The Final Chapter to our Adventure

Russ in Flagler Hospital with his Physical Therapist

Our story doesn't end with putting our wheels in the Atlantic Ocean.

The next day we decided to be tourists for the day and rode our bikes to the Farmers Market and then to the historic downtown. To do so you had to cross the Bridge of Lions which was under construction. All of us wanted to see different things so we all went our own way. In the afternoon I was at the Alligator Farm when I received a phone call from Russ saying that he took a fall on the bridge. He wasn't sure how serious it was but felt that something was not right. When I arrived he was looking rather pale so we had the police call an ambulance to transport him to the hospital. Long story short - he broke his right femora and got admitted to the hospital. What a way to end a trip! The good news is that he doesn't need surgery. The bad news is that he needs to stay immobile and wear a brace for 6-weeks. He just got out of the hospital today, Monday the 3rd after being there for 5 days. He has a first class ticket back to Seattle on Wednesday. (I am going coach). Mike and Dawn are now driving back in the motor home alone and we get to fly home. Believe me, we would rather be on the road with them as planned.

Russ bikes over 3000 miles without incident and now this happens just being tourists. Good thing we had our helmets on. You never know what can happen.

This ends our blog. Thanks for following our adventures. We are looking forward to being home in Selah where Russ can recuperate for his next ride. Take care and see you soon.

Final Ride into St. Augustine

Denise, Russ, Dawn and Mike at the Atlantic Ocean at last.

Russ and Mike celebrating the end of their bike ride.

Over 3000 miles from coast to coast!

April 27 - Hawthorne to St. Augustine - 80 miles. We drove back to Hawthorne from the 20 mile detoured campground to start our LAST DAY. Another motor home problem popped up in Palastka, turning lights this time. After the fix, we were back on the road for the final 40 mile push. Denise drove the motor home to St. Augustine and Anastasia State Park where we will be camping. A small problem occurred at the campground over picture ID because the reservations were in Mike's name. But Denise parked the RV in the day use area and rode out to meet us for the ride to the beach and the Atlantic Ocean. We met up on the outskirts of town and all rode in together. We arrived at the beach and hauled our bikes out to the ocean putting our front wheels in. Popped a bottle of champaine and celebrated our accomplishments. Followed up with a nice dinner in town later that night. The guys rode a over 3000 miles in 50 days! Probably more, considering all the miles rode making wrong turns and/or getting off route.

Having the motor home made our ride rather plush. We have a new found respect for all of the cyclists who go self support and carry their gear. That would be a lot harder.

But our adventure does not end hear. Read on for the final chapter....

Last few days...

Trenching for the Rain

April 25 - White Sands to O'leno State Park at High Springs - 45 miles. The day was short so I drove the motorhome and then biked the route backwards to meet with the group. We got rained on but nothing like the rain that came down in buckets by late afternoon. We were so glad that we had a short day and not caught in the downpour. Next to us at the campground was a 40+ foot fancy motor coach driven by two gals. After a shower, I walked over for a tour and we ended up drinking wine, talking and laughing. It was nice having a "girl gathering" especially in the pouring down rain. Russ managed to get another Corn Snake to skin, a fairly large one this time. He said Mike was so excited he was jumping up and down and waving his arms over his head in the roadway as he rode up to them. Mike thought the snake was dead, but it still had some life in. So Russ had to dispatch it and then skin the poor thing.

April 26 - O'Leno State Park to Hawthorne - 60 miles. I had the first shift driving so I had time for another visit with the gals. Good thing that Dawn drove last because the campground that we had booked was a real dive. (Porta pots and no showers). So she franticly tried to find another one. We found a nice one 20 miles down the road, which had a warm pool with "noodles" to float on. In Gainesville we got onto a nice 16 mile bike path to Hawthorne. Wouldn't it be nice to have a national coast to coast path without any cars. One big rails to trails express way. "Dream on", as they say.

Counting Down the Days

Lady Slipper along the roadway in Florida

One hundred year old tobacco barn along the route

Turtle Log

Russ skinning his road kill

April 22 - De Funiak Springs - Sneads (Three Rivers State Park) 94 miles. It worked out best for me to drive the whole day on the freeway and the others biked. According to Russ, nothing to exciting, just hot, humid and headwinds. They did bike around the lake which was surrounded by beautiful homes.

April 23 - Sneads - East of Tallahassee - 98 miles The plan was for us gals to switch riding at the half way point because neither of us care to do close to a century ride. The only reason why the rides are so long at this point is that camping is rather scarce. However, Russ broke a spoke at around 24 miles and luckly Dawn was able to make a detour and met us on a country road. So that Russ wouldn't miss out on the miles, we put his bike seat on my bike and he rode the rest of the route. Dawn and Mike switched onto the tandem bike to join him. From there I drove the 70+ miles to the campground, unhooked the car (a feat that is not easy) and drove back into Tallahassee to a bike shop.

