In Paris...

Isaac and I are now safely in Paris, seeing some of the sights and staying with a friend, Jim, that we met in Limbe.

We hope to make in up to Dublin tommorrow for Thanksgiving with my friends Jud and Anna Beth.

There is a public transport strike going on here in Paris, which makes getting around difficult.

More later

Kumba in Flames?!

These riots in Kumba that resulted in numerous building being burned and students being teargassed and shot (with one dying) began the day we left Kumba, 2 weeks ago. If you read my previous post about when we were in Kumba, you'll recall that it was a very frustrating day for us. We basically spent an entire day trying to get up to this lake, and ended up getting shuttled around for the entire day, trying to get permission to see the lake and paying a lot of money.

After our attempts were frustrated, we decided to give up on Kumba and left the next morning, on Wed the 7th. It's a good thing that we did, because later that day students began protesting too-frequent power outages (which we experienced). They started protesting on Wed, some were arrested but the protest was successful because they repaired the power problem. However, when the police did not release the arrested students, students rioted again on Friday, burning down a police station and a couple of other govt. buildings. Police fired teargas at the students, and when they ran out of teargas they started firing into the crowd. One student died and several others were seriously injured.

I guess it's a good thing we followed our instincts and left Kumba. I think our mother's prayers are working.

We didn't find all of this out until a week later, when we found this newspaper in the train station in N'gaoundere the following Friday. Needless to say, our mothers weren't as thrilled with the news as we were...

36 Hours to N'Gaoundere

Now, you would think that when you travel to a place like Cameroon, that your most memorable experience would be something like seeing a rare mountain gorilla or eating pig brains or something like that. Well, it turns out, that, for me, the most memorable and adventurous thing we have done so far is...take public transportation.

If you've read my previous posts, you understand that the buses, which are the primary means of transportation here are, how shall I put it delicately, not exactly up to Western standards of safety and comfort. Isaac and I had a taste of that the past couple of weeks on our rides in minibuses, and people and our guidebook warned us of the bad road conditions from Foumban to N'gaoundere, but nothing could really quite prepared us for the 36 HOUR ODYSSEY that we were to experience.

Our trusty (and now muddy) Lonely Planet guidebook said to budget a few days for the journey. In mind mind, I was thinking one long day to travel by bus from Foumban to Banyo, rest in a hotel for the night, then another long day from Banyo to N'gaoundere. The journey did take two days, but two days straight with no sleep.

We started by waking at 6 AM to meet our bus at 7 at the station. We've come to expect the late departure of buses at this point, but this time it was 6 hours late. After about 4 hours, we were getting a bit impatient, and were asking them why we weren't leaving. After all, we had the passengers, the loaded minibus, but...no driver. No one knew where he was. One of our fellow passengers chuckled at our impatience, and when we asked how long the trip would take he chuckled again and said something like, "It may take 12 hours, it may take 3 days. All we know is that we will get to Banyo. The road is very bad."

Well, finally, 6 hours later at 1 PM, the driver showed up, we all piled into the minibus, and off we went. You can see from the photos how much they pile on top of the bus, but what you cannot see is how much they pile inside. Since they had removed the last row of seats, we had "only" 4 rows left to stuff full of people, because the more they stuff in, the more money they earn. 1st row: Driver and 3 other men. 2nd row: 2 guys, 2 women, 1 child. 3rd row: Us (2 men), a woman, another guy and 2 kids. Last row: 5 women, 4 kids. Total: 9 guys, 8 women, 7 kids makes 24 people.

Now, look at the pictures of us (the red bus) getting ourselves unstuck from these mud pits, and imagine doing this over 20 times, for 16 hours (until 5 AM the next morning) some of the time in the rain and some in the dark, and you begin to get a picture of what this voyage was for us. The 1st part, at least.


At least there are two lanes



Tow ropes help






You also need to keep in mind that this isn't something out of the ordinary. These are relatively typical conditions for this road, and it is often much worse during the rainy season; another passenger, Fidelis, the man who was laughing at our impatience, said he once spent 3 days traveling the same stretch of road. This also isn't some obscure back road--it is the main road between these major cities.

Yet, as hellish as this seems, it was actually, in a strange way, actually pretty fun. I was so impressed by everyone's sense of humor. Whereas most of us soft Westerners would be cursing and perhaps crying, almost everyone was laughing and joking around. Everyone had to work together to rock, push, pull and will the bus out of the mudpit.

I was also blown away by how the women and kids just took it in stride. Another mud pit? 1 AM? OK? Just hop out of the van, walk past, and wait for it to get out. All of the kids in the car were young, under 5, and I rarely heard more than a whimper out of any of them.

We were not the only vehicle in this mess. There were dozens of others also stuck, including these huge delivery trucks, half of which were tipped over. It was a very circus-like atmosphere with people pushing and pulling vehicles, women and children selling food, the Cameroonians laughing at us for slipping in the mud. It doesn't get much more fun than this.

We finally arrive in Banyo, at 5 AM, 16 hours later. Our legs are splattered in mud, we haven't slept, and we've had nothing but bread and bananas to eat. Our plan had been to rest in Banyo for a night or two, but since the N'gaoundere bus left in an hour, we decided that we might as well just take it.

The other passengers waiting for the bus are also waiting there in the train station, sprawled out sleeping on benches.

At roughly 6 AM we start loading the next bus, and by 7, we're rolling to N'gaoundere. This time the road isn't as rough, but the bus is more uncomfortable. I think it maybe used to be a prison transport, because we all have to load in the back and there is a metal cage separating us passengers from the driver's compartment. All told, there are probably about 50 or 60 people packed into these extremely uncomfortable benches.

