Day 15: Day off in El Paso

Two things that I didn’t expect to happen today were going out to breakfast at a little local Mexican breakfast café and visiting White Sands National Monument…

Breakfast at La Poblanita

Our first true day off began by being able to sleep in for the first time since we commenced in San Diego. Rallying the troops, we headed out to grab some breakfast. Entering into La Poblanita was like walking into a Mexican café stuck in the 1970’s. The food was incredible and just what we all needed to start the day off right. Shortly after, many of us entered into a food coma state and went back to the hotel to veg.

White Sands National Monument 

After having a chance to hang out and chill a little bit in the early afternoon, 15 of us loaded up the van and drove out to White Sands National Monument. Not really knowing what to expect, we entered into the park and were all instantly impressed with the scenery, a landscape white with sand (made from gypsum) and surrounded by two impressive mountain ranges. We stopped by the visitor’s center where Maggie and Tim had a great idea to purchase a sled. Heading out to the dunes, we entered into what seemed like the worlds largest sandbox with endless opportunities to play and be entertained. From sledding to jumping and running down the dunes, we all had a great time. The sights were impressive; smelled at times like being surrounded by tide pools along the ocean; felt sand in our pockets, hair, and many more places; heard the wind pick up the sand which sounded like waves on the beach; tasted what was below our feet and it turns out to be a lot more like sand than salt.

Sitting in the sand, surrounded by amazing people in an astonishing location, watching the sunset behind the mountains is a memory that I will never forget. Our evening ended by grabbing some grub in Las Cruces and then heading back to El Paso to pack up and get organized for our first century tomorrow!

~ Cheers, Jen

Day 14: Las Cruces to El Paso (Global Health Day)

Jess here. In lieu of a paragraph-style blog post, I was just going to leave you with a lovely Venn diagram, but today was our Global Health Day in El Paso, Texas, so there are a few things worth mentioning first:

• After a short ride from Las Cruses, NM to El Paso, we had the opportunity to give our lecture at the newly-established Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Many thanks to Lisa for arranging everything, including our lunch!
• Also part of the Global Health Day was a fantastic lecture by Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) medical epidemiologist Luis Castellanos, who works with the U.S.-Mexico Border Office. It was great to learn more about PAHO and about current issues in global health.
• After checking into our donated hotel rooms (a HUGE treat!) we hung out by the pool, went out for dinner, and danced the night away! Sleeping in a bed is amazing when you’re used to a sleeping bag on the floor every night!

And now, the good, the bad, and the in-between:

~Jess

Day 13: Deming to Las Cruces

Team Clover Support Day!  Brian and I took the lead van out bright and early hoping to get the route marked and have some free time to run errands before everyone arrived.  No such luck.  Thanks to a nice tailwind, a lot of downhill biking, and less flats than the day before, almost everyone made it to Las Cruces before noon.  After a little bit of a chaotic start to the afternoon, we reconvened for our second Journal Club, facilitated by Adam, on the article “The Challenge of Global Health”.  The author, Laurie Garrett, as I soon learned, is huge in the global health/journalism arena and her article provoked a great discussion from the group.  It was really awesome to see how even though we like to joke around a lot and have a good time, the team can also have an intense discussion on some pretty heavy topics.  Some of the issues she brings up in her article, such as the need for stable infrastructure, a dependable government, and the prevention of brain drain (educated/trained professionals, medical and otherwise, leaving their country to work in another usually wealthier country, creating a growing deficit of skilled personnel in their home country) have a huge impact on global health and unfortunately are not easy problems to solve.  And that’s not even addressing actual diseases.  As we’ve been learning throughout this trip, global health is so much more than just the medicine aspect and there are so many factors affecting global health that it can be overwhelming if you try to think about it all at once.  I’m interested to see what future Journal Clubs will bring and how the conversation will continue (I also recommend reading the article if you get a chance!).

I also want to give a quick shout out to all the wonderful people we met in Las Cruces.  Everyone we met was so friendly and went out of their way to help us.  So here’s my list: 1) Outdoor Adventures, for helping us restock all the tubes we blew in the past couple days.  2)  Our yoga instructor whose class left me more sore than when I went in.  3) All the people of Temple Beth El who provided us with dinner.  4) Our fantastic home-stay hosts, especially Stefani and Mark, who opened up their home to Heidi, Sarah, and I and were just awesome. 

Overall it was a good day and I look forward to whatever adventures the next 6 weeks holds for us.  We’re just about to enter Texas so I’m sure we’ll have lots of great stories to come.

~Megan

Day 12: Lordsberg to Deming

The day of flats…

Today the team was plagued by flat tires.  It’s like the flat tire “fairy” was following us around and stabbing our tires with her wand.  Just for kicks.  Because flat tires make her giggle and feel warm and fuzzy inside. 

