Ride For Honesty

Will be leaving it tomorrow. A quick run compared to the last (that seemed to go on forever. Texas is a big friggin state…)All Rt 66 towns, some of which gives one a real feel for the “Old West”. The picture of the Lawman of Shamrock, from a couple posts back, kinda defines that.

The stop at the Potter County Sheriff went well.

When I first pulled up I saw no furniture and guys painting. I thought, “hmmmm, remodeling?” So I opened the door and asked if this was still the sheriff office, it was. I asked if any were around, they were. By then I had noticed these guys were not your avg. “painter” looking types, so asked, “are you guys sheriffs?” They were – haha. They asked me what I wanted and I told them I was riding a bike cross country, had some stuff for them and I’d be right back…

As usual, they were a bit skeptical as I started, but remember, these are LEOs, they are suspicious and skeptical by profession. Again, as usual they warmed up as I talked about why I was there. They nodded heads as I mentioned the DHS reports and how outrageous they are. They agreed when I stated that the “modern freedom movement” is no domestic enemy and if anyone is, it is guys in suits in NY and DC. (They usually smile at that one) Then I hit em with a new line I’ve been developing about how, “the balance of power in this country is all off kilter, and the federal government is getting way too powerful. They are trying to federalize the police and that is a very dangerous thing. We need to restore the balance of power between FedGov and The States and you guys are on the front lines of that battle. So here is some info… (as I handed them a set including a copy of Vieira’s Constitutional Hoemland Security – thanks Tim-”  They liked that!

It was classic, by the time I left we had shaken hands like friends and both had a smile and good word for my safe travels. On the way out I remarked how impressed I was that they were doing the work themselves. They shrugged and said that it was “their office and the taxpayers don’t need to spend a god-awful amount of money for contractors to keep it nice”

Kudos to the Potter County Sheriff Dept, both for your hospitality, and more for being fiscally responsible with citizen money.

In other news, I want to thank y’all for buying me new tires and tubes for the bike. After the cart had it’s first flat yesterday, I noticed how thin the rubber was on the tires (they had been used on the last trip, as well. I’m real surprised I haven’t had more trouble with them and got this far with out a flat

The part you are looking at is about tube thin, and that is the tire I kept for a spare.

Here is one of the new tires

Not exactly a road tread (will slow me down slightly), but all they had for a set and will work just fine.

While there I got a spare front tire,

because the one I have on has some hefty gouges that are bubbling a bit and I’d hate to have a sidewall blowout far from a store, (duct tape’ll only get me so far – haha). And I also picked up spare tubes for goathead country…

So I should be set on rubber. Thanks all, peace of mind, heading into the desert, truly is priceless.

Finally, kudos to all who lobbied congress on the cap and trade bill. We need to just keep on keeping on. Increase the pressure from all sides. Win, Lose, or Draw, it’s how you play the game. Perhaps the Senate’ll go our way and we can kill it there. Also, we can tell who the Faux-GOP is by the votes and if you live in one of the turncoats districts. HAMMER THEM!!! In the press, at their office, at the GOP meetings/Lincoln dinners. return their fundraising appeals with parting “gifts” and THROW THE BUMS OUT!!!

GO GRASSROOTS!!!

Journal, Photos

Have left the trees behind, wide open spaces. Still green, but the canyons are starting. Climbed all day, low grade, but still…

Mostly interstate, had one section where the shoulder was all beat up and rattling my cage, so I checked for snakes and dragged the rig off onto the frontage road. The Frontage Roads are always a crap-shoot, they sometimes veer and tie in with crossroads, sending me miles further than necessary. Often they are a rough surface. They, also, usually go around the luxurious shade of the overpasses… But sometimes they are fairly smooth, and it is nice to be able to ride in the middle of the road, far from the debris, tooling along…

