le Tour de FRAN!!!

One More..... "My Endless Summer"

2009-09-30T06:27:00.000-07:00

For you people that might check back.... because it's never really over :)

Time to say "Goodbye"....

2009-09-14T09:23:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I know. I've been putting it off. But it is time to say goodbye to all my Bloggers. I hope you guys liked reading about my adventures. Maybe this will turn into a Blog about my cycling life sometime? but my life is cycling, so I can just keep them one in the same.... Hmmm, maybe I'll do another tour next year? and I can pick up with that tour! that would be GREAT! If 42 Below wants to do another tour again next year, I've decided I'm totally down. I loved the trip, and it would be even more great to take it all in again, do a couple things different. Let loose a little more. Stay up late. Drink with new friends, instead of being so uptight about riding the next day. Who needs sleep? eh! Take naps so I can party more. Bring a faster bike :D so I can keep up with the boys more easily and more often! Take a better camera. Be 25 so I can be on camera! although that's still 2 years away! no rush. Be more fit going into the tour, so I don't take so long to adapt. NAAAAH! Hmmm, what else? Of course there's always meet more, new, interesting people! I always love meeting new people, but especially cyclists. So there would hopefully be some old "veterans" next year, but of course some new rookies!

The trip was a blast, a great, once in a lifetime experience. I rode everything from back country roads to interstates, "chipped seal" to smooth pavement, 110+ weather to pouring down rain, camping in the rain to wonderful Holiday Inn Express hotels, humidity to scorching dry, flat days to 4,200 feet climbs, desert to forest, 23 miles to 110 miles, and basically: New York to California! It was a great ride. Thanks again to everyone who helped out and Mr. Nick Koch for picking this kid! I hope the ride continues again next year, I loved it and I met some great people. Pick me again next year!

muchos love,

le Tour de Fran: Francesca

aka: Franimal, Frantasia, Chesca, Fran and whathaveyou

I'm off to my next life adventure: New York! Yes, New York. I will be moving to work for Cycles Plus in Huntington, Long Island. So stop by and see me if you're in the area! Buy your next bike from me! or just chat and ask me about my tour if you'd like. Meet Campy! Come by and check us out, I'll be the chick at the shop. The cool chick.

Some of my FAVORITE people of the trip!

2009-09-11T08:41:00.000-07:00

I didn't get pics of everybody, I wish I had, but here are some of my favs of my favs! Ok. really, I just wanted to put up the romantical picture of Matt and Bayla but I didn't have a good excuse. So that's the truth.

Fred, Bayla, and I of course are favorites, the Fab 5 will always hold a place in my heart, oh Brian aka Lumber Jack, and of course, everyone's favorite Italian: DADE!!!

State Signs... "Welcome to" Signs

2009-09-03T09:15:00.001-07:00

Road Signs

2009-09-02T06:00:00.001-07:00

A collection of road signs:

Picture Albums

2009-09-01T06:49:00.000-07:00

Somewhere in that big state of Texas, one of the days we got a really early start.
Dunno where, probably Texas!
Leaving Oklahoma City, I took this one with my iPhone too.
Charlottesville, VA early morning start also.
Event in Richmond, VA at a nice country club on the water.

Just, just, just, juuuust uploaded all my pics. I took 929 pictures, including a couple of my bags, etc before I took off. I shall try to sort them into a couple categories. I'll dedicate this first one to my Momma, who said she enjoyed the sunrises the most, so here goes: 5 of the top Sunrise/Sunset Pics of the trip.

Recap from Lititz, PA

2009-08-27T07:37:00.000-07:00

Hello All!

Man! what a ride! I can't believe it, 4,194.9 miles from New York City to Los Angeles, no rest days, hot and cool, rain or shine, wind and hills, flats and thrills. What a ride. It still hasn't really set in, I guess I was so stoked at the beginning that I really made the 42 riders, it all seemed surreal and too good to be true. Well, it wasn't exactly a luxurious bike tour across America with all the bells and whistles, it was still hard work even though it was supported. You could think of a million excuses not to ride your bike every morning for 58 days straight. I'm tired. It's boring. Today's gonna be a hard one. I did it yesterday. Yada yada yada.

But I did it. Every morning I woke up and I told myself I could do it and I got on my bicycle. The first 2-3 weeks were probably the hardest. The first week was really hard but I was so excited and impressed with all the miles I was doing, it kept me occupied. By week 2 and 3 your bottom has never felt so wonderful and your knees and legs couldn't be more thrilled you signed up for this!

Riding from San Diego to San Clemente was really cool. We were along the coast a lot, and that was my first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean, which just solidified going Coast to Coast for me. I didn't get to dip my wheels in the Atlantic or the Pacific, but I don't really care, I've seen both via bicycle on this trip and that is enough for me. The last 2 days weren't easy days either. I was thinking they were gonna be pretty short, but they were both in the 70 mile range or so. The cue sheet on the last day was so messed up and confusing that everyone that didn't SAG added a good 10 miles. Yep. You think it's the last day? You think it's only 65 miles today? NOPE. Get lost at mile 65 and realize that you still have a good 10-15 left in an unfamiliar, busy, busy town, ugh. That was so frustrating and it completely broke my spirits. Being completely lost in the city limits of LA, my iPhone got pretty messed up from the heat and abuse of the tour so it was not dependable at all. Here I am at the Long Beach Airport, 20 miles from the end, and I still DO NOT understand this cue sheet. So I called Nick and Blaise (b/c at least the phone part of the iPhone works!) and between the two of them I remembered enough street names and verbal directions to get back on route. Oh Lordy. But it's over. I made my way to the Holiday Inn LAX, thinking that I'm dfl, and Mr. Roy is about a block in front of me! And he hits all the lights and I get all the reds, and Roy totally beats me to the finish line on the last day. Haha. But I wasn't the last one, several people came trickling in from the North and South route after I checked in and got settled.

The last day was very stressful for me. As soon as I arrived, I had to get all my bags and everything I've accumulated over the last 2 months out of the van and truck and get everything ready to go tonight, so I could leave first thing at 5:30 am in the morning :/ So I grabbed all my gear, I took a quick celebratory swig of whiskey from Chris's bottle (for him of course,) I got a bike box, and I started packing up my bike and minimizing all my stuff, trying to be as efficient as possible. It took my hours and hours to pack up my bike, people were constantly coming in and out of our room, drinking, celebrating, hootin' and hollering. I took a short break to eat some pizza. I final got Fedex worked out for my bike, after no help at all from my Tour Managers that rudely told me I was "on my own," apparently making it to LA wasn't just for us riders. And I took off for Mountain Bike Oregon the next morning. Which was awesome!

It's good to be back in Lititz. Not that I want to stay here forever, but there's nothing wrong with the fresh smell of chocolate in the air on a warm, sunny afternoon. I got in Monday around 11:15, after my final flight was delayed over an hour. The right engine wouldn't start. My little Campy missed me! and Isabel told me I've lost a lot of weight, which is always nice for a lady to hear! I'll have to tell my Pop that. I can't wait to go to Cafe Chocolate and see Selina, it's the best chocolate and coffee in the world, and I'm extremely confident in saying that. So if you're ever in Lititz, PA check out Cafe Chocolate and the Wilbur Chocolate factory. They're the only reason I still live here!

I got Belle in on Tuesday morning, not even a full 24 hours after I got in! FedEx mistakenly overnighted my bike across the country. I hope that doesn't cost me a fortune! I was glad to see my bike in so soon though, didn't give them enough time to beat it up at all. So I unpacked and built up my bike, gave her a full tune up, tightened and lubed, and she runs like a brand new DREAM machine! Love her!

So the moral of this story is basically this: RIDE YO BIKE! Yep. Ride your bicycle across the country, everyone in the world, every day for 2 months. Ok, maybe not that drastic. But really, ride a bike most preferably, or just do what you love. Life is short, don't put off things you've always wanted to do. I learned a lot from all of our various riders. We came in all shapes and sizes, we were all different ages, from a 21 year old female to Roy at age 73! From our hardcourt bicycle messengers to brand new cyclists that have only been cycling a year, to everything in between. I learned a lot about people, life, the road, bicycles, maintenance, fitness, food, and the humongousest state ever: Texas.

I really want to thank a couple people that made this tour possible..... First and foremost, I want to thank 42 Below and Javelin for coming up with this idea and sponsoring me to have a once in a lifetime opportunity. I can say first hand that 42 Below Vodka is delicious and you should try some. I was also thrilled to ride for such a good cause: The Alliance for Biking and Walking. I also want to thank Josh at Cycles Plus in Huntington, Long Island, he outfitted me with my wonderful bike, a Specialized Tricross (Belle,) he did a 3D Body Geometry fit, and totally hooked me up with all my spare parts, clothing, equipment, and everything we could wrangle our brains for that I might need, that I really never ended up using! I highly recommend Cycles Plus if you're in that area, they know their stuff, and they carry the best. A big thank you to all my friends and family that supported me: Gabe, Terry, Nora, Pam, Andrea, Megan, Josh, Selina, Thomas, Shelby, Christie and Brian, James and MaryRea, my little nieces Maci and Ana, and all others I might have missed, but were still there in spirit.

Most of all, I want to thank my wonderful Parents. Their endless love, support, and encouragement for all the crazy shit I do keeps me going. I love you guys so much, and I couldn't have done anything without you. You're the BEST parents I could've asked for.

And thank you Isabel, you've been a great supporter. Thank you for logging my miles, updating my blog every day, giving me motivational speeches on days I didn't feel like riding, and not subletting my room while I was gone for 2 months!

And a BIG thank you to my Trusty Tricross, Belle. She logged every mile of every day with me, good times and in bad, she took care of me and I took care of her. Great bike.

Thank you all for reading, as Nick would say "I like you all."

Ride on!

Francesca/Franimal/Chesca/Fran/Frantasia, etc etc

Stayed tuned though, I'll put up some of my favorite pictures from the trip when I get them all uploaded in the next couple o' days!

Day 58 - THE LAST DAY

2009-08-21T22:02:00.000-07:00

San Clemente, CA to Los Angeles, CA

So, the day was a lot longer than expected! But no worries! Cause Chesca went NY to LA with ZERO rest days. The first pic is Belle ready to go, then the LA county line, followed by Huntington Beach!

The last 2 pics are of the non saggers. First the Southern Route Fab 5, then the non-saggers of the whole tour! Way to represent the ladies Fran! I'm so proud...and I'm sure everyone else is as well!

Have fun at Mtn Bike Oregon!

Day 57: Ridin' Along the Coast

2009-08-20T19:50:00.000-07:00

San Diego to San Clemente, CA

A really hilly, cloudy day but hey, only 1 DAY left!

LA Tomorrow!!!

