Night

Bike Video Montage

2011-10-01T09:58:00.001-07:00

My bike trip Across America

I chose 90 pics out of the 3000+

Watch in HD on Youtube

The Last Day 51

2011-08-28T00:18:00.001-07:00

I woke up late to the final day of this trip. Got on my bike and left. Didn't eat a thing. Didn't give a damn. Today, I could finally piece together 51 long days into one moment of joy.

Got to the San Pablo Bay and my adventure cyclist route map said to take the ferry. At first I was reluctant to take a boat so I asked around but the locals said it was impossible for me to cross over on a bridge unless I wanted to die. One of the bridges was an interstate which didn't let cyclists on and the other one had no shoulder and was deemed way to dangerous. Didn't exactly want to die the day of, so I took the ferry. Plus, I could save a couple miles this way.

On the ferry, I met this Chinese teacher from Shanghai, Angel, who I chatted with and even rode

with for a while. She rented a bike and we both rode to the Golden Gate Bridge. We had to part ways after a bit though. When I got to the bridge, there was a Chinese newspaper reporter waiting for me there.

He asked me some questions, but I was mainly too happy to think properly. Afterward, my dad met me, we took some pics, and then I biked across the Golden Gate bridge.....

and back.

It was sort of disappointing since there was thick fog and I couldn't see anything, but I was too upbeat to even care.

After about 20 minutes, I got back to the South side. I still had to make it official and get to the Pacific Ocean. Half an hour later, after climbing these two gigantic hills, I made it.

When I first heard the ocean, I wanted to jump for joy.

When I first smelled the ocean, I wanted to run in circles.

When I first saw the ocean, I wanted to do somersau lts.

(All things I can't do while on a bike)

And when I first felt the ocean, I was the happiest per

son in the world.

So concludes my 51 day bike across America.

Distance traveled: 36 miles
Time outside: 5 hours

Fairfield, CA >> SAN FRANCISCO, CA

(Almost there...)

(there)

~Chris Xia

Counting Down the Days Day 50

2011-08-28T00:17:00.000-07:00

Woke up late and left around 9. I knew this was the second to last day and it would only be a matter of time until I hit the Golden Gate Bridge. I basically ignored all knee pain and even though I was tired, I raced along to my first stop, about 15 miles away, Sacramento.

This city was great - it had it's own bike route made solely for un-motorized vehicles that ran the entire city. I met Tim, another cyclist who showed me around the confusing paths and after a while, had to leave for work.

I made great time speeding along at around 15 mph for about 10 miles, and then slowed down since I burned too much energy. I don't know what it was, but I didn't feel like conserving energy at the time, I was just too caught up in a sort of good mood because I knew I was almost there. If I had knee pain, which I did get, I knew it would be over in 2 days. If I got headwinds, well, that was going to be over too.

After I went trough Sacramento, I came to a place called Davis. One of the colleges there, UC Davis had their own bike team and I was able to talk to a guy named Chris who told me a bit about the school. While biking through flats, I saw the team doing time trials and I became engrossed in the sort of race. Maybe I'll get a $5000 bike someday and go join a team.

Anyway, it soon became dark and I still wasn't at a campsite. There were two that I could have stopped at. One was only 85 miles but I was in such high spirits that I decided to make it to the one that was 97 miles away. That, and I didn't want to bike that much tomorrow.

On the way to the last campsite, I got this humongous cramp in my right thigh. I've never gotten cramps on this trip, which surprised me, but this one was like, all the cramps I should have gotten put into one. It took at least 5 minutes before I could get back on my bike again, but it was alright, it's not like I was in a rush since it was dark already anyway. Ate a banana for the potassium and was on my way again.

Distance traveled: 97 miles
Time outside: 12 hours

Shingle Springs, CA >> Fairfield, CA

(Hit my leg against the pedal)

The Last Long Climb Day 49

2011-08-23T21:52:00.000-07:00

Began the day by going to McDonalds. Yay... Instead of waking up and getting right onto my bike, I went to Lake Tahoe to take in the view. It's honestly one of the most gorgeous lakes I have passed this whole ride. The water is so pure that you can actually see the small fishes swimming on the bottom.

Went to the library afterward to get some work done but I basically stayed there just so my iPod could recharge. Anyway, left around two and started on Route 50 up to the Sierra Nevadas. The only problem is that when I got to the base of the mountain, people down there told me that biking up the 5 mile stretch would be practically suicide - there is no shoulder and the switchbacks leave no warning to cars coming from behind. I was lucky though, I met a cyclist, Emma who lead me up a shortcut that paralleled 50. It was slightly steeper but having someone to talk to really took my mind off the climb. She had to leave for work after the climb.

Got to the top in one piece and I just so happened to run into Lisa and her boyfriend, Kevin. They let me rest up a bit since I was tired as anything. We talked for about half an hour where we traded stories and shared what life was like living on separate coasts.

After we said our farewells, I headed on down a great 5 mile downhill only accompanied by a soft nagging headwind. After interchanging flats and downhills, I got to the last climb of the Sierra Nevadas, and basically the last mountain of California. Not going to lie, it was one of the hardest and most steep climbs I have ever come across. Half an hour and four miles later, I was at the top.

Route 50 became an interstate highway with a sign that said "no bicyclists" but I went on it anyway. If I was going to get a ticket on my bike, I would have framed it on my wall. For the next 10 miles, I averaged 25 mph until I got to a town called Placerville. On Google Maps, there was supposed to be a campsite there, but there wasn't, so I biked another 10 miles through rolling hills to make it to Shingle Springs where I stayed at an overpriced KOA campground. I had cheeseburgers for dinner...Big surprise.

Distance Traveled: 67 miles
Time outside: 9 hours

South Lake Tahoe, CA >> Shingle Springs, CA

(Dog at Lake Tahoe)

CALIFORNIA! Day 48

2011-08-23T21:51:00.001-07:00

I felt so high crossing into Cali, not that I know what it feels like, but if I were ever high, I'm pretty sure that's what it would feel like. I literally biked down the road screaming, "I BIKED HERE FROM VIRGINIA. GRAH." - beast mode. Basically, I was just too happy.

Anyway, start of the day, was pretty much flats with some rolling hills until Carson City. Minor headwind, but hey, I've honestly gotten used to them on flats by now. Stayed at the state capital for a while to take in the sights. Bought new biker shorts because pretty much all the other ones were breaking in some form or another.

As soon as I left Carson City, there was this 9 mile climb into pure 15 mph headwind. The gradient was no longer 6%, it felt like 9% the whole way to the top.

It was so frustrating at some points that I actually biked faster out of anger. So many times, I just wanted to turn around and go downhill. Can you imagine how fast I would go with that tailwind? After about an hour and a half of climbing, I finally made it to the top. On my way down, I saw Lake Tahoe - it was one of the most beautiful sunset rides I have ever done.

Got to the state border around 9 and had only 2 miles until I hit the campsite. The whole way there, I couldn' t help but look at the beautiful lake lit only by a full moon.

Distance Traveled: 61 miles

Time outside: 9 hours

Silver Springs, NV >> South Lake Tahoe, CA !!!!

(STATE BORDER)

I Ran Over What? Day 47

2011-08-23T21:50:00.000-07:00

As soon as I left Middlegate, I accidentally ran over a crunchy dead rabbit. I felt terrible in the most terrible of ways. Then later, I ran over a backscratcher and some solidified horse dung. don't think my wheels were that clean after the day was over.Crossed two mountain passes today to get to the city of Fallon. Of course, the audio books helped make them easier, but they were still tiring on my legs. On the way down from a pass, I saw this cool giant sand dune pretty much the height of surrounding mountains.

I stayed in Fallon for a while to wait for prevailing winds to pass. While there, I ate at a Chinese restaurant for lunch and actually took an hour nap there. (The owner let me sleep at the back of the restaurant)

Anyway, left Fallon at around 5 to head over to

Silver Springs. I was lucky, the wind died down a bit and I was able to ride a bit faster than usual.

If you wonder why I write about headwinds so much, it's because they are the most frustrating thing to a biker. I would rather climb more mountains than ride into a headwind on flats. Reason why? Because if you ride into a headwind, it's a complete waste of energy. You lose so much of your power and speed to the wind pushing against you, whereas when you climb a mountain, you know that every ounce of your energy is going toward your climb and you'll soon be rewarded with a nice downhill (hopefully).

So at Silver Springs, we were looking for a place to stay and a wonderful woman named Rachel took us in for the night. She and her husband Anthony made us a great dinner. We dined among the family's 25 cats and 10 dogs. - it was interesting. They also had three teenagers staying with them. It was great to finally have kids my age to converse with.

Distance Traveled: 76 miles
Time outside: 10 hours

Middlegate, NV >> Silver Springs, NV

(A beautiful lake I passed)

I Didn't Have Cheeseburgers Today Day 46

2011-08-23T21:47:00.000-07:00

First three miles were downhill, yet somehow, I was tired. There was a small 4 mile valley in between where I basically slowpoked my way over to the next mountain pass. Guess I didn't get enough sleep.

Anyway, it was either the Granola bar or the energy drink that I had, but all of a sudden, I sped up the mountain at about 9 mph and made it up there in no time. There was a small pass a bit afterwards, but that posed no problem.

The headwinds rolled in when I hit the bottom of the mountain pass. (I know, I always talk about these winds, but they always come at me) They got to be so bad that I just couldn't continue. Moral in myself was at an all time low. Luckily, it was about 2 and I saw a small little station called Cold Springs. They had amazing pizza and wifi! I basically stayed there for about six hours hoping that the wind would go down but to no avail.

(Notice how wind is blowing directly toward the direction I'm coming from)

Six hours later, I left again into the wind but I was so pumped for some reason. For the next 20 miles, I pedaled at a rate of 16 mph. I was really hoping to make it to the campsite in about an hour because it was already starting to get dark.

Got to Middlegate station at around 9 and I had their spare ribs for dinner. It was probably the best I had since...Cheeseburgers.

Distance Traveled: 66 miles
Time outside: 12 hours

Austin, NV >> Middlegate, NV

(Trees?!)

Road Work Day 45

2011-08-20T15:06:00.000-07:00

Left the campsite and the first thing I ran into was a delay. The state was extending the shoulder on some of their roads and I had to wait 15 minutes before crossing. Now 15 min might not seem like a lot, but when headwinds start kicking in at around noon, you really wish you could have biked an extra mile or two without winds.

About 20 miles later (averaging at a beastly 18 mph for this stretch), it was 11:45 and I saw another road work sign. This one was the most frustrating because I saw it about a mile away and I tried to make the cut, but as soon as I got there, the flagman turned the sign to "Stop" and I was like "GAH!" But yea, I practically waited half an hour, watching the frustrating headwinds roll in from the west.

