SOUTHERN TREK COMING FAST: 5 more weeks

It seems as though my charity cross country trike ride has dominated my life forever. It has been about nine months since I placed the order for my new Terra Trike. I ship my trike in four weeks and five weeks from tomorrow I start pedaling 20 miles across the desert from San Diego and 17 miles up the mountain to Alpine, CA.

Today is a landmark day! I rode my trike for THREE HOURS on the trainer. Three hours! Wow! I have never rode a bike that long before. I rode for an hour and took a bit longer to recover than what I'll do on the trail. I rode, rested for about an hour, did my stretches, took in a bit of energy food and rode for my second, and eventually my third hour.

I had no visible ill effects. I have concern for the left knee that stopped my running at age 72 but so far I'm not having a problem. Thanks to my days as a football down lineman for the Point Pleasant Big Blacks, I have massive legs. When they get in shape I'll be alright. Meanwhile, I'll get a bit tired.

I'll ride at the three hour a day rate for a week and, if all goes well, increase it to four hours. I need to ride four hours, with shorter rest periods, for at least a week before the trip begins.

While I am not riding up hills on the trainer, neither am I coasting down hills. On the trainer it is level and I need to pedal all the time. The gearing will assist on the up hills but the down hills, for the most part, will just be braking to control excessive speed.

Kimberly helped me get a good deal on my one way ticket from Akron-Canton to San Diego. I've been keeping a close watch on airfares. My best total price so far was $168. On Thursday afternoon I got a email with a new bargain price, $99 plus tax and fees.

I figured that this same email was sent to a lot of potentially interested people. I was concerned that if I waited until Julie got home in the evening that the tickets might not be available. I called Kimberly who travels a lot. I had an email confirmation of the ticket in less than ten minutes, if you can believe that! When I read the email I discovered the base price was less that $99, it was only $92. Taxes and fees took it up to $127.19.

Kimberly, seen here sitting on her Daddy's lap, is such a sweetheart! When I took the money to her this evening she didn't want to take it. Said it was her contribution to my trip. I had to explain who was the father and who was the child before she would take the money. Even then she tried to give it back to me as I left.

Adding to the anticipation of the trip, Kimberly has a business trip to Tucson at the same time I will be going through Phoenix. She is taking her family there on vacation at the resort pictured at left for a week before the business meeting starts.

If I can ride from San Diego to Phoenix in nine days she and the family will drive to Phoenix from Tucson and spend an evening with the Wilsons, my friend Juanita and I. What fun!

Samuel Smiles:

"An intense anticipation itself transforms possibility
into reality; Our desires being often but the precursors
of the things which we are capable of performing"

God Bless!