Well, it's time for Road Adventures with Cycling Men of Leisure, the podcast for cyclists who understand that writing is not just about getting to the destination, but the experience along the way. Now here are the original Cycling Men of Leisure, Adam and Michael. Hey. Good to be with you, sir. Happy to be with you again.

Wow. Look at this. Today, we have an extremely important, very special guest with us. This is exciting. Before we introduce this guest, let's tell our subscribers what we're gonna be talking about today. Well, today we're going to be talking about a very special friend who joins us on all of our rides and has been joining us for all of our rides since we started riding.

For you and I for. Um, if any of you have ever seen us out riding, you will always notice in the back of my cycling jersey, there's this little Beanie baby sticking his head out, and that is, his name is Confetti. Confetti. Well, let me go ahead and bring our very special guest on. So today we have with us.

Hi, my name's Maya. Well Maya, uh, welcome and Maya. Tell us who you are. My name's Maya Sharp. I'm.  sixth grade. I'm 11 years old and I collect Beanie Babies. So tell me how, when was the first time that confetti? Confetti is the Beanie Baby? For those of you who do not know, this is a white Beanie baby. That is almost like birthday cake.

I mean, it's very popular right now. Birthday cake flavoring and birthday cake, cookies and stuff, and confetti has multiple, uh, colors. Tell us how confetti came. ? Well, whenever I was younger, I used to miss my dad whenever he used to go on bike rides. So I used to give him stuff, animals to bring with him.

And one day, whenever he was going to leave, uh, I decided I'd send confetti with him. So I sent confetti with him, and then year after year I kept sending confetti with him. And eventually, every time he goes on a bike ride, it just became that he brings confetti with him. Now, see, my first, uh, interaction with confetti was 2016 at Rag Bryant.

Mm-hmm. . We had started our first day of riding and you were gathering all your stuff together and you said, okay, do I have cell phone, wallet, and confetti? And I first kind of looked over and I, I. , here's a grown man with a, with a, with a beanie baby, horse grown confetti. What? What's going on here? You know?

And so, um, and then I realized right away that, uh, you had explained to me that you had brought confetti with you many places. Now, have you only brought confetti with you on bike rides? I have only brought confetti now there, now before I brought, well, I went on the first. . Um, and she was old enough to understand there was a big controversy or a big decision she had to make.

She wanted me to take a stuffed animal. Uh, she didn't know which one, and there was like, oh, maybe should be this one or maybe should be that one. And so there was this week long decision making thing going on with her, of which one I should take. I don't know how she determined confetti, but finally, before I.

She had determined that that was the bear to take. And so ever since then I have taken that single bear. Now I know what it's like to pack for a ride. Have you ever. You know, you're getting all your stuff together, you know, okay, I'm leaving in the morning, and you get everything ready for your family, what you're gonna do.

Have you ever came about where you couldn't find confetti and you thought, oh my gosh, I'm, I'm gonna be in trouble, or, uh, no. There's not been a time where I haven't been able to find confetti. Ultimately. There was a couple times it's like, oh no, where's he at? And it tends to be one of the first things that I pack because I'm always worried I'm gonna leave it.

So Maya, how old were you when you received confetti? Uh, I think I was like five or four I think. Okay. Okay. So when we don't just take the bear, I know that, uh, I've actually, uh, pointed out multiple places where, hey, you should take the confetti picture here, or we should take the confetti picture there.

What do you do with all the picture? Uh, I just keep 'em up in a big, a big storehouse of all these different pictures of confetti. Nice. Um, and you know, when we're riding there'll be, a lot of times I'll stop, you know, it's like, , you'll look back or whatever and see me pulling over and it's like, okay, he's taking a picture of confetti and that type of thing.

Um, but uh, there'll be times where you'll point out or other people riding with us saying, Hey, that'd be a good picture with confetti. So, um, I just have all these hundreds of pictures of confetti and Nebraska and Iowa and Kentucky and Michigan and all over the, all over the. . So Maya, when he takes confetti, uh, when he gets home it for, for the daughter, are you excited for him to show you all the pictures?

Yeah, so I know many times we've been like, uh, like we pass a VFW hall, there'll be a tank and you'll put confetti on the barrel, all the tank or, um, sometimes airplanes. We've seen airplanes at some of the, some of the places. Um, my Do you have any favorite photographs that you've seen that your dad has come?

