Traffic for a Nut on a Battlefield

I am not getting the traffic I had hoped for, or the comments. I encourage you to tell your friends what a whacko I am, and where my blog is.  Every loves a good nut job! One of my long term goals here is to inspire others to take the time to look at their life, where it has been, how it got there, why it's not where they want it to be. And decide that if life is running them, they stop it, and begin making small changes so they can begin running it! Everyone doesn't have to ride 2800 miles to do that, but there comes a time in everyones life when we just have to stop and look around. Not to smell the roses, as sweet as they may be, but to see the battlefield!

New Plan - Same Goals

Well, after getting the tandem disassembled down to the bare frame, and before that, riding it for a few miles, I realized something. This bike handles unlike any other bike I have ever ridden. Not that it handles bad. Quite the opposite. It is a joy to ride, but the long wheelbase really makes it unique!

On the plus side, it is a much much more comfortable ride. Better that even a full suspension bike. Really nice. That long wheelbase really softens out the bumps. It is also a more relaxed ride. It doesn't feel very "fast", so it is somehow "comforting". It's tough to explain unless you have ridden one yourself i think. And with it being so long, I have the space I need to do with it what I want.

On the down side, it is not very maneuverable. The "not very fast" feeling I mentioned above is from the delay between bumps on the road, the slower steering, and the fact that there is almost 4 feet of bike behind me instead of less than 2. As I lean to turn, I can tell the rear tire is never where I expect it to be, but I cant really tell where it is either. I feel very "disconnected" from the rear of the bike, simply because it is further away than on any other bike. On a single person road or mountain bike, I can pretty much put it where I need it, when I need it there. This bike is never going to be so fast. I have to relearn how to handle it, and out on a wild adventure, miles from any real support system, is not the place to be making novice mistakes!
Also, as a smaller concern, it is quite heavy. Since I will be loading it down with my own gear, I will not notice an extra 20 or 30 lbs by the time it is loaded for travel! And besides, I expect to be losing that much weight as I go along!

So, given the fact that I have to train myself to drive defensively on a very different rig than I have ever rode before, and would like to be in a little better shape to start, I have decided to put off the trip until August. Still plenty of time to go, tho it may be a bit cool in Michigan by October :)

And since there is now 6-ish weeks before I go, instead of 2, I am working on an additional reason to take the trip. I have had it in the back of my mind for some time now, but given the short schedule, there was not really time to pull it all together. Well, now there is time. I will blog about it later this week.

As a teaser, I'll tell you this. I know a girl, who knows a child predator. She knows what he is. And she likes it. And you know her to. But we don't talk about these things. Too invasive.

First New Friend - Right in my own back yard!

Well, today has been really cool! This trip requires items I simply do not have, and can not afford to buy at the moment. Because of the timing of everything, I decided that I would just ask for what I needed instead or wait - again - for things to be "better" for me to go. So I put up a "shopping list" of sorts on craigs list and freecycle of several items I need. And from that I have made a friend!

This is Mary, my first new friend as a result of this adventure.

Mary's pretty cool. She's an author, a naturalist, and once-avid hiker. She has a really cool blog an Mary's Detroit Photoblog, showing and telling of things in Detroit I think we all need to know and see. I have lived in the Metro Detroit area for 27 of my 40 years, and her blog, a person who has lived here for less than 5 years, has views I never knew were there, and she offers perspectives on things that a native might never get otherwise. I was going to mention another few of her blogs, but when I said she was an author, yeah, thats kind of like saying Lake Superior is a lake! Her name above is a link to her Blogger profile, which will open you up to a vast and varied world or writing and photo blogging, well worth the time! She is also generous, funny, and not playing with a full deck either according to the stories she shared with me! Thats cool with me since, well, you all either know, or will soon learn, that my deck is entertainingly incomplete as well! The only cards you can be sure make it into my deck at all times are the Jokers, and an ace or two ;-)

She responded to the ad I put on freecycle, offering me a tent. Not just any tent now, but a Northface Tadpole. And a cool little sleeping pad. They are both very light weight, the tent sets up easily, has plenty of space for me, and packs away into a light and compact package. And not just any Tadpole, but the one she has used for years on her own hiking adventures. Thousands of miles, including when she hiked th Northville-Placid Trail in the Adirondacks of upstate NY, alone! And I get the sense that if she had the ability and opportunity to do it again, she would not think twice before packing up and heading out! In spite of discovering on one trip that a food stash of hers, 5 days worth, was found and fully enjoyed by local bears long before she got back to it! No stores around, no pizza delivery. Just a bear-tooth-dented can of tuna, and the kindness of fellow hikers along the way!

This is me holding what I am now calling "The Merry Tent".

And this is the Marry Tent, all set up. My accommodations for the 50 or so days of my trip, minus the time I am at Pa's. Cozy huh? It's gonna be great!

