Do More. Fear Less.

     Introduction:
     Ohio rocks. I was actually going to just cut West after Cincinnati right into Indiana and avoid the state entirely, but little did I know there is an extensive bike trail system here. A cyclist can get almost anywhere in the state! Wow!
     Bike trails are like highways for cyclists. Without having to worry about cars and nails and glass you can ride a lot faster. They're usually pretty flat too, and I don't just mean no hills. Trails don't get messed up by cars and what not so there usually isn't any bumps or potholes or whatnot. My efficiency is up easily more than 50% on a trail. And they are much much safer. And there are trees and fresh air instead of trucks and exhaust. I could go on...
     So we have a destination and are not spending too much time in any one place. Just a day and a night in Cincinnati, for example. That's not nearly enough time to see everything worth seeing but it's something.

 I found The United States flag on the side of the road, so I picked it up and affixed it to my rig.

     Music:
     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXvfPOv_wNY
     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkg-bzTHeAk
     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jiBEztS_uY


     Food Review:
     There is a lot of great food in Cincinnati! I had to choose between a few different places, but what I went with is the big market of the city. Each big city I've been through has had an awesome market with lots of delicious and real food, such as Redding Terminal Market in Philadelphia.
     In Cincinnati, it is called Findlay Market.

 The front entrance has a nice patio with plants and an open area.

 The market is long shaped and exceptionally clean.
The two front shops give a hint at the choice you'll have to make:
Healthy (spices) or not-so healthy (gelato).

 Along the sides of the main building are more shops and food stands.

I don't know how, but I somehow resisted.

 Aaron on the left here loves the steak taco at Mama lo Hizo's!
The veggie was really affordable at $5.50
but I wanted something a little more Cincinnati than a burrito.

So we went to Fresh Table!
A whole lot of delicious dishes made with local ingredients.

The servers here are also the cooks.
They all switch off making these delectable dishes.

 Louis hands me the selection of food I got.
The crab cakes are everyone's favorite it seemed,

but I had to opt for the vegetarian dishes.

 I suddenly had a hankering for a pickle!

Another nice deli and market right across the way.

 I got four different dishes, three of which were piled atop each other into one container, plus the pickle.

 The Spicy Mushroom was delicious! I wish I got more mushrooms though.
The Chick Pea Pesto had a great flavor and just the right amount of onions.
The Black Bean and Corn was sweet! It was at the bottom, so it was a little spicy from the mushrooms and a little pesto-y from the chick peas.

The Peanut Sauce Noodles had a good rich flavor and weren't too oily or salty.

Mixing all the flavors together was incredibly fun!

I dipped the pickle into the leftover sauces too.
My own cooking philosophy:

"Good ingredients, cook the food right, don't do anything dumb or crazy and you can't go wrong!"

 Julanne here takes a photo for her instagram everyday!
She gives out little photos to people too. We took a picture of each other.
Taken August 12th. Find the sister photo of me on her facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/APauseAClickAFrozenMoment
A fellow blogger too! Check her's out here:
https://pausesandclicks.wordpress.com/?ref=spelling

Some free samples of cheese and gluten free graham cookies for dessert at Dirt - a modern market

Final Verdict: Like the other big famous markets, Findlay Market is clean, affordable, and delicious!
If you go through Cincinnati, don't miss out on the huge selection of delectable foods here!

     Bike Shop Review:

This week we found Village Cyclery in Yellow Springs! I didn't need any repairs but stopped in anyways on my way out of town to check it out.

 Nestled off the sidewalk in a little enclave of bicycles.

 All the bikes hanging from the ceiling give this shop a nice packed feel.

 Long time customer Nadia is super satisfied with all the repair work she gets done on her older bike here. "They've done a great job."

 Cassidy got serious about cycling in college.
Here he is working on this beautiful machine.

Co-owner Mike here tells me some history of the shop as he cleans some wheels.
The store has been around for more than thirty years!
When they changed the old train tracks in the town to a part of the bike trail system business got a huge boom. Not only from cyclists passing by for repairs/supplies—the shop is in the perfect spot, a block from the trail—but also just the existence of the trail allows for a greater population of people to really be able to ride, so all sorts of new customers came in to buy a brand new bike!
Thanks for the info and keep up the good work!

