Monday, September 25, 2006
Hosts of Richmond
These are photos of Tera and Sanford Hostetter, parents of Luke, my brother Tommy's soccer teammate. I stayed with them at their house in Richmond on Tuesday night. Thank you Tera and Sanford--I had a wonderful time, and you were more than anyone could ask for!
Sunday, September 24, 2006
The Praying Mantis
So Thursday afternoon, I pulled into the southern Virginia town of Victoria, and sat down in the shade on the benches outside a flower shop. As I was rehydrating and refueling, something fell out of the tree and landed on the patio near my bike. It looked like some leaves or twigs, but they were kind of shuffling around a bit. Upon closer observation as I bent down close to get a better view, I beheld a large, beautiful green female praying mantis tangled up with her smaller, scrawnier, brown male mate. They were not mating at this point--that happened earlier that day--now, they had decided that the male had done what he needed to do, and his only remaining value was to provide nutrition to the female as she matured her now fertilized eggs. So, as the male was still living, moving, breathing, and experiencing, his lover proceded to make a holy meal out of him.
I watched closely as I witnessed this event that I surmised to be a common sight, an integral part of the Southern folklore, a motif straight out of "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston. But I was not destined to be passive observer. Suddenly the female praying mantis, with her live meal ex-mate clutched in her toothed forearms, began turning around. When she was facing directly at me, she looked with her beady, green alien eyes right at me. We looked at each other for a couple intimate moments, but then she began walking right towards me, meal still in hand! What was her plan? Surely, she was not coming for me next!
She layed her hooked leg on by neon green bicycling shirt (I was lying on my belly, propped up by my elbows for intimate viewing experience), and began to climb. Where was she going? On top of my head? When she got to my shoulder, we had another eye-to-eye encounter, and I begged her not to choose me next. She finally settled on my back just below my shoulders, and soon resumed her meal. Now, though my view of things happening was all but lost (I did watch her reflection in the window for a while), the sound of her chomping through her mate's exoskeleton was now louder than ever.
I wanted to find out if this was a common sight here in the South, a part of the local folklore. So I began asking everyone I saw, "Have you ever seen a praying mantis eating her mate?" Most had not, but others said yes, others elaborated that black water spiders do the same thing. I then motioned to the praying mantis still on my back munching away. "Wow! It's going on right there!" they would say. "How did it get there?" And I would tell them the story. Some would say, "Cool!"; others, "Gross!" Some watched for a while. "Oh, his head just fell off, and it's still moving!" "She's eating him up!" After I got on my way, a nice man, very knowledgeable, observed the sight and commented about the black water spider's equal habit, and he asked about my trip. He was very interested and signed the petition, along with his wife, immediately. They offered me dinner and a couple bucks for the road. He also suggested a camping site at a sandy river bed near a waterfall. Well, I accepted the three dollars, but not the meal as I had just eaten, I thanked them and I was on my way.
Three boys walked up the road, and I showed them the praying mantis. It had finished its meal, as well. I told them she was my mascot. The were boggled at the immensity of my journey, and they signed the petition. By the time we parted, the praying mantis had crawled down my arm, and I let her climb onto a bright green maple tree. She will have a healthy brood, I reckon.
I watched closely as I witnessed this event that I surmised to be a common sight, an integral part of the Southern folklore, a motif straight out of "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston. But I was not destined to be passive observer. Suddenly the female praying mantis, with her live meal ex-mate clutched in her toothed forearms, began turning around. When she was facing directly at me, she looked with her beady, green alien eyes right at me. We looked at each other for a couple intimate moments, but then she began walking right towards me, meal still in hand! What was her plan? Surely, she was not coming for me next!
She layed her hooked leg on by neon green bicycling shirt (I was lying on my belly, propped up by my elbows for intimate viewing experience), and began to climb. Where was she going? On top of my head? When she got to my shoulder, we had another eye-to-eye encounter, and I begged her not to choose me next. She finally settled on my back just below my shoulders, and soon resumed her meal. Now, though my view of things happening was all but lost (I did watch her reflection in the window for a while), the sound of her chomping through her mate's exoskeleton was now louder than ever.
