tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277281492024-03-14T03:27:59.025-07:00Cycledelic ("music") Tripkurt weisman, raub roy (horaflora), and dianne eveland tell of our adventures on tour, on bikes, from Maine to Florida in the august and September of 2008Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger64125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27728149.post-46047080447285815512012-01-30T22:20:00.000-08:002012-01-30T22:26:50.046-08:00Please Read!Hi! our Bike trip is well over, but if you'd like to re-read the travelogue in order, you may either skip to the first post of this blog and work backwards, or download a version of the whole thing (excluding comments) in a more readable ordering <a href="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/44092/Cycledelic%20Music%20Trip%20blog%20readable.zip">HERE</a>!<div><br /></div><div>WE hope another several chapters will be added within the next couple years, so stay tuned!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27728149.post-10028282928176651172009-05-19T14:43:00.001-07:002009-05-19T14:43:08.041-07:00Various aftermathsKinds boring, but I felt like I'd be doing a disservice to reality if <br>I didn't tell this part..<p>Basically, the trip, which I had thought would largely pay for itself <br>before we began, exhausted our savings and we even had to sell some <br>stuff (my laptop and sampler) to keep it going at times... Now that we <br>were done, we hadn't enough money to get back to San Francisco, much <br>less pay October rent once we got out there.. We ended up staying in <br>Mass for another month and a half, having picked up odd jobs, getting <br>food stamps, and staying at my dad and later sisters houses... Though <br>we eventually had the scratch to get back to SF, we were still poor <br>for months paying back loans and such, though this also had to do with <br>the economic slump and that winter in San Fran can be slow for those <br>in the hospitality biz..<p>We should certainly have obtained food stamps before we started the <br>trip, as not only would it have helped with a majority of our <br>expenses, but would've helped keep us from eating in restaurants in <br>our many fits of hungry weakness, also a major expense that we hadn't <br>budgeted for.<p>About a month after getting back from riding, I recieved an emailfrom <br>Ryan Martin, of secret boyfriend, who we played with at eaglewing <br>farms in chapel hill, who wanted to put out a split 7" with me... This <br>has since turned into a 12" and I'll be mailing off my piece and the <br>cover art shortly (like in a day) ....<p>Kurt and I played one last show the night before I flew home, at the <br>peoples pint in greenfield, which was packed full of people I love and <br>some guys that had no idea what was going on who sat down to eat at <br>the table I had set up stuff on!<p>In the weeks and months since getting back, I don't exactly know <br>what's kept me from banging out these last few entries, especially <br>seeing as I have a lot more time now than I did on tour, and managed <br>to stay pretty on top of our weekly travels, not to mention that I get <br>at least a mention a week from my mother, "time to finish the blog!" <br>which is probably what really got this done (thanks mom!!!)...<p>Now I'm sitting in a cafe on clement street in San francisco, about to <br>finish this, the last loose thread of my obligation to this cycledelic <br>continuum, and am not sure what's next.. Though my tent is on the way <br>here, and with the weather getting warmer, perhaps it's time to plan a <br>west coast tour ....<p>...To be continued...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27728149.post-67610047257192521242009-05-19T14:38:00.001-07:002009-05-19T14:38:10.907-07:00WarpFor 2 days straight we drove back from whence we came, all of our <br>stuff in the back of our rented budget van, with an improvised bed <br>consisting of all of our bedding and a weird strap that dianne devised <br>to serve as a "bedbelt" of sorts -never needed, but would've been <br>effective in case of anythin but the most devastating accident, plus <br>we had a "helmet on all the time while riding in the back" rule... No, <br>just kidding about that. I slept so well back there though, with the <br>quiet rumbling vibrations of the highway under my head - fantastic!<p>Being the only nondriver (liscense suspended in '02 for too many <br>"moving violations" in a 3 month span, mostly due to a faulty <br>brakelight I kept getting pulled over for, fixing, and having break <br>again - I refused to take a 8 hour driver safety course to get it <br>reinstated, and now bike places, viola!) meant I napped, and <br>entertained the drivers as well as I could.<p>Not too much interesting stuff happened on this last leg of the trip, <br>though we talked about stopping by somewhere neat just to break up the <br>drive a little, monetary limitations (this was at the height of the <br>gas price spike, like 4.30/gal) and just wanting to warp back <br>surreally got us back to Springfield, Mass on the eve of my 30th <br>birthday where we returned the truck to budget (after getting as lost <br>as we'd been anytime in the entire trip and right in our own backyard <br>to boot!), and wandered up to a tavern for a celebratory beer while we <br>waited for my Mom, her partner Mark, and my sister to come pick us an <br>all our stuff up, which only seemed a little silly as we could easily <br>have biked the last 30 miles ourselves, but were grateful to not have <br>to... Though perhaps mark, who had the privelege of driving with the <br>majority of our gear, would've appreciated our having ridden it, as <br>out gear smelled so terrible (completely unbeknownst to us till he <br>announced it!) after all that riding and weeks without a proper shower!<p>We apologize to anyone we came into contact with in those last few <br>weeks in particular! We just didn't realize!<p>We had ice cream and pie at my dad's place that night, and in the <br>morning rode with kurt partway back to his house, then turned off and <br>took a scenic route back to greenfield..<p>I had a birthday party that night at my sisters house and the next <br>morning I was 30, dirt poor, home, and stranded with Dianne in <br>Massachusetts.<p>Sweet.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27728149.post-88266872649596377072009-05-19T13:35:00.001-07:002009-05-19T13:35:19.498-07:00Athens and AtlantaWe followed our directions to an industrial area, and down a dirt road <br>that we weren't too sure about, but ultimatrly led us to a small <br>parking area and a compound of small artist spaces across a bridge <br>over a little dried up moat... This is where we found kurt, who had <br>arrived the night before! The show was billed as being at a bike shop/ <br>collective(?) called ben's bikes, which was a very small shop in one <br>of the artist spaces there... I recall being a bit confused and <br>anxious as to where we'd actually end up playing! As we hung around <br>waiting for the other bands to arrive, I had a lookabout a big section <br>of the building that was only a roof and rubble, though there was a <br>large fenced off portion that contained hundreds of old bikes, <br>presumably to be used as parts by ben...<br>Getting back to the main hang out area in front of ben's, I joked that <br>we were going to play in the big dilapadated area, only to find a <br>short time later that the joke was on me, and that was indeed where we <br>were to play!<br>People with long extension cords and lights started showing up and <br>before we knew it, a psuedo-livingroom had materialized, couches and <br>all!<br>As the first band<p> (INSERT!!!!)<p>played, the space filled out with people, one if the biggest crowds <br>we'd had on the trip, which was pretty neat considering the improvised <br>space the show was in<p>(INSERT)<p>As I recall, kurt played next, loveley-ly, and then Theo, our main <br>contact from orange twin (an intentional community and record label) <br>played a short and sweet set of acoustic punk tunes with intricate and <br>tricky sung-spoken lyrics (which was invigorating and excellent).<br>I played last, and though all but 2 batteries for the dictaphones were <br>dead (leaving the chimes portion a lonely single player) the rest went <br>well and people seemed to like it, including Heather, who, then and <br>there invited me to be on a copmilation cd of experimental Athens (and <br>me) based music.. That should be out sometime in 2009, I believe!<br>After the show we headed downtown for pizza, then back to "the <br>hanger", an old airplane hanger in the middle of town that now houses <br>several regulars and any number of transients (like ourselves) on any <br>given day - and a bike welding shop for making double (and taller!) <br>framed bicycles that one must mount from a ladder! Dianne and I hung <br>out with the welder and some of the occupants, and tried a couple <br>bikes before hitting the sack - this time the sack was 2 couches in <br>the entrance if the hanger, and with the doors left open, all sorts of <br>sounds of autumnal Athens night joined us in sleep!<p>That was Wednesday. Wednesday the 15th of September. We were<br>due in Atlanta on the 17th - usually, we'd've to start riding <br>immediately, but since we now had the van, it meant a little vacation <br>in Athens as we only had an hours ride ahead of us!<br>In the morning, we headed out for coffee, breakfast, and exploring the <br>uunivrrsity campus... Donations from the show had been good, and with <br>no proper venue to share the door with, we were all somewhat rich! <br>(thus facilitating coffee and breakfast)<br>We wandered all around downtown Athens, checking out a sweet comic <br>book store, a pretty sweet record shop, and a really quite sweet used <br>bookstore (where I picked up carlos castenadas fourth book, the fire <br>within on dan friendly's recommendation....<br>(I still haven't finished it (but have read other books in the <br>interim) for the record, maybe now that I'm wrapping up this story...)<br>Time to eat! After a thorough investigation, we hungrily settled on a <br>seemingly cheap taco place, which ended up much more expensive than we <br>wanted... An hour later we ran into someone from the hangar who <br>informed us that food not bombs was going on - darnit!<br>We headed back towards the hangar.<br>Stopping at a goodwill along the way, we grabbed some national <br>geographics (echoes of the first entery here) and I attempted to <br>bargain for a part of a walker that I thought I could use to extend <br>the comfort of my handlebars even further - they wanted too much <br>though, and left with 3 natty geo's only..<br>Back at the hangar we read, rode, and practiced our tall bike mounting <br>before passing out in theo's room this time - a death metal band was <br>staying on the couches that night.<br>It was Friday morning - the last show I the trip! We were able to go <br>have coffee, witness an unbelievably loud Bluetooth user drive several <br>people from an outdoor general use patio, and were all packed up with <br>plenty of time to spare.<p>The drive to ATL was uneventfull, kurt sat in the middle, Dianne <br>drove, and I navigated - at one point, as we approached Atlanta <br>proper, we realized that we hadn't figured out where the venue, <br>wonderoot, was and pulled off the highway so I could surf for wifi, <br>which I immediately found at a motel 6, and though locked, a quick and <br>confident word with the front office secured me access, directions, <br>and away we went!<p>A brief traffic jam later, we pulled into wonderoot, dropped off our <br>stuff, an went to find dinner in a quite cool area called the <br>(something) patch.. Over dinner, kurt and dianne joked about her being <br>ready for her performance, and it being only a few days from my <br>birthday, I got paranoid that my father may have put them up to some <br>embarassing shenanigans that would take place at the show! The more <br>they denied it, the more anxious I got!<br>Upon our return, we met the 2 girls that we were to play with, and a <br>couple guys that ran the PA and did the door... These are the only <br>people that ended up showing up, so we all just played to each other, <br>the first girl strummed an acoustic guitar and improvised lyrics for <br>10 minutes, then kurt went on and improvised a guitar piece that had <br>me wishing I had been recording, it was so spot on! He did a couple <br>more tunes, and cut it short.<br>The second girl (can't remember names<br>Right now, can look up, but if you see this, I didn't) played a string <br>of fancy effect units in a dynamic noise style.<br>I played last and by all accounts, nailed it - I think I put in some <br>extra energy to sort of spite those that hadn't come out, if you know <br>what I mean - teach them to not support improvised underground touring <br>musicians!<p>It was suggested that we go to an experimental open mic that was <br>already infer way, which we did, but was already too booked, so we <br>watched a couple acts and left... To go home to Massachusetts...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27728149.post-58549760796480693352009-02-19T14:36:00.000-08:002009-02-19T14:39:22.738-08:00Truckin!So... thrift shops...