Vehicle Vexations!

                                                        

Why not play this tune while you read tonight's 

blog to get you in the mood for our Texas journey!?!

Best word to describe today!

The clouds this morning should have been a warning to us that 

the day might bring some obstacles!  We are fine but our vehicles 

were major problems for us today!

We departed Las Cruces at about 8:30 AM heading to

a location east of El Paso so that Glenn could get some 

of tomorrow's 126 mile route completed today.

Bidding a fond farewell to New Mexico and 

entering Texas for the LONG journey in this state.

I dropped Glenn off in Fabens, TX at 10:15. The only

interesting fact that I could find about this town is that

famed jockey Bill Shoemaker was born here!

Glenn decided to head east from here before 

returning to El Paso for the night.

We are so  fortunate to have family friends who

live here and offered their home to us despite

the fact that they are out of town for the weekend.

Thanks to Jill's high school friend, Jody Feinberg and

her husband, Asher, for their hospitality and support!

A pecan tree up close on Glenn's ride!

A Glimpse from Glenn

Having made it to the environs of El Paso yesterday, I was hoping to get a head start on the miles tomorrow. Trying to take advantage of the wind also meant that I had to ask my most valued support person to drive me east of the city and then I planned to pedal back. With Lynn having made arrangements to have the car looked at earlier and with a bit of traffic on I 10 due to a couple of fender benders, she dropped me off at a point earlier than I had planned, Fabens, TX. When I got on the designated route I decided to do some miles into the wind and in so doing I knocked off about 25 miles for tomorrow. I was able to make pretty good progress even if it was a head wind.   When I turned around to head back to El Paso, it was nice to have silence as that means the wind was behind me.  It was easy to do 22 miles an hour and I thought I should make it to the Feinberg's home, our stop for the day, relatively quickly.  Then I could tell my rear tire had gone flat.  I had no problem changing the tire but I found that the small pump that I keep on the bike was not doing a good job of inflating the tube. I rode more slowly but it leaked and I had to call for the SAG wagon.

We have know since last Saturday that there is some kind of an electrical problem with some of the lights in our new SAG vehicle.  El Paso was the only place since Phoenix with a Buick dealership.  So we had an appointment for Lynn to handle that service today.  Unfortunately, after having the car spend the day at the dealer, Lynn learned that the problem would not be able to be fixed today.  Fortunately, they gave Lynn a loaner so that she could rescue me.  I asked if she could stop at a bike shop before coming out to meet me to get some new equipment to be able to change flats should I suffer any more.   So another day that did not go as I had hoped.  I trust that I can have a few good days in a row beginning tomorrow. 

Glenn sends thanks to Jim Beaty for the

new tires he just put on his bike!

He's hoping that this changes his luck!

Alex at Crazy Cat Cyclery helped Lynn pick the 

correct equipment and even gave her step by

step instructions to pass on to Glenn!

Thanks,Alex!

Still cloudy when I took this at 2:30 this afternoon but

there was no rain while Glenn was on the road!

I think that would have been just too much for

either of us to handle today!

Despite these annoyances today, we always have to

keep in mind our reason for doing this bike ride.

We do it to raise funds and awareness so that

children with cancer are assured more humane and 

less toxic treatments.  This thought helps to keep 

our silly stuff in perspective!!!

Mandala Sunrise

We fell in love with this sculpture on the UT at El Paso Campus

near Jody and Asher's home.  I just had to do a little research about it!

Click here to see more photos of this amazing sculpture!

Click here to see an article about Madala Sunrise!

We enjoyed dinner at a place recommended by Jody!

While at dinner, these alerts happened!

Luckily, they were east of us but my phone was

kept very busy with these alerts all through

dinner.  Who knew I had a siren sound set

for tornado alerts!?!

Today's Stats

Sam, the mph reflects the time that Glenn was in the 

car with me after the flat tire fiasco, hence, the 19.8 mph :)

The speed limit on Rte. 10 is 75 in most places so that helped!

Sam is a fellow biker who picks up on these cycling subtleties.   

I'm ready for some fun! Let's have a trivia question!

What famous golfer began his career as a golf club

 professional in El Paso before qualifying for the PGA

and has a road name for him here?

First one to answer gets a tee shirt, next four get decals!

Keep those emails and comments coming.  It is wonderful to

hear from you while we are on the road!

Click here if you are vexed by kids suffering with cancer. Want to help?