Michael's Journal

For over 3500 miles I’ve had a vision to concentrate on, a destination to pedal towards. The Jefferson Memorial. I’m still digesting so more will be written but here is a pic post for today…

At first, all I saw was a pinpoint of light at the end of a long dark tunnel. As I got closer the pinpoint grew to allow light in, I could see the dome, then the columns, all in my mind. For the most part though, I could only see the road directly in front of me. The finish was too fantastical for little ‘ol me to fathom. Just a vision of light at the end of a tunnel.

Then, it was there.

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and it was no longer just little ‘ol me, but I was with friends and family. The Ron Paul Riders were almost there…

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But first, we had a few places to ride past

Arlington National Cemetary

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The Reflecting Pool

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While taking the above pics a young gentleman came up and said, Excuse me but… you are the Ron Paul Rider, I’ve been following you… I can’t believe I am here while you are… when did you arrive? Just now!!! OMG!!! - lol

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We went and paid respect at the The Wall, respectfully declining to take blog pics

Then, it was off to circle the Whitehouse :>>

I rode around, people were snapping pics left and right, even the cops were smiling

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As we circled the Whitehouse we caught site of the Capitol

and Tony was, again, sign waving

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As we left the ellipse we caught site of Jefferson’s Memorial again, we were getting closer

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but first we had some special places to display the flag.

As we rode past the building I was inspired to “salute” for the entire time. People were smiling and laughing as they saw me giving the institution the “salute", with our flag flying behind.

Then it was Pennsylvania Ave to the Capitol

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and the Supreme Court

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Now we had circled all three branches of our Gov’t and it was finally time to end this little jaunt. On the way we circled the Washington Monument.

And we were getting closer

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And suddenly I was there

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A generous supporter was waiting (thanks Hersh)

who gave a great final ITW vid

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Here is the writing on the wall

GO RON PAUL!!!

What a run into the metro area. It was nasty. The temp never got over 37degrees, and the traffic was nuts. The rain started about halfway. Actually just a bit of sleet and only a few snowflakes but lots, and lots of rain. Combined with the traffic we had to be on our frozen toes all day. In fact, it was so cold my camera would hardly work and the photos are from my phone.

Still a good day for RP though, we got lots of signs out, a bit of handouts in the Gas/Convenience places and redlights, and we got lots of honks from other supporters.

What was best was the local who came out for a ride. Robert was great, came out in the nastiness to ride for RP. So there were three RP riders to circle the Pentagon

Navigating the metro area on bikes was… hairy. Was really glad to have a local with us. Still got a bit turned around and ended up on some road sections that bikes normally do not tread but we made it. Passed Arlington National Cematary.

and made it to HQ, (sorry no pics on my camera and have to wait to get them).

What was best though was cruising with Robert. He started with a “town crier” rendition as soon as we entered downtown and we went all the way through bellowing out slogans.

“Find out who the real front runner is”

“Ronnnnn Paaauuuullll!!!”

“End the military industrial complex”

“Support Ron Paul”

“End Tyranny”

“Visit RonPaul2008.com”

“Find out who the troops support”

“Vote Ron Paul”

“Support the Constitution”

“Ronnnnn Paaauuuullll!!!”

among others. It was great. I was mostly bellowing “end tyranny” and “A gov’t of The People, by The People, for The People". We would trade off and there was almost always one of us bellowing and the other two answering with “Ronnnnn Paaauuullll”

All three of us have powerful lungs and people could not help but look and most just had to smile. I was absolutely stoked. Riding with three was so much better than riding alone and I was real honored by the company. I was also quite impressed that Tony had made the whole 53 miles through the nastiness. He had been nervous about the distance and made it through with strength to spare.

Anyway, after taking a few pics out front of HQ we had to get warm and dry so Ken, Shirley, and I got a room here in Arlington. Ma and Tony have a room in town at the Crown that a supporter (Thanks Mr Malone!) had bought for us for three days while I was in Texas. I wanted to wait to enter DC on my bike so stayed outside here at a Quality Inn.

Last night I mapped a route through DC for today which is here

I just hope my camera doesn’t freeze up again, luckily it should be warmer and partly cloudy.

For months all I have been able to do is concentrate on my immediate area, the town I am in and the next on my way. Yesterday I kept flashing on LA. I cannot imagine what I will feel as we cruise DC today but I look forward to having the time to absorb this whole ordeal and believe I will a have a bit to say. Mostly it will be a great big THANK YOU to the grassroots…

GO RON PAUL!!!

I hope everyone enjoyed the day. Here is Ken and Shirley early this AM

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and here is part of the team in front a (still standing) cherry tree very close to where George Washington grew up

One of my favorite houses was the home of another hero

And this window front just busted me up

After lunch, Ken, Shirley, and I went for an RP ride while my ma and bro went in the car to plant RP signs at every road leading into town. Saw alot of references to the founding fathers and other heros of the early days

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Talked to a few people and more saw the signs. One guy even left a note on the car and came back for some “stuff” later. Considering it is Christmas, a decent day for RP

GO RON PAUL!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!!! We are in an 18th century Inn in Fredericksburg, VA. Shirley and
Ken are upstairs and I’ll get them to sing y’all a carol tomorrow…

Had a great ride today. About 45 miles, rolling hills, beautiful weather (with the right layers). My brothers first long ride. He did great, knees started talking to him after 30 or so. By the time we were done, he was ready to get off the bike and I was just getting warmed up . He is glad we are resting tomorrow before the last big 55 mile day into Arlington.

Had a radio thing this morning so got a late start. It was strange to consider that the days are getting longer again. For almost the entire trip I was worried about the fact that I had neglected to consider the shortening
daylight hours in these latitudes, while planning in the Hawaii. That point is now moot. Even with today’s late start we arrived well before dusk.

