Ride For Honesty

OK, I had a few glitches, including having to reformat my computer, but am getting back up to speed… Have some catching up to do. Having a LOT of trouble converting video from my phone, ah well, moving on

Day8 was quite the day. Very beautiful, hilly, countryside. In trying to catch up I will have to be brief.

The high point of the day was being met by fellow RPFer Paul Wortman. I was stopped at a convenience store having lunch, it was hot so I was tucked in the shade behind the AirPump when a friendly face popped up and asked “Hollywood”? I was a bit perplexed at first till he mentioned RPFs and then said “Hawaii” at that point we were on the same page. His is the video I am having trouble with, and I look forward to getting the time to order the Cam you guys raised the money for, (never enough time in the day…). I can’t tell you how great it was to be met by a fellow RPFer in his home county. Great guy, great spirit, great laugh. Haha – made my day… He kindly took the books to deliver so it was mission accomplished for Washington County. Thanks Paul.

It was a beautiful day so I managed to seed plenty of fliers and talk to quite a few people on the route. People are more accepting of the fascism message that I expected, I had one Obama supporter who kept trying to avoid the subject, I just planted some seeds in his mind and can only hope they take. He was a bit perplexed as I ran down a list of broken promises and how he felt about that… Another group I hit was a firehouse crew. At first they seemed a bit apprehensive, but as I went on they warmed up. When I got to my final point that we need them to stand up and start fighting the fascists politically, to avoid worse, they were all nodding their heads in agreement. The OathKeepers Patch on my bike helped emphasize another aspect of my pitch

Finally, there was a bit of drama and near disaster on the road. A long section of the highway had them dang rumble strips, which are great for car safety and keeping them off the edge where am, when the shoulder gets narrow I am forced into them and they ralltle the hell out of my and the bike. It seems the rattleing loosened an axle on my bike and as I was flying down a hill trying to make my target by sunset it came loose when I could not avoid a large pot hole, came half out of socket and bent. I was flying when I felt a sudden drag, couldn’t turn till I had slowed down, when I finally got stopped I saw the damage. Didn’t care to take pictures at the time due to the setting sun, but here is the after effect

It could have been real bad had it came all the way out, but my lord is with me and reminded me of the need for continual bike maintenence… You guys would have laughed to see me on the side of the road fixing it with a multi-tool and a flintstone hammer…

Due to that delay I ended up a few miles short of Wheeling and was in a tiny WV burg where there was barely enough cel service to get one phone call out that I was safely in a little motel (who didn’t take my card – which is another story- haha) That was the beginning of the blog backload I am trying to repair now. Bottom line is I made it safe and have continued on.

more to follow…

much aloha

m

Journal, Photos, Uncategorized

Yesterday was quite the day. Two big peaks to cross, the first was the biggest, the second the highest (and I was already at elevation). I am getting stronger, able to avoid the crawler gear for the lower grade climbs. I am still taking rests on the steeps, but not the 50ft intervals of Timmonds Mt.

It was a beautiful sunny day. I was able to talk to plenty of folk and get out the lit. Left stacks in a few stores, mostly talking to farmers and people out working in the yards. I have found that I am targeting differently than on the RP ride. Where-as last time I was more looking for voters and seeking out the elderly, this time I am more looking for activists and seeking out the younger folk. Most readily agree with my assessment and are very thankful I stopped by. Hopefully it turns into people contacting the PA folk and getting aboard the r3VOLution. I emphasize that need for action, hopefully, it works…

While getting over them dang peaks was a bit of a… high point (haha) what really got my spirits up was accomplishing the primary mission of getting books to Sheriffs. I pedaled into Somerset and was disappointed to find the office closed, but that did not deter me from making a second effort and I found the Jail where I convinced the LT in charge to come out hear my spiel. He was really impressed with the bike and I’m sure that helped as I went into the reason for the visit. Again, I found a person who agrees with the facts I present. Especially about the fact that we are being lied to. He agreed to see that the books get to the Sheriff Monday, and I am kinda stoked that they will be looking them over in the Jail Control Room till then…

Another thing to note is that I went through Shanksville where flight 93 crashed and set in motion the War on Terror that the fascists are using to instigate their police state. I could not help myself and had to hand out fliers to a family that was at the Memorial Chapel…

