My Parade

We rode our 40 miles in the morning to get to a fire station in St. Augustine before 10:30 am. Around 10:45, we lined up two by two behind a police escort to travel down the road to the river, over the bridge, and down to the beach several miles away. It was cool to have the sirens wailing and lights flashing. A police motorcycle and SUV were busy blocking traffic at lights and intersections along the way. A cruiser led the parade and our Subaru SAG wagon was the caboose at the end of the bicycle train.

It was pretty exciting. We were riding in the MIDDLE of the road, taking LEFT TURNS from the center, and riding through RED LIGHTS! It felt naughty but nice. I love a parade and I remember thinking that this parade is all about me (us) in this once in a lifetime event!

When we arrived at a circle in front of the beach house, there was a crowd of people waiting for us. Friends, family, and former riders were all out to greet us with balloons, signs, and great applause. I kicked off my bike sandals and socks, lifted by bike, and headed over the white beach sand. Even now we didn't want to get any sand or grit in our deraillers. Down to the warm water of the Atlantic Ocean , we dipped our tire in the salty surf. We had our pictures taken and eventually headed over to a pavilion for a picnic lunch.

For those of us without alternative transportation we biked to our hotel a few miles back for a shower and a few minutes of calm. It was time to start stripping the bike for shipping as well as repacking my suitcase and duffel bag to see if everything would fit on the plane for the ride home. I had to add a little more duct tape to one of my suitcases where the zipper had detached from the outer edge of the case about 6 weeks ago.

Having a few hours before our farewell dinner, I hopped on a trolley tour of St. Augustine with a friend and careened around the town for an hour and a half. At first, I was wishing that I had an extra day to see more of the downtown, but getting a glimpse of the historic area was just fine. Getting home seems to be more of a priority right now. While riding on the trolley, I just wanted to tell anyone that would listen that we just completed a 3,000 mile bike ride for some more jaw dropping. Those few people that we did just stared in disbelief. One person kept saying you didn't start in San Diego, California. One close look at our bike tans was proof enough to finally convince him.

Our farewell dinner was at a restaurant down the street at six pm. It was strange to be sitting at a table with linen and cloth napkins instead of sitting in a parking lot in a plastic white chair holding a plate in the sun hoping that we would finish before the bugs came out. I think it was just Woman's Tour way of starting to get us used to “reentry” into the real world! We had a choice of food in a very unhurried atmosphere. Throughout the dinner, people would periodically get up and give a toast, make a comment, or give thanks. It was lovely.

I thought it was timely that my aunt sent me an email about meeting people for a reason, a season, or a lifetime so I used some of those words in my comments. It doesn't matter if we remain lifelong friends or not, we experienced something really special together and enjoying the moment together was unique and special that put us in a “club”that few other people have ever experienced.

Hugs were profuse after dinner as we said our goodbyes. Several riders chose not to attend the dinner as long good byes were hard for them. As we headed out of the restaurant, it was dusk and I felt like walking down to the fort by the water for a walk and perhaps a little processing time. Several other people joined me and we ran into many school groups that were on a field trip. The kids were so impressed at our accomplishments. One boy asked us if our legs were tired. Later on they all walked by us and gave us a huge group clap. Thanks boys! It was a nice ending to our evening.

I slept little again that night, pumped up from the finality of this accomplishment interwoven with excitement of going home. What an adventure!

Thanks to all my blog readers who had the patience to "listen."
Peace,
Robin

Atlantic Ocean Tire Dip

Did it! Done! What a journey!!!!
Love,
Robin

Last Full Day of Riding!

Palatka, FL

WOW! I've been thinking and saying that a lot lately. Wow! See, even when I am blogging I'm thinking it. Over 3,000 miles we have traveled.!!! I wish I had a camera for every time we talked to someone on the road, in a store, or at a gas station about our trip just to capture the jaw-dropping that we have seen along the way. Today, I needed a pick-me- up so my beverage of choice is a cold bottle of chocolate milk. The lady behind the counter was talking to four young men that had walked in and said something about the warm temperatures of the day already. One of the guys said something like not as hot as riding a bike like this lady. When I told him that I wasn't hot, just really tired today as we get down to our LAST 100 miles. He and his buddies stared in disbelief when they heard the details of starting out in San Diego on March 6th and arriving in this part of Florida at that store today around 3,000 miles later.

The same thing happened down the road at mile 55. We saw this cute grocery store set back off the main road and stopped to get another drink and take another break. (I think we were very thirsty today because of two over 70 mile days in a row.) We had such a wonderful time talking to the store owner. She took OUR picture as she was so impressed by our accomplishments so far. Then another lady came in that lived nearby, a Mrs. Love, who started talking and oops, there it was again, the jaw drop, measurable and predictable....

I have to say that today's ride was a bit of a struggle for me. In some ways I wanted it to be just over. My knee was a bit grumpy today and I felt a little tired. And, in another ways it means the beginning of the end of what we have been doing the last eight weeks together and knowing that this experience as we know it will be ending and I have loved being out of doors for most of the day and don't want it to end.

We started counted down the mileage. Only 120 miles left of the whole trip, 100 miles left, 60 miles, left, under 50 miles left of the whole trip., etc. It was kind of trippy. Susan gave me a hug this morning and we both shared that we so enjoyed having each other on this journey. After all, we are the Bag Balm Babes and have been pedaling pals since day two of the trip. We both had to walk away from each other after the hug because we both knew if we started to cry now, it would never end.

Many family member and friends are starting to trickle in to share the big day tomorrow. Once we get to St. Augustine, we get a police escort on the highway several miles down to the beach for tire dipping and a picnic. I'm sure it will be a very special ending to a very special trip.

Coming over the bridge in Palatka today we saw "Welcome Woman Tours" on the hotel marquis. Kind of Cool!

Coming home soon!
Love,
Robin

Perry, Florida

We woke up at 6 am in darkness and started preparing for our 51.4 mile day to Perry. One would think that you could easily do a 50 mile day with all that we've done but there was a bit of a headwind most of the way. The route was straight and flat and pretty much the same view. Go right 8.8 miles and then go left 40 miles with a few different details at the beginning and end of the journey. There weren't many(any) services for most of this road but when we went by a gas station/mini market called Rocky's, we pulled in for a break from boredom and from the bugs.

I did notice some deep standing water along the cypress forests for several miles. I think this is the run off from all the rain they had in this area recently. When you looked into the woods, it looked dark and eerie. The “Creature from the Black Lagoon” could have been filmed there if you could get in there. I had to laugh when I saw a no trespassing sign. Who would want to go in there and how would you get through that water? It was too deep for hip boots and the vegetation and roots were so tangled and too close together for a boat of any sort. Luckily we had some puffy clouds overhead, so that gave an occasional something to glimpse at that was different and kept some of the heat of the day off. I heard MA had temperatures as warm as we had in Florida yesterday.

We are staying at another Hampton Inn. They are in the the midst of remodeling many rooms on the second floor so it's quite a feat to get to the laundry room on the second floor. Most of us have some to do as there were no facilities at the last place we stayed. I think that several people are hoping this is the last load they will be doing on vacation before they head home. Our hotel is providing us with dipped strawberries and free wine at a cocktail time. Boy, are they in for a surprise. We love to eat and drink occasionally.

Here's hoping for a little less wind tomorrow and a roomate that does not snore! (Didn't get much sleep last night!)
Robin

Perry

We woke up at 6 am in darkness and started preparing for our 51.4 mile day to Perry. One would think that you could easily do a 50 mile day with all that we've done but there was a bit of a headwind most of the way. The route was straight and flat and pretty much the same view. Go right 8.8 miles and then go left 40 miles with a few different details at the beginning and end of the journey. There weren't many(any) services on this road but when we went by a gas station/mini market called Rocky's, we pulled in for a break from boredom and from the bugs.

We did see some standing water along the cypress forests for several miles. I think this is the run off from all the rain they had in this area recently. When you looked into the woods, it looked dark and eerie. The “Creature from the Black Lagoon” could have been filmed there if you could get in there. I had to laugh when I saw a posted no trespassing sign. Who would want to go in there and how would you get through that water? It was too deep for hip boots and the vegetation and roots were so tangled and too close together for a boat of any sort. Luckily we had some puffy clouds overhead, so that gave an occasional something to glimpse at that was different and kept some of the heat of the day off. I heard MA had temperatures as warm as we had in Florida yesterday.

We are staying at another Hampton Inn. They are in the the midst of remodeling many rooms on the second floor so it's quite a feat to get to the laundry room on the second floor. Most of us have some to do as there were no facilities at the last place we stayed. I think that several people are hoping this is the last load they will be doing on vacation before they head home. Our hotel is providing us with dipped strawberries and free wine at a cocktail time. Boy, are they in for a surprise. We love to eat and drink (occasionally).

Here's hoping for a little less wind tomorrow and a roommate that does not snore! (Didn't get much sleep last night!)

Robin

Wakulla Springs

The landscape was similar to the day before with some long , straight, flat roads on mostly county roads through patches of pine forests and open pasture lands. I think we are all weary and though we did not have a long ride, 49 miles I think, we wanted to get to our destination again before it got too warm. As our rooms were not ready, we headed over to the river boat tour first. For $6 we hopped on a boat and headed a mile or so down the river for a guided tour.

The wildlife that we saw was incredible. Fish were leaping out of the water., Osprey had two nests high in the cypress trees. We passed some 500 year old cypress trees with moss hanging down from the branches. Alligators were in the water and sunning themselves up on grassy embankments. We even saw some baby alligators on one side of the bank on top of their mom. Large birds called anahingas? were out in number and you would often see them in trees or on a patch of land with their wings spread wide drying their feathers in the sun so they weren't so waterlogged. We also saw limpkin, osprey and their babies, blue herons, large white egrets and fluffy white chicks,wood ducks, cranes , and many turtles.

