Silent cross country walking trip with a 4x5

[jnantz]

Most excellent, Randy!

you can say THAT again!
nice guy you are randy

[Kirk Gittings]

Last weekend I had the pleasure of Greg Hindy's company. His trailer had lost a wheel bearing and I went to him, brought him to my loft for 3 nights and 4 days, while we tried to repair his Burley Travoy. Unbelievable, but the bearing was unobtainable. The number on it was for a different size! Never saw that before. 6001 ZZ is 12X28 mm. His actual part was 0.500" x 28mm or 1.100". I figure it was a bitza made of odd parts for China internal usage. I am a factory guy, I know factories often make up for mistakes, by selling them for a different market. Fel-Pro, my company, did it all the time.

He replaced the entire wheel, bearings, tire, tube, axle for a fairly low price. We got a Chicago bicycle shop to remove the wheel from their only Burley Travoy. Good guys at Village Cycle, Old Town.

I put him him back on his path, exactly where he left off, yesterday at 3pm. At that time he was in Central Illinois. Now heading home.

He is a remarkable young man of 23, who is very determined to successfully complete his walking and LF photography project. When I left him to his walking, it was almost 70 degrees and very windy. I could barely stand up. He got on his way quickly and walked out of sight. Today is rain and snow. He is camping.

We talked a lot, cooked and visited Chicago Art Institute Saturday and Sunday. We had planned to shoot 8x10 portraits of each other yesterday, but we found his parts early Monday morning and got him back to work. There was no time for the planned video interview. I have some audio and digital snaps I shot as he walked away.

I will post images soon.

Wow!! Good for you....doesn't surprise me after meeting you though.

[Tin Can]

Here is Greg having his high calorie, most affordable, fast food. He believes the dollar menu is the best value. He said it was about 1800 calories for $9 and he needed it to walk when I dropped him off. He had an hour in the car to digest it, and he said he normally would not eat that much at the start of a walking day, but he got back on his path at 3 pm. He then installs his new wheel and quickly gets going. We shook hands as he passed by me.

WARNING! These are digital full format images, but I think as documentation of his LF journey they are useful here. Move the thread if necessary. I had no time to shoot 4X5 as I wanted to. This is spray and pray, 500 full rez images at 3200 iso in 3 minutes. I was panning 180 degrees and may convert them into a YouTube movie.

[Brian Bullen]

Way to go, Randy!

[appletree]

I have been following him on facebook for a few months since I stumbled upon a link on the Chamonix website. Very awesome and nice of you Randy.

[Tin Can]

I see from his route he started walking Northeast, perhaps to put the really heavy winds at his back. Truck wind blast is a big problem for him. We talked of wind and birds, both topics any exposed traveller is well aware of.

[appletree]

I would imagine a young man (well anyone for that matter) would have a lot to talk about after travelling by foot for the past what, 15 months or something.
I bet he will end up with some amazing photos as well. A life changing experience, I imagine.

[Jac@stafford.net]

We
talked of wind and birds, both topics any exposed traveller is well aware of.

Birds! And country dogs. A peace-love kinda friend who was also a bicycle pro celebrated the end of his conscientious objector alternative service in 1969 by riding one of his bicycles from my place in Chicago (Lincoln & Fullerton, Randy) to Massachusetts to marry his sweetheart.

When they both returned to Chicago we met for our ritual chess and beer session. His adventure cracked him. He said that between the harassment from territorial Red Wing black birds and ankle biting farm dogs he was considering the carry of a firearm next time. There was not a next time. So much for passive resistance.

[Tin Can]

So far one dog bite for Greg. I was a teenage mailman, dogs are Hell on postal workers.

[Jac@stafford.net]

So far one dog bite for Greg. I was a teenage mailman, dogs are Hell on postal workers.

I had a semi-rural a rural newspaper route and found that tossing the dogs salt-water taffy did the job. They would be crying trying to unstick their jaws.