July 21, 2006

WKDZ, A big thanks

Thanks to WKDZ 106 and Carrie for having me in the studio today. My roots in media were sown at this small station with the big heart. Thanks to DJ Everett, it's got an even bigger heart. There is a story to come about this but generally there's nothing as boring as someone else's dream and I'm amazed that people are even interested at all in what I do.

Posted by Julian Cook at 04:16 PM | Comments (1)

July 17, 2005

Past Breaking Point - Elkhorn City KY

Sorry about the late update folks, but it has been a really trying few days since Berea. I have endured days of 95 degree heat, pedaling 70 miles through hurricane rains and steep mountain pass after steep mountain pass where 5% grades are the norm. The downhills have been spectacular (even filmed one!). The people have been great also, especially where I am right now which is the Gateway to the Breaks motel. The only downside? I am going to have to amend my mission statement.

Why? For about three days now I have been suffering progressively worse numbness in my left hand. It started mildly enough, but it has progressed enough to keep me from sleeping. Pedaling the mile and half uphill to Break Interstate Park the pain and numbness were so bad that I had to come back down and stay another night at the Gateway to the Breaks motel. So far the pain and numbness aren't subsiding. I am now left in a quandry of sorts.

The goal of this journey was the circle the earth without leaving the surface, something that I am just as committed as ever on doing. First and foremost I am not out to maim myself in the process.

Checking with a local nurse in Pike county resulted in cautions that I may be doing permanent damage if I keep up. Years of computer programming have taken their toll on my hands and the 8 to 12 hours of being stretched on handlebars day after day have pushed them past the breaking point.

I do need to get this checked out by my normal doctor and then decide how best to proceed. I am also on a deadline to get to New York City by August 9 to take the Queen Mary 2 to Southampton.

I have however managed to pull off quite a bit. I have filmed a lot of interesting stuff. I plan on continuing to do so but my mission statement is probably going to have to be altered to "A continuous thread of tread and ship's wake".

The journey is going to have to change in this regard because physically I have no choice. I'll update more later but my time right now is running out on using this machine so I'll close for now.

Posted by Julian Cook at 09:52 PM | Comments (7)

July 10, 2005

Kindness all around - Berea, Ky

Berea College was founded in 1855 by John Fee. It's constitution made it Christian, non sectarian and anti-slavery. The idea was to give education to all, white and black. Pro slavery factions managed to close it down from 1859 to 1865 when it roared back to life anchoring what is now the arts and crafts capital of Kentucky.

Berea was exactly the rest stop I needed after a difficult couple of days. I was forced to pitch my tent at the Lincoln Homestead State Park after the bike's chain jumped the third ring while I was powering up a hill. The force bent the chaninring and by the time the problem was fixed there wasn't enough daylight left to continue. Other highlights, or lowlights I should say, included my speedometer committing suicide, the frame pump lock breaking off and twisting my right ankle when I couldn't break out fast enough. What magnified the difficulty was the heat.

The heat sucks the life out of everything and the hills! These hills are killing me. I would make a little progress and would have to rest for a few minutes and the cycle would begin again. I started to wonder why I was doing this and I was reminded of the old joke about how does one get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice. I will be traversing countless hills and mountains to come in places like Wales, the Pyrenees and the Caucasus.

Arriving at the campground I was in a hurry to pitch my tent and lapse into a well deserved light coma when Mike Hall ambled over, manhattan in hand, to introduce himself. He and his wife Sherry converted a race car hauler into a lavish home away from home. The hauler was partitioned in two; the back carried whatever show car he chose to bring and the front was the living quarters. They had Amish woodcrafters to build the quarters, and it was nothing less than jaw dropping. It was a complete home with everything you would need. The Halls went above and beyond their fellow campers managing to not only bring their home but their garage as well. The car in back was a beautiful Ford Fairlane convertible. Even the most testosterone deprived would have drooled at the sight.

Before I could bid him a fond farewell he uttered sweet music to this cyclist's ears; "Would you like to have dinner with us?" he asked. In no time Sherry cooked up cheeseburgers and potatoes which I topped with Mike's own salsa. We had lively discussion about every topic imaginable and I capped it off with bourbon and a cigar.

The next morning I checked into a hotel and explored Berea's many arts and crafts shops. The quality of the crafts is outstanding especially the quilts. It took me back to a time when I would help my mother make quilts. She would like it here. You name the art or craft and it's here; blown glass, candles, even wooden dog statues with goatees.

Berea is much more than an arts and crafts capital, it's an idea. It's a beautiful idea. Students that go to Berea college pay no tuition. They work 15-20 hours a week and carry a full load and that pretty much covers it. It allows everyone to receive an education.

Like the students who come here I have had a hard road. Also like those students I am receiving my own education. There is kindness all around in Berea.

Posted by Julian Cook at 05:58 PM | Comments (11)

July 05, 2005

The God Light - Trappist Ky.

The monastery courtyard is beautiful right now. It's quiet, there's a little fog and the sky has an abundance of what photographers ironically call "God Light". Complementing the shafts of light are translucent backlit clouds. There is a faint sound of water running. It is so peaceful and inspiring that I feel like comitting an act of philosophy.

