La Vida Veracruzana

I'm doing it, I'm in Mexico, I crossed the border and I'm moving from here to there on bus at first and now on bike. I did have some doubts that I'd make it down here whilst in Texas, but I was able to break the TV-McDonalds-WalMart chains that can weight Americans down.
My very understanding parents drove me down to McAllen, treated me to a wonderful Lobster & Shrimp pasta at Red Lobster then handed me off to the Taxi driver. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous, the pessemistic taxi driver didn't help things either, she swears I can't do it, then I ask if she has ever been outside of Reynosa, she admits she hasn't, I life out the border of US and Mexico will give one a horrible image of our southern neighbors. As soon as I was at the terminal I was off to Tampico, of course everyone who saw the bike asked questions about the trip, then told me I was crazy, and then wished me good luck. The chofer did say he sees bicyclist ever other week doing the same as me, so I'm not alone after all, he even told me about how they'll camp on the side of the road (I will atleast camp out of site of a road).
TAMPICO

Tampico Gallery

This is a cool place, to pass the day. It's a lot like most Mexican cities with its plazas and skinny streets full of people, radios blaring Intocable, people selling you their shirts and taxis honking for your business. I LOVED IT. I think I just missed Mexico en general and Tampico was the receiver of my affection. I met up with Veronica here, we passed the first 3 days of my adventure together, she helped me a ton getting my Spanish back into shape and keeping away the home-sickness that immediatly follows big leaps. Tampico is close to beach Miramar, we went there, it bordered by by a Pemex refinery, it gives the beach a glow as it burns off oil desechuits 24/7. The beach is a lot like the Corpus beach, but a little dirtier, a city right on it's heals, and the refinery, OK so it´s nothing like Corpus. The place isn't that bad, I did have my first taste of Victoria beer since my return, that sweet amber lager that Mexico refuses to export, it's just so good when it hits the lips.

We then bused (Veronica doesn´t have a bike) to Tecolutla

Tecolutla

This is what I'm talking about, this place is close to being a virgin beach, it's at the mouth of river full of mangroves (protected), and a precious plaza full of people day and night. We passed a couple of nights here in a resort type hotel, this was a mistake, booking a place in latin america is tough and is best done when you are there, we paid 800 ($70) pesos a night for reservations (Real de Mar), when a place on the beach (Punta de Arena) with the same facilities cost 300 ($26), but they are not on the internet and the resort was.
We spent one day touring the ruins of El Tajin, amongst the backdrop of a giant weeklong festival down the road, and then later into the truly magical pueblo of Papantla, home of the voladores de Papantla (flyers of Papantla).

El Tajin

El Tajin has carvings that relate a story of how the world was created. There was a younger God who was left alone to watch the Earth while the older Gods were away in the universe, the younger God took the powers of the older Gods and created life on Earth while trying out his new powers, the older Gods come back, upset with what was done, took away his powers and sent him to live with us. Sounds like a Disney rip off to me.

Papantla

Veronica left back to Queretaro yesterday, and I stayed on in Tecolutla one more day, to avoid the traffic from the national holiday that was today. I spent this day talking to fishermen at the docks, the hotel owner Sylvia and her helpers Pancho and Micaela, I also took a tour in the mangroves. It was a really nice day in the pueblo, hopefully the first of many to come.
While getting Veronica to the bus station, my camera was stolen, I had left it on a table near the hammock I was laying in, got up to help Veronica with her bag, turned around and it was gone. What I didn´t know was that people at the hotel saw the woman who stole it, and followed her back to where she was staying. They then found me and brought me to the police station where she was in custody. She denied stealing it, the next step would of been holding her in custody till Tuesday to arraign her, I didn´t want to take this step, so she was left to walk. We were pretty sure that the camera was not going to be found even if she was taken in, she was alone in her hotel an hour before they could get her and her accomplice brother out, the brother then ran on the way to the police station.
SOO, I don´t have a camera, atleast not till Veracruz, I should be there in a week or 2, I'll be reporting in, but no pictures, I'll do what I can to super descriptive in the future.