What happened is that Russ heard a snap and then his back tire just jammed into his bike frame. He didn't know what was wrong except his back tire wouldn't rotate. At that point, I thought the bike was toast! The first bike shop that we called thought maybe it was a broken axle based upon our description of what happened. However, it ended up being a broken spoke and the bike shop was able to fix it right away. Because of all the delays and such long milage, the bikers didn't get into camp until close to 7 pm. (Maybe I had the better day after all).

April 24 - Tallahassee to White Springs - 81 miles. It rained on us a little last night and we woke up to a cloudy humid day. The original plan was to switch driving half way but Dawn decided not to bike. About two hours into the ride it started to rain hard so we called Dawn and asked her to pick me up at the halfway point. When we reached the half way point the rain had stopped and the sun was out. But I decided to jump into the motorhome and hitch a ride to the campground. That might have been a good choice because it is almost 4 pm and the guys still have not arrived. They arrived around 4:30 pm (another head wind day) and Russ's big find for the day was a dead corn snake. It was dead when he saw it on the road and he stopped and skinned it. He said he wants to make a head band for his cowboy hat. He has spent the past hour on the internet looking at how to preserve it. Now he has it in a baggie with lots of salt. Speaking of road finds, so far 53 bungie cords (total length attached to each other equals over 45 yards) one knife, scissors, pliers, saw, hammer, reflectors, sunglasses, cup holders, antlers, dew rag, plastic flowers and now a dead snake! Our little cubby under the motorhome is stuffed with everything he has collected.

Today is Saturday and we plan to reach St. Augustine on Tuesday so we are happily counting down the days. (170 miles and counting!) I think all of us are ready to reach the final destination.

Animals along the route

We have seen lots of deer along the route.

Unfortunately, many have been road kill. This one visited our campsite.

A friendly shop-keepers cat taking a break.

Butterfly in Texas

This is Gus. The resident turkey at the Oakley Plantation.

When you got close, he strutted his chest and thumped his feathers.

We finally saw an alligator in the wild at the state park in Alabama.

The locals call him George and he can be seen daily swimming across the lake in front of the campground.

Florida at last

Entering Florida from Alabama along the scenic highway.

The type of houses on Dauphlin Island

April 16 - Perkinston, Mississippi to Gautier (Go Che) - 62 miles. I didn't have to, but I did, take Denise's rear wheel to start my ride today. So she made the "BIG" sacrifice for her "One and Only" so he could ride. What a Woman! We had to go off route today because of accomodations. Could not find a campground on route. Stayed in Shepard State Park and we were eaten alive by the biting nat's, "NoSeeum's", because you don't see 'um until "Nowyoufeelum". My legs look like I have the measles and itch like he-double-l. On the ride into Shepard, which I missed for lack of attention, I ask directions to the park from a gentleman rebuilding his home after "Katrina". It had to be on pilings 19 feet high to be above a 17 foot storm serge as set by FEMA. He didn't like all the regulations and red tape he has gone through to rebuild his home. Few kind words for the government in his vocabulary.

April 17 - Gautier, MS to Gulf Shores, Alabama - 74 miles. Left the nat infested land of Shepard State Park for the cooler gulf breezes of "Sweet Home Alabama" I hope. Hot and muggy today. A store clerk told me it might reach 90 degrees, which did not make my day to that point. We took a bridge onto Dauphin Island and a ferry across to the gulf shores. The girls drove the motorhome around Mobile because it couldn't go across on the ferry. The guys saw their first alligator today. Both Mike and Russ saw it at the same time so it is a wash on the milkshake bet. We are staying at a nice state park in Alabama. It is a very touristy area (bet it is packed at spring break) with sand dunes, boardwalks for beach access and white sandy beaches. We actually will be here for a few days.

April 18 - Dauphin Island - 50 miles. Today Russ and I took the day to bike Dauphin Island. It is a barrier island off Mobile Bay. It was so interesting to see. Houses are built up on stilts and access is by ferry 20 miles from Golf Shores. We spend the whole day just biking the island, again all white sandy beaches. (Wish we had white sand on Washington beaches) One of the highlights was going in an "Open House" and chatting with the relator about housing and life on the island.

