We Did It! San Diego, California May 13, 2011

The blog site was down two days ago so I couldn't update. Probably, that was good so no one would worry about us for the last day. Thursday, we knew would be very difficult, but no idea of how treacherous. We set out for the mountain early. Winds were calm and the temps warm but we would climb before it got too hot. We started out strong and well rested. Hard, but not impossible. The climb was steep and long,26 miles before there was enough of a plateau for a break for a water break. By then it was already 90 degrees and 10:00 in the morning. Ron's tire went flat! Thank goodness it didn't happen on the climb.
We grabbed a snack and started up again. We had another very difficult several miles before getting a break with a quick downhill. We were descending at 35 mph when one of our front panniers broke off at the bottom and then flipped onto the road. The front pedal struck it and almost flipped the tandem. Bob caught control and we came to a stop without falling. I ran back and retrieved the panniers off the road before another car came along. We secured it and again continued upward. The ride was breathtaking with canyons dropping deep on the right just feet away. At some points I couldn't look. One mistake and there wouldn't be a second chance.
Then the unbelievable!!! The chain came off our bike! Climbing a mountain and NO control! Bob turned the front wheel over to the left to avoid the drop off the road but that meant we had to swerve into the traffic lane. We had just come around a curve. As we pulled into the lane I could hear a car coming toward us. I just kept saying over and over "a car is coming, a car is coming"! The bike tipped over and we both rolled. The car was able to stop right behind us. The woman didn't even ask if we were okay. Ron was nearby and he was expecting the worse.
The mountain ended for the day at Pine Valley. It was a beautiful little town. Everyone told us that the last peak was hard but then it was all downhill from there.

We took off expecting a rather easy day. Bob and I didn't even put on our heart rate monitors because we expected resting heart rates with so much downhill to the ocean. Obviously, no one had ever gone all the way. All day long we climbed more mountains. Each time we thought it had to be the last, we'd look ahead to see another mountain to climb. The climbs continued until two miles from the ocean. But we made it!

Arriving at the ocean was an experience that no words can describe. Tears just rolled down my cheeks uncontrollably. Unless you've done it, you can't believe the feeling!

We are now on Coronado island just relaxing. We spent all the morning making preparations for shipping home the bikes and all the equipment. What a job! Then we headed by bus to the downtown area for lunch and some looking around. While we were eating, sitting right in the window of the restaurant, we saw all the commotion! People began to gather and instantly police cars surrounded the area. We went outside to learn that a man just shot a woman! Police immediately wrapped crime scene tape around the entire block. We heard on the news later that an 80 year old man shot a 40 year old woman in the head. She is dead.

We are leaving the island tomorrow and going to stay in old town just to experience more of San Diego before heading out on Tuesday. The weather is cool, only in the sixties. It hasn't been this cool for us since leaving the snow in Michigan in March. It will be nice to return to another spring and start of summer.

The trip holds so many memories. Those of us who rode together will remain more than friends forever. We came together as strangers, being so careful about what was said or done to respect each person's privacy and space. After two months of spending every minute together, nothing was private. There were no secrets, no topic off limits. It amazes us all that we got along so well in the worse conditions possible. We worked together to survive and accomplish what we all set out to do. We rode from ocean to ocean! Mission accomplished!

Thanks to all who cheered us on, for the encouraging words and staying with us in spirit. We love you all and will be home soon now.

THE Mountain!

Our toughest mountain is right in front of us! We are getting up at 5:30 to beat the heat and winds. The last and biggest climb starts immediately. The mountain is 10 miles straight up! Everyone laughs and says, "get someone to drive you over"! Or " you are nuts" ! But we came this far and we will do it. It's all downhill after that.

Check back tomorrow to see how we did.

Holtville, California

Breakfast of oatmeal and coffee and we hit the road at 6:30. Had hopes of beating the winds, but no such luck today. The high winds continued throughout the night. Once again our bodies baked in the raging sun and got sand blasted at the same time. Shortly after crossing the the California border there were signs that no fruit could be brought across th line and we would have to pass through a search station. Dean and Ron began eating bananas like mad men. I had an orange packed away and couldn't consume that as easily and didn't want to through it away like the piles of lemons and oranges that lined the road. I knew I would need that orange for nourishment in the desert. It didn't cause any trouble since they just waved us through. Good thing they didn't have any of those fruit sniffing dogs, Vickie!
We hit the desert immediately with huge sand dunes, blowing and drifting sand. We went to the border patrol station and asked if we could travel on I 8 but he told us it was not permitted. We had to be on a road that was so full of holes and cracks that no cars even used it. After about five miles of that we decided to risk a $100 ticket and go on the expressway. Bob and I were hitting the winds pretty strong and just wanted to finish as fast as possible. We got the tandem up to 15mph and pushed and pushed. Had several sand drifts to get through and I thought for sure that we would go down. Not a fun game on an expressway.
Ron's knees were hurting and he begged for us to reconsider our plans to ride over sixty miles. We stopped in Holtville for something to eat. We hadn't eaten since 6:00 and I don't know when I have ever been as hungry. The orange and two dates didn't take care of the desert energy burned. The only vegetarian item on the menu at Nana's Cafe was tuna fish sandwich. I literally inhaled it!
Ron and Dean didn't arrive until we had finished eating. He said in no uncertain terms that he was going no further. Motels? Campgrounds? Of course not! So our old game of call the town manager and see if there was a public site where we could set up tents. She sent the Sherrie over to Nana's to get us. Everybody in the little place thought we were under arrest. So to make a long story brief, we are set up outside the fire station. They put up a red tarp on the fence so the town people can't see us too easily. We're right on the street.

We got to shower in the firehouse and are ready to walk to town again to get some supper. Not many choices. Off tomorrow to Octillo! Can't believe we are in California!

Gila Bend, Actna and Yuma, Arizona

Saturday and Sunday were challenging days because of the high headwinds. We rode over 60 miles on Saturday to Gila Bend. Blowing sand constantly. We stocked up on water and food to carry through the longest part of the desert on Sunday. We knew others have reported that it is impossible to ride the whole thing. We started out at 5:30 in the morning hoping to beat the heat and sand storms. We've come to acquaint ourselves with a few border patrolmen along the way. One of them told us about Dateland which was a little out of the way but a source of more water. Dateland was a little town that grows dates, all kinds of different variety of dates. We stopped there and Dean even tried one of their "worl famous" (so they say) date shakes. It was so rich he couldn't finish it. They had free dates to sample and I bought a pound of honey dates to nourish us on the road. Later I looked up the nutritional value of dates and was quite amazed about all the power that those little things deliver. I will continue to include those mighty fruits in my diet long after this ride ends.

Dateland was 53 miles into the desert. We left the decision up to Ron if he wanted to continue or set up camp in Dateland. He really wanted the challenge of surviving the night deep in the desert so we moved on. After 12 miles the climbs, heavier winds and extreme heat got the best of us. We looked for a safe place to spend the night. Signs everywhere warned of poisonous snakes. Other truckers warned about the wild boars said they were pinned inside their truck for over an hour. The heat was unbelievable. The water we had was near boiling point, not a bit satisfying for thirst. As we sat on the ground I couldn't help but think about Black Widow spiders, boar, snakes, Gila Monsters and scorpions. It was also boring just sitting there just waiting 6 hours or so for night to come. Then Bob threw in that if we opened cans of food it might draw animals in closer. We had had a wolf run right in front of us on the road that morning. He looked at me and said that we could try and make it by ourselves. Dean didn't want to just sit there either. So Ron took a couple more Aleve for his aching knee and we set out for 26 more miles of desert! Bob and I pushed on faster than the other two. We battled head winds that continued to soar. The sun was like an oven and we began to feel like we were human BBQ. We decided to put our jackets back on just to protect our skin which was already frying. It was then that the wind caught our jackets like a sail and started to push us into the road. Bob tipped the bike and we rolled! Neither of us was hurt at all, not even skinned up. We made it to Actna feeling like a truck had run over us. We rode right into the only gas station and began drinking like crazy. I couldn't stop shaking, definitely dehydrated. Actna is a town of a couple hundred people who live in trailers and sand. All we could say was, "why would they stay here.".

Today the winds continued to challenge but the temps only went into the 80s. We climbed some of the most beautiful and steepest mountains. It was difficult but fun! We only had to ride about 50 miles. We are about ONE MILE from California!