Adios Sonora

Adios mesquite bar-b-q dinners

Adios 15 mph wind in the face

Adios wild fauna

Adios road-kill fauna

Adios road-side lunches



Adios sticker burs

Adios bee stings

Adios truckers, roughnecks, pumpers, and ranch-hands

Adios Cody, Sylvia, Rockybear IV, and Spunkee

Adios long training rides
Distance: 38.2 miles
Average velocity: 13.1 mph
Time: 2 hours 54 minutes
Odometer: 508 miles

Adios Sonora

An Evening with my Uncle Jack

I gave my uncle Jack a call 2 weeks ago to help diagnose a squeak in my front wheel. When I had nobody to call for help I rang him because I remember as a strapping young Turk seeing exotic bike equipment (to me, that was anything not found at Wal-Mart) around Jack's house and hearing tales of his racing accolades yada yada. Although the man has hung up the helmet for good, his lore and wisdom live on strong. I decided to take advantage of Brady's (where Jack built his castle) proximity to Sonora, with no effort I convinced Cody to drop me off for a one day bike pilgrimage to extract knowledge from the legend.

I arrived at lunch time and was knocked off my feet by Susan's cooking, chicken in rice a la Mexicana, it was so good that I honored it with a 2 hour siesta. After big Jack finished his 9 to 5, we took to the backyard shop and put the stallion on the bike rack. We first pulled the front tire off and simulated tube repair, an art all bicycle journeymen must master or perish. Then we moved into tire repair, Jack is one of few in the world that has perfected this, his secret involves dental floss, rim tape, and another adhesive that is used on fighter jets (the man is connected, bada-bing). We moved to replacing brake and gear cables, then brake and gear adjustments, followed by spokes and truing, and finishing with ol' fashion pellet gun shooting Tim Taylor style, with a laser sighted rifle and a variety of gold and Hungarian ballistic pellets. If I would have had Kathy Ireland massaging me with exotic oils between rounds, this would of been the perfect evening.

We later went inside to discuss old times in the bike saddle over some of Susan's exquisite quiche (est magnifique). Then Jack pulls a fast one, and gifts me the unbelievable.

A bike raceing jersey from his team in Brady.

I'll wear it with pride.

Before turning in, Jack and I discussed his current battle with an auto-immune disease known as Multiple Sclerosis or M.S. It's a debilitating disease that attacks the cell walls in the nervous system located in the brain and spinal cord. Jack has an uncommonly bad case, his M.S. rarely goes into remission, he describes it like wearing a tight weight lifter belt, always. Jack related to me everything, the early signs he experienced (blurred vision, burning sensations, loss of feeling...), the MRI that confirmed the scarring in the brain and spinal cord, and then the various treatments he has tried and have failed. It's a scary disease, the crippler of young adults, it has forced the mighty cyclist into retirement, temporarily? What M.S. doesn't know is that Jack is a fierce fighter and a tireless competitor, I almost feel bad for M.S., it hasn't faced anyone like my uncle and if anyone woops its ass it's Jack.

The Brady visit was a success, I not only gained invaluable bike wisdom but a comrade. I'm glad I have the same blood running in my veins, biking 3500 miles in Central America pales in comparison to what Jack does on a daily basis.

The Sonora Blues

I'm in the middle of my second week here in beautiful Sonora city in the bustling county of Sutton which lies in the grand state of Texas that was the 32nd member of the US of A.
I've ridden North and South on Hwy 277 and West bound on I-10 towards the golden coast, and my conclusion is this, the climate is as angry as an old man returning a bowl of soap. If the temperature rises above 50 degrees I'm on the road (this happens about 60% of the time), and when it does I do the popular Texan past-time, oil rigging. When I do ride, the wind is either at my back and I soar with the eagles, or it's in my face and I fly like the turkey, one of those abnormal farm raised ones. But the fauna is really cool, all the animals, (deer, sheep, goats, horses, pumpers, and truck drivers), have been friendly and considerate sharing their terrain and roads.

