thing about Alabama, free refills! Yeah, so we ended up on the wrong end of 10-15 refills.
Needless to say, the ride into Pascagaula was terrible. It was 100 degrees and we were still trying to recover. On the lighter side, we did finally make it to the gulf. We jumped in that afternoon and the water was just a warm as the lake in Tuskegee. Ok, so Jimmy Buffett sings a song called Pascagaula Run, about how it was a wild and wooly town. It was Friday night and we did not find what Jimmy was talking about so instead of taking a rest day there we decided to press on the next day to Gulfport.
Gulfport; I don't have enough terrible things to say about Gulfport. I understand that you town was ravaged by a hurricane, but come on; that was 4 years ago, get your shit together. We were expecting the glitzy casinos we saw just 15 miles before in Biloxi, but to no avail. We found nothing, I mean nothing. Oh yeah and we almost got hit by cars, probably 50-60 times. I can honestly say, I HATE GULFPORT. Luckily we only had 75 miles to New Orleans.
We got out nice and early this morning. But today might have been the hardest ride yet. 80 miles into a stiff head wind in a 110 degree heat index. But enough bitching, we finally made it. We called up Jesse Daystar, brother of Rania, who is do Bike and Build across America and is in town now (we are planning on meeting up later). He recommended this hostel, which we ended up staying at (actually were I am writing this blog). This place is awesome. We got our own room for like 40 bucks and met some cool folks. Grabbed some burritos and margaritas in the Garden District and came back just in time to see the US lose to Brazil in the confederation cup. Well, I am going to sign off for now, but we are planning on spending a couple days here in New Orleans; since we haven't taken a day of since Atlanta we think we earned it.
One last thing, we crossed the 1000 mile mark today. A little pat on the back in the comments section would be apperciated.
One more last thing; I am pretty sure the entire southeast economy is based on fast food and cash-to-payday loan stores. I'm glad I can call this region home.
100 degrees, 1000 miles and counting,
Steve
Needless to say, the ride into Pascagaula was terrible. It was 100 degrees and we were still trying to recover. On the lighter side, we did finally make it to the gulf. We jumped in that afternoon and the water was just a warm as the lake in Tuskegee. Ok, so Jimmy Buffett sings a song called Pascagaula Run, about how it was a wild and wooly town. It was Friday night and we did not find what Jimmy was talking about so instead of taking a rest day there we decided to press on the next day to Gulfport.
Gulfport; I don't have enough terrible things to say about Gulfport. I understand that you town was ravaged by a hurricane, but come on; that was 4 years ago, get your shit together. We were expecting the glitzy casinos we saw just 15 miles before in Biloxi, but to no avail. We found nothing, I mean nothing. Oh yeah and we almost got hit by cars, probably 50-60 times. I can honestly say, I HATE GULFPORT. Luckily we only had 75 miles to New Orleans.
We got out nice and early this morning. But today might have been the hardest ride yet. 80 miles into a stiff head wind in a 110 degree heat index. But enough bitching, we finally made it. We called up Jesse Daystar, brother of Rania, who is do Bike and Build across America and is in town now (we are planning on meeting up later). He recommended this hostel, which we ended up staying at (actually were I am writing this blog). This place is awesome. We got our own room for like 40 bucks and met some cool folks. Grabbed some burritos and margaritas in the Garden District and came back just in time to see the US lose to Brazil in the confederation cup. Well, I am going to sign off for now, but we are planning on spending a couple days here in New Orleans; since we haven't taken a day of since Atlanta we think we earned it.
One last thing, we crossed the 1000 mile mark today. A little pat on the back in the comments section would be apperciated.
One more last thing; I am pretty sure the entire southeast economy is based on fast food and cash-to-payday loan stores. I'm glad I can call this region home.
100 degrees, 1000 miles and counting,
Steve
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Title: 103!?!
That is not just the temperature but the distance we rode yesterday. That’s right, we did our first century ride from Greenville, AL to Atmore, AL which is right on the Florida line, so we are finally getting down to the coast. Let me start by saying I was feeling terrible yesterday when we started. I was hoping to maybe catch a ride south, but to no avail, so we had a long day ahead of us. We got on some backroads and let me tell you, when you get off the main highway in Alabama the roads turns quite interesting. Well, we made our first stop in Beatrice and met the Mikey Stearns of that town, and by that I mean the Prince of Beatrice. This guy knew everybody and told us exactly what we need to do and where to go. After we rocked awhile in front of the country store we headed out for Monroeville. He did warn us about Falkenberry Hill, probably the biggest hill in south Alabama. It amounted to a little less than Padgetts. But we got to Monroeville and had some lunch at the Courthouse Café. The waitress was rocking one of the best fem-mullets I have seen in a while and after 5 or 6 glasses of sweet tea we were off again. At this point I told Judah, “ I may regret saying this in 5 or 10 miles, but if we are going to do a century ride, today is the day.” Luckily the road flattened out and we made great time down into Atmore. One interesting thing of note: a big rat ran across the road just as we passed by and ran directly between my wheels. I would have been super pissed if I hit it and took a tumble, it was that big.
There was not much going on in Atmore, so we hit up the Pizza Hut, checked the nutritional facts at the door and I proceeded to eat an entire medium pizza. I figured since I burned at least 5000 calories during the ride at 2500 calorie pizza was just a drop in the bucket. Oh yeah, we did put a few Miller High Lifes on top of that.
