Day 42- HALFWAY ACROSS THE COUNTRY ON THETRANSAM TRAIL post

Hello! For all the loyal blog fans out there, I don't think I've posted my innermost thoughts about the tour for two weeks so this is me doing that now. This is the special "Super sappy but not so sappy HALFWAY ACROSS THE COUNTRY ON THE TRANSAM TRAIL" post. Hope you enjoy the novel!

INTRO: We've biked 2,176 miles. We have 2,056 more miles until we reach Astoria, OR. After Pueblo, we'll be swooping up the Rockies hitting our max altitude of around 11,000 feet before heading north to Wyoming, over to Yellowstone, up to Missoula, Montana, through the land of potatoes, and on to Portlandia and the gorgeous coast of Oregon. Afterwards, imma solo ride up to Seattle and fly or take a 3-day train to Boston- hopefully by Sept. 1. Boom. Now here's the innermost thoughts section of the ride:

Hiking!

COLORADO!!! Michael "Michael Taylor" Taylor and I are in the luxurious home of another one of his dope/rad family members in Colorado Springs while Chris and Dylan make their way to Pueblo (Chris got a new wheel shipped since his back wheel was poo and so him and Dylan hung back in Kansas while me and Michael pedaled to Colorado.) Me and MT got super lucky in Kansas/Eastern Colorado (which basically still Kansas), having tailwinds and overcast skies for all but the last two days so we booked it- doing two 100+ miles rides, two 80+, and one 65er in the span of five days. #milebrag. The last day was super special as Michael and I biked 105 miles for the sole purpose of making it to Pueblo, CO before Sunday so we could eat Chick-fil-a. God bless it.

I've only been in Colorado for two days and I'm already in love. Today, we went on a rad hike in the most crispest, not humid air I've ever felt and couldn't believe that so many people live here and just do this shit every weekend. People are out cycling, hiking, riding horses, doing super beautiful outdoorsy stuff in this outdoor wonderland underneath the most expansive sky I've ever seen and this is their life. How do they do that?! How can I get enough money to do that?! Maybe I should move here.

Anyways, Kansas. Kansas was like nothing I've ever seen. Up til then, we'd been in pretty similar, familiar land. Not to diminish or hate on the beauty of our first four states (Virginia being my pre-Colorado favorite), but Kansas was stupid silly. This picture I took pretty much captures it for me. I got off my bike and stayed back from the group for about ten minutes and tried to take this all in. I don't think I've ever been in a place where there is absolutely NOTHING in any direction on the horizon.


It was really something. Biking through the stillness of fields as far as the eye can see breeds introspection. It was the first time on the tour where I wasn't thinking about what was around me or anything cycling-related but instead was all about the things that one would expect from a "journey across America." I.e. What I'm going to do when this ride is over?/What the hell was college about?/What do I see myself doing in the next five years?/What makes me happy?/Who do I want to share it all with? Eww gross. After I got that out of the way, I listened to two days worth of podcasts, M83, Bombay Bicycle Club, Phoenix, and the Beatles. Marc Maron's interview w/Obama is pretty rad you should check it out.

Newton, Kansas was rad. They have a rad bike shop with a hostel. And in that hostel I took a book about four early-twenty somethings who cycled around the world in the early 80s. One of the riders goes into some pretty serious detail about biking along the Gaza Strip, through the deserts of Egypt and Sudan, and through the widespread poverty of India and Nepal. Reading all this has made me extremely thankful at how relatively easy it is to bike across America. Every twenty miles or so along our route, I know that we can find some source of clean water and a place where we can set up our tents. We've rode for over 2,000 miles and I have not felt in danger at all. Granted, that statement is loaded with the flip side in that there are definitely, absolutely places in America that are not safe and are not prosperous for all. Granted, I am a white male. I am constantly reminded out here at how lucky I am to have the financial and spiritual freedom to be able to ride my bike every day for three months.

