There were so many reasons why a guy like me not only shouldn’t have entered that race but also should never have finished.

But I did.

How?

• I made the decision to do something incredible. The simple act of making and committing to a decision may be the most important step in greatness.
• I researched and asked questions on how to prepare for such an event
• I worked very hard to train, no matter what. There is no substitute for hard work. There are no shortcuts to real success in this life. Nothing worth doing is easy. Get it? Great accomplishments take great effort.
• I did my best to believe in myself, stay positive, not listen to the naysayers and I asked for much divine help and guidance.
• When the going got tough and then painful on race day, I kept pedaling. One pedal stroke at a time finally led to 205 miles.

 As I finished that race, I left the negative reasons why I can’t do something in the dust of the Flint Hills. There’s no reason why I can’t accomplish great things anymore. If a short, goofy, not very athletic guy like me can do it, there’s hope for you. Just get off the couch and do something!

With the DK200 behind me, I figured I should also complete the Flint Hills Death Ride, mainly to say that I did it. I entered well before things got crazy at home.

Packing my belongings in many boxes, trying to help Jen make decisions about all kinds of things and just the stress of moving all took their toll on any training I may have done for the Death Ride. I got in about one ride a week for quite a few weeks before the Death Ride. It should be OK, right?

I have found that lack of sleep, stress and bad diet make for a terrible combination on the bike. That about sets the stage for my Death Ride experience.

Robert and Kevin crashed at my house the night before the ride. We all looked south that evening towards Madison, Kansas, the location of the Death Ride. The dark clouds looked very ominous. Madison was getting pounded with rain. I don’t have very good luck riding in the mud, and we were thinking they would cancel the ride. We decided to show up and see what happens. Maybe we would just pick up our t-shirt and go home. I read on their website that they ride rain or shine, but I didn’t want to pay for a new derailleur again, so I was skeptical about completing this one. I gotta say, I hate riding in mud unless I have a gasoline powered motor to get through it.

Here we are before leaving to tackle the Flint Hills Death Ride. Not sure about the placement of that spout in front of me there. And yes, Kevin is oddly tall and hairless.

Madison, Kansas It was pretty dark and the sensor on my point and shoot didn’t like it (noisey!)

At the starting line. I was thinking I would be able to get this 80 mile ride done pretty quick. I had some packing to do.

Kevin was trying to psyche himself up. I think I had him pretty nervous. The guy only rides like 800 miles a week or something.

Robert, bringing some culture and straight up coolness to the small town of Madison, Kansas

No, I’m not sure what Kevin is doing behind me there. I am ready to roll out into the steamy Flint Hills. The air was so thick I could chew it.

Kevin and I rode together for a short while and soon made it up to the front of the pack. I was feeling good and decided to ride hard. That lasted for a while.

Dirty Kanza riders may recall this tower now poking into the low clouds and mist. It didn’t take long for my glasses to become unusable. I had to slide them down my nose to see, a nice look I’m sure. At this point, I was still treating this ride as a race and I was doing quite well. I wasn’t feeling that great, but not bad overall. The roads were sticky, but not unbearable. Kevin is no longer in my sights. I think he was going for the gold medal. Oh wait, everyone gets one on this ride.

I felt strong. Then I hit this hill after a long stretch of muddy, sticky roads. They weren’t unridable, but it took a lot more effort. I had only stopped at one SAG stop for a water refill and was doing quite well on time. My attitude was, “let’s get this thing over with.” Not the best attitude to have. It’s called the Flint HIlls Death Ride, not Race after all. Things have been a bit stressful and what I really needed was a nice leisure ride with my Fargo to help me relax.

Pedaling hard to make it up this hill, I cramped up and had to get off the bike and push. I didn’t feel too bad because others were doing the same. I was a little worried about another day full of cramping though.

I had no excuse this time. I was good on electrolytes and water and food, but after that hill, I pedaled hard again and a cramp started in my thigh. Ouch. I tried to stretch quick and start pedaling again, but every time I relaxed my leg on the up stroke, my thigh cramped up to a painful ball of thick muscle.

Then I finally looked around me. I mean really looked around me. That’s when I was reminded of the gift of seeing that I have. I was ignoring this gift trying to be like Matt Gersib or something. Jeez, I don’t know if I could even keep up with Jason Mahokey let alone Gersib or even Wintle for that matter. I don’t think racing and competition are bad, it’s quite fun actualy, and I do hope I get over these cramps and become a decent cyclist, but even in my description of myself (thanks Gnat), I am a photographer that fell in love with cycling. I want to inspire people to get outside and experience the grandeur of God’s creation – the earth and our amazing bodies. I took out the camera and shot a few pictures. “This is what I should be doing,” I thought. “Don’t forget that.”

