Thursday, July 30, 2009

Day Four - Parable of the Frogs

Concrete City High School
Coffee Lovers Chocolate Lovers Day 3
Day 3 More
Day 3 Even More
Day 3 Again
Day 3...
Washington Bear DogNice Wide Roads
Day 3 Too
Day 3 Too Too
Well it's the 4th day and I am not dead yet but I do feel about half dead. Washington is very green, very beautiful. I have seen a lot of deer in the fields and Lori and I saw a nice herd of about 20 elk real close to the beach in Forks. I looked at the map this morning and realized I was not in Maine yet. Quite disapointing I have to say. I thougt I would be there by now. I also looked at my stomach this morning when I was getting dressed and noticed that I was still fat. Quite disappointing I must say. You would think that I would be in Excellent condition by now. But Noooooo. I can see right now this trip is not going well. 3 days of riding and no wash board abs. What's up with that? By the way -- Just for information I do try and wash up every night with my tupperware bath tub. I smell sweet as a rose all the time. You will see a photo of a racoon enclosed.
If you look closely you will see a cigaretty hanging out of his mouth. I rode by this smart looking fellow and noticed he had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. I did NOT put it there. I just had to take a photo. One more example that "Smoking Kills". Learn your lesson if you need one before this happens to you. A few people said they might want to ride with me for a ways. I would welcome it, but you have to put at least 75 pounds on your bike or you will leave me in the dirt. I'm loaded pretty heavy, but I am sending stuff home every day. I hope I don't regret it. I dont have a spare tire so I hope I don't need one. I have one spare tube now. Im in Concrete Washington today. Hope to make New Hallam tonight. I have been looking at the menacing Cascade Mountains for 2 days now and it is time to climb them. I can hardly wait. I am pretty sure I am the missing link to evolution that everyone has been talking about for years. I can't see my but very well but I am sure it looks like a Baboon's butt. That would make me half man and half Monkey Butt. === The missing link is the butt not the skull. No wonder people couldn't figure it out. They are looking at the wrong end. A man told me about 30 minutes ago that it has been raining so hard in the mountains that a mud slide closed the highway about 50 miles ahead of me. Hopefully they will clear it out soon. It's not like I can drive around it. We'll have to see. My Butt is very very sore. My legs are sore. I think I have the flu or a bad cold or something. The stupid thing has moved down into my chest and I don't feel very good. I will live I suppose. Hopefully it will clear up soon. The last few days have been killer days for heat. I was riding on "Bike" recommended routes. No more. The highways are nice and flat. The stupid bike trails are pretty but they go up and down through every little ditch and wear me out. I will stay on the highways if possible. Some of the roads are very narrow and treacherous. I don't like riding with zero shoulder and a 3 foot staight down drop off in a ditch and all the cars honking at me to get out of the way. The big trucks go by and blow me in the ditch. No more wrecks since day 1 so that is good.
Two days ago I learned about God's "Parable of the Frogs". I assume everyone is familiar with this parable. A relatively new scripture but a good one. I was grinding my way up a hill toward Anacortes, Wa about 4 miles an hour when I spied a tiny Frog hopping into the traffic. (True Story) I passed him by thinking he will die soon. The frog was about 1/2 inch long. See photo. As I passed him he crossed the white line into the highway. Nope, I couldn't do it. I had to save him. So I stopped, turned around and picked him up and threw him of the road into a swampy area. As I got back on my bike I spotted another and another and another. I saved about 10 of them and then decided I could not save them all. As I continued to ride over the next several hundred yards, I literally say hundred and hundred of tiny frogs hopping toward the highway. Being hungry, I thought "Frog Legs" for lunch. Frog Manna from Heaven. God loved his hungry hunter/gatherer after all. I began to pick up the smashed frogs but they were too small and I quickly realized this was not going to work. Just not enough meat on those little fellows. So I rode on hollering and screaming for the frogs to get out of the highway. Did they listen? No sir. None of them. And then I realized that God gave all frogs their own "Free Agency". They could hop in the highway if they wanted to. I told them not to but they did not listen. I saved a few but I could not save them all. Too many little frogs. In the end many frogs were hopping into danger and to their death. God just let them do it. He had to. They had their own Frog Agency to do as they wished and neither I nor God could fix it. We just had to let them go. So in the end frogs are like people. You sometimes just have to let frogs and people do their thing. Some will learn. Some will listen. Some will hop to safety, and some will get smashed. That is the parable of the frogs. I never saw so many little frogs. I don't know why they were there, but it was interesting. I guess they were just teaching me the gospel. I am trying to find some suntan lotion. I dropped mine this morning apparently. I stopped at a gas station and they wanted $10 for a small tube. I'll burn in the sun for that price. (Interjection by Kalia: think of the parable of the frog dad...will you learn?) I'll try and find some later. A little burn will go nice with my cold and sore butt and legs and aching neck. Well I will keep on trucking. Don't know what else to do. I have been whining a lot lately but I have no sympathy for whiners so my whining just falls on deaf ears. I will just keep on riding at my blazing speed of 4 miles an hour. Later, Thanks for giving me moral support. Sore Butt Dan

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Day Three - I need a new Butt, This One's Raw Hamburger...

