It snowed in Austin last night. I am flying to Detroit this afternoon to warm up.

Yes, it's odd that while he's busy trying to complete, err, start his ride he has time to post left-wing videos to his blog.* I think he needs to focus if he wants to ride to DC.

* Note to certain posters: The previous statement does not fit the definition of "hate" in Webster's.

The post was by "Administrator". So Ryan may have had nothing to do with it. They could just be trying to fill the void while there is pretty much no real info about his trip.

My apologies to Mr. Bowman for my mistake. Still, a "thank you" to permanentjuan for the panniers seems a better topic for a post to the blog.

That's kinda strange, isn't it? I'm not convinced Ryan, or his website administrator, are very much into bike touring (whatever that is). But call it what you like, publicity stunt or crazy adventure, I wish he or his website administrator would tell us how he's doing.

No info on his page if he's gotten tickets or not either. That would be sad to get to DC and not be able to join all the revelry.

-If I were him I'd look into contacting elected officials in my district. I understand he's on the road now(I think), so it makes it difficult for him to do so.

Would be a great help if his home support team were to wrangle with the politicians. I'd imagine his contacts (college proffessors, student body president, news media) would be an excellent place to start.

It has the 9/11 attack video in it. I don't want to watch that, and being a blog about bikes I shouldn't have to.

Secondary this is propaganda For some other cause. Once again on a bike blog it talks about some other motive or agenda in Africa. http://www.invisiblechildren.com/home.php
video link http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...ideoid=1958298
Caution NSFW. Violence

It was removed thanks.

It was really cold last night. I hope things are going well for him.

I was just down in south Texas yesterday riding a century, which I rode in shorts and T-shirt. Nice. Got up this morning, and it was 39 degrees, had rained, with a hard wind blowing. That would have been the pits to ride in. Glad I didn't have to ride today.

Something else I thought about is that on a typical century ride, you go more or less in a circle, and if the wind blows the same way, you've got a head wind half way, a tail wind the other half. With a cross-country route, you could be riding into the wind a week at a time. That would get old.

We are also in Texas now - and it's been very cold yesterday and today. We didn't ride at all yesterday because of the rain/snow. Today wasn't bad at all because we had a tail wind - so it was nice and warm while we were actually riding. Breaks, however, were miserable!! I hope Ryan passes us soon.

They removed the silly video, as another poster pointed out. Still no update on the trip.

It is very strange just how little info there is about the ride so far. I can understand not checking in too often, but he has posted no daily mileages and nothing about where he stayed, who he met, or much of anything.

Ryan said he might end up taking the train. It's only cheating if you misrepresent what you're doing. As has been said, enough with the hatin', please.

Ya know, the more I've been thinking about Ryan and his priorities on this trip, the more pissed I've gotten. As an Obama supporter, I had to hear all of the crap during the campaign about him being an elitist and how all of the poor people will get free money, feel entitled, etc.

Ryan is the epitome of someone who feels he is entitled to something. He's the quintessential elitist. He decides he's going to ride his bike across the US. He decides that everyone else should pay for it. He wants a camera to document the journey, so he begs for a $4500 camera. IF I were in the position of begging for donations to ride a bike across the country, I would set my standards a little lower. Like, the $100 cameras from Wal-Mart, or a used version.

He has (allegedly) embarked on a 4000 mile journey with a bike and a rack-top bag. No panniers, no sleeping bag, no tent.... do any of his brain cells actually communicate with each other? I am just completely dumbfounded by his lack of planning, lack of judgment, and lack of humility.

The anger I feel that someone such as Ryan is "representing" Obama is beyond words.

Ryan's website states he's riding a bicycle from LA to DC - have you read it? Do you recall a fellow who was adamant that Neils on Wheels had to ride from downtown Pittsburgh in May because starting in McKeesport at the trail head was misrepresentation? By your own standards, Ryan's misrepresented himself - Phoenix is a heck of a lot further from LA than McKeesport is from Pittsburgh.

I think we've seen abundant evidence that the haters are the folks misusing the word "hate."

WOW! You need a vacation.

I don't see the hate. If your going to make yourself a public figure and expect reward for your good deeds, you have to expect criticism when you don't meet the lofty ideals you claim for yourself.

Using the term "haters" (which I personally detest, and immediately catalog the users of such as morons, idiots, and cretins) makes one a "hater" - a hater of haters, if you will.

I do. I'd like to ride across the country on my bike. Send me some money.

I think you win the thread for recursiveness! :lol:

Some of us have Tourette's Misanthropy - a term defined by writer Florence King as "idealism with a short fuse." We read the website and some of the replies here and we can't resist. :cry:

I don't remember that. Did he say that here?

I just have an over-active fairness gene.
And I lack that part of the brain that delays my fingers from typing what I'm thinking at that moment.

:p

I will be back up there in June.
We can go for a ride somewhere.

I won't. I'm still trying to parse that sentence. :)

It amuses me, although it doesn't surprise me, that the word "hate" has been extensively misused in this thread and on this board.