Update from California!!!

Hello hello!

Sorry I haven't had any words lately. We went through a couple areas of no internet and I took naps a couple times we did have internet :) But no worries, I will bring you back up to date. I am currently in CALIFORNIA with the home stretch in front of me! I can't believe we end Friday, craziness! Tomorrow is suppose to be a tough day, most likely the hardest of the tour, a 4,500 ft climb the last 30 miles of a 70 mile day, one last hurrah of the tour that makes you want to go home to your mommy. But I'm sure I'll talk about that soon, I'll start with where I left off: Fort Hancock, TX and work my way up to today, just as before. I'm sure you're excited.....

Fort Hancock to El Paso, the last day in the Tour de Texas
Fred came out the winner of the TdT, he gets up about 2 hours before we're suppose to and gets a jump start on the day. It was a relatively short day so he beat all the sprinters to El Paso. The desert pups sagged to El Paso with Judy and Allison, and they were immediately adopted by the first couple that walked in, so not only do We Like Bike, but We Like Pups too! I rode in to EP with Katie and saw some pretty mountain views along the way, as well as old planes and border patrol! We checked out Crazy Cat Cyclery in town, and it was a pretty sweet shop. Bike candy everywhere! There were several SL2s and I saw a pink Epic and an S-works Stumpjumper. Niccccce. Brian decided to shave the chin out of his beard in EP, and our Motel 6 had an amazing view, but I'm always impressed with the mountain views.

El Paso to Las Cruces, NM
Welcome to New Mexico! Unfortunately we didn't get to see much of Las Cruces, but we did get to do a field trip to White Sands National Monument, which was AMAZING! We stayed at a KOA Campground on the very very southwest of town, so White Sands was about all we did that day. I highly recommend visiting if you're near the area, I saw THE most beautiful sunset of the tour there, settling down into the mountains beyond the layers of sand dunes.

Las Cruces to Deming
The only picture I have of Deming was a sweet Armadilla drinkin a Lone Star. It was a pretty uneventful ride, we had to ride on I-10 because there were no other roads. We got bumped up to the I-10 Motel instead of the KOA, Todd managed the motel, and he was quite the character. Probably the most interesting person I've met on the tour. He told me stories from Italy to Vegas, he also (The BBQ Shop and Young Ave Deli whoop whoop!)

Deming to Lordsburg
It was either the ride to Deming or Lordsburg that had horrific headwinds. I mean, slow you down to 10 mph kind of headwinds. That was no fun at all. Headwinds are about the worst element you can get. I'll take heat and rain over wind any day. I believe Lordsburg was a shorter day, and I rode by myself and got in pretty early. I had a Big Mac meal at McDonalds :D Haven't had a Big Mac in a looooong time. Delicious. And an ice cream cone.

Lordsburg to Willcox, AZ
Arizona's welcome sign was totally the coolest! I love the AZ flag, it's so cool. We took a tourist trip to Tombstone which was cool. Definitely a tourist town. Chad bought a sweet cowboy hat and shirts there, fit right in! Again, not too much going on that day... We did have a lot of fun at the Welcome sign, a lot of people came in around the same time there.

Willcox to Tucson
Our event in Tucson was really cool. The local bike shop was there and handing out info, there was tons of dancing on the dance floor, and 42 Below samples to be had by all! We stayed at a hostel in Tucson and they made us waffles and coffee in the morning! Sweeeet. I went to the local Specialized dealer and got some Armadillas for my Tricross, I'll switch them out before the end of the trip, my current tires are nearing the 4,000 mile mark so they have quite a bit of wear. I saw a really cool Vanagon on the walk home from the event.

Tucson to Florence
Florence treated us great! The Mayor had us all over to her house and there was everything from cold beer to cold water, chips and salsa to a full on dinner! They let some of us stay at her house, some at the Chamber of Commerce, and some at a neighbor's. They gave us a tour of the town and a police escort the next day! Thank you Lina and the Town of Florence for all your hospitality!

Florence to Phoenix
It was actually cloudy for the ride that day, so we dodged some Arizona heat once again. I made good time into Phoenix and grabbed some grub in town. Chad bought an old school Schwinn cruiser at a shop. The event was cool, it was Katie's birthday, she had a birthday cake, and there were Gold Sprints. One of Isabel's BFFs, Carla, met me at the event at Bar Smith and we did dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory. yum yum. Phoenix seemed like a pretty cool town to me, but of course there's never too much time to explore. I'll have to come back ;)

Phoenix to Aguila
Blaiser's fam was waiting for us in Aguila, it was a pretty long, hot ride into the small town. We stayed at Burro Jim's, the only Motel in town, his Pops reserved all 6 rooms for us. They also had cold beers, water, etc waiting for us! They made an amazing dinner for us, Blaise made the best hummus I've ever had in my life. Ohmagosh it was good. His grandparents had the coolest RV/Bus I've ever seen. They bought an old tour bus 20 years ago and stripped it down and pimped it into an RV inside. Queen size bed in the back, kitchen area, eating area, and a couch. They also mentioned that they restore Corvettes for a living. Sounds like my kind of family! Thank you guys so much! We really loved hanging out with all of you! They even made muffins for us in the morning. Wonderful!

Aguila to Quartzsite
The ride into Quartzsite flew by the first 40 miles or so, but the last 30 became pretty hot. Before we got onto the interstate again there was a super cool store in the middle of nowhere, right after the cool shot of me in the middle of the road with the mountains all around. She told Brian and me about the rattlesnakes she had in her garden across the street, but he still hasn't found one yet. The cue sheet was a little hairy getting to the Motel 8, off the interstate the last 5 miles. But I iPhoned it through Quartzsite, thankfully it's not too big a town. I went to the only pizza place in town: Silly Al's where I had a delicious meatball and tomato pizza :) mmmm. It was breakfast the next morning as well!

Quartzsite to Blythe, CA
So the ride yesterday to Blythe was only 23 miles, and we decided to make the most of it! The majority of us tried to dress as absurd as possible, and I do believe we suceeded. We rode together and took turns riding Chad's 10" Schwinn, haha! We had a banana eating contest right before the border at the halfway point and stopped at Del Taco for lunch with the Motel in sight. It was probably the best ride of the tour. California here we are!

TODAY! Blythe to Brawley
The ride today went well for me. It was kinda like a case of the Mondays. I don't think anyone looked forward to a 90 mile day in the heat after the 20 mile fun day yesterday! But it went ok though, we had an early 5:30am start today, it was still dark out, and we went through a huge sand dune area that was very cool. We hit rollers soon after mile 20 and it flattened out again at the end. I skipped the first van at mile 20, and got water at each stop after that. I got in before 1, I was shooting for noon, but I lingered a little at the last stop 14 miles out. Still a good day though, I've been in, showered, e-mailed, grocery shopped, and now here I am telling you all about the last two weeks. There's something so satisfying about doing 80 miles before people even take lunch! But then again, this is my job, so I guess I ride my bike for work. Don't be too jealous though, it ends this Friday! and riding my bike every single day for 2 months hasn't been easy. But it's the stuff dreams are made of, and memories as well. I look forward to the finish line. I'll let you know how tomorrow goes, I think I'll have a couple extra hairs on my chest after a 4,500 ft climb! Bye for now!

Viva la Tour!
Francesca