Springfield SD

The Siiiiiiimpsons! Taking a rest day in South Dakota. This is a beautiful town on the banks of The Lewis and Clark Lake. This pic was taken at a park intown. I've become very introspective out here. With little human contact the mind starts to breakdown everything in strange ways. I've learned a lot about myself, some good, some bad. I thought that I could change myself with this journey, but I've realized you can't change yourself, only accept yourself for who you are. This sounds easier than it is, because to do that you have to accept all those around you too. Everyone is an aspect of your ownself. Larisa said to me awhile back, the things we dislike most about people are the things we dislike about ourselves.

When the going gets tough...

Currently, I'm near Sioux City, IA. I've taken some long pulls on the bike this week to make up for lost time. In turn, my entire body is sore. I'll be in South Dakota tomorrow, though, which makes up for it. The further out I get, the fewer and fewer my resources are. This will be the last major city for awhile so if the posts become fewer, don't worry, I'm probably just no where near civilization.

The Gonzalez Family

These are my cousins I stayed with while in Kansas City. From left to right we have: Tommy, Missy, Aleesha, Mike, Tony, and George. George is my 1st cousin who is married to Missy, the rest are their kids (as you can guess). They were all great, we had such a good time. Went to Worlds of Fun, and rode a bunch of roller coasters. I drank to much, fell down, and busted my knee up pretty bad. It's still sore, but was worth it just to hang with family. And they didn't even laugh when I sucked it up in pool and bowling.

On the 8th day God said let there be ketchup

I've made it to East St. Louis, IL. I can tell I'm not in the south any more for three main reasons:
1. The accents have changed from the southern draw, to a New Englandish- MidWestern thing.
2. The roads are actually marked. Thru GA,TN, and KY I was lucky to get one sign every other intersection. Here, everything is marked. Every road, state park, everything.
3. Finally, the roads have shoulders. It sounds silly but when huge trucks are flying by you its nice to have some where to go.
This is a pic of the worlds largest bottle of ketchup. Its in a town called Collinsville, IL. People here have been very friendly. I'm at the foot of the Lewis and Clark Trail. I'll be taking this all the way to Oregon. Up until now I've been on the trans america or making up my own route. It a relief to have all the guess work out of the way.

THIS IS AN OLDER POST THAT NEVER MADE IT TO THE BLOG!!

The Legend of Piasa

This is a depiction of a legendary creature from Ancient Native American folklore. Piasa was a bird large enough to pick up a whole deer, and carry him away. Piasa got a taste for human blood, and killed whole villages. He lived in these caves in Illinois.
THIS IS AN OLDER POST THAT NEVER MADE IT TO THE BLOG!!

Missouri

Last saturday I camped in a town called Hermann, where apparently on saturdays, they line up their classic cars in the Hardee's parking lot. Wiskey Tango's revved engines and peeled tires all night. I guess every small town has that in common.

I've made it to Kansas City, KS. While in KC, I'm taking a few days off from biking to visit with relatives and relax sore muscles. I figure I'm about one third of the way through my trip. It took a little longer expected, but this isn't a race. And until the money's gone, I'm going to push on.

The Weather has held up especially well. I've only seen hail once and been rained on while riding just a couple of times. The injury report goes as follows:

Right Knee: sore, possibly from over straining it. I think my right side is dominent, which leads to it getting wore out faster.

Left Shoulder: searing pain everyday on the bike. This I attribute to my accident a few years back. That shoulder and side of the neck has never healed right.

More to come later.

Piasa's Caves

And then the sky smiles

Just as the hail stopped and the ground was steaming of melting ice, two rainbows showed up. What a wonderful world.

Bottomless Pit (thats about 150 ft. Deep)

What is this?

Big Mammoth Cave KY

I'm in west KY, hoping

I'm in west KY, hoping to be in IL tomorrow. If it wasn't for the few remarkable people who open their hearts to strangres this world would be very dark place.

The Bike has a name.

The Bike has a name.

I've decided to call him "El Burro," because he carries all my stuff, is slow, and is as stuborn as a mule.

Back in the saddle. The

Back in the saddle.

The Bike is repaired and I made it to Cookevile, TN. Still needs work so I'm staying here another night. Not sure what happened exactly to the bike. I'd been riding it pretty hard all week, over dirt, gravel, glass, everything. I was trying to traverse this dirt road when I hit a mud puddle that was much deeper than I expected. It burried the wheels and I had to hop off and yank the bike out. I kept riding thinking nothing of it, when about a mile down the road, the drive train siezed up. I jumped off again and when I surveyed the damage it was bad. The drop out was bent, derailer was shot, the rear rack was broken in two places, chain snapped and the wheel was bent. There was nothing to do but walk. I walked 8-10 miles before a Park Ranger named Stewart, picked me up. Stewart literally saved my trip. He is one of the kindest men I've ever met. Not only did he take me into camp, but showed me around the Park, checked on me everyday I was there, and even drove me 40 miles to the nearest bike shop. This trip even though its only been a week has been an eye opening adventure. Everyday has brought a new strange story, much more than I can type in this blog. It feels like I'm living in a movie. The highs have been huge and the lows have been devistating. And you never know when either will happen.

