BIKE TOUR

I should write a bit before I fade completely. I haven't done the addition yet, but we did at least 50 miles. I was doing really well. I was just blowing past Jon. Then he realized his recurring flat. Suddenly my success was slightly disproportionate. I should have known better; Jon woke up to a flat rear. he had a flat tire and cat urinated on my text. The piss rinsed right off, but we were delayed about an hour. Jon couldn't find the source of the puncture. Then we rolled down to someone or other's kitchen. I had the breakfast burrito and hashbrowns. Jon ordered a "full stack" of pancakes. He asked me what I normally put on my pancakes as he asked for lemon juice and surgar. It's how they do things in the land down under. Cheers. The plant pictured with the bikes is a Joshua Tree.

As we sit at our superb campside in Aguila, two teenagers frolic about. These cats were even bold enough to enter our tents. This is a pleasent end to a long day. We went 66 miles and gained 1300 ft. The gradient, however, was much easier than the first set of mountains coming out of San Diego. Except for a few moments, it didn't even seem like there was a hill. Tomorrow should be a piece of cake. This is good news to my knees. Fortunately my hands are improving since I adjusted my handle bars. The time change and the long day has thrown us off because we are both still up at 10:40. While John was holding down the fort, I rode into town and gave the Hinkel's a call. We didn't want to surprise the folks in Surprise by getting there a day early. Please excuse the pun. The cafe in Wenden was distinctly in the middle of nowhere. It reminded me of Sitka. The woman working there, who I would venture to guess is the owner, ran from the earthquakes in California to Arizona. Everyon

We stopped early today... mostly at my request and against Jon's advice. But now he agrees that it was a good idea. We lost an hour of time going into Arizona. That makes today a short riding day. Then tomorrow we're looking at Aguila. And actually we're thinking we'll make it to Surprise on Saturday. I'll have to give Myrna and Larry a call tomorrow to keep them up to date. More decent weather, but it's hot. I'm actually missing the rain. It only took a little over a week. You can't have it all. RV's are everywhere. They are on the road. They are in the towns. They are nestled amongst the hills. They are even in the sky. Ok... they weren't in the sky, but a plane dragging a sign advertising RV sales was in the sky. We are staying at an RV park. Camping in Aguila is RV camping. The land is pretty void of vegetation, however we are starting to see the classic cactus... you know the one that looks like a pitch fork. Libraries. I figure that by the

This is where I am currently in the library. I haven't yet composed my thoughts for the day so I'll change this at my next stop. I need to tap out John outside and let him come in. The continuation... Today was relatively uneventful. We descended from the Chocolate Mountains. I took pictures of Palo Verde Peak, agricultural canals, and fields. There was also a phenomenal sunset that was kept away by the fence of the RV park. We had an interesting interaction with a woman on the side of the road 14 miles out of Palo Verde. John's blog of the encounter really does it justice. But in short and until he posts... there was some "business" gone bad with a schizophrenic and a gun. How she is in the desert without water. Here at the RV park on the Colorado River it is noisy, but the water his hot. There's a pool, but it's not worth the trouble. I'm really getting into burritos. I had two yesterday and three today.

I sat looking up at the stars. I thought of Rob. He loves stars. I was with him for three months and I did enjoy him. Relationships are beautiful and complex. John and I seem to be traveling well together... so far. I almost had to bust his ass to campu up here in the Chocolate Mountains(pics to follow). Eventually I just made the decision for myself. But, he decided to follow me off the road. The stars are out in full force with the aircraft bouncing around between them. A helicopter was no more than about 100m above us. No doubt it checked us out. I wouldn't be half surprised if a border patrol truck came rolling up in the middle of the night to check us out. Out heat signatures are all over the place. We went through the sand dunes. On the right were dirt bikes and four wheelers. On the left was vegetation. The difference was quite remarkable and disappointing. The five points on my body that are in contact with the bike hurt. They're still getting broken in.

Today we made it to Brawley and are resting peacefully at the travel something or other lodge. There is a shower and it is warm. I got to chat with a bunch of folks via land line and phone card. All good conversations. They all seem too busy. I feel I am adequately busy. That's nice for a change. John is out on the street trying to get in touch with his girlfriend in Australia. This is the real reason I am awake. Today we had 18 miles of descent from 3000 feet to below sealevel. I liked going more than 4 mph. We stopped at a bike shop in El Centro. One of the workers used to live in Sitka, but he didn't want to talk about it. THey weren't incredibly helpful all around, but John really needed a tube or two. We stopped in Ocotillo and ate tacos and milkshakes. John always gets the malts. Then we rode through Plaster City. I have a picture of a sign I'll post later. All that's there is a drywall factory. When we stopped in El Centro, there was an official Blue Angels c