Hi gang, We are now in Liberal, Kansas. I have had this overwhelming feeling ever since I got into town to spend other peoples money and tell them that I can spend it better than they can. One of the folks on the ride has been kind enough to lend me her computer so I don't have to mess around with the Internet at the library. I spent an hour and 20 minutes typing up an update at the library yesterday in Guymon and when I hit send on the AOL Netmail it said "session ended" and my work disappeared! I am still having trouble accepting it. Anyhow, I will stop my whining and get on with the update. I want to thank those of you that have dropped me notes, I apologize that I don't always have a chance to respond individually, but will try to answer any questions generically. Good luck to all the Leukemia riders out there. You have a great attitude and a super coach.

Saturday, May 29 Santa Fe Rest Day After sending the email in the morning, Bob, my roommate, and I looked for a bike shop. Turned out to be a tougher job than you would think. Bought some new tubes and Bob a new tire. Back to the motel, did laundry, had lunch and then, because I was told the bus system was nice, decided to use it to see= the downtown area. Not very impressive, sort of like a semi-arid Grabill with all sorts of artsy fartsy shops. Found the library to see how the AOL net mail would work, couldn't get it to do anything. (I have tried to use it three times now and have yet to have any luck with it.) While I was inside the library we had a thunderstorm. Left after my half-hour of free usage was up and went back to the motel. Had dinner with Bob, Trevor and a fellow from New Jersey named Scott. A little Chinese action. Very tasty.

Monday, May 31 Las Vegas to Tucumcari 109 miles Up at 5:30, showered and shaved and got ready to go. They had said that they wanted us all on the road by 7:00. Breakfast down the street, so we put our gear aboard the truck and rode to breakfast. Quick 3 pancakes and I was on my way. Very cool, almost cold with no wind. Passed a number of people and began some gradual climbs through the grasslands. A lot of ranches off to the side with signs that say, XYZ Ranch 25 miles or 10 or 12. Quite long driveways, just glad I don't have to shovel them in the wintertime. Very pleasant riding into the first sag at 28 miles. I helped one of the folks change a flat and those who had come into the sag shortly after I did left before me and were moving on down the road. I wanted to catch up, so for the first time this trip, I went to the drops and did some serious hammering. Felt very good. Finally caught the lead guy just as we began a series of descents, culminating with a huge descent of probably 2 to 3 thousand feet over about 5 miles. Reached a new all time high of 51.6 mph. Carried my speed into the flats and just kept motoring. Got to the second sag before they were completely set up because of the great speeds on the downhill. Because I had gotten there so quickly, I really did not need anymore food or water, so signed in and was on my way. Terrain began to change again. We seem to have ridden out of the grasslands. At about the 77-mile mark we hit a very steep hill, very much like the one to Punkin Center in southern Indiana. The climb was tough enough, had to use my 39x23 out of the saddle. Had done all of my other climbing out of the saddle with my 39x21. Have used the 39x26 when climbing in the saddle. The rock walls kept any breeze away and the sun just pounded down. Glad I am not going to be on that hill later in the day. Into the second sag about 11:30. Ate some GU, popcorn and cookies and got some more water as it was beginning to get quite warm. Out of the sag and the terrain changed even more drastically. Its almost like I fell off the earth and landed on Mars. Red rock, no trees, no sign of civilization except for the road and fences. At one point I looked about 5 miles ahead and saw the road going over the upcoming hills, looked back and saw it going over the past hills and did not see any cars, cyclists or houses. What a bleak place, and what is so amazing is that there had been such beautiful grasslands in the morning. Saw two dead snakes, someone told me one was a rattler, I chose not to slow up to find out, several lizards zipping along the road, and lots of birds in the grasslands. Into the motel about 1:45,not real bad time for a century. Showered and out for lunch and then back to the room for naptime. Route Rap at 6:15, later than normal because they had anticipated a head wind. Except for the last mile, most of the day the wind had been from the rear, side or calm. To bed about 9:45.

Tuesday, June 1, Tucumcari to Dalhart TX 96 miles Up at 5:30, showered, shaved, packed and across the street for breakfast. No pancakes so had French Toast. Very tasty. We have pretty good meals, sometimes in some of the towns it is tough to find a good place near our motel that can handle almost 60 people. Wind calm to start with and then it started to come out of the Northeast, right into our faces. Into the first sag and Bob, Trevor, Elizabeth, Don and Ken were already there. I left with E, D and K so we could set up a pace line. Even at that could only manage about 16 to 17. Tough wind. At about the 45-mile mark I had a flat; piece of wire skewered my front tire. As we were changing that, Trevor, Bob, Steve and Dave went by.

