The story of a 9-year-old boy and his dad as they cross the USA by bicycle.
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| dep LA | | 3/04/03 |
| arr JAX | | 5/12/03 |
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Monday, March 31, 2003
Into Sierra Blanca
 Will's audio message
We spent the day on the frontage roads to I-10, with a close eye on the re-build of the westbound lanes off to our right. Every day we seem to have an opportunity to watch something interesting as we pass through. We had to improvise a few detours of our own due to the construction. As we approached Van Horn we entered the Central Time Zone. We’ve passed through the Pacific and Mountain zones already, but we’ll be in the Central until western Florida!
Sunday, March 30, 2003
A nice day!
 Every day there are problems to overcome. I woke up at 5 am to prepare for a 5:45 departure, but we waited for the sun to warm the area up to 40oF at 6:30. We suffered through yet another flat tire (culprit: goathead thorns), this time on the rear tire, the first one there. To repair this tire, we must: remove the panniers, remove the trailer, disconnect the drum cable, disconnect the drum arm, remove the wheel, remove the tire, repair the tube, re-install everything, hope for the best. I can repair a flat and be back on the road on my road bike in 10 minutes; we seem to be averaging closer to 30 minutes per repair on this trip.
We stopped for a Mexican breakfast and then at a Mexican church for a Spanish Mass. We were chased by another three-dog pack and just barely got away.
The weather was very pleasant and we made good time until a 14 mile climb toward the end of the day. The climb wasn’t overly steep, but took us about 2 hours to complete. We were waved through a Border Patrol checkpoint at the peak of the mountain pass, and rolled down 2 miles into Sierra Blanca. I believe we are as high as we will be for the rest of the trip.
Saturday, March 29, 2003
Lynn and Dave, Marquette University Class of '77
 Marquette did what no team had done in three months, and what many people thought was impossible. Dwyane Wade and the Golden Eagles upset Kentucky 83-69 Saturday, ending the top-seeded Wildcats' 26-game winning streak and earning a trip to the Final Four in New Orleans. Cheered by a sea of yellow-clad followers, Marquette's surprising rout gave the school its third regional title and first since 1977, when Al McGuire coached the team to its only national title. If Wade keeps it up, the Golden Eagles might get another. He showed again why he's one of the nation's top players with a triple-double -- 29 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
Now it's on to New Orleans, where the Golden Eagles will face Kansas in the national semifinals next Saturday.
Only 96% of Texas to go
We departed El Paso today with 20 knot winds right in our faces. Our plan all along was to ride shorter days with headwinds or rain. We are committed now to ride dawn to dusk next time we've got a tailwind!  Today we quit around 2:30 pm when we found an acceptable hotel (by acceptable we mean dial-up internet access and a TV that'll have the Marquette-Kentucky basketball game tonight) in the tiny town of Fabens, Texas. Spanish is still the dominant language by far; elementary schools have marquees detailing Spring Break without a word of English.
We have received word that Will's "wolf skull" may really be the head of a sheep. Nevertheless, we prefer the hint of danger associated with riding through an area with wolves, and have decided to stick with our original story.
Long distance cyclists will agree that there is a fine balance to the amount of pressure that can be absorbed by the feet, butt and hands. Too much pressure on the hands can relieve some butt pain, but cause nerve damage in the hands (and blisters). If one gets out of the saddle to relieve butt pain, the feet can start to hurt. I have tried to balance the three, but had numbing of the hands today. Part of that may be the headwind and the need to get into a tuck at times. Part of it may be that I'm an old man with a young man's load. I had an opportunity to ride the bike alone with no load recently. It felt like a rocket ship, and I suspect that it would've coasted uphill!
Tomorrow: The forecast for tomorrow's wind is more favorable. We hope to reach Sierra Blanca.
Friday, March 28, 2003
El Paso welcomes us!
 Friday started out poorly. It was 40oF when we departed into a 30 knot headwind. We stopped to repair a flat about 2 miles into our trip, and actually thought about gliding downwind back to our hotel. We met Don Baumgardt, who publishes The Official Visitors Guide to El Paso, who recommended Crazy Cat Cyclery as a place for us to stock up on supplies before we head off into the Texas wilderness. When we arrived at Crazy Cat Cyclery, they were waiting for us and treated us like celebrities! Don had left us a certificate for a free night at a local Holiday Inn, and the guys at the bike store gave us free T-shirts and water bottles. We bought "thorn-resistant" tubes, and had them install "Slime" (a kind of sealant that goes into the tube), which further prevents flats into our front wheel and trailer wheel. This all brightened up our otherwise dreary day.
