I'm still in the Twin Cities enjoying the last full day of my listless, relaxing vacation from vacation. I just finished reading a great novella entitled "Knulp" written by Hermann Hesse. It's a great story about an amiable vagabond who travels from place to place relying on the generosity of friends and strangers and who brings a bit of cheer and joy to all he meets.
I fancy that on our trip, Eric and I are in a way like the beautifully unproductive Knulp, roaming from place to place, philosophizing superficially, occasionally breaking out into song, meeting and conversing with random people, and from time to time being taken off the street by generous people who seem to glean as much pleasure from hearing about our adventures as we do from getting a warm shower.
But alas, unlike Knulp, our rambling, wayfaring, bike-riding lifestyle will one day come to an end and we will inevitably return to "the real world". Having gone a little more than halfway, Eric and I were discussing the other day about what things we will take away from the trip. In that regard, I hope that, like Knulp, we'll have taken away some meaning and wisdom from among all of our tramping.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Friday, August 10, 2007
Recent food stories
Mrs. Khoury was pretty much right on the mark with her comment to one of my postings that Eric and I are eating our way across American in addition to biking across. I'm even amazed at the amount of food we eat everyday. If you consider that you can burn up to 100 calories per mile, I guess our gluttony seems reasonable... Here's a list of what I ate last night for dinner:
At Joseph's Family Restaurant in Stillwater, MN:
1 Omelet with cheese, fried onions and sausage
Hashbrowns
4 slices of toast
2 glasses of iced tea
At the German Bar, 1 mile down the street:
2 glasses of Paulaner Oktoberfest beer
1/2 a basket of french fries
In a parking lot:
1/2 an apple pie
The story of the apple pie is pretty funny. For days, Eric and I have been fantasizing about eating an entire apple pie. Just two days ago, after getting to camp early, I unhooked my bike trailer and when out solo biking to two different nearby towns in search of an apple pie. In the second town, Cambridge, MN, I found a family bakery, but it was closed! I peered in the window and saw a sign that read "Fresh Homemade Pies" and I could just barely see rows of pies sitting behind the glass. After seriously contemplating throwing a brick through the window of the bakeshop to get at those pies, I tore off in search of a grocery store and a factory-produced pie that I could legally obtain. Surprisingly, I could only find an organic store, which did not carry pies. Instead, I searched after my main drug of choice - icecream. All this store had though was soyscream and ricecream - it made me want to scream! I had to settle for chocolate rice (fake!) icecream and strapped it too my bike and rode back to camp as fast as I could before it started melting.
Two days later (last night) in Stillwater, MN, we went to Joseph's Family Restaurant for dinner. Upon entering, we were nearly blinded by the beautiful site of three rows of homemade pies in a display case before us. After finishing our meal, we gleefully ordered a full apple pie to eat immediately. The waitress came back and said that the manager wouldn't allow us to eat an entire pie in the restaurant and that she could box it up for us to take home. Eric, in utter confusion and sorrow blurted out, "we don't have a home." But we couldn't turn down the opportunity to eat an entire homemade apple pie, so we took it to go. After stopping along the way to eat more food, we got back to St. Paul Lutheran Church, where we were staying over night, grabbed two forks, sat down on the curb in the parking lot and dug in.
As barbaric of a sight as it must have been for any passerby to behold - two grown men huddled over a box in a parking lot shovelling food into their faces - to us, it was one of the most glorious events of the bike trip!
