When James arrived in Pittsburgh we ended up walking about and shopping for pants downtown as I'd ruined mine days before in the fall. James was rightfully exhausted, but when we finally found what we needed we also found ourselves a long way from home without a clue as to how to return there. Had we taken bikes to meet James we might have all just ridden back, but with only James' bike for the three of us, public transportation seemed the only solution.
So we asked an eager bus driver what we should do and eagerly as ever he told us to get on. That he might have been going in the right direction was apparently an oversight on his part. After wrangling with James' fully loaded bike for a couple of minutes, we got it tenuously attached to the bike rack on the front of the bus.
It was sickening to watch the bike's girth swaying with every siezing halt along the bus route and every lurch as returned to movement...all this as the busdriver told us he'd only ever seen one bike fall off the rack before.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Oh, well, the bike was too big."
"I meant what happened next...as in how did it turn out?"
"Oh, well, it was fine the bus went right over it...the bike didn't survive though."
I imagined poor James stranded at the beginning of his trip, stranded in Pittsburgh, his bike ruined by this bus driver. Having just quit his job and left his appartment, I began to wonder what I was obliged to do in the event that his bike fell beneath this giant jamming transport. Would I be alone then on my trip? Will James spend the money on a plane ticket to meet me in San Francisco?
The bike never did actually fall, though some of his bags did work themselves open in the wind. Exposing their contents, these little open bags brought drama to an already impossible tension.
Small humble prayers, stiff wringing hands and "don't fall, don't fall, don't fall" silently repeated.
"I can't look" Kate says staring down the swaying bike.
The bus driver finally lets us off near a gas station in the middle of nowhere with instructions as to how to take a long series of busses to where we were going.
We then realized that it had clearly been a mistake getting on and that we were now further than ever from Kate's appartment. Poor James sat in the bus shelter, increasingly incredulous and grumpy at the situation into which we'd fallen.
In the end we hitch hiked back to Kate's instead of waiting for the busses.
On that note, I'd like to thank John, the fellow who took us across town in his pick up truck.
Thank you John.
That's all for this episode...I'll try to write up another tonight and post it tomorrow. It's so hard to get access to a computer out here amongst all these cornfields.
From the distances of Illinois,
this has been Eric.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Expletives were used
If anyone knows anything about Pittsburgh, they may find it of interest that I ended up going through the Squirrel Hill Tunnel by accident. It was a two-lane traffic tunnel nightmare without a shoulder and so much louder than I would have liked.
Also, Kate and I may or may not have fallen from our bicycles at 30 miles per hour yesterday. Blood.
Also, Kate and I may or may not have fallen from our bicycles at 30 miles per hour yesterday. Blood.
Now introducing…
Some of you may already know this, but to others it will be news. I will have a companion on my travels soon. I have waited to mention him until now so as to be able to introduce him properly. That’s how professional wrestlers would do it. So without further ado, it gives me great pleasure to introduce the highly esteemed and much thought over Mr. James Pearson.
(The following is an interview I had with his sister, Kate, who let me stay at her house until he arrived in Pittsburgh. At the time of this interview, James is doubtless somewhere to the north flying toward us on his two wheels with his ears a burnin’.)
Oh! he's here already...
*I will post the recording of the conversation I had with Kate and James as soon as I figure out how to do that. I apologize for the delay.
(The following is an interview I had with his sister, Kate, who let me stay at her house until he arrived in Pittsburgh. At the time of this interview, James is doubtless somewhere to the north flying toward us on his two wheels with his ears a burnin’.)
Oh! he's here already...
*I will post the recording of the conversation I had with Kate and James as soon as I figure out how to do that. I apologize for the delay.
"A blow job counts"
I rode 85 miles on the second day and 95 on the third. I’ve been staying in Pittsburgh since I arrived on Thursday night, but I will get to that in the following post; for now I’d like only to share some of the comments people have been making to me about the coming election.
First I spoke with Mary in Chambersburg, PA, about how she hasn’t voted since Kennedy or Reagan and how she doesn’t plan to vote in this election either. “I liked Kennedy and Reagan,” she tells me, “but it’s better I don’t vote so no one can blame me later when they don’t do a good job.”