After checking in at the Holiday Inn and swimming in their indoor/outdoor (Will's favorite kind!) pool, we took a bus down to International Plaza and walked across the bridge to Mexico. We wandered around Juarez for a little bit and enjoyed a good dinner. Will enjoyed our attempt at shopping as the merchants competed for our attention; we briefly considered a longhorn steer skull (complete with horns, US$13) and a fake Rolex (US$25) before leaving emptyhanded. We donated our remaining 100 pesos to a poor woman as we departed. It was very clear that she needed it, and she was truly grateful.
En el español
 El viernes empezó mal. Era 5oC cuándo nosotros partimos en un 30 viento contrario de nudo. Paramos a reparar una planicie acerca de tres kilómetros en nuestro viaje, y pensó verdaderamente acerca de deslizar a favor del viento espalda a nuestro hotel. Reunimos Don Baumgardt, que publica Los Visitantes Oficiales Indican al Paso de El, Que recomendó Gato Loco Cyclery como un lugar para nosotros a acciones arriba en suministros antes nosotros detenemos en el desierto de Tejas. ¡Cuándo nosotros llegamos en Gato Loco Cyclery, ellos nos esperaban y nos trató como celebridades! Don nos había dejado un certificado por una noche libre en una Posada local de la Vacación, y los tipos en la tienda de la bicicleta dieron nosotros libertamos botellas de camisetas y agua. Compramos "resistente de espina" tubos, y los tuvo instalan "Limo" (una clase de sellador que entra el tubo), que previene además las planicies en nuestra rueda anterior de la rueda y el remolque. Esto todo aclaró arriba nuestro día de otro modo triste. Después que verificar en en la Posada de la Vacación y la natación en su interior/al aire libre (la clase favorita de la Guillermo!) la piscina, nosotros tomamos un autobús hacia abajo a la Plaza Internacional y caminamos a través del puente a México. Vagamos alrededor de Juarez para un pedacito pequeño y gozamos una cena buena. Haga gozó nuestra tentativa en las compras como los mercaderes competidos para nuestra atención; consideramos brevemente un cráneo de novillo de longhorn (completa con cuernos, US$13) y una falsificación Rolex (US$25) antes de salir emptyhanded. Donamos nuestro es restantes 100 pesos a una mujer pobre como nosotros partimos. Era muy claro que ella lo necesitó, y ella estaba sinceramente agradecida.
Thursday, March 27, 2003
Another state behind us
 California
Arizona
New Mexico
 Lynn and David left our hotel in Las Cruces at 4 am to catch their 6 am ELP-DFW-ORD flight. Will and I headed out around 9 am, our latest departure yet. We passed through the trendy La Mesilla area and rode through mile after mile of perfectly spaced pecan trees. We had a headwind that picked up substantially around 11; when we turned directly into it (about 25% of our day) we were slowed to a crawl. At one point, we were in our lowest gear going down a slight incline at about 4 mph. We actually had to walk a stretch downhill. We stopped for lunch at an authentic western saloon and Will was treated by several ladies as a celebrity. We fixed a flat tire on the trailer once again; the stock tire just doesn't compare favorably to the Conti Top Touring that we use on the bike (Continental doesn't make the size we need). As we approached El Paso, the wind turned to a crosswind and we found ourselves in constant sandstorms. The sand felt like a million pins sticking in to our arms and legs. At times visibility was reduced to about a mile by the sand and we saw tumbleweeds the size of Volkswagens cross the road ahead of us. Fortunately, we found a hotel immediately after crossing the NM/TX border and we hustled right in.
Our route through Texas is about 900 miles; we'll be Texans for about 19 days.
The Fox News in the Morning interview didn't work out; maybe we'll stop in San Antonio in a couple weeks.
Palindrome of the day: Are we not drawn onward, we few, drawn onward to new era?
Wednesday, March 26, 2003
Down the Rio Grande to Las Cruces
 We departed our cabin in Caballo about 7 am and headed south along the river. We crossed the Rio several times and it was not always Grande, resembling just a healthy creek at times.
We visited Hatch, NM, the chile pepper capital of the world. In a restaurant, all diners are asked, “do you want red or green with that?”. We had omelets for breakfast with green.
We saw our first roadrunner (beep! beep!) hustling across the road ahead of us, and were chased by about 6 dogs. The Halt! pepper spray does a nice job against the attacking dogs. So far, every dog has immediately turned back. We need to buy another can for Texas. We also came upon a dead longhorn bull in a dry riverbed.
Fox 32 in Chicago is attempting to coordinate a remote interview for Fox News in the Morning while we're in El Paso. If it works out, look for the interview on Friday morning on the local Fox station in Chicago between 7 and 9 am.
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
We reach the Rio Grande
 Have I mentioned that we are tired of climbing mountains? Well, we have finally put the biggest peaks behind us. Today we made it to Caballo, NM, where we are staying in a rustic cabin. The descent from 8,228’ to 4,500’ was just what the doctor ordered. We have some hills in western Texas (referred to locally as the “Texas Alps”) to deal with, but nothing anywhere close to what we’ve been through the past three weeks. Today’s descent wasn’t very fast as we were making sharp turns all the way down and the sightlines were very poor. As it turned out, we were glad we hadn’t disposed of our brakes. The edges of the road were mere inches from disaster; in some areas if we stopped on the white stripe we would have to dismount on the left side of the bike due to the closeness of the cliff edge.
