Tour Day 105 Save the Worst For Last Oct 8 2010

Last night was amazing. After I finished my blog I went outside to meet the other bike tourists. When I came out I saw a recumbent, and a couple guys sitting in lawn chairs one of which was holding a beer. Right away I knew these people were going to be my type.

Before I am going to go any further I am going to get upset. I wrote down there names on a piece of paper because I knew I was going to forget. Also on this piece of paper was a poem I wrote in a semi daze after waking up in the middle of the night. But the way my day is going of course it is missing. If you want to check them out go to transam2010.blogspot.com

We talked and talked; it was mainly me doing the talking because I have had so much time to myself. I was just happy to have someone around with open ears. It also helped that we were in the bar for most of the time and they had a few margaritas.

I went to sleep happier then I had been in a long time. These guys were super nice, and took care of me for my final push by giving me a pair of gloves and a do rag (because they were concerned with the sun burn on my head and the huge calluses on my palms). In the back of my mind I was thinking of a better way I could say goodbye because just saying, “see yea” has been bugging me. This time I wrote a nice note that I posted on the window of their support van with a toonie. This toonie had been with me since day one and has seen a lot road. It meant a lot to me so I hope that meaning was transferred properly in a note.

As for today it was easily the worst day of the tour. It all started nice with a steady downhill passing through a few small towns. Then I had a nice easy ride into a town called Parker. Things were going smooth so I decided to stop for a snack. During my snack break I purchased a map. This map was the biggest hunk of garbage ever. I opened it and all it showed me were the interstates and had no markers of county line, side roads, or homestead watering holes. I went to return it and explained that it was a hunk of junk but they would not return it.

Because this upset me I threw it out in the garbage right in front of them and I was back off on the road. This is when I hit the real desert. Hot, dry, dusty, and rough roads. I am not sure if it was something I ate or if it was the heat but I started to throw up. I could not keep anything down. Because I knew I was loosing a lot of water in my system I stopped at this one gas station 10 miles before my lunch stop in Rice. Here I met a group of very nice women that were curious about the trip. I did not have many answers for them though because I was toasted.

After getting some water, Gatorade, and some food in my body I thought I could get riding again. Nope here comes the diarrhoea. This gas station was strange because they charged you to use the washroom but I was in no mood to poo my chamois so I forked over the whopping $1.

I was back on the road and my mind started to wonder. I could not focus on anything because it just made me angry. I thought about wind only to have it come in my face. I thought about speed only to encounter a false flat. I thought about lunch in Rice and found an abandoned town that had a demolished gas station, and a 150metre fence lined with old shoes.

Now 1/3rd into this 109-mile gap (after riding 70km to get into the gap) I am on the verge of screaming. The only thing holding me back was the fact that no one would hear me. The only option was to keep riding. It was slow going so I went to put my bike in the middle chain ring to grind out some kilometres when my front derailleur cable snapped off inside the shifter. I rode a little while thinking I could finish the 60miles in my small chain ring but I quickly realized I was done for the day.

Stranded in the desert on a side road perfect. After trying to get help for 15 minutes I was ready to give up. Luckily Garry Wilson pulled up and said that he would help me out. Everything seemed normal because Garry drove a beat up pickup truck, with a woman in the passenger seat, and the traditional 60-year-old man gut. Even better no guns to move. What was not normal was Garry himself. This quiet 60-year-old man played major league baseball for the whitesox and bluejays, and owns a top fuel drag racing team. My mind was racing because I did not know which one I had more questions about.

The miles ticked by and Garry says to me “29 palms to L.A. is going to be a crappy ride because the only decent way is by interstate.” I say to him “I am going to Orange County eventually so what would be the best way”. Garry says, “I am going to Orange County what a ride”.

At this point I am cooked so I agreed. I really was not taking in much of the scenery because I had a pounding headache and was trying not to crap my pants. So when the motel came I was excited.

Now in L.A. I was hoping for a storybook ending that never happened. Did I meet 16000km. Nope. Did I meet my 150km per day goal. Nope. Am I upset and letting it show in my blog. Yeap.

One of my friends Corey asked me why I was not going up the west coast back to Vancouver and I gave him a long cliché answer. The truth is the reason I am ending the trip here is because when I dreamed up this trip in grade 10 I originally only wanted to hit st.johns and New Orleans. The rest was simply filler. When I stopped in with Tami in Connecticut I told one of here family members I was thinking of ending in New Orleans or Austin and he said, “sometimes the filler is the most fun”. Well the filler is not fun anymore and I think that hitting rain, super short days, and possible ice may just push me over the edge and create one murdered bike. The real question I have to answer is will I be disappointed in coming home? I do not have the answer to that one yet but I think after spending some time with family for the next few days I will have an answer.

Anyways I am off to go sit on the porcelain goddess for the rest of my night. Remember if life is worth living its worth recording.
Trip Distance: 144km
Ride Time: 6:14hr
Avg. Speed: 23.07km/h
Total Distance: 15711km
Total Ride Time: 728hr
Destination: Anaheim, California