Will you still love me??

My dear family, friends and (dare I say?) fans,
I am sorry to tell you that I will disappoint you today...
It was a 110 mile ride - I believe that I could have done it except for (yes again!!) the killer head winds!!  Maybe 30 mph with gusts of 40 and 50 mph... it was insane!!!  I worked so very hard, but I finally gave up at mile 85.  And it felt right and it felt good!!!  There is no way that I could have done it, and yes, I am disappointed, but that's life!!
Must go to bed and rest now - every part of my body is sore and aching..............
And congratulations to the five (so far)  that did it all!!!  You are amazing!!!

The "moments"

You don't want to hear about my ride - headwinds, missed the only open restaurant in town so ate at the gas station, arrived at the motel - what a dump! - rooms not ready because the maid didn't show up - not a fun day!!!

BUT...
The motel appears to be owned by an East Indian man and his mother.  At dinner, the mother had made something for us to add to our parking lot dinner - lovely!  After dinner, he said that his Mom wished to say something to us, so a few of us gathered around to hear what she had to say - I hope I have captured the gist of it...

When I was a girl in India, a bike was a necessity.  I always envied the fancy bikes in the city.  Now, look at me - I would break a bike!!  But when men stay at the motel on their way cycling across America, I asked my son, where are the women??  And now, here you are!!!

It really was a not-great day, but here we were - able to have what I call "a moment" with these two people.  And really, what is there to life but the moments??  If you are lucky, you will have many special moments with those you love, many more with good friends but sometimes, if you just allow yourself to be open to them, you can have moments with complete strangers.

In the end, will I remember the hours on the bike? the scenery passing by?  the winds?  OR will I remember the moments??

Thanks for listening!!

Oh Happy Day!!!!

Just had to share the good news with you asap - we had the most amazing day today!!
We flew from Fort Davis to Marathon : 60 miles but with an incredible tailwind so that you hardly needed to pedal to move on down the highway.
And when we got to Marathon, another great surprise - we are staying in the funkiest and most unique place possible : Eve's Garden Bed and Breakfast.  The main house was build in 1903 but the current owners have been adding on for several years : they are hand-building everything themselves with the funkiest colours and each and every room is different.  We have an inner courtyard with an beautiful garden and plenty of chairs and tables to form our own living room.... even a rooftop sunset viewing spot!!  They had pumpkin cake waiting for us and the "convenience room" has tea, coffee, water and beer on tap..  This place has to be seen to be believed....
I am just sooooooo happy today (even the shower had plenty of hot water...)
I did have another flat tire #3 so far (thank you once more Sunneye for helping me out) but who can remember such trivia on a day like today?????

Is this a vacation??????

A beautiful day from El Paso to Van Horn - excellent weather and smooth pavement - what more could you ask for??  A reasonable lunch and..... a wretched hotel!  But we are all in this together, so what the heck??  

But the next two days - holy mama!!!  Just 75 miles from Van Horn to Fort Horn - not so bad, right??

Wrong!!  There was a constant headwind for pretty much the entire last 50 miles.  We even formed a pace line - for a while seven of us in a row, eventually only four in a row - the principle being that the person in front would take the brunt of the wind, with everyone taking turns at the front.  I think that it worked but I was on the bike 9 hours that day!

Yesterday was 90 miles with a headwind for 20 miles or so, plus a lot of hills - another exhausting day!!!  

But it is a rest day today at Indian Lodge!!!  It is a wonderful, albeit a little rustic, place to hang out for a day.  My most ambitious plan today is to go sit by the pool for a while....

So, the question of the day : is this a vacation???  And I have to say that I don't know the answer to that!  I mean, this is physically very challenging to say the least, but it is a time away from having to make any day-to-day decisions.  Our only responsibility is to get up in the morning and get on that bike.  We don't have to worry about meals - except lunch, but believe the options are very limited and the decision is generally a group one - or where we are staying.  We have very little in the way of clothing, and quite frankly, no-one cares what we look like!  No make-up, no fancy clothes, no curling irons, not a thing of that nature.  No-one is asking us to do anything for them - although we do support each other in every way possible.

