The Charging Station

Every night when we pull into camp there are several rituals that I must observe. If u skip a ritual u risk piss poor preparation leading to piss poor performance. A bike world saying that has a bit of charm, admittedly quite a small bit.
So anyway part of a good prep is to make sure that ur phone and other e electronic gadgetry is charged for the evening and following day. For me this means phone and iPad . Sounds easy, right? But think about it, 32 riders and 10 staff all with 2.5 pieces of electronic equipment, coupled with a camp with one outlet. The picture attached gives u a sense of the competition. Somehow I always manage to get my stuff charge, I attribute this to my early training competing for food at the dinner table and later for the limited supply of knobby pins and nylon stockings .

Terry rescuing my Bike

My son-in-law,Rich,the man with the answers in all things electronic solved the problem of how to load this pic on my blog. TY sweetie.

6 days left

Crossed mobile bay with a 25 mph wind that caused water to crash over the deck and knocked my bike over. It was rescued by a gallant Canadian and someone got a great pix but I don't know how to up load it. It was beautiful riding along the water on the other side . They call the coast of the Fla. the redneck riviera and I guess I would agree. Actually when u think about it this whole trip has had a decidedly redneck flavor to it. Including my biking wardrobe. Some of my compatriots are are sleek and elegant and I am barely able to stay on the bike let alone achieve haute couture . Alas alack, at least i have managed to stay on the bike most of the time.

Dauphin Island AL

3 miles out in Mobile Bay reachable by a causeway with an 8% grade that looked incredibly intimidating but turned out to be very doable. Actually the ride down was more of a terror than the ride up. The view was spectacular and including the most amazing diving pelicans who seemed to be successful with each effort. I stood and watched them for quite a while. The whole ride was quite lovely with much of it along water. It was warm,in the low 80swith a nice breeze and or cloud cover most of the day. I rode 70 miles and enjoyed most all of it. My arm was aching a little so I decided to try to schedule a massage when I got into camp. Ken was able to fit me in at 3. I asked for 4 but he said , " I have Ken, the rider, at 4:30. Anyway as I was getting my massage I heard Clutch talking about someone having been released from the hospital . Turns out Ken the rider was hit by a panel truck-his side-view mirror got Ken in the shoulder and toppled him. His pedal clips were still connected to his bike when Clutch reached him.
An off duty policeman and his bike were behind the truck And immediately called the ambulance. The panel truck driver turned around and stayed with Ken until the ambulance came. Turns out he was trying to pass Ken when he saw an approaching car coming and pulled back behind Ken but wasn't able to clear him completely . He was o f course very upset. Ken , ever the southern gentleman was reassuring him that he would be fine.
Turns out he is feeling pretty good today considering he cracked his clavicle and got a bump on his forehead. He was in good spirits when he returned it camp and was able to tell us what happened. He didn't take any of the prescribed analgesics. He is wearing a sling, icing and resting. The Orthpod told him he could ride if he could stand the pain, so Ken is going to wait until tomorrow to see if he is able to continue with us.
Today has been overcast and lazy. This is our off day so it was kind of nicer to have it a little rainy and cloudy. I slept in until after 8 this am. Felt really nice.
The highlight of the. Day was Skyping with Marna and the Gillilump. When they first got on the phone Gillis smiled a Big smile. Then Marnie said say GG and he said it on demand-my heart leapt. Only 10 days until home coming-I can't wait. The trip is getting prettier by the day and flatter so the pedaling is easier. I am over 2000 miles to date and the bike is holding up and so is my bottom. I have been wearing 2 pairs of shorts to double the padding but now I truly understand what is meant by getting my panties in a twist. It does not feel good. Tomorrow I will try starting out with only one pair and carrying a pair with me and see how it goes. In the am we
Will start our day crossing the bay on a 30 Minute ferry ride and after riding 10 miles on the other side we will be in Florida. Only a couple of more days on central time.

