New Mexico!

I’m up early this morning. The air conditioner in our motel room doesn’t work that well, plus I’m also about two feet from it, so when it is on, my nose gets stuffy.

We rode into New Mexico a couple days ago, and boy, are we glad we’re here for just three nights. I mean, I like the state so far, but the roads have been too bumpy and littered with debris, and the wind has been a total blunder. Our first full day in New Mexico, on the ride from Las Cruces to Deming, the headwinds were so bad I wished I could kick them in the face. I was actually the first of my roommates to show up at the hotel, but that’s ’cause 1) I didn’t eat breakfast with the big group thy rode seven extra miles to eat at an overpriced pancake house before the ride, and 2) while riding with Davide and Chris (yup, Chris was finally slow enough from the wind that I could keep up with him), I fell behind on an uphill and or film guy, Frederic, let me draft off his scooter; I even skitched at one point, but I felt too unsteady to skitch for too long. I was so thankful that he let me do that; the wind was just so bad.

Deming to Lordsburg was yesterday, and while the wind was much better, the roads weren’t. We were on Interstate 10 again the whole day, which is usually OK except these roads are so bumpy. I got a flat just as we (Lauren, Crystal, and I) got to the second van stop and luckily was able to fix the flat after drinking a bunch of water and noshing on some tasty snacks my mum sent me. As for the flat, I had to pull a 4 mm piece of wire out of my new Gatorskin front tire with tweezers.

There has been one amazing part of New Mexico: White Sands National Monument. Our drivers Red and Judy were so kind to drive us the hour each way so we could see it. We went on the sunset stroll, where a park ranger talked about the geology and biology of the area. It was so awesome, and we all got some great pictures.

In about a half hour I’ll start getting ready for the ride to Willcox, Arizona. It’s a 74-miler, but we have a huge reward at the ride’s end: Our drivers are taking us to Tombstone, Arizona, for the evening!

 

I LOVE Marathon, Texas

It was actually a bit chilly today on the ride from Sanderson to Marathon, Texas, which made the ride so great today. Sharon, the owner of the Roundhouse Café in Sanderson, opened her shop early to serve us breakfast, so I got started on a very full stomach. I started out on my own while most of the others were still eating; I was trailing Bennett, Blaise, and Fred. I rode about 15 miles before catching up to Fred, who, like me, had been enjoying the views and taking pictures. We rode for just a bit together before he dropped back to take it easy. After stopping at Judy’s van for a banana and some water, I rode with Crystal, Brian, Callie, Ash, Davide, Dan, and Allison for the rest of the day (with a few breaking away at one point). We played 20 Questions and named infamous people in alphabetical order to keep ourselves occupied. The last 15 miles were just amazing; I was averaging 20 mph and the scenery was like the desert vistas seen on TV. It was awesome.

In Marathon (which now joins Lander, WY, and Missoula, MT, as my favorite towns), I shopped at the local bookstore and bought a couple good reads, checked out our awesome motel (the Marathon Motel and RV Park), and had lunch at Johnny B’s. I talked to several locals and other visitors (Joan and Bill, Alta and Rick, Angelo, and Deborah).

Today was great. Tomorrow’s ride is to Marfa, which will be about 56 miles.

 

The scenery makes the whole trip worth it

Today was just amazing. The past couple days have been pretty miserable for me emotionally and mentally, and I was thinking that I just wanted to go home (not that I would’ve…just that I wanted to). I sagged in the van from Austin to San Antonio and San Antonio to Uvalde because I needed a break mentally. Two days after Uvalde, when we were riding from Bracketville to Comstock (yesterday, actually), I started feeling ill on the ride and decided to hop in the van at mile 25. The stress of all this coupled with lady issues is probably what caused me so much misery. The good news, though, is that today was awesome, and today’s scenery was beautiful.

Fred and I got an early start this morning (we left at 4.52a), about half an hour earlier than most other riders would’ve started. We were riding in complete darkness, and at one point, I heard a squelchy screech that scared me so much that I called out to Fred and caught up to him. I felt a little disappointed that we literally couldn’t see the views during the first 20 miles, but we were beating the heat.

We rode past the town of Langtry, home of Judge Roy Bean, and Fred told me the story of the “hangin’ judge” (which turns out to be fiction).

I stopped a couple times to take pictures, one of the sunrise over the miles and miles of sagebrush and another of … miles and miles of sagebrush.