Caballo is on the Rio Grande, just a few miles south of Truth or Consequences (or “T or C”, as we insiders call it), where we had dinner.
Will found a sun-bleached coyote or wolf skull, a possession that he cherishes.
Monday, March 24, 2003
Rest day 2 in Silver City, NM
 Today we visited the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, which is about 50 miles north of Silver City at the end of the curviest, hilliest road I’ve ever been on. The 100 mile round trip took about 4 hours. The park offers a glimpse of the homes and lives of Indians who lived here seven centuries ago. The homes were made several hundred feet up on the side of a rock face and were often several rooms deep, connected by ladders and small doorways.
We later visited the Gila Hot Springs where David and Will soaked for awhile in natural 104F waters alongside the Gila River. The water at the source was much too hot to touch, but there were several pools that were progressively cooler.
Plan: Tuesday we’ll ride to Hillsboro, Wednesday to Las Cruces; Lynn and David leave us early Thursday to catch their flight out of El Paso.
Sunday, March 23, 2003
Rest day in Silver City, NM
 Lynn, David, Will and I hung around the Silver City area today as Will and I enjoyed a day of recovery. Silver City was created in 1870 as a result of a silver boom and grew from a single cabin to over eighty buildings in ten months. We took a drive into the mountains to see the magnificent vistas, but the highlight of the day was our visit to the City of Rocks. Theory is that these rock formations were thrown thousands of years ago 180 miles from a volcano near Albuquerque; we all enjoyed climbing high on the vertical faces of the rocks that seemed to be balanced on end.
Saturday, March 22, 2003
We cross the Continental Divide
 We awoke to low 20oF temps. We were both a little cold overnight, but it wasn’t too bad. Both of our bags are rated to 20oF, and we were dressed with long-sleeved wool shirts. We both stayed in our bags all night, but a little back-to-back contact provided some extra warmth. When I unzipped the outer tent fly, snow flew into the tent and we both felt like zipping back into our bags for a few hours. We had a goal of Silver City, and with another drastic climb toward the end, we knew that we’d have to get underway. Our Gatorade on the bike was frozen (note to shoppers: Safeway is currently selling 32 oz Gatorade for $0.75).
We are sincerely tired of climbing every day; our load is just too big. My quadriceps muscles are finally starting to burn around mid-day on. When we left the West Coast, Will would ask that I apply our drum brake whenever we exceeded about 25 mph. (The drum brake is a drag brake that can be set for long fast descents on a heavily laden tandem to prevent excessive speed buildup. A normal rim brake will overheat the rim in many situations and cause a tire to blow.) Anyway, I guess our priorities have changed. Will specifically asks that I not set the drum brake because he doesn’t want to waste any energy for the next climb. Personally, I think we should remove ALL of our brakes to save the weight!
We arrived at the Silver City Comfort Inn around 3, and were able to sweet-talk the desk clerk into a suite. Lynn and David arrived around 4, and we had a great reunion. Lynn and Will headed out for dinner while David and I discussed baseball in the room.
Friday, March 21, 2003
More of the same
 We departed Safford at 6:30 am. We immediately re-entered the remote wilderness and started a long, slow uphill climb. With mountains on all sides, it is tough to find a horizon with which to judge slope. It was depressing as it appeared to both of us that we were headed downhill, but couldn’t get above 8 mph. A look back a little later showed that we had accomplished a substantial climb. The remoteness of this area can be illustrated by a billboard advertising a McDonald’s 100 miles away!
We saw our first jackrabbit this morning. It was probably 3 times as tall as the standard Illinois rabbit, and hopped away like a kangaroo. A retired Forest Service worker told us that there are mountain lions, antelopes, bears and whitetail deer in this area.
At times we can see in all directions at least a hundred miles. We can see what appear to be snow showers, thunderstorms and fog and watch each move across the sky. We were hit by a very strong thunderstorm at one point and hid for 20 minutes beneath an over-the-road type trailer that was parked by the side of the highway (without its tractor). Another rainstorm was headed for us in the afternoon, but we sped up and watched it pass behind us.
We later did some climbing on switchbacks up to 6,295’ msl; these switchbacks were so tight at one point that one could probably spit on the road below. The road distance was substantially longer than what the crow flies. Our GPS said that the Arizona/New Mexico state line was 14 miles ahead; when asked to calculate driving distance, the result was 26 miles.
We encountered a herd of about 10 antelopes in late afternoon as we entered New Mexico, and finally set up camp near Buckhorn. We will be asleep by 8 pm.
