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Visiting Denise - New Jersey/New York

I spent the last week or so visiting my half-sister Denise at her home in Summit, NJ. I also took a bit of a quick trip into the Big Apple just to fart around, and to visit Veselka, the Ukrainian restaurant there. Overall the trip was totally awesome and I’m really glad I went. Denise and her partner Jon were amazing hosts and they have a beautiful home, a huge mansion that they’ve got totally decked out with pool table, shuffleboard, outdoor fire pit, pool, etc., etc. plus an awesome guest quarters with a killer comfy bed and a really nice shower. So it was a really relaxing time. I didn’t get to do too much bike riding, mostly because I was just exhausted and recovering. But I did take one nice little jaunt about 15 miles round-trip to Irvington. Some random thoughts here, in particular order:

  • New Jersey, unsurprisingly, is really nice and pretty, especially the very upscale area of Summit that they live in. Garden state, indeed.

  • The weather totally rocked. I really miss the Upstate New York/New Jersey weather and it reminded me how important weather is to my happiness because I roasted my butt off down in Florida. I’m glad Oakland weather is so good as well.

  • Denise is awesome, and so is her son (my half-nephew) Owen. Good people.

  • Denise has an assistant, and that totally blew my mind. I need an assistant.

  • New Jersey needs more bike paths.

  • There is an amaaaaazing diner in Summit, the Summit Diner. Perfect old school diner.

Now, some thoughts about my quick trip to New York City:

  • It’s a lot cleaner than it was 15 years ago, and it smells better

  • The bike infrastructure is much improved

  • The 9/11 memorial is pretty cool, at least the outdoors parts. The “well into nothingness” really captures the emotional mood of that moment and that place, like a portal into nothing. As we were standing there I looked up and tried to think about seeing a jetliner crashing into the (new) tower and it’s hard to even fathom.

  • Veselka (the Ukrainian restaurant) totally delivered. I bought some souvenirs and soaked in the atmosphere. The Borscht was legit and the server was very Ukrainian. Plus they make their own pilsner and it was really good.

  • I found my old apartment but couldn’t find my old office. Oh well.

  • I got the street meat, with the white and red sauce, and it was like I was back 15 years ago, as if no time had passed. Weird feeling.

  • The New Jersey transit train to Summit….not so great. Only one train an hour and the return train was canceled on me. Denise and Jon had to pick me up in Seacaucus

Catching up with Denise about things; about Dad, about life, about dating, was amazing and I really can’t wait to go and visit again!

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Florida Bike Trip Day 9 - Marathon, FL

The second-to-last day of a trip is always the best day, and this was no exception. We tied one on at the Dockside Boot; we showed up around 4 for a 4-7 pm happy hour which involved Painkillers and $7 for a dozen wings. There was a rather terrible professional karaoke guy entertaining us as we sat on a dock next to the water, followed by a Ukelele cover band that tried to play 80s and 90s hits on what was objectively the wrong instrument. We talked, we laughed, it was great. I wish every day was like that, even though I understand why it can’t be. There’s something magical about the second-to-last day; everyone has gone into full vacation mode and we are all comfortable with each other, but we’re not yet thinking about home and our responsibilities.

The riding was fine; hot; the rain has finally stopped. I rode with Rob and he got 3 - count ‘em, 3 - flats until finally I had to leave him behind because I had snorkeling tickets. Then I went snorkeling with Carla and Jim, we went out to a reef and saw a ton of multi-colored tropical fish including Blue Tangs and lots of other iridescent and crazy looking fish. It’s so fun to just watch them move around in schools. I got way too much sun, but I got to chat with Carla and sit on a boat. So all in all a great day.

