Can I make it to Colorado tonight?

After my last post I rode through the town. The heat just got worse, I had no choice but to stop. I found a walgreen's. I love walgreen's because they have a sale on the only protein bar I'm not allergic to and they also develop photos. I developed my photos, munched on some muscle replenishing protein, and hung out in a nice air conditioned store for a few hours reading psychology today and men's health. Both those magazines were surprisingly dumb, but the important thing is my mind got to take a break. I waited until 6, then rode north. I rode to Scott City, making for an 80 mile day. I met some really nice Kansans in a Wendy's, and I got a giant bag of cherries. When I was training for skunk cabbage I worked at friendly's, so I had unlimited access to the amazing ability of cherries to absorb my excess lactic acid. The cherries helped, but as i strung up my hammock in a playground I was painfully aware, as usual, that my legs could not recover unless they got to sleep in a nice, soft matress. I awoke at 4:30 AM, around the time the night is coldest, and contemplated getting an early start. I wanted to, then I remember that I was riding alone and crazy farm dogs love chasing my bike. I went back to sleep. I awoke again around 8 am, rode into the ever increasing wind and heat to where I am now, Leoti, Kansas. I plan on waiting fo rthe 108 degree heat to pass, hopefully find a laundromat. A few blocks away is the museum of the great plains. It is 79 miles to Eads, Colorado and there is nothing in between. 79 miles back in Kentucky was easy, but 79 miles in the desert in a heat wave riding into the wind is quite different. I've already got 30 miles in my legs for the day. We'll find out what I do in my next blog. I just wanna get to Colorado so bad. Thankfully, I have the catchy pop songs of Lady Gaga stuck in my head. That girl is a masterful songwriter, and an even better weirdo.

Can I make it to Colorado tonight?

Since that night I slept in the culvert I've been trudging on through ridiculous heat. Yesterday i only rode 80 miles, but they were 80 pretty dangerous miles. This is a desolate part of the country where the wind will stop you dead in your tracks, the heat will cook your brain alive, and the next water source is typically thirty miles away. I woke up in tha

return of th heat wave.

I departed from the library in Ashland, Kansas with the wind at my back. It's incredible how much easier it is to ride when you don't have fight the wind. I rode 98 miles almost effortlessly, even with food breaks it only took about six hours. I stopped between Dodge City and Cimarron because I saw thunder ahead of me. I was the tallest thing in Kansas, and I was riding a metal bike. I found a culvert (a 4 foot tall stone underpass designed to be cramped enough to prevent tornadoes from sucking you out from it) and stretched while I watched which way it would blow. It was getting bigger and the dark clouds were coming toward me. I called midwestern friends i'd met along the way, and finally one picked up and advised me on what to do. He could not check the weather, so i called an ithaca friend who told me it wasn't a tornado. According to the weather channel it was going to be a popcorn thunderstorm, but it wouldn't be the first time i rode into a tornado when it looked like nothing but a thunderstorm until the last second. My glorious plan was to do yoga in the culvert as a tornado blew by me, but when the storm finally came the winds were so strong I would have gotten soaked if I didn't scurry to the middle of the culvert. I tried to sleep, but stone is much harder than grass and I just got bruised. It's easy to ride when someone offers me a bed and my legs recover properly, it's tough to ride when I sleep on hard surfaces and I can't get protein until I find a town the next day.

I awoke around 9 AM, packed up, and rode west. The wind didn't pick up for about an hour, thankfully. Today is the first day of another 106-115 heat wave that should last for a few days. When it was only 90 something degrees the wind was not as strong, so I could ride through it. My water also lasted longer. Today I have to stop all the time. The heat makes the hotspots in my feet flare up, and I get heat exhaustion in just a few blocks. I just bumped into a motorcycle group. They parked their bikes because they can't handle the heat. I don't have a choice but to keep riding. It is 4 PM, the hottest part of the day around here is 5 to 6 PM. Now that I have reached Garden City I will ride north. The wind will be at my back, the biggest challenge will be to keep my brain from boiling. I can't wait until I get past the desert. The flat, the heat, and the wind are tougher than the big hills. Until next time.

Enid, Alva, Buffalo, then... KANSAS!!!

After Perry I rode toward Enid, Oklahoma. The heat was still ridiculous, and in this part of the world when the heat picks up the wind picks up. There is nothing but flat grazing land, nothing to block the wind. If you feel the wind coming from the north it gets nice and cool, but that's also when you have to watch out for tornadoes. The ride is boring, there are no hills to climb or descend, hardly any cars to dodge. It's just marching on through the heat and always looking for water. It's 105-115 every day, and the nights are 100. I get heat exhaustion 3 to 5 times a day, even when i ride at night. If I'm lucky I'll find a town or a barn in 7 to 10 miles, but typically its 30 to 50 miles between humans and water. At the start of my trip I feared the desert and the mountains. I conquered half the appalachains without even realizing it, it was actually easier than riding in ithaca. I didn't realize the desert started in western oklahoma. must push on.

I got to a "town" somewhere between Perry and Enid. This town was just a gas station and a cafe. I nearly fell off my bike when I got there, heat exhaustion was turning into heat stroke. I didn't have cell reception, it was a matter of safety, I was taking a long break. I walked in, I was the only one. The waitress was 17 and she was also the cook. She was really cool, I asked her "so what do people do around here for fun?" she replies "Muddin'." When it rains people drive their pickup trucks through the muddiest roads they can find and try to get them dirty. Sometimes they break down, that's part of the fun I guess. "Hahahaha that's awesome. What else do you guys do?" "Tooooobin'." That's when you tie a blow up tube to the back of a motorboat. That one I can relate to.

Some old people started flooding the cafe. THey were pretty cool old people, one subsidized my meal and the other interviewed me for the local newspaper. He showed me a smooth black top road that went all the way to Enid. The rest of the day was a smooth ride. It was still an 8 mph ride into the oklahoma wind, but smoother than a bumpy 6 mph.

I got to Enid at 6 pm or so. I got some tea and fruits, so I could eat and rehydrate. Ppl kept stopping and talking to me, being friendly as ever. This one man came back and said "put your bike in my truck, you can stay with me tonight." He was a chaplain's assistant in the army for 11 years. We went to Buffalo Wild Wings, it turned out me and this vet had a lot in common. I happened to meet the only liberal person in all of western oklahoma, and he was awesome. he had a pretty awesome light mountain bike he kept upgrading. I showed him some good online parts he could get on nashbar.com. I go out of my way to support local bike shops, but you just can't say no to SPD pedals and cleats, all for $25, then Shimano goretex touring/mountain shoes for $40. They're the same ones I'm wearing, and my shop used to sharge $90 for the cheapest crap bike shoes.

