Digital Democracy [view: normal]

Day 21 Midland, SD to Pierre, SD
Saturday, July 1, 2006
Another short (relatively) day of only 65 miles. Plus the drop in temperature made for another uneventful day. It had rained overnight and that helped keep the morning cool.
We spent a few extra minutes talking with some of the Stroppel clan about our trip. These people were incredibly friendly. In fact I’m am going to endorse Midland, SD as ...

Hot on the heels of our discussion last week about the future of journalism comes this article from the Sunday Seattle Times:

Regulators: is blogging lobbying?

The upshot, online political activists could be required to publicly disclose their finances.  However, non-traditional journalistic bloggers, whose topics range from news reporting to advocacy, and even fundraising, may face the same requi...

When asked to briefly sum up my experience in Digital Democracy this quarter and compare it to my expectations, I must admit I’m a little bit challenged.  To begin with, did I have a preconceived notion?  I susppose I did.  Would we discuss and analyze current political discourse?  Would we explore the use of the internet during the 2008 campaign?  Would be review past elections for insight?  Woul...

Nope not even journalism.

It is no secret that the time honored tradition of print journalism is going the way of the American Bison circa 1890… nearly extinct. Now in its death throes, we were asked to read a series of articles focusing on the decline of newspapers and what can be done about it.

I’d argue there really isn’t much to be done about it, but since I don’t want to send some of the ...

On Sunday, I managed to catch a few minutes of an interview with Authors Morely Winograd and Michael Hais. They were on Book TV on Cspan2 promoting their book “Millennial Makeover”.  Their premise is that the millennial generation is poised to politically realign the country during this next election and will hold sway over the political process for the next 40 years.  Their evidence of this? Hist...

After a thorough reading of “Old Wine in New Bottles?”, I came to the conclusion that although the findings were interesting and probably significant at the time of publication, the article serves now as more of a historical account of the use of the internet during election campaigns, as the technology of the web changed drastically in the last 9 years.

The article discusses a research study by...

The end of my Cross Country trip in 2006 felt a little anti-climactic. After over 3700 miles, when I finally rolled over that last rise and saw the Atlantic ocean before me, I wasn’t overcome with a sense of joy or relief or even a sense of accomplishment. At some point earlier in that trip, I realized I was going to finish and so the actual act of finishing came as no surprise. Basically I ped...

Day 27

September 8th 2008

San Diego, CA to Border Field State Park

21.2 Miles

After all the miles I put on yesterday I slept great last night. I even slept in, especially since I knew today would be a short day. After getting up and getting ready, it was 11:30 before I was rolling away from the motel. I needed to catch a passenger only ferry over to the Coronado Peninsula, which left at noon, l...

Day 26

September 7th 2008

Huntington Beach, CA to San Diego, CA

97.1 Miles

With the bulk of L.A. safely behind me, today should have been a piece of cake. I was dropped off at the intersection of Beach Blvd and PCH in Huntingdon Beach. I wisely chose to let Monique carry most of the bags today so I could ride unencumbered. The original plan was to ride to La Jolla and get a motel room so I coul...

Day 25

September 6th 2008

Carpenteria, CA to Leo Carrillo Beach SP

50.9 Miles

Today I achieved a personal record. At least for this trip. 50 Miles in 3.5 hours. I was flying. I had a few things working in my favor to help me achieve this feat of strength. For one, the terrain was mostly flat. I also had a slight tailwind. The best motivation is always personal and today I had the best moti...

Day 24

September 5^th 2008

El Capitan Beach SP to Carpenteria, CA

39.0 Miles

Today and tomorrow, I plan to stick to the itinerary that way I can make my assault on the 16 cities that make up L.A. on Sunday. It probably won’t make much difference but I’m hoping that a Sunday in Los Angeles is quieter than a Saturday or a Monday.

Sticking to my plans, (a novel concept, I know) means I only had to b...

