It’s been a long time since posting anything.

Not sure if anyone looks at this anymore. Anyway, an update:
Still trying to sell my house. After a couple of months trying the “For Sale by Owner” route, I decided it best to get a realtor. Not a lot of activity. As the realtor said, “you picked the worst time, ever, to try to sell a house.” But I have hope that it will sell by spring ’09 and hopefully take off across the US shortly after.

In other news, been working two jobs, doing AutoCAD at my dad’s engineering firm and teaching part-time at a local college. The classes I’ve been teaching include: Introduction to Literature, 20th Century World Literature, Composition, Career Development and Introduction to Ethics.
So basically, it’s a waiting game. I can’t do anything until the house sells. And so I wait and work and play a little music and ride my bikes as much as I can.

Quiet 4th of July Weekend

But I would bike 500 miles

And I would bike 500 more
Just to be the man who biked 1,000 miles
To fall down at your door

I hit the 1,000 mile mark for commuting by bicycle for this year, which is also the distance between where I live now and St. Louis, Mo, the city where I was born. Coincidence?!?

Cycling 1,000 miles at 13.5 mph is the equivalent of burning approximately 46,000 calories, which is about 85 Big Macs from McDonalds and the same average speed as a Beluga whale.

In other news, I made news that is fit to print or at least post online. From the Sun Journal’s online cycling column, Man on a Bike.
I don’t want to post the entire piece here so just click this link.

Family on Bikes

This is simply amazing.The Vogel family has embarked on a 2 1/2 year bicycle trip traversing the Pan-American Highway. They left Prudhoe Bay, Alaska on June 8, 2008 and will end up in Ushuaia, Argentina. And yes, I said family: Mom, Dad, ten-year-old twin boys, and a dog. I couldn’t imagine my family ever doing anything like this when I was ten. We just packed up the station wagon and trailer and went to Myrtle Beach, SC for a couple of weeks. This family is a true inspiration. Check out their website for all of the hows, whens, wheres, etc. and keep checking it; it’s sure to be an interesting, fantastic journey to keep up with.

The picture below is from their previous 9,300 mile bike trip around the U.S.
Click here to look at their journal from the previous trip

NC Blueberry Festival Criteium. Burgaw, NC

Put on by Cape Fear Cyclists.
I wasn't able to stay for all of the races, but here are some photos from the first two. I like the last two pictures better than the others, but thought I'd put'em up anyway

What's Been Goin' On

1. Finishing the unfinished upstairs, which will add 600 SF to my house and other general remodeling so it’s a little more appealing. I’m still shooting for spring ’09 to leave for my extended bike trip. Version 2.0. S0, someone please buy my house.

2. Possibly picking up some English classes at a Tech. College that isn’t 30 miles away like the one that I had been teaching at, and I’d be able to ride my bike to it.

3. I’ve dropped 7 pounds. Need to drop about 5 or 7 more.

4. Making Maus (the cat who is temporarily living with me) crazy with the new laser pen I picked up. Youtube video to come.

5. Been watching Euro Cup 2008. I’m pulling for Germany. Me mum is from Germany, which makes me half German. Perhaps that’s where the cycling obsession comes from too.

6. Hannah’s half brother and sister left to go back to their dad on Guam. Long story, short: they moved here 9 months ago from Thailand while their father moved to Guam. Here are some pictures from their last weekend here and some photos of the ridiculous view from Hannah’s condo.

Aaron, Kanasta, Me






Right after Hannah threw him into the water.


The aforementioned ridiculous view.

Driver Crashes into a Bicycle Race

MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) -- A car plowed into a weekend bike race along a highway near the U.S.-Mexico border, killing one and injuring 10 others, police said.
From cnn.com

And some photos from the recent Critical Mass in Wilmington, NC:

One year. One bike. One trip around the continental United States

About a month or so ago, I ran across Robert’s website: Bike 360 I saw that he would be passing through Wilmington on his bike trip around the country. He’s literally cycling around the country—left Houston, rode the Southern states, up the East coast (with a break to go to Bonaroo), along the Northern border and then down the West coast. I’m tired just thinking about it. Anyway, I dropped him a message and offered my house while he was here. He took me up on it, arrived last Friday, hung out for the night and was back on the road the next morning. He’s a really great guy and I’m looking forward to keeping up with ride. Please check out his site Bike 360 it’s well written and entertaining plus he’s got some good photos.

Negotiating the hall.

The load.

Heading out Saturday morning.

Me mum had a birthday. And there was a dinner.

Appletini + straw =


Spirit fingers.


Then two Eastern European peasant girls showed up


and brought gifts.


The peasant girls Mary Mackin'.





And one from today's ride.

Chile’s Chaitén Volcano

This is too wild not to blog about or at the least post the photos. Chile’s Chaitén volcano has been shooting electrically charged plumes of ash and smoke.




Pics from ohgizmo and National Geographic