Tucson and Casa Grande, Arizona

Rode into Tucson on Thursday. 67 miles first on tray littered roads. Dean got a piec of that wire from the steel belted radial tires that blow and leave fragments everywhere. It just can't even be seen. When we stopped along the route a man told us of a bike path that would take us all the way to Tucson. And "yes, it definitely is paved all the way". WRONG! It started out great. It was picturesque and quiet. We began to see the first signs of Arizona wildlife. Little Prairie Dogs, giant horned toads and lizards. The trail ran along the banks of the Santa Cruz river. But the river was absolutely dry! What had existed was deep and wide. We rode the path down under an overpass. It was dark under there and took a steep hill out of it. So we were riding very fast in order to make the hill. All of a sudden Bob yelled "hold in your feet". There was a bum sleeping under there with his feet extended across the path. We mad it passed him without even waking him. If he would've been startled by us he probably would've jumped up right in from of a fast moving bike. After 15 or so miles we came to. Sign that read "path ends" . It sort of did but we could see that it picked up a little ways over on the other side of a stony area. Off the bikes and we walked to the path. No problem, so we thought. After a few more miles we were really in trouble. The path once again could be seen in the distance but we were now at the steep banks of the dried up river. The only thing to do was get all the bikes down and up the sandy banks. The guys all helped each other one bike at a time trying to keep as much sand as possible from getting into the gears.
When the bike trail finally came to a road where we could exit we had passed the city of Tuscon by several miles. We had no interest in going back. We were originally planning to take today off to spend time in the city. I think we all have become addicted to the high of riding and decided we didn't want to just roam around the city in this heat and hit the road again as soon as the sun broke the darkness.

We are now in Casa Grande, Arizona. Had a ride of 68 miles in scorching heat. The air is 102 degrees but again was 111 on the road. The ride was wonderful with winds behind us until the mid afternoon. We sailed at 20 mph. Little lizards ran through the desert sands around us. They're the pet shop type we see in Michigan. Trains shattered the quiet with loads of orange juice, and military vehicles. The railroad tracks here have been rebuilt with concrete ties rather than the wood. Each train carries unbelievable loads.

We are in record breaking heat again in Arizona. Hope we do okay when we get into the most remote part of the desert in two more days. This experience is one of the best ever. I love every day.

Benson, Arizona

What a beautiful ride today! The mountains and desert were picturesque and breathtaking. Some parts of the mountains today were huge rocks. Because we were climbing you just couldn't stop to take pictures often enough. Some of the huge rock formations looked like they could break loose with the wind. One was balanced on two edges with a clearing underneath. It had to weigh tons. Valleys too were filled with boulders. Again no sign of wildlife but once today we scared up a buzzard who began circling us like we were the only possibility of the next meal. He actually acted like he might swoop down and start chomping.

The climbing wasn't difficult because again the wind, although light, was at our backs. The decent was over eight miles. We rode with light pressure on the breaks because of junk on the side of the road. At one point the traffic lightened up and Bob prepared me to "hold on and tuck your head in". He pulled out onto the road and let go of the breaks. We soared five miles at 45 mph. It was awesome! We rolled right into Benson, the only town left before Tucson. The day seemed too short and too easy but going all the way to Tucson would make our day over 80 miles. Ron has bad knees and really doesn't like when we do over 50, which is often enough. So we found a place for lunch and cheap rest for the night.

Tomorrow we will climb the mountains out of here and end in Tucson. I've just contacted a Warm Showers host home so will wait to see if that is a possibility.

We have some loose spokes that need adjustment so Bob is tending to that.
The nights continue to be cool and the days hot. No rain, ever! I think if they get it in this area the schools would have a rain day just so the kids could play in it.

Wilcox, Arizona

Easiest 75 miles I ever rode! The wind was strong again! Blowing sand like crazy! But the wind was from the EAST! That was heaven for us! We sailed through it all today, easily reaching 30 mph on the flats. Could climb at 15 mph. We crossed the Arizona State line and stopped for some picture taking. The mountains continue to be breath taking and awesome! We dodge tumbleweed as that in your spokes could cause an accident.

As we entered Arizona we lost an hour again since this state does not have daylight savings time. Therefore, when we enter California we will jump ahead two hours. I still have my watch set on Michigan time, my phone automatically changes to Mountain Time, and now neither one is correct. Oh well.

Our ride is too quickly coming to an end. We are exploring how we will return. Bob and Dean are calling bike shops in San Deigo to find out about shipping bikes home. It's so expensive to fly with them and not all Amtrak trains allow them. Bob, Ron and I are also exploring renting a car to Las Vegas and then getting home from there by plane or train. Lots to work out yet.

There's nothing different to see along the way. Sand and mountains! Shorter day tomorrow.

Lordsburg, New Mexico

Easy ride today, fast, cool and tailwinds. We did our 65 miles in a little over four hours. There's not much here in Lordsburg, a little better than some of our Texas towns but just junk stuff around. The desert is very cool at night. Tonight down to 30 with a wind chill of 27. Going to have to put on everything we have to ride in the morning. by afternoon it will be in the 80's.
Nothing but tumbleweed and sand in this area. Not too hilly today either. Very difficult forva lady to find a place to go to the bathroom along the road. Hiding behind a lone cactus brings honks from the truckers. Sometimes that's all you can do! Modern conveniences are few and far between. We crossed the Continental Divide this morning. Signs continue to warn of poor visibility because of blowing sand. Nothing in bloom here. No wild life. No road kill. Freight trains are numerous. I always count the cars and think of how excited James would be. Longest today was 127 cars long.
Trip is getting closer to ending. It feels bitter/sweet. I am enjoying it all so much. But all of you are missed too. Stay with us.

New Mexico , We're Here!

Finally we got through Texas. We are in Las Cruces,New Mexico at the wonderful home of Lee and Cindy Herman who are Warm Showers hosts. They are situated on the edge of the desert with a yard full of different kinds of cacti, some in bloom. It's a different world. No grass, no flowers. Mountains line the near horizon. The home is huge. All tile and marble floors. Cindy showed us immediately to the shower. Guess we were pretty bad looking. The shower was actually big enough to hold all four of us at once.

Tonight the Herman's are hosting a house concert. The folk singer Beth Wood arrived around 4:00 and we all sat down to a supper of soup and salad. Ron and I made the salad. We'd become the salad experts when the whole group was still together and cooking group meals.

This is now Sunday evening: last night became very busy as 30 guests arrived. We helped to put out food and enjoyed meeting so many local people. The concert was delightful and I'd love to begin hosting house concerts myself. Ron has actually done it several times in Canada.

We all got up early. Beth stayed the night too and needed to get on the road early, like us. Lee cooked a big breakfast of French toast with real maple syrup and fried apples and bananas in butter. Was very good but it's no wonder I'm not losing weight.
We headed west by 7:30. It was chilly. As the day went on the winds continued to intensify, and of course from the west. It takes all your strength to hold the bike upright. We couldn't even ride faster than 8 mph and at long intervals it was only 6 mph. It was an exhausting day!

El Paso, Texas

Landed safely in El Paso yesterday afternoon. On the road yesterday we were as close to the Mexican border as you could be. Police and border patrols were everywhere. Saw men and women being stopped, searched, held at gun point and cars being torn apart. It didn't feel like we were in the US. There are fences everywhere with spiral barbed wire on top. Even a hospital had that kind of fencing. We were not stopped anywhere. Glad we made the decision not to visit Mexico.
We are in a slum motel in El Paso! $30.00 for a room that we share. The towels are so thin that I would've made them my rags. No wash cloths, no bath mat. But an inspection of the sheets didn't reveal bed bugs. What more could you ask for? After all, it's a step up from some of our places!
We took the bus down town last night but everything closes up early so we just looked around and hopped the bus back to our swanky motel.
This morning we headed out in the traffic to get to the bike shop that had ordered tires and other supplies for us. I bought some heavy duty insulated water bottles that should help with water supplies in the desert ahead of us. Dean and Ron stayed at the bike shop for maintenance help. They still don't have the problems totally fixed and it cost them a fortune in labor. Bob is still working on the tandem. He changed both tires and greased all the chain, gears and derailer. He has the tools and knowledge to do it all himself and he enjoys it. We took a break to have some lunch and a little walk. Mailed a few more things home. That will lighten our load a bit more. Bigger mountains are coming!
Tomorrow night we will be staying with Warm Showers hosts in Las Cruces, new Mexico. They sound like quite interesting people and have invited us to be part of a house concert that they are hosting. The performer will be staying in their home also and many of their friends are invited. They will have dinner and wine. Sounds like a late party night for we early riser bikers. But we deserve a little entertainment too. The host couple are both Mac computer geeks who work from home. He has a web site and I could only check out a few of the many things that they have going. Will be fun to meet them.
The winds have picked up again today. Hope we can get to our destination tomorrow before they get bad again. John from Long Island who left us told us that when he tried to ride up one of the mountains the wind blew him right over on his side. He ended up pushing his bike up the mountain six miles! Not fun.
People have no lawns here. Either it's sand and dirt or they hauled in stones. Mountains all around the city. It gets cool at night but in the 90's during the day. But no humidity makes it feel good. The trip gets tougher from here, especially going west with the winds.
Posting may be difficult tomorrow with the house concert and party.