Widby Island FerryWidby IslandView from Deception Bay BridgeSequim Lavender Farm StoreSlug Bug
Port Townsend Ferry Exit
Port Townsend Ferry
Painful Butt behind Face
Oak Harbor Entrance
Narrow Deception Bridge
Makeshift Bathing Area
Long Nasty Narrow Road to Port Townsend
Lavender Farm Relax Area
Lavender Farm at Sequim Washington
Lake on the way to Anacortes
Just after Nasty Deception Bay Bridge
Frog I saved from Smashitis
Ferry under way
Deception Bridge Sign
Bike on Ferry
Big Juicy Slug
Big GEese in the Strait of Juan de Fuca
Anacortes Stuff
Anacortes Squirt Gun
Anacortes Pier
Anacortes Bay

Lori: Daniel is worn out, but has a determination. He had a hard time with the heat today and feels like he is coming down with the flu or a cold, but is so happy to read about the support you are all giving him, whether he is crazy or not. His toughest thing so far is finding a place to sleep at night. He slept in someone's pasture last night and didn't want to upset the guy by putting up his tent since he didn't ask permission, so he just slept with the sleeping bag and woke up soaking wet with dew. Well, now he'll be sleeping in a wet sleeping bag tonight. He is trying to ride 15 more miles before calling it a night, because he is short on mileage right now. I told him to get a hotel room and some real rest, but he is trying to be frugal too. He ate a can of ravoli today, because food costs more than he had planned on. He had pancakes for breakfast and it cost $16 and to top it all off, they were burned, but he was trying to be nice and not cause trouble so he ate the nasty things like they were. He has quickly found out that any kind of fried foods make him sick when exercising like this. He met a man who has ridden across the U.S. before I think he said and probably got some good advice from him. He also sent a package home already with some of the weight he no longer wishes to carry - such a surprise! 75 lbs wears on you after a while. These are some of his earlier comments to a friend of his. ".... I need a new Butt. The one I have is raw hamburger. Hopefully it will toughen up a little sometime in the near future. It sure is nice that I picked Heat Wave Time in Washington to do this. I feel like a fried Egg. The heat is kicking my butt and my butt is too sore to be kicked right now." If there is anyone who wants to follow him in a vehicle and relieve some of the fun and excitement of carrying everything by himself - please feel free to speak up. He'll be grateful to have you along. Goodnight! Lori (keeping the home fire burning)

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Day Two

This is just a Mapquest map that approximates Dan's journey: he has ridden about 135 miles or so, nearly a 4 hour car trip according to mapquest (mountainous twists and turns, on state highways lengthen travel time). Dan is about 20 miles before Anacortes, WA and is exhausted and has a sore butt. But, he's okay, and will keep us posted when he gets the chance. His technology runs on batteries that won't stay charged well, so he's a bit out of touch. Stay tuned for more sometime later...

Behind the Scenes Support

Dan's better half, Lori, took him to the coast to see him off, and is supporting him by staying behind to harvest their garden so they can continue to build their food storage. He will need a lot of food when he returns as a fat-free little ball of muscle (otherwise completely emaciated ;-).

Monday, July 27, 2009

Day One - Stupid Bike Ride

I started my Trip Across America today. Tough day. I started late at 11:00. It was a hot bugger all day. About 97 degrees or so. I was wiped out at the end of the day. My rear end is sore. I rode about 70 miles. Uphill up the mountains on one side and uphill going down the back side. I am trying really hard not to wreck my bike. No luck. I ran off the road a little bit (2 inches) and thought I would just ride back on. No such luck. My tires dug into the shoulder and slammed me down on the shoulder of the road. I'm sure it would have killed a lesser man. I just got up and put my shoulder back into its socket, pushed the protruding bones back into my legs, wrapped a little duct tape around the broken bones and kept on going. Whining the whole way.
I don't know who decided to do this stupid trip anyway. I ate lunch this afternoon at a little cafe somewhere and she gave me too much food to eat. I thought I better eat it anyway, because I need "the energy". It was too much and it made me sick. I have had the runs all afternoon. Real nice. I found an abondoned house to sleep at. I put my tent in yard and went to bed. I felt better in the morning. I can hardly wait to ride another 70 to 100 miles today. My poor wife married an Idiot. Later, Dan

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Forks, WA - What's Twilight?

Kalia narrating: Dad and mom stayed at this 5 star hotel (with a blanket for a bathroom door,and no tv) in Forks, WA before dad starting his bike trip. It was the only place they could find due to the overwhelming number of tourists that have been flocking to the place since for this thing called Twilight. Dad was talking to a doctor there who has like 10 kids (could it be Carlisle?) and asked him why all of the people were there. The Dr. said it was because of Twilight which my dad thought was perhaps a bike race or something. No dad, it's a phenomenon, and watch out for the vampires and werewolves...;-)