After I passed the roadblock, I saw this pretty cool mini tornado. (no, I did not ride through it) Actually passed two of them on the way

to my destination today.

I had two mountain passes today. The first one was a short climb but the second one took forever. It was basically one long climb with a small dip in the middle, followed by another 2 mile climb. However, after I got to the top, it was straight downhill until Austin.

Camped out for the night because the Baptist church provided a free spot to stay. I actually didn't have cheeseburgers tonight; there were no McDonalds. I had really bland tasting codfish and french fries bought from the local diner though.

Distance traveled: 71 miles
Time outside: 9 hours

Eureka, NV >> Austin, NV

(Had Watermelon in the middle of the desert)

Pulled In Day 44

2011-08-20T15:05:00.000-07:00

After a break day, my knee felt a lot better. I used some Icy Hot patches which a cyclist recommended to me. It's a good thing they started feeling better too because I had four mountain passes to climb today, again with a headwind.

So I learned that the mountains out in Nevada alternate between short mountains and tall mountains; therefore, I know that if I'm climbing an easy one, the next one is going to be hard. They still suck nevertheless.
I have found a way to pass the time when climbing though - audiobooks. Instead of focusing on how hard the climb is and how tired my legs are, I think about what the book is saying and just concentrate on directing my bike uphill. The pain just seems to disappear. Music doesn't help as well since I know all the songs pretty much by heart now and when you're listening to a novel or something of the sort, you're waiting on the next word.

Music has gotten me through a lot of tough situations though; you should hear me when I'm rapping "Remember the Name" while riding through flats.

Almost got pulled in by a truck today. Usually trucks pull one oil tanker behind them but this one apparently had two. The first one passed me and the wind vortex pulled me in a bit. I started leaning in toward the truck but I thought it was fine because it's usually just pulling one. But then the second one followed and I almost fell over onto the truck. Thank God there was actually headwind that was pushing a bit from the west that actually helped me get steady. I know right, they helped me for once.

Got to town at around 7 P.M and took a shower at some place before heading downhill to the city park for camping. I got a pretty bad headache that night and just rushed to get onto bed.

Distance traveled: 79 miles
Time outside: 11 hours

Ely, NV >> Eureka, NV

(Sunset at the last mountain pass)

Kneedle Knee Day 43

2011-08-17T13:16:00.001-07:00

Got up at 6 to start biking today. I learned my lesson about wind. It always starts to get bad at around noon and then gets harder until 6:30 at night.
It was really cold in the morning and I got off to a slow start but when I got to the foot on the first mountain pass, the Sacramento pass. I breezed up that thing like I do through gym tests. Then came a valley and by this time, I started to get sharp knee pains. Even though the knee pain has been ongoing, it has been getting progressively worse, especially since I tried pedaling so hard yesterday through headwinds.

So next came Connor's pass. It's the highest I'll have to climb in Nevada and halfway up the top, I seriously just wanted to collapse because both my knees started to feel like I was getting acupuncture but the Asian guys were sticking the needles in wrong spots. Or more like, the needles were like burning pencils jabbed into my joints. I hiked some ways to the top and biked some way but in the end, still made it.

After Connor's pass, it took about an hour to make it to Ely. Stopped at Mcdonalds to get a chicken sandwich and then head on over to a campsite where we pitched tent. Met two other bikers today headed eastbound. We traded some tips and they headed out early the next day.
I decided to take a break day instead since my knees were bothering me so much.

Distance traveled: 64 miles
Time outside: 9 hours

State line, NV >> Ely, NV

(This was what my dashboard looks like. The left side can be equipped with a snap-on flashlight and there actually used to be a gps attachment too, but I took that off.)

Pain in the Ass Day 42

2011-08-17T12:56:00.000-07:00

(Points at distant nothing...>>)
Basically, left late today, at around 10 and just as I hit the 18th mile, this perfect 20 mph headwind started to kick in. For the next 50 miles, I had this wind in my face and it was honestly the most frustrating thing ever. Just as a notice, a 5mph headwind is equal to 1% grade. (A 6% grade is basically climbing the rocky mountains) So in essence, I was climbing a 4% grade hill.

It took me 1.5 hours to travel a sad 8 miles. It was demoralizing and a pure waste of energy, not to mention it hurts your ass like crazy. Can you imagine sitting on a skinny little saddle for 13 hours pedaling through headwinds?
I don't know how I did it, but for a good 10 miles, i was able to average 10 mph into this wind because I was thinking about cute ways to ask out a girl to prom. For some reason, it just took my mind off the pedaling.

I haven't been on many 8% gradients downhill but when I came to one, the wind was pushing so strong in my face that I had to actually pedal downhill in order to go at a decent speed.
At around 7 P.M, the wind started to died down and at about 8, I got to the bottom of a mountain. Although it was 5 miles long, I sped up that thing like a monster. The mountain range blocked out most of the leftover wind which gave me renewed enthusiasm to bike faster.

I got to the top in half an hour and then seeing as it was already dark, I tried to get to the state border as soon as possible. (There was a motel at the border for some reason) The wind had died down almost completely by now and I even had a very small downhill slope all the way to the end.

Distance traveled: 88 miles
Time outside: 13 hours

Delta, UT >> the state line border, NV

(Finally, Nevada)

Ninja Dodging Day 41

2011-08-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

First 9 miles were all uphill. Figures, I did go downhill for quite a whiles yesterday. After I made it to the top, I sped along until I hit this town called Scipio. It was a small town with, (no not Mcodnalds) but Subway! I had a foot long chicken sandwich and that was about it.

Was reluctant to leave because I had to get on an Interstate highway straight into a headwind. I managed to get my sorry butt out of the chair and made my way slowly to the entrance ramp, where all of a sudden, I spotted a smartphone on the ground. No, it's not as exiting as you think, because it looked like it got run over by 10 trucks and then slept on by a snorlax. Good news was that there was a 16 gb mini-sd in it but when I tried it on the computer, it didn't work. So much for that.

After a good 15 miles, made it off the interstate and onto a highway 50. It really started to look like a stereotypical desert for a short whiles even with a couple sand dunes.
The worst part about this rode was that there were bugs everywhere. Flies and bees would follow me for hundreds of feet and the road was filled with grasshoppers jumping around. Did you know grasshoppers had wings? I seriously thought they just hopped around, but these ones would fly/hop onto your leg or try to go through the spokes on your wheels and get totally demolished.

The only plus side to all these bugs on the road was that I'd have fun trying to dodge them and not run over them because they'd go "CRUNCH." That and I would try to swerve around loose rock on the pavement. I would make these 90 degree turns with my bike or try to lift-jump my bike over an already dead bug. It was fun for the first couple hundred of feet until I figured it slowed me down too much.

Distance traveled: 73 miles
Time outside: 8 hours

Salina, UT >> Delta, UT

(The sunsets are so nice out west)

What's a tree? Day 40

2011-08-13T21:04:00.000-07:00

So if you see a tree out here in the middle of nowhere, you're either about to die because you're seeing a mirage or that tree is resilient as anything (like an idea). Even if there is one, it's either 400 feet away, where there is no way that it would provide any shade whatsoever or it's shorter than me.

Anyway, continued where I stopped yesterday and biked up another 5 miles of the San Rafael swell. Within the first 2 miles, I got a flat tire on a bunch of road gators (bunch of blown-out tires left by trucks. They have small pointy metal wires within the rubber) Took about 20 minutes to replace before I set off again.

I swear, I think its the top everytime I see a turn, but these swells give no break. Got to the top at about 7270 feet and had a beautiful downhill for about a measly 4 miles. But it's alright, whenever I go downhill for too long, it means I'm going to have to make it up in uphills anyway.

Afterward, biked into a small headwind on relatively flatland for 20 miles before hitting another mountain range. (I forget what it was called, but it definitely started with a "w") This one was 7 miles long but unlike swells, it actually had green vegetation. The great thing about this mountain was that after I got to the top, it was all downhill to the next city. The first 7 miles followed a great downhill with 6% gradient and then mellowed out to a lesser sloped downhill. Still wonderful nevertheless.
On the last 8 mile stretch to Salina, I made a turn and saw a storm system starting to approach. The winds kicked in and I got a headwind with 25 mph gusts. Thank God I was going downhill or I would have literally been pedaling and not moving at all. It was still hard to go at a speed greater than 12 mph in this wind but I made it before the rain and we settled in a hotel for the night.

Distance traveled: 84 miles
Time outside: 8 hours

20 miles after Green River, UT >> Salina, UT

(This bridge would literally sway when trucks went over it)

Arches and ... Swells?! Day 39

2011-08-13T21:03:00.000-07:00

Went To Arches National Park today. Extremely beautiful place except for the long hikes to see most of the "cool" arches. My knee was starting to hurt pretty badly so my dad and I decided to take the short walks to see the small arches. Maybe one day when I come back, I'll do the entire 5 mile roundtrip hike to see the most famous arch, delicate arch.

Coming out of the park, we decided to get...(guess)....cheeseburgers and we drove back out to the place I left off the day before. Started at 4:30 and after 20 miles, I hit the San Rafael swells.
So first are the mountains and hills, now they're swells? I've never even heard of these things until Utah.

So I start climbing and it was a freaking pain. The view was gorgeous, but as soon as the sun set, it dropped to the low 50's. I couldn't even stop biking even if I wanted to or needed a break because as soon as I did, I would get ridiculously cold. In the end, climbed 4 miles of steep grade before I called it a day.

Total distance: 42 miles
Time outside: 5 hours

20 miles before Green River, UT >> 22 miles after Green River, UT

(Mystery machine out in the middle of nowhere)

Utah - Life Elevated Day 38

2011-08-13T21:02:00.000-07:00

I started out fast today after I got some Mcdonalds sausage and biscuits....again.
Always seem to sort of rush out into my biking routine, guess I just have the most energy at the start of the trip. I should really learn to conserve more.

Anyway, it only took about an hour and a half to go 20 miles which was pretty good. I stopped for a rest because that's pretty much where the border was. I stopped and met a guy from Paris who was actually going west except not to San Fransisco. He was with a translator and we talked a bit about our journey to Utah before he head off first. I was going to take a few more pics at the border before leaving. The thing is, the Utah border sign was another 200 feet away from the "leaving Colorful Colorado" sign so I biked there and snapped a couple pics.

There, I met a couple cool college students who got off to get a breather. They were headed to Las Vegas. Wish I could have jumped on with them. They were really nice though, gave me water and some snacks.

