Gotcha. I respect reason as much as the next guy. And frankly, grow tired of everyone insulting me. So, Thank you pitcher for you fine decision.
The "reasonable" John Rensing

Posted by: Rensing at August 2, 2004 12:44 PM

Very good decision. People who resort to petty insults and endless arguing over differences of opinions deserve to have their comments trashed. It is needless and unimportant. Any intelligent, mature person knows that people have opinions, but they don't have to resort to bickering and insults. Do it in a respectful manner and know when to close your mouth! :)

Posted by: Swt GA HunnyB at August 2, 2004 01:03 PM

I didn't know you could delete comments. Don't try to find out who I am.

Posted by: Udontnome at August 2, 2004 04:31 PM

a.m.e.n. i enjoy coming here..

Posted by: kim at August 3, 2004 04:11 AM

whew!!!!...finally..that was geting rather silly~Fern
PS..so is it to snooty, touristy, Bar Harbor?(though, I must admit it is pretty along the coast) ..or the REAL downeast Maine...al the way to Eastport/or Lubec?(you may encounter a few redneck-types, ususally nice once you get to know them...) but, there is not an over abundance of LL Bean-Heads strolling about their tidy, pastel linens and lycra...choices...

Posted by: fern at August 3, 2004 06:38 AM

http://www.eastport.net/video/eastport.asp

Posted by: fern at August 3, 2004 07:28 AM

I agree with you very much for this your blog and if someone and you should be able to express as you desire on here and those coming here should respect your opinios. If they are not then yes by all means you shoud delete them.

Posted by: Sweet N Sassy at August 3, 2004 04:30 PM

Wow.

Jeff, I have been peeking in from time to time to see how the ride is going. And what a bizarre happening... this John person and his rantings (along with a few others). I can't imagine wasting precious time to spew venom towards someone. And all his postings! Yikes! There's a whole lot of time on that man's hands. Enough of that, and good for you for deleting that venom.

Congratulations on your engagement and I think it's truly excellent that you have set off on this intense, wonderful, grueling adventure. There needs to be more "doers" in this world.
Thanks for inspiring.

Morgan

Posted by: Morgan at August 3, 2004 06:31 PM

can't you just block him from even reading what you write? he doesn't deserve to. it irks me that he's spoiling any of this.
i love how you write and i read you for inspiration. thanks for continuing on. despite the jerks in the world...

Posted by: m-s at August 3, 2004 10:15 PM

And would people please stop posting under my name.

Posted by: John Rensing at August 4, 2004 12:27 PM

Oh my god, a blog run mad. I'm laughing from Crete. The boys have enjoyed hearing the tales. Even Johnp's eybrow is raised. We toast you both at sunset. Pink and purple haze over the barren mountains. The sea is a silky blue. tsekoudia, mezze,delicious warm nights. Just as you imagined.
Huge Love.

Posted by: randi at August 5, 2004 05:39 AM

This guy(who I've never met) said some things(on the internet)that really, really make me mad(cause I spend too much time on the computer and my perception of reality has become tainted and skewed by all these electrons coursing through my eyeballs, bouncing off my brain...turning me into a whining, trembling little geek who needs to get away from the green, glowing tube and keyboard and get outside because it's SUMMER for Christ's sake).

But anyway, did I mention that I'm pissed? This guy on the internet said some things that offend me. I've taken what he said to heart and it's just crushing me inside. He hurt my feelings. This guy on the internet who I've never met said some stuff. The stuff bothered me. This guy on the internet, who I've never met and have no idea whether he is a pastor, janitor, ex-cop or bestial porn videographer...said some things that made me mad. This guy on the internet that I've never met, who I don't know who or what he is or what he does for a living or what his values are other than the couple of things that he said that bothered me and this vague idea that I've formed from reading the posts he makes that take up about 1/10th of 1% of the rest of his life(but somehow I've still managed to form an opinion of his entire world view, value system and how he interacts with others on a daily basis and decided that he's DEFINITELY a very bad, immoral and sick bastard 100% of the time)said some things.

