Well folks, it can’t all be flowers and sunshine on this little journey of ours, and the last few days sure have been evidence of that. Over the course of the past 300 miles we have been rained on, sun burnt, blown quite a few tires, and even managed to have one of our teammates go his own way. Let’s start at the beginning.
We made our way from the Phelps household to Dodge City without too much trouble. The grounds were flat and we experienced our first tail wind which was a surprise to be remembered. Instead of the consistent headwinds we’ve encountered up to this point, suddenly we felt no wind at all. Even though we were cruising at our standard 15 mph we felt no breeze on our brow but instead an eerie stillness. It wasn’t until we looked beside us at the wild grasses blowing in our direction that we realized that this is what a tail wind feels like. The next hundred miles or so were the most effortless of the trip so far.
Not too long after we left Wichita we came upon a small town in Kansas which had recently been devastated by tornados. This was one of the most disquieting experiences our team experienced as well. The entire city was all but wiped off the map by an f5 tornado over a mile and a half wide. We have no perspective personally to give us reference for this kind of destructive force, but it was as if the finger of god itself was drug across the flat Kansas ground and through the town, leaving nothing but rubble in its wake. While our cause has been, and is now for ALS, our hearts go out to those who are suffering from this terrible tragedy.
In Dodge City it became clear that the members of Team LOCO needed to have a serious talk. Certain time constraints were weighing heavily on one of the members of Team LOCO and we had reached the point where if Dagen was going to uphold certain work commitments he had obligated himself to, a change in pace or direction was necessary. As we stand we have near 1300 miles to go, and will be rolling into Los Angeles somewhere around the 15th. This date does not coincide with the start date of a very important work project back home, so the short of it is that in the near future Ryan will be going his own way in an attempt to finish the trip by early July. We don’t know when the next time we’ll have access to the internet will be, so he wanted to say a few words to our loyal reading audience so we’ll give the floor to him.
Hello everyone, I hope that all is well and that we have continued to entertain you through out our trip. I would like to start by once again thanking all of the people that have supported us through out this trip. Some of you we have known since we were kids, some of you were complete strangers who for some reason felt compelled to help three hygienically challenged bikers, and all of you made this trip not only possible, but also enjoyable. I have enjoyed reading your supportive emails and comments; they are the constant rejuvenating encouragement that we need. Finally, I would like to thanks Emy and Gordie for not only being the reason behind this trip, but also for taking the role of our biggest cheerleaders as we peddle across the country.
I promise that I will continue to try and update the blog and media after I separate from Anthony and Zach if I can find a place where I have access to a computer although I trust that Big Daddy and Tony Viva are more than capable of keeping you entertained for the final push towards the Pacific. Thanks again and God Bless…Lancaster or BUST!!
In other news, since Dodge City we have somehow managed to blow a total of 6 tire tubes, and are in a bit of a pinch. Right now we are in Lamar, Colorado and are going to make an epic push to La Junta in an attempt to find a bike shop that can repair one of the member’s broken wheel. It is our hope that the reparations to this bicycle appendage will do something to stem the slaughter it has wreaked on unsuspecting bicycle tubes over the past 30 miles. Our only chance is to stock up on co2 cartridges and hope we make it there.
Please enjoy the following videos, as we have a new camera and a new dance to share with you all.
Into Colorado(REVISED, SORRY ABOUT THE BLOOPER): http://good-times.webshots.com/video/3067296420101327493zrhuGv?vhost=good-times
Bike tire 1 http://good-times.webshots.com/video/3013696010101327493dBzXkU
Bike tire 4 (same day, half hour later) http://good-times.webshots.com/video/3094557630101327493JUsgxU
We promise a much happier entry next time and a juicy new episode of Anthony’s awkward situation corner. But for now we’ll leave you with this admittedly mild installment:
A couple miles back we were lucky enough to meet the owner of a beauty shop in Syracuse, KS. She saw us at a gas station and offered the floor of her shop to us for the evening which we gratefully accepted. After a few pleasantries she left us to our evening activities around 9:00. We quickly changed out of our bicycling gear and into something more comfortable, and sat down in the only chairs which were available to relax. These were not your ordinary chairs however, they were the ones with the huge glass bowl on the top used for drying hair and solidifying perms and such.
So there we sat, our underwear strewn about the floor, bicycle parts on the table, and enjoying a fresh plate of canned mac and cheese, when a really burly Kansas man walked into the shop. We were under the impression that all tanning appointments had been filled, but apparently this particular cowboy had a tanning emergency which needed to be satisfied immediately.
“There ennybody in dem tannin beds?”
Zach and I, dumbfounded by this awkwardness of this situation could only respond with a simple, “No man, it’s all yours”
He stood there for a moment, obviously as confused by the situation as we were before quietly retreating to the solitude of his own private cancer box for a solid bake session. In retrospect it was all pretty amusing.
Take it easy players, we’ll get back at you soon.
-Team LOC
No comments:
Post a Comment