Thursday, March 20, 2003
Another beautiful day
 We left Globe around 6:15 today in temps around 30F. We thought we were well dressed when we left but had to stop twice to add more layers. We had a nice, relatively flat ride through Peridot, Bylas, Geronimo and Fort Thomas, all very small towns that are part of the San Carlos Apache Reservation. These towns all seemed to be low-income, and some of the huts were barely habitable. Again there were great numbers of roadside memorials, perhaps one every two or three miles. There was also a very high volume of trash alongside the road including many beer bottles, despite most of the highway “adopted” by various groups. 
We later cruised through Pima and Thatcher on our way into Safford, which is bigger than almost all towns we’ve seen this trip (2 supermarkets!).
We found ourselves beneath a pair of F-16 fighter jets maneuvering at high altitude for most of the day as we wondered what was going on in the Iraq conflict. Perhaps they were defending the Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant, the nation’s largest nuclear plant, which we passed late last week just west of Phoenix.
All day long we were able to view the upcoming snow-capped Rocky Mountains, and they were very impressive. We look forward to seeing these up close, but fear the day we must climb over them! Tandems are notoriously poor climbing machines, and with our large load our speed drops to about 4 mph.
Friday’s goal: cross Big Lue Mountain (6,295’ msl and 54 miles from Safford) and see how far we can get after that. We’ll be camping for sure, so we can ride ‘til we drop.
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
Goofing off in Globe
 Will felt ill on Wednesday morning, and since we had such a tough day on Tuesday we decided to spend the day in Globe and enjoy the sights. Globe is the home of perhaps the most significant archeological find in the southwest, the ruins of the Besh-Ba-Gowah pueblo. People inhabited this area around 1100 A.D.; the multi-level stone construction resembled jail cells.
We spent the rest of the day catching up on e-mail, wandering around Globe on foot, and figuring out how we can get to Silver City by Saturday afternoon to meet family. Initial plan: 78 miles Thursday to Safford, 54 miles and a climb to 6,295’ on Friday, and 62 miles on Saturday.
Tuesday, March 18, 2003
Climbing into Globe
Will's audio message
 We spent Monday with Barb and Denny as we waited out a rainstorm. Will had a great time playing with their dogs, and it looked like the feeling was mutual. We got a message from Kerry Marshall (a cross-country cyclist ahead of us) that he was wet and cold heading to Globe on Monday; we don't mind wet or cold, but we try to avoid both at once. We were pleased that we made the right decision staying put.
We departed Apache Junction around 6:30 am today and rode almost non-stop to Globe, arriving about 4:30 pm. It was very cold crossing through a mountain pass at 4,600' and we briefly saw hail. Our day didn't seem overly dangerous, but between Florence Junction and Superior we probably saw roadside memorials to about 20 accident victims. Some seemed to be whole families from toddlers to grandparents. We wondered about the circumstances surrounding the accidents.
We continue to get people who can't believe that we've come from LA, and we get alot of "no way!" remarks when we relate our destination. It's fun watching the reactions of people.
We saw many impressive cactus plants today. Some looked to be over 20' tall, with 6 or more arms. We stopped at an arboretum to look at many different varieties of cactus, and Will and I decided to "raise" some at home when this is over. They don't seem to require much attention.
After "blowing off" Monday, we have to hustle into Silver City, NM, to meet wife/mom Lynn and son/bro David on Saturday. We must do about 60 miles per day, which is a long day in this type of terrain. We don't expect to have cell service or internet connections until this weekend. Wednesday's goal: Safford, AZ.
Monday, March 17, 2003
Miscellaneous thoughts
Most popular comment: "your son will surely remember this the rest of his life!"
Most popular questions: "what made you decide to do this?"; "where is your support vehicle?"; "do you have a gun?"
Flat tires: 5, all in one day (4 on trailer tire, 1 on front tire; Will is now fully certified in tube patching)
We are over 500 total miles now; although we are still tweaking our load (more things to be sent home with Lynn next week), we are starting to find our groove. Packing and unpacking is going more smoothly every day.
Will is happier than I've ever seen him; he is constantly singing, joking and playing. He volunteers his favorite "stories of the road" to interested adults. He personally gets (and returns) between 10 and 15 e-mails per day. He gets e-mail from kids around the world, often with a list a questions to be answered.
We have carried the right amount of water, but should've carried more food. We expected to see more restaurants. We've gone whole days without seeing a restaurant!
We sent back our baseball gloves, our kite, our sandals and more stuff. We just don't have as much time to play as we thought. The days are too short, and the oversize load was slowing us down, making it worse.
Will is forbidden from collecting rocks, even those that are "very valuable".
There is very limited opportunity to go fishing in the desert!
We are not seeing the wildlife we expected yet. We have seen some cool birds and some cool roadkill, however.