Speaking of snakes, I’ve seen heaps. All flat, but heaps, regardless. Started in the Ozarks… Reminds me to stay on my toes when stopping… Saw a rabbit chasing a road-runner yesterday, thought that was kinda strange…  Haven’t seen much else, alive, just lots of roadkill. Other than a cursury glance for known species, I try to ignore it, (and avoid it, as well – haha). It does serve as a kinda barometer of geographical/climate change, and lets me know what the true wind direction is…  This is a family blog, so I’ll leave the turtle story off…

It was hot yesterday, and the ride was 65miles that was basically all uphill. The wind was in my face in the morning, but moderated and turned SE as the day progressed. On the interstates I usually pull into rest areas and take 5. The rig attracts the tourists and I just sit there and hand out fliers and talk to folk. I’m finding people are more interested in this rig than they were the RP one. I am finding that the vast majority of people are receptive to my denouncing of the Federal Reserve. Everyone knows we are being lied to and robbed, and are thankful to be getting info on the real culprits. I tell people that I am not being paid by any of these orgs, and none are perfect, but all are working towards exposing the truth, and that the links they will follow from these will certainly open their eyes…

I stopped for lunch in Groom TX, all of you who donated bought me an open faced chicken steak sandwich smothered in white gravy. It was great. Thanks. On the way out of town I came across a house with 4×8 RP signs still up.

That certainly brightened my day. I stopped and knocked, no answer, so left some gifts on the porch (including a Mack book and a note to please deliver it for us), then, pedaled on.

Also had a difficult flat to fix, took two attempts and still has a slow leak…

Usually, I can just remove the tube, fill it with air, and roll it past my cheek to feel the air escaping. I did that, but did not catch the nine other tiny holes that this piece of retread had created. In the end I had to cut up some truck tire patches a garage had given me on the last trip into strips and cover about an 8 inch section… That was sufficient to get me here, but will be shopping today for new tubes and tires…

Have a short distance day today. Only 44 miles, so should be able to get the tires issues sorted, am waiting for the stores to open now. Will pedal to the Sheriff first, then the stores, then back on the highway. May try increasing power today to experiment with speed to distance ratios…

Finally, I am within $750 of my fundraising goal and would love to close that out early (before the Kokesh Money Bomb on 7/4/09). If you have donated, thanks; if you haven’t and can, please do. I’d love to replace the donation widget with a video playlist…

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Journal, Photos

I am in Alanreed TX. Pop-53.  Am posting through a 1x connection on my phone so will be brief.

Cross a border is always cool

You can see some touristas taking pictures as well. As soon as I got this shot, I pedaled up and pitched them, so basically started working Texas as soon as I arrived – haha.

There were no county seats on the route, but Shamrock TX has a sub-station that I detoured to and met a real Texas Lawman

We had a long conversation. He was raised a Democrat and feels his party left him, like I feel the GOP left me. He thinks the radicals, on both sides, are in charge and wonders if they are trying to provoke a violent scenario. He thought I was Libertarian, at first, and didn’t care for third parties (“spoilers”) I came back with some history of parties in this country and the “lessor of two evils is still evil” philosophy. I explained how I had always leaned right, but that I had usually given my top ticket votes to the LP rather than vote for, what I considered evil. That got him thinking. All in all a great stop

There is a Rt66 Landmark in Shamrock

I wish I had time to GIMP out the wires…

Pedaling was pretty smooth, slight tailwinds and mostly good surfaces… Ran into one section of full shoulder rumblestrips that rattled me until I could get off onto a frontage road. Got back on later and it was less severe. On the frontage road I saw this whimsical spread

Also, had some interesting conversations at truckstops. You meet all kinds out here…

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Journal, Photos

And I sure am glad I came. These folk down here are at the front of the pack and driving hard. Many and much mahalo to all who came down to say hi, helped out, and rode with me for quite a few miles. Y’all have a great state full of decent people. Weathered faces with easy smiles and all glad to hear my message. I absolutely love using something like the following, “and this here grassroots group is lobbying congress hard to audit the federal reserve… (you know they ain’t really federal and reserves is bit of a stretch, as well), anyway, we figure that there is the vipers nest, itself. And if we audit it, it’ll all become clear how they’ve been robbing us blind. Then, we can get rid of ‘em like we have twice before in US History… ”