Yesterday's trip out to the caves, 50 degrees 8mph winds.
Distance: 15.65 miles
Max: 35 mph
Avg: 10 mph
Time: 1 hour and 26 minutes

Today's northbound 277 excursion, 60 degrees 10mph winds. One hour and 10 minutes north, then 30 minutes south.
Distance: 20.38 miles
Max: 35.5 mph
Avg: 11.9 mph
Time: 1 hour and 42 minutes

The Search for Eldorado

Since the 1500s tales of El Dorado have ran wild like a California wild fire in July. The Turk was hired by the Spanish conquistador, Hernando Cortez, to guide him there, he never did. Since then the Turks have kept its destination a family secret, until now.

The Quest is Over

That's it, I biked to it Tuesday during non-stop winds, both directions, is that possible? I've refrained from posting pictures of the gold cladded inhabitants, I'll just say 3 things, Princess Leigha, Return of the Jedi, bikini, ok ok I'll just post a picture.

Very nice -->

This was my longest trip yet, and it felt pretty good, now lets go to the stats.
Stats:
Distance: 40.20 miles
Avg. Velocity: 11.8 mph
Max Velocity: 26.5 mph
Time: 3 hours and 23 minutes
Odometer: 363 miles

A Sunday Drive

It's Sunday, didn't plan to ride, but seeing that it warmed up to 52 degrees, I had to mount the stallion. I took off on Hwy 277, the highway to Eldorado, just wanted to go 10 miles and that was it. But I kept riding becuase it was so awesome, I was averaging 15 mph, hit 10 miles in 40 minutes, the first hour was effortless, I actually pondered going all the way to Eldorado with my new-found herculian strength and Prefontain stamina. Despite the afternoon delight, I decided to turn around after an hour because of sunset issues. The instant I was parallel to the hwy during my U-turn, the wind nearly knocked me over.

Check the flags

I had the wind at my back that whole time, so it was in my face the whole way home, I prefer a good hill of wind in the face any day. Took me about an 1h 40min to get back to my Sonora hideout. Sooo, I of course stopped on the way back, (prolly figured that out from the pic), and a horse came running up to the bike.

Mr. Ed and Me

After about 2 minutes of caressing and 50's sitcom trivia, he took off for some delicious flowers over yonder. This encounter was enough to power me home.

Stats:
Distance: 29.62 miles
Time: 2h 32 min
Avg.: 11.6 mph

County Road 108

County Road 108
Waited all day for the town to heat up but at 2 o' clock it was still 40 degrees. So the 50 mile trip from Sonora to Eldorado was dropped for a trip to County road 108. I just wanted to get in 20 miles, we weren't sure how far 108 went so I took off to answer that question. It's 4 miles from the house and about another 4 miles of paved road. Not a horrible ride, there are sheep and horses that will run with ya.
Stats
Distance: 16.5 miles
Max: 23.5 mph
Time: 1 hour 21 minutes
Average: 12.2 mph

First Sonora Run, to the caverns

Today was rather eventful in my bike world.
I get out on the road heading towards Eldorado from Sonora on Hwy 277 and I get a squeak sound that repeats on every revolution in the front wheel. I pull over and check the brake pads, it's not that, the only other thing I can think of are the bearings or something aroudn the hub, I grease around the hum, but still no help, back to Cody's house after 2 miles.
I call my uncle Jack, a bike guru, and we talk about the problem. He had me check the computer to make sure it's not rubbing, it wasn't.
Sylvia consults the web for me and finds a cool web page, Bike Noise Diagnosing, it mentions something about the spokes. I do what it says and I hear noises when I pinch them. I grease them, ride a bit and it's still there. I then pinch all of them, to make sure the grease is in there, then take it for another stroll and IT WAS GONE.
My conclusion is either during the trip from Austin to Sonora with the bike mounted sideways on the back of the car, or washing the bike yesterday, grease was lost in those areas.

Due to about 3 hours of lost time, I took to another route, 10 miles shorter, just down I-10 W 8 miles and South another 7, there lies the Sonora Caverns.

