To Stop Would Be The Death Of Me

Go on I must....

Please everyone appreciate the sweet VACO quote, because it's literal. If we stop in the middle of the freakin desert out here, we'll die haha.

Okay. Well, it's Alex writing to let everyone know whats up. Last you heard, we were in Delta, Colorado. We have since come about another 300 or 400 miles and are at the sweet library here in Salina, Utah. That day from Delta, we headed to Grand Junction, Colorado which was a surprisingly cool and interesting city. It had an awesome downtown area where we enjoyed a pizza and met a bicycle-taxi driver who sympathized with our pulling weight behind us. Then, we were trying to find a place to stay in an Episcopal church and met a really nice man named Phillip who let us stay at his house there in Grand Junction. He let us shower and sleep on his porch which was surprisingly comfortable. We biked out of GJ the next day and into the abyss of Utah. I guess we can let everyone know about our massive shortcut now that most of it is over... Instead of going south on tiny roads winding around for like 500 miles as our planned route did, we opted for the more dangerous, extremely short(er) Interstate 70 shortcut... It may be illegal, but it is oh so sweet to cut off 200 miles. And the way we saw it, it was either do this shortcut and Pete could finish the trip with me, or not do it and he wouldn't be able to finish. I think we made the right choice, because it hasn't been that bad. There's not too much along I-70 in Utah which equals not a lot of cars. Our only problems have been heat and lack of civilization/potable water and we've had some tire trouble of late, but all that is over with. We just finished a stretch of 110 miles with no services, no towns, nothing. From here, we're heading another 40 miles this afternoon into Holden, Utah and then into Nevada along US-50 (which has the nickname of "the loneliest road in America", so it'll be interesting to see how that goes. Our spirits are high at the moment and we're trying to enjoy our last 10 days of the adventure. We're on schedule to finish up in San Francisco on July 7th. Keep the comments coming and we love yall out there.
Keeping it real, from coast to coast,
Big Al (also speaking for Pete)

PS, Our beards are sweet

ps

ps, you can now comment without having a blog... sorry i didnt figure this out till now
-al

Alive

Hey, guess what? We're not dead!!!!
-ALex

the feeling that its all a lot of oysters, but no pearls

its been a while since our last post so i'll try to fill you in. we tried to hitch to pueblo. no one was going so we had to wait until 6pm when the man running a service station got off and could take us south to dodge city, because he "needed to go to walmart anyways". the next day we tried everything to get a ride 50 miles west to Garden City and a bike shop. we even got an announcement on the radio. Eventually a very friendly woman with a pickup truck took us and in route it stormed with high winds and rain and lots of hail. but we made it, alex got new tires and we stayed at the YMCA. then we kept biking and finally made it out of kansas. but eastern colorado had a little surprise of its own. there are these things called feed yards which is code for -a lot of cows in pens and we won't clean up their pee or poop. so we would just hold our breath and think about places where things weren't so hot and uphill. but we finally made it to the rockies. the last 3 days have been so great. there have been tons of beautiful mountains, lakes, canyons, and other geological stuff like mesas which we don't even know what they are. we have had a little sketchyness though. a couple nights ago we camped in an covered halway type thing outside of a high school gym. we couldn't find anyone to ask but people said that they had seen bikers there so we figured it was cool. everything went well until we fell asleep. at sometime around 1am someone walks swiftly down the hallway we are sleeping in. we wake up and no one says anything as the guy steps over me and by alex unphased. we were pretty freaked out. he goes into the gym. alex goes "OH DEAR GOD, did that really happen?" so finally he leaves and we think that was wierd but at least its over. actually it was just the beginning. at 2,3,3:30 and 4am we were awoken to either different people or the same person stepping quickly by us. we didn't sleep well and to this day have no clue what was going on. the next night we couldn't find anywhere to camp so we went to the episcopal church and they let us into the church to sleep. i leave to go to walmart for a Utah map and alex stays at the church. i go into walmart which has its doors open and then get kicked out cause it is closed which was pretty awkward. but meanwhile back at the church alex is handling a new situation. a dirty strange creepy sketchy guy has walked into the church and is talking to alex, apparently looking for a blanket. so we finally convince him we don't have any blankets and he leaves. we quickly lockedthe door and tried to get a good nights rest. we keep going through beautiful areas and last night we were in montrose, colorado and we went to a drive in movie and saw Over The Hedge and RV. it was fun but we didn't get to the park we slept at til 1am. now we are in delta poised for a trip defining shortcut. i won't go into details because they are still being made up. but the important thing is we are going to make it to san fransisco most likely together.
also at a bike shop they were playing Liscence to Ill (a cd by the beastie boys) which really gave us a boost.
it is amazing what Ed Rock, MCA and Mike D can do for you when you are depressed.
anyways we are doing well. now we need to bike more. peace, love, happiness, growth, ambiance, beauty,
pete

