TXPeddler

Hope Springs Eternal

2010-10-01T09:11:00.022-05:00

Well, been absent a while. Out fighting my demons again. Let's bring this puppy up to speed...

Hmmm, where to start? Where to start??? OK, how's this: It's now been ~7 months and nobody, not a soul, from BABA has made any attempt to contact the Bensons... period. No phone call. No email. No text. No snail mail. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Not a peep. Kinda weird for an organization that indicated their "high level of concern" for the Benson's well-being and that they stated they were still going to provide the Benson's with a home. Especially weird when you consider that Dan Walrath was picked by CNN to be one of their Top 10 "Heroes". Harumph! Some kind of hero. The shit hits the fan and he immediately throws his Troops under the bus, takes the money and hauls ass in a different direction. As long as there is greed there will always be a need for our men & women in uniform.

As for me, well, I rode WWP SoldierRide Texas again in March. This year we road North from San Antonio to Dallas/Ft. Worth. It rained & was cold again in San Antone but by the time we got to Temple/Ft. Hood it was warm and sunny. The Spring wind whipped us a bit but everybody carried on and all had a good experience. Along with a bunch of great OEF/OIF Troopers, I got to meet a man from our Sponsor, Boston Scientific, named Sam Holiday (picture below is of Sam and I & taken during SoldierRide California in May). Great guy and an awesome cyclist. His story in itself should be in a book of what America is all about. I found out from Sam that Boston Scientific makes a spinal cord stimulator that may be able to reduce and/or relieve my chronic leg and low back pain.

I went back to Houston and set an appoint with my primecare doctor at VAMC DeBakey in order to ascertain whether or not we could use the spinal cord stimulator approach to treat my 100% Service-Connected chronic pain issue. The doctor flat out told me that the VA would NOT approve such an expensive procedure and when I asked him for a referral to Pain Management so they could tell me such, he refused. Additionally, even after having told him point blank that I no longer wanted to take a bunch of pills and that they were having a negative impact upon my health and my quality of life... he wrote me 5 new prescriptions and told me they would be ready in the pharmacy when I left! Wow! I subsequently contacted Sam and my wife contacted the VA. Sam hooked me up with his team here in Houston who immediately went to bat for me by calling the VA directly and appraising the right people of my situation. Theresa had the VA change my primecare doctor to a more professional and learned individual whom I then had an appointment with some time later.

So, while we're waiting on this to happen...

I went and road SoldierRide California from Los Angeles to San Diego in May. No wonder there are so many fricken people in Southern California... it is absolutely gorgeous! I loved it! The weather. The people. The scenery. Everything. I even got to go to Sea World and watch the Orca show. That was kind of weird sitting there watching the show while thinking of Dawn Brancheau and Tilikum. It was a great show though and afterward I got to meet the trainers and talk a bit. I learned a bunch and really enjoyed the experience. I also got to meet and speak with an CMH Recipient, a Tuskeegee Airman, Cpt Dan Schindler from RAAM Team 4 Mil, a few celebrities, the Iceman Chuck Lidell and Rick Allen (the drummer for Def Leopard). I even gave Rick Allen my SoldierRide jersey right off my back! That was a switch and, you know, I think he actually really appreciated it. Great guy. Very well grounded. DB Sweeney was a cool character too... just a regular guy. Very cool. Also in Cali I again hooked up with a bunch of really, really great American Troopers whom CNN should be more interested in putting before the public as Heroes than the aforementioned what's-his-name. I also got to ride with Sam again and some of his folks from Boston Scientific, including a fella by the name of Mike Roman who just happens to be the World Land Speed Record Holder. Ah, what a character Mike is. Great, great individual whom I feel honored to have met and ridden with. His story too is one of how to overcome tragedy and not only be active and engaging in life but to totally excel at whatever you choose to do with it. His is a great story of overcoming adversity and becoming more than you ever thought you could. OK, that's kind of redundant but, I really can't say enough good stuff about Mike. You can learn more about Mike here: http://www.racingroman.com/ (Sorry about the pics, but Mike moves around so fast it's hard to get a good picture unless you have a high-speed camera! LOL!)

After CA SoldierRide, Summer came on fast here in Houston. The quicksilver shot up along with our 3rd Coast humidity and, for some weird reason, it hit me really hard this year. I couldn't manage riding my 27-mile "around-the-block" ride let alone any cross-country events. My stamina went through the floor and my attitude followed. After a few weeks of this I stopped and really listened to what my body was trying to tell me. I figured out that I was simply poisoning myself with the long-term use of prescription medications. I had become sensitive to sunlight burning easily along with becoming dizzy and faint if out in it too long. I had no muscle strength or endurance. I felt nauseous constantly and had no desire to be social in any way, which is really weird because I am a very social individual. In fact, my wife says I've never met a stranger. It was a weird feeling and one that I was not used to and didn't care for at all. I changed up a few things & scaled back on the Rx until the withdrawal symptoms turned me into a real asshole and then let it level out. I spent my days playing mad xbox Battlefield Bad Co. 2 in order to give my mind something to concentrate on while my body went through the sweats and shakes and tremors. I'm now taking only one Rx instead of seven and hopefully, if this spinal cord stimulator works out, will be able to get off of that one too. I've lost 10lbs and feel just so much better that it amazes me. I feel stronger, more driven and with a desire to engage life again rather than avoid it. Meeting and riding with all of the Troops on SoldierRide as well as Sam Holiday and Mike Roman and, along with having friends like Scotty and the Bensons and a wonderful and supportive wife gave me a considerable pool of strength and inspiration from which to draw. I don't think I could have done it without you guys. Thank you all.

So that is how my Summer of `10 went. Oh, yeah. I don't want to leave y'all hanging out there so this is how my VA experience has gone thus far... This new doctor just happened to be the one I had some 2 years previously and is the head of the primecare staff at DeBakey. Well, he listened to me, reviewed my file and discussed the situation at depth with Theresa and I. He readily accepted that my situation was not something he could treat in general medicine, that prescription medications were NOT going to resolve the issue and that I should have a direct route to Pain Mgt without having to go through primecare for a referral every time I needed something regarding this injury. He personally called upstairs to Pain Mgt to request and appointment right there on the spot (of course he couldn't get anybody to answer the phone so he ended up having to send an electronic request but, he tried and that says a lot). He also took the initiative to schedule me for a CT Myelogram so that the Pain Mgt folks would have up-to-date films to use to assess the situation (this too was an epic fail as the office called to schedule the appointment a week later and left me a message when I didn't answer; I then called 6 times over 3 weeks to schedule this appointment leaving a message on 5 occassions and nobody called me back until 2 days before my appointment with Pain Mgt thus scheduling the CT Myelogram for 2 weeks after my appointment. Typical VA. Shouldn't surprise you.)

Yesterday I got to see Pain Mgt. The meeting went well in my opinion. It is totally amazing the level and/or quality of service one receives at the VA once you get past the base level of care. I think there is gross disparity in how an individual is treated from primecare to specific care at this VA facility. Anyway, the meeting began with the doctor telling me how he had been made aware of my situation sometime back via my friends at Boston Scientific... Thanks Guys! He listened to me and we went on to discuss my situation in depth, including starting from the initial injury to be sure he had a good understanding of my situation and from where I am coming. It took nearly 4 hours to get through the whole thing but, Theresa said it's the first time she had ever seen me leave the VA without being totally pissed off and fuming. The doctor even went so far as to recognize that new technology and methods in MRI would allow him to see what's going on in my spinal column even with the hardware. He said that the invasive and painful CT Myelogram would not be necessary and therefore I don't have to go through with it. So we changed from the myelogram to the mri and away I go... Once he gets the films from the mri he will review them and we will decide whether to try epidural steroid injections or spinal cord stimulation; however, given the extent of structural damage and subsequent fusion, the age of the injury & the symptoms I am experiencing chances are that we'll go straight to the spinal cord stimulator. The doctor feels that I am an excellent candidate for said stimulator and thinks that we should have very good and beneficial results. In that I am very happy. Perhaps that is why I was not fuming on my way out the door as my level of hope began to rise again after years and years of suffering chronic pain. We shall see...

For now I'm going to "put on my sailing shoes" and go for a ride around the block...

Ride On!

Oh, BTW... keep your fingers crossed for us. The WWP has recently given the "go ahead" for the WWP Cycling Team, however, they are still kicking around a budget and how best to go forward with this project. As one of the Team riders I am very excited about this opportunity and what it will mean to have a chance to reach out to other wounded Veterans with an interest in cycling. If I can help them succeed then I have succeeded.

...and for those who don't know, just click on the title for each of my blog entries to listen in on the song that is running through my head as I create these entries.

Hope you like my pics...

Veterans Beware; The Story of BABA & The Benson's

2010-03-09T08:24:00.007-06:00

I am writing this to let everybody know what just happened to my dear friends Jessica & Latseen Benson. It would be a travesty that such aberrant behavior would go on unnoticed. I hope Jessica & Latseen don't mind that I tell y'all their story but, knowing them I'm certain they would appreciate it if just to let other Veterans know to beware of those who approach them with promises of large gifts.

Sgt Latseen Benson was hit by an IED on 13NOV2005 while on foot patrol with the Pukin' Buzzards near Mosul, Iraq. The blast tore off his left leg below the knee and his right leg nearly to his hip. Latseen lost his legs that day as well as part of who he was before the war. They stabilized him in the field and sent him to Germany for repairs after which he was sent to Walter Reed in DC... and we all know what was going on at Reed right about that time. Given the environment and his pure sense of determination and drive to be independent, Latseen pushed hard to recover and convinced his doctors to let him go home after only 8 short months.

During this entire time Jessica never left his side. She provided him with love and encouragement, kind words and a kick in the ass when he needed it. She chased off the paperwork gremlins and kept Latseen focused on the task of rehabilitation. She made sure that everything stayed on track and never once complained about herself. Jessica remains at Latseen's side because she loves him. They are good together. They will always be stronger together than either one of them individually.

In 2008 the Benson's were approached by Bay Area Builders Association (BABA) in Houston, Texas, a 501C3 organization benefiting U.S. War Wounded Veterans, with opportunities like fishing trips (such as the one I wrote about here back in October 2009) with the overall grand promise of a brand-new, custom-built ADA home free of charge. The Benson's worked with BABA at events such as the Pasadena Rodeo selling items & raffle tickets to raise money for BABA. They worked tirelessly and never complained to me about the long hours. They only spoke of how much fun they had just being together.

In December of 2009 BABA, in conjunction with a local country radio station, held a concert in Houston at which they announced to the world that Jessica and Latseen had been selected by BABA to receive that afore mentioned home. Though they were working towards that end and hoping for it, it was a surprise to the Benson's and it really showed on the pictures from the event (Latseen never smiles). BABA posted this along with pictures on their website. Latseen was now their new poster child.

Once at home and away from all the excitement Jessica & Latseen got to looking at the plans for their new home. Upon inspection it turns out that it was not the ADA accessible custom home they were promised but rather one of the small cookie-cutter homes in Victory Lakes. While a very nice neighborhood, the floor plan for the home left no room for wheelchair access. A custom home with over-sized hallways, living space and restrooms is necessary for Latseen to get around in his own home and they brought this to the attention of BABA, who then promised to update the plans with said amenities. The Benson's then called the builder and were told that there was no way to change the plans without changing the entire home. BABA then pulled those home plans and told the Benson's that they would pick an entirely different home for them.

Several weeks went by and the Benson's never heard back from BABA. Then, by third party, they heard the very disturbing news that BABA had pulled their gift and were no longer going to give the Benson's a home. Upon investigation Jessica found out that BABA was indeed defaulting on their promise because they said, "they only support stable families." Apparently, a personal and private matter with the Benson's relationship was now the cause of BABA's default! Now, I'm not going to elaborate on that issue because I believe it is, and should remain a personal and private issue between Jessica and Latseen. Furthermore, it is not the issue at hand and I believe BABA is simply using the issue to cloud the water. If Jessica or Latseen want to share that part of the story they can tell you about it in the comments below, but, I urge you to not focus on that because it is not the issue. The issue is that a 501C3 supposedly dedicated to providing needed homes for our Troops just pulled the carpet out from under a really, really great family who deserved and earned the home they were promised, period.

There is no such thing as a "stable" military family, however, if you want to talk about strong and devoted and committed and host of other such adjectives to describe the military family you'd be on the right path. Such audacity and hubris! To think that these folks, who only one of which served in the military, can stand there and say that they are passing judgement upon such a great family is beyond me.

BABA's next move was to have a "hearing" at the behest of Jessica and Latseen. Well, what do they do but schedule the hearing for a date when Latseen will be out of the State on a previous engagement and, and, one which Jessica had advised BABA of on previous occasion! BABA would not reschedule the meeting so Jessica was left to stand by herself in front of these vultures who had clearly already made their decision. Theresa and I went to the meeting and sat outside just to give what support we could to Jessica. When Jessica came out of that room in tears I was completely enraged! I wanted to go in there and just beat the living crap out of those smug bastards.

At the end of the meeting BABA had told Jessica that they would contact her in a "few days" to let them know their final decision. Shortly afterward BABA removed the pictures and article about the Benson's from their website. It seems Latseen was no longer good enough to be their poster child. More than a month later one of the BABA board members called Jessica only to say that he was checking up on them but when the conversation turned to ethics he stated that that was not the conversation they should be having and terminated the call. To this day no BABA representative has notified, telephonically or otherwise, the Benson's on their final decision.

This is just plain wrong. The Benson's are really great folks and War Heroes to boot. I think that BABA should be investigated and that they should lose their 501C3 status. I hate to say it. I hate to see an organization set up to assist our War Wounded go under, but, not this one. You just don't treat people the way they did the Benson's. You just don't run an organizaton by the seat of your pants, there are rules to govern that organization. That is partly why you have to apply for 501C3 status.

Oh, and here's the kicker for you... Latseen is an Alaskan Native American! Anybody remember "Manifest Destiny?" Here we have an aboriginal who, out of a love for his country joins our Military to defend all of ours' Freedom and to help those who cannot help themselves attain their Freedom and what reward does he get... he gets his ass blown up, then sent to Walter Reed, then has to fight the VA for what he is rightly entitled to and then, then this is how he is treated by an organization that is supposed to be helping!?! WTF!?!

I will be sending a copy of this to my Congressmen and Representatives. Hopefully you will read this and do the same. Perhaps you can drop BABA a little note and express your feeling to them as well (just click on the title of this entry to get to their website). Thank you.

To Jessica and Latseen, I love you guys. Thank you for serving our Country. It means something to me and, while that isn't much, I know there are others out there who appreciate you as well. Hang in there and we'll all get through this together... One big happy, if not stable, military family.

ESSAYONS!

Independence Fund Wallis Ride III

2009-12-22T10:58:00.004-06:00

Just received an email from Steve over at the Independence Fund with a follow-up on the Wallis III Ride and wanted to pass along the Palo Verde Valley Times article he sent with his email. Veterans Group Ironwood was a key contributor allowing this ride to come off without a hitch. Many, many thanks to VGI for their hard work and dedication. I know that I appreciate their efforts and am fairly certain that the other Veterans who participated in the Wallis III Ride feel the same way. This is an amazing story of a Brotherhood that transcends all boundaries, including prison walls. ESSAYONS!

Veterans Group of Ironwood State Prison "Still In Service"

XBox Anyone?

2009-12-01T11:18:00.005-06:00

Ha! I was talking, well, texting my buddy Anthony yesterday about getting a new xbox just to play the new Modern Warfare 2. Word has it that it's "ultra-realistic" and a must play game. Now, I love first-person shooter games, such as America's Army, which was developed specifically for the U.S. Army, and played the heck out of our ps2 and old xbox but haven't played since moving to our new home and having the game consoles relocate upstairs for the kids. Just recently it was also brought to my attention that the old xbox bit the dust and the ps2 was carted off by my daughter to one of her friend's homes... my guess never to return... poor ps2. So, I'm getting really stoked about an xbox 360, a 40" lcd television (whoa! 1080p! hdmi! vyper game mode! oh, yeah!) and a few hours of shoot 'em up with my buddy on xbox 360 live. I get up this morning and, much to my elation, hear the Eagle screaming and figure "hmmm, I might run by Game Stop today & pick up a used system." I get online to check availability and price and check out some game trailers and I find this one on The Onion. Wow! This game really nails the "ultra-realistic" part for sure! Hey, Anthony... got a smoke? Oh, and I'd take the Shakira option... Wha ha!

Enjoy the Ride!

Ultra-Realistic Modern Warfare Game Features Awaiting Orders, Repairing Trucks

Wallis Independence Ride

2009-11-17T12:18:00.009-06:00

This past weekend TC & I hooked up with Steve Danyluk and Independence Fund for the third annual Wallis Independence Ride in Wallis, Texas. I began preparing for the ride on Tuesday by cleaning & checking the trikes. Friday morning I got up and put together all of the gear we would need and spent the rest of the day pacing around excited about taking my wife with me on a bike ride. TC arrived home from work at the usual 1500hrs and while she freshened up and changed clothes, Mick & I loaded the trikes and gear. We departed our residence at 1535hrs and headed for the Galleria in Houston.

I made a quick stop at Specs for a little something for my buddy, Benson. Friday, 13NOV2009 was Benson's "Alive Day" anniversary; it was four years ago that Benson was blown up by an IED outside of Mosul, Iraq. After a brief cruise down the whiskey isle I settled on a nice bottle of Knob Creek small batch Kentucky Bourbon. I then made a pass by the humidor and picked up a box-pressed Java Estate Robusto Maduro; a fine cigar to which Benson & I have taken a liking.

TC & I then joined in with the mass of people who all happened to be going north on IH45 at the same time as we headed for the Embassy Suites at the Galleria. After a couple of bottlenecks we made it to the hotel around 1645... 15 minutes prior to the designated meet-up time. We got checked in and dropped off our bags then headed right back downstairs to catch the van to dinner. We enjoyed the ride to dinner where we sat behind our new friends Kate & Fran from where else but New York City! We had a real gas talking & cutting-up with Fran & Kate.

Our dinner was courtesy of Boudreaux's and Schlumberger Cycling Club, who organized the ride, and took place at the Schlumberger facilities. We enjoyed visiting as well as slide shows and presentations by and for all the folks who made the ride possible, including Veterans Group Ironwood who provided us with $10k. The amazing thing about this donation is where the money came from and how it was raised. Veterans Group Ironwood is a collection of Veterans who are incarcerated in the Ironwood Prison, California Penal System. They raised the money by selling pizza in their chow hall and by recycling cans and bottles. Amazing! These guys raised that kind of money from inside prison... imagine how much could be raised outside of those walls. Thanks guys! Best of Luck to you all.

At dinner I also got to hook up with my friend Charlie again. I hadn't seen Charlie since Soldier Ride this past March. Charlie is still in the Army and serving at Ft. Benning, Georgia even though he has a major TBI and significant damage to his arm and hand after being blown up by an IED in Iraq. It was nice to visit with Charlie and I wish him all the best.

After our nice dinner we headed back to the hotel where we enjoyed a nightcap and some more visiting before we tottered off to bed around 2200hrs. The room was comfortable and it wasn't long before I was sawing logs.

My alarm deployed its irritating little beep at 0445hrs. We donned our bike clothes, packed & headed downstairs to grab some breakfast and check out. Because of the time our breakfast was a brown bag containing the bike riders ever-present banana, a muffin, a granola bar & a juice. Much like eating MRE's in the field, everybody sat around trading various pieces until they had the flavor they liked and then began eating. Unfortunately for coffee drinkers there was no fresh coffee out at 0530hrs on a Saturday morning. Typical of Military folks, a couple of trusted and industrious individuals set off to resolve this issue and quickly returned from the employee break room with steaming cups of fresh coffee.

We then loaded up and drove the 44 miles over to the Knights of Columbus hall in Wallis where we unloaded & fitted bikes. All of the Veterans then lined up with the Marine Corps Color Guard and some sponsors for a few pictures. We then lined up for the National Anthem and the ride start. There were about 800 riders total. The weather was perfect for a bike ride too. It was about 65 degrees with a light breeze and clear skies. Since we hadn't been riding very much lately, TC, Latseen, Jessica & I decided that we would ride the short route, 23 miles, and call it a day. TC & Jessica decided that they would at least ride to the first banana!

We found the first banana about 5.5 miles down the road where we made the first rest stop without a hitch. The Boy Scouts had the rest stop manned and were serving some really good gatorade as compared to the usually watered down stuff. We topped off our bottles & headed down the road. It was really fun riding along and talking with folks. There were folks of all abilities and skills enjoying the ride and showing their support for our Country's Veterans. It was a good feeling to see such an outpouring of support. I am glad that we have turned a page from the aberrant way in which our Country welcomed home Its Vietnam Veterans. I looked around at my fellow Veterans and could immediately see that they too were very much enjoying the ride and the day... made that much better by the many cheers, thumbs up, hand shakes and back pats. I am honored to share the company of such great men and women as those who serve(d) our Great Country.

Latseen had seemed a little disappointed that we were riding the 23-mile route when there were longer routes available for a challenge. Still, I had agreed with TC to ride the 23 and I wasn't going to ride on without her. At the point where the short route peeled off Benson was about a quarter of a mile ahead of me and, after a little half-hearted partial turn, he continued down the road of the 42-mile route. Jessica, TC & I took a right and headed on down the road content to be riding the 23 miler. Poor Jessica hadn't ridden since the BPms150 in April and she was riding a standard framed bike... she didn't complain a bit but when I asked her she said she was experiencing pain in her wrist, left foot and her butt. I'm really glad that she came out to ride though as it's always more fun with more people, especially those you like! I also have to tell you how proud I am of my beautiful wife. She is truly my everything. I don't know where I would be without her. She jumped on her new Catrike Expedition and peddled like a pro! She rode better than I have ever seen her previously ride. She visited with folks and her smile was infectious.

The short route simply turned back around the block so-to-say and ended up back at the same rest stop. We wheeled in and took another short break. After some more of that delicious gatorade we started to head back down the road. Thinking I was behind them, Jessica & TC took off for the finish line. I had stopped to talk to some folks who were asking about my trike when one of the fellas said, "you better get going. looks like your wife has done left without you." I looked up to see TC's little orange flag flapping along about a half of a mile down the road. Here's how I know TC was riding so well. After 20 miles she was cooking right along and I was having a hard time closing the gap... even on a bridge! Good job, Honey! It took me several miles to finally catch her. I think it was the chip-seal in the construction area that slowed her down enough for me.

We rolled across the finish line right behind Jessica to cheers and posters. It was really nice. Thank you for all of the support! TC & I loaded up the trikes and went to check on Jessica. Turns out that Latseen had the keys for their truck with him so she would have to wait for him to finish the 42-mile route before being able to load her bike and change clothes. Meanwhile, we went inside and ate a nice lunch courtesy of the Knights of Columbus, along with some live music. It was a nice way to wind down and visit for a while. We then headed outside and waited for Latseen. When he came in we joined the folks cheering! We got him loaded up and then went back inside so he could eat some lunch.

That wrapped up our day and, after well wishes, we all headed for home. TC & I took the scenic route home and after having gotten up at oh-dark-thirty we went straight for a nap!

On Sunday, "Love Your Spouse Day", we watched a really bad scifi show on t.v. then went for lunch at McAlister's. After lunch we went to the theater and saw "Fourth Kind." It was a really weird show. Then we went for a drive along the shoreline of Galveston Bay stopping at several parks to just sit and watch. After discovering that we would have no children to worry about for the evening we stopped by What A Burger and then went home. Ending the day by watching the Colts upset the Patriots in a last minute drive on Sunday Night Football.

In all, it was an awesome weekend!

Ride On!

Wallis Independence Ride 2009

Outdoors Weekend Courtesy of BABA

2009-10-20T14:48:00.005-05:00

First off... I hope you had a GREAT birthday weekend, Benson! Happy 30th! Here's to many more!

Benson invited me to join him for a weekend at Champion Ranch in Centerville, TX where we enjoyed fishing, shooting clays, eating some good cowboy cooking and visiting. The outing was courtesy of the Bay Area Builder's Association (BABA) and the good folks at the Champion Ranch. I had a really great time and got to meet some great folks and some more Heroes from the GWOT.

We left Houston around noon on Friday after stopping by Spec's to stock the cooler and grab a couple of cigars. Traffic was a little thicker than usual as folks headed north to Dallas for the Texas-Oklahoma football game. I would guess three of five cars that we passed had some burnt orange displayed with pride. Benson had no problem finding the gate to the ranch and, luckily, while we were contemplating which roadway to take to the bunkhouse a ranch hand pulled in behind us and we just followed him. The ranch is very beautiful at around 6000 acres with about 3500 head of brangus cattle, some horses and even a few bison.

We met the owners and dropped our gear in the bunkhouse. After visiting for a little bit we drove over to the 70-acre lake where we splashed the 5 boats, loaded up and headed out for a few hours of fishing. Benson & I loaded up with Captain Pat McLennan of Diamond Guide Services. It was a gorgeous evening and we were on the fish at our first stop. The Florida strain black bass were hitting like a middle line backer on a blindside quarterback! Just after sunset we landed the boat and headed back to the bunkhouse for a little brisket and some beans with jalapeños.

After dinner the folks from BABA had a little surprise for the Veterans and presented them with a new fishing rod and reel along with a tackle box stuffed plum full of tackle and gear. The rods were brand new and unavailable to the public. They were carbon blanks wrapped with mossy oak camouflage... I guess so you can sneak up on the fish ;0) Jokes aside, the rods were really trick or, tight as they say nowadays, and the reels were very nice shimano bait casters. As I was a guest of Benson's, they didn't know that I was also a Disabled Veteran, however, within a few minutes they had wrangled up a brand new abu garcia black max rod and shimano bait caster for me as well! It was a totally awesome show of courtesy and respect that I very much appreciated. Like I said, these are some really great guys!

I then sat down to visit with Jeff Horny and his cameraman, JD, who are making a documentary about the healthcare Veterans receive from the VA. The documentary is to garner firsthand experiences from Veterans and hopefully demonstrate the need for the VA to change the way it does business. I did an interview on camera where I told a short version of my previous blog. I hope I was able to get my thoughts and feelings across in a manner that will help bring some much needed change to VA Healthcare. During the interview the guys were shooting clays and target shooting with pistols so you can hear the reports in the background... pretty cool.

