mileage is scarce, but not for long

We managed to crank out a 50 miler on Sunday, and getting longer rides in is challenging when you have to work for a living. It felt good to be dry and warm on the bike, if not hot. California and Arizona experienced unseasonably hot weather last week, mid to upper 90's. It has since cooled off, and we are watching it to see where it heads in the next 3 weeks or so. Acclimating will prove interesting, since we live in such damp and cool spring weather. The central valley of California is capable of producing serious temps.

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map link - look up and to the right

My sister Roxane and her husband Jubal provided the GPS phone that will track our whereabouts and slow but steady progress. More importantly, Jubal is lending the expertise in getting the whole kit up and running. All we have to do is turn on the phone, not lose it and continue making eastward progress. Sounds easy enough.

Thank you Roxane and Jubal, this was a fantastic addition to our ride, and we hope it provides some interest.

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2 degrees of separation

While chatting with my dentist today, I told him about the ride and our goals. I have to first say, my dentist is good at what he does. Sure, he finds cavities, battles gum disease and whitens teeth, but he does one other thing very well. He listens. He takes the time to ask how you are, what you are up to and then he lets you chat. He asks great questions proving without any doubt he heard what you just said. The 2 to 5 minute exchange following his tour of my mouth always makes me feel great. This sounds basic, but when you pay attention, you suddenly realize sometimes people aren't.

While explaining the ride, and our desire to raise money for pancreatic cancer research, he tells me of two patients affected by pancreatic cancer. One had a close family member who passed away from it. The other survived for two years before passing. The point is, this happens all the time. We tell someone about the ride and invariably we hear they know of a person who has a relative or friend who is or is not still here. We talk about the ride, but what we really do is talk about our moms. We hear others, and hopefully give them a chance to talk about someone they've known and loved. It provides a chance to think back on someone at an unexpected instant. Those moments are the best.

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Donations

Salomon USA (formerly Salomon North America) made a significant donation to our fundraising efforts. Meaningful on so many levels, this will push us well over 50% of our total goal of $12,000, and it demonstrates that people and organizations care. Thanks to Tom Berry, John Danielson and Kate Lee.

Several fellow employees also donated vacation time to our effort, eliminating the financial pressure of taking six weeks away from work. Without this worry, the daily task of completing the miles will be that much easier. The hardest part is asking, while others easily give of themselves.

Thank you:

Jevon Crafts , Carmel Clark, Addy Sage, Tom Trissel, Brad Potts, John Mears, Terra Stephens, Megan Hutchinson, Wendy Meyer, Eric Miesch, Bo Johnson, Kristie Merx, Kate Lee, Marsha Ware, Tracy Gillespie, Yiorgos Makris, Paul Guimond, Debbie Ashley, Keith Johnson, Shani Womack, Patrick Carland, Mary Hardaker, Nicole Ricci, Tiffany Munk, David Munk.

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Hammer food

We just received a fantastic shipment of Hammer Nutrition products. As noted below, this stuff really works, and their product line makes infinite sense. Hammer also threw in some great gel bottles, powder mixing bottle, t-shirts, stickers (we love stickers, forever and ever) and a few other items. We'll be sending the boxes of gels and powder to Dad and Phyllis in Mesquite, Nevada, where they'll be in a few weeks.

Thank you Hammer for your great products!

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displaced energy

I don't like feeling helpless, unable to change the outcome of a situation, no matter what. Imagine your team is down by one run in the 9th inning as you beam every bit of energy you have straight to the eyes, reflexes and bat of your team's last hitter standing ready at the plate. All you want from the universe is that one blooper base hit with a runner at third. You don't need the homerun, you just need a vibration of hope.

It was like this with my mother passing away. We watched and hoped for something, unable to do anything except look at the surgeon for another chance for her under the knife. This lasted six months.

There are a few ways of processing this feeling of ineffectiveness:

• Give in to it and recognize universal energy and its flow. Passive by definition, this approach makes sense. We might call it coping by disconnection. I routinely use this method for life events that require an explanation that is not forthcoming. An example might be not getting a position you've interviewed for. Elements of the hiring process are beyond your control, and the list of events conspiring against you will not be sent to you in the mail. The energy flow did not conduct in such a way that got you hired. Or, the energy flow acted just as it should have, thereby keeping you available for something else. A friend of ours calls this approach the F.I.D.O principle; F it and drive on.

• The other approach I call the principle of displaced energy. Once we got over the shock of the 17 months that separated our mother's deaths and all that went with these events, we looked at each other and agreed we had to do something. Doing something is almost always better than doing nothing. In our case, the energy unleashed by sadness funneled into planning and goal setting. This ride is helping us not only process and move on, but it will also clear our heads a bit to make room so we can remember.

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ride itinerary

Here is our full itinerary. Although we'd like more time to meander and see more country, we've set a schedule designed to put away the miles in descent chunks, enabling us to finish the ride in the time we've reserved for it. We'll maintain the schedule in the absence of any physical or mechanical event that could delay us. You can't plan for the unplanned event, so we're focusing our energy toward positive daily outcomes.

The other aspect of our approach is that we'll treat each day like a work day. Our single task for each riding day is to simply complete the mileage, clean up, eat, stretch and recover for the next day. With no other distractions draining energy needed for cranking on the pedals, each day offers another great bike ride. What else could we ask for? We both realize how fortunate we are to have this opportunity to raise money for a great cause, experience the United States from a bike, and most importantly, remember Nina and Phylis.

