The Atlantic, New York City and a hacked Debit Card

Remember how Ben said he hated Kentucky, but it had some great people? Well, maybe they are not ALL so great. He called last night and someone in Kentucky hacked his debit card and charged $1100 in a Rite Aide (really? a drug store?). His card is shut down, and he needs to sign a form IN PERSON to get it going again. There has GOT to be a better way.

But let's back track a bit, since I haven't posted for awhile.

Hard Cider, maps and a bike light on a water bottle.

 After he fixed his bike in Virginia, and rode merrily along for a day, he met up with his friend Sunny from The Academy. They camped two nights and had lots of fun.

Sunny realizing how HEAVY a loaded bike is.

Looks fun and relaxing.

Then he rode on into Washington DC, where he met up with Sunny's folks who let him stay at their house near Baltimore. Good thing they were around, since he had hoped to meet up with his cousin Eric in Baltimore, but he was in Memphis for the Labor Day weekend.

He said Lincoln was MUCH smaller than he had thought.

He left their house the next morning, and started to ride north. Or at least, he THOUGHT he was heading north. The current maps he is using from the Adventure Cycling Association are designed to be followed from north to south, so he has to reverse all of the step-by-step directions and follow them backwards to go south to north (this is more than just turning the map upside down). He rode on a bike trail (covered with tall trees and isolated from the general surroundings) and met a guy who looked at his maps and gave him a "shortcut" to take. Well, I guess the guy thought he was heading south, because the shortcut went that direction.

By the time Ben realized what had happened, his trail dumped him out near Mt. Vernon, south of DC (He inherited his dad's sense of direction). He spent the night in an expensive RV campground, then called me the next day to see if I could help him figure out a way to bypass all the Holiday DC traffic (didn't want to do that a THIRD time). We got him to the Metro Rail, and then realized that could take him to the DC Central Station and Amtrak. A train ticket to New Haven, CT was cheaper than riding and paying for the expensive campgrounds in Pennsylvania and New York. So he took it.

Shouted "GUN!" to get everyone to leave the area.

He had a few more hours to kill in DC before his train left. Not sure how he managed to get this shot with virtually no people in the frame.

Next stop, Space Station.

In one of the train stations in the middle of the night he found this cool tunnel,

Then he arrived in New Haven, CT and somehow (he hasn't really talked to me since DC) he got down to his friend John's house in Milford, CT and took this shot of the Atlantic.

The Atlantic Ocean, finally!

We don't get many seashells in the desert.

Spent some time hanging around the area before John had to go back to San Francisco on Thursday.

He then bought a ticket to NYC to visit another friend, Jackie, and to see The City. While Jackie was at work, he spent a day walking around NYC , walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and taking the subway (which he said was smoother than BART, but much dirtier and harder to navigate).

I suspect, after months on his bike in desert, mountains and forests, Times Square was a bit much!

Life was good, until he found out Friday afternoon his card had been hacked, and he could not use it at all. Why do these things ALWAYS happen to him on weekends and holidays?Jackie's family lives in Flemington, NJ, and have graciously allowed Ben to stay with them until he gets this straightened out. I understand today they are going to Philadelphia.

He still wants to get to Vermont, but not sure when he will have access to money to do that.

Cross Your Fingers

As I mentioned before, Ben said Kentucky was a horrible state (with wonderful people). I had hopes that Virginia would be better. It sure didn't start out that way! Although he did find a bike shop in Damascus, VA that replaced his crank for just $40 (he had figured it would be well over $100).

This is the guy hammering away and shouting as he replaced Ben's crank.

Then, because he was so close to Tennessee state line, he dipped down and took a great shot in 

                                                                            front of the sign. 

He told me later that he was cruising along, in the sunshine (after days and days of rain) and feeling great, loving his ride and the perfect day. Then, at the bottom of a curve, his frame broke, almost dumping him onto the pavement, but he saved himself from faceplanting (he said he hasn't hit the pavement once on this entire trip).

Broken frame, sideways view. Sad Day.

The little red balloon is Rural Retreat.

