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A Run for Liberty

December 18th, 2009
1,489 comments

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A r3VOLutionary in CA is planning to jog across. I especially like that he and his partner are using brew-pubs as way marks – haha

Here is a link

On January 9th, 2010 I will start my Transcontinental run from Huntington Beach, CA to the Statue of Liberty in New York. Follow me and my shooter, editor, friend and co conspirator, Chris Swenson as we travel across the country, talking about Liberty, less Government, free markets, sound money, running and of course, CRAFT BEER!

Check them out if they are on your route. I wish them a safe and successful journey

GO GRASS ROOTS!

Uncategorized

Welcome

October 28th, 2009

This site is primarily used for documenting bicycle ride outreach efforts. The last ride was “The Ride for Honesty” and you can read the whole story in the archives.  Reading from this page back will give you the story in reverse, I should figure out how to make it chronological, not enough time in the day…

So, welcome; am glad you are here. It should be noted that various efforts over the last year (including the ride) have garnered an award from “Oath Keepers” as “Citizen Activist of the Year” for 2009 at the first annual conference. If you haven’t heard of OathKeepers please visit

http://oathkeepers.org

The current primary focus is promoting liberty candidates for office and I am going to North Carolina to help some friends “Get Out The Vote”, Glen Bradley is running for State House and leading in the polls. As I am a big proponent of down ticket races, I am very excited to be helping my good friend Glen. Also in the neighborhood is BJ Lawson who is running for US Congress, and I’ll be close to support him, as well.

Finally, here is a simple video explaining the heart of liberty

Enjoy

Uncategorized

Quite the trip

August 20th, 2009

I’m still adjusting, my apologies for not posting more. I’ll find a balance and start gearing up for the next ride as soon as I can.

I was asked on the forum about the physical toll of such a trip. I think the biggest toll is mental. It was a complicated project on a relentless schedule.  Maintaining an appreciation for adversity. Keeping positive in the pouring rain while lightening strikes on all sides. Not freaking out over an early evening flat-tire; just fixing it with a shrug. What can you do? Seeing yet another mountain in the distance. Must. Keep. Pedaling. – haha

Physically? Well, it hurt. Every day. But I’m stronger. I can honestly say these trips have made me into a hard-ass ;). The aches would ebb and flow through the day. I usually felt good in the AM. Knees would be a bit stiff, but that would work out. Towards the end of the day they’d start reminding me that I ain’t twenty, though.

The Pennsylvania section beat the hell out me. Steep hills and late spring weather. Cold rains and humid sun. I broke out in a heat rash one day and made the mistake of rubbing my arms and breaking the blisters. That exposed new skin to the elements which quickly sun/wind burned into a nasty mess. The mid-west girls nursed the worst of of it, the sides of my elbows took a while to heal…

Everything took at back seat when my sciatic started acting up. Anyone who has had sciatic pain knows exactly what I am talking of. It was alright on the bike, walking wasn’t too bad, but standing was nearly impossible. Keeping “cheery” with that kind of dis-comfort was a challenge.

I have a new respect for heat, and the body’s cooling abilities/limitations. I can’t stress enough the importance of being careful, especially in high humidity. People of all ages and fitness levels die from heat stroke/exhaustion every year. Oklahoma and Nevada definitely reinforced that…

At the end of the day, the pain was short term, the gain long term, (and  a few more grey hairs from the days skirting Death Valley – haha).

Onward and forward…

Uncategorized

Journeys, and Destinations

July 29th, 2009

I have no idea where I am going to go with this post and look forward to seeing it as much as anyone…

First things first.

My thanks to Divine Providence, and for the many prayers of my family and friends. What got me safely across this country had very little to do with me, and everything to do with the above. I just kept pedaling, faithfully believing our cause as the correct moral path.