It was nearly 0100hrs when I ambled off to bed. I had a hard time getting to sleep partly because of the new environment and partly because my back and legs hurt. My legs were doing this weird cramp-then-jump thing that made it impossible to fall asleep; just about the time I would start to nod off my legs would either cramp or they would twitch violently causing me to wake. I lay there tossing and turning until 0215hrs when I finally got sick of it and got up, took a pain killer, went to the restroom, got some water and lay back down. It was thirty minutes or so until the pain killer kicked in and I was able to doze off. About 0430 the ranch folks started stirring and getting coffee and breakfast started. I felt like I had just been run over by a deuce & a half but managed to drag my sorry butt out of the rack, dress and head for the cooler to get a Mt. Dew.

We scarfed down some breakfast tacos and headed for the boat well before sun up. It was cool and clear in the morning with no wind. Out on the boat it was quiet and calm with "smoke" rising from the water. Once again we were on the fish in nothing flat. They were hitting on everything we through out there, including rattle traps, worms and topwaters. Then sun crept over the trees and began to warm our necks. Soon we were shedding our sweaters and enjoying another tremendous day. We hauled in fish pretty regular until about 0930hrs when it just turned off like somebody through a switch. We worked it until noon and then headed back to the bunkhouse for some lunch and to watch the UT-OU game. The late night and early morning combination led to some really tired guys about 1300hrs after we had gotten some open-fire-cooked sausage and beans in us (yeah, more beans). I was sitting in a chair with the sun on my back and my head started bobbing around like one of those little dolls. I looked across the table & Benson had his head resting in his hand with his eyes shut tight. They say great minds think alike and no sooner did I stand up to head for my rack than Benson sat up, wheeled around and announced he was going to take a nap. I laid in my rack and listened to the ball game and snoozed on and off.

About 1600hrs we all got a little more motivated and headed back to the boats. It was a slow start but soon enough we started catching fish again. Around 1800hrs we headed for the dock where we relieved the live well of its cargo of thirty-seven largemouth bass ranging from one and one-half to three and one-half pounds each. The other boats came in with their catches and Cpts Pat & Jesse shared cleaning detail while Benson & I puttered out to the cove and fished a while longer. We caught another seven or eight fish while we were waiting but released them all. We got back to the bunkhouse about 1900hrs where the fish were fried up just right along with some shrimp and served with hush puppies, jalapeños and fried potatoes.

It was an early night on Saturday and I headed for the rack about 2130hrs. I was able to get some good sleep in amongst the stiff competition for snoring champion of the ranch. It also sounded a bit like Mel Brooks "Blazing Saddles" after everybody had eaten all those beans!

Sunday morning came on a little slower as we visited and packed our gear. I even managed to get a shower and put on a clean shirt. After a healthy dose of my secret orange juice-mt dew mix for breakfast I felt like a brand new man and ready for some fishing. We headed out on the water around 0830hrs and fished until 1030hrs. Again the fishing was slow but we managed to all pull in a couple of fish. Benson even had some luck pitching a topwater and it was a blast watching those bass come up and hit that thing.

After good-byes and well-wishes we all went our separate directions. Benson and I stopped by Woody's for some fuel and I picked up some of their famous beef jerky. The ride home took about a third less time and, actually, seemed to go too fast as I enjoyed visiting with Benson. It was a great weekend. I really enjoyed myself and feel glad that I was able to go. Thanks a bunch to BABA and the folks from Champion Ranch. Enjoy the pics below.

ESSAYONS!

BABA Fishing at Champion Ranch

Welcome Home, Johnny

2009-10-15T09:59:00.028-05:00

http://www.houston.va.gov/pressreleases/News_20090902.asp

I remember, with somewhat sporadic clarity, my first visit to a VA Medical Center. I guess it's nearly twenty years ago now. I've never told this story to anyone; not my wife, not a friend... nobody. I'm telling it here because I have very mixed feelings about the above article and the program that it describes. Not being a Combat Veteran, I've always harbored a bit of uneasiness about my VA benefits. Deep down inside I've always felt like I didn't deserve them... even though I was injured "in line of duty" it just didn't sit right with me. Maybe with the passage of time I have less of an issue with this but, sometimes I catch myself thinking about it.

I first heard about some sort of new "wing" at the VA here in Houston from a friend's wife. She said it had been the first time in nearly four years that her husband had been to the VA without coming home pissed off. Apparently, the VA opened a new "wing" for OIF/OEF Veterans. It was newly remodeled with carpet, paint and furnishings, the works. From sign in, my friend never waited more than five minutes before the next appointment and everybody was friendly and courteous... down right professional even. My first reaction was one of surprise and near disbelief. This feeling was followed by one of relief that maybe, finally, some change was coming to the VA Healthcare system, but, this feeling was quickly subdued by one not unlike that of being punched in the guts. You see, it dawned on me that the change didn't include ALL Veterans, just the ones from our most recent conflicts thus leaving the rest of us sitting on the sideline yet again.

I thought about it for a few days and the more I thought about it the more upset I got. I mean I was up most of the night kickin this around in my head trying to make it right but, I just seem to be having a really hard time with it. I went to the trusty old internet and "googled" new VA programs and sure enough found the above article on several different websites, which I figured was two-fold in that it let OIF/OEF Veterans know about the program and also allowed the VA to "toot its own horn" since that is where the story originated. The one difference I saw was that the VA is saying that it is strictly a "welcome" program while I was under the impression that it was a complete healthcare program separate from what is available to all other Veterans. Either way I found some very telling statements in the VA's cover story and am still chewing on this one. That's why I thought I would share my story with you and, maybe, you can help me work through this one.

So... I remember that it was a very cold but very clear day in North Central Illinois. The roads were clear and dry with rings of salt surrounding all the imperfections in the pavement. The snow covered lawns and cars and was piled up along the streets. It was hard and crunchy, not good snowball-making-snow but, it was clean and white and not dirty gray-brown from having been around a while. I'm not certain of the reason why I was going to the VA but I was going to the VA Medical Center in Chicago, which is located roughly 100 miles East of the City of Aurora where we were living and I remember leaving fairly early to make the long drive.

Aurora is actually a fairly good sized city with, at the time, two public high schools and a number of industrial businesses such as Barber Greene, where my brother started working as a machinist after he graduated high school, Caterpillar, All-Steel and the foundry where my dad received slag burns on his arms while working his way through college. Of course, Barber Greene closed down and my brother went to work for Aurora Pump making pumps for the Navy and other industrial applications. Caterpillar closed up its doors and moved to Mexico. The foundry closed up because it simply couldn't produce steel products as cheaply as they were in China (and I mean cheaply in both senses of the word). Still, I digress only to give you an idea that Aurora was a plenty big enough city for its own Va Medical Center if not at least an outpatient clinic.

Some things never change. I found a parking spot way out in the "back forty" and hopped on a little golf cart limo that deposited me by the main entrance. I remember going through a maze of corridors to find the office/waiting area where I was to report. The room was relatively small with three windows high upon an outside wall. The blue indoor-outdoor carpet looks fairly new as do the chairs lined up around the room. There was a large fake plant smashed into the corner under the wall-mounted television. It looked out of place and I figure it was there to keep people from banging their heads on the television that somebody mounted too low for such a room. There was a piece of paper taped to the t.v. screen informing everybody that the television did not work so it must have been there strictly to provide a good surface for banging one's head. The counter reminded me of a drive-thru bank as it had a glass window with the little stainless steel louvers that you are to speak through and a push-me-pull-me drawer in which I deposited my I.D. as directed by the sign posted on the glass. The initial conversation went something like:

Me: Good Morning!

Lady: ...

Drawer closes then reopens and I find a packet of papers stuck to a clip board that has a pen chained to it. My I.D. is not in the drawer.

Me: Excuse me? Can I get my I.D. please?

Lady: ...

Me: EXCUSE ME!?! CAN I PLEASE GET MY I.D. CARD BACK!?!

Lady: ...garble garble garble I.D. garble garble garble garble clip board garble garble...

I quickly translate this into "you'll get your I.D. back when you return my clip board." I turned around and everybody, and I mean everybody, in the room quickly looked down at whatever archaic publication they happen to have found laying on their seat when they got there. I guess I was the entertainment for the morning.

I found a chair near the corner opposite the t.v. and began looking over the papers I was to fill out. Remember, this was in a day and time when cellular telephones weren't around and all I had with me was my I.D. card. I couldn't call up my wife or my parents and ask for answers. There were blanks requesting information I had know idea how to complete but I did know that I did NOT want to stand in front of the garbling lady shouting out all of my business for the entire room's occupants like some kind of soap opera. I did the best I could and figured I would just wing it. On one form I stated I had no children because I couldn't remember their Social Security Numbers and the Government is really funny about having every single blank filled in. I guess I was figuring that it would be easier to add them later than to fight with somebody about it that day. I remember the packet being exceptionally lengthy at nearly one quarter inch thick. It took me well over an hour to complete and I remember feeling like I was taking the SAT rather than simply requesting healthcare that I had earned. I couldn't figure out why I had to explain all of this if the U.S. Army already had all of this on file... didn't they pass along the information with the person they were transferring? On top of all this, as I stated earlier, I had a very loud voice somewhere in my head telling me that I didn't deserve to be getting any of this any way. I wasn't shot or blown up. It wasn't an enemy that caused this but rather the poor driving skills of my very own Squad Leader. And it was frickin hot in that room. Being winter I had dressed accordingly. Unfortunately, there was no need for a jacket or sweater in the waiting area. In fact, I think it was too warm for anything above bermuda shorts and flip flops.

So, I'm sitting by myself in a room one hundred miles from my home fidgeting around in my chair because my back hurts and my legs feel like they have an electric current running through them; I'm sweating up a storm, both figuratively because of the paperwork and my disbelief that I should even be there, and, literally because of the temperature in the room; and I have absolutely zero ideas about being anywhere else because being a Soldier was everything I had ever wanted to be. I was around twenty years old and had a whole life ahead of me that I really didn't want. I was hurt. I was scared. I was lonely. But I'll be damned if I was going to show it or request some kind of special treatment above what everybody else in the room was getting.

Sometime during my task of complete the requisite VA forms along with other forms that, apparently, somebody felt gathered information also necessary to the process that was not contained in any of the VA forms, or at least kept applicants busy for a little while longer so they didn't have to be dealt with in any expedient manner, a large black lady wheeled in a Trooper in a wheelchair and parked him in the corner to my right. She said nothing to him or anybody behind the glass. She simply wheeled him in, put him in the corner out of the passageway and applied the wheel brakes. She then turned and strolled out of the room like it was nobodies business. And here is where completing the paperwork seemed to take a backseat to more pressing thoughts about my place in life now and in the future. Perhaps it is also why it took me so long to complete the wretched exercise in futility.

I tried my best not to stare. I even questioned myself if it was OK to simply look and look away. I honestly felt like crap because I was going to be able to get up and walk out of that place and he wouldn't. You see, he was missing his right arm and right ear. The right side of his head was terribly scarred from burns and his right eye barely peeped through a slit in the scar tissue. His legs were nothing but little sticks of flesh-wrapped bones. But most of all I could not break away from the fact that he was also missing his bottom jaw. They had put a surgical mask over his gaping hole that used to be a mouth. It wrapped around his head, over his left ear and across where his right ear once was and under his nose. The bottom strings dangled from the mask and it just hung there like a curtain but you could see around the sides of it. He just sat there expressionless. Emotionless. He just sat there in that wheelchair and made gurgling sounds and stared across the room at something that wasn't there. I wanted to cry for this guy. I wanted to stand up and scream for him. I couldn't tell his age. He had only a little tuft of hair on the back left of his head that was mostly gray. His eyes were a piercing blue. I never got his name.

I sat there trying my best to complete that frickin paperwork all the while thinking about this pour soul, my Brother, who just sat there in that wheelchair. Nobody came to check on him. Nobody asked if he needed anything. He just sat there. When I went to return the lady's clip board along with the paperwork I mentioned that he was there and that nobody had checked on him and that it had been roughly two hours. The lady garbled something in return though I don't know if it pertained to me or him or whether or not the Bears would go to the playoffs. She had zero expression on her face and simply pushed the drawer back revealing my I.D. card laying there face up atop a form for the doctor to fill out. Geeze! Even their own doctors had to fill out forms!

I returned to my seat but I couldn't stop worrying about this guy. After fifteen or twenty minutes, when nobody returned to check on him, even after my request, I went over and sat next to him. I had no frickin idea what the hell I was doing I just knew that I would want somebody to check on me. I introduced myself. I asked if he needed anything... if he was comfortable. I got no response. He rolled his eyes looking in my direction but made no apparent move to signal anything. I asked him if it was OK if I sat next to him for a while and took the chair to his left. I didn't say anything for a while as I had no idea what to say. Finally I just started talking about the Bears, about the playoffs, about the weather and so on. This went on for nearly four hours until they finally called my name. I told him to take care and that I would send someone to check on him. When I went to the door to meet the nurse who had called my name I informed her of his status having been sitting there for four hours with nobody checking on him. The nurse acknowledged me, looked around the corner in the direction of the guy in the wheelchair then turned back to me and simply replied that somebody was taking care of him and to follow her... that was either a complete and utter lie or the care they were providing him was completely and utterly horrible... or, both. Who the fuck would park somebody like this in a corner somewhere for four fuckin' hours without checking on them? I still feel like standing up and screaming for this guy and he's probably long dead.

I went back to meet the doctor. He was a younger fellow, thin and tall with glasses. All I can remember of our conversation is him telling me that my injury was debilitative and that eventually I would be confined to a wheelchair and to enjoy doing what I can now... Wow! That'll really cheer you up, eh? All I kept thinking was when would I be wheeled into a corner and forgotten. He ordered an x-ray and told me to simply drop the paper he had to fill out at the desk where I came in and then go to x-ray. After x-ray released me I was free to go. Four hours of waiting for a fifteen minute face-to-face just to be told I'm gonna end up in a wheelchair. Woo Hoo! What a day!

After a few wrong turns I managed to re-locate the waiting area and, much to my relief, found the guy in the wheelchair was no longer their. I dropped the paper in the drawer and asked where the x-ray lab was located. Ah, you guessed it! I was met with an expressionless response of garble garble garble... Out of shear politeness I stood there thinking about the guy in the wheelchair and somewhat listening to the garbling of the lady behind the glass. I doubt she was giving me the winning lottery numbers and perhaps there would be somebody in the hall I could ask or, better yet, a facilities layout map hanging somewhere. When she finished garbling I nodded, turned on my heel and headed out the door.

In the main hall I asked somebody where x-ray was located and they pointed and simply stated, "other end." It turns out that the VA Medical Facility in Chicago was built upon an old horse racing track. The main hallways serving the facility are nearly a mile long. The facility itself reminded me of a ship's magazine with large track rails hanging from the ceiling and huge steel doors with large wheeled door mechanisms. It had that lovely hospital aroma but that aroma didn't quite seem to cover up something else... some other smell that was much worse. I tried not to think about it and just kept walking. The hallways were packed with people, patients, personnel and other. There were golf cart limos cruising up and down the halls. My back and legs were hurting tremendously so I figured I would hop on one and catch a lift to the opposite end of the facility where x-ray was supposed to be located. When I tried to load up the guy driving said I wasn't allowed and that the carts were for invalids only but before I could protest he had already taken off. So, once again I commenced walking. Near halfway down the hall I saw two big male nurses wrestling with a skinny black patient. They took him to the ground and then lifted him back up again. At that point I saw some smoke and smelled a cigarette. As I got a little closer I could hear them arguing with the patient that he could not smoke inside the hospital and he kept replying that it was too cold outside and that they wouldn't give him a jacket.

Somehow I made it to x-ray where I found that the line was nearly equal to the one in the waiting room where I had arrived early in the morning. Of course, everybody was currently out to lunch and we all had to either lose our place in line to go have lunch or simply go without. I went without lunch. The x-ray line went a little faster as it simply involved a process and there was no need for human interaction... in other words, they simply called your name, handed you a printed paper with the doctor's order on it, had you strip down and put on a gown and then you went and stood back in another line along a wall with all your stuff hanging out. You shuffled up until it was your turn, all the while standing. We were being treated like we were still in the Army. My back was getting ready to strangle me; it hurt really, really bad. When it was my turn the x-ray tech simply grabbed the order from my hand told me to follow him into the room and get up on the table. Now it was freezing cold and the metal table stuck to my ass. At this point comfort wasn't even in the frickin picture. I figured we'd just get this over real quick like and I would haul ass. We took only two x-rays, one from the front and one from the side. Afterward I got re-dressed and headed for the nearest door where I could go out to smoke a cigarette.

While I was having a smoke and contemplating the location of my car one of those gulf cart limmo guys came by and asked if he could bum a smoke from me. I told him I'd give him the whole damned pack if he'd just give me a lift to my car, which happened to be on the opposite side of the facility. He smiled, I jumped on the cart and away we went. When we got to my car I even gave him the frickin lighter! A few blocks away from the facility I happened past a pub that had a very attractive Budweiser sign hanging over the sidewalk. I found a parking place not far away and found my way to the bar. I bought a pack of smokes, a Bud and a shot of Jim Beam. I don't remember driving home or what time I got there.

To this day I think about the guy in the wheelchair and I hope that the brief company we shared somehow made his day a little better. Like I said, some things never change. Up to last week I still went to the VA for my healthcare and I still had to wait in incredibly long lines for some incompetent fool calling himself a doctor who I barely understood to tell me absolutely nothing. I regularly witness Veterans sitting along hallways or in corners of waiting areas with that same thousand-meter stare. You may think I'm full of shit. You may think that that happened twenty years ago and things are different now. Well, I can assure you that it's business as usual at the VA and here's and example:

I went to my VA doctor named Patel for four months complaining about my ankle. I told him over and over the symptoms and he told me repeatedly that it was an "acute high sprain" and to apply R.I.C.E. (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation). Finally, with the ms150 looming around the corner, I called Fondren Orthopedic Clinic in Webster and made an appointment with Doctor Barry Boone, who also happened to treat my son's and daughter's ankle fractures. I was in the waiting room perhaps ten minutes and then brought back to see the doctor. I explained the symptoms and he said it sounded like a torn peroneal tendon. I took off my shoe & sock and he put his thumb right smack on the spot first try and moved my foot up & down stating sure enough there was a tear in the tendon. He said we should also take an MRI to rule out any other soft tissue damage and then it would require surgery to fix. The MRI actually showed two tears and I scheduled the surgery for two weeks later. In less time than it took me to simply complain to the VA doctor the problem had been identified, double-checked, resolved and rehabilitated.

Ah, how about this one:

I had been seen at VA Medical Centers in Chicago, IL, El Paso, TX, Austin, TX and Temple, TX over a period of nearly15 years before relocating to the Houston area. I went to the Houston facility to make an appointment. They told me that I had to APPLY for benefits! I explained to them the situation being that I had only relocated and was already in the VA system. After over a year of arguing with them on this point I finally had to write a letter to my Congressman advising him of the situation and requesting his assistance. I took the letter to the XO at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers where I was working and, in turn, he took it to the Colonel who personally hand delivered the letter to the Congressman for me. Within two weeks I received notice from VA Medical Center Houston of an appointment for me. WOW! Some kind of Welcoming Program that was!

I said, "up to last week" because, henceforth, and much like many, many other Veterans who have received similar receptions from the VA, I will never set foot in another VA Medical Center as a patient again. I'm still upset about this new program they have developed. On one hand I don't want to make a fuss because I think our Troops should be given the best frickin healthcare possible because they've earned it. I also think that change has to start somewhere. On the other hand, we all served and we all deserve better healthcare. If you read the article closely you can understand that the VA is acknowledging that they are providing sub-par healthcare for Veterans. There may be a bunch of reasons for segregating the OIF/OEF Troops but modern warfare still results in the same type injuries. In WWI it was "Shell Shock" while in WWII, Korea and Vietnam it was "Combat Fatigue." After Desert Storm our Veterans had no problem verbalizing their symptoms, which eventually were labeled "Gulf War Syndrome." It took the VA over five years to acknowledge these symptoms and label it "in line of duty." Now we have "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder", or, PTSD. We, as a Country, have been treating War Wounded for over 233 years... you think that maybe we would have gotten it right by now! Think about it.

One other point I want to make is this, what's going to happen when we pull out of Iraq and beat the crap out of the Taliban in Afghanistan? Do you think the VA will continue with the "Welcome Center" and its new way of doing business or do you think they'll go back to the "business as usual program" for all Veterans? How do you think the Troops will feel once they get through that welcome door and all of the sudden find themselves waiting in a corner for hours on end? Yeah, some Welcome Home, Johnny that'll be, huh?

2009-10-11T10:41:00.001-05:00

Haven't forgotten y'all. Just been "kinda outta touch lately." Please give me a little leeway here... Enjoy the Ride!

My Ride To Ground Zero, Part I

2009-10-05T13:04:00.018-05:00

Here it has been nearly eight weeks since I came home from New York and yet it seems like just yesterday. I have spent the past weeks thinking about the ride and where it took me... and not just in the sense of physically moving along a line in space but moving me along on a personal level through a web of beliefs, virtues, goals and guesses. Just like there are no straight roads in Virginia, there are no straight lines in life except on a blueprint. We may have an overall goal of, say, where we want to be in five years or ten or even thirty-five when we retire but those goals are just as dynamic as the process of achieving them.

My ultimate goal has always been to be a good and contributing member of my community and, ultimately, our society regardless of what career, family or personal path I chose to follow. Our society is built from strong communities, which are built with strong people. If we have weak and shoddy materials we end up with a mobile home of grief and greed instead of a stone house of pride and Patriotism. To me, the Army's Core Values have always been personal. These are values that I had instilled in me before I ever raised my right hand on 10JUN1986; loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage are not just buzz words for me. Perhaps it is because my father was a Marine and my dear friend, whom I consider to be a father to me, Roque Manrique, was an Army Green Beret. Perhaps they simply instilled in me what was instilled in them, which amounts to many, many lifetimes of military history.

Let's face it, our Country would not be what it is today if not for the gathering of strong, like-minded individuals who wanted their lives and the lives of their descendants to be better. A gathering of rabble rousers we call Patriots who organized themselves and their communities into a force to be reckoned with and we are still that same group today. That is what makes us Americans. It wasn't just a coup, but the beginnings of a greater society. And it worked! And here we are! And if not for the bravery and valor of those who voluntarily place themselves in harm's way to defend it, we would not be able to continue to enjoy being Americans.

I can no longer serve our Country in the manner in which I would like, as a Soldier, but, I can still serve our Country by providing for those who are serving in that capacity; Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen and Coast Guardsmen.

Twenty years ago, when I was injured, there was nothing out there as far as services for Veterans, either through the Government or as a third party organization, to turn to for assistance. I was discharged and received a DD214 and a letter from the then Veterans Administration welcoming me to their side of the house. It was over two years before I learned that I had educational benefits. I won't kid you either, it was like dealing with a multi-headed snake! I couldn't get one straight answer from any one individual or office. It was so frustrating that I often gave up for months before trying again to get benefits from the VA. In 2006 the Army began a program called Army Wounded Warrior Program or AW2 (not to be confused with the organization Wounded Warrior Project). Let's see, 1775 to 2006... that would be 231 years to finally develop a program for taking care of the seriously wounded. I would like to laugh about that but it isn't funny. That said, I applaud the Army for instituting this program and the men and women who worked tirelessly to see it through (standing ovation). They did a good job and I hope it is working as it should.

So, considering such a track record, I was really moved when I started seeing the emergence of organizations such as Wounded Warrior Project and Soldiers' Angels and Independence Fund. These third-party organizations are set up specifically to help our War Wounded and also those Military Service Personnel currently on deployment. These organizations are relatively small (compared to the size of the VA) and are prepared to help the Veteran at every step of the way. From the battlefield to the hospital and back home these organizations are always within reach; they are prepared to assist with whatever need be and if they don't have it, they go out and get it, period. I guess we finally decided that it was time to stop with the big bureaucracy and actually take care of the Troops as they should be cared for... as they deserve.

Two years ago I was able to join Wounded Warrior Project for their Soldier Ride in Texas. At first I had a hard time because of the callouses I had built up in dealing with the VA. It turned out fine though and, in the end, I had completed the ride and made a bunch of new friends. I also had a good appreciation for Wounded Warrior Project, what they are about and what they are accomplishing. That appreciation carried over to Soldiers' Angels this year when I had the chance to meet Toby Nunn (of Soldiers' Angels) on the 2009 WWP Soldier Ride. Toby and I talked about the Soldiers' Angels program and what they were doing for our Troops throughout the ride and I really liked what I heard.

Another contributing factor that set in the back of my mind while I planned this ride was a Navy Veteran I met on Soldier Ride 2008 by the name of Kevin Baker who was a paraplegic and suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Kevin was a nice guy; he told a good story; he would have made a good politician or, perhaps, a preacher. Anyway, Kevin came up with the idea of riding his handcycle from his residence in Oklahoma to Washington, D.C. carrying the American Flag, which he would have had flown over the White House and then turned over to Wounded Warrior Project for them to use as their official Colors. Kevin set out from his home on his handcycle towing his wheelchair with one small suitcase on it. He reached somewhere in Louisiana where a lady found him sitting on the side of the road in a cold rain. She called her husband who brought a truck and loaded everything up returning to their residence. They put Kevin in some dry clothes and put him in bed for a rest. Kevin died there in bed and never completed his mission. Regardless of Kevin's story, he was a Veteran and he was attempting to do something larger than himself. It cost him his life but, perhaps, he died knowing that he was doing something good. I only knew Kevin briefly but his story challenged me to do something bigger than myself and, so, I set about trying to bring America's attention back to the Troops who, for the past eight years, have been placing themselves in harm's way to protect our way of life; to bring recognition and assistance to the 31,000+ War Wounded Veterans from Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). OORAH, Kevin... R.I.P. Brother.

This ride would take me away from home for at least thirty days and would require some contributions from my wife and children as well. I sat down and drafted up a really rough plan which I then discussed at length with my family. After working through some scheduling issues, we all agreed that it wouldn't be a problem for me to be away from the family for a month and they supported me one hundred percent in my undertaking. I worked nearly every day for over eight months planning, organizing and training for this ride. For a while I had been kicking around the idea of a cross-country bicycle ride but that's all I had, an idea. After going on Soldier Ride and talking with Toby I began to get a better picture of how to go about putting together a ride. After those several months of planning and organizing I finally felt secure enough about my mission and, on 12AUG2009, I pedaled out of my garage and turned the nose towards Ground Zero and New York City. I chose Ground Zero as my destination because of its significance in our Global War On Terror (GWOT) and I chose Wounded Warrior Project and Soldiers' Angels as the organizations I would represent because I felt, and still feel, that they are doing such a great job taking care of our Military Service Personnel, wounded and otherwise.

