February 11th Sunday 1 week in

We expected the wilderness area to be bleak and forboding.  Here is the way it went:

We ran into a sheep farm, not the first and not the last of whch they are scattered here and there.

Here is what the water does for the arid land; it becomes a blooming garden.

Then there are the feed lots where cattle are beefed up for market. The sound of thousands of birds could be heard as they nest nearby devouring the abundance of birdfood. The grain comes out of the silos and is funneled directly to the troughs. 

Here is the sign for one of the breeders.

Here is a small canal through which the water fows into the fields.

Here's where the water comes from.

This  is Jeanne following me in one of our "other" rigs.  Ha. Ha.

Then there is a kind of the Sahara that we ran into a little later near Glamis.  It reminds me of the movie "Dunes". 

Surprise, surprise - we ran into some dunebuggies. 

Here's the central point for where the races begin, kind of like a regatta in an ocean of sand.  The area I estimate at about 20 square miles of blowing sand.

The next shot I couldn't resist. It remined me of the first few scenes in Star Wars I, where Luke meets Hans Solo.

Here's a shot of the kind of  high end "buggies" that the weekenders from San Diego with the big bucks use to impress the crowd.    I thought it looked like a space ship. 

So today, being Sunday, we went to a Spanish Mass with Mexican Americans, and there were 3 Baptisms, with flamingo music and the name of the church is St. Joan of Arc, Blythe, CA. How American can you get? 

Activity up to February 10th

The last entry showed the beginning of the ride at Coronado Beach. Well, although it was a little late in the afternoon and the superbowl was beginning, but we decided to start our trek on such a beautiful day. It was after 3:00 PM when I headed out through San Diego, which is a very bicycle friendly place. They have bike lanes on many roads and highways, even when the speed limit is 50 mph. As I weaved my way through the streets, I realized how fast the sun was setting. Jeanne and I had a pre-planned pickup point but it just got dark so fast I had to call her to find me in the dark and pick me up. Jeanne is very patient with me. Then we went back to the RV Park and took it easy.

Monday, I thought I lost my wallet. We spent the morning looking for it but couldn't find it. So we decided to report it missing and cancel all the credit cards. As we were doing that, the credit card companies noticed no new purchases, so we looked around some more. At about 1:00 P.M. I was walking around the camper and there between the propane tanks  was my wallet. What a sigh of relief. We then re-instated the credit cards, told the PD and the sheriff we found it and again went out to get some biking in. By mid afternoon I made it to Lakeside, CA but I  had made a wrong turn and was pondering what road to take when Jeanne came by and helped me find my way out of the jam. Whew! Some kind of woman.

What I noticed about the bike lanes, is that kids on skate boards use them just as bikers do. While I was waiting at a red light a skate boarder went by right though the intersection bent over with his arms behind him getting as much speed as he could. Another thing I discovered was the large street sweepers make it a point to sweep the bike lanes so  there is no debris on the raod surface.

Tuesday, we went from Lakeside to Alpine, with some climbing.

Here's what the roads look like:

Here's Jeanne in the truck  coming round the bend on the last leg of the segment. 

For a treat that night, we went to the Indian casino at Viejas where the buffet featured Alaska King Crab legs. The RV Park gave us $5.00 chits so the $9.95 meal was half price. What a deal! Here is the sign outside of the casino.

 Wednesday we got some good roadwork in and make it through Pine Valley and over to La Posta. I came across a ranch and a cute little animal in the corral.

I am sure it is only coincidence that Jeanne took this picture the following day:

I was just pumping up my tires before the ride. Then, off I go.

We then went to Jacumba, whei is as close as I wanted to get to Mexico. There is a fence there that runs across the border at this point. At the end of this ride, we were at the edge of leaving the mountain area of Southern CA, but we had one last 3,000 ft. descent into the Imperial Valley.

Then we got to the desert, which when irrigated produces a multitude of crops.

The difficulty with the roads in the valley, is they are farm roads which in time tend to scarab and leave the bicyclist with sore buns and the bike shattered from the vibrations. You actually need to slow down not to get shaken to pieces. This is not something one would need to practice or try to get used to but the roads can be rugged. We made it to Brawley after spending the night at El Centro. Tomorrow we go out for a few days into the North Algodones Dunes Wilderness Area along the Palo Verde Montains. We are not sure of our internet status but we will update as soon as we can.   



Activity Through Wednesday February 8th

After a long drive from Picacho, AZ we arrived at Alpine, CA about 2:00 P.M. Sunday. We got the camper set up in a cow pasture and took a ride to San Diego, 55 miles West.