Wakulla Springs is one of the largest and deepest natural springs. They have currently mapped 31 miles of the underground caverns and found that it goes all the way to Georgia.We traveled past the section of the river where the original black and white Tarzan movies were made and saw the remaining stump of the tree that he used to climb . A 3-D movie called The Creature from the Black Lagoon was also filmed in this location. The original actor who was to play the creature opted out after he discovered the water is 69 degrees year round and alligators inhabit this river. The movie makers asked a lifeguard who was working here at the time to try on the suit so he became the creature and later went on to produce the show “Flipper.”

I enjoyed the tour so much,that I went again on the first boat out in the morning on our LAST day off on Sunday. With a different guide, you learn a bit more and we saw many of the same animals plus some white tailed deer along the shore in the shadows of the forests.

This lodge that we are staying in was built in the 1930's. Our room is a muted gray shade of lavender, comfortable with that old feel. The lobby has cypress ceilings recycled from trees from the river. A German artist painted the ceiling with different patterns and scenes of Florida. They have picnic areas all around the park and a roped off swimming area with docks and tall platforms you can dive off into water that is 20 feet deep. They say that the alligators have never bothered any of the swimmers over here in all of the years since the resort was built in the 1930's. I did go in the water even after I saw two very large snakes on the boat dock yesterday, but let's just say I didn't linger.

For dinner that night, Chef Linda made barbecue pork sandwiches with coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, cantaloupe and for dessert our guest diner made a delicious pound cake. I brought down my scrap book that I have been working on during the trip to share for those people that had not already seen it. I'm out of glue dots and paper so will have to finish the rest of the scrapbook at home. I only completed up to Arizona and entry into New Mexico. After dinner, we had our map meeting and our talent show in a room upstairs in the lodge.

It was quite an event and I laughed all the way through it. We had a mistress of ceremony, presenters of poems, songs, skits, and awards. It turned out fairly well considering there were a lot of people who said they were not going to participate or had no talent. Susan, Liz, and I have been working hard for weeks thinking of a special category for each person, creating certificates and obtaining or making a small prize to go along with each special category.. Liz our artist, made ribbons and embossed the certificates with the picture of a bike. I was in charge of finding/making most of the token gifts. It's a good thing they have a Walmart, Dollar Store, or Big Lot in many of the towns we have traveled through.

Here are a few examples of “awards.” Our 70 year old Sag driver has hair down to her waist, so we got her hair doodads to go with her “Road Rapunzel” award. Lois has had trouble with her seat area so we gave her a mini tin of bag balm to to with her “Bag Balm Babe” award. Connie who is an insulin diabetic and has used over 900 needles to check her blood sugar got the “Human Pin Cushion” award and got a strawberry pin cushion to go along with it. Susan is a great speaker, so she could roast everyone well with a sense of humor, so I don't think anybody's feelings were hurt. I now have a tiny bit more room in my suitcase, or at least I did until I went into the gift shop today.

Only four more days of biking. It's hard to believe. Life is good...
Love,
Robin

Quincy, Florida

It started out foggy and humid like yesterday morning and though we "only" had a 54 mile ride today, we were chomping at the bit to get off this morning before the heat. Our leaders held us back until they thought it was clear enough so drivers could see us. The fog did burn off quickly and the sky was a solid blue expanse. We started out in some heavy traffic but eventually got off the four lane roadway to smaller county roads. I remember passing by lots of pastures, pine forests, climbing some hills, and passing freshly plowed fields, some with sandy soil and some with more reddish hue.

On this trip we have passed a lot of farms on this southern tier route that either were preparing the soil for planting or were tending new growth. Spring brings growth, a promise of something new and fresh as well as a sense of hope. How lucky am I to have experience two months of spring with another month of new growth to watch once I get home. (Let's hope the new growth isn't me gaining back weight once I get home.)

On our ride today, I recall trees meeting together in a archway across the road creating a shady, peaceful section for us. We crossed over the Chatahootchie River with flooded cypress groves nearby. We also went back on the state route 90 and passed through towns like Snead, Gretna, until we reached Quincy.

We asked a landscaper for a place to eat and after finding out he spoke Spanish, we had Susan come over and translate for us. He pointed us in the direction of the town square and we found a little place that had a buffet. It was typical southern fare with sweet potato, beans, cheese grits, ribs, fried chicken and fish, and baked chicken. I had a small sample of all the aforementioned foods and it was finger-licking scrumcious. I was really hungry by the time we sat down and did not pack a peanut butter sandwich as I knew we would be eating out today.

Speaking of food, last night we had steamed asparagus and zucchini, pineapple, Asian slaw, and chicken or tofu in a peanut sauce. Yummy!

We are heading to Wakulla Springs tomorrow and then will have our last day off. I don't think they have Internet access there so you may not hear from me for a few days. It did get up to 90 degrees today and the sun sapped the energy right out of me. Something irritated my left eye on the ride today so I've been icing it and taking it easy. In fact, I even took a little nap before dinner.
Take care,
Robin

Humid, Hot, and How Many Miles?

Crestview to Marianna, FL
We knew it was going to be a hot one, so we got permission to leave at 6:45 am in the lightof the dawn to start heading down the road so we could get our 90 something miles in before the worst heat of the day. That meant we were up at 5:30 am to get our gear out to the trailer, bike tires pumped up, and snacks packed before breakfast opened up at 6:00am. We were on the third floor, but at least this hotel had an elevator. We have been in many that do not and are sometimes on the second floor. We are all pretty good about lifting our bikes and carrying them up a few flights, but elevators are always a nice option.

We headed out of the parking lot, past a motorcycle accident under the underpass and on to a busy route 85 for a mile and then went through neighborhoods until we got back on Highway 90. We rode through towns like Mossy Head, Argyle, Ponce de Leon, and Bonifay, Chipley, Cottondale, and finally Marianna.

Of most interest was a scenic optional route in Defuniak Springs around a lake. There were old Victorian homes and cottages built in the late 1880's somehow associated with the railroad that was there. We followed a two mile circle around a lake and saw these quiet streets with tree lined Victorian homes. It was a nice break from the asphalt of US 90, which we were on for most of the day. They call this ride "90 on the 90! "

To add a little excitement, some of us played poker on the way for $1 to enter and get 5 cards at the beginning of the ride, $1 at mile 20 and $1 at mile 40, if you wanted to stay, or trade in some or all of your cards. The only thing is that they used three decks of cards in case everyone wanted to play. I was dealt 4 hearts and traded one spade for a spade which didn't help. Then I traded for a spade for a heart so I had a flush. After dinner, we showed our hands, and my Queen high flush, barely beat a Jack high flush that someone else had so I won the $24.

I will donate my winnings to the Diabetes Association. By the way, if you haven't yet contributed and wish to, there is still time. Either send a check made out to American Diabetes Ass. toRobin Sewell, 60 Foster Street,Littleton, MA 01460, or you can go online to:

http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/TDC005008030?px=4582692&pg=personal&fr_id=5560

Many thanks and appreciation to all of the people that have already contributed. My dad had diabetes later in life and so many people I know are impacted in some way by this disease.

The three of us zipped along for a solid pace for the first 40-50 miles or so, stopping for snacks and water at about mile 20, 40, and 60. Susan and I continued along at a slightly faster pace for the rest of the journey, wanting to get most of the journey in before 2:00 o'clock. The temperature did get up to 89 degrees. I thought it was more humid in the morning though as every time we stopped I would start dripping again. I looked down and noticed beads of moisture between my skin and this filmy white sunscreen all over my arms and legs. It reminded me of the bubbles of vanilla cooking on the stove beneath that filmy skim coat that develops. Regardless, it was pretty gross. I wore my thin white sleeveless top which didn't stay white too long with all the dust and road gunk that just stuck to everything. My feet were hot most of the day and I know my feet were a bit more swollen than usual.

Large sections of the road surface were newly paved and you could feel the heat coming off the new black pavement. Still, I felt pretty good and we continued along through the countryside and small towns at about a 16 mph pace average and taking full advantage of the downhills when we had them while slowly going up hills to conserve energy.

In Cottondale, I asked a guy in a tow truck at the red traffic light if there were any places to eat in town and he told us that about a mile down the road there was a McDonald's. A cold drink out of the heat of the day at around mile 78, sounded great so we headed on after the green light searching. Well, he was a bit off, but there was a McDonald's on the left, as he said, but about 8 miles down the road in the next town. We pulled in and brought our bikes inside as it wasn't crowded. One of the managers that was outside asked us about our trip and 4 older guys having coffee motioned us to come over and tell them what we were up to. Most people have been so interested, kind, and encouraging. It's been great talking to everyone along the way...

After my apples, yogurt and walnut snack salad and cold drink we headed out the last few miles to our motel at about mile 92. Someone invited me to join them on there first century ride, but I wanted to go in and wash this salty lotioned crud off my body more than I wanted to ride my second century. The thing is, I know that I could have easily done it. We are all so much stronger, faster, and more skillful riders now. Today was the last big ride of over 90 for this trip. We have some lower mileage days coming up, a rest day, and then a few 70 something mile days before next week.

On the road again,
Robin

Crestview, Florida

Today I wanted to travel our route quickly in order to meet up with some people that used to live in Littleton and now live in Florida. We had about 56 miles and I was aiming to be in Crestview between 12:30 and 1:00. I had a back up plan if I was running late which was to have the van pick me up along the way if I was late. As it turned out the van and I arrived in Ｃｒｅｓｔｖｉｅｗ　ａｔ　ｔｈｅ　ｓａｍｅ　ｔｉｍｅ　ａｒｏｕｎｄ　１２：１５．　　Ａｆｔｅｒ　ｓｏｍｅ　ｄｅｌａｙｓ，　Ｉ　ｄｉｄ　ｍｅｅｔ　ｔｈｅ　Ｄａｖｉｓ’　ｆｏｒ　ａ　ｌａｔｅ　ｌｕｎｃｈ．　　Ｏｕｒ　ｄａｙ　ｗａｓ　ａｇａｉｎ　ｂｅａｕｔｉｆｕｌ，　ｗｉｔｈ　ｂｌｕｅ　ｓｋｉｅｓ　ａｎｄ　ｔｅｍｐｅｒａｔｕｒｅｓ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｈｉｇｈ　７０’ｓ．　　Ｗｅ　ｔｒａｖｅｌｅｄ　ｏｎ　ａ　ｂｕｓｙ　ｒｏａｄ　ｔｈａｔ　ｓｔａｒｔｅｄ　ｗｉｔｈ　ａ　ｓｈｏｕｌｄｅｒ　ａｎｄ　ｔｈｅｎ　ｎａｒｒｏｗｅｄ　ｏｕｔ　ｔｏ　ｓｏｍｅ　ｐｌａｃｅｓ　ｗｉｔｈｏｕｔ　ｓｈｏｕｌｄｅｒｓ．　Who knows what I did to get to this font? Hopefully I can change it later. Sorry folks!Time for supper!
Enjoy your warm day tomorrow!
Robin


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Pensacola, Florida!

