tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21014584660029151832024-03-04T21:17:27.116-08:00RICKSHAW USARickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2101458466002915183.post-75181432983833643382010-12-29T19:32:00.000-08:002011-03-23T09:12:34.892-07:00Holiday Time<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">So I this is what I sent out to my family for the holidays, and I decided it was good for everyone. So read on.....</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Family,</span><br />
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Happy Holidays. <br />
<div>The new year isn't here yet so this isn't late. </div></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">So I'll fill y'all in on what I have been up to in Austin</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I worked at a restaurant downtown for the first couple of months I was here.</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">While working there I remembered how much I am not into working in a restaurant or with food in general.</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">So I got a job working with a couple of Welders and contractors.</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I enjoy the time in the shop and on the job site. Not a lot of stress and really cool people to work with</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I also worked for a local soap company, wrapping their bars of soap. They are SOuth Austin People (<a href="http://www.southaustinpeople.com/" style="color: #0000cc;" target="_blank">www.southaustinpeople.com</a>)</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">It is all natural and organic. Its better than Dr. Bronners!!</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I helped out another local company this holiday season, they are Zhi Tea. (<a href="http://www.ZhiTea.com/" style="color: #0000cc;" target="_blank">www.ZhiTea.com</a>)</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">This is a organic loose leaf tea company that is nationwide. </div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I pack and label all the tea and pack and ship all of the orders.</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I wasn't really into tea before this job but they really have great tea.</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I also work every Saturday at the Farmers Market downtown </div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I'm cooking pizza for a friend of mine who just started his own Mobile Pizza Catering company. </div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">(<a href="http://www.BolaPizza.com/" style="color: #0000cc;" target="_blank">www.BolaPizza.com</a>)</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Its very good. All local products. Wood fired oven on a trailer. Its a great job only 4-5 hours and I'm outdoors just cooking off pizza. </div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I try to keep jobs now that don't have a lot of stress involved to them. </div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">So that's what I have been doing for work</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Now for my downtime</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I ride my bike everywhere</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I got a 84 Schwinn World Sport 10 speed about 3 months ago for $100 on Craigslist. The lady had no idea what a deal she was giving me. The thing sat in her basement for the pass 10 yrs so its in great shape. I still have the Trike. I plan on selling in this coming year. </div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> I miss the life on the road but know that I couldn't continue on the way I had before. That thing was just way to much weight and my and my body is hurting because of it. I have never been in so much consistent discomfort in my entire life. </div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I have dated a couple of ladies but am still looking for the perfect one for me. </div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I live on a acre of land on the east side of Austin. The guy who owns the land (Moody Andrews) lives in his house in the back and I rent one of four rooms that he has in the house in the front of the property. The guy next door is cool and leaves the gate open to his land so Coop has 2 acres to roam about. Moody also has a full music studio on the land so I am learning to play the drums I have been at it for just over a month and I think I am doing very good. </div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I have dreams of starting up something of my own here in Austin and have the friends and contacts to do so.</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I just need to get my life in order to be able to do something positive. </div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I have been very homesick and lonely this holiday season.</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I miss IA and NYC very much and am planning on going to NYC in May for the 5 boro bike tour. That's 41 miles thru all 5 boros in one day. I did it a couple yrs ago and really want to do it again. I am also planning on taking a month off this summer and pedaling up to IA for Ragbri and see Tyler come home. </div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Coop is doing well. He likes living out here. I think I might have to get him a pup friend soon. I miss the time that we got to spend together riding around the US. He was thrilled to spend the day out in the cold on Christmas day when we rode around downtown handing out Peanut Butter sandwiches and Hot Tea. I love my dog. </div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I have Attached a Photo that my friend Azure put together. Its formatted at 8x10 or 16x20 You can have it printed out to hang up or just laugh at it and forget about it. I was going to print them and send them until I did the math. </div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Its all about me a Coop. </div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> Well that's all </div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> Remember you always have a place to stay in Austin</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> I miss you all greatly.</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> And am still trying to make you proud of me</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> Happy Holidays </div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Love,</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Sean and Fat boy</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9KTfp5SY7ItOaju_YJRHiIzCEhzTE2RL3GrXZnhsydG65_QpprW0ay1efSFixcxe1ja5L1ua1NDWaqJwGhQQzdalBCOFm4-X7qz4CCR_CSSM817DnpmwOXpFgZ3ufXUqygvBWKlJkJ7bQ/s1600/aaaafinal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9KTfp5SY7ItOaju_YJRHiIzCEhzTE2RL3GrXZnhsydG65_QpprW0ay1efSFixcxe1ja5L1ua1NDWaqJwGhQQzdalBCOFm4-X7qz4CCR_CSSM817DnpmwOXpFgZ3ufXUqygvBWKlJkJ7bQ/s320/aaaafinal.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br />
</div>Rickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2101458466002915183.post-62465323531895074862010-10-23T08:50:00.000-07:002010-10-23T08:50:11.452-07:00HUGE UPDATEWe're staying in Austin TX for a couple years now. Too many great opertunities and people here to move on. Thanks so much to all the people who have followed along. I might start a new blog to share about what we are doing here, but who the hell cares.Rickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2101458466002915183.post-47000866850612224122010-05-02T09:43:00.000-07:002010-05-08T10:16:09.054-07:00ONE BIG CO-OP<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px; font-family:sans-serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">A </span></i><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">cooperative</span></i></b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> (also </span></i><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">co-operative</span></i></b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">; often referred to as a </span></i><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">co-op</span></i></b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> or </span></i><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">coop</span></i></b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">) is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit.</span></i><sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; "><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative#cite_note-0" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 43, 184); background-image: none; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; "><span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">[</span></i></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">1</span></i><span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">]</span></i></span></a></sup><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> Cooperatives are defined by the </span></i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Co-operative_Alliance" title="International Co-operative Alliance" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 43, 184); background-image: none; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: initial initial; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">International Co-operative Alliance's</span></i></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statement_on_the_Co-operative_Identity" title="Statement on the Co-operative Identity" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 43, 184); background-image: none; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: initial initial; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Statement on the Co-operative Identity</span></i></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> as </span></i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomy" title="Autonomy" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 43, 184); background-image: none; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: initial initial; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">autonomous associations</span></i></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through jointly-owned and democratically-controlled </span></i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business" title="Business" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 43, 184); background-image: none; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: initial initial; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">enterprises</span></i></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">.</span></i><sup id="cite_ref-ica-principles_1-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; "><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative#cite_note-ica-principles-1" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 43, 184); background-image: none; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; "><span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">[</span></i></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">2</span></i><span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">]</span></i></span></a></sup><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> A cooperative may also be defined as a business owned and controlled equally by the people who use its services or who work at it.</span></i></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:sans-serif, serif;font-size:180%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px;font-size:17px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:sans-serif, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> That is what I love about Austin. A lot of great ideas going on and people getting together to make something bigger and better. This is what big business should comprise of, not all that big Corporate crap that is running to ruin this great country founded on freedom. They take away that freedom of being able to own your own business. But here in Austin, the little blue dot in a huge red state, they want to have their own thing. There are a lot of great ideas in this city and people are getting together to make something bigger and better for their community. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:sans-serif, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px;font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:sans-serif, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:sans-serif, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> On Saturday was the Yellow Bike Project grand reopeing. Brooks and I headed up that way, I had the Trike loaded up with some t-shirts to sell, but no pup. The days here are already getting close to the 90º mark, and that big black dog can't take it. I feel bad not to be able to take my best friend with me everywhere, and it doesn't really show the whole picture of what this journey is about with him not with me. But we have been spending nights running around, although I can't take him on any of the Social Rides because he just freaks out with all the bikes around. We are working on that. When we got to YBP new shop on Weberville Rd. there was a mass of people and bikes. I pulled up and started chating with the folks around. I went inside to check out the stuff. The whole idea behind YBP is great. You have to volunteer about 12 hours at the shop helping others, cleaning up bikes, parts, and the shop. Once you have your hours you can build two bikes. The first is a Yellow Bike. Now these yellow bikes are destined for greatness. All the materials used to make Yellow Bikes are all used parts. They are taking bikes that are destined for the landfill and recycling them into Yellow Bikes slowing waste and giving back to the comunity. A Yellow bike is painted bright yellow and left around the city. The hope is to flood the streets with them and so if you need to run to the store or to a meeting you can grab an always unlocked Yellow Bike and leave it for the next person. And the second bike you build is for you. And they will teach you how to do all of it, then you get to teach others. Co-op. </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:sans-serif, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px;font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:sans-serif, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px;font-size:small;"> I have met so many people here so far. I have talked about Brian with Spokiz, he is helping me while I help him. He had made "I <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; ">❤ </span>ATX" t-shirts. He sold a lot but still has a couple boxes left and he is in Cali on biz, so I have been loading them up in the trike and pedaling around to all the functions that take place all the time here in this hyper-active city, trying to sell them. We are both making money and we are getting our ideas out there together. I also am also now a rep for his Sunglasses, Spokiz (spoke eyes). These are great sunglasses and I advise all of you to go to his website and order yours today. www.teamspokiz.com </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:sans-serif, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:sans-serif, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px;font-size:small;">There is another great idea out here called Flash Bak, these are the best personal safety system out there. It's the brightest LED lighting system that I have seen and you can clip it onto anything. It's good for anyone who shares the road with cars not just cyclist. The great thing about them is its hard to look past. I remember a couple times when I have been driving at night and you barely see the small flashing light that is on a seat post. Driving at night you tend to get tunnel vision and look past it. But these lights are so bright and flash at different beats that you can't miss them. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:sans-serif, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:sans-serif, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px;">I am enjoying my time here. I hope to be able to stay till Oct. before taking off west. I am going to have to get a jobby job soon to be able to pay for things. It has already started to hit the 100º mark and we are only in mid May! Cooper is sick of staying in all day but he is adjusting. If you live in Austin and know of some work to be done send me a text or email please, I can and will pretty do anything at this time. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:sans-serif, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:sans-serif, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px;">Till next time</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:sans-serif, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px;">Love and Licks</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:sans-serif, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px;">Sean and Cooper</span></span></div>Rickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2101458466002915183.post-28030232728315897002010-04-20T17:56:00.000-07:002010-04-26T15:19:42.862-07:00ATXI tell people that in NYC you can find pretty much anything at anytime, but in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">ATX</span> you really can find anything! I have been to a Roller Derby bike ride, Tall bike Joust, Bike polo, group rides big and small, Dog days, Hot-Rods, Globetrotters, Uni-cycle football, Barton Springs, Eeyore's Birthday and so much more. I have seen this beautiful city in so many lights, at different times and from all angles and its just breathtaking. Don't get me wrong, NYC is an amazing sight to see, and I suggest to everyone I meet that they go there. But its a different thing, NYC is 22.7 sq miles, that's 13.4 miles long and 2.3 miles at the widest point. Now cram close to 2 million people, animals and a bunch of huge buildings on that small slab of earth and you have New York City. That's what's amazing about driving in to NYC is knowing its all comprised of flesh, fur, and concrete! <div><br /></div><div>Driving around Austin is just so visually appealing. From the people, the buildings,the area itself is pretty retro in ways. The city has a big campaign <b>K</b><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">eep</span> <b>A</b><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">ustin</span> <b>B</b><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">eautiful</span>. The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">KAB</span> has the idea that everyone should do their part to keep their city and communities clean and beautiful. And the people agree and support <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">KAB</span>. This city has a real since of CO-OP. Everyone has great ideas and skills and want to get together with one another and make something bigger happen with a real pride in working within the community. It's my kinda place. </div><div><br /></div><div>Hunting for a job has been a little rough. I really don't want to go back to the kitchen. I don't think it would be fair to Cooper, not spending that much time with him. That's why I have never had a pet before Coop. I never had the time to take care of him. But if I don't find a job soon I won't be able to put food in his bowl and that definitely is not fair. And if I go back to the kitchen it will help me want to leave come fall time, because I really like it here and think it is going to be hard for me to push on. </div><div><br /></div><div>I will be taking part in my first moonlight ride on 4/27. The ride begins at midnight and goes till sunrise cruising around <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">ATX</span> by the moonlight. I am excited for this and plan on filming and taking as many pictures as possible. I will be updating my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">ATX</span> pictures a lot and trying to keep you informed of my goings on here. But if I fall into some sort of routine with a regular job there isn't going to be to much exciting stuff to tell you about. But please check in from time to time I will be doing a lot of work on the other pages and product reviews. There are some great things that are being made here locally in Austin that I think you all will like and want to purchase. So stay in touch and the adventure is not over, its in full swing!</div><div><br /></div><div>Love and Licks from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">ATX</span></div><div>Sean and Cooper</div>Rickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2101458466002915183.post-83853274488140543622010-04-10T15:50:00.001-07:002010-04-17T11:09:12.263-07:00I'M SO SORRY MOBILE..........but Austin has taken the #1 position. I have only been here for a week, but the idea of living that this city has is great. The people are so cool and laid back; everyone has a hello to throw our way and good vibes to put out. This city is full of bikers, dogs, pretty ladies, and cool dudes. The bar and restaurant scene down here is huge. People believe in the whole "Mom and Pop" idea: totally against corporate America for the most part. <div><br /></div><div> On Monday we ran around to get some stuff done. I had to go to Ozone Bike Dept. to pick up the external hard drive that Bob and Lori had picked up for me. I also needed to get the plates that connected my new Keen Commuter sandals to my SPD pedals. We stopped by Home Slice to get some pizza. I am a pizza junkie, and I miss the convenience of getting a slice at George's before hitting the streets of NYC. We sat down at a table and ordered a large pie. They claim to be a NY-style pizzeria, and they came close. But the pizza needed to be just a bit bigger to get that one-of-a-kind slice size. Granted, you could fold it in half like a taco, but it just wasn't the same. Afterward we went out to the mall to go to the Apple store to have some questions answered about my aging PowerBook G4. On our arrival I learned that I needed to make an appointment to see a Genius. So we headed back to the house to chill out. </div><div><br /></div><div>Brian and Chris had emailed me on Friday before I arrived and let us know we were welcome to stay with them. They have a spare bedroom and bathroom for us. When we arrived on Sunday, Brian told me of his friend Bill who was moving out of Austin to go to the New York / Connecticut area in a month's time. Now, Bill had had his replacement move into his place a month early while he rode out the last month at his place. Well, it seems the replacement had some issues with Bill, and even tried to fight him a couple of times. Bill isn't that kind of guy. He is really laid back and chill. Anyway, he didn't want to spend his last month in this great city in an environment like that, so he asked Brian and Chris if he could stay with them. They, being nice people, said sure, but told him he would have to take the couch until we left. He was fine with that, and happy just to get out of the situation he was in. So on Monday, Bill was coming in with some of his things. I felt bad because we had the room and Bill had given them money for his share of a month's rent, and here we were staying for free. I had planned on staying for only a week, but the more I thought of everything that I needed to get ready for the desert, I realized that I would probably be here for a <i>couple</i> of weeks. I felt bad. I decided that if another offer came around to stay somewhere, then I would take it to be fair to Bill, Brian, and Chris.</div><div><br /></div><div>So on Monday night, the four of us hit the town. We went downtown to The Jackalope for all-night Happy Hour. Then we went over to Lovejoy's in hopes of getting in on free pool table night, but the chalkboard was filled with names of hustlers and sharks, so we just drank. We had a blast, and met loads of people. </div><div>There are a couple of them I want to share with ya:</div><div><br /></div><div>First we met this couple on the streets going from one bar to the next, selling drawings. Their character is Stitchlip. Its a cat drawn in a very interesting cartoon style. They have T-shirts, hats, stickers, posters, and even dog shirts! Check out their work and story at <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/stitchlip">http://www.zazzle.com/stitchlip</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Another dude I sat and talked with was Shannon with 3rd Millennium Chess. It's pretty cool—he has taken a chessboard and made it into a cylinder so you have to play from both sides. It is going to change the game of chess for the better. I wish I knew how to play, because it would have been interesting to sit with him and get down. You can check it out and order yours today at <a href="http://3mchess.com/">www.3mchess.com</a></div><div><br /></div><div> On Tuesday we all woke up a little slow. We got some breakfast burritos and sat around relaxing. Coop gets rested a lot faster than I do. When we stop I don't want to do much of anything that is going to involve my legs. I don't even like walking around. But he was a little keyed up, so I took him over to the field and had him chase some tennis balls. Within ten minutes his tongue was hanging to the ground in a heavy pant. How is this dog going to make it in the desert? How does any dog or animal make it in the desert? It gets hot down here—last summer they had over a hundred days that were over a 100ºF! By my calculations it will take us about two more months to get to southern California. That's two months of no air conditioning. Granted there is shade, but sometimes Coop can't cool down all the way unless we are inside with some AC or if it's night out. I really need to figure this all out. So Tuesday was pretty unproductive other than uploading all the pics that I had from Mobile to Austin.