Pre-BAK

Late night Thursday, last minute adjustments, around midnight. We leave early tomorrow. Should have finished all this a week ago, but we didn't. I decided to put on a new chain, but it made too much noise so I put the old one back on. Amy's putting on new tires. What training I could get in will hopefully be enough. My total training mileage of 400 should have been around 700 miles. March snows delayed training until April.

The last time we did BAK was 2007. Dan, Amy and I. Good memories and some stressful memories. This time fiance Cody suggested we do it again, this time with him. After what Dan called a "lapse in judgement" we decide to do it. Memory of 2007 aches and pains have faded.

This year BAK has 800 registered bikers (our typical number) and 60 support staff that ride. Each night is coordinated and is usually at a High School or similar educational institution. Roughly half of us bring our tents, half of us sleep on the gym floor or in the hallways. Local non-profit groups have volunteered to operate food booths as fund raisers for themselves and a convenience to us. We really appreciate them. BAK uses rental moving trucks to haul our gear to the next night's stay. We wake up, eat, pack up and load our gear in the trucks and hit the road by 7 a.m. (no set time) and a typical day is 6 hour in the saddle. This is every day for seven days. You get in a groove after the first couple days.

BAK 2010

Well, this is a delayed posting. I just finished it, but it's for a bike ride I did the first full week of June. Life has been hectic lately and I'm in a sketch idea backlog. It'll happen, just not spontaneously.

Anyway, for the second time I've done the Biking Across Kansas (BAK) organized ride. The first time was in 2007 with daughter, Amy, and brother, Dan. This time we add Amy's fiance, Cody. Actually, Cody was this year's spark plug to get us all to go. It's his first time and he had enough of our stories and wanted to experience it himself. The process of pedaling 6 hours a day and fighting 860 other people for showers and food at local high schools doesn't lend itself to sketch journaling. I kept a traditional journal and took pictures. So, what I did here was a recap sketch journal entry after the fact. For my blog I think I will take one day at a time for this seven day journey and make a post based on my journal and add some pictures. Then back to my regularly-scheduled sketching. Stay tuned.

Felony Banjo, II

First off, WHO STOLE JUNE! I've never missed a whole month of blogging since I've been at this. No excuses are being offered. It just happened.

Now, if you remember from last July 4, our family camps out with extended family and friends on July 4 (and other holidays) at Clinton Lake in northeast Kansas. Part of that tradition is evening picking and singing at least one night, around the campfire. Ed on guitar, me on banjo. Last year, for the first time, we got shut down by authorities because it was Quiet Hours. A first.

So I wrote a protest song of sorts to memorialize the event, and was looking forward to singing it this year in its debut. Daily storms got in the way. Ed's son drove his family in from Tennessee (with huge 5th wheel trailer and truck) and really wanted to hear his Dad sing, so on the last night we huddled up under Ed's awning, in light rain. Started at 9:30 p.m., when the rain started to let up.

Things went well until 10:15 (Quiet Hours start at 10). Nobody camping close to us and people with any sense are all inside their campers to stay dry, so I thought we were safe. Nope. The deputy walked in, suggested we make this our last song and walks off. Well, we think another couple songs won't hurt. Wrong. He keeps driving by and stopping to watch us. Tension builds. I'm ready to quit but the group wants to push the envelope. I sing my "Shut'em Down" protest song and everyone loved it. Just one more song. But as we're playing we see a second patrol car pull up to the deputy. We sing more. A third patrol car pulls up. Then a fourth. Then a fifth. I don't feel so good. I think five night sticks and five 9mm semi-auto pistols trumps a banjo and guitar. We call it quits, quickly, and disperse as the five cars eerily drive in close formation into the camp to shut down some illegal fireworks (very few this year) and US. Once again, my banjo is my weapon in the commission of a crime.

We all make it to our campers without incident. A couple guys in our group stay up and the deputies clamp down on them for laughing too loud. We can't win.

So, another year, another violation of federal regulations. This just isn't working.

Our Little Girl

She's growing up and I can't stop it from happening. It's a thrill to watch it happen, yet part of me pines for the old days, too. She'll be fine. We'll see about me.

I had a 2-day business meeting in her town recently and crashed at her apartment for the night. That gave me a chance to sketch her chair. On my way home after the meeting I stopped to sketch one of many buildings at her campus. The final piece came when she was home for a weekend and I snapped a picture of her wearing her engagement ring. Then I figured what to babble about. I feel better now.

877

Last weekend was the big start of Spring around here as far as yard and garden work. Wilma tended the garden. I hit the yard and took her car in for new tires, while taking some fun time, too. One morning was clear and warm enough I could eat breakfast out on the front porch and watch the country wake up. Always like that. Each year I pull some pasture cedar seedlings. This time of year the ground is moist and loose and the grass isn't green and thick enough to hide them, so I can pull the out, either by fingers or with pliers. Usually I bag them up, but this year I just threw them in the wheelbarrow for the burn pile and counted them . . . thus the title of this sketch. Got more than I figured. I found the youngin's to be very graceful and attractive, even if I hate them. The donut shop just opened up this year. It's open 24-hours a day with drive-up service and can seat probably 100 people. What a business model! Hope they make it. Need to rest up for next weekend.

Tools Of The Road

I was having tires put on Wilma's car Saturday morning and had time to kill, so I packed along the bike and rode to a coffee house. As luck would have it, our Shunga Trail was close and I could get a 14 mile round trip in. Topeka doesn't have much for cyclists, but it does have the Shunga Trail, with it's nice surface for riding/walking/running and follows Shunganunga Creek. I brought along my sketch gear and figured I'd find something to draw. Once I had my coffee and was ready to draw, I thought of my tools. Love tools. I actually forgot it had some of the features. Much better gear than when I was a kid.

Spring Break 2010

This year we decided to check out Santa Fe for our daughter's Spring Break (her idea). We've visited once before a few years ago and wanted another look. Made a 4-day holiday out of last weekend and took Amtrak from Kansas City to Lamy (closest train depot).



The main purpose of the trip is a family short vacation with a full schedule of things to do. I usually like a loose schedule with a few anchor events, but when time is short ya gotta keep moving. So, travel journaling had to take back seat and I sketched when I could work it in. Luckily I still managed to get most sketching done on the trip. The writing and maps followed when I got home.




That's it for this trip. Don't know if my travel sketch process will stay the same forever, but it works for now.