Fort Hancock, Texas

We're back on the bike after two days of hurricane strength wind. We got up at 5:30, ate our oatmeal and were on the road as light barely broke the dawn. We all have lights on the bikes so are allowed on the road before daylight. It was quite cool and although still windy, nothing like yesterday. We had a couple of long mountains to climb almost immediately but then heading toward El Paso the terrain again lost altitude. That means that we'll have that same climb plus more when we leave on Saturday. At that time we will finally leave Texas too!
The winds picked up today to 38 mph hour but we were able to get to Fort Hancock. It was a hard 69 mile ride. We met a few cyclists on the road today, all of them going east. The strong winds are in their favor but they too said they had to get off the road yesterday. They couldn't control the bikes and were blinded by blowing sand.
More winds are predicted on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. hope they are not as bad.
We are now on Mountain Time. That means a 2 hour difference from Michigan time.

The mountains were beautiful against the blue skies today. I'll try to post some pictures on Facebook but Verizon service is very poor here.

Fort Hancock sounds like a decent size town but don't be fooled! It too is a dead, nothing here place. One restaurant in town with the only vegetarian choice being retried beans, again!
Had some when we got in to town and will have to have them again when we walk over for supper in a few minutes. I'm so hungry for fresh fruit and vegetables. No wonder obesity is such a problem with poor people. They don't even have fresh stuff in their stores or restaurants.
Off for some retried beans!

Van Horn, Texas

Wind! Wind! Wind! Sand blowing everywhere! It's like a hurricane with the sun shining. Lining the town of Van Horn are a range of mountains. With the blowing sand they aren't even visible today. We spent the day going over the bikes, doing laundry visiting around town and reading. We rode up to Papa's Pantry for lunch. It's a real home cooked Mexican restaurant. Even homemade bread. Had fun meeting the locals. Don't know how they make a living in these towns. Bob wanted to get a haircut and thought today would be perfect. Two barber/hair stylists in town but neither opened up. When we went for lunch we noticed that one had opened. She said she was going to go for lunch to check later. At 2:00 she finally ended her lunch but said she wouldn't have time to trim his hair today. You'd think they'd grab any opportunity to make a buck.
Met a young man, his wife and 14 year old daughter today. Neither has worked in four years.
But the amazing thing is that they all love it in these small towns. They don't suffer from ulcers, I'm sure.
The wind is supposed to die down after midnight so we are heading out as early as we can. The wind will pick up in the afternoon to 30 mph and that's hard to manage too. They haven't had any rain here since October so it's nothing but dry leaves and grass and loose sand and dirt. Hope we can make our 60 miles tomorrow.

Ft. Stockton , Texas

Couldn't blog yesterday because of no wifi or AT&T service in the dead town of Iraan. You can't believe what a sad place that was! We bicycled 14 miles off the route to find it. The town was made up of empty stores and trashy tiny homes. It was unbelievable. The people who still live there are oil drillers. They had a couple of restaurants. We ate lunch when we arrived around three in one of them. But the waitress made it very clear that she had been working since 7:00 and wanted us to hurry up because she was tired. When I ordered the salad bar, even before she took the other orders, she told me to "then hurry and get what you want because I want to put it away". She then started to sweep the carpet with a broom, dust flying everywhere. When she brought the plates out she carried the food with one hand and held on to her broom with the other. When we left we asked if there was a place we could get supper later after we cleaned up. The reply, "The only other one is Isabella's but she only opens if she feels like cooking". Darn, wouldn't you know it, Isabella wasn't in the mood last night. So off to the gas station to pick up whatever we could call supper.
We left Iraan at 7:00 to try and beat the hottest sun. Getting out of Iraan involved a steep mountain climb that was exactly one mile up. Good way to start a long day.
Just yesterday we had drawn the conclusion that the only armadillos that exist are dead ones. Then this morning we spotted our first live one. Now we know why they are always road kill - they are rather slow moving, At least our one spotting was. Also saw several skunks wandering around and then a herd of wild boars. (not sure if the plural is boar or boars, and not sure if a bunch of them is really a herd). Anyway, they were pretty interesting to watch. I hopped off the bike to try and get a picture but I freaked them and they ran off pretty fast.
The ride to Ft. Stockton was long and hot. 67 miles in sun that was dangerous. No place for water or shelter. You just have to keep going. Ft. Stockton is a bigger town but not much going on here either. We tried to walk to one of the many restaurants but they obviously didn't feel like cooking today either. We talked to a man who was from Vietnam and asked him if he'd drive us somewhere to get supper. He had a pickup but since the back seat was full of beer we had to ride in the bed of the truck. He had to go quite a distance to find a place open. We offered to buy his dinner if he'd stay and drive us back to town. He said he wanted to go get his wife first. So he came back with his wife, a teenage boy and both of his wife's parents. It turned out to be an expensive taxi. But after dinner, back into the back of the pickup.
Tomorrow is Easter. Bob was so nice and suggested that I look for a church for Easter morning and we would just get a later start. I started calling all the churches on my phone app. The catholic church only had a mass in Spanish at 11:30. The others didn't even answer. I even tried the "cowboy church".
So I will spend Easter Sunday in the same bike clothes, sitting on that hard seat again.
I will be waiting for pictures of my precious babies in their Easter outfits.
Happy Easter to all my family and to Bob's family too. We will be thinking of you. More tomorrow, if we have service.

Ozona, Texas

Yesterday's ride and heat took it's toll on all four of us. When you become dehydrated it task more than a day to recuperate. We decided over coffee at 6:00 this morning to ride a shorter day. The only towns available were 37 miles or 77. We knew that 77 was an extreme in this heat and wind. So we opted for a landing in Ozona, Texas just 37 mles west. We even got another motel room. I did the laundry for all the men and they worked on bikes. That's fine with me to be the laundry woman because the bike maintaince is out of my league and I so appreciate that they can take care of that part.
We found Easter cards last night at a Dollar General. They were mailed this morning but it's still possible that they will be late. Aubrey, I sent one to your house addressed to everyone so if it's late, you need to just report to everyone.

We all got to bed late last night since Bob was trying to help Dean with his tire problem till after 10:00. We're planning to walk someplace for supper early and then get to bed earlier tonight. Uneventful day but still moving westward. Love to everyone.

Don't forget that you can also view pictures from the blog that Dean is forwarding to his daughter to post. Go to crazyguyonabike. Then select Journals. Then select Dean Fesette. He posts pictures daily.

Still Climbing out of Texas

Today was a long,hot day. We rode 67 miles and again no place for food or water after 9:30 this morning. At that time we went into the only place around - a real Texas General Store. It still had the same food on the shelves that was there when the wagon trains went through. At least that's what you'd think for the amount of dust over every can, box and bottle. I bought a can of sardines and a can of tomato juice. Sat down at the picnic table in there with Bubba, one of the locals. He began to brag about how many gun fights he's been in and said that he even shot three "niggers". We were so disgusted that we just got up and left. Texas is a beautiful state but the conservative and prejudice ideas of the people are unbelievable. There is Obama hate signs everywhere.

After leaving that place we had the hill from hell to climb. That was one of many today and they are nowhere what we will soon be climbing. We are up to an elevation of 2100 feet now. You just wouldn't believe the heat today! The air temp was 100 but on the road it registered 122 degrees! Ron had another flat out there. A small spring went into his back tire on a fast downhill. You just can't see little things on the road when you are traveling so fast. Then Dean's problems started. He had three flats today! Bob is trying to fix the last one yet. Dean just couldn't get air to stay. Bob bought real heavy duty tires. He changed one in Austin before it went flat. Just lucky that they are not blowing on the road. So much rough road today mixed with the heat! That's why the big 18 wheelers have blown tires all the time. You wouldn't believe all the junk on the roads too. Texas has signs all over "dont mess with Texas" $1000 fine for littering. People just toss trash at the signs.
We were on the point of exhaustion when we arrived in Sereno. We found a cheap motel since we are under severe storm watches again tonight. $38 for a room is pretty cheap!
We walked over to a Mexican restaurant. It was full of cowboys in their big hats and boots. They walk like they think they're hot stuff!
Tornados everywhere we already have been. Hope you don't read about us flying through the air in Texas tonight. Wind is terrible out there and thunder in the near distance.
Good night from Texas once again.