</div><div><br /></div><div> On Wednesday it was calling for rain which was good for us. The clouds gave us a shade from the sun. I needed to go and check out some stuff around town and just see what this city is made of. We made our way down Congress St. heading towards downtown area over the lake. We hit the ped bridge and spotted a group of cyclist on the bridge. I stopped to see what was going down and talk to these guys about what I was doing. I met Brian from Spokiz Eye Wear. These things are great. '<i>The 1Uhnighed is the first ever, truly hinge-less sunglass in the WORLD! That is right you are seeing the sunglass REVOLUTION in action. This model is the first ever introduced by TEAM Spokiz and is great for us big headed people. You know us with wide heads that get the pressure headaches and annoying rubbing behind the ears from NORMAL sunglass. Thanks to SpokiZ you are now free to move without worry or headaches or slipping sunglasses ever again!!!' </i>These things are so light and have no pressure points you forget your wearing them. They are great with everything. No more slipping off and dropping to the ground or water. Check out the website and order yours today. Tell them that Sean and Cooper sent ya!! </div><div> http://www.teamspokiz.com</div><div> </div><div> After that we rolled over the bridge and cruised around downtown, man there are some gnarly hills here. I stopped by REI and exchanged my tent and pants. I wanted to upgrade on the tent and pick up some more stuff but was unable to do so because I'm broke!! I went outside and met Dave and Yoni, Dave owns a pedicab company here in Austin and Yoni works with him. We chatted about people to get into contact with and Yoni is interested in doing a article and photo shoot on us. After that I went over to Mellow Johnny's. This is Lance Armstrongs bike shop. It has a nice Cafe, workout room, fitting room, showers, lots of gear and bikes. Its a great shop if you have a shitload of money, but for me it wasn't my kinda shop. As I pedaled away from the high end shop I turned the corner and smelled some good food. It was a taco shop and I had a couple bucks so I decided to get a taco. As I pulled up Brian Spokiz came out and said he wanted to buy me lunch. I went in and ordered and sat down with most of the guys I had met earlier on the bridge. I sat across from Brooks Goldsmith he is a web designer here in Austin. www.brooksgoldsmith.com He also has a rental property that he rents out for the non stop festivals that take place in this super active town. He asked me where I was staying and I told him of the situation I was in. He asked if I wanted to stay at the house. It is a fully furnished 3 br house with a fenced in backyard and a garage. I said that I couldn't afford it and he told me we could stay free of charge. "Holy crap that is great" I had been worried about the living situation at Brian and Chris's house with Bill sleeping on the couch and paying his share of rent. I called Brian and ran it by him, I was worried I would offend them. He understood and was cool with it. After lunch Brooks and I cruised by the house to check it out and to get the keys. What a nice place. I left the trike there and Chris came and picked me and Coop up on her way home from work. When we got home I packed up our stuff and I washed the sheets that Cooper had slobbered all over. That night Brian, Chris and I went to the <i>Alamo Ritz</i> movie theater to see <i>Master Pancake Theater</i> showing <i>Bloodsport</i>. Its the same principal as <i>Mystery </i><i>Science</i><i> </i><i>Theater</i>. But they show movies that you know, its live, and there is lots of swearing. My kinda place. I shot beer out my nose a couple times and my face hurt from laughing so much. Afterwards we went to Jackalopes to met up with some friends of theirs. </div><div> The next day Brian and I loaded up all of our gear and headed over to the new crib. I got settled in and and unpacked. That night there was a huge group social ride around Austin. I decided to take the pup and trike to it and show these people how we do things. We met up with the 200+ riders around sunset and got to it. I wasn't prepared for the hills. I didn't eat enough that day so my legs got gassed right away we fell behind and I was having a hell of a time keeping Coop calm. Coop and I spend 99% of our time on the road by ourselves. So when we ride with other cyclist he freaks out. He wants to be the pack leader so when he is on the ground he is pulling so hard to get going that he wears himself out right away, but will keep going. He would run himself into the ground if I let him. I put him up in the back and all he does is shift from side to side in the back whimpering and whining to get out and back on the road. Image riding a bike with a 70 child behind you and they are throwing their body weight from side to side. Every movement he makes I feel. We pulled up the the half way spot and rested for less than 5 min before they got back on the road. I decided that that was enough. I was exhausted and Cooper was freaking out. I went home and passed out. </div><div> The next day Brooks hooked me up with one of his bikes and we went for a ride. We ran into Randell and he had heard about us being in town. He also commented on the fact that we didn't finish the ride the night before. I guess people where taking shit on me about not understanding my gears. Screw you. I understand my gears and think that the fact that I have pedaled 3,5oo miles is enough to say I have some experience. Anyone that thinks what I am doing is easy or thinks that I am doing something wrong, please come and show me how to do it, and then you will see what I do everyday. ASSHOLES!! OK sorry just needed to get that out there. We cruised around for the day checking out this and that. That night Brian and I went over to the SOAP house. SOAP stands for South Austin People. They make homemade organic soaps and lotions. They have the same philosophy as Dr. Bronners. Keep it natural, keep it organic and keep it clean. They hooked me up with some samples, and a plate of BBQ brisket. After that I headed over to G&S lounge to meet up with Brian and Chris for some beers. I had also gotten into contact with an old high school friend that has lived in Austin for 8 yrs now. Rachel and I swam, went to school, and church together. I hadn't really talked to her since graduation and was excited on seeing her again. She was already there when we arrived and I gave her a big hug and we all went outside to drink and talk. Rachel and I fell right back into. We used to hang out all the time back in the day and we were really close the last couple of years of HS. I missed her bluntness and no nonsense ways. We hung out there for a couple and then we all headed over to Bender. We continued our conversations about Cedar Falls. It was cool hanging out with people from my hometown. This is the first time I have stayed somewhere that has transplants from CF. It was good for Chris too, she doesn't have a lot of girlfriends down here in Austin so Rachel and her hit it off. After we shut down the bar, Rachel came back to the house to meet Cooper and to talk a little more. I crashed out happy to have the hometown hommies in my corner.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><div>Saturday was a big day. I loaded up Coop and Brooks and I headed downtown to check out this and that. We started off over on South Congress at the Austin Glass Art shop. The weekend had brought in the Hot Rods and Rat Rods. They where parked and cruising up and down Congress. Brian had set up his T-shirts and Spokiz glasses at the little bizarre that was happening next to the glass shop. We hung out there for a min and then got moving across the lake. We went to the farmers market downtown and hung out with the SOAP guys and gals. Right next to that there was a huge Crawfish boil going on but it was $15 to get in and Coop wasn't allowed. Brooks broke out on his own and Coop and I headed up to 45th st to check out the <i>1st annual Dog Day Afternoon</i> going on in Triangle park. This city is dog friendly big time, and they love active dogs. So Coop was a crowd pleaser there. After watching the wiener dog races we headed back home to eat and rest up. Later that night I took the trike out without Coop I was planning on riding around taking pics of all the hot rods. I met up with Brian over by the Glass shop and we made our way out. People had been tailgating all along the Congress strip watching and driving these classic muscle cars. So when we worked our way into traffic it was pretty hairy, cars where burning out and revving their engines. We decided to get out of that exhaust filled madhouse and head east. Brian took me on some brutal hills. We split up on the way home and I decided to kill myself by finding the hilliest way home and pushed my self to haul up these hills. Main Street has sent me a new Mega Range gear that is going to help me but I haven't gotten a chance to put it on yet. I just turned up the radio and turned off my mind and just kept moving my feet by the time I rolled into the garage I had done 36 miles that day and was soaked with sweat. I took and shower and passed out. </div><div><br /></div><div> On Sunday I had scored a job taking Fan Photos at the <i>Harlem Globetrotters</i> game. I haven't seen the Globetrotters in like 20 yrs and they are better than ever. They put on one hell of a show. I shot over 1000 pics and got to watch a lot of the game. </div><div><br /></div><div>I have decided to stay in Austin. I was planning on pushing on next wk and getting to Seattle for the winter. I was going to go there and work for my old boss that has the pet cremation biz in NYC and Seattle. Hibernate, get fat, and save some money. But this town has way more to offer and I would rather deal with the TX heat than a Seattle winter. So when I got home on Sun I looked online for a place to stay and a job to get. Rachel came over to take me out to dinner and while we were hanging out she offered me a room at her place. She has lived by herself for 5 yrs or so and said she wouldn't mind having a roommate for 5 months or so. This will save me a load of money and it will be nice staying with someone I know. We just have to make sure her cat Roma and Cooper are going to get along. So for the next wk or so I will be staying at Brooks place and taking Cooper over there to get to know them. I hope this all works out and I'm sure if I stay positive it will be positive. </div><div><br /></div><div> I'm not done with this adventure. I am just taking a much needed break to rest and reorganize, this city has a lot of people that support us and want to be apart of this idea of mine so by the time I roll out in the fall we will be bigger and stronger. So stay in touch I will be still posting our goings on. </div><div><br /></div><div>Till next time</div><div>Love and licks from Austin</div><div>Sean and Cooper</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Rickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2101458466002915183.post-4156149801573682142010-04-06T12:51:00.001-07:002010-04-13T14:56:22.947-07:00Pushing to Austin<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Okay,</span> this is gonna be quick: detail points only.<div><br /></div><div> We rolled out of the park and got moving. I was rested and determined to make it to Austin in good time. The hills were more of a gradual climb all day, with wind at a minimum. I just used the Texas atlas that I had gotten from Bob Strange and picked out my route every night for the following day. One thing Bob told me to do was hit up <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Brenham,</span> TX—the home of Blue Bell Creameries. For the past week we have been getting up at 5:30 a.m. every morning to get as many miles done before noon in order to avoid the heat. We got to Blue Bell at about lunchtime and had a picnic, and then I went in to get some ice cream to cool us down. I got rocky road and Cooper got peaches and homemade vanilla. We talked to some folks and rested, and that afternoon we did a couple more hours. </div><div><br /></div><div> On Friday we were a couple days away from Austin and moving down highway 290 when we got waved down by a couple who wanted to talk. I told them about what we were doing, and explained about all the stuff on the blog. I mentioned I had fallen behind on the photos due to the fact that my external <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">hard drive</span> was on the fritz. Bob and Lori asked how they could get a new one to me. I was shocked that they wanted to buy me a new <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">hard drive.</span> These things aren't cheap: over $100. I told them of a bike shop I was planning on going to in Austin, and they dropped it off there for me. Thanks so much, Bob and Lori Marsh. </div><div><br /></div><div> On Sunday morning I couldn't sleep at all, so we got on the road very early. We had to do 38 miles that day to make it to Brian's and Chris's place. They are originally from my hometown, and we know some of the same people. When they heard about me coming into Austin, they contacted me to let me know we were welcome to stay with them during our time there. The temperature at six o'clock that morning was 67ºF, and the humidity was 10,000%! I was soaked about ten minutes into the ride. The hills leading into Austin made themselves known, but I was <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">adamant</span> on making it to Austin by <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">early</span> afternoon. Things tried to stop me: flat tires, headwinds, hills, and rain. By noon I had done 33 of the 38 miles, had two flat tires, and was exhausted. I was so excited to get to Brian's and Chris's house, and I thought the last 5 miles would take me just over an hour. . . . Three hours later, I pulled up to the house. Brian came out, and we talked while I unloaded everything and sorted all the laundry we had to do. Then we took Coop out back and gave him a much-needed bath. I showered, and we hung out and caught up with the goings on of mutual friends.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now I am planning on riding around this great city. I have to go to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">REI</span> to exchange gear and get some new stuff. I have some gear work to do before I <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">continue</span> on to the hills and desert. I'll post more about Austin while I am here. And also, I am uploading pics while I write.</div><div><br /></div><div>Till next time,</div><div>Love and Licks,</div><div>Sean and Coop</div>Rickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2101458466002915183.post-48576247649795497492010-03-31T12:13:00.000-07:002010-04-08T19:32:29.953-07:00The Country of TEXAS<div>Howdy. We made it into Texas. After beating it out of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">DeRidder,</span> LA at around noon, I knew we would be pushing it to make it to Texas and find camping before it got dark. Luckily the wind was at a minimum that day, and I was rested up and ready to hit the 13<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">th</span> state of our journey. The sun was setting as I approached the Sabine River that serves as the Louisiana-Texas border. When I got to the bridge I could see the oh so familiar giant green sign that reads "Welcome to Texas." What a great feeling—I have made it to the largest state. I have so many ideas of what I will encounter and see in this huge state. Some good, some bad.</div><div><br /></div><div>After taking some pics of the state line, we headed up just a little ways and saw a road leading back toward the river. We took it back a ways to get away from the sounds of the road, and to ensure that no one would see us. I got the tent set up and gathered wood for a fire. Before making it into Texas, I had stopped in the last town in Louisiana and gotten a 24-oz. can of Bud to celebrate the new state. So I built a huge fire, made some dinner, listened to the river run by, and enjoyed the beer in the moment. I have been having a great time, but I feel that there is more to be done. I just wasn't sure at that moment what exactly it was. All I knew is that it would come to me soon.<br /><br />The next morning we got moving. In Texas they have the normal state highways, then off of those you find the Farm to Market (FM) roads. These roads have no shoulder, but a lot less traffic and sometimes no lane lines. Off of those are the county roads—most of which are red dirt or gravel—and off of those are ranch roads, which lead to houses or pastures for the farmers. I have decided to take the direct FM roads to get where I need to go. I was battling some big hills that day, and there was yet another storm moving in on us. As I neared <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Spurger, </span>TX, we rode by a house with a guy working out front. I had seen his truck that was parked in the driveway pass us a few times that morning. As we got near his driveway, he called out and waved us over. I pulled in and met Jared Ernst.</div><div><br /></div><div>He asked what we were up to, and when I told him of our big adventure, he asked if I was hungry. Being that it was lunchtime, I sure was. We went inside and he said to help myself to whatever was in the fridge. As I cooked up an egg, bologna, and cheese sandwich, he told me he had just gotten back to shore after being out on the oil rigs in the gulf for two months. He has been a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">commercial</span> diver for these rigs for five years now. He does welding, fabricating, and any repairs needed, all underwater. He let me try on his 35-pound helmet and told me how one day in Fort Wayne, Indiana, while working as a commercial roofer, he decided his job sucked and that he wanted to get paid doing something he loved. That's how he ended up where he is now.</div><div><br /></div><div>When we stepped outside after lunch I noticed some cows on his land, so I asked about them. He said, "Eventually I want to get a full blooded breed of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Sanaga</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Trugas</span> Cows and take the calves we get and give them to the kids at the 4H school up here so they have something to do. The kids that are underprivileged that can't afford a cow or can't take care of them. My wife and I have the land and the facilities for it. We are going to let them come do it here and let them keep the profits." Wow. That is amazing. He and his wife have put a lot of money and time into this cow idea. And it is all for the benefit of the underprivileged kids. That's kindness. After a quick much needed shower, I got back on the road to try to get some pavement behind us before the storm moved in. I noticed a road that would be somewhat of a shortcut by a couple miles and give us a better chance of finding a good camping spot for the storm, or so I thought. The spot was great, it was big tree field with new trees planted. The road leading back to it was dirt and the spot where we set up the tent was high ground on completely hidden from the road. We set up the tent as the drops started to fall. It rained on and off that evening and night.<br />The next morning we woke up to a muddy road leading to a muddy road. I decided we would wait out the morning and let the sun dry up some of this mess. I packed everything up slowly and we tried to make our way out afternoon. As I tried to make my way down the muddy road about 50 yards to the road, I got stuck. I tried pushing, pulling, kicking, and screaming, but it wasn't moving. So I had to unload all of the heavy stuff which is pretty much everything! Pedal down <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">thru</span> the mud to the road and then walk everything piece by piece back to the rig and reload it. It took over an hour to do and by the time we got to moving the sun was high and hot in the sky. I made my way toward <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Woodville</span> TX. in attempt to get on a road with a shoulder and hopefully flatter. As I connected with Highway 190 I saw some big huge hills in the very near future. These are some of the biggest hills and wind that we have encounter yet. I have gotten over all of them but it is getting harder and harder to do so. We went about 5 miles and I saw a paved road that was heading back south. I decided to take it to try to avoid the monster hills that are on this major roadway. Traffic has always been a trying issue with us. But here is TX it is stressful. The posted speed limit is anywhere from 60 to 70 mph, but most everyone does 10 to 20 over that. And they drive these big '<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">ol</span> dually diesel burning pickup trucks that come screaming up behind you. It is nerve racking and I had to get away from it. So south we went on FM 256. The road was paved for about 5 miles then I saw the dreaded sign "Pavement Ends" oh no. I had just come up and down some big rollers, and really didn't want to turn around. If I had been on the original rig I wouldn't of had a choice but with the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Pedi</span>-truck from Main Street, it wasn't really a problem. So we made our way south on this road made of red clay. I was amazed at how quiet it got the further down this path we went. As we got to the hot part of the day I tried to find a spot of shade to have a nap and wait out the heat. We found a nice spot with a breeze and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">layed</span> down to rest. Coop stirred and started to growl soon after and I wondered what could be getting him riled up. Then I heard the familiar sounds of horses. I held on to his collar as the trail ride passed us by. There was a couple of covered wagons and people of all ages on horses of all sizes. After the nap and temperature drop we got back on the road. As we came to an intersection I looked at my map trying to figure our next move. Go east to get to a paved road soon or head west and pick my way along the dirt roads and hope not to get stuck or have to back track. As I pondered my choices a truck rolls by real slow and the guy driving asked "whats up bud?" I asked him for advice and he climbed out of his truck and we started chatting. He told me it was his day off and he was over at a neighbors and was heading home to wait for his kids to get off the bus. He told me to come over to his place and look at a Texas Atlas that he has. I followed him to his property and made my way down the dirt driveway to his house. His kids had just gotten home and they all introduced themselves and asked me questions. Bob went inside to help his little girl with something and Brice gave me the tour of the 40 some acres his dad owned. He took me down to the pond and told me stories of the little adventures he has had growing up here in Texas. He was a character. When we got down to the pond he showed me the boat his dad had gotten them so they could do some fishing. His big bro Chase showed up on a 4 runner with some poles and tackle and his sister <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Ammie</span> and his dad joined a couple minutes later. While the kids tried to catch that nights dinner, Bob and I talked of the adventure and raising kids today in this semi-messed up society. We understood each other and shared the same opinions. After no luck at the fish the kids headed up to the house to say hello to their mom and Bob and I headed over to his Neighbours house. We pulled up to see Joe walking to the garage with a rifle in hand, I turned to Bob and asked if everything was cool. He said that everyone in TX has guns and Joe is a rifle man. This state was founded on a land rush. So people down here are inherently over protective of their property and everything on it. They shoot first and ask questions second. We sat down to chat with Joe and drink and couple of cold ones. Joe asked if I needed anything and I told him I was fine he called his wife and told her to make up some sandwiches and snacks and pack it up with a couple pairs of socks. We got to talking and Bob asked if I need a lift down the road. He said that the next 20 some miles west there are some huge hills and it would make it easier to get a hitch <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">thru</span> them. Knowing I am behind and tired of the hills I accepted. Me did some measuring and decided we would need a trailer. Luckily Bob had one that was just the right size. We decided I would camp out next to the pond and we would load it up in the morn and get moving. I slept good that night knowing I was going to get some help over the hills.<br />We loaded it up got some coffee and hit the road he took me down some serious back roads and told me about the area and how the pine tree farmers are wiping out all other trees to plant the fast growing high demand pines. We talk of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">PresBo</span> and his ideas for this country. We chatted about all sorts of stuff when all the sudden I read the sign for New Waverly TX. "Whoa. I am getting a package here from my good friend Todd. We gotta stop. We did some 70 plus miles!" We had gotten lost in our conversation that we didn't realize how far we had gotten. We pulled into a parking lot and unloaded the rig with some help from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">passerbyers</span>. Said our goodbyes, good lucks and thank yous. I went to the post office and got the package that had arrived that morning and made my way west towards the west side of Sam Houston National Forest. What a beautiful forest! The hill weren't to bad but the traffic was crazy that Saturday afternoon. I went about 10 miles to the Lake <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Stubblefield</span> camp area and pulled into the packed camp ground to find out they were filled up, but there was room at the overflow area and it was free and I could use the showers there. I made my way over to the overflow area and pulled into the large field. the perimeter was full of bug tents and cars. I saw a spot for enough room for my trike, tent and dog. I pulled up and before I could unload Coop we where surrounded by our neighbours wondering who the hell we where. I was given beer and invites to hangout. I unloaded everything and stood the trike on end. I had to adjust my gearing and derailleurs. After that we went over to the other campground and took a shower. These shower house sucked. It only had one shower and I had to hold the button the entire time to keep the lukewarm water drizzling on me. We got back to the site and I loaded up things and talked to more people. The people to he left of us had a small village set up. There was 5 large 8 person tents and a huge kitchen area. This group from Houston do it up when they camp. I went back and forth between my neighbors chatting with everyone. I ended up getting pretty drunk and helped for about 10 min in the cooking of a cow head for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">barbaco</span> tacos the next day. I slept under the stars that night more like passed out.<br />The next morning I crawled out of the tent and did damage assessment. I had thrown up out of the back of the tent sometime during the night so I needed to clean up the splatter off. I strolled over to the Houston Village and looked for things of mine left behind from the night before. I checked on the Cow head and found out Matt had stayed up til 7am keeping the hot logs loaded for the 39 lbs head. He didn't stay around to enjoy the fruits of his labor. Unfortunate he didn't do a great job at distributing the heat so only one side cooked to the point of tender, shredded beef that is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">babacoa</span>. So when I was chosen to clean it up due to my culinary back ground I didn't realize it till I got to the other side. So they ate the done meat and gave me the rest to finish cooking. I was planning on staying for another night or two and Shane was heading out that afternoon to do some more camping. He was on spring break and had never been to the National forest. After everyone packed up and said goodbye we had the area to ourselves. I gathered up wood from the all the other sites and waited for my friends arrival. I took the meat that I had finished and mixed it up with a bunch of leftovers the Village people had left for me. When <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Shaneo</span> showed up after getting lost for awhile, we ate and got to drinking.