It feels weird sometimes (especially biking through Eastern Kentucky) to ride through a place in such a quick amount of time- to be almost like a ghost taking snapshots of other people's lives. It's odd being in a restaurant in the middle of Missouri while a group a tired-looking farmers sit down for lunch to take a break from a hard morning of trying to salvage their crops from the Mississippi River flooding. It's confusing to have older people come up to you, ask about your trip, and then look at you with sullen eyes and say, "Man, I wish I did something like that when I was younger." Because while the easy answer may be to want to jump up and down, shake the person and say, "Well, fuck! Then go do it now! There's still time! Fucking do it!", the financial and spiritual realities for so many people are not cured by a smile and an adventurous attitude.

Anyways, still meeting some amazing people on the trail. Biked for a few days with a group of Harvard peeps who are teaching/biking across the country. Way cool. I'm already thinking about next summer and some possibilities for a tour. I definitely want to ride my next trip for a cause of some kind other than "cause I wanna!" Definitely wanna get more into the bike community in Boston and start doing some races. I miss some key people in my life and wish I could share this experience with them. Mom, dad- love you. Gonna do a better job of calling you when I'm not tired as dick.

My beard game is getting semi-strong. Leggo, Rockies.

Hearts,
Kody

                                     

                                     

Da Rockies. Can't wait to bike through you

Day 39: The Big Split

I failed to mention the day we left Newton and rode 115 miles to Larned that I broke a spoke along the way. No big deal at the time; I've been breaking spokes every few hundred miles since Virginia. I thought it might be the strain of the mountains or perhaps the weight of my bags, but actually my gear doesn't weigh a lot compared to other riders (also my weight is well distributed) and I'm still breaking spokes on the flats. I'm thinking it is just a bad wheel. After breaking an additional spoke today, I decided to stop riding--not wanted to cause irreparable damage to my wheel. Dylan and I caught a ride to La Crosse, Kansas where we are now waiting for a replacement wheel. Michael and Kody have gone ahead and we will catch up to them later.

Dylan and I are camping at the city park. We met an eastbound rider named Dick who was kind of a dick, but also really funny and interesting to talk to. We bought charcoal and grilled beer brats and a rack of ribs with asparagus. It was a feast, complete with a bourbon whiskey nightcap.

Big thanks to Chris and JC at the Great Bicycle Shop who worked out a warranty deal with Salsa and got me a 36-spoke 10-speed disc brake wheel express shipped out to me in middle-of-nowhere Kansas. I couldn't find this wheel in any of the bike shops I've seen thus far.

Dylan and I are going to visit the La Crosse Barbed Wire Museum tomorrow and then jump in the city pool when it gets hot. Probably will grill more too. Cheers!

- Chris

Day 38: 115 Miles

Well yesterday we ended up staying in Newton again to give the bike mechanic time to clean and tune up our bikes. The bike shop/hostel had a super nice bike wash station and our bikes look and feel like new! 

So today we made up the miles and put in our longest day yet: 115 miles. We lucked out and had an abnormally cool day in the 70's with a bonus tailwind most of the way. It was awesome. 

We are staying in the Larned City Park which doesn't have showers but does have a small water park which Dylan and I utilized. One thing I have noticed about staying in these small-town parks is that they are well used by the community. We regularly see people staying at these parks as late as nine o clock! I suppose I found it surprising considering that most of these towns hardly have a thousand people in them. 

As we approached Larned, we passed a mass-production cattle feed lot. Up until that point, we had only seen grass fed cattle grazing in large pastures. The feed lot was huge, filled to the brim with cows, and pretty much looked like they do in those PETA videos. The stench was putrid. It was god awful. As we passed through historic downtown Larned, I couldn't help but notice the odor lingered and pervaded the entire strip. 

We'll be in Colorado in three days or so. Hell yeah! Oh and here are my top Kansas albums:

• George and Jonathan III by George and Jonathan
• Cydeways by The Pharcyde
• Skylon by Ott

- Chris

Day 36: The Oasis In the Grass Desert

Had a very relaxing rest day in Newton today. After saying our goodbyes to last night's hosts, we went to the movie theater and saw Jurassic World for only $5. Afterwards we met Heather at the Newton Bike Shop Hostel where we are currently staying. 