The next morning I headed out to the cherokee strip museum. I learned a great deal about the region's pioneer history and its history of native american settlements. This state is full of the coolest people from all different Native American tribes. I love meeting new people, but for some reason all my life my friends who are cherokee are just always incredibly cool. I was actually pretty heart broken when this one girl told me she was a lesbian. I randomly rode into these old cherokee council houses and courthouses from the 1830's,  and i texted her and she was like how did you know i was cherokee? dude i just knew. i knew because you have the aura, and its the best. Anyways, off I rode to Alva.

I got heat exhaustion three times in three hours, came ot the city of nash. A lady opened her closed cafe, got me pop (soda) and then a bunch of friends came over. she made us all cookies and hamburgers and fries. We talked for hours, until the hottest part of the day passed, which is 5 pm to 6:30 pm. I rode to Alva, rolled in around 10 pm. I was being chased by a dog at night. Farm dogs are scary in the day, but at night its way scarier.

I spotted a bar that was playing metal and evertyone looked like a bro or a cowboy. I walk in and some guy says "how many bals do you have?" "two." "shit, i thought you were lance!" the sign said $1.50 bottles, what a great way to finish up a long ride.

I met some really cool dudes who invited me to crash with them at the ballpark. the ballpark turned out to be their apartment, and they were oklahoma college football players. they kept telling me i was their inspiration, this guy keith was a literature major and he was gonna write a book inspired by me.

the next day we went to church, we went to a pizza buffet, we went to a really awesome public pool, then picked up these new recruits from New York. these guys were also cool. after a movie and pizza hut i rode off at 11 pm.

2 AM and a drunk driver almost clipped me. he pulled over a few miles later, i rode up and we chatted. this guy was really cool and his dog was adorable. he showed me a water spigot, even led me to an apartment at his place of work. i awoke six hours later surrounded by a salt plain and beautiful horses. i rode on to buffalo. nothing in buffalo, but my mind needed a break. I got a motel room, parted with 40 dollars, and had some nice fridge food and wathced tv. once again, very nice people in the town, but im taking advantage of the cold front (95 degrees) and now im in ashland, kansas. cant wait to get to colorado!

Still Oklahoma (now it sucks)

Yesterday I rode from Sand Springs to Perry. I didn't leave until about 1 PM due to my awesome tulsa hangover, but that also means I didn't go very far. Riding sucked. I hate the flatnessof it, but around me it was farms, nature, and beauty. 6 PM rolled around and, as usual,the dimming sun brought up my energy and spirits. This part of the country is the first time I see so little civilization that I get lonely. I met some really cool people at Simple Simon'sPizza about 30 miles before Perry. That picked upmy spirits, I thought more positive thingsas I headed west.

I rolled around the town, eventually I strung upmy hammock in a cute little park. Cops rolled bybut never bothered me. Joggers trotted around me, always friendly and trusting. I called anex-coworker/way chill runner friend and caught up for a bit. It reminded me of life's problems I no longer have to deal with. Her problems were practicalstruggling young person problems. Commuting, saving money for car inspection, working several jobs and still trying to enjoy life and compete in races, dealing with roomates, things of that nature. All I had was constant new places and faces. There are fleeting moments when it gets me down, but they pass quick. Unfortunately, Oklahoma has become a long, arduous, windy, treacherous place.

I started napping in my hammock when I saw thunder in front of me. I was facing west, I hoped the winds would take it north or northeast, but over a few hours it just kept getting bigger. When the drizzle became torrential downpours and the thunder got closer I rode my aluminum bike to a motel I saw. The clerk offered 30 dollars.Remembering the thunder tornado that almostkilled me in may and after seeing so many tornados on the news I took the 30 dollar loss and stayed in a bed for the first time in many many days. I watched TV, slept in a mattress, took a hot shower, it felt amazing. I even had privacy. It's been awhile since i had privacy.

Checkout was 11, so i slept as long as possible, catching up on countless nights of two hour naps in the park. Stupidly, I hit the road at 11 AM with nothing but the water in my two water bottles. The highway took me north from Perry. Riding north was easyas pie. I blew through miles effortlessly. Every damn day I ride into the wind, this felt good. Ten miles later the highway turned left. The Oklahoma wind was harsh. The sun was hot, the temperature was above 100, just like every day for the past few weeks, and the wind was at its strongest. The wind was slowing me down to 8 to 10 mph. The scary part was I couldn't find a single house or human being to ask for water. I rationed my water the best I could, then went thirsty, pedaling hard, for about 2 more hours in the hot oklahoma sun. Finally I saw a tiny pond in a farm. The fence was broken at one point,so I rode in and took a risk. Still water has bacteria, sometimes that makes you sick, but it was that or die, so I gulped it down. Several miles later I saw a sign. It said Cimarron Angus half mile. I followed a dirt gravel road four miles to a large house. I knocked, and a young woman opened up. She refilled my bottles and gave me a gatorade. It barely lasted me until I came to the next "town." This town was a gas station and a cafe. The waitress at that cafe was really cool, and eventually I met some cool people. An old man put me in the newspaper and another man helped pay for my food. I waited until about 4:30, it was still wicked hot. Still over ahundred. I was shown a nice blacktop road, it was about 20 miles to Enid, Oklahoma. Once again, no people, no chance for water, but I was making better time because the wind died slightly. A mild change in wind was enough to change my average speed from 10 mph to 14 mph. Still very slow, and the flatness bored me into noticing all my aches and pains. I got to Enid pretty soon, rode around this big little town and stopped in a supermarket. By the time I finished shopping and taking a long break I realized it was 6:30 PM, I had only gone 55miles, I had heat exhaustion, and it was 102 degrees outside.