<br />The next day we went for a couple hikes and road into town to get some more ice and beer. On the way back to the campground we saw some cyclist working their way east. We pulled over and talked to them. I don't think they thought to much of me due to the fact that I was driving <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Shanes</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Kia</span>. We talked about what each party has seen and encountered and tried to hand out tips for routes and things to see. I told them they had to make it to Fred's Lounge in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Mamou</span> LA on a sat to take in the Cajun music. They told me I would love Austin and Austin would love me. As we talked another solo cyclist stopped by that was heading west. He is a English Teacher in NYC and is doing a spring break ride. He does close to 80 miles a day and stays in Hotels and grades papers. He does it more for the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">cardio</span> aspect of it more than the freedom that we have chosen to live. After Shane had given the three riders his info we went back to the camp area to relax.<br />The next day I packed it up and said a final goodbye to Shane. I hope to meet up with the West family again if it be in Pine Prairie or where ever I decide to live. I wanted to get to Austin within a week and got to moving.<br /><br />Till next time<br />Love and Licks<br />Sean and Coop.<br /></div>Rickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2101458466002915183.post-74215987367255947582010-03-21T10:46:00.000-07:002010-03-27T15:19:52.065-07:00The West family.........is the best, but Shane won't let me rest! I got on the road out of Chicot around noontime on Monday. I needed to go about 15 miles to Pine Prairie, LA to get some things at the post office. <span style="font-style: italic;">Spenco</span> gloves sent me a new pair of gloves, and<span style="font-style: italic;"> Keen</span> shoes sent me a new pair of cycling sandals. It was a hilly ride and I got into town before 3. I swung by the post office and only the gloves had arrived. I went by city hall to find out about camping, and as they checked into it, I talked to Mona and Allison about my trip. They were pretty amazed at how I have chosen to live these past 6 months. They contacted a church that had a nice-sized lot that I could camp at. <div><br /></div><div>I made my way over to the church and found the lot. When I pulled up I decided not to set up the tent first thing. Instead I strung up the hammock between two polls and relaxed with a book. Not much later a white Kia pulled up, and a guy and his daughter walked my way. He asked if I'm on some kind of journey, and I told him yep. He told me that about 5 years back, he and his son Dayne had walked 500 miles in Spain for 30 straight days. He asked if I was planning on sleeping there in the lot. When I told him yes, he pointed across the street and said he had a shed with a bed in his backyard that we could stay in. I said sure, thinking how much earlier I could get on the road if I didn't have to wait for the tent to dry out, and have to pack up all that stuff. I walked over to the house so he could show me the setup before he had to go and coach the baseball team. He showed me the shed and called his wife Nanci outside to meet me. She wasn't surprised that her husband had brought home a man on the road. I gave her my card so she could read about who we were. Shane and his daughter Maddie went to the baseball game and Coop and I got settled in. </div><div><br /></div><div>A little while later, Nanci, her oldest daughter Branigan, and grandson Parker, came out to the shed with some coffee and an invitation to take a shower and do some laundry. I needed to do laundry, so I gathered up my smelly clothes and headed in. After I got the clothes working, I sat with the two ladies and the energetic lad and talked some more about being on the road. Branigan had to go to work, so Nanci and I chatted about this and that. She is a real sweet lady, very easy to talk to, and she made me feel welcome in her home. After Shane got home from the baseball game, Nanci went out to get food for dinner. Shane and I sat around and he told me of the trip he and his son went on to Spain. It sounded like a great experience for both, especially Dayne. Being only 14 at the time must have been an eye-opening experience for him. Nanci got back with food and beer, and started in on making dinner. While she was cooking up some tasty eats, Shane ran me over to his friend Wesley's house. Wes had also taken his son on the Spanish trip with Shane and Dayne, so he got down on what it was that I was getting into.</div><div><br /></div><div>After the chat we headed back to the house. Nanci had made some stuffed Cornish hens, which in turn made me stuffed! We sat around the fire and I talked to the kids, family, and all the people that stopped by to see the bearded stranger who was in their town till about midnight. Pine Prairie only has about 1,000 people, so it got around pretty quick that I was there. This was the first family I have stayed with whose youngest child is 16, so they understood more of what I was talking about, which is not living the "status quo" life, but stepping outside and really getting into it all. To really live in it and not just pass through.</div><div><br /></div><div>When I say "in it" I mean life, not the thing I was doing back in NYC—grinding it out, living paycheck to paycheck, if I was lucky. I was depressed, drunk, high, and just mean and bitter. Getting my kicks at being a dick. I knew then that it wasn't how I was supposed to be. It was when I was talking with my good friend Pierre that I realized I needed to let go of all the everyday stress that we let ourselves live just because that is what mainstream society is pushing into the mushed-out, media-drowned brains that we have forgotten how to use. I guess I can't bitch about it if I am asking you to sit in front of your computer and read my rants and recaps of my big adventure, but I honestly wouldn't be pissed if some of you stopped reading my blog because I got to you. Because I got you out to go live "in it." To see something new and unknown everyday. To see what this country of ours is made of—it's a combination of everything. It's the people and what role they play on the ebb and flow of our society. You see what mankind is doing to help and destroy this land and the entire earth. I have met all sorts of people: cabinetmakers, jewelers, army soldiers, photographers, bartenders, accountants, surfers, bums, drunks, dopeheads, cops, crooks, and politicians, and I have only done a quarter of this country. As for nature, I have seen the most beautiful and inspiring sights. I have been in some of the craziest weather in history, seen things that I can't capture on film, nor would I want to, because it wouldn't be just, and because some things I am keeping for myself on this trip.</div><div><br /></div><div>Karma is an amazing thing. This is true, and it took a few weeks for me to put that all together. I was guarded at first, and still had worries and fears. But once I let go and stayed positive, things have been great. I let go of the worries that money can bring. And to be honest, that's really all I need right now to survive. Everything that I carry I can survive this trip with, but its the money that feeds us. And sometimes we don't have money, but we still manage to eat without ever asking for it. That's Karma. Positive thoughts bring positive results. Pierre has amazing Karma. He can think about grabbing the perfect hitch. Oh, Pierre is somewhat of a leather tramp so he thumbs for rides sometimes. So he'll think about the perfect hitch, and within minutes it pulls up. That guy is made for living in it.</div><div><br /></div><div>So I told Dayne, Maddie, and a couple of their friends to thank their dad and mom for letting them experience life the way they have, and to keep on getting out there and seeing it all. Before we turned in, Shane and Nanci asked if I wouldn't mind staying one more night. Shane and his family wanted to hear more about our adventure and to get to know us. I was honored. I went to bed happy, exhausted, drunk, and glad that I stuck to my feelings of not setting up the tent in the lot across the street.<br /><br />The next morning Shane got me up and ran me around. First we stopped by the post office to see if my shoes had arrived, but they hadn't. Then we went over to the high school. It was spring sports team photo day. Shane is an adaptive PE teacher at three different schools in the area. He's an assistant baseball coach, and also coaches the golf team for Pine Prairie High School. After that we went to one of the other schools so he could check up on something. As we made our way there, Shane filled me in on the Cajun history of that area. Mamou, LA is the Cajun music capital. So he spent the day turning the radio dial to all the local stations to fill my ears with this one-of-a-kind sound. One thing I forgot to say about Shane is that he is a musician. He has a rough speaking voice from all the years of talking so much and yelling at his sports kids, but when he picks up his guitar and sings a song, it's something special. I can see that he would be a fun and entertaining act to witness.</div><div><br /></div><div>He drove me around all the small Cajun towns and pointed out places. One of them was <span>Fred's</span><span> Lounge,</span> which has been around for 50-plus years, but now they are only open from 8 a.m. till about 2 p.m. on Saturdays. They pack it full, sell a lot of booze, and play some great music. I wish I could haver experienced that. We drove by where Nanci teaches Pre-K and then went and got some boudin for lunch. This is a sausage made of rice and whatever else—mostly pork—encased in pork intestine. Boudin is rapidly becoming a known food item around the world from this region, just like jambalaya, gumbo, and dirty rice. It's really good with some Louisiana hot sauce, cheese Doritos, and a Dr. Pepper! After that, Shane ran me back because he had some students he had to check on that afternoon.</div><div><br /></div><div>When we got back I tried to lay down and nap, but Coop wasn't having it; he wanted to play and mess around. We were in the shed with the door open. Dayne had parked his truck close to the shed the night before, and was making his way out to move it. I didn't hear him, but Coop did, and he set off after him. He chased Dayne around the truck, and Dayne had to jump over the side and dive into the bed to avoid getting a chunk bitten out of his ass. I went out to settle Coop down and laugh at Dayne. I told him if he wouldn't have been sneaking around like a little ninja, Coop wouldn't have taken off after him. Coop was just protecting us and our stuff. What a good boy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Later that night we went to the high school baseball game. I stood in the dugout with the boys and snapped some pics. After the hometown got defeated, we headed back to get some food and then head back out. Shane was determined to find some local live music. I wasn't too worried about it, and thought it would be hard on a Tuesday, which was the day before St. Patrick's. But he insisted. I was moving slow that day because the week before had consisted of a lot of hilly and windy days, so my legs and feet where hurting. Nanci noticed and asked if I was okay, and I assured her I was fine. It's just that when I stop for a day or two it catches up to my legs, and it's hard to walk. She was concerned and voiced this to Shane, but he insisted I was fine and we were going. I agreed, knowing the night wouldn't be anything I couldn't handle.</div><div><br /></div><div>We drove around and didn't find a thing. I was thinking we could call it a night, when Shane pulled into a driveway I didn't recognize. We got out of the car and walked up to the back of the house to the sound of some blaring country music. Here was Darell, a native with a Cajun accent, who works on an oil platform—two weeks on, two weeks off. He was outside enjoying the night air, the sounds of his favorite songs, and a couple of cold beers. Shane introduced us and told him what I was doing. Upon hearing this he ran inside and told his wife, who was sick with a cold, to come out and meet me. She came out and sat and listened to my tail. After the hour or so of conversation, she asked if I would like to stop by in the morning before I left and have some breakfast with them. I said sure, and Shane said he would drive! We headed home, then Shane and I talked some more and finally went to bed.<br /><br />The next morning, Nanci woke me up before heading out the door for work. She handed me a cup of coffee, way too much money, and gave me a big hug. She thanked me for staying, and I said they deserved all the thanks. When she left I set down the mug of coffee and smashed my face into the pillow, trying to regain the dream I was having. Not too long after, Shane came busting in telling me we needed to go eat. I rubbed my eyes and threw on my shoes, and we headed over. Katie had done it up: eggs, sausage, biscuits, and gravy. I chowed down and they asked more questions that they had thought of since our first meeting. They decided to stop by to see everything in real life. </div><div><br /></div><div>When we got back to the house it was nearing noon, and I hadn't even gotten close to packing this thing up. Remember, I don't ask for anything, but I really needed some actual rest. So I may have hinted and steered the conversation with Shane into him offering up one more night. But I did offer to cook dinner for them, and he burst out: "RIBS!" He took off to work and I went back to sleep. I gave Nanci the shopping list, and waited for her to come home so I could get this meal going. Now pretty much everyone knew I was in town, so that evening, relatives, friends young and old, and everyone else stopped by to say hello or give us some gear or money. Dinner was good. I made ribs with my variation of BBQ sauce, a roasted spicy sweet potato mash, sauteed mushrooms with bacon, and roasted mixed vegetables. No one in the family—with the exception of Dayne—likes sweet potato, but they all loved my mash. Afterward we all sat around the fire and talked for just a while. Then we turned in early, and I passed out before my head hit the pillow.<br /><br />The next morning, Nanci didn't wake me, but I got up and knew I had to get moving. I packed it all up and said my goodbyes to Dayne and Shane. Shane mentioned meeting up with me on Friday or Saturday to camp out one night. I was happy to hear it. We got on the road and made our way to Oakdale. It was about 20 miles or so, and we made good time even with the hills. As we got west of the small town, we went over a good-sized creek bridge. As we crossed it I noticed that there were some old stone picnic tables set up below, over by the water. I decided this was going to be the spot for the night. I had stopped in Oakdale and picked up some screens to make Cooper a sun shade. So with the space and a nice spot to work, I made a pretty useless thing. That night I made a nice fire and cooked up some tasty grub.<br /><br />The next day I got back to it. It was a hot and windy day, and this giant bonnet I had made for Cooper was catching some big winds. But it was keeping the sun off him and keeping him cool. As I made my way west that afternoon I needed some water. It is few and far between the towns around here. I had stopped in Elizabeth, LA at the <span>Pit Stop</span> to get a quick snack, and they hooked me up with some free boudin—fried and steamed—and one of their T-shirts. I should have got water there like I had planned to, but when I came out to the ride there was already a crowd, and I ended up talking for an hour.</div><div><br /></div><div>I got back to it without that much water. So when I saw some people in a truck outside of a trailer, I stopped to see about their taps. He said sure, and took me inside to fill up. Chris and I talked as the water bags filled. and I asked what was around for camping. He told me about a church with a lot of land not too far down the road. Said it shouldn't be a problem at all. So we made our way and followed the signs for the church, and he was right: the land here was plentiful. I went to the church and found the maintenance guy. I told him what the deal was, and asked if it would be a problem to sleep on the land. He said no, go right ahead. </div><div><br /></div><div>I made my way back to the trees and turned on my phone. I got a text from Shane saying he wanted to meet up. I called him back and he asked where I was. I told him and he said he would be on his way. He was bringing some frozen gumbo, and told me to cook up some rice to go with it. I gave him directions and got to setting up camp. I situated the tent side by side with the ride, and put the tarp up between them to block the wind from blowing the fire around. Then I gathered up wood for the entire night of cooking and beer drinking. I made rice and waited for my friend's arrival. He called to let me know he was on his way, and at the same time a truck pulled up and a couple of guys walked my way. I got off the phone and started talking to the guys who seemed curious and harmless toward what I was doing. After a couple minutes of Q&A they told me I couldn't camp there. They were really sorry, but the church was having some mother-daughter thing there and the moms were freaking out about me being on the grounds. So I had to move on. Real Christlike people. They told me I could go back a couple of bridges and camp out under the second one. Fun. I packed it up real quick. I still had plenty of light left to break down, move, and set back up if I hurried. As I was heading toward the main road, Shane drove up. I quickly told him what happened and what the plan was. He followed me to the super great spot and we worked our way back from the bridge, trying to get secluded. No chance that was happening. We were only 20 yards or so from the road, with a row of trees hiding us. We got set up, made some great gumbo, and drank and talked a lot.<br /><br />The next morning we slowly packed it up as we talked some more. Shane is a good guy. He has a ton of energy and is nonstop gogogogogo. I had a blast with him and his family; they all fit together nicely. I wish I would have gotten a family photo of them as I had planned, but the time just flew by. As we said our goodbyes and gave a good hug, he got back into his Kia and made his way out. And got STUCK!!! HAHHAHAAAHHAA!! Silly Kia. He started trying to get out slinging mud everywhere and digging himself in deeper. I called Nanci and had her call Dayne to call me back because Shane's phone had died! He went to the road and ran down to the houses to see if anyone was able to pull him out. While I was on the phone with Dayne, a truck drove by and saw Shane waving and he honked. He kept on moving. Shane came over and we prepared to wait for Dayne, when all the sudden here comes that truck again. It pulled down to where we were. It was Chris, the guy I had gotten water from the day before. He drove by, saw that we were stuck, went home, got a tow strap, and returned to save the day. They hooked them up and got to towing. Mud was flying everywhere, engines were screaming to the redline. It was a great way to start the morning. Once everything was in the clear we said our thank-yous and goodbyes, and got to getting on. I needed to get to a campground or some sort of shelter because another storm and cold front was moving in. I made it to DeRidder and found an RV park and campground right away. I paid the man $10 and set up the tent, ate, took a shower, and climbed into the tent just as the rain started to fall. I dozed on and off that afternoon, evening, and night.<br /><br />The next day it was cold and windy. The high was only 37. So I paid another $10 to stay. This had better be it for the cold weather. I am getting sick and tired of being cold in the tent. I want to send some of my cold weather gear back to NYC so I'm not lugging it about. I really need to drop some weight on this thing. So I spent a majority of my time in the tent. Luckily the guy next door, Stewart, let me use his extension cord so I was able to run power to the tent and get on the computer. Every campground has Wi-Fi. The gentleman on the other side of me invited me in for coffee and chicken. We talked for over an hour and I ate about six pieces of chicken. Thanks.<br /><br />So here I am Monday morning, sitting in the tent and finishing this up. I plan on pushing hard for the next two weeks to get to Austin. I hope to stay there for a week if I can find the spot. I will be going to the REI store and exchanging some things that have gotten worn down, and getting some other stuff I am going to need for the desert. I'm excited for the heat, the stars, the loneliness, and the quiet. Cooper's breath is horrible. He's having a yawning fit right now and blowing it right in my face. I was talking to a very good friend of mine in NYC last night and she thinks this trip is going to take me at least 18 months. Wow, that's a lot of pedaling. We'll see. That's all for now. We'll be sleeping in TX tonight.<br /><br />Till next time,<br />Love and Licks,<br />Sean and Coop</div>Rickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2101458466002915183.post-71801668126492376572010-03-13T07:57:00.000-08:002010-03-15T07:43:24.923-07:00Time with Janet and Alex<div> So after I left Jeremys house. I headed towards the ferry. On the way there I met up with Janet and Alex, We waited for the ferry together to cross the Mississippi. The fog was thick that morning but the temps let us know that it was going to a hot one. Once we crossed the Mississippi we split up I needed to head into New Roads LA to pick up a spare tire and a couple of other things. Things on the West side of the Mississippi are different. It seems more green and lush. LA is a very friendly state. We rode for the day by ourselves. I didn't spend to much time in New Roads and was hoping to catch up with the two cyclist. We had talked of a possible camping spot before we split up and by the time I trudged up the Levee I saw their tent set up and Janet sitting at the picnic table. I rolled down and said hello. They had told the lady that I was coming, so we were able to split the cost between the three of us. As I set up we discussed what to do for dinner. We heard that down the Levee a bit was a bar restaurant that has a Steak night every Thursday. $20 for a huge Rib-eye and a couple sides. I thought about it and I haven't had a steak yet on this trip and was craving what was being talked about. I got cleaned up and got Coop situated in the tent. I can leave the bottom part unzipped for him and hook him up the the 20 foot lead and he can come in and out of the tent as he pleases. We headed down to the riverside eatery and order up some monster steaks. We sat outside on the deck and watched the sun set and talked of our time on the road. As we sat there I thought back to all the things I have seen and all the sunsets I have watched and it just makes me giggle with joy, living this way is incredible. I encourage all of you to try it sometime. Janet still wants to keep moving, but Alex is ready for this to wind down and get back to a "normal" life. They have been together for 6 years now and I wonder how this is going to be for their relationship. The people at the restaurant where all local and would come and ask us where we were from. The owner of the place asked if on his next newspaper ad he can put that I cycled over 3,000 miles to have his steak! We headed back to the camp and crawled in to sleep.<br />During the night a cold front moved in. The temps didn't drop to much but the wind picked up something fierce. So when I stepped out of the tent that morning I was blasted in the face by 15 mph winds. We all looked at each other wondering what the days ride would be like. We packed up and got to moving. We stayed pretty close to the Levee and on the Mississippi River Trail for awhile. And with every meandering turn of river road we seemed to have the wind in our faces. By lunch time I was pretty frustrated with it all. We had a discussion on what we would prefer, rain or wind. As much as I don't like to get wet I would take the rain over that wind any day. This thing is so wide that it felt like I was pedaling up hill all day. We made it to Simmesport LA that day and set up in a park at the edge of town. I made dinner for them because they picked up the tab on the Steaks. I threw a big 'ol pot of goodness together and we got down on a great meal.<br />The next morning we met even more wind in our faces. We have been sticking to the ACA route and I have really enjoyed the ride on the almost carless route. The only thing about it that I don't like is its indirectness. From point A to B on their maps takes about 30 miles or so, with my route of state highways with more cars it takes 15-20 miles to go from A to B. The fact that I am trying to do 10,000 miles I need to be as direct as possible. Its been nice riding with these two people they do about the same distance and speed as me and are very easy going. I can still see that I have some anger issues at times with things that are out of my control, such as wind, traffic, and a whining dog. That evening as the sun started to set we were having troubles trying to find a spot to camp. There was just enough houses and farms around to make it difficult to find a safe and secure spot to lay our heads. Finally we spotted a good area and made our way back. I had to get some help pushing this thing thru the mud, but we were hidden and off private property. We set up away from each other and made our own dinners. I have never rode with others before for multiple days so I'm not sure if this is normal. I feel that they were a little irritated with me, because all day I was bitching about the wind and was pushing every little spot I saw on them to stop for the night. I guess I don't realize how hard it is to pedal this thing until I am riding with others that make it look so easy. Sometimes I wish I could shrink Coop like that cowboy kid in Willy Wonka, and get a road bike. But then it wouldn't be called Rickshaw USA!<br />The next morning we woke to day light savings time. I have now been thur two savings times and 1 time zone change. We trudged our way thru the swamp back to the road and went for what seemed like a nice Sunday ride. The weather was great. 