South Dakota

I'm really terrible about self motivation. Its a serious problem, which is why I'm glad I'm not moving to a place to live alone.

I really am sorry about not updating this more. I feel guilty about it.

 In the form on an apology here are those pictures I promised.

Here's Hannah!

And Rebekah! That may or may not be how her name is spelled. You get the idea though.

Told you they were sickeningly adorable.

Oh! And I never posted the picture Karla Redepenning took with me!

She had me drive my bike in front of her beautiful garden right before I left.

Back to what I haven't talked about already. The rest of Saint Paul was fun. I saw the Mall of America with Heather, where we mostly just bugged the people at Marbles, a brain enhancing game store, and played with massage chairs. I'm not a huge fan of malls, because they're mostly just over priced clothes, but it was still a fun experience.

Driving in the pouring rain to get to the mall of America was not so fun. But it was worth it.

We also saw some truly awesome wall art.

Both of these pictures were part of a larger mural, but cars were blocking the rest of it. These were the best bits anyway.

After the rain cleared up I took advantage of my brief window of semi decent weather to head out to South Dakota. Funny thing was that as soon as I crossed the state border the rain all vanished. There were signs that the rain had passed that way before I got there though. The chief sign was that my road now passed under a river. I saw an SUV try and ford it anyway and they got stuck in the middle, so I sought an alternate route. A very helpful local, who had just recently stopped riding, told me about the route he had taken to Sturgis many times before. Don't get me wrong, I was extremely grateful. But gravel roads suck. It evened itself out by showing my this gem though:

I know its not that funny in reality, but at the time I found it hysterical.

The plains are flat. Very, very flat. For miles. I've never really just stared at endless horizon before. It was neat. Then it got really boring. But it did make for a spectacular sunset, which helped with the mindless boredom.

I know I'm not a great photographer, but I found the effect of the sunset on the flood waters and roads really cool looking at the time. All that water you see it actually about a foot deep in fields, not true lakes.

Or, you know, supposed to be there at all.

While seeing the sunset was great, it did mean that by the time I got to Howard South Dakota to find Rose Mary Sanderson's house it was very much night time.

My grandma has this lovely friend named Rose Mary who very graciously opened her house(and excellent tea selection) to me. She was a wonderful host and helped me plot out the best route to Rapid city and my grandma's house.

She also has a bunch of cats, but they were all cute and more or less friendly, so that was fun. One of them slept with me, but I don't think he was supposed to. I didn't mind.

After I left her house, I had another very long day ahead of me. South Dakota got pretty once I was near the Black Hills, but good Lord, so much of that state was mind numbingly boring. I listened to an entire book on tape. And also realized that all my books on tape are missing about a tenth of their content from file corruption when I transferred them between iPods. I hate Apple so, so much.

I mean seriously, why make it so hard to move files from an iPod to the computer? Its still possible quite easily, its just frustrating and ends up making me hate Apple even more, without actually stopping me. Just inconveniencing me. Big companies need to learn that a good reputation will reduce people taking advantage of them a lot better than making all their users jump through hoops, by using a deterrent more powerful than any evil inconvenience. Guilt! Small companies and musicians have shown that by simply being honest and open with their product, people generally like them so much for it that they don't steal their stuff.

Sorry about that. Kind of a rant that I don't think any of my readers will care that much about.

Right. The trip. South Dakota. So, I got to grandma's condo in Rapid City, took a swim and soaked in a jacuzzi. It made up for the long day in  spades. The following day we went to church with Uncle Larry, but his wife was home sick with a nasty sore throat. After church we went out to the house my Mom bought near Hill City, which is next to Larry's house. Its really nice! Except for the whole fly thing. Great woodwork, and I like the stone fireplace. Plenty of rooms.

And flies. And fly corpses. Apparently out this way log houses need to be "sprayed" to keep insects away, and this house had never been sprayed, despite being previously lived in. So there are flies in all the windows. And covering the window sills. My uncle has been kind enough to vacuum the bodies up a few times, but in a couple of days their littering the place again. The bathtub hadn't been cleaned or used in about a month, and it looked like the fly holocaust. There was thousands of dead flies just covering this one window sills. It was disturbing to say the least.

But apparently that's not a big deal to stop, so I approve of the house. It does have a good deal of gravel leading up to it, so I don't know if I want to stay the night there or not, just to avoid driving up there on my bike.

I did get packages from my mom though! Stuff to keep my warmer in crossing the wilderness mostly, so this is my "thank you" to Mom.