Well, probably one of them is confetti on my dad's bike and above him is a sign that says No parking,  . I know exactly where that was in Iowa. I I, that was from this year. And I remember seeing that no parking sign. Um, believe that's a little bit after that we went to the Casey's and got a little Yes.

Little refresher. I know. Exactly. So not only do you have the experience with your daughter, but I also get to, uh, share the experience with you. Confetti's flown first. . Mm-hmm. . Um, we, when, this is the first year that we actually flew with our bike and we, um, were bumped up to first class heading down to the Georgia ride.

And so, uh, the white, I mean the flight attendant, excuse me, she just thought it was such an endearing, wonderful story. So she actually spoiled you and I because of the story. So . I've gained from the confetti, nore for sure. And you've, and you've been in several pictures with confetti yourself. I sure have.

Um, if you could picture these, uh, in parks and stuff, they have these cutouts where they're supposed to be two heads. Mm-hmm. , and then, you know, maybe it's like a farmer holding a pitch fork or, or whatever pigs, you know, one on, you know, horses or whatever. I will be in one of the pictures and then I'll put confetti in the other, in the other head hole, if you will.

Usually the shorter one, if, if there is a shorter one.  and ult. Ultimately, I think probably what I'll do at some point in time is put them all in a big book, so she doesn't know that yet, but that's okay. I think that's my goal, to take this big combination of, of all of these years of pictures into a big book.

Well, that's the greatest thing about these cell phones. Now they put geographic locations. So when you take the photograph, um, you know, you can, if you turn it on on your phone, you can say, yeah, save the GPS location. So you'll be able to go back and actually where it's at and when it's at. So I'll know which right.

It is. So that's pretty cool. So I know that confetti has been in Michigan many times. Mm-hmm. , um, Kentucky. Yep. Georgia. Mm-hmm. , Iowa. , and I'm drawing a blank if I'm missing one. Got Kansas in some of the Kansas rides. We went to Pittsburgh, Kansas, and it's been in Nebraska. Okay. Uh, yeah, I think Now tell me, does the, um, does confetti also go, like you just did a work trip?

Do you take confetti on the work trip that you No. Confetti doesn't go on work trips. Oh, confetti's too much of a troublemaker. . I can't be responsible for that. So yes, we, we have known that . No . So Maya, tell us, um, you're 11 and sometimes, um, as we grow older, we grow out of softies. When you get a little bit older, will you still think it's neat as he still takes confetti?

Yeah. Okay. That's cool. So tell us what, um, I know it's not comfortable being on a microphone, but tell. , do you have like hopes and dreams of photographs so I can help like steer some of the pictures? Like, do you wish, oh, I wish you would've done this, or wish you would've done that. ? Uh, no, I don't really think so.

You like this, the surprise when he comes home and what he's chosen? Yeah. Well, confetti found Jesus, uh,  in Michigan this year. So, um, I'm not sure if your dad showed you that photograph, but, uh, it was your dad and I that we went through this town and there was a wooden statue of, of Jesus. It was just out in the middle of nowhere.

and we put confetti on Jesus' shoulder, I think, or my shoulder. Yeah. And, and we took a picture there. Okay. I think it was like Rock Falls or something. Yeah, rock falls. That's right. Boy, I tell you what, I know it had all those, um, , classic bicycles and classic cars across the street. We'd done classic bicycles from like, you know, 60, 70, 80 years ago.

It was really nice. One of those ones that was really neat had a lock, like on the steering mechanisms. Yeah, you could actually lock the bike steering mechanism so you didn't have to worry about anybody stealing it cuz they couldn't ride it. I wonder if that's how they did it. Like in the old day, I forget, like a bike lock, they just locked it.

So if you want steal it, you can write this circle down. As long as you're going, you know, straight or whatever direction it's locked in. Well that's cool. . Now I do know that there's been a few times where, um, confetti has had to ride in a plastic bag because it's been raining. Yeah. Confetti has a, he uses a Ziploc bag for a raincoat when it's, when it's pouring rain.

But, um, he doesn't get left behind or left in the baggage. He always goes, rain or shine, confetti is there. So I personally don't have children, but I really think it's a, a neat tradition that you, that you guys have both come up with. Who, who actually came up with the idea. . Well, I'll tell the, the backstory because there is a bigger backstory to this whole thing.

In 2002, uh, I think we mentioned this in, in past podcast, I got into cycling these long cycling adventures with my family in the introduction of Team Sherpa and we rode across, uh, Nebraska brand bike right across Nebraska. And at the time my nieces were probably.  4, 5, 6, somewhere in that, that area. And they had these little stuffed bear beanie baby bear type things.