60 some, crisp clear blue sky, nice breeze keeping us cool, and the roads we where on were deserted. Everyday we have rode together someone new takes the lead. The First day it was Janet. She sets a nice pace and is very aware what is going on the road. The next day was Alex, he was more up front of the group and Janet stayed close behind me. They figured it was easier for a car or semi to pass us first and Alex next. He is a good navigator and plays the roll of forward observer, even pointing out a turtle on the side of the road that we all stopped and took a look at. I climbed up the levee and took some pictures and noticed the turtle path that he had dozed into the 8 inch tall grass. Its these things that most of you are missing, I'm not getting on you at all, I just wish you could all be here and see it with me. I have taken a lot of pictures but I am having problems with my external hard drive and need to call the company about it, next rain day. So now Sunday was my day to lead, we didn't ever discuss this leading thing it just kinda happened that way. So some of the day we were able to all ride side by side down these great county roads. Louisiana is a beautiful state. On the east side of the Mississippi and toward the gulf it is very swampy and in the swamp is dead trees. That's how we know where there is going to be good camping at now is by where there is live trees. So on the west side of the Miss it is very green, there is still dead trees in swamps but farther apart. I bet this place is pretty in the early summer right after the leaves come in and its not to hot yet. When a car would approach I would move to the front position and they would fall in behind me sometimes side by side or in a line. For the most part it was a easy ride. There was a 3 mile stretch on 21 that had no shoulder to speak of and had too much traffic for our liking. So I put it to the pedals and we did about 12 mph up a slight grade just to get off this stressful road. I think I surprised them on how much I could push this thing. Once I took off I looked back to see them struggling to keep up but once they where behind me the stayed with me. We pushed hard up this hill and it felt great leading the pack. As soon as we made our turn off this crazy road we slowed it back down to our Sunday ride pace. We turned down a nice long straight road that went thru the Crawdad fields. As we made our way we came across some people in the ditch. I stopped to see what the situation was and they pulled up a couple of their netted baskets for catching these delicious little critters. They spoke with a accent you can only find down here in Cajun country. I looked at the water in the field and the water in the ditch and I don't think I would want to eat something out of that ditch water but I might be wrong, they might be great. We were heading to Chicot State Park. The reason this is a area for a state park is because of the hills that it is made up of. No farming or Crawdad fields could be here. So as our days ride was coming to a end we were pushed to climb these hills. I had Alex and Janet get in front of me due to the fact a no legged man could walk up these hills faster than I can pedal up them. Once we arrived at he park office they went inside to claim our spot and I stayed with the pup, trying to get feeling back into my burning legs. Once they came out we made our way back to our camp site not knowing what hills lied ahead for us. It was a roller coaster of hills, up and down with some curves. As we approached the last hill I was putting some serious pressure on the pedals when all the sudden the chain snapped. This is a first for me and if it wouldn't of been for Alex I would of been stuck at the bottom of that hill fixing my chain but he was able to help me get it up over the hill and I coasted into our campsite. I was able to change out the busted links and get this thing back to operational condition. We collaborated on dinner that night and we all got a shower.<br />I plan on taking off this morning and keep moving. The weather is to nice not to push on. They are taking a couple days rest before they take off on their homeward stretch to Houston. I am only 100 miles from the LA, TX boarder and am excited to make it to the big state. I have decided that we will start doing some early morning riding now that it is getting hot out. I hope to get on the road by 4 am and pedal till about noon before stopping for the day. I thought of this because when I lived in Phoenix AZ for a summer I was framing houses and we would get to work at like 3 am and get done around noon to avoid the hot weather. I have got some reflective tape to put on the back plus all my lights so hopefully this will be enough for the cars to see me and not hit me.<br />It has been fun riding with this great couple and hope to met up with more riders along my travels. I wish them all the best and thank them for all the great memories. I hope that someday when I do this again I can bring along a special someone!<br /><br />Till next time<br />Love and Licks<br />Sean and Cooper<br /></div>Rickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2101458466002915183.post-11589772376968721182010-03-10T18:54:00.000-08:002010-03-10T20:47:58.132-08:00Rolling out of Baton RougeSo I spent Sunday rolling around BR checking out this and that. I met up with the BR Bike Polo team to watch a couple games. I took some pics but had to leave because Coop was going nuts not being able to chase the Polo ball. We headed over to <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">LSU</span> campus and took in this historic school. It was a beautiful day and lots of people were out enjoying the weather. People had seen the news cast and would yell out at us. "GOOD LUCK, WAY TO GO, CAN I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH, AND CAN I PET COOPER." It is strange to me, I never planned on this being a big deal. I started this blog for my friends, family and all the people I will meet. But now people all over the country are hearing about us and even some people overseas have even started following us. <br /> That night Travis hosted a Vegan potluck dinner. Travis has been a Vegan for sometime now and wants to sometime open up his own Vegan Cajun restaurant. He had been feeding me all weekend and I think he is on to a great start. After everyone departed we did a little work on the chain and talked about what gear I had. I have never done any sort of tour cycling before. I am prepared for living outdoors and surviving, but as far as the bike thing goes I'm a rookie. He was shocked to hear that I didn't a patch kit, spare tire and only carried one replacement tube. He hooked me up with all sorts of stuff I would need. He asked what way I was planning on taking out of town. I told him I was planning on hitting up the 190 bridge and keep heading. He sat down in front of the computer and showed me the route I was planning on taking both the bridges didn't have shoulders and are huge. He also pointed out where 90 and I 10 hooked up for about 30 mile for the swamp bridge. He convinced me I needed to head north to St. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Francisville</span> and grab the ferry. I took his advice, he hadn't steered me wrong yet, so I packed up all my new gear and headed out. As I headed north on 61 people would stop me to talk about seeing me on the news and wanting to meet us. It really slowed us down getting out of town and trying to get some road behind us. The forecast for the next 3 days was not dry at all so I really wanted to go. We made it to <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Zackary</span> LA and I saw a sign for a water ski school. I figured that I would be able to work my way back and find a good spot to camp. As I rode down the winding road I came to the ski school I pulled up and asked one of the guys working on a boat about some kind of dry camping spot he might know about. He talked it over with one of his coworkers and they decided I could camp under the big building that housed 20 some boats. I sit up the tent between two huge Master Craft boats and strung out the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">rainfly</span> to the trailers. We slept good and stayed dry during the nightly showers.<br /> The next morning I talked to Andy about the weather. He said it looked like the cell had moved on and I should be dry for the day. I only had 15 miles to go to get to St <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">Francisville</span> to catch the ferry. I was able to pack up quickly because we were dry and we got to moving. Spring is here. The birds chirping, the humidity in the air, and the thunder rolling in the distance. It turns out the weather changes about every hour down here, so the storm made its way in. It took us about 5 hours to go that last 15 miles, because we would stop and take shelter and cover the ride whenever it would start up. Once we got to St <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">Francisville</span> we made our way to the ferry. Before we got to far, a city truck pulled up and asked us to pull over, a couple of big '<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">ol</span> boys stepped out and said they had seen us on the news. They asked what are plan was, I said I needed to figure out if I should camp on this side of river or the other. Butch told me I should camp in the Gazebo in the town park, I asked if it would be a problem, so he put in a call to make sure. We got the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">ok</span> and we headed over there. I had asked John where the dollar store was and he asked what I needed I said just some more <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">Ramen</span>. He told me to go get set up and they would go for me. I did as I was told and they showed up with a dozen packs of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">Ramen</span>, 6 cans of tuna and a couple cans of dog food. I thank them for the gifts and they took off. After we had got the tent tied up under the Gazebo and truck pulled up and a guy and his two <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">daughters</span> walked up to us. Jeremy had told his daughter <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-error">Kelsie</span> and Katherine about seeing us on the news and that he had seen us in the park. They were excited to met us and get a picture. After I explained our planned route, Jeremy said if I was in town another night I was more than welcome to stay with him and his family. I said if I'm around I'm in. He gave me his info and said goodnight. I had strung up the Hammock that I had gotten from Pancake George between the pillars around the Gazebo and was reading a book when 3 high school seniors came strolling <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-error">thru</span> the park. They saw us and came up to question us on what we were doing. I explained to them of my plan and they where really <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">intrigued</span> on how we survived everyday. We chatted for a bit more and said our goodbyes. I got back in the Hammock and was reading when about 30 minutes later they came back with a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">sack full</span> of goods they had raided from one of their parents house. Sleeve of crackers, some soda, cheese slices, and some leftover rice and meat. I thank them over and over and it made me happy to know these high school kids had kindness in their hearts. It scares me sometimes when I see these kids now a days who are just punks. The stuff they get away with my parents would of strung me up for doing. I went to bed that night with <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_15" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">hopeful</span> thoughts of our nations future.<br />In the morning I woke to find a guy sitting on a picnic table not to far away, once we stepped out of the tent he came over and said hello and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_16" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">plugged</span> in his laptop. He is a writer and is getting ready to head north for the summer and work on some of his stories. We talked a bit and I found out he lives <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_17" class="blsp-spelling-error">a lot</span> like me. In a tent and just getting by on kindness. I got to packing up and decided that I had to much <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_18" class="blsp-spelling-error">Ramen</span> and Tuna so I packed him up some and gave it to him. He was really <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_19" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">grateful</span> for the food and thanked us over and over. I assured him its the least I can do to keep the karma going. He headed over to the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_20" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">library</span> and we finished packing up. I needed to head over to the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_21" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">library</span> and do some typing. I got to sit down for a hour or so and got things down. After some typing I had worked up an <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_22" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">appetite</span> and headed over to the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_23" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Magnolia</span> Cafe. As we parked out front I looked up and saw Janet standing on the porch waving our way. It seems that Janet and Alex had been in town a couple days and are planning on catching the Ferry in the morning so I plan on meeting up with them. When we stepped outside Alex pointed out a tear that I had in my back tire. Good thing I had gotten the spare from Travis. I headed over to the auto shop and borrowed their jack and changed out the tire. After the change out I got the call from Jeremy, he met up with us on one of his three choppers and led us back to his house. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_24" class="blsp-spelling-error">Kelsie</span> was outside waiting for our arrival, I pulled up and started unloading what was needed for a shower and needed to be washed. We gave Coop a bath outside and he was not happy with it or me at all, he avoided me for a good half hour afterwards. Before we went inside Jeremy helped me adjust my back brake, I had put some wear on the pads and needed to remove a shim to bring the pad closer to the disc. Now I can stop on a dime and was ready for a shower. With laundry done, Coop clean, me clean, both feed and relaxing in this great home. Thanks Jeremy, Angela, Katherine, and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_25" class="blsp-spelling-error">Kelsie</span>. Your a great family and hope we see each other again. <br />So my plan now is take the ferry and will be staying north of the swamps I will be going into TX around <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_26" class="blsp-spelling-error">DeRidder</span> LA, right about where Jasper TX is. This is the eastern most point of TX and with the new bicycle route on Google Maps it comes out to be about 1,000 miles from the East of TX to the West of TX via Austin. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_27" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">That's</span> gonna be about a month worth of pedalling. I am looking forward to it but need to get <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_28" class="blsp-spelling-error">thur</span> the dessert out west before it gets to hot for my dog. <br /><br />Till next time<br />Love and Licks<br />Sean And Cooper.Rickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2101458466002915183.post-47702440349612810162010-03-10T09:01:00.000-08:002010-03-10T18:54:48.151-08:00So I had skipped this little bit of the trip.Once I had woken up on the boat launch after getting kicked out of MS. I broke down camp and headed back into that awful state. I had to get pics of the fire department. After snapping a few I retraced my path to LA. Stopping off at the gas station right before the boarder. I got some coffee and a banana. When I stepped out of the store someone asked "what are you doing here?" I looked at him and recognized him from the night before, he was one of the county officials that was present for my deportation from MS. I told him I came back to take some pics. He asked "what for?" And I told him "I'm putting them up on the blog so everyone will know how you have treated me." He looked stunned and said "oh". I replied "next time you might want to think about how you treat strangers that are passing <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">thru</span>" With that said we made our way back into LA. We headed west on 190 and made our way into <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Slidell</span>, LA. We stopped off and picked up some supplies. It was about 3 in the afternoon and I stopped off at the Police Station to ask if there was a safe spot in town for me to camp. He said not really and told me to keep heading west out of the city and find something out there. Before I pushed on I went across the street to the Fire Department. I have come to realize that the water from the FD is better than most taps in town. I guess they run the water more so it doesn't have that well taste to it. While filling up my water jug I got to talking to one of the Fireman and he told me about the Tammany Trace Bike Trail. It's about 30 miles long and is all car free. Most sections you can't even hear the cars. By the time I reached the Trail Head of the bike super highway, it was getting dark. I found a spot in the bushes out of sight and set up. As I was getting everything put together a guy walked up to say hello. His name was Butch and he lived off the trail. We started chatting and he told me how he wanted to get out and do the same thing. But he was going to support himself my selling <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">nicknacs</span>. The dad from Happy Days has that commercial about junk and stuff in a warehouse that you can sell. So his idea is to pack it up and go to nursing homes and retirement communities and sell his goods to them. Its a good idea and wish him luck. The next day we had rain in the forecast for the afternoon. We had about 12 miles to get to <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Fontainebleau</span> State Park. Butch met up with us as we were making moves and said he wanted to ride with us to the State Park. As we rode he gave me the history of the area and the trail. We would encounter trail rangers and they all would tell me dogs are not allowed on the trail. This blew my mind that the community would allow such a ridiculous idea, not being able to take your dog on a nature trail. I explained each time what we are doing and how nice it is not to have cars around. And they agreed as long as I kept in up in the back. Once they were out of sight, I would harness Coop and let him walk along side. Its just to nice not to let him enjoy the car free trail. Once we arrived at the State Park, I went inside to see about work for a site. I only had $5 to my name at the time and needed another $10 to camp. The park ranger said he couldn't help, but a couple more miles up the trail in <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">Mandaville</span> there is a place called "The Samaritan Center" he said that they would be able to help me some how. I made my way in and found the building. I went inside and a nice young lady asked "how can I help you?" I explained what I was doing and the predicament I was in and told her I wasn't sure if they could help. She said sure and we sat down to talk about it. After some questions she wrote a check for a one night stay at the park. I was grateful but a little ashamed. I choose to live this way and this place is here to help those who don't have a choice. But I did need a place to camp, a shower and do some laundry. I made my way back to the State Park and got my site. As I made my way into the camp ground it started to rain. I rushed to the site and quickly set up the tent and unloaded what we would need. I wasn't able to really look at the lay of the land and within a hour we where in a small pond. That has been the biggest problem down here is finding a safe, dry spot. As soon as the rain let up I moved the tent up on the asphalt drive and strung out the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">rainfly</span> with bungee cords, and climbed back in as it started to dump again. At about midnight it stopped and Coop and I climbed out to stretch and eat our super late dinner. The following day some of the campers came by to chat and see what we where all about. Some people donated some money to us and I had just enough for another night at the state park. Everything was soaked and I needed to dry it all out. That afternoon and night Coop and I hung out in the Laundry Room and I tried to work on the blog. But every 15 minutes or so someone would come in and I would chat with them. People would return with treats for Coop and food for me. One of the people who came in was Janet. Her and her friend Alex are pedaling around the south east. They started in Oct in GA and have <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">zigzaged</span> about GA, FL, AL, MS, and LA. on their way into TX. This is their Journal. Check it out. <a href="http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=RrzKj&doc_id=6113&v=Ak">http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=RrzKj&doc_id=6113&v=<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">Ak</span></a><br /><br /><br />It was nice to see other travelers. We shared stories and found out we are both big fans of <a href="http://www.pathlesspedaled.com/">http://www.pathlesspedaled.com/</a> We are both excited to meet these two. After the chat one of the camp host came in and said dogs aren't allowed in the Laundry room. I explained to the dude we live in a tent and are trying to stay dry and warm for a bit. He wasn't hearing it and booted us out. As we made our way back to the tent Chris and Bill stopped me and invited us in for a glass of wine and some snacks. They both are rubber tramps and meet on the road and met up now and again. They wanted to hear of my adventure and they told me more about Katrina. I went back to the tent with a warm feeling from the wine and friendship and slept like a baby.<br /><br /><br />The next morning we got up early. Coop really stunk and someone had given us some dog shampoo. So we got into the showers, and cleaned him up. The great thing about most State Parks is they always have a Handicap shower with the shower head on the hose. This makes it really easy to clean him up. After his shower I got cleaned up and we headed back to the tent to pack up. When I stepped out I was approached by the park ranger I had met the first day in the office. He asked why I had Cooper in the shower house. I told him that I can't leave him in the tent because he will tear it up trying to get out, and if I leave him tied up outside he will bark and throw a fit and wake everyone up. He said he didn't care and said that some people had told him I was Panhandling around the campground. I was blown away by this. I don't beg or ask for anything. The nerve of some people. I said whatever and walked away.<br /><br /><br />I broke down the tent, packed up and got the hell out of there. We got back on the trail and headed west I needed to stop off at the Library and do some typing. On the way into town I stopped to talk to Earl. He works on oil drill platforms as a wielder in the gulf and we got to chatting about tour cycling. After our conversation I went to the Library and started clacking the keys. About 20 minutes later Earl tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to step outside. He had went home and packed up a bunch of canned Chicken, Turkey, Tuna, Salmon, and Sardines. It totaled about 8 lbs. of goods. I was happy for the food but that was a lot of goods. After that we got back on the trail. We met up with a daughter, father ride. I can't remember her name but she is in her senior year at <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">UMass</span> and her dad is Hal. I stopped and talked to them for a second and then they took off down the trail. After a bit we made our way into <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">Abita</span> Springs. The name seemed so familiar to me. As we made our way <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error">thru</span> this town I heard someone yell my name. I looked around and saw Hal sitting outside <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-error">Abita</span> Brewery with his daughter. I said hello and he asked if I wanted a beer. I said sure and we pulled up. This is why I recognized the name I have had this beer in NYC. I sat down and Hal got me a beer. We chatted and talked about all sorts of stuff. After a couple pints, we all got back on the road. Not to far down the line I found a good camping spot and sit up for the night.<br /><br /><br />The next day we made our way towards Hammond LA. I stopped off at the FD to fill up on water, and chatted with a couple of brave guys. They sent some muffins with me and lots of good lucks. As I got into Hammond a couple asked me to pull over to talk. Richard and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-error">Lanee</span> Landry were very excited to meet us. Richard was cyclist back in the day and the two of them have 6 dogs so they were all about us. We talked and they informed me that they are in the movie making biz. They said they would call ahead to Baton Rouge to the news media and let them know I was on my way in. I said thanks for the help and got to getting. That night as I was looking about for my resting stop a red BMW pulled over and stopped me. Shane Mutter, was also a cyclist and wanted to hear my story. We exchange info and he got going on the interstate and we made our way down to road. I found a church a couple miles down the road with a huge yard. I set up and turned on my phone, I had a text from Shane asking where it was I camping, he wanted to stop by in the morning and drop some stuff off to us, and wanted to know if I needed anything else. I feel <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">weird</span> when people ask if I need anything, I don't like asking for anything. He assured me he wanted to help and would get anything I needed. So I asked for a half dozen hookers and a gallon of Jameson. Kidding, I asked for a bag of dog food and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">that's</span> all we needed. In the morning Shane pulled up and brought us a big bag of dog food, 2 gallons of water and a bunch of travel sized soaps, shampoo, and other personal <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_15" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">hygiene</span> products. We talked some more as I packed up and Shane told me how excited he was to meet me. He really digs what we are doing. He took off to work and we made our way towards Baton Rouge.<br />So thanks to everyone that I met in the LA. Now that have been in AL, MS, and LA. I now see them as AL and LA as legs and MS is where the sun don't shine!<br /><br />Till next time<br />Love and Licks<br />Sean and Cooper.Rickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2101458466002915183.post-67797847973561026562010-03-06T16:52:00.000-08:002010-03-10T20:58:56.434-08:00MID CITY BIKES<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">2560 Government St.<br />Baton Rouge, L.A.<br />225.636.5776<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxxFDRGtFw96L1ue42ogKnlhLq8XqTvqy8andRj62WhyphenhyphenIuyokLd_WUYBhjSh6RyMeGmjR3KeyRRQL1Tx83TAIUpNCZz1M5QSiUZppX2BsgIZhsU-xdeast_i46N1mjWNBk4K2MVNdIKacR/s1600-h/0a.