To: "Amanda Bertschi" , "Bill Felkey" , "bill hawkins" , "bob pharher" , "bonnie mccrae" , "Christy Goodwin" , "leigh clark" , "Maggie Chamberlain" , donnelly@auburn.edu, "Eric Hawkins" , ecdonnelly@yahoo.com, Garett.Donnelly@gmail.com, "Martha Henk" , "Mary Hawkins" , "Rick Hulsey" , "kmd60@aol.com" , "Mark Kunkel" , "Mary Ledet" , "Norma McGee" , "Robin Moroski" ... moreI am in Navasota TX for the rest of the day. Pete and I really rode hard and got here in record time. So where were we...????

March 19th. 56.87 miles...we left Oberlin LA on LA 26 it was flat and smooth breakdown lane next to rumble strips. We stopped in Wye for a break. This is Beauregard Parish. I got caught up with all of you in DeRidder library. Pete had 3 flats today. He started the trip with an older tire and it just purely wore out and the threads of the steel were showing through. He is an expert tire changer and biker but in this instance he really messed himself up by not starting with the best and newest equip. I haven't talked much about what I have in the way of "stuff".

I am using my Specialized Mountain bike that I have had for quite a few years. It has been ridden hard on trails and in the last 2 years I have used it almost exclusively on roads . It is safer for me in town to ride a MTB since I never know when I might need to get off the pavement , you know those drivers...anyway I had Golden's Bike Shop get me slick tires from Kenda that are "iron cap" with a good triple ply steel belt. They are heavy but so far are definitely worth it. I found out about them as they are on my trailer that I am pulling. I did a lot of research on equipment before I started this trip and decided to go with these. I also had fenders added. These were not the ones I want and Sunday my front one broke off. I will return them for a refund when I get back...they are the plastic temporary ones and are rated badly but nothing else would fit on my bike with these tires. I have a speed/odometer with bells and whistles and it has stopped working 2x...it is going back too. I had already been using my trailer and it has been worth its weight in gold. Here are the reasons it is better than panniers....1) it is not on the bike weighing the tires down and adding to the problem of flats and frame failure 2) it doesn't catch the wind like the panniers do. 3) I can find everything in seconds as it is all in view 4) it is very easy to pack and unpack 5) I can carry the groceries and beer at the end of the day ...VERY important !

We went to Cecil's for lunch and I had a Special...what a fantastic sandwich with a side of homemade potato chips...they were so yum ! Momma used to talk about a neighbor that made them when she was a girl and she loved them too....what a great afternoon in LA this was. We camped in Merryville LA. This is the sweetest town. We are at the Museum and they are letting us set up our tents on the grounds. They have a really nice bath house with HOT showers. They are hosts to lots of cyclists as they are on the Adventure Cycling maps. Had a fantastic sleep and great shower.

I talked to Robert tonight too. When I complained about the computer not working he said in his usual wonderfully logical fashion ," Don't worry about the computer...your speed is the same". He is right of course. I just let it all go and relax...I get there when I get there. He says that everyone believes I am invincible ! I am not sure about that but I am pretty sure that I am stronger than I think I am as we all are. He then said Hoooooraaahhh....as Collin would say...Semper Fi C. I love you all.

Sat March 20th- 58 miles RAIN....Pete had another flat...he finally changed out the tire and the tube and swapped front to back and hopefully this will fix things. This day was a mistake pretty much from start to finish. Lots of poor judgement. But first breakfast. While Pete changed everything out we fixed oatmeal and I put in the last of my dried fruit mix and added some cinn/sugar and some more of Miss Melody's pecans.