So, is this a vacation??   Yes and no....

Thanks y'all   (I'm in Texas now..)

Janine

Itinerary for Texas..

For those that like to follow on the map....

March 23 : El Paso
March 24 : Fort Hancock
March 25 : Van Hom
March 26 & 27 : Fort Davis
March 28 : Marathon
March 29 : Sanderson
March 30 : Del Rio
March 31 : Brockettville
April 1 : Camp Wood
April 2 : Vanderpool
April 3 & 4 : Fredericksburg
April 5 : Austen
April 6 : Bastrop
April 7 : La Grange
April 8 : Navasota
April 9 : Cleveland
April 10 : Silsbee
April 11 : Louisiana!!!

A Slight (& maybe not on purpose) detour means a great picture!!

Monday, March 24th....
and we are in Texas!!

Yesterday was - theoretically - a nice easy 59 mile ride into El Paso, Texas but the weather gods were not with us - a nasty headwind again!!  It actually pushed a friend off of the road onto the shoulder and it was only with some skill and luck that she stayed upright and out of the ditch!  As our fearless leader, Carol, said - it was 50 miles uphill with a wind like that!

But it wasn't all bad!!  First of all, we were following my lovely friend Sue and she kind of missed the turn off but a half mile down the road we found a "Welcome to Texas" sign and took a few pictures.
After we figured out our mistake (returning with the wind behind us!) we discovered that there wasn't a sign if we had stayed on route!!  So thank you Sue!!  The sign for the state line is always an important photo opportunity!!

And we all stopped at the bike shop en route and asked for a recommendation for a restaurant.  Six of us ended up at "Tom's" and had a great Sunday brunch!!  It was a tiny little restaurant with such good food - I had breakfast risotto.  Great food in a funky little restaurant, laughing with new & old friends -
it actually made up for all the hard work we had had to put in to cycling that morning.

This morning was the second morning in a row that we could walk over to a Starbucks for a latte in the morning before breakfast - what a treat!!!!

And today, today was a lovely, lovely day...  only 52 miles to our next stop ; the sun was shining but it wasn't too hot ; the roads were flat ; and we stopped at some Spanish Missions on the way - playing tourist for once.  I believe that we might have even had a tailwind for a while!!

And I forgot to tell you that we have been in farmland mostly the last couple of days - fields for cotton, peanuts, alfalfa, and pecan orchards.  Of course, pecan means pecan pie and that is what we finally had this evening!!  Not as good as yours Renee, but pretty good!!  We eat quite a bit on this trip but first of all we need the fuel to keep us going on these long days, and also we have earned it!!!!

The not-so-good part is the "Bates" Motel that we are staying in tonight : I am not sure that I will be able to sleep anymore without the sound of the interstate highway lulling me to sleep... and it's always a bad sign I think when the water in the tap starts off brown.....

New BFF :  MarySlade!  She has a friend that is mailing her chocolate along the way - the good stuff - and she shares!!!!

Good Night All!!!

Last day in New Mexico!

First of all - the Curious Kumquat in Silver City.
It was absolutely amazing - one of the best restaurant meals that I have ever had!!  Seriously - in a town of 10,000 if that - one chef and one waitress!  Weird ingredients - a partially cooked egg yolk with some of the yolk removed and replaced with mushroom stock???!!  We had the tasting menu - 6 courses in total, but every dish an insanely strange creation but soooooo good!!

But my last two cycling days have been challenging!  At this point I am asking myself why I never learn that it is a VERY good idea to train seriously (or at all) for something like this!!