At this point I decided to ride up to the point before I would cramp. That meant just a little slower on the climbs. I did notice something on this ride even at this point of my day. I was crushing people up the hills. That’s good. Not that I could crush a seasoned racer, but among us normal people, I was doing pretty good. I am getting better. 

After the cramps, I noticed something else. I was tired. No, I was exhausted. A lot has been going on these past few weeks and it all caught up to me at around 40 miles into this ride. Then I hit this downhill full of big chunky rocks, sharp flint rocks, a washed out ravine on the side followed by a steep ditch followed by an ambulance ride home. I laid on the rear brake and after it dried off a bit it almost was able to stop me. I finally had to pull my foot out of the pedal before the ravine and I became intimate with each other. I decided I should take a shot of where I almost died on the Death Ride.

The one great thing about this ride, is that it is in beautiful country. If you want to see it, let me know, I’ll lead you through it for free. Oh wait don’t forget about the first Adventure Monkey Flint Hills photo-cycling tour on the weekend of September 10 through the 12. It will happen for sure, details to be announced soon so clear your calenders. Any ability of cyclist and photographer is welcome, but not every tire will survive. Fun will be had by all. Now back to the Death Ride.

The course for this ride was pretty nice, I must say. There was more challenge than the past couple of years I heard and it was pretty challenging for me too. Not that I am a stud (I am), but I do most of my cycling in the Flint Hills. The vast prairie was green and beautiful and the clouds were a perfect touch, not to mention they kept it a bit cooler. The humidity was hard to take as usual.

Somewhere after this point I was all alone pedaling in the thick Kansas humidity. I looked a the speedometer. It didn’t seem to be moving. It seemed like hitting 50 miles would never happen. Then I heard the worst sound ever, maybe even worse than Mikey’s whining voice as he screams at Melissa. It was my chain. The mud had dried it out and coated it with gunk. It was not only squeaking, I could hear it grinding. I was cranking hard up hills listening to the chain making nasty squealing and grinding noises that I could also feel in my pedals. All of this was playing havoc on my mental state. I still haven’t hit 50 miles. All then sudden, I no longer wanted to be on my bike. I was exhausted both physically and mentally. I had pushed hard for 40 miles and zapped my energy. But there’s no way I was going to finish the Dirty Kanza and NOT finish this ride, no way. I kept pedaling and thinking.

I thoughts turned to my day job and how I like the actual type of work that I do, but I hate the job. The ride had become just like that. I love to ride my bike, but now all I wanted to do was get off the bike and lay down in some air conditioning. I stopped to stretch, looking behind me I saw no one. I was lonely and not having fun anymore.

There were only three ways I could solve my problem.

• keep pedaling and finish this damn thing, it would be over soon enough
• get rescued by a support vehicle
• die

No support vehicles came to resue me. I have a feeling no one will magically “discover” me and rescue me from my job either. I did not die and I probably won’t escape my job that easily either. Once again, bicycle riding parallels life. Keep pedaling and this trial too will end soon enough. I feel my job is the same. I am learning and honing my skills. Keep at it and it will be over soon enough. There are no shortcuts to greatness. Keep pedaling and soon enough a new adventure will begin where this one ends.

Something great did happen though. I made it to the next SAG stop. Seriously, thank God. I was in a dark lonely place on the road. I asked for chain lube to quiet that demon that wouldn’t stop screaming at me for the past number of hours. After some work, they found some lube. That killed the demon of the groaning chain. Then to my surprise, my friend Sam Tovar showed up as I was getting more water and cooling down. A friend to ride with. Normally I am a lone cyclist, but I was really happy to have someone to ride with now. We started off after a little more cooling down and we rode off towards more hills. My body was exhausted, but the cramping only tried to come back on one other hill. We rode in strong and had a good, but tough time.

We hit another sag stop. I ate some pickles and a banana and made a little small talk with the volunteers. We were only 13 miles from the finish. Let’s do this!

This hill was steep. My legs were no longer able. I tried, but ended up walking up the hill.

There’s me, walking up my second hill of the day.

We made pretty good time and then came to a green marker. That means to turn left. We did. It felt wrong. It was. I wasn’t too happy, but at least I shared the experience with a friend so it was much easier to take. Here is a shot of Sam and a random cyclist trying to figure out why that marker said left. It was just a wrong marker. Great, we added what seemed like 10 miles on the ride but I think it was only three. When you are that tired, extra miles are not really what you want to deal with, especially because of a marker that was wrong. We should have went with our gut and looked a little closer at the map. The guy in yellow seemed a little madder than me, which I actually found kind of funny, so things weren’t too bad, we were almost there anyway, nothing to worry about right?