I wanted to find out if this was a common sight here in the South, a part of the local folklore. So I began asking everyone I saw, "Have you ever seen a praying mantis eating her mate?" Most had not, but others said yes, others elaborated that black water spiders do the same thing. I then motioned to the praying mantis still on my back munching away. "Wow! It's going on right there!" they would say. "How did it get there?" And I would tell them the story. Some would say, "Cool!"; others, "Gross!" Some watched for a while. "Oh, his head just fell off, and it's still moving!" "She's eating him up!" After I got on my way, a nice man, very knowledgeable, observed the sight and commented about the black water spider's equal habit, and he asked about my trip. He was very interested and signed the petition, along with his wife, immediately. They offered me dinner and a couple bucks for the road. He also suggested a camping site at a sandy river bed near a waterfall. Well, I accepted the three dollars, but not the meal as I had just eaten, I thanked them and I was on my way.
Three boys walked up the road, and I showed them the praying mantis. It had finished its meal, as well. I told them she was my mascot. The were boggled at the immensity of my journey, and they signed the petition. By the time we parted, the praying mantis had crawled down my arm, and I let her climb onto a bright green maple tree. She will have a healthy brood, I reckon.
The Mennonite Family
So the guy pulling into his driveway that Wednesday night when I hadn't reached my campsite was Mennonite Steve Graber. He was more than happy to help me out, asked me more about my trip, and told me he had two kids, 5 and 6, and a wife, and had just built and moved into this house. He said he would put me up in his camper for the night, and asked me if I had eaten dinner. His wife Anita prepared some delicious leftovers and offered a warm shower. After shower and dinner, I iced my knees, and Steve and I looked at the map of Mexico for potential routes. He also showed me some footage he caught of some prancing bucks in his backyard--this was very rural Virginia, and his backyard consisted of a large clearing surrounded by forest and a pond. Steve works in construction, and Anita had to drop the kids off to school early in the morning, so both would be gone by the time I got up. So we said goodbye that night. I woke up to a cold bottle of powerade and a bowl of sausage gravy waiting for me outside the camper with a note: Hi P.J. Hope you slept well. There's plates and micro in camper if you want to heat this up. Have a Safe trip! + God Bless Steve + Anita Graber
Well, I wrote them a thank you note saying how much I appreciated them and that they strengthen my faith in the goodness of people and that they made me feel welcome in Virginia. I gave them the blog, so I hope they are following along (Steve or Anita, please post a comment if you are!)
Well, I wrote them a thank you note saying how much I appreciated them and that they strengthen my faith in the goodness of people and that they made me feel welcome in Virginia. I gave them the blog, so I hope they are following along (Steve or Anita, please post a comment if you are!)
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Richmond to Burkeville
Leaving the beautiful James River riverside drives and elegant houses, I ventured West on Genito Road, (604), Bike Route 1 South. A two-lane road, as are most of the roads making up the bike route, Genito lead me across a reservoir and into rural central Virginia. While during these miles, I was primarily focused on getting used to the new handlebar arrangement, the scenery consisted of forest and fields, small houses and dogs sounding the alarm of a passerby riding something that looks like a rolling ox; I saw cows and horses, occasionally goats, once an alpaca, and another bison. I enjoy mooing at the cows, talking to the horses, baaing at the goats, and challenging the bison from the safety of the other side of the fence.
My goal was to reach Twin Lakes State Park that night to camp out, a 73-mile total ride for the day. By nightfall, I had reached 63 miles, and the driveway of a brand new countryside home. More to follow...
My goal was to reach Twin Lakes State Park that night to camp out, a 73-mile total ride for the day. By nightfall, I had reached 63 miles, and the driveway of a brand new countryside home. More to follow...
The adventure continues...
So, leaving Richmond, I stopped at a bicycle shop to look into the possibility of adding aerobars to the handlebars, so I could lean further forward, achieving greater power, comfort and aerodynamics. More often, I was leaning on my handlebars rather than pulling towards them; the latter gives more power and less strain on the back. I solved the problem by rotating my handle bars so they arc away from me rather than toward me. This gave me the needed distance from my body to pull rather than lean.
My average speed is now up to 12.1 mph, and average distance per day is at 60 miles. These two figures are steadily increasing: Yesterday, I did 78 miles to Raleigh, the most I have ever biked in my life in one day! The day before was 67 miles to Buggs Island, VA, the day before that was 63 to Burkeville, VA.