Honestly, I had no idea what to expect once I reached New York. Outside of going to Basic Training at Ft. Dix, New Jersey and what I have seen on the television and in movies, I had never been up in that part of the Country let alone to New York City. The best-case scenario I could come up with was getting a room, pedaling around Ground Zero on 9-11 without getting run over, grabbing some food and maybe one of those double-decker bus tours without getting mugged and heading back to Texas on a bus. The city itself is so big and contains so much history that there was no way I could have hoped to see too much in just a couple of days. As it turns out, though, I was in for a grand tour that I would never forget.

I'll work on putting that all together for you and, for me. For now I wish everybody a Happy Thanksgiving... especially all of our Troops who are currently deployed. Without their dedication we would not be enjoying this time with our families. Thank you all for your service to our great Country. ESSAYONS!

Here is a picture of Kevin Baker on his handcycle in front of the Alamo. This picture was taken during WWP Soldier Ride, Texas 2008. Calm seas and fair winds, Sailor...

Love Your Wife Day

2009-10-04T10:16:00.005-05:00

It started more than two years now, I figure. One day I was looking at Theresa and I thought, "you know, I don't want to wait until the kids are gone and then find out I don't even know who my wife is." We spend so much time and energy on the kids and work and everything else to keep our household running that we often forget to take the time for each other. We rush through our harried day, grab some dinner, clean up, go to a meeting or watch a little t.v. to relax and then it's off to bed where we fall quickly to sleep from exhaustion. You tell yourself that you'll "get around to it" or my favorite "next weekend we're gonna...blah, blah, blah" and it never fails that next weekend comes & goes in much the same manner as the previous fifty-two.

One day I opened my PDA and added a date to my calender; it was "Love Your Wife Day" and I set it to recur every Sunday to give me a little kick in the right direction. The first few months I simply made sure that I told Theresa I loved her and how much she meant to me. Then I started clearing away other items scheduled for Sunday morning so I could take her for breakfast. Every Sunday I would pick a different restaurant so that we didn't just get into another scheduled event that we had to attend. Picking a different restaurant involved talking about what we liked and didn't like and where we might like to go next. That led to us planning where we could go eat that would put us in close proximity to something we wanted to do for the day such as the beach, a park or the movie theatre.

Now, I think, everyday is "Love Your Wife Day." We spend more time together. We know each other so much better. It is easier to make decisions and there is much less time spent discussing issues, which leaves us that much more time to enjoy the things that we love to do... like discussing issues that are bigger than us. We both look forward now to a time when every day will be Sunday.

Ride On!

Still Alive, Just Recuperating

2009-09-29T22:37:00.004-05:00

Here it has been nearly two weeks and I am still mulling over bits from my journey to Ground Zero. There is just so much that happened, from individual acts of kindness to expanses of beautiful American countryside to listening to the rain fall on my tent, that I think I'll need a lifetime to actually appreciate all of it. I spent the first day simply unloading, cleaning and stowing away my gear then, I slept for the better part of three days. The next four days I spent simply sitting and thinking about my journey in such a melancholy as to not even want to visit with friends or family. I cannot define a beginning or end to my sadness nor can I begin to explain why I felt that way...I just did.

I have been guilty of not completing my journal for this mission. Truthfully, I do not want to make the last entry in the blog because that would mean that it has officially ended and, I'm just not ready for that right now. I'm working up to it though. I met with my psychiatrist last Friday and we, including Theresa, spoke for quite some time about this journey and the near future. It was a positive meeting and I think the outlook is good. I've loaded a new photo journal on my laptop and have begun organizing the pics from the ride. I have a few left from my days in New York along with some final thoughts that I will be posting in the next day or two. While it all must come to an end sooner or later, we can at least savor it a little longer. I will always remember and think fondly of this journey.

On the other hand, my good friend Anthony and I are discussing our own venture that would provide for immediate assistance needs for Military Service Members and those who care for them (i.e. firefighters, law enforcement, etc.) in our communities; a sort of EMS Rapid Response for Troops who need immediate relief with healthcare, budgets, family support, housing, transportation, etc. It is still in its infancy but, we both want to be able to help our Troops at a personal level giving back to those who gave so much for us. We are both motivated and passionate about making this a successful undertaking, so, I think you may see something in the works very soon. I'll keep you posted as this develops and, please, feel free to comment on what you think about our project.

Ride On!

2009-09-16T19:24:00.001-05:00

I have finally made it home. It was a very long drive today but a pleasant one. I am safe and relatively sound and very happy to be with my family... Peace.

One Last Run, Baby!

2009-09-16T08:23:00.003-05:00

I awoke this morning to a torrential downpour slamming against the window and roof (I'm on the 3rd of 3 floors), the same reason I wheeled into this Comfort Inn last night around 2130hrs with the time gain. I made a clean 800 miles yesterday from Dahlgren, VA to Greenville, AL. Initially I was going to stop outside of Montgomery but after topping off with fuel I found I wasn't tired and figured on taking as big of a chunk as I could out of the distance between me and my wife and children. About 30 miles north of Greenville it began raining hard enough to pond on the road and render visibility to about 50 feet so I decided it best and safest to get a hotel for a shower, some sleep and a good breakfast.

When I pulled into the Comfort Inn at exit 130 in Greenville I pulled in behind a pickup displaying a 101st Airborne patch in the back window. Upon entry I met Gary Starr of Five Starr Steel proudly wearing his 101st Screaming Eagle ball cap. We talked for a while and exchanged some stories enjoying having met each other. It turns out that Gary was on his return to Texas from his Unit's Reunion in Hampton, VA. He departed and I then met Dottie, who was attending the evening desk. Dottie was super nice and had just gotten me checked in when Gary returned and offered to pay for my room for the night. Thank you very much Gary! I appreciate your kindness and generosity.

It did not take me long to get settled in and off to sleep in the super comfortable bed. I'm serious. Of all the hotels I've stayed in over the last few weeks the beds at Comfort Inn are the best, hands down. I awoke several times during the night anxious to be getting back under way. The Weather Channel radar is showing nothing but green along the entirety of my remaining route. I was hoping to make the last 400 miles in short order but I guess that is not to be. So I will take my time and continue to absorb all that has happened over the last few weeks.

Thanks again to all of our Wounded Warriors who courageously placed themselves in harm's way to protect the Freedoms we enjoy in our great Country. I will always remember.

Also, good luck to my good friend, Latseen Benson, who is attending the U.S. Paralympic Team event this week. Enjoy yourself and know that I am very proud of you, Brother! I'll be routing for you!

Ride On!

Time To Boogie Back To Texas

2009-09-15T07:42:00.003-05:00

Up this morning with plenty of rest and I believe it is time to head for the barn. I had a good day yesterday hanging out with Scott. We went over to Fredericksburg and had some awesome bbq at Allman's then after a tour of the town we stopped in at Capital Ale House for some Brooklyn Brown Ale and hamburgers. It was an early evening as I wanted to get rested up for the drive home. Via the Interstate Highway system it is roughly 1200 miles from door to door. I'm hoping to make 600 miles per day and with the freeway it should be possible.

Again I would like to thank everybody who helped out along the way. In particular I want to thank Woody Groton and the folks at Wounded Warrior Project. This being my first go at such a mission the Wounded Warrior Project was integral in carrying out the plan and I appreciate them helping me out with advice, lodging and logistics. I want to thank Toby Nunn and Soldiers' Angels who provided the TerraTrike and hp netbook thus allowing me to actually make the ride and also to keep in touch with my family and all of you. Thanks to Anthony Mulheron for the B.O.B. Trailer, which allowed me to ride totally self contained. Thanks go to the New Jersey State Police for the escort and the Fire Department New York City for taking such great care of me while I was in New York. Thanks also to all of you who provided gear, discounts on merchandise, assistance, meals, lodging and encouragement to successfully complete the mission.

Lastly, but certainly not in the least, I want to thank all of our Military Service Personnel without whom none of this would be possible. Thanks to their voluntary service to our Country we are able to travel freely without fear of taking small arms fire or being blown up by an IED. Every Freedom we enjoy is directly credited to those valiant Men and Women who choose to place themselves in harm's way. I will always remember this and will keep Them in the forefront of my heart and thoughts.

Ride On!

The Long Drive Home

2009-09-14T10:57:00.003-05:00

I just can't say enough what a great journey it was all together. I saw some beautiful countryside and met some really great people. It is my honest wish that our mission was more successful than just a 1,642-mile bicycle ride from Houston, Texas to New York, New York. I hope that our efforts raised awareness of the fact that we, as a Nation, are at war right now; that we, as a nation, have Service Men and Women in harm's way right now protecting the Freedoms which many take for granted everyday. I hope that we raised awareness to the fact that we have over 31,000 War Wounded who need, and rightfully deserve, our continued support to make the transition from the battlefield back to civilian life. Their lives are forever changed but their quality of life need not suffer as a result of their sacrifice.

Yesterday was a strange day all the way around. I got packed up in short order as has been the norm for the last month. It is amazing how little we need to actually survive... our marketing engineers are doing a fantastic job, eh? At 1230hrs Cpt. Flaugherty gave me a ride from Ft. Hamilton over to Manhattan and, after a little difficulty at the UHaul office, I managed to get a truck secured. Cpt. Flaugherty & I wished each other well and he returned to his duties as a New York Firefighter, the best Fire Department in the World if you ask me.

I then pulled up Google Maps on my PDA, took a deep breath, pulled out into New York traffic and promptly got totally lost! Google Maps is great if you have a navigator! It was way too difficult to try and read the little screen, watch street signs, watch traffic and safely operate a vehicle without running over the multitude of pedestrians, cyclists and scooters. I felt like a real goombah trying to figure out where the heck I was. With all the tall buildings there is no horizon from which to get a bearing and I felt like rat in a little maze, which returned my thoughts to Douglass Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and I did a fairly good job of not panicking... :0) Somehow I ended up going through a tunnel and ended up in New Jersey. Trying to return the kind and friendly gentleman (bit of sarcasm there) in the little booth simply stated, "you can't go through here... you gotta use the Lincoln." When I tried to ask directions he promptly told me to shut up and pull over to the right. Then he radioed some other kind and friendly soul and simply said, "UHaul." Then a little gate opened and I pulled around to the right finding myself behind a shopping center with absolutely no idea where the hell I was. So, I pulled up Google Maps again and after a little guess work I headed south along the Jersey shoreline back to the Varazzano Bridge... luckily the Jersey side has few tall buildings and the Varazzano was gleaming on the horizon. Adding only about 5 miles to my trip back to Ft. Hamilton to recover my TerraTrike, B.O.B. and gear, I made it back at about 1400hrs.

I loaded my gear and wished the staff at the Hamilton Inn all the best. They treated us really great during our stay and are super friendly and professional. Then I rolled over to the c-store to top off with fuel and get some Mt. Dew and sunflower seeds for the ride to Dahlgren. I managed to find my way back over the Varazzano and, after getting robbed of $22 by another kind and friendly gentleman in a little booth, found my way to HWY 1 South and began my long ride home at about 1530hrs. I made Dahlgren at around 2100hrs and enjoyed an evening telling Scott about my adventures in New York City.

Today I'm going to hang out here and visit with Scott as we don't get to see each other too often these days. Tomorrow I will top off the tank and make way for Houston via our Interstate Freeway System. I'm sure the ride won't be quite as nice as cruising along the old State Highway system through small towns and picturesque countryside but, this rider wants to get on home to his family.

After 30 days on the road I am excited to return home to my loving Wife and children. I thank all of the Troops and their families for the sacrifice they make in chunks of 13 to 15 month durations. It was difficult enough on my family to navigate this single month and I understand how truly difficult it is on Military families to be apart for so long. Again, thank you all for your sacrifices... you know who you are.

Ride On!

9-11 and the End of My Mission, or, Just the Beginning

2009-09-12T11:42:00.006-05:00

The last couple of days have carried with them a whole range of emotions. My thoughts wandered from seeing the events of the morning of 11September2001 unfold on the television, to the 343 FDNY Firefighters who paid the ultimate price doing their job, to the brave men and women of our U.S. Military Forces who voluntarily put themselves in harm's way to stop the cowardly and terroristic threats on our Country, to the 4,000+ deaths and 31,000+ wounded in Operation Enduring Freedom, to the some 2,800 deaths in the attack on the World Trade Center, Pentagon and the Shanksville, PA crash site, to the families of all of those who died. I thought of the American outcry on 9-11 and in the weeks following... and I thought of the short memories of Americans as people drove and strolled passed Fire Houses and Ground Zero hardly paying attention except to whatever was driving them for that day... even one New York paper had the exceptional lack of a moral compass as to put the opening of the NFL season on the front page and the 9-11 information and stories beginning on like page 20... Very sad in my eyes, but, that's America, right? I also witnessed a great number of New Yorkers and Americans from around the Country come to Ground Zero to pay their respects and to ponder the events of that fateful day.

I have been in the very capable hands of the FDNY Pipe and Drum Band all weekend. I have met some of the greatest guys I have ever met... true Heroes on the Home front. These guys volunteer for Band detail along with their jobs as Firefighters. And not only did they show me around and teach me some FDNY history and show me the sites, but they took me in and took care of me like one of their own... without hesitation. I am truly honored to have spent the events leading up to as well as those of 9-11 in their company and care.

Today I am fortunate enough to spend one last evening in NYC as I have been invited to the USS Intrepid for the last Band ceremony of the weekend. Tomorrow I will be loading up the U-Haul, thanks to U-Haul and the Wounded Warrior Project, and driving back to Texas with a few days to myself to think about my newly acquired friends, the War on Terror and where I fit in to all of this as an American. I would like to continue this ride annually in the years to come for the ultimate benefit of our Troops. With the continued support of great Americans like those who helped me complete this mission, I'm sure we can make a go of it. ESSAYONS!

Ride On!

Celebrate Our Freedom, Remember Those Who Provide(d) It

2009-09-10T09:24:00.006-05:00

Here are a couple of very good clips that I want to share with y'all. The first is a compilation of pics to the song "I'm Proud To Be An American" by Lee Greenwood as a dedication to our Troops. It is a very moving song and coupled with the pics it is a very powerful motivator. I hope that it will bring to the forefront of your thoughts the fine men and women who serve our Country with Courage and Tenacity... our American Service Members.

The second is a return to Patton. It is a modern rendition based upon his famous speech upon entering into battle in WWII. Patton was a great leader and motivator of men. He is also very polarizing... you either love him or you hate him. I hope you enjoy this clip and find in it the motivation and fire to stand tall and back our brave and selfless Troopers who are voluntarily putting themselves in harm's way at this very moment to protect the Freedoms that we all enjoy in this Great Country.

And now that you are motivated, take the time to help Wounded Warrior Project support those Troops injured in battle return home to a great welcome and a good life. Please click HERE to donate to Wounded Warrior Project.

Enjoy the Ride!

I Made It

2009-09-10T06:54:00.002-05:00

First off I want to thank all of you who helped get me started by providing equipment and encouragement. I'd also like to thank all the folks who supported me along the way providing lodging, money, food, encouragement and other support. Lastly, but certainly not in the least, I want to thank the New Jersey State Police and the New York Fire Department for getting me safely across those final few miles. Without any one of you at any key moment this entire mission may have not been completed successfully. Thank you all for all of the support!

Yesterday went by so fast and so much happened that it is difficult to put it all straight in my head this morning. I left out of Bensalem, PA and headed for New Brunswick, NJ for a short 43 mile ride and the last day before reaching New York, my final destination. I stopped down the block from the hotel to get some gatorade and ice and spent 40 minutes talking with folks about the mission and the area. After getting rolling again I found that I was entirely within urban environment now and to my pleasure I found that I was still following PA Bike Route E. Folks waved and cheered as I pedaled past and it made me feel pretty good about what I had accomplished.

About and hour up the road I stopped in Fairless Hills at a 7-11 for a snack and a Mt Dew. There the owner provided me with a multitude of snacks, a sandwich and water for my efforts. Thank you very much for the support. I also met Craig, a local vendor with a colorful and long history in the area. His dad was a UDT SEAL and he had a number of really awesome stories of his growing up in the area. Craig provided me with an entire box full of snack bags of nuts, 4 bags of beef jerky and a really cool grill lighter that is a miniature M-16! Thank you very much for the support and kind words of encouragement. I wish you the best Craig! I then met an Army Veteran from Iraq who's brother is now serving in Afghanistan. He is attending the local community college under the GI Bill and plans on going on to a university when he finishes.

While at the rest stop I checked my messages and found an urgent message from Woody Groton at Wounded Warrior Project to call Lynda Thomson with the NY Fire Department, which I did. I found out quickly that Lynda is a ball of fire and very, very good at her job. She coordinated with the NJ State Police to have me ferried across NJ to Staten Island, NY because of the insane traffic and concern for my safety and well being. After having pedaled 1,642 miles I was not going to baulk at having a little help from some friends in completing the mission... and what friends to have! In coordinating with Lynda and Sgt Michie of the NJSP we decided that I would meet the State Troopers at the Calhoun Street Bridge on the PA-NJ State Line so I jumped on the TerraTrike for one last run about 14 miles up the road.

At the bridge I was met by Trooper DeJesus and his partner, whose name escapes me and I sincerely apologize (please leave a comment below with your name so I can thank you properly). We loaded the TerraTrike, B.O.B., gear and me into the van and off we went down the NJ Turnpike with lights rolling! What a ride! I found out that Trooper Dejesus had been Army National Guard and ETS'd only because he had been accepted into the NJ State Police Academy, another very important job in the State of New Jersey and the United States. He was very good at his job and I found out later that he and his partner had volunteered to stay after their shift in order to escort me safely across the city. Thanks a bunch, guys! I appreciate the help and support. Keep up the great work and I hope y'all nail the dude in the old truck with all the dope!

The State Troopers handed me off to Lt Rodriguez and Fireman Capecci at the base of the bridge at Staten Island and again I found myself in the capable hands of brave and courageous men. We crossed the bridge and Capecci pointed towards Manhattan and I could see Battery Park and the big hole where the World Trade Center Towers used to stand. We talked of 9-11 and of my mission. They dropped me at the hotel on Ft. Hamilton safe and sound. Thank you very much guys! I feel honored to have met you both. Keep up the great work and be safe out there.

I got checked in and enjoyed a very nice, very long hot shower. Later Lynda and Capecci returned and we went to dinner at a little place down the road in Brooklyn and had blue cheese hamburgers and pecan pie. Lynda hooked me up with Cpt Flaugherty who I will be hanging out with over the next couple of days along with Lynda whom I will accompany to a dinner this evening. It was an awesome day all the way around!

This weekend I will be accompanying NYFD to many events and ceremonies honoring those who gave all on 11 September 2001. It is truly an honor to be in such great company. I will be quite busy I'm sure so keep up with me on Twitter and I will update here as I can. Please keep in your heart and thoughts our Troops who are placing themselves in harm's way for our sake at this very moment. Also, please remember the brave and courageous Firemen who gave everything on 9-11. ESSAYONS!

2009-09-09T21:41:00.001-05:00

I'm honored to be able to accompany Cpt Flaugherty and Lynda Thomson of NYFD to NYFD 9-11 ceremonies & events over the next few days. I will update as possible.

2009-09-09T13:35:00.001-05:00

I MADE IT! With some inter-agency help from the NJSP, NYPD and the NYFD I will be ferried safely to Ft. Hamilton. I will participate in 9-11 events with NYFD.

Three More Days!

2009-09-09T08:13:00.001-05:00

Ride Map Day 28: Bensalem, PA to New Brunswick, NJ

2009-09-09T07:53:00.003-05:00

Today's ride will take us within a stones throw from our final destination, Ground Zero, New York City... the place where this conflict took fire 8 years ago. As I pedal today I will be thinking of the courage and resolve of our Troops who place themselves voluntarily in harm's way on a daily basis to ensure that a similar event does not happen again. I will also be thinking of the thousands of those Troops who have come home with grievous injuries due to that service. We can make a difference in their lives by contributing to Wounded Warrior Project; an organization that has the tools and the experience to assisst these Troops with the transition from the battlefield back to civilian life.

Here is today's route map. It will be a short day at a little over 40 miles. It remains overcast today and I am hoping that I can avoid any rain for at least two more days.

Enjoy the Ride!

Route Map Day 28: Bensalem, PA to New Brunswick, NJ
Find more Bike Rides in Bensalem, Pennsylvania

Ride Day 27: Newark, DE to Bensalem, PA

2009-09-08T20:26:00.012-05:00

Today's ride was really great! Delaware and Pennsylvania are both great States for providing safe and effective bicycle traffic routes. The day started off with a bleak outlook from the Weather Channel, which turned out to be wrong as we didn't get any rain today. The first intersection I came to in Newark was occupied by several motorists who met by accident ;o) The Police Officer on scene came up to me and asked which Engineer unit I was with and said he was an Engineer as well! ESSAYONS, Brother!

I pedaled up HWY2 to Wilmington and arrived in what seemed to be short order. After a stop for snacks I figured on pedaling on through but the locals had other thoughts on that. I ended up stopping I don't know how many times to talk with folks and show off the TerraTrike to kids and adults alike. It was a lot of fun. I also came across a new project being started in Wilmington called the Urban Bicycle Project at 1908 N. Market St. They happened to be out at the time I stopped by but I did get to meet Ian and some of the guys from deco multimedia group, who share the building. These guys were really cool and I really dig what they are trying to accomplish in their community. Check out urbanbikeproject.org and delawarecollective.com for more information. I wish both of you the best in your endeavor... keep up the great work!

From there I pedaled on to Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love. When I crossed the DE/PA States Line I was pleased that PA picked right up with the lane and I found it to be designated PA Bike Route E, which so far has crossed the entire city of Philly and all the way to Bensalem. The lanes are clearly marked and motorists seem to respect and appreciate them. So, pay close attention to this program Virginia and Texas...

Once into Philly proper I found Philip's sandwich shop just a starin' at me! I made a bee line for the place and told Ray to fix me up a genuine Philly Cheese Steak just the way the locals eat them. Let me tell you... that was the best Philly Cheese Steak I have ever eaten! Philip insisted that the secret is fresh, real beef and slices it himself everyday after finishing up his job in construction. The crew at Philip's was awesome and super friendly. The sandwich hit the spot and down the road I went. Riding down Passyunk Ave to South and around Old Town was one of the greatest experiences of my life. It was really, really cool! There were bike everywhere! There were all kinds of people on bikes, messengers on bikes, cops on bikes... I even saw a mailwoman on a bike! And the bikes moved at the same pace as the traffic! It was a beautifully orchestrated mass transit concerto! The streets were narrow and the businesses were colorful and bright and there were people everywhere. It was so cool! People waved and shouted and honked and it was just really, really cool! I wish I had had a helmet camera so that I could watch that again and again. Unfortunately, there was so much going on I didn't dare try to pull out my camera for fear of getting splatted. I was so caught up in the ride and my surroundings that I hooked a right on South Street and came out on Front Street without even seeing Old Town. I did, however, make a stop at Veterans Memorial Park on Spruce and paid my respects. This is an awesome park and the City of Philly did a great job putting it together.

I could have spent many days cruising around downtown Philly. It is such an eclectic city. I love it! But, I had to make some forward progress and so I pedaled on down the road on my nice bike lane. The row housing in Philly is cool... it's like one giant apartment... like a bee hive. Oh, and they should call it the "Philly Stop" not the "California Stop." I had the crap scared out of me a few times before I figured out that that is just the way they drive here. I also got passed by bicyclists while I was waiting at red lights... yup! apparently bikes don't have the same set of traffic rules...

Let's see, bike lane, Philly Cheese Steak, Passyunk Ave., Veterans Memorial Park, housing, Philly Stops... bikes don't... Oh! The people are so cool! They're just like me... loud and obnoxious! To visitors they are nice as can be but, to each other... woo hoo! Horns a honkin', gestures a flyin'... explicatives shouted... and you can tell that they're OK with each other anyway. Nobody's gonna get offended or fly into road rage... it's just the way they are... totally cool! Saul Raisin was right when he said Philly was a cool city...

Well, I'm almost at the end of this great ride. I hope the rain holds off for just a couple more days. For now I'm thankful that I've come safely this far. I'm sure that I've left out something from today that was really cool but, it's late and I'm tired. Enjoy the pics below and, please keep our Troops in your hearts and thoughts as I have done. It is because of Them that this is even possible...

Enjoy the Ride!

HOU-NYC Ride Solo III

Pre-Ride Day 27

2009-09-08T06:56:00.004-05:00

Sing it Joe! Yup... I think it's gonna rain today. Forecast calls for showers through Friday in this region. Guess I'll just have to play it by ear so to say...

Giving a shout out to my friends for looking after me and my family... Scott, Colin, Bill, Sharon & Chuck, Art & Anne. Hope everybody has a great day...

Enjoy the Ride!

Ride Map Day 27: Newark, DE to Bensalem, PA

2009-09-07T20:20:00.004-05:00

Many, many thanks to my dear friend, Scott without whom I would not be in Newark, Delaware right now... in fact, I'd probably be roadkill on a Virginia roadway! Still, I enjoyed getting to ride shotgun through the Virginia countryside with the top off of the jeep. I still got to be closer to the countryside than buzzing along with the AC on and the radio up. It was very enjoyable and I really liked being able to visit with my good friend again. I will be returning to Dahlgren on my way back to Texas for some more steamed oysters and story telling.

Here we are with only about 130 miles left to pedal. Theresa is happy that I am safe and was able to catch back up to my schedule. I also just got a text message from my friend Jessica Benson, Latseen's wife. She said it sounded like so little miles after all I've done so far... I really had to think about that one. The days have seemed to just flow together. If I had not have been keeping this journal I don't think I could separate the days and tell one from another.

Although I have been living rather simply and with only one goal in sight, it has still been a lot of work. Physically pedaling everyday was only part of the mission. I've also had to deal with the stress of traffic and various roadway conditions and safety buffers. Then I have had to continually check and re-check the daily routes and make sure they will be safe and passable along with transferring the data to my GPS and putting a copy here for y'all to follow. On a daily basis I have to find lodging that is close enough to the route to be feasible; 15 miles to a campground in a car sounds reasonable but that's and hour and a half ride by fully loaded TerraTrike! After arriving at the days end I take care of making camp, personal hygiene and dinner then spend about an hour updating the blog. Many nights I haven't gotten to sleep until passed midnight only to wake at 0600hrs to begin it all again. I am, in no way whatsoever complaining. This has been the trip of a lifetime. I have met some truly great people, many of whom are Veterans. I've seen some beautiful parts of our great Country and with some effort I've managed to bring some well-deserved awareness to Wounded Warrior Project. Additionally, what I have managed over just a few short weeks is nothing compared to what our Troopers are dealing with on a daily basis for multiple deployments lasting as long as fifteen months. They are in my heart and thoughts every single day. Thank you for what you do and thank you for what you have done... you know who you are.