Although flat tires make the “Flat Tire Fairy” very happy, they make the rest of us upset.  Very upset.  The first flat of the day is acceptable; in fact, it is usually expected.  With riding on Primitive Road, Frontage Road, and the shoulder of I-10, it would not be a normal day if we didn’t stop to fix a flat before the first water break.  However, today was an exceptionally flat day.  I will even propose that we had many, many more flats today than any other day thus far on the trip.  Here is a run-down of all of the flats today (although I cannot promise that it is complete; there are probably more flats hiding out there): Chris, Andy, Travis, and Roshan each had one flat; Jody, Bryce, and Sarah each had two flats; I, however, was the luckiest of the bunch – I had four flat tires today.  Not a good day for tubes.

In honor of all of the flats today, I have decided to compose a list of everything that can be done with a “dead tube.”  It is probably not complete at this point, but here is a start:

1. Belt – If your pants are falling down and you happened to leave your belt at home, don’t fret.  Simply tie an old tube around your waste and your pants will stay up.

2. Hat strap – Everyone has been buying cowboy hats along the way.  When they don’t come with a strap, we can make a very fashionable one out of a tube.  It is imperative to have a hat strap for one’s spiffy new hat when facing the winds of the Southwest.

3. Backpack – If you need to carry something but it does not come with convenient straps, you can easily fashion straps out of old tubes.  Perfect solution.

4. Jewelry – Want to look nice for a night out on the town?  Why not try out a necklace, bracelet, or perhaps a headband fashioned out of an old tube?  Not only will you be the talk of the town, but you will also be recycling at the same time.  Go Green!

5. Balloon animal – Treat the kiddies to a new toy.  Although tubes only come in one color (black), they could easily be spiced up with some chalk or paint.  Or better yet, I’m sure something could be found along the side of I-10…

6. Rope/bungee cord – If you are out on your bike and you happen to fall in a large hole or down a cliff, don’t panic!  Simply tie your old tubes together and climb on out. 

7. Wallet – Having trouble holding on to your cash and credit cards?  Keep them all together with a small section of old tube.  All of your stuff will stay together and it will never fall out of your pocket.  If you are feeling extra motivated, you could probably even fashion a small change purse for all of your coins.

In conclusion, old tubes are pretty much as valuable, and as useful, as duct tape.  Always keep them close.  And if you were riding with us today, you probably would have accumulated more than you know what to do with.

- Libby

Day 11: Wilcox to Lordsberg

On our tenth day of bicycle riding, here are ten lessons from the road:

1. If you brag about not having a flat yet you’re bound to get one the following day. Good work Libby, Katie, Pete, and Adam.

2. It’s perfectly acceptable to walk backwards on the interstate to get a picture with the state sign of Arizona if you missed it when entering the state because it was poorly located. (These signs were across the highway from each other)

3. People who’ve ridden 75 miles through the desert are excellent customers for ice cream trucks.

4. When trying to avoid riding on the interstate a ‘primative’ dirt road is acceptable...

5. It’s important to wear your helmet at all times while walking around in your cycling shoes...Justin

6. It’s nearly impossible to find cold drinking water in the desert, but cold shower water is no problem.

7. When the battery is low in a defibrillator resulting in an annoying beep every 30 seconds the best thing to do is pull it off the wall and hide it in the locker room overnight.

8. No matter how long you try to take when getting ready in the morning, you still end up waiting for the lead van to leave and mark the road.

9. Bad road conditions make everyone angry and extra sore.

10. I’m fairly certain you could build an automobile if you just walk a mile along the interstate and keep your eyes peeled.

~Maggie

Day 10: Tucson to Wilcox

The day began with an awkward and uncomfortable sighting a few feet about my head - Tim dancing over me with a creepy look on his face. I wasn't sure whether to punch him or laugh and I just laughed, rather uncomfortably.Then I spent thirty minutes packing all my stuff up (sleeping bag, etc) and changing into ride gear. Next I had breakfast, which consisted of a mini-bagel w/ cream cheese, some oysters I picked up yesterday, and some OJ. All in all, having slept just 5 hours (went to some Tucson bars last night) I felt really good. 87 miles in front of me.

Out the door and on the road w/ Sarah, Sam (fastest rider), and Roshan. I usually don't push myself, preferring to ride at an easy pace, not stress my body, take in the sights, and have some good conversation. But I'm starting to feel like I need to challenge myself a little. So I rode with Sam for as long as I could, which was about 12 miles. Then I dropped back with Sarah. Not long into our ride, we came across three of our girls stopped and fixing a flat tire. This was a common theme for the day as several riders had two flats (though I had good luck).