April 19 - 20 - Gulf Shores, Alabama to Holt, Florida 87 miles. It was planned that I would drive the motorhome but at the last minute, we had mechanical problems so Dawn and Mike stayed to get things fixed and I rode with Russ. Most of the ride was along the scenic highway which follows the Gulf of Mexico. What white sandy beaches and high rises along the shores. We stopped in Pensacola to have lunch with Dave Flaherty who worked in Yakima and is now the Parks and Recreation Director for Pensacola. It was great seeing him again. Some of the houses along the way were pretty spectacular. We pulled into Holt late and Mike came and shuttled us back to the Gulf Shores State Park because the motorhome repairs took all day. Then the next day, Mike and Dawn rode the route and Russ and I moved the motorhome. Russ finally got a chance to drive and I think he realized how stressful it is driving such a long rig. Still the 3 H's: Hot, Humid, and Headwind.

April 21 - Holt to DeFuniak 49 miles. Last night we stayed at a really nice state park. It was along a river that is a popular canoeing spot and white sandy beaches. I don't think I have seen such white sand. And for once, the "no see'ems" bugs didn't eat us to death. The ride was along highway 90 all day but it did have a good shoulder. We got into camp around noon and had the rest of the day to relax.

We weren't long in Alabama but what we did see was really nice. The state parks in both Alabama and Florida seem to be really nice. And of course everything is green because of the humid climate. That's all for now.

Mississippi Pictures

Picture of a cotton mouth snake right outside the bathroom and the guy who chopped his head off

in our campground in Wiggins, Mississippi.

This guy and his cockatoo out for a stroll in our campground in Gautier, Mississippi.

The bird travels with him and is 15 years old. He said he has had it since it hatched.

Entering Mississippi

Riding in Louisiana

30 pound bags of crawfish just harvested

Boat setting traps for crawfish

April 9 - DeRidder to Ville Platte - 79 miles. I took the first shift driving and pulled out following the instructions that the guys had written out for me. After about 30 miles, the names of the towns were not what was written. I soon discovered that I was on the wrong highway going the wrong direction. But so were the bikers. I was able to turn around and head back and soon found the bikers and waved them down. We carried the bikes across the four lane highway and loaded them up to return back to the starting point of the day. We finally got going the right direction and all was well. I waited for them in a small town called Oberlin where there was one cafe. I spent the next 2 hours talking with the locals and even tried their gumbo soup. (good but spicy). They told me that in their town it was real cajun cooking and the owner, and cook, learned to cook before he could walk. All his recipes were from his mother and grandmother. He said that the further south the recipes are "booked cajun". It took me a minute to figure out what he was talking about but he soon told me the difference. He was so nice that he gave us 4 serving of peach cobbler, made fresh that morning, and wouldn't take any money for them. What a delight to spend the morning chatting with locals. The ride was also a pleasure and we learned more about how crawfish are harvested. They set traps and harvest once a day. Each trap gets about a pound. The guy we talked to gets about 1000 pounds a day from his field. He said his father has so much land that he gets 3000 - 4000 pounds a day harvested. What a cash crop. When not harvesting crawfish (they are seasonal), the fields are then tilled for rice production. Flat and head winds.

April 10 Ville Platte to Simsport - 75 miles. Dawn and I together drove the motor home to St Francisville which will be our home for the next few nights and the closest campground. We had to drive down toward Baton Rouge to get there to avoid a ferry crossing (the motor home and car were to long for the ferry). Then I took the car to pick up the guys at Simsport which was another 1 1/2 hour drive. We got to cross in a small ferry and they only charged $1 and the return trip was free. There was an older gal selling roasted and boiled "goober peas" (peanuts) to the cars waiting in line for the ferry. We tried the roasted and they were pretty tasty. Also sampled the boiled peanuts and they tasted real mushy. What a hard way to make a living. Again the guys said the ride was flat and the usual head wind.

April 11 Simsport to St Francisville - 55 miles Dawn drove the guys back to Simsport (another

1 1/2 hour trip) to the starting point the next morning. I took the day to bike around the area of St. Francisville and visit the Audubon State Historic site and Oakley Plantation where James Audubon lived in 1821 as a tutor to the Oakley's young daughter and is where he painted 32 of his Birds of America drawings. The Oakley Plantation was well preserved and gave you a sense of plantation life. At its peak, (early 1800's) it was a 3200 acre cotton plantation and had 250 slaves working the plantation. It is amazing that it survived the Civil War so intact. I also biked into Jackson to another state historic site called Centenary. Centenary was site of the College of Louisiana and was established in 1825. It also had some well-preserved building. Again its flat and head winds as usual.

April 12 - Rest Day - We spent a great day visiting the Rosedown Plantation which was another well-preserved plantation, a splendidly restored example of antebellum opulence. 3400 acres and close to 500 slaves at its peak. Not only was the main house something to see, the gardens were beautiful. At one point, the gardens, over 26 acres, were one of the top gardens in the United States. (It may still be). We then spent the rest of the day on a walking tour of St Francisville. The town has a large historic district with many historic homes. St Francisville is at the heart of Louisiana's plantations and I would have enjoyed visiting others, had we the time. We also tried our first PoBoy Shrimp sandwich along with deep fried pickles and sweet potato fries. We are finding folks so kind and polite and also seeing a lot of poverty. It really makes you appreciate what you have in life. It seems that every other home is a 50 to 60 foot mobile and not in the best of condition.