My ultimate goal is to have made a positive impact toward the lives of our returning Warriors, especially those with grievous injuries, and to help them be able to make a smoother transition from the battlefield back to civilian life. Though their lives will never, ever be the same again, I hope that it can and will be long, healthy, enjoyable and prosperous. From my experience, Wounded Warrior Project is well equipped to make an impact on a large scale and by helping them, I am reaching my goal. I hope that you will help me support Wounded Warrior Project by taking the time to make a donation HERE.

Soon I will be looking, for the first time, at the remains of where and why this conflict started. I remember clearly where I was when the attack first started. I remember distinctly that hollow gut feeling followed by a feeling of urgency to run towards the attack... to do my part. I wasn't able to participate in our defense or the cleanup after the destruction (although I am proud of having worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who were there to provide the leadership in that mission, at the time). I am certain that on this 9-11 I will be filled with many emotions but, I think pride will be the most prominent. Not pride in myself or pride in that I have accomplished my goal but, rather, pride in the Men and Women who made it possible for me to undertake this mission in the first place; the courageous Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen and Coastguardsmen of these United States. Without the blanket of Freedom they provide none of this would have been possible. Thanks, guys! You know who you are...

Enjoy the Ride!

Route Map Day 27: Newark, DE to Bensalem, PA
Find more Bike Rides in Newark, Delaware

Ride Day 26: Troutville, VA to Lynchburg, VA

2009-09-07T06:59:00.002-05:00

Yesterday's ride was the best yet in the State of Virginia. The route not only had a nice shoulder for the duration but I had good weather and some beautiful scenery around the southern tip of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I also met some really nice folks along the way and I wish them the best. Thank you for your support.

Given that I had only 5 more days to reach my ultimate goal of Ground Zero by 9-11, I began to feel a bit anxious. I kept a steady pace and bearing knowing that one way or another the mission would be completed successfully. One thing that began to weigh heavy on my mind was the condition of my legs. While I enjoyed my day of rest and felt much better getting underway on Friday, my legs were still not completely recuperated. As I began climbing again around the Blue Ridge my legs simply did not want to cooperate. I could turn the pedals over but not with any amount of strength. I found myself being very thankful for the 10" gearing on the TerraTrike. While my morale was extremely high, I could not do anything about the condition of my legs.

My very good friend, Scott Gainer, lives and works in Dahlgren, VA just south of DC. Scott was in League City to see me off on 12 August while on vacation. First thing in the morning I called Scott and left a message that I was nearing his part of the Country and could use a little help catching up to my ride schedule. To my surprise and great relief, Scott had been following my progress on the blog and had already departed Dahlgren in an effort to intercept me and check on my progress. When we finally made contact, Scott was already in Charlottesville, VA only a few miles down the road... by Texas standards.

I had stopped in Bedford to have lunch around 1400hrs and while there made contact with Scott. We decided that since I was at a good rest stop and he just down the road that I would stay put and await his arrival. Scott arrived within an hour and we dropped the top on his jeep, strapped the TerraTrike to the sport bar and headed down the road to Dahlgren. En route Scott told me that he had been a bit worried about me traveling along Virginia roadways by bicycle, well, tricycle. He explained what I had already experienced in that Virginia does not build roads with cyclists in mind, nor do they build roads with any consistency to when they construct shoulders; shoulders come and go with no rhyme or reason appearing and disappearing along the same roadway. Additionally, the closer I got to the East Coast the traffic flow increased exponentially.

As we drove along the route that I had chosen to ride I immediately thought, "wow, if I were in any other situation I would never choose to ride along these thoroughfares." I also thought, "it's dangerous in a vehicle let alone on a recumbent bicycle." Just outside of Fredericksburg we were taken aback as we passed a happened-within-minutes-ago motorcycle accident where the bike, or pieces of the bike were plastered up against a guardrail and some motorists were beginning to clamber down the embankment to the river in an apparent attempt to reach the rider. We made it safely to Scott's residence after stopping at Tim's for some steamed oysters and fish tacos and I had no problem drifting off to sleep on the couch.

This morning we are double checking the route maps and settling on a place where Scott can drop me off so that I can avoid DC and Baltimore holiday traffic and be able to make NYC on time. I feel much better about being able to successfully complete this mission. Thank you all for your support. Thank you, Scotty, for looking out for me and helping me make the end goal.

Enjoy the Ride!

It's also "Love your Husband Day"

2009-09-06T18:50:00.001-05:00

This is the longest time Jack and I have been apart in twelve years and I miss him terribly. I can’t imagine him being gone for months at a time like our soldiers have to be from their wives and husbands. At times it must be lonely and worrisome not being able to see or talk to their loved one, but it must also be joyous when they can. It’s another sacrifice our soldiers make to ensure we all live free. So I want to not only thank our soldiers, but their wives and husbands for their sacrifices of that time without their loved ones. It’s a high price they all pay for our freedom.

So here’s my request of everyone today. Call, email, text or whatever means you have, but tell someone special in your life that you love them. Even if you say it everyday take the time now to stop them, look them in the eye and tell them how you feel. You’d be amazed at the response and how it will make you feel.

Jack even though you are far away know that I love you now and forever…..

For My Wife, I Love You.

2009-09-06T07:57:00.003-05:00

It's Sunday... "Love Your Wife Day"

While I love my wife everyday sometimes with our children and hectic schedules time often slips past so quickly that I wonder if I really took the time to make sure she knows it. So, I put a reminder on my schedule and Sunday is our day... a day for just the two of us to enjoy each other's company and express our love for each other. I really like Sundays... I love you, Theresa.

I couldn't find a clean studio copy of Slaid Cleaves "Flowered Dresses" but here is a live version. I know how you like this song... See you soon!

Ride Map Day 25: Troutville, VA to Lynchburg, VA

2009-09-06T07:33:00.003-05:00

Well, I figured out how to avoid the climb over the Blue Ridge Mountains via either Blue Ridge Parkway at Buena Vista or Rockfish Gap at Waynesboro... Roanoke is situated at the Southern tip of the Blue Ridge so I'm going to cut around the bottom and head over to Lynchburg via Bedford. It's about 50 miles but then it will be a straight shot up to DC along 29... at least I hope so. I don't reckon traffic could be any worse than some that I have already experienced, at least until I get closer to DC.

I'm running a few days behind my schedule to arrive on 9-11 at Ground Zero. I wish I wouldn't have had to take that last rest day but, I really couldn't go on without having taken a day off. My morale is high and I am confident in my ability to complete this mission but for the time schedule. Being resourceful is an Army characteristics that will come in handy here. I need to find some folks who can ferry me up and across DC to make up some valuable time. Perhaps if I could get someone to contact any VFW's or American Legions etc and see if any of the guys that have pickup trucks would like to do a fire drill by ferrying me from station to station. It's hard to arrange these things in a timely manner while having to pedal throughout the day to make my daily destination... and by the time I get there it's late in the afternoon/evening and hard to establish contact with anybody. You can reach me at 281-734-1703 via text or call. I also get email on my PDA at jfcompton@verizon.net though I cannot send email from my PDA anymore for some unknown reason (that part quit working back in Louisiana). Thanks for the help!

Here is today's route map... Enjoy the Ride!

Ride Map Day 25: Troutville, VA to Lynchburg, VA
Find more Bike Rides in Troutville, Virginia

Ride Day 25: Pulaski, VA to Troutville, VA

2009-09-06T06:28:00.004-05:00

Thanks to Kayla & Verna at the Pulaski Motel for the kind words and with help sending off a package to my residence. I certainly enjoyed my much needed rest at the Pulaski Motel and I thank the Patels for letting me stay 1 night free of charge.

I left the motel and rounded the corner only to see the trestle that I had come across 2 days earlier... I couldn't help but laugh at myself. My confidence and morale restored I hooked a right on Lowman's Ferry Road and climbed a short hill than eased on down the backside all the way to the river, which was about 3.5 miles. It was so pretty at the river crossing, and there happened to be a little store there so I stopped for some gatorade and a couple of pictures. That's when I had a little conversation with a man and a boy whom I had passed 3 times on the road. See, their truck kept stalling and they would have to wait for it to start again so they could pass me only to have it stall again. They had been trying to get home since early that morning from Christiansburg. At any rate, they informed me that I had chosen the long way around and it was riddled with hard climbs and lots of blind curves. They informed me that Old Route 100 wasn't a deadend as appeared on the map and that I could link back up with HWY11 at Dublin. They both agreed that would be a much better route and I couldn't help but agree. To my luck, and surprise, there were a man and his wife with a pickup that wasn't full of work equipment, atv's or fishing gear who graciously offered to haul me and my rig back up the 3.5-mile hill. They were very nice folks and I appreciate the ride. They dropped me at the corner right by the Pulaski Motel... so, here it is now closing on 1100hrs and I'm right back where I started! Phew! That took some self inspiration to get passed.

After that little SNAFU I was on my way and it was truly a beautiful day. I had a tailwind and traffic was relatively light for a holiday weekend; just a few fishermen hauling their boats to the river. I made Dublin in no time and was in much better spirits after a sandwich, a snickers & a pepsi. At the 3rd light I found HWY11 right where it was supposed to be so I hooked a right and boogied on down the road. After a couple of miles, with my confidence returning I began to sing "Ragged Ol' Flag" by the late, great Johnny Cash. In fact, if you click on the title of this blog entry you'll get to see a great little youtube production by a Navy Pilot of "Ragged Ol' Flag." I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

From Dublin to Radford it was litterally all uphill but that much I had grown used to in the last week or so. Radford was a pretty little college town and they were gearing up for some sort of festival. From Radford to Christiansburg it was more climbing but the roadway was new and there was a bit of a shoulder. At Christiansburg I stopped for a coke and to refill my gatorade and the gentleman behind the counter said I had the tough part whooped and it was all downhill to Roanoke. I smiled and said that I had heard that one before to which he replied that he was serious. He said that I had made the summit of Christiansburg Mountain and Roanoke was in the valley below. That, my friends, was like hearing music from the heavens! And he wasn't ribbing me either... I didn't touch a pedal for over 15 miles! Then there were only a few little hills but it was either flat or downhill and I had a tailwind the entire time. It just doesn't get any better than that!

The traffic in Roanoke was pretty much non-existent given the experiences I had had thus far in my journey. I pedalled on through town on Texas Street and found my way without incident up 117 back to HWY11 and at Troutville found the Travel Lodge exactly where it was supposed to be as well. All was good. I checked in and while stashing my gear I noticed the clock... It read 1741hrs and I figured that somebody must have reset it. I double checked my clock and, well, what do ya know! Even with my little escapade down to the river I still made the 60 miles and in record time! Now I was really happy! I took a shower and did my laundry in the sink then headed across the parking lot for a Mc Donalds... That's when I saw the Taco Bell across the street and couldn't help thinking that it couldn't be going this well... I thought, "watch, I'm gonna get hit by a bus crossing the street to Taco Bell!" But, I managed to get some dinner and cross the street twice without a hitch. After eating my body shut down pretty quick and I was off to bed by 1900hrs.

I tried to take some pictures yesterday, but I'm afraid that they will not do justice to the absolutely beautiful countryside I saw. Coming off the Appalachian Mountains was a real treat. The air was perfumed with the scent of wild flowers and the sun was warm on my face. The breeze was at my back and traffic was light enough that I could really enjoy the view without worrying too much about getting flattened. I hope you enjoy the pictures below. If you click on the viewer it will take you to webshots where you can read the picture captions I added and see them without being cropped to fit the viewer.

Enjoy the Ride!

HOU-NYC Ride Solo II

2009-09-05T19:05:00.001-05:00

Made Troutville, VA without incident. Climbed all morning to Radford & Christiansburg at 2700' then it was a 15+ mile downhill to Roanoke. Will blog in a.m. L8R

Ride Map Day 24: Pulaski, VA to Troutville, VA

2009-09-04T18:31:00.004-05:00

Yeah, I know "Troutville"... I expect the town to be full of people who resemble, well, trout! It's like a Douglass Adams story... so long and thanks for all the fish... so sad it's come to all of this... Whew! Guess I need some more sleep.

Anyway, it's roughly 60 miles and this time I stick to the route that I reconnoitered for over 10 weeks via street maps, topographic maps and satellite photography. Mr. Garmin Edge 705 can just sit back and take notes. We are getting into some serious hill country now; the Texas Hill Country and Austin ain't got nothin' on the New River Basin. We're still off of the most dreadful climb up the Blueridge Parkway. When I was a teenager I used to ride over Trans Mountain Highway in El Paso, TX. It started at roughly 3800 feet and rose to a little over 5200 feet at the summit. We did this for fun! We would ride up, eat lunch, hike up to the springs and hang out at the old caves then coast back down. We did it on fixed gear BMX and early versions of mountain bikes. Now I've got one of the most technically advanced drivetrains on the market with 27 speeds and a low gear of 10 inches and I'm worried. Guess I shouldn't be. Guess I'll take it one pedal at a time. Kind of like the old question, "how do you eat an elephant?" The answer being, "one bite at a time." Much like our Veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan with grievous injuries like Traumatic Brain Injuries, Missing Limbs and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. They have to take it one step at a time... one day at a time. Speaking from experience, though I am not a combat Veteran I can speak of rehabilitation after a grievous injury, I know how tough it is and how long it takes. It takes years and years. And even after 20 years there are still good days and bad days. Having a third party organization to help navigate the bureaucracy and pitfalls inherent in the Military and Veterans Affairs Administration so that you can focus on your recovery instead of having additional stresses put upon you is absolutely invaluable. The Wounded Warrior Project was founded on a simple idea and has blossomed into an organization that makes huge differences in our Troopers lives on a daily basis. Please take a few minutes out of your busy day to learn more about the organization and the benefits they provide every day for our Troops. If you can't take those few moments then, instead of purchasing a little magnet for your car, show your support for our Troops by donating online directly to the Wounded Warrior Project by clicking HERE. Your support does make a difference when put in the capable hands of an organization like Wounded Warrior Project. Thank you for your support.

Enjoy the Ride!

Day 24: Pulaski, VA to Troutville, VA
Find more Bike Rides in Pulaski, Virginia

Ride Day 22: Wytheville, VA to Paulski, Va

2009-09-04T16:48:00.005-05:00

Well, it started out such a beautiful day that I let my guard down and ended up 36 miles in deficit for the day. First I underestimated the ride profile as at first glance Christiansburg is at a lower elevation than Wythville making it look like it's all down hill... not. There are still quite a few hard climbs between the two cities and the way that the mountains are formed, I am climbing the steep side and coasting down the long side, which makes the climbing much, much slower.

Second, figuring it was only a 50-mile day I thought I would simply plug my final destination into the Garmin Edge 705 and see what route it would run. It turns out that the Garmin had me crisscrossing IH81 in an all out effort to find every single mountain pass between the two cities! I began to think that some little French dude was doing the route selection to pay us back for Lance kicking their butts for seven years! The Garmin also routed me up the "New River Trail" a Rails-To-Trails project that runs from the Carolinas to Ohio. At first I was a little leery as I had never been on such a trail. I should have listened to my gut feeling but, I figured on two things (1) railroads are relatively flat so no more big climbs and (2) no vehicular traffic zooming passed my left shoulder. What I didn't count on was that there are trail heads only every so often and, obviously, the Garmin didn't figure on that either. About 2.5 miles down the trail I crossed HWY11, again, and the Garmin says "turn right you idiot" to which I responded "hmmm, you turn right off of a 70-foot-high train trestle!"

At that point I began to seriously doubt my successful completion of the days ride and my morale began to fade quite readily. I looked and looked for a route off of the trail that was not 8 miles out of my way. I found a little dead-end road adjacent to the trail which would take me up (yes, remember, everything in Virginia is... up hill!) through a little neighborhood and deposit me onto VA91. I had to disassemble and drag the TerraTrike, B.O.B. and all of my gear up an embankment then reassemble it all before continuing up the hill. At what I thought to be the top I met and old man and his boy working on some projects and was accosted by a little female chihuahua. While paying some obviously much needed attention to the dog that found its way into my lap I listened to the old man and his boy discuss the best route to Christiansburg. The longer they discussed it the more deflated I got. I think the dog could tell because she kept trying to console me. Bottom line was that there was no way I was gonna make Christiansburg "on that contraption" by dark as it takes over 45 minutes to drive with all the hills and traffic... I thanked the gentlemen for their advice, deposited the chihuahua upon the pavement and began pedaling around the corner where, you guessed it, the pavement became horizontally challenged again.

The climb was about a mile long and I found myself on a typical two-lane Virginia alley of death with no shoulder and the sun had gone down behind the mountain range thus casting long shadows over the roadway. Usually running just my large taillight, I rethought the situation and turned on all of my lights and put on my jacket with reflective patches. By my best guess there is usually a c-store or even perhaps a motel near highway intersections so I turned left and pedaled toward IH81 instead of right and to the town of Pulaski. It was a good guess as I didn't have to climb more than a mile and a half when I found an Exxon Station. It must have been Virginia lottery day as the line was about 20 deep and the station was the only thing around for as far as I could see. I grabbed a pepsi and just sat & watched the people watching me (for some reason most Virginians like to just stare blankly at you when you wave or say hello... so much for Southern Hospitality). After the line dropped off I paid for my empty soda and the nice lady told me I could have a free refill for having to wait so long.

When I departed the store there were about 5 people gathered around the TerraTrike just amazing over this and amazing over that. After a few questions all but one left and we discussed the route to Christiansburg, he agreeing that the Garmin had taken the absolutely longest route possible and adding about 17 miles on to the day. He said if he had his truck he would give me a lift and then he had an epiphany. He was going to the Moose Lodge and would wrangle up somebody with a truck to ferry me and my gear to Christiansburg in an effort to keep me on schedule. At this point I pictured some rendition of a Mel Brooks movie as this fella went to round up a posse... I managed to keep my fits of laughter inside until he departed. At that time I found a picnic table out in the sun and just plopped down and watched people come & go.

After about a 20 minute break I grabbed up my trusty little PDA and dialed up the internet searching for hotel/motel in Pulaski. Much to my amazement the Pulaski Motel, formerly the Days Inn at Pulaski, was only 0.65 miles away. I called and the nice young lady on the other end of the phone listened politely to my story. She got me a room and had the key ready when I got there so that I could go straight to a shower and bed. Now that is Southern Hospitality... see what happens when your morale goes out the window, you begin to doubt everything.

I mounted up and began to head for the motel. My only problem was myself... I did not want to cooperate. My legs were all wobbly. My heart was palpitating. I was seeing spots. I couldn't hardly think straight. I slowly pedaled over the highway and around the corner to the motel. Amanda, as I found out to be her name, did exactly as she had said and simply handed me the key. I had a hard time moving and simply leaned on the counter for a bit telling her my tale. I got motivated and asked about a place to get some food delivered and Amanda suggested the local Chinese. I tottered off to my room, unloaded all the gear and put the TerraTrike and B.O.B. inside. I then called the Chinese place only to find they had a minimum delivery order requirement and the menu happened to be really cheap (orange chicken to feed a fire team was only $7). So, I asked Amanda if she wanted anything and that made the delivery worthwhile for Chuang Hua. While I ate I talked to TC about my day and afterward felt quite a bit better. I then hit the shower and the bed going to sleep thinking about what tomorrow would bring.

Tomorrow arrived and after about 3.5 seconds of thought, I killed the alarm and went back to sleep for a much, much needed rest day. I awoke around 0930hrs to a beautiful Virginia day. I met the day staff and housekeeping and enjoyed our visit. One of the housekeepers, Verna, even took the TerraTrike for a spin around the parking lot! We all had some laughs and I told them all my story. The clerk, Kayla, explained that her brother and his wife had just returned from Iraq, both were MP's. Verna explained that she has nephews, one in Iraq & one in Afghanistan right now. Kayla called the motel proprietor, the Patels, and received permission to offer me the room for another night on the house. Thank you very much!

I spent the day mostly uploading pictures and videos for y'all, but I also managed to do my laundry, jettison some more extemporaneous gear and take a nap! The nap was totally awesome! I ordered a pizza from dominos and had them throw in a sandwich and a 2 liter bottle of Mello Yello in order to make their minimum delivery order requirement. This time I ate most of it myself saving only some of the pizza for breakfast. My legs are still quite sore and I'm going to go soak in a hot bath then massage them and then put ice on them. Hopefully another quiet evening and I'll be ready for tomorrow's ride. Taking this rest day was very necessary but now I don't think I'll get to rest in DC. Oh, well, there's always next year.

Please keep all of our Troopers in your hearts and thoughts.

Enjoy the Ride!

HOU-NYC Various II

HOU-NYC Various Solo

Day 21 Ride Video

2009-09-04T16:07:00.002-05:00

Day 23

2009-09-03T20:54:00.003-05:00

Wow! What a rough day! Jack had planned a 50-mile day, but after 7 ½ hours and only 30 miles he decided to call it a day. He had followed the Garmin’s route and after many twists and turns and crossing the highway THREE times, he ended up on a gravel road where he had to ride down a railroad trestle for a few miles and finally found a small turn off “road”. He then dragged his bike up the embankment where to his surprise and delight was an Exxon station! After realizing Mr. Gamin had steered him wrong he started looking for a place to hang his helmet for the night. The sign by the Exxon said Pulaski 1 mile ahead and let’s just say we know where he is tonight and leave it at that. He’s tired and sore but still in good spirits. I told him to eat, take a shower and head off for some much needed sleep and I’d let ya’ll what happened. He will be mapping his own route and ignoring Mr. Garmin tomorrow (personally I’d leave Mr. Garmin behind but thankfully Jack is more forgiving). I’m sure Jack will give a much better description of his adventure tomorrow but for tonight we’ll let him rest.

I just want to thank everyone for all the support and encouragement you’ve given Jack in his mission. Please take time out of your day to thank a Veteran for the freedom you still have and tell them how proud you are of them. We owe them so much for the wonderful lives we are able to have here in America. Freedom is not free; you have to keep fighting for it and that is what these men and women are doing for all of us. Please check out the Wounded Warrior Project and Soldiers’ Angel’s websites to see how you can help our soldiers. They are worth every bit of our time and effort. Just remember they have given you theirs.

As Jack would say “Ride On”. TC

Thank You For Your Service... You Know Who You Are.

2009-09-03T09:07:00.002-05:00

The Late Great Townes Van Zandt

2009-09-03T08:53:00.001-05:00

Ride Map Day 22: Wytheville, VA to Christiansburg, VA

2009-09-03T07:53:00.003-05:00

The road into Wytheville (Wythe pronounced like Smith... old english) last night and with some 5 or so miles left to KOA and it being 1930hrs already it didn't take much twisting to get me to pop my head into the Travel Lite motel to ask about a room. Jay was super nice and she let me have the room for $33. The room is clean and comfortable and convenient to restaurant, pharmacy and c-stores. I showered and walked across the street for dinner at the Log House Restaurant. The log house was built in 1776 and its latest addition completed in 1889. The food was awesome and I thoroughly enjoy my Virgina ham, stuffed yellow squash, parsley potatoes, garden salad and fresh bread with fresh churned butter. Afterwards I was stuffed, sore and tired and ready for some much needed sleep.

The ride to Wytheville was very long at over 70 miles. I've learned that there are no straight roads in Virginia and everything is up hill! You want a c-store...up hill. You want a motel...up hill. You want food...up hill. And so on and so forth... U.S. Hwy 11 in Virginia is not quite the same as it was in Tennessee. It is definitely not constructed with bicycle travel on the blue prints. In fact, where ever the road had been repaired or resurfaced, only the driving lanes were completed leaving the shoulders, or what little of them there were, in very, very poor condition. Still, I got to see some beautiful countryside and meet some neat folks.

Awoke this a.m. with very sore back and legs. Slept in until 0730hrs and took hot shower to loosen up. I'm not feeling too bad now. It is actually cold outside by Texas coastal standards and some pants or legwarmers will be needed to keep my knees warm enough to work without getting torn up. Going to make short ride, ~50 miles, to Christiansburg where I will rest at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I suppose the mountains and I will have a little stare down but hopefully we won't end up in a Mexican stand off as I'm sure that Theresa would not want to have to pack up and move to Christiansburg now that school has started! ;o)

So, here's what I want everybody to do today... go to the bookstore or amazon or wherever you purchase your books from and pick up a copy of "Faces of Freedom, Profiles of America's Fallen Heroes: Iraq and Afghanistan" by Rebecca Pepin. Read it. Think about it. Then take that book and donate it to your local school library of choice. At one point Ms. Pepin donated ALL proceeds from this book to Wounded Warrior Project. I'm not certain if that still holds true but, the book itself is a must read to give everyone a better understanding of our Troops' experiences in the Middle East conflicts. Nobody can ever completely understand a combat Veteran except another combat Veteran but maybe these stories will help you to understand just a little bit more. OK, you have your orders... MOVE OUT! :o)

Here is today's route map. The "Map My Ride" software is very powerful and easy to use. I like the "Show Elevation" feature as it gives me a good idea of what I'm going to get into today much better that a topographic map. Check it out!

Ride Map Day 22: Wytheville, VA to Christiansburg, VA
Find more Bike Rides in Wytheville, Virginia

2009-09-02T19:45:00.001-05:00

No blog tonight Long day today; 71 miles, 3200+ climb, now at 2500+ elevation. Late arrival. Great dinner. Very tired and sore legs. Leave something in the a.m.

This pic is for my Brother Anthony J. Mulheron.

2009-09-02T07:05:00.003-05:00

Thanks for your service, Brother. It's been a great ride so far and I've even met a few other Desert Storm Veterans. The B.O.B. is working out perfectly! It pulls so nice I can't even tell it's back there... until it starts pushing me down a mountain pass at 35 mph! Wish you were here. Maybe next year.

Ride Map Day 21: Bristol, VA to Wytheville, VA

2009-09-02T06:57:00.002-05:00

Looks like 365 miles to Washington, DC and another 215 miles to New York, NY. That's about 8 days and I've got 10 including today. The weather is supposed to remain clear, cool and dry over the next week. Looks like I'll be in good shape for the next leg of the mission.

Day 21: Bristol, VA to Wytheville, VA
Find more Bike Rides in Bristol, Virginia

Ride Day 20... Maybe

2009-09-01T19:43:00.007-05:00

Wow! Day 20 already... here it is the 1st of September.

