Snow Photo - July 12, 2008

Here is a picture of snow at Independence Pass from this Saturday evening ...




I really should have snapped a picture of the snowman two children made while I was there. Oh well!

You can see all of my photos from the evening here: Independence Pass (July 12, 2008).

-Steve

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I am Daring to Write a Book
Current mood: pleased

I thought it was time for a personal update about my bike across America aftermath and what I am up to now: I am daring to believe that I can write a book and get it published. Since last week and for the remainder of July, I have dedicated four afternoon hours (usually 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.) each day to writing, editing and compiling a completed book. The goal is to have a finished transcript that I can hand to people by August 1, right before I leave for New Jersey. (See previous blog for details about why I'm heading east soon.)

Monday through Saturday for four hours equals 24 hours per week, and I determined to make my "best stab" at this book project. This will be my first book and I know the toughest part of many things is the first one! I need to get this out of the way, so I can learn more about book writing and do a better job with a second book. Yes, I have other book ideas that I am already thinking about, and one has to do with the 1964 Cadillac. ;)

I honestly do not know if my story has a strong enough "hook" or if my writing abilities are decent enough, but that is okay. This is what risk-taking is all about. No regrets! Many of my "45 days" pages were abridged versions, and I intend to go back and elaborate quite extensively on some of those experiences.

I am really looking forward to this new adventure - sort of an adventure that "bounces off" of the original trip. As you may have noticed, I written a page with photos for each of the 45 days out on the bike: 2008 Bike Trip Reports. I have also been diligent in covering other miscellaneous issues about the trip: About The Route, Planning The Trip, Thank You Page and What I Brought With Me.

This is where you come in. If you have specific questions or curiosities about the trip, you are welcome to ask them here. It might be another area that I could write about.

A few articles that are likely coming:

More about "what it was really like" - loneliness, tiredness, what I thought about for hours on the bike.

One more thing: It is never too early to think of a name for my book. I am open to suggestions. :)

And let me throw in a picture of me with my bike in Brownfield, Texas ...



This was on "Day 23" - http://bikeacrossamerica.org/trip-report/day23/brownfield-aspermont.htm

-Steve

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Dad Has Cancer

Just a quick note ...

A week ago, I learned my Dad has cancer in the pancreas area. It is fairly serious. The doctors said if my Dad does nothing, they estimated he has about 3-6 months to live. They can not operate on him, because the tumor is inside his pancreas and has began to reach out into his blood vessels and arteries. (I may not use proper medical terms anywhere in this entry.)

Chemotherapy and radiation is an option and my Dad will start around July 14. The specialists in this area confidently asserted he has a decent chance his life will be lengthened, as long as he does all the right things (follows all recommendations, good diet, makes all of his chemo/radiation appointments, don't know all the specific details), which he certainly will do. My Dad is very responsible with following through on things and he already exercises and has an amazing diet. Currently, Dad feels fine, but only after they performed a "splint operation" in his pancreas to help his pancreas function better.

What does this mean for me? There is a good chance I will be spending a lot of time in the latter half of 2008 in New Jersey. I can even stay in my childhood bedroom ... Yay! :) Fortunately, I am blessed with a work situation where I am fairly mobile and can travel somewhat freely and work at the same time. I only have one Dad, and I want to spend some good quality time with him and help him with his therapies. I know, at least from hearing other people's experiences, chemo & radiation can really "jack a person up" in the short-term. New Jersey and New York friends ... shoot me a note if you want to meet up! I might go to one last Yankees game in the soon to be obsolete Yankee Stadium too.

Thank you for reading this. Here is a photo of my Dad, Mom and myself back in 2002 when they visited me in Manitou Springs, Colorado. I know ... I know ... What a nice Italian-looking family!



Just two requests:

1) You are obviously welcome to comment, share kind words and/or do or say something to encourage me. I am past the "shock phase" and all in all, am doing fairly well. Dad's health has brought my family together (parents and my two brothers) a little closer which is a blessing. There are other issues behind the scenes where I see some good happening among the bad.

2) Do NOT give lengthy advice. I am not asking for advice. There is nothing more annoying that someone running their mouth either in person, by phone or via the Internet, talking about some crazy new alternative therapy that is going to dramatically heal my Dad. "You should do this ..." or "I was in the same situation and this helped (and then force your information on me) ..." None of that crap.

Thank you for reading all this.

-Steve

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Three People In Alabama
Current mood: accomplished

I have been home for six weeks after bicycling across America along the southern tier of the country, and I have been slowly but consistently creating pages compiling photos, stories and experiences each day.

