Greetings from Carnarvon, West Australia!
Javier and I have been facing particularly brutal circumstances lately: 45 degree C temperatures which equal over 110 degrees F. Yesterday it was 49 C or almost 125 F in a town we passed through. Coupled with a 30 mph headwind (it goes down to 15-20 m.p.h during the night) and the heat still being over 100 F in the evening (till 8:30 p.m.) we decided to make an adjustment. This seems reasonable to most people that we talk to. However, Javier and I are somewhat embarrased by this decision and feel that although it was the wisest decision, we still let ourselves down. We decided to accept a lift from a Truck driver for 800 kilometers (500 miles). The conditions were so brutal and the heat wasn't allowing us to sleep during the day either. Our physical and mental condition was deteriorating. Javier and I will make up the difference further south (Western Australia and South Australia) where the conditions are more accomdating to bicycling. We have not accepted lifts before so this was a tough decision to make. However, due to the severity of this climate we felt it necessary for our own survival. The temperatures on the road during the day feel like being in a steam room. Our tires are melting faster and we can hear and smell the rubber on the semi-truck drivers also melting. It is hard to imagine that Christmas is so close. This is a hard time of year to be away from my family and friends! I miss you all TERRIBLY! The other day I heard Louie Armstrong singing a Christmas Carol (while shopping for a 4-day supply of food in a supermarket) and it brought me to tears. Dealing with basic survival instincts leaves my emotions very much at the surface. Javier, my Spanish riding companion, commented after averaging 10 kilometers per hour over a 15 hour period, that "this isn't a challenge, it's torture"! I hope you are not disappointed in us. Overall, I feel it will be the best decision and it will make the trip more enjoyable as well. Also, when we can average 20 kilometers per hour instead of 10 we spend less money and we can get back to our destination sooner. We are being booted out of the Carnarvon Library for now because of a 1-hour time limit on the computer. We will post and send more photos later. Thanks again for your interest and keep those donations coming into Boys to Men!

Greetings from Broome, WA.

It is Saturday, Nov. 28. I sure missed everyone over Thanksgiving! Javier cooked up some mashed potatoes and I added some braised steak and onions. It just wasn't the same in the Willare Road House as it is at my friend Theron's house in St. Louis, MO. But Javier and I have been good riding companions. There is a ... See Moreproverb that says: "As iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another." We have been battling intense heat, over 100 F and headwinds that have literally sapped our strength. A few days back we actually caught a tailwind and rode 290 kilometers from Halls Creek to Fitzroy Crossing in one day. That is exactly 184 miles - a personal best for Javier and myself. The next day we were "a bit tired" and sent our water "on ahead" about 50 miles with another traveller who promised to deposit our 2-5 gallon containers of water next to a rest area sign. (There is no water in the rest areas in Western Australia so we have to carry a two day supply with us. It weighs down the bike incredibly. When we got 50 miles down the road we were horrified to find out that our water wasn't there. The next water stop was about 100 miles down the road. Motorists filled up their empty 2 liter containers and we were able to get to the next destination. Unfortuantely we are never able to eat enough and one day Javier and I both felt that we "would fall off the bike because of the heat/hunger".

The roadhouses are incredibly expensive so we try to carry our own salmon, tuna, baked beans, coffee, gatorade, bread, vegemite, etc.. with us. The pictures that I am sending of Javier were taken today in Broome. We visited a bike shop in Broome because one of my trailer tires was finished after only 1,000 miles. The bike shop owner, Moe (looks like a Harleiy Biker dude) gave me a free tire. Great bloke! Instead of shopping in the supermarkets Javier climbed up coconut trees and we went "crusing through the suburbs of broome eating mangos from the tree. Mangos go for $2-3.00 in the store so we reckon that we saved about $50.00 in food expenses.

The issue of expenses is a big concern for me. The trip was begun on a shoe string budget and I believe that I need to complete what I started. The whole Boys to Men organization is about transitioning from boyhood to manhood. That involves finishing what you start and being a man of your word. Javier has dealt with drugs, alcohol and legal issues while he was a teenager. His parents responded by getting him out of the familiar environment that wasn't going to change in order for him to make better choices. His parents sent him to the United States where he was able to put the drugs and alcohol behind him and become an incredilby motivated and mature young man.

I have been thinking a lot about programs like Teen Challenge where young people are removed get removed from all the influences that contribute to them continuing to waste their lives on drugs and alcohol. I am considering posibly working for that organization when I come back because people are forced to make decisions and not just continue on with the same behavior that is hurting them. I will post a video of Javier's comments concerning how his life has moved forward since his partying days. It's great. OK, back to my concerns.