Everyone seems to respond well to the “vipers nest” bit; had one guy give me the ol’ “good luck-haha” – till I told him we were up to 220 co-sponsors (237 as I write  wonder what kind of sneaky tricks they are thinking up… ) That made em think for a bit…

Anyway, OK was more than OK. Thanks

Pedaling today was hot, but with a slight tailwind, quite a relief from the last week or so of headwinds

Above, I am on a frontage road, cooling off under an overpass. Had a curious experiance under an interstate overpass today.  I was taking a break when an old white pickup pulled over and backed toward me. I got up to say hi. The old man asked what I was up to, I gave him the spiel, he asked if he could buy me a soda at the nearby store, I declined saying thanks, but I have water and did not want to pedal off the interstate. Then… he asked me if, “I play around?” OMG – I was hit on by a dirty old man at an interstae rest area, (albiet, not an offical rest area, but still). I politely declined, and walked away, shaking my head… strange… The girls on Facebook are all teasing me about being cute, and how I should be flattered (grrrrr… – lol) When hotties start pulling over for me on the interstate, then I’ll be more agreeable… haha

Had a couple construction issues today

Never a good sign… Having a lane closed is one thing, being closed to standard wide loads means something entirely different. I pedaled up to it to find major overpass work and tiny lanes. If I had to I could have timed the traffic, turned up the volume, and pedaled like the hounds of hell were behind me for the short distances involved, but luckily there was a frontage road that turned into a great detour.

It started out a bit rough, took a few chances (rather than fire up the computer for a detailed look at the dilemna), asked a few locals, and found a route not all that much longer, nor very much rougher, and only a bit hillier. What was cool about it was it turned into a historic section of 66 that had the original on one side of me, the “Historic” that I was on, and the interstate on the other side of me. Three generations in parellel…

Even better, the road was hardly travelled, and with the tailwind I had gotten almost 50miles from 1 battery, had 10miles to go with 2 full batts, so turned up the juice and flew the last few miles. I still havent really opened it up, (without ground support, don’t want to take any chances and am gentle with the rig…), but I really love the upgrades on this bike. I hopen to get around to a post dedicated to the rig, one of these days…

Pedaling here in the open west gives me planty time to think, and one of the things I’ve been thinking about regards a sticker on my bike.The one below the RP signature one that say’s, “Classical Liberal”

Ya know, one of the prima ways our country has been stolen from us is the curruption and mis-se of language, words. It really is that simple. Take the word “liberal” for example. The people using it are certainly not liberal, in the classic sense. In fact, they are quite the opposite and giving the term a bad name. And on the supposedly other side we have the neo-cons using it like the ultimate insult. So basically, both supposed sides of the virtual aisle are giving true liberals a bad name. In other words, they are giving liberty lovers a bad name. Us!!!

I think we should take it back from them. They took it from us, no reason we can’t take it back…

“I am a liberal”, a conservative one, at that…

haha

Oh yeah,  an OK Deputy surprised me with a second star …

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Journal, Photos

Hooo doggy… a bit warm out there on the blacktop… heh… 97 in the shade when I got off the road, more with the humidity… woohoo…all good, cranked out 60 miles, thought about going for 90, for about a second, (till a hot blast of wind caught my face, as I sat in the shade of an overpass, looking onward.) The forecast has a bit of east in the wind tomorrow, we’ll see how it goes, would love to make up a day, but ya know, 100 degrees is freakin hot,

Anyway, speaking of overpasses, I made another milestone today, am finally able to ride on the interstate. Quite the change. Thought maybe I’d share a bit of the road with you all.