This place is amazing. They have all the standard bike shop features including a bike repair workshop, a bike wash station, and a well stocked retail section. In addition they offer comfy bunks, a kitchen and bathroom, and plenty of extra food and toiletries should any biker be in need. It's also decorated with some pretty interesting bike parephernalia and is very well-kept.  The best part: locally brewed beer on tap in a kegerator. This place really does live up to its claim as the "oasis in the grass desert". 

Tomorrow we get back on the road. It's crazy to think we've gone over 1,700 miles at this point. There are supposed to be severe thunderstorms tomorrow so hopefully we will be able to avoid them. I'm not looking forward to the inevitable winds.

- Chris

Day 35: Jourth of Fuly

We are in Newton! Yesterday we actually hitched a ride so that we could spend the day experiencing the local festivities. We were accompanied by a bike touring couple, Tom and Catt. Michael wanted to bike so he went alone while we crammed five bikes, 25 bags, and six people into a tiny Ford Ranger.

After meeting up with Michael and chowing down on a sub-par Chinese buffet, we hung out with our WarmShowers hosts and their family on the porch drinking beer and eating more food. The bike hostel we planned on staying at turned out to be closed, so this wonderful family took in a total of seven riders to stay with them last night! A big thank you to Meg, Clark, and son Callan.

Then around 9 o clock the fireworks started to really get heavy...

Now let me first explain that we have had to endure the caustic sounds of fireworks every night since June 29th. It's been awful and nearly impossible to get sleep. However, nothing could have prepared me for the barrage of explosions we heard/saw last night. For three hours, the whole town was alive with relentless patriotic eruption. Huge mortars fired off from every couple street corners; fountains, screaming rockets, and other projectiles whizzed in the streets; and the cacophony of firecrackers was absurd. Coming from a state where most of these kinds of fireworks are illegal, it was a bizarre event to witness. 

So we are taking the day off here to recover from our semi-hangovers and watch the Women's World Cup Final and also stay at the bike hostel. Should be fun!

- Chris

Dylan's Bippity Boppity Post with the most

I've lost feeling in my entire left leg.

Not really, but my knee does tend to hurt more now that we're in "the flats", which, btw is not as accurate of a description of Kansas as we've been led to believe.

But really really, my left hand is pretty jacked up. I can't put my fingers together with them more than about half way up, and its a lot weaker than usual. So unfortunately for you, my loyal blog followers, typing is even less fun than usual. You may be hearing from me even less than usual. LOL GET IT.

Here's some stories or highlights or thoughts or whatever in no particular order, to give you some semblance of an idea into this adventure from my point of view, in no particular order.

A few weeks ago or so, we had our first crash. Chris and I were hauling ass, about to catch up to Vegeta - Michael has magic powers and can go Super Sayan 5 and leave us in the dust - and Chris got a bit ambitious with his drafting, caught his wheel on mine, and ate shit. he got a nice bonk on the had, and my fender got wrapped up around my wheel, and had to be trashed.This lead to a significant decrease in morale, and of course Vegeta escaped into the horizon. Soon Kody caught up and passed on by.

Chris and I carried on nice and slow, and after a few miles I heard a little squeakily sound from doe bushes in the side of the road. I pulled over and a wild tiny kitty appeared! It ran right to me. We were in the middle of nowhere; this was clearly not a pet, nor would have been anything but hawk food if we didn't add him to the Team. So forced Chris to carry my pepperonis and my phone, and stuffed my front bag with our new mascot.

Kitty made the seven mile ride to the church we were staying in that night, where he followed us everywhere and we immediately fell in love with his unavoidable cuteness. After much deliberation, including reaching out to our cat expert and future vet friends, and of course google searching " Will this cat die if we keep it", we decided Kitty would make the journey!

Next morning at McDonalds - a semi-frequent second breakfast/coffee stop for us- we had to leave Kitty out by the bikes. He wandered around and tried to find me a few times, but eventually i got him to lay down and stay in the shade.

" Yo... that's our cat. That lady has our cat".