Jackson LA or the night we got thrown I out of camp

It all started innocently enough. We pulled into a raggedy camp with stacks of used building material decorating the site as well as a huge pile of dried cuttings of shrubs and trees. Off to the edge of the property was a shower disguised as an out house . I arrived in the middle of the pack after riding the full 69 miles from DeRidder LA. It was a gorgeous ride past the False River which is truly a large lake. It was wonderful to look at the lake and the houses and to be cooled by a steady wind. From there I rode across the Mississippi on a bridge exactly like the newer bridge across the C&D canal in Delaware . It was a great view of the mighty waterway and exhilarating to be up that high. I did hold on tight on the way back down.
Anyway back to camp, as I was saying I got in line for the bath and only Waited 15 minutes for the shower. Not too bad. Then I got my stuff organized and went over to the zone to see of I could charge my phone and IPad. I was very thirsty and was looking for the ever elusive caffeine free diet. Didn't find the coke but before I could lament someone had thrust a Mudslide into my hand. I don't even particularly like mudslides but it went down pretty easily. They were playing Cajun music which is great to dance to. So a bunch of us were chatting and lamenting the fact that we did not like to clean shellfish and since dinner was a crawfish boil we were not eating. That is I wasn't eating until someone brought me a bowl of cleaned crawfish meat and corn on the cob both of which were very delicious . As the mud slides slid the group got to dancing and being silly and I was having a wonderful time.it is early, probably around 5:30. So the party continues and then the hostess gets upset and tells us that we are disturbing the neighbors. It was kind of an awkward situation. The hostess had supplied the music which was creating most of the noise. Anyway I guess words were exchanged and the next thing I know is the party is over and as Ian heading over to my tent Bubba tells me that we are leaving in the morning. As I later learned we were not thrown out but we decided to leave. I was delighted because the camp was unsightly and it had only one shower and rain was predicted. It seems someone in camp captures me dancing in a video and posted it on Facebook .

Last ride in Texas

After 19 days in Texas we will be entering LA tomorrow . It is a 72 mile day planned with a hotel stay to top it off. Today we road from Cold Spring TX which is kind of like the Mediterranean only without the waterfront, and without the designer shops, without the great restaurants, and without the wonderful ambience. What it did have was proximity to a 4 lane highway with bright lights and tall grass. Even so I managed to sleep soundly , went to bed at 8 and slept until MTG called at 5:30 so we could Skype . It was wonderful to see Gillis's reaction. He remembered me! That was so reassuring . So cute.
As I ride I have been thinking about Marnie and Corbin's house and trying to figure out a way to realize all there wishes for the house. It has kept me thoroughly entertained . I can't wait to tell them all about my ideas- maybe some of them will actually work out, either way it has been a fun thing to wonder about as I ride.

What not to pack in your duffle bag

Yesterday I was searching in my duffle bag for my extra facial wipes, when I came across my big bottles of shampoo and creme rinse. Oh good I thought I can refill my shampoo as well. Oh good turned to oh no when I touched the zip lock Baggie and found it was all slimy!! turns out the combination of heat and pressure applied to a shampoo container with a flip closure is ugly but not quite as ugly as when applied to a tin of Bag Balm in a zip lock Baggie. Bag Balm appears to have a relatively low melting point an has roughly the appearance of urine when liquified by heat. Yes I did throw it away, but not after giving serious thought to salvaging it. In the end I decided that it was worth considerably more to me not to have to wrestle with a greasy Baggie than the purchase price and I tossed it. I left the shampoo in the shower so at least it will be used. . Now I am able to really survive between non ride days with just my bedroll an my Arkema backpack . This allows me to do my am prep in under 30 minutes including bike prep, sunscreen an butt butter. The last 2 agenda items I store on my bike and apply them outside as soon as sun comes up. Pm ministrations take a bit longer. Today I modified my routine by leaving my bike shoes in the tent and going to the shower in my flip flops and that leaves me with just a zip lock bag full of the barest essentials, body wash, shampoo, detergent for my bike clothes rinse out, tooth brush and lipstick . In and out in 15-20 minutes including washing out my riding gear, then finding a clothes line or a tree to hang up the wet stuff. Once this is behind me I feel I can sit and blog, answer email and return phone call while I have a cold drink and chat with my biker friends .
Today was a 49 mile ride without a sag thru the Sam Houston Forest. Very pretty.

Easter between Lockhart and LaGrange,TX

Beautiful weather and great flowers, smaller hills so I should have been golden. I just seem to run out of steam around the first sag. I made the decision to continue to the second sag and almost didn't make the 43 miles. Good news is I was able to take a lot of pictures of this very pretty area as I was being driven to camp by chandelier. Good Ham dinner tonight and nice park with a pool where I sat this afternoon .
Saw my first Long horn today and they are magnificent animals up close. People are tired and nerves a little raw. 3 weeks and a day left but whose counting . Got lots of pix from Marna and Lou of the Easter/birthday festivities this weekend which made me happy and sad. Sure miss everyone. 90 miles tomorrow . Hope to get an early start before it gets too hot. Then we lay over in Anderson, TX.