The satisfaction I feel is one I hope we all share. All of you, truly, have been with me the whole time. You shared my aches and frustrations, making them easier to bear. You made sure I was fed, sheltered, and hydrated, keeping me strong. You bought the materials I delivered, fulfilling my purpose. You all share in the experienced knowledge that daunting tasks can be accomplished, by teamwork, (coupled with dogged determination). My contribution was merely forcing the issue. I was coming, ready or not. – haha

So, what did I do? Did I pedal a bike from the Statue of Liberty to Alcatraz? Or did I water a withered tree?  I set out to do the latter.The symbolism of the ride was just a means…

Jefferson once stated that the natural fertilizer of the tree of liberty is the blood of patriots and tyrants. Working towards a peaceful r3VOLution means I must fertilize that tree with my own blood, sweat, and tears. My greatest satisfaction is in you all who chose to join in, contributing your own precious lifeblood. Our mingled drops, freely and purposely given, make a very powerful mix.

So again I say, Mahalo Nui Loa! To God, Family, Country. Thank you for a safe passage.

A vast and beautiful country. From sea to shining sea. And I don’t mean the landscape, a country is only geographical in a narrow sense. What makes a country great is the people. In America that is you, and the countless folk I encountered on the way. We, The People. Kind, generous, fun-loving is the norm, not the exception. A polite word and an easy smile work wonders. It is harder to detect and bring out in the cities, but still there. I’ve had my best luck handing out fliers in cities with variations of the cry, “Propaganda, get yer propaganda here!” – lulz… Most everyone appreciates honesty, couple it with humor and you’ll be feeding their minds out of your hand…  In the country I hardly needed to do much at all. People are naturally curious and being in a morally correct position gives us a genuineness that people crave. That is our strength

Every mind we touched has had a seed planted and at the end of the day, politics is a numbers game. What we have done on this ride is increase the odds in our favor. The numbers of people who want to be tyrants is minuscule. Most people just to be left alone.  They don’t want to have to think much about geo-political issues. They just want to raise their children in the best possible environment. Many are too trusting, but very few are stupid. Many may seem drowsy, but very few are comatose. Some may be deluded, but none are hopelessly so. Miracles do happen.

I deeply planted some seeds in the mind of a Marxist in Upper Haight (Ashbury) yesterday. I said nothing when he first proclaimed that Obama was not going far enough and we needed full blown communism. I waited. We talked, and I railed on the kleptocracy masquerading as a duapoly. I railed on the globalist bankers and the corporations that fund both sides. Positions he had to agree with. Then I hit him with history. The fact that history is full of utopias gone horribly wrong, and was he willing to take the chance…  I then talked of freedom. How it is the natural state of man, and how history shows it to be our most peaceful and prosperous state.

History vindicates our position. Simple as that.

So much of our position is simple common sense. That is why it is so important to get out and get the information to people. Help them educate themselves. As things get worse, more and more are rousting themselves and looking for answers. We need to have our answers available, everywhere. Now is the time. We have to be ready to engage the most unlikely prospects with respect and courage. We have to understand that even most of our “enemies” are ignorant of the role they are playing in their own downfall, and with the courage of conviction, stand our ground with polite respect. I took my leave from the Marxist after winning some crucial points. Know when to walk away and let the seeds sprout on their own… Have faith. It’s a numbers game…

Speaking of numbers, I’ve been seeding the bay area pretty good. Pitched a boatload of people on the ferry, literally.

Even got some spontaneous donations. That always gives me a boost, concrete evidence that I am earning my keep.

Surpisingly, according to the original google doc spreadsheet, I entered San Francisco precisely on schedule. hahahahhahhhahhhahhhahhhaha, (sorry…. chuckle…). and knew I wasn’t in Kansas anymore…

In fact, I was so on schedule that I had no time to dilly dally and pedaled off to meet my good friend Anthony Gregory,

and his sweetheart Nicole, who promptly swept me off my bike for a celebratory libation, while waiting for another old friend, Kris Shane,

to come up from the airport. We wandered around a bit before going to Scomas for linner. It was the nicest place on the wharf, right there among the fishing boats. I was still dressed in road clothes…

but the staff never blinked and it was a great meal.