Not going to lie, Utah didn't give me a warm welcome. Right after I got on my bike, I got this headwind coming at me for pretty much the entire rest of the way.
The worst part, I really needed to go to the bathroom but the problem was that I was 20 miles away from the visitor's center. I couldn't just stop at the side of the road because I was on an interstate and there were no trees or cover around. So basically, even in a headwind, I pedaled like hell because I needed to go to the bathroom - the most painful yet the most motivational. (Best feeling in the world when I got there)

The next town over was Green River but the problem was that I was at an intersection that could bring us to the arches national park. We decided to cut our day there and check out the park instead. We settled on that he would drive me there and we would spend half a day checking out the place and the following day, he'd drop me off at where I left stopped.

Stayed at the Lazy Lizard hostel where I met these three awesome college students.

Total distance: 67 miles
Time outside: 11 hours

Fruita, CO >> 20 miles before Green River, UT

(The last service was 20 miles before the border, and now 40 miles after means that I pretty much didn't run into bathrooms for about 60 miles)

Desert Day 37

2011-08-13T20:56:00.000-07:00

The first 30 miles started out well. I made good time and my average was pretty good.
Then these headwinds kicked on and basically I was just dying at about every mile. Not to mention that winds really wick away all your sweat and moisture so that you wind up drinking more water than normal.

On average, I would drink about to one water bottle per every 5 miles, (Basically, today I would have drank about 16 bottles of water) but with wind, I would come down to about 4.5 miles per bottle. Then since I'm in the desert, it drops down to 4 mpb. (miles per bottle - there, I've created a new unit)

So I ran out of water 20 miles in and my dad was still back in Montrose taking care of some business. I gave him a call and asked him when he would get there and he told me it would be at least another hour. I wasn't just going to sit there and wait so I actually started waving at passing cars to ask them for water. I know, it sounds desperate, but you get hella thirsty in the desert. I flagged down a nice man who gave me 2 bottles of water.

In the end, I made it - slowly. I camped at the Colorado National Monument and had cheeseburgers :( for dinner.

Total distance: 71 miles
Time outside: 10 hours

Montrose, CO >> Fruita, CO

Super Size Me...With Exercise Day 36

2011-08-08T21:54:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love a cheeseburger, every other day....?
Pretty much, my meals would consist of either Mcdonalds or gas station food.
Sometimes I'd get lucky and hit up a restaurant or my dad would make something, but sometimes, it's just easier to take out.
That guy who did that super size me documentary must have had it hard, because I'm really starting to dislike the taste of anything with the word "burger" in it. Hey, but at least I'm riding off most of the calories.

I've been waking up really late these past couple days. So I leave the motel at 11 and I head west into the perfect headwind. The first couple miles were a pain but I sort of got into the rhythm of pedaling hard but going slowly. Plus, there was a beautiful lake I was riding next to for a good while and that took my mind off things.

I passed a bunch of touring cyclists who were doing a run of Colorado (about 180 of them). They were going in the other direction and needless to say, I was sort of jealous. I'd like to have a nice 15 mph tailwind sometime.

Anyway, I had three mini mountains to climb, nothing like Monarch Pass (11,312 ft) but still a long climb nevertheless. The great thing about the last climb, was that after I got to the top, I had it pretty much straight downhill until I hit town.

Distance traveled: 68 miles
Time outside: 11 hours

Gunnison, CO >> Montrose, CO

(Bay of Pigs, now the Bay of Chickens. I'm waiting for the Bay of Cows to come next.)

(Beautiful sunset on the way down)

11 K in the Air Day 35

2011-08-08T20:09:00.000-07:00

Day started out great and went downhill from there.
The Wong family was so generous and nice for taking us in. They fed us amazing chinese food and even sent us away with gifts. Thanks. XD

Anyway, left the Wong's restaurant at around 12 and started my 10 mile climb up to 11,312 feet - tallest I'll ever be on this ride. I hated pretty much every minute of it. Over a course of 5 hours, I rode and biked up this ridiculously steep mountain into 20 mph headwinds and freezing cold temperatures. I was wearing sweat pants over my biking shorts and 4 layers on top. (Under armor, jersey, sports jacket, XL hoody) It was cold.

Finally, got up to the summit of Monarch pass at around 5:00. Was surprised they had a store up there but I got some hot chili and then headed on my way down. I was going at like 25 mph downhill for about 7 miles - it was great.

After a break, my dad passed me on his car and told me that I still had 28 miles until town and that it was already 7:30. This was really bad because when the sun sets in Colorado, the temperature can go down to the high 30's, even in the summer. So for the next 28 miles, I pedaled like a madman going at an average of 15 mph through headwinds and uphills.
It's really weird at points because I might be riding through 40 degree temps and then all of a sudden, I'd break into this bubble of sub-freezing temperatures and then in a split second, I'd be out of it again.

Now the sun was down and I had 8 miles to go. Raced through it and got to this motel in Gunnison, CO. I was so tired that I practically fell asleep while standing in the shower.

Distance traveled: 56 miles
Time outside: 10 hours

Maysville, CO >> Gunnison, CO

(You know it's steep when there's a runaway truck ramp)

Hospitality Day 34

2011-08-06T22:25:00.000-07:00

Woke up in the laundry room of a campsite. Not the best sleep I've ever had, but hey, if it's somewhere to sleep, I'll take it.

Headed out at around 10 (late) and had elevation sickness again for a while, but after heading down the mountain, it improved a bit.

Basically, the Rockies are beautiful. The mountains aren't the most fun to climb but when you get to the top and look down at the landscape, it's really a sight to see. Pictures don't do Colorado justice, but I'll put them up anyway

So today I passed "A Mimi's Cafe" and I saw a guy with black hair. At first I was like, "No way, it's not possible for an Asian person to be out here in Colorado." (I haven't seen one in the last 500 miles) but then I rode up to him and yea, it blew my mind away.

Got into a good chat with Ophus Wong and his dad, Albert, who eventually let us stay at his home for the night. (Pic in next post)

Not only did he make really good Chinese food for dinner, but I got to stay in a nice warm house. Wait, why warm? Because in Colorado, the nights get to be around 40 - 50 degrees and it is mad cold outside. I didn't expect this kind of weather so pretty much all I have are short sleeves and short pants. Big difference from the 100+ degrees in Kansas.

Distance traveled: 57 miles

Time outside: 10 hours

Westcliffe, CO >> Maysville, CO

Thank you Wong family for the great place to stay!

Shoutout to Steve for all the pics he help take and just being someone great to talk to.

(Gotta be here to see it for yourself)

Elevation Sickness in the Rockies Day 33

2011-08-05T21:30:00.000-07:00

Drew and I had to split off today. He was taking the transamerican trail up to Oregon and I'm taking the western express to California. We hope to meet up at San Francisco since he'll be riding down there. Well, guess I'm riding alone again.

First 20 miles out of Pueblo were pretty easy - rolling hills. But as soon as I started to climb the Rocky Mountains, I began to get elevation sickness. At around 6000 feet, it became extremely hard to breathe, I got a pounding headache and I really just wanted to sleep. Seeing as there is no shoulder or shelter going up to 9000 feet today, I just kept biking/hiking (some of the slopes were too steep to even bother.)

After about 2 hours of wanting to go back down the mountain so that I could breathe, I got acclimated to the elevation. Sadly, the highest I have to climb is still up to 11,000+ and I don't know how well I can adapt to that.

I love the look some people give me when they pass me on a really steep slope. I'm steadily riding my bike and they give me this look like "What the H#$% is he doing, climbing this ridiculous slope?" I wonder the same all the time.

On a side note, the Rocky Mountains are just plain beautiful. Words can't describe them, its one of those things you have to see for yourself. It's sort of like an inside joke, you have to have been there to get it. The scenary just keeps changing and every time, it just leaves you stunned. I know that sometimes, I'd actually get off my bike (because I was tired too) just to look at the view.

Distance traveled: 56 miles
Time outside: 10 hours
Temp low: 54 degrees (its so cold)

Pueblo, CO >> Westcliffe, CO

Shoutout to all the cyclists I met on the road today and thanks to John for the elevation sickness advice.

(Eating at a diner)

Numb Day 32

2011-08-04T21:33:00.000-07:00

Basically, took it easy the first 60 miles of the run because of knee pain. A guy named Drew was biking with me so I had someone nice to talk to while going slowly.

Fast forward. it was already 6:30 at night and we had another 50+ miles to go until we hit Pueblo, CO.This was bad because our average of the day so far was only 11.5 mph, which meant it would take us another 5 hours at least to hit our destination.
We could have stayed at a smaller town that was only 20 miles away but we had set a goal and we had to meet it.

After a couple long and hard hours. It was 10 P.M. and we had another 24 miles to go We were both tired, if not on the verge of exhuasted, it was pitch black and drizzling. We were both miserable. I'm not going to lie, I wanted to get off my bike and just fall down and sleep. I just did now want to go on, even less move.

Then we realized, "Damn, we're going to have to get there anyway. We need to lose this pessimistic mindset and just push ourselves until we die." And so we did. The last 24 miles, we basically raced like we were on 20 cans on redbull. Going at 20 mph average into a 8 mph headwind, we were both screaming and yelling and basically, hoping to get there as fast as possible. A couple miles in, my body went completely numb, I just couldn't feel anything anymore - my legs were on autopilot, and my eyes just focusing on the lights in the distance. All I did was pedal.

It was the most I have ever pushed myself physically and mentally. Knee pain - gone; sense of time - gone. My mind was so set on where I had to be that I continually crushed what I thought was my limit and surpassed where I thought I would stop.

In the end, we made it to town. The hotel was another four miles extra but hey, we had gone this far, lets go another four. And so we did. We got there at 11:30 and we both crashed. Crashed and flat out exhausted.
Tomorrow was definitely a break day.
By the way, Colorado is beautiful.

Distance traveled: 115 miles (I still can't believe it)
Time outside: 16 hours

Eads, CO >> Pueblo, CO

(Drew's got swag)

Colorful Colorado Day 31

2011-08-04T21:22:00.000-07:00

If you're wondering why the title is Colorful Colorado, its because that was the first thing I read when entering CO. It was a great feeling, knowing that I was officially more than half way there.

The first part of Colorado is mainly flat, you can legit see for miles on end. Sometimes you'll see a small grain silo or building 10 miles ahead and you'd tell yourself..."yep, I'm going to be there in an hour." Sometimes its the most frustrating thing but at the same time, it gives me a goal.

My knee is really starting to bother me on this trip. It's been an ongoing problem since Missouri but I always just seemed to pedal through. I realize that if I continue going without resting, I might just have to stop because of knee problems. But hey, I didn't come this far to let it get the best of me. I just need to power through.