Our morning route South and East of Tucson took us through a rapidly changing desert. Starting at 2000 feet of elevation and surrounded by Saguaro cacti, we gradually gained elevation and watched the desert flora change. The mountains were spectacularly pretty today. We have had mountains in view every day of the ride, but today, they were particularly attractive for some reason. The desert floor changed from primarily sand and rocks to patches of untaimed grass and low shrubs. Another change for this ride (compared the last seven or so) was that we did some climbing. It was very gradual, perhaps a 1% grade or maybe less but very persistent over miles and miles, with occasional steeper climbs.

We came to lunch at mile 40, and the dance music was blaring out of the van. I enjoyed acting ridiculous and blew off some ride stress by dancing and taking silly pictures. Lunch was about 30 minutes, then back on the bike riding behind Sarah, who I often ride with.

Immediately after lunch, we started descending at 5% for several miles. It was tons of fun, although dangerous considering we were on a freeway with a 75mph speed limit. We were doing a max of about 40mph on the descent and things got hairy when had to cross over exit lanes. Oh well, all went well, excepting a few stops to support people who were fixing flat tires. Out water stop at around mile 63 was "The Thing" outside of Wilcox, AZ. There were dozens of billboards advertising for it, but making it out to be a big mystery. What is the Thing? So we go to this gas station with a Dairy Queen inside and get free admission "The Thing" museum. The museum was disappointing to most, consisting of old relics and junker cars and odd stuff like torture machines. It was a weird place. But really, most of our water stops are just a bucket of water in a van, so it was actually very nice to have something neat to do. I had some Dairy Queen junk food and met up with about ten fellow riders. I had a chili dog and a terrible grilled cheese and Chris and Pete were certain I would vomit in the last 20 miles. I was fine.

I left with Bryce and Jeff. We had a strong tail wind and downward sloping road, both of which made for a fast final 25 miles. We road about 28mph for most of this time, never dropping below 20 and often going about 30. Fun. We arrived at Wilcox High School in the early afternoon, say 2pm. I organized my stuff, then hit the gym for an hour before showering and meeting up for dinner. Tomorrow is my support day, so I met with my group and we divied up tasks. I will help with the lecture tomorrow.

Final notes from the day

- things are getting hotter, pushing 90 in this dry heat - thankfully it is early April

- we had a solidarity ride in Tucson today, raising some modest funds and riding around Tucson with some local med students. About 8 of us did the solidary ride, but I opted instead to do the full 87 mile day I have described above.

- Wilcox is a tiny town, but not the smallest we have been in; at least it has a real grocery store. It sits at over 4,000 feet of elevation and is surrounded by mountains. It is about 60 degrees out right now (10pm)

- We netted over 2,000 feet of elevation gain. However, most of climbs were slow and gradual whereas our descents were dramatic and fast, dominating my memories even though we climbed much more.

To bed now to wake at 6am and support our riders on a 75 mile day. Plus I will lecture tomorrow with Bryce. So much is going on all the time with regard to travel, biking, relationships, and work, it is just awesome.

~Travis

Day 9: Rest day in Tucson

Today was our first day off since the start of our ride on April 1st. But don't let that fool you, it was still a very eventful day indeed. It started with three of our riders, Jeff, Sam and Adam heading off on yet another 50 mile bike trek to the national state park in the outskirts of Tuscon; as if our daily average of 75 miles wasn't enough for them.

After completing our morning routine of packing, the rest of the team headed off to our event for the day. This time we set up a table on University of Arizona's campus. Aside from the sweltering heat that drained all the energy out of each of us, we had the honor of hosting our very own Abercrombie Model (aka Pete with his shirt off) to attract all the college women to listen to our cause.

At the strike of noon, our three riders returned from the national park making a grand entrance towards our booth in full R4WH attire. Once reunited we traveled together to a lecture hall where myself, Katie and Tim presented our first lecture to the medical students of U of A.

With the conclusion of our lecture, more than half of our group decided to visit the Sonora Desert Museum. Here we spent more than two hours looking at snakes, scorpions, coyotes, different types of birds and plants, and my favorite, the adorable sea otter.

At the end of our journey to the musuem, we all traveled to a mall strip where we broke up into individual groups to dine within different restaurants. I personally craved a gyro from the greek restaurant, which completely appeased my appetite by the end of the meal.

While most of us went to sleep at a reasonable time, I  decided to spend the night out with Jen and Travis visiting a few pubs on 4th avenue to see the night life in Tucson. After a few drinks, a little bit of pool as well as trying Arizona's famous hot dogs, we all decided to call it a night and head back to our sleeping bags for the long, yet exciting adventure that awaits us tomorrow. Good night!
-Roshan

Day 8: Picacho Peak to Tucson

Tuscon was just a short 45 mile ride from Picacho Peak. After some of the riders who didn't get the opportunity to make the climb up the peak the night before made the 5 am trek to the top we hit the road to battle the heat and a headwind in to town.  I think most of us agreed that the 45 miles felt a lot longer than the stated distance but we all made it town by the 1:30 pm time cutoff for showers at the local JCC even with a few added stops along the way (see Katie and Maggie's new helmets above).  Tonight were staying at a Jewish synagogue near the campus of the University of Arizona where we have an event tomorrow during our day off from riding.  We all just finished an amazing brinner (breakfast for dinner) prepared by today's support team and are now preparing to hit the town for the evening/have a movie night at the synagogue. 