It's very hard to believe that we crossed the border into the state of Florida! Yipee! YaHOO!

Early in the morning we left beautiful Dauphin Island on the first ferry, and went past many oil platforms out in the gulf. They look like they are mini cities from a different universe out there. A helicopter flew some people out to the rigs early in the morning. While we were waiting for the ferry, the gnats were swarming us and making life miserable for us. It was good to get moving across the water and over to the mainland of Alabama.

The road was new, smooth, and we really could cruise along. We even had a bit of a tailwind for a while and were often at speeds of 20 mph without much effort! It was great fun looking at the palette of colors of homes along the waterway. There were houses the color of apricots, lemons, wintergreen mints, pink cotton candy, as well as the colors of teal and magenta too. We entered an area called Floribama and a few minutes later we saw the sign for The Sunshine State!

After about 50 miles, we stopped at a bike shop and asked for a good place to eat. We found the Fish House in the old part of Pensacola to be just wonderful. We were so under dressed in our black spandex bike pants and colorful bike jerseys but we hiked our bikes up the steep stairs and nestled our three bikes together along the edge of the restaurant and went in anyways. I tried their special item, cheese grits, and ordered some grilled shrimp. Both were divine! I am not a grits fan, but if you add enough Edam cheese and cream and they were scrumcious! It was a treat to have cloth tablecloths at a sit down table and chairs with artfully placed food with a view of the water.

Tonight we had fried catfish, pesto pasta salad, spinach leaves with mozzarella cheese and tomatoes and a small sliver of coconut creme pie. A quick storm came through about dinner time but we ate in two of our hotel rooms. We
re off to Crestview tomorrow and am hoping to connect up with some friends.



A reporter from Hammond, Mississippi wrote an article about our group last week and it is listed below if you are interested.
http://www.hammondstar.com/articles/2009/04/19/top_stories/8989.txt

Thinking if you in FLORIDA!
Robin

DAY OFF IN DAUPHIN ISLAND, ALABAMA

Dauphin Island, Alabama

Crossing over the huge arched bridge it felt like we entered another world. At dusk it was a a glorious sunset with the sky starting to clear while the remaining western rays sprinkled glowing yellow splotches on the murky bay water. It was a calming feeling to walk along,scraping and scrunching the bottom of my bare feet along the fine-grained sandy beach. Our condos were right on the water.I kept my window open all night so I could hear the gentle slap of the waves and the cries of the gulls as they circled about.

To welcome us to the state of Alabama we had our usual margarita. For dinner, Linda prepared a spicy jambalya with shrimp and crawfish, rice,and corn bread and salad. For dessert, there was a special and sinful Paula Dean recipe of “Not yor Mama's Banana Puddin” that was a creamy caloric delight. I spent a good deal of time reading a book, The Ten Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer.

I awoke fairly early on the morning of our rest day, and walked down to breakfast at the Oar House just down the street. Afterwards, I ventured across the street to the beach access for a long lazy walk in the quiet of the morning. Tiny arched patterns of variety of bird tracks guided me to the shore where impressions of scalloped waves were gently etched into the slope along the water line. I was alone walking and enjoying the solitude accompanied only by the company of the birds around me.

I felt a little sad that more people can not or do not take the time to stop and notice the ripples in the sand dunes or the flicker of running feet of the sandpiper. I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds of the various birds around me and the lap, lap, lapping of the water with the breeze whipping the ends of my hair into my face and snarling it again.

I feel a little sad as I know this remarkable journey that I have been on is starting to come to an end. My routine, the bonds, the food, the sights I have seen, or heard, or smelled will change again soon. I remember the enormous and meticulously maintained homes oozing with prosperity on one side of the street while in another part of town or further down the road on the other side I remember dark, hopeless, and more desperate lives of humans and animals in shacks or trailers just trying to make it through one more day. I remember the Apache Reservation land that was dusty, devoid of water, desolate and brown in sharp contrast to the bright green growth of the farms only miles away that had access to the water with its power and potential.

I remember the purple colored mountains that majestically rose up in the distance,the hundred year old saguaro cactus that stood on the ridges welcoming us though the desert. I recall the sight of the dusty clay red of Louisiana grasses blowing, and I can still hear the never ending roar of the wind in my ears from the hills of Texas.

I recall the vast openess of so many places in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, the powerful muddy Mississipi,the ferry crossings, the bridges, the back roads, the highways, the pecan trees that arched over the roadways. I recall the bumpy ride on chip seal that we traveled over and the numbing sensation in my hands. I remember the euphoria of climbing 8,8842 feet to Emory Pass and completing my first century ride and the sense of pride for taking a risk and doing something unique.

I cling to the spirituality found amongst the massive pine forests and of the rock formations that have been there for eons. I wish to hold on to the peace, serenity and balance that I have rediscovered. So many spectacular images of places and people from this journey across the southern tier of the USA.

Dauphin Island, Alabama

WOW! Another day, another state...and we lucked out again with the weather. It was really cloudy and stormy looking so we pedaled fast to get to where we had to be with very little stopping or picture taking along the way. We did stop briefly at the border to get a picture of the" Welcome to Alabama" sign.

At about mile 33, we got a view of the bridge that we would be crossing ahead of us at mile 36, even through the murky gray haze. We could smell the gulf,and knew we were near our destination for the day after we crossed that bridge. We knew we were in fish country. A lot of the catch is frozen. An oyster shucking factory was on our left. There were hills of oyster shells mounded up in enormous piles. Along our ride today we saw houses and even trailers high on stilts and wondered if these newer houses were because of the hurricanes that have been in this area. Even one of the streets was named Hurricane Blvd.

The bridge crossing was awesome. We started out on a long fairly flat bridge for about one and three quarter miles heading out past the pelicans and into the gulf. You could barely see the outline of oil platforms. Then the bridge arched up steeply so that large vessels could navigate beneath it. It was a steep climb and I headed back down to my granny gear to make the last 100 yards or so to the peak. I haven't been in that gear for quite a while with all the “fairly” flat terrain we've been doing lately. The wind was blowing strong, and it was a headwind for most of the climb as we completed the 3.5 mile bridge and headed over to Dauphin Island.

We decided to pull into Barnacle Bill's for lunch today. My lunch choice after going over that bridge was called, and I quote here as written in the menu, “ A Big Ass Salad!” The salad was enormous and I was the last one still eating at the table and left half of my salad. Afterwards we pedaled the last 2.0 miles to the Dauphin Island Beach Club where we are staying in some wonderful condo units right on the beach. I lucked out and got a queen sized bed in a room to MYSELF. I guess sleeping on the sofa bed in the other cottage got balanced out... We have two pools right outside out door and white sand beach beyond the pool gates. My bike tan has become more pronounced and I am sure I will look striking in my 10 year old bathing suit with my bike short, bike glove, bike shoes, striped tan lines. So fetching...

We have a day off here and I am truly looking forward to that and will post whenever I can get a connection to the internet that will work.
Love to all,
Robin

Wiggins,MS, to Pascagoula, MS

We traveled about 68 miles to get to Pascagoula, MS. We traveled over a lot of country roads and through state pine forests. One of the sections that we passed had a sign warning of Smoke Ahead. It looked as if they had just finished a controlled burn in part of a forest, probably getting ready for logging. Some of the spots were still smouldering and there was sweet smell in the air.

Standard breakfasts at the hotels we are staying at are starting to get boring. There seems to be a lot of pastry, bread, and biscuits. At least today, they had some fresh fruit that was pretty good and our cook brought in some hard boiled eggs so we would have a little bit of protein for our ride. Today I was very hungry early on so I ate my cashews, craisins, and power bar early. Every once in a while, I'll take a bite of my 1/2 peanut butter and jelly sandwich too.

I usually have a pretty big plate of food at supper. Last night we had beef, with lentils, rice, salad and chocolates for dessert. Of course we had our standard margarita for crossing another state border yesterday. Two more states is all we have left, Alabama and Florida. Lately during the day we have not been near any places that serve lunches so for a bathroom break, we usually find a gas station. I always look for chocolate milk for a quick pick me up.

On the way in I couldn't help but notice a flashing sign at Walgreen's warning people of a flood warning that is in effect until tomorrow night. We managed to skirt around the rain clouds that were about all day and got our complete ride in. I'm not sure what will happen with tomorrow's ride. One day at a time...
Looking forward to a day off at a beach resort in Alabama. Here's hoping the bad weather goes by us quickly!
Love to all,
Robin

HERE WE ARE IN MISSISSIPPI

It's hard to believe we are through Louisiana and into Mississippi! Today we had a choice of a route and most of us chose the longer route. Last year there was an issue with two dogs that bit people, so they added an alternative route which was 26 miles shorter but on a road with little or no shoulder and lots of logging trucks.

Last night we stayed Bogalusa and the odor I kept smelling was from the paper mill in town. I guess that is where the logging trucks were all heading.

I was surprised that the section we rode on today was quite hilly. We also saw some beautiful open pastures filled with yellow flowers, some horses, some llamas,and a few cows here and there. My legs forgot how to climb or at least they weren't as efficient as they once were a few weeks ago! We did see some dogs and several started to come out at us but we talked or really YELLED them back into their yard/space.There were storm clouds around for a few hours, and I thought we were going to get wet but it held off. The wind was blowing a little bit today so it made the ride a bit harder, but all in all it was a good day.
Have a great weekend!
Love,
Robin

Hammond to Bogalusa, LA

We traveled 55 miles today on some nice country roads today. Most of the ride we tried to go at a leisurely pace, sort of another rolling rest day. We went through a town called Uneedus and there was a sad looking little building that was falling apart on the opposite side of the road that looked like it used to store grain at one time. Next to it was a sign saying Uneedus Superdome. I don't know if it is a comment on the New Orlean's Superdome fiasco after Katrina or if it has always been there like that...