We are getting several hundred "hits" per day on our web site! We would like to see a few more donations to our charities, however. We are not going to push hard for these, but maybe some of our faithful readers can toss a buck or two toward either one of our charities. PayPal offers a free $5 for anyone signing up for a free account; why not sign up and donate the $5? Then you'll be ready to pay for that next eBay purchase with the touch of a button. Look for links on the left side of the page. Thanks.
Sunday, March 16, 2003
Rain all day
 We went to church with the Kanitsch's and Sandy served up another wonderful breakfast.  Brian and daughter Sarah then mounted their Santana tandem and led us down the river trail to get us started on our departure toward Mesa. We greatly enjoyed our time with the Kanitsch's and the rest day helped rejuvenate some of the sorer parts of our bodies.
Sunday's rain was heavy at times, and we stopped to seek shelter twice as cells passed by. We finally reached the Cubs' spring training site a couple hours after the game had been cancelled, and found about 40 fans waiting for home run king Sammy Sosa to emerge from the clubhouse. We waited for about 30 minutes as Will got autographs on his baseball cap from skipper Dusty Baker, Hall of Famer Billy Williams, and finally Sammy. We are spending tonight with former co-worker Denny Cunningham and his wife Barb. It is great to see them again.
Monday: wait out the early morning rain, then try to climb into Claypool, AZ, through some long, dark, uphill tunnels.
Looking back on this day post-journey: Will was sad to say good-bye to Sarah. We "lucked out" with the Cubs, since were would've been late anyway due to the heavy rain. Most of the fans were long gone when we arrived, allowing Will easy access to autographs.
Saturday, March 15, 2003
A day at the airshow
We had a  great day resting in Phoenix. We stopped at a great bike shop for some new cycling gloves, some flat repair kits (Will repaired 4 flats on Friday, after we picked up some radial-tire wire in our trailer tire), and some miscellaneous items. We then spent the rest of the day at the Luke AFB airshow, featuring the USAF Thunderbirds. The show was great and there were many static displays, including a C-5.
Sunday's plan: Mass @ 8 am, ride to Mesa, watch the Cubs host the Colorado Rockies, then ride to Apache Junction to spend the evening with retired ORD controller Denny Cunningham and wife Barb.
Looking back on this day post-journey: Will grew quite fond of Sarah and enjoyed playing with other kids for a change. We drove over to the AFB together and we were able to park very close to the action due to Brian's recent Air National Guard activation. Less well-connected air show fans were parking miles away! Due to the mid-east conflict, there were many armed guards patrolling everywhere on the base.
Friday, March 14, 2003
We've earned another rest in Phoenix
We glided into the Phoenix area in the early afternoon, and stopped in Peoria to catch a couple innings of the Padres vs. the Royals. We are staying with Brian and Sandy Kanitsch and their family. Will is enjoying the visit as there are several children here with which to play. Brian was just activated by his Arizona National Guard unit and Sandy is a labor & delivery nurse at a local hospital. They are wonderful hosts.
Over our 60-mile ride today, we saw six dead coyotes along the side of the road (Will is convinced, however, that one was a monkey).
Phoenix drivers seem to be a bit more aggressive than we’ve encountered this trip, tossing some “brush back” pitches every so often.
Looking back on this day post-journey: We dealt with more traffic today than any day in the past, as might be expected. We passed by the Padres spring training game about the 8th inning, and parked alongside the fence and went in for a little bit. Will enjoyed the up-close look at the Royals bullpen. We made it to Kanitsch's using turn-by-turn directions provided by Brian.
Thursday, March 13, 2003
Quartzsite to Tonopah
Thursday was less fun than most days. Although we are trying hard not to rush, we worked a little harder today so that we could try to get into Phoenix for an airshow on Saturday. We pulled into Tonopah as it started to get dark and, after 76 tough miles, were delighted to find a sub-standard hotel at an inflated price. We were prepared to camp “in the wild” if necessary, despite signs that warned of rattlesnakes and scorpions.
Looking back on this day post-journey: Our hotel room was so small that we had to climb over a bed to get to the bathroom. We walked in the dark to a restaurant a few blocks away for dinner. We were the only patrons that were not smoking; there was not a "no smoking" area at all.
Wednesday, March 12, 2003
California - been there, done that
Will's audio message
We broke camp in Palo Verde around 7 am to clear skies again. Our morning was uneventful, except for the vicious dog attack. There was an 8 foot concrete irrigation ditch separating the road from these dogs’ house, effectively forming a “moat” in my eyes. These three dogs accelerated to full speed in mere seconds and leapt across the canal to come after us. We had several choices: stop and fight them, spray water and doggy pepper spray at them, or try to get out of there. We chose to get out of there, with the meanest dog easily catching us and locking his massive jaws around a bag on our trailer. He later came up to try for some well-exercised calf muscle, but I was able to land a glancing blow off his snout with my foot. They all decided to turn back. Whew! Max heart rate achieved once again.