The Roads of Texas All Go Up and Up and Up

Not much new in our ride today except that we just keep climbing. We are at an elevation of 1800 feet now and it's all uphill from here. The temps are unbelievablly hot! On the road today it was 114 degrees andvthen Dean had a flat tire! There is no place to get into the shade. The three guys worked on the flat and I stood there frying some more. We rode on 290 most of the day but finally hit I 10 which we took for the last 20 miles. The road is rough chip and seal for most of the way but the traffic wasn't as heavy as I expected. Speed limit on it is 80 mph so those big trucks really come roaring by.
Road kill by the hundreds, mostly deer today. There was one right in our lane with the baby fetus ripped right out of it. Another huge one in our lane that was recently struck. The heat and the carcasses and bones all over make you think that you're going to just cook out there and die along the road too. Texas normally has 6 inches of rain at this time. This year they've had .05 inches. You can't believe how dry and brown everything is. There are burn ban signs everywhere. The dryness mixed with the Texas high winds is disaster.
We are staying in a truck stop motel tonight. It is too hot even to sleep outside. We were so dehydrated that we couldn't bear to try and find a place to set up the tents. It's going to be 98 again tomorrow. That means way over 100 again on the road. We are planning an early departure again to get some of the trip in before the sun is too hot.
We are searching daily for Easter cards to send home. You can't believe the hick towns. None has cards.
I was a bit blue yesterday thinking I wouldn't be with everyone for Easter. That was making me miss everyone so much. I know Sunday will be hard.

Jack, tell dad that my meeting Maria didn't work out. We were diverted off the road because of the fires on Sunday and that put us way out of touch. I spoke to her on the phone again today. She said she feels so close to me and dad and wants this friendship to continue. We are going to exchange pictures when I get home. She is such a friendly person and so easy to talk to. You feel like you've known her all your life.

There is a high alert about going into Mexico. There is random shooting of anyone. People around here are scarred stiff. We decided we shouldn't put ourselves at such risk. We were going to have our passports sent but that won't be necessary now. No sense taking that chance.

Off to bed soon. Love and miss everyone.

Snowing in Michigan / Cooking in Texas

We feel so sorry for all of you in Michigan searching for spring. As for us in Texas we feel like the dog days of summer. It is HOT! On the road it was 111 degrees today. We couldn't keep water cold for very long no matter how much ice we put in our bottles. We landed at a KOA tonight and I immediately jumped in the pool, biking clothes and all. The water was refreshingly cool but it helped my disposition immensely. The heat and strong headwinds really got to me today.
After my swim and shower Ron walked back from the store next door with a 24 once beer for each of us. I've had more beer on this trip than my whole life. Bob, who doesn't drink much either, and I could hardly walk to the store for some supper. So many good laughs.
We didn't get to I 10 yet today. Rode 290 all day. We entered Dripping Springs, Gateway to The Hill Country. And hills it was! In Dripping Springs every business was Dripping something. dripping Donuts, Dripping Paint, Dripping Oil ... You get the picture.
We went through Johnson City, the home of Lyndon B. Johnson. Not very impressive at all. We had lunch there and it was big time bad!
We are in Stonewall, Texas tonight camping like regular folks. There are some strange animals in the field next to us. Not sure what they are. Saw lots of newborn deer along the road - dead! Also several snakes, coyote and a wolf.
Talked to a man today who was asking about our trip. He warned that we are entering into dangerous drug trafficking areas and said we should be carrying guns. I asked if he had any suggestions to be safe. He advised, turn around and ride back to Florida. Guess our trip will get more interesting. I'm sitting outside at the picnic table. It's still 80 and breezy. Tomorrow should be hotter. I suggested tonight that we get up earlier and head out as soon as it's light enough to avoid some of the afternoon heat. We're going to try that.

A Bad Day Got Worse

Last night was fabulous! Took the busses into Austin for dinner. Since the bike repair was going to require another trip into the bike shop on Sunday morning we knew it meant that we wouldn't be up at six to take off riding. So we cleaned up and dressed up in our same one outfit for s last night on the town. We met our young friend Nate who was spending his last night in Austin with his friend. Ron and I walked on ahead of the others to find a finer place to eat than the night before. We selected a seafood restaurant. Had candles, white linen napkins and tablecloth and fine wines and beer. It was a little pricy but turn Ed out to be well worth it for the excellent meals we all had. Ron and Dean treated Nate to the meal since he was a little awe struck when he saw the menu. After dinner Nate took us to a coffee shop where we all had coffee and dessert.
This morning Bob and I hit the busses again to get another part for the bike that bob discovered had been damaged by riding with the broken axel. Either we were lucky or finally learning how to maneuver public transit, but we flew to town in record time. However, the bike shop didn't open for another two hours. We had breakfast at a nearby McDonalds and then sat on the sidewalk outside the bike shop. Bob brought the wheel with us and the guys took care of the problem. We tried to expedite the trip home but no taxis were available so back on the buses again!
By 2:00 we were on the road. Felt good to be riding again. We took 190 and the wind and traffic made the overpasses and lane changes a fight for your life battle. Then we were deluged with several emergency vehicles and eventually forced off the highway. There was a grass fire that spread to a cotton field and began to engulf homes. The smoke was pouring over the roads. We stopped at a gas station and wet kerchiefs to pull over our faces if we faced more of the smoke. Traffic just got worse by the minute with all the cars forced to reroute like us. We only lasted 18 miles and decided we had to start looking for a place to pitch a tent. It was already 5:00.
And so we are back to our rustic style. Candlelight and wine last night, camping behind a convience store tonight.
And yes, the winds will continue tomorrow! That's what makes riding challenging. We bought Texas lottery tickets tonight in our convience store. Maybe we'll be the $ 28,000,000 winners on Wednesday.

Austin, Texas. Happy Birthday Bob!

Held my breath and prayed for safety as we came into Austin. We were on the expressway with 3 lanes of bumper to bumper fast traffic in both directions. We were so high up on the last overpass I was wishing I could've taken a picture from up there. No one would believe bicycles are allowed on these roads. We couldn't get to the exit we needed for the motel that we had booked so kept going. We just couldn't fight our way back so lost $100.00 on what they wouldn't refund. We found a run down motel 6 and grabbed the last room they had. All we could think of is how in the world do we get back on that road on Sunday morning.
We showered, changed to our one outfit that we wear everywhere and headed out to find lunch. We ate at a wonderful Indian Restaurant near the motel. Since they had a small buffet for lunch we had a chance to try several different foods. They had a great vegetarian selection. Bob was afraid of the spices so only ate a Ceasar Salad. We then headed out to try our skills on the Austin transit system. Several transfers later, we were in the big city.
A friend of Dean's told him that the place to go was the Barbeque House. So that's where we headed. Highly over rated place and not a thing for vegetarians. You order at a window then they give you a paper plate of food on a red school lunch tray. Even plastic forks and knives. I ate a small plain salad and a beer for $10.50. The walls were filled with autographed pictures of famous people who have eaten there including Bush and Obama. We decided to walk around town and find a an elegant place to have a birthday dessert for Bob.
A couple told us that 6th Street was where the night action would be found. We walked all of it but not quite the style we were looking for. Pretty young crowd and wild like Bourbon Street. Not "elegant" ! We found a hotel with a fine restaurant and went in for coffee and dessert. dean and I only had a hot fudge sunday and Bob and Ron some pie. They hit us fo $45.00! I guess the price comes with elegant. We caught the last busses home.

This morning Dean went for a haircut while Bob took apart the tandem to try to correct a wobble in the back wheel. He found a broken axel! So much for playing in Austin today!
Nothing to do but head back through the transit jungle to a bike shop. I went with Bob. It took two hours and when we got back he realized they gave him the wrong size.
The bike shop had no other size! So several calls later we spotted a taxi at the motel. We paid the price to save time and headed to another shop. He gave us a nice tour of Texas University on the way. Bob has been busy rebuilding the back whl all afternoon.
Nate, who rode with us for a day, called to say he was in Austin with a friend. He came over to the motel by bike and needed a map from Dean. He's joining us for dinner tonight back in the city.

Bob has the bike mostly put back together now but says that there is some wear on some other part because of the uneven pressure of riding with the break. Hope we can finish the trip. Pray that we don't break down for good.

Dad, I spoke to Maria on the phone. She is actually an hour outside of Austin. She tried to get her son to help us get the part for the tandem but he was out on a bike trip himself. She is going to try and meet us tomorrow or Monday on the road at an exit. She seems so nice and really wants to connect with me. She is moving from her home into a new construction and was in the midst of packing when I talked to her. Hope our meeting works out.

Back on the road tomorrow, I hope! We will be riding on I 10!

Bastrop, Texas

Slept well under our big top tent last night. It stayed 70 degrees and no bugs. We fixed our coffee and instant oatmeal before heading out.
Rode 64 miles. Little wind and what there was was at out backs. Great riding day once again. Some hills especially in the beginning of the day but more at the end. I was wearing down this afternoon because I didn't find enough to eat along the way. The guys ate bakery cookies but I didn't want to fuel that way but nothing better came our way. I ran out of energy at 50 miles. Nothing to do but push on. Water was at a premium again so that was part of my energy problems. We found an RV park that let us set up tents behind the shower room. We all just lingered in that water today. No one can imagine how great a shower feels after being on the hot road. We were on the expressway for much of the afternoon. Traffic was heavy and fast!
After our laundry is finished we are calling a taxi to take us out for supper. Just can't fight that traffic again.
Tomorrow is Bob's birthday! We are riding into Austin and taking at least one day to see some sights. We'll take him out for dinner and we even hope to find a motel. Change of pace will feel good.
The four of us continue to enjoy one another's company.
Happy Birthday to my little brother Jack!