April 13 - St Francesville to Easleyville, LA - 50 miles. I drove the motor home to our destination and then hopped on my bike and rode out to meet the guys biking. Easleyville was just a stopping point with one small market that seemed to be the local stop and hub of the area. I am finding the scenery to be the same day in and day out now. Everything is green, due to the humidity, areas of forest, farms and some large homes. It appears that there is a huge split between those that have money and those that don't. Same flat roads with head winds.

April 14 - Easleyville to Bogalusha, LA - 60 miles. We are right on the border of Louisiana and Mississippi and in fact we are camping in the town of Poplarville, MS. It didn't take us long to cross Louisiana. Scenery is about the same, green, lots of trees and huge grass lawns. Everyone seems to own a ridding mower. The terrain is starting to change to rolling hills. Thats what other bikers heading west tell us. We'll soon find out for ourselves.

April 15 - Bogalusha to Wiggins, Mississippi - 60 miles - Dawn shuttled us back to Bogalusha and we biked back to the campground in Poplarville. I then drove to Wiggins and the others biked. When I arrived at the campground I went down to take a shower and when I came out of the shower there was all this comotion going on. Come to find out there was a water moccison or cotton mouth snake right outside the shower house. Lucky for me, this young guy who lives here got a big pvc pipe and chopped off his head. It was still squiggling around without its head. I ran and got my camera and got a shot. We have been hearing about these poisonous snakes but had not seen one. The folks here said this is the first one they had seen and were surprised that it was by the restrooms. Lets hope we don't see anymore. We do however, have a bet on seeing an alligator. The folks here also haven't seen one in the wild. The first one to spot an alligator gets a milkshake. Now after seeing a snake, I am not so sure how I would react to a live alligator. Last night in the shower a frog jumped out of the shower curtain and scared me half to death. Better leave well enough alone. Russ also saw a snake today, however it was just a common black snake. The ride was as advertised, rolling hills and the same ol' head wind. I (Russ) believe that riding west to east in an "El Nino" year is a bad mistake. As I told Mike yesterday when he ask about directions, I stated that "We just turn into the wind and we couldn't go wrong."

We have noticed how many folks live full time in the campgrounds that we are staying in. Today I found out why many of them are there. It is because of Katrina and many people lost everything and can't get back up on their feet. This one gal told me that all the news was about New Orleans but actually it really struck hardest in Gulfport, Mississippi and left most homeless. We will be on the coast in a few days and I am curious to see if they have rebuilt.

Still Crossing Texas

Our waitress showing us how to suck out the heads of crawfish

Cowboy holding up the "little critter"

Celebration ending the finish of Texas

(22 days crossing, including rest days)

I didn't realize that crossing Texas would equal about 1/3 of our bike trip. Parts are very beautiful, ranches are huge and the wildflowers are in bloom but now we are all anxious to be done with Texas and see new sights. The past few days have been more of the same.

April 4 - Bastrop to Burton - 77 miles. The highlight of the day was biking through Round Top and Warenton where they are known for their antique markets. We just missed the action by a day but there were still many vendors in town. Had we known, we would have planned to arrive a day earlier and see all the sights. Twice a year the towns turn into a "tent city" with thousands of sellers. What little we saw was impressive. We stopped the ride in Burton and had to drive a good hour or so to the state park to camp. The park was on a lake and the bugs were unbelievable. In the morning when you went into the restrooms everything was covered with bugs. (I mean that you could not even see the white sinks and toilets) I felt sorry for the parks crew who had to clean each day. Toilets, sinks, floors; it was unreal.

April 5 - Burton to Navasota - 38 miles. We got a late start biking because we had to drive back to Burton where we ended the day before. Once on the road we managed to stay on backroads with little traffic. The highlight was biking through Independence, Texas and seeing all the historic sites there. Sam Huston was big here along with the original site of Baylor University.

We camped at a city park and Sue and I rode into town to see the sights. Many beautiful old homes. I rode all day and Dawn drove.

April 6 - My turn to drive from Navasota to Pumpkin where we stayed at a nice quiet private RV park. The guys rode 58 miles. Got into camp early and it was a nice day to just catch up on laundry and reading. Sue and Bob left us to drive to Houston to fly home after 10 days of biking. It was nice having them along.