We finally crossed the river into Arizona at mid-day. Very hot afternoon again (90F), and it seems that every afternoon we climb, sweat, wipe our brows, drink and look for shade constantly. Will even takes a break from singing and swinging his arms around like a conductor. We finished off the day with a five mile descent into Quartzsite, a city that is home to thousands of motor homes during the winter. People are currently leaving and the city is at about half capacity. Quartzsite appears to be nothing but flea markets and RV parking lots.
Looking back on this day post-journey: We camped in a gravel RV park in Quartzsite and met fellow touring cyclists Paula and Rhea. They are in their fifties and taking a slightly slower pace than we are. We continued to correspond with Paula via e-mail until she arrived in Austin, her finishing point.
Tuesday, March 11, 2003
United we sand!
As I write this journal, we are getting ready to nod off in our tent about 10 feet from the western bank of the Colorado River. Will attempted to catch dinner tonight, but was unsuccessful (you shoulda seen the one that got away!). We went into our emergency stash of canned “white chunk chicken” for dinner.
We started off the day by checking out of the Brawley Inn around 6 am. We immediately broke the rear chain, and that repair took about half an hour. Already we were falling behind our planned goal of Blythe, 87 miles away. A main difference in winter bicycle touring is the shortness of the day. Around 6 pm, it is simply too dark to ride safely, and the winter darkness falls quickly, without much warning. Palo Verde was a mere 67 miles away across a brutal stretch of desert; still reachable if we limited our rest stops.
 We passed through flat areas filled with beef cattle; somewhat flat areas with alfalfa and other short, green crops heavily irrigated by canals; mountainous areas on both sides with rocky desert sand between; and dunes of white powdery sand. We climbed steadily but the hills were not steep. We climbed up a very steep driveway to a scenic overlook. The overlook was very scenic, helped by the filming of a Coors Light commercial in which 6 string bikini-clad women danced around in a beach scene with cameras overhead on tall cranes. The product was a special case that the beer comes in that will accept ice cubes to keep the beer cool. Look for the commercial this summer.
This spot on the Colorado River is just beautiful. The moon was directly overhead as we retired, casting just enough light into our tent to play checkers by. By 3 am, the moon had disappeared and stars were visible all the way down to the horizon. Will slept through a terrific sunrise coming over the mountains on the other side of the river.
Looking back on this day post-journey: Many people asked us if we usually camped "by the side of the road". We never had to do that, but on this day we travelled off-road a few hundred yards and camped alongside the river in a beautiful area. We heard coyotes howling all night; our food bag was hung from a tree to keep away from the raccoons.
Monday, March 10, 2003
Will is fine; let the games continue!
 We went to our appointment with Dr. Gamboa this afternoon, and he proclaimed Will ready to continue our adventure. In hindsight, we probably could've left yesterday, but between here and tomorrow's goal, our bicycling map says: "SERVICES ARE EXTREMELY LIMITED BETWEEN BRAWLEY AND PALO VERDE. PLAN ACCORDINGLY AND CARRY AT LEAST TWO DAYS' WORTH OF FOOD AND WATER. BE PREPARED TO CAMP BY THE ROAD IF NECESSARY." There are snow plows that patrol our route to keep the road clear of blowing sand.
This area is somewhat unusual. The hospital emergency room is kept extremely busy by the "crazies" (a nurse's term, not ours), who ride the 4-wheelers through the desert and then flip them or crash them into each other at high speed. Since hydration is important in the desert, these guys are typically well-hydrated ;-) . We got to the ER about 2 hours before the helicopters started to arrive (1 pm) with the victims from as far as 100 miles away. The copters continued to arrive sporadically until about 2 am. We were given a private room just adjacent to the pediatrics ward since I was staying with Will; otherwise I would've requested a heliport-side room and a headset to talk them in!
Back on the highway, many of them pull special RV-type trailers that are normal RVs up front, with garage-like space in the rear filled with ATVs and dune buggies.
One of our nurses said that starting in May, the temperature regularly exceeds 110 degrees. As you might guess, this area is most popular in winter. There seem to be many "full-time" RVers that will leave shortly for more temperate climes, as will we.
Movie quote of the day: "So I jump ship in Hong Kong and make my way over to Tibet, and I get on as a looper at a course over in the Himalayas.  A looper, you know, a caddy, a looper, a jock. So, I tell them I'm a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama, himself. Twelfth son of the Lama. The flowing robes, the grace, bald... striking. So, I'm on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one -- big hitter, the Lama -- long, into a ten-thousand foot crevice, right at the base of this glacier. And do you know what the Lama says? Gunga galunga...gunga -- gunga galunga. So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consiousness." So I got that goin' for me, which is nice." - Carl Spackler, Caddyshack
Sunday, March 09, 2003
No surgery for Will!
