Tough ride yeaterday.

421.6 miles. Posterior paralysis sets in after 250. I have an idea. I just need to find a Dollar store...

I got the scoop on that arrest. The bloke they arrested was plastered out of his brain at 9am and drove a car into the little, very ugly and pathetic brick wall adorning the salubrious motel car-park. He could barely walk it seems. So now I have to eat my words and confess that maybe the Troopers and Rangers and Sherriffs are needed. The scenery may actually do people's heads in.

That flat, boring scenery began a subtle transformation around Kerrville, between Ozona and San Antonio, as the motorway began to twist and turn and duck and dive through the many rocky cut-ins. Trees, small but trees nevertheless, began to appear and by San Antonio I'd crossed 2 or 3 rivers that actually contained water and it was easy to see why people would choose this area to settle.

I like riding, as opposed to driving, because one can smell the area too. Not nice when near refineries or pig farms but wonderful in the parks and forests. I had a flash of aroma-therapy as I swooped down into a little river hollow full of stumpy trees and smelled a north-woods cabin. It was a split-second cocktail whiff of bark, sawn wood, mothballs, pine needles and nearby water. It literally transported me to my childhood (I know Andy...centuries ago) and I am looking forward to the sights and smells of New England and Ontario.

The Alamo really was not worth the extra 300 + miles. Pretty setting and one or two nice 1920's hotels. Not exactly the Tower of London but it seems to be the stuff of folklore and legend that Texas loves. I spent 30 minutes there and then headed north on I35 towards Austin, Waco and Dallas. It's 8 am Sunday morning here in Waco. Sunny, cool and smelling wonderfully of early-morning wet grass. I grab an undrinkable coffee from the motel reception and proceed to drink 2. I'll never learn.

I need to update my expenses and mileage spreadsheet. It'll keep Rainer happy.

I also need to send out my Swiftpage email to all of our clients to tell them that the new website is up and about this charity ride! Amongst the other jobs that I am professionally procrastinating over is the blasted in-helmet/on-board audio/video set-up. I need to be excited and have a mate to help me. I'll probably end up videoing the last 3 miles of raked gravel as I ride into Phoenix...

Speak later. Thanks for all the emails and support. Roger Fulmer emailed me with his website http://www.rogerfulmer.com/ that covers his work in cleaning up after 9/11. I overtook his pickup en route to El Paso and he stopped me an hour later at a petrol station to chat. He was curious about my super-biker backpack. I told him about the charity ride and he wrote me! Thanks Roger. Now Drew, I know Wells Fargo keeps you busy but you and Jackie said you'd give me some email aggro!

Photos of the Alamo's famous entrance were wrecked by a tacky platform and crowds. There was a born-againer yelling about Jesus across the street. I teased him a little and he went quiet for a blessed ten minutes. People actually thanked me!

OK everyone, don't forget to donate. I'm going to kick off with a tenner today.