Other than the wind hitting up to 10 mph, a bee sting while setting up the tripod for the above shot and a monster hill at the park's entrance, it was a rather pleasant ride. I'm now riding with the trailer 90% loaded, 50 pounds maybe, uneven packing gives me an unsteady rear, I hate an unsteady rear.

Trip Stats:

Time: 2 hours 42 minutes

Avg. Speed: 11.1 mph

Distance: 30.15 miles

Max Speed: 38.5 mph

The Snow and the Move

Its been a while since I've posted, there hasn't been a lot to report on the bike front.
The week of the Jan. 14 - 20, was dominated by sleet and snow....



I stuck to training in the gym so I wouldn't be gliding around on my bike like Zoe...


In the middle of "Winter Storm 07", we had to move out of the apartment and into another house. That weekend I set off on the Turk Tour by Civic and visited Houston and College Station (link to Gallery of pics). Last weekend was Dallas with J. Price, no pics, boo.

It turns out that the house we moved into is in an area called Tarrytown, which happens to be 2 miles from Lake Austin. Now my riding has gone shore side....



The down side to this area are the hills and short stretches, Scenic Dr. in Austin has killer steep hills and many a stop sign. I actually didn't make it up one hill and had to stop and turn around, this has never happened before nor since.
I also did my coldest and wettest run here, 40 degrees farenheit in rain, the toes and fingers went completly numb, but the spirit was warm, and I hammered out an hour of hills.
Things are starting to come to an end here in Austin, I have my interview with Thunderbird University here on the 31st, then my Mexcian buddy Robin is coming up on the 4rth of Feb., after that I'm hoping to do my first overnight trip to visit Cody (other brother) in Sonora, 200 miles. No stats to report, my bike averages have stayed the same, which I consider an improvement since the environment is harsher and I stop a lot more for traffic lights and beautiful people jogging Lake Austin.

Fallen comrad

No sun, this was good, 60 degrees, bearable, 10mph southern wind, killer. I was still a little sore from the butt whipping 2 days ago, so it was a very slow start, avg 9 mph. Prolly about 6 miles into it, the wind dies, thank you lord. At about the same time my legs went numb, muscle pain didn't effect me, I just went. The first house with a dog let me pass without a chase, at first I was happy then I saw a vulture fly from the corner of the road, it was feasting on a dog, I mentally turned a 180 and missed those chases. A good dog chase is like Johnny Fear on my shoulder, when I'm down he says "Get up you son of a bitch, cause Mickey loves you". Lets go to the trip stats.
Distance: 19.95
Max: 29
time: 1 hour , 46 min
avg: 11.1

The advent of the R2 unit

A quick summary of the last couple of days.
Friday.
Dropped Mark off for his 2 day FW/Dallas road trip and flew back home in his jetty Civic (its so jetty the side view mirror has to be duct taped on for reinforcement during the sonic booms). I pull out the bike and hit the trail, it was a warm day so I tried out my yellow jersey, tour de France yellow, and the only real bicycle jersey I'll be taking (they are a little pricey). I had a normal day on the roads, 4 or 5 dog chases and open pavement.
Road stats:
Milage: 20
Avg mph: 11
Max Speed: 32

Saturday
This was spent mostly struggling with college application stuff and a wee bit of partying. My good Alice High buddy Ryan lives right down the road from Mark and I went over to his house to hang. Since this is a bike log I'll just say, I ate fajitas and smores while drinking around a fire and playing guitar hero until 6 in the morn.

Sunday was a day of rest, just like my man JC.