     Reflection:
     So I've been meeting a lot of people warning about this or that. Whether it's some infection from riding too much or being without money and thus a way to eat. Sometimes I feel like people hear my story and think I am naive. Rarely I'll speak to someone that does not believe me. I don't really mind either way. I'm just following my own path, trying to do the best I can. Whatever people think about that is up to them. Sometimes I'm proud of myself, sometimes I beat myself up. Sometimes it's hard and sometimes it's fun. Mainly, recently at least, I am trying to focus on others. When I give I can feel good about it. I know what I need will come back to me, and I aught to share the wealth and love I do have.
     This mentality leads me to consider the difference between being worrisome and carefree. I'm not prepared for everything the world might throw at me, how can I be? But I am prepared for some things, and for everything else, why worry? Worry doesn't seem to help one bit, it just distracts from good and productive thoughts and fills the heart with fear. I try to be vigilant and ready for what may come my way, just as I do listen to the advice of others and try to heed it when reasonable, but I can't let some fear of this or that happening stop me from going where I want to go.
     I won't ever let that stop me again. At least, that's the ideal I'm working on, but I'm not infallible. I fail all the time. That's another reason I'm out here. A lot of people I meet look at me and seem impressed or inspired and that's awesome. I took the jump, that's true, and if that action brings inspiration to others that really really means a lot to me. However, I'm really not some super guy. I've floated through life a lot, taking the easy way out most of the time, just trying to get by, running and hiding from challenge after challenge, and often failing at the few I attempted.
     I didn't want to run any more. I didn't want to fail. I'm out here to face whatever challenges the world may throw at me.
     About two years ago, I bought a manual transmission Hyundai Accent, having no idea how to drive stick. I called it The Blue Stinger! I stalled that thing all over the city of New Haven, including on the highway haha. However, I didn't have a choice! I had to drive the car for work to pay rent etc. so I had to figure it out. No back-up plan, no safety net, no excuses, no way out. That's the only way I figured out to apply myself—to put everything on the line.
     So here I am, out in the world, waiting for the next trial to test me. Once I'm West of the Mississippi I'm sure things will get much more difficult. For now though, I have time to prepare for that. To learn what I need to learn, and get what I need to get. I just must be wary of being too distracted from the temptations of the world. We all aught be wary.


     Story:
     I killed a pigeon.
     I didn't mean to. I wanted it to live.
     I don't know if what I did was right, but I did what I would have liked to do.
     I was about to get something to eat in Cincinnati and explore around the city just a bit, when I happened upon a little pigeon off the road in a concrete corner, just sitting there. I picked it up and discovered that there was something wrong with its legs. They were very stiff, and appeared broken. What do I do with this creature? I tried to feed it, but it didn't seem to want any bread right now. Is there a place I can bring it? Finding that place in downtown Cincinnati by bike while carrying a wounded pigeon seemed risky for the animal at best, and potentially a totally failed effort. Should I just leave it in a bush to die in a place of more nature? Should I leave it alone where I found it, to die alone on the concrete?
     During my dilemma, a man named Anthony walked by that also stopped and offered his help. After inspection, he felt the Pigeon aught be put down, and offered to crack the little guy's neck. I couldn't refute his will, but I could posit that this was a bird, and birds need to fly. His wings seemed alright so if he could just get going then he could fly where he wanted to. I suggested we drop the hurt creature off a bridge, to give him one last chance. If he did it then he could fly again. Unstuck, he could go anywhere! If we couldn't fly anymore, then that would be the end. I knew what could happen but I wanted to believe.
     Anthony named the pigeon Freedom. We went to the middle of some large bridge that crosses the Ohio River into Cincinnati and after holding it out for a while, tilted the hand to let it go. It tried, it really did. It sailed through the air not quite straight down. When I traced the line of Freedom's trajectory with my thoughts I took a deep breathe, still hoping he would swoop up like in the movies.
     Freedom couldn't fly, not anymore. He crashed into the water, floated away, and was gone.
     I often think about the meaning behind things like this. What is the lesson here? What am I trying to be told? What do we each need to give in order to be free? What if we can't pay but want it anyway? What if we're broken, and can't fly anymore? Was it right of me to give Freedom that push—that one last chance to fly?
     I could only make that decision because I know that if I was a bird, a pigeon, I would want that chance. I would choose that over dying alone by the concrete pillar underneath the bridge.
     After the body floated away, I asked the man I'd just met for a hug. We walked and chatted for a bit. How we each stay strong came up, and he mentioned he did "1,000,000 crunches." That felt like a great goal, so I decided there to take it up. As I write this I'm at 600 (8/14). Still a long way to go, but maybe that's the cost of freedom. We need to be strong, and we need to be able to take the leap, not knowing if we'll land on our feet or not. That's what freedom truly is—going for it! Not holding yourself back! I still have a long way to go.
     I believed that he'd fly though. I really did.
     Anthony had said, "A bird's a bird. A pigeon's a pigeon. A pigeon ain't a bird."
     Maybe I should have known from then.