The Home Stretch......

2009-08-20T19:47:00.000-07:00

Well hello everyone!

surprised I'm writing again so quick? You gotta love internet access at the Holiday Inn Express! Let's see, so I've climbed and descended about 4,200 feet since last time. That was quite the ride!

Brawley to Julian
The start of the ride was pretty slow and uneventful, I think I was still a little worked from the 90 mile day before, the legs just weren't in it to win it. We left town right after sunrise and worked our way out to a farming kind of area, it was a really pretty ride. I rode ok in the beginning and then after mile 20 or so I was kinda tired. Too early to be tired! We took a sharp left and headed towards mountains. Oh dear. They didn't get bad until the very end though. I remember sitting at the van at mile 50 or so, changing a slow leaking flat, and the hills didn't start to show yet. After I left the van my tire went flat again, right at the 1,000 ft elevation sign. Awesome. Failed patch. So I switched it one more time, my tires were getting pretty worn too. Switched out the tube, stopped at the dropped water spot and slowly I felt more tired and more tired because the incline was so unnoticeable. As the scenery got more beautiful, I noticed I was working my way not only through the mountains but along side of them. The road was kind of part of the side of one mountain, it was really cool. The landscape changed from desert and sand to a variety of cactus to TREES! yes TREES!! Oh my gosh, I never thought I'd be so happy to see a tree before! No more desert! There were also mountains of rocks and boulders that were real purty too. So like I said, as the scene gets nicer and nicer the hills get bigger and bigger. Then they come and don't stop, it's just switchback after switchback going up, up, up! I made excuses to stop along the way... as my legs get heavier and the air gets thinner. It was just pretty, I had to take pictures, right? :) You have no idea what a relief it was to see that 4,000 ft elevation sign! After that I got reacquainted with gears again! How fun! I rolled down into Julian and went to Julian Coffee House, ate a wonderful breakfast/lunch/dinner... and finished out the last 3 miles (all uphill!! Grrrr) to the campsite. Slept ok, it was actually chilly, so I got to use my sleeping bag right off the bat!

Julian to San Diego
Sooooo remember all those climbs/hills from yesterday? Yep, FUN TIME! I'd say about 70% or more of the day was spent descending. SO much fun! I rode down the first 10-20 miles and hit my 4,000 mile mark. 4,000 ft one day, 4,000 miles the next! How cool! The ride into San Diego was a lot of long, beautiful descents, even after we got out of Julian. There were at least 2 super bomb climbs that were completely unnecessary, but whatyougonnado? I was playing leap frog with Brian all morning and as we worked our way down closer to the coast and SD we stopped in to see his sister at her office. She took us out to eat, and it was cute to see the brother-sister interaction, makes me miss my big bro and sis :/ She was super nice and she and a couple friends came out to our event last night. We stayed at the International Hostel right in downtown, and that was probably the coolest place we've stayed at the entire trip! It was extremely unique with bright, vibrant, varied colored walls, tons of natural sunlight pouring in from windows and sky lights, and 3 floors! There were couches, sofas, and comfy chairs in every nook and corner. The kitchen on the third floor was massive as well. I'm beginning to become a fan of hostels......

San Diego to San Clemente
Today's ride wasn't all that great for me. It was actually really cool all morning and I was breaking into a cold sweat, so I had that lovely sickly feeling and I was cold for the first 40 miles. Ugh. But it was super gorgeous to see the COAST! The Pacific Ocean! I've never seen it before. Still haven't touched it yet. I'm saving it for tomorrow! It warmed up a little later, and I did see more bike riders today then ever before. There were bike lanes galore all day, and we rode through Camp Pendleton. The headwinds were not nice through Pendleton. I was going a good 10 mph, not feeling so hot. We cut onto a "bike path" immediately after Camp Pendleton, aka an old runway? It was about 3 lanes or so wide and not a soul in sight! Just the occasional rider. I saw a dude on a SL2 and rode with him for a little and chatted, he was asking about the ride and what have you. After we chatted for a while I told him not to let me hold him back, I was just cruising it out today, so he took off. The road took an S-curve and then he was out of sight. Must be nice riding that 15 (or less) pound bike! One day Francesca, one day. The rest of the ride was easy breezy after the bike path, and when I thought I had arrived at the Holiday Inn Express, I turned a curve to see a good 18% or more grade climb to the top by the hotel. Thanks for that! It was short though. But still, really? Really Holiday Inn? You couldn't have put it at the bottom of the hill? Today I packed up all my camping gear and some extra clothes and shipped them home. I'll beat them there though. I ate pizza at San Clemente Pizza Cafe: delicious. I'm gonna go finish it now that I think about it.... it's sitting in my fridge. Mmmm. Well folks, I do believe that's alls I gots for now. Tomorrow: LA, aka finish line! Whoop whoop!!! Got a full day ahead of me tomorrow though, I gotta pack up Belle and get her ready to ship out too :( I'll miss her! But I'll see her back in PA, I'm sure she'll like a rest day too.

Ride on!
Francesca

Day 56: San Diego here I come!

2009-08-20T11:37:00.000-07:00

Julian, CA to San Diego, CA

The morning started off with breakfast at Julian Coffee House. Everything bagel with tomatos and red onions, and a hot apple cider, which is only fitting in CA orchard country!

In the first 20 miles or so Francesca hit 4,000miles! Wow! So incredible. She said the ride into San Diego had a couple EPIC climbs, but the decents were totally worth it.

Brian's sister cut his hair and beard...he looks so different! At the event, there was a serious gold sprints showdown! Oh, and the hostel they stayed in was pretty sweet!

Day 55: Hills for Thrills.... or maybe a Hills that Kill?

2009-08-18T22:22:00.001-07:00

Brawley, CA to Julian, CA

So today was pretty long, 76 miles and over 4,000ft of climbing! It started off pretty desert like, and then if you notice the last pic... it's pretty beautiful! Orchard country in Julian.

Off to San Diego tomorrow and the end in sight! Great job Chesca! I know everyone is proud of you for riding every day! No rest and kicking butt!!!

Oh, and the new Armadillo tires look great on your Tricross!

Day 54: Blythe to Brawley

2009-08-17T18:38:00.001-07:00

Pics! To supplement Fran's amazing commentary below!

Update from California!!!

2009-08-17T15:42:00.000-07:00

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

Day 53: Fun Day into CALI!

2009-08-16T19:29:00.000-07:00

Quartzite, AZ to Blythe, CA

A day of fun!

So today was only like 23 miles... and everyone decided to have fun with it!

There were the great outfits and then the banana eating contest...can't take fruit into California! I like Fran's outfit the best! Way to pose! Those are Bayla's clothes by the way! love it!

Love that they ate at Del Taco! It's pretty much amazing! yum yum! then they went to the rebuilt London Bridge in Havasue, AZ. Here is the Wikipedia explanation: "In 1967, the Common Council of the City of London placed the bridge on the market and began to look for potential buyers. Council member Ivan Luckin had put forward the idea of selling the bridge, and recalled: "They all thought I was completely crazy when I suggested we should sell London Bridge when it needed replacing." On 18 April 1968, Rennie's bridge was sold to the Americanentrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch of McCulloch Oil for US$2,460,000. The claim that McCulloch believed mistakenly that he was buying the more impressive Tower Bridge was denied by Luckin in a newspaper interview.^[9] As the bridge was taken apart, each piece was numbered to aid re-assembly. The bridge was reconstructed at Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and re-dedicated on 10 October 1971. The reconstruction of Rennie's London Bridge spans the Bridgewater Channel canal that leads from Lake Havasu to Thomson Bay, and forms the centrepiece of a theme park in English style, complete with a Tudor period shopping mall. Rennie's London Bridge has become Arizona's second-biggest tourist attraction, after the Grand Canyon.^{[10] "}

Good experience... Only 5 days left!!!! Keep up the good work Francesca! Ride everyday!

Day 52: Holler AZ....

2009-08-16T07:11:00.000-07:00

Augila, AZ to Quartzite, AZ

Last day in Arizona and then the home stretch of CA. I think the picture of Chesca in the road with the mountains behind is one of the best pictures of the trip. Gorgeous!

Bayla's tires are crazy. Fran said she's never seen them bubble like that! (Shoulda got Armadillas)

She treated herself to the only pizza place to eat in Quartzite and grubbed on a meatball/tomato pizza. It was better than her lunch of bugles and ice cream! or was it? both sound pretty good to me!

Day 51: Chillin with Blaise's Fam

2009-08-15T09:22:00.000-07:00

Phoenix, AZ to Aguila, AZ

Leaving Phoenix they entered Surprise, AZ. There was no "surprise" that the ride was long and HOT and looked a lot like the TX desert that they rode through for two weeks.

Blaise's family followed them to Aguila (300+ miles from LA) where they rented out all 6 rooms of the local hotel for everyone. They grilled out, brought coolers of beer, and everyone had a great time. Thanks Chesca for drinking a Fat Tire for me! I know you don't like beer, but it's the best and everyone should drink at least one!

Day 50: Phoenix

2009-08-15T09:11:00.000-07:00

Florence, AZ to Phoenix, AZ

Leaving Florence, the gang got a police escort out! Talk about some star treatment to go with dinner with the Mayor!

Once they got to Phoenix, the fun really began. Chad got a sweet old Schwinn... not too sure how fast he's gonna make it to LA on that thing. Chesca met up with my buddy Carla who lives in Phoenix at the downtown bar Bar Smith. It was a pretty cool bar with an upstairs outdoor patio. They did some gold sprints and of course...drank some 42Below Vodka! All in all, not a bad day.

THANKS Carla for taking Chesca to the Spaghetti Factory!

Day 49: Florence gives us VIP status....

2009-08-12T21:49:00.000-07:00

Tuscon, AZ to Florence, AZ

What a gorgeous view the whole way! When they entered Florence they were greeted by the local Chamber of Commerce members. They were wined and dined at the Mayor's house and given a tour of downtown Florence. It was a hot one today, but everyone got in before noon. They are getting a police escort out of Florence tomorrow!

Day 48: Tucson and Event

2009-08-12T14:35:00.000-07:00

Wilcox, AZ to Tuscon, AZ

I'll have to add a couple pics I got later, she saw this sweet Vanagon after the Tucson event. It was a ton of fun, and I believe there was some dancing....

Day 47: WELCOME to Arizona!!!

2009-08-11T19:22:00.000-07:00

Lordsburg, NM to Wilcox, AZ 8/10/09

Again, only got a couple pics today. They entered Arizona and took a tourist trip to Tombstone.

Sorry, the commentary recently has been a lil short...I've been at the beach and kind of out of pocket!

But I think we're up-to-date for the most part!