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446091489425025506" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxxFDRGtFw96L1ue42ogKnlhLq8XqTvqy8andRj62WhyphenhyphenIuyokLd_WUYBhjSh6RyMeGmjR3KeyRRQL1Tx83TAIUpNCZz1M5QSiUZppX2BsgIZhsU-xdeast_i46N1mjWNBk4K2MVNdIKacR/s400/0a.jpg" /></a><br /></div><p><br /><br /><br />The past couple of days have been very stressful. Mostly due to the unruly traffic that has been screaming up from behind on this shoulderless road labeled highway 190. These people behind the wheel of some of the biggest, loudest pickup trucks try to push me and the oncoming traffic right off the road, they have succeeded twice in the past 3 days. This road 190 is at a gradual climb, most people in a car don't realize it, but when your hauling 700+ lbs into the wind you feel it with every turn of the pedals. Coop has a sore paw, and has been on the DL for 3 days now. Last week we had a trail for a couple of days so he got to run a lot and I am afraid we might of over done it on him. I should of known better not to let him run so much, but it was so nice to be able to cruise without the presence or even the sound of cars. So I don't mind hauling him too, and he seems to know he needs the rest.<br />I have met a lot of people over these 3 days and they have put the media in touch with me. This is the first time a TV news station has done anything on us, and both channel 2 and 9 did a piece. Channel 9 did one on Friday evening when I was about 15 miles from BR. Allan Tumey does of a piece geared towards travel. It will be online on Monday so I'll link it then. As far as channel 2 goes, they some how had heard about me and a young lady contacted me on Facebook and wanted to set something up. I said sure and asked if she knew of a good bike shop that would be able to help me and my Trike. She suggested Mid City Bikes, this isn't the first time I have heard this name before. The last couple of day as I have neared BR I have encountered some folks on bikes or people who are really into the bike life. Most of them that where familiar with the area had suggested Mid City Bikes. I had called Travis the owner and only employee and asked if it would be cool if I stopped in and got some help, and had Channel 2 met me there for the interview. He said sure he was eager to hear more of my adventure. So I got directions and headed in.<br />As I pulled up to the big yellow building across from the Texaco station on Gov't St. I saw a perfect parking spot right in front of Chopper Style Tricycle and next to the old school Thai style Rickshaw, with the seat for the passenger up front, and the operator sits behind them. I strolled in and I was greeted with a "hello Rickshaw Man." Travis had looked at the blog and seen what we where all about. He stopped what he was doing and came outside to check it all out. We talked about what I needed and he said no problem. He was more than happy to help. He stepped back in the shop and put one of his cronies on the job of helping me out. We added some bar extensions for a more comfy hand position, and a half link for the saggin chain, and he stocked me up on some spare tubes, spare tire, patch kit, and a spare half link. As we finished up Rob Krieger from Channel 2 showed up for the interview. He was very excited about what we are doing. We decided to angle this interview towards the kindness of this trip. What some people don't get is I survive day to day from the kindness of strangers. When I left NYC I had about $500 to my name that ran out pretty fast due to the fact that I had to get stuff that I needed once I left. I had planned to stop off and work here and there doing whatever needed to be done to make a honest buck. But I have been able to get by with what people decide to share with me. Like I have said over and over, I only ask for water and directions. I don't beg or panhandle, I'm not a mooch or a freeloader. People who have met me and some who have never met me have donated money to us via Paypal. A couple bucks here and there go along way when you shop at Dollar General! And because Travis believes in what we are doing he helped me out by giving me the parts and materials needed to make my ride more comfortable. And he is also putting us up for the night.<br />Travis Hans has been at this location for just over a year now. He has one hell of a shop. When we walked in to the left of us was about half a dozen road bikes and other motor type bikes. To the right of me is a stage with 2 sets of turn tables and a 8 piece drum set. This place was a music store before he moved in and he decided to keep the stage so him and his friends could spin records or beat on the skins when ever they needed to. He has all sorts of cruisers around the shop. A great section of road bikes and BMX. The greatest thing about this shop is whats going on in the back. See Travis and a couple of very good friends have been making their own line of BMX bikes and plan on starting on some road bike frames soon. He has a TIG welder, a huge Mill and a massive Lathe. All used to make his bikes and fix yours. The Mid City BMX line is strong, light, and fun to ride. Travis is here 6 days a wk from 10am-6pm, but if you have a problem give him a call and if he is still around he'll unlock the door and give ya a hand. Travis was more than happy to give us a hand keeping up with the notion that this nation is a kind and giving one that is being proved to me everyday of this amazing trip.<br /><br />So thanks to Travis, Rob from Channel 2, Allan from 9, all the people I met at or around the Hammond LA. You all know who you are. I wish I could give a personal shout out to all the people I encounter everyday, but I have honestly talked to thousands of people in the past 5 months. Wow that in itself blows me away!! So thanks to everyone we have ever met and have never met but follow us.<br /><br />Here are some links for you viewing pleasure.<br /><br />Channel 2 WBRZ News<br /><a href="http://www.wbrz.com/video/">http://www.wbrz.com/video/</a><br /></p><p>Channel 9 WAFB News 'Tumey's Travels' Its under March 9th. </p><p><a href="http://www.wafb.com/Global/category.asp?C=20267&nav=menu57_8_1">http://www.wafb.com/Global/category.asp?C=20267&nav=menu57_8_1</a></p><p><br />Mid City Bikes<br /><a href="http://www.midcitybikes.com/">http://www.midcitybikes.com/</a><br /><br />This one is of the building of a Mid City BMX Bike, and then it being rode around Baton Rouge. Its posted on Vimeo, a great site.<br /><a href="http://vimeo.com/8855507">http://vimeo.com/8855507</a><br /><br /><br />Till next time<br />Love and Licks<br />Sean and Cooper </p>Rickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2101458466002915183.post-35248385492765376722010-03-05T10:17:00.000-08:002010-03-05T11:50:07.581-08:00SORRY FOR THE DELAYThere is a new post in the works right now. I have been stopping everyday at a library to work on it for an hour. It takes me awhile to put all my thoughts into words. Please be patient with me. Right now I am about 30 miles east of Baton Rouge LA. It has been a slow up hill battle to get to the river basin of the lower Mississippi. Keep checking the next couple of days for a update.<br /><br />Love and licks<br />Sean and CoopRickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2101458466002915183.post-78513931953946440562010-03-02T07:30:00.000-08:002010-03-10T08:57:07.407-08:00WE GOT KICKED OUT OF MISSISSIPPIWe took off from Mobile on Saturday, February 20. My foot was still sore but I was able to pedal without too much discomfort. We had one last lunch at MELLOW MUSHROOM with Bucky, Todd, and Brad. After we ate, we made our way west on 90. There were more hills than I thought there would be. We made it to a huge cemetery that night—Lawn Haven. It's about ten miles from the Mississippi–Alabama border. There was rain in the forecast for the night. We made our way back into the thick of it all, trying to find a good hiding spot. We hadn't been on the move for four weeks, now so we were trying to get back into the groove of things.<br /><br /><br />I set up the tent and elevated my foot. The hills that day had put a lot of pressure on the toe joints that were still sore. The following day we took it easy. It rained on and off so we were able to get out and throw the tennis ball around this huge graveyard, and I did some rearranging with the rig. I've grown to enjoy the game of Tetris that this thing has become.<br /><br /><br />The following day we made our way into Mississippi. As we crossed into this unknown state, I was encountered by a couple of cars while we had pulled off the road to take a break. The first car had a couple of guys that were interested in the rig. They were trying to design their own to use around the shop and town. They asked questions and took some pictures. Then a little red pickup truck pulls up and Charles jumps out to say hello. He had ridden from Florida up to Massachusetts back in the ’80s, and he was interested in my travels. We talked for a bit, and then he asked if I would like some lunch. He informed me of a casino right over the bridge in Biloxi, which was about eight miles down the road. I told him it would take me just over an hour to get there, so he took off to run some errands and we took off down the shoulder.<br /><br /><br />The shoulders down here are pretty wide and smooth. But this stretch was pretty chewed up, so it took me close to two hours to get to the bridge. (There are some pretty huge, long bridges down here in the gulf.) We made our way up with no problem. Once at the top, I snapped some pictures. There was a huge amount of smoke in the air that day due to some controlled burning at a state park just north of us. I loaded Cooper up in the ride to prepare for our descent. As we started rolling, we were forced to ride through a huge pile of glass. I knew right away I was going to get a flat and sure enough the bike started to pull to the right. I came to a stop and took a looksee at the damage. I decided there was enough air in the tire to make it slowly down the bridge. But the joints in the bridge had other ideas. The first one my chain fell off, the second one I lost my sunglasses, and the third gave out a clunk on the rim. So we came to a stop and walked it down the rest of the way. As we got to the end of the bridge I spotted Charles on the corner waiting for me. He helped me push it up the hill to the Valet area and they directed me to the corner no charge. We got Coop put up with a couple treats and a bowl of water. We went inside to get our grub on. This was the perfect spot to take a cyclist to, all you can eat buffet. I loaded up 4 plates of protein, carbs, calories, and fat. Everything you gals try to avoid! As we ate we talked about his trip back in the '80s, and how he has the itch to "get out there one last time." I assured him that if he got out there it wouldn't be the last time. I can't see myself not doing this again. Granted I am going to take some time off the rest up, but it would be nice to do again. Hopefully with some other people, or maybe a family. After our meal we headed outside to get the tire changed. When we walked up to the rig, Coop was curled up taking a snooze. This is such a great dog. Granted he can be a bit of a spaz at times, but he doesn't bark hardly at all unless its needed. He listens for the most part, but when I do tell him to come he sometimes takes his sweet ass time about it sniffing and peeing as he zigzags his way back to me. But he is very well behaved and chill. I love that dog so much and couldn't imagine doing this trip without him. On the other side of the bridge there is a huge parking lot and a elevated patch of grass under a big oak tree. Charles came over and let me use his jack so I didn't have to unload everything. His dog was with him in the truck. So while we worked on the tire and talked about him going with his dog on the road the pups got to run around and play. After everything was running smooth and I made a mental note to find a half link for my saggin chain. Charles took off and I put up the tent and we had dinner. Well Coop had dinner I was stuffed so I had a snickers. It rained that night so the following day it took awhile to dry out the tent.<br />All along the gulf of MS there is a beach path the runs inches from the white fine sand that you can only find in the gulf. They rake the beaches down here once a week section by section. That's gotta cost. So this pathway is nice and wide, smooth and flat. They have new piers along them. One of the piers shot out about 40 yds over the water so we went down to take a look. While we where down there a guy came by on his bike to say hi. His name is Johnny, and he is a window washer and covers about 300 miles a wk all on his bike. He has a couple buckets up front and the pole along the top bar of the frame. We got to taking about the bike path and the new piers, he said its really the only thing being done down here right now. He said after Katrina its been a slow rebuild for most of the gulf. This part of the gulf got demolished by the winds. New Orleans got flooded. There is still pieces of people lives hanging in the trees and tangled in the bushes. He explained that the people of the gulf of MS are defeated. That's why they are kinda stand offish and bitter. After our chat I made my way west. We had been moving along for sometime now just going about 5 mph when I decided to take a break. My foot is doing much better but if I'm on the pedals for too long all the blood rushes to it and it begins to throb so I laid on one of the benches that are scattered along the beach path and put my foot up. While I laid there I let my mind wander to all the places I've been, the things I've seen and the people I have met. I have been on the road for 5 months now. I have gone about 2,700 miles, in about 2 1/2 months. I was in Mobile for a month and have stayed here and there for about a month and a half worth of time. But by my calculations that I did before I left I should be getting into New Mexico about now. So I am a little behind, and I think this might take longer than a year to complete which means I will be most likely pedaling in the snow in Pennsylvania. All part of the adventure. So here I am laying on the bench resting my foot and taking in some of that good 'ol vitamin D when I hear "how ya doing?" I sit up and block westward sun from my eyes to see a great site. Here was George from Tallahassee on a road bike with a trailer on his homeward leg of his trip east. I jumped up and excitedly introduced myself to the man. We admired each others rides as we told each other our routes. He was amazed at the Tricycle Tank that I have been pedaling about, and I was envious of his light weight and sleek mode of transportation. We talked for a bit and decided to call it a early day and find a good camping spot for the night and hang out. I suggested the beach as a good place to camp but he informed me he needed trees due to he fact he sleeps in a Hammock every night. I was blown away by this. I was excited to see his complete setup and pick his brain for tips and helpful advice. We made our way back towards the east where I had noticed a grove of trees in a good spot. We pulled in and set up our respective camps. I kept a eye on his progress of setting up and was truly impressed in his setup. Huge rain fly over his double sling hammock encased in a bug net. He had modified his mummy style sleeping bag to have room to bend his knees and had it secured at both ends to prevent slippage. He didn't have a good pair of wool socks, and I had an extra pair to spare and threw them his way, and in return he gave me a hammock that he had been carrying and not using. He told me it makes a great swing seat at the end of the long day. I don't have a seat other than my bike seat so I am looking forward to using it instead of sitting on the ground. That night for dinner we each made something from our food supply and split it between the two of us. I made a tomato sauce with sardines in a hot tomato sauce, over mini shells. He made a mushroom and kelp soup with buckwheat noddles. I had never thought of going to a Asian market to get food. A lot of the dry goods are dehydrated veg and fish and all sorts of nutritious stuff. We sat around the fire sharing stories until it was time to tuck in.<br />The next morning I got up early and fed the pooch. George got up and asked if I wanted pancakes? "Hell yeah bub. I'll make the coffee!" He pulled out a cast iron sizzle platter, like the ones at Applebees that the Fajitas come on and got out some pancake batter. He asked if I had any instant oatmeal and I did. So he mixed in a couple packs for flavor and texture. We made a fire and I got to boiling water as he heated up the cast iron skillet. We both have travel french presses for coffee and the pancakes where great. After a filling breakfast we broke down camp. Bucky and Todd where meeting up with me that morning to ride with me for a day to Bay St. Louis. Just as we had finished packing up Bucky and Todd pulled up. I made introductions and we swapped rides for a minute to see what it was like. We said our goodbyes and he headed east and I headed west. I wish we could of been going the same way and spend some days together. Hopefully soon I will find someone who is on the same path going the same direction as me. The 3 of us set out in that westerly way that I am headed and road along the beach path all the way to the bridges stopping here and there to take a break and take it in. As we approached the first bridge we were happy to see a good sized bike lane on the side. As we got to the beginning of it I noticed that it was barely going to be wide enough for us. As I made the slow ride up the bridge I cringed because on the edges of the path it was littered with broken beer bottles, and because it was so tight I wasn't able to avoid it to well and could hear my back tire running over it. When we reached the top I stopped to take some pics. Bucky and Todd had gotten to the top a couple of minuets before me and as I was snapping pics they slowly started to creep forward. I turned to them and jokingly asked "are you rushing my adventure? You guys wanted to ride with me and this is what I do. I go slow and stop a lot!!" They laughed and we got to moving on. We came down the bridge and my chain popped off again. At the bottom I got off and put it back on and crossed the street, as I came up the ramp to the sidewalk that lead to the bridge bike lane it popped off again. I keep stopping at these bike shops and either they are out of business or don't have a half link for that chain. After I had got it back on we made our way up the bridge. This one was newer due to the fact that Katrina had claimed the original one as hers. So the new one had a much wider and litter free bike lane. What a sight from the top. We made our way down into Bay St. Louis and decided to head downtown to find a place to eat. We rode thru town asking where a good place would be to eat to whoever we saw. People kept saying to head over to Benigno's. Always ask a local for where the good stuff is. We parked out front and went inside and sat at the table by the window so Coop could keep and eye on me. People are amazed at how well behaved he is and how he just sits there and watches me wherever I go. But I have learned to park up front so he won't bark for his dad. We got the menu and some Sweet Tea, I didn't know what to get so many great choices. Po-boys, Muffaletta, Fried Sweet Potatoes, Fried Pickles and so much more. I love Muffaletta and haven't had one in over a year I'm sure. So I ordered a Cat Fish Po-boy for there with a order of fried Pickles and got a 1/4 Muffaletta to go for my dinner that night. While Todd, Bucky and I ate, Todd got a text from Lindsey she was on her way back from New Orleans on a biz trip and wanted to see where we were. He gave her directions and she was on her way. When the waitress came over she said her mom had read something about me somewhere in the paper a couple months ago. Its amazing how people are starting to hear about us before we get there. Lindsey showed up right as we where getting done with our lunch, we were all stuffed and having to get back on the bikes. The Fontenot family that owns this great eatery asked if I would bring Cooper in for a group picture under there sign that hung on the wall. They are planing on putting peoples pictures on the tables and we will be the first as soon as I can send it to them. (Its on the way as soon as I can down load it!) I said my goodbyes to Todd and Bucky, I will miss all my new friends that I have made on the road but I would have to say I'll miss Bucky the most. If it wasn't for his open mindedness and great personality I would of never stayed in mobile for 4 wks. Thanks again Mobile and mostly you Buck! The guys headed back the 13 miles they had ridden with me that day to Bucky's car trying to beat the rain that was moving in. Lindsey had time to kill and wanted to talk about a trip she is planing on taking with her daughter Ella in a month or so. She was my forward observer and drove 5 miles ahead to check on a State Park that I heard might be closed. She came back to me after I had gone a couple of miles and informed me that it was. There was a storm on the way in so I didn't want to sleep on the beach. But there is still a bunch of empty lots from houses that had been destroyed that never got rebuilt so I found a good one that would hide us from people and the wind. I set up everything and got into Lindsey jeep and she told me her idea. Ella will be going into K next year and so Lindsey wants to spend this spring and summer driving around the US and taking her to all the places a child should be taken. It brought back memories of my childhood when my grandparents from OK would take my sister and I on a trip somewhere in the US. We stayed in motels and had a cooler with lunch meat and snacks for the time in the car and my grandpa always drove, and my sister Vanessa and I would fight in the back. They taught me a lot about the US as a child and I thank them for putting this in me to want to go and see it. So I gave her as much advice as I could but she seemed to already know most of what I was getting at. I think they are going to have a blast and look forward to reading about their adventures on the blog she will be doing. Good Luck Gals!! As the rain started to fall we said our goodbyes, I'm glad I got to meet Lindsey and Ella, they make quite a team.<br />The rain came and went before sunrise and we got a move as soon as we were all dried up. I needed to go just under 30 miles that day to get to the LA state line. The ride was quite now that I was off the gulf and there was more hills in the days pedal. I didn't make it to the state line but did make it to PERLINGTON MS. Now the reason this is in caps is because they are the ones who kicked me out of the state. So we pull into this small community about a hour or so before sunset. I rode down the only paved road they have and saw a Fire Department, next to that was the community center with a wedding reception going on, and a couple blocks down was the church. The community center was out due to the reception, and I don't like to camp at churches on Saturday nights because the last thing these people need to see before going to pray is we crawling out of my tent and scratching my butt. So the Fire Department it was. I have stayed on many FD, PD and even hospital lawns before. This is considered a safe haven for road travelers. So I banged on the door and no answer, everything else was fenced off so I set up on the grass out front no more that 15 yards from the main road. I got the tent up Coop and I fed and crawled in to read. About an hour after sundown 3 cop cars and 4 POVs pulled up. I put on my shoes and was getting out of the tent as they all approached. Coop was barking like a mad dog and I told the lead cop "he'll keep barking till he gets to smell you and then he'll calm down, you gonna let him smell ya?" "Fine but if that dog bites anyone out here I put a bullet in his head." was his response. Not 'I'll shoot him' but "I'll put a bullet in his head." So right there I knew I had to walk softly with this crowd. They asked me what I was doing so I handed them my card with my info along with my ID and the cop stepped off to call in the numbers that goes with my name. I showed the rest of the group the sign on the back and explained of my travels, making sure to include some of the places that I have stayed like FD, PD and so on. My name came back clean and a couple of them stepped off to talk. One guy seemed interested in my travels so I answered some of his questions. I was thinking I was gonna be ok, when they two coppers came back to inform me I need to move on. "Why" I asked. They said it was "state property and that I was trespassing." I told them I and other travelers see it as a safe haven, and from some where in the back of the group I heard"Home land Security" "Give me a break" I hollered. I then said "I'm not vandalizing the place, I'm picking up my trash, I'm not building a fire, and I didn't take a dump on your doorstep. When I leave in the morning you won't even be able to tell I was here." They said no good. "Fine, I'll go down to the church then." "No your not welcome here in this community so you might as well get moving on over to Lowezanne." was his response "Your kicking me out of the state?!?" I asked. "Yes sir." My New York mentality flew out of my mouth. "So your telling me I have to load up this giant tricycle and pedal down a shoulderless road over shoulderless bridges in the dark in a state that is known for running down cyclist with their trucks?" "Yes sir, there is a boat launch about 3 miles from here you can camp at." I started swearing and saying how messed up it was. When one of them tossed out the "calm down or I'll arrest you." I literally bit my tongue on that one. I asked if they were going to give us an escort over the bridges and his response was "you have enough lights on the back of this thing you'll be fine. YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!! What a bunch of backwoods hillbilly assholes. So that's what we did. It was scary and the cars where flying by. We made it to the boat launch and set it up again. The whole night people would pull off there to pee or make a phone call. One truck even backed up right next to the tent and they had sex. I rolled a cig and stepped out to mess with them but he didn't miss a stroke and she threw up a wave.<br />So that's how we got kicked out of the state of Mississippi. If you would like to let Senator Thad Cochran know how you feel about it follow this link to his contact page and send him a message http://cochran.senate.gov/email.html . That put a real sour taste in my mouth and if it wasn't for Casino Charles, Johnny on the pier, pancake George, the ride with my friends and the great lunch, I would say the hell with MS. But its all about the adventure.<br /><br />Till next time<br />love and licks<br />Sean and CooperRickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2101458466002915183.post-36615903713223499702010-02-17T13:19:00.000-08:002010-02-18T14:08:04.608-08:00Whats Going onSo this is the story of what happened the past couple of days.