tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65974701292950237942024-02-02T14:43:48.031-08:00stephgoescyclingsjsolverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453046712048989746noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597470129295023794.post-49039206907289731402012-12-15T12:13:00.004-08:002012-12-15T12:13:46.720-08:00THE ACCIDENT<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So, sorry for the lack of communication as of lately.... Finding a decent Internet connection has proven rather difficult in Central America; particularly when you are on a tight time frame and sleeping in cane fields half of the time.<br />
<br />
Anyways as opposed to going back and starting off where I left off with my entrance into Guatemala, I will first fast forward a little to where I am now....<br />
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<span style="color: cyan;">December 12, 2012 marked the point at which I have been on the road for 3 months, and it was SUPPOSED to mark the end of my journey and my highly anticipated arrival on LITTLE CORN ISLAND.....</span><br />
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<strong><em><span style="font-size: x-large;">HOWEVER....</span></em></strong><br />
<strong><em></em></strong><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2RgqzFRXU6n76v59_YQnSyecAxtPxh3MZ-3yRcysXLh_QcgoA24DEqHD1IjkJEXiNJKtMlhW6ifXgteTtUg8ngMduI3jKAMBiA-U0iMNa5kMyzKAnVBmPZ1Rl21zEvidK_8tr5BRFGTk/s1600/IMG_1668.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2RgqzFRXU6n76v59_YQnSyecAxtPxh3MZ-3yRcysXLh_QcgoA24DEqHD1IjkJEXiNJKtMlhW6ifXgteTtUg8ngMduI3jKAMBiA-U0iMNa5kMyzKAnVBmPZ1Rl21zEvidK_8tr5BRFGTk/s200/IMG_1668.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">first pic before swelling and bruising</td></tr>
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A few days ago- on Sunday, December 9th; (The day that was <em>supposed</em> to be my last day of pedalling)<br />
<strong><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">I was hit by a car.</span> </strong><br />
The accident happened at around 3 o'clock in the afternoon; about 20 miles from the finish point of <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhNPwM-Ql2OMtXYKoZRLAbdwDSJyWCMJ3Z1zmEW2n5IeTS5ycX_nojOM-O7aWpF_9X3_wwqqK8mjSrd88FISojSHnaQUGwpUx1Fv2C52gc2x5B7kGVJUEqNGZzHBKSNuf15Ay5GnxvcXQ/s1600/IMG_1665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhNPwM-Ql2OMtXYKoZRLAbdwDSJyWCMJ3Z1zmEW2n5IeTS5ycX_nojOM-O7aWpF_9X3_wwqqK8mjSrd88FISojSHnaQUGwpUx1Fv2C52gc2x5B7kGVJUEqNGZzHBKSNuf15Ay5GnxvcXQ/s200/IMG_1665.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">last sign I passed before the crash</td></tr>
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my 3 month long cycling journey.... or so I am told. In reality..... <span style="color: yellow;">I remember nothing</span>. ..<br />
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I have vague recollection of concern for the safety of the highway as I noticed it narrowed and lost all shoulder at the same time as I entered an area of rolling hills ..... The next thing I remember I am in a hospital waiting room having my blood pressure checked and being weighed at the same time as entertaining everyone in the waiting room - walking like a goof and joking with the kids. That is all I remember of the first hospital....And asking if it was ok to ride my bike the next day, a question to which the only response was a laugh. (At this point we didn't even know where my bike was!)<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp5i3UROUMdg9CwbCRJ5ol5fRoNxezErYOcBf9hQYmKRr8GavntHZxCeol5kPmmBBD82WSQ1w34YIwBgebjaKy5-e8AiKohK61KMsgOokjMgXbbCh-NYj25rlIws_2rN0dBQbKUnli8z8/s1600/IMG_1676.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp5i3UROUMdg9CwbCRJ5ol5fRoNxezErYOcBf9hQYmKRr8GavntHZxCeol5kPmmBBD82WSQ1w34YIwBgebjaKy5-e8AiKohK61KMsgOokjMgXbbCh-NYj25rlIws_2rN0dBQbKUnli8z8/s200/IMG_1676.JPG" width="150" /></a>Apparently after a few hours of being in and out of consciousness, the staff at the hospital were worried about my condition and transferred me by ambulance to a hospital in Juigalpa that has better facilities. This is my next point of memory... being in the ambulance on the phone... I do not remember who I was on the phone with or what we were talking about only remember repeatedly saying <span style="color: lime;">"it was my last day!!"</span> and being amused by the fact that I was in the ambulance with the sirens on. ( In the hours after the accident apparently I made many calls to friends and family of which I have no recollection)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6rV-oV3dY9AJ6N5JGAeHlDLAI6IVuc02axC3Zq1mgAUJcrQIaFTRZ1bN1S1kJNYd71_cuXhH8FiGlBJ9J1v4OOvjlOZsFwz5N702a3vkxrOkZpeDKgtmDIpRTyP4DBEU3vntxwsgirOo/s1600/IMG_1679.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6rV-oV3dY9AJ6N5JGAeHlDLAI6IVuc02axC3Zq1mgAUJcrQIaFTRZ1bN1S1kJNYd71_cuXhH8FiGlBJ9J1v4OOvjlOZsFwz5N702a3vkxrOkZpeDKgtmDIpRTyP4DBEU3vntxwsgirOo/s200/IMG_1679.JPG" width="150" /></a>Upon arriving at the second hospital I had Xrays taken of my skull and arms and scans taken of my brain. The Doctor said he was surprised to see that I had no broken bones and seemingly no permanent damage to my brain. Only a fairly serious concussion and friction burn on 5% of my body...( I was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident as a week or so ago while in El Salvador I climbed a hill to take a picture and accidentally kicked my helmet off a cliff, watching it drop 250 meters into the pacific... I tried to find a replacement but it has proven a very hard task in Central America, as most bike shops sell helmets but only for children.. and my head isn't small enough to fit into a child's helmet...especially now that it is swollen to twice it's normal size!)<br />
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I woke in the morning in the ladies wing of a public hospital in Juigalpa, Nicaragua. Typical of any hospital in Central America there were about 20 other women sharing the room; you were expected to bring your own sheet,pillow and any other comfort you might need, we were only fed once a day and the food left alot to be desired and the staff that worked there were a bit grouchy to say the least.<br />
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<span style="color: magenta;">But my stay in this public hospital was not all bad at all. The ladies with whom I shared the room were <strong><span style="color: lime;">WONDERFUL</span></strong>, and realizing I had nothing they did everything they could to make my stay as comfortable as possible</span><br />
. - I woke up in the middle of that first night to one of the ladies in a nearby bed bringing her fan to me; the next morning when I went to take my shower (I need to sit under running water for 30 mins to soften my bandages before removing them), anyways when I went to shower that first day one lady lent me her flip flops to use, and another lady gave me her shampoo and liquid soap knowing I had none of my own; And towards the end of the day everyone seemed to be worried by the fact that I hadn't been eating and one woman bought me a bowl of fruit.<br />
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That day I also had the happy experience of having all my gear returned to me. I told the people at the hospital many time it was very important that we go look for my bike as it was not cheap and held ALL of my worldly possessions. There answer was always : when your boyfriend gets here he can go with the police to find it. But some how that was not necessary<span style="color: magenta;"> I do not know who brought it in or how my reunion came about; but around lunch I was woken up and asked to come outside... sitting there was my bike and all of my stuff.... not a single thing was missing!!</span> AND it was all in pretty good shape...all of the bags and their contents were fine(surprisingly even my computer..or as fine as it had ever been) and other than some deep scratches on the left handle and brake and a bit mishaped front wheel the bike was fine. It was such a happy moment that I barely wanted to let go of my bike again for it to be locked in the car yard... but bringing it into the hospital room wasn't an option so I had no choice but to allow it to leave my sight for only the second time in the last 3 months. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNa5xz3BID0FKRyV1D3YDkzg-8S6yymCGRNntJII9jD5pgghxXNHToqm9YxdaAlhHHbTELfIACJ08k8IxYJTA3U060vCgVRI6B2EimESmW0Kd4N2vecqVurNGElEDZN0tAhY6jSNAL44I/s1600/IMG_1690.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNa5xz3BID0FKRyV1D3YDkzg-8S6yymCGRNntJII9jD5pgghxXNHToqm9YxdaAlhHHbTELfIACJ08k8IxYJTA3U060vCgVRI6B2EimESmW0Kd4N2vecqVurNGElEDZN0tAhY6jSNAL44I/s200/IMG_1690.JPG" width="150" /></a>After getting all of my bags safely stored under my bed I went back to sleep and didn't wake up untill around 8PM when Dariel arrived. Something that all of the other patients were happy to see as he brought me food and being in better spirits I actually ate it. We spent one more night in this public hospital but in the morning when the Dr. made his rounds at around 7 we asked about private hospitals close by as it was not a very comfortable night in the hospital for my boyfriend as he had to sleep on the concrete floor beside my bed using a bag as a pillow and had to leave every once and a while when the nurses made their rounds. The Dr. gave us a name of a hospital but warned that it would be expensive. Around mid day we moved to <em>Clinica Materno Infantal. </em>A private clinic near by run by a very very friendly nun. It was much more expensive than the public hospital (which cost nothing) but still cheap for the service - we payed <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQcCNI_U-CT5CM0Be6eYI1JcxRCsZ1ACOSMOw4lqB5GjM0RMXVOCN5ZUYOTfXBtr7Bj01c1YWZzu6hHoRghz-viTPrqol6SPUJg4Rh3hSI8o83ssuxOMgbgVWiS1hFtH9vJkHjxaqPMeo/s1600/IMG_1716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQcCNI_U-CT5CM0Be6eYI1JcxRCsZ1ACOSMOw4lqB5GjM0RMXVOCN5ZUYOTfXBtr7Bj01c1YWZzu6hHoRghz-viTPrqol6SPUJg4Rh3hSI8o83ssuxOMgbgVWiS1hFtH9vJkHjxaqPMeo/s200/IMG_1716.JPG" width="200" /></a>around $400 for three nights in this private hospital and that included a private room with 2 beds and a bathroom, 3 meals a day for me and breakfast each day for my boyfriend, daily Doctor visits from the same plastic surgeon who attended me in the public hospital who came by to clean and dress my wounds each day and very good services from friendly nurses who came by every few hours to pump my veins full of antibiotics, pain killers and put cream on my wounds to prevent them from drying and cracking. It was a very clean hospital and very good service even by Canadian/American standards and they had no problem even when another good friend (Howie) joined us for the last night there.<br />
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After that last night when Howie joined us we decided to move to a hotel as we felt a bit like we were imposing and felt as though we could take care of my wounds on our own without having to continue paying Dr. bills. So we found a comfortable hotel, went and got my bike back ( a VERY happy moment for me) and re continuing to treat and dress my wounds on our own which I think we a doing a pretty good job of<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/qMh5pzYAqYk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
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Tomorrow we will leave early and take a bus back to the point where the accident took place at which point I will get back on my bike and pedal the last 20 miles to El Rama with Dariel and Howie following slowly behind in a taxi as an escort car. From El Rama I will catch the panga to Bluefields and from there the ferry to Corn Island which runs on Wednesday. So I will STILL be making it to the island before Christmas and within my goal.<br />
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..p.s over the next week or so I will go go back and update what happened all through central america as well as keep updates comming on the progress of the buil of the learning centre</div>
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Thank you all for your continued support, this accident may be a minor set back but I am still determined to pedal the last little stretch and make it to LITTLE CORN with in the goal, before Christmas. We are very close to reaching the $7,000 goal but still have a little to go... and who is to say we should stop if we reach it. Any extra funds raised can still be used to benifit the people of the island. So please keep spreading the word, donating if possible.<span style="color: red;"> Let's do ALL that we can to make sure these people get the learning opportunities they so deserve</span>.<span style="color: cyan;"> LEARNING IS SOMETHING THAT NEVER STOPS.... NEITHER WILL I ! LET'S DO ALL WE CAN TO GIVE THESE PEOPLE WHAT THEY DESERVE!</span><br />
<a href="http://www.commonthreadz.org/stephsolverson" target="_blank">www.commonthreadz.org/stephsolverson</a><br />
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sjsolverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453046712048989746noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597470129295023794.post-33143327024383499452012-11-23T22:06:00.000-08:002012-11-23T22:06:18.600-08:00Mexico part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I am now sat in a nice little hotel in TAPACHULA (the border town to western GUATEMALA)... tomorrow will mark my enterance into country number 4, and the beginning of what I see as the last leg of this amazing journey.<br />
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<em><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Since I have last updated alot has happened:</span></strong></em><br />
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<span style="color: cyan;"> I have dealt with roads of varying condition, tackled mountains, and heavy rains, and crossed what I think of as the wind tunnel of the world(also known as la ventosa).</span><br />
<span style="color: lime;"> I have had a few nerve-racking experiences; almost been hit multiple times (ironically more than once by an ambulance) and I DID hit a Taxi (it was in slow motion so no damage, luckily). And I have my first few experiences stealth camping in central america..sometimes much closer to the highway than I would have liked.</span><br />
<span style="color: yellow;">But, fitting with the rest of the trip, I have continued to be treated with unneccessary kindness by</span> <span style="color: yellow;">strangers; being let into their home, given warm meals and treated with huge amounts of trust.</span><br />
<span style="color: yellow;"> I also got to return the favour of these wonderully unnecessary act of kindness, letting a random stranger who helped me off the road after dark stay on the floor of my hotel room in Arriaga, Chiapas.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsmFl3H1nYEkw_DZZS6OW3BCfllUspwMvRagfQJOW8YrnpshENw0EwQNXnn3td-_oFU2yP7-pEHGmzjXT69EIzPqEEaSZHQWITOdzQ-8BGASEwr2PA2_o1UG4YXGbEhzPoCPtBES3nKBw/s1600/IMG_1094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsmFl3H1nYEkw_DZZS6OW3BCfllUspwMvRagfQJOW8YrnpshENw0EwQNXnn3td-_oFU2yP7-pEHGmzjXT69EIzPqEEaSZHQWITOdzQ-8BGASEwr2PA2_o1UG4YXGbEhzPoCPtBES3nKBw/s200/IMG_1094.JPG" width="150" /></a><br />
<strong><u><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">A BIT MORE DETAIL</span></u></strong><br />
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The few days after leaving Veracruz city were challenging ,as I entered the hilly region of southern Veracruz.But they were also wonderful- As with the hills and volcanic mountains come all the beauties that go with them, rivers, waterfalls, cloudforest, and breathtaking views! The last little while there has been more times than I can remember thus far that I have wished for company not only to help with the hard times but someone with whom I could share the beautiful landscape that I am surrounded by and memories that I am gaining..<br />
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I did not leave Veracruz as planned on the 12th, as my wonderful hosts set up an interview with a local television station and a last minute newspaper interview as well.<br />
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After the TV interview I said goodbye to the rest of the family and me and Tiago set off with the aim of getting me started on the road out of the city. (Santiago Sanchez is a wonderful man and borrowed a bike to help get me around the towns on the unfamiliar city roads).However, not too long into our ride we came across a vehicle belonging to a newspaper in town and Tiago, being the wonderful man that he is, ran in to ask if they could do a story on my mission and cause....welll.. turns out the guy didn't actually work for the newspaper, only the family that ran it.But now that the idea was in our heads we turned around and pedalled back along the 10km or so to a little passed where we had done the TV interview to talk to the paper..(sorry for making you ride around all day tiago.. your a star). When the interview with the paper was done it was around 2pm and therefor a little pointless to be starting on the road. So we headed back to his house where we were greeted by his very surprised and happy family.<br />
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The next morning was an early start. After a final wonderful homecooked breakfast and round two of goodbyes. My wonderful hosts handed me the packed lunch they made( along with an assortment of gifts of toiletries ect. that would be useful for the road) and I was out the door, with Tiago leading me on his borrowed bike. Thank you again to all that helped me in Veracruz, there are no words that can explain my gratitude.<br />