Then we hit another left. We checked the map. No questions asked, it was a left here for sure. When we started the race, the promoter said they’d reroute if it was too muddy to ride. Cool.

Then pedaling was no longer an option. I was trapped in a mile long stretch of mud so deep it enveloped my shoes.

It was so bad, I could no longer push the bike and the weeds were too thick to walk through on the side of the road. Happiness was now far from me. I was very unhappy. My light cross bike with muddy tires was getting pretty damn heavy. I had to set the bike down a few times to make it through the longest mile I have ever experienced. Man, I am really earning this t-shirt. There I am in the mud. Nice picture from Sam’s phone huh?

Yes, I finished and now I must thoroughly clean my bike, but I am moving too, and we have a bit of remodeling to do in the new house. Magazine number three has to get started too, Oh, and the online store…

If you are on facebook, it looks like there are plenty of goofy pictures of me, the new spokesperson for butt butter. The only picture needed to end this day was at Sam’s house with a cold one (or two).

Feed Your Monkey!
Eric

Posts are far and few between these days as we are packing and getting ready to move all of our belongings to another house. Why do we have all this stuff? Moving is tiring and stressful. This is a great move for us as we are downsizing. This will allow us to live much more simply and adventurously for sure. What’s the use of having a nice house if you can’t do anything?

The Storm

Mikey and I had to make a trip to Wal-Mart (yuck) to get some more packing tape. That’s when I saw the front moving in towards Emporia. I tuned the radio to the local station and they were talking about the storm. Mikey is a momma’s boy, big time and hasn’t spent much time doing “adventures” with Dad. The one thing I remember from the radio announcer was,

“Folks this is not a Kodak moment. Do not go outside…”

As Mikey was repeating things the radio DJ was saying to me in his over the top loud, shrill, four year old voice, we hurried home and I ran inside to grab my camera. I knew this could be a good one. Jen was busy, so Mikey was coming with me. He was a little scared since Momma doesn’t like storms.

I was “ye hawing” trying to get Mikey excited about the storm. He was scared. He wanted to go home and get in the basement. This may sound like child abuse, but I have lived in Kansas and haved watched storms since I was in second grade. My family was in a tornado when I was three or four. I have been chasing them since college. This storm just looked like rain, nothing too crazy. I can’t explain my fascination, but I love a good storm.

The lightning was amazing as we drove just outside of town. I found a spot and we watched the cold front roll in from the confines of the Corolla. It went from the mid 90s to the mid 70s (mid 30s to 20′s for my Canadian friends) in a matter of minutes. I had my window down and the camera pointed out the window. It was only around 7 p.m. and it was getting dark. I had to move the ISO up to 400, but I didn’t want to go too high because of the noise that it would produce in the shadows of the clouds. I hand held the camera at the ready and waited for lighting. My shutter speed was set pretty slow (around a 15th or 30th of a sec) so I could capture the lightning and let the sensor soak in as much light as possible for the ground and clouds. My f-stop was wide open to soak in as much light as I could too. I focused where I thought the lightning would strike in the distance. I had to stay as steady as possible and wait. I tried to get the lightning streaking through the sky many times and kept missing. Mikey was getting into it screaming excitedly at the lightning like at fourth of July fireworks and then he’d ask me if I got that one. Nope, missed it again!

Finally I got one. Not as spectacular as some of the lightning we were seeing, but I will take what I can get! I got one more shot with lightning before the rain really started coming down and we had to head home.

My wife asked how I got the purple color in the lightning. I didn’t. That is the actual color. I used Adobe LR and PS to enhance the contrast and color balance, but that’s it.

That was a nice break. Time to get back to packing…

Feed Your Monkey!
Eric

One of the best things about writing a journal is to read it when time has passed. You see how far you’ve come and what you went through to get there. Feels therapeutic to read old feelings and trials and to see how far you’ve come. I am thinking of finding all the posts on certain topics, like the DK200 for example, and putting them together into a book. It wouldn’t be a regular book, since there would be a lot of pictures, but it might be interesting to see it all played out in book style.

So the posts may get a little more spread out because we are in the process of moving. It’s crazy and that’s just our style. We’ve waited, prayed, wondered, waited and cleaned the house for showings (thanks Jen) for around two+ years now hoping it would sell. As Adventure Monkey’s popularity grew, I knew I needed to downsize to put more money and effort into the Monkey. I am feeling it and it seems like some of you are too. Now everything has lined up perfectly. The house sold and we found a house that I think is perfect for us. Here is where it gets crazy.