Out With The Bad, In With The Good

Everything Pete just said was correct. I am having trouble recalling a time in my life where I've been more frustrated with things. I did really want to continue on another 30 miles in the wind, but in all honesty, it was dangerous and we may not have made it (and if we did, it would have been the worst 4 or 5 hours ever). I don't know what is about to happen, but I'm pretty sure anything is better than this. Oh yeah, and the Hurricanes lost last night, just to top off the horribleness of the past 2 days. Out with the bad, in with the good.
We'll be in touch.

flabergastation

well i decided to write this is a font color that would be harder for older folks, who know better, to read. we are in ness city. i just finished a book about space and time and black holes and ness city has become a black hole. it won't let us out. you may have just read alex's last email that said things were looking up. that was when things were looking up. the following day or yesterday things turned nasty. we rode hard through serious wind ( about 30 miles an hour or more) and the temperature was up to 106. after 30 miles we hit what was then Utopia, Ness City. We were really tired but thought we would still make it to Scott City another 56 miles away. we should have know by the fact that the "Frigid Cream" stand didn't have ice cream that things had turned against us. we tried to leave and after about 3.5 miles we turned around because we could hardly ride 8 miles an hour (the day before we averaged 15). so we go back into ness city similar to the way that a photon is sucked back into the black hole. we decide we cannot be outside in the heat and wind so we go to our only option, the Derrick Inn. they have 2 options, a motel 7 blocks down the road or a nicer motel/hotel where you check in. since the motel is cheaper we get it. 7 blocks later we get into our room. we are not high maintainance so anything i say is coming from someone who has been sleeping on picnic tables for a month. the place was an absolute dump. everything felt dirty. the bathroom had no soap. it was hot. the AC would turn on but didn't help much because door to our room gaps that kept our room nice and toasty. the last straw was the cable. our tv didn't work and alex wanted no needed to see the stanley cup. oh yeah and my bed's blanket had a cigarrette hole. so alex gets on his bike and bikes 7 blocks back to get a new room. he returns with a new one and we go to check out our new room. this one has working cable but one of the beds isn't made and had clearly been slept in recently. i felt like goldilocks but alex had paid like 40 bucks for that junk. so i called the Derrick Inn and let them know how we felt about the situation ("we're pretty hot and pretty tired and we're kinda mad"). upon my suggestion they upgraded us to a motel/hotel room where the cable worked and there was soap. we ate spagetti from a pizza place and listened to "Long December" on the jukebox. today has been maybe more frustrating. it started off with alex having a flat tire before we even left the parking lot. i left b/c i knew it would take a while and i wanted to get on the road. alex is more or less out of inner tubes. his tires both have gashes in the sides. so alex takes a good 30 minutes popping more tubes and patching one and finally getting a ridable bike. meanwhile i am hitting some serious wind. instead of 3.5 miles though i get a good 6.5 out of town before i take a break and try to go to the bathroom ( the wind affects everything). so then the wind is at least 30 mph and probably more. it keeps blowing me off the shoulder into the grass on the side of the rode so i decide to wait for alex. that was not to cool cause i didn't realize he had so much trouble with his tire. so i wait in the wind singing and praying for a good 45 minutes until i decide to turn around. i finally hit alex about 5 miles out of town. he didn't want to but i forced us to turn around. i couldn't pedal for 4+ hours to have only 30 miles to our day. plus with alex's tire continually letting out air he wasn't likely to make it either. we again were sucked into the black hole. we are so sick of wind and this state. alex has to get to a bike shop and i need to get back on schedule. i think we may try and hitch to Pueblo, Co a couple hundred miles away but that may be difficult with bikes and all. (that is the part i am hoping mom doesn't read) this may seem like a very negative post but it isn't. we are doing fine we just need to get out of Ness City and for that matter Kansas. also i am hoping to rid myself of any negative energy before we try and hitch. if you don't see a post within 2 weeks of this one call my mom and tell her she was right.
cruizin',
pete

