Blue Boat Home

Finally, a day when I didn't have to push myself... I woke at a leisurely hour and had a long conversation with Leela while packing, then rode at a comfortable pace into Plano and met Sara and her son Jordan for lunch.  Jordan is a few days short of 3 years old, and Sara plans to continue staying home full time.  Her degree is in biochemistry.  Her husband Jerry does classified work for a government contractor.

The plan today seemed simple enough: ride from Texoma to Wiley, set up camp in a park there, and have dinner with Sara (Ballard) Moore and her family.  Two problems: my knees hurt more than ever, and the Texas maps are a smaller scale than I'm used to.  This is not to mention the rain, which was just a bother.

[posted to the Wheeled Migration Yahoo Group on November 14, 2004]

Hi, folks! I made it to Texas! Last time I wrote, I was poised to ride into Oklahoma City from the north.

I started out today very discouraged.  My knees hurt more than ever, and the first few miles getting out of the park were all hills.  I got off and walked, but even walking hurt.  I didn't see how I could make it to Texas -- I'd have to change all my plans, etc. etc.  I thought about calling Mom & Dad, but I decided they had enough to worry about with 'Becca's baby shower, so I put off calling until evening.

Today was supposed to be a short ride, but knee pain necessitated a lot of stops, and the only campground with showers turned out to be a lot farther south than I had anticipated!

In Paoli, I stopped for coffee and wound up talking with the cafe owner about the trail riding (cattle driving) he did in the '70s.  He gave me my coffee for free, but I tipped generously.

I woke in the motel this morning and had trouble getting going, between the wet and cold outside, the horrible stale smoke inside, and a new pain in my left knee.  I put on a new knee bandage I had bought yesterday at the phone nurse's recommendation, but it just bunched up immediately and became more painful than the pain it was supposed to treat!

[sent to the Wheeled Migration Yahoo group on November 9, 2004]

Hi, folks! It's been three months now since I left Minneapolis. My trip is 1/4 over already! But 3/4 of it is still ahead...

It felt good to hit the road again! Mom made a wonderful breakfast of teriyaki fried eggs and fresh-baked breadsticks.

I took Bison Road out of town, which meant Dad and I crossed paths on my way out of town and his way to work. From there I rode on Highway 75 for a few miles and then took "Old 75" all the way into Owasso. Outside Ramona I stopped to stretch my legs and wound up picking up pecans for half an hour!

Here's what I wore on a typical day:

You may be wondering what exactly one might bring on a long-distance, solo bicycle trip. Enough people have expressed interest that I figured I should take some photos of what I'm carrying and describe what goes where and why.