On that same road was a Global Wildlife Center with various grazing animals. From our vantage point on the outside of the fence, there looked like there were emus and various antelope creatures from Africa. Bikers were not allowed and a few people that did want to visit went in to find that there were no walk-ins as this was school vacation week and the morning was already full due to reservations.

Animals seems to be the theme of the day. We had several dogs chase us. You wouldn't think those tiny little yappers would do much, but they sure can run after bikes ready to nibble on ankles. We tried the yelling techniques and finally ended up SPRINTING to get away.

Further down the road in a very secluded area, was a little puppy of some small mixed breed chasing after a truck in the middle of the road. We stopped to see if we could see some identification and wandered about for a while with this little puppy yapping, licking, and wagging its tail all at once. It didn't seem to be hungry or thirsty so we eventually pedaled on slowly trying to flag down people, who waved at us, smiled and went on. He followed us for about a mile and we came to some mailboxes, flagged down a truck, and asked him to take the dog. The poor man stepped up and said he would give it to someone for us. I hope he did, but it was probably abandoned that afternoon by someone else.

We arrived around 2 pm, despite our casual ride and dog rescue encounter, and I believe we have a low mileage day tomorrow when we cross into Mississippi. Perhaps I'll have time to do my laundry, and start making some phone calls to bike shops about packing and shipping my bike home in a few weeks. There's a strange smell here at our hotel that sort of permeates the air. Someone who was in the Peace Corps said it reminds her of sugar cane and we were wondering if there was a processing mill around here.
Have a good day!
Robin

St. Francisville to Hammond, LA

Wow! Another long day of 88 miles, but the weather was perfect, the skies were blue, and the humidity was moderate. We cycled through pine forest, past large open fields, near well manicured neighborhoods and fine homes, past a prison, past a herd of long horns that had the biggest horns I have ever seen, through a very large town/city, back through country roads, to a suburb outside of Baton Rouge. At about mile 66, we stopped at a gas station/market/deli that we had heard about. While we were waiting, a young man asked us some questions about our trip and then said, Where do y'all bathe at night? It just struck me funny so I asked him if we smelled that bad. He just thought we'd get all hot and sweaty everyday and would get dirty from the blowing dirt of the trucks and such that went by. Well, we were out in the country with very little services so I guess that was a reasonable question for a person who lives there and we were still about 25 miles away from a hotel.
I think I'm caught up now on my blog. One more day in Louisiana and then we head to Mississippi.

Lafayette to St. Francisville, LA

What a variety of experiences we had today. First, we woke up to a low dense fog. The air was laden with moisture and we cycled through the thickening mist that stuck around for the first part of our morning. We left as early as we could after sunrise to get out of the busy traffic in the city of Lafayette and be on our way. We headed out past more farms, some big and some small ones, some with sugar cane plants and many fields that lay ready for the planting of rice.

Our route today took us on curvy back roads, past shacks as well as homes and estates that looked like they came out of Architecture Magazines. We went on country roadways, busy highways ,over several railroad tracks, up a Louisiana hill, over a high arched bridge over the Atchafalaya River, over a 3.5 bridge with no shoulder on US90, across the Mississippi River by ferry and into the town of St. Francisville 86 miles later. Barking and chasing dogs certainly got our adrenaline going as well as a merge for construction going on a single lane highway bridge with a Jersey barrier on one side and a railing on the other side.

Probably the most frightening part was riding on a 3.5 mile bridge called the Morganza Spillway that had no shoulder on a four lane highway. Ten of us went across in a cluster in a 2 by 5 array followed by the SAG vehicle Subaru that escorted us with her flashers on. We stayed in the middle and to the right of the right hand lane. The bridge was flat and straight but it seemed like it took forever to get across that spillway.

We stopped and talked to two men that were in the ditch looking for crawdads. They showed us what they had in their buckets. Today they were just looking for little ones for bait to go fishing but he told us that he can catch up to 125 sacks of crayfish every day to sell to restaurants for his living. Susan held one and we had a nice chat with those fellas before we went on our way. Further down the road, we saw two boys playing in the rain swollen ditch/pool in the front of their home. The water was mud colored, just perfect for two boys to muck around in.

At about mile 50, the sky started to darken again, and it looked like rain was a coming again. At that point, we were out in the country and there was little shelter or homes to be found. We thought about going back to a little church that had a little vestry for protection, but decided to go on ahead instead of backwards, and hoped something was around the next corner. There wasn't. Nor was there anything around the next corner, or the one after that.

But, several corners and another mile or so later, we saw Mary Jo at the side of a road, waving us on in to a farm that had an overhang, just in the time before it started to pour. The farmer was one of four brothers who owned over 2,000 acres. They harvested mostly crawdads, but also grew sugar cane, rice, and some other crops. A BIG thankyou to the farmer at Four Oaks in Morganza for chatting with us and letting us hang out there until the rain passed by!

At about mile 67, we ate at a restaurant called “Not Your Mama's Cafe” which featured a variety of Po'Boy sandwiches which were delicious. Of course, by that time, I was so hungry, but it was worth the wait and the ride to get there. After that we went about 10 plus more miles to get on the ferry. Bicyclist can ride for free so we scooted to the front of the line and I sat down in the gravel waiting for the ferry that runs every ½ hour to pull in from the other side of the muddy Mississippi River.

We rode the last 5 miles or so to our place that we will be staying for two nights at the Butler Greenwood B & B. It's one of the plantations that was built in the late 1700's. We are staying in one of the homes on the property that has a pull out sleep sofa, a bedroom with a king sized bed and a room upstairs with a separate entrance with a queen bed and private bath. Guess where I am, on the sleep sofa. It was a little frustration as there are no blankets for this bed and it was too late to go up to the main house. Liz loaned me her comforter that was on her bed so I should have been plenty warm. We did not turn on the heat so by about 4 am, it was below 50 inside and quite chilly. We had two lovely porches, one that overlooked the ducks and the mini pond. There is a resident male peacock named Humphrey, who thinks he owns this house and comes right up on the porch with his feathers regally behind him. It really was quite peaceful here.

On the day off, I walked into town, about three miles away and walked toward the part of the town that we came in on. I stopped at the tourist information and museum. We also went on a tour of the bed and breakfast we stayed at earlier in the day. Ann Butler is the 8Th generation of that particular plantation that was built in the 1790's and resides in the home. Hundreds of ancient moss-draped oak trees are on the property and you instantly get a feeling of peace and tranquility just entering the long gravel driveway. There is an original formal Victorian parlor with hundreds of antiques. Ann Butler is also a writer and I found a book downtown that she has written about how her husband tried to kill her. I can't wait to read that after meeting her and her daughter.

I had some guacamole for lunch and later stopped in a coffee shop for some tea and the best banana cake I've ever had in my life. Later on I walked 3 miles back to the plantation where we were staying. I purposefully did not ride my bike as I wanted to give my bottom a break. The flat ride is actually hurting me a bit more because we are constantly in the same position on the saddle. On the way back I bought a sandwich for supper, and my friends brought back some things to make for supper. So we combined everything in our little cottage and had wine, cheese, chef salad, and some fruit for dinner. It was nice to have a quiet dinner with four people in a very cozy little cottage.
I will post this when I can as there is no Internet connection out here.
Hugs,
Robin

Lake Charles Part-Way to Lafayette, LA

It was great to have that room to myself. Susan, Liz, and I did some more planning for the upcoming talent show and I even spent some time watching a few Saturday Night episodes before I fell asleep. I must have mis-set the alarm because I didn't wake up until 6:45 for a7:00 o'clock breakfast.

The weather forecast did not sound that great but we started out because it wasn't raining or thundering at the moment. The wind was strong again and it's always a challenge to travel through. At about mile 17, my partners decided to get a ride. I wanted to press on and tried to catch up with some people that had left before me so I would have someone to ride with. The weather looked ominous, but so far, we had out skirted most of the darkest clouds and only got a few drops of rain. I caught up with two gals and rode with them until we caught up with two more gals and arrived at the Sag stop at about mile 24 together. We all decided to continue to ride as a group in case we ran into some weather.

We passed many fields flooded with rice. Most of them had crawdad traps in them poking out. We also traveled by fields of sugar beets, and oats, but mainly crawfish and rice. I'm not sure if the weather brought in more of the shore birds inland, but we saw and heard many more than usual. Red-wing blackbirds seemed to be everywhere, along with beautiful white egrets. When we rode by, the egrets looked like a white sheet parachuting up and away from us.

We continued to battle the wind, mostly headwinds, and cross-winds to about mile 50 when we reached a small place called Esterwood. Janet pulled off out of the wind, under an old car wash that looked like it had been closed for the longest time and asked how we were all doing. The wind had changed direction suddenly and the sky just looked very different somehow. We all said we were fine and just as she was about to pull out, I asked if we could stop for two minutes so I could get more fluids in me and have a little break. At the end of the two minutes, the sky blackened and the clouds were swirling around like they didn't know which way to go.

We decided to immediately head for cover but there wasn't too much around that even looked open. We went back to a store called Beer and Ice. It had a large area where we could park our bikes. We decided to get a snack, wait 20 minutes and see what happened with the weather. I gave our SAG driver who was about 15 miles ahead of us, a heads-up as to where we were and that the five of us were safe and accounted for. In what seemed like a few minutes it started to thunder and rain and the clerk at the store said there was a tornado watch. Well, that changed all our attitudes about possibly riding again, so we waited a while for the storm to do its thing, which was mostly heavy rain and gustier winds. The metal airport sign across the street looked like it was about to be bent in half and blow away.