At Joseph's Family Restaurant in Stillwater, MN:
1 Omelet with cheese, fried onions and sausage
Hashbrowns
4 slices of toast
2 glasses of iced tea
At the German Bar, 1 mile down the street:
2 glasses of Paulaner Oktoberfest beer
1/2 a basket of french fries
In a parking lot:
1/2 an apple pie
The story of the apple pie is pretty funny. For days, Eric and I have been fantasizing about eating an entire apple pie. Just two days ago, after getting to camp early, I unhooked my bike trailer and when out solo biking to two different nearby towns in search of an apple pie. In the second town, Cambridge, MN, I found a family bakery, but it was closed! I peered in the window and saw a sign that read "Fresh Homemade Pies" and I could just barely see rows of pies sitting behind the glass. After seriously contemplating throwing a brick through the window of the bakeshop to get at those pies, I tore off in search of a grocery store and a factory-produced pie that I could legally obtain. Surprisingly, I could only find an organic store, which did not carry pies. Instead, I searched after my main drug of choice - icecream. All this store had though was soyscream and ricecream - it made me want to scream! I had to settle for chocolate rice (fake!) icecream and strapped it too my bike and rode back to camp as fast as I could before it started melting.
Two days later (last night) in Stillwater, MN, we went to Joseph's Family Restaurant for dinner. Upon entering, we were nearly blinded by the beautiful site of three rows of homemade pies in a display case before us. After finishing our meal, we gleefully ordered a full apple pie to eat immediately. The waitress came back and said that the manager wouldn't allow us to eat an entire pie in the restaurant and that she could box it up for us to take home. Eric, in utter confusion and sorrow blurted out, "we don't have a home." But we couldn't turn down the opportunity to eat an entire homemade apple pie, so we took it to go. After stopping along the way to eat more food, we got back to St. Paul Lutheran Church, where we were staying over night, grabbed two forks, sat down on the curb in the parking lot and dug in.
As barbaric of a sight as it must have been for any passerby to behold - two grown men huddled over a box in a parking lot shovelling food into their faces - to us, it was one of the most glorious events of the bike trip!
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Land O' Lakes!
They aren't lyin' when they call Minnesota the land of 10,000 lakes. There also seems to be at least 10,000 Lutheran churches in the state as well. Most small towns have at least two and most of them have two, if not three, services every Sunday. It's pretty much the Lutheran promised land out here.
So, we've verified that as in Montana and North Dakota, people are incredibly nice and hospitable here in Minnesota. The first day we entered the state, we stayed with Marge and Dick in Moorhead, MN. Marge is one of the sisters of my pastor's wife from the church I grew up going to in Cleveland. We were greeted with fruit and cookies when we walked in the door, and Marge soon after announced: "We're having prime rib, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob for dinner. I hope that's alright with you both!" Boy, it sure was! They were really friendly, down-to-earth people, and we really enjoyed talking with them.
Right now, I'm in St. Paul, MN, taking a bit of a vacation from my biking vacation while Eric flies to Florida to be the best man in his friend Brian's wedding. I've got four day's of slothdom ahead of me, which I must admit I've been looking forward to. I went to a used bookstore today and bought "The Sorrows of Young Werther" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, which is the first book that he wrote and that turned him into a veritable rock star over night. I also plan on baking a loaf of Challah bread for the Lindsey and Shelly, Rachael's sister's two friends with whom I'm staying with, as a "thank you" for letting me crash at their place for four days.
So, we've verified that as in Montana and North Dakota, people are incredibly nice and hospitable here in Minnesota. The first day we entered the state, we stayed with Marge and Dick in Moorhead, MN. Marge is one of the sisters of my pastor's wife from the church I grew up going to in Cleveland. We were greeted with fruit and cookies when we walked in the door, and Marge soon after announced: "We're having prime rib, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob for dinner. I hope that's alright with you both!" Boy, it sure was! They were really friendly, down-to-earth people, and we really enjoyed talking with them.
Right now, I'm in St. Paul, MN, taking a bit of a vacation from my biking vacation while Eric flies to Florida to be the best man in his friend Brian's wedding. I've got four day's of slothdom ahead of me, which I must admit I've been looking forward to. I went to a used bookstore today and bought "The Sorrows of Young Werther" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, which is the first book that he wrote and that turned him into a veritable rock star over night. I also plan on baking a loaf of Challah bread for the Lindsey and Shelly, Rachael's sister's two friends with whom I'm staying with, as a "thank you" for letting me crash at their place for four days.
