A DEATH IN CORTEZ - NOT A DEATH IN TUBA CITY

We made our way across Arizona, through Monument Valley, up into southern Utah, then over to southwestern Colorado where our Soccer Mom van promptly died. Really, completely died in Cortez. Apparently the van decided that 48 hours of continual abuse was enough and it preferred death over the prospect of being abused for 7 more days. I can relate. If dying were an option, I might go there. But with RAAM dying is not an option.

Take for example our fellow cyclist with another team who apparently was hit by a semi in Tuba City, Arizona, suffered broken bones but, thank god, is alive.  Cycling is dangerous no matter how you cut it.  I am always amazing about people who "got hit by a semi".  I mean give me a break!  Cyclists must be like Superman.  A semi whacks a person on 20 pounds of bike and the person comes away with few broken bones.  I think that is amazing.  You should have seen the semi!

I'm Talkin' Traffic

I mean how can these Californian's talk about green this and green that and justify all these cars on the road.  Every time I have come here I have been struck by the incredible amount of people here.  This is my first view of San Diego/Oceanside.

RAAM - The Topographic Profile of America

RAAM is officially underway.  Our Crew Mate Kevin headed off on his pre-ride with his partner.  They are team Texas Flyboys and their race finishes in Durango, Colorado, probably on Friday and then he will fly down to Arizona with his wife and he will go with us BACK up to Durango and finish with the team in Annapolis, MD.  Animal.

The ocean is great, but it is cold and overcast, lookin' perfect compared to 105.   I was down at the start to RAAM and there was this team from German and they were talking in a animated fashion to a couple from Ohio who were here on vacation I think.  The couple had stumbled into this bizarre scene of cyclists, crews, people from all over the world who where doing something, but the couple could not figure out what was going on – an international convention of some type.  Anyway, there guys were so friendly with this couple and the man said “where are you from” and it was apparent that Rolf, Gunter and his buddy were German.  Anyway, these guys had rolled out on the pavement about a 20 foot by 12 inch roll of paper that showed the profile of America, all the sections of the race laid end to end.  I gotta tell you the Appalachian Mountains look minute compared to the mighty Rockies, and basically  it is downhill all the way from Trinidad Colorado to Ohio – really.  I found it fascinating.  I am a geologist, but I don’t think that I have ever seen the Profile of America quite laid out that way.  The Rocky Mountains are impressive, the Sierras are impressive.  The east coast looks --- old and worn down.  I'm sure it will look more impressive when we get there.

One Ply Toilet Paper

May 21, 2011


What is the rationale behind one ply toilet paper? I mean if you own say a bed and breakfast and you want to convey luxury to your guests do you think that one ply toilet paper is the way to go. Even if you want to convey “green”, “conservation”, “earth health”, etc. why do you need one ply toilet paper to do that?

Everyone knows that you use twice as much one ply toilet paper to finish the job as you do two ply toilet paper. In actuality, and I’m sure that your government dollars have gone to a similar study, I’ll bet government funded studies show that you actually use THREE times as much toilet paper when faced with the tissue thin one ply options. As soon as your hands hit the one ply roll you immediately get visions of damp, thin, toilet paper fragements stuck to your hands, to your neither regions, etc. and a sort of Pavlov’s response to cleanliness ensues. You really just want to grab the entire roll. Take it off the holder and wipe your ass with the entire roll.

So listen to me you cheap bed and breakfast owners, you restauranteers spending your money on fry oil instead of two ply TP, you budget cutting public institutions, you dorms from hell buying one ply toilet paper is almost as transparent as the paper itself.  It tells me that you are too cheap to provide people even the materials necessary to wipe their ass.
Think about it.

U.S. Impoverished? The New Weatlthy.

India gives poverty a whole new meaning.  As I drive across the Gurgaon landscape, I find that I have a hard time dismissing the absolute abject poverty, swill of living conditions, trash, dirt, paleness of humanity in this place. It is epitomized by the various lone individuals you see squatting in the middle of fields richly “planted” in trash bags, while the dirty wind blows around them, stray dogs strut around and pigs happily wave their tails eating…..well whatever they can find to survive.