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It only took about 20 minutes to get out of the city with Tiago leading me... a task that would likely have taken 2 hours or more on my own; likely getting completely lost, confused and nervous on the city roads.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO1VyaaLuZal9cnND1TuaZwOffrIIVsLS_fkQA9kXXzzdNB_iINw5plFg1zxTKfKxakDamXSiUsQiNTKZiQfQhCFkxBMO6Sboi-r9txiIHnKfKRZF9AeTTpgLrmxGR7JoLS6EmeGhuT5g/s1600/IMG_1010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO1VyaaLuZal9cnND1TuaZwOffrIIVsLS_fkQA9kXXzzdNB_iINw5plFg1zxTKfKxakDamXSiUsQiNTKZiQfQhCFkxBMO6Sboi-r9txiIHnKfKRZF9AeTTpgLrmxGR7JoLS6EmeGhuT5g/s200/IMG_1010.JPG" width="200" /></a>He left me on a wonderful stretch of road-flat, not too busy with a good side shoulder and it would continue on like that for most of the day and into those that followed. That day I covered around 110km into the town of Lerdo (alot of which was along side the beautiful <em>Laguna Alvarado)</em> .. and along the way had yet another heart warming and inspiring experience.- while sitting on the side of the road in the town of ALVARADO, eating the sandwich my wonderful hosts sent with me, <span style="color: magenta;">an old man walked up, handed me a coca-cola and without saying anything he walked away, barely giving me a chance to say thank-you</span>.... one of those things that make your heart skip a beat.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv56z3dDLmq5N7O4NNqhuZmG5ELbN1K1-pZABfDxPnQylJUeZ6Yc_-Jw2OZbkaBxJOJYRamBdQnOaBCt53OmyjPTe1p6-QI2sJ5n_gF3fWRnhk-oi_DnbY_q9eIKTLPOdmObI6PYkal3A/s1600/IMG_1095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv56z3dDLmq5N7O4NNqhuZmG5ELbN1K1-pZABfDxPnQylJUeZ6Yc_-Jw2OZbkaBxJOJYRamBdQnOaBCt53OmyjPTe1p6-QI2sJ5n_gF3fWRnhk-oi_DnbY_q9eIKTLPOdmObI6PYkal3A/s200/IMG_1095.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXItGKTTmcdTRcxCTNqj1g10MgWb_A09WPQ0Yj6WUdRO0iqGankNK-FURXWWHSEiPs8S-KYH3e765XXhIdd8P07Uhz3N482XzPiOJS3hMv1GhiQfx0ns7x_Ar-6_qEwy9Sjvm1LqpEjeA/s1600/IMG_1037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXItGKTTmcdTRcxCTNqj1g10MgWb_A09WPQ0Yj6WUdRO0iqGankNK-FURXWWHSEiPs8S-KYH3e765XXhIdd8P07Uhz3N482XzPiOJS3hMv1GhiQfx0ns7x_Ar-6_qEwy9Sjvm1LqpEjeA/s200/IMG_1037.JPG" width="200" /></a>The next day got tough... tough but rewarding. This is the day that I entered the hilly region of LOS DOS TUXTLAS and CATEMACO.. a region know as "La Suiza Veracruz" ( the Veracruz Switzerland). The climbs were long, and as seems to be the norm, where the roads get steep and bendy, the roads get narrower and loose their shoulders.Making pedalling sometimes feel like a death wish as cars speed around corners to find you much too close for comfort and unable to get out of the way due to large drops along the road side. ( It was on this day that I almost got ran over by not one but two ambulances.... that would have been ironic wouldn't it?). ... BUT, the challenge did not come without reward as on this day I also witnessed many waterfalls, beautiful rivers and streams, countless breathtaking mountain views and at the end of the day set up my tent in an RV park along a river that leads to the heartstopping beauty that is LAGO CATEMACO.... <span style="color: magenta;">all experiences that made the difficult ride and close calls worth their while ( added of course to the reason I am on these roads at all!- To provide learning opportunities to a group of very deserving people!!)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTxQw8AH_OPFrN7zLBPYy7ZHOYadp-14mtdUx6e69GEKutlxA2WsNYNDxekljrUR4rl1_sGZiCVI-mZRBwAiRkxuarf9Q1i5TGB9RnGT2T63Aup16WgxiJUgyZR-WKoq6DUCELlfEpQdw/s1600/IMG_1061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTxQw8AH_OPFrN7zLBPYy7ZHOYadp-14mtdUx6e69GEKutlxA2WsNYNDxekljrUR4rl1_sGZiCVI-mZRBwAiRkxuarf9Q1i5TGB9RnGT2T63Aup16WgxiJUgyZR-WKoq6DUCELlfEpQdw/s200/IMG_1061.JPG" width="200" /></a>I awoke early the next morning to a downpour and alot of fog.... this continued through most of the day, causing me to stay put for the day. At first I wasn't so happy about stopping again so close after my long stop the in Veracruz, but it gave me a chance to explore the town, the beautiful lake and enjoy some local cuisine... <span style="color: cyan;">CATEMACO IS AN AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL PLACE... if given the chance, GO!.. the only thing that would make it better is if the lake was an ocean and you could dive!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxgx1tZ5BRSDPXC01XPWWMAdMo_hhRmdBPODL4ql7_ABDzj1-XSp2OlhHe75N-o88unTSxTOQDvriUSZZoDoz5n7uDeUwPMREaat0fP7hUa_yTWYn-5UIx6lEhgHDIjgC5lYzrBDbmwCU/s1600/IMG_1106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxgx1tZ5BRSDPXC01XPWWMAdMo_hhRmdBPODL4ql7_ABDzj1-XSp2OlhHe75N-o88unTSxTOQDvriUSZZoDoz5n7uDeUwPMREaat0fP7hUa_yTWYn-5UIx6lEhgHDIjgC5lYzrBDbmwCU/s200/IMG_1106.JPG" width="150" /></a>The next day, was rainy but not enough to keep me still. After a very nice breakfast, courtesy of one of the permanent residents of the RV park, I was on the road by about 10. The day would prove to be mildly hilly, a continuous mist with occasional actual rain and periods of TERRIBLE roads.And terrible roads accompanied with rain are a pain... as puddles hide massive potholes and other dangers..... but this being said I had a WONDERFUL day and loved every minute of it soaked to the bone or not!.. ( <span style="color: yellow;">I also realized that the only necessary piece of rain gear in this part of the world while cycling is shoe covers!... being soaked to the bone in this temperature isn't a problem, actually quite nice while riding... but having your feet in puddles all day isn't fun no matter where you are (well.. unless of course your completely submerged and blowing bubbles, then it is the most fun you can have!!)).</span> With all the rain and hills and a bit of a late start I made about 80km to the city of ACAYUCAN ( the last city on the Atlantic untill I board my boat to the island :-) )<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhShgJGCMY-1LQ-s6IqRYWrRNswOFulJJHFIs0Y4eveN4jUPVIRn1mzPdtNY-zMas4NltXtj8_NweZCMflDnaH1q-5XBPKg0cVzT9tnvaWWq9dsylRhJXR4pvh-qeVnV-q2RLlr0e-FEho/s1600/IMG_1142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhShgJGCMY-1LQ-s6IqRYWrRNswOFulJJHFIs0Y4eveN4jUPVIRn1mzPdtNY-zMas4NltXtj8_NweZCMflDnaH1q-5XBPKg0cVzT9tnvaWWq9dsylRhJXR4pvh-qeVnV-q2RLlr0e-FEho/s200/IMG_1142.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">road side camping </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Upon leaving Acayucan, it would take me a few days to cross the skinniest part of Mexico, to the state of OAXACA and the wind tunnel of the world that is La Ventosa. In these days I would have my first experiences stealth camping in Mexico. Both times I did so would prove to be a terrible nights sleep... first because I was right along side the road ( slightly nerve-racking and very loud) and second because the field I chose to put my tent with was sooo windy that most of the night my tent was basically flat on top of me.... This being said I have decided stealth camping is a great way to make sure you get alot of ground covered- it means you don't stop until dark, and you are up and on the road at the crack of dawn trying to avoid getting caught..... butttt sometimes you still get caught and when you do, the people usually ask you to stay another day and offer you a place in their house...makes you feel a bit bad to have done it and wish you could take them up on their offer. BUT a mission is a mission and got to keep the goal in mind.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMO_tysBeCR-_h0LMs_ueiqAgfVrQ_JZOBV4ZL-7nRaXTZjyrO_eI_n2Zk0TWQYeSbqFnsM3MXoKZ87ohSBjnfVEnBOUcL1E3mnH8lMx9YDwkNnrwj4xc36tLvdQnDMmWxvt6ynEEmy6Y/s1600/IMG_1157.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMO_tysBeCR-_h0LMs_ueiqAgfVrQ_JZOBV4ZL-7nRaXTZjyrO_eI_n2Zk0TWQYeSbqFnsM3MXoKZ87ohSBjnfVEnBOUcL1E3mnH8lMx9YDwkNnrwj4xc36tLvdQnDMmWxvt6ynEEmy6Y/s200/IMG_1157.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH3TUZdwmugqwP_2UN43oBOELHQgn2-eh7Zyr9olXyj4fqaKAIc7crg8vzAv1aSu8k7rP7YFfmaBIBWp3GVNr1P7-f-0HYXxmGVPE4tiQfQUMWDgzPcMwXPMLshAxkQeUB-aLUikhPtCg/s1600/IMG_1192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH3TUZdwmugqwP_2UN43oBOELHQgn2-eh7Zyr9olXyj4fqaKAIc7crg8vzAv1aSu8k7rP7YFfmaBIBWp3GVNr1P7-f-0HYXxmGVPE4tiQfQUMWDgzPcMwXPMLshAxkQeUB-aLUikhPtCg/s200/IMG_1192.JPG" width="150" /></a>In these days I would also have not only my first but my first three flat tires in Mexico ( that will happen if you don't look in the tire annd take out what made it flat in the first place you know.. haha ooops). But I am getting very good at changing and patching tires... only takes about 15minutes on average to change and patch a tube!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8kT8OB5o4AbTE1xlu1U8lFQdrBClVEI4dm_XKjbxfaCPg5xEK4eeA9r4jPBm4gHLRqLJV3qcFSkQ07IAacSntkPGp62N5_K-EmGNSJKXF9Lm9sqqr3lAzKSxYFBNwS6HGyR5l_OAb6w0/s1600/IMG_1198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8kT8OB5o4AbTE1xlu1U8lFQdrBClVEI4dm_XKjbxfaCPg5xEK4eeA9r4jPBm4gHLRqLJV3qcFSkQ07IAacSntkPGp62N5_K-EmGNSJKXF9Lm9sqqr3lAzKSxYFBNwS6HGyR5l_OAb6w0/s200/IMG_1198.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
Upon reaching the coast and being struck with the insane winds of the La Ventosa region, at the same time as dealing with a tire that would only stay inflated for 10 minutes (and by this point I HAD taken the culprit out) I was not a happy camper. But, as seems to be my lucky ways, when in need- help arrives. This time it was in the form of a very wonderful family. They pulled over and asked if I needed help ( I may have been on the verge of tears if not already there), I told them my problems and they said they would be back in 10 mins with a truck if I stayed put. They took me to a mechanic (that happened to be her father) and helped sort out my problems free of charge. They then asked if I wanted to stay in their house for the night... even though it was only 2pm and I had alot of riding time left, I happily obliged. <span style="color: lime;">And as soon as we arrived at their house they said they had things to do but I could stay. "mi casa es tu casa"... soo trusting to leave someone you just met in your house alone for hours.... another skip of the heart..</span><br />
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In the morning we went to watch their 3 beautiful children march in a parade for November 20th before they gave me a ride out of the extreme winds... only minutes in a car that would have been along battle on the bike. They wanted to take me further but luckily there was a road block that stopped them, I felt bad to tell them no when they were offering but feel guilty taking a ride too far, so the road block was welcome as no one could pass in a car but bikes were allowed...problem solved.<span style="color: red;">Thank you my wonderful new friends for everything you are amazingly kindhearted people</span>.<br />
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That night I made it out of OAXACA and into ARRIAGA, CHIAPAS. Though I was not sure I was going to make it; I was on the road with still over 10km to go with only 5 mins left to complete darkness. As I contemplated giving up on reaching town and setting up camp along the road again, a man pulled over and offered me a ride to town, of course i accepted. And this is where my chance to return all the favours Mexico has given me came into play... on the way into town he asked if we could share a hotel room to save money. I was skeptical; having only known this man for a few minutes, having very limited communication abilities with him and knowing the stereotype of latin american men's attitude towards white women... but, all of this considered I decided to do it anyway. So many people have helped and trusted me for no reason so I let him stay on the floor of my room. And woke in the morning unscathed with all of my stuff still where I left it and after he left he came back with sandwiched to give me for the road as a thankyou...<span style="color: blue;">If you open your heart to the world and take risks you will most likely be pleasantly surprised at how amazing this world and the people who live in it really can be.</span><br />
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The next few days into Tapachula were fairly uneventful.. beautiful but uneventful. And now here I am, about 30km to my chosen entry point to Guatemala and the last leg of my journey. Only a few short weeks away from the beautiful island and wonderful people that are my second home and family.<br />
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I<span style="color: cyan;">t is coming close to Christmas and in the spirit of Christmas I ask everyone to do everything they can to make sure that the dream become a reality.. Donate if you can, and encourage everyone you know to do the same; Every dollar helps. Everyone deserves to experience the Christmas spirit of giving and receiving and if you can help those less fortunate why not. Let's give these wonderful people the best Christmas they have ever had.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.commonthreadz.org/stephsolverson" target="_blank">www.commonthreadz.org/stephsolverson</a><br />
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Thanks all for your continued support on this journey... it is the support and seeing the donations that keep me going on the hard days. I as well as the people of LITTLE CORN truly appreciate it. Thank-you from the bottom of my heart.<br />
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-Steph :-)<br />
<span style="color: red;">-p.s... don't let the spirit of giving... buy lunch for a homeless person, open doors for strangers, pick up a hitch hiker.... do everything you can to keep the spirit of giving going; and it doesn't just need to be because it's christmas, kind acts are appreciated year round</span> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5y1SlqUeHUp1Dvryh_qiOc0ZbiqzR9cFcBPO52dTAHnDZVmiaeUBMXrUuzoGTTuPN5B8Xy2jbXhmw8CIMUmgcwN2O4CkKk7L4WN_FGeRfmwV1JSrh6sP48ABLRiV2_Lvl0r4oZYmVxHE/s1600/IMG_1181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5y1SlqUeHUp1Dvryh_qiOc0ZbiqzR9cFcBPO52dTAHnDZVmiaeUBMXrUuzoGTTuPN5B8Xy2jbXhmw8CIMUmgcwN2O4CkKk7L4WN_FGeRfmwV1JSrh6sP48ABLRiV2_Lvl0r4oZYmVxHE/s200/IMG_1181.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9fg5CXszrRTp2JBKTItJwGCzEolbYlOrANUSXZ5p2_kXC9hfNU2Ci-f_AR5a7U3yidhUoaUFKyqYahhuInHRuA84vmo0DhrVapyVbYKsW9ayF43aqt0FFK2BgU5nAn3muJ-A3F5Ws01E/s1600/IMG_1184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9fg5CXszrRTp2JBKTItJwGCzEolbYlOrANUSXZ5p2_kXC9hfNU2Ci-f_AR5a7U3yidhUoaUFKyqYahhuInHRuA84vmo0DhrVapyVbYKsW9ayF43aqt0FFK2BgU5nAn3muJ-A3F5Ws01E/s200/IMG_1184.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
..sunrise oneside, full rainbow on the other<br />
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sjsolverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453046712048989746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597470129295023794.post-34290961026305582352012-11-12T07:48:00.001-08:002012-11-12T18:43:22.501-08:00MEXICO thus far<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMICAvexfmcJ9177Dn14XgKAbGzHM8TF6aY3irSkKlXeuRdiscjRuTrTDD-acrVAHvEu9rui_ir7wSVEtSiF5ZuvfcVnGrrWW5Rgf95BTKJbjHPbDUYEvFLSBpDwncqQHSwlE9VeVvXzg/s1600/IMG_0886.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMICAvexfmcJ9177Dn14XgKAbGzHM8TF6aY3irSkKlXeuRdiscjRuTrTDD-acrVAHvEu9rui_ir7wSVEtSiF5ZuvfcVnGrrWW5Rgf95BTKJbjHPbDUYEvFLSBpDwncqQHSwlE9VeVvXzg/s320/IMG_0886.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFx4F_4OrxNvfpmJ3c-sp-mtFqr1tuV_YYog-bR_1mDU2Yenzi5JjubQUgwf-xOwSLvZO9Wk3o96Ya5Li_GFHxu6AN5xFAWu6POCdhQUWqHmDyljXnQzpg3Za56fnSm9OESmhs8Ee_6d0/s1600/IMG_0910.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFx4F_4OrxNvfpmJ3c-sp-mtFqr1tuV_YYog-bR_1mDU2Yenzi5JjubQUgwf-xOwSLvZO9Wk3o96Ya5Li_GFHxu6AN5xFAWu6POCdhQUWqHmDyljXnQzpg3Za56fnSm9OESmhs8Ee_6d0/s200/IMG_0910.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
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SO, far Mexico, (as with the rest of the trip), has been full of ups and downs. Luckily, the ups have outweighed the downs.<br />
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<span style="color: cyan;">The roads; though VERY scary at times, are full of the most <strong><em>beautiful scenery</em></strong></span>. <span style="color: magenta;">The people, even with the language barrier that exists, are the most <strong><em>KIND AND WELCOMING</em></strong> people</span>. Everytime I ask if there is somewhere I can put a tent near by....the answer is no no no. Me casa es tu casa.... and with that I am invited into their house and treated like a member of the family ( a family member with which communication is quite difficult!).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPATjYU4ia6Q50HxWNZr3A84KNwTGOCCDTIDd_Vm6ChyphenhyphenXFvihCcOgCIgMdMlLVPd5PCc_6UhYGC-MjZjDKz8IABuj3CGzvRuBy7TPkGLEmHmG6xgrqOBt4fLRFPLKJxAAtMhFQYBR_utQ/s1600/IMG_0865.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPATjYU4ia6Q50HxWNZr3A84KNwTGOCCDTIDd_Vm6ChyphenhyphenXFvihCcOgCIgMdMlLVPd5PCc_6UhYGC-MjZjDKz8IABuj3CGzvRuBy7TPkGLEmHmG6xgrqOBt4fLRFPLKJxAAtMhFQYBR_utQ/s200/IMG_0865.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
As I explained earlier, I got a bus from Brownsville to Tampico to avoid the dangerous border area. I was glad I did so, for a short portion of the journey from the mexican immigration to the bus station in Matamoros, I road on the stairs at the front holding my bike.While I was here, we passed a huge group of men on motorcycles with their faces painted for day of the dead. As we passed them, they were hissing growling and banging on the bus.... interesting to say the least, glad I was not on my bike.<br />
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When I arrived in Tampico at 4AM, I was sat outside the bus station waiting for the sun to rise before making a decision on my next move. I was approached by a man who knew my name and was there to pick me up and take me to a hotel which he paid for.<span style="color: #3d85c6;"> A WONDERFUL SURPRISE that had apparently been set up through some friends of my mom (Jan and Lino Vella-Gregory) overnight while I was on the bus!</span> Thank you soo much for this arrangement Fernando and Carlos were a huge help, paying for two nights stay in a hotel, showing me the sights of TAMPICO, and getting me set up with some necessaties (a better map and span/eng dictionary, a mexican phone and much more)... they made my stay much more enjoyable and less stressfull than it would have otherwise been.<br />
It reminds me of a time... while in Africa, after a period of lack of contact with my mum longer than I am happy to admit to I got a letter from with in Africa when I knew no one in country... and when I DID finally get ahold of my mum she knew everything that was going on with our camp, logistical problems and what not... it is funny how mothers have this capability of knowing everything even when you are half way across the world.<br />
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Fernando and Carlos advised me that it was a good idea to keep bussing onwards to Veracruz, as the area is fairly dangerous at the time with Day of the Dead and what not. <span style="color: orange;">At first I was a little skeptical feeling getting on another bus would be a bit like cheating, but after learning that another cycler was kidnapped in the area recently and held hostage for a few days, the decision was easy and I got on a bus!</span> I did not however bus all the way to Veracruz. I compromised and bussed to Poza Rica, whe my on bike adventure around 3:30 pm.I felt a bit bad for bussing through such a large portion of my Mexican route, but I do want to reach in one piece to the beautiful island that is my destination and safety needs to come first. Not only were there the dangers that most people think of while in Mexico but also the fact that everyone is still celebrating the day of the dead and therefor alot of drinking and driving making the roads even more dangerous than they already are. I am sure I would have made it safe on my bike... but better safe than sorry!<br />
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Upon getting on my bike I was immediately the happiest and most excited about my journey I had been in a while!!<span style="color: magenta;"> I was very excited for the start of the REAL ADVENTURE that was about to begin.</span> <br />
