Neil_B

Ryan must be mixing up Bike Forums with this site:

https://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/02/10/61-bicycles/

Neil_B

https://www.bikingforobama.com/2008/1...-to-san-diego/

So far he's ridden a century in a group. How he reacts to days of riding alone with gear is another matter.

BTW, it appears he's moved up the date to December 2, giving him a little more time.

nun

Comments like these just pull the forum down. There are too many non cycling agendas here. I hope this tread keep going without the rudeness so that we can discuss Ryan's CYCLING progress

Neil_B

Actually, it seems to me there's only one agenda in this thread, and that's the OPs. Perhaps you haven't been reading his posts?

chipcom 

I call it just another con man - they come in all colors.

nun

I just watched Ryan's video of his 1st century and I'm impressed, he must be pretty fit to jump from 20 miles up to 115. Maybe he'll do better than many of us, including me, have been saying. He says he'll have a support driver at some point, and if he keeps the equipment below 20lbs, he might do it. The odds are still against him, but I'll be interested to see how it goes.

spinnaker

Sorry nun, I have to agree with Historian and Chipcom here. The OP has shown his true colors on this thread. And they have nothing to do with his race. He has shown himself to be a free loader and a bigot.

Neil_B

I agree he'd do much better on this ride, and perhaps in life, with less baggage.

staehpj1

I agree.

I personally don't care for some of Ryan's methods. I am not big on fund raising to fund a bike ride. I think it is OK to express that, but the focus should be the cycling aspect of it. The level to which this went negative was way over the top to my way of thinking. I would suggest folks cut him a little slack. If he is a conman, poser, or a phony that will be obvious later try not to assume the worst.

I think Ryan is a bit misguided in some ways, but hope he is successful in the ride. I hope he gets to see what the folks in fly overland are like. A cross country trip can and should be a life changing experience. I hope he manages to have a great experience. I hope he maintains an open mind and allows the people he meets to be the nice folk they can be. I have some fear that making it a political cause may undermine that. I would encourage Ryan to try his best to avoid that happening.

BTW: I am happy to hear that he moved the start up a bit. The more time he has the better.

chipcom 

I agree...sometimes it is best to remain silent and have folks think you are a fool, rather than to start yakking and prove it beyond a doubt. I was supportive of him at first, attributing some of his words to youth and exuberance...but the more he wrote (and the more I read) the louder the alarm bells in my head became. Yes, this trip could be a good learning experience for him - if he can manage to open his mind rather than to simply dismiss others who don't tell him what we wants to hear as not worth listening too. THAT is the change many are looking for...open-minded, intelligent debate, rather than narrow-minded partisan horsepucky.

Neil_B

I don't see the openness coming. The ride description makes it clear the 22 year old self-described 'radical' is coming to inspire, not be inspired by, the folks he's allegedly going to meet between LA and DC. Most accounts of bike touring I read show the rider to be changed by the folks they meet, and not the rider changing them. Still, time and travel may have an effect on him. Let's see.

staehpj1

I think that we agree on some of the substance of this, but I don't think it needs to be spun in quite as negative a way.

A bike tour across the US really needs to be about the folks you meet and I know that we found the folks we met to be open, kind, welcoming, and generous to the extreme. It did require that we were open and honest and that we respected their views whether we disagreed or not. There were natural biases on both sides, but we managed to have overwhelmingly more positive interactions than negative ones I would not recommend that Ryan not discuss his views but would advise that he is careful to present them in a respectful non-condescending way and that they be discussed only as they come up naturally in the conversation. Both sides of the discussion should learn from each other by being open and friendly. There needs to be a respect and tolerance that goes both ways. I think we influenced some people we disagreed with in a favorable way, but would not have if we had crammed our views down their throats. My advice isn't that Ryan ditch his views, but depending on how he presents himself and his views he can bring out the best or the worst in the folks he meets.

My hope is that Ryan is an intelligent enough person that he already knows this or will quickly learn it. If that is the case the trip will be a success whether he gets there on time or not.

nun

This forum needs more humility and kindness all round. Oh and more CYCLING!

