Wow – what a kick off, and it’s HOT out there

Saturday, June 4, 2011 – Boerne, TX

Wow!  What a send off!!  I left Gulf Coast Kids House in Pensacola yesterday mid-morning; Bill Eddins, State Attorney, David Morgan, Escambia County Sheriff, representatives of Gulf Coast Kids House, the Hadji Shriners, Ronald McDonald House, and Habitat for Humanity joined some of my old friends and many new ones.  Sue Straughn with WEAR TV3 was there, as well as several other news groups.

I got there early, and before the crowd gathered I was talking in the hall with Stacey Kostevicki, the Executive Director of GCKH.  She looked over my shoulder and motioned me to step into her office; an adult walked by with a young girl whose whole being reflected a fear and pain that I’ve seen on other young faces.  With her head low, as though she might then be able to disappear, that young woman reminded me of one of the reasons I’m making this 4 corner run – to support Child Advocacy Centers where it’s safe and OK to tell.

Out in the parking lot after a few comments, lots of picture-taking, well-wishing, and laughing, I rode off, feeling a bit like a mother duck with a string of about 10 motorcycles behind (bikers have big hearts – especially when it comes to kids – they love a parade and any excuse will justify a ride. So a few of my friends from the Sand Dollar Motorcycle Club and several bikers from the Pensacola branch of the Christian Motorcyclist Club were happily in tow) Everybody was clapping and laughing as we pulled out of the parking lot. I looked up at the TV camera and all I could think was “Man, this would NOT be a good time to drop my bike.”

And so I led the “parade” west on Interstate 10, and we all stopped in Alabama at the last exit before Mobile Bay.  More kidding, typical biker talk like, “We followed you to be sure you didn’t turn around and go back.”  Good company, good fun.  And too soon, they headed east and I turned west.

I knew it would be hot, but frankly I was surprised at how HARD hot can be.  It was in the high 90’s all day.  I stopped every 100 miles to fill me up with Gatorade, but as the day ground on, sometimes I could only make 80 miles.  After a little over 400 miles, I stopped to visit dear friends in Thibodaux, La.  OK, I know Thibodaux is SW of New Orleans and NOT on the way to California.  My bike doesn’t know how to go in a straight line, so they’ll be lots of jogs and bends in the road.

It was good to get off The Slab (aka, the Interstate).  Louisiana is beautiful in its own unique way — lots of water in various forms – rivers, marshes, swamps, bayous, and bays… I saw miles of sugar cane, of course; it’s only waist high so I guess it’s still early in their season.  I passed one sugar cane field that had recently been plowed under; it had a unique sweet/sour smell.  Many of the cypress and oak trees are huge and are often draped in Spanish moss.  They commercially farm crayfish in flooded fields; the crayfish pots look something like biggie-sized funnels with an orange lid sticking a couple of inches above water.  Crayfish connoisseurs can tell you whether a crayfish came from a farm or a swamp; I can’t.

After a wonderful visit that included great time with a soon-to-be-one year old, I left Thibodaux this AM, enjoyed the too-short ride up to I-10 and headed west.  The weather was just as hot up on I-20, and I really don’t like going through Dallas/Ft. Worth, so I decided to just “do it” and cross Texas on I-10.  There’s 880 miles of I-10, running east/west through Texas!!  Though the Interstate is in good repair, it is also flat and boring.  Again, I was surprised how much it took out of me to ride in the heat.

Eastern Texas looks much like Louisiana – they even farm crayfish.  But before long, the trees were not as stout, then some of the riverbeds didn’t have rivers in them, and the trees were less plentiful. I stopped for the night west of San Antonio, at the edge of the “Hill Country,” and the ground has begun to swell up slightly.  Tomorrow, the geography will change dramatically.

Using logic that defies reason, I decided two days of Very hot riding across Texas was better than three days of the same.  So now I sit in Boerne, TX – west of San Antonio – and 928 miles from Pensacola.  The high-pitched sound you hear in the background is me, whining about the hot ride on an Interstate.

I haven’t downloaded pictures yet – hopefully tomorrow I’ll get some posted.  Hopefully tomorrow won’t be as hot.

Thank you for your support – the Comments you’ve posted have echoed in my head, reminding me to “be safe”.