     Writing:
     I have almost finished writing this story but retyping it onto the computer takes a lot of time, never mind proofreading and editing and stuff. Writing is a lot of work! It feels good though, applying ones mind to something and producing an actual things that you can hold and give to people. If you did a good job they'll throw a few bucks at you for it, but if that's your motivation for any endeavor I feel it may be difficult to create something genuine. But maybe that's just true for me!
     Anyways, this story will all get up here eventually. Writing it has been a great exercise for me for sure. I hope to learn even more when I get to South Bend! Just about 180 miles to go from here (:

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     He woke up. He sat up and saw everyone else in the room had already risen and seemed to be waiting for him. He moved back to sitting within the circle and quietly reflected on what he'd seen.
     "Would anyone like to share?" The Earth Spirit said.
     "Oh! I will! I will!" A small girl on the left side of the room said.
     "Okay, so, I went into my hoooole aaaand I came out the other siiiide and there was this unicorn and I was like, 'Hey are you my spirit animal?' and it was like, 'No.' and I was kinda sad but then it was like, "But I can take you there if you follow me.' or something so I followed it until I saw a fox and I asked the fox, 'Are you my spirit animal?' and then its head was cut off but it was smiling anyways and its body came back but was just its skin and it said, 'What do you think?' and then my body was just my skin and we both started laughing like a real lot for a long time. And that was it."
     "Thank you Fox, for sharing your experience."
     "Yeah I already knew I was a fox I just wanted to see him again!"
     "May I share next?" The kind woman sitting next to him said.
     "Well I don' wanna tell my story or nuttin' I just wan'id say I's a Bear. A big ol' mamma Bear! I dun askin' around a lotta animals but theys all tells me no and t'mosey on along, 'til I finds me that big ol' mamma Bear, and she says, 'Girl I been worried sick 'boutchu! Get yerself in line with the other cubs n'le'sgo!' And that was that."
     "Can I share next?" Another woman in the room spoke. She began speaking, but he toned her out when the woman who had sat next to him muttered, "I don't want to share..."
     "Me either. I didn't get out of my hole, I guess." He replied.
     She looked over, "I had no hole. No animals. There was nothing. I was just in an ocean. I didn't know which way was up. I wasn't drowning but I was alone. There was just water, everywhere."
     "You move like Water too." He whispered
     She looked down in thought, "...I never really thought about these things before. Do you think this is all real?"
     "Well, any thoughts you have when you are just thinking to yourself, such as when you're dreaming, are all thoughts that have only come from you. Like if I tell you to think of an elephant you'll think of an elephant, but you might not have thought of an elephant by yourself, right?
     "Okay?" She raised an eyebrow.
     "So I'm saying there's some reason you thought of what you thought. I don't know why, I'm not you, but if you figure it out maybe you'll learn something about yourself. Maybe."
     "I guess that makes sense. Thank you Alec."
     "Alec? My name's not..."
     The well dressed man leaned over, "I do not know of what you say Alec boy. I hear your words and they are, how you say, off?" The man was not speaking softly. The woman speaking raised her voice a bit, "So yes, I'm a Whale. And that's just stupendous, because I love Whales! It just makes sense!"
     The man had noticed the stares, "Ah I am sorry, am I to share next?"
     "So you see, it is our, how you say, hereditary? We have the energy in our souls, and if we love, then we find our selves. So we must love, yes? I love. I love very well. So you see, I know myself. I go into my dream, but I do not go into hole. Aha, I step over it, because I know. There is rat, and in his hands he shows me a rock, and it is wet from his crying on it. I kick it away, I know I am not rat. And because I do this, I know, there is the Lion. I am the Lion."
     Lion looked at the woman to his right and smiled and grabbed her hand. She looked away.
     "Thank you for sharing that, Lion. So we're all done with the first session, but we have time for another for those who wish to again."
     Most of the people stood and left. Bear sent him a wave as she passed by in front of him. Lion stood and looked at the watery woman.
     "Come, darling. The Great Dance, it awaits, and I must bring you there, absolutely."
     "I want to do this again. I think you should too... Lion..."
     "Again? Why again? Come come, no time to waste. We have far to be traveling and I am in much need for to go. Up up now." He seemed agitated.
     She looked to her right, "Are you staying?"
     He was not planning on staying, but he had been listening to their exchange and didn't much care for Lion's tone, "Yeah. I was going to try again."
     She turned back around, "Why don't you wait for me outside. I think you aught to do it again too though."
     Lion scoffed, "Feh! I am outside for when you are awake." And he walked out.
     She looked to The Earth Spirit, "We're ready."
     "As you wish, sister." She replied.
     Only the three of them were in the tent now. He and she lay down as they had before with their heads toward the center, their bodies one-third of the distance of the circular tent away from each other. The Earth Spirit stood a bit above the center now, just in between them both, completing the division of the space into thirds. She began her chant and drum playing, and he was soon back at that hole from his childhood, clogged and spewing water. It was still frightening, but he knew that that was the hole he needed to enter. He came to it and began shoveling the sticks and wet leaves out of his way. Water streamed out, and he crawled inside. Fear gripped his heart as the light was left behind him. The tunnel seemed to get smaller, and he knew if he got stuck here no one would find him and he would die. He was a child again then, but he continued onward, knowing this was the way. He could see a light at the end of the tunnel, and as it grew nearer his fear dissipated to relief.
     He came out upon some sort of theater stage. Lights shone onto a fabricated set of some room. He looked around; this couldn't be where he was meant to be. He saw a ladder in the corner, headed to it, and climbed up. The top was blocked with a manhole cover, but he moved that and came out into some sort of store. No one was there but there was tea and water. He felt frustrated now. He was confused and didn't quite comprehend this challenge but knew he wasn't where he wanted to be. He screamed and kicked the door of the store so that it was knocked off the hinges onto the ground outside. The glass on the door shattered and he walked outside.
     He was suddenly on a beach, alone. He heard a screech and looked upwards to see a Hawk. A great red tailed hawk larger than any raptor he had ever seen. It landed on something nonexistent in the air and starred at him. He starred back. The Hawk said nothing, but he understood. Hawk understood.