To make a very long story short, we arrive there after 11 hours, at 6 PM. The road isn't as bad as before, but that means there aren't as many chances to get out and stretch our legs. We made it to N'gaoundere, though, very tired.

journey to Foumban

We spent the day taking a minibus from Kumbo, where we've been the past couple of days to Foumban, in the attempt to make it over to Ngaoundere and take the train back down to Yaounde.

Our guidebook said that the road from Kumbo to Foumban, while rough, was gorgeous. The hotel owner where we stayed last night said we shouldn't go direct to Foumban because the road was rough and there were highway bandits.

He was wrong about the highway bandits, but the road was rough. We got stuck in mud pits about 3 times. The worst of the three times we had to get towed out by a passing beer delivery truck.

The ride for me was made more interesting due to the fact that I had to straddle the stick, and the driver jammed both the stick and his hand into my crotch every time he shifted into second, which was quite often because we were going very slow due to the bad roads. My seat also sat very high, so I had to crane my neck down if I wanted to see out the windows.

That being said, the ride was pretty, and now we're safely in Foumban, wishing we knew French and hoping to make it to Banyo tommorrow!!

Strange things in Cameroon...

One of my favorite things about traveling around here is just the completely random and strange signs and other things we see around here. Some examples:

A HIV prevention sign at our bunkhouse in Buea that read, "What's more dangerous than poison and witchcraft? It's HIV!" Here's a picture:





The "Alaska" popsicles that they sell on the street.

And, while I was emailing in an internet cafe in Bamenda, on the abandoned computer next to mine I read an open email, which, apparently, is part of a Cameroonian monkey export scam to Mexico. The email read: "Thanks for sending the pictures. I live in Veracruz, MEXICO. Where do you live? Are u sure that in one day ill have the monkeys here? Where do we
have to deposit the money?" You can't make this stuff up. I don't know if I prefer that they get their monkeys, or that they get scammed.

Also, the painted warning signs inside the minibuses, including this one:
Isaac was about to vomit, but then I pointed out the sign and he was then able to control himself.

Kumba is Kostly!

After hiking Mt. Cameroon, we made our way from the town of Buea, at the base of the mountain, north to Kumba. We were hoping to visit a lake next to the town that was discussed in our "Lonely Planet: West Africa" guidebook. They made it sound so easy: just take a cheap shared taxi for 150 CFA ($1=465 CFA) each to the road leading to the lake, pay the 200 CFA entrance fee, and feel free to camp wherever you wish. No problem. Not quite that easy.

So, one pattern that I've been noticing so far while traveling around Cameroon is that we've been paying about twice the quoted costs from the guidebook. This is either because we're getting overcharged, or simply because costs have risen since the book was published last year. I'm sensing that it is a bit of both.

Anyway, to reach Kumba we had to take a 2 hr. minibus from Buea, which was quoted as costing, I think, 2000 each, we paid 3000, then, of course, they tacked on an extra 1000 for luggage. The ride was fun, and we only got stuck once in a mudpit, so it was a roaring success. When we arrived at Kumba, of course the taxi drivers start clamoring over who will take us because, they know, they can probably get a lot of $ out of us. After negotiating a bit, we finally cave and agree to let a taxi driver take us, for ONLY 4000 (roughly $8, but a lot for a cab ride here), to the market 1st to buy food for camping, then all the way to the lake, a "very long way" of course. We negotiate the market and buy some basic supplies before getting to the entrance road to the lake which, of course, has a very large chain across the entrance being manned by a guy who stops us.

1st off, the fee isn't 200 per person, it is 1000 per person. 2nd, before camping we have to get permission from his "boss", who is the village chief. So, up the road further to the chief's house, where he asks us why we want to camp at the lake, laughs a bit at us, then tells the 4 men and 2 taxis accompanying us (somehow we've now picked up another taxi and 3 more guys), to first take us to the lake, let us see it, then come back for permission to camp.

So us, the 2 taxis and our 4 escorts start down the rough dirt road. Pretty soon we arrive at a very steep hill. When our original taxi tries getting up the hill, it fails after several tries only to grind backwards, smoking with a dead transmission. Great, we killed the cab. So we just leave our bags in that cab, hop in the 2nd cab, and continue on our merry way. We get to the lake, confirm that we do, indeed, want to try camping there, then drive back along the road. When we pass our original cab, the driver is just standing next to it, wondering what to do. Our escorts just chuckle a bit, but Isaac and I feel a bit bad because, in some way, we are responsible for his dead car. So, as we gather our bags, we give him the agreed 4000 plus a little extra.

So, now in cab 2 we head back to town to find the chief at his office to secure permission. We go in, sit down, and are promptly informed that we need to go to the police station. By now it's about 3 or 4 in the afternoon, and Isaac and I are getting frustrated and are very hungry & thirsty because we haven't eaten or drank anything all day.

So, off to the police station where we are sat down with the police commissioner who proceed to photocopy our passports and ask us all sorts of questions. How long in Cameroon, where are we from, where are we going, what church, where, who, ?????? Finally, he informs us that the lake is too dangerous, and we cannot camp there. OK. As we're leaving our escort (the guard guy from the lake) whispers that while it's "not compulsory", it would be nice to give the police chief something for his trouble. As we hold out 5000, they laugh and say it's not necessary. We insist, though, and they take it.

Then our cab with the other 2 guys in it, who have been waiting this entire time, take us to a local hotel. We argue with them for a while about how much we owe, then finally pay 3000. Then the hotel owner insists that we must get 2 rooms ("regulations" say that we cannot share) at 6000 each and then we pay our escort 2000 for his "help" (he actually was friendly and helpful).

He said he would be happy to take us back to the lake the following day, "no problems", but we decided that we'd rather escape to our next town: Bamenda.