DAY ONE - SAT, April 14th
San Diego, CA
Lodging: F&P Movable Motorcoach Motel



DAY TWO - SUN, April 15th
depart from Spanish Landing Park
ride to El Centro, CA
136 miles
lodging: brunners motel
215 north imperial ave.
760.352.6431



DAY THREE - MON, April 16th
ride to Ehrenberg, AZ
110 miles
Lodging: Best Western Flying J motel
928.923.1111/800.292.9711



DAY FOUR - TUES, April 17th
ride to Wickenburg, AZ
113 miles
Lodging: Westerner motel 680 W. wickenberg wy
928.684.2493



DAY FIVE - WED, April 18th
ride to Mesa, AZ
69 miles
lodging: days inn 1221 E. Apache Blvd.
480.968.7793/800.329.7466



DAY SIX - THURS, April 19th
ride to Globe, AZ
77 miles
lodging: days inn 630 East Ash St.
480.425.5500



DAY SEVEN - FRI, April 20th
ride to Safford, AZ
79 miles
lodging: comfort inn, 1578 w. thatcher blvd
928.428.5851



DAY EIGHT - SAT, April 21st
ride to Silver City, NM
117 miles hilly as hell
lodging: super 8, US 180
505.388.1983/800.800.8000



DAY NINE - SUN, April 22nd
Silver City, NM
ZERO miles - REST



DAY TEN - MON, April 23rd
ride to Las Cruces, NM
115 miles
lodging: best western,
505.524.8603



DAY 11 - TUES, April 24th
ride to El Paso, TX
83.5 miles
lodging: super lodge 9487 Dyer St.
915.751.1201



DAY 12 - WED, April 25th
ride to Van horn, TX
127.5 miles
lodging: motel 6
432.283.2992/800.466.8356



DAY 13 - THURS, April 26th
ride to Marfa, TX
82 miles
lodging: thunderbird 600 west san antonio
877.729.1984



DAY 14 - FRI, April 27th
Marfa, TX
ZERO miles - REST



DAY 15 - SAT, April 28th
ride to Sanderson, TX
112 miles
lodging: desert air motel US 90 West
432.345.2572




DAY 16 - SUN, April 29th
ride to Del Rio, TX
122 miles
lodging: Residency Inn 3811 Hywy 90 West
830.775.7414



DAY 17 - MON, April 30th
ride to Camp Wood, TX
79 miles
lodging: woodbine SR # 55
830.597.2310



DAY 18 - TUES, May 1st
ride to Kerrville, TX
87 miles
lodging: Motel 6 1810 Sidney Baker St.
830.257.1500


DAY 19 - WED, May 2nd
ride to Wimberley, TX
87 miles
lodging: wimberley inn 3237 ranch rd.
512.847.3750



DAY 20 - THURS, May 3rd
ride to Austin, TX
48.5 miles
lodging: ACE motel 2627 Manor
512.476.9033



DAY 21 - FRI, May 4th
Austin, TX
ZERO miles - REST



DAY 22 - SAT, May 5th
ride to Brenham, TX (take 290 brenham)
107 miles
lodging: america's best value inn 201 hywy 290
979.830.1110



DAY 23 - SUN, May 6th
ride to Coldspring, TX
108 miles
lodging: san jacinto inn SR # 150
936.653.3008



DAY 24 - MON, May 7th
ride to Kirbyville, TX
104 miles
lodging: gateway inn 3125 margaret ave
409.423.4611



DAY 25 - TUES, May 8th
ride to Oberlin, LA
80 miles
lodging: oberlin inn corner of SR 26 & US 165
877.443.6355



DAY 26 - WED, May 9th
ride to Simmersport, LA
110 miles
lodging: sportsman's motel SR # 1
318.941.2222



DAY 27 - THURS, May 10th
ride to St. Francisville, LA
48 miles
lodging: St Francisville hotel on the lake hywy 61
225.635.3821



DAY 28 - FRI, May 11th
St. Francisville, LA
ZERO miles - REST



DAY 29 - SAT, May 12th
ride to Franklinton, LA
96 miles
lodging: best southern motel 21150 hywy 16
985.839.9875




DAY 30 - SUN, May 13th
ride to Wiggins, MS
51 miles
lodging: southern inn 404 frontage drive
601.928.5422



DAY 31 - MON, May 14th
ride to Bayou La-Batre, AL
126 miles
lodging: guest house inn and suite 13155 n wintzell
251.824.2020



DAY 32 - TUES, May 15th
ride to Pensacola, FL
88 miles
lodging: Seville Inn 223 east garden street
850.433.8331



DAY 33 - WED, May 16th
ride to De Funiak Springs, FL
80 miles
lodging: rodeway inn mosseyhead 326 grn acres dr
800.671.9207



DAY 34 - THURS, May 17th
ride to Quincy, FL
103 miles
lodging: holiday inn express
800.875.2500



DAY 35 - FRI, May 18th
Quincy, FL
ZERO miles - REST



DAY 36 - SAT, May 19th
Madison, FL
99 miles
lodging: super 8 - 6160 state rd 53 south
850.973.6267



DAY 37 - SUN, May 20th
ride to High Springs, FL
90 miles
lodging: cadillac hotel 405 nw santa fe blvd
386.454.1701



Day 38- MON, May 21st
ride to East Palatka, FL
87 miles
lodging: best western 119 hywy 17 south
386.325.7800



Day 39 - TUES, May 22nd
ride to St. Augustine FL
41 miles
lodging: scottish inn 110 san marco ave
904.824.2871

We are done!~

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