     Poetry:
     Two poems this week. Have I been busy or what!?
     This first one I wrote in a text to a friend while riding through the hills of Kentucky.
     If a little bit of light sent to space and back can lighten someone else's day, why not turn some feelings into words and Send awaaaaaay.

     "Try Just Forward"

     Traversing over valleys and hills all day.
     The road never ends; just looking for a place to stay.
     Friends behind me; loved ones that've gone their own way.
     Unhappy, trapped, stuck? To all of you I say:

     "Follow me! Follow me! We can all climb this mountain!
     There is nothing in defeat; no reward for complainin' or shoutin'
     We've all our lessons to learn; we won't see them if we're doubtin'
     Keep pushing up the hill. Keep reaching for the fountain."

     Each of us only has so much to give
     But if we're smart about it we can find the right way to live
     No one can survive alone, that's just the way it is
     So be as kind as you can, and give give give give give

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     Yellow Springs, Ohio, has an amazing Nature preserve called Glen Helen. The area was so beautiful it inspired me to write this poem. I hope you like it.

     "The Glen"
   

     

 

     Footsteps and birdsong
     and the distant trickle of water
     and the air through your teeth and your nose
     and the sound of peace is all around you

     

     Open your eyes to see
     the ocean of green above and surrounding you
     the land, hard, but gently holding you
     the winged friend appears before you
     Why? Ask him why?

     

     Ask, and thank, for we are only visitors now
     Our nest lies strewn on the ground
     as we break our legs gliding to Earth
     flopping, flailing, trying to fly

     

     The fell of the forest demands its toll
     Kill them all you like—just more we'll need pay
     We are no longer needed—perhaps we never were
     but the donation of blood and love is appreciated

     

     Sit. Be still with your mother. Breathe.
     You can not stay here. The Earth now closes at dusk
     But these rocks are the color of my soul!
     and I know I am where I belong.
     and I know I am where I am meant to be.

     Pictures:
     LOTS of pictures this week!
     Is this too many? Sorry!

 This general store in Kentucky also has some special things for sale in a case
such as a rare dulcimer and a pump action shotgun. Neat.
Thanks again for the loaf of bread Ann! I needed it!

 Dear Kentucky,
I do try to be always positive,
but I must express my distress regarding the deplorable cycling conditions of your roads.
It was quite the challenge at least, haha!
Sincerely,
A Concerned Cyclist

 It's a beautiful state though. That is for sure!

 I arrived to Cincinnati just in time to see the sunset!

 Passing by a hotel, I saw four very large men signing autographs.
Turns out they were players on the NY Giants football team!
Have you ever watched four huge pro football players try to fit into one taxi cab?
I was able to snap a picture when they all got inside.

 A famous ice cream business in Cincinnati.
A friend I met outside treated me to the Bourbon Ball.
After riding 71 miles that day, it was just what I needed.

 I found a safe place to sleep among some other folk that didn't have a place to go.
With the highway there, and being out in the open, and being on concrete, sleep was less than restful.
Imagine sleeping there every night with no place to go.