Sloooow Computers

Hey everybody. I'm not sure if this is actually going to work because the computers here at the Great Bend, KS library aren't too reliable, but hey... Can't ask for too much, eh? Well, we're in Great Bend... and... it's flat?? That's about all I have to say. The day off yesterday really did us good I think--I feel pretty refreshed, and I know Pete does too. We got out a bit late this morning (8:15) because we had a late night last night I had to find somewhere to watch the Hurricanes game (1 GAME AWAY FROM THE STANLEY CUP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and Pete was reading. We've been cruising all day though--A solid 15 mph average. The heat hasn't been too bad today. It's only gotten up to 89. We stopped here for a late lunch after a 65 mile morning and still have 30 more to go. We've got to do some ridiculous miles the next few days to be able to get to Pueblo in time to get our mail on Saturday and subsequently get back on schedule. I'm feeling good though and I'm pretty sure we'll be able to do it. That's about everything for now... Maybe we ought to try to space out these blogs so we'll actually have something interesting to talk about. Anyways, keep the comments and emails coming. Thanks for reading!
-Al

Hutchinson, Kansas

today we are taking our first day off. it will set us a tad behind schedule but i really need a day off and alex does too. yesterday he was so tired he fell asleep on a sidewalk in complete filth using his books/journal/papers as a pillow. our bikes are both in the shop being worked on. i went to the doctor this morning and i have a little bacteria thing going on but i now have some pills and creme and the doctor said i don't need to stay off the bike or anything crazy. we are staying at the zion lutheran church in hutchinson which was established in 1888 and houses bikers in the basement. it is really nice because it has a shower and inflata-beds. on my bike ride to the doctor today a kid, probably around 12, yells out of the window of a pick-up truck, "are you a guy?" i yelled back "yeah" but it also made me think about how long my hair is getting unless it was the hips or something.
peace,
pete

Fahrenheit 102

We've reached a new level today... The temperature broke 100. As we were riding through town after our Pizza Hut outing(where Pete ate an entire large... even I have to give him props on that), I checked the wrist top and the temp clocked in at 102. I began crying.

Sorry about the discouraging remarks on the blog yesterday. I was kind of frustrated. Things weren't too fun yesterday with Pete's butt rash and he heat etc etc. I'm feeling a little better today, even considering the fact that my bike began skipping gears and the headwind this morning was crucial. We're in Eureka, Kansas right now at the library, and I think we're heading another 40 miles to... Actually, I can't really remember where to.

Everything is going pretty well aside from the bike/butt problems. I got in touch with the guy from the helmet camera company, and I'll be getting the working camera back hopefully within the next week or so which is great news. Things with filming are going well too. We got a great interview with a really nice restaurant owner last night in Toronto, KS. But, you'll all see that when things are finished up :).

Hope everything is going well with everyone else out there. Once again, thanks for the support and keep it coming!! We'll be in touch!
-Alex

I Can See The Safari Museum

We're in a library and apparently Pete always gets the computers that can play music, cause the last 2 times, mine haven't been music-capable while he's stitting over there jamming out. We're in Kansas right now, enjoying the air conditioning of the library. We really weren't joking when we said it's hot. I clocked the temperature at a scortching 97 yesterday on the wrist-top computer. It's the kind of hot that takes your breath away when you walk outside. And the trouble is that you've got this constant wind out here that blows and it keeps you cool as you're riding, but slows you down and makes you have to work harder. So its like a trade off, wind=slow and cool or no wind=fast and hot. Decisions...
If you want me to be honest, the whole biking thing is getting kind of old haha... It's getting pretty tough to get up every day knowing that you're just going to have to lug your thirty pounds of crap along behind you to another little town in Kansas. My body is just pretty tired, that's all. The heat plays a big part in it too. I'll be happy to get to the Rockies where it's a little cooler and more dynamic of a landscape.
All and all, things are alright. A little discouraged because of the heat, but I'll live. I always do.
Gotta go and get a sports drink....
-Alex

PS-We've been on the road for 24ish days and just crossed the 1500 mile mark this morning... Good things.

