I (Mark) have been developing spiritually over the past few years and am very open to the influence of the Divine Mother in my daily life. She lives within each and every living being and influences the timing, luck, and eventual outcome of all of our lives. This influence is omnipresent, however, those who are open to and welcome the connection with Allah are those that benefit the most. The practice of Kriya Yoga, meditation, study, reflection, and service can develop an individual’s spiritual energy and karma.

I am no longer surprised by the miraculous events that shape the lives of everyone I know. These extremely low probability events occur much more often than they statistically should and the impact of such events is substantially greater than we could have ever expected.

With an eye seeking the divine, one can quickly spot serendipity or the work the Great One. Perhaps Louis Pasteur said it best with his famous quotation, “chance favors the prepared mind.”

I recognize that my natural talents alone can not get me where I want to go. Only with the strength and power of the almighty on my side is it possible. My life, with all of its privilege, is by no means due to my sole efforts or ability. I’m grateful for the invisible hand (of both Adam Smith and God) that have diligently guided me to where I am today.

The 3Guys1Bike team has recently encountered a chain of events that is clearly indicative of the Divine working its magic here on Earth. We know many, many people back home and around the world are praying and thinking of us during this trip. Their collective power has manifested itself in the form of police officers threatening arrest, local “townies” with seemingly unlimited stories, killer pot holes, wet ditches, quality uncles that coincidently are highway safety experts,  bridge grates, mechanical issues, lack of supplies, horrible weather and road conditions, and the shocking death of a beloved pet dog.

As we rest here in New Orleans and reflect upon what we have endured to this point it is obvious to all of us that the 3Guys on 1Bike should all be dead by now. How we managed to survive is beyond reason and mathematical probability. In retrospect, its truly amazing. Our survival is testament that we are “lucky” or favored in Yahew’s eyes.

A simple encounter at 25 mph with an invisible pot hole along HWY 90 at 330am on a Saturday morning with wet roads, steamy weather, and dense fog, would have sent the 3Guys eating pavement. Any vehicle behind or to the side of us traveling at the pace of traffic (55-80mph) would have no idea of our predicament. We would easily be killed.

We crashed. But did not die. Why? I’m not sure. But we’re all thankful we did not end up like the guy whose blog we were following that ceased suddenly  (due to his death caused by a drunk driver). We’re glad Brian Hughes of the Crestview Bulletin told us about a friend of his that attempted a TransAmerica ride but fell short in NM when he was hit by a truck and severely injured.

Although highway monuments indicating the death of loves ones could potentially be good for a business interest of mine, it certainly does not seem appealing at this juncture. I’m shocked at the number of highway markers we’ve witnessed thus far that illustrate the dangers of the road (even the rural roads between ghost towns). The large majority of these deaths occurred in vehicles. Bicyclists, of course, have no protective barrier that an automobile would provide. In addition to the incessant reminders we see everyday in the form of crosses, flowers, and circular signs with random names, an uncle of mine that has spent many years studying highway safety has been able to provide very convincing, fact based arguments that make us re-think our strategy.

The benefit of youth is that we don’t know what we cannot do. With experience we learn what is foolish. We learn how to allocate risk according to our priorities.

With a string of recent near death experiences and serendipitous encounters, we decided to get some rest in New Orleans and re evaluate our objectives for this trip.

We cannot ignore the remarkable timing of particular events. We must recognize those events and encounters as being indicative of divine love.

As captain of this team, I have fiduciary responsibility to bring back all the troopers in good health. As my dad likes to say, “if you don’t have your health, you have nothing at all.” With that being said, I am not comfortable pushing our grueling pace and accepting as much risk as we have in the past. We were lucky. Lets be grateful, count our blessings and adjust our strategy to accomplish our objectives safely.

The priorities of the 3Guys1Bike Team are:

1)      Come home safely and in better overall health than at the start of the trip (physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually).

2)      Raise awareness for the Mercy & Sharing Foundation by sharing as many stories as possible with local townies.

3)      Maximize odds of serendipitous encounters.

4)      Enjoy a sabbatical from our daily routines. Take advantage of the freedom and time we have to contemplate our lives and evaluate if our actions are in line with our priorities. It is too easy to get stuck in a routine, accept the normal, and ignore the blessings of God.

5)      Build confidence in ourselves to do the extraordinary by transforming radical ideas to tangible reality. Since God lives within all of us and God is synomonous with Creation, the more we recognize we are one with God, the more faith we have we too can Create our own reality.

6)      Make it to California.

In short we can say that we are looking to take a more relaxed pace. One that accomplishes our objectives without taking unnecessary risks. If we have to skip some miles, we are ok with it. Doing every mile of this trip is not as important as the other objectives.

My uncle Jerry says, “Discretion is the better part of valor.”

We are going to have an amazing adventure, develop stories that last a lifetime, and produce a truly awesome documentary (thanks to Steven Harris).

Today you’ll find the 7 members of the 3Guys1Bike Team in

In other news:

• 3 of the 7 team members now have Mohawks.
• We rode past a USES location in
• Baton Rouge this morning.

• Its hot as hell

• New Orleans is one of the coolest cities ever

• We are not looking forward to TEXAS

• Beth is having a hard time going #2. We threw a party yesterday when the rush came after digesting magnesium citrate

• John, Fred, and Stewart generate ridiculous amounts of natural gas….which is typically funny (unless you’re with them 24/7)

• Jambalaya is one of the Team’s favorite foods

• Tee Eva’s makes the best pies in the world

• Fred gets hungry….a lot

• Whole Foods is the best grocery store EVER

• Victor Perez and Jason Hicks are the two of the top 5 coolest guys we know

•  JROD hooked us up with awesome Virginia Tech gear.