  

See, compared to Mary, don't I seem totally reasonable? Hush! Yes I do! lol

All joking aside, Mary is such a sweet woman, and I'm glad to have her tent with me along my journey, and her support and encouragement as I lay down to sleep each night.

The Bike

When this journey was initially birthed, the bike was, and is, a huge part of the trip. It's limitations and capabilities will play a major role in how the rest of the trip is planned and executed.
Last fall I picked up a Schwinn World Tourist, a 30 year old 10 speed, for $15. It rides great, has full fenders for riding in the rain, and is build very tough. A great bike for a long trip. Now for this trip to work as I hope, I really need a gas motor to help out. And I will be carrying a good amount of stuff with me, so I need space as well.

This is the Schwinn

Nice, right? I love vintage things. Always have. I remember when I was a kid, maybe 13 years old, I heard a friends mom threw away the old (like 1950's old) bike they had that I used to ride all the time. I asked why, because I loved riding that thing! She said "It was so old". I was like "It rode like a dream! So what if it was OLD!!!!" Ugh I was so disgusted!

Anyway, if u look closely, you don't see much space for an engine, and big saddlebags, and still leave room for a rider, do you?  Yeah, neither did I. Now, there is a great product, called a Freeradical, by Xtracycle. It is designed to give a regular bicycle the cargo hauling capabilities of a car, or more! It's a pretty incredible system, and since the first time I saw one, I knew I wanted one!

The Xtracycle system, called the FreeRadicle, and the panniers and snapdeck. 

Now there's room for me to haul everything I need, and plenty of room for the engine too. The problem with this system is my budget. What you see here will run roughly $650, not including the bike! Nope, thats out of my reach for this trip!

So, the other option is one I thought of a while ago, but never built. Then, on www.instructables.com , I saw this

A homebuilt SUB (Sport Utility Bike)

A great idea, and exactly what I intended on doing to my Schwinn. It is a great solution for what I need a bike to do, for much less than $650. Not that I think the cost of the Xtracycle system is overpriced. It's just too rich for me!

But then, I have always thought that a tandem bicycle is a much better choice for several reasons.
1) The frame and wheels are already designed to carry an additional 200 lbs at the rear, in the form of the second rider, called a stroker.
2) They typically have heavier duty brakes because they are designed for heavier loads. What goes must stop too!
3) They are actually a little longer that the SUB, and so there's a bit more flexibility in what to do with all the extra space.
4) If done properly, a tandem bike can be converted easily from load hauling monster into a two person recreation machine and back again with very little work.

Of course, a tandem, even an old one, used, is easily going to be $300 or more, and at that price point, will likely need tires and cables and maybe even long, expensive chains.

But, on craigslist, I saw this!

The ad said $75. So I sent the poster, Justin, an email asking several questions. Mainly, was it ridable, were both cranks free and what shape were the chains in. He said it was ridable, good chains, crap for brakes. I asked him if he would consider trading my Schwinn for it. He jumped at it! So, there it is. I have a tandem bike that is ridable, needs brakes and tires, for $15 (thats what I paid for the Schwinn last fall)! Man what a sweet deal!

I'll do another blog post in a few days as I repack the cranks and wheels and fix the brakes, and probably repaint it too, but for now, there is what this meat motor is going to power down to Florida on! Sweet huh?!

Shopping List

As I have spoken to people about this journey, and all the myriad of details to be worked out before I leave in July 2nd, I keep getting reminded that I should ask for this, or that. And a few have said that the best place to put this list is here on this blog. So, here is a list of things I need for my trip. If you have any of these items and no longer need them, I would be very grateful if you gave them to me instead of let them sit unused, and useless, buried in some corner any longer. Thanks so much.

Bike tire patch kit

Bike tire pump

Bike chain breaking tool

26x 1 3/8 road tires

tubes for above tires

bike tire levers

Dry milk

natural peanut butter

oats

first aid kit

spary paint (dark green would be nice :)  )

spray primer

mountain bike handlebars (with brake levers and shifters ideally)

A mini camp stove

A very small dc generator (10-20 amps @12vdc)

Brake and shifter cables

scrap hard drives from computers

LED flashlights

nimh rechargeable AA and C batteries

sun block

insect repellent (Avon Skin-So-Soft anyone?)