I think all the riders had a great time at Picacho Peak state park yesterday, sharing stories, a few drinks and smores around the campfire under the night sky full of billions and billions of stars. Sitting shoulder to shoulder in a circle around the flames made me realize just how close I had become to these random strangers in just a weeks time.  For many of them I now know about their families, their passions and their goals for the futures. Hearing their tales of trips to places all over the globe continually amaze me and inspire me to extend my own reach when this journey across the nation ends.  One of my favorite television shows is No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain on the Travel Channel, sitting there last night I was reminded of one of my favorite quotes from the show:

"It seems that the more places I see and experience, the bigger I realize the world to be. The more I become aware of, the more I realize how relatively little I know of it, how many places I have still to go, how much more there is to learn. Maybe that's enlightenment enough - to know that there is no final resting place of the mind, no moment of smug clarity. Perhaps wisdom, at least for me, means realizing how small I am, and unwise, and how far I have yet to go."

~Justin

Day 7: The trek to El Picacho

Day 6, Buckeye to Phoenix, 30 miles

I would like to take this opportunity to discuss some issues about cyclists. First, they are extremely sensitive about their name – cyclist – as opposed to biker. This likely stems from the latter’s preference for leather instead of lycra. Which brings up another issue: spandex. Cyclists wear this for several reasons, such as aerodynamics, reduction of annoying flapping while doing some awesome descent, and the opportunity to show off the physique attained while doing some hideous climbing. Which brings up another, larger point. One that almost everyone asks a male setting out on a cycling trip. The shaven leg. Below is a brief discussion of the pros and cons of shaving the lower extremity, which we discussed on our short trip from Buckeye to Phoenix today, before our presentation to the University of Arizona Medical School about global health. But enough about medicine; back to the legs.

Reasons Cyclists Shave Their Legs

1.       Road rash – this is the real reason people shave their legs when cycling. The shaven leg is much easier to debride, or scrub gravel out of forcefully with a stiff plastic brush, than the hairy leg. Thankfully we have not had a crash resulting in road rash yet, but Katie Kidwell did have an excellent dismount from her bike at a stop light today in Phoenix.

2.       Improved aerodynamics –lets be honest, this is pure B.S. The cyclist may feel they are faster without leg hair, but there is no way that cyclists, especially at our level, will have a gain in performance due to a lack of hair; if anything, you may miss the feel of wind in the leg hair making you aware of your pace, and paradoxically feel slower due to the now naked skin.

3.       Solidarity – this is a very important reason. Several of the male riders had already shaved their legs for aesthetic or other reasons, and the shaven ranks swelled by a few in the first few days, as Tim Mitchell joined in with his razor. The sense of brotherhood and team is an important part of why people shave their legs for cycling.

4.       All the girls were doing it – past tense. The less said about this the better.

5.       Sunblock – since we are riding for several hours each day, sunblock is an important part of your morning ritual, unless your name is Maggie Rosen. Leg hair, especially thick leg hair, can greatly complicate and lengthen this maneuver. A shaven leg is much easier to apply sunblock to than a hairy one.

6.       Insect Rights – believe it or not, every day after a ride I have to dig at least three bugs out of my leg hair. This is somehow more disgusting to me than the bugs swallowed while riding or the bugs that you wipe off your face. Without leg hair, the bug would slide right over the leg, continuing to live. At least until it met an unshaven leg. Or a windshield.

7.       The calves – you know you want to see them. A shaven leg just puts them on display that much better.

Reasons Cyclists Should Not Shave Legs

1.       Time – from a base state of hairiness, it takes about 45 minutes to shave a leg. One. Singular. This is a serious time commitment.

2.       Razorburn. Ouch.

3.       Folliculitis/ingrown hairs  à necrotizing fasciitis à sepsis/amputations à death. No one wants to be a case report.

4.       Razorburn. Hurts even worse the second day.

5.       Sunburn -  according to Travis Grace, M.D* hair acts as a natural sunblock: “I mean, your scalp doesn’t burn unless you shave your head.” Sounds scientific to me.

6.       Awkwardness – the positioning required to shave, say, the popliteal space behind your knee or the back of the thigh properly requires a PhD in yoga.

7.       The itching – it does not stop.

What is the reasonable cyclist to do, given these factso? The answer seems clear enough to me. Shave one leg, and let the other go.

*pending completion of the Ride For World Health. Soon to be practicing Emergency Medicine in Las Vegas.