April 7 - Pumpkin to Silsbee - 84 miles. Dawn and I changed half way. Today we rode through what is called the Big Thicket. Trees and brush so thick that it used to be a handy hiding place for outlaws and smugglers. During the Civil War, this area became a refuge for service dodging Texans. The Confederate Army regularly sent in squads to look for these men, who became known as "bushwhackers", a term that survives today. At one time, the Big Thicket boasted nearly every variety of hardwood and pine native to southern Texas, but lumbering has greatly depleted the timber. Today, much of the area is protected as a National Preserve. Long stretches with little traffic and no towns.

April 8 - Silsbee to DeRidder - 78 miles. We finally crossed into Louisiana. Sprits are better now and the guys passed the 2000 mile mark around Bleakwood, Texas. The highlight of the day was going out to eat crawfish, a Cajun delight. We learned that crawfish are harvested only in the spring (everyone here eats crawfish on Good Friday, guess you put your order in early) and they are boiled in Cajun spices. They came on a big tray with a tin can bucket to put the heads and shells in. We learned how to twist the tails off which is the part you eat (they taste like lobster but way smaller) Most of the locals also suck the stuff from the heads. It was really fun and messy and your lips burned from the spices that they boil the crawfish in. You would not believe all the beautiful azaleas in bloom this time of year. They are huge, mostly reddish and are seen everywhere. Again, Dawn and I shared ride time which works out really good for us.

Photos tell the story

Taking a breather in a small town in Texas.

Some days towns are few and far between making water stops hard to find.

Group shot at the Alamo. Enjoying a rest day.

I started taking shots of ranch signs in New Mexico and have added to my collection through Texas.

This is just one example. The signs are wrought iron and are really fancy usually at an entrance gate to the ranch.

Bikers taking a break at our campsite along a river.

Russ and Mike jump right in after a long ride.

We have now tasted over 19 different flavors of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream. We rate them on a 1-5 scale with a 5 being "eat every day". So far the top picks are New York Super Fudge (we have some chocolate lovers), American Dream and Creme Brulee. Our lowest rating, so far, goes to Mission to Marzipan.

When the guys don't get enough ice cream, they head into Dairy Queen for more.

Texas Hill Country

Cowgirls in San Antonio

Fields of wildflowers

Texas Longhorn

March 31 - Kerrville to Blanco - 72 miles The group got rather separated today but everyone ended up at the final destination. When I was driving the motor home a big turtle was in the roadway. (I missed it) The Texas Hill Country is beautiful but true to its name. It has warmed up since we entered this area. Huge ranches, longhorn cattle and long roads.

April 1 - Rest day in San Antonio - Today we visited the Alamo and the river walk. We even tagged up with Andi and charles who just finished a week biking the hill country. In fact their bike trailer broke 6 miles out of town and Russ was able to drive to pick them up and transport them to their Bed and Breakfast. We now feel like real cowboys and cowgirls as we each bought cowboy hats in San Antonio.

April 2 - Blanco to McManan - 73 miles. For backroads there sure was a bunch of traffic and no shoulder which made for tense riding and driving. It is hard to describe the fields of wildflowers. Guess we came at the right time.

April 3 - McManan to Bastrop - 29 miles. Today was a short day because of our camping situation over Easter Weekend. (all the state parks are full) It has gotten hot and humid. Our tent was wet when we awoke. No wonder things are so green here. But the highlight of the day is stopping at a chili and BBQ cook-off. I had no idea that Texans take BBQ so seriously. We talked to one guy who goes to about 20 cook-offs a year and they have real get-ups to cook with. You can enter chili, brisket, chicken and ribs. They are all trying to qualify for the champion cook-off held somewhere in Texas. You have to get so many points in a year to qualify for the championship. We were there early in the day before the judging but they told us to come back later for samples. (Doubt if we will since we are well past there now.) They sure did look like they were having fun though and I bet the food tastes great.

We have been 16 days so far in Texas and it looks like we will be another 5-7 days before we cross into Louisiana. Hot and humid makes for tuff rides and long days. We welcome a breeze (head or tail).

More Roll'in

Statue at Fort Davis

Mike with one of his road kills

March 27 - Langtry to Del Rio - 51 miles total. Russ and I backtracked to Langtry which was about 20 miles outside our campground. Then Dawn took over biking and I drove into Del Rio. The wind had died down and it was an enjoyable ride. The biggest blunder for the day was that Russ overshot the campground by about 10 miles and didn't know where we were camping. He forgot to take his cell phone with him but Sue saved the day and rode down the way into town to find him. All finally ended well.