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Florida Bike Trip Day 10 - Key West, FL

Last day blog posts always serve as an interesting bookend to the trip. The riding today was challenging; we started out with what’s called the Seven Mile Bridge, coming out of Marathon, which was long and windy with a headwind. After that things evened out a bit, but it still was a long, hot day. From long experience I’ve learned that it’s never about the destination with these trips, and this was no exception; I’ve learned not to expect any big celebration or anything at the end because everyone is tired and just wants to get on with things. The night before last is always the big celebration. We finished at a nice enough park and waited for the rest of the team to come in and watched some police officers play Bocce in the heat. Then we headed over to a Pier to do donuts around the southernmost point, then off to the church, where we all split up. I ended up having a nice dinner though with Carla, Paul, Jacob and Dan, and then off to have a drink with Sully. It was nice getting to meet and get to know Megan, one of our “brand new” riders. Rob jetted off to go home, he was itching to get going. I smell really bad but I once again had a great trip.

Oh, and we got to swim in the ocean down at Taylor State park, finally! The water was great, if a bit rocky. And, randomly, Foreigner was playing - what a fate for them to be playing in Key West to a bunch of middle aged folks.

These “in between” days can be a bit challenging mentally because it’s a bit sad to lose this new community and go back to being (at least temporarily) alone. I get used to being alone, and it’s fine, but it’s great to have new and old friends around for a while!

Key West is exactly what I imagine - like a really hot plantation. Today I’ll swing by and see the Hemmingway museum before flying out to see my sister. Happy to be here but ready to move on to what’s next.

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Florida Bike Trip Day 8 - Tavernier, FL

A great day. 60 miles of riding in the heat and sun, getting in as early as 1pm. The first 20 miles or so was on a Miami Busway, which was basically a completely flat and straight road with no cars allowed, only buses; other than the stop lights there was nothing to impede our progress. Then after that was another 20 miles to Key Largo on the straightest and flattest highway ever. So basically the riding was easy but also a bit, as Rob would say, “tedious”. Sully drove over a knife blade and destroyed Tomorrow is only 39 miles, so several of us (Carla, Dan, Richard, Paul and I) took Ubers down to a beach and public park where they also had food carts and several 80s cover bands who entertained us for hours. I got to “swim” in some very warm and very shallow water. Apparently there are few if any natural beaches here because of the coral reefs and the few beaches that exist are largely private. We ate some donuts and talked to some locals and played some dice. There was also fish sandwiches with Rob at Captain Craig’s across the street from the church, and a shuttle to a local gym for amazing showers. Today really felt like a genuine Bike the US for MS day.
http://www.biketheusforms.org

https://www.biketheusforms.org/our-routes/

https://www.biketheusforms.org/ms-bike-ride-florida/

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Florida Bike Trip Day 7- South Miami Beach, FL

So many great things about today: a great time with Rob, Sully and John, hanging out at the Daleland Mall, at an American eatery, then a cigar bar, then an Indian restaurant, talking aout plans for the future of the organization and just life in general. It’s been fun getting to know Rob and listen to him talk about his work and his wife and all of his various life journeys. We are once again in a very nice church, lying in between the pews with air conditioning and power outlets. Only 3 days more until I fly out to see my sister!

Today was the third day in a row with rain; at one point we had a good old-fashioned Florida deluge that drowned us in water. Various parts of my body including my private parts are very sore from being immersed in water and then worked; there’s a lot of chafing going on, which is a real mental challenge. But I’m still having a great time.

Today we rode straight through downtown Miami, and it was crazy! I can’t believe how big the apartment complexes and office buildings are in Miami; I was prepared for it but still wasn’t prepared for it. We had horrendous traffic to weave back and forth through, and at one point I lost my rear bike light/radar device, which is sad but oh well. It was still a great day of riding even if the last 15 miles or so was definitely on the struggle bus. There’s learning there as well.

We also rode through Hollywood Beach Boardwalk, north of the city, which was fun and reminded me of San Diego or the beaches of LA; lots of restaurants right across from white sand beaches. We also rode past Trump Hollywood (lol).