Mt. Cameroon with Mr. Hans

Atop the mountain



Still steaming craters from the 1999 eruption:



I wish I could post pictures (I just did!), because climbing Mt. Cameroon was really incredible. It's the tallest mountain in West Africa, and an active volcano to boot, erupting as recently as 2000! To climb it, you have to get permits and hire a guide and porters, which sounds as if it would be expensive, but the total cost for 1 guide and 1 porter for 3 days for Isaac and I was 60,000 CFA, which is only $130! We also really lucked out, because the guide we got was Mr. Hans, the head guide for the main Ecotourism company for Mt. Cameroon.

So, aside from the name, Mr. Hans was in every way what you would imagine a local hunter turned ecotourism guide would be. He grew up in the area, and used to hunt on the mountain everything from giant rats to mountain elephants. He knew every single plant, its name, its use and its Latin name. He knew the history and geology of every smoking crater and old lava flow, and he knew all of the mythology surrounding the mountain. Besides that, he was a stud, hiking in hard plastic sandals and eating only bread. I could go on and on, but he was sweet.

It was pretty tiring hiking to 4095 m, and we brought too much stuff, but we had a fun time. We were pretty glad that we had a porter, too. His name was Marcos.

More pictures and cell phone!

Hello--

If you didn't get enough pictures from Kelsey, Stephanos also posted from pictures from our OCMC trip up North:
http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=31111193948455148/l=318144515/g=110496098/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Alexxa did as well:
http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=100911193955391320/l=322818029/g=6699788/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Also, the Metropolitan and Fr. Dmitri helped Isaac and I get a cell phone for while we are travelling around. We can call out from it, but it's about 50 cents for outgoing calls. BUT, if you have a source of cheap international calling (internet phone, cheap card, etc) and want to call us, incoming calls are free. The # is (237) 94-41-20-51. The 237 is Cameroon's country code.

Cameroon

Well, I haven't updated on Isaac and myself's Cameroon travels as originally planned, but I'll try to fix that a bit. To catch you up to speed...

As most of you know we were in the "Extreme North" (one of their regions) of the country along with a group from the Orthodox Christian Mission center. Metropolitan Gregorious, the Orthodox bishop of Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, and a few other countries has really done a lot of amazing work here in Cameroon since he got here only 3 years ago. Most of the work that he is doing is in the Extreme North, where he has built many churches, ordained clergy, built schools, wells, and medical clinics, amongst many other things.

The original purpose of our group's trip here was to help in the construction of a large barn that the Orthodox community in Tchatibali will use to raise cattle as an income source for the church. We didn't end up helping a whole lot with the construction (they had a lot of local workers), but we did have an incredible time seeing the area, visiting many churches, and getting to know the people. Needless to say, I could write for hours about that experience, but I won't because I only have 15 minutes left on this computer. To see some pictures that our fellow teammate, Kelsey Lourie, took, you can go to:
http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=56431194079956806/l=318212195/g=110513022/cobrandOid=1000001/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Hopefully that will work.

Anyway, since the team flew home a couple of weeks ago, Isaac and I have been traveling together to see and experience some other parts of the country. I'll try to get you a bit up to speed.

We 1st took a bus from Yaounde to Douala, the got a ride with a friend of one of the priest here to Limbe, a nice town on the ocean at the base of towering, volcanic Mt. Cameroon. We spent a few days in Limbe, relaxing some but mostly trying to get our bearings and figure out how things work here in Cameroon. We visited the Botanic Garden ("the relic of a once great botanic garden") complete with empty fountains, broken down playground equipment, and crumbling greenhouse. As the guidebook put it, "a relaxing way to spend an afternoon". The Limbe Wildlife Center was better, with lots of good displays of local primates, including one friendly chimpanzee who expertly hucked a large, softball-sized rock over the fence at us. Luckily, we dodged it. In retrospect it would have been fun to have caught it and thrown it back over, but I'm sure the keepers wouldn't have appreciated that. We also spent an afternoon trekking our way to one of the local beaches outside of town.

One of the most interesting experiences was sitting down for dinner at an outside grill, being overcharged immensely, and being talked up by our new "friends", brothers Santana and Anderson. They are in the palm oil business, their father has died, and are trying to figure how they can export palm oil to the U.S. We had to regretfully inform them that we knew nothing about the palm oil business. So, if anyone needs tons and tons of Cameroonian palm oil for cheap, let me know. I have Anderson's cell phone number. Oh, yeah, they also wanted to party with us, take us to the beach, and acquire cheap prostitutes for us. Maybe another time, guys.

Umm, so my time is about to run out on this computer, so I'll post more later about climbing Mt. Cameroon, getting swindled in Kumba, crazy bus rides where we had to help hold the bus upright, and our current situation in Bamenda. The computer next to me right now has an email with a monkey exporting scam to Mexico. Ahh, Cameroon.

Peter

Test

Test

I'm Done!!

I just got to the National Youth Science Camp office here in Charleston after a long 81 mile day, the last 64 miles having only 1 gear. Those hills weren't very fun. Unless I get a chance to post some pictures (unlikely for a while), this will be my last post. We drive down to camp tommorrow where I'll start getting ready for my caving coordinator job! My cell phone doesn't work at the camp (I'll periodically check messages), and will only check email every few days, but if anyone wants to send me anything (hint, hint), the address is:

For USPS:
Peter Lamb c/o NYSC
PO Box 99
Bartow, WV 24920

Fed Ex:
Camp Thornwood
Rt. 28
Bartow, WV 24920

Thanks everyone for your support and reading!

One gear left in the middle of WV!

I left Wayne, WV a few hours ago, ready to quickly ride the 60-70 miles left to Charleston because I was unburdened by all of my stuff because I gave it to Josh and Andy who had joined me at the motel last night. Virginia (my bike) had no serious mechanical problems (aside from flats) until, of course, now. 17 miles along the road my rear shifter cable breaks, and, of course, I have no tools with me to potentially fix it. So now I'm riding on one high gear the rest of the way. I'm breaking at a library now, but will soon start sweating up some more hills.