I told a guy today who had lived here for 2.5 years that you probably get hardened to the absolute poverty around you. He told me about his sense that society was bettering itself. Farmer’s children were having jobs, their grandchildren were going to college. I guess, but it is hard to see. Really hard to see.  I know that living here probably dulls the senses somewhat.


I drive by it every day and I see it. He drives by it for three years and he no longer sees it. It is interesting. What traveling worldwide does is give you an entirely different perspective on the definition of poverty. Let me tell you, it makes it hard to hear the cries of poverty in the U.S. when you see people who do not know where their next meal is coming from. I mean, not from war or famine, but from a famine of society. A lack of jobs, shelter, food, simple health, clean water. When people talk about being poor in America, they talk of things like not being able to even afford a cell phone! Not being able to afford to send their kids to college. “I have not had a vacation in five years.”  kind of stuff.  You have to be joking. Americans don’t know the meaning of poverty. I don’t know of anyone in the U.S. who doesn’t have drinking water, who has to draw their morning coffee water from a toxic pipe, boil it on a small cow dung fueled fire, set on the ground in front of their shack built with some scrap boards and plastic bags. The later is standard for probably half the Indian population. Now THAT is poverty. I know it hardens me to the plight of the average American poor. I can’t help it. India gives poor a whole new meaning.

Globally speaking, U.S. Poverty is the New Wealthy.

INDIA.....an acquired smell

India is basically an assault.  The smell of millions of people dumping their garbage, deficating in the streets, cooking along the roadside, or apparently in Indira Ghandi  Airport, as the image below attests to.

This sign says "No Smoking", "Do Not Spit", "No Drinking Alcohol", and finally, "No Cooking".  This sign only needs to add "No Urinating" to entirely encompass Indian society.  The thought that these four (plus one, five) functions would have to be contained on the same "Don't do it!" sign might shock some, but it is standard fare for India.  Clearly the government plan that was all the rage 1.5 years ago when I was here to eliminate public urination did not succeed.  People are peeing in all place, field, alleys, against walls, in the gutter, you name it.   The smell mingles with the smell of curry cooking in pots on small roadside fires, fueled by burning cow dung patties.  Mix in diesel fumes from about 1000 cars; just the ones in your immediate vicinity, add rain, mud, sewers running in the streets, burning trash and incense and you have it - the aroma that is India.  Now I ain't saying this characterizes all of India, but it certainly captured the drive to work for me each morning. 

The people are very nice.

Lesli

QATAR

What is today? I think it is Friday April 25. I flew from DC, leaving Dulles on Qatar Airlines at 9:50 p.m. and I have arrived at the Doha Airport in Qatar and it is Friday night here at 7:30 pm. I leave at 9 pm for New Delhi and will arrive around 3:30 am on Saturday morning. I will highly recommend Qatar. They are reported to have the best Business Class in the business and I admit it was pretty good. I missed dinner, went to sleep in my flat bed and pajamas (yep, they give you pajamas) and slept a good 6-7 hours. Probably snored, but no one poking me or telling me to turn over. (I miss that by the way.) Anyway, I am currently sitting in the lounge of Qatar Airlines. It is like a big expensive hotel lobby, but with all the food and drink you want, good stuff like dried apricots and dates, along with more traditional western fare.

Qatar is a small island nation that sits just off the eastern (?) shores of Saudi Arabia. Stable monarchy I think. Nobody marching in the streets, yet. People are very nice. I want to say that Qatar has escaped the sort of suppression of women’s rights that exist in Saudi and some other smaller Emirate nations, but I speak from very little real experience. Just the impression that I got from the very….very talkative lady from Canada who sat, or slept next to me on the flight. She was very friendly. Husband was an accountant and they had lived in Doha for 13 years. I will post a pic with this if I get a chance.

Now it is off to India where the people are many, the services are few and life swirls around inspite of the dramatic differences in social class. Ah the Hindu’s you gotta love em.