Sunday Update

The internet has not been very accommodating this week and so we find ourselves trying desperately to catch everyone up on the news of the last half of the week today.  It has been a hard and an easy week.  The hardest part of the week is in trying to find your rythmn or routine, dealing with your flucuating emotions and physically handling of the lack of sleep, new time zone and increased activity.
The body is truely an amazing entity. 
The weather has been really hot, ranging from 90 to 110F.  We have had 3 thunderstorms but only one of them lasted past 6am, so we have only had to ride in the rain once so far.  Apparently they don't get much rain in this area.  As Ellen Dekker of Zillah CRC said, "if it isn't irrigated, its brown."  It does have a beauty that you don't see at home though.  The greens and the browns contrast so vividly as the orchards and vineyards readily absorb all the water from the canals that the good people of Washington have painstakingly laid out.  There is irrigation everywhere.  We have even had the opportunity to be douced by the sprinkler systems as we lay in our tents at night, trying to sleep. 
The Zillah CRC served us refreshments on Friday and it was there that I had my first flat.  There seems to be a lot of broken glass along the roadside and seeing that cyclists have to ride along the edge and it was raining, the glass stuck to our tires and caused 22 flats.  Halfway to Sunnyside, from Zillah we passed by some signs of encouragement from the Dekker family.  As we zipped by we noticed that John and Ellen were sitting in their covered porch so we stopped and turned around to chat with them and thank them for the encouragement.  We probably looked like a sorry bunch of travellers as we were all covered with mud from the wet ride.  This pretty much ensured that our first order of work once we reached our destination was the washing of our bikes.  They need to be looked after before we can think about ourselves, much the same as you would in the old days with your horse.  We are pretty dependent on our bikes.
The Sunnyside CRC took care of our supper in a most delightful way and then offered us an opportunity to enjoy rootbeer floats and the 4th of July fireworks display. 
We spent another day in the Sonora Desert.  They grow a lot of grapes and hops in this area.  I have had the joy of experiencing another 2 flats.  It is good to have Paul with as he is an excellent tire repairman.  Thank you Paul.
We have been getting our tanlines and most of us are burnt.  We are now in and will spend the night in a park along the Columbia River.  Very nice with established trees, a great local CRC (who have taken us to shop, launder, email etc), and lots of shade.  We had our first celebration rally today with the Sunnyside and Kennewick CRC's.  They served us a wonderful breakfast and lunch and had an inspiring message in the worship service.  Tomorrow we will be leaving Washington and entering Oregon.

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