Into(and Out of) the Crucible

Miles Ridden Today - 86.47  Average Miles Per Hour - 14.02

 

So as I'm typing this I'm sitting by the pool in Blythe, CA at the Amerca's Best Value Inn watching my children cavort (for the second time today) in the pool.  I haven't bee able to bring myself to join them simple becuase I'm so tired I'm afraid if I got in the water I would just sink to the bottom  - partially out of a need to rehydrate and partially out of the fact that I probably couldn't move my arms or legs enough to swim out of the mess I had gotten myself into.

We knew today was going to be a hard day in the saddle for a variety of resons.  As I said in yesterday's posts we can't assume that any of the legs of this journey are going to be easy, but today was definitely going to be rough for a variety of reasons.

Webster's defines "Crucible" as the following;

cru·ci·ble/ˈkro͞osəbəl/

Noun:

1) A ceramic or metal container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures.

2) A place or occasion of severe test or trial: "the crucible of combat".

Except for the ceramic or metal container part, today was a real crucible in both senses of the word.

I woke up at 5:00 this morning preparing to try to get on the road by 5:30 in an attempt to beat the heat.  The forecast was for temperatures over 110 degrees by mid day so my hope was to try to et into Blythe (86 miles away) by noon or 12:30 at the latest.  Alas it was not to be!  The terrain and the heat were more of a melting place than I had anticipated and although I made it to the end, it was just barely.

The ride started well enough, there were a few rough patches of road (read my post from yesterday for a detailed account of why that was a potential problem), and by 6:45 I had covered about 16 miles - I was right on target!  It was the second hour that started the crucible heating up as I pedaled through the Imperial Sand Dunes Preserve and hit the first of the big ascents for th eday.  It wasn't anything like Sunday's climbs but the heat was already climbing and the road was baking.  Here is what the dunes look like;

 

And so you know that I didn't just download these pictures from some random website, here are the front of said dunes;

 

 

The plan was for Amy and the kids to follow me on my route and catch up to me, hopefully before the halfway point.  One good aspect was the fact that when I got to Glamis the store was open so I could refill with the most expensive bottle of water ever.  I guess when you're the only thing open for 20+ miles around you can charge what you want.  The lady was nice enough but they didn't have a bathroom there (which I found odd) and it was about then that I started needing to go.  So, instead of lounging about, I ate an energy bar and pedaled off into the desert.

The most unfortunate part of the day was that much of it was a heat hazed blur of pavement.  I really wish I could have enjoyed the scenery more but the day was spent climbing up and down "rollers" and in the heat it really didn't make for a very conducive setting for my bowels.  I passed the U.S. Navy Aerial Bombardment range (sadly, no jets flying overhead), the Chocolate Mountains (they really DO look like chocolate) and I finally came up to the Border Patrol checkpoint.  "Finally!", I thought, "a place to go to the bathroom".  I asked the nice officer about the possibility of using the facility (I mean, I was on a bicycle and not about to smuggle any fruit into or out of the state) and he replied, "the only facilities are in the lock downs".  Now I wasn't sure if that meant I could use one and get out or that the only way I could use one is if I was in lock down.  I've never seen the show but I was pretty sure I didn't want to be - besides they looked like big metal storage containers and in this heat it would probably have killed me just to take a bowel movement!

So I headed out once again (after draining half of the ice water in the bladder) to face more rollers and more heat (which was rising again at a steady rate).  Just when I was afraid I was going to run out of water, Amy and the kids (my calvary to the rescue) came driving up 32 miles from Blythe!  I drank half a gallon of water, refilled my water bottles and bladder, reapplied sun block and headed out in high hopes for finishing up in two hours.  Alas, it was not to be.  I hit more rollers, more heat and ran out of water right before Palo Verde.  Fortunately the kind lady in the store let me refill my water bottles with ice water for free.  I also finally found a bathroom - 50 miles later!  I only had 11 miles left to go!!!!