After an hour or so, the van came back for us and for two other gals that sought refuge at a house about 10 miles further down the road. As we were driving the last 30 miles to get to our hotel in Lafayette, LA with the wind and periods of rain, I knew we had made the right decision to ditch!
Due to the tornado watch that is on until 9 pm. , we are eating at a Chinese Buffet, down the street, which is the only place open around here on an Easter Sunday.

Have a great week!
Love,
Robin

Welcome to Louisiana!

Hard to believe but 19 days later we made it across Texas and into Louisiana. There will be a margarita tonight to celebrate this border crossing. I have to say as soon as we passed the border crossing, it seemed to get very wet and swampy. We saw swamp boats and big wheeled ATV's to get across the muck and water. It was pretty much the same as we saw yesterday, except the ditches were deeper and more full of water, the roads were just as straight for 8 miles or so and there were more headwinds, not terrible, but noticeable all the while.

Our ride was supposed to take 72 miles but it turned out to be more like 84 miles and for parts, the day seemed to go on forever. First we were given some directions that were not quite correct so we went about 4 miles out of our way. There were also some typo's on the new route sheet, a 3 instead of an 8 and a longer section in another place. We were also told that the closer we got to Lake Charles, there would be more services available. Little did we know they meant the last 5 miles! By about mile 65 or so, we needed a break from the headwind and long mileage day. Though it is fairly flat here, our bottoms get tired and sore a bit more easily because we are in the same part of the saddle. The only place we could find any food at all was a Citgo Station for lunch (about 2 pm by now) so we went in for a drink and a snacks. I got a chocolate milk, some cheese and some pretzels and I started laughing because we were eating behind a dumpster at a gas station. (The dumpster was placed in front of the wall where we had placed our bikes.) I suggested we at least move to the side of the dumpster, where they had some rounded pipes that we could sit/lean on and one of the gals said fine as long as it wasn't shaped like the seat of her bicycle!

As we got closer to the end, it got a little more "exciting". There was a draw bridge we had to go over and two long bridges with no shoulders and four lanes of zipping traffic. Our SAG driver got behind us and escorted five of us us slowly across the bridge with her blinkers on. I was glad we were near our end destination and almost out of the traffic.

I lucked out with my room assignment. We rotate roomates and my roommate took a few days off to fly home for her husband's 70th birthday party so I have a room to MYSELF and it's right by the door of the parking lot so less distance to haul the luggage and bike, AND it's by the ice machine, AND it's on the first floor! JACKPOT BABY! (We always keep our bikes in our rooms.)

I've already taken a soaking bath, and a shower and had two bath towels for myself. My stuff is spread out everywhere and I am just loving the space and the privacy.

Heard there is a big storm coming in tomorrow so we shall see what happens....
Happy Easter,
Robin

Cleveland to Silsbee, TX

It definitely feels more humid down here. The terrain is wetter, with standing water int he ditches and in small ponds. Today we went on the same road as big logging trucks. Most of the drivers were pretty good and pulled away as we had a very small shoulder for a good part of the ride. They were hauling tall pines and we could see many areas that had been clear cut along the route we were taking.

Most of us are not quite as comfortable using the side of the road for the "green door" to the outdoor bathroom, as it seems like it would be home to many other creatures hiding in the grass and marshy areas. After about 20 miles of a very straight, and shall we say boring flat ride, Liz found a mud mound on the side of the road made by some creature. That at least led to some thinking about what creature had made it. The structures varied from a few inches tall to some high rise mud mounds with a diameter opening about the size of a quarter at the top. After some investigation, we discovered they were crayfish mounds and at lunch, we stopped at Mama Jack's, in the town of Kountze, where they had a buffet with a special crayfish dish. I heard from everyone that tried it that it was delicious. As my tummy was a little upset in the morning, I opted to stay away from heavy butter and fried okra, catfish and chose something a bit milder.

The rest of the ride was broken up with a trip to the Dollar Store where we are trying to get some things for our talent show that will be coming up in a few weeks. I also spent an hour at CVS getting some photographs developed before going to the hotel for a shower and dinner.

For Susan's birthday, she requested, Pad Tai, Asian slaw, fruit, and homemade vanilla pudding. It was all so yummy. I don't think I ever had home made pudding before with real cream and eggs.

We are on some new routes for the next few days so there may be little "bugs" in the directions that we are given. There may be a four mile bridge coming up tomorrow with no shoulders so we may have to be escorted across with the SAG vehicle in little groups.
I believe we have a 72 mile day tomorrow and Sunday may be thunderstorms so we will see what the weather brings as we head out of Texas and into Louisiana.

Stay safe,
Robin

Navasota to Cleveland, Texas

Our day off yesterday seem to zip right by. I did manage to walk a few miles to the post office with my roommate and then we ate at a local cafe. They are into their meat and sides down here. I also got some photographs developed, worked on my scrapbook, started planning for a talent show, went out to a Sizzler-like place for dinner.

Today the day was overcast and gray for most of the day and there a lot of buzz going around about bringing rain gear because the van was in the shop and only the Subaru car(aka Little Po Peep) would be available. It was all much to do about nothing. It was humid, and warm, and we hit a few sprinkles but that was about it.

Today we went through a SAM Houston State Park which had a lot of tall, straight pine trees for miles and miles. Homes were smaller and poorer than we saw yesterday but people had some beautiful horses in their yards or small pastures. We saw several colts, only a few days old at the most, all legs and staying close to Mama.

Chef Linda went shopping at Sam's Club recently so we had some new snacks to munch on during the day. We are like locusts swarming in to see what there is to eat! Our breakfast at the hotel wasn't too filling and had very little protein so I think we were all very hungry for most of the morning. Chris, there were peanut butter filled pretzels, our favorite, as well as fig newtons and other cookies.

All in all we rode about 73 miles today. We have a 64, 72, 83, and 86 mile days coming up before our next break in Louisiana.

Cheers,
Robin

Wildflowers, Blue Skies, Perfect Weather!

WOW! We had one of the best bike riding days ever! The weather was perfect for riding, cool in the morning, crisp mid-morning and afternoon. There were some rolling hills to keep it interesting and some flats. The sky was a perfect shade of solid blue with nary a whisp of a cloud in sight.

I thought we saw a lot of wildflowers the day before, but it was nothing compared with the sheer volume of the sheets of blueish color we saw in the fields, and along the roadways. The purple flowers that I thought were smaller version of the lupines we have in the east did are what they call Texas bluebells around here. They have the same Latin beginning luipinas something or other. Regardless, when they are in bloom the way they are now, it is a vision of delight to see. In sharp contrast to where we have been, the green grass was so lush, butterflies darted about from flower to flower, birds were twittering and there was little wind. Interspersed with the blue hues of the bluebonnets, we would see patches of yellow and sprinkles of orange flowers in some places.

We also passed by some lovely ranches,(estates?) with manicured pastures, well-cared for fencing, beautiful horses, and cattle along the way. Some of the views from atop a ridge were spectacular down to the large lake far below. It was one of those days that you didn't want to ride quickly in order to savour the flavor of the day.

Three of us stopped to eat on a grassy area at a small town around Independence. My day and a half old peanut butter and jelly sandwich never tasted so good. I took off my socks and shoes and just enjoyed the warmth of the sunshine and the relaxing feeling we had of life is so good. Two other riders joined us and also wanted to freeze that moment in time.

One of the towns we passed through earlier in the day, Round Top, just had a huge antique show this past week. All the tents were still set up from the week long event. It looked like a huge event. I could see where it would attract a lot of people due to the wildflowers out as it would make a nice drive in the spring time.

Wed passed by a house that had a huge patch of flowers in her yard with little concrete bunnies everywhere. We also passed Cottontail Lane a bit further on.

We have a day off in Navasota, TX. There isn't that much to do here, and that is probably a good thing. We did 70 miles yesterday, and I did 100 miles a few days ago, so it will be good to take a walk into town, visit the post office, have lunch and do some quiet activities this afternoon. My legs were "talking" to me yesterday and I needed some advil early in the ride but it was a fabulous day!
Hugs,
Robin

Bastrop to La Grange, Texas

It was a bit cooler today so most of us were digging through our luggage that we brought out to the van, for an additional layer. We spent about 23 miles today going through a quiet, woodsy State park. There were few cars and we had the roads to ourselves for a few hours. The wind was still blowing but because of the trees we were more protected and the winds sounded like the roar of the ocean in the distance. There were a lot of small downhills interspersed with a few round the corner" Oh SH..T" hills that made a VERY steep climb but they did not last long. I did feel a little tired today. I know it sounds weird, but today was thought of as a short 41 mile day. The rest of the ride was fairly flat and GREEN. We are officially out of the hill section of Texas, though there are a few rollers every once in a while. The wild flowers were in bloom and you would see a carpet of orange, or a blanket of purple lupines, or clusters of other pink, yellow, or white flowers. I still have yet to see a Texas bluebonnet yet. Perhaps they need more rain to come out.

As I was grunting up one of the steeper hills, I kept thinking to myself, this is really a challenge, my legs must be so tired from yesterday...I had a flat. It must have been a slow leak. I used my little gas cartridge for the first time to pump it up and if I have the energy later on will try and see where it was leaking. I couldn't find anything sharp in the front tire so am hoping for the best tomorrow as we have a 70 something ride to our next destination.

We pedaled past our hotel to downtown La Grange, across the Colorado River, to a little cafe for lunch. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are starting to get a little tiring. I had some chili, chocolate milk, and a grilled cheese and tomato on homemade wheat bread and consumed it quickly as I was really hungry today!

Last night Chef Linda made barbecued beef sandwiches, coleslaw, cantaloupe, with cookies for dessert. I am noticing that we are all taking less portions as our "fine tuned machines" must be burning more efficiently now!
Off to do laundry now as clean bike shorts are a MUST!
Love,
Robin

Blanco to Bastrop, Texas

Today's ride really reminded me of the hilly roads in Vermont, though the growth and landscape was different. We didn't have much of a shoulder to ride on and many or the drivers did not appreciate that we were on the road. It was windy again for most of the day. We had 92.7 mile scheduled but the cue sheet was a little off so it was more like 90 miles. We knew we had to keep moving along if we were to get the ride in. Every twenty miles or so we'd check in to see how we were feeling and then would go on a bit more. At about mile 60 I knew I needed to get out of the wind for a few minutes and get in something more substantial than nuts and granola bars.