We slept in a little this morning since we were doing a measly 50 miles into Mobile today. It was super humid on the ride, but we made it into town around noon. After a quick shower we headed down to Dauphine St., the main drag here in Mobile. We grabbed some lunch at the Hurricane Brewing Co., let me just say I love the name and the décor. Judah ordered a Floating Car Pale Ale and I got an Insurance Adjuster Amber. It’s great they can have a sense of humor down here. We are now at the public library, then off to get a razor for a quick shave then to dinner. Hopefully, we will have a few tales to entertain all of you tomorrow when we get to Pascagula, MS.
Living the dream,
Steve
There was not much going on in Atmore, so we hit up the Pizza Hut, checked the nutritional facts at the door and I proceeded to eat an entire medium pizza. I figured since I burned at least 5000 calories during the ride at 2500 calorie pizza was just a drop in the bucket. Oh yeah, we did put a few Miller High Lifes on top of that.
We slept in a little this morning since we were doing a measly 50 miles into Mobile today. It was super humid on the ride, but we made it into town around noon. After a quick shower we headed down to Dauphine St., the main drag here in Mobile. We grabbed some lunch at the Hurricane Brewing Co., let me just say I love the name and the décor. Judah ordered a Floating Car Pale Ale and I got an Insurance Adjuster Amber. It’s great they can have a sense of humor down here. We are now at the public library, then off to get a razor for a quick shave then to dinner. Hopefully, we will have a few tales to entertain all of you tomorrow when we get to Pascagula, MS.
Living the dream,
Steve
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Hot + Humid = Awesome
Ok, so I changed the equation a bit from the weather channel's report, hot + humid = miserable. But yes, the last few days have been record breaking heat here in south alabama, which for those of you back home in Virginia means about 20 degrees hotter than the hottest day you can remember.
So taking off were my travelling companion left off, after a big night in La Grange (ZZ Top was right about the girls down there), we took off bright and early headed for the border, the chattahoochie river, and our first time-zone change of the trip. Somehow we covered a ridiculous 50 miles before 9:15 in the morning. Naturally we thought it would be the perfect opportunity for our first century ride, but what we didn't realize is that in summer in Alabama from about 9-12 in the morning you can basically add a zero to the hour and that's the temperature. So by 11AM it was already 110 degrees and rising, not to mention the heat index. At this point, we were around Tuskegee, home to a big lake, which we naturally decided to dive into. To our surprise, we had jumped into the hottest freshwater lake in the world, little bubbles made there way to the surface as the water began to boil. We hopped back on the bikes and headed west to a town named Shorter, a suburb of Montgomery known for the Victoryland casino, aka the boulevard of broken dreams. On our long walk up said boulevard, we hitched a ride from Tom, ironically an ethics professor at Troy University. Tom took us under his wing and taught us not only about ethics but also about the intricacies of betting on greyhound racing. We left down $40.
Today was a long hot trek into even hotter southern alabama. We dodged a few bullets (and tractor trailors) outside Montgomery, and then made our way south to Greenville, AL, meeting a number of memorable folks all flabbergasted when we said we were going to Texas. They had never seen cyclists before much less cross-country tourers. Some promised to pray for us; others just shook their heads and said we were crazy. Once again the mercury rose to unprecedented levels, and we sweated faster than we could drink water. Luckily a cool down is in the forecast- only a high of 97 tomorrow. Oh, and we're still averaging 17.5.
Half-way to San-Anton!
Judah
So taking off were my travelling companion left off, after a big night in La Grange (ZZ Top was right about the girls down there), we took off bright and early headed for the border, the chattahoochie river, and our first time-zone change of the trip. Somehow we covered a ridiculous 50 miles before 9:15 in the morning. Naturally we thought it would be the perfect opportunity for our first century ride, but what we didn't realize is that in summer in Alabama from about 9-12 in the morning you can basically add a zero to the hour and that's the temperature. So by 11AM it was already 110 degrees and rising, not to mention the heat index. At this point, we were around Tuskegee, home to a big lake, which we naturally decided to dive into. To our surprise, we had jumped into the hottest freshwater lake in the world, little bubbles made there way to the surface as the water began to boil. We hopped back on the bikes and headed west to a town named Shorter, a suburb of Montgomery known for the Victoryland casino, aka the boulevard of broken dreams. On our long walk up said boulevard, we hitched a ride from Tom, ironically an ethics professor at Troy University. Tom took us under his wing and taught us not only about ethics but also about the intricacies of betting on greyhound racing. We left down $40.
Today was a long hot trek into even hotter southern alabama. We dodged a few bullets (and tractor trailors) outside Montgomery, and then made our way south to Greenville, AL, meeting a number of memorable folks all flabbergasted when we said we were going to Texas. They had never seen cyclists before much less cross-country tourers. Some promised to pray for us; others just shook their heads and said we were crazy. Once again the mercury rose to unprecedented levels, and we sweated faster than we could drink water. Luckily a cool down is in the forecast- only a high of 97 tomorrow. Oh, and we're still averaging 17.5.
Half-way to San-Anton!
Judah
Sunday, June 21, 2009
The Dirty South
Greetings from La Grange, GA. I apologize for not keeping up with this thing everyday, but we have had trouble finding a computer that was convenient. So let me fill you in on the last week; sit down this could take a while. So the last time I checked in we were in Lake Wylie just outside of Charlotte. I was expecting a tough 90 mile ride, but I was feeling stronger than ever and as Judah said, we rolled through the upstate to Greenville. Uncle Jay and aunt Phyllis put us up for a couple nights. We had a great spaghetti dinner to replenish those Carbohydrate stores the first night and then we took a little walking tour of downtown Greenville. I was actually very impressed, it had a cool little scene going on down there and there was a big waterfall right in the middle of town.