Great news though, I met Joe on the road again. He took a break day the day before and I passed him on my way to Eads, CO. Now I have a riding partner again.
We stayed at a courthouse for the night because the winds and rain outside from the thunderstorm were atrocious.

Distance traveled: 105 miles
Time outside: 12 hours

Scott City, KS >> Eads, CO

(This is probably what they were talking about in fast food nation - cattle farms that smell terrible)

If Charlie Brown lived in Kansas... Day 30

2011-08-02T10:05:00.000-07:00

he would never fail at flying that kite.

I had an average 30 mph headwind/side crosswind for pretty much the entire day.

At points, it would turn into a 35 mph gust
that would pretty much blow me off the side of the road.

Actually, I think at points, it was almost as fast just to walk my bike into the blistering wind then to ride it. Also, the wind would almost seem to choke you at points. The wind would blow your shirt back so hard that the neckline of it would actually choke you a bit.

It took about 4 hours to do a measly 25 miles to a small city of Dighton, where I just stayed and tried to wait out the winds. Took a nap and when I woke up at around 6, the winds were still going at 20 mph +. I figured that it wasn't much use in waiting so I headed out. First 5 miles took what seemed like an eternity but at around 7, the winds seemed to just die down and I made good time to Scott City, where I stayed for the night.

Distance traveled: 59 miles

Time outside: 10 hours

Ness City, KS >> Scott City, KS

(That tree was straight when the wind died down for a second)

(At least the sunset was nice)
(Night riding- I could see these lights from 6 miles away. It was frustrating to see them ever so slowly get closer)

I'm Blonde Day 29

2011-07-31T20:55:00.000-07:00

Actually, my arm hair is starting to turn blonde. It's ridiculous what 12 hours in the sun can do to you over the course of a month. The hair on top of my head is still straight black because I practically never take off my helmet; it's just not worth risking it.
(I look like I'm about to kill someone in this pic>>)

So the alarm woke me up at 8 today but I was so tired from yesterday's run that I wound up sleeping until 11, which was a terrible idea because that meant I'd have to ride through the worst of the heat.

I rode a pretty bad crosswind for the first 10 miles but then I turned north and I just took the tailwind straight to a place called Rush Center. Now, on the map, Rush Center was supposed to have everything from a gas station to a diner but they were all closed down and I was pretty much out of water. It was about break time anyway so I waited for my dad to bring in some supplies and then headed on my way.

About 20 miles north of where I was riding, there was this terrible storm and it started producing crosswinds at around 30 mph. I practically fell over a couple times and had to get off my bike during some strong gusts. I mean, you know the wind is strong when a bird tries flying into it and literally stalls for five seconds before getting shot backwards.
Got caught in a portion of the storm. I could hear the lightening right above me but I kept my head low and kept riding because there was no shelter in sight. After about 15 minutes, it stopped, but I was pretty drenched by the end.

Eventually ended up at a place called Ness City. This place honestly has the best ice cream imaginable. I mean, cold stone's is great and all when you want 5 dollar ice cream cones but this mom and pop store had these huge bowls for a buck 25 and it was amazing.

Distance traveled: 62 miles
Time outside: 10 hours
Temp high: 110 degrees (All the locals told me I chose the worst summer by far. Yay...)

Larned, KS >> Ness City, KS

(Not even buildings in the middle of nowhere can escape graffiti)

2nd Century Day 28

2011-07-31T20:16:00.000-07:00

Joe told me he was going to take off at night, and he did. Good man, I'll miss him.

Pulled a 106 mile bike run yesterday and I don't know what it was, but I was flying down the rode at some points with a 18 mph avg on flats.
I really didn't want to go another 100 miles since I just did the other day already but I was in a really awkward position on mileage. I could have stopped at a city having gone 48 miles that day, but it was way less than I intended to ride; however, the next stop would have to be 58 miles away because there was a stretch of "nothing" until Larned, KS.

So I decided to take the stretch at 5 P.M. (really bad idea) Forty miles in, the sun was completely gone and I was pretty much riding in pitch back darkness. There were no street lights and the only thing guiding my way was my little flashlight that runs on 3 triple A's. I had about 10 feet of visibility and I'm not going to lie, it's pretty creepy at night when you're in the middle of nowhere.
There were these times at night when a car would pass me at 65 mph and I swear I had my backlight on, but they would come within inches of me. I'd be like, "B!$%&, theres an empty #$%^& lane right next to you." But whatever, I didn't die.
Got to a nice hotel at around 10:30 P.M. and pretty much just conked out on bed.

Distance traveled: 106
Time outside: 13 hours
Temp high: I forget, it was pretty darn hot though.

Newton, KS >> Larned, KS

(Just some cool cloud)

A Century and Rain Pelts Day 27

2011-07-29T20:01:00.000-07:00

First century today (100 miles) and the funny thing is that I don't feel all that bad. I mean, I know I'm going to wake up tomorrow feeling like a statue, but it was worth it. Plus, a 100 miles on flatlands aren't as bad as riding through mountain ranges.

Anyway, Joe and I were headed on the last 38 miles of a trip when it started to rain ridiculously hard. The rain drops couldn't even be called drops; they were like rain pelts the size of a bullet. They'd hit my helmet and it'd sound like I got shot.
The thunder was pretty rough too, nothing notoriously close, but enough where the you could here the clash of the thunder and feel the ground tremble.

Joe's headed off for another 100 miles tonight while I stay in a fire station in Newton. It's honestly ten times better than any Sheraton suite. They have pretty much every amenity possible to make it feel like home and the people here are so nice and friendly that if I could rate the customer service, it would have to be five stars if not more.
They provided us with cheeseburgers, fries, pulled buffalo meat and fruit. Hadn't had such a fulfilling meal in a long time.

By the way, I think I'm losing it, my grammar has been getting pretty off the past week or so. I think the fatigue is really starting to kick in as I'm writing this blog post with my eyes practically shut. (Like how they normally are)

Distance Traveled: 100 miles (wished I got more of these on my math tests)
Time outside: 13 hours
Dogs that took chase: 1
Temp high: 104

(Saw this at a cafe)

Gone with the Wind Day 26

2011-07-29T08:51:00.000-07:00

Headed out with Joe today at around 8 in the morning.

The winds were kicking in badly for the first half of the morning but they eventually became a small tailwind since we were headed north for a while and the wind was coming from the south.

It felt good to be kicking out 16 mph for a good half an hour.

You know what I noticed about wind; it always seems to be out to get you. The wind, in a biker's case is only useful in one direction, coming from behind, give or take 30 degrees. Yeah, I really like it from behind. Otherwise, crosswinds blow you over and headwinds just slow you down. Plus, it's demoralizing when you feel like you should be biking at 15 mph and you're only hitting 9.

Anyway, Joe is a really interesting and hip guy. Time flies when you're talking with another biker and since the roads out here are practically empty, we ride side to side. Since I have a speaker on my bike, we plug our Ipods in every now and then and just share music. It's really nice being introduced to new artists and songs.

He came from Ohio and he's riding to Oregon, then down the Cali coast, and then back to his hometown in Ohio. That's like Crossing America twice!

He was planning on doing some night riding to try to get in more miles, but we ended up staying at a church in Toronto for the night.

We'll probably be splitting off tomorrow because he wants to try to fit in his first double century (200 miles) at night.

Distance traveled: 77 miles

Time outside: 12 hours

Dogs that took chase: 4

Temp high: 107

Walnut Grove KA, >> Toronto, KA (I know right, this should totally be in Canada)

Krossing Krazy Kansas Day 25

2011-07-29T08:34:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know it starts with a "C" but it makes for a good alliteration.

So yea, crossed into Kansas at about noon.

The first thing I noticed was how bad the wind was blowing.

It was coming from the south at about 15 mph and it changed every so often so that it'd either blow in my face or come from the side. A couple times, it would actually blow me off the rode, so I'd have to put pressure on my right hand to keep from falling over. I think I'm starting to get the early onset of handlebar palsy.

There was only a good five mile stretch where it actually became a nice tailwind, where I was actually averaging 5 mph faster than normal.

At around 7, I stopped at a Lutheran church that takes in bikers to stay for the night.

There I met a guy named Joe Carson. He's 20 years old and he's also headed the same way as I am. So we planned a route for the next day and then he made a delicious sloppy joe mix which I ate about 3 burgers of. In the end, I hit the hay at around 10:30 and was pretty refreshed for the upcoming ride.

Distance Traveled: 65 miles

Time outside: 10 hours

Dogs that took chase: 1

Temp high: 105

Golden City, MO >> Walnut Grove, Kansas

Hill Billie Day 24

2011-07-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

The first 30 miles today were rough.
Just constant hills and long climbs.
One of the climbs was about 2 miles long and I was just waiting to see that good downhill that's supposed to follow a massive uphill, but no...It went straight for awhile and then back up again.

Land started to even out today toward the end, which is good. Means I'm about to hit the flatlands of Kansas. I'm hoping to make up for lost time going through this state so that just maybe, I can get home a day early to start summer reading and do college apps.

Distance traveled: 64 miles
Time outside: 9 hours
Temp high: 102
Dogs that took chase:1

Springfield, MO >> Golden City, MO

(Who wouldn't want to have this car...?)

Can't Call it Quits / Day 23

2011-07-25T20:20:00.000-07:00

Pedaling 25 miles fully rested is no problem, but pedaling 25 miles at your physical limit really is the most challenging.

I remember telling myself that I wasn't going to make it to Springfield the whole first 2 hours. You know, I was ready just to call it quits for today and stay a campsite right in the middle of where I started and where I was supposed to go.

But then I thought, "I've always gotten to my set destination without quitting. Can't break that record now."

So I stopped at Marshfield, ate some lunch, took a nap and then grudgingly headed on my way.
In the end, I was proud of myself that I was able to complete these last 25 miles and make it to Springfield. Even though it took all my mental and physical strength, I'm glad I made it.

Distance Traveled: 50 miles
Time outside: 11 hours
Dogs that took chase: 1
Shoutout to Tatiana and Jackie at the Honk Kong Inn for being such amicable and enthusiastic people.

Hartville, MO >> Springfield, MO

(Undeniably my favorite sign)

Self-Propelled Rollercoaster / Day 22

2011-07-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

You power yourself up a hill, then let gravity pull you down.
It's been like this for the past 3 days and if anything, it's not nearly as fun as Six Flags.
It rained for 2 hours today and I rode through all of it because there was practically no shelter or time. The rain made the rode extra slippery so I had to brake going downhill.
This meant that I couldn't use all the momentum to propel myself up someways.
But it's fine, I still made it through.
(This pic doesn't even begin to explain the Ozark hills >>)

At night, I met this wonderful woman named Shawnty and a guy named Mike with his family.
They were so kind and thoughtful that it made me realize again how good the world can be.
I know today, there were many cars that would honk at me because I was riding on the road, (there was no shoulder)
and I'd be like. "WTF.Why don't you come bike a bajillon miles in the rain while I sit in a nice red Mustang?!"
Then I met Shawnty and Mike and my perception about people changed for the better.
They spent nearly half an hour trying to find a place for my dad and I to stay.
In the end, we took their advice and headed to the county courthouse to stay for the night. AC!
And my perception of people will probably always be this up and down cycle, almost just like a rollercoaster.