Surface plays a huge role in both speed and comfort. Smooth, seamless, aged asphalt is the best, keep it clear of debris and I am in heaven. I may roll a bit faster on concrete, but the cracks and regular joints (Bump>Roll-Roll>Bump>Roll-Roll>Bump>Roll-Roll>etc…), for twenty miles, or so, can get a bit tiresome. Every bump, crack and pebble I hit slows me down, a mile or two an hour might not seem like much, to most folk, but make a huge difference to a guy traveling at ten. My brother Tony, Liberty Rider #2, noted on the Jersey leg how much, even the different types of asphalt, effects pedaling. One of the surfaces I dread is a large stone mix that’ll leave my forearms vibrating for hours.

Surfaces change often, seeing a change ahead usually elicts a sigh, whose tone varies greatly…

The wind is another large factor, and I am always making it. Consider me pedaling at 10mph on a flat calm day, I have a 10mph wind pushing back at me… Even a 10mph tailwind, is to me a flat calm. A direct side wind is moved forward by my momentum and becomes a slight headwind. A sailor will tell you the math involved, but that is what they are talking about with “true” and “apparent” wind.

Probably needless to say that a strong, gusty, in your face headwind is the worst. The last few days have seen the track “staircase” west and south into south, and SSW winds. So while the west bits were a slight headwind, seeing a south turn ahead always saw me shaking my head with a, “here we go again…”. Though turning west was a relief of sorts, it was still great to get out of it finally, at the end of the day, and I am stoked that my southing is done.

I mentioned in yesterdays post a bit about cities. Big and small, they require termendous concentration. Disregarding the traffic and navigation issues, the road is a bear; city hot, and all bust up. Lots of construction zones and tube eating debris. Worse than the potholes and cracks are the parallel joints between concrete curbing and asphalt roadway. Often the joint is either a small ledge or the perfect width to grab my tire like a rut, and that could be very bad. And I have to ride along, inches away, for miles. I suppose the silver lining is that I have to concentrate so much on staying out of the ruts that I hardly notice the traffic… haha

I saw all kinds of roads navigating my way here, including dirt (which thankfully did not last long.) Knowing there is a major bridge ahead is always a bit nerve wracking. No matter how closely you pore over it on mapping software, until you actually see it, you don’t really know what you are facing. Holding up traffic on a narrow, long, high, bridge is never much fun. Ain’t no rest for the weary in such a situation. And, as a flat tire would make matters exponentially worse, the debris watch is heightened as well… It always feel like an accomplishment to cross a major one.

The country roads with little traffic are pleasant, but often hilly and rough. Usually no shoulders, as well. So some of them roads can become nightmares if they are local shortcuts, and heavily used during rush hours… I do just about everything I can to avoid slowing anyone down, what with the sign and mission and all… The mountain roads are usually always gorgeous, I hope to go back and see them sometime, on a motorcycle…

Route 66, though. That is a different animal altogether. I have not felt hurried or harrassed once while in the arms of the Mother Road, who has surely seen it all. It is like I am to be expected. My propoganda festooned cart, and I, merely add color and character to what must be America’s Most Charming Roadway. It truly has been a kick to pedal down Rt 66. Classic “Motor Courts” and filling stations, odd ball eateries and knick-knacks galore. Rolling through towns that have watched people pass through for decades. Motorcycle and Classic Car clubs, Solo and small group bikers packed for long hauls. I swear, if a Wagon Queen Family Truckster went by with a granny strapped to the roof, it would not look all that out of place.