Under The BigTop

Each night is a new experience!
We woke up to a cool morning but having a real bed last night, it made no difference. I cooked the eggs that Doris had given us and warmed up last night's beans. The three guys and I ate a real Texan man breakfast. Doris and Earnie came down in the truck to see us off. We were on the bikes at 7:30. Had to start in jackets and leg warmers but by 10:00 had begun to shed layers.
Went through a couple of Texas towns that look like the cowboy movies. Had lunch at a place that was fashioned after the Alamo. Not much to eat there but big burgers and fFrench fries. So as the guys chowed on those I had a bababa and can of tomato juice.
The hills are starting now. And they all go only up! Each day our elevation is greater. Still not bad wind today but the hill climbing and heat drained us. Just couldn't get enough water.
We landed in the town of Burton, Texas. Naturally, no place to stay so we ended up at the tavern. Across the street we noticed a huge tent. Went over and talked to the lady in charge of the event that they are preparing for and asked if we could spend the night under their tent. They were thrilled to share. So we are on the platform that will be the dance floor for this weekend's Cotton Gin Festival. Not a single restaurant in town either and the bar only does food on Saturday nights. The owner of the bar Tommy, told us that if we could find some food in the grocery store ( more like a general store) that we could eat it in his bar. That's what we did. Bought a can of salmon, a loaf of bread and some mayo. Built a few sandwiches, walked to the bar and bought some beer to chase down the salmon. Tommy sat with us since there wasn't a single costumer all evening.
So we are under the big top and ready to sleep in our clothes again. But we did wash up in the bar! Don't ever think we go to bed dirty! No rest rooms available in the morning however, so we'll have to be creative. We heard that Brooklyn Bob who was one of the three from our group who wanted to ride faster got tired and flew home last night. John and Harold are on their own now. Penny called tonight and she's going home in the morning. We four carry on and are so compatible. It's very dark under our big top so think I'll turn in too. The guys are all tucked in.

High Class Tonight!

Today was perfect from beginning to end. It went down to 48 last night so I slept in all my clothes again. The park we were in became quiet and very dark. Everyone slept soundly.
We fixed our coffee and oatmeal and headed out by 7:30. It was cool so we started out wearing leg warmers and jackets. By afternoon it was 110 on the road. Texas is beautiful! Rode much of the way through the Sam Houston National Forrest. It could have been the UP in Michigan. Tall pine trees line the road. Wild flowers continue to awe us. Purple Verbena everywhere. We rode 55 miles today. There was no wind at all! Just perfect! We're getting into hillier country now. But not difficult hills because they are ones that can be ridden fast and run right up the next.
Penny who left our group called to tell us about the B&B she found in the small town of Richards. It's a 80 acre ranch with little cabins, showers, kitchen, laundry , swimming pool. All newly built, perfectly clean. The showers are private beautiful rooms with plush towels, new soap and individual shampoos. We have real beds for $25. We cooked supper in the kitchen and Doris, the owner, brought over fresh eggs for us to cook in the morning. Now this is luxury. I love Texas!

Shepherd, Texas

Only a 63 mile day but it was long and hard. Wind was in our face at 36 mph. That's hard riding! We started out great guns this morning with oatmeal, coffee, bananas and yogurt for breakfast at the RV park. We had tents packed and bikes ready for an early departure. Several people we met yesterday got up early to come say goodbye and take pictures as we rode off. We were barely down the road when Dean received a phone call about a friend passing away. He was expecting it and had talked to the friend just days before. Still, that is a sad feeling and we stopped to give him some love and care. Then off again.
The winds were low at the start. Almost immediately, Ron started having bike problems. Bob pulled out all the tools, took things apart. It was constant problems all day - breaks, fender, flat tire, chain, gears. That just made the day so long. It poured rain for abou 45 minutes but it was warm so we didn't mind. We stopped o put on rain jackets and pull rain covers on all the panniers. Luckily there was no storming because there was no place for shelter.
The wildflowers along the roads are amazing. All the things we pay big money for in Michigan greenhouses grow wild everywhere. The roads are still quite the same scenery, trees, pine trees and trashy trailers next to beautiful ranches. The predominant road kill now is coyotes and snakes. The people at the park warned us about going off into the woods here because of Copperheads and Rattle Snakes. Yikes!
Ate supper in a Mexican restaurant in the town of Shepherd. No campgrounds, no motels. So we are set up near a community center and softball field. The park is full of people tonight and no one seems to even notice that we set up tents. Met a man today from Finland today who came to ride this route. We're not the only crazy ones.
Love you all.

TEXAS, Home of the Poison Ivy

Yup, I've been stricken again! This time it's Texas style poison ivy! All over my feet and toes! Who even knows where I got it. I've been in some crazy places! Just hope it doesn't spread further because I ichec it all night thinking it was red ants or mosquitoes.
We left Louisiana yesterday morning and made our passage into Texas. Stopped for pictures at the boarder and then for mid morning breakfast at the first stop we came to. It was there that we met Nate from Nashville. He is a 24 year old doing the same trip as us but solo. He joined us for breakfast and we exchanged tales from the road. He decided to stay with us for the day and night. He is the son of a minister of the Church of the Nazarene and is just out to find direction in his life. A very interesting young man and enjoyable to be with.
The day riding in Texas was hot and windy. In the afternoon it was 104 in the heat of the road.
We stopped for a cold drink at a Sonic in Buna. There were no campgrounds or motels once again. We began calling churches but no answers. Finally, the manager at Sonic told us we could camp behind their building. So that was the camp for the night. We washed up in the restrooms and decided we'd better eat there out of respect. Lights and music kept us up a long time. The guys wanted some cold beer but once again we found ourselves in a dry county. That happens a lot in the south. Nate asked some teenagers where to get it and sure enough they came back later to drive him to another county.
This morning we had difficulty finding anything open for breakfast. We ate in a gas station. We had decided to ride only 20 miles today to the only campground available for a few more days. The guys all needed to service the bikes. The dirt and chip-seal roads are hard on them. Repairs on the hot road are not fun. Nate had planned to go on his way alone when we reached the camp. Penny decided to go with him. She is only planning to ride until Friday anyway. So now there are four!
We set up out tents and made a ride to WalMart to pick up laundry soap, bike rags, and a few groceries to eat at camp. When we got back Jeff and Tina, the owners of this small RV park informed us that they were cooking today for all the residents of the park and we were invited. So after we finished all our chores the meal was ready at the pavilion. Jeff had cooked "Armadillo Eggs", pork and a number of other dishes. We ate like kings and queen. We had a chance to meet and socialize with many others who live or vacation here. What Texas Hospitality we've experienced here! We played horseshoes and sat around drinking beer. You wouldn't believe the desserts we ate tonight! No wnder I'm not losing weight. One couple was proud to give Dean and me a tour of their RV.
We came back to our tent spot and drank some of the cheap wine we had purchased at WalMart and concluded our relaxing day off. We talked about the people we had met and again remarked about the great people we are meeting along the way. This is truly America, the great people who make our great country. Our day of rest was a wonderful day. We have been fed in body and spirit to venture on. Stay with us. We love you all and miss you.

We Survived

Well last night Mayor Ricky came over to our "float" to see if things were okay. We had gone to a local restaurant for dinner. I went into the restroom to find that it was a one woman room so I took paper towels and washed with warm water. I even could stick my feet into the sink and wash them all the way up my legs. By the time my supper was ready I was also quite refreshed and sort of clean. No change of clothes, but so what to a hobo? Mayor Ricky was a very nice person. He brought over a young man from the neighborhood who said he'd see that everyone left us alone. I really did feel safe after they left. We slept great. I didn't hear the police make the rounds but I did walk cautiously when I woke up to go to the portipot in the middle of the night. Had to climb down the stairs from the float. What memories this trip will carry. You'd think we were all destitute, but in reality most of the gang are millionaires.
Today was a fun, relaxed ride. We saw lots of crawfish farmers out in the fields bringing in the traps. Lots of snake holes and snakes today.
We had fairly flat roads yesterday but today the small hills started. Should be in Texas tomorrow so the terrain will be changing dramatically.
We are at a campground tonight. Actually cooked a gourmet supper with groceries we picked up before stoping. Took a long ,hot shower and even did laundry. Clothes are pretty dirty after living and sleeping in them for three days.
My cold is better tonight and I feel strong and great. This is such an amazing experience.
Aubrey, I heard your voicemail today. Had service for a few minutes. None again here tonight.
That's exciting that they are trying new things to help James. I miss all of you but the time is flying rapidly for me. It was 100 on the road today. Hot and humid!
Don't worry about us but continue to pray for our safety especially on busy roads. More tomorrow. Keep sending texts to our phones too. We miss you and love hearing from you.