The next day Grandma left early to go to Denver on her way to take a trip with my Aunt Janet and my mom on a cruise up north. I spent that day wandering around Rapid City, mostly visiting the endless antique stores, and a few coffee shops.

Today I went to visit Sitting Bull Crystal Caverns, which was very cool. It made me want to go caving for real, not just a walk in tour. Maybe I'll look up caves in Washington State. The guide, who was the great great grandson of the discover of the cave and also the current owner, told me there were some old lava tubes near Mount Rainier which might be fun.

I also discovered that 2:00 P.M. on Tuesdays is not the easiest time to find a meal.

I found this cafe/super suave and classy restaurant which said it was open at 3:00, which I thought it was. I waited for them to open, and was then informed it was actually 2:00 and my phone clock was quite wrong.

But they fed me anyway! It was cool.

The cafe I'm writing in is closing now, so I need to stop writing now.

I AM alive! Milwaukee through St Me

So, I'm not dead, the trip hasn't been cut short by a terrible tragedy or anything like that.

I have finally managed to escape from the clutches of Emily's kids, though it took great effort.

I spent Friday exploring again, this time downtown Milwaukee, where I became really very lost trying to find an art museum. I got a pretty ride out of it though.

Saturday all the riding in the cold caught up to me and I got sick. I spent most of that day sleeping, then rode up to the Hamels' house in Cedarberg, about an hour north. I took the scenic route by the lake shore. Yes, it was very pretty, and yes I did forget to take pictures. There was this awesome sunset too.

Sunday I went to church with Hamels, who I cannot express enough how awesome a family they are. I learned to play Cribbage and Spades.

Monday I rode back to Emily and Derek's house to retrieve my things, and got some pretty adorable pictures of the girls. I'd put them up now, but I don't have my camera cord with me at the moment, but they'll be up by later today.

By Monday night I was in Wisconsin Rapids and stayed the night with the Redepennings, another super friendly family my mom knows. They had a giant cat instead of a horde of children though.

And they have a really dark basement bedroom! The bed was really comfy though, so I can't complain too much because it was a really restful night sleep, but I slept in much later than I had planned.

They were really cool and very supportive of my trip. They told me how they loved reading my blog, which of course made me guilty about not updating more. I'm sure that wasn't their intent though. Of course not. Maybe. It obviously worked. Mrs Redepenning took great joy in mothering my cold. She also packed me a lunch, with a PB&J sandwich and apples, along with travel food and chewable vitamin C tablets. It made me feel like a little kid going for a bike ride too the park. Which when it comes down to it feels really, really nice.

Its been a good trip, don't get me wrong, but at that particular time a bit of mothering when I had a cold was pretty much exactly what I needed.

And the sandwich was delicious. So were the gummy candies.

Right. Moving on.

Today I'm at Heather's house, my friend from Mr Mac's class and Momentum who moved to St. Paul. Currently she's at class and I'm sitting in a cafe with wifi (which is why I don't have a camera cord).

Supposedly its going to rain tonight and tomorrow, so I'll probably be here till Friday, which is fine by me. Its always nice to catch up with a good friend.

I'll post picture of the Emily's girls later today.

Brace yourselves for the cuteness.

Thursday: the REAL day six.

If you'll look to the left, you'll see my attempt to correct my post titles.

Today I got to sleep in late, and it was quite lovely.

It really does feel like I've been gone longer than I have, and somehow my week just feels a lot longer than usual. This must be what life would feel like it I did more regularly.

Anyway, Milwaukee is a cool town. I hung out with Emily and her sickeningly adorable kids today. I'm not usually a child oriented type person, but her daughters are pretty much the cutest things I've ever seen. Ever. Including the kittens I played with that lived in the Community's garage.

We all went to a place called Kopp's for lunch, where I had a delicious burger and some of Milwaukee's oh-so-famous frozen custard.

Then I went to explore the Bay View strip, which is basically the hipster side of town, near where Emily's family lives.

I went to explore the coffee shop scene, and I've parked myself at a place called Hi Fi cafe, where there's a really cool atmosphere, classic rock playing, and free Wi-Fi. I came in and the Beatles' "Blackbird" was playing and I knew this is where I should stop. Their chai tea is pretty tasty too.

And there! I'm finally caught up on my progress, so I'm going to finish exploring Bay View, eat dinner with the Hamels, and I'll see you all next time I post. I'll try and be more regular from here on out, I promise! Don't forget to comment, I want to hear about home as much as you want to hear about me.