People kept stopping and asking me friendly questions about my bicycle, and eventually one man came back a second time. he offered to put my bike in the back of his pickup truck and offer me a bed. i accepted, of course, and he's turning out to be a really cool guy. He was in the army for eleven years, loves meeting all kinds of people, loves paying for my meals, loves having open conversations about sensitive issues like politics and religion. I'm staying in his daughter's room while she's away. He says Enid, Oklahoma is the last of civilization before Iget to the true emptiness of America. The flatness bores me, the wind slows me, the tornadoes can killme and so can the heat. For my own safety I've been taking it low mileage here in the southern midwest, but the forecast says 105-110 for a week and it's deserted in tornado alley. Verizon wireless has zero to one bars here in oklahoma, so in emergencies i'll just be dead. After Enid I will head straight north to Kansas, wind at my back. I wanna go to Colorado and climb independence pass. 37 mile climb, 37 degree incline the whole way. It's between Twin Peaks and Aspen. My friend Drew just said she'll returnto Boulder next week, I'm excited to get out of Oklahoma. Eastern Oklahoma was awesome, but I will let the wind help me ride north to Kansas. Until next time, ta ta.

blogging cuz im hung over and its hot out

after leaving the library in tulsa and neglecting my blogging for a few days and leaving the people who worry about me that much more worried, i rode into a couple of dudes riding their bikes downtown. they took me to lee's cycles. chris re-opened for me and gave me a huge awesome discount on a live strong radio shack cycling jersey. i feel goofy, i look goofy, but now i got pockets. i'd rather keep mace and a knife easily accesible and look like a goof ball than let farm dogs bite my leg off. i've finally given in. i'm wearing a cycling jersey, and just as i feared, people now look at me and judge. the less people judge me the more they give me free food and couches to crash on. i miss matresses, but my hammock is pretty awesome, so its no big deal.

these guys took me to a really awesome bar called soundpony. bikes, bike jerseys, and cycling equipment adorned the walls, floors and ceilings. one dollar for a beer and a hot dog. no joke. but these guys bought me beer, pizza, and car bombs, so even better! we all got shit faced, then my new friends had to leave. i went a few blocks over to find mcnelli's, this bar that has a burger and fries for three bucks. before i got there i was intercepted by awesome drunk okies, and while we were talking in front of a bar those same guys rode up to the bar. the dude was like woo! there he is! we're doing car bombs! i followed them inside, we did car bombs, then they left. that was totally awesome. surprise free beer, hot dogs, and car bombs. now i was off to find that burger.

mcnelli's was pretty awesome, it was a two floor bar restaurant with two huge rooms per floor and a bar in each room. i sat at the bar somewhere and ordered a burger and a local okie brew. these two guys sat next to me who were opening a cafe. they have a soft opening friday this week, but after we started talking they may push that date back so they could do the warrior dash. WARRIOR DASH! i wanna do that so bad. but for now i wanna get to colorado so i can climb up independence pass. if i can climb a 37 degree incline for 37 miles with fully loaded panniers and a cross bike then whenever i get a road bike i'll be unstoppable. those pro cyclists blood dope, they use steroids, and they're superhuman endurance athletes, but they're not having the awesome experiences i'm having.

after mcnelli's i walked back downtown. i thought i heard karaoke, but it turned out the dj was drunk and couldn't sing. back to soundpony!

i walked my bike in, and all of a sudden i realized i was surrounded by okie hipsters. i was in a biker bar frequented by world class bikers, located in a tiny city with nine really competitive road racing teams, and shaggy looking peoples are getting me the hoppy, ultra expensive, super mexican two dollar beer in a can. sweet. or maybe i paid for it, who can remember these things, i was too messed up on carbombs and warrior dash excitement to know what was going on. so at this biker bar i sat on the floor and enjoyed the guitar, bass, and hipster synth. no vocals, just local kids my age playing their band's chill garage rock. i sat in a chair made of a bike seat. the footholds were handlebars and you could adjust the seat by turning the crank. however, i couldnt find a way to sit without really hurting my balls. it was pretty awesome. i met some ppl out back who said they housed bike tourists all the time, one of them was also a rugby player. dude, it was pleutonic manlove. the girls were all snotty or taken, so manlove was where it's at. unfortunately, i noticed that my headlight was out of batteries and every shadowy place in tulsa had crackheads in it. the only place open was a porn shop, and the clerk gave me some batteries on the house. once again, i was not expecting a chill vibe from a porn shop.

i rode west. i rode until i saw a sign that said "IHOP." I answered the calling. ihop was more expensive than i thought, but the manager was really cool and told me about a nearby bike trail. i rode to it, found a cute little playground, and strung my hammock under the monkeybars. i had a great, restful sleep. i slept so well i missed my morning ride, so i'll take a half day.

im in sand springs, oklahoma, it's past noon, i'm still really hungover, it's dumb hot outside, and i hear it's nothing but flat heat and a couple rolling hills until west of kansas. whatever, every new place has its new charm. hopefully i'll break in my team radio shack jersey and dogs wont chase me so much. sice i started this bike trip i've really learned to hate dogs.

Little Rock to Tulsa. What a journey it has been.