Myriads of folk, out for a cruise…

The road itself varies by municiple jurisdiction. Most had been resurfaced, but some sections are the original jointed concrete (with no shoulder at all, just a 4in drop to dirt…), but, as I mentioned above, the travellers had no problem giving me space and time, often it was two lanes and I ambled along my own. The real traffic was on the interstate in the distance.  While I looked forward to reaching here where I can finally use them, I certainly am stoked that the routing led me down that legendary road. It was kinda the last thing on my mind while planning. Hadn’t really given it much thought. Now, after experiancing it’s magic, I hope to go back on my own dime and really amble along (in a vehicle with AC – haha)

And now it is the interstates. I like ‘em. Actually feel safer with the wide shoulders and hign visibilty, (no blind corners and hilltops). Another plus is the fairly regular overpasses offering respite from the relentless heat. Chances are, if you ever see a bike parked under an overpass, you’ll see the rider splayed out in the shade on the cool concrete, and if you listen close, you might even hear the sigh… The final good thing about the interstates is the gentler grades, the hills more cut and the valleys more filled. Seeing parallel roads in the distance today happily reminded me of that.

They can get nasty at times, narrow bridges with little debris filled “shoulders”. Even worse can be “rotten” shoulders with gravel filled craters, or the monotonous jolts of a jointed roadway, all. day. long… Construction Zones are usually a bit dicey, as well. Like a bridge, you don’t know what you are facing till you see it. Saw the standard warning display today,”rightlane closed ahead.” It was still a ways up the road so I got off and onto an overpass to see what I could see. Still too far away, so I pedaled back onto the highway and hoped for the best, (while the work must leave room for normal wide loads, there can be narrow lanes for miles… While I am staisfied the flag array provides plenty visibilty, it can still be nerve wracking. ) As I pedaled up to it I was pleasently surprised by the sight of new lanes and the crews working the other side. The shoulder was actaully too new but the closed lane had been done earlier so I had a perfect track to myself for about ten miles… ahhhhhhh…

I don’t really know how much this all relates to the reason I’m out here, only to say that the road I’m travelling is a lot like life. Sometimes silky smooth, but usually a bit rough, with some better stretches. It sometimes changes directions and labels, loops around curious obstacles, sometimes even breaks and we have to find detours, which then become part of our road. But what is important is to keep pedeling on. Nothing of value comes easily, so embrace the hardship and press on, keeping eyes on the goal. I may sarcastically curse when I come up to a county line and see a crappy roadway ahead, but cannot stop.

That is unthinkable, the stakes are too high…

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Journal, Uncategorized

The Sooner State seems to be living up to it’s name in regards to the r3VOLution. Not only are the activists enthusiastically busy, but the general people I am meeting, and the sheriffs, all are reacting very positively to the message I am spreading. It really is a cool state. The residents all seem to have a connection with their home that, again, reminds me of Hawaii.

I left off with LR-6 (aka acptulsa) pedaling up from Tulsa to accompany me into town.

Unfortunately for him, the ride out was mostly downhill and downwind, meaning the ride back was… (not easy – haha) By the end of the day we were taking a few breaks…

We made it in time for the BBQ, but was a bit longer of a day that Anthony figured – haha

On the way we had some productive stops. First was the Sheriff  Office of Rogers County.

Neither was the actual sheriff,. both were decent guys. The officer on the left was the Captain, he took a bit to warm up, but the other officer caught right on, and was very agreeable. The more I talk to these fellow Americans, the more I am convinced that the Law Enforcement outreach aspect of this journey is a very good thing to be doing. We are earning respect for standing up for ourselves, and our beliefs. I am stoked to hear of the ride encouraging the expansion this outreach effort. You don’t have to ride a bike, but you can get a set of materials and go say hi to your sheriff…

Another thing that OK is capitalizing on is the “news” aspect of this trip. I’ve had two local news interviews in two days. Here is Jessica from the Claremore Daily Progress

This is another area we could do better in, cultivating relationships with local media, and becoming local media. The 4th Estate is a very real force in American Politics, while all the people running for various political positions is great, we could also use liberty people entering the news field as well.

