Thanks for the hot dog Mom!!!!

Lindsay's all surprised that they have phone booths still. It doesn't work without quarters though.

After we crossed the biggest 5 mile mountain Lindsay was excited for the rewarding 2 mile downhill. How does a hill go up 5 miles and down 2? I guess they can't all be like C Mountain in Coolidge which has a section corner on the very top.

This is Lindsay's idea of a joke. She thinks I love candy and sugar that much that I'd get a picture in front of the building that makes it.

It was cold in the night time and we failed our goal so we called it a day at a rest stop and cooked our din dins and breafast in the toilet.

It was foggy this morning when we woke up and here in Oregon the fog makes a rainbow. Use your bright eyes near my huge right shoulder and you can see the end with the white leprechan.

We had a day where we were passing through about 4 towns prolly. It showed something on the dang map but when we got there we didn't see jack rabbits crap (like shown in the foto.), except closed down gas stations and/or 1 or 2 houses and 2 cats that were trying to eat our smoked salmon, I hit them with boards to make them go away. we shouted out spanish swear words after the "towns"and continued down the road. east Oregon was nothing that I thought it would be. a deserted desert, but now west Oregon is pretty neat with the trees and the green and mountains. FYI I'll prolly do one more post for the end of the trip then I'll do my final speech at the end for all to indulge and share my thoughts and feelings of it all. Then we'll do the road trip home complete with interviews by Jay Leno. So get your comments/ questions in quick while supplies last for the grand final.

First and Last state. Rated R.

This was the state of mind Lindsay was in when I met here in Wam-mart.

After much debate and thinking, we settled on this clown bicycle for Lindsay to ride. I think it will hold up well.

Just getting the bike ready for this week's trek across Oregon. We'll see how long this Wal-Mart Special will last. Any Wagers/bets? Post them in the comment forum. Run!

I'm playing in the pumpkin patch. It reminds me of Halloween. I haven't had one for 3-4 years now so I miss it.

This was a neat bridge that was made out of real metal.

We've never been to Oregon before. There's always a first for everything right? And right before this picture a stupid dog chased me down and tried to bite me then when Lindsay went passed it didn't do jack. It's prolly cuz I'm all huge and look like a super hero with my new red dinghy. I'd say I look like Tony Stark. Yeah that fits perfect. "I'm the Iron Man." I'm Huge. Well Now that I finally have company with me, my other campanion (Diablo) finally went home. The story behind that is: In the MTC, o sea Missionary Training Center for the slow ones, they teach us never to be alone as missionaries. We should always be with our companion except for when in an interview or division or in the toilet. They ingrained that into our heads so that we were robots and couldn't think for ourselves. They said if we ever leave our companion that Satan IMMEADIATLY becomes your new companion. So after I left Bountiful when all my companions jumped ship, guess who came along for the ride? The Devil himself. And it is tradition to let the traveling companion to post something on here so here's what he said.

"Not even death can save you from me."

That's it. Ok we'll end it with that. I'll post again another time, "if I still have a job."

Blizzard of Oz

This is Max Adams, a nice old man that treated me like I was the grandson he never had. Kinda like how Josh D is the nephew uncle Eric never had. He let me sleep in his yard and he cooked me treats, breakfast, and took me to McDonalds before I left on I-84.

Here's Idaho for you all. I was really cold this day.

Yeah well I woke up one morning and it was snowing real bad. I think it was a blizzard. (see below)

This is a famous bridge on the Snake River at Twin Falls. I guess it's world famous but I had never heard nothing about it till then.

Here we are at a neat waterfall in Twin Falls.




My camera beeps at taking pictures sometimes. While on my travels I met up with the Altom family(old friends from Globe) and they let me stay with then for the weekend and it was all fun. I got to beat wild Ryan with the pillows a lot. Now for the story: So I was camping one night like I noted above and I woke up and it had beeen snowing throughout the night pues. I was about 5-6 inches. but I thought "who cares we're off the hook, I'll ride anyways I only have about 60 miles to make it to the Altoms house, I can do it." But nope no good. I underestimated it. I think that the only person that could have gotten out of there alive is Bear Grylls and his "sheeping bag." I started off and it was freezing cold with a 30 mile an hour head wind blowing snow stinging my face. I tried to cover it up with a hand-ker-chief but it got soaked from the moisture cuz I was just breathing in it, so I was freezing and there was no other town/shelter for the next 30 miles. After traveling a distance of about a mile, I decided to throw in the bowell movement and topo my pride and I called Brother Altom to come pick me up. I hid under a few trees and tried to do the robot for a hour to stay warm, waiting for them to come. While traveling back to their home, many cars/shag diesels had skidding off the road into the snow. So all of you pessimists out there: no I cannot say I biked coast to coast now, I missed it by 60 miles are you happy? It was worth it cuz I would have been dead had I not called and told him that I was cold.