I'm at mile 1800 something, and haven't slept in a bed since Little Rock. Little Rock was awesome, but the journey since has had its own charm. Dave (my new riding buddy) and I rode west. We heard Hot Springs was a cool town, so that was our destination. I was sad to leave Derek, AK, the cool peoples at GO! Running, the Big Dam Bridge, and all the natural beauty and culture. Big wheels keep turning, and my big legs make them spin pretty damn quick. We got a late start because Dave's bike always needs repair. We wound up making slow time, so we headed to Perryville. Perryville was home to the Heiffer Project, a noble and generous non profit orgnanization whose volunteers were some amazing people. A random girl invited Dave and me to her bbq, and there we met her friends, cats, and friends' kids. They were all great people. Dave and I got to swim in their lake, eat their food, play with their babies, and play with their kitties. Arkansans are way chill. Unfortunately later that night I found out I have developed a severe cat allergy. This really sucks. When I was 18 I flatlined in the Hammond Health Center. That's when my peanut allergy went from minor and annoying to anaphylactic and deadly. Before this night I was never allergic to cats at all, and I found out I was so allergic I had hives all over me and I was having too much trouble breathing. Everyone else was asleep and wouldn't get up so I could ask for benadryl, so to avoid the big scary dog I saw earlier I pitched a hammock in their carport to try to get above the cats. It worked for a few hours, the cats finally couldn't get close to me. Then the carport snapped and I injured my left hip and elbow. I still had my epipen, but I knew it was only a lifesaver for a few minutes then the epinephrin would fade and I would be done. I also didn't know if the summer heat would have changed its composition, extreme heat can sometimes make medicines not work. After I fell MC woke up, so I could finally ask for benadryl. I couldn't sit up, I was fading out. The last time this happened I suffocated on my own throat. I slowly wasn't able to breathe anymore. This was when I was anaphylactic to peanuts for the first time. Six years later and it was happening again with something else. FUCK! I was fading out. I asked Ryan, the other host, if he could tell if I was concussed. My pupils weren't dilated, I could remember the accident, so I wasn't concussed. Shit, this means I can't breathe. I took the benadryl, but I was still slowly fading out. MC helped me stay slightly alert. Finally the benadryl kicked in, and I could breathe again. Thank god. MC got me frozen beans, so I iced my injuries the best I could. I got up the next morning, took an epsomhol (epsom salt mixed with rubbing alcohol) bath, and walked/ slowly biked back to the town of Perryville. I waited for the mid day heat to pass, and took it easy with a 75 mile day. I slept in a soccer field at the University of the Ozarks that night. Lucky for me, Arkansans seem to always be super hospitable. I stopped at a Mexican restaurant just after it closed. A family was standing outside. The dad walked in, told me the owner Jaime would treat me. I walked in, ate his enchiladas, and thanked him eagerly. I told him I heard his house was destroyed by a recent tornado, and I would be honored to spend a few days of my time to help him rebuild. He declined, thanked me for enjoying his food, and showed me his remarkably generous true colors. I don't care what the news says about the christian right cornering the republican party and running our country into the ground, I hear enough crap on tv news, all across the country christian groups have been the kindest and most helpful people I may ever meet in my life.

So I took a dump in a soccer field at a nearby university and wiped my butt in the grass. I slept on the grass, but thanks to the drought the ground is always so hard I can't sleep and my legs stay sore. Irregardless I ride a long ways into the wind every day anyway, I just love riding. A few miles into my ride a woman offered to fill my water bottles, then gave me free hot dogs and chips. Great, generous person.

I ride and ride and ride. I find a couple of swimming holes, knock out about 50 miles by the 6 PM leg looseness phase. In the early morning I'm stiff, so I warm up for 20 or 30 miles then stretch out good and try to take breaks between 11 and 3 or 4 when the sun makes the wind pick up and my body slow. The riding is least efficient at this time of day, so I mad dog it for fifteen mile stretches, or basically one town at a time. I remember for about three hours I just kept thinking and saying "Mad dog.... Mad dog." When the terrain is this flat I get bored of riding, and the wind flies unblocked, often slowing me down to 10 mph when it picks up in the high sun. No joke, I love climbing hills. Hills mitigate the wind, and I climb like a demon. Compared to the Pennsylvania appalachains the whole country feels easy, so I usually climb hills without sweating. I need to sweat to get me pumped to charge ahead, but charging isn't good for my endurance.

I crossed into Oklahoma at Fort Smith. Fort Smith was cool, but once i got into oklahoma I realized how awesome it was. The crops actually grew, unlike in eastern arkansas. There were bodies of water, and my skin felt human, unlike in the flat eastern arkansas. the people looked healthy, unlike in eastern arkansas where people looked skinny and starving, eyes popping out, cheeks skinny, or ocassionally unhealthily obese. Eastern Arkansas made the residents seem to live akin to subsaharan africa, Oklahoma seemed to have some oil money and corn that could actually grow.

There was an adult store that was full of chill people, beautiful murals of hippie conerts from the sixties, and people who kept complimenting my legs. It didn't feel sketchy, back in new york porn shops are the weirdest sleaziest places you can go to. Oklahoma remained awesome, and I rolled into a little league softball game in Sallisaw. Local people gave me free hot dogs and gatorade, asked me stories, and even showed me a great place to camp. I took a rubbing alcohol bath and pitched my hammock in the monkey bars in a playground. i slept in a way that stretched my back and hamstrings pretty good, so I woke up with the sun and got a move on. I made pretty good time, about 80 miles into my ride I left the town of Haskell, and farm dogs started going crazy. I outrode one giant blond dog while I rode on a slight downhill. I was riding 22 mph, and the dog was actually catching up with me. I picked it up to 25 mph, and after awhile he finally stopped chasing me. About a mile later I passed another farm gate. I was climbing a steady grade hill at 19 mph when a motorcyclist honked his horn. This alerted two farm dogs and they started started chasing me. One was even bigger than the last, and he caught me. I was terrified. He didn't bite me, but he was faster than me. Several miles later I stopped riding. I was hearing barks everywhere, my chest was shaking, my jaw was shaking, my quads were shaking, I was rattled and alone in the middle of nowhere, oklahoma. I texted a girl I knew who was a cyclist and got bit in the calf once, but she never got back to me with any advice. Eventually I started riding again. Slowly. I went 95 miles to Bixby, a suburb of Tulsa. I stopped when i saw thunder. I hung out at fox mart, a gas station with muscle milk and a big awning. I met a nice family, the kids admired me for what i was doing. I also met a really cool guy who asked me to chill at his place. Him and his freidns were awesome. This guy built his first computer at the age of eight, and the sound system he invented was incredible. He also took piece of an ibanez guitar, a gibson les paul, and an acoustic giuitar to design his own. He's only been playing for 3 months, and he taught me the intro to MEgadeth symphony of destruction. that song helped pave the way for grunge, and now i could play it. eventually i passed out, then i got up, developed my photos, and rode to tulsa. im no l;onger traumatized, but i think ill wait to ride a long ways until tonight.

More Arkansas (now it's awesome!)

I rode westward from my last blog in Hazen, Arkansas to Little Rock. As usual, some random person texted me and asked me to stay with them. I love warmshowers.com so much. If it was 2001 I would say warmshowers.com is the shiznat, but Limp Bizkit broke up and I graduated middle school. Fashizzle.

As I got close to North Little Rock, a small city that pretends to be seperate from Little Rock, I passed man made ponds for irrigation. My skin felt human again, my muscles felt slightly looser. Finally, water! It's amazing how much a tiny body of water makes a huge area feel more liveable.

Several miles later I ride into a tall skinny asian dude riding a flatbar shcwinn bike with a truckload of stuff on his rear luggage rack. I rode up to him and said hi. This was the first cyclist I'd seen in days, the first bicycle I'd seen in the whole state, and this guy was so friggin' cool. His name is David Lamb, he's a college freshman, and he's riding from the suburbs of Chicago to Austin, Texas. Austin was my original destination, this guy seems chill, and he knows tons of people down there. Awesome coincidence, and it's even more awesome this isn't the first time I've stumbled upon riding buddies.