We have to be out of our house by the 30th of this month (today is the 17th). I am riding the Flint Hills Death Ride on the 25th and need some training rides and our 20 year High School Reunion (Jen and I are in the same class – cute huh?) is on our moving weekend! Luckily we live in the same town as our high school so that will make it a bit easier to make it to some of the events. Wait, living in Emporia is lucky?

Well, I better get off of this machine. I gotta finish painting a room for the new owners and I gotta make some progress on packing. Another day without a ride. Tomorrow will be a big one for the bike.

Feed Your Monkey!
Eric

Our house sold!

We needed to downsize. Before my Adventure Monkey awoke within me, I thought I was trapped in my job and I bought a new house to begin dying settle down and plant roots. That may be the “American Dream,” but it didn’t fit me. Mortgage payments and other debts imprison you to a job. I am more interested in freedom. Maybe not as free as Wonderous Mountain, but a level of freedom that will allow me to Feed My Monkey is what I need.

Moving sucks. I need to start packing, as the buyers want us out by the end of the month! Luckily we did find a new house that I believe is perfect for us. The garage is huge and even has a bathroom! Bike shop and hang out area is what I am thinking. I am pretty sure the house has bedrooms and a kitchen too, but who cares with a garage as sweet as that?

I am featured in an incredible magazine!

Quit reading and go HERE to check it out. XXC magazine did a special edition on the Dirty Kanza 200! I am honored, humbled and in disbelief that I am in an endurance cycling magazine! A little over a year ago I couldn’t ride 30 miles without crying about it. See? If you just get started on something who knows were you will be a year from today. In my opinion, the hardest part of doing anything is getting started. Any long trip begins with a single pedal stroke (unless you are not on a bike, then that doesn’t make sense). Before you know it, you are writing for XXC Magazine. Go buy one, Jason doesn’t have a “real ” job, he actually likes what he does (wait, can a real job be enjoyable?).

Issue Two of Adventure Monkey Magazine is out

For crying out loud, if you haven’t read it go HERE and download the free pdf. If you want a hard copy go HERE and buy a beautifully printed magazine. This magazine exceeded my expectations. I am currently making $0 with it, but I want to get it “out there.” If you want to help, spread the word to all your Internet friends about the magazine and send them the link to it! If you are feeling more generous, buy a copy and give it to your local bike shop, sporting good store or whatever. This is a grassroots magazine that I don’t want the big corporate block heads to taint. SPREAD THE WORD, please. Thank you.

Flint Hills Death Ride

Want to experience a challenging Flint Hills ride but aren’t quite ready for 200+ miles of unsupported goodness of the Dirty Kanza 200? Then the Death Ride is perfect for you. Yeah it sounds scary, but it is supported with SAG stops with food and drinks and is only 70 to 80 miles or so. I will be there too. Not sure how that makes it better, but trust me, if you do crash, throw up or start to cry I will be there to take your picture and put you on the blog for everyone to see. Register NOW before it’s too late! It will be fun.

The First Adventure Monkey Photo-Cycling Tour Is Scheduled

September 10 through the 12 is when this will happen. Mark your calenders. It is our first go at this and things may not be perfect, but I guarantee it will be fun and challenging and you may even learn something about photography. Other details will be published very soon but the date is set in stone. My friend and co-planner of this event is moving back to Kansas the end of this month, when I will be moving, so after that details will decided upon and made available to you. What could be better than a weekend in the Flint Hills with your bicycle and camera? A weekend with Lelan and I, that’s what! Here’s just a taste of what you will experience:

The main building at Camp Wood. This will be a great place for the photography classes. There's also nice cabins to sleep in and it's all surrounded by the beautiful and rugged Flint HIlls

You will be able to register soon, but make the time available NOW. Feel free to e-mail me with questions or comments!

Tour de France

Yeah, it’s happening now. I have no time to watch it and don’t own a DVR to record it. I watch just a few minutes here and there, but that’s it. Looks like my buddy Lance Armstrong is not going to win.

Those guys are pretty amazing. I get tired climbing hills in Kansas let alone mountains in France. Lance needs to forget that wimpy road riding stuff anyway and enter the Dirty Kanza. If you know him, let him know I said that. Since he will be retired, he’ll probabaly need some help with travel and lodging, so I guess my family will sacrifice and let him crash at my place next year. If someone could give him a ride from Austin that would be cool. Lance, we will hook you up!

So that’s it for now. Wish me luck on the move, my marriage needs it!