We decided to take the ride to see how things looked.  When we got to Coronado Beach, we noticed a wealth of summertime activity: surfing, skateboarding, bicycling, swimming - in the wintertime.  I proceeded to dip the tires ever so gently into the Pacific Ocean.

We have much more to load in but our computer connection in Live Oak Springs is weak. We will try again later.  

Recent Activity to February 3rd

We got packed, took a few pictures and set off for Maryland.

Here's me with Christian.

Went to play with Jeanne's and Granpa Ray's grandkids.

Jeanne wasn't feeling too good so I did the March for Life in Washington, DC with friends from Barrington in January.

Headed for Knoxville, TN and then to Jonesboro, AR.  Visited cousin - Sr. Mary Beth Hackley and met the the wonderful nuns there.

 



Headed for Plano, TX where we spent the night with cousins Judy and John D'Aniello.



Headed to San Antonio, TX where we joined Jeanne's sister Karen Belline to celebrate her 70th birthday party.





We had to recalibrate our brakes and it turns out our camper tires were shot. So we pulled in and had them done.

We then headed across West Texas and stopped to see the caverns at Sonora, TX.

There were some animals on the grounds as well.

We then went to Van Horn, TX and then thhrough New Mexico to a place in AZ called Picacho

Peak RV Resort in AZ.  That's where we are right now. As you probably saw from the picture of us in the Sonora Caverns, Jeanne got sweated up. By the time we got here, she was feeling bad enough that we went to urgent care. She was diagnosed with broncitis.  They prescribed given plenty of medication. So, we here we are camped out midway between Tucson and Phoenix AZ for a few days for Jeanne to recover.  It is a setback, but the weather is nice and there are some very friendly people in this neck of the woods (I should say prairie). We will keep you posted.  Thanks.











Packing For the Trip

Hi.

In packing for the trip mywife Jeanne and I have included everyghting but the kitchen sink (well maybe it's in there somewhere). Seriously, thinking of the stuff we will need and the various lists, and the checking and re-shecking, it's no wonder they used to have the ad about "We forgot the baby!" We have many plastic containers full of food, pots and pans, exercise equipment (to keep in shape on our drive out to San Diego) and biking stuff. After checking our lists twice, and twice again, we think we now "got what it takes!"-at least for traveling. We are going to make a few stops to see friends and relatives: Jonesboro, AR; Plano, TX, and San Antonio, TX. My siblings had a little party for us Sunday to make sure we got enough good food before we left. We feel like we'll be gone for months, but of course we will. Anyway, the enthusiam and the jitters hit simutaneouly but our confidence is also building. I did some spin classes when it got cold this week working pretty hard. I also got some new bike gloves to protect the spots on my hands where pressure builds up. We are leaving tomorrow morning, bon voyage!

January Training in RI's great winter riding weather

Hi Folks,

Saturday, Jan. 7, I did 45 miles on one of the nicest days of the year (pun intended). It got up to 60+ degrees. After I did my usual 30 or so miles, I decided to keep on going. So I went from E. Prov. to Bristol, along the East Bay Bike Path, back to Barrington to Seekonk, Rehoboth then back to the Bike Path in Barrington and home to E. Prov. I was pushing it at 3 1/2 hours but it showed me that my envisioned pace of 50 miles per day is  pretty reasonable.

Sunday, Jan. 8, took a 5 mile walk with my wife Jeanne. I discovered new muscles for walking vs. riding but it was so nice to have someone to talk to while doing some moderate exercise.

Monday, Jan. 9, I did a 44 mile ride through Seekonk, Swansea, Rehoboth and into Dighton in 3 1/2 hours. I think that 40 degrees is about as low a temperature in which as I would like to ride. I also noticed that at about 30-35 miles I could use a break to help me resusitate my energy. I have been eating fruit and candy bars along with drinking fruit juice. It seems to work pretty well.  Biking is great fun especially when I get any kind of down slope. Zoom, zoom, zoom. Clearly the mountains of the Southwest are going to be much more of a challenge. Life is great. Praise the Lord!

Last ride of 2011

After getting newly fitted and my bike tuned up, couldn't wait to get out and test the road. The weather was comfortable in RI so I took the East Bay Bike Path to Bristol's Colt Park. The bike fit made a big difference in the feel and comfort of the ride. There was a slight headwind going out but I managed about 14 mph and did about 35 miles in 2 hrs, 15 minutes. I felt really good about spending the hundred dollars for the bike fit. I would recommend it to serious riders if you can find it discounted since it can cost up to$250 in some places.