Got out lots of signs and hand-outs today. We are just about out of the LOVE ones, (we had a pile of em). Had
some good conversations with hunters and democrats and others. All were interested in all the choices, many had
not heard of RP. One was thinking of Hillary, I used the Bush/Clinton Dynasty line on him and the fact she is another war-monger. He left saying he would be glad to look up RP.

One of the hunters was a tough sell on the Iraq issue, thinks they hate us cause we are free… I gently kept
returning to the concept of blowback and how it needs to be researched before an informed opinion can be made. I, also, used the “one issue voter” line and how he was probably going to love RP on most all of the issues; Gun Rights,
States Rights, Taxes and Entitlements, Security, The Constitution, Integrity. I left him saying, “you may not like RP’s stance on the -war on terror- on the surface, but if you read up on blowback you will see why we feel RP makes much more sense than the propaganda we are being fed. He promised to check him out.

Ken had good luck with a pile of hunters, also. He walked up to them and asked, “Goin huntin?". The were standing there shotguns in hand and said, “yes". He said, “Well, if you want to keep them guns, (that got their attention-lol), then you need to check out RP… They all took the handouts eagerly.

Of the thousands of people I have talked to on this trip, I could count on one hand the ones who were not interested at all in anything I had to say. The overwhelming majority have
been interested and thankful for what I am doing. Even the innkeepers family, visiting here, had not heard of RP and
was going to check him out, then handed me a twenty saying, “you’re doing a good thing, thanks". Just giving away gold…

We planted lots of signs today. I was a bit perturbed because some blogger wrote a negative article about me and
how I must be disrespectful of property rights because I don’t mention getting permission for my sign plants. Bah
Humbug!, The following quote is a link…

“My point - that is what this Rider is doing if (and it is an if since since it is possible he is getting permission, just not mentioning it) he is placing his signs for Ron Paul on private property. Not a good thing, and seriously ironic since Ron Paul is a big supporter of property rights, while it appears one of the people supporting him is totally
disrespecting them in trying to get the message out.”

So, as I have mentioned, one has lots of time to think while pedaling a bike and when a thought gets stuck in the head it can be hard to shake, so today we planted signs with wild abandon.

Thanks Tam, for the inspiration

My brother rode Ken’s bike today with the trailer

He likes to signwave

And I had to get this self portrait with a milage to DC sign

Hard to believe I’m down to double digits…

Again, my very best holiday wishes for all and

GO RON PAUL!!!

Luckily I had saved the first bit in notepad. Here is the condensed version (AGAIN )

I love change!

Didga ever think what the world would be like if it was perfect? Boring I’d say! Everything would already been done and figured out. Everybody would have perfect hair and perfect clothes and look like a bunch of damn ‘droids. Screw that!!! I enjoy having something to figure out, a corner to come around, a hill to climb. Ya never know whats over that hill, around that corner, or where some figuring out’ll leadga.

Chances are, it’ll be alot better than the SOS.

Thats what great about this grassroots. This forest of liberty we got growing.
We are diverse. From the center to the fringe in all directions. I’m no student of history but it seems historic that we have all come together for a commen cause. Put aside our differences. Rallied to a cause we put before our own individual lives. WOW!!!

This is what is, and has always been, great about America. Us guys!!! Not the slick, (slimy), RINOs and DINOs (…in name only); them foolish ol’ relics in an age of political climate change… FLOLOL. Not “American Idol” “Wheel of Fortune” or “The Superbowl". They are all a “part” of America, for sure. But, we are much, much, more than that. And the majority of us care, a lot, more about that elusive “more” than we sometimes are prone (led) to think. We still are one, we (mostly) ALL still believe in the constitutional principals at the heart of our(RPsupporters) actions. We truly are, “giving away gold".

And them RINOs and DINOs; well, they are going extinct, and perhaps we should just let nature take its course.

Anyway, ma brought the beer, I gotta a buzz, and am ranting - LOL

We had a great ride today. My brother and I knocked out thirty miles in about three hours. Tony was back at it and got lots of hand-outs out. We took breaks and waved signs

planted signs

Went through some “interesting” parts of town. Had a bit of a mixup and us cats were going every which way for a bit - LOL

Finally made it to Richmond though

Where a supporter stopped and gave us all gifts of real specie, (quite a fitting day). Thanks! and nice car

Anyway, we had a schedule to keep with the Richmond meet-up so kept pedaling

and rolled up to these guys

for a Ron Paul promotion at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

The youtube came out alright

Afterwards, it poured rain and we pedaled

We finally arrived at the campground here in Ashland and found the goodie box that Allan had dropped off with these tattoos

Too bad the blog crashed last night, I ranted a bit more - LOL. Anyway, today it is on to Fredericksburg where we will take Christmas Day off

GO RON PAUL!!!

m

So there I am pedaling along… and I see this sign

I do a double take because it looks just like the first of a Burma-Shave sign set that I had used over the summer.

I quickly come upon this…

Now, I know something is up, because these ARE the signs I made, (I can tell from the little stickers I had added). My head popped up like a prairie dog…

and saw my mother and brother come walking out from behind a bush…

All I could do is laugh…

They had got me…

To tell you the truth, I’m still kinda stunned. My adventurous spirit comes from mom and I’m stoked she came out to experiance this one. You shoulda seen the gleam in her eye as she told me about the man who stopped to thank them for setting up the signs and getting out the word. This country needs Ron Paul!

Tony brought his bike , donned a shirt , and we went riding . And he is a hand-out animal, zipping in front and pulling into everywhere, “I’ll catch up", “I’m out of Liberty cards", “these slim-jims?” - LOL

I was talking to these guys as he went rolling past

Then we got to the camp and set up

And Allen pulled up

Allen is the Grassroots Organizer for VA and another real patriot. These guys did alot of work to get Dr. Paul on the ballot via petition. My hats off to y’all.

