We rode into New Mexico on Saturday, staying the night outside St. Joseph's Church (the name of the church I attended as a child in the suburbs of Rochester, NY) in Lordsburg. We passed over the Continental Divide the next day and spent the night in Deming, eating burritos with too much salsa for dinner. We are in a library in Las Cruces now, and we will be getting into Texas tomorrow, starting a 1000-mile fun festival through the state. We will do our best to reenact the entirety of No Country for Old Men.
Maybe at some point I'll get a chance to put up pictures. Michael has a decent camera, so most of the photos have come from him. Be patient or something.
Also forthcoming are route details. Be patient or something.
29 September 2008
25 September 2008
Slow and Steady Wins Nothing
It has been slow-going so far, but that is mainly due to the mountains and desert we have hit. Because towns are infrequent through the desert, it is harder to just go as long as we want in a day, as filling up water is an issue. We need to start biking at dawn and wait out the early afternoon sun. So through eight days, we've only averaged about 60 miles a day. This will probably pick up once we make it into Texas (possibly early next week).
Some places we've slept
-outside a church
-outside a bar
-outside a fire station
-inside an empty home of a woman who randomly asked us at a gas station if we needed a place to stay
Some things we've eaten, all of which were great
-french fries, guacamole, and salsa wrapped in a tortilla
-several kinds of beans straight from the can with the lid turned up
-fruit bars that are at least a month past the "best if used by" date
-I dunno I guess some peanut butter maybe
Among the three of us, the person in the most rotten mood tends to be the person hauling Burley, especially if we're going uphill.
k gonna go now bye
Some places we've slept
-outside a church
-outside a bar
-outside a fire station
-inside an empty home of a woman who randomly asked us at a gas station if we needed a place to stay
Some things we've eaten, all of which were great
-french fries, guacamole, and salsa wrapped in a tortilla
-several kinds of beans straight from the can with the lid turned up
-fruit bars that are at least a month past the "best if used by" date
-I dunno I guess some peanut butter maybe
Among the three of us, the person in the most rotten mood tends to be the person hauling Burley, especially if we're going uphill.
k gonna go now bye
22 September 2008
In Arizona
My time is limited, but I just wanted to let everyone know that we're alive and in Gila Bend, AZ. I still have some biking left to do today, but I'll include better updates later.
Thanks again to everyone who has donated thus far.
Thanks again to everyone who has donated thus far.
17 September 2008
Leaving Tomorrow
Barring any kind of emergency, we should be leaving tomorrow morning. Golly gee whiz.
Thus far, I have received $1300 in donation money. If I used exclamation points, I would have put them after that sentence to show excitement. Thank you to everyone who has donated, but it isn't too late to donate. Can we get to $2000? Someone answer me. Then donate.
kthxbye
Thus far, I have received $1300 in donation money. If I used exclamation points, I would have put them after that sentence to show excitement. Thank you to everyone who has donated, but it isn't too late to donate. Can we get to $2000? Someone answer me. Then donate.
kthxbye
16 September 2008
Bicycle Info[rmation]
For those of you who are curious, here is my bike, the 2008 Jamis Aurora.
If you want to read about the specs, you can do so here. I did swap out the pedals with clips with some Shimano M520 clipless pedals (this is the first time I've ridden with clipless pedals, and I was surprised my ride home from the shop yesterday didn't find me forgetting to unclip at a red light and fall over) and the seat with a Brooks saddle.
but adam u said u were vegun what r u doin with a leather seat???? heh looks like ive cornered you with another conundrum. see u at black angus... ur buyin
Well, no. This Brooks saddle came with the Schwinn I bought used back in Chicago. When I purchased it awhile back, I knew nothing about bikes and wasn't really paying attention to the fact that it was a leather seat. In buying this saddle used, I was not creating any new demand for leather and not supporting the industry. This same logic is used by people who identify as vegans but eat non-vegan food they find in dumpsters (sometimes called "freegans").
But maybe Black Angus has some wicked good iceberg lettuce or something.
HOORAY FOR MY BLOG
If you want to read about the specs, you can do so here. I did swap out the pedals with clips with some Shimano M520 clipless pedals (this is the first time I've ridden with clipless pedals, and I was surprised my ride home from the shop yesterday didn't find me forgetting to unclip at a red light and fall over) and the seat with a Brooks saddle.
but adam u said u were vegun what r u doin with a leather seat???? heh looks like ive cornered you with another conundrum. see u at black angus... ur buyin
Well, no. This Brooks saddle came with the Schwinn I bought used back in Chicago. When I purchased it awhile back, I knew nothing about bikes and wasn't really paying attention to the fact that it was a leather seat. In buying this saddle used, I was not creating any new demand for leather and not supporting the industry. This same logic is used by people who identify as vegans but eat non-vegan food they find in dumpsters (sometimes called "freegans").
But maybe Black Angus has some wicked good iceberg lettuce or something.
HOORAY FOR MY BLOG
15 September 2008
09 September 2008
Insurance Policy
If I do somehow perish on my journey (Mom, this is not actually going to happen), I would like you to think before you act. I won't be around to critique your handling of my death, and there are two specific things I would like you to avoid doing. (This also applies to me dying after the bike trip.)
(1) Leave comments on this blog or profiles I might have on any social networking site as if you were talking to me in the afterlife.
yo adam-
i know your up in heavan now knockin back a few cold ones with The Big Guy, but i wanted to let you know that your sorely missed. your always on my mind forever and always because you touched my heart and since you have done that you will never be forgotten by me. i love you man and wish you were here.
rip adam ur the biker
you're friend,
jared
Come on. Really? If my spirit/soul/whatever were somehow still inhabiting the Earth, I hope it wouldn't waste its time on MySpace instead of flying around through the clouds or something. And even if I did read it, I'm not sure I would find your misspelled condolences touching; the whole thing would probably just creep me out a whole bunch (which would be a pretty big accomplishment by you considering I'm already dead).
(2) Send my family flowers.
While I am sure they would appreciate the thought, the idea of picking flowers out of the ground to send in memory of someone dying seems a little ironic to me. Donate the money you would have spent on flowers to a worthy charity.
I appreciate you cooperating with me on this, but I swear... I will haunt the house of anyone who does either of these.
(1) Leave comments on this blog or profiles I might have on any social networking site as if you were talking to me in the afterlife.
yo adam-
i know your up in heavan now knockin back a few cold ones with The Big Guy, but i wanted to let you know that your sorely missed. your always on my mind forever and always because you touched my heart and since you have done that you will never be forgotten by me. i love you man and wish you were here.
rip adam ur the biker
you're friend,
jared
Come on. Really? If my spirit/soul/whatever were somehow still inhabiting the Earth, I hope it wouldn't waste its time on MySpace instead of flying around through the clouds or something. And even if I did read it, I'm not sure I would find your misspelled condolences touching; the whole thing would probably just creep me out a whole bunch (which would be a pretty big accomplishment by you considering I'm already dead).
(2) Send my family flowers.
While I am sure they would appreciate the thought, the idea of picking flowers out of the ground to send in memory of someone dying seems a little ironic to me. Donate the money you would have spent on flowers to a worthy charity.
I appreciate you cooperating with me on this, but I swear... I will haunt the house of anyone who does either of these.
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