$9280.77 is the total raised so far for the American Cancer Society, simply amazing! I am still accepting donations and will foreword them to the ACS if there's someone who has not made a donation and still wishes too. $10,000 sounds like a sweet number to me.
Alright, time for True Confessions. My second day on the ride was to the small town of Jacumba, Ca. As I came into town on a downhill run from a tiring ride, I met up again with Tim and Faye from Kansas at a small convenience store. They told me they had made arrangements to sleep in the Methodist Church in their sleeping bags. An interesting older local man advised them it would be safer than the old park where they had planned to camp, since it was so close to the Mexican border. When I asked the old man about the only motel in town, he told me that it was closed for an extended remodeling.
Now what? I got out my Iphone and found out that there was a resort a couple of miles out of town on a dirt road. It sounded pretty good and reasonably priced when I called, except for one thing. The receptionist answered the phone as "DeAnza Springs Resort and Nudist Camp". She assured me that clothing was optional. Since I'm Lutheran, did not have a sleeping bag, and this was the only place in town, I made a reservation. I did not put it in my blog at the time, better to explain to Kay in person first, she will understand? My stay was uneventful. DeAnza was pretty deserted, but gets busy in the winter when its not so hot.
The other thing I did not mention in my blog, I thought my ride was over in Deming, Nm. I did say that I had a sore calf muscle, but I thought it could be a blood clot and so did the doctor I saw at the hospital. I rode about 30 miles into Deming, basically one leg and went straight to the hospital. The pain was not in the whole calf muscle but seemed to be localized. After a sonagram and other tests the doctor said I may have a small tear or at least a bad strain. If it was a tear the ride was over. He advised 4-5 days of rest for a strain. I told Kay on the phone that I was at a restaurant so she would not worry.
That night I talked to my son, Blake. He had the same symptons himself before and a doctor told him to take more salt, after all it was hot and this is a dry climate with lots of sweating. I had so much salt that night that my face and hands were swollen the next morning. I also ate a couple of bananas, since I had not had one for two days, not all small towns out there sell them. I took an unplanned day off the next day. Tim and Faye caught up to me that night and we planned on biking together the following day if I was able. My problem must have been a severe cramp, I was still sore but much improved two days later, and I made sure to get more salt and I would buy two bananas at a time after that so I would have one as a spare. We biked together for half a day until our routes diverged, they went south to El Paso and I went north to Alamogordo. Tim and Faye have since finished their cross country and are now at home in Pratt, Ks.
A few words about my bike, I rode a Trek 7.6 FX, what a great machine. I've had no mechanical problems since I bought it, it's light (when not loaded down with baggage) and a joy to ride. I also cannot say enough about the Bontrager Hardcase tires. They are Kevlar (bullet proof) lined and held up to some pretty nasty road debris. The flats I did have were caused by the tiny steel belted wires from tire pieces that seemed to work there way through the Kevlar fibers, but the tires held up against glass, screws, and other sharp objects that I ran over. I may do one more blog on Dec. 31, to give an update on donations received.
The whole experience of riding across this great country has been a truly unique experience for me and cannot be summed up in one word, but I will try. AWESOME! Like I said in the letter that I sent out to many people before the ride, it inspires the imagination, and it has mine.
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