Feed Your Monkey!
Eric

There were a few more cyclists, but I already put my camera away. Looks like I was the fastest one, but to be honest, I didn’t wait up at the corner for the others. I wanted to get up to the top to shoot some pictures and yell at the climbers to pedal harder. Nothing like acting like the climb was a cinch to get on people’s nerves. I was the youngest child and still get a kick out being a nudge.

Coming back towards town I set a pretty good pace in the front of the group. When I feel that good, I gotta go with it. I knew Tim, the giant in the picture above, would soon catch me. He did and said, “Setting a mad pace up here.” He’s a cycling stud, and I was a little giddy that he said that to me but I also knew the pace would quicken. I tried to explain that I wanted to get a good workout in since it was a short ride. I’m not sure he heard as he exhaled a cloud of cigarette smoke and picked up the pace even faster. Finally, my little legs couldn’t keep up any more. I did hang with him for just a bit though. OK, he wasn’t smoking, but he didn’t seem to be breathing any harder than a fat man with a cigar on a lazy boy recliner clicking past the Tour de France to watch Nascar.

I get stuffed up and congested and sometimes short of breath when I ride or run outside. Exercise enduced asthma? I am not sure, but many times I start to wheez and feel short of breath. Anyone else deal with this and have a solution?

We cut the ride short, and I was still feeling great. I couldn’t waste it, so I broke off from the group and kept going. I tried to keep pedaling hard enough to feel the burn, but not burn out. It ended up being a great workout. I felt great on the bike again. I had my eye on the clock to make sure I would get home in time to shower, eat and look for houses. Our house finally sold after around two years of trying. The bad thing is they want us out in 20 days from last weekend. It’s all good. I wanted to downsize in order to have more money to put towards Adventure Monkey. Keep your eye on the monkey, because things will be picking up soon. I might be able to leave the cubicle wasteland behind. Fingers are crossed, prayers are said every morning as I commute to work with that feeling in the pit of my stomach. Time to be a Lichpin. Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?

Some of you hate Trek. Here’s a picture for you of my beloved Trek.

Feed Your Monkey!
Eric

The Fargo doesn’t have a speedometer since it’s on the cross bike now. That drove me crazy at first, but the Fargo, in my humble opinion, doesn’t need one. It’s the kind of bike that makes it fun to just pedal and not worry about current and average speeds and instead just take in the scenery and fresh air. Believe me, I do like to now how far I have gone and in the Flint Hills it helps me to navigate since I have a non-smart phone and no gps.

I sure do enjoy the speed and comfort (yes I said comfort) of the cross bike, but there is a whole different feeling and comfort level to the longer Fargo. I do enjoy riding it quite a bit, especially since all this cycling has gotten my legs in such good shape. Not too long ago a long ride was in the 30 mile range.

Cycling is a great activity where gains can be seen quickly if you stick to it. Not only do you get in shape, but you fully experience a region on a bike. It brings you closer to being a “whole” person. By whole I mean, you get a real appreciation and connectedness for the land you are traveling through and for your body that is powering the transport. I eat better, sleep better and appreciate my body and the areas I ride through more that I ever have. Once again, the power of a bicycle is far reaching and life changing.

On this ride I was experimenting with my electrolyte levels and Enduralytes again. I didn’t want to cramp and I am trying to figure out what my body needs. I took three pills as I ate breakfast and I took a long time to finally get on the bike, since I wanted to have a relaxed day. I took two more pills before I left. I brought nuun enhanced water (I can only do triberry flavor btw) in my backpack and had two water bottles with plain water. I was trying to push it to see what too much electrolytes felt like. I am my own guinea pig.

It was a beautiful day with wispy clouds. I love riding my bike.

I used to hate hills and like the ease of riding pavement. Now, the exact opposite is true. Pavement is boring and gravel is where its at. Add the hills and low maintenance roads of the Flint Hills and a great ride is bound to happen.

Since Lance is going to retire again, I’d like to see him try the DK200 next year. I may have to make this a campaign of mine. I think it will take a lot more posts of making fun of pavement and the Tour de France before he will show up. How fast do you think he’d ride these 200+ miles of Flint Hills gravel? I don’t know if he can even handle it. For crying out loud, he hasn’t ridden self supported in awhile and the cows won’t even care how many Tours he has won. Bring it Lance, the DK 200 is waiting. You can crash at my place.

So here is a picture of me, thirsty. I found out what an excess of electrolytes feels like. I was drinking the nuun-water and then had to switch to my old fashioned water because I was just plain thirsty and it was hot. In this picture, you can see the salt in the creases of my face. That’s a headsweats headband on my head there and it’s not mine. I have taken Dustin’s headsweats headband hostage. Sorry Dustin, I’m gonna have to get you a new one, hopefully with the AM logo.