Did I mention that I was pissed? About this guy. On the internet

Posted by: Jehoesephat at August 5, 2004 08:59 AM

Thank you.

Posted by: electricmile at August 5, 2004 11:09 AM

I have been a bystander here for awhile. I have especially enjoyed the great sitting and look forward to the posts. I have been troubled though regarding Rensing. The world gives us hurdles to overcome. Deleting them is not usually an option. I would suggest letting him rant. Some find it entertaining, some don't. I think in the end he will segragate himself. A sterilized world is dull. And commentary is invited here, obviously. It just strikes me as self serving to delete that which we find unappetizing.

Posted by: Ghost at August 5, 2004 11:56 AM

You can't just go around deleting people in real life. I've always thought this blog was kind of a vaganus-munch, but I really respected Pitcher for just letting people say anything in response to it. That took some serious cojones, self-esteem and sense of humor.

Alas...

Posted by: I Agree With Ghost at August 5, 2004 01:19 PM

But Rensing's unsavory commentary was getting way too much attention. This site is Pitcher's and he has a right to be the hero.

Posted by: My Pussy Hurts at August 5, 2004 04:00 PM

you can't go around deleting people in real life but you can definitely avoid those whose negativity and cynicism are too unsavory, uncreative, and unconstructive. can't we all just put our judgments aside for a bit? if the negative commentary is going to be in the way of hearing about this journey then i definitely would prefer not to read the BS, so please delete with pleasure. i trust that you will only do so when strictly necessary.

can we talk about something else?

what happens to us humans spiritually when we put ourselves in situations that require endurance, such as the great sitting? how does it change us? has anyone else ever done anything like it? why do we seem to concern ourselves with the petty at the expense of what really matters in life?

and what happens to us when we observe the great natural world when we move slowly through it, as on foot or on a bicycle?

i want to know what you all think.

Posted by: BTN at August 5, 2004 06:10 PM

Ok. Here's my deal. I am amazed at pitcher and the people that post here. pitcher is by far and away Not the first person to ride from here to there. There are groups that do this annually. Not to mention the other individuals.
If I had to assign him a number; 1st, 7th, 98th, I would put him around 84,967th to have done this. Except he will not do it. As for BTN's question, It matters not whether you are on a bike or a sofa, life requires endurance. Some people have to put up with flat tires, other have to deal with Rensings. Some people have to deal with both. I know a woman that WALKED from Cape Town, South Africa to the mediteranian sea. She had much more to bitch about, yet did little bitching. This woman learned alot about herself and shared it. pitcher is supposedly into honesty but hasn't seemed to learn anything. And deletes my honesty rather than deal with it. A trip such as this one should allow for alot of introspection. What has pitcher learned spiritually? Nothing that I can see. What have you learned pitcher? Show me. I would like to see. I bet your mass' would like to see. You on this great journey, us huddled at home without the courage to live. Or will this criticism be deleted?
John Rensing

Posted by: John Rensing at August 6, 2004 12:03 AM

It seems to me that each of those 84,967 cross-country riders is entitled to his own unique growth experience, one that cannot be entirely understood by observers, interlopers, or even friends and family.