Step one you say we need to talk

we are in Chanute, Kansas. it is hot. i think we have overdone the hot thing but it is really hot. everything is going well right now, except my butt. i don't know much about rashes and stuff but i think i have one. i guess ignoring it is the best thing to do. i would love to stay and chat but i am about to begin a chapter about black holes in steven hawkings A Brief History Of Time.
love,
pete
p.s. last night we got to swim in a pool in the park we slept at which felt so good. and we are really into sports drinks right now.

Petition For Better Library Hours

Yo world, Alex here
We keep getting into towns right as the library closes or on weekends when they're not open. It's really frustrating! Well, we're currently in Licking (keep it clean, people) Missouri. We had to plan this library trip because we got to the library in Salem yesterday 5 minutes after it closed.
Soooo, since our last entry, we have already been through Illinois on a massive, beautiful, flat shortcut that we found. Our plan has actually become to "generally" follow the route that's on our maps, but to cut off all the pointless turns and winds that we can. It's actually been a lot more fun to find our own way across these states. We've decided to buy a state road map of every state we go through in order to find these beautiful shortcuts that exist. I would equate it to finding hidden treasure--You've just gotta keep looking and pay attention to find it! We're actually on a big shortcut through Missouri right now, and will pop back out onto the route tomorrow in Golden City, MO, a half day ahead of schedule.
Pete has told you all about his bike problems, and I'm happy to say that I'm problem free so far (knock on wood). We're getting some good footage despite the helmet camera being broken. We've gotten some great stills, and solid video.
We made two new friends also, Ben and Jonathan. We kept meeting up with them randomly in these towns and we ended up sleeping in the same places for several nights. Unfortunately, they weren't there for the big police incident last night though, although they would have gotten a kick out of it I'm sure.
The savage heat has cooled down a bit thankfully and we're able to bike longer. We've hit more hills here in the Ozarks after a great couple of hundred flat miles in Illinois, but Kansas is only a few days away, so the flatness of the pancake will be a nice change.
All's well in Missouri, except for the fact that we've still got 60 miles to do today...
Keep the love coming,
Al

Know what the midwest is young and restless

dear people looking at our website,
we are in the midwest. licking, Missouri to be exact and i recently got a new wheel. my rear wheel had begun to crack and the spokes were pulling out. so 120 dollars later i know am riding much smoother. last night we were in a town called Salem and after asking the fire station if we could camp around back they said yes. part of the reason for so much confusion (which will follow) is that once again we are off route armed only with a missouri state map we have decided that we can do a better job than the people who created the route everyone else takes. so anyways we set up camp behind the fire station and about an hour later after we had gone and eaten pizza we come back and set up our tarp. as we are setting up two fireman come up and say, whats going on? and i say we're camping like we said. problem is that the guy we talked to earlier looks exactly like this guy who has no clue who we are. but i didn't realize this at the time so i am trying to explain to this guy who i think is the guy i talked to earlier that we talked to him earlier and he said that we could camp. i thought he just hadn't understood earlier. then he asked me if i talked with the cheif as if i had a clue who that was. finally completely confused he leaves saying he will ask around and try to find out who we talked to because i don't think he believes that we actually talked to anyone. so nothing happens for a while. then at 11:20pm (which was a very late night) i go to bed. at 11:54 or so we wake up to 2 sets of headlights shining directly into our tarp. the cops had come to set things straight and had decided midnight was just as good a time as any. so half asleep we try to explain what the crap we are biking across the country for and i hand one of the policeman an amani brochure. they take both of our ID's and call us in to make sure we aren't wanted or anything. as he is calling us in the officer who is calling us in says "last name dunlap first name benjamin" so i shout" peter". finally they give us our ID's back and there is a brief moment where we can tell they really want us to leave but they also see in us an immovableness that comes with being woken up at midnight after biking 70 miles the day before. so we stayed and they finally left.
Cruizin',
Pete Dunlap

State Line

We're currently in Morganfield, KY using the internet quickly at a city building (thanks Donna). We're doing well... Luckily avoided a big rainstorm today and have pushed out 50+ miles thus far today. We've gone off route and will be crossing the Illinois state line very soon. Heading to Carbondale, IL tomorrow night to get our bikes worked on for a little routine maintinance, then to Murphysboro, IL early Sat morning to get our packages and then we're headed for the heartland. It's supposed to cool down here this weekend. Keep the comments and emails rolling--its great to hear from people!!! We'll check back in soon.
-Alex