Day 53 GG: Golf and Graves

 (Kirkwood, MO -> Perrville, MO)

Today we woke up and had a great breakfast of turkey bacon and cinnamon rolls. We decided to take a longer route today that travelled more south in the morning to avoid any headwinds later in the day. We took a paved bike path in the morning for the first 10 miles, but unfortunately that came to an end. The bike path had lots of trees for shade and we passed the Ulysses S. Grant historical site. It was closed. Also along the path were a combination of driving ranges, golf courses, and sporadic cemeteries. My biking partners this morning were Maceo and Sean. Five minutes after our first stop, Sean got a flat and Anna (the driver) went back to rescue him. Maceo and I found a sunflower garden and stopped for a photo-shoot!

Today was my first day back since visiting my brother in Boston. As a result, my body has to adjust back to the intense bike workouts. This morning I was sweating a lot, and the humidity did not help. I knew I had to stay hydrated, so I drank plenty of water. But after 60 miles, I felt dizzy and dehydrated. I feel I made the smart decision, and got in the car for the final 20 miles. One of our stops was at the St. Genevieve Café, where we got a nutritious blackberry pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Delicious! We finally got to Perryville, Missouri where we are staying at a warmshowers with our host- Fraser. For dinner we had pasta, veggies, and meatballs; a great meal cooked by Cole. Cole and I tagged along with Fraser to walk his dog, “Nox”, at the dog park. When we returned, we made s’mores and told bike stories around the fire. Tomorrow is a teaching day; I’m excited for that!

-Travis

View of a hill we had to climb

Travis with sunflowers

Maceo with sunflowers

Love got us through the humidity

Day 51: St. Louis Science Center, Yes Program

Today we taught at the Yes Program. The yes program helps gifted minority students by providing them with educational opportunities, a maker space, work/teach programs, and more! These students are exceptionally bright, and probably the oldest and most mature group we have worked with to date.

All of us had to modify our lessons to account for the level of our students. I (Sean) was able to talk about Braess’s Paradox, Maceo did an activities requiring more vulnerability emotionally mature activities, Asia did different experiments, etc…

Everyone agreed that the teaching experience was super rewarding because of how receptive and engaged the students were.

After teaching, Maceo and I went to a Karaoke bar, while the others hung out at a coffee shop. The Karaoke bar was a ton of fun, and Maceo stepped up big time for several songs. Then we went to get Custard at a prized local custard place. I didn’t think the custard was that good, but the locals disagree.

Day 48: A Day in the life of the Driver

Hi all!

Today I (Anna) was the driver, and I thought I’d give you an idea of what it is like to do that - it’s more stressful that you’d think :)

Wake up. Find coffee. Try to find car keys. Give up. Shower. Find car keys. Clean & pack the cooler. Feel awed by the amount of yummy food we get to eat today (thank you Moira!!). Listen to the bikers decide their route today. Say bye to the bikers. Feel like I’m in a rainforest because of the 95% humidity in Kansas today. Say hi to Cole again (a flat). Watch Cole fix his bike while sitting inside sipping coffee. Text hosts for tonight our ETA. Decide where to meet the bikers for their first stop. Munch on Eggo waffles (whole grain, my favorite!) while doing the house sweep for forgotten items. Chug more coffee. Say thank you to our awesome hosts in Kansas City! Hop in the car. Adjust seat and mirrors (Sean & Maceo are like 2 feet taller than me). Gas up car. Roll the windows down, turn the radio on, start driving for real. Say goodbye to Kansas. Hey, Missouri!! Arrive at McDonalds. Buy coffee. Sit on the lawn next to the highway awaiting the bikers. Sip more coffee. Get nervous that I’m in the wrong place. Worry that one of them has a flat or boinked. Check the locations of the bikers. Relax a bit.

Bikers arrive! Drive to a nearby bike store (that’s a rare luxury!) to grab parts to fix Cole’s bike. Almost lose Asia’s bike from the bike rack... eeep. Duct tape Asia’s bike onto the rack. Tighten bike rack. Give it a stern talking to. Snack on fresh veggies while Cole fixes his bike even more.

Off I go! Windows down. Kingsville, Missouri here I come! Find & Resupply Maceo at a park in Kingsville.

Off I go to our home for the night! Say hi to our hosts. Watch a mini rocket launch (from our host, Jeff)!

Sean Bikes Ahead of Maceo on a Dirt Path

Day 46: A Guest Appearance

Stanford Spokes with a couple of happy campers at Inclusion Connections!