<br /><br />So Friday it snowed. I drove north with Lindsey and her daughter Ella to a random house to play in the yard. Ella had never seen snow and the last time it snowed in the Mobile area was way back in '96. After a day in the snow, I made up some Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Tomato Soup, and Hot Coco. Man that took me back to the days in Iowa when my mom would go thru two loaves of bread to make sandwiches for our family. Ella refused to try the soup, she had never had it before and was determined not to like it. Even after I had explained to her that it was basically a slice of pizza but in sandwich and soup form and if she dipped her her sandwich in the soup it would be great. Nope.<br /><br />Saturday was beautiful. It got up to the low 60s. Its crazy to think that just the day before it had snowed, what's even crazier, is that EVERY state EXCEPT Hawaii got snow fall that day. Don't believe me? Google it!. We went and got breakfast at Denny's. I usually don't eat at places like this but they had a free Grand Slam Breakfast on your birthday. After that slamming breakfast we headed over to the flea Market. Will actually Bucky and I headed over to the Flea Market, while Lindsey and Ella took Cooper to the park. I didn't worry to much about them, Coop is a good boy and Lindsey seems to have gotten to know him and they are comfortable with one another. Coop on the other hand was pretty riled up and was a little over whelming for Lindsey. He was pulling at the leash and Ella kept asking her if she could hold the leash!! They ended up going to another park and Cooper was trying to break into the tennis courts to try to stuff as many balls into his mouth as possible. I have seen Coop put 3 tennis balls in his mouth at once! They ended up calling it a day and headed back to her apt. Buck and I on the other hand where having a great time at the Flea Market. Bucky likes vinyl records. So there is a couple booths that have them. He gets the classic records of jazz, funk, and just good instrumentals. He also gets them for the comic aspect of the covers. He has a wall in his living room that is all funny covers. After finding a solid 20 we walked around on the look for some baby dolls. Buck is a very creative person and something he is working on is a army of Frangelica liquor bottles topped with baby doll heads and painted to be all sorts of people. Samurais, Voodoo dolls, and just plain crazy and weird. After the walk thru we headed back to the crib. I needed a nap and Bucky had to work that night. When I woke up I made some dinner and headed over to Lindsay's house. She was going to be my driver for the evening. When I arrived her neighbour and friend Shannon gave me a gift. She is a very crafty person. She makes a lot a jewelry and dream catchers. She is a hippy!! Anyway she had made me a mini dream catcher for the tent. I can't wait to put it in there and its small enough I won't have to take it out every time. She is also working on a hemp necklace for Cooper. She is excited to know that something she made with her hands is going to be traveling around with us. Shannon watched Ella and we headed down to the MUSIC BOX. It was a great night of music. The DJ was playing some fun beats that everyone was getting down on and then about 11 the SUPER NICE BROS. took the stage. Once again they played a great show. Its just some beats, some great lyrics and an awesome vibe. After jamming out we headed over to PADDY O'TOOLES to see Bucky and have a couple more. It was a nice day and night and I am glad I remember it all.<br /><br />Sunday brought on Joe Cain Day. Joe Cain revitalized Mardi Gras after the Civil War. And his day is the the only parade open to the public. This is the longest parade of Mardi Gras and the drunkest. People get on the streets at about 8 am and get to getting down. Its a giant tail gate party. Every where we rode we would see people grilling, drinking and just having a good 'ol time. House parties everywhere, tail gate parties growing and growing as the day went on. During the day when not riding around we set up next to the OK BICYCLE SHOP, there was a couple of parties going on outside and bikes all around. People would stop and talk to us and just share the good mood that was flowing all over the place. When the sun started to drop I took Coop back to the shotgun house, feed him and left him at home. Dogs aren't allowed downtown in the thick of it all and aren't allowed along the parade route. So most of the day was avoiding the big crowds, which is fine my me. But when the sun went down I wanted to get down in the pit of it all. So with the pup left behind and a couple of coolers packed full of beers that I planed to sell, I made my way downtown. As I approached Bienville Square the streets became more and more filled with people. I made my way into the middle of the madness and took in the sights. People everywhere, on the sidewalks, in the streets, up on the balconies, spilling out of the bars and asleep in the shadows! Beads and Beer getting tossed about. Music bumping from the huge speakers. Peoples staggering around, smiling and singing. After I got parked, people started showing up on the bikes. Bucky, Lindsay, Brad, Stein, and I had a line of them in the street. I, with a lot of help from Lindsay, sold a good amount of beers. We made double of the initial investment so that was nice. During the evening people would break off and go on a ride thru the crowd to get a better look. I went on one of these rides and had stopped to take a couple pics, I then tried to catch up to homeboy and while standing up on the pedals and pushing down hard the chain came off right at the top of the rotation, so my left foot was smashed into the pavement and the pedal rolled over my foot bending my toes backward. I have never experienced a pain like that before and was sure that I had broken my toes. I made my way back to the gang and sold beer for a hour or so and then headed home. I iced and elevated my foot that night.<br /><br />When I woke up on Monday I looked down to see a swollen, bruised and unrecognizable foot. I made some calls and determined that going to a hospital was my best bet. I figured that I was going to have to fork over some money at some point so I might as well be billed from a hospital, rather than a county health clinic. I am waiting it out to see what is to happen after 2012. After getting a couple of x-rays and lots of squeezing on my foot the Dr. determined that I wasn't broken. I was very sprained and was given a Rx and told to stay off it for a couple days. I headed home to rest and hoped for a day filled with Fat Tuesday festivities.<br /><br />Tuesday morning when I woke up I did an evaluation on my left foot and decided it wasn't a good idea to put any pressure on my toes. I have waited over 3 wks for this day, Fat Tuesday is the day to party for Mardi Gras and I was stuck on the couch with my foot in the air. As I laid there I thought over the time spent here in Mobile. Every weekend there was something going on and during the week I was busy doing things with people that I have met. I have had a great time in this city of Mobile.<br /><br />But it is time to move. By the time I leave Mobile on Saturday I will have been here for 4 weeks. It was a much needed break, other than my throbbing foot, I feel great. I'm rested, fatten up and ready to roll. I have gotten some calls and emails from people telling me not to stop and to get moving. Hey, it's my adventure so I'll go as fast or slow as I feel. Don't worry folks I have not lost sight of the goal and one of the goals is to try to find the next city or place to move to. I love it down here in Mobile and have got a good feel of what this city has to offer. I want to thank everyone down here in Mobile again. And a big thanks to everyone who has begun to follow me and who have followed me before I left. I'm excited to see the road unroll in front of me again and to sleep in my tent with my pup.<br /><br />Till next time<br />Love and Licks<br />Sean and CoopRickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2101458466002915183.post-34203346703972873272010-02-16T08:36:00.000-08:002010-02-17T13:15:24.057-08:00Joe Cain Day.Joe Cain Day. This is a Mobile exclusive. Joe Cain is a historical figure in this city and every year they have a huge celebration to honor him. Its the peoples parade, so anyone can sign up for it, it is the largest and longest parade.<br /><br />This is what Joe Cains gravestone reads:<br /><em></em><br /><em>Here lies old Joe Cain<br /><br />The heart and soul of Mardi Gras in Mobile<br /><br />Joseph Stillwell Cain<br /><br />Slacabamorinico - Old Slac<br /><br />1832 - 1904<br /><br />In 1866, Joe Cain dressed as a mythical Chickasaw Chief, and might have seemed comic - but certain perceptive ones realized he represented the epitome of victory - for the Chickasaws were never defeated in all their history. So Joe Cain, with his masquerade, lifted this region from despair and revived the ancient French observance of Boeuf Gras - now known in Mobile as Mardi Gras - thus inaugurating the dispute as to who had Mardi Gras first - Mobile or New Orleans?<br /><br />Mobile had it first, but New Orleans was the first to call its carnival Mardi Gras...<br /><br />The Boeuf Gras society was already 150 years old in 1861, when it disbanded because of the war...<br /><br />According to tradition - Joe Cain was the first folly to chase the devil round a stump...<br /><br />Joe Cain founded the Tea Drinkers in 1846...<br /><br />Here lies, also, Joe Cain's beloved Wife<br /><br />Elizabeth Rabby Cain<br /><br />1835 - 1907</em><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipqnVYhyKNkUulXQOkC2P2BKvMfX5XOjtDW477XAtRwhnm6Dm4tOGW8v-vg7mYVU6k4F37QrXdGAB8kF9SKDnhv7zeN41dczGXHsjAS-uuA0YunclTOa7BKw0SJ3V0GCcw4SY3zp_ktJCu/s1600-h/IMG_3113.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439293372872637074" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipqnVYhyKNkUulXQOkC2P2BKvMfX5XOjtDW477XAtRwhnm6Dm4tOGW8v-vg7mYVU6k4F37QrXdGAB8kF9SKDnhv7zeN41dczGXHsjAS-uuA0YunclTOa7BKw0SJ3V0GCcw4SY3zp_ktJCu/s320/IMG_3113.JPG" /></a><br />So on this historic day Bucky, Lindsey and I hit the streets to see what it was all about. Coop wasn't allowed to come downtown in the square because for some silly reason they don't allow dogs downtown during Mardi Gras celebrations. He was pretty upset. I loaded up some coolers in attempt to sell some beer to get some money together. I made some dough and planned on heading back down there on Tuesday to really make some cash.<br /><br />Its was like a big tail gate party. Grills, Music, Dancing, Drinking. Man I love this city.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg45ZJf5MAFyJcButPAvhKHcqMXu8K6bw6C-0BVf3Q97rErs0vYkg0Zr1PWo6pPeA9SL2Y6nwwRG-TUJpnDOFuhyphenhyphenhl9QJlu1A9a2IAr7KFu1zVpHhM6TooQn0BqhieNtU35kzClXLFEF9k3/s1600-h/IMG_3119.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439292370014164354" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg45ZJf5MAFyJcButPAvhKHcqMXu8K6bw6C-0BVf3Q97rErs0vYkg0Zr1PWo6pPeA9SL2Y6nwwRG-TUJpnDOFuhyphenhyphenhl9QJlu1A9a2IAr7KFu1zVpHhM6TooQn0BqhieNtU35kzClXLFEF9k3/s320/IMG_3119.JPG" /></a><br /><br />I was able to bring Coop out during the day but had to stay away from the Parades. He just wanted to be by the food!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh55BvpinU3E3i5qQ3gh_UnNc3EZ249GZKCgnnVfDZ3LM43FHR1ohoIw48Gh016prMOq0Wu9HlXGED-Kajy_1V6MGak7p8X6NwNPi-b7cjELmb802pApKuiEQaperNWp37KwIIz2J4w3Hqo/s1600-h/IMG_3125.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439290630002575762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh55BvpinU3E3i5qQ3gh_UnNc3EZ249GZKCgnnVfDZ3LM43FHR1ohoIw48Gh016prMOq0Wu9HlXGED-Kajy_1V6MGak7p8X6NwNPi-b7cjELmb802pApKuiEQaperNWp37KwIIz2J4w3Hqo/s320/IMG_3125.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br />People everywhere having a good 'ol time. These folks had set up a pretty stocked bar on the tailgate of the Jeep. I had one of their Bloody Marys, really spicy.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis6Byt_ge1Gq8zPRaSf91kCujr5RedDh7cepFU0KC7njSCP6mXeIJ81HpUI5QwvQ9RnftEQF4E6m2OKC1ZMEWn0ypcD-1TzSs9AA_HPERmrK1Luc_3lf14mxxGg3i0sjOFPJZtXbVh7ddH/s1600-h/IMG_3167.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439289761480489650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis6Byt_ge1Gq8zPRaSf91kCujr5RedDh7cepFU0KC7njSCP6mXeIJ81HpUI5QwvQ9RnftEQF4E6m2OKC1ZMEWn0ypcD-1TzSs9AA_HPERmrK1Luc_3lf14mxxGg3i0sjOFPJZtXbVh7ddH/s320/IMG_3167.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div>The crowds were out in full force Sunday night after the Joe Cain Day Parade. This is the biggest night for drinking in Mobile. Fat Tuesday is more of a family day in Mobile, and Joe Cain Parade is just found in Mobile. </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsRB60b7x6x6L8eqtJApBX72JgSdtd1viSdb4SzWdhsaY2UIo6TbmUgU3koSnPzVrpkRNcX58kRtJMkMLiYf1Lv1xJev2h8ELvOjGeolY_oVGE8-CUE2YqQ9-VVb3nD1dbfAu7kDsZBpAc/s1600-h/IMG_3210.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 214px; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439288594507045090" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsRB60b7x6x6L8eqtJApBX72JgSdtd1viSdb4SzWdhsaY2UIo6TbmUgU3koSnPzVrpkRNcX58kRtJMkMLiYf1Lv1xJev2h8ELvOjGeolY_oVGE8-CUE2YqQ9-VVb3nD1dbfAu7kDsZBpAc/s320/IMG_3210.JPG" /></a> </div><div></div>When the crowds are out that means the cops are out. They made their presence known on foot and on horse. The cops down here work some serious overtime during these Mardi Gras celebrations. Not only do they work their normal shift but then have to work a MG shift which is about 6 to 8 hours. By the end of the two and half weeks that is Mardi Gras these guys and gals of law enforcement are pretty short fused. Dealing with drunk folks every night would get on any persons nerves.<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-pUKimc2f6qQ6oQu1SawgVyixAkLZNo-mKHopLpnEa9HIkB4YA77Pauy10W-b3acVHHrulRAuLFugy9-AzlycAjtLa40xmh42meiyL_j8F09MiYYmHfQc6cV6W4w1Y1wGaMbRj54ZJK7M/s1600-h/IMG_3220.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439286951525778354" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-pUKimc2f6qQ6oQu1SawgVyixAkLZNo-mKHopLpnEa9HIkB4YA77Pauy10W-b3acVHHrulRAuLFugy9-AzlycAjtLa40xmh42meiyL_j8F09MiYYmHfQc6cV6W4w1Y1wGaMbRj54ZJK7M/s320/IMG_3220.JPG" /></a> </div><div><br />Everyone was on the beg for some beads! </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFzTiRGEq9Et4FlgBVL6UPBkZf7vqGiJgB9qNigFAb6TMwa4pK9GBms_PIF-SchUxgpSQr55Q5Xdtb5hrK2aLdaRFyhC01hXIy0HLc_Rk-xyc3Vzj7zPHNnM9KjPKJaJD9tSI9MDlONmV0/s1600-h/IMG_3277.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 214px; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439284541243297010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFzTiRGEq9Et4FlgBVL6UPBkZf7vqGiJgB9qNigFAb6TMwa4pK9GBms_PIF-SchUxgpSQr55Q5Xdtb5hrK2aLdaRFyhC01hXIy0HLc_Rk-xyc3Vzj7zPHNnM9KjPKJaJD9tSI9MDlONmV0/s320/IMG_3277.JPG" /></a><br /><br />People drunk all around with out a care in the world.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTdKk5dgJ7R01-yHa8IuOqywUulARMzw7pWCAYXfxW7fEUC4x6b7VmnAFEf4nrSomV05J9EoILiz88lDA7wzqdUfKm1uO7K0usg-DpPCb0aj9WytNIwOl8fgz01jDmt380v7Jk1GkzK3HJ/s1600-h/IMG_3322.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 214px; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439283475901808322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTdKk5dgJ7R01-yHa8IuOqywUulARMzw7pWCAYXfxW7fEUC4x6b7VmnAFEf4nrSomV05J9EoILiz88lDA7wzqdUfKm1uO7K0usg-DpPCb0aj9WytNIwOl8fgz01jDmt380v7Jk1GkzK3HJ/s320/IMG_3322.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Love all around!</div><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvQvIBLVUlTiwrfDoX9NQD6S6jQcTLca5hWR_AEcoRJNj5IB1hvqimwfjAOofYRCxPBGqcnub5iQBiBoAuSzu1TIPPId55TLHsShUJt5zsGfh3EK68__Zg-lu74J1m76KN6EGrvYWvfb-g/s1600-h/IMG_3323.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439280913988044370" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvQvIBLVUlTiwrfDoX9NQD6S6jQcTLca5hWR_AEcoRJNj5IB1hvqimwfjAOofYRCxPBGqcnub5iQBiBoAuSzu1TIPPId55TLHsShUJt5zsGfh3EK68__Zg-lu74J1m76KN6EGrvYWvfb-g/s320/IMG_3323.JPG" /></a><br /></div><div>So later that night I jumped on one of the beach cruisers to take a spin in the tightly packed crowds. I stopped to take a picture of this guy below. After snapping a couple I tried to catch up to the group. I was pedaling pretty hard and all the sudden the chain came off....</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvCs3tuNlKumuHcPPLWAOUoksQpgqI38wkjgHCTnGluCjrXJn36z3xeDZ20AXT63p5u0JjTjuez9Twjq3RZ7ndIsCNO9r5M9NWzK5ERuWJJOB5mUy01Vi1buTorBlSq53qyjX-Y6lhpqT9/s1600-h/IMG_3276.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439279973018213378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvCs3tuNlKumuHcPPLWAOUoksQpgqI38wkjgHCTnGluCjrXJn36z3xeDZ20AXT63p5u0JjTjuez9Twjq3RZ7ndIsCNO9r5M9NWzK5ERuWJJOB5mUy01Vi1buTorBlSq53qyjX-Y6lhpqT9/s320/IMG_3276.JPG" /></a><br /><br />...as my left foot was coming to the top of the rotation and when the chain let loose my foot slammed into the pavement and the pedal pushed my foot between the pedal and the pavement bending my toes backward. What pain. I have never broken anything before in my life and so when the pain set in on my foot I was pretty sure that I had broken a toe or two. After that I headed home to rest, and ice it.<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTe6zh8gsirQom_yLeTkt4ogZZe9IPSMIaRlVLRff4TvVL6FNbw8Yxx9HGlUZRiRqcoIL0lMStye5EHpWYIa3pL5rwXBYSO_m2DBZZAs6GSlc8yY36YE8xtBDxjOFxAaUs-2B0RouMCXYz/s1600-h/Jacked_up.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439278450222032018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTe6zh8gsirQom_yLeTkt4ogZZe9IPSMIaRlVLRff4TvVL6FNbw8Yxx9HGlUZRiRqcoIL0lMStye5EHpWYIa3pL5rwXBYSO_m2DBZZAs6GSlc8yY36YE8xtBDxjOFxAaUs-2B0RouMCXYz/s320/Jacked_up.jpg" /></a><br />The next day I woke up to a very swollen, discolored, and very sore foot. I debated on the course of action to be taken; health clinic, hospital, or just man thru it. I have always been a big fan of manning thru it, but this time around I wasn't man enough! So I headed to the hospital to ensure a better care, hopefully! After some x-rays and lots of squeezing on my tender toes They decided that I was not broken, just really sprained. I am told that I need to stay off it for a couple days and then after that I can determine when I will be able to go. I need to get a move on so I hope to hit the road by Friday or Saturday. Due to the fact I couldn't walk or ride a bike I wasn't able to go down to the Fat Tuesday Celebration. It was a beautiful day and would of been a good day but I couldn't of made it 30 min down there. I have been so careful not to hurt myself or put myself in harms way and I jack my foot up riding a bike! Go figure. </div><div></div><div>Till Next Time</div><div>Love and Licks</div><div>Sean and Coop. </div></div></div></div>Rickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2101458466002915183.post-69176627426034621452010-02-14T11:50:00.000-08:002010-02-17T13:14:51.403-08:00Snow day and BirthdaySo Friday was the first time in history that every state, except <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Hawaii</span>, had some sort of snow fall/<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">precipitation</span>. I got a call that morning from Lindsey to see if we wanted to take a drive north to see some snow on the ground. I drove Lindsey and her daughter Ella about an hour north.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSqAh7gHUBM38cupb0js0O2vJ5FY2aS2Q3Lr4xSQH7O-M4Mlqls9Y0tev7Gwqdn-ORe3RE7Yor4UE1VUD-XzktF25pY86_M_B35xquFeyqKktEcNPDErWRAKD91b7tu8kh44AKUIEF2hfh/s1600-h/SNOW+DAY+267.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439313854647188226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSqAh7gHUBM38cupb0js0O2vJ5FY2aS2Q3Lr4xSQH7O-M4Mlqls9Y0tev7Gwqdn-ORe3RE7Yor4UE1VUD-XzktF25pY86_M_B35xquFeyqKktEcNPDErWRAKD91b7tu8kh44AKUIEF2hfh/s320/SNOW+DAY+267.JPG" /></a><br />We ended up driving by a house that had a huge yard with great snow coverage. I pulled up and went to the door to see if it would be <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">OK</span> to play in the yard. I explained to the nice lady that the 5 yr old girl had never seen snow before. She said 'no problem, have fun!'<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglqjhVpmUbnnhryOWgSIYUcrd9zjSIk-ONSSiNwtW2S7rwSJwZ7Z0YihkJomo7AKykGId4an9WknIyxf6s0K0an531ZzjsYb59Jmc4Q0j2_3dLvH4KI3uPnHdjrjkR0tMj6OTAW14M0_F9/s1600-h/SNOW+DAY+245.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439313647204772978" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglqjhVpmUbnnhryOWgSIYUcrd9zjSIk-ONSSiNwtW2S7rwSJwZ7Z0YihkJomo7AKykGId4an9WknIyxf6s0K0an531ZzjsYb59Jmc4Q0j2_3dLvH4KI3uPnHdjrjkR0tMj6OTAW14M0_F9/s320/SNOW+DAY+245.JPG" /></a><br />We each made a snowman. This was mine. Coop jumped up and sniffed the face!<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfLU4bb5iyw01bP7eqb0mytScm-TkVJL-0hGmQd3tzB_liYZYacjNoOuxtQZ0bMWINtB7iED4WwI0WNY5i3F1p7VS_wpvrQ7ixZdZegaPtQpWLdxMAkc5tyElwEbdDOoJpA95O5K5IHyk/s1600-h/SNOW+DAY+302.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 214px; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439313436509549730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfLU4bb5iyw01bP7eqb0mytScm-TkVJL-0hGmQd3tzB_liYZYacjNoOuxtQZ0bMWINtB7iED4WwI0WNY5i3F1p7VS_wpvrQ7ixZdZegaPtQpWLdxMAkc5tyElwEbdDOoJpA95O5K5IHyk/s320/SNOW+DAY+302.JPG" /></a><br />Snowman tracks!<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoqOQR35Hsjt-i8JfGIcpoheKMJXDhTfORfAzn1417XDM6zzDNvisP5pTl_58nedMhhzAD4PdE9Gg4bT1wJjGBq_NkWel62lRAhjLTlBGuJklAaPHhpZGc9upX-WaZcP1trpL2CiEzYILg/s1600-h/SNOW+DAY+305.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 214px; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439313196582325506" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoqOQR35Hsjt-i8JfGIcpoheKMJXDhTfORfAzn1417XDM6zzDNvisP5pTl_58nedMhhzAD4PdE9Gg4bT1wJjGBq_NkWel62lRAhjLTlBGuJklAaPHhpZGc9upX-WaZcP1trpL2CiEzYILg/s320/SNOW+DAY+305.JPG" /></a><br />Cooper tracks!!<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkMRA9lQ36ZIdMb5-8KLxX-ZdlCIBiRQqpZ8KL7SYkLmno7qV3Z_XIdwwK-ggXW1N0-aUaHyf1NhOy-jIRadEojBluYnScZwObsVTmML6OTrbcv1H6GdtAu3h829dFCvygZ3kMlWDLww6X/s1600-h/SNOW+DAY+113.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439312940369622322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkMRA9lQ36ZIdMb5-8KLxX-ZdlCIBiRQqpZ8KL7SYkLmno7qV3Z_XIdwwK-ggXW1N0-aUaHyf1NhOy-jIRadEojBluYnScZwObsVTmML6OTrbcv1H6GdtAu3h829dFCvygZ3kMlWDLww6X/s320/SNOW+DAY+113.JPG" /></a><br />I really didn't want to see snow on this trip, but it was fun to go out and play! I'm glad it didn't stick and the next following days it was in the 60s!<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUkBbUVj-uNTHh2hGM1rjmGqt5eHDwNnGpIsKEB5uz1Ej3EWGTCymyiC24WKSRdP37pdwuHKZSrOESfSlfgqcjOOQ4DXX0zVSYjrSWKj5y2pYlSgZnLPdbcnCjkIXgR1k8x0NWiG8oCQOT/s1600-h/SNOW+DAY+184.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439312539383437346" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUkBbUVj-uNTHh2hGM1rjmGqt5eHDwNnGpIsKEB5uz1Ej3EWGTCymyiC24WKSRdP37pdwuHKZSrOESfSlfgqcjOOQ4DXX0zVSYjrSWKj5y2pYlSgZnLPdbcnCjkIXgR1k8x0NWiG8oCQOT/s320/SNOW+DAY+184.JPG" /></a><br />Coop had a blast running around. We all had a snow ball fight and when we would throw one at Coop he would bite at it and it would <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">disintegrate</span> in his mouth!<br /><br /><br /><br />The next day was Coop and my birthday. We went out to the flea market after I cashed in on my free birthday Grand Slam at <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Denny's</span>! The flea market was great people watching.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1vSDa27W9wiuYStvUQgCtcqU2SCrs5FJ-oscRAejZHUUAVim_g2Wmcq69n6FfINnXZNiMzeRsOrZlgn3jNepohRpoTKq4nAr5JdMZJAC40kCHrww7y-CFBRzKmssk8DlMyxmnCpBLqwkB/s1600-h/IMG_2542.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439311983541697538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1vSDa27W9wiuYStvUQgCtcqU2SCrs5FJ-oscRAejZHUUAVim_g2Wmcq69n6FfINnXZNiMzeRsOrZlgn3jNepohRpoTKq4nAr5JdMZJAC40kCHrww7y-CFBRzKmssk8DlMyxmnCpBLqwkB/s320/IMG_2542.JPG" /></a><br />Later that night we headed over to the <em>Alabama Music Box </em>to see the <em>Super Nice Bros.</em> The crowd there was great. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">Mardi</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">Gras</span> was in full swing. The parades have been going everyday for days now and the Music Box was staying open 100 hours starting on Friday!! You could go there and sleep for a couple hours on the floor and then get right back to drinking! If I would of been here 10 years ago I wouldn't of survived!!<br /><br /><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDzGjZexSZw5SzbfDInguG5tmYuqHaytXwQRF51NMjUI-3bz95PEM5LR70zphxnMj__fOyyJMPaReG1zvfpeeDUSkVtf-CwZgHIgjZ0VoMB4FgRc0bDMiRnCLyo6SDI3F_xwnOoGe9PTCw/s1600-h/IMG_2647.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439307627523419090" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDzGjZexSZw5SzbfDInguG5tmYuqHaytXwQRF51NMjUI-3bz95PEM5LR70zphxnMj__fOyyJMPaReG1zvfpeeDUSkVtf-CwZgHIgjZ0VoMB4FgRc0bDMiRnCLyo6SDI3F_xwnOoGe9PTCw/s320/IMG_2647.JPG" /></a><br /><br />The <em>Super Nice Bros. </em>put on an amazing show. The crowd was jumping all around. Some people were dressed up and had paint on the face. Pretty much everyone there had beads on.<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSoFRgvgpWivXCCsMLSDm9-vl1816QyYftH5bWW5Vg48NWa6MGSJ-JH0y1aU-yBkwRtOD_-Dni1ryJ_aLod0Y9XMIopXV2tt7mGvAT6d9RvknRo-z4oi7bXZO7-hyuTnqI1jdUOG75yaEj/s1600-h/IMG_2774.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 214px; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439304773876183522" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSoFRgvgpWivXCCsMLSDm9-vl1816QyYftH5bWW5Vg48NWa6MGSJ-JH0y1aU-yBkwRtOD_-Dni1ryJ_aLod0Y9XMIopXV2tt7mGvAT6d9RvknRo-z4oi7bXZO7-hyuTnqI1jdUOG75yaEj/s320/IMG_2774.JPG" /></a><br /></div><div>I have seen them twice now, and Appleseed hasn't had a shirt on for either. And Ponytail slowly undresses as the show goes on, by the end of it all he is left wearing is boxers and a wife beater!</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNq7b6fYyQURWkdJHIJvS4TZ1TbTvfyvX9RTUg9I15tnJAy205Wx6AL9cuHLOoJ1vbfZsTFioYUH3PJ6OAdgD0ZhL_IpLbl_U5-_AWpzr0-xa2hV2Yfh5VvVPGnQTlTkkicOrRccP42lRj/s1600-h/IMG_2807.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439303658965723202" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNq7b6fYyQURWkdJHIJvS4TZ1TbTvfyvX9RTUg9I15tnJAy205Wx6AL9cuHLOoJ1vbfZsTFioYUH3PJ6OAdgD0ZhL_IpLbl_U5-_AWpzr0-xa2hV2Yfh5VvVPGnQTlTkkicOrRccP42lRj/s320/IMG_2807.JPG" /></a> </div><div><br />After the show we headed over to <em>Paddy <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">O'Tooles</span></em> to see Bucky and have a few more. It was a good night and I didn't get crazy. I have learned that the day after a birthday is sometimes the worst day of the year!!!<br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBx_6Xq5CyIZzNpkuyEVmmitDsE-IX6iyNM3eVo4T98k3LsjkBzpaKb-VuUzNmj29dI6aEUSRt_pX1zQ9YrCQLkWemD0LdhdMBGWO4skML3xiblJFTMgYpmJH_Phjoz-MrWtNqxttBRZOt/s1600-h/IMG_3036.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439302978378759330" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBx_6Xq5CyIZzNpkuyEVmmitDsE-IX6iyNM3eVo4T98k3LsjkBzpaKb-VuUzNmj29dI6aEUSRt_pX1zQ9YrCQLkWemD0LdhdMBGWO4skML3xiblJFTMgYpmJH_Phjoz-MrWtNqxttBRZOt/s320/IMG_3036.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div>Thanks everyone for the great Birthday. Thanks everyone for the Birthday wishes and gifts for Cooper and I. Happy to see 31!!