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In my first day on the road I did not get far but that did not keep the smile off my face. I think the local people were as happy with me cycling through their area as I was with being there as I entertained them by constantly laughing and talking to myself as I went.<em><span style="color: lime;"> ( I laugh because I was nervous about cycling through a country I don't know, a culture I don't know, surrounded by people who speak a language I don't know; I laugh because I had no idea really where I was or where I was going and I laugh because I LOVE everything about the previous statements!!).</span></em><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIJv_bOEbu9ey9clqw6X8_LrgbDvKuLboanjgKN5ri_ncvDddtWO-S2LcBbpFegrX5JeRrd8fkmL9jd2pGldyOqWmc0fjb8gs9Kh9SeH_0gQ7RLLmkPYi0r0dQvRFgzvxurv_7hFm2k1o/s1600/IMG_0871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIJv_bOEbu9ey9clqw6X8_LrgbDvKuLboanjgKN5ri_ncvDddtWO-S2LcBbpFegrX5JeRrd8fkmL9jd2pGldyOqWmc0fjb8gs9Kh9SeH_0gQ7RLLmkPYi0r0dQvRFgzvxurv_7hFm2k1o/s200/IMG_0871.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCJFLbudl_gATxQxyIvTehOrjxQnzPOcOBp5ufFier3E_r900pOdYtb-JrCW53U3R5EExzv0jn56d6z0ekAZgs2ptwPwAbG6cEJ8Ft6LMYXTz8hyphenhyphenGKiX7NpU48D4lLOomVZ5ztVFeM2zw/s1600/IMG_0869.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCJFLbudl_gATxQxyIvTehOrjxQnzPOcOBp5ufFier3E_r900pOdYtb-JrCW53U3R5EExzv0jn56d6z0ekAZgs2ptwPwAbG6cEJ8Ft6LMYXTz8hyphenhyphenGKiX7NpU48D4lLOomVZ5ztVFeM2zw/s200/IMG_0869.JPG" width="200" /></a>Well, as I said I didn't get too far. I got a bit lost in the city of POZA RICA, and then as I got out of the city I got into construction... which in small town Mexico means large rocks, large holes, and a VERY large amount of dust that makes it impossible to see anything really...including oncoming cars.So after a couple of hours on the road I had only made the short distance from Poza Rica to Coatzintla... A town which only had 2 options in hotels. One looked like a castle and would surely have cost an arm and a leg... the other also cost more than I would have like to pay as it was normally rented by the hour- a truck stop that even came with your own personal strip pole and funny shaped sex couch in each room! I opted for the latter ;a point at which I was glad to have my own sheet in my packs.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-8OmsFhsPtKF2aJbqvLvW9Wgvot3asC0TPG_Bo_N0lIGUEtxD_yYmgNOjMxMLltr5uEYQ_AZqbGOgc6OgSrDz0jczmpA90DIA0QJLiku4Vt7IJmJdbGjAuSDfkRnD-cv2l59sPO0VlvA/s1600/IMG_0889.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-8OmsFhsPtKF2aJbqvLvW9Wgvot3asC0TPG_Bo_N0lIGUEtxD_yYmgNOjMxMLltr5uEYQ_AZqbGOgc6OgSrDz0jczmpA90DIA0QJLiku4Vt7IJmJdbGjAuSDfkRnD-cv2l59sPO0VlvA/s200/IMG_0889.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwV6NIPeH6DFawcWqIHMmQ9TgpMKV9WB1nJaMi2ryeY9NGjwk51oZzk1gKzg20VBY1MM-IrJKNazWSDUN9LG6-_jk7h0DK04GbxJt1Q8UGdr5f3eh4AEbL352ifM9Fiq5oLE2U9Q1edGg/s1600/IMG_0896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwV6NIPeH6DFawcWqIHMmQ9TgpMKV9WB1nJaMi2ryeY9NGjwk51oZzk1gKzg20VBY1MM-IrJKNazWSDUN9LG6-_jk7h0DK04GbxJt1Q8UGdr5f3eh4AEbL352ifM9Fiq5oLE2U9Q1edGg/s200/IMG_0896.JPG" width="150" /></a>The next morning I hit the road early with a permanent smile plastered on my face. After a fairly short and easy distance I came to my first site seeing event in a while. <strong><em>El Tajin Ruins</em></strong>. A beautiful site to start off my Mexican adventure. It was shortly after lunch when I left Tajin, and was immediately greeted with extreme heat and extreme inclines.... A VERY DIFFICULT YET VERY REWARDING few hours into the city of PAPANTLA. Beautiful views from the hills, beautiful people and beautiful buildings.<br />
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Upon leaving Papantla city I was rewarded for my efforts, relieved of the extreme heat by a nice afternoon downpour! Though I was soaked to the bone, I appreciated every minute of it... until the rain got soo hard I could not see the cars so well (and there for they couldn't see me!), and large puddles on the roadside hid massive potholes making continuing quite dangerous! (I wish I had pictures but at this point all of my electronics were dead..including my odometer/speedometer which doesn't work so well while wet!)... So, again I did not cover too much distance, stopping at a restaurant at the top of a hill to take cover for a while around 4, and when the rain didn't seem to be lightening an hour later. I asked the ladies running the place if there was a place close by I could put up my tent for the night. To my genuine surprise, there answer was, come with me we have a bed you can stay in... which actually meant a whole house to myself for the night in their family compound and a free and very filling and satisfying meal..... <strong><em><span style="color: yellow;">An unnecessary act of kindness from a stranger I did not expect, especially with the language barrier that is quite prominent.</span></em></strong><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKyjbQiXdd7B2q0N1_GHZXBUhuwYbwSIZ1eJrUbm-jp3lHV7Du7szuCFLTrWZPn5blt_5-4qh1c-0PfqbNQ9twNeTqDJAO5dJ1fZjD9JDaGmoqeZ1mIU6W73PgL2EB735ID2FHxUoDXgg/s1600/IMG_0921.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKyjbQiXdd7B2q0N1_GHZXBUhuwYbwSIZ1eJrUbm-jp3lHV7Du7szuCFLTrWZPn5blt_5-4qh1c-0PfqbNQ9twNeTqDJAO5dJ1fZjD9JDaGmoqeZ1mIU6W73PgL2EB735ID2FHxUoDXgg/s200/IMG_0921.JPG" width="150" /></a>The next day; having showered, eatin and had a good nights rest I made good progress and reached the coast. Around 10 AM, after a few nice hours of light rain and slight declines, I could see the point at which the trees stopped. Even though I could not actually see the sea and even though I had never been there before in my life I could not keep the smile from my face. There is nothing that says welcome home like the view of where the trees stop and the ocean begins after a long a difficult journey through mountains, plains, desert and back.<br />
When I actually got to the point when I could see the water, there just happened to be a cold coconut stand. I sat and sipped the coconut, enjoying the wonderfully new yet familiar surroundings. I think the only coconut I will enjoy more is the first I pick and crack upon reaching my beloved island again!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsul2I_D6IdlxGN9uAcmNk7w3zA3-yi4Lj8ZDi66X7P_lKf4LoJFsdai40J9Qm24Ow7SyrwEIIFrA8kiACv02MyJ80VHBCkhkRABQmrE7xiUVTvaKnF4Qc92FMpaG99qGGzUHEmjt33ao/s1600/IMG_0943.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsul2I_D6IdlxGN9uAcmNk7w3zA3-yi4Lj8ZDi66X7P_lKf4LoJFsdai40J9Qm24Ow7SyrwEIIFrA8kiACv02MyJ80VHBCkhkRABQmrE7xiUVTvaKnF4Qc92FMpaG99qGGzUHEmjt33ao/s200/IMG_0943.JPG" width="200" /></a>After taking a minute to soak in the coastal air and views, I continued along on my way. A road running parallel to the coast, dotted with tonnes of amazing views and a fair few picturesque towns that I wish I had time to stop and explore... but after all I am on a mission and if I stopped everywhere I would like to it would Christmas 2014 by the time I actually made it to the island.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS_cAmQuaKJuOtDgSvx9xhlb6HoCbXSBLFEdYaC43KykAcvhwBp6Ga-pXuwjXWiaruUhZF1DCdx_AjNXMRVUAfoRwF29MmA_4Zijpl-eYtp_eVZIWhE65ym5MDbItEyFMiNCktG7r7Hps/s1600/IMG_0939.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS_cAmQuaKJuOtDgSvx9xhlb6HoCbXSBLFEdYaC43KykAcvhwBp6Ga-pXuwjXWiaruUhZF1DCdx_AjNXMRVUAfoRwF29MmA_4Zijpl-eYtp_eVZIWhE65ym5MDbItEyFMiNCktG7r7Hps/s200/IMG_0939.JPG" width="200" /></a>Around 4o'clock, I came across some children and young adults tending goats along the side of the highway. I stopped to chat a bit; asking them how far to the next town, if there were any cheap hotels of hostels around and chatting as much as my Spanish allowed. It wasn't long before they too invited me into their home for the night, as it was a decent stretch to the next town and there were no cheap hotels to speak of. After being fed a WONDERFUL meal and chatting with the large and welcoming family, I was able (with some difficulty) to convince them that giving me the bed they would otherwise be used by more than one member of their family was not necessary. If I took the bed, their children would sleep on the floor, where as I had a perfectly good tent and air mattress...but their in their kind hearts giving me the bed was not even something that needed consideration..But eventually I won and the entire family came out, helped set up my tent and then took me around town to meet family, friends and neighbours before a late night snack and coffee before saying good night<span style="color: yellow;">.I say again... I am BLOWN AWAY by the kindness of strangers!! </span><br />
In the morning, the whole family helped me pack up my gear and get ready to go, another round of coffee and crackers and they all gathered to see me off and wave as I road away into the rising sun.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsL22ailQGF1h3fct9FNcERVUHy3NdiPVzMT4G1JXq5czAuu5cMr3613lvdTS-4_9Hb6tu5Jav6CXF2uSNhY-7IA9FVEWLVzirIXu7NUkuu_Q5xEw1ZNr3o_zGEIpOPVK7FMoeuog1iss/s1600/IMG_0933.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsL22ailQGF1h3fct9FNcERVUHy3NdiPVzMT4G1JXq5czAuu5cMr3613lvdTS-4_9Hb6tu5Jav6CXF2uSNhY-7IA9FVEWLVzirIXu7NUkuu_Q5xEw1ZNr3o_zGEIpOPVK7FMoeuog1iss/s200/IMG_0933.JPG" width="200" /></a>The day was fairly uneventful; minor hills, more spectacular views, a few scary moments on the road and an failed attempt at Internet and blogging in a small coast town (after being online for 1/2 hr I was unable to even update my facebook status, at which point I gave up, feeling trying any further would just be wasting money in the Internet cafe and getting nowhere.) I road around 75km into the pretty little town of PALMA SOLA, where after a long upward stretch of pushing my bike on the very busy narrow road I decided to stop for a rest.... said rest turned into the sort of rest which extends over night and is accompanied by a beer or two with a new friend and a good nights sleep.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwiFIjgXnoyr8-ONbmT2iAsdmjDguXhNPH1LfbHMrh_29hDctKMlDBIGr16sXVqyxrrqFJaacC0zYbsG_cSnYhbtT20m4VhQ0iExo5CfTWr3saYe5P3O3mEHEtJd8tGU8kkHFHTriR7vg/s1600/IMG_0947.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwiFIjgXnoyr8-ONbmT2iAsdmjDguXhNPH1LfbHMrh_29hDctKMlDBIGr16sXVqyxrrqFJaacC0zYbsG_cSnYhbtT20m4VhQ0iExo5CfTWr3saYe5P3O3mEHEtJd8tGU8kkHFHTriR7vg/s200/IMG_0947.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="color: red;">The next day (wed., 6th/11) would be my entrance into Veracruz city, and the first day in Mexico I was truly scared on the roads and questioned why I was doing this whole insane journey</span>.... being passed often much closer and faster than I would like by a stream of semi's on their way to port. Luckily for me, in a small town not far from Veracruz one of these semi-drivers who had passed me earlier in the day approached me and asked if I wanted a ride the rest away into town to escape the nonstop string of trucks that could quite easily be the death of me... needless to say, I thanked him, tied my truck to the bottom of his tanker and hopped in (which I was VERY glad to have done as not 10 mins into the ride we came across a sign that informed me bicycles were not allowed on the highway...don't know what I would have done really.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDeB3jnqe4ZQH0yYro_sCeI34cKXkozlIQTbi-a6tybElexShJuX98j61IgZmEPMS7Lb1sj7X2prVMRTzpnRX_cMUK7GvvqUncUEZSOKg5O4rLgolrIFZ1E0hzuYMfj22BjOKiuLxvmUw/s1600/IMG_0976.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDeB3jnqe4ZQH0yYro_sCeI34cKXkozlIQTbi-a6tybElexShJuX98j61IgZmEPMS7Lb1sj7X2prVMRTzpnRX_cMUK7GvvqUncUEZSOKg5O4rLgolrIFZ1E0hzuYMfj22BjOKiuLxvmUw/s320/IMG_0976.JPG" width="320" /></a>My new friend dropped me off at the entrance toll gates 10 km outside the city, pointed me in the right direction and said goodbye.... and then it got interesting. It took ages (and alot of very stressful moments) getting through the city on busy to find a cheap hotel for the night... which ended up being one not quite as cheap as I hoped near the beach in BOCA DEL RIO, as I was terrified of the roads that led to Veracruz city center. But I was happy to be anywhere off the dangerous streets and immediately fell asleep when I got into my room at 7.<br />
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The next day I relaxed for the morning before attempting the dreadful task of getting my self into Veracruz where I would await the arrival of my good friend May who would be joining me for the weekend. It wasn't so hard to get most of the way, as I found I nice wide walkway along the beach which I could safely ride my bike. And it turns out that would be as far as I would pedal that day.... my friend Alex Miramontes ( ...the wonderful lady that she is!!), got me in touch with her family in Veracruz; who, on very short notice came and picked me and my bike up on the beach to take me to their home and go above and beyond in making me feel welcome and making my stay in Veracruz the most enjoyable it could possibly be. They fed me amazingly, showed me around, arranged for media coverage I would otherwise never be able to get to help spread the word in another county and did more than I could ever expect from anyone... friend or stranger! <em><span style="color: blue;">Thank- you so much to all parties involved. ( Santiago Sanchez Arano, Maribel Corro </span></em><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXpomWLQP8Qs7E3CK8bd4C6gZ6jw8LtiPnbk11PsIhjCXdAFFXO731yf1OpaDh1M6s1ZvktxmytEPk-RMuO0z5LvaW91OKpH7fue3n1l_WjgWMQzVKcTjTQmiZXdgz-4iAyLxiQL_D9ZM/s1600/IMG_0981.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><em><span style="color: blue;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXpomWLQP8Qs7E3CK8bd4C6gZ6jw8LtiPnbk11PsIhjCXdAFFXO731yf1OpaDh1M6s1ZvktxmytEPk-RMuO0z5LvaW91OKpH7fue3n1l_WjgWMQzVKcTjTQmiZXdgz-4iAyLxiQL_D9ZM/s200/IMG_0981.JPG" width="200" /></span></em></a><em><span style="color: blue;">Coello, Edith Coello Vscanga and Alex Miramontes and everyone</span></em> <span style="color: blue;">else who I met and helped along the way</span>! Everything is greatly appreciated <span style="color: yellow;">you are AMAZING PEOPLE!!)</span><br />
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It is now Monday, November 12th. I have been on the road officially for 2 months. Spending close to a week in Veracruz it will have been the longest I have stopped but it was the most enjoyable it could be and worth every minute that it may put me behind if I had been pedaling all these days. I have had the chance to meet new friends and I will remember their kindness for the rest of my life. I had a chance to meet up with old friends, spending a <span style="color: cyan;">WONDERFUL weekend with May Hackman</span>...a good friend I met back on the island last spring and got time to relax, enjoy, have a few beers and be a tourist for a few days. <br />
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I was supposed to be back on the road early this morning, but yet again my hosts have surpassed any expectations and have arranged a television interview which will take place at 10:30 ( an hr from now). This will help to spread the awareness on my mission and cause in a country it would otherwise be impossible for me to reach.. so any delay is worth it 10 times over to help reach our goal to get the LEARNING CENTER up and running in as little time as possible.<br />
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When I do hit the road it will probably be another 12 days or so before I reach the Guatemalan border. The journey in between will have some spectacular views and some very tough days as I take on the mountainous region of Chiapas to get to San Cristobal and from there, Guatemala. <br />
<span style="color: red;">PLEASE DO NOT FORGET ABOUT LITTLE OLD STEPH SOMEWHERE ON HER BIKE IN CENTRAL AMERICA... BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY DO NOT FORGET ABOUT WHY I AM HERE!!!THE PEOPLE OF LITTLE CORN NEED YOUR HELP IN ANYWAY YOU CAN GIVE IT TO GIVE THEM THE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES THEY DESERVE! DONATE..SPREAD THE WORD AND DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO MAKE OUR GOAL A REALITY!</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.commonthreadz.org/stephsolverson" target="_blank">www.commonthreadz.org/stephsolverson</a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">exhausted after hills&heat</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSaFspS7arCfWwu4nakOIWHLEzOuxpKi6Ts6XrbCmvrsRdKSPlQSTP_STncUckN_dhlQEzgKGjX2XHhfK4SJoGfQSZ2ujqvowgEKHuB8BOCfoqcZzqxtzf8iB-bZg3KnPmoFwm4IC_wFE/s1600/IMG_0906.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSaFspS7arCfWwu4nakOIWHLEzOuxpKi6Ts6XrbCmvrsRdKSPlQSTP_STncUckN_dhlQEzgKGjX2XHhfK4SJoGfQSZ2ujqvowgEKHuB8BOCfoqcZzqxtzf8iB-bZg3KnPmoFwm4IC_wFE/s200/IMG_0906.JPG" width="200" /></a><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihchPaQnGwNCYH4bZqC4twhmh3xkZV7VX23G9vHLt-pp8_ytNMlkuOakWa5N0Z8ZTANuRjBdIb_EqZOxOD0WZ7xKNbIzBHFd-B7sqyC4wx_WIbPZ2J9221hhWa78oGz72p7upUVbdtVok/s200/IMG_0972.JPG" width="200" /><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a bit of nerves for starting to ride in Veracruz</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWJ1RH5esz87FoeSswsmXEP1QWevpuI3VEfAFgVc3wsyouM26BR3m6IuWbAlhAANPgf2c0qQc8WomcDX9nhOFQxPQUeaMAtLSr1M2irBgsEUIIdSTyLxkFcxqlYIa9ruNBNepobgSEgKY/s1600/IMG_0959.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWJ1RH5esz87FoeSswsmXEP1QWevpuI3VEfAFgVc3wsyouM26BR3m6IuWbAlhAANPgf2c0qQc8WomcDX9nhOFQxPQUeaMAtLSr1M2irBgsEUIIdSTyLxkFcxqlYIa9ruNBNepobgSEgKY/s200/IMG_0959.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJfiEqs0fBoExY5K9Vua6w5b58W7XGU9jvpmBV91FtU1kHyp-1W2c51jKHTHlzDv9Iv2Qtx3o14YVPr0BDOkzmFMG89vyopZgi9vetJ0125ituOmf_IcfjKUA6B3NLQYih7Byjn37Hi0/s1600/IMG_0949.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJfiEqs0fBoExY5K9Vua6w5b58W7XGU9jvpmBV91FtU1kHyp-1W2c51jKHTHlzDv9Iv2Qtx3o14YVPr0BDOkzmFMG89vyopZgi9vetJ0125ituOmf_IcfjKUA6B3NLQYih7Byjn37Hi0/s200/IMG_0949.JPG" width="150" /></a><br />
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<br />sjsolverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453046712048989746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597470129295023794.post-69358357445673616352012-11-01T08:41:00.002-07:002012-11-01T08:41:51.859-07:00Hasta Luego USA... It's been real<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PALM TREES!!!</td></tr>
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I have now been on the road for a total of 49 days. In that time I have managed to pedal about 4,000km from the the Northwest to the Southeast of the USA. I have crossed one international and five state borders, and if all goes as planned (though what ever does), I should be crossing my second international line later today.<br />
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The trip thus far has been one to remember to say the least; full of ups and downs, good days and bad. Beautiful scenery and some landscapes that were considerably less memorable.The states in which I enjoyed the scenery the most were Montana, Wyoming and Texas. But as I have said before what I will remember most about this whole trip is the wonderful people I have met and all the support I have been given from people on the road as well as those following and aiding my progress from a far ( both those that I know and that I don't..your help and support is greatly appreciated) .<br />
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In addition to the approximate $2, 000 I have raised so far through the fundraising page, I have been giver around $300 from random strangers on the road, had multiple nights in hotels and meals paid for,even a few spare beds in people's own homes for the night. I have been in around 20 newspapers to help spread the word, and had countless people stop to aid me on the road. The list is endless in the ways strangers have outstretched their hands to help me on the way<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPbb_WTxNHrNb3E0dKBQhrdp4bGjMF1dbMgCm-xsdMLEFSzOYl9BQ0A-0K36mz-FwtLLV_fDKchlFjY8ZyQ2w5IPqlCQJ-evNrxS3PLDZ83bM3ArY4ui4VTR9UyGCc5753UdMfj82fw-c/s1600/IMG_0819.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPbb_WTxNHrNb3E0dKBQhrdp4bGjMF1dbMgCm-xsdMLEFSzOYl9BQ0A-0K36mz-FwtLLV_fDKchlFjY8ZyQ2w5IPqlCQJ-evNrxS3PLDZ83bM3ArY4ui4VTR9UyGCc5753UdMfj82fw-c/s200/IMG_0819.JPG" width="200" /></a> While in Shiner, TX,I even got caught clearly in the act of trespassing (throwing my gear over a locked gate just outside of SHINER, TX). When the family who was out checking their cows caught me doing this and heard my story, they didn't get mad for what I was doing as one would expect.... they gave me an old house to stay in instead!..an very unexpected act of kindness I will never forget.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGeXdybp3Iln8s8hM98qG8D3ffKdicbCf2bjw4T33eVOYlng6TUxKYHGWxJyNWaZxWUDx0LjsQiV76ns1MbC763IrlNH08ZybMu_x9FEy3hIkg6spUMgH_Rb5N-ctJeyIp6jYfv7CdDZI/s1600/IMG_0846.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGeXdybp3Iln8s8hM98qG8D3ffKdicbCf2bjw4T33eVOYlng6TUxKYHGWxJyNWaZxWUDx0LjsQiV76ns1MbC763IrlNH08ZybMu_x9FEy3hIkg6spUMgH_Rb5N-ctJeyIp6jYfv7CdDZI/s200/IMG_0846.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCuXctLAMwwUbLLA_TgNgWm34rZ1YI_KeBEgJdHbmQh2Dv9INX-qPScpIUnm-rGTX76t6HSJGSpiRAVoiLn6kMX-rr9nAWMGwRv28gNpSqQUroCwwBzzKsfFiiQoP7w8QLTBNJOWaE-Xs/s1600/IMG_0837.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCuXctLAMwwUbLLA_TgNgWm34rZ1YI_KeBEgJdHbmQh2Dv9INX-qPScpIUnm-rGTX76t6HSJGSpiRAVoiLn6kMX-rr9nAWMGwRv28gNpSqQUroCwwBzzKsfFiiQoP7w8QLTBNJOWaE-Xs/s200/IMG_0837.JPG" width="200" /></a>The last week has been a little rough.Though my tire problems seem to have been put on hold other problems have replaced them. I have started to feel quite lonely, being alone on the road 100% of the time.I had to camp in a very busy truckstop just off the highway after not feeling well, got stuck in a blockaded construction site barely making it out before dark; I got stung by a wasp not one but five times when it got stuck in my shirt in heavy traffic, and the same day I almost went head first over my handlebars in rush hour traffic of the freeway in Harlingen, TX when I dropped my front wheel into a Storm drain. <br />