Day 23

September 4th 2008

Oceano, CA to El Capitan Beach SP

78.8 Miles

I awoke to find the same depressing cold and fog that I fell asleep to the night before. It was 5:45am. I packed up my damp sleeping gear and hit the road. On a trip like this things become very repetitive. Get up, pack gear, start pedaling. Eat, stop pedaling, take out gear, go to sleep. Today wasn’t much different. Abou...

Day 22

September 3rd 2008

San Simeon, CA to Oceano, CA

51.8 Miles

I got little sleep last night. Even though I went bed earlier. Frankly I go to bed earlier and earlier each night. Once the sun goes down there really isn’t much else to do. It also means I get up earlier as well. This morning for instance I was up at 5:30am. It’s not light enough to ride at that hour, in fact it is still dark...

Day 21

September 2^nd 2008

Big Sur, CA to San Simeon, CA

71.9 Miles

After typing up yesterday’s journal entry, I wandered back to camp and found that I had two new neighbors a young man on a fully loaded bike with a BOB trailer in tow, and an older lady who was hanging out in the back corner of the campground. His name was Brant, and tonight was his last night on the road. He had been riding f...

Day 20

September 1^st 2008

Santa Cruz, CA to Big Sur, CA

75.8 Miles

Today was supposed to be a short day of only about 40 miles, but I was feeling the tug of the finish line and thought I might go for some extra distance today. I am enjoying myself but I can tell this journey is nearing the end of its useful life. I never thought of it before, but in my experience, vacations have a a shelf life,...

Day 19

August 31^st 2008

Half Moon Bay, CA to Santa Cruz, CA

59.8 Miles

I did finally manage to get some sleep last night. But I still woke up at my normal time of 6:30am. The party-goers were strewn about the camp site, sleeping it off. I started packing up my stuff, and usually I try to keep it quiet, but this morning I took great delight in unzipping and zipping up the pockets on my panniers...

Day 18

August 30th 2008

Petaluma CA, to Half Moon Bay, CA

79.1 Miles

As I began this morning’s ride, I had a palpable sense of anticipation. I knew today I would see the Golden Gate Bridge. Although I never expressed it out loud, I was looking forward to it. Somewhere in the back of my mind I considered it a significant point on my journey. Similar to crossing a state border.

On the cross-coun...

Day 17

August 29 2008

Ukiah, CA to Petaluma, CA

72.5 Miles

So after 3 days of resting on my laurels, I decided it was time to stop abusing the hospitality of my sister and start riding again. Although, I had enjoyed my time away from the bike, and I was beginning to feel a little like Martin Sheen at the beginning of Apocalypse Now, except without the swearing or the heart attack.

At 7 am, I star...

Day 16

August 25th 2008

Garberville, CA to Laytonville, CA

48.9 miles

After the revelation that my credit/debit card was missing. I chose to change my route a little bit and make a beeline for Ukiah, CA where my sister lives. I figured it would be a good spot to hold up and work out some of the details for the rest of the trip. So of course I slept in a little at the hotel and got rolling around 11am. I knew it would be a long ride to Ukiah, but my sister said she would be willing to pick me up sometime today if I didn’t feel like biking anymore.

Even though the extra sleep was nice, It turned out to be a hot day today. Its about time I suppose, but that meant I missed out on cooler temperatures early in the morning.  And since I would be biking 101 exclusively today, there wasn’t much chance for shade from a coast redwood. In fact in this part of Cali, 101 is freeway like for the most part.  I’ve never known a highway with such a dual personality.  I went from 101 the scenic byway, to 101 the busy freeway in less than a mile.

101, the scenic byway

101, the busy freeway

101, in transition

On the plus side, the freeway sections usually had a wider shoulder.  And I usually made better time on the freeway sections.  Although I wasn’t planning too many photo ops today, I made two stops to appease the tourists among you.  First was the ‘One Log House’, a house built out of one fallen coat redwood.