This evening I am alone. Sharon & Chuck headed back for Texas this afternoon. Many thanks to the both of them for supporting me this far; they were supposed to head back when we got to Chattanooga but I guess we were just having too much fun... and then the money ran out! I will miss their company and, contrary to Sharon's beliefs, I did enjoy having them both with me on this mission. It is always more fun when you can share what you are doing. We rode some tough roads and some easy roads. We saw some incredibly beautiful countryside as well as some unique urban environments, though the ultimate urban experience lies a few more days to my east where our great Nation has its beginning. I wish you both a safe and enjoyable journey home.

Today was a great day to ride. The weather was cool and overcast with a light ESE breeze. The Great State of Tennessee provided a bike lane along HWY11 that was really awesome. It was about four feet wide with another three foot buffer lane to the lane of traffic. For the most part it was free of debris although I managed to pick up a piece of glass in my rear tire and had to fix a flat near Kingsport by the U.S. Army Ammunition Depot. The hills were much more enjoyable today as they were long rollers and didn't have the leg-ripping inclines of the back roads we have been traveling.

Chuck & I made pretty good time this morning and stopped in Kingsport for a snickers & a pepsi before rolling on to meet Sharon on the south side of Bristol, TN/VA. To give you an idea of how cool it was today, I filled up my camelbak and bottle with ice this morning and at Kingsport I added a bottle of gatorade to my bottle... I just now pulled out the gatorade and there is still ice in the bottle!

When we stopped to meet Sharon I had a polish sausage, some chips & a Mt. Dew for lunch. My body cooled off quite a bit and it was tough trying to get going again. My quads were sore and stiffened up pretty quick. When Sharon & I rolled out onto HWY11 for the second leg of the day I was actually chilled when riding down the hills. I stopped & donned my Sugoi Helium jacket and was fine until we hit Bristol proper and started climbing up & down the city streets. I stripped off the jacket and we kept on pedaling.

Also at lunch I tried to call the Travelers Inn in Glade Springs, VA for a room but the call got routed through some overseas switchboard and it turned into a frustrating and unsuccessful attempt. According to whatever-his-name-was all the hotels in that area were booked solid...must have been a glade convention or something. He kept insisting on booking me a hotel in some other town and had a hard time comprehending that I was traveling by bicycle and 20 miles to the next town was not gonna happen. He kept insisting and I actually had to be rude to the guy by saying thankyouverymuchbutnothankyougoodbye...click! I hate having to do that. So, rather than risk getting 20 miles down the road and ending up with no place to stay I opted to get a hotel in Bristol. Turns out it was a pretty good idea. I got a room at the Microtel on 11 & 81 and they've got some pretty nice digs here. I was really stoked when I saw the hot tub out the door at the end of the hallway! We got Sharon & Chuck loaded and after a round of hugs and good wishes they departed around 1530hrs. I got my gear secured and made a bee-line for the hot tub and enjoyed soaking a bit then jumping into the pool, although the pool was heated too so I didn't get the full WOW THAT'S COLD effect that chases all the bad blood full of lactic acid out of your muscles so new blood can restore nutrients and oxygen but it was nice just the same. I spent about 45 minutes splashing around then I went for a shower and did my laundry in the bath tub! It's hanging over the HVAC right now and appears to be just about dry.

After getting cleaned up I walked across the street and grabbed an omelet from the Perkins. Satisfactorily stuffed I walked up the block to Home Depot where I purchased a 5x7 tarp and some clips (in the event that it rains when I'm out in the middle of nowhere I can pull the tarp over me & the trike and shelter in place). Then I walked back to the hotel via the Dollar General where I picked up some more zip bags, a tube of neosporin and a couple of bar towels so I can lube my chain. Now I'm going to wrap things up for the day and actually get to bed before midnight!

"I am not a morning person" doesn't even come close to covering how I function at the start of the day and to boot, I'm still running on Central Time! It takes me a long time to get my back and legs and brain to engage simultaneously in the morning. After some drugs, some orange juice, a Mt. Dew and an hour or so I can usually fake it enough to look like I'm OK. It usually take 2 to 3 hours to really get going. Given that, I'm actually going to try and leave a little early each morning. The 0900 to 1600 thing just isn't working. Sometimes I need a rest after each large climb and sometimes I need a little more time at lunch to stretch and eat and hydrate. We've been getting in as late as 1900hrs the last few nights and riding during evening traffic really bites. So, I'm going to try getting to bed a little earlier tonight and getting up a little earlier tomorrow. I'd like to be on the road by NLT 0800hrs and see how that works out.

Also, I need to figure up some mileages for the next 10 days. I'm not certain of the remaining distances now as the original schedule went out the window somewhere early on in Alabama. I'll check the maps in the morning and see where I'm at so I can better figure on scheduling for everybody in DC, Baltimore, Philly, Trenton and NYC. Ah, many, many thanks to Woody Groton at Wounded Warrior Project for hooking me up with accommodations on the Eastern Seaboard as well as a UHaul van so I can "IHaul" myself and my gear back to Texas.

So far it's been a really great ride. This afternoon I was starting to drag a little bit, well, OK a lotta bit when a car went by and the occupants all rolled down their windows and began cheering and clapping. This started a chain reaction in the intersection and I felt like I was in a parade as I pedaled passed cheering motorists. It was a great pick-me-up and I was able to complete the remaining 17 or 19 miles in much better spirits. I certainly hope that the remaining few days are as awesome as this ride has been so far. Let us just see what tomorrow brings...

Enjoy the Ride!

A little John Prine for the road this morning...

2009-09-01T07:11:00.001-05:00

Ride Map Day 20: Church Hill, TN to Glade Springs, VA

2009-09-01T07:07:00.001-05:00

Day 20: Church Hill, TN to Glad Springs, VA
Find more Bike Rides in Church Hill, Tennessee

Ride Day 19

2009-08-31T20:43:00.004-05:00

We got a bit of a late start this morning as I tried to get my legs to cooperate. They seemed to have a mind of their own this morning and it didn't include pedalling for 67 miles across Eastern Tennessee... We ended up pulling out of Trentville around 1000hrs. The road turned out to be pretty decent as Tennessee widened the shoulder on HWY11 and designated it as a bike route. The first leg of the ride consisted of low rolling hills with lots of traffic on the 4-lane though we got to see some pretty countryside and the weather was absolutely spot on. It was sunny and cool with a light breeze quartering away.

Chuck pedaled along for a while and then he says "I got this guilty feeling going on." To which I replied, "guilty? 'bout what?" And that's when he cut loose with a big ole grin and says, "well, riding a bike isn't supposed to be this comfortable... I feel guilty for not suffering enough." And there it was, Chuck really, really enjoys his new catrike. Thanks, Art! You did a great job of setting Chuck up with a ride that he will enjoy for many miles to come.

We rode through Jeffersonville around noon and wheeled into the KFC just before riding out of town. I ran in and used the facilities and got us a snack to hold us over to Russelville, which was another 20 or so miles down the road. We met a fella there named Jim who had been a truck driver. Jim was pretty amazed at our success thus far and provided some info on the upcoming roadways. Then Sharon called and seemed a bit disturbed that we had only gotten 17 miles down the road... so, we laid the coals to her and made Russelville in about an hour and a half! Somewhere around Morristown the State of Tennessee ran out of extra asphalt and we lost the nice wide shoulder. We also managed to lose 2 lanes without a decrease in the amount of traffic. Things were pretty exciting from there to Russelville where we pedaled into a c-store and grabbed some ice and a Mt. Dew. Sharon & Chuck swapped out and Sharon & I continued on with the second leg of the day.

We didn't get more than a couple miles down the road when my front left tire began to thump. The belt had separated and my spare was in the truck. We called Chuck, who had just passed us, and had him return to our location. While we were waiting I pulled off the tire and when Chuck arrived spent only a few minutes mounting the new tire. I stashed another spare on the B.O.B. and we were under way in short order. Within the 30 or so minutes we were in Russelville we were passed by 3 ambulance running code... not a good sign. I couldn't believe the amount of traffic for the middle of the afternoon in a small, rural town.

From Russelville we headed up the "short cut" via St. Clair Rd and HWY113, both of which are narrow, 2-lane country roads running through once lush and productive farmland. What we found though was a constant stream of cars and house upon house encroaching upon the old farm fields. The constant flow of traffic on the narrow, winding and hilly road was rather trying but we managed to make it to HWY66, which cuts across the river and ties HWY11E with HWY11W. We stopped at the river crossing and ate a piece of really good pizza and I had a Mt. Dew while Sharon stuck with the Gatorade. Immediately across the river the entire scene changed. It was the most surreal thing I've experienced on this ride. We hung a right on McKinney Chapel Rd and followed the river for several miles. It was peaceful and lush with walls of limestone to our left and the beautiful river to our right. Traffic was very sparse and it almost felt like we were back on the Natchez Trace. Unfortunately, the fun didn't last too long and we had to hang a left on Old Stage Rd and start climbing out of the river bottom... and we climbed and climbed and climbed... up & down & up & down. It was like a roller coaster ride. We passed beautiful expanses of farmland with barns full of drying tobacco leaves and the sweet smell of fresh cut hay lazed in the air. There were cattle & horses & sheep and we saw a huge flock of wild turkey cruising along a hillside just out of the woods. We saw huge old barns and beautiful historic old homes of local limestone construction as well as some really awesome plank and mud homes that were right out of a Daniel Boone movie from the 1950's. The small communities along the way were friendly and we got lots of smiles and waves as we passed through, completely different from the welcome we received in Jeffersonville and Morristown and Russelville where we were met with blank stares and irritated drivers.

We arrived at the Econolodge in Church Hill a little after 1900hrs. We met Jerry, the manager, and learned that she was from San Antonio. Jerry has the cutest little Yorkie that took quite a liking to Sharon & I. We talked for nearly an hour and I enjoyed Jerry's company. Turns out she also has had back surgery and has some hardware in her back as well so, we had some things in common. Jerry comp'd the room for me as support for our efforts in helping the Wounded Warrior Project... THANKS JERRY! The rooms are nice, clean and very comfortable. The shower was awesome and I think I'm well passed time for some shut eye. There are some dark clouds creeping in to the North & East but we'll worry about that tomorrow. Right now I need some sleep.

Tomorrow we will be riding into Virginia. I think we've got roughly 450 miles to get to DC and are just over a thousand miles from home (great Joe Ely song... "I'm a Thousand Miles From Home"). I think I'm about 3 days behind where I would like to be but, with these mountains some days are just not going to be 60+ miles; those days are more like 40-mile days. Chuck and Sharon have decided that they will depart the ride and return to Texas on Wednesday at noon leaving me to fend for myself for a while. I will miss their company and the luxury of having a vehicle nearby in case I need it. I'm figuring 6 days to cross Virginia leaving me 5 days to get from DC to New York, which is possible given the fact that I can ride from Houston to Austin in just 2 days, albeit without carrying any gear. I am a little leery of the Blue Ridge Mountains but, having climbed over the mountains in Alabama and Tennessee I think I'll be OK even though it will be slow going. So, keep the good vibes coming and, with a little luck and some good weather we'll see this mission through to it's successful end.

Thanks again for all the support. It was nice to talk with Benson on the phone last night and it gave me a little boost to cover some more miles. I'm now off to bed and will post tomorrow's ride map in the morning. Let us see what tomorrow brings...

ESSAYONS!

2009-08-31T08:11:00.001-05:00

Benson competed in handcycle race in North Carolina this weekend. He got 5th in the TT and 11th in the crit. Outstanding! Great job, Brother! I'm proud of you.

Ride Map Day 19: Trentville, TN to Surgoinsville, TN

2009-08-31T07:27:00.001-05:00

Day 19: Trentville, TN to Surgoinsville, TN
Find more Bike Rides in Knoxville, Tennessee

Day 18 (I think...)

2009-08-30T19:55:00.003-05:00

On Saturday when we were scrambling around getting ready to depart the Hagood's Art was happily singing Tennessee Whiskey, an old George Jones song. Here it is two days later and I'm still singing Tennessee Whiskey... thanks, Art! Oh, well, it is a good song and we are in Tennessee.

Today was pretty uneventful. I fumbled around this morning and we ended up not leaving the KOA until after 1000hrs. I had an interesting conversation with a lady from Detroit though. I had stated that here it is coming up on 9 years that we have been at war in the Middle East and in the Global War On Terror and folks seem to be loosing site of the fact that we still have Troops on the ground, on the sea and in the air that are in harm's way everyday protecting our way of life. She admitted that when we were first engaging in this conflict she was attending prayer groups and spending her energy in other ways to show her support but recently she said it only comes to her mind on occasion. She said, though, that she was happy to have seen us as it has refreshed her drive to keep our Troops in the forefront of her thoughts. We had a very nice conversation and I left feeling that I was accomplishing what I had set out to do when I pedaled out of Houston. She took some photos and said she would pass them along to her friends and relatives. Now, perhaps it will spread a little further like ripples in a pond.

On 10 June 2007 my friend Matt Lammers, a Seargent with 10th Mountain Division, was injured when his vehicle was hit by an IED while on patrol in a Baghdad neighborhood. Matt was hit really bad. He lost both of his legs above the knees and his right arm above the elbow. He has spent the last two years working really, really hard to overcome many obstacles and now he has learned how to walk using prosthetic legs and can drink a can of soda with his prosthetic arm. He recently married Mary, another OIF Veteran, and they are expecting a child in January. I met Matt on the Wounded Warrior Project's Soldier Ride in Texas in 2008. We rode modified bicycles provided by WWP from Brooke Army Medical Center at Ft. Sam Houston, San Antonio to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. Matt rode a handcycle and I remember that we could not get his "training" prosthetic arm to stay on the crank so we, like all good Soldiers, resolved the problem with some trusty old speed tape! Matt hand pedaled his bike for 78 miles in 3 separate rides that week with one arm and a stump! Within a few miles the stress and sweat being dealt to his prosthetic arm rendered it inoperable. I was super impressed with Matt's determination and so very, very happy for him. I also remember that it was hot. And I mean Texas hot, which was unusual for early March. Matt was sweating buckets and he couldn't wipe the sweat or take a drink of water because he had the use of only his left hand. At no time, ever, during the entire ride did the smile fade from Matt's face. He was an inspiration to many, many people that week including myself.

On 13 November 2005 while on patrol near Mosul, Iraq my friend Latseen Benson, a Seargent with the 101st Airborne Division, was hit by an IED and lost his left leg below the knee and his right leg above the knee. He also sustained damage to his right hand, back and suffered internal injuries. I met Benson and his wife, Jessica, on Wounded Warrior Project's Soldier Ride Texas in 2009. We started talking and then realized that we only lived about 10 miles apart in League City, Texas. This year's Soldier Ride started at Mellow Johnnies Bike Shop in Austin, Texas and continued to BAMC then on to NASCCAD. Unlike last year's ride this one was a total opposite weather wise; it rained the entire time and the temperature never got over 45 degrees. Even with the rain and cold we managed to have a really great time and Benson, not being one to smile at much of anything managed to crack a grin here and there. In Corpus we started the Lone Star Challenge from Minutemaid Park. When we got there it was raining and cold and nobody was really prepared as far as proper clothing and there were a lot of shivering Soldiers standing around in groups under the few available canopies. I seriously considered staying on the bus in the heat but Benson psyched me into wanting to ride. Then, when I got geared up and ready to go I was amazed to see every single Soldier we brought out there on bikes, in the cold rain ready to ride. There were Soldiers missing limbs, Soldiers covered with 3rd degree burn scars, Soldiers with traumatic brain injury scars and not one of them sat on the bus. To the man they lined up for the start. Benson and I rode together and managed to complete the ride even with the nasty weather. After returning home Benson & I have continued to ride together and have grown to be very good friends. One day there was a knock upon my door and when I opened it there stood Benson on his new prosthetic legs! I said, "dang, I don't remember you being that tall!"

Soldier Ride is only one of the many programs offered by Wounded Warrior Project. While I consider Matt & Benson my close friends now, I met a bunch of truly great Heroes while on Soldier Ride; all of whom have benefited from this great program. Please keep our Troops in your thoughts and support them by donating to WWP by clicking the button on the to left of this page.

Let us see what tomorrow brings...

Enjoy the Ride!

For My Wife, I Love You.

2009-08-30T06:59:00.002-05:00

Ride Map Day 18 Sweetwater, TN to Trenville, TN

2009-08-30T06:55:00.002-05:00

Day 18 Sweetwater to Trentville, TN
Find more Bike Rides in Sweetwater, Tennessee

Ride Day 17

2009-08-29T20:24:00.003-05:00

We had a really great couple of days rest and staying with Art & Anne Hagood of Easy Chair Recumbents in Signal Mountain (Chattanooga), TN was super nice. They are awesome folks and have a wonderful old home on historic Signal Mt, where Anne grew up... and, of course, their recumbent business. We genuinely felt at home and enjoyed our stay tremendously. Anne is an awesome cook and we pedaled away today well rested and well fed knowing that we had two more friends in our lives.

Art is really good at his job of selling and servicing recumbents and you can tell very quickly that he has a genuine passion for the bicycle/tricycle. We spent most of our time wrenching in the shop. First we went thru Sharon's trike and fixed brakes, cables, shifters and tires. Then we re-geared my terratrike by replacing the shifters, crankset, rear cassette, rear derailleur and chain; this was necessary in order to lower my gear range because we went from a 10-speed road setup to a 9-speed mountain bike setup and these parts had to be compatible with each other to work smoothly. It turned out to be a $900 investment but, it was either that or load up and head for home from the stress on my knees, hips and back coupled with the upcoming Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia; climbs that will be considerably higher and steeper than those we have climbed thus far. So, if anybody wants to purchase a '95 Jeep Wrangler, an '08 Cannondale t1 Touring Bike, an '09 Cannondale t2 Touring bike or an '08 Cannondale superSix Team Liquigas Edition Race Bike to help finance these changes and the rest of my mission... please let me know. Lastly, we setup Chuck's new catrike... yup! Chuck finally decided to commit to purchasing a new bike and we just happened to be in the perfect place for him to do so. Art spent the better part of a day working with Chuck on having him ride various trikes and then took him out for a 7-mile ride around Signal Mt. to really get a good feel for the trike he had settled on, a catrike road in lime green. Art & I then went thru the trike and swapped out the 32T chainring for a 24T, added a rear fender, rack and 2 bottle cages. It really is a sweet trike and I think Chuck is much safer and much, much more comfortable on it than his old trek 5200.

After discussing our exit route with Art this morning over the topo maps, I decided it would be best to depart from a high school located on TN58 just NE of Chattanooga. The morning was cool and damp from the previous day's rain but the clouds had departed and it was clear and bright. That all changed when we got about 20 miles down the road and the clouds began to creep over the horizon. It sprinkled on Chuck & I several times but never opened up on us. The road was decent and though we didn't have a shoulder the traffic was relatively light. For the most part there were low rolling hills with some longer flats. We kept a pretty good pace and Chuck stayed up front the entire time. I could see that Chuck was truly enjoying his new ride and I was/am very happy for him. He will be able to ride comfortably and safely for many more years to come. We then caught a little clearing in the sky and met Sharon around the 25-mile mark. She & Chuck swapped out in a parking lot while we were joined by Ms. Duck, a local lady who knew the area extensively and had kin or contacts in just about every state and/or city we had either been through or were on our route to New York. She was a friendly lady and offered us good tidings for continued good journey.

Now, Chuck did his level best to convince Sharon that rain was inevitable and that she should continue to drive (thus allowing him to continue to enjoy his new trike). Well, Sharon wouldn't buy it and poor Chuck had to load his new mean green machine into the truck and head for the KOA in Sweetwater. I promised him he really would get to ride it some more before we make DC! So Sharon & I left Chuck to load his gear and change his shoes and headed out for the campground while the clouds began to pile up darker and gloomier on the horizon. It wasn't 5 miles down the road and the sky just opened up... I stopped just short of the wall of water and managed to don my jacket but it did little to abate the upcoming drenching. We pulled off the road as visibility went to zero and the cold rain stung our faces. There was zero shelter in sight so we simply stood off the road in a driveway looking pitiful for the 10 or 15 minutes that the rain fell. It passed and we pedaled a couple of more miles to the southern edge of Decatur, TN where it started to rain again though not as hard. We pulled up and dashed into the AMVets Club where we were welcomed with cold drinks, towels and an offer for some BBQ lunch. By this time it was nearing 1600hrs and we still had 30 miles to cover so we passed on lunch and, with a part in passing showers made a run for the campground. We didn't make it further than the north side of Decatur when it began to rain again. We sprinted up under the awning of the Jones Street Cafe for a respite. The rain came down so hard we couldn't clearly see across the street so we decided to go ahead and eat while we waited for the rain to stop. Inside the cafe we met Michael Bean, the cafe owner, and visited for a while. Mike seems to be a really nice fella and I wish him the very best in his life. When the rain kept coming and news from new patrons didn't brighten our day we called Chuck and told him to unload his trike & the gear at camp & bring the truck back. We ate while waiting for Chuck & then he ate when he arrived. When we went to pay before leaving the young lady informed us that Mike had told her that our dinner was on him. By this time it was 1830hrs and, grateful for such a fine meal at such a great price, we loaded up mine & Sharon's trikes, the B.O.B. & all our gear and drove the last 25 miles to the KOA in Sweetwater.

It didn't take long and the road would have been a nice route had we had the time to ride it before it got dark. We set camp, met the neighbors and all go showers by 2130hrs and here I lie in my tent listening to Patty Griffin on the Ipod and telling you of my day. It is a cool and clear evening with lots of stars shining thru the gaps in the trees.

As I lie here I can't help to think that even with the rain and little bit of misfortune we had today, we are still able to go out and do this. We can get out and go camping and bicycle touring because we have freedoms that are secured with the sacrifices of our Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen and Coast Guardsmen throughout the United States and the World. I also can't help but think of the news I read today on NPR that August has been the deadliest month in Afghanistan since we began this conflict and some 46 of our Service Members have lost their lives there this month. I'm not certain of the number of injuries. There are at least 46 families whose lives are now forever changed; that much more empty. Let us Never, Ever forget the sacrifices of these courageous men and women. Let us show our support by doing more than waving a flag, pinning a medal on their chests and slapping a magnet on our vehicles. Let us show our support by helping those who return to bridge the gap between the battlefield and civilian life as well as taking care of the families of those Troops who will not make it home. Contribute today to Wounded Warrior Project and start making that difference.

Thanks to Art & Anne, the folks at the Decatur AMVets Club, Mike and his crew at the Jones Street Cafe and the folks at the KOA Sweetwater for allowing me to camp free of charge for being an American Veteran! HOOAH!

Tomorrow the roads will take us up thru Knoxville, TN and beyond. I'm not certain yet where we will end for sure but I will post the map in the morning. The weather is supposed to clear and be much more favorable tomorrow. Let's hope so.

Enjoy the Ride!

Day 17 Chattanooga to Sweetwater

2009-08-29T06:50:00.002-05:00

Day 17: Chattanooga to Sweetwater
Find more Bike Rides in Chattanooga, Tennessee

2009-08-28T22:55:00.003-05:00

Enjoy the Ride!

2009-08-28T22:55:00.001-05:00

Rain has stopped and should be clear for ride tomorrow. Starting from Chickamauga Memorial, Chattanooga, TN tomorrow morning. Stay tuned!

2009-08-28T22:53:00.001-05:00

We are well fed and well rested thanks to Art & Anne at Easy Chair Recumbents. Great folks! Had a great time but time to move on...

2009-08-28T22:51:00.001-05:00

Now it's midnight & I can't sleep because I'm worried about getting prepped & underway ontime tomorrow. Guess it'll all work out.

2009-08-28T22:48:00.001-05:00

Got terratrike re-geared today, now have 10" gear! Woo Hoo! Chuck got new catrike, pics to follow. Spent day off working on trikes & didn't finish map or blog.

Day 15

2009-08-27T11:40:00.004-05:00

Howdy!

We awoke to the not-to-distant sound of thunder this morning and a quick check of the radar on weather.com verified what I feared; a large cluster of thunderstorms moving up the river valley right for us. I decided it was best to batten down the hatches and wait it out as we can pedal about 3mph up these hills and the storm was moving about 7mph. I figured it would be better to be dry and off the road for now and head out after it passes.

I put the rain fly on my tent, secured the terratrike under the pavilion and moved me and all my gear into the tent. Shortly afterward the storm reached us and the rain began to pitter patter on the tent, which was just enough to lull me back to sleep for another hour and a half. I awoke feeling much more rested but the rain was still falling though the central part of the storm had moved on up the valley. Chuck & Sharon went for a walk up to the lodge and I stayed in to upload a few more pics and get the blog updated.

I've made a command decision to load the truck with all of our bikes and equipment and drive to Chattanooga some 90miles away. The hills here are causing me much trouble and those 90 miles would take us another 2 days to pedal. I really need to get the drivetrain swapped out before tackling anymore hills or I'm afraid I will just cause injury to my knees and back. Additionally, in having to break up a couple of earlier days into shorter mileages, we are now about a day behind where I would like to be; we should've been in Chattanooga yesterday and today. I would rather the focus be on arriving at Ground Zero on 9-11 rather than having pedaled every single mile. I'll just have to live with that. So, Art, we're on our way to Easy Chair Recumbents in a little while.

Below is a thumbnail that will take you to Webshots where I've uploaded a few more pictures. I've just loaded them to the same "various" file so you'll be looking at some you've seen along with some new ones. I will be uploading some more tomorrow.

Enjoy the Ride!

by TXPeddler

Days 13 & 14

2009-08-26T20:24:00.006-05:00

I think the late Townes VanZandt said it best with "To Live Is To Fly." I feel so alive out here on this mission. It is a simple living of just eat, sleep & pedal. I get to see things on a much slower pace now... when you get passed by a caterpillar while pedalling up a hill I'd say that suffices the "much slower pace" criteria! The fence posts go by one at a time instead of a blurring stream blending in with the background. It amazes me the things that pop out that would normally pass unseen. I don't just see a barn in a field, I see the individual boards that make it what it is... the brush strokes of the person who spent the day painting it.

I have to thank my Brothers and Great Friends Latseen Benson and Matt Lammers for being such inspirations for me. The last couple of days it has been tough to get rolling in the morning; my legs just don't seem to want to keep the same schedule that the rest of me does. I just have to think of these guys and how great they are doing and I get fired up for another day of pedalling. Guys, keep on keeping on!