Which took me an hour.  I had hit the proverbial wall and it was all I could do to keep the pedals turning.  Before Palo Verde I started this little motivating game in which I would take a drink every time I hit a mile mark.  It did make me pedal faster and helped to regulate the water supply.  Eventually, with the heat blasting me in the face constantly like an open furnace I made it to the environs of Blythe.  As I got closer I could see fields of melons ripening on the vine to my left and irrigation canals stretching to my right - I had a fleeting fantasy of grabbing a melon, cracking it open and leaping into the canal to eat it.  I would probably be arrested on a variety of charges so I decided against it.

I finally limped into Blythe where I proceeded to shower, stuff my face and then joined the family out by the pool for the first frolic session.  Amy then went to the land of enchantment (otherwise known as KMart), and I went back in with the kids to take a nap (which never really happened). 

On the way into town James called a "Pit Stop" (the former Short Stop previously written about) at the bowling alley just outside of town.  Since it was closed untl 3:00 now was the time to go.  We played two games (I won both, despite the fact I could barely lift the ball I was so tired) and then headed off for dinner at the local Pizza Hut.

Fortunately, right next store was the famous Rebel's Bar-B-Que;

And after some negotiations we got everyone into the restaurant for an amazing meal (much better than the Pizza Hut that we WERE going to before we found RBBQ).  I had the most amazing brisket sandwich ever and everyone else had tacos (okay, not Sarah and mama) and salads (everyone).

Then back to the hotel where I am now ensconced watching the kids frolic.  But its been a long day and I have a 63 mile ride full of climbs ahead of me tomorrow - with more heat!!!!!

And now the reports;

FFR - 1 Squirrel, 1 Pigeon, 1 Sparrow, 1 Fox, 2 UFO's

RRL - 7 coolers, 5 separate cooler tops, a hard hat, a marketing notebook  for a company orientation session, a rubber over boot, a mattress (don't ask) and a bumper.

Well, that's all I can report today.  I will try to be more aware on the road tomorrow.  It will still be hot but its shorter so I should finish two hours earlier (with any luck).  And again, remember this is for the kids so spread the word to all you know - let's support them.  For in the long run, what I went through today is nothing compared to what they go on every day in trying to fight this damned disease!

Stay well and I'll update you from the road!

For another perspective on our journey check out Amy's blog at http://www.crosscountrymama.blogspot.com//
To help us get the kids to Sunrise go to https://www.wizevents.com/register/register_add.php?sessid=1809&id=1056
Check out our website at http://www.connorsarmy.org/

Total Pain in the Posterior!

Miles Ridden Today - 88.91  Average Miles Per Hour - 16.18

So I wrote yesterday about how grueling the day was and how totally unprepared I was after sitting in the van for six days and then walking about various San Diego attractions for a few others.  After yesterday's grueling climb fest I thought nothing could be worse and that I would be able to start acclimating myself to the longer rides.

And then today happend.  And what I have learned from today is that every ride is going to be challenging in its own way and that I should never think there are ever going to be any "easy" legs of this journey.  Today was supposed to be a few ups and downs follwed by a ten mile descent and then relatively flat roads for 50 miles.  Easy, right?  And then reality kicked me in the rear - quite literally!  Let me 'splain!

I started out at about 6:45ish in the morning (a little later than I should have to beat the heat) and was immediately confronted by a 12% incline to get out of the town of Pine Valley (hey, I guess anything named "valley" I should be prepared to climb out of) that went on for about a mile and a half -- GOOD MORNING, CALIFORNIA!  But after yesterday's climbing even that wasn't too bad.  I thought to myself that maybe today wouldn't be too bad, just put in low and keep pedalling.  It was at this point that I had bizarre images running around in my head, like this;



So  I repeated Dory's mantra and changed it to "just keep pedaling, just keep pedaling, just keep pedaling, pedaling, pedaling...."  and strangely enough it helped the time to pass.  It was a series of ups and downs and then I hit the first (and as it turned out only, I was surprised) Border Patrol check.  I actually had a nice conversation with the guys there, told them what they were doing and they told me that they get a lot of people doing charity rides that come through their post, many of them with press crews following.  I had to admit that we didn't have a press crew following, that I was just an average, every day guy, not the guy from the Amazing Race with the network clout behind him.  However, he was very interested in what I was doing and asked for my website address.  I wish I would have had brochures with me in my handlebar bag (I have since loaded them) but I gave him the address.  (By the way sir, if you're reading this, thank you so much for your interest and join us on facebook too, you can keep up with the rest of the journey). 