Light seeped through my blinds. A thought lingered, as that same light crawled up my bed and into my eyes like critters that hide beneath my bed in order to let me sleep, where am I? The sheets felt familiar, but in the same way a friend from elementary school would. They knew me in a time before now. I was home. In my bed, again. I had come home early to surprise Asia which afforded me an extra night in a real, down to earth, no strings attached, bed as in my apartment I sleep on the floor due to technical issues. The morning moved quickly as the team became like a rapids running through Steamboat Springs. They scarfed down a hastily made breakfast, loaded the car in a matter of seconds, and while I was still slipping my mismatched socks onto my toesies Asia peeked her head into my dim, blue-shaded room informing me that it was time to go. Teaching at Inclusion Connections! A camp for people with developmental disabilities of all ages to learn life skills in order to become self-sufficient, a camp I had volunteered at for many years while living in the grand and illustrious city of Olathe. Upon arrival, I felt as though I were Lemon Volcano, energy and bubbles festering inside, excited to share part of my old life with my new one. We divided up the room into five stations and I joined Asia in teaching Chemistry. We made Ooblek and (surprisingly) Lemon Volcanoes (miniature Colins) and some of the campers left rather unimpressed and others in amazement of the fantastical world of chemicals. My favorite moment, however, was when Nick said he would love to show his Niece the Lemon Volcano. An excitement for the world transforming, much like a chemical reaction, into inspiration to teach others is always beautiful. Nick also lambasted Asia for how boring Ooblek was. Another reason why he provided me with some of my favorite moments teaching that day. (Boooooooringgggggg zzzzzzz) After teaching and a quick clean up we made dawg treats and saw how they teach the campers important life skills. Some of the spokes members tasted the peanut butter treats too, Ruff!

Colin forces Asia and Anna to show KC pride.

Anna, Travis, and Cole love apple cider!

After Inclusion COnnections (hope Spokes returns next year!!!! Please do it ahaha!!) I became Kansas City Sacagawea and took my biking team full of Lewis and Clarks to a few popular breweries that the ol’ KC is known for (Shoutout to the Louisiana Purchase). While the bros enjoyed some brews, Anna, Asia, and I went to go see some of the murals that dress up old buildings in the area.

Once that wrapped up we came home to the best BBQ feast the world has to offer and I got to show Asia the luxury of QuikTrip, it is like the Bugatti's of gas stations, and my favorite ice cream shoppe (ooo british). I went to bed still with a feeling of excitement in my gut, happy, that I was able to experience these moments. The light creeped back under my bed, waiting to startle me away from my world of Dreams to help the team at aSTEM tomorrow.

Colin

Day 45: OOOOOlathe…Beyond the Edge of Kansas

Today was a 100-mile day, so we voted for a 5am wake-up to try to escape the heat. Spoiler…it still got hot! I biked with Asia in the morning. Today we tried riding in small groups/pairs. The sky was beautiful this morning. The way the rays of sun sneaked through the cloud created a sublime setting for great morning ride. We rode on a lonely highway, which was actually nice. I got to listen to a podcast this morning. I really thought today would be flat. But again, we were met with several small hills, that seemed to go on for 60-70 miles. On the ride, there was a dog that escaped its owner and ran parallel to Asia and I. If I were a dog whisper, I would imagine the dog was saying, “get off my property”. The dog actually jumped onto the highway and was running into oncoming traffic. This created anxiety for me, and I could not look. I really thought the big trucks would hit the dog. But luckily, the dog managed to maneuver through traffic, and lived to see another day. And I lived to see another 50 miles.

For lunch, I made Asia stop with me at subway, because I really wanted a meatball sandwich. By this time, my backside was really sore and hurting. After lunch, Asia drove and I got in the car. I would like to think I’m a top-tier passenger driver; I at least give better directions than google maps. The team stopped at a county fair that was on our path. We got them a lemonade slushy. I could tell this quenched their thirst. As least Cole liked it, because I saw him sneak what remained into his water bottle. When Asia finally got to Colin’s house, she was overjoyed with emotion. I on the other hand was only thinking of one thing, how am I going to sleep with three cats running around. Luckily Colin’s family took care of this, and cleared out a quarantine room that was cat-free. Thank you Colin and his Family. We had a really delicious pizza for dinner and watched the democratic debate before bed. Tomorrow we are teaching, so we went to be relatively early.

-Travis

Cole giving a thumbs up for another 80 miles. He wants more!

Anna so happy she is getting her coffee break!

Day 44: Hay Kansas, How's It Going?

McPherson to Emporia

After resting and teaching, today’s early morning start made for groggy eyes and a yawning Sean. We set our alarms for 5:30 and had oatmeal and eggs for breakfast. Cole was the driver, and chose excellent shady spots for our rest stops. During the first 20 miles, I listened to news about Puerto Rico’s governor texting scandal and reappointment, deforestation in Brazil, and the tragic shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival. At my first rest stop, I had peanut butter and jelly on some of Scott’s homemade bread (Thanks so much to our awesome warm showers hosts!). My next 20 miles was even better because I got to talk on the phone to my parents! We talked about my experience teaching in our workshops and some potential career options that involve social work and potentially pursuing a masters degree. Yikes! I read some of my book at the next break - something I hadn’t done before because I am usually trying to finish the day of riding first. I also listened to a playlist my brother, Milosz, made for me, which was great! I was dancing while biking for the last 10 miles!!

Maceo Posing with Lots of Hay

Cole, our hero for the day, found us a church to stay, and it had a basketball court and a huge kitchen! Sean and I cooked a classic Spokes dinner of stir-fried veggies and eggs. After that, Asia and I watched ‘The Hate U Give’ because Asia just finished the audiobook.

Tomorrow we’ll ride to a suburb of Kansas City called Olathe!

Thanks for reading, 

Maceo