March 6, continued

Turns out the chip in my phone is defective. I will have to find a new chip or I can keep uploading the same picture.will take lots of pictures with the camera and show you all when I get back. At the meeting today we found out there is one day where we will have to ride 105 miles. help!_____________minichip in Handy ist kaputt. kann keine photos downloaden. wird dann umso mehr mit dem photoapparat machen. suche unterwegs ein Geschaeft, um ein neues Chip zu kaufen. Gleich gibt es unser grosses Festessen. habe beim Treffen gelernt, dass an einem Tag muessen wir etwa 133 km fahren. HILFE!

March 6

Hi Everyone. I tried to post a picture of the brown pelican I saw today, but it hasn't worked yet. Unless Betsy can come and help me, I'll have to find some other technical help. Helen and I had an early breakfast and met many of the other woman in the restaurant. We are the only two who did much riding in SD. Some of the others had to go to the bike shop to have their bikes put together, etc. What we've noticed about riding in SD is that very few stores have bike racks in front of them. Chaining up to buy something is a hassle. But Helen needed to buy a phone and I needed some birthday cards, so we went shopping today at Target. We rode 6.8 miles altogether today. We sat down in the Starbuck's there to drink some tea and a guy spoke to us because we had cycling gear on. It turns out, he is riding across the country with a group called Bubba's Bicycle Tours and they are leaving the day after us. But since we are following the approximately the same route, we should see him again. IT was really interesting to talk to him. Another interesting thing happened this morning at the reception desk. Keep in mind that San Diego has lots of military bases. IT was 8 a.m. and the receptionist put all the phones on hold and told us to wait a minute. The Star-spangled Banner was being played at the Coast Guard Station across the street and she stood at attention until it was over. I asked if that was required of the employees there and she said it was her personal choice. IT was a vewry respectful gesture on her part. We had our get-to-know-you meeting and had a session on changing tires. Hope it won't have to happen, but over 3100 miles, changes are good that it will. Just waiting now for our send-off banquet. Will see if someone there can help me find the picture I want to upload.___________________Wir haben uns jetzt alle getroffen. Eine sehr interessante, gemischtes Gruppe. Ich bleibe bestimmt hinten dran. Die scheinen alle sehr schnell zu sein. Morgen geht's um 8 Uhr los. Druckt mir die Daumen.

March 5, PArt 2

So to continue. Poor Keith. He's the receptionist here at the hotel. When I asked him directions to the zoo he replied, "But you have to go up a big hill." I looked at him. "Keith", I said in dismay. "Keith. Look at me. I'm going to ride my bike across the USA and over the Rockie Mountains. Do you think I care about a hill in San Diego?" Fortunately, Keith had a sense of humor. When we went to eat at Anthony's Fish Grotto tonight, we took a taxi and he had driven two of our compatriots this morning. He was asking all sorts of questions about the trip. He was a really nice guy. Helen and I rode 32 miles today around Mission Bay, to the Old Town, where we ate lunch at Cafe Coyote (Remember that, Beth?), and then through Balboa PArk. We didn't really have time to take in the zoo. We basically wanted to get our bike legs back. When when started out for the hotel, I read the map incorrectly (Yes. I read the map wrong!) and we went several miles out of our way. We're tired, but I can't go to sleep at 8 p.m. Wrote postcards and will now read the paper and stay up as long as I can. Tomorrow we meet everyone. It will be exciting. Enjoy, the snow, guys!-------------Bin Heute durch San Diego etwa 50 km geritten. Wir (Helen und ich) haben veil gesehen und gut gegessen. Morgen trifft sich die ganze Gruppe. Kann kaum warten!

march 5, part 1

This is my roomie Helen and me. We rode 32 miles all over San Diego today. she's a great rider. good in traffic and not afraid to take the lane.THE bike lanes inSD are not so great. ONE WILL BE MARKED THEN AFTER TWO BLOCKS IT ENDS. NO CONSISTENCY with markings on road or route signage. Met a lady on her bike picking her kids up fromschool. more power to her. but she complained about theIinconsiderate drivers in SD. WILL CONTINUE THIS BLOCK IN A MINUTE ON COMPUTer. my fingers aretoo fat for my phonekeyboard.

pizza nova

Was starved and Helen hadn't arrive yet so went to Pizza Nova for supper. Had ratatouille with penna. excellent. THeresa, you would have loved it. tomorrow we'll explore San Diego.

Welcome to San Diego!

I made it! When I transferred planes in Chicago, I looked down and Lake Michigan was frozen. Now I'm in sunny, 65 degree San Diego. Eat your heart out, Rochesterians. The hotel shuttle picked me up and since I can't get into my room, I put my bike back together. Of course it was opened by TSA somewhere along the way. Can't seem to get the headset adjusted correctly, so I will push it to the bike shop after I get into the room and get under a hot shower. Helen doesn't get in until about 4:30 p.m. so I will rest and explore a little bit until then. Geez, does the sun feel good. Perfect weather for bike-riding. ____________ San Diego ist ja so warm. Weiss nicht wie es in Celsius ist. Moecht Ihr ausrechenen. Wieder habe ich wieder am Hotel zusammen gebaut. Hast ja alles prima geklappt ausser dem Lenker. Ich schiebe zum Fahrradgeschaeft gleich, sobald ist ins Zimmer komme und ich mich duschen kann. Natuerlich haben die in irgendwelcem Flughafen mein Fahrrad untersucht. Naja. Nichts kaputt, Gott sei Dank. Ich bin ja bereit. Es kann ja losgehen.

On my way!

Here I am, sitting in Rochester International drinking my coffee and waiting for my plane.The guy at the AMerican counter had a great sense of humor and there wasn't a line. can't ask for anything more than that. My bag was only 34lbs, well under my 60 lb limit and I still probably have too much! Iit only cost $25 to send the bike. On the phonethey said $150. II'm not going to argue. can't wait to get on the plane and fall asleep. I emailed my roommate Helen to let her know I'm on my way. Big thanks to everyone for being excited with me. I feel as if a lot of people will be riding with me vicariously. THanks for the phone calls and words of encouragement. thannks for the ride to the airport, Kath, thanks for the stamps, Pearl and Joan. Does that mean I have to send you guys postcards? Hope all the RHSACCP, adult lit and transition students have a great day._____________________Sitze im Flughafen in rochester und warte auf dem flugzeug. Das.rad hat nur $25 gekostet. bin richtig aufgeregt und hoffe, dass das Rad heil ankommt.Iich danke allen, die mitfiebern. wuenscht mir GLUECK.