Tomorrow we’re gonna sign wave in downtown Richmond

GO RON PAUL!!!

Ten down, One to go. Under 200 miles left. A good training ride for a triathete. And how many of us knew there is a cross-country race where “real” cyclists finish in under NINE DAYS!!!

It was cold and windy today. I REALLY like the gloves that Jeff gave me in Cary. Cold-weather biking gloves, real ones. Ahhhhh… My toes still get cold though. I have to pedal a bit different to keep the blood flowing. Its’ a zen thing- lol

A little hilly today, some quite steep, and the wind, a bit of exercise for sure. Felt good though. And definitely a good day for RP. Planted a few signs

Gave out lots of stuff,

Took some ITW (in the wild) videos, two of the three following had not heard of MU (till now )

Just one long sign waving, door to door trip - LOL

GO RON PAUL!!!

…just as I was finishing the blog. Here is a condensed version.

Had a great dinner with the Triangle MU

Then, we camped in BJ Lawson (for Congress!!!)’s driveway. Got up and headed for the rendevous point at a local bike shop, “The Spin Cycle“. The shop stoked me out with spare tubes and a new gel cover for my seat . Plus lots of advice on routing etc. Great guys! Thanks.

Got this video in the lot while waiting.

Also did another TV interview, haven’t gotten a link yet…

Then, we rode. Five bikes at one point. Right through Raleigh, (nice to have local guides), around the Capitol,

then we slung north on US Bike Rt. 1. The miles flew by. There was a signwaver whom I never was able to talk to (thanks!)

And other signs on the route, including this one which caused me to triple take

Around 40miles out the locals had to turn back, it was great riding with y’all

One of the best parts of the ride was when we stopped for the pics by the custom RPR sign. Two workers asked about me and got some slimjims, then while taking pics an SUV pulled up with a Rudy girl who wanted to talk about RP. She was another one of those, “can’t waste my vote” voters. A little sincere talk about the “lesser of two evils” had her thinking twice. We all made good points and she left with a great impression of us RP grassroots guys and a promise to give RP a second look. As she pulled away she said, “Don’t look at my bumpersticker!” (rudy) and BJ turned to me and said, “Now I can really see why you are doing this. This is great!".

Then we got back to work.

GO RON PAUL!!!

Fox News ;D - just in
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It’s hard to wrap my mind around the idea of a run into a city that I won’t be rolling out of… For months I’ve been planning routes based on the next city down the line. The exit was more important than the entrance…

Anyway, I think I’m just going to go right up Rt 1 for the most part. Final arrival date is Dec. 27th. Hope to reach Arlington on the 26th and have a leisurely ride through DC on the 27th. Then I’m going to… park the bike - lol

Had a great ride today. Started out this am with a cold rain, by the time I actually got on the road though, it was just roadspray to deal with. The road finally dried sometime after lunch and I started burning up the road. It’s amazing how the first few miles seem to take forever, and then the miles start to fly by.

It was a good day for RP today, got a few signs planted,

a bunch of handouts out,

and a few roadsigns to “in the wild” supporters.(I’ve got a good ITW video that I’m having trouble uploading |-|) Lots of traffic and exposure, lots of horns and thumbs up.

Then had a great dinner courtesy of the Triangle MU, Thanks all!

Tomorrow, riders from the MU are joing and I’m going to ride a stripped bike :>>. Absolutely stoked, they’ve mapped a route and I just have to follow. Right through Raliegh

The people want RP, many just don’t know it yet.

GO RON PAUL!!!

Fox News ;D - just in
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It’s hard to wrap my mind around the idea of a run into a city that I won’t be rolling out of… For months I’ve been planning routes based on the next city down the line. The exit was more important than the entrance…

Anyway, I think I’m just going to go right up Rt 1 for the most part. Final arrival date is Dec. 27th. Hope to reach Arlington on the 26th and have a leisurely ride through DC on the 27th. Then I’m going to… park the bike - lol

Had a great ride today. Started out this am with a cold rain, by the time I actually got on the road though, it was just roadspray to deal with. The road finally dried sometime after lunch and I started burning up the road. It’s amazing how the first few miles seem to take forever, and then the miles start to fly by.

It was a good day for RP today, got a few signs planted,

a bunch of handouts out,

and a few roadsigns to “in the wild” supporters.(I’ve got a good ITW video that I’m having trouble uploading |-|) Lots of traffic and exposure, lots of horns and thumbs up.

Then had a great dinner courtesy of the Triangle MU, Thanks all!

Tomorrow, riders from the MU are joing and I’m going to ride a stripped bike :>>. Absolutely stoked, they’ve mapped a route and I just have to follow. Right through Raliegh

The people want RP, many just don’t know it yet.

GO RON PAUL!!!

Woke up today to frozen ground. Perhaps I’ve spent too long in Hawaii but, I don’t mind the cold, (for now…). I passed a few frozen-over puddles/ponds/streams, that would have made for good photo-ops, but to tell you the truth, it was too dang cold to be slowing down at all. I did get these sign-plant pics

and played with the color a bit.

Not as busy today as yesterday. The best was seeing a car coming towards me with a young guy and an older lady in it. They obviously had met up with Ken cause he was head-out the window holding a sign in the breeze, grinnin and hootin. She was laying on the horn; thumbs up and smiling. It was classic.

Saw a few signs out, always good to see peoples handi-work

GO RON PAUL!!!

