Martin's 2009-10 Deprivation Training (from promo video script)

**snip**

All this as he keeps the fire burning hot and strong for his 2010 ride by doing what he calls Deprivation Training. It is a way of life based on a chapter from his on line book, "How to Bike America", in which he teaches people interested in biking across America how to pull the tent stakes that keep them from stepping out of their boxed in lives to undertake such challenge.

Because it worked so well to make him hungry to get up very early each new day on his weather compromised ride to Salt Lake City, he began it almost as soon as he returned because he has a better feel for how huge getting all the way to Boston really is. He knows, with all the added new variables, the Busycle, the documentary film crew, the publicist, the Mayors he'll be on time for this year, and his new book, “How America can Bike and Grow Rich, The National Bicycle Greenway Manifesto” , that he cannot afford to lose sight of his ride for more than even a few minutes.

He first learned the basics of Deprivation Training when recovering from his head injury, He then turned it into an art form that is far more than theory with the two bike rides across America that followed his setback as his autobiography proves. Knowing the importance of keeping a reward system engineered into the program he has devised, if, for example, he only got five hours sleep (he tries to average six hours), he will let himself eat a light breakfast upon awakening instead of waiting until he has been up for a few hours.

By not allowing himself to have any of the comforts we take for granted in our lives, instead of dreading all the sacrifice that will be required of him in 2010, he will look forward to a ride where some familiar comforts will return. Sleeping on a hard floor in a sleeping bag, for example, will make him hunger for the ride to begin where his support vehicle will have a small bed for him to sleep in

And once he is out there, when all he has is the quiet of the open road, he will have already become accustomed to not having the music or television that all too many of us substitute for the silence that houses our Highest Self. When he is able to splash cold water on his face when he awakens on the 2010 road, he will feel like he is in heaven after all the months of waiting until mid morning to do so Not letting himself eat until he has been up for three or four hours is the dress rehearsal he needs to pedal 15 to 20 miles worth of pre-rush hour roads before he then takes the time to noursih himself.

With his journey across America in mind, he knows he cannot establish himself with the responsibility of a house or apartment. Hopefully by the time you are seeing this, he has, once again, found a floor or garage where he can climb into his sleeping bag at night. In order to keep him reminded of the transient nature of the lifestyle his ride will force upon him, he plans to spend a lot of time at local area libraries as well as the local YMCA where he will be able to get his hygiene needs taken care of as well as round out some of his training.

**snip**

Eagle Takes on SJ Bike Party 2nd Birthday 33 miles Ride

Friday Nite the 16th day of Octorber, well over 4000 of us bore witness to a phenomenom that I predict will sweep the country. We were part of the second birthday party for a ride that began with 25 people just two years ago. As balmy skies kept us warm, there was a great number of us who sensed that something very special was taking place. This as all those on the outside seemed to be doing what they could to be a part of the fun. Everywhere we looked, there was enthusiam for what we were doing.

If we weren’t giving it to ourselves by shouting the words ’Bike Party’, a refrain that could be heard by one voice then repeated by many and a few all night long, there were the people on the sidewalk saying it or cheering us on in other ways People everywhere were waving at us. Car horns honked. And if someone drove by in a car trying to join the party by showing us how muscular their vehicle was, they got ignored. Both times this happened, their burning rubber and high revving, motors held little sway for all those of us more interested in smiling and talking with one another than in what old dinosaur remains could be seen to do.

As for my own version of the ride, the Eagle rode beautifully for the entire 33 mile distance. It ran just fine with the rabbits who rolled out the first five miles from Cesar Chavez Park in downtown San Jose on the Pre-Ride. When I say rabbits, I mean for me, they moved pretty well, 14 to 18 or so miles an hour all the way to the massive parking lot that held the first major group of riders.

It was there that I demonstrated the off the back of the seat rear dismount. And as I did, two bottles popped out of my front panniers. The glass one didn’t break! And the large 32 ounce plastic one rolled under Greg McPheeter’s trailer couch. Oooops……..

At lights where I could get near a pole, I stopped and waited. Doing so was often tricky as the Eagle does not like slow parking lot speeds. So if I didn’t have a clear shot to a stop light standard, I ether did giant circles or announced to everyone I was running the light by saying, “No Brakes”.

Nor did I have to make a forced dismount all night long, Tho I did come close in tight situations more than a few times. And for all those who wanted to know about the light I was using that fully illuminated some dark spots through which we passed, it is the Vega by Lights in Motion. Beyond brightness, it has been a real work horse for me for the last year. And I am able to greatly expand the time between charges by running it in near blinding flasher mode when I don't need to see super clearly...

In sum, what an honor it is to ride the Eagle no matter where it goes or how it is outfitted. And indeed it brings a lot of attention to the NBG. Here, for example, is what former CA Assemblywoman (can you imagine that that is the caliber of people that are coming out for mass rides such as these? she even plans to ride SF Critical Mass with me on Friday the 30th!!), Sally Lieber, observed in a Facebook exchange we had that eveningl:

Martin Krieg

Sally - isn't this bike party unreal!!

Fri at 11:07pm · Delete

Sally Lieber

It's awesome--and you're getting tons of reactions to your skills on the half-penny!