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I have spent the last day or two stationary in Harlingen, recouping and getting stuff organized for my entrance into Mexico I will be making later today. From here I will ride the last 25miles to Brownsville where I will be putting my gear on a bus to Tampico (as long as they will let me!). I feel slightly guilty busing this far but have been advised by a number of people that it is the best option to get out of the dangerous border reason... the goal IS to make it in one piece, so this is what I will do.<br />
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In the travelling world I am used to Americans get a bad wrap; marked as ignorant and coming from a land of commercialism. But travelling through the states in the way I have I can tell you that this is not the case at all; you have to be in a fairly large city to see the commercialism we connect with the USA. Most towns I have travelled through have been full of small private businesses and even a few one room school houses. Even Canada in my experience is much more commercial than rural USA, you have to be in a much bigger town to see a WALMART or similar stores here then you would back in Canada and I am happy to see that. I have thoroughly enjoyed my travels through the states, with many places I would love to come back to and many more I haven't seen that I would love to.<br />
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My entrance into Mexico is going to be a major turning point in my trip... a whole new trip in itself, really. I am entering an unknown territory both in landscapes and culture, one in which there is a bit of a language barrier so the loneliness is bound to increase even a little bit more. But I am excited!!! Even though I have been on the road for over a month it feels like my adventure is about to begin. THIS IS WHEN I WILL BE NEEDING EVERY ONE'S SUPPORT THE MOST. <br />
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I will no longer be able to be spreading the word and talking to newspapers to help raise funds and support.I am asking that everyone do everything they can to help me in this matter. We may have gotten the funds up above the $2,000 mark, but there is still a very long way to go be for we reach our goal of having enough to get this learning center complete and give the wonderful people of LITTLE CORN the learning opportunities they deserve. So please, donate if possible, spread the word anyway you can.. we will also be trying to get computers and other supplies donated so if you have anyway you can help in that matter leave a message on here and I will get back to you.<br />
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Thanks guys, wish me luck :)<br />
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<a href="http://www.commonthreadz.org/stephsolverson" target="_blank">www.commonthreadz.org/stephsolverson</a><br />
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sjsolverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453046712048989746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597470129295023794.post-18891391701584009412012-10-26T13:23:00.000-07:002012-10-26T13:23:35.124-07:00Central Texas and AUSTIN!.... about half way to Little Corn!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhufDFiB2h6ZZKDdszeCA5R_N05KC8DZ5sknz87rDk6AUzENar_f4IGQNicM4vR6i0ejbDKJuBtiY0k4xJxUcJQa-ryO4pbOdp8qVBaa4y4zUuVYA27Mk4CTbD1yGEVZU3MNvlVjtX9as4/s1600/IMG_0731.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhufDFiB2h6ZZKDdszeCA5R_N05KC8DZ5sknz87rDk6AUzENar_f4IGQNicM4vR6i0ejbDKJuBtiY0k4xJxUcJQa-ryO4pbOdp8qVBaa4y4zUuVYA27Mk4CTbD1yGEVZU3MNvlVjtX9as4/s320/IMG_0731.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
I have now made it into AUSTIN, TX. <br />
<br />
This is the approximate halfway point of my journey, and the point at which my planning becomes hazy. So this is where it gets fun, starting with how to get out of the busy city roads without getting my self killed later today.<br />
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Getting here has proved a little more eventful than I had anticipated. Let me explain:<br />
<br />
After fixing my bike; changing the tubes and switching my tires so the newer was on the back, finally leaving CHILDRESS around 1 PM. I was about an hour into riding for the day, just getting into the flow, when... I HIT A NAIL. Completely destroying the new tire I had just moved to the rear. <br />
<br />
Having a sizable hole in the new tire, and not having another spare... it was a problem I would not be able to fix roadside on my own. But I did not have to wait long before, a very nice lady by the name of Carol, picked me up and gave me a ride to a tire shop in the nearby town of QUANAH. where, the guys in the shop patched the tire (free of charge) and I was able to make it into the town of Crowell as the sun set.<br />
Upon reaching Crowell, I tried to find someone to ask where I might be able to put up a tent, which proved to be fairly difficult. At 6PM, the town was a ghost town. Police department closed, sheriff's office closed... and not a soul on the road. I finally spotted a state trooper car, who informed me of a place near by could set up for the night and advised getting there as early as possible, as aggressive wild hogs had been a problem in the evenings recently.<br />
I made it to the park on the outside of the town.. set up camp and was into my evening routine; when I heard noises that told me some of these wild hogs were my neighbors. The bush right next to my tent happened to be full of wild hogs. But, thankfully other than keeping me up a bit with their loud squeals the night was uneventful and I was able to get an early start. Leaving before 8AM.<br />
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I was ticking along for an hour or so at a nice pace of around 30km/hr, thinking today was going to be a great day......<br />
Few minutes later...PSHHH, the patch blew...flat again. Still no spare. <strong>Time to improvise</strong>. Off come the bags and the back wheel to start on a make shift fix.Lucky for me at this point some highway workers pulled over... because I had no idea HOW exactly I was going to make a patc,h only that it needed to be done. But, with the help of the guys, we managed to make a poorman's patch using a piece of hard plastic to line the tire and good ol' duct tape. I managed to make it another 15mile or so bumping down the road over the tape on that. however, it didn't last and again I was out of comission for the day at the side of the road. The local Deputy Sherriff picked me up and hauled me into the tire shop in the town of SEYMOUR, TX. Here I was informed that they could put a reinforced patch on my tire, but it probably wouldn't get me 50 miles (the distance to the next town). <br />
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Not wanting to end up stuck on the side of the road helpless (yet AGAIN!!). I decided to get some spare tires and tubes ordered and mailed to me where I was so that next time the unfortunate happened I would be prepared! so there I was, stationary in Seymour for two days waiting for my gear to arrive. The first night of which I stayed in my tent in the local park where some local joy riding teenagers came and kept me company for a little while. Mid-way through the following day, as I was sitting by my tent not wanting to leave all my gear unattended in the park; a police officer ( I don't know of what rank... nor do all of these rankings that exist down here meen anything to me. police is police is police no matter what of the seemingly endless titles they may hold). Well anyways, this kind police officer informed me that they had a program for financial assistance and would be willing to pay for a nights stay in a motel while I waited for my stuff. (Mostly I think he just wanted the crazy Canadian on a bike out of the city park.) I willingly accepted and loaded my gear into his truck for a ride to the motel. It is one thing to stay in a city park over night but to sit in one beside your tent all day... makes you FEEL a bit like you really are a crazy person.<br />
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The next morning I finally got my tires and spare gear around 9AM. I swung by the tire shop to say thanks and let them know I got sorted. And was glad I did so, the man who ran the shop gave a donation to help with my costs and it wasn't until I looked at it later that I realized just how generous he had been... the bill he gave me was marked $100!!.. That will feed me for over a week! Thank you kind sir. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi20fsh8jG_rimvGUuq6mS0hyphenhyphen7I4OFtO4Qc1Ulab4EsxnOEjb7wnVDqdYBsk_PSq7d9j1zf0j4XUa57OR1yoHxbcBWTHzW_AIOqISaF7NiCjd3KrkxBdM7mQXITlsHct_b4c_o1zhy1Vgc/s1600/IMG_0769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi20fsh8jG_rimvGUuq6mS0hyphenhyphen7I4OFtO4Qc1Ulab4EsxnOEjb7wnVDqdYBsk_PSq7d9j1zf0j4XUa57OR1yoHxbcBWTHzW_AIOqISaF7NiCjd3KrkxBdM7mQXITlsHct_b4c_o1zhy1Vgc/s200/IMG_0769.JPG" width="150" /></a>The day continued on to be a good one. I made about 125km into JACKSBORO where I found a great little place to camp next to a lake, had my lunch bought for me, and was donated another $20 on top of the $100. Great first day back on the road after a few days stationary and few very stressful days of questioning my mission before that!<br />
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The next few days would continue in this high and low fashion, with high headwinds, many more hills than anticipated and hot weather making it hard to make much progress, followed by more newspaper interviews and extremely kind strangers letting me into their homes or helping me in someway...making me remember why it is I am doing this crazy trip after days of questioning whether all my stress is worth it.(Of course I know it is, but sometimes it is hard to see that after long periods of one hard day after another and long periods in which no one is donating to the cause I am trying so hard to make happen).<br />
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I finally reached Austin on the 22nd. (with a little help from my new friend Lewis, who, after meeting me in Hamilton earlier in the day, found me on the road in LAMPASAS. He informed me he was there to give me a ride into Austin, as we had been talking about how I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to deal with getting through the busy roads of Austin.)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh9utF_GJY0520g_pvk4DMTaGYNhVoNI_rrzW_uaNKXkkqQ80a8WYCoSZeL0B01Dgoez3rWc5MgYdD4L97E-asBDzxosE3eOy4piDFBYKKwem42COCCSoxwlkW90aVSjC8y9Ia_P7MwS0/s1600/IMG_0790.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh9utF_GJY0520g_pvk4DMTaGYNhVoNI_rrzW_uaNKXkkqQ80a8WYCoSZeL0B01Dgoez3rWc5MgYdD4L97E-asBDzxosE3eOy4piDFBYKKwem42COCCSoxwlkW90aVSjC8y9Ia_P7MwS0/s200/IMG_0790.JPG" width="150" /></a><br />
So with a little help I made it into the city where I saw a familiar face for the first time since I have been on the road! I stayed with Dustin ( a friend from the island), who took me around Austin on his bike (of the motorized variety), showing me the sights and getting some logistical things done before I left town again on the 24th.<br />
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Getting out of the city was... interesting. I pushed my bike only a block before deciding there was no way I was going to get out of the city alive on only pedal power. As I was sat at a gas station calling a cab a lady overheard me and told me she would take me where I needed to go for $40 instead of the minimum of $80 the taxi company had quoted...Of course I accepted and had to apologize to the taxi driver who pulled up as we were loading my bike onto her roof... oops!<br />
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So, I am now out of Austin and on my way to the Mexican border. I will be crossing at either Brownsville or Mc Allen within the week where I will catch a bus through the most Northerly regions of the country to get out of the dangerous border areas before getting back on the bike.<br />
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Some very interesting things have happened since I left AUSTIN, but they will have to wait until the next update as I need to get back on the road.<br />
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PLEASE KEEP DOING EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO CONTINUE TO SPREAD THE WORD AND HELP WITH THE EFFORTS TO MAKE THE LEARNING CENTER ON LITTLE CORN A REALITY! I am doing the best I can (talking to media,etc.) but there are not enough hours in the day to devote to fundraising at the same time as trying to pedal 100km a day. I NEED ALL THE HELP I CAN GET TO GET THE FUNDS RAISED TO GET THIS THING STARTED WHEN I REACH.<br />
<a href="http://www.commonthreadz.org/stephsolverson" target="_blank">www.commonthreadz.org/stephsolverson</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4AoVkcQqBeuKNs2WeUXozwu8xHP7XoDJFvSL85PN2MmBVhBoLnPmtGnq5ZD-nUe-Er4lOtlbjlX1gbOHvaC5DJVDALRBgjbKMfF3j2xWF14NJuZt1D7DSUsAvOPZeu1UTku5evTznl20/s1600/IMG_0774.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4AoVkcQqBeuKNs2WeUXozwu8xHP7XoDJFvSL85PN2MmBVhBoLnPmtGnq5ZD-nUe-Er4lOtlbjlX1gbOHvaC5DJVDALRBgjbKMfF3j2xWF14NJuZt1D7DSUsAvOPZeu1UTku5evTznl20/s200/IMG_0774.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this man has been on a bike for 7yrs, travels with fairies controlled by god and is heading to the mountains for shelter for the winter??</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a dog that followed me for 10 miles, named him stalker as he was stalking the cars and biting the tires... sadly I would be surprised if he is still alive</td></tr>
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sjsolverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453046712048989746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597470129295023794.post-65094493416112654922012-10-16T08:31:00.000-07:002012-10-16T08:34:29.559-07:00The melting of time<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbG3CwBugqXkGHOrjHgw9sZfWIpLWecLvCgjpunyFXJLO5W_jg-37S59a86ZcJeT-qdoPiYmX3qam_PHZBIu7bB_uNDeDmKyNwRNFvteK9GQhrmJzpHYWGCl_ZFk6RNZSL51uAJgl1bWQ/s1600/IMG_0688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbG3CwBugqXkGHOrjHgw9sZfWIpLWecLvCgjpunyFXJLO5W_jg-37S59a86ZcJeT-qdoPiYmX3qam_PHZBIu7bB_uNDeDmKyNwRNFvteK9GQhrmJzpHYWGCl_ZFk6RNZSL51uAJgl1bWQ/s320/IMG_0688.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLqFN2-OFwwLckWdxs8NuPQhccQzJGSAcYvu7QB9_wgE1t1u_Vr7_cgVBpwcuQSAnnrc043DaxBWnAz9TnCs00nMoVFkBb0hNqMuV_C9wApcsLxmBKqlGZ9RYP1U-cROTdobc4LaIDUP4/s1600/IMG_0706.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLqFN2-OFwwLckWdxs8NuPQhccQzJGSAcYvu7QB9_wgE1t1u_Vr7_cgVBpwcuQSAnnrc043DaxBWnAz9TnCs00nMoVFkBb0hNqMuV_C9wApcsLxmBKqlGZ9RYP1U-cROTdobc4LaIDUP4/s320/IMG_0706.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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Now that I have been on the road for a decent little stretch of time, I have started to have the familiar old feeling of <span style="color: lime;">THE MELTING OF TIME</span> that seems to accompany me anytime I seem to get myself into a routine lifestyle. It is hard to say what happened yesterday, from the day or even the week before. <br />
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This feeling was most prominent in WELLINGTON, TEXAS on the morning of the 15th of October.<br />
Upon reaching the town on the evening of the 14th, having pedaling around 80 mi that day from Canadian, I went to see the local police to ask if there was a place in town I could put up my tent. (I do this every time I plan on staying with in city limits.)<br />
Now this particular tent was the firs of which the answer was no. There was no where in town they would be comfortable having me camp for the night. So instead, they drove me 6 miles back in the direction I came from, where there was a roadside point and campsite.<br />
After waking a little late in the morning having not had the best sleep, (sleeping on a concrete pad in the "free zone" of the campsite) and having a coffee and chatting with the lady who is the campground host. I headed back into town. For the first time on my journey, covering the same ground twice.<br />
As I neared town I had a weird feeling. I remembered this patch of road. I remembered seeing two Mennonite ladies walking, after which came a very nice little roadside pullout in the trees where there was a historical marker, and following that I knew I would pass a little school house whose fence was lined with old wagon wheels. I remembered the road perfectly but I remembered it as if it was somewhere I had been a long time ago, years even; as opposed to the mere 16hrs that had actually passed in the time since I had last travelled this stretch.It was a weird moment of Deja vu that I think<br />
I will remember forever.<br />
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For everyone elses benefit I will now speak of what has happened in the last little while in chronological order. (Lucky for you... I have become accustomed to taking notes on the day as part of my power down routine).. For me, the memories will remain grouped together not by time but by the simple category "while on the road in______ state or town". All memories are cherished but can not really be distinguished to a particular moment in time.<br />
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Leaving the Best Western I was staying at in Perryton (courtesy of the <em><strong>Sabra Mc Adams Key Height Baptist Church</strong></em>; thank you!) at about 9:45 on the morning of the 13th, I was expecting bad weather as that is what was predicted. The weather was BEAUTIFUL. That does NOT however, mean my day ran smoothly.<br />