The final event of the day was the last 10 miles. I got to my target town, and the only motel was a Days Inn. I usually avoid the big chains so asked a semi local on a Harley about motels further down the road. He told me there would be more here in Mt Pleasant and it was pretty much a downhill run. Both of those statements turned out to be false, while there was a large downhill, there were also some steep uphills that are killers at the end of a day. Worse, there is only one motel here, a Holiday Inn (corpo-yuck) that is three miles off route down a large hill. As it was getting late I had no choice but to bite the bullet. There is a sliver lining though. I finagled a discount, a free dinner, and it comes with a free breakfast, but more importantly, with free internet I was finally able to use my phone while online and spent an hour on the phone with tech support and may have dialed the phone in to avoid having to buy the $400 GPS unit. While the GPS would be very handy and helpful for knowing distance and speed, etc… That is not as critical as knowing where I am and being able to map out without dragging out the computer. So we will see how this works…

Finally, I thought you all might like seeing the elevation charts comparing yesterdays’ mountain climb, to todays’ multi hill climbs.

Yesterday

Today

pedal pedal 🙂

with many mahalos to those who have joined the ride in support

Journal, Photos, Uncategorized

3rd day in the Alleghenies. There is one more major ridgeline in my path, then it will just be hills. Beautiful countryside, tough pedaling.

What makes this country great though, is the people. I talked to quite a few yesterday, despite what you may see in the media (including New Media), people are more aware of the rising police state and the fraudulence of the “establishment” than many people give them credit for. People were very appreciative of the info I brought,(especially the PArevolution handout). When I get around to explaining creeping fascism, they are not afraid to look at it for what it is. Basically, the country folk I am meeting give me hope for America. Again, I encourage people to get in their cars and take “sunday drives”, looking for people in their yards, on the road, etc. and just give them some info. Most of these folk are just not aware that there are others who share their concerns. It is our job to let them know and give them an opportunity to help…

The ride yesterday was not easy. I am going to go ahead and spend the $400 on a real bicycle Computer/GPS. I am very tired of missing turns and having to find a signal so I can unpack the trailer, get the computer out, re-route, repack the trailer, etc… I added about 10 miles to the day yesterday, because of no street signs… I am real thankful to the farmer I met who helped me out and gave me a route over the last ridge of the day.

A friend on LibertyForest.com mentioned how the Rockies make the Alleghenies look like speed biumps. I want to clear something up about that. The eastern mountain roads were built before the days of heavy equipment, while the size of the mountains are not as high, the roads are much more steep and winding, In the Rockies I can ride on interstates, the grades are low and the routes as direct as possible. IOW, give me the Rockies any day. The Alleghenies are the hardest I have encountered, including the last trip, over Texas Canyon, through Texas Hill Country, etc.

Finally, I want to talk about the book drops. If you have read the site, you would Know that it was never my intention to pedal from sheriff office to sheriff office. I did that in Jersey because the Jersy people were not materializing and the offices I went to were pretty much on my route, but there is no way I will personally be able to deliver tyhese books. The intent was always to have a local supporter meet me on the road, take the books and deliver them themselves. This is much better as the whole idea was to increase communication locally, this ride just gives the local supporters a good excuse to go and introduce themselves. This goes for the Governors as well, If local supporters do not help arrange a meeting, or agree to deliver them during office hours, I have no choice but to pedal on.

The long and the short of it is this ride is not about me. It is an event for us all, and will be what we all make of it. I have more on my plate than most of you can possibly imagine. Any help increasing the success of this trip will be rewarding in many ways. Regardless of such assistance, I will make the best of the hand I have, but need the help of the grassroots to maximize the effect of this effort.

And with that, I will be packing up and getting on the road. I just have one more major ridgeline to cross and that is only a few miles away. See y’all on the other side

pedal pedal

PS- Firefox has just crashed 4xs trying to add photos, will try again l8r…

Journal, Uncategorized

Timmonds Mountain… I was warned… The locals shook their heads seeing the book-mobile I was pulling. That was a bit intimidating, but, if life was easy it would be boring, and like our r3VOLution, we can’t let seemingly insurmountable obstacles stop us from moving forward. We can’t let people scare us off our task because they can’t imagine themselves doing something extraordinary. We must move forward, boldly. They may slow us down, they may beat the hell out of us, but winners never quit and just keep eyes on the goal and noses to the grindstone.