Previous msg was from yest.

Previous msg was from yest. Today went 100 to Wayne, WV! Passed Yale group cycling to SFran 2 raise $ 4 Hab 4 Hum. Waiting in motel 4 NYSC frnds. 70 left

82 to Salt Lick, KY.

82 to Salt Lick, KY. Forgot some clothes @ Josh's. Saw neat cave in woods. Cmpng in Bob & Nancy's yard. Good conversation & burgers. Bob has cool rocks.

Went to liturgy for Pentacost

Went to liturgy for Pentacost @ neat St. Athanasius church. Hung out rest of day w/ Josh, fiancee Joy & her sis Leslie. Resume riding tomm AM to camp!

Bourbon and Contra

Yesterday I toured the Bourbon Heritage Center at the Heaven Hill Distillery in Bardstown, KY. It was really neat, I learned all about bourbon, and got to sample some! I rode 55 mi. total yesterday before meeting up with Josh Lourie. I'm now staying with him here in Wilmore. Last night I went Contra dancing (predecessor to square dancing) with him, his fiancee Joe, and her sister Leslie. It was a blast. I'm here until Sunday, then back on the bike for the last push to Charleston!

Today will by my 1st day of no cycling since Utah! Yay! We might go pick strawberries today, but for now, breakfast!

Merton and Monks

My post from last night didn't get put up until this morning. I've had spotty cell phone coverage the past few days, and so haven't been able to post every day.

Yesterday was one of the most interesting days so far. Like I said, I saw the Lincoln Museum in the morning, then his birthplace after that. On the cycling map I have, I saw that the route goes right by the "Abbey of Gethsemani" here in the Kentucky hills. The cyclist I met in Carbondale, Joy, had stopped there, said it was neat, and told me that it was a Trappist monastery. This made me even more interested in stopping because I knew a little about the Trappist Order (a Catholic monastic order known for their focus on silence, prayer and labor) from reading some of Thomas Merton; he was an American Trappist monk in the 60's, wrote many well-known books, and was one of the most famous modern spiritual leaders.

We at Saint John's (my Eastern Orthodox community back home) have an interesting connection to Merton in that our "Big House" used to be a small Catholic convent which he visited in '68. In the late 60's the nuns moved and the "Big House" on Monastery Drive was purchased by our community founders, Harold Dunaway and his wife Barbara, to serve as the home and church for the community of young hippie Evangelical Christians they had. The group converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity (along with about 20 other Protestant churches at the same time), began raising families, built a larger Orthodox church, and the community formed. Ever since the Big House (now formally named the St. James House) has served as a place for young adults to live and as the center for meetings, guests and hospitality. I lived there for a year in '03/'04. Also, a friend of our community, Jim Forest, who spoke at our Eagle River Institute last year, was a good friend of Merton's and has written one of his better known biographies.

So, with this background I roll into the gates on my bike clad in my spandex and stroll into the bookstore. It had the usual assortment of books (including many by Merton), icons, cards, as well as cheese and Kentucky bourbon fruitcake the monks make. The first interesting coincidence was that amongst the icon cards I notice several put out by Conciliar Press (the publishing company formed by some from the larger group of Protestants turned Orthodox), and one of the cards featured an icon of the Resurrection painted by my godmother, Robin Armstrong! It was about this time I heard a monk talking with some other visitors about Merton and he told me that this was the Abbey he lived at! I was originally intending to keep riding a little further, but decided to see if I could possibly stay there for the evening. I made my way over to the retreat center and had to convince the Guestmaster, Fr. Anton, that yes, I would respect the rule of silence in the monastery, no, I would not listen to music or watch TV, and that in addition to being the crazy spandex-clad cyclist who wandered off the street that he saw before him, I was also a genuinely interested seeker and Christian. After telling him I was Eastern Orthodox and had visited other monasteries before, he warmed up a bit and graciously agreed to let me stay in a room for the evening. I was just in time to shower before the 5:30 service.

The church itself was beautiful in a very simple, austere way. It was long and tall made out of whitewashed brick with dark wood rafters. The only icon in the church was a small Byzantine-style one of the Theotokos (Mary) and Jesus. In fact, all of the other icons I saw in the retreat center were all Russian or Byzantine style. After a silent supper at 6:00, I went to Compline (evening service) at 7:30 followed by the praying of the rosary in a separate chapel. The majority of these services were simple chanting of the psalms in the antiphon style: back and forth in turns between the two sides of the church. They also had an organ accompanying most of the chanting, which I wish they didn't. I think the chanting sounded better a cappella echoing off the walls of the church.

The rest of the evening I was able to wander around the retreat center a bit, which has rooms for guests, some dining rooms, gardens, a meditation room and library. There are a few areas that allow talking, but most of the retreat center and monastery doesn't allow speaking. It was actually kind of nice not having to talk to everyone and just enjoy the silence. In the library they had a huge section of Merton books, including one, "Merton in Alaska" about his 2 week visit to Alaska in September of '68 before his journey to Asia where he died. I was able to read a good chunk of this book which was simply a transciption of his journal, letters and talks given during his Alaska visit. I was especially interested in learning about his visit with the nuns in Eagle River.