I asked her if she would vote in this election had there been a candidate that she liked and she told me that she would, but that they’re all overly full of themselves. “And that Hillary doesn’t belong in office…I think about that sex scandal and with her husband and I know what is and isn’t sex, and a blow job counts…she’s tied to all that mess and I don’t think she’s ready to handle responsibility.”
Then there was Bob. He tells me it’s a decision between evils, between bad and worse, but that in the end he’s got to go with the McCain/Palin ticket on the outside chance that McCain will die and Palin will become president. Bob feels strongly that the Republican ticket has gotten reversed and that the republicans ought to have Palin out front for president and McCain in the VP slot. Pressed to put into words what exactly it was that he found so appealing about Ms. Palin, he told me that it was important to him that her husband is a blue-collar worker and that she herself, like Bob, goes hunting and fishing. Bob lives just outside of Schellsburg where he owns a small motel park and works as a wedding and portrait photographer.
Harry from Stoystown will be voting for McCain. Harry, who was himself in the Navy, feels he best relates to McCain, noting especially his promptness in making decisions as a decided virtue:
“He doesn’t hesitate. You know, it takes a great deal of judgment to be able to successfully land one of those fighter planes on the aircraft carrier and catch the wire and all; or else you go for a swim.”
Harry has told me he will not be voting for “the black one,” but that it has nothing to do with his being black. “No, no, it’s because he doesn’t know how many states there are…he said he was only campaigning in 35 of the 38.”
Harry approached me later as I was filling my water to tell me about an experience he’d had at the truck driving school where he used to teach:
“In all seriousness, I used to teach in a truck driving school, and this one time I had to drive out to Harrisburg to get some paperwork done…and I got there and had to wait hours and hours…hours and hours…and there were all these fat black people in suits walking round…and that’s about what we can expect if he wins.”
Dennis Bodinsky, who has at one time or other been a member of both of the two major parties and voted for both in different elections, says that he is leaning toward Obama in this election, but also that, “honestly, I am just so tired of all the fanfare (it’s been going on a year and half now) this time around I may not even vote…I’m just getting sick of it.” Dennis also expressed his admiration for Obama’s speaking ability, stating that of the candidates he seemed the best educated and most articulate. Dennis is a self-employed food distributor in Stoystown and the surrounding areas. His business has been suffering in tandem with the economic downturn.
Finally, I should mention Dick Mosky. Mr. Mosky had the following to offer:
“This country’s in deep shit. Bush fucked everything up…but you know what, don’t blame them, blame the people…democrats vote for democrats…republicans vote for republicans…the thing about it is they’re stupid and just trying to save their jobs…”
Mr. Mosky (who also claimed the only successful political structure we could hope for in this country would involve killing 10 politicians a day) was a hard man to follow, but I can’t help thinking there’s a striking insight glinting somewhere among all his wiliness.
Well, there were many, many more conversations than the few that I have here transcribed, but I am afraid that this is all I have time for at the moment. I must figure out how to start posting the digital interviews and pictures so that I don’t have to write it all out this way.
So much for now.
First I spoke with Mary in Chambersburg, PA, about how she hasn’t voted since Kennedy or Reagan and how she doesn’t plan to vote in this election either. “I liked Kennedy and Reagan,” she tells me, “but it’s better I don’t vote so no one can blame me later when they don’t do a good job.”
I asked her if she would vote in this election had there been a candidate that she liked and she told me that she would, but that they’re all overly full of themselves. “And that Hillary doesn’t belong in office…I think about that sex scandal and with her husband and I know what is and isn’t sex, and a blow job counts…she’s tied to all that mess and I don’t think she’s ready to handle responsibility.”
Then there was Bob. He tells me it’s a decision between evils, between bad and worse, but that in the end he’s got to go with the McCain/Palin ticket on the outside chance that McCain will die and Palin will become president. Bob feels strongly that the Republican ticket has gotten reversed and that the republicans ought to have Palin out front for president and McCain in the VP slot. Pressed to put into words what exactly it was that he found so appealing about Ms. Palin, he told me that it was important to him that her husband is a blue-collar worker and that she herself, like Bob, goes hunting and fishing. Bob lives just outside of Schellsburg where he owns a small motel park and works as a wedding and portrait photographer.