<br /><br />These thrift and goodwill shops were the vintage collector/resellars dream... Old adidas hoodies and such for 2 dollars, a few treasures at every shop... But for lack of funds and cargo space we were limited to a pair of deck shoes (that might not be what they're actually called) and some wool socks.<br /><br />As soon as we left this adorable little community, we were in farm and watershed land for miles and miles... We soon realized that we had gone wrong too many times, the wrong turn, taking too long to camp and waking up late as result, and stopping at those thrift shops all had taken too much of a toll and we were in serious doubt as to whether we'd make it to Athens on time... This, combined with our predicament on getting home is what led to our charting a course for Greenville, on order to pick up a budget rental truck!<br />On Truckin:<br />Now, you, dear reader must understand that this was near tantamount to a failed mission for us, but with only a few hundred dollars left, including kurt's alleged $30, it was actually going to be cheaper to drive back in a 2 day sprint, than to stay on the road the 16+ more days necessary to bike back... Not only do our appetites require more than that amount would get us while riding, but just to get back and start working again (kurt in particular needed to get some shifts in before October rent was due) was a need... We had dome the math, and even in the current gas market (this was right after the Texas refinery fire... Only the week before we had been passing gas stations either completely out of gas) and with the low mileage afforded us by a large moving truck, we figured we could just make it..<br />...we were worried about what kurt would think, as we were out of touch with him for a few days, but figured that we kind of had no choice... So neither did he!<br /><br />We ultimately made this decision at a crossroads where we could venture 25 miles to Greenville, where we could pick up such a rental car, or continue 160 miles to Athens (my numbers may be off)... We made a reservation with budget for the next day, and headed out on the road to Greenville...<br /><br />That night, we got a bunch of junk food and a can of greens for dinner, and found a very peculiar place to eat and camp... From the road it looked like a church with a small graveyard and a largish field, with a perimeter of trees, but upon investigation, we found there to also be a playground and a large hangar/auditorium building, which emitted some strange dance music and rock sounds a few times... With the church there, we guessed there was a Christian youth group listening to Christian rock music, and of course a Christian dj in between sets.<br />In the playground was a play structure modelled after a house, with a roof, and as it had started raining, we decided to take our dinner in there... Though upon climbing the kid size ladder and looking around, we found the interior decorators choice of decorating materiels somewhat creepy... All around us were fake flowers, little flags and a couple little stuffed animals, which I immediately presumed had been stolen from the adjacent graveyard! Dianne wasn't so sure, but I know graveyard décor when I see it, and this was it!<br />After creepy dinner, we nestled into the (also creepy) forested perimeter to sleep.<br />The next morning, I was very pleased to get an early start!<br /><br />Our ride to the greenvile budget rental place was largely uneventful... We got the truck (though the smallest one was broken, so we had to get the next size up, unfortunately) and were away!<br /><br />Weird being in a truck after 2 months of (mostly) not having been... Suddenly what would have been a 14 hour ride became a 1 hour ride, and after eeking out a wifi connection immediately into Athens, we got directions to the show and were there in minutes! What an amazing contraption, this "truck"!<br /><br />on to meet kurt...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27728149.post-60730332722069481962009-01-19T21:16:00.001-08:002009-02-19T14:36:50.017-08:00sick, stranded in the black mountains... sorry for the IMMENSE delay, dear readers...<br /><div class="gmail_quote"> <br />So we were up on the parkway, I was ill, we had just slept illegally in a picnic area, and shortly thereafter waking, were alerted to the possibility of help or trouble when a park ranger truck tooled into the area... Quickly deciding that we needed help more than we were concerned with getting in trouble, we (dianne) approached the guy, who was out collecting trash, and got very little trouble or help from him indeed! He told us about the proper campground down the way, and warned us that if the ranger (apparently this was but a minion of a more powerful head ranger) caught us at the picnic site, we'd be fined... Ok. Thanks for next to nothing. Kurt and Dianne set out for the campground (oh yeah, there is a store there... The one helpful thing learned from baby ranger!) whip I set about deconstructing our set up and trying to look like I hadn't just slept there in the event a real ranger did swing by... He didn't.<br /> <br />After a bit, the team returned with the news that the camp store was really close, and had food... Excellent! They had also asked the staff about the reality of getting across the closed section of the parkway on bike... Someone seemed to think that it was actually legal for cyclists to cross, and everyone was pretty sure that some had done it regardless of legality... Good news, sort of.<br /> <br />We ate, got some supplies, and headed out... I wasn't sure I felt totally up to it, but was gonna give it a shot...<br /><br />Just out of the campground, the fog was thicker than the graveyard in a cheap 80's horror flick...<br /><br />I think we got a few miles or so when I realized that I was just way too sick to make it to ashville, or indeed anywhere really! We decided to split up, kurt would hightail it to ashville, where hopefully there'd be a show ready for him, and dianne and I would just get to the camp on top of mt Mitchell, which wasn't too far ahead, and was as far as one could travel legally in the parkway... If kurt got caught and turned away, we'd meet him there.. Otherwise, the plan was to catch up as well as we could once I was better.<br /> <br />Off went kurt, and after a somewhat lengthy nap, off we went too.<br /><br />The ride to the campgroung was slow and grueling, I couldn't tell for myself if it was all that steep or I was just too weak, dianne assured me that it was me, as it wasn't nearly as bad as rt80 the day before!<br /> <br />We eventually arrive at the Mt Mitchell state park and campground a bit before dusk, a little disappointed to find the restaurant to be closed, but exceedingly pleased with the campground - only 9 sites, piled one on top of the next up a particuarly vertical section of the mountain so that everyone had a balcony seat view, of you will.<br /> <br />Using the book dianne had just finished as kindling, and borrowing a small axe from a neighboring site, we eventually got a decent fire going, on which we grilled some pears we had picked earlier in the week ... Delish!<br /> <br />The next morning, we went to investigate the restaurant, had breakfast and found out that they'd allow us to buy food items from them at grocery store prices which was excellent news.<br /><br />We wandered along a path after breakfast, picking wild raspberries that grew in great abundance up there until I grew tired (still a bit ill) and had to rest in some shade before continuing on to our campsite. At some point my cellphone found itself a signal (hadn't had one since early friday) and got a message from Kurt which appeared to still be fresh - he said he was at a community bikeshop in Ashville fixing his spoke... I called back and he was still there! He had gotten into Ashville on Friday night just fine, but came to find that no show had been set up after all, which suited him just fine and he went out and enjoyed a giant drumcircle in the town square before heading out of town to camp... and would get started towards Greenville that night... oh, and he was down to his last $30! uh oh!<br /> <br />The sunset that night was extraordinary! we grilled veggie burgers and more pears and I accidentally melted my sandals.<br /><br />Sunday morning finally found me feeling better (able to keep down food, that is!) and after one more breakfast at the restaurant, took off to catch up with Kurt, who was supposed to be getting to Greenville, SC that night.<br /> <br />Down the mountain, and back on the parkway, a moment of tension as we crossed the barrier to the closed part of the parkway was dissipated as a family on recumbents came down the hill towards us - if a full family can ride on this road, so could we!<br /> <br />The ride along the closed section was lovely and refreshingly car free! we finally got to see the broken down section of road - lots of pavement breaking down, but plenty of room for a couple bicycles, and then we crossed the barrier on the other side and were home free!!<br /> <br />As I recall, we got into Ashville around 3pm... headed for the downtown to try to first find a coffee shop with free wi-fi, and secondly use that wi-fi to figure out our options for catching up with kurt and the schedule (the next place we had to be was in Athens on the 16th - about 170 miles in 2 days... possibly possible) and then how to get home on what little money we had left! We found a nice cafe and quickly discovered that my old friend Ian worked there! Ian hooked us up with oatcakes for later, bagels and smoothies for there, and we had a very pleasant visit!<br /><br />We figured that we could possibly make it to athens by showtime on tuesday if we just buckled down and rode, though trains and rental cars were researched as options too... the main problem, besides getting to the last 2 shows in Athens and Atlanta, was then getting back - Dianne was the only one with any significant amount of money left, and I had told her that the trip would pay for itself! There's a number of reasons we fell short of our budget in the end, which I'll get into as an afterword, perhaps, ok?<br /><br />We thanked Ian, headed out, and got almost to the S. Carolina border when our route suddenly turned into highway and we were forced to take a backroad around... but missed a turn and ended up man miles to the east of where we were meant to be... we only realized this as we rode into a little town called Saluda just north of the border... I think we got there around 10pm, and though we were off course, decided to stay in or somewhere near this town as it was just too cute, with a bunch of little cafes and diners for us to go to in the morning, thusly alleviating the usual morning search for just such a place(s)!<br /> ...unfortunately we had an incredibly hard time finding anywhere to set up camp, riding in every direction for a couple miles finding only houses and steep hills... we finally decided to just dig into the town and try to find a weird little nook somewhere near the main street... sure enough, just up one of the (incredibly steep) side streets, was a church with some promising looking grounds... lots of little sections blocked off by bushes... which at 2:30am we finally found an appropriately well hiddden section and tucked in for the night.<br /><br />We woke up well after our 7am alarm clock went off, and headed into town for a greasy spoon breakfast consisting of every breakfast food there is, and it all came to under 10 dollars! Weirdly, the silverware was presented in little plastic bags... like as a sanitary measure? How strange...<br /><br />Heading on our way again, we enjoyed a 4 mile twisty turvy downhill that brought us right into another adorable little town... all told, there were 3 successive little towns that we went through, stopping in each one to look at the adorable little thrift stores (I was looking for something to replace my sandals and a new t-shirt, as my main one was thoroughly disintegrated) even though we knew we were in a hurry!<br /><br />ok, going to bed, but more tomorrow....