this is my first post here. i'm not sure how often i'll be able to update it. i quit my job as of september 1st (i was a schoolteacher in NYC) and decided to ride my bike across the US. I got a bike and maps and all that first. if i update this it will be from libraries and places like that.
I started yesterday morning in penn station being told amtrak wouldn't take my bike to williamsburg, va, so I took a greyhound instead. the greyhound was slow but they stopped at a place where you could buy honey barbecue everything and buy sister 2 sister magazine. but i was reading like the atlantic or something so i didn't take advantage of it.
i saw the washington monument from a greyhound which was alright and when the bus stopped in richmond and they said the bus to williamsburg was delayed i was like fuck it and decided to start my ride at 6 pm, august 10th. I got lost and it got dark and if not for the help of joe marting and sarah smith i would have had to sleep in a ditch full of pinworms and chiggers. i stayed in a holiday inn express and went to a walmart to buy some tools and organic (wtf walmart?) groceries. yeah i know i'm supposed ot be pro union but they're open 24 hours and this was at 10.
my bike was busted up from the ride but i was able to fix it up with the help of a mechanic in mechanicsville. the pannier racks were fucked but he remounted them. the guy is an ace. everyone here calls you sir and whatnot. i saw a sunburned white guy with no shirt on and i asked him which was was sliding creek road and he said "i'm from west virginia" and gestured at his sunburned body like it was proof. i also bought boiled peanuts to eat.
on my little radio i heard laffy taffy, miss new booty, amazing graze, swing low sweet chariot, more than a feeling and you can go your own way.
now i'm in ashland and i asked a woman to take my picture, let's see if i can upload it. I think it worked. Anyways the pic is of me in ashland about to go eat lunch. if i look tired it's cause i had insomnia last night worrying about all the stuff that could go wrong but i realized that when things do go wrong it's not the end of the world because after all it's not like i have to go to work tomorrow.
anyways please leave comments or information or anything interesting about the following places in virginia, which i am going to next: coatesville, bumpass(!), tabscott, palmyra, christiansburg, monticello, blue ridge, vesuvius, lexington, buchanan, troutville, etc.
12 comments:
Wow, man. That's rad. I am jealous as well. I know nothing of those cities you mentioned, but if you end up in the South: Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Louisiana, I just went there. I hope your trip goes amazingly well. I will definitely be reading this, so keep posting.
phil, please watch out for those west virginians. i've heard things.
ur crazy phil. but awesome! be safe and have a great time on your trip. and make sure to call me when you're in AZ!
what kind of town is named palmyra? it sounds like a high school kid making a joke about a guy that beats off to elvyra all of the time. take care phil, i'll see you in colorado. i may even have a new bike.
wow! yay, you're doing it! are you wearing sexy shorts? did you find any cool old school jerseys? good luck!!
When are you comin to the Dirty, Dirty? Are you headed to ATL?
Hey Mr. Green...That's pretty awesome..I miss your sense of humor and your philosophy of the day. I hope you have a wonderful trip and meet all kinds of colorful people. Please be safe and get lots of Ass Across America..lol..KEEP POSTING!! I'll keep reading!!
Phil, I live in Nashville Now. This is Sammy, btw. Are you coming to Nashville?
Did you know that pin worms only come out after dark?
West Virginia is where the lesser known abolitionist, John Brown, raided the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry in 1859.
The state bird is the cardinal.
West Virginia natives include Don Knotts and Mary Lou Retton.
This is s walsh.
Are you going to Ohio?
Yea! Phil is writing.
Way to go, Phil. My map shows 74 miles from Richmond to Charlottesville, but that's on the interstate, I'm sure you went quite a bit farther.
There is a Joan Baez song that starts out "I took the train to Richmond...". (The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down). I'll always think of you when I hear it. (Even though you took the bus)
Mechanicsville was the site of a civil war battle (Beaver Dam Creek), June 28, 1862.
Happy to see you have finally started to use some capital letters.
love, mom
p.s. please put Tom on your list:
tamcfad@pacific.net
and Luna:
luna.belladonna@mac.com
Hey Phil, You're awesome. I hope that I will do something as similarly physically and mentally challenging someday. I'd like to comment on your question: "So the whole time I was dampening my happiness or unhappiness by looking only at the future. Is that good or bad?" I've been thinking a lot about this very recently - trying to be more aware of the "now" as opposed to dwelling on the past and the future. In terms of purely mental challenges this has been really helpful for me and has led me to be happier. However, I think in the context of an extremely challenging task, like your bike ride, it could be really good to look forward to inspire yourself to continue if at the present moment you are in pain. I used that strategy in most of my competitve running in college. But sometimes if you surrender to that present moment it is less painful than you think, less daunting than forcing yourself to look forward. I was training for a triathlon until about a month ago when I injured my foot. I can start running this week and I'm going to try to practice both focusing on the present and looking forward. I'm curious to see how it works for me. . . Thank you for sharing your thoughts. ~ Charlotte
mr green ur a dick head leaving the skool and goin to ride ur bike come bak nigga
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