Cheers to all of the great folks we have met along the way! I have yet to ride into any town along the way, well, except maybe Jackson, MS, where I didn't feel welcome. And in Jackson they were all about support for the WWP and our Veterans, they just didn't want to have any dang bike riders interfering with their freedom to zoom down the road in several thousand pounds of metal and plastic with a total disregard for common courtesy. But, all the best to Darryl and Tom, Patti and Daniel, and Jim & the folks at "The Rez" and Kevin and the folks at "Cock of the Walk."

Let's see... Kosciusko, MS to Starkville, MS, Starkville, MS to Fayette, AL, Fayette, AL to Jasper, AL, Jasper, AL to Hanceville, AL & Hanceville, AL to Guntersville, AL. Geeze! The days are starting to run together now! I had to look at my maps to figure out what days I was where! Ah, Fayette to Jasper! Phew! Some serious hills along that route! We left out OK but ended up backpedalling 2.5 miles to the Marathon c-store for ice & water. We then headed out of town via Stamps Rd but after about 5 miles found that Stamps Bridge no longer exists. Thus we added 14 miles to the days ride and hadn't even left Fayette yet! Of course, had we not gone out Stamps Rd we would not have found the perfect kodak moment... an Engineer Castle sign hanging out on a corner in the middle of what appeared to be nowhere! ESSAYONS! We then enjoyed some country back roads and the waves of the local farmers & ranchers. Chuck & Sharon swapped out at Townley and I actually think Chuck was glad to get in the truck! The hills were tough and one after the next. Sharon & I then pedalled on into and through Jasper. We ended up passing through around 1500hrs but you would have thought it was 1700hrs in Houston; the traffic was stacked up everywhere and the narrow two-lane roads with lots of little rolling hills made it rather exciting. Still, nobody got mad or honked a horn or tore dangerously around us. We made it to Buttermilk Rd and Sleepy Holler Campground without incident though I was very happy to arrive in one piece.

At Sleepy Holler we met Chuck Lawson, owner of the campground. Mr. Lawson was U.S. Army 82nd Airborne during the Korean War and was a Jump Master during that time. He had some really great stories and knew volumes of history about the area. For instance, Buttermilk Rd was so named by a Colonel serving under General Jackson. Apparently, General Jackson was passing through with his Troops when they laid over to allow the supply train to catch up. They laid over for some three weeks. At the end of the road from the camp was a dairy farm that would ship daily supplies to the Troops. Well, the road was in such bad shape that by the time the milk got from the farm to the Troops it was well churned up and hence the Colonel called it Buttermilk Rd and the name stuck! I love those stories! Anyway, Mr. Lawson let us make camp free of charge in support of our mission and he has a very nice little facility. I had full intention of showering, eating & blogging but ended up falling asleep with the computer sitting on my chest in the tent. I was also privileged to meet Rebbecca and little Jenna at Sleepy Holler. Thanks for your support Rebbecca! Take care of little Jenna, she's a cutie!

Now here's where things get a bit wonky. Good ole TXPeddler was feeling good and decided that an 80-mile day was totally within his capabilities... yeah, in Houston! I was not prepared for the hills we climbed on AL69 from Jasper to Hanceville. It was such a short distance on the map but... the map LIES! It does not depict elevation, which happens to be a very important detail when plotting a bicycle route. AL69 is a train wreck of mountain passes, no shoulder, rumble strips and lots of truck traffic, including logging trucks. It was absolutely beautiful countryside though; mountain passes with drop-offs, streams, forests, little ranch homesteads, even a dam and lake. Chuck and I were about beside ourselves with all the climbing. It seemed to take forever as we could only make headway at about 2 to 3 miles per hour. At one point my back tire went flat... AGAIN. Number 9 or 10 I can't remember. With no shoulder and a drop off on the side of the road I had to pedal a ways to find a driveway where we proceeded to dismantle the load and repair the flat. I had just gotten the wheel off when a Jeep Liberty came down the drive and stopped just short of us. A young lady got out and asked if we were OK and what we were up to. Her home was way on up the side of the mountain but apparently her alarm system started barking at us and alerted her to our presence. I love those kind of alarms! Anyway, it turns out that Lisa's Husband is prior service Air Force and she donates to WWP already. Lisa was super nice and offered us water and lunch as well as critical information about c-stores along the rest of the route. Thanks a bunch, Lisa! We made it... sort of. About the time we hit the city limits for Dodge City I was running on a very low tank and thinking of having to pedal another 50 miles made me cringe. Not wanting to get part way down the road and completely petering out, I opted for a little lunch and 10 more miles to Hanceville where we could get a hotel and a good nights rest.

So, Dodge City is very proud of their tax base and put the city limits sign 3 miles from the actual town... yeah, what a mood killer. While we're pedalling along this little red car appears on our six and won't pass even when it is totally clear. Then all of the sudden it zooms around, scurries up the road a 1/2 mile and pulls into a little parking area. As we're pedalling past Nan Auston jumps out of the little red car and asks if we can stop for a minute... little did she know that she would not have had to twist much to get me to stop at that time, I was looking for any old excuse to be able to stop pedalling at that time. Anyway, Nan organizes the Tea Parties for Cullman County and she also follows WWP on Facebook. Her husband is prior service Navy and she just wanted to buy us lunch for all of our effort. Thanks Nan! Well, we told Nan that Sharon was waiting for us up the road at the micky d's and we would probably just eat there. We parted ways and Chuck & I wobbled into the micky d's for some nourishment. While I'm sitting there stuffing fries into my mouth as fast as I can possibly manage without choking on them the manager comes to our table and informs me that the Cullman Times is sending a reporter over and that we are being requested to stay put until they arrive. Uh, my news travels fast in a small town! We hadn't even finished our "fast food!" Turns out that Nan had called the paper and told them where we were and that she thought the story warranted some coverage. Thanks again Nan! Here's where we meet Tiffany of the Cullman Times. What a great gal! She's sharp and I believe she'll go far in her media pursuits. I gave an interview and she took a few pictures and told us that she would try to get the story to print in the next day or two. I awoke this morning to find my picture on the front page of the Cullman Times and it wasn't a mug shot! Thank you for the support, Tiffany and all the folks at the Cullman Times (www.cullmantimes.com).

Sharon & I pedalled over one more mountain range to Hanceville where Chuck had secured us rooms at the Comfort Inn. I was never so happy for a cold shower and a soft bed. Brenda and her staff at the Comfort Inn made us feel very welcome and the hotel was clean, well appointed and very, very comfortable. We walked down the street for some Chinese food and were not disappointed with the suggestion. When we got back to the room I plastered my knees with biofreeze and got some ice in a ziploc, wrapped it in a towel and put it on my back. The bed was SO comfortable. I awoke to my alarm this morning and seriously considered tossing it in the toilette and going back to bed! My legs did not want to cooperate this morning and it took several hours before I could manage to pedal anything. We visited with Brenda and her son, who is prior service Army, the former Hanceville Police Chief and now Cullman County Sheriff's Deputy as well as her staff until 1000hrs when I finally felt good enough to get moving again.

Chuck & I stopped at the Chevron on 91 & 31 for ice & water on our way out and we ended up visiting for awhile there as well. I even signed the newspaper by request; my first ever autograph! It was a lot of fun. On our way up the road there were horns honking and waves coming from everywhere, apparently a lot of folks read the Cullman Times in Hanceville! They all gave smiles and waves and thumbs up, it was a great feeling. Thanks to Hanceville and Cullman County, AL for all the wonderful support!

Though the hills were not as steep between Hanceville and Guntersville, they were long and frequent. The exception would be the hill just across the bridge on 227 that begins the road into the State Park... it is long AND steep! The ride was absolutely beautiful though and passing at such a slow pace really gave me a chance to fully appreciate the beauty. The park is very nice and the facilities a great. Kudos to the Great State of Alabama! It is so beautiful and peaceful here I wish I could bring all of our Warriors here for a little R&R.

While all of this is going on my darling wife managed to get in touch with Art at Easy Chair Recumbents in Chattanooga, TN. Art is not only going to help me out in getting a lower gear range but he also offered to put us up in his home for our time in Chattanooga! Thanks Art! We'll see you in a couple of days...

So now it's 2210hrs and I'm gonna wrap this up and get some shuteye. It has been a really great ride so far and I wouldn't want to miss it for the world. I'm sore and tired but I'll get over it. Thank you again to all of our friends and sponsors and to all of the new folks we've met along the way. Without your support this mission would not be possible. With your support we can help our Veterans transition from the battlefield to the home front. The worst thing we can do is turn a cheek and forget what these brave young men and women have done for our Country. Please help us reach our goal by donating to Wounded Warrior Project.

Let us see what tomorrow brings!

2009-08-26T09:13:00.001-05:00

Check out front page of Cullman Times forr article about mmission... www.cullmantimes.com Thanks for the support!

2009-08-26T09:11:00.001-05:00

Legs are being uncooperative this a.m. Going to ride to Guntersville State Park today, which is about 45 miles. Taking it easy for recoup. Will update tonite.

2009-08-26T08:54:00.001-05:00

How do I export my route map from "map my ride" to my garmin edge 705?

2009-08-25T20:58:00.001-05:00

Sorry, no update for 2nd day. I'm OK just tired & sore. In Hanceville, AL. Great ride so far. Let me get some rest & I'll fill you in tomorrow before we depart.

Day 12

2009-08-23T20:18:00.005-05:00

Hope all is as well for you as it was for us today. What a beautiful day for a bike ride! We left out of Starkville, MS near 0800hrs this morning for Fayette, AL via Columbus, MS. The weather was perfect starting out around 65 with 37% humidity. It was calm & clear most of the day with a WNW wind picking up as the day got warmer. It never did get really warm as I managed to catch a chill on some of the bigger descents after having worked up a sweat climbing up the other side. We had good roads and light traffic with near every driver being courteous and careful while going around us. Except for a couple of miles on MS82 East of Columbus we were on two lane with no shoulder. Between Columbus and the Alabama border the traffic was pretty heavy and then like magic it just dried up to only a couple vehicles every 10 or 15 minutes, except around the little towns along the way. We got waves and thumbs up and smiles by the mile.

At Columbus we met Ben Wiford, a young Air Force officer who is near the tail end of his flight training at Columbus Air Force Base. Later on we met some fellas at the local convenient stop in, Rhetts Food Mart in Millport, AL and enjoyed visiting about our trip and the jobs and economy in Milport; the steel and lumber mills are the 2 main employers in Millport. Somewhere between Millport and Fayette the hills managed to sneak back in and though they were further apart, they made up for it in gradient. We slowed down quite a bit along this stretch of AL96 and after 6hrs 53mins and 2041' of climbing we pedaled into the park in Fayette, AL. The City of Fayette Police Department, Fire Department and Parks & Recreation gave us special permission to camp at the park for the evening. Thanks a bunch Fayette! We certainly appreciate your wonderful hospitality. The park is awesome! It has multiple ball fields, a walking path, restrooms, lights & electricity at multiple pavilions and a pretty little pond surrounded by globe lights on 10' pedestals. The light from the globes reflects on the water and is very pretty and peaceful. I like Houston but it sure is nice to get out here and actually see some stars without all the light pollution from the big city.

As is usual Chuck came into Fayette to reconnoiter the area, find the park and get us set up. While doing so a gentleman approached him and they talked about the mission and Wounded Warrior Project. The gentleman left only to return shortly thereafter to inform Chuck that he had secured us a free meal at the local Mexican restaurant! I'll be, Chuck! No Mexican food for 10 days and now it's every night! Chuck did not get the gentleman's information but, we want him to know that we genuinely appreciate his support and hospitality.

On another note, while pedalling along today I couldn't help but notice the little ribbon magnets on all the cars professing one's support for the Troops. There were yellow ones, cammo ones, red, white & blue ones. Don't get me wrong, I really like to see that but I couldn't help but think "aside from the little magnet, how does one actually support the Troops?" The magnet itself is made in China and sold to vendors by the millions for pennies on the dollar. The vendors then turn around and sell them to the public for around three bucks a copy and the money goes right into their till. Where is the support in that? If everybody who wanted to profess their support for the Troops took those three bucks and sent them to Wounded Warrior Project or Soldiers' Angels or whatever organization they prefer, now, then we'd have something! All that money would go directly to benefitting the Troops whether in the field on deployment, in the hospital, in transition or back at home trying their level best to get back into civilian life. Think about it.

Tomorrow we are going to head out at 0800hrs again and pedal towards Jasper, Al. It will be a short day at 46 miles ending at Sleepy Holler Campground. The hills East of Fayette seem a little more vertically relaxed so we should be able to make good time getting there early so we can enjoy some time to square away equipment and catch up with all of you. The weatherman seems to think that we should have more of the same tomorrow and I'm looking forward to seeing the countryside and meeting some new and interesting folks. Let us see what tomorrow brings...

Enjoy the Ride!

Day 11

2009-08-22T20:46:00.003-05:00

Well, it was a pretty uneventful day today. We awoke to find a beautiful, cool & dry morning. Last night a cold front brought the humidity down to 37% and the temperature to 68. It was a very nice change from the previous day's rain. We loaded up on bagels, cereal & waffles and headed for Louisville, MS around 0930hrs via highway 14, which turned out to be a very scenic but also very hill laden road; hills were as much as 13% gradient and nearly half a mile long... and came back-to-back-to-back-etc. for 33 miles. We did not reach Louisville until nearly 1400hrs. It was 2 to 3 mph up the hills and over 30 mph on some of the backsides, which is very exciting on a trike with a trailer and a big ole sign catching crosswinds!

Along the way we stopped at a transmission shop and freeloaded some WD40 for Chuck's chain. It was squeaking like crazy and driving me nuts because he had forgotten to oil it after yesterday's rain. The fella was very nice and was happy to help out. Later on up the road we rescued a turtle from eminent demise from the crazy MS drivers. Chuck wrangled it up and returned it to the bar ditch where there was water and shelter. PETA would be very proud of Chuck! After a run of several really tough hills we stopped at the top of one to take a little break and the local mail lady stopped to say hello and ask what we were up to. We spoke for a while and ascertained that her son is Army and serving his second tour of duty in Iraq and her two daughters are both in College; one at MS State and one at MS State Women's College. She advised against our current route and instead suggested using the bypass straight to HWY25 because of the narrow, winding and hilly roads along with speeding motorists and logging trucks. We thanked her and we all wished each other well and went our separate ways. We made Louisville and had to drop it into granny just to get up the hill into the corner Chevron station. Here I finally found some Mellow Yellow, the Southern version of Mt. Dew! After a break and a snack Sharon & Chuck switched out and Sharon & I heeded the mail lady's advice and headed up the bypass to HWY25... it was a good choice.

Mississippi Highway 25 is a 4 lane divided with no shoulder and rumble strips for a goodly portion of it. It felt weird riding along in the lane of traffic but traffic was light and most drivers gave us plenty of room by changing lanes long before they got to us. Of course there were a couple that zoomed us but they were the minority. Somewhere along the way we saw a couple of folks on horseback but they turned off before we caught them. Then we saw a lady turn up and drive down the wrong way on the hwy for about a mile, cross the median and head the wrong way up the other side back to where we were, cross the median again and head down some side road! FREE... KEEE! It's a really good thing that traffic was pretty much nonexistent! These MS drivers must really take their own advice about the bloody mary's and drink-a-day-to-keep-reality-at-bay!

About this time a lady and a youngster in a john deer atv came down the median and, while smiling and waving, said they had to come see what we were because they couldn't tell from a distance. We introduced ourselves and met Nelda Metts and her niece Brailey Merchant of Louisville, MS. Really nice folks. They offered us a cold bottle of water and zoomed off to their residence to speed it back to us. We visited for a bit, took a picture and after wishing each other well parted company. My camera battery is charging so I will not be posting the pictures today.

Sharon and I continued up Old HWY25 into Starkville while Chuck went on into town and secured us rooms at the Days Inn on HWY12 near Mississippi State University. Again we have some really nice digs and I wish we had a few days to scout the University and the town; they have a collegiate cycling team and several bike shops here! We showered up and went next door to Chilli's for a light dinner. The staff was friendly and the place pretty busy. The food was OK but nothing to write home about.

Now I'm going to finish up this entry for the day and hit the rack. I'm really tired today and my back and knees hurt from the 30 miles of hills between Kosciusko and Louisville. I expect we'll see more of the same tomorrow as we head out of Mississippi through Columbus and on into Fayette, Alabama for a total of 67.5 miles. Upon our arrival in Starkville I noticed that it was after 1800hrs already and decided we should get going an hour earlier tomorrow for good measure. Chuck and Sharon agreed and so we'll be off by 0800hrs in the morning. Additionally, the time will change when we cross the Mississippi-Alabama border. Soooo, I'm off to bed and will catch you all up tomorrow. Good night!

Ride On!

Day 11 Pre-Ride

2009-08-22T07:50:00.004-05:00

Re-routed next 3 days knocking back mileage to 63.32, 67.51 & 46.43 respectively. From Kusciusko, MS we will head over to Starkville, MS (home of MS State University) and stay at Holiday Inn Express. From Starkville, MS we will ride to Fayette, AL and stay at the Columbus Street Inn. When we leave Fayette, AL we will pedal over to Jasper, AL and camp at Sleepy Holler Campground (no kidding... Sleepy Holler). I'm hoping the mileage will be somewhat more managable. It is tough to find campgrounds at perfect 62.5-mile intervals. Additionally, we have not had much luck with the Fire Station approach to finding a place to stay; problem being that not every town has an operating VFD that we can contact. We'll see how it works out. I do know that I do not have the funds to be spending $60 a night on hotel fees. Guess we'll take it by the day. HOOAH!

Also, I am re-routing all the daily routes with "Map My Ride" for my Garmin Cycling Computer. You can check out the daily routes here: http://www.mapmyride.com/user/747125080415947344/txpeddler

Enjoy the Ride!

Day 10

2009-08-21T20:57:00.005-05:00

Howdy, All!

We started the day off just fine. Our day off had been most enjoyable and relaxing even with the rain. The weather in Jackson, MS was cool & breezy with a few low rain clouds still lingering around. We were packed up and under way at 0915hrs heading North to Kosciusko, MS and a bicycle camp near the Ranger Station there. Chuck and I have been riding mornings and Sharon & I the afternoons as Chuck doesn't fare too well in the heat of the day. So, Chuck & I head out over the Spillway at the reservoir and on to Harbour Drive. We are about 100 yards from the light at Old Canton Rd when this little old lady (literally) goes jetting passed us in the ditch! No kidding! It was a 2 lane with a double yellow and she pulls off the side of the road and punches it! I thought for sure she would lose it on the embankment with the wet grass but she shot passed us and, low-n-behold, beat us to the red light by at least 15 seconds! Good show lady! A couple of fellas in the pickup that was behind her pulled next to us and said that we must have scared her... :o) Funny, fellas. Chuck and I were absolutely beside ourselves to see such an exemplary display of discourteous and dangerous driving.

We shook that one off, made a right onto Old Canton Rd. and headed for the Natchez Trace and Kosciusko. Just before the turn a guy in a small grey car pulls beside me and, with his window down takes my pic with his cell phone. I gave him a smile and through him the deuce then we made our turn and continued along the Trace. After about 2 miles here comes the little grey car again. He tells Chuck that he wants to talk and will wait at the next rest stop about 1/2 mile up the road. We arrive to find Darrel (sorry if I misspelled your name) waiting outside his car. Here I see a man in his late 30's to early 40's in black running shorts and built like a Spartan Soldier... pecs, abs, arms, tan, cut... the works. As we introduce ourselves I begin to see the stickers on his car are triathlete and iron man and then I notice the iron man tattoo on his ankle. We spoke for a bit and it turns out that Darrel is a competitor and big into bicycle advocacy and has a bunch of info on what we will find on up the road. He also confirms what Patti at Indian Cycles told me about the number of auto-cyclist accidents increasing dramatically in the Jackson area. I told him about the little old lady not 30 minutes earlier and we discuss some of the craziness that drivers do when encountering cyclists just to save an apparent few seconds in their day. Darrel seemed like a really cool dude and I wish him the best of luck in competition and in life.

From there Chuck & I headed up the Trace without incident enjoying the beautiful vistas along the reservoir. We passed several other cyclists and exchanged greetings as we passed. We stopped at the cypress-tupelo swamp for a break and a few pics. Poor Chuck took a spill on the slick wooden stairs but managed to land without hurting himself, thank goodness. You had me worried for a second there, Chuck. Sharon caught up to us at the swamp and, to my great delight emerged from the truck with an ice cold bottle of Mountain Dew! It did not last long... I guarantee! We decided to meet at the Choctaw Boundary for lunch and for Chuck & Sharon to switch out then Chuck & I were on our way again.

At the Choctaw Boundary (boundary set under Doaks Treaty taking 1/3 of the Choctaw lands... within 3 years the U.S. Government would take the rest under Manifest Destiny) we had a light lunch and Sharon & I proceeded down the Trace under the not-too-distant rumble of thunder. We didn't get but a couple of miles down the road when it began to rain so we pulled under some trees and hailed Chuck to come get Sharon. Sharon and Chuck swapped again and poor Chuck got to ride in the rain with the TXPeddler. We ended up riding the rest of the 32 miles to Kosciusko in the rain and, much to our dissatisfaction, found the last 25 miles to be our favorite type of road... you guessed it, chip seal! So we had pouring rain, chip seal and no fenders. We ended up totally drenched and somewhere around 8 to 10 miles out I noticed the bolts securing my right brake caliper had vibrated nearly all the way out. We stopped to rectify that situation when a Park Ranger stopped to see if we were OK or if we needed assistance. Turns out he was prior service Army from Ft. Hood and had served 2 tours in Iraq. Thank you for your service, Brother! I told him I had been an Army Engineer and later a Park Ranger at Belton-Stillhouse Hollow Lakes and was familiar with BLORA at Ft. Hood. Satisfied that we were Brothers, he offered information on the bicycle campsite and advised that if we needed anything to not hesitate to call. Thanks, Brother!

Chuck & I continued on up the Trace at a miserable pace with the bikes chattering away on the chip seal and the rain spotting our glasses and, for me, running down my back and butt. We were soaked to the bone though not cold thankfully. We arrived at the bike camp safe and sound to find it quite different than the bike camp at Rocky Springs. Here it was strictly a primitive group site with a few tent pads, common fire ring, trash can, water spigot and a vault restroom (outhouse). Within a few steps into the campsite I was neck deep in mosquitoes. It was not looking to be a very promising evening. About that time Sharon showed up and advised that she found a Days Inn Hotel within 1/2 mile of where we stood... Yup! You guessed it! It didn't take a bunch of arm twisting to get me to ride another 2700 feet for a hot shower, clean sheets and AC. Sharon did an awesome job reconnoitering the area for this hotel! Thanks, Sharon! You're the best!

The rooms are very clean and well appointed. I tremendously enjoyed the massage shower head and spent the most of 30 minutes washing off road grit. I unpacked all of my wet gear and hung my soaked clothing. I then dried my shoes with the hair dryer! Hey, it worked pretty well actually... Then we all went to dinner together.

Chuck has been asking for Mexican food ever since we left Houston. We tried to tell him the ole "when in Rome" thing but he just wouldn't buy it. Well, as it turns out there's a Mexican restaurant just 3 doors down (not the band) from the hotel so we headed over there. The place was loud and bright and we were seated next to a birthday party with a gaggle of teenage girls. This did not bode well for our tummies or Chuck's need for Mexican food. As it turns out, it was really, really good food. I had my favorite enchiladas verdes and they were actually pork instead of chicken and the house verde (green) sauce was very tasty. Surprisingly, the beans and rice were each extra. So, Chuck finally got his Mexican food and we won't be able to bust his chops about how to never order Mexican food in Mississippi!

Now I'm chillin' and thinking about tomorrow. I have been looking at my route plan and schedule with a very critical and, now, very experienced eye. I can tell you earnestly that we will not be riding any 70+ mile days and just today was supposed to be 88 miles to Louisville, MS. I rerouted at 0600hrs this morning to a more reasonable 62 miles and will have to look very critically at the rest of the ride. I know there are some longer days in there, especially a 98 mile one, and that just will not work. So, I'm going to have to get onto "Map My Ride" for Garmin and do some rerouting to make this mission work. Problem is, will cutting mileage cause a late arrival in New York. I figured the days based upon 62.5 miles (100km or a "metric century") per day. The only reason I had plotted longer days was to be able to reach accommodations, especially cheap accommodations like National and State Parks. So, if I cut back the mileage I believe we'll still be on schedule but, we'll have more days in the field requiring me to seek other accommodations and, there just aren't that many campgrounds out there, especially in Alabama where we will be day after tomorrow. Hmmm, that, my friends, is a mouthful! So, if anybody has an extra room or an empty couch in the den we would genuinely appreciate your hospitality. Tomorrow we are headed for Columbus, MS and then on into Alabama. From there we will ride up through the NW corner of Georgia and into Chattanooga, Tennessee. From Tennessee we will head across Virginia to DC and then up the Eastern Seaboard. Chuck and Sharon will head back to Texas from DC and I will be going on to Ground Zero from there by myself. If you are on the Eastern Seaboard and would like to join me just drop me a note and let me know. Wounded Warrior Project will be providing me with accommodations in urban areas from DC on to NY. In rural areas I will still be seeking campgrounds.

OK, so even with the rain and the chip seal we are safe and in a really nice hotel; nobody is shooting at us or trying to blow us up using various Improvised Explosive Devices. I am grateful for that. I am thinking that right now some of our Troops are trying to get some rest on a concrete floor in a place that may as well be a million miles from home and their loved ones. Right now there are Troops in Germany and the U.S. recovering from wounds sustained in combat. They won't ask for it, but they sure could use somebody to show them that everything is gonna be alright and to provide them with the support they will need to make that transition. Wounded Warrior Project is the organization that can do that and if we all pitch in we can all make it happen together. Let us never forget the men and women who put themselves in harm's way for us. ESSAYONS!

Now, I'm tired so, good night and let us see what tomorrow brings.

Enjoy the Ride!

Ending Week 1

2009-08-20T21:07:00.005-05:00

Hey All!

Just laying in my tent listening to the rain fall on Jackson, Mississippi. It's been a really great ride thus far. We have had great weather, good roads and have met some really great folks. We have gotten some very positive feedback on our mission and have met a great many Veterans including a couple from the Great War; all, like me, very proud of their service. In nearly every town, city and hole-in-the-wall there has been some evidence of American military presence there and some sort of memorial honoring the Veterans from that area and State. Still, our mission is to affect the lives of our Troops who are here and coming home with specific needs; to help them transition from the battlefield back to a productive civilian life. We cannot forget what these men and women have done serving our great Country as well as helping those Countries who are not yet in a position to help themselves. They put themselves in harm's way for each other and ourselves in an effort to secure Peace. Their efforts are yielding great results. Just this week Afghanistan held its second ever election. Wounded Warrior Project is an excellent provider for the means necessary to help our Troopers make that transition. Please help support our Troops by clicking on the DONATE button on the left of this screen.