Monday
After wrangling with getting up, I got on the bike. It was fantastic.
Road Stats:
Mileage: 25
Avg mph: 14
Max Speed: 38
I felt strong the whole time. I'm not going to lie, I was contemplating an early Mexico departure all day. To reward myself, I went to the REI in N. Austin and bought the BOB Ibex trailer. It's beautiful, a marvel to engineering. I met some cool bike guys there, this dood named Wade gave me some good ideas and recommendations from his tours across the US. As cool as they were they didn't not install the trailer, which is basically replacing the back skewer with an elongated one to hook up the trailer, a trailer hitch I guess.
Bike Surgery.
While I watched the Gators romp on Ohio state, I realized I hadn't done bike maintenance in over 5 years. So I tore into it, first with the bike right side up, balance was an issue so I turned it around, aaa that looks familiar. Quick release tire, almost forgot to unhook the brakes, then struggled with the chain (I did put it on its lowest gear before that step). Un screwed the axle, pulled out the skewer, and threw the other one in, by the grace of God it fit perfect. Putting the tire back of course got tricky with the gears, I couldn't remember what it looked like before, a mental fart of about 5 mins (I'm also distracted by the BCS Championship game).

Tuesday
Time to take the BOB trailer out, but before I did, I named it (it's easier to curse things with names)..... the R2 unit. Now that I have my R2 unit the attack on the Mexican empire is moving ever closer, "I will crush them"-Borat. I loaded R2 with about 3/5 of its burden, then it was to the road. I did a couple of safety turns in the parking lot and then I was out. First impressions, it was heavy. After about 10 miles I forgot it was there, and then at about 15 miles every hill was a penance. I was going slower than ever, down to 5 miles an hour, balance is an issue at that speed.
Road Stats:
Mileage: 24
Avg mph: 10.5
Max Speed: 26
I was suffering on the last 5 miles. I also had my first road repair, the chain fell off moving to the lower front cog, simple fix. It lead to my first wound, I slight cut on the knee from the dog repelent in the Bento Box. Another first, sucked down the 3 liters in the Camelbak before making it home. Times like these makes me glad I decided to train, I can end my ride and have a hot shower and a meal right away, next month this time, It will be very different (hot bath and a cold margarita with a senorita).

Rest, celular, new seat, riding 10 miles

I'll start from where we last left off on the 4rth. We woke up early to make the matinee (5.25, cheapest in town) at Tinseltown for Mel Gibson's Apocalipto. An incredible film that i feel accurately captures the time and environment. It plays out like the historical fiction Azteca, the scenery and backdrop are the biggest characters. The rest of that day was dedicated to writing essays (3) for my Thunderbird application. It took me the whole day to do this. 1 on my cross-cultural experiences, another on my work experience, and a third about an international social topic that interests me. It was draining. I finished the night with 2 movies, the Wilco documentary of their Yankee Foxtrot album (a must for Jeff Tweedy or Wilco fans) and a documentary called "An American Movie". Its a film of a guy whose life dream is to make movies, the doc takes place over 2 years as he finishes his 35 minute short film. The best part of the flick is his life in Wisconsin, a first hand look at the lower white middle class cheeseheads of the region, it's hilarious and accurate, this is national archive material.
Next Day.
I wake to the FedEx dood delivering my cell phone. It took me about 3 hours for the whole activation process, I had a migraine at the end of it, but the cell phone is activated with 15 bones of credit. A miracle happened as well, my eBay bike seat came in yesterday to Alice, and UPS had it here by lunch today. I took the bike out around 4, to test out the seat and the GPS device. I did the same rout as Tuesday but this time I crossed 183 until I hit 10 miles. Then I came right back. First the seat, it saved my ass, literally I rode twice as long as Tuesday and had less pain in the taint region. The middle of the seat is concave and the taint spot is gel padded, the former Bontrager seat is convex, the design superiority is obvious. The GPS tracked my whole ride, when I stopped I told it to lead me back and it gave me bearings and mileage for the rest of the trip. I've needed this GPS thing my whole life, now if it could only locate my wallet and keys my life would be perfect.
An insight on the road. People dump a lot of trash on the Farm Roads. I'm pondering a project to build a car just using spare parts from the side of the road.Insight on bike riding. Changing gears, depending on the incline of the road, will earn you miles. Try to take momentum into a hill and not just cruise into it. Look up more often, enjoy the scenery, and don't be afraid to stop and enjoy it.
Finished this night with a movie as well, called "Proposition". A modern Western in the Australian outback. Another beautiful movie that captivates you with the landscape and sunset shots, it makes you feel more at ease during the scenes of physical torture, is Guy Pierce awesome in all movies?
A unique encounter. As I was returning from my bike ride, I saw an elderly man walking in the parking lot. He had one of those pancake hats, a colorful scarf, turtleneck and overly pressed pants. I was just going to ride by him, then he stopped me. The guy was older than I thought when I saw his face up close, maybe 70. In an Don Corleone accent he asked me where he could get a bike like mine. I did what I could to give him directions to the Bicycle Sports Shop but I've only been here 3 weeks, he has only 2 weeks here. Then he goes into a story that goes something like this, now imagine a small man dressed as described with an accent.
"I'm not from here. I'm from Italy, my name is Leno, what is your name?"
"Kyle""Kil, ummm, that is a hard name."
"Ya the Mexicans just call me 'man'."
"Ha, that is easier, I was raised in Italy, I came to America to work on nuclear research, I put engines in submarines. I worked in Corpus for many years, do you know it?"
"I was born there"
"OK, so my wife she is from Denmark, we love it here, our kids and grandchildren love it here, but I do miss my bike. I had a beautiful French bike, I could pick it up with a finger. I like your bike, I want one like it, but I'm old, I need high handle bars."
"I'm sure they have one with high handle bars there, let me get back you on the directions to that place"
Then he told me where his place is and that I could drop by anytime. I went over at 9, nobody answered so I left the directions wedged in his door. The point of the story boys and girls, is that I would of never known this interesting human being if I hadn't been on my bike, this is my argument over a motorcycle trip, the bike is a more personal connection to the surroundings and you are more approachable by others. I just hope those 'others' aren't wielding machetes.

