I'm Not In Kansas Anymore

I'm currently in a very small town (Salina) in Utah.  The ride here was cold, then very hot, then very wet - but spectacular.  I've been on I-70 since leaving Columbus.  Going through the Colorado Rockies was a joy.  I passed through Vail, Breckenridge, turn offs for Aspen, Steamboat, etc.  I kept moving. Interstate 70 took me through the Glenwood Canyan.  Pictures just don't make it.  You can't get the scale.

The river is the Colorado.  About 20 minutes after I took these - I passed about 20 rafters but could not stop.

Later I passed into Utah and was stunned by the views.  These were scenes not in the parks.  The parks must be incredible.  Next time....

Tomorrow - Nevada.  I'm getting close.

July 19th - Still in Kansas - Brown V Board of Education

I was cruising along Interstate 70 through Kansas - very very hot.  There were periodic roadside signs trying to get me to visit this or that attraction.  Some looked interesting but I was on a mission to get through Kansas and get home.  And then - a sign pointing out a historical site in Topeka, Kansas - the capital of Kansas.  The historic site was Monroe Elementry school that was the impetus for the Supreme Court to once and for all state that school segregation was unconstitutional. I had to stop.

In 17 states, up to the US Supreme Court decision ruling school segregation unconstitutional - segregation was required by law.  In 4 other states - school segregation was optional.  Kansas was one of those 4 states.  The 17 states that had mandated segregation took the position that separate but equal education was not unconstitutional.

At the time there were 4 other school districts that had law suits going to the US Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of school segregation.  The basis of the other suits was that the education was not equal due to the substandard schools for African Americans.  Topeka was different.  The "black" schools were good.  Good teachers, and a good education.  The importance of getting away from separate but equal was to show that the very nature of segregating students had the implication that there was a difference between the races and that somehow justified keeping them apart.

In 1954 the court ruled in favor of the plaintifs in the Brown v. Board of Education.   Chief Justice Earl Warren stated, "We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place.  Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."

What this little side trip did for me was to examine the individuals that were responsible for fighting for a cause that seems so basic but at the time threatened their very lives.  These should not be considered "Black" heroes for the fight against injustice but should be considered heroes in general.  How many kids in school today, black or white, know the fights these people went through.

When I left the Monroe Elementary and walked back to my bike - I was saddened by the empty parking lot.

If you have any interest in this subject - you can find details on the other 4 schools and the struggle to make school segregation unconstitutional by going to www.nps.gov/brvb.

The actual desegregation of most schools didn't happen until much later.

July 19th - Kansas City

I rode I-70 from Columbus Ohio to about an hour past Saint Louis Missouri.  I crossed over the Missouri and the Mississippi rivers.  And - yes - it did rain yesterday - very hard but not long. 

If you've never seen the Saint Louis arch - it's big.

My route took me through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and into Missouri.  Now I know that mid America is pretty "Christian" but I passed the largest Christian cross that I have ever seen.  I pulled it up on the web - it's 100 feet tall and the cross bar is 60 feet.  The cost on the cross before completion was over $150K.  I wonder what Jesus would have done with $150K?  Oh well - I'm such a cynic- I'm sure he would have built a big cross....

I want to give a special thanks to my cousin Luann for taking me to see Alfred Hitchcock's 1951 film - Strangers on A Train.  Great film - beautifully restored theater in down town Columbus and great company.

I just hit the 10,000 mile mark for the trip so far.  The balance of my route will be on I-70 then pick up US 50 in Colorado.  It's very hot and very humid.


 

Sunday July 18th - On The Road Again

I'm stopped at a Starbucks outside of Indianapolis heading west.  The picture on the right was taken yesterday at my uncle Harold's.  A very hot and muggy day.  Harold is 89 and still rides a motorcycle.  We had a great three days together and although I am now anxious to get home - it was hard to leave.

One of our activities together was to visit the Motorcycle Hall of Fame.  I've wanted to see this place for the last 10 years. 

We also stopped by the house where my father lived when he was young and in Ohio.  He and a friend left home when he was 19 and hopped a freight train to California.  One of the path-way steps to the door of the house had chiseled into it my father's name "Harry" and the date 1937.  That was the year he road a motorcycle from California to Ohio to visit his parents.

The picture below is a 1926 Harley Davidson.

No rain yet - so I'm on my way.