From there I made my way to Jacumba where I was supposed to meet Amy and the kids about 9:00.  Up to that point I was right on time!  I was actually making great time and I was thinking the ride wouldn't be too bad.  The only sucky part was that I lost one of my water bottles on a descent that actually had me fearing for my life.  The shoulder was so incredibly bad it was like riding on cobblestones and since it was a really steep descent I was trying to control the bike at 25+ mph.  I then (finally) had the brilliant idea of just taking the lane and keeping an eye on traffic.  Suddenly I was no longer afraid for my life and to celebrate I reached down for one of my water bottles - AND DISCOVERED IT MISSING!!!  Somehow on that crazy, careening descent it had bounced out of my water bottle cage.  It was at that point I decided I wasn't going back for it.  Luckily, my one Random Refuse find of the day was a discarded water bottle so I have two again - and boy was I going to need them.

Just outside of Jacumba I got to the closest point I would get to Mexico in this journey.  Actually so close that I could have thrown a baseball and hit the fence (I do have a good arm) - of course, that would probably have gotten me arrested, which would really put a damper on our journey!  Here is how close I was;

I rolled into Jacumba and found a town that was mostly deserted.  I pulled up to the little shop that sold pretty much everything in town (including a huge selection of alchoholic beverages behind the counter), grabbed some coffee and sat down at the little table outside to wait on the family.  This was at 9:00.  I had no cell phone service at all so I just settled myself in to wait.  While waiting I became engaged in a conversation with an older gentleman who, as it turned out, had just retired from running the IT program at a local Community College.  We chatted for about half an hour about politics, the revitilazation of Jacumba, how it was famous for its mineral springs that had been dried up by a previous owner but how the new owner had opened it back up, how the resort down the street was being refurbished and would bring more life to the town, about my journey, about Sunrise Day Camp, how I was waiting on my family - and it was then he told me that they might have confused the place off the interstate (two miles away) with Jacumba since everyone always does.  He also said that I might have better cell reception there.  I thank him and headed off, thinking that my family must have been waiting for me all this time.  For the record, this is where Jacumba is;

View Larger Map

On the way there I actually got a phone call from my doctor's office (yes, I know riding and talking on the cell phone at the same time - its probably illegal in 37 states, including CA) telling me that my echo cardiogram and other heart tests from my recent physical came out okay.  Good thing, considering what I had just done the day before!  I told the nurse and we had a good laugh at that - I guess I'm physically okay!  I continued on to the main gas stations off of I-8 and didn't see my family.  Oooof, I thought, they're back on Hwy 80!  So I bought some water and headed back to the route and I wasn't there two minutes before I looked over my shoulder and saw Vannikan Roadwalker with the familiar blue tarp on top coming up the rise behind me - yayyyyyyy!  So Amy and the kids jump out on their mission of mercy to ice me up and refill me and then they headed off the road to prepare the way.  On the way they pulled alongside and took some video for the documentary.  At that point I was about two miles away from my last climb of the day and I was totally stoked!

You see, this was the part I had been forward to for two days - a 10.5 mile descent in which I would go from 3,000 feet to 800 feet!  NO PEDALING FOR TEN MILES!!!!!  There were a few hairy moments when I wondered if I would be able to slow down but then I was hit by the crosswinds that did a crazy job on slowing me down.  I was disappointed in that the top speed I hit was only 41.5 miles an hour mainly due to the fact that the biggest decline was only 6%.  I also had time to enjoy the ride and look about and saw some of the most amazing rock formations!  It was completely and utterly otherworldy, almost like the landscape you would expect to see on Mars;

And note the kind way they let you know you're in for a mild descent!

