E-mails

During their 3,200 bike trip, Kempen sent e-mails to friends. Here are excerpts from his observations:

• The person who invents a one-handed keypad for a bike’s handlebars will become fabulously wealthy. Or perhaps the invention could be as simple as a disposable, writeable handlebar tape.

• Don’t look only at a bike’s computer for the distance traveled when trying to figure how hard you worked on a given day. Rather, look to see how many calories you consume in the next 24 hours.

• Ninety-five percent of young people find their town/city boring.

• You cannot purchase a USA Today in northern Montana or in North Dakota — a distance of a thousand miles.

• Beyond Sandpoint, the first Starbucks on our route is in Charlotte, Mich.

• Northwesterners know diddly about humidity.

• Sad but true — small-town America is dying, especially in Montana.

• Having a loaded down bike is like having a puppy or a baby — people find you approachable.

• The fattest crows in the world live in Michigan. They are so fat from the “grand buffet,” or road kill that they have become complacent.

• Hunters and trackers have learned to “read the land.” So can cyclists. When you don’t know how many miles it is to the next town, simply keep your eyes peeled for fast food wrappers and cups. When you begin to see them you know you are exactly two miles from the city limits.

• A Snickers bar always taste better than baby carrots, even at 9 a.m.