And a good day on the road as well. Had a great dinner with our hosts, Kathi and Paul Wright of Spartanburg, and Micah of… just west of there. Went to bed kinda early and woke up to a surprise; Kathi had got hold of the local Fox channel and soon enough a van pulled up. They took a good amount of footage, did a short interview, got Ken planting a sign in Paul’s front-yard. The cameraman was cool, worked hard too, ran along and all, maybe he was just trying to stay warm. I kinda felt a bit muddleheaded so don’t know how “well I did” but… Thanks all Greensboro/Spartanburg rocks!

And yes, it did get a little chilly this AM. Brisk!!! Did a driveway start for Fox, found a Romney sign on the corner which soon had a rival .

I felt suprisingly good. A little strange for the first few hours as my senses regained balance. I figure I must have been fighting that for a while and hope I did’nt leave much misery in my wake , once I met up with Ken, my mind must have let my body take over for a bit and BAMM…

The cold felt good. Tried a few combos of layers before I was comfortable, will probably want some different gloves - lol

Had alot of encouragement today(besides the TeaParty). First it was a lady in a merc., all thumbs up and waving. Others at stoplights rolling down windows to ask about RP. The road was lined for miles with RP signs

, most times I’d come upon the chuckwagon There’d be a car there with someone asking about RP or just wanting to say “hi”

and, “Yes, I’de be glad to take a yard sign, do you have another for my neighbor?” “A bumpersticker? Thanks, I’ll put that on right now.”

Talked to two youngs guys, one, at first rejected"republican". His friend was more interested and took a slimjim. A little “endless war and endless debt” talking got the other to take a SJ and agree to a look…

And I crossed into NC, 2nd to last, hard to grasp. Nothing could be finer…

Even the folk at the RV park we’re at were interested in RP, they had just talked about him the other night.

All in all, a good day for RP. And good days for RP bring us a little closer to better days for this little guy

GO RON PAUL!!!

… i’ll be hackin for a while… but I’m feeling much better. Thanks everyone for your prayers and concern. Much aloha!!!

Took a day off the bike today, slept like 14 hours. Went to the Greenville RP office to enjoy the tea. Put together heaps of door-hang packets. That felt good. They have some real sign warriors out here.

I have noticed increasing “other” political signage. This will make it easier for me to place signs. Greenville gave us lots of stuff so we can stay busy. I’ll be taking it easy tomorrow morning and working the stiffness out of my joints

Here are some pics and 1 vid, more to come… Tea Party is looking good. 1 more hour, under 100k to go before breaking Kerry’s record.
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I remember posting on a thread about this jeep months ago, nice to see in person

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Sign warriors

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Nice Billboards

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RPHQ SC

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Packet Making

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Making new friends

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And here is The Major

GO RON PAUL!!!

cough cough, pedal - NOT!, hack hack, sleep sleep. Fever may have just broke so may be in better shape tomorrow. If not I’ll drive for a day while Ken pedals… Should still make it to Spartanburg…

Honored tonight to be bundled up in Razmear’s house. He is the gentleman who made the mosaic for the Ames Tribune and was a key player in that success. He was also the guy who did the first RP Food (spam) drive. We’ve known each other online for months and it is great to have met in person. If I had to get sick. I’m glad it was here with… family

GO RON PAUL!!!

got a bug.

pedal pedal, sniffle cough cough,… drag…

Still working though (just not getting too close to folk)

Here are the first visitors to sit and chat in our “chuck-wagon".
[video:youtuberhq95ZOJHY]

This guy pulled alongside to chat, asking if I really believed in “this guy"?

Somewhere between my look and “Oh yeah!” he proclaimed, “Thats it! I’m donating to this guy. I mean, I just started learning about him and he truly brings a Hope for America” He was glad to hear of the tea party, and I was happy to point out the link

Had an “in the wild” supporter stop to see what was going on, left with a handful of handouts and a promise to get busy

She had some cute kids

Saw some signs and knew I was getting close

Found a pkng lot and had a meet up with our billboard, these guys liked our flag

We got out quite a bit of lit and had some great convervations. This girl even took the plunge from interested

to supporter

And here is the Athens group , (who deserve high marks for grassroots signage)

ZICAM -zzzzzzzzzz - huh? - oh yeah…

GO RON PAUL!!!

The roads are challenging, glad I skirted around but still lots of opportunity to miss a turn while concentrating on traffic/road condition. Cities…, bah! - lol

Did plant a sign,

Still settling in to the new reality of NO MORE WEIGHT!!!. One of these days I’m gonna ride one of my new partners’(real- lol) bikes and go for some distance…

As you can imagine, I’ve got alot of time to think when I pedal… Lately I’ve been thinking about the Virgil Quote from Mises, ‘Do not cede to malice, but move ever more boldly against it.’ (paraphrased). With perseverance, determination and boldness we will press on and win this thing. That is just how it’s done.

Started the day in fine style. We stayed on a 30 acre farmlot south of Fayetteville. Spectacular place to see in the morning fog. Sorry I am in a bit of a fog, or I woulda took some pics.

Anyway, our host Mr, Adams took us out to breakfast at the local GOP roadhouse; cardboard cut-out of GW and all. Quite a few good ‘ol boys stopped by, even one of the “head” men. Had a pleasent time and made some new friends. The waitresses were impressed and asked about RP, tri-folds away… jus givin away gold and leaving folk with a smile…

Then we went out and our friends sent me off with a sign wave. Lots of horns and smiles, anyway, here’s the pics and vid

Fritz, Ken, and the farmgate

Joe’s Truck

The morning crew

Even Santa and his skinny brother came down

Priceless

GO RON PAUL!!!

Got a late start today, forgot to set my clocks for eastern time . Good ride though, 62 miles or so, amazing how much faster I go without all the weight. Had a few good encounters today. One lady gave me the “I’m not political anymore” answer. I came back saying that I was the same way till I found out about this guy, and thousands of people just like us are getting together. She liked the “Dr. Paul cured our Apathy!” line, took a slimjim with a smile, and said she’d look into it. Score!

