Who let the dogs out?
The sun has been shining the past few days. The humidity is sky high. It’s been tough, challenging, and presenting even more obstacles for me to overcome. Though the challenges continue to surmount, I continue to pedal. It’s what I have to do.
Let’s go back a few days to the ballgame in Houston. It’s been way too long since I’ve had a reliable access to internet where I have the time to crank out a blogpost. So I’ve got plenty to fill you in on.
Boy did the Houston Astros roll out the red carpet. From Orbit to the owner himself, they welcomed me with open arms. I even got to throw out the first pitch. I loosened up in the basement of Minute Maid Park, and was ready for the first pitch. It wasn’t my best performance, but moments before I was set to take the field, the owner of the Astros himself told me if I hit 98mph on the gun, he’ll put a jersey on me. Now the pressure was on. THIS was my chance to make it to the majors. To step into the spotlight. To strike out the winning run in Game 7 of the World Series. The moment I’ve dreamt about in my backyard all game down to this pitch. Annnnnndddd I threw it in the dirt. I’m gonna say that was my strikeout pitch. Up 0-2 in the count, and struck him out swinging. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
After my subpar performance on the mound, it was all washed away when I got a picture with Orbit. Orbit stands amongst the most entertaining of mascots with his antics. In fact, during pregame the Orioles Adam Jones pied him in the face. Orbit proceeded to taunt him in the on deck circle with a pie of his own. Just a fun loving entertaining mascot.
The Astros splurged me with some great seats behind home plate that I was able to share with Jamie, my host in Houston, as well as Kathy and Alan Ratteree who coincidentally have a son in the Brewers farm system. I met Kathy and Alan at a local BBQ joint the night before and offered them to use my extra tickets!
It was a great game with 1/3 of the season AL Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel taking the mound. I saw him pitch 9 scoreless frames in Oakland earlier this year, and he’s been impressive since then. Unfortunately, today, the Astros just couldn’t muster up enough run support or capitalize on their offensive opportunities and fell to the visiting Orioles 3-2. The Astros have been the surprise team of the year, along with the Twins. They certainly dig the long ball, and support the power numbers with high strikeout totals. It’ll be interesting to see if they’re able to hold this through the rest of the season.
I got up early in the morning to take off for Trinity, TX. It was a long day of riding, with little no host on the books. The humidity of Texas has officially set in. It’s just impossible to escape. You sweat. You put sunscreen on, reapply, reapply, and reapply once more. The sweat combines with the sunscreen, and performs as a bug trap that different gnats stick to like glue. Watch out Batman, with this suit of armor I can take down any superhero.
I was hanging out at a local Subway just passing time before looking for a place to camp. All the signs were pointing to another night of stealth camping, until a couple walked in and struck a conversation. Before I knew it, they were offering a place in their home, a warm shower, and a soft bed. The A/C was all I was thinking about. The Romo’s had a lovely home, and their son Mason. Mason even let me us his bed! Hi5! I told him to call me anytime along the trip and I’ll tell him how I’m doing. He replied with “I’m putting this in an extra safe place.” Welcome to the B4B team Mason!
I took off in the morning for a good ride. I actually got to my destination around 1PM. However the heat was killer. I wanted to ride another 20 miles or so, but the heat was brutal. I opted to check out a buffet, and relax for a bit until the heat gets a little less intense. It worked out pretty well, plus I got to eat a whole lot of Chinese food. Mmmmmm.
The night was spent steath camping, but boy oh boy was it humid. As I laid inside my tent, the sweat was just pouring from my body. It wouldn’t stop! You would have thought that the Hoover Dam had burst and was pouring out of my body. Somehow, I was able to get a pretty good night’s rest despite the intense heat. It seems like a few days ago I was curling up in my sleeping bag with every piece of clothing I had packed just to stay warm enough during the night. Boy does that change fast.
I want to give a HUGE thank you to B4B All-Star Evvan. In the past few days I had gotten a few more flats than I expected. Luckily, my friend Evvan offered to drive some new tubes to me. Are you kidding me? Way to earn your All-Star status. Despite the long drive of over 90 minutes one way, she came through. Without her delivery, I would have surely been stuck roadside without a tube to fix a flat. Devastating. She even treated me to some Sonic shakes and brought a soccer ball to kick around at a local field. Hey Evvan, if you’re reading this, put your hand up to the sky for a BIG Hi5!
