Desert Skies...

Greetings from Tucson,

We have had quite the couple of days, now that we are back to civilization, we can fill you in... Since Ocotillo, we have been helped out by the Finish Line Pro Bike Shop, stayed the night near El Centro, and made the huge journey across the desert that lies between Brawley and Blythe. While in the desert, we came to the realization that we must be crazy (see picture). All at once, we realized how isolated we are, and how big of a country we are crossing. Almost deliriously, we looked around in wonder and laughed amongst ourselves.

We stayed the night just south of Blythe, and were lucky to find a free campsite. We were awakened by another beautiful sunrise (see picture), and quickly started our most difficult day yet, a day we have referred to as "day struggle 1"... As we left the campsite, we quickly hit a very strong and persistent head wind. 6 Miles into the ride, Wes commented on how the back tire of Alex's bike looked slightly bent, almost immediately the back tire popped. We had lost a spoke, and the rim began to look significantly worse. After reviewing our options, which consisted of riding on and possibly ruining the rim, or hitch hiking in to the next town to try to find a bike shop, we decided to test our thumbs. Within moments, we had our bikes and ourselves in the back of a Department of Homeland Security Border Patrol car (would have a picture, but its against the law). Once in the lovely town of Blythe, CA we realized that there was only one bike shop, and it was closed. Upon further investigation, we found out that they were likely to not even have the part we needed. It looked like the next bike shop was 100 miles down the road, in the growing metropolis of Phoenix, AZ. I personally enjoyed the ride, having sat beside a man out of Southern California who was escaping the California Department of Corrections for the 2nd time, to a small rock house in South Western Texas (a house with no electricity, running water, windows, etc...). This lovely guy, although interesting, had been on parole for over 25 years. Oh the joys of greyhound...

Once in Phoenix, we were fortunate enough to stay with the Alvarez's, who fed us, housed us, and ushered us around town to buy groceries and get our bikes fixed. We decided after the infamous "day struggle 1," after a week of riding, we were due for a day of relaxation. After some great hospitality and food, we started our journey again. As many of you are aware, the weather has been extremely cold throughout the entire southern tier of the United States. Our original route took us through a section of the Rockies in New Mexico that would reach elevations of 8,000 feet. Our new route, needless to say, did not. We woke up at 6:30 mountain time, force fed ourselves some caffeine, and headed off for Tucson. We were unsure if the ride was going to take us 1 or 2 days, consisting of a 100 mile stretch of desert. We made it just outside of the city limits when it got dark, at which time we were escorted downtown by a friend of a friend of Kalan. It was an intense day, but we had made it to the University of Arizona. Once on campus, we walked our bikes to the local SAE chapter, where we were welcomed, fed, and housed. The day has been long, and we will begin all over tomorrow. Within a day or two, we will post again, this time, from New Mexico.

We would like to once again thank all of those who have supported us in this Memorial Bike Ride in honor of Kalan. We will continue riding our bikes, and we hope that we can continue to raise money in an effort to end ALS.

Thanks again,

Kevin