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Florida Bike Trip Day 6 - Boca Raton, FL

Another great day of cycling. I was on the struggle bus today; everything is starting to hurt, whether that’s because I’m 46 now or just out of shape; feet are swelling, lungs are tired. Back feels good though. We rode through the wealth areas of Palm Beach, but it rained almost all day, at times quite hard, so we really didn’t see much, and what we did see was hard to take a picture of. We actually rode right past Mar-A-Lago; you could tell because there were several camerapersons stationed on the bike path with their cameras pointing at it, to get B-roll, or in case the place exploded or something. You also could tell because there were several Secret Service stands set up to oversee the property; interestingly, they are quite clearly labeled with no attempt to hide them. I would have taken pictures but, again, it was raining pretty hard, which I’m going to choose to see as a good omen.

I got super hungry near the end of the ride; there was nowhere to eat, only luxury mansions. I would have gladly consumed a manicured lawn if I could. Eventually I found a Publix and had a sub (if you know, you know).

Another great day; wish I could’ve gotten more pictures, but it made the riding easier, and now I get to sit here and listen to the rain hitting the roof of this beautiful church.

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Florida Bike Trip Day 5 - Stuart, FL

Hot. Sun. Tired. Biking. Rest stops. Water. Stopping at a firestation to fill up from a spigot. Stopping off at the shore to take a dip in the water at mile 65. Hanging with friends until I couldn’t hang with them anymore. I’ve learned so many lessons from Bike the US for MS: Teams are amazing and can boost you when you feel like you can’t do it, but then also you’ve gotta know when to peace out and go your own way. Always eat mint chocolate chip ice cream if given half a chance. Make friends. Enjoy the moment. Sleep in churches. Blog every day. You can do more than you think you can. America is enormous. Sunlight reflects off of tarmac and you can get a burn on your face anyway. Change your brake pads. Thank people who make you bacon and pancakes. Eat an extra pancake. Carry a banana. Don’t sweat the small stuff, and it’s almost all small stuff.

Still hoping to see Jamie tomorrow in Boca Raton, hope that works out. Looking forward to the future, but today I will sign off from the lawn outside a church in Stuart, FL; as every, your nomad cyclist.


http://www.biketheusforms.org

https://www.biketheusforms.org/our-routes/

https://www.biketheusforms.org/ms-bike-ride-florida/

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Florida Bike Trip Day 4 - Indiatlantic, FL

Today’s ride was great, but somewhat uneventful; not surprising given that Florida is so flat and pleasant. I think what I want to focus on today is the generosity of the community that I belong to. Tonight we are staying in the house of an alumnus; and what a house it is! Beautiful, huge, right on the river; I got to swim off their private pier. But what’s amazing is that they are putting all 15 or so of us up in their house, free of charge, and making us dinner and breakfast and letting us use all their facilities. And it really makes me think about life goals and what’s important in life. Having a fancy house is nice, but using it for the benefit of a community is really the sweetest part. I want to own things, but only inasmuch as I use them for the service of others. It’s a small thing, but I rent out my basement for a very low price on AirBNB, and although I do make money, I look at it more as a community service. I get a lot of folks who for whatever reason don’t have anywhere else to go, and it makes me feel good to give them a place to live for at least a couple of nights. I want to get more into volunteering my time and my belongings in service of others.

On a biking note, it’s been awesome riding with Rob Morris, even if he does cheat by having an e-bike. Just kidding, Rob. Maybe. The weather was amazing, my cold is dying off, and everything is going swimmingly.

I was supposed to see Jamie today but she is not feeling well so we will hang out tomorrow. In the meantime, hello from sunny Florida!

http://www.biketheusforms.org

https://www.biketheusforms.org/our-routes/

https://www.biketheusforms.org/ms-bike-ride-florida/

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Florida Bike Trip Day 3 - New Smyrna Beach, FL

As I sit in this hotel room helpfully provided by my friend Rob, listening to motorcylces rev their engines outside and two people have a loud conversation while I sit on this hard mattress, I think two thoughts: Why am I doing this? And, I wouldn’t have it any other way! I realize those are mutually contradictory thoughts but such is the nature of being human.