<br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27728149.post-964520488452451522008-11-03T08:46:00.001-08:002009-02-19T14:36:50.018-08:00route 80how beautiful! a quiet mountain road lined with shady trees and a creek, traveled only by those who want to take the scenic route or live on the mountain...in other words drivers are slow and cautious. we had the road to ourselves. we winded around lake tahoma...it was a beautiful afternoon! i was listening to an ipod shuffle that raub had loaded with various artists and they were perfect for that ride, a wonderful soundtrack. he has an awesome talent for that. i was getting carried away with daydreaming and life...grinning from ear to ear. the road twisted left and right and started to get a bit hilly. we thought no big deal. the span of the 80 we had to travel was only 12 miles. easy! the hill started getting steeper. flat tires. breaks were happening more often. we were bored of the food we had with us...one can only eat so much peanut butter. we were getting slower. the fog started rolling in as we neared the top. the sun started to go down. we were still about 3 miles from where we were supposed to pick up the blue ridge parkway. frustration set in for all of us. i was exhausted. no longer was i feeling daydreamy or grinning. raub seemed to enjoy the hill. i couldn't stand it. i hate going slow on my bike. i think kurt just wanted to get it over with. we were all excited about riding the blue ridge parkway and anticipating asheville, people from everywhere were sure that is was going to be the best of the trip. all we had to do was get to the top of this darn mountain...we had measured the miles but paid no attention to the altitude we had to climb...2000 ft. yes! TWO-THOUSAND! we somehow managed to reach the top and guess what! the blue ridge parkway was closed. no explanation. just a sign. it was so dark and so foggy. we were nearly out of water. we knew there was a nearby campground in which to stay for the evening. we needed the facilities. while searching for the campground kurt's spoke broke. we were getting cold and had no idea of what the terrain was going to be like because we couldn't see. the campground was only 4 miles away. that could take all night at the pace we were going. we started to feel a bit of a panic and decided that if a car was to pass that we would flag them down for information. we had a lot of questions...why is the parkway closed? what is the terrain like between here and the campground? where could we find water? is there a store for food nearby? it had been a while since we had seen a car and because it was late weren't sure if we would see one for a while. raub and i sat on the side of the road and tried to make a plan while kurt fixed his bike. we weren't sure if we had to go back down the 80. we had spent all day climmbing this darn mountain and we might have to go back down. it was unnerving. we weren't even sure if it would be safe to ride down because of the weight in our trailers. they could easily push us out of control. just before we started to realy freak out, we noticed headlights of a car approaching. raub and i quickly jumped to our feet and flagged down the car. the small suv slowed to a stop just beside raub. he greeted them in his friendly way but it took them a peculiar amount of time to roll down their window and when the gentleman driver did, he only rolled it down a little less than halfway. we were thrown off by this as everyone we had encountered so far was extremely friendly and helpful. it seemed as though they were affraid of us. raub gave them a rundown of our situation to which they were shocked and appalled that we even had the idea to travel the area on bicycle. it was quite a while before we were able to get any information from them. the gentleman was a joker, asking about our herritage, the story of raub's name, how beautiful i was and possibly the other woman in our group...hahaha...which was kurt in the dark fixing his bike. we corrected him and he finally gave us some information...DO NOT TRAVEL ON THE BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY. IT WOULD BE A GRAVE MISTAKE! he was adamant. he said we would have to go back down the 80. he kept repeating it, assured us that is was a short, not too steep ride to the campground for the night and if there was an emergency, an emergency only, we could ride to his house for help. he gave us directions, warned us again about the blue ridge parkway and drove off. yikes! here we were in the dark cold fog on top of a mountain in north carolina with a broken bike and low spirits about what tomorrow had in store for us. we slowly rode to a rest stop we found before the campground. it had a bathroom and water, that's all that we needed. we set up camp and went to sleep for the first time feeling a little defeated. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27728149.post-29838555162876327532008-09-28T09:45:00.000-07:002009-02-19T14:36:50.018-08:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNFqO7gbkiCQ58KCyiC_J94lwH6Xo4gjj1hJaCASf9Oa_ecLuhSP52Jxl1TM7sk2ojJ9sROmFvQhyphenhyphengfIVLpQ5kNze-bAGquZIx8ig7Zg6eiyP5u4SGD-tc8nCGy-5uoi5PA5UI2g/s1600-h/IMG_3805.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNFqO7gbkiCQ58KCyiC_J94lwH6Xo4gjj1hJaCASf9Oa_ecLuhSP52Jxl1TM7sk2ojJ9sROmFvQhyphenhyphengfIVLpQ5kNze-bAGquZIx8ig7Zg6eiyP5u4SGD-tc8nCGy-5uoi5PA5UI2g/s320/IMG_3805.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251115503919615346" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQuxs9z4OPgTzxVs7fA9x-bCB3sBTDZO200PmGDv9U9zPZHz8mZqmrhqEEndueaOZChg_wAe_B3IwAZRERRAFL0fcJonZPM9FSUT4x1korxtQNgVnH31gADdnRo4G9vGa-QVeqdA/s1600-h/IMG_3810.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQuxs9z4OPgTzxVs7fA9x-bCB3sBTDZO200PmGDv9U9zPZHz8mZqmrhqEEndueaOZChg_wAe_B3IwAZRERRAFL0fcJonZPM9FSUT4x1korxtQNgVnH31gADdnRo4G9vGa-QVeqdA/s320/IMG_3810.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251115506567709154" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuh8gz2gTNZ5BOOnpscgBu0Fh1y0QutBMRVSaehiyVtimZT-6TXLjtpXc-spb1jXlDP3N9lHCIBB88JRJq39AyLddtoSICHbkbK3z9U_tJOlhMF26-e8ixkN3GtGkCBQij51F7zg/s1600-h/IMG_3813.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuh8gz2gTNZ5BOOnpscgBu0Fh1y0QutBMRVSaehiyVtimZT-6TXLjtpXc-spb1jXlDP3N9lHCIBB88JRJq39AyLddtoSICHbkbK3z9U_tJOlhMF26-e8ixkN3GtGkCBQij51F7zg/s320/IMG_3813.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251115510397041906" /></a>Disassembling camp the morning after we left Chapel Hill, bike/trailer shot, kurt and raub pose our neck warmers.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27728149.post-88493967765483278492008-09-28T09:44:00.000-07:002009-02-19T14:36:50.018-08:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcqv_SV4cuvbIF9hMgeZBpYkqzZbA0pBDBYHNi2WLQU7AZSx-g7V7xMB5WE-8BTJ8j90uTrl7IsG-WAYy12elP2YyO89rt6N4nkMbiWIlZAqKdojVcqY3kwt1oxoHRenqTyIVoPA/s1600-h/IMG_3793.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcqv_SV4cuvbIF9hMgeZBpYkqzZbA0pBDBYHNi2WLQU7AZSx-g7V7xMB5WE-8BTJ8j90uTrl7IsG-WAYy12elP2YyO89rt6N4nkMbiWIlZAqKdojVcqY3kwt1oxoHRenqTyIVoPA/s320/IMG_3793.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251114209033499522" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8UA-o4kFLB7FGOPRiKE4cslcS1Qgqx2wruscQUc_X5zaKtGk7e3-GA6XhhS_jdRpY8TYtwadmBq1Qj3bZuUjQgiEBe1el11snFXlj46JZYWyf9V8EnIvsRxBp6sSqtvnqDMrV8g/s1600-h/IMG_3796.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8UA-o4kFLB7FGOPRiKE4cslcS1Qgqx2wruscQUc_X5zaKtGk7e3-GA6XhhS_jdRpY8TYtwadmBq1Qj3bZuUjQgiEBe1el11snFXlj46JZYWyf9V8EnIvsRxBp6sSqtvnqDMrV8g/s320/IMG_3796.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251114211611952386" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK_Gas6HZEtohYxW7gIcrs4pIjWH11EUC9DKQoB1SQ9tUFrvgUqb8L_SlVIUnMT1Kx6kEKFCTxG0Ey4CzRBdjvAey2LaCYn6KSPcpqG-4jPwbzWAt88bK0G5xQXb9E5WlrPUxE4A/s1600-h/IMG_3802.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK_Gas6HZEtohYxW7gIcrs4pIjWH11EUC9DKQoB1SQ9tUFrvgUqb8L_SlVIUnMT1Kx6kEKFCTxG0Ey4CzRBdjvAey2LaCYn6KSPcpqG-4jPwbzWAt88bK0G5xQXb9E5WlrPUxE4A/s320/IMG_3802.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5251114210024437090" /></a>Raub at Eaglewins Farm, Chapel HillUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27728149.post-86079235095504134562008-09-27T15:20:00.000-07:002009-02-19T14:36:50.018-08:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHoLCbjr_cLC5f1ABykdIIRfBIXnMNFJyRIFWsaszSAJRzfdFj114rjQ35Qf0ZxQWbWtR2WQMVc6Vm3V0sXz1io5Pkg2KHYO6MtT0QJV0Red9fRlJ8sG1godJY0Ie5FaErEh59ww/s1600-h/IMG_3771.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHoLCbjr_cLC5f1ABykdIIRfBIXnMNFJyRIFWsaszSAJRzfdFj114rjQ35Qf0ZxQWbWtR2WQMVc6Vm3V0sXz1io5Pkg2KHYO6MtT0QJV0Red9fRlJ8sG1godJY0Ie5FaErEh59ww/s320/IMG_3771.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250829794071544354" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgglk7TowXGoiDMN284Ydo5fzbWFGS_kiHzW8nvgXvBd5Tnq3aFM25kXdxST9S9XGwrygODj4xYsLTE-75y6-zU5EX3I9ZjsEfweiakGLs7aNUlWG1Okp5oy8rfQlpY9Tmzck52XQ/s1600-h/IMG_3779.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgglk7TowXGoiDMN284Ydo5fzbWFGS_kiHzW8nvgXvBd5Tnq3aFM25kXdxST9S9XGwrygODj4xYsLTE-75y6-zU5EX3I9ZjsEfweiakGLs7aNUlWG1Okp5oy8rfQlpY9Tmzck52XQ/s320/IMG_3779.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250829797370034674" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWiw1H1i8x4l2SlPV5u6fJbCuCTyP7w-WtIW72sPW1tcOgcvMRwH0xx2HmXJFfX_zOQPc7OEjnlnGwCxnFiuddhGnbOrDeHqCmRuVqJPXVv6OBeqnIdPqpbowX5Aod6-11sNaVcQ/s1600-h/IMG_3788.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWiw1H1i8x4l2SlPV5u6fJbCuCTyP7w-WtIW72sPW1tcOgcvMRwH0xx2HmXJFfX_zOQPc7OEjnlnGwCxnFiuddhGnbOrDeHqCmRuVqJPXVv6OBeqnIdPqpbowX5Aod6-11sNaVcQ/s320/IMG_3788.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250829797384901522" /></a>Eaglewing Farms, Chapel Hill scenes:<div>Raub edits new tape work in the studio, felt battery playing, kurt playing<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqGJMdjwNnUPzIUUGxvwcdjok2Y0dSbtREmYC6lwMsxDVjcqXQfsp-gjsFOaDDflA2UNgneO9RqxWXaVUVG1Xh1WNlqkl8an2PsjOTGqANlW4Xzws_HQZV1jBpWjyI8eUIizU3fw/s1600-h/IMG_3789.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqGJMdjwNnUPzIUUGxvwcdjok2Y0dSbtREmYC6lwMsxDVjcqXQfsp-gjsFOaDDflA2UNgneO9RqxWXaVUVG1Xh1WNlqkl8an2PsjOTGqANlW4Xzws_HQZV1jBpWjyI8eUIizU3fw/s320/IMG_3789.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250829795642309362" /></a><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27728149.post-64620450529012821512008-09-27T15:14:00.000-07:002009-02-19T14:36:50.019-08:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6G5kPcHMaIV9G4T6w3H7iLCFEkFnxFQbzFT4mtl2pca1NtQW5AiCsDgG70BUCIAx23p3TmHSG9VmkTjLDz1SRyKmOFNQo0k86CYOmnW48jd7r2hyz31eZd5MUUVUSp-vakmmwDA/s1600-h/IMG_3761.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6G5kPcHMaIV9G4T6w3H7iLCFEkFnxFQbzFT4mtl2pca1NtQW5AiCsDgG70BUCIAx23p3TmHSG9VmkTjLDz1SRyKmOFNQo0k86CYOmnW48jd7r2hyz31eZd5MUUVUSp-vakmmwDA/s320/IMG_3761.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250828510006370290" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggaUaMMbLOjt2BysInH-xjEWgUpFu2jPYATn7a1PZHE5Vswk_dDM0aIkcuYDOSvsEhFyKui_1vGEiZNpQCHcnk3J7rezu9dOReHbbNWznOX7B5vTQynqZmlJLJlBMaTbPOqfNmTA/s1600-h/IMG_3767.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggaUaMMbLOjt2BysInH-xjEWgUpFu2jPYATn7a1PZHE5Vswk_dDM0aIkcuYDOSvsEhFyKui_1vGEiZNpQCHcnk3J7rezu9dOReHbbNWznOX7B5vTQynqZmlJLJlBMaTbPOqfNmTA/s320/IMG_3767.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250828507853006450" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWV-HN5AyGmGID7OZzydfMtmshc6rpuQFQU5q-YMeBoF42Skvy-FFyMZaZ3nqVmQROZ1gQ9l8hRaweSqZ1gHzGnW3LX6V8d3u46Aq6s32ktEDuaVTnYp9Pbhnyn2htDQ4AO-3U0Q/s1600-h/IMG_3768.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWV-HN5AyGmGID7OZzydfMtmshc6rpuQFQU5q-YMeBoF42Skvy-FFyMZaZ3nqVmQROZ1gQ9l8hRaweSqZ1gHzGnW3LX6V8d3u46Aq6s32ktEDuaVTnYp9Pbhnyn2htDQ4AO-3U0Q/s320/IMG_3768.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250828513903537442" /></a>one of our camps in the morning, side of the road break in NC, Raub tapes sunglasses to his helmet, can't understand what's so funny about it.... realizes now that it LOOKS funny.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27728149.post-52671616203658196622008-09-27T10:21:00.000-07:002009-02-19T14:36:50.019-08:00We rode bikes, played music. A lot.Before I move on, i'd like to recognize that these posts are of no <br>little stature, and I figure those of you inclined to read them might <br>like a break from the excess, and with that, I refer to a "lost" day, <br>when we rode bikes, played a show, ate, slept, and was unmemorable <br>enough to be wholly discounted thus far... Until now. Hope I didn't <br>just bore the ____ out of ya, but that's what'd be like without the <br>stuffing. Siiit.<p><br>Sent from my iPodUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27728149.post-73437304115487084292008-09-26T12:54:00.001-07:002009-02-19T14:36:50.019-08:00Journeys to AshevilleWe hung around eaglewing farms until early afternoon on Sunday, <br>organizing and rearranging our stuff, patching old tubes, and planning <br>our routes for the next couple legs of the journey... One of which, <br>charlotte, was decided to be a waste of our time within an hour of our <br>planning our route to it.. No show lined up, and an extra days riding <br>when we could put some of that extra time into getting to Asheville, <br>which is nestled 3000 feet up the appalacian mountains, and which, <br>while we still didn't have a show there (we'd thought we did, but in <br>Norfolk found out that the people who ran the place hadn't really <br>committed ever and now couldn't do it), we had contacts working on <br>getting us one so it seemed like more of a destination.<br>We headed to a bike shop in downtown chapel hill for some new brake <br>pads for Dianne, and a trailer tire tube for me, though when we got <br>there, new handlebar tape seemed like a good idea to get as well (my <br>$8 tape had fallen off around Richmond and I was using zip-away pant <br>legs to pad my grip) so we got those, and a tire pressure gauge, <br>which, when the old pump had broken after the exploding tires of <br>Williamsburg incident, our replacement did not include one of... My <br>Mom bankrolled all of this as we were getting low on funds, and any <br>more would be awhile in coming, thanks mom!<br>One of the mechanics at the bike shop had done and blogged a bike tour <br>too, and I keep meaning to vheckbit out, perhaps when I get home! I <br>think it was "<a href="http://findrich.blogspot.com">findrich.blogspot.com</a>".... Someone check that, see how <br>it is...!