Day 46: Day 2 of NM

2009-08-11T19:17:00.001-07:00

Deming, NM to Lordsburg, NM

More NM mountains. check out the coke section of the store...guess they really are that far behind! You could buy drinks in the old school 16 ounce bottle, and return the bottles for a refund! Nice. Another uneventful day for the most part, but beautiful scenery and awesome 30 mph headwinds!

Day 45: Entering New Mexicooooooo

2009-08-11T19:15:00.001-07:00

Las Cruces, NM to Deming, NM

This is the only picture I got today, I guess it was a pretty uneventful day riding on the interstate all day, Deming was a pretty small town. But they still had a mountain view on the North side of town.

Day 44: New Mexico and White Sands National Monument

2009-08-11T19:00:00.001-07:00

El Paso, TX to Las Cruces, TX

Chris was putting away his leftovers from last night at the hotel before take off. They crossed into New Mexico today. They got to Las Cruces at the KOA campground and then headed to White Sands National Monument. Francesca said it was amazing, and she saw possibly the best sunset of the tour so far. Check out the picture she took from her iPhone of the sunset reflecting off water.

Day 43: El Paso

2009-08-11T18:37:00.000-07:00

Fort Hancock, TX to El Paso, TX

So the ride in was beautiful as usual. She saw this old plane and some plane parts in a random border town along the ride.

The view from their El Paso hotel looks really nice, the mountains were gorgeous. Then they went to Crazy Cat Cyclery, which happens to be the #1 Specialized parts and accessory dealer in the USA! Check out the S-works Tarmac SL2, it was one of 5 or so! Awesome!

Day 42: Dessert pups

2009-08-05T20:59:00.000-07:00

Van Horn, TX to Ft. Hancock, Tx

Here are the pictures to supplement the amazing commentary below...

Oh, and by the way...she wants one of these puppies!

The Day by Day Play by Play

2009-08-05T16:05:00.000-07:00

Hello All!

it's been a GORGEOUS last couple o' days! Marathon, TX, as I said before, was a cute little town, or strip I should say. That's all I saw of it. A strip of two Cafes, which seemed to be non competitive with hours, one was open for breakfast and lunch, the other late lunch and dinner! So I swung by one the day I came in and one for breakfast! There was also another hotel and of course our RV/Motel. The ride from Marathon to Marfa was absolutely stunning. As I set off in the morning, the sun rose from above and broke through the clouds a couple hours late, casting some light onto the nearby mountains and the road ahead. Totally beautiful. The hazy blue mountains from afar slowly crept up and surrounded me as the day went by. I felt as if I was engulfed in a painting, the mountains slowly came into detail, one crevice, nook, and rock at a time. The blue hazes turned into vibrant, mossy greens and shades of tan as I rode through them. The far away specks and spots became cows and shrubs, the distant hills became extravagant mountains. I felt as if I was an insignificant speck in the painting, that I was a part of this beautiful land, just flowing through it one pedal stroke at a time. As the day went on I could see I was slowly working my way past the mountains. The road flattened out from ups and downs to a nice steady decline, and the mountains veered north and south as I headed west into Marfa. The "Welcome to Marfa" sign sat about 5 miles away from town! But it was still an easy coast in at the end of the day.

Leaving Marfa, I rode to Alice's Cafe, the only place open, and ate breakfast with a bunch of the others. I took a pic of their lunch menu, sandwiTches, haha. It was still dark outside, we rode with our lights on. I rode with Doug and Ash and we picked up Lauren at the first van stop. I took a couple of pictures of the sunrise, it was a little late again, it was overcast all day. We saw a storm in the distance. That's one reason I'm so amazed by this part of the country, you can actually see the towns ahead, a storm in the distance, the sun peaking through in some spots and overcast in others, and the vast greatness of the land within a good 20 mile radius or more at all times. So cool, so unique. We saw some sort of antelope? a pack of them running off to the south of us, and that storm in the distance created a double rainbow, and later one huge rainbow that ran from one side of the highway to the next! We had all sorts of fun, we played 20 questions (which was more like 50 questions!) and we laughed and giggled along the way like little kids. Doug and I rolled into Van Horn and went straight to the gas station, in the heat of the day instead of the campsite. We had icees and chex mix then continued on a half mile to the KOA campground. I set up camp after swimming and napping and then a strong wind came in like it was going to storm. We had to catch a couple of tents, but everyone staked down and it never did rain. It was a cool night though, I was actually kind of cold this morning. I saw my first real cougar sighting :D I did see something the other day though, riding through all the mountains. I was staring at an overhang, where I would totally chill if I were a cougar, and I saw something. I saw something that looked to be about the right size, thinking it was a shrub or rock or something I wouldn't be able to make out anyway. I stared at it, and it moved! So I kept staring and pulled over to take a picture, and it kept walking right out of view. Damn. Oh well, I guess I never really will know.

Van Horn was another little highway town, actually more of an interstate town. Just a couple of gas stations near us, but this morning when we headed out we passed by a couple mom and pop restaurants and a metal/junk builder who had some cool sculptures! So we had a 70 mile day today, and the return of the infamous CUE SHEET! 13 cues, 5 of which were irrelevant. We rode on the interstate today, which isn't cool, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was pretty clean shoulders and I used Doug and Katie as bike airbags. Haha. I guess out here it isn't illegal for bikes to be on the interstate because there are no other roads in some spots. I did miss Highway 90 though; riding along without seeing a car for an hour at a time, Doug juggling oranges in the middle of the road, Prada shops in the middle of nowhere, daytime moons, and chip sealed roads turning off and on as you ride through a different county.

We arrived in Fort Hancock this afternoon, tomorrow we'll re-enter civilization once again: El Paso. I think after El Paso we leave this great state of Texas. I say great only because it's so huge, let's not forget how it tried to kill us all the first 3 days. I time traveled today, drank water from a boot, and there are the two cutest little puppies ever at the motel. Dessert puppies. I think we might be taking them to El Paso, there is no humane society here. They look like a young Bryant, their paws are already bigger than my Campster's. Bryant is my roomie's Rott/Lab mix and Campster is my 30 lb puppy dog. There's a rumor that their names might be Chad and Allie because they're sagging tomorrow to EP. Haha. Two and a half weeks left of this madness, oh how the time flies when you're getting paid to ride your bicycle.

Until next time, Happy Riding!!!

Francesca

Day 41: 360 Mountain Views all day

2009-08-05T15:17:00.000-07:00

Marfa, TX to Van Horn, TX

Alice's cafe in Marfa was the only place open for breakfast, so they ate sandwiTches, saw a beautiful sunrise, and it was a gorgeous ride today complete with a rainbow!

Followed of course by a beautiful Texas moon in the middle of the day. Thanks Lauren! When they arrived in Van Horn the checked the Weather Station and Chesca got a picture of the first official Cougar sighting!

Day 40: Marfa, Marfa, Marfa!

2009-08-03T18:32:00.000-07:00

Marathon, TX to Marfa, TX

Chesca was really excited when she talked about today's ride...why you may ask? Cause they actually passed through a town today! Alpine, TX. Complete with its own quirky jackass picture booth and a bike shop to wander through. It was another day of no cue sheet, just a mass text that said "Riata Inn, first building on the Left in Marfa, TX." That pretty much sums up the last few days. All highway 90 with no surprises. Well, that is besides how surprisingly beautiful the scenery has been. Oh, and Fran thinks she saw a cougar today! hahaha! I love it!

Day 39: Marathon, Tx is coooool.

2009-08-02T19:53:00.000-07:00

Sanderson, TX to Marathon, TX

Well, you read Chesca's update below..so here are the pictures of today...

Oh, and she hit 3,000 miles!!!

Fran Recap of the Days Gone By.......

2009-08-02T15:15:00.000-07:00

Hello Hello!!!

wow, I do believe it's been almost 2 weeks since I recaped! A lot has happened, I'm sure you can gather. I've been trying to sleep some more lately so I've been keeping away from the computer. Well today we went from Sanderson, Tx to Marathon, Tx. We started out a little late today. It was only 55 miles, so we took off around 7:30 and went straight to the Roundhouse Cafe. The lady said she would open up early just for us the night before, since there wasn't anything from there to here. So we all ordered breakfast the night before and rolled up there a mile after we left the motel. No cue sheet again today, if there was one it would say "turn right out of motel and ride 55 miles, turn right into motel." haha. Just another day of Hwy 90. We rode 80 miles on Hwy 90 yesterday. Marathon is a cute little town, we rolled right into the dessert mountain area in the last day or so, so it's gorgeous. 360 mountain views, beautiful sunrises/sunsets, canyons, and there's cougars!! but I haven't seen one yet. Which is ok. I'd like to see one from afar, not so much now, the horror stories I've heard are usually them attacking bikers. Anywho. So today was cool, it was a long, boring day though. The sun stayed away, it was cloudy all day, which was a blessing since we left so late. Not too much going on today, got in a little before 2, showered and went back a half mile with Allison for some lunch/dinner. She's napping away now..... Well I'll see if I can pick up from where I left off, I'll just start with Oklahoma City and work my way forward to today.

Oklahoma City to Sulphur:

The event in Oklahoma City was pretty cool. We met the 42 Below Rep, and he covers OK and TX so we'll be seeing him for 3-4 more events. He was super nice, gave us the star treatment, and of course: a round of shooters! so naturally, everyone loves him! Nora and Pam sent me a package to OK City, which there were pics of up on here, so I really looked forward to arriving there. It seems as if we only went into a very small corner of the city, we didn't see much, and we left the next morning the same way we came in. I arrived at the hotel after a pretty long day, and my package and Brooks saddle were waiting at the front desk! So Doug helped me carry Nora and Pam's big box up to the room, and I was excited like Christmas morning! My new Brooks saddle is working out pretty well. I'm not completely obsessed with it like everyone else always seems to be, but I've only really ridden it a couple weeks. It feels good, it felt good from the start, but so did my Specialized saddles on all my other bikes. I just think the geometry of my Tricross is a little different, and it puts my sit bones a little more forward. Anywho: it works. I rode with Roy all day, and we passed by a neat-o bike fence. We saw another one a couple days later, strrraaaange. I guess that's what crossing the country on your bike is all about: seeing things you don't expect, or wouldn't normally see.

Sulphur to TEXAS!!

We camped out in Sulphur, I can't remember too much because it seems Isabel didn't put up any particulars, and it's been too long to remember. Hmmm. We crossed a huge bridge to get into Texas and Lauren greeted everyone " WELCOME TO TEXAS!!" standing on the guard rail on the side of the highway. The way she said it was really funny. Hard to explain. Tehas had a sweet sign we all took pics by. It got pretty damn hot that day. The second sign in Tehas said "Drive Friendly, It's the Texas Way," as a driver in a red truck came by and hollered at each of us and flicked us off. Not very Texas like I guess.