Still in Louisiana

The cold weather hit Louisiana. The nights got down to 40 twice now. I froze! The second night of it I just shivered and couldn't sleep at all. That night the cold hit me. So I had a pretty miserable ride the next day.
Louisiana on the back roads leaves a lot to be desired. Slums, trash on the roads, nothing decent to eat. "y'all must be from the north, we only fry our fish and chicken, no grilled here". When I asked what kind of vegetables a place had the reply was "white rice and French fries"! I crave fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. Bob looks like he has lost about 10 pounds. I may have gained. I know I haven't lost.
Last night we stayed at a campground that no one would even believe. It was in Washington, Louisiana. The lady told us on the phone that it was the only place around but was great! They had showers and were even giving red beans an rice for supper at no extra charge. I took pictures of our campsite. It is picture perfect. Grassy field along a river. But what you won't see is the rest of the story. The rest rooms were worse than a third world country. There were two sinks. One had no water, the other only cold. When I turned it on spiders came rushing out. The paper towels were covered with thick black mold. I refused to try the filthy showers. I washed with the cold water hoping for better accommodations the next time. Then off for red beans and rice. Good thing it was so dark in the room that we couldn't see if other things were in it or not. We ate it and went to bed. I took some Thera Flu. Ron gave me his rain jacket to cover with, thinking that it was bigger and heavier than mine and would keep me warmer. I hit my thin bag and I was out! Slept the whole night and felt much better this morning.
We had planned to make this a short day. Dean had bike parts shipped to Ville Platte that had to be picked up. Bob is the mechanic so needed time to change the parts on Deans bike. We also have had some rubbing sounds on our tandem and he needed time to take it apart. So a short ride was planned for today.
Before we retired last night we had a group meeting. We have been riding so hard that we can't even take pictures. Some of us are not happy with riding just to get to the end point. Ron is a photographer and stated that he can't enjoy this type of travel. We push on just to end up in places like last night's campground. Three of the guys said they don't care to see anything and just want the rush of making the target as soon as possible. After a long discussion we agreed to hug them goodbye this morning. Harold, John and Brooklyn Bob left us. Ron has trouble with his knees too. He has done a lot of tours in Canada and Europe and the united states and has always enjoyed them more than this. We agreed that we wanted to have the time too. Penny stayed with us. She will only be on the ride about 10 more days. She actually doesn't have the same agenda but that's too bad since she decided to stay.
Tonight we are in the town of Mamou, Louisiana. Since there are no campgrounds or motels, Dean called the city hall here. The mayor said he had a place we could stay. He had a police car come out to meet us and escorted us to our "camp" . You would never believe it! We were brought to the slums of town. We are in a piece of a Mardi Gras float with our sleeping bags on the floor of it. We had to remove beer bottles, food scraps and needles first. We do have a nice porta John nearby. And the mayor brought us a garden hose to attach to the water supply. Of course the water spigget had no top. Good thing Bob had plyers. Instead of showering there in the open I washed up in the restaurant when we went to eat. Ron did the same. The police who escorted us out here said he would drive through a couple of times during the night to see if we were still safe. That's great! We have no phone service so can't call 911 if we need it. I feel like a genuine hobo tonight. Vickie and Jane, you both would just die. Madison, you would never survive!
I'm so glad I have service on my iPad! I can tell that I have voicemail on my phone but cannot access it without service. So if you left a message you'll have to wait till ???
Aubrey, I shipped thin mummy bags to your house and bought something heavier today when we finally came to a Wall Mart. Now it will probably be hotter than hell. No room to keep both on the bike.
Bikes are repaired. Ron had another flat today too. Hope we get all the bike problems over with before we hit the mountains.
Good night. Love all of you. Jack, be sure to tell Dad I haven't been able to call because of phone service. Hope I survive this night.

Catch Up

Saturday was the ride from he'll. I was not feeling well, it was hot and the ride was 84 miles! No one would believe that on that 84 miles there were no stores, no gas stations very few homes. There was nowhere to get food or water and no restrooms. Restrooms was the least of the problems since we have become quite accustomed to the woods. But to ride with no lunch is impossible. Around 2:00 Penny dug out some English muffins she had tucked away and Harold had some peanut butter. We sat in the sun along the highway and shared the meager crumbs. Several miles further we came to a house. We were totally out of water so I went up and asked the lady there if we could please fill our bottles. She let us use her hose. Monica, I remember when you got trench mouth from drinking from our hose. When we arrived at the campground it was 6 :00 and we had to clean up, set up tents and get on bikes to go find food for supper. I was so exhausted that I just wanted to go to bed but we all nnded food. After that I couldn't bring myself to blog. What a day! We all agreed that there will be no more long days like that. The sun is too hot.

Sunday. A lovely day! Short day of only 54 miles. We entered Louisiana and much to our amazement found hill after hill. The hills were tall and one after another. They are fun on a tandem. We can get so much speed going down that we can get most of the way up the next.
At the campground we were the only ones there. The owner Mike, gave us the little cabin on the site. Bob grabbed the top bunk and I the bottom one. We slept well but Bob had come down with the cold. I introduced him to Thera Flu and he slept like a baby. He's much better today.

Monday. Hills, hills,hills! Fun ride today, the hills were fun. Miles short, only 40! Not planned to be that short but people kept warning us about tornado warnings and no shelters ahead of us. So we found somewhat of a campground and tied things down. We picked up cans of beans and cooked a gourmet meal before the storm hit. One huge one just went through you never saw such rain, lightening and wind! There's more to come! A young couple from Australia pulled in out of the storm. Had fun listening to their story. They actually saved up money and quit their jobs for a year to bicycle. They are coming from California now going east.

Well that's about it in short version. Have had a few other bike incidents but Bob has the tools and expertise to take cRe of anyone. No problems of our own yet!
Never did find tape for my leg but it's doing better now. Kate suggested I could find some at Wall Mart. No one would believe how remote these areas are! There are none of those places!
Can't wait to tell you some personal stories.
Love to all.

Camping in Mississippi

What a day! I woke up with a severe UTI! Long story short, I had to see a doctor before I could leave Bayou LaBatre. That took two hours. The others went on but naturally, Bob was stuck waiting for me. After a stop at the pharmacy for a prescription we were finally ready to start our ride. Thankfully, it was one of the shorter days, 58 miles. Seemed to take forever since I needed extra water and bathroom stops. Had a nice tailwind for about 10 miles when
We were able to maintain 18 mph. Mississippi is noted for being the worst state for bicyclist and we learned that fast. No bike lanes, trucks nearly brush up against you and rough roads. It was a nerve wracking day. I can't even remember the town we are in tonight. It's a little ways past Wade, Mississippi. We are in a real campground.
Going to make this brief. Everyone has gone to bed. Nearly 80 miles tomorrow.

Hello Alabama

Finally we are out of Florida. We saw the best and worst along the way. No one would believe the numbers of Pit Bulls the people of Florida own. Wish I would've counted them. We were charged by two of them but they were called off just as Bob was about to use pepper spray. Fortunately they listened.
Crossed over into Alabama this morning and had breakfast at a Waffle House. The. People there were especially friendly and we enjoyed conversation up at the bar with the cooks and waitresses. The morning was cool and dark clouds hung over us most of the day. Sun is finally out.
We rode the ferry over the
Mobile Bay. It was a 45 minute ride but I met some women from Wisconsin and enjoyed conversation with them. My leg is still bothering me. One of the women was a physical therapist and she told me to tape it. Said her husband is a sport medicine doctor. Haven't found a place to get tape yet.
Had oyster sandwich for lunch. Need to stop eating fried stuff!
We are camping tonight free again. The fire department in Bayou
LaBatre have let us set up in the park next to them. We even all got to shower inside. This is the town that Forrest Gump came from in the movie. It's also the town where the Vietnamese
Father through his four small children off the bridge. There is a memorial to them here in the park. See it on my Facebook. So sad.
It's a little cool tonight, going down to 52. Hope we stay warm.
Camper and truck left us this morning so now we fend for ourselves.

Another site to follow

Our leader Dean has been sending his daughter brief info and pictures. She is then posting it on another blog from her home computer. Its a site for bikers. Go to crazyguyonabike then look for the name Dean Fasette. You'll see pictures as we go along rather than going to my Facebook. I'll continue to post on both.

Looks like a long day is being planned for tomorrow!

