Day 20, January 24, 2002
JEFF'S
UPDATE
An interesting day with a mixed front-end and back-end and a great middle.
At the start of the day we were suppose to take a ferry from Dauphin Island to the other side of the Mobile, Alabama Bay. Well that is when things got interesting. First the gentleman said that because it was low tide the RV would not be able to get off the ferry on the other side. Ok we thought; no problem, the riders get on and the RV goes around the Bay [about a 100 mile round about] and meets us. Then we noticed that we had a flat tire! Net net, we had to take the RV to get two new tires and didn't get started our day of riding to around noon which cut down the daylight we had to complete our ride.
Then the middle of the day was great. We rode today along the Alabama/Florida panhandle and heard the surf for a good part of the day. It was inspiring and great to be riding with Fred, Jamie, and Eric. Pretty neat to see all 5 of us in the cool Gears outfits! We got inspiration today for our ride from the two very special people; Kyra Vitko a 12 year old girl who is currently battling cancer and Mariam (Mary) Ranucci who passed away from cancer. To Kyra, we wish you all the best in your continued fight. Keep up your great spirits. To Mary's family our continued sympathies.
The end of the day for me was a bit of a disaster. As I write this early in the morning before the sun comes up, I just spend the night with either the flu Jennifer had a few days ago or food poisoning. I have not been able to eat and will obviously not go into the details other than to say it was a rough night. I do have some concerns about how I am going to complete today's ride but I am going to give it my all to ride as far as we can. We will not miss our goal.
My love to my family who is scheduled to drive down and see me later today.
Jeff
KEVIN'S UPDATE
Another great day of riding down the Florida Panhandle. Finally we are starting to reap some of the rewards from all of our hard work! Riding in sunshine felt totally wonderful.
We went for a swim in the Gulf of Mexico, after we rode through Pensacola beach. The white sands of the beach were deserted and the waters were turquoise. After spending so much time in desert terrain, it was a real treat to jump in the salt water.
Freddy, Jamie and Eric are great riding buddies and Jeff and I really appreciate their company. Four more days of riding. Then I get to come home to see everyone that is reading these updates.
It's been a long trip, I'm tired of seeing road kill and my butt will be happy not to sit on a saddle for a couple of days.
Rose, I love you and I can't wait to see you and the kids
Kevin Wallace
JAMIE'S UPDATE
Another beautiful, perfect day. Despite not making the mileage goal, the team still managed to overcome a lot of logistical problems and stay together to ride almost 100 miles in 4 ¸ hours. Again I felt incredibly inspired by Jeff, Kevin and the support team. You can see that Jeff and Kevin are suffering each time they sit on their bike seat yet they are relentless in their quest. The rest of the team is tired and suffering from RV-fever, but they also continue to support the riders with all there energy and will. While riding today I thought mostly about Kyra and her ever present smile and it gave me a ton of energy. My thoughts are with you and your family and the Ranucci's as well.
Hi to Emily, Addy and Katie-love you xoxo Jamie
FREDDY'S UPDATE
After yesterdays long ride today was like a Butterfield & Robinson bike tour, at least that's what Jeff called it.(I guess that is probably an accurate description, given what they have endured) As you have read, the RV had some technical issues that had to be taken care of. After they were resolved we had a fantastic ride, the five of us sharing the battle against the winds. We didn't cover the distance we wanted, as we finished in the dark fighting traffic, but we'll just have to make it up with an early start tomorrow.
Throughout the day my thoughts were with one of the dedications of the day, Kyra, daughter of close friends of ours. We are thinking of you, and like your poem in your dedication reads, cancer cannot win the battle against the human spirit. You go girl!
Lots of hugs and kisses to Natalie, Marissa and Stefan, love ya! To Lesley, we'll see you tomorrow, yeah!