Fri at 11:18pm

And yet the man who worked harder than anyone out there is the guy who deserves the most praise. John Oleary did the distance on a low grade HiWheel bike not configured to be ridden for more than few miles much less almost 30. I mean hard rubber wheelbarrow grips are what he has to hold on to. And I literally mean ‘hold on’. He does not sit comfortably on the seat as it appears but has to use his arms to not only steer the bike but to keep himself from sliding off of it. And he was fully worked by the time it was all said and done. That is him at right with his neighbor Mary who came over from Aptos to ride with us.

Oh but there was so much going on to keep him distracted from his pain that jhe too had a blast

Hundreds of Photos HERE

HERE is a map of the Pre-Ride - it is at the NBG mapping site that I will be promoting on my 6/2010 Eagle ride across the US

Yahoo

Johnny O Mounts his stead

Happy Two Years Old

San Jose Bike Party!

Eagle HiWheel Excerpt from Promo Video Script

This written narrative is excerpted from the YouTube promotional video for my 2010 ride that I plan to have on line by 11/1. Here are the words that are read as this image displays:

This machine, called the Eagle, could climb hills with fervor and also go down curbs as well as stairs. It also took away the danger of taking the sometimes fatal header that happened frequently on traditional HiWheel bikes.

They could also be used to descend in style as well as comfort. The first mountain bike of the day, they also went down curbs as well as stairs.

Because the Eagle cyclist does not pedal the same wheel he is steering, he can ankle. What this means is that he can take take advantage of the full pedal stroke by pulling up on as well as pushing down on the pedals.

It is the Eagle design that Martin Krieg used during the summer of 2009 when he rode from SF to Salt Lake City in an attempt to call attention to the National Bicycle Greenway.

(As stills from 2009 trip run)

He did the ride by himself because his support vehicle and crew fell apart during the financial meltdown that took place as he was finishing his book, “How America can Bike and Grow Rich” during the fall and winter of 2008 - 2009.

Martin’s ride ended in Salt Lake because electric storms kept him inside for 17 of the 34 days he was on the road. Besides depleting his funds, such unprecedented weather also threw him too far off schedule for him to keep any of the meetings with Mayor’s that he had planned during what was supposed to be the 7th annual National Mayors’ Ride.

Along the way however, he did become the first man to pedal over the Sierras made all the more challenging by all the up and down climbing he had to do. He pedaled many thousands of feet daily in Nevada,which is surprisingly the most mountainous state in the Union.

He also pedaled in and out of Lake Tahoe and from almost 7000 feet descended into Carson, NV, for well over half an hour at 30 and 40 mile an hour speeds with his legs crossed over the steer tube in front of him.

Here he is practicing that technique on a Palo Alto hill.

(below excerpt runs as talk about)

Krieg says that the biggest challenge of his ride to the birthplace of Mormonism was biking non stop for 14 hours (you can’t coast on a HiWheel) across the Salt Flats to Salt Lake City. A 102 mile distance, not only was there no shade, but there were no services such as food, lodging, water or restrooms. Just grind it out pedaling. With cars passing at 95 mph and temps in the high 90’s, the head and side winds that gusted as high as 40 mph were the least of his troubles.

Working hard to keep hydrated, he drank several gallons of hot Gatorade becuase, at the time he knew no other way to keep his urine from turning red due to lost electrolytes. He also ate well over a dozen energy bars as well as all the other food he was able to bring. The 7 mile an hour road speed that carrying his own gear slowed him down to greatly belabored his breathing and made the flat sameness of scenery feel like an uphill grind the whole way.

The world he passed through glared back at him with first blinding white and then dead lifeless reds and browns. All this ended at one of the biggest truck stops in the western US, where he was stuck between two freeways for the next two days. It wsa here that he was left to eat truck stop food because even more violent storms arrived soon after he got there.

When he did get to Salt Lake City, a short ways away, Mayor Ralph Becker, who had expected him many weeks before, was not even in town. Nor would he be for the next ten days……..

If the Busycle had been with Martin, as had been planned, he could have at least given public demonstration rides. And that is the safety net for his 2010 journey.

(Show stills & video of Busycle)

*** snip ***

Note: (11/4/09) After we recorded the above, I discovered that by now being able to ankle with the Eagle, I can rest my arms a little when doing long uphill ascents. I don't always have to be out of the saddle, leaning far over the bars, to keep the front end down. What this means is that I can take one hand off the bar for pictures and recorder notes if the road grade is not too steeply pitched.

Next, I look forward to dialing in the shoes that will be the perfect fit between the pedal clips that I need for this....

2010 Ride Needs

Looking ahead, here is what I need to make my 2010 Eagle HiWheel ride across America real:

- A Bread Truck (that we can convert to one that runs on vegetable oil) that can support my ride and tow the Busycle back to Boston

- A car trailer on which we can mount the Busycle with a 79 inch wheelbase width (when the motor was pulled, the wheels splayed out)
- A videographer
- A publicist
- A new butpak

- New Panniers (vintage in appearance)
- Macbook Air computer
- Size 10 Bike Shoes w/3.5" sole (people of the 19th century had narrower feet)
- Solar Charger
- Garmin GPS device
- Code Masher who can get our Maps to read from GPS and read in IE