Ride For Honesty

A trip like this has many layers, many angles to attempt to keep in line. All projects do. Being able to roll with developing events, keeping a “show must go on attitude” is where we win.

I’ve been having trouble getting a blog up. My “routine” has been broken and I am adjusting. I live for this kind of stuff. Yep, some things are hard… good practice, that’s for sure…

I’m lucky to have witnessed the r3VOLution unfold and watched/participated in the manifold attempts of “cat-herding.”  I’ve learned to do as little as possible. I just create some possibilities, put myself out there, welcome who wants to come along, and watch as events unfold.

I learn to adjust. I know that “the best laid plans of mice and men, come to naught, time and again”. So I make a fairly detailed plan, and see where it leads. Often it leads to many WTH moments, but that is where art is born, in spontaneity, in overcoming unforeseen challenges, in leaps of faith.

I have a large imagination. I see ton’s of possibilities that this event enables. Some are being capitalized on, some are not. (This is still a practice run, mind you – haha). What is important is that some are. Active supporters are confidently connecting, the drowsy are being gently awakened, the police are being politely greeted.

All are layers…

Changing from the solitary motel gig, to the 4 guys in a small RV gig is a challenge, it threw my routine, hence the blog delay. But the point is that it must be for the best, and the challenges of adding stomachs and personalities is what is supposed to happen, and it is up to us to make the best of every opportunity that presents itself.  This is r3VOLution. This is for real. This is where the mouse and the human separate. We all know how dicey things are, how much “hangs in the balance” but think of that… the balance.

How much weight does it take to affect a balance? Hmmmm…  an infinitely miniscule amount, I’d imagine… Hmmmmmm…

Anyway, I’m rambling in a RV full of laughing men, here are some pics…

Last post, Phoenix r3v was about…

Ed and I cruised…

for miles

and miles

we entered a new county

fixed more flats

pedal pedal

rest under bridges

talk to people

remember talking of cyclists splayed out on cool concrete

We stood on a corner in Winslow Arizona

Joan was our gracious host (who took a bookset for delivery – ty)

We put up with a lot of wind on a long road

Ed got dusted

we pedaled on

Got to Seligman after a long windy day

Pitched some Liberty

Ed rode my bike

Oyate made a long drive to visit

and we made a short vid

Honored with his visit, glad to have this pic

We cruised town, and Ed got a flat,

got as room with a real shower at an old roadside flophouse

Just the right amount of funk

both inside and out

We woke to grime

and smiling faces

While I had coffee

and did email stuffs

with friends

getting ready

ran into some friends

The r3VOLution continues

because we work at it

what more?

pedal pedal

much aloha

Journal, Photos, Uncategorized, Video

Ok, lets see how I can catch up. The last post predicted confusion accurately – haha.

I’ll start with pics…

AZ is escorting me across their state

Armed Escort – haha

Liberty Riders 11 & 12

John caught some road shots

Ed threw a chain

Some Liberty Ladies stopped on the highway

will ytry to get more tomorrow

zzzzzZZZZzzzzzz

Journal, Photos

The men who signed the Declaration of Independence pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor, to establish the greatest system of civilized, and benevolent, government ever devised in the history of man. They openly declared solidarity in resistance to overwhelming tyranny. Independent men, willfully joining together for all the right reasons; Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Just. Like. Us! (including the Liberty Ladies, of course )

On this anniversary of American Independence, I salute all of our friends in our present r3VOLution. All of you who are working to peacefully get this great country back on track. Those who do little, and those who do lots, as long as you are doing something to defend the great American traditions of Freedom, Peace, and Prosperity, than you are part of a long train of patriots serving with honor.

Thank You!

I’ve been doing the patriotic thang today, Phoenix Style

Today is Adam Kokesh’s MoneyBomb. Please donate, and help speak truth to power.

GO GRASSROOTS!!!

Journal, Photos

Good to get back on the bike after the day in Santa Fe. At least it was good after I found my way out of Adam’s nieghborhood… The road on google maps did not reflect reality and I ended up all twisted around in a neighborhood of highwalls, kinda like being in a maze… A city worker set me straight soon enough, and I was on my way. 65 miles, mostly downhill, mid 90s, hot winds

I had to ride the interstate a bit today, but mapped as many secondary roads as possible while in District 3, where Adam Kokesh is exploring a run for Congress. I seeded the route with Kokesh pushcards and announcements for the July 4th Event and Money Bomb. Got quite a few out, fell right back into stride…

Found myself back on Rt 66

I like the small towns I’ve been going through here. Kinda reminds me of the westside of Kauai. Hot, dry, and just the right amount of funk…

Saw a welcome sight in the town of Algodones, NM. (pop 888)

I left some calling cards in the fence, you can see bottom right of the sign.

And here is the Sandia Mountains. The second ridge looks like good climbing and was like a siren song all day…

Waiting for Ed now, they are on the way over from AZ. We will need to work out how we are going to shuttle for Adam’s event, and getting started in AZ. Might be a bit confusing over the next few days… I’m really looking forward to it.

Been working on a more philosophical post, hope I finish it… for now, a nap.

zzzzzzzZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzz….

pedal pedal…

Journal, Photos

haha

Video

I had an extra day scheduled for here, was gonna skip it to get back on schedule (am a day behind), but changed my mind. I’ll make it up over the next couple few days, as I can leave a lot of weight here for the RV Ed has rented to cross AZ.