March 28 - Del Rio to Bracketville (Fort Clark Park) Since it was a rather short ride day, I drove the motor home the 44 miles to Bracketville. Fort Clark is an old fort that was privatized around 1950. The fort is on the historical register and most of the old buildings are now privately owned. About 1700 folks live there full time now and it is a community within itself. It was interesting wondering around the old buildings. Patton was there in 1946-1947 and we saw the house where he lived. They filmed the Alamo here with John Wayne. (Speaking of which, I am sitting outside the real Alamo now blogging because I toured the Alamo a few years back when I was in San Antonio)

March 29 - Bracketville to Camp Wood - 47 miles. What a great day of biking. Back roads with little traffic. The only excitment for the day was being chased by a sheep dog. He outran my bike and charged toward me. Luckily I survived without much incident. (The next day I bought dog spray) Also, I have never seen so much road kill. Deer mainly. Everywhere you looked in the sky you saw buzzards flying. The guys stopped to retreive atlers along the way. Our campground was along the river and we all jumped in it when we arrived. Refreshing after a long day.

March 30 - Camp Wood to Kerrville - 94 miles. The guys got messed up with our camping reservations so we had to get to Kerrville in one day. We are now in the hill country and that is no exageration. Neither Dawn nor I got to bike today because she had to get to Kerrville to the bike shop to fix a broken spoke on their tandem. I got stuck driving the motor home over the switchback hills which wasn't fun at all.

Roll'en through Texas

Ipti joins our group along with Sue and Bob from Hoods Canal

March 27 - Sanderson to Langtry - 57 miles. Last night Sue and Bob flew in from Washington so Sue could bike with us for 10 days. (Bob is driving a rental car and following the motor home) Not knowing exactly where we would be on our route, they flew into Houston and had to drive 500 miles west to catch us. When they leave us, we should be east of Houston so they will return to the airport from the east.

A few days ago we spotted a gal riding solo fully loaded. When I passed her on the road driving the motor home I was wondering how she could carry such a load. It so happened that she pulled into the same campground in Sanderson so we struck up a friendship. Since she was heading the same direction we were, I offered to carry her load in the motor home and then she could bike with the group. (I was driving first) She stayed two days with us until we hit Del Rio and not only was she a great cook, she had an adventure to share. Her name was Ibti and she had been on the road for almost a year. She quit her teaching job in Washington DC and wanted to circumnavigate the United States and study sustainable farming. So far she had ridded from the east coast to the west, down the west coast, across the southern tier and is now finally going up the east coast, heading home. (So far over 5000 miles on her bike) She would stop at farms along the way and offer to help to learn more about food production and farming. Since she is an english teacher, I asked if she was planning to write a book but she said that she wasn't sure but kept a blog from her Blackberry. You can follow her at http://abikeablefeast.blogspot.com The interesting part of her story is that she wasn't a cyclist before this trip. Biking was just her means of transportation and her real interest is farming. She left us to head south and finally back home by mid July.

Footnote: I was a good thing that we carried her gear because we had a tremendous head wind all day which took its tole on us all. We ended the day at Judge Roy Beam's salon in Langtry. Dawn and I split the day riding.

Texas Photos

Fort Davis, Texas

Dawn and I at Davis Mountain Indian Lodge State Park

Tom Pinske and his 45 foot coach in Van Horn

March 25 - 57 miles from Marathon to Sanderson. After our miserable night of wind and lack of sleep, the day turned out fine. The wind was mostly in our favor and we hauled down the road. We met up with 3 different cyclists traveling the same route as ours except from the south to the west. They were self support (carrying all their gear including camping supplies). We also met a young gal who has been circumnavigation the USA on her bike for the past year. I can't even imagine doing that solo. The big excitement for the day is that Dawn and Mike almost hit a javinlina on their tandem bike going down the road. That's all for now.

A Better View of Texas

March 22 - Dawn and I chose wisely; to ride in the motor home to Ft Davis State Park and avoid the 2300 foot climb. Hilly, headwinds and a long day was in store for the guys. They averaged 6-8 mph over 23 miles. Rode highway 118 and ended the day riding 52 miles. That is Denise's description of the ride. Here is mine. Mike and I rode three miles up I-10 to Kent, where we turned onto Texas 118. The best way to describe that road is, "the worst chip seal road Yakima County has to offer." On top of that, we faced a 10 to 15 mph head wind that ripped down the valleys, not minding the direction you were riding. But that's not the topper. I rode 15 plus miles with a semi-flat that I wasn't aware of, making the journey feel like I had the drag brake on. Yes, we did fix the flat after several attempts to refill the innertube. Bonked to the top is what it felt like. The best view of the day was the McDonald Observatory. It seemed that I had a new lease on life, at least my legs felt that way. Then came the 2500 foot decent into Ft. Davis. What a ride, just let it rip and fly with the wind. That's a better description of Mike and I's ride.