<br>We set out only to stop again at a co-op for awhile before really <br>setting out in earnest, getting a good ways out of the city before <br>finding a nice big field to camp in for the night... Dianne and I had <br>an utterly flavorless bean and corn with tortilla dinner... Always <br>pack spices!<br>Honestly, the next week was a little all mixed together in my memory, <br>as it was just riding from Monday to Friday, and though there was <br>stuff to break it up, I may get some of the timeline wrong, ok?<p>Monday, sept 8:<br>We headed up the road for not too long before we all noticed a sign <br>for good homemade breakfast around the corner, a mile down the road... <br>I was dissappointed to take note of it's Thursday through Sunday <br>hours, but apparently nobody else noticed because a minute later we <br>had turned down the road the place was on.. I asked kurt if this was <br>our route, and he responded curtly that it was "the road we're on.".. <br>Hmm. maybe this was also just the way to go, I didn't exactly know, <br>and we were sort of taking turns navigating, the navigators decisions <br>having bren deemed best left unchallenged, lest the apparition of <br>bickering or the spectre of second guessing get into the fray.. Kurt's <br>response was a little flip, then, being the navigator and finding his <br>choice questioned, not to mention the before coffeeness of the whole <br>thing!<br>When we arrived at the cafe only to find it closed, of course, I took <br>my turn at being curt by grumbling that if anyone had taken a second <br>to mention to me that we were going to this closed cafe, I could have <br>spent my time more wisely heading up the street to an open <br>establishment... flipped my bike around and took off to do exactly <br>that.. Yes, things sometimes got tense! This tension would lurk We had <br>gas station coffee and cereal that morning at a weird place; they had <br>3 computers on a long card table, under a sign that advertised <br>"Internet cafe", though as we started signing into our gmail accounts, <br>the attendant came over and took the keyboards away from us (!) <br>explaining that it was only for gambling! He was kind of a lame dude, <br>and forfeited his chance to win any kind of gas station advertisment <br>in our blog... In fact, don't go to any gas station, they're probably <br>out of gas anyways!<br>A couple hours down the road we loaded up on canned food from an <br>extreme discount store, lots of expired stuff for 25 cents.. We bought <br>enough stuff for the next two days... Cheap but heavy!<br>Around now, I noticed that with the welting ant bites from Greenville <br>was a curious double welt that seemed to be a little grosser than the <br>rest, which kurt identified as to most likely be poison ivy, ugh!<br>We had a pretty tough time finding camping that night, eventually <br>finding a clearing in a dank forest up a steep, pricker bush laden <br>embankment, as usual, on the side of the road... We had to disconnect <br>all the trailers and hand everything up one by one, this embankment <br>was so steep! This dank a forest, we usually would refer to as <br>yodaville, after yoda's thickly forested home planet, and wouldn't <br>camp in, but it seemed to be the thinnest of the many yodavillages <br>we'd encountered that night already, and we took it!<p>Tuesday, sept 9:<br>Kurt had packed his tent away before we were even really out of ours, <br>and announced that he was going ahead to find coffee, would stop at <br>the first obvious spot, but if it seemed too far, would turn around <br>and come back, ok? Ok, see ya soon. The weird poison ivy welt had <br>turned into a giant bubble overnight and combined with the sort of <br>decomposing creepiness of the forest, got us going really fast! Once <br>we got pedaling, it seemed like a while before we finally got to a <br>town and that perhaps kurt should've turned around, especially since <br>we have a tendency to get flat tires first thing in the morning, and <br>he was the patch kit carrier, but maybe it just seemed long, it being <br>first thing in the morning, before coffee even!<br>We rolled through the little town expecting to see kurt's bike in the <br>gas station parking lot, and not finding it there, looked for an <br>obvious second choice, perhaps a bakery was around, but there sure <br>wasn't! Wondering whether he had just continued on, or where kurt may <br>be at all seemed like a useless task, and we thought to just stay <br>where we were, so we got gas station coffee, but in doing so, became <br>even more confused as the attendant said he'd just seen another <br>cyclist with a big yellow trailer pass through not ten minutes before! <br>Why wouldn't he have stopped!?! He always took the first available <br>option for morning coffee, never trying to hold out for something <br>better than convenience store quality, for example... I had noticed <br>the police station across the way, and decided to ask them to tell him <br>where we were, if they happened across him in their patrol.. The woman <br>at the desk also verified that she saw him to through about 15 minutes <br>before, his yellow (it's rainbow, but certainly has it's fair share of <br>yellow) bike and trailer having caught her eye, in any case, she'd <br>call the patrolman. "thanks.", I said to her.<br>Several minutes later, eating cereal in front of the gas station, and <br>staring at the point up the road where kurt would be coming in from, <br>we were startled by a hissing sound from behind us... It was kurt! <br>Turned out, there had been a little downtown off on a road to the left <br>just after where we camped, and he had left a note for us on a sign <br>that said he'd gone that way, though we never saw it, of course! It <br>then took him even longer, as he went back up to the campsite to see <br>if we were stuck there before proceeding along! Weirdly, both the gas <br>station attendant and the policewoman must'v seen me (but not Dianne) <br>as we were going through town looking for kurt in the first place, and <br>in the policewomans case, mistaking my blue and silver bike for a <br>yellow one! It's now that I'd like to say that this actually <br>corresponds with a rule of thumb we'd started going by, which was <br>called "never trust anybody", and referred to a recurring event that <br>we had come to rely on and hasn't failed us yet, really, which was <br>that whenever we asked someone in a town for information, they'd be <br>sure to give us the completely wrong advice, which we'd only figure <br>out after taking it... For example, several times we'd asked for a <br>recommendation on where to eat in a town, and would hear that there <br>was but one fast food place (see Williamsburg, but lots of otther <br>times too) and after having something there, right down the road would <br>be a plethora of interesting, local eateries! Or saying to avoid a bad <br>part of town by taking some out of the way route, but we'd get lost <br>and go the easy, bad part of town way anyway, only to find that it <br>isn't that bad, just a little crummy maybe! Or the COUNTLESS times <br>someone has told us that we can't do some particular route on our <br>bikes, and again, it turns out to be a regular road (this one is a <br>little different, but helped secure in our collective mind that no one <br>was to be trusted for correct information) anyways, you get the point!<br>Before we continued riding, my bubble of poison ivy (which we later <br>realized to have been a nasty spider bite) had to be dealt with, which <br>made me feel queasy to think about, and shan't get into the details of <br>here, suffice to say there's still a giant scab there now, more than 2 <br>weeks later!<br>...an hour or so down the road dianne and kurt got ahead of me and <br>stopped to use the bathroom at a crossroads where we switched routes, <br>apparently each thinking the other would see me and stop me from <br>passing, but neither did, nor did I notice their bikes, and kept on <br>riding, wondering to myself why they hadn't waited at the the route <br>changeover, which was standard practice at this point... Basically at <br>this point I became indignant at their not waiting and that grew more <br>and more as I rode along, never catching up to them... Eventually <br>stopping, calling Dianne's cell phone, and discovering that I had <br>passed them, at which point I stopped and 15 minutes later along they <br>came! We lucked out with camping that night, basically just finding a <br>lovely clearing in an otherwise dense forest, with a thick bed of loam <br>under the pine needles... A rare delight that I would take over a fine <br>mattress any night!<p>Thursday, sept 11: we began this day in fine spirits, as I recall... <br>Good weather for riding, a little overcast but not raining.. Went a <br>couple hours in the morning before kurt noticed that his brake pads <br>had worn to the metal, I belive... Not too long after that, we came <br>into a town, that I now forget the name of... Maybe hickory? If you <br>felt like knowing, it'd be about 70 miles east of ashville on rt 70... <br>Anyways, we came into the strip mall section of town, where we noticed <br>a bike shop tucked away behind a mattress store and some other <br>incongrueties... Which I only say because bike shops are usually found <br>in the main downtown, not off a highway that only long distance riders <br>would want to be on.. So incongruency of location, but I guess the <br>mattress store must've seemed weird to me at the time too, or why else <br>would I have mentioned it? This may, to the shrewd reader, seem like a <br>bit if foreshadowing, but is in fact not... Just a ramble that I can <br>get away with as I have no editor to submit to.<br>We went to the bike shop.<br>In the driveway of the bikeshop, my bike started making a funny <br>clattering sound... Something caught in the back wheel? No, a broken <br>spoke! Probably the extra bit of weight from a (recently migrated from <br>trailer to pannier) large Gatorade bottle of backup water had been <br>just a little too much.. Also we later realized that our new crummy <br>pump had only gotten my rear tire to about 70psi, a whopping 30 under <br>it's max pressure... Putting more strain on the wheel, and this the <br>spokes... Oh well,<br>What better place to happen than in a bike shop driveway? Oh, how <br>about a bike shop driveway that has your spoke size? That would be <br>better, yeah... He also didn't have the right brake pads for kurt's <br>bike in stock, but actually took them off of his own bike and gave <br>them for free, so howabout that?!? He told us how to get to another <br>bike shop in town, about 3 miles away, downtown, called Clark's... As <br>we rode out of the driveway, the rain arrived in force.. So much so <br>that, almost to the bike shop a bit later, we encountered shin deep <br>flooding and the kind of wind that pushes your eyelids, nostrils, and <br>mouth all the way open if you let it hit you face on... We walked our <br>bikes the rest of the way! There's an orange soil in north Carolina, <br>and as it washed away, rivers of bright orange traverled down the road <br>with us.<br>Clark's appeared to be closed, just a sign on the side of the building <br>and a big ummsrked, closed metal door... But lo! It opened, and after <br>a breif period of their not being able to get to it for a few days at <br>least, and after hearing of our adventure (we only brought my bike in, <br>the trailers are a dead giveaway usually... Without them in sight, <br>we're just weird cyclists who've chosen the rainiest ever day to want <br>our bike fixed!) they took a look at the spoke, looked for a new <br>spoke that would fit, and, not finding one, called the next bike shop <br>on our route, in Glen Alpine, about 20mi along, and they could make <br>the spoke, we'll be along soon, we said! The fellow who helped me <br>there was the only person we ran into who seemed to know of what I <br>meant when I said I play electro-acoustic music, excellent!<br>We wanted a coffee before heading out, and had that, some chili, and <br>kind of warmed up and waited out the rain... We also found the bike <br>shop in glen alpine to be closing far before we'd be able to get <br>there.. We said we'd be there upon their opening in the morning, <br>though that wouldn't be until 11, which meant we'd only be able to <br>travel another 20 miles instead of the 50 we would have hoped to by <br>the next noon... Hmmm, looked like we'd have (yet another) late night <br>tomorrow!<br>At this point, we split up while kurt went back to the first bike shop <br>to retrieve a left behind metal water bottle, and we continued at a <br>slightly slow pace, though kurt was sure to catch up sooner than <br>later, as he's just that fast!<br>Along the way, we were excited to see a sign; "Asheville 60mi"!! A <br>whopping 50 miles less than we had (mis)calculated!<br>When kurt caught up, he had seen the sign too, and we all relaxed <br>about our 11 o'clock bike appointment, as we could easily make it <br>before Friday...<br>We got to within 5 miles of glen alpine where there were some stores, <br>kurt got some nice wool socks, and we went camp hunting... Quickly <br>finding the North Carolina School for the Deaf to be an excellent <br>choice, plopping down in the front yard semi-obscured by a single tree <br>and little else, but sure the rainy weather would keep peoples eyes on <br>their studies... Which I guess panned out well for us as we slept in <br>until about 9am, and weren't bothered by campus security or anything...