I have seen a great many beautiful things on this mission so far. I have seen the sun set over a Louisiana swamp with the bald cypress looming eerily in the background. I have seen people's faces light up when they recognize some place or event that we may have shared. I have shaken hands with the working men and women of this great Country who support our Troops because they value our Freedoms and our Way of Life. I've learned a little more about myself and my friends Sharon and Chuck. I've also baked in the Texas sun and cooled myself beneath a grove of Mississippi trees with the fragrance of some kind of bloom in the air. It truly has been a great ride thus far.

I truly appreciate every one's kindness and generosity in helping me see this mission through to a successful completion. I am a bit tired today and crunched for time...again, so, for everyone that we have met, thank you so very much. You are helping to improve the quality of life for a great many of our Troops who have been grievously injured during their Service to our Country.

Let's see... unfortunately, the Verizon dude with the Buddy Holly glasses can't ride a bike very well. I seem to keep losing him along the route in the strangest places! That's pretty sad considering we're only averaging a 5:10/mile pace at roughly 10mph. Anyway, I've tried to call TC and fill her in so she can update the blog. Thanks, wife, you're doing a great job. There were a couple of days that I couldn't even call so the blog went without an update and for that I apologize. At other times I find myself pedaling into our daily destination totally wrung out and ready for some chow, a shower and some rest. The sun and the 5 to 7 hours of pedaling every day can really zap the go out of you. I can't imagine humping a 120lb pack and weapon around the Iraqi desert when it's 114 degrees or more, or, up and down an Afghani mountainside in the freezing cold yet our Troops are doing that and more on a daily basis all while being targeted by the enemy. When I consider that, it makes my day seem like a piece of cake so I say many thanks and press on.

We've stayed in some interesting places including the Baptist Church in Evadale, TX and the Historical Museum in Merryville, LA, which we also found out is a stop over for a tour for the Adventure Cycling Club. We've also eaten some really great chow, including Tarkington's, Chuck's, Stu's, Mr. D's Old Country Store and the Cock of the Walk. I will spend more time on each of these fine establishments when I have more time myself, but, thanks to all for the really great local cuisine.

We've ridden some great roads and some not-so-great roads. Highway 28 in Louisiana was great except for about 10-12 miles of some really brutal chip-seal. The Natchez Trace is absolutely gorgeous... except for the first 8 miles, which seem to be entirely up hill! The road into and out of Natchez State Park should be illegal and the engineer who designed it made to ride a bicycle back and forth for several days to get the point. The hills are so steep that I was passed by a roley poley who happened to be climbing the same hill! On the downhill on the way out I managed to hit 32mph without turning into a trainwreck! On the Trace we also met Ranger Eric "Rick" Chamberlain at Mt. Locust. This property has been in the Chamberlain family since 1784... that is some serious family history my friend! HOOAH! We saw some beautiful and interesting things along the Trace. We also met a fella who was prior-service Army as an electronics repairman and he suggested Indian Cycle & Fitness for a bike shop in the Jackson area. He was riding to train for the Vicksburg ms150 coming up soon.

As we were riding into Jackson, MS the traffic increased 100 fold as local folks use it as part of their daily commute instead of its intended "Recreational Use Only." Still, we managed to arrive at Timberlake Campground with just enough time to set camp before it started to rain. And it has been raining since. Ranger Jim Gaines of the Pearl River Valley Water Supply at "The Rez" was kind enough after hearing of our journey to let us camp free... Thanks Jim! Jim was an MP in Panama during Operation Just Cause. Thanks for your Service Jim! We celebrated our first week's success with a steak dinner at Logan's Roadhouse and I even enjoyed a bottle of Sam Adams with Chuck. Today we went by Indian Cycle and Fitness and met Tom Martin, the owner, Patti Harvey, the GM and Daniel Norris, one of the wrench spinners. Daniel set me up with some good patches and a couple of new tubes and installed a new 22 tooth chainring in place of the 30 tooth that was on the FSA SL-K Light crankset. That should drop me down about 13% for around a 15-16 inch gear for a much easier time of climbing steep hills. Patti showed off her new Trek Madone with Campy Super Record 11 and Campy Hyperon carbon wheelset. What a sweet ride! It weighs in just under 14lbs and I imagine it takes very little effort to get it zipping right along. I have always been a Cannondale fanatic but I like what I see in Trek's Madone, especially since C'Dale sold out to a foreign company. Patti also provide me with some clean laundry by giving me an Indian Cycle t-shirt! Thanks Patti! Enjoy the Ride! For lunch today we ate at "Cock of the Walk" and had a really, really great meal of catfish and chicken with all the southern-style trimmings, including mustard greens and black eyed peas (not the band). Turned out that Kevin, our waiter, was from very near where I was born in Illinois. We spoke of the area though I am quite certain it is nothing like I remember having not been there in nearly 20 years.

And so, I am still lying here in my tent trying not to forget anybody and trying to tell you of the wonderful things we have seen and done with some semblance of continuity. The rain has subsided and it is cool and quiet. Tomorrow we will load up and begin another week of pedalling for a great cause, Wounded Warrior Project. Keep us in your thoughts and at the end of your mouse. I am also updating my Twitter, TXPeddler, during the day and that may give you a more complete picture of our mission. Below is a thumbnail that will take you to Web Shots for some pictures of our journey thus far. They are not all the pics but, the Internet was incredibly slow here and I did not have time to upload all 188 from my camera. I've selected a few that will give you, hopefully, some understanding. Also, I promised Ghetto Fabulous that I would make him famous! Peace all! Let us see what tomorrow brings...

Enjoy the Ride!

by TXPeddler

Day Six

2009-08-18T09:35:00.001-05:00

Again no internet service but Jack wanted me to give you an update. Jack wore himself out on the hills of eastern MS so I’m letting everyone know that Jack, Sharon & Chuck made it safely to Natchez State Park. MS is very beautiful with all the various foliage. The visitors’ center was promoting drinking bloody mary’s to avoid a crabby morning and a there was a sign downtown Natchez condoning “A drink a day to keep reality away.” Makes me think they should be careful on MS roads! Jack said the people seemed friendly and eager to talk with them. One gentleman followed them for several miles and pulled in when they stopped for a break just to read the sign and talk with about what they were doing. Today poor Jack he was plagued with flat tires; 5 in all. He said don’t waste your time or money on Slime brand “Scabs” glueless patches or Crank Bros. mini pump. Jack lucked out by finding a nice little bike shop and home of the Natchez cycling club in the back of a western automotive just off the trace. The folks were very helpful and luck for Jack they had 2 tires and 2 tubes with presta stems, albeit 60mm stems! He also picked up some Park Tools glueless “super patches” and tire boots as well as an Innovative CO2 cartridge-type air pump. Now watch, he won’t have another flat! Well, we can hope so.

The 15 miles from the bike shop to the park was a very trying ride. What usually goes by in 1.5 hours took them 3.5 hours. The hills are rolling and quite long on the trace near Natchez. And the roads off of the trace are incredibly steep! In fact he said a 16” gear may still be too big! Thanks to all the great folks in Louisiana! You have a beautiful state and they never felt estranged while passing through.

Tomorrow is a short ride to a primitive bicycle camp at the old townsite of Rocky Springs on the trace. It’s about 45 miles though if the hills keep coming it will be an all-day ride. Jack spent an hour at camp this evening removing all extemporaneous gear and managed to jettison about 4 more pounds of gear. After that he ate about a pound! :0) Let’s hope it flattens out a little bit for them.

Thanks to all of you for the encouragement, kind words and support for Jack and the Wounded Warrior Project. Thanks also to Chuck & Sharon for helping Jack on his mission. Thanks to Soldiers’ Angels for the TerraTrike, the gear and the support! Thank you very much to Toby Nunn for helping to make this happen. Thanks and a shout out to his “brother” Anthony Mulheron for the B.O.B. You’re a good friend Anthony. Thanks and a shout out to his “brother” Latseen Benson and Matt Lammers. Keep riding Benson! Congrats to Matt and his new bride Mary on the coming of their first child! Shout to Webster Bicycle in Webster, TX. Thanks for the support guys!

Jack will share pictures when they get to Jackson, MS on their day off this Thursday. Wow! 8 days straight pedaling! HOOAH! Now that’s “ARMY STRONG”.

Day Five

2009-08-16T22:18:00.001-05:00

We had hot & long straight roads today. Some bad chip seal for over ten miles. Louisiana is beautiful. People are very friendly. Have new friends at Leevines Exxon in Gardner; thanks for the support and the kindness. We also met Dereck Taylor Sr. Aka “Ghetto Fabulous” and his crew in Alexandria, LA. Dereck is from NYC & insists that we will love it there. Thanks Dereck; be cool. Right as we were riding into Jonesville, LA I ran over something with my back wheel. It started to thump and then about 3/10 mile from hotel…BAM! It blew out through a 2 inch gash ruining a 7 dollar tube and 60 dollar tire. Now I’ve used my spare and lost a tube. I hope there is a bike shop in Natchez, MS. Tomorrow we head for Natchez, MS and the Natchez State Park. Very short day at around 50 miles but I could really use a short day about now. Had dinner at Chittlin’s tonight; grilled shrimp, potato, salad, onion rings & about 5 cups of sprite! Service was great, sorry I missed her name (maybe see her for breakfast so I can thank her for the hurricane update). So, we got hotel rooms tonight in Jonesville. Met some really nice folks; of whom I can only seem to remember Rick and his little boy JoJo. Some really nice folks and I thank them for the kind words and support. The shower was GREAT tonight and very much needed (I even managed a shave on my sun-burnt face)! Sharon volunteered for laundry detail so I paid for dinner. Now I’m pretty much wiped out and going to turn in. Thanks go out to everybody following on twitter. Thanks for the kind words in the comments section (when you make a comment below it automatically get sent directly to my phone). So, by all means… Keep’em coming. Enjoy the ride! Oh, btw, I may have grossly under estimated the number of rain days I’ll need based upon the recent tropical storm activity. Let’s just see what tomorrow brings and do it one day at a time.

Day Four

2009-08-15T20:58:00.002-05:00

Hot, long day. Merryville to Gardner LA via Leesville, home of Ft. Polk! 79 miles to campsite…primitive no showers. Absolutely NOTHING between Leesville & Gardner. 1 quick stop at bait shop called Ray’s & it was closed! Got 2 bottles of dew & chugged first! No I-net so the wife’s updating blog for me. Sharon’s truck didn’t start this a.m. Chuck left door open & light on & ran battery down. Sharon bought new battery. Give shout out to Willie Harris for helping Sharon by putting battery in at the AutoZone parking lot. Really nice guy, Sharon sez thanks a million!

Beautiful morning ride thru LA forest; light traffic & shaded roads. Then good hills near Leesville. Nice stop at Leesville. Shout out to folks at Stephen Country store! Thanks for the courtesy and support… HOOAH! Leesville to Gardner, long, long way! Straight as a board with rolling hills. Crappy shoulder for 10 miles, Ranger station closed on weekend… No showers, no ac, just roughin’ it with the LA state bird…the mosquito! Got 2 Mt Dew & bottle of H2o from vending at Ray’s near hicks. Water turned to slush when I popped the tip… PERFECT! Ice cold water at the final hour when it was needed most! Would have paid anything for that water! So, 79 miles and last 200 meters to campsite was straight up hill! And I mean like a wall straight up! Makes me nervous about Tennessee and Virginia…Was in lowest gear and it was tough! Ok. Tired and sore. Gonna go lay down now. Let’s see what tomorrow brings!!

Lousiana Here They Come!

2009-08-14T21:19:00.001-05:00

Well it looks like the little Verizon dude couldn’t keep up with our trio today. They made it to Merryville, LA but no Verizon service. Jack, Chuck and Sharon rode about 52 miles and the weather and roads were good. Jack will catch you all up tomorrow on the trip, but they made camp and were about to get some dinner and then head off to bed. I just want to say a special thank you to Sharon and Chuck for making this journey with Jack. It takes some pretty special people to undertake something this big and I think they really are! Can't wait to see what adventures tomorrow brings them!

Day Two

2009-08-13T22:12:00.007-05:00

What a fantastic day! Bill, Chuck, Sharon and I rode 61 miles, met some new friends, saw some great scenery and got a little closer to New York City. Today went very smoothly and I was surprised that I found myself relaxed and simply enjoying the ride even though we had to make more numerous stops because of the intense heat. And let me tell you... the one thing I overlooked in changing to a recumbent trike is how much closer you are to the asphalt. About 1300hrs when that ole Sun gets the pavement nice and hot it radiates up and I'm only about 6" above it. It's not too terribly bad while I'm moving it's when I have to stop at road intersections and the like that it feels like I'm sitting atop the cook stove! The next thing I overlooked was packing lightly. First thing this morning I jettisoned a major portion of my chow box and, the chow box itself! I reconfigured the load putting all the chow in the bottom of the dry bag and the camp gear atop it. The dry bag closed up nicely and the camp chair strapped atop it. I then tied a guy wire to the sign for stability and viola! Much more travel friendly.

We started out this morning with a hearty and delicious breakfast at Tarkington's. The service was friendly and we felt very welcome. Thank you so much to the Tarkington's and their staff for seeing us off this morning. When we left I felt like a roley poley and thought for sure I wouldn't eat for another 2 days... until about noon and then it was Ham Sandwich? Uh, heck yeah! ...and a brownie and 3 cokes and a liter of water. The day started off wonderfully cool from the previous nights rain. There was a dry and cool breeze from the NE and we just cruised on up the road enjoying the wonderful riding weather. Fifteen miles out we stopped for a break and spoke with folks at the Citgo just South of Batson.

We then got to ride on some brand-spakin'-pourin'-it-as-we're-ridin'-it pavement. It was like TXDOT was rolling out a brand new carpet for us and it was smooth and straight and cool with the trees shading the roadway. Motorists of all sorts were waving and giving thumbs-up and honking (good honking, not bad honking). As we were getting closer to Saratoga the ole quick silver began to climb with a bit more enthusiasm and the water bottles were drained quite rapidly and we got into some long rolling hills. Coming into Saratoga I spotted a petrol station but for some weird and inexplicable and stupid reason I thought "we'll stop at the next one." Well, let me tell ya... there isn't a next one in Saratoga, TX! So, about 10 miles up the road I was beginning to feel the heat and needed a break. I spotted a really pretty and very old live oak with a nice driveway under it and figured there couldn't be a more perfect spot. As we pulled up I saw the front of the house and a large POW-MIA flag and my intuition peaked again. Soon a gentleman appeared upon the porch and asked if we would like to come in and cool off. Enter Big Thicket Gun Runner, Bennie House. Bennie is a Vietnam Era Air Force Veteran and Class 3 arms dealer, and, a very likable fellow. He, his wife and boy were very nice and invited us in to cool off, get some cold water and use the facilities. We talked for quite some time then we took some pictures and exchanged tokens before we pedaled on down the road. I really like Bennie and hope good fortune for him and his family. They have a beautiful home and are genuinely nice Texas folks.

Seven miles further up the road we were in Kountze and stopped at the Brookshire Bros. for a deli lunch and refill on the H2O. Here we met some of the local retired fellas who happen to enjoy gathering here for the complimentary coffee and the companionship. Three of these old-timers were Veterans! One from WWI and 2 from the Korean War, which, by the way, is technically still going on though we are at a standstill. We ate cold sandwiches, fruit salads and Bill shared his brownie with me. We discussed truck driving and good roads with the fellas and they explained that after Silsbee we would happen upon Evadale, which the locals call "EvilSmale" because of the paper mill there and the odor it gives off from paper production. When asked what that smell is they answer simply "money." We topped off with a bag of ice and about 2 gallons of cold water from the soda fountain and headed on down the road.

At Silsbee we stopped at the CVS on Bus 96 and Sharon picked up some aerosol sunblock, I a large Gatorade and Bill used the facilities. We talked with some more folks and then started for the road when I noticed Sharon's front right tire seemed a bit low. Sure enough, it had a piece of glass in it and the Mr. Toughy got caught sleeping on the job. I figured if she had used Mrs. Toughy she wouldn't have gotten the flat. ;o) Sharon, being an experienced and professional flat-fixer-person had it repaired in nothing flat (no pun intended) and we were ready to continue much to Chuck's displeasure as he was enjoying the warm concrete on his backside!

The closer we got to EvilSmale the more I began to wonder about my plan to rough it in the river bottom for the night. Hot, tired and sweaty-stinky I would much rather have some place with a hose that I could use to wash off with. Well, as luck would have it my wishes would soon come to fruition. Lois and Doug had borrowed Sharon's SUV for a run to Dallas relating to a trampoline and Britney Spears... I kid you not. Anyway, they brought the vehicle to EvilSmale for Sharon and Chuck to use on our ride. When they got to town they stopped in the parking lot of the central baptist church to wait for us. When we arrived we began speaking to some local folks who were decorating the church for a wedding. Everybody mentioned that we were going to look for a place to camp in the river bottom and that we were not very excited about it. So, somebody fetched the Associate Pastor, Scott Loar, and he offered that we stay the night at the church utilizing the sunday school rooms for rooms and there are restrooms and air conditioning. Well, you ain't gotta ask me twice, brother! That was the best offer I had heard all day and it was very much appreciated. So we stowed our gear and headed down to Chuck's BBQ for a bite to eat... again! (I'm gonna get fatter instead of skinnier on this trip!)

Bill loaded his bike in Doug's & Lois' van and headed back home at this time. I will miss riding with Bill in the days to come as I really enjoy the Colonel's company. Bill, thank you for dinner and the hotel room. Enjoy the ride and I'll see you in about a month!

Chuck's is located on the corner of 96&105 in Evadale and hoo-ee, as Justin Wilson used to say. That was some mighty fine Texas BBQ! Chuck started serving his brand of BBQ out of a small tool shed on 26JUN2006 and later opened the small and very clean place he has now. I would venture to say that Mrs. Chuck put the finishing touches on the place it it is quaint and friendly and clean and just really nice. Couple that with some fantastic BBQ and you got a winning ticket every time.

We then stopped and picked up and ice chest, a bag of ice and my magic morning elixir, which I have been without for 2 mornings now... orange juice and mountain dew! Ah, nectar of the gods! I couldn't wait 'til morning and poured me a small glass. I downed it faster than I liked to and now wait patiently for my morning alarm as I bring y'all up to date with our day's mission.

Tomorrow we head for Louisiana. I imagine it will continue to be hot but, then again, we have managed to miss all the rain, travel some exceptionally nice roadways and meat some really nice Texans. I will try and post some pictures in days to come. I am operating off of a Verizon "Air Card" for internet service and am limited to 5 gig per month. When I get to an area with free wifi I'll load the pics for all to see.

I am hearing a high-pitched rattling in my right brake caliper (the one that's mounted upside down). Everything seems tight but that rattling is rather irritating as it is the only noise emanating from the terratrike. On the other hand, I'm super happy with the performance of the terratrike and it is very well built. Riding chip seal pavement today on HWY96 at 14 and the only noise was the brake/brake pad rattle. Anyway, anybody familiar with the Avid 7 mechanical brakes? Let me know if there is a fix for this by dropping a comment below. And thanks for the help!

Lastly, c'mon guys and gals! We've only got 2 followers on our blog! We have got to do better than that. Please pass this blog along to your friends, family, co-workers, dog sitters, grocery sackers, etc. Let's see if we can't boost our numbers before we get out of Louisiana. HOOAH!

Well, off to bed now. Tomorrow is a short ride at only 50 miles. Hopefully that will give us time to check out some local history and culture. Let us see what tomorrow brings.

Enjoy the ride!

Day One In The Bag!

2009-08-12T18:08:00.005-05:00

HOOAH!

First off, a shout out to Durrett Motor Company and Lee Weed for the digital camera, equipment and support! Your support is greatly appreciated and will help in the success of this mission.

Our test ride to Brazos Bend State Park went well. We learned a few things and came home smarter and more prepared for this mission. It was really hot and humid and even with sunscreen on I still burnt the tops of my legs and my nose! I learned that 60 miles per day while pulling 60 pounds (or more) of gear is about all I want to do on any given day! I also learned that BBSP has a serious raccoon problem. I mean, once the sun set that place was covered up with little masked bandits! They searched each campsite methodically examining every single piece of strange material in the hopes that it would be edible. I had my food locker strapped to the trailer until I got tired of chasing off raccoons every 20 minutes and brought it into the tent only to wake up to one of the little buggers standing up weaving back & forth while peering into the tent. I chased it off only to have him return 20 minutes later with a gang of his thieving buddies. When I shined my light out of the tent at him there were at least 30 sets of eyeballs shining back at me! This went on until about 0400hrs when they seemed to head off either for better scavenging grounds or the safety of their little lairs!

Today came off almost without a hitch. My good friend Benson (see photo on left of page) joined me for the ride to San Jacinto Battlegrounds. Nobody showed at Sun & Ski except a Fox News cameraman which was a nice surprise. We did an interview and shot some footage and then headed down the road. We picked up my friend Doc Elena at Bay Area Cycling which was another pleasant surprise as she hurt her knee a week or so ago. We picked up Sharon, Chuck and Bill at Bike Barn and it was nice to see and ride with Bill again.

We pedaled over to San Jacinto without incident and had workers in the refineries whistling and clapping while motorists waved, honked and cheered. Texas State Parks needs to work on their training program a little bit as when we arrived at the entry point the young lady on duty wanted to charge us each a $1.00 entry fee even with disabled license plates and the relative special needs of our little entourage. I showed my ID and indicated the disabled license plates on our chase truck (my chevy colorado) and asked if it was not TPWD policy that Disabled Veterans are allowed in with no access fee. (I know, you're thinking it's only a dollar and the park requires maintenance etc... well, I'm just a stickler for the rules). She called somebody else who also insisted on the entrance fee so, we paid and continued on our way. I hit the latrine to evacuate my morning mountain dew and grabbed a can of coke from the vending machine (the old snack bar and gift shop no longer exists).

About the time I was getting back to the group Fox news arrived and, low and behold, didn't pay an entrance fee... Hmmm? We had a very nice chat with the news guys and shot some more footage, which is posted below for y'all to view once you finish reading this.

About 2 miles past the ferry landing Chuck's bottom bracket/crankset failed. He tightened it up but it cut loose again at IH10. He shuffled his bike into the Texaco and Sharon called David to come fix the problem. It turns out the bottom bracket that was replaced this past Monday was the wrong one and David had to take Chuck and his bike back to his house for repair. We continued on through Crosby and then on to Dayton and finally Liberty. Later Chuck rode to my house and Theresa brought him to Liberty via truck.

Upon their arrival we all went to Tarkington's for some chow. The place was very clean and friendly and the food was of good quality and quite tasty. I had steak & shrimp with a potato and salad. I topped it off with an irresistible homemade coconut cream pie and washed it all down with a sprite. We visited for a bit with Marc Tarkington and his wife and staff about the trip and Marc invited us in for a free breakfast to get us started in the morning. Thank you very much, Marc! We will definitely be taking you up on your offer.

I found that I have a little too much weight on the top of the trailer and while cruising downhill it sways causing the entire trike to sway... very exciting! I will move the chow to the bottom of the B.O.B. dry bag and jettison as much as I think I can do without over the next few days. I can always re-stock later in the journey. I was told today that most cross-country riders carry very little food instead spending most of the trip searching for it much like a Geo cache! I don't know. I'm thinking I would rather have some chow with me but, I can understand the weight dilemma.

Thus my day ends. Let us see what tomorrow brings.

Enjoy the Ride!

We're Famous!

2009-08-12T18:00:00.003-05:00

One Week Until Ride Launch!

2009-08-05T09:37:00.004-05:00

Howdy! A big Texas shout out to everybody following the Houston to New York City trike ride!

Many, many thanks are due to Soldiers' Angels and Toby Nunn...AGAIN! Soldiers' Angels provided me with an HP mini 1000 netbook so that I will be able to maintain this blog and contact with friends and family during the mission. My sincerest gratitude goes out to Toby for making this happen as well as to Soldiers' Angels for all of their wonderful and gracious support in this mission.

Thanks to Wendy for the fine support in getting the word out through the Houston Chronicle. Everybody keep an eye on the Chron for an article about [man riding bike to new york]. I'll post link here whenever I see it, or, anybody can post the link in the comments section below. Thanks again, Wendy! I hope to see you at the send-off ride.

Thanks to Jill at Academy, Webster for the $25.00 gift card in support of this mission.

Thanks to Robert at Sun & Ski, Webster for the 20% discount on supplies in support of this mission.

I've been really, really busy with training, gearing up and trying to round up support for the ride and Wounded Warrior Project and Soldiers' Angels. I have been tweeting most of my updates, so if you want daily info on ride progress check me out on Twitter as... TXPeddler! Once the ride starts I will be updating this blog daily.

Two of my friends and bike buddies will be joining me for the first 2 weeks of the ride; probably to Chattanooga, TN. Sharon, Chuck and I have been riding together for about 5 years now and they want to come along to provide moral support for me as well as show their support for WWP and our American Troops. They will be taking a vehicle and alternating driving-riding while I will maintain my self-supported status throughout the ride.

There will be a public send-off ride on 12AUG2009 beginning at Sun & Ski at IH45 and Bay Area Blvd at 0800hrs. The send-off ride will continue down Bay Area Blvd to Highway 3 where we will pick up riders from Bay Area Cycling at approximately 0815hrs and then continue down Bay Area Blvd where we will pick up riders from Bike Barn at approximately 0830hrs. From there the send-off ride will continue down Bay Area Blvd eventually ending at San Jacinto Battleground/Lynchburg Ferry Landing. This will be a slow, easy ride for riders of all skills and abilities (10-12mph). I am presently trying to organize a media event at San Jac for local news, photos, etc... If you are media or have a contact in the media, please drop me a note at jfcompton@verizon.net so we can work together to make this happen. I know this is a weekday, however, I hope we can get a good number of riders to show up and support this mission by escorting us out of town. From the Lynchburg Ferry Sharon, Chuck & I will board the ferry and begin the ride to New York. The riders participating in the send-off ride will then return as a group to their respective departure points via the same route. Anybody interested in riding further is more than welcome to join us. The first day will be approximately 86 miles ending at Big Thicket NP in Saratoga, TX.