Today started out relatively boring, we knew we were going to be in for another 65 miles of flat riding. Breakfast was tasty: fried fish and cheese grits (I don’t think I’m in California anymore) served by a woman whose tan had a tan. But then, it started raining. And it kept raining for over 40 miles. It still wound up being a great day though; dinner was a nice little full course spread of soup, salad, dinner rolls and some fried fish, and we rode through a lot of small towns with Trump flags.

It is, apparently, bike week in Daytona Beach - the big one, the big bike week. So they are out in force. We are staying just on the south side of Daytona, so we rode right through it today. We felt so welcome - everyone had “Bikers Welcome” sings (haha).

It’s been fun to ride with Rob and get to know each other a little better. I am headed next week up to Summit, NJ to meet my sister and it turns out he lives only half an hour from there so I may swing by and say hi! We talked a lot about life. It helped to talk with another guy.

Anyway, that’s all from the road, coming to you live from the crappiest hotel in New Smyrna Beach, FL!

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Florida Bike Trip Day 2 - St. Augustine Beach, FL

66 miles down the coast. I’ve done this ride before; once in the opposite direction when I did the Atlantic Coast in 2022, and once in the same direction when I went by myself from Jacksonville to Disney World back when I rode by myself, before all these shenanigans with Bike the US for MS even started. So many things have changed since then; my friend Jamie who I went to visit has a partner, my mom has passed away, we sold the timeshare at Disney, I have a different bike, I ride with a charity instead of alone. So much water under that bridge. I’ll have to look back in time and see where I stayed that time; I remember being at some park off the side of the road, sleeping in my tiny crappy tent and wondering what the heck I was doing. I’m still wondering what the heck I’m doing. In fact, in many ways I’m less sure of what I’m up to than back then.

Today’s ride was uneventful. We went to Seafood Kitchen for lunch, which was amazing. I’m also really amused when my Bike the US life intersects with my real life; sitting at lunch with my dad but also half of my bike team was a bizarre experience. So many shadows; mostly of my mom and my grandmother. So much history in this area. I feel both uniquely unwelcome here but also a child of this place. As we rode past the beach houses I remembered when we would come down here for a vacation and I would be so bored I would spend all day in the ocean, until one time I spent so much time in the salt water that I irritated my esophagous and started coughing up blood and my parents freaked out. I am a child of all these memories and they combine to produce me, a unique creation.

http://www.biketheusforms.org

https://www.biketheusforms.org/our-routes/

https://www.biketheusforms.org/ms-bike-ride-florida/

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Florida Bike Trip Day 1 - Fernandina Beach, FL

Here we go again! This time it’s 10 days from the northernmost edge of Florida down to Key West. I flew in to Jacksonville yesterday and spent last night with my Dad and Janet; always great to see them. Today we had lunch at Safe Haror and then I rode myself and all my stuff up to the starting line here in Fernandina Beach, riding against the route. I haven’t been doing much riding lately but still it’s very easy cycling and so everything went well! I got pretty dirty from the water and mud kicked up off the road but that’s about it. I’m looking forward to 10 days of fitness, eating better, hanging out with old friends and just relaxing. So good to see friends like Carla and Duncan and Dan Boatright and, well, almost everybody on the trip! I had dinner with Sully and Rob Morris and Rob and I talked about the joys of home ownership; he is an architect and a house remodeling consultant. Oddly, I was in this exact place two years ago when we rode the other direction; we even ended up eating at the same Mexican restaurant I ate at two years ago. Time flies. Begin back in Florida is interesting and coming here to Amelia Island brings back memories; riding through the beach trees along the paths makes me feel like a kid again. Here’s to 10 fun days on the bike!