After a quick burger and some ice water we were on our way again. Our chef told us that near the end it gets flatter but all we kept seeing and climbing were more hills. Now they weren't that hard, but they did require a climb and more energy. One of the cutest things I saw today was a baby Shetland pony that was all beige, almost white. There were more tiny purple lupines out and some other spring wildflowers. We are in Ladybird Johnson territory. Their ranch was about 50 miles away. Someone on the tour took a day off with her husband to go take a look at it.

We got in at about 4:30 and did 90 miles. I thought all day long if I felt strong enough at the end of the day, perhaps I would ride around 10 more miles to make my century ride. As we were on a busy one way street, I spent about and hour or so riding around the parking lot of Walmart, through McDonald's and by Blockbusters in a way that avoided traffic. There was still wind so I had to still battle that, but hey, I did my first 100 mile century ride. Many gals in the parking lot cheered me in and shared in my success. I got the extra credit award and another round of applause at dinner tonight. YEAH ME! Another first!
Tired so will close for now,
Robin

Kerrville to Blanco, Texas

We left the hotel with the trophy animals hanging all over the lobby at around 8:00 in the morning. The skies were grey and it looked like rain, but we were told that it hasn't rained in this part of Texas for 13 months! Today we were on back country roads that meandered by a river for a while with shady lined trees, past smaller ranches and open fields and up and over some smaller hills. We did see some beautiful horses, and further down a road, a dozen deer over in a meadow . We often pass some areas where the wire fence is quite high, as they have hunters come in to hunt for various game. It doesn't seem quite fair to me but we are in Texas and life is different here.

We stopped in a town called Comfort, Texas.this morning The old district looked like it was slowly being restored, so they had the old storefronts, banks, and saloons from years ago. We went into an old fire station that had been refurbished into an upscale coffee shop and bistro. We sat outside with our drinks and orange almond muffin or chocolate covered macaroons enjoying the flower covered trellis and blooming herbs that were in large feeding troughs. We thought it would be pretty cool sounding to say I live in “Comfort.”:)

We went by many more ranches that had for sale signs on them. It''s been rather depressing over the past few weeks to see this. Our mileage was 64.8 today. I was pretty tired probably because of the heat.The clouds disappeared midday and it warmed right up to 79 or 80 degrees with a little humidity.Part way on my ride I kept hearing a creaking sound that I had not heard in my bike before. I finally determined it was coming from my saddle. Someone thinks that the carbon may be starting to break and it will have to be replaced. I looked at it tonight in my room and couldn't see any tiny cracks but maybe in daylight would reveal something.d

At dinner we had several guests of riders join us for dinner. Tonight we celebrated Donna's 63^rd birthday with polenta, sausage ragou, salad, cantaloupe and gluten free chocolate cake. I opted for more polenta and ragou for my dessert instead. We alsohad a margarita to celebrate making it ½ way to Floriday We also had to say goodbye to our wonderful guide/mechanic Michelle, who had signed on for ½ of the trip. .She is heading back to her home in Colorado. I hope that our paths will meet again. She is really talented and we will miss her understatements at our nightly map meetings. “You might have a hill or two...”ttranslated means, 10 or 12 with steep inclines!

Tomorrow we have another 90 something mile day ahead of us. I'll post this when we get to a place that has access to internet.

Hugs,

Robin

Campwood to Vanderpool to Kerville

We had no Internet for a few days and already the days are getting fuzzy. In Vanderpool, TX, we stayed at Fox Fire Cabins nearby a river. Three people stayed in our little cabin. It felt cozy and home-like with printed sheets and homemade quilts on the bed. Chef Linda made pot roast, roasted vegetables, and heart shaped biscuits for dinner. We had s'mores outside over the charcoal. As there were no services for phone or Internet, some of us went for a walk down by the river and by a farm that had baby lambs, sheep and cows. When I got back there was a wild card party of Uno going on on the porch of our cabin. We had three tough one mile climbs at mile 8, 28, and 33! I felt so great rounded that last curvy incline to the Sag wagon and other riders at the top . Talk about improvement in strength and energy! I just put "Gertrude" in my granny gear and kept going and going, and going. I stopped once on the third hill climb because my legs were tired and I needed a drink, but then continued on.

Everyone had a good attitude, even though the climbs were tough. It has been a nice change of scenery. The flavors of green in the tree colors reminded me shades of asparagus fern, celery,and broccoli green. There were some rough roads and patches of smooth road, roller coaster hills, flats, as well as hard climbs.

One group of riders had the displeasure of having a truck zoom over onto the shoulder of the road in front of them and then a loud shot like a gun was heard. No one was hurt but they were shaken up a bit.

Yesterday the winds returned with a vengeance. It was gusty and kept blowing from different directions. We had a 1.3 mile hill climb about 7 miles out which was over 10% and things were OK at that point. In fact, a tailwind helped me up a little near the crest of the hill. When we got to the top of the hills, the wind really started to zip us around. This may be one time, where I was thankful to be on the heavier side. Three riders were blown over. One hit her head and got a concussion. Two others went off the shoulder, in the same gust. One fell in the grass and was OK, the other gal fell on a rock, and cut her knee and hurt her elbow.

Sue, Liz and I continued cautiously until we reached a stopping point in Medina at mile 24. There was a famous pie placed that had apple streudal, ice cream, and pies. At that point the leaders strongly suggested calling it a day so most of us did. It doesn't make sense to break a bone at this point in the trip and we were all blown from the middle of the road to the side of the road several times already and the winds usually pick up as the afternoon warms up.

The full van with 15 bikes and people scooted the next 25 miles to Kerville, where we spent a few hours at the bike store before heading to our hotel called the Y.O. Ranch Resort. I was expecting a dude ranch on the outside of town. It's on a main road with many other hotels. Every place we have been lately seems to be enamored with dead animals hanging on the wall. This place takes the cake. Its lobby boasts a plethora of exotic animal heads. Antlers are in every bedroom, hallway, and light fixture. When I was looking up the taxi number , there was a whole column of taxidermists!

Gotta go! Lots to do on our day off!
Love,
Robin

Bracketville to Campwood, TX

We left the fort and headed out of town toward RD 334. It was back roads and that terrible chip seal for a bumpy ride again. We had some up and down hills and though there was scrub, it was taller, greener and there were more trees on this ride.

I think everyone is feeling a little bit tired. After all, we have been on the road for most of March. The blowing winds and bumpy roads can get wearing after a fashion. I stopped to take a picture of a dead armadillo. Little did I know we would see several more further down the road. Some of my bike mates were laughing, especially ones who have seen plenty of armadillos on the side of the road before.Hey, I'm from New England, and these creatures are an oddity to me!

Further on we met a disheartened rider who was also sick of the bumpy road and the wind. We hung out together and she rode with us, at a much slower pace than she usually did for the company. We finally hit the Nueces River where there was actually some WATER! All of the creeks and rivers we have been crossing lately have just been a pile of dry beds. This had a beautiful view, and wide open expanse so we went down by the river and I soaked my feet for a little while and took an nice stretch and rested. A few miles down the road was our hotel . Our ride today was 48.8 miles.. They have a lovely little fabric shop for quilts here at the Wooddbine Hotel and do mostly on-line sales. If any of you are interested, their website is wwww.suziequilts.com. They stock some very different fabrics than what I have seen. We were pleasantly surprised to find a little cafe open for a late lunch. For some reason, most places close up by 2pm or are not open on Tuesdays in this small town. We definitely are in the bible belt from the crucifixes on the cafe walls to the open bible on the dresser.

I believe we have some hill climbing to do tomorrow, no fooling!
We are just about 1/2 way across the country already. Now that's pretty special!!!

Del Rio to Bracketville

Posted one day late due to no internet availability.

My roommate for last night is one of the few ladies that made the entire 111 miles in those terrible windy conditions. I sat outside waiting for my laundry to finish. They had some machines sitting outside next to the hotel, uncovered with coin slots, so a few of us did some laundry as the places for washing are few and far between for this next week. While I was sitting there looking at the dark sky, I was watching the these nine palm trees tops dance and move about in the relentless winds. They were around the pool and playground across the parking lot. The palm tops were swishing this way and that in the night and they reminded me of Cousin It on drugs thrashing to and fro.

This Monday morning, we left for a calm, fairly easy 42 mile ride to the outskirts of Brackenville, TX. Officially, after a week, we are in central Texas. There was no hurry to rush out today as we had a “short” ride and the terrain had some gradual climbs that were not that steep. The temperature soon reached the low 80's and you could feel a little more humidity in the air. We headed through Del Rio where there were shops of all sorts and more greenery. It felt like we were in civilization again. There was a breeze but it started to wane as the day went on, so different than yesterday. The shoulder was smooth and I commented on how refreshing and stress free this ride was. The we hit Texas chip seal and bumped our bottoms, and numbed our hands and feet the rest of the 22 miles. Just as we were about ½ mile from our destination, several of us stopped at a Mexican food place. I had the cheese enchilada special of the day for $3.99 with an orange juice. The food was good and the price was very reasonable.

We headed down the hill and turned into the Fort Clark Springs, just outside of Bracketville, which used to be an old post for infantry in the 1800's. Much of the post is stone construction and they have turned it into a gated recreational and retirement community with about 2,700 acres. There is a large spring that feeds into a large swimming pool with a year round temperature of 68 degrees. Several went swimming and I dipped my feet in for some relief from the warm day. We are staying in one of the old barracks. I was expecting 8 people in a room with cots, but was pleasantly surprised to find a lovely hotel room for two, tastefully decorated, one of the nicer places we have been.

For dinner we had chicken or eggplant enchiladas, beans and rice, salad, with some lemon pie or brownie pie for dessert. I was so full from our late lunch and dinner, I did not have the dessert. In fact, I was so full, that I went for a nice long walk around the "parade ground" past some lovely and historical homes. One of the homes was for sale for $279,000 and it had 5 bedrooms upstairs and looked like a lovely place to live. John Wayne stayed in this house while filming "The Alamo" way back when. It does cost some money to become a member in this gated community, so I am not sure how much more it would truly cost to own the home, but coming from MA, it seemed very reasonable if you had some type of work in the area.