So is there anyone here going to try to see Ryan on his trip? I'm way off the route, but if I as close I'd ride with him for a day.

cabana 4 life

i was in grant park the night obama won. i was riding my pedicab and was sickened by the amount of people try to make money using his name. i know i know i was doing it in a indirect way but still. every time we post this thread goes back to the top and people click on it read the first thread and go to ryans site. if i was to put up link to my business trying to sell you guys stuff i would have been kicked off and the thread deleted. but if you attach obamas name and say that you need help planning a trip you can advertise all you want. well played ryan. i wonder how many hits we have sent to his site? and yeah i know what your going to say...and least i give them something in return.

dewaday

I doubt he's a con man, I think he's an idealist romantic. Chasing the stars of success without any idea of the hard work required to actually get there. Bouncing from one romantic notion to the next, hoping somewhere to find the "easy" button of life, and receive his due fame. I've worked in Ryan's profession my entire life and he's walked through my door a hundred times (we atttract'em like flies...). Wide eyed, exuberant, got all the plans, until you hand them the broom and they never show up again.

He may make it, I hope so. It'll be a turn around point for his life. And maybe in the process he'll realize that failures are his and not some easily manufactured "other".

BikerBoom

Thanks for pointing me to the DownTheRoad.org couples web site. I read their first book several years ago, enjoyed it, but thought they had stopped traveling years ago. I looked through the downtheroad site for hours and did not see them ask for donations or cash. They seem to be selling self written books and gear to fund their trip (5 years and counting) This is not the same as asking for hand outs. How is this the same category? Am I missing something?

Neil_B

Their posts here and at a well-puffed touring site were largely self-promoting.

m_yates

I just looked at the OP's blog. He started developing knee problems, then decided to take a ride in a car to Phoenix. He was also asking for donations of a tent and sleeping gear. I'm hoping that he makes it there and learns something from the trip, but it certainly looks like he was not prepared before heading out.

BikerBoom

What does "well-puffed" mean exactly? You seem to be making up words. They were accused of asking for donation not being "self-promoting." Where do they ask for hand outs? Please point to an example on their site

staehpj1

This looks like more shameless fishing for hits from Tim and Cindie to me. A brand new account with no other posts beyond some with nothing but "+1's "as the content.

As far as donations on their page:
"There is also income from people who just wanted to send us cash donations. The first few times someone emailed me concerning donating I thought it was a lucky fluke. As the site's traffic increased this kind of email became more common. Neither of us can really believe it even now. I started getting so much email on how and where to send donations I had to add a special section of the web site with all the different options and directions of use. This extra income we have used for visiting additional places that we originally thought that we could not afford. This is what the people who donate to us usually ask that we do with the extra money. Many send us specific request like a National Park or museum. Others just tell us that we must spend the money on something exciting or educational and not something boring like laundry or inner tubes. I usually email people back with pictures of the particular activity that they helped fund. This way they know we did what they asked or at least did something extra special. Thanks again to all of those people who have taken this kind of interest in our travels and adding content for the web site. You have made our travels very enriching.

For more information on Amazon.com, donations, or a list of our online stores please see:"
followed by a link to a donation page. I will not support them by giving the links. If you want them look them up yourself.

foamy

You're pretty clueless. Who (there is no "what" here), exactly, do you think the donation is for? Unbelievable.

There is or was a list about a mile long. Everything from the bike to do the ride to a $4500 camera. Not to mention money for ALL expenses.

I'm just astounded. The ride is bogus at this point. Not that it wasn't before. And yet, people support him. P.T. Barnum was right.

Neil_B

Wrong beggar. The sock-puppet is defending the Travis couple, not FlyinRyan.

I think we need a thread listing all the viral stuff on the Touring Forum. At times it seems that's all there is here.

Neil_B

I plead guilty to some part of this. I contacted a Bike Forums poster in Phoenix, who then donated equipment to Ryan. I was under the impression that Ryan had actually been riding.

foamy

No worries. I was gonna delete my post, but got called away from my machine. While I was away, you quoted everything, so there's no point now. I don't like my tone on this thread. Then again, I don't care much for the subject either, so I'm just gonna walk away from this one. My fault for even reading it.

PlatyPius

You're kidding, right?

This is just about the most tame, most happy-happy, most 'unicorns-and-rainbows' forum I have ever been on.