Storms/lightening/tornados

We packed the trailer and shipped it back. That was 60 pounds. Hope I can manage easier. We all piled into the camper last night - bodies all over the floor! We slept in our bike clothes in anticipation of jumping right on board in the morning. Well, there were severe storms all night and tornado watches all morning. We scrounged for breakfast and Dave suggested he drive us in groups to the Naval Base Museum in Pensacola. I expected a little community museum with a few pictures on the walls so didn't even take my camera. How wrong I was. General, you would have loved it. Planes, planes, planes! It was like the Smithsonian. Watched the Blue Angels at the IMAX theater and ate lunch there. Dave, Dean and Bob are former service men so they really enjoyed reminiscing .
Sun is out now but still a chance for rain tonight and tomorrow. We are staying put tonight but will head out at daybreak tomorrow. Hope the stronger guys don't kill us by trying to make up miles too fast.
We still have a lot of weight on the bike, four loaded panniers, and equipment strapped to the back and front. No matter how hard I work I don't have the muscle mass and strength of the men. Penny has only about 10 pounds on her bike and she's 10 years younger than I am. Bob carries all the repair tools and first aid kit for everyone. That's a lot of weight.
Going to cook spaghetti again tonight at the campground. Tomorrow starts another new adventure as we begin the next phase with no support truck at all.
Penny had two days to rest up from her cold. Hope the germs are at bay. Sounds like the same bugs are around Michigan. Kate, imagine feeling like you do and having to ride a bicycle for eight hours! Hope you are better too.
Love all of you. Thanks for riding in spirit with us.

Day of Rest Pensacola, Florida

We left our Warm Showers home yesterday morning after a simple breakfast of coffee, toast and cheese around a beautiful table with a linen tablecloth. We felt refreshed and above all, clean. John asked our host Jerry if we could use her scale. We were all positive that the pounds must be dropping off. Dean was the only one who lost a couple of pounds. He also was the one who had been sick. The rest of us are exactly the same! Must be that the marshmallow is turning to muscle! Ha! We have burning around 3000 calories a day but we are eating too and eating a lot!
Monday was our planned day of rest but plans changed a bit. We had to ride 26 miles to find bicycle shops for parts and more tires to have on hand. We landed in a beautiful state campground right on the water. Harold and I went out last night to buy lighter sleeping bags and Harold needed brighter shirts. He was thinking about black not showing the dirt but he is our sweep and Dean was not comfortable with him being at the back and not being visible enough. We had two GPS devices with us but I have no sense of direction and Harold is from Canada and no even sure of USA driving laws. What a pair to sent out! We were lost going out and lost trying to return in the dark. When we finally found the state park the gate was closed and bearing a sign "opened at 8:00AM"! A call to our camp got one of the guys to get the code to let us in.
Bob was up worrying about what could've Happened. It took us over three hours for a simple couple mile trip! They won't let me and Harold out together again!
Today we are just hanging out to rest our bodies. All the guys tore bikes apart. I'm having a hard time pulling all the weight of the panniers and trailer. So Bob tore the trailer apart and is shipping it home. Now he's concerned about the extra weight on the back wheel. If that goes out we're done. The bike is still very heavy and takes a lot of skill to balance it.
Thought I'd hang out on the beach today but it's cool and cloudy. Washed clothes, read email and shared my iPad with others. Nice and relaxing. Lots of rain and storms heading this way. We had made arrangements to all sleep in the camper tonight. All our tents are down. Dave has to leave us now so we ride and sleep wherever no matter what the weather.
Talked to Aubrey and Evelyn today and that helped my homesickness. Talked to Darlene for a long time and she helped with friend connection.
Bob was happy to hear that Janie is going to go visit his mother this week. He loves that Barb is checking on her daily too. Thanks to everyone for your support. Jack, I'm happy you following on the blog and map. I think you should attempt such an adventure some day. Love all of you out there back home.
I

Warm Showers!

We are sitting with an 80 year old couple who giving us a place to sleep tonight, inside their home. But best of all, we all have taken a shower! This couple have bicycled all over the world. They have so many interesting stories to share.
We were going to take a day of rest tomorrow but that isn't going to happen until Tuesday. I pulled a muscle in my left thigh yesterday and today it was a little tough to keep pushing on. I put ice on it when we arrived here and now it's feeling better. Tomorrow will be a very short 25 mile ride to a real campground where we will stay until Wednesday morning. The guys needs to work on bikes. We are near bike shops here so they can get parts.
Bob had to work extra hard today with my lane leg. I'm trying to talk bob into both of us scaling down and shipping some stuff home.
We are going out to dinner tonight with our host couple. Feels strange to be clean and out of bike clothes. Think we're going out for some Chinese food tonight. More later.

Wet!

Headwinds,hills, rain, hail, sore muscles! I'll bet you wish you were here! Radar showed only 30% chance of rain so we were very optimistic that we'd be fine. Thirty minutes on the road it started to rain so hard that before we could get the rain gear out we were drenched. Mud and oil from the road then splattered our legs for miles. By lunch the sun came out and we stop ped in a delightful little town for lunch. A couple there warned us that an arsonist had started a Forrest fire four days earlier and smoke would be drifti ng over I90 where we were riding. Sure enough! So just add that to the rest of the hardship s for the day.
We decided to make our day shorter so onlyrode 60 miles. Camping behind a VFW tonight. No showers, only bushes and trees for restrooms once again.
Bob and I decided to go into town and wash all our clothes at a laundry. I looked so soaked and pathetic that the ladies let us use the restrooms to wash up and even wash our hair. They gave us clean towels to use too. I felt like I had been to a spa.
Cooked hamburgers, and Boca Burgers over a little fire
Dean has been suffering from a nasty cold for three days now. Hope it doesn't go through the group. I don't know how he keeps riding!
At a Warm Showers home tomorrow. Cant wait! More rain forecast!

Perfect Day on the Bike (almost)

Harold had his third flat tire! Everything else was just great today. Woke up to temp of 41 so had to put on a few extra layers of clothes to start riding. By noon it was sunny and hot once again. Had hills again but they didn't have stop signs and traffic lights at the bottom of the hills. So the hills were actually fun and invigorating, with downward speeds of 36 mph. We rode 72 miles today and once again couldn't find a campground. A family has allowed us to set up our tents in front of their property in Bonify, Florida. We are more than one day ahead of the planned schedule. We have traveled 653 miles so far!
Shrimp and tofu are cooking for supper. Dave will leave us in a couple of days then we will be scouting for our own camping facilities and picking up food along the way. Dave goes ahead and does all the begging for us now.
Love hearing from everyone. Keep it up. Haven't been taking any pictures because everything looks like any place in Michigan. Little towns look the same everywhere. People are fun to meet. They all want to talk to us about what we are doing. We passed into Central Time Zone this morning.

What a Day!

Had a great night with Diane, a lawyer, who opens up her home (a former goat farm), through Warm Showers. What a brilliant woman who has her priorities in life in the right order. To look at her you'd never guess she was a lawyer and such an educated woman. The people we are meeting are the highlight of this experience. Thought today would be easier after sleeping inside and showering. We left at 8:00 and headed for Tallahassee . We encountered so much construction, miles of it. So much traffic and high hills every inch of the way. It was Hard all the afternoon. Winds picked up. Bob thought I had just tired so wasn't able to take the hills. I was working like a horse. He finally stopped at the top of a hill. My arm and leg muscles were trembling I had worked so hard. He discovered that my back bread was stuck. I felt like I was in the Biggest Loser Challenge pushing a truck up the hill.
Three of the guys had flat tires during the day. When we got into Quincy Dave, the retired cop who has the camper and is following us for the week found a field where we could stop. He bought some cheese and crackers and wanted us to take a break. The wind gusts had picked up and we were beat. As we sat around laughing about the events of the day a huge tree cracked off and hit the groud immediately behind where Penny, Bob and Dean were sitting. It his Daves truck and did a bit of damage. Those three were about as close to death as anyone could get. What a scare! We set up camp in a field tonight, showered under a cold hose and some of the guys walked to a church for a chicken dinner. The others of us ate oranges and strawberries. Too tired to go anywhere even for food. Ready to crawl into tents now. Going to go down to 42 tonight. Getting out tomorrow will be difficult. Continue to pray for our safety on the road. Most people are courteous but it only takes one hothead to cause an accident.

The People We Meet

Last night we stayed in the yard of a family from Trindad. They lived in a shack of a trailer but were the most generous people you'd ever meet. Once again the women were invited into their home to shower. The man called his wife who was in Trindad and told her of his guests. She Insisted that he give us something. He came out with Lassi and another Indian dessert food. They were so poor but wanted to give us something. We tok up a collection and presented them a card with a nice chunk of money. Yesterday was an especially hard day. Rode over 72 miles in 88 degree sun. Today was easier with only 48 miles. Was a very hilly ride and we all felt tired. I found a Warm Showers host in Monticello and she agreed to let us stay. We're sleeping in beds tonight in air conditioning. The most interesting people! Too much to write about, it will have to wait. We are all clean and well fed tonight as we crawl into clean, dry beds. Love the people we are riding with.