I'm all alone now.

This looks like the US capitol.....maybe it is.

Well what do you know Jones' Goons are back. Maybe it's Hollerbacks Goons or Hackerthorns. Whoever they are they make work twice as hard for HES.

This was that good ol' dinner that i had 3 plates of. It consisted of Roast Beast, taters with gravy, peas and corn, rolls, and a pitcher of milk.

This is the cool Wright family that cooked the most delicious meal for me(see picture above). They treated me like royalty and it was pretty dang nice. Wright is an old friend from the mission and he invited me to stay for a night. I watched the new 007 movie and I'm still confused by it.

"Buffalo soldier in the heart of America." Kinda gets you ready for the elections this year. FYI I'm already registered to vote.

Here's a classic view of the scenery. I bet I could throw a football over them mountains.

"Lucky in love unlucky with fruit."

We made it to dang Utah. 2 more states to go. FYI I've abandoned the Nevado route and will now be going north to Idaho and west to Oregon. I'm glad I traveled fast and did those 100+miles days so I was able to make it to the 178th annual General Conference and listen to the words of the Prophet and Apostles of the Church. I also missed the blizzard that hit the Rockies. Another Bonus.

Here I am by a waterfall going down Provo Canyon. This was all fun to ride down and the colors and the trees and shrubs were neat. Come into the trees amongst the bushes. Come into the trees a monk eats the bushes.

This was Dad's final wave to the camera and packed his bags put it into reverse and left me with no company on this section corner of the trip.

I had to become a little begger cuz I didn't have a ticket to the Priesthood Session of General Conference, but right when I pulled out this sign someone gave me a floor seat ticket which got me a lot closer than Ben and his Daddy were sitting. FYI this is the backstabber that we've all come to know and despise, Ben.

We did another rondevoo with Uncle Paul and Aunt Nancy and this time Amy graced us with her presence. they've been following me literally on this trip. A lot more than others can say that won't even volunteer a small part of their life to join me. Where there's a will there's a way right? Also today I found some words to live by from Jan Levingston from the Office, when she said "You can always find a million reasons not to do something." I've been kicking back with Ben and he has the Office on DVD so I've been catching up on the last 3 years so I can be more like Micheal Scott. I already look like him when I have longer hair.

Uh would you like to put on your uh seatbelt uhhh?

This man had been following me for a few days, haulin' oats I mean windmill parts. His name was Larry. When he saw my Dad, they said "Hey Larry." "Hey Larry." It was kinda neat.

This was a big ol' oil refineryfor Sinclair. complete with a giant torch that burns the airplanes when they pass. It reeked when I rode passed it.

They had advertised this Hotel for about 100 miles on the freeway. That was the majority of the billboards I saw, and when I got to it, it was a hotel alright. Pretty rich though. But don't worry if you passed it, there's another one in Salt Lake.

If people want to know what I've seen the past week. This is it. Sagebrush and those wooden fences to block the snow when it blows all hard. Note to self: Don't travel through southern Wyoming again, go through the northern part.

These are a few behind the scenes pictures. People want to know what it is we do after a hard day's work- kick back den!

This is a classic shot of me bumming on the computes/posting on the stupid blog. It's nice to be able to re-wind after a long day of biking with a headwind and traveling along side of shaq-a-clauses for 10 hours on I-80. Yes Jeremy I'm wearing your shirt don't get all happy. Well now this week went by relatively fast and short. And I'm not sure why. The tradition is that I let the fellow companion right a few words and now the honors go to 2 Pop Security as Mckay calls him.

"I was able to accompany Kimball through Wyoming this week but I couldn't pedal because my foot was swollen and inflamed from a flare-up of Reiter's Syndrome which strikes me at random. Two of my kids have inherited this syndrome; Kimball who is now having a bout of Rider's Syndrome and Janalee who has chronic Writer's Syndome (See her Blog).

We saw many, many antelope grazing on the range along the highways acting like cows. Kimball did some tough days, four out of five were hundred+- milers with strong headwinds. I was fortunate to be with him and part of the great adventure."

And I've been really fortunate to be with Dad also on this crucial part of the US, where I was able to deposit my bags and bike really light to be able to go over the beep Rockies. I guess I've had kinda like an Onstar Roadside assistance, when I've had multile flats and needed quick bike repairs and supplies.