And my father and I were riding and they were actually with us on that first ride. Well, they had stuffed animals and they both gave us one of their stuffed animals to ride with. And they always got this enjoyment of they, you know, they would be in a vehicle and they'd come up behind us and they'd see their little bears sticking.

One out of my. Jersey one outta my father's jersey. And it, you know, gave him the biggest thrill that, you know, oh, they're riding across number. So, um, so that's what we did, um, at the, at the original ride that it really got me into this. So, um, , the concept of riding with a stuffed animal really started with them.

And then when Maya got old enough and I started going on these rides for a week at a time, she was young. She was like, oh, I'm gonna miss dad and. , she started giving me the bear. Nice, nice. Well, I, I personally think it's, it's, um, it's really cool. I mean, um, I've had a little bit of adult humor where people have said, oh, are you doing, are you doing that for your daughter?

And I always say, actually, it's for him.  and . Some people look at us kind of weird, but that's okay. They, they, uh, I know that in, in true spirit you're doing it to honor your daughter and share some wonderful memories with her. Now I will bring up another story and I have told her,  every time I start the ride in the morning, and you've seen me many times.

I always keep everything in my jersey the same. So, you know, it starts out on my, my right side, I've got my, my, my wallet, the sinners, my phone, and on the left is confetti. And every morning as I'm getting on my bike, we start riding and I, you know, get comfortable on the bike. I make sure that everything is, Well in Iowa this year, it had never happened before.

We're at the top of a hill. We start going, you and I at the same time, and I reach back and there's my wallet and there's my phone, and there was no confetti. And I will tell you, this fear just struck me and you heard me yell. It's like, I'm missing the bear . So I immediately slam on my brakes, pull off to the side, and of course we're on a hill and it's like I don't wanna try to turn around and ride against the traffic.

So I walk up this hill and I'm like, we could have lost this between here and the last three or four miles section. And I get to the top of the hill and I'm just sweating cuz I'm like, oh my. How do I tell Maya that I lost the bear after all of this? You don't. You go to eBay and you buy another one and then, I'm just kidding.

Maya, I'm just kidding. You do that with goldfish. I don't know if you can do it with confetti bears, but I know my bear, . Other ones are fatter than him. . See, that's the problem. I was worried she'd call me at and I was just like, oh my God. Freaking out. And I get to the top of the hill and just that time a guy rolls up and goes, oh, did anybody drop this bear?

And. That's mine, . So, uh, it was very trauma traumatic that, uh, confetti tried to, tried to make a run for it. Now the gentleman that you explained that, that's my bear, did he ask you anything about confetti or did you just hand it to him and then he, he wrote off and thought to himself, that old man as a bear

Well, uh, I said, yes, that's mine. Uh, it's my daughters and I carry it with me on every ride and, okay. Thank goodness. I found it because it would not be pleasant when I got home. So I did explain myself because I was worried about that. It'd be like telling his buddies, I, he would've been the one I would've ran into at camp at night and he'd have been sitting there going, oh, guess what?

That that guy's carrying the bear around . Well, alright then. Well, I really appreciate you Maya, joining us for being our special guest. Um, I always love to give our guest, um, a a little moment. Do you have anything else that you'd like to say or any questions you may. , I'm just gonna say the actual name of the original name that Ty gave confetti.

It was the Y2K bear. Okay, so Confetti's, her original name was y2k. Mm-hmm. . It's almost like my cat. Uh, we, we call her Winnie. When we adopted her, her, I mean, we call her Minnie, excuse me. When we adopted her, her name was Winnie and we are Disney fans and we said no. Uh, hello Minnie. Welcome to our house. . . So you have honored, uh, confetti by, uh, realizing the confetti, uh, skin, if you will.

And confetti has a nice little bow tie for the interview today. Mm-hmm.  looking good. It looks a lot cleaner than the last time I saw him. I think it, no, I'm just kidding. . Yes, confetti has joined us here on the, uh, the interview, Stan, so Oh, that's great. Well, Maya, I appreciate you. I appreciate you being our special guest today.

All right, sir. Well, do you have anything else to add? Well, we'll let Maya say what I always say. It's a great day for a bike ride. Perfect, perfect. Thank you for being here. Thank you for coming along with Adam and Michael on Road Adventures with Cycling Men of Leisure. If you have enjoyed this, please subscribe to the show on the podcast app of your choice.