With the new handlebar grip, I have noticed my average speed increase from about 11.9 to up to 12.2--and that is average for the whole trip, so a significant increase. So far in my trip I have biked 360 miles, perhaps 3.6% of the distance to my destination!
Today is my rest day for the week--I have biked 6 days so far, so the seventh is a rest day. My legs need it. They are noticeably thicker and stronger. These first two weeks are really training weeks--I have never biked such long distances and never with any loads. The rhythm of the trip works out nicely with the first month and a half in the US giving me time to get stronger and work out any kinks with my methods and gear before I head into Mexico, where I probably will have a harder time finding gear, and will need to have a better command of my route, and focus on local goings-on.
My average speed is now up to 12.1 mph, and average distance per day is at 60 miles. These two figures are steadily increasing: Yesterday, I did 78 miles to Raleigh, the most I have ever biked in my life in one day! The day before was 67 miles to Buggs Island, VA, the day before that was 63 to Burkeville, VA.
With the new handlebar grip, I have noticed my average speed increase from about 11.9 to up to 12.2--and that is average for the whole trip, so a significant increase. So far in my trip I have biked 360 miles, perhaps 3.6% of the distance to my destination!
Today is my rest day for the week--I have biked 6 days so far, so the seventh is a rest day. My legs need it. They are noticeably thicker and stronger. These first two weeks are really training weeks--I have never biked such long distances and never with any loads. The rhythm of the trip works out nicely with the first month and a half in the US giving me time to get stronger and work out any kinks with my methods and gear before I head into Mexico, where I probably will have a harder time finding gear, and will need to have a better command of my route, and focus on local goings-on.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Okay, lots to share...
So...I am now in Raleigh, NC! It has been a while since I had access to the internet (Richmond, two and a half days ago). Now I will take you through the last three days since I did not actually write about my stay in Richmond.
I stayed with Sanford and Tera Hostetter, the parents of one of my brother's soccer teammates at UMary Wash. Thank you so much to the Hostetters! I could not have asked for more--a hug at the door, a large spaghetti dinner with wine right as I walked in the door, a night of "find bicycle Route 1 from Richmond to North Carolina"--an exercise in which Sanford and Tera clearly succeeded--using Sanford's outdoorsman atlas, the Virgina Bicycling Federation (VBF) website, road maps, Google Earth, and Mapquest. Some people play scrabble for family night entertainment; the Hostetter's played "Map This Bike Route" that Tuesday night. I was offered a wonderful bed, internet access, a digital camera cord, a phone charger, a large breakfast, and snacks for the road. Moreover, the Hostetters are just wonderful people to be around.
From Richmond, the Hostetter's directions out of town were impeccable, leading directly to the VBF member-recommended route. For your info, Sanford, the Heugonot Bridge leading across the James River DOES ALLOW bicycles, and has a sidewalk for runners and bikers.
After crossing the Heugonot Bridge, I turned onto Riverside Drive--a gorgeous route along the James. The wonderful weather didn't hurt, either. It was almost a continuous riverside park on the right, and envious homes on the left--novel, unique architechture in obviously prime real estate. Made me think about whether I want to commit to saving up for such a home, or whether I would prefer to live a more simple lifestyle. My current projection points to the latter; however, just witnessing these homes is sort of a vicarious experience satisfying all its own.
More later...gotta go...
I stayed with Sanford and Tera Hostetter, the parents of one of my brother's soccer teammates at UMary Wash. Thank you so much to the Hostetters! I could not have asked for more--a hug at the door, a large spaghetti dinner with wine right as I walked in the door, a night of "find bicycle Route 1 from Richmond to North Carolina"--an exercise in which Sanford and Tera clearly succeeded--using Sanford's outdoorsman atlas, the Virgina Bicycling Federation (VBF) website, road maps, Google Earth, and Mapquest. Some people play scrabble for family night entertainment; the Hostetter's played "Map This Bike Route" that Tuesday night. I was offered a wonderful bed, internet access, a digital camera cord, a phone charger, a large breakfast, and snacks for the road. Moreover, the Hostetters are just wonderful people to be around.