At this point in his life Merton had been living at the Abbey of Gethsemani for 27 years, and was very well known worldwide through his writings. His abbot had allowed him to start traveling, and he had been getting increasingly interested in the spiritual truth in other religious traditions outside of Catholicism, especially the Eastern religions, hence his visit to Asia. He was also interested in finding a more secluded place to possibly live as a hermit, hence his exploration of Alaska. He really enjoyed his visit to our great state: the friendly people, the beauty, and the seclusion. Flying around in bush planes, he was able to see a lot of the state, but spent the most time in Eagle River at the convent of the Precious Blood, now the Big House, living in a trailer next to it and giving a series of talks to the nuns. He only spent a couple weeks total, and a few days in Eagle River, but really enjoyed this time. It was especially neat to hear him describe things about Eagle River and the house: being able to see Mts. McKinley and Foraker from the house, getting tired climbing one of the Chugach mountains behind the convent, and describing how the nuns were probably going to move because the convent had "water problems". He also mentions visiting the Orthodox church in Eklutna and being disappointed that he couldn't visit a Russian hermit living on an island near Kodiak (I'm assuming he meant Fr. Gerasim on Spruce Island).

Another interesting connection is that today was the Feast of St. Ephraim the Syrian, a Desert Father highly revered in the Eastern tradition. During Mass, the homily was about St. Ephraim and how he and other pre-Schism saints can be wonderful common ground of reconciliation of the Eastern and Western churches. As I was leaving, I met a friendly Irishman, Kevin, who gave me a medallion of Mary and I spoke with for a bit.

Overall, I feel very blessed and thankful to have been able to stay there last night and the series of "coincidental" occurances.

Now I'm 15 miles down the road in Bardstown, which is a cool old historic town in the heart of Kentucky's bourbon making area. The Jim Beam, Jack Daniels, and several other bourbon distilleries are right near here. I'm hoping to visit the "Bourbon Heritage Center" for a tour and tasting! I have about 60 more miles to ride today before getting to Josh Lourie's place just south of Lexington where I'll stay tonight and tommorrow night. It'll be great to see him!

Lincoln Museum & birthplace this

Lincoln Museum & birthplace this AM, then rode 29. Found & staying @ Merton's Trappist Gethsemani Abbey! Services, food, silence & nice room. Beautiful.

Some clever title about Kentucky

I'm here at the library in Hogdensville, Kentucky. Unfortunately, though, I can't put up some of the many marvelous pictures from the past few days, which have gone well.

Three nights ago, as I mentioned briefly, I got to stay at the wonderful bike hostel at the First Baptist Church in Sebree, KY. Pastor Bob and his wonderful wife (whose name I forget) allow cyclists to stay in the basement of the church for free, and for those of us who have been camping out, it is pretty luxurious accomodations. They have a full kitchen, big screen TV, showers, free food in the fridge, and Pastor Bob's wife even did my laundry. I stayed the night with 2 German college students who are cycling the TransAmerica route going west. They had spent the day taking a rest day in Sebree.

The morning after Sebree, I biked to Rough River State Park and Resort. It is a really nice park at a reservoir that has a campground, cottages and lodge to stay at, showers, golf course, mini golf, beach, tennis courts and a bunch of other stuff. I've been getting soft.

Yesterday I had to decide whether or not I was going to take it easy for the next couple of days, or keep putting in 80+ mile days so that I could go off-route and try seeing Mammoth Cave and still make it to Josh Lourie's place (who I'm visiting this weekend) by Friday night. I've been feeling pretty tired the past couple of days, and my left leg has been bothering me a bit, so I decided to skip Mammoth Cave and take it easy. I'm glad that I did, because now I can enjoy the next couple of days a bit more, and not have to rush as much.

I'm starting to meet even more Westbound cyclists than before. I think I'm at the front edge of the big summer XC cycling crowd. The day before yesterday I saw a couple of older guys from Napa Valley in CA, another single guy from Germany, and a single American guy. Yesterday I ate lunch with a neat couple from New Zealand, Wendy and Gordon. They have bike toured a bunch of other places. I've heard great things about bike touring in NZ, but they said US drivers are actually more considerate to cyclists. Also, I briefly met a single guy, Fritz, as I was rolling out from lunch, and saw another American couple roll by towing BOB trailers, but didn't get to talk with them. Also last night I camped here in the Hodgensville park along with a retired Dutch man, Walter, who is a retired professor of German from here in the US. He's biked the route before, and is going West as well.

I'm right around the areas where Lincoln was born and raised, so as you might imagine, they're pretty Lincoln-crazy around here. The New Zealanders were laughing about how funny it was that there are so many "Lincoln sites" around here: his birthplace, boyhood home, where he spit on the sidewalk, etc. This morning I visited the Lincoln Museum here in Hodgensville for a couple of hours. It was interesting, and I learned quite a bit. The main feature was a bunch of recreated scenes from his life. I was a little disappointed that they didn't have more original artifacts--mostly a lot of recreations and objects from the Lincoln-era. Just down the road 3 miles is his birthplace, which I think I'll visit, and if I'm feeling particularly Lincoln crazy I might visit his boyhood home. Also, about 20 miles away, just off-route, there is a Catholic Trappist Abbey, which I might pay a visit to, and if I have time this afternoon, visit a bourbon distillery in Bardstown where I think I will stay the night. I only have to ride 40 miles or so today, so I can have fun being a tourist.

Tommorrow I'll leave the route and plan on making it to Josh Lourie's place just south of Lexington by the evening. I haven't seen him in years, so it will be fun to visit and meet his fiancee, Joy. I'll stay with him Sat, go to church Sun, and bike the next couple of hundred miles to make Charleston by Wednesday.

I'm almost done and to science camp!!

Didnt start till 11 today.

Didnt start till 11 today. Went 89 to Sebree & staying in really nice church hostel 4 free! Showers,laund,kitchen,food & TV! Movie w/ 2 WB Germans tonite

Short 56 to motel in

Short 56 to motel in Marion. Taking lots of shortcuts to save time. Met WB girl, Joy, in Carbondale & saw movie while eating gummi turtles.