Posted by: barooka at August 6, 2004 06:52 AM

That was profound.
John Rensing

Posted by: John Rensing at August 6, 2004 08:54 AM

i'm sorry but this has all become rather silly to me. john is right, jeff isn't the first person to cycle cross country, i've known others that have, and there are many that do it all the time. except that these people aren't jeff. and this IS jeff's website and if he wants to write about his emotions and his thoughts then so be it. what's the big deal? what is the big concern and hoopla about all this. these disturbances/aggravating comments to some people/ridiculous inputs/ ...what does it really all come down to? why is this important? let jeff make his own choices without everyone else spouting out their opinions on it. as i recall he hasn't asked for anyone else's opinion on whether or not he was doing the right thing , making the right choice, or whether or not anyone else approved. observe if you must, i know i do, but must some people always try to point out what they think are jeff's faults or problems in life. whatever decisions he makes, whatever problems he has, they are HIS, and his do deal with and work through. might i suggest others go and deal with their own issues and let tolerance and acceptance be your guide rather than noisy useless rantings of what other people are doing that you don't like. and this isn't just referring to john's posts...if jeff chooses to allow comments then that's fine, if he chooses to delete them that's fine to. it's his website, he can do that. can't we all just get along?

Posted by: delphina at August 6, 2004 12:58 PM

I would argue that it really does matter whether you are sitting on a bike or a sofa. Try riding your way across the country or walking from Cape Town to the Mediterranean and you'll see (and if you really believe that sitting on a sofa requires endurance then you really need to get your ass off that sofa right now). There are humans that have endured the unthinkable, at least according to today's standards - and some of them did complain, a lot.

Posted by: BTN at August 6, 2004 02:31 PM

:)
John Rensing

Posted by: John Rensing at August 7, 2004 12:07 AM

i know if i share my thoughts here, i am immediately confronted with an onslaught of criticism and insults. it's like stepping onto a battleground, unarmed, while everyone's firing canonballs and you've got yourself nothing. but can we just let Jefferson be? didn't realize until now that the man is engaged. J, i wish you complete your journey across the States successfully and with many, many memories and great adventures, and that you may return home to your Keri and raise yourselves a family of beautiful children, just as Rensing's child is to him. my humble respect to a man who inspires many, and endless congrats. i know love is powerful thing. such a powerful thing.

Posted by: brina johnson at August 7, 2004 01:29 PM

I was driving across country between Minnesota and Colorado this past week and thought of you often. Hoping your trip was progressing well. And then get home to find you've got a flaming flamer messing with your site.

How odd that someone would feel the need to start something like this with someone who's just enjoying a nice bike ride.

God forbid that you should not write about your bike trip because people have done it before. I wasn't aware that the rules of blogging dictate that you gotta be first to do something before your write about it. Guess I better head on back to my little diary and start erasing!

Silly Internuts and their silly Internut rules. If only we all had the same handbook (and voices in our heads) we'd be able to do exactly as they think we should.

And as far as deleting things and making a sterile world...that's the best part about being the boss of your own diary!

You should also be able to block unwanted posts.

Just keep on writing because I really like reading here!

Posted by: Kathy at August 8, 2004 06:17 AM

jeff has attempted to block me in the past but it was a half assed attempt. I am unable to utilize my actual e-mail address in the body of the text or otherwise. This has made it difficult for my fans,of which I have many, to contact me. It is, without the asterisks- jrensing@* sbc* global.net A half assed attempt at best, foolish really.
John Rensing

Posted by: John Rensing at August 8, 2004 11:27 PM

your various multiple personalities do not qualify as a fan base Rensing.

Posted by: reality check at August 9, 2004 12:50 PM

why doesn't everyone just stop commenting on rensing. ? Is he really that interesting? He is only thriving on all of the attention he receives from this site. This site has turned more into complaining about rensing than actually enjoying jeff's stories. By the way, thank-you jeff, for providing inspiration - you show me that you don't have to be happy all the time and have everything 'together' in order to live fully and experience life. Thank-you...

Posted by: tasha at August 9, 2004 04:52 PM

>your various multiple personalities do not qualify as a fan base Rensing.

LOL!! If this pathetic cretin had anything to say that someone, anyone, was interested in reading, he'd create his own blogsite instead of gate-crashing this one. Alas, the world's full of ill-mannered boors. And critics. Fuck 'em. Jeff, I wish you well in the upcoming days and miles of your adventure . . . love your entries. And the love story that goes with them . . . stay well, stay strong.
Charm

Posted by: Charm at August 10, 2004 09:17 PM