From Richmond, the Hostetter's directions out of town were impeccable, leading directly to the VBF member-recommended route. For your info, Sanford, the Heugonot Bridge leading across the James River DOES ALLOW bicycles, and has a sidewalk for runners and bikers.
After crossing the Heugonot Bridge, I turned onto Riverside Drive--a gorgeous route along the James. The wonderful weather didn't hurt, either. It was almost a continuous riverside park on the right, and envious homes on the left--novel, unique architechture in obviously prime real estate. Made me think about whether I want to commit to saving up for such a home, or whether I would prefer to live a more simple lifestyle. My current projection points to the latter; however, just witnessing these homes is sort of a vicarious experience satisfying all its own.
More later...gotta go...
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Ride to Richmond
Scenes from the Virginia countryside--old houses, new houses, scenes from a civil war battlefield.
Fredericksburg
Guy on bike is my brother outside the U Mary Washington athletic center, where I met him. Others are scenes from Fredericksburg.
Photos: before leaving
David Zuk of Bike Coop giving bike a pre-sendoff tune-up!
Me with neighbors Mary Parker and Betty Scholten.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Found the Bicycle Route 1!
Today, as I headed out of Fredericksburg, I bumped into a biker who works at the bike shop in Fredericksburg, "BIKE WORKS". He said his manager bikes to Richmond and back often, and would know a good route. His printed out the directions for me, though they were from Richmond TO Fredericksburg, so all the right and left turn instructions were opposite, and the order of everything was in reverse! Needless to say, it was a challenge "following" them--but well worth it!
They also both signed the petition to pass the Climate Stewardship Act. You can, too, if you have not at www.undoit.org!
Scenic countryside back roads, horses, historic battlefields, sweet-smelling flowers and trees, low traffic and less stress! Just what I needed after two days on Route 1. I had actually found, though, the bicycle route 1, a series of back roads connecting Florida to Boston, and beyond, perhaps to Maine. It is marked intermittently, and you really need directions and preferably a map.
For tomorrow, I have just that--a map! Tonight, I am staying at the house of the parents of one of my brother's soccer teammates, Luke Hofstetter. They are wonderful, like parents away from home. They really helped me with getting maps and finding a route. Below is my route tomorrow to the Twin Lakes State Park, where I will camp out (first time this trip, I'm excited! I will get to use all the camping-specific gear I have been hauling.) Copy and paste it into your browser. Anyone know how to create an active link in a blog? Reply as a "Comment" below, please.
They also both signed the petition to pass the Climate Stewardship Act. You can, too, if you have not at www.undoit.org!
Scenic countryside back roads, horses, historic battlefields, sweet-smelling flowers and trees, low traffic and less stress! Just what I needed after two days on Route 1. I had actually found, though, the bicycle route 1, a series of back roads connecting Florida to Boston, and beyond, perhaps to Maine. It is marked intermittently, and you really need directions and preferably a map.
For tomorrow, I have just that--a map! Tonight, I am staying at the house of the parents of one of my brother's soccer teammates, Luke Hofstetter. They are wonderful, like parents away from home. They really helped me with getting maps and finding a route. Below is my route tomorrow to the Twin Lakes State Park, where I will camp out (first time this trip, I'm excited! I will get to use all the camping-specific gear I have been hauling.) Copy and paste it into your browser. Anyone know how to create an active link in a blog? Reply as a "Comment" below, please.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Bicycle Route 1
The path through DC and the Mt Vernon Trails were wonderful. after that I was mostly on Route One which was pretty trying at times.
learning how to deal with traffic on an interstate...
today I saw lots of roadkill, several raccoons. mostly the drivers respect the yield triangle I wear on my lower back. Today, my knees started hurting so I am icing them.
tonight I will research more my route here at my bro's house in Fredericksburg.
The bicycle route 1 is different from the interstate route 1 but I have yet to find a detailed map of it online. Anyone know where to find it?
learning how to deal with traffic on an interstate...
today I saw lots of roadkill, several raccoons. mostly the drivers respect the yield triangle I wear on my lower back. Today, my knees started hurting so I am icing them.
tonight I will research more my route here at my bro's house in Fredericksburg.
The bicycle route 1 is different from the interstate route 1 but I have yet to find a detailed map of it online. Anyone know where to find it?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)