I think one aspect of today that made my ride better was that I wasn’t worried about people catching up to us. Though I’m not competitive, sometimes I feel like I get sucked into that mindset, which really makes the ride less enjoyable. I start comparing myself to the other riders and I feel less confident in myself. It’s almost lIke middle school all over again. So leaving this morning ahead of people and knowing that we could stop for two minutes and not be passed by six people made things better. We did end up being passed by three riders at mile 25 or so and two riders at mile 60, but it didn’t really matter.

Our stop tonight is in Sanderson, which is located in a beautiful canyon. I arrived at about 11.45a and immediately took a shower before setting out in search of food. Most of the town’s restaurants were closed until 5p for siesta, but the Roundhouse Café wasn’t. All I ate was a ham and turkey sandwich with a couple Sprites, but I was so drunk from the food that I barely made it back to the motel for a nap.

Speaking of the motel, we are staying at the Budget Inn, which pretty much lives up to its name. It is, however, an upgrade from the motel we stayed at in Guin, Alabama.

A couple photos from today’s ride:

 

Southern route itinerary updates

I’m in the process of updating the southern route itinerary page recently to reflect our accumulated mileage, link days to blog posts, and correct destination information, so if you haven’t checked it in awhile, go take a look. Oh, and please forgive the issue I’m having with the columns not lining up correctly. There’s only so much perfectionism I’m allowing myself on this trip.

 

104 miles, a water-tower shower, and saying goodbye to a rider

I’m making this quick because it’s another long day tomorrow (estimated at 105 miles). We’re staying just outside Holly Grove, Arkansas, tonight, at a campground called Maddox Bay in Lawrenceville. Apparently the campground we had reserved in Clarendon is meant for RVs—meaning no bathrooms or showers—so we found this campground in Lawrenceville in the past couple days.

Today’s ride was 104 miles, but I honestly could’ve ridden much farther today if I had had to. It was a good day with a couple sour points, but by the end of the day it had turned into a pretty great ride. I almost got into another crash early on; my tires got stuck in a deep groove  and I just barely made it out without toppling over. It was pretty scary, I must say, and I rode about five miles past that and then had to hop off the bike and clear my head.

I rode with Tyler and Brian for quite awhile as well. The big news is that Tyler is leaving the trip. He decided yesterday that with the way the trip is set up, he’s just not having that much fun and therefore it’s not worth staying. I think we’re all bummed that he’s leaving, but we’re glad he’s making the best decision for himself and his wife.

At about mile 60 or so, I started riding with Blaise, Callie, and Fred, and soon after joining up with them, the four of us spotted a water tower off to the right of the road that was spewing water from the side. It was freakin’ hot out there today, so without too much discussion, we all decided that we’d try to see if we could get closer to the tower and possibly get an afternoon shower.

Once we got off our bikes, Blaise noticed the many signs on the (open) fence surrounding the tower that said something to the effect that crossing the fence boundary is equal to a federal offense. He shouted the news to us and Fred promptly walked over to the building next to the fence and charmed the ladies inside. They told us they wouldn’t call the cops on us if we passed through the gate, and they gave us five minutes, so the four of us hustled through the gate and over to the freezing cold shower. It felt amazing, and it was totally worth the 40+ miles of riding with soggy shoes.

Observations: I still have not seen a live armadillo, but I’ve seen plenty of dead ones. The area around the Mississippi River has tons of dragonflies. I saw my first bayou today, and then it seemed as though they were everywhere I looked. Arkansas is the most humid state we’ve been to yet. I saw a fish doubling as roadkill today just inside the Arkansas border.

Now, off to a bunk bed (with a supplied pillow and linens!) in an air-conditioned cabin. In Arkansas. That’s right, folks—I can now say I’ve been to Arkansas. Awesome.

 

Back on the saddle…and the storms are a-brewin’

After sleeping at the creepy motel in Guin (pronounced GYU-in), Alabama, I woke up excited to get back on the bike. My leg still hurt, but I didn’t think I could ride another day in the van. It can just be so boring, and seriously, one can only sleep so much in a car.

I rode the first 16 or so miles by myself (which isn’t uncommon for me), and then I stopped at a roadside restaurant (Gilbreath’s Country Cafe, I think) for some breakfast. Chad, Crystal, Bayla, Ash, and Allison had just sat down to eat, and soon after I arrived, Blaise, Callie, and Fred showed up as well. I just had to try the mysterious “chocolate gravy” on the menu; we couldn’t figure out if it was just chocolate colored or if it actually had chocolate in it. Turns out that chocolate gravy is just a bit thicker than Hershey’s chocolate syrup and tastes very similar. Almost everyone had a bite, and Fred asked if I was going to finish it. He ended up eating about half of it (I’d already eaten some French toast).