Harry from Stoystown will be voting for McCain. Harry, who was himself in the Navy, feels he best relates to McCain, noting especially his promptness in making decisions as a decided virtue:
“He doesn’t hesitate. You know, it takes a great deal of judgment to be able to successfully land one of those fighter planes on the aircraft carrier and catch the wire and all; or else you go for a swim.”
Harry has told me he will not be voting for “the black one,” but that it has nothing to do with his being black. “No, no, it’s because he doesn’t know how many states there are…he said he was only campaigning in 35 of the 38.”
Harry approached me later as I was filling my water to tell me about an experience he’d had at the truck driving school where he used to teach:
“In all seriousness, I used to teach in a truck driving school, and this one time I had to drive out to Harrisburg to get some paperwork done…and I got there and had to wait hours and hours…hours and hours…and there were all these fat black people in suits walking round…and that’s about what we can expect if he wins.”
Dennis Bodinsky, who has at one time or other been a member of both of the two major parties and voted for both in different elections, says that he is leaning toward Obama in this election, but also that, “honestly, I am just so tired of all the fanfare (it’s been going on a year and half now) this time around I may not even vote…I’m just getting sick of it.” Dennis also expressed his admiration for Obama’s speaking ability, stating that of the candidates he seemed the best educated and most articulate. Dennis is a self-employed food distributor in Stoystown and the surrounding areas. His business has been suffering in tandem with the economic downturn.
Finally, I should mention Dick Mosky. Mr. Mosky had the following to offer:
“This country’s in deep shit. Bush fucked everything up…but you know what, don’t blame them, blame the people…democrats vote for democrats…republicans vote for republicans…the thing about it is they’re stupid and just trying to save their jobs…”
Mr. Mosky (who also claimed the only successful political structure we could hope for in this country would involve killing 10 politicians a day) was a hard man to follow, but I can’t help thinking there’s a striking insight glinting somewhere among all his wiliness.
Well, there were many, many more conversations than the few that I have here transcribed, but I am afraid that this is all I have time for at the moment. I must figure out how to start posting the digital interviews and pictures so that I don’t have to write it all out this way.
So much for now.
First things first
So I carry things with me and I thought some might find an inventory of interest.
Let’s see…
One Trek 520 Touring Model Bicycle
One Axiom brand bicycle rack
Two water bottle cages mounted on frame
One Trek brand Bike computer
Two Axiom brand panniers (bike bags that mount to each side of the rack)
Credit cards, driver’s license, and voter registration card (unaffiliated)
One pen
One cellular phone and charger
One 80 gig iPod with charger
One Belkin brand digital iPod microphone
One copy of Bernard Shaw’s The Devil’s Disciple
One laptop retractable cable combination lock
One Petzl brand LED headlamp
My retainers (sigh)
Native brand sunglasses with four sets of lenses (clear, yellow, orange, and dark)
One Nikon brand D70 SLR (it’s a camera)
One chest harness to sling about my big camera and have it easily at hand while riding
One bottle of sun block
A knife
A pencil
A pencil sharpener
Some duct tape (or if you’re high spirited, “duck tape”) rolled onto a small plastic card
Some electrical tape wrapped around my seat post
A lighter
One flashing red Cat Eye brand light to deter the cars that chase me through the night
Chap Stick
A spoon
One S-Biner clip
One small bendy tripod deal
One small notebook
One large notebook
One super light 2 liter Camel Back brand water backpack
One Avenir brand handlebar bag
Two long sleeve shirts
Three white under shirts
One pair of camp pants
Three pairs of bicycle socks
Two pairs of Pearl Zumi brand bicycle shorts
Two bicycle shirts
One Bell brand bicycle helmet
One pair of Sidi brand bicycle shoes (mountain bike style so I can walk around without looking like an elf)
One MSR brand single person tent (Zoid – smells like a barn)
One pair of fingerless wool gloves
45 days worth of multivitamins and Glucosamine Condroitin with MSM for joint care
A small sewing kit
An ace bandage
Assorted band-aids
Three spare inner tubes
One patch kit
Two tire wrenches
One tire gage
One “bunch” of Emergen-C electrolyte packets
One small frame mount Topeak brand bike pump
Toothpaste/toothbrush/tongue scraper
Revlon brand nail clippers (eh)
A small bottle of Dr. Bronner’s peppermint soap
One shaving implement
One Nikon brand wide-angle lens with case
One polarized lens filter
One collapsible fill light reflector
One wool cap
One fleece neck warmer
One Topeak brand Alien II bike multi-tool
One inflatable Thermarest brand inflatable ground pad
Two camera batteries and charger
One crescent wrench
Two spare links
Maps enough to get to San Fran
One pair of Teva brand sandals
One copy of The Father Brown Omnibus of G.K. Chesterton
One stack of English vocab cards
One pair of wool socks
One pair of bike gloves
One pair of bicycle booties (they zip over bicycle shoes to keep your feet warm)
One pair of spandex leggings
One thin fleece pull-over
One REI brand raincoat
One flag (made by my darling mother) hung on a fishing rod and displaying the question “Who should I vote for and why?”