Here is another mention from an “in the wild” interview (no-one had contacvted this paper)

http://www.buffaloreflex.com/articles/2009/06/18/news/doc4a382082d409f602292745.txt

And so it starts… News coverage should build as I get further along…

Before we left Claremore, we stopped at a massive gun Museum, http://www.thegunmuseum.com  Any gun enthusiasts who are passing in this area should not miss the place…

and then we pedaled on

talked to a few folk…

saw a blue whale

Oh, did I mention it was windy

Anyway, we made it to Tulsa, where we had a great Meet-Up BBQ and I got to talk to lots of liberty folk. One thing they seem to have here is a strong “team player” attitude. Humble strength of conviction in the righteousness of our cause and the need to do whatever to advance the cause…

The next day was a sorta easy ride, had a glitch to deal with in the AM, but Jay Blevin came through and solved that dilemna.

We pedaled to the Sheriff Office where we had a long conversation with two deputies, and though I’ll respect the off the record nature of some of the comments, I’ll say these two boys are definitely on our side… After talking to potential Mayoral Candidate Clay Clark we mounted up and pedal into the bright OK sun.

Anthony got me safely back on to RT 66 and turned back to home… Was a great time and I’m stoked to have have a long time LibertyForest member join the ranks of LibertyRiders. And he pedaled quite far, close to 50 miles… (only my brother beats that, – though BJ Lawson comes close…)

Next stop was Creek County Sheriff, again it was quite busy and I took no pics myself, but we had supporters, reporters, officers and gubernatorial candidate Senator Randy Brogdon even came down. Quite the honor, and quite a guy. Definitely a political animal, and definitely relishes sticking it to the status quo. Listening to him interact with the people going past us into the sheriff office was great. I really like the man and hope the best for his race.

The Chief finally came out to see what all the commotion on his front step was about, and I did the presentation right there, in front of all, including a reporter, Brian, from a Salpulpa paper (The Herald?) Again, the Sheriffs I am meeting are very agreeable. This one was more personable right off the bat, lots of locals around helped in that regard. He brought up references to the tragedy of gun control failures as soon as I started touching on the “historical warnings” aspect of the pitch. All in all a great busy stop

I look forward to seeing the articles and pics people were taking… I have somevideo and will try to get it off for processing before I get on the road…

The rest of the day was hot and windy, good practice for what I will be facing for the next few weeks…

I made it here to Bristow, got an alright room, took a shower, and was picked up by Pastor Tim Gillespie of Drumwright OK, who brought me up to their place for a homecooked dinner and fantastic pie . His wife, Jennifer, and he are quite the couple. Happy first year Anniversary is coming up – still newlyweds – great to see.

He was a former county GOP chair, now treasurer… very active; on the election board (where we should have more people as well). He has an interesting pespective…

Well, always more I could write and more I need to do, so will close this with something that happened on the road.

I make quite a sight pedaling down the road and usually always draw peoples eye. Yesterday as I was pedaling along a quad (fourwheeler ATV) came out of a trail and turned along a path on the other side of the ditch just off the shoulder, and came towards me. On it was a father and his young son, the classic, “taking the boy for a ride” image that most all of us cherish somewhere deep in our memory. I got a huge smile and watched as we approached each other… the thing was, the son was looking at me with the huge eyes of innocence, little mouth agape in wonder at the colorful contraption rolling by, the sparkle of fresh eyes as he responded to my returning smile.And the father never saw me at all.

He was deep in concentration, holding a precious treasure in his lap while navigating the bumps of the simple trail. Chugging along, as slow as you go, his eyes never wavered from the trail in front of him…

Ain’t that America?

As I pedaled away, tears of simple joy cooled my cheeks, as I said my little prayer of thanks for such moments, seeing quite clearly why I ride.

So that father doesn’t have to…

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Journal, Photos, Uncategorized

Some footage Bryan Mayberry shot of Liberty Rider Michael Maresco in Claremore Oklahoma – terrific interview (thanks Bryan!)

Gallery, Journal, Oklahoma, States, Video Bryan Mayberry, Claremore Oklahoma, Freedom to Fascism, Liberty Rider, Michael Maresco, Ride for Honesty