Protein powder

Small cooler
solar panel, 10 watt or so...
12v motorcycle battery
Rain riding gear
Tupperware food storage containers
Bubble wrap

And gift cards, to Walmart, Subway, Nashbar

Thanks

The Meat Motor

So this little tour of mine is going to be powered by 2 motors. The main engine is going to be a 40 year old, 200lb meat motor that has seen better days. The second motor is a 2 stroke engine scavenged off of a very small snowblower, about 20 years old.
This blog is about the former. This meat motor is also known as.... me. At first glance, one might respond to me with "You haven't trained for this, you don't have good equipment to this kind of trip, you haven't ridden more that 100 miles in a week in 15 years, and your overweight. You're gonna die before you make Kentucky!" I got that response from one person already. For the most part, they are right. But, I also know that Micheal on The Biggest Loser, at over 520lbs, didn't train for going on the ranch before he got there either. If a 520lb + man can get into that gym and workout for 8 hours a day, and I cant handle pedaling under my own power for 60 miles a day, shot me. Please. Seriously. Right in the head, just put me out of my misery quick!
Yeah, it's gonna be tough. Demanding. Exhausting. Draining. And tough. But it is also going to be gratifying. Empowering. Revealing. And Fulfilling.
I fully expect to be in better shape at the end of this that I was at 23! One huge thing going for me now is the pleasant fact that at 23, I smoked 2 packs a day, and today, its been more that 7 years since I smoked! I expect that to counteract any limits imposed by age.

Me at 12 - WOW I forgot how well I was built then! No, it wasn't natural, I worked for that build!

Me at 23, my youngest son, and his mom - Still built, but smoking by now. But I could still make a 21 mile ride thru metro Detroit out to the suburbs in an hour flat, on some old junk road bike, and STILL have time to smoke a cigarette halfway thru the ride. Did it every Saturday for the whole summer.

Fast forward to about 2008. I am still built! Just with all the wrong stuff! Here I am 225lbs! WOW!

That last pic was my limit. I remember putting on a pair of jeans with a 36" waist one day and commenting that they were too tight. Well, my everso helpful, but none-to-smart, 245lb wife says "Well we'll go tonight and by you some 38's." I do not remember exactly what was said, but the jist of it was this. "The hell you will! There will be NO 38 jeans in my dresser, ever. Don't you dare buy me 38's!" She explained to me that it was not right that I suffer with jeans that are too tight. Well, I concluded that day that either I was going to stop gaining weight, go naked when my 36's no longer fit, or get cut off at the waist wearing the 36's I did have. I was going to suffer because of my excess weight, just like everyone who is obese does. I just chose to suffer in a different way than most.
There was NO WAY I was going to tolerate myself getting any bigger that a 36! I know most people just buy bigger clothes when what they have no longer fits. I did too for a while. In my early and mid 20's, I wore 30's, and 32's were pretty baggy. Over the years, my weight rose. And so did my clothing size. But 36 was just it. So I topped out at 225. And stayed there for a few years. Far too long actually. Being 65lbs overweight is a big burden. Right now I weigh 205, and thats a burden! This ride will totally remake my body, and I can't wait to see the results!

Riding and Relationships

This kind of a trip takes some planning. It's amazing how many things we use on a daily basis that we don't give any thought to. The purpose of this trip, among other things, is to clear away distractions. To simplify. To Focus on what matters most. And to not focus on what doesn't matter. But, it is also about getting back to me. To the man I set out to be all those years ago. A man who liked people more. Who embraced every chance to meet new friends. Who thrived on seeing someone grow emotionally. Who loved helping people, just cuz it was the right thing to do. Who lit up a room with his presence and posture. Who didn't really care what most people thought of him, who didn't try to impress people, but still left an impression. And the guy who was always welcomed back. I was a different person 20 years ago. If I could have the charm, the confidence, the posture, the strength, the humility, the kindness I had then, and the life experience I have now, with a healthy dose of wisdom, I'd be pretty stable, focused, successful, and complete. I'd be the man that some of the most important people in my life do or will need me to be. So thats where I expect this trip to begin to take me.

Along the way to Florida, I will be meeting lots of new people. I will be blogging about them too. But I have a few friendships right now, and some that I want to grow and develop further. For any relationship to mature and deepen, there has to be communication. On a trip like this, with todays technology, that means a cell phone. And as I said, I will be blogging all the while I am on this trip. That requires a smart phone at the minimum, and preferably an internet connection for the laptop.

During my trip, I will have both, and they will both be handled by Lightyear Wireless. I will have my Windows Mobile smartphone for talk, text and web, and for the laptop that I will use for most blogging and picture uploading, I will be using a MiFi device to give me a 3G or 4G internet connection, depending on where I am along the way.

I'll have lots of time as I ride and explore, so I will test the boundaries of "unlimited talk" for sure lol! Texting will be reserved for times that I am not in the saddle riding. As dangerous as texting while driving is, I bet texting while riding is more dangerous! So if u text me and it takes a while to answer, you know why!

I hope to take lots of pictures and have a picture journal to reflect back on after this trip is finished. I expect to upload them pretty much every day, but I wont tag or comment on them until one of my resting days. So I'll be pushing the boundaries of my unlimited data plan as well :)

So my goal is to be connected to the relationships in my life while disconnecting from the influences that distract and distort me. A much taller order than it sounds for sure, but I will see.