Then there are all the guys afraid of Hillary. What scares me is the fact is I understand how they feel. Her and Giuliani, the front-runners, yeah, right!

The most common response I get though is a general dissatisfaction with ALL the other candidates. People are looking for what we have to bring them. I still think the Sunday Drives idea would be very effective.

Here are some pics, I planted a sign, will need more soon.

Took a break, will need more of those also - lol

and had a good dinner with a bunch of cool… cats, I sure am glad there are lots of us…

The girl, (right - front) is a city editor for the Griffen Daily News. Had a real pleasant interview; nice lady, interesting questions. I’ll post a link asap

Tomorrow, Stone Mountain, skirting around southeast Atlanta, not a suicide mission. Some good chatter in the ATL MUs, looking forward to meeting everyone.

GO RON PAUL!!!

I was so excited that I woke early, looking forward to the day. No more heavy load! Had a great day yesterday, It was quite the honor to get the Mises tour. And to camp for the day in the library, to start the change-over to a ground supported ride. No more heavy load

I’ll say it again, Ron Paul Supporters are a fine example of humanity. Many people ask me about being alone out there…, I answer that I was never really alone. There was always one of you, within a phone call and a few hours. And there is still all of you, helping in this. It has really been incredible. Doing a crossing like that and never feeling alone…

As diverse as we are, we all share a common deceny; a concern, and consideration, for others that is magnified in the current bonding of our common purpose / the rightness of our cause. Alone, bah! I’m a Ron Paul supporter

Thanks y’all!!!

Anyway the big news is the arrival of Ken and Shirley and the “chuck-wagon” I’ll try to get the video up soon but here are some pics.

I crossed the border about five minutes before we met up

And then I saw…

Driven by these guys…

They brought bikes…

even another bike trailer…

The ride evolves…

GO RON PAUL!!!

Ended up spending hours at the Mises Institute and getting a great tour.

Also had a new friend work on my notebook and get me mostly set for live streaming. Now we just need to find a sprintcard to use for a few weeks and we are there…. Someone offered one once but it has not come through yet. Buying one without a “plan” will be expensive but, I don’t need a two-year plan… We’ll see…

The great news is that the RV arrives today and Chris (from here in Auburn is going to drive my stuff up so, NO MORE HEAVY CART . Now just an empty rolling sign . And Ken and Shirley will be down later. This si going to get interesting… More later…

Thanks Gulfport, nice job! Just found this (I am soooo out of touch… - lol)

GO RON PAUL!!!

I got out of Montgomery safely, thanks to these fine folk. The whole group was great and I really appreciated meeting the whole MU

Hills and Dogs, Dogs and Hills, over and over and over… The dogs haven’t been too bad. Still none coming in for a nip. They just want to feel they are doing their job of protecting their territory. Happy to chase and bark and drop off once I clear the zone. One was a bit of a worry, definietly had the look of a biter, and with me going uphill, out-pacing him was out of the question. He barked and chased, I barked and pedaled, he became more interested in my tail (the cart) and finally dropped off.

The hills were plentiful, and a lot steeper than those out west. I’m a lot stronger though and crested them all without taking breaks. I’m stoked about that because Ken will be here in two days to join me and he is a “real” cyclist. I wouldn’t want to be a slow-poke and have to take breaks like I did in mountains out west.

I am so looking forward to the arrival of the ground-support crew. Emptying the cart will be a dream come true, literally. And not having to worry about routing, and having help with all the web-work, and having help with meals and repairs, and having company as we canvass the countryside. And maybe going live… This could get quite interesting. Two more pedaling legs and then the nature of this trip will change. TG.

I’m in Auburn, right next to the Mises Institute. Met up with Andrew Greves last night, who is a grad student working here and will be bringing me on a tour in a couple hours. We went out last night for some grub and suds, had an interesting conversation with a guy who is voting for RP in th primary and considers himself a Libertarian, but has a fascination with national health-care boggled the mind. I kinda sat out of the conversation and watched Andrew take the more “anarchist” side while the other gentleman took the “statist” one. Ahh… the idealism of youth- LOL. I am always reminded of Churchill’s quote, “Those who are not Liberal in their 20’s have no heart, those who are not Conservative in their 40’s have no brain”

Anyway, I may get to meet some “heavy-weights” in the scholarly pursuit of human Liberty today. I’ll try to get some video/etc.

And yes, I planted more signs/etc.

GO RON PAUL!!!

Montgomery area MeetUp

One “in the wild” and a few others, Gotta love Roy’s “blood stained shores” - lol

Enjoy, I’ll be pedaling to Auburn…

Nice ride today,

46 miles or so, up Highway 31. Found out today this here road goes all the way up to Michigan, not this trip though… Really scored giving out lit at the lunch stop in… the country… Most everyone was in Camos, I just was minding my business till someone asked… I’d say, “Well, I been ridin this here bike since Los Angelas, California, (Sir or Mam). Imagine the reactions I get . Used three different types of slimjims today + some of the RPRider 1/4 sheets. Out of DVDs, low on Bumperstickers, replenished with 4 types of SJ and getting Mosaics in a few days

After the intial reactions, I get all types of comments, to my offer of a hand-out, but one of the most common is something like, “Good, cause I didn’t want to vote for ANYONE from EITHER party, I’ll look at that, Thanks!” Sometimes it’s hard to read the person before digging out, just the right, slimjim/etc.

