The Epileptic Cyclist

Leaving Newport I had a wonderful tailwind, and I needed it if I was going to make it to Poplar Bluff, Missouri by the end of the day! I was continuing along old highway 67, and once again I didn't stop for lunch, opting for peanut butter and some danishes that I snagged from the motel breakfast. I made it to Walnut Ridge and rode on the first dedicated cycle path of my whole trip! Sadly, it only lasted a few miles, and I was quickly back on the highway. My tailwind was so strong that whenever I turned and it was a crosswind, I could see dragonflies just hovering, unable to move forward against it. Between Pocahontas and Corning, suddenly the weather changed. The wind completely flipped and I was fighting to even move. It got extremely cold and suddenly started pouring. I made it safely to a building on Datto so I could hide under the awning, and waited out the storm. It let up after about an hour, but the radar showed more coming, so I left towards Corning, trying to...

Leaving the hotel in Little Rock this morning, I wanted to check out a local bike shop, so I headed to Spokes Little Rock. I'm going to start by saying that this is the coolest shop I've ever been in, with super cool employees and a coffee shop.  I sat down and talked with some of the dudes for a while and they hooked me up with a free drink at the coffee bar, which led me to find out the shop is owned by the owners of intelligentsia coffee, a big name on the cycling racing scene! I hung out for about an hour before I went to hit the road, making it a pretty late start, leaving town around noon. I rode historic highway 67, which took me through Jacksonville, a town that holds lots of civil war sites. I got a bit turned around in Searcy, but eventually found my way back to my route, adding about 12 miles to my day. I decided to skip lunch since today was starting so late and such high mileage, and just ate a bit of peanut butter every time I...

Leaving Arkadelphia, I decided to take a detour and go sightseeing in Hot Springs, home of Bill Clinton.  It was about a 20 mile ride from Arkadelphia to Hot Springs so I got there around 11 and checked out the downtown area, and stopped by Parkside Cycles to chat with the guys there. After filling up my bottles from some natural cold springs I was on my way, heading up highway 7 towards Little Rock. This was the most climbing I've done so far on this trip, sitting on the edges of the Ozarks, so I was doing some mild mountain climbing and I was very thankful for the low gearing I had put on my bike. With rain in the forecast I was trying to get to Little Rock before the bad weather, but it wasn't looking good. I made it to Benton around 2 in the afternoon and grabbed a quick snack at a gas station, then jumped right back on the bike. My Godfather was nervous about me camping in Little Rock and so generously got me a hotel for the night, which I really appreciated. About ...

I didn't really have a set town in mind for the end of the day, just the idea that I was going to ride until I wanted to settle down somewhere. I'm only riding one road all the way through Arkansas, so I hopped on highway 67 and started rolling. The highway has an amazing shoulder, in some places smoother than the actual road, and I felt comfortable all day.      Compared to the hills of East Texas, my route was fairly flat, and though it was still windy, it wasn't as strong as the first day. I made it to Fulton after about an hour and a half and crossed the red river on my way to hope.  I stopped at a Tailgaters Burger Co in hope about an hour later and sat down to escape the heat and fill my stomach. Looking at my map, I was thinking that I would stay in Gurdon for the evening, so I had about 35 miles to go. As I walked out of the burger joint, my rear tire was completely flat, and I discovered the wire bead on my tire had come loose and stabb...

This kind of blew up online, so for all the people I don't know, I apologize once again for my poor writing. Leaving from home I had a little send off with my family, and started pedaling at about 9 o'clock in the morning, starting in the North side of Longview.  I had ridden or driven through a lot of this country before, so while there was a bit of sightseeing, I mainly focused on putting in mileage. However, if you've never been to East Texas, I really do recommend it. The countryside in East Texas is gorgeous and full of lush natural scenery.  For this trip I have a goal of averaging 100 km a day (63 miles), which would put me there in 2 weeks, but I'm not really afraid to push on further if I feel good, which is exactly what I did. I didn't anticipate how hard the first day would be though, I was pushing into a 13 mph headwind and the entire route was rather hilly. Even considering that, I felt like I was going slower than normal, and later ...

I'm a little proud of my bike. My Specialized Secteur is not the highest end of bikes, is not really designed for trips like this, and many people are scared to tour on carbon and aluminum, but I think she's beautiful. This is the bike that got me into cycling, the bike that I did my first race on, the bike that I won the collegiate season with at UNT, and will be the bike that I ride 930 miles across 4 states from Longview to Chicago. I've made a few changes since I first got her to make touring a bit more comfortable and feasible, including swapping out the rear derailleur for a mountain bike rear derailleur to fit a huge gear on the back, and swapping to bar end shifters instead of brifters. Some of this is going to get really technical to people that don't know much about bikes so I apologize in advance. Specs: Frameset: Specialized Secteur Crankset: Shimano Claris compact double Front Derailleur: Shimano Claris Rear Derailleur: Sram X9 10 s...

Howdy. My name's Kanten, and while I'm generally making this blog for friends and family to be able to keep up with my upcoming trip, I figured I'd introduce myself a bit too. I don't really have any experience blogging so I'm sorry if this is a total bore, but hopefully not!  Me at the World Series in Chicago-29th of October, 2016 I'm 20 years old from Longview, Texas and attended UNT for the past two years, but I'm not planning on returning in the fall. I'm a competitive cyclist that struggles with epilepsy but still harbors dreams of being a pro cyclist one day, so in the fall I will be training and racing with the Williams Racing Academy based out of Wimberly, Texas.  I decided at the beginning of this summer that I wanted to do a bicycle tour of some significant length, and with my love for Chicago and The Cubs, I felt that The Windy City would be the perfect destination. I'll be riding a Specialized Secteur, which I'll...