link

this should get you to a web album of all the picture I took going across the US. Right now they are unlabeled but are in chronological order. I will be adding captions and a few more that I have in other places but for now look around and enjoy.
http://picasaweb.google.com/elijahmaurer/BikeAcrossTheUS?authkey=Gv1sRgCKOo2-7bwInzXw#
if the link doesn't work then the www. is above it to cut and paste.

fin

I haven't been able to post as I have been busy pedaling my way towards the finish. In the final stretch my rides were 95 miles, 75 miles, 115 miles, 100 miles, 115 miles, and 140 miles to end in the outer Banks of North Carolina. I made it all the way across the United States. I met loads of really nice and interesting people, and received help from more people than I can count. I truly could not have made it without all of you. Thanks for helping me and being great. Now it is time to enjoy the beach. I have bout two days before a hurricane gets here, the news claims it will be the worst one in 20 years. I guess that my biking for 2 months and getting rained on for just 26 minutes (I timed it, that is how little I got rain) is catching up to me now. I will certainly take any weather now as I have a roof over my head and a bed to sleep in. Pictures will be up soon, trying to figure out the best place to put them.

junk

So as I move across this grand and fantastic nation I have seen lots and lots of detritus along the side of the road. I have in my travels seen hundreds of towels and washcloths, a few shirts, some pants, a couple of pairs of shorts, thousands and thousands of cans(coke,beer,redbull,etc.), two licence plates, probably 20-40 cooler lids, 2 coolers (no lids on them) lawn chairs, shoes, flip flops, twine string, rope, cord, bungees, rubber straps, hooks, dead animals(every variety including an owl), food wrappers from convenience stores and fast food chains, letters, cds, cassettes, a hammer, tires, two bike helmets(one was a childs)a few life vests, about 87 cents in a variety of coinage, plastic bags, flower pots,an almanac,food, dolls, 2 stuffed bears, 3 bandanas, a wrench, lots of bolts, and 3 cellphones but one thing I have not seen is zipties. I know people use them and I know that they must break but I havent seen a single one. So if you need to secure something to your car I will be so bold as to suggest a ziptie. Otherwise could you all that drive please keep your crap in the car, its sad that there is so much trash lining the roads. It doesnt matter city or rural it is everywhere. I have started to get excited when I approach a town and see lots of DQ cups because I know I get a blizzard soon. And that is sad that there are so many I notice and it happens so often I have become accustomed to it.

rolling

I am just motoring along now. It is not so bad these last 300 miles in Kentucky. The hills are steep but short or longer and not so steep so it works out just fine for me. People are still really nice just helpful and easy going. I am always surprised by the fact that a southerner can talk on and on and on and on for hours about nothing at all. I stopped to ask if a road went where I needed and ended up in a 15-20 minute conversation that was not about anything in particular. all I wanted was yep or nope. but it is better for people to want to chat then not be helpful at all. I have a few hundred miles left one mountain range and a bunch of hills. I just may finish this thing. A little luck, some hard days and if the weather holds it should all work out. At any rate I will try my best to get a whole bunch of pictures up when i get done. Everyone told me Ky is full of dogs and terrible people. I have been chased by like three mutts but nothing spectacular, and everyone has been super nice to me.Hope that continues also.

what flavor jelly???

so I made it to KY and so far its been good. though i did find out that the place i stayed last night (cave in rock) was having the annual Insane Clown Posse meeting and concert so there were literally thousands and thousands of retards in town. there is of course just on ferry across to Kentucky and thus the morning ride was hectic but now it is much better. I was going to do a shorter day yesterday and slowly get back into the riding groove but once my ass hit the seat I just couldn't stop. Three different places I said to myself OK here is far enough, and each time i sat for about 15 minutes and then looked at the maps and saw a town just another 8 miles or just another 11 and so I went there until i arrived at the ferry to KY. Got into the campground changed the hosts back tube his bike had a flat he didn't have the right tools. He gave me the night for free. and as I was changing his tire it starts to pour rain, buckets and wind. I finish his tire about 10 minutes later and the rain stops, I get back on my bike to ride over to the tent area and just laugh, still just 6 minutes. Must be some sort of record. Wonder if I will make it all the way?