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After being told for the last few weeks that the "roads will be the best you have seen when you get to Texas"; the first decent length stretch of road I had....was under construction. This left no shoulder, and YET AGAIN I had to walk my bike for most of the morning. And because it had rained all night and the day before... I had to walk through mud. Pushing a heavily weighted bike through mud, is NOT a pleasant task by any means if you were wondering.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvtevkMCOi2i7Hqhlw4g4uUY7QUr0ySPFJsyLhyphenhyphenGO5SYbDay14qdpHE5UwBX9-GDo4DbKG142ysUMIfcM1FsnQgGbMzMR4okluAuf5zFodYuHuFdnfUXJPpj2dZvfb0TEha7zJKqwf3kU/s1600/IMG_0692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvtevkMCOi2i7Hqhlw4g4uUY7QUr0ySPFJsyLhyphenhyphenGO5SYbDay14qdpHE5UwBX9-GDo4DbKG142ysUMIfcM1FsnQgGbMzMR4okluAuf5zFodYuHuFdnfUXJPpj2dZvfb0TEha7zJKqwf3kU/s200/IMG_0692.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhVjMOugxIa9lCYz5KROuqFAKAfgzhOD3LRwL_OoEXlPShwovopN3Awcs2I9SvX1TZv9El59tmXeCJunKae3wZ-niu65W6GS1t08Bm7h8QxM6b-YXjdxvU1d1Nv6s_rEhnxA5zvNOCYOs/s1600/IMG_0686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhVjMOugxIa9lCYz5KROuqFAKAfgzhOD3LRwL_OoEXlPShwovopN3Awcs2I9SvX1TZv9El59tmXeCJunKae3wZ-niu65W6GS1t08Bm7h8QxM6b-YXjdxvU1d1Nv6s_rEhnxA5zvNOCYOs/s200/IMG_0686.JPG" width="150" /></a>About 3 hours of this treacherous task, the construction pattern changed to my advantage, giving me a road of my own on the opposite side of the barriers. BUUUT... not half an hour into this new wonderful situation. I noticed my rear tire was a little flat, and upon pumping it up, it went COMPLETELY flat.... the tube tore where the valve meets the tube. AND, being that I was on the other side of the barrier making it very hard for anyone to stop and assist; I would not be able to use my sit and look helpless until someone stops to help tactic that I have become a fan of.. SOO, for the first time on the trip I was required to change the inner tube all by myself (well... that is not the complete truth, I had some long distance mechanical coaching over the phone from my mom's boyfriend Tom.) It took a while but I got the job done...Only seconds after getting the tube changed, a man pulled over. He had recognized me from the newspaper in Perryton, asked if I needed help,(to which I was proud to say no!, gave me$20, and the newspaper which featured me on the front page!).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2cBMvct0CpBHT4rnwTAhlBLTHqKuBesAOuwtIiIKs3CpJGR1V1qzYdKtxXXem9_-9UiACyyeYgF4ZxUP_RcIpp7bho0UeOkwiOxnm1y6kdE9mpuJFtu5D9simHquN7_rny-vThpnUtNk/s1600/IMG_0710.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2cBMvct0CpBHT4rnwTAhlBLTHqKuBesAOuwtIiIKs3CpJGR1V1qzYdKtxXXem9_-9UiACyyeYgF4ZxUP_RcIpp7bho0UeOkwiOxnm1y6kdE9mpuJFtu5D9simHquN7_rny-vThpnUtNk/s200/IMG_0710.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">footbridge in Canadian</td></tr>
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With everything fixed up and good to go I was able to make it into the beautiful little town of CANADIAN, TEXAS by sundown (named for the Spanish meaning of "boxed in"..who knew?).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-pAgAyH6nRBKu5VoG7eq-ahgTUMC4zNQs_Pd4iirPs0wixPhJOPKzwJXQC116SUQR3GQRmCHI7lbWTxMIV2CaSiPTfqvIhVmHXcurEyhNZALmCUDn8SWtHo7oH9F7LR0ZzbAKis6eUIg/s1600/IMG_0715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-pAgAyH6nRBKu5VoG7eq-ahgTUMC4zNQs_Pd4iirPs0wixPhJOPKzwJXQC116SUQR3GQRmCHI7lbWTxMIV2CaSiPTfqvIhVmHXcurEyhNZALmCUDn8SWtHo7oH9F7LR0ZzbAKis6eUIg/s200/IMG_0715.JPG" width="150" /></a>I decided that after a stressful day and as a month on the road celebration; I would treat myself to a nice dinner in town. But upon reaching the restaurant it became apparent that I would not have to treat myself at all. A couple in the BEEF EXCHANGE recognized me from the paper and informed my waitress that they would be paying for my meal...but upon hearing my story, instead the restaurant gave me a free meal, leaving the kind couple to donate $50, and even a few of the waitresses gave me a total of an addition $40 donation. Glad I opted out of the tuna sandwich I was debating having instead. I left town having had the best meal in a very long time (free of charge) and an extra $90 in my pocket.<span style="color: cyan;"> Again, there is nothing more inspiring than <em>The Kind Hearts of Strangers.</em></span><br />
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The next morning (14/10/12) got off to a good start. When I woke, there was a nice old man in the campground with whom I had a chat and ended up getting another $10 donation. The day would go on to be a very enjoyable and productive one.I travelled about 80 miles from Canadian to Wellington over a much hillier terrain than I expected out of TEXAS. The weather was hot, but the wind cooled me down and it was a helping instead of a hindering wind, for the most part coming from behind me.I also saw my first armadillo!! Upon reaching Wellington, I was turned around and set back 6 miles (which I already mentioned) a bit of a pain.. but one I can deal with).<br />
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The day of the 15th would prove to be one of those days I question why I am doing this. After having to travel the same ground twice; I made it into town around 10, where I did a interview with the local news paper. I got back on the road a little before 11 and began feeling sick to my stomach almost immediately, which didn't go away and therefor made the day progress very slowly, not getting very far. After a slow day of stopping and starting, passing many cotton fields, I was finally making it into the city of CHILDRESS, TX., when I got a phone call. The road was fairly busy so i pulled my bike off and into the ditch to talk, and when I ended the call I realized that both of my tires were full of thorns and completely flat. They were both pumped full of sealant so I pumped them up and tried to continue on my way.... the front stayed inflated, the back did not. And I used the last of my spare innertubes on the way to Canadian. So, I pushed my bike the rest of the way into town to WALMART (pumping the tire up often). And upon reaching WALMART, I found... they did not have innertubes in my size, so I bought one size too small and will have the challange of dealing with that today. The only good things that happened this day were... first a game I invented of squishing peanuts along the roadside (small things ammuse me!), and more important and heartwarming... A very nice man named Raul noticed my problems in WALMART parking lot as it was getting dark, and drove me to his daughter (MARY HINOJOSH)'s house where I spent the night, and still am now.Another random stranger with a heart of gold who<span style="color: red;"> not only let me sleep in her house, but gave me her bed and slept on the sofa,</span> not allowing me to disapprove of the arrangement. I will fix my bike and be on the road as soon as possible. <br />
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<strong>Wish me luck, I hope for no more flat tires in the near future and the winds to stay at my back. I am eagerly awaiting my entrance into MEXICO and the next leg of the adventure.</strong><br />
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<span style="color: magenta;">KEEP SPREADING THE WORD AND DONATING IF YOU CAN. I AM ALMOST AT MY HALFWAY POINT ON THE ROAD, BUT WE HAVE A WAYS TO GO TO GET TO HALF WAY ON THE FUNDRAISING</span><br />
<a href="http://www.commonthreadz.org/stephsolverson" target="_blank">www.commonthreadz.org/stephsolverson</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhowJzu8yiwk4V-8iqeKVcOAMwRXYX1rAjJGdk1NnOq7aOK3iHK3AXiOqBymadSHw4e3YGq41nDRDrsCxnnheLmJYG_sjhClZi32LwHe7pS3tZBzIktEgyV4zPqcpeS-ADWlU0o6ZdSF_8/s1600/IMG_0709.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhowJzu8yiwk4V-8iqeKVcOAMwRXYX1rAjJGdk1NnOq7aOK3iHK3AXiOqBymadSHw4e3YGq41nDRDrsCxnnheLmJYG_sjhClZi32LwHe7pS3tZBzIktEgyV4zPqcpeS-ADWlU0o6ZdSF_8/s200/IMG_0709.JPG" width="200" /></a>sjsolverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453046712048989746noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597470129295023794.post-11533920803917644012012-10-13T07:24:00.000-07:002012-10-13T07:47:03.463-07:00The Panhandle and ALL that goes with it<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqbdkXypfpbr7x9eaGJL9WchcFHIG0SxQ9AUlIsbepwLuKZG2zFox4IjjN_gz_4ZziuQchNT9BTJ4PXWAfcPKuzMovtg4_cDFMJobzkOOPOk9PDf9KltuRcycFEHZe2pEd6nkaDTbF-r0/s1600/IMG_0661.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqbdkXypfpbr7x9eaGJL9WchcFHIG0SxQ9AUlIsbepwLuKZG2zFox4IjjN_gz_4ZziuQchNT9BTJ4PXWAfcPKuzMovtg4_cDFMJobzkOOPOk9PDf9KltuRcycFEHZe2pEd6nkaDTbF-r0/s200/IMG_0661.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisIzAKs98JjknsBKFY1XeSoc-2FNnbFJZgMH3yCF8Vgcqkymk28BeYJHffDmFPStjplIh5t3cxePWhPCVQijTQXsmGaTBrZD2M7o8aAVOy_6mBKLr5HC9yW_n1lYTYsAu761R0uKonC3o/s1600/IMG_0679.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisIzAKs98JjknsBKFY1XeSoc-2FNnbFJZgMH3yCF8Vgcqkymk28BeYJHffDmFPStjplIh5t3cxePWhPCVQijTQXsmGaTBrZD2M7o8aAVOy_6mBKLr5HC9yW_n1lYTYsAu761R0uKonC3o/s200/IMG_0679.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
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Yesterday marked one month on the road and was my first full day in my last state; TEXAS. <br />
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As you may know; I came out east into the prairie provinces to avoid mountains and hills, hopefully speeding up this portion of my journey......<br />
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<span style="color: yellow;"><strong>This decision may have been a mistake.</strong></span><br />
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<strong>Where there are no hills and mountains, there are winds</strong>! And while mountains may be difficult, at the end of every long and difficult incline... you are inevitably rewarded with a decline on the other side. (Not to mention the beautiful sights along the way!). Where as winds are relentless and never stopping. Creating long and hard days, with not much mileage gained as a reward.... And then there are those dreaded goatheads!!<br />
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Now, I may have realized this potential problem had I ridden a bike, AT ALL, in the last 10 years; or if I knew more about geography and weather patterns of the United States.... That however was not the case. So here I am in the <span style="color: cyan;">Texas Panhandle.</span><span style="color: black;"> Where sever storm warnings kept me stationary yesterday, these storm warnings continue through today, but right now it doesn't look so bad. So the plan is to continue on and just hope I make it to the next city before the wind hits.</span><br />
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Because I need to get on the road as soon as possible I will do a very brief update and add details and pictures once I get to the next Internet point.<br />
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Last time I posted I was in KANSAS. In fact up until the day before yesterday, I was in Kansas. On this day I woke up in Liberal, Kansas; crossed into OKLAHOMA around 9:30 and by sunset I had reached the TEXAS state line. <strong>Three states in one day!!</strong> I could have mad it even further into Texas but, due to high winds and no shoulders I ended up walking my bike through most of Oklahoma!<br />
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Some of the things I have experienced lately:<br />
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<strong><span style="color: magenta;">More wonderful people</span>;</strong> I have received more personal donations, covered hotel rooms and even the hope of further fundraising help<strong> </strong>... I have also experienced my first not so wonderful person who pretended to be a police man while I was sleeping in a city park, luckily I had my friend Howie on the phone and the REAL police knew I was there and were doing regular check ups on me.(more later)<br />
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<strong><span style="color: orange;">More flat tires</span></strong> and even had to change a tire and not just an innertube. Thanks to the completely useless young man at the bike shop in Garden City. I swear he just put my bike on the rack... took it down and charge me $20, and then gave me the wrong size spare innertubes! (but luckily I met a very nice and knowledgeable man who helped deal with my roadside problems!)<br />
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<strong><span style="color: cyan;">More Newspaper interviews.</span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="color: lime;">More bad weather</span>.</strong> Including frost, high winds, rain, and even tornado warnings.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: red;">More wildlife</span>.</strong> I have again met up with my beloved migratory companions... the GEESE. ( I do not know how far they go... maybe this is is the end point of their journey, but seeing them still puts a smile on my face!!. I also saw a black widow spider eating a beetle.. BEAUTIFUL. (got some pics but she kept hiding so I don't know if I managed to capture the tell tale hour glass.)<br />
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This is about as much detail as I can go into now. I have to get on the road now in hopes to have made it to the next city before the high winds predicted for the afternoon hit.<br />
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Hopefully I will be in AUSTIN, TX in about a week. This is the halfway point of my journey, so after a brief time of losing hope about making my goal and reaching before Christmas I again have faith that I will make it. I just hope we can also make the fundraising goal. I am trying my best to raise awareness and raise funds, but it is a bit hard to do this and pedal as far as possible in a day. Not enough hours in the day, and a bit over whelming. PLEASE HELP<br />
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Please keep spreading the word and donating if you can. Help me make sure all of my hard work is payed off by <strong><span style="color: lime;">GIVING THE WONDERFUL PEOPLE OF LITTLE CORN THE CHRISTMAS PRESENT OF A LIFE TIME</span></strong>! ( not that my return isn't a present in it's self! haha).<span style="color: blue;"> LET'S GET THIS THING UP AND RUNNING!!</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.commonthreadz.org/stephsolverson" target="_blank">www.commonthreadz.org/stephsolverson</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij9Q8icCXfEP68bCwu2-H1TXH50gqiTF60MEVtsn1rN9AUOIIquUfN6VqsvslPjOypF2q7deiD-meIvQ3Lm5GVJgAofJKDThFGGaXohzSB-pVgzP7UVl69q1WOylg58bRBMyEgYYp2yCQ/s1600/IMG_0662.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij9Q8icCXfEP68bCwu2-H1TXH50gqiTF60MEVtsn1rN9AUOIIquUfN6VqsvslPjOypF2q7deiD-meIvQ3Lm5GVJgAofJKDThFGGaXohzSB-pVgzP7UVl69q1WOylg58bRBMyEgYYp2yCQ/s200/IMG_0662.JPG" width="150" /></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS7-bdh9rPjNPl7-8DrVhGGXkTSLVFeKYkoQis-aN14QM2prSzg7F9A5QFw3KKrJqSq3_rnH_g6bmMyhi8WHtxa1__bjrgVLaDoP3Ek6HhbvLk3OT5UmL2Qa5EzRTeZAKBOjKRgRxkDzk/s1600/IMG_0669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS7-bdh9rPjNPl7-8DrVhGGXkTSLVFeKYkoQis-aN14QM2prSzg7F9A5QFw3KKrJqSq3_rnH_g6bmMyhi8WHtxa1__bjrgVLaDoP3Ek6HhbvLk3OT5UmL2Qa5EzRTeZAKBOjKRgRxkDzk/s200/IMG_0669.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguHn5eiKfHRNw7yr5pyJGx2HFMSW-M7fL1Z_HPV-0UBWm7aUdNVzn3aY1tf6GJS_XfBcW3Kom97CiyocyphaNXmJ64PAOlGfhaZVXyt7owsvyAcIJla23tAs6r-AWncjQZ4dqn0PvqFV8/s1600/IMG_0677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguHn5eiKfHRNw7yr5pyJGx2HFMSW-M7fL1Z_HPV-0UBWm7aUdNVzn3aY1tf6GJS_XfBcW3Kom97CiyocyphaNXmJ64PAOlGfhaZVXyt7owsvyAcIJla23tAs6r-AWncjQZ4dqn0PvqFV8/s200/IMG_0677.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a million of these massive wind turbine propellers pass me every day... not a good sign </td></tr>
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<span style="color: cyan;"></span><br />sjsolverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453046712048989746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597470129295023794.post-90826537288130792132012-10-08T06:41:00.002-07:002012-10-08T06:44:21.412-07:00The Good and the Bad of NEBRASKA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ZEQe9Rla2hn7y02XfqyoyiSunc23XE-ex6qT6c37bBV0BWZcenOtTpnIQWqFAkajWbLvplvzbPVJXWtJHOkbPmRAcDGyxRRYSWsUstslM_FTwB-2CFn8p6HfdjDwa891FiWk-EqJ_0o/s1600/IMG_0587.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ZEQe9Rla2hn7y02XfqyoyiSunc23XE-ex6qT6c37bBV0BWZcenOtTpnIQWqFAkajWbLvplvzbPVJXWtJHOkbPmRAcDGyxRRYSWsUstslM_FTwB-2CFn8p6HfdjDwa891FiWk-EqJ_0o/s200/IMG_0587.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3MtRlMSvTdCZZbBO4VSCbXc9DeIaFrmDpoEqI1gHSlFyIWfJYx4wGG4vvYRYXNbKHVoNyZVJH5dDI2Ws2oVefFo17ZVzGv6llsg8ua22LL3fOk81ykVjgVazy77BZHJDv2eYWSIhGumI/s1600/IMG_0609.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3MtRlMSvTdCZZbBO4VSCbXc9DeIaFrmDpoEqI1gHSlFyIWfJYx4wGG4vvYRYXNbKHVoNyZVJH5dDI2Ws2oVefFo17ZVzGv6llsg8ua22LL3fOk81ykVjgVazy77BZHJDv2eYWSIhGumI/s200/IMG_0609.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXSCMqR1cRe_YV_NMFL9PfXQdk-2kJZkmHDXpQLHDsewTwQN5sGZvLw6P0k6Sk6CiJ82kUgkBoCe4vC8d8_FsKpwfBLI34w2sRwQRvRTmYqYkCWLlu0X7VdymvK-zyTXG7YOPY4JqJhOI/s1600/IMG_0616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXSCMqR1cRe_YV_NMFL9PfXQdk-2kJZkmHDXpQLHDsewTwQN5sGZvLw6P0k6Sk6CiJ82kUgkBoCe4vC8d8_FsKpwfBLI34w2sRwQRvRTmYqYkCWLlu0X7VdymvK-zyTXG7YOPY4JqJhOI/s200/IMG_0616.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
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<span style="color: white;">I have now pedalled over 2000km and crossed yet another border, entering the state of KANSAS. While doing so, I realized I crossed an entire state without once updating my blog on the ongoings of my journey.So, here we go.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">NEBRASKA was the state that has reminded me most of home. Full of feedlots, cattleliners and cornfields (not to mention snow!). But it has also been the state that has seem to agree with me the least of all so far, with many minor setbacks and mishaps along the way.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: white;"> <span style="background-color: #444444;">a<strong> <span style="color: yellow;">brief summary</span></strong> of the entertaining and inspiring things that have happened in the last little while for those whoe don't want to be bored by the minor details of my travels:</span></span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">THE ENTERTAINING:</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: lime;"><strong>CACTUS-BUMB (30/09)</strong><span style="background-color: white;"><strong>-<span style="background-color: #444444;"> </span></strong></span><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">A few days before I entered Nebraska, as the sun set and I looked for a place to lay my head, I came across a field with an open gate. Upon entering said gate, I realized that the field was absolutely riddled with cactuses. However, the sun was setting and I needed to get off the road so I continued on, paying very close attention to the path of my precious tires.... maybe too close attention to the path of the tires and not enough to that of my feet. Next thing I know I am on the ground with a bumb full of cactus spines.oops. At least I saved the tires AND had finished riding for the day so didn't have to immediatley sit on my pin cushoin bottom!!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta;"><strong>THE ATTACK OF THE SPRINKLERS(03/10)- </strong></span><span style="color: white;">Upon reaching BRIDGEPORT, NE; I went to the local police station to ask a few questions,including where I could put up a tent. They informed me of a little park close by where I shouldn't be bothered. They failed however to mention the sunken sprinklers....but me, (being the smart cookie that I am), noticed that the grass was very green except in one spot. Therefor, I concluded that the sprinklers must not reach this spot. <strong>WRONG</strong>... it meens this spot is soo close to the sprinklers that they shoot water OVER it; meening that the water will be at very high pressure when hitting your tent, causing it to go straight through.And you will have to get up at 3AM, Brave the sprinklers to move your tent. NICE ONE!