Whitesboro to Dallas:

Entering into Dallas. That was a cool ride, the only break I took that day was an hour or so at Starbucks, about 15 miles or less, before the end. It was a pretty quick day, I think that's the day the guys decided to implement a "Tour de Texas" race, complete with a points system, overall standings, time trial (TT), and of course, the coveted Texas Star badge! It was Brian's 30th Birthday in Dallas, and we had an event. We had to ride up to the event, and then load all our bikes back onto the truck. That was pretty lame-o. We also got there entirely too early and ended up hanging out in a parking lot for a while. We got to the event and had pizzas waiting on us, can't complain there!, and Brian had a sweet Birthday cake. My sister's friend Shelby recently moved down to Dallas and she came and said hi for a little bit. She brought me a little present too, thank you Shelby! I'm still chewing on the Twislers :D A bunch of people went out after the event for a little after party action, for Brian's B-day of course, and Brian spent the next 2 days recovering.

Dallas to Whitney:

Dave left that day. He fell a couple days prior and had badly bruised ribs, no fun. So his wife was up in Dallas to meet him anyway, and he just went home with her. Hopefully our other Texan Geezers will make it without him :( That was the day that Texas tried and tried to break us all. It was an extremely grueling day with 30 mph headwinds, a CRAP bumpy road, and blazing heat. But the Fab 5 keep on: Matt, Dade, Blaise, Bennett, and yours truly. I ran out of water at about 50 miles in the heat of the day, but Judy came by and I chilled out for a while, cooled down, filled up with cold water, and made it the next 8 miles to Italy! where I ironically ate Mexican food? hmm. But I had a nice, big, cold Gatorade at the mexican place and a supreme beef burrito. Mmmmm. When I rode into the campgrounds, relieved to be off the 60 mile stretch of Paris Roubaix-like roads, I saw a deer right before our campsite area. I pulled in and joined a group going to swim in the lake. Swam in the lake for a little bit to cool off with some other riders. It was a clay bottom lake, kinda gross, kinda cool. Then we went on a grocery store run, Crihs and I split some burgers, I had mac and cheese also, and I slept in the RV with Bennett, I sure didn't feel like pitching a tent in the heat after the toughest day (by far) of the tour. But it was really hot in the RV, super comfy but HOT, so I still didn't sleep well. Ah well. Wake up, ride, eat, sleep, repeat.

Whitney to Belton:

This was another hot day. I don't think it was as long but more people rode that day. I stopped at a restaurant with Doug, Allison, and Lauren and the owner was pretty enthused with our trip. He has a son in Phoenix that is a professional skydiver! and he's gonna see about getting us the hook up with some skydiving action in Phoenix? I don't know about that one, but I'm sure some of the others will be adventurous! I remember another cold Gatorade being my saving grace that day as well. The roads were still pretty bad too. Ugh. Texas isn't exactly our favorite state.

Belton to Austin:

Super cool. Austin was a lot of fun. We rode through some beautiful Texas countryside in the morning, where I saw 6-8 deer. It was still super hot, and again, Texas wasn't seeming to be any fun at all. But we went to Mellow Johnny's in downtown Austin, I guess some famous bike rider owns it. Lance Armstrong? never heard of him. He wasn't even there at the shop, what a loser. We actually stayed at a hostel in Austin, which was quite interesting, and a first for me. It was pretty neat, but I didn't get any sleep in a room of 16 girls. Our event was at Six Lounge, we had more pizza (yessss!) gold sprints, and I met up with another friend of Isabel's: Anna, who was super nice, and my Pop's cousin: Bill. I just want to make it clear that I beat Allison in gold sprints that night. Ahthankyou.

Austin to San Antonio/The Alamo:

This day was BF day. That's right Bayla/Fran day. A full day of adventures with Bayla and Fran. Bed buddies. Ok you get the point. It was super fun. Bayla felt hardcore, there were many riding due to hangover syndrome, so she said she'd ride with me for the day, we were the only lady riders. It was a fun day, we went by Texas State University and there were some cool coffee shops in the downtown/main street area. We totally picked the coolest one: Coffee Pot Espresso Bar. I got the Ying Yang, white chocolate/dark chocolate coffee blender. Nomygosh it was soooo good. I long for one this very moment. We hung out there for a little bit, there's a picture of it on that day's post, and just before we were about to leave the chick that made our drinks totally rode off on a Surly cross check. That was pretty cool. That was another long day, but it wasn't as hot as before, and we rolled into downtown San Antonio with Brian, and it was a neat, old, Spanish style downtown. The hotel we switched to was right across from the Alamo. Thank goodness we didn't have to camp out that night. Judy winged rooms for us. We took a group picture in front of the Alamo.

San Antonio to Uvalde:

Not too much of an exciting day. We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in Uvalde (which seemed to be the middle of no where) and it was surprisingly nice. I got to do some much overdue laundry, and I rode my bike to the store to buy fresh groceries. Uvalde was highly populated compared to where we are now!

Uvalde to Brackettville:

We did a little competitive TT for the ride to Brackettville. It was only 40 something miles, and everyone got to sleep in a little and leave at their own pace. I didn't stop at all that day, I wanted to get a good time, I don't think anyone really stopped that day. I was the 5th to arrive at the campsite, super early in the morning, before noon even. I pulled an 18 mph average, 2:19:19 which is my best overall average so far. I had a 19 mph avg but we started hitting some hills towards the end and my legs ran out of fuel. Still a good average though. The boys all pretty much made it in under 2 hours, anywhere from 20-23 mph. Damn those boys! and their fast riding capabilities. Eh. We got bumped up to a motel again, at the campground, for $10 extra between 20 something people, sounds like a deal to me. Thank you 42 Below Vodka. Some of us also went to MEXICO that night!!! My first trip out of the country! Mexico is everything I thought it would be. I have 20 pecos left even. We walked up and down a couple main streets, little girls followed us begging for money or to buy bracelets, and a bearded man yelled and waved his stick at Brian, or his beard? It was pretty intense. I'm not a fan of tacquitos. I think I like American-Mexican food better than the real deal! It turned into a late night, but it was fun. Can you believe they charged me to get back into my own country?!!??? They must not know who I am.

Brackettville to Comstock:

Our cue sheet consisted of 3 cues that day. Turn left out of hotel, turn right to stay on 90, arrive at hotel. We rode the first 30 miles without stops, in the dark, before the sun even came up. At the second cue, the turn to stay on 90, we had the opportunity to grocery shop if need be, because it was the closest one for 50 more miles. I moved ahead and went to IHOP. I stopped at IHOP about 5 miles after the grocery store with Alexander, Lauren, and Fredrick. We chowed down our first meal of the day after 35 miles and filled up with coffee. I took off after that and played a little bit of leap frog with Doug. I rode over a beautiful water reservoir. Pictures can't capture a beautiful 360 view. We went by a border checkpoint, and soon after that the majority of us found our home away from home: Holley's Diner. I walked in, being dfl, and I see Callie and Dan drinking beers and shooting pool! whaaat? Everyone was just kicking back, we hung out there for probably 5 hours! There was no rush to get to a hot campground. We didn't have any shade at the campground and it was in the middle of NO WHERE. So we hung out at our new home, under the shade and comfort of the mister, watching 4 little baby birds fight for the prime feeding position in the nest. Baby bird number 2 was one chubby boy. He got the food 80% of the time, we were all routing for #3, and he started to make a little bit of a comeback before we left. That was a really cool day. I camped out right next to the 42 Below Truck, which provided shade! for it being as hot as it was, I didn't sleep all that bad that night. I ate mac and cheese, green beans, and Doug gave me some cherries and cantaloupe. Yum.

Comstock to Sanderson:

Yesterday was the first day without a cue sheet, just a mass text from Nick saying "Dudes! ride 79.8 miles" or something of the sorts. Sanderson was the first real town the whole day that day! We woke up early in the morning, packed up the tents, and left before 6 am. It was still dark which was cool but a little creepy. It's neat to ride with lights, but I can just picture a cougar waiting for some easy targets in the dead of darkness. or the boogieman. you never know. So we rode in the darkness, I got a good 25 miles in before the sun even came up. I saw 4 shooting stars that morning. Haven't seen one in a while. But I saw 4 that day, I think that's a good sign of things to come :D There was a small convience/horse tack/thrift store a little over halfway. I bought some crackers and a yoohoo, that was all to tide me over until Sanderson. Sanderson, TX a sight for sore eyes after 80 miles!!! I rode up soon after Lauren and we just rode another mile to the Roundhouse Cafe for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! I guess it was more like lunch. We ate there and the lady told us she'd open early for us for breakfast this morning. How sweet. I went back to the motel and took a good 3 hour nap. I cleaned up Belle, my trusty Tricross really well last night and went over everything, making sure she's running smooth. Then I ate some pasta, drank my muscle milk, chatted on the phone and snoozed the night away. That brings us to today Ladies and Gentlemen!

I just got a text from Nick: breakfast in Marathon tomorrow morning 7-8, tomorrow's destination: Riata Inn in Marfa, TX. It's the first building on the left. how do you like those directions? Marfa must be HUGE! haha. LOVE it! I'm chilling in my motel/cabin/modular room, typing on a computer smaller than a book, in the middle of Tehas dessert, got here by BIKE!! I just rolled 3,000 miles today..... Wouldn't have it any other way. Good bye for now peeps.

Ride on,

Francesca/Chesca/Fran/Franimal

Day 38: First real day of Dessert Training!

2009-08-01T20:48:00.000-07:00

Comstock, TX to Sanderson, TX

From an email Francesca sent me today... "To Sanderson, TX. We rode all 80 miles today with no food places to stop! Complete nothingness. Our motel was the closest town. Knocked out 25 miles before sunrise too."

Day 37: TGIF

2009-08-01T08:24:00.001-07:00

Brackettville, TX to Comstock, TX

A pretty easy ride. Breakfast at IHop and then they spent the hottest part of the afternoon at Holley's Diner. Pool table, mister outside, air conditioning, and cheap food! Other than that, not too many pictures. They did cross the Amistad International Reservoir. Beautiful picture!

Day 36: Bienvenidos a Mexico

2009-07-30T19:24:00.000-07:00

Uvalde, TX to Bracketville, TX

Day 36 began with a competitive Tour de Texas TT! A 42 mile time trial through hot, dry, southwest Texas. Francesca was the 4th person done with a blistering time of 2:19 (18.19mph). By 4pm she had a burger, milkshake and a NAP! What a nice day. For a night cap they went down to MEXICO! to Ciudad Acuna! They went to the bar where the awesome shootout scene in the movie Desperado was filmed. Fran drank a margarita and then back to the USA...well for $0.30! haha. check out her pics!