The Birth

This trip was birthed from a memorial service video my family watched of my aunt who had passed away a few weeks back. As I sat and watched this video, this woman these people were talking about was mostly a stranger to me. I was never especially close to her, simply because we didn't see much of each other. I thought I knew her in a general sense, like you know any distant relative. But the woman these people knew was awesome! She was someone I wished I knew better, knew more, and that had known me.

Resentment washed over me for being denied a deeper relationship with her. Then regret that I never made the relationship happen. I am a big boy after all! Then shame for not realizing sooner that at any time I could have made a call, said hi, and been welcomed like an old friend. And sadness at the fact that that opportunity has past.

Quickly my mind raced around all the opportunities that still exist - who don't I know very well that if I did we both might be the better for it? Instantly he snapped to the front of my mind. Pa! My foster father. He's the best man I have ever had the honor of meeting and of spending time with. He has done more for me spiritually and emotionally that i can ever express.

And he's old. He's 96 i think. Mind still there, still with the heart of a lion and of a lamb. I have been "meaning" to visit him in Florida for the last 15 years.... Life has a way of running us, and it sure has ran me! So I think "This is the summer. That door is also closing! I won't let his life pass without spending some time with him, man to man. He has been in my life for 40 years! A lifetime of opportunity to take in the wisdom and experience of a man who leads and loves deeper that I have ever seen. And I have never take the time to get intimate with him. Well, it's time I drink from that cup finally.

But, there a few problems here! Last June I got separated from my wife of 9 years. In April the divorce was final. I made it out of the marriage with a duffel bag of clothes, a few books, and the clothes on my back. No lie!

At that same time last summer, I was needed back home, in Michigan, by my family, and all of a sudden I sure needed them! The turn of events that happened is what I call tragically good timing. So I went. To Michigan. It's major industry, the auto industry, was is such a mess no one knew from minute to minute what to expect. Michigan's economy was in a full on nose dive, and it isnt much better even today. The highest unemployment, for the longest period of time, in the entire country. There's a leadership position to be proud of!

So, fast forward to last Sunday again.

I must get to Florida this summer. Must. It is no option. It is a MUST!

But...

No money.

No car.

No job.

30 lbs overweight

Not is top shape at all.

Florida is 1200 miles away!

Well, obstacles -be-damned, I'm going!

On the up side, there isn't a single thing that keeps me here at this point in my life. This summer. Right now. Next summer, Pa may be dead. I will have job, or business, that can not go 2 months without me. I expect to have more expenses that cant be left alone for that long. I expect to have repaired and developed a few relationships that I would not want to make suffer by such a long absence. No, this trip cant wait. This is the time. It is a narrow window in my life that is open right now that allows me to do this thing. And so I am.

Now, how do I do this? How do I make this happen?

I ride. My bicycle. I put together a bedroll, and a tent and ride down to Florida. Then I think "Whoa! Thats a loooooong ride!" And it is. By the time I get done with stops along the way, it's 2800 miles round trip! I estimate I can ride 90 miles at a leasure pace and knock it down in 12 hours a day. A few hours to meet locals wherever I am that day, find a place to literally pitch a tent for the night, sleep for 9 or 10 hours, and do it all over again. Now I like bike riding, and have gone on a few 70 mile plus rides. I know it aint easy, but it has to be doable. Remember, this is a must, not a want. But even at that pace, it will take 50 days to complete the trip, counting rest days, repairs along the way, and the days spent there with Pa. 50 days on the road. Alone. On a bicycle.

The the philosopher in me started thinking. I have felt for years that I have let things influence me that have been harmful either physically, spiritually, or emotionally. Sometimes all 3! And these influences are SO hard to control, to shield against, to filter out, when life is running me. The most troubling things that have influenced me in negative ways are the ones I don't consciously know about, and don't recognize. These things have changed me, distracted me from the man I intended to be when I was 18. They have loaded me down, held me back, and thwarted my efforts for too long.

This trip to Florida, to see the most awesome man I have met, has grown into a journey of sorts. It will be a time to clear my mind. To begin to align my thoughts values ethics and morals. To evaluate the influences I have let reign over far too many years, to learn some lessons I have knowingly put off due to fear, and refresh my mind and body. God will have to handle the spirit because its WAY to big of a mess for me right now!

And of course, riding that long, that often, I have no doubt that I will NOT be overweight when I return! I expect to be back down to the appearance, physique (or better), and stamina of my early 20's.

I don't know how profound, or profoundly boring, it may be. I know that even if it isn't a time of massive shifting in my world, I will still get to see Pa, and that, my friends, is worth the trip alone. I wish you could meet him, so you can see that I am not quite as crazy as I seem :)