Having the wind on your side.

June 28th, 2011
Chanute, Kansas -> Cassoday, Kansas
about 95 miles.

     Clear skies, modest temperature, and winds heading west as well. All was glorious for the TransAm team on this long 90= mile day in Kansas. We have another over 90 mile day tomorrow but after this amazing ride I would say I am no worse for the wear. Kansas (though sporting some long easy climbs) is different from any place I have ever lived. The vastness and unbelievably large sky to me was reminiscent of Montana... but for the most part entirely flat. I mean ridiculously flat. In the sky and on the ground alike you feel as though you can see and feel the curves of the earth. It's a whole other way to humble yourself in the great beauties of our country. On the way out to camp we passed through Toronto (eh?) with a population of just over 300 it was a quite different Toronto than the one I stayed at while studying with the National Ballet of Canada so many years back. For lunch just after Toronto we stopped for a delicious wrap and milkshake at the Lizzard Lips restaurant (and gas station). As a whole the winds aided us on this trek today, and kind drivers and smiling farmers just painted the silver lining of what we are riding for to make Kansas one of the more interesting places so far with so little in between.
     Another night will be spent in a campground tonight. I heard a few riders rode off ahead for a hotel, and more power to them, but I myself feel a strong love growing for my tent. I so thoroughly enjoy sleeping in this tent the prospect of not staying in it and under the stars in little over one month makes me a bit sad. As Pepper said to me  "I don't think I will be on my death bed thinking 'I slept outside too much.'" Just last night i managed a great cooling system by pulling my rainfly half back to catch the cool Kansas night breeze and circulate it through my tent. Really, the REI Half Dome 2 has become a truly cherished home for me... in many ways more than any home I have had so far.

Episode One (video)

Episode one of my cross country tour! Check it out! (and don't forget to click "follow" for my blog!)

June 26

Finally I wake up at a good hour. Though my water bottle & map are missing, both with my name on them, I have pretty high spirits. Crossing another state line into Kansas today ready for the wind. I heard there's a big welcoming committee and lots of free food. All this kindness is truely overwhelming.

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almost in Kansas ...

Yesterday was a day I will remember for certain. One thing I remembered from the video last year for bike the US for MS was the thing I was most afraid of and most excited for... the cliff jump.
About 30 feet to the water and me, afraid of heights, holding the GoPro camera... at least until I hit the water. I could see it through the murky water as it sank. Dan Nickolas saved the day by diving down and grabbing the camera first try with George's styling fish goggles. Some cool footage is promised along with my (finally) completed video once I have wifi... whenever that is.

Today we are biking 74 miles into Ashgrove, Missouri where I am dreaming of a pool I heard rumor of. I feel good after a (self inflicted) rushed morning. I won 2/2 races to county lines with Spider(Chris). My ankle is sore, but my spirits couldn't be higher!
Until next tome...
Much love!

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Keep on truckin'

Oh Illinois... I feel I barely knew you.

 It feels like we just blew through Illinois. Though we did have an amazing rest stop at Seth (of the previous Bike the US for MS team) and family's beatific home. I shared the soft grass not far from a few goats, a mule and a mighty nice horse. The feast upon arriving was delectable! From pizza to pasta to delicious brownies, and oh so much good beer the whole stay. I had a chance to replace my rear light which was claimed to eastern Kentucky's potholes as well as get some well needed ice bucket time on my quite inflamed ankle... remember safety first!

But of course before leaving Illinois we had to go through Chester, Illinois. Chester is the home of one of my childhood favorites "Popeye the Sailor Man"! A nice little town with a big punch of weather waiting. The rain came so sudden and so hard that poor Chet had to go to Wally World (walmart) and get a new tent... his turned into a lake. And before I knew the fun I was having we crossed the Ohio River by bridge and on to Missouri. It's a good start to the state, though the headwinds and rolling (and equally annoying) hills were not so sweet the micro brews made at Crown Valley Brewing. The service was pretty great and the back patio view of those darn hills was mighty impressive. I even broke two beers out of the 6 pack I got and without hesitation the manager replaced them unprovoked. And the icing on the Missouri cake is the amazing hostile we have for the night, Al's Place. So when biking through Missouri be sure to stop in. There was a quick and well presented news interview, and a quick but lovely dinner of mexican food all leading to the much anticipated real bed I get to sleep in tonight. 