Who would have thought. The following day after Evvan’s delivery, I ended up getting three flats. Talk about a lifesaver. The big problem was with my hand pump. It wasn’t working properly and was unable to get the PSI up. It would take me nearly half an hour just to get the PSI to where I coul ride, let alone high enough to handle a pebble. I was stuck roadside trying to fix a flat when I realized I needed a ride back to town to buy a new handpump. Thankfully, a trucker gave me a ride to the Walmart to solve the problem. All in all, the day that I was hoping would last until noon ended up lasting until 7:30PM at night. I had started ridig at 6:10AM. Talk about a long and hot day.
Another night of stealth camping and no shower. I was beginning to smell. I noticed buzzards flying overhead on my ride, that must be an omen that I need a shower. Camping in the humidity is tough and challenging. You certainly don’t sleep smoothly, but you can sleep well enough. You get up early to do it all again and try to beat the heat as best as you are able.
Today’s ride, I got lost, both geographically and with my cell phone service. I was stuck. I had no clue where to go. Couldn’t find anyone to get directions from, and made a few wrong turns. All in all those wrong turns ended up costing me to ride 20 extra miles. Not my favorite to do, but I made it safely.
These challenges are tough. It’s adversity that you can’t prepare for. It happens. It’s easy to get frustrated. Very easy. I’d be lying if I’m not tempted to throw my bike down, utter a few curse words and just crawl up in a ball on the side of the road and call it a day. But that doesn’t solve anything. I’d still be lost when I wake up. I try my best to stay collected and figure out the best solution. I ended up biking around until I got better service to phone a friend. In the end I made it. Both through the hand pump situation and getting lost. Was it frustrating? You bet. Was it gonna stop me? No chance.
I’m built stronger than that, I was raised better than that. My own grandpa worked 27 years and only called in sick once. For the birth of a child. It’s through these challenging days that I think of that work ethic I was raised on. I’m sure my grandpa through his arthuritis or various illnesses through the years would have loved to take a day off. However, when there’s work to be done, us Stoltz’s will find a way to get it done. That’s what I did. I rode the miles I had to ride, and I’ll ride the miles I have to ride tomorrow. This train is rolling, and it’s gonna be awfully difficult to stop.
The dogs have been another new challenge along this trip. They’ve been chasing me like crazy. They come running out, barking, teeth baring, and look like they want to bear down on me. Now, I know most of these dogs are probably extremely friendly, and are instinctively chasing me down. However, I have no clue to tell which ones may actually bite down. In fact, I even had one dog latch onto my foot, before releasing it. That was too close for comfort. I usually yell at the dogs to STAY or NO. Trying to get them to stop. I also usually slow down and come to a stop because they want to chase me. This also will settle them down. It leaves me to ask who let the dogs out? It’s not that hard to keep your dog leashed up. Or if it’s trained well enough not to chase cyclists, feel free to leave your dog out. However, it’s dangerous for me, and for the dog itself. There have been a few times where the dog has chased me into traffic and put itself in great danger of getting hit. I don’t want to see that happen. Do me and your dog a favor and keep them leashed up in your yard.
I’ve been receiving a lot of comments from people lately,that this is like a vacation for you. You’re lucky. Sure, I get to have a blast at different ballparks, and meet new people. However, make no mistake how mentally straining this trip is. Somedays I want nothing else to lay in bed and sleep in. Instead, I wake up, pack up camp and hit the road to begin my ride. I ride through the heat, rain, and snow. But it’s all worth it. All this work is most definitely worth it. Because I don’t do this for myself. Nope. I do it for the smiles of kids who I’ve never met. Kids who deserve to succeed in life. Kids who need a mentor in their life. One thing is for sure. Tomorrow, when the clock strikes 5:30AM I’ll be awake. Ready to hop on my bike. Ready to start Biking for Baseball. Because every kid needs a coach.
I have a goal of raising $100,000 for the cause. We’ve fallen a little bit behind pace. If you’re enjoying the blog, enjoying following the trip, I highly encourage you to make a donation. It doesn’t have to be huge to make a difference. Ten dollars can go a long ways. Plus you get a goodie package with some B4B gear. Who wouldn’t want that? Help make a difference in the lives of youth!
Until next time I get wifi. I’ll just keep pedaling until then.
Matt