I took off by myself again after breakfast; by my next break, at mile 25 or so, my leg had started to ache, and I was about out of water. Luckily Judy and the RV (with Frederic and Sebene, our camera peeps) had both stopped, so I was able to fill up my water bottles, be interviewed by Frederic, and dance to some music by Prince that Sebene had blasting in the RV. While I was there, Callie and Fred showed up (Blaise had stayed behind to help Chad with his seemingly neverending flat tires), and we ended up riding near each other for awhile after. I ended up getting pretty far ahead of them and was on my own again for awhile when I found Nick pulled alongside the road in Red Bay, Alabama.

I took a picture of the Mississippi sign (as well as a sign with the “Alabama state line” sign, ’cause I kinda missed the last one) with Blaise, Callie, and Fred, and the four of us ended up stopping at the Belmont Cafe in Belmont, Mississippi. The cafe was packed with people who had probably just attended church, and it seemed as though everyone in there turned to look at us when we walked in. The food was delicious, and the owners and employees were especially kind. We took pictures with them and told them about the ride (while also missing a rainstorm) and then we were off.

The ride was about eight miles longer than we thought it would be at the beginning of the day, but it was a nice one. We stayed at the Piney Grove Campground in Dennis, Mississippi.

There was a HUGE thunderstorm last night, which started at 3.30a and lasted for about three hours. There wasn’t any silence for about an hour and a half. I’ve never heard a storm so loud, so near, and so long in my life, and at times the thought of getting struck by lightning actually crossed my mind. Also, since yesterday was so hot and humid, I (like many other riders) decided to go to bed without using the rain fly on my tent, so not only was the inside of my tent pretty wet just 30 seconds after the storm started, but my bags, shoes, phone, and all of the clothes I had hanging on a clothesline to dry were absolutely soaked come 6a.

I tried to think of the advice my dad would give me, and I really didn’t think he’d think it’d be a good idea to ride in a thunderstorm (though the rain had stopped by the time we were getting ready to go, the sky was still filled with thunder and lightning), so I, like 14 other riders, decided to ride in the vans. Good thing I did because even though the day seemed to clear up, when we got to Hickory Flat, there was a cloud in the sky that looked like an enormous tidal wave. I actually asked Bayla, “What if this is Armageddon?” to which she repled, “Finally! I have been waiting forever!”

The eight riders who cycled today were Blaise, Fred (who no one can seem to track down, since he doesn’t have a phone on him and was riding alone), Doug, Davide, Bennett, Chris, Matt, and Francesca.

Oh, and since my phone was in the rain for awhile last night, it’s pretty much out for the count at this point, so don’t worry if you don’t hear from me for a couple days. I’m going to buy an iPhone and have it shipped to one of our upcoming hotels, I think. Maybe then I’ll be able to take more photos and upload them on the blog, as well as blog more in general.

Tonight we have a sort of impromptu event in Memphis, Tennessee. I’ve never been to Tennessee, so I’m really excited to go to another new state. It’ll be about a 50-mile drive there, and Francesca’s brother, who works at the bar we’re going to, has offered us free dinner. We probably won’t get back until 10.30p or so, but we only have about 60 miles to ride tomorrow, so it shouldn’t be too bad.

I really appreciate the comments, so keep them coming!

 

A Georgia Slide

(Written on 8 July 2009)

I’m riding in Judy’s van today. Why? Well, I did something stupid yesterday. Francesca and I had just left the midway stop (at a Huddle House, whose signs bear a striking resemblance to the similar Waffle House chain), and it looked as though it might rain. Fran already had her jacket on, and I thought to myself, “I should’ve put my jacket on before we left, too. I guess I’ll just do it now.” Of course, I’ve had experience putting on arm warmers while riding, but I’ve never put a jacket on while on my bike. And that was my downfall. Just after we turned onto White School Church Road, I felt the rain start to fall, so I took my Rapha jacket out of my jersey pocket and brought it around to set on my lap, all while thinking, “This is dumb. I should pull over and put it on. Ugh, but we just got going.” And then one of the sleeves fell across my body and down near the right side of my rear wheel. We started to pick up a bit of speed and then Fran said something like, “Your sleeve is caught in your brake.” Seconds later, I felt my wheel lock up and very soon after I was using the left side of my body to skid to a stop on the pavement. It looked almost as if I were sliding into home plate feet first (and on my side).