nevada

clean

Happy to have made it to the house of some old friends. Today is the first day off I have taken since Cedar City Utah. I am in Carbondale Illinois. No break in most of Utah, none in Colorado, nor in Kansas, or Missouri, but today is a day without riding. I must at this point give a huge thanks to two different and seemingly unrelated people. First The Best Damn Bike Shop. REI St. Louis. You three rock something fierce. If the world was full of people who enjoyed their jobs and life and were as helpful as you all were the world would be an awesome place. Thank you again for getting me in and fixing all the problems I had, the bike runs like new and is again a pleasure to be on. And if you read this, I again avoided the storm, call me lucky but I still stand at 6 minutes of rain for the entire journey.
Seems impossible I know but here is how it went down.
I roll into Freeburg Il. and camp behind a bar ( the owner said it was OK) spend a sweltering night dripping sweat into my tent. wake have biscuits and gravy for breakfast and get the route straight, I was going to take 15/13 through Pickneyville and into Carbondale. I get to a small town I think it may have been Coultrerville and stop for some water. I was in a gas station and asked the attendant if 13 does in fact continue into Carbondale. She said yep. Then a toothless crazy lady kind of behind me mutters,"you dont wanna take 13." I asked why not?
She says take old county line road to 4 then over to Ava then the Bike trail/Ava road to 13/127 and then to Carbondale. I ask to see a map from the gas station and of course old county line rd. isn't on it. The lady gets her county map out of the car and shows me then gives me her map. I decide Ill try it, whats the worst that could happen right. So I go down old county line rd. And into Ava. I couldn't find the bike trail/Ava rd so I go into the bank to ask, as I am speaking to the teller a Fed/Ex guy walks in looks at me and says you riding the bike?" I am thinking this guy is sharp, of all the folks in this bank (there were 5, 3 workers, me and a 85 years old) he guessed I was on the bike. I said yes, he told me, I wouldn't go out there if I were you, Pickneyville(my original Route) just got hammered with 70+mile winds, a torrential downpour and the storm was moving. I laughed and told the bankers that if I were them I would make sure my car windows were rolled up because it was going to rain in Ava in 45 minutes but that I would be nearly to carbondale by then. I left, rolled down Ava road onto 127/13 into carbondale, pulled into my friends house, walked inside and it started to rain here. 6 minutes while riding. So thanks to the Oracle of Phillips 66 for seeing the route. Glad I listened to her. More help from strangers than I deserve, all of it much appreciated.

hot damn

so I have found a problem with the tire patches i am using. First they are called scabs made by the same company that makes slime for tires. This is a fairly reputable company that makes good bike products. I bought the patches and followed the instructions when i got flatted. Now what the company fails to mention or perhaps does not know is that the self adhesive glue that is used on the back begins to fail/melt at anything over 110 degrees. Usually this would not be a problem but as Kansas is going through what all the locals refer to as either "nice biking weather" or "the hottest its been here since all the goats died off... what year was that (looking at other locals) ... conversation takes a dramatic wrong turn , and I try to politely excuse myself.... it is a problem. now I can bike and the tires stay ok but if i stop the flat. Could be because the blacktop is 140 could be many reasons but i have 3 times taken my tire off to find a leak and nothing but the old patches leaking. Moral of the story. Don't talk to old guys sitting outside of the gas station, they will argue about the strangest things. Oh and keep biking, if you stop tires go flat. Kansas has been grand. Free swimming pools free parks to sleep in and today a guy stopped along the side of the road to give me an ice cold Gatorade. 2nd time its happened in Kansas and a lady offered me money after I ate lunch today, also the 2nd time someone in Kansas has tried to give me money. Hope that the next state is as kind.

swarms

In the last two or three days I have been inundated with grasshoppers. Literally killed thousands of them by myself. My tires are slimy with their guts its getting gross. At first I was trying to avoid them but they are everywhere. They sit and as I approach they hop and fly, when the wind is at my back its not too bad they fly off in front of me and do it again, but the times the wind is into me it is like a nightmare. They jump and fly and the wind pushes them into me, they have sticky claws that they cling to me with and then they jump again. Some hit me in the face others legs some on my body. It truly is horrifying. I got off my bike at one point to take a photo and there were three on the bags hitching a ride. Just gruesome beasts. They range in size from 1/2 an inch (much harder to run over) to 2+ inches (they pop and squirt) so Kansas has been fun but not for the reasons I expected.

big KS

am riding through Kansas right now. If california was tough because of the newness and Nevada was tough because of the distances between water and Utah was tough because of the grades of the roads climbing the mountains and Colorado was tough because of the rockies, then kansas is tough because of the heat. It is 101 out right now and I have 60 more miles to go. It is oppressive yesterday was 120 miles and it was 106 out the good thing is that I had great tailwind and was able to make good time. I have lots more to say but need to get back to the road before the wind switches on me as it is expected to do in 5 hours. Last thing I want is a head wind. I am still loving this everyone should go out and ride their bikes today. Its hard not to smile while on a bike. Trust me on this I have now traveled about 2000 miles on one and not stopped smiling. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much. And my ass hurts, but thats expected i guess.(really my ass stopped hurting weeks ago, not sure if I got used to it or if it just lost all feeling.)