"It's like Christmas!" she said.

[channlluv]

So DD and I are driving back across the country from Florida to San Diego, and we find ourselves in sunny West Texas, approaching Kerrville, when we're heading up a long hill before the rest area there and we see these cyclists on the highway! There are three of them, and it's a long hill, so I honk some encouragement as we swerve left to give them plenty of room.

At the top of the hill, we stop at the rest stop there for a potty break, and when we come out, the cyclists are there. I see the man parking his bike and look around for the other two, and I find them on the other side of the building near the picnic area.

They're two college students, Bree and Lindsay, and Bree's dad, George, who used to run cycling tours in Europe. Bree and Lindsay go to school in New Orleans, but they're cycling home to Oregon. I asked how they were set for supplies because we're out in the middle of west Texas, where it's 100 miles between towns with grocery stores. I offered them some snacks and just ended up handing over everything edible I had in the car.

Cliff bars, Kashi cookies, Kashi granola bars, a box of green tea bags, and five chilled nectarines, which they dug right into.

[IMG]bree_roxy_danielle_lindsay_intexas.jpg[/IMG]

They were really, really nice people. I wish I'd had a house to invite them into.

Lindsay is keeping a blog - lsmizell.blogspot.com. They look to be a few days behind on it, but Lindsay's an engaging writer.

What does it take, really, to plan a cross-country cycling trip?

I was amazed and inspired.

Roxy

Photo one: Bree, me, Danielle, and Lindsay, holding all the goodies we just gave them, and their bikes are in the foreground, of course, with all their gear.

Photo two: Lindsay showed me her solar panels that keep their cell phones charged. I thought that was pretty cool. She said she ordered it online from voltaic.com and that it's been working out great.