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!