By the way, this was written as a word doc yesterday. That's why the tense is different.

Distance Traveled: 77 miles
Time outside: 12 hours
Dogs that took chase: 12 (The dogs here have anger management issues...)
Temp high: 94 degrees

Salem, MO >> Hartville, MO

Up and Down Day 21

2011-07-23T16:51:00.000-07:00

Very routine ride today.
The Ozarks have very scenic routes but it's mostly just the redundant hills and trees.
Occasionally, you'll see that one beautiful lake where the water is as blue as the sky and you can see the fish swimming on the bottom.

One of the highlights of the day was when a black butterfly with center-blue wings flew next to me for a minute. It was just so nice having company.

Something I learned about the Ozarks today: A steep downhill is always followed by an equally steep uphill. I like flat-lands better.

Distance traveled: 76 miles
Time outside: 9 hours
Temp high: 94 degrees. (Heat index was 114.1 according to my odometer. Humidity was pretty bad) Its been so hot the past couple days that my odometer has been overheating. The screen would turn a fried brown and I'd have to put it into some ice (wrapped in plastic bag) for it to cool back down.

Farmington, MO >> Salem, MO

(Wish I had AC while riding...)
(Some street names are named after letters in MO)

I'm in Jail / Day 20

2011-07-22T19:13:00.000-07:00

No seriously, I'm in Jail. It's completely great.
There's a TV, AC, washing machine, a computer, a bed.
I could just live here. (pic -->>)

It's called Al's place. It used to be a jailhouse that was converted into a suite for cyclists. It still has some of the jail bars on the windows, but other than that, it is beautiful in here.
I got up late today. I realize that even though biking up mountains and riding across America takes mental strength, getting up in the morning is even worse.
After being so tired the night before, you just want to stay in bed until the rest of eternity, or at least until House comes on at night; but nevertheless, you have to push yourself to crawl out of bed and cross the threshold into to-be 100 degree weather.

I try getting up at 6 to beat some of the heat, but it turns out that I slept through the alarm until 8. By then, it was already 90 degrees outside.

Crossed into Missouri today and after about 8 miles, I hit the first couple hills of the Ozarks.
(The Ozarks are a long and steep mountain range in South Missouri) Already, the climbing is taking a toll on my legs. I can only hope that it gets better tomorrow in 100 degree weather.

Did a short distance today because if I went any further, the next rest area would be a total of 120 miles, which I couldn't possibly fit in by nightfall.
So I went to jail instead. I didn't collect $200 on my way there.

Distance Traveled: 44 miles
Time outside: 6 hours
Heat index: 106 degrees

Chester, Il >> Farmington, MO

(Mississippi river - the one that Huckleberry Finn went down)

What is that Mysterious Ticking Noise / Fried Worms - Day 19

2011-07-22T18:50:00.000-07:00

Woke up at around 8 today and headed off to a the Bike Surgeon to get my bike tuned up.
It was making some funny ticking noises that would really piss me off.
When I got there, the sound was gone even before they checked the bike, it was ridiculous - it's like going to the doctor to get them to diagnose something and when you get there, the pain is gone. Ivan and Nicole head off along the trail first, since it would take some time before I would get back.

Anyway, my dad and I headed off to Wal-Mart to get much needed and very essential supplies; such as cookies and vanilla wafers. Water came last on my list. I only go through about 18 bottles a day.

After all the shopping, it was about one P.M, so I left during the hottest part of the day.
I met a couple guys biking from Oregon to Virginia that were biking for the College of William and Mary. One of their bikers figured out the mysterious ticking noise was not a pipe bomb, but actually my plastic pedal cracking. If you guys are reading this, Thanks for all the advice and help.

An hour later, I passed a dried up lake and a bunch of fried worms. They were just all laying on the pavement burnt and being eaten up by ants. I know, bad mental image - Sorry.

Got to the hostel at about 4 and settled down for the night.
Thank you Eagles club at Chester for the place to stay.

Last day that I got to hang out with Nicole and Ivan. They're headed up to St.Louis and I'm going through the Ozark mountain range. Thank you for making the past week a memorable experience. I've learned so much from you guys and I hope that if you come to NJ sometime, you'll make a stop at my place where we can have bubble tea and Chinese food.
Have fun at St. Louis and Good Luck on the rest of the journey.

Distance traveled: 30 miles
Time outside: 3 hours
Heat index: 106 degrees

Murphysboro, Il >> Chester, Il

(Chester, where Popeye was first created)

Hell's Kitchen Day 18

2011-07-20T21:24:00.001-07:00

Flat lands - finally.
My average went up a whole one mile per hour, which is actually pretty good considering you ride for more than 7 hours a day.
Sometimes, you go slightly uphill (3% gradient) and you'd go for a mile but you wouldn't even recognize the fact that you were going up until you look back.

Mainly today though, the heat was kill.
Half the time, I wanted to fall down and die. I could see for miles around since the land is flat, you could see the heat waves rising from the ground a hundred feet in front of you in pretty much every direction you looked.

Also, the heat would bounce off the black top, rise up and hit me from the bottom so I pretty much got cooked all around.
Scenery was beautiful though. <<

99 degrees high and 110 heat index.

Distance traveled: 70 miles
Time outside: 12 hours

Shawneetown Il >> Murphysboro Il

Over the River and through the Woods Day 17

2011-07-20T21:18:00.000-07:00

I seem to be getting up earlier and earlier to beat the heat.
There was a terrible headwind yesterday; at least 6 miles per hour and the heat index reached 105.
Midday, we all took a break at a library and I fell asleep on the couch.

At around 8, we finally crossed the river into Illinois.
It was honestly such a blissful feeling, knowing that I've made it this far and still haven't died yet.
I crossed that bridge yesterday with a certainty that I could make it all the way.

Thank you Ms. Dolores and the Shawneetown police dept. for providing us with a wonderful place to stay.

Distance traveled: 69 miles
Time outside: 10 hours
Utica, Ky >> Shawneetown, Il

Bug Protein and a Flat Day 16

2011-07-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

First flat tire today; not from a needle or sharp object but because the nozzle broke.Ivan tried patching it up twice but the hole was just in such an awkward position that it still leaked air.He gave me his extra tube and we used that until my dad was able to bring me my spare.

We did a lot of miles today and it took us up until 9 PM. While we were riding through the countryside, I ate about three bugs and ran into another 50 or so.
I swear, these bugs are pretty much resilient to bug spray.

Distance traveled: 69 miles
Time outside: 12 hours
Dogs that took chase: 1
# of mosquito bites currently on legs: 11

<< Passed a small dam at a state park

Beautiful like a Google Image Day 15

2011-07-18T20:24:00.000-07:00

Rode with Ivan and Nicole today to a little grocery off the street.
While we were waiting to set-up, we watched the sunset off the horizon.
It was the perfect blend of turquoise, red, orange, and pretty much every color of the rainbow except green.
It's like going to Google Images and typing in the word "sunset." It was absolutely beautiful. You'd have to see it in person to witness the full wonder.

Arnold and Lucy were able to take us in for the night and give us a wonderful place to sleep and food. Thanks.

Distance traveled: 49 miles
Time outside 9 hours.

Screw These Titles / Day 14

2011-07-16T19:39:00.000-07:00

My titles are getting redundant - the whole "Biking Across America, Date, Day#" is just really boring, so now I'm coming up something else.

I biked with Ivan and Nicole today. They are are these two really nice and funny people who have been friends since Middle School. They get along well with each other and I really feel at home with them.
So, apparently, Nicole is my mother and Ivan is the cool-guy. I have to give it to him, all his help with fixing my bike and his navigation skills make him like a role-model.
Nicole has amazing writing skills. You're actually probably better off reading hers and Ivan's blog over mine. She is extremely dependable and assisted me when spokes came loose.

Funny sign I found in Kentucky >>

Distance traveled: 75 miles
Time outside: 11 hours
Dogs that took chase: 2

Biking Across America 7/15 Break Day

2011-07-15T19:53:00.000-07:00

Really just chilled today with Ivan and Nicole.
Got our bikes fixed up and then headed to watch Harry Potter Part 2.
It was depressing walking out of that movie theater, knowing that a whole part of me just sort of ended at that screening. Great movie though, really touching and geez, Emma Watson is like (fill in the blank)
Got some Chinese food at night and then we planned our route for tomorrow.

Legs still feel like they're packed with lead but I hope after a good night's sleep, I'll be ready for the long ride to come.

Biking Across America 7/14 Day 13

2011-07-14T22:07:00.000-07:00

Woke up in tent completely exhausted today. Even though the hills were less tough and I had to go a shorter distance, my average speed went down considerably because, I don't know, I was just tired.

Finished at Berea today; glad that I brought together the energy to make it through. Going to take a day's break tomorrow so I can tune up my bike and maybe make some plans with Ivan and Nicole on the route. Plus, I hope I can catch a screening of the Harry Potter movie.

Distance traveled: 46 miles
Time outside: 6 hours
Dogs that took chase: 3

Biking Across America 7/13 Day 12

2011-07-14T21:30:00.000-07:00

While climbing hills, I'm like "Who invented these damn hills?!"

There were four back to back tall as heck hills that made me want to just lie down and die.
I'm not going to lie, I was thinking of quitting while going up the first mountain.
The soreness, the pain, it just accumulates day after day and I didn't know if I could make it past that day, let alone 4 more weeks of it.
The hills don't look that bad in this picture, but if you were standing there, you would have wanted to just get in a car and drive across America.

I almost never have dark circles under my eyes, but now, I'm getting it all the time. (Picture taken at beginning of the day after we packed camp)

In the end, at 11 Pm at night, I made it to the campsite at Booneville KY.
I met three other great cyclists there who were also biking across America.
Shoutout to Ivan, Nicole and Don.
Read Ivan and Nicole's blog at http://intransam.blogspot.com/

Distance traveled: 63 miles
Time took: 11 hours
Dogs that took chase: 4

Biking Across America 7/12 Day 11

2011-07-13T08:07:00.000-07:00

Finally made it to Kentucky today. This place has so many hills.
Crossed the state line around 12 and made my way along a highway.
The number of trucks here are ridiculous. There would be one passing me every couple of minutes and they would always pass inches from hitting me.