We know it is going to rain but not sure what time and want to get in as many miles as possible. We crossed the Sabine river , thus the Lone Star title...we will be in TX for about 1000 miles/ 21 days...whew that is a LOT of Texas :) It is 8:53 AM and I got great pics of the river. I then saw a creek called Quicksand. It made me laugh. Mark and I did an informal ultra years ago and we ran from South to North Carolina...about 45 miles give or take. This is when Eric Rudoulph was hiding up there in the same area we were running. Anyway we had to carry tablets to purify water as this was a run that was completely self supported and there was no way to get out except to finish ( we later saw Girl Scouts camped by a lake so we know that was not true but it made a good story). Any way as the day went on we needed more water. Mark went down off of the trail to a stream to get water . I threw him the bottles and waited above. He stepped near the water and began to sink. Yep, it was quicksand ...he was getting lower and lower in the muck and getting a trifle worried. I called to him to fill the bottles quickly and throw them to me. He of course was wondering why I was concerned about the water when he was sinking fast. I called to him that I still needed water to drink , even if he was gone...well he is a good sport , don't ya know and managed to lie flat and scoot and get out . He also got the water and we were still friends. What a great story that was and we loved telling it for many years.

So where were we...oh yes, we are in Texas ! We are on TX 190. This is a WIDE breakdown lane but HUGE traffic and the trucks coming toward us push us back and then the ones coming up behind pull us forward. It is truly exhausting. We stopped for coffee in Bon Wier and got on FM 363 . Really smooth and no traffic...we love smoooth and no traffic. A bumpy road can actually cause a 1-2 mph drop in avg speed. Also since I have 4 wheels the drag is greater. I got a great pic of a Mom and Pop store in T...an't remember the name...just a wide spot...they had everything for sale it said on the sign as well as Justice of the Peace...full service indeed.

We rode to Kirbyville. What a town. The people all said you can't stay here as it is so unsafe. They have a really bad drug problem in the town , fol;ks come up from Galveston. They just had a murder here. We talked to a number of citizens and they hate it but they say the police can't do anything so they all live in fear. So the first mistake we made was to eat a large lunch at the Hamburger Diner and try to decide what we

were going to do

brave the motel or go on , with the storm looming.I had a Buds Broiler type cheese and chili hamburger and side salad. It was fantastic. We do cont. to eat a lot :0

We had good weather and wasted an hour eating when we should have been riding. We went on up the road and got 4 miles when it started. We stopped at a church and got into the pavilion they had out front. It was ok but of course no bathroom. The preacher then came out and had us come into the church. We stayed and waited and waited for the rain to pass. Finally at 3:15 PM Gretchen and I left and Pete and Kim stayed...mistake number 2. We rode and rode and it got worse and worse. I was warm and dry from the waist up . Soaked clean through all the way through my shoes though and colder and colder feet and legs. We stopped at a chicken place and the girls gave us a Pepsi. I don't ususally drink it but in an ultra it gets you through the last 6 miles so I figured what the heck...I was not going to get anywhere w/o some sugar and caffein. I left Gretchen as she didn't want to go back out. This is another thing I learned from all the ultras...you don't get the race run w/o running it. So out I went and rode on through the pouring rain.

I will digress here , as I am wont to do , and tell you about church signs. Mark and I used to ride our bikes a lot in the countryside and when we saw a good church sign he would write it down. They used to be really great until 9/11. After that we noticed the change in the style and they weren't nearly as interesting or creative. Anyway he wrote a wonderful tune for his guitar with great lyrics made of these signs...that was a long time ago. I saw a good one today..."look here to find the missing peace"...made me smile as I pedaled through the storm. I did stop and get a beautiful picture at the Nunches River on the way to Silsbee.

Anyway I left Gretchen in Buna and went on to Silsbee to the Motel 96, named after the road we are on. It was a pit and the woman said they had no No Smoking rooms as they were " all broke down". I can believe it. I got directions for the Pinewood Inn and made my way with a lot of trouble . I was so cold and didn't know where the others were. It was a really tough time and I was so glad to get to the PInewood. I got a suite and Pete finally arrived and we shared the room. I was worn out but so glad that I had handled everything so well all the way...good and bad. We cooked dinner in the microwave...2 different Knorr sides..they were SO good...amazing what a lot of worry and work and some trials can do for the appetite...also had a little J.D...and I DONOT want one word of chastisement....

I have to go...the rest of the folks have gotten to town and are at the campground. More later....love you all. c