It. Was. Brutal. I ain’t kidding, at all. Look at this map, and notice that I climbed over 1000 ft in less than 3 miles

Now, consider that I was in a fog, on a road that often had no room for a shoulder…

I started out strong, the pedal-elec system helps, but certainly cannot pull the load I am carrying. In fact, even pedaling as hard as I could, the brains began to overheat about halfway up. What happens when it overheats is it shuts off, and I am left to make that next section, to the safety of a shoulder, on my own. By the time I got to the top I was going 50ft, resting and letting the brains cool, repeatedly…

A local had told me the road splits into a truck route near the top, and I could take the truck route because the road down is very steep. He said it would mean about 10 more miles and a few more hills but would save my brakes. By the time I got to the fork, I wanted no part of 10 more miles a a few more hills, so decided to buy a new set of brakes if I had to and just get the hell off this mountain.

Big Mistake. I wasn’t even close to the top…

But, perseverance and determination are the qualities of those who get things done, and I was blessed to be born with both. I finally made it to unmistakable top and was incredibly thankful to see the fog was not as bad on the other side. So after a short rest to catch my breath, I had quite the exhilarating ride down the mountain and was safely back into civilization.

By this time most of the locals had heard about, “some guy on a bike pulling a trailer over the Timmonds” so had quite an easy time of getting them to listen why. I slowly made my way to this nice $40 motel seeding a message of liberty all along the way. I stopped at an Ice Cream Stand and got a cone to celebrate. A man walked up and asked about my bike, I gave him my spiel and the next thing I knew I had a dinner of home cooked, farm raised, (and delicious) chicken cassarole and fresh salad. I was famished, and it was heavenly. We talked as I ate. The wife had liked Huckabee, and Paul, but “didn’t want to waste her vote.” We had a nice talk about voting your conscience and how the whole “waste your vote” thing is a farce. Voting for the lessor of two evils, is still evil…

The rest of ride was fairly uneventful, it hardly rained so I was able to seed the route better. That always make me feel good. Convenience stores are pretty good about letting me leave stacks on their shelves. I encourage people to take “sunday drives” with lit and stop for a little something at these stores and ask. You turn one good mind in a small town, and you can turn an entire town.

I had my first flat as well. Here is the culprit, the nemesis of a man on a bike…

It is a shard of the steel belting from a blown tire and will go through any tire…, no biggie though. I had ~70 flats on the last trip, hopefully I have better luck this time, but, such things happen and we just deal with them. I’m just glad it was just drizzling…

Now, for the reason I am still in Fannettsburg. On the mountain, when I changed a battery, I failed to secure the trailer properly and the chargers dropped out somewhere. Luckily, there are decent folk in these parts and I easily found someone who would not take my money to go drive over the mountain and look. We had no success (foggy night…) , but it was very heartening to have people go out of their way to help a stranger. So rather than power over another mountain with no assistance, I decided to get the spare charger sent from home. Even better, my brother, who loves road trips, decided to deliver it in person and he will be here in a few minutes 🙂

So, it was stupid mistake on my part, but must say that my faith always insists that what happens is for the best. I just take it in stride and continue on. Perhaps it was best because some wicked storms have come through today and I would have been in the mountains for that, as well. While I would have loved to have spun this story so as to relieve my embarrassment, this is the Ride for Honesty – 😉

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will blog tomorrow, here is a vid from Lisa in Lancaster

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just got this in email as I am packing up to get on the road

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Two things I neglected to mention last night (am sure there will be more…) are the excellent State specific handouts Scott Davis’ group made for the ride. I hope other states along the way do something similar. Something simple, covering local candidates/organizations/issues, that I can seed the route with

Secondly, I told the group last night, and will say it again, but if you are in PA and I don’t get a chance to tell you personally, I consider you all heroes for the effort you put into the 08 primary. You had a late primary, the campaign was pretty much over, but you got out the vote and grew the movement, regardless.

PA truly does Rock

Thanks

PS – Scott saw on the last post that my vid of our LEO friends in Chester County did not upload correctly, so he grabbed this off his footage

Thanks, Scott

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