The next day was our first off day so we slept in until 9ish which felt really nice. Aunt Phyllis was off to a golf tournament early in the morning and Jay was at the gym. When he got back, that was when the real golf tournament began. I mean this thing rivaled the US Open. Me, Judah, and Jay; 18 holes at Frankie's Fun Land, winner take all. It was a tight battle at the turn, as I led both of the J's by 1 stroke. As we made our way onto the back 9 Judah quickly lost focus as the group of 4 12 year olds behind us began taunting him mercilessly (little did he know, Jay and I paid the little bastards off to get rid of our competition). So it was down to 2. It was a battle all the way to the end, but Jay took the title by one stroke. I guess all that "experience" really pays off. That night, the boys feasted on some delicious barbecue and then Jay left for the gym again and Judah and I were given the keys to the Lexus (a bold move on Aunt Phyllis's part). We ended up going downtown and checked out a couple of the local watering hole. We were pretty unsuccessful on finding the party. I guess everybody was at the Keith Urban concert down the street. We would have gone but we didn't have any cowboy boots, we didn't want to feel out of place. So we headed home around 10, which was definitely in our best interest anyway.
We woke up early and Jay gave us a ride out of the Greenville traffic which we greatly appreciated. We still had about 85 miles to go to get to Athens, GA. We knocked out the first 70 no problem and had a little lunch at the Hardee's in Danielsville. I would like to go on record and say that Yvette is by far the finest and friendliest fast food employee I have ever met. At this point it got real hot, I'm talking 95 degrees and we still had 15 miles to go. It was pretty much hell (little did I realize what the next day would be like). As Phil Ligget might say, "I died a 1000 deaths on the road to Athens."
Despite the ride we had a great time in Athens that night. We started our crawl around town at The Village Idiot (totally fitting). We met quite a character there named Big Tom. He was sort of a mixture of Brandt Wymond and Jake Gentry at 60 years old, overall hilarious. He recommended about 3 different bars all with incredibly hot bartenders, the man does have good taste. Tom's favorite line, "Marriage is the number 1 cause of divorce." On our way home from the bars we hit up a hot dog street vendor. After eating that little slice of heaven, I decided it was ridiculous to go all the way to Texas, because I had just found Valhalla in a hot dog and I was going to go to UGA instead.
We got a late start the next day (hard to imagine, I know). We had about 60 miles to go to Rania's house in Doraville, GA, just inside the beltway in Atlanta. We figured since we had been doing 80, 85 and 90 mile days, 60 would be no problem. Well... 60 is still 60 and its worse when its hilly, there is traffic and it is approaching 100 degrees. Absolutely, the worst day I have ever had on a bike. It is my new benchmark for how awful I feel, "well, I still feel better than on that ride to Atlanta." Rania had to work that night so Judah and I walked over to the Mexican restaurant near by and went home to call it an early night.
After the excruciating ride we decided to take a day off in Atlanta which was awesome because there was a free music festival in town. Rania got the day off and we went over to the show about 2pm. Yeah, its called Hot-lanta for a reason. Pretty sure the mercury topped out above 100. But not to fear, we downed plenty of Red Stripe to stay cool. It was actually a pretty decent line up as we caught the Head Hunting Swamp Monkeys (or something like that), Jupiter Coyote, Rusted Root and Guster. I had a really great time and it was probably the first time all trip I really felt like I was on vacation.
We headed out this morning with no particular destination in mind. We got on the MARTA, Atlanta's metro rail, about a mile from Rania's house and took it all the way south to the airport to avoid riding through the city. While the map at the airport looked extremely confusing it was surprisingly easy to get out headed south again on rte 29. About five miles into the ride, we caught up with Tony. He is a PE teacher and football coach in Palmetto, GA. We ended up riding a fast pace line for about 20 miles before Judah and I pulled off for breakfast. He told us this was the first time he has ever ridden with other people, much less drafting and pulling in a pace line. It was awesome and a really great way to start the day. Well, we put in some big miles again today, logging about 70 as we made our way down to La Grange. It was hot, (starting to see a theme here) but I was feeling pretty good and Judah got stronger through the day.
We are going to cross into Alabama tomorrow, another state and another time zone which is pretty exciting. Only a couple more days until we hit the coast, I can't wait.
Staying cool in the Comfort Inn,
Steve
PS. Love you Pops, Happy Fathers Day
The next day was our first off day so we slept in until 9ish which felt really nice. Aunt Phyllis was off to a golf tournament early in the morning and Jay was at the gym. When he got back, that was when the real golf tournament began. I mean this thing rivaled the US Open. Me, Judah, and Jay; 18 holes at Frankie's Fun Land, winner take all. It was a tight battle at the turn, as I led both of the J's by 1 stroke. As we made our way onto the back 9 Judah quickly lost focus as the group of 4 12 year olds behind us began taunting him mercilessly (little did he know, Jay and I paid the little bastards off to get rid of our competition). So it was down to 2. It was a battle all the way to the end, but Jay took the title by one stroke. I guess all that "experience" really pays off. That night, the boys feasted on some delicious barbecue and then Jay left for the gym again and Judah and I were given the keys to the Lexus (a bold move on Aunt Phyllis's part). We ended up going downtown and checked out a couple of the local watering hole. We were pretty unsuccessful on finding the party. I guess everybody was at the Keith Urban concert down the street. We would have gone but we didn't have any cowboy boots, we didn't want to feel out of place. So we headed home around 10, which was definitely in our best interest anyway.