My grandfather’s watch
Um…and food
…and 5 liters of water (but I will probably carry as much as 8 across Death Valley)
Let’s see…
One Trek 520 Touring Model Bicycle
One Axiom brand bicycle rack
Two water bottle cages mounted on frame
One Trek brand Bike computer
Two Axiom brand panniers (bike bags that mount to each side of the rack)
Credit cards, driver’s license, and voter registration card (unaffiliated)
One pen
One cellular phone and charger
One 80 gig iPod with charger
One Belkin brand digital iPod microphone
One copy of Bernard Shaw’s The Devil’s Disciple
One laptop retractable cable combination lock
One Petzl brand LED headlamp
My retainers (sigh)
Native brand sunglasses with four sets of lenses (clear, yellow, orange, and dark)
One Nikon brand D70 SLR (it’s a camera)
One chest harness to sling about my big camera and have it easily at hand while riding
One bottle of sun block
A knife
A pencil
A pencil sharpener
Some duct tape (or if you’re high spirited, “duck tape”) rolled onto a small plastic card
Some electrical tape wrapped around my seat post
A lighter
One flashing red Cat Eye brand light to deter the cars that chase me through the night
Chap Stick
A spoon
One S-Biner clip
One small bendy tripod deal
One small notebook
One large notebook
One super light 2 liter Camel Back brand water backpack
One Avenir brand handlebar bag
Two long sleeve shirts
Three white under shirts
One pair of camp pants
Three pairs of bicycle socks
Two pairs of Pearl Zumi brand bicycle shorts
Two bicycle shirts
One Bell brand bicycle helmet
One pair of Sidi brand bicycle shoes (mountain bike style so I can walk around without looking like an elf)
One MSR brand single person tent (Zoid – smells like a barn)
One pair of fingerless wool gloves
45 days worth of multivitamins and Glucosamine Condroitin with MSM for joint care
A small sewing kit
An ace bandage
Assorted band-aids
Three spare inner tubes
One patch kit
Two tire wrenches
One tire gage
One “bunch” of Emergen-C electrolyte packets
One small frame mount Topeak brand bike pump
Toothpaste/toothbrush/tongue scraper
Revlon brand nail clippers (eh)
A small bottle of Dr. Bronner’s peppermint soap
One shaving implement
One Nikon brand wide-angle lens with case
One polarized lens filter
One collapsible fill light reflector
One wool cap
One fleece neck warmer
One Topeak brand Alien II bike multi-tool
One inflatable Thermarest brand inflatable ground pad
Two camera batteries and charger
One crescent wrench
Two spare links
Maps enough to get to San Fran
One pair of Teva brand sandals
One copy of The Father Brown Omnibus of G.K. Chesterton
One stack of English vocab cards
One pair of wool socks
One pair of bike gloves
One pair of bicycle booties (they zip over bicycle shoes to keep your feet warm)
One pair of spandex leggings
One thin fleece pull-over
One REI brand raincoat
One flag (made by my darling mother) hung on a fishing rod and displaying the question “Who should I vote for and why?”
My grandfather’s watch
Um…and food
…and 5 liters of water (but I will probably carry as much as 8 across Death Valley)
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
PA Junkyard
It's been brought to my attention that my previous post sounds defensive. It's true I was a little on edge from not sleeping, going on little sleep, packing my bike,and sending off some last minute emails. Oh well!
