strongbad being a hobo thread

[Kalahari Inkantation]

i would but biking around Boston would definitely eventually lead to my death

rofl i certainly couldn't rely on biking as a regular means of transport in my town either, that has a much higher likelihood of ending badly than i'm at all comfortable with

but there are several truly great bike trails on long island that i've wanted to experience for ages, and i'd need a new bike for that anyway

i probably would have spent no more than $150 on some walmart piece of shite without strongdavid's advice though lol

[strongbad]

Hope you guys are enjoying hearing about my weird trip.

I look forward to every entry.

you have convinced me to spend $600 on a bike lol

DUDE have you done it already? Feel free to ask me any questions or let me know if you want recommendations. I'm a huge bike nerd and am addicted to buying bikes (bad addiction) and would be happy to help

[strongbad]

also I'm literally biking through the desert right now lol. I wasn't expecting to have service for 4 days and feel really lucky to have found WiFi today (day 2)

It is a fucking jungle of huge cacti everywhere and huge boulders. It's like an alien landscape. I'm carrying 4.5l of water every day and drinking most of it lol. It's like 78 degrees in direct sunlight with minimal wind and no shade. It's kind of terrible lol

I'd read in a blog that you could ask the police officers in the town I stayed in last night for lodging and they'd point you to a deserted medical dispensary to sleep in for free (not weed lol) this was 4 years ago though so I was curious if itd hold up. we arrived at 4pm yesterday after putting in 79 miles (maybe my longest and hottest day lol) and went to the police station after buying some cold beverages and shit. The police had apparently lost the key to the medical dispensary (lmao) but they let us stay in a huge aircraft hanger type multi-purpose room. I have some pics on my IG. I wasn't going to set up my tent but at night hella bugs and bats came out.. fuck that so I set up my tent and slept well. My friend went outside to pee at one point and saw 5 cows (desert cows?) being barked at by dogs lol

Oh also we realized two days ago before this barren desert stretch that we we're almost out of pesos and that there wouldn't be an ATM for like 350 miles. We were freaking out and thought we might have to take a bus back like 100 miles to withdraw money in a prior town. Luckily after asking around in broken and stressed out Spanish we found a place where we could get cash back. Thank God. The first time this whole trip where I'd been genuinely freaking out. Got like $250 USD which will stretch until we get to civilization again. Its crazy though- nobody accepts cards. I have this piece of plastic that represents lots of money but it is meaningless out here. Crazy

[strongbad]

Just finished day 3 of riding 70+ miles and having to carry a fuck ton of water in hot as fuck conditions

 I don't think I've ever been as exhausted in my life lol. One more day at this pace tomorrow. I'm dreading it tbh. Listened to a whole podcast where two comedians talked about their favorite sandwiches (the topic) for an hour. I was already so hungry and honestly it just made me angry lol

I've been following this guy's blog on crazyguyonabike (cool web 1.0 website that is the hub for bike tourists) who did the same ride years ago, and have been following a lot of his recommendations. I downloaded almost all of it offline and I'm so thankful I did.

It's crazy, though. He is like "this restaurant has free camping out back." So we roll up to this restaurant at the end of the day and after ordering are like "...do you have a space for us to camp please?" And they're like "ya sure" lol. And they have WiFi which is why I can post now. Also WiFi is pronounced "WeeFee" in Spanish lmao. I've never gone about my life in a stranger way.

[C.Mongler]

wow that really is a web 1.0 website lol

[strongbad]

lol I know right

If you want to read about the trip from my friend's perspective (and hear about our many disagreements lol) here's the blog he's keeping. Hes going to keep going after I finish in Cabo. He wants to go to the tip of Argentina  but I'm a little skeptical that he'll make it that far

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?doc_id=20480

[C.Mongler]

nice stache david

[strongbad]

nice stache david

thx I think I can grow facial hair at the rate of an average 17 year old

[Thyme]

Also WiFi is pronounced "WeeFee" in Spanish lmao.

i pronounce it like that sometimes lol

[Kalahari Inkantation]

Hope you guys are enjoying hearing about my weird trip.