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<span style="color: orange;"><strong>THE DAY OF THE TUMBLEWEED(04/10)-</strong></span><span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPPnUTyj6FxFHHpkGRJ5oZw8Jx_VDJcfFUK1QXt5UjyCr2GVA3IQrjBUWnuYp0-allIFIxdKkRrcHjmsK-huuRugcS7HsBP75gCHEg0Amruz_J5IYgoEXGm3kdM6K1tDETgYVYQIIj01w/s1600/IMG_0611.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPPnUTyj6FxFHHpkGRJ5oZw8Jx_VDJcfFUK1QXt5UjyCr2GVA3IQrjBUWnuYp0-allIFIxdKkRrcHjmsK-huuRugcS7HsBP75gCHEg0Amruz_J5IYgoEXGm3kdM6K1tDETgYVYQIIj01w/s200/IMG_0611.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Having covered over 80miles the day before (from Lingle,WY to</span> </span><span style="color: white;">Bridgeport, NE). I decided I could take it easy in the morning. So, after having a coffee, updating the blog, and talking to the local newspaper; it was around 1PM by the time I finally got on the road. All went well for the first 1/2 hr or so, with a bit of a tailwind helping to push me along at a nice, solid 30 km/hr. Then it picked up... now my speed was around 45km/hr on flat ground, and everyonce and the wind kept shifting to the side. This shift not only caused me to swerve to the edge of the road into loose gravel; but also regularily sent tumbleweeds fliying across the road, getting caught in my wheels, in between my arms, and on more than one occassion hit me in the side of the face. There was also a massive cloud of dirt that was lowereing the visibility...After close to 20 miles I decided to give it a rest for the day, determining it was no longer safe to ride in these conditions on a busy road.</span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta;"><strong>THE RETURN OF THE SPRINKLERS (04/10)-</strong></span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: white;">After being treated to a rest (curtosy of the weather) and a meal( curtosy of a lovely lady I met..more later). I again retired into my tent in this new town's park. Having learned a little I did not go for any brown patch, and even hid my tent slightly behind a tree in attempts to avoid the wrath of the sprinklers. And at first I thought I had won... I DID get hit by the sprinklers, but I was far enough away that it was just a light spray that caused no leakage and the pattering sound even helped lull me off to sleep. However, when I woke in the morning I would immediately be aware that the sprinklers had in fact conquered again!.... The spray that landed on my tent had froze over night, causing my tent to be covered in ice, and the zippers to freeze shut. I had to spend quite a few minutes in the morning thawing the zippers with my breathe and warmth from my hands in order to even be able to get out of my tent, and once out of the tent I had to spend considerably MORE time brushing the ice off of my tent so that it wouldn't be soaking wet when I go to use it again...<strong>You win again sprinklers!</strong></span>
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<span style="color: cyan;"><strong>THREE FLATS IN ONE DAY.... AND SNOW (05/10)- </strong></span><span style="color: white;">Even after being stuck in my tent a little longer than anticipated on that icy morning; I managed to get a fairly early start and by 4PM had pedalled 72miles and made it into OGALLALA ( I know this particular distance only based on road signs as my the sensor on my odometer did't work in the cold and therefor didn't start recording until about 11AM). I don't mind sleeping in a tent in the cold. I am NOT however, a fan of sleeping in a wet tent in the cold. For this reason I chose to get a motel for the night. The very nice manager of Paradise Motel in Ogallala gave me the room for $30. So, for a cheap price I had a warm place to stay for the night. Whe I woke in the morning, not only was it snowing, but I also noticed that I had not only one but two completely flat tires....and the "self sealing innertubes did not seem to work AT ALL.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">no shoulders and mud..hard to ride</td></tr>
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<span style="color: cyan;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: white;"> I finally got the problem fixed and the innertubes changed (which I will explain a little later), and set off in the snow around noon. But after about an hour and a half of half riding and half pushing my bike to avoid traffic on the terrible roads with no shoulders... my front tire was flat AGAIN. I continued on, pumping up the tire every half hour or so for a while. But one time, after pumping my tire and sitting down for a snack for it to be flat before I even got started again. I got up stamped my feet and kicked my bike in frustration when a lovely truck driver pulled over and gave me a ride off the terrible roads, and then helped me to pump my inner tubes full of tire sealant so I wouldn't continue to go through them at a crazy rate of 3 a day!!... hope it works!!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><strong>THE "BLIZZARD" AND THE VIRUS (07/10&08/10)- </strong></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq5O_DVcGP63ao1RQ0CzBGZtZfhv6dVnTFpXVubDLNRv2xAf5y0sC17anA-wkwUXUCk2RJTP5Eag0lhR3nlCcNhR87T1mdSoYK0FCfZwmgMkZ6sQuKnJLsztIZwhyVwM3mdei6kadxfOo/s1600/IMG_0632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq5O_DVcGP63ao1RQ0CzBGZtZfhv6dVnTFpXVubDLNRv2xAf5y0sC17anA-wkwUXUCk2RJTP5Eag0lhR3nlCcNhR87T1mdSoYK0FCfZwmgMkZ6sQuKnJLsztIZwhyVwM3mdei6kadxfOo/s200/IMG_0632.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the begining of a snowy day</td></tr>
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<span style="color: white;">When I woke on the morning of the 7th, first it there was freezing rain and my front tire had not held the air and was YET AGAIN completely flat. Taking this as a sign for the day I stayed in the warmth of sleeping bag in High Plains Campground which the lovely owners had let me stay free of charge. By lunch time, it did not seem like the weather was going to get any better, having turned from freezing rain to large snowflakes and wind. By now, even the warmth of my sleeping bag was not doing the trick in keeping me warm. So I packed up my stuff and headed to the closest motel. After one day in the hotel avoiding the bad weather, I woke up to a bad stomach bug. Not wanting to go too far from the bathroom I spent yet another day stationary, in bed. Hoping that by the time I wake tomorrow I will feel better and the weather will be decent to get me back on the road and that little bit closer to my goal tomorro</span>w<br />
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<span style="color: yellow;">It is days like these when I need every one's help and support the most. Sometimes when nothing is going right and I am continually having set backs it becomes hard to remember why I am doing this and how important it is that I continue on my journey. <strong>But it is that comments, donations, general support, and the kind hearts of strangers that remind me that what I am doing IS worthwhile</strong> and that no matter the setbacks; the payout of seeing a completed and fully functional LEARNING CENTER will be worth every bit of snow, flat tire and any other inconvenience I may come across along the way.</span><br />
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<span style="color: yellow;">So please, keep spreading the word, donating and doing everything you can to support my VERY worth while cause. </span><br />
<span style="color: yellow;"></span> <a href="http://www.commonthreadz.org/stephsolverson" target="_blank">www.commonthreadz.org/stephsolverson</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6bjSXjtAS6ny40Oc4F21Syw5Bn5p_QK8Bq9oTyNahkOC1RxU54OtikFj9nNBzbqvvwBvf5nk1KnFdgrrYzQrojfvFJxDf04nazWbf72YrYLbBJcLcCGM27BhfCwzdaVROq3Fb8xvL0c/s1600/IMG_0459.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6bjSXjtAS6ny40Oc4F21Syw5Bn5p_QK8Bq9oTyNahkOC1RxU54OtikFj9nNBzbqvvwBvf5nk1KnFdgrrYzQrojfvFJxDf04nazWbf72YrYLbBJcLcCGM27BhfCwzdaVROq3Fb8xvL0c/s200/IMG_0459.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2IFh670eluikWlBV3tHT73I3WRODWYkR_j9qzPdm7grfDjLEbEK1o_D6ezXsMnPchpATDvpxQu0G5itTp-8OlkFfnMNRzV-44aop4MD5UnkK7vC_4PVts9X2h-fok63V5TcRA51FRPKc/s1600/IMG_0615.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2IFh670eluikWlBV3tHT73I3WRODWYkR_j9qzPdm7grfDjLEbEK1o_D6ezXsMnPchpATDvpxQu0G5itTp-8OlkFfnMNRzV-44aop4MD5UnkK7vC_4PVts9X2h-fok63V5TcRA51FRPKc/s200/IMG_0615.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: white;">AND NOW, some of the things that heart warming things that keep me going;</span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">THE INSPIRING:</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><strong>THE HOUE OF A STRANGER (30/09)-</strong></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Y3uqiOnBhwbiOuA-6_uP6CCtZ-X7xD9nznZR9p0fuSWO2PK-q1mWdCP0OwjMnbDYFSrlblzeOCGNzTzizVTsJ2Ge8dlnN5wmRXsuLeteqD5tWbMJX1tKfy5ZsA89VVTikGGiLHl6dRg/s1600/IMG_0544.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Y3uqiOnBhwbiOuA-6_uP6CCtZ-X7xD9nznZR9p0fuSWO2PK-q1mWdCP0OwjMnbDYFSrlblzeOCGNzTzizVTsJ2Ge8dlnN5wmRXsuLeteqD5tWbMJX1tKfy5ZsA89VVTikGGiLHl6dRg/s200/IMG_0544.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black;"><strong> </strong>After<strong> </strong>pedalling over 100km through eastern Wyoming (which was much more hilly than I had anticipated!). I was sat at a gas station, deciding what to do for a place to stay for the night when a man introduced himself as a landlocked rescue diver and asked if I needed any help. After a little apprehention about entering the house of an older man I had never met, our shared love for diving prevailed and very soon we were no longer strangers but friends with a shared passion for the ocean. Not only did he offer me a place to have a shower, and a bed in his spare room for the night. He also took me out for a ride on his boat, shared diving and travel stories and showed me some of the treasures brought up from Japanese war ships in his diving days. Thank you Tom Harnish, your kindness is greatly appreciated and maybe we will meet again one day and go diving!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta;"><strong>A FREE MEAL AND GOOD COMPANY(03/10)- </strong></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Whilst stranded in the small town of BROADWATER, NE. With not much else to do in this small town I spent most of my afternoon in the small library where I met a very nice lady ( who I feel terrible to admit that I don't remember her name). She was kind enough to take me out for dinner at a local restaurant with her and her grand daughter Amber. Thank you so much for a warm meal with great company</span>!</span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: lime;">GOING OUT OF THE WAY TO HELP WITH BIKE PROBLEMS (05/10)-</span></strong><br />
<span style="color: white;">The morning I woke up to 2 flat tires and snow, while I was out getting a coffee, the manager of the PARADISE MOTEL (who also gave me a discounted rate on the room) had got ahold of a mechanic (who again I feel terrible but don't remember his name) who came to pick up me and my bike to take to the shop to change the innertubes free of charge!.. thank you to the hotel manager, the wonderful mechanic (I want to say his name is Scott??) and the shop in OGALLALA that were so kind to help me out.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: red;">FREE NIGHTS STAY IN OAKLEY-</span></strong><br />
<span style="color: white;">After giving up on the tent in the snowy weather and deciding it would be ok to splurge on a hotel for the night to avoid the cold, I went across the road to the FREE BREAKFAST INN, where I learned splurging was not going to be necessary. The wonderful man who runs the place gave me a free nights stay, and... upon finding out that I was ill the next day and would be unable to ride again, gave me yet another night free of charge. THANK-YOU sooo much for your kindness, the money saved for these two nights stay will feed me for a week.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: cyan;">I am most surely missing some people that are deserving of my gratitude, but it is not because I am not grateful. I thank EVERYONE who has helped and supported me in ANYWAY on this journey.</span></strong><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdrBxdOakJuVoQZdpv-xxA4HeeBaoeMtzXA216vo8tC_dWH9t0IpDkXlABlUSf2uz1fIEBOoKAJobLMmG9viqWVHOvuFNcy4uI7TfoKJgqR3QZL1-m55lreP7_6eVH9QygQQ11ha3ZqYI/s1600/IMG_0534.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdrBxdOakJuVoQZdpv-xxA4HeeBaoeMtzXA216vo8tC_dWH9t0IpDkXlABlUSf2uz1fIEBOoKAJobLMmG9viqWVHOvuFNcy4uI7TfoKJgqR3QZL1-m55lreP7_6eVH9QygQQ11ha3ZqYI/s200/IMG_0534.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGv9-PtPlmhUAGQzhuTEEzVty7l7FavBRwHVcC7ZtlzszI33J8Zp3Fs9dFa9fF-RHu7YD69AIqkutLjE5B0HEqcRGY6wB34YXPAJnYIskM3GWID-r9I33hJz3h_hzZAvMZogkdT8gYwLg/s1600/IMG_0494.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGv9-PtPlmhUAGQzhuTEEzVty7l7FavBRwHVcC7ZtlzszI33J8Zp3Fs9dFa9fF-RHu7YD69AIqkutLjE5B0HEqcRGY6wB34YXPAJnYIskM3GWID-r9I33hJz3h_hzZAvMZogkdT8gYwLg/s200/IMG_0494.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3sWYRmv_E0ul9d4skQ0uqYWbzbejyQapJ7tYwkJEsIo_BLF8iTLmLlY13ZM2hhO8zSJT5aUFNv3AHY0OArj209-Ad0rjHOnvEZet4-V3rHu5vP4tdRQ9QEDDwAC3C-JUrCBT7nzq62Mo/s1600/IMG_0485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3sWYRmv_E0ul9d4skQ0uqYWbzbejyQapJ7tYwkJEsIo_BLF8iTLmLlY13ZM2hhO8zSJT5aUFNv3AHY0OArj209-Ad0rjHOnvEZet4-V3rHu5vP4tdRQ9QEDDwAC3C-JUrCBT7nzq62Mo/s200/IMG_0485.JPG" width="200" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGLlqRIzOWj-XyqeZPsVqTS8YjTZnv_-1E14TqlfT52vHQBqmD-KMqkIqEhG0dHR18wvVFcc8SSaZMJxrezBI3m87IZe3c2fe_NgmbQ5hPrX9D9l3mMyR4jRnsd37KThGH6tJyrmvhCwY/s1600/IMG_0505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGLlqRIzOWj-XyqeZPsVqTS8YjTZnv_-1E14TqlfT52vHQBqmD-KMqkIqEhG0dHR18wvVFcc8SSaZMJxrezBI3m87IZe3c2fe_NgmbQ5hPrX9D9l3mMyR4jRnsd37KThGH6tJyrmvhCwY/s200/IMG_0505.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">o ya, i slept in a junkyard and still like dry noodles...good for the road!</td></tr>
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<span style="color: yellow;"></span> <span style="color: yellow;">THANKS AGAIN! KEEP FOLLOWING AND SPREADING THE WORD!!..AND WISH ME LUCK</span><br />
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<span style="color: yellow;">-STEPH </span><br />
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sjsolverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453046712048989746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597470129295023794.post-66246919961535912192012-10-03T10:07:00.000-07:002012-10-03T10:07:18.695-07:00The KIND HEARTS OF STRANGERSIn the 21 days I have been on the road I have pedalled about 1,770km. I have crossed one international border and two state borders. Traversed from prairie farmland, to foothills, plateaus, mountains, high prairie desert and am now back in prairie farmland. I have seen bison, bear, elk, pronghorn, deer, and many different species of birds. And though all of these thing have been beautiful in their own way; the most beautiful thing that I have seen on my journey, has been <span style="color: red;">THE KIND HEARTS OF STRANGERS.</span><br />
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Not a day goes by when I do not witness the outstretched hand of a stranger.<br />
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I stop for a rest on the side of the road; 5 people stop to offer me a ride, water, or just help out. (if I had taken all the rides I have been offered I would be in Guatemala by now!!)<br />
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If I talk to someone for a few moments about what I am doing and why; they do not hesitate to offer a personal donation to my trip, a meal, a free nights stay in a campsite or even an invitation into their home.<br />
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Nothing could have prepared me for the absolute generosity that I have witnessed from people who have never met me before and are unlikely to ever meet me again! My faith in the human race has been restored (not that it was ever completely lost.).But, I am inspired!( not to mention all the donations received from strangers!)<br />
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<span style="color: yellow;">I never did really understand the common teaching of a mother to a child: <em>Don't talk to strangers!....</em>for everyone is a stranger, until you say hello</span>.<br />
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I now want to take a minute to remind everyone that I am not just doing this trip to satisfy my sense of adventure (though an adventure it definitely is!). Nor am I doing it as another ride for cancer or MS. Where if not enough money is raised to accomplish the goal, there will always be someone coming behind to put in the effort to raise that extra money needed. The beneficiaries of this ride are a small, but very deserving group of people who have no one else to speak for them. WE ARE THEIR ONLY VOICE!. It is guaranteed that every dollar raised will go directly to the building and running of the LEARNING CENTER. If we do not reach the necessary amount to get it up and running, who knows when these beautiful people we be provided with the learning opportunities they so deserve.<br />
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<span style="color: cyan;">I may be alone on the road, but I AM NOT and CAN NOT be alone on this mission. I NEED your continued support. More importantly the people of the island NEED YOUR SUPPORT.</span><br />
Skip out on Starbucks, beers after work... or any other simple indulgences you may take part in for one week. If you still can't donate; then spread the word!!.... tell any schools, Churches, or other groups you may be a part of, tell you local media... TELL EVERYONE YOU CAN!!<br />
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Let us prove to the world that there are still people who do things for reasons other than their own personal benefit, simply out of the good of their heart. And let us prove that these people are not confined to any particular location or religion.<br />
<strong><em></em></strong><br />
<strong><em><span style="color: magenta;">Kind-hearted people are where I came from, where I am going. They are from ALL corners of the Earth. From ALL walks of life!</span></em></strong><br />
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LET'S GET THIS THING UP AND RUNNING AND PROVIDE THE PEOPLE OF <strong>LITTLE CORN ISLAND</strong> THE OPPORTUNITIES THEY DESERVE!!!<br />
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I may be riding my bike a very long way, but the funds we raise will carry the people of the island much, much further!<br />
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A link to the fundraising page:<br />
<a href="http://commonthreadz.org/stephsolverson">http://commonthreadz.org/stephsolverson</a><br />
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in hindsight I wish I had pictures of all the people who have helped me out to post on here but I shall make a list of thanks due... (if I miss someone it is not because I am not greatful, but the list is virtually endless)<br />
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<u>THANK-YOU</u><br />
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<span style="color: red;">My family who are very supportive and helping in plannin my route</span><br />
<span style="color: yellow;">Adam Clarke, John Morgan, and Rasta Punch</span><span style="color: #eeeeee;"> (helping to spreadd the word in Nicaragua)</span><br />
<strong><span style="color: lime;">ALL who have donated..a special thanks to those who do not know me or the island</span></strong><br />
All newspapers who have helped spread the word ( booster and Canadian in camrose, Riverton Ranger, and Torrington paper in Wyoming)<br />
<span style="color: red;">Campgrounds who have let me stay free or discounted rate</span> ( Henderson Lake, AB., Grand Teton and Riverton RV Parks, WY...probably more can't think of right now)<br />
<span style="color: yellow;">Tom Harnish of Glendo, WY.</span> (landlocked rescue diver who shared his home, his boat, and his diving stories with me in Glendo)<br />
<span style="color: lime;">Fr. Eckley Macklin</span> ( donated Sleeping bag and gear)<br />
Lore, Frank and their dog Tar (donated $50 and breakfast in Riverton)<br />
<span style="color: red;">Jesse the construction worker</span> ( short ride and search for lost sleeping bag)<br />
<span style="color: yellow;">Pete Peterson</span> ( helped me when I lost my sleeping bag in Dubois and had the Church put me up)<br />
<span style="color: lime;">Church in Dubois</span>(paid for a nights stay when lost sleeping bag)<br />
Julie and John (dinner and company in yellowstone)<br />
<span style="color: red;">Robert Patterson</span> ( tour of yellowstone, use of camera and company for a day)<br />
<span style="color: yellow;">People of Monarch and Neihart</span> (donations of food and funds)<br />
<span style="color: lime;">Biker man</span> (ride out of the winds)<br />
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<strong>EVERYONE WHO HAS HELPED TO SPREAD THE WORD, DONATED OR SUPPORTED THE MISSION IN ANY WAY!!!</strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong>THANK YOU ALL!!</strong><br />
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Thanks again guys.. I will do another post on details of the last few days<br />
-Steph<br />
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sjsolverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453046712048989746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597470129295023794.post-49808859234084071852012-09-27T15:03:00.000-07:002012-09-27T20:40:26.382-07:00The LOVE/HATE relationship between me and WYOMING<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In the few days since I have last posted, I have run into my first few speed bumps of what I am sure will be many to come:</div>
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After getting off to a late start on the 25th, I DID manage to make my first 1,000km and make it over <em>TOGABY PASS</em>. HOWEVER, along the way I managed to loose my sleeping bag! (An absolute necessity as it also snowed that day!). It must have happened when a very nice construction worker gave me a ride a couple miles through a heavy construction area on the pass ( I think he did it as much to be nice as to stop me from slowing traffic through the construction zone!). Well... when I realized what happened I sat beside a monument on the side of the road and contemplated my next step ( not in the best of moods I might add!). After about a half hour sat on the side of the road and kicking myself, for loosing a very essential and very necessary piece of gear; a very nice man by the name of Pete Peterson pulled over and asked if he could help.... I gladly accepted, having had enough of the rain and snow of the mountain. Pete helped me get in to town and get to a highway service station where I could get in touch with the construction worker to see if it stayed in his truck.... no luck. So... now what. It is getting late and the outdoors store is closed so I can't get a new sleeping bag tonight, I will have to stay in a motel.</div>
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Now,<span style="color: red;"> I may not be a religious person; but there are no words to properly explain my thanks to the religious community of DUBOIS, WYOMING. </span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">Not only did the church pay for me to stay in a local motel they had an account at; the next morning, while at the outdoor equipment store in town, <strong><em>Fr. Eckley Macklin</em></strong> overheard my story and paid for my sleeping bag, as well as a few other things I was purchasing in full. Approximately a $150 bill!!( and he would have gone on to buy me half the store if I would have let him!)</span></div>