I hope to find employment in Perth, West Australia. (I am not supposed to be working so I hope the wrong people don't read this). I have domestic expenses at home that I am still paying and am trying to live as frugally as possible here. Unfortunately the cost of living is much more expensive in Australia than I could have ever imagined. Unless something major happens I won't be able to have the financial resources to complete the trip. I want nothing more than to finish what I start. I believe that is the message that I want to convey from this trip: If you have a dream you need to pursue it and once you start it, no matter how difficult, you follow through and complete it. A man takes care of himself, his business and his family.

This trip is NOT A V ACATION! It is a challenge. Going to Disneyland is a vacation. There have been very enjoyable aspects of this trip i.e. like scuba diving with my son Samuel and other hilarious tings. However, it is a very real physical, financial and mental challenge. I am extrejmely grateful to be doing this at age 53 but I want you all to know that it is taking everything that I've got. I'm sorry if this sounds a bit extreme but I want people to know what I'm dealing with over here. For all of you who believe in a God who is greater than (and not part of) nature please pray for some tailwinds for Javier and I. That means it will take a much shorter time to arrive at our destination - and a much more enjoyable experience. Imagine what it feels like to struggle hard to go 6 miles per hour in 100 F heat. Or peddling hard to go downhill. This is why I'm extremely glad to have Javier as a travelling companion now. We find ways to help each other and make each other laugh. I hope you enjoy the videos that we're sending along.

All the best from Broome! Finally!

SUNDAY OCTOBER 11, 2009

I want to thank some of you for posting your comments and staying in touch. Phil, from the YMCA in Waukegan. I contacted Trinity Cycle Shop in Cairns and a German mechanic named Oliver made some mechanical adjustments to my bike. My rear tire only lasted 1,200 miles. I got squared away with new tubes, an extension to move my handlebars up, etc.

Thank you Emma and John (In Sydney), for putting up Sam and taking him back to the airport. Thank you Maggie and Dave Cruz for keeping me posted on your status. I recknon, Maggie, that I will be in Perth in about 6 weeks or longer. Sorry to hear about yur step mom. I’ll call you a few weeks in advance. Hope to get to Darwin in 3 weeks..first few days in November.
I want to thank my cousin Michael Schmidt for providing some humorous entertainment on his own facebook page. Hey Mike, we haven't talked in years. It's great "seeing and hearing" from you again. The hospitality has been awesome around here. The water bottle incident was an isolated situation. Right now I am in Townsville, Qld after meeting a guy at a rest area. He said I’d have a place to stay if I came to Townsville. That’s how I’m writing you all now. Just ate some rabbit stew…tastes a lot like chicken.

Ok, Sam left on Wednesda. I leave Cairns on Thursday after the interview with the Cairns Post. They asked me why I'm doing this trip. I said it was the coming together of a lot of things at the right time.
#1: Sam was thinking of doing the trip at the same time as me. We got to be together for a few weeks and have a good time together. The scuba diving was awesome. Meeting the international community has been great too. I know Sam would agree. #2 Doing this ride to bring attention to Boys to Men and the need for male initiationwas a great way to combine my own passion with a worthy cause. Life is about connecting to others and living from a focus. Sam has that focus for himself right now…getting his Green Beret tab. His own accomplishment of making special forces underscores this point. #3. Unplugging from the Matrix and fast paced lifestyle to catch my breath and gear up for what I will do next with my life. #4 This is a pilgimage of sorts for me. My girlfriend, Paula, bought John Bunyon’s Pilgim’s Progress for me. It parallels a lot of what my life is about right now.
OK, so I tell the newspaper that and then leave Cairns. It's like 11:30 a.m. Sam and I have had headwinds 90% of the time up the coast. Coming down the coast I'm hit with headwinds again. What gives???? The following day it's the same thing. I was hoping to do 210 k's (125 miles) into Townsville. Instead I only do 90 miles. I was having pain in my neck and figured out that I needed to take off the camelback when I am riding. It’s causing some twinging in the neck. No problems today. Last Saturday Sam and I slept in a Caravan Park that had a swimming pool but also had biting gnats. I remember asking God to help me find a caravan park with a swimming pool without the gnats. I also asked for a little company. It gets lonely at times biking by myself. So I made the decision after 9 ½ hours of ‘biking against the wind’. Sometimes my mentality is just push, push, push. Well, I pull into this campground just 65k’s from Townsville and they have a swimming pool and NO GNATS!!! I slept in the barbeque area and had some covering because it rained during the night! I also had some great company meeting up with a Dutch couple Nicholas and Elizabeth. Nicholas had just recovered from brain and throat cancer..he now has prostrate cancer and the doctors have given him 3 months to live. We had a wonderful conversation. I just finished reading Pilgim’s Progress and thought Nicholas would enjoy the read. I got to lighten the load on my bike a little too. Always dealing with how to make the load a little lighter. Right now I carry about 21/2 gallons of liquid on my bike (including my liter water bottle which is filled with coffee). It’s hard to live out of a suitcase but I’m getting better at it. Tomorrow I head due west from Townsville into ‘No Man’s Land’. There are longer areas with nothing in between. I will be carrying more water and doing some night riding. I rode in the dark two nights ago. It wasn’t that bad but the traffic is still kind of heavy. I will wait til the traffic dies down a bit. Time to sign out and take a shower.