Besides the rough traffic, there are mad wild dogs here. Four separate times, dogs came chasing after me. The first time around, there were three dogs that jumped out of the woods that chased me with this snarled up face. I'd either have to scream at them with some scary face or spray water at them. They pretty much back off every time. Its pretty scary at first but I got used to it after the second time.

Distance traveled: 60 miles
Time: 10 hours

Biking Across America 7/11 Day 10

2011-07-12T09:05:00.000-07:00

Lets say hypothetical that Mt.Pleasant in New Jersey was a size double A.

The two mountains I had to climb yesterday would be Double D's. (3000 feet height)
It started thundering at around 9 PM and I still had to climb three smaller size C hills. (I loved going down on them)

I thought I passed into Kentucky because there was this sign that had "KY" on it but it turns out I was actually 2 miles from the state line.

Arrived at the hotel at 10:30, soaking wet and completly exhausted, and just fell asleep.

Distance traveled: 65 miles
Time outside: 11 hours

Shoutout to Andrew Baker for all the advice and route help.

Biking Across America 7/10 Day 9

2011-07-10T22:23:00.000-07:00

Hot day today. Biked to route 80 VA and then stopped for the night.
Should be passing into Kentucky tomorrow if I get lucky.
It's supposed to rain the next 7 days over here, but I hope the meteorologists are actually wrong for once.

Some bank sign said it was 101 degrees but my odometer read 92. It honestly wasn't that bad.

I pass at least one church every 5 miles or so and this has got to be one of the more creative signs I have seen.

Distance traveled: 55 miles
Time outside: 8 hours

Biking Across America 7/9 Day 8

2011-07-10T22:04:00.000-07:00

It was a pretty good day to ride. Got to Max Meadows at around 10:30 at night.
A bit hot and a lot of hills but I think I made good time.
The reason I was outside for 12 hours was because of all the stopping I had to do on the way.
Not only do I have to eat five meals a day, three of which are during the time outside, but I also take breaks pretty often. I seem to pick up a better average speed if I sit down every ten miles or so.
No, it's not Rutgers. It's actually Radford University. The signs look too similar though.

Distance traveled: 75 miles
Time outside: 12 hours

Biking Across America 7/8 Day 7

2011-07-08T19:26:00.000-07:00

Terrible headwind today and heavy rain for about 40% of the ride.
But its alright, I made good time up hills and got to Roanoke just before the next big thunderstorm hit.

Visited this pretty cool tourist attraction called Foamhenge. It's supposed to be an exact replica of the Stonehenge.

Distance traveled: 50 miles
Time: 6 hours

Biking Across America 7/7 Day 6

2011-07-07T19:06:00.000-07:00

Getting up where I fell down -
Today, I rode down the mountain and arrived at Lexington.
At one point when I started, I was so nervous because this was the slope that ripped a 4-inch wound in my leg.
I actually went down so slowly, I pedaled uphill with a faster average speed.
But eventually, I finished, and made good time on highway 11.

Picture > This is the exact spot where I fell and slid down a wet slope about a week ago.

I was riding today with this scab on my leg. Hurts to bend but after about 10 miles, I got into the routine of things.

Distance traveled: 20 miles.
Time: 1.5 hours

Thank you

2011-07-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

My aunt Lucy wrote "A thousand miles of journey starts with a single step. Congratulations! You already passed a mountain. "

I want to thank her for her inspiring letter and her donation of $200.

Bike Trip On Hold Due to Skin Abrasion

2011-07-05T11:32:00.000-07:00

Due to my skin abrasion on my left leg, I won't be able to ride my bike for at least another week.

My parent's decided it was best to take me back to NJ where I can recover and if I made significant progress, I could start where I last left off.

Unfortunately, I am allergic to Neosporin so when I applied it to the wound, it turned yellow and started getting worse.
After applying Neosporin, the pain would last up to 6 hours and I wouldn't be able to fall asleep until those approximate 6 hours past.

Applying bandages made the bleeding worse because it would rub against the abrasion. Overall, there was blood seeping through (at different rates) for about six hours.

In the end though, I have to say, I got really lucky:

I didn't slide off the curb and go over the mountain,

My bike took a lot of the force off. Take a look at the pedal down below.

I didn't break any bones, and

wonderful people took care of me.

Biking Across America 6/28 Day 5

2011-07-05T10:06:00.000-07:00

I rode up the Blue Ridge Parkway today.

The view was amazing from the top of the mountain (3200 feet).

Today was the first day I rode through rain and thunder. It actually got kind of scary with all the lightening flashing so close to me.

After the rain stopped, the road was unbearable slippery and it was unfortunate that I just so happen to be going downhill at this time.

There was a sharp left turn at the bottom of a slope and I decided to hit my back brake.

Unfortunately, the back wheel slid out from under me and both my bike and I collapsed and skidded about 15 feet to the end of the curb. When I got up, I was in bloody pain: there was a 4 inch skin abrasion on my leg and I sprained my wrist.

I was lucky enough to have a passerby, Carolyn and her husband to take me into their home and clean up the wound.

Without them, my leg certainly would have gotten infected.

My mom ended up picking me up and bringing me to a hotel where we re-bandaged the wound.

Distance traveled: 20 miles

Time: 3 hours

Shoutout to Buz for helping me fix my brakes and finding my glove.

Biking Across America 6/27 Day 4

2011-06-29T13:06:00.000-07:00

Before I left to bike, I just so figured out that the University of Virginia was right across the street from where I was staying.
Instead of leaving early as planned, I decided to go check out the campus.
I spent about two hours wandering the beautiful campus and then talked with this extremely helpful lady from the admissions office, Emily, before I left.

I started around 5 and I didn't cycle that much today.
Partially because I was saving my energy for the next day to get over the mountains and partially because those 80 miles from the day before made my legs feel 20 lbs heavier.
The last 3 miles were all uphill; (30-40 degree slope) I think it was the prerequisite to going over the mountain.

Distance traveled: 21 miles
Time: 3 hours

Biking Across America 6/26 Day 3

2011-06-29T12:26:00.000-07:00

I think of the things that scares me the most while biking, is not the fact that I'm riding by myself through the middle of nowhere, but when a huge truck comes up right next to me that I can feel the heat from the engine.

I biked from Richmond to Charlottesville today.
I felt like I was about to die at around the 4oth mile but I kept on going for another 40.
Riding through the dark is mad dangerous.
Got to the hotel at around 10 PM.

For those who were wondering, my mom is actually with me. She's in a car driving about 50 miles ahead or to the next checkpoint and I'd catch up with her and we'd continue.
This way, if I got injured, she could be there to help me.

Distance traveled: 80 miles
Time: 11:30 hours

Biking Across America 6/25 Break Day

2011-06-29T12:05:00.000-07:00

Today was really just a day of rest and planning.
In order to avoid getting lost again, my mom and I spent an entire day just planning our next couple hundred miles on the map.
Toward the end of the the day though we did lose one of our cycling maps but I don't think it will affect us too much as we have other bike routes planned.

By the way, gas prices here are a lot cheaper in VA.
They're like $3.35 while in NJ, they're like $3.60 in some places.

I can't believe I found one of these classic glass coke bottles.
This is the first time I tried one.

Biking Across America 6/24 Day 2

2011-06-29T11:30:00.000-07:00

These posts don't match up in date, partially because I don't have access to a computer until a couple days later when I can update.
Most of the info I blog about is written down in a notebook at the end of each day, so everything is pretty much typed up from there.

So day 2, Friday
I was biking to the Virginia state capital, Richmond, but there was a horrible headwind so it slowed me down a at least 3 mph.
It was a pretty scenic ride going through the countryside and I got to Richmond around 7 at night.
Problem was, I had to get to a motel and it was already starting to get dark.
A GPS that I brought along with me took me to an interstate highway where cyclists aren't allowed, but that was the only way I could get across some river, so I biked on it for a mile or two. Then a lady at the toll booth told me I had to take the next exit off.
Problem was I still wasn't across the river. I asked around the neighborhood and I was so surprised at how hospitable people were.
I eventually got across at around 9 and then biked through a pretty scary Newark-like section for 4 miles until I got to the motel.
Was tired as hell when I went to sleep.

Distance traveled: 60 miles.
Time: 9 hours

Shoutout to Wayland for giving me tons of advice on cycling and leading me through Richmond.

Biking Across America 6/23 Day 1

2011-06-26T22:26:00.000-07:00

I started in Yorktown VA at around 4.
Put my bike into the water and hoped to do the same in San Francisco.
At first, it was kind of nerve wracking going by myself and meeting with my mom 50 miles ahead.
There were just so many things I was considering at one point. The one that bothered me the most was, "Am I even going in the right direction."
I eventually got the hang of reading the map and was pretty much enjoying the scenery from then on out.

I averaged 10 mph today, which is actually kind of slow.
I think it's because I'm not used to riding with the 20 lb load on my back rack.

I got lost in Williamsburg for about an hour but found my way back.
Got lost again after dark - bad idea.
Rode through the forest so all these mosquito, gnats and beetles came out after the sunset and I must have flown into at least a couple hundred of them. They were like little pelts of hail when I biked into them. I think I ate/breathed in 5 of them (protein?) and then one got into my eye.

Got to the campsite around nine. Set up tent and was about to go to sleep when I met these two girls at the place. Talked to them a bit and then slept at around 12.
Couldn't fall asleep the first night and I only got in about two hours of rest.

Distance traveled: 40 miles
Time took [including breaks and getting lost]: 5 hours
Shoutout to Debra for helping me so much at the campsite and in giving me directions.

The Day Before

2011-06-22T20:50:00.000-07:00

I'm in Maryland right now staying at a friends house, halfway to Virginia.
Tommorow my mom and I are going to finish the drive to Yorktown where I'll start the bike trip to San Francisco.
I feel sort of excited yet worried at the same time. Lots of accidents happen on the road and hearing the stories doesn't help my resolve.
Its sorta like that one time a cyclist told me that a guy he was riding with got run over by a truck.
But nevertheless, I'm going to start tommorow.

Now why am I doing this trip?
Don't you feel like your whole life, all you've done - everything you've done, has been for the sole purpose of getting into a good college?
I study for school, I stay awake for school, I get 5 hours of sleep for school.
Finally, I have the time to do somethign for myself, to challenge myself and this is what I decided to do: I decided to bike across America.

So, this is probably going to be a two month trip and I'll see you guys at school near the end of August.
Chris Xia

Globe Panorama

2011-06-18T22:12:00.000-07:00

This is one of the coolest pictures I have ever seen.