 Met Joe and Chris here outside the Coffee Emporium—A great cafe if you find yourself in Cincy!
We three hung out a bit. I traded stories for information about the city!

Met a boxing legend and got some time in on the bags.
Real special place here.

 I heard Cincinnati was famous for its chili!
My vegetarian chili is my specialty, so I stopped in to check out the competition...

 At a certain point, the small family business with the secret chili recipe turns into something else.
I wasn't that impressed.

On my way out of Cincinnati, I happened upon some fun outdoor event.
Ohio has been filled with them!
Though I guess that's what time of year it is.

 Escape from Cincinnati!

Orange tomato with avocado and hot sauce on wheat bread.
Delicious.

 Thanks for saving the environment Caraustar.

 North of Cincinnati exists an impressive network of bike lanes.
The businesses and cafes along them get a lot of business in from that I'm sure. 

 I liked this mural (:

 Ohio has drive-thru convenience stores!

 Made it to Yellow Springs, just in time for this open-mic at The Spirited Goat.
What a great place! I love cafes and etc. that put in a real effort to serve the community
not just squeeze the dollars out of 'em.

 Some gave me a smoothie when I sat down! Awesome!
I recited a poem. People seemed to like it (:

 Cauline let me paint her arm.
I hope I did a good job!

 Hanging out and jammin' out The Gulch Saloon
Another hot spot hang out in Yellow Springs.

My favorite places are always the ones where I can just chill outside with Lionheart and still meet plenty of people.

 My friend Yoseph has big plans for this space!
He'll have a bar set up in this room...

And a dance floor set up here!
If you're around the Yellow Springs area keep on the look out for upcoming events at The Antioch Theater!

 If you listened to the piano piece in this week's music section
you may be able to guess who played that now.

 Mr. Yoseph Shepherd here is a genius pianist! I was so so fortune to be able to hear him play.
Be sure to keep an ear out for this great American talent!

 Check out Yoseph's youtube page
https://www.youtube.com/user/yosephshepherd

Another successful stealth camp at The Glen Helen Nature Preserve!

Can you see me?

 Thank you Sherrysdips.com for lunch!
Your dips were really delicious and I was quite impressed.

 And thank you Mark and Connie for the greatest potato chips I've ever had!
If you're a fan of fried potatoes, I highly recommend giving Rue Farms a try!

 Deep Fried Peanut Butter and Jelly? I'll pass on that haha...
Thanks for the non-fried sammich Tyler!

 Ohio has interesting billboards.

Coming into Dayton on the bike trail was the most beautiful entrance into a city so far!

 There's the Ohio I know and love. Corn!

 Exactly four months into my journey, August 15th, I hit 2,000 miles!
'Course I had that broken arm for 'bout two months...

 Corn. As far as the eye can see.

 Corn on the left. Green beans on the right.

 I'm sorry, did you say you wanted to more corn?

 And then I happened upon Bremenfest! Live music and food and good people! Wow!
I wasn't there for five minutes until Steve on the right there walked up to me and offered me a beer.
Thank you for your welcoming offer Steve! I truly appreciate that!

 This great man, Dave, points out to me how clean and safe his town of New Bremen is.

 A less nutritional dinner than usual
But I guess that's okay sometimes

 The frying station. Yup, we are in the Mid-West now.
And wow those zucchini were good!

 And here's why I stayed the night in this lovely town...
IT'S A BICYCLE MUSEUM!!!

 Imagine crossin' the country on this!

So many bikes! Yaaaaay!

 It's nice being up high
But I wouldn't want to ride without a helmet!

I wonder if I could get fifty miles a day with this one.

 An apparently rare bicycle.
I want a rare bicycle one day haha!

Or how about this wild contraption?

 Or a classic style bicycle would be classy too.

 Wait no no I want the wooden bicycle how great would that be!

 Not as great as a bicycle with a friggin' MACHINE GUN!
No cars'll cut me off if I'm packin' this baby haha!

 Music might be a little more practical though
and less destructive.

 The last bicycle made (by Huffy) stateside before they shipped all the work overseas.

The museum also had a nice collection of Civil War era artifacts, including this restored flag.
Every day, everywhere I travel, whether its through the "rough" areas of the city, expansive rural farmlands, or small prosperous towns, I wonder where our country is headed.
Are we on the right path? Is our country growing in the direction it aught to be, or are we as a people moving towards oblivion?
Life can't be too easy, but if we choose love, I believe we can face the problems of our era.

We have a lot of work left to do though.
Whatever the future holds, we're all on this ship together!