I call my warmshowers host, and she's more than happy to host us both. We ride to Dickie Stevens Park, meet up with her and her friends, and let them get us drunk. We all immediately hit it off, we're having a great time.

We stay with AK, our host, and it feels great to crash with a chill cyclist. It seems the cycling world back in New York is so snobby it makes me want to avoid racing. Here the cyclists are more talented, they don't need to be rich to ride, and they're all the best things about southern hospitality.

Dave spends most of his day at the house fixing up his bike while I explore the heights. The heights is almost as awesome as the highlands of Louisville, Kentucky. I meet chill person after chill person, and walk around in the type of heat that wicks away my muscle pains. My host's favorite bike shop is really chill, and just like Louisville, there are smoothie chains with athlete smoothies. What would have cost me $8 back in Ithaca is $2 here, and the guy thought I was cute so he gave me a second smoothie free. I randomly walked into Go! Running and one of the workers showed me trigger point massages while the owner showered me with free protein gels. I decide to go on a six mile group run with the running shop guys wearing my vibrams. Awesome big mistake. I stretched out good prior to the run, did a 30 minute vinyasa flow yoga routine, even got a sports massage. Still I was heel striking, and by four miles or so I couldn't run downhill anymore. Ah well, I pushed through the pain in my soleus and finally finished. Back at the store I grabbed myself a free beer and talked to the runners. These guys were all D1 U of Arkansas cross country guys, the owner of the shop was a world class runner who broke a four minute mile when he was 16, and Nick ran the Leadville 100 mile Ultramarathon with the fifth best time in history. Jeez, why the hell do I keep trying to measure up to these super human ultra endurance athletes?

Derek got my text and showed up for the 2 mile route. Derek was a guy I met at the ball game the previous night, and he opened his doors for me and Dave to continue exploring Little Rock. We stayed a total three nights and two days. My last day in Little Rock I got fitted for free at a bike shop/coffee shop called Spokes by a kinesiologist who works for Orbeca, I rode the river trail and Big Dam Bridge, I visited Competitivecycles.com, a big online bike retailer, and accidentally climbed Little Rock's longest and steepest ascent. Finally I sweated onto my handlebars again. I'm now fitted, so my numb nuts are over. There's hills again! Finally! Everyone else hates the pain, but I love to climb. My odometer actually tells me I climb faster than when I ride into the wind on the flats. It's just that I get so bored on the flats, I'm unusual in that I'm a big guy who can climb like a demon. Anyways, Hot Springs here we come woohoo!

Arkansas. What the?

The people here in Arkansas are pretty amazing, but this state is full of emptiness. No nature, just heat, highways, and patches of dirt miles and miles long. However, the people who live here shine with loveliness beyond their ugly and poor state. After eating at a delightful little Denny's in West Memphis I rode west to Shearerville. The popcorn thunderstorm that struck Memphis when I was there ripped through Arkansas so thick my new friends in this highway cafe couldn't see as far as the highway. I've been instructed to find a ditch or corrugated pipe, but don't hide under an underpass. The heat is almost unbearable, but if I start riding in the morning and get fifty miles under my belt by the time the heat passes I just fly across this flat state. It looks flat, but I've learned it's actually a 4,000 foot incline to the western border, and since there is nothing stopping the wind and I'm riding into the wind, there are long stretches where I'm battling the heat and wind at 10 mph. The heat makes your feet burn, I have two bolt bike shoes. After I met those lovely cafe people in Shearerville I didn't stop until that evening at a softball field in Brinkley, Arkansas. The coaches and team were pretty cool, but eventually one of the moms asked me to leave. she said "oh naw you fine, they jist giddy girls. we gon to states next week and they shonn off for the boys." arkansas is a really poor area and there are deadly snakes everywhere, so I foud a motel who cut me a pretty good deal. Yesterday I rode 90 miles and my legs were just starting to feel good! back in ohio it was just as flat, I felt that good at 50 miles, so that's how I know I'm getting stronger for the rockies. The heat is ridiculous, it looks like I'll be riding short distances and half days for a while.

Linden, Tennessee. Memphis, Tennessee.

I left Nashville and rode about 90 miles. The hills were easy, but the riding was tough. I realized it was because I forgot to blow up my tires. I stopped in a charming little town on top of a big hill. At least it was big as far as the Tennessee Kentucky landscape goes. There were murals and charm adorning every building. The town was tiny and everything was closed. Here Saturday night was family time. I saw people setting up amps, so I talked to them. There would be a free concert in about an hour. Hell yeah! I walked around and met a whole bunch of really cool, really goofy people. Finally I gave in to hunger. I walked up to a hotel/restaurant. I sat patiently at a table, then asked how much the buffet was. Thank you, but nine dollars is about five dollars over my budget. I love this amazing little town and this charming little hotel, but I understand you've got a business to run. The owner  took me aside. He told me I could eat for free as long as I sat at a small table. Wow, what an incredible guy. The food was delicious, especially the shrimp and rolls. A waiter asked if i was staying at the hotel. I said no, I would find some trees to string up my hammock. I took a nap around mid day on the side of the road and my new hammock is amazing, I'll just take a rubbing alcohol bath and sleep in the woods. The owner took me aside again and told me he's at half occupancy and I am welcome to stay as long as i write a good review. The room was spectacular, i didn't even have to lie! It was amazing. Perfectly clean, rustic throw pillows on the bed, great great room. I took a real shower and left, ready to enjoy this free southern concert. Act after act was really good. Soul, blues, jazz blues, always a good flow with experienced musicians. I had a great conversation with some biker veterans. One saw my YMCA staff shirt and started dancing the village people. These guys were such goofballs, I loved them. The show continued to be awesome, and later i just passed out to Two and a Half Men. What happened to Charlie Sheen? When did he get transfused with tiger blood? He looks so much unhealthier in the later seasons, it's ridiculous. I awoke at normal people indoor time, around 9. I showered, put on my sink washed clothes, and left. I rode 138 miles to Memphis that day, eating just a box of Kashi Go Lean Crunch, a milky way bar, and yoo hoo. Chickasaw State Park was so beautiful. I swam in a lake. Oh god how i miss swimming in lakes! It's so much easier, the water feels so natural and it flows so muchbetter. No chemicals, no heavy bleach, no burning eyes, just people goofing around and feeling refreshed. I merge onto highway 64 and all of a sudden it's as flat as Ohio was. No more hills all the time, just grabbing the  drops of my handlebars and using my butt to power me forward. 18 to 20 mph for the last 40 miles. I got lost when i started entering the memphis city limits. I pinched my first flat. 1288 miles, it's about time! Memphis is cool, there's so much more than just Beale Street. The National Civil Rights Museum was amazing, i spoke with another patron, a woman who took part in the montgomery bus boycott. We spoke while sitting in the bus rosa parks protested in herself. I walked through the lorraine motel, the same one Martin Luther King was assassinated in. Looking at this history and struggle from 1787 all the way through the present the progress is incredible. It's also come at a staggering price. Now my host is taking me to corky's, supposedly the best barbeque east of the mississippi. We're only seven miles east, i can't wait.