Day 35: Uvalde

2009-07-29T19:23:00.000-07:00

San Antonio, TX to Uvalde, TX

So I didn't get very many pics today. All I know is Fran was worried about the 80+ miles today in the blistering Texas heat...the 3rd "long" day in a row...but she balled it up! finished before 1:30! I think it was the DQ Blizzard that got her through it all!

She got there so early, she got to relax, take a shower, and do laundry! So a nice relaxing day. Tomorrow is short, and going to be another good day! Good luck FRAN! Keep it up! No sagging for her!

Day 34: Alamo

2009-07-29T10:16:00.000-07:00

Austin, TX to San Antonio, TX

So the wonderful Alamo! The day started early again with a super cool coffee shop, the Coffee Pot. Then on the hot, long, dry road again. 80 miles later, and then...the Alamo! Take a look at their hotel in the background. It looks amazing!

Day 33: Austin

2009-07-28T14:37:00.000-07:00

Belton, TX to Austin, TX

So the morning started nice an early with a beautiful sunrise. 3 digit heat and 8 hours later and Chesca was in good ole Austin, TX. She went to Mellow Johnny's (Lance's shop) and said it was pretty sweet. They stole her bike shop with coffee bar idea!

They had an event at Six Lounge in Austin that night. Overall a cool event with Goldsprints (she won a round) and caipiroskas! She met my friend Anna and her dad's cousin at the bar. All in all, not a bad night! The day was pretty rushed and she didn't get to bed until a lil late, but what are you gonna do? Get up and RIDE! San Antonio tomorrow!

Day 32: More heat, more Texas

2009-07-26T17:41:00.000-07:00

Whitney, TX to Belton, TX

Don't have much on the pictures here...Guess there wasn't too much to see this trip but they did go over a sweet TX lake! Oh, and these were not the best burgers ever, as the name of the place stated!

Day 31: Don't Mess with Texas

2009-07-26T10:09:00.000-07:00

Dallas, TX to Whitney, TX

Well, today saw another rider leave :( David left after a crash and some bruised ribs wasn't making the trip fun anymore.

The rest of the day was spent riding on a tarred gravel road, which was terrible to say the least! Camping in Whitney was alright. Chesca slept in the RV with the photo/videographers, which she said was very comfortable, but just as hot!

Day 30: Brian's Big B-day!

2009-07-24T21:25:00.001-07:00

Whitesboro, TX to Dallas, TX

Hey There! So, it was a short day today. Fran finished 62 miles before she could even check into her room. Her only stop was at the Starbucks in the picture. I don't know much about the event. I didn't have the chance to speak with her tonight, but I'll update this again tomorrow!

Oh, Chesca wanted me to give a shout out to Shelby! She said thanks for the gifts and the support!

Day 29: Enter: TE-HAS!

2009-07-24T00:10:00.001-07:00

Sulphur, OK to Whitesboro, TX

I guess this proves it... Everything is BIGGER in Texas!

Day 28: Leaving Oklahoma City..

2009-07-22T22:20:00.001-07:00

Oklahoma City to Sulphur, Ok
A beautiful sunrise, and 97 long miles. Chesca rode with Roy all day and took it easy. They're camping tonight in Sulphur. Here are her pictures from the day, the sunrise, a bike fence in the middle of nowhere, and a picture of a picture of a cougar stalking a deer that she talked about in her post.

Bike Fence!

Day 27: Nora Loves Me!!!

2009-07-21T17:49:00.000-07:00

Seminole, OK to Oklahoma City, OK

Well after a long, windy day of riding delayed by lightning and rain, Chesca got to OK City. And when she arrived... She had a package from Nora and Pam! And thanks alot you guys, I look like a pretty crappy friend right now. All I do is update this blog...what are they doing? Sending her AMAZING gifts including a Brooks saddle and about enough gels and vitamin water to keep anyone happy for weeks! Fran was pretty stoked. Check out her pics from the day!

Day 26: Oklahoma = Wind

2009-07-20T15:02:00.000-07:00

Stigler, OK to Seminole, OK

Today was a long, hilly day with a 26mph head wind. They crossed over a lot of water today. Chesca also hit the 2,000 mile mark! Woo Hoo! Half way!

It's that Time again: A Recap with Francesca....

2009-07-19T15:42:00.001-07:00

Hello All!!!

Wow, I can't believe I've really ridden my bike, almost 2,000 miles now, all the way to Oklahoma! What a journey! So today is Day 25 I guess, Isabel counts them for me, I look at this blog just like you do! I guess we're approaching the halfway point in a couple days, but according to my mileage, and what's been told to us, we should've been halfway about 200 miles ago or so, but oh well, we're not in Texas yet, so I guess we're not halfway yet! I'll be interested to see how many miles I really do this trip. We had 2 105 mile days, back to back, and they were followed up by a 90 mile day with a wicked hill, and an 80 mile day with hills. We did an extra 30 miles or so one day because the original campsite that was reserved didn't have bathrooms. I told our Tour Manager that next time there's a decision between tacking on 30 extra miles completely out of the way or "roughing it" for a night without bathrooms, I vote to shit in the woods!

So today was truly a "rest" day, 50 miles, which were pretty flat, on in to Oklahoma, the Native State. lame! haha. No, I'm excited to see OK, I've never been here before and Nora is sending me a Brooks saddle to Oklahoma City! So I'm excited for that! I still have saddle sores, sometimes they seem ok, like they're getting better or going away, and some days they really suck. You know what the cure is for saddle sores? not riding your bike! but that's not an option for me.

I'll go ahead and take this moment to say that I completely forgot to mention Birmingham in my last update on day 20. Birmingham was freakin awesome!!!! and I was so overwhelmed with visitors and long miles for the next couple days, that I forgot to mention it in that recap. Nora and Pam came straight from the Dairy Farm in Nashville to see me in B-ham!! They drove straight to the event, and that event was the most baller one til that day (only to be outdone by Young Ave Deli in Memphis, my favorite bar, with my favorite bartender!) It was really cool. We showed up and we actually saw a bike, imagine that! The local 42 Below/Bacardi rep went around to the bike shops in the area to hand out flyers and bought a bike to do a drawing. Very cool. When we pulled up in the vans and walked up to the Barking Kuda, they announced we were the riders reppin' 42 Below via bicycle across the country. We were served drinks instantaneously, and given tickets for our next one. I sat down with Callie and Crystal (? if I remember correctly) and we drank and chatted it up. Nora called, and they arrived shortly, then Isabel texted me and told me Jessie and a friend were coming! I met Jessie once in Alabama last summer, when we came down for job interviews, which turned out horrible btw. I remember we ate at Jim and Nick's. Jessie also came to visit us in PA this spring, poor thing. She's the cutest little Southern Belle you'll ever meet, other than my bike of course!!! But Nora and Pam treated me like a rockstar, I had to drink some vodka for them, they fed me dinner that night, breakfast in the morning, and of course Nora wanted to sleep with me at the hotel. Haha. Birmingham was awesome. So there you go Nora!! You're the best bitch ever! Thank you and Pam SO much for coming out and supporting the ol' Franster.

So let's fast forward from Birmingham to Day 21, I rode from Batesville to Holly Grove, which was the first re-route that led to horribly long days of 100+ mile bicycle riding. That area of Arkansas was just completely different from what I expected. It was more of what I envisioned Louisiana. It was swampy, hot, humid, and mosquito filled. I took off that morning and it was a crappy road to start riding on, cracks in the road every 5-10 feet or so, a constant thump. Ugh. We rode single file because there wasn't really any shoulder, and the drivers didn't seem to mind, power in numbers I suppose. The group I was riding with decided to ease back and slow down, and I wasn't feeling that, so I took off outta the group. We passed by Bennett taking a pee break, and a couple miles later, whilst I was solo, he came up behind and passed me. It was a really windy day, so I grabbed his wheel and rode faster, with less effort! I hung on to that 18-20 mph wheel for about 65 miles until I had to eat breakfast! But apparently Bennett only needs a Monster energy drink for breakfast and cigarettes! So I lost him after I stopped, but I still finished the day in great time, I lost about 1.5 mph by myself, and it sure was windy and H O T! That was a good day though, it was the first 105 mile day, that was suppose to be a 90 mile day, and Red upgraded us to cabins so we wouldn't be miserable camping in the heat. We had an all girl's cabin, for some bonding time, and pillow fights.

Day 22: Holly Grove to Little Rock was the second 105 miler, and even that one wasn't too bad. It was pretty flat. Tyler left that morning, hence the picture. He was sad to leave Brian and Fred, I guess they had ridden together a couple of times, and he would tell people he was riding across the country with his dad and son! hahaha! I'm gonna miss that smart ass! I rode by myself for 75% of the day. We started out in that swamp area, that had a lot of fields, and it dried out a little to corn crops, and we saw old school crop dusters! Which were really cool. I wish I wouldn't have left my camera in the rain, so I could've gotten video of them. I saw them the day before, riding with Bennett, they swoop down really close and veer up and spin back around, just like in the movies, that was neat. Roy joined me after Sonic that day. I chilled out a couple times and I decided with 25 miles left I'd have a shake at Sonic and hang for an hour b/c it was the heat of the day, with no event, and I was in no hurry. After I pulled out of Sonic Roy pulled out of the gas station behind it, and we rode together. I'll be damned if that 73 year old didn't pass me when I was going 17 mph!!! Don't let him fool you, he can keep up! So I didn't hold back too much cruising into Little Rock with Roy.

Day 23: Mt Nebo: The Hill from Hell! So after 210 miles in 2 days the last thing you want to do is another high mileage day. But we did. Ugh. So I set out riding out of Little Rock, the first damn thing we did was a steep ass hill to get out of that town! But after that it settled down a little bit, there was a big shoulder, cars didn't scream or honk at me, and it was still early enough in the morning to get that cool air in your lungs. I passed by a doe and 3 fawns about 20 miles out, that was cool. And when I came by a podunk gas station I noticed some bikes, so I decided I'd take a mental break from what would be a long day, no doubt. I caught up with Crystal, Bayla, and Ash and we decided to chill for the day. We rode and stopped in a couple little places along the way, I saw a picture of a cougar stalking a deer, supposedly taken by a local!!!! I didn't know Arkansas had cougars??????? I'll have to look that up later. Cougars, just FYI, are my FAVORITE animal. We set on, eventually we became sweeps because the sweeps had passed us! Crystal bailed about halfway, said she wasn't feeling well. So then it came down to the 3 of us, and at that point we had heard there was a big hill at the finish. The riding moved from city riding, to hilly back roads. After a while we got a little spread out and Bayla and I passed Blaise and Callie on some epic climbs, with some epic downhills!! That was nearing the end. Blaise said he got up to 54 mph going down one hill! but I wasn't that daring. I took it easy, there was a crazy turn at the bottom. Anywho, the day ended with that effing 4 mile, 18% grade switchback, which I didn't find out was that nasty until I was literally at the bottom of the hill. Nick- "Just to let you know, it's an 18% grade, 4 mile climb to the top by the campsite." Awesome. They were talking it up so much it was enough to make you vomit. But I got on my bike and I pedaled. It wasn't as bad as they worked it up to be, at least not until the end. It flattened out a little bit, enough that you could breath, in between switchbacks and climbs. But the very end definitely sucked. It was gorgeous at the top though. And when I got to the top I went the wrong way, so I ended up going to Visitor's Center, and the people there were really nice. On the way to the campsite a deer crossed right in front of Brianne and me, she was at the Vistor's Center too. And then there was a couple deer and fawns right near our campsite. They just wandered around, no worries. Mt Nebo was super cool, I want to go back and hike their trails that go around the rim, I'll have to have Isabel add the pics of the view, I don't think they're on here. I also left the No Flats club that day :( Had my first flat tire at mile 1,770. Ah well, it was a good run!