<br>We made for the bike shop, stopping along the way at a most inviting <br>little farm stand where the woman who owned it gave us free peaches, <br>banannas, and Scuppernong grapes... North carolina's official fruit, <br>and a tasty one at that, though they each have 3 or more seeds that <br>must be navigated...<br>The bike store was allegedly right up the road from the fruit stand, <br>but we climbed hill after hill expecting to descend into a downtown <br>each time, but never seeing sign of it.. We traveled to a very small <br>gas station where we stopped and called the bike store, who somewhat <br>grumpily informed us that we had gone 5 miles too far... That the <br>downtown was off to the right a bit, not right on the main road which <br>is what we thought we had been told...<br>After considerations, we decided to forge ahead and hope for another <br>bike shop to appear instead of backtracking over all those hills...<br>Over a break at a terribly greasy diner, a fellow suggested that we <br>not take 70 all the way in, but take a route a little north west of <br>Asheville to the blue ridge parkway, which he said was actually pretty <br>flat once you got up to it, and the 70 turns into a busy highway for <br>several miles, apparently... Looked like we had a new route!<br>An hour or so later, we entered the town of Marin, which after being <br>dissappointed to hear had no bike shop, were relieved to find that our <br>dictum to never trust anybody came to our rescue when we of course <br>found that it did have one, and I took off to get my spoke fixed (only <br>$10!) while kurt and Dianne hung at a cafe... In short order, we were <br>tip top and on the road again... Within another 20 minutes, we turned <br>onto rt 80, which climbs 3300 feet in it's 12 mile span...<p><p><br>Sent from my iPodUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27728149.post-520179814207796022008-09-22T15:44:00.000-07:002009-02-19T14:36:50.020-08:00Chapel HillOn the morning of the 5th, the wind was already getting a little <br>blustery, and it looked like rain would soon be with us soon.. The <br>tail of hurricaine gustav wagging a little less, but still enough to <br>kinda hurt your leg.. If you'll excuse the metaphor.<br>Weirdly, though we knew we had a good ways to go that day, we let <br>ourselves drag and lag - we stopped for breakfast next to a pond that <br>had a gigantic wide mouth bass right at the edge that we had first <br>mistaken for a snapping turtle on it's side, we stopped for coffee and <br>Internet, a Buffett, and having only covered a third of what we were <br>supposed to so as the late afternoon grew dark and started to rain in <br>earnest, we stopped one more time at an Amish furniture store that was <br>outside under a pavillion between two barns... We took this stop just <br>so I could get out of my soaked socks, but there were no salespeople <br>out and we had soon made ourselves at home, pulling chairs and tables <br>together to make a little living room, chatting about how ridiculous <br>it was to be relaxing all day instead of trying to beat the pending <br>storm..<br>..Dianne soon brought out the map (she's been the map mamager and <br>senior navigator for the majority of the trip) and was pouring over it <br>when she doscovered that we were closer to our destination than we <br>thought, it being maybe 15 miles less than we thought! While she was <br>discovering this, I had taken to recording the assortment of wind <br>chimes that were on display, on my tape recorders... Having gotten <br>tired of the assorted beeps I had prepared the tapes with at the very <br>beginning of the trip, I had tried recording some sounds from my iPod <br>to them as a replacement, but the tape players reproduced their detail <br>poorly, with constant distortion (the reason for using clean, simple <br>beeps in the first place) and I had now no useable sounds for them! <br>The wind chimes seemed like they might ne a bit cliché or cheesy, and <br>would have traffic noise in the in them, but anything would be better <br>than just distortion... And there was a dissonance to the chimes that <br>was more appealing than the usual 4 notes that all go along all too <br>well of a single chime set... Both kurt and I, upon listening back to <br>the recordings after a moment, got really excited, and started talking <br>about ways to process them if we had a computer, and how nice some <br>creative removal of the traffic noise might bring out the harmonics <br>of the chimes and other unforseen sounds... But back to that in a bit!<br>Where was I? Oh yes, ..."the princess buttercup leaned against the <br>castle wall, fatigued from her endeavor, when a slow but sure shift in <br>her skull told her she'd have little time to spare if she was to make <br>it to the safe room that night before she became her evil husband, the <br>King of Disturbia, again..." oops, I got ahead of myself in the story! <br>Forget that stuff for now, please!<br>We left our Amish livingroom away from Amish livingroom and set out to <br>tear up the last 25 miles of pavement before safety... Which we <br>achieved about 15 miles of before being pulled over by a policeman who <br>claimed that he had recieved complaints about our being hard to see in <br>the rain, which I think he made up, but we told him we were getting <br>off the main street and going down a backroad to our destination, <br>which we would be at soon, which he accepted (not to mention that <br>we're all adorned with multiple blinking red lights and headlights) <br>and let us go.<br>About 8 miles south of chapel hill we crossed lake on a long bridge, <br>and the wind, warmer than usual, hinted at the closeness if the storm...<br>...we pulled into eaglewing farms at about midnight, mike greeted us <br>and we soon realized him to be a kindred spirit and fell into easy <br>conversation for awhile before bed.. And showers! This was the last <br>time I shaved, and we were without another shower until we got to <br>Athens almost 2 weeks later, and one of us skipped that one and is <br>still ripening! Though for the record, the term "ripening" actually is <br>more icky than any hygenic defeciencies any of us have had! About an <br>hour after arriving, the winds finally revealed their full force and <br>howled until the dawn...<br>We woke late (Yaay!) and Mike and Abby had made coffee, and fixed up a <br>large pot of oatmeal with brown sugar and currants, yum! With the sun <br>cimpng out and the day coming into it's own, fears that our (outdoor) <br>show may be rained out disissipated and we all took to our own <br>pleasures; kurt riding his bike (no trailer though!) into town and <br>exploring, eventually returning with new mint green handlebar tape, <br>Dianne read her book and lounged by turns, and I set about <br>transforming my chime recordings in mike's studio, eventually coming <br>up with a new set of tapes to use in our remaining shows! Mike and <br>Abby, both teachers, worked on school stuff for awhile and mime <br>eventually made a killer white bean and proscuitto stew for the show <br>that night! After I finished transferring my new sounds to the tape <br>recorders, Dianne and I went out to an adjacent field to fufill my <br>dream of eating grasshoppers, which were of supreme difficulty to <br>catch and keep! After some mild sucess with a giant mosquito net <br>draped over a large branch that we waved across the grass, I thought <br>to look up other suggested techniques on the Internet, which is where <br>we found out that one must leave caught hoppers overnight to allow <br>them to purge, as well as that some may spit blood to scare you, once <br>caught, and we gave up completely upon my reading that some species <br>have been known to bite humans! Instead of providing fried <br>grasshoppers for the party guests, we bought some cheap beer to share!<br>The people and other bands all started showing up around dusk, and <br>soon the first band, "felt battery" took to the stage and the duo who <br>make up the band played prepared guitar, nose whistle, kalimba, tent <br>stake, various pieces of iron and some looping pedals to create a <br>prarie drone that was accented well by the cicadia chorus that had <br>been everpresent all summer... Good stuff!<br>Kurt played after them, one of my favorite sets he'd done on the tour, <br>the amplification really allowing him to focus on microtonalities in <br>his sung notes as well as in the tone and texture of his voice, really <br>beautiful! A solo fellow called "secret boyfriend" did a noise/electro <br>set with singing through a mélange of pedals that Dianne enjoyed <br>immensly, claiming it as her favorite band she'd seen on tour yet! <br>Fourth up was matt bauer, a banjo playing singer with upright bass <br>and electric guitar backing him up.. They played bittersweet songs <br>with elaborate melodic interleavings, reminding me of iron and wine in <br>a way.<br>I played last, and the moisture still on the grass stretched my drums <br>out so the balloons only sang under close supervision, and I was <br>pretty sure the transducers were lost in the openness of the large <br>yard, but people seemed to like it and both Kurt and Dianne said that <br>I was wrong about the clarity of the sounds, kurt adding that he found <br>the new chime tapes very peacefull, ok!<br>After the show, the partygoers left and the overnighters bedded down <br>till the morning..,<p><br>Sent from my iPodUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27728149.post-88692870643994094022008-09-21T05:59:00.000-07:002009-02-19T14:36:50.020-08:00Greenville st blvdGreenville st blvd<br>Coming out of Norfolk, we followed route 17, I believe, south, along a <br>giant state park called "dismal swamp" where at one point, we heard <br>something in the bushes next to us for awhile, something that seemed <br>to be trying to run away from us, but at the same pace and in the same <br>direction as us.. Kurt thinks it was lots of frogs, Dianne thought it <br>to be deer, and I now suspect a team of timid mountain bikers was <br>startled out of their mid-swamp protein-gel break by us.<br>We crossed over into North Carolina late at night, and due to the <br>swampiness present, had a bit of a hard time finding a place to camp, <br>finally settling on the edge of a soybean field, something we normally <br>wouldn't do as farmers tend to wake early and be protective of their <br>crops... No need to worry though, woke and got on the road with no <br>trouble at all!<br>We stopped at the NC welcome center for water and found that there was <br>a bike path going in our direction for a few miles, ending in a <br>business route of rt 17, which would be safer... One of the ladies at <br>the welcome center took pictures of us as we headed onto the trail, <br>which they apparently wanted for a pamphlet, so look for us if you're <br>down there!<br>The trail was nice, and came out by a "convenience foods" mart, at <br>which we were shocked to see the counter woman smoking a cigarette in <br>the store! We then realized that there were ashtrays at all the little <br>tables and that smoking inside was the way of these parts... Really <br>surreal, coming from some of the most smoke-unfriendly parts of the <br>US, but something we'd have to accept for the next 2 weeks.<br>The ride that day was accentuated by tractor-trailers full of pigs and <br>chickens passing us periodically and giving off the most awful stench <br>and turning both Kurt and I off to meat for a couple days... Actually, <br>we ate at a barbeque Buffett the very next day, but who's counting?<br>We rolled onto Greenville around 4:30, immediately attracting the <br>attention of a cyclist who led us into town and told us the 2 places <br>we could look and maybe play an impromptu show; a cafe, and a wine <br>store... Turned out, the cafe was closed for just that day, andbyhe <br>wine store already had a hip-hop show booked... Plus, the downtown on <br>a whole was devoid of people, and a little depressing. We took a <br>siesta in the town park which sits along a river and soon realized <br>that we were barefoot on a nest of biting, welt-leaving ants! Ow! Kurt <br>escaped unscathed, but Dianne and I both looked like we had a special <br>chicken pox of the feet! Luckily, a few motrin did the trick and we <br>were able to enjoy a pizza dinner with ease! The college kids were <br>headed out towards the end of our stay, presumably to drink until the <br>wee morning hours, as many buildings we had taken for closed up <br>businesses, opened their doors around then (9:30ish) to reveal a <br>cascade of bars! A young group of freshmen, upon being asked to <br>confirm that we were headed for Greenville st, exclaimed "greenville <br>street boulevard?!!? That's really far from here!" ... We found <br>Greenville street around the corner, and indeed, Greenville boulevard <br>made an appearance miles down the road somewhere...<br>We took our nights rest a bit out of town behind a vetrinarians <br>office, just to the side of the dog run, as we discovered in the <br>morning!