He tried to call me, but had no reception. He sent a text asking me to call when I could, but of course he  had no reception again when I got the message. He had to walk his bike 6 miles to get to a place called Rural Retreat with reception. We were both pretty bummed about the frame, assuming that his best and only hope was to find a bike shop and a new frame to transfer everything to. I don't know anything about welding, but his frame is aluminum and that is hard to weld (or maybe there just aren't many people who do it. I am not sure which it is.) We disconnected and he was going to go into the gas station to see if they could point him to anyone who could help him. Of course, this was on Sunday, so the gas station was the only thing open in town (not that Rural Retreat has much to offer besides the gas station).

While that is going on, and his phone is going dead, Ed and I are using the Internet to see what options he has. We have wonderful friends who looked up bike shops, eBay sales of frames, friends and family in the area and all sorts of great ways to support his ride. We spent most of Sunday figuring his frame was toast. It has seen a few miles after all, with two or three seasons of cyclo-cross, then four years in San Francisco and 4000 miles of the cross country trip. But we were sad for Ben, thinking that 300 miles from the Atlantic Ocean his frame had given out on him.

Fixed frame. Not pretty, but rideable!

Oh, ye of little faith (as my mom used to say). While we were worrying in Clovis, Ben had found a guy who had just opened a machine shop. Although he could not weld aluminum, he knew a guy who could. So they loaded up Ben's bike in his truck and drove and drove out into the boonies to see this guy, a grouchy miracle worker who fixed Ben's frame.

Ben spent the night in the machine shop with his new friend (who lives there as he tries to get started in his business), finding lots of common ground. He just really has met great people. I know I keep saying this, but it is important to hear. The country is FILLED with wonderful, generous, supportive people.

 In fact, so many people have been so kind to Ben, that he is almost on people overload. If you know Ben, you know how incredibly sociable he is, and I never would have thought he could "get tired of people." But he told me (before this last breakdown) that there were some nights when he declined an offer of a place to stay, choosing instead his tent in a quiet park, because he just needed some alone time to sketch and relax.

Virtually candlelight sketching

Of course, the last night he wanted alone time came after a long hot, sweaty day with a sore ankle. He had found a gas station that had air conditioning and chairs to sit in. He was relaxing, and getting ready to re-tape his ankle when an entire high school football team came crowding in, chasing him out into the heat. Ben has never had much tolerance for football jocks (to put it mildly!) and when they started to hassle him about his bike and spandex, he came pretty close to doing something dumb (i.e. starting a fight with the entire team) until they backed off after realizing he had ridden his bike from California. But he still resented them for taking his cool air.

So, he found a small city park with a cool playground and set up his tent. I suspect this was a better night than the last one he spent in Kentucky. It was behind a church (lots of churches out there welcome cyclists). They had a pit toilet, water and electricity for him to use. All was good, until he used the toilet and a spider came crawling up out of the pit and onto him. I asked what kind it was, and he said, "It was just a little brown guy, but where he was sure made him look like the biggest spider in the world right then!"

 But now he is crusiing along in Virginia, and all is right with the world. He spent last night in a small town outside of Roanoke.

"When it all works you can ride for ever; today I did 116 miles."

More Kentucky Problems

Ben sent me a text last night saying he hated Kentucky as a state, but had met some really nice people. He was camping in the front yard of some of those nice folks. Here are some more of the issues he has faced in Kentucky.

This is the crank on his bike that broke. He was lucky to find a guy with a machine shop who helped him weld it so he could continue.

The clouds are building up for another rain storm. It is just no fun to have to ride and ride in the rain, knowing there really isn't a dry stop at the end. He was lucky enough to find another family who let him camp in their front yard. Some of these people even let him use their showers (not sure if that happened last night or not).











Apparently it has been raining so much in this area that it caused a landslide. This shot was taken right before that whole hillside just collapsed. Ben said it was crazy and he had never seen anything like it. I was hoping for a picture of the actual slide, but he said he needed both hands to steer around it. And that comment just really makes Mom feel sooo much better. All I could think about was that horrible landslide in Washington that wiped out an entire community.









He should be approaching Virginia soon. This is the map of that part of his route, then he heads north.