After getting two and a half hours of sleep, I set out and rode 75 miles today, and I'm staying the night in Pennsylvania just past Gettysburg.
During the ride, I got a little bit of attention from a guy who wanted to talk to me about Ron Paul, but not much else. I didn't really stop today as I've been playing catch-up. Tonight I camp in a junk yard. I was a little intimidated still I did want to talk to the owner of the junkyard about his political views. Unfortunately, he left almost immediately after giving me the "ok" to camp there.
A small dog, whose name I later learned is Maria, has been barking at the amorphous white blob of my invading tent most of the night.
Tomorrow, I will try to ride 100 miles.
After getting two and a half hours of sleep, I set out and rode 75 miles today, and I'm staying the night in Pennsylvania just past Gettysburg.
During the ride, I got a little bit of attention from a guy who wanted to talk to me about Ron Paul, but not much else. I didn't really stop today as I've been playing catch-up. Tonight I camp in a junk yard. I was a little intimidated still I did want to talk to the owner of the junkyard about his political views. Unfortunately, he left almost immediately after giving me the "ok" to camp there.
A small dog, whose name I later learned is Maria, has been barking at the amorphous white blob of my invading tent most of the night.
Tomorrow, I will try to ride 100 miles.
A Parting Shot
I am about to leave. Before I go however, I wanted to comment about something interesting that has happened since I sent out the first mailing about the trip. The responses that I have so far received fall into a couple of general categories: the “wow, cool, good luck!” replies, and the “oh, hey, you know what you should do” replies - I have been thrilled to get that kind of support, but then there’s this third category, what seems to me like a kind of social/political pressuring and I’m not sure how I ought to feel about it.
The few republicans I’ve heard back from seem cynical and to have lots of concerns about the sincerity of the project. One went so far as to say, “oh well it’s sort of too bad…if he does in fact decide to vote republican in the end, his whole generation is going to disown him.”
The Democrats, on the other hand, have been amicably threatening. They don’t seem prepared to expose me to republican thinking: I could never be convinced by their ideas, only corrupted. They are concerned that I will defect, become a turn coat, or convert.
These questions of loyalty and fidelity might reasonably come up among sports fans as they root on their team and curse the opposition, among members in a congregation of faith about those that stray, even in family where blood can be thicker than all else, but it's unreasonable where voting is concerned. The nature of this project is to try to vote based on reasons, to try to speak with people about how candidates represent their ideas, and to avoid using voting like a strategy to beat out an opposing party.
It seems that there will be speculation about my political leaning, and about whom I will vote for – both are healthy questions and I encourage them. I am however quite certain of my sincerity as regards the project itself and feel no obligations as regards my final vote. I welcome anyone (which includes members of other parties than the two mentioned above) to speak with me about their basis for electing a president.
Oh! I should add that I have made sure the sign on my bicycle does not read “whom”, but “who”. There was almost as much interest in that damn sign as there was in my well being.
That must be all for now, I have to be starting…
Ever out there,
Eric
The few republicans I’ve heard back from seem cynical and to have lots of concerns about the sincerity of the project. One went so far as to say, “oh well it’s sort of too bad…if he does in fact decide to vote republican in the end, his whole generation is going to disown him.”
The Democrats, on the other hand, have been amicably threatening. They don’t seem prepared to expose me to republican thinking: I could never be convinced by their ideas, only corrupted. They are concerned that I will defect, become a turn coat, or convert.
These questions of loyalty and fidelity might reasonably come up among sports fans as they root on their team and curse the opposition, among members in a congregation of faith about those that stray, even in family where blood can be thicker than all else, but it's unreasonable where voting is concerned. The nature of this project is to try to vote based on reasons, to try to speak with people about how candidates represent their ideas, and to avoid using voting like a strategy to beat out an opposing party.
It seems that there will be speculation about my political leaning, and about whom I will vote for – both are healthy questions and I encourage them. I am however quite certain of my sincerity as regards the project itself and feel no obligations as regards my final vote. I welcome anyone (which includes members of other parties than the two mentioned above) to speak with me about their basis for electing a president.
Oh! I should add that I have made sure the sign on my bicycle does not read “whom”, but “who”. There was almost as much interest in that damn sign as there was in my well being.
That must be all for now, I have to be starting…
Ever out there,
Eric
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