The first big ride?

Today was tufff, I could still feel the burn from the day before. We woke up at 9 today in our attempt to be daylight people, we were zombies till about 2 in the afternoon, good thing Van Helsing didn't show up at the apartment till 3. My purchases are further winding down, I bought some more socks and a space age air pump, I just lack the trailer, my R2 unit. We got back from that trip and I prepared for my first day on the road. I sported the FrogTogs, my rain suit, I look like an astronaut in them, thanks Travis for the recommendation, but they are extremely light and well fitted. I must confess, they are white and say UT on the breast, this breaks my heart as an Aggie, but its the brightest one they had, regular FrogTogs are army green, that will blend in uncomfortably too well with the jungle environment I'll be in. The ride: from I35 to 183 via William Canon, 14 miles round trip. On google maps it looks real easy and flat, but this thing is all hills, you are going up or down the suckers here. Downhill I'm going 30 miles an hour, uphill I was hitting a blazing speed of 7mph. It took me an hour, the uphill muscles were shot, the taint region numb, but I still had a little bit more in me. I learned a few things today, how to feel comfortable with car traffic, when to be in which gears, and why Lance Armstrong is the balls: THE HILLS.I received an email from my mentor hIrScH today. When I told him I was waiting a month for training he advised me to go ahead and hit the trail, even if the first day I only make 30 miles, you'll catch 40 the next, just get out there. Good mentor point, I'm going to stick with my 1 month though, I need to get these applications for MBAs out, I'm dragging butt on that, and I'm also looking forward to making some trips to Houston to see my buddies and to Sonora to see Cody. I'm getting antsy to get out on the road.
I'm in the middle of a cool book right now "Tales of 2 cities", a gift from my brother, a comparative study on why the US and South America grew up so differently. The study is performed by analyzing the day to day life of a slave boy in Baltimore and an indigenous girl in Ecuador.
That last paragraph made me feel so smart, oooo, got to go Sponge Bob is on.