<br>That day we mostly just rode, not too many distractions on this <br>particular stretch of the American landscape, just flat, straight, <br>road... Got pretty boring after awhile, and about a week later, when <br>it started getting hilly again, we actually were quite relieved! That <br>night, I had Dianne snap a picture of our encampment, and in reviewing <br>the pictures, we couldn't help but notice the visage of a young woman <br>wearing a headband standing behind kurt's trailer! No one slept well <br>that night...<br>I believe that this was now the morning of September the 5th.. And at <br>this point we had begun getting storm warnings about the remnants of <br>hurricaine gustav, which was supposed to arrive in north Carolina <br>early in the morning on the 6th, so we were trying to get to chapel <br>hill that night...<p><br>Sent from my iPodUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27728149.post-37036287406188574852008-09-18T10:43:00.000-07:002009-02-19T14:36:50.020-08:00NorfolkNorfolk<br>Getting to Norfolk, like New London, one must traverse an inlet, and <br>again like New London, the only direct method is by car... That said, <br>I give you our Norfolk adventure:<br>Our ride there was marked by kurt buying a can of greens (creecy, if I <br>properly recall) and sardines for lunch, which turned into our staple <br>diet (tuna for Dianne and I - choona!) for most days of the trip when <br>gas stations were to be the most reliable source of food. It was also <br>marked by our collective missing of the plentiful and excellent ice <br>cream shops up north, which, to satisfy our ice cream hunger, we <br>decided to settle for ice cream sandwiches or Popsicles or whatever <br>the next gas station had... which turned out to be a freezer bin full <br>of freezer burned and completely fused together fudgesicles probably <br>from the 80's! We each dealt with our dissapointment in different <br>ways.. I chiseled away at a slightly less than completely messed up <br>fudgesicle, Dianne had a dr pepper and m&m's, and kurt got a can each <br>of pepsi and coke. mixed them together, and discovered the ultimate <br>cola - the sweetness of coke, but with the fizz of pepsi, perfect! <br>Before leaving, he also noticed an RC cola machine and had one of <br>those... He then became an expert on cola, who may be contacted at any <br>time of day to answer cola questions. His direct line is: "38^ <br>£=]eb47€,•\{".<br>We got to the Jamestown ferry (on bike, one must cross the james river <br>30 miles before the main (car only) bridge and go about 60 miles south <br>east to get to Norfolk) around 6, I think, and upon discovering that <br>it runs all night, decided to go into Williamsburg for food, which dan <br>friendly and some cyclists we met at our junk food stop had <br>recommended.. And was only a few miles down the road.<br>We rode directly into historic Williamsburg, which was very pretty, <br>but too expensive for us.. So Dianne went to ask a random store clerk <br>if there was another part of town that was less touristy where we <br>might find something more reasonably priced... Only a hamburger place, <br>according to the clerk... Hmmmm.<br>In disbelief, I try my luck, this time asking a waiter for the <br>location of a grocery store... "way down the road, past all the <br>mansions and then past all the hotels.. On your left." is what I got <br>out of him.<br>Seeing as it sounded like it'd be a trek to anywhere, we thought maybe <br>we'd just share an expensive pizza and hope for the best, but just <br>before doing that, I asked yet another woman (a hostess) how far to <br>the grocery store, which I was immediately informed would not be <br>walking distance, though once I pointed out that we were on bikes, she <br>told me that'd be "real easy, straight through 2 lights, on the left, <br>can't miss it.. No more than a mile" - no more than a mile?!? <br>Unwalkable? This place was weird!<br>So, imagine our suprise when, not a half mile from historic <br>Williamsburg, all sorts of regular eateries start popping up! I wonder <br>if employees of the historic district are sort of supposed to pretend <br>there isn't a present day district around... Perhaps to preserve the <br>illusion of historisism?<br>As we approached the grocery store, a sight of great beauty arrested <br>to us from across the street: "the wok'n'roll - Asian buffet"!!! We <br>discovered a Japanese, Mongolian, and Chinese buffet, all (wok'n') <br>rolled into one!<br>One hour later, we had all gorged ourselves silly, and had spent way <br>more money than we would've in the historic district (well, maybe..)!<br>We decided to not embarass ourselves by collapsing on the ground right <br>in the Buffett parking lot, but rather to gently ride it off on the <br>way back to the ferry.<br>An interesting thing happened at a gas station a few minutes later, <br>where I wanted to stop and see if I could get a shorter route to the <br>ferry; I walked in to find the counter woman on the phone, and not <br>wanting to inturrupt or make her feel rushed, I took a leisurely walk <br>around the store for a minute until she was off the phone, at which <br>point I asked, and recieved directions... I thanked her, and she asked <br>me if I was going to buy anything, to which I replied that "no, we had <br>a huge meal just now, but thanks" which got me looked up and down and <br>told that "you lied!"! I actually wasn't sure I heard her right (she <br>had a Chinese (I think) accent) so asked her what she said again now, <br>please? Again, "you lied", and pointed to the door.. I sort of thanked <br>her and left, confused... In explaining this to Dianne and Kurt <br>outside, we decided that she had only given me directions freely under <br>the presumption that I'd be buying something, and that she knew that I <br>knew this too, and took my initial walk around the store as a feigned <br>interest in a purchase, so that she'd give me directions! "I lied" <br>about my unspoken agreement to buy something, and so abused her <br>services! It wasn't until the next day, in retelling the story, that <br>someone pointed out that, considering the accent, she could well have <br>been saying "you ride" referring to the bicycles, wondering about our <br>trip!<br>I guess it's funny either way, which is why it made the cut..<br>Continuing, we were about halfway back to the ferry when suddenly, I <br>saw about a foot ahead of me a veritable pool of broken glass, which I <br>was only in the preliminary stages of gasping about as I rolled <br>through and heard my back tire hiss angrily at me as it deflated to <br>nothing....<br>... Two hours later, we had patched it, plus tried a couple more <br>tubes, all of which had exploded in our faces. Exhausted, we looked <br>for a quick camping place, which we found just up the street in some <br>woods next to a pond, where we slept in until late the next morning, <br>it being Sunday, and the bike stores not opening until later.<br>We spent most of the rest of our morning at some bakery, waiting for <br>noon to roll around, oh, I forgot to mention that all the exploding <br>tires had rendered us out of tubes and patches, which is what we <br>needed from the bike store... Ah, right, so kurt took off to get the <br>stuff, and we blow up one more before noticing that the tire itself <br>has a giant rupture that we were somehow able to overlook in the <br>nights light.. We also start to suspect that our pump is broken, as it <br>won't pump past 75psi... So we tape up the tire rupture, half inflate <br>my tire, and hope to be able to make it to the bike shop to get this <br>taken care of once and for all, but not 5 minites down the road, ! <br> >pop<! ... At which point we also realize that we're going to be late <br>for our gig; a barbeque in Sarah Carter's backyard, which sounded to <br>be really fun, so of course we didn't want to miss it! So Dianne and <br>Kurt go back to the bike shop with my wheel, I sit by the side of the <br>road and discuss options with Sarah Carter on the phone for a long <br>time, eventually coming up with a plan to meet her friend-with-a-truck <br>on our side of the car only bridge, and get a lift across... Which, <br>barring a bit more confusion, is what we did. I can't remember her <br>name right now, but Sarah's roomate picked us up, and was the one who <br>figured out the "you lied/you ride" conundrum, excellent work!<br>Arriving at Sarah's, the first thing we saw was a fellow in a white <br>blazer, and a whole bunch more people who didn't seem to adhere to our <br>usual noise/folk appreciation crowd.. Which I think made both kurt and <br>I nervous to perform, though, after some showers and food, it was time <br>to play.. Turned out, the 7 or so people who actually sat and watched <br>were the few I would've picked out as being there for music, while the <br>rest just enjoyed the party that continued across the back yard, as we <br>played.. Kurt played first, I second, and I tried a new piece, which <br>is comprised of vibrating a drum with 2 electric toothbrushes and <br>throat singing over it... Went over well!<br>Slept in a guest room.<br>In the morning we had huervos rancheros, decided we had enough time to <br>go to the beach, and did! Neither I, Kurt, nor Dianne had ever felt <br>ocean water that warm! Sooo niiiice! Once out, we realized that there <br>dolphins(!) swimming up and down the beach, at a couple points within <br>15ft of us! Underwater, we could hear their chirps, and when they were <br>close enough, we could feel the clicks and chirps in our necks! Really <br>awesome weird feeling!<br>We also did some body surfing, ate some snacks on the beach, and sunned.<br>Back at Sarah's, we prepared for our Greenville show, at a cool place <br>called r3v3rb... This means we put it on our myspaces, and wrote to a <br>few bike and music stores about who we are and that we were coming... <br>Also, it would include mapping a route to the show, but I couldn't get <br>google maps to recognize the address to the club, it kept sending me <br>to a Greenville, South Carolina, instead of North Carolina... <br>Irritatingly. Eventually, I remembered that r3v3rb had a little cutout <br>of google maps with it's location on their website, which I could just <br>"get directions to" with... This is when I realized that r3v3rb <br>actually is in south Carolina, not north at all! I must've not noticed <br>when I was booking it! Dummmmb! So now, not only did we not have a <br>show lined up, but we had to write back to all those bike and music <br>stores to say, sorry, got the wrong city... Though I then realized <br>that all the results for bike stores I had gotten and written to were <br>also in the south carolina version! This is when I began to think that <br>we had made an even greater error than booking the "wrong" Greenville; <br>I began to suspect that way back when we were getting recommendations <br>for cool cities in the south to play, and someone mentioned <br>Greenville, we were meant (by them) to go to gville, sc, in the first <br>place, that it was the cool city... But then, we knew greenville, nc <br>was a college town, so maybe it was cool too...? A few google searches <br>for an "out" music scene, cool bike shop, or music store all came up <br>with the same dissappointing news: nothing in greenville for us! But, <br>since we'd planned time for it, we decided to go there and see for <br>ourselves, so headed out at dusk, and after stopping in south Norfolk <br>for a cheap Chinese Buffett, were off for...<p><p>Sent from my iPodUnknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27728149.post-83456601003952152972008-09-14T14:15:00.000-07:002009-02-19T14:36:50.020-08:00Dan Friendly!Upon waking (somewhat later than planned, as usual) we went over to <br>the 7-11 from the night previous, and had coffee, donuts, and <br>banannas for breakfast. Dianne and I were sitting against a wall, <br>facing the parking lot, and kurt was against the wall around the <br>corner ... When kurt saw something coming up the road, that made him <br>exclaim to us that we "should take a look, something's coming!" and as <br>we didn't look, I remember him wondering aloud, "what's he carrying? A <br>lawnmower", the subject of his speculation rode into the parking lot <br>moments later, on top of an old sears bike, all in camoflauge, and <br>with front and rear racks loaded up with camping gear... Another <br>touring cyclist!<br>We said hello's and so became introduced to Dan Friendly, who had been <br>riding in the south all summer, and from the sound of it, been riding <br>and camping for a long time... We spoke with him for quite awhile, or <br>rather, he told us a great many things (I think we talked for an hour) <br>about touring, which I think I'll list now:<br>1. Camoflauge is worth a million bucks! He told about how you can get <br>a hunters tent, and sew tarp to the bottom to keep the ants out, and <br>that's only $50 at lowe's.. He had modified his so it could be lowered <br>nearly to the ground if he could only find a field to sleep in that <br>was close to the road, for example...<p>2. If we wanted to get across the James river, there were thrift shops <br>around where for just a few dollars, we could pick up some old sheets, <br>some paint (which may be old and dried, but we could just mix some <br>water into it...) and sew the sheets into a big donut tube, coat it <br>all with paint, and inflate it to make a raft...