A woman and her son were driving in the oncoming lane, and they pulled over and got out of the car to help. A man in a pickup truck also pulled over and kindly helped me up. I unfortunately didn’t get their names, but I did thank them for helping. The woman handed me some paper towels to use to clean myself up (I was profusely bleeding at that point), and I think her son ran to the nearest house to ask for help or something, because very shortly thereafter, a man came out of the house and asked me if I’d like him to bring out some hydrogen peroxide and some supplies. Fran brought my bike up onto the man’s lawn and called Judy, who was still at the Huddle House not too far away.

Once Judy arrived, I told Fran to continue riding, and the man, Wayne Ritchey, invited us inside to clean up. It took about half a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, several bandages (we had to stop at a store in Winder to get extra bandages ‘cause the first aid kit in the van didn’t have enough), and a whole lot of wimpering and grimacing on my part, but Judy and I got me pretty well fixed up.

The damage to my body

• severe road rash on the outside of my left calf
• severe road rash on the outside of my left thigh
• road rash on the underside of my left forearm
• a gash on the middle joints and road rash on the knuckles of my left pinkie and ring fingers
• road rash and puffiness on the back of my left hand, near the deep gash on the outside of my left wrist missing two-thirds of the top half of the nail on my middle finger.

The damage to my gear

• burn holes on the sleeve of my Rapha jacket (it’s pretty much not wearable anymore)
• scrape lines on the left sleeve of one of my jerseys (still wearable)
• huge holes in the thigh of my cute chamois skorts (DEFINITELY not wearable anymore)

In addition, my left shoulder started hurting this morning, so I decided to take the day to rest. And yes, Dad, I’ve learned my lesson and won’t make that mistake again.

 

Fred, North Carolina, and horses

Yesterday was a miserable ride (emotionally), but today was much better. I rode with Fred, and he and I stopped to take pictures at the North Carolina border, have breakfast at a convenience store/grill (I had grits for the first time), and get milkshakes at a McDonald’s.

Fred is absolutely ridiculous. This man yelled out to cows, “Look out! Jack in the Box is coming for you!” and “McDonald’s, McDonald’s is waiting for you!” He also doesn’t pay much attention to directions. We have cue sheets we’re supposed to follow each day. Fred has his cue sheet pinned to a box he affixed above his handlebar bag, but he doesn’t look at it. At one cue today, I turned and rode a bit past the turn to a shady spot to wait for him. He took his time getting up the hill and soon was in my line of sight. As soon as I saw him, I started yelling, “FRED!” to get his attention. I called his name over and over and finally, just before he cycled past the trees on the other side of the intersection, he looked over and saw me waving frantically. I waited a couple moments and was just about to hop back on my bike and ride back when I saw him ride through the intersection toward me.

We also rode with horses today! At one point, Fred and I were joined by Katie and Brian; I was in front of the pack and heard a loud rumbling behind me. I turned back to find three horses galloping in the road behind Katie. As seen in the video, one horse cut right in front of me when the three crossed to the left side of the street. One of the horses then crossed the road and I had to brake really quickly so I didn’t run right into it (I was to the left of Brian, and the camera, when that horse crossed).

I have more to write, but it seems that when I have access to a computer, I either don’t have the time or motivation to write, or I’m in a place not conducive to writing. And now, it’s time for a shower and then bed.

 

Morning in Richmond

Woke up this morning half an hour early. Slept pretty well. Must’ve been the late-night diner food Blaise, Callie, and I found down the block. Red and Judy (our support drivers) were there, so we had dinner with them. I had a three-egg cheese omelet with hashbrowns and toast, and I totally shoved it in my face, partly to get out of there as quickly as possible because people were smoking in the restaurant. Unfortunately my hair was smoky by the time I got back to the hotel, but I was too tired to take another shower. Oh, and I ran out of shampoo and conditioner. Oops.

Met Lauren’s parents last night at The Boathouse in Midloathian, Virginia (where the event was). Her mum, Susan, and her dad, Bruce, are so kind. Susan told me about Urbanna (Lauren’s hometown); it sounds lovely. I finally met Joe, Lauren’s boyfriend, too. Lauren and Joe hadn’t been dating very long before P2S2007, so it was cool to meet him two years later.

Our ride yesterday was only 35 miles or so, so we got up a bit (OK, a lot) later than usual. In my opinion, it was a little too late, because by the time we got on the road, it was 11a, which meant that it was hot, humid, and the headwinds were really bad.

I want to write about “the Boys”, who we all call “the Geezers”; the differences between my last bicycle trip and this one; entitlement; and sharing the road with bicycles, but it will have to wait until tonight.