"I thought the rockies would be a little more rockier than this....."

Erin was a little upset cuz her airplane was delayed and she had to wait a while. It was nice having her as company for while, but as in the words of Haulin' Oats, "She's Gooone"

Here's Dad right off the airplane. He didn't get a lot of sleep, but he's excited for the upcoming week to join me on the trek.

It's a lot colder here in dang Wyoming, it's also a lot more barren. Look closely to see the wild deer behind me.

This is us in front of the neat windmills. Kinda like the ones on the way to San Diego.


At one of the rest stops right before I got onto the freeway They had a neat dinghy dedicated to cool Abraham Lincoln. We all remember his famous quote when he said "If you are a racist I will attack you with the North." Yep that's how he won the civil war. And we should all do the same.

We stayed the night at this neat family's house. They fed me a delicious fresh-caught fish dinner. And it was all good! They were very friendly and talkative and nice to be around. In the near future I hope to have a beard like Johnny as shown in the photo.

Wanted: One dang person to come with me through Nevada please.

"What we got here is failure to communicate. Some folks you just can't reach, and you take what we got here last week which is the way he wants it, well he gets it. I don't like it anymore than you do." Name that quote. give up ok. But yes what we got here is failure to communicate like Cool Hand Luke once said after he was shot. Now as you are all aware by now, I've been biking my bike across America, I mean this is what I do. this is my job, my career. I prefer to share it with someone and not be greedy like Ben's greedy fingers. Right now I am in Cheyenne, Wyoming. My Dad will accompany me to Salt Lake City, Utah where General Conference will be held during the 4th and 5th of October. Dad leaves, I hang out for a few days, see the sights, old friends, companions, go on a hot date, fill up my tank.... then I'm back to the trip. The thing is that I have a poor ol' bicycle that's lonely that doesn't have anyone for enjoyment and entertainment. I extend the invitation to all that is willing, commited and dedicated to embark with me on this section of the journey. We will be traversing and conquering the harsh desert and climate of Nevada. Your life is not guarenteed but if you make it out alive the rewards and possibuildities are endless. Similar to when Jeremy D and I escaped from Gary, Indiana. A really successful, better than coach Dallas, Coach Schenks once said, "There is a difference between interest and commitment, when your interested in something you only do it when it's convienent, when your commited you accept no excuses only results." We later won state that year in football. That is the type of ship/business that I run here in Bike Across America. You can be like the chicken and only get involved in the breakfast sandwich or you can be commited like the pig. If you don't come, your loss, and you'll regret it and be kicking yourself like thousands have and will be doing for rejecting this once in a lifetime offer (ie: Ben). Or you can humble yourselves and join me. Now your either with that or your not. If you want to call me to tell me your commited and serious my number is (480) 415-6234. Dates aren't posted yet but somewhere between the 6th-12th of October or 8th-15th of October. Plane ticket is required to buy if coming from far away or you can just drive. Clothing is demanded that you bring and some treats. Cuz we are like the treats truck when I worked with Josh D for a year. Bring your game face too, and a gun for the bears. And an empty brain to fill up with a life-time of memories.

*Note: Multiple riders can participate only that one standard junky ol' kip bicycle is provided on a first come first serve basis. Other riders wishing to participate will need to bring bicycle equipped with the right equipment.

Go Big Or Go Home.

"I see things as they are and you say no, wait, you see things as they are and you say...no, no, what do you say when you see things?" Well what I see right now is a new company record. We did the unthinkable and rode 126.2 miles into the dark and into Cheyenne to our destination. Jeremy D is furious right now.

This was how we looked after calling it a huge day of real actual work and we checked ourselves into a well-deserved hotel and the softest beds and pillows ever. I slept all good.

I thought all the buffalo got extinct by the indians 200 years ago. We saw John Dunbar herding the buffalo afterwards.

I had a flat and as you can see there was no shade for miles. But one nice guy stopped and asked if we needed help. We politely declined.

We sat ourselves down under a tree and near some cows and had a tasty tunafish sandwich complete with triscuits and carrots and the
"trick of the day, a great banana."



This was a neat oil rig in the middle of the grasslands in Colorado.

After all day of traveling and long miles in the dark we finally made it to the Wyoming indian border. You can barely make out the sillouettes and Erin's reflective jacket if you look close. Now that Erin has successfully completed her 9 day adventure and did exceptionally-well I will let her entertain the readers and we'll share her thoughts and views and how she really thought of the trip. Your time now Erin.