Tennessee

Bowling Green was great, the people were just as welcoming and hospitable as Louisville. I stayed with kids my age who created the dreamers project, a photojournal of different families and their trials and tribulations to achieve their dreams from kentucky to LA. I used warmshowers.com for the first time, and around 4 PM I got a text from coach Mike Smith at Lipscomb University. I rode 70 miles to get to the dorm, about 4 miles past Nashville, and after we talked he simply said "stay as long as you like." He treated me to dinner, talking about how he was 50, ran basketball camps in the summer for his university, but loved touring on his bicycle and teaching kids to love life that way. He rode from mobile, Alabama to Canada in his late 40's. He's a generous and incredible man. The next day he took me on a bike tour all over Nashville. His friends and he bought me my meals, even offered to take me to a charity ride that Lance Armstrong would be at. Nashville was absolutely beautiful, full of history, and country music festivals. I have heard so much negativity about Christian groups and politics and abuse, but all I have experienced is the nicest, kindest, most hospitable people. Pillars of the community, nothing but amazing things to say. My ride to meet Lance left from the pickup spot early, so I just rode west. I found some protein bars at a Walgreens so now my legs are ready to rock and roll. I stopped and talked to some farmers. They love what I am doing. They gave me free muffins, water and sourdough bread. Several miles later some boy scouts were doing a charity car wash. I cleaned my bike last night, but I decided to pay it forward. I pulled in, asked for a wash, donated, and their scoutmaster asked me to speak. The troop was raising funds for a long canoe trip, I mentioned I was a canoe instructor and Eagle Scout, so I spoke. I mentioned safety, skills, and soon I realized they were already well prepared. I was proud of these kids already. Someone prompted me to speak about my trip, and so I started from the beginning. I learned my survival skills and appetite for adventure in the scouts, I quickly went over my bike trip history, and related it to the amazing things I can do as an adult. I finished with a little speech relevant to the tornado in Joplin, Missouri. When I was their age I was a first class scout, I had been a cub scout prior to being a boy scout, and the scouts trained my to rise to the ocassion as 9/11 destroyed my community and city. As a fourteen year old fresh into high school I recruited and led countless volunteers to rasie awareness for local firestations. We put together four candlelight vigils, and we raised $350,000 for the Dean St. Heroes Fund. Many widows and kids got food and were able to pay rent because of us, these ethics of being prepared and fundraising for charitable causes brings out the best in you, and it's shaped my personality to this day. I saved for this trip for a year. I did it working for non-profits, for profit businesses who raise money for good causes, and I am living the dream of a lifetime. I know the boy scouts will help make those kids great people, just as I have seen the scouts bring out the best in people for over a decade. I am now stopped in a library in the middle of nowhere, Tenessee two days ride from memphis. I have another crash pad lined up, and I'm sure the birthplace of rock will be just as exciting as the birthplace of country. Until next blog!

more kentucky

I rode out of Louisville around 5 PM, apparently I covered 80 or so miles to Glendale when I stopped in a gas station to take a nap around 1030 pm. On your left cycles tuned up my bike, but I didn't ask him to do a ful tune up, he just did it out of the goodness of his heart and charged me 25 bucks. i also bought some lube and a spoke wrench. I realized i left my seatpost bag full of tools in someone's car. or it may have gotten stolen in the skate park, 12 to 14 year olds are the dumb types to step over a sleeping guy and steal his shit right in front of a camera, even when theres a sticker on the bike saying its a police vehicle. no matter, i didnt really need it, just less weight now. i spent about twenty miles tuning up the mechanic's tune up. ain't that always the way it goes, such is life, im still just thankful. i rode 31 west into the night, finally realizing around 1 am that i should sleep. i passed a sign that said central time zone, and a few miles later i found a nice little church to crash behind. the ground was hard, the 3 to 5 am chilly wind woke me up as usual, so i rode through the morning and got breakfast. the cook was super nice, he and the customers admired what i was doing, so they offered me more free food. unfortunately i was already full, i rode about 10 more miles and found a quaint kentucky civil war battlefield to nap in. an hour later i awoke and rode until 1 pm or so. i stopped in a PT office, where she diagnosed my foot problem as morton's neuroma. all i could do was stretch, take anti inflammatories, and take it easy in the heat. i moved my cleats back, hoping to dodge the hotspot they created, and rode through the heat anyway. i took another nap in the grass under a tree, but day after day of catnaps on hard ground is hell on sore legs, for the first time i felt like i was dogging it to go forward. i did laundry to take another break, then kept going past bowling green. i stopped in a charming ice cream shop, and there were so many cute kids. i miss working with little kids! they're so great and they make you so happy. this was only the seventh ice cream cone i've ever had, as far as i can remember, and it was delicious. the bowling green cycling club finished their 45 mile route at this ice cream shop, unbeknownst to me, and i met a race across america rider and a group of kids my age riding to LA on the transamerica trail. they offered me their air matress, we went back to their place, chilled, ate, drank, chilled some more, and i realized that once again i was among the greatest people ever. they will leave in 19 days, they are photojournalism students and they created the dreamersproject, so they will stay with people and do stories along the way. they did a better job of organizing than i did, we have such different goals, but we are united by experiencing life on bicycles. i love kentucky so much, in this whole state i have experienced rudeness only twice. im awake, my legs feel great, and im half a day from nasheville. it's gonna suck to leave, im gonna be homesick for kentucky.