Thank you, Sharon, for making arrangements with Space City Cycling Club for the send-off ride from Bike Barn.

Thank you, Robert, for making arrangements with Sun & Ski for the send-off ride from Sun & Ski.

Thank you, Jeff, for making arrangements with Bay Area Cycling for the send-off ride from Bay Area Cycling.

I know all of you support this ride for the benefit of our Veterans regardless of politics and shop preference. I appreciate your support. Wounded Warrior Project appreciates your support. Our Veterans appreciate your support. This is going to be a great ride!

On Thursday, 06AUG2009 Sharon, Chuck and myself will be doing a practice run to Brazos Bend State Park. We will leave my residence at 0900hrs proceeding to the State Park through Alvin then Rosharon. We will make camp on Thursday night then break camp on Friday morning for the return ride. This ride is to give us a chance to test out our gear making sure everything works and that we have what we will need for this trip (aside from those unforeseen items that pop up along the way). If you would like to join us, drop me a note at jfcompton@verizon.net. If you have suggestions for items you think will be handy or necessary on this ride, post a comment to this blog entry.

Twenty years ago if somebody told me they were suffering depression I would have replied, "you need to just man-up and get on down the road." Today I have a very different perspective. I have a different perspective because I suffer from Major Depressive Disorder. There are days when I simply feel like I have a major category 5 hangover and find it difficult to just get out of bed. Some of the triggers I am aware of and, apparently, many I am not. There are many studies of depression at this time and, hopefully, the future will see an end to this terrible wasting. I do the best I can everyday with help from my family, my friends, my doctors and my goals. I educate myself and try to stay on top of current events that may help in my fight against depression. Thank you all for your support and belief in me.

Thanks to everybody for your support and generosity. Together we can make a difference in the lives of our Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and other theaters of engagement.

ESSAYONS!

My Wonderful Husband

2009-07-24T18:20:00.002-05:00

I rode with hubby the other day and he let me ride his trike! What an awesome ride! Now I see why he loves it, got to get one! for anyone out there that "likes" to ride but not sure ride one of these, you'll be hooked! Thank you Soldier’s Angels for helping my husband be able to ride longer with the medical condition he has and continue enjoying something he loves!

So my husband tells me one day he is going to ride his bike to the World Trade Center Memorial and I think “Has this man lost his mind! Should I call the loony bin!?!”, but Jack calmly goes on to explain why and the more he talks I realize no he’s not crazy and isn’t going through some mid-life crisis so I can safely call off the loony patrol.

Our family is very proud of Jack and we wholly support him in this ride. We are very grateful to all the men and women who fight for our freedom and the great country we live in. I hope this ride will help raise more awareness to other Americans as to how lucky they are to have these soldiers fight for them and all the sacrifices our soldiers have made.

The Wounded Warrior Project is a fantastic organization dedicated to helping severely injured service men and women by assisting and empowering them into the next phase of their lives. Please visit their website to learn how you can help our Wounded Soldiers and show them your support. TC

B.O.B.'s Your Uncle!

2009-07-21T11:06:00.005-05:00

Woo Hoo! Received B.O.B. this morning from Anthony! Many, many thanks to Anthony! Brother, I sincerely appreciate the awesome gift and your wonderful show of generosity. I drove over to Walgreen's for maybe 30 minutes and returned to find a big box setting in front of the door. It really is an awesome trailer and should work perfectly for the mission. I'll be returning the trailer that Robert loaned me. Thanks again to Robert for the loan but it sounds like you'll be needing it for your vacation in the NE so we're both in luck.

I'll be making a couple of practice runs over to Brazos Bend State Park to check out my equipment and make sure everything is serviceable as well as to see what items I may want to acquire that I don't already have and to "86" those that I have that I won't be needing. I'll post the dates if anybody wants to join me for an overnight trip.

Check out the trailer at: http://www.bobgear.com/trailers/index.php And I'll be posting pics of it when I get it all hooked up and ready for a test ride.

Also, I've completed plotting the route on Google Earth. You can view the route on Google Earth (http://earth.google.com/) as HOU-NYC Ride. I've broken the ride down by State for ease of management. I am currently transferring the route to Google Maps under TXPeddler as HOU-NYC Ride and breaking it down by day with campsites etc. Check it out here: http://maps.google.com/

Ride On!

2009-07-20T09:01:00.004-05:00

http://www.google.com/gwt/n?client=ig&u=http%3A%2F%2Fmobile.latimes.com%2Finf%2Finfomo%3Fview%3DWorld%2BNews%2BItem%26feed%3Aa%3Dlatimes_1min%26feed%3Ac%3Dworld

Please keep Pvt. Bergdahl in your thoughts. He will come home.

ESSAYONS!

My New Ride

2009-07-19T14:06:00.009-05:00

OK! Here is the review and some pics of the TerraTrike SnakeSkin recumbent bike (trike) that was given to me by Soldiers' Angels. First I must again say "Thank You So Much" to the Soldiers' Angels and Toby Nunn who made this happen. I don't feel that my words are enough to express the gratitude I feel at such an awesome show of care and concern for my welfare. Thank you. I won't go into details on the components here because I did so in the captions of the pictures.

When the delivery driver opened the trailer doors the first thing I saw was a sticker saying 73lbs and I thought "holy crap!" My superSIX weighs 14.6lbs... I started getting anxious and thinking "oh, boy, what the heck kind of a bike weighs 73 freakin pounds!?!" I think it must have been a government contractor that weighed that box for shipment because I don't think it was anywhere near that. The driver used a hand truck and wheeled the very large and somewhat unnerving box into my garage where I saw it was undamaged and so signed for the shipment.

We opened up the box and found the coolest bike I'd seen in a long, long time (when I was a kid I had a "swing" bike that had a pin in the frame you could pull releasing the frame into two pieces on a pivot, like a door hinge, so it was like sitting on a unicycle while holding an orbital floor buffer out in front of you... and it was really cool too). With Mick on the stern and me on the bow we lifted her gently from the box and placed her in the center of the garage floor where we all stared for a while and walked around her pointing at various parts and saying things like "cool" and "will ya look at this." Then TC said "well, sit on it and see how it feels." That sounded like a really cool idea and so I stood next to it and stopped short just long enough to realize that I was not in the most favorable of positions to mount this bike. I then went around to the bow, straddled the crankset and mast, grabbed a wheel in each hand and eased on down into the seat. Now, I've ridden plenty of different bikes, BMX bikes, mountain bikes, "swing" bikes, unicycles, various conflagrations of road bikes but never had I sat on a recumbent trike. Somewhat awkwardly at first I settled back and reached for the bars and pedals only to find the bars were folded for shipping. Right about that time Mick announced that the tires were flat as well. I dismounted and while I set up the handlebar and placed the flag in the seat tube, Mick aired up the tires and TC popped open the garage door. Once again I mounted the trike and, this time finding everything where it's supposed to be, pedaled out of the garage, down the drive and up the street for my maiden run. I pedaled around the neighborhood then returned to give Mick and TC their turn on my new baby. Each took her for a spin down the street and returned with large grins displayed upon their faces. It was the neatest thing on two, no wait, three wheels!

After our test rides we returned to standing around the trike in the garage sipping on sodas and just admiring it. The paint scheme is just really wild and simply pretty at the same time... natural camouflage. And carried over to the wheelset is just totally gucci! The paint is even and cleanly applied with no visible defects. Of course the cool thing about camo is that it would hide defects if there were any, or, if any are acquired over the years of riding I plan on doing. The embroidered snake on the seat is just the coolest. I love that snake! With his raised eyebrow and tongue hanging out you can just feel his attitude. The whole machine just flows simply like a raindrop from fore to aft. Terratrike did an excellent job of building the trike and then setting it up to my specs. The components were all nicely installed and the accessories (headrest, rack, bags) were ready to be fit to me; an easy task that Mick helped me with and took only a few minutes.

Since then I have pedaled some 300+ miles on the trike and we are a pretty good fit now. At first I was a bit hesitant and leery of sitting so low, having a wheel jutting out of the bike lane and finding just the right position on the seat to maximize effort and comfort. Those concerns have fallen away and with each mile I get more and more comfortable on the trike. I ended up moving the seat forward a notch and leaning it back 2 notches at about a 45 degree angle. I added a quickie solution for a lumbar support by halving a pool noodle; its a little too hard but it does take up that space and gives me a more solid platform from which to push the pedals. The SRAM Force road drivetrain with Shimano Ultegra front derailleur and FSA SL-K crankset perform flawlessly... smooth, quiet and efficient.

Aside from the obvious changes from an upright, diamond-framed bike to a recumbent trike the first thing I noticed was the use of a number of different muscles in my legs, butt and back. While there was no more pressure and pain on my lower back, neck and arms, my butt and hamstrings were quite worn out for the first few rides until I started to build them up a little. My lower back hurt a little at first but not the deep, bone hurt from the jarring of a bicycle saddle and compression of my vertebrae from bumps but, rather, a tired muscle soreness from having not regularly used those particular muscles very much in a long time. In other words, it was a good hurt and one that would soon be ameliorated by continued use and strengthening. All I keep thinking when I go out to ride now is "man, I should have been on one of these a long, long time ago."

The combination of the newness of the trike and the oldness of the motor had me cruising at about 12 mph for the first week or so. It left me wanting more each time I got home from a ride. Now I am cruising at 14 to 15 and with a little effort making 17 to 18. Last week while riding back from WeeMart on Mustang Rd. I managed 21 mph for the entire length of Mustang. Another difference with the trike is that you don't "spin" the cranks; you have to "push" the cranks, almost like walking up stairs. If you "spin" the cranks the trike will tadpole... the front end will move back and forth with each pedal stroke like the it is trying to walk rather than roll. Thus, you ride in a larger gear than you would normally.

I noticed one other huge difference... motorists tend to either give you more cushion or stay completely out of your way just so they can watch you as you ride past. The trike is such an odd looking machine that it commands attention. I have had motorists who would normally pull right out in front of me on my road bike sit and wait for me to go past all the while staring and pointing and smiling and waving. I continually get thumbs up signs instead of middle fingers. Adults wave just as quickly as children. Motorists in Z-06 corvettes wave just as enthusiastically as those in ford focus'. It just looks cool, period. Of course, uneducated, red neck punks joy riding in daddy's overly-large, tremedously expensive diesel pickups are still jerks but, hey, you can't please everybody.

So now I'm enjoying my rides more than ever. I get to sit up and see what's going on around me much easier and I don't feel like Quasi Moto when I get home. Overall, I'm totally satisfied with the product and the company who produced and sold it to me. I definitely recommend TerraTrikes if you are thinking about purchasing a recumbent trike.

Let's see... it's got a sporty 30 speed close-ratio manual transmission, front wheel high-performance disc brakes, custom velocity wheels, racing tires, carbon fiber high performance drivetrain, digital programmable instrument panel, digital dash-mounted GPS navigation system, environmentally friendly air conditioning and an Ipod compatible stereo docking system... be "Part of the Solution" with www.TerraTrikes.com

Enjoy the ride!

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by TXPeddler

Time's A Flyin'!

2009-07-19T11:15:00.003-05:00

Well, well, well! Where do I start? Times are simple now though I've been keeping very busy. I've been riding and working on plotting the ride route and schedule. The route map took forever! I don't think there is a straight road in all of Virginia! I've been using Google Earth and plotting the route with way points so, I have to place way points throughout each curve in the road to make a turn. Corners are great... just 1 dot at a 90-degree and bingo, that's it. Texas was easy as most roads seemed to come to angular intersections but once into the mountain areas there are bunches of curves and switch backs. The ride is on Google Earth as HOU-NYC Bike Ride and google maps under TXPeddler and same title.

I've sent out all the request letters and posted fliers around LBS' and bulletin boards where we shop and mail and eat and wherever else I trod. No responses yet although we still have a few weeks to go.

Many, many thanks to my friend Anthony for the B.O.B. Yak trailer! This will be perfect for the mission. I'll be able to stow all of my camp gear and food on the trailer leaving the panniers for clothing and personal items thus distributing the load into a much more manageable arrangement. Anthony is shipping the trailer and I should have it this week.

I am still in need of a few items that are necessary and a few that would be nice to have for documenting the mission. Unfortunately, my entire budget was ate up when we had to put a larger-than-expected down payment on the truck. Besides eating into my funds for preparing for the trip, it ate up my motel budget and extras like my weekly dine out treat. So, I will definitely be riding this one RANGER style, which is actually OK with me because our Troops on deployment right now and those in transition to civilian life with serious injuries don't have all the comforts of home either thus, I will share some discomfort with them. I'm sure I will survive.

NEEDS:

-sleeping pad (thermarest neoair regular... my one from college field camps fell apart)

-camp stove, cookware & utensils (jetboil group size as I don't think the personal one would cook enough to satisfy hungry cyclist... and I only have the large, old coleman stove for car camping)

-bike lights (1 front, 2 rear) (kids lost mine while on loan as flashlight for their job; have one rear but really want to light up the trailer by adding 2 more)

-mini pump with gauge (only have shop pump with gauge and frame pump without gauge... need to keep front tires at same air pressure hence the gauge)

-topek alien II multi tool (have serfas multi-tool but doesn't have box end wrenches in it).

WOULD LIKES:

-mini netbook

-12 mega pixel digital camera w/ video

-digital voice recorder

-helmet cam

I have request letters out for sponsors like Campmor and Sun & Ski but haven't heard back. Other merchants like REI & Sports Authority have a more convoluted way of asking for assistance and I generally got the impression that they would prefer to support large local events in specific areas such as bikes only or camping only (actually, they seemed like they didn't want to donate anything to anybody unless you were going to make payroll for them). Guess you gotta be a big guy to ask the big guys for more big stuff... like a loan where you have to have the money to borrow the money!?! If I had it I wouldn't be asking! However, REI seemed very receptive to contributing directly to WWP for specific events like Soldier Ride though their budget was set for 2010.

Anyway, off the milk crate and onto the bike. I've uploaded some pics of the trike and the truck for y'all to see. I'll post more in the next few days.

I'm having difficulty keeping up with updating the blog, plotting and planning, emailing, training, kids, eating, etc. So, I've asked TC to help out and make updates to the blog for me. Please be nice to her and if you have questions or comments for me please post and I'll be happy to get back with you as soon as possible. For those that are emailing me, it is difficult to keep up with each email individually so I'm going to add you to a group mail out list and answer everybody at the same time. This is only for me to be more efficient so please don't take it as a slight or that I am not being personable. If you get an email and don't want to be on the list just say so and I'll be happy to remove your name from the list.

Lastly, I fell down... again... the other day. I was simply trying to side-step around the kitchen table when I lost my balance and toppled over. I hit my back on a chair and slammed my rear on the tile pretty hard. It must have looked impressive as Mick, my son who was also sitting at the table, shot up like a rocket with eyes like saucers in an effort to help me up. It hurt a bit at first and I thought it went away. Turns out it was a pretty deep bruise and I aggravated it by continuing to ride. I took a couple of days off this past week and then rode yesterday. Last night I could hardly walk. I didn't ride this morning and have the heating pad on right now. Perhaps a couple more days along with hot baths and some epsom salts will help.

RIDE ON!

by TXPeddler

6 Weeks Countdown

2009-06-30T18:57:00.005-05:00

Still going strong here. Had a big week last week. The new TerraTrike came in on Thursday. Shout out to Toby Nunn at Soldiers' Angels! Thank you so much for the trike! It is really sweet! It's a limited edition TerraTrike called the Snake Skin. It has a really cool paint scheme of diamondback rattlesnake... even on the rims! I customized it a little to suit my needs and riding level by changing to the BB7 disc brakes, SRAM bar-end shifters, SRAM Force rear derailleur, SRAM OG990 11-28 cassette and in the front FSA K-Force triple with Shimano Ultegra triple front derailleur. I also swapped out the Schwalbe Marathon Supremes for Schwalbe Marathon Race folding tires as they have better rubber compound and are easy to store with a folding bead. I rode it around the block a couple of times and then Mick helped me fine tune it and mount the rack and headrest. The headrest does not work real great with the trunk bag but I can live with it.

Friday we picked up our new-to-us truck to replace the Jeep Grand Cherokee that was flooded in April. Shout out to Craig Durrett at Durrett Motor Company! The truck is really awesome! Craig did a great job and found us exactly what we were looking for: an '06 Chevy Colorado, crew cab, Z-71, 4x4 with 275hp 5 cylinder and an automatic. It has a 2.5" lift on it with brand new custom wheels and Pathfinder all terrain tires. It also has leather interior and full power, including heated seats, which are super nice when my back gets to hurting really bad. It is a pretty blue with taupe interior (nothing like having a dirt-colored interior to hide... the dirt!). It took several weeks to find but Craig did right by us. His people also did a great job of finding us the best financing in the business. This is the 3rd vehicle in 6 months that we have purchased from Durrett Motor Co. and Craig has been right on the money (literally) with each vehicle. Thanks, Craig and the hard working folks at Durrett Motor Co.

Saturday I jumped on the new trike for my maiden voyage. I spun up 55 miles in a little over 4.5 hours. The position on the trike causes me to use some different muscles than I usually do on my other bikes, obviously which I have very few of as I was a little sore on Sunday from the long initial run (my glutes and lower back were tight but a little stretching and some water and I was right back in the running). The trunk bag held my 2L camelbak bladder and 2 20oz insulated bottles. I hung an additional 1L camelbak around the seat. For the first time since January I had ice cold water for the entire ride, which is pretty spectacular considering it was 102 degrees Saturday with a heat index of around 108! My time was considerably longer on the trike as it is not nearly as fast as my SuperSix or even my t1, but it sure makes up for it in comfort. I had absolutely no problems with my butt, back, neck or arms. The ride was smooth and comfy. The components all worked together flawlessly even when the operator had trouble figuring things out once in a while.

I enjoyed the ride very much especially the looks, waves and smiles from motorists along the way. For the first time ever I saw motorists sit at an intersection and watch me pass. While not entirely for safety reasons I'm sure, it still worked in my benefit as motorists would sit and wait for me just to see what the heck I was riding. As I would go by they would smile and point and wave. I think I'm going to like riding this trike a whole bunch.

I've got some pictures, I just haven't had time to upload them. I'll try to get them up by the weekend. Thanks for coming by the site to check on me and the status of the Southwest Express Recumbent Bicycle Ride from Houston, TX to New York, NY. I'll keep training and we'll be ready by 11 August to tackle this mission for Wounded Warrior Project!

ESSAYONS!

The Army Goes Rolling Along

2009-06-20T11:49:00.003-05:00

Hello, All!

I'm just "Rollin' Along" here. The training schedule is going well now; I started out a little too agressive so I backed it off a touch and now am able to keep up without blowing up. The yoga is still giving me fits but I simply do the best I can. I started going to Massage Envy on Wednesdays (my off day) and that seems to be incredibly helpful with my training program allowing me to get full relaxation and recuperation out of the day.

I have had to make a tough decision. In planning and executing this benefit ride I have found it rather trying to work with more than one organization. So, I had to decide which organization I would go forward with on this Houston to New York ride. Both organizations, Soldiers' Angels and Wounded Warrior Project are really great at what they do and it was a tough choice. What it boiled down to was the fact that I had to get the donation request letters and ride proposal out by 21 June to make certain corporate contribution cut-off dates. The WWP was able to get me approvals for use of their logos in time to give me the chance to get those letters out. Therefore, I was left with having to pull my support from Soldiers' Angels on this ride. My intention is to plan and execute a local, one-day ride event for Soldiers' Angels to take place next year. If all goes well with that we should have another t-shirt ride for Houston area cyclists. I did, however, register with Soldiers' Angels and opted in for "Adopting a Soldier." We will be sending letters and packages to a Soldier in the Iraq and/or Afghanistan theaters to boost their morale and let them know we care about them.

Looks like Craig Durrett has come through for us yet again. Last January we went to Durrett Motor Co. looking for a Jeep Grand Cherokee. He found us exactly what we were looking for and at a price that we couldn't get from any of the other dealers we had gone to. Unfortunately, in a freaky rain storm on 18 April it got flooded up to the dash and the insurance totaled it leaving us without a vehicle yet again. I slapped a new exhaust on the old Wrangler and strapped some tie-downs around the driver seat to keep it from falling completely apart and managed to get it to pass inspection. We've been coaxing a few more miles out of the transfer case although it sounds like a handful of gravel in a blender while going down the road. Yeah, OUCH!

Anyway, Craig called the other day to tell me he had found us a truck that seemed to fit the bill. As much as I loved that JGC, I hated loading and unloading bikes from inside and kayaks from the roof because of the greasy chains and potential scratches from the kayaks. So, I thought it best to go back to a pickup truck for all my out-of-doors needs. Craig found us an '06 Chevy Colorado 4 door Z71 4x4. I haven't seen it yet as it won't be delivered until Wednesday but, if it is as nice as the JGC that he found for us I'm most certain that I will be very pleased. Shout out to Durrett Motor Co. Houston, TX! Whoot! Whoot! Thanks, Craig! Now, I can't wait 'til Wednesday! I feel like a kid at Christmas time!

This morning was a great ride! I spun up 30 miles at an average of 16.8 mph! I didn't even feel like I was working too terribly hard on that one either. Some days are diamonds!

Well, off to other things.

Ride On!

Training Lesson No. 1

2009-06-08T12:31:00.004-05:00

OK, I'm in REALLY bad shape. But, I guess that's why we train...right?

I went out and spun-up 39.3 miles averaging 15.3mph and figured "not too bad" considering we've got a pretty stiff SSW wind blowing today. I got back and drank a bottle of water and rested for 30 minutes figuring I'd start my yoga adventure and then shower. Well, I've never attempted yoga but I have always heard that it is a great, low-intensity way of building core strength and flexibility. I went by the library last Saturday and picked up a copy of Lilia's Yoga for Beginners on DVD and figured, "yup, that's me... a beginner" (to quote my good friend Dao).

I figured the best place for me to attempt this maneuver would be the bedroom as there is plenty of floor space, it's cool and quiet and I can close the door to the dogs and kids and other interruptions. That part of the plan came off without a hitch. I propped up the laptop and popped in the DVD and Lilia and I began to get to know each other a little better. It wasn't too long though before I was cussin' 'ole Lilia... and me and my back and my legs and the Coriolis effect and the Moon's geosynchronous orbit and the construction practices of sub-prime contractors!

The warm up went pretty smooth with a little breathing and some flailing about of the arms and shoulders. I was thinking, "hmm, this is a snap." Well, then we attempted what Lilia called the "plank position," which should have been a clue since you make planks out of what else but HARD wood, duh! I have this problem that crops up on occasion when I attempt to stretch a muscle while simultaneously exerting force. What happens is pretty spectacular for any observers that happen to be in the area. My muscles cramp with such force that my entire body contorts and is accompanied by grotesque facial expressions and some very colorful language. I've even been known to make up entirely new words and even entire phrases when this happens.

See, when I broke those 3 vertebrae they didn't just crack and lickity-split fuse back together. They actually exploded as the force caused compression fractures resulting in the vertebrae ending up in many little pieces with, what seems to be the majority of them coming to rest in my spinal cord. Spinal intrusions they called them and it took the surgeons several hours of an 16-hour surgery to pick them out of their resting places without doing additional damage to my spinal cord. The vertebrae were then fused/grafted back together with strips of bone taken from my hip. The vertebrae have healed but along all those little fissures where the cracks were there are now little deposits of calcium material that forms like a little stalactite. I believe they called them "bone spurs" and whenever I exert force enough to cause them to come in contact with my spinal cord... yeah, ouch! I get these really bad shooting pains and my muscles tighten, twitch, feel like they are either on fire, being electrocuted or having warm water poured over them (that's the least painful one but often leads me to think I've just pissed myself) and sometimes cramp.

So, when I stretched out my legs and then lifted my hips... BAM! My legs locked up like a Seargent at the Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier. I thought I was going to cry. I immediately fell back to the floor but couldn't move to get my legs to relax enough for the cramp to stop. Usually when they are this bad I have to have TC rub the cramps out for me but she was gone. So, I just lay there cussin' 'ole Lilia until they calmed down all by themselves. After a little rest I figured I'd finish up with a little less intensity... remember "I'm a beginner." Well, every time I attempted one of the postures involving my legs they would begin to cramp and I would back off. At this rate it will take me approximately 944 years to attain any level of yoga ability.

Perhaps, I should ride then carry on the rest of my day and perform yoga or resistance training in the evening after my muscles have had time to relax and the swelling to go down a bit. I have increased my water intake and while riding I use an electrolyte tablet in each water bottle. I'll try doing the yoga in the evening tomorrow and see how that works. I'll just do what I can and hopefully over the next few weeks I'll start seeing some results.

Ride On!

Mission Helping Hand

2009-06-07T20:41:00.005-05:00

For years I have wanted to launch a major operation to help the cause of Veteran's Advocacy. While I have often helped my brothers-in-arms on an individual basis, I have always wanted to do something on a larger scale. As a Disabled Veteran myself I know full well the frustration and confusion while transitioning from service to civilian life and all while you are healing, mentally and physically, you must continue to be vigilant of your rights and healthcare when dealing with the VA and other government agencies. Often times it feels totally overwhelming. I have always sought to help my brothers-in-arms. It is an aspect of my character that I hold in the highest regard. It is engrained in me just as strongly as is the love and care of my immediate family. This will be, by far, my largest ever single contribution in an effort to raise awareness of the plight of U.S. Veterans, the need for third party Veteran's advocacy groups and to raise capital for two of these groups.

I plan on riding my bicycle approximately 1,600 miles from Houston, Texas to New York, New York in an effort to raise awareness of the 31,000+ Veterans who have been wounded in the Global War On Terror, to raise awareness of the treatment of these Veterans and of all Veterans by Our Country, and, to raise $5.5 million in capital for the Soldier's Angels and Wounded Warrior Project. These two organizations provide for Our Troops on the battlefield and, in the case of injury, in transition from battlefield to rehabilitation to civilian life and beyond.

Thus far I have a plan and a bike. I am fine tuning each and preparing myself for this mission. Over the next 10 weeks I will be communicating via this blog my plan, my route, my training, my gear and contributions made towards this missions end. Then, during the ride I will be posting my daily progress along with photos, video, interviews and other cool stuff. You can check out Soldier's Angels and Wounded Warrior Project through these links: www.soldiersangels.org and www.woundedwarriorproject.org . Please help out by contributing what you can... from a cheer of good luck, to friendly advice, to a room and a shower along the way, to a capital donation. All proceeds from this mission will go directly towards Veteran's Advocacy.

Tune in tomorrow...