Anyway, this particular Gas Station was the only store for miles and people were in and out. Talked to most everyone and even the manager sent someone out to get some lit from me to leave around

Planted a sign in a good spot,

Roads were alright, less traffic and mostly shouldered, more counties behind me,

I knew I was getting closer when I came across this telephone pole,

Then I got into Montgomery and due to a missed intercept, pedaled into… the wrong side of town…, and me, in my Ron Paul Suit, on my Ron Paul Mobile, pedaling…

I noticed the signs of increasing poverty and desperation as I rolled on, was really looking for my intercept, and then it was too late to stop. As I realized this I found a pretty empty section and made a quick call finding out my ride was fifteen minutes behind me. I don’t want to stay in one place too long so tell him I’ll keep pedaling. Then it started getting darker, headlights came on and I knew I had to stop soon…

It was like one of them picture puzzles asking, “What doesn’t fit?” and I was it… I just smiled and pedaled, a polite gesture here and there, ignoring or acknowleging a comment here and there, wondering just how long there would be here and where I could pull in and make a call without being so damn obvious.

I finally found a little spot and my ride got me a few minutes later, (phhew). Sorry, no pics - lol

I’ll be much more careful approaching Atlanta…

Th evening was great. After a shower I hopped in Marcus’s truck pulling this trailer.

To Cindy’s lovely old restored farmhouse, where she put on a wonderful spread and we all “MetUp".

They have a good plan here for signs and a door to door project, here’s hoping they get more than the national avg of helpers on these projects. It’s all well and fine talking about what should be done, doing it is key…

The videos are taking a while and I’ll have to post them later. I think you’ll like them. Tea Party, 1 week and counting… Looking forward to seeing the BLIMP, hope you’ve joined The Rally

GO RON PAUL!!!

Greenville Alabama, Deep South, Hill country. Definitely different. People are still nice, but few want to talk politics, especially with a “damn Yankee” - lol. Most took the hand-out though and I am out of Mosaics and DVDs. Sure am glad I picked up the GOA slim-jims in Mobile . (I’ve got more Mosaics being sent to Atlanta.)

The road was… interesting. Started out a small country road with a decent shoulder,

then turned into a 4 lane divided highway with a great shoulder, but that only lasted a few miles before I was on a small, busy, thin highway with no shoulder at all .

That slowed me down heaps as I had to get off the road whenever I had trucks coming from both directions. Also, had to keep a wary eye behind for most of the way and was forever cranking my neck while pedaling away…

Did get some signs posted though,

Then, there were the dogs, big ones, small ones, barkers and chasers; no biters though TG. Most times I’d just bark right back at them with a “GET OFF THE ROAD". That worked for most of them but some were having none of it. One dog was fast, I mean, I can usually out run them enough that they give up before long, but this guy could run. Again, just a barker and no problem. The most intimidating are the ones who have heard the alarm and are waiting for me up the road… Pedeling up to them is always a crap-shoot and I just have to hope for the best. The last thing I want to have to do is get into it with someones dog and maybe one of us would get hurt… I’ve got some protection, that someone gave me, but would hate to have to use it.

Anyway, the big news of the day is this motel I’m in. When the kind lady who rented me the room found out what I was up to and saw the hand-out I gave her she said she was thinking about Huckabee but would have to ask her husband. Well, ten minutes later I got a knock at the door and was invited into the back-room with a true “good ‘ol boy". This boy is connected, invitations to the WhiteHouse and all. While most of what was said was between “Me, You, and the Lamppost", I will say that I learned heaps about southern politics and customs. The good news is that he likes and trusts RP, (as does his wife now). In fact he wants me to send him a half-dozen 4x8 signs for him to put up and he owns 4 of the major corners in this town. A motel on one and other businesses on the others. It seems he is in a bit of a s-fight with some other “powers that be” (who want his corners), and he is looking forward to sticking some “honesty” in their faces. He is “old school” Republican, and is fighting Democrats and others in this. The best was when they started naming all their “large” family who all vote.

We had a grand ol’ time and they invited me to dinner with them, had a great home-cooked meatloaf and all the fixins, shared quite a few “toasts” and they ended up giving me my money back for this room. Honesty does pay.

GO RON PAUL!!!

The Blimp is close to flying, less than $15,000 is needed by tonight to get it off the ground. We will need more later but for now please consider buying some ad time. The media exposure is worth MILLIONS… (and the idea is just too much fun to miss out on being a part of)

http://www.ronpaulblimp.com

Had a long day yesterday. Lots of hills and dales, pretty countryside. Lots of lumber-trucks…No pics and just one short video. I spent a couple hours last night trying to slice three short supporter clips together, no luck yet… Windows Movie Maker wont import and another freeware product doesn’t see the audio, I’ll try again tonight. On a slow connection so even software updates take forever.

All in all a good ride, about 55miles. One section had a horrible rumble strip that left me about an inch leeway to avoid being shaken to pieces. Needless to say that holding a line like that is impossible and shaken I got - lol

Went through a few small towns and got quite a bit of hand-outs to folk. I think one of the most satisfying things on this trip is the sincere “Thank You’s” that I get from people who appreciate learning of a choice fro president they had not heard of. Plenty of people out here have still not heard of him and most are dissatisfied with the media darlings. It is amazing to hear how much people do NOT like Hillary and Rudy, front-runners my @$$. The best thing about that, is the fact that people are NOT stupid and the media’s continued BS is only hastening the demise of their credibilty. This is why face to face interaction is so important. The majority of people do NOT believe the media anymore. They have are losing faith in all four “estates” of gov’t and respond best when seeing the sincerity of an actual supporter. The best thing about that is that our sincerity is backed by an honestly good candidate. We are not sheep being paid to bleat out platitudes. We are real and the people can see that in our eyes. We need to be in the streets.

