2 days left

I’m leaving New Orleans on Thursday, heading to my Aunt Julie’s place in Weatherford. I don’t know if I’ll get to go to Austin or not. I haven’t been out in the city as much as I had planned to be. I finally have a camera, which must now be supplemented with a memory card before it is fully usable. The forecast is 50% chance of rain for the next couple of days. I’m actually pretty glad I didn’t get the opportunity to help clean up along the Gulf, because people are getting sick. I’m going to help in the best way I can, which is talking at people about how government is the source of most of the evil in society. Okay, that’s an oversimplification… families are the source of most of the evil in society. In any case, I’m going to see if I can get some New Orleanians on film discussing how they feel about the “spill” and the concept of evacuation. Hopefully I’ll have something more interesting to post next time.

New Orleans

Here I am in New Orleans.  I kinda feel like I’ve cheated… but who wants to bike 600+ miles in this ungodly heat when you can ride in a car?  Not me.  My couchsurfing host in Statesboro, Russ Pate, was kind enough to offer a ride down to the Southeast Vipassana Center yesterday (which, by the way, is probably the coolest thing anyone has ever done for me).    From there, I hitched a ride with 3 guys to New Orleans.  One of them is going to Austin this weekend, and has offered me a ride.  Another has offered to let me stay at his house until I leave (he’s leaving for Kenya on Tuesday).  Once I get to Austin, I will stay for a few days, then my cousin will be picking me up to take me to Weatherford (40 miles or so west of Fort Worth).  So basically I’m only biking 83 miles of the first 1000+ miles of this trip.  I am overwhelmed by the generosity of these people.  Maybe I’ll make it to Burning Man after all.  So much for the oil cleanup part of this adventure.  I hear there are microbes that will be able to fix everything up real quick… I hope that works.  I can’t think of much else to say… I shaved my head the other day, including the beard.  I left a shamwow at the Vipassana center, but I think I can do without it.  I look forward to exploring the city over the next few days, this was the main city I wanted to visit on the Gulf coast.  Things seem to be going my way for a change.

1st day report

I made it.  I tried to blog last night, but I just didn’t have the energy.  Took me 12 hours to go 83 miles (including a stop at Walmart and 2 rest stops in the woods).  I also had to adjust my seat height 3 times, because my thighs were cramping up.  That was probably the most exercise I’ve ever gotten in one day.  I have to do another 78 miles to get to Jesup, and I am not looking forward to it.  I slept almost 12 hours, when I usually only sleep 6 or 7.  I’m staying with my couchsurfing host Russ Pate, and he has been quite hospitable.  He bought me 2 beers last night, which unfortunately did not stay in my stomach for more than 45 minutes.  Then he cooked me some tilapia… which also exited through the same hole they entered.  I thought I’d be much hungrier than I have been.  I guess I’ve got a lot of food from the last week or so which hasn’t been converted to energy yet.  My belly has shrunk considerably in the last 24 hours.  Yesterday I ate a cucumber, 2 bags of gRAWnola, 3 bananas, and about 5 oz of honey (before I arrived in Statesboro).  So maybe 1500 calories.  Once I burn through all this extra stored energy I’m sure I’ll be eating a lot more.  Today I’ve had one banana, and I’m not hungry at all.  I’m about to shave my head, for the first time in my life.  I figure now woud be the time to do it.  I will post again at my next opportunity.

Here goes nothin

Alright… I’m heading out a little later than planned, thanks to hanging out at my uncle’s house ’til the wee hours last night. It’s 80 miles to Statesboro, much farther than I’ve ever traveled on a bicycle in one day. Georgia Southern would have been my alma mater, if I’d been able to wake myself up in time for music theory 101. I wonder how much more stuff can go wrong… perhaps the universe is telling me not to do this, but I’m just not going to listen. Hopefully I can avoid any toxic hurricanes… I was feeling safe with the Respro mask for the fumes and what not, but the prospect of a poisonous hurricane is pretty scary. Well, I’m a believer in reincarnation… so if I end up dead, my next life should be a little less difficult than this one has been. No turning back now… besides, people need to know how massive this disaster really is. If I can save one life, it’ll be worth mine. Okay, time to turn this thing off. All my subsequent posts will be dependent on the hospitality of strangers. Oh yeah… looks like Burning Man is not happening for me this year, I waited too late and the ticket prices are too high for me. So that frees up time to do some wwoofing. Who knows when I’ll get to Portland now :). It’s time to hit the dusty trail. Namaste

Independent Journalism

http://uruknet.info/?p=m67076&hd&size=1&l=e  I need another camera.  If BP is trying to keep people from seeing something, I’m going to take pictures of it.

gear

I’ve spent probably a couple hundred hours over the last 2 1/2 months searching for and buying gear for this trip.  It’s been really engrossing for me… I don’t usually like shopping, but this has been really fun for me.  Ok, so here goes:

Bags:

2 Ortlieb panniers on front wheel

small Jandd handlebar bag

Otravo rear rack bag

Bell saddle bag

Kodak beach bag used as rear pannier

Clothes:

white Ex Officio Trip’r shirt (button-up)

white long-sleeve Performance shirt (I think that’s what it’s called…)

2 pairs of UnderArmour compression shorts

1 pair padded bike shorts (not sure what kind… they were $40 at the Bicycle Shoppe)