Afterwards, Anthony and Nicole had to go, so Kris and I were left to our own devices. Kris actually had to get back before long, so we decided to walk to the top of Telegraph Hill and check out the Coit Tower, which is a memorial to firefighters.

The fog was rolling in so few Kodak Moments

We kept wandering. Found ourselve under a pyramid with a glowing top – haha

We parted at a BART stop, and I wandered on The Embarcadero up the Barbary Coast

and mused on what to say about a journey from

to

For certain I’ve pondered the walls of my destination and expect to convey some of my thoughts. Regardless, the greater journey remains far from over…

😉

Continuing on, I board a train on the 31st for LA, where I will meet up with Sheriff Mack at a rally on 8/2. There I intend to discuss the effort to get his book to every sheriff in the nation and where we can help. The website will be changing around and I hope to post a section here where we can track progress. (I know that Oklahoma is keen, and ripe…) At the rally I will be meeting with them ubiquitous Phoenix r3V folk, who will be giving me a lift to my new home in Santa Fe, NM, where I will be part of the KokeshForCongress team and continuing the mission.

And as far as actual riding,… the next major ride is on the boards. As always, I’ll need help. Stay tuned…

🙂

Journal, Photos, Uncategorized

From Liberty Forest

July 28th, 2009
Quote:
Originally Posted by disorderlyvision View Post
No celebration for finishing update I was hoping for one last one with a pic of you on Alcatraz Island

It ain’t easy to digest… takes a bit of getting used to… not having any mileage in front of me… The stress relief (…will I make it?) is enormous… I just walked around the city all day yesterday, in a daze… In the end, the transition is anti-climatic. The value is in the journey…

Got back on the bike today, to visit the last sheriff’s office of the trip. Was at city hall. The American flag was heisted from my rig… Everything else was fine…

Still digesting, will try to start writing tonight…

Thanks, everyone

__________________
Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
~ C.Coolidge

Journal, Photos

Today is the day I will call this trip done

July 27th, 2009

One more journey to make…

and a bit more to say… 😉

Photos

1st Sight of San Francisco Bay

July 26th, 2009

and I was so excited I forgot to snap a pic… – haha.

Well, I’m just about done pedaling. Less than 5 miles left to go. Hopefully will be easier to navigate than yesterday was, California roads are not easy for a stranger on a bicycle.

It started out fairly easy, mostly farm roads. I had to do a lot of stopping and checking to make sure I kept on track. The central valley, where I was, seemed pretty much a drained swamp, lots of creeks, canals, freeways, and train tracks. My main concern was getting on the wrong side of one and having to head south rather than southwest and having to find a way back. So I just took my time. I found myself on Rt 40 again, after a 2ooo mile detour

I had left “The Mother Road” back in Illinois. Was neat to be back on it. I stopped in a bike shop to double check my route. Their first reaction was, “Hmmm, that’s kinda tricky” But they confirmed a new bike path and gave me some pointers on transfering off the path and onto McGarey Rd. (a frontage road for the hill pass into the Bay Area.

I stopped at the Solana County Sheriff Office

but they were closed and I couldn’t find anyone to take the bookset, so pedaled on.

I finally found my way to McGarey Rd and found it closed and gated… (eeek). That was a bitch because re-routing was through canyon roads and miles out of the way. I pored over the g-map on my phone and finally decided to ask some Paramedics who were having lunch. To my great relief, they said to go around the fence, “bikers do it all the time, much safer…”

Of course, most bikers do not have a cart. Luckily the gate was high enough that by removing the wheels on the cart, I was able to drag it underneath

This road led to a “dead end” street that was purported to have a bike path at the end. I had to go up and down a hill and was relieved when the path appeared, and that is where I caught my first sight of the bay.

I need to pack up and get to the ferry, so will close with this pic I could not resist taking

“must be getting close” – lol

pedal pedal…

Journal, Photos