March 9

OK, guys. HERE,S the scoop on today. 1 stopped at verizon toget a new minichip and the nice kid sent me to radioshack because Iit was cheaper there. really nice guys in both stores. also have to say that our cook, sarah is great. she cooks really healthy meals that taste wonderful. now to the ride. the wind was already bad yessterday. we new we had to ride down a 12 mile descent on the freeway with a straight drop off on the other side. winds weere gusting 50 to 70 mph. so several of us (meincluded) opted to ride down in the van. the ones who rode said it was ok, but it was a little scary. the rest of the ride was 52 miles straight through the desert. first 22 miles straight, then 7.5 miles on a bumpy road that rattled oue teeth. the roadsurfaces are even worse than the winds. then 7 miles Iinto the wind. a couple of us stopped for a break at wendy's. fast food never tasted so good. we really needed the break. since everyone rides at different tempos, we often stop at different places at different time. but the sag wagon is always waiting somewhere along the road with snacks and water. anyway, after wendy's I went to veerizon and radioshack. then my first roommate helen cuaght up with me and we rode the rest of the way in. I've found that my saddlebag is just too heavy for the amount of riding we are doing. have taken it off because we have 87 miles tomorrow. today it was 80. I'm sunburned on my lips and legs. it's supposed to be 88 tomorrow with tailwind. I can do without the heat but would appreciate the taiwind. too tired to write in german tonight. tut mir leid, deutschland.forgot to mention that the line on the grain elevator in the picture shows sea level. so we are well below sea level here.