I look forward to every entry.

you have convinced me to spend $600 on a bike lol

DUDE have you done it already? Feel free to ask me any questions or let me know if you want recommendations. I'm a huge bike nerd and am addicted to buying bikes (bad addiction) and would be happy to help

not yet because 1. $600 is a lot and 2. i couldn't even use it right now anyway and by the time i could it'd be approaching winter lol

but a decent bike is high on my list of things i need to buy and has been for a while

realistically i probably won't until spring 2019 but you are the first person i would seek for advice on such a matter

lol I know right

If you want to read about the trip from my friend's perspective (and hear about our many disagreements lol) here's the blog he's keeping. Hes going to keep going after I finish in Cabo. He wants to go to the tip of Argentina  but I'm a little skeptical that he'll make it that far

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?doc_id=20480

How does he plan to get across the Amazon rainforest?

also i hope you brought an ample supply of sunscreen lol

[strongbad]

yeah please shoot me a message ill be happy to help

that is a good question. I know he's going to take a boat around the Darian gap which is supposedly insane to cross (I didn't know about it until he started planning his trip) but besides that I think there are known routes for everywhere else

@sunscreen
lol oh yeah huge on my priority list. I finished my second bottle (upgraded to spf50) a while ago and right after buying a 3rd this nice guy who owned a restaurant we were chilling at for a while for the wifi gave us a full bottle of fancy spf50 spray. I guess Mexicans dont need it lol

Also we finished the hell stretch of 4 70 mile desert days and just did a chiller 45 mile day to a fairly populated little town. Off the recommendation of another cycle tourist we stayed at this weird hotel that also has a camp site in the back that is pretty secure. They have nice amenities and a cool restaurant and bar with cheaper prices for cyclists lol. Taking a much needed break day here tomorrow as well to sit on my butt thank goodness. Just over half way through Baja

Did u guys know that the time zone changes to mountain time when you get to the southern half of Baja? (Baja sur). Doesn't really make sense and it really threw me off lol

[Kalahari Inkantation]

be sure to stick an american flag in the northern half of baja california on your way back

[Mando Pandango]

Damn this is crazy. I love hearing about just like, normal life in other countries. Keep updating us. I'm way into it.

[strongbad]

be sure to stick an american flag in the northern half of baja california on your way back

HAH good one
(if u guys didn't know already I'm flying back from Cabo lol)

Thanks popsi I appreciate that

Also my friend and I have decided that going south to North on the west coast would be the dumbest thing ever since you'll always have to cross the street to get to the beach or nice views. We've seen a few south to northers and have not been impressed.

Also we literally haven't seen one other cyclist since we started Baja (most people do it in the winter, go figure) but we did hear from some motorcyclists that there was a dude from Kenya cycling some distance behind us. That's the interesting thing- you can feel so alone and isolated but for all you know there are 10 other people cycling one day behind or ahead of you.

I'm loving my rest day. Not intending to leave the hotel at all besides to grab groceries for dinner and tomorrow's ride. The hotels restaurant has AC and fast WiFi and my body really needed to chill for the day. Making some good progress on 1Q84 too. Such a huge book but my progress in the book is almost 1:1 with the trip's progress. Don't think I would have ever finished this book in my normal life, and I'm glad I picked it up for this trip since it is probably a top 5 book for me (I need to read more murakami)

[strongbad]

reading about the upcoming route being very hilly with minimal amenities and the upcoming temperatures (mid 80s before the sun is even up Christ) I'm considering taking a bus to avoid ~220 miles and 4 days of cycling and chilling in a nice beach town instead. I'd still have another 100 miles to bike to finish the ride and that would include a nice sounding warm showers host I've already made plans with.

Should I feel shame?