I finally got down to the Yuha desert floor and thats when my posterior purgatory began.  Apparently the Adventure Cycling Association's maps decided to take me on every single rough road between the Calexico exit and Brawley.  Every place I tried on the sholder was a bone and teeth rattling nightmare.  I then realized that there was virtually no other traffic on the Evan Hewes highway so I took the full lane and found myself flying with no discomfort to speak of.  I was flying along at 24 miles an hour effortlessly.  But it was short lived.

Outside of Plaster City (I kid you not, it was basically a big plant), the road just went all to hell and I couldn't find a sweet spot of comfort.  It was then that my Perineum (WARNING, LINK CONTAINS EXPLICIT - though not pornographic - ILLUSTRATIONS) really began to suffer!  The constant jolting began to take such a toll that it made it difficult to stay in the saddle - and I had a good 35 miles to go.  I stopped for water in Saleena and that revitalized me for a while but then after a few miles my personal hell started up again.

Was it hot?  Yes, it was well over 100 degrees but the heat was bearable.  I drank lots of water and stopped a few times to purchase some.  It was just the constant jolting that made this leg so unbearable.  I actually got of the bike and walked for about 50 yards just to get some flow back into the area.  I finally limped into Brawley and praised God for the smooth roads that I suddenly found myself riding. 

And next I thanked my sister Alina for gifting me with my Garmin Edge 605 Bike Computer with GPS.  For I knew the name of where we were staying (the Best Western) but I had no idea where it was!!!!  So I went to the "Go To" feature and there were the directions - SAVED!!!!  I pulled into the parking lot and found Vannikan waiting and it was all I could do to physically climb off the bike - for the second day in a row I was knackered! 

But there is an upside!  My legs themselves felt great!  It was just the heat and my nether regions that were cuasing me to be so wiped.  Nevertheless, I had one major thought as I stood in the baking parking lot collecting myself (and my breath), "this is nothing compared to the suffering those kids go through"  and I know that to be true.  My only hope is that by going through this I will be able to help some of those kids take a break from their fight and spend an amazing summer at Sunrise.

I then showered off and joined the family in the pool for a brief reprieve from the heat.  We then went to dinner at Brownie's Diner (and yes the kids had a brownie a la mode for dessert) before heading off to the biggest Walmart I have ever seen.  It was situated on the outskirts of town rising up like a Mecca to Consumerism.  We bought shoes for William, food for us, and an important piece of apparatus for tomorrow's leg - a fluid bladder! 

You see tomorrow I am riding in 100+ degree heat (it was 107 at 6 pm) and there is NOWHERE to stop for fluid refills for 63 MILES!  So I am going to leave at 5:30 in the morning with the idea of getting most of my riding done before the heat hits.  I got a bladder instead of a full Camelback backpack because I need the ventilation on my back - so for $9.97 at Walmart I got a bladder to fill with ice (which will melt) to go in my handlebar bag.  With any luck I'll be able to hold off until Amy and the kids replenish me somewhere along the route. 

So yes, tomorrow is going to be uber hot but with any luck it won't be bumpy.  If it is, here is the song that will be running through my head;

And now my friends, it is time to get some sleep as I'll be waking in 8 hours to start my next assault on the desert!  Please send cool thoughts my way!

Oh, and lest I forget, here are the reports for today;

FFR (Flattened Fauna Report) - 4 Rabbits, 1 Fox, 1 Falcon/Hawk (not sure which), 2 squirrels, 1 UFO
RRL (Random Refust Log) - 1 Water Bottle (appropriated and then used when I lost my own), 1 Child's Boot

Stay well everyone and I'll update you from the road!