Day 24: Still in Arkansas! I volunteered to sweep that day with Fred and Roy because I was completely knackered from the last 300 miles in 3 days. It was a long day, but I took it nice and easy with them, we took our time and had fun at breakfast. Fred got 3 different drinks! He ordered a Coke, and the waitress brought him Coke, OJ, and coffee!! He said "Man, I can't wait til she brings me my food!" Haha, but he didn't get any extras for food. He had a blowout after breakfast, one like I've never seen before!! His tube was just ripped to shreds and it was loud BOOM when it burst! Slow ride..... take it easy...... that was the song in my head that day. I was chased by a Border Collie pretty hardcore, made me miss my Campster :(

Day 25: TODAY!! So that brings you all up-to-date with all my thoughts I can muster up. The WeLikeBike42.com site seems to be picking up a little bit. It's not all there yet, but it's getting better, some of the rider's profiles are up. I'm under 25 though, so in the Vodka World I apparently don't, or can't, exist. So I don't know if you'll ever see me on there, but I want you to know I'm doing it! and I'm here! and I exist!! If you read this, follow me, comment, interact. I'd love to hear some feedback from everyone! I met Ash's grandparents this morning, and her Grandma reads my blog! and wanted to meet me! I'm a blog celebrity, look at that! Her family was in yesterday and this morning, and they were all very nice. I just talked to my Uncle Steve before I started writing this and he said to keep it up, he's proud of me, and to not give in! It's always great to get a call, e-mail, or text from someone I don't talk to everyday, that is keeping up with me and proud of me. Pop-pop called me in Little Rock. God I love Pop-pop, old, grumpy man, Italian man. He loves the postcards I send him. I'm totally his favorite grandchild. Nora checks in on my everyday, I chatted with Josh for 2 hours last night, talking the bike talk. And of course the fam and Isabel make sure I'm alive. I love you all!

Goodbye for now everyone!! I've been on the computer for about 2.5 hours now, it's addictive and time consuming! But necessary for my digital memories...

Keep on keeping on,
Chesca

Day 25: Entering Oklahoma

2009-07-19T14:31:00.000-07:00

Barling, AR to Stigler, OK

Today was really short. Just under 50 miles and she got done right at noon! Welcome to OK folks.

Day 24: More Arkansas, more beautiful riding, with hills.....

2009-07-19T14:26:00.000-07:00

Dardanelle, AR to Barling, AR

Chesca was sweep (designated dfl) with Fred and Roy. They had breakfast together and said the waitress was crazy. Fred ordered a Coke, and the waitress brought him 3 different drinks. Hahaha. I like the jar his OJ came in, which he didn't even order! Fred had a huge blowout, it was so loud it sounded like a gun shot, it completely shredded his tube.

Day 23: Welcome to Hell, it's called the Park Entrance to Mt Nebo State Park!

2009-07-19T14:22:00.000-07:00

Little Rock, AR to Dardanelle, AR

Francesca said she was taking it easy and struggling a little today. After 2 100 milers back to back, I can imagine this day was brutal! It was about 88 miles, with some hills, which they haven't had in a couple days.

The last 4 miles were up an 18% hill! Killer. Here are the pics of the climb. Don't know if you can tell just how steep it is.

Day 22: Tyler Bounces....

2009-07-16T19:12:00.000-07:00

Holly Grove, AR to Little Rock, AR

Another 105+ mile day...and can you believe it...Francesca rode FASTER. 16.4mph avg! Wow.

On the 22nd day, Tyler left. He's the first one to leave the tour, and hopefully the last, cause we want everyone to make it!

The day was hot but super flat, so she rode for speed. They stopped and saw a crop duster go right overhead! Pretty sweet! Shake at Sonic. MMMmmm! Oh, and they stopped at a bike shop in Little Rock, where there was a sweet bike with a Starry Night hand painted job! Check out her pics...

Day 21: Welcome to Arkansas, Cabin Fever

2009-07-15T18:10:00.000-07:00

Batesville, MS to Clarendon, AR

100+ mile day...and someone averaged 16.5!!!! Well done Francesca! That is AMAZING! Considering it was really hot and muggy! Check out the pics of Fran's Day 20, flying across the Mississippi River!

Oh, and instead of camping, Red got them all upgraded to Cabins! FANCY!

Day 20 and Pics from Memphis

2009-07-14T17:59:00.000-07:00

Dennis, MS to Holly Springs, MS

Family Fun time in Holly Springs and The Young Ave Deli event in Memphis.

Thanks Patty for all the great pics!

Day 20: Batesville, MS and The Days Gone By!

2009-07-14T16:53:00.000-07:00

Hello All!!!!

I got in to Batesville, MS today, and what a ride! It was so weird, it was a short day and we all made it in before we could even check in to the motel! So I dawdled a little bit and got some food and a milkshake before rolling in..... which is a first, to not be rushed or have to do anything, to just hang out, a block from the hotel!

Kara dropped me off this morning in Holly Springs, I stayed with her last night in Memphis after we did an event at the Deli! My family was super stoked to get to hang out with the riders and meet everyone. Of course my parents came out the night before, luring everyone in with food, so they got to meet a lot of people in Dennis, MS. They camped out for, unfortunately, the worst camping night we've had by far. It rained on and off all day while we put in 90 miles, and when it finally seized, it started pouring at 3 am, just before it's time to start getting ready in the morning. Ugh. Miserable! Man did I miss air conditioning, I will never take it for granted again! I hate falling asleep sweating, waking up sweating, and never drying off. Of course, I'm sure I'll talk crap about being dry in Texas, but we'll do that when we get there! So it was pouring, thundering, and lightning until about 6:30 am, and my dad's AWESOME tent was providing me with a steady stream of water. Thanks pops! I thought tents were suppose to be waterproof? but his just diverts it. Making memories sure is fun!

So when the lighting and thunder subsided I set out on my bike ride to Holly Springs. I have to admit that I definitely teared up saying bye to my momma! and it was just icing on the cake to see them pass by me in the truck! Sometimes I wonder "what the f*ck am I really doing????" But I just keep pedaling and my bike carries me to the next destination, the next day, the next stop, wherever. I try not to think about all the serious and complicated things in life, I try to just think of this in it's simplest form: a bike ride. That's all it is, right? I mean it's a string of bike rides. I'm not crazy. I'm just riding my bike.

After we got in Holly Springs yesterday, which was also another rainy day, I hung out and waited for my muscle milk from the van, took a shower, and packed up for Memphis. Luckily I pulled some strings, talked to some big dogs, and we did a makeshift event at the Deli. Big thanks to my big bro Gabriel!!! THANK YOU G$! You're the best, everyone had an awesome time and loved it! and like I said, the fam really enjoyed seeing everyone. I felt like I was just hanging out in Memphis with the family, all five of us, it never really sets in that I've ridden my bike all the way down here! I have 1,550 miles under my belt now. CRAZYness.

So a recap of the days gone by: Mississippi hates cyclists! no, I'm kidding, but for a stretch of 2 lane Hwy 78, it sure did feel like it. Spit bottles were thrown, cars were totaled, hillbillys hollered, bones were broken, and seat posts just split straight in half. Actually that might have been a bit of Alabama in there as well, the days kind of have a way of meshing together.

HOTlanta: never got an appearance by Cara O'Hern nor Miss Manting. Damn. Oh well, I guess there was a mix up with Cara about what day I was there. oh well..... Man was it cool leaving Atlanta! It was just early enough to still be dark out, the damp, cool air on the skin and filling the lungs, the homeless still tucked away in their sleeping bags on the sidewalks, and as we rolled out of the city, the sun rised over the skyline. What a ride, that was a great moment. A moment where you realized you were seeing cities in a way that most never will, it's cool to leave cities early, early in the morning. Before the city even wakes up. It was cool seeing NYC wake up on day one, and Philly, Baltimore, and DC as well.

I saw an airplane in someone's front lawn in Georgia, and that was definitely something you don't see anywhere! who even knows how that plane got there? no airport near, it was just uber random.... and wonderful. I had a silver/gray deer sprint across the road in front of me on the way into Dennis, it wasn't an albino, it was something unique, and there was a bambi as well, but it didn't cross the street. Actually, since this is my blog, I'm just gonna go ahead and say it was a unicorn. I saw a sweet ass silver unicorn. That was on the 15 mile bonus ride into the camp. Hmm, what else has happened?? I saw a wild turkey and babies leaving Atlanta. I've seen 4 deer or so in the early mornings. I saw a wild boar in someone's front yard, with their dog barking at it! that was neat. Definitely had a lot of doggities chase me a little. It's all fun, it's all great, it's all hard to put in to words. Bye for now, I have eaten dinner, but I need more, b/c I'm hungry again already! Dinner, phone chat with Isabel and parents, then bedtime for this kid!

Ride on!

- Francesca

ps- Thank you Isabel for all the posts! they look good!

I edit them when I have a chance, and add a couple things here and there.

Hopefully she'll put up some sweet pics from the Deli tonight.

pss- I left my camera in the rain, so everyone pray she makes a full recovery!

pssssss- I finally named my bike: Belle, my sweet little Southern Belle!!!

Day 19: More Mississippi blues.....

2009-07-13T19:27:00.000-07:00

Dennis, MS to Holly Springs, MS

The only picture Fran sent me today. I'm sure I'll add more tomorrow, they went to the DELI!

Again, another GREAT sign! I love em!

Day 18: The Rents Come out to Support!!