On the map below, he comes in on the orange line, then heads north on the yellow.  I do not know his timeline, because HE does not know his timeline. 

Hazards in Hazard

Beautiful road, but I don't think it is one he needed.

For some reason Kentucky has been VERY hard on Ben. One day rained so hard the whole day that he had a hard time seeing the road signs for the little byways he was supposed to follow. He got lost and went about 30 miles out of his way. Then his crank fell apart. But as he was on the side of the road in the rain, a nice guy stopped in a truck and offered to take him to his friends' house where Ben could spend the night. (I hope his friends were cool with him offering!) I think this was in Bardstown.

Swollen ankle

Ben thought he fixed it, but his tool wasn't strong enough to really tighten the crank on completely. So it kept coming loose. It was still raining, his gear was wet, he has a twisted ankle that is swelling up big time, and he calls me and asks if I can find a place to stay in Springfield, KY. No luck, but I help him find a more direct route to the next town (Danville) and a place to stay there. He stays the night in what he first thought was a very over-priced Super 8. But the night desk clerk washed his laundry for him. (He really does meet wonderful people. Or maybe he just really smelled.). Danville also had a bike shop that let him use their tools.

Broken crank

Yesterday he calls me just outside of Hazard, Kentucky (Of Dukes of Hazard fame?) His crank is totally dead now, and he has jury rigged it with one of his back up spokes (he took several with him in case any broke. Not sure if he has actually used them as spokes, but they have come in handy to fix other breaks). His ankle hurts still, he can't ride the bike any further, and there is no camping in the area. So another hotel night. Probably a good thing because as he was coming into town, a truck going 70 mph had a tire blow out next to him on the road. Said it was the scariest and most dangerous thing to happen to him on the trip so far.

He also has to figure out how to get the 125 miles to Damascus, VA and the closest bike shop. No bus, rental cars cost too much (and don't have a spot in Damascus for drop off), and he sure can't pedal it without the crank fixed. I suggested he go to a truck stop and hitch a ride.

I suspect he would switch rides with either this or. . .

. . .with this right about now.

Yes, I actually told my son to hitch hike. In spandex! In Hazard, Kentucky! Yikes!

As Ben said, movies make it look easy and fun to hitch a ride. No such luck. But he was lucky enough to find a machinist who let him borrow his welder to fix his crank. So, until he has to remove the crank, it is fixed. And he is on the road somewhere between Hazard and Damascus.

I would Hazard a guess that he misses Laura, Noah, and Mick right about now.

Rest and Repeat

Ben stored his bike in Belleview (a suburb of St. Louis) with some wonderful friends of Joanne Schenck. When I heard it was Belleview, it reminded me of The Triplets of Belleview. (I was pretty glad that it was a suburb on the opposite side of St. Louis from Ferguson when he flew back in earlier this week.)

He came home to be in his best friend's wedding. They have been friends since they were in second grade, and despite going different directions after high school, they are still close. It was a wonderful wedding, and he was very glad he could be a p part of it.

Because of the route he was taking, and limited options for flights, he actually came home two weeks before the wedding. So, because he is Ben and HAS to be busy, he started several projects. During the day he helped an ex-teacher friend (Sherri Stephenson) get her house/yard ready to sell and worked on an old Honda motorcycle.

At night he made things like this steam punk spider.

 He was pretty glad to get back on his bike in St. Louis this past Tuesday, even though we had to leave the house at 2:30 a.m. to catch his flight in Lubbock.

This was the park he stayed in his first night back out on the road, in Murpheysboro, Illinois. Ed's first thought was that it would have been lovely, but buggy. Ben, however, said there were no mosquitoes, but lots of fish jumping. 

He told me later that he pushed himself pretty hard the first couple of days, trying to make up for lost time I suspect. As a result, once he arrived in Utica, Kentucky, he had to stop a bit early and spend the night in a fire station that opens its doors to cyclists. He said the night before he stayed in a church that fed him LOTS of GREAT gluten free food. He was pretty happy.


Last night he stayed at the junction of two roads in Kentucky that had a park. Pretty nice place, even if a bluegrass concert began right about the time he had hoped to go to sleep. He said "Those old farts can play pretty loud! The music is louder than at the old death metal concerts that I went to. They're all so deaf it needs to be that loud."