<p>3. Further south, it's all swamp, so he carries a pruning saw (which <br>one may pick up for $12 at lowes) to cut a path, and a clearing in the <br>swamp for camping.<p>4. North Carolina has lots of great camping!<p>5. In the south, there's lots of church meals that you can really load <br>up on carbs at.. Lotsa pancakes and bacon and all sorts of stuff every <br>day!<p>6. To get fewer flats, he uses car tire sealant, which is very <br>fibrous, and though it will make you a bit slower, will let you ride <br>for weeks without a flat.<p>7. Something he told us secretly, which I cannot divulge here, but can <br>say was very interesting indeed!<p>8. The later books by carlos casteneda, which tell of techniques to <br>achieve dreams and rest, which is very important, but sorely <br>underappreciated in today's world.<p>He thought he might meet us in chapel hill, or Greensboro, but would <br>surely see us again, there are so few of us around!<br>And off he went, leaving us with great inspiration and anticipation <br>for our remaining journey, which was half over...<p><p>Sent from my iPodUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27728149.post-91377842620324124472008-09-14T14:14:00.000-07:002009-02-19T14:36:50.021-08:00RichmondWe made it a good little ways that night, eventually finding some not- <br>too-dense forest to camp in... Where we were startled by a large bird <br>(owl?) of some sort flapping around right over us, probably startled <br>by us, as well!<br>The next morning, in the middle of nowheresville, it took us awhile to <br>find our morning coffee... Which just meant a gas station, though I <br>sometimes had wanted to hold out for a proper cafe... The little place <br>we found on this particular morning was not at all up to snuff for my <br>taste, and I decided to finally just hold out for something better <br>down the road (also, I had finally revieved my new debit card in the <br>mail, which i has been without for the majority of this trip, but <br>hadn't activated it, so it didn't work yet, which also influenced my <br>decision!).<br>I thought that some music might make the lack of coffee bearable, so <br>made a little playlist on my iPod (which I usually only use for email <br>and maps, to preserve the battery) which played for 2 songs before <br>promptly breaking! It broke in a frustrating way, where it's touch <br>screen wouldn't respond to touch...! I lagged terribly that day for <br>hours until we finally got to a little town about 23 miles from <br>Richmond that had a cafe with a computer and espresso, excellent! I <br>found the apple store in Richmond so as to pay then a visit and get my <br>iPod fixed while kurt went to a thrift store to get a pair of pants to <br>replace ones he believed to have left at monkeyclaus (we each only <br>have one set of clothes, and bike shorts)... He came back with pink <br>genie pants he had bought for a dollar, which I've yet to see him wear <br>after the initial modelling for us!<br>Upon broaching the city limits, we split up, kurt headed towards the <br>venue (the camel) and Dianne and myself headed to the apple store (out <br>in some strip malls), where my iPod started working again as I tried <br>demonstrating what was supposed to be wrong with it! Ridiculous!<br>We headed down 8 miles of burger kings, staples, mattress stores, and <br>so on to get to the city proper, where we found the camel and kurt <br>sitting in front... He had already been inside, and suggested that the <br>vibe was decidedly strange, describing an encounter with a general <br>manager who had asked a bunch of questions about how the show was <br>promoted, if a local band was playing, and so forth... Also, when kurt <br>inquired as to where he should set up/stash his stuff and was directed <br>to the stage, the same strange manager popped in again to ask if the <br>bike was a prop, for if it was, it was ok on stage, if not, then it <br>would have to go! "Yes, it's a prop" replied kurt!<br>A quick aside now, before getting on with it - shortly after I first <br>acquired the show at the camel, a fellow from Richmond with whom I had <br>Been in contact with in looking for shows said that it was a lot of <br>peoples least favorite place to go, and that I should try for another <br>spot.. Since I had already secured the show, I thought it would be <br>rude to back out.. Though was further rattled when laslo, the booker <br>for the camel at the time (worked<br> there no longer though) had asked for me to be sure to send <br>promotional materiels to my contacts there... Which I didn't really <br>have! So for awhile, Richmond was a dark cloud in my future, but a <br>week and a half before, while we were in new York, I was contacted by <br>an online faction of a Richmond paper called "InRich" who wanted to do <br>a story on us... So I did a phone interview, and the woman (whose name <br>I forget right now) said she'd be there, and would surely bring some <br>friends, so with (online) newspaper exposure, and her friends coming, <br>I started to feel like it may in fact be well attended! So! Aside <br>aside, getting on with it, back to the narrative!<br>The show was scheduled for 7... Nobody. Not unusual though - most of <br>our earlier shows wouldn't get off the ground till after dark - we <br>waited, and had supper... Just the bartenderss, a doorman, the cook <br>and us...<br>Around 7:45, a young man came in, and we told him that we were going <br>to give it some time, hang out or come back in half an hour.. Which, <br>when he did, he was still the only attendee! His name was andy, and he <br>disn't mind being the only audience, which could be a little <br>uncomfortable for some people, so I set up my stuff and just before <br>playing, another guy came in to see us too! Yaaay! Both kurt and I <br>played to an audience of andy, Dianne, and that guy, whose friend <br>showed up towards the end - they were bike touring enthusiasts - <br>and they gave us lots of maps of Virginia, and one of north <br>Carolina... they also pointed out that to get to Norfolk, we'd have to <br>take a longer than expected roundabout route due to it's being on the <br>south side of an inlet, and car only bridges crossing that inlet <br>directly!! Another New London situation perhaps! As for what happened <br>with that online paper thing.. When I tried to look it up <br>subsequentially, it was nowhere to be found.. Huh.<br>We headed out to camp a bit south of the city, where we found a nice <br>big field next to an old burnt out husk of a house.. Something of a <br>classic moment for us, as, unbeknownst to Dianne or kurt, who were up <br>ahead (as usual - I'm an extremely lethargic rider) I was getting too <br>sleepy to ride, and was struggling to keep my eyes open.. So as I came <br>upon the field, which looked perfect (no fence, deep enough to keep <br>cars from seeing us) and saw that they were going past it, I got a <br>little confused, and caught up to them at the 7-11 they were <br>apparently passing up the field for, and announced that I would be <br>spending the night in that field, and they could too, or not, that's <br>just how tired I was! (in retelling this to Dianne just now, as I was <br>typing, I found out that they had stopped at the field, but since I <br>was so far behind, decided to pick up some late night snacks... Heh..) <br>anyway, that ended our day in Richmond.<p><p>Sent from my iPodUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27728149.post-27479382743969548822008-09-14T14:12:00.000-07:002009-02-19T14:36:50.021-08:00Monkeyclause... Woke the next morning at 5 to the realization that we hadn't put <br>up our rain guard and the remnants from hurricane hannah had arrived.<br>After properly shielding ourselves, we slept till 8ish, and then <br>struck out for nellysford, which looked to be about 15 or 20 miles <br>south west of Charlottesville, which is what our original route had <br>been plotted for... So, 57 miles to cville, break, and then a <br>relatively short jaunt over to nellysford, and monkeyclause, right? In <br>a way, yes, correct.. But that day we ended up being rained on with <br>some of the coldest summer rain I've ever felt... Though we had rain <br>gear (well, kurt actually doesn't really wear his.. It's an 89 cent <br>emergency poncho and may be more bother than it' a worth!) we ended up <br>soaked through and through, though it may have been sweat that really <br>got us wet! Our usual 15 mile matker breaks were compromised by the <br>fact that getting off our bikes for even just a couple minutes would <br>allow the chill to catch up to us - had to keep moving!<br>After a super narrow shoulder/busy/fast section of rt 29, we arrived <br>in Charlottesville around 4:30 and a little shaken up... Pulled into a <br>whole foods grocery store and had soup and tea outside on their porch <br>area..<br>At this point I had my first phone conversation with peter, the man <br>behind monkeyclause... He held promise of hot showers, food, and tea <br>upon our arrival, gave us the directions, and confirmed that it was at <br>least 35 miles still from where we were...! Ouch... This had been a <br>possibility in the backs of our minds, as my friend John (doofgoblin) <br>had written to tell us that very same information, but we half chose <br>to ignore it, and half just thought that our interpretation of the map <br>was correct... No.<br>So, we knew we'd be late, and weren't really relishing going back out <br>for quite that long in the cold rain, but what really did it was the <br>vigour with which the rain grew in intensity and how quickly it grew <br>dark that evening...<br>But we trudged on, and were about half way there (already really late <br>though)<br>When a stranger pulls over to warn us that once we enter the next <br>county, the shoulder completely disappears and the road becomes all <br>blind curves and hills... Sure enough, not 10 yards from the county <br>limits sign, the road become insurmountable and we decide that we're <br>pretty seriously stranded, and need to call for help, maybe stash our <br>bikes and equipment really well, get picked up in a car and hope for <br>the best...<br>No matter, no cell service.. Which peter had warned me of! Ok, time to <br>rely on strangers! We started to walk our bikes (one can walk a bike <br>on the outside of the guard rail easier than riding it..) down the <br>highway, to get to the next house/exit.. Weirdly enough, there was a <br>hidden driveway a few hundred feet down from where we were... a small <br>house with lights on at the top... Up we go! Approaching the house, we <br>could see a man doing something on the back porch, but didn't want to <br>startle him, so went to the front and rang the bell... Waited... <br>Knocked a bit... Waited... No answer. "Huh" we thought, I think... We <br>go ahead around to the back, where we finally get the man's <br>attention.. He looks at us with an (now familiar) incredulous <br>expression as we make our way around to the back door (oh, it was more <br>like am enclosed patio) and announce our plight! I think he barely <br>said anything and simply handed me his cell phone.. As I called, we <br>became introduced - his name is Jesùs and he's there building the <br>house (probably thought our knock was his partner nailing something) <br>late, trying to get it done so he can go to back to Georgia, and be <br>with his family...<br>Meanwhile, I had gotten a message machine at monkeyclause and told <br>them to call back... And that we'd be really late!<br>"well, I can give you a ride in my work van, but there's only 2 seats" <br>Jesus offered moments later... As one may well imagine, to our immense <br>relief!<br>Proper seats notwithstanding we piled in (Dianne got the only other <br>seat, kurt and I got squished in the back with the three bikes, three <br>trailers, and four panniers) and headed out at an excellent pace, the <br>fastest we've yet traveled on this bike tour!<br>Of course we thanked Jesus again and again, though he deferred, saying <br>that when he was a Christian missionary in Meqico, anything he needed <br>was given freely, so he knew about having to ask for help, and had <br>since dedicated his life to helping when he could (earlier that day <br>had given a homeless man a lift somewhere)<br>We got to the studio after a little lostedness (not too much, just <br>enough), let Jesus get some pictures of us crazy travellers, and off <br>be went, and in we went.....<br>Peter greeted us warmly and enthusiastically, directing gear trailers <br>to the studio, clothes and stuff to the house, and us into some hot <br>showers!<br>Once we started feeling human again, we set up our stuff to play, they <br>mic'd us up and we played... Hopefully soon, the video and mp3s will <br>be up on their site and I'll be sure to link to them..<br>After the show proper, we went back to the house where we ate roasted <br>root veggies peter had made, while he waxed poetically to us all about <br>the strange origins of monkeyclaus, time travel, binaural brain wave <br>research beingm conducted down the road, why western Virginia would be <br>the place to get back to before 2012, and interrelated these topics in <br>ways I simply don't have the capacity to properly relate here...!<br>The next day we uploaded lots of pictures to this very blog(!) and <br>eventually got headed out for Richmond very late in the day... Maybe <br>5ish... We got a few miles down the road when the smell of barbeque <br>stalled us a little further! When in nellysford, find the barbeque!