Monday, July 30, 2007
The by-product of "exhausting fun"
Salt and my body's unbelievable ability to percipiate it still does not cease to astound me! On extremely hot days (read "most days") I find it very difficult to drink enough water to keep up with my sweating and by the end of the day, once I dry off, I'm typically covered with an incredibly dense layer of salt.
It seems like there must be half a pound of salt on me on some days! Do I eat that much salt everyday that I can leach out so much? Does my body spontaneously generate salt? These are the burning questions I mull over every sun baked mile of my day.Marvel at the salt deposits on my black, now salty white shorts and on my jersey. Incredible!
Where everyone knows your name
Two days ago, we entered North Dakota and stayed overnight in Williston, your quintessential small town of 12,000 where everyone knows your name (if you're from there). We stayed with Tom and Dana and their son T.C. who are all cousins of Eric's friend Erik. They are a really nice family and really treated us well.
Uncle Ernie had just celebrated his 90th birthday a few days ago, so we went out to dinner with the rest of their family to celebrate, which was really fun. Eric and I both enjoyed petting the three dogs and talking with the family about North Dakota and our adventures.
They next morning I had the opportunity to go to church, which I really enjoyed. After being on the road for nearly a month, it was very refreshing to hear the word of God and give thanks for making it safe this far. It was also great to eat some juneberry muffins afterwards during coffee hour.
After church, we were treated to a feast of french toast and sausage before heading out. It was another one of those 100 degree days and the 75 mile ride to New Town was quite exhausting, especially since we started at noon during the hottest part of the day. It was a welcome relief when T.C. drove by as we were half way to New Town with cold sports drinks - thanks man!The unbelievable hospitality continued when we entered Minot, ND, where we're staying tonight with Barb and Tom, Barb who is the niece of my pastor's wife from the church I grew up in in Cleveland. We were greeted with cold drinks and chocolate chip cookies and were treated to an amazing lasagna dinner with peach pie for dessert!
Staying with people has really become one of the major highlights of our trip. No matter how rough or exhausting the day is, arriving "home" to friendly strangers, who treat you like a king with whom you can spend the evening chatting with is indescribably wonderful.
We've discovered that North Dakota is a pretty nice state - at least nicer than eastern Montana. Gone are the shabby bars, one room casinos, and parched prairies, and here are the rolling fields of wheat and sunflowers, oil wells and ICBM underground silos, and sparse but very pleasant, nearly stereotypical small towns.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Prevailing EAST winds and unbelievable hospitality
Did you know that the prevailing winds in Montana blow from East to West??? And at speeds averaging 15-20 mph??? It's not supposed to be this way!
For about the past three days we've been facing constant headwinds out of the East and it's a real pain in the neck. Actually, it's more of a pain in the butt, because strong headwinds equal greatly reduced speeds, which add up to significantly longer amounts of time spent on the saddle - I'm sure you can follow the logic to it's sore end.
The East wind is a really downer, because everything we had read and everything we're heard from other bikers we've run into have promised that we'd have a constant tail wind to blow us easily through the plains. And biking into a headwind is almost worse than biking up a huge hill - you're constantly getting pushed backwards and you feel like your trying to push yourself through molasses! The weather report indicates another day of 20 mph East winds for tomorrow. The cool weather over the last couple of days has been the only thing that's saved us.
In spite of the winds, we're going to try to go 110 miles tomorrow to get through some rough Indian reservation towns, namely Poplar, MT, that many locals have warned us about - "don't stop, just keep biking through!" Apparently, poverty and crime is extremely high there and isn't a good place to stay overnight.
Tonight we're camping in Glasgow, MT, the yard of a really friendly couple, Marie and John. We met Marie during the day, as she was biking in the other direction while out for a 100 mile ride. We arrived at their house in the late afternoon and knocked on the door. Marie's husband John, who had no idea who we were, invited us in without hesitation and encouraged us to make ourselves at home and use the shower. He had to leave, and just left us strangers here, told us we could let out the dogs. When Marie got back from her ride, she gave us yummy cherries and we had a great time chatting with her about our bike trip and other things.