Day Six and Seven

I kinda mixed up days five and six in my last post, without telling you guys, sorry.

Anyway, last post was getting there and the beginning half of the following day. This post is gonna be the second half of that day and then leaving the city.

After working with Lukas, a guy from the community, trimming the tree in the garden, gathering up apples, and digging up hard clay from the new garden lot, I got cleaned up and ate dinner with Jim Pool. While I really enjoyed getting to know the community folk, meeting Noreen Bryant's pastor friend is the main reason I came through Detroit.

He was a really cool guy. We didn't really talk about anything incredibly deep, but we had a good conversation about our common interests in coffee and books we both like to read. Then we watched the beginning of the Return of the Jedi with Jim's six year old son. It was just a very chill way to spend an evening, and I really enjoyed meeting Jim.

After I got back to the community house (called the Garden House) I had my second super long conversation with one of the guys there named Vicente, mostly about way, way too deep topics, like the underlying purpose of music and Marxism. He's a tad better read on the subject than I am, but it was certainly an interesting discussion.

The next morning (after far, far too little sleep) I decided to bundle up, brave the wind, and take the highway to Muskegeon to save on time that I didn't have to catch the ferry.

It was the right, because even on the highway, which is always an adventure, I just barely made it to the ferry.

Riding on the highway is kind of a game in its own right, always moving from large wind-blocking vehicle to the next. Its entertaining, but takes a lot of awareness and is kind of tiring.

I'm sure I missed some interesting stopping points along the way, but as I said, I wouldn't really have had time to check them out anyway. I did of course have time to get lost and ask a gas station attendant how to get back on track...

Back to the ferry, I got to board with a group of Canadian bikers, all on very large, very nice, very expensive looking Harley Davidson motorcycles. They were intimidating looking, but my bike decided to break the ice and not start when it was time for my to board... I'd just left the gas off, so it wasn't a big deal and I quickly got her going and aboard the ship, but it was clear that I wasn't terribly experienced. They were nice about it though and helped me tie down my bike once I'd gotten about. Canadians always seem to be nice people.

The ferry ride was pretty nice. I think I could be sailor. I've always found the rocking of boats to be really soothing and it was a pretty day for it.

Getting off the ferry was a bit less dramatic than boarding, though the other bikers had to help get the tie downs off too (the mechanisms got stuck! It wasn't my fault!)and I was off the Emily Zabel's house. Getting there was pretty easy, and so far Milwaukee seems to have decent roads comparatively.

I really need to keep better track of phone numbers...

They weren't home when I got there, and I had no number to call, so I had to bug Mom while she was leading an Alpha meeting...

Eventually through playing phone tag with mom and then Mrs. Hamel, and then finally to Emily. It was overly complicated, but eventually I got in, haha.

Thus another day of my journey comes to an end. Its was a good day.

Day Five: Detroit

The getting lost bit is definitely going to be a "thing". Its just the same old story, so I'm not going to go into. After the third or fourth time its not really interesting any more.

Moving on, while I'm stopping in Detroit to see Jim Pool, I'm not staying with him. I understand, small house+ rambunctious kids= not good for company and no rest for me. Instead
I stayed with the Jeanie Wylie Community, an intentional community of people who decided to live together and focus on urban agriculture and hospitality. They’re a cool bunch of people, and the hospitality focus is really true, they’ve been awesomely gracious with letting me stay just like one of the community, if a temporary part.

Yesterday we cooked up some oatmeal with whatever fruits had been picked from the surrounding neighborhood, and I helped them trim a large tree that was blocking sunlight from their large subsistence garden.

My major experience with Detroit is a bustling subsistence farming community in the heart of the city. Kinda neat.

And a really, really crappily laid out road system.

Day Four

On the road again... right after a quick checkup. A fellow rider from the Hershbergers' church pointed me to Leheman's "The Big Open Road" motorcycle shop about a half hour along my way, so I decided to stop by them and have my bike checked out just in case. Their actually a Christian business, which is really cool for a bike shop, and they also specialize in older honda and japanese motorcycles.

Perfect!!

The owner himself looked over my bike, replaced a flimsy tube of some sort, taught me how to replace the chain should I need too, and gave me a wrench of the correct size. He also took her for a test ride and eased my mind about the condition of my bike.

All completely for free.

So, all you people praying for me(which I do really appreciate) it would be completely awesome if you all could take a moment and pray that Leheman and his business get blessed ten times as much as they blessed me.