One Log House

The second stop was a specific request from my Dad.  He kept telling me that if I saw a Drive-Thru Tree, I should snap some photos.  I think I passed two fo these already but my guidebook suggested the best one was at Leggett, CA.  I figured for dear old Dad, it would be worth the three dollar entrance fee.  I must admit it was kind of cool.

Drive-Thru, I mean ride-thru tree

After Leggett, I pedaled on until I reached Laytonville, CA.  By then it was very hot and frankly, I was tired of riding.  I gave my sister a call and she said she could be there in about an hour.  It sounded good to me, so I killed time at Laytonville’s one and only, “The Chief” Diner and Laundromat.  I figured it could be one of those hidden gems like Mike’s in Eureka turned out to be.  Despite the unusual combo of drive in and laundromat,  this place served one of the best tasting burgers I have ever had.  Specifically I’m talking about the meat.  I don’t think I’ve ever had a better tasting grilled burger in my life.  It was tender and juicy and with the slightest hint of grill taste.  It was awesome.   One of the reasons had to be the fresh daily ground beef.  The second clearly was the cook.  She couldn’t have been more than 16 but she knows how to grill a burger.  I got a chance to talk to the manager/owner and he confirmed that she was the best cook he had.  I will definitely return to this place, just as you all should when you are in the area.  If there was a way to get the garlic fries from Mike’s and the burger from The Chief I would be in heaven.

After my delicious meal, my sister arrived and we loaded all my stuff in to the back of her car.  I plan to spend the next few days visiting with sis, and in general, taking a vacation from my vacation.

Maury

Day 15

August 24th 2008

Fortuna, CA to Garberville, CA

52.9 Miles

Despite the fact that this is supposed to be a tour of the coastline, today was really what touring is about, and the Pacific was nowhere to be seen. I left Fortuna early and rode 101 south for about 8 miles. My first stop was a little town called Scotia.

Bridge to Scotia

Scotia Inn

This is a quaint and well kept company town, and...

Day 14

August 23rd 2008

Eureka, CA to Fortuna, CA

30.8 Miles

BMW Rally in Eureka

Bikes too!

Today was short mileage again. But this time I had good reason. I was feeling guilty for not posting any updates to the blog. By my calculations I was about three days behind. I suspect you were all demanding to hear from me and what excuse did I have for being a lallygagger? None! Well except for the...

Day 13

August 22^nd 2008

Crescent City, CA to Eureka, CA

78.1 miles

Hanging around Crescent City

Another long mileage day but not nearly as nice as yesterday. I also experienced the hardest hills yet. In fact the cold and foggy morning began with a series of steep climbs into Redwood National Park.

With all this fog, how scenic could it be?

oh...

It was so cold that I started looking forward to th...

Day 12

August 21st 2008

Port Orford, OR to Crescent City, CA

82.5 miles

Wow, what a difference a day makes. After a restful slumber at the motel, I woke up around 5 am, completely refreshed. I peaked outside and the wind and the rain were gone. It was still cloudy, but I knew this represented my best chance at making up some mileage. I packed as quickly as I could, I did have myself spread o...

Day 11

Bandon, OR to Port Orford OR

27 miles.

Well the Park Ranger was correct. The rain and the wind showed up right on cue around 7pm. At the time I was at the Bandon Public Library trying to send out some updates and hoping the rain would pass quickly. It didn’t. I killed time in Bandon before riding the 3 miles back to the Campground. Once I was back at camp I hung out under the awning ...

Day 10

August 19^th 2008

Reedsport, OR to Bandon, OR

1. 9 Miles

Nameless Hill, Unforgetable Descent

Finally a slight change in the weather. Although it never quite got sunny, it was dry and clear for the most part. The cloud layer was solid but they were higher than the last few days and considerably lighter. It made for a nice day of riding and an improvement to my mood. It’s not that I expec...