http://www.biketheusforms.org

https://www.biketheusforms.org/our-routes/

https://www.biketheusforms.org/ms-bike-ride-florida/

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Bible SapAM (Blog Day 1)

One of the oddest things about owning my own home, or at least one of the most unexpected, are these letters that I receive. I call them “Bible Letters”, because, essentially, that’s what they are. They almost always have some sort of handwritten component; the one I got today had a completely handwritten address (including my name, which is a bit creepy, but I think you can get that from the city rolls). They also usually have some kind of automated part; in my case, the letter itself was printed, though a font was used that made it look kind of handwritten. The return address - which was sort of nearby - was done using a stamp. These letters always take the same form: they start out by saying something about how the world is confusing, or difficult, or complicated, and then they inevitably turn quickly to quoting the bible. The details vary. There’s never really any overt reference to a specific religion, though of course they are always Christian. They seem to genuinely come from an actual, individual human being. I don’t get the sense that it’s anything more organized than a single person sending these out, and I think the return address is a real person (though I’ve never looked into it). And it seems like an awful lot of work.

I would never have imagined that someone would go to that much trouble. And I never got them until I owned a house. It’s…odd, and slightly creepy, though also perhaps a bit heartwarming? I don’t know. I have mixed emotions. What do you think?

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2023 GAP/C&O - Day 6 - Arlington, VA

For the second time I rode into DC yesterday. It was a very challenging day of riding; I’m worn down from the three trips. The trail varied in quality; parts were really nice and smooth, but the last 10-15 miles were very rough and more suited for a mountain bike. Overall though it was an amazing trip.

One highlight was Great Falls, which Ted says is the second most water flowing over a falls in the United States (the first obviously being Niagara Falls). To get there you have to hike about a quarter mile over some walkways that take you through a high island which they called a river bed forest, and it was pretty magical. Then the falls themselves; well, words won’t do it justice, just look at the pictures.

Grabbing the bike from a bike shop took me down to Alexandria, right where I got the most amazing ice cream sundae last year while biking the Atlantic Coast. Didn’t have time to go back there though.

Then we had a celebration at a local pizza place and I made a couple of new friends. It was fun to connect with Jeremy on this trip; he’s a really interesting guy who’s a neurologist that runs research studies into ALS and has some good ideas about running some trips for ALS research in addition to MS. Then I met another alumni Amanda who I’d run into before and has a lot of enthusiasm for BTUSFMS. Then it was up super early to head to Reagan airport.

I feel ready to head home energized by both the organization and more generally my life goals, which is the best present that any trip or series of trips can give you.

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2023 GAP/C&O - Day 5 - Brunswick, MD

A much more pleasant day of riding with no accidents, and more to look at. I got to cross West Virginia off my list by carrying my bicycle across the foot bridge into Harpers Ferry, where the civil war started and they have a museum to John Brown the abolitionist (who I know precious little about).

Ted took us on a field trip to Antietam Cemetary. It was a good ride and I enjoyed the cemetery, where his great great uncle is buried. But all I could think about - because of the Ukraine war - is how stupid wars are, and how many young people had to die for this one. I’m not a Civil War buff, I guess.

The path itself improved greatly, which is good because my ankle was giving me all kinds of fits. It got better as the day went on because we weren’t bumping around quite so much.

I can’t believe the trip is almost over, this is our last day of riding tomorrow.

Also I got to see a Paw Paw for the first time. Somebody was asking about why Paw Paw, WV is named that and we happened to ride past some on the ground so Ted showed us one, but it was too rotten to eat.

Oh! And I won the wildlife photo contest with a picture of a blue heron I took the other day.