 Dr. Gamboa was able to rule out appendicitis, and he discharged Will from the hospital. We are going to stay in town another day for a Monday appointment with the good doc.  We want to be sure that everything's OK before heading back into the desert. The medical staff at Pioneers Memorial treated us very well; nevertheless, Will was anxious to leave. We plan to take it easy for a day or two, then head east. We met Kerry Marshall, a cross-country cyclist that we've been corresponding with, as well as a bunch of riders from WomanTours, who are staying at our hotel. They all seemed to be amazed at the size of our load, but then again, they have support vehicles that carry their stuff.
Will and I are going out for a fine dinner tonight since Will's been limited to an intravenous glucose solution for the last day and a half.
Quote of the day: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain (1835 - 1910) Humorist and writer
Looking back on this day post-journey: The timing of Will's illness was good; the desert that lay ahead turned out to be quite desolate. If he had needed attention between Brawley and Blythe, we would've had to use a helicopter to get to a hospital.
Saturday, March 08, 2003
Appendicitis!?!
 Will felt ill on Friday evening on our approach to Brawley, then exhibited some symptoms of appendicitis again Saturday morn. A quick cab ride to the Pioneers Memorial Hospital (Brawley, CA) led to a slow afternoon of blood and urine testing, and a CT scan of his mid-section. Apparently his appendix is indeed inflamed, and Will was admitted for observation. We will spend Saturday night/Sunday morning in the hospital for sure. That's all we have to report for now; check back here for updates.
Special thanks to all who have sent us e-mail and comments. Due to the increased logistical workload, our responses may be later than planned.
By the way, we got matching haircuts today (Will's idea!), and these are going to last for a while. Many people in Brawley speak Spanish only; we went into several stores that had no one that spoke English. We had to use sign language to communicate with the barbers.
Looking back on this day post-journey: Some people assumed that surgery would have caused a trip cancellation. Our friend Lois was prepared to make the drive out here from San Juan Capistrano to pick us up. We would've stowed our gear in Brawley and returned to SJC for Will's post-surgery recovery. I was expecting to continue our trip about a week later. I've always preached that we must be ready to adapt at all times, and this would have been just another obstacle to overcome.
Friday, March 07, 2003
A beautiful day, a great ride
Will's audio message
Julian is an historic, western town. We had a nice lazy breakfast in an outdoor cafe and departed around 9:30 am. We had an exhilarating descent from 4,500' to about 2,000' and enjoyed the beautiful scenery from the sides of the cliffs (one wrong move = 1,000' drop!),  as we followed the switchbacks down the mountain. We stopped in Ocotillo Wells for lunch at My Desert Rose, and there were 5 or 6 firefighters there who took a great interest in our ride, and the fire chief showed up later with a t-shirt for Will as Will became an honorary member of the Ocotillo Wells Fire Department. This area is popular with "all terrain vehicles"; 9 out of 10 vehicles that pass us are pickups with 2 or more ATVs onboard. We finished up in Brawley, 73 miles from Julian; it felt great getting back on schedule. Our hotel in Brawley is not great, and our "local" internet access numbers are not local enough for our hotel phone, so we are filing these last few entries from the Brawley Public Library. Interesting note: we were kicked off the internet after 30 minutes despite no one else in the library! "Huh?" "Our limit is a half-hour, sir". We will update many of the past journal entries with images as our connection situation improves, although that may not be for a while. We feel lucky to find a 1950's vintage pay phone on some of these days!
Today's palindrome: "A man, a plan, a cat, a ham, a yak, a yam, a hat, a canal--Panama!"
Looking back on this day post-journey: As we were eating breakfast we watched a worker change the price of gas at the filling station next door on their old roadside sign. Regular gas rose from $2.14 to $2.44 as the prospects of war in the Middle East heated up.
Thursday, March 06, 2003
Yesterday was a "piece of cake" compared to today!
It took us about 5 hours this morning to cover about 15 miles.  The climb was so steep that there were frequent "turn-outs" for slow moving trucks on the way up to allow faster cars go by, and a few "runaway truck lanes" for vehicles on the way down with brake failure to pull off and slow down. Our speed was about 4 mph, and we had to stop to rest every half mile or so. We picked up the pace after a nice brunch at the Lake Henshaw Restaurant. We climbed about 3,000' this morning, descended about 1,000' early this afternoon, and then climbed to 4,500' into Julian, where we found a nice "bed & breakfast" type inn just at dusk. Again, no phone, but they did have TV (12 cable channels!). We didn't really set a budget for this trip, but we're spending way more than we thought we would. Every room has been about $50, and it usually costs us about $10 to get out of each mini-mart with drinks and snacks.