We woke up early and Jay gave us a ride out of the Greenville traffic which we greatly appreciated. We still had about 85 miles to go to get to Athens, GA. We knocked out the first 70 no problem and had a little lunch at the Hardee's in Danielsville. I would like to go on record and say that Yvette is by far the finest and friendliest fast food employee I have ever met. At this point it got real hot, I'm talking 95 degrees and we still had 15 miles to go. It was pretty much hell (little did I realize what the next day would be like). As Phil Ligget might say, "I died a 1000 deaths on the road to Athens."
Despite the ride we had a great time in Athens that night. We started our crawl around town at The Village Idiot (totally fitting). We met quite a character there named Big Tom. He was sort of a mixture of Brandt Wymond and Jake Gentry at 60 years old, overall hilarious. He recommended about 3 different bars all with incredibly hot bartenders, the man does have good taste. Tom's favorite line, "Marriage is the number 1 cause of divorce." On our way home from the bars we hit up a hot dog street vendor. After eating that little slice of heaven, I decided it was ridiculous to go all the way to Texas, because I had just found Valhalla in a hot dog and I was going to go to UGA instead.
We got a late start the next day (hard to imagine, I know). We had about 60 miles to go to Rania's house in Doraville, GA, just inside the beltway in Atlanta. We figured since we had been doing 80, 85 and 90 mile days, 60 would be no problem. Well... 60 is still 60 and its worse when its hilly, there is traffic and it is approaching 100 degrees. Absolutely, the worst day I have ever had on a bike. It is my new benchmark for how awful I feel, "well, I still feel better than on that ride to Atlanta." Rania had to work that night so Judah and I walked over to the Mexican restaurant near by and went home to call it an early night.
After the excruciating ride we decided to take a day off in Atlanta which was awesome because there was a free music festival in town. Rania got the day off and we went over to the show about 2pm. Yeah, its called Hot-lanta for a reason. Pretty sure the mercury topped out above 100. But not to fear, we downed plenty of Red Stripe to stay cool. It was actually a pretty decent line up as we caught the Head Hunting Swamp Monkeys (or something like that), Jupiter Coyote, Rusted Root and Guster. I had a really great time and it was probably the first time all trip I really felt like I was on vacation.
We headed out this morning with no particular destination in mind. We got on the MARTA, Atlanta's metro rail, about a mile from Rania's house and took it all the way south to the airport to avoid riding through the city. While the map at the airport looked extremely confusing it was surprisingly easy to get out headed south again on rte 29. About five miles into the ride, we caught up with Tony. He is a PE teacher and football coach in Palmetto, GA. We ended up riding a fast pace line for about 20 miles before Judah and I pulled off for breakfast. He told us this was the first time he has ever ridden with other people, much less drafting and pulling in a pace line. It was awesome and a really great way to start the day. Well, we put in some big miles again today, logging about 70 as we made our way down to La Grange. It was hot, (starting to see a theme here) but I was feeling pretty good and Judah got stronger through the day.
We are going to cross into Alabama tomorrow, another state and another time zone which is pretty exciting. Only a couple more days until we hit the coast, I can't wait.
Staying cool in the Comfort Inn,
Steve
PS. Love you Pops, Happy Fathers Day
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Tour-Ready in Five Days
So after a successful evening of muskrat hunting and a good night’s rest on Gwyneth Paltrow’s bed, we got up to confront our longest day yet- roughly 90 miles from Lake Wylie to Greenville, SC. Somehow the longer the ride, the faster we seem to ride, and we covered the 90 miles of rolling hill country in just over 5 hours, stopping only to stuff our bellies with hearty portions of biscuits and gravy, steak and eggs, and fried chicken. Now I can understand the Michael Phelps’ diet. Despite a few minor issues trying to keep the food down, we averaged a ridiculous 17.5 mph, our fastest pace yet. Cars tried to pass us, but their measly engines could not keep up and they were forced to draft behind us. Once again we made it to our destination well before planned, and proceeded to take advantage of Jay and Phyllis’ incredible hospitality by stuffing ourselves with food and beverage. Today we will be headed to George Hincapie’s shop to challenge him to a race before the Tour de France. Perhaps we may even get an offer from Team Columbia. I doubt they can offer us enough to leave Team Traveller, though. Oh, and it’s nice to have gears again.
-Judah
Monday, June 15, 2009
High on the Hog
Greetings from Lake Wylie, SC. We just crossed another state line and it feels real good to be down here in the Palmetto State. We got hooked up with a place to stay for tonight. One of my Mom's good friends from high school (might have even been a boyfriend if I heard correctly) lives down here on the lake. Me a J have our own house, yes that's right, someone trusted us with our own house for the night. This isn't just a house, I would call it a lakefront villa, probably the nicest place I have stayed in a long time. In fact Gwenyth Paltrow stayed in this place when she was making the movie Shallow Hal. Jeff, our host, is a photographer and artist and has been all around the world taking pictures of wild animals and cowboys (really one in the same).
After resting up this morning and some failed fishing, Jeff took us out on the boat for a tour of the lake. He showed us the sights and regaled us with a few tales from my Mom's high school and college days. It sounds like The Judge (my grandpa) was just as much of a hard ass as The Colonel (my dad). Though it did sound like a few of the other Cherry Hillers were a bit crazier than my Mom (that may or may not include some of our blog followers). Jeff took us out to dinner and we shot the shit for quite a while. Here is my personal favorite Jeff story, "So just before the last game the Patriots played at Foxbrough, I was working on a commercial with Drew Bledsoe. When we were done he brought down a couple buckets of golf balls and we hit drivers into the stands. When the played there last game a day later they were really sucking it up. I was watching ESPN and the announcers notice the fans were throwing things onto the field. After 5 minutes the announcers realized it was golf balls. The same balls Drew and I hit up in the stands yesterday."
