Sunday, January 31, 2010
Video and coordinates
Let's see if this works. I was told abot an app that let's me drop points on a map. So I tried it today and I'm not sure if the link will work. Let me know if it doesn't.
http://trackmytour.com/1220
-- Patrick
Down long. Up long.
I started today's run like any other. Except today I was going down. I went down for a very long time, about 10 miles actually, right into the city of Las Cruces. It kind of reminds me of my home town, Stafford, except it is more spread out, has WAY more Mexican restaurants, and has an awesome view of mountains... Actually, it's nothing like Stafford.
I made my way through the town and found Route 70, like I was supposed to, the wierd thing is that it turned into a highway. I thought I was done with dodging cars and trucks flying onto entrance and exit ramps.
As I made my way further away from the city the traffic thinned. Then I saw it. The stripe of black that was going straight up the mountain just happened to be the road that I needed to take. Bonus!!!
I had about 9 miles left in the 30 mile day when I got to the base of the straight up road that would deliver me to the top. I had planned on walking it because, well, it's a huge mountain.
About that time, a sweet song came on the old headphones and got me just stoked enough to keep running. So I put it on repeat and listened to it a total of 13 time while I ran the whole way to the top. I was glad I did too because nothing; I say, NOTHING makes you feel more like a man than cruising steadily up a mountain while you listen to semi-trucks struggle up the same slice of road.
This is the backside of the mountain in the first picture. And the pass I went through was at 5,719 ft. called St. Augustine pass.
-- Patrick
I made my way through the town and found Route 70, like I was supposed to, the wierd thing is that it turned into a highway. I thought I was done with dodging cars and trucks flying onto entrance and exit ramps.
As I made my way further away from the city the traffic thinned. Then I saw it. The stripe of black that was going straight up the mountain just happened to be the road that I needed to take. Bonus!!!
I had about 9 miles left in the 30 mile day when I got to the base of the straight up road that would deliver me to the top. I had planned on walking it because, well, it's a huge mountain.
About that time, a sweet song came on the old headphones and got me just stoked enough to keep running. So I put it on repeat and listened to it a total of 13 time while I ran the whole way to the top. I was glad I did too because nothing; I say, NOTHING makes you feel more like a man than cruising steadily up a mountain while you listen to semi-trucks struggle up the same slice of road.
This is the backside of the mountain in the first picture. And the pass I went through was at 5,719 ft. called St. Augustine pass.
-- Patrick
Saturday, January 30, 2010
End of the interstate those cooler than I
One of the highlights of today was ending my time on I-10. Since I changed the route, there were several instances where I had no choice but to get on I-10 and roll on there for awhile. Well, today was the end of it. It turned out to be a 35 day with the last 11 on the interstate.
Earlier in the day I had the pleasure of meeting two bikers who are biking AROUND the country. They started in British Columbia and are going to be on the road for a total of about a year and a half. Russ and Laura's website is
Pathlesspedaled.com check it out!
They are really chill and are heading to a town near you! So hook them up with a place to stay, perhaps a meal and Russ is a legit photographer from what I've seen, so if you need a family portrait, he's your man.
ALSO, Russ showed me a bunch of cool apps for video editing and photo editing. So, not that I'll be turning pro photographer any time soon, but look forward to improved photos on the blog....maybe.
Tomorrow I move through Las Cruces. Big milestone or something...? I don't really know, but I've been looking at it on the map for quite awhile so I'm stoked on getting through it.
-- Patrick
Earlier in the day I had the pleasure of meeting two bikers who are biking AROUND the country. They started in British Columbia and are going to be on the road for a total of about a year and a half. Russ and Laura's website is
Pathlesspedaled.com check it out!
They are really chill and are heading to a town near you! So hook them up with a place to stay, perhaps a meal and Russ is a legit photographer from what I've seen, so if you need a family portrait, he's your man.
ALSO, Russ showed me a bunch of cool apps for video editing and photo editing. So, not that I'll be turning pro photographer any time soon, but look forward to improved photos on the blog....maybe.
Tomorrow I move through Las Cruces. Big milestone or something...? I don't really know, but I've been looking at it on the map for quite awhile so I'm stoked on getting through it.
-- Patrick
Friday, January 29, 2010
For Maggie from Iowa
Today I ran for Maggie. She's from Iowa and probably the toughest person I've ever heard of. Hang in there Maggie! Stay tough!!
The run started out cold and overcast and ended chilly and very clear. It turned out to be a great day and a fantastic view. First, I ran 20 miles to Deming, and then met up with Matt from the Deming Headlight and did a newspaper interview. He was very nice and quite interested.
Deming was nice. Very quaint. But they had a great mountain, Mt. Florida.
That's best picture I could get.
-- Patrick
The run started out cold and overcast and ended chilly and very clear. It turned out to be a great day and a fantastic view. First, I ran 20 miles to Deming, and then met up with Matt from the Deming Headlight and did a newspaper interview. He was very nice and quite interested.
Deming was nice. Very quaint. But they had a great mountain, Mt. Florida.
That's best picture I could get.
-- Patrick
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Rain, cold, and cops
Today, I'd like to say hey to Ms. Young's kindergarten class at the Hilltop School in Wyoming, Ohio. They heard about the run and are doing fundraisers to help the way they know how. So thank you kindergarten!