</div><div></div><div>Love and licks</div><div>Sean and Cooper</div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Rickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2101458466002915183.post-69531730831529138262010-02-12T14:53:00.000-08:002010-02-12T16:28:18.575-08:00SOUTHERN HOSPITALITYIt's in full swing down here. From the first day I rolled in, its been thick in the air around us. The first couple of days we were in Mobile, we were cruising around on Dauphin St. taking in the sites. A couple doors down from the Tattoo Shop with the Gallery above it is the <em>A&M Peanut Shop, </em>this place has been around for more than 50 years and hasn't changed a thing when it comes to roasting and preparing their goods. While we were stopped that first day talking to Nadine, Ms. Debbie the proprietor of this fine shop brought us out some fresh roasted nuts and popcorn, and with a smile said "welcome to Mobile". Over the next couple of days while riding down town I would stop in to say hello and get her take on this great city and the Mardi Gras action that was to be going on. Every time we would sit out front the shop and chat she would bring out a little sample bag of goodies for me to munch on. One day she asked if we needed any dog food because she had just switched her dogs and had half a bag left over. She lugged out half a 30 lbs bag to give to us. I couldn't thank her enough.<br /><br />Last weekend I went to the <em>Music Box,</em> to see <em>The Super Nice Bros.</em> Really fun rocking band, they have a Facebook Page so check them out. Anyway while I was taking in this great sound I started chatting with a young guy there by the name of Miles. I shared with Miles my adventure on the road and he was very interested in hearing all about it. He asked if I would be interested in a home cooked meal. Never passing up on such a thing I said 'sure thing bub'. We exchanged info and got back to rockin. A couple days later I get a call from Miles asking when would be a good day. 'Any day is a good day to eat a home cooked meal!' was my response. So we made plans for a Thursday night dinner out at his Ma and Pa house. Miles and his friend Shannon picked me up that night and drove out to 8 mile where his folks live. On the way out there Miles let me in on the menu for the evening; Chicken and Rice, Collard Greens with a pepper sauce, Black eyed Peas with a squash relish, Corned Beef Hash and homemade Biscuits!!! I was drooling like Cooper after hearing what we were about to shove in our faces!! When we arrived, my nose was filled with rich smells of good food and my eyes were filled with a sweet smile from his Mama. Mrs. Phillips had out done herself. We said our hellos and got to filling our plates. During the meal not a whole lot was said due to the fact that none of us youngens where breathing! But after our bellies where full and the table cleared we started in on a chat. I explained to Mrs. Phillips of our journey and I kept noticing her glancing over at Miles when I would say how great it is to live on the road. She noticed this and said that Miles has the same dream and idea of getting out there and living in it. But I could tell that if he were to do such a thing that she would be beside herself with worry. Just a mom being a mom. My mom was and still is the same. But me being 6 years older than Miles and me being just me she has gotten used to the idea that I can't sit still. My family really didn't agree with this whole idea of mine, I had told them about it 6 months or so before I left. They said things like; "what are you running away from? You can't just cop out on reality. There are a lot of crazy people out there." But two days after I left all I heard from all of them is "This is the greatest thing ever!! We are all behind you!!" No matter what people think you gotta do whats right for you and only you. They'll get it sooner or later. But anyway it was nice of Miles to offer up his moms good cooking to feed me and make me feel welcome. Thanks Miles and thank you very much Mrs. Phillips.<br /><br />It's not just in Mobile that this Hospitality thing happens. I started to notice it once I got south of VA. Its the small things; a wave as you pass on by, a hello from a stranger, Please and Thank You is heard more, and Yes Sir/Ma'am are heard from the young ones. But it is a lot more present down here in Mobile. In everything in everyday life. You just feel good walking around this place, looking people in the eye, smiling and saying hello. I remember when I first moved to NYC and rode the subway for the first time. I sat down next to a lady and said "hello how are you?" She shot me a look of shock and asked "where are you from." I informed her "I just moved here from Iowa!" She grinned and said "lesson #1 don't say hello or even talk to anyone on the train keep to yourself!" I was blown away. It's really not that bad and have learned who to talk to on the trains but for the most part she was right. That's the Northern Mentality that you can find in NYC.<br /><br />I still haven't come across any other "pedal tramps"(people who travel by way of cycling) but have come into contact with a couple that are on the road. Now I'm gonna tell you about them and give you their website but please don't throw me aside when you see what they got going on. I almost threw myself aside. These two know what they are doing in all respects of living like this. That's all I'm gonna say. Check it out for yourself. <a href="http://www.pathlesspedaled.com/">http://www.pathlesspedaled.com/</a> I should be meeting up with them in Texas.<br /><br />And for my closing remarks I'm going to repost from April of '09. I hope you read it and know anything is possible..<br /><br /><br /> I received this the other day. It makes me feel great that I have inspired someone like this. I hope I have inspired all of you in one way or another. Everyone should have an adventure no matter how big or small. You have to have love to do what you want. Go out and get it no matter what, I am.<br /><br />I wanted to write and say thanks.<br /><br /><div>Back in March you were at Piper's Kilt for St. Patrick's Day<br />The bar was packed<br />We were three, drinking some Guinness<br />As we were talking a hand nudged it's way into our conversation, slowly pushing a piece of paper.<br />We took the paper and read it.<br />Rickshaw what?<br />America huh?<br />Then we met you. When we asked you why you said,<br />"In this economy, might as well have some fun."<br /><br /></div><div>What you may not have realized was 5 minutes prior to your marketing campaign I had been crying. Stupidly... uncontrollably..embarrassingly in a bar...over a beer. I was planning a big change in my life and I was confused and scared. Your comment, in that moment, fit so perfectly with what my friends and I were talking about that a part of my decision crystallized and came clear...a sign I guess...that my decisions were good.<br /><br /></div><div>It's funny the way our lives work. We make decisions and go with them and trust and pray that they are good and hopefully beautiful. But I think it's important to thank the people that help us along the way. Our friends, our families, our students, and teachers, and even strangers.<br /><br />So thanks Sean - for sharing a bit of your light in a bar over a beer<br /><br />Kristin</div>Rickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2101458466002915183.post-49559580754448693132010-02-10T14:54:00.000-08:002010-02-10T16:18:54.492-08:00Sick in MobileSo that Monday morning after the Superbowl I woke to a soreness in my throat and congestion in my face. It seems that walk in the cold and all the socializing was catching up to me. I couldn't swallow very well at all and was having problems breathing. I hate being sick and I feel if the weather was on the norm down here I would be fine. Cold weather is very defeating to me and it surprises me that I still haven't lived somewhere warm year around. The aches in my body where all over, mostly in the joints. I really could use a rubdown but am unable to afford such a luxury or find someone willing to do pro-bono work on my back and legs. 'Shelly O where are you?' Anyway sick. It was breath visible cold that morning in the shotgun house. I stayed in the sleeping bag next to the pup till the sun came out and we moved to the front porch, to take in some of the free vitamin D it was giving off. Coop is becoming very restless with me lately. I feel bad. When we are on the road we do a comparable amount of work. I work all the time and he works half the time but he is smaller than I so its comparable, and he is in better shape than most dogs, and humans for that matter. But when we come to a stop for a bit, he gets left behind a lot. I don't want to but unfortunately dogs can't go everywhere, but Mobile is the most dog friendly place we have been to so far. But he isn't even allowed downtown during the Parades, and we have been warned twice now. So being sick and laying around was not in his schedule. He wanted to chase tennis balls and play around. I wasn't much fun and only threw the balls for about 10 min. My plans were to rest up that day so I could leave out with the gang on Tues morning. Not having any money I really wasn't able to get stuff to make me feel better. Luckily I had a couple cans of chic noodle soup and drank plenty of water. The day and evening where filled with sleeping and watching TV. During the overnight I broke a bad fever. I got the worst sweats ever. I was soaked so much I had to get up change and towel off before putting new clothes on. Luckily this time around no vomiting or any other gross stuff that requires a toilet, even though I had one to use this time. But when Tues rolled around I sent Bucky a text letting him know I wouldn't be able to attend. It sucked but I didn't want to get them sick or ruin their<em> </em>good times. So another day of laying around with the pup. Cooper is a great snugly dog. He loves to squeeze himself between me and the back of the couch and buries his nose under me. Sometimes I wonder how he can breathe. I don't know if it is possible but I think he has caught my cold. I love this dog so much and can't wait to get moving again for his sake. He loves the time on the couch and meeting people but he is truly happy when we are on the move living day to day in nature without a care in the world. To be honest so am I. I have come to love this city and will think of it often with fond memories but there is still so much more out there to see. I feel with that little bit of unsatisfing work slinging wieners, that is was not at all what I wanted to experience. It brought back feelings of loneliness and hopelessness that I first felt when I moved to NYC and was working as a daytime server at Dallas BBQ. That placed sucked and I hated it so much that it almost sent me packing back to Iowa. But I pushed on and moved on just as I will here. I don't think the hot dog thing is going to work out. But as long as I keep my mind open and keep it positive something will come my way. Its a lot easier being broke on the move than it is when your in one place. When your on the move you have more opportunities to encounter someone or something that is going to help. But in one place you feel that you are taking advantage and become reliant on these kind people. I appreciate everything that everyone has done for us. From the beginning with Ed Murphy and the poker table guys, to all the random people that have stopped to talk, to the families I have know and not known that are happy to have us for the holidays or any time, to all the great people I have met down here in Mobile. You guys are making it hard to leave but making it easy to come back. But most of all my own friends and family that have donated money to us when it is needed. Thanks Mom and Dad, Cindy(MA), Nick (over and over), Sunnie (the best ex wife a guy could ask for), Sarah, Nate and the list goes on. I love you all and hope I am making you proud.<br /><br /><br /><br />Till next time<br /><br />Love and Licks<br /><br />Sean and CoopRickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2101458466002915183.post-90898588596022639292010-02-10T10:16:00.000-08:002010-02-10T15:33:24.917-08:00Being a bum is fun........but being broke sucks. I had this whole idea of selling hot dogs for the <em>OK Bicycle Shop, </em>to make some extra cash. Saturday I went to the Shop at noon to get things ready. I went and got the cart out of storage and took it back to the Shop to clean it up and get it stocked. We made a shopping list of things needed to get it up and running to sling wieners. I got out on the streets around 5. I hit the parade route and walked it 1 1/2 times. Now this cart is about a couple hundred pounds loaded and doesn't have the best wheels for easy rolling so I was having to put a lot of work into moving this thing around. I was selling Loaded Dogs for $4 and Soda and Water for a buck. As I walked the route I heard all sorts of things yelled out. "you got hot coco?" I didn't, but would have millions right now if I had. "You got a beer?" Again I didn't, but would have trillions if I had! And my favorite "You expect me to pay $4 just to have to shit in 30 minutes in that nasty porta john?!" My response to her was 'don't get the chili!' Sold! Once the parade passed by the Bike Shop I went inside and got a bite to eat. The tacos there are amazing; the Crispy Fish and Pork are my favorites. I talked to more people about what it is I'm doing. The longer I stay here the harder it is to talk about it. I feel I am losing touch with the adventure and am ready to get going but need to wait it out as planned. I have packages coming for Coop and I for our Birthday on Sat Feb 13. I really can't image spending my 31st anywhere but Mobile now. After warming up, I made my way downtown to sit up in front of the bars. I had been down there earlier around 9 but there was no one out yet because everyone was still at the parade. But now after 11 there were lines for a couple of bars and just overflow on the sidewalks and street. I stopped a couple times on my way to the main intersection on Dauphin St. to sell a couple dogs here and there and chat with people who recognized me from seeing me at the parade or riding around with Coop. As I made my way past a large group, that's when I saw it. There was a double wide version of what I had set up on sidewalk just about where I had planned to stake my claim. This guy and his gal were the dog slinging duo. He stepped down onto the street and asked what the story was. I can't remember his name, and I'm not going to make it up because it was very fitting for this guys character. Anyway this guy starts asking questions 'who you with, how much you selling, why you down here?' But the most important thing was "there is room for only one vendor down here, so just stick to walking the parade." With that said I called back to Headquarters and asked where else downtown would be a good spot to set up. Their response was' back here and put up for the night.' So back I went, unpacked, flipped, wrapped, labeled and put away. I sold 28 hot dogs that day. I didn't even eat one because I didn't want it to cut into my %. At the end of it all, 13 hours after I had gotten down there, I made $30. Money is money and I'm grateful for the opportunity to do something to earn it. But that was hard swallow.<br /><br /><br />The weather down here has been cold. I was looking at pictures from last year. Most everyone is wearing short sleeves at night and a lot of people wearing shorts. The weather here has been in the mid 40s during the day and getting down to low 30 during the night. Most of the houses and apt buildings don't have the proper insulation and are just old. Right now at 1 pm I'm wearing two layers on the legs and 4 layers on the body with a scarf and stocking cap. I would have gloves on but not good for the typing. When I wake in the morning on the couch I can see my breath.<br /><br /><br /><br />Sunday brought the Super Bowl. Two weeks ago I had said I was staying here to see the Saints win. And I called it. WHO DAT NATION was loud and proud!! What a game, hardly any penalties and only a couple crucial turnovers. I was invited by Bucky to a house party at Cissie and Kathleens. They had and TV in both main rooms, one in the kitchen where a buffet was set up with all sorts of great tasting food and one outside with the fire pit. I moved from TV to TV taking to everyone and getting there vibe on this historic game. The tension was high and folks were nervous about the Saints winning it all. But I assured them all that they were going to win. Its already been planned and taken care of. Some of them looked at me sideways with questionable eyes and some did believe. But in the end we all believed and there was hugs, kisses, and dancing around getting crumped!! After the party winded down we talked with the hostess about their plans on Tuesday. See win or lose the city of New Orleans was throwing the Saints a parade. A float from every committee was being donated for this parade, something like this has never been done before. They are shutting down the city that day. If you didn't have anything to do with the madness you didn't have to work so pretty much emergency and service industry people had to work everyone else was off. Anyway these gals have been season ticket holders for years now and Bucky has gone to many games with them. So they got a room with a balcony for the parade. Once they won they asked Bucky and I if we would like to go. Bucky and I had made plans to go to a ball that night in Mobile for the Le Shes. I have never been to a ball and Bucky found a place to get a tux for less than $50, which I don't have, but once this proposition came to our ears we called off the ball and decided on the All Saints Parade instead. No one has ever experianced a parade like this in New Orleans so why not be a part of history.And Bucky is pretty sure I will be back again and can attend a ball at that time. Afterward we made our way over to <em>Paddy O'Tooles </em>to check on the Faithful there. We were greeted with shouts of joys, high fives, and hugs all around. We hung out there for a bit Bucky had to jump behind the bar to help out Buddy as he was the only one working this crazed crowd. After a bit and a couple of beers Bucky told me he was taking off due to a early tennis lesson he had the next day. I told him I could find a ride and not to worry. I had been playing pool and darts with Molly and Stephen. I was sure that I could get a ride from them. But it turned out to be Stephens Birthday at the stroke of Midnight so they started to get trashed. I ended up driving them back to her place and we started to play video games. I was cool with the situation, I was on the love seat, Stephen on the couch and Molly sitting on the floor in front of the couch. When all the sudden Stephen jumps up and asked to speak to Molly in the back. I take over on the controls and a few minutes later Molly comes out. I had asked her earlier in the night what their situation was. She informed me that they had dated at one time and it didn't work out but they stayed close friends. I can relate to this considering I am friends with about 85% of all my ex girlfriends. When you spend time with a person for a bit that person becomes your friend, companion, go to guy, and partner in crime. They know things about you your best same sex friends don't even know. So how can you just throw that history and friendship away if you break up. I understand if they hurt you or you hurt them, but for the most part you end up hurting someone because you don't know when its time to quit the relationship. I know I'm not a good boyfriend, but I'm a great friend. Most of my ex girlfriends have said 'your a better boyfriend when your not my boyfriend.' I know when the other isn't happy and that's what I want most, I want them to be happy and most of the time its not with me. So when Molly comes back out I say 'you guys are still together huh.' I wasn't planning on anything happening. I have enjoyed this time of solitude. Its something very new to me and something I need to experience. But at the same time I don't want to be put into awkward situation and that is what this just turned into. She informed me that they are still "kinda" together. My only response 'love is a crazy thing.' She said I could stay there for the night on the couch and they could give me a ride in the morning (even more awkward!!) I said thanks but no thanks and bundled up for the walk home. It was just under 5 miles and the temp that night was in the low 30s. As I walked home during the wee hours of the morning, it made me think back to the days of the late night walks in NYC. There was something always going on in the streets. But here in Mobile it was quite. People asked me the next day weren't you worried. I think about it, and right now nothing really worries me or scares me. I have this kinda unstoppable, invincible, arrogance about me now. I'm very self assured in who I am and what I can handle and I can handle anything right now. It all belongs to me and no one can take that away.<br /><br />Till next time<br />Love and licks<br />Sean and CoopRickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2101458466002915183.post-35007465848597200372010-02-01T16:15:00.000-08:002010-02-09T16:44:29.201-08:00Why MobileAs you have read, I have decided to kick around here in Mobile for awhile. The reason being is it just feels right. From the time I rolled into Mobile everything has come into play. And it all started with Bucky Hicks. (He's not as redneck as it sounds!). Bucky is the man in Mobile, pretty much everyone I have met, young and old, knows Bucky. He's a town favourite and just a damn good guy!<br />I have come to know what Mobile has to offer by way of Bucky. He has taken me to a couple disc golf courses, bars, houses, rides and runs. On Tuesday nights there is an organised run that takes place down by the <em>Mellow Mushroom</em>. Bucky and I decided to join. We took to the wheels due to the fact that I don't run anymore. The last time I ran for fun was the last day I was in the Army! We met the runners in the street and peddled around and talked to them. When we got back to Mellow we parked the Trike and went inside for a couple pints. On the way back to the house we were cruising right along. It was dark out and at the last minute Bucky yelled for me to hang a right. Now I have been on the trip for 4 months, and this was the first time that I had ridden this beast under the influence. I wasn't drunk but I sure wasn't sober! So when he hollered out to turn I cranked on the bars to try to make the tight turn. With no weight in the back this thing took to two wheels and gave me the feeling that it wanted to tip over so I straightened the wheel in an attempt to keep all three on the road. But that lead me straight into the curb. It put a big warp into my tire. Bucky rode up next to me and started to apologise. 'You got nothing to be sorry about Buck its my own damn fault!'. He held up the front while I removed the wheel and slammed it as straight as possible on the street. Then we put it together and took it nice and slow the rest of the way. The next day I called Sun and told them my problem. They stand by their rims and are sending me a complete, bigger, tougher rim. I also got a new chain, bearings, and rear cassette from Main Street. So sometime this week I am going to head over to <em>Spoke N Trail Inc</em>. The owner Brad with the help of his trusted employee Jess are going to help me do some overhauling.<br />The disc golf courses down here are great. I have only played two so far and I think they have 8 or so. The first one was out at the University Campus. Really nice course but not labelled very well, if Bucky wouldn't of been there I would of been lost. The other course we went to was Municipal Park. Huge wide open course. I think the longest distance from tee to basket was over 600 feet! There was a guy sitting at the first hole waiting for a good game. We had met him a couple days before on the last couple of holes. He has a nice style about him. His name is Kelly and he's 71 years young. He's a retired cop and just spends his day outside throwing the plastic. He jumped up on our arrival and joined us for a round. He shoots from the hip. Just a couple of quick steps and a flick of the wrist and its sails out low and straight. I started calling him 'Cool hand Luke'! After the game we headed over to a organised bike ride. Jess from <em>Spoke N Trail</em> hooked me up with a bike to ride due to the fact I have a wobble in mine. It kinda sucked not having the Trike and dog. But it felt good to be on two wheels and moving fast. It took me a minute to get used to it. I haven't been on bike other than the Trikes this whole trip and 3 wheels is a lot different than 2!! During the ride I chatted with other cyclist mostly Susan. She works for a medical company and is very active, I met her on the Tue night run. She asked if I would be interested in going to a Senior Bowl house party on Saturday and I said sure.<br />The morning of the Senior Bowl she took me out for breakfast at the 'Tiny Diny'. We met her sister and niece there. This place was good, huge plate sized pancakes and homemade biscuits and gravy! Her sister Mary Stowe and I chatted about the adventure. While Susan and Mary Fran played at the table. Its been nice sitting with all these great people. There are some pretty lonely times on the road and its gonna get even more so once I get into west Texas and beyond. But I will be able to look back on these time of humanity and smile.<br />After breakfast and goodbyes. Susan gave me a tour. She took me by the Catholic Nunnery. Very old and beautiful church. Susan is somewhat of a history buff so she gave me a nice schooling on the area. After the tour she dropped me off at Kelly's house and we made plans to meet later at the Bowl house party. I got changed and got the ride and pup ready to go. As we were heading downtown to catch a parade, a jeep pulls up and the girl behind the wheel asked if I was the guy Bucky was talking about. I told her I most likely was. She is taking a photo journalism class and asked if she could take some shots of us. I told her sure. Lindsay got some good ones and then I told her I was heading downtown and to the house party if she wanted to join. She said sure. We had missed the parade so we went to the house party. The house was about a block and a half away from the Stadium so there were people everywhere. We pulled up to a lawn full of people and a little yellow lab puppy named Biscuit. We talked to a lot of people and took a ride over to the Stadium to get in on the action of senior bowl. That place was packed. There were people there that had camped for a couple of nights in their RVs. Grills were smoking, music was pumping, and beer a swigging! We talked some more to folks down there and then headed back to the party. I didn't really watch the game so I have no idea of who even won. I took it easy that night and hung out with Kelly.<br />Kelly has been unemployed for a month or so. She is an Architect drafter. Mobile is big but not really. People down here call it the Smallest big City. So she has been having troubles finding steady work. Even during her hard times she is generous to put us up for the duration of our stay. I have gotten groceries and try to feed her whenever we are home. I am going to be selling hot dogs for the busy wk leading up to fat Tuesday. I plan on paying some of her utilities before we go. If you stay somewhere for 3 wks your a room mate not a house guest! I'm not a mooch or a freeloader, I'm just lucky to have met really nice people.