When we arrived at the villa there was a list of helpful tips for operating all the toys in the house. The list also mentioned that Jeff had been having a problem with muskrats on the shore, and if we felt so inclined to grab the shotgun out of the closet and take down a few. Obviously we had to check it out and there was a a shotgun and shells. Needless to say after I finish up the blog we are going hunting, wish us luck. Well tomorrow we have a long day in the saddle, heading over to Greenville, SC to stay with my aunt and uncle. We will take our first zero day there, so we will catch you on the flip side.
Beautiful places and Smiling faces,
Steve
Sunday, June 14, 2009
The Queen City
We both just completed the longest ride of our lives. We knocked out 85 miles at 17.1 mph. That is absolutely ridiculous. We we averaged that for 40 in the county we would be stoked. It is great being down here in the flat lands. Lets get back to this morning; Lori gave us a ride out of town to Old Greensboro Rd. a favor we are forever greatful for, yeah that and the biscuits and gravy she made for us this morning. Perhaps, the best host I have ever had. I would say this may have been the best bike ride have ever had. We were out in the country with no cars, a far cry from 220 of the past couple days. We rolled throught Lexington (home of Hokie wildcat quarterback Cory Holt), and then on down to Salsbury. We had a great lunch at Matson's. I throughly enjoyed the country fried steak and Judah ordered a pound of chopped barbacue. We put down 1 lb hamburgers yesterday and he figured the BBQ would be no problem. Little did he know they would give him about 5.5 lbs and we left we a large container of BBQ. 20 miles down the road, after JB's lunch had almost come up twice we got rid of the remaining 3 lbs. At this time we were in Kannapolis, NC where they have Dale Earnhart Blvd., guess what the road number is: 3. Well, at this time we still had about 30 miles to Anna's house so we pushed on. As we came into Charlotte we passed Lowe's Motor Speedway, home of the Coca Cola 600, pretty exciting stuff. After that, well we had to roll through 20 miles of suburban hell, mall after mini-mall after mall. Not the best riding conditions. But we finally got into Charlotte and made our way to my friends Anna and Becca's house. We had a fanstastic cookout, and we got to burn shit in their backyard, that is what I call entertainment.
Anyway, tonight is the True Blood season premiere so I am pretty excited about that. I know some of you may be wanting a little more excitement from the two of us wild men, but you try riding 85 miles and then going out and getting wild. So far the hospitality has been great, everyone has been awesome, you know, putting us up and feeding two hungry fellas. Tomorrow we are only riding 15 miles over to Lake Wylie. It will be nice to get some R&R and even out this jersey tan. We will check in soon, have a great one.
The king kool lounger,
Steve
Anyway, tonight is the True Blood season premiere so I am pretty excited about that. I know some of you may be wanting a little more excitement from the two of us wild men, but you try riding 85 miles and then going out and getting wild. So far the hospitality has been great, everyone has been awesome, you know, putting us up and feeding two hungry fellas. Tomorrow we are only riding 15 miles over to Lake Wylie. It will be nice to get some R&R and even out this jersey tan. We will check in soon, have a great one.
The king kool lounger,
Steve
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Maters and Taters
We have come 120 miles since my last post and I am definitely feeling it in my quads right now. I don't know if I have ever put back to back 50+ mile days in before, let alone three. Other than the expected soreness, everything is going well. I say well, but Judah has been riding on only 2 gears for the last 100 miles. As we got to Boones Mill, VA he was complaining that his rear derailleur would not shift down. That left him switching between only the big ring and the small ring on the front. Oh yeah, it was really hilly yesterday so you should not envy his situation, or mine either for that matter, I had to pull on the front (let him draft off of me) almost the whole way. But what is truely ridiculous is how easily and cavalier he dealt with the situation. We got to Martinsville last night and when I asked him what he wanted to do he said, "Well there is not bike shop here, I can definitely make it to Greensboro," and he did. Even more rediculous we averaged 15.6 mph for 67 miles yesterday and 17.2 mph for 51 miles today, and I thought we were going to take it easy.
So, we stopped in Rocky Mount, Va for lunch yesterday, but ended up just going to the library to look up bike shops. Google recommended Brandon's Bicycle Repair (a shady establishment to be sure) in Martinsville. Well, we followed the directions to Brandons and found a rather non-discript looking home in a subdivision. This did not look like a bike shop. So we asked the neighbor if he knew Brandon, in the strongest southern draw I have heard in a while, "I don't know no Brandon, and I reckon that fella over there don't fix no bicycle."
So we cruised into Martinsville, perhaps the steepest and hilliest city I have been to. Stopped for some refreshments at the Marathon station, and as we would find out later that night this was probably the hottest spot in town. We ended up bunking down at the Super 8, luxury accomodations for a reasonable price. Grab some dinner at the Super China Dragon Buffett, at the time, perhaps the best meal of my life. Not because of the quality of the food, but just the hunger in belly. That evening we went looking for the Friday night excitement in the Henry County seat. Let me tell you, there ain't a damn thing going on in Martinsville. On our way home we took a different street then we came in on, and this was an interesting experience. While I never scared or sketched out, we were definitely not welcome there. But, so much for Martinsville, its time to hit the Tar Heel state.
