The Legend of Gary Robbins

The ride toward Springfield was hot and nearly flat. Gary came and met me a little north of Springfield. He took me back to his house, but we had a beer at the nightclub he used to own. Little did I know I was staying with the most popular man in town. I met his wife Ray Lynn; she’s a beautiful yoga instructor with a studio in their house. After I grabbed a shower and washed my clothes, we went to Grad-School. I had the Rasta-Pasta; penne covered in spicy marinara with perfectly cooked jerk chicken. I wondered why the ice was instead of cubed, I only recently found the answer:

“People with a common iron deficiency develop a habit of chewing on ice, as its easier to chew crushed then cubed ice, restaurants that use crushed ice tend to foster more business.”

The story behind Danny’s truck in the following picture entails a grandfather restoring this beautiful Ford and giving it to his grandson. The grandson scoffed and rejected it. So Danny picked up this pearl cheap after winning a couple grand in Vegas (vegas baby, vegas!).

We stopped to say “Hi” to Lloyd, and try his delicious oatmeal cookies.

Then we went to Sunshine Bike Shop, run by Kay and her daughters, and she hooked me up with a water bottle and some energy products.

We stopped at Mueller’s Brewing Company; a company that started out doing steel work, and makes beautiful stainless fermentation vessels.

We hit up another bar near the bike trail in town. They had cruisers made by Fat Tire up on their walls.

We visited Artisan’s Oven, a local bakery and picked up a loaf of Challa.

We toured the bike shops of the area, and I got interviewed by the local ABC News Channel KSPR.

I got to visit another coffee shop called Hebrew’s Coffee. The Barista, Shelby, made me one of my favorite Lattes on this trip so far. The cheese cake was also delicious. The airy texture of the filling made me want another slice.

I had been dreaming for the longest time of purchasing a Benchmade Balisong. The outfitter in town had number 82 out of 100 of these damascus/carbonfiber balisongs. This knife he is holding is worth 600.00usd retail. Maybe another time..

While I was in Springfield, I had the chance to meet James Allen. He rode a Penny Farthing or High Wheel Bike across the country a few years back. He’s been collecting old/special bikes for the longest time. He has a ware house full of them including a 12-person-tandem, about 20 penny-farthings, a few crankshaft bikes, and many w/ wooden rims. He intends to open the Springfield Bike Museum in North Springfield.

We randomly met two girls on the bike trail and talked to them.

Afterward, with a low camera battery we explored the Friday nightlife and ate at the Farmer’s Gastro-PUB. Good food, but the waiter was on his second day, kinda disoriented.

In the morning, Gary and his buddy Pete rode me out of town paralleling the Frisco Highline Trail. We said our final goodbyes, and I was on my way. Thank you Gary, that has been some of the best days thus far!

Riding alone now, I saw something on one of the final hills in Missouri. It was a broken trike and two cross country cyclists. So I parked my Uni at the top of the hill with the other trike and went to go see if I could help out. We parked it at the top of the hill and apparently their chain had split and fell off. So after a little while, two eastbound cyclists ride up(what are the chances??), and one has a spare chain. So another hour goes by and the chain is finally sketchily back together. I continue on, only to see them again in Golden City.

The Triker’s names are Jen and Ken, and they are riding across country to raise awareness for organ donation. Jen is going to visit the recipient of her daughter’s heart in Oregon. They have a website located on blogspot and a profile on Crazy Guy on a Bike.

So, I’ve crossed into Kansas finally, and after 3 hours of writing in Asylum Anime, I’m going to get some Italian food. Cheers!

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