After the flat was fixed we came into a wide spot in the road that had a store. The previous group was eating and our group went in as well. We got ready to leave and I suggested that we combine the pacelines. Ken proceeded to get on the phone, so I left with B,T,S,and D. The wind either stopped or came around from behind us, because we cooked to the next sag. We went from battling to do 16 or 17 to flying along at 21 and 22. Bob and Trevor had little experience in a pace line and they did shorter but very good pulls. Crossed the border into Texas, took pictures, sprinkled sand and tinkled at the sign. We carry some sand we picked up at the Pacific Ocean and sprinkle it at each state sign to appease the wind and flat tire fairies. Yes, we are all adults, why? Into the second sag at 60 miles in good spirits after the great winds. Out of the sag and on towards Dalhart. Terrain getting very flat and the grasslands spread as far as the eye can see. Passed some giant feedlots that were full of cattle. Probably contained 500,000 or so cattle. Funny that dinner that night is at a Pizza Hut and not at a steak house. Into the motel and did laundry. I only have three pairs of riding clothes. Went to Hardees for lunch and used their ATM machine to get some more cash. It gave me $500 in 10's, what a wad!! Fortunately the lady behind the counter took pity on me and gave me some larger bills. Back to the room for a quick nap before Route Rap. Cleaned bikes and watched the hockey playoffs. I have a bet with one of the other riders over the Pacers/Nicks playoffs. Hockey and Basketball, not two of my favorite sports, but it is a lot of fun to watch with people who do like it.

Wednesday, June 2, Dalhart to Guymon, Oklahoma 72 miles Pretty simple route map today. Turn left and stay on route 64 until we get to the motel in Guymon! We are close to the time zone so it is dark when we get up and head down the street to have breakfast. Out at 7:00 with Trevor and Bob. Today is the flattest day of the entire trip. Set up a paceline with Bob and Trevor, they did very well. Into the sag and Elizabeth, Don and Ken came in. We all left together and motored along with a bit of a tailwind and flat road. Got to the Oklahoma border, took pictures and left. Trevor and Bob went to the store; the rest were milling about, so I took off. Got about a half-mile or so up the road and realized I had not sprinkled my sand, so turned around and went back and did it. Saw Trevor and Bob going back after I headed back onto the route.

On my own for the rest of the trip into Guymon. Definitely in the Great Plains now. Fields as far as the eye can see. Into the motel at 11:30. Went to the library in town to try to access the Internet and used the back streets. Neat little town with tree lined streets. Worked for an hour and 20 minutes on the AOL Netmail system, updating and when I hit the send button, it said my session was terminated and I lost all the data. I was fried. Came back to the motel and Bob and Trevor were heading across the parking lot to have a malted at the malt shop, so I went with them and Jerry. Tasted a lot like a milkshake to me, but good camaraderie. Back to the motel and it was naptime. Got a call from Dick, the sweep/staff member reminding us about the chipping contest. Trevor and I went out, Bob continued his snooze. We had a great time trying to get the ball into an18 inch tire. Cost a dollar each round, it took us three rounds. Proving that even a blind squirrel can find a nut, I won. Got about 26 dollars, now I can stay on tour and buy more tubes. After dinner we talked about the severe weather around us and watched the clouds coming in. Saw a beautiful double rainbow, the first of which was probably the brightest I have ever seen. Then the real storm hit. A lot of wind and rain. Tomorrow is only a 41-mile day, so they aren't letting us go until 8:00.

Thursday, June 3, Guymon to Liberal TX 41 miles We stayed in bed until 6:30, still awake at about 5:00. Leisurely breakfast and onto the road. We are graced with yet another clear day. Very nice considering what last night was like. I swung by the library to see when it opened to see if maybe I could recover my email work in some fashion. It does not open until 9:30, so off I went. Rode with a lot of folks who are usually at the end of the group. I enjoyed talking with a whole bunch of the folks. The group, for the most part, is composed of really great, fun people. We have a tailwind, too bad it is only 41 miles. This is a semi-rest day. We are riding in the mid 20's with very little effort. Crossed the border into Kansas, third state line in three days. Remembered to sprinkle. Had trouble standing still in the wind to take the pictures. It is easy to make wind jokes when it is a tail wind. Grasslands and cattle all around. Great road, we are now on route 54, the Yellow Brick Road. At the end of the ride we started seeing more wheat fields that are replacing the grasslands. Very neat to see. Went to the library in Liberal, tried the AOL Netmail again and every time I tried to pick up my messages, it would say my session ended. Enough of this, I will not try to use netmail again. Elizabeth has allowed me to use her computer to update you all and I will save this as a WORD file and then copy it to AOL when I dial in normally. Back to the motel, Bob and Trevor were in, and we decided to go across the street to the Cattleman's Cafe. It had to be a good place; it looked like half the pickup trucks in the county were there. It was great and the waitress was a hoot. Worked with the computer when we got back and got caught up to Dalhart. She needed the computer back before dinner, so it was naptime again before dinner. At 8:45 we began to get ready for bed and happened to look out the curtains. The sun was still out, so we managed to stay up until about 9:30. Our weather is clear, but they are talking about some severe weather in northern Kansas. Hopefully the weather will be nice tomorrow. (Finished updating this in Dodge City, in our motel on Wyatt Earp Blvd.!! More later when I have a chance to get on a computer again.)

Later,
Earnie