Going to Campwwod tomorrow and am looking forward to a day off on Friday, April 3^rd.

Love to all,

Robin

Windblown in Texas

We got up at 6:15 am in darkness to get ready for the long ride today. It was 36 degrees in the morning and was hard to see as we were pumping up tires and loading luggage. Linda did her usual great breakfast so we were able to get on the road slightly before the sun rose. As it was supposed to get up into the 80's I didn't dress as warmly as I could have. I wore my toe warmers instead of my booties and a headband instead of a balaclava. Luckily I did have my full fingered gloves so the only part that was really cold was my face and my bottom. We watched the sun come up as we left Sanderson heading up over the hill south toward the border of Mexico. There were many rolling hills, that you couldn't quite climb up without an effort. I was out in front of my two friends, leading the way, feeling strong, taking on the wind that was starting to wind up. For miles the wind gusted about in cross winds and headwinds. I knew it was going to be a pretty long day anyways and the wind did not help us.

We stopped briefly at about mile 30, for a quick stretch, and potty stop but when I got back on my bike, my legs were like lead and I found it so hard to continue at a pace that kept up with my friends. We were trying to do a pace line, saving energy by riding close to each other, but I just couldn't keep up and I was having trouble shifting. They slowed the line down for me and let me sail behind them but I knew that I was not up to the task today. When we got to the SAG stop at mile 40, I asked to be bumped up to the lunch stop at mile 60 and said I would decide after lunch and a break if I was up to going on. Michelle took my bike down off of the car rack and said, do you know your back brake was rubbing? Go Figure! No wonder I was having trouble. I couldn't hear the rubbing because of the wind and thought I was having a hard time because of the wind. When I laid my bike down to go off in the bushes, it must have kicked the brake over a bit. At least I had a reason why I wasn't getting anywhere fast and why I felt so slow!

After lunch, Liz and I thought we would try and do another 20 miles. The wind is still howling and blowing us about a little. It was very slow going and depressing to only go 7 mph on a steep downhill. That's how hard the wind was blowing. I even walked for a bit when I thought it was too dangerous to ride safely. The cross winds and head winds made it difficult to proceed with mush haste.At about mile 59, we flagged down the SAG vehicle and got a ride in. The van was filled with people and paraphernalia. Half of the people said, enough was enough and came in out of the wind, too.

I'll find out tonight how many people make it in. Even though I really wanted to complete a century today, it just didn't feel right and we have a lot more riding to do over the next month or so. My "good" knee was hurting and my body kept saying "why?" There is no need to get hurt at this point. I'll just have to do a century back in Massachusetts some other time.


We're having pizza tonight. Last night we had curried chicken, broccoli,brown rice and a green salad.

Hopefully the winds will die down for tomorrow's ride.
Hugs,
Robin

On the Road Again

Willie Nelson's theme song always springs to mind when we hop on our bikes to start the day, or get back on after a rest stop. On the road again,
I just can't wait to get back on the road again, Biking with my friends, I just can't wait to get on the road again!

My rims arrived at 9 pm last night. HURRAH!!!! You should have heard the cheers of my bike mates in the lobby. Pictures were taken, a phone call was made, it was a great big celebration with me grinning ear to ear. What a relief!

Michelle and I put the new tires and tubes on and then we hit the hay as it was getting late. In the morning, Michelle had finished assembling and testing everything and it was leaning against a table outside the breakfast room like a brand new present at Christmas, all shiny and new.

After breakfast of oatmeal, eggs, yogurt, and slivered almonds, we were on the road for a nice 54 mile ride to Marathon, TX. The temperature was a little cool, perhaps in the high 40's so I kept my full fingered gloves, leg warmers, booties, on for most of the day. I did put on two long sleeved shirts in addition to my wool socks and bike jersey. One of the warmer shirts came off at the first break about 10 miles out.

We saw three mule deer run across the road and bound gracefully over the barbed wired fence. Sometimes we'd see some cattle in among the scrub. There were several ranches around, but little water. A good portion of the day was spent in a canyon, but the spaces between the sides were far apart and looked like many other places we have been. I did notice some little flowers about on the sides of the road and some of the yucca plants had some yellow blossoms up high.We also saw a lot of road kill, deer, golden eagle, and fox. Usually we see skunks too.

Right now, sitting on the porch, I am looking up at a hill with flat sand colored outcroppings of rock at about the last 5 % with scrub on the other 95%. We are staying at a place called the Outback Oasis Motel. The name is more appealing than the place, but it does have some cute little features such as a porch on my side that has these huge cane chairs with rustic wooden backs and arms. I feel a little like Goldilocks sitting in Papa Bear's chair.

Tomorrow is our BIG ride as it is the longest mileage in one day. We have 111 miles to do on Sunday. I don't think we will be stopping as often as we usually do and I must remember to use and bring extra lubricant cream in my riding shorts! I'm sure there will be many sore bottoms tomorrow night.

Last night because it was so cold, Chef Linda made split pea soup, corn bread, and salad. There were also pies available for dessert but I had many cheese and crackers before dinner so I was pretty full. We were all crowded into a living room of one of the houses that three people were put in. It was nice to be warm, out of the wind, and gathered all together. The wine was readily available and readily consumed. Normally we are in a larger circle outside but it is hard to hear people who are not directly near you. Last night it was easier because we were all cozy and together.

It was great to be on the road again...
Hugs,
Robin

Brrr...inn Marathon, Texaas

Even though I rode in the van today, it was bitter cold. It was in the low 40's in the morning and a strong wind has been blowing all morning and into the afternoon. I grabbed my heavy coat out of my suitcase and am glad that I still have it as I was thinking about mailing it home at the last few stops. I loaned Mary Jo my gloves and Liz my barlaclava (I'm not sure if that's how you spell it.) I drove with a guide to Alpine, TX and helped with the grocery shopping.

Afterwards, we checked out a little trattoria down the street and I had some hot white Tuscan bean soup and bread which warmed me up a little bit. Then we traveled the rest of the 66 miles to Marathon, TX to a beautiful old hotel, The Gage Hotel. Our rooms won't be ready for a few hours and my rims haven't arrived yet today. Normally I would check out the one block town, but it is so blustery, I think I'll stay right where I am sitting inside a lovely room with my coat on. My rims haven't arrived yet,but Fed Ex hasn't been here yet today so I'm still hoping they'll be here very soon!

Through my trials and tribulations lately, I am reminded of a saying that a friend gave me before I left that seems appropriate now. Thanks Angela!

Perseverance-The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it. (Moliere)


I'm thinking of sharing this poem with the group after supper. I wrote this before my 9th flat a few days ago so bear with me.

There once was a bike rider named Robin,
With 8 flats in 3 weeks, you'd be sobbin',
But no tears did she shed,
Let the truth be said,
She went on with her trip with no problem.


Many women among us felt pity,
Changing tires can be really gritty,
Especially when,
Gusty, strong winds blow in,
In Fort Hancock which isn't much of a city.

She learned to change tires by looking,
Take your levers and just start hooking,
Spin the lever around,
Put the old tube on the ground,
Insert the new tube and you're cooking.

Her back tires exploded, KAPOW!
Michell to the rescue, WOW!
New rim tape and file,
New tube, tire, that's style!
Back biking the roadways for now.

My thanks to to Ann, Susan, and SAG,
In helping me out, though I lag,
Behind most of the crew,
I stop to admire the view,
Don't feel sorry for me, that's a drag.

Some setbacks, I've had quite a few,
But my new friends, you've always come through,
With a big caring hug,
On my heartstrings, you've tugged,
Kind words, sage advice, I thank you!

This group of bike women is great,
Chef Linda's meals really rate,
Michelle's always about,
To help us all out,
As we bicycle from state to state.

Over 1,000 miles we have ridden,
Butterflies,desert flowers are not hidden,
Back roads, highway shoulders,
With unique, huge boulders,
More adventures lie ahead, no kidding!

Love to all,
Robin

A Day of Challenges

Wednesday morning we got up at 7:30. Due to the time change of Central Time Zone it was still too dark to ride. Linda made a great breakfast with eggs, potatoes, oatmeal, yogurt, and fruit. It was a day to eat hearty as we had an 88 mile day ahead of us to go from Van Horn to Fort Davis, Texas. Because of the rough surface on the frontage road yesterday, we scooted right on the interstate 10 where the road shoulder was smooth for the first 15 miles. The weather was great, cool to start out and a little cloud cover so as the sun rose higher you could shed the windbreaker and leg warmers by about 20 miles out.

The road surface got a little rough after 15 miles,but I was very careful to avoid any little bits of debris. We stopped for a gal that had a flat on the shoulder and then headed for our first SAG stop for snacks. I usually get a V8 and some sort of cheese or fruit and a few almond covered m & m's. It's easy to keep dipping into the chips and cookies that they also have and I always top off my water bottle and my bottle that I have some electrolytes in. When it's cooler in the mornings, I have to remember to drink more as you don't feel as thirsty as when it is hot.

The tail winds were with us again, and we zipped along often at 20 miles per hour on the highway. When you stopped, it felt cool, but when you were biking, it was warm, so we were often stopping to unzip or zip up some garment among us.

After we got off the interstate at mile 40 and went around a corner, the winds REALLY started GUSTING and there were hard CROSS-WINDS or HEADWINDS. It kept changing directions and intensity. Our mileage slowed down to about 8-12 mph for a while. As I was going downhill I felt as if the wind was going to push be back up, that's how hard it was gusting.