We traveled through Indian reservations with very small casinos, more orange groves, many plant nurseries, and finally some cattle ranches. Will is having a great time, and provides words of encouragement to me when needed.
Experienced cycle tourists know never to believe a local for distance estimates or terrain descriptions. Today we talked to 3 nice Indians in the La Jolla Reservation who told us that it was "all downhill" to Julian. A better description might have been "all uphill"!
Looking back on this day post-journey: Our hotel in Julian was tucked into the side of a mountain. The stairs started right next to the road and were steep and winding. It was difficult to carry our bike and gear up, and impossible to get our bike around the corners and into our room. We locked our bike to the wooden walkway just outside of our room.
Wednesday, March 05, 2003
Another really tough day of climbing
Everywhere we looked, there would be a mountain. And seldom did our road travel around a mountain. The only up side was that we got plenty of beautiful views as we crested the peaks. Our 150 lb bike/gear combo doesn't seem to want to climb like Lance Armstrong's 15 lb bike. Never mind that our rider weight is 300 lbs, and Lance is 145. And to think I used to complain about carrying a 50 lb block of salt down the stairs.
This really is a pretty area, though. There is very rugged terrain, with huge rocks everywhere along the sides of the mountains, followed by mile after mile of orange groves.
Looking back on this day post-journey: We stayed in a 5-room hotel in a resort that looked like it might have been popular 20 or 30 years ago. Our first night in an over-priced room with no phone or TV. We played a little baseball in the field behind our room.
Tuesday, March 04, 2003
Sunny California?
Will's audio message
 We got a late start on Tuesday after drying out from the overnight rain. The preferred bicycle route to the south goes right through Camp Pendleton, a United States Marine Corps base right on the ocean. The base has been closed to visitors since 9/11, and the only other route is on Interstate 5 ("the five"), the major road between Los Angeles and San Diego. Because of the circumstances, bicycles are permitted on the interstate to get around Camp Pendleton. We entered I-5 a little farther north than permitted, and were stopped by the California Highway Patrol after a high-speed (albeit short) chase in the weigh station. Two patrolmen and a sarge decided to help us get through the fence, down a steep hill, across the tracks used by Amtrak, down another steep hill to a state park road to use for about 5 miles until we got closer to the Marine base. It rained off and on all day as we climbed many short, but very steep, hills.
Insignificant stat of the day: 24 total "slug bugs" - Will 14 - Dave 10 - Will leads the series, 1 day to none.
Looking back on this day post-journey: We expected to be leaving our "comfort zone" as we embarked on this trip; that didn't happen. We were grinning ear-to-ear almost all day. We departed our planned route by about 6 miles to find a motel, the only time on the whole trip that we did that.
Monday, March 03, 2003
It's official!
 Will's audio message
We had a nice day today setting up the bike and visiting with our good friends, Lois and Ken Kertz. Lois worked as a nurse with Lynn at Bryn Mawr (Pa.) Hospital Emergency Room in the early '80s. Tomorrow's cities: San Clemente, Oceanside, San Luis Rey, Pala. Lots of steep hills are expected between Oceanside and Pala; wish us luck!
Sunday, March 02, 2003
We are off!
Well, we are underway! We are at FL350 in an A320 crossing Nebraska. Actually, according to our Garmin GPS V, we are at 34,511 feet above sea level doing 451 knots (or 519 mph; ask Will for an explanation of converting knots to miles per hour). My colleagues at the tracon asked the flight crew to take good care of us and Captain Shawn Murray sent a nice card back to us. We gave the flight attendant one of our cards to deliver to the cockpit. Several travelers heard the air traffic exchange on United's channel 9 and stopped by our seats to visit with us.
We discovered that we forgot Will's "headgear" from his orthodontist that he wears overnight. Lynn will mail it a few days ahead of us. We still have to figure if she'll mail it "general delivery" or maybe she'll coordinate something with a bike shop to hold the package for us.
It is really exciting for us to have started. We started planning for this trip 19 months ago; today seemed like it would never come.
Anticipation of new things everyday is a great feeling for us. Although we have done extensive planning and research, we will be on unfamiliar roads every day, riding through unfamiliar states. We will daily come across local customs that are new to us; we will be surprised at how some of these people live, just as they might be shocked at what we're doing. We expect to experience all kinds of weather; hot, dry deserts below sea level followed by the snow-capped peaks of the Rockies; the rainfall of a Louisiana spring followed by the heat of the Sunshine State.
Much of the excitement is in the uncertainty ahead. Where will we sleep each night? It could range anywhere from a tent behind home plate on a little league diamond to a poolside room at a Holidome. Will we have enough food and water onboard? For a two day stretch in eastern Arizona, we will need to carry two days' worth. We've joked about seeing old bikes along the side of the road with cyclists' skeletons draped over them, as vultures circle overhead.
Quote of the day: "I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain." - Red, The Shawshank Redemption
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