SOME DISAPPOINTMENT BUT WE ADAPT

Well it's really hard for me to write this one and not feel like a complete failure.  We started out Monday evening from Bay City around 5pm to ride at night in order to avoid the heat due to my heat stroke and rode all night.  The ride was a rough one with crazy drivers and bad shoulders and good part of the way and not many places to stop.  We did meet a nice unusual man with at least a dozen dogs as his main source of company.  I wish I could recall his full name but all I can remember at this moment is that his first name was Leslie.  He approached us while we rested by a bridge and was the type some might have judged as a bit "scary" but he really was a nice man...very talkative and kind enough to allow me to use his modest bathroom.  He even offered for us to set up our tent on his property buuuuuut we had a long ways to ride yet ;) .  We also stopped at a church as it was letting out and brfly met a small group of the congregation who were all very kind.  The kids were fascinated with our bikes and the adults were very compassionate and prayed with/for me concerning Andy as well as our ride.  It may not be something that everyone will understand but that really brought me a great deal of peace.  Perhaps that's why Satan thru everything he had at us in the near future....

The bulk of the ride had it's ups and downs.  Mainly we started running into the rudest people we have encountered during our entire time in Texas.  People trying to run us off the road when the entire road was empty to them, cussing at us etc.  But when the road was all ours it was nice.

Then we got to Freeport.....the shoulders were littered with, well everything including a lot of glass.  I got my first flat and my gears decided they did not want to go below 3rd which make crossing bridges very difficult. So what do we find we have to cross to enter Freeport?  TWO LARGE bridges.  I have to walk my bike up and am somewhat looking forward to the cruise down but as I'm riding down my light flies off into the highway (it busted all apart but those buggers are tough...it still works!) my cooling towel went flying another way, and my hat was hanging on only by my ponytail and I'm trying to control my bike...and did I mention I'm terrified of bridges?  Yeah, I was not a happy camper.  Our directions and the road signs didn't jive up, the city is just plain ugly industrial, we stopped at the only restaurant open before noon and the owner was a rude nut case to customers and his only employee.  I went off on him when he tried to refuse us our salad when the sign says free salad with any pasta order...he said "you have to ask for it".  WHAT?  Since when does a customer have to go in and guess what is available and ask rather than have the server take their order?  I made it clear who I was and what I was doing and that I was definitely going to tell all of you about Krisvics in Freeport and that got him to throw together some lettuce, onions and olives and throw it at me and tell me "here you got your salad"  If I could tell the poor boy who works for him anything now I'd tell him GO FIND A DIFFERENT JOB YOU DON'T DESERVE TO BE YELLED AT LIKE YOU ARE BY THAT MAN!  They over charge and then they over charge. (charge more than it's worth then charge more than the menu says.) 

Moving on...it's getting very hot and we can't find a free camp beach or any beach for that matter or a hotel..nothing..no open place to cool off and a LOT of bridges.  Can you guess what this leads too???  You got it...another heat stroke..my temp went up to 104, I was throwing up and cramping ...the works.  and everyone just drove on past us INCLUDING POLICE OFFICERS.  Shawn tried and tried to flag someone down but not one person would stop.  They sure honked and yelled but nobody would stop.  So we had to call the police hoping they like the police in all other places would be helpful and help us get to a hotel.  NOPE...they brought an ambulance and said our choice was I go to the hospital or we make it on our own.  They wouldn't even help Shawn when I went to the hospital..him having two expensive recumbent bikes and a trailer , worried about me and over heating himself.  As for me, I basically went to the hospital to be a pin cushion...I got stuck so many times because none of the nurses could get an iv in me (and I'm terrified of needles) .  I look like a druggie now...and one finally insists he got it when I told him he didn't because it burned...luckily they NEVER STARTED FLUIDS THE ENTIRE TIME I WAS IN THERE...I got stuck for nothing..even though the whole point was "I desperately needed fluids",  they don't believe my illness' are real illness', they did xrays without  ever asking if I could possibly be pregnant. (I'm not but that's not the point) and I sat on a gurney in a hallway starving and thirsty got refused water when I asked all evening...then they wanted to keep me all night!!!!  I checked myself out.  It doesn't end there.  We had to call a cab for me to get home...she never came but when I called she said she did and to come back she was going to have to charge me doubke,,,I said I'd walk.  Thankfully a nice nurse agreed when I asked to drive me to the hotel and refused to take any payment from me.  There are a few nice people here!

Well once you have heat stroke you are more vulnerable to it again and they are having heat warnings down here so we couldn't figure out how to get out of here.  We finally decided sadly to call home and come back to Indiana.  BUT we are not stopping!  We are going to ride up to Michigan!  COOL Michigan...and hope for generous people as well as get our miles in...we may also ride Southern Indiana...so keep your eyes open for us and something to drink on hand...if you see us please say hello!  I want to meet as many of you as I can!  I can't wait to get back on my bike and on the road again.....

Love to all...MamaBear45