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2023 GAP/C&O Day 4 - Hancock, MD

Today all the interesting parts shifted from what was going on around us (rocks, bridges, towns, etc) to the actual drama of the riding itself. We switched trails from the GAP to the C&O. The GAP by the way is the Great Allegheny Passage (named for the mountains not the river), while the C&O is the Chesapeake & Ohio. The GAP is a “rails trail” meaning it’s an old railroad line, but the C&O is a canal towpath, meaning the area next to a canal where horses would tow boats from the shore. What this means is that the path went from being wide enough for a train to wide enough for a horse; e.g. not wide at all, and much less improved. That means mud, and boy did we have mud. The last 15 miles we switched to a neighboring rail trail, but the first 45 miles we had mud, mud and more mud. I was once again so grateful for my bicycle because I ask it to do all these things it isn’t made for and it never complains.

What did complain, however, is my achilles, which is very inflamed. It got pretty painful today but I am soldiering through it.

I feel very lucky to be here doing this, and today served up a reminder of that. At about mile 40 I rode up on a scene of several of my teammates, including Nick the doctor, standing around a man who was obviously down and off his bike. He turned out to have a very, very bad concussion and I ended up riding like a crazy person for about 5 miles so that I could get enough cell service to notify my teammates to call an ambulance. I think the guy’s gonna be fine but it was pretty scary.

Other than that, it was just a nice, challenging day of riding. The scenery has gotten much more lush and lowlands, meaning kind of a swamp. Every time I’m in this part of the US I think about the Civil War and basically all these guys standing around in swamps just waiting to get dysentery.

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2023 GAP/C&O - Day 3 - Cumberland, MD

Today was a nice pleasant day of riding. Weather was a bit overcast and slightly chilly, which is honestly perfect. Path was very pleasant, hard packed gravel. Visited a variety of scenic tourist-y type things along the way, like tunnels, and vistas, and train stations.

One highlight of the day was stopping at a tiny diner in Meyerdale; I ended up being the only one who went to that diner. The waitress was a younger woman who had a shirt on that I thought had a cool design with the Cat in the Hat and it was about cancer so I told her I liked it and asked where I could get one but she said it was a shirt she had made for a friend of hers. Then she got quiet and said that her friend hadn’t made it. So we had a good long conversation about her friend and about my brother. It felt good to tell that story to someone because it has a happy ending. Plus the patty melt was good.

Dinner was a crab place here in Cumberland. Shower was at a YMCA. We’re staying at a church. It all feels “peak Bike The US for MS”.

My right achilles started acting up today and it’s swollen as all get out. I hope it improves tomorrow. Can’t wait for more riding. Really enjoying the trip so far.

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2023 Gap/C&O - Day 2 - Ohiopyle, PA

Day 1 was 74 miles, all along the GAP, which I now know stands for Great Allegheny Passage. Ironically we didn’t really ride along the Allegheny river much today, but we were by river(s) the whole day, surrounded by what Ted called a “tunnel of green”. I rode for a while with Ginger and Fred. We stopped at a bench that Fred had installed to honor his older brother who passed away, installed on an overlook at the start of the rapids in the Youngegheny river. Ohiopyle, the town we are in, is a little tourist town that’s here mostly to service whitewater rapids tourists who get in this river and then go down about 5 or 6 miles to a pull out and do some class 3 and 4 rapids. There are some falls in town that I went to look at.

The riding itself was nice, if perhaps a bit dull. I am having a bit of trouble with my lower back so I was glad to get off the bike. But it was a nice day of riding along some pavement and then a lot of hard packed gravel, so hard that it was fine on my road bike. We hit a little bit of mud but nothing special. Had lunch in a bike-themed place called the Kickstand Kitchen, where I had a polish sandwich with pierogies and sausage on a bun. Tasty but heavy.

I talked to Chet and Phil at dinner (pizza) about fundraising and how I got involved with the organization. All in all, a very pleasant day. Looking forward to more tomorrow as long as my butt doesn’t hurt.