We rolled south today on 220, a tad sketchy a time with tractor trailors rolling by 1 foot away at 70 miles an hour but we had to get to Greensboro. Had a great day of riding and averaged 17.2 mph like I said earlier. The highlight of the day (other than seeing our friend Lori) was stopping at the Maters and Taters produce stand in Madison, NC. We stocked up on some fruit and Mt. Dew. The proprietor was an amiable 65 year old woman, who had probably never seen 2 boys in riding shorts and jerseys. She was amazed we where headed for Texas, and straight away asked Judah if he was going to Mexico. I guess old ladies can always see that wild hair in us young fellas.
We rolled into Greensboro in a shade under 3 hours. Lori was more than hospitible, giving us a much need shower and giving us a ride to get Judah bike fixed. We stopped at Friendly Bikes where the service was awesome. If you are ever in Greensboro and need a bike, need to get a bike fixed or just shoot the shit about riding, these are the guys you are looking for. We got fixed up in 20 minutes and were off for downtown. Got some lunch at Natty Greens Brewery. JB and I each downed 1 lb burgers with ease (he did have a little trouble with his pasta salad). We came on back to Lori's and grabbed a couple naps as Lori made us dinner. Absolutely can't argue with that service.
We are headed for Charlotte tomorrow, which will take us close to the 100 mile mark for the day. I am real glad it is flat down here and Judah finally has gears again. Check in with all of y'all tomorrow.
Moocher extraordinaire,
Steve
So, we stopped in Rocky Mount, Va for lunch yesterday, but ended up just going to the library to look up bike shops. Google recommended Brandon's Bicycle Repair (a shady establishment to be sure) in Martinsville. Well, we followed the directions to Brandons and found a rather non-discript looking home in a subdivision. This did not look like a bike shop. So we asked the neighbor if he knew Brandon, in the strongest southern draw I have heard in a while, "I don't know no Brandon, and I reckon that fella over there don't fix no bicycle."
So we cruised into Martinsville, perhaps the steepest and hilliest city I have been to. Stopped for some refreshments at the Marathon station, and as we would find out later that night this was probably the hottest spot in town. We ended up bunking down at the Super 8, luxury accomodations for a reasonable price. Grab some dinner at the Super China Dragon Buffett, at the time, perhaps the best meal of my life. Not because of the quality of the food, but just the hunger in belly. That evening we went looking for the Friday night excitement in the Henry County seat. Let me tell you, there ain't a damn thing going on in Martinsville. On our way home we took a different street then we came in on, and this was an interesting experience. While I never scared or sketched out, we were definitely not welcome there. But, so much for Martinsville, its time to hit the Tar Heel state.
We rolled south today on 220, a tad sketchy a time with tractor trailors rolling by 1 foot away at 70 miles an hour but we had to get to Greensboro. Had a great day of riding and averaged 17.2 mph like I said earlier. The highlight of the day (other than seeing our friend Lori) was stopping at the Maters and Taters produce stand in Madison, NC. We stocked up on some fruit and Mt. Dew. The proprietor was an amiable 65 year old woman, who had probably never seen 2 boys in riding shorts and jerseys. She was amazed we where headed for Texas, and straight away asked Judah if he was going to Mexico. I guess old ladies can always see that wild hair in us young fellas.
We rolled into Greensboro in a shade under 3 hours. Lori was more than hospitible, giving us a much need shower and giving us a ride to get Judah bike fixed. We stopped at Friendly Bikes where the service was awesome. If you are ever in Greensboro and need a bike, need to get a bike fixed or just shoot the shit about riding, these are the guys you are looking for. We got fixed up in 20 minutes and were off for downtown. Got some lunch at Natty Greens Brewery. JB and I each downed 1 lb burgers with ease (he did have a little trouble with his pasta salad). We came on back to Lori's and grabbed a couple naps as Lori made us dinner. Absolutely can't argue with that service.
We are headed for Charlotte tomorrow, which will take us close to the 100 mile mark for the day. I am real glad it is flat down here and Judah finally has gears again. Check in with all of y'all tomorrow.
Moocher extraordinaire,
Steve
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Lex Vegas to the Star City
Well since it is the first day of travelling we will treat you to two entries today. I started the day at 8am with a clean bill of health from old Doctor Bob, and then proceeding to quickly return home and nap the rest of the morning away. Luckily my amigo was able to go all black ops on the administrative staff at the high school and duck out around 11, so we could finally begin this journey. As we set out a dark and ominous sky gathered around us. We made it to the Moose Lodge, a mere 5 minutes into a 2 month expedition before we were forced to take shelter from the deluge. However, as the torrent subsided we hit the road again, getting pretty wet in the process. Not 10 minutes later the skies clear and we did not feel another drop for the remander. But we did have some nice wet feet to show for our trip through Possum Hollow. We took Plank Rd. (always on the lookout for Plank Rd. bandits) to Rt. 11 and down to Roanoke.
We made a quick stop in Buchanan, where we were suprisingly besotted by the local ladies. But alas we still had miles to cover. As we made our way into Troutville, we passed six AT thru-hikers looking to hitch a ride back to the 'noke. Naturally we pulled over and offered our assistance. One on the handlebars, one sitting side-saddle on the top tube and one piggy backing. It was only 15 miles no problem for two indominable spirits like ourselves, but those pansy hikers would have none of it, so we continued on alone.
We had an interesting trip navigating the city (as you know, me and J are not what you would call particularly metropolitan) but finally made our way to friend Cori's house. She graciously put us up, gave us a shower and cooked us dinner. Let me tell you, can't beat good friends. After dinner and a glass or 2 of wine, I agreed to let her do my tarot reading. While she is no witch doctor, it was a really interesting exerience.