Yep, my brother from another mother, Ron Paul Rider #3, Ed Vallejo, (on left late Oct ‘07)

has rented an RV for crossing AZ. Not only that, but he, and Tom Costanza of Freedom’s Phoenix, are pedaling border to border with me. The ride is gonna get interesting – hehe

I’m stoked.  AZ has been at the forefront of this r3VOLution since Ron Paul formed the exploratory committee. And guys like Ed, and Ernie Hancock, and Buck (above right) have been in the liberty fight  for years… They upped the bar on my first trip, and seem to be planning the same on this one.

Having a chase vehicle changes things dramatically, an RV even more so. I can basically pedal with an empty bike and use power at will while extras charge. Ed will have an e-bike, as well. And Tom is an active cyclist. So I imagine Tom will be setting the pace while Ed and I tool along… Wooohooo!!!

Definitely stoked

Today, I’ve been working on the bike (cart had some duct tape repairs that set it a bit off, and one of the side signs barely touched the wheel, when the cart was fully loaded, making a rubbing sound that gets quite annoying), did laundry, got some more fliers printed, etc.  Nice to have some time to do all this without having to pedal, as well.

So, I am here at Adam Kokesh’s and they are working hard on exploratory committee stuff. Getting ready for the Independance Day Celebration/Money Bomb. Here is the core team hard at work

Adam is on the phone

Jared is concentrating

till he realized I was taking candids – haha

Sean is playing with Blue

Tina is multitasking

and Adam is still on the phone, thinking…

It has been good seeing how dedicated and enthusiastically they are working.

Another thing that has impressed me about the Kokesh run is the level of opposition I am seeing. It seems some powerful people are nervous about him running and that is always a good sign.

That’s about it for now, we played around with a video camera today and may have something for you all tonight…

tinker tinker…

Journal, Photos

Yesterday was the longest of the trip so far. On the map it was 86.5 miles, on the ground closer to 90 including stops, detours, etc.  Add the that the first 60 miles was practically all an uphill 3000ft climb. Here is the chart:

Add to that 100degree heat, add to that a morning tail (oops-haha) headwind, and finally add the debris filled roadway that, thankfully, only gave me one flat

Here is the culprit

I had to pull quite a few out of all my tires but, thankfully, the extra protection turned back the rest. It is always a crapshoot when pulling a thorn or wire from a tire. You never know when it will necessitate an immediate repair, or it would be better to wait till shade, or days end to repair in comfort.

Needless to say flats take time to fix, and on a long day that gets a bit hairy. I got off the road about a half hour before sunset and a couple more would have had me on the roadside in the dark. (eek!)

The 60 mile uphill was daunting. The pedal assist helps, but battery management on a long day means using minimal power and I still wondered whether I would be pedaling the final miles with no help. While the grapg gives a decent indication, there are still uphills which a closer look would reveal.

So between the climb, the debris dodging, and the heat, it was quite a tense day.

Leaving Santa Rosa, I was stoked to see a Sheriff Car in front of the court,

The deputy inside was great. A real smile and didn’t mind giving me some time even though he was a bit busy. He was not aware of the reasons for my trip so the conversation was a bit funny. When I said I was motivated because the DHS reports (he hadn’t seen) he said, “wait, you support terrorists?” I was like, “no no no, I supported Ron Paul in the primary” He then said the classic, “Who is Ron Paul?”  lulz… Anyway, by the end we were on the same page and I was pretty stoked when he said, “The Fed Gov is whacked, yes I’ll be glad to pass these along, you have a safe trip” It still makes me smile…

I got to pitch a few people leaving town, and then headed off up the hill. Stopped at the rest areas and got some fliers and Obama Deception DVDs to a few folk going to the “Rainbow Gathering” (which I have been hearing about for hundreds of miles) None of the folk I met who are going liked Obama and I think we could be targeting that crowd, as well. One guy volunteered to show the flier around while there, and do some canvassing for us… Again, I think we need to take the “green” message away from the tyrants and expand this “big tent” we always talk about. It only makes sense to leave the world nicer than we found it and that should be a non-partisan effort…

Another real cool thing that happened was I came up on  rental truck on the shoulder with a guy getting something from the back. Turns out he was a Marine, on the same page, did not know about our movement, and was glad to hear about us. Said he would join and get active, so I guess I recruited a Marine – haha

Another car with three guys pulled over to ask me what I was about. Had a great conversation and turns out one works at a Napa Valley TV Stataion and he said he was going to look into getting my story on-air…

You can probably imagine the feeling of relief that accompanies pulling into a town after a day like that. Even better the first business I went by had some welcoming signage

The boys there were not active (hadn’t even heard of 1207), but I implored them to get more so, “we NEED them” and I could see they were a bit re-inspired by what I was doing and hope they get back in the fight. The parting words indicated they would and they were real thankful I stopped by.

Finally, here are some pics for my friends who like seeing what I see. Liberty Rider #6 asked for some scenics so here are a couple:

It is a vast emptiness at times… Sky was nice…

The mountains began to appear in the distance

and here is looking back on the ridge I went over that had storms move in as I was coming through. I felt a few drops, but by the time I took this it was storming up there…

Well, thats about it. a regular 60 mile day today, only 1500ft of climbing so hope it’ll be easier than yesterday. Again some headwinds in the AM but forcast to turn in my favor in the afternoon

pedal pedal

PS, only $650 away from my goal, any help with, promoting or feeding, the chip-in is MUCH appreciated, thanks

Journal, Photos