<p><p>Sent from my iPodUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27728149.post-74863164606644185052008-09-06T15:48:00.001-07:002009-02-19T14:36:50.021-08:00fun facts and fancy figures<div dir="ltr">here's a little bit of the basics about some things...<br><br>daily average ride: 65 miles<br>average speed: 11 mph (faster in the morning after our coffee stop and slowest at night while searching for camping spot)<br> fastest speed: 42 mph (kurt), 37 mph (dianne), 32 mph (raub)<br>average number of times a day we tell our story: 6 <br>number of times we've been told we're setting a world record: 2<br>number of recycling centers in virginia: 2 (that we came across. yes, we carry all of our recycling with us until we find a recycling center!)<br> best bbq (so far): nellysford, virginia...delicious place off the side of the road...you don't need to know the name you can smell it form miles away...delish!!!<br>average days without shower: 5<br>best campsite finder: raub...this is his favorite part of the trip...beware thorn bushes...he's got a stick and not afraid to use it!<br> best mechanic: kurt...he can fix it all...but because of excessive flat tires for some we are now in charge of fixing our own.<br>most giggly: dianne...these guys keep me in stitches<br>number of exploding tires: 3 (all raub's)<br> fav cheap and quick meal: can of greens and sardines<br>most common bike problem: chain falling off<br>number of bathroom stops per day: 10 (15 for kurt!)<br>earliest start time: 5 am<br>latest riding time: 4am<br>average number of times we change our route per day: 3...but we're getting better at planning...it was a lot more in the beginning<br> <br>that's all i can think of for now...enjoy!!<br><br></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27728149.post-59655777007717321842008-09-06T13:28:00.001-07:002009-02-19T14:36:50.021-08:00September Reflections<div class=Section1> <p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-weight:bold'>September Reflections from Mom<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'>September 5 – you are now <b><i><span style='font-weight: bold;font-style:italic'>way</span></i></b> closer to the end of your journey than the beginning. Impressive -- and kind of bittersweet, I imagine! So what began as a bit of a pipe dream almost a year ago, is a reality now.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'>When I think of what you three have accomplished and when I pull out a U. S. map to follow your journey, I actually find myself getting choked up (oh, the blubbering mama syndrome!). I know you've had your ups and downs, and perhaps it has been somewhat of a financial strain on you. <i><span style='font-style:italic'>But, oh, it is so very, very worth it!</span></i> You'll have stories to tell and you'll have pride that will never, ever leave. This trip wasn't really about making money – or it shouldn't have been; it's about going green and having the adventure of your lives – and you've accomplished both of those goals.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'>Meanwhile, back north, I continue to sigh – <i><span style='font-style:italic'>enviously</span></i> -- wondering if I'll ever be able to do anything even remotely similar to this adventure of yours!<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'>I wonder how it's going to feel to you when you really finish – when you're back home in the world of cars and jobs and daily schedules – and a wide variety food you can cook on the stove, and flush toilets and showers and <i><span style='font-style:italic'>lots</span></i> of different clothes to wear. . . . again, bittersweet, no doubt. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'>We're all watching Hannah and Ike and hoping they won't blow you out of Atlanta, Even if the hurricanes do end up stopping you, keep rea<st1:PersonName w:st="on">liz</st1:PersonName>ing that you DID what you set out to do; it won't be by any inability on your parts if you don't get there. Blame it all on Mother Nature! <o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'>Keep those blogs and photos coming – they are so imaginative entertaining, and everyone wants to hear all about each part of your trip. I hope one of you kept track of your daily mileage along the way. What a feast you can have at the <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>People's Pint</span></b> when you get back! ☺<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'>Best wishes, Raub, Dianne and Kurt, on the final leg of your Cycledelic Music Trip! Bike safely, and enjoy each and every adventure to its fullest!<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'>Ride on. . . .<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'>Mom/Phyllis<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'>Sent Saturday, September 5, 4;30 pm<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=teal face="Comic Sans MS"><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:teal'>Always remember your dream of peace. . . and live it</span></font><o:p></o:p></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></font></p> <p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size: 12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> </div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27728149.post-15213274427516348842008-09-06T12:52:00.001-07:002009-02-19T14:36:50.021-08:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfkojMx4kuFDp23yAv4mevp9AkBlRlEF3a6xj-vO7ixvjrqfsjT-adqbgJ1UwpT9F-i_ozN7k8n1afE4xFcsHtJ1ULT2KxmIe7DkLWqv2FV_s3_kbaBW4GGCG93MTMmBnVen-Tg/s1600-h/IMG_3758.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfkojMx4kuFDp23yAv4mevp9AkBlRlEF3a6xj-vO7ixvjrqfsjT-adqbgJ1UwpT9F-i_ozN7k8n1afE4xFcsHtJ1ULT2KxmIe7DkLWqv2FV_s3_kbaBW4GGCG93MTMmBnVen-Tg/s320/IMG_3758.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242999253179323778" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbpzPf6ix1ONn_khPNUXFw6ZFD-PdfT3YO4RSPq6ckLimK0f8tGeDKcbH2oX90Uo_aOaHgUUyoy5qcmXGZeHjXo-x1uy9BC4a6p8WI3-bFz9evsRCkmw9uEB1ZfSuZcclv48JvTw/s1600-h/IMG_3759.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbpzPf6ix1ONn_khPNUXFw6ZFD-PdfT3YO4RSPq6ckLimK0f8tGeDKcbH2oX90Uo_aOaHgUUyoy5qcmXGZeHjXo-x1uy9BC4a6p8WI3-bFz9evsRCkmw9uEB1ZfSuZcclv48JvTw/s320/IMG_3759.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242999254104291042" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqF49BDDa7vSo2bSFAQgJuh2Gh4mgInTaSlDCy35qmWup1TPxo2n_O67nItDEAxZ5cZYeE0nx0ZJv4BfsFZVMfo77Ct4zBLlfck-_nGXmkdOJ3W8hFR4YAMOh4J-2H7RbYP6Qxlw/s1600-h/IMG_3761.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqF49BDDa7vSo2bSFAQgJuh2Gh4mgInTaSlDCy35qmWup1TPxo2n_O67nItDEAxZ5cZYeE0nx0ZJv4BfsFZVMfo77Ct4zBLlfck-_nGXmkdOJ3W8hFR4YAMOh4J-2H7RbYP6Qxlw/s320/IMG_3761.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242999258884655106" border="0" /></a><br /><blockquote></blockquote>our secret spot in a haunted North Carolina forest... see the ghost girl that freaked us out behind kurt's tent? heh heh heh..Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27728149.post-86685393966472096022008-09-05T11:45:00.000-07:002009-02-19T14:36:50.022-08:00Virginia is for (car) loversEntering Virginia from Maryland the next day, after having made some <br>headway that Sunday evening, we immediately noticed that the shoulder <br>completely disappeared, and all of a sudden everyone was driving much <br>faster... What we've come to know and expect and to some extent, <br>accept, is that this is the case all over Virginia, as they just paved <br>the old dirt roads, and never widened them.. A little frustrating <br>also because they retain the feel of an old dirt road and are very <br>pretty, but very hard to ride a bike along... After rerouting we were <br>on our way, but still a bit behind due to our late start out of <br>Baltimore, with over a hundred miles to go by the next night (kinda <br>late afternoon at this point) we realize we have some serious night <br>riding to do!<br>Unfortunately, kurt got something in his eye really bad a bit after <br>nightfall, and we stopped for the night, hoping that a good nights <br>rest would clear it out, so we camped alongside a bike path we came <br>across, woke up at 5, got 2 flat tires in an hour, but were still on <br>the road nice and early... Around 11am, we pulled into a town that I <br>now forget the name of, but it was very pretty, and we stopped for <br>lunch, and to refresh our route... It was here that we realized that <br>our estimations of how far we still had to go were drastically low, <br>and we actually still had aroumd a hundred miles to travel! In poor <br>spirits, we started considering our options, perhaps a train?did we <br>need to cancel yet another show?!? The impossibility of riding a <br>hundred miles in time to play made calling it off and just getting to <br>our next show in richmond early seem really attractive.. But then <br>monkeyclause, the barn turned all recycled materiels studio that we <br>were to play, was maybe my most highly anticipated destination of our <br>whole trip... A hard decision to make indeed...<br>...on very little sleep after days of riding 60+ miles a day and <br>camping in secret spots that can take a long time to find when <br>exhausted late at night, one can start thinking... derangedly... To <br>say the least...<br>This said, upon deciding to call monkeyclause so as to let them know <br>that we wouldn't make it after all, we noticed that next to their <br>contact information, was the date we were supposed to play there - <br>august 27th - the NEXT DAY!!! Our relief and excitement took the form <br>of a looong coffee and sandwich break that actually we probably <br>shouldn't have taken as long of one of.. Sorry for the sloppy <br>sentence.. Heh.<br>So we continued along a few hours later, still trying to get as far as <br>we could, so as to not have to hurry at all the next day... We got to <br>a town called culpeper that night, and were loafing outside a 7-11 <br>eating snacks (Dianne had a corn dog, kurt had some chips, and I had <br>sardines with saltines) when a fellow named "ed payne" saw us and <br>recommended that if we were camping we could go right across the <br>street to this apartment complex he owns and camp on the 5 acres <br>behind it.. Which we did, and had a lovely time!<br>......<p><p><p><p>Sent from my iPodUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27728149.post-29412674199854776132008-09-02T12:04:00.000-07:002009-02-19T14:36:50.022-08:00after party, providence!<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzN637Znzjp8UhkOhzqbZNMijw70QxY2wX-NVsqtFBeMZc8T1htCNnXRfD6aihXR7zHD3CBgFLVRmMYj714qq7ySzypCEYAmPq2e_efg5BDXM8DYRS-iqvvw8oDVedyTdPImsRiA/s1600-h/IMG_3601-717137.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzN637Znzjp8UhkOhzqbZNMijw70QxY2wX-NVsqtFBeMZc8T1htCNnXRfD6aihXR7zHD3CBgFLVRmMYj714qq7ySzypCEYAmPq2e_efg5BDXM8DYRS-iqvvw8oDVedyTdPImsRiA/s320/IMG_3601-717137.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241502147688699778" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcqqOow0YrdyO9ZjW-iHFPLDsTOQFAfZlpPzZYxL2rP9xhqd9Y4hut_OWvQXAbmsdf1OQsanTzRVABuSJBOXmlux64e9yKpOAR85uCA449XAwjmHT_8kyiN0wCSZEDYiuTYUJlvw/s1600-h/IMG_3602-719017.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcqqOow0YrdyO9ZjW-iHFPLDsTOQFAfZlpPzZYxL2rP9xhqd9Y4hut_OWvQXAbmsdf1OQsanTzRVABuSJBOXmlux64e9yKpOAR85uCA449XAwjmHT_8kyiN0wCSZEDYiuTYUJlvw/s320/IMG_3602-719017.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241502150494081634" /></a></p><div dir="ltr"><br></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27728149.post-28496958732206758662008-09-02T11:58:00.000-07:002009-02-19T14:36:50.022-08:00marthas vineyard<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnoX-xfTWJIY-2D3V70PQR1igDVZFP9woUCDqNEB2zlB6yaOzm_4LbGSFT238vi9sMipSXjbdi5NlPJ8RHrBIPuh8HnBp9CdTjc1UwkDmv2CpEq2toQsNb2zf_oN4c2XGlHrm1kA/s1600-h/IMG_3575-746074.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnoX-xfTWJIY-2D3V70PQR1igDVZFP9woUCDqNEB2zlB6yaOzm_4LbGSFT238vi9sMipSXjbdi5NlPJ8RHrBIPuh8HnBp9CdTjc1UwkDmv2CpEq2toQsNb2zf_oN4c2XGlHrm1kA/s320/IMG_3575-746074.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241500548755352674" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdHGSXgXHN_A2iz-W-QncoMJMT0_LO39zyHAu6DyJq3CmlYvoA61FVz2Wv1Erz8OHzpQI38exn5qEhvsQ87rSoT3I7IWtTlr18A4OkfGtcWYoWwo_m13Xykk_K3WMyTerzsPI9tA/s1600-h/IMG_3577-747054.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdHGSXgXHN_A2iz-W-QncoMJMT0_LO39zyHAu6DyJq3CmlYvoA61FVz2Wv1Erz8OHzpQI38exn5qEhvsQ87rSoT3I7IWtTlr18A4OkfGtcWYoWwo_m13Xykk_K3WMyTerzsPI9tA/s320/IMG_3577-747054.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241500551979863010" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPRtU8sBMADmqmu7PkETuWzssajtAEIPAB6v6gWibQ9HIS_CL5XxNYRWsyvbuXDh6RAW_Qs8upmyNo_LoAf4UsOTKfKKq9k0VJBuOnmYwC-u2J7v2GpLR9L_r5Zk2Qpfl2tb3Evg/s1600-h/IMG_3582-748212.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPRtU8sBMADmqmu7PkETuWzssajtAEIPAB6v6gWibQ9HIS_CL5XxNYRWsyvbuXDh6RAW_Qs8upmyNo_LoAf4UsOTKfKKq9k0VJBuOnmYwC-u2J7v2GpLR9L_r5Zk2Qpfl2tb3Evg/s320/IMG_3582-748212.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241500555760756834" /></a></p><div dir="ltr"><br></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1