Tomorrow we are off to Martinsville, VA about 50 miles down the road and home to the Most Exciting 5/8th of a Mile in Nascar. It's great to finally be out here and doing it. Couldn't ask for a more perfect start.
Off and rollin',
Steve
We made a quick stop in Buchanan, where we were suprisingly besotted by the local ladies. But alas we still had miles to cover. As we made our way into Troutville, we passed six AT thru-hikers looking to hitch a ride back to the 'noke. Naturally we pulled over and offered our assistance. One on the handlebars, one sitting side-saddle on the top tube and one piggy backing. It was only 15 miles no problem for two indominable spirits like ourselves, but those pansy hikers would have none of it, so we continued on alone.
We had an interesting trip navigating the city (as you know, me and J are not what you would call particularly metropolitan) but finally made our way to friend Cori's house. She graciously put us up, gave us a shower and cooked us dinner. Let me tell you, can't beat good friends. After dinner and a glass or 2 of wine, I agreed to let her do my tarot reading. While she is no witch doctor, it was a really interesting exerience.
Tomorrow we are off to Martinsville, VA about 50 miles down the road and home to the Most Exciting 5/8th of a Mile in Nascar. It's great to finally be out here and doing it. Couldn't ask for a more perfect start.
Off and rollin',
Steve
Free at last
I will start out by saying that it has been years since I have written more than a paragraph in the English language, and I cannot compete with the wit and humor of my travelling companion, but I cannot fight the peer pressure any longer, and I have been convinced to write my first blog entry.
So finally I was able to escape the wonderful world of post-student high school, four fruitful workdays full of truly meaningful discussions and arguments between teachers and administrators who were ready for summer vacation months earlier. Needless to say after a morning full of powerpoint presentations on how to increase student and teacher morale, I found my own solution- to sneak out a bit early and embark on the epic. As a symbol of the beginning of the journey, I cut off my two month beard, and look like a teenage once again.
After a quick lunch, last minute packing, and photo shoot, we were immediately put to the test by a torrential downpour in the first mile of travel. We laughed at mother nature's vast underestimation of our resolve, and continued southward, wet-feet the least of our worries. At our first pitstop, we charmed the Buchanan gals and nearly lost focus on Texas, but somehow refocused and headed off to Roanoke at a blazing speed-15.6 mph average over 53.5 miles despite stop and go city driving for the last ten. Then a dinner that couldn't be beat and some fine 7-11 refreshments as a suiting end to the first day.
Siguiendo el camino hacia el sur,
Judah
So finally I was able to escape the wonderful world of post-student high school, four fruitful workdays full of truly meaningful discussions and arguments between teachers and administrators who were ready for summer vacation months earlier. Needless to say after a morning full of powerpoint presentations on how to increase student and teacher morale, I found my own solution- to sneak out a bit early and embark on the epic. As a symbol of the beginning of the journey, I cut off my two month beard, and look like a teenage once again.
After a quick lunch, last minute packing, and photo shoot, we were immediately put to the test by a torrential downpour in the first mile of travel. We laughed at mother nature's vast underestimation of our resolve, and continued southward, wet-feet the least of our worries. At our first pitstop, we charmed the Buchanan gals and nearly lost focus on Texas, but somehow refocused and headed off to Roanoke at a blazing speed-15.6 mph average over 53.5 miles despite stop and go city driving for the last ten. Then a dinner that couldn't be beat and some fine 7-11 refreshments as a suiting end to the first day.
Siguiendo el camino hacia el sur,
Judah
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Adventure Eve
We have finally reached departure date and it couldn't have gotten here any faster. We are all packed up and if you saw what we were taking you would not think we were planning on riding all the way to Texas. Judah was talking to some friends early and mentioned we would not be back home until late July. That is awesome, cause that is a long time from now. You live in Lexington for a certain amount of time and a nice long break from the county sounds real appealing. Obviously, we had to tie up a few loose ends today, like selling my kayak, going to Coinstar, and saying goodbye to Ms. Karen Lou (my other Mawma).
Well this morning I was woken up by a phone call from the dentist office reminding me I had an appointment tomorrow at 8am. I had totally forgot, but at least my teeth will be clean and I will be styling and profiling for the trip. Watch out ladies, two incredibly handsome men with clean teeth will be coming to a southern city near you. We ended our day with a nice little dinner at the Ruby Tuesday's with our folks.
Anyway, the journey starts tomorrow as soon a Judah can bust out of that high school. We are headed to Roanoke which should be about 50 miles, not a bad first day. Luckily we did not leave today, because about the time we should have hit Troutville they got smacked by a tornado. Tornado's in Virginia, really? Anyway, it looks like rain, so it should be a nice way to start the trip. Signing off from the lunatic fringe, only 1700 miles to go.
Up the road,
Steve
I promise I will get ole JB to add an entry tomorrow.
Well this morning I was woken up by a phone call from the dentist office reminding me I had an appointment tomorrow at 8am. I had totally forgot, but at least my teeth will be clean and I will be styling and profiling for the trip. Watch out ladies, two incredibly handsome men with clean teeth will be coming to a southern city near you. We ended our day with a nice little dinner at the Ruby Tuesday's with our folks.
Anyway, the journey starts tomorrow as soon a Judah can bust out of that high school. We are headed to Roanoke which should be about 50 miles, not a bad first day. Luckily we did not leave today, because about the time we should have hit Troutville they got smacked by a tornado. Tornado's in Virginia, really? Anyway, it looks like rain, so it should be a nice way to start the trip. Signing off from the lunatic fringe, only 1700 miles to go.
Up the road,
Steve
I promise I will get ole JB to add an entry tomorrow.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Where you goin'?