Oh wonderful Kentucky

The midwest cities were all not my scene. The suburbs north of Cincinatti were really chill, but they were nothing compared to Kentucky. I leave Cincy and find highway 25 South. It's approaching nightfall, on my left I see a hot girl walking out of Ollie's skate park, so I check it out. Almost immediately I realize I am amongst the most exciting and chill people I have met in my whole life. As usual, people gravitate around me in groups of five to eight and wanna hear me talk about things. I chill with these cool bikers and skaters, all between 14 and 25, though they all look between seven and 30. I never bmx'd before, and this night I did it wearing Vibram five finger shoes. I might as well have gone barefoot, it was such a good idea. My new friends show me how to hold the handlebars for flow, not for aerodynamics, and how to lead with the head. I've always been scared of doing tricks with vehicles, but it's just so damn fun. Everyone keeps getting injured, and I've fixed bikes and bodies for a living, so there's no way I'm sleeping through this all nighter skate park bonanza. We keep getting pizza, and oh lordy the really chill front desk worker had yoohoo behind the counter. Yoohoo is tough to find, and when you get it you kill it. Yoohoo, pizza, and bmx. Could life get any better? Well it did. I left and kept riding around 3 AM. I rode down 25 south or 22 south, I can't remember, I just kept going south and west. Riding at night was beautiful, but riding through a scenic route in Kentucky was gorgeous beyond belief. The "hills" felt like anthills compared to the east coast mountains I'm used to. My long legs love running up big hills, and even though I'm bigger than most cyclists I climb like a mad dog. It's confusing, my body defies laws of physiology and anatomy as I ride uphills, but takes advantage of my mass as I fly along the flats. Strangely, I do not descend very quickly. It's probably because I ride a cyclocross bike. No matter how I tuck it's still a mud bike, I love it to death. Kentucky doesn't have towns, just farms. You see signs for "Welcome to Bethlehem" and there are still just barns and farmhouses, maybe an abandoned store, rarely a gas station or dairy queen. The town after that was "Welcome to Pleasuretown" and once again, no signs of human activity. The drivers are so polite, they wait for like five minutes before passing you. The highway is so thin and curvy it makes sense. I stop for a power nap and every ten seconds a car pulls over and someone asks "Are you alright?" Wow, these people are polite, they've got slow suthin accents, and I've got a feeling Louisville is gonna be just like School of Rock. At first I thought it was a worse, more confusing version of Los Angeles. Then some people I met at Panera Bread took me to the Highlands. This liberal pocket of Louisville is just love to me. People are friendly, accepting, liberal, patient and hospitable. The heat is muggy, so mid afternoon is siesta. The parks are beautiful escpapes, just like the prospect park I grew up in. Frederick Law Olmsted even designed them, just like the parks in NYC and Ithaca. So many places to chill and read my book. So much nightlife, so many runners and cyclists, this place is amazing. There is less weed and less yoga, but that just means it's an open market in this wonderful culture. Close by is Nashville, Ashland, and other southern cities full of culture. It's warmer here, milder, humid, and the hills are shallower. I'm in love. Yesterday random people in a running store wanted to hear about my journey, they showed me trigger point massage techniques, one guy even offered me his couch. Next door was the Smoothie King. A healthy smoothie chain with smoothies for bodybuilders, endurance athletes, weekend warriors, and regular fruit smothies for everyone else also? Why doesn't Ithaca have such a corporation? Everything else around here is locally owned, I've met so many store owners who do what they love, started out of a backpack, and are living their joy. I get breakfast and the waitress is so damn nice. Just like the midwest it's huge huge amounts of food, and happy hour is from 3-11 PM and domestic beers are $1.50, $2 for sangria and dacqueries and the like. Last night I went to Wick's Pizza. It was Jazz night. Free show, and the jazz band was so intense I would call it jazz punk. My mind was blown. The bartender brought me a delicious personal pizza, her favorite local microbrew, and when the band said "intermission" she changed the channel to a pro downhill mountain biking race. Wow, my brain just came. Louisville is wonderful, and yesterday I decided the odometer read 800 miles, i rode 130 the previous day, this would be a great day to just chill. I have bought so many smoothies, got so much pizza, drank with cool people, and sent so many pieces of art, books, and stuff home from Louisville that I spent eighty bucks in this state. Totally worth it, I'm in love with this place. When I drove across the country I always loved the liberal cultural pockets of the old south, but this bike trip is so much more intimate. I'm head over heels, but that still won't stop me from reaching the west coast. Hot damn, life just can't get better.

Louisville, Kentucky

Ohio (up to Cincinatti)

Ohio is so flat compared to Pennsylvania and New York. What a local calls a big hill is hardly a mound in the never ending flatness of the midwest. Columbus was a dumb city built around a big dumb college full of desuchy bro culture. the bars are huge, it's like they're extensions of the OSU tailgating scene. There was one amazing band. Thumpdaddy played at this chill little pub. Jeez, those old funky guys were having so much fun. That was the best bass solo I've ever seen, and a more energetic rhythm section than when I saw George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic. The people of Columbus were in general pretty rude, but there were definitely a few really cool people. After Columbus we sailed down a big hill, then it was flat and smooth sailing the whole way to Cincinatti, the city I'm chillin' in right now.

We rode a hundred miles of pure flat. I rode 18 to 25 mph the whole way, usually 23 when the wind was calm and 18-20 when that crazy midwest wind would pick up. It was lush, it was still a forest, but it was almost a swamp because the Ohio river is so still. I get faster and faster, but mostly not because I get stronger. Every day I give away something else I don't need. Camping utencils, sewing kit, sleeping bag, tube socks, underwear. My load gets lighter and lighter, and so I cover more ground easier. No one has passed my since central PA.

Last night I hung out at the Last Train Stop Pub just outside of Cincy. I was waiting on my new riding buddies, Mike and Nick, to finally stop in. Mike has been having wheel problem after wheel problem and Nick is just getting sick of riding. Half an excuse and they call a cab, they'd rather stay in hotels than meet people and crash or camp. I love these guys, they're jersey bros I can relate to. They got that special NYC/ northern Jersey smart ass male bonding you can't find anywhere else. Especially Boston. As usual I met some really cool people and crashed, Mike and Nick took a cab to Kentucky. I just climbed over the Appalachains. I love hard riding, I love climbing, I love the endless pain and the great accomplishment at the end of the day, but I could use some good flat midwest for a few more states. I guess this is where we part ways.