<br />The next two weeks are going to be filled with riding around and taking in the energy of Mardi Gras. I plan on hitting up some more disc golf courses and getting to know this great city some more. I want to thank everyone that I have met down here in Mobile. You all are great and are making this fine city number one on my list so far. If ya see me around please stop and chat and give Coop some love.<br /><br />Till next time,<br />Love and Licks<br />Sean and CoopRickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2101458466002915183.post-81624025400914409802010-01-25T10:13:00.001-08:002010-02-09T16:46:12.898-08:00Causeway CampingAfter doing some work around Charles' house we got on the road around noon. As we made our way west towards Mobile. I needed to stop off at the post office to send something back to my mom. Then I swung by a bike shop to get a tune up. I then made my way into Spanish Fort AL. It used to be a spanish fort so what do most forts like to have? Elevation!! So that means big hills. Going west into Spanish Fort it took me close to 45 min to climb the hill. With a couple of minute long breaks to catch my breath and take in the views. Once we reached to top we flew down the hill in less than a minute. We hit a all time top speed of 36 mph.!!! At the bottom of the hill is Meaher State Park. It is at the beginning of a 9 mile long causeway that leads into Mobile. As you may know, we don't have a lot of money. The day I got to Meaher State Park I had $11 to my name, $10 short of the fee needed to stay there. I asked if there was anyway I could do some work to earn my site. The girl at the booth quickly informed me that they aren't allowed to do such a thing. She had already made up her mind and there wasn't anything that I could say to change it. So we moved on out. Across the road was a state owned fish hatchary, we made our way up there to see if there would be a spot to set up for the night. We made our to the way back and layed low till the sun was close to setting. Just as I was about to start putting up the tent one of the employees came back to tell us that the park was closed and we needed to move on. I explained the whole situation and he said his boss had noticed us going back there and not coming out so he said to get us out of there. This was the first time that I have been denied a spot to stay. The sun was out of the sky and all that gave evidence to the huge ball of fire was a rapidly shrinking strip of orange colur on the horizion. Now with no place to camp, no daylight to pedal in, a huge hill I wasn't going to climb just to backtrack and a 9 mile causeway ahead of us, a decision needed to be made. Forward progress is everything. So west is where I went. If you look at the map you can see that going into Mobile you have two choices.<br /><br />1. I10 bridge that is about 9 miles long over the water, and illeagel for bikes.<br />2. Highway 90 which has a huge bike friendly shoulder.<br /><br />As you go down highway 90 the land below tapers off into the water and it doesn't give any option for a safe dry secluded camping spot. So I was forced to camp at the boat launch. This is the first time I have been completely exposed and that close to a major road. But I had no choice. That night I didn't sleep so well and got up early in the AM to get to it. I started making my way into Mobile at around 9 AM and that is when the Magic of Mobile really began!Rickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2101458466002915183.post-47835034037812215372010-01-24T15:20:00.000-08:002010-01-24T17:54:56.562-08:00Moving Right Along....<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); "><pre style="white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">....Or at least I'm trying to. After my stay in Niceville, Kim took me to her friends Brenda and Steve's house in Red Bank where my ride was waiting to get a tune up. Their neighbor, Jurgen the German, is a pretty handy guy and volunteered to help me replace the rear differential. For us to do this, the brake hub, both tires, and the axle had to come off. Much easier than the original! Once we switched some things out and replaced it, we had to make a couple of alterations due to the fact that the frame had moved a bit from the load.</span></pre><pre style="white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">After it was all done and back together, we sat down to a hot meal and I told them more of my adventure. It was still pretty cold, so Coop and I stayed an extra day, but I was able to get things done as far as re-packing and putting on the new sign. I also called the companies that make my rear lights and front lights. I don't know if the cold temps got to them, but they weren't working, so both companies sent me out new ones to a post office a week away for no charge.</span></pre><pre style="white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I got to it on Tuesday, and also encountered more hills and headwind. I was planning on getting to Kim's brother's house by Wednesday night, but as I was moving down highway 90, this truck pulled over and a tall dude stepped out. He asked where I was headed, and I told him, "Ten thousand miles around the U.S." His only response was, "You're kidding." Once I assured him that I don't joke about such things, he asked if I was hungry, and I was. He led me back to his house, and we threw some chicken on the grill. Then we sat down and he told me that he and his girlfriend have been sailing around the Caribbean for a couple months now. Kinda doing the same as me, but on water. That was the reason he stopped. He said if he wasn't doing this trip himself he would have just kept on driving.</span></pre><pre style="white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Now what I'm about to tell you here, people, is important. So listen up. Stop and talk to people. If you're driving and you see someone walking or riding a bike, and they have bags with them, most likely they are on the move and don't have anyone or anywhere to call home. Now that I have been in the South, I have seen people on the move due to no work and homelessness. I choose to live like this—they didn't. I stop and talk to every one of them, and give them food and water. It's the least I can do. People have been generous with me, so I need to pass that on. I'm not saying you have to invite them into your home, but stop and talk with them for five minutes and try to help them, whether it's with food, money, a prayer, or even trying to line them up with shelter at a church or community center. We are all humans, and all require basic things like love and compassion. People get so involved with their everyday lives. You really can't spare five minutes to talk to someone? Slow down in everyday, people—on the road, in your car, or just life in general. Think about what they're going through. Granted there are some crazy people out there, but if you have any common sense, you'll know that it still doesn't hurt to pull over to say hello and hand them five dollars or some food.</span></pre><pre style="white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">So that's why Matt stopped. We got to talking that night and he said something about sushi. I informed him that I used to work at Morimoto on the sushi bar, and he was excited to gather his friends and get down. Phone calls were made and arrangements arranged. I took a shower and grabbed my knife kit, and we headed to the piers. As we were making our way down there we stopped at his friend Tom's house. Tom saw life on the same level as Matt and myself, and we had a good conversation. During this conversation, pretty much everyone backed out of the sushi night. Matt was pretty upset about it. I, on the other hand, am somewhat used to it living in NYC, where everyone says yes only to say they can't later. People tend to overbook themselves. But what I have come to realize is that most of the time they cancel plans to sit at home and watch TV or be on the computer. People, don't pass up real human interaction for an artificial one. It makes you stupid, boring, and just plain lazy. . . So after our talk with Tom, we headed over to a couple's house for tacos, and I was just fine with that. They had a bulldog pup who was a maniac. That dog cracked me up.</span></pre><pre style="white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">It was good to spend time with them, and to share stories. That night I slept in one of the two giant RVs that are parked at Matt's parents' house. His mom trains dogs for agility courses, and so she goes to a lot of shows with up to five dogs with her. She is from the same town in England that Matt and I both happen to have been born in! The next morning we got back on the road and made it to Joe's house that evening. Joe lives out in the country and has a couple dogs, a couple horses, some chickens, and some guinea hens. He also has a huge gun safe with close to fifteen rifles and four handguns. It was supposed to rain all day Saturday, so Coop and I got comfy for a couple days of eating, drinking, and card playing. I spent a lot of time talking with Debbie—she's a good ol' country gal. She looks sweet but she'll knock ya into place without a second thought. She was kinda amazed about what I was doing, and told me that if she could, she would leave all this behind and head to the Caribbean. It was nice talking with her. She has a real kind heart and a sweet smile.</span></pre><pre style="white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">After the rain passed and it dried up some on Monday, Coop and I got back to it. We made it west of Milton, FL and camped on a disc golf course. By the time I got everything set up and both of us fed, I didn't have time to play, so I worked on my short game for a bit before going to bed. That night I started to get a pain below my ribs, and my hips and knees started to ache. I just chalked it up to road soreness and got to moving the next day. We were going down 90, headed toward where I-10 crosses over 90 close to the Alabama border when the pain in my gut was making it really hard to keep pedaling. We pulled into this large field that didn't seem to belong to anyone, and I lay down in the grass to take a nap. It was around one. A couple hours later I woke to the urge to relieve myself, and dashed to the bushes. Not again! It seems I was sick again. So I set up the tent and crawled inside. This time it was more like the flu than the last. I was weak, sore, had a fever, sweats, and all that other unpleasant stuff. During the night my fever got so bad I was having hallucinations and bad dreams. A few times I woke up from one to find Cooper with his head laying on me, just watching me. He would lick the sweat from my forehead. He really looked after me. I love my dog and he loves me.</span></pre><pre style="white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">The next morn I still didn't feel so hot, but the weather was just too nice not to ride. It was supposed to rain that afternoon, and I wanted to get some miles down before that came. We made our way into Alabama. When we got into the town of Seminole, the drops started to fall from the sky. I stopped in front of a fire station that had an awning, and we waited for the rain to stop for about four hours. In the meantime, Rusty stopped by to say hi and told me that later on, he and his wife would return to give me shelter. His wife was a pastor at a church across the street. They put me up, and I got a good night's sleep in a dry church. It's a good thing, too, because it dumped over five inches that night.</span></pre><pre style="white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">The next day I waited a bit for the clouds to move on out, and then we got to it. The road was filled with more hills and headwind. In trying to skip out on some of this, I took a road that I thought would be better, and ended up on a dirt road. With the new ride it was no problem, but if I would have been on the original, I would have had to turn around, and I hate backtracking. But it worked out that we came across Cooper's Lake. It's a public pay-to-fish lake that has been around for over thirty years. We stopped in and took a walk around. When we returned to the ride, there was a gentleman and his dog there waiting for us. We got to talking, and he invited us to stay at his place. It was on our way, and just the right amount of distance to close out the day. After we pulled up to Charles' house, he showed us the spare room and we got settled in. I took a bath, which was great. He has a huge tub that I was able to stretch out in and soak my sore body. After the bath I started laundry and had some fried fish that Charles had caught that day. We talked, and he told me he had seen <i>Into the Wild</i>, and that's what inspired him to stop and talk to me. He said he watched that movie three times in a row. He also told me that if he hadn't seen that movie, he wouldn't have stopped to talk. He would have just kept on moving. So it all goes back to what I was saying before: You gotta stop and talk to these people and find out what they are up to. Also, step outside and take a look around. It's an amazing place, and full of life in every way. Well, I'm gonna rake some leaves for Charles and head into Mobile today. Y'all be good. </span></pre><pre style="white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br />Till next time,<br />Love and licks<br />Sean and Coop</span></pre></span>Rickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2101458466002915183.post-75989131148107546112010-01-09T17:43:00.000-08:002010-01-14T10:54:46.063-08:00Media coverageI don't seek out media attention, I focus on the road, but if someone wants to ask some questions, take some pictures and put them in the paper or on the news I'm not going to stop them. It helps get the word out there. I want people to follow along and live this adventure with me. I'm not seeking out fame.<br /><br />So here is a link to our first news paper article.<br /><a onmousedown="'UntrustedLink.bootstrap($(this)," href="http://thepelhamjournal.com/content.aspx?module=ContentItem&ID=162141&MemberID=1324" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://thepelhamjournal.com/content.aspx?module=ContentItem&ID=162141&<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">MemberID</span>=1324</a>Rickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2101458466002915183.post-39052110914413231982010-01-07T17:41:00.000-08:002010-01-14T10:54:07.800-08:00Bringing 09 to a closeWe stayed at Reed <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Bingham</span> for 3 nights, before pushing on toward the west. After a couple days on the road I came down with a bug of sorts. It affected my gut the most. We had been moving along Highway 37 on a cold windy afternoon when I got a rumble in my belly telling me I needed to make a pit stop and relieve myself. It turned out it was more when I threw up, I knew something wasn't good. I sat around waiting to see what was to happen and it just got worse so I set up the tent and got inside around 1pm. I bundled up and slipped into the sleeping bag and tried to sweat it out. I would wake and scrabble outside when I needed to. This is going to be pretty direct but I want you all to know this is not all cherry pie and beautiful skies. There are going to be times when it just plain sucks and this is one of those moments. So work with me here people, think back to the last time you had the stomach flu or any kind of sickness where a toilet is used often. Your laying in your soft warm bed with extra blankets and pillows. Watching T.V. and taking naps. Hopefully you have someone who is there to take care of you, bring you hot tea, soup, drawing hot baths for you to soak in and just to comfort and pamper you. And when the urge comes you jump out of bed and dash to the toilet to sit or kneel and relieve yourself. Now image all those comforts gone. You live in a tent and have to undo 3 zippers to get out of your tent just to step out to around 30F chilly night air. And hopefully you have enough time to put on your shoes and move as far away as possible from you tent before you spew the grossness from your body. That is what its like for me and it sucks, but it is all part of the adventure!<br /> The next day I was feeling better and got back on the road just before noon. I needed to get on the road even if I wasn't 100%. I made my way into Camilla, I used a phone book at a gas station to see about cheap hotels. I found one that was low rent and accepted dogs. On my way to the Camilla Inn and Suites we rode past a BBQ spot. I pulled up, not wanting to cook anything and needing some protein and hot food in my belly. The spot was <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">KEBO</span> BBQ, and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Kebo</span> himself was working the window when I walked up to place my order. I got a pork and beef sandwich with some fries, and a big sweet tea. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Kebo</span> came out with a big <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">ol</span> bone for Coop and sat with me while I ate and talked to me about my journey. He used to be a trucker in that area awhile back and informed me of different towns and roads. He told me to stop by in the morning and he would have some extra staff meal for me before I got back on the road. I got to the hotel right around sun down and checked in. After unpacking everything I jumped right in the shower and didn't get out for close to an hour. Then I curled up with my pooch and got a much needed good nights sleep in a warm bed.<br />The following morning after loading up we headed down to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">KEBOs</span>. He was a man of his word and much more. I was given breakfast, coffee, chicken wings and sausage for lunch, some snacks for Coop and I, and some extra layers of clothes to keep me warm. The whole staff came out to say hi and get in on a group photo. While I was eating <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Kebo</span> and his wonderful wife Virginia talked to me about my journey and a local reported pulled up to do some reporting. He had gotten a couple of phone calls about my existence in their town. We sat down and I informed him of what it is all about to me. The article made front page of two different papers in the area. Here is the link; <a onmousedown="'UntrustedLink.bootstrap($(this)," href="http://thepelhamjournal.com/content.aspx?module=ContentItem&ID=162141&MemberID=1324" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://thepelhamjournal.com/content.aspx?module=ContentItem&ID=162141&<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">MemberID</span>=1324</a> Thanks everyone in Camilla, you live true the southern hospitality definition.<br /> Once I pushed out of Camilla, I decided to head to Florida. I wasn't planning on going that far south but with the unseasonal cold weather that was moving in I decided to get as south as possible. So I got on 91 south and headed to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Donalsonville</span>, GA. I rolled in to this town around 3 in the afternoon and rode past a laundromat. I needed to wash some cloths but more importantly I needed to wash my sleeping bag. I hadn't washed it yet and 3 months of farting in it was not smelling so good!!! Once my laundry was done it was dark. I made my way over to a couple of churches that were next to each other and set up between them. It was New Years Eve that night and after I had got the tent set up, everything unpacked and the ride covered, it was 6pm and the Methodist church to the left of us stated sounding off the bells to say a new hour was here. Great, all night getting woken up on the hour with the bells!! But luckily after 10 they stopped. I decided to go to sleep after that. Not much partying can happen in a tent with a dog so <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">nightie</span> night we went. But I knew when the New Year was there because the local fire station across the street brought out all the trucks and sounded all the sirens for the entire minute of midnight. That scared both of us big time. Coop tried clawing his way out to get whoever. I was thinking we where surrounded by the local cops and we where going to jail!! After that it quieted down. The next morning I went over to the fire station and met Tony and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">CJ</span> the fireman on 24 hour duty. I asked to use their restroom to freshen up and sat with them for a bit to warm up. The temp has been on a big drop and I really don't get up and moving on as early as I would like. I had planned on moving on that day. But the clouds made it look like it was going to be a wet one so we spent another day and night there between the churches. The next morn Tony got off work and went home and cooked me up some breakfast and brought it over to me as I was breaking down the tent. He told me to go over to the fire house and eat and warm up before moving on. When I went over there I met a couple more guys and the Chief. As I ate they stepped outside to look at the ride and noticed that my break pad had lost one of the two bolts that hold it in place and told me where the local hardware store was. I talked to them awhile longer, mostly with Will Owen a local who had lived there his whole life. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Donalsonville</span> isn't that big and we got talking about music and he told me some of the bands he liked and I was truly surprised. I imagined him being into country music because that's all they play on the radios around there but it was me still being close minded to everyday people. He even sent my mom a message on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">facebook</span> telling her that he had met me. She really enjoyed that.<br /> So here it is a new year. And I'm making my way to the 10<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">th</span> state in 3 months. Rested, clean sleeping bag, and rapidly dropping temps. It kinda sucks riding in the cold. This month marks the 1 year anniversary of me thinking up this idea. I planned this trip for 10 months before leaving. One of the things to plan was the weather, this part of the country wasn't supposed to be this cold yet. No part of the country is supposed to be as cold as it has been. Records are being set all over the US with new lows. Once we got into FL it gets pretty desolate, not a lot of towns to speak of. The first night in the Sunshine state it got down to around 20F. I was cold as soon as the sun went down and didn't warm up till noon the following day, I have a 3 season tent and winter is the season it is lacking. That night I was sure that I needed to find some kind of shelter to stay in. Something to get me out of this cold wind. At the end of the day I came across a EMS station and emergency shelter. I knocked on the door and asked Mickey the dude working if I could set up in his bay with the emergency trucks. He said sure and opened up the big bay doors and let us in. It was good to be out of the elements. We talked as I got stuff unpacked and he offered up a couch in the office once he figured out I wasn't some crazy dude who was going to kill him and feed him to Coop. We went inside and plopped down on the couch and talked and watched some TV while Coop snored away curled up on the sofa.<br /> That night I talked to Kim. She lives about 60 miles from where I was and offered up a ride and a place to stay for the week while this cold weather was around. We made all the arrangements and planed on meeting halfway in Ponce De Leon FL. The next morn I got to and encountered some big <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">ol</span> hills. Once I got off highway 2 and headed south on 81, I made it up a huge hill and stopped at the top to catch my breath and text Kim. We had stopped right in front of this guys house and Coop was going around peeing on his mailbox post and some weeds along side the shoulder. This guy pulls up and tells me to "get your dog off my property! What the hell do you think your doing, that dogs gonna shit all over my yard!" I told him "hold on bub, he isn't gonna crap all over your yard all he's doing is killing some weeds in your ditch." He said " if ya don't get that F@$king dog off my property I'm gonna shoot him" Way over the line there. That is my son he is threatening to shoot. I told him he wasn't going to do any such thing and if he didn't watch his mouth we were going to have some problems. He retorted that if "you don't get you ass moving off my property, I'm going to go in the house and get my gun. You f@#king Yankee get a haircut and get a job." That's it. My New York mentality came spewing out at him " what kinda redneck are you? Why don't you have that gun in you truck?' then it was followed by a bunch of trash talking that would make me look bad to you all so I'll keep that to myself. We got the hell out of there and whenever I heard a car behind us I would look over my shoulder to make sure it wasn't him coming to get us.<br /> Once I met up with Kim and her friend Brenda we loaded the ride into Brenda's truck and went back to her place. I left the ride there and loaded up what we would need for the week at Kim's in her SUV. Then Kim drove me to Opp AL to the post office where I needed to pick up some packages that where waiting for me. I got the new part from Main Street with instructions and pictures on how <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">to replace</span> it, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Brenda's</span> neighbor is a pretty handy guy and is going to help us on Sunday replace it. I also had gotten some biz cards printed up from Vista Print I got 500 for $5 so now I am legit! And my brother John had made a new sign for the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">back of</span> the ride with all our info on it so people will know what its all about without stopping to talk to me, he also threw in some food for me and Coop. On our way down to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Niceville</span> FL we passed a guy who was walking from TX to Southern FL. I had Kim pull over and I talked to him and gave him some beef jerky and trail mix that my bro had sent. Karma.<br /> Now we are resting up in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Niceville</span> in a warm house with lots of food and no worries. I plan on rolling out on Monday or Tuesday after we get the ride road worthy again. I plan on taking highway 90 all the way to TX staying pretty close to the gulf most of the way. So if any of you know anyone tell them I'm rolling <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">thru</span> and to hop on their bikes and ride with us for a bit.<br /><br />Tell next time<br />love and licks<br />Sean and CoopRickshaw USAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06911884022241673921noreply@blogger.com1