New Years Update

2 days ago I took the bike out for its inauguration. It was interesting, I'm not used to this type of bike, the drop down handle bars, drop-down shifters, and the clip pedals are all things I've never used before. I ran it 5 miles up and down a hill in front of my bros apt. complex. It's a good training run, it has 2 hills, litter (glass included) and Mexicans walking to the HEB, a perfect mini sim. I had one near mishap as a looked back at the Mexican family to use my Spanish and my steering followed my head, this is how I wrecked my Sunfire the 2nd time, someone told a good joke in the back seat and I wanted to give props, hands followed head and we went into a ditch. Note to self, keep my head on a swivel. I finished the ride up with 20 minutes on the exercise bike, then put on my English teaching duds for a swanky New Years retreat. This was my last night of drinking, I was afraid that with the boos, the new year, and my dashing beard I would be swarmed by women. I successfully fought them back until 1:00 a.m., during my brother's and mine Swingers imitation of the chicks across the room, the scene with the red head smoking the cigar, the 2 chicks actually came up to us. They said, "Have you guys had your new year's kiss yet", without thinking we both replied, "Hell NO", and we had a mad make-out session right there. I hope this pattern doesn't keep up, we could have the female Mexican population migrating to Honduras.Next day, we went to bed at 5:30 a.m. and got up at 11 a.m., and then watched some excellent bowl games all day. I did train, at 9 at night, 40 minutes on the exercise bike up hill, I kicked its ass, then some light weights. I also made an HEB run and bought the Eddie Saenz (my training sense) recommended multi-V (Mexican Peace Corps issued), bananas, green tea, calcium, glucosamine, and some lean meats. Before signing off I just want to give it up to Boise State, they whipped the Sooners and had a 13-0 season, much respect.

The bike and cell, bought

Today was dedicated to banging away at the essentials of the trip, cell phone and bike. The cell phone was a mess, the phone I brought from Mexico can work here with a Cingular chip, but its locked, it doesn't have a digital port (the locals can't crack it), and despite Veronica's best efforts we can't get the code from her distributor friends in Telcel. I went to Cingular's web site and investigate there pay as you GO plan and its phones. I ordered the Motorola C139 (20 bones with mail in rebate) after I checked with Veronica on its capatability in Mexico. The kicker is I can't unlock it for Mexico use until I complete 3 months of service here, this means I'll have to unlock it illegal like in Mexico for 200 pesos, since this is an uncertain process, I'll have to carry the old Mexican cell down there as well. That is my cell phone situation.The Bike. I arrived at 2 at Bicycle Sports Shop, the only place to do any bike stuff in Austin maybe Texas, and left 2 hours later. The sales guy nursing me through this, Justin Jackson, did a kick ass job in making suggestions, giving opinions, tuning my bike, and fitting it to me (poor dude missed the Texas/Iowa Rose Bowl because of me). The bike is beautiful, really, all the people who saw it fell in love with it, its a dull black stallion with ALL the bells and whistles. The most common advice I received about purchasing a bike is not to go cheap, and I didn't, and the bike reflects it. I think I have the best bike and components one can buy today for any kind of tour. I'll provide a page that has all the details of the equipment (link here). I spent the rest of the night reading up on the bike, I'm still not done, everything has an instruction manual, even the shoe insoles. Tomorrow is my first ride, lets hope the monsoon Austin weather has passed (3 days straight of rain).

The training begins

The training begins and so does the blog, god-willing the training goes better than my attempt at writing. I'm in simulation mode, I'm writing this blog on my AlphaSmart 3000 in the dark of Mark's apartment, sitting beside my bedroll and sleeping bag (light provided by my an LED ear light, thanks santa). I would put up my tent but I'm sparing my brother's living room the jackhammer. The rest of the equipment (to be listed later) will be bought within the next 2 days and true simulation will take place after the new year. Physically I started training in Queretaro on December 1st. I tore a muscle where I had my hernia surgery and recovered from it on that date. I went 4 months without exercise, I'm the skinniest I've been since high school and I'm looking to put on some lean muscle. I started with 5 mins of cardio and the rest of the hour weights and I'm slowing changing that to where today I did 40 minutes cardio (20 run, 20 bike) and you guessed it 20 minutes of weights. According to the cardio bike, I did 5 miles, that's about 95 miles under my per day goal, this is going to be interesting.