I just came from a rally to oust Assad and free Syria. Luckily I learned my friend Noah is no longer in Syria, which is a relief. I want to ride to St. Louis. But I need to ride to Joplin and help with the clean up.

Ten years ago I spent months of my life helping firefighters after 9/11. It was a proud period of my life. It was the last time I could recruit so many people to eagerly help such a noble cause, and until this bike trip it's the last time I saw only the best in every human around me. However, it was a time full of grief, mourning, loss, and confusion. I always knew I was proud of what I had done and what the others around me did. I swore I would never do it again, but now that I am 23, not 14, I find myself needing to do this. The tornado almost killed me, yet all I can think about is riding down there, donating everything I can, and spending time rebuilding the town. When I was 14 I was old enough to turn a charitable cause into a snowballing movement that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and provide closure through candlelight vigils, but I was too young to dig at Ground Zero. Now I am strong, I am in my prime, and I have been told it is safe enough for people like me to offer their services. I have to do this, how can I not do this? I will help re-build houses, I will dig, and I may find corpses. Oh well, it won't be the first time. If I was strong enough to handle it ten years ago I am five times as strong now as I am then. Joplin shouldn't have to suffer and re-build alone while they wait for the bureacratic tape of FEMA and the Red Cross to creak along for an eternity.

The rest of PA: Altoona, PIttsburgh, thenoff toOhio

I woke late in State College, so I took an easy day riding just 50 miles or so to Altoona. New York and Pennsylvania had been very hilly so far. I was constantly surrounded by valleys and mountains, it was beautiful, but the riding was tough and the wind was always blowing against me. I rode rolling downhills to Altoona, a town in central PA. Upon arriving in Altoona I got some pizza. The manager gave me free slices, free gatorades, and got his outdoorsy worker to show me a beautiful park nearby where I could camp. Like every day, both of these guys offered me their couches without my asking. The kindness of strangers on this trip is unparalleled. My butt felt like it finally got used to my seat, unfortunately my feet still hurt a lot from these shoes. I have to stop for my feet, rarely due to exhaustion.

I camped on a high point in that park. It was beautiful. I used two pairs of socks to give myself a rubbing alcohol bath and use the woods as a bathroom. I realized it was summertime, I didn't need a sleeping bag. I left it in a frisbee golf goal. Now instead of three packs on my rear rack I just had my panniers. The weight was reduced, the air flowed by me much easier, and my max speed would increase to 40 mph during steep dives.

Unbeknownst to me Altoona is in the heart of the Appalachain valley. I was riding a hundred miles to Pittsburgh, and to get there I had to ride up the toughest portion of the Appalachain mountain range. It was a straight uphill in record heat for the first 25 miles. My odometer read between 6 and 8 mph for that portion of the ride. I stopped in the keystone truck stop restaurant where I got the hugest plate of breakfast food in my life for ten bucks after tax and tip. This gave me the fuel to continue.

I left the truck stop at 12:30, being told there were only 70 miles to go. I had to break again between 3 PM and 3:45. It was the only bit of shade I could find all day, I was happy to lay there. I could only lie face down because my back was so sunburnt.

I  kept riding. I saw handmade sign after handmade sign that made my mouth water. "Peaches $1.99," "Free hot dog and lemonade," "Watermelons $1." I finally get there and I pull in. A big guy wearing a shirt that says "American Cancer Society" ushers me in. Him and his friend are trying to get to Pittsburgh today, then eventually San Francisco. Obviously, so was I. We could all enjoy more company, especially if I was a cyclist and former bicycle mechanic. The big guy (Mike) rode a Fuji Newest 2.0 and broke three spokes on his rear wheel. The other guy (Nick) just bought a Raleigh road bike. Mike hitch hiked to Pittsburgh and got a free easy ride for the last 30 miles. Nick and I got a hot dog and charged ahead. An hour later I got a text form Mike. Mike found a room in a really fancy hotel for just 70 bucks! Split three ways that's an amazing deal. Nick and I rode on exhausted legs and got to know one another. He persuaded doctors and teachers from his home town in New Jersey to sponsor him 10 cents a mile for the American Cancer Society. We were the same age, we had even both stayed in State College on the same day, we just didn't run into each other. This was a pretty cool coincidence.

We finally get to Pittsburgh just before nightfall. 10 AM to 9 PM, that was a grueling day. We find the hotel and Nick doesn't believe it. Nick calls Mike "This hotel looks really fancy, this can't be right." Mike opened the door for us. I was impressed. Beautiful lobby, beautiful mattresses, free coffee and tea, beautiful clean bathroom. Tired and dirty, we all showered (one at a time), changed, then hit the town. Right away I met some really cool drunk college kids. We were happy to help this guy celebrate his birthday, and he and the girls were eager to hear our bike trip stories. I made a glowstick cleopatra crown for him, and he rocked it like no metero guy ever has. The bar was awesome. Two dollar beers? Hell yeah! We met some really cool people. It was a good night.

The next day Mike went to Iron City bikes to get a new rear wheel. The mechanic offered him a double walled rim with double studded spokes for 35 bucks, 50 to do it today. I told Mike I could tell the mechanic was ripping him off, but back in Jersey and New York you couldn't find a pre-built wheel for less than 80 bucks. The shop didn't have bike shoes, so I walked a few miles to squirrel hill and found a really good shop. I found last year's touring shoes for 75 bucks marked down from $150. They invited me to go in the back and tune up my own bike. Wow, the difference truing a wheel using a truing stand versus eyeballing it with the brakes is astonishing. My wheels fly now, my feet don't hurt, my shifting doesn't hesitate and my hoods don't slip. The Bike Tech was a great, classy shop. Once again, unparalleled hopsitality.

1 PM and Mike's wheel is ready. We leave at 2 and make it through West Virginia to Ohio by 9 PM. I am a stronger rider than these guys, but waiting seems to help my endurance. I instinctively start my centuries as sprints and don't even think about pacing myself for 30 miles or so, starting to get tired arounbd fifty. Pittsburgh to Ohio was only 52 miles, but I didn't even feel stiff. We are out of Pennsylvania, through the mountains, and in the beautifully flat midwest. It is 146 miles to Columbus. Beautiful sunshine as awlays, compared to the mountains this is gonna be easy.