I spend most of Thursday packing, which reserved Friday for “things that must get done before I go”: replacing a light switch and some light bulbs, making a repair to the sprinkler system, taking Brenda to breakfast at her favorite coffee bar, getting a (short) hair cut, putting stabilizer in the motorcycle gas, etc. I enjoyed the .etc most of all.
On Friday night friends from the Dallas Area Tandem Enthusiasts (DATES) met at an art gallery for the opening of an exhibit “The Art of the Bicycle” and then adjourned to Vickery Pub for libations and a final toast to my ride.
I fly to Portland and are met at the airport by John and Sara Blakeslee of Tacoma, Washington who have come to take me to Astoria and see me off. We met the Blakeslee’s ten years ago on a bike tour in Provence, France. John grew up in Portland and we had lunch at one of his old haunts, Pal’s Shanty.
We also gave a ride to Astoria to another AAB rider, Jennifer from Portsmouth, NH.
Also today (1 pm Pacific time), DATES friends Pat and Charlie Jenkins begin their cross-country tour as part of RAM (the Race Across America). Pat and Charlie are part of 8 tandems who will ride as a relay team, riding 24 hours a day and hoping to complete their ride in less than 6 days (compared with my 7 weeks). Check out their web site http://teamjdrf.colourprep.com/ and you’ll see how you can follow their progress in Twitter.
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