Scott: Starting Anew?

I find myself thinking about the trip quite often. I find my self caught in nostalgia every day really. I know there were a great many moments where we butted heads and moments of outstanding stupidity, but what do you expect when you're spending 24 hours a day with the same three people for almost four months. When it comes down to it this was the best summer of my life. Aside from that, I think, given the chance, we would not make the same stupid mistakes again.

I don't know what I expected after the trip. I suppose I wanted to come out of my shell and get out there into the real world. Now that I'm here I only yearn for another trip. I am a traveler and that is something I just can't be in New York. I've found myself at a cross roads. I don't exactly know what I would like to do with my life. Become a teacher, a sound engineer, a musician. Every day seems the same. I've been in the city for two months now, and the only places I see are my apartment, the gym, and the restaurant I work. That is not the life I signed up for. I'm being held back by fear. I'm always held back by fear of losing money or being rejected. Work always seems to win in the end.

The friendly smiles we received from strangers across the country have dissipated and I am left with the blank stares of people on the subway. I must say, being in the city when I'm not going to school is not the picture of perfection I thought it to be. I don't think the grass is always greener on the other side. I think the grass was greener on the side I had just been on.

The changes that I was supposed to go through. Those revelations we were supposed to have on the trip are coming into effect now. I'm not a city boy. I saw so much beauty over the summer, I don't see how I could turn my back on that. I always knew the importance of family and friendship, despite what some may think, or the communication which I haven't sustained over the years. The trip solidified my need for family and friends. I know more of what I want now. I want to travel. I want to remain close to the ones I love. I want to bring music to the world. Right now I am fulfilling none of those, but I intend to change that in the coming year. I'm going to get back out there and I'm going to reconnect as best I can. The truth is I fear I'll become boring. There's not much to engage the listener when you spend your time at home, at work, and at the gym.


As for the documentary, I sincerely hope we have the means to do another, whether it be a rafting trip down the Mississippi, hiking the Appalachian trail, or touring other continents on our bikes. I'd hope everyone this last summer would be willing to partake in future endeavors, but I know some may choose not to, so if Elliot has the means to come, I would be happy if he takes the place of riders who would not want to participate.

I love you all, and if any plans are in the making for trips come next November, count me in. If there aren't any, I'd be happy to start some. And whatever we do, we've got to get rid of the schedule. I think a wonderful summer would've been exponentially greater had we not had deadlines. Let the people we meet influence our time spent in one place and not the other way around. For now I am bound by a lease, but who knows where I'll be when it runs out.

Ryan: Sorry for the absence

First off, I know its December and we haven't written a blog in a very, VERY long time. But its never too late, right?

WE MADE IT!

The latter half of the trip consisted of many interesting moments and people... although it lacked Andy Junk. We met an incredible amount of people on the east coast, and a I think a big reason we let the blog go was because we were too involved in the moment (although we did catch a lot of it on camera, so that's a plus). We slept behind at least three movie theaters, were rained on too many times to count (FYI: biking with glasses in the rain is quite terrifying...) We saw a sunrise on the Atlantic (Stu and I took a dip, Scott and Matt were lame (and warmer than us) and Andy was not there)... We spent time in all the major cities and had several days exploring NYC (biking in cities is so much fun!).

There is really so much to write, its unfair to try and cram it all in. Just check out the Run-Down section, and if you have any questions, let me know.

I do want to take this opportunity to THANK YOU! If it weren't for all the help we received, this trip or this film would not have been possible.

We're in Post Production now and trying to get things together enough to get some Government and private Grants to help us complete the film. We biked across the country- and it was incredible, but there's still a lot of work to be done in order to complete this film.

I'm in the suburbs now living with mi madre. I work as a busboy at the Greek Islands. I'm not making enough money or doing work at a 'professional level' yet, and there have been times that I wish I were back on the bike, but I'm grateful for the experience and I can't wait to finish the film and share it with everyone.

Thank you again.

Ryan C. Kolegas

PS I might just start blogging about the post production process (but you all know how good I am at keeping a blog).