I’ve decided to outsource the transcription of my Lewis and Clark Bicycle Tour journals. But rather then mail my precious notebooks to some seedy service in Bangladesh, I’m going to keep this job in-house. Hence, I now appeal to the American public and jaymekohler.com readers nationwide.
I have two journals that need typing. My first journal [...]
September 2004 is when it began. My river envy. I was less than a week into the first half of my Lewis and Clark Trail bicycle tour, grinding through eastern Washington and wondering how the hell three weeks on a bike could have ever sounded like a good idea. I’d been riding the better part [...]
Published: August 24th, 2006It’s day twelve in Pierre, South Dakota and I’ve rendezvoused with Dale for the last three days of my tour. We’ve booked rooms at the Governor’s Inn (whirlpool, indoor pool, and kick ass continental breakfast included) and are going over our route through um-teen miles of road construction and a few Indian reservations.
The days are [...]
The morning of my departure for St Louis, Missouri has dawned colder than expected. Recent days past have begun in the high 30s, warmed up to the low 70s, and cooled right back down again at sunset. I should have expected as much. I’m about thirty minutes from a ride to the airport and less [...]
Published: September 15th, 2005It’s 2157. My bags are packed and loaded, I’m showered, and eagerly anticipating my 0300 departure on post-deployment leave. Colorado Springs, Colorado is my first stop. Residing there are the very same soldiers of the 506th I trained with in Iraq. It’s a reunion that’s sure to produce more than a few laughs. From there [...]
Published: September 6th, 2005There’s a hill behind my apartment that needs climbing. I sit on the left side of my couch, stare through the sliding glass door of the balcony, and imagine myself on that hill, crawling through the juniper, past the shaggy spruce trees, over the bald spot near the crest and to the top. I don’t [...]
Published: July 28th, 2005Hours have rolled into days. Days have transformed into weeks. And weeks have disappeared into months. My time is lost in the garbage laden streets of Fallujah, where suspicious gazes and children shouting for chocolate await me with every patrol. They follow me around corners, over crumbled walls, and down narrow alleyways home. The eyes [...]
Published: February 7th, 2005On 31 August at 1308 Central Time, I fly out of Bismarck, North Dakota and on my way into my own personal cycling history: riding the Lewis and Clark trail.
This tour has been ten months in the making and delayed by two, but I’m doing it at last. I’ve made dozens of gear list modifications [...]
There’s something about the city of Brasilia, I can’t quite put my finger on, that I really enjoy. In spite of a rather miserable week back from Rio with a horrible head cold and plenty of accompanying green phlegm, I feel good today.
I chew quietly on my French Toast and sip freshly squeezed orange juice [...]
What do they say about a rose by any other name is still a rose? Does the same hold true for speedos? I finally broke down today and decided to buy a pair, if not a generic pair, from one of the local malls. For the equivalent of a whopping $3.00, I now actually rate [...]
Published: November 6th, 2003