Friday (yesterday) was Silver City to Kingston over the Emory Pass.  8,225 feet above sea level and we climbed and climbed and climbed to get to the top.  It really was not very steep but just a constant uphill.  A beautiful trip through the alpine forest and a spectacular view over the desert from the top, but man! was it a challenge!!  The last 8 miles to the lodge was all downhill which sounds great but it was hairpin turns and you never knew quite what was around the corner, so I used my brakes - a lot!  I am still cowardly when it comes to downhills with corners...

Today was a long bike ride into Las Cruces : 88 miles.  Spectacular scenery again at the beginning but soon we were back to the desert.  And you know, 88 miles isn't bad except that we had some strong headwinds and sidewinds  - just to make things exciting!!

I think that I am getting stronger every day - maybe not skinnier but stronger!!
And I continue to be amazed by the women on this trip - yesterday I was passed by two women in their seventies!!!   I find it so inspiring that they can even think about attempting a trip like this - let alone with grace and dignity!!
And the women in their fifties and sixties - so good to see people still take on physical challenges, regardless of their age!!

Keep sending those e-mails!!
(snow in Calgary again!!!??)

Ahhhhhh.... a rest day! So happy!

It has been eight straight days of cycling and finally we have a day off!  We have cycled almost 500 miles in this stretch - that is a lot of time on the old bike...
Oh - I forgot to tell you about my favourite part of yesterday -

There was road construction so we all stopped and waited for the pilot car to take the traffic through in our direction.  The cars and trucks left first and then we had the roadway to ourselves - beautiful, pothole free pavement - and off we went!  It was almost all downhill and there was literally no traffic at all for the next ten miles as we flew into Duncan - our lunch stop.  I have never gone that fast - I think I was up to 34 miles per hour!!!!!!  I am generally quite a chicken about downhills but everything was perfect to just let it all go straight down the highway.  One of my friends said that "for an old-age pensioner, that's the nearest thing to an org.....  whoops - maybe that's rude!!  In any case, what fun!!!

Today I found to be a gruelling day.  To begin with, it was absolutely freezing when we left the hotel
(and honey, I know cold!!).  It warmed up quite quickly, but most of the day was uphill.  We climbed up to and over the continental divide (over 6,200 feet) and I thought that maybe that was the end of the hills, but no such luck!  It seemed to be really difficult to get up those hills today, but I think that I am just tired!!!

Rest day in Silver City tomorrow - oh Happy Day!!!!!  My goal for tomorrow?  To do as little as possible and to go out for dinner to "The Curious Cumquat"  Intrigued??  So am I.

A bientôt mes amis!!

New Mexico Itinerary

Hi!
A couple of people have asked where I am going, so here are the stops for New Mexico...

March 18th: Lordsburg
March 19th & 20th : Silver City  (rest day here - so excited!!)
March 21st : Kingston
March 22nd  Las Cruces

Then Texas... for 20 days I believe....

New Mexico!!

We have left Arizona and are now in New Mexico!!
Such a good ride today - 75 miles and this morning I was dreading it - I was tired!!  But we had a lot of flat roads with good to great shoulders, not much traffic and this amazing tailwind for the last 20 miles or so!!
All this plus I wore two pairs of cycling shorts today so my derriere was much happier (it is the little things in life that can make you happy!!)
The weather continues to be nice; apparently unseasonably cool which makes for wonderful biking.
Yesterday was a long ride too but far more challenging.  78 miles but it was the day of the flat tires!!
I (only) had one but it happened just at the "Taylor Freeze" where everyone had stopped for ice cream
so I had plenty of help changing it - thanks Sue and Liz!
The record number of flats for yesterday was three!  Can you imagine getting three flat tires in one day???  And it happened to my new friend Joyce who is half Irish (it was St. Patrick's Day for heaven's sake!!)