Speaking of the Geezers, I’ve relayed the messages posted on the blog for them, and the old guys were just tickled.

Our ride today is supposed to be 82 miles or so. We’re riding to South Hill, Virginia, which is odd that, even though is “in the middle of nowhere” according to Lauren, we’re staying in a hotel rather than camping. And I’m totally OK with that.

 

Philly cheese steak: check

I’m so tired, and I’ve had so much on my mind to write, but now that I’m sitting at the computer I just want to close my eyes, lie on this comfortable but very small Holiday Inn mattress, and fall asleep.

Yesterday:

Got on camera on CBS’s The Early Show several times. Talked to Harry Smith. He said he bikes in Central Park four to five times a week and that what we’re doing is something he’s always dreamed of doing. He also told me, “Hydrate your ass off” when I told him I was doing the southern route.

I also met a girl named Natalie. She was with the Scleroderma Foundation group, and they were also in The Early Show crowd. She explained the severity of the disease, and I was just touched to have met her. As I was leaving, she called out after me and brought me a parting gift. This is a perfect example of the kindness of strangers. Natalie, thank you so much.

We departed from Columbus Circle, at the southwest corner of Central Park, at about 9.30a and rode on a bike path up to the George Washington Bridge. I wanted to stop and dip my rear wheel into the Hudson River, but everyone was going so fast, and since I didn’t really have a good indication of where we were all headed, I decided to keep pedaling. And for quite a while, I was keeping up with the pack and averaging a pretty high mileage per hour.

But at one point yesterday, I did get my first flat tire of the trip, and then everything went downhill. The lovely riders who stopped with me (Andy, Katie, Jonathan, and Matt) were really nice about waiting. Andy, who’d already had two flat tires by that time in the day, kindly took over the flat-fixing duties. And then the three older gentlemen (David, Roy, and Fred) rode up and stopped as well. The eight of us ended up getting confused with the cue sheets, but it wasn’t long before Lauren called me and wondered where I was. See, the sweeps (the two designated people each day to be the very last riders) were with her, but she was ahead of us. Big problem. So it was crazy trying to catch up with them and then get lost with them. Finally, Matt decided to just look up directions on his iPhone and lead us. I mean, we did figure that since the sweeps were with us, we were the farthest group back. Much to our surprise, our group was the first to reach the destination! We rode 66.31 miles (well, I did), and another group rode about 90. Thank goodness I got that flat tire.

When we got to the hotel, many of us went to the pool and hot tub and soaked for awhile before heading to the grocery store to stock up on food.

There were other things I know I wanted to mention about yesterday, but I feel like I need to type about today before I fall asleep (by the way, it’s only 7.46p).

Today:

The cue sheets today were much more clear, and Blaise, Callie, and I didn’t get lost. For awhile, Francesca and Dominic rode with us, but they ended up taking off at different points.

The route wound us through Princeton (which is an absolutely gorgeous town), where I got a new sticker for my bicycle. It’s from Small World Coffee, just down the road from the university campus.

We also rode through a waste management area. I’ve never seen working landfills before. The signs on either side of the area read “Waste Management Welcomes You.”

By the time we rolled into Philadelphia proper, I had put 64 miles on my bicycle and was ready to get out of my cycling shoes and hop in the shower. We had an event tonight, at Cavanaugh’s, so I raced over to the Liberty Bell to catch a glimpse of it before we took off on our bikes for the event. There were no appetizers tonight, so Blaise, Callie, Katie, Dominic, and I walked around the corner to get Philly cheese steaks. I’d never had one before, and I have to say, they’re pretty good! I went with the traditional Cheese-Wiz and onions.

When we got back to Cavanaugh’s, we decided to go hunting for some ice cream, and Francesca decided to join us. Blaise asked a woman on the street where a good ice cream shop was, and she about flipped out in her rave about this shop a block over called Scoop DeVille. Matt, the owner (manager?), gave all of us free ice cream (thank you, Matt!), which was absolutely delicious. I had the vanilla fudge ice cream in a waffle cone. And now I’m well fed and completely exhausted.

Tomorrow’s scheduled route is 98.8 miles, which means it’ll most likely be a century. It’s also the day our group of 42 splits into two groups of 21. The northern route will head west to York, Pennsylvania, and the southern route will head south to Baltimore, Maryland. I’m so sad we’re saying goodbye to Callie. The four of us (Blaise, Francesca, Callie, and I) have gotten along really well these past couple days, and we sure will miss her on the southern route.

I’m trying to think of more things to type, but I’m too focused on staying awake.

On to Baltimore!