somoene tell me something about kentucky that doesn't have to do with coal please. bryan thanks for catching my typo in my last post. my mom is probably gonna read this and that's one of those things that gets me fucking busted. cursing wasn't really frowned on but i wasn't allowed to do such things. the lack of capitalization alone is probably filling her with shame right now.
I slept in a gazebo in a city park, i met a bunch of mexican dudes from michoacan, i rode well into the night cause a motel was full, i tried to meet with donovan, i startled a bull and i got chased by a hornet for like a mile. i also met some other dudes going the other direction and gave one of my spare tubes to one of them cause i was carrying three. they had come all the way from oregon.
the library here won't let me upload pics. I'm on patty loveless drive in elkhorn city, kentucky and am riding to pippa pass tonight. Yesterday I went about 109 miles through mountainous terrain which was good but i'm feeling a bit fatigued.
I was riding along, listening to FM radio, the awesome part of don't stop believing when a bugu fle win my eye, it started raining and my chain fell off outside christiansburg and i had to walk my bike like 5 miles, there I met a guy named Tank who drove me to walmart from his place to get a new chain. He was a black guy and I mention this not cause race is prominent in my mind at all times but because of the way he talked. see, black people in the south make more sense when they talk than white people do cause they don't talk all of that hillbilly talk. He did refer to all people as "pimpin" like for example to another driver he said "oh, sorry I cut you off pimpin". Anyways, the chain fit but only well enough to stay in gear, not well enough to be shifting. So the next day I rode about 30 miles on it in one gear so I could buy a new chain tool, I had broken my original chain tool by misusing it.
One other thing about race is that white people here do very stereotypically white things. like for example they drive RV's and eat baloney sandwiches on white bread with mayonnaise and french's mustard.
I believe I am in the smoky mountains but I'm not certain. Someone tell me some things about this area. I crossed the appalachian trail again and saw a shop that sold t-shirts that said "if you hear banjo music, hike faster". It was a welcome change from the "git-R-dun!" t-shirts i've seen so far.
Comments are now mandatory cause they make me more motivated. Mandatory!
Ryan, what do you feel that a courtroom thriller needs to have in it? I saw this movie recently called final analysis which was maybe the worst movie of the mid 90s and I just kept watchign it cause it was set in SF.
I am turning into an intense hippy drifter. I don't smell good and I am doing such things as enjoying nature. Stefan would be ashamed of me. Also I am eating whole wheat bread with all natural peanut butter and honey. Did I mention to all students who read this (shalah, elyssa, george) not to eat hydrogenated oils? Make sure to be one with nature, etc. I don't know if i mentioned it but I haven't changed my jersey yet because I don't see a need. The outside of it is covered in white salt crystals from sweat that has dried on it.
I was also thinking about this- a bike chain is as strong as it's weakest link which in my case a couple days ago was not strong enough. a bike is only as strong as it's bike chain but now that i've fixed it the weak link in the whole operation seems to be my knees and my weak and cowardly mind. At all times I ask myself 'what would stefan do?' and since I can't get a job in high finance or watch the blade tv series on my flatscreen, I have to drive the weakness out of myself like it was the devil. this is made much easier if you are listening to the country gospel station on the radio and are in your 10th hour of riding.
the best songs I heard on the radio yesterday were probably "i never promised you a rose garden" "i'm a fool for you". Is country music like soul music for whites or is it more like rap music? I realize now that the reason I like rap and country most is that I like words more than I like music and both types are very verbal whereas for example in rock music the words seem like an afterthought to fill dead air.
About Me
- philip
- I'm from the country but now I live in the city. I would like to move to Argentina one day because I like it there. I can cook.
13 comments:
kentucky's motto is "united we stand; divided we fall." the official state flower is goldenrod which, in my opinion, is a sorry excuse for a flower.
take a shower, pimpin'.
p.s.-more photos
p.p.s.- bq is at a wedding for the weekend, but i am sure he'll grammar-pick when he returns
here's some facts:
-both abe lincoln and jefferson davis were born in KY.
-KY has more farms per sq mile than any other state.
-the HPV vaccine was created by researchers at UofL in 2006.
-UofL also did the first hand transplant in 1999.
-KY is also the last site of a public execution in the US.
-the modern fishing reel was believed to have been invented in paris, KY.
-"american ancestry" is the largest reported ancestry group.
-breakdown of ancestry groups:
* 89.3% White, not of Hispanic origin
* 7.3% Black
* 1.5% Hispanic of any race
* 0.7% Asian
* 0.2% Native American
* 1.1% Mixed race
also, ryan reminded you to lube your chain. i'm reminding you not to do it in public.
even though you have left behind virginia and are in kentucky now (which is supposed to mean "land of tomorrow" and which i find ironic for a number of reasons), i keep singing the song "take me home, country roads" by john denver when i think of you. its pretty and has lots of geographical references in it. i'll send you the mp3, but it sounds like you are rockin it old school with the FM radio.
i also wonder if you are hearing any good bluegrass? i think the song "i'm using my bible for a roadmap" by reno & smiley might be one to include in your playlist.
stay safe out there, dollface.