A Biblical Plague, Dude

Talked with Ben last night. He complained about two things: Humidity and a plague of bugs.

Having been raised in the desert, then gone to school in San Fransisco, Ben just really is not designed for heat and humidity. Apparently Laura and Noah are not much phased by equal temps and humidity (as in both are over 90), but it is killing Ben. After a day of riding and sweating, he says his hands look as pruney as they did after he spent an hour in the bathtub as a little kid. Oh, and his sweat shorted out the iPod he had in his back pocket.

Although he sees lots of roadkill (and I overheard all four of them discussing the connection between size and stench when we were in Pueblo), what seems to be really bugging him are the bugs. Flies, caterpillars and grasshoppers of Biblical plague levels are no fun when on a bicycle. (My teeth feel nasty just thinking about it!) I guess I don't need to worry about his protein consumption any more.
This is a picture I found online about the Mayflies in his area because he didn't take any pictures of the bug plagues (or at least hasn't shared them).

 

But here is an endangered species he did take a shot of: a LIVE armadillo on the road.














All I can say is you know things must be nasty if he says this was the BEST shower ever. Of course, there may have been some snark in that comment.

But, despite all the misery, people are still great. As he says, where else but in Kansas can one be handed corn from random strangers?

He is out of Kansas now, though, and well into Missouri. In fact, he should cross into Illinois tomorrow. Won't stay there for long, as that is where he departs from Laura and Noah (I am sure he is not looking forward to that) and heads up to St. Louis to catch the train back to New Mexico for his best friend's wedding.

I suspect that after two weeks in the desert, he will have an even harder time adjusting to the heat and humidity on the rest of his journey. He said this weather has been much harder on him than anything he faced in Nevada.


People keep asking me what kind of mileage are they putting in on a daily basis. Here is the mileage info that Laura shared on her blog:

Day 26

Captain’s log, star date 07.01.2014

Blanding, UT to Dolores, CO – 86 miles that turned into 95 miles.

We lost Noah.
 Day 27
Captain’s log, star date 07.02.2014
Dolores, CO to 25 miles up the road
Day 28

Captain’s log, star date 07.03.2014

Rico, CO to Placerville, CO

Day 29

Captain’s log, star date 07.04.2014

Placerville, CO to Montrose, CO

Day 30

Captain’s log, star date 07.05.2014

Montrose, CO to Sargents, CO

Day 31

7/6

Sapinero, CO to Sargents, CO

Day 32

Captain’s log, star date 07.07.2014

Sargents, CO to Cotopaxi, CO – 60 miles

Climbed Monarch Pass!

Day 33

Star date 07.08.2014

Cotopaxi, CO – Westcliffe, CO – short miles

Day 34

Star date 07.09.2014

Westcliffe, CO to Pueblo, CO – 71 miles

Day 35

Star date 07.10.2014

Pueblo, CO – Rest Day

Day 36

Star date 07.11.2014

Pueblo, CO to a place with a nice lady who puts up bikers – 67 miles

Day 37

Star date 07.12.2014

A place with a nice lady who puts up bikers to Eads, KS – 65 miles

Day 38

Star date 07.13.2014

Eads, KS to Scott City, KS – 108 miles

New state!

Day 39

Star date 07.14.2014

Scott City, KS to Alexander, KS – 76 miles

Day 40

Star date 07.15.2014

Alexander, KS to Nickerson, KS – 108 miles

Nickerson: Home of the Worst nights sleep.

Day 41

Star date 07.16.2014

Nickerson, KS to Newton, KS – 50 miles

Day 42

Star date 07.17.2014

Newton, KS to Eureka, KS – 75 miles

Day 43

Star date 07.18.2014

Eureka, KS to Walnut, KS – 90 miles

Day 44

Star date 07.19.2014

Walnut, KS to Golden City, MO – 75 miles

New state!

Day 45

Star date 07.20.2014

Golden City, MO to Ash Grove, MO – 40 miles

Day 46

Star date 07.21.2014

Ash Grove, MO to Hartville, MO – 76 miles

Day 47

Star date 07.22.2014

Hartville, MO to Alley Spring, MO – 76 ish miles.. maybe?