For another perspective on our journey check out Amy's blog at http://www.crosscountrymama.blogspot.com//
To help us get the kids to Sunrise go to https://www.wizevents.com/register/register_add.php?sessid=1809&id=1056
Check out our website at http://www.connorsarmy.org/

1 Down - 45 to Go!

Miles Ridden Today - 45.29  Average Miles Per Hour - 11.58

I'm going to be honest with all of you - this blog is going to be short.  Mainly because I am completely and totally knackered!  As a result this is ging to be less of my usual (I hope) entertaining banter and more straight to the point - just the facts ma'am!

First off, I'm happy to say that we (okay, I) have completed the first leg of our Ride Across America! 

This will probably be one of the most brutal legs of the entire ride (aside from tomorrow) for so many different reasons.

To begin, we got a late start today.  For the first time since we left Northport everyone actually slept late, later than we probably should have.  As a result, we didn't get our wheels dipped into the ocean until about 9:00.  I would post pictures of the dipping but I'm just too tired right now.  If you want to check some out, go to my facebook page and see some of the photos we took this morning.  We were also very surprised and pleased to see that Jim Connor was able to be there to see us off.  We were so touched that he took time out of his Sunday morning to come and meet us.  It was nice after so much cyber conversation to actually meet him in person.  So when the kids and I rolled out we had a sendoff party of two - and it was all still in the family, although many times removed!

The kids and I then rode the first four miles together along the bike path and we met Amy at the end.  After (finally) getting the kids' bikes loaded back on to the van, it was time to go for real!  By this time it was 9:45 - about 3 3/4 hours later than I will normally be rolling out.  Of course this meant that I would be facing one of my worse fears - riding in the middle of the day during the hottest hours.  But more on that in bit.

The beginning of the ride went fairly well and the elevation wasn't too bad - just gentle rises that would gain maybe a hundred feet before leveling off.  And then the hammer was dropped!  Outside of Alpine, CA the road started tilting up and it kep on going - for more than seven miles at a 6 % grade.  By the time I topped out it to hit the highway section I was at 2800 feet and still climbing.  I had also gone through four bottles of water and a bottle of gatorade.  And there was more to come!

I also ended up riding on the highway for 3.5 miles (it was all part of the Adventure Cycling Association's map) and wouldn't you know it - it was all uphill.  By the end of that section I was up to 3100 feet - and still climbing.  By this time it was about 1:00 in the afternoon and I'd been climbing since 11:30.  I had to actually get off the bike three times, not because it was too steep, but because my legs were cramping up so badly I couldn't pedal.  I found that by stretching and walking about 30 yards or so I could stretch them out enough to get back on and pedal some more.

I finally turned off the highway and I was so excited because I knew that I would be only 12.5 miles from where my family would be for the evening.  There happened to be a turn off/park and ride just off the highway and some cyclists were finishing up their rides and loading up so I rolled over to ask them about the terrain.  They told me that there was still a couple of hard climbs but then a 2.5 mile screaming descent into Pine Valley - ahhh, the last part music to my ears.

Unbeknownst to me, at EXACTLY the same time, Amy and the kids were driving by on their way to look for me and restock me with water since it was taking longer than we had originally thought.  They went all the way back to Alpine and then came back.  They finally found me about five miles outside of Pine Valley.  I had finished my last two water bottles and I'm pretty sure I was starting to dehydrate since I was beginning to exhibit some of the classical signs - mainly dry mouth, thirst, light headedness and headache.  And it was probably being exacerbated by the exposure to heat and sun.  All in all, a brutal time.

But they caught up with me and refilled me with water and I was able to finally make it into Pine Valley - only four hours after I left them in San Diego!  After some time getting clean and drinking more water I got everyone's bikes ready and we went for a bike ride to the park in Pine Valley.  Yes, I know what was I thinking?  But the kids really wanted to go for a ride (I guess I inspired them) and we went for a ride and then had ice cream.

After a few hours chilling at the room we finally went to dinner at the diner and here we are.  See, not much to report, just the facts.