93 to Chester, IL. Crossed

93 to Chester, IL. Crossed Miss. R on ferry, rode thru neat old town of Ste. Genevieve, dodged dogs @ Conf flag houses in MO & hit t-storm. Cmpng in park

Parade of Fun!

Well, I can't seem to post the pictures I wanted. I'm here in Farmington, MO, and just finished riding in the Farmington Country Days Parade with the biking club. I pulled into town as the parade was going on, and the cyclist invited me to join them! They were really nice, and are going to feature me in their newsletter!

Yesterday was HILLY riding through the Ozarks. It was a good day, though. I got 77 miles and camped under a bridge in Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park.

A couple of days ago I climbed a huge observation tower!!

Rescued some more turtles.

I'm going to get some lunch and roll out of town (checking out Country Days along the way). I want to make Chester, IL to camp in their town park. They have a town pool, so I want to try making it their before it closes. Also, rumour on the road has it that there is a guy who cooks breakfast for cyclists camping in the park. Yum.

Hmm, my pictures don't want to post, so I'm going to go.

90 to Summerville. Left tandem

90 to Summerville. Left tandem behind. Ate pie w/ WB Brits. Climbed stairs to top of huge tower. Ozarks are hilly & pretty. Cmpng in gazebo in city park.

A daredevil turtle named Chuck/Tried

A daredevil turtle named Chuck/Tried road-crossing to press his luck/But a cycling man kept thwarting his plan/So in despair he jumped under a truck.

Strong winds from the S

Strong winds from the S & hot temps made me wimp out after 40 today. The route turns S here & I dont want to battle the wind. Will camp here in Cassoday.

Rode 83 w/ the tandemers,

Rode 83 w/ the tandemers, Ralph & Kris from CA, a nice older couple who can really ride. Now Im staying & eating w/ them & their support RV in Marshfield

Kansas is flatter than a pancake

Really:

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2003/jul/27/holy_hotcakes_study/

Goodbye Kansas!

7 AM, directly into the 20 mph+ wind for 3 hrs. Not very fun. 2nd grade science question: what direction am I traveling?

My campsite Saturday night in Cassoday, KS.

This picture is pretty self-explanatory:

So Sunday night I'm riding along, and it's getting dark and I need a place to pitch a tent for the evening. I'd heard from several other cyclists that they'd had a lot of luck camping out in churches. I was too far from Chanute to make it before dark, so I decide to pull off the road in Benedict, KS, population 100 or so. After riding through town, I pull up to the dilapidated church that 3 men are at, working in the yard. After asking if I could pitch my tent they eagerly agreed. I was soon introduced to the three men who had just purchased the church, moved from Wichita, and were hard at work restoring it. The pastor, Joe, with a large belly and dirty "Jesus Lives" t-shirt was the clear leader and had bought the church and property for $4000. The youth pastor, Dale, had wild hair and lazy eyes and was eager to talk. James, with the full head of hair and bushy beard just didn't say much at all.

They proceeded to eagerly show me around the church and the work they were doing. It was actually a really neat old church, dating back, from their estimates, to the "John Brown days". They were all living in the church while restoring in and, as could be imagined, it was well lived in. They showed me the bell tower, pews, and the secret trap door used for "hiding slaves". Piled in the middle of the room where they were living were huge stacks of 50 lb military issue powdered milk. There must have been literally thousands of pounds of this powdered milk. Where they got it, I don't know, but they said that they'd put it in 5 gallon buckets and ship it to "people in need". So, if you know anyone who really needs hundreds of pounds of powdered milk, you know who to call. The ironic thing is the following morning I ran out of powdered milk. I was too timid to ask them for some, so I just bought a box in the store the following day.

I didn't really start getting weirded out until Pastor Joe started telling me about his friend's "prophetic dream". Apparently he had a friend in Wichita who had a dream where "seven fat dairy cows" came out from the ground or river or something like that. They were soon followed by seven skinny cows, who, if I'm remembering it right, ate the dairy cows. For those who know your Old Testament, this is quite similar to Pharoah's dream that Joseph correctly interpreted as foretelling of a period of 7 years of plenty followed by 7 years of famine. The only significant difference I could tell between the dreams, if I'm remembering it all right, was the significant detail that Pastor Joe's friend's cows were "dairy cows". His friend in the dream asked "Lord, is this similar to the seven years in Joseph's dream?" The Lord replied that it didn't signify seven years, but seven MONTHS! Seven months until some great famine, or economic collapse or the end of the world. I couldn't quite gather which exactly is supposed to happen in 7 months, and I'm not sure when the dream was had and when we're measuring from, but the general gist of the story was that something bad in 7 months. Apparently, we've had four of the five signs that the end is coming (wars, weird weather, a couple others I forget). The fifth, economic collapse, is just around the corner. I gathered from his telling that this was a significant factor in Pastor Joe & Co.'s decision to flee Wichita for the dilapidated church in Benedict. As he's telling this to me, especially when he got to the part about the "seven dairy cows", I really had to exercise some significant self control to not start laughing. I don't think he would have been too pleased if I started laughing. So I just patiently listened until he was done, knowing better than to disagree. I then politely declined their offer for me to sleep in the church, and left early in the morning. The only picture I took was this one in the church. Pastor Joe and Dale are on the right. I'm bummed I didn't take more. Oh well.

One of the 5 turtles I rescued yesterday. In addition to the 3 from the day before and the one from several days ago, this makes a total of 9. Turtles sure like to pee when you pick them up. Having run out of ninja turtle names the day before, I had to start being a little more creative. The five yesterday I named Tammy, Timmy, Tommy, Tara and Ridgeback. I'm not sure which this is.