KerrvillevTX

Kerrville,TX is the half way point
Of the trip, both in miles and in days. Beautiful camp on the Guadalupe River. Got my first mani-pedi in the trip and boy is it wonderful, now all I need is a tub and a good nights sleep in our bed at 5 Church with JJG. Only 3 1/2 weeks left in the trip. So sad I will be missing JJG Bday and the visit from
My babies. Skyped with MTG and Gillis this am at 5. My tent was so dark that no image if me was transmitted, which is good considering my lack of morning hygiene before the call. Gillis is so cute I just wanted to hug him. Can't wait to see all my loves. Marnie and Lou and b and Rich are having a Bday/Easter dinner for Sunday. I will be coming
To end of the 1000 miles we ride in Texas.
Today was a beautiful ride thru Comfort TX into Blanco, TX. Wild flowers galore. It was so calm riding along the river under big shade trees, thru rolling hills. After a lunch stop at the Sisters Creek winery the terrain got a little hillier. I went from a respectable 12 miles per hour to a totally decrepit 6 mph, I quickly did the math and realized if I kept up my current pace on the hills between me and Blanco, I would get there sometime tomorrow so I decided to sag the last 13 miles of the planned 58. It was a good decision, some of the best riders were running out of water and getting in late. Tomorrow we ride to Lockhart, 61 miles.
Blanco is right on the river with beautiful Dan that the kids slide down. Hope to get to bed early , I can't seem to get enough sleep.
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No Cell phone coverage or internet

We were not near the tornadoes, however we were out of cell phone and Internet range after I left camp until we pulled into camp this afternoon. So sorry I missed dinner with all of u. I am getting a little lonely for all of u. We crossed the halfway point of the trip today in both miles and days today. It has seemed to go very fast in its entirety however some days have been unbelievably long. Today we rode thru the Texas hill country. It was green and lush and full of really beautiful wild flowers , blue, purple, yellow, pale pink and white. All varieties I have never seen before. It would have been a perfect ride if we did not have to endure the dreaded "chip&seal", which is Texan for rough, rough road. I road the first 40 miles and then sagged for 13 to try to get the feeling back in my hands and shoulder. Then after lunch I road the last 20 miles into a very beautiful camp on the Guadalupe River. It is reminiscent of much of the ride today which was along the river bank. I started out my ride at 7:15 to try to get some miles in before it got too hot. Temp was 45 when I left and 85 when I pulled into camp at 4pm. In preparation for the last 20 miles I went into the ladies room at our lunch stop and wet my hair and my long sleeve t-shirt. After reapplying sunscreen , I tied my wet shirt around my waist and put my helmet over my wet hair and took off. This kept me pretty comfortable. Probably more than u wanted to know.

Rudy's BBQ

Woke up this am reluctantly . Today was predicted to be almost as hard as yesterday . So I thought I will ride to the first sag at 30 miles and evaluate from there. After 19 miles I was a goner . We had a constant headwind and lots of hills. I guess I hadn't sufficiently recovered since my last episode of rider wimp out. Any way I did call for a sag and from there I was taken to Walmart where I replaced my lost sunscreen and go Anne Desitin for her nose and chin. I also got a thumb drive . Terry offered me a copy of all the pics he has taken on the trip so I thought I would take him up on it.
Then onto Rudy's for really good baby back ribs, not quite as good as the place in Ocean City Md. I hope to do nothing the rest of the day except maybe catch up on reading the newspaper .

Sanderson to Seminole state park near Comstock TX

Well I started out strong, leaving at 6:30am and it was a cool 52 when we left. Actually the reason for the early start was to avoid the heat which eventually reached 100 at 4pm and after 70 miles of a planned 77 miles, I had to literally sag on the very rocky roadside with blurred vision and vertigo. I didnt even feel that tired buy I was afraid of falling as the route was very hilly with a very strong headwind. Didn't really feel like myself until I had a couple of quarts of h2o. Tomorrow is supposed to be another hard ride so I will probably take it easy.

Crossed the Pecos River today, very beautiful.Saw my first cowboy, horse hat and all.
Weather this evening threatening rain, sky very beautiful, pictures don't do it justice.
No phone service all day. Good thing I was traveling with others when I got dizzy. They went on ahead to ask for a sag vehicle to pick up me and my bike. I thought I was in for a long wait but help arrived in 15 minutes as Due and Craig passed Chandler going my way

Pictures of Sanderson

Snoring

Well it is really wild here this am people are beside themselves over an alarm that rang all Night in the high school auditorium. I fortunately did not hear it, but I am sympathetic . Sleep is so critical to smoothe functioning. In addition to the alarm folks complained endlessly about the snoring and the different snorers. It is actually the only scapegoating that I have seen so far. I am acutely aware of my absence of anger on this trip. Nothing seems to bother me. Go figure, there are some angry folks but nothing outrageous. It is a pretty sanguine group. Group sleeping is challenging for many. I probably have some protection against this due to my young life of group, make that large group.