Tumbling Tandem

We are all feeling good and weather is good, so once again we pushed on further than planned. We have a guy who is a cyclist too who offered to follow us with his camper for one week. He went ahead again today and going a free spot to set up camp. He found a place behind the library in high springs along the Santa Fe River. But camping like this means no real showers again. Penny and I haven't been able to wash our hair in three days. With the heat and grime on the road we were feeling terrible. John, one of our riders walked over to the fire department across the street and begged for the two women to shower at the department. We were welcomed in. How wonderful!!! The men were a bit jealous.
In the middle of the day we all decided to stop in Gainsville at a bike shop. The city was crowded, being a college town. As we pulled into the parking area two of our bikes collided. Bob and I went over and the two of us went rolling. Thank God no injuries. Darlene, not even blood! The others behind us said that we did it so well that we looked like professional stunt riders. Guess all those falls I took over the years helped do it gracefully.
We are walking to a little local place for supper tonight.

Officially day One

There are eight of us. We left the campground at 8 AM and headed down the road to the Atlantic Ocean. No one wanted to get sand in their bike gears so we had to find a paved ramp. Tires were dipped and we were off. We had tailwinds most of the day so made it to our planned destination by 1:00. We all agreed to keep going since the day was so perfect. Finding no campgrounds, we called the pastor of a Methodist church in Flafahome, Florida. He welcomed us to set up our tents. We had fun showering with a hose and changing clothes in the little outdoor chapel. We ate spaghetti on the lawn and are now all settled in for the night. The group is so comparable. There are actually two vegetarians. Harold is the other but oddly enough he used to own a large commercial poultry farm. The guys enjoy ribbing him about ringing chickens necks to kill them and now he can't eat them. Just a lot of fun together.
My phone has little service tonight so pictures wouldn't upload to Facebook. I'll catch up when I can. Dean is the leader of this ride. He rides a recumbent bike but can make that baby move. Dean is from Florida, is 69 and recently remarried. He has a three week old granddaughter that he loves showing off in his pictures. I'll give more information on the others gradually. All is dark and quiet on these church grounds tonight. Think we will sleep well. Love you all.

St. Augustine, Florida

Absolutely perfect ride along the coast of Florida yesterday. Winds from the ocean kept the heat of the road comfortable and helped our speed as well. Although the day was nearly 70 miles, it actually went by faster. Bob's knee is bothering him a bit (he had surgery on it several years ago) so we hope it holds up. My bottom end has reached the bruising that takes away my breath each time I stand or dismount. The blisters have started to heal so I soon should have the necessary calluses. Now doesn't all this pain make all of you who are sitting on couches reading this jealous?
When we arrived at the KOA in St Augustine the pool was irresistable. Wearing my bicycle clothes I started in only to find that the water temp was about 60. Obviously, the reason why there was only an 8 year old little Mexican boy in the pool. I went down three steps and he stood there encouraging me to come in. "Come on, you're doing better than me. I stayed on that first step. Ok, now get your arms wet," he encouraged. Couldn't look like a wimp in front of that kid, so in I went. Probably the Ivey water was good for my body.
Today is a day of rest. We rode three miles to breakfast. Now while Bob is cleaning the chain and going over every inch of the bike, I'm sitting at the laundry. We will ride into historic St. Augustine in a bit to take in a little of the culture.
Penny is in St. Augustine now and will set up her tent on the same site as ours tonight at this KOA. Looking forward to meeting her in person and the other three guys who will be riding.

New Smyrna Beach

Great riding today. Temperature registered 99 on the hot road most of the afternoon. My legs were feeling stronger already so was able to push harder. Bob was happy about that! In order to keep the captain and stoker (official names of tandem riders) working equally hard, we wear heart rate monitors. Yesterday I had to struggle to keep mine up but today we were both consistently around 140 except for hills. The monitors also calculate calories burned at the end of the day. Hopefully, our out of shape winter bodies will soon reflect the thousands of burned calories.
Darlene, as you would expect, no matter which way the road curved we had headwinds! It really slows you down so although we tried to keep our pace up to 13 - 15 mph, our average ended up to be only 11. It's going to be long, long days if we constantly encounter headwinds.
Talked to Penny today. She is still in Atlanta but will be joining us on Saturday. She is making her final arrangements. Can't wait to meet everyone in St. Augustine.
Supper tonight consisted of trail mix. We couldn't bring ourselves to sit on that bike again to travel back into town.
Monica wins the award for emailing baby pictures so far. Aubrey is in second. That means grandpa Bob would like to see Lexi, Jackson and Miriam too. Kate, I want to watch and hear about how Landyn is growing too. Thanks for staying with us on this adventure of a lifetime. Love you all!

Hot First Day

First of all I talked to a supervisor at Apple last night only to find out that I can't import photos to this blog because the iPad lacks the needed c drive. When I have more time I may decide to switch to an iPad application. I'll let followers know if that happens. Bob and I enjoyed a healthy and hearty breakfast with Deb and Kirk. We're going to miss his fresh squeezed juice right off the trees in the back yard. Thanks deb and Kirk for all the great times at your home and the grand tours of Disney.
It was a long,hot day on the tandem. The smell of orange blossoms filled our senses down every road. The captain of this tandem is a man so you can probably understand how we went eight miles out of the way. Finally, I stopped another cyclist who hated to give us the news that we had to turn back. And of course it was all uphill! It was 93 on our bike computers most of the day. We are a bit fried!
We are in a campground tonight near Mt Dora, Florida. It's really a beautiful campground.
Hope to get some sleep. Darlene you know how difficult that can be for me After a day of riding. Bob is an excellent captain and has such strong legs. We are pulling a trailer so that adds to the difficulty of each hill. Thanks to all who are showing support by following along. I will post some pictures on Facebook. Check that site too.

Last Day with Deb and Kirk

Kirk worked for Disney and we learned that the staff at Disney is referred to as "cast". Deb and Kirk gave us tours of Disney like no one else can imagine. We ate in different restaurants, toured the most elegant hotels of Disney, saw what happens behind the scenes and of course were delighted by many of the shows. We visited every park! So we tasted Disney enough to know that we would love to return some day. It is summer in Florida. We went swimming every day in a 89 degree pool here in the community where Deb and Kirk live. They treated us like we were the most important guests at the Disney Resort. Thanks Deb and Kirk!
Bob and I rode the tandem every morning. This morning we added the trailer to test the weight. We only rode 22 miles today but it all went smoothly. My lack of riding over the winter isn't hurting too badly. No aching muscles yet and the aching butt will inevitably come after another week on that seat.
Tomorrow morning we begin the journey toward St. Augustine. That will take a couple of days. The forecast looks great. May it continue.
This blog has not been so easy to navigate from my iPad. I spent a long time on the phone with the support geeks at Apple last night so I will attempt to add a photo to this again here. If it ends up with no photo it's because I was unsuccessful and will be back on the phone with Apple.com. Thank goodness I have someone "out there" to whine to. Well here goes....

Heading Toward Florida-snow?

Left Bishop airport in a rental Chevy Traverse. Tight squeeze but everything fit inside. It was rainy and cold but in our minds we saw warmth and sunshine hours away. No coats, hats, mittens or boots any more! Ha! It went from rain to rain and snow to all snow followed by a few hours of rain. We stopped in Corbin, Kentucky for a bite to eat and decided to call it a day as it turned to freezing rain. In spite of the weather the time passed quickly. All of my kids were in contact throughout the day on Facebook,texting and phone calls. Monica even sent a video of Reagan Jayne. It's so great to be able to stay so connected. Thanks for stain with us.

Still Mastering Blogging Skills

Spent the last two days trying to correct the grammatical error I found in my first post. I edited and when I tried to repost the whole thing delited. Spent another hour finding the original and decided that it would be left as a "see if you can find the error" game. The teacher in me cringes to leave it but I'm resolved to the fact that there will probably be many more that I will be too tired to catch along this journey.
Bought some bubble wrap to protect my ipad to the max while traveling and prepared small bags of vitamins. Wonder if I need a double dose each day.
I'm not in the shape or condition I'd like to be in to start this trip but ready or not we'll soon be off and riding.

The Countdown Begins - One more week

Today begins the final week of preparations for the big bike trip.  My clothes are ready.  Amazing that three months supplies fit in one small grocery bag.  The biggest preparation is adjusting to being away from my kids and grandchildren all that time.  I'm going to miss the fun times like last week's swimming with all of them.  I'm also going to miss Kate and Landyn, pictured here in the pool too.  

Heading to Florida to spend a few days with Deb and Kirk, practice riding the tandem with Bob, visit Disney World, and then head out to St. Augustine where we will meet our other cyclists and begin the pedal by pedal trip across the United States.

I will post as often as I can.  Please check in and let us hear from you too.