The depth of the kindness, sympathy, generosity and hospitality of the random people we've run into on our trip continues to astound us and really strengthens my belief in the general goodness present in all people. In the more than 1,000 miles we've biked so far, we haven't come across a single malicious person. Quite the contrary - where ever we go, people offer us water, food, shelter, ask if we need help and ask if they can pray for us - all of this on their own volition, without us asking for a thing. It's really incredible when you think about it.
For about the past three days we've been facing constant headwinds out of the East and it's a real pain in the neck. Actually, it's more of a pain in the butt, because strong headwinds equal greatly reduced speeds, which add up to significantly longer amounts of time spent on the saddle - I'm sure you can follow the logic to it's sore end.
The East wind is a really downer, because everything we had read and everything we're heard from other bikers we've run into have promised that we'd have a constant tail wind to blow us easily through the plains. And biking into a headwind is almost worse than biking up a huge hill - you're constantly getting pushed backwards and you feel like your trying to push yourself through molasses! The weather report indicates another day of 20 mph East winds for tomorrow. The cool weather over the last couple of days has been the only thing that's saved us.
In spite of the winds, we're going to try to go 110 miles tomorrow to get through some rough Indian reservation towns, namely Poplar, MT, that many locals have warned us about - "don't stop, just keep biking through!" Apparently, poverty and crime is extremely high there and isn't a good place to stay overnight.
Tonight we're camping in Glasgow, MT, the yard of a really friendly couple, Marie and John. We met Marie during the day, as she was biking in the other direction while out for a 100 mile ride. We arrived at their house in the late afternoon and knocked on the door. Marie's husband John, who had no idea who we were, invited us in without hesitation and encouraged us to make ourselves at home and use the shower. He had to leave, and just left us strangers here, told us we could let out the dogs. When Marie got back from her ride, she gave us yummy cherries and we had a great time chatting with her about our bike trip and other things.
The depth of the kindness, sympathy, generosity and hospitality of the random people we've run into on our trip continues to astound us and really strengthens my belief in the general goodness present in all people. In the more than 1,000 miles we've biked so far, we haven't come across a single malicious person. Quite the contrary - where ever we go, people offer us water, food, shelter, ask if we need help and ask if they can pray for us - all of this on their own volition, without us asking for a thing. It's really incredible when you think about it.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Smooth Sailing!
What a difference a day makes! Today was just about the polar opposite of yesterday. The devel in the sky was obscured by clouds, it was nice and cool and we had a hint of a tail wind, which was all we needed!
I felt really great this morning after having slept in a real bed. After eating a great bacon and eggs breakfast that Cindy cooked for us, we headed out and biked 104 miles to Havre, MT. Don't be fooled by the French spelling - it's pronounced about as American and unFrench as you can possibly say it. It's a great little town if you're interested in hamburgers, gambling, and/or massive road construction.
Along the way today, we stopped in the town of Rudyard, populated, according to the sign, by "596 nice people and 1 old sore head!" Talking with an old-timer, we learned that the one old sore head died a couple years back and they held a contest to appoint a new old sore head. Apparently, the guy who runs the gas station on the corner is the current old sore head.Our main motivation for stoping in Rudyard wasn't to seek out the angst of the old sore head sage, but to visit a cool dinosaur museum there. The museum was really cool and featured dino bones you could actually touch! Behind the dinosaur museum as a town museum housed in the old train depot. My favorite artifact was the button that read:
Rudyard, Montana
Shaving Permit
50th Anniversary
According to the museum currator, when the town celebrated it's 50th anniversary, all the men stopped shaving and they sold these buttons to all the men who wanted to shave to raise money for the festivities! How funny!
We finally ended up in Havre, Montana, and are staying overnight at St. Paul's Lutheran Church. My pastor in DC, Pastor John, emailed a pastor friend of his in Williston, North Dakota, who called me before the trip and offered to put us up there. We happened to already have a place to stay there, so he gave me the name of Pastor Schultz here in Havre who I called up. It turns out Pastor Schultz is a really nice guy and let us stay over night at the church!
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