Soon I was out of plain water and I wanted nothing to do with the enhanced water. Uh, Oh.

I cut the ride a bit short and headed to Randy’s house, the cyclist’s paradise, No one was home, but I filled up with water and made it home without any problems. Thanks Randy! It was a great ride.

My friends, turn off the TV, get outside this week and enjoy.

Feed Your Monkey!
Eric

If you don’t rememeber Kevin, he came to Emporia from Wichita to ride the 100 miles to Nowhere fundraiser with us and finished in like three hours. He’s not slow. He’s very disciplined in riding regularly and pushing himself on each ride. Unlike me, he’s built like one of those professional cyclists, tall, lean and looks like he may need to eat a sandwich. He finished the DK200 and is kind of a stud.

As anyone knows, you get friends together to do a “ride” and it always becomes a race. You watch your friend out of the corner of your eye. You may be making small talk or whatever, but the pace slowly quickens. At some point there is laughter or a chuckle as you realize the race has begun. The discussion ends as the need for oxygen takes over and the battle for bragging rights begins. Luckily, this is just a short ride, 70 to 80 miles in the July heat of Kansas in the Flint Hills. No Problem. Kevin, let the race begin!

Adventure Monkey News

We put our house up for sale around two years ago. It’s a nice new house that’s very comfortable to live in. It also has a huge mortgage payment. In weighing out the options for our lives, staying there means comfort and stability and a prison sentence in a cubicle for 25 more years or so. Leaving there means, downsizing, simplifying and being able to put more money into savings and Adventure Monkey. Is Adventure Monkey “it?” I think so. I have gotten conformation of this on many levels, one being that you are reading this.

I have been feeling that Adventure Monkey is on the verge of something big. Well the house finally sold last weekend and the buyers want us out in 20 days. Wow, things are moving fast all of the sudden. We looked at houses yesterday afternoon. We are looking for a place to live and also a place where Adventure Monkey can grow. Decisions, decisions. The good news is, Phase two of Adventure Monkey has begun.

Anyone up to help us move?

Feed Your Monkey!
Eric

A week ago today, some of us went on a ride to bid Jim Cummings a farewell. A great career opportunity has come up for him. He is a packaging engineer and I will be thinking of him next time I eat one of my very favorite candies. It had been a while since I had ridden with the racers and I was looking forward to a great ride. Let’s just say, I started out strong and feeling good until they started.

Leg Cramps.

Yeah, they suck so bad, they get their own paragraph. I just don’t want to be near them so I’ll leave them hanging up there by themselves and let spellcheck tell me it may be an incomplete sentence. I hate you leg cramps.

It could have been the lack of sleep, the afternoon cup of coffee or just being so hurried when I got home because my carpooler was late getting out of work, resulting in me being rushed and running around the house getting ready to ride that I forgot to eat a banana, pack any food or drink any electrolyte drink before I left, not to mention forgetting to bring my headlight. I was worried about missing out on the ride as I rushed out the door and rode over to the house of Tim Mohn.

To make a long story short, I was keeping up fine until my leg started screaming at me. The group waited for me at a couple of places and when I got there I got the shameful question: 

“You feeling OK?”

I felt miserable, and the question of shame makes it even worse. It’s much better to be on the other end of that. Feeling sorry for their slow, short friend I was given Accel gels, a Cliff bar and finally some Cliff Shot Blocks. Coming back towards town and after the shot blocks, I felt great. When the ride was over, I felt like I was ready to ride. I definitely need to get the whole electrolyte thing figured out for sure. Leg cramps suck.

I kept up just fine in the beginning and took a few pictures before the pain set in. Pretty sure I’d be a decent cyclist if I could get the cramps to disappear. Of course, I’d also be an excellent basketball player if I wasn’t five foot six.

Then we had another predicament. Jim, one of the founders of the DK 200 and gravel rider extraordinaire, had a flat. No, make that four or five flats, I lost track. He was riding his shiny new red Salsa Cross bike but didn’t have the tire situation set up yet. The Flint Hills gravel ate those tires up. That slowed the ride down quite a bit. I felt fine in the end and the breaks probably helped. Everyone made fun of the skinny tired cross bike. Just so you know, I haven’t had any flats yet on my cross bike set up with a Bontrager XR1 on the front and a Kenda Kwest on the rear with somewhere around 1000+ miles of Flint Hills gravel under them. (The Kenda Kommados look interesting too)

This calf was checking us out as we waited for the rest of the guys to show up. I had ridden the hills back towards Emporia at a fairly good pace. This stretch of gravel was very rough with lots of loose rock and big downhills. I was having a good time going fast and thought I was really fast since no one was behind me, but they were changing flats.