Did you want to know what a typical day is for me???
We are staying at Best Westerns, Quality Inns, and the like so there is almost always a breakfast provided in the breakfast room at the hotel.  They have some sort of eggs, toast, mystery meat patties, yogurt, cereal....  So all 28 of us descend upon the room and eat something quickly.  Then it is "snack table" time - they put out nuts, chocolate, granola bars and bread for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Snack table 7:15, then off we go - checking out with the day's SAG driver as we leave.
The night before we had had a "map meeting" right after dinner and the "cue sheet" is passed out and gone over.  The cue sheet gives us very explicit directions on where to go in order to get to our next destination.
So, we roll on down the highway....
Every 20 miles we spot the SAG wagon (aka Little Bo Peep) ; we need to check in with the SAG driver, and we can refill our water bottles and grab a quick bite to eat.  Some days the SAG wagon is the most beautiful sight in the world....
Sometime during the day, my buddies and I (Sheila & Joyce, and often others) stop for lunch somewhere.  I have had a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches so far!
And eventually we ride into the parking lot of our next hotel ... always a joy to see that sign.  I am trying very hard NOT to be too much of a princess and really, all I need is a good bed and a hot shower.... right???
Quite a few of the ladies share their room, but I paid extra for a single so I have the luxury of space and no need to wait for a shower.  Well worth the extra money I think!
In any case, it is time for a shower, a stretch and maybe time to catch up on e-mails and this blog...
Dinner is made in the back of the WomanTours trailers - something of a miracle to produce a meal for 28 woman with only two burners but somehow they do it!!  We eat on plastic lawn chairs in the parking lot - it sounds dreadful but it really is okay - a good time to chat, eat, get our cue sheets and then... bed!!
We all find it difficult to stay awake past 8:00 or 9:00pm - it has generally been a long, challenging day!!
And that's it!!  How does that sound to you?????!!!
I have to go now - margaritas on the day that we cross a state line.......
Take care, and keep sending those e-mails!!!

Very tired, but just wanted to say...

The ride today was a bit of a challenge - some big hills and sometimes minimal shoulders which means riding on the road with the traffic, but I survived!!
I wanted to make sure that no-one (Mom, Dad!!) worried about me - good night all!!

Where am I??? Ah, Gold Canyon, Arizona!

I am not going to bore you but writing in this every day unless I am really bored or if something interesting happens!
The last couple of days have been spent biking into Phoenix, through Phoenix and then out of Phoenix, so not so very interesting.  It was a shortish ride today - 60 miles maybe - but we biked through some beautiful parks and lovely residential neighbourhoods : really a very nice day.  Apparently tomorrow is going to be a rough day ; short at only 48 miles, but a lot of hills with a lot of traffic and pretty much non-existent shoulders... will try to post tomorrow to let you know how I did.

Thanks for all your e-mails!!

Janine

March 13th - and still pedalling!

First of all, let me get it out there : my tush is fine - a little stressed while riding but not unbearable.  It is not used to such prolonged contact to such a hard surface, but we have reached an understanding and it works for both of us!!
Stayed at the lovely Sheffler's Motel in Salome, Arizona yesterday.  What can I say - I think that it was a great bonding experience for the group!  If we can survive Sheffler's and still smile, we can survive anything!!!
We are definitely in the desert now but it is surprisingly cool - almost cold - in the mornings when we first set out.  And we have been lucky - it really hasn't been very hot the last couple of days.  It has been very flat which tends to be a little boring, but maybe boring is okay once in a while!!
Let's see : Blythe to Salome yesterday and today we rolled into Wickenburg, Arizona - the biggest dude ranch city in the world!  It seems to be a cute little town, but we usually bike into town, get into our hotel rooms, clean up, eat and go to bed!
Oh, my friend Sheila was sick Tuesday night and had to miss the ride yesterday.  She cycled today - very slowly but was a real trooper and managed to do all 58 miles.  I'm healthy so far - knock on wood!

Correction :  This trip is 58 days long with a day at the beginning and one at the end that are organizational days, there are actually 48 days of cycling with 8 rest days.  Still 3,100 miles though and we are over 10% done!!

