First, since this is my first journal entry so far, I want to say I miss my wonderful wife, Gretchen, very much and thank her for letting me fulfill one of my long-lived dreams of cycling across the country. Also, for mom and dad, we are all doing well, have been extremely well-cared for, and I am not losing much weight (3 lbs so far, getting me closer to pre-cruise weight).

Today, we left our beloved home state of Texas. The weather hasn't turned much cooler, but those days are coming. The Rocky Route team is doing extremely well overall, the riders' strengths are evening out, and the group is bonding tighter with every mile.

One of today's incidents which shows the team spirit and dynamics was the sprint to the OK border. A few of the riders have a "friendly" competition in place to see who can make the state and national borders first. Paul Williams, Mike West, Bredt Bredthauer, and Brett Anderson were all in the running with OK in sight. Paul got to cranking hard in 53-12 and...the chain fell off the 53 chainring. He went down and picked up some road rash.

The team spirit kicked in and almost immediately the road rash was cleaned off and bandaged up. Not long afterwards, Paul chided, "Hah, my diversionary tactic worked--nobody's made the border yet!" and he began sprinting, not riding, to the OK border, taking it with room to spare. It's great to see riders, fresh from brushing the pavement, getting back up with high spirits.

We have excellent accomodations here in Ardmore, OK at the local YMCA, headed by Denise. Some of us took a refreshing plunge in the pool before gorging ourselves on dinner, visiting some patients in a local cancer ward, and finishing off with a short yoga lesson to stretch out tired muscles.

Of these, the cancer ward stands out in the riders' minds the most. We talked with a handful of patients who are currently undergoing treatment, and it is heartbreaking to see. This body-ravaging disease is the reason we ride. With the daily struggles of pedaling mile after mile, sometimes it slips my mind exactly why we are riding, but the struggle of any cancer patient is so much greater than any muscle pain, bonking, or road rash we are experiencing, and today's trip to visit the patients was a timely reminder of what we are about.

Tomorrow, we pedal off to Norman, OK, where I will enjoy the chance to see Joe and Kit again, and without car problems this time!