We're really doing it!
Yesterday morning, January 10th, we embarked on our journey from Ocean Beach Park in San Diego, CA (pictured at left). We've been advised to ease into this trip, so for our first day we covered about 35 miles. We camped last night at Lake Jennings which is a great county park in the hills above San Diego. We were awakened by a great sunrise which Kevin snapped a picture of (below).Now, we've stopped for a mid day break so that we can get some groceries and update the blog. Already we have met some amazing people. Yesterday a motorist stopped and talked to us for a while about a girl he recently met who had just finished biking from Miami to San Diego. She had over 120 lbs. of gear and it took her 73 days with a head wind! We also met a lady who was out riding to train for the Ironman. She has competed in several qualifying triathlons, but missed qualifying for Kona by only minutes. She was a babe and we all immediately fell in love. Overall, we couldn't have asked for a better first day. We greatly appreciate all the help and support that we have received. Thank you to all of our sponsors and supporters. As Kalan rides along with Wes, Kevin, and me I know that he appreciates all your help as much as we do in our fight against ALS. We will try to post updates as often as possible and eventually we will have pictures, and maybe even video to share with you all.
Bye for now,
Alex
Bye for now,
Alex
posted by Alex @ 10:48 AM
2 Comments:
Hi guys, this is the bicyclist the motorist in Lakeside told you about. I did the Southern Tier Route (St Augustine > San Diego) from the Adventure Cycling Association, probably the same route you’re doing. I think I’ve got some useful information for you. There is an RV park on Shell Canyon Road where bicyclists can stay for free in the recreation room. There are no beds but there is a kitchen, TV, comfortable chairs and a bathroom (tell Marc I said hi if you see him). In Buckhorn there’s a service centre next to the campground. If the wind is really bad, just ask them if you can seek some shelter inside, they are really nice guys. After El Paso you have to take a back road along the border of Mexico. If I would do the same route again I would stay on I-8 (?) not just because the back road is pretty dangerous, especially at night (a lot of drug trafficking) but also because I got 6 flats on that road (goat heads). In Leakey, TX, there’s an old gas station on a corner on your left they turned into a barbeque place. It’s called the Hog Pen. You can get something to eat over there (I’d recommend the potato salad since I’m a vegetarian) and tell them Judith, the Dutch bicyclist said hi (maybe they’ll give you a discount). If you have to go to a bike shop in Austin, go to Austin Bikes (austinbikes.com), they are also very nice guys. In Pumpkin, TX, there is a campground with a hot tub and a recreation room. It only cost me 10 dollars, you can use everything in the recreation room (if it’s very cold outside you are even allowed to sleep inside) and the bathrooms are very clean. In Comstock, TX, there’s a little shop on your left (Willia’s Shop?). Willia would love to listen to your stories. She told me that sometimes bikers spend the night in the garage(?) next to the shop. In DeRidder, Louisiana, there’s a campground called “Pleasant Hill or Tree”. They only charge you 5 dollars and you can use the kitchen, very bicycle friendly. In Black Water River State Park, FL, you may see some alligators. Tell ranger Johnny I said hi. This is all I can up with right now. If you have any questions just ask. 50 days is pretty fast even though you have a tail wind. Don’t forget to look around once in a while and enjoy the moment.
Alex this is your godbrother Alex! Are you guys having fun? Your journy sounds pretty cool. I hope you know that we are all praying for your saftey. Are you guys coming home on a plane? Time for me to go! Talk at you later.
Love,
Alex
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