March 23 - Rest day at Ft Davis - We spent the day touring the fort which was active in the 1800's. Its the best remaining example of a frontier Army Fort left in the country. It was home to the 10 Calvary Regiment, also known as the "Buffalo Soldier's". Then across the road to an ice cream parlor made from an old railroad caboose. Then in the evening we went to a "star party"at the McDonald Observatory. The night ended up being a little cloudy but we were still able to see the moon, saturn, Orion's nebulus, and star clusters. It was pretty interesting. We are seeing beautiful starry nights.

March 24 - 60 miles from Ft Davis to Marathon, TX. (the middle of nowhere) Strong tailwinds made the going great. On my share of the ride, I averaged 20.4 mph. It is hard to describe the vastness of Texas. You ride along and see an entrance to a ranch and wonder how far removed from the road the ranch is and how many thousands of acres it encompasses. We also have never seen such long trains. Each train has over 100 double decker cars chugging down the tracks.

Last night we pitched our tent and we thought the wind would die down. Boy were we mistaken. Winds close to 20 mph blew all night. Russ had it staked well but it rattled all night. It seemed like I didn't sleep a wink, however, at some point in the early morning, I awoke to calm skies. Everything was covered in grit when we took down the tent. At least we survived another night. There is nothing between here and our next town 60 miles down the road. I am starting the day driving and will switch with Dawn halfway down the road. We are in the Central Time Zone so it doesn't get light until 7:30 or so in the morning. Then it takes a while for the sun to rise and warm up. We hit the road by 9:00 yet still rather cold out. Ya'all take care now.

The Lone Star State

Everything is big in Texas

Trains, trucks, sage brush, cotton fields, pecan fields and long roads are our first impressions of Texas. Oh - flat and windy also, both head winds and tail winds. And did I mention dust.

March 18 - Leasburg State Park to Canutillo. Strong head winds made the going tuff today. The guys managed 48 miles and I did 24. We crossed into Texas. Can't say that I am impressed. Miles and miles of not much but small dusty towns that are mainly deserted.

March 19 - Canutillo, Texas to Tornillo - 55 miles. Today we had to ride through El Paso. It was stressful negotiating the city. We had to ride right through the core of the city and it seemed that we hit every red light. We stopped at a Burger King to eat our sandwiches later in the day and to take a needed rest break and I asked the gal what city we were in and she said "El Paso". I couldn't believe that we were still in the city. Side winds and tail winds allowed us to ride fast once we left the city. We followed a route that took us beside the Mexican Border and the Rio Grande. Our secondary roads are surrounded by miles and miles of cotton fields. Finding camping is becoming more difficult. We ended up at a fishing lake campground that was a real dive. That evening, our strong tail wind turned into a wind storm with gusts up to 40 mph. It was pretty scary especially since folks have mentioned that this is tornado season. (Another thing to worry about.)

March 20 - Tornillo to Sierra Blanca. 54 miles. This morning it was so cold that everyone was miserable for the first few hours. The head winds stayed with us all day. I lucked out because it was my turn to drive the motor home. I left the same time as the bikers and pulled over at Ft. Hancock to wait. Good thing I did because Dawn was frozen and she joined me inside for the rest of the way. Our campground in Sierra Blanca was just as bad as the previous night. Got down to close to freezing again. The good news is the guys have now biked 1000 miles.

March 21 - to Van Horn, Texas - 66 miles. I rode the first 34 miles with the guys and it was perfect riding conditions, long straight roadway and flat. We had to go 15 miles along the interstate and with a tail wind, got upwards of 30+ mph. My kind of biking! We are staying the night in Van Horn because it has the only campground. Things are few and far between here in Texas and it will take us a good 2 weeks to get across the state. It has been a lot colder than I had expected and I hope weather conditions improve.

We had an interesting evening last night. A 45 foot long motor coach pulled into the campground pulling a toy trailer. We struck up a friendship and he kept us entertained but best of all is that he invited us to tour his 1.2 million dollar motor couch. His name was Tom Pinske and he was from Minnesota and he had a tool manufacturing business. One of the things that he developed was a tool to cut corrian counter tops. Entering the coach, you walked up marble stairs to a floor that had small filament lighting, (like a disco dance floor), tiger and leopard couches, a kitchen to die for, ceiling lighting that flashed with the beat of music (I think you get the picture) flat screen TV's, tiger sinks and a built in outside BBQ. The previous owner had filled it with bling. Russ said that it was like something you see on the Travel Channel on coaches. Inside his toy trailer he had two $20,000+ Harley's among other things. Anyway, it was fascinating to see.

Cell service and internet are scarce here across Texas. We will try to stay in touch when we can.