You can see my working list of bicycling days here: Bike Across America Trip Index.

Three People In Alabama

Bicycling through the states of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia definitely had their difficulties. Alabama, in particular, comes to mind. It took me three long days to get across that state! Each day, I encountered at least one friendly local whom I captured with my camera.

Looking back, I am so grateful for these people ...

MARCH 10 - Near Gordo, AL.

I was changing a flat tire on the side of the highway and Glenn, a pastor at a local church, pulled over to ask if I needed help. He is a road biker himself and so he felt especially sympathetic to me. We had a great talk about many things right there on the shoulder of the highway! :)

MARCH 11 (Chilton County, AL) - During a fairly miserable ride on Highway 82 in central Alabama, Amanda, a Subway employee, pointed out that she drove past me about 25 miles down the highway and was astonished at how quickly I came to her workplace, where I took some time to sit and rest. That was so encouraging! :)

MARCH 12 - My last day in Alabama. This was actually not a bad bicycling day as Highway 82 in southeast Alabama really calms down.

I met these three guys in front of a convenience store somewhere east of Union Springs in Bullock County. They treated me like a celebrity when they learned I was bicycling across America. And man, people were really friendly down there!

Oh ... the guy in the middle was boasting about his high school basketball team winning the state championship.

Actually, I guess it's really "five people in Alabama." God bless them all! :)

-Steve

P.S. - Again, if you want to read more, visit my main bike across America index page: http://bikeacrossamerica.org/trip-report/index.htm.

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Don’t Read This Blog Entry!

Okay, I put "Don't Read This Blog Entry" as the title heading because I'm partly ambivalent to write this. Here's what's been happening...

It appears I will definitely be bicycling across America in the near future. I know, I know, I said this last year and didn't do it, and that's partly why I have been more quiet about my plans this year. Obviously, I wanted many of you myspace friends to know.

Basic information:

When are you leaving? I plan to stand in the Pacific Ocean in San Diego on February 1, 2008 and begin peddling east.

When do you plan to finish? Not sure. People think I can finish in two months, which would mean early April. I think it will be a little later than that.

What is your route? I am taking the southern route during late winter/early spring when high temperatures are usually in the 60's to 80's. The main cities/areas I'll be going through are: San Diego, CA - Blythe, CA - Phoenix, AZ - Show Low, AZ - Socorro, NM - Clovis, NM - Lubbock, TX - Wichita Falls, TX - Texarkana, TX - southern Arkansas - Mississippi - central Alabama - southern Georgia.

Why are you doing this? It's one of those life dreams. I don't think I could live with myself for the rest of my life if I never really took a stab at this. There's so much more I could say. I will tell you God has me in a place where it's become clear that I must take this on for my own personal growth, healing and spiritual vitality. There is a lot of future uncertainty about my future: where I will live, how my counseling ministry will be used and other important life matters. I'm believing God will use this adventure to help me take steps towards having more clarity and insight about such matters. 

I simply can't allow petty inconveniences and circumstances stop me or discourage me, and I'll admit fear was doing a number on me earlier in the month.

Do you have any sponsors? No. While by no means rich, I'd like to think I can afford this ride with many financial sacrifices and working extra hard later in the year.

Are you going to be camping? Nope. The plan is to find the cheapest forms of lodging every night. I'm also working very hard at networking to find people who might be willing to put me up on the route.

Are you going alone or with a group? I'm going alone. The idea of going with others sounds enticing, but realistically, this is one of those types of adventures where I just could not wait and sit around for another person to join me. This must be done now while the window of opportunity is wide open! I will not waste time *hoping* someone would come along for the ride!

Are you bringing a camera? Oh yes! When I return home, I plan to create a page with pictures of each day on www.BikeAcrossAmerica.org (my site). I really look forward to that!

Will you have your laptop with you? No. My laptop is too large and heavy to carry along. This is something that disappoints me when I think about it, but what are you going to do?

How can I receive updates on your trip as it unfolds? My plan is to post brief blog entries right here on my myspace page with short reports when I have Internet access. I'll post the basics of where I'm at, what's been happening, highlights, etc.

How can I help? The best way you can help is to review the route (menitoned above) and either give me a place to stay for the night, or connect me with someone you know well along the route who would offer me free lodging. Free, cheap and safe lodging! (Call me cell or e-mail me at my personal e-mail if you have connections.)

Will you have a party at the end? I hope to have some kind of mini-gathering and celebration in Jacksonville, Florida when the trip ends. (Probably in early to mid April?) I will be flying back west from this city and anticipate spending a day or two there. If you live in Florida or Georgia and want to meet up, let me know. Again, call me cell or send a note to my personal e-mail.

