4-07-08 Ride the Wind

Oh my god! I hated the motel we stayed in last night because we got sidetracked by storms and we ended up in Comanchea or some damn place. I didn’t get any sleep because I was too paranoid that the mouse who came with the room, would come in and crawl on me in the middle of the night. Yes there was a mouse in our room! It was so gross, and right after we got the mouse out of our room, a big moth came flying in. And I don’t mean those tiny moths, this one was the size of a small bird. Ugh! I was so happy when we got out of there, you have no idea. Well after everything was packed and ready to go Jeff, Sydney, Justin and I headed out on our bikes. The weather was perfect, not a cloud and in every direction it looked flat. It wasn’t too hot and it wasn’t too cold. What was also great was that we had a tail wind. For the past couple of days it was really bad when we rode because there was always a headwind. So today was a huge blessing! Have you ever been really creeped out when people start staring at you. Well today I got that feeling, except it was animals that were staring at me. I’m not even kidding! Whenever we would be riding by a herd of cows or horses, they would all stop eating and look at us. It was really weird and some times the cows would come running after us! I’m not sure if you've noticed, but in the city of Seattle, people always seem to be rushing to and from places. Nobody even gives you the time of day. So far, in almost every state, there's been at least one person who's said hello to me. I don’t even know these people but they take the time to say hi to me! It makes Seattle look really bad because if you were to say hi to a random person in Seattle, they'd look at you like you were crazy! It really made my day today when we were riding along and some man relaxing on his porch waved and said hello. Also when we stopped to get some more water at a convenience store, the lady at the counter waved and asked how we were doing. For as long as I live I will never forget the kindness I have seen on this trip. Riding for 50 miles was intense today. I almost fell over with relief when I heard we were done! We stopped at a gas station and Jeff treated us to yummy ice cream. When I got into the car the first thing I did was shut my eyes, and that was the last thing I remember. When I woke up again, we were at the hotel and in a rush since we were going to be late for our event. The other guys were riding in while we got things arranged at the hotel. We finally found the other riders, but to my dismay I had to wait to ride until we got to the Postal Training Center. There we met with one of the big cycling clubs of Norman, Oklahoma and rode to the Sam Noble Museum from there. Along the way I talked with one of the riders about our trip. She thought it was a great idea, and that she wanted to do something like it when she retired. I told her that she should follow through with that! This is starting to be really cool. Everybody we talk with thinks what we're doing is a really big deal. It makes me feel that what we're doing is really important. When we arrived at the museum, I was shocked to see a porcupine walking around outside. ! I’m not kidding. I even got to pet it! That was so cool! Once we got inside, our host made introductions, mayor Rosenthal gave brief introductions and then Arielle and I went up to the mike and gave our speech. I was nervous as hell and I blanked out once, but thankfully the rest of the speech went well. Afterward we all intermingled and talked with various people about our trip. After the reception we got a tour of the museum. The architecture was fantastic! I loved the design of the building’s exterior and interior. Also, the exhibits looked amazing. Kevin, a paleontologist at the museum, asked if we'd like a tour of their newest part of the museum. We all accepted so Kevin led the way. On our tour we learned about what was going to be put into the new exhibit and Kevin explained what each part was going to represent. It was really fascinating, a real behind the scenes tour of a famous museum. Afterward, we got a tour of the completed exhibit. I was surprised to see how big dinosaurs really were, because honestly I had no idea. When the tour was over, we all went to the meeting area and grabbed the leftovers to take with us. Honestly, I didn’t like the sandwiches, so all I ate was fruit and vegetables. Great dinner, I know. Anyway after a while we all started getting tired and Jacob and I started goofing off. Thomsen saw us and told us we had to sleep in the truck. Of course, neither of us cared because we thought he was kidding, but, oh no, he wasn’t. When we got back to the hotel he gathered us at the end of the truck and began reminding us of why we were on this trip, about representing our school, city and state. About setting an example. He started by reminding Tim and Tyrone, both seniors, that they need to set the example for the rest of us. He then started in on Jacob and I for goofing off in the museum and not paying attention to our tour guide, a world re-known palentologist who was giving us a private tour. Then he moved on to Arielle for not calling people. I was so pissed off, because Thomsen expects way too much out of us kids. It’s really starting to wear down everyone. For the first time, I have actually had to think about why I am still doing this trip. Well I’m pissed off and tired so I’m going to bed on a bad note. Bye…