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2023 GAP/C&O - Day 1 - Pittsburgh, PA

Yesterday I arrived at my friend Ted’s house and spent a nice dinner with him and his wife and a few of our old friends, before waking up today and journeying down to the hotel we’re staying at tonight. Fred Zelt took us out on a tour of Pittsburgh. I learned a lot about this city, which I’ve only been to once, and only briefly. It just goes to show what you don’t know about what you don’t know. One thing I didn’t fully realize was that there are so many rivers and bridges - I guess that’s the “Three Rivers Stadium” idea. But I now know it’s the Ohio, the Allgeheny, and the, uh, M-something.

We went to Bicycle Heaven! That place is amazing. We could only be there for about 15 minutes but you could easily spend an entire day there. It reminded me (in spirit) of the pinball hall of fame in Las Vegas; it’s a one man show of one person’s dedication to cycling, and to collecting bicycles and bicycle memorabilia from all throughout American history, including such gems as Pee Wee’s original bike.

We also went up a funicular, which was awesome and really reminded me of Stuttgart.

Then we had german food at a Hofbrauhaus, and some amazing beer. I can’t wait to ride tomorrow. It’s so great to reconnect with old friends.

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2023 Idaho Hot Springs Loop Day 9 - Boise, ID

Ah, back to civilization. A hard 40 miles took me down out of the wilderness and across Highway 21 and then through Boise. It was a challenging ride but not particularly interesting so I won’t dwell on it except to say that everytime I end up back in civilization it’s an interesting transition. Physically you start to see more and more evidence of humans, and your brain goes into this weird place where suddenly these things that you took for granted, like coffee shops and strip malls and watered lawns, feel extremely odd and out of place. But then the feeling fades and you end up in the Boise airport on your laptop waiting for your flight.

What are my main takeaways from the trip? First, that I need to have more male friends. Sitting out in the woods with another kind, gentle man for a week was a really good experience. I love my women friends but I need more male energy in my life. We shot the shit about politics and life and love and everything. Also, I learned a lot about how I will approach mountain biking as a hobby. I didn’t hate it, I didn’t love it, it was a mixed bag, but I think I will be much better prepared for my next trip. I further cemented my mixed feelings about bikepacking; I just don’t really enjoy carrying all my camping gear on the bike.

The last night, I listened to a talk by Timothy Snyder that really stuck with me, possibly because I was in the right frame of mind to be receptive to it because of the week in the wilderness. He spoke about the idea of “freedom to” as opposed to “freedom from”, what he called “positive freedom” instead of “negative freedom”. “Freedom from”, or negative freedom, is the idea that to be free we need to remove obstacles. Freedom from tyranny, freedom from patriarchy, freedom from racism. But what he speaks eloquently about is that freedom only means something if we use it to do something; that’s the “freedom to” part. He then goes on to talk about values, and how they are real things that we can use our freedom to work towards and choose between. And it’s true; what matters is not that we are literally without barriers; what matters is what we choose to do with our freedom.

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2023 Idaho Hot Springs Loop Day 8 - Cottonwood Creek Campground, ID

Yesterday (I’m writing this from the airport) was nice. We started the day at the Twin Springs Resort and were in no hurry to leave it, so we bummed around and sat on their porch for hours and hours, talking about politics and solving the world’s problems, while watching the locals drive up the dirt road and stop and talk to Leon about whatever and whenever. I went in their hot tub 3 separate times, did some homework, and took a nap. I’m going to miss this trip.

Kip wasn’t feeling so well, and he eventually got anxious to get on the road, so we headed out and did about 12 miles over some really bumpy roads but past some beautiful terrain. I actually was out pacing Kip, which is how I knew he really was sick. When we finally got to camp he said he wasn’t sure whether he could keep going or turn back to Boise with me and I encouraged him to do what was best for himself (spoiler alert: he kept going). We camped next to a guy named Michael and his dog Tucker who was just bumming around the US in a camper; he lives in North Carolina and works in IT. I’m finally getting the hang of the riding and camping, just in time to go home! :)

I fell asleep listening to Timothy Snyder talk about philosophy and watching the beautiful stars overhead. A good day. Tomorrow will be conclusions from Boise.

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