2009-07-12T18:17:00.000-07:00

Guin, AL to Dennis, MS

Again, the church sign is so typical! They are everywhere in the deep south! So the campsite was 15 miles further than their directions! Talk about thinking you were done when you see the park sign! They had to ride deep into the park to find their campsite, making a 78 mile day a good 90+ mile day. ew! But no worries, Jerry and Patty came for the camping fun, and brought venison chili! Mmm mmm good! Tomorrow they are making their way to Holly Springs. Not sure if they are going to end up doing an event at the Deli in Memphis, but it would be fun!!

Day 17: Alabama time!

2009-07-12T18:16:00.000-07:00

Birmingham, AL to Guin, AL

Oh, how typical of back-woods AL!

Stayed at an AWESOME motel! It had straight up 50's style furniture, actual keyed locks (none of that fancy dancy card stuff!) and we believe rats? Ash heard some scratching about in the middle of the night.

Day 16: Birmingham

2009-07-11T08:25:00.000-07:00

Oxford, AL to Birmingham, AL

So today was a good day. I got Chesca to admit that Alabama was beautiful and best place they have visited so far! And it was. She rode 66 miles and arrived in Birmingham. She lounged about in the afternoon, cause they got there pretty early. And then the fun started! Their event at the Barking Kuda was a big success! The DJ announced them as they walked up. The bar gave away a Specialized Hardrock sport, T-shirts, Jerseys and other cool shwag! That's when my BFF Jessie and her friend Bethany showed up. Jessie was TWO numbers away from winning the Hardrock! So close! Nora and Pam also came down from Nashville after they got off work. So Chesca had her own entourage! After the event they went to Jim n Nick's! OMG cheesy muffins are the BEST! and then she texted me to let me know that she was having the best time with MY friend in MY home state. Wow...so jealous! She definitely said it was the best night of the tour so far! Check out her pics!

Day 15: Leaving Atlanta, entering Alabama

2009-07-09T18:20:00.001-07:00

Atlanta, GA to Oxford, AL

So what a beautiful morning in Atlanta! After a nice ride down 78, she saw this funny motorcycle mailbox. Then made it to the greatest state ever! ALABAMA! woo hoo! They went into a shop in Oxford, near their hotel and they had a little Yorkie as a shop dog, cute! Today Dan crashed and broke his collarbone, Chad split his seatpost in half, and Crystal got harrased by a stupid hillbilly, who then lost control of his vehicle and totalled his car in a ditch. Karma's a bitch. Guess you shouldn't harrass bicycle riders, eh?

That's when the fun really began!

She rode through the BEAUTIFUL Talladega National Forest, and then Chad had a little mishap! His seat post cracked right in half! And then they had fun at a local bike shop. All in all, not a bad day. Oh yea, and she rode +14mph on a +90mile day!

Day 14: ATL whaaaat???

2009-07-08T19:18:00.001-07:00

Winder, GA to Atlanta, GA

Their event tonight was at Taco Mac, on Highland in Midtown Atlanta! This is the only picture I got today...But that's because Francesca had to ride half the distance in the pouring rain!! She waited out the ligtning for an hour or so, grabbed the Rapha jacket and rode in the final 20 miles in the rain! She said she felt like a little kid again!

Day 13: breaking 1,000 miles!!

2009-07-07T18:33:00.000-07:00

Royston GA to Winder, GA

Day 13. Check out the mileage for today!! wow 1,000 miles! omg! that's crazy! 1/4 of the way finished!

Day 12: Greer to Royston, GA

2009-07-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

So today Fran rode her buns off. She finished all 83+ miles at a 14.59 mph pace! Not too shabby! The first pic is how Fran says she feels every morning! The barn was nice to see, it's very southern. The barns up here don't look like that. Oh, and they also stopped at Hartwell Lake and swam for a while. Tomorrow is a short day, I think it's only like 50 miles! Enjoy the pics and I'm sure I'll have more to post soon! Calendar at the diner coming into Royston.

Prepping the Tricross for the ride, air, lube, cue sheet, butt'r, etc
That's what I like to see! Beautiful old barn
Today was ladie's ride, 7 of us rode together. We got free beer from a Budweiser rep!

Day 11: Charlotte, NC to Greer, SC

2009-07-05T19:38:00.000-07:00

So I'm not sure how i got off track, or if I'm just confused on the pics. But here are Day 11 pics. Fran's long 90+ mile day from Charlotte to Greer, SC. She's doing great and I know I'm super proud of her. A lot of people took today off cause they had some drinks for the 4th. But Chesca just keeps pedaling! keep kicking ass kiddo. You're doing great! The first two pics are from Asheboro to Charlotte, and then the rest are from today (day 11).

Pictures

2009-07-04T12:16:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from Day 7.
Spring Hill, VA to Raleigh, NC

Read her Day 8 recap and I think these will all make sense.

Day 8 and Recap

2009-07-02T17:57:00.000-07:00

Yo Yo!!!

I haven't been on the internet in a couple days.... so I'll try to give a little update on everything so far. Today was Day 8, it's been over a week now. Today was over 90 miles, it really really SUCKED. the route was all sorts of messed up and turns were hard to find. ugh. Anywho. It started out gorgeous this morning, going through beautiful Virginia countryside. I realized last night we were almost out of VA already! We crossed into North Carolina early this morning, and it was still gorgeous until about 50 miles or so, then we had to get on US-1, and it was crappy highway riding. So I'll do a little flashback to the other days, and then I've got to get some SLEEP!!! Red Bulls only last so long!

Baltimore to DC
I got off to a late start b/c Isabel had visited, and we were suppose to leave at our leisure, b/c it was only a 40 mile day, but they switched that while we were eating breakfast so I was the last one out. or as I like to call it DFL. So I rode with the sweeps that day, Alexander and Matt, and it wasn't too bad, b/c they're awesome dudes! We rode pretty fast too, we just took looong breaks waiting for everyone. Sweeps fyi are the last people to leave, and they bring up the rear to make sure no child is left behind! We were riding on a highway for all of the day, and I had a dog of some sort of pitbull mix sprint across 5 lanes of traffic to chase me down. He was a fast little f*!%$# too! He was on my heel, I sprinted out, speeds of upward 25+ mph and he was still on my ass. So I had to clip out and kick at him to back off. I can't believe someone would let their dog run across the highway like that. Retards. Ugh. Well, I think that's all I can muster up for that day, it wasn't too exciting, it's just great to get to know some of the other riders. I was reallllllly tired from the 110 mile day before. really tired.

DC to Bowling Green, VA
This is the night we camped for the first time! The campground was soooo AWESOME! it had a pool, hot tub, internet, washer/dryer, shower, sweet shaded spots, etc etc. It was nice to make dinner on an open fire! and coffee in the morning via my new GSI press. Thank you Selina for the world's best coffee! Check out Alexander's Flikr: HERE he said it's labeled by dates. That was a fun day. I rode with Dade, our Italian Stalion, and Brian on and off that day. Dade was super excited about the US Army tank we saw along the way! Blaise was hardcore and slept outside that night, Dan had a sweet hammock, and it was nice to see everyone's different tents and set-ups, all the same purpose, but no two the same.

Bowling Green to Richmond
Richmond's event was super sweet! It was on a harbor, they fed us pizza, and we had to mingle with the consumers. We rolled through the ghetto for a little. in the ghetto... the ghetto.... Anywho, I swept with Chad that day. Stared at his ass all day, which is nice but boring for 40+ miles. Not a lot to do all day sitting on someone's paceline, or draft, or pull, whatever you want to call it. Just stared at his backside and the bike's backside. Listened to the clickty clack of his drivetrain that desperately needs some tuning. He has good form, and a pretty good pace, I was still tired, but I managed to stick with him on everything but the climbs. Once again, cool to get to know another rider, now I don't think Mr. Chadwick is as big of an asshole as we all made him out to be! haha. He was fun, I learned a couple things from him, he bought me ice cream. You gotta love a guy that buys you ice cream!

Richmond to South Hill, VA
that was a looong ride. I rode it by myself all day, picked up the iPod around 60 miles, and it really helped me through the final 25. You think of a LOT of things, actually any and everything, throughout 6 hours of cycling by yourself. I saw a Mickey and Minnie sign and thought of my momma, I think of T-rex when I pass strawberry stands, Isabel by golf courses, but when "Live to Win" or "Why ya'll test my Gangsta" comes on, you totally gotta smile and think of Gabe! haha. So yeah, that was a pretty ride, but long and boring after a good 3 hours. Oh yeah, almost everyone stopped at Waffle House to get a little brunch/carb load in before the last 40 mile stretch. It helped, and it was nice to get a cup of coffee in. It was nice to see the big We Like Bike truck when the directions start dwindling down, it's pretty much your finish line. I hung out with the Tour managers for din din that night at a steakhouse next door, did laundry, and didn't really get to talk on the phone too much last night.

South Hill, VA to Raleigh, NC
Now we are in NC, which seems to be very pretty. I rode with Lauren today and we did our bit of adventuring! Today was yet another day that mileage was underpredicted. Which really sucks. Especially when it's already 80, so you expect 85ish, but 90+ really sucks. You just run out of energy, motivation, and WATER! We took our sweet time getting lunch at a grocery store and again refilling water after we realized we missed a turn and needed to re-route ourselves. We made it though.... only to have the hotel not have water running. Apartments next door aparently flooded, so they shut it all off. Another awesomeness to a shitty day. And my phone doesn't get any service in my room. But we do have a little half kitchen, which is kinda cool. Allison made some delicious rice/bean/veggie yum yum on the stove and I got a bowl of that. Gonna have bagel bites for breakfast tomorrow! YES! something to look forward to! Well I really have to get to bed, once again, less sleep then I'd like. I love you Lauren! It was awesome riding with her, she seems to be in the same boat as me. Graduated last May, gots no real job from all that educating, and decided to do this ride for a little adventure, and hopeful thinking on the ways of the world afterward. Off I go..... Night night everyone! Wish I could talk about more. I'll put up a little fun project I'm working on soon!!!

Holler! FMAD

PS- I added other rider's blogs to the right hand side if you haven't noticed!

Day 6 - Richmond

2009-07-01T04:45:00.000-07:00

Bowling Green, VA to Richmond, VA

Hey There!

So Chesca said she was going to update this last night because they would have internet access...but i guess she didn't! So here are some of the pics of the Bowling Green to Richmond leg. It was fairly short, about 34 miles and she was sweeping with Chad, so a nice, easy ride. The promo they did was pretty cool, it was on the patio of a bar/restaurant that led out to a boathouse like feel on the water. Sounds pretty awesome to me!

Day 5 - The First Camp night

2009-06-29T19:22:00.000-07:00

Washington D.C. to Bowling Green, VA

So if you look down a couple posts, you'll see Fran's small blurb about Day 5. What she failed to mention was that she balled it up! 82.35 miles in 5:33:00. NOT TO BAD! I'm so proud of her! She doing great, and tomorrow is a pretty light day. She started the day going down the eastern part of MD from D.C. and crossed the bay in VA. Around mile 20, she found a 4 leaf clover while pumping up her tires! Pretty lucky!