More from Missouri soon! 

I am what I am.

After a lovely resting day with Seth (of last years Bike the US for MS tam) and his family, complete with two amazing dinners (not to mention a personal favorite breakfast treat from down south: biscuits and gravy) we headed into the town which I was pleased to discover was the home of Popeye the sailor man... Chester, Illinois.

But before that well working on an outreach project cleaning the yard of Joan Listen, who suffers from MS, this lovely article was made:
http://wsiltv.com/p/news_details.php?newsID=13363&type=top

Hope you enjoy, and my first (moderate at best) video should be up soon.

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the kindness of strangers.

June 18, 2011

After spending an incredible night at the First Baptist Church in Sebree, KY (including an amazing pot luck dinner and warm place to sleep) we woke up to an ominous storm. We could have woke and said "no... we should stay in the warm, enjoy the leftovers and watch Clive Owen on the big screen tv." And we did. We did not leave until one in the afternoon. Which is good because after playing cloth Frisbee at our first water stop we headed to Marion. While jamming with my ridiculous "street line" mohawk to Edward Sharp an amazingly kind stranger walked over an offered to buy us all dinner at the Marion Cafe across the street from where we stopped.
It was such a cute little place with a preserved pharmacy about eighty years old. Needless to say the meal was delectable and the kindness sweeter than any desert. I just can not wait to see what lies right around he next corner!

many thanks to Chris Cook and Sandra Hawthorne for the kindness that influenced this post!

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The first official Bike the US for MS NorthernTier video by Pepper!

Slow and steady.

It seems that the saying "slow and steady wins the race" is applicable to me in many ways. Mostly the two main points described here, being in the way I ride my bike and the way I post my blog (which evidently means slow and barely at all).  

     I have been riding for well over a week now and, among many other things, I have passed through my first state. That's right Virginia has been defeated (with many climbs and fun downhills) at 570 miles. My first whole state defeated. Also just yesterday here in Kentucky (in the area where Steven Foster wrote his big song) I completed my first century ride of over 100 miles! This trip has been a huge test for me as I battle fatigue, heat, rain, and my own mind to ride for something truly inspired and important.
     Another very well notable event was visiting the "Cookie Lady" (June Curry) who is a legend on the TransAm rout. Resting in her house on a brutal climb in Afton she has been feeding and housing cyclists since 1976. Her hospitality and kindness has been evident in almost every log of riders on the Trans Am rout. Also, the home below where she stays has been converted into the most fantastic museum of trinkets and artifacts of the cyclists who had been there before.

     Also I conquered the climb of  what many consider the most difficult climb on the trip Heyters Gap (effectively known as Haters Gap) after getting caught in a pounding from surprise hail and rain almost destroying my phone. Later to enjoy a working phone again on the fantastic descent down Vesuvius, which was fun and beautiful.

     There is so much more that I can not even remember and I have so much more I look forward to sharing so stay tuned, I'm going to be posting much more now that my phone is ok as well as my PC. And hopefully I can have my first video up soon!
     Until next time,
            David Bauser

day one

I truly could not have asked for a more beatific day as we dipped our tires and headed west. I felt pretty good in 90+° weather but was thrilled when we happened across a sign for eggs, ice cream, and (wait for it) free ice pops. Three fantastically sweet words on such a warm summers day. The little homestead that placed the sign was adorable and quaint. I picked up some decadent locally grown and never sprayed strawberries and some local honey.

The second water break was at a sub shop off the road where I was constantly being tempted by a sign for Klondike bars. What would I do for a Klondike bar? I'm sure at some point on this sweaty trip I will find out.

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