As we were out in the middle of nowhere, our group provided us a lunch stop at about mile 44. I can't tell you how slowly the odometer seemed to move those last four miles. The wind continued to howl across the valley, between the hills as we hunkered down with our turkey sandwich on the ground on the side of the van for a little break. Several people opted to "bump up", or get a ride to mile 62 as the winds were SO STRONG! One of my mates chose that option, but the other gal and I decided to press on. After about mile 52, the gal I was with, opted for a ride up to the top of the mountain. I was determined to keep going. The wind would blow so hard that you would be moved sideways. There was very little traffic so we did have the roadway practically to ourselves. It took me hours to get to the next stop where the van and trailer were waiting. 5 other people were waiting for a ride. I asked if I could just come into the van for 5 minutes to rest, get out of the wind, befoore making my decision to get a ride up or ride up on my own.

After my break,I figured I felt OK, and would like to try riding for another hour or so, asking that the SAG driver, to come back and check on me to see how I was doing. I took frequent breaks, drank a lot, snacked often to keep up my strength. This was the hardest ride of my life!

Most of the time I could only go 4-8 mph only against the wind. The next 14.5 miles were difficult as the route began to climb with some very steep and short inclines. I have to admit, I got off and walked up a few of the steepest parts that were more than 12% as my legs were so tired. After a brief stretch and a short walk of 100 steps or so, I would get back on and pedal some more. Luckily there were some downhills along with some uphills, but still the winds would inconsistently blow in all directions. Once in a while you'd get a break and a tailwind would help you up a portion and everything would be fine for a while. I traveled up to where we could see the McDonald Observatory up off to the right. The panorama vista was amazing. I remember going down around a corner on a downhill and just yelling out loud to the world. WOW! WOW! WOW! This vast open expanse of valleys, mountains, and breathtaking views all around were incredible. And then...

KAPOW! My rear tire tube exploded on a downhill just after I feathered my brakes to take a corner. Luckily, I stayed upright, but I could hear the grind of the rim scraping the pavement until I could get the bike to stop. I just remember thinking, get your feet out the clips NOW!. This would be flat number NINE, I consider myself to be pretty handy at changing a flat and though I was on my own, went about my business of taking out the old tube and changing the flat. I couldn't find any glass, thorns, just that big ugly split of about 6 inches that has happened so many times on my back tire. I put the new tube in and got a little frustrated with the little pump that I have. Usually I use my friend's pump as she has a much more efficient one, or I use the floor pump from the van. By now it is about 5:30, and I've been on the road since about 8:00. The Sag wagon came back noticing that I was behind and got the floor pump out for me. My NEW TIRE that was just put on three or four days ago was shredded so I couldn't ride the rest of the way anyways. We threw everything into the back seat of the wagon and headed in the last 10 miles, past all the downhill that I had worked so hard for climbing those hours before.

I was so discouraged when I got in because my back rim was shot, I just went into my room and cried. We are in a place that cell phones don't work as we are nestled in the side of a mountain, so I knew I couldn't even call anyone for a part to send out until the next day.

Well, my friend, Susan, a project manager, and Michelle, the mechanic, sprung into action for me while I took the longest hot shower of my life. They determined that my rims are poorly constructed and with my permission ordered me two new ones that will be shipped overnight today to the place we are going tomorrow, (I think it's Marathon, TX.but I don't have my sheet with me as I am up in the lodge near the office as I can not get internet connection in my room.) They went online to see what rims places had in stock, but many of them did not have two or could not ship it right away. By now it is around 6:40 central time here so Susan thought to call her bike shop in CA right before she closed to see if she could help out and that bike shop will take care of shipping it out and Michelle will install everything tomorrow.

I am so relieved and thankful for their help. I know it will be alright now and I might get an extra day off and that's OK with me too. I feel so lucky that I didn't get hurt on that downhill blowout and there was no traffic at that moment. I even felt good enough to clean and lube my bike today, what was left of it , this afternoon whereas yesterday, I was ready to throw it off a cliff...

So if any bike enthusiasts know any problems with the rims of a Specialized Sequoia elite, please let me know. I'm not sure what to do with the rims for now. But I think my bike store needs to know and Specialized needs to know though I doubt I'll be reimbursed for the new parts and tires, an additional nearly $400 for new tires, rims and all those tubes I've used up.

I did not get much sleep last night but at least it is a day off. I went into town , four miles away, and walked around, got some lunch, and looked at some shops. My laundry is done for now and I will put my feet up for a while and do some stretching that I did not do yesterday.

Last night after a glass of merlot, we were sitting on the edge of the lodge waiting for javelinas to appear at dusk. I saw something move in the distance but could not make out the animal clearly. This afternoon, from the balcony I I saw three javelinas out in the grass near the back of the hotel. I did not think they would be out in the middle of the day. They are the first of these critters that I have seen in the wild.

So,yesterday was a day of challenges but I look forward to the promise of tomorrows!

Safe and sound,
Robin

Fort Hancock to Van Horn Texas

Because of the very strong wind conditions at night, our guide and cook thought it prudent to eat breakfast inside at the little place across the street called Angie's. Though it didn't open until 6 am, about 15 of us were out there waiting in the dark and the cold for the place to open at 5:55, all thinking we would get there first and be out sooner. Because most of us were in bike shorts, we did the penguin huddle for warmth until the truck came with the person to open the place. Then we took the quiet little place over with 23 people.

After a breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon, I went back across the street to load my luggage and haul out my bike. When I looked down, I noticed the back tire was a little soft, having lost some air during the night. (For those of you keeping track, that would be flat #8). After consulting a few of the pros, I decided it would be best to change it before starting out. (So much for our early start on our 74 mile trip today!) I did change the back tire and replaced the tube without much difficulty. Susan warded off all those people who were ready to "help" me and "pity" me. The culprit was a tiny black thorn on the inside of the tire.

There was some gradual uphill after some flat riding on some back country roads. The advantage was it was quiet with little traffic, but the disadvantage is that much of the road surface today was rough. We climbed up into the town of Sierra Blanca after crossing the lower part of the same named mountains. We mistakenly ate at a little restaurant which had terrible food at about mile 42. After leaving most of it on our plates,we journeyed onward the other 32 miles with some travel on an interstate and some travel on a frontage road.

About a mile from our motel, Liz got a small wire in her tire and got a flat. It was changed quickly and we were on our way. Overall, it was a great day as the tailwinds were at our back and the weather was just perfect in the high 60's for most of the day. I think we were all worried about the mileage today but the weather, wind, and terrain really impacts the ride and today we lucked out!

I'm off to do laundry as we have very little chance to do launder again until 8 more days.
Hugs,
Robin

El Paso to Fort Hancock

The plan for today was to take a “recovery” (easy) ride, going at a slow pace on flat ground and not racing to the motel as there won't be much there except sit in gusty crosswinds and pelting sand. Though I did hear a rumor that there was a chili pepper store across the street that I may check out as I didn't have time to stop in New Mexico on the 88 mile day two days back. We slept late, until 6:45am or so and didn't head out until 7:45am which was one of our later starts. Again, the weather was great, blue skies with a bit of westerly wind to help us along.

Down the road we traveled, out of the city and back to farmland and small towns mostly without services. We stopped at a mission six miles out that was rebuilt twice since 1680 when the Rio Grande flooded. It was built by the Piro Indians and Spanish. The adobe and plaster mission is still an active church today. It was fascinating to see the old beams with painted designs on the ceiling made out of cypress and curved cottonwood salvaged from the original building .

When I went to get back on my bike again, Oh, oh, flat tire in the front. (That makes flat #6) We found two goat head thorns embedded in the tire which punctured the inner tube. Susan, the mechanical engineer, quickly fixed it and we were on the road for another ½ mile and oh, oh, the front tire was flat again.(That makes flat #7) This time I found four more tiny thorns and a little hole through the tire which we patched with the silver liner from an energy bar that I had in by bag. The thorns were probably in the gravel of the parking lot at the mission. This time I changed the whole tire myself ( with a little direction/reminder from my friends.) We hit the road again and traveled to a second mission that was originally built as a fort in the 1640's, destroyed by flood in 1829, and rebuilt again in a different spot. Michelle, our guide, caught up to us and rode with us the rest of the day.

We headed to a small cantina off the beaten path for enchiladas with green chili pepper sauce that were delicious. If we didn't have specific directions, for this little eatery, we never would have found it as it was nestled back away from the main road in a small neighborhood next to a school.

After our leisurely meal, we headed out again and Michelle got a flat. I may invest in a suitcase of tubes and may even check out some CO2 cartridges for filling up at the rate I am going . Those little hand pumps aren't the easiest things to use. I have the distinct honor(?) of having the record number of flats so far. Luckily Liz has a pretty good pump that has a small lever that you can put a foot on but it still takes around 200 pumps and time and energy to fill it up enough to get moving again.

By the way,I did my blog from yesterday before dinner so I neglected to tell you what we had for dinner. Last night we had corn breaded fried catfish, macaroni and cheese, broccoli, sliced tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, and black raspberries with a crème sauce.

After I got in today and took my shower, I spent more time cleaning and lubricating my bike　As my shifting was getting cranky in a few of the higher gears that I was attempting to use today. I also looked for more thorns that might be embedded in my tires and had Michelle,the bike mechanic, take a look at two gashes I had on my tires to see if they could be repaired or if I needed to change the tire. She recommended that if I had an extra tire (which I did) to change it and keep the worn one as a spare that could be patched with electrical tape if need be. By the way, if you are on the road and don't have anything to line your tire with, people have suggested using a dollar bill, which is thin enough and durable enough in a pinch. So, I　ended up taking the tire completely off, removing the tube and putting on a new tire. We shall see tomorrow if I did everything OK. I HOPE SO!

While I was working on the bike, the wind started picking up to 40-50 miles in velocity, gusting and swirling sand about so everything and everybody was gritty. I may need to take another shower before I go to bed. We moved the chairs for and set up for dinner to the other side of the motel for dinner and brought the van and trailer around to help block off some of the wind. We went to dinner in shifts, every other person held the seat next to them while the other gal got their dinner so the chairs wouldn't blow away.


For dinner tonight, we had spaghetti with homemade bread from the Dutch oven, Caesar salad, and mini brownies for dessert. We had a quick map meeting so we wouldn't blow away.　Tomorrow will be an over 75 mile day with some long gradual climbs as we go over the smaller part of the Sierra Blanco Mountains.
Have a great day everyone!
Robin