So close...

... Tennessee was great.

My lovely one and I have been looking at the map. We're thinking 24 East to 41. But who knows? Getting into Atlanta looks like it'll be dangerous.

We're so close.

We're so happy for great weather.

We're in Arkansas, But First Some Thoughts About Texas...

We actually left Texas two days ago and headed into the state where former President Bill Clinton was born. In fact, we even passed by his birthplace, Hope. (I kid you not. (Could that have been the miracle we're looking for?))

But first some thoughts about Texas:

1) Gorgeous countryside. An immense greenery. Land further beyond the eye can see.
2) Overwhelming smell of manure, which meant...
3) Lots of cows. Lots and lots of cows.
4) Restaurants (we only went to two, actually), which pretty much only offered beef. Very difficult for a porkatarian.

Brief Breakfast Interviews in Childress, Tex.

I realized at some point in Childress, Tex. that Luna and I had been on the road for 10 days. (We left San Jose, Calif. on Sept. 10.) That put us about halfway through our journey.

I don't think Luna is thinking about the trip in such stark, numerical terms, but I have a lot of time to sit on the shoulder and reflect on such things. As breakfast was being served, I posed the question to Luna about his thoughts on the trip (see video below).



I'm realizing how our experiences are almost necessarily different because his "thoughts" are focused on the moment. He has described to me his field of vision remaining only a few feet ahead of his bicycle, whereas, I have been monitoring the map, correlating it to our destination. How many more miles closer to our destination? What does our time look like? That sort of thing.

Then, as I wait, when the "strategery" portion of our segment is over, I lean back in my car seat and I think about all sorts of things. Big things that don't necessarily have an immediate impact on me or my survival.

In contrast, I realize that Luna's zeroing in on the pavement. I was never aware of how many different types of pavement and paved roads there are out there! Sometimes, he'll flag me down and say, "Didn't you see me waving? I'll break my neck cycling on that shoulder!"

Oops.

Truth is, I hadn't even noticed--not until this trip. Not until he had just told me. But for him, a pebble out of place can be a huge catastrophe. So, for me, looking at these video clips and interviews is actually kind of amusing, because I realize I'm asking him lofty questions, like: "Have your thoughts changed since we left San Jose?" and his response is more like, "There's a little rain today... I keep my eye on the pavement..."



What was I thinking? That he'd find God? (More on that later... I had the hardest time tuning into NPR on our route through Texas (I caught only 5 mins of it). My guess is that the equator of the bible belt is actually Rt. 82---but more on that on another blog.) But I digress....

Everything's a little bigger...

The roads are clean.

Tarantula!!? (Still in New Mexico)

Driving on Rt. 66 up ahead of Luna on our way to Amarillo, I come across a lot of things, usually dead skunks and various forms of road kill. This time, I ended up slowing down for one of the creepiest creatures I have ever seen!

I will call it a Tarantula, because (if flattened) it was bigger than a tennis ball and it was... furry! I thought Tarantulas existed only in Brazil, but I could totally be wrong.

Anyway, things like this make cross-country trips exciting. I have been driving through a new place, but in a moment, I was transported in my mind to the Amazon jungles.

Perhaps the Tarantula was an omen for what was to occur only 5 miles later? We were happily chugging along on Rt. 66, when all of a sudden a beautifully paved road turned into a dirt road. Luna hopped into the car with me. We were going to cross the dirt road in the car and drop him off on the other side--the thin wheels on his racing bike can't handle the gravelly conditions). Well, the road just kind of kept going and going and going. After about 5 or 6 miles, we turned the car around and headed back to catch I-40.

That was the last we saw of Rt. 66. It was on our way to Amarillo.

Funny thing: If I had been asked to predict where I would see such a such a large creepy crawly, I probably would have guessed the Mojave desert.

Luna Meet Luna!

Isn't life interesting! On my first day in Flagstaff, I happen to meet the person who prepared my pork ribs: Larry Luna! And what a cook!

Check it out:



Oh, and by the way, in case you didn't know, I'm a vegetarian. A vegetarian who eats pork.



It was really good. But I couldn't finish it all. And I confess: "I'm a pork-atarian"

Day 2 - Daytime Cycling

This is part of our journey on Rte. 65...



Here's the continutation of the video clip:



Witness Luna cycling through San Joaquin Valley on Rte. 65.

Doughnuts & Coffee...

This morning, we went out to pick up some doughnuts before starting the day. I love having a cup of coffee before getting started with my day. Coffee warms my stomach and gently moves me from a sleeping state to a waking state.

Both of us are crazy busy. I have a list of friends I need to contact to tell about this trip. A lot of my peeps still don't know.

Luna has plans to train again today. Yesterday, he spent almost three hours on a stationary bike at the gym. I'm surprised that he did pretty darn well. I mean, he wasn't winded in the least bit. He reminded me afterward that the gym conditions aren't nearly comparable to real-life conditions. Cyclists are either confronted with riding into the wind or with the wind, when they are riding uphill their bike tilts with them and they are carrying their weight while balancing on a two-centimeter wheel--your whole body is involved in the process.

Nevertheless, he seemed to appreciate the workout, getting his calves and thighs used to the motion, so different from walking (my preferred mode of athletic transportation.)

Strangely enough, I'm really nervous and excited for this trip myself. Obviously, being in the car, it's not so much a matter of the physical test, but rather, because I think this will test my mental ... moxie.

I'll have a lot of time to myself on this journey.

A friend asked me, "Are you sure you're doing this for yourself? Are you sure you want to do this?"

And my response was simply, "What else would I do if I didn't?" Isn't life just a succession of events that you either take part in, or you witness? I guess I'm glad to be able to take part in this event in a way that I can take part in it. I really don't think I have the physical wherewithal to endure 2,500 miles of cross-country cycling.

I do have a lot of awareness about the personal challenges that supporting a friend who does have that physical ability will present.

Already I have posed to myself countless questions about what it means to be a woman, what it means for me to be the "passenger" on this trip "driven" by my (male) partner, and I can say that I do experience a little bit of conflict over it--if only because I was brought up on somewhat contradictory values that I have incorporated and embodied.

On the one hand, I feel so great to be useful and important to play this role of support crew to an amazing person who is about to take on an amazing challenge. On the other hand, I am aware that I am (and have been for a while) digressing from the path charted for me. That path was safe and perfect: I'd get married, live in a house with a white picket fence, I'd be raising beautiful children and taking them to soccer practice, while seamlessly advancing in my career. Over the past five years or so, I have gotten divorced, eschewed the white picket fence for less permanent abodes across a 6,000-mile span from Washington D.C. to Maui and back to the mainland, begun a PR business of my own, and put a hold on the child-rearing lifestyle.

Living my life off the itinerary gives my Moon in Virgo a bit of a head-ache. While the travel feeds my soul, I do find comfort in settling too.

Yeah, I'll have a lot of time to think about this stuff when we hit the road. Today, I have letters to write. Phone calls to make. Stuff to pack. But, first, shower!!