On that note, I really would like to see an explosion of Meet-Up membership. The meet-ups are organized enough to avoid the early problems of e-mail overload. In Hawaii we split our MU’s as we grew, to make it easier for people to participate in their area and keep it all more personal. Th reasons I am promoting this is that lots of “in the wild” supporters do not know how to go about getting signs and handouts, the more members we have, the higher percentage of activists and door knockers we will have, and getting over 100k members would be a very signifcant milestone. There are 74,906 Ron Paul Supporters in 1,321 Groups from 1,019 Cities
…and 7,836 more waiting. We only need 1/3 of the members to recruit 1 person, we need to find out what those waiting are waiting for, if it is money to start the group, lets get them the money. Indeed, each Organizer can start three, so I bet there are lots of unused opportunities for this. I have been telling most every person I’ve met to join up and will be promoting this more. Lets get to a 100k by Christmas (or even Tea Party Day). Then, lets start working on 200k. Its a numbers game…

GO RON PAUL!!!

I can hardly believe that I am heading north for the last time. Now each mile is truly heading toward the end of this li’l jaunt. While the zig-zagging was quite effective, it was, also, a bit… much…

Had a thought today -lol- I want to share. I find it quite effective, when people ask me how I am supporting myself, to tell people that I am part of a grassroots network of over 70,000 supporters and how I have never truly been “alone". Now, imagine how much more effective that would be if I could say over 100,000 members. This is a numbers game. Most MU’s have a 10-20% “active” membership. Maybe 2% are doorknocking, street walking Spartans. We need more members, we need to really get the word out, people are hungry for a good candidate and plenty have either not heard of, or not heard enough of our golden boy, Dr. Ron Paul. The more MU members we have the more actual “activists” we will have in the streets to get the word out. That is how we will win this thing. The Blimp and The USA Today ad, etc. are great, but if we don’t follow up with face to face interaction we are wasting alot of time, money, and opportunity. So, how about someone picking up the ball and starting a new effort to grow the MU membership to over 100k by Christmas. On this trip I have directed plenty of “in the wild” supporters to MU. They are out there, lets get them signed up. Not only will it grow exponentialy, but it may even make the news, 100k is the kind of number that is hard to ignore.

Had a great ride today, got a ride through a tunnel from my hosts in Mobile. Great folk, strong supporters, good times with new friends

Here is a shot from the causeway leaving Mobile, notice the nice new trailer - Thanks to Austin for chipping in, Mobile for picking up and assembling, and Robin for co-ordinating. It adds 2-3 mph (which is a lot for a guy averaging 10mph)

I met some supporters “in the wild". The lady had met RP a few years back. The guys are new supporters. The one on the right is brand new and the guy on the left helped my pitch. They asked for lit to give out and I told them to join the Mobile MU for more

I planted a “Who is…” sign that Roy had given me. I know we are getting past that stage but it felt good planting this one, reminded me of the old days ( a few months ago - LOL)

Finally, here is a shot I could not resist

GO RON PAUL!!!

Towns, people, supporters everywhere.

Getting harder to get my blog done at night. Some great news for me in the last few days. First, Austin MU has bought me a new trailer that is designed for touring, much lighter and streamlined. Thank you Austin, my knees will be very grateful… And, in Atlanta, I will finally have a chase vehicle for the rest of the trip. An actual “cyclist” and his family will be coming down from (one of the?) Carolinas with a truck and camping trailer. OMG, no more loaded trailer, . Then I will be able to pedal with just handouts and signs. I can not imagine it. Plus, as Ken is a “real” cyclist, he is mapping a better route and understands all of the “issues” one faces on a trip like this. Thank you guys.

Anyway, I’ll know more about that in the coming days. Yesterday was an easy ride, again got a lift around some construction/bridge hurricane zone areas. Then pedaled into Alabama and up to Mobile. Roy and his wife (Chay?) who picked me up are very enthusiastic about RP here is a pic

Roy kept wanting to drive me all the way to Mobile, lol. There I was insisting I needed to pedal - lol , so anyway, I got on the road and had a nice ride, windless and nice country. Roy kept leapfrogging and signwaving. This is a ride by shot

Even better, everytime I came upon a store or some such that I would usually stop at, Roy was out handing out SlimJims and pointing me out as I rode by. I just rode… Roy gave me some nice gifts as we parted and some great homemade signs and banners, Thanks Guys!!!

Getting into Mobile was alright, some tight sections but I am used to handling traffic. Kept thinking I had missed a turn or something but people I talked to kept me on track. I got into Mobile and was talking to one guy when a MU member who was out looking for me drove by. I was close . Rode up to a half dozen sign wavers and a TV camera. Footage was not used last-night but maybe today. At least they came out…

Anyway, here are the boyz who met me

And took me out to dinner,

And I stayed with the Dick and Annie Coffee of Mobile in a beautiful historic house here. Quite the couple and some true Southern Hospitality, I’ll have to get photos in a few minutes, right now I gotta figure how to pack my new trailer and get pedaling

GO RON PAUL!!!

Old folk, young folk, white folk, black folk, everyone is sick of “politics as usual. Just giving away gold out here and people are happy to get it. Met one vet today who found the George S interview as “the straw that broke the camels back". That finally motivated him to go active. Blowback against smarmyness - lol.

Blowback! It is kicking the old establishments arse and ushering in a new establishment - US!!! Hopefully we will be better stewards of Liberty than the those who have had their chance and failed miserably. Individual Liberty demands Individual Responsibilty. Freedom has never been Free.

Anyway, Long day, good though. Rode up to a pile of signwavers here in Gulfport…

The kids were fun, most of these are Homeschooled; smart and polite; fun to be around

The damage from the storm is still bad here, I guess they lost a lot of history which is always very sad, here is what is left of a church…

The people are still strong and sure though

The trip is getting a bit more complicated and the roads more difficult to navigate. I sure am glad for MU members who are getting me over impassable bridges. Yes, this trip is not easy in any sense of the word, but, I could not live with myself if I didn’t do something to leave a better world for these two cuties…

GO RON PAUL!!!