Speaking of facts, we have the FFR (Flattened Fauna Report) and RRL (Random Refuse Log) numbers for the day;

FFR - 1 Possum, 1 Squirrel, 1 Pigeon, 1 Bobcat, 1 UFO (Unidentified Flattened Object)

RRL - 1 Shovel head, 6 Gloves of various makes

Well, that's it for now.  It's 9:30, I'm totally wiped, and I have some more mountains to climb in the morning!  But its all for the kids of Sunrise, so show your support for the kids!

Stay well and I'll be seeing you on the road!

For another perspective on our journey check out Amy's blog at http://www.crosscountrymama.blogspot.com//
To help us get the kids to Sunrise go to https://www.wizevents.com/register/register_add.php?sessid=1809&id=1056
Check out our website at http://www.connorsarmy.org/

T Minus 11.00.00

First of all, for those of you who have been keeping up with our continuing saga, you'll notice from the posted date and time that I have skipped a few days.  I've tried very hard to keep the daily blog going but for now I'm going to have to skip Wednesday, Thursday and Friday's blogs.  There has just been so much going on here in San Diego every day that by the time I get the chance to sit down and write I can only get a few lines down before I get too tired to write any more.  I've started a post for each day and I've only got about a paragraph written about each day that doesn't begin to touch upon what happened that day.  However, I will come back to each of those blogs and update them.  I'll post on facebook (click on the link at right if you haven't already like our facebook page or just click here) later on that I have updated those entries.  For now, here is a BRIEF rundown on what happened each day;

Wednesday - Got here in GREAT time and when we arrived at the Travelodge our room wasn't ready yet. Need parts for Sarah, James and my rides so we went looking for a bike store.  After some bad GPS directions we ended up at Performance Bike, otherwise known as Mecca.  We managed to walk out spending less than $150!  We then went to a burger/malt shop and had what James described as "the best vanilla I've ever tasted".  We checked into our room, swam in the pool and ate Thai food watching TV.

Thursday - We surprised the kids by taking them to Legoland.  It was a bit of subterfuge to pull it off.  We were supposed to meet my friend Shannon McNulty but she's competing this weekend in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas and she needed to pack so she couldn't meet us.  It ended up being okay as we found a nice little town called Solana Beach where we took the kids to play in the Pacific, we took in a little music and bought dinner at a whole foods supermarket - which we took home at and ate in front of the TV.

Friday - Sarah turned 13!!!!!  To celebrate we took her to the San Diego Zoo and we all walked ourselves ragged.  Sarah discovered a new group that is now one of her favorites - mainly because she covets the singer's Steam Punk goggles - called Steam Powered Giraff.  Here is a sample of their music;



We then had sushi at a great little place in University Park and follwed it up with frozen yogurt at the Golden Spoon.

Which brings us to today.  The original plan was to have a "do nothing" day but that really meant we weren't going to travel in the car for long distances.  I got up and got Pearl ready for a recon rixce and we headed off to Ocean Beach to scope out the start point of this 3700 mile journey.  While there, I found out that there was some sort of festival happending in Ocean Beach so I thought it might be fun for us to scope out the start point as a family and maybe hang out at the festival for a while.  I knew we only had until 6:00 because at that point we were supposed to meet James"Jim" Connor  for dinner.

Jim is related to us through a common ancestor William Alexander Connor and he got in touch with me some time back through my sister Alina.  He saw that we were coming out here to San Diego and he lives out here so we've been e-mailing and facebooking for a few weeks.  We were so excited because we were finally going to meet this nice individual live and in person.  Alas, it was not to be, but more on that later.

So, I took off on my ride and riding along the first five miles was so incredibly pleasant.  It begins on a bike path that parallels the San Diego River Floodway before breaking off into the city.  Of course, I had a VERY frightening moment when I was almost the victim of a drive by squirreling as one of our furry friends darted right in front of me and I missed him by mere inches.  I had visions of this flashing before my eyes;

(he won't try that trick again!)