Click on it for higher quality.

Waking up

2011-06-17T21:24:00.000-07:00

Waking up in the summer is a pain.

I try to get up at when the alarm ringts but I just keep on hitting the snooze button or letting the alarm clock shut itself up.

Now that I'm actually getting some sleep, I don't know how I ever survived without it during the school year.

I need to stop waking up so late and get something done this summer.

A clock like the one below would be something to get me out of bed...

but such a waste of money.

School's out,

2011-06-16T22:13:00.003-07:00

And I still feel like there's a test tommorow.
I still wake up at 7 in the morning only to realize that I can actually go back to sleep.
I still get hungry just in time for 6th period lunch
and I still go to sleep at the normal school time...at 1.

I'm glad that I finally have some free time now but I think eventually, I'll be wanting to have something fill up my free time or maybe I'll just be like the guy below.

Summer is finally here and I can start blogging again.

It was a stretch

2011-02-01T20:15:00.000-08:00

It was a good stretch
A couple weeks of blogging
But again, I have to take a hiatus from this.
Various reasons I guess? Bad grades, No ideas, Lot of work.
To finish on a good note:

Snow day?

2011-01-26T17:47:00.000-08:00

I just sorta gave up on doing any work tonight. I'd be so screwed if it there was school tomorrow.

Hogwarts

2011-01-25T19:47:00.000-08:00

I hate it when I lose all the bullets in a nerf gun...
Alright, but who cares about that.
I wish I could go to Hogwarts, come back to J.P.S and then use my magic to reek havoc.

One of those days

2011-01-23T11:21:00.001-08:00

Just one of those days where you don't feel like doing anything.
Yet, at the same time, you want to accomplish something because you don't want to go to sleep with that unconfident feeling of having done jack.
SAT's are like leeches
They drain you of all free time and social life before you take the test.
On test day, you spend four hours slowly losing yourself to ten hopelessly mundane sections.
After test day, you feel dead tired and suddenly that Apush project, math test, Spanish essay, AP Lang comp essay has turned into last priority tasks next to sleeping.
I promise this is the last post about the dreaded SAT's for they are now officially over....for at least three weeks.
Quality of picture is pretty bad, click on it to get a better version. >>

Whatever

2011-01-22T22:15:00.000-08:00

I'm done, over with it.
Now I can actually do something meaningful with my life.
Three weeks before scores come out, what can I get done within this time?

LETS GO

2011-01-21T19:34:00.000-08:00

SAT's tomorrow.
LETS DO THIS
Hey, SAT's are not your life, Chris.
You are worth more than a four-digit number. XD

Don't you hate when...

2011-01-19T18:46:00.000-08:00

You study for a test on Sunday night because like many of us out there, you are a last minute-crammer, but then remember that there is no school the next day so you stop. Then Monday night, you re-study the material because it has already leaked out of your brain. Going to sleep, you're totally pumped to take it the next day and all of a sudden, school is closed due to inclement weather.
DAMN.
NOW you have to study AGAIN all the material that you looked over for 2 nights already. What a waste of time. (Well, this might actually help me pass now).
But you know the greatest part is that on Wednesday, when we all come back ready to take the test, the teacher isn't here, so you know, its on Thursday....
Screw studying.

Tiger Mom vs Soccer Mom

2011-01-17T16:19:00.000-08:00

So I was reading a couple reviews and excerpts from the battle hymn of the tiger mother by Amy Chua and I have to say that some of it is probably true.
The book talks about how "Chinese mothers are superior" or oriental parents in general because they hold kids under the snare of of discipline.
A quote from the book:

"My Western friends who consider themselves strict make their children practice their instruments 30 minutes every day. An hour at most. For a Chinese mother, the first hour is the easy part. It's hours two and three that get tough."

Not to mention she wouldn't allow her children "attend a sleepover, have a playdate, be in a school play, complain about not being in a school play, watch TV or play computer games, choose their own extracurricular activities, get any grade less than an A, not be the No. 1 student in every subject except gym and drama, play any instrument other than the piano or violin. "

That's some pretty rough stuff there.
I think the better balance comes somewhere in the middle. Although Chua does bring up many good points and even supports her theories with personal experiences, I don't think a molded kid will come out more successful than a western kid.
Not only will her daughters grow dependent to her mother, but they will also lose a sense of self-identity in the future. I just have a feeling that a mid-life crisis will hit them sooner than "mid-life."
You can't push a teenager too far to the east or too far to the west; its unbalanced feng- shui.

A argument that many western parents bring up is the lack of creativity that Asian students face. I believe this is in part, true; strict parents carefully limit what their children are exposed to. While not applicable to all Oriental students, I have seen this assumption hold true for many people. And in today's world, creativity, or what we like to call, "being weird" separates the future CEO's of America from the future employees of the those CEO's. You can't lead in today's world following another's footsteps - nobody wants another Facebook or Twitter - something new has to be made, something creative, much like Chua's novel.

Costco sale

2011-01-16T17:09:00.000-08:00

I love how my family stocks up on tissues after my sickness XD

SAT's in a week

2011-01-16T10:20:00.000-08:00

Sat tip #whatever: Have mints the day of testing; they wake you up during the most boring long reading passages.

Yeah, other than that, I really don't have much to talk about except that I've been studying these past couple days, well, trying to.

Rough day

2011-01-13T13:38:00.000-08:00

Make up quizzes and tests...Hate them.
Whatever, done and over with them now. Just a whole bunch of them tomorrow now.

I come home and this is the conversation my dad and I had:
D: "Math?"
C:"Good
D:"Science?"
D:"Alright"
D:"Social Studies?"
C:"Not bad"
D:"Spanish?"
C:"Meh"
"English?"
C:"Murr...."
.....Story of my Life

Note to all >> That guy in the picture is not my dad.

no taste

2011-01-11T16:38:00.000-08:00

I can't seem to taste anything today, even though my mom made my favorite dish.
So in the end, I just ate the food for its texture. Stupid sickness makes me all stuffy and dumb. Doctor said I have bronchitis, but I should be fine in a couple days.

Please let there be snow tomorrow. I need another day of rest.

Ridiculously funny picture I found on Tumblr. (Pretty bad quality, click on picture to get better view)

Altough I have never done it, I do have to say that I've wanted to try the last one before.

Lesson I learned

2011-01-10T18:52:00.000-08:00

I feel like this is a lesson I have constantly learned and then forgotten.

Sometimes, I dwell too much on the past and it haunts me - to the point where I can't fall asleep at night.
But some while later, I realize that its all a learning experience and even though I have made a mistake I regret, I have learned from it.

Even when others ridicule you for your blunders, you have to realize that you are the one gaining experience, not them. They are someday going to make the same mistake except maybe 10 times worse while you only suffered minor regrets in high school.

I write this wall post in hopes that someday I or you will look back on it and remember to learn form the past.

That's What She Said

2011-01-09T11:36:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know this is an old joke, but
My friend dropped her only pencil on the ground and was looking for it.
She described it to us as: yellow, thin, and *about this small* (using both hands as measurment)
and I was like "haha, that's what she said..."

Bubble Tea

2011-01-09T09:17:00.001-08:00

Moment of my week: waking up to a nice cup of bubble tea.

A long time ago, my mom and I decided to make bubble tea because we figured it to be too expensive at the Asian supermarkets. So we put together this recipe and we've been using it ever since.
If you ever come over, I'll be make sure to make you a cup.

Saturday

2011-01-08T07:48:00.000-08:00

The weird thing is that I might actually go to sleep later Friday nights than on school nights.
I think its because I spend Monday-Thursday working my ass off and then on Friday, I just feel like having some fun. I waste countless hours on Tumblr, Youtube, or something legit.

But, the great thing about Saturdays is that you really don't wake up until 10...or 1.
I make up for the sleep deficit this way. XP

Alright, this will be the last post about sleep for a while.

Sleep, we just don't get enough

2011-01-07T16:54:00.000-08:00

Sleep, once considered primitive, is now actually a luxury.
While there may be some who pull off the eight hour night, others are dying in class.
Getting out of bed now seems like pulling a ton of weight behind you and extra sleep is practically non-existent.
When coffee is now your water, and napping is the only sleep you get, you know either:
A. You've gotten too much homework
B. You've been on tumblr or you still are on it.
C. You're up stalking someone on Facebook.

A post for Em

2011-01-06T17:53:00.000-08:00

Pictures to make your day

A toast to

2011-01-06T17:35:00.000-08:00

SAT tip #3. Never end a sentence with a preposition like my title: a toast to.

So after a demanding day at school, I come home, chuck my backpack at the spot where its rested for the last 10 years and then do what most teenage boys do-open the fridge.
As I my eyes meticulously scan the shelves with the over-stocked Costco items, I lay my eyes on Yakult.
I take a gulp of this drink and its like half my burden has been washed away.
One of the only things I look forward to besides sleeping these days.
So if you haven't tried it yet, go out and buy one.

Back after Brb

2011-01-05T18:44:00.000-08:00

So It's been a while since the last wall post.
I guess I come on to blog not because I have anything to good to talk about anymore but to put my feelings into words.

I am so infuriated right now that if my eyes could change color, (if I had eyes to begin with) they'd turn into such a flaming hot red that I'd blind myself with anger and burn through anything I layed my eyes on.
Some teachers in our school our great; then there are the ones who just throw out random grades according to personal preference.

I feel as if my meaning of life has turned into grades and SAT's. I always believed you should live for something grand, something great - I was wrong. You know, like in those corny movies where some poor old grandfatherly figure is dying and asks you to lean over a bit so that he could whisper his last dying wish. Then you go through half your life taking care of world hunger or curing AIDS. But then again, that's like saying I wish my life was like a Nicholas Sparks romance.

So what is my path?

End of Summer

2010-08-31T17:10:00.000-07:00

I spent the last day of summer vacation trying to cram in all the summer reading assignments and I still didn't finish.

Oh well, tomorrow starts another year of work.
Good luck and if you don't see a new blog post anytime soon, its because school killed me.

Picture to end on a high note

So what do you do...?

2010-08-20T21:23:00.000-07:00

When you have 500 pages of a summer reading book left,
4 assignments to finish
and SAT class during the day, what do you do?

But enough about that,
I apologize to those people who have lost yet another friend on Facebook.
Parents made me deactivate my it again due to unfinished work.
I hopefully will be getting it back...soon.

Obligation my ASs

2010-08-15T14:51:00.000-07:00

Usually when I read a book, I'll continue reading if its halfway decent, but if its not, I'll just drop it.
This is obviously not the case with summer reading, where you actually are forced to read some of the shittiest books out there. The archetypal example out there, Days of Obligation An Argument with my Mexican Father. Dude, its not even an argument. This book sucks so bad, that it doesn't even deserve a picture on this blog post.
I can't go reading ten pages without being tempted to chuck this book out the window.
Not to mention that the author's metaphoric language doesn't make our lives any easier.