Quite a busy time in the New Orleans area. Jim and Penny put me up at their family home in Raceland. Beautiful place with real history. Got there after dark and left early. The only pic I got was this one showing their roadsign in the morning fog.

Made it over the Mississippi River,

HUGE milestone, went to a 175 yr old church and talked to plenty of people who support RP. Lots of folk here in Louisiana have not heard of him yet, but, with Katrina they’ve have alot on their minds; those who have heard of him like him, though.

Met up with the New Orleans MU, another diverse group, Ed Ward lives on Canal street and his home was flooded, he live in this $78,000 billboard - lol

We went and canvassed the crowd entering the Superdome for the Saints games. Interesting pitching to people who have had a few…

Thousands saw and heard us and we got plenty of slimjims out. Quite a few in the crowd were already supporters and well aware of the TeaParty on Dec. 16th. Here is some of those who joined us

Afterwards we went to the French Quarter and took a walking tour with Glenn and Josh. There are plenty of bulletin boards and we took full advantage of them. Plenty of slimjims posted and handed out.

Due to road construction and other issues, Josh drove me over the Slidell Bridge and I will be in Gulfport MS tonight. The Gulfport floks are looking forward to meeting up and ground support lined up. Much thanks to all who are a part of this journey.

And again, here is why I’m doing this…

GO RON PAUL!!!

Today was alright, the road was much better, quieter and had some long sections with good shoulder and even where ther was no shoulder it was fine, (well, except when some idiot decided to pass a cane truck, misjudged speeds and ran me off the road as she approached head on, didn’t wreck as I went into a ditch but took a heck of a hit to my tailbone as I bounced around. As if my butt is not sore enough…). Anyway, the ride was fine and much more pleasent than yesterdays. No flats, just wind. And the road actually became a marked bike route, Imagine that!!!

I don’t even want to think about the wind. It seems everytime I have turned directions, the wind follows in my face. In almost 40 days, I’ve had a tailwind twice. I’m over it, I’ll just assume it’ll be in my face the whole time and if I get a respite…

Lots of small towns, got DVDs and fliers out in everyone, (almost out of DVDs again ). Alot of people in these towns had not heard of RP, DVDs are the best here. Had one guy who was planning on voting for Obama because they are the same color , he took a flier though and promised to check RP out. The best was an offshore oil guy who was home on R&R and was on his way to meet the boyz at the pub. He said it was interesting I had stopped because they had just talked yesterday and were dissatified with all the candidates, said they had a computer there so he would be showing the DVD and checking out the HQ website. He, also, said they all have plenty of money and are looking for someone to support…

Another classic was the girl at Sonic where I stopped for a burger. I started to give her the speil and when I got to, “… all the other candidates are", she interrupted and said, “A-holes” in that classic black southern accent. I tried a few times to get past that point but she kept interrupting with the same comment finally saying, “Honey, you don’t have to tell me about all them crooks, they really are a bunch of a-holes” She took two fliers and promised to spread the word. Wish I had got it on video but when the wind is up it is hard to do anything but concentrate on pedaling and when I rest, I rest…

I’ve said it before and I am saying it again, It is a good idea for MU’s to take sunday drives into the country and bring RP into the small towns. People are looking for a candidate to support and we’ve got the best one. Just a few supporters in a small town will turn most all there. There are delegate seats there we need. Please consider sunday drives.

I did get to plant another sign today, notice the other sign and what it is warning of, lol. First snakes and puma, now aligators and bear…

Meanwhile, my angel in Beaumont, Robin, has been busy. She is contacting people in front of me and setting things up like a dream come true. I got over the big bridge into Morgan City and she had a supporter there waiting to hear from me, picked me up and brought me to a MU. Again, I regret not getting the camera out but we had a good meeting and made plans for tomorrow. Seems the New Orleans MU is very active and surrounds the superdome whenever the Saints are home so will be there tomorrow, canvassing the parking lots and tailgating. I’ll do better at pics/video, I hope…

GO RON PAUL!!!

What a day yesterday was. First it was no shoulder, then it was a shoulder more fit for a mountain bike, then it was an unrideable shoulder of deep gravel. I had to get off LA-90 and re-route on 182. Through all, that mess I had 5 flats and was a greasy tired young man by the time I found this hole in the wall motel. Oh yeah, red (fire ants) also ! Right where I pulled over to fix a flat. So there I was, in the dirt on the side of a busy highway, with literal ants in my pants. Boy was I glad to get here and just rest.

It seems like Louisiana doesn’t spend a whole heck of a lot of money on roads, so we will see what kind of progress I make. Haven’t heard anything from New Orleans in a while, sure am hoping someone contacts so I can figure the best way through The Big Easy, (which I doubt was named for bike riding-lol)

Good day for RP though. Got a few DVD’s out in a small town where I fixed a flat. Black people, white people, all people are interested in a better candidate. One guy said he was thinking of Hillery (because he liked Bill!!!), I mentioned that voting for a president because you like the spouse is like betting on a football team because you like the cheerleaders. Makes no sense! Then, when I mentioned endless war and debt he gladly took the fliers and a dvd. Here’s hoping…

Had a great conversation with one man who then sold his partner. Got lots of friendly beeps and one guy even pulled around to give me 15 bucks. Thank you sir!

Sorry no pics yesterday, between the flats and the rough roads, I was ore concerned with getting here to New Iberia and am just getting a feel for the place.

In other news, I got a short mention in a Los Angelas Times article

Still havent found the Ch 4 interview from Beaumont, but hope it comes up soon. Am, also getting more e-mails regarding press so this thing is growing, just like our campaign

GO RON PAUL!!!