July 15th - Sun and Ohio

I have made it past the rain but was in it most all of yesterday.  Right now I'm in a Starbucks along side the interstate heading to Columbus Ohio to visit my motorcycle riding 89 year old uncle.

On entering back into the states in Maine - the first town I hit was Houlton (to the right).

My next stop in Maine was Bangor for lunch - pretty town.  I still had not hit the rain - but it was waiting for me and so was the weatherman.

A special thanks to Derek and Helen for putting me up for the night in Stanford.  Great bed, great dinner, great company and clean cloths.  (below)

Next I was off in the rain to visit Renee, Charlie and Abigail in New York.  Great visit but too short.  I got to hold Abigail and she didn't cry.  I didn't hold Charlie.  He was too big.  He did make me some of Charlie's famous pizza.

Later

In The US - Stamford Connecticut

I made it from Woodstock, New Brunswick to Stamford Connecticut.  About 1 hour from Stamford it started raining, raining and raining.  Naturally my rain gear was in my saddle bag.  It was raining so hard that two cars in front of me spun out.  I was so wet that all I could do was laugh - I was laughing so hard that I steamed up my visor on the helmet.  I'm sure many of the people driving by thought - this guy is really nuts - stay away.  I pulled over under an overpass to see if I could get on my rain gear.  What I got was semis driving by and drenching me in a water fall of spray.  When I got to my friends in Stamford - he said that it hadn't rained in 3 weeks.  I'm looking at the dryest places on earth to see if I can't head there and help them out with a little percipitation.  Maybe I can turn it in to a business. 

Right now it's not raining but it has been raining all morning.  I figure I'll wait another hour until it starts raining again and then I'll be on my way....

No pictures today.

Bill

I'm at a motel about 20 minutes outside of Maine.  A good spot to spend my Canadian money.

The first real problem I’ve had on the trip was when Bill told me that my bike had fallen over sometime during the night.  This was at a Bed and Breakfast in Corner Brook Newfoundland.  The center stand of the bike actually punched through the pavement and the bike fell, breaking the right hand side-mirror and doing some misalignment of the fairing.  Bill said he was real sorry to see the damage to the bike and I said, “if this is the worst thing that happens on the trip - then it’s an inconvenience but I’ll deal with it and get a new mirror when I can.”

Generally when I ride a motorcycle - I ride alone.  This is because I’m self-centered and like to do what I want to, when I want to.  I like to stop when I want without any consideration of anyone else.  I don’t mind going on rides with people, if they are short and the purpose of the ride is the camaraderie of friends.  But this ride wasn’t planned that way and so when I met Bill on the ferry and we ended up staying at the same B and B and then Bill suggested we might ride together due to the bad weather, I said yes, but had some mixed feelings.  But like everything so far on this trip, meeting Bill was another one of the high points.

Bill worked for years in the oil fields of Alberta.  Ten years ago his wife passed away of pancreatic cancer.  There is no doubt in my mind as to how much he loved her and I know that not one day goes by, that Bill doesn’t miss her.  Bill also has 4 kids that he is very proud of.  He lives in British Columbia.

My experience of riding with Bill has given me the chance to come to know him as one of the most congenial and accommodating people I’ve ever met (he would have to be to ride with me).  He is also very outgoing and I got to know more about more people because Bill was with me. No one passed by Bill without him saying hello and striking up a conversation.  We ended up getting on an earlier ferry back to Nova Scotia from Newfoundland but it was a night crossing.  We left Newfoundland at 11:00pm and drove off in Nova Scotia at around 6:00am - in the rain of course.  All the time traveling with Bill I never heard him complain (other than wanting the Netherlands to win the Worlds Cup).  We went our separate ways about an hour after getting off the boat.  A last cup of coffee at Tim Horton’s, a hand shake, and a “nice riding with you,” and I was off on my own.  Bill’s 78 years old.  He road to Alaska last year.  He road from British Columbia to Newfoundland this year.  Bill gets up every day with a smile and says, “isn’t life great.”  Bill said he doesn’t want to die, he loves life and every day is a blessing.

For me, meeting Bill was a blessing.  “Thanks Bill, for reaching out to me, and suggesting that we ride Newfoundland together.  Because of you, my Newfoundland adventure was more than what it would have been without you.  Have a long life, meet many new people, and let’s do this again some time.”

Life is pretty “neat” - rain and all.