This Cowboy Journalist Has Some Explainin' To Do

February 17, 2025

If the pages you've read so far look familiar, that might be because you saw them a few years ago on either Crazyguyonabike or Cycleblaze. Publicity hound that I am, I was plannin' to publish a real time bike tourin' journal on two websites simultaneously. I wasn't sure how I'd be able to pull off such an experiment in Pulitzer Prize-worthy journalism, but my dilemma got a lot simpler when the sheriff of one of the sites told me to pack up my writings and get outta town.

That's okay. In fact, it would also be okay if I were to get kicked out of a few Kansas towns by the local sheriffs. Certainly, that would add a little drama to my old west cowboy movie.

Anyway, what I started to say is that I remember a few people took the trouble to read my introductory pages back in 2020. If you were one of 'em, you might remember that my original plan was to tour the cowboy country of West Texas. My NEW plan is to ride in the cowboy country of West Kansas. West Kansas? Yes, west Kansas. So, I edited the first couple pages to reflect my change in destination.

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Bill ShaneyfeltSo, the wait begins...
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1 month ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesWell, you are a bit late to the party only getting kicked off the other site within recent memory. We got the boot about 6 or 7 years ago, when we overtly expressed left wing views, rode e bikes and, worst of all, tried to have blogs in two locations. Welcome to the good guys team!
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1 month ago

Kelly IniguezGoogle tells me there are at least two locations in Kansas that have jail B&B's . . . if you would like the full experience! Years ago my mother and I toured with a group that stayed in a jail B&B in Kentucky. We were the last paying guests to arrive. We had the choice between a renovated room that could be any room, anywhere. Or, a basement cell room, complete with open toilet in the corner, and the original sliding bars to close. I wanted to go for the Elvis Jailhouse Rock in the basement. My mother chose the cushy room upstairs.
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1 month ago

Gregory GarceauTo Kelly IniguezFor sure, a night in a jail cell would add a lot of authenticity to my cowboy tour. I'll have to do a little research on that. Thanks for the tip, Kelly.
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1 month ago

George (Buddy) HallForgot to mention earlier, you likely know anyway; many/most of the small Kansas towns on the Transam route allow camping in the town park or town center or wherever they have an open public space - the Transam maps tell you which towns, who to call or how to let someone know your intent, so getting the latest Transam map through KS may be a worthwhile investment.

Oh, and I take it as a badge of honor to have been kicked off CGOAB. It may be the best thing to have happened to me, else I would likely never have found this site!
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1 month ago

Gregory GarceauTo George (Buddy) HallLike you, I really do like being on Cycleblaze now, but at the time, it didn't seem like a badge of honor. It was the first time I ever got kicked out of ANYTHING--at least since I was removed from a bar more than 40 years ago. In both cases, I think I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Sure, I respectfully expressed liberal views on the Crazyguy forums, but ONLY after the Administrator seemed to have lifted his own ban on political discourse. And I sure didn't know it was against the rules to post a few journals on Cycleblaze.

Here's a bit of interesting trivia for you: Before I got the boot, my last forum post was on a topic about banning Google from the website and freedom of speech. It came right after your comment. Pretty cool, eh?
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1 month ago

George (Buddy) HallTo Gregory GarceauYeah, pretty cool indeed - and even cooler that you would remember that! I think many folks over "there" would be happier over here if they knew this place existed. One major advantage to me is that this site is far friendlier to use, especially regarding uploading and updating and such from the field - you really can do it all pretty easily from a phone. Another advantage is the "small town" feel of this site - I feel like I "know" folks from all across the country and even the world. And, of course, the quality of the journalism over here is simply unmatched - and thanks to amazing authors like yourself, we have both real and super amazing unreal journalism categories as well.

I really did enjoy Kansas on my Transam adventure, but it would be remiss of me to not mention that it was hard - the heat and unpredictable wind played a nasty head game on many. FWIW, I went off route from the Transam from Newton westward about 300 miles - rode Highway 50 west from Newton instead of the Transam route, did so at the advice of the Newton Bike Shop owner - and that put me going through Dodge City.
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1 month ago