We watched through the glass window wall things as a lady got in her car, kitty in her arms.  We all kind of watched, trying to decide whether or not to do anything... then we just lol'd. Probably for the better. BUT DAMN WE MISS KITTY.

Story 2:

We stopped at a roadside flea market and bought a french horn and a trumpet.  These have been wonderful additions to our musical arsenal, which also includes claves, a tambourine, a kazoo, and our lovely voices. We definitely don't use them enough to warrant actually carrying them... but I bet my horn makes it all the way. #Legendary

Thang 3:

Here's a brief look at our Poke' stats.

Michael "Michael Taylor" Taylor
 - Overall Speed - 8
 - Special Ability - Pasta Putenesca ( a master of both Italian and the Culinary arts, Mike can craft a gourmet meal out of any two or more ingredients)
-  Weakness - to be determined

Kody 
- Overall speed - 6, increases to 7.69 on flats
- Special Ability - Safe Spot ( using nothing but his handheld personal computer, Kody can locate a safe place for us to stay every night. Sometimes we even get free pizza and beer)
- Weakness - requires at least 2 cups of coffee before playing

Chris 
- Overall Speed - 5.69, increases to that of whoever he is drafting.
- Special Ability - FIX DAT ( not a broken spoke, a shattered chain, or an unadjusted handlebar can escape the trained eye of this master mechanic)
- Weakness - big ass hills and mountains.  Also his back wheel is poo and brakes all the time. Also he wakes us all up early as stank every damn day with his totoro sounding ass ringtone.

Dylan
- Overall Speed - 6, increases to 8 in big mountains, decreases to 5 on long  nearly flat downhills.
- Special Ability - Collect (any animal, artifact, or treasure in the area will be immediately detected, retrieved, and placed somewhere on this basin's bike)
- Weakness - tends to be naked at inappropriate times, and never has any damn cash so the homies have to front for his ass at all these podunk towns that haven't yet figured out its the 21st century so you should take a frikkin card.

Squoodle bop 4:
 Changed my mind. Im tired of typing.  Hopefully doing this spurred something in me so I'll write another thing sooner rather than later.

Love Dylan.
 

Day 34- Our first semi monster headwind!

Hello! Last night we crashed at the campsite from hell (kinda not really). Erie, Kansas. City park in a concreted gazebo, with a fly/mosquito convention, the brightest lights in the world, fireworks all over, and lovely sounding trains that passed by every hour. After a solid 5 hours of sleep we headed out to bike 60 miles to Toronto, Kansas where we planned on staying in the lovely Jean Marie's house- a host that was recommended to us by a eastbound cyclist for her amazing hospitality. 

Flat for most of the morning. Had our second breakfast at a McDonalds about 20 miles in. Have eaten more McDonalds this tour than my whole life probably. Wee! 

About an hour after breakfast part 2 we got to ride in our first infamous Kansas headwind. No trees, wind from every direction, with a extra side of a light rain. Averaged about 10mph heading through it pedaling as hard as we could.

 Can't imagine doing that for a whole day which is whyyyy we are gonna experiment with leaving hopefully by 6:30 tomorrow so we can beat the heat and headwinds for our 96 mile day to Newton, Kansas. Our longest day by over 25 miles. Leggooooooo. To bed by 7:30!

Day 32-33: Koming Into Kansas

Two days ago our friends, Willow and Kim, visited us in Ash Grove, Missouri. The small town offers a house and free pool access to cyclists so it was a really nice way to spend our last day in MO! Yesterday we had lunch at a well-known diner named Cooky's in Golden City before we crossed into Kansas. They had the best pie I've ever had in my life, and it's said to be the best in the country. 

 

Kansas is, as expected, flat. We stayed in Pittsburg yesterday with our WarmShowers host, Alex. For some reason, the city and house reminded me of being back in Tallahassee, and for the first time this tour I found myself really missing home. Today's ride was really nice because it was overcast and not very windy. The flats are a lot of fun without headwinds. Kody got a computer for his bike so now we can better gauge our speed; we averaged 15 mph today! We are trying to get to Newton by July 4 so that we can celebrate and then take a break the next day. Hopefully the winds will be merciful...

- Chris