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After many thanks to the Father, I was on the road by around 11:30. </div>
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I may be out of the mountains now, but that does NOT by any meens, mean I am no longer surrounded by beauty. For the first few hours of riding I was surrounded by I landscape of a type of beauty I have personally never experienced before. A badland area, with massive red rocky hills and cliffs. ( I half expected that if I were to see any wildlife, it would be dinosaurs!).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM8yOP58eprEe5YX6yo6XvYqq3VRzh-ZsqAFOy8YqEFWW5ycuQzrYDZcTCTA7X_7WqZoUB2JyRbGPKWJx_-HTcqv7ulaTskSuJiA4ulDck3uLuNTF8WYNri5N61ihOTli3JYvASyQbWe8/s1600/IMG_0343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM8yOP58eprEe5YX6yo6XvYqq3VRzh-ZsqAFOy8YqEFWW5ycuQzrYDZcTCTA7X_7WqZoUB2JyRbGPKWJx_-HTcqv7ulaTskSuJiA4ulDck3uLuNTF8WYNri5N61ihOTli3JYvASyQbWe8/s200/IMG_0343.JPG" width="200" /></a>Needless to say I did not see any dinosaurs, (or any other wildlife for that matter), as I continued on until around 7PM when I found a great little spot to put up my tent for the night along side MORTEN LAKE. When I reached the lake I found that I was, in fact, keeping time with the geese on their migration. The lake was full of Canadian Geese heading south for the winter...as have all the water bodies I have experienced so far.... My trip is, quite literally, <span style="color: cyan;">A WILD GOOSE CHASE!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgItlooxt4dqzVmDs3l7Q3xbbRfBWf91xmtJrkg0xDRApstyAhIQmQePRjTYLXpe_HJEMvacPZ2sun1pVe1k8fqFxxt6V-51GBuyugRvwywoKzoZGI3xl5XMwz4FPy4cSWmQyx4y7A4eFA/s1600/IMG_0429.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgItlooxt4dqzVmDs3l7Q3xbbRfBWf91xmtJrkg0xDRApstyAhIQmQePRjTYLXpe_HJEMvacPZ2sun1pVe1k8fqFxxt6V-51GBuyugRvwywoKzoZGI3xl5XMwz4FPy4cSWmQyx4y7A4eFA/s200/IMG_0429.JPG" width="200" /></a>To continue on the love/ hate relationship I seem to have with the state of WYOMING; this morning when I woke, my rear tire was COMPLETELY DEFLATED. I pedalled on the 35km into RIVERTON (having to stop fairly often to add air to the tire). </div>
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When I arrived I went to the post office where I was having a map for my GPS sent (since I have been carrying the thing about for the last 2 weeks, with a terrible map, completely useless to me.)The lovely ladies at the post office promptly sent me across the road to the local newspaper ( the RIVERTON RANGER), who were more than happy to do a story on my ride! After a little interview I was directed across the road again to the bike shop (gotta love small towns!!). Here I got new puncture resistant inner tubes in both wheels to protect from the<em> goatheads</em> (large thorns in the area that seem to reek havoc on bicycle tires), I also swapped the front and back tire as the back has lost all the treads in the 1000+km I have now travelled. The total of my bike work was around $45, A price I am happy to pay to take care of what is not only my mode of transport but also my HOME for the next few months!</div>
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So, yet again I have been delayed, I will not be able to make it to the next campsite and there are very few obstacles along the road behind which I could hide my tent (quite desert like in high and dry Wyoming!)... So, my mission for the next little while is to find a place to lay my head for the night.</div>
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I will update again as soon as possible. Please keep spreading the word, donating and encouraging others to do the same! <span style="color: magenta;"><em>We are off to a good start, but the mission is FAR from over!</em></span></div>
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<br />sjsolverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453046712048989746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597470129295023794.post-49368759516512998612012-09-25T08:55:00.001-07:002012-09-25T21:58:07.624-07:00Yellowstone and Grand Tetons (last of Montana and first of Wyoming)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So I am now through my first state and into Wyoming. Each passing day seems to be better and more rewarding than the day that came before (though not necessarily easier!). I have met some <span style="color: magenta;">WONDERFUL</span> people, seen some <span style="color: cyan;">BEAUTIFUL</span> landscapes, and a variety of wild animals in the last few days.</div>
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some of the highlights of the last few days:<br />
<ol>
<li>Seen some beautiful landscapes and natural phenomena in the <strong><span style="color: red;">AMAZING</span> </strong>YELLOWSTONE PARK, including <span style="color: yellow;">OLD FAITHFUL</span>, boiling river hotsprings (the most amazingly natural hotspring I have or will ever experience), a variety of waterfalls, vents and mud pots... which being the biology and geology geek that I am absolutely astounded me..... I had NO IDEA just how raw the beauty and concept of yellowstone was untill I experienced it! I recommend it as a destination to anyone with the possibility of experiencing this example of nature at it's finest.</li>
<li>met some wonderful people including <em>Julie and John</em> who fed me a wonderful dinner of steak and potatoes in my mammoth springs campsite and <em>Robert Patterson</em> who toured me around yellowstone on my day of rest showing me the sites and allowing me to use one of his cameras for the day. ( A <strong>HUGE </strong>thank-you to both of these parties, your kindness is greatly appreciated, and I am sure karma will award you at some point)</li>
<li>Experienced a bit of Yellowstone's wildlife; including bison, a bull snake (I almost stepped on), a black bear, and elk (in mass amounts while soaking in the hotspring and sitting in my campsite... the sound of their bugling a constant and beautiful "white noise of yellowstone")</li>
<li>And my personal favorite- I did a bit of a "photo shoot" for a Japanese tour bus with the Tetons as a backdrop, it always amazes me why people why people would want a plethora of photos of a person they have never seen before and are unlikely to see again!! (though there must be some very nice pictures of me on my bike... if only they spoke a bit more english maybe I could get my hands on a few!!)</li>
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<u>A BIT MORE DETAIL:</u><br />
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After awaking to the beautiful hunter that needed the gate I had so rudely dropped my tent in front of on the 20th and wishing I could join them ( not because I ama fan of hunting; because they were on horseback and as many of you know I AM a fan of horses... ANND good looking men!). Anyways the rest of the 20th proved to be a fairly easy day of long gradual declines. Unfortunately, however I was unable to see the beauty that surrounded me ( with mountains on either side) as there was too much smoke in the air from local grass and forest fires.<br />
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I DID however get to see my first wildlife of the trip, a few herds of pronghorns grazing in near by fields.<br />
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At the end of the day, when I reached the campsite in LIVINGSTON, MT. I was surprised to learn that I had travelled around 80 miles that day!! A personla best so far, regardless of the smoke. ( I was also surprised to learn that the campsite had wifi!... I continue to spend time and money in establishments in order to use an internet connection only to arrive at a campground and find they have one there! who goes on the internet while CAMPING???... well I suppose I do so I cannot complain! but <em>really</em>?)<br />
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The next day (21/09/2012), I got off to my latest start yet (11:30), after a terrible nights sleep as I was coughing all night ( I suppose the smoke did effect me afterall). I contemplated riding at all that day, and even made a sign- planning on hitch hiking my way into the park. However, after only a few minutes standing roadside I felt guilty and decided if I am going to feel sick anyway...why not just feel sick on my bike. So, on I pedalled in attempt to make the 50 slightly up hill miles into yellowstone. And I was sure glad I did!! Not only did I feel much better once on my bike; It was to become my best day yet!! ( which would quickly change the following day...and again the day after that!) I took a local recommendation of getting off busy highway 89 on a small local road ( East River Road) running parallel, which took me through some beautiful county. I did not however make it all the way to the entrance town of GARDINER, ending up setting up camp in a little fishing pullout off the side of the road a few miles out.<br />
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On the 22nd I had a nice early start and made it to the Yellowstone enterance town of GARDINER by around 8 AM ( having seen some playful mountain goats and a bighorn sheep on the way!). Not long after entering Yellowstone I realized, pedalling through the park ( at least the north part) was going to be a challange! Not only were there more hills than you could count; the roads were winding, with no shoulder and the edges were quite deteriorated! So, yet again, I spent a large portion of the day pushing my bike along in the ditch to avoid the nonstop traffic on terrible roads!<br />
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At around 2PM I came to a place some local guys told me I NEEDED to check out. This place was BOILING RIVER; an amazing little hotspring where a river that WAS literally boiling mixed with a normal temperature mountain river and you could soak in the mixing area... It was an experience UNMATCHED by anything I have seen before! not only was it the most natural hotspring I have ever seen, there just happened to be a herd of about 30 elk who were also enjoying this natural phenomenon! <br />
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After soaking for about an hour, I continued on my way- walking my bike up the winding hills ( and almost stepping on a BULL SNAKE) to a near by campsite. I continued for a while until a very nice man by the name of <em>Robert Patterson, </em>was kind enough to give me a ride to the camp at the top of the hill, getting me out of the nonstop traffic and off the roads that were not very accomodating to a cyclist.<br />
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I spent the night in a hiker/biker campsite in mammoth hotsprings. <strong>Meaning I had entered Wyoming, spending exactly one week in the beautiful state of Montana.</strong> It was here that I met the wonderful John and Julie who provided me with an excellent meal and the offer of breakfast that I had to turn down do to another act of kindness. Robert had offered to take me around the park he knows quite well the next morning, giving me a rest to my legs and allowing me to see things \I would never have been able to fit in otherwise.<br />
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We spent the day touring around taking pictures of wildlife,waterfalls, and hydrothermal pools ( that were soo clear and blue I wanted to jump in... but to do so would most likely meen immediate death!),<span style="color: yellow;"> I also got to see OLD FAITHFUL...completing my YELLOWSTONE experience in style.</span> ( Robert also lent me his camera for the day so there will be pictures to come, but right now my computer isn' cooperating so I will add them to all my blogs in a few days when I stop in RIVERTON, WY)<br />
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After resting my head for the night in Lewis Lake's hiker biker campsite. I continued my journey out of yellow stone and into the GRAND TETONS. Where I saw more beautiful scenery, met more wonderful people (including entertaining the Japanese tour bus at a roadside stop.) And met another cycler who was headed from Nunavut, Canada to Argentina..putting my trip to shame! We shared the road for a while until my knee started acting up and I had to call it a bit of an early day, staying at an RV campground (Grand Teton Park RV) where I am now in a little cabin the owner gave me at a wonderful price!<br />
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Today, I will be getting to a late start again, having taking the morning to update this blog. I hopefully be breaking my 1000km mark today and undertaking the last of the big mountain passes I have to cross (that I am aware of). As much as I am sad to be leaving the mountains I look forward to their end where eachday I can travel further and come that much closer to my final goal.<br />
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Please keep spreading the word, and making sure I not only reach my goal of miles/kilometers travelled but also the funding that this trip is all about to bring the wonderful people of LITTLE CORN new learning opportunities. I will be adding pictures to all the blogs in the next few days to add to the story. Until then wish me luck and I will keep pedaling, even if I don't reach my daily goals...each turn of the pedal is one step closer to my final destination!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2KZlEoaad88hPRDeqa-aVb0aRlxQZcCx1kqnCS5RBhJ-76YPPA5yERMmGUyRuDQXiywbTI8q69d8UO9d8BcqVDfHRzUDiSJamjuPWsYPKztA9eEK_avSsPRduVEszpdU_ixFnr2q8teo/s1600/IMG_0210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2KZlEoaad88hPRDeqa-aVb0aRlxQZcCx1kqnCS5RBhJ-76YPPA5yERMmGUyRuDQXiywbTI8q69d8UO9d8BcqVDfHRzUDiSJamjuPWsYPKztA9eEK_avSsPRduVEszpdU_ixFnr2q8teo/s200/IMG_0210.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb2DcY2qgq_x5gj_OP25X7e29Ju9gmE2FpRxoCHUBz4KwpoIU28ZX1sUIWUmCdIUGVwME1bJKwrP82rKf9GWdhpqBQul1mC8YRxuvhNkdDxLcDR_EaaTJNgkrcZ3ciFrp0XlTfs4pmXb0/s1600/IMG_0237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb2DcY2qgq_x5gj_OP25X7e29Ju9gmE2FpRxoCHUBz4KwpoIU28ZX1sUIWUmCdIUGVwME1bJKwrP82rKf9GWdhpqBQul1mC8YRxuvhNkdDxLcDR_EaaTJNgkrcZ3ciFrp0XlTfs4pmXb0/s200/IMG_0237.JPG" width="200" /></a> </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv-e6Xxh8r6YgyXaNo5CjfKtvZaoUNPueaAQsZhTpx_O5NSjVfyn3gRUGRuyE_BTUQteGvuySmdtuD-bk31XUSeDV5c-SW2slQlBJomRUNUtz2O_frrTPvZ06H1ijHqBPuhEJzSO1nRno/s1600/IMG_0239.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv-e6Xxh8r6YgyXaNo5CjfKtvZaoUNPueaAQsZhTpx_O5NSjVfyn3gRUGRuyE_BTUQteGvuySmdtuD-bk31XUSeDV5c-SW2slQlBJomRUNUtz2O_frrTPvZ06H1ijHqBPuhEJzSO1nRno/s200/IMG_0239.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">boiling river, yellow stone</td></tr>
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<br />sjsolverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453046712048989746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597470129295023794.post-5136743204158791182012-09-20T21:53:00.001-07:002012-09-25T19:42:38.375-07:00THE MOUNTAINS (in more detail)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As I have already mentioned in the short post prior to this, in the few days since I left <strong>GREAT FALLS,</strong> I have covered a decent amount of ground; entered AND exited the<strong> LITTLE BELT MOUNTAIN RANGE,</strong> met wonderful people and had experiences that will stay with me for a life time. Let me indulge you:<br />
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The day I left Great Falls (18/9) was to turn out to be the best day of the adventure so far, but it was to begin and end in a somewhat sketchy fashion.<br />
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I got off to a bit of a late start (AGAIN), after having a terrible nights sleep. By 8:30 I was headed south on highway 89. The highway had absolutely no shoulders and there were plenty of semis' passing faster and closer than I would have ever liked. ( A flashback to my first morning comes into my head)... only this time there was a wind factor. There was a cross wind coming in strong gusts making it very hard to keep my bike on or close to the non-existent shoulder. I carried on this way for a few hours or so before I stopped to have a cigarette to relieve my frustrations and anxieties (no, cycling almost 800km has not kicked my habit yet... you win dad, so far!). After not 2 minutes of being stopped a lovely biker man( in a truck at the time with his bike in a trailer), stopped and informed me he was going to give me a ride off the plateau and out of the winds. It wasn't an option it was a fact, "<em>if his trailer has blowing then I must be in hell and it just aint safe</em>". After about a 15mile ride; full of advice on the area and sharing of travel stories we were off the plateau and we said our goodbyes (me, my thank-yous') at the beginning of the incline that would be the first of the mountain passes I would conquer in the upcoming days.<br />
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The hill, though steep, did not seem as bad as I had been imagining in the days leading up to the task. I stopped often for various reasons; out of complete exhaustion, to take a photo or just absorb the absolute beauty of the scenery surrounding me, and even stopped for a swim in the mountain creek I had been filling my water bottles in that ran along side the road.<br />
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Not only was the scenery <strong><em>BREATHTAKINGLY AMAZING</em></strong> in this area but <strong><em>SO WERE THE PEOPLE.</em></strong> After coasting down the long hill that lead into the village of <strong>MONARCH, </strong>I stopped at <u>LAZY DOE'S</u> (a recommendation from my new biker friend). I paid $7 for a soup(wonderful) and a beer, and left with over $17 in donations towards the trip from both the management and the patrons of this wonderful stop.... If passing through this section of highway 89, LAZY DOE'S is a <strong>MUST.</strong><br />
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I then continued on pedalling the slow incline into the next town of <strong>NEIHART, </strong>where I stopped a little bar that advertised the only wifi on the road ( I need to take advantage of Internet whenever possible to get the blog updated and upload pictures, without a story... there are no donations). However, the internet there seemed to be about the same quality as everywhere else I have been, and after a few minutes of typing and a few pictures loaded, my connection was lost. But by this time I had made some new friends who were quite happy to sit and chat about the ride and buy me some beers. By the time I finally was able to sneak away I had had a beer or two more than I should,considering the sun was setting and I had not found a place to lay my head for the night. But, I was assured there was a campsite just a couple miles out of town and it would be no problem. While leaving town I noticed that the General store was open ( I was told it wouldn't be... after all IT IS A TUESDAY IN NEIHART???). Well, of course the lovely ladies at the shop wanted to chat about where I was coming from, where I was going and all of that fun stuff. and after a bit of a chat they gave me the loaf of bread I was planning on purchasing, with hope that I will send them a letter when I reach my goal or close. (there information is in my "important" drysac and I have every intention of staying true to my word.)<br />
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<strong>WELL</strong>, now upon leaving the shop it was complete darkness and I still had a few miles of highway to cover. I turned on my lights and thought nothing of it, but as I got further from town I began to get nervous... maybe because it was my first night in the mountains and I was on winding roads in the darkness OR MAYBE it was because I had had my first beers in a while. Regardless of the reason, I was nervous and I was sure I had gone more than the 3 miles to the promised campsite. My solution.... flash an SOS signal at a passing car to ask when they last passed a campsite.The lovely young couple could not remember but offered to turn around and drive back up the hill to see.BLESS.... I had NOT passed it, it was 3/4 mile up the hill. I arrived safe and sound, but <strong>vowed to have no more than 2 beer BEFORE reaching my destination for the night.</strong> (with all the stops and beer and other delays, I still managed to pedal over 95km through the mountains that day!)<br />
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The next morning (19th), I was on the road by 7:30 where I was promptly greeted by a 6% incline that seemed to go on forever. I spent most of my time up until 12 walking my bike(partially because of the incline and partially because of the non-existent shoulders of a winding mountain road). By the time I reached to top of KING'S HILL, I had traveled only about 14 horizontal km but over 3 vertical km!!<br />
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When I finally did reach the summit, I was rewarded with a nice LONG 6% decline, with my hands on the break and one eye in my rearview mirror I coasted for AGES, taking in my beautiful surroundings.<br />
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The rest of the day was rather uneventful, mostly a slight decline with easy pedaling..the occasional hill as I said good-bye to the <strong>LITTLE BELT MOUNTAINS.</strong> <br />
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I managed to make it about 120km that day, where I slept on an approach at the side of the road... to be awoken by some good looking hunters that needed the gate I had placed my tent in front of.... But that story my friends, will have to wait until the next set, as my computer is about to die, and it is time for me to go to bed.<br />
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Tomorrow should be the mark of the entering into <strong>YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK</strong> and the end of my time in MONTANA, andthe beginning of new experiences in the state of WYOMING. ( I will be taking it slow for a few days to see the park... I don't want to be the only one to benefit from this but I <strong>DO</strong> want some benefit.....aside of course from the rock hard buns and legs, and greatly reduced body fat percentage I am creating with each passing day)<br />
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-STEPH<br />
http://commonthreadz.org/stephsolverson<a name='more'></a><br />
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<br />sjsolverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453046712048989746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597470129295023794.post-70910244154524694322012-09-20T18:20:00.000-07:002012-09-20T18:20:25.358-07:00Into.... and out of the mountainsSooo, I just spent over an hour writing a wonderful new update... however, apparently it wasn't automatically saving and I lost it all when I went to publish, it is getting dark and I need to find a campsite. So I will write a quick little entry to let you know where I am and will go into further detail when the opportunity presents it's self. sorry guys. As I have said before and I am sure I will say again.. I HATE technology.<br />
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In the few days since I have last updated I have gone over 220 horizontal km and a fare few vertical as well. I have entered and exited the beautiful scenery of the LITTLE BELT MOUNTAINS, met some wonderful people, seen my first groups of wildlife ( mostly deer species; white tails, muleys, and pronghorns), AND have injured the same ankle AGAIN- causing it to swell to a diameter greater than that of the calf that proceeds it (but anyone who knows me will know that my intentions are to ignore the injury completely continuing on at a normal pace)<br />