I had visions of my Ride Across America ending before it even began with either a broken bike or a broken me.  Of course, a broken bike would be okay as it would only mean another trip to Performance Bike - hey, maybe I can find that squirrel tomorrow!

Anyway, I continued on to try and make it to the halfway point of my journey tomorrow and I got awfully close.  I hit a few 6-8 percent rises that were a tad long but nothing major. Of course, that will all hit me tomorrow when I least expect it! 

I made it back to the hotel in less than two hours after logging 42 total miles (26 out and 16 back) ready to have a fun last day in San Diego with the family.  After cajoling and convincing William that it would be fun, we headed out to Ocean Beach Park to scope out the place where I'll be departing tomorrow.  Of course, the only problem wih that was it was a gorgeous day, it was a Saturday, and this is Southern California where 80% of the population goes to the beach.  So we sat in traffic for a while.  It was while in traffic we came up with a brillant idea - the kids are going to ride with me along the bike path for the first three miles.  Once the path ends and we start on city roads I'll load up their bikes, they'll head up to Lakeside and I'll ride up on my bike.

Okay, here is were I'm going to vent a bit.  You see we have gotten a lot of offers of help from various sources over the two years we've been talking about this ride to benefit Sunrise Day Camp.  Unfortunately, too often that help has either dried up or failed to materialize at all after the initial contact.  One such individual had offered to help me connect with local riders to perhaps ride with me the first part of the journey.  Despite numerous attempts at contacting them, I've heard nothing from that first offer.  We get offers from people who have offered to either sponsor or donate to Sunrise - nothing ever happens.  It has started to wear on Amy and I becuase we feel like we are alone in this endeavor, that although people think it is an amazing thing we're doing, they don't want to help.

However, trying to be more like Brian and looking on the bright side of life, we have gotten some amazing help from Gina Nemo with some press contacts and there have been many recent offers of help that HAVE come through. "Live It Up! With Donna Drake" has offered to come aboard as our official media sponsor and we have had some amazing offers of free nights from some of the hotels that we have contacted along our route.  We're hoping now that some media attention about our ride will help generate some funds for the campers of Sunrise and that's what this is all about.

Okay, off the soap box.  After we finally found a place to park (using Amy's patented parking karma) we headed to the beach and the festival.  It turns out that part of the festival was a chili cook off!  The kids weren't in the mood for chili (damn!) so we headed to a funky little cafe instead where we had an amazing light lunch and I had the best tomatoe basil soup I've ever had!

We headed back to the beach where the kids proceeded to run in and out of the waves until William backpedalled himself right into the water.  We had to curtail the highjinks for a bit but then the whole family eventually got into building a sand castle before heading back home.  We packed up a bit, got everyone showered and prepared to go to dinner and meet the other James Connor.

It was while trying to get to Ortegas that we realized the other part of the festival was this HUUUUUGGGGGEEEEEE street fair.  Amy's karma kicked in again and we ended up parking a block and a half from where we needed to go.  Unfortunately, Jim never got there so we have yet to meet him.  However, I had some amazing Mexican food - and THE best chimichanga I've ever eaten.  While eating the thought hit me that this was my last supper before starting on this epic ride and that led to me thinking about the Last Supper and despite my Catholic conversion, the only thing I could think of was this;



But, I know its just the start of a new adventure - one that I hope will make a difference in the lives of some very deserving young people.  If you're reading this for the first time, welcome.  If you ARE reading it for the first time, I would invite you to go here and give whatever you can, no amount is too small, to help us help the kids of Sunrise.

Well, its now 10:45 PST and that means its only T minus 9 hours 15 minutes.  Time to get some shut eye.  Tomorrow's post will be from Pine Valley, CA.

Stay well my friends, I'll see you on the raod!