Hey look, lucky #7. The Browns and I waited for the group. Matt decided to go find them and went back. I was more concerned about keeping the leg cramps away and thought the break may do me some good. This is when Stephanie let me have half a pack of shot blocks and I had no more cramps after this short rest. And here she is, the better looking half of the Brown Duo.

Well, the rest was longer as another flat happened as the sun was going down. Jim didn’t seem too cheerful when I jokingly asked him if this was his first time in the Flint Hills.

The last flat that occurred was on nice downhill coming out of the Flint Hills. I should say it’s a fast downhill and it’s a good thing Jim controlled his bike and didn’t wreck. I gave him my last tube and we were off. All I had was my helmet light with low batteries. I turned it on and then the racers turned on their lights. They were super bright and made me and my little Coleman light feel a little inferior. I may have rode a little faster at the end of the DK 200 if I could have seen on those dark, low maintenance roads, Ah who am I kidding?

We hit pavement on the way home and lined up and pedaled hard. Our paceline would have rivaled any at the Tour de France, I’m almost sure of it. That was fun, as my cramps were gone and I owe everyone for helping me out.

We finished the night off with some food and beer and wished Jim good luck and farewell. He promised to see us all in June of 2011 for the next Dirty Kanza 200.

Good Luck Jim. Tear it up in Pennsylvania.

Feed Your Monkey!
Eric

No, I didn’t spell that wrong in the title, that’s how he spells his name. His name happens to be Wonderous Mountain. He found me through a website called warmshowers and e-mailed me to see if he could crash at my place. The reason I signed up with warmshowers in the first place was because I plan on riding across the country in two years. I want to do it as cheaply as possible experiencing America, not just riding 4,250 miles. I would love to camp in your backyard or even on the floor of your basement if you are near my path. Meeting people is definitely going to be a highlight of this trip for my son and I. I figured I should also be open to house cyclists at my house if they need a place. Good Karma right?

I told Wonderous I would ride on HWY 50 and meet him and we could ride to my place together. That way I would have time to talk with him and make sure he wasn’t a serial killer or anything like that. He was definitely eccentric, but far from a serial killer, so I kept riding with him to Emporia. I figured if I had to, I could lose a touring cyclist with a fully packed bicycle weighing near 100 pounds, no problem. But that’s not quite what I found when I finally saw Wonderous Mountain coming towards me.

The first things that caught my eye where: Lots of curly red hair and a beard growing wild. A full suspension, Next bicycle from Wal-Mart that weighs almost as much as a fully loaded touring bike by itself. A hand built, wood rack bolted to the frame. No cycling clothing or gear. A chain with no lube. No camping gear. Sandals. No helmet. Gym shorts and a wind breaker. A shower curtain rod? And finally Wonderous Mountain himself with a big smile and in need of a shower.

We got to talking as I barraged him with question after question. Seems like he decided to ride across the country from Missouri to California to meet up with some other “free thinkers” at an outdoor training school. That was about as much planning as I could see. I have two years to plan my TransAm trip and am worried about all the stuff I should take. This 24 year old guy just got on a bike and started riding.

He seemed OK, yes a little different from us, but a pacifist, tree hugging sort of guy, and I felt OK about taking him home with me. He looked like he needed to eat.

A few things I found out about him:
He has a congenital heart condition and rides only around 35 miles per day. He had to take a break on the way to my house. He doesn’t have a job and a regular job doesn’t suit him much anyway. He is smart and know lots of things. He is a vegetarian and likes to eat salad dressing in his oatmeal. He wants to create a solar powered bike to help him up the hills. As a matter of fact he was carrying some of the parts in his bag.

Yes, that’s a soldering gun and a ceiling fan motor he’s carrying with him. That’s pretty heavy gear that won’t help him ride any faster, that’s for sure. He doesn’t have any real “set in stone” kind of life plans at all. He hopes to continue his journey ans someday get to Africa. I am not sure for what, but that doesn’t concern him any. What I had on my hands was a modern day hippie. He ended up being a very eccentric kid on an adventure. I planned on taking him to the bike shop to get that rear break fixed and at least the chain lubed before he left, but first a shower, wash the clothes and get some food.