"Okay. First of all, I am really excited for Kimball and this opportunity he has made happen for himself. I think he will forever be grateful of this experience. I'm so glad his friends and family have been able to make sacrifices and enjoy the journey along with him. I am especially grateful that Taylor and I could work together and make the trip possible for each of us. It wasn't a "piece of cake" like I was lead to believe by Taylor; and was cursing him my first day of 90 miles of rolling hills. Each day was an accomplishment for me and a treat to be in the solo company of Kimball. I learned quickly that Nebraska is indeed not all flat and does not consist completely of brown corn fields. It also has a lot of green scenery and quaint little movie-set-like towns. I also learned that I will, in fact, not die by drinking gas station, bathroom sink water for a week (so there, Jana). I also learned a lot about Kimball. I learned his diet doesn't consist solely of sugar and soda. He eats and enjoys lots of vegetables. He eats his Starbursts with the wrapper on....every single one of them. He brushes his teeth twice a day, EVERY DAY, not observing nights, weekends and holidays like some the elder Hansen brothers. I am not a morning person, but Kimball is very motivating to be around. And no, I never tire of his Kimball-isms. I laugh every time as if it's the first time I've heard of a cup-movement. I also learned that we both share a hatred of "Nasty Pulse". I learned that no matter how starving I thought I was; the strong gag reflex and strong dislike was still there. (Sorry)

If Kimball would have told me that I'd be riding 126 miles in one day, I would have never agreed to accompany him. Attitude is everything and this week is proof. Kimball constantly has a light and fun-loving spirit and never once did I see him get frustrated. I just took this trip hour by hour and my spirits were kept high by the constant flow of ridiculous things Kimball says. But, I love it all. I don't know if I could do this journey with anyone else. Thanks for having me Kimball, I thoroughly enjoyed it all. Thanks for the "treats"!Have fun, Larry!"

All right good stuff right there ladies and gentlemen we will wrap up this post now. "say good night Kevin, Goodnight Kevin"

A Small Gift.

My bike had a few prollems and the mechanic was off-duty, so I became the mechanic and got half of it fixed. It still needs major repairs.

We made it through Nebraska in one day, we were riding pretty fast. and now were in the Rockies.

Finally got to Nebraska.



This is Rich's favorite place to eat at. He recommended MAc's drive inn. A neat little place where you order at the booth with a telephone as shown in photo on left. The food was so good and the shakes were real for once.

This is the McMurtrey family. Rich told us about them and they graciously invited us to their home where they treated us well and cooked a nice treat in the morning and snacks for the road. It was all good.

This is the Gift Family. They were a reference from the McMurtrey family in McCook. They invited over to sleep at their

Answers

First I would like to answer Jana's questions. While I'm on my bicycle 16 hours a day, my thought begin to wander and I'd say it is d) all of the above, I think a lot about the mission, high school, work, and also the future. Like I kinda have a thought on a career that i'll persue. I also like the scenery. and always have in the background the clown song playing on low. Sometimes I think about the ladies past, present, and future. I also have thought of 3 bicycle inventions. I'd say I get tired of biking 5 percent of the time while i'm out here, I enjoy mostly all of it, if I didn't then I'd throw in the towel and just go back to the office. and Yes I'm thinking that I would like to do it again. I've thought of 3 other adventures that are frying in the back burner, details will be explained further down the road. And finally no Erin isn't driving me crazy. We're enjoying each other's company. and she's not a girly-gril.
i love lamp, I would appreciate it that Channel 5 news follwed me. I'd feel I was cool.
plummer, you got prollems if you can't get the toilet flushed you can always clog it like I always do. Works great.
mckay, no I wasn't nekid in the picture.
little boy from big business, a cow plop is something eatable, and edible.
lindsay, I dont take suplements that's only Talmage, I drink SODA!
stock investing newsletter, dang it I dunno when I'm going on online, and I haven't got honked at yet.
Mindy, yes my legs look like the hulks, and I haven't tried to get out of Mindy's yet.
fox 10, I'm riding so that Obama loses.
Rashes Magazine, the rash still hasn't healed. I'll do an interview but please no photos.
Joe, I didn't have my knife or gun to pull on anyone. josh and Jeremy are old co-workers of mine and they signed up for the trip when they found out that I had a back stabbing friend that ditched me to get married. Dad will be with me next week, then I'll be alone for a week then Lindsay will finish it off.
anonymous, I don't cry myself to sleep.
paula, yes my trasero hurts in the morning then it gets lean as the day goes on.
anonymous, my face doesn't hurt.
anonymous, the family jewels don't hurt tampoco.
Ok that's it, we'll do round 2 later. Thanks a bunch Milton.