Lastly, here's one token photo of me with my bike.

(Oh and yes, I no longer use tennis shoes with stirrups on the pedals. My cycling shoes are so much better!)

Your prayers, encouragement and good thoughts right here on this blog and in my comment section are well appreciated! I can't thank you enough!

Your Friend,
Steve

8:38 AM - 7 Comments - 12 Kudos - Add Comment

The Garbage Cans Are In The Semifinals!
Current mood: determined

Friends, the Garbage Cans, my fantasy football team, has reached the semifinals. If I win this week, I will be in the championship game. Yay!

My team faces the 1 seed in the league, the Evil Bunnies. As you can see, he has a very strong team. I am clearly the underdog and it will take some luck to defeat him, but man oh man, I am going to stay positive. All of my players have the potential to perform really well.

I am so grateful to have gotten this far already. My team started 0-2 to start the year and I was desperate to make changes to turn my team around. I picked up some really good free agents (Shaun McDonald, Jeff King, Ryan Grant) and made some key trades (acquiring Hines Ward, Detroit defense which was really good earlier in the season) to improve my team into contention. I finished the year winning nine of my last eleven games and I won the 4 seed (20 team league, six playoffs berths) to finish 9-4.

If you watch the football games this week, please cheer for my respective players. Thank you!

And what do you think? Does that Yahoo avatar kind of look like me? :p)

GO GARBAGE CANS! :)

-Steve

P.S. I'll post the results in a reply to this particular blog entry after the weekend.

EDITED A WEEK LATER - I lost. :(

9:22 AM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Relationship with Dad ---> Relationship with God

Relationship With Dad, Relationship With God Theory

I've heard this theory various times over the years, in church contexts and in therapeutic ones (I'm a counselor, you know), and I thought I'd throw it out there for you to consider, reflect upon and maybe comment about.

It goes like this: The attributes and characteristics of your father, including the quality of one's relationship with him, often gets subconsciously projected onto God.

Speaking personally and professionally here, there seems to be a lot of truth to that statement. Of course, there are exceptions, but I can't tell you how many times I've seen this in my own life and in others. A few examples...

- A father who treated you like you were a nuisance = A God who "couldn't be bothered" with your prayers and concerns.
- Absent father = Non-existent God.
- A physically present, but aloof, emotionally uninvolved father = A God who displays little impact or power in your life and can't do much for you.
- An abusive father or one who didn't protect you from abuse = Probably not a God you'd want to get to know anyway; A God who isn't your advocate.
- A father who cared and was invested in your life, one whom you could discuss anything with = A strong and intimate relationship with God.
- A critical and perfectionistic father = A God focused on obedience to rules, who is quick to point out when you've screwed up, is rarely pleased with you and has just about "had it" with you with your constant sinning.

Those are just a few examples. Again, I realize there are exceptions to the rule, but I dare say this theory holds at least some truth. What do you think? Care to share your thoughts?

Six 14ers This Summer

Woo-hoo! I climbed six "14ers" (i.e. mountains with an altitude of 14,000+ feet) this summer. Here are links to all six hikes including a spiffy picture of myself on Mt. Sneffels.

Mt. Sherman, Mt. Sneffels, Mt. Belford, Quandary Peak, Mt. Yale and Mt. Antero



Let me throw in another picture here. This is Chris and Sue, whom I hiked up Mt. Sherman with. Chris is known as "Florida Nuke" on the Friendship Board on my web site:



Have a good one, my friends.

-Steve

12:01 AM - 12 Comments - 11 Kudos - Add Comment

Today is a Low Self-Esteem Day

Ever have one of those?

9:34 AM - 18 Comments - 17 Kudos - Add Comment

Megan, Ron, Jennifer and Jumpin Julie

With summer here and my living in a mountain wonderland, there are many friends, family members and regular visitors of my ColoradoGuy.com web site who come this way to vacation in Colorado. There is no need for me to go on "summer vacation" living here, because any day off is pretty much like a vacation.

Below is a short recap with a photo of four friends (Megan, Ron, Jennifer and Jumpin Julie) who have come to visit in the past two weeks:

Megan

Megan from Texas camped at Cottonwood Lake and after photographing the sunset at Cottonwood Pass a few evenings earlier (See: Sunset - June 27, 2007), we agreed that I would take her up a 14er for the first time. We chose Mt. Yale and here's a grand photo near at the summit! :)



You can see my full trip report here.