Cookeville, TN

Ray, If you read this

Ray,
If you read this call mom tell her not to worry, I am fine. No phone service here only text.Leave tomorrow.

Major stoppage @ Fall Creek

Major stoppage @ Fall Creek Falls.I am ok, but bike is in serious disrepair.Will try to fix.No phone sevice.

Opening Day Finally got out

Opening Day

Finally got out today, after much delay. Happy to be riding again, all be it on iced legs. Made it to "the Rock" campsite outside Rockmark. Heading to just North of Rome. Look for a new post Tuesday, when I'll be in Cookeville, TN

The Test Drive


I went out last weekend and road the first leg of my trip. I wanted to ride the second leg as well, but forgot my phone and had no way of contacting anyone to pick me up. If nothing else this was definitely a learning experience. No pannier (sidebag) is water proof. Fully loaded, this bike weighs a ton, and so did my legs that second day. Slow and steady will win this race. Patience is the key to the game. This picture was taken at my campsite. Between those mountains and my tent somebody was having a raging party. I could hear this live band most of the night, playing in the valley. It was comforting to hear others having such a good time.

Better Late Than Never

My last finished piece in Atlanta. This was done as a Christmas gift for Larisa, unfortunately I didn't finish until February. I've painted others since that time, but nothing as complete as this one. Click on the image for a larger view.

LAST CALL







Some pictures from Saturday's party. It was a great time all around and I wanted to thank eveyone who showed up, AWESUM! I knew, I would not remember the whole night, so i tried to take pictures of eveyone as they came in. This worked for a while till the drinks kicked in. Larisa took over camera duties in the late night, thanks babe ;-) What a send off! Im going to miss all you guys so you better stay in touch. All of YA!

A little bit about the trip.

So I've gotten alot of questions about the trip from many people and wanted to answer a few of the basic questions. First, I think its going to take me around 2-3 months to cross the country. Roughly 4,500 miles of asphalt will be crossed. I'll be carrying between 35-40 lbs. of gear on a 25 lbs. bicycle. There are two well know routes that I will be riding on, The TransAmerica and The Lewis and Clark Trail. The first 7 days will be me navigating the wild, thanks in part to goolge maps. My destination will actually be Astoria, OR. Its on the coast, and my plan is to sit out on the beach for a few days as my reward.

The Truth will set you Free.

Friends,
Today I have shed the last of my dislike and mistrust for all the things that have clouded my mind over the last few months. The truth has set me free to enjoy my own soul. I no longer fear that an evil man lurks behind my eyes, waiting to pounce on those least suspecting. He may still be there, but I have no need to fear him. A strong, beautiful, caring man has taken control of the home I've built in my head. In this home there will be a seat for all my emotions, and all things will be welcome in. Manipulation of the weak is not my crime, and I will no longer be a victim to it.

So, I encourage you all to look deep inside, and face any demons that may have taken control of your spirit. If it's time to do some spring cleaning, go into your home and throw out the garbage that has been stinking up your mind. A smile will appear across your lips and your heart will float in your chest because of the great weight you have released from over top of it.

Rejoice!

-C

The RouteIts Official. I've given my notice at work and most of the route is planned out. Right now the tentative departure date is May 15th 2006. From here on out I'll be using this blog as a stagging point for news and photos of my trip. I hope to keep in contact with all of you, so you should be able to find all the info you need to contact me or just leave a note.

The One Larisa Bagged.
On the camping trip we brought a sling shot and 1000 paintballs. This was just the start of our destruction. So much for the "leave it how u found it" policy. This was the first kill of the night which was shot by our expert marks woman, Larisa.

This is Eric and Mike Frame on a recent camping trip some of us went on. Much, much fun

My Bianchi Volpe. He needs a name, anybody have sugestions? So, far I've heard: Victor, BobbySue, and just Volpe. Im not really sold on any of these.

This is Bobbi. She was going on the trip with me but utility persuaded me to choose a more suitable ride. My new bike is Volpe and I'll have a picture of him up soon. This goes out to you Bobbi, I'll see you soon.

This one i just titled "Thunder". I know Sam hates this one so I had to post it.

another from one of the Best Cities I've ever been to.

SWEET! found some Amsterdam pics, thought I'd post 'em.