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I am now in LIVINGSTON, MT.<br />
Tomorrow should mark my last day in Montana as well as my entry into YELLOWSTONE PARK. After that I should be staying with some friends of the family and taking a bit of time to explore the park so this should give me ample opportunity to get this blog up to date and some photos added). Sorry for the inconvenience of not a full update. Will fully inform ASAP.<br />
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-Stephsjsolverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453046712048989746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597470129295023794.post-74647549541838671122012-09-17T09:37:00.001-07:002012-09-25T22:05:13.352-07:00Across the first border and into Montana!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Soo,<br />
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I have now completed my 5th day and approximately 500km of cycling. My average travelling speed is around 17km/hr, with a max speed so far of 55.3km/hr (on a hill obviously!!).... I ache in muscles I didn't even know I had; I am completely and utterly exhausted and I <strong>LOVE </strong>it.<br />
I crossed the border into <span style="font-size: large;">Montana</span> at about 9:30AM Saturday the 15th and by around 4:30PM on Sunday I have made it into <strong>Great Falls</strong>!<br />
In my 5 days of travels so far I have sustained one minor injury, one minor bike injury, and a variety of laughable experiences... here are a few examples.<br />
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<u><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">some funny things that have happened along the way:</span></u><br />
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<li><strong><span style="color: red;">boarder security officer: " <em>so you are biking to Nicaragua. Do you plan to go through Mexico or are you going to try to go around it?You should probably think about going around it"</em></span></strong>. You work the border.... you would think you would know that the United States only borders TWO countries. I am on a bicycle; is this a serious question??</li>
<li><strong><span style="color: red;">Decided to sit beside my bike while stopped to prevent it from blowing over</span></strong>.Great idea Steph.... <strong>HOWEVER</strong>... you will not prevent it from blowing over, you will just get grease all over your back from the chains and when it DOES blow over; you will be stuck underneath of it and the approximate 110lb of gear it is carrying at the side of the interstate!... NICE ONE!</li>
<li><span style="color: red;"><strong>Got the cops called on me. </strong></span><span style="color: black;">In CANADA, when people are worried about you when you are resting at the side of the road... they stop and ask if you are ok. In my experience so far. In the STATES.... they keep going and call 911. It has happened twice now in the 2 days I have been in the US...really?</span></li>
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Tomorrow Monday the 17th will be a day (or at least a half day) of rest to get some logistical stuff done. (get and American phone number, buy some groceries, hopefully talk to the local media...all that fun stuff.Because, up until now all I have done is eat, bike, sleep, repeat.)</blockquote>
If you are interested in learning about my trip in a bit more detail continue reading:<br />
<br />
If anyone is interested... I am not a fan of Lethbridge!<br />
After injuring myself on the way into town and needing stop for the day, I woke up bright and early and was on the road before the sun at about 6:50AM... HOWEVER, not 10 min into the ride (for some unknown reason) the mudflap on my front tire went all wonky and bent out of shape. Causing me me to stop, get out my multi-tool and do some roadside fixing. With everything all fixed and back to normal (or as close as I could get it) it ended up being around 7:30 before I got going again. <br />
The day went well. Even with my swollen ankle and many long gradual inclines I ended up making it around 90km into Milkriver. Where I treated myself to a burger, tried my best to get in touch with my mum (which I failed at...sorry mum) and settled down for the night in a golf course campsite (free of charge) right next to the highway, ready for an early start.<br />
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It has started to get a little harder for me to get up in the morning as my body tires slightly (Monday's rest will do me good). So both of the next two days I ended up with a bit of a later start than I had initially intended. It didn't hold me back however, in these two days I made the most distance as of yet; going 125km on Saturday (from Milk River, Alberta, Can. to Conrad, Montana, US where I camped for the night) and on Sunday riding about 110km from Conrad to Great Falls.<br />
I have enjoyed Montana so far, though it has had many rolling hills. When challenged with an incline I am almost always rewarded with a nice downhill stretch. Whereas with my experience in Alberta I seemed to do nice slow incline forever without ever being rewarded with a decline!!... If your mother ever told you <em>what goes up must come down.</em> you can tell her... this is wrong. In Alberta this is not true. <br />
From here on in I might not be making as much ground with each day, as after Great Falls come the mountains. I hope the hills of the last few days have prepared me well.<br />
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It may be a little while before I can update again as I am entering an area where i am not sure of the availability of internet access. But I will do my best to update as soon as and whenever possible.<br />
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Wish me Luck! And don't forget to keep spreading the word!!... <strong><em>I want donations to increase as I bank km/miles! NOT decrease because it is yesterdays news!!</em></strong><br />
<br />
Here is another link to the fundraising page:<br />
<a href="http://commonthreadz.org/stephsolverson">http://commonthreadz.org/stephsolverson</a><br />
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Thanks again guys for all the support!!! Will update as soon as humanly possible!!<br />
<br />
-Steph :-)<br />
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<br />sjsolverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453046712048989746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597470129295023794.post-23586390849721418592012-09-16T21:19:00.000-07:002012-09-25T22:05:58.936-07:00My First Few days on the Road!<strong><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"> <u>DAY 1</u></span></strong><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: large;"></span></u></strong><br />
I stayed at my mom's house on the eve of my departure to be ready to go as early as possible. My mom woke me up at 5 so we could have a quick breakfast and get on the way as soon as possible so her and her boyfriend could get back to go to work.<br />
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They drove me out of the city a little ways so I could start my trip on a nice relaxed highway as opposed to the hectic highway 2 which would be crazy at this time of day with people commuting to work. A wonderful idea... or so we thought.<br />
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Needless to say I had a bit of a rocky start! The weight of the bags made me a little wobbly to start, and the highway wich I was assured was a good one to start on (eh hem...<em>DAD</em> :P), had no shoulders of which to speak and had semi truck after semi truck passing on their way to a nearby grain plant. After a little debate on whether to head back to highway 2, I decided to continue on my planned route (afterall I will have to get used to it sooner or later). So, on I went with my mom following behind me for a short while, having a heart attck each time a truck passed!... Oh, I also forgot to mention that when I started it was -2C having been the first night of freezing in Calgary!... GREAT!<br />
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But everything picked up shortly after starting... the sun came up, I got used to the weight of the gear and the shoulder widened after about an hour on the road. I ended up banking over 40km before 10 AM... but then it got hard; my next 10km took almost as long as my first 40 as I started hitting hills and wind. The breaks became more frequent and became longer ...I even took a nap at an approach on the road for half an hour... which proved how friendly Albertans really are... in 30 mins 5 people pulled over to see if I was ok ( not much of a nap really!), I also did an over the phone interview with a newspaper on the roadside. However even with all the breaks and sore legs I still managed to make it 97km where I stayed in a little campground in the small village of Champion! (wonderful name for a village, as you may know it is my favorite compliment...aside from superchamp..an inside joke I suppose)<br />
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<strong><u><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">DAY 2</span></u></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Woke up about 6(...I may have slept through the alarm a bit, oops.. tomorrow I'll set 2). I then cooked my self a nice little breakfast of apple cinnamon oatmeal and coffee on my alcohol stove (alcohol stove by the way are AMAZING... instant coffee however IS NOT).</span><br />
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It took a little longer than anticipated to get everything packed and ready to go and I didn't manage to get going until around 8:30.<br />
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The morning went well, the sun was out and it was much warmer than yesterday morning and there were no hills for the first few hours. Around lunch the hills started to hit, and being day 2 my muscles were killing me (will take a few days for my muscles to get used to this crazy new way of life I suppose). To make matters worse around 3 o'clock some a**hole decided to pass someone right in front of me coming much closer than I would have liked and causing me to swerve off the road and put my foot down. Giving me a nice little gash in the back of my leg and a good and swollen tendon in my right ankle from where the pedal hit my leg. It was an unfortunate event but I felt much better after waving a certain finger and yelling a decent amount (funny what can ease the pain, isn't it!)... I'm sure anyone who knows me is not surprised that I have managed to hurt myself on the 2nd day of the trip!<br />
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I spent the next 45 mins to an hour in intervals of pedaling slowly and a bit wobbly and limping along side my bike.After this time a very nice young man pulled over and offered a ride for the last few km into Lethbridge. At first I didn't want to take the ride and felt like I was cheating to take a ride on my 2nd day! However, as we came into town I was glad that I did. The hills got much steeper and longer and there was ALOT of traffic, wobbly pedaling and limping along side the bike may have got me into a much worse situation!!<br />
So I made it into town (slightly ashamed), called it an early day and found a campsite where I could sit get my ankle iced and wrapped, put some muscle pain cream on and do some internet things. The campsite I found is called Henderson Lake campsite... a nice little campsite that would normally cost $30 when staying in a tent (craziness really if you ask me!, $30 to camp in town??), however... the wonderful lady gave it to me for free AND asked if she could have a paper to post in reception to support the cause. So, I suppose I shouldn't say anything negative.. they have my support if they are going to support me! I DID have Internet at the campsite, which is where I wrote this post. However, after spending about an hr and a half writing it and doing other things online the Internet died and I was unable to post it....hence why it is coming to you now.<br />
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I will be posting pictures just as soon as I figure out how to get them off my itouch (again I'm sure anyone who knows me is not surprised I do not know how to do this simple technological task).....Funny how doing an international bike trip is seeming to make me more computer/technology savvy!<br />
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Anyways more to come! Keep watching for updates and spreading the word! As I said before: <em><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I do not want to be the only person to benefit from my efforts!</span></em><br />
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-Thanks again! and wish me luck, <br />
STEPH<br />
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<br />sjsolverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453046712048989746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597470129295023794.post-65653875635967579552012-09-12T05:03:00.002-07:002012-09-12T05:03:50.693-07:00On My Way!!Her I go ,<br />
I'm gone again.<br />
Who knows when my journey,<br />
will come to an end.<br />
<br />
Hope I can do it,<br />
with in my goal.<br />
But from now on,<br />
<i>I JUST GOTTA ROLL!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
After a bit of delay with grassfires in the area and health risks;I'm finallyoff. Will be starting my journey in Calgary, heading down to strathmore. Then to Vulcan and Lethbridge. Should be in montana by Friday. Wish me luck!!!sjsolverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453046712048989746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597470129295023794.post-39888402469259893742012-09-09T07:15:00.000-07:002012-09-09T07:15:48.074-07:00Almost ReadySooo, <br />
<br />
After a few long stressful days of spending more money than I had initially planned. I now have all the gear I <em>believe</em> I need to start my trip (but I am bound to find something I have forgotten; after all this <strong><em>IS</em></strong> the first time I have done anything quite like this!)..<br />
<br />
I have taken the bike I will be riding on a few short test rides. <br />
The first of which was a bit of a surprise: On the way home from purchasing said bike, my dad (who came to pick me up in his truck), informed me he had a meeting and I would have to wait a few hours for him in the neighbouring town.... Well that seemed like a foolish idea, considering my bike was in the back. It didn't have pedals or a water bottle rack on it yet but I figure I might as well get used to putting my bike together (or back together) if I am going to be on the road on my own for the next few months.So I strapped on the pedals and rack, and rode about 27km where I stopped at the house of an old family friend in Bittern Lake. I did the ride in about 1hr and 10 min. (not bad for the first ride in a while!). While visiting and waiting for my dad, as the sun had gone down and I hadn't put my lights on yet, I was happy to receive a personal donation towards expenses I will be experiencing on the first leg of my journey, as well as a nice feed!. (Thank-you Mrs. Murphy!)<br />
The next run was just a short trip to say good-bye to my grandparents who live only a few km away. After a nice visit, a good lunch and another personal donation towards expenses (thanks gramma!, you may think I'm crazy, but always supportive), I rode home, the round trip being a short 10km and taking me about 40 min. of road time. This little trip taught me two things... I do NOT like gravel and I do Not like headwinds. I will be avoiding gravel as much as possible though winds I am sad to say I will have to live with.<br />
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I am now undertaking the painstaking task of packing. I am not a fan of packing at the best of times, never mind packing a bike when you have to take into consideration weight distribution and balance...<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">DREADFUL.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As things stand right now, if I can get all of the last minute preparations and good-byes done tomorrow; I could be on the road by Monday. If not my departure will have to wait until Wednesday.</span><br />
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Will keep the updates comming, and I ask everyone to work on spreading word on my mission and cause. As I've said before <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><em><strong>my biggest goal is to not be the only one to benifit from my efforts</strong></em>.</span><br />
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-STEPHsjsolverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453046712048989746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6597470129295023794.post-71992423372980033112012-09-05T07:22:00.001-07:002012-09-12T15:32:05.918-07:00The crazy plan to ride about 6, 840km for the learning center: How it came about and what it entailsFirst a little background on the last little while in the life of Steph:<br />
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I just got back to Canada on July 27th, 2012. The first time back in the country for 3yrs, the last 2 and a half of which I was living on Little Corn Island teaching diving.<br />
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Pretty much immediately after reaching, I was deciding how to leave as soon as possible.<br />
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It is <strong>NOT</strong> that I don't love my country or the wonderful friends and family I have here. I <strong>DO</strong> and <strong>ALWAYS</strong> will. This is my home!.. The way of life here however... is not for me. I am not really a fan of technology and every one's obsession with it ( we have become the Jetsons and it is CRAZY). I don't like the fast paced rat race everyone seems to be part of, and I hope I never again have to work indoors under fluorescent lights... just not my style, but I understand it is perfect for some people. Unless I am to settle down on a farm similar to the one I grew up on (will be a while!), I think for now, Canada will be a wonderful place to visit little and often...like feeding a horse.<br />
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My original plan was to head down to Cancun and look for dive jobs with a good friend, but I seemed to get the feeling that I may be sitting around with little work until Christmas. I thought, why would I sit around waiting for work in all inclusive ville, Mexico (also not my style); when I could have a job come Christmas in a place I know and <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><em>LOVE</em></span>. The people are <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><em>AMAZING</em></span>, warm and welcoming; the beaches and diving are <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><em>BEAUTIFUL</em></span>; and there is a sense of community <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><em>EVERYONE</em></span> should experience. This place is <span style="font-size: large;">LITTLE CORN ISLAND.</span><br />
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Brendan Lewis</div>
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<br />
<strong>The decision was made..</strong><br />
<br />
But now.....How do I leave the fast paced life I am expected to live now if I don't have the opportunity to earn the money needed to live until December?<br />
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About a year ago on Little Corn I met a lady ( much older than my self), that had cycled from northern Alaska, to Nicaragua. She inspired me. After that long distance cycling was always something I thought I would do one day. If she could do it I could do. (apparently Dolphin Dive inspired her too... she is now a dive master on the pacific coast of panama!) . The decision was easy.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I WILL RIDE MY BIKE!!</span><br />
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At first, I did not consider the possibility of doing it to raise money for the benefit of others. It would be for my benefit alone. But it did not take long to realize the opportunity at hand; <span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">with a little more effort, I could help those less fortunate than myself</span>.</strong></span>....and it was an <u><strong>EASY</strong></u> decision as to where money raised would go. The people of Little Corn, are a beautiful and welcoming group of people, however, to have a chance in the world the way it has become.... they need help. They do not have a very good school system (at all), and they are selling out their land faster than is sustainable.(another tale for another time). All it takes is to friend these people on facebook or speak to a child about school to realize they need help to compete in this global economy they will inevitably be required to. <br />
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soo...<br />
What my plan to do is:<br />
Ride my bicycle the approximate 6, 840km (4, 250mi) from Calgary to Bluefields ( the city you catch the boat to Corn Islands). I will buy all the required gear ( about $1, 600 plus food), only to be reimbursed if I surpass the fundraising goal necessary to complete the learning center ( over $ 7000. but the exact number is as of yet,unknown).<br />
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The goal of the learning center is to provide computers for use (initially 30), a vocational library, and other services that will broaden the horizons and open learning opportunities to these people they never thought possible.<br />
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Please, IF you can, donate...maybe not now if you not convinced, but as I cross borders, bank hundreds, thousands of km or miles, and get closer to reaching my goal!If you can't donate..follow my trip, spread the word, make it known I am working to help these people and others should too!! I have no doubt in the world that I will make it to Nicaragua...I'm not 100% sure it will be before Christmas, but I'm gonna try ( Adam/boss man, I promise I will let you know if I have doubts in time for you to get another instructor for Christmas!!). But my main worry is that I make it to the island without sufficient funding... I will not stop trying until the learning center is fully functional...please help, everything helps...EVERYTHING.<br />
<br />
here is a link to my fundraising page: <br />
out!! Everything helps!! <br />
<a href="http://commonthreadz.org/stephsolverson" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://commonthreadz.org/stephsolverson</a><br />
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<em>One day...I will have a charity of my own, it is my dream!</em><br />
but for now Common Threadz is an good, existing non profit organization, with a similar goal in a place I care about that needs help<br />
.<img id="imgPhoto" src="http://www.commonthreadz.org/var/photo/31d841824bf3c272cb200e2b6ec93141?4819" style="height: 194px; visibility: visible; width: 230px;" /><br />
<br />
Thanks for reading, I am new to blogging..... I realize that this probably isn't the NORMAL format for a blog, but I don't think a single person would describe ANYTHING I do as<em> normal. </em>and I'm fine with that! but feel free to criticise.<br />
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I will be posting more along route:photos, routes, experiences, etc., as often as my travels allow.<br />
They will not be as long as this novel..... I just feel this is a necessary background to myself and my cause....ps... The last bike I owned I got for getting honours in Grade 1.... wish me luck!<br />
- Steph sjsolverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08453046712048989746noreply@blogger.com1