 The limiting factors to our biking is not muscle soreness. Its (1) saddle sores (2) lack of sleep. We’re investing in new seats.

AL/MS/LA will go down quickly. We have a friend in New Orleans that will put us up for a night.

we’re taking a much more relaxed pace than our first day/night. That first night was absolutely brutal. We’re trying to enjoy this trip more than that first 24 hours.

 We pick up our good bud, Andrew Stewart, tonight in Pensacola. He is going to be a great addition to this team and take the level of fun to a whole new level.

Getting to New Orleans is our next major goal. We might have to take some time off when we get there.

 - Sir Fredrich

We were covered in fire ants after our first 30 miles from Lake City. Then a cop came and told us to get off the road. He was mean.

Butts hurt. We’re tired. Cant think. No time to write.  must sleep.

 John, serving as rear admiral, almost fell off a bridge crossing the St. John’s River. We hit draw bridge grates at 25 mph, in pouring rain, poor visibility, and fish tailed about 2-3 feet. The day almost ended early. John would have been spent after a 2 mile swim to shore.  At about 4:30am we nailed a serious pot hole and completely lost control. Thank God there was no traffic…we ended up on between the two lanes of traffic.

We stopped at a gas station to get more batteries. Fred got lost….for an hour. long story. we found him and got back on the road. last 10 miles into Lake City were brutal. more from lack of sleep than anything.

our butts hurt.

we’re exhauted.

bye.

Mark

I’ll turn this phone on at the starting line in St Augustine on Thursday August 30 at 8pm and will not turn it off until we reach San Diego.

I ask that you try to reach the team via cell phones first (my cell is 804.647.0662). If not successful, then please feel free to use the satellite phone.

Thanks, Mark

 1) My scooter is worth $1,500. After 3000 miles it will be either destroyed or worth $100. I already have too much $ into this event to lose another $1,000.

2) Scooter’s max range is 60 miles, which means we need to carry gas. Not fun or safe.

3) I dont like liability of people that have no scooter riding experience driving on country roads in the middle of the night for 150-180 miles a day with a 49cc scooter fully loaded with gas, water, gatorade, protein shakes, bananas, steaks, and spare bicycle parts.

4) Champ is a great back up when Betsy blows a gasket. We leave Betsy in a ditch and we carry on without any delay.

5) Champ is fully depreciated. By fully depreciated i mean its worth about $200 max and gets about same gas mileage as scooter.

6) I cant get my bike rack off Champ. So it will be best to carry support team bikes on Champ instead of bus.

7) Support team will want a nimble vehicle for their daily explorations. For example, the first day they will spend at a bunch of natural springs in central FL, i dont want them to have to drive Betsy (she’s clumsy, taxing, and expensive).

Scooter WILL break down. Its meant for 1-2 mile trips around town. Not 3159 miles in 3 weeks. If scooter is in bus its incredibly uncomfortable (especially with 4 people and full of our other stuff). People will have to be strapped to the roof.

9) I’m ok letting the support team (i.e. Beth) paint Champ any way she likes.

I’m willing to donate Champ to this cause, provided, however, that someone volunteers to drive it back to FL at some point. Its my only 4 wheeled transportation, i’ve had it for more than 10 years, and do not want to leave it in Cali. I’ll pay for gas.

Mark 

Beth, we need to think about the best way to record the number of bananas eaten. Save the peels in air tight container? Have Steve make a DVD montage of our monster consumption?

We should also try to get creative about ways to eat bananas. My favorite is jugo de banana, banana bread, raw, mixed with black beans, bananas with peanut butter, bananas with nutella, bananas with chocolate, bananas with orange juice, bananas with milkshakes, bananas in a sandwhich, bananas in a fruit salad, bananas wrapped in spinach, bananas with mandarin oranges, bananas in muffins, bananas in cookies, banana loaf…

Mark

 Bikers start biking anytime between 9pm-midnight every night. Bikers bike until 9am to noon the next day (or until their legs fall off).

The support team finds place to sleep (checks in / sets up camp / flirts with girls). Cyclists eat a ton of food and fall asleep at noon or so. They sleep until 8pm, wake up, eat a ton of food, then start biking. Support crew entertains themselves between noon and 8pm everyday. Support crew joins cyclists for lunch (at noon) and dinner (at 8/9 pm). Support crew sleeps from midnight (or whenever the bars close) till 8am. Support crew checks out of hotel, breaks camp, then drives Betsy (and Scooti) to catch up with cyclists. They find place to sleep. Find good place to eat. Rinse, wash, and repeat.

 I like this because it allows us to have one hotel room for 24 hour period (saves $!) and is more comfortable for all (not eleventy gazillion people sleeping in same place at same time). Everyone gets a bed!

NELBUD shall contribute ten cents per pedaled mile and five dollars per banana consumed (exclusive to the riders) over the duration of the voyage with the following proviso: The final tally of miles traveled and bananas eaten must be presented personally. Because we have no other means of authenticating the accounting, the presenter must present his accounting orally, while bouncing on one foot, scratching his left armpit with his left hand and scratching his ass with his right hand. By this means, NELBUD shall feel assured that enough bananas were eaten.

May GOD Bless and accompany every inch of your journey!