Ron

Ron in Colorado Springs is my best friend, and he came out for the weekend and slept on my couch. We did some short hiking and scenic driving, and I included a photo of his Red Toyota 4-Runner in one of my Mt. Princeton photos of the day. (You can see my Mt. Princeton web site here: Mt. Princeton Photos.)



Isn't that a nice picture? The morning lighting was perfect too! ;)

Jennifer

Jennifer from Oklahoma was in town and the highlight of our time was visiting the historic Alpine Tunnel on the west side of the Continental Divide. Over 100 years ago, a train traveled across the Contiental Divide through a 1,700+ foot tunnel under a mountain ridge at 12,000 feet in altitude. When mining busted in the area, the railroad was abandoned, but the remains of buildings, the railroad grade and the tunnel still remain. Sadly, the tunnel's opening caved in on each side due to years of neglect and erosion.

You can see all of my photos about it here: Alpine Tunnel

Me standing in front of the tunnel where the train came out from darkness:



(Jennifer is included in the photo below, pink shirt.)

Jumpin Julie

Last but not least, a woman known as "Jumpin Julie" on my forum is staying at her summer rental for a month with her family. Today, I had the joy of meeting her for lunch in Poncha Springs, along with Lisa in Telluride (another forum regular), Jennifer in Oklahoma and a whole bunch of others. We had such a nice time!  :)

Oh ... and special thanks to Julie for delivering gifts in the form of a large cigar and package of Texas Pecan coffee. I'm drinking the coffee right now and I plan to smoke the cigar when we together reach Zapata Falls in the San Luis Valley on Sunday.

Here's a nice photo of the lunch gang! :)



Yeah, life can be rough sometimes, but I am quite thankful for all the wonderful friends I have in the world.

So this begs the question: When are you blog readers planning to visit me? I think I have some openings in September and early October to do some fall foliage photography excursions! Let me know!

-Steve

3:07 PM - 4 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Doing Great Things and Emma Burr

I was looking down at the grand view at the Continental Divide near Cottonwood Pass (See photos: Unnamed 12,792' Point), when I reflected about something in my life ...

Most of the greatest things I have ever done and have brought the greatest fulfillment in my life have been met with much resistence, namely in the form of people who thought my plans were odd, foolish, unwise, irresponsible, etc.

Below is a list of accomplishments that fit this category:

(Photo Above: Inside the open kayak I used on my Passaic River voyage.)

Here are few of my quotes from that interview that I need to read over and over for myself as I take on life:

"The cost of not taking the risk would have been too great."

"With the exception of best friend Bernie, a good friend since high school, my plan to voyage down the Passaic River was met by much resistence ... It took a lot of hard work and the help of close confidants to overcome the so-called conventional wisdom that my trip would be silly, foolish, unworthy, etc."

"I don't think I ever really convinced my parents to support me in my goal; It was just one of those things that I did anyway."

"I needed to remind myself constantly of how momentous and special this partaking of the adventure would be; Going along with the pack in herd instinct rarely leads to greatness."

I hope, somewhere in this writing, you are encouraged to press on in your callings! :)

Emma Burr Mountain

Last Monday, my friend Shannon took me in his Land Cruiser up South Cottonwood Canyon, west of Buena Vista and Mt. Princeton. It is a less visited canyon that leads to some old mining areas known as "Mineral Basin" at the foot of the Continental Divide.

Here is one photo of this beautiful mountain:



Now it's true I find myself easily obsessed with mountains (and then consequently hiking them), but there was something about Emma Burr Mountain (alt, 13,537 feet) that gripped my soul.

Obviously, it's my desire to stand on the summit of the mountain before winter arrives in late October, but even moreso, I keep thinking about who Emma Burr might have been. Searching on the Internet provided very little information who she was or how the mountain was named after her.

- Was Emma Burr a hero during Colorado's settlement era like Mary Murphy (i.e. the Mary Murphy Mine) and "Lady Silverheels" in Park County (Mt. Silverheels)?

- Was she a beloved child who tragically died somehow inside the canyon of that remote mining area?

- Did Emma Burr courageously hike the mountain?

- Was she a prostitute? I know, I know, a tough question, but prostitution was quite a business during the Old West days where men greatly outnumbered women in late 1800's start-up mining areas and towns.

- Was she related to Aaron Burr? (I doubt it, but people frequently mention this possibility when I discuss this.)

For now, the mystery remains about Emma Burr, and that's why I have the front page quotation that Emma Burr is on my mind these days. 

One more photo of Emma Burr Mountain, as seen approximately 1.5 miles south of Cottonwood Pass. It is the mountain just right on center in the back.

1:12 PM - 7 Comments - 9 Kudos - Add Comment