OK. So yesterday was a nice, fun, long, hot day. I didn't see any other cyclists. A lot of interesting things happened, though. I ate granola before riding and leaving Benedict, McDonald's breakfast at 9 AM, big Sonic burger at 3 PM, and huge Arby's meal (roast beef sandwich, curly fries, mozarella sticks, cherry turnover and soda, all for $5.95!) at 8 PM or so. I think I set some sort of record for amount of fast food in one day. I think I may tone it down a bit. While riding along highway 7 into Girard, I look on the side of the road and what do I see: a 100 dollar bill!! I naturally scour the ditches for more, and find an envelope near the bill with a name written on it: Chadd Spensel. While in Girard I scoured the phonebook, trying to find Mr. Spensel, but to no avail. So I guess my motel room last night got paid for! I also lost a sandal off my bike (my nice new Chacos! :-( ). Also, in Pittsburg they have a really cool community waterpark with slides and a tubing river that I swam in for only $3.25!

So, today I'm taking it easy. I just going to ride 33 miles to Golden City where there is a biker hostel that's supposed to be nice. After just a few miles I leave Kansas and enter Missouri!! I'll stay there tonight, and get a good early start for a long day tommorrow! Thanks for all of the encouragement and comments!

Da zveedanya!!

Rode 88 to Pittsburg, KS.

Rode 88 to Pittsburg, KS. Rescued 5 turtles, found $100, swam @ Pitts. Aquatic Park, lost sandal off bike, ate lots of junk. Gave in & staying @ motel.

Cmpng in yard of old

Cmpng in yard of old church in Benedict being restored by 3 strange Wichita men. Pastor Joe described a dream w/ "7 dairy cows": WORLD ENDS IN 7 MONTHS!

7 AM start. Spent 9.5

7 AM start. Spent 9.5 hrs going 82 in tough winds. Avgd only 6 mph 1st 3 hrs. Went to Methdst church. Met 4 WB cyclists & rescued 3 turtles. 3+1 4 TMNTs!

Strong winds from the S

Strong winds from the S & hot temps made me wimp out after 40 today. The route turns S here & I dont want to battle the wind. Will camp here in Cassoday.

Mission: to catch the tandem couple

Hello friends,

It's Saturday morning at 10:45 AM. I'm here at the library in Newton, KS, and finally was able to post a bunch of pictures, as you can see. I hope you enjoy them all. Newton is a really nice town. As I came into town yesterday, a couple pulled over in their car to talk. They rode some of the TransAmerica trail last year, and live here in Newton. They were really nice and gave me a bunch of tips.

I stocked up on groceries last night, did my laundry, and camped in the really nice city park. This morning I was able to take a shower (for free!) in the community activity center, and now I'm here in the library updating the blog and checking my email before rolling out of town.

I met a guy on the road yesterday who said there is a couple on a tandem that are just a little bit ahead of me going east. Hopefully I can finally catch them today. I'm not off to a good start, though, so I'm going to stop wasting more time and get rolling! It's going to be another scorcher!

The Great Plains: A pictoral tour

Welcome to Eastern Colorado and Kansas:


A cool time-lapse photo of evening thunderstorms in the distance. You can see the lightning lighting the sky. This is in the town park in Eads, Colorado where I camped.
The Athleticlub TV lounge in Scott City, KS where I slept and survived the serial killer attack.My Puddle. Not the most attractive name for an RV park, but here in Kansas even puddles are exciting.
A turtle I rescued off of the road. He was so scared when I walked up to him that he literally peed himself. That was my good deed for the day. I named him Donatello after the best ninja turtle.
Taking a quick nap in the soldier's barracks at Fort Larned, a National Historic Site near, surprisingly, Larned, Kansas.
You have to be careful of those icy Kansas roads! Especially in this 90 degree weather!!
The delicious macaroni-and-cheese-and-extra-pepper-jack-cheese-and-summer-sausage. I couldn't finish it all. This is at the rest stop in Alexander where I was camping for the evening.
Pretty much the most exciting thing I saw that day:

Where I camped last night in the city park here in Newton, Kansas. It was a really nice park.

Colorado in 5 pictures

Me happily pretending to sleep in a trailer by the Arkansas River. I stumbled across a camp of river guides. After asking if I could camp there, one of them offered his trailer for me to sleep in since he wasn't using it that evening. I happily accepted. This was after an 107 mile day.
My view 6 to 9 hours a day. Usually I'm going faster than this.
A beautiful camping spot at a campground alongside a reservoir in Colorado. This was the evening Dad left to drive back to Salt Lake City.
After spending all day climbing over 30 miles and ascending thousands of feet, I finally reached the summit of treacherous MONARCH PASS on the Continental Divide! It was cold.


A cool picture from the reservoir campsite:

Utah pictures

Driving around Utah with Dad:

Dan's last desperate attempt to get a ride to Denver to catch his flight home to AK before caving in and taking a bus:
Biking through Cedar Breaks National Monument in Utah. The 8 mile road going through here was closed, so we had it all to ourselves! It was pretty, pretty cold that is. This was over 10,000 ft. There was still a lot of snow up there.
Hiking in Bryce Canyon National Park. Beautiful!!

Thunderstorms last PM.Biked for 7.5

Thunderstorms last PM.Biked for 7.5 hrs against tough headwinds all day to make 70 into Newton.Met guy going W to NM.Did laund & cmpng in city park.

Didnt make the 60 mi

Didnt make the 60 mi b4 dark so I'm cmpng in a cowfield.I hope a cow doesn't trip over my tent in the dark.Cows are dumb like that.Rode 91.I really smell.