The fourth day was really when the trip felt like it began for real. The weather was perfect and the scenery was beautiful Amish country.

It wasn't completely with challenges, as my speakers started to fade out. So I saw a dollar general store and pulled over, and lo and behold, there was a MASSIVE antique store. Seriously, it was bigger than a Walmart.

I wish I could remember the name of the place, but I wandered around that store for a good three hours. They had an awesome selection, and I talked to the owner's wife about my trip for about a half an hour too.

Of course, I also completely forgot about why I stopped in the first place, right up until I got back on my bike, then immediately got off and walked back to the dollar general. The headphones were right in front; it was the first thing I saw. They cost about five dollars and the back headband broke off exactly how I wanted them too. With a little bit of double sided tape the antique dealers wife gave me I attached the now plain speakers into the slot in my helmet.

Oh. My. God.

I've been so tired of the ear pain caused by my other headphones, this makeshift in-helmet sound is a true God send.

The rest of the ride was just really relaxed and really pleasant. Especially with the new sound system.

Day Three

Sunday, the day of rest. I really appreciated having the day off, just to relax. I went to Urie Hershberger's church where he preached a great sermon on spiritual strongholds and warfare. It was cool. Other than that the day was really chill, which is exactly what I needed after a stressful couple days travel.

Not much more to say about that...

Day Two

You should all get used to reading about me getting lost. It happens frequently. Today was really very similar to yesterday, though the major highway intersections this time around had considerably more adult novelty stores. There were several as opposed to none. I did not go in to any of them. There are limits to even my curiosity.

Canton Ohio is not the small town I was led to believe. It is actually a good sized university town. And yet again the road I was meant to turn down does not exist. I can only pray that this is not a continuous trend on the trip.

Somehow, I managed to complete what should have been a four hour drive in a mere ten hours. I did not take many long breaks, and did not get monstrously lost. I have no idea whatsoever how I managed this, but it was completely exhausting.

On an unrelated note, the odd noise and poor engine performance of my poor overworked bike has gotten worse. I think I’m gonna find a bike shop in Canton and have her looked at tomorrow after church.

Day One

           Well, first day out. It went a little rough. Leaving home when kind of emotional (yes mom I know I didn’t act it). Then riding was quite a bit colder then I expected, so I pulled over at a random convince store. Ironically it was closed for an hour, which many people found terribly inconvenient. Anyway, I then changed into my windproof suit, which while warm is not very flexible. Oh well.

Then I got lost…somewhere. Eventually I found a sign that pointed me towards Bedford, which got me headed in the right direction, but still very lost. Eventually a very nice old pharmacist pointed me to the right word.

Following these directions got me right past the Halborsons’ home, and to the White Sulfur Springs OCF lodge. There is no sign for the road Indians Greene Road, despite Google map’s believe to the contrary. Anyway, the receptionist was kind enough to give me proper directions. I still missed the road and had to go back to try again. Third times the charm and I found my way here.

Mr. Halborson gave me a great tour of their property, which had a gorgeous sunset view over golden fields. Then ice-cream!

Oh, and are tires supposed to click and thump while they turn?

Going Away Party!

Monday night I got a rather fun (or maybe just funny) send off from the friends and family still in the area. It was a Biker theme party, so everyone had to wear leather and bandannas or get a temporary tattoo.

It was a good way to see everyone before I head out. If you didn't make it you did miss out on a good time, but don't feel too bad, it was pretty last minute.









Oh, and I was surprised how many of the girls I know have a biker babe hiding inside of them.

Still, I think this was the prettiest girl at the party

The bike that is. Not me.

Saying hello before I say goodbye.

I haven't done much public writing so I don't know how entertaining this is going to be. I'll try and find a way to make the story of a trip across the country on a motorcycle, avoiding highways and hotels, interesting.
Some how.

Anyway, first off I want to thank everyone reading this blog. I don't usually say much about my life, so this is going to be a trial for me to record and tell everyone about the goings on in my life. I especially want to thank my mom for being a lot more supportive of me leaving than I thought she'd be. I'm not sure how comforting that is. I also really want to thank the people I'll be staying with along the way! And finally I want to thank Dee Powell for helping me work on my bike, for all the equipment and gear you're letting me take on the trip, and for being such an awesome blessing in general.

There's the first post. Feel free to say hi in the comments, I'll try and check this between now leaving. I'll plan on my next posting being September 10th, the day I take off on this adventure!