The Abbey of Gethsemani was founded in 1848 by Trappist monks from Melleray France. The monastery makes most of it's money through it's mail order and internet sales of fudge, cheese, fruitcake and other foods. There are about 60 largely anonymous monks here but Gethsemani was home to probably the world's most famous Trappist monk Father Louis better know as Thomas Merton.

"I remember Father Louis was very good at communicating with people" Brother Raphael told me. "I thought that I and some other lay brothers could learn from him. Father Louis said 'I would be happy to. I just need to take care of some business first'". Shifting in his chair Brother Raphael said "We never saw him again".

Brother Raphael was referring to Merton's untimely death in Bangkok in 1968. It was a freak accident, he was electrocuted when the wet floor he was standing on made electrical contact with a faulty fan. It is what buddhists call a "severe ripening of karma".

Brother Raphael and I had dinner in the monastery's sole speaking dining room. We enjoyed a delicious dinner of salad, barley soup, bread, pears and some of the monks own Port de Salud cheese. Looking at him it was hard to imagine him being a flight instructor during World War II. In fact looking at any of the brothers it was hard to imagine that they had lives before being monks.

Brother Raphael enlisted in the Navy to defend the United States. "I saw what was being done to the Chinese and there was no way I was going to let that happen here. I guess that's my Norman blood" he chuckled.

He then presented me with dessert, a Little Debbie Fudge Round smuggled into the monastery. It was obvious why he was so well loved by anyone who met him. Our conversation turned to his sigh of relief at not having to kill anyone during the war, something that he could hardly imagine now.

"I have learned a lot about forgiveness since then"

"Have you ever had a problem with forgiveness as a monk?"

"Well we have 70 monks here and they are all men so some shins are bound to be kicked. Generally things here are easy going. I remember when eight of my Trappist brothers were killed in Algeria in 1996.
That was very difficult for me. I had a dream that I was piloting a fully loaded and armed Corsair and I just went shooting at these men who killed the brothers. Then I thought about how crazy that idea was. I prayed for days and then I just turned it over to the God and 'Lord this is bigger than I am and I need help right now'".

He smiled and said "I was able to forgive. God helps us to cope with our human weakness. Giving forgiveness is most important when it's the hardest to do it".

With that he smiled and let some of his own god light slip.

Posted by Julian Cook at 09:40 AM | Comments (9)

July 04, 2005

The Send Off - Clermont

It was a rush getting everything together. Steven, Darci and I went to Bernheim and unloaded my bicycle and other things. I didn't think that television coverage was going to happen but it did. Justin Wilfon from WAVE TV 3 showed up.

The interview went pretty well I thought. Justin was great and Dave the cameraman was pretty funny. Friends that have known me since pre-school showed up to see me off. It's been said that there's nothing more boring than someone else's dream and yet people I don't know came out to wish me well. People like John Spalding from Bardstown, Robert Bridges and his daughter Lorin from Louisville, and the Link family from Cox's Creek.
After leaving Bernheim I made it to the Rooster Run General Store where, while paying for ice cream, I saw Kendoll Link and her dad Kenneth. Kenneth said "Kendoll wanted to give you some things for good luck". She then handed me a bag containing a cross made from concrete nails glued together with twine, a buckeye, 2 buffalo nickels and some red magic rocks! It was exactly what I needed then because frankly, up to that point, I was thinking "What have I gotten myself into?". Kendoll put it into proper perspective for me and earned the title of my number one cheerleader. Sometimes it's the smallest things that make all the difference and that certainly did to me.
The rest of my ride was hot, but I made it to My Old Kentucky Home Campground where the day was spent determining what was going to be sent back home. Like all cycling tourists I started out with WAY too much and it didn't make any sense chauffering european electric converters.
The day exceeded my wildest expectations and the only huge disappointments were my misplacing my cell phone (later found at Bernheim) and trying to eat noodles without utensils because I forgot to pack a fork.
It's clear that improvising is going to be a major part of my journey.

Posted by Julian Cook at 03:54 PM | Comments (10)

June 29, 2005

Leaving Home - Shepherdsville

Hurried. That's really the only word that can describe it. I didn't think that unraveling my life would be this difficult. Anxious is another appropriate word and not just because of all the caffeine I have been consuming.

Note: Ride starts at 9am from Bernheim Forest from in front of the new visitor's center. Just mention that you are there to see the WorldCyclist off and you get in for free.

I spent the day turning in my government goodies. My RSA key keeps changing it's six digit code about once every minute. It's used to access secured government computers. I checked back in my hazardous materials suit and it was then I concluded that this just isn't normal. It's not normal working in a place that requires that you know how to don a HazMat suit in case of some terror attack. I'm a programmer for crying out loud, I just sling bytes all day.

It's not normal in general to spend eight hours a day in a cubicle. I'm going from dwelling in a veal fattening pen cubicle to being a free range human now. Yeah that feels right. It doesn't feel hurried.

Posted by Julian Cook at 06:59 PM | Comments (16)