It happened to be July 4th and we had a party to go to that we didn’t want to miss. Jen called our friend to make sure it was OK to bring Wonderous Mountain to the party. “I guess so,” was the tentative answer on the other line. We showed up with our guest and I do believe everyone was a bit surprised, amused or just downright uncomfortable with him. It was a little weird. He is a skinny guy, but I am not sure if he ever stopped eating at the party. I thought it was good for everyone to meet an interesting, free spirit like Wonderous once in their lives. But enough is enough and we did leave the party a bit early and ended up shooting some fireworks with him at our house. It was fun and he had a good time.

All in all it was uncomfortable having someone in our house that we didn’t know and that was, to be completely honest, a little weird. As I rode home with him that first day I kept hearing those words, “the least of mine,” and knew I should take him in. I felt I needed to give Wonderous Mountain food, shelter, and a break from the road at the very least. I needed to trust my gut and get out of my comfort zone to be able to do that. He was a nice kid and to be honest, I am a bit worried about him making it to his destination. His rear hub was not in good shape, the bike is not touring worthy and his physical condition is not that great. I wish him luck. I do believe by taking him in and getting to know this interesting character, it did enrich my life just a bit.

He slept over on the 4th and I had to go to work on the 6th, so I took him and his bike to High Gear to fix the brake and lube the chain. I got him a couple of thin rain pochos from Wal-Mart, gave him some extra food and sent him on his way. It was raining, but I had to get him on his journey. I couldn’t let him sleep another night and leave him there with my wife while I went to work, so I helped him pack up and bid him farewell. He waved goodbye as he rode off in the rain (without any rain gear BTW).

After he left, I realized how tired I was. I guess I was a little on edge the whole time. I crashed on the couch and deep inside hoped he’d be OK.

Feed Your Monkey!
Eric

Since the 4th of July fell on a Sunday and I get every Friday off from cubicle world, last weekend turned out to be a nice long four day break. I was looking forward to getting some miles in, but Mother Nature had other plans. I think it’s time to get some rain gear.

For crying out loud, I did ride in negative digits and snow through the winter, but the rain creates mush on the gravel and crazy drivers on paved rainy roads don’t sound much better, although being outside is better than being indoors on rollers. Rain gear for me and fenders for the Fargo should do the trick.

I did get a bit of time in the saddle though. I left early on Friday, maybe Saturday morning (the whole weekend is a blur to me now and if you read the rest of this week’s posts, you will understand why). I wanted to get a ride in before the family was moving around too much. The air was muggy as could be, but the temperature was in the 70′s. The clouds were promising rain. I hoped I could hit the gravel of the Flint Hills for a nice 30 mile loop before the rains started. I almost made it.

For those of you that rode the Dirty Kanza 200, These roads should bring back a few memories. I live pretty close to that route and I can do a nice 30 mile loop with hills and gravel any time. I may not live close to a Super Target or nice restaurant, but I do have the Flint Hills in my backyard.

It felt as if Mother Nature was scowling at me for riding that morning. I prayed for the rain to hold off for a few hours. Yeah, it was that important for me to get in a ride. If it started raining on these roads, I’d be in big trouble.

Enough about me and my bike, let’s dicuss more important things. I shaved my beard last weekend. I was trying to trim it up to look cool, but it didn’t work out, so I shaved it all off. Here’s the important question: Beard or No beard? What do you think? I think I look younger, but don’t know if that’s the look I need as CEO of Adventure Monkey. My wife likes the beard (which may be most important right?) So here’s a couple of shots.

The ride was nice. I love riding in the moring. I was going to go a little farther, but the dark clouds in the distance were getting closer. I turned and headed back home.

I took a different road home, then spotted a low maintenance road I had never ridden before. It looked interesting. Before I knew it, I was led to the middle of a field that had no way out. The shot below is me turning around to get back on an actual road. Backtracking is not my favorite thing to do, but backtrack I did. This added at least 35 minutes to the ride. I made it to gravel when it started to sprinkle. Luckily by the time the rain really started falling, I was on a paved road with only a short stretch of gravel to ride before I would have pavement the rest of the way. Remember, our clay filled mud is like riding through cement. It’s terrible on bike components and a pain to clean. Riding in the rain was actually kinda fun and the looks from the dry car people were priceless. More reason to get some rain gear and fenders.

I made it home, almost slipping into a Tour de France type of wreck turning into my neighborhood on the slick pavement. Luckily for me and my bike, I came out of the skid and missed the curb by an inch coming out of the mangled turn I was attempting. That was a good ride.

Checking the computer, it looked like a cyclist was making his way to California and was going to be in Emporia the next day. He found me on warmshowers.org and wanted to know if he could crash at my place. Little did I know but I was in for an adventure with this one. More on this later this week…

Feed Your Monkey!
Eric