They had to get in the vans to cross the bridge - it didn't have a shoulder! But look at the water!

The bridge was after 50 miles. So only 34 miles to the camp site! which was pretty awesome. I mean, just look at the horse greeting you!

A pool, bathrooms, showers, WiFi, fire pits, pretty awesome. Fran chose a sweet potato and chicken for dinner. Good stuff, way to get those carbs!

Day 4 - Washington D.C.

2009-06-29T19:04:00.000-07:00

Baltimore to Washington D.C.

Sothis was a pretty easy day for Fran. It was only 35.92 miles and 2:44:00! So nice and easy day! The day started off great considering I spent the night in Baltimore with the kids and Fran. She got a super nice sleep in and I brought the bike stand and her tools, so she got to clean up her bike. We ate a huge breakfast, and then she was on her way! She was the LAST to leave! This is the picture of us just before she left. She hooked me up with that 42 Below bike T-shirt I'm wearing. I also got a sweet Jersey! Thank you 42Below!

Once they arrived the guys made a makeshift bike stand...too bad they didn't know Fran had her awesome Park Tools stand in Baltimore! That could have been chaos!

So after a nice and easy day of biking to D.C. they do their 4th promo at Jack's, a bar that is down with the rainbow! NICE. What I love about the picture of the patio, is the little girl hanging on the railing. She must be so confused? Actually, what is she doing at a bar during a vodka promo? Then there's the pic of the Burrito Truck...mmm mmm good! Oh, and I threw in the pics of some awesome houses in D.C. Fran wants to live in the super tall one that's 4 stories! Enjoy the pics!

2009-06-29T18:39:00.001-07:00

Did 80 miles today, and it's our first camp night! Felt ok on the ride, still a little tired from the 110 miler. But getting stronger. I will try to recap the days and stories tomorrow, I'm guesing we'll have Internet at he hotel. It's been busy, busy, busy the last couple days!

Day 3 Philadelphia to Baltimore

2009-06-28T11:38:00.000-07:00

So I drove down to Baltimore with the two kids to see Chesca finish out her 98 mile day! Well turns out she logged 110 miles! wow! I think it turned out to be just over 8.5 hours on the bike. She was pooped, the hills were gnarly! The promo was at this cool place in the harbor, Little Havana, and I was able to get my own 42ride shirt and jersey! Fran cleaned up her bike (I brought the bike stand and her tools) and then we ate a huge breakfast. She rode off this morning (Sunday, 6/28/09) just before noon headed for D.C. I'll update with more pictures as I get them.

Day 2 Pics

2009-06-28T11:35:00.001-07:00

NJ to Philadelphia

Here are the pictures to go along w/Chesca's posting below. Mileage, Scoop Deville, Elvis Exxon...

Day 2 - Philly!

2009-06-26T18:22:00.000-07:00

Central Park was SOOO cool yesterday! we rode a lap around the park while we waited around in NYC. we reported in at 5 am, and didn't leave until 9:30 or so. I never knew that they closed off the roads for Central Park, except for rush hour. We were riding, along with every other biker in the city, in 2 full lanes and a bike lane. it was cool to see everyone, of all sorts, running, biking, walking, walking their dog, going about their daily lives....

We rode through Princeton, NJ this morning and it was beautiful. It did not set any kind of tone for the rest of the day though. We had a nice welcome sign of "Waste Management Welcomes You," riding with huge WM trucks kicking up dirt and grit on us. I rode with Jen for a little while, and it was pretty tight. She was super cool, and we rode at a very comfortable pace of around 15mph, by ourselves for quite a while. She's off to the North though, but you gotta holler at the peeps from Colorado! I keep wanting to call her "little Jen" b/c of the old CBU soccer days, where there were 3 Jens, and they were categorized to Jen, little Jen, and Jenny Kett! I only know 2 of those Jens though. ANYwho.

We navigated through some crappy towns. Followed some chalk left by the other riders and caught right up to them at the next turn. Then we started going through dirty areas and the outskirts of Philly, and when we could see the skyline, it was cool to see our sights getting closer. Eyes on the prize!!!

I feel at home in the city of Philadelphia. it's only 1.5 hours East of my current crib, so it was cool to recommend to the other riders where to go to for cheesesteaks and whatnot. Brianne was excited about seeing the bell and Independence Hall, which is only 2 blocks from our hotel, super close. Man, it feels like I've been gone for weeks or even a month already and it's only day 2, so many memories and good friends already! if you're ever in Philadelphia, make sure to check out ScoopDeville. it was an AWESOME ice cream place! and ice cream is highly desired when you've biked 140something miles in 2 days, and only eaten fruit and clif bars. which are delicious and all but I guess the taste buds kinda get dull.

Hmmmm, what happened today? well, everyone's bottom hurts from riding the unexpected 80 miles yesterday, so putting another 60 on today felt amazing! haha. Alexander (homeboy with the boombox!) had a little crash yesterday and his fork just completely failed today... picture to follow.

Brianne had a flat at the beginning of the ride, and I took that moment to teach Callie how to air up a tire! I noticed she was riding low in the back yesterday and she didn't air up this morning.

I hope I get to some lube and degreaser soon. The roads have been super gritty.

We split off into two groups of 21 tomorrow. Callie can no longer hang out with us cool Southern cats, she's off on her own to spread her wings! I'm sure we'll get texts, tweets, photos, e-mails, and the whole digital package from the Northerners throughout the trip.

Saw a fresh deer on the side of the road, straight off. Dominic is trying to capture the beauty in dead roadkill, and he's promised us an album by the end of the trip! can't wait to see that one! We have tons of great photographers on the trip. So maybe I will get some fame from all this!!! even though I'm under 25 :(

Well boys and girls, that's all my tired brain can think of for now! I think I'm gonna steal some of Blaise's pictures, they're pretty awesome. They're from Day 1, NYC. I'm off to sleep now. Apparently the roommates are already asleep. Bye for now!

FMAD out .....

Day1 Pics

2009-06-25T14:25:00.000-07:00

So I had a 6 hour meeting at work this morning. When I finally made it back to my desk...I had these awesome pics waiting for me in my inbox! enjoy! ~Isabel

The 2nd picture is after 55min. Blaise and Callie were lost!

2009-06-25T02:05:00.001-07:00

Good morning!!! Everybody is loaded up, we're headed to Columbus Circle for kick-off. We'll be on the early show and cw this morning. No turning back now! I'll let errybody know how day one goes! Wish me luck!

Holler
-f

2009-06-24T22:04:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, Francesca wanted me to upload these pictures. It's the start of the TOUR tomorrow and she had orientation today! Here's the start of her journey, the people she's riding with, and the gear she's getting!

2009-06-23T19:13:00.001-07:00

Omg!! These people are CRAZY!!!!! and I LOVE it!!! I went out on an adventure to the airport with Blaise from phoenix, Callie from Portland, and Brianne from Washington. They're a hoot and a holler! Met 5 other riders at the airport and the "geezer" and 3 others at the hotel.

2009-06-23T15:11:00.001-07:00

Hello from Newark, NJ! I'm all checked into my hotel with all my gear. I'm in a room with 3 others, they're putting us in close quarters already! So far I've met Dominic going the north route and Ash is in my room going south. That's all so far, people are suppose to be checked in by now, so I might go downstairs and people watch.

I'll have some stories later, when I get on a computer.

Bye for now! -F

2009-06-18T08:46:00.001-07:00

Testing testing testing!!!
This is a post via the iPhone, they'll be short and sweet!

NY bound...

2009-06-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

I'm heading out to NY this weekend! Man am I nervous! Hopefully I'll get my bike packed and shipped out today. This is the new rig I'll be picking up and fitted to in Long Island (via Cycles Plus ~ Josh.) I'll have a real life pic of it, all geared up after this weekend. I set up my mobile to text in Posts for the blog, so I can do that on the road. Now I just need to see if I can send in pics via the iPhone? tomorrow: TGIF!!

Happy Thursday everyone!!

Drink 42 Below Vodka it makes you ride your bike better! Drank some screwdrivers last night.

Details..... for now at least

2009-06-16T13:21:00.000-07:00

June 23- All riders report to Newark, NJ and check into hotel

each room will have 3-4 riders (they're wasting no time for us to get to know one another!)

June 24- Training at 8am in hotel (4-6 hours)

42 Below Launch Party from 5-8pm Epstein's in NY, NY!

June 25- Riders report to lobby at 4:30 am (YIKES!!)

Depart Columbus Circle at 9am

First day's mileage: is 57 miles

More details upon arrival in NY, that's all I know for now! I'll keep you posted.

Southern Route

2009-06-15T06:51:00.000-07:00

Here is the route I will be taking to LA, the Southern Route: CLICK ME

HEY HEY HEY!!

2009-06-15T05:45:00.000-07:00

Welcome to: le Tour de FRAN!!!

This will be the story of my trip across the US of A, via bicycle. I will be riding from NY to LA, leaving next Wednesday, June 25, arriving in LA August 21. I am SOOOO nervous, but I am extremely excited as well. I've never attempted anything of this magnitude before, and I'm not going to act like it won't be the hardest thing I've ever done!! This ride I am doing with 41 other people, 42 total, for We Like Bike/42 Below Vodka/ Bicycle Film Festival. It is a "marketing tour" where we will be doing events along the way in major cities. We are starting in Newark, NJ and we will ride for a couple days and then split into 2 groups of 21 after Philly, a Northern route and a Southern route.

I'm on the Southern route, gonna holler at some friends/family in the dirty dirty!!! We are riding on average about 70 miles a day, the Northern route will be doing around 80 and going through the Rockies (because they're crazy!) but we'll take the heat and humidity! We will be camping about 70-75% of the time and we'll have a SAG vehicle carrying our stuff and water. I am going to set up my account so that I can blog from the iPhone, they'll probably be short and sweet, but I will try to have my BFF report in for me via the MacBook, I'll e-mail her pics and tell her what went on for the day. This will be my online Journal for the trip, I don't want to forget anything!

As for the name... my friend Wes called my trip "Tour de Fran" and it's stuck ever since! He's in Afghanistan right now, doing something a lot harder than this, so I wish him all the best, and a safe trip home in time for Christmas. I dedicate this first post to you Wes, for the name of my journey!!!

Welcome everyone, I'm no writer, but I hope that my Blog can give you a smile or two and some inspiration to GET OUT AND RIDE A BIKE!!!

Changing the world, one bike at a time,

Francesca

Coming Soon: We Like Bike 42