It's imperative that a courtroom drama include a female African-American judge who says things like, "This better be leading somehwere, counsellor" and "I don't like it, but I'll allow it."
was karen allen the one they found in a suburban doghouse a few years back, confusing and missing her dentures? or was that margot kidder? either way: karen allen is way hotter.
AJs people are from kentucky, you know. Apparently, they aren't jewish. This suprises our father every time i tell him.
i think what any courtroom drama needs is keith david. he could play judge so and so, who is known for two things:baggin' babes and sending punks to the chair. the prosecutor, who is holds the record of 100 convictions in 100 days. he could also play the detective who has been around the block a few times, and i mean really been around the block. or he could be the key witness who really shakes up the defense attorney's strategy by foreclosing certain evidence about the defendant's unsavory past.
the list can go on and on...
i apologize for any typos.
be safe and keep going
ps. margot kidder was the one found in the dog house
pps. phil be honest, keith david is the reason you watched final analysis in its entirety. have you heard back from him yet?
Hi Phil.
It's good to know you are having a great time riding.
DO take a shower!!
Country music is like rap to whites, just ask someone down there (just make sure your chain is lube and working properly):)
No te olvides de tu espanol...quien sabe cuando lo vas a necesitar.
What about a voice recorder? make some mini-interviews!!!I love their accent.
It's owesome all the people you'd met. Keep it up!!!
Take care!!!
Phil,
reading your blog is making me freak out with jealousy, anticipation and imagined fun times we would be having if I was there riding with you. Also, I am coming up with ideas.
Idea #1 when I'm done with my class in Boston on the 31st of August I begin riding my bike West like the proverbial 'bat out of hell' until I catch up with you somewhere in the midwest. This kind of thing happens on the appalachian trail but it usually takes about a two months if you are three weeks behind as I would be.
Idea #2 Continue working 50 hr weeks and saving as much money as possible, move out of my apartment, put off school until the spring, piss off my gf and fly to maybe Colorado to ride the rest of the way with you and then ???
Idea #3 live vicariously through the rich and varied experiences you are undoubtedly having, and cogitate on how this kind of thing will probably never happen again, seeing as how we're getting older and at least one of will have to get a job soon that will not allow more than the standard 2 weeks of leave per year, and anyway if it did, the timing would probably be wrong as it was (more or less) this time.
I realize now that these ideas flow pretty much from less realistic, though awesome, to more realistic, though stale and lame.
Also, the uphill/downhill thing is pretty normal development, IMHO. While hiking, I, too began to see downhill as not quite so great, and uphill as not quite so bad. This may have profound appications to other situations, or not.
Lastly, I was told by a bicycling expert that the part of the chain that needs oil the most is the inner hinge part of it, inside each link. Furthermore, he said he wipes down his chain after he oils it to remove any excess. If your chain broke already, you must have bought a shitty chain, or your are doing some hard riding. Either way, keep it up and I will keep reading and writing.
Devin
some things never change---
this is a synopsis for a movie that is out right now.
"Everyone deserves a chance to follow their dreams, but some people only get one shot. Tyler Gage (Channing Tatum) is a rebel from the wrong side of Baltimore's tracks – and the only thing that stands between him and an unfulfilled life are his dreams of one day making it out of there. Nora (Jenna Dewan) is a privileged ballet dancer attending Baltimore's ultra-elite Maryland School of the Arts -- and the only thing standing in the way of her obviously brilliant future is finding a great dance partner for her senior showcase. When trouble with the law lands Tyler with a community service gig at Maryland School of the Arts, he arrives as an angry outsider, until his skills as a gifted street dancer draw Nora's attention. Now, as sparks fly between them, both on and off stage, Tyler realizes he has just one performance to prove that he can step up to a life far larger than he ever imagined."
Phil Green. your a good man.
In order to try to create some bike counter-jealousy, I offer these pics phil.
bikes
Also, since you have been riding for a little while maybe you can estimate your speed and tell me where you're likely to be around the 7th of September, that's 18 days from today. My aim is to get a one-way ticket to meet up with you somewhere in the West I Imagine.
phil,
i'm with devin. the only problem i forsee is he and i getting held over for, "random searches." devin, i'll bring the pomade, you bring the hair gel. wink, wink.
let me add a belated duh on asking formore photos, as well, because i apparently glazed over the part about the library not allowing you to upload. god know what those bumpkins think a city slicker such as yourself is uploading.
hey full blast,
i don't know why devin said that it would piss me off if he flies out to meet you somewhere in the west. i told him that he should definitely do it. so please let him know where you will be around Sept 7. of course i will miss him dearly, but when will he have an opportunity to ride with you on an adventure such as this again? hopefully the two of you can ride like the wind. maybe i'll finally meet you when you get to sf.
Post a Comment