Not sure what else to tell you : it is spring in the desert so there are a lot of flowers along side the road - yellow, purple, pink, as well as red and orange - it's quite beautiful to see so much green amongst the cacti.  Got a great picture of a coyote today - exciting to see some wildlife.

Tomorrow Phoenix - only 67 miles from here!!

Keep sending those e-mails...

Janine

Must be Tuesday the 11th?? and I think that I am in Blythe, California....

So nice .... it's a rest day today!  I have very little ambition today - did my laundry this morning and will clean my bike later today - that's it!
Oh, and remember that I was excited about staying in a Best Western? This hotel is to the Best Western as is the Best Western to the Four Seasons!  But that is not important - the important thing is that my derriere is not meeting a bicycle seat today!!
It was a long day yesterday : 87 miles through the desert and someone said that it reached 88 degrees in the afternoon.
But we did see some sand dunes, stopped at the Glamis Beach grocery store (the sand toy capitol of the world!) and saw a pet lamb in Ripley - believe it or not!
Tomorrow Arizona!

Cycling Day Three!

No internet last night - we sometimes stay in rather... rustic lodgings.  Today someone in the group said that if you think about it, it is odd that we are excited if we are staying at a Best Western.  ( I was at the Ritz-Carleton just a few weeks ago...)

Yesterday was... interesting!  It was hilly - quite steep but not too bad - but the winds were crazy!!  Really strong and really erratic - you didn't know which direction the next one would come from.
A couple of the smaller women were literally blown off their bikes - who knew that I would ever say that I am glad to be heavier??!!  Close to 50 miles today.

And today - 67 miles I think.  A ten-mile hill - down this time!  It was a little scary but really fun!  On the interstate so the shoulders were wide and smooth - a great time!!  We also rode for 7 miles or so on the worst road imaginable - I think that my teeth are looser now.  And we won't even talk about what that does to your rear end!  But all in all a good day.  Very tired, and we are biking 87 miles tomorrow. Funny how everyone  is asleep by 9pm!

First day of cycling!

One cycling day is done - only 49 cycling days to go (58 days in total) and now LESS than 3,100 miles!

It was a short ride today at only 35 miles but I very much regretted all the wine I drank in Barcelona and Venice - not to mention the pasta..and pizza...and desserts!  (I don't really regret it - I loved every morsel but ooooohhhh, I felt it!!)

First we biked to the ocean for the obligatory dip-your-bike-in-the-ocean and take pictures so that you can truly claim that you biked from ocean to ocean.
Next we had to leave San Diego - a big city after all, and a lot of fast-moving traffic to get through.
Finally we were out of the city but we had a few long, long fairly steep hills to climb so that part had its challenges too.
Oh and I fell - does that make me a loser??  Mostly just hurt my pride....  I believe that I was thinking great thoughts when it happened (as I am wont to do when I'm cycling..) but I think that I should take that as a learning experience - hopefully avoiding a repeat.  And a huge thank you to my friend MarySlade who not only stopped to make sure that I was okay, but she gave me her LAST Reeses Peanut Butter Cup to make me feel better.  That, ladies and gentlemen, is a true friend!

For those short on details : we are biking 3,100 miles from San Diego to St. Augustine, Florida.  It is with a company called WomanTours - and from the name you might be able to guess that it is all women - 30 of us.  Average age?  Around 58 or so.  Wonderful, interesting women (so far at least) - 3 Canadians in total.
And you may know that I had done another "epic" bike trip in the fall of 2012 - from Bellingham, Washington to Ventura, California in a month.  There are 7 or 8 of us on this ride that all did that trip together and they really are great people : Sheila from Scotland, MarySlade of the Peanut Butter Cup and Sue Wright....

Time to go to bed - very, very tired...  49 miles to bike tomorrow....

Please don't forget that you can e-mail me - I should have internet most of the time...

Janine