Day 57
July 27, 2005
Tonight I write to you from the basement of the kind Carver family in Kansas City, Kansas. It was another beautiful day finished off by great hospitality of new friends.
I got up, went to Spangles, a little 50’s style fast food diner, for an early lunch, and made my way over to the Topeka Capital-Journal. Unfortunately, I arrived as the newsroom had gone for lunch. I went over to McDonald’s for a little McDessert, Flurry-style, to kill time while I waited for the reporters to get back from lunch. When I returned I was able to speak to Hal, one of the reporters, who was very interested in the trip. We chatted a while and found that all the photographers were now out of the office as well. I hung around a while until they came back and let them fire off a few pictures before getting on the road. It was close to 4 by the time I finally got on the road. I wasn’t too upset by getting out so late, I was very thankful that they were interested in the trip and willing to do a story on it.
It was another great day to ride again. It was in the low 70s with scattered clouds and the wind was very kind. It’s amazing how big a factor the weather plays in determining your morale for the day. Today it was invigorating. It felt like one of those early spring days that carries all the promises of summer; it was great. The only bummer was a flat about a third of the way into the ride. Fortunately, it didn’t take too long to fix and I got back on the road pretty quickly.
I got inside Kansas City and called upon my Dad again to lead me to some shelter. I was still atleast 5 miles from the closest option, but we came up with a plan and I headed for it. I was en route to my stop for the night when I came upon a guy in a cycling jersey standing in a parking lot watching me roll up. Heading home from a day ride of his own, he had passed me and stopped to ask about the tandem. We chatted briefly of the trip and the tandem. When I told him how I was headed to the little motel up the road for the night he said I could stay at his house if I wanted to. Having learned my lesson from the last kind offer of friendly lodging, I thankfully took him up on it.
I followed the directions over to his house and was greeted by the rest of his family. Marc and Tammy, with their two children, Adam and Rachael, welcomed me into their home as if I were one of their own. They let me use their shower, fed me, washed some of my clothes, worked out a plan to get me down to the paper tomorrow – Marc’s going ride down with me and show me the way on his bike – Marc even fixed my bike computer after dinner for me. I couldn’t have asked for a better night. What a great surprise.
Now, as I said, I sit in their basement which doubles as an amazing studio and processing lab for Marc’s photography business. A while ago I got a little lesson in developing as I was able to witness he and his two best little helpers in action, before it was the little helpers' bedtime.
Thank you again guys! I’ve enjoyed meeting and spending time with you in your home. Thanks for everything!
I continue to be blessed by little, and huge, random acts of kindness such as tonight. Even meeting with Hal and having him receive the trip with such open ears was a great gift; Topeka is the largest market to feature the trip thus far. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and enjoying a little time in Kansas City before heading out after lunch. It was nice riding around Topeka a bit while I killed time waiting for the reporters to get back from lunch, I’m hoping to get the same little taste of Kansas City tomorrow. It’s supposed to be a little warmer tomorrow, but nothing like the days I’ve had. So hopefully I’ll be able to take my time without dying in the hot heat of the afternoon hours on the ride tomorrow. As always, I’ll let you know how it goes…
Tonight I write to you from the basement of the kind Carver family in Kansas City, Kansas. It was another beautiful day finished off by great hospitality of new friends.
I got up, went to Spangles, a little 50’s style fast food diner, for an early lunch, and made my way over to the Topeka Capital-Journal. Unfortunately, I arrived as the newsroom had gone for lunch. I went over to McDonald’s for a little McDessert, Flurry-style, to kill time while I waited for the reporters to get back from lunch. When I returned I was able to speak to Hal, one of the reporters, who was very interested in the trip. We chatted a while and found that all the photographers were now out of the office as well. I hung around a while until they came back and let them fire off a few pictures before getting on the road. It was close to 4 by the time I finally got on the road. I wasn’t too upset by getting out so late, I was very thankful that they were interested in the trip and willing to do a story on it.
It was another great day to ride again. It was in the low 70s with scattered clouds and the wind was very kind. It’s amazing how big a factor the weather plays in determining your morale for the day. Today it was invigorating. It felt like one of those early spring days that carries all the promises of summer; it was great. The only bummer was a flat about a third of the way into the ride. Fortunately, it didn’t take too long to fix and I got back on the road pretty quickly.
I got inside Kansas City and called upon my Dad again to lead me to some shelter. I was still atleast 5 miles from the closest option, but we came up with a plan and I headed for it. I was en route to my stop for the night when I came upon a guy in a cycling jersey standing in a parking lot watching me roll up. Heading home from a day ride of his own, he had passed me and stopped to ask about the tandem. We chatted briefly of the trip and the tandem. When I told him how I was headed to the little motel up the road for the night he said I could stay at his house if I wanted to. Having learned my lesson from the last kind offer of friendly lodging, I thankfully took him up on it.
I followed the directions over to his house and was greeted by the rest of his family. Marc and Tammy, with their two children, Adam and Rachael, welcomed me into their home as if I were one of their own. They let me use their shower, fed me, washed some of my clothes, worked out a plan to get me down to the paper tomorrow – Marc’s going ride down with me and show me the way on his bike – Marc even fixed my bike computer after dinner for me. I couldn’t have asked for a better night. What a great surprise.
Now, as I said, I sit in their basement which doubles as an amazing studio and processing lab for Marc’s photography business. A while ago I got a little lesson in developing as I was able to witness he and his two best little helpers in action, before it was the little helpers' bedtime.
Thank you again guys! I’ve enjoyed meeting and spending time with you in your home. Thanks for everything!
I continue to be blessed by little, and huge, random acts of kindness such as tonight. Even meeting with Hal and having him receive the trip with such open ears was a great gift; Topeka is the largest market to feature the trip thus far. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and enjoying a little time in Kansas City before heading out after lunch. It was nice riding around Topeka a bit while I killed time waiting for the reporters to get back from lunch, I’m hoping to get the same little taste of Kansas City tomorrow. It’s supposed to be a little warmer tomorrow, but nothing like the days I’ve had. So hopefully I’ll be able to take my time without dying in the hot heat of the afternoon hours on the ride tomorrow. As always, I’ll let you know how it goes…
posted by SuperByron3000 at 7/27/2005
2 Comments:
Hi Byron,
I am the father of a wonderful teenager; her name is Susana and she is 15 years old. We discovered she had CF when she was 12, which explained a lot of things. Susana is doing pretty well, but has trouble gaining weight, mainly...keep up the fight for your late friend Stephen...by the way, how old was he?
You can email me at perezc@hotmail.com
Regards,
Carlos Perez, Virginia Beach, VA
Hey!!! BJ this Jason Gregory i am the son of Mrs.Linda Gregory from Alliance Christian. I was just gonna tell you how glad i am that you are doing this because Stephen is watching you and he is so proud too. I hope that you are having a blast and are staying safe and i will be there to see you at the Finish Line.
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