Ok, that's enough ranting. Back to reading.

SAT advice #2

2010-08-12T11:50:00.000-07:00

Use CollegeBoard.
They actually have real tests compared to ones that Barron's or Kaplan's make up.

CollegeBoard's new edition SAT book that looks like this -->
Plus, the color combination is mad nice, so you'll actually look cool carrying that thing around.
I mean, you could even carry it as a prop. People will think you're studying SAT's all the time and equate you with some smart nerd, but then they'll notice the amazing blue-green mosaic and think that you're fashionable too.
And you all thought SAT's made you a social dropout geek.

SAT advice

2010-08-09T20:37:00.000-07:00

So I found this new way to study SAT words the technological way. Basically what you do is search up 2-3 definitions on some dictionary website and leave the tabs there on your web browser for a week while you do your Facebook stalking. This way, you'll always see the word and it'll be engraved into your head. Also, if you ever forget the definition of the word, just click the tab of the word.
Plus, if your parents ever ask you what you're doing on the computer, you can just skip to that vocab tab and say you're studying.
And there you go, the perfect way to score that 2400 on the SAT's.

Summer Reading

2010-08-05T17:28:00.000-07:00

This is my stupid summer reading routine: (probably somewhat matches yours)

Start reading
Get bored after a page
Leave book to check email/facebook
Pick up book again
Read a page, highlight random passage that sounds important
Leave for ice cream
Parents yell at you for not doing work
You say you are and quickly rush back to book
You take the book and throw it on the ground due to lack of understanding or the fact that there are no sparknotes for it.
Check how many pages are left
Pray

Dreams

2010-07-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

I haven't had a nightmare in a while,
but I just so happened to have one the night before.
Which in turns reminds me of the movie "Inception"
I'm not to sure, but I think that was Leonardo DiCaprio at his best.
His quote:
"What's the most resilient parasite? An idea. A single idea from the human mind can build cities. An idea can transform the world and rewrite all the rules."

It just reminds me of every idea I've ever had. It'd irk me until I accomplished that idea and if I didn'd, it would just nag me forever.
But enough of that, just a thought. "What's the worst nightmare you've ever had, and what's the best dream?"
Don't have to reply.

Back

2010-07-28T20:50:00.000-07:00

Excuse the delay in posts, I've been rather busy with classes.
I've been going to sleep at 2 these past couple weeks.
I know to some of you out there, that's nothing, but I usually stay up that late just to finish up homework.

By the way, summer reading is a pain.
Those 500 page books with size 10 font just don't help your eyes at all.
Especially those tedious reports that you have to write afterwards.

So, thought of the day or week, depending on how long before I make another blog post.
Do you ever log on to your Aim and the first thing you do is scroll down and look for that one person who you wish was on?

Insert some nice title here...again

2010-07-09T09:03:00.000-07:00

I've been having pretty eventful days.
Besides the nagging wasted-day feeling where you haven't done any studying, I've been having a plethora (sorry, SAT teacher said to try to use vocab words) of fun.
For example, yesterday, my 10-year old brother ran into my room and started rating girls from 1-10. That was interesting. Apparently, he and I have very similar tastes in guys. I mean, girls.

I've gotten over the whole situation mentioned in the last blog post. Now, I'm just enjoying everything while it lasts.

I came up with a goal that I would run 3 miles in 100 degree weather.
Probably going to try it in August, after I've built up some endurance.

By the way, ignore the completely irrelevant picture. Just thought it was funny.

All Time Low

2010-07-07T14:36:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know that's a band.
Check out the song "The Wanted." by All Time Low
It's really how I feel along with the song "One Shot" by Jason Derulo.
Both songs are also in the ipod to your right.

"Do you know, how do you get up from an all time low,
I'm in pieces" (The Wanted)

"You only get one shot so make it count
You might never get this moment again" (One shot)

I guess it's just nostalgia? I'm having so many flashbacks recently, that it makes me regret every move I made. Looking back, its been so long, but current events have made me think back. I don't even know anymore.

Its a mix of so many emotions, that I can't find the right word. A friend gave me the word "bittersweet" and I guess that's how I should put it.
It's sort of like watching one of your best friends go to be accepted into the greatest school in America, but no being happy for him?
And Yes, I know I'm being vague here.
I hope some of you can piece it together.

Spider on my Head

2010-07-05T17:34:00.000-07:00

I went to get my bike out of the garage but apparently, the top of my head ran into a dangling spider without my knowledge.
Skip to an hour later.
I was doing my math work and I see this spider dangling on a strand of web right in front of my face.
I look up to see where it was coming from but when I did, the spider flew back, and onto my left cheek.
That was scary...
I probably washed my left cheek a couple times.
I don't think I'd put a picture up of that scenario because that would freak people out.
So on a lighter note, here's something funny I found.

Blah BLaH Blah

2010-07-03T20:22:00.000-07:00

Think you're getting this,
Nah Nah Nah...

Actually, I just ran out of things to say.
I'll just make these blog posts shorter but I'll definitely update more often.

By the way, if you haven't watched Toy Story 3 in 3D yet, you better watch it soon. It was too good.

Insert some nice title here...

2010-06-26T08:33:00.000-07:00

First blog post of the summer and of many more to come...due to my impending boredom.
Rather uneventful start to a summer I had high hopes for.
So, I've just stared at this screen for the last 15 minutes, having on idea what to write about, so I''ll just speak my mind.

That coupon on my desk looks awfully tempting, maybe I'll go buy something.
Wait...Its expired from 6/4/2009. Nevermind.

Report card is sitting next to me; maybe I should open it. On second thought, the history final was really hard. Nevermind.

For some odd reason, I want to see the Notebook. Not because it's some hopelessly romantic movie, but because there was a song that really interested me. Sigh, but then I'd have to borrow it from the library, and then costs a dollar. Nevermind then.

The piano on my right looks awfully tempting to play, but my brother spilled apple juice on the keys so now its all sticky. I'll play it later...

Maybe I'm just feeling awfully listless right now.
I found this picture, thought it reflected my childhood Lego days.

Meaning of Life

2010-03-05T17:06:00.000-08:00

If you think about it, we usually ask what the meaning of life is when we are depressed and questioning our existence.
You're not going to be like, "why was I born, why do I have to suffer through all this, why did I fail that alg 2 test" when you are happy.
You're probably going to ask those questions when you're under pressure or just plain sad.

But I found the meaning of life for all you ponderers out there.
It is, the number42...no I'm jk.
Saw this on the internet:

The Meaning of Life Explained. On the first day, God created the dog and said, "Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.." The dog said, "That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?" So God agreed......
On the second day, God created the monkey and said, "Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span." The monkey said, "Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the dog did?" And God agreed......
On the third day, God created the cow and said, "You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years." The cow said, "That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?" And God agreed again......
On the fourth day, God created humans and said, "Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years." But the human said, "Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?" "Okay," said God. "You asked for it."
So that is why for our first twenty years, we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years, we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years, we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years, we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone. Life has now been explained to you...

Actually, this is probably not the meaning of life, but really just for all you who need something to laugh at...like the picture of shit shown in the older blog post.

LOl...

2010-03-02T17:32:00.001-08:00

I was laughing a couple days ago at the most retarded things ever.
I think I'm going crazy.
Because something that would usually cause me to worry, now just makes me laugh.
I mean, do you ever feel so piled up with pressure that you don't believe anything else could possibly go wrong?
Yea, well, I was feeling like this a couple days ago and then something worse happened.
I just started laughing because I couldn't believe that it would get worse and it did.
It was like bad shit on top of bad shit.
Yea...

Man In the Mirror

2010-02-26T20:15:00.001-08:00

This is another one of my corny ones, so read with caution...

Sometimes I look in the mirror and I see a totally different person.
There will be times when I'm proud of what's there
and there are times when I see nothing.

What I mean by this is not the face or the figure, but being able to see yourself.
Sometimes I feel like I'm just a void taking up space in the world.
And that's what I feel now. (well, maybe for today, or this week) I generally don't know how long these feelings last.
It's the kind of feeling you have when you have everything just piling up onto your shoulder and then crashing down on you.
Now, it's really all up to how fast I can pick up everything I dropped.

No Insightful Blogpost Today (Pictures)

2010-02-22T16:06:00.000-08:00

I thought this picture was worth putting up. This was when I dressed up for Chinese New Year.

Some pics I found interesting

And I just found these pics to be interesting

The Last Samurai

2010-02-19T15:08:00.000-08:00

Many good movies make you think even after you're done with them.
Bad movies just make you wish you got your money and time back.
...I'm thinking and just decided to blog about it.

The Last Samurai has sheer power in its sword yet a romantic quality that makes a blade of metal all that more powerful.

I can't but help think of all the messages this movie has portrayed.
I know that sometimes, teachers will delve into hidden meanings that you know the author never intended on inserting.
However, this move makes it quite clear, the lessons of our past.

Our ancestors and our parents have shaped us into what we are today.
Sometimes, we forget this and disrespect the people who have molded us.

The samurais had such a respect for the elderly and the deceased, they sacrificed themselves for the honor of their family. Such discipline and such a code of honor have deteriorated over time into the modern age.

So basically, my point is, next time you find yourself screaming and yelling at your parents because they didn't let you go to a party our because they pressure you too much into getting that good alg 2 grade, just remember what they made you into.

"Life is like drawing without an eraser"
Everything you put down on paper is in pen.

Rock Bottom

2010-02-15T18:47:00.000-08:00

Looking back at things, I thought of a metaphor.
"When you fall like a rock, you hit rock bottom."

Now take this quote and relate it back to life.
Sometimes, the fall from a cliff is a long fall.
Sometimes, you really only roll down a hill.

When you hit ground zero,
Sometimes you break.
Sometimes you're only cracked.

Now what?
Sometimes, strong people will clean up after themselves and climb back up.
Sometimes, weak people will just wallow in self pity.

However, notice how the climb up is always longer and harder than the fall down.

The question is...which "sometimes" are you?

Snow

2010-02-10T12:17:00.000-08:00

If you didn't already know, my facebook said "If 111 of you like this, i will wear chinese new year fob clothes on friday...plus a pigtail..." (p.s. I forgot about the no hats in school thing, so there won't be a pigtail because its attached to the hat)
I really didn't expect it to make 111 in 2 days, totally unforseen...

Btw, Snow is great, it means no school or extra sleep.
And it also means that I won't have to wear a Chinese new year fob outfit on Friday if there's no school.