Gila Cliff Dwellings

Day 15 - (March 15) Of all things; we woke up to snow flakes this morning. Our plan was to get up early and drive up to the Gila (HEE-La) Cliff Dwellings. We started up on Highway 15, a 44 mile route that they say takes a good 2 hours to drive. We got partway up and there was snow and ice on the roadway so we turned back disappointed. We drove back down to Silver City and found a place in town for breakfast and to wait out the weather. Silver City has a historic downtown founded in the mid 1800's as a mining town. Now it has small art galleries and shops. I thought it would be a small tourist town but it seems to have held its old charm with murals and local hangouts. Unfortunately, it was Monday and all the galleries were closed.

Late morning we called up to the cliff dwellings and not a drop of snow there so we headed back out. A long drive but boy was it worth it. We had about a mile and a half walk up to the dwelling and I was surprised when they let you climb up into all the caves. It is hard to believe that over 700 years ago these cliff dwellings were built and inhabited. The people who built the cliff dwellings were part of the Mongollon culture. The dwellings were built with rock, mortar, and timber and some of the original timber (Ponderosa Pine) still remain. Here are some pictures.

Day 16 - Biked 72 miles from Silver City to Hilsboro, New Mexico over Emory Pass (8200 feet).

Dawn and I shared the 40 or so miles on the flats but chose not to ride the pass (which was a good choice). Switchbacks all the way up and back down. A lot of snow at the top and it took forever for both the motor home and cyclists. It was not the kind of road that you would take such a large motor home on with no guard rails nor shoulders. Fortunately for the guys, there was very little traffic so they could take the whole narrow roadway. We waited for them at the top and when they arrived they bundled up with jackets and gloves for the descend. Everyone was tired and stressed. They flew down the 8-mile descend which dropped 3000 feet in elevation. In fact they made it to the bottom before Dawn and I did in the motor home. They thought that was a great descend and clocked upwards of 30 - 40 mph. The motor home was going about 15 mph. At Hilsboro they jumped in the motor home for a lift to the state park where we planned to camp. I think everyone was glad when the day ended.

Day 17 - St. Patricks Day. Hilsboro to Radium Springs. 70 miles. Dawn shuttled the 3 of us back to Hilsboro which was a charming small town. As we were unloading our bikes some locals came and chatted with us. It appears that folks just find their way to this small town and fall in love with the slow pace and peacefulness. The pictures of the busses, turned homes, were taken there. Started with a long climb which warmed us up and then it was rollers and open roadway all the way back to the campground where Dawn and I switched biking. I drove the motor home to Leasburg State Park and the bikers arrived about 3 hours later. That night to celebrate St. Pattys Day we went to dinner, wearing our Irish Bike Jerseys, to Las Cruces and the Texas Roadhouse BBQ.

New Mexico Pictures

The picture of the two guys is when I dropped them off to do their big climb. If you look closely you can see the roadway way up in the mountain pass. The picture of the solo biker is Russ starting his climb and the long road picture shows New Mexico scenery.

Riding, Riding, Riding

March 11 - Day 11: Globe to Safford - 70 miles. A strong tail wind made the day a breeze. The scenery was beautiful and on my share of the ride (32 miles) we averaged 18.7 mph. We camped the night at Lake Roper State Park and it had a hot springs hot tub which we all jumped into after the ride. The park was a bird sanctuary and I was taken with all the Yellow Headed Blackbirds.

Day 12 - Safford to Black Jack Pass. 47 miles/3000 ft climb. Russ was struggling today and bonked at 47 miles which ended the day. The climb was really steep. Dawn and I drove the motor home and we would pull over along the route and got out our lawn chairs and enjoyed the sunshine. We had to drive a ways to find a campground and ended up at Buckhorn, New Mexico.

Day 13 - I shuttled the guys back up to where they left off the day before. It took an hour to get them back to the starting place, back up over the pass. Today they had a 3000 ft climb again with 6 miles of climbing switchbacks. It was difficult driving, yet alone riding a bike. There was no way that I was doing the mountain pass. The pass was over 6500 feet and patches of snow were along the roadway. It took them almost an hour to climb the 6 mile pass. They then had to descend a good 1500 feet. Once into New Mexico, the terrain changed dramatically from desert to wooded pine forrest. Then it became scrub grassland. In many places the creeks were flooding the roadway from recent rains which made passage challenging and exciting at the same time for the bikers. You could see for miles. The good thing is that there was very little traffic. If you look on a map, we are following highway 180. Here are some more pictures.

They crossed into New Mexico before noon and ended up going 60 miles for the day.

Day 14 - We are taking a rest day in Silver City, New Mexico and are staying at a nice campground. Today we went to the Western New Mexico University Museum which has the largest collection of Mimbres pottery. The Mimbres were Native Americans who inhabited the area from 200 AD to 1200 AD. They were the first to use animals and figures on pottery in North America. They were coil built pots. Tomorrow we are going to the Gila Cliff Dwelling National Monument.

More Pictures