2 pairs Ex Officio boxer briefs

1 pair Sealskinz waterproof socks

2 pairs NLZ summer socks

1 pair camo nylon shorts

Ex Officio Insect Sheild cape hat

661 clipless sandals

Franklin body cooler (it’s a bandana, you soak it in water for 5 minutes and put it on your neck)

Bike stuff:

planet bike micropro pump

Prolink chain lube

Shimano PD-A520 clipless pedals

Cateye Opticube headlamp

Planet Bike Blinky SuperFlash taillight

headlight and taillight set from Wal Mart

Mr. Tuffy liners

Bell memory foam seat cover

2 adjustable wrenchs

multi-allen wrench tool w/ screwdriver head

loose allen wrenchs

2 patch kits

2 spare tubes

2 tire levers  (1 has gorilla tape wrapped around it)

cable ties

4 bungee cords

thick cable and an alarm lock… not sure of brands

N.E.R.D. bike computer

bell

Cool stuff:

Respro Techno air filter w/ 8 replacement filters (makes me look like a ninja)

Berkey Sport water filter w/ 1 replacement filter (I can use this to clean water from just about any source)

3 Sham-Wows, 1 large, 2 small

Tarptent Contrail (under 2 lbs)

bladder from a Camelbak

2 bpa-free water bottles

sleeping pad (the one my uncle used when he hitchhiked around the country)

space blanket (haven’t bought it yet, but I’m getting one tomorrow)

Personal stuff:

Burt’s Bees sunscreen

50 SPF spray sunscreen

Aloe vera gel

Jason’s natural deodorant

Alba un-petroleum jelly

peppermint scent thingy

Mosquito Magic insect repellant (you clip it on your belt)

Celtic Sea Salt (coarse… for minerals and electrolytes)

pencil, sharpener, notebook

Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain (I’ll give it away when I finish reading it)

Downe Campsuds (for washing clothes)

1/2 bar of aloe soap (for washing myself)

toothbrush and Nature’s Gate fluoride-free peppermint toothpaste

travel floss

So I think that’s about everything I’m bringing… I want to figure out how to make another rear pannier on the cheap, as well as some empty wine bladders for water.  I also want a camera… maybe I’ll check the pawnshops tomorrow.

Back from Bonnaroo

Wow… this weekend was interesting.  I lost over $500 in 3 days.  The plan was to at least break even, but things don’t always go according to plan… it seems that the last week of my life has been a showcase for Murphy’s Law.  I still haven’t heard from my friend Mike, who was supposed to give me a ride to Bonnaroo.  I had to take a Greyhound, which was $84.  Then I sold my extra ticket to a scalper, which was a loss of another $80.  Then my stuff was stolen on 2 occasions.  I was able to keep my tent, my clothes, my glasses, and my cash.  I wasn’t able to brush my teeth for 4 days.  This is going to make the trip that much more challenging, but I’m going to do everything I can to make it to Portland.  My bike is going to be my home for the next couple of months.  I will leave on Wednesday, Thursday morning at the very latest.

Moving

So long, Charleston.  I am just getting settled in at my sister’s place in Augusta.  I generated some stress as a result of things being out of my control during the move.  I did go for a nice run to the washout on Folly Beach, and that was the highlight of my day.   I was able to convince my mom to let me stow some stuff at her place, which will be shipped to me whenever I find a place in Portland.  I might hang out at the Vipassana center in southern WA for a while once I get up there.  I feel kinda like I did when I was going to Six Flags for the first time… I’m really excited.

Itinerary

I’m back in Charleston, currently staying with my friend Ken Immer, holistic chef/owner of gRAWnola.  I just finished a 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat in Jesup, GA.  My little sister will be coming to pick me up on Sunday, and I’ll be staying at her place for a couple days until I go to Bonnaroo with my friend Jersey Mike.  I should be leaving the day after Bonnaroo, June 15, to bike back down to Jesup.  Then hopefully I’ll be able to catch a ride going southwest toward Mobile.  I plan to do some volunteering to try to help with the cleanup of the oil leak.  I’ll then be heading along the Gulf, couchsurfing and volunteering, riding about 80 miles a day or so.  I plan to stop in Bay St. Louis, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Houston, and Austin (I think I’ll stay in Austin for 2 or 3 days).  Then I’m getting a ride with my cousin Will to Weatherford, TX, where I’ll stay for another 2 or 3 days.  I’ll leave there and head northwest to Highway 380, through Roswell, into Arizona, where I will go through the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest, to the Meteor Crater, to the Grand Canyon, down through Sedona, to Flagstaff, to Phoenix, then to LA.  I plan to get to LA by August 10, because my friend Joel will be there then.  I’ll stay with him for a few days, then head up the coast.  I’ll stop in San Fransisco for a few days, then to Sacramento.  I’d like to go to Burning Man, but I don’t think I’m going to buy a ticket until a week or so beforehand.  I think that would be a good finale for the trip.  Well, the grand finale will be in Portland, OR, where I’ll stay until I decide to go somewhere else.  September 22, there’s another meditation retreat in southern WA, so I think I’ll go to that… then Jersey Mike’s moving back to Seattle in October, so maybe I’ll head up that way around that time.  So that’s the plan.  Pretty sweet, huh?