Goin' South. Actually, tomorrow I will be headed north. I'm meeting with Saunders up at JMU. We are going to be discussing power data, biomechanical efficiency, and pro and cons of protein supplementation. Sounds like fun doesn't it? I will also be hitting up the Shenandoah Bike Co. to pic up some sweet shades for the trip and any other odds and ends that I just have to have.
Today I did a nice little ride over Big Hill. I saw a kid riding the other way in a Kelly Benefit jersey. It always bothers me when I am riding in the county and pass someone on a bike I don't know. I mean there is only so many of us. I was feeling a little sluggish today, probably in response to the celebrations this weekend, or maybe just laying in the river for 3 hours drinking beer yesterday. Could be a bit of both.
Anyway, the trip is only a couple days away now. Which is good because a travel blog is pretty pointless unless you are actually traveling, seeing people and meeting the sites. Finally, to everyone that wished us luck, thanks for all your support. I'm sure we will use up all that luck and then some somewhere down the road. I'll check in soon, and try to get that vagabond partner of mine to do the same.
Just three days,
Steve
Today I did a nice little ride over Big Hill. I saw a kid riding the other way in a Kelly Benefit jersey. It always bothers me when I am riding in the county and pass someone on a bike I don't know. I mean there is only so many of us. I was feeling a little sluggish today, probably in response to the celebrations this weekend, or maybe just laying in the river for 3 hours drinking beer yesterday. Could be a bit of both.
Anyway, the trip is only a couple days away now. Which is good because a travel blog is pretty pointless unless you are actually traveling, seeing people and meeting the sites. Finally, to everyone that wished us luck, thanks for all your support. I'm sure we will use up all that luck and then some somewhere down the road. I'll check in soon, and try to get that vagabond partner of mine to do the same.
Just three days,
Steve
Friday, June 5, 2009
Schools out for Summer!
Greetings one and all. My associate Judah gave his last final today so the teaching is all done and we can now turn our focus solely on the long march south. Being that school is out, there will no doubt be a celebration tonight. My expectations for the evening: first, we will feast on the finest meats and cheeses in all the land. The mead and ale shall flow as freely as the James River in flood stage, and will be brought to us by an incredible beautiful yet suprisingly approachable beer wentch (think St. Paulies Girl). Being that this is Lexington, its highly unlikely but a gentleman can always hope.
My brother came into town this weekend in preparation of the Tour of Tucker County in West Virginia. It is ranked as one of the top 10 hardest races in the country. The race consists of 37 miles with 14 miles of climbing. Better him than me. If you would like to check out some pics and results of the zebra suited speed demon, you can check him out at teamtraveller.com. We went for an hour or so ride today in the rain. I really felt like I was battling the elements, good training for the months to come. Oh yeah, he's real fast. I just tried to hang on his wheel. A futile task to say the least.
I picked up the handlebar bags yesterday, so we are all gear-up. Now its just time pack up, move a couple more fridges and get on the road. Tomorrow is graduation for Judah and he will be dressed to the nines in his academic regalia. Anyway, six more days, I can't wait.
Up the road,
Steve
My brother came into town this weekend in preparation of the Tour of Tucker County in West Virginia. It is ranked as one of the top 10 hardest races in the country. The race consists of 37 miles with 14 miles of climbing. Better him than me. If you would like to check out some pics and results of the zebra suited speed demon, you can check him out at teamtraveller.com. We went for an hour or so ride today in the rain. I really felt like I was battling the elements, good training for the months to come. Oh yeah, he's real fast. I just tried to hang on his wheel. A futile task to say the least.
I picked up the handlebar bags yesterday, so we are all gear-up. Now its just time pack up, move a couple more fridges and get on the road. Tomorrow is graduation for Judah and he will be dressed to the nines in his academic regalia. Anyway, six more days, I can't wait.
Up the road,
Steve
Thursday, June 4, 2009
T-minus 1 week
Well, we are finally closing in on departure. All of this waiting around and training rides and fridge moving just makes me want to hit the road today. However, my partner in this expedition the charasmatic, sauve and slightly infamous Judah Brownstein, still has one more day of teaching the children. Apparently someone does not suscribe to my motto "Only suckers work on Friday." But getting back to the point, we are heading out for Texas in one week, destination: The Alamo. mode of convence: bicycle. Yes, you heard that right, a bicycle. We are riding down to the gulf coast during hurricane season and through Texas in July. If you are thinking that is the greatest idea ever, well you are not alone. We just really wanted to up the ante and challenge ourselves a bit.
Preparations are going well. We have been riding almost everyday and I am down to a svelte 170 lbs. Most of the gear has been purchased, I even broke down and bought a GPS. Friends have bent guilted into letting us stay with them along the way, a decision they may soon regret. And a sufficient amount of bragging has been done to shame ourselves into making it the full measure. Now its just a matter of counting down the days and keeping it on 2 wheels and we will be off and running (technically riding, but whatever). Now its off to Charlottesville to pick up the some handlebars bags. Take it easy all.
Up the road,
Steve
Preparations are going well. We have been riding almost everyday and I am down to a svelte 170 lbs. Most of the gear has been purchased, I even broke down and bought a GPS. Friends have bent guilted into letting us stay with them along the way, a decision they may soon regret. And a sufficient amount of bragging has been done to shame ourselves into making it the full measure. Now its just a matter of counting down the days and keeping it on 2 wheels and we will be off and running (technically riding, but whatever). Now its off to Charlottesville to pick up the some handlebars bags. Take it easy all.
Up the road,
Steve
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