Monday, October 5, 2009
Sam and I will be rolling into Cairns tomorrow. Picking up the Klein t-shirts. I told Sam to contact the Lake County News Sun and do a little story with them when he gets back. MKP blokes have been treating us good. The heat is kicking my ass. Gonna have to do some night riding. I'm drinking like 4 gallons of water per day. Sam leaves from Cairns in three days. I'll miss him. He is a very strong person. Definitely knows what he wants. Kind of reminds me of Jacob (before God took out his hip in the wrestling match).
G'Day,
The kangaroo meat was great. The other day we got into a town called Porsepine, Queensland. Sam averaged over 20 m.ph. I was around 19 m.p.h. We were so hungry. The following day the owner, John Hil put "on a feed" for us. Sam already bought two large t-bones. John put three more steaks on, plus kangaroo meat, prawns, potaties,etc. We ate it all. A few hours later we're hungry again. Hard to imagine that Sam and I have both lost almost 20 lbs and all we do is eat! Sam left for Sydney and then on to Special Forces training in Ft. Benning, GA. I'll miss him. I think we really pushed each other. He did well in getting around in another country and getting on with a whole bunch of international travellers in this youth hostel that we have been staying in. It is called The Gilligan and people from all over the world are here. Yesterday we went scuba diving. I overcame my fear of sharks. Sam saw one in his first dive. I didn't see any. What an incredible experience.

So it felt wierd to trust the air tanks to breathe for me. We went way out onto the Great Barrier Reef - about 1 1/2 hours east of Cairns by boat. I got seasick and barfed in a bag. Sam caught it on video tape. I gave him my permission to put it on facebook. Don't know if he will. Very enjoyable to overcome a fear of doing something that I've always wanted to do, but there is a sense of danger and uncertainty. I would love to scuba dive again. Sam is thinking about getting certified. Tomorrow I pick up my bike from The Trinity Bike Shop in Cairns, QLD. A german bloke named Oliver is doing some mechanical adjustments. I'm getting a special german tire because I've had too many flats. The tire is almost $100.00 but it's worth it. The Cairns Post is interested in doing an interview also. Then I leave south afterwards. Went grocery shopping tonight: canned tuna, wheat bread, bananas, a lot of carbs. Will probably start night riding to find a way to beat the heat. Thanks for the positive comments!

Wednesday October 7, 2009
Sam is leaving in about one hour. I'm having a problem with the reoccurence of some carpel tunnel in my left hand. Going to a bike shop today and getting some stronger tires (I've had about 15 flats). Going to get a German tire that is a lot more thorn proof. We went scuba diving on the Great Barrief Reef yesterday!!!!! It was awesome! Took my breath away. I will contact the media in Cairns after Sam leaves in 1 1/2 hours. I am spending the night at the Youth Hostel in Cairns and will leave tomorrow - Oct. 9 to head southward to Townsville. I may have a place to stay. I'm looking into getting a lighter sleeping bag. It's real hot here now, 90's. Going to do some night riding because of water, weight and heat . Went out with Sam and some of his younger buddies. They all said "This is so cool doing this with your dad. I know my dad would never do something like this with me." Our relationship is definitely getting stronger. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed some of the pictures. It takes way too long to send all of them. I know some aren't that good but it's for Facebook and I know we don't need that much resolution. OK mates. Thanks for ALL of your support. Read Psalm 105, "Look to the LORD and his strength, seek his face always." Blessings, Ken

Thursday, October 8, 2009
Sam had to leave at 1:55 p.m. He flew out. I told him to contact Lake County News Sun and do a follow up article with Liz Kramer when he gets back. He said he would. I will meet with the media tomorrow for an interview at 9:00 a.m. at the Trinity Bike Shop. I will be heading south to Townsville and then turning into the dry hot desert for a 1800 mile to the next big city, Darwin, Northern Territory. I look forward to contacting the local media there because they interviewed me 27 years ago, before and after I completed the trip. I am correcting some mechanical problems with the bike - too many flats, the seat and stem not situated right, wrong sized tubes from TREK, etc. I bought a carpet tunnel brace, unfortunately my carpel tunnel is coming back. I'm doing the best I can.


So Sam left Oct. 8 (Thursday). He'll be back in the states on Saturday I think. I told him to contact the News Sun of Lake County and talk about some of his experiences with semis, heat and other close calls. Kangaroo meat... It tasted like hot dogs. Next fear I have to overcome is eating witchety grubs. I think I'll go for them cooked first.