LaRo hit the trail on Easter weekend. I haven't heard from him, but I have faith he is fine and loving it all. I sent a couple of disposable cameras with him in hopes that he will capture the beauty of the hills.
Cooper and I rode in the Five Boro Bike Tour at the beginning of May. It rained pretty much all day and I didn't get a chance to cover the top, so we were pretty soaked. My friend and producer Carlos (a.k.a. C-Los) helped me out a lot that weekend getting everything loaded up in my neighbor's truck, filming, and all sorts of stuff. It was a great ride. Cooper ran over half of it that day. The
tour itself is 44 miles through all five boroughs, but because of where we parked the truck we did 51 miles. Cooper is a trooper; he had a blast. There are a couple of people I would like to thank: Leon, my neighbor, for letting me use his pickup; C-Los for his help with everything that day and everything else for this project; the man who gave me a windbreaker on the BQE when I was feeling very defeated and ready to call it quits, but the dry, warm windbreaker helped a lot; the nice ladies who gave me water and chocolate, much needed and much thanks; and to everyone out there that day riding or watching. The words of encouragement and all the "how cools" really made our legs move. Oh, and don't worry about Cooper. He is in better shape than most of you, and he gets plenty of rest.I went home for a week in the middle of May for my niece's high school graduation. It was amazing to see because it seems like just yesterday when my mom was pulling me out of my 6th grade class
to go see her at the hospital. It was nice to see all my family and really talk to them about my adventure. It was clear to them that I am serious about this. I feel they can see the change in me from last year when they saw me, and I think it all has something to do with having Cooper now. My sister even said if I would have gotten a dog a long time ago I probably would have saved myself a couple of marriages. Thanks, Nessa.At the end of May I was flown down to Texas by C-Los' family. C-Los got a beautiful Ford F-150 extended
cab pickup truck from his folks, and they wanted me to help him drive it up to the city. I flew into San Antonio on Saturday afternoon and slept in the backseat while C-Los and his dad drove us back to Corpus Christi where they are from. Took a shower, then jumped in the truck and swung by K-Rod's (C-Los' girl) folks' place to pick her up. Sat by the pool, sipping on cervezas and eating nachos.
Then we rolled over to the island to hit up Sushi Bar (http://www.sushibar.tv/). Holy shit, this place was amazing. The food was great and the people that work there were great. This place needs to be in the LES within a year because it is hot. Hip-hop lil' homies comic book sushi joint. After a killer meal we went out to a couple bars and did so many big TX shots that I blacked out! Yikes! The next morning C-Los' madre hooked us up with some fresh tortillas and barbacoa tacos. So good, and just what I needed.
After breakfast we went to the beach with K-Rod and her friend, Leslie. It was great to play in the waves in the Gulf of Mexico, which was a first for me. The sand was so nice and soft, the water was really warm, and you could walk out at least 50 yards.
After the beach we headed back to the Rodriguez family home for a BBQ pool party. "Papa Rod" has a restaurant-style smoker, so this is really TX-style BBQ: four big beef ribs and three pork ribs smoked for more than three hours. There was also potatoe salad two ways, bean and chorizo soup,and lots more. While the ribs were cooking we had shrimp and avocado dip, pico, mango salsa, fajitas, and lots of beer. Mix in a pool with music and you have an authentic TX-style BBQ party. People came and went, and the party went on. Any chance I got to talk about the adventure, I took it. I've gotten into the habit of carrying around a pocket full of flyers and handing them out to anyone. People in TX are excited to see us this winter. As the party died down around midnight I decided I was going to sleep poolside in the hammock for the night. It was a good sleep other than getting eaten alive by mosquitoes.
After returning to C-Los' house we showered and got packed up to hit the road. C-Los started out and drove us out of TX. Once we were in Louisiana I started to drive. I have never driven in LA and it was cool driving through the swamps on the elevated roads for miles and miles. We took turns throughout the day and night, and after 30-plus hours of driving we arrived back in Zoo York City.
Since then
I've been riding and going through all the pics that I've taken over the past couple months. Now we are having camera problems—we have hours of footage, but are lacking the means of loading them onto the computer. My brother John is working on logos of some companies that I would like to ask for sponsorship. It's getting done, but there is still a long road ahead.
After returning to C-Los' house we showered and got packed up to hit the road. C-Los started out and drove us out of TX. Once we were in Louisiana I started to drive. I have never driven in LA and it was cool driving through the swamps on the elevated roads for miles and miles. We took turns throughout the day and night, and after 30-plus hours of driving we arrived back in Zoo York City.
Since then
I've been riding and going through all the pics that I've taken over the past couple months. Now we are having camera problems—we have hours of footage, but are lacking the means of loading them onto the computer. My brother John is working on logos of some companies that I would like to ask for sponsorship. It's getting done, but there is still a long road ahead.Because it takes me about 3 days to put one of these post together things change. I talk to LaRo yesterday. He is in VA "having a good ol time" he plans on being in PA in a couple weeks and wants us to go out and see him and camp with him for a couple days.
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