A Long Day In The Saddle

So for those of you who know me, you know that I consider myself a transplanted Texan, even though I haven't lived there since 1992.  As such, I do understand certain colloquialisms of the Texan vernacular, many of which have to do with the equestrian arts, such as "Rode hard and put away wet!" (hint, its not a good thing!)  I also spent some time in my youth (during my first attempt at living in NYC - while I was studying at the National Shakespeare Conservatory) working at a riding stable in Englewood, NJ where I picked up other colorful equestrian phrases and skills.  But in all these riding experiences I came to understand what it means to have a long day in the saddle.

Now, in my cycling travels that will commence in just five days I am going to have plenty of these and I don't kid myself - they will be grueling.  But at least those days will only be grueling for me, not the rest of the family.  Today was a long day in the saddle for the entire family!  To once again give you a little perspective, here is the roue we found ourselves following today;



View Larger Map

It ended up being a distance of about 640 miles and took about 12 hours counting stops for food, gas, and an amazing scenic overview.  But it was a loooooooooonnnnnnnnggggggg  day! 

I wish I could report there were many exciting things we saw and did during this leg of our trip but I think the most exciting aspect of the entire journey was that we didn't break down!  The car performed beautifully except for a slight loss of power (okay, a noticable one) going up the big mountains.  It makes me a little nervouse for when we come back out of San Diego and head into the Rockies in July.  Fortunately, Amy and the kids will only be traveling for two or three hours a day then.  They also have a deal that they can stop at any exciting spots along the way and hang out and each one of them gets one a day.  All they have to do is call out "Short Stop!" when they see something they like or find interesting.

So, aside from a lot of trains pulling 70+ cars (we saw one pulling 106), there wasn't much that happened except for MY "short stop"!  We were passing through Gallup, NM and it was getting time for lunch so I suggested we stop and get gas and some food.  How could we resist such a prominent place in the "Route 66" song?  While there were many of the typical fast food places, we lucked out in that we chanced upon a little place called "Aurelia's Diner" which has this sign out front;

(It may not be Guiness, but it IS a six-pack I can sink my teeth into!)

Yes, an authentic diner on historic Route 66 - how could we NOT stop?  And once we stepped inside, we found ourselves transported to another time as we were greeted by the decor;

(That, my friends, is the finest naugahide you'll ever scrunch your derriere into!)

And I am not too proud to admit that I ordered the six pack of tacos.  It was cheap, it was good, it was filling.  And the pico de gallo was spicy and to die for.  I've said it before but I'll say it again, I LOVE MEXICAN FOOD!  I will be in heaven the next three weeks and I don't care who knows it!

But after indulging my Mexican tooth it was time to get the family back on the road and I couldn't resist cranking up a little John Mayer as we sang his cover of "Route 66" at the top of our lungs - okay, everyone except Amy that is who just grinned and bore the pain.  But here is the man himself performing his cover of that iconic song;

	John Mayer - Route 66 .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

And after gassing up it was time to be on the road again.  Not much to report for the res tof the trip excep that it was hot (which once again made me think - "what the hell was I thinking?") and we finally got to see segauro cactii (cactus? cactuses? cactusii?) with some flowers on them so we're hoping on the return trip we might actually get to see them in bloom.

And after a very, very, very, very long day we finally pulled into Gila Bend, AZ to stop for the night.  We ended up staying in a place a bit more expensive than any we've stayed in before (we LOVE the Super 8's), the Best Western Space Age Lodge!  It was more expensive but at that point our luck had finally run out and the William was having a melt down so we just said "the heck with it" and stopped for the night.  It has a space theme with pictures of the space shuttle on the walls and glitter embedded in the paint outside to make it sparkle.  Although it has a restaurant attached to it, we decided to go across the road to the Italian restaurant and get take out instead.  Here is the view from the outside;

Now its late and we have one final push to get into San Diego tomorrow - only 350 miles to go!  Its hard to believe that this portion of our journey is almost over.  We'll be there soon and in five days we'll be heading back again.

Stay well my friends and I'll write more from the road tomorrow!