Magnolia, AR

Another state line today! We were right on the border and expecting to hit the sign as we passed out of town, but sadly we never found it.

We did however find some of the friendliest people. When a few riders stopped along side the road to change a flat this officer came to make sure everything was ok and then proceeded to call media people in the town of Stamps and Magnolia to let them know about our arrival. He was also more than happy to pose for a few photos.

You may or may not remember my mention of a surprise from an earlier post (heading from Ranger to Fort Worth) Jen and I were in the trail van and figured it would be fun to plan a little event for our next mail drop and support day. We made a quick stop at Dollar General to see what we could send. Then we packed it all up in a box and secretly shipped it to our next mail drop. Here you can see some of the preparation.

The package arrived right on schedule and was sitting on the table in Magnolia when we arrived at the church.

In addition to that box I also received two amazing packages. Emily and Jes sent me all kinds of important items I need for the trip. The safety glasses will be perfect for rainy days and perhaps the O.R. in the future. And who doesn't need candy!

Finally after much anticipation the entire team arrived and it was time to open the surprise package from Team Tango. The box was full of components of the competition to follow in Arkadelphia. Katie was definitely the most excited.

Since we would be on support the following day without a kitchen we Team Tango-ers decided to do some prep when we had the opportunity. Justin made some delicious looking pasta salad and Jen and I decided that rather than lose all the stale bagels to the garbage we could make them into bagel chips. We made A LOT of bagel chips. This is just a small sample...

By the time that was finished it was way past our bedtime!

Texarkana, TX

I have a special little treat today. You get to join me for our 94 mile ride. I documented every 10 miles of it just for you.

Quick meeting to go over the route. Everyone was still a little testy from the windy day before. Brian just after saying "Andy, no jokes today, just go through the route."

First 10 miles completed. Tail wind keeping our speed up.

I was near the front so I shot this one behind me.

Still speeding along after 20 miles.

Now at the back of the line after my pull.

Rest stop ahead at mile 29.

water stop.

quick pic when we saw one of the wind mill pieces being transported by a truck. The thing was huge.

Back on the road now 40 miles in.

I was towards the front of the line again.

still speeding along.

Sarah leading the line.

another 10 miles down the road.

Sarah still pulling.

and the people behind me, including a sweet thumbs up from Jen!

Are we there yet? ...no.

Hello New Boston.

I was up front, same people behind me, but my photography skills appear to be getting worse.

Almost there...mile 80!

At the back of the line again.

so close!!!!

Good old Walmart as we get to Texarkana.

We're here!

Hello host!

Paris, TX

The road to Paris was rough, you can't tell from our smiling faces, but we were awefully grumpy that day riding right into the wind. 55 miles couldn't be over soon enough!

Finally the end was in sight and we had made it to Paris! The obvious pose being an Eiffel tower like the one would see soon enough. Jody got squished, but I think it still looks pretty good.

We finished the ride at the pride of Paris, TX, a 60 ft replica of the Eiffel tower with a giant red cowboy hat atop it. We had some lunch and then the media came for some shots of us on our bikes and quick interviews with Katie and Jody.

Paris turned out to be quite a cute little town and we found a fantastic restaurant bar with internet to entertain ourselves that afternoon. But as it turned out all we needed was photo booth on my computer to keep us busy.

Everyone took advantage of the internet, delicious food and outstanding beer selection.

On the way back to the church Jen and I made a pit stop for frozen yogurt. It was serve yourself and pay by the weight. What an amazing idea. Why doesn't this exist in Columbus!?!?!?

The historic downtown had lots of cool little shops and buildings as well as a very pretty fountain.

Greenville, TX

Since I'm so far behind and I can't seem to find any pictures from this day this will be short and sweet and finally I'll be all caught up...at least for one day.

We headed out of Fort Worth to Greenville. We opted to rack the bikes out of the city so we could ride more safely around Dallas. We were on our bikes around 9 and heading out of town. The wind was cruel in our faces until lunch. We met the owner of a little restaurant who was very excited about us and gave Jody lots of free goodies. He even offered to let all of us stay at his house! Too bad we needed to get another 20 miles east that day.

From lunch we had a nice little tail wind to our temporary final destination. We would rack our bikes again to avoid some construction and get to our actual destination. We were treated to a delicious dinner and then trekked over to a bowling alley slash sports bar where we watched a little basketball and I played my first game of shuffleboard. It was close, but beginner's luck just didn't get me the win. Next time.

a little headwind a little tail wind

Fort Worth, TX off day

I started this trip with a mission. I would find myself a fantastic pair of cowboy boots.

Our day off in Fort Worth started way to early for me and Jen. We went to pick up bagels at 7:30am since we had been on support the day before. After getting the bagels we knew there was no sense in going back to the camp right away because everyone else would be sleeping. We figured it was a good time to go scope out the stockyards again and look into some fun things to do that day.

Fortunately a couple of the stores opened early and I was able to do some preliminary shopping. We looked in two places. I found a good pair and even better salesman in one of the stores, but wasn't ready to commit without a little more searching. I put two pairs on hold and we went to scope out another store.

We went to the place where custom boots are made. I did find some incredible boots there, but lets just say they were WAY out of my price range. Here is one glorious pair I would love to have, but could never afford:

After killing enough time we returned to camp. People started waking up and we all enjoyed our typical breakfast plus some donuts supplied by Justin's family. It was such a nice day and we were all still worn out, so we decided to take naps in the grass:

Once we were all refreshed it was time to return to the city for some shopping and fun:

I made my boot purchase and Jen got herself a nice belt and buckle. We walked around a bit and then caught up with the guys to listen to some music before finding somewhere for dinner:

We also did some browsing in several other stores. I probably should have purchased this sign, but I had my credit card held so I wouldn't spend anymore money after the boot purchase.

I also thought this was a pretty good sign as well. Mom, is there anything on it's way to the next mail drop?

Since going to jail the day before wasn't enough, we went again in Fort Worth.

And then this awkward moment occurred. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but as soon as Jody joined me on the horse we were both very uncomfortable.

We finished the night with one of the best dinners of the trip. Texas does food right with corn on the cob and an awesome baked potato on the side. Yum!