I've sure "Larned" a lot

Hey everyone. I'm at the library here in Larned. It's 4:00, and I've been eating and taking a break for a couple of hours. I rode 47 this AM. On the way I passed and talked with a couple of college girls from Holland who started in NY a couple of months ago, are following the TransAmerica trail to Oregon, then are making their way down to Los Angeles. It's really cool running into all of these other cyclists. They told me that there are a couple of couples just a little bit ahead of me, so I'm hoping to ride a lot more today and camp in the same town tonight that they're supposedly staying at (I forget the name). Hopefully I can join up with them for a day or two to have some company. If I keep singing these same songs to myself and the cows day after day I'm going to lose it by the time I reach WV.

It's in the 90s again today, but it's not too bad. I'm just slathering on the sunscreen and drinking more water. I'm also shedding as much weight as I can to speed me down the trail. I just sent a 3 lb, 10 oz. box of stuff that I wasn't using ahead of me to camp. It was mostly extra clothes and such. I'm also shedding pounds on myself. I weighed myself the other night at the Athleticlub, and I had lost 10 lbs.! That Wendy's, McDonalds, KFC & Taco Bell is really doing the trick! Speaking of food, last night I made a box of macaroni in the rest stop I was staying in, BUT I added a bunch of pepper jack cheese and summer sausage. The entire pot was probably 2000 calories. It was really good, and I'd like to say that I finished it, but, alas, it was just too much for me. It's the 1st time this trip I haven't been able to finish my plate.

Well, I need to go because I have about 5 hrs to try making 60 miles before it gets dark. Plus, I have to go to the bathroom. I'm starting to feel the Wendy's burgers and Sonic shake I had for lunch...

Spent the AM grocerying &

Spent the AM grocerying & interneting in SC.Started riding @ 1130.Hot in 90s.Met 2 guys biking west & 8 lunch w/ NY Dan. Cmpng @ rest stop in Alexander.

Kansas 101

Hey everyone. I'm here at the library in Scott City, Kansas Wednesday morning. Last night I stayed at the "Athleticlub", a gym/fitness center that they let cyclists stay in overnight for $9. It was kind of weird because they just lock you in, and there you are, sleeping by yourself in this big fitness center. They had me sleeping in the lounge/TV room on the couches. It was nice because I was able to shower and relax some. I was tempted to sneak into the pool or hot tub at midnight, but I didn't. No one would have known if I had. When I was getting ready to go to bed, I started getting kind of creeped out. Just me, alone, in the big center, no one else around except the SERIAL KILLER IN THE SHOWER ROOM!!!

I was happy that I got a nice long day yesterday. I avoiding getting started riding today. It's nearly 11, though, so I should get going. Yesterday was in the mid-90s, and it's supposed to get hotter today. Thank goodness for my Camelback. I was just sucking the water down yesterday, going through 100 oz or so every couple of hours.

I'm definitely in Kansas now. It's nice and flat. It's boring, but makes for quick biking. Everyone is really friendly, though. At a rest stop yesterday, two ladies shared some water, a banana, and tomatoes with me.

Since Pueblo, I've now hooked in with the main TransAmerica bike route that several hundred people ride each year. Since there's not much going on in these towns, they really know about and cater to the cyclists, which is nice. There are several cycling-specific hostels and such. It seemed that the Athleticlub I stayed in last night only lets cyclists stay there.

I can't post pictures from this computer, but I'll try getting some up soon. Hopefully I can keep flying through KS, and get to camp on time!

Good winds & downhill let

Good winds & downhill let me get 107 today. Staying @ Athleticlub in Scott City, KS for $9. They just locked me in & I have the run of the place.

65 in tough winds to

65 in tough winds to Eads. Saw snakes & 2 other cyclists going west. Watched some Eads grls sftball & ate "Super Nachos". Note: NOT good cycling food!

Mike & Ikes while Im

Mike & Ikes while Im waiting for someone to show up @ the desk. Mmm, Mike & Ikes. Im taking these as my vitamins now! How d'ya like that, Mom?!

Oh, yeah. I'm working my

Oh, yeah. I'm working my way thru a 9.5 oz box of Mike

Went to Liturgy this AM

Went to Liturgy this AM @ St. Michaels in Pueblo. Biked 55 this afternoon in hot 90s. Now Im hanging out in empty lobby @ funky hotel/hostel in Ordway...

Rode 85 over more Rockies,

Rode 85 over more Rockies, thru sun & storm, past many snakes both live & dead to reach Pueblo. Went to Vespers, followed by pizza. Staying w/ Kuzmiaks.

Big day. Rode 105 mi,

Big day. Rode 105 mi, ascended 3500', crossed Cont. Divide @ 11K' & ate both McD's & KFC. Sleeping in river guide's trailer 4 free tonite! Pueblo Ho!

Dad just left to drive

Dad just left to drive back to SLC. We grilled steaks & corn for din. Camping near Gunnison, CO & hope to make Pueblo by Sat PM. Goodnight,friends & fam!

Rocky Mountain Fever

Dad and I stayed in Moab, UT last night, the mtn. biking capital of the world. It is a really cool outdoorsy town. This morning we went on a half-day rafting trip which was fun. In the interest of trying to make my job at NYSC in WV on June 14, I decided to have Dad drop me a few hundred miles down the road in CO.

Right now we're at the library taking a break from driving in Ridgway, CO. We'll have dinner together, then Dad is going to take off later this evening to start driving back to Salt Lake City. The plan is for me to bike a around 200 miles Fri. and Sat. and make it into Pueblo Sat. night so that I can stay with some people at the Orthodox Church there and attend liturgy on Sunday. I wish I had more time to spend biking through UT and CO; oh, well. It should be interesting trying to have a couple of really long days right in a row. We'll see how it goes.

Thanks everyone for reading and all of the comments. Even though I can't really respond to them individually, I am enjoying reading all of them when I'm at a computer. I'll try posting more pics in Pueblo in a few days. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers, and I'll see you down the road!

Peter