Day 48

Star date 07.23.2014

Alley Spring, MO – 33..

Good People Abound

I was thinking about some of the stories Ben has told about his ride so far. Totally restores my faith in humanity.

Like the couple who helped him in the Sierras, giving him a lift and sharing a campsite with him.

Like the couple in Nevada who gave him water when he rode on to a campsite without any water.

Or like any of the other numerous folks who have generously shared water and Gatorade with them along the way.

Like the man in Fallon who offered his home to Laura and Noah (and all his negative advice!)

Like the man who was in a suit on a bicycle leaving a funeral, saw and dragged Ben to a store and bought him a quart of ice cream. Just because.

Like the couple who invited Ben's entire group into their home, let them shower and wash all their clothes. Took them four wheeling and fed them dinner.

Like the crazy woman who told Ben and Laura to wait on her porch for the rest of their group, then took Ben shopping in order to get the best price on a fleece pullover.

Like the lovely young woman who came by their campsite at 5:00 in the morning, after a horrific thunderstorm, with hot coffee to share with the group.


Like all the people in Kansas who support all of the cyclists riding the TransAmerica Route. 


Like my friend Joanne Schenck (whom I haven't seen in YEARS) who contacted friends of hers in St. Louis and they are letting Ben store his bike and gear in their garage while he comes home for a wedding.


And like Danielle, Henry, Mick, Noah and Laura who were total strangers until they met on the road and rode together, supporting each other while they could.

My family likes to joke about how "People are no damned good . . . ain't you glad we ain't people?" But really, people are wonderful.

Dust in the Wind. . .Kansas

 Crossed one more state and entering Kansas. Now that he is almost all the way through, Ben says he likes Kansas better than Colorado. He likes the countryside as well as the people. He says they are more real than Coloradans.

 But apparently their road crews don't know how to paint stripes on the highways!

 Ben, Noah and Laura have parted ways with Mick because they need to put in more miles each day than Mick wants to. But they must still have some psychic link because this is Ben's picture, and . . .

. . . this is Mick's shot of the exact same barn!

 Ben says in the past couple of days they have passed six different prisons. I had no idea Kansas was The Prison State. And here I always thought they were The Sunflower State.

 Ahh, the joys of riding  a bike in the wind. And yesterday it was not only windy, but rainy the whole day. Ben said all their bike bags are waterproof, so their gear has stayed dry.

Ben took this shot for KHS, the company who made his bike. He used to ride for a KHS sponsored bike team, so we told them what he was doing. They asked for a picture.


Ben says they will cross into Missouri tomorrow. Then, on the other side of the state, he will send Laura and Noah on their way to the Atlantic, and he will head north to St. Louis to catch Amtrak. He will come back for a couple weeks to be Best Man in his best friend's wedding, then go back to St. Louis and continue his ride. Joanne Schenck is a friend of mine who is following Ben's route. She has good friends in St. Louis and they have offered to let Ben store his bike and gear in their garage while he comes home. People really ARE wonderfully generous.

I had worried that when he returned to the trail, he wouldn't find any other cyclists to connect with. But Ben says this portion of the trail, called the TransAmerica Route, is so heavily traveled that he won't have any problems meeting folks. He also said this section is sooooo much easier than the Western Express that he almost feels like he is cheating on this leg. All of the tiny towns they go through are set up to cater to cross-country cyclists, with city parks that have showers, and people who have set up hostels just for the cyclists.

His first experience with that was in a small Eastern Colorado town. Their Adventure Cycle map pack includes information about where to stay in towns along the way. In this town the directions said to go to such-and-such gas station and ask for Ilana. Ilana turns out to be an Australian who has fixed up several old trailers with stoves and bunks that she lets cyclists crash in. Ben helped her fix some fence line in exchange for a night's sleep.

Then in Newton, KS, they stayed in a bike shop that lets cyclists sleep, shower, do laundry and use their tools for $10 each. (Mick actually took this picture when he went through a few days later).

Although Ben is enjoying this leg, I think he is very glad he began on the Western Express. He likes the sense that he beat the elements and successfully proved himself tougher than Nevada.

We all join up in Pueblo. . . loads of fun.

We had so much fun meeting up with Ben and is companions in Pueblo this week. The only real hitch in the visit was the challenge they faced getting from where they came into Pueblo to where we had a campsite! They did not want to ride up I25, but there was no direct route otherwise. It took them about three hours, maybe longer, to get from the southwest corner of town to our campground just north of town. So much for a rest day!

This is Ben, looking a bit scruffy and unshaven, but still happy.










This is the bunch right after they wandered all over Pueblo trying to get to the RV. Mick had to stop off at a Verizon store so he came on later, having found a MUCH better route to get to the place.

Do you see the big bowl of fruit (behind the Hard Cider can)? we filled it to over flowing with fresh fruit, and it was empty by the time we ate Ed's delicious vegetarian lasagna for dinner.

Mick and Noah are enjoying the comfy seats in the RV.

 Marshall sitting at the picnic table in our totally enclosed and nifty RV site. Well, maybe nifty isn't the word. It was VERY hot, and the sun shade we had been promised had blown away in a storm the night before (which Ben's group said was so intense that they figured they would all blow away with their tents). But being able to set up their tents, and spread out their bikes and gear made it worthwhile. I don't think I will go back to Pueblo any time soon (too hot and buggy by far) but this visit was worth it.

Mick is trying to sample micro-brews all across the country. He prefers that they be on tap and brewed on location, but he seemed happy with the two types of New Mexico beers we brought him (Santa Fe Brewery and Alien Ale from Moriarty).

Mick is keeping a journal of his adventures. When he has time he transcribes it into his blog on Crazy Guy With a Bike site. But his last entry there was made the day after they met up with Ben in Cedar City, Utah.

We knew Noah needed a different bike, but we honestly didn't realize how bad it was. He rode the hardest part of the trip across America (The Sierras, Nevada and The Rockies) on a 1978, women's 10-speed Schwinn  with steel wheels (which Ed says don't work well with brakes). We are so impressed by that guy's strength and fortitude. But we also hope he enjoys the last half of the trip on a better bike. 

After a day of resting, switching bikes for Noah, and browsing the Riverwalk in Pueblo, the crew needed to get back on their bikes and head for Kansas. Mick tends to leave earlier than the others because he wants to go a bit slower and take a rest during the hottest part of the day (he is a smart man!). We got up to give him coffee and some of Ed's good bread with peanut butter before he headed off around 6:00 a.m. You can just barely see Noah in his hammock in the background.

The rest of the crew didn't get up until around seven, then we fed them eggs and more of Ed's bread (and brown rice tortillas for Ben). Once they started getting ready, Ben had so much to do he took forever to get ready.

Noah is loading up his new bike.

Laura is done and waiting. . .

 . . . while Ben starts to change right there behind his towel, before he is reminded he can go into the RV and be properly modest!

 

And Laura is still waiting. . . 

 

And Ben is still packing up

 

Ben is still packing up his stuff, and He says, "OK. I'm ready." We look over at Noah and Laura who have not budged an inch. I get the impression they have heard the "I'm ready now" line before! Funny how quickly we can learn someone's quirks when traveling together. No one else would know these guys only met up a few weeks ago as perfect strangers. They are such a great fit together, making  pretty good family. Thank heavens they have had Mick to keep them in line!

OK! Last minute double check of route and all. . . Mick has sent a text to let them know the route we planned for them to leave town is OK (even if they do have to ride north for two miles to get to a road to cross over and head back south).  Ben says they will now stay on Highway 96 all the way across Kansas.

  

And they are off! Laura says that Ben rides standing up most of the way.

This tunnel went under the freeway. As we came into town in our 12 feet tall RV, we had to drive through it. The sign said the tunnel was 13 feet tall. We found ourselves hoping no one miss measured. Ben and crew had to ride through it on their way out, but I imagine it is a bit less scary going on a bike. Well, unless a car comes from the other direction.

As they headed on down the highway towards Kansas, Ben said he heard Noah singing. "Oh I went through the desert on a bike with no name. . ."