Bud speaking;

Sis and Doc arrived last night via a regional airline that serves Cedar City from Salt Lake City. They had spent the last 8 days suffering in uncivilized places like Reno and San Francisco while I got to enjoy exotic travel to places like Austin and Baker in Nevada. Such is life. Here they are relaxing at the motel;

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The tale of their time off will hopefully be described by one or both of them in better detail than I can muster. But in a nutshell; 1.) knowledgeable wrench raised Sis's handlebars such that she can ride in comfort, 2.) having briefly tested that riding position in a parking lot, rather than abandon the journey they decided to take a week off and let Sis heal a bit while spending the time visiting Doc's brothers in San Francisco, 3.) knowledgeable wrench packed and shipped their bikes and most belongings to a bike shop in Cedar City, UT, 4.) Cedar City bike shop reassembled bikes, 5.) Sis and Doc flew to Cedar City from San Francisco to rejoin Bud last night, 6.) bikes were picked up this morn from Cedar City bike shop, and 7.) tomorrow morn we all ride off into the sunrise together.

How has the layoff affected their condition? Will they be able to handle the hard effort required for upcoming long days of climbing in the Utah heat? Tomorrow morning we will find out soon enough as the route out of Cedar City commences with a 5,600 foot climb that occurs mostly in the first 17 miles. Stay tuned for ongoing episodes and the dramatic conclusion (whatever it is) of the tale of Sis and Doc. Oh, and Bud is in this thing too you know - third wheel, sidekick, whatever.

Sis speaking;

Doc and I have been missing in action since day 10, when an issue with my left hand caused me to need a few days off the bike. That was so disappointing, but when I saw this painted mural on the wall in the ladies room at a Reno cafe before our flight, I decided it was a sign that we were on the right path:)

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Logistics made it necessary for us to take an entire week off, so we decided to make lemonade from that lemon, and headed to San Francisco to spend the week with Doc's brothers. We enjoyed so much visiting with them. I know it must have been an imposition on them for us to show up like that, but they were delightfully entertaining and never showed it:)

It has been a wonderful week, but today we are excited to be reuniting with Bud and our bikes in Cedar City, UT. We have done nothing but eat, drink, and relax for 7 days, so we know we are in for a big shock. The next week(s) will be brutal with lots of mileage, climbing, and desert sun. We will have to "get in the groove" all over again, but so be it.

We arrived in Cedar City in time for dinner and a planning pow-wow with Bud. Tomorrow we reunite with A-Bike-With-No-Name and Doc's bike (who is nameless at this time...we need help naming him). All is good in the world...

Doc here:

Weeearre Back!

After enjoying the hospitality of my brothers and their partners in San Francisco and Sea Ranch, it was nice to step off the plane into clear skies and temperate climate.

Got the bikes put back together and ready to roll. After riding Sis' bike with the 4" stem riser, I want a 2" riser after I get home. I don't think that it would require any modification of the brake lines, and it's very comfy with my previously broken neck, back, and pelvis. BTW, never cut the cable used to mount an Ortlieb handlebar bag. It's very difficult to re-install them once done. Just let it dangle down as I had done on Sis' bike. Brian at Cedar Cycles was kind enough to help me re-string the cable on my bike which had been cut when installed by others.

I don't know whom to credit with the quote "don't buy upgrades, pedal up grades!" That we will tomorrow, and it should be the test of how much we lost in an 8-day detour. It's the people we meet and relationships we cherish, not the paths traveled, that make life meaningful. We choose to be happy to have wandered this way.