Rain rain and more rain. That was the general idea behind today. It was a high of about 45 degrees so was also very cold for rain. I ran into the wind for the 30 miles I covered today. Needless to say, today was miserable. I did, however, pass the continental divide at 4,585 ft. So that was pretty cool.
For the most part, I stayed on frontage roads but I did need to run on I-10 when the road ended. I knew there was a possibility of trouble so I ran fast. Real fast. I had to cover 6 miles on the freeway and wanted to get it overwith. I figured now would be a good time to work in some quicker speed work. But I guess my fear of someone kicking me off the highway and therefore skipping 6 miles of the whole country run had me running faster anyway.
A couple of the miles were in the 6:30 range and the rest were in the 7 ish range. Unfortunately, it wasn't quick enough. The cops pulled up behind me and I immediately started talking and telling them what I was doing and how I was supposed to go through Show Low but had to reroute. They were cool, and had no problem with me running where I was and just stopped to make sure I was ok. Good deal. Good day.
-- Patrick
Rain rain and more rain. That was the general idea behind today. It was a high of about 45 degrees so was also very cold for rain. I ran into the wind for the 30 miles I covered today. Needless to say, today was miserable. I did, however, pass the continental divide at 4,585 ft. So that was pretty cool.
For the most part, I stayed on frontage roads but I did need to run on I-10 when the road ended. I knew there was a possibility of trouble so I ran fast. Real fast. I had to cover 6 miles on the freeway and wanted to get it overwith. I figured now would be a good time to work in some quicker speed work. But I guess my fear of someone kicking me off the highway and therefore skipping 6 miles of the whole country run had me running faster anyway.
A couple of the miles were in the 6:30 range and the rest were in the 7 ish range. Unfortunately, it wasn't quick enough. The cops pulled up behind me and I immediately started talking and telling them what I was doing and how I was supposed to go through Show Low but had to reroute. They were cool, and had no problem with me running where I was and just stopped to make sure I was ok. Good deal. Good day.
-- Patrick
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Mafioso
Today started like any other day in the desert. Long straight road and a 50 mile, in any direction, view.
What wasn't so ordinary, was who else happened to be in the New Mexican desert. I was plodding along on, minding my own business when I saw this Cadillac from the 90s coming toward rt 70 from a side desert road. We intersected at about the same time and they stopped right in front of me.
This moustached man with slicked back hair rolled down a deeply tinted window and immediately the aroma of cigar smoke, cologne, and brandy flooded my nostrils. He asked me if I needed a ride and I assured him I was just fine and explained what I was doing. He then informed me, "That wasn't a question."
Then two Italian guys got out of the back of the car and offered me a seat. When I refused, one grabbed me! Being in the middle of the desert I tried to run away but the guy was bigger than your standard refridgerator and let's face it, I'm not.
He threw me in the back of the car and we turned down 70 east. The man in the front started asking me what I was really doing and what I had seen. I told I knew a little bit about a lot of things and I've seen every yard of the route back to Huntington Beach, California.
Apparently, the bloke next to me didn't like my attitude and knocked me out with one gorilla sized fist to the top of my noggin. When I came to, I was chained to a chair in some warehouse. I could see I was still in the desert through the dirty windows and the shadows cast an ugly shadow on the greasy guy that originally "offered" me a ride...
While none of this is true, it would've been a lot more interesting than today was. The route I'm on is now pretty tricky because I have to somehow avoid I-10...we'll see how that goes.
BUT I did see a skeleton. Very stereotypical of the desert so, I took a picture.
I also saw a dead cow and all his cow friends were around him with their heads down. I figured it was his funeral so I didn't take a picture of that, ya know, out of respect.
On a side note, I would like to say "hi" to Katie's grandma Bontrager because I found out she reads my blog. So, Hey grandma Bontrager!!
-- Patrick
What wasn't so ordinary, was who else happened to be in the New Mexican desert. I was plodding along on, minding my own business when I saw this Cadillac from the 90s coming toward rt 70 from a side desert road. We intersected at about the same time and they stopped right in front of me.
This moustached man with slicked back hair rolled down a deeply tinted window and immediately the aroma of cigar smoke, cologne, and brandy flooded my nostrils. He asked me if I needed a ride and I assured him I was just fine and explained what I was doing. He then informed me, "That wasn't a question."
Then two Italian guys got out of the back of the car and offered me a seat. When I refused, one grabbed me! Being in the middle of the desert I tried to run away but the guy was bigger than your standard refridgerator and let's face it, I'm not.
He threw me in the back of the car and we turned down 70 east. The man in the front started asking me what I was really doing and what I had seen. I told I knew a little bit about a lot of things and I've seen every yard of the route back to Huntington Beach, California.
Apparently, the bloke next to me didn't like my attitude and knocked me out with one gorilla sized fist to the top of my noggin. When I came to, I was chained to a chair in some warehouse. I could see I was still in the desert through the dirty windows and the shadows cast an ugly shadow on the greasy guy that originally "offered" me a ride...
While none of this is true, it would've been a lot more interesting than today was. The route I'm on is now pretty tricky because I have to somehow avoid I-10...we'll see how that goes.
BUT I did see a skeleton. Very stereotypical of the desert so, I took a picture.
I also saw a dead cow and all his cow friends were around him with their heads down. I figured it was his funeral so I didn't take a picture of that, ya know, out of